Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Larwyn's Linx: House Freshmen Run Away from Obama

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Nation

Freshmen run away from Obama: CQP
Why we should be very afraid of Elena Kagan: Power Line
Gov. Dumbal: GOP almost at level of sedition: Hot Air

A Thug Too Far: Power Line
First conviction in illegal alien gang massacre: Malkin
A Tale of Two Book Banners: RWN

Economy

New York Judges consider joining Teachers' Union: AT
Big Brother’s Lock On Your Money Is Complete: LogMon
Kuttner has been lobotomized: Denninger

Oops: Administration admits rationing is in DemCare: RWN
Why is College Tuition Rising 2X Rate of Inflation?: Carpe Diem
As we suffer, government salaries and payoffs grow: RWN

Climate & Energy

Overturning EPA’s Finding Is a Constitutional Imperative: PJM
Nonpartisan Proof: Cap-and-Trade Is an Economy-Killer: AT
It's the Sun, Stupid: NatPost

What the hell is happening with the BP leak?: Moran
Salazar threatens to nationalize BP oil spill: MagNote
Climate Change Threatens Nomadic Mongolians Way Of Life: RWN

Media

Are you ready to speak out, America?: PJM
Another deportation abyss horror story, more ICE non-enforcement: Malkin
My law studies are a bit rusty, but I'd say he's got a strong case...: BarcePundit

Come on Down to Independence Slavery Mall: AT
SecDef Hillary Clinton?: Jumping In Pools
O'Reilly's Awesome Idea to Stop BP Leak: FreeLight

Old Media: Democrats = Moderate, Republicans = Extremist: RWN
Meghan McCain bashes 'Racist' Tea Party: GWP
BHO, Master of the Modern Media: RWN

World

The New International Order: Belmont
OIC Praises Obama’s ‘Remarkable Decision’ to Close Guantanamo, Drop References to Islam, Terrorism: WeaZip
Joe Biden: Brussels Has Legitimate Claim to Capital of the Free World: GWP

Homeland Security Alert: Somali Terrorist on the Loose in Texas?: PJM
Rifqa Bary Suffering from Cancer, Her Lawyers Bring In Her Parents: Geller
Muslim Youths in Nigeria Burn Church Buildings, Pastor's Home: RSN

SciTech

Google trashes iPhone OS, and it's right: ZDNet
BugBots: DesignWorld
I'm So Freaking Browned Off: C&S

Cornucopia

Branding Matters: Steyn
Obama appoints Golf Czar: Carpe Diem
Democrats vs. a Bomb: C&S

Image: Curmudgeonly & Skeptical.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Maggie's Notebook.

Monday, May 24, 2010

The Obama Campaign to Strip Israel of its Last Line of Defense Continues: Guardian Reports Israel Tried to Sell Nukes in the Seventies

Several weeks ago, the World Tribune reported that President Obama and Egypt were working on a strategy to pressure Israel to give up its nuclear arsenal.

Over the last 40 years, the United States has unofficially adopted Israel's refusal to discuss its purported nuclear arsenal. Israel has refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty until peace comes to the Middle East.

The United Nations has hosted a month-long meeting on NPT [Nuclear Proliferation Treaty]. The session has been dominated by Egypt's recruitment of a bloc to press for the implementation of a 1995 resolution for a nuclear-free Middle East.

"We want to see every country be a signatory to the NPT," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on May 3. "We believe strongly in this. That’s why we are taking steps which have never been taken by any administration before."

Israel has become the focus of attention at the NPT meeting, sponsored by the International Atomic Energy Agency. IAEA director-general Yukiya Amano has asked member-states to propose ways to press Israel to join NPT.

...On May 5, Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States called for a nuclear-free Middle East. The five nuclear powers, without mentioning Israel, called on all states in the region to sign the NPT.

...[Former Ambassador John] Bolton did not rule out a U.S. campaign against Israel's purported nuclear weapons arsenal. He said the next few months could see an increase in U.S. and other international pressure on the Jewish state.

"The only unknown answer at this point is exactly how much pressure he [Obama] would exert on Israel to do just that," Bolton said. "Part of that pressure is being exerted right now by even considering the possibility of a conference on a nuclear-weapons-free Middle East."

