Friday, June 11, 2010

Congress installs the EPA as the fourth branch of government and, in the process, violates the separation of church and state

Yesterday, 53 Senators voted to destroy our country. They did so by installing the Environmental Protection Agency -- thousands of unelected, leftist bureaucrats -- as a de facto fourth branch of government.

Their thousands of employees cost taxpayers at least $11 billion a year in salary and overhead alone -- even before their new energy taxes go into effect. Through their unconstitutional dictates, they will set all industrial policy in the United States.

For despite the fact that the U.S. federal government is already the world's largest borrower, lender, health care provider, retirement plan administrator, insurer and banker -- despite this, it will now have the additional ability to regulate every business in America. Or only the ones that expel carbon dioxide. Which is to say: every person and business in America.

Doubly Unconstitutional

It's true that the EPA represents an unconstitutional and unelected fourth branch of government. Furthermore, it is unlawful for another reason that leftists will appreciate:

The EPA violates the separation of church and state.

It was Michael Crichton who first described the religion of warming. Since then, "climate science" has been exposed as a faith-based school of thought where biased results supersede legitimate inquiry.

The ClimateGate revelations, put simply, are a series of cover-ups, deleted data, oddly positioned data collection sites, modified algorithms and scientists addicted to funding as they sought UN-approved results.

Climate "science" is truly climate religion and thousands of scientists are speaking out.

It's the Industrial Policy, Stupid

"Cap-and-Trade" has nothing to do with global warming. The idea behind the EPA's regulatory regime was hatched by "Energy Czar" Carol Browner, who headed the agency in the Clinton administration. As an added bonus -- she was also a recent director of "Socialist International", whose mission is "global governance" and which mandates the impoverishment of rich countries to address climate change.

The EPA's new regulations are designed to:

• Tax the energy that you consume -- gasoline, natural gas, heating oil, etc.

• Tax consumer goods since they all involve the release of CO2;

• Tax food products;

• Tax services such as movies, television, Internet service, etc.;

• Tax all carbon dioxide (a trace gas that accounts for 0.0385% -- or 385 parts per million of the atmosphere) and which plants need to live;

• Eventually tax your breathing based upon your body weight and diet;

The Country Hangs in the Balance

The Congressional Budget Office and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board have clearly stated that the U.S. budget deficits -- trebled in only 18 months under the Obama administration -- are "unsustainable".

Not content with nationalizing auto companies, banks, insurance companies and the health care industry... not content with trillion-dollar "Stimulus" programs that utterly fail to do that which was promised... not content with an utterly unconstitutional usurpation of Constitutional government, the radical left -- now in command of the Democrat Party -- has initiated the final phase of its plan to collapse Capitalism and the American way of life.

The EPA's new mandates are designed to destroy an economy that is already on life support. And the Democrat Party -- every member -- must be held responsible for the destruction that is certain to occur should they retain control of Congress in November.


United We Stand -- Obama We Fall

By Kelcy Allen

Brick by brick, shingle by shingle, President Obama’s divisive rhetoric is tearing America’s house down.

In his deconstruction and denigration of the most successful political system and prosperous standard of living in human history, Obama seems to show little regard for a unified national spirit—a “United” States.

From his fractious campaign stump speeches, to last month’s Arizona-bashing news conference with Mexican President Calderón, to his alienation of ALL parties involved in the Gulf oil debacle, President Obama—who often spoke passionately about “putting America’s house in order”—seems to have channeled that passion into a manic compulsion to sow dissension and division—to be bipolar not bipartisan.

In his rousing 2008 Hope-and-Change campaign, Obama consistently “brought down the house.” Post election however, this effusive 4-word phrase conveys a different picture—the ceiling of prosperity is caving in, the walls of security are imploding, a once-firm foundation seems to be shifting, and our “house” is under threat of dissolution.

Recently, while giving a commencement address at the University of Michigan, President Obama disingenuously asserted, “The way to keep our democracy healthy is to maintain a basic level of civility in our public debate…we cannot expect to solve our problems if all we do is tear each other down.”

But incivility and derision have become Obama’s modus operandi.

In just 16 months, his constant divulsive vitriol has become banal and predictable; his straw man pitch of “misguided criticisms that echo the failed theories of the past” has grown insipid. His persistent accusation that his ideological adversaries peddle false theories, phony arguments, and petty politics, while his own pushy agenda has proffered no productive solutions, confers our ship of state is an empty, rudderless vessel—awash upon a ruthless tide—listing among rocky shoals.

Obama’s presidency is now sailing over dark waters of envy, division, and fear.

Cap and trade, unchecked immigration and border violence, the misdirected Stimulus, upcoming 2010 elections, emerging census fraud, and now the ongoing hellish Gulf oil catastrophe, have captured our national attention, all the while overlooking the crux of America’s problem—we’ve lost our grasp of history, we’re not working together, and we’re too divided.

American’s have always resolved their differences—they’ve conferred, compromised, and found solutions. But now, there is a scissure—a divide—which Obama’s factious rhetoric has created. And Americans don’t like it—we don’t like division—we want our house in order.

But president Obama has become a splintering homeland wrecking ball.

For almost a year-and-a-half Obama has spewed vintage Marxist drivel—class warfare. His belligerent refusal to rally Americans together has engendered angst, frustration, pessimism, and now outright hostility, across the land.

First it was “all-things-evil” George Bush and that nasty imaginary “status quo.” Then it was rich against poor—haves versus have-nots; Main Street against Wall Street; little cats versus fat-cats; public vs. private; Grandma sick of her healthcare provider, and Grandpa not seeing eye-to-eye with the ophthalmologist. Speech after caustic speech has pitted the poor, defenseless individual against the giant special interests who purportedly dominate Washington—seniors betrayed by CEO’s dumping pensions while pocketing bonuses; those getting prescriptions against the drug companies; young voters misunderstood by their elders; workers who had jobs shipped overseas by conglomerates; the powerless against big money law firms; veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who’d been “misled” into war; coffee vs. tea—it was “any available victim” against the big banks, credit card companies, insurance lobbyists, oil barons, or anyone in a tax bracket higher than your own.

