Thursday, August 20, 2009

Larwyn's Linx: David Axelrod's Very Big Problem

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email or reply via Twitter.

Nation

David Axelrod's Very Big Problem: Hewitt
President Pantywaist in retreat over Stalinist health care: Warner
What would James Madison do?: Tackett

H.R. 3200, Pages 601-700: Gormogons
The Alinskyite's Big, Fat Governance Failure: AT (Shiver)
Shauer's town hall crowd: bused in by the SEIU: BlogProf

Congress on the verge of nervous breakdown: AT (Smith)
Little Hope, But Lots of Change Coming: Hanson
Single-Payer Mashup: Verum

Economy

Not N.I.C.E.: Dr. Sanity
Quarterly NY State Tax Revenues Drop 24% vs. '08: Zero Hedge
Cash for Clunkers Misfires in Nebraska: Marathon

Democrats begin 'investigating' health insurers: Times
Going It Alone: SIGIS

Climate & Energy

Navy Chemist Trashes NYT for Fear-Mongering 'Clap Trap': Depot
Behold, Cap and Trade: Salvation of Mankind: PJM (Miller)

Media

Glenn Beck and the Unforgivable Curse: Doc Zero
Beck Boycotters' Waterloo: LegalIns
Roseanne Barr Helps US Set The Record Straight: Grobman

Frum: a fear-mongering, anti-free speech, pseudo-intellectual: Blatt
Public Option Author Hacker Claims Statements About Public Option Being Trojan Horse for Single-Payer Are Taken Out of Context: Ace
I used to think the Bush Administration was terrible at public relations: PJM (Simon)

The Voice of the Neuter is Heard Throughout the Land: American Digest
We Can't Spare This Woman, She Fights: AT (Smith)

World

Obama reaches out to Pakistan's 'most fervent Islamist and anti-American parties': Reuters
Back to Medieval Times: Swedish news says IDF kills Palestinians for their organs: Haaretz
Syria, Israel, and Water: Prelude to a War?: PJM (Puder)

Advice from Britain: How the U.S. right can effectively challenge socialism.: PJM (Dodge)
Troubling symbols: MoneyRunner

SciTech

Why AT&T killed Google Voice: WSJ (Kessler)
Which 'National Network of Community-Based Organizations' Will Health-Care Bill Fund to Monitor Your Diet and Weight?: CNS

Cornucopia

LipidLeggin, a Short Story: Wilson

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Real Men of Congress: Representative Unindicted Co-conspirator


Pork Lite presents... Real Men of Congress.

Real men of Con-n-n-gress

Today we salute you, Representative unindicted co-conspirator!

Representative unindicted co-conspira-tor...

When folks said you couldn't send billions of dollars in defense spending to tiny towns in Western Pennsylvania, you proved them wrong...

You awarded no-bid contracts over the objections of the Pentagon, the DEA, the White House, and federal auditors.

Someone's knockin'... warm up the shredder...

And when nosy reporters found out that you'd directed $250 million to non-profits headed by your friends and family...

You just blamed it on a right-wing conspiracy... even though your net worth soared $11 million in four years.

I had a winning streak in Vegas...

Or when you were videotaped taking a hundred grand during an FBI sting operation...

You claimed you were just trying to help the feds, though you stashed ninety grand in your freezer.

WhoooooooooaaaaAAAAH! My tongue is stuck to a Hundred...

And when nay-sayers claimed you couldn't direct billions to your husband's defense firm, even while you were serving on a defense appropriations committee, ...you just laughed at them!

I shoulda been a Senator...

So crack open an ice-cold box of Pork Lite wine, oh Senator Conflict-of-Interest. We know that when it comes to your personal integrity, only two things matter... that we're not wearing a wire and that we've got a cashier's check made out to your son-in-law.

Representative Unindicted Co-conspirator...

Real Men of Congress, Washington DC, 20001.


Clunkerf****: New York Auto Dealers Pull Out of Clunkers Program


What do you call the reverse of a Midas Touch? Say, when anything a person touches turns to crap? I have a sinking feeling our President has that gift.

Consider the administration's wonderful oversight of the "Cash for Clunkers" program. Leadership so impressive that 250 New York metro-area dealers pulled out of the program today.

NY dealers say unpaid Cash for Clunkers claims [are] mounting, prompting many to pull out of [the] program...

The Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association, which represents dealerships in the New York metro area, said about half its 425 members have left the program because they cannot afford to offer more rebates. They're also worried about getting repaid.

And that's the least of the problems associated with the Clunkers for Clusterf***s program. FundMastery offers a masterful list of the unintended consequences associated with the program. Consider the nature of the program:

Joe Taxpayer turns in his car, which was paid off. This car gets turned into scrap, even if it was a useful vehicle. Joe then buys a new car for, say, $25K. The federal government takes $4.5K in taxpayer funds and pays the dealer (or not, if New York is indicative; but I digress). Joe drives the car off the lot, at which point the car is worth $20K.

The unintended consequences?

Joe Taxpayer: is out a working car that was paid off. Now he's making payments on a loan of $20K for a car worth $20K.

Federal Government: owes another $4.5K, plus interest, to bondholders.

Car Company: sales commission on one additional car sale while holding the bag on a $4.5K offset from the feds. This sale was artificially pulled forward in time by the "free money" offered by the government.

Other retailers: less sales as Joe Taxpayer has a new monthly car payment to make.

Environment: One more scrapped vehicle and the environmental costs of making a new car.

Charities: Receive less in donations (both used cars and cash).

Used Car Buyers: With supply artificially decreased, used car prices rise and lower-income car buyers suffer.

Joe Taxpayer: ends up footing the bill, with interest.

ABC News’ John Stossel spotlights the economic fallacies associatred with this program, which will be expanded from one billion to three billion dollars. Isn't Congress soooooo generous with your money?

Economists call this the "broken window fallacy." In the 19th century, French economist Frederic Bastiat illustrated it with the story of a boy who breaks a shop window. At first the townspeople lament the loss, but then someone points out that the shopkeeper will have to spend money to replace the window. What the window maker earns, he will soon spend elsewhere. As that money circulates through town, new prosperity will bloom.

The fallacy, of course, lies in the fact that if the window had not been broken, the shopkeeper would have "replaced his worn-out shoes … or added another book to his library." The town gains nothing from the broken window.

The money for his faux "Stimulus" was confiscated from Joe Taxpayer. And, if government spends more, we must make do with less.

Anyone with even a modicum of business experience would know this, but not President Training Wheels.

Just consider the Cash for Clusterf***s a preview of coming attractions.



Blog ads really are good for marketers; they outperform TV!


Marketing Charts reveals that online ads outperform television for consumer packaged goods (CPG).

Online advertising can be as effective as television advertising in lifting retail sales of CPG brands, according to a new study from comScore and dunnhumbyUSA.

The study, based on a 200,000 panel of consumers who were members of grocery store loyalty programs, indicated that online advertising lifts retail sales of CPG products by an average of 9%, compared to an average lift of about 8% from TV campaigns (measured by Information Resources, Inc. and published in their seminal research paper How Advertising Works).

The comScore dunnhumbyUSA research was conducted by examining the retail purchasing behavior of members of the comScore panel of 2 million internet users who have given comScore explicit permission to monitor their online behavior...

...because online advertising is generally less expensive than television, the results take on even greater significance.

Get yer steaming hot Blogads here! Get 'em before they're all gone!

Townhall Sign o' the Day



Via: Charlie Foxtrot.

Larwyn's Linx: A Very Serious Problem

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email or reply via Twitter.

Nation

A very serious problem: Dinocrat
Well, these ain't 'LIFE' panels: NEJM
Co-ops: just another road to single-payer: AT (Carpenter)

The Conservative Challenge: Power Line
Tensions flair at Union Town Hall: JWF
Return to Sender: BCB

Black Conservatives Hold Protest at NAACP: GWP
The reshaping of the GOP: CSM
Will "community organizers" be monitoring your weight?: MoneyRunner

Logrolling in our time: Instapundit
A Slap in the Face to Every Decent American: PatRoom
Liberals "Tired of Compromise": Ready to Ram Obamacare Down America's Throat: GWP

Economy

Fannie, Freddie and Washington: Panzner
We don't spend enough on health care: Karpel
No cones in Michigan: Surber

The Looter Mentality: Sanity
Granholm's Bizarro World: "MI off the mat!": BlogProf
Firm That Owes Axelrod $2M Receiving Money From PhRMA: Aces

Section-by-section health care review shows tax hikes on families, small businesses: GOPleader
Boehner rips Tauzin for giving in to big government "bully": Examiner
Health Care Tax Insanity Chronicles, Part 3 (IRS To Decide Amount of Taxation): LegalIns

