Archive for the ‘arrogance’ category

>Will this be the second reason Rossi loses?

July 11, 2010

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It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that 2010 will be a GOP year. The fringe left nutjobs running government at the state and federal levels are doing everything they can to get the dems crushed in the upcoming election.

That said, one of the more troubling aspects for the GOP is the unbelievable arrogance establishment candidates like Dino Rossi and Jaime Herrera typically show.

Herrera, who fired the LA she acquired when she got the appointment in 07 because she was “too old,” has been the epitome of arrogance. Of course, having an interfering Godfather type like McMorris around to drag her to the finish line doesn’t help in that regard, nor does her almost mythical ability to be given everything she’s received instead of actually going out and earning it. Herrera, like Rossi, have become legends in their own minds. They see themselves as being unstoppable.

This, however, is Washington State. And their is no sure thing. Herrera’s leftist tendencies verified when she moronically told the Columbian:

“Not once have you heard me criticize Brian Baird’s performance in Southwest Washington,” she told the editorial board. “Linda Smith and Baird both have an independent streak.”

As if Baird hadn’t done volumes of things worth not only “criticizing” but condemning outright; when combined with her “Guardian of the SEIU” status and her help gladly given to the leftists to rip off the last $229 million out of the state emergency fund…. these are the kinds of things that make genuine Republicans cringe at the very idea of a closet leftist like Herrera getting elected to dog catcher.

Rossi, of course, has the same types of problems based on HIS “anointed” status.

As a rule, over-arching arrogance isn’t an attractive reason to vote for someone.

Rossi’s first horrific mistake based on arrogance was his failure to announce back in February. That allowed the fringe left to use him as a pinata while he couldn’t answer; it gave Murray the opportunity to raise additional millions unencumbered by having high profile competition and it kept Rossi from getting a 4 month head start on his own fundraising needs… his bogus “he raised $600,000 in a week!” crock notwithstanding.

Now, his second mistake built out of arrogance: blowing off the grass roots in the guise of the Tea Party.

Why Dino Rossi isn’t courting the tea party

The GOP front-runner skipped the movement’s forums, but that likely won’t hurt his chances in the 2010 election.

By Jim Brunner

Seattle Times political reporter

The evening had all the flavor of the conservative insurgency that has become this year’s popular national political narrative — a tide that has washed away establishment GOP candidates in Utah, Kentucky and Florida in favor of fiery tea-party-backed rivals.

And yet there was one crucial absence: Republican front-runner Dino Rossi, who spent the day at a Spokane Republican women’s luncheon. It was the second big tea-party forum he has skipped in recent weeks

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One of the things you learn in this business is that there are, in reality, two elements to a successful election.

The first, of course, particularly in a contested primary with a relatively low turn out coming up, is to provide people with reasons to vote for you. At this point, as far as I can tell, the only reason to vote for Rossi is that he’s Rossi.

That’s not nearly good enough for me, at least, and I will not be voting for Rossi. I’m long since the stage in my life where I find “settle for” votes to be acceptable.

The second, and easily the “as important” aspect of elections is to not provide people with reasons to vote against you.

Locally, the best example of that truism is Jon Russell, whose consistent lies and exaggerations, combined with his use of Washougal city government as a campaign prop along with his avoidance of responsibility for the many times he’s screwed up as a councilman has provided thousands of people with many reasons to blow past him on the ballot.

Rossi, on the other hand, heaps scorn on the Tea Party by acting as if they didn’t exist.

Well, here’s a clue: those of us supporting the Tea Party issues DO exist. And if he goes to the general… he will need each and every one of those votes… and he won’t get them.

Yeah, yeah…. I’ve seen the polling. But we live in a state as deep and darkly blue as downtown Moscow when it comes to election results.

Does ANYONE believe that if he gets to the general, Rossi will win in a blowout?

I’m not convinced he can win or will win by any number. But does anyone think it isn’t going to be close?

I will be among the percentage of those who will not vote for Rossi under any circumstances. That percentage may be small… but it will be there.

And that, like this moronic delay in announcing, will be the fault of the arrogance of Rossi.

Cross Posted at Dino Rossi Watch, Jaime Herrera Watch and Jon Russell Watch.

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>Why, as a soldier, the ACORN in Chief sickens me.

November 19, 2009

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That the empty suited, anti-American racist bigot occupying the White House loathes the military is no particular secret.

