Tuesday, March 31, 2015

HILLARY: I am not a crook!

By Investor's Business Daily

Scandal: RNC Chairman Reince Priebus reminds us of the similarity between the 18-1/2-minute gap that doomed a presidency and an email server wiped clean by a lawyer who served on a Watergate committee staff.

Hillary Clinton should know better, know that the cover-up is often worse than any crime, for she once worked as a member of the impeachment inquiry staff for the House Judiciary Committee investigating the "third-rate burglary" at the Watergate Hotel that doomed Richard Nixon's presidency.

The end came when tapes of presidential conversations were found and became public knowledge with one tape containing that famous 18-1/2-minute gap of erased silence that spoke volumes about the cover-up of the break-in at DNC headquarters.

As RNC Chair Reince Preibus notes, as Richard Nixon's claim that "I am not a crook" unraveled, it was due to the fact that he did not destroy those tapes when he could have. Maybe it was vanity, stubbornness or just garden variety stupidity and arrogance, but he didn't burn them or wipe them clean, even if it might have saved his presidency.

Hillary Clinton has, in different words, said that she is not a crook and that she did nothing wrong in having a private email account on a personal server through which she conducted all her government business in violation of both the letter and spirit of federal statutes.

SURPRISE: Israel catches Obama in major Iran nuke flip-flop

Like your doctor, keep your doctor. He 'evolved' on gay marriage. He's against wiretapping American citizens. He's drawing a "red line" with Syria on its use of chemical weapons. Yada yada yada.

So, I ask you drones, leftists and other miscreants: why would you believe anything this man says, ever?

“The biggest threat to our security and our future was and remains Iran's attempts to arm with nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said at the ceremonial opening of the 20th Knesset just hours before the self-imposed deadline for reaching a framework deal between the world powers and Iran.

“The agreement being put together in Lausanne paves the way for that result. Apparently it will leave in Iran's hands underground facilities, the [hard-water] reactor at Arak, advanced centrifuges...

...All those things that only a few months ago we were told, rightfully so, that they were not vital to a peaceful nuclear program.”

Underground facilities? A reactor at Arak? Technically advanced centrifuges? But... but... but... I thought...

It was US President Barack Obama who said that each of those elements was not needed for a peaceful program.

Obama, during a question-and answer session at the Saban Forum at the Brookings Institution in Washington in December 2012, said the following:

“In terms of specifics, we know that they don’t need to have an underground, fortified facility like Fordow in order to have a peaceful nuclear program.

“They certainly don’t need a heavy-water reactor at Arak in order to have a peaceful nuclear program. They don’t need some of the advanced centrifuges that they currently possess in order to have a limited, peaceful nuclear program,” Obama said at the time.

Thought experiment: if Obama really was doing his damnedest to surreptitiously deliver nuclear weapons into the hands of the Iranians, what exactly would he be doing differently?

And I also put it to you: isn't there some way to blame this on Bush?


Hat tip: BadBlue News.

The Invasion Continues Apace

By Jessica Vaughan

More than 2,000 illegal alien juveniles have been apprehended and taken into federal custody in each of the last several months, according to DHS statistics. While Obama administration officials emphasize that these numbers are lower than last year, they are still the second highest level ever for arrests of illegal alien minors, about midway between 2013 and 2014 levels. Most of those apprehended are male teenagers, with the largest number from Guatemala. The statistics confirm that Central Americans still see a strong incentive to head to the United States now, and that the drop in apprehensions reported last August and September was temporary.

While taking custody of roughly 2,000 illegal alien juveniles per month since the start of the 2015 fiscal year last October, ICE reports removing well under 200 juveniles per month. The largest number of these (41 percent) were sent home to Mexico.

The majority of illegal alien juveniles taken into ICE custody are ultimately released to family members in the United States, and only a small number are ever repatriated. About 90 percent of the recent Central American arrivals who had hearings scheduled last summer and fall failed to appear at their immigration hearings and have melted into the larger illegal alien population.

FOR THE LITTLE PEOPLE: SEIU stands to make a mere $34 million a month unionizing fast food workers

By Labor Union Report

To the SEIU, the millions spent on unionizing fast-food workers may make the SEIU billions in union dues.

In the Spring of 2010, the Service Employees International Union’s ambitious plan to unionize fast-food workers was exposed.

Although the SEIU’s plan changed slightly from the orginal draft, the basic premise of tying the union’s campaign to unionize fast-food workers to a “living wage campaign” has not changed all that much.

However, it wasn’t until November 2012, that the SEIU launched the first of several fast-food “strikes” (most of the so-called strikers are not actual employees but paid-SEIU protesters) and its “Fight for $15 (and a union)” campaign commenced.

Since then, the SEIU has spent tens of millions—an astounding $38 million was spent in 2013 alone, according to Worker Center Watch—on its campaign to unionize fast-food workers.

Larwyn's Linx: Obama Came in Like a Wrecking Ball for Israel

Send us tips! Bloggers: install a Larwyn's Linx widget. Get real-time news, 24/7, at BadBlue.

