Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Hillary's 'Sanctions With Bite' Already Having the Desired Effect...

...if you're a Mullah.

Iran rejects UN sanctions threat


AP

Official: Draft resolution "has no legitimacy at all".

The more foreign policy we get to see from this administration, the more I believe that their term "Smart Power Diplomacy"™ was intended to be sarcastic. And always would be followed closely by a rim-shot.


Hat tip: Dan from New York..

The Economy In a Microcosm

Papa B sent this photo in with the following caption:

"Isn't this an apt metaphor for the economy? The car in front of me is a $200,000 vehicle capable of 200 miles-per-hour.

It's stuck in a massive traffic jam while signaling to turn into the strip mall with the "We Buy Gold" and "Cash for Your Auto Title" retail establishments."


Larwyn's Linx: PA-12: Democrat Wins -- Tim Burns Concedes

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

Election 2010

PA-12: Democrat Wins -- Tim Burns Concedes: RSM
Rand Paul the winner of KY primary: LCR
Specter Defeated: Weasel Zippers

Lincoln faces a runoff: AnBlackCon
Democrats and Vote Fraud: On the Road to Rigged Elections: AT
No Politician is Safe: Podhoretz

Nation

Rising Star Stutzman to Replace Souder?: RWN
Dems Can Kiss Connecticut Senate Seat Goodbye: Strata-Sphere
Major speech on shrinking U.S. seapower gets ignored: PJM

DOJ Attorney Resigns Over Black Panther Debacle: WashExam
Van Helsing Government-Applied Medical Informatics: RWN
Ohio Dem Senate nominee avoiding Obama?: Marathon

Economy

The Dog ate Obama's Plan for GSE Reform: WashExam
AZ Utilities Rep to L.A.: Enjoy Your Boycott in the Dark: GWP
Obama Madoff with Our Tax Dollars: AT

Climate & Energy

Leak Proves Spain's 'Green' Policies — a model for Obama — are Disastrous: PJM
The EPA's Creative New Ways to Spend Your Money: BlogProf
And The Front-Runner For AGW Counter ICCC Hysteria Is…: CBullitt

Media

The U.S. Department of Blame America First: Malkin
WTF? Obama says beheading of Daniel Pearl by Jihadists 'captured the world's imagination': BlogProf
Waking Up to Urbane Anti-Semitism: AT

Strap-On and Strap-On Junior Go After Beck and Goldline: Mediaite
The Left, bogus war stories, and the NYTimes: Malkin
BBC Middle East Editor: Watching Obama Slap Around Israel Is 'Enjoyable New Experience': MereRhet

World

'Kill these all KAFIR': Malkin
Women Come to Blows Over the Burqa in France: Chesler
Pope Benedict in Portugal: Christians, Answer to Secularism is to Re-Evangelise World: LifeSiteNews

All Hell Breaking Loose in Thailand: Stock Exchange Set Afire: Insider
That's Right, China, America Does Have a Discrimination Problem: Feed Your ADHD
State Dept. Kook Defends Kook Who Apologized to China for AZ Immigration Law : GWP

SciTech

Suppress Free Speech? There's an App For That!: GWP
Apple Denies GOP Candidate's Bid for iPhone App -- 'Defamatory' of Powerful Dem Henry Waxman: PJM

Cornucopia

Rima Fakih is Gorgeous; That is All :Anchoress
Miss USA courts controversy with Muslim faith: Maktoob
Who Burned the Second Temple?: TAB

Original Image: AP.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: The Astute Bloggers.


Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Did Dick Blumenthal 'Apologize' While Accompanied by Another Phony?

Senate candidate Dick Blumenthal (D-CT) apologized today for 'misstatements' concerning his (non-existent) Vietnam military service. The staged press conference featured a handful of Marine vets ostensibly lending their support.

An eagle-eyed observer just sent us this photo with the caption:

"Look carefully at the face of the man on the right. Now compare that face to this man."

This is William Joseph Trumpower (AKA Eliot Storm), a man listed on POW Network's Phony Vets Database.

Trumpower, like Blumenthal, is a Connecticut resident and has made quite a name for himself hawking books on the Vietnam experience. The 'POW Networks Phony' database lists Trumpower's bogus credentials as follows:

CLAIMING BRONZE STAR w/VALOR device... Claims 2nd Lt, Claims... Wears 3 Purple Hearts, 2 Bronze Stars w/V. The jacket in EARLIER pictures boasted 8 ribbons. This NEW pic has more and includes V device on Bronze Star and 2nd Lt bars...

It's entirely fitting if the staged Blumenthal apology was, as our anonymous contributor asserts, accompanied by another puffed-up bloviator.


Update: William Jacobson writes, "Well, the Storm guy was there, confirmed, so if he is a poser, then you have it."

The unparalleled brilliance of Eric Holder: Al Qaeda bomber who killed 166 and planned World Cup attack had been released from U.S. custody in 2009

Next month's soccer World Cup in South Africa was the target of an Al Qaeda attack according to Iraqi security personnel. The mastermind was reportedly a man who had already killed 166 Iraqis in various bombings -- after his release by the Obama administration last year.

The 30-year-old Saudi national [Qahtani], who was arrested two weeks ago, had been in contact with Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri... Qahtani, who adopted the nom de guerre "Sinan al-Saudi," held a degree in business administration and also graduated from King Fahd Security College with the rank of lieutenant.

He entered Iraq in 2004, shortly after the US-led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein, and was involved in operations in the towns of Al-Qaim and Husayba near Iraq's border with Syria.

According to Atta, Qahtani was apprehended by the US military in 2007 under the false name Muzawar al-Shammari, and was released last year.

More recently, he participated in the planning of a series of co-ordinated attacks against Baghdad hotels in January which killed 36 people, and in the organisation of five vehicle-borne bombs that killed 127 people in the capital in December.

...[Also captured was] Algerian national Tareq Hassel Abdul Qader was the network's military chief for Karkh, Baghdad's western district... Qader also helped plan several attacks in Iraq, but did not say whether he was involved in the organisation of the potential World Cup attack.

The World Cup is anticipated to draw nearly 400,000 foreign fans, so it makes an Olympic-sized target for terrorists.

Curiously, the few American sources reporting this story, including AOL News, the Associated Press and MSNBC, somehow failed to note that the terrorist had been released from U.S. custody in 2009.

Thanks to the outstanding leadership of President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder, the line distinguishing warfare from law enforcement has been thoroughly eradicated.   The inevitable outcome -- demonstrated by this, the latest in a series of close calls -- is guaranteed to be toxic to the civil society.


Image: AOL News.

Perfect timing for Democrats' health care cramdown as 'Medicare begins to implode'

The Houston Chronicle reports that the Medicare system in the state of Texas has flatlined. That's the same system Democrats ignored, presumably because they were too busy ramming an unconstitutional socialized medicine bill down the throats of taxpayers.

What do you call a Midas Touch with a slight twist -- anything that the person touches turns to diarrhea? Yes, it's an unpleasant image, but perfectly apt for the modern, Obama-Pelosi Democrats.

Texas doctors are opting out of Medicare at alarming rates, frustrated by reimbursement cuts they say make participation in government-funded care of seniors unaffordable.

Two years after a survey found nearly half of Texas doctors weren't taking some new Medicare patients, new data shows 100 to 200 a year are now ending all involvement with the program.

This new data shows the Medicare system is beginning to implode,” said Dr. Susan Bailey, president of the Texas Medical Association. “If Congress doesn't fix Medicare soon, there'll be more and more doctors dropping out and Congress' promise to provide medical care to seniors will be broken.”

...The largest number of doctors opting out comes from primary care, a field already short of practitioners nationally and especially in Texas. Psychiatrists also make up a large share of the pie, causing one Texas leader to say, “God forbid that a senior has dementia.”

The opt-outs follow years of declining Medicare reimbursement that culminated in a looming 21 percent cut in 2010.

These deadly changes represent only the tip of the administration's central planning iceberg, the real goal of which is to implement a single-payer system.

The health-reform law caps how much insurers can spend on expenses and take for profits. Starting next year, health plans will have a regulated "floor" on their medical-loss ratios, which is the amount of revenue they spend on medical claims. Insurers can only spend 20% of their premiums on running their plans if they offer policies directly to consumers or to small employers. The spending cap is 15% for policies sold to large employers...

...Restrictions on how insurers can spend money are compounded by simultaneous constraints on how they can manage their costs. Beginning in 2014, a new federal agency will standardize insurance benefits, placing minimum actuarial values on medical policies. There are also mandates forcing insurers to cover a lot of expensive primary-care services in full. At the same time, insurers are being blocked from raising premiums...

...The Obama health plan puts expensive new mandates on doctors, such as a requirement to purchase IT systems and keep more records. Overhead costs already consume more than 60% of the revenue generated by an average medical practice, according to a 2007 survey by the Medical Group Management Association. At the same time, reimbursement under Medicare is falling. Some specialists, such as radiologists and cardiologists, will see their Medicare payments fall by more than 10% next year. Then there's the fact that medical malpractice premiums have risen by 10%-20% annually for specialists like surgeons, particularly in states that haven't passed liability reform.

Unintended consequences like these are the inevitable result of central planning. Which masterminds among us could possibly predict the impact of these dictates upon hundreds of millions of affected individuals? Nancy Pelosi? Bart Frickin' Stupak? Harry Flipping Reid? Barack Milhaus Obama?

Not only is the free market the only system that has ever worked to improve the human condition, it is also the only system codified in our Constitution and Declaration. Indeed, it is the only system consistent with American values.

Everyone knows that ObamaCare is doomed to failure. The only open question is how much damage it does before patriots can put the brakes on.


