Yet another boring day

Nothing happening that hasn't already been reported.

Cal Choo Choo, still a disaster of graft and corruption

Anti-planner follows the catastrophe so we don't have to. Californians can blame Jim Costa, my house rep, probably the most idiotic politician in the nation.

Oakland incapable of self rule

Oakland's dysfunctional and self-absorbed leaders, who are more focused on their next moves instead of the city's welfare, have disappointed and let down so many residents on so many occasions that many residents, including me, regard the prospect of federal intervention as a last and best hope. Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/johnson/article/Oakland-s-best-hope-federal-intervention-3961645.php#ixzz2AX3yo88P

The bottom line here is that the Oakland police department cannot function under the current elected leaders, crime is out of control; the worst in the nation they say. My diagnosis? The Oakland populace has not evolved to full self government capability. In fact, the issue here is going to be a federal takeover of the police. Not that Fresno is any better, mind you, but for the bay area of California, where the belief in oligarchial rule is rampant, one might expect them to try and do better.

Manufacturing activity in the Plains states contracted for the first time this year and expectations tumbled, according to a report released Thursday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in Missouri.

WSJ I keep thinking that we are at bottom, can't get lower unless we want aggregate data in the mud of noise and unreadable. In other words. the US macro economy is as low as it can get, without getting lost. Hence it makes national recession predictions difficult. Is this the moment of national restructuring? The moment when the big colonial states like Texas and Florida say enough is enough, a pox on both parties?

Indiana Republicans: Stupid religious psychotics

The statement by Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock, linking God's will to pregnancy resulting from rape, has spurred strong reactions from campaigns across the country - including the presidential candidates.KHN

By the way, the same Republicans who piled up most of the 17 trillion in debt. Republicans simply have this stupid mass of voters called mqth challenged religious psychotics. Dems have similar problems. I wonder if this is about evolution going bad?

Multipliers less than one

That appears to be the case in Chicago, where for decades the Transit Authority has been misreporting the mileage for its bus routes, thereby boosting the amount of federal taxpayer subsidies by as much as $150 million -- and now, it seems, with Uncle Sam's blessing. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/10/25/chicago-transit-authority-overcharged-feds-150m-over-30-years-watchdog-group/?test=latestnews#ixzz2AL6PwnmF

No, not my hometown!

Moody's Investors Service will scrutinize the ratings of various types of bonds in 30 California cities. The agency also announced that it already had downgraded eight municipal pension obligation bonds. "California cities operate under more rigid revenue raising constraints than cities in many other parts of the country," Eric Hoffmann, who heads Moody's California local government ratings team, said in a statement. "Combined with steeply rising costs, these constraints mean that these cities will likely recover more slowly than their peers nationally, even if the state's economic recovery tracks the nation's." Cities under review include Danville, Santa Monica, Sacramento and Fresno. Moody's will examine an array of factors, including falling tax revenue and increased spending. Bakersfield Now

Wow, the progressives told me that Fresno governmnet had high multipliers.

Chinese growth recession

Premier-in-waiting Li Keqiang is reported to have said that he looks at bank loans, electricity consumption and rail freight as a reliable guide to the growth of the economy. With growth in electricity consumption and rail freight both decidedly lackluster, a simple average of those three measures points to an economy growing at about 4% year-over-year in August, down from 6% at the end of the second quarter and 10% at the end of 2011. China real time report

Growth plunge to 5%, sue, but much below that leaves out the ninland portions of China, where plenty of growth potential remains.

Google insiders sell before the plunge

Insider Monkey tracks this stuff, and Mish is reporting.  Google's main problem: Ads obn our mobile devices are not selling.  So before the revenue report, all the Google executives excercised their stock options, leaving the crash for the suckers the next day. Supposed to be illegal.

On Thursday, October 18, 2012, Internet giant Google’s reign as the world’s most impressive search engine slipped following an ill-timed mistake by financial printer RR Donnelley. The glitch included the premature posting of its third quarter earnings three hours early and a massive response from shareholders. The result was a downward nosedive in shares, a frantic trade halt ordered by Google executives, and a rapid scramble to recover what many have coined as “Google’s Earning Disaster.” Business Pundit

How do Google executives first sell on the bad news, then complain that the bad news was released too early?

The Constitution and our new Senate seats

Readers want to know,  how can California get its eight new Senate seats and maintain the state capital and legislature?  Simple, with the majority consent of the House.  Once the Senate issues 32 new Senate seats for the big states, then its job is done, according to the constitution.  However, what the large states do with their new Senators is subject to review by the House as interstate commerce is regulated.  California would get defacto recognition of its state capital by the House and continue as normal, except that it would elect a total of 10 senators.

The problem is mainly the oligarchs in Sacramento, not strong believers in democracy. 

My hometown in the news

Federal money for California's high-speed rail program could be jeopardized if the start of construction is significantly delayed in the San Joaquin Valley. And there are signs that might happen. Court records suggest the California High-Speed Rail Authority's schedule continues to slip for building the project's first stages in Madera and Fresno counties. In its legal battle arguing that an injunction to block construction is unnecessary, the authority said major work is unlikely to start before next fall. Originally, construction was expected to start last month. At the same time, a federal deadline linked to more than $3 billion in stimulus funds may be looming even sooner than previously advertised. Fresno Bee

The Choo Choo was an idea conceived in Chicago. But Chicago does not get federal train subsidies unless California gets them. Hence, the HSR was thrust upon California, where the legislature has been working for a generation to defeat big projects. This is the result you get when Dem Party Oligarchs substitute for the absence of our eight new Senators. California wants our Senators or we will refuse to make debt service payments.

Oil shortages hit California

Gasoline station owners in the Los Angeles area including Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) are beginning to shut pumps because of supply shortages that have driven wholesale fuel prices to record highs. Costco’s outlet in Simi Valley, 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles, ran out of regular gasoline yesterday and was selling premium fuel at the price of regular, Jeff Cole, Costco’s vice president of gasoline, said by telephone. The company hasn’t been able to find enough unbranded summer-grade gasoline to keep its stations supplied, he said. Bloomberg

So, simple minded economists. We have six or nine regional economies with detailed economic data. Why do you bozos just report the aggregate for the whole USA. Doncha think it is a bias to assume we are all co-equlibriated economies? Do you really want to ignore accuracy?

California taking a dump

Ceridian has California underperforming for the past six months. The index has been reliable as a separator of regional performance. This is mainly about the impending bankruptcies of local governments. The business sector seems to be awaiting the bankruptcies to see what comes after.