Climate & Energy

Obama to spend $1 billion to fund offshore drilling - for Brazil: AT (Moran)

Media

Ruh Roh: Media Diversity Czar Breathing Down Talk Radio's Neck: Noisyroom
NBC Poll: Plurality Now Oppose Public Option. Democrats Double Down On It: Ace
Why Obamacare is failing: Surber

Media Ignored Legal Gun-brandishing By Leftist Black Panthers in 2000 Protest: NewsBusters
Mike Lupica Beclowns Himself: JWF
Angry Mob Meets with Boxer's Rep: Temple of Mut

World

For the Left, war without Bush is not war at all: York
CSM: Why don't they shut up already?: Tobin
Ready for single-payer? Woman in U.K. Denied Ambulance, Gives Birth On Pavement: BlogProf

Britain Dragged into ObamaCare Fight: NHS Under Fire: PJM (McNally)
Middle East: Are We Stuck In This Era?: Rubin

SciTech

Surprise: Missile Defense Works Even Better Than Expected: Closing Velocity
'Armadillo' Plays Well in Peoria But Is Panned by Drug Dealers : WSJ
Nothing has changed, except the superficialities: BizzyBlog

Cornucopia

Press One for English: Rivoli Family
The SEC spits in the faces of fans: KnoxNews

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

ACORN teams up with ACLU to throw out Penn Voter Law


Fox4KC reports that ACORN has all but admitted its guilt related to various Pennsylvania vote fraud indictments:

So, what do you do if you are the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) and you are accused of violating state election laws? What else but hire the ACLU to try and get those laws thrown out as unconstitutional?

In Pennsylvania, six members of ACORN have been indicted for violating a state election law prohibiting groups from setting quotas for voter registration drives. The ACLU claims that this rule violates the constitutional right of ACORN to utilize "commonplace management tools" and techniques to manage its paid workers.

But the statute is clearly meant to maintain the integrity of the voter rolls, something that ACORN just as clearly violated with its illicit practices to inflate voter rolls with fake Democrat voters.

The statute says, "A person may not give, solicit or accept payment or financial incentive to obtain voter registration if the payment or incentive is based upon the number of registrations or applications obtained."

During the voter drive, ACORN set quotas for workers that ended up seeing that quotes were met by creating fake voter registration cards.

ACORN and the ACLU, it seems, couldn't care less about the integrity of elections and the legality of voter registrations.

One thing that this ACLU lawsuit seems to prove, however, is that ACORN admits its guilt in the matter. If it were not guilty of falsifying thousands of Pennsylvania voter registration cards, why then would it need to get rid of the statute in question?

ACORN is... issuing an admission of guilt. ACORN knows it perpetrated vote fraud and now wants to go back and change the law to paper over its guilt.

Undermining the rule of law? Supporting voter registration fraud? Helping to eradicate the Constitution's firewalls? Yep, that's the ACLU, all right.


Barney's Frank's Town Hall


Yep, it's true. Barney's Frank is holding a town hall meeting tonight at the Dartmouth Council on Aging. And Lone Republican has some excellent questions that should be asked of the House Finance Chairman.

But odds are they won't be asked, given the tendency of Democrats to bus in paid SEIU and ACORN thugs, who then either shout (or beat) down taxpayers.

This meeting is especially important with Congressman Frank openly supporting a single payer system for health care.

Here are some questions I would like to ask him:

1. If the insurance industry is so evil and to blame for our country’s health care system problems, then why have you taken $271,000 in campaign donations from them over the past 3 years? (He has received over $69,000 this year for insurance companies.)

2. Can you explain to me how 45 government agencies can better implement health care?

3. Do you take any responsibility in the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

4. Over the years you have repeatedly received failing grades from Americans for Tax Reform and the National Taxpayer Union for opposing taxpayer rights, why should any citizen trust you that this health care is not going to bankrupt the nation?

5. Why is there no tort reform in the legislation?

6. Will you take a pledge that everything that is being removed from the health care bill now such as the so-called “death panels” will not be added back in during the conference committee negotiations?

7. Are you willing to give up your health care plan and join the public option?

8. Do you think it was right for Speaker Pelosi and Congressman Steny Hoyer to call protesters un-American?

9. Why do you oppose associated health plans which allow small businesses to band together to buy insurance across state borders? Is that why you received so many donations from the insurance companies?