Hat tip: Memeorandum. Linked by Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: Anti-establishment Tuesday? Races to watch today

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

Anti-establishment Tuesday? Races to watch today: DC
The end of American Exceptionalism?: Protein Wisdom
Bombshell: Dem Senate Candidate's bogus resume: Hot Air

Arizona Ends Divisive Chicano Studies in Schools: NAS
Attacking Arizona blows up in San Diego's face: RWN
Kagan's Speech Rationing: Times

Economy

Huge Victory in Texas for Liberty Against Unions: RWN
America's Public Debt Explained: AT
Ohio's income projections nowhere near reality: Virtuous

Fannie Mae's involvement in warming caper: RWN
Citizens or Subjects: Keynesian Economics: AT
Genius: GM wants more subprime buyers: BlogProf

Climate & Energy

Climategate 2010: Inconvenient Facts About Global Warming: PJM
‘Son of Alar’: The New Pesticide Scare Campaign: BigGovt
Less Than One-Third of US Meteorologists Believe In AGW: GWP

Media

Must-Read of the Day: The New Yorker Profiles Andrew Breitbart: BigGovt
Dear Krugman, Yes, We Are Greece. P.S., You Suck.: Insider
Laura Bush: Obama & Wife Benefit From Double-Standard: Ace

Broadway Babies Sucker Punch Their Fellow Bobos: Driscoll
Krugman resorts to platitudes when the truth hurts: Ranger's Arrows
Spitting in the Face of Everyone Murdered on 9/11: Blitz

World

Hot Tips on UN Waste, Fraud and Abuse: Rosett
The shape of things to come with Iran: NowLebanon
Everyone Loses In Britain’s Election. Could be A Good Thing.: VDARE

SciTech

What a difference a day makes: American Digest
Neat: Israeli Company Makes Tanks Invisible to Night Vision: SnappedShot
30 Years Ago Today: Grand Rants

Cornucopia

Hmmm...: Muslim Woman Wins Miss USA Crown: Ace
CPUSA to Sue Dems?: Moonbattery
Stop the Mosque: iOTW

Image: iOwnTheWorld.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: American Digest


Monday, May 17, 2010

No Questions Allowed at the Signing of the 'Freedom of the Press Act'

Earlier today President Obama signed the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act, which grants the federal government (wait for it) more power (how'd you guess?) to track which countries adhere to international press freedom standards.

The White House press pool was present in the Oval Office and...

...Obama was asked if he would entertain some questions -- specifically about BP.

"Speaking of press freedoms," ventured Chip Reid of CBS News.

"You're certainly free to ask the question," Obama said. "I won't be answering, I'm not doing a press conference today, but we'll be seeing you in the course of the week."

Outstanding! President Obama celebrates press freedom by refusing to hear questions from the press! Somehow, with this administration, that offhanded act of disdain just seems, well, fitting.

Unrelated aside: here's a closeup of the President's watch. Anyone know what make and model this is?


Images: Getty Images.

Illegals by the truckload: BIP documents the flow of illegal aliens that somehow escapes the watchful gaze of Janet 'The Falcon' Napolitano

The invaluable BorderInvasionPics website just posted new pictures and videos that help illustrate the unchecked flow of illegal aliens into the U.S.

Are these trucks transporting drugs? Weapons? Criminals? The poor who need medical care and know they won't be refused at hospitals in the U.S. no matter how expensive the procedure?

Who knows -- the utterly clueless Janet Napolitano and the willfully inept Democrats in Washington are ignoring the border. In doing so, they hope they can convert some of the swarms of welfare recipients into Democrat voters.

And everyone knows that's the Democrat agenda. Everyone. The Democrats aren't even trying to hide the approach. And not only is it anti-American, it's flat out dangerous. Literally anything could be transported over the border and, one day, some serious weapons -- RPG's, dynamite, bio-weapons, even radiological material -- will make the journey from the south into our cities.

To illustrate just how despicable the Social Democrat approach has become, consider the brochure circulated a few years ago in Texas (left). At various rallies for illegal immigration, Democrat "community organizers" handed out these brochures which were written in Spanish (on the reverse side) and English.

They provide directions for non-citizens to game the system and vote the Democrat ticket. Consider the hubris: Democrats offering clear instructions to illegal aliens so that they could corrupt the process and override the votes of American taxpayers.

That's how despicable and power-hungry the Democrats have become.

And every day, some hidden cameras set up by a few brave patriots at BIP and other sites capture the flow of hundreds of illegals making the trek into Arizona as easily as you or I would drive to Palm Springs from Los Angeles.

This outrageous administration and its pathetic sycophants in Congress spent trillions on "shovel-ready" projects that only harmed the economic health of the country. They borrowed hundreds of billions of dollars from China, which our children must repay with interest when they grow up.

And the border remains open, even though the one construction project that makes sense -- a freaking border fence -- is supported by upwards of 80% of Americans. American citizens, that is.

No country with generous welfare benefits and guaranteed medical benefits can survive unlimited illegal immigration. And that's why Democrats that support this mess can truly be said to be anti-American: they seek the collapse of the system.

And despite the capabilities of our brilliant men and women who serve in the military, in the intelligence community, in law enforcement and as first responders, they are utterly hamstrung by disastrous leaders like Janet Napolitano, Eric Holder and Barack Obama.

It's November or never.


Linked by: Protein Wisdom. Thanks!

One Answer to the Public Sector Unions: Outsourcing

Taxpayers are growing angrier and angrier at the outsized salaries, pensions and benefits negotiated by public sector unions. It is commonplace to have retirees in California receive guaranteed six-figure salaries in retirement with cost-of-living increases. Former school administrators in New Jersey can expect to earn $200,000+ annually for the rest of their lives.

