Doug Ross @ Journal

Larwyn's Linx: The bombshell CBO report and why Obama should be worried

2012-02-03T06:24:00.003-05:00

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QOTD: "Thus, the administration that took military action in Libya without any authorization from force from Congress, that appointed czars with policymaking authority without Congressional confirmation, and that made ‘recess’ appointments while Congress was not in recess is invoking executive privilege to cover how the Department of Justice reacted when Congress began asking about a gun-trafficking operation that got U.S. law enforcement officers murdered by Mexican drug cartels.

All from a president who railed against a runaway imperial presidency when George W. Bush sat in the office he currently occupies." --Jim Geraghty

Three Must-Read Quotes from Eric Holder's Fast and Furious Testimony Today. Plus: Brian Terry's Mother Rips Holder.

2012-02-02T21:36:00.004-05:00

Eric Holder was back in front of the House Oversight Committee today to testify on Operation Fast and Furious. For those unfamiliar with the crimes, consider it like Watergate, only with 300 dead -- including Brian Terry, a U.S. Border Patrol agent killed by murder weapons supplied to drug cartels by Eric Holder.

During testimony, three particular quotes struck me as especially memorable:

• GOP Rep. Anne Marie Buerkle to Eric Holder:

"What more could have possibly gone wrong before you'd have been held accountable [for Operation Fast and Furious]? I would suggest that the President has been eerily quiet about coming to your defense. So let me ask it this way: How many more Border Patrol agents would have had to die as part of Operation Fast and Furious for you to take responsibility?"

• Eric Holder threatens Darrell Issa, asserting that Congress can not view sealed wiretap records even if a whistleblower reveals them:

"That direction that you just said, about the media and Congress and court orders, is really incorrect and you act at your peril if you think that's the truth."

• GOP Rep. Patrick Henry to Eric Holder on the delays in the DOJ's "investigation", which has now taken longer than the Warren Commission Report on the assassination of JFK:

"Thirteen months later, we have a possibility of somebody actually being punished for an agent getting killed. This is absolutely absurd."

Brian Terry's mother also watched Holder's outrageous performance today and had the following to say on Facebook.

“THIS IS FOR YOU SON,” Mrs. Terry posted on Facebook at about 3:30 p.m. “Mr. Holder. How come you can never say my sons name. You never have. All i ever hear you say is ‘i didnt find out or I cant say’ Im actually tired of hearing your double talk in answering questions. What a joke you are. You know my son was a real AMERICAN, a WARRIOR, and a HERO, who was also protecting COWARD POLITICANS like you.”

“Hope you remember that,” Mrs. Terry added in her message to Holder before signing it: “PROUD MOM OF BRIAN A. TERRY.”

Brian Terry was murdered with a weapon his own government allowed to be sold to Mexican drug cartels via Operation Fast and Furious. Like Terry, about 300 Mexican citizens were also murdered with the guns Holder’s Justice Department gave to the drug cartels.

Nobody has been held accountable inside the Justice Department, and more than 100 congressmen, three U.S. senators, two sitting governors and all major Republican presidential candidates have demanded that Holder step down in the wake of the scandal. Holder has time and again refused to hold anybody accountable and has refused to step down himself.

Holder never even apologized to the Terry family until publicly shamed into it during November's Congressional testimony. And, even then, he released the apology publicly to Politico before the family ever saw it.

Holder needs to be held in Contempt of Congress right now and prosecuted for obstruction of justice.

Cartoon: IBD - Ramirez

Four charts: how Obama destroyed the energy economy in the Gulf of Mexico

2012-02-02T20:55:00.000-05:00

A report issued Tuesday by the Greater New Orleans Economic Alliance reveals the true economic devastation wrought by President Obama's draconian and illegal oil drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico

Thanks to the people at the New Orleans Regional Economic Alliance, one can cut through all the claims about how oil drilling in the United States is back to normal since the Gulf oil spill.

The [accompanying] figures ... show the trends in both shallow- and deep-water drilling permit approvals in the gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. As can be seen, the Obama administration did not let that crisis go to waste, it used it to implement another plank in its anti-fossil fuel agenda...

Regardless of the Obama administration’s claims that they aren’t hindering oil exploration and development in the Gulf, a few minutes of looking at their own data tells the real story: they’re both cutting it down, and stretching it out.

So the next time legacy media allows President Obama to claim that oil drilling is back to normal in the Gulf, remember these charts.

Hat tips: HyScience and BadBlue.

'Progressives' Believe Strongly in the Separation of Church and State. Except, Of Course, When It Comes to Abortion.

2012-02-02T20:04:00.001-05:00

If the ramifications weren't so diabolical, the hypocrisy exhibited by Democrats would be laughable.

It has not even been two years since Obamacare was enacted, and already the President’s health care law has taken another victim — the religious freedoms Americans hold dear, as reflected by the First Amendment.

The Obama Administration recently reaffirmed a rule under Obamacare that requires many religious employers to provide health care coverage for all FDA-approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and related education and counseling. On the grounds that certain FDA-approved contraceptive methods can sometimes “cause the demise of embryos both after and before uterine implantation,” many groups also believe that the rule forces them to cover abortion.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is calling the contraception mandate an “unprecedented” attack on religious freedom. And in statement after statement issued in diocese after diocese, many bishops are publicly declaring that they “cannot” and “will not” comply with “this unjust law.” As Cleveland Bishop Richard Lennon explained, “Unless this rule is overturned, Catholics will be compelled either to violate our consciences or to drop health care coverage for our employees.”

It’s not just Catholics affected by the rule, however. Leaders from other faith traditions have expressed their concern, and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has already filed a lawsuit on behalf of an interdenominational Christian college that objects to providing abortion and related education and counseling in its health care insurance. “The mandate is un-American, unprecedented, and flagrantly unconstitutional,” says an attorney for the college.

As shocking as the Obama Administration’s action is, it should not come as a surprise. Heritage experts explained years ago that freedom of conscience in health care is closely linked to greater personal freedom over health care decisions. Health care expert James Capretta says that “it was inevitable — only a matter of time,” now that the government is calling the shots and making health care choices for the American people. “Just the sight of Catholic leaders’ being forced to go begging before federal officials ought to be enough to convince most Americans that handing over so much power over such sensitive matters to the federal government was a terrible, terrible mistake,” he writes.

Pathetic Democrat dupes like Bart Stupak and Steve Driehaus hardest hit.

The leaders of the Catholic Church could begin their fight by excommunicating Nancy Pelosi, Kathleen Sebelius, and any other Catholic members of the Democrat Party who support this outrage.

Genius: Starting in 2014, Obamacare begins taxing... itself.

2012-02-02T19:50:00.007-05:00

Gee, it's so surprising that we keep uncovering time-bombs buried inside a 2,200-page bill that no one read.

Under the health care overhaul, the federal government will begin taxing itself and the states beginning in 2014... And that’s giving state Medicaid directors heartburn.

The law calls for a new tax on health insurers’ premium revenue — intended to help pay for expansion of coverage to 32 million uninsured Americans. But the tax will be paid by all insurers, including those that contract with states to provide coverage to recipients of Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for the poor. Under federal law, that fee must be paid by the Medicaid program, meaning that state and federal governments must pick up the tab.

A report released today by the actuarial firm Milliman Inc. said the tax will cost the Medicaid program between $36.5 billion and $41.9 billion over 10 years. At least $13 billion will be borne by states, and at least $23.5 billion by the federal government, based on the state-federal Medicaid matching formula, according to the report paid for by the Medicaid Health Plans of America, which represents private health plans that cover people on Medicaid. According to the America’s Health Insurance plans, the tax overall would generate at least $73 billion from 2014-2019.

“This is not an issue on most people’s radar screens, but this is going to be a big problem,” said Matt Salo, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors. “This policy never really made sense … I get the point of an insurance tax, but when you are just passing on those costs to Medicaid, that makes no sense.”

With delightful surprises like this built into the Democrats' destructive health care bill, it's no wonder that Obama's advisers are predicting the death of America's health insurance companies. Which should do wonders for unemployment.

Larwyn's Linx: After Big Win, Romney Faces Tough Opponents in a Long War

2012-02-02T06:24:00.004-05:00

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

GOP Primary

After Big Win, Romney Faces Tough Opponents in a Long War: Barone
Is Rick Santorum the logical conservative alternative?: Hot Air
65-to-1: It's not that complicated: RS

Gingrich Challenging Florida Delegate Apportionment: Ace
Apathy will be the legacy of Romney’s carpet bombing: LI
The Un-Obama: Hanson

Santorum Can Beat Romney: AmSpec
Romney's Progressive Pandering Begins: Riehl
Trump to Endorse Gingrich: NatlJrnl

Nation

Obama's Enemies List: WSJ
Obama's new plan: homeowner rescue package #4,350: Malkin
Racist GOP Bill to Ban Welfare Bucks at Strip Clubs, Casinos: WZ

Obama to Unveil New Vote-Buying Scheme: JWF
Catholic Backlash Against Obama Grows: NatlJrnl
Confirmed: Lowlife Weiner Used Campaign Cash for Twitter Mess: JWF

Economy

Another Obama Record! 4 Straight Years of Trillion-Dollar Deficits!: GWP
Obama Speech Brags About 3 Million New Jobs: NUSA
Federal Deficit For 2012 Closer to $4 Trillion: Rasmussen

Indiana: the Nation’s 23rd Right to Work State: HoosierAcc
Stunner: Walker Recall Petitions NOT Available for Online Review: BigG
Vote for Obama, and he'll pay your mortgage!: WyBlog

Obama Economy – Jobs Created at Welfare Offices: LoneCon
Democrats Love Taxes — They Just Don’t Want to Pay Them: Elder
California To Run Out Of Cash In One Month, Controller Warns: ZH

Scandal Central

Bribery, compromised officials leave indicted financial-crime suspects free from prosecution under Holder’s DOJ: DC
Obama’s top donors: disgraced MF Global CEO Jon Corzine and two Solyndra linked fundraisers: FAM
Family of Murdered Border Agent Brian Terry Files $25 Million Lawsuit Against ATF: GWP

DOJ Stonewalling on Justice Kagan: Power Line
Are Big Media Covering Up Fast and Furious?: AT
A failed ‘Fast and Furious’ whitewash: Post

Climate & Energy

Electric Cars: Doubling Down On Dumb: RCM
Leaf & Volt Sales: January 2012: Bayonet
Gulf Deepwater Drilling Ban’s Hidden Victims: IBD

Media

My Endorsement This Year: Rick Santorum 2012: RS
Big Journalism’s Loesch, CBS’s Attkisson Receive 2012 Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award: BigJ
If Bloggers Aren’t Journalists, Neither Are Many Members of the MSM: BigJ

Sound Advice For 'Anybody But Mitt' Republicans: HyScience
Obama shows contempt for judicial process: Sonoran News
Gallup state numbers predict huge Obama loss: Exam

Meet Politico’s ‘Crackers’: FL Panhandle Home to Many Military Bases: Riehl
Ezra "Mr. Constitution" Klein Offers Up Another Laughable Lie (Idiot Faux Journalists Hardest Hit): Peth
MSNBC Carefully Avoids The Dreaded "I" Word: Jawa

Obama's Been Skipping the White House Press Corps for Network and Social Media Softballs: NB
Coulter Jumps Shark… Praises Romneycare After Trashing It in October: GWP
The dhimmedia's whitewashing of honor killing: Geller

World

DHS Report Compares Terrorism To “Ordinary Crime,” Omits Islamists: JW
Iranian Websites Publish Threats against U.S. Targets in Gulf: MEMRI
Obama Could Lose Peace Prize: Nobel Committee Faces Inquiry Over Selection Criteria: VS

Taliban Release Graphic Video Showing Its Fighters Executing 15 Government Troops: WZ
Muslim Genocide on Black Africans: Creeping
Chavez Threatens Banks and Land Owners Refusing His Orders: NewAm

Sci-Tech

Android Users Are More Likely To Have Sex On The First Date: Insider
Student cell phones confiscated in school's probe of drug selling: Trib
Copyright: To the Batmobile!: Wired

Cornucopia

Liberal Logic, Illustrated: AllAm
JayMo and Mustang Sally: You Guys Just Bu-Rock My World!: MOTUS
20+ years of the lights coming on across the land: Sondrakisan

Image: Candy Hearts for Liberals
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Rick Santorum for President

QOTD: "Let's never forget: Millions of Americans who work hard and play by the rules every day deserve a government and a financial system that do the same. It's time to apply the same rules from top to bottom. No bailouts, no handouts, and no copouts."--President Obama, State of the Union Address, Jan. 24

"On the day I took office, . . . the American auto industry was on the verge of collapse. And some politicians were willing to let it just die. We said no. We believe in the workers of this state."--Obama, remarks to students in Ann Arbor, Mich., Jan. 27 (via James Taranto)

Liberal Genius: Mark Levin's Ameritopia Is a #1 Bestseller Because Koch Brothers Are Buying Up Books In Bulk

2012-02-01T21:36:00.005-05:00

Some progressive kook named "Ramona" (if that is her real name) has a novel theory regarding the rise of Mark Levin's Ameritopia to the top of all of the bestseller lists (The New York Times hardest hit). The Koch Brothers are buying up conservative books like Ameritopia to drive incredible sales volume.

Mark R. Levin, a Right Wing radio personality and "the #1 bestselling author of Liberty and Tyranny and regular Fox News contributor" is on January's cover [of the Books-a-Million catalog]. (Last month it was Glenn Beck). Levin has a new book out called, "Ameritopia, The Unmaking of America". Before I saw that cover, I confess I had never heard of Mark R. Levin. (Go ahead and strip me of my Rotten Persons Investigator badge--I know now that his new book, "Ameritopia" is at the top, the very tip-top, of this week's New York Times non-fiction bestseller list! )

So I took a look at the new book by this guy who--my god! NYT Best Seller!--I really should have heard of by now. I turned page after page and, okay, as a new Mark R. Levin reader who is also a liberal, I'm as biased as biased can be. But even I am shocked at how badly this book stinks!

...So here's what I'm thinking: What's to stop [Books-a-Million] from manipulating the market? (They also own a book distribution company.) What's to stop Threshold? What's to stop any of the Right Wing top guns--the Koch Brothers, say-- the people with all the money? What's to stop them from buying up tens or even hundreds of thousands of these books and sitting on them? ... And what's to stop 800+ stooges from churning out magnificent reviews for a book that nobody in their right mind would actually read through to the end?

I truly hope this isn't what passes for informed commentary on the Left.

Eh, Junior: Levin has roughly 10 million listeners for his radio show not because the Koch brothers paid them to listen, but because he explains -- in great detail -- the philosophical, moral, legal and ethical underpinnings of this country.

In other words, conservatism is winning in the marketplace of ideas. And, furthermore, the book's not for dummies. i.e., not for you.

Levin outlines the lessons of Smith, Locke, Montesquieu and others who influenced this nation's founders; the rationale for the form of government they created; and the thousands of years of human experience they leveraged to try to prevent the rise of a corrupt, massive, authoritarian central government. i.e., the Democrat Party.

So tune in to Levin on your local station, schmuck, and try learning something for a change.

Because your philosophy -- the philosophy of Utopianism -- has failed every time it's been tried in human history. Which is, as Levin has also explains, why liberalism is the philosophy of the stupid.

Photos: Massive Food Shortage Unfolding in Mexico -- Is a Refugee Crisis Imminent?

2012-02-01T20:46:00.007-05:00

I predict an influx of undocumented Democrats.

The Rarámuri indigenous community in northern Mexico faces severe food and water shortages after the region's worst drought in more than 70 years...

The people are getting angry:

• Thousands Demand Food, Jobs in Mexico City - The shortage of basic foods and the spike in prices are devastating the urban dwellers who consume these goods daily,” National Peasants Confederation, or CNC, president Gerardo Sanchez said.

• Even Mexico’s Drug Cartels Are Affected By Worst Drought In Years - Mexico is currently experiencing its most intense drought in 71 years... More than 2 million people in the country have been affected by the water shortage... Government officials warn that the drought could last for at least another five months, with freezing temperature in some states now threatening to endanger lives and crops... Nearly 7 percent of the country’s agricultural land, mostly in the north and centre, has suffered complete losses

• Drought Threatens Food Supply of 2.5 Million Mexicans - Some 2.5 million people are at risk of going hungry due to the severe drought plaguing more than half of Mexico’s 32 states, a leading expert said Thursday... The shortage of rain has already led to the loss of 3.2 million tons of maize, 600,000 tons of beans and 60,000 head of cattle, he noted. ...Without measures to counteract the agricultural losses, “this population runs the risk of suffering hunger,” Romero said, calling it “paradoxical” that the government delayed so long in tapping some of Mexico’s $147 billion in international reserves to address the problems caused by the drought.

You can donate to Mexican food relief here.

Hat tip: Doctor M.

Gallup approval numbers show potentially 'huge Obama loss'

2012-02-01T20:28:00.001-05:00

From their lips to God's ear:

Gallup released their annual state-by-state presidential approval numbers yesterday, and the results should have 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue very worried. If President Obama carries only those states where he had a net positive approval rating in 2011 (e.g. Michigan where he is up 48 percent to 44 percent), Obama would lose the 2012 election to the Republican nominee 323 electoral votes to 215.

Gallup adds:

Overall, Obama averaged 44% job approval in his third year in office, down from 47% in his second year. His approval rating declined from 2010 to 2011 in most states, with Wyoming, Connecticut, and Maine showing a marginal increase, and Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Jersey, Arizona, West Virginia, Michigan, and Georgia showing declines of less than a full percentage point. The greatest declines were in Hawaii, South Dakota, Nebraska, and New Mexico.

