http://www.bloomberg.com/…

Microsoft Corp., which has $20 billion of cash in the bank, is among the first in the Puget Sound area to benefit from the investment in roads and bridges through President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan.

Local planners allotted $11 million of $214 million awarded to the region to help pay for a highway overpass in Redmond, Washington, connecting one part of Microsoft’s wooded campus with another. The world’s largest software maker will contribute almost half of the $36.5 million cost. Other federal and local money will pay the rest.

Work is scheduled to begin by June, while larger projects in the area await funding, including replacing an elevated highway in Seattle damaged by a 2001 earthquake and a bridge over Lake Washington at risk of cracking in a windstorm. Spending watchdogs and even some Microsoft employees see more pressing needs.

“I’m sure Steve Ballmer or Bill Gates could finance this out of pocket change,” Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, said of Microsoft’s chief executive officer and chairman. “Subsidizing an overpass to one of the richest companies in the country certainly isn’t going to be the best use of our precious dollars.

“It’s a bridge to Microsoft,” he said. Ellis’s Washington, D.C.-based group, which tracks government spending, coined the phrase “bridge to nowhere” to describe a proposed span in Alaska that got $223 million in federal funding in 2005 and later was canceled.

The city of Redmond says the overpass will relieve congestion on other streets and support a big employer in the region, though one cutting jobs lately. Microsoft said in January that it’s eliminating as many as 5,000 jobs, including some from its Seattle-area workforce of 41,480.

“This project is a mobility improvement for the area as a whole,” said Lou Gellos, a spokesman for Microsoft. An existing bridge a few blocks away is congested and a nightmare for pedestrians and bicycle riders, he said.

The 480-foot (150-meter) span will run over a state highway from an older part of Microsoft’s campus to its newer west campus, where workers are constructing multistory buildings. Plans call for one car lane in each direction, a bike lane and a pedestrian walkway.

“Would it help me personally? Maybe, if I have to go that way,” said Jeff Fletcher, a Microsoft contractor waiting for a bus. “But I think there are better places to spend our money.”

If Microsoft and other private companies had to build all the connecting roads in the first place this wouldn’t be such a problem. If the cost to build the roads were too high other means would be created to transport people or telecommuting would become better developed.

The Wanna-Be Vice Dictators
Posted by Anthony Gregory at 08:12 PM

They both want more regulation, more totalitarian “oversight,” more national socialism. So far, the only debate is centered around a lie perpetuated by both sides: That the Republicans are for smaller government.

McCain Is a Socialist, Too!
Posted by Anthony Gregory at 08:15 PM

Palin argues that McCain is anything but laissez-faire. After all, he’s for campaign finance censorship and tobacco nanny statism.

She’s Getting Away With It
Posted by Anthony Gregory at 08:19 PM

The key for McCain is to somehow run against the status quo, to run against his own party’s recent legacy. Palin says that we shouldn’t trust national health care, unless we have been happy with the way the feds have been handling things lately. Of course, she is right. Those who hate the Bush legacy — meaning, total statism — should logically oppose socialism too. But the McCain/Palin administration would be more of the same, more Bushism, more socialism. This severe ideological confusion helps both parties, and creates the illusion that there is a difference between the two.

Biden is getting away with it too, blaming the Republicans for shrinking the state. I can’t stand either one.

The Elephant in the Room
Posted by Anthony Gregory at 08:23 PM

They both support the fascist bailout. They both support a trillion-dollar foreign policy and a multi-trillion dollar corporate/entitlement state. They are debating over millions when the state they wish to run spends trillions. Even assuming the greatness of mass democracy, this is a grave injustice. They should be debating big, real issues. Not this trivia.

Meanwhile, the McCain campaign continues to campaign on the fact that for a few days they nominally stopped campaiging.

The GOP’s Embrace of Autarky
Posted by Anthony Gregory at 08:30 PM

When, by the way, did the Republicans and almost all conservatives come to champion the frightening and economically ludicrous concept of “energy independence”? What they mean, of course, is autarky and socialism: All energy produced within America, and every single form of energy — solar, coal, oil, nuclear, wind, etc. — subsidized massively by the federal government. Even the Alaska drilling issue isn’t conceived of with anything approaching market reasoning. “We,” as in the federal government, should drill.

(Although the Republicans are more skeptical of the global warming zeitgist, they seem willing to champion big government programs such as carbon emissions limits to address climate change. Hey, environmentalists, with all the Republican leaders and corporate state adopting this line, you know it’s wrong.)