Study after study shows that for equivalent jobs, public sector wages are far more lucrative on average than the private sector. And pensions -- retirement benefits overall -- are leaps and bounds richer than their private equivalents. These disparities are due to union monopolies that work directly against the taxpayer and reward politicians who "go along to get along" during contract negotiations. Big government Democrats reward unions, which turn around and contribute heavily to Democrats.

In Europe, outsourcing of some public sector jobs has become commonplace to break this vicious and deadly cycle.

In the UK – viewed as one of the economies hit hardest by the crisis thanks to an over-reliance on financial services, and facing a budget deficit of over £175bn – outsourcing contracts already account for around 13% of government spending; the UK is widely viewed as a ‘world leader’ in public-sector outsourcing. Since the production last year by former outsourcing luminary DeAnne Julius of a somewhat controversial ministerial-level report heavily backing increased outsourcing, a drive towards efficiency via outsourcing has become entrenched policy.

With state and local economies flat on their backs, administrators in the U.S. are right to examine ways to force efficiencies out of bloated, monopolistic contracts.

[In the U.S.] the picture is less cut-and-dried, as a traditional distaste for public-sector outsourcing (reinforced by heavy pressure from organized labor to keep jobs under state control and within national boundaries) runs up against the overwhelming need to bring public finances back under some semblance of control. Muddying the water still further is the conflation in the minds of many both within and outside government of “outsourcing” with “offshore outsourcing”...

Indeed, outsourcing does not necessarily imply offshoring. Outsourcing can translate to near-sourcing, e.g., a situation where Ohio contracts with a private organization in West Virginia to handle call center operations.

While fire-fighting remains the order of the day for many state governments, there is a growing belief that the downturn might have tipped the scales in terms of ushering in a new (and, in many eyes, long-overdue) wave of public sector transformation)...

"The current crisis offers an opportunity to find better ways of doing business and better ways of providing service," according to Patrick Moore, Georgia’s state CIO.

I commend Moore and other government executives who use private sector companies to compete on price, quality and other traditional measures unheard of by organizations like the AFT, the NEA and the SEIU.


A Nutty Non Sequitur from the Pro Journalists at the Associated Press

Dan from New York writes:

This story, which will serve as the copy for scores of newspaper and electronic media stories throughout the world, inevitably (see bold below) winds its way back to the root cause of misery and Hamas oppression in Gaza - Israel.

There is an invaluable lesson in this nutty non-sequitur, for those who are willing to absorb it. The received wisdom, the narrative gospel, is that Jews are always at fault and indeed is created by sophisticated, highly intelligent people. Thus, the war for Israel has nothing to do with PR, education, disseminating "the Truth," eloquent speeches, correcting the record, editorial rebuttals, international law, "shared values," letters to the editor or warnings "we all face the same enemy."

The war for Israel - if Israel is to win it - requires Israelis to use the strong arm that history has given them to reclaim their land and neutralize their foes without waiting for the understanding, let alone the approval, of the Nations (now including Obama's America) which seek to destroy them.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hamas destroys dozens of homes in southern Gaza


AP - 5/17/10

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Hamas police wielding clubs beat and pushed residents out of dozens of homes in the southern Gaza town of Rafah on Sunday before knocking the buildings down with bulldozers, residents said.

Gaza's militant Hamas rulers said the homes were built illegally on government land. Newly homeless residents were furious over Palestinians on bulldozers razing Palestinian homes.

For years, Palestinians have criticized Israel for destroying houses, mostly because they were built without permits issued by the military. Now, Rafah residents complained, their own government, run by the Islamic militant Hamas that seized power in Gaza in July 2007, has done the same.

"They promised reform and change — instead they've destroyed our homes," shouted Miasar Gan, a 54-year-old woman. Gan said she and her husband had nowhere else to go... Her neighbor, Nazira Abu Jara, 56, said policewomen wearing face veils typical of conservative Muslim women beat her with clubs until she fled her house with her husband and two children... Others picked through rubble to retrieve dusty clothing and mangled furniture.

Residents said between 30 and 40 homes were torn down, ranging from concrete structures to tin shacks. They did not know how many people were affected. Hamas officials did not allow reporters into the area until the demolition was over... Residents said more demolitions in the area were expected Monday.

Even if they are allowed to rebuild, Israel does not allow most building materials into the territory it has blockaded since Hamas seized power. The newly homeless residents are unlikely to be able to afford the steep black market prices for concrete, steel and wood. Some of the families cannot afford rent.

Rafah's mayor, Issa Nashar, promised alternative housing. Gaza's housing minister Yousef al-Mansi said he had no information about such housing.



