Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Larwyn's Linx: Watching the Storm Roll In

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

Watching the Storm Roll In: Con4Palin
A Virulent Anti-Military Justice?: GWP
A Stealth Mission for Elena Kagan: Times

John McCain: America's Toughest Border Warrior?: RWN
New York State Opens Door to Vote Fraud: AT
One of Obama's closest friends part of federal probe : Sun-Times

Economy

Card Check By Obama Administration Fiat: RWN
The Failure of the Unfree Market--The 72-Year Rule: AT (Hoven)
Short sellers in Congress: more financial hypocrisy: PJM

U.S. Market-fraud Enters New Era: Benzinga
Labor Secretary Gives Former Staff Huge Raises: Foundry
The Welfare State's Death Spiral: Samuelson

Climate & Energy

Surprise: EPA's New Repair Rules Do Little: PJM
Atmospheric scientist pimp-slaps 255 warmists: Depot

Media

Most Ethical Administration Evah Waives Ethics Rules…Again!: RWN
Christ: an 'Undocumented Migrant'?: FP
Americans look for Supreme Court to restrain federal power, not expand it: WaPo (Sessions)

Because We Have Faces: Evangel
Bill Maher Digs Himself Deeper: RWN
RINO thrives in the boot heel: BMW

World

Mehsud Declares: 'From Now On, the Main Targets of Our Fidaeen [Suicide Bombers] Are American Cities': MEMRI
The New Middle East Peril: AT (Lewis)
Cuban Bloggers Document Castro's Atrocities: GWP

Greek Debt and Backward Induction: John Hussman
Greece: A Preview of Things to Come: AT
The Nuance of the Nazis: BoTB

SciTech

Whoever Built the “Toy Story 3” Web Site in Flash, Please Report to HR Immediately: AllThingsD
Why you should still quit Facebook: Insider
American Academy of Pediatrics: your dhimmitude is showing: AT

Cornucopia

Did Cowell Discover an 80-Year Old 'Susan Boyle'?: TAB
A Perfect Pair: Moonbattery
Frank Frazetta: 1928-2010: CBullitt

Image: Maktoob Business.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Chuck DeVore for U.S. Senate

QOTD: "Looking at the current state of the world economy, the underlying reality remains little changed: there is more debt outstanding than is capable of being properly serviced. It's certainly possible to issue government debt in order to bail out one borrower or another (and prevent their bondholders from taking a loss). However, this means that for every dollar of bad debt that should have been wiped off the books, the world economy is left with two - the initial dollar of debt that has been bailed out and must continue to be serviced, and an additional dollar of government debt that was issued to execute the bailout. " -- John Hussman


Monday, May 10, 2010

Big Government Reports That Mullah Omar Was Captured

Big Government's Brad Thor is reporting that Mullah Omar was captured by Pakistani officials. In keeping with the tradition of the Obama administration, he was read his Miranda rights and taken to a jail in Yonkers. Okay, I made that last sentence up. But tell me you didn't buy into it.

Through key intelligence sources in Afghanistan and Pakistan, I have just learned that reclusive Taliban leader and top Osama bin Laden ally, Mullah Omar has been taken into custody...

At the end of March, US Military Intelligence was informed by US operatives working in the Af/Pak theater on behalf of the D.O.D. that Omar had been detained by Pakistani authorities. One would assume that this would be passed up the chain and that the Secretary of Defense would have been alerted immediately. From what I am hearing, that may not have been the case.

When this explosive information was quietly confirmed to United States Intelligence ten days ago by Pakistani authorities, it appeared to take the Defense Department by surprise. No one, though, is going to be more surprised than Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. It seems even with confirmation from the Pakistanis themselves, she was never brought up to speed.

It figures. It would be more of a surprise if the Pakistanis hadn't treated the administration like a bunch of clueless n00bz.


'Remind Me Again... Why can't I get a job?'

L.B. writes:

Remind Me Again... Why can't I get a job?

Is it because of the economy, or is it my parents' fault ???

I wore my suit, and even a tie.


Linked by: Linkiest. Thanks!

Fun with the Bureau of Labor Statistics Database

As Nancy Pelosi said months ago, it's all about "jobs, jobs, jobs and jobs."

That's why our beloved Democrat leaders have spent all of their time spending money borrowed from our children, creating new entitlement programs and impoverishing the taxpayers of America. If you need more proof, may I present Exhibit A, which I call It's Another Obama Record: 40 million on Food Stamps!?

And if you need still more proof that Democrats are concerned with only one thing -- power, power, power and more power -- allow me to present Exhibits B, C and D, courtesy of our friends at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These are a little set of tables I like to call The slow-motion destruction of the American economy.

The number of long-term unemployed (six or more months) continues to rise, which translates to more foreclosures, more bad loans and more folks having to survive with public assistance.

The U-3, U-4, U-5 and U-6 unemployment measures all continue to rise. This means the economy -- in simple terms -- sucks. Say, Mr. Bernanke, I can't wait for the Bush tax cuts to expire! That ought to really help!

It's now been 18 months since the election, and unemployment among African-Americans continues to rise. The constituency that voted en masse for this President has been utterly failed by his policies. Utterly and completely failed.

Because socialism, wealth redistribution -- whatever you want to call it -- doesn't work, can't work and has never worked. It's a pity that so many people bought into the populist rhetoric that turned out to be pure mythology.


Obamanomics: Jobless are turning down work so they can surf the web, watch WWE RAW and collect unemployment

In Michigan, the state with the highest unemployment rate in the U.S., people are turning down job offers so they can continue collecting unemployment checks. With the recent federal extensions, those unemployment checks can run as long as 99 weeks (for you liberals, that's nearly two years). At which point it's not unemployment, it's yet another failed welfare-slash-redistribution scheme.

Members of the Michigan Nursery and Landscape Association "have told me that they have a lot of people applying but that when they actually talk to them, it turns out that they're on unemployment and not looking for work," said Amy Frankmann, the group's executive director. "It is starting to make things difficult."

Chris Pompeo, vice president of operations for Landscape America in Warren, said he has had about a dozen offers declined. One applicant, who had eight weeks to go until his state unemployment benefits ran out, asked for a deferred start date.

It's illegal to collect unemployment benefits after receiving a suitable job offer, but that hasn't stopped plenty of workers from doing so. Furthermore, fully 15% of Michigan's economy has been driven underground, with barter and cash transactions escaping government scrutiny. Boy, that Governor Granholm's doing a bang-up job!

The current federal jobless benefits extension "reduces the incentive to find work", according to David Littman, an economist at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. One unemployed landscaper confirms that assertion; he says he'll start searching for work when his benefits expire. He estimates that he only loses about $50 a week staying unemployed.

Gee, these Democrats are just phenomenal at central planning. They remind me of the guys running East Germany in the sixties.


Hat tip: Drudge.

Larwyn's Linx: DOJ Tells Intel Community to Stonewall Congress

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

DOJ Tells Intel Community to Stonewall Congress: Corner
SCOTUS fight: boxing Elena: Malkin
AYFKM? A medal for 'courageous restraint'?: WashExam

Obama's La Raza Ties: RWN
Border Security is President's Job, Like It Or Not: PJM
White House Stopped Monitoring Shahzad?: Strata

Economy

Frank tiptoed through the tulips while GSEs kerploded: VS
The fruits of socialism: ELL
In bed with Fannie and Freddie: Times

Europe prepares nuclear response to save EMU: Telegraph
Latest bill for U.S. to save EU: $57B: ZH
But You Love Bailing Out Greece, Right?: Denninger

Climate & Energy

Cap-and-Trade Is Back: AT
Deepwater Horizon: a Firsthand Account: RigZone
War, Pestilence, Famine: Climate and the Cold: PJM

Media

Why Do They Hate Elena Kagan?: LegalIns
Obama: Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength: Ace
Are Honor Killings Domestic Terrorism?: Chesler

Tea Parties and Racism: AT
Tennesse's Underwater and No One Gives a Dang? (Video): Hot Air
Media Matters' Hysterical and Hypocritical Outrage: Con4Palin

What a Difference a Week Makes: RWN
Chuck DeVore Is So Not The Jerkinator!: Riehl
Nothing Says ‘Happy Mother’s Day!’ Like a Donation to Planned Parenthood: BlogProf

World

Faisal Shahzad, Subprime Terrorist?: Steyn
A Lexicon has been... failed: CFB
The Smoking Gun Document That Could Terminate George Papandreou's Career: ZH

A Misguided Approach to Peacemaking: AT
Melanie Phillips: US not learning from mistakes of UK on Islamic radicalization: Jawa
El-Erian: Europe Is Now In Totally Uncharted Waters: Insider

SciTech

Key Wireless and Mobile Themes from Interop 2010: NetWorld
Hay for Oil Spill is No Plan: Sensing
Report: Apple developing a Flash alternative: CNet

Cornucopia

Betty White - SNL Digital Short: Mediaite (Language)
Offend a Feminist: Love, Honor and Obey: Camp of the Saints (NSFW)
Work in Progress: iOTW

Image: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2010)
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: And so it goes in Shreveport

QOTD: Obama's new spending will result in a 14.5 percent increase in the number of federal employees in just two years. And he has looked after union interests with particular zeal, whether at General Motors and Chrysler, or by funneling one-third of stimulus spending to state and local governments, or by repealing the rule that required unions to disclose their spending.