10. Do you pay the higher or lower percentage in income taxes in Massachusetts?

Methinks we'd be lucky to get even one of these questions asked of this egregious punk, who was last spotted assuring passers-by that Fannie and Freddie were healthy institutions.

Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.): I worry, frankly, that there's a tension here. The more people, in my judgment, exaggerate a threat of safety and soundness, the more people conjure up the possibility of serious financial losses to the Treasury, which I do not see. I think we see entities that are fundamentally sound financially and withstand some of the disaster scenarios. . . .

For over seven years, Dodd, Frank, Waters and others -- who received hundreds of thousands in campaign donations from the GSEs -- blocked any and all attempts to strengthen regulation and crack down on accounting fraud.

A 1998 Washington Post column reported that Frank also had a serious conflict of interest, stating that "Frank, who is openly gay, had a relationship with Herb Moses, an executive for the now-government controlled Fannie Mae. The column revealed the two had split up at the time but also said Frank was referring to Moses as his “spouse.” Another Washington Post report said Frank called Moses his 'lover' and that the two were 'still friends' after the breakup."

Now, the taxpayers are on the hook while Dodd, Frank and Waters remain the brilliant overseers of the very debacle they helped orchestrate. How much will you and I have to pay?

Fannie Mae recently told us they need another $10.7 billion of taxpayer money, after already receiving about $34 billion . . . that fools like Carney Frank and Dudley Dodd told us would never be needed...

$2 Trillion Problem - Fannie and Freddie guarantee or own more than $2 trillion in mortgages, and that number is growing, as these two "stars" are the last resort in a housing market that is stumbling along like a drunken sailor on a short pier.

The Wall Street Journal calls this catastrophe "Enron, the Sequel".

If only it were that small of a problem.

My question for Frank: "Any thoughts about Seppuku?"


Update: Jammie has a couple of video clips from the meeting.

Related: • If you went to the Frank Town Hall and would like to report (either with attribution or without) on it, please email me.
Media Mum on Frank's Fannie Mae Love Connection.

Financial Crisis "May Not Peak For Another Five to Six Years"


Chris Martenson, the author of Crash Course, has a new post up that should send chills down your spine. "The FDIC Is Broke... Now What?" carefully analyzes the recent, curious actions of the FDIC along with the balance sheet skulduggery endemic to the banking system. Martenson's executive summary starkly states:
  • With the most recent bank failures, the FDIC is out of funds.
  • The FDIC is levying a one-time fee on member banks to cover the shortfall, but it will not be enough and it punishes the prudent.
  • The FDIC has been suspiciously slow at shutting down banks that have admittedly already failed.
  • Banks have been allowed to overestimate the actual worth of their assets using "mark-to-fantasy" accounting.
  • Hundreds of banks are likely already mortally wounded and set to fail.
  • The FDIC means well, but creates a moral hazard the effects of which now haunt us.
Before you call Martenson overly paranoid, consider the basic tenets of his argument.

The following five banks failed this week:

These five banks represent liabilities to the FDIC of approximately $3.7 billion, which turns out to be about $3 billion more than the FDIC has on hand.

You can see the balance of the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) has nose-dived since mid-2008:

Seeing that the DIF balance would soon be depleted, Sheila Bair -- head of the FDIC -- announced their intent to levy a one-time surcharge on member banks to rebuild the balance sheet. Smaller banks sounded the alarm, accurately pointing out that they were being punished for their conservative approach while the Wall Street fat cats and "too-big-to-fail" types were rewarded for taking (and losing) outrageous bets.

The President of the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) likened the FDIC's one-time fees to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor: the charges are not just unfair, they cripple local economies; each "dollar sucked out of a small bank represents eight dollars of loans that cannot be made into local communities."

The FDIC is out of money, which may explain why the second-largest bank in Texas, Guaranty Bank, has not yet been shut down. Late last month, Guaranty reported to the SEC that it is "critically under-capitalized" and that "it is probable... it will not be able to continue as a going concern."

Sounds like a problem, yet the FDIC hasn't shuttered it and the 150 other banks like Guaranty -- because it just doesn't have the money. Even with the one-time surcharge funds arriving on 9/30, Martenson anticipates that bonus will only last the FDIC another two or three months.

