Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Dog for Sale


Papa B sends us this unique offer:

Dog for Sale



Free to good home. Excellent guard dog. Owner cannot afford to feed him anymore, as there are no more drug pushers, thieves, murderers, or molesters left in the neighborhood for him to eat.

Most of them knew him as 'Holy S***.'



Larwyn's Linx: 1,502 Pages of ObamaCare: Point and Counterpoint

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email. You can also install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget..

Nation

Victory Against Big Labor: Malkin
ObamaCare support drops again: Hot Air
Alinskyite in Chief Is a Master Polarizer: AT (Shiver)

Dick Armey Heads to NY-23 for Hoffman: Red State
Budget tricks rife in health reform effort: Times
The Moral Case for Health Care Reform?: AT

ObamaCare: Point and Counterpoint: AT
Baucus Bill checks in at 1,502 pages: Hot Air
ACORN destroyed GOP voter registration forms: STACLU

Evolution of King County elections: Seattle Times
President Axelrod: AT

Economy

Joe Biden: "It's a Depression": GWP
How the Federal Reserve bailed out the world: Zero Hedge
Union Fees Likely to Kill Another Chicago Trade Show: STACLU

Obamanomics in Action: the Golf Cart Stimulus: Ruby Slippers
AP laments Detroit's plight; ignores 50 years of Dem rule: BlogProf
America's 10 Poorest Cities: ABC

Media

Reuters Duped by Hoax Press Release, Hoax Group tied to SEIU and MoveOn.org: JWF
Fishwrap of Record Slashes Jobs: Malkin
Obama thinks all news networks are dumb: Riehl

Hume: Do Other Networks 'Like Being Patted on Head, Given Seal of Approval by White House?': NewsBusters
Did CNN Write Rush Smear While Fact-Checking SNL Skit?: BlogProf
Helen Thomas Warns White House to Quit Attacking Fox: NewsBusters

Has the WH crossed a line in its war on Fox News?: Sister Toldjah
CNN Analyst: Obama Can Talk With Ahmadinejad But Not FOX News?: GWP
CNN Psychologist Analyzes Talk Radio Popularity: NewsBusters

Oops: Half of Fox News Audience is Non-Republican: GOP

Climate & Energy

West Antarctic Ice Sheet May Not Be Losing Ice As Fast As Once Thought: Univ. of Texas
Monckton Interview: Global warming, global government?: Beck
Antarctic Summer Ice Melt at 'lowest ever recorded in the satellite history': Depot

'Green Jobs' In Germany: Power Line

World

NHS Workers Get Private Care: Surber
Graphs of the Day: AT
No Jews or Dogs Permitted at Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Conference: GWP

It Could Be Loral All Over Again: BizzyBlog
Mayor Nagin Visits Cuba to Learn About Disaster Preparedness?: SIGIS
A double slap in the face for our naive President: PJM

Iran Double-Crosses Obama: Power Line
Iran Jerks Obama's Chain: Ace
Pressure on Honduras May Lead to Zelaya’s Return: PJM

Sci-Tech

CSI Detroit: JOM

Cornucopia

Flowchart: Will You Get Lucky On This Date?: Holy Taco (NSFW)
Who's Dumber: Mike Tyson or Anita Dunn?: Power Line
Don't Flash and Drive: IZI (NSFW)

Well, that didn’t take long. ...I learn that the same Obama administration that took days before voicing lukewarm support for the Iranian people under the thumb of a tyrannical theocracy, took mere minutes to condemn a bombing that killed the military wing of that same dictatorship. Obama’s every impulse is hostile to liberty.

--Bookworm Room


Monday, October 19, 2009

Cars of Kiev














Hat tip: IZI.

Mad Men: Obama's Authoritarian Instincts

Dan from New York:

Many moons ago, during a discussion about the merits of watching TV ads, my first boss on my first job suddenly swiveled around in his chair and said to me, "Your job is to do what I say, not to resist." I got a new job. But it's not so easy to switch countries. If you want a running account of the creeping authoritarianism of the 10-month-old Obama regime, the WSJ’s editorial and opinion pages are must-reads. Here's just one day's catch.

Bloggers Mugged by Regulators


The FTC wants to police book reviews on Twitter.

Gag Order Admission


Humana gets a slap on the wrist for disseminating true information.


Genius: Mortgage Program Will Spend $3,000,000 per Loan Repair


In his speech before Congress in September, President Obama claimed that 30 million Americans "cannot" get health insurance.

Yet the CBO analysis of the $829 billion Baucus Health Reform Bill revealed that it will leave 25 million Americans without health insurance.