Take nothing for granted. It will take every bit of energy; every friend, colleague and family member we can convince; and every bit of divine providence we can muster to save this republic.

Hat tip: BadBlue.com.

Constitutional Showdown: DOJ Threatens to Defy Congressional Demands for Fast and Furious Documents

2012-02-01T19:56:00.002-05:00

Yesterday the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform issued yet another demand for documents, this time going to the unprecedented step of threatening Attorney General Eric Holder with Contempt charges should he again defy Congress (PDF). The highlights of the Committee's demands revolve around the Justice Department's fabrications, delays and denials, many of which appear to involve false testimony. In short, Holder has until 4 February 2012 to avoid a Contempt of Congress charge.

CNN reports this evening that the DOJ is ignoring those threats and claiming it can't produce any documents in time (this, after literally years of requests).

...the Justice Department late Wednesday sent a sharp letter to Issa rejecting his demands from a day earlier for documents by a next-week deadline... Issa is threatening the attorney general with contempt of Congress if DOJ fails to deliver.

The exchange of stinging letters the past two days caps weeks of maneuvering by both sides in advance of the anticipated Holder appearance Thursday before Issa's House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

The Justice Department [claimed] Issa's letter showed "significant misunderstanding both of the documents we recently produced and of the Department's position on the issues you raise."

The Justice Department response Wednesday rejected Issa's February 9, 2012, deadline to produce all demanded documents. Cole called the deadline "impossible" to meet because of the broad scope of the request... He did not directly refer to the threat of a contempt charge by Issa.

The political battle has been raging for more than a year, following the discovery that two of the "fast and furious" weapons that had gone missing in Mexico in the botched sting were discovered at the scene of the killing of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry in Arizona.

This, my friends, could precipitate a true Constitutional crisis. The DOJ's lawless behavior is unacceptable no matter which political party is in power.

Liberals who ignore this flagrant criminality do so at their own peril. Because Democrats will not always control the Executive Branch.

President Obama really should NOT be called "The Foodstamp President"

2012-02-01T19:29:00.005-05:00

Not because it's "racist", or because it's inaccurate.

But because he prefers the term "The Unemployment President". At least, that's what I hear.

The most critical question facing us in November is whether enough American people have become slaves to government. That is: willing to vote for more entitlements, more wealth redistribution, more lawful plunder, more centralized government, and -- ultimately -- a European form of socialism, dependency and economic misery.

Larwyn's Linx: Romney wins Florida GOP primary

2012-02-01T06:24:00.003-05:00

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

GOP Primary

Romney wins Florida GOP primary: RSM
Newt Battles Mush From the Wimps: Lord
GOP Establishment Only Wants Conservatives on Election Day: Rush

The State Of The GOP Horserace Post-Florida: Hawkins
Romney: 87 Down, Only 1,057 to Go: AmSpec
Mitt Romney Wins Florida: AmSpec

No, there isn't a Romney Conspiracy against Allen West: Sunshine
Rick Santorum: Newt Gingrich blew it: Politico
Rep. Allen West Is Conservative Slam Dunk For Veep: IBD

Nation

The Inconvenient Constitution: Sen. Mike Lee
Obamacare’s Great Gift: Clarification: Anchoress
Obama: above the fray or above the law?: DC

First, They Came for the Catholics: Malkin
Obama's Racial Politics: Williams
How Presidential Elections Really Get Decided: Ace

Economy

Congressional Dems Promise Class Warfare: S&L
Budget Outlook Getting Worse, CBO Report Shows: Foundry
Visualize: the European Superhighway of Debt: ZH

How Obama created 22 million jobs: AT
Occupiers Dump Condoms on Catholic School Girls: Fox
Three Things to Know About the CBO Budget Report: ATR

Planned Parenthood: Komen Stopped $ Because Pro-Lifers Hate Women: LifeNews
Obamanomics Has Gov't Workers Happy, Others Miserable: IBD

Scandal Central

Issa threatens Holder with Contempt Unless He Complies With Subpoena For Documents: Nice Deb
DOJ: No Comment On Whether Eric Stedman Holder Was Told of Fast & Furious Murder on Day It Occurred: Ace
Congress Warns Holder Over Acorn Payola: IBD

Climate & Energy

The Coming of the New Ice Age: End of the Global Warming Era?: Zombie
Bad Dreams In The Night: NoisyRm
Hope, Change, & Lies About Green Energy Jobs: Wolf Howling

Media

For No Reason Except To Punish Cultures He Abhors, Obama Mandates Catholics Pay for Abortions: Ace
Media Act As Though Only Republicans Misbehave: IBD
Barack Schettino Obama: Ace

Wag the Finger: Media’s Selective Memory: Loesch
New York Times: Regulations Good Unless It’s About Abortion: LifeNews
Allen West Defends Forceful Comments to Dems to “Get the Hell Out”; He Fires Back at Bob Beckel: FN Insider

On MSNBC, Politico Punk Refers to Florida Panhandle as ‘Cracker Counties’: BigJ
Chris Matthews Inadvertently Exposes Why Elitists Fear the Tea Party, Support #OWS: AllAm
74% favor eliminating mandatory union dues: Rasmussen

World

Iran prepared to attack US, intelligence says: Post
U.S. Special Forces Will Be Weakened by Defense Budget Cuts: Foundry
Intel chief: Al Qaeda hurting, Iran 'more willing' to launch attacks in U.S.: Fox

Mossad chief holds secret U.S. meetings on Iran nuclear threat, Senate panel reveals: Haaretz
Nine year old British girls forced to marry under sharia: Creeping
Report Finds Terrorism 'Hot Spots'; and Historical Trends in Terror Types: Blaze

Qaradawi: No Chopping Off of Hands Now…But Later is OK: IPT
U.S. military says Taliban set to retake power: report: Reuters
UK: Doctors rebut claim most favour health reforms: Telegraph

Sci-Tech

Yahoo's 1,100 patents could pose a problem for Facebook: Insider
Facebook to file for $5 billion IPO Wednesday: report: Townhall
Microsoft: The Web is better without plug-ins: CNet

Cornucopia

Leading urban kids on nature hikes: C&S
Peyton Manning likely will never play football again, sources say: LAT
Newt Gingrich Judges You

Image: The Looking Spoon
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Rick Santorum for President

QOTD: "This is the chief character flaw of the leftist movement -- their inability to respect anyone at all but their own. A very provincial and solipisitically childish way to view the world, of course, which leads to a vicious arrogance in attempting to pound, pound, pound square pegs into the round holes the state has cut for them.

The left would just be wrong, and not dangerous, if it weren't so arrogant about disposing of people's freedom with a single thoughtless line of legislation.

It is that, the arrogance and the profound disrespect of anyone who does not wear the feathers and warpaint of their tribe, that makes them not just wrong but sinister." --Ace

Six charts from the CBO that spell big trouble for the U.S.

2012-01-31T21:21:00.002-05:00

Jim Pethokoukis points us to a just-released report from the Congressional Budget Office (PDF) that includes some extremely troubling graphs.

Catastrophic budget deficits and unemployment levels (purposefully understated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics) as far as the eye can see. The good news? By 2022 the economy will have ~~collapsed~~ been "fundamentally transformed" under soaring interest rates and unpayable debts.

Obama can blame Bush, Martin Van Buren, or Mary Tyler Moore -- but the facts are simple: those last four bars are owned 100% by the Democrat Party. The Stimulus package, which I like to call "the most audacious armed robbery in world history" continues to be spent every year as it is built into the baseline budget. Which somehow seems to escape legacy media's attention as they discuss taxing "the rich", "oil companies", "doctors who charge $30,000 for an amputation", and anyone else who tries to make an honest living.

The CBO defines the GDP gap as, essentially, the delta between where the GDP is and where it should be. They're too diplomatic to put it the way I would, which is: "the difference between where the GDP is now and where it would be if we didn't have a radical ideologue beholden to the environmental flat-Earth no-growth Marxists and the public sector union bosses as president".

I don't believe the CBO's projections for the future, especially in the case of this chart. There's a concept called "reversion to mean" that, roughly translated, says that figures generally return to their average. Note the average interest rates the country's seen over the last four decades. Now add in the monstrous amounts of global debt that lies lurking, ready to smash into the global economy at any moment thanks to the insanity of bankers and their surrogates in government. We'll be lucky if we only see a reversion to the mean over the next 10 or 15 years.

• "The U.S. housing industry, where experts believe the economic crisis began, is the target of President Barack Obama's latest initiative to strengthen the economy. Mr. Obama has unveiled a $75 billion plan to prevent as many as nine million Americans from losing their homes." (2/18/2009)

• "Obama expands mortgage modification effort - Under fire to do more to stop the foreclosure crisis, the Obama administration announced new mortgage modification steps on Friday to help the unemployed and those who are "underwater" with a bigger loan than their home is worth." (3/26/2010)

• "OBAMA ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR TARGETED FORECLOSURE-PREVENTION PROGRAMS TO HELP HOMEOWNERS STRUGGLING WITH UNEMPLOYMENT - Treasury’s Hardest Hit Fund Will Provide $2 Billion of Additional Assistance in 17 states and the District of Columbia; HUD to Launch a New $1 Billion Program to Help Unemployed Borrowers in Other Areas..." (8/11/2010)

• "Obama’s Plan Announced - On Monday, the Obama administration announced a plan which will attempt to help struggling homeowners refinance their mortgages." (10/31/2011)

I got a million more of 'em.

Hey, isn't central planning grand?

If we don't vote these malevolent Statists out of office in November, this country may be gone.

The Top 150 Conservative Websites -- 1Q12

2012-01-31T20:04:00.009-05:00

Using Alexa's traffic rankings, the following represents a tabular view of the top 150 conservatively focused news and blog sites. Each column can be sorted by clicking the column header. And just click on the site-name to open a new window and visit the website. And, yes, I know that some of these sites aren't truly "conservative". That said, conservatives often cite and reference them, so I've included them for purposes of completeness.

Rank	Website	Alexa Rank
1	foxnews.com	164
2	wsj.com	234
3	telegraph.co.uk	240
4	nypost.com	873
5	realclearpolitics.com	1307
6	theblaze.com	1600
7	autoblog.com	1636
8	zerohedge.com	1906
9	chron.com	2218
10	washingtontimes.com	2232
11	dailycaller.com	3052
12	breitbart.com	3424
13	hotair.com	3494
14	thehill.com	3585
15	haaretz.com	3740
16	townhall.com	3979
17	freerepublic.com	4277
18	nationalreview.com	4658
19	foreignpolicy.com	4899
20	washingtonexaminer.com	4983
21	pjmedia.com	5218
22	pajamasmedia.com	5218
23	military.com	5252
24	theatlanticwire.com	5923
25	dallasnews.com	6348
26	investors.com	6723
27	rushlimbaugh.com	6961
28	globalpost.com	7554
29	weeklystandard.com	7912
30	reason.com	9163
31	cnsnews.com	9663
32	newsbusters.org	9872
33	breitbart.tv	10058
34	americanthinker.com	10325
35	rasmussenreports.com	10443
36	humanevents.com	11114
37	mises.org	11138
38	redstate.com	11230
39	biggovernment.com	11677
40	cbn.com	12340
41	ace,mypetjawa, confederateyankee...	13351
42	blog.heritage.org	14283
43	wattsupwiththat.com	15770
44	michellemalkin.com	18239
45	stratfor.com	19893
46	globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com	20740
47	thegatewaypundit.com	20889
48	spectator.org	20931
49	powerlineblog.com	20942
50	whitehousedossier.com	21835
51	therightscoop.com	27019
52	chicagobusiness.com	27217
53	thenewamerican.com	28398
54	jihadwatch.org	29779
55	bigjournalism.com	29809
56	realclearmarkets.com	33712
57	althouse.blogspot.com	37255
58	blogs.dailymail.com	38668
59	marklevinshow.com	39844
60	hannity.com	39906
61	anncoulter.com	40388
62	atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com	40459
63	freedomworks.org	40513
64	memeorandum.com	45555
65	rollcall.com	45835
66	weaselzippers.us	46171
67	commentarymagazine.com	46234
68	legalinsurrection.com	48111
69	the-american-interest.com	48252
70	american.com	54129
71	lifenews.com	54672
72	volokh.com	57145
73	boortz.com	57147
74	numbersusa.com	64248
75	defensetech.org	67016
76	theothermccain.com	69885
77	outsidethebeltway.com	72757
78	patdollard.com	72824
79	armytimes.com	72876
80	rightwingnews.com	73482
81	mrc.org	77679
82	wizbangblog.com	78086
83	ricochet.com	79753
84	bigpeace.com	84625
85	city-journal.org	90381
86	danielpipes.org	90476
87	rightpundits.com	92880
88	jammiewf.com	93951
89	iowntheworld.com	94546
90	firstthings.com	95024
91	conservatives4palin.com	95233
92	cato-at-liberty.org	100026
93	borderlandbeat.com	100272
94	climateaudit.org	100312
95	aei.org	115543
96	verumserum.com	117333
97	sayanythingblog.com	124462
98	moonbattery.com	124950
99	smalldeadanimals.com	133287
100	directorblue.blogspot.com	134012
101	steynonline.com	144346
102	lonelyconservative.com	146472
103	allgov.com	147026
104	gatesofvienna.blogspot.com	147285
105	hughhewitt.com	149101
106	hillbuzz.org	150789
107	floppingaces.net	156789
108	linkiest.com	159640
109	radicalislam.org	161232
110	memri.org	162614
111	patterico.com	168715
112	cafehayek.com	173452
113	sultanknish.blogspot.com	181458
114	americanpowerblog.blogspot.com	188393
115	thepeoplescube.com	189611
116	blackfive.net	192061
117	polipundit.com	192180
118	judicialwatch.org	196130
119	thehayride.com	206579
120	viralfootage.com	212096
121	yidwithlid.blogspot.com	220712
122	riehlworldview.com	223368
123	redcounty.com	227272
124	ihatethemedia.com	234673
125	creepingsharia.wordpress.com	235131
126	allamericanblogger.com	238838
127	dennisprager.com	240434
128	proteinwisdom.com	241670
129	bostonreview.net	242193
130	bobmccarty.com	249058
131	newsrealblog.com	249822
132	justoneminute.typepad.com	251057
133	varight.com	251341
134	noquarterusa.net	254280
135	politicsandfinance.blogspot.com	261896
136	zombietime.com	269033
137	strata-sphere.com	274581
138	nakeddc.com	280995
139	imao.us	298849
140	economicnoise.com	300565
141	americandigest.org	310947
142	sweetness-light.com	326723
143	iowahawk.typepad.com	336458
144	michellesmirror.com	340290
145	dailypundit.com	373461
146	scaredmonkeys.com	377177
147	thecampofthesaints.org	385568
148	winteryknight.wordpress.com	394591
149	atr.org	400887
150	conservativecommune.com	403485

Map: how close to you live to a U.S. terrorism hot spot?

2012-01-31T19:29:00.002-05:00

I contend that a careful examination would reveal that each of these hot spots is located near a Militant Quaker gathering place.

...[For the DHS,] researchers from the University of Maryland and University of Massachusetts-Boston (PDF) mapped all events considered terrorism since 1970 to 2008 in the United States (below). This established areas they deemed terrorism “hot spots” but also revealed that terrorism is actually “widely dispersed”. So widely dispersed that every state has experienced some act of terrorism in some form, according to the report. The report defines a hot spot as an area where more than the average number of terrorist attacks have taken place — the average for the U.S. is six.

...The research found that a third of all terrorist attacks during that time-frame studied took place in five metropolitan cities — Manhattan, New York (343 attacks); Los Angeles County, Calif. (156 attacks); Miami-Dade County, Fla. (103 attacks); San Francisco County, Calif. (99 attacks); and Washington, D.C. (79 attacks).

...In addition to tracking areas prone to terrorist attacks, the study authors saw trends in timing of terrorist attacks and type of motivation behind the attack. For example, co-author Bianca Bersani, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, said that terrorist attacks they classified as extreme left-wing — “groups that want to bring about change through violent revolution rather than through established political processes” – were limited almost exclusively to the 1970s. Whereas in the 1980s terrorism with religious motivations took place and the 1990s had extreme right-wing attacks by “groups that believe that one’s personal and/or national “way of life” is under attack and is either already lost or that the threat is imminent”.

A comment following the article voiced the obvious follow-up question: "Didn't our trusty Congress just declare the United States part of the battlefield on the war on us, I mean war on terror? That was part of the excuse to pass NDAA, wasn’t it?"

Perhaps this is a job for Obama's vaunted "Civilian National Security Force" that he crowed about in 2008 and 2009.

Hat tip: BadBlue.com.

