Larwyn's Linx: The Last Days of the Republic, Filibuster Edition

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Nation

The Last Days of the Republic, Filibuster Edition: Ganymede
Obamacare and Liberal Cruelty: Karin McQuillan
In Their Panic, Dems Become Reckless Gamblers.: Noah Rothman

Don’t Get Fooled Again: Blasted Fools
Congressional GOP Scramble to Find Votes for Pelosi Amnesty Bill: Joe Guzzardi
When Is Obama Going To Publicly Condemn The Knock-Out Game?: Nice Deb

TX family with two kids fighting cancer have insurance canceled: RWN
The Mary Jo Kopechne of the autumn of 1963: Cold Fury
Surprise: ACA Subcontractor Under FBI Investigation: RWN

Just Sad: Mitch McConnell Feels … ‘Bullied’: Dan Riehl
McAuliffe Appoints Gun-Control Activist to Transition Team: WFB
Votes don't matter when rights are at stake: Mike McNulty

Economy

Common Core textbook: white voters rejected Obama because of race: IL Review
An Employer, Known to IRS, has Close to 40k Illegals on Its Payroll: CIS
Employer health plans in danger: CNBC

Scandal Central

Texas Navigators exposed in O'Keefe videos won't face government action: Lee Cary
Issa to Investigate “Census Gate” Faking Employment Numbers Prior To 2012 Election: WZ
Did HHS Lie to Congress About Healthcare.gov’s ‘Anonymous Shopper’ Function?: Bryan Preston

Media

Journalism Union Helped Push Nuclear Option, HuffPo Admits: MRC
Black Mob Violence Breaching Media Barricades: Dave Blount, AbsoluteRights
Former Duke Lacrosse accuser Crystal Mangum guilty of second-degree murder: WTVD

78 year old Jewish woman was victim of KNOCK OUT crime: GretaWire
Reporter: Ammunition in house fire “could have fired off wildly.” Uh, no.: Bob Owens
Hillary Clinton's Achilles Heel: Jack Cashill

Sarah Palin: Honoring JFK by Protecting Our Republic: A Time For Choosing
Obama Had Senate-Office 'Portrait Session' With Pornographer: Barbara Boland
Dems Rewrite History of Lincoln and JFK: Glob

World

British Students Threatened With “Racial Discrimination Note” If They Miss Islam Trip: GWP
Star Wars Era to come: US Air Force to employ laser cannons on jets by 2030: Jacek Siminski, The Aviationist
Meet the Spies Doing the NSA's Dirty Work: Shane Harris

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Switching to Tea May Ease Psychological Stress Like Depression: Eric Ravenscraft
Microsoft Adds Load Balancing As Azure Availability Stutters: CIO
Water-Resistance Breakthrough Makes a Splash: Kris Holt, TechNewsWorld

Cornucopia

From Camelot, we've plunged into darkness: Doug Ross
Nuclear Option: We Were “Againts” (sic) It Before We Were For It.: MOTUS
This American Life: Paul Beston

Image: Sick Simpering Tyrant
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: What is an Article V Convention of States?

QOTD: "Of particular importance in protecting minority rights is Senate Rule 22, which requires a supermajority of two-thirds of Senators to end debate on any proposal to amend the Senate Rules. In the past, a few Senate majorities, frustrated by their inability to get certain bills and nominations to a vote, have threatened to ignore this two-thirds requirement and instead to change one or more debate rules by a simple majority. Because that step would change the Senate into a legislative body where the majority can, whenever it wishes, change the rules, it has been dubbed the “nuclear option.”

Arguments about the nuclear option are not new. This question has been debated for decades. Confronting the same question in 1949, Senator Arthur Vandenberg, a giant of the Senate and one of my predecessors from Michigan, said that if the majority can change the rules at will, “there are no rules except the transient, unregulated wishes of a majority of whatever quorum is temporarily in control of the Senate.” Changing the rules, in violation of the rules, by a simple majority vote is not a one-time action. If a Senate majority demonstrates it can make such a change once, there are no rules that bind a majority, and all future majorities will feel free to exercise the same power, not just on judges and executive appointments but on legislation...

...Today, we once again are moving down a destructive path. The issue is not whether to change the rules. I support changing the rules to allow a President to get a vote on nominees to executive and most judicial positions. This is not about the ends, but means. Pursuing the nuclear option in this manner removes an important check on majority overreach which is central to our system of government. As Senator Vandenberg warned us, if a Senate majority decides to pursue its aims unrestrained by the rules, we will have sacrificed a professed vital principle for the sake of momentary gain." --Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI)