Month: July 2009

One Reason California Is Bankrupt

Conor Friedersdorf explains:

In California, a state worker can retire at age 50, do absolutely nothing all day, and collect 90 percent of their salary for the rest of their lives! 5,000 of these pensions amount to six figures incomes. Nor can the state afford the system it has. As the Matt Welch piece mentions, "the state's annual pension fund contribution vaulted from $321 million in 2000-01 to $7.3 billion last year." That is a rather alarming rate of growth, and an astonishing figure, don't you think? Given that the state is bankrupt and issuing IOUs to its creditors, it doesn't seem unreasonable to complain that public employee unions have extracted benefits that are both obviously unaffordable and far in excess of what is enjoyed by the taxpayers who finance them.

Iran’s Shrinking Sphere Of Influence

Stephen Walt makes an obvious point:

The ability of Iran's current rulers to suppress the current challenge to their rule is both disheartening and unsurprising, but there is a silver lining. By forcing them to reveal their true colors, recent events have further diminished whatever regional appeal the Islamic Republic might once have possessed. If Obama's diplomatic outreach to Iran does not succeed and we are forced to rely on some combination of containment and deterrence, Iran's tarnished image will make that task much easier.

But as we see, the Iranian people are not done yet.

Late-Night Tweeting From Palin

And the media is the target:

Tweet #1: Anxious for Fairbanks radio visit tomorrow re: 2nd Amendment! We have rockin’ surprise guest. Candidly, I love radio vs some newspapers bc..

Tweet  #2:  ….”Most newspapermen by definition have to be liberal; if they’re not, by my definition, they can hardly be good newspapermen” W. Cronkite

No, Cronkite is not dead, as I first wrote. D’oh! But this won’t help.

Levi’s Take

She was really really stupid to piss him off:

He claims he heard the governor several times say how nice it would be to take advantage of the lucrative deals that were being offered, including a reality show and a book. “I think the big deal was the book. That was millions of dollars,” said Johnston, who has had a strained relationship with the family but now says things have improved.

She quit to join the Limbaugh-Coulter industry. But you've got to love the response:

“It is interesting to learn Levi is working on a piece of fiction while honing his acting skills,” Palin family spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

If I were Levi, I'd get myself a book deal. He's the only one who seems sane. And maybe he could scoop Sarah. You know that for that money, she's gotta have some beans to spill. And a calendar? That would sell.

Storming The Dorms

Raye Man Kojast? translates a Persian blog entry:

Armed militias along with security forces on motorcycles attacked some of the dormitories at Amir Kabir University today. In an attack that took place in the Golshan dormitory on Behafarin Street, militias entered the dorms, and assaulted both students and the dorm security guards. According to Amir Kabir News, the militias stormed the building and destroyed building facilities. In this attack, tear gas was used and the prayer room, study room, showers were vandalized on various floors.

There is still no word from a number of students residing in these dorms. Militias along with other security forces also entered the Yavari dorms and threatened the students. The militias have announced that they will attack the dormitories again tonight.