Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Obama 'Tax Cut' Fiasco: up to 1.2 million taxpayers will be hit with underpayment penalties; 15.2 million could owe money to the IRS


How's that tax cut for '95% of working Americans' working out? Not too well, according to the Treasury Department.


15.4 million tax filers could owe money to the IRS thanks to Obama's 'tax cut' and 1.2 million may be hit with penalties for under withholding.

The taxpayers most vulnerable are those in two-earner couples... The Making Work Pay credit, created as part of the stimulus legislation enacted in February [was] paid in advance incrementally through their [2009] paychecks. And it's been automatic - meaning employers, based on what they know of a worker's income and using IRS withholding tables, automatically reduce the amount of taxes withheld from a worker's paycheck.

But an employer doesn't know the income of the worker's spouse or whether the worker is claiming a dependent who also is earning money, or whether the worker has income from other jobs.

Which means lots of folks have had too little tax withheld; they'll either owe money to the IRS or receive a reduced refund.


And as many as 1.2 million taxpayers will owe a penalty based upon a significant under-withholding.

"More than 1.2 million taxpayers included in these groups may be subject to: 1) paying back some or all of the Making Work Pay Credit and 2) being assessed the estimated tax penalty or an increased estimated tax penalty as a direct result of the Making Work Pay Credit," the inspector general's report said.

Isn't central planning great? I can't wait 'til Tom Daschle and 14 other unelected Health Commissioner bureaucrats get to decide whether Grandma gets that kidney she needs.


Failing Math With Style


Rants and Refinements offers this creative answer to a math exam.

In a similar vein, Veeshir references the classic exam answer to the question, "Is Hell Exothermic or Endothermic?", though the student has better results.


Larwyn's Linx: ANSWER goons attack foes of illegal immigration

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

Far Left’s ANSWER goons attack foes of illegal immigration: Malkin
Radical ideology exposed at Leftist health conference: BMW
How the ACLU got KSM to New York: PJM

Hillsdale's Rahe: The Great Awakening: Power Line
Judicial filibusters: paybacks are a bitch: Times
Debating Obama's Health Care Nonsense: AT

Obama's Mind Games: AT
A Few Good People to Operate One Good Tyranny: Protein
Prison Security Simply Put: SondraK

Economy

Our new bogus 'Stimulus' map: Examiner
McCain: Chrysler's $15B in taxpayer money likely wasted: BlogProf
Probed demanded of SEIU’s Stern for illegal lobbying: Hot Air

The worst is yet to come: more job losses on the way: Daily News
Obama saved, created jobs in districts that don't exist: BlogProf
You Stupid Fool: Denninger

Blame Government for Wall Street Mess: Gasparino

Media

Time Discovers Funemployment: Goshdarnit, Some Americans Are So Happy In This Recession (So You Should Be Too!): Ace
Juan Williams suffers from a bout of PDS while on-air: GWP
Top Ten Reasons Black America Should Fear Rush Limbaugh: AT (Marcus)

Huckabee: if KSM gets off, the Democrat Party is finished: Hot Air
Sarah Palin on Oprah: Anchoress

Climate & Energy

Al Gore Beclowns Himself, Chapter Nine Million Seventy Five: Surber
U.S. Government Stats of the Day: NOFP

World

Our bad: UN says Iran has more secret nuke sites: Wired
Plot Thickens: Indians Now Believe American Key to Mumbai Massacre: Jawa
Japan expert to ABC: Yes, Obama’s bow made him look like an idiot: Hot Air

Has CAIR Violated the Iranian Assets Control Regulations?: BigGov
Oy, Canada: PJM (Solway)
Where We're Heading: Your Crazy Uncle

Sci-Tech

Man with 2.6 million followers says he's never used Twitter: GWP

Cornucopia

More pics of the Bugatti water landing: IZI
Nothing to Say: Adrienne

Monday, November 16, 2009

The Hilarious Cash-for-Clunkers Tax Hangover


Papa B forwards this interesting analysis of "Cash-for-Clunkers":

...It's way worse than that. Ignore all the gas crap and just look at how the stupid car buyer got taken to the cleaners:

If you traded in a clunker worth $3500, you get $4500 off for an apparent "savings" of $1000.