Today, UK's Guardian newspaper rolled out another element of the information warfare campaign, claiming that Israel tried to sell nukes in the seventies to the apartheid country of South Africa.

A UK news website claims Israel intended to sell nuclear weapons to apartheid South Africa, but Jerusalem denies the charges.

The Guardian news website, citing the work of an American academic, has reported that declassified South African documents reveal that Israel offered to sell nuclear weapons to the apartheid regime in 1975...

The office of Israeli President Shimon Peres, who was defense minister at the time of the alleged agreement, has vehemently denied the claims.

The documents purporting to prove that Israel tried to sell its nukes were -- surprise! -- "uncovered" by an editor at the Democrat think tank Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

Gee, why not just have Dan Rather "find" the documents instead?

You say Dan Rather's a member of the CFR? Oops.

Let me guess, the "uncovered" documents from the seventies used a Microsoft Word-compatible Times New Roman font. And despite being highly classified, super Top Secret, a CFR researcher was able to find them in a long-lost file folder at the neighborhood JiffyLube.


Economy hitting on all cylinders as the Obama recovery rolls on

Defaults on Apartment-Building Loans Set Record for U.S. Banks


'Defaults on apartment-building mortgages held by U.S. banks climbed to a record 4.6 percent in the first quarter, almost twice the year-earlier level...

...Defaults on apartment-building mortgages surpassed the previous record, set in 1993, for the past three consecutive quarters... The U.S. savings-and-loan crisis drove apartment-building defaults to 3.4 percent in 1993. Defaults on other types of commercial property debt peaked at 4.6 percent in 1992, according to Real Capital.'


Foreclosures: Worst lurks ahead


'More than 22,000 homeowners in Utah found themselves in some stage of foreclosure between July 2008 and April 2010, according to a Salt Lake Tribune computer analysis based on data from RealtyTrac... In Salt Lake City, foreclosure filings doubled in the first three months of 2010 compared with the same time last year, the highest rate of increase for all U.S. cities. The number leapt an additional 44 percent in April, raising the share of all Utah homes in foreclosure to one in every 221, fifth highest in the nation.

"I truly believe that we have not seen the worst of this," said Julia Borst, president of the Utah Mortgage Lenders Association. "I can't even explain to you the gravity of it..."'


Healthcare law tax credits encourage small businesses to stay small, not hire


'A study by the National Center for Policy Analysis shows that tax credits in the new healthcare law could negatively impact small-business hiring decisions...

...the credit creates a perverse incentive for business owners that fit the Treasury’s profile. While the tax break is temporary and only returns a fraction of what employees cost a company, businesses owners might forego hiring an extra worker if it means losing a piece of the tax credit.'


The $123 Billion Tab For Job And Tax Bill


'Late Friday, the CBO reported that the the [new Job and Tax bill] would increase the deficit by $123 billion for 2010 and 2011. That number rises to $141 billion for the 2010 to 2015 period. The agency said, “The bill would extend benefits under the unemployment insurance program, at a total cost of about $47 billion, and it would extend (for an additional six months) the increase in the federal share of Medicaid costs that was originally enacted in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009."

Like every other program on top of the President’s budget, an additional burden is placed on the Treasury to increase borrowing and, probably the cost of money. The CBO estimates that debt service for the American deficit will hit $700 billion in 2020. That makes the government’s ability to fund Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid more difficult. An aging population will find that its retirement will be more expensive to fund. Some expect that some baby boomers will not get their “fair share” of entitlement programs.'


Commercial foreclosures pick up speed


'Mesa Financial Plaza, the 17-story office tower that lights up the night sky with a neon-blue silhouette, has been noticed for trustee sale.

The $40.6 million default is just one of many that are starting to drop in the Valley. The number of defaults for loans of more than $20 million is increasing rapidly for all product types, including office, industrial, retail and large apartment complexes.

Chris Toci, executive director of the capital markets group at Cushman & Wakefield of Arizona Inc., said Phoenix is at the front end of a major crash...'

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

Aren't you relieved that President Obama -- in his words -- saved us from the "worst economic crisis since the Great Depression". Of course, he's been calling the mortgage meltdown that since late 2008 and -- things have only gotten worse.