So for $829 billion, using numbers from the President and the CBO, we can insure 5 million additional people. That comes to $165,800 per uninsured person.

Gee, isn't centralized, authoritarian government grand?

Let me tell you about another government program gone awry. Taxpayers are on the hook for $75 billion to fund the "Home Affordable Modification Program" (or HAMP).

At first blush, HAMP seems to have some good ideas. It attempts to keep stretched borrowers in their homes. But a careful analysis of HAMP's effects by Dr. Housing Bubble demonstrate another government attempt at social engineering that will end with tragic (and catastrophic) results.

Having looked at the numbers, the Doctor asserts that the program was really designed to help the banks (can you say 'crony capitalism'?).

The terms of the HAMP program are bizarre: rates as low as 2% and terms extended to as long as 40 years. Furthermore, there is an "option of capitalizing principal to the note... in other words, these are option ARM-lites."

You read that correctly: these are basically the same insane mortgage programs ("pick-a-pay" option ARMs) that got us into this mess in the first place. And they are being hawked by the government again!

Three million mortgages are believed to be eligible for HAMP with 500,000 in a trial phase. The trial was supposed to last three months, but it has since been stretched to five months.

The Doctor believes that many of these "repaired" loans will simply re-default. Why? For one reason, the underwriting (courtesy of TurboTax Tim) for the program uses "stated income", not verified income.

These are the very same "liar's loans" that helped trigger the mortgage meltdown!

Examining the chart, of the 50,130 trial modifications entered into in May, only 1,711 (or 3%) resulted in a permanent modification!

As The Huffington Post reported a few days ago, the low number of permanent modifications is still appallingly low ("HAMP will come nowhere close to keeping up with foreclosures").

Among the reasons for the low conversion rate: failure to make timely payments (doh!), failure to assemble necessary documentation (like income verification), and other perfectly predictable screw-ups.

If we assume a conversion rate of nearly twice (5%) of the early trial HAMP modifications (we're being generous, I'm sure), we end up with some stunning figures:

$75 billion to help 25,000 mortgages

That's $3,000,000 per mortgage!

Isn't government efficient?

Gee, Grandma, I can't wait for socialized medicine!


A Poster With Zero-Percent Snark




Know an Obama Voter Who Has Regrets? Dutch TV Wants an Interview!

Know someone who voted for hope n' change and got a heapin' helpin' of partisan hackery instead?


Dutch State Television is interested in conducting interviews for a feature on Obama voters who may be harboring some regrets and resentment:

...we are trying to get in touch with Obama voters who see things, let’s say, differently a year after the election...

Extra points if you attended the Democratic Convention in Denver.

Email me your contact info (include your email address and/or telephone number) to me at and I'll relay it to the producer.

Let's Play Pretend!


Dan from New York:

Pretend these guys had nukes...

Iran threatens Britain and U.S. after Guard bombing


Mon, Oct 19

TEHRAN (Reuters) – The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Monday vowed to "retaliate" against the United States and Britain after accusing them of backing the perpetrators of a suicide bombing that killed six Guards commanders.

Iranian media say the Sunni Muslim insurgent group Jundollah (God's soldiers) has claimed responsibility for Sunday's bombing in Sistan-Baluchestan province, which killed 42 people in all.

The incident threatened to overshadow talks between Iran and global powers in Vienna on Monday intended to tackle a standoff about Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Guards commander-in-chief Mohammad Ali Jafari said Iranian security officials had presented documents indicating "direct ties" from Jundollah to U.S., British and, "unfortunately," Pakistani intelligence organizations, the ISNA news agency said.

"Behind this scene are the American and British intelligence apparatus, and there will have to be retaliatory measures to punish them," Jafari was quoted as saying...

Just a game. Never mind. Obama is protecting us. You don’t think he won the Nobel Peace Prize for nothing, do you?


Larwyn's Linx: The CAIR Intern Who Came In From the Cold

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email. You can also install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget..

Nation

Is Barack Obama anti-American?: Bookworm
Bet on it: ACORN will be back: DetNews
Tea Party “Insurgency” Marches Into Key States: InstaPundit

Protesters Denounce Media Corruption: LATL
The Maoist in the White House Explains Herself: PJM
The CAIR Intern Who Came In From the Cold: TPM Muckraker

ACORN had plan to affect state races: Plain-Dealer
Good Intentions Aren't Enough with Health Care Reform: Palin
Sarah Palin must choose her battles carefully: Texas4Palin

They Don't Link, They Don't Call: LegalIns
Ruckus at Western CPAC: GWP
NY23: Beware the MSM Spin: RSM