Obama’s finger pointing and “kick ass” negativity is pessimistic and despoiling--we need optimistic leadership with spiritual verve. Obama is a misfit for the task.

If any of the aforementioned societal conflicts contain validity—and many do—you don’t separate America to solve the problem, you mend America—you pull America together to overcome unfairness and discord, and to spread prosperity.

The problem is, Obama is a Progressive—he doesn’t want our help. He needs us separated. If we aren’t separated, government can’t be in control, and control is simply another way to spell Progressive.

An example of fostering division was when Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano listed individuals that DHS considered possible domestic terrorists—no Muslim extremists, WTO looters, or riotous La Raza secessionists were noted.

Instead, singled out were so-called “right-wing extremists:” Groups or organizations who help authorities during natural disasters; returning US military veterans; short-wave radio enthusiasts; gun show participants; people with signs protesting high taxes; “minute men” assisting law enforcement on our border; people with bumper stickers which decry abortion, advocate for Ron Paul, or show the old yellow Marine Corps motto flag, “Don’t Tread on Me.”

This Obama lunacy created unwarranted tension and has fiercely angered Americans across the nation from every demographic.

There was the Beer Summit. Obama the lawyer, without facts and apparently not versed in hearsay or probable cause, publicly castigated a white police officer who arrested a black professor. Obama’s irresponsible over-reaction raised the ire of police personnel around the country, and tensions were unnecessarily heightened in black communities.

Consider Obama’s vacuous Jobs Summit. Invited were liberal economists, government officials, non-profit representatives, union leaders, environmental advocates, and academia. Not invited was the US Chamber of Commerce, consisting of small businesses representing 116 million jobs.

Also not invited was the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the “Voice of Small Business,” operating in DC, and all 50 state capitals. Obama’s insensitivity to independent business has helped foment lingering animosity and long lasting resentment from private enterprise.

And we can’t dismiss Obama’s dissing of Las Vegas during a town hall where he drew the ire of the mayor by badmouthing that city. Odds are this upset a great deal more Nevadans as well.

In a shameful display of insensitivity, President Obama disrespected New York City while desecrating 9/11. Not only has his terrorist coddling Department of Justice decided to prosecute Muslim Jihadists in the shadow of Ground Zero, he and his liberal left friends—ACORN, RainbowPUSH Coalition, Apollo Alliance, AFL-CIO, among many—have turned 9/11 into a partisan National Day of Service.

Henceforth, 9/11 will be a leftist celebration of activism, environmental justice, and the “greening” of America, not a day of reflection, respect, and remembrance—we’ll now honor liberal service instead of victim sacrifice.

Obama hasn’t just rankled cities, he’s riled states. During the force-fed passage of his health-care bill, some states were given preferential treatment in exchange for votes, which created outcries from neglected states not included in his Chicago-style bribery scam—ACORN voter deceit on a presidential level. “Cornhusker Kickback,” “Louisiana Purchase,” and “Florida Flim-flam” are euphemisms for “Divided We Fall.”

Surely fiscally grounded states such as South Carolina feel resentment when they’re asked to bailout “drunken-sailor economies” like California.

Alongside his new war against the states, Obama is waging a battle to eliminate the 10th Amendment.

If states lose power, Progressives gain power, and our personal freedoms are compromised. DOJ attorneys have written a recommendation challenging Arizona immigration law, while Virginia and twelve other states have filed suit in US District Court, arguing that requiring citizens to buy health coverage or pay a fee for Obama’s coercive health care, is unconstitutional.

And 27 coal mining states, including Montana, Wyoming, Pennsylvania (zealot miners who cling to guns and bibles), and West Virginia, felt buried after a 2008 video tape was unearthed in which Obama said he was willing to bankrupt the 3-million member coal industry.

It’s government versus the people—Obama has drawn a battle line.

If Obama’s attack on states and unfavorable demographic groups can be called his hobby, then trashing our Judeo-Christian heritage while appointing Muslims to his administration, is his full-time job.

A mind-boggling series of virtually unnoticed Obama policy decisions, wherein hundreds of Muslims have intentionally been fast-tracked into the administration, is raising concerns.

And while liberals go catatonic when the separation of church and state is breached, the US State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs has assembled a range of programs and publications to celebrate Ramadan and Muslim life in America.

Christian leaders Tony Perkins and Rev. Franklin Graham recently had speaking invitations cancelled on military bases, while a new mosque accommodating over a hundred Muslims has opened in our own Washington, DC Capitol Building.

And incredibly, just months ago in January 2010, Secretary Janet Napolitano’s DHS office initiated an official information-sharing program with Muslim organizations—some tied to the terror group the Muslim Brotherhood. The groups now meet regularly with DHS senior aides and with Napolitano, to discuss American national security policy.

Obama’s apparent Muslim bias coupled with his dismissal of Christians and Jews, combined with his growing disdain for Israel, is adding to an ever-widening breach of understanding among the faith communities.

From his stilted veto of the Supreme Court during the State of the Union address; his decision not to salute the patriots buried at Arlington National cemetery on Memorial Day; his blatant failure to acknowledge D-Day on June 6th; his exile of the bust of Churchill; his incomprehensible foot-dragging and cursory show of empathy for our Gulf citizens—Obama has created rapidly-expanding rifts between many once mutually-appreciative segments of American society.

Considering the derisive and destructive nature of the Obama presidency, it would not be unreasonable to profess “United we stand, Obama we fall,” and resolutely declare President Obama to be “The Great Divider.”

Kelcy Allen is a freelance writer. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.