Nation

Obama Came in Like a Wrecking Ball for Israel: Ed Lasky
Etiquette Versus Annihilation: Thomas Sowell
You Don’t Need a Rainbow Sticker to Let People Know You’re Black: Erick Erickson

Obama and the Democrats: Ron Radosh
Hillary: I’d like to offer a reset button on Israel, or something: Ed Morrissey
Teeing It Up To Serve Iranian Interests?: MOTUS

Madison Project Policy Memo: The Repeal Of Obamacare: Madison Project
Life Lessons from the German Air Disaster: Dennis Prager
Bracken Sends: WRSA

A *dirty* Democratic primary season may still happen!: Moe Lane
Jim Webb for President 2016?: Leslie Eastman
Martin O’Malley hints he may run for president: RS

Economy

The bankruptcy of socialism: National Post
United States Doesn't Need More H-1B Visas: IEEE-USA
Intel exec calls for raising H-1B cap: Staffing Industry

Scandal Central

Did Clinton's Backdoor Adviser Illegally Lobby for Putin Ally?: Sam Biddle, Gawker
The long, complicated story of Hillary Clinton's Benghazi subpoena: Byron York
Obstruction of Justice - A Must For Hillary: Market Ticker

The Latest Bombshell from Mrs. Clinton’s Lawyer: Shannen Coffin
Supreme Court Rules Government GPS Trackers Can Break Fourth Amendment: Jamie Condliffe
Exclusive: Health Industry Paid Acting CMS Chief Millions When He Joined Gov’t: Richard Pollock

Climate & Energy

Will Global Warming Cause Prostitution?: John Hinderaker
EPA says Keystone approval wouldn't be climate 'disaster': John Siciliano
Illinois robs clean energy fund to balance its budget: Roger Schillerstrom

Media

Indiana Defends Religious Liberty; Keith Olbermann Goes Ballistic: MB
Hillary Supporter Threatens O’Malley: ‘He Better Watch It’: Alex Griswold
Access denied: Reporters say federal officials, data increasingly off limits: Paul Farhi

Mystery Solved: Why Hardly-Watched MSNBC and CNN Aren't Suffering Financially: Tom Blumer
MSNBC Panel: Hillary Clinton Proved ‘Consciousness Of Guilt’ By Wiping Server Clean: Surge
Top Obama Economist Calls Republicans ‘Nazis’ Over Religious Freedom Law: GWP

World

Iran deal could be toothless: Charles Hoskinson
State Department: No consequences for missing Iran deal deadline: Susan Crabtree
Iran like a modern day Nazi Germany: Ex-CIA chief: CNBC

No Let-Up in Attacks On Europe's Jews: Abigail R. Esman
Obama allies back pro-Sharia populist in Nigeria: Christian Whiton
RAF mounts biggest defence exercise in 30 YEARS after Russian bomber flights: Express

Democrats Honor Governor Cuomo For His Upcoming Trip to Cuba: MenRec
Former US Soldier Hunts Poachers in Africa: Dan Zimmerman
Blogger Facing 1,000 Lashes By Saudis Puts Life At Further Risk By Publishing Book: Malaysian Digest

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Apple’s Tim Cook is dangerous and a flaming hypocrite: RS
Who Said Economics Couldn't Be Exciting?: George Will
Doctors kill golden staph using a 1,000-year-old remedy: Michelle Starr

Cornucopia

Jon Stewart replacement Trevor Noah is quite the anti-Semite: FAM
Whatcha Gonna Do? Inner Circle Unhurt in Vermont Crash: Mike Pescaro
So, There Were Tunnels to Celebrity Homes Below the Playboy Mansion: Playboy

Image: A look at widely criticized Indiana law on religious freedom
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Isn't it time for a conservative candidate? Ted Cruz 2016: Official Site

QOTD: "The Obama administration used the IRS as a means to attack and stymie its political opposition. The very person in charge of the exemption policies, Sarah Hall Ingram, was given bonuses and then promoted to an even more powerful position as the new head of the IRS enforcement wing of Obamacare – yet another program with life and death power. But the IRS itself is an agency designated with the task of enforcing the legalized theft of income from every American citizen. It is assigned the task of pouring through the minutia of every person’s life, to “wait upon ladies at their toilett,” to exact tolls for the very act of earning a living. Is anyone shocked that such an agency would be used for “political” purposes?

The Benghazi cover-up was necessary to protect the president before the election in two ways. First, it was necessary to cover-up the incompetence of the administration in protecting our consulate or for even having one that area in the first place. Second, the presence of Al Qaeda contradicted Obama’s entire fantasy-land narrative surrounding Islamic terrorism. According to Obama, we are not at war with an ideology we are at war with a handful of “terrorists” who have hijacked an otherwise peaceful religion. The supposed killing of Bid Laden was equivalent to catching a bank robber – problem solved. The presence of a pre-meditated attack by a group motivated by Islam contradicts this premise, and so the idea of a spontaneous eruption of violence was crafted to fool the American public.

The broad usage of phone taps on the AP, all supposedly to find a national security “leak,” is part of a pattern of press intimidation under this administration from day one designed to chill any opposition to its political programs.

While these scandals are egregious examples of a federal government run amok, Americans must understand that the abuse of government power will continue as long as we give the government the power to abuse." --Doug Reich

Monday, March 30, 2015

WASHINGTON POST RIPS OBAMA-IRAN NUKE DEAL: Would Reward Terror State's Past Violations

By The Tower

The question of whether to trust Iran’s claims that its nuclear program is purely for peaceful purposes can be answered by a single issue: “Iran’s failure to deliver on multiple pledges to answer questions about its suspected research on nuclear warheads,” a staff editorial in The Washington Post asserted on Saturday.

The editorial recounts how both in 2007 and 2013, Iran agreed to clear up any questions about possible military dimensions of its past nuclear research, but “it then stonewalled inspectors, refusing to answer questions or permit access to sites.” After Iran refused to allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to access its Parchin military base, where nuclear weapons research is suspected to have taken place, “the IAEA published an extensive report detailing what it already knew about the illicit bomb work and listed 12 outstanding issues.” The government of President Hassan Rouhani agreed to address these outstanding issues.