Larwyn's Linx: MI Dems form fake third party called 'Tea Party'

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

Dems form fake third party called 'Tea Party' in MI: BlogProf
Romancing the State: Doc Zero
Official: Black Panther case lacks proof: Times

Tim Burns takes narrow lead in race for Murtha's seat: GWP
Surrender the Supreme Court to the Left?: AmPower
Gingrich Attacks Kagan Nomination and 'Secular-Socialism': RWN

Economy

We are out of money: Reason
Illinois: one of worst legal climates in U.S.: RWN
I Don’t Want To Be 'Job Locked': GM's Place

Revenge of the Gold Bugs: Ace
Public employee unions: Enemies of the state: Hewitt
Surprise! DemCare Costs Spiraling Out of Control: McArdle

Climate & Energy

Geologist declares 'global warming is over': Depot
Obama's faith programs push climate change agenda: BigGovt
Climategate Taxpayer Fraud Investigation Draws Heat: AT

Is It His Katrina Yet?: LegalIns
Scientists Find Giant Oil Plumes in Gulf; Obama Shoots Hoops: GWP

Media

2,000 US Actors, Prominent Liberals Accuse Obama of 'War Crimes... Worse Than Bush': Weasel Zippers
Socialism In Extremis: Geek Economy, Newsweek Head for Hades: Langbert
First Amendment Under Progressive Siege: Times

No to Mohammad, but yes, yes, yes to anti-Semitism: Shayne
Lt. Col. Allen West: 'What's at Stake': Atlas
Brothers in Arms: Flopping Aces

Elena Kagan's grades and thesis online - Have we seen Obama's yet? : Ruby Slippers
“Perky” Michelle Obama a Big Downer at GW Graduation: GWP
Someone needs to help Charles Blow: Hindenblog

World

Who is Michael Posner, and why is he apologizing to China?: Malkin
The U.S. Can — and Must — Learn From Israeli Counterterror: PJM
You've got to be kidding...: Corner

A Hidden History of Evil: Why doesn’t anyone care about the unread Soviet archives?: CityJournal
Thailand At Risk Of Long-Term Guerrilla-Style Civil War: Insider
Reawakening Germany’s Nationalism: What Could Go Wrong?: PJM

SciTech

My Amazing Email Exchange With Steve Jobs: Insider
Legal experts: LimeWire likely doomed: CNet

Cornucopia

Monday Morning Food Fight: MOTUS
Summer Associate of the Day: Kaavya Viswanathan (Aka the Alleged Harvard Plagiarist) : AboveTheLaw
A prescient Nigel Farage warns of Euro meltdown (13-Jan-2009): Euro Parliament

Image: Sean Delonas, City Journal.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Michelle's Mirror (MOTUS)

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Zero Hedge Calculates Real Unemployment (12.2%) and Underemployment (22%) Rates; Democrats Shrug: 'You F***ed Up! You Trusted Us!'

Tyler Durden has carefully reexamined the nation's unemployment situation using population growth statistics that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) routinely ignores. The results are astonishing as he finds that real unemployment in the U.S. could be worse than that of Spain.

At 65.2%, the civilian employment participation rate is significantly lower than the 66.4% 20-year average.

But the U.S. population isn't static. The nearly straight line, above, represents the nation's population. But the second line, the civilian labor force, has grown at a much slower pace. The gap represents a growing class of the permanently unemployed and those who work under the table (e.g., illegal immigrants and others who pay no taxes). The group also represents an increasing pool of welfare and social service recipients who must be supported by a lower percentage of taxpayers.

Durden believes that the BLS has biased the data to skew the unemployment numbers -- and using the real population data, unemployment (U-3) is actually 12.7% (nearly 30% higher than the "official" 9.9%).

The underemployment (or U-6) rate is even more dire. It represent the "real" unemployment rate that many other countries use in their calculations. Durden states that our true unemployment measure is 22%; 34 million people who are "unemployed, marginally attached, plus total employed part time for economic reasons."

The average duration of unemployment is now a record high of 33 weeks (nearly eight months). Nearly half of the unemployed have been out of work for more than six months.

And the chart shows that this average out-of-work duration continues to skyrocket.

Democrats took a serious but typical recession and turned it into an utter disaster. Spending program upon spending program, debt upon debt, welfare payment upon welfare payment, earmark upon earmark, entitlement upon entitlement -- unemployment payments without end and always more regulations, more government-controlled industries and more taxes.

This level of irresponsibility is unprecedented in American history. It really is November or never to throw these bums out of office.


Illinois Melts Down: the Inevitable Result of Unchecked Democrat Rule

How's that whole "Daley Machine" thing working out?

Illinois Faces 50% Budget Shortfall

'Illinois lawmakers were in disarray Thursday as they groped for stopgap measures to address a $13 billion deficit equaling nearly half of the state's general-fund revenue... "We are lucky in that we still can borrow," Mr. Trotter said, noting that lawmakers responded to rating-agency concerns last month by reducing pension benefits and lifting the retirement age for new state employees to 67 from 60. Lawmakers also are weighing the idea of postponing pension payments... '

State will have $5.5 billion in unpaid bills by end of June

'Meanwhile, the state still owes billions of dollars to hospitals, universities, social-service providers and others. Mr. Hynes said the state's backlog of unpaid bills probably will exceed $5.5 billion at the end of June... "Eventually, many providers of essential state services may be unable to continue their operations at current levels, and those vulnerable segments of the population to whom they provide services will suffer the consequences," [Illinois Comptroller Daniel Hynes] wrote.'