Unemployment's up, foreclosures are up, taxes are up, deficits are up... and the banksters and their sycophants in Washington are still living large. Think about it: Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, Maxine Waters, Franklin Raines, Andrew Cuomo, Jamie Gorelick -- as culpable as any persons on the face of the Earth for the meltdown -- are laughing all the way to the bank.


Linked by: Michelle Malkin and Mass Backwards. Thanks!

Gibbs on Sestak bribery allegations: If you mention extortion again, I'll have your legs broken

Presidential spokes-drone Robert Gibbs hit the talk show circuit on Sunday to discuss, among other topics, the quid pro quo offered Pennsylvania Senate candidate Joe Sestak. He was not permitted to display his usual incoherence, though, as he was apparently counseled to clam up altogether. Which is hardly a strategy to reassure independents rightfully worried about the rampant allegations of corruption creeping out of the Beltway.

Now even Democrat muckety-mucks are pressing the administration for answers.

Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner (N.Y.) called on the White House on Monday to detail conversations it allegedly had with Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) to try to convince him to drop his Senate bid.

Weiner said that allegations that White House officials had offered Sestak an administration job in exchange for his dropping of his primary bid against Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) had become a growing political liability...

“Someone has to help us out here, and I think the White House and Congressman Sestak need to make sure we’re not talking about this next week,” Weiner explained.

In response to this request, President Obama is said to have unleashed his elite Lightning Response Team™, fresh off its successful handling of the gulf oil spill, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", the withdrawal of Armed Forces from Iraq, and the overall improvement of America's image abroad.


Delightful: Democrats to stick American taxpayers with a $165 billion bill to pay off the Unions' underfunded pensions

It appears that bankrupting the United States Treasury was only the first step in the Democrat plan to destroy the American economy. Layering in a new entitlement program -- socialized medicine -- when the country can't afford its existing programs was thought to be the icing on the cake. It wasn't.

The final nail in the coffin may come in the form of stealing $165 billion additional dollars from taxpayers to fund union pensions that were mismanaged and misappropriated by the bosses who support Democrats in good times and bad.

A Democratic senator is introducing legislation for a bailout of troubled union pension funds. If passed, the bill could put another $165 billion in liabilities on the shoulders of American taxpayers.

The bill, which would put the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation behind struggling pensions for union workers, is being introduced by Senator Bob Casey, (D-Pa.), who says it will save jobs and help people.

As FOX Business Network’s Gerri Willis reported Monday, these pensions are in bad shape; as of 2006, well before the market dropped and recession began, only 6% of these funds were doing well.

Although right now taxpayers could possibly be on the hook for $165 billion, the liability could essentially be unlimited because these pensions have to be paid out until the workers die.

The SEIU spent roughly $85 million electing Barack Obama and significantly more on other Democrat campaigns. Socialized medicine doesn't kick in fast enough to stoke the unions' underfunded pension plans, which is why Joe and Jane Taxpayer -- or, to be precise, their kids and grandkids -- will foot the bill.

The behavior of the modern Democrat Party is beyond the pale.

Oh, and when you're working in the rice fields side by side with your neighbors who voted for Obama, be sure to thank them for me.


Larwyn's Linx: Jindal blasts Obama inaction, moves on sand booms

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

Jindal blasts Obama inaction, moves on sand booms: Malkin
Was this a nightmare? Or did it really happen?: AT
Duty, Honor, Blah Blah Blah, Etc.: Crittenden

Another ICE horror story, more ICE non-enforcement: Malkin
What was cut from Obama's West Point speech: RWN
The Irony of the Rand Paul Kerfuffle: LegalIns

Economy

Cliff-Diving into Dependency, Trolling for Democrat Votes: Blumer
Union Insanity: New Jersey Becomes Greece: GWP
Tim Kaine: Lying with Statistics: Commentary

ObamaCare encourages small businesses to stay small, not hire: Hill
Good news! Housing crisis architect seeks NY Governorship: BlogProf
How Debt Imperils National Security: Ignatius

Climate & Energy

Obama switches to Denmark from Brazil: Best out of Five? PJM
'I Haff zeen zee oil-coated buds': Doswell
Cause for Alarm?: WUWT

