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Friday, September 19, 2008

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Friday

Here's an example why government subsidies don't work.  Thursday United Airlines said it will cancel air service from LA Palmdale Airport, owned and operated by the City of Los Angeles, just a year after it started daily service from the Antelope Valley to San Francisco.  The service, which Mayor Villaraigosa called one of the "top accomplishments" of his administration was failing miserably with planes taking off only a third full.  United had received a nearly million dollar government grant to fly out of Palmdale and when that grant ended, the airline really had no further incentive to continue service.  The City has been trying to jump start an airport in Palmdale since the days of the real Mayor Sam.  For whatever reason, folks don't want to fly out of Palmdale.  If they ever do, the airlines will come calling.  That's the great thing about the market, it works.  Now, how about the City sell Palmdale airport to the County or the cities in the 661 and invest the money here locally where it's needed.

Federal investigators are reporting that Metrolink engineer Robert Sanchez did send text messages on the day of last Friday's horrific train wreck, however they do not know yet if Sanchez was sending messages at the time of the crash. In typical closing the barn door when the horse is out fashion, California Thursday banned text messaging by train operators.

Senator Hillary Clinton pulled out of a planned protest event against Iran at the United Nations next week when she learned that Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin will be participating in the event. Some Jewish leaders are calling this a mistake and question how Clinton not joining in protest of nuclear weapons on Iraq will affect Jewish votes for Barack Obama. Syndicated columnist Micah Halperin told Fox News  “It changes my view of (Clinton’s) wisdom, of her ability to take a situation, analyze it and come out on the right side, and that is deeply troubling to almost every voter in America, not just Jewish voters.”

Political philsopher Lindsay Lohan has offered to campaign for Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama but the Illinois Senator has reportedly said thanks but no thanks.  Campaign spokesholes said "'Lindsay is not exactly the kind of high-profile star who would be a positive for us."  The snub caused Lohan's father Michael to accuse the Democrats of hypocrisy, "For Barack Obama to condemn my daughter for past indiscretions when he admitted to the exact same himself is indicative of what kind of president he would be."

Former Britney Spears husband Kevin Federline reportedly wants to get back with the pop diva and the baby mama to two of his children.  Spears and Federline divorced in 2006 however a source allegedly close to Federline says "He confessed she’s the love of his life, his soul-mate and was sorry things went so wrong with them."

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15 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Ah yes, the market works! It works in housing finance so well that stupid decisions and scam lending practices by under-regulated financial institutions are just doing wonders for the world economy. And what is it going to take to fix it? Apparently even the conservatives understand that government intervention is required at long last.

Except the one who owns this blog.

September 19, 2008 5:35 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Thank god we're not building a big(ger) airport in Palmdale. If I have to drive all the way to get to Michigan, I might as well drive to Michigan!

September 19, 2008 8:16 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

The market is working wonderfully and the goverment spends $85,000,000,000.00 to keep AIG Insurance and the market working !!!!!!

September 19, 2008 8:51 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

35 past 5, stow the gab! Knowest thou naught yonder pirates celebrate International Talk Like A Pirate Day today (TLAPD)? 'Tis true, an' naught a gasconade - 'tis the 6th annual celebration!

Aye, an' great fun was had a year past 'pon this blog! Mayhap all shall speak 'pon these sitchyations in pirate-speak? 'Cmon, there be plenty of ahoys, an' such!

Thou shalt not be misunderstood! Today is not Talk Like A Parrot Day, 'tis Pirate it be! Look it up, an' spy it for thyselves!

September 19, 2008 9:51 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Whenver a moderate Republican like Richard Riodan endorses Obama, Mayor Sam is quick to dismiss it because those peole are just RHINOs (Republicans In Name Only) and aren't "real" Republicans. They need to belong to the elitist sect of the party called "conservatives" in order to have any credibility. You know, people like William F. Buckley.

It's bizarre reasoning, but you hear it all the time.

Now Obama has been endorsed by super conservative Wick Allison.

At age 16, Allison was an organizer for Barry Goldwater's run at the presidency. Later in life, William F. Buckley asked him to join the board of the National Review, and later he became its publisher.

Allison wrote:

"But today it is so-called conservatives who are cemented to political programs when they clearly don’t work. The Bush tax cuts—a solution for which there was no real problem and which he refused to end even when the nation went to war—led to huge deficit spending and a $3 trillion growth in the federal debt. Facing this, John McCain pumps his “conservative” credentials by proposing even bigger tax cuts. Meanwhile, a movement that once fought for limited government has presided over the greatest growth of government in our history."