Larwyn's Linx: Revealed: Romney Contributed $10K to Radical Gay Group

2012-01-31T06:24:00.004-05:00

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

GOP Primary

Revealed: Romney Contributed $10,000 to Radical Gay Group: RWN
Panicked GOP insiders land in bizarro world: Wolf
Why Romney Can't Seal The Deal In Florida: Riehl

For Santorum: Malkin
Backlash: Reaganite FL Cuban Leader Backs Newt, Blasts Mitt: Riehl
FL Tea Partier should scare GOP old guard: Ricochet

Nation

Meet the SEIU hack running Obama's reelection campaign: LUR
White House “Fury” Over Michelle’s $50K Shopping Spree Story: JWF
Reagan: “These Voices Don’t Speak for Us”: Bruce

Allen West Redistricted: Romney Involved?: MagNote
Did Obama Launch The 10th Crusade?: Wolf Howling
Is This the Kind of Judge a President Christie Would Nominate?: NRO

Economy

$189,000: Post
CBO Study on Federal Pay: Cato
Oakland's idiot mayor flummoxed by violence she once praised: WZ

White House backs Park Police in Occupy Conflict: BigG
U.S. Gets Tougher on Debt Collecting: WSJ
Another Trillion (or Two) Euro LTRO Coming Next Month: Mish

SEIU Confirms DSA Marxist Connection: NoisyRm
This is Europe's scariest chart: ZH
Obama: "Interesting" That Your Unemployed Husband Can't Find Job: RCP

Scandal Central

Eric Holder's False Testimony Warrants Impeachment: IBD
DHS Secretary: “Mistakes were made” on Fast and Furious: Hot Air
DOE-Backed Green Energy Company Amonix Lays Off Two-Thirds of Workforce: ConCom

Climate & Energy

When Global Warming Freezes Over: IBD
California Issues Clown Car Mandate: IBD
Bitter cold records broken in Alaska – all time coldest record threatened: Watts

Media

Romney: "I Feel Sorry For Debbie Wasserman Schultz": RCP
Our dysfunctional media: "“My friends know more about the Kardashians than who's running for president.": WaPo
Photos: Compare Obama Supporters With Osama Supporters: Glob

DNC: We Never Used Extreme Rhetoric When Bush Was President: RCP
The Rookie’s Rough Guide to CPAC: Sundries
NBC, AP Avoid 'M-word' in Report About 'Honor Killings': NB

Rick Santorum in Missouri: Full Speech: Scoop
Hardball: Diane Sawyer Quizzes Obama on the Super Bowl and Singing: NB
Juan Williams Finds Racism in Candidates' (and Others'?) Use of 'Constitution' and 'Founding Fathers': NB

World

Carney Says Obama In No Rush To Make a Decision On How To Deal With Iran Nuke Program: WZ
Gingrich's Fresh Hope: Glick
Obama Defends Drone Use: WSJ

No More Leading from Behind for America: Santorum
Iranian Supreme Leader: Islamists' Rise Is Part of Battle Against “Cancerous Tumor” Israel: WZ
Norway Embraces Islamist Tyranny: Bawer

Sci-Tech

How Is the Internet Changing the Way You Think? ed by John Brockman: review: Telegraph
Windows 8 Tablets Will Probably Launch WITHOUT A New Version Of Office: Insider
P&G To Lay Off 1,600 After Discovering It's Free To Advertise On Facebook: Insider

Cornucopia

Only 246 Fans Jilted At Last Year's Super Bowl Agree To Attend This Year's For Free: Consumerist
Cedartown resident among those filing lawsuit against Obama: Cedartown
Obama Celebrates Mardi Gras: Morlock Revolt

Image: Artist's Depiction: Agent Provocateur sales boosted by US First Lady Michelle Obama (NSFW)
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Save Allen West's District!

QOTD: "Dutch satirist Johan Vlemmix has decided not to perform his latest hit 'Do the Burqa' onstage following death threats. The song, a carnival parody to the music of Van McCoy’s Do the Hustle, is a huge success on YouTube, so much so that the video provider has switched off the comments facility. Too many people were posting angry reactions saying that they had been insulted.

The images show a woman wearing a T-shirt which can be instantly converted into a burqa, albeit one that does not cover the breasts." --BigFurHat

The Most Audacious Armed Robbery in History -- and Those Who Would Sit Out an Election

2012-01-30T21:12:00.008-05:00

The Democrats' 2009 Stimulus package was, in my estimation, the most audacious armed robbery in world history. Literally hundreds of billions of dollars were stolen from American taxpayers -- and generations yet unborn -- to reward Democrat campaign contributors.

Solyndra was only the most basic example of these crimes. In fact, though you wouldn't know it from reading the funny papers, a whole series of "green energy" companies are in varying stages of collapse. For the most recent example, please consider: "Another Stimulus-Backed Energy Company Files for Bankruptcy":

After months of financial turmoil, an Energy Department-backed lithium ion battery company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company, Ener1, received a $118 million grant from DOE in 2010 as part of the president’s stimulus package. The money, which went to Ener1 subsidiary EnerDel, aimed to promote renewable energy storage battery technology for electrical grid use.

Oh, and don't forget about Beacon Power:

Beacon Power Company received $39 million of its government-guaranteed loan before it filed for bankruptcy. Beacon Power developed new technology that supposedly provides energy storage designed to help the intermittent solar and wind power be used by power grids, which need stable power to remain reliable.

Not to mention Amonix:

Just seven months after California-based solar power company Amonix Inc. opened its largest manufacturing plant, in North Las Vegas, the company’s contractor has laid off nearly two-thirds of its workforce... Amonix received a $5.9 million investment tax credit through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act in 2010...

I've got a million of 'em. In fact, that's why I created "The Handy-Dandy EnergyGate Cheat Sheet" -- to keep track of all the wanton criminality associated with the "green collar" jobs that are disappearing faster than a double-chocolate brownie placed in front of Michael Moore.

I would wager $1,000 that a complete investigation of each "green energy" company and its backers -- by third-party, forensic accountants -- would expose a web of ties linking those who benefited to some of the Democrat Party's largest donors. Cause that's the way they roll.

The most shocking aspect of these crimes is that the White House privately admitted that the Stimulus had nothing -- Nuh. Thing. -- to do with rescuing the economy. A recently revealed, December 15, 2008 memo from Obama's senior economic adviser Larry Summers to the president stated explicitly that the suggested spending packages were not about rescuing the economy... they were about rewarding Obama's backers.

The Stimulus is an ongoing crime perpetrated by the Democrats against the American people.

And why do I call this thievery an "armed robbery"? Said simply, Obama and his minions plundered America's wealth -- indebting an untold number of future generations in the process -- using the force of law. This is, as Bastiat put it, "legal plunder."

It is impossible to introduce into society a greater change and a greater evil than this: the conversion of the law into an instrument of plunder.

What are the consequences of such a perversion? It would require volumes to describe them all. Thus we must content ourselves with pointing out the most striking.

In the first place, it erases from everyone's conscience the distinction between justice and injustice.

No society can exist unless the laws are respected to a certain degree. The safest way to make laws respected is to make them respectable. When law and morality contradict each other, the citizen has the cruel alternative of either losing his moral sense or losing his respect for the law.

Bastiat was describing, more than 150 years before they came to power, the 111th Congress and President Obama.

While I support Rick Santorum in this primary process, I don't care if a crippled kangaroo is the GOP candidate. I will vote to oust Obama and to begin to save this precious country. Those who want to "sit it out" in protest should consider the impact of their inaction on subsequent generations, who we've already condemned to an ominous future. If collapse is what you seek, remember that this generation -- our generation -- will be forever marked as those who lost America.

This theft will not stand. It must not stand. And I will walk on broken glass and hot coals to vote this failed president out of office in November, while bolstering the number of true conservatives in Congress. It's the least we can do. So stop bitching about Mitt Romney, the GOP establishment, or the fact that your latte isn't hot enough. We've been at this for little more than two years. And Rome wasn't built in a day.

You and I, we've got a country to save.

"Europe's Scariest Chart"

2012-01-30T17:25:00.003-05:00

Tyler Durden calls this "Europe's Scariest Chart".

Surging Greek and Portuguese bond yields? Plunging Italian bank stocks? The projected GDP of the Eurozone? In the grand scheme of things, while certainly disturbing, none of these data points actually tell us much about the secular shift within European society, and certainly are nothing that couldn't be fixed if the ECB were to gamble with hyperinflation and print an inordinate amount of fiat units diluting the capital base even further...

No: the one chart that truly captures the latent fear behind the scenes in Europe is that showing youth unemployment in the continent's troubled countries (and frankly everywhere else). Because the last thing Europe needs is a discontented, disenfranchised, and devoid of hope youth roving the streets with nothing to do, easily susceptible to extremist and xenophobic tendencies: after all, it must be "someone's" fault that there are no job opportunities for anyone.

[The accompanying chart represents] youth (16-24) unemployment in three select European countries (and the general Eurozone as a reference point). Some may be surprised to learn that while Portugal, and Greece, are quite bad, at 30.7% and 46.6% respectively, it is Spain where the youth unemployment pain is most acute: at 51.4%, more than half of the youth eligible for work does not have a job! Because the real question is if there is no hope for tomorrow, what is the opportunity cost of doing something stupid and quite irrational today?

Bonus Question: what do you call people who try to replicate Europe's failed social welfare state -- a bubbling cauldron of debt-fueled misery and civil unrest -- here in America?

Answer: Democrats.

SEIU Proudly Advertises Its Assocation With Fascist Ideology

2012-01-30T16:53:00.001-05:00

Trevor Loudon describes the open and malevolent ties between the SEIU and the Democrat Socialists of America. You can subtitle this story "SEIU members hardest hit":

I have long contended that the US’ largest and most militant labor organization the Service Employees International Union, is allied to, or subordinate to, the country’s largest Marxist organization – Democratic Socialists of America... Here is proof of this connection, from the latest edition of DSA’s Democratic Left, Winter 2011/2012, page 11:

God bless Trevor Loudon for his unwavering fight against the failed, miserable, Utopian ideology of Marxist Fascism in all of its nefarious and destructive forms.

And for those who accuse mois of using "over-the-top" rhetoric with the word fascism, please consider "The Wiktionary Definition of Fascism."

Larwyn's Linx: Palin: "Rage Against the Machine...Vote for Newt"

2012-01-30T07:14:00.002-05:00

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

GOP Primary

Palin: "Rage Against the Machine...Vote for Newt": FoxNation
The 2012 Race Takes Shape: Barone
Mitt Romney's Lack Of Character Revealed Out Of Desperation: Riehl

Latest FL Poll Shows Newt Within Three Points: RCP (PDF)
Newt makes closing argument at The Villages: Nice Deb
Rasmussen: Romney opens up lead in FL: Exam

Romney Aide is Re-districting Allen West Out of Office: LI
Wake Up, Conservatives: Mitt Romney Is Running As A Leftist: Riehl
Bella Santorum 'Improving,' Candidate Off the Trail: NatlJrnl

Nation

Through the Prism of Race: Shayne
Obama’s targeted Latino appeal: Politico
Robert Gibbs back on Obama payroll: Politico

Eat, Pray, Love and Be Black but Don’t Be a Republican: ConBlkChk
The Heretical Gospel According to Pope Barack The First: WyBlog
Congress promises to get tough on Congress: ConCom

Economy

How the $800B stimulus failed: Post
Mostly Peaceful Oakland Occupiers Mostly Peaceful To The Tune Of 300 Arrested: STACLU
Stunning: DC Police Now Tasing Occupiers: JWF

The Political Cowardice of Barack Obama: Reason
Michelle's $50,000 shopping spree boosts company's sales: Telegraph
FL Food stamp bill seek to restrict junk food: Trib

Scandal Central

A Fast and Furious Fib: Post
The Latest Beneficiary of Obama’s Crony Capitalism: George Sorosd: C4P
Fast and Furious sparks agency changes: AZStar

Climate & Energy

Awesome: Calif. To Pay For High Speed Rail With Extortion: Soylent
Iran says oil could reach $120 to $150 per barrel: Fox
CNN Projects Gas Prices Rising to $4.25 to $5 a Gallon: NB

Media

New York Times Fails to Mention Gingrich Was Cleared Of Ethics Charges: BigJ
Welcome to BadBlue: ConCom
The Dan Rather File: Five Decades of Liberal Media Bias: MRC (2007)

Rev. Luke Robinson: ‘They Want Us To Be Silent Because the President Is a Black Man’: CNS
The Social Media and Me: Sajak
Thomas Friedman's Delusions About China vs. Reality: SDA

Tea Party Patriots straw poll: Santorum nomination would generate most enthusiasm: DC
How I woke up to the untruths of Barack Obama: Telegraph
An America Divided: Boortz

World

Egypt: Tens of Thousands of Muslim Brotherhood And Secular Protesters Clash In Tahrir Square: WZ
Egypt: Mob of 3,000 Muslims Led By Salafists Attack Christian Homes And Shops: WZ
The True Obama Doctrine, And Its Chilling Result: Blogmocracy

Palestinian Authority-Run TV Praises Brutal Murderers of Fogel Family: Lid (Graphic)
All American Muslims in Dearborn Heights Arrested for Assault on Christian Quarterback: Creeping
Panetta: Iran is one year away from producing nuclear weapon: Haaretz

Sci-Tech

F-BOMB: the $50 DARPA-funded spy computer makes widespread surveillance even easier: End the Lie
5-Million Dot Electronic Viewfinder Makes Glass Obsolete: Wired
Google Teams With Facebook and Microsoft To Phight Phishing: Wired

Cornucopia

Our Most Populist President Ever: MOTUS
OWS Street Graffit: I See Tent People: Urban Infidel
After ‘The Wire’ ended, actress Sonja Sohn couldn’t leave Baltimore’s troubled streets behind: WaPo

Image: Glenn McCoy Political Cartoons
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Rick Santorum for President

QOTD: "How long before we see a FLOTUS tarmac tantrum? We did get two divas for the price of one. As longtime observers of the royal Obamas have long observed: Mr. and Mrs. Cranky Pants’ problem has never been the color of their skin. It’s the thinness." --Michelle Malkin

Due to popular demand...

2012-01-29T21:54:00.003-05:00

Several bloggers requested that I create some buttons or sidebar badges for the new BadBlue news service. Okay, it wasn't several. It was one. But still...

To use one of the buttons, simply click the one you want, then copy the text in the HTML block below to paste into your template:

350 pixels wide

300 pixels wide

250 pixels wide

200 pixels wide

180 pixels wide

HTML to use in your template:

If you don't know what BadBlue is, click here. Basically, it's a news service for the rest of us, completely automated using social networking chatter as the barometer for promoting news stories. So far it seems to be catching on.

Newt Gingrich Fires Back Against GOP Old Guard, Ann Coulter Hardest Hit

2012-01-29T20:37:00.004-05:00

Ann Coulter is one of America's most talented conservative columnists. Of late, she has been curiously dogged in attacking Newt Gingrich -- unquestionably a captain of the "Reagan Revolution" -- while backing a man whose conservative credentials are dicey at best. Today Gingrich fired back.

Fox News Latino’s Victor Garcia did a phone interview with Newt Gingrich. During which the Former Speaker was asked about the recent Ann Coulter and Tom Delay criticisms...

Victor Garcia: You have been taking a lot of hits from Tom Delay now, Ann Coulter some of these people that some would consider on the far right of the conservative spectrum. What is your response to the criticism of those ones? Why do you think they are attacking you?

Newt Gingrich: Look I think there are a whole bunch of folks who represent the old order; they attacked Ronald Reagan in 1980 exactly the same way. They are looking at a national poll that shows me ahead of Romney 52-39 in a two way race and they are recognizing that if I come back as president, that I will be for very dramatic, very bold change and they are terrified. I have no interest in what Tom Delay did that got him in trouble. I thought it was wrong and a mistake, I have a very different approach to that and I have no Idea what motivates Ann Coulter but I find that she is all over the map. Basically she is for Romney and therefore anything she says about me is a reflection of the fact that she is for Romney. I expect people who are for Romney to attack me because they are terrified because he is losing.

I have no problem whatsoever with Coulter voicing her opinion, but she should -- like Karl Rove -- disclose whether any financial interests are playing a part in her support for Romney.

Hat tip: BadBlue.

Photos: Occupy DC Girds Its Loins for Eviction Tomorrow

2012-01-29T17:07:00.003-05:00

My brother and I went down to McPherson Square today to mock some of the Occupiers for their upcoming eviction tomorrow.

Hopefully this isn't the tent of an English teacher.

Curiously, the encampment appears to be more reminiscent of a ghost town rather than a bustling village gearing up for a confrontation.

Eviction notices were taped to most of the tents.

Compliance bullet #2 could prove problematic in inclement weather.

The crowd couldn't get enough of the Daily Activity Board.

6:00AM Monday - a "General Assembly" will greet the Park Service eviction crew.

A raucous crowd of Occupiers met some tourists taking pictures.

"Comfort Station".

Sensible: fighting "American Fascism" by demanding more government.

Confrontational.

Occupy DC's art gallery: always a popular attraction.

If these guys expect to be teargassed and flash-banged tomorrow, they'd better get rowdier.

Anyone know how much it would cost to have one of these mounted on my hood?

2012-01-29T16:05:00.004-05:00

I was thinking it would streamline my commute.

Related: The 10 Cars With the Most Obnoxious Drivers

Outrage: Tea Party Activists Burn American Flag, 300 Arrested

2012-01-29T10:29:00.000-05:00

Did I say "Tea Party Activists"? Because I meant to say "Democrat-supported Occupy Loons."

Occupy Oakland protesters broke into City Hall, stole an American flag from the council chamber and set it afire Saturday night punctuating a wild day on the streets of the East Bay city in which police deployed tear gas, arrested more than 100 marchers and dodged hurling objects... Demonstrators spent the day trying to break into a convention center, and temporarily occupying City Hall and a YMCA, all while snaking around lines of riot-clad police.

...It marked the first major clashes between protesters and police since November and left three officers with minor injuries, as protesters threw bottles, metal pipe, rocks, spray cans and “improvised explosive devices” and lit flares, police said.

300 of the ~~Tea Party activists~~ Occupy Oakland Leftists were arrested according to The Los Angeles Times.

...About 300 people were arrested Saturday during a chaotic day of Occupy protests that saw demonstrators break into City Hall and burn an American flag, as police earlier fired tear gas and bean bags to disperse hundreds of people after some threw rocks and bottles and tore down fencing outside a nearby convention center.

...Dozens of police officers remained on guard outside City Hall around midnight following the most turbulent day of protests since November, when Oakland police forcefully dismantled an Occupy encampment. An exasperated Mayor Jean Quan, who faced heavy criticism for the police action last fall, called on the Occupy movement to "stop using Oakland as its playground."