Larwyn's Linx: The Man Who Would Be King

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 Man Who Would Be King: AT
Senate votes EPA the fourth branch of government: Malkin
On the Table: Doc Zero

The Growing Intifada on our Southern Border: RWN
Democrats' brilliant new immigration strategy: RWN
FBI documents reveal ACORN skulduggery: JudicialWatch

Economy

Union Bosses' Pensions Soar While Members' Wither: RCReader
The Fastest-Growing Set of Millionaires: DaiRec
Next Three Weeks Will Change Wall Street Forever: Minyanville

The Deficit Tripler: GWP
O's Moratorium Killing Tens of Thousands of Jobs: GWP
AIG's $100 Billion I.O.U.: RSM

Climate & Energy

Gulf Oil Spill Reminds Us How Much is Out There: MoneyRunner
Then: Zero Population Growth. Now: Zero Population: Belmont
Senate Surrenders to the EPA: WashExam

Media

Nicholas Kristof and the Left: a Strange Hostility to Hirsi Ali: Steyn
Bad News For Democrats And Obama, Good News for Americans: Riehl
The Secret of America: AT

Sarah Palin's Breasts: TigerHawk
Photographic evidence debunks the Palin 'implants' smear: AmPower
The Search for Intelligent Life in the MSM's Alternate Universe: Hanson

Spin Cycle: After Two Years with Obama, Linda Douglass Returns to 'News' Media: NewsBusters
John Lindsay’s Bright, Shining Failure: City Journal
Birther in the Briefing: Politico

World

Israel doesn't need justification: Shayne
Does Foreign Aid Fuel Palestinian Violence?: MEQ
If We Won’t Fight for Israel, for Whom Shall We Fight?: Hawkins

Cuba Smuggling Terrorists into the U.S. through Mexico and Arizona?: AT
The Islamic Republic of Sudan?: Foreign Policy
Dubai's Tarnished Glitter: AmSpec

The Tampon speaks, environmentally, at Oxford: Fausta
Obama announces Terrorist Stimulus Plan: Exurban
ISM radicals protest at Caterpillar annual meeting: Marathon

SciTech

How to get rejected from the App Store: InfoWorld
Why do Foxconn employees keep jumping off buildings?: ChinaHush
HTML5 vs. Flash: The case for Flash: InfoWorld

Cornucopia

President "Kick Ass": IgnorantME
The Brothers Karamazov: Anchoress
Barbara Boxer: Greatest national security threat is carbon dioxide: BlogProf

Image: IgnorantME.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: What's Jerry Brown Done to You?


Thursday, June 10, 2010

The TOTUS Made Me Do It

Today's comment o' the day comes to us courtesy of The Atlantic's Megan McArdle ("Things Obama Probably Wishes He Hadn't Said") who reaches back into the archives to find some now-startling campaign rhetoric.

It's not mentioned much now, but in the late summer of 2008, a major hurricane, Gustav, was in the Gulf of Mexico and headed toward New Orleans, threatening a replay of the disastrous Katrina experience. On September 1, 2008, Barack Obama, fresh from his Roman-colonnade speech on the final night of the Democratic convention in Denver, talked to CNN's Anderson Cooper about Gustav and the Gulf. The question: As president, could he handle an emergency like that?

...Obama pointed to the size of his campaign and its multi-million dollar budget as evidence of his executive abilities. "Our ability to manage large systems and to execute, I think, has been made clear over the last couple of years," Obama said. That executive ability, he added, "indicates the degree to which we can provide the kinds of support and good service that the American people expect."

In other words, running a campaign proves I can run the country.

How's that workin' out, Mr. and Mrs. America?

Anyhoo, in the comments, mfsheldon pens our winner.

During the campaign, all Obama had to do to fix something was give a speech.

Rev. Wright race-hate problem? Give a speech.

Polls tightening? Give a speech.

It was a formula that worked--in a campaign. You cannot govern with speeches, especially when your words are completely at odds with your actions.

Of course, he did not write the speeches. Then again, he did not actually manage his campaign.

Is it at all surprising that his governing style continues to be the "perpetual campaign"?

His shockingly polarizing speech in Pittsburgh last week reveals how little gas remains in the sputtering engine. It was an oddly bitter and partisan attack for a standing President to make. It felt oddly desperate, especially in light of Friday's jobs report.

Mr. President, a bitter partisan tirade will not fix unemployment any more than claiming you will "not rest until the spill is contained" will plug a leak.

The fact that Obama was hobnobbing with celebrities and doing political fundraisers while "not resting" shows what little regard he has for our lying eyes.

Obama simply had no sense that being President is actually a job that requires skills at governance. He never ran a single thing in his life. It shows. He still thinks governance is giving a speech.

The problem is that his speeches have no correlation with his actions.

Does anybody really believe for a single solitary second that we are truly in the "NEW ERA OF RESPONSIBILITY"?

Well said, mfshelton. Well said.


Have Sympathy for the Vestigal Brain Stem of Al Franken

It's common knowledge that liberals and Democrats are intellectually inferior to conservatives (studies prove it). Scientifically speaking, this means the more liberal you are, the less capable you are of rational thought and basic analytical skills.

"Senator" Al Franken (D-ACORN) is the poster-boy for this well-known medical condition. Even without an MRI scan (we don't have the requisite 11 months that DemCare requires you to wait), we can safely say that Franken does not possess a fully developed human brain. It is likely that his cranium consists of little more than a vestigal brain-stem and some sawdust filler. Just enough neurons to keep the basics operating. Like breathing and crapping.

We know this because Franken's ideas are bottom of the barrel. Weapons-grade stupid. Exhibit "A": Stuart Smalley's plan for regulating the rating agencies.

The rating agencies are paid by the Wall Street banks, the very same people who are asking them to rate securities. One of the main causes of the financial crisis was too many investors around the world were relying on poor-quality research from the ratings agencies...

