Overload

The Big Stink
Once again, Vermont’s business climate is dismal. We rank 45th out of 50 (50 being the worst and 1 being the best.) The overall ranking is comprised of scores in five separate categories: Corporate tax (VT, 42th), Income Tax (VT, 45th), Sales Tax (VT,13th), Unemployment Insurance Tax (VT, 22nd), and Property Tax (VT, 48th). Only New York, New Jersey, California, Minnesota, and Rhode Island stink worse than we do. (Ethanallen.org, 3/20/2014)

But things are going just fine according to Vermont's progressives. This is one party rule in action. In Vermont, the most important thing is not growing business, but figuring out how to give drivers licenses to illegal aliens. 


Saint Barack
Vice President Joe Biden said Friday that President Obama should be “nominated for sainthood” for his patience during the botched rollout of Obamacare and HealthCare.gov, claiming he was as “frustrated as anyone you ever knew.” (Thedailycaller.com, 3/21/2014)

So - and we think we have this right - Obama is a victim. 

This is the doofus that Obama sends to assure Eastern Europe that the U.S. will protect them from Russian aggression.  


Intense
Ms. Rice’s comments, which set the stage for Mr. Obama’s trip to Europe next week, suggested that the tensions between the United States and Russia were continuing to intensify. Asked if the Ukraine crisis was prompting a “fundamental reassessment” of America’s relationship with Russia, she answered in a single word: “Yes.” (New York Times, 3/22/2014)

Asked if Obama's strategy in dealing with Russia was a complete debacle, she answered in a single word: "Yes."

(OK, we made that quote up.)


The top three stories in the U.S. section of the on-line New York Times (3/23/2014) 
For Gay Couples in Michigan, a Day of Joy Ends in Legal Uncertainty

News Analysis: Wave of Appeals Expected to Turn the Tide on Same-Sex Marriage Bans

Biden Notes Progress in Gay Rights, but Says There Is ‘Much Left to Do’

And just for good measure....
The Scientific Quest to Prove Bisexuality Exists


L'despair
France has been losing talented citizens to other countries for decades, but the current exodus of entrepreneurs and young people is happening at a moment when France can ill afford it. The nation has had low-to-stagnant economic growth for the last five years and a generally climbing unemployment rate — now about 11 percent — and analysts warn that it risks sliding into economic sclerosis.

Some wealthy businesspeople have also been packing their bags. While entrepreneurs fret about the difficulties of getting a business off the ground, those who have succeeded in doing so say that society stigmatizes financial success. The election of President François Hollande, a member of the Socialist Party who once declared, “I don’t like the rich,” did little to contradict that impression. (New York Times, 3/23/2014)

A nation that Liberals want the U.S. to emulate. 

Oh, and this:

“It is a French cultural characteristic that goes back to almost the revolution and Robespierre, where there’s a deep-rooted feeling that you don’t show that you make money,” Ms. Segalen, the recruiter, said. “There is this sense that ‘liberté, égalité, fraternité’ means that what’s yours should be mine. It’s more like, if someone has something I can’t have, I’d rather deprive this person from having it than trying to work hard to get it myself. That’s a very French state of mind. But it’s a race to the bottom.”