...Quan said that at one point, many forced their way into City Hall, where they burned flags, broke an electrical box and damaged several art structures, including a recycled art exhibit created by children.

Curiously, the media has failed to connect this violence with the explicit endorsements of the movement by President Obama.

Priorities

2012-01-29T09:54:00.001-05:00

Contrary to rumor, the President and Democrats in Congress really do have a national security strategy. See if you can figure out what it is.

...President Obama and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta have already settled on a plan to slash $487 billion from existing manpower, as well as from procurement and development of equipment and weapons. The cuts include reducing the Army by 72,000 people and the Marines by 20,000. The cuts also include elimination of six tactical fighter squadrons and one training squadron, plus buying fewer F-35 Joint Strike Fighters -- on top of already planned reductions in the number of F-22 air superiority fighters to be put in service. The Navy will decommission seven cruisers and two amphibious craft, plus delay its procurement process for new ships. Together, these moves will dramatically reduce our ability to put "boots on the ground" and to insure the air superiority needed to protect and assist U.S. forces in major conflicts. Having such forces at the ready is also the best way to keep minor conflicts from exploding into big ones.

But the Obama-Panetta cuts aren't nearly enough for some in Congress. On Friday, representatives Barney Frank of Massachusetts, Barbara Lee and Lynn Woolsey of California, and Rush Holt of New Jersey wrote Obama to encourage him to "take even bolder leadership on this issue as you finalize your budget." They want Obama to double the Pentagon cuts because "the Cold War is long over, and no remotely comparable adversary has emerged or is likely to emerge. ... We believe that savings of around $900 billion over the next 10 years can be realized." Following their advice would greatly reduce the reach of American power, and make us seem like a paper lion to the bad guys of the world.

...The terrible irony here is that military spending has been on a steady decline since 1965, as seen in the nearby chart. And, as the defense portion of the budget has contracted for nearly five decades, entitlement spending has exploded... Obama, Panetta and their liberal Democrat allies like Frank are playing chicken with American security.

Was that last sentence racist? Let's ask Leonard Pitts.

Larwyn's Linx: What's Left to Say?

2012-01-29T07:56:00.005-05:00

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

GOP Primary

What's Left to Say?: ProWis
We're screwed: Romney wants RomneyCare in every state: GWP
Gingrich gets endorsement from Herman Cain: Fox

Nation

F.A. Hayek On "The Great Utopia": ZH
Obama to the nation: Onward civilian soldiers: Will
Norquist: Impeach Obama over taxes?: Hot Air

Another Tea Partier arrested for death threat: Powers
Last Refuge of the Race Hustlers: Wolf Howling
Bishop Zubik rips Obama on health care mandate: PittLive

Economy

You Know Who Doesn't Agree the Economy Is Improving?: Ace
After Federal Bailouts, Now GM Lobbying States for More?: Huston
NLRB: Companies Must Turn Over Employee Contact Info: Blaze

The State of Our Union Is Broke: Steyn
Unfair to compare the Obama, Reagan economic recoveries?: Peth
Greeks Reject German Plan for EU Budget Commissioner: Mish

Scandal Central

The Holder Department Of Justice Takes The Fifth: GVB
Holder informed of ATF connection to Brian Terry’s murder day border agent died: DC
Burke of Fast and Furious had anti-gun history: Tucson

Climate & Energy

Al Gore's Paperboy is a Little Slow: iOTW
David Rose: Forget global warming - it's Cycle 25 we need to worry about: SC25
California goes full bats*** crazy: Soylent

Media

Gingrich: Coulter Represents "The Old Order": RCP
Obamacare and the Supreme Court: NRO TV
Eleanor Clift Says Something So Dumb Mort Zuckerman Does Double Facepalm In Disbelief: NB

Rich Lowry Was 12 When Reagan Was Elected And It Shows: Riehl
Allen West to Democrats: Get your leftism the hell out of America!: Scoop
Maher Mocks Gingrich's Wife as a Martian: NB

World

Cultural Marxism: Kimball
Nigeria: fundamental issues exposed by Boko Haram's gruesome rise: Guardian
Greece, creditors on verge of clinching debt deal: Reuters

Gutting America's military is no way to keep the peace: Exam
The Numbers Crunch: Bibi’s oriental viral video: JPost
Iranian bloggers to be executed for 'spreading corruption': Atlas

Sci-Tech

Your iPhone Has To Be Made In China, And Apple Can’t Absolve Your Guilt: PaidContent
Apple Hits Back After New York Times Reports 'Significant Problems' With Manufacturers: FoxBiz
Twitter censorship plan sparks global outrage: Times

Cornucopia

Night Fishing in San Francisco: AmDigest
Video: The greatest guitarist ever?: Hot Air
Watch Newt Gingrich Lincoln Day Dinner Speech: Scoop

Prayers for Bella Santorum: Malkin
Disgraced teacher worth $10M, makes $100K a year, does nothing, refuses to leave: Post
Shipwreck hunters find mysterious object at bottom of Baltic Sea: Daily Mail

Image: Urban Infidel
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Rick Santorum for President

QOTD: "The president certainly had facts and figures at his disposal. He boasted that his regulatory reforms “will save business and citizens more than $10 billion over the next five years.” Wow. Ten billion smackeroos! That’s some savings — and in a mere half a decade! Why, it’s equivalent to what the government of the United States borrows every 53 hours. So by midnight on Thursday Obama had already re-borrowed all those hard-fought savings from 2017. “In the last 22 months,” said the president, “businesses have created more than three million jobs.” Impressive. But 125,000 new foreign workers arrive every month (officially). So we would have to have created 2,750,000 jobs in that period just to stand still."--Mark Steyn

I accuse this chart of being racist!

2012-01-28T21:12:00.002-05:00

James Pethokoukis calls this "the economic chart that may doom the Obama presidency."

Even if [Friday's] GDP report—for the fourth quarter of 2011—shows 3 percent growth or better [Ed: it did not, coming in at 2.8, worse than expected], it would be just the fourth time that has happened since the economy began turning up in June 2009: 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, 3.9 percent in the first quarter of 2010, and 3.8 percent in the second quarter of 2010. But no 3 percent-plus quarters since then.

The first nine quarters of the Reagan Recovery, by contrast, looked like this: 5.1 percent, 9.3 percent, 8.1 percent, 8.5 percent, 8.0 percent, 7.1 percent, 3.9 percent, 3.3 percent, 3.8, percent, 3.4 percent. In fact, the Reagan Boom went from the first quarter of 1983 until the second quarter of 1986 without notching a sub-3 percent GDP quarter.

So, while the Reagan Recovery quickly made up for lost years of growth, not so much for the Obama Recovery, as this chart in today’s Wall Street Journal makes clear:

Over at Business Insider, a surprisingly left-wing rag given its ostensible focus on the private sector economy, some ludicrous hack named Joe Weisenthal insists that all of this data is irrelevant. His latest piece, basically a troll's post with a larger-than-usual website, is entitled "Why The Obama Recovery Has Been Much More Impressive Than Reagan's" (no link, you can find it if you want to).

Another thing about Reagan was that he was a deficit-lover.
Reagan presided over the largest (still) one-year annual jump in the size of the national debt. (And PS: that just happened to be right after the recession, when the economy started growing like crazy as Pethokoukis notes)... The conditions behind the Great Recession were far worse than anything Reagan inherited, and Obama has pulled off a recovery with less of a sustained growth in Federal Government spending.

Hey, Joe - I wonder who was in control of the House during the Reagan years? Oh, yeah -- that's right. The Democrats, who insisted every one of Reagan's austerity budgets was "Dead On Arrival". Reagan wanted to eliminate the Department of Education, for instance. Sound like a big spender to you, Joe?

Reagan inherited double-digit unemployment, double-digit inflation, an oil crisis, a resurgent Soviet Union, and he'd turned America around in three years with a Democrat-controlled Congress. As a commenter observes:

A recap of Hope and Change since President Obama took office in Jan 2009. Comparing economic indicators starting in Jan 2009 to present day:

1. Federal debt has increased by 43% from $10.6 trillion to $15 trillion.
2. Americans living in poverty have increased by 16% from 39.8 million to 46.2 million.
3. Total unemployment (U6) has increased by 68% from 13.7 million to 23 million.
4. Price of gasoline has increased by 80% from $1.86/gal to $3.35/gal
5. Americans on food stamps have increased 42% from 31.8 million to 45.2 million
6. Home foreclosures per year have increased by 34% from 850,000 to 1,140,000
7. Total bankruptcy filings per year have increased by 42% from 1,117,641 to 1,593,081.
8. Median Household incomes have declined by 4%.
9. Average selling price of new homes has declined by 10%.
10. US dollar compared to foreign currencies has declined by 8.7%. [US dollar index of 85.9 in Jan 2009 to 78.5 in Dec 2011.]
11. US dollar compared to gold has declined 105%. [$855/oz. to $1750/oz.]

Not to mention adding a new, wildly unpopular and massive new entitlement program (Obamacare) when our existing entitlements are circling the drain.

Hey, Joe: you gonna put some ice on that, brother?

A simple illustration anyone can understand: why liberalism is the philosophy of the stupid

2012-01-28T10:32:00.002-05:00

"The reason I say that liberalism is the philosophy of the stupid is because we can look at what's going around in the country today. If, in your own lives, you were pursuing policies that were destroying your own home ownership, that were destroying your own job, that were creating a massive, impossible debt for your family and your children in particular, you'd stop it. You wouldn't keep doing it!

"And yet for the liberal, if it's imposed on you -- and they feel that they can be immune from it -- they're for it.

"They wouldn't do to themselves and their own family what they're doing to you, and your family, and the whole nation!

"Take Barack Obama. Does Barack Obama conduct himself in his own, personal affairs, in his family's affairs, as recklessly as he conducts the affairs of the nation? No. Would he run up the kind of relative personal debt that he's running up for the nation? No way.

"Would he do anything that would endanger his position as president? Of course not -- he thinks his agenda will return him to office. He's taking care of his constituent groups...

So they do to us -- and they do to our society -- what they would never do to their own families. They do not live in their own lives as they seek to have the rest of us live. Or as they seek to have our society conduct itself." --Mark Levin, "Why Liberalism is the Philosophy of the Stupid".

Florida Tea Party Leaders Endorse Newt Gingrich

2012-01-28T10:27:00.001-05:00

Floridians: I urge you not to allow the Beltway establishment to bully, threaten or scare you. Mitt Romney is the weakest GOP candidate of the bunch and Florida's Tea Party leaders see that threat clear as day.

"The Florida Tea Party Coalition With Newt" endorsed the former House speaker on Thursday, saying they would "help defeat Massachusetts Moderate Mitt Romney and then President Barack Obama."

“It is clear to me and many others in the tea party movement that Newt is the Reagan conservative that America needs,” said Peter Lee, founder and director of the East Side Tea Party of Orlando.

Lee was joined by statewide tea leader Patricia Sullivan, who said, “I stand with Newt because I know he will stand up to the establishment and insist on fiscal reforms."

In all, more than 30 Florida-based tea activists signed on to the coalition. The geographically diverse representatives ranged from the Panhandle to Broward County.

Separately, the TEA Party of Florida, the only political tea party registered with the state Division of Elections, endorsed Gingrich.

The GOP establishment's -- and, specifically, Mitt Romney's operatives' -- unconscionable attacks on Gingrich should motivate every undecided primary voter to support Newt Gingrich or Rick Santorum.

And I'm glad Florida's Tea Party leaders are playing hardball with the RINO mushes who won't fight Obama as hard as they fight conservatives.

Related: Debunking the Beltway Hacks' Latest Spin: Gingrich Will Harm Down-Ticket Republicans

Larwyn's Linx: Sarah Palin Unloads on Mitt Romney

2012-01-28T08:46:00.002-05:00

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

GOP Primary

Sarah Palin unloads on Romney: GWP
Stop Trying to Manipulate the Conservative Vote!: Toldjah
"Not worth getting angry about"?!: Pundette

NRO, Elliot Abrams Caught Disseminating Crap: Riehl
Gingrich Leading as Fight Intensifies: WSJ
Report: Paul approved racist portions of newsletters: Politico

Another dishonest Romney attack, blunted: Cold Fury
Eviscerating Elliot Abrams over anti-Gingrich propaganda: Lord
Erick Erickson: Romney Can't Win: Riehl

Nation

Another witness testifies: paid for a forged ballot: MenRec
Tantrum on the Tarmac: NoisyRm
Justice Dept. to SCOTUS: Don't overturn entire law: Politico

Economy

A Nation of Dependents: IBD
Average federal pay matches Microsoft: AEI
Occupy movement arrest total now over 6,000: Marathon

Get a Load of These 'Unofficial' Federal Programs: Blaze
Warren Buffett: Leave My Stage Prop Secretary Alone!: JWF
Obama to Democrats: I Welcome “Robust Debate” On “Class Warfare”: WZ

'Thank You, Warren.' 'No, Thank You, Mr. President!': AT
180 Reasons NASA Thinks We Should Have A Moon Base: Insider
Facebook Readies IPO Filing: WSJ

Scandal Central

Documents say DOJ knew of Fast and Furious connection day after Terry murder: Codrea
Fast and Furious: Game Over: ConCom
F&F Document Dump: SSI

Climate & Energy

16 Concerned Scientists: Chill Out, No Need To Freak Over Anthropogenic Global Warming: Pirate's Cove
Scientists to Politicians: Let’s Put Climate Alarmism on Hold for 50 Years: VS
Shoppers Say Chevy Volt Expensive, Nissan Leaf Ugly in Study: Trib

Media

You dumb racist conservatives are dumb. And racist.: Hot Air
Glenn Beck’s Staff Threatened by Soros Operatives: NoisyRm
LOL! More than a quarter of Obama’s State of the Union TV viewers shut it off after the first five minutes: FAM

Obama Tells House Dems: “Let’s Go Out There And Change The Country”: WZ
Tapper Informs Stephanopoulos: Obama ‘Can’t Run’ on His Achievements Because ‘They’re Not Popular’: NB
Mooch Dines With Planned Parenthood Executive: WZ

World

All American Muslims in Dearborn Heights Arrested for Assault on Christian Quarterback: Creeping
Soros Think Tank Adviser: There’s No Peace Because Those Rich Jews Bribed Congress: BigPeace
Nightmare of disorderly default focuses minds on Greece: Reuters

Iranian leader says Egypt’s new parliament a step toward Islamic regime: JihadWatch
The Islamic Paradise of the Needle and Powder: Greenfield
Obama administration using loophole to quietly sell arms package to Bahrain: ForPol

25 Homecomings: Jawa
Experts Are Terrified By Greece And Its Debt Problems: Insider
Pakistani Foreign Minister: Islam Is The “Most Misunderstood” And “Misrepresented” Religion In The World: WZ

Sci-Tech

Good news: FBI seeking social media monitoring tool: Breitbart
Google Already Knows You’re a 24-Year-Old Woman Who Loves Wombats: Wired
RIM CEO eyes "significant" plans for BlackBerry: Reuters

Cornucopia

Beat My Caption: C&S
Geriatric Snow Plow: MagFarm
Georgia Birther Hearing Proceeds Without Obama, Without Effect: PuffHo

TGIF: Frequent Flier Edition: P&F
The Donkey Whisperer: HayRide
You Aren’t Tough. These Guys Are Tough: Wired

Image: DaleToons via Western Rifle Shooters
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Rick Santorum for President

QOTD: "...some of these completely unbiased, intellectually curious academic institutions may have something of a vested interest in proving their point [that conservatives are stupid]. You see, as the economy continues to falter and conservative, austerity leaning measures begin to take hold and spread at both the state and federal levels, the wellspring of cash which fuels the universities begins to dry up as well. And not to cast aspersions on anyone’s intellectual honesty here, but coming up with a result that casts doubt on the people threatening to dry up your grant money might not be the worst outcome in the world." --Jazz Shaw

Maps: Exploiting America's Treasure Trove of Energy, Before and After the Obama Presidency

2012-01-27T22:47:00.006-05:00

I think this is what President Obama called a "blueprint" in his State of the Union address.

Today in Las Vegas, the President repeated his energy talking points from Tuesday's State of the Union speech.
Oil and gas leases takes years to develop, but the administration is claiming credit for an uptick in domestic oil and gas production that is a result of previous administration policies and increased production on private lands. [h/t Geoffrey Styles]
The administration's oil and gas exploration "blueprint" adds virtually no new production and takes years of potential energy off the table. This map made by the Senate Republican Policy Committee illustrates what new oil and gas exploration was permissible prior to President Obama taking office, and how his administration’s policies have changed it:

As an aside, are these maps racist? Perhaps we should ask Leonard Pitts.

I guess the drones didn't like my questions for President Obama

2012-01-27T21:54:00.004-05:00

So Google's YouTube service is sponsoring a post-State of the ~~Campaign~~ Union Q&A with President Obama and the drones are out in force. After submitting what I believe are reasonable questions and having many of them voted up, the O-bots began swarming and down-dinging them.

Suffice it to say that Obama will field no tough questions in this venue, whether through tacit censorship or simply because charismatic demagogues don't take tough questions.

The numbers do not lie -- although it's possible they're racist

2012-01-27T21:45:00.003-05:00

I love how these inside-the-Beltway hacks say that Newt Gingrich or Rick Santorum "can't win" against Obama. The numbers say different. Obama got 52.7% of the vote as a messianic, post-partisan, post-racial and completely unknown quantity. Now we know he's not a messiah, he's highly partisan, he's also willing to divide Americans along racial, ethnic, income and any other lines he can come up with to dredge up votes, and he is a highly known quantity, which is to say a SCOAMF.