...Senator Al Franken, a Democrat representing Minnesota, has proposed a new board of “wisemen” to oversee the ratings agencies and select which agency a Wall Street firm can use.

Gee, that sounds incorruptible. Kinda like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: you know, the "wisemen" that governed the housing market.

Yes, this is just what we need: another set of masterminds that will perform central planning with far more efficiency than the free market.

It's an amazing world we live in. The fact that Franken remembers to breathe is really quite wondrous.


Kim Jong-Obama and the Success of the Command-and-Control Economy

The essential summary of the Statist form of government comes to us courtesy of George Will:

Progressives generally, and Obama especially, encourage expectations as large as the 1,428-page (cap-and-trade), 1,566-page (financial reform) and 2,409-page (health care) bills they churn out as "comprehensive" solutions to this and that. For a proper progressive, anything short of a "comprehensive" solution to, say, the problem of illegal immigration is unworthy of consideration.

In aggregate, these bills represent nothing less than a Stalinist brand of authoritarian, industrial policy.

It is the Democrats' ideal form of government, in which a few masterminds create an endless series of bureaucracies, agencies and offices that are staffed with supporters and hacks. They -- not individuals -- make the decisions. They -- not individuals -- command and control. They -- not the people -- create a system that is the antithesis of the American experiment.

The benefits of the command-and-control economy are aptly demonstrated in countries like Cuba, Zimbabwe and North Korea, where the masterminds have total control.

And yet, once in a blue moon, even the Statist's newspaper of record -- The New York Times -- is forced to come to grips with the economic destruction that is inevitably wrought by the Statist's insane policies.

Like many North Koreans, the construction worker lived in penury. His state employer had not paid him for so long that he had forgotten his salary. Indeed, he paid his boss to be listed as a dummy worker so that he could leave his work site. Then he and his wife could scrape out a living selling small bags of detergent on the black market.

It hardly seemed that life could get worse. And then, one Saturday afternoon last November, his sister burst into his apartment in Chongjin with shocking news: the North Korean government had decided to drastically devalue the nation’s currency. The family’s life savings, about $1,560, had been reduced to about $30...

Last month the construction worker sat in a safe house in this bustling northern Chinese city, lamenting years of useless sacrifice. Vegetables for his parents, his wife’s asthma medicine, the navy track suit his 15-year-old daughter craved — all were forsworn on the theory that, even in North Korea, the future was worth saving for.

“Ai!” he exclaimed, cursing between sobs. “How we worked to save that money! Thinking about it makes me go crazy.”

North Koreans are used to struggle and heartbreak. But the Nov. 30 currency devaluation, apparently an attempt to prop up a foundering state-run economy, was for some the worst disaster since a famine that killed hundreds of thousands in the mid-1990s...

“If you don’t trade, you die,” said [a] former teacher, a round-faced 51-year-old woman with a ponytail. She went from obedient state employee to lawbreaking trader, but could not escape her plight...

...The government periodically tries to rein in the markets, regulating prices, hours, types of goods sold, the sellers’ age and sex and even whether they haul their wares on bicycles or their backs...

...For the construction worker, his sister’s news of the coming devaluation unleashed a furious scramble to salvage the family nest egg. He emptied the living-room cabinet drawer that held their savings and split it with his wife and daughter, telling them, “Buy whatever you can, as fast as you can.”

The three bicycled furiously to Chongjin’s market. “It was like a battlefield,” he said.

Thousands of people frantically tried to outbid one another to convert soon-to-be worthless money into something tangible. Some prices rose 10,000 percent, he said, before traders shut down, realizing that their profits soon would be worthless, too.

The three said they returned home with 66 pounds of rice, a pig’s head and 220 pounds of bean curd. The construction worker’s daughter had managed to purchase a small cutting board and a used pair of khaki pants. Together, he said, they spent the equivalent of $860 for items that would have cost less than $20 the day before...

This is Obama's Utopia.

This is the inevitable result of masterminds trying to defy thousands of years of human experience; trying to defy the limits on government codified by our highest law: the Constitution.

This is tyranny. And it is the road on which we travel.


Related: Whom Despots Fear.

While Egypt and Hamas Starve the Gaza Strip, President Obama Finally Found an Ass to Kick: Israel's

Three data points for your consideration:

Cairo refuses to allow aid into Gaza
Egypt has refused a request by Arab doctors to bring food and supplies into the Gaza strip. Last weekend, the Arab Physicians Union submitted a request to Cairo to allow 400 tons of food and construction material into Gaza; the request was refused by the government.

Hamas refuses to allow food from Israel into Gaza
Hamas terrorists have decided to block Israel-approved food supplies from arriving in Gaza. Hamas "Economy Minister" Ziad al-Zaza (Yabba Dabba Doo for short) said it needs factory supplies, not "soda and soft drinks."

Obama announces Terrorist Stimulus Plan
The United States will pay Hamas and Fatah nearly half a billion dollars, according to CNN. Barack Obama announced that the U.S. will send $400 million in development aid to the Palestinian territories and called the current situation "unsustainable".

Let me get this straight. Our economy has cratered. Unemployment is nearly 10 percent. The national debt is expected to exceed our gross national product by next year. And we're giving $400,000,000 to our mortal enemies in Gaza?

$400,000,000 to the Hamas-led death cult allied with Iran and Syria? $400,000,000 to the people who celebrated the destruction of the twin towers? $400,000,000 to rain thousands more rockets upon Israeli women and children?

Yep. That's pretty much it.

Obama finally found an ass to kick: Israel's.


