Drowning men will do that

 

Don’t worry, Kay, I won’t let you go!

Snubbed by NC Democrat Kay Hagan’s refusal to appear with him in her home state, Obama made sure to clutch her to him and drag her down. 

Hagan is facing a tough re-election bid in November, but her poll-ratings have been wrecked by her support for Obama’s health law. Polls show she’s fallen behind several potential GOP rivals.

So she declined to appear with Obama on his campaign-style day trip to her home state, while claiming she couldn’t tear herself away from her pressing work in Washington D.C.

The Prez made sure voters didn’t forget her enthusiastic support earlier:

“Sen. Kay Hagan couldn’t be here,” Obama said, “but I wanted to thank her – publicly – for the great work she’s been doing.”

George Will, 2011: Congress must reassert its power

 

There’s just nothing we can do, darn it!

Hasn’t happened so far – next year? Doubtful, even if Republicans regain control. Our politicians like their freedom from responsibility.

Many congressional Republicans, and surely some Democrats with institutional pride, think Congress is being derogated and marginalized by two developments. One is the apotheosis of the presidency as the mainspring of the government and the custodian of the nation’s soul. The second is the growing autonomy of the regulatory state, an apparatus responsive to presidents.

The eclipse of Congress by the executive branch and other agencies is Congress’s fault. It is the result of lazy legislating and lax oversight. Too many “laws” actually are little more than pious sentiments endorsing social goals – environmental, educational, etc. – the meanings of which are later defined by executive-branch rule-making. In creating faux laws, the national legislature often creates legislators in the executive branch, making a mockery of the separation of powers. And Congress makes a mockery of itself when the Federal Register, a compilation of the regulatory state’s activities, is a more important guide to governance than the Congressional Record.

Unfortunately, courts long ago made clear that they will not seriously inhibit Congress’s scandalous delegation of its lawmaking function to others. So Congress should stop whining about the actions of the EPA (emissions controls), the FCC (“net neutrality”), the Interior Department (reclassifications of public lands) and other agencies and should start rereading Shakespeare: “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”

Will Riverside’s Tim Armstrong soon be looking for work?

Road Kill

He certainly doesn’t need the income, but today’s announcement that AOL is dumping Patch won’t help his longevity at the company: he vowed to make Patch profitable by the end of 2013; clearly, that hasn’t happened.

Somebody still likes Conyers Farm

5 Conyers Farm

5 Conyers Farm sold for $11.5 million, not bad for something that last fetched just $6.9 million (after asking $12.5) in 2008. Total renovation, but North Street is still in its back yard and the distance to town remains unchanged.

But there you have it.

New listing on Palmer Hill Road

269 Palmer Hill Rd

269 Palmer Hill, almost 10 acres, asking $6.3 million. Open house is tomorrow and unfortunately my truck’s due at a garage for service, but I’m going to try to get there. This 1900 home probably won’t survive the upcoming lot division, and this may be my only chance to see it. I’ve always admired it, and it’d be a shame to see it go.

UPDATE: a builder friend broke down the numbers on this and assures me that I’ll have ample opportunity to see the house before it’s sold. I do believe he’s right.

Maybe they should start brewing their coffee from kimchi

 

Assault on the American way of life!

McDonalds in Queens under attack .

McDonald’s are at war with a group of elderly gentlemen who spend sunrise to sunset hogging booths at one New York restaurant, often sharing little more than a small bag of fries between them.

Staff at the branch in Flushing, Queens are becoming increasingly frustrated with the Korean pensioners who pass hours gossiping at the tables but buying very little.

A manager said they have been forced to call the police to move the gentlemen on as they are driving away business with customers wanting refunds when they have nowhere to sit.

 

While Obama flees to North Carolina to avoid Michelle, NC’s senator stays in Washington to avoid Obama

No no, thanks, Barry, but you just keep away, please?

Senator Kay Hagan , an Obamacare advocate last year, is hiding in Washington while her erstwhile friend and mentor shows up to preach in her state. 