And in a corrupt feedback loop that may not be so very different after all from the Greek practice, public employee unions give generously to Democratic candidates, both in cash contributions and by manning phone banks, getting out the vote, and so on.

It's no coincidence that the states with the most powerful public sector unions -- New Jersey, California, and New York -- are facing the most severe budget crises.   -- Mona Charen


Sunday, May 09, 2010

Shock Super-Scandal: Climatards Abuse Sheep

This is how the Climatards (I hear that's the term they prefer) track methane emission from sheep in New Zealand. I kid you not.

In NZ, cows and sheep outnumber mere humans by tens of millions. The Climatards, eh, the 'global warming researchers' are attempting to compute how much they can tax the beasts' belching and frapping. Oh, and they're coming up with a vaccine to help suppress methane emission.

Someone get PETA on the phone, stat. Maybe we can incite a radical Leftist catfight.


In One Month on a Single Remote Trail in 2010, a Hidden Camera Captured 700 Individuals of Unknown Origin Entering Arizona from Mexico

In little more than a month, on a single remote trail between Mexico and Arizona, over 700 illegal aliens entered the United States.


Talk of amnesty is reportedly driving the numbers of illegal immigrants up.

Thousands of undocumented aliens pour over the border every day, unchecked and uncontrolled.

No criminal background checks.

No terrorist watch lists.

No screening for infectious diseases.

No checks for weapons.

No checks for narcotics or illegal drugs.

Who are these people?

No one knows.

On March 27th, 2010, Arizona rancher Rob Krentz was brutally murdered on his own property by an illegal alien.

Today, Phoenix is the kidnapping capital of the world.

Of 75,000 violent and property crimes in 2009, only 18% were 'cleared' (solved).

Of 8,732 violent crimes in '09, only 2,921 arrests were made.

Of the 522 rapes that year, only 72 arrests were made.

Less than half of the murders that year were cleared.

This is not an indictment of the police. This is an indictment of a federal open borders policy that endangers citizens.

An illegal who commits a crime, like Rob Krentz' murderer, can easily disappear back into Mexico.

You can't buy a bottle of beer in this country without showing ID. You can't even board a plane or a cruise ship without a passport or driver's license.

Someday soon, if it hasn't happened already, terrorists bent on destruction will enter the country through the swinging doors in the Southwest.

Millions of pounds of drugs pass through the porous border every year.

It's only a matter of time until chem-, bio- or radiological weapons make their way to our cities through similar means.

Did White House Order Policy Changes That Allowed Times Square Bomber to Gain Citizenship Even Though He Was on a Watch List?

Accused Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad had been on a terror-related watch list since 1998. He was caught bringing $80,000 in cash into the U.S. from Pakistan.

Shahzad, born in Karachi Pakistan, was granted an F-1 student visa in December 1998. He earned a B.A. in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Bridgeport in 2000 and was granted an H-1B visa -- reserved for skilled "specialty occupation" workers -- in April of 2002. Three years later, on that same visa, he earned an M.B.A.

On Oct. 20, 2008, he reported to immigration authorities that he had married Huma Asif Mian, an American citizen. Shortly thereafter -- on April 17, 2009 -- he gained his citizenship via a naturalization ceremony in Bridgeport.

The key question that no one seems to be asking is this: how, after showing up on at least one Treasury Department watch list, was Shabazz (whatever) granted his citizenship? No one is talking on the record, but the implication is clear: it is extremely likely there was a policy change directed by the White House and/or State Department.

...Christopher Bentley, a spokesman for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), would not comment on Shahzad's case but said generally that all immigrants seeking permanent residency and later citizenship undergo routine background screening. He said the FBI does a name check and looks for any criminal records.

"They run a very detailed look into a person's background for anything that would preclude them from getting citizenship," he said. "They also look at associates who may be connected with a criminal background. It's a very comprehensive look."

