Monday, June 14, 2010

Larwyn's Linx: Obama to Congress -- Send Money!

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

Obama to Congress: Send Money: Patterico
Rancher shows video of armed Mexicans Invading America: WZ
Government by the Faculty Lounge: Hanson

Jerry Brown says Meg Whitman's Campaign is Nazi-like: RWN
Students instructed to chant Obama's name: GWP
Abolishing the Dept. of Education isn't extreme: WashExam

Economy

About Obama’s $50 Billion Bailout Request…: Nice Deb
Gulf Coast: another victim of Obama's union ties: Moonbattery
The World's Money Problem: AT

Psst: how much will you pay me to fill out forms?: RWN
White House turned down help from Britain and Netherlands: GWP
We need to save the same jobs again with $50B more!: Hot Air

Climate & Energy

Fuel America with Terrorist-tarred Oil Or Our Own, Baby?: Palin
This job, too, is beneath Obama: Steyn
The 'Green Energy' Fairy Tale: PJM

Media

Has the President Lost His Bearings?: PJM
Academia's latest propaganda factory, the 'Cry Wolf' project: WashExam
Whitewash versus Paint: Belmont Club

NYTs “Walter Duranty” Bureau Chief In Istanbul: Kesler
Daily Kos on Helen Thomas: Jews Back to Poland Just 'Human Nature': AmPower
President Officially Pushes for State Aid: FakeMSM

World

The Gaza Flotilla Ambush: What Did the White House Know?: AT (Lewis)
China’s Military Threatens America: ‘We Will Hurt You’: PJM
Iranian Official: Egypt Has Authorized Iranian Delegation to Enter Gaza: MEMRI

A Brave, New Turkey: Hanson
'We are totally unprepared': Noonan
Government Is The Same Everywhere: Slow, Stupid, And Incompetent: RWN

SciTech

PayPal: Outrageous Fortune: Belmont Club
Scale of the Universe: CBullitt
Planned Parenthood begins campaign requiring health insurers to hand out contraception: APP

Cornucopia

Empire State Building Refuses Lighting for Marine Corps Birthday, But Welcomed Muslim Holiday: Powers
The Tolerant Left Responds to the Helen Thomas Firing: Rabbi Live (NSFW)
An Army Travels on its Stomach: MoneyRunner

Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: J.D. Hayworth for U.S. Senate in Arizona.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

'The magnitude and impact of this disaster will eclipse anything we have known in our life times'

At The Oil Drum, an ominous and desperate picture has emerged of the scenario playing out undersea in the Gulf.

I took some time to go into a bit of detail concerning the failure of Top Kill because this was a significant event... the system below the sea floor has serious failures of varying magnitude in the complicated chain, and it is breaking down and it will continue to.

What does this mean?

It means they will never cap the gusher after the wellhead. They cannot...the more they try and restrict the oil gushing out the bop?...the more it will transfer to the leaks below. Just like a leaky garden hose with a nozzle on it. When you open up the nozzle?...it doesn't leak so bad, you close the nozzle?...it leaks real bad...

...Contrary to what most of us would think as logical to stop the oil mess, actually opening up the gushing well and making it gush more became direction BP took after confirming that there was a leak. In fact if you note their actions, that should become clear. They have shifted from stopping or restricting the gusher to opening it up and catching it. This only makes sense if they want to relieve pressure at the leak hidden down below the seabed.....and that sort of leak is one of the most dangerous and potentially damaging kind of leak there could be. It is also inaccessible which compounds our problems. There is no way to stop that leak from above, all they can do is relieve the pressure on it and the only way to do that right now is to open up the nozzle above and gush more oil into the gulf and hopefully catch it, which they have done, they just neglected to tell us why, gee thanks.

A down hole leak is dangerous and damaging for several reasons.

This down hole leak will undermine the foundation of the seabed in and around the well area. It also weakens the only thing holding up the massive Blow Out Preventer's immense bulk of 450 tons. In fact?...we are beginning to [see] the results of the well's total integrity beginning to fail due to the undermining being caused by the leaking well bore.

...If you have been watching the live feed cams you may have noticed that some of the ROVs are using an inclinometer...and inclinometer is an instrument that measures "Incline" or tilt. The BOP is not supposed to be tilting...and after the riser clip off operation it has begun to...

