Showing posts with label government should be run more like a business (cont'd). Show all posts
Showing posts with label government should be run more like a business (cont'd). Show all posts
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Koch is It!
Hmm. Not sold on whether or not this piece on the DailyKos is true. They are reporting a taped phone call between the Governor of Wisconsin and someone impersonating a Koch detailing some union-busting excitement. If true, it is somewhere between wildly depressing and infuriating.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
SHOCKING!
Preckwinkle says 2012 earliest she'd cut back county sales tax
Vote for me and I'll cut your taxe....Now that I'm (a shoo in to be) in office I like the tax just fine, and will find any old excuse to keep it.
Is anyone surprised?
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Alexi the boy-genius
April 22, 2208: Morningstar, Inc. named Illinois’ Bright Start College Savings Program on April 16 one of the top five college savings plans in the nation... After taking office, Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, above, overhauled Bright Start, selecting OppenheimerFunds Inc., through a competitive bid, to manage the program, starting last July. Oppenheimer made it among the lowest-cost programs in the nation, and offered investment options that gained a higher return rate.
Woops!
Decemeber 22, 2009: The state of Illinois has reached a settlement in its lawsuit over losses in the Bright Start college savings program under which parents will get back $77.23 million — slightly more than half of what they lost in investments handled by Oppenheimer Funds Inc.
Woops!
Decemeber 22, 2009: The state of Illinois has reached a settlement in its lawsuit over losses in the Bright Start college savings program under which parents will get back $77.23 million — slightly more than half of what they lost in investments handled by Oppenheimer Funds Inc.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
News item: It gets cold in Chicago
News item: City parking meters freeze up
(Crain’s) — The city’s newly privatized parking meters weren’t prepared for Chicago’s first cold snap.
Some of the new parking meter kiosks operated by LAZ Parking (Ok, was that really a good choice for the name of the company? Was that the first decision they made at their first meeting around the conference table, and it all went downhill from there? Just askin... Ed.) under a controversial lease deal that has already experienced operating difficulties froze up overnight as temperatures plunged into the single digits.
(Crain’s) — The city’s newly privatized parking meters weren’t prepared for Chicago’s first cold snap.
Some of the new parking meter kiosks operated by LAZ Parking (Ok, was that really a good choice for the name of the company? Was that the first decision they made at their first meeting around the conference table, and it all went downhill from there? Just askin... Ed.) under a controversial lease deal that has already experienced operating difficulties froze up overnight as temperatures plunged into the single digits.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Fungrant
Scrabble Beta sucks. No way to sugar coat it. Scrabble Beta sucks. They sued to get a better (though obviously a ripoff) product yanked from the Facebooks and then they put up this product that sucks arse. Case & Point - I gets a note yesterday saying Corms came back for more after a defeat over the weekend. Fung goes in - says no active game. Then it says error, please reload, which it like ALWAYS FREAKING SAYS! So Corms, I don't see your game - it doesn't show up. Scrabulous didn't have those fancy graphics, but it freaking worked (most of the time). Hasbro, get off your arse and fix this $#!+.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Wonderful
Jon Hilkevitch: When CTA driver runs light, you pay
The change was made in part because of pressure from the bus drivers union in response to the proliferation of red-light cameras across the city, officials said.
Once again, darned unions making us pay for what the drivers should pay for.
Running red lights is not condoned under any circumstances, including to get tardy buses back on schedule, transit officials said.
"Bus operators are professional drivers, and they are taught defensive driving," Gaffney said. "When they are approaching an intersection, they are supposed to be covering the brake [pedal with their foot], and if they see the yellow light, they should be prepared to bring the bus to a safe stop."
Asked to respond to comments from bus drivers that sudden stops could cause injury to bus passengers, Gaffney said the drivers are "trained to avoid driving in a manner that would cause them to stop suddenly."
Yes, well they all need a refresher course on this one. Whenever I've been standing on a bus I've been nearly sent flying quite a few times. And lots of those times we aren't at a traffic light, but in rush hour traffic on LSD. They all think driving = gassing it up and then jamming on the brakes, so it's funny that they try and get out of the red light thing by saying "but then we'd have to jam on the brakes" when that's how they normally drive.
I remember a copper coming over and just chewing out a bus driver for running a light on Michigan. I didn't see the whole thing but he kept coming up with lame excuse after lame excuse and she was having none of it. Wish we had more like her. If the CTA pays and then "disciplines" the drivers internally, who's to say that they don't just sweep it under the carpet and make us pay?