Larwyn's Linx: Kagan Could Be Much Worse

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

Kagan Could Be Much Worse: Pileus
Takeaways from Tuesday: Baehr
Dinosaurs vs. Zillionaires in Cali: Zombie

Orange County CA Supports AZ: RWN
The More We Learn, the Worse it Gets: ObamaCare Watch
Blumenthal Story Has Legs: LegalIns

Looking at the AR Dem Senate Primary: Patterico
Sharron Angle: Big Win for Tea Party: RWN
Rumors of a Coup: AT

Economy

Anti-Shore Bank Tea Party: Marathon
EFCA may be dead, but the NLRB ain't: LUR
Why aren't banks lending?: Times

Affirmative Action Keeping Some Students Out: PopeCenter
The Growing Power of Government Unions: WashExam
A Future With Fewer New Miracle Drugs: McArdle

Climate & Energy

Climate change showdown: 'A stinging slap to Obama': Hill
Violent Left Fights for a BP Bailout: BigGovt
The Blue Seals Have a Plan for the Gulf Coast: SIGIS

Media

McGinnis-virus spreads: Media starting to run with Palin implant story: Malkin
CNN: Racism to Blame for Obama's Incompetence: Moonbattery
News Graphic o' the Day: Malkin

Does Obama Actually Agree with Helen Thomas on Palestine?: RWN
Facebook Removes Everybody Draw Mohammed Day Group, Leaves Virulent Anti-Semitic Groups: JIP
What Took So Long? Publishing Company Puts Warning Label on Constitution, Declaration: Powers

400 rally in Metro Detroit in support of Israel, Detroit Free Press claims "dozens": BlogProf
Press dragged kicking and screaming into Sestak and Romanoff affairs: Blumer
Rabbi Who Exposed Helen Thomas Receiving Numerous Death Threats: YeshivaWorld

World

Well, That Just Bought Iran Another 2 Hours and 54 Minutes… and Counting: Rosett
The Plain Truth About Israel: Glick
Broke NHS cutting routine surgeries: Pundette

An Open Letter to the Turkish Embassy: AmSpec
What About Hamas's Siege of Gaza?: Hudson
Fact Sheet #75: The Gaza Flotilla: JVL

John Hawkins Morons At A Ground Zero Mosque Protest: RWN
Foxconn's Suicides Are A Prelude To Massively Higher Chinese Wages: Insider
Somali Soccer Fans Go Underground: WSJ

SciTech

Why Nuking the Blowout is a Very Bad Idea: Red Ink Texas
AdMob lashes out at new iPhone ad policies: CNet
Baby Bubbler could help ailing infants breathe: CNet

Cornucopia

In Memoriam: Hugh Slatery: Wizbang
Apologies to Our More Visually Sensitive Readers: Moonbattery
Wag the Dog: MOTUS

Image: Moonbattery.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: ObamaCare Watch.


Wednesday, June 09, 2010

SC Dems urge mystery candidate to withdraw from Senate race citing pending felony charges and pro-life stance, but mostly pro-life stance

The winner of the Democrat Senate primary in South Carolina is an unknown, unemployed individual currently facing a felony obscenity charge. The man never even campaigned for the seat. The Democrat Party apparatus is now urging Alvin Greene to withdraw from the race in which he would face Jim DeMint (R-SC).

The criminal and/or suspect behavior can't possibly be the problem -- considering that Democrats Barney Frank, Charlie Rangel, Dianne Feinstein, Maxine Waters, Chris Dodd, Alan Mollohan, and a host of other folks are so crooked they could easily substitute as corkscrews.

No, the criminality can't be the issue. I'm guessing Greene is pro-life.


Some people never learn. Unfortunately for us, it's the Democrats, who think more marketing will help people swallow ObamaCare

Top 10 Rejected DemCare Slogans

10. Why choose an expensive treatment when pain-pills will do?
9. Assisted Suicide: Do it for the Children
8. We Put the Rash in Rationing
7. Ask Us About Our Discount Placebo Program!
6. Only Selfish People Beg for CAT Scans.
5. Take a Number! The Bureau of Health Waiting Rooms reports the average wait time is now down to 123 minutes (in some locations)
4. Quack isn't just the sound a duck makes: we're importing medical experts from Mexico as part of our new Health Amnesty Program!
3. Shut up, take a seat and wait for your number to be called, Mr. GB21708-4.
2. Rahm Emanuel perusing your medical records: what could go wrong?
1. Sound mind, sound body -- take your pick.
Public disapproval of Congress is at record levels and the President has chosen to sell DemCare for the umpteenth time -- thinking, perhaps, that the umpteenth time is a charm. It's too late. Everyone knows that DemCare is a deficit-exploding disaster. As The Los Angeles Times reiterated last week, "Democrats in Congress fail[ed] the sales pitch."

Consider the ramifications of DemCare:

26% of companies surveyed in May said they may cut hours for employees who currently work 30 or more so they can afford to stay in business after the ObamaCare forces them to pay for coverage.

• The President’s own Medicare actuary states that DemCare slashes Medicare by $575 billion to help pay for the massive new and unaffordable entitlement program.

• The medical device manufacturer Medtronic is contemplating laying off 1,000 workers to pay for DemCare's new medical device tax.

• Large employers like AT&T -- which would save $4.1 billion a year -- are strongly considering dropping health coverage for employees and dumping them into DemCare.

• Senior enrollment in popular Medicare Advantage programs will be slashed in half.

• To top it all off, $250 Medicare checks -- money we don't have -- will be sent to seniors to help get them addicted to the new normal. Unfortunately, their grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be paying off those $250 checks -- with interest -- to foreigners. Unless the whole system collapses before then.

America's leading organization of small businesses -- the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) -- has joined with the Attorneys General of 20 states to sue the Obama Administration over its unconstitutional DemCare program.

Here's a news flash for Obama, Pelosi, Reid and the rest of the National Socialist Democrat Party: no amount of speeches, no amount of SEIU-funded television ads, no amount of threats, no amount of bribes earmarks, no amount of payoffs to slip-and-fall lawyers, no amount of your s*** will convince us to burn the Constitution.

We've got your pinko slips ready for November. And don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.