However, the Post documents that the promised cooperation was again not forthcoming.

HOTEL SHOWERS, GRILLS AND WOOD-BURNING STOVES: EPA meddling in our lives reaches a zenith

By Paul Chesser

Those in business who have to oblige the Environmental Protection Agency (or the state government agencies that carry out federal laws) on a daily basis know there’s an endless list of issues upon which the cabinet agency can (and does) interfere and obstruct. But a few recent examples reveal the extent to which the government regulators are willing to extinguish our individual freedoms.

Attention this week is trained on the Supreme Court, where a costly Obama regulation on mercury emissions from utilities’ coal-fired power plants is under a challenge. That’s a big issue that addresses whether EPA conducted a proper cost-benefit analysis for limiting those emissions, which has major implications related to the cost of electricity, but is otherwise complex for the layman.

But other areas of increased meddling are more plain – and obnoxious.

SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS: Apparently, DC Insiders Can Legally Avoid Paying Taxes

You learn something new every day: did you know that government insiders can receive "certificates of divestiture" that allow them to "indefinitely defer" paying taxes on proceeds from stock sales?

The Daily Caller's Richard Pollock reports:

When Andy Slavitt reported for work as deputy administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services last June 10, he pocketed at least $4.8 million in tax-free income from major health-care companies.

...CMS officials ... initially issued a categorical denial to TheDC that Slavitt had sought and received a special “certificate of divestiture,” a loophole which allowed him to indefinitely defer capital gains taxes on the sale of millions of dollars in equities.

But when TheDC produced two certificates of divestiture issued to Andrew and Lana Slavitt — both dated July 9 and signed by the Office of Government Ethics’ general counsel David J. Apol – the agency backtracked.

The special certificates permitted Slavitt to sell 23,711 shares of United Health Group stock and avoid capital gains taxes on the transaction [...on July 9th,] Slavitt pocketed $1.9 million in tax-free income.

That same day, OGE permitted him to sell 11,670 additional shares in the Swiss private equity firm of Partners Group Private Equity, which, according to an Office of Government Ethics official, included underlying health-care investments.

The Swiss per share market price for the stock on July 9 was $249. Slavitt was able to cash in the stock for $2.9 million in tax-free income.

And what exactly is a "certificate of divestiture" (PDF)?

If you are an executive branch employee of the Federal Government or plan to become one, at
some point you may have to sell certain assets to avoid a conflict of interest or the appearance of a
conflict. Under tax rules, the sale of an asset may cause you to have a taxable capital gain which must be reported to the Internal Revenue Service. However, to make it easier for you and your family to comply with ethics rules, the tax laws provide that before you sell your asset, the Director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) may issue a Certificate of Divestiture (called a CD) which will allow you to defer the capital gains tax. The CD does not eliminate the capital gains tax; it simply defers payment of the tax to some future date.

In reading the applicable statute and regulatory guidance, I could find no timeline for repayment of capital gains taxes.

I guess some animals really are more equal than others.


Hat tip: BadBlue News.

Larwyn's Linx: Free Fall in the Middle East

Send us tips! Bloggers: install a Larwyn's Linx widget. Get real-time news, 24/7, at BadBlue.

Nation

Free Fall in the Middle East: Walter Russell Mead
The Campus Left Begins to Implode: Jonathan V. Last
Virginia State Bar boycotts Israel: The Volokh Conspiracy

Ted, Monica, and Mickey: Star Parker
Iran nuclear deal done: FAM
Advocates for infanticide astounded that people want them to die: Moe Lane

Double Standards Much?: GayPatriot
IN Gov.: This Is Same Religious Freedom Law Obama Voted for in IL: WS
Chicago Teachers Union, Karen Lewis, Chuy Garcia Unmasked: RebelPundit

Jeb Bush favored within GOP; stiff competition desired for Hillary: Ethan Barton
This is why the Democratic Establishment is desperate to run Hillary: Moe Lane
Upset by Warren, U.S. banks debate halting donations to Democrats: Emily Flitter

Economy

Pew: Rate of Illegal Males in Workforce 12% Higher Than US-Born Males: Breitbart
One in eight illegals in the U.S. now has a white-collar job: Rob Wile
How Google, Facebook And Others Pay Their H-1B Employees: Kiran Dhillon

Scandal Central

American Deserter: Bill Whittle
Situation Normal: Hillary Clinton obstructs justice and operates outside the law: RS
The Real Reason Harry Reid is Retiring: Breitbart

Climate & Energy

China’s Never-Ending ‘War on Pollution’: Gordon G. Chang

Media

What they are not saying about Angie's List boycott: Don Surber
Police Called On Anti-White ‘Black Brunch’ Protest in Tacoma; Protesters Whine Like Babies: Sooper
The political kingmaker nobody knows: Ben Wieder

Reporters refuse Obama's dismissal from golf course, are sent to the 'shed': Paul Bedard
Staying: Press refuses to leave Obama, golfing for 223rd time: Paul Bedard
Josh Earnest On Obama Voting For Religious Freedom Bill: Hey, That Was Two Decades Ago!: DownTrend

Who’s pulling the media’s puppet strings?: Sharyl Attkisson
Cut a baby from a woman; kill it; it isn’t murder in Colorado: RS
GOP Failure Theater gave $1.5 billion to abortion industry: RS

World

WaPo Editorial: Nuke Deal Would Reward Iran for Past Violations: The Tower
What I saw in Iran: Andrew Stiles
American-Israeli Rabbi compares Obama to Haman: JPost