However, you have to pay taxes on the $4500 come April 15th (something that no auto dealer will tell you). If you are in the 30% tax bracket, you will pay $1350 on that $4500.

So, rather than save $1000, you actually pay an extra $350 to the feds. In addition, you traded in a car that was most likely paid for. Now you have 4 or 5 years of payments on a car that you did not need, that was costing you less to run than the payments that you will now be making.

But wait; it gets even better: you also got ripped off by the dealer. For example, every dealer here in LA was selling the Ford Focus with all the goodies, including A/C, auto transmission, power windows, etc for $12,500 the month before the "cash for clunkers" program started.

When "cash for clunkers" came along, they stopped discounting them and instead sold them at the list price of $15,500. So, you paid $3000 more than you would have the month before... (Honda, Toyota, and Kia played the same list price game that Ford and Chevy did).

So let's do the final tally here:
You traded in a car worth:   $3500
You got a discount of: $4500
---------
Net so far +$1000
But you have to pay: $1350 in taxes on the $4500
---------
Net so far: -$350
And you paid: $3000 more than the car was selling for the month before
---------
Net -$3350

We could also add in the additional taxes (sales tax, state tax, etc.) on the extra $3000 that you paid for the car, along with the 5 years of interest on the car loan, but let's just stop here.

So who actually made out on the deal? The feds collected taxes on the car along with taxes on the $4500 they "gave" you. The car dealers made an extra $3000 or more on every car they sold along with the kickbacks from the manufacturers and the loan companies. The manufacturers got to dump lots of cars they could not give away the month before. And the poor, stupid consumer got saddled with even more debt that they cannot afford.

Obama and his band of merry men convinced Joe consumer that he was getting $4500 in "free" money from the "government" when in fact, Joe was giving away his $3500 car and paying an additional $3350 for the privilege.

Think this was stupid for those who were crazy enough to swallow this wonderful scheme?

Just wait until we get health care with no additional costs over what most of us now pay for health insurance and the best medical care in the world. Think that scheme might be designed by the same people who came up with Cash for Clunkers?

By some estimates, the Cash-for-Clunkers program paid out $24,000 in taxpayer funds per vehicle. So what could possibly go wrong with nationalizing health care?


Update: Alex provides an IRS link that refutes the assertion that the CFC bonus is taxable.

No Big Deal: More American Jihadists Surface


Dan from New York:

The name David Coleman Headley doesn't trip off the tongue quite the way Nidal Malik Hasan does, but the two have something in common. Both are U.S. citizens who felt the pull of Islam was stronger than our Constitution's or our way of life. Headley, along with a Canadian citizen, was arrested last month for alleged roles in conspiracies to provide material support and/or to commit terrorist acts against overseas targets, including facilities and employees of a Danish newspaper that published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in 2005. To refresh your memory, the Reuters story is here.

You are excused if it doesn't ring a bell. The story of Headley and friend received short shrift by the media at the time, and until today was essentially put to bed. But now a new wrinkle has emerged and it will be interesting to see if, or how, the newshounds downplay this.

According to
a report in the Calcutta Telegraph, "David Coleman Headley personally visited every target site of the 11/26 Mumbai terror strikes last year, carrying out reconnaissance on behalf of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, a police source said
today. Posing as a Jew, he even visited Nariman House, the Jewish Chabad centre, in July 2008." Put another way, Headley (nee Daood Gilani) turns out to be an
important operative with one of the largest and most active Islamist terrorist organizations in South Asia. At the moment, this little item is only making waves in the Indian press. But I'll be curious what, if anything, the morning brings over here, now that I've let the cat out of the bag. Whatever, don't you think it's reassuring that Barack Hussein Obama has declared there's no such thing as a war on Islamic terror?

I thought we were supposed to call the war on terror one of the following?

      • Global Whining Against Exploding Annoyances

      • Man-Caused-Disaster Avoidance Program

      • Operation Please don't kill the Infidels

      • Yee-Had!