States of Confusion: Democrat Leadership Imitates MacGruber

California, New York and Illinois are three of the most populous states in the country. Each has suffered from decades of Democrat spending sprees using money borrowed from taxpayers and investors. Each is ruled by a nefarious, incestuous partnership of public sector union bosses and Democrat hacks.

The result: all three are on the ropes and TKOs are imminent.

Budget is stalled thanks to Sacramento's 'do-nothing' gang


It's a week before the June 15 constitutional deadline for enacting a California state budget, an appropriate moment to consider the status of this year's version of the annual fiscal drama.

And that is? Up the proverbial creek without the proverbial paddle. ...there's been absolutely no progress on closing the deficit that approaches $20 billion. In fact, the situation may have grown worse because the extra federal funds that the governor and the Legislature have counted on are evaporating.

Adding to the rudderless turmoil is a conflict between the Democratic leaders of the Senate and Assembly, even though they jointly reject Schwarzenegger's big health and welfare cuts... Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg wants about $5 billion in new tax revenues, mostly by extending temporary taxes due to expire or by postponing scheduled tax cuts. Assembly Speaker John A. Perez, while proposing some additional revenues, is touting a very gimmicky borrowing scheme.

Dem Majority Leader threatens to shutdown state over Gov. Paterson's cuts


The rabble-rousing senator who paralyzed state government last year is threatening a blockbuster sequel - by shutting down all state business... [it] would rob the Democratic majority of the 32nd vote needed to approve Paterson's emergency spending plans - and plunge the state into an unprecedented, chaotic lockdown.

...He has company: Sen. Ruben Diaz (D-Bronx) said he is through voting for any type of extender, saying it's time for Paterson and legislative leaders to finalize a budget that is 70 days late.

Without a short-gap budget, state workers would stop getting paid, construction projects would grind to a halt and agencies around the state would be shuttered... Not even [Governor] Paterson's office knows the full, painful scope of a widespread state shutdown.

Moody's cuts Illinois' bond rating


Moody's Investors Service has cut Illinois' bond rating, citing the state's shrinking revenues and growing debt... The lower credit rating usually means it'll cost the state more when it tries to borrow money.

...Moody's sliced the state's rating on general obligation bonds from Aa3 to A1. In lowering the rating, Moody's blamed Illinois officials for not coming up with a lasting solution to the state's financial problems.

Quinn has announced plans to borrow $1 billion this month for capital projects...

Scratch a Leftist, find a failed government with zillions in unpaid bills.


Related:
MacGruber Saves the Obama Presidential Campaign
MacGruber! (Episode 408: MacGruber saves the economy)
MacGruber Saves ObamaCare!

Why Nashville Had No Looters During the Flood

Papa B sent this one in:



Larwyn's Linx: Blanche Lincoln Beats the Left

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

Blanche Lincoln Beats the Left: RedState
Cali: Whitman, Boxer, Fiorina, Bono Mack win: RedState
Haley to face runoff against Barrett in SC: AnBlkCon

What's Missing From the Press Conference?: C&S
'Organized labor just flushed $10M down toilet': Politico
Core values: Crist erases pro-life web pages: Malkin

Economy

Blue State Bonanza for Americorpse Funding: AT
Andy Stern, calling the shots, pillories free market: CNS
Regulation Fever! Now It's Trucks: NRO

The Save-a-Life Foundation and the Chicago Way: AT
IG: Census hired too many workers as 'cost-savings': CNS
The Bad News - Bad News on Jobs: MarketWatch

Climate & Energy

Wind Power: a Photographic Essay: RWN
I'm just a spill, Yes I'm only a spill...: BOOS
Obama can't explain why he hasn't spoken to BP CEO: Hot Air

NAS: New CAFE standards add $9K per car: BlogProf
Manmade global warming science doesn’t withstand scrutiny: WUWT

Media

The Consequences of Media Failure: Demopaths Setting the Global Agenda: PJM
WaPo's Kurtz: In 2002, Helen Thomas Exclaimed 'Thank God for Hezbollah': NewsBusters
WaPo's blind eye to Gaza armed divers: AT

Meet the Sheik Who's Rockin' Your World: AT
Leftists Cheerfully Defend Helen Thomas’ Anti-Semitism: RWN
What the First Amendment is Not: Hindenblog

World

The Obama Doctrine, Syria, the UNHRC and the Blood-Drinkers: Mere Rhetoric
NJ Jihadist Carlos Almonte hated Jews too, was "Death to all Juice" guy: Jawa
How IHH Prepared to Kill IDF Soldiers Aboard Mavi Marmara: Terrorism.Info

Gaza Flotilla Organizer at Hamas Rally: '[Infidels] Will Be Toppled… World Is Progressing to Islam': GWP
An Irrational, Obscene Hatred: JPost
That didn't take long: Muslim praise for Obama dries up a year after Cairo speech: McClatchy

If Israel Is Not Evil, the World Is in Big Trouble : Prager
Muslim Youth Attack Danish Singer Medina: TAB
Iran, Turkey meet to strenthen ties: GWP

SciTech

Microsoft's Crumbling Empire: Insider
What AT&T's tiered pricing means for you (FAQ): CNet
Joke of the Day: B&R

Cornucopia

Tea Party member sings lesser-known verse of the Star Spangled Banner: AnBlkCon
Express Your Bad Self: MOTUS
The Wit and Wisdom of Peter Singer: First Thoughts

Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Black & Right

QOTD:

"Never let a serious crisis go to waste." -- Rahm Emanuel, White House Chief of Staff to Barack Obama

"Crisis is the rallying cry of the tyrant" -- James Madison, 4th President of The United States, Father of the United States Constitution


Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Gee, this doesn't seem like a bullish indicator. Bank of Montreal issues its third and final warning: go to cash. Now.

Via Zero Hedge, there's definitely no hedging in this strongly worded missive from the advisers at Bank of Montreal (BMO).