...These are clear and present dangers to the battered subsea safety structure (bop and lmrp) which is the only loose cork on this well we have left. The immediate (first 1,000 feet) of well structure that remains is now also undoubtedly compromised. However.....as bad as that is?...it is far from the only possible problems with this very problematic well. There were ongoing troubles with the entire process during the drilling of this well. There were also many compr[om]ises made by BP IMO which may have resulted in an overall weakened structure of the entire well system all the way to the bottom plug which is over 12,000 feet deep. Problems with the cementing procedure which was done by Haliburton and was deemed as “was against our best practices.” by a Haliburton employee on April 1st weeks before the well blew out. There is much more and I won't go into detail right now concerning the lower end of the well and the troubles encountered during the whole creation of this well and earlier "Well control" situations that were rev[ea]led in various internal BP e-mails...

What is likely to happen now?

Well...none of what is likely to happen is good, in fact...it's about as bad as it gets. I am convinced the erosion and compromising of the entire system is accelerating and attacking more key structural areas of the well, the blow out preventer and surrounding strata holding it all up and together. This is evidenced by the tilt of the blow out preventer and the erosion which has exposed the well head connection. What eventually will happen is that the blow out preventer will literally tip over if they do not run supports to it as the currents push on it. I suspect they will run those supports as cables tied to anchors very soon, if they don't, they are inviting disaster that much sooner.

...All of these things lead to only one place, a fully wide open well bore directly to the oil deposit...after that, it goes into the realm of "the worst things you can think of" The well may come completely apart as the inner liners fail. There is still a very long drill string in the well, that could literally come flying out...as I said...all the worst things you can think of are a possibility, but the very least damaging outcome as bad as it is, is that we are stuck with a wide open gusher blowing out 150,000 barrels a day of raw oil or more. There isn't any "cap dome" or any other suck fixer device on earth that exists or could be built that will stop it from gushing out and doing more and more damage to the gulf. While at the same time also doing more damage to the well, making the chance of halting it with a kill from the bottom up less and less likely to work, which as it stands now?....is the only real chance we have left to stop it all.

It's a race now...a race to drill the relief wells and take our last chance at killing this monster before the whole weakened, wore out, blown out, leaking and failing system gives up it's last gasp in a horrific crescendo.

We are not even 2 months into it, barely half way by even optimistic estimates. The damage done by the leaked oil now is virtually immeasurable already and it will not get better, it can only get worse. No matter how much they can collect, there will still be thousands and thousands of gallons leaking out every minute, every hour of every day. We have 2 months left before the relief wells are even near in position and set up to take a kill shot and that is being optimistic as I said.

Over the next 2 months the mechanical situation also cannot improve, it can only get worse, getting better is an impossibility. While they may make some gains on collecting the leaked oil, the structural situation cannot heal itself. It will continue to erode and flow out more oil and eventually the inevitable collapse which cannot be stopped will happen. It is only a simple matter of who can "get there first"...us or the well.

We can only hope the race against that eventuality is one we can win, but my assessment I am sad to say is that we will not... The system will collapse or fail substantially before we reach the finish line ahead of the well and the worst is yet to come.

Sorry to bring you that news, I know it is grim, but that is the way I see it....I sincerely hope I am wrong.

We need to prepare for the possibility of this blow out sending more oil into the gulf per week then what we already have now, because that is what a collapse of the system will cause. All the collection efforts that have captured oil will be erased in short order. The magnitude of this disaster will increase exponentially by the time we can do anything to halt it and our odds of actually even being able to halt it will go down.

The magnitude and impact of this disaster will eclipse anything we have known in our life times if the worst or even near worst happens...

Not good.


The Inspiring Leadership of President Barack Milhaus Vanilli

I'm trying to determine whether the better analogy for our beloved President is Milli Vanilli -- or D-Day from Animal House.

"Daniel Simpson Day... has no grade point average. All courses incomplete."

Barack Oama told The Politico this morning that the Gulf oil spill was like 9-11.

Then he went golfing for 4 hours.

The Hill:

President Barack Obama spent four hours on the golf course Sunday in temperatures that peaked in the low 90s.

The White House pool reported that they left Andrews Air Force Base as it started to rain after 4 p.m.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was among the group golfing with Obama.

Fortunately, there are no truly pressing matters of state to which the President must attend. No nuclear terror states of note. No environmental disasters unfolding. No economic worries to speak of. No impending entitlement catastrophes.