Even more troubling: banks' assets, as distressed as they are, have been dramatically inflated by "mark-to-fantasy" accounting wizardry. That means the FDIC's real losses will be larger in real life than they appear in the rear-view mirror. Furthermore, the much smaller S&L crisis that began in 1980 took eight years to peak and another four years to completely unwind.

Martenson predicts that the banking crisis "has a long way to go". History could be telling us it will take another another five or six years to peak.

Fasten your seatbelts.

Larwyn's Linx: Surprise! Rush-rush 'Stimulus' bill still ain't working

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email or reply via Twitter.

Nation

Young voters should re-examine Obama: Barone
The Array of WH ObamaCare Tactics Grows: AT (Cary)
Self-conceit becomes self-parody: Wehner

Massa: I don't give a rat's ass what my constituents say: Wizbang
Chickens***: Cold Fury
Palin wins on death panels... for fourth time: STACLU

Reality Check Fail: American Digest
Mistakes were made... by someone else: Ace
Who are your milk carton politicians?: Hot Air

Missing Detroit Voters Found: BlogProf
Boxer Rebellion: Holy Coast

Economy

The city that won't be working today: AT (Smith)
Surprise! Rush-rush Stimulus bill still ain't working: GWP
BofA buys Rezko mansion for $2.8M: Marathon

Taxing Your Mere Existence: LegalIns
Free cellphones are a right: Blatt
Car dealers still waiting for 'clunkers' money: Sun-Times

The gang that can't insulate straight: Post
Huge payoff for unions in support of ObamaCare: Atlas
HR 3200, Pages 201-300: Gormogons

Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Jobs Program: Jawa
Obama's Orwellian Hate Fest: PJM (Kimball)

Climate & Energy

Obama Energy Plan Mandates Scarcity: Atlas
Burt Rutan: engineer, aviation/space pioneer and... active climate skeptic: Watts

Media

Huge pro-ObamaCare Ad Campaign Underway: Morris
Time's Joe Klein: Health Care Protesters Are Ignorant: NewsBusters
CNN anchor to protester: Hey, stop calling yourselves “real Americans”: Hot Air

Silencing talk radio in the name of 'diversity': STACLU
Taxpayer Funded NPR "Jim Crows" Town Hall Protesters: GWP
The NYT's 'Nuanced' View of Rahm Emanuel: A 'Tammany Hall Pol' Who Loves Puppies: NewEd

Gallup: Conservatives now outnumber liberals in all 50 states: CNS
Linda Douglass' Jedi Mind Trick: 'He didn't say what he said': BlogProf
Pelosi skewered at USA Today: Secrets of Vancouver

Bitter Spinster Dodd Says That Palin Wants to Shoot Democrats: BlogProf

World

A Navy Pilot remembers Scott Speicher: Ocean Guy
Hasta la victoria siempre: Commentary
Human Wrongs Watch 2: Soccer Dad

Shock: Raleigh MAS Spokesperson and Terror Apologist Trained in Terror Camps: Jawa
Delightful toys from the Arab world: TigerHawk

SciTech

Hacker accused of massive ID theft: 10% of all credit cards: Times

Cornucopia

Obama Joker Artist Found: Surber
Growl, 2009: Gerard Allen Van der Ginsberg
Girls in Bikinis Reading Star Wars: Jawa

Monday, August 17, 2009

China Syndrome


Click here for AmazonThe story you are about to hear is true. The names of those involved have not been changed, due to the fact that I... didn't need to.

My good friend Gerry relayed the following delightful eBay buying experience.

He's owned a Sony Vaio for years, a slick and light laptop that exudes "cool". It sat, for months at a time, plugged into the AC outlet in the living room of his fourth-floor condo in Boston. It faithfully served as his Internet surfing device and, from time to time, a backup Windows development system.

Leaving a laptop plugged in continuously, for long periods of time, is problematic because pretty soon the battery is destined to die. And sure enough, when he went to use the Vaio unwired a few weeks ago, the battery was deader than Francisco Franco's grandma.

Using eBay, he found an inexpensive replacement battery, which thankfully arrived within a few days. That's odd, he thought as he opened the box: there were no Sony logos. Only a series of inscrutable Chinese characters along with a slapdash mailing label.

Placing the battery into the Vaio should have been easy. But, for some reason, it didn't seem to want to fit into its pre-ordained space. In fact, it proved downright difficult. Exerting way too much force, Gerry finally shoe-horned it into place using the strength and experience gained from opening over one thousand Miller Lites. Finally, he snapped it into place. Lo and behold, it worked! Everything was back to normal... or... so he thought.