Media

When Even the New York Times Admits Europe's Welfare State Is Unsustainable...: Cobb
Surprise: WaPo, NYT Wildly Misstate 'Controversial' Texas Curriculum Changes: Ace
Calderon: drop AZ Law, renew Assault Weapons Ban, remove North America's borders: Last Gringo

Sestak Confirms Job Offer from White House: Patterico
Thoughtless on Discrimination: RWN
Propaganda from the AP: AT

World

Intelligence Analysis: Kim Approved Sinking of South Korean Ship: Ace
Report: American Soldiers in Afghanistan Ordered to Patrol With Their Weapons Unloaded…: Weasel Zippers
A mosque at Ground Zero? A sick joke: Telegraph

Obama Announces U.S. Military Secrets to the World : FoxNation
A hot new vacation destination: Hezbollah's Magic Kingdom of Jihad Theme Park: WyBlog
The euro crisis is a judgment on the great lie of 'Europe': Booker

SciTech

Industrial Light & Masking Tape: Driscoll
Brewing a better coffee cup online: CNet
iPad caveat: Solution seeking a problem: CNet

Cornucopia

Gringo Mask -- Yeah, This Should Work: LegalIns
Socialism's Downfall: AT
Moonbats: Whales and Dolphins Should Get “Human Rights” to Life and Liberty…: Weasel Zippers

Image: Watts Up With That.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Gates of Vienna.

QOTD: "Faced by the linked yet separate crises in the Middle East and in Northeast Asia the Obama administration is acting like it was shot through the central nervous system, acting in uncoordinated jerks. The alliances with Korea and Japan and the special relationships with Israel and Britain lie almost forgotten like neglected toys on the floor of a spoiled child distracted by his latest bauble. Gone are the heady prospects of Grand Bargains with the Muslim world kicked off by dramatic speeches in Cairo. Gone is the idea of a swift drawdown from Iraq; or of a comprehensive solution in the Middle East. Gone is the promise of catching Osama Bin Laden. Gone is the notion that Europe, which once hated America because of George Bush, would turn like a blossoming rose to Obama. In their place are half-finished begun threads without closure: a growing Hezbollah menace in Lebanon; a defiant Iran; a belligerent North Korea; a buffoonish but menacing Chavez; a drug war on the southern border; an Eastern Europe with the shadow of the Russian bear growing ever longer across it." -- Richard Fernandez (via Bruce Kesler)


Sunday, May 23, 2010

Private Dick Anthony Weiner Stars in TARGET: GOLDLINE


Click to enbiggen.

Back-story: Anthony Weiner goes after Goldline.


The Costs of Illegal Immigration vs. State Budget Deficits: a Chart

I'll let the figures speak for themselves.

StateIllegal Immigration Population (000's omitted)Total Cost to State TaxpayersCurrent Budget DeficitImmigration Enforcement Could Close % of Budget Shortfall
Nevada210$0.8B$1.2B67%
Massachusetts225$1.0B$2.6B39%
Maryland250$1.3B$2.0B65%
Arizona470$2.7B$3.2B84%
Illinois775$3.5B$5.7B61%
Florida950$3.8B$3.2B118%
New York1,000$5.2B$8.2B63%
Texas1,740$4.7B$11.0B43%
California3,470$10.5B$19.0B55%

The costs represent only the 'hard dollar' toll for the lack of border enforcement, including education, health services, incarceration, welfare, etc. 'Soft dollar' costs -- the toll on the victims of illegal immigrants' crimes, drug addiction, inferior educational programs for citizens and legal immigrants, etc. -- are not included in the figures.


Sources: Arizona ($1.6 billion from Arizona's education system, $694.8 million from health care services, $339.7 million in law enforcement and court costs, $85.5 million in welfare costs and $155.4 million in other general costs); California ($2.5B for incarceration, $2.5 billion for medical services, education $3.2B, total $10.5B); Maryland; Massachusetts, New York; State Budget Deficits.
Related: Aren't 'Sanctuary Cities' that promote illegal immigration cool? Suspect in Times Square bomb plot was known to be living illegally in Boston


Aren't 'Sanctuary Cities' that promote illegal immigration cool? Suspect in Times Square bomb plot was known to be living illegally in Boston

Gee, David Gregory, you mean terror suspect So Pir Kahn was known to be living in the U.S. illegally -- and nothing was done?