Following President Barack Obama’s self-congratulatory State of the Union address, Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, produced a simple chart that tells the real story of the Obama administration:

America Before President Obama Took Office and Now

Before

Now

Change

Number of Unemployed¹

12.0 Million

13.1 Million

+9%

Long-Term Unemployed²

2.7 Million

5.6 Million

+107%

Unemployment Rate³

7.8%

8.5%

+9%

“High Unemployment” States⁴

22

43

+95%

Misery Index⁵

7.83

11.46

+46%

Price of Gas⁶

$1.85

$3.39

+83%

“Typical” Monthly Family Food Cost⁷

$974

$1,013

+4%

Median Value of Single-Family Home⁸

$196,600

$169,100

-14%

Rate of Mortgage Delinquencies⁹

6.62%

10.23%

+55%

U.S. National Debt¹⁰

$10.6 Trillion

$15.2 Trillion

+43%

For more, and for references, visit the House Ways and Means Committee website here.

Shhh... no one tell Leonard Pitts.

Cool: Handgun about the size of an iPhone

2012-01-27T20:37:00.000-05:00

Granted, it's kind of a "last line of defense" sorta thing, but still:

Heizer Defense Double Tap

• The Titanium Tactical Pocket Pistol
• The first concealed carry .45 ACP born from aerospace technology and 100% USA made.
• 5/8 Inches Wide Hammerless No Snag Design
• The future of concealed carry firepower is now in your hands!

• Titanium Frame with a MIL-STD finish that resists corrosion
• Two rounds in the chamber and integral grips house an additional two spare rounds
• Ported barrel reduces muzzle flip and recoil
• Slim, no-snag hammerless design for easy pocket carry
• Thumb latch auto ejects spent rounds
• 7 Patents pending including double-action trigger system
• 1911 Ergonomics and loaded rounds are visible
• Quick change - interchangable barrels

HEIZER Firearms has developed the world's smallest and lightest .45 ACP concealed carry pistol on the market today. Also available in 9mm.

Daddy like. Of course, Daddy likes him all kinds o' guns.

Hat tip: Bernie.

Good News: Average Federal Worker Getting Paid As Much As a Microsoft, Intel or Cisco Employee

2012-01-27T20:28:00.004-05:00

But remember, folks: there's nothing to cut.

The average federal government employee receives [a total] annual compensation of around $133,000. How does this match up to the private sector?

CNN Money has a nice survey of the 25 highest-paying companies in the country, outlining the average total compensation per employee in each one. According to CNN, the closest match to federal employment is Microsoft, whose average employee compensation is $132,023 per year, making it the 17th highest-paying company in the country.

When high federal pay is pointed out, public employee unions counter that federal employees are more productive than the average private sector worker, due to their greater education and experience. But do you think that the average federal employee is more productive than the average Microsoft employee? Or Intel, or Qualcomm, both of which pay around the same?

Have you ever called a federal agency to try to get help? It's kinda like the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, only without the prompt customer service. So I can't wait until we get BMV-style health care.

Say, I wonder if Leonard Pitts thinks this chart is racist?

Hat tip: BadBlue.

Hey, Leonard Pitts: Is This Chart More or Less Racist Than Newt Gingrich?

2012-01-27T19:56:00.006-05:00

Leonard who? Exactly. Leonard Pitts -- for the 99.9999999% of Americans who've never heard of him -- is a back-bencher op-ed columnist who never met an opportunity to race-bait that he didn't like. Pitts' specialty is interpreting every statement --- including the terms "food stamps", "arugula", and "golfer-in-chief" -- as a secret racist code known only to Republicans... and Leonard Pitts.

Let's listen in as all six of Pitt's neurons fire at once to create version 17,031 of the same column he's written weekly for years (subtitled, "Republican are racists"):

I got my first job when I was 12. The deacons at my church paid me $2 a week to keep it swept and mopped... So I do not need Newt Gingrich to lecture me about a good work ethic. In this, I suspect I speak for the vast majority of 39 million African Americans.

There has been a lot of talk about whether Gingrich’s recent language , including his performance at last week’s South Carolina debate and his earlier declaration that Barack Obama has been America’s best “food-stamp president,” amounts to a coded appeal to racist sensitivities. The answer is simple: yes.

In this, Gingrich joins a line of Republicans stretching back at least to Richard Nixon. From that president’s trumpeting of “law and order” (i.e., “I will get these black demonstrators off the streets.”) to Ronald Reagan’s denunciation of “welfare queens” (i.e., “I will stop these lazy black women from living high on your tax dollars.”) to George H.W. Bush’s use of Willie Horton (i.e., “Elect me or this scary black man will get you..”) the GOP long ago mastered the craft of using nonracial language to say racial things.

So I assume Pitts will agree with me when I categorically condemn the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. Census Bureau and the USDA for helping to produce this chart:

...While it's true that the country has been headed in this direction for many years — with the explosion in entitlements since the 1960s and the aging of the population — Obama has, in fact, greatly accelerated the trend...

Direct payments. The amount of money the federal government hands out in direct payments to individuals steadily increased over the past four decades, but shot up under Obama, climbing by almost $600 billion — a 32% increase — in his first three years. And Obama's last budget called for these payments to climb another $500 billion by 2016, at which point they would account for fully two-thirds of all federal spending.

...Food stamps. This year, more than 46 million (15% of all Americans) will get food stamps. That's 45% higher than when Obama took office, and twice as high as the average for the previous 40 years. This surge was driven in part by the recession, but also because Obama boosted the benefit amount as part of his stimulus plan.

...In just nine years, entitlement spending is on track to eat up 61% of the federal budget, according to the CBO. And unless these programs are cut back, they will soon consume all federal taxes, one CBO budget scenario predicts.

In other words, we're headed for complete fiscal collapse -- and Pitts is cheering Obama on with unsustainable programs wracked with fraud, cronyism, and ill-intentions.

And are things better for African-Americans under Obama? Of course not. In fact, a new low -- less than 80% of African-Americans (I assume Pitts thinks they're racist, too) -- now support President Obama.

Ronald Reagan inherited a far worse economy from Jimmy Carter: double-digit inflation; double-digit unemployment; and a Soviet Empire that was extending its tentacles all over the globe while the U.S. had single-handedly begun disarming itself.

In three years' time, Reagan had transformed the economy to the benefit of all Americans by unleashing the private sector through smaller government, less regulation, and lower taxes for all -- especially the productive members of society, irrespective of race, religion, creed or hair color.

Instead of building on a proven template of color-blind success, Pitts continues his failed career of race-baiting, which requires him to ignore history, facts, logic and reason in pursuit of a Utopian society that can't exist, won't exist and has never existed in all of human history. His path is the path to misery and, like all drones, he's too stupid to even comprehend his own endgame.

Larwyn's Linx: The Romney Campaign’s Newt-Ain’t-Reagan Assault

2012-01-27T06:24:00.003-05:00

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

GOP Primary

The Romney Campaign’s Newt-Ain’t-Reagan Assault: HayRide
Confirmed: Romneycare = Obamacare: Malkin
Surprise! Romney Donated to Democrats: PndtPrs

Santorum eviscerates Romney over RomneyCare: Scoop
Santorum wins debate, but Romney beats Newt: Exam
Romney’s Big Healthcare Lie: RS

President Obama: I’m going to win reelection: Hill
Romney Praised Hezbollah in 2008: Hillbuzz
Mr. and Mrs. Crankypants: Malkin

Nation

Texas Sues DOJ Over Voter ID Law: JW
Christian Student Bullied for “Bullying”: MB
Who Will Be Thrown Under The Bus After Marco Rubio?: C4P

The state of the State of the Union: JPA
The Brutal NRCC ‘Every Day’ Ad.: Moe Lane
Denying Islamists Federal Security Clearances: PJM

Economy

The economic case against Obama, all in one chart: Peth
Is President Obama Creating A Nation Of Dependents?: IBD
December New Home Sales Worst On Record: S&L

The Debt Monster That Ate the World: Pelerin
NLRB To Force Companies To Turn Over Employee Telephone Numbers & E-Mail Addresses To Unions?: LUR
Poll: 54% Want SCOTUS to Kill Individual Mandate: WZ

Obama’s vision for a Spartan America: Goldberg
Obama’s Misstatements on the Union: DLim
Why Obama is Toast: RWN

Scandal Central

Another Stimulus-Backed Energy Company Files for Bankruptcy: Foundry
Two Billion Obamadollars Later, Brazil’s Oil Goes to China: RedCty
First Lady unveils Spanish-language food program: WZ

Climate & Energy

Administration's Blueprint Locks Potential Energy Sources: FreeEnt
Virginians Get First Peek at Secret UVA emails: ATI
Ener1 Bankruptcy Is Latest Obama Green Jobs Flop: IBD

Media

Interviewing Mark Levin About His New Book, “Ameritopia: The Unmaking of America.”: Hawkins
Mark Levin Talks to NewsBusters About 'Ameritopia' and Media's Role in Advancing Utopianism: NB
Obama's Ratings Collapse: NatlJrnl

Errant Email to Congressional ‘Allies’ on Keystone Exposes Media Matters’ Tax-Exempt Fraud: Pollak
Media Matters Dismissed Insider Trading Issue, Attacked Schweizer; Politico Followed Suit: Riehl
RNC Releases New Ad in Advance of Obama’s “State of My Campaign” Speech: JWF

Video Of Newt Bashing Reagan Is Bogus: Riehl
MRC's Bozell Announces Launch of 'Tell the Truth! 2012' Campaign: NB
Reuters makes 5 corrections on Rubio hit piece: Exam

Levin: Newt did more for the conservative movement than virtually all of his critics today: Scoop
Media Matters: The Unpaid Research Department of Politico: BigJ
CNN Turns Blind Eye To Obama-Alinsky Ties: IBD

World

Think Progress Scrubs 'Borderline Anti-Semitic' Rhetoric from Website: WS
New Pentagon plan would cut ground forces by 100,000: Fox
U.S. outrage as Egypt bars Americans from leaving: Reuters

Obama in Foreign Policy Hell: Spengler
N. Carolina Muslims arrested in plot to behead witnesses in recent terror conviction: Creeping
Sources: 30 Pounds Of Cocaine Found At United Nations: CBS NY

Sci-Tech

Scientists create first free-standing 3-D cloak: Eurekalert
My Horrific Experiences With Sony Customer Support: Mish
Everything Wrong with Zynga in One Image: Forbes

Cornucopia

Turkey Day: Thin skinned, Breasts and Necks. Mmm, mmm mmm!: MOTUS
No Obama in court, no ‘birther' ruling: AJC
Obama & his Attorney fail to appear for Trial and 2 Hour Hearing: Obama not qualified for Ballot?: The Steady Drip

The Political Correctness hierarchy: lepers trump amputees: Troglo
Vintage American Ads Get Online Archive: WSJ
Despite Unfair Tax Burden, Warren Buffett's Secretary Was Just Able To Buy A Second Home: TSG

Image: iOwnTheWorld
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Rick Santorum for President

QOTD: "It won’t decide the 2012 election, but the meltdown of Barack Obama’s Islamophile foreign policy has to hurt. Iran’s imminent acquisition of nuclear weapons humiliates a president so committed to dialogue with the evil lunatics in Tehran that he refused to support a mass outpouring of democracy demonstrators during the summer of 2009. Obama’s closest foreign policy friendship is with the Islamist president of Turkey, who has jailed more journalists than China and steered his country towards imminent economic disaster. Tayyip Erdogan may not be a terrorist, as Rick Perry said in last week’s debate, but he backs them, including Hamas.

And then there is Egypt: Even the New York Times has noticed that Egypt’s economy is collapsing, and that the country faces disaster as it runs out of money." --Spengler

Graphing the popularity of a breaking news story...

2012-01-26T21:36:00.007-05:00

The BadBlue automated news service added a cool new feature this weekend: you can now track the popularity of a given news story over time. Here's an example:

If you visit the BadBlue home page, you'll notice each story has the following format: headline, news source, popularity and permalink (the ∞ symbol).

Obviously, if you click on the headline, you'll go to the news story. If you click on the name of the news source, you'll get a complete listing of the top stories collected by the news service:

You'll also notice from the detail above that there is a permalink symbol (the ∞ mark). Click on that to see the chart of that story's popularity and any comments on the story itself.

Check it out. It's kinda like the Drudge Report, but automated to be more non-partisan. Heh.

Thought Experiment: Imagine This Ad Running in The New York Times

2012-01-26T21:21:00.000-05:00

That booming sound you heard in the distance was the head of Bloomberg (the idiot mayor, not the news service) exploding.

Hat tip: Jay Paull Vintage Print Advertisements.

Here are some photos you'll never see in legacy media: the Volt crash test that torched a whole series of cars

2012-01-26T20:55:00.003-05:00

Odd. I must have missed this report on ABC, NBC, CBS and in The New York Slimes:

I attended Wednesday’s 8:00am (8am?!?) House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing entitled:

Volt Vehicle Fire: What Did NHTSA Know And When Did They Know It?

The witnesses [included] National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), Barack Obama-appointee Administrator David Strickland... [and] General Motors (GM), Barack Obama-appointee CEO Dan Akerson.

...This hearing was all about a single June Volt blaze. The battery burst into flames about three weeks after a test crash at and by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA).

A fire about which Obama’s NHTSA did tell the Obama White House. But a fire about which neither Obama’s NHTSA, the Obama Administration nor Obama’s GM told the American people for nearly six months – and then did so only when forced by a looming Bloomberg news story.

...Joan Claybrook, a former administrator at NHTSA believes part of the reason for the delay was the “fragility of Volt sales.” Yet she also believes that “NHTSA could have put out a consumer alert, not to tell them [customers] for six months makes no sense to me.” ...For Obama, notifying Americans of their potential immolation-by-Volt is of less import than his keeping his gig past November.

The one NHTSA Volt fire discussed at the hearing was not the only NHTSA Volt fire that occurred. In November, there were two others. After conducting three different tests two weeks ago, the NHTSA found that the Volt’s battery either caught fire or began to smoke in two out of the three.

So that’s three Volt fires – all in the hands of the Obama Administration, all after crashes... There were [also] three other, private-owner Volt fires. None of which involved Volts that were in crashes.

...There was the Volt that in April burst into flames – twice. These were the fires that led to Obama’s NHTSA beginning its investigation. And then in November another Volt leapt into flames. While Obama’s NHTSA was still investigating – but after the NHTSA-Obama Administration-GM cover-up had come to light (get it?)...

...We still have no idea what caused these fires. The only thing we do know is that they were not caused by crashes – because these cars were never in crashes. So why did Obama’s NHTSA, the Obama Administration and Obama’s GM singularly focus on (but one of three) post-crash Volt fires ... [w]hen none of these three privately-owned combustible Volts had been in accidents?

We – still – don’t know. Anything.

But don’t worry: The Obama Administration has declared that the Obama-owned GM Chevy Volt is perfectly safe – just in time for Obama’s reelection campaign.

Indeed. The Volt is safe. We guarantee it. Who's we? Shut the hell up, peons.

Related: Exclusive Photo: First Chevy Volts arrive at local dealers

Photos: Charging Point.

Before we worry about Mitt Romney's tax rate, perhaps we could get Obama's henchmen to pay their taxes

2012-01-26T19:58:00.004-05:00

I don't know why the White House keeps talking about Mitt Romney's tax return or the fact that Warren Buffett's secretary can't buy a third home in a golf community.

Turns out that Obama's staff includes a whole posse of tax scofflaws (and we're not even counting the guys we knew about like Turbotax Tim Geithner):

How embarrassing this must be for President Obama, whose major speech theme so far this campaign season has been that every single American, no matter how rich, should pay their "fair share" of taxes.

A new report just out from the Internal Revenue Service reveals that 36 of President Obama's executive office staff owe the country $833,970 in back taxes. These people working for Mr. Fair Share apparently haven't paid any share, let alone their fair share.

...Nearly one-third of Obama's aides make more than $100,000 with 21 being paid the top White House salary of $172,200, each... The IRS' 2010 delinquent tax revelations come as part of a required annual agency report on federal employees' tax compliance. Turns out, an awful lot of folks being paid by taxpayers are not paying their own income taxes.

The report finds that thousands of federal employees owe the country more than $3.4 billion in back taxes. That's up 3% in the past year.

...The Treasury Department, where Obama nominee Tim Geithner had to pay up $42,000 in his own back taxes before being confirmed as secretary, has 1,181 other employees with delinquent taxes totaling $9.3 million... [and] the Energy Department that was so quick to dish out more than $500 million to the Solyndra folks has 322 employees owing $5 million.

The country's chief law enforcement agency, the Department of Justice, has 2,069 employees who are nearly $17 million behind in taxes. Like Operation Fast and Furious, Attorney General Eric Holder has apparently missed them too.

Charley "Rental Income" Rangel couldn't be reached for comment at press time.

They're for the Common Man [Amalaur]

2012-01-26T19:47:00.003-05:00

Amalaur:

All the Details on Michelle Obama’s State of the Union Dress

...Michelle Obama‘s wardrobe choices always turn heads.

Last night’s State of the Union ensemble was no exception. As the President declared his intent to help buoy the 99 percent (“Asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense,” he declared), his wife dazzled in a cobalt sheath from Barbara Tfank’s resort collection.

While reps for the brand won’t reveal the item’s retail price, a similar style from the collection is currently available at Barneys New York for $2,400.

This isn’t the first time the First Lady has worn the Los Angeles-based designer’s sophisticated wares. Last year, she met with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wearing a seafoam brocade design topped with a bubblegum pink stole.