In every way from dithering on his decision to ignore HIS HAND PICKED COMMANDER in Afghanistan, to getting wounded Veterans to buy their own health care to using soldiers as campaign props…. I dispise this clown and everything he stands for.

So, it came as no particular surpise when I discovered this tidbit from Michelle Malkin:

We need not imagine the national uproar that would have ensued had George W. Bush talked to American soldiers the way that the President Obama did today at a U.S. military base in South Korea:

President Obama will not announce his decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan before the Thanksgiving holiday, senior aides said Thursday.

The news came as the president greeted 1,500 troops at Osan Air Base in South Korea, just before boarding Air Force One and heading back to Washington after an eight-day trip to Asia.

Obama arrived on the base 3:19 p.m. local time (1 a.m. Eastern Standard Time) and received a rousing welcome from 1,500 troops in camouflage uniforms, many holding cameras or pointing cell phones to snap pictures.

“You guys make a pretty good photo op,” the president said.

Standing on a riser wearing a blue suit and red tie, with a cluster of troops and a large American flag behind him, Obama expressed “the gratitude of the American public” and said his meetings in four countries over eight days in Asia will help deliver a “safer, more prosperous world for all of us.”

He got a huge cheer when he told them he was increasing military pay. “That’s what you call an applause line,” he said, before boarding his jet and taking off at 4:11 p.m.

More here:

It’s just a damned shame that we’re cursed with such an utterly clueless moron to run the show.
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>More unabashed stupidity from OUR government: Cash for clunkers.

June 24, 2009

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There are fools, damned fools… and our government.

As a general rule, government rarely SOLVES any problem. (Can you name one…. ONE problem government has solved? I can’t.) What they do is reduce the noise on the problems we face to a bearable level. It is, in fact, the implementation of the “squeaky wheel” rule.

Government typically wants the unwashed masses (That’s US, by the way.) to THINK government’s doing something. That’s why we cost ourselves tens of billions of wasted dollars by making all of the airport security workers federal employees, for example. It was a show, designed primarily to make us believe that our government, post 9/11, was actually DOING something.

In that regard… they were not. In the aftermath, it’s easy to forget that none of the 9/11 hijackers violated the security laws then in effect. Federalizing airport security BEFORE 9/11 would have made absolutely NO difference in the 9/11 outcome… unless the rules had been changed as well.

It’s important to remember that as we consider the latest plan to “save us” by removing older, more polluting, gas-guzzler type vehicles from the road.

Now, I haven’t seen the final version of this nonsense, and many of the rules in question would blind an accountant in their complexity, purely an accidental outcome to be sure. So, I’ll let Greg Gutfeld explain it to you in his own, inimitable, way:

Making Sense of ‘Cash for Clunkers’

Monday, June 22, 2009
By Greg Gutfeld

Last week I was reading up on the “Cash for Clunkers” program which the Senate just approved, hoping to talk about it here. I gave up, however, because it didn’t make any sense.

Then it dawned on me: It didn’t have to! It’s a government program. As long as it’s paved with good intentions, it doesn’t matter if the road goes nowhere.

Here’s the deal: To get gas guzzlers off the roads, the government is offering vouchers worth up to $4,500 for your old car, to be used on a new car.

How does it work? (Breathe deeply.) You can trade in a car getting 18 miles per gallon for a car getting 22 mpg and get $3,500. But you’d get $4,500 if the new car is 10 mpg higher.

Now, if you own an old SUV, you could get $3,500 if your new wheels offer two more gallons per mile. If it’s five more miles, then you get an extra grand.

You follow? Good, then find a gun and shoot me in the face.

Now, here’s the fun part: None of this makes any sense if your old car is worth more than a voucher. Meaning this only works for crap worth under 3,500 bucks. And if that’s the case, then the government pays and loses money on every junk heap.

Lastly, try to find someone with a piece of crud up on blocks in their front yard, who can suddenly afford a new car. You can count all of them on one foot, even if you’re missing a toe.

So, in sum, welcome to the rebirth of big government. It’ll drive you nuts just thinking about it.

Greg Gutfeld hosts “Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld weekdays at 3 a.m. ET. Send your comments to: redeye@foxnews.com

There are, perhaps WAYS to make this actually WORK… but this plan ain’t one of them.

The purpose of this, I guess, is to get people driving $4500 or cheaper cars in on a new car.