Economy

This doesn't sound like confidence: InstaPundit
Runaway Debt?: Corporate Justice
Easy-money mortgages: still provided by the Fed: Times

Kenny and the American Way: AT (Marcus)
Teachers' Unions Uneasy with President Obama: Politico
The "Zimbabwe-isation" of the capital markets: MoneyRunner

The Economic Issues of e-Politics: Riehl
The Lucrative Business of Racism: AT

Media

The Race Card, Football and Me: Limbaugh
Defending the Invincible: Doc Zero
Jacob Weisberg: Ravings of an Embarrassing Liberal Hack: Greenroom

Again: Axelrod, Emanuel attack Fox News on morning shows: Hot Air
Obama has finally found a war he is determined to win: Fox News: Conservative Lesbian
Confessions of Cultural Drop-Out: Hanson

State-Run Media: Confirmed: Wizbang
The Koran in the Toilet People: Fox News is Un-American: GWP
What If Ayers’ ‘Joke’ About Writing Dreams Is On the Press?: PJM

Robert Reich Responds to VS Video: Verum Serum
White House Surrenders to Fox News: Surber
LIED: Crittenden

Climate & Energy

Graph of the Day: Modern Marvels: AT
Lord Monckton:“Obama Is Poised To Cede U.S. Sovereignty”: Dollard
China and Carbon Emissions: AT

Washington Post Allows Debate on Global Warming(?): STACLU

World

Obama Surrenders Afghanistan: No Quarter
Khameini Watch: Faster, Please!: Ledeen
Turkey is Lost to Islamists: LegalIns

Gen. McChrystal, Community Organizer: JOM
The Drumbeat of Failure in Afghanistan: Duct Tape

Running out of time in the U.K.: Elm Tree

Cornucopia

Shooting Stars a Slam Dunk: Coolest One
Hot Chicks + Guns = Peace: RSM
Strap-On's New Favorite Song: 3 Beers Later

Sunday, October 18, 2009

PROMBRON: The armored SUV that makes Hummers whimper


PROMBRON, formerly known as Russo Baltique, is a Russian armored car manufacturer. Earlier this year, it introduced a MONACO BR6 limited edition armored SUV.

Only 100 2009 models were made. The car is a beast, weighing in at 3,700 Kg (8,157 lbs.).

Equipped with an 850 horsepower engine, it can reportedly hit a top speed of 240 km/per hour (150 mph). A Maybach-designed interior includes waterproof seats made of, uhm, whale penis.

Six video cameras, with optional 24 x 7 recording, allow a security guard to monitor all 360-degrees around the vehicle. There are three 14-inch flat-panel monitors, an on-board computer, CD, DVD, Bose sound system, etc.

Twin, auto-open gas tanks can be filled from either side of the vehicle.

Jameslist lists one, nearly new 2009 model for sale (price on request). Let me know if you buy one: I'll feature a road test in a post.


Related: PROMBRON' ex RussoBaltique armored car which shocked the world (Video)
Linked by: AutoSpies.

The semi-annual reorganization of the sidebar

If you missed some of the less snarky posts during the last three months, they are illustrated below in light red. The older posts displaced from the sidebar are in light blue. I'll try to make this more confusing in the future.

Can You Say "So Long Suckers" In Pashto?


Dan from New York:

BBC News, Sunday, 18 October 2009


The White House has said that it will take no decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan until it determines the new government is a "true partner".

Speaking to CNN, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said the US would want first to be sure that the government was capable of becoming a "true partner" able to govern the country.

"It would be reckless to make a decision on US troop level if, in fact, you haven't done a thorough analysis of whether, in fact, there's an Afghan partner ready to fill that space that the US troops would create and become a true partner in governing the Afghan country," he said.

###

Let's say you're a Special Ops Marine "tasked" to take out a nest of Taliban holed up in some damn cave in the middle of the world's most forbidding terrain and you get wind of that little ballerina's CNN interview. That's going to pump up your gung-ho, isn't it? Helloo, BHO! You're supposed to make fools of your enemy... not your own troops.

Exit question: Which US general do you reckon is going to quit first?

A couple of days ago, I sarcastically twittered:

Breaking: President Obama to decide on Afghan troop levels "sometime after meeting with Balloon Boy" #balloonboy

I underestimated this administration's ability for self-beclownment.

The Enemies List(s)


Dan from New York:

Rove Compares Obama’s Demonization of Fox News to Nixon’s ‘Enemies List’


"This is a White House engaging in its own version of the media enemies list...it's unhelpful for the country and undignified for the president of the United States to so do."

Selling the New National Health Care Service



Idea: Irritable Pundit.