      • Operation Sparkly Unicorn

      • Global War on George W. Bush

      • Anthropogenic Global Jihadening



Exam Prep FAIL


Click to bigg-ify


He should've gotten at least a point for creativity.


15 Things You Need to Know About Coffee


The Oatmeal offers 15 things you need to know about coffee. An excerpt:





The rest are here.


Exclusive Sneak Peak: CNN Poll Results on Palin's Prez Chances


Breaking news on a surprising CNN poll.

Apparently, CNN's poll of almost all Democrats believe Governor Sarah Palin is not qualified to save or create non-existent jobs; fail to make important military decisions; destroy the value of the dollar; spike unemployment; create massive new entitlement programs and enact oppressive new taxes on Americans.

Go figure.


Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

The $18,000 Ding


On GT-R Register, one unlucky bloke describes the tiny bump that turned into an $18,000, five-week repair. Considering that the affordable super-car known as "The Giant Slayer" stickers for about $75K, that's one heck of a fender-bender surcharge.

I consider myself a fairly competent driver, I can drive reasonably quickly on a circuit, and read the road ahead enough to make good progress on the public highway. But I had an accident, and it was all my own doing.

I had a low speed crash into the back of a white van, it was a badly surfaced road, we were stopped, pulled away.... and the person in front of the van stopped for no reason, causing the van to tap the tow bar of the car in front and me in sympathy to do the same to the van.

Okay, enough of the excuses, I am posting here to make sure no one makes the same mistake I did. I thought long and hard about posting this, but i think it is important that other GTR owners see this so they aren't stung by a careless accident and the GTR Tax!

I bumped into tho the white vans tow bar causing this small crack in my bumper...

Unfortunately it also set off the Pedestrian Safety System, where the bonnet pops up...

Which is a one use system... You [also] need to replace the bumper, rams, bonnet hinges... and of course the ECU.

This little incident has put a little damper in my desire to one day own a GT-R. A little damper.


Hat tip: AutoSpies.

Cheney 2012 Campaign Slogans


Exurban League is thinking about a 'Draft Cheney' run for 2012. His proposed campaign slogans are awesome.

Top Cheney 2012 Slogans

10. "Yeah, I'm a compassionate conservative. I let you live, didn't I?"

9. "The Secret Service's new job? Protecting other world leaders from me."

8. "I'll crush all enemies foreign & domestic. Then I'll figure out a goal for Week Two."

7. "I shot a guy in the face and he apologized to me."

6. "Democrats will need Universal Health Care after I'm through with them."

5. "Want to see world leaders bowing? Oh, they'll bow alright."

...

3. "On my World Apology Tour, I won't be the one apologizing."

2. "I never had a heart attack. I just stopped it a few times to show it who was boss."

...

I just hope EL doesn't sic Cheney on me.


Exclusive Spy-Cam Photo of KSM Being Transported to NYC


If Junior Cub Reporter Biff Spackle keeps this up, he's gonna get one hell of a performance review for 2009.

In all seriousness, if KSM really makes it to a Manhattan courtroom, he and his attorneys will turn this into a 24x7 infomercial for Jihad.

Which, I suppose, is the intent.

What will our dear President think of next?


Linked by: Ace o' Spades. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: Study -- PelosiCare to Screw Things Up, Raise Costs

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

Trying KSM: Why?: Power Line
New WH Counsel: Hired to Erase ACORN Ties?: GWP
Rep. King: Did ACORN Bust Lead to Dunn's Departure?: Surber

Obama and Plummeting Military Morale: AT
Stanford Alumni Blow the Whistle on Valerie Jarrett: Malkin
Why Does He Hate Us?: Power Line

We are very close to no longer being Democrats: HillBuzz
Nick Adams' Speech at the Harrisburg Tea Party: RoxNews
Stunner: Abortion Funding Ban to Be Removed: GWP

Economy

The Essential Fusion: Doc Zero
Paper: Stimulus created or saved ZERO jobs: BlogProf
Green Jobs Move to China: Surber

Reality's a Bitch: JWF
WH: Moving Detainees to IL will create/save 2,340 jobs: GWP
Where the jobs are, and are not: TigerHawk