“Everything in my closet is something that I love,” Obama has said. “So that I can make choices based on what makes sense, knowing that I’m going to love whatever it is.”

I see another Target shopping trip in the near future for FLOTUS, with plenty of access for the press and especially photographers.

What's Wrong With This Picture? [Dan from NY]

2012-01-26T19:29:00.003-05:00

Dan from NY:

What's wrong with this picture? Hint: Every move Obama makes in the Middle East abets the Muslim cause at Israel's expense. Sheer coincidence, no doubt.

###

JPost, 01/26/2012

Muslim Brotherhood repeats: No talks with Israel

Spokesman says dialogue with Jewish state ‘not up for discussion.’

###

Reuters, 25 Jan 2012

Obama set to speed up aid to Egypt-official

Obama considers redirecting aid to Egypt

Oh, and then there's this:

Reuters, 26 Jan 2012

U.S. outrage as Egypt bars Americans from leaving

Among those hit by travel bans - one of those targeted called it "de facto detention" - is a son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood... The United States said Egypt should reverse them: "We are urging the government of Egypt to lift these restrictions immediately and allow these folks to come home as soon as possible," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

Perhaps the White House will go to the Obama version of DEFCON 1; i.e., issuing a strongly worded memo, with copies to the United Nations and George Soros.

Larwyn's Linx: Alarming Thoughts On The SOTU from Clark Judge

2012-01-26T06:24:00.001-05:00

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

Alarming Thoughts On The SOTU from Clark Judge: HyScience
Stumping Sebelius: BigJourn
Obama and Jan Brewer Have Words on Airport Tarmac: Malkin

One-percenter: Meet Warren Buffett's poor secretary: Glob
Obamacare encouraging government by edict, not law: Exam
Obama’s Gerrymander: ProPublica

GOP Primary

Reagan's Young Lieutenant: Lord
Romney Advisor: No Obamacare Repeal: RS
FL: Gingrich Draws Thousands, Romney Draws Hundreds: WS

Unlike Obama, GOP Candidates Serious About Governing: Barone
The Three Reasons Newt Is More Electable Than Mitt: FPM
Pelosi's office says she really doesn't have dirt on Newt: GWP

Economy

State of Obama's Tax Assertions -- ATR Fact Check: ATR
11 things Obama didn’t tell you about tax fairness last night: Peth
The State of His Policies: WSJ

Obamacare has made the debt crisis worse: Exam
WI unions burn through members money: RS
Rejection of Keystone XL a Hammer-Blow to Economy: HoosierAccess

Scandal Central

US Attorney Cunningham Refuses to Give More Than his Name and Title To Congressional Investigators: NiceDeb
Arizona House Speaker to ‘Put Some Light on Fast and Furious’: BG
New Mexico driver's license data point to rampant immigration fraud: Fox

Climate & Energy

Obama Puppetmaster Warren Buffett Biggest Winner From Keystone Pipeline Rejection: ZH
Radical Dem Schakowsky on Keystone XL: "Twenty thousand jobs is really not that many": Marathon
Thermageddon Folly QOTD: Soylent

Chevy Volt Battery Issue The Next Solyndra?: EarthTechling
ForestEthics “an enemy of the people of Canada”: Bayonet
Unicorns Twist Science and Corrupt the Rule of Law : NOFP

Media

AP FACT CHECK: Obama pushes plans that flopped before: Times-Union
Ladies and Gentlemen, I Might Just Have a Conservative Star for You.: Sundries
Rachel Maddow: Democrats Must Do More to Promote Abortion: LifeNews

Barack Obama Handles the Ship of State a Lot Like the Captain of the Costa Concordia: VS
Mitt Romney Makes $57,000 Per Day? That's So Much More Unbelievable Than My Own $41,000 Per Day: Ace
Gallup: Obama’s Approval Sinks Back to All-Time Low Among Blacks: CNS

Detailed Fisking of President Obama's Frightening Speech (Spending, Taxes, Threats and Lies): Lid
Obama’s Former Faith Adviser: ‘I, Frankly, Am Glad American Civil Religion is Dying’: CNS
Candid Admission - Proving Your Identity Only Hurts Democrat Voters: MenRec

World

Smearing Gingrich as an Anti-Semite: Commentary
Haditha Was Exploited To Increase Danger To The US, US Troops, And To Noncombatants: Kesler
Kansas City: Radical Muslim group begins month-long campaign on sharia: Creeping

Fidel Castro: GOP race is ‘idiocy, ignorance’: Politico
Polarization and Sustained Violence in Mexico's Cartel War: Stratfor
20% of young Germans have never heard of Auschwitz, survey reveals: Daily Mail

Report: Obama To Speed Up Pace Of American Aid To Muslim Brotherhood-Led Egypt: WZ
Gingrich: I want to build a moon base: CBS
Obama Ambassador To Egypt Meets With Muslim Brotherhood Leaders: WZ

Sci-Tech

Your Résumé vs. Oblivion: WSJ
Why ‘Xbox 720′ Might Reject Used Games: Wired
New Satellite Takes Spectacular High-Res Image of Earth: Wired

Cornucopia

This SOTU proudly brought to you by the Soros Fund: MOTUS
He needs a TOTUS for this?: WZ
Costa Concordia cruise’s American Express offer: ‘Immerse yourself’: WaPo

Image: Saudi woman driver reported killed in car crash is alive
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Rick Santorum for President

QOTD: "The markets are the best measures of how people perceived today's announcements from the Fed. The dollar pissed on the Fed in general, the gold market hit Bernanke square in the face with an ingot." --Bruce Krasting

Breaking: Indiana poised to deal crushing blow to labor

2012-01-25T21:27:00.001-05:00

In other words, Indiana is banning indentured servitude, which is how I define being forced to pay union dues when you have no desire to belong to a union.

In another blow to organized labor in the traditionally union heavy Midwest, Indiana is poised to become the first right-to-work state in more than a decade after Republican lawmakers cleared the way on Wednesday to ban unions from collecting mandatory fees from workers.

Over the past year, Republicans have pushed for other anti-union laws in battleground Rust Belt states where many of the country's manufacturing jobs reside, including Wisconsin and Ohio, but they also have faced backlash from Democrats and union supporters. Wisconsin last year stripped public sector unions of collective bargaining rights.

Despite massive protests outside the Capitol, Wisconsin's GOP-dominated Assembly passed a law backed by Gov. Scott Walker in March that strips nearly all collective bargaining rights from organized labor. Walker is now preparing for a recall election after opponents turned in a million signatures aimed at forcing a vote and ousting him from office. In November, Ohio voters repealed a law limiting collective bargaining rights that was championed by Gov. John Kasich and fellow Republican lawmakers.

Indiana would mark the first win in 10 years for national right-to-work advocates who have pushed unsuccessfully for the measure in other states following a Republican sweep of statehouses in 2010. But few right-work states boast Indiana's union clout, borne of a long manufacturing legacy... Oklahoma, with its rural-based economy that produces comparatively fewer union jobs than Indiana, passed right-to-work legislation in 2001.

Indiana's vote came after weeks of protest by minority Democrats who tried various tactics to stop the bill. They refused to show up to debate despite the threat of fines that totaled $1,000 per day and introduced dozens of amendments aimed at delaying a vote. But conceding their tactics could not last forever because they were outnumbered, they finally agreed to allow the vote to take place.

~~Marxist~~ Democrat Rep. Linda Lawson termed the anti-slavery law an attack on the community.

"What you are doing is destroying my community!" said Lawson, who represents a northwest Indiana district packed with heavy manufacturers and a major BP oil refinery. "We want to turn my district into Detroit!"

I might have misheard that last sentence.

Hat tip: Winterspirit.

The Smartest Baby In America [Looking Spoon]

2012-01-25T21:03:00.000-05:00

The Looking Spoon:

"Mommy, the bad man stole $48,217.63 from me in only three years!"

It's another historic first: Obama uses State of the Union address as an official campaign fundraiser

2012-01-25T20:55:00.002-05:00

Remember how some of the drones and nincompoops voted for President Obama because he was "historic"?

Turns out he really was, only not in the way they'd expected.

If there was any question whether President Obama’s State of the Union address was actually a prettied up campaign speech, Obama himself answered it with an email to supporters just before his appearance asking them to contribute to his campaign... titled “Before I speak,” was sent by “Barack Obama” through the campaign email system and signed, “Barack”...

I’m heading to Capitol Hill soon to deliver my third State of the Union address... Tonight, we set the tone for the year ahead. I’m going to lay out in concrete terms the path we need to take as a country if we want an economy that works for everyone and rewards hard work and responsibility.

I’m glad to know you’ll be standing with me up there.

Barack

—–

Support President Obama. Make a donation today.

The last sentence in the email includes a link that brings recipients to a page where they can make their donation.

This is a man who appears to have literally no respect for the office of the President or, for that matter, America's traditions, values and mores.

Good news, though: November is coming. And I will walk on hot coals to vote this person out of office.

Say, if we're really in a "recovery", could someone tell me why the total number of vehicle-miles driven in the U.S. is still declining?

2012-01-25T20:04:00.001-05:00

Answer: because someone in the administration forgot to doctor the numbers (like they do with unemployment).

The Department of Transportation (DOT) reported:

• Travel on all roads and streets changed by -0.9% (-2.1 billion vehicle miles) for November 2011 as compared with November 2010.

• Travel for the month is estimated to be 240.9 billion vehicle miles.

• Cumulative Travel for 2011 changed by -1.4% (-38.3 billion vehicle miles).
The following graph shows the rolling 12 month total vehicle miles driven.

...In the early '80s, miles driven (rolling 12 months) stayed below the previous peak for 39 months.

Currently miles driven has been below the previous peak for 48 months - and still counting! And not just moving sideways ... the rolling 12 month total is still declining.

...This is the ninth straight month with a year-over-year decline in miles driven...

But if only the obstinate Republicans would give President Obama more money and more power, he'll make everything better. If he can just tax the rich more, tax oil companies more, maybe add a VAT tax, maybe convert all private retirement funds into annuities backed by government bonds, and find some other creative ways to raise cash for the government to redistribute, all will be well.

All will be well.

Cash Money Contest: Predict When President Subprime McCaddy Gets His 100th Round of Golf In

2012-01-25T19:47:00.003-05:00

The invaluable Keith Koffler at White House Dossier tells us that President Obama has hit the links a record 92 times during his first three years in office.

In recognition of this monumental achievement, we're offering a $25 cash prize (paid via PayPal) to the person who comes closest to guessing the date of Obama's 100th round of golf.

So have at it in the comments. Along with your guestimated date, you can also include a caption for the accompanying photo, which we'll use as the tie-breaker.

Awesome: Senior Romney Adviser Says a Republican President Could Never Repeal Obamacare

2012-01-25T19:32:00.000-05:00

Yet another reason to support one of the two non-Romneys in the race:

Mitt Romney adviser Norm Coleman, a former senator from Minnesota, predicted the GOP won't repeal the Democrats' healthcare reform law even if a Republican candidate defeats President Obama this November.

"You will not repeal the act in its entirety, but you will see major changes, particularly if there is a Republican president," Coleman told BioCentury This Week television in an interview that aired on Sunday. "You can't whole-cloth throw it out. But you can substantially change what's been done."

...Coleman's remarks are remarkable because every Republican candidate — including Romney — has vowed to make repealing the law a priority. Coleman is also the chairman of the American Action Network, which has urged the courts to strike down the law's individual mandate and its Medicaid expansion.

Squishes like Norm Coleman, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell are cowards who are either too scared or too invested in the status quo to try to save this country.

Folks, I don't mean to be a polyanna, but every expert from Obama adviser Peter Orszag to the CBO says that America is headed into a fiscal abyss. And these clowns are waving the white flag before the fight has even started?

So what do we do? We need to demand -- demand, not ask! -- that these establishment RINOs are replaced as Congressional leaders in 2012 by Tea Party conservatives like Michele Bachmann, Allen West, Jim DeMint, Marco Rubio, etc. If it takes a march on Washington, so be it. We're tired of being ignored by these numbskulls. Enough is enough.

Hat tip: Mark Levin.

Larwyn's Linx: SOTU 2012, Deconstructed

2012-01-25T06:24:00.002-05:00

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

SOTU 2012, Deconstructed: HayRide
Here's what you won't hear at the State of the Union: Instapundit
State of the Union: Populist-corporatist stew: Carney

SOTU Surprise: Mass Re-Financing of Mortgages: Peth
State of Obama's Tax Assertions -- ATR Fact Check: ATR
The Real State of the Union: Stossel

Zero People Turn Out For March for Life on DC: Ace
Party On, America: Pundette
Schools of Education: Williams

GOP Primary

New polls show a collapse in support for Mitt Romney: LAT
Romney vs. Kerry: Fair Share: WZ
Meet the men who gave us ObamaCare: Hot Air

What really happened in the Gingrich ethics case?: York
Chris Christie's absolutely bizarre judicial nominations: WyBlog
Congrats Capitalists: Reagan Democrats Abandon Romney: Riehl

Economy

'11 Stunning Secrets': ProWis
What the White House Really Knew About the Stimulus: IBD
WI State Senate Recall Petition Rife With Invalid Signatures, Duplicates, and Errors: BG

Barack Obama Is the Food-Stamp President: Blumer
State Dependency on the Federal Government: Cato
Non-Class Warrior Wants Millionaires to Pay Fair Share: AmPower

Scandal Central

Obama’s Green Robber Barons: Malkin
What a Surprise: Obama Supporter’s Company May Benefit From Keystone Pipeline Rejection: Powers
In 2010 SOTU, Obama Touts Solyndra: RCP

Climate & Energy

President Obama’s Very Dishonest Campaign Ad Regarding Energy: Watts
How Barack Obama used taxpayer dollars to outsource green energy jobs: RWN
Warren Buffett Stands To Make Huge Profit From Obama’s Rejection of Keystone Pipeline: WZ

Media

Palin to Christie: Don’t get your panties in a wad over Gingrich’s victory in South Carolina: Hot Air
Surprise! Obama Doesn’t Want The 2012 Election To Be About His Own Incompetence: Pirate's Cove
Santorum Socks Heilemann: MSM's Job To Defend Obama, Not Mine: NB

Chicago Tribune, Washington Post Defend Alinsky: Conservatory
Allen West says Newt best suited to communicate conservatism to the black community: Scoop
When you've lost Jack Cafferty...: NoisyRm

State-run media whitewashes Alinsky: BizzyBlog
1999 CNN report on Newt Gingrich’s exoneration by the IRS over ethics charges: Scoop
Video: Black Truck Driver Call's Rush Does Stunning Complete 180 On Obama: HyScience

WSJ Goes Into Full GDS Meltdown: Howling
Flashback: Ace
Nancy Pelosi Promises That Newt Gingrich Will Never Become President: Blaze

World

How Iran Could Trigger Accidental Armageddon: Bloomberg
Is Obama Trying To Replace The Pope?: IBD
56% Favor Building Keystone Pipeline, Think It’s Good for Economy: Rasmussen

Good for Gingrich, who dares to disavow Sharia: Spencer
Soros Warns of ‘Riots,‘ ’Brutal’ Clampdowns & Possible Total Economic Collapse: Blaze
Pentagon Looks to Sabotage Pakistan’s Bomb Supply: Wired

U.S. Raid in Somalia Frees Hostages: WSJ
U.S. 'Reset' Backfires As Brazil Turns To China: IBD
Widespread support for burka ban in Canada: Creeping

Sci-Tech

21 Tactics to Increase Blog Traffic: SEOMoz
Google announces privacy changes across products; users can’t opt out: WaPo
Fitness 2.0: it's genes versus gym: smh

Cornucopia

Obama's Re-Run SOTU: Ace
Florida Republican’s Ad Depicts Children Enslaved by Obama and Alan Grayson: RSM
MTV warns about perils of Obama's NDAA: MTV

Image: "US forces free aid workers held in Somalia", AFP
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Drop a dime on Rick Santorum's Campaign

QOTD: "To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace." --George Washington, first State of the Union address

Breaking: Official Seal of the Obama 2012 Campaign Released

2012-01-24T21:36:00.000-05:00

Dear Mr. Axelrod:

You're welcome.

Say, didn't Illinois just try Obama's "tax the rich" crap last year? And didn't it fail, miserably?

2012-01-24T21:09:00.000-05:00

Why, yes. Yes it did.

Republicans looking to combat President Obama's Castro-like State of the Union speech have an easy case laid out for them. It's called the state of Illinois, which dramatically increased taxes on individuals (especially the "rich") and businesses last year.

And not only did Illinois fail to close its budget gap, but Obama's ultra-left wing, union-controlled home state also got a ratings downgrade. Which means -- for you drones out there -- that its future borrowing costs will go still higher.

It's called circling the drain: more borrowing begets lower ratings, which increases borrowing costs, and so on...

Run up spending and debt, raise taxes in the naming of balancing the budget, but then watch as deficits rise and your credit-rating falls anyway. That’s been the sad pattern in Europe, and now it’s hitting that mecca of tax-and-spend government known as Illinois.

…Moody’s downgraded Illinois state debt to A2 from A1, the lowest among the 50 states. That’s worse even than California.

…This wasn’t supposed to happen. Only a year ago, Governor Pat Quinn and his fellow Democrats raised individual income taxes by 67% and the corporate tax rate by 46%. They did it to raise $7 billion in revenue, as the Governor put it, to “get Illinois back on fiscal sound footing” and improve the state’s credit rating. So much for that.

…And—no surprise—in part because the tax increases have caused companies to leave Illinois, the state budget office confesses that as of this month the state still has $6.8 billion in unpaid bills and unaddressed obligations.