Why only four hours of golf? Blame it on the rain.


Hat tip: Patterico.

The Obama Recovery Gathers Momentum: Social Security Cash Flow Goes Negative a Full Five Years Ahead of Projections

Say you're 55 years old -- or younger -- and have been paying into Social Security your entire working career. And say you were counting on Social Security to last long enough to pay for your basic necessities. Say, a thousand or two a month.

After all, you've paid tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending upon your income bracket, into the "Social Security Lock-box". Of course, Democrats lied about there being a lock-box, a trust fund or any other sort of separate account for your payments. They threw the positive cash flow into the Treasury's general fund and spent it.

And now, for the very first time, the cash flow for an entire six month period is negative. That's a full five years ahead of projections.

Social Security tax receipts for the first half of 2010: $346.9 billion; Social Security benefits payments for the same period: $347.3 billion. Before this year, projections have always been that Social Security wouldn’t cross that line into negative cash flow for five years or so. Now it’s a reality. Congress has been spending Social Security’s positive cash flow for years. Now there’s no positive cash flow to spend.

To see how the negative trend has accelerated, consider the same figures for the first half of 2009: Social Security tax receipts were $366.0 billion and Social Security benefits payments were $334.3 billion. A positive cash flow of $31.7 billion has disappeared in the course of just 12 months. Scary.

Say you're under 55 years old and you voted Democrat.

Don't you feel like smacking yourself in the head right now?

President George W. Bush tried to begin the necessary reformation of Social Security in 2005. He was absolutely shredded by the liberal media and Democrats -- but I repeat myself -- who used every fear tactic, every big lie imaginable to tell Seniors they were going to lose their monthly checks.

Well, I got news for you twisted freaks: everyone's going to lose their monthly checks because Social Security must be reformed or it will simply implode.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but the Democrat Party has become a treasonous, poisonous passel of America-hating weasels. At best.

It's November or never, folks.


Obama-isms Throughout History [Bumped and Updated]

Newly updated and bumped! See below --- and try to contain your excitement!

Inspired by the brilliance of iOwnTheWorld's recent chapter entitled "The 'Obamazation' Of Our Presidential Heroes":

I created my own version:

The rest are here.

Add your own suggestions in the comments -- perhaps we'll create a whole series of collectible cards!

Update: Paul sends us this important addition to the collection:


Update II: It's on! iOwnTheWorld is mocking our fine readers here, threatening to open up a can of whoop-ass on us with new and improved quotes. C'mon, people!

Update III: Call Me Lennie gives us the idea:


Update IV: Simply Amazed with the brain-cramp:


Update V: Paul adds this instant classic:


Update VI: Bubba travels into the future:


Update VII: Paul may have our grand-prize winner:


Update VIII: Anon illustrates Lincoln and McClellan discussing the fallout of the first Battle of Bull Run.




Linked by: Curmudgeonly & Skeptical. Thanks!

Arizona Sheriff: Mexican Drug Cartels Now Control Parts Of Arizona

Bitter Queen alerts us to a KGUN News 9 report from Arizona that illustrates the deadly ramifications of open borders.

Two men are found in a remote part of pinal county shot to death. The Pinal County Sheriff believes the men were shot by fellow smugglers. Paul Babeu tells KGUN9 News this is just another example of drug violence spilling deep into Arizona.


It was just five weeks ago that deputy Louie Puroll was shot in a drug corridor in west Pinal County. On Sunday, more violence in the same area. Around 7:30 p.m. that night man calls 911 speaking Spanish. He says, "somebody shot me. While we were running."


Sheriff Paul Babeu believes the caller was smuggling drugs with the second victim.

"A competing cartel or other people stole their product from them and also killed them," Babeu said.


The sheriff admits the cartels are operating in his county and without the federal government's help they can't get control. KGUN 9 News asked Babeu flat out if cartels control parts of Arizona.

"Absolutely, they have in terms of the remote areas in the drug corridors in the desert here in west Pinal County. Our government has even erected signs warning citizens to beware this is a known drug corridor," Babeu said...



...Deputies found an automatic rifle near one of the men who was killed. The pair has yet to be identified but Babeu believes one of the men has been caught illegally in the United States at least seven times.