In Blue State Utopia of MI, $80K buys 38 houses and 36 lots: BlogProf

Media

Study: Yeah, House Health Bill To Screw Things Up And As A Bonus - Raise Costs: Ace
Palin in Second Printing: 1.5 Million and Counting: Surber
Media blackout on Rifqa Bary: Atlas

Thoughts From the Later Republic: Hanson
Young conservative activist Hannah Giles speaks in Santa Barbara: LA Times
Time for a second look at Spencer's 'Stealth Jihad': GWP

Sarah Palin's Wal-Mart Strategy: AT
When Some Bloggers Really Should Hang Up Their Keyboards: AmPow
Goober Graham Crumbles for Nothing: Commentary

Climate & Energy

Environmental laws put gaps in Mexico border security: Times
Not again! 10-year climate 'tipping point' warning issued, after UN's 10-Year 'Climate Tipping Point' in 1989!: Depot
Gore draws 800 fans, 200 protesters: Surber

World

While Obama dithers, Iran makes its move in Afghanistan: AT (Moran)
Battling the Rules of Engagement in Afghanistan: CJ
Gitmo to Thomson, Illinois?: SIGIS

Courtroom Jihad: Crittenden
"Idiot" or Ideologue?: Kesler
Genius: Brits To Hire Teens For Olympic Security: CBullitt

Nature Abhors a Vacuum: Power Line
A 'Mindnumblingly Misguided' Decision: SIGIS
Four Arrested in UK Terror Raids: UKPA

Sci-Tech

Report: Mossad hacked Syrian computer to uncover nuke site: Haaretz

Cornucopia

Make Your Own Disaster Movie: WCN
Friends and Family Visit American Power: AmPow
Pull the drapes and pass the ammunition: Michelle's Mirror

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Nominations for 2009 Economic Prediction o' the Year


The nominations for the economic prediction of 2009 are in. But, first, a bit of background:

Friday’s unemployment report from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics is anything but a green shoot. The official U-3 unemployment number is 10.2%. The broader and more comprehensive official unemployment number, the U-6, is at 17.5%. The U-6 counts all the people that want a job but gave up, all the people with part-time jobs that want a full-time job, and all the people who dropped off unemployment benefits because their unemployment benefits ran out. John Williams at Shadowstats.com suggests that real unemployment is actually running at 22%, which, by our calculation, is approaching Great Depression unemployment numbers... The unemployment report may come as a surprise to those who have been following the Obama administration and mainstream economists like Paul Krugman.

Just an interesting anecdote: Krugman's nickname is Marxie the Mouthpiece (and I hear that's the appellation he prefers). So, without further ado, the nominees are:


Barack Obama, describing the effects of the Stimulus (2/13/09): "That’s a story I’m confident will be repeated at companies across the country — companies that are currently struggling to borrow money selling their products, struggling to make payroll, but could find themselves in a different position when we start implementing the plan... Rather than downsizing, they may be able to start growing again. Rather than cutting jobs, they may be able to create them again."

David Axelrod, predicting unemployment rates (2/15/09): "There’s no doubt that without it [the stimulus], that’s where we were looking: double-digit unemployment. That’s what we’re trying to forestall."

Paul Krugman, the second dumbest Nobel winner in history after Al Gore (1/21/09): "I'm looking for the unemployment rate. I want to see the unemployment rate stay safely below 10 percent, which is by no means a foregone conclusion. And I want to see it coming down notably next year."

Ben Bernanke, predicting unemployment (5/5/09): "Currently, we don’t think it will get to 10 percent. Our current number is somewhere in the 9s."



If the results of their failed experiments weren't so devastating, I'd be tempted to laugh. As it is, most of us feel like weeping.


'Diversity' in the age of Obama


Dan from New York:

"Diversity" in the Age of Obama

Obama officials ... point with pride to their record on diversity. Of Mr. Obama’s 12 appellate nominees, six are women, four are black, one is Asian and one is Hispanic.

-- Obama Backers Fear Opportunities to Reshape Judiciary Are Slipping Away, NYT news story, 11/14/09

Can you guess which demographic is underrepresented?


