American monuments to the automobile
June 3, 2009
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: American popular culture is built around the automobile. Americans do love their cars. Here are a few of the monuments built in honor of America's automobile culture. The Berwyn car spindle at the Cermak Plaza Shopping Center in Berwyn, Illinois. Carhenge in Alliance, Nebraska. The Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas.
The end of the road for an American icon
June 3, 2009
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Monday's bankruptcy filing by American icon General Motors (GM) invoked a sense of relief rather than shock or sadness. The country has been sitting at the bedside of this terminally ill patient watching it slowly dying for decades now. Still, one could take little comfort in its final passing, and Americans are
As California goes . . .?
June 3, 2009
by David SafierA chilling litany of possible-to-probable cuts in California: [Schwarzenegger] has outlined a series of cuts that include an additional $5.2 billion reduction to public schools, laying off 5,000 state workers and further cutting the pay of another 200,000. He has proposed eliminating welfare for 500,000 families, terminating health coverage for nearly 1 million
Budget Brinksmanship Begins Today
June 3, 2009
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The GOP insane clown posse leadership in the Arizona legislature is going forward with its slash and burn budget plan today in a game of political brinksmanship with our Accidental Governor, who has already threatened to veto their budget plan. Howard Fisher reports GOP defies veto threat, pushes budget plan: Ignoring a
Definitely not a numbnut
June 3, 2009
by David SafierI don't run cute kid clips, but this short segment from a spelling bee is a gem. Hat tip to Matt Yglesias.
If it walks like a quid pro quo . . .
June 2, 2009
by David SafierSome School Tuition Organizations allow tuition tax credit donors to recommend the student who they want to receive their donations. Others don't. As I was writing a post earlier today about the reforms to the tuition tax credit legislation suggested by the Goldwater Institute in 2003, including getting rid of donor recommedations, something
A three-way budget battle: the clock is counting down to government shutdown
June 2, 2009
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Arizona continues to make its bid to be the poster child for dysfunctional government. I guess we have a bit of a sibling rivalry with California: "You want to get crazy? Let's get crazy!" In May, the Arizona House passed Rep. Kavanagh's "robbing Peter to pay Paul" budget plan that no one,
Russell Pearce’s visionary legislation
June 2, 2009
by David SafierRussell Pearce sent out his May 30 newsletter to supporters, talking about the bills he wants to push through once the budget is passed. (When will it be passed? According to Pearce, "Next Week I hope and pray." Three days left, Russell.) I looked through the bills he's rooting for. Nine of the