And he added:

"This kind of conservatism, which is not conservative at all, has produced financial mismanagement, the waste of human lives, the loss of moral authority, and the wreckage of our economy that McCain now threatens to make worse."

You can read his entire editorial here. It's not too long:

http://www.dmagazine.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?nm=Core+Pages&type=gen&mod=Core+Pages&tier=3&gid=B33A5C6E2CF04C9596A3EF81822D9F8E

Now, is that conservative enough for you Mayor Sam?

Come to think of it, Allison is more conservative than McCain has ever been and could ever be. And as opposed to Palin, he understands the philosophy of conservativism, and doesn't just use it as an excuse to hate people who are different.

September 19, 2008 9:54 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Riordan is only endorsing Obama because he felt snubbed by McCain when he was Mayor -- a personal ego thing.

Ditto with the Socialite endorsing McCain because Obama's too elitist.

You have to factor out these people.

Donald Trump refusing to endorse Obama because he'd raise taxes sky- high (NOT just on a few as he promises -- no way could those few people pay for his billions in programs for social spending) is much more significant.

Although the Donald's rich, he's smart enough to know business and what helps or hurts the economy. Significant that he'd endorsed Hillary, since the Clintons have always been the ones who can truly work middle-of-the-road solutions, something Obama's claiming but has NEVER done.

On the other hand, McCain/Palin are naive and xenopohoboic about international issues -- fools and idiots on either side, with the best candidates being knocked out early for not being "photogenic" enough.

September 19, 2008 12:34 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Another closing of the Barn Door by our Mayor: He dumped two Metrolink Board members and put in two of his closest operatives sighting a need for "greater safety and transparency" at the agency. Is he implyng that the people he replaced were somehow responsible in part for last weeks tragedy because they allowed an unsafe railroad to operate and did this in "secret." If that's the case, why didn't he replace the entire board!

But then this was a typical snap decision as he was on the run getting out of town for another fund raiser.

September 19, 2008 12:49 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Wait a minute! If Riordan's endorsement of Obama is to be discounted because it's a personal ego thing -- McCain snubbed Riordan -- then what about the endorsements of McCain by former Hillary supporters?

Did they make their choice after a careful analysis of the positions taken the by candidates, or because of, well, a personal ego thing?

September 19, 2008 1:34 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

On the bright side, if McCain is elected president, he'll likely release all the government's information about UFOs and space visitors because he's seen them.

http://io9.com/5052098/mccain-acknowledges-the-lights-over-arizona-were-ufos

September 19, 2008 1:35 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

From Fox News in Kansas City:

The mayor's wife says she volunteers 30 hours a week to help her husband with his mayoral work.

An African American city staffer filed a suit saying that the First Lady called her "mammy."

The City Council passed an ordinance banning such volunteer work. The mayor threatened to sue the City Council.

And you wonder where Neighborhood Councils learn all this stuff.

http://www.myfoxkc.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=7463581&version=4&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1

September 19, 2008 1:55 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

U.S. News and World Reports writes that the cost of the financial bailouts could amount to $1-2 tillion.

Isn't it time for another Mayor Sam editorial about the need to support the free market system and avoid government regulation of or oversight over our nation's businesses?

September 19, 2008 2:04 PM  

Blogger Michael Higby said:

Excellent points 12:34. Obama's economic program would be a disaster, we'd back in the Jimmy Carter days no doubt.

At the same time we don't need the Bush style of borrow and spend. McCain is much closer to the Clinton or Reagan program than Obama or Bush.

McCain has to make people understand this. I was working out with my trainer last night and he's voting for Obama. He said that Bush has been a disaster for the economy and that the economy was great under Clinton and Clinton was a Democrat like Obama.

I had to point out to him that Obama's economic plan is not Clintonomics. Clinton knew that we had to cut spending and open up overseas markets. Obama wants to increase spending - particularly in health care which will be a disaster (in that it will reduce care, raise expenses and lower quality) - and impose protectionism.

By the way anyone who says that McCain is the third term of Bush is very mistaken. It would be the third term of Reagan. The Bushies are corporatists and internationalists. McCain is far more of the Reagan program.

September 19, 2008 2:32 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Wow, Michael, Home Town Buffet has trainers now?

September 20, 2008 12:50 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Didn't McCain he say will stay in Iraq 100 yrs? I'm sure that will "save" us lots of money.

Higby please tell us that Palin discussed her economic vision for the future, what does Palin think about free world market economies and the impact to the U.S. economy?

September 20, 2008 11:47 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Any news of Lindsay or Britany should have a separate title bar of "News of the ridiculous", to separate them from real news or topics.

September 22, 2008 11:04 AM  

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