Her absence, aides assure the press, has absolutely nothing to do with polls showing her losing to every potential Republican challenger in this year’s election. “She’s just already committed to helping the First Lady weed the White House vegetable garden”, one said.

How about simply abolishing the ridiculous program entirely?

 

One satisfied customer, but are there any more?

Congressman threatens to privatize TSA screeners if they don’t start behaving civilly.

Who’s vetting these people?

 

Clear ’em, Danno

Guy caught with 48 bombs in his car heading for SEAL facility has “compartmentalized top-secret security clearance”.  I assume “compartmentalized” means he doesn’t have full access to all our nations secrets like high school drop out Eric Snowden does, but still …

Keep up the pressure

Rabid fox

Here’s a note from one of the participant’s at last night’s P&Z “discussion” on flood zone changes

Thanks to everyone who walked around with the petitions, signed them, turned up last night or who sent emails of support. We got 364 signatures in 3 days and we know there are at least another 300 out there who are directly affected. The good news is the P&Z Commission actually listened and that has to be down to the level of community support. By the end of the meeting the Chairman had voiced his genuine concern for our predicament and has asked us to work with Diane, Katie and his Commission to bring about changes to some of the rules put in place in 1986. The only way we can achieve this is to keep up the momentum and in the next few days we will designate Committee members who will get the Town the information they need so change can be effected “quickly”. We can’t promise anything concrete yet but we are certainly a few steps closer. Thanks for everyone’s help

Exactly right; look for Lyme disease to fall off too

 

Siwanoys await the Dutch, 1644

Glenn Reynolds answers The Atlantic’s question:

WELL, FIRST YOU HAVE TO GO OUTDOORS. . . . Almost No Americans Die From Lightning Strikes Anymore. Why? “In the middle of the 20th century, hundreds of Americans died each year from lightning strikes. Now, fewer than 30 do. What gives?”

Three sales

Two in Riverside, one in the back country

226 Riverside Ave

226 Riverside Avenue sold for full price, $1.490 million. The builder bought this one for $853,000 last summer and completely redid it, but it’s still tiny. Very, very nice, for a single person or couple.

21 Hendrie Avenue

21 Hendrie Avenue, also Riverside, asked $1.875, sold for $1.775. It couldn’t sell back in 2011; this time, it went quickly.

 

 

 

65 Buckfield Lane

And up on Buckfield Lane, 65 Buckfield asked $3.995, eventually got $2.675. I saw it at its original price and thought it was too high to recommend to my sole back country client. That feeling must have been shared by other agents. That said, it’s a really nice house and I understand why someone bought it now. Too bad it didn’t start there.

Obama doubles down

I WILL get my way – I will, I will!

Vows to use executive powers to do what he wants. In his mind, the country elected him as Tsar, not president, and he’s therefore justified in ignoring mere senators and representatives, as well as judges. I’m not particularly worried about this because by tossing his own fellow Democrats overboard the reaction will be swift and sure – nothing like the bruised ego of a senator to bring immediate retribution.

I do think he’s losing his mind, however.

UPDATE: Keith Koffler (White House Dossier) has more.

I looked back through the Constitution and reread Article II, which describes the executive branch. Here, in toto, are the president’s significant powers:

• Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States: If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it
• The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States
• He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for
• He shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.

AND THAT’S IT. Otherwise he’s supposed to be twiddling his thumbs.

But not Obama.

In order to advance a mission that I think unifies all Americans, he said.

What mission? Americans don’t UNITE behind a mission in support of their president. That’s for Bolsheviks. We are a republic designed to safeguard the rights and views of individuals and minorities WHO DON’T WANT TO COME ALONG ON SOMEONE’S MISSION.

Obama’s viewpoint is distinctly opposite to this. It’s majoritarian, saying, I’ve been elected and so I will rule, never mind the inconvenience of the people’s other elected representatives and their views.