Remember when Obama vowed “verification” would have to be part of any Iran nuclear deal?: PW
White House: Nuclear Deal Totally Doable If Country That Says “Death To America” Cooperates: RWN
Obama supporting ethnic cleansing in Iraq: RS

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

3D-Printed Bionic Ants Work as a Terrifying Team: PopMech
Real Paleo Diet: early hominids ate just about everything: EarthSky
Zynga investors can sue FarmVille creator for alleged IPO fraud, judge says: Megan Geuss

Cornucopia

#BanHighCapacityAircraft: More “News” From the Rabbit Hole: MOTUS
Cruise v. Lauer and 4 other cringe-worthy celeb interviews: Jaclyn Hendricks
19 True Stories About Bill Murray That Prove He Is The Coolest Person Ever: Suggest

Image: Marine’s Sign About Obama’s Bergdahl Swap Is Epic
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Isn't it time for a conservative candidate? Ted Cruz 2016: Official Site

QOTD: "First he comes for the banks and health care, uses the IRS to go after critics, politicizes the Justice Department, spies on journalists, tries to curb religious freedom, slashes the military, throws open the borders, doubles the debt and nationalizes the Internet.

He lies to the public, ignores the Constitution, inflames race relations and urges Latinos to punish Republican “enemies.” He abandons our ­allies, appeases tyrants, coddles ­adversaries and uses the Crusades as an excuse for inaction as Islamist terrorists slaughter their way across the Mideast.

Now he’s coming for Israel.

Barack Obama’s promise to transform America was too modest. He is transforming the whole world before our eyes. Do you see it yet?" --Michael Goodwin

Sunday, March 29, 2015

"Under Obama, we have switched sides"

Michael Goodwin:

If you’re confused about the Saudi Arabia-led air attacks against Islamist rebels in Yemen and can’t tell one group of head-choppers in Iraq and Syria from another, don’t despair. All you need is imagination.

Close your eyes and imagine that those countries and terrorists have nuclear weapons. Imagine their barbarism going nuclear as they blow up cities, wipe out ethnic and religious groups and turn the region into cinders.

Now open your eyes and realize you’ve seen the future, thanks to President Obama’s policies. It is a future that will be defined by Obama’s Wars. Yes, plural.

I’ve written frequently about the likelihood of a dystopian “Mad Max” scenario if Iran gets nukes. My thinking is guided by a belief among American military and intelligence officials that a nuclear exchange would take place in the Mideast within five years of Iran getting the bomb. To judge from events, the future is arriving ahead of schedule.

I once called this scenario "The Atomic Mahdi", though I had no idea then that we would have a president actively conspiring with the Mullahs.

These are grim thoughts, expressed because it is impossible to imagine any other outcome of Iran’s rise. It remains the world’s largest sponsor of terrorism and supports Hezbollah and Hamas and now the Houthis in Yemen. As for Iranian influence in Iraq, one analyst is calling Suleimani, the Revolutionary Guard commander, Iraq’s new “viceroy.”

Remember, too, Iran muscle and munitions are keeping Bashar Assad still standing in Syria. The wholesale death and destruction there — an estimated 200,000 people killed and millions displaced within the country and out of it — could be a prototype of its new empire.

While there are many dark and complex forces in play and blame to spread around, the most important catalyst of the violent disorder has been the reversal of America’s policies. Under Obama, we have switched sides, an abomination that ensures a legacy of infamy.

Read the whole thing.

And pray for our country. And our world.


Hat tip: Ace. Backgrounder: The Atomic Mahdi.

10 Best and Worst Looking Automotive Grilles

The "face" of an automobile is its grille. With the advent of hybrid, all-electric and other vehicles that have minimal reliance on water-cooled engines, one would think that grilles might be on the way out. Then, one would think wrong.

BAD: THE AUDI A8
Audi deserves special ridicule not only for this example of IGS (Immense Grille Syndrome), but also for actually starting the ginormous grille trend in 2005. Why not just use a mini-fridge as your grille, Audi?

ISIS IN ILLINOIS: "JV" terrorists plotted to kill up to 150 intentionally disarmed soldiers in Ft. Hood copycat attack

By Investor's Business Daily

Terrorism: An Illinois National Guardsman sought to fight with Islamic State as his cousin plotted to kill scores at an Illinois National Guard facility. If they had succeeded, would President Obama call it workplace violence?

President Obama's "JV" terrorist team has metastasized to the point where its franchisees have spread across continents and oceans, with the FBI investigating ISIS-related activities and plots in all 50 states, including a very dangerous one in the commander in chief's home state of Illinois.

One of those FBI investigations involved the arrest Wednesday of Hasan Edmonds — a supply specialist with the Illinois National Guard, who had trained at the Joliet Armory since 2011 — at Chicago's Midway International Airport as he prepared to board a plane to Detroit and then to Cairo via Amsterdam, with the goal of joining the Islamic State.

Two hours later, authorities picked up his cousin, Jonas Edmonds, who had planned to wear Hasan's uniform and attack the facility in the same manner that Maj. Nidal Hasan did at Fort Hood, Texas.

The cousins had scouted out the armory on Tuesday, with Hasan Edmonds picking up a copy of the facility training schedule. The plan was for Jonas Edmonds to carry out the assault using AK-47s and grenades.

IRANIAN DEFECTOR: Barack Obama wants Iran to get nukes

Two more data points that offer additional evidence that Barack Obama is doing his level best to see Iran acquire nuclear weapons. Because, eh, crusades, I guess.