The change was made in part because of pressure from the bus drivers union in response to the proliferation of red-light cameras across the city, officials said.
Once again, darned unions making us pay for what the drivers should pay for.
Running red lights is not condoned under any circumstances, including to get tardy buses back on schedule, transit officials said.
"Bus operators are professional drivers, and they are taught defensive driving," Gaffney said. "When they are approaching an intersection, they are supposed to be covering the brake [pedal with their foot], and if they see the yellow light, they should be prepared to bring the bus to a safe stop."
Asked to respond to comments from bus drivers that sudden stops could cause injury to bus passengers, Gaffney said the drivers are "trained to avoid driving in a manner that would cause them to stop suddenly."
Yes, well they all need a refresher course on this one. Whenever I've been standing on a bus I've been nearly sent flying quite a few times. And lots of those times we aren't at a traffic light, but in rush hour traffic on LSD. They all think driving = gassing it up and then jamming on the brakes, so it's funny that they try and get out of the red light thing by saying "but then we'd have to jam on the brakes" when that's how they normally drive.
I remember a copper coming over and just chewing out a bus driver for running a light on Michigan. I didn't see the whole thing but he kept coming up with lame excuse after lame excuse and she was having none of it. Wish we had more like her. If the CTA pays and then "disciplines" the drivers internally, who's to say that they don't just sweep it under the carpet and make us pay?
Friday, November 14, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
When it rains, it pours
CTA fare hike planned
50% more in taxes, now dis? They just chip away until you have nuttin left. No wonder the Republicans still have support...
50% more in taxes, now dis? They just chip away until you have nuttin left. No wonder the Republicans still have support...
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Damned Taxers & Spenders!
Huh? Homeowners blindsided by taxes
Fung's property tax bill was 50% higher than last years. 50%? And WTF am I getting 4 dat? Anyone? Better schools? Parks-Museum/Aquarium Bond? WTF is dat? Though Sarge would gladly pay anything that keeps Shedd going. I better find out where this line to protest is at.
I got the revaluation thing last year. I had NO clue what it meant. It didn't tell me what my new taxes would be. It was just a buncha numbers. Now Fung thinks he's as smart as any cookie out there, but he was just lost. Lost in those figgers. Now he's gotta pay 50% more. For the same ol' $#!+.
Listen to Fung complain. And it's not like he can't afford this increase. I just wonder how those who can't are coping. Because I can tell you I didn't budget for this. You can't budget for a 50% increase. And it sounds like others had even higher increases.
Fung's property tax bill was 50% higher than last years. 50%? And WTF am I getting 4 dat? Anyone? Better schools? Parks-Museum/Aquarium Bond? WTF is dat? Though Sarge would gladly pay anything that keeps Shedd going. I better find out where this line to protest is at.
I got the revaluation thing last year. I had NO clue what it meant. It didn't tell me what my new taxes would be. It was just a buncha numbers. Now Fung thinks he's as smart as any cookie out there, but he was just lost. Lost in those figgers. Now he's gotta pay 50% more. For the same ol' $#!+.
Listen to Fung complain. And it's not like he can't afford this increase. I just wonder how those who can't are coping. Because I can tell you I didn't budget for this. You can't budget for a 50% increase. And it sounds like others had even higher increases.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
and now a word from off the LoC
briggs: he wants to put off the debate
chill: because of the economic crises?
briggs: "yes."
chill: is he the chairman of the fed now or something?
briggs: well he's going to be president in four months
chill: maybe Sarah has been to a bank in Alaska before and can solve the whole thing herself
briggs: lol
chill: because of the economic crises?
briggs: "yes."
chill: is he the chairman of the fed now or something?
briggs: well he's going to be president in four months
chill: maybe Sarah has been to a bank in Alaska before and can solve the whole thing herself
briggs: lol
Monday, August 25, 2008
it's not a loophole, it's a stimulus
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tax and accounting loopholes that largely benefit rich taxpayers and companies cost the government $20 beelllion a year (holy phokking s#i+, 20 beeelllion, that's like, several weeks in Iraq - Ed.) even as the pay gap between chief executives and employees has widened, two groups said on Monday...
The report said large U.S. companies paid CEOs an average $10.5 meelllion in compensation last year, 344 times what the average worker earned.
That gap is expected to grow as the industries adding workers are those with the biggest pay gaps, the groups said. (Yay! Ed.)