Democrats unveil creative plan to address budget shortfall: 33% increase in income taxes

'Illinois tax rates are the most talked about issue on the campaign trail and in the statehouse, as Gov. Pat Quinn pushes for a 33 percent income tax increase... Illinois ranks fifth [in the U.S.] with more than $116 billion in debt, translating to about $9,000 per-capita [as of 2007]."

No School Vouchers -- Teachers' Unions Still Rule Springfield

'There apparently will be no vouchers for the children in Chicago's worst schools. The Illinois House refused this week to pass a voucher bill, which would the first of its kind in this state... State Sen. James Meeks (D-Chicago) [introduced a] voucher bill would have given children in more than 50 of the worst-performing elementary schools in Chicago an opportunity to attend private schools by giving them $3,300 vouchers.'

'Ticking Time Bomb' Threatens Illinois University System

'"I think everyone is aware of our situation," Southern Illinois University President Glenn Poshard told a Senate committee earlier Thursday. "We're owed right now, a number of public universities in the state, over $700 million by the comptroller. We simply do not have the ability to make up that money in a short period of time. So we need this borrowing to keep our universities working and to pay our people." ...The state owes its public universities more $700 million in appropriations for the current school year. The University of Illinois alone is owed $386 million and SIU is owed $104 million for its two campuses... The money isn't being paid because of a $13 billion state budget deficit and it isn't clear when that might change... "Here we are with a ticking time bomb once again and what's the solution? Borrow more money," Sen. Matt Murphy, a Palatine Republican, told colleagues before the vote. "We already owe more money per capita than any other state in the nation. Here's another effort to farm out our debt."'

Crushed by deficit, IL hones new strategy for overdue bills: don't pay them

'For 35 years, frail senior citizens in southern Illinois could turn to the Shawnee Development Council for help cleaning the house, buying groceries or any of the chores that make the difference between living at home or moving to an institution.

No more. The council shut down the program Thursday because of a budget crisis created by the state of Illinois' failure to pay its bills.

Paralyzed by the worst deficit in its history, the state has fallen months behind in paying what it owes to businesses and organizations, pushing some of them to the edge of bankruptcy.

Illinois isn't bothering with the formality of issuing IOUs, as California did last year. It simply doesn't pay... Illinois' deadbeat reputation has created some embarrassing situations.

A supplier refused to sell bullets to the Department of Corrections unless it got paid in advance. Legislators have gotten eviction notices for their district offices because the state wasn't paying rent. One legislator said he had to use campaign funds to pay the telephone bill after service was cut off at his office.

...The practice of simply putting off payments became commonplace under ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich... The strategy also may have been helped along by Illinois' "anything goes" political culture...

...Some schools have tried to shame Illinois into paying by posting signs announcing how much the state owes. The website IllinoisIsBroke.com details the state's financial mess...'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Gee, Madge, aren't these Democrat-controlled Utopias cool? But don't worry, I trust President Obama and his Chicago-slash-Beltway Machine completely to take better care of the United States economy. The whole Daley-Blago-Jarrett-Rezko connection to the utter destruction of Illinois is tenuous, I'm sure.


Fire Pelosi: Show your support with Harris, Nunnelee, Pearce, Guinta, Chabot & Stivers Blog Widgets

Herein I present six (count 'em: six) blog widgets using my patented "Double Your Vote" theme. Each points to the respective GOP challenger in a key House race. If you don't have a blog yourself, please pass the link on to friends who do. Needless to say, if you have a blog -- get to steppin'.

And, either way, if you can spare a couple of bucks, click on the links and donate.

MD-01

DOUBLE YOUR VOTE: ELECT HARRIS
FIRE KRATOVIL & PELOSI


MS-01

DOUBLE YOUR VOTE: ELECT ALAN NUNNELEE
FIRE TRAVIS CHILDERS AND NANCY PELOSI


NM-02

DOUBLE YOUR VOTE: ELECT PEARCE
FIRE TEAGUE & PELOSI


NH-01

DOUBLE YOUR VOTE: ELECT GUINTA
FIRE PELOSI & SHEA-PORTER


OH-01

DOUBLE YOUR VOTE: ELECT CHABOT
FIRE NANCY PELOSI AND STEVE DRIEHAUS


OH-15

DOUBLE YOUR VOTE: ELECT STIVERS
FIRE PELOSI & KILROY


Top 20 posts for the last 30 days

I'm experimenting with a potential new feature (try and contain your excitement). Based upon a Google Analytics report, the following list represents the most viewed posts over the last 30 days.