Turn out that raising taxes, especially on the "rich", does three basic things:

• It destroys productivity, because the "rich" are the ones who invest, take risks, start businesses, and -- in general -- create productivity in the economy;

• It encourages the government to continue reckless spending;

• And never raises as much money as projected.

In other words, allowing government to raise taxes without first restraining spending is irresponsible at best.

And such a plan, should Obama somehow convince people to support it, is guaranteed to fail just like every other one of his fiascoes*.

* Including, but not limited to: "Stimulus" programs, HAMP, HARP, Cash-for-Clunkers, Obamacare, "Financial Reform", permanent 9% unemployment and 20% underemployment, the unlawful takeovers of GM and Chrysler, "Quantitative Easing", a new war, and $5.2 trillion in new Obama debt.

New Business Venture [Papa B]

2012-01-24T20:13:00.001-05:00

Papa B:

An idea whose time has come:

More Water-cooler here.

Obama Henchman John Podesta Lumps Canada In With Terror States To Justify the Disastrous Keystone XL Decision

2012-01-24T19:56:00.001-05:00

John Podesta is one of a long line of Soros-funded Obama stooges (which is the term they prefer, I hear) who runs the ill-named "Center for American Progress". From all appearances, CAP's mission is three-fold: (a) to de-industrialize America through eco-Marxism; (b) to continue pushing the country down the road to a failed, European social welfare state; and (c) to manufacture propaganda for the state, Hugo Chavez-style.

For the latter purpose, Podesta was able to secure a forum at The Wall Street Journal this morning. He used it to deliver one of the more malicious pieces of propaganda ever printed in an American newspaper. The op-ed was timed, of course, to reinforce tonight's State of the Union address and, in particular, to justify Obama's disastrous Keystone XL pipeline decision.

In the hubbub around the president's decision not to approve the proposed Keystone XL pipeline between Canada and the United States, Americans missed the big picture. While conservatives have been fighting to build a pipeline to import more foreign oil and deepen U.S. dependence, the U.S. is poised to transform its energy portfolio by developing domestic resources—renewable and mineral—that will let it become a net exporter of clean energy and energy technology in this decade...

Renewable energy resources like those produced by Solyndra?

And since when was Canada lumped in with America's enemies?

Only in the mind of a malevolent, Soros-controlled drone could Canada be equated with a totalitarian Islamist terror state.

Under President Obama's leadership, we appear to be at the beginning of a domestic gas and oil boom. After a four-decade decline in oil production, the U.S. is now producing more than half of our oil domestically. This can free us from our addiction to foreign-sourced barrels, particularly if we utilize our dramatically larger and cheaper natural gas reserves. Natural gas now costs the equivalent of less than $15 per barrel, versus the $100-plus barrels we import from the Middle East... [But there] are critical environmental questions associated with developing these resources, particularly concerning methane leakage and water pollution.

Buried in this pile of literary excrement is the caveat that applies to all Obama dictums: companies will get regulated out of business by the EPA, the Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Land Management, and dozens of other elements of the bloated federal bureaucracy long before a single watt of energy is ever produced.

I'll spare you the rest of Podesta's verbal diarrhea.

Decades from now, when the complete history of the Obama administration is written, its accomplices like John Podesta -- who betrayed their country for a few pieces of Soros' gold -- will receive the full measure of scorn and hatred they deserve. Future generations destined to suffer because of nefarious individuals like Podesta will curse their names and, if there is any justice at all, turn their gravesites into landfills.

FDR Didn’t Bomb The Death Camps, Obama Won’t Bomb Iran [Dan from NY]

2012-01-24T19:32:00.000-05:00

Dan from NY:

As more and more evidence accumulates that shows FDR and the allies knew about Hitler's death camps and decided not to bomb them, the more and more Obama’s unwillingness to take the atomic bat out of Iran’s hands starts looking like déjà vu all over again. Of course, there is one (and only one) big difference between now and then: Israel was born and has been blessed with the wherewithal to crush the Iranian viper in its infancy, before it becomes lethal. What’s yet to be determined, though, is whether Israel has the will to carry out its G-d-given mission. We should get our answer before the year is out.

Larwyn's Linx: Tea Party rising for Newt Gingrich

2012-01-24T06:24:00.002-05:00

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Florida Primary

Tea Party rising for Newt Gingrich: Wolf
Gingrich & The GDS-Suffering Republican Elites: Howling
The Founders vs. Alinsky: IBD

Seven things we learned in South Carolina: Hot Air
It's Complicated: Cal Thomas
Newt Surges in Florida: Hayward

South Carolina Message: Sowell
Romney's chickens come home to roost - a little: HayRide
Two Polls Put Gingrich Ahead by 9 in Florida: Ace

Nation

Hearings Scheduled on Illegal Non-Recess Appointments: Foundry
Does Iowa Electoral Fraud Scam Lead To White House?: IBD
Sen. Rand Paul ‘detained’ by TSA in Nashville, TSA denies: DC

The March for Life 2012: Malkin
54,559,615 Abortions Since Roe vs. Wade Decision in 1973: LifeNews
SCOTUS says no to debate over Elena Kagan health care role: Politico

ATR Presents Obama/State of the Union BINGO!: ATR
Obama Campaign Attacked Hillary’s Character: S&L
Sen. Mark Kirk suffers stroke, undergoes surgery for swelling: Hill

Economy

11 stunning revelations from the secret Summers-Obama memo: Peth
Federal Workers Owe $1.03B In Unpaid Taxes: S&L
1,000 Days Without a Budget: Facts on the Senate’s Failure: Foundry

NLRB Appointee Will Continue to Receive Payments from Union: Foundry
Will Unions Occupy Super Bowl Over Right To Work?: IBD
Obama’s New “Fairness Doctrine” and the American Ideal: Foundry

Scandal Central

Immigration authorities released man who then murdered three people in Florida: Hot Air
71% of Obama’s 2012 Bundlers Have Visited the White House, 19% Received Jobs: VS
Grassley: LightSquared offered me a political “win” in exchange for backing down on FCC probe: Hot Air

Climate & Energy

Report: Auto dealers turning down Chevy Volts: Foundry
Ford Motor withdraws from climate change group: Exam
Keystone activists to protest oil, Congress ties: Reuters

Media

The Self-Destruction of the Mainstream Media: McCann
The Unbearable Lightness of Being the MSM: AmSpec
Bill Maher: I Support SOPA, Because I'm Pretty Sure Absent Piracy Religulous Would Have Been A Huge Hit: Ace

The Question Is Not ‘Electability,’ but ‘Re-electability’: DLimbaugh
Gingrich Super PAC Head: Romney Is a Medicare Fraudster, but Will It Matter?: BG
“If That’s What the President is Going to Talk About Tuesday Night, I Think it’s Pathetic”: JWF

When Media Won't Talk About Race: AT
Allen West: There is No Racist Code Language in the “Food Stamp President” Claim – It’s a Fact: Marfdrat
Spotted in the wild: Obama food-stamp bumper-sticker: Urban Infidel

The Republican Base Simply Does Not Like Mitt Romney & Why The Press Rarely Reports It: Erickson
Mark Levin blasts Christie for parroting old left-wing ethics propaganda against Newt: Scoop
West raises $1.75M in fourth quarter: Hill

World

Failed treasury auction portends Egyptian disaster: Spengler
Davos elite: Capitalism is the problem: Q&O
Iran 'definitely' closing Strait of Hormuz over EU oil embargo: RT

Ex-CIA Agent, ABC and HuffPo Contributor, Busted for Leaks: Conservatory
New Docs Reveal How DOJ Kowtows to Muslim Brotherhood: Geller
Obama: Iran Has Nuclear Rights; I Did Not Want to Sanction Its Bank: Kahlili

Haditha Marine Wuterich Vindicated: Kesler
Soros Sounds Pretty Excited About Riots in the Streets: VS
U.S. Defense Cuts Hobble Allies, Embolden Enemies: PJM

Sci-Tech

Facebook Friends: 237. Real Friends: 2: Telegraph
Grassley’s Twitter Account Hacked: Roll Call
Megaupload Says They're Back And Almost Ready To Run Again Sans Domain Name: Consumerist

Cornucopia

Cliche' betting odds for the State of the Union Address!: TPC
Man Accidentally Plays Wrong Lottery Game And Wins $14.3 Million: Consumerist
The Ulsterman Report: Sex and Murder in The Land of Obama?: Newsflavor

Image: iOwnTheWorld -- John Kerry
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Rick Santorum for President

QOTD: "Plato’s Republic, More’s Utopia, Hobbes’s Leviathan, and Marx’s workers’ paradise are utopias that are anti-individual and anti-individualism. For the utopians, modern and olden, the individual is one-dimensional—selﬁsh. On his own, he has little moral value. Contrarily, authoritarianism is defended as altruistic and masterminds as socially conscious. Thus endless interventions in the individual’s life and manipulation of his conditions are justiﬁed as not only necessary and desirable but noble governmental pursuits. This false dialectic is at the heart of the problem we face today " --Mark Levin, Ameritopia

Pethokoukis: Secret 2008 Memo to Barack Obama reveals White House knew Stimulus was a partisan scam

2012-01-23T21:45:00.000-05:00

Jim Pethokoukis alerts us to the stunning release of a confidential memo sent to Barack Obama by senior economic adviser Larry Summers on December 15, 2008.

In short, Obama and Summers both knew the Stimulus was a scam.

1. The Stimulus Had Nothing to Do With Reviving the Economy, It Was Designed To Reward Allies and Implement Left-Wing Policies - "The short-run economic imperative was to identify as many campaign promises or high priority items that would spend out quickly and be inherently temporary. … The stimulus package is a key tool for advancing clean energy goals and fulfilling a number of campaign commitments."

2. Obama knew that the deficits he was about to run were dangerous -- and didn't care - "[The spending] would leave an average deficit over the next decade that would be worse than any post-World War II decade. This would be entirely unsustainable and could cause serious economic problems in the both the short run and the long run."

3. Obama considered a Stimulus package greater than a trillion dollars, but was dissuaded when convinced the markets would rebel - "To accomplish a more significant reduction in the output gap would require stimulus of well over $1 trillion based on purely mechanical assumptions—which would likely not accomplish the goal because of the impact it would have on markets."

4. The Federal Reserve supported the disastrous Stimulus package - "Senior Federal Reserve officials appear to be of the view that a plan that well exceeds $600 billion would be desirable."

5. Obama knew the financial crisis was not solely Wall Street's fault - "A significant cause of the current crisis lies in the failure of regulators to exercise vigorously the authority they already have."

Read the whole thing.

The revelations in this document alone should be enough to bring down the Obama administration. The level of dishonesty laced throughout the Obama White House is both shocking and repellent.

Exclusive: Obama voters rush to post-election free healthcare centers [Joe Bill Scott]

2012-01-23T20:55:00.000-05:00

@JoeBillScott:

Did someone say "free healthcare"?

Dual Disasters Boil Over in Egypt: "Millions of Egyptians will die"

2012-01-23T20:28:00.009-05:00

Advocates of Egypt's "Democracy" movement -- Barack Obama included -- failed to note that there were no organized secular, liberal political parties that could offer a counterweight to Islamists in a popular election. The result, therefore, was utterly predictable. Predictable, at least, by anyone with a modicum of sense.

The United States and other Western governments must accept the new reality that Islamists have emerged to fill the power vacuum in the Arab world after a wave of popular uprisings, Human Rights Watch said in its annual report Sunday.

The New York-based group also urged Islamist parties, which have emerged as the biggest winners in recent elections in Tunisia and Egypt and are expected to fare well in Libya, to respect the rights of women and religious minorities, saying they cannot "pick and choose" when it comes to human rights. [Ed: delusional? You make the call.]

...Since the collapse of the regimes in Egypt and Tunisia a year ago, Islamist groups once largely confined to the political sidelines, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, have formed parties and contested parliamentary polls, winning the greatest share of seats.

As background, about half of all Egyptians are "functionally illiterate"; 90% of adult women have undergone ritual, genital mutilation; and nearly a third of Egyptians marry their first or second cousins. And nearly half of Egypt's citizens live on subsistence rations, earning less than $2 a day, much of which must be spent on food.

With that as context, Spengler's "Failed treasury auction portends Egyptian disaster" in Asia Times is unsettling, to say the least.

Investors bought less an a third of the 3.5 billion Egyptian pounds (US$580 million) worth of Treasury bills offered to the market on January 22, a red flag warning that Egypt's foreign exchange position is close to the brink.

Yields on Egyptian government debt maturing in nine months jumped to nearly 16%, but the government could not place its local-currency debt to Egyptian investors, even at that exorbitant rate.

This is a new and ominous decline in the financial position of the most populous Arab country. I have been warning since last May that "Egypt is running out of food, and, more gradually, running out of the money with which to buy it." How fast this may occur is hard to specify, but the government's inability to borrow on money markets suggests that the crunch is not far off.

Why are investors fleeing?

After Islamist parties won more three-quarters of the seats in recent parliamentary elections - 47% for the Muslim Brotherhood and 25% for the even more extreme al-Nour Party - the business elite that prospered under military rule is counting the days before exile...

...Egypt's middle class will leave and tourism, down by a third over the past year, will virtually disappear in response to Salafist restrictions. The Barack Obama administration in Washington will try to appease the new Islamist government whenever it takes power, but will succeed no better than the Jimmy Carter administration did when the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini took power in Iran in 1979.

Spengler concludes with an ominous prediction: "Millions of Egyptians will die before this is through."

Should such a disaster come to pass, much of the blame will rightly fall on Barack Obama, who sold out a long-time U.S. ally in pursuit of heaven knows what.

Hat tip: Winterspirit.

The State of the Union? Profoundly Unhappy

2012-01-23T19:38:00.001-05:00

My guess is he won't be mentioning the fact that Tuesday represents the 1,000th day that the country has gone without a budget, thanks to Democrats in the Senate. Let's just call that another Obama record. To accompany record levels of unhappiness with the state of the union:

As Obama takes the stage for tomorrow's State of the Union address, in which, among other things, he probably will not announce that the US debt limit is effectively $16.4 trillion, or 107% of GDP and rising, he faces a very unhappy audience: one which according to Gallup has seen its dissatisfaction with economic and political issues hit record levels...

...Among the Gallup observations: "As President Barack Obama prepares his annual address to Congress, Americans are broadly dissatisfied with the state of the nation in several specific issue areas, with satisfaction down sharply in some cases since January 2008. However, three issues -- the nation's economy, the size and power of the federal government, and the moral and ethical climate in the country -- fit both of these unwelcome criteria." And with the only response the administration has in the past three years consisting of either printing more money which sends all assets, especially energy, higher in price, or fiscal stimulus of which 90% and more is lost due to inefficiencies and corruption, we don't see satisfaction rising any time soon.

Let me be clear. While I prefer Rick Santorum, then Newt Gingrich, and then Mitt Romney for President, I would vote for a lint filter over Barack Obama. Because a lint filter would do considerably less damage to this country.

Quite Possibly the Best Cartoon of This Century [Papa B]

2012-01-23T19:19:00.003-05:00

Papa B:

Considering a career in crime?

I personally would suggest government: they never go to jail.

Larwyn's Linx: Florida: "All your primary are belong to us"

2012-01-23T06:24:00.001-05:00

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

GOP Primaries

Florida: "All your primary are belong to us": Sunshine
SC: Newt’s The Big Winner, Romney And Paul Losers: Cove
Newt Wins South Carolina: Bruce

Newt Notes: Crayfisher
Romney Flunks Critical Competency Test: Riehl
Ron Paul Supporters ‘No-Shows’ at Ron Paul Speech: Shark Tank

Gingrich win shows collapse of GOP establishment: Exam
RuPaul will skip Florida primary to focus on Nevada and Minnesota: FAM
Gingrich steals Romney's cloak of electability as president: Reuters

Nation

Time to Town it Down: Open Letter to the GOP Candidates: Hawkins
Obama’s 3rd-year approval lowest of anyone except Jimmy Carter: FAM
Gabrielle Giffords to resign from Congress: Politico

Newt Is Vindicated, But Nobody Knows It: Bozell (1999)
Romney: Alright, I’ll Release My 2010 Returns on Tuesday: Malkin
Romney's Ugly Politics Now Surfacing In Surrogates: Riehl

A Few Words in Defense of Negative Campaigning: Barone
Christie: Gingrich 'embarrassed' the GOP: Politico
Arrested guy’s the real SEAL: Post

Economy

Why Do Obama Officials Get So Rich?: Lowry
Despite Below Freezing Temps, Thousands Rally for Scott Walker: BG
Dripping with red ink: Will anyone fix Illinois' budget mess?: BND

Sundays with Sherrod: Occupier Solidarity: BG
Classy: “Occupiers” Steal From Church, Urinate on a Cross: JWF
Man of the People Hits NYC for Four Lavish Fundraisers in One Night: JWF

Gunrunner & Energygate

Breaking on Fast and Furious: Arizona Moves to Prosecute Those the Feds Won’t: BG
Boehner, Cantor press secretaries balk at calls for Holder’s resignation: DC
Attorney General Holder Continues To Defend The Rights Of The Dead To Vote: JWF

Climate & Energy

Obama Okays Gulf Oil Storage For Brazil: S&L
Update On The Environmental Scientist Caught On Video Faking Data; Now With A Kennedy Connection: Wizbang
Tom Brady’s Environmentally-Friendly 22,000 Square Foot Mansion Finally Ready: JWF

Media

The Disgrace Of The Fourth Estate - The Obama Media Group: JoshuaPundit
The Cry-Baby In Chief: FPM
Dennis Miller’s Rant on Obama’s Disneyworld Visit: VS

South Carolina Ended the Myth of Romney’s ‘Inevitability’ And Other Lessons: BG
Newt's Victory in South Carolina a Defeat for the Liberal Media: Bozell
Yes, Liberalism IS a Mental Disorder: MenRec

Willard Mitt Romney becoming unhinged, calls Newt Gingrich a failed leader who had to resign in disgrace: FAM
Revolution Moves Into The Overton Window: NoisyRm
Hugh Hewitt Channeling Liberals For Romney: Riehl

World

Pro-Sharia Textbooks Creeping Into Curricula Nationwide: BigPeace
Muslim Pilot -- with terror links and deemed a security risk -- accuses airline of racism after losing his job: Atlas
Cuba: The Truth in Black and White: babalu

Obama Official Confirms U.S. Meeting With Al-Qaeda Allied Haqqani Network: WZ
Obama Campaign Uses Old, Unrelated Footage in Attempt to Convince Voters He Is Pro-Israel: BigPeace
Syria rejects new Arab League plan to end violence: Fox

Amazing Look at Communism and the Secret Rise of Capitalism in Rural China: AllAm
Argentine Paper Apologizes for Hitler Themed Comic Strip Mocking Jews in Concentration Camps: Blaze
Egyptian Islamists Torch Homes and Businesses in Coptic Village: GWP

Sci-Tech

The Cognitive Consequences of Having Information at Our Fingertips: Farnam Street
New App Helps Users Find Parking In NYC: NY CBS
Steve Jobs Freaked Out A Month Before First iPhone Was Released And Demanded A New Screen: Insider

Cornucopia

Get out of here! And take your little dog with you.: MOTUS
Winter, Snow, Ice and Oy!: PRS
Ga. judge orders president to appear at hearing: CBS Atlanta

Image: iOwnTheWorld
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Rick Santorum for President

QOTD: "...it’s [Judi Kantor's] portrayal of our Commander-In-Chief that is truly shocking. Barack Obama comes off as a man with deep personal issues, manifested in a supreme self-centeredness and tremendous insecurity. He is emotionally fragile, unable to stand criticism, and bewildered by dissent...