It was then off to dinner for Gerry. A couple of hours later, after a satisfying hiatus at the neighborhood sushi bar, he unlocked his door. And heard a loud POP. Thinking someone was in his apartment, his pulse rate quickened. He looked around for something with which to arm himself. A 9-iron perhaps?

Suddenly he smelled burning! He snuck a glance into the living room only to spot his laptop spouting a large flame, directly from the keyboard. He ran over to the computer, simultaneously searching his field of vision for something with which to douse the fire. Another loud CRRAACK rang out - and flaming dollops of plastic sprayed in an eight-foot radius, thankfully not directly in his face.

Now, a dozen tiny fires were burning -- along with the kindling, I mean laptop. Flames were erupting on his walls, polished hardwood floors, even on the granite countertop.

He quickly stamped the small fires out. But the laptop still burned... IT STILL BURNED! He quickly tamped it out with a hand-towel and surveyed the damage. Floors... not good. Walls... not good either. The smell was overwhelming. He opened the bay windows in the living room to get some fresh, albeit quite cold, air circulating. As he turned back to the laptop, holy sh*t, the flames had erupted again!

He swatted it over and over until it ceased burning. And then he realized it was still plugged in! Pulling the cord out of the wall, he breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, the fire was out. Other than the smell of burning plastic and various pockmarked surfaces, his condo had survived. He walked into the bathroom to use the facilities.

Moments later, after washing his hands, he exited the bathroom. For the love of... the laptop was on fire again! It was like the Exorcist, or maybe Nick Lachey on TV! It just kept coming back for more!

This time, the fire had engulfed the entire keyboard. The flames grew higher and higher. Gerry grabbed the laptop, extending his arms to keep the flames away, and ran to the window. He hurled the burning Vaio as far as he could. It arced from the condo, directly into a snow bank twenty feet away and four floors down. At last. The fire was out.

All he could think was, "thank goodness I wasn't actually using the laptop... on my lap... when it exploded."

Sony Vaio Laptop, fully loaded: $2730.
Cheap battery from eBay: $50.
Adrenaline-rush while battling flames in your condo: Priceless.
 

Health Care Trading Cards: Collect 'em all!


Wondering who gets what out of the Democrat Party's push for single-payer, socialized medicine? Keep tabs on all the cash changing hands with this exclusive collection of Health Care Trading Cards™!

The AARP gets some serious coin: millions in taxpayer funds to help build their various businesses, which have little to do with looking out for seniors: "What Obama didn’t say is that AARP receives millions in federal funds, and hopes to get even more by becoming a vendor under his plan. In January 2007, NLPC published Special Report documenting taxpayer support for AARP. The study found that federal funding accounted for $83 million, or about 10 percent, of AARP’s then-annual revenue of $878 million."

Trial Lawyer Tycoons look to get about a $1.6 billion payoff and an unlimited amount of rope to pursue malpractice lawsuits. That is to say, ObamaCare takes tort reform completely off the table.

ACORN and other community agitators (whom, in part, are responsible for the entire mortgage meltdown) are slated to receive billions in Stimulus funds and billions from Obamacare. Consider it a quid pro quo for their, eh, energetic support of the Obama campaign.

Union Bosses aim to get a direct $10 billion payoff from Obamacare, millions injected into their pension funds and, best of all, millions of new, dues-paying members as public-sector unions replace the evil insurance companies. And try getting one of those bureaucrats fired, I dare you!

Unaccountable politicians -- who have come out and said they don't give a crap what their constituents think -- will amass more power, further breakdown the firewalls in the Constitution and then walk away. And where will Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid be in ten years, when the rest of us are struggling with a massive, out-of-control, federalized medical system that doesn't give a damn about individuals and is busy rationing care and denying care to the elderly? They will be retired as very wealthy individuals -- with their very own private health care -- having imposed their Marxist ideology upon this society and then walked away from it.

Leaving the massive deficits for our children and grandchildren to worry about.

You? You get bupkis, which is to say: nuttin'. Oh, you will get called Nazis, thugs, racists, mobsters, and terrorists for having opposed socialized medicine.

But, as a bonus, you'll also lose your liberty -- you'll lose control of your very physical well-being -- to a useless, faceless board of unaccountable, numbskull bureaucrats who couldn't even run a cash-for-clunkers program.

