The Noise Machine (01/27/10)

Do not adjust your set......


About that HPD crime lab.... (At some point, it's got to get better right?)


The unmaking of NASA. (A limited constituency et. al.)


Harris County on being the biggest dog in the kennel. (It's good to be the king.)


Regardless of your political affiliation, I think we can all agree that reducing the number of incarcerated juveniles is a good thing. (Certainly so in the country with the largest (official) prison population in the world.)


Let's throw a (political) Party:

A Democratic pollster takes Obama to task. (The spectre of incompetence was always hanging over this administration, it's just that most who voted for him didn't expect the learning curve to be so steep.)

When in doubt, Democrats remember the lessons of Bill Clinton. (Inarguably the most successful Democratic President of the computer age.)

Why the Democrats are in trouble: Exhibit A (When you build your base of power on a collection of special interest groups with no defining, central vision these things tend to happen.)

Need more proof? Well then here's Exhibit B and Exhibit C. (Too many narrow agendas spoil the soup.)

Or there's this, from Joel Kotkin, possibly the most serious urban affairs writer out there today.

Another problem: In many cases they detest those they are elected to represent. (For more proof of this go read pretty much any InterLeft blogger after a political moment doesn't go their way. "Stupid" and "losers" are the descriptors du jour.)

The spin-off of all this is that the generally non-productive public sector is growing while any sector that creates wealth is shrinking. (Speaking of unsustainable)

Oh, and the Progressive "model" for Texas is slowly drying up and blowing away. (See: Public Employee Unions for more)

Then there's the whole hubris thing, coupled with politically calculated moral outrage....*sigh*


So, politically anyway, we're in a wasteland populated by those who view the average American as inferior and inept and....

An intellectually bankrupt GOP who's clinging to the parts of the Reagan plan they like (tax cuts, small Government) while rejecting the parts they don't like (Amnesty for illegal immigrants) is only a partial solution to the mess.


There are signs of hope however, Rep. Paul Ryan's Blueprint thingy has some serious policy provisions inside, and Americans seem to have finally had enough of the spending. That's something at least.

As tonight's SOTU address approaches I wouldn't advise playing a drinking game centered around the words "middle class" or "bipartisanship", your liver will defect within the first 15 minutes


Speaking of the SOTU, It appears that most people will watch it on FOXNews. (Another fact that spawns fits of rage amongst the InterLeft set FWIW)


The Bill White er..Texas Tribune on Charter schools and the problems they're having retaining teachers.


And finally....


Never before has a candidate polling at 12% been so hailed. (Could it be that she's the only Republican candidate Bill White has a chance of beating?) In the words of a long-time blogger.....stay tuned.