• Our call is to go to cash, or cash-like instruments to the maximum of your mandate. Consider this our third and final warning/escalation

• Our view is based on the past and present state of the market (facts), and on what we see as the near-future condition of the market, which until it is fact, will be regarded by the naysayers as fiction.

• The risk for an asset manager is that he/she considers the current state (facts) of the market as fictitious, or irrelevant...

• Our message of escalated concern may be summed up by one simple statement: If Asian credit moves with European credit, and the European credit story is not over, then the whole notion of Asian-led global growth goes out the window, as we will see capital flight away from Asia and out of risk assets in general...

...China needs to grow for the sake of social stability... China needs to grow for the sake of social stability (a standard PBOC fact line)... Asian growth needs to be funded, and yet escalating sovereign default risk has resulted in the closure of funding markets.

...The default risk of financial institutions is as great now as was the case during the Bear Stearns takeover and Lehman Brothers failure. In the months ahead, more banks will have deposited toxic assets into bad banks and/or government guarantee programs, effectively de-risking the corporations at the expense of the state and current shareholders who will see their stakes diluted.

...Sleep at Night Test: Can You Tell The Difference Between SocGen and BofA?

• ...we have banks that are too interconnected to fail, and yet in Europe, the policy makers are too disconnected to yield comfort.

• Banks, evil as they are portrayed, are conduits for funding.

• Funding markets are shut.

• Shut means no bid.

• No bid markets ≠ happy markets.

Fortunately, our well-managed federal government has socked away plenty of money in the national "rainy day" fund and not wasted it on "make-work" Stimulus packages, union payoffs, new entitlement scams and earmarks.


SmartPower™: Cranking Open The Gates of Hell

More patterns emerge courtesy of the administration's playbook, a reprint of the classic Carter-Chamberlain tome.

Russia, Iran in joint venture for nuclear plant


Russia and Iran will establish a joint venture to operate Tehran's first nuclear plant set to come online this summer, Sergei Kiriyenko, chief of Russia's nuclear state corporation, said on Tuesday.

Russia has been helping Iran build its first nuclear plant in the southern city of Bushehr since the mid-90s... the power plant would be ready to come online by the end of the summer...

Tehran is accused by the West of planning to build a nuclear bomb although it insists its nuclear drive is purely peaceful in nature.

U.N. rebukes of Israel permitted in U.S. policy shift


Under President Barack Obama, the United States no longer provides Israel with automatic support at the United Nations where the Jewish state faces a constant barrage of criticism and condemnation.

The subtle but noticeable shift in the U.S. approach to its Middle East ally comes amid what some analysts describe as one of the most serious crises in U.S.-Israeli relations in years.

Syrian Rep Promotes Blood Libel at UN Human Rights Council


Meeting today in Geneva, the UN Human Rights Council heard the following statement from the Syrian representative, First Secretary Rania Al Rifaiy: “Israel... is a state that is built on hatred... Let me quote a song that a group of children on a school bus in Israel sing merrily as they go to school and I quote 'With my teeth I will rip your flesh. With my mouth I will suck your blood.'" The Obama administration chose to join this Council, the UN’s lead human rights body, and its representative was present. But they said nothing after hearing this blood libel.

On the contrary, rather than expose the Council and its anti-Jewish agenda, one of President Obama’s first foreign policy moves was a decision to pay for it. Hence, American taxpayers will pay 22 percent of the cost for this speech to be permanently posted on the UN website, translated, and broadcast around the world.

There is a reason that none of the members of the UN Human Rights Council thought this statement was sufficiently repulsive or shocking to complain. The blood libel against the Jewish people is a calling card of UN proceedings, with UN members usually casting their anti-Semitism as vicious anti-Israel attacks...

* * * * * * * * *

Nicholas "Streicher" Kristof could not be reached for comment at press time.


Hat tip: Dan from New York.

Shades of Ray Nagin's schoolbuses: miles and miles of oil booms sit unused in warehouses

Jim Hoft reports that, while an ecological disaster unfolds in the Gulf, the oil booms that could be used to help mitigate the damage are sitting... in a freaking warehouse.

And no one -- not the Department of the Interior, not DHS, not BP, not NOAA, not the EPA, not the Minerals Management Services, no one has bothered to pick them up. Or have them shipped to the Gulf.

There are miles of floating oil containment boom in warehouse right now and the manufacturer Packgen says it can make lots more on short notice. There’s just one problem... No one will come get it...

Gregory Sullivan at Pajamas Media reported, via Instapundit:

John Lapoint of Packgen in Auburn, Maine, says he’s got plenty of floating oil containment boom and can make lots more on short notice. There’s just one problem: no one will buy it from him.

He’s already had a representative from BP visit his factory and inspect his product... Maine Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins wrote a letter on May 21 to the secretary of the Interior, the administrator of NOAA, and the commandant of the Coast Guard to alert them to the existence of Packgen, their supply of boom, and their demonstrated capacity to make more...

...Oil collected against a boom is fairly easy to process and recycle. Sorbent booms, designed to collect oil at the water’s edge, are made from materials that absorb oil but not water — unlike hair. Oil full of hair or straw lapping against a shoreline is a HazMat nightmare...

Gee, I wonder when President Obama will start kicking, say, Janet Napolitano's ample kiester?


Or Ken Salazar's?

Every waking moment, remember, they've been thinking about this catastrophe. In between the parties, golf trips, fundraisers, and staged propaganda events town halls.

Hoft recalls Ray Nagin's hundreds of school buses that ended up flooded when instead they could have transported New Orleans residents out of harm's way. That was another Democrat success story.

Historic, in fact.


Hat tip: Larwyn.

Breaking news from the 'We already knew that Department.'

Runner-up headline: Liberals/Democrats are economic illiterates. Second runner-up headline: News Flash: Academics prove liberals are stupid. But, like I said, we already knew that.