But look on the bright side: you won't have that pesky Constitution and Declaration of Independence to worry about any more!


Update: "Huge pro-ObamaCare Ad Campaign Underway. Gee, I wonder who's funding that?

Hat tips: Evergreen Freedom Foundation and Ann Coulter. Linked by: Don Surber. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: Administration Official: "Sebelius Misspoke"

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email or reply via Twitter.

Nation

A New Definition of Chutzpah: Treacher
Nobody ever went broke...: JOM
Five Core Threats: Grandfather

Administration Official: "Sebelius Misspoke": Ambinder
Spending your own money: GM
The change we'll be waiting for: IOTW

Grandma... again: JOM
Till Death Do Us Part: Bogdanos
Are Lawyers Calling The Shots On Health Care Reform?: Tackett

ACORN, uh HCAN, mission to thwart protesters at townhalls: Examiner

Economy

Preexisting Conditions: Power Line
MA AG not backing down on Madoff feeder fund: BloggingStocks
Health rationing by other names: Times

A treacherous path for housing: 42% of CA mortgages underwater: DHB
Treasury, FDIC and More: How Many Lies?: Denninger

Climate & Energy

Meet the man who has exposed the great climate change con trick: Spectator
Climate bill would cost billions, add thousands of government employees: Times

Media

A short walk down memory hole lane: Ringo
Paul Begala: Palin’s “about a half a whack job”: Hot Air
Obama Flunkie Heckled by Nutroots: JWF

The Other Shoe: BCB
We listened to Rush: Surber
Take a closer look at Obama's op-ed: SIGIS

World

Islam and Monoculture: AT (Donovan)
Tyranny: UK gives in to Sharia at swimming pools: Telegraph
Canada: Top Doc says Health System 'Imploding': Health Zone CA

Venezuelans protest beatings of journalists: RCW
Drinking the Kool-Aid: Failing to lead, Hillary follows the President in placating the world: Goodwin

SciTech

Obama's mad science adviser: Compulsory abortion and sterilization aren't youthful indiscretions: Times
Financial Times feels vindicated by web strategy: NYT

Cornucopia

A dose of reality for Ashley: PJM (Fake but accurate)
Just a little health advice from Dr. Ace: Ace
First Family Does the Tourist Thing: IOTW

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Best of the Worst... and More


It's the best time of year for outdoor auto shows and cruise fests -- and AutoBlog has the goods.

In Montery, you can check out high-res photos of Aston Marton's stunning One-77.

And at Woodward's Dream Cruise, how about the "Best of the Worst"?



Also at Woodward, "The Weird and Wonderful":


I remember this guy! The Shelby-tuned Dodge OMNI GLHS! You don't see that every day!

Public Option Dropped, Lefty Blog Hilarity Ensues!


The scuttlebutt around the Beltway says that the White House is willing to drop health reform's 'public option' as Democrats, home on August recess, cower in fear. A midterm election looms, less than 15 months away, and an enraged, energized electorate is giving their representatives hell, ignoring the astroturf and union thugs bused in to put them down.

In many districts, Democrats are avoiding constituents altogether, resulting in a new characterization: "Milk Carton Dems".

The President's approval ratings are in the toilet along with Congress, the conservative wing of the GOP is as energized as it's ever been, and taxpayers who've never been moved to political involvement are readying torches and pitchforks.

So, in this difficult time for Democrats, a visit to the left side of the blogosphere was warranted. Equipping myself with a Haz-Mat suit (suitable for Biosafety Level 4 Hot Zones) and a laptop, I've returned from that mission horrified and shocked at what I've seen.

Consider the denizens of the ill-named "AmericaBlog" -- ill-named because its supporters so obviously hate the founders, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution:

I don't understand why Democrats are always so willing and desperate to compromise with themselves. The GOPers don't want any reform bill. Their base, comprised of the teabaggers, birthers and deathers, won't let them negotiate. So, Democrats compromise with themselves, again -- and sell out their principles, again. Just like they did on the stimulus package - they gave the GOP nearly 40% of the package in tax cuts, and how many votes did it get them in the entire Congress? Three.

The overwhelming public mistrust of socialized medicine be damned! We've got socialist principles to install, so get the hell out of the way!