Besides credit markets so tight it makes your butt squeak, as Greg pointed out:

Lastly, try to find someone with a piece of crud up on blocks in their front yard, who can suddenly afford a new car. You can count all of them on one foot, even if you’re missing a toe.

So…. here we have it. This aspect of the bill will, no doubt, have a huge roll out. “Good” for the auto-makers, “good” for the environment, “good” for the consumers.

Except… it will make little to no difference…. because the target market will not be able to afford a new car.

But it looks good, doesn’t it?
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>A glimpse at the future Barnett/Paskenta/Mohegan/Cowlitz megacasino.

May 20, 2009

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We haven’t heard much about that lately, although I get the feeling we will. A lot.

That said, here’s a snapshot of the way a local tribal casino is run. It certainly isn’t that far from the reality that the arrogant, ego-driven, absentee landlords of the Barnett/Paskenta/Mohegan/Cowlitz would impose on THIS community.

Enjoy.

The News Tribune / Tacoma, WA
Business
Wednesday May 20, 2009 – Tacoma, WA


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Puyallup tribe: $40 million in net profit lost; employees work in state of fear, auditors’ report says

DEAN J. KOEPFLER/NEWS TRIBUNE FILE
Many nights, the parking lot at the Emerald Queen Casino is full, just as it was one night in September 2008. But an audit requested by the Puyallup Tribe of Indians was critical of the ways the tribe’s two casinos are run.

Emerald Queen boss survives council vote

Frank Wright, the Emerald Queen’s general manager and perhaps the most powerful person in the Puyallup Tribe, nearly lost his job last week over allegations of financial misconduct.

The tribal council deadlocked 3-3 Tuesday on a motion to oust him. He was saved when council chairman Herman Dillon cast a tie-breaking vote in his favor.

Wright has run the tribe’s gambling operation since 1997 when it was housed in a single Mississippi-style riverboat tied up on the Blair Waterway in Tacoma’s industrial Tideflats area.

Contacted last week, Wright said he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Tribal spokesman John Weymer would not say specifically what Wright is accused of or when the investigation was likely to be finished.

“The tribe has a process in place for analyzing and investigating what has happened here, and the investigation is not complete,” Weymer said Friday.

Rob Carson, The News Tribune

Published: 05/17/09 12:05 am Updated: 05/17/09 2:58 pm

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By just about any measure, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians’ gambling enterprise has been an overwhelming success.

The tribe’s two Emerald Queen casinos, across Interstate 5 from each other in Fife and Tacoma, have been reliable money machines, consistently churning out $125 million or more in net profit in recent years.

The flow of casino cash has swept the tribe from poverty to affluence in just 12 years. Each of the tribe’s 3,500 members receives a $2,000 share of profits every month.

With about 2,000 employees, the gaming operation is the fourth-largest private sector employer in Pierce County. The casinos have turned the tribe into a powerful political force and a generous benefactor of local nonprofits, ranging from the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium to the Daffodil Festival.

But lately, the casino picture has not been so pretty.

The recession has reduced profits, tribal leaders say, and a recent analysis by a national consulting firm delivered scathing criticism.

According to a confidential analysis by Lamar Associates, a security investigative firm based in Washington, D.C., the Emerald Queen casinos are wracked with mismanagement, poor morale, inadequate security and dismal ambiance.

Problems are so severe, the report said, that the casinos essentially throw away millions of dollars each year in potential profits.

“The Emerald Queen Casino is leaving approximately $40 million a year in revenue on the table,” the Lamar report concluded. “Immediate changes are necessary to protect the tribe’s gaming assets and to ensure that maximum revenue is generated.”

FINAL REPORT LEAKED

The Lamar investigation, commissioned last summer by the tribal council, was headed by Joe Manno, a former senior vice president at Caesar’s World and manager of Las Vegas’ Bally Casino.

Manno and six other investigators spent four days at the casinos last summer and several subsequent weeks poring through casino records.

Their findings were supposed to be confidential, but a frustrated casino employee leaked a copy of the final report to The News Tribune earlier this month.

Tribal council members declined to comment directly on the report, instead directing inquiries to tribal spokesman John Weymer. He said Friday he was unable to make a statement because a quorum of the council was unavailable to coordinate a response.

The Lamar report does not mention the casinos’ general manager, Frank Wright, by name, but he ultimately is responsible for their operation. When contacted last week, he said the tribal council had not authorized him to speak to the media and therefore he could make no comment.

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