The report said large U.S. companies paid CEOs an average $10.5 meelllion in compensation last year, 344 times what the average worker earned.
That gap is expected to grow as the industries adding workers are those with the biggest pay gaps, the groups said. (Yay! Ed.)
Friday, August 1, 2008
Help, Legal Expert
FCC formally rules Comcast's throttling of BitTorrent was illegal
Federal regulators voted 3-2 on Friday to declare that Comcast's throttling of BitTorrent traffic last year was unlawful, marking the first time that any U.S. broadband provider has ever been found to violate Net neutrality rules.
Apparently Comcast was mad at all those people who were sharing all those huge music and video files with a million of their closest friends using peer to peer software that can't be shut down as easily as Napster does. These people use way more of the internet than you or I updating this blog, yet they pay the same amount every month. "Excessive", Comcast called it, without defining what that meant. So Comcast had to either put in a whole lot more bandwidth, or make everyone suffer for these "file sharers", who are probably sharing files illegally anyway. They came up with a third option - slow down the file sharers while keeping "regular" traffic untouched. Which, I suppose may be a good way to do it, AS LONG AS YOU TELL US YOU'RE DOING IT BEFORE WE SIGN THE DOTTED LINE!
Net neutrality says that people should be able to use any application over the internet. Which is fine, I agree with that. However, these applications start to cause problems when they use up a whole lot of bandwidth. Because someone is sharing files, viewing videos etc. either my internet slows down or I have to pay more because my ISP has to invest more to increase bandwidth. Is that fair? Well, probably not. But we have the same problem with public goods, like the roads, or public transit, the police - I'm guessing on some of those you come out ahead, on others you don't. Overall you might even out. So I suppose I should be all for paying more if it means that I'll be able to use whatever application or device that may be invented in the future.
So, Comcast was trying to make a particular application unusable, because it (probably) cut into their profits, and so it was found illegal. However...
It (also) is likely to be challenged in court. In 2006, Congress rejected five different bills that would have handed the FCC the power to police Net neutrality violations; the FCC has acknowledged that its own Net neutrality principles "are not enforceable"; the Supreme Court has previously ruled that the FCC has no power to regulate "unless and until Congress confers power upon it."
So they made a ruling, but it is unenforceable. So why make it? How can Comcast violate rules that don't really exist yet?
In the meantime, I believe Comcast is coming up with a limit of traffic every month, above which their users would be charged for excessive traffic. The problem is that in most cases, Comcast is a monopoly. We need competition. We need to start our own ISP. Who's with me?
Federal regulators voted 3-2 on Friday to declare that Comcast's throttling of BitTorrent traffic last year was unlawful, marking the first time that any U.S. broadband provider has ever been found to violate Net neutrality rules.
Apparently Comcast was mad at all those people who were sharing all those huge music and video files with a million of their closest friends using peer to peer software that can't be shut down as easily as Napster does. These people use way more of the internet than you or I updating this blog, yet they pay the same amount every month. "Excessive", Comcast called it, without defining what that meant. So Comcast had to either put in a whole lot more bandwidth, or make everyone suffer for these "file sharers", who are probably sharing files illegally anyway. They came up with a third option - slow down the file sharers while keeping "regular" traffic untouched. Which, I suppose may be a good way to do it, AS LONG AS YOU TELL US YOU'RE DOING IT BEFORE WE SIGN THE DOTTED LINE!
Net neutrality says that people should be able to use any application over the internet. Which is fine, I agree with that. However, these applications start to cause problems when they use up a whole lot of bandwidth. Because someone is sharing files, viewing videos etc. either my internet slows down or I have to pay more because my ISP has to invest more to increase bandwidth. Is that fair? Well, probably not. But we have the same problem with public goods, like the roads, or public transit, the police - I'm guessing on some of those you come out ahead, on others you don't. Overall you might even out. So I suppose I should be all for paying more if it means that I'll be able to use whatever application or device that may be invented in the future.
So, Comcast was trying to make a particular application unusable, because it (probably) cut into their profits, and so it was found illegal. However...
It (also) is likely to be challenged in court. In 2006, Congress rejected five different bills that would have handed the FCC the power to police Net neutrality violations; the FCC has acknowledged that its own Net neutrality principles "are not enforceable"; the Supreme Court has previously ruled that the FCC has no power to regulate "unless and until Congress confers power upon it."
So they made a ruling, but it is unenforceable. So why make it? How can Comcast violate rules that don't really exist yet?
In the meantime, I believe Comcast is coming up with a limit of traffic every month, above which their users would be charged for excessive traffic. The problem is that in most cases, Comcast is a monopoly. We need competition. We need to start our own ISP. Who's with me?
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Back in the USSA!
Being in udder places: Awesome!
Travelling: SUUUUCKS!
Maybe it's just it was Memorial Day, or maybe I'm just a wuss, but when they misroute your bag TWICE, you start to think there's something rotten in the system. So now I'm waiting for them to deliver it to me. How big is the delivery window? 4 hours. Can we blame W?
Travelling: SUUUUCKS!
Maybe it's just it was Memorial Day, or maybe I'm just a wuss, but when they misroute your bag TWICE, you start to think there's something rotten in the system. So now I'm waiting for them to deliver it to me. How big is the delivery window? 4 hours. Can we blame W?
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Al who? Did you mean Al Sharpton? Cuz I think we might have loads of s#i+ on him around here somehwere...
Part Two of the report reveals the inadequacies of the FBI's recordkeeping system, which results in 60-70% of Freedom of Information Act requests being denied because the FBI cannot find the requested records. In particular, the National Security Archive provided an example of a request for records on "Al Qaeda" that was denied because the Bureau had "no records." According to the FBI's representative in the Fox News report, that response was a mistake because the FBI staff sent the wrong letter. The Archive's records show, however, that the denial was administratively appealed to the Department of Justice's Office of Information and Privacy, which ordered the FBI to conduct a new search. The second search also was denied because there still were "no records" found on Al Qaeda.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
News you can use?
Tips: Where they go
So they want me to know where tips go so what, I pay more in tips? Seems like it's just a way to get businesses to pay people less, because they'll get tips to make up for it. And then they take credit card fees from tips? WTF? Isn't that a cost of doing business? More crap that businesses can get away with. Why can't we just pay more for the food and make the tip optional? Return the tip to what it was meant to be - a gratuity for good service, not what keeps people afloat? Seriously, the wage anyone makes should be enough for them to live on. The tip should be icing on the cake, so to speak. Any other system is exploitation.
So they want me to know where tips go so what, I pay more in tips? Seems like it's just a way to get businesses to pay people less, because they'll get tips to make up for it. And then they take credit card fees from tips? WTF? Isn't that a cost of doing business? More crap that businesses can get away with. Why can't we just pay more for the food and make the tip optional? Return the tip to what it was meant to be - a gratuity for good service, not what keeps people afloat? Seriously, the wage anyone makes should be enough for them to live on. The tip should be icing on the cake, so to speak. Any other system is exploitation.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Flying Soon?
Den better make sure your state ID or drivers license will be good enuff starting May 11...
When are we ever going to resolve this national ID issue? Why can't politicians ever fix anything? Properly?
And do we really expect the TSA staff to actually note which state your ID is from, then remember whether those are acceptable or not? Apparently security lines are moving way too fast, we need to slow them down to show vigilance, or something.
When are we ever going to resolve this national ID issue? Why can't politicians ever fix anything? Properly?
And do we really expect the TSA staff to actually note which state your ID is from, then remember whether those are acceptable or not? Apparently security lines are moving way too fast, we need to slow them down to show vigilance, or something.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
Recall all dese phokkers
Paulson: Checks to go out in May
The checks are an advance on next year's refunds, and most, if not all of the money, will be deducted from taxpayers' refunds in 12 months' time.
So, once again, our government has tried to fool us. "Here's a chunk of money" they said. "Oh, and we'll be back for it next year." So how does this help? What happens if we're still in a recession next year and people don't have the money to pay the government back?
Can we just recall da whole bunch? Oh yeah, that's right. A bunch of them are running for re-election, aren't they?
The checks are an advance on next year's refunds, and most, if not all of the money, will be deducted from taxpayers' refunds in 12 months' time.
So, once again, our government has tried to fool us. "Here's a chunk of money" they said. "Oh, and we'll be back for it next year." So how does this help? What happens if we're still in a recession next year and people don't have the money to pay the government back?
Can we just recall da whole bunch? Oh yeah, that's right. A bunch of them are running for re-election, aren't they?
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
It may not be Rezko...
...but Fung has been spotted with Dumbya. Click on da link:
A Republican HUD scandal for a new generation
I would say it might be Kirby Pucket instead, but he's dead.
A Republican HUD scandal for a new generation
I would say it might be Kirby Pucket instead, but he's dead.
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