...Obama comes across in the book as profoundly power-hungry – he couldn’t get anything done as a State Senator, so he moved on to the Senate; he couldn’t get anything done in the Senate, so he moved on to the presidency.

He’s frustrated with the presidency, too. “When Obama reflected privately on the presidency that fall, he often spoke about the limitations of the office,” Kantor reports about Obama’s first autumn in the White House. He was suffering from a “dawning sense of political powerlessness.” This is the highest form of egotism known to man. The president of the United States is the most powerful individual on earth. He does not get to complain about his lack of power. No wonder Obama has publicly mused about the beauties of the Chinese system – the only step up from the presidency is monarchy or dictatorship." --Ben Shapiro

The 10 Cars With the Most Obnoxious Drivers

2012-01-22T20:04:00.004-05:00

Hey, but if you drive one of these, I'm sure you're the exception...

10. Toyota Prius
They should have called it the Toyota Sanctimonius. That sidelong glare you get when you pass one? It means you're driving too fast. Wasting precious gasoline. Defiling Gaia. Reveling in your carbon footprint. You, my friend, are the enemy of mankind. And all Prius drivers.

9. 1990's-Vintage Modified Honda Civic
Yes, this is the infamous "Ricer", equipped with fart pipe, sub-$250 body kit, partially-finished paint job and Formula One-style spoiler. It must, of course, be lowered sufficiently to scrape the pavement like a spatula. And its driver must try to race every single car on the road, including pickups towing cabin cruisers, ice cream trucks, and Soccer Moms in their Caravans.

8. Mercedes C-Class
Dude, it's a C-Class. The entry-level Mercedes. It's the Sentra of Mercedes. I know, you think everyone is jealous of you. Here's a helpful hint: they're not. In fact, all Mercedes owners look down on you for driving the brand's Corolla. And drivers of other makes just kinda feel sorry for you, because. Well, you're. Trying. Too. Hard.

7. Buick LeSabre
You're stuck behind a car that is signaling right, but won't move. You're following a car going 20 in a 35. You're shouting at the car in front of you, which refuses to turn right on red, despite the fact that there isn't another car in sight. You are behind a 2004 Buick LeSabre driven by a person old enough to have known Ulysses S. Grant.

6. BMW 3-class
It would seem that every single, self-absorbed, 20-something male college graduate with a steady job feels like the world owes him a BMW 3-series. And, with said purchase comes the requisite disregard for traffic signals, lane-changing courtesies, and any semblance of manners. Should you pass one, even accidentally, you will find yourself the subject of a street race that will often end up with the BMW screeching ahead of you, only to narrowly avoid rear-ending a panel truck at the next red light.

5. Range Rover
We know, lady: you've got to get Tyler and Madison to lacrosse practice and you've got a pressing nail appointment. But, please, could you stay the hell off the phone while you weave from side to side?

4. Subaru Outback
Hey, hippie: it's not the sixties. You're not driving an air-cooled VW. You're allowed to go over 20 miles-an-hour. Even with all of the stupid bumper stickers weighing you down. Promise. We know: you love the environment and you value safety -- but you can't afford a Volvo. Hey, we get it. Believe me, we get it.

3. Chevy Volt
If driving a $45,000 coal-powered car that has a tendency to catch on fire is considered sexy and environmentally conscious, count me in!

2. Mini Cooper
Hey kid, I know it's made by BMW, but it's not really a BMW. Really. And you're not in The Italian Job. Really. You're in an overpriced s***-box modeled loosely after one of the worst cars of all time.

1. Any vehicle with an Obama bumpersticker on it.
No matter how evil a glare you throw at one of these drones, they keep their gaze fixed straight into the distance. Leaning forward, as it were. It's almost as if they're mesmerized by the visions of a Utopian society, that which never was and never could be. It's true; they're exceedingly stupid. They believe in the mirage of Statism; the bill of goods sold to them by the Charlatan-In-Chief that translates not to a Utopia, but to a Dystopian nightmare, the endgame for all collectivist societies. In a sane society, these people would be required to read Ameritopia before receiving a driver's license.

Egotistical, bombastic embarrassment claims Newt Gingrich is... an embarrassment

2012-01-22T16:44:00.002-05:00

For a guy who has never done anything at the national level; who has a personal cameraman following him around to capture those special "YouTube moments" where he confronts public sector union members; and who has taken troubling positions on gun control, illegal immigration, judges, global warming, and Obamacare (to name but a few), it takes real hubris to pillory Newt Gingrich.

I speak, of course, of Chris "Krispy Kreme" Christie, one of the darlings of the RINO establishment, who is doing his level best to sandbag conservatives.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Sunday dubbed Mitt Romney’s showing in South Carolina “clearly disappointing,” but quickly turned his focus to Newt Gingrich, saying he has been “an embarrassment to the party.”

Christie, a key Romney surrogate in his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, blasted Gingrich on NBC's "Meet the Press" for his ethics violation fine and losing the speakership in the House, saying that “sometimes past is prologue... Newt Gingrich has embarrassed the party over time. Whether he'll do it again in the future I don't know, but Gov. Romney never has,” Christie said on NBC's “Meet the Press.”

"I mean he was run out of the speakership by his own party, he was fined $300,000 for ethics violations. This is a guy that has had a very difficult political career at times, and has been an embarrassment to the party," Christie added.

...While Christie has pointed to Romney’s difficulties in connecting with people before, he said Sunday it’s due to Romney being a “reserved guy.” He then turned to what he deemed Gingrich’s liabilities... “Strategic adviser? That is the oldest Washington dodge in the book. That's because he didn't want to register as a lobbyist,” Christie said.

...Christie also addressed the vice presidency question once again, saying, “If I'm approached I will listen, but my inclination, I want to make it very clear, is that I want to stay governor of New Jersey."

News flash, Krispy: you ain't gonna be the VP. And, by the way, Newt Gingrich has accomplished 20 times more for the conservative movement and the Republican Party than you have.

The results of Gingrich's ethics probe are publicly available; they involve a course that Gingrich taught at Kennesaw State College while serving in Congress. The trouble revolved around the fact that the course was backed by a tax-exempt group. Gingrich taught Constitutional, conservative values, which the IRS found were “consistent with its stated exempt purposes.”

The whole thing was a political setup. And doesn't Newt's "ethics violations" seem quaint given the likes of Maxine Waters, Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, Nancy Pelosi, Diane Feinstein, and the rest of the modern miscreants of Congress who have mysteriously made millions in office?

So, Krispy, I'd advise you to keep your pie-hole shut. You're the embarrassment -- and we're not going to let you try to tear down conservatives in pursuit of a VP slot that you'll never get.

Debunking the Beltway Hacks' Latest Spin: Gingrich Will Harm Down-Ticket Republicans

2012-01-22T11:46:00.002-05:00

The latest folderol emanating from the utterly embarrassed Beltway elites -- many of whom were surreptitiously on the Romney payroll -- is that Newt Gingrich's poor "likability" scores will harm down-ticket Republicans.

If history is any indicator, this is about as accurate as their mantra-like predictions, repeated ad infinitum, that Mitt Romney would run away with the nomination because of his "electability".

Rasmussen Reports explains what Obama's failed presidency really means to down-ticket Democrats:

Going into the final weekend of [Jimmy Carter's 1980] campaign..., Gallup had Carter’s Republican opponent, Ronald Reagan, up three points. Harris had him up five points, while Newsweek and The Washington Post had Carter up one.

But at the end, the bottom fell out for Carter. “I’ve never seen anything like it in polling,” said Pat Caddell, Carter’s pollster. What was a close race turned into a big Reagan lead in the last hours of the campaign; he ended up winning 489 electoral votes and a 51%-41% victory over Carter. Likely aiding Reagan at the end was the one and only debate between the two, held just a week before the election, when Reagan memorably asked voters “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” ...With Carter captaining the Democratic ship, election night in 1980 was Titanic-esque. Democrats lost 12 Senate seats and 33 House seats.

...Given the divided control of the government, some commentators we respect have noted the possibility of a total switcheroo in Washington next year: President Obama loses the presidency, the Republicans take the Senate and the Democrats re-take the House.

That, of course, is possible. But it would be a first in the modern history of the republic: Since 1860, an incumbent president has never lost the White House in the same election that his party won control of either house of Congress from the other party. Similarly, the House and the Senate flipping in opposite directions has never happened in the same election in the same timeframe. In other words, regardless of what happens in the presidential race, a scenario in which Democrats captured the House next year and Republicans captured the Senate would be, in a word, historic.

So history tells us that Democrats need Obama to roar back and win a second term in order to flip the House. And even that might not be enough.

So when Karl Rove, who has yet to reveal any financial interests he may have vested in one or more of the GOP candidates, next opines about Newt's "likability", you can take his "analysis" with a giant grain of salt.

Say, a 31 percentage point-sized grain of salt.

Larwyn's Linx: Lessons From South Carolina

2012-01-22T08:04:00.002-05:00

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

South Carolina

Lessons From South Carolina: Wolf Howling
Why Newt?: Domenech
Gingrich Looking Churchillian In Political Comeback: IBD

Hill: Romney Exposed As Very Weak Candidate That He Is: Riehl
Romney's Recipe for Disaster: Erickson
Money for Santorum: Erickson

After SC: What the Beltway Crowd Misses: Hawkins
Why Gingrich won -- Why Romney lost: York
Sarah Palin: Santorum should stay in the race: Scoop

Nation

S.C.: 900 dead voted in recent election: GWP
Fomer Obama staffer arrested in IA identity theft investigation.: RS
Identity Theft, Then and Now: Driscoll

Chris Dodd intimidating lawmakers on SOPA, PIPA: Patterico
Secretary of State Project: MoneyRunner
Republicans In Denial: Flopping Aces

Occupy protesters use Bibles as weapons — literally: Zombie
Occupy SF Turns Violent, 2 Police Officers Injured: VS
Obama’s continued assault on the First Amendment: ProWis

Economy

Chalk up 4,300 more layoffs to Dodd-Frank: OpenMarket
Good News: ObamaWorld Is Now Open For Business!: Pirate's Cove
Warren Buffet and Mitt Romney: Ricochet

Barack Obama Led #OccupyChicago – Circa 1988: Pollak
Forbes: Best Buy will be out of business soon: HillBuzz
In traditional Democratic Stronghold Harlem, Barrage of Protesters Greets Obama: PatUpdate

Gunrunner & Energygate

Not so fast: The simmering controversy over Operation Fast and Furious: Economist
Chevy Volt Fires: Feds Stop Investigating Volts, Announce $1,500 Incentive For California Volt Buyers: SHN
Fast and Furious: Arizona official to plead Fifth: Tucson

Climate & Energy

Environmentalism and the Leisure Class: AmSpec
Obama plays energy politics while China and Cuba drill wells: Exam
Here We Go Again: Globull Warming To Create More Snow: Teach

Media

#ChangeIs…Incredibly Easy to Mock. Come On, Everybody – Join in the Fun on Twitter: Marfdrat
Ingraham Challenges Romney on Message: NRO
Bubba Takes The Cake: At last, the Clinton Legacy: Publius

When ‘Unaccountably’ = ABC’s SOP: Driscoll
Newt Gingrich's Ethics Charges and Mitt Romney's Anniversary Cake: MagNote
Washington Post Ombudsman Tells Paper To Start Actually Scrutinizing Obama’s Record: Dollard

13 Photos Of Barack Obama At Disney That Will Probably Turn Up In Attack Ads: Buzzfeed
Some interesting details ABC left out about Newt’s 2nd marriage: Polipundit
Gingrich's College Records Show a Professor Hatching Big Plans: WSJ

Palin Factor Starts To Emerge in GOP Race: Sun
SC Primary Tweets of Night: LI
A Review Of Mark Levin’s Ameritopia From A Regular American: Kuznicki

World

The Sinking of the West : Steyn
More Racist Ethnic Cleansing By Illegal Alien Gangbangers: Federale
Greek Debt Talks Appear to Stall Amid Clash on Rate for New Bonds: WSJ

Death Comes to Nigeria (Again): GoV
Update on the Norwegian Niqab School Tour: GoV
Afghan Pedophilia: A way of life, say U.S. soldiers and journalists: Exam

Sci-Tech

Anonymous splinter group now targeting Democrats for SOPA support: DC
Inside the Lavish Life Of Web's Mr. Dotcom: WSJ
The Backbone of the Flavor Network: Nature

Cornucopia

The Finnish Fire Stove: C&S
Skull shirts out, sparkly pink swimsuits in …: ProWis
16-Year Old Laura Dekker Completes Solo Sail Around the World: AmSpec

Image: Karenza Paperie
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Rick Santorum for President

QOTD: "Newt Gingrich’s rise has a lot to do with Newt Gingrich’s debate performance. But it has just as much to do with a party base in revolt against its thought and party leaders in Washington, DC. The base is revolting because they swept the GOP back into relevance in Washington just under two years ago and they have been thanked with contempt ever since...

...Newt has taken the worst the media, Romney and the left can dish out, and he’s still standing and fighting with passion and eloquence. Sure, he’d probably be an erratic President, but right now Republican voters don’t care about his Presidency. They care about the fight with the left both Mitt Romney, and the Washington Republican leaders like John Boehner and Mitch McConnell don’t seem inclined to engage in." --Erick Erickson

Romney loses South Carolina by 31 points, Karl Rove hardest hit

2012-01-21T21:21:00.006-05:00

Yes, Mitt Romney lost by 31 points.

       40% Gingrich
       27% Romney
       18% Santorum

The anti-establishment candidates -- Gingrich and Santorum -- literally crushed Mitt Romney 58 percent to 27 percent, a margin of 31 points.

Erick Erickson describes these results as evidence that the GOP conservative base far outnumbers establishment RINOs -- and that the conservatives are pissed.

Newt Gingrich’s rise has a lot to do with Newt Gingrich’s debate performance. But it has just as much to do with a party base in revolt against its thought and party leaders in Washington, DC. The base is revolting because they swept the GOP back into relevance in Washington just under two years ago and they have been thanked with contempt ever since...

...Newt has taken the worst the media, Romney and the left can dish out, and he’s still standing and fighting with passion and eloquence. Sure, he’d probably be an erratic President, but right now Republican voters don’t care about his Presidency. They care about the fight with the left both Mitt Romney, and the Washington Republican leaders like John Boehner and Mitch McConnell don’t seem inclined to engage in.

I support Rick Santorum over Newt and Mitt. I support Newt over Mitt. And I support anyone over Barack Obama.

But Doug, you might ask, what about Ron Paul? What about him? Ron Paul is a kook, an anachronism, a Kucinich Libertarian wearing GOP clothes, whose views on foreign policy are so outside the mainstream that they can and must be dismissed.

Congratulations to Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum. Oh, and here's a private word for Karl Rove: pfffffffffffffffffffffffffttttt.

Photo of Mitt Romney Tomorrow Morning [Wanda]

2012-01-21T20:46:00.000-05:00

Wanda:

"But...... But....... But. I'M Electable. No...... I AM. REALLY!!!

	Before	Now	Change
Number of Unemployed¹	12.0 Million	13.1 Million	+9%
Long-Term Unemployed²	2.7 Million	5.6 Million	+107%
Unemployment Rate³	7.8%	8.5%	+9%
“High Unemployment” States⁴	22	43	+95%
Misery Index⁵	7.83	11.46	+46%
Price of Gas⁶	$1.85	$3.39	+83%
“Typical” Monthly Family Food Cost⁷	$974	$1,013	+4%
Median Value of Single-Family Home⁸	$196,600	$169,100	-14%
Rate of Mortgage Delinquencies⁹	6.62%	10.23%	+55%
U.S. National Debt¹⁰	$10.6 Trillion	$15.2 Trillion	+43%