Gun-Ho, Twilf, Bad News: Media's Long Knives Unsheathed on Palin


The long knives of the media have truly been unsheathed for Sarah Palin of late.

Exhibit A: demonstrating all the class and balance of its owner Al Gore, the failing "Current TV" network slimed the erstwhile Vice Presidential candidate with some genuinely nasty references.

Days after announcing another huge layoff, Al Gore's Current TV referred to former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as a "Gun-Ho" and a "TWILF."

These disgraceful, sexually-charged epithets were part of an attack on prominent conservatives such as Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, and came in the form of a cartoon ironically titled "The Stupid Virus"...

In the end, this was just a lot of conservative bashing in very bad taste, especially the shot of Palin's Twitter page and her astonishingly offensive screen name "Gun-Ho".

Given that Current TV's Nielsen ratings fall somewhere between airport radar and sonograms, this sort of attack is as feeble as it is distasteful.

And I'll patiently await the cries of protest from the National Organization of Women and other groups that claim to protect the fair treatment of women.

Exhibit B: The dying periodical Newsweek offered its own form of attack, helpfully informing the Republican Party that Palin is "bad news".

As for "bad news for everybody else," Palin is obviously "bad news" that people are hungry for. Palin’s book is going bonkers on the bestseller list and is proving to be one of the best stimulus programs the book industry has had in a good while — and Newsweek’s subscription rate is falling and they’re laying off employees by the dozen.

The only immediate “bad news” is for Newsweek — and when they do gratuitiously negative pieces on a figure who is looked up to by a demographic that spends a fortune on books… not to mention magazines, Newsweek’s death spiral makes all the more sense. This is why the mainstream newspaper business is dying too — you simply can’t dismiss a huge slice of the news consuming public with your bias without ultimately suffering economically.

Never mind that a woman -- who fought corruption both inside and outside her own party, managed a multi-billion-dollar oil deal, ran an entire state government and was suddenly thrust into the national spotlight -- became an overnight political sensation. Never mind that she attracts immense crowds wherever she goes.

She is despised by the Left for two reasons named Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric, who sandbagged Palin with interviews that were shocking in their naked attempts to humiliate the Governor.

Simply compare and contrast Gibson's interview questions for Barack Obama and those for Sarah Palin.

Gibson's Interview Questions for Obama:

• How does it feel to break a glass ceiling?
• How does it feel to “win”?
• How does your family feel about your “winning”, breaking a glass ceiling?
• Who will be your VP?
• Should you choose Hillary Clinton as VP?
• Will you accept public finance?
• What issues is your campaign about?
• Will you visit Iraq?
• Will you debate McCain at a town hall?
• What did you think of your competitor’s [Clinton's] speech?
Gibson's Interview Questions for Palin:

• Do you have enough qualifications for the job you’re seeking?
• Specifically have you visited foreign countries and met foreign leaders?
• Aren’t you conceited to be seeking this high level job?
• Questions on foreign policy...
• ...territorial integrity of Georgia
• ...allowing Georgia and Ukraine to be members of NATO
• ...NATO treaty
• ...Iranian nuclear threat
• ...what to do if Israel attacks Iran
• ...Al Qaeda motivations
• ...the Bush Doctrine
• ...attacking terrorists harbored by Pakistan
• ...Is America fighting a holy war? [misquoted Palin]

Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric both intentionally attacked Palin with questions designed to embarrass. Had Obama been queried with the same devious intentions, he'd have been reduced to the blubbering teleprompter-less soul we saw yesterday in Japan.

When confronted with the question of whether the U.S. did the right thing in bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki, his response was "stumbling and ill-prepared." One need only watch the video to appreciate how pathetic his performance was, not to mention the fact that he -- once again -- refused to stick up for his own country.

It is clear that had Gibson and Couric attacked Obama with similar vigor, the Presidential candidate would have been reduced to the "Homina, homina, homina" filibuster he employs when his teleprompter takes its occasional cigarette break.

And here's something else to consider:

The fear and anxiety that Sarah Palin generates among the elitist snobs of the Left is truly something to behold. It reminds me of the insecurity and animosity they once reserved for the former Hollywood actor, Ronald Reagan.


