As IF Times

link California to launch $14 billion in debt sales | Money & Company | Los Angeles Times.

This is either naivete, arrogance or a tragic combination of both.  The citizens just recently elected representatives who have a history of inadequate fiscal management skills and California is bleeding financial ink badly.   Now, the state is in the throes of offering $14 billion dollars of  term debt to investors for the princely rate of between 1 and 1.5%.  Amusingly this debt is coined as RAN’s, or Revenue Anticipation Notes.  What this means is that money will be paid to investors at the aforementioned princely rate, out of tax revenues anticipated to arrive later in the fiscal year.  So this is merely a stopgap funding mechanism.  It’s the new take on the old character Wimpy of the Popeye cartoons.  “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today”.

“…The state’s chief fiscal analyst on Wednesday estimated that Sacramento will have to plug a total of $25.4 billion in deficits by mid-2012.  That may make some bond investors nervous, but many have gotten used to scary fiscal headlines about California for the last decade…”

Many have gotten used to the scary fiscal headlines.  Hmm.  That may have been before the taxpaying corporations which tolerated the State’s policy regime decided to gradually move out of state.   As much as the Apple Computer company may be regarded as the iconic California/Silicon valley company, it’s likely many of it’s business segments are rooted out of state, including manufacturing of their products.  Even the great James Cameron shoots most of his big budget flicks elsewhere in the world than California. 

http://articles.ocregister.com/2010-02-24/economy/24548737_1_companies-red-teams-list-names

In addition, while still very small, this article documents individuals that are also moving out of the once prosperous state for greener pastures elsewhere.   http://articles.latimes.com/2008/dec/18/business/fi-leaving-california18

That’s not to say people don’t want to live there.  It’s hard to take away the magnificence of the state’s natural endowments.   Californy is the place you ought to be according to migrants from Mexico.  Recently, it was revealed that Spanish was the predominant first language of public schoolers in that State.  If a group such as the legendary Beach Boys were formed today, they’d have be named The Gringo Boys.   That’s all wonderful since one day this will be a powerful workforce.  But in the meantime, support services for this community, many of whom are illegal, will be sorely strained as revenues cannot meet the outgo demand.  It’s possible therefore that bond or noteholders may have to stand in line if the expected taxes don’t cover the debt obligations.

Not that there’s a risk of losing money.  As is law, bondholders MUST be repaid.  But it begs the question, why would you invest for example $100,000 of cash to hopefully get $1000, or $1500 back in a year?  You’d be almost as wise to stick the money under a mattress.  If they don’t pay you back on time, you have to stand in line until such time when they have the funds to do so.  Meanwhile, you’re out $100,000.  You’d be better off buying fancy art.

link Man Shoots TV Over Bristol Palin Dancing | The Smoking Gun.

It’s as if this headline is the most egregious example of Palin derangement syndrome.  It’s not.  Over the past 2 years since Bristol’s mother Sarah literally popped onto the national stage, the left have been frothing at the mouth at the mere mention of her.  Entire careers have been boosted merely by casting contemptuous rhetoric at Mrs. Palin;  think Tina Fey.  The hardened left react like Pavlovian creatures whenever her name comes up in any context.  This has now extended even to her daughter Bristol. 

The derangement is truly a neurosis that affects leftists in the most amusing way.  One could be having a seemingly innocent conversation with someone, who from all outward appearances looks normal;  however if the subject of Palin comes up, the eyes grow wider, the voice volume rises and spittle emerges at the mouth corners.  If you want to spruce up a dull party, just mention Sarah Palin.  It”s like putting a menthos in a coke bottle.  Step back and watch the action.  How fun!! Sarah unfortunately inherited this honor from the previous President Bush.  We can all recall the rabid opinions about him during his latter years in office.  Of course in those days, it was Bush derangement syndrome.

The counter to this is the left’s perception of what conservatives think of the current president.  They claim that the right paints him as a socialist,  incompetent, arrogant, out of touch, has scary friends, not articulate without the teleprompter and a smoker.  This is easy to defend because this is all true. 

In the case of George and now Sarah, they are constantly portrayed as being dumb. (how original).  Some may recall the same tactic used against Dan Quayle.   Of course, this is just subterfuge for the underlying contempt of the populace who would support these two and what they stand for.  The dumb portrayal is cemented in the minds of people who don’t even have a stake in the discussion because of the predominant liberal bias of all aspects of the media.  Amusingly, we seldom hear of the adventures of Joe Biden, the presumptive head of the American Gaffe Society.   We never hear about the brilliance of Dem Rep Hank Johnson who famously feared that too many soldiers in Guam would tip the island over.   We don’t get much play over Nancy Pelosi’s reasoning that welfare payments were the best way to stimulate spending.   And of course, His Articulateness is seldom lampooned for the comment about the “military corpses”.

So, back to this guy Steven Cowan who has so much vested in the results of a TV show that he is pushed to shoot the TV with a shotgun because Bristol Palin beat out a presumptively better contestant.  It’s TV!  It’s entertainment! It’s fantasy!  They make this stuff up!  Stevie may want to get out of the house once in while.  He may be watching too much television.  Therein may lie the root of all the animus directed at people who don’t agree with you.  People believe what comes out of the entertainment world.  If it’s not obvious by now, they create and live in a make believe world!  If people are frothing about something as inconsequential as Bristol Palin advancing in a dance contest, imagine how they would feel if they found out gangsta rappers with violent, criminal lifestyles make millions of dollars by selling misogynistic drug  tunes to young kids.  Now that’s worth shooting the radio for.

UPDATE:  http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/11/23/2010-11-23_bristol_palin_receives_death_threats_before_dancing_with_the_stars_finale_abc_in.html