Month: August 2002

Simon’s toastiness quotient

My buddy John Weidner says I’m freaking him out with my gloom and doom over the sputtering Simon campaign, and he cites a NewsMax story to the effect that a hidden USA Today poll shows Simon leading Davis by one percentage point. There’s only one problem with this poll: it was conducted before the verdict … Continue reading “Simon’s toastiness quotient”

My buddy John Weidner says I’m freaking him out with my gloom and doom over the sputtering Simon campaign, and he cites a NewsMax story to the effect that a hidden USA Today poll shows Simon leading Davis by one percentage point. There’s only one problem with this poll: it was conducted before the verdict in the fraud case.

And far from being suppressed, it was reported in the NY Times (California G.O.P. Leaders Pessimistic on Top Race) when it was news:

In the last Field Poll, he trailed Mr. Davis by just seven points, half as many as he did in April. A poll conducted by Survey USA a few days before the verdict showed a statistical tie, with Mr. Simon at 46 percent and Mr. Davis at 45.

Most of the certainty about Simon’s current status comes from internal polling Simon did riight after the jury verdict, which reportedly showed a 20% drop. NewsMax is careful not to mention this polling, sticking to “published” poll results only, which makes them just as dishonest as the liberal media.

Perhaps the time has come to talk about bias in the “partisan” media so we get it all.

Dumber than dirt

Bill Simon no whiz as high-tech investor But in looking over the millionaire GOP gubernatorial candidate’s background, it turns out that his firm, William E. Simon & Sons, invested in a handful of tech companies at the height of the Internet bubble, most of which are now gasping for air. What a sad bastard Simon … Continue reading “Dumber than dirt”

Bill Simon no whiz as high-tech investor

But in looking over the millionaire GOP gubernatorial candidate’s background, it turns out that his firm, William E. Simon & Sons, invested in a handful of tech companies at the height of the Internet bubble, most of which are now gasping for air.

What a sad bastard Simon is. It’s fortunate he has his faith to bolster his spirits.

Spin at work

One of the best examples of shameless distortion you’re ever going to see concerns the new Florida adoption law. Simply put, the law says that a mother can’t put a child up for adoption without the father’s consent. The law is both necessary and fair because fathers already have the obligation to pay for the … Continue reading “Spin at work”

One of the best examples of shameless distortion you’re ever going to see concerns the new Florida adoption law. Simply put, the law says that a mother can’t put a child up for adoption without the father’s consent. The law is both necessary and fair because fathers already have the obligation to pay for the child’s and mother’s support, and it was mandated by a US Supreme Court case, Stanley v. Illinois that’s been settled law since 1972.

The spinners are up-in-arms about a publication provision that’s an obscure part of the consent requirement. Florida’s Sun-Sentinel reports:

When background searches don’t work, a birth mother must place legal notices about the adoption in a local newspaper where the baby was conceived.

Read the first few words carefully. The mother has to publish a list of possible fathers in a legal paper only if she can’t otherwise find the man whose DNA matches the child. She would only come to this pass if: a) she had sex with so many different men she couldn’t keep track of them all; or b) she deliberately tried to conceal the existence of the baby from its father. I don’t think either if these scenarios shows the mother in a sympathetic light.

The publication provision mirrors the law on legal service: if you need to serve somebody with legal papers, in some cases you can do so through the mail, and in other cases you have to serve them personally. If diligent efforts to locate the party fail, you can serve them by publishing a notice in the paper, but you have to be prepared for all kinds of foolishness if you do that. It’s best to fess up to the authorities and avoid the unpleasantness, girls.

The spin campaign on this law is nonetheless taking flight: Hardball had a segment on it with Jerry Falwell and NOW’s Kim Gandy both drooling agreement that it was a bad law, based on things the law doesn’t actually do. The law’s author failed to make it clear, probably because he was so blown away by Barnicle and Gandy’s shamelessness. Welcome to big-time politics, dude, where the truth is the first casualty.

The blog discussion of this law is at Blogatelle, Joanne Jacobs, Spleenville, and Daily Pundit. Not too many folks are getting it.

UPDATE: Meryl Yourish also commented on this law on her blog; she’s evidently upset on the encroachment on maternal sovereignty that has NOW excited.