Anatomy of a Cyber-Espionage Attack, likely by the Chinese Military


Our Pals, the Chinese


Several years ago, information security analysts at a large U.S. firm noticed a huge amount of corporate network traffic headed to external servers. The data was destined for computers located in the U.S. and in foreign countries.

Reacting quickly, the analysts stanched the traffic flows but not before large amounts of corporate data had been stolen by unknown attackers.

Other large companies were also targeted during the same period. The attackers were able to process huge volumes of data, but they did so very selectively. They did not "take what they could get". They selected only specific files, a characteristic of highly professional attacks.

In addition, the attackers did not bother to view the files to verify their contents before "exfiltrating" them. This suggests that prior reconaissance missions had been conducted in which directory listings had been scrutinized beforehand and used to build a list of targets.

During the nearly week-long incident, the intruders carried out a highly "complex data exfiltration operation" that indicated preparations had been ongoing for months; the attackers "patiently assembled a detailed picture of [the] network."

The characteristics of discipline, scale, preparation, patience and a multi-stage attack were consistent with a "state or military"-sponsored operation. And the attack was consistent with other incidents attributed to Chinese network intrusions, including:

• The tools used and a link from the company directly to a command center in China.

• The attackers had previously identified specific directories, file shares, servers, files, user accounts, employee names, password policies, group memberships and other relevant information, likely gathered during a comprehensive reconaissance phase.

• The intruders did not view any files prior to exfiltration, suggesting they already knew the contents or meta-data.

The attackers used two distinct groups to carry out the attacks: a breach team ("Team One") and a collection team ("Team Two"). Some of the key aspects of the attack:

• The attackers had collected "dozens" of valid employee user accounts to gain network access.

• They used RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) to communicate with targeted hosts.

• They had accessed the network nearly 150 different times leading up to the exfiltration.

• The intruders harvested password (NTLM) hashes directly from Windows domain controllers and sometimes submitted them to authentication proxies directly. These actions appear intended to defeat two-factor authentication requirements that may have been in place.

• The attackers also repeatedly listed group memberships to determine which users were allowed to access sensitive folders.

After the reconnaissance phase, the attack unfolded in phases.

• "Staging servers" were chosen to house data for exfiltration. These appear to have been chosen for their performance and network connectivity characteristics. In this attack, all were Microsoft Exchange (mail) servers.

• All seven staging servers had communications channels opened to an external command-and-control (C2) server.

• Data selected for exfiltration was then moved to the staging servers.

• Once the data had been moved to staging, the files were compressed and encrypted into numbered RAR archives. All were exactly the same size of 650 MB, suggesting they would be stored on CDs.

The exfiltration phase of the attack was the most sensitive. Actions taken by the attackers suggest that speed of data transit outside of the network was of the highest priority. All seven staging servers were used simultaneously for this purpose. The intruders even tested the available bandwidth ahead of time by beginning a download of a video file to verify expected performance.

• A proxy for C2 communications was a compromised DSL-connected PC in the U.S.

• Large volumes of data were moved from staging servers to multiple external "drop points". Two of the drop points failed, so file remaining servers were used to house the data copied from the staging servers.

The company's security team recognized the attack and responded using intrusion prevention tools, but not before a significant amount of data had left the corporate network.


Based upon: 'Capability of the People’s Republic of China to Conduct Cyber Warfare and Computer Network Exploitation', Northrop Grumman Corporation [PDF]. Linked by: Jawa Report. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: Get Ready for 'Amnesty II - The Sequel'

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

Ex-ACORN fund raiser gets Obama judicial nomination: Tapscott
Hood: 'Resist the Temptation [for] Political Theater': JWF
We weaseled and equivocated and appeased: Steyn

Get Ready for 'Amnesty II - The Sequel': AT
KSM's Opening Statement - Priceless To Him: LegalIns
Mukasey on KSM in Civilian Court: Corner

Giuliani goes nuclear on Obama: Hot Air
Rathke on Tea Parties: BigGov (Volpe)
Muslims Abused In US Military? Hoax!: Gormogons