 

More bad news for female embryos

 

See ya, baby

DNA testing for math skills will allow parents to “pick the best, discard the rest”.

We realtors hate these stories – they discourage new listings.

 

Greenwich Association of Realtors class for prospective sellers

Britain: woman strangles mother after mom decides to sell their house. This being Jolly Ol’ England, the strangler  received just a ten-month sentence, but still, incidents like these make some homeowners nervous, so please show restraint.

I skipped last night’s P&Z hearing, but many residents didn’t

Now children, listen to your Uncle Pete

I took Greenwich Time at its word (I know, silly me) and, in the belief that the “substantial improvement” item was not going to be discussed, took the night off. That may have been unwise, because today the GT merely says that the matter was “going to be discussed after press time”. Sorry about that.

(One guy who did attend, briefly, was former Cos Cob resident and current First Selectman Peter Tesei – pressure getting to you Peter?  He stopped by to lecture the crowd on the importance of amending our zoning code, but then, wisely, fled.)

On the other hand, the first item up for discussion, the P&Z’s master plan to redesign Cos Cob, met with much opposition. Peter Berg had the best line; nice job, Peter.

Notably, the Cos Cob Neighborhood Association did not endorse the Neighborhood Plan, with association director and RTM Land Use Committee Chair Peter Berg asking for another round of edits and a new public hearing. He alleged important inaccuracies in demographics, citing a statistic that the population of Cos Cob had declined in recent years.

“The only time in recorded history when Cos Cob’s population dropped was when Dutch soldiers massacred 500 Native Americans, and that was in 1644,” Berg said.

If true, this should spell finish to Christie’s presidential hopes

“It’s really that easy, Barry? I’ll give it a shot.”

Prosecutor claims he was fired after indicting Christie’s friends.

A prosecutor who was sacked after attempting to indict Chris Christie’s political cronies for corruption told MailOnline today about his ordeal at the hands of the New Jersey Governor’s ‘mafia.’

Barlyn is suing the state of New Jersey for records that he says will prove the case’s dismissal was the product of political corruption.

He secured indictments against Deborah Trout, a county sheriff loyal to Republicans. She was accused of gross violations that included hiring staff without vetting them, supplying a Christie donor with a false law enforcement ID and forcing underlings to sign loyalty oaths.

According to Barlyn, the criminal case against Trout was moving along smoothly until the grand jury voted to indict her in March 2010.

When the charges became public, an indicted undersheriff, Michael Russo, allegedly told an aide that Christie will ‘have this whole thing thrown out’, according to The Hunterdon County Democrat. Another Sheriff’s Officer Joseph Falat Jr, was also accused.

The day a judge unsealed the indictments, Dermot O’Grady, Christie’s deputy attorney general, arrived suddenly to take over the prosecutor’s office personally.

Barlyn was shown the door. He was stripped of his job and ushered out of the courthouse by armed guards.

It was surprise to all involved. A woman on the jury told The New York Times in October that ‘we had no real disagreements. It was cut and dried.’

Back in October, the NYT published a lengthy article on this incident but the story, which ran only in the regional edition, apparently went nowhere. After the George Washington Bridge shut down, it seems far more believable. Ah, New Jersey!

So what? It’s a woman’s body and she’s free to do with it as she pleases

 

If I want a bouncing baby boy instead of a girl as ugly as me, it’s my right to choose!

England: Rising trend in aborting unwanted female collection of cells.

Thousands of female foetuses have been killed due to gender-based abortion within some ethnic groups, the latest data reveals.

The illegal practice of sex-selection abortion is now so prevalent that between 1,400 and 4,700 females have disappeared from the latest national census records of England and Wales, a study suggests.

In many cultures sons are deemed to be more desirable than daughters for religious or economic reasons, meaning couples seek to terminate pregnancies if they find out the child will be female.

Ain’t nobody’s business but her own, to quote feminists. Of course, this keeps up, there won’t be anyone around to advocate for abortion.