Zogby researcher Zeljka Buturovic and I considered the 4,835 respondents' (all American adults) answers to eight survey questions about basic economics. We also asked the respondents about their political leanings: progressive/very liberal; liberal; moderate; conservative; very conservative; and libertarian...

How did the six ideological groups do overall? Here they are, best to worst, with an average number of incorrect responses from 0 to 8: Very conservative, 1.30; Libertarian, 1.38; Conservative, 1.67; Moderate, 3.67; Liberal, 4.69; Progressive/very liberal, 5.26.

...on every question the left did much worse. On the monopoly question, the portion of progressive/very liberals answering incorrectly (31%) was more than twice that of conservatives (13%) and more than four times that of libertarians (7%). On the question about living standards, the portion of progressive/very liberals answering incorrectly (61%) was more than four times that of conservatives (13%) and almost three times that of libertarians (21%).

The survey also asked about party affiliation. Those responding Democratic averaged 4.59 incorrect answers. Republicans averaged 1.61 incorrect, and Libertarians 1.26 incorrect.

Just a Grunt says this is the worst economic news of all and offers a terse analysis: "[L]iberals, that's Democrats for those in doubt, know absolutely diddly squat about economics."

That's giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Worse: our beloved President Obama went 0-fer on the quiz, seeing as how he thinks economics is a zero-sum game and that masterminds like him should get to re-swizzle everyone's wealth.


Hat tips: Amalaur and Big Journalism. Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: United -- Keep Out Kagan!

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

United: Keep Out Kagan!: RWN
Sestak and the Ethics Committee: Corner
What's the matter with Michigan?: Barone

Spill reveals Obama's lack of executive experience: York
Daley wounds gun control advocacy: WashExam
In Los Angeles, Thousands Rally for Israel: PJM

Economy

Newsflash: The Stimulus Failed: Nice Deb
CBO: Annual Deficit Will Exceed $1 Trillion This Month...: WZ
CRAven Cover-Up: IBD

‘The Lottery’: Unions Destroying American Education: RWN
How to fight back against Public Unions: A Primer: AT
Barack Obama, Freelance Health Insurance Actuary: McArdle

Illinois Spends $55M To Insure Illegal Immigrants : JW
World's Dumbest Blogger on the Economy: RWN
The Ties That Bind: Protein Wisdom

Climate & Energy

Climate Change Disconnect: RedState
June 10: The Vote For Liberty Or The Surrender To Tyranny?: CBullitt
Pique Oil: Cold Fury

Media

Reuters Fauxtojournalists Strike Again; Crop Terrorists' Knives to Peddle 'Muslim Victim' Meme: Ace
On conservative wimmin being “objectified” ‘n stuff: Sister Toldjah
WaPo keeps rockin', hides Ubersturmbannführer Helen Thomas' decline: PJM

Hilarity: Obama Warns Students Not to Blame Others: Hot Air
"A Nasty Piece of Work": Cold Fury
Weapons-grade stupidity at the Detroit News: BlogProf

World

Letting Israel Hang: Bolton
Nuking our Defense: America Exposed: AT
Are Europe’s political elite on course to destroy the EU? After meeting the President, I think so: Telegraph

Stunted State: IBD
Give Peace a Chance: Steyn
Does Abbas' Support for Black Genocide Offend Obama?: AT

SciTech

Project Natal Could Hint at Future Hands-Free UI: eWeek
U.S. Intelligence Analyst Arrested in Wikileaks Video Probe: Wired
Betting on the Bad Guys in Investing: Adams

Jobs to developers: Stick with the winning team: CNet
Black Holes Deemed Racist, Again: RWN
Labour MP: If I Had a Time-Machine And Went Back To The 80's, I'd... Assassinate Margaret Thatcher: Ace

Cornucopia

The Finger of God: Moran
Hungarian Bond Story: ZH
In memory of Mgr. Padovese, martyr who loved Turkey : AsiaNews

Image: Maktoob.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Support Sharron Angle - Stop Harry Reid.


Monday, June 07, 2010

John Hawkins Releases Top 40 Conservative Blog List; Proves He's a Deeply Troubled Individual

John Hawkins has created an updated version of the Top 40 Conservative Blog List and it appears he's been hitting the sauce again. His selection for the #12 slot is an affront to bloggers everywhere and especially those who actually have talent.

40) Jihad Watch
39) Small Dead Animals
38) Conservative Blog Watch
37) Power Line
36) Tim Blair
35) Alarming News
34) Gay Patriot
33) The Cara Ellison Show
32) Sweetness & Light
31) Dr. Helen
30) The Campaign Spot
29) The American Princess
28) The Radio Equalizer
27) Say Anything
26) Cassy Fiano
25) I Own The World
24) Creative Minority Report
23) The Jawa Report
22) Top of The Ticket
21) Iowahawk
20) Althouse
19) Big Government
18) Jammie Wearing Fool
17) Big Hollywood
16) Riehl World View
15) Megan McArdle
14) Atlas Shrugs
13) Legal Insurrection
12) Doug Ross
11) IMAO
10) Newsreal
9) Weasel Zippers
8) Ace Of Spades HQ
7) Michelle Malkin
6) Instapundit
5) RedState
4) Newsbusters
3) The Corner
2) Gateway Pundit
1) Hot Air

I can just see Paul Mirengoff and company ripping their hair out while screaming, "Him? Number 12? Why not pick a guy out of the f***ing phone book?"

In all seriousness, I'd be happy with #40. There's something very wrong about a #12 ranking, but I'm overwhelmed to have the honor even temporarily. Like, until Hawkins sobers up and deletes the entry.


Update: iOwnTheWorld agrees and is deeply troubled with Hawkins' break from reality.

Too good to check: Presidential Google

The ever-alert The Bad sends us this one:


I have no idea what any of this means.