Accel recants

Mercury News | 08/05/2002 | Venture capital funds shrink Though investors had technically “committed” their capital to venture firms, most venture firms gave back some of the money to generate goodwill. Investors pay management fees on the uninvested capital — recently estimated by the NVCA at almost $200 billion — and this year started to … Continue reading “Accel recants”

Mercury News | 08/05/2002 | Venture capital funds shrink

Though investors had technically “committed” their capital to venture firms, most venture firms gave back some of the money to generate goodwill. Investors pay management fees on the uninvested capital — recently estimated by the NVCA at almost $200 billion — and this year started to complain venture firms weren’t investing it quickly enough. They said the venture firms had more money than they knew what to do with.

The most public spat came at Palo Alto’s Accel Partners, when some investors rejected Accel’s initial plan to simply halve its fund into two smaller funds, and not give money back. Accel recanted and gave back $461 million.

Accel must think its investors are fools to try and pull off a scam of this magnitude, but given the nature of their networking investments over the course of the past decade, such an idea would be simple projection. The bottom line is that any company with Accel as a lead investor is probably flaky.

Assemblyman Longville honors the dead

PE.com | California News reports: During an Assembly floor session, Longville rose in mock solemnity and asked Speaker Herb Wesson, D-Culver City, for special permission to honor the dead. “Reflecting the bipartisan spirit with which we react to tragic circumstances in this body,” he said, “I would move that when we adjourn today, the Assembly … Continue reading “Assemblyman Longville honors the dead”

PE.com | California News reports:

During an Assembly floor session, Longville rose in mock solemnity and asked Speaker Herb Wesson, D-Culver City, for special permission to honor the dead.

“Reflecting the bipartisan spirit with which we react to tragic circumstances in this body,” he said, “I would move that when we adjourn today, the Assembly adjourn, in the memory of the Simon for Governor campaign.”

…

Longville, who rarely pulls his partisan punches, said Davis would have to be arrested in a child-abduction case to lose to Simon now.

“If I were looking for organ donors . . . where I’d be going is to the Simon campaign,” Longville said. “If I needed something other than a brain, that is.”

R. I. P., B. S.

Recovering from Simon

Bill Simon should bow out, according to Debra Saunders: BILL Simon should just give up. He’s a lousy candidate. He should admit it, bow out of the race, then endorse a good Republican — Secretary of State Bill Jones — who has a shot at beating the otherwise-vulnerable Gray Davis. A write-in campaign for Bill … Continue reading “Recovering from Simon”

Bill Simon should bow out, according to Debra Saunders:

BILL Simon should just give up. He’s a lousy candidate. He should admit it, bow out of the race, then endorse a good Republican — Secretary of State Bill Jones — who has a shot at beating the otherwise-vulnerable Gray Davis.

A write-in campaign for Bill Jones probably does have a better chance than this idiot Simon.

Simple Simon met a pieman

…and took one in the face. Bye-bye to the Simon-for-Governor campaign, thanks to this $78 million business scandal: A Los Angeles Superior Court jury ordered the William E. Simon & Sons firm to pay $78 million in damages for fraud and other misconduct in an investment debacle that also led to a major personal financial … Continue reading “Simple Simon met a pieman”

…and took one in the face. Bye-bye to the Simon-for-Governor campaign, thanks to this $78 million business scandal:

A Los Angeles Superior Court jury ordered the William E. Simon & Sons firm to pay $78 million in damages for fraud and other misconduct in an investment debacle that also led to a major personal financial loss for Republican gubernatorial nominee Bill Simon Jr.

It was nice knowing you Bill. In 2006, we’ll have Jim Brulte (R) v. Bill Lockyer (D) in the governor’s race, and it will be a prime-time, professional, bare-knuckle, no-holds-barred affair. I can hardly wait. In the meantime, Gov. Davis has my unwavering support.

A case of crabs

Bienvenue sur Emmanuelle.net reports on Matt Welch’s crabs: I don’t know when men started boiling crabs and cracking their legs but Matt has a special connection with these bellicose and strange-looking animals. Happy Birthday, dude.

Bienvenue sur Emmanuelle.net reports on Matt Welch’s crabs:

I don’t know when men started boiling crabs and cracking their legs but Matt has a special connection with these bellicose and strange-looking animals.

Happy Birthday, dude.