Once a person passes that initial screening, the pathway to citizenship includes being able to speak English and pass a test about U.S. government and history... ...Soon after Shahzad took that oath and got his U.S. passport -- and no longer had to pass muster in the eyes of U.S. immigration and law enforcement officials -- he reportedly traveled to Peshawar. According to the criminal complaint filed today, Shahzad admitted to undergoing bomb-making training in Waziristan, a hotbed of extremists not far from the Afghanistan border. He returned in February after a five-month stay in his native country. According to The New York Times, he used two Pakistani passports and one U.S. passport in his travels.

...Under a new National Security Entry-Exit Registration System adopted in 2002, all noncitizens over the age of 16 from predominantly Muslim countries -- including Pakistan -- as well as North Korea were required to register and be fingerprinted.

Did the White House order the State Department to loosen background checks on those applying for citizenship from Muslim countries.

Set the wayback machine to June 3, 2009, Mr. Peabody...

That day's update from Stratfor Research described the background of a then-recent attack on U.S. soldiers in Little Rock, Arkansas. One soldier was killed and another critically wounded by a lone gunman who began shooting from a pickup truck.

Police quickly apprehended a suspect, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, a 21-year-old African-American man and convert to Islam. In his vehicle, police recovered an SKS rifle and two handguns. Muhammad reportedly admitted to the shootings and claimed he had specifically targeted U.S. military personnel; he stated had more soldiers been in the parking lot, he would have shot them too.

A disturbing aspect of the attack is that Muhammad had been brought to the FBI’s attention months ago, according to ABC News.

But U.S. counterterror teams may have been intentionally prevented from investigating radicalized converts to Islam:

Several weeks ago, STRATFOR heard from sources that the FBI and other law enforcement organizations had been ordered to “back off” of counterterrorism investigations into the activities of Black Muslim converts. At this point, it is unclear to us if that guidance was given by the White House or the Department of Justice, or if it was promulgated by the agencies themselves, anticipating the wishes of President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder.

Stratfor implies, however, that the investigations were canceled for purely political reasons.

...politics have proved obstructive to all facets of counterterrorism policy. And politics may have been at play in the Muhammad case as well as in other cases involving Black Muslim converts...

Is it possible that the White House or Eric Holder's Justice Department blocked counterterror investigations that could have saved the targeted soldiers? That would indeed appear to be the case.

Did the White House order the State Department to "loosen up" background checks on those applying for citizenship from terror watch-list countries? That would be consistent with the reports from Stratfor that "outreach" to Muslims is precluding basic security practices.

Congress must demand an immediate investigation of these reports. Too much is at stake to play politics with the lives of American citizens and our military personnel.


Update: DOJ Tells Intel Community to Stonewall Members of Congress! (hat tip: Jay.Mac)

Larwyn's Linx: The last word on Arizona's immigration law

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

The last word on Arizona's immigration law: SixMeat
Flag Flap High School Hides Racist Secret: PJM
What I Learned From Bill White About Immigration: Hindenblog

Buh Bye, Bob Bennett: iOTW
Obama has awakened a sleeping giant: InstaPundit
'Teabagger' attends Organizing for American training: Marathon

Economy

Welcome to the Long Run: AT
I love when my predisposed notions are confirmed: RWN
Yes, we're bailing out Greece: Hot Air

Climate & Energy

Goracle pops up to illuminate us on the dangers of oil spills: RWN
Warming fears seen in OCD patients: Voxy
The Problems with Al Gore: AT

Media

State-Run Media Absolves Obama for Spill Non-Response: GWP
Editor vandalizes brand new $5M bridge: BlogProf
The Hard Hat Riots, 40 Years On: Driscoll

No More Mr. Nuanced Guy!: BOTB
President Obama Talking Crap: PJTV (Klavan)
Machete "Illegal" Trailer: YouTube (Language Warning)

World

The Submarine That Snuck Into Beirut: Greenroom
Our Complacency Will Bring About Our Demise: PJM
The Real “War to End All Wars”: STACLU

16 months ago, MEP Nigel Farage predicted the Greek-and-Euro collapse: TAB
The Greek Debt Crisis for Economic Morans: Moran
Armed with Scuds, Hezbollah announces its ready for war with Israel and beyond: GWP

SciTech

The Pill at 500: Unhappy Un-birthday: RSM
Cheap as Hay: C&S
Five hidden dangers of Facebook: CNet

Cornucopia

Bikini Lawncare: WyBlog
Gabourey Sidibe Named On People’s World’s Most Beautiful People List: iOTW
Tea and a Lot of Sympathy: MOTUS

Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Border Invasion Pics