Iranian Defector: US arguing on Iran's behalf with P5+1 countries

Times of Israel, 29 March 2015

An Iranian journalist who was sent to cover the nuclear talks in Lausanne, Switzerland, defected over the weekend... Amir Hossein Motaghi, who was instrumental in the election of President Hassan Rouhani when he served as his personal aide during the Iranian election, asked authorities in Switzerland to grant him political asylum...

...According to the British Telegraph newspaper, Motaghi ... harshly criticized the American role in the talks, saying the White House was attempting to persuade the other members of the P5+1 group of nations (US, England, France, Russia, China and Germany) to accept Iran’s point of view.

The US negotiating team is mainly there to speak on Iran’s behalf with other members of the 5+1 countries and convince them of a deal,” Montaghi said.

Expected Iranian nuclear deal worse than Israel feared

Reuters, 29 March 2015

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned on Sunday the framework Iranian nuclear agreement being sought by international negotiators, saying it was even worse than his country had feared...

"This deal, as it appears to be emerging, bears out all of our fears, and even more than that," Netanyahu told his cabinet in Jerusalem as the United States, five other world powers and Iran worked toward a March 31 deadline in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Noting advances made by Iranian-allied forces in Yemen and other Arab countries, Netanyahu accused the Islamic republic of trying to "conquer the entire Middle East" while moving toward nuclearization.

And where will Obama be when nuclear weapons detonate in the Middle East or cities in the West?

Obama May Have Bought Sprawling, $9 Million Hawaiian Beachfront Home

Daily Caller, 22 March 2015

News reports indicate that President Barack Obama may have just purchased a beachfront home in Hawaii. But isn’t he worried about sea level rise from global warming?

Hawaii’s KTV4 News reports that a man connected to Obama purchased the multi-million dollar beachfront home featured in the show “Magnum P.I.” — the property was then sold to a limited liability corporation in Colorado. But if the House was bought on the president’s behalf, isn’t he worried that rising sea levels will harm his new real estate?

Obama has long warned that sea level rises caused by man-made global warming will make storm surges and flooding worse for coastal communities. In his 2015 State of the Union speech, Obama said “we’ll continue to see rising oceans, longer, hotter heat waves, dangerous droughts and floods.”

So why would Obama give a crap whether Iran gets nukes? He will be long gone when the piper will be paid.


Hat tip: BadBlue Real-Time News

Larwyn's Linx: Obama is charging toward an Iran deal, no matter what

Send us tips! Bloggers: install a Larwyn's Linx widget. Get real-time news, 24/7, at BadBlue.

Nation

Obama is charging toward an Iran deal, no matter what: Boaz Bismuth
President to Play Golf While Fate of World Decided: Keith Koffler
Negotiators closing in on Iran deal: Ethan Barton

Obamacare flying machine begins a death spiral: Times
Did Mobsters Beat Harry Reid?: John Hinderaker
34,000 Black Churches Break Ties With Presbyterian Church USA: Anthony Evans

Ted Cruz Lays Out 'Grassroots' Strategy for College Audience: Breitbart
Republicans Versus Republicans: Michael Reagan
A closer look at US Presidential hopeful Ted Cruz: JPost

Tyranny: An Essential Feature of Socialism: Doug Reich
House Democrat Develops ‘Toolkit’ for Illegal Immigrants: Katie Lapotin
N. Dakota Vote Puts U.S. a Step Closer to Convention of States: Pete Kasperowicz

Economy

The federal government’s H-1B racket: Debra Saunders
Anatomy of a Budget: The Plans that Drew GOP Defections and No Dem Crossovers: Bill Straub
Santelli Stunned As Janet Yellen Admits "Cash Is Not A Store Of Value": ZH

Google controls what we buy, the news we read — and Obama’s policies: Kyle Smith
Meet Dartmouth’s new radical professors: Power Line
Cornell Denounces Video that Claims University Supports ISIS: CI

Scandal Central

Get Hillary's server, it’s now evidence of a potential crime: William A. Jacobson
GOP: 'Even Nixon Didn't Destroy the Tapes': Daniel Halper
New WH Strategy on Bergdahl: Claim He's a Hero Who Left Post To Report Unit Misconduct: Treehouse

Media

Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord: Cold Fury
Krauthammer’s Take: Harry Reid Is a ‘Disgrace’ Who ‘Emasculated’ the Senate: NRO
Video Illustrates How We Ended Up With Obama As President: BlurBrain

Nuance For Christopher Scalia: It’s The Commie Takeover Of Liberal Arts We Hammer: R.S. McCain
If Women Ran the World: Elizabeth Scalia (2013)
Exec who mocked Chick-Fil-A now on food stamps: Ethel C. Fenig

Facebook Doesn’t Want You To Read This Article: Chris Hernandez
White House drops news lid on president’s golf game; press holes up in caddy shack: Twitchy
Pop Diva Hits Fox Host with Trashy Insult After Being Called Out for Vile Anti-American Comments: IJR

World

Pro-Rouhani Defector Blasts US Negotiators as Iran Apologists: AmInt
Report: President Obama Threatens France For Not Supporting Iranian Nuclear Deal: Treehouse
Iranian Journalist Defector: Obama Arguing on The SIDE of IRAN in Nuke Negotiations: Sooper

US continues airstrikes in Tikrit despite involvement of Iranian-backed Shiite militias: Bill Roggio
Responding to Kremlin Propaganda in the Baltics: Elisabeth Braw
Pro-Hassan Rouhani Iranian editor defects while covering nuclear talks in Lausanne: Telegraph

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

4 ways Blockchain technology will change the world: Josh Blatchford, BTC.sx
Google and Johnson and Johnson’s newest venture: Robotic surgery: Sara Rose, NextDigit
Youngsters love Snapchat, older people prefer Facebook: Digital Trends