1. Check out the Carbon Footprint of Al Gore's New Ocean-View Mediterranean Villa (68,082 views)
2. Obama's Katrina -- an illustrated timeline (14,209 views)
3. The 8 Most Terrifying Holes on Earth (3,943 views)
4. A Baby Boomer's Time Machine (3,866 views)
5. I'm Sorry -- Obama Voters Express Their Regrets (3,176 views)
6. Remind me again -- why can't I get a job? (3,128 views)
7. 1995 Obama interview surfaces: predicted economic fall of USA and--heh--decried racial politics (3,126 views)
8. Elena Kagan's Thesis in 90 Seconds: She Must Be Blocked. (3,046 views)
9. It's Just That Simple (2,854 views)
10. Don Rickles Roasts Congress (2,541 views)
11. Another Soviet-style performance: Obama's NASA speech was completely staged (2,402 views)
12. Redaction boo-boo reveals Blago's secret dealings with President Obama (2,339 views)
13. To be (a lawyer) or not to be... (2,260 views)
14. Bank for International Settlements: Brace for Impact (2,150 views)
15. Good News: EPA will fine you $35,000 if you replace 10 windows in your own home 'incorrectly' (2,050 views)
16. The Secret Scrapbook of Barry Soetero Barack Obama (1,974 views)
17. Counter Revolution (1,797 views)
18. Things are tough all over -- Luxury Cars Abandoned in Dubai (1,786 views)
19. Change: In '08, Obama stated Israel a "constant sore" that "infects... foreign policy" (1,698 views)
20. Don't Cry for Me, America (1,666 views)

To all six of my regular readers: please let me know whether you find this a useful feature or not. Danke.


World's dumbest blogger blames BP-Transocean spill and federal government's ineffective response on -- well, I'll give you one guess.

Matthew Yglesias, who has held the undisputed title of World's Dumbest Blogger since 2004, unleashed another hilarious literary excretion on Friday.

Yggie Pop -- that's the nickname he prefers -- uses the favorite oh-so-creative, who'd-have-thought-of-it tactic of the Left. See if you can guess which option he called for out of the Left's tired playbook as he tried to reassign blame for the tragic BP-Transocean oil rig explosion and spill:

Choose Your Play from the Left's Playbook

A) Race Card (Al Sharpton optional)
B) Blame Bush
C) It's the Tea-Baggers' Fault
D) Because the U.S. supports Israel's genocidal apartheid
E) Because talk radio and Fox News are controlling people's minds kind of like The Matrix

Ready? As 99% of you surmised, the correct answer is 'B'. For the rest, i.e., you Democrats reading this, my personal position is that we should blame the Fillmore administration.

In Obama's Katrina -- An Illustrated Timeline, I documented the activities of the administration in relation to the tragic explosion and oil spill.

Before there was any substantial response (other than that of the U.S. Coast Guard and sending in lawyers to New Orleans), the President spent almost all of his time on:

• Campaigning for the financial overhaul bill to give the federal government even more regulatory power over our lives, while ignoring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
• Blasting Arizona's enforcement of federal immigration law with its onerous demands for documentation in situations where police have engaged suspects
• Using his radio address to rally disaffected Hispanics and Blacks to his big government cause
• Meeting with the Rev. Bill Graham for photo ops during a vacation to the Smokies
• Filming racially divisive video spots for Organizing for America
• Golf

Put simply, the lack of serious White House response points to, at best, negligence and most likely sheer, unmitigated incompetence.

For a man who decries 'finger-pointing', the President has yet to take the blame for any of his actions. And his useful idiots in the press, new media and old, are all too happy to oblige by playing cards that have been worn thin through overuse.


Bear takes bite of hiker -- Internet flame war ensures

The Knoxville News reports that a tourist angling for a closeup photo was bit on the foot by a black bear in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The man, whose name wasn't immediately available, let the bear get within inches of him Wednesday while hiking the Laurel Falls Trail, park spokeswoman Nancy Gray said. He didn't need treatment.

Park rangers believe they've caught the bear, a 60-pound female captured Thursday, Gray said. They'll kill it once they confirm it's the same one.

Park policy decrees an automatic death sentence for any bear that injures a human. Park officials said they're seeing more hungry, aggressive bears this year, probably due to a scarce acorn crop.

The article has generated, at current count, 119 comments including this entertaining anecdote.

I didn't realize there was an automatic death sentence [for bears who attack humans]. My wife and I were in the Smokies last year. Several kids [were] chasing a couple of cubs through the woods, I knew Mama wasn't too far away. I was trying to tell them it wasn't a good idea (from a goodly distance away). Then their Dad jumps in "Whudduyuh doin'?! There just havin' fon! Dem beers won't hoit 'em will dey?" I said "You ain't from around here are you? Where are y'all from?" "Noo Joisey." I said "Nah, they'll be fine. Do you have any more family members that might be able to help them catch those cute little fellers?"

Another commenter suggests the man may have approached the bear because he "was just trying to apologize to [it] for global warming -- apology not accepted."

No word on whether the tourist has retained a slip-and-fall lawyer to sue the bear and the park.

See, folks, this is what happens when you allow Democrats to visit wildlife refuges without chaperones.


Photo: WBIR.