The magnificent investigators at Judicial Watch unearthed this startling news, which you most definitely will not be reading in your state-run media periodicals.

In an alarming example of how sanctuary cities can protect terrorists, a Pakistani man arrested for the Time Square bombing admitted on a city license application that he entered the U.S. illegally and authorities took no action.

That’s because he applied for the cabbie license in a state (Massachusetts) that openly protects illegal immigrants from deportation. Local law enforcement agencies throughout Massachusetts have don’t-ask-don’t-tell policies regarding illegal aliens and in this case the Boston Police Department has for years known that the terrorist, So Pir Khan, was in the country illegally.

Khan was recently arrested in an FBI terror sweep for his involvement in the Time Square bombing earlier this month. The Boston cab driver is one of three men who funneled money to the fellow Pakistani terrorist (Faisal Shahzad) who tried to blow up New York’s Time Square with a series of bombs hidden in a sports utility vehicle.

When Khan applied for a license to drive a taxi, he admitted in writing that he had come to the United States illegally in 1991. The application was submitted to Boston Police but no action was ever taken. Khan easily obtained the cabbie license and regularly drove around one of the nation’s busiest airports with few restrictions. In fact the Boston Police Hackney Division approved Khan’s license to drive a taxi 13 times since he first applied in 1997.

JudicialWatch also reports that despite his employment as a gas station attendant, Boston authorities never thought anything was suspicious when he ponied up $190,000 in cash to purchase taxi medallions. A few years later, he doubled his investment when he sold his shares and, again, no one investigated.

Massachusetts is one of many sanctuary regions; most cities in the bankrupt state of California, Chicago, the District of Columbia, New Haven (CT), Salt Lake City (UT) and Provo (UT) are but a few of the areas that are protecting the rights of criminals and terrorists by willfully ignoring federal law.

But don't worry -- mainstream media is too busy misconstruing Rand Paul's comments on the Constitution and the 1875 and 1964 Civil Rights Acts to concern themselves with the safety of American citizens.

So don't fret, folks, we're in the best of hands. After all, our beloved Attorney General Eric Holder and our equally outstanding DHS Chief Janet Napolitano are both watching over us like hacks hawks.


Now is the time on Sprockets vhen ve juxtapose headlines!

Associated Press: State dinner has it all: Beyonce, world-class chef
"Markets dive on jobless claims, Europe concerns"

Washington Post: Michelle Obama's dress -- and new state dinner hairstyle
"One in 7 U.S. homeowners paying late or in foreclosure"

Chicago Sun-Times: Obama splashy, elegant State Dinner honors Mexico
"Housing recovery threatened by homeowners' 'strategic defaults'"

WaPo: White House State Dinner: Beyonce, the non-spouse dates, and other leftovers
"32 States Now Officially Bankrupt: $37.8 Billion Borrowed From Treasury To Fund Unemployment; CA, MI, NY Worst"

ABC News: The Low-Down on the First Lady's State Dinner Gown
"College Grads about to Flood Labor Market; Class of 2009 Still Without Jobs in Deep Trouble"

NPR: Obama's Second State Dinner Celebrates Mexico
"Mortgage Foreclosures Hit Record as Job Losses Strain Budgets"

CBS News: Michelle Obama's State Dinner Gown Made by Peter Soronen
"Surge in Strategic Defaults Threatens Housing Market Recovery"

CNN: Obama's second state dinner has Mexican flair
"Area foreclosures jump unexpectedly"

Chicagoist: Bayless, Beyoncé Highlight Obama's Second State Dinner
"Central Falls Rhode Island - Bankrupt - Goes Into Receivership"

HuffPo: Michelle Obama & Margarita Zavala At State Dinner: Whose Dress Do You Like Best?
"Extra Unemployment benefits fail to halt tide of long-term jobless"

* * * * * * * * *

Just one question: During a time of severe economic dislocation, rampant unemployment, an oil spill in the gulf, an Iranian nuclear crisis and a Korean peninsula on the brink of war -- try to imagine a fawning media treating a Republican president's opulent, over-the-top party (hosted by Reagan or Bush, for example) like this.

I can't.


Images: Flickr and CBS News.