Cornucopia

How we turned Mount Everest into a dump: The Week
Salmon wait for a truck to pass before crossing a flooded road: Alltop
HBO's Going Clear should be the final nail in Scientology's coffin: Scott Meslow

Image: Cuomo is quacking up
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Isn't it time for a conservative candidate? Ted Cruz 2016: Official Site

QOTD: "Obama has become the incarnation of a troubling trend in our country that has accelerated over the past 40 or so years. He has become the head of what passes for modern progressivism: the alliance between tax-supported university faculties, lawyers, government bureaucrats, journalists, NGO "activists," and Hollywood. This alliance has promoted the politics of envy and resentment, and launched a sustained attack on traditional American values. Our country is now filled with the half-educated idiots who emerge from our universities with no real knowledge but with feelings of entitlement and resentment. We should stand in awe of people with PhDs regardless of whether what they say corresponds to the reality we see, because they know what's good for us. They are the "experts."

...Obama has captured this movement and its view, and represents and promotes it better than anybody else in living memory. Unlike Carter, Obama is not incompetent in promoting his hatred for America's traditional values and in embedding it into our institutions, e.g., the ruinous Obamacare, the rapid expansion of the federal dole, the insistence on apologizing for our successes, the disastrous "stimulus" spending, the glorification of the "victim" culture, promotion of envy and cynicism, and denigration of individual effort and success ("You didn't build that!"). That is the real threat posed by what Obama represents." --W. Lewis Amselem

Saturday, March 28, 2015

IT'S ON: I proudly unveil the new denizens of my blog roll!

Last week I asked my seven loyal, regular readers to help me clean up the blog roll at right: (a) Which blogs should be removed? (b) Which blogs should be added? and (c) Other suggestions?

After much careful consideration, a meeting with Reince Priebus, and a videoconference with President Obama, I'm pleased to announce the following new members of the DR@J blogroll.

Hawt List


Economy & Business


Club Elite


Heh


Military, Intel & Foreign Affairs


The Faves


They'll be featured at right for posterity. Or at least until October.

And someday, I hope to earn a slot on Ace's blogroll. Although, to be fair, I don't think the Acester has updated it since '03.


HILLARY'S DAMAGED CANDIDACY: The Stench of Corruption Follows Her Wherever She Goes

By Investor's Business Daily

Scandal: Hillary's emails may be only the tip of an iceberg that could include Clinton Foundation donations to shield Boko Haram from being designated a terrorist group and her brother's involvement in a Haitian gold mine.

We doubt Team Hillary was thrilled or her critics surprised Tuesday when the Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security named Mrs. Clinton's brother, Tony Rodham, in a report about a firm that allegedly received preferential treatment from the Obama administration.

The firm, Gulf Coast Funds Management, with Tony Rodham listed as its chief executive, allegedly benefited from what the report says was "politically motivated" intervention of then-United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Alejandro Majorkas, whom president Obama promoted to be the No. 2 official at DHS even as he was under investigation.

A MUSLIM WORLD WAR: No One to Root for in the Yemen Conflict

By Michael Snyder

Saudi Arabia and Egypt stand poised to conduct a massive ground invasion of Yemen, and the western media will be full of tales about how “Operation Decisive Storm” is liberating that country from the evil Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. And without a doubt, the Houthis are bad guys and so are their Iranian benefactors. But don’t be fooled into thinking that the war in Yemen is a battle of good vs. evil. The truth is that the conflict in Yemen is actually a proxy war between two sets of bad guys that both ultimately plan for Islam to take over the entire planet. On one side, the Iranians are very honest about the fact that they view us as an enemy, and they plan to impose their version of radical Shia Islam worldwide as soon as they can.

On the other side, the Saudis pretend to be our friends, but they don’t hide the fact that they believe that their version of Sunni Islam will eventually rule the world. And their version of Sunni Islam includes constant beheadings, the destruction of all churches and the death penalty for anyone caught smuggling a Bible into Saudi territory. At the end of the day, there is very little difference between the Saudis and ISIS. In fact, ISIS gets a lot of funding from Saudi sources, and there is more support for ISIS on Twitter from Saudi Arabia than from anywhere else. Saudi Arabia is a horribly repressive regime where women are treated like dirt, where the secret police conduct a never ending reign of terror and where even a minor deviation from sharia law can mean the loss of a limb. But because our politicians and the mainstream media constantly tell us that they are “our friends”, we cheer them on.

It is being reported that the Saudis have mobilized 150,000 troops for a ground invasion of Yemen, and Egypt says that it is ready to contribute a very large force as well. The Saudis simply were not going to just sit back and watch as pro-Iranian forces took total control of their neighbor. The following is how the Telegraph recently described what the Iranians have been up to in Yemen for the past several years…

Larwyn's Linx: NBC’s Engel: US allies fear the Obama administration is leaking information to Iran

Send us tips! Bloggers: install a Larwyn's Linx widget. Get real-time news, 24/7, at BadBlue.