Larwyn's Linx: Why Conservatives Love the Founders

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

Why Conservatives Love the Founders: AT
Dean Obama has U.S. on Double-Secret Probation: Hanson
What those 5,800 crosses represent: Manteca

D’JEver Notice? LVI: RWN
The dots some don't want to connect: Steyn
Holder still evasive on Sestak job offer: Bulletin

Economy

It's Official – Congress Shuns Budget Duties: Foundry
Greece Syndrome Defined: LegalIns
Inflation U.S. (Video): NIA

Don't expect Obamacare to cut down E.R. usage: Betsy
Achievement Gap Politics: NAS
The Ugly Side of Social Justice: AT

Climate & Energy

Global Green Meltdown Gains Momentum: TAI
Death by a thousand regulations: AT

Media

Red Meat -- Sarah Palin’s NRA Convention Speech: AnotherBlackCon
Brewer-Palin Press Conference: GWP
Film The Federal Reserve? Want To Be Arrested?: LogMon

Barack Obama's "Respectable" Socialist Mentor - Abner Mikva: NewZeal
Chutzpah: it's what's for dinner: SixMeat
Pelosi to aspirising musicians: quit your job, taxpayers will pay for your health care: BlogProf

When Black Meant Republican: HHR
Anti-Semantic: Soccer Dad
Brewer to Obama: 'Don't Quit Your Day Job, Though Maybe You Should, Given Your Performance': GWP

World

Does fighting a great evil make it stronger?: Gina Cobb
Plans Announced To Erect Islamic Culture Center On Lars Vilks' Decapitated Body: Ace
The U.S. Government Knows that Iran Helps al-Qaida But Does Nothing About It : BRubin

The EU crackup and what it says about US priorities: Wizbang
Still Waiting for Saudi Arabia: JPost
The Ten Ships: Belmont Club

SciTech

A Translation Guide to the Obama Space Program: PJM
Facebook's First President, Sean Parker, Was Fired Over A Cocaine Arrest: SFgate
Armageddon, brought to you by the FCC: Fortune

Cornucopia

Submariner's Story: SondraK
Werewolf Prevention Training: Ace
Last-ditch Appeal to Save the Planet: Jore-El: Ridge

Image: Maktoob Business (AFP).
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: SecureTheBorder.org:


QOTD: "President Obama's nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court is irresponsible. Ms. Kagan is a liberal activist and political operative with no experience as judge. A Supreme Court nominee ought to have significant practical experience as a lawyer or a judge — especially a nominee for the nation's highest court. Her decision to throw military recruiters off the campus of Harvard Law School during a time of war shows she is far to the left of mainstream America. The fact that she continued to work in the Clinton White House after it became clear that President Clinton lied under oath raises questions about her ethical judgment. And her record, as spotty as it is, shows that Ms. Kagan is a committed liberal judicial activist.

Tea Party activists ought to be paying close attention to this nomination. With looming constitutional battles ranging from Obamacare to illegal immigration, the United States Senate should ensure that only a justice who will strictly interpret the U.S. Constitution is approved. There’s no reason to believe that Ms. Kagan meets this standard. Given the stakes, every U.S. Senator should know that the upcoming vote on Ms. Kagan will be as closely watched as their votes on Obamacare." -- Tom Fitton, Judicial Watch


Saturday, May 15, 2010

The man who endlessly pontificates on every topic imaginable strangely silent on Iran's new partnership with Al Qaeda

In his first year in office, President Obama gave 411 speeches and statements, using the teleprompter 178 separate times. On 52 occasions in the first year, he spoke specifically about the Democrat Party's plans to nationalize the health care system.

Yet on the subject of the stunning revelation that Iran is assisting Al Qaeda -- the same group that killed 3,000 innocent Americans -- the administration is mum, two months after the news first broke.

Consider: the man who doesn't hesitate to pontificate on Israel's apartments in East Jerusalem, the Cambridge Police Department, a faulty oil rig in the Gulf, the profit margins of health insurers, Arizona's enforcement of immigration laws and every other imaginable topic has suddenly turned into President Marcel Marceau.

Two months ago, General David Petraeus revealed the nefarious partnership.

Iran is assisting al Qaeda by facilitating links between senior terrorist leaders and affiliate groups, the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East told Congress on Tuesday... On Tehran's ties to al Qaeda, Gen. Petraeus said the group "continues to use Iran as a key facilitation hub, where facilitators connect al Qaedas senior leadership to regional affiliates."

On Thursday, the Associated Press elaborated on the burgeoning partnership.

Al-Qaida operatives who have been detained for years in Iran have been making their way quietly in and out of the country, raising the prospect that Iran is loosening its grip on the terror group so it can replenish its ranks, former and current U.S. intelligence officials say.

This movement could indicate that Iran is re-examining its murky relationship with al-Qaida at a time when the U.S. is stepping up drone attacks in Pakistan and weakening the group's leadership. Any influx of manpower could hand al-Qaida a boost in morale and expertise and threaten to disrupt stability in the region.

U.S. officials say intelligence points to a worrisome increase in movement lately.

In late 2008, Saad bin Laden -- one of Osama's sons -- and four other AQ officials left Iran. Since then, other AQ members have slipped out of the country.

Some experts believe that anyone from al-Qaida freed to leave Iran must be returning to the battlefield...

Others believe that, with al-Qaida families left behind, terrorists may actually be working for Iran, gathering intelligence or passing messages before returning to Iran.

Either way, it's being noticed. Clare Lopez, a former CIA officer and a senior fellow at Center for Security Policy, says it's not a good sign.

"Movement like this doesn't augur well," she said.

And the man who never stops blathering about every topic known to man is strangely silent on the one issue of critical importance to all Americans.


Hat tips: Barry Rubin and Dan from New York.