• jimfromthefoothills firmly states, "Remember, we are going to rebuild every school, bridge and road in the country. We will fix healthcare. We will restore the constitution, end illegal wars [and] reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses." ......... And then luscious chocolate-chip cookies will drop from the sky, multi-colored unicorns will everyone give free rides to work and school, and Karl Rove will get frogmarched out of Fox News in primetime. As an aside, Jim is still living in the foothills and apparently ate some bad possum before posting.

sandra adroitly observes, "Obama has succeeded in showing us that the corrupt corporations hold the power, the crazy screamers have succeeded, and democracy has failed us, big time." ......... If by "corrupt corporations", you mean the companies that pay billions in taxes and employ millions of American taxpayers... and by "crazy screamers", you mean "pissed-off taxpayers"... and by democracy failing "us", you mean ACORN, the SEIU and other paid agitators are outnumbered by the taxpayers... well, yes, you're spot on.

mtiffany threatens David "Svengali" Axelrod and Rahm "Al Capone" Emanuel, stating that if "there is a public mandate to buy insurance without a public option, I'm NEVER voting for the Democrats EVER again." ......... Well, Tiffany, I'm sure all of the capitalization scared them back into line.

Gridlock is madder than a Democrat forced to comply with the Constitution, "...so the inmates in the nuthouse have won, now they'll be screaming about this forever (at least until they get sick and die without the healthcare they succeeded in killing) and Failbama failed miserably at the first big task in front of him... Nice job. 0 for 0, Barry... Enjoy the rest of your hamstrung term, you f***wit." ......... No snide comments are necessary on my part, because the Secret Service is currently chasing Gridlock down the street, flip-flops, shopping cart and all.

Bostonian_Queer_in_Dallas is thoughtful and introspective. "I sit here today on the 40th anniversary of Woodstock and now realize that we were the most spoiled brat generation ever in this nation because ultimately our liberalism of 1969 was to save our own asses from going to Nam, it had nothing to do with making the nation better or helping the downtrodden because we all went out and cut our hair and became part of the machine to make money by f***ing everyone. It was all about basic cowardice and selfishness and getting stoned. F*** us. The Boomers have sold out and don't give a s*** about anyone but themselves. It is very depressing. I did not sell out. I did good in the world by going into teaching. So now I'm just poor and unhappy. I was a total fool. I shoulda sold out like everyone else did. I was really f***ing stupid to hold onto ideals. You made your f***ing bed now lie in it Boomers." ......... I really need to know what school district this guy teaches in --- my kids need that type of edumacation.

Dateline_Molly lets it all hang out. "This is probably enough to get me thrown off a conservative blog like this one, but I'll say it anyway: The underlying cause of the problems is CAPITALISM. Nobody seems to want to address this even though it is the elephant in the room... And we are seeing the same kind of irrationality in this health care debate. It is irrational strictly on an economic level not to have at least single payer, if not nationalized health care. Every study proves that it would save us money... I don't know how you disentangle from this corrupt web without dismantling American capitalism." ......... Like Cuba and the Soviet Union! The CCCP worked out so well for all involved (if you ignore the 100 million killed by Communism -- but who's counting?).

Jersey has an excellent idea: "Can we convince Howard Dean to run against Obama in 2012?" ......... Please, God, please... from Jerry's lips to your ears.

jimfromthefoothills returned to his dialup connection after mixing up a delicious crawdad-and-roadkill stew, to add: "Barry sold us a paradigm shift. Remember... turn the page? Write a new chapter in American History? He sold us revolution and he delivered Choco-Bush." ......... Choco-Bush? But I thought it was the evil right-wingers who were the racists?

elRey just called the movers: "No words. How can they be so weak? I don't understand. Norway, here I come." ......... I'll alert the King.

jimfromthefoothills has some more Democrat tickets to suggest, "Dean\Krugman, Reich\Waters, ANYBODY BUT OBAMA" ......... Oh, goodness. Tummy. Hurts. Must. Stop. Reading. Hard to breathe.

Best progressive idea yet: responding to a suggestion that the party primary Obama in '12, SCLiberal responds, "I still think MoveOn should put forth a true liberal candidate."

Can't type... can't... must... stop. Laughing too hard... about to pass out... Must stop reading.


Update: Ruh roh. Michelle Malkin says that the plan to drop a public option may be a trial balloon and not a white flag. Stay vigilant, folks.

Linked by: Michelle Malkin, Gateway Pundit, Jawa Report and Celestial Junk. Thanks!