Nation

NBC’s Engel: US allies fear Obama admin leaking information to Iran: Hot Air
Obama Admin Threatens U.S. Allies for Disagreeing with Iran Nuke Deal: WFB
Hillary Clinton Defies Subpoena, ‘Wiped Her Server Clean’: Joel Gehrke

Kerry on Chances of Iran Deal: 'Inshallah!': Brian Lilley
The Dangerous Assumption Guiding Obama’s Mideast Policy: Keith Koffler
Hillary in Quicksand: Dick Morris

Military Drill Identifying “Hostile” U.S. States Sparks Alarm: Alex Newman
Honoring Heroes, Something Rahm Emanuel Does Not Understand: BlackFive
Concealed Carrier Shoots Two Armed Robbers in Philiadelphia: Bob Owens

NYC Democrat ‘Admires’ Ted Cruz, Says It’s ‘Time For New Blood’: Surge
Schumer’s road to the top greased by donations to colleagues: PublicIntegriy
The Speaker Strikes Back: Boehner Cancels Gohmert’s Travel: Matt Fuller

Economy

Can Family Breakdown in Low-Education America Be Reversed? Maybe: Michael Barone
Anti-Common Core amendment passes Senate vote: Jason Russell
Welcome to the ‘Golden Age of American Craft Beer’: Mark J. Perry

Scandal Central

Obama Has Allowed 600,000 ‘Unscreened’ Immigrants from Dangerous Muslim Nations to Enter USA: RWN
Harry Reid's Long, Steady Accretion of Power & Wealth: Adam O'Neal
Everything The White House Told You About Bowe Bergdahl Was Wrong: Nancy A. Youssef

Hacked Hillary Emails: Getting Fed Intelligence By Her Own Private Spy Service: Ace
Wife of Vt. Sen. Bernie Sanders may have defrauded state agency, bank: Unyielding
FBI Admits All Registered Motorcycle Owners Are On Classified Gang List: WaPo (Link Removed, Bogus)

Media

Hillary Gets Special Protection On Wikipedia: Bradford Thomas
The media’s lies about “HandsUpDonShoot” are the gift that keeps on giving: VDARE
Bowe Bergdahl's Platoon Mates React To Desertion Charges • Kelly File • 3/26/15: Common Cents

What the Ellen Pao Verdict Means About the ‘Rights’ You Don’t Have: R.S. McCain
CBS News: ‘Email Scandal Taking A Toll On Hillary Clinton’s Image’: Jerome Hudson
Ted Cruz disputes MSNBC claim he supports legalization of illegal immigrants: LI

World

Richard Engel: Military officials say allies ‘simply don’t trust’ U.S. under Obama: Times
Lausanne Dispatch: Iranian Intransigence in Nuke Talks Draws French Rebuke: The Tower
How Yemen could become another Syria: AEI

Is Obama just incompetent or is he deliberately aiding and betting jihadists?: TAB
Now Saudi Arabia wants Nukes: RS
German media: Germanwings co-pilot did it for Allah: Matzav

What France Really Thinks of U.S. Iran Policy: Anne-Elisabeth Moutet
US Declassifies Document Revealing Israel's Nuclear Program: Arutz Sheva
Israeli official brands emerging Iran deal as ‘incomprehensibly’ bad: Times of Israel

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Man Forced to Sell His New House Because Comcast Lied to Him: Jay Hathaway, Gawker
DOD Keeps Losing 'Sensitive' Explosives Gear, Then Finding It For Sale On Ebay: TechDirt
Those amazing 'Furious 7' cars? This man built them: Tim Stevens

Cornucopia

First, Historic “Last Friday of the Month Great Escape”- Let’s Roll!: MOTUS
Cruzing Toward the Resurrection of Mainstream Conservatism: David Limbaugh
I wonder what nationality "Sami Sherif" holds?: NECN

Image: Italian Supreme Court Reverses Conviction of Amanda Knox, Dismisses All Charges, Forever
Sponsored by: Isn't it time for a conservative candidate? Ted Cruz 2016: Official Site

QOTD: "[House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Rep. Ed] Royce said that even before the negotiations began, when the U.S. unfroze some Iranian assets at the end of 2013, ambassadors for Gulf countries predicted the cash would be used to destabilize the region: “We’re seeing today what every Gulf ambassador predicted Iran would do, we’re seeing Iran destabilize the region.”" --Eli Lake

Friday, March 27, 2015

OBLIGATORY KATE UPTON MENTION: How much is "Game of War" making, anyhow?

The relentless marketing campaign for Game of War -- featuring the top-heavy Kate Upton -- set me to a-wonderin': "how much money is this online game making, anyway[s]?"


Aaaaaaaaand obligatory Kate Upton photo:


Because, research.


Hat tip: BadBlue Tech News.

DUDE: Private Emails Reveal Ex-Clinton Aide's Secret Spy Network

by Jeff Gerth, ProPublica, and Sam Biddle, Gawker

This story was co-published with Gawker.

Update, March 27, 6:48 p.m.: This story has been updated to include responses from the FBI and the State Department.

Starting weeks before Islamic militants attacked the U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, longtime Clinton family confidante Sidney Blumenthal supplied intelligence to then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gathered by  a secret network that included a former CIA clandestine service officer, according to hacked emails from Blumenthal's account.

The emails, which were posted on the internet in 2013, also show that Blumenthal and another close Clinton associate discussed contracting with a retired Army special operations commander to put operatives on the ground near the Libya-Tunisia border while Libya's civil war raged in 2011.

Blumenthal's emails to Clinton, which were directed to her private email account, include at least a dozen detailed reports on events on the deteriorating political and security climate in Libya as well as events in other nations. They came to light after a hacker broke into Blumenthal's account and have taken on new significance in light of the disclosure that she conducted State Department and personal business exclusively over an email server that she controlled and kept secret from State Department officials and which only recently was discovered by congressional investigators.

The contents of that account are now being sought by a congressional inquiry into the Benghazi attacks. Clinton has handed over more than 30,000 pages of her emails to the State Department, after unilaterally deciding which ones involved government business; the State Department has so far handed almost 900 pages of those over to the committee. A Clinton spokesman told Gawker and ProPublica (which are collaborating on this story) that she has turned over all the emails Blumenthal sent to Clinton.

Those Who Rule Their Own Lives vs. Those Who Require Rulers

By Nick Sorrentino

The truth is some (many) people just want someone to make decisions for them. I am unsure if it is a genetic disposition or whether it is socialization or whether it is both. All I know is some people do not want to control their own lives. They are more comfortable with someone at the helm. They are comforted by a horizon which is limited and defined by others.

Strangely these same people also want to limit the lives of those who prefer to be free.

Who are you to pursue happiness? Who are you to be left alone to live, love, and create? Why don’t you respect authority? Why can’t you fall in line? You’re not better than us. Stand down Mr. or Ms. Individual. There are more of us than there are of you.

And to a large degree this is true. There are more of them. It is why we have the system of government we have now which seeks to restrict liberty, innovation, creativity, even joy in the name of order. There are more who wish to be controlled (whether they will admit it or not) and provided for than there are people who want to rule themselves. But in America, home of the rogue, the gambler, the pioneer, the dreamer, the number of freedom lovers is still relatively high. It’s literally in our DNA. And this is a source of hope.

Even in the face of decades and decades of statist propaganda in our primary schools and universities, on TV, and directly from the government, the thing which defines what an American is is liberty. An idea. We are not Huns, or Saxons, or Han, or whatever. We are a people – or at least we are supposed to be – which is defined by belief in human potential. By the pursuit of happiness and self ownership.

AS RUSSIAN WAR DRUMS SOUND: Obama disses NATO chief on his visit to the U.S.

By Investor's Business Daily


NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg came calling, but the president couldn't find the time to meet with him
Defense Obligations: Despite Russian submarine activity that's up a reported 50% and a rising cruise-missile threat, President Obama can't find the time to meet with NATO's new secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg.

Following a pattern of talking only to our enemies and not to Congress or allies such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Obama apparently has decided to ignore Stoltenberg during a three-day visit to the U.S. According to Bloomberg, Stoltenberg's office requested a meeting in advance of the visit, but heard nothing back from the White House.

The president presumably is too busy explaining to the Iranian people why we must sign a nuclear Munich deal with an enemy whose leaders shout, "Death to America!"

Stoltenberg, twice the prime minister of Norway, met with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Monday, to discuss the upcoming NATO summit, the rising threat of the Islamic State worldwide and Russia's aggression toward and annexation of Ukraine.

The new NATO chief is well aware of increasing Russian bomber patrols that include mock attack runs on NATO members Britain and Sweden along with threats to aim nuclear missiles at Danish warships. The patrols have also buzzed U.S. warships, overflown Guam and approached within cruise missile range of Los Angeles.

"It is hard for me to believe that the president of the United States has not found time to meet with the new secretary general of NATO given the magnitude of what this implies, and the responsibilities of his office," says Kurt Volker, who served as U.S. permanent representative to NATO under both Obama and President George W. Bush.

Russian strategic bombers entered some 16 U.S. northwestern air defense zones in one 10-day period last August and have practiced attack drills off Alaska. These practice runs come as Russia develops new cruise missiles to arm these bombers and warships.

GOWDY: Hillary Clinton Wiped Her Email Server Clean

Try and contain your surprise: Hillary Clinton is engaged in a world-class cover up:

Hillary Rodham Clinton wiped her email server “clean,” permanently deleting all emails from it, the Republican chairman of a House committee investigating the 2012 Benghazi attacks said Friday...

...Clinton, a likely Democratic presidential candidate, faced a Friday deadline to respond to a subpoena for emails and documents related to Libya, including the 2012 attacks in a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya.

The Benghazi committee demanded further documents and access to the server after it was revealed that Clinton used a private email account and server during her tenure at State.

Gowdy said he will work with House leaders to consider options. Speaker John Boehner has not ruled out a vote in the full House to force Clinton to turn over the server if she declines to make it available...

...Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said the former secretary of state has failed to produce a single new document in recent weeks and has refused to relinquish her server to a third party for an independent review, as Gowdy has requested... “Not only was the secretary the sole arbiter of what was a public record, she also summarily decided to delete all emails from her server, ensuring no one could check behind her analysis in the public interest,” he said.

It is likely, according to former federal attorney Shannen W. Coffin, it is likely that Hillary's activities constitute a series of felonies.

Obama-Iran Nuke Deal Keeps Getting Better

Please scan these six headlines.

 

Now scan them again and really allow them to sink in. I'll wait here.

My short take: virtually the entire Western world (and rational human beings around the globe) opposes  Obama's horrific Iran deal that will allow the terror state to continue to enrich uranium and eventually deliver nuclear warheads through ICBMs or via its terror proxy, Hezbollah.

As a result of their opposition to the deal, Obama has targeted Israel (by repeatedly revealing Top Secret information that harms the security posture of the Jewish state) and any allies that dare speak up against the deal (e.g., France).

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and Iran are now engaging in a proxy war in Yemen (which Obama claimed was a success story just six months ago) as ISIS continues its expansionary efforts.

Hundreds of thousands of people have already died thanks to Obama's destabilized Middle East (e.g., the Syrian "red line", the Libya "NATO"-led coup, etc.) and many millions more will​ die in the future as a result of allowing a fanatical Iranian regime to acquire nuclear weapons.

But not to worry: President Obama says Iranian leadership calls for "Death to America" are just a reason to do the deal​.

I'd be interested in your take on President Obama's motivations for his certifiably bizarre actions.