These are our genius federal bureaucrats at work: instead of erecting a fence, they put up signs warning American citizens to stay away -- implicitly tolerating the corridors that expedite the flow of drugs into the U.S.

And these are the very same sort of illegal aliens that President Obama has ordered authorities to handle with kid gloves in country-club like facilities: minimum security detention centers, dance classes, hanging plants, open Internet access and free phones among the benefits.

It's sheer, unmitigated insanity. It's November or never, folks.


Update: Don't forget to thank Democrats, John McCain and Lindsey "Goober" Graham for their failure to build a serious border fence.

Update II: Vanderleun offers us a photo of the signage that is somehow supposed to make up for the lack of a fence.

But don't worry, folks -- anyone who opposes Arizona's law is a Nazi-winger for wanting to prevent drug- and human-smuggling operations from taking over large swaths of U.S. territory.


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


The Democrat Economic Death-Star Strikes Again: Deepwater Oil Rigs Moving to Brazil Thanks to the Obama Moratorium

You can kiss tens of thousands of jobs in the Gulf goodbye, probably permanently.

The economic destruction in the region is not due solely to the administration's inept handling of the Deepwater Horizon spill and cleanup. President Obama's ill-advised "moratorium" on offshore oil drilling is proving an economic disaster for the region and, indeed, the entire country.

Regarding the impact of the moratorium, experts have described several certain outcomes:

• "Tens of thousands will lose their jobs"
• U.S. oil production could fall by 160,000 barrels of oil per day in 2011
• The marginal cost of offshore drilling will increase by 10% due to new regulations

Reuters reports ("Brazil sees silver lining in BP spill: more rigs") that the shuttered deep-water oil rigs will soon move to areas off the Brazilian coast.

Brazil could benefit from the BP Gulf of Mexico spill as a U.S. moratorium on offshore drilling boosts available rigs for the country's deep water oil exploration program.

Even as an ecological catastrophe makes the future of U.S. offshore drilling less certain, Brazil is plowing ahead with a $220 billion five-year plan to tap oil fields even deeper than BP's (BP.L) ill-fated Gulf well, which is still leaking crude.

With an estimated 35 rigs idled in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil is already receiving inquiries from companies looking to move their rigs here, where vast discoveries in recent years may soon turn the country into a major crude exporter.

... "Since operators are shutting down at least temporarily in the U.S. Gulf, some companies are planning to move their rigs to Brazil now," he said, without offering details.

...Brazilian officials, including government leaders and Petrobras executives, have said Brazil has no intention of slowing its offshore development as a result of the spill.

This is the modern Democrat Party in action:

• Utterly bungling the spill and clean-up process? Check.

• Endangering national security by making us more dependent upon foreign oil? Check.

• Making oil needlessly more expensive for consumers and businesses? Check.

• Killing tens of thousands of jobs when we can least afford the losses? Check and mate.

The President appears completely unprepared to do anything but give speeches. That's what he's good at and that's what he always done throughout his career.

The Democrat-controlled Congress is populated with hardcore Leftists that seek the destruction of Capitalism. That can be the only rational explanation for tripling the national debt in only 18 months when the CBO and the head of the Federal Reserve keep warning that the spending trajectory is headed for fiscal disaster.

These two elements make an extremely dangerous combination for the American people. I call them the Economic Death-Star, a confluence of progressive stupidity and inexperience that risks everything America stands for.


Update: The Astute Bloggers connect the dots.

Linked by: Maggie's Notebook. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: "The exact opposite of leadership"

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 exact opposite of leadership": Pundette
A Dem Tradition: Try to Sound Like Republicans: RWN
President begs GOP for doc fix favor: RedState

It's come to this: Democrats talk about Social Security: RWN
Problem-solvers and Butt-Kickers: AT
CPUSA plans Dem comeback in November: NewZeal

Economy

The Bailout of Public Sector Unions Has Begun: Ace
Hey, let's send an SEIU hack to Congress!: LegalIns
Alinskys in Action: AmSpec

MEA protests private janitors while using them: BlogProf
No Teacher Left Behind: AT
50 unbelievable stats about the U.S. economy: EOTAD

Climate & Energy

Obama moratorium: Oil rigs moving to Brazil: GWP
Who's lying about the oil boom?: PJM
I am in Complete Control: BOsOilSpill