Biden Just Admitted It
Posted by Anthony Gregory at 08:39 PM

Obama’s Iraq withdrawal plan is the same as Bush’s. Biden does say, however, that the Dems will end the war, eventually. Palin doesn’t even make this much of a promise. On foreign policy, the Dems still seem slightly better than the Repubs.

On the other hand, “Pakistan already has nuclear weapons,” Biden points out, and so, I guess, we should be at war with them.

A Relief
Posted by Anthony Gregory at 08:54 PM

Well, at least both say Israel must be protected at all costs, that nothing is more important, and that Iran is the greatest threat ever. Indeed, they both accuse the other of being insufficiently determined to keep the Persians in line.

They also agreed on gay marriage, just as Bush and Kerry did: More equality under the law but no marriage for homosexuals. Same exact position. Different emphasis.

H.R. 1424 [PDF][HTML], page 300:

SEC. 503. EXEMPTION FROM EXCISE TAX FOR CERTAIN WOODEN ARROWS DESIGNED FOR USE BY CHILDREN.

(a) In General- Paragraph (2) of section 4161(b) is amended by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C) and by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new subparagraph:

• • `(B) EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN WOODEN ARROW SHAFTS- Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any shaft consisting of all natural wood with no laminations or artificial means of enhancing the spine of such shaft (whether sold separately or incorporated as part of a finished or unfinished product) of a type used in the manufacture of any arrow which after its assembly–

• • • `(i) measures 5/16 of an inch or less in diameter, and

• • • `(ii) is not suitable for use with a bow described in paragraph (1)(A).’.

(b) Effective Date- The amendments made by this section shall apply to shafts first sold after the date of enactment of this Act.

That’s not all… just perhaps the most ludicrous. The New York Post gives us more:

WASHINGTON – Here, little piggies!

Congressional deal-brookers yesterday slopped a mess of pork into the $700 billion financial rescue bill passed by the Senate last night – including a tax break for makers of kids’ wooden arrows – in a bid to lure reluctant lawmakers into voting for the package

Stuffed into the 451- page bill are more than $1.7 billion worth of targeted tax breaks to be doled out for a sty full of eyebrow-raising purposes over the next decade.

“This is how Washington works,” said Keith Ashdown of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a Washington research group. “A big pot of pork is their recipe for final passage.”

The special provisions include tax breaks for:

• Manufacturers of kids’ wooden arrows – $6 million.
• Puerto Rican and Virgin Is- lands rum producers – $192 million.
• Wool research.
• Auto-racing tracks – $128 million.
• Corporations operating in American Samoa – $33 million.
• Small- to medium-budget film and television productions – $10 million.

Another measure inserted into the bill appears to be a bald-faced bid aimed at winning the support of Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), who voted against the original version when it went down in flames in the House on Monday.

That provision – a $223 million package of tax benefits for fishermen and others whose livelihoods suffered as a result of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill – has been the subject of fervent lobbying by Alaska’s congressional delegation.

I’ve got nothing…

http://money.cnn.com/…

• “NO NO NO. Not just no, but HELL NO,” writes Richard, a reader from Anchorage, Alaska.
• “This is robbery pure and simple,” Anna from Denver posted on CNNMoney.com’s TalkBack blog this weekend.
• “I’m tired of rewarding institutions and people for the bad decisions they have made,” said Dean from Madison, Wis. “Sure, it will hurt tax payers if/when some of these institutions fail, but perhaps we need to let that happen. We do not need more big government involved in our lives. Enough is enough.”
• “Companies, like individuals, should be held responsible for their decisions,” wrote Jorge from El Paso, Texas. “This buyout does not address the other problems in the pipeline such as personal credit default and market slowdowns in most industries. No new jobs will be created.”
• “It is time for the financial institutions of this country to be called to the mat. We should be expecting and demanding responsible and ethical business practice, not rewarding it at the expense of taxpayers.” Paul from Portsmouth, N.H.
• “The government does not have $700 billion dollars. WE have $700 billion, and it is being taken from us. If this is passed then the next administration and the next will be extracting this one from the people who are supposedly being protected by this bailout.” John from Springfield, Va.
• “Why not take the billions and … make funds available to home owners stuck in the loans these idiots created, marketed and sold,” asked Don from Coarsegold, Calif. “It will put the money where it should be with the little guy who made a mistake, instead of the big guy who created the problem.”
• “Once I invested in something and lost money. Maybe I could just change the rules of investing so that my loss turns into a gain? Oh, I forgot only banks can do that!” Jordan from Charlestown, Ind.
• “I will be watching to see which of our representatives vote for this bailout,” said R. Kidd in Troy, N.C. “Let the American people see how many we can fire come election time.”
• “Call your Congressman. Stop blogging, posting comments, and call your congressman. This is the patriotic thing to do. Let them hear your opinion, show them this is still America and that you will not stand for this!!” Danny from Texas

Not everyone is upset about this though:

• “I was opposed to the bailout at first, but realized that the scope of this thing is global and so massive that the entire global economy could collapse if nothing was done. …The priority has to be resolving the present crisis of confidence in our economy. Remember, if Wall Street collapses, Main Street will go with it.” Bill from St. Louis
• “This money is not a handout to companies. It’s simply giving banks and mortgage companies loans, since the banking system itself is too unstable to raise this kind of capital. And no, the government cannot just use the $700 billion to pay back all the citizens that will be hurt by this. If the companies like AIG fail, the cost will be far far greater than $700 billion. Wake up!!” Andy from Chicago
• “It’s NOT a bailout. The government is not handing out cash, they actually stand to make a great deal of money out of this, which will trickle down to YOU. First priority should be to try to control and fix the problem, then regulate sufficiently to make sure this NEVER happens again.” Surfta from Brooklyn, N.Y

From Answers.com:

bailout: n. A rescue from financial difficulties: corporate bailouts.

Any profit the government would make on this is going to be completely negated by price inflation and interest on the debt accumulated. There is no money to perform this bailout. The money will be borrowed or printed. If the market was allowed to unwind this those issues would not occur and recovery would be far faster. Malinvestment needs to be liquidated and prices recalculated… not arbitrarily inflated.

http://news.bostonherald.com/

In a last-minute show of unity, Bay State Ron Paul supporters decided to throw their votes behind Sen. John McCain last night.

About a dozen Massachusetts supporters of the Texas Congressman and GOP upstart decided to back McCain only an hour before the delegates began to cast votes for the presidential pick.

“We decided the best course of action was to give a little to get a lot,” said Chris Blanc, a Cambridge resident who supports Paul. “The Massachusetts GOP really wanted to show unanimous support.”

Paul, shunned by the Republican convention because he wouldn’t endorse McCain, has been holding daily “counter rallies” in Minnesota where devoted supporters hiss when McCain’s name is uttered.

Rep. Paul Loscocco (R-Holliston) worked with Paul sympathizers to join the delegation so all 43 delegate votes would go to McCain.

“Give a little to get a lot”? Mr. Blanc, you get nothing and took two steps backwards. Bending to the will of GOP was not what you and the other delegates were sent there to do. Thank you for undermining all the hard work and dedication of Ron Paul supporters in and outside the boundaries of Massachusetts. I’m very disappointed.

My hat goes off to the delegates of Alaska, Oregon, Washington and West Virginia who stood their ground.

When asking the delegation for nominations for president, after McCain was included the person presiding asked for any more names, Ron Paul was clearly yelled several times and was ignored without any recognition.

The following states did not give all their votes to John McCain:

• Alaska: 24 McCain, 5 Ron Paul
• Idaho: 26 McCain, 6 ?
• Maine: 20 McCain, 1 ?
• Minnesota: 35 McCain, 6 ?
• Oregon: 26 McCain, 4 Ron Paul
• Utah: 2 Romney, 34 McCain
• Washington: 36 McCain, 4 “Dr. Paul”
• West Virginia: 2 Ron Paul, 30 McCain

There may have been more states but this is all I noticed.

Sadly, states like Nevada and Montana where Paul received more votes than McCain, all their delegate votes went to McCain due to party loyalists taking over state conventions. It’s also sad that some states did not give Paul, Huckabee or Romney the votes they had actually received.

When Ron Paul received votes the announcer did not repeat his name nor vote count. Just McCain’s. However, for Utah she repeated Romney’s 2 votes. For Washington, the other announcer cut off the one repeating the vote so that Paul’s name could not be said. When repeating West Virginia’s results she caught herself about to repeat Paul’s 2 votes and quickly stopped, going on to repeat McCain’s only. I guess they think if they ignore him, not say his name 3 times… he won’t show up / go away. I think they’re mistaken.

They reported Romney got 2 votes and Paul 5. That’s obviously not correct. He was explicitly given 15 votes.

Arizona delegates made mention of Barry Goldwater being another great politician from Arizona. As did a few randomly interviewed people after the convention. Funny… John McCain, at least on domestic issues, is practically the antithesis of Barry Goldwater. Barry Goldwater Jr. had endorsed Ron Paul and was at the Rally for the Republic continuing his support just yesterday.