If KSM is acquitted, Mr. Obama, will you release him?: Patterico
Liberals and their Church of Health Insurance: Surber

Economy

100% Plus Taxation Key To Permanent Dem Majority: LegalIns
More Great Headlines for ObamaCare: Corner
Detroit Union Wants Mayor Fired for Not Collecting Dues for Them: BlogProf

Media

AP in full attack mode: Con4Palin
Beck devotes entire show to black conservatives: Hot Air
Palin's Book Tour Builds on Effective Web Strategy: WSJ

Finding an Impartial Jury for KSM Should Be Easy: JOM
Newsweek Runs Incredibly Positive Cover Story on Sarah Palin: Powers
Palin Retakes Center Stage on Book Tour: Times

CBS News Tries to Tamp Down 'Hysteria' Over NYC Terror Trials: NewsBusters
TIME Notes A Few Tiny Problems: Dinocrat
The AT Readers' Complete Lexicon of Political Speech: AT

UAE Women Up In Arms Over Oprah Episode: Maktoob

Climate & Energy

World Leaders Agree to Delay Global Warming Deal: NewsBusters

World

It's Official: War was Iraq's Best Option: Shadowlands
Mao's Jacket for Oba-Mao: AmDig
Here We Go Again With the Bowing and Scraping: Ace

How America Created the Fort Hood Shooter: AT
If a President has done this in 1942, it sure would have saved everyone a lot of trouble: AmDig
Obama: Strong Prosperous Communist China Can Be 'Source of Strength for Community of Nations': GWP

Britain's Jailhouse Jihadis: Prairie
Why I Murdered 13 American Soldiers at Fort Hood: Nidal Hassan Explains It All to You: RubinRep
Other Nations Resist the Urge to Bow: Hot Air Pundit

Sci-Tech

Mind Over No Matter: Hands-On with the Psychic Controller: Kotaku
Big-Box Breach: The Inside Story of Wal-Mart’s Hacker Attack: Wired
Six Years of Patch Tuesdays: Schneier

Cornucopia

Got Vertigo? Terrifying Towers & Glass Balconies: WebEcoist
6 Insane Laws We'll Need in the Future: Cracked

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Tonight on 60 Minutes


[That is, if it were a real investigative show.]

*** Tick *** Tick *** Tick *** Tick *** Tick *** Tick *** Tick *** Tick *** Tick ***

I'm Morley Safer. They told us they needed $787 billion to fix the economy -- $2,500 for every family in America. But unemployment continues to skyrocket and many wonder: what happened to the hundreds of billions of dollars? When we investigated, we found that no one really knows. And the corruption, graft and criminality we discovered were surprising -- even for us.

I'm Steve Kroft. Barack Obama authored an amazing autobiography called Dreams from my Father. But one man has unearthed overwhelming evidence that Obama didn't actually write his own book. And the name of the real author might surprise you, he says: Bill Ayers. The domestic terrorist and one-time neighbor to the President.

And I'm Mike Wallace. The promises were grandiose. Transparency. No lobbyists in the White House. Leaving Iraq. Ending NSA wiretaps. Finding Bin Laden. Post-partisanship. But the realities have shaken even the President's most committed supporters. Now Democrats are asking: is the President a serial liar?

That and Andy Rooney, tonight. On 60 Minutes.

*** Tick *** Tick *** Tick *** Tick *** Tick *** Tick *** Tick *** Tick *** Tick ***


On Pacific Trip Obama "Commits" to Asia. Really!


Not ready to lead? Dan from New York provides the color commentary:

Singapore Prime Minister Lee greets his new Chinese assistant.

The White House denies this photo shows President Obama bowing to Japanese Emperor.


The $2.1 million salt water bath


Of the Bugatti Veyron, Wired Magazine writes:

"Comparing it to any other car is pointless, because there is nothing else in its $2.1-million class."

Which also means that driving like a schmuck and, say, depositing your $2.1-million car in the drink is a gaffe so huge it's pointless to compare it to other mistakes.

Which, as it turns out, was precisely what this owner of a Texas auto dealership and restoration business did a few days ago. And it happened to be caught on videotape.









What a tool.


Hat tip: Reliapundit.