How Does a Rig 'Miss' 16 Inspections?: GrandRants
What is the Jones Act -- and why won't Obama waive it?: Greenroom
A Geopolitical Game-Changer: Haaretz

Media

         DISGUSTED         : R&R
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: a Work in Progress: Gates of Vienna
Obama Blames Folks For Things He Imagines They Would Say: RedState

A Wonderful Example of the Left’s Fascism at Chicagoland Radio and Media Message Board: RWN
Newsweek Compares Alvin Greene to Sarah Palin: C&S

World

Paralyzing American Power: AT
Middle East Studies Profs Lead Charge to Censure Israel: AT
The Free Gaza Movement and Hamas: AT

The Very Model of a Modern Major Generalist : Steyn
Saudi Arabia gives Israel clear skies to attack Iranian nuclear sites: Times UK
How Pretty Israel Is - The Video: LegalIns

SciTech

Political parties lose control as Internet aids challengers: Times
Bill gives President unlimited Internet powers: CNet
Solar light bulb to shine on developing world: CNet

Cornucopia

Saturday Blonde Joke: Denny
Does England Have a 'Mudville'?: Gates of Vienna
Bravely Bold Sir Barry: Doswell


Images: iOwnTheWorld.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Please support J.D. Hayworth for U.S. Senate in Arizona.


Saturday, June 12, 2010

CAFE Standards Continue to Take Toll: Another 'Smart Car' Driver Dead

Aren't arbitrary government fuel efficiency regulations awesome?

ABC-15 in Phoenix reports that a deadly accident killed the driver of the high-speed golf cart known as a "Smart Car".

All lanes of a popular roadway out of the Valley have reopened after a deadly crash Friday... According to the Department of Public Safety, both directions of U.S. 93 were blocked due to a 3-vehicle crash that occurred just before noon Friday... [where] one person died at the scene.


Bailey said the accident happened at milepost 193 when a Toyota Camry, driven by 80-year-old Arthur Bridgeforth of Wickenburg, veered left of the center line striking a Smart Car traveling northbound head-on.

The driver of the Smart Car, 32-year-old Zane Horton of Glendale, died at the scene, Bailey said. A passenger in the vehicle, Jacqueline Horton, 34, suffered serious injuries and was air-lifted to a Valley hospital. Bailey said she is expected to be treated and released.

...A Ford F150 pickup truck with five people traveling behind the Smart Car was also involved in the crash. Bailey said two people in the vehicle suffered minor injuries and were not transported to the hospital for treatment.

Put simply, government's unconstitutional CAFE standards have claimed yet another victim, just one of 2000 deaths caused by "fuel efficiency" regulations annually.

If Americans -- I mean, Republicans -- can take back Congress in November, one of the first orders of business should be completely disbanding (or de-funding) the EPA.


Related: Death Trap: the Smart Car Story.

Most Transparent Administration Ever Closes Air Traffic Over Gulf Spill and Coastal Area to, uhm, Secure Safety of Cleanup Workers?

See updates, below

Late Wednesday night, the FAA created a "no-fly zone" over a large area in the Gulf in order to, uhm, secure the safety of cleanup workers or something.

No pilots may operate an aircraft in the areas covered by this NOTAM (except as described).

Pursuant to 14 CFR section 91.137(a)(1) temporary flight restrictions are in effect for deepwater horizon/mississippi canyon (mc252) incident cleanup and reconstitution operations an area bounded by: 290500n/0904000w or the leeville /lev/ vortac 258 degree radial at 30.1 NM to 300000n/0890000w or the gulfport /gpt/ vortac 169 degree radial at 24.7 NM to 300000n/0870000w or the crestview /cew/ vortac 196 degree radial at 52.2 NM to 280000n/0870000w or the panama city /pfn/ vortac 208 degree radial at 149.6 NM to 280000n/0904000w or the leeville /lev/ vortac 201 degree radial at 76.3 NM to the point of beginning at and below 3000 feet AGL excluding the airspace outside of 12 nautical miles from the us coastline. This area is also depicted on U.S. Gulf coast VFR aeronautical chart id helgc as an area bounded from south pelto 2/sp02 then to south pass 6/sp06 then to chandler 39/ch39 then to pensacola 984/pe984 then to desoto canyon 635/dc635 to south timbalair 242/st242 and then back to original point.


All aircraft operations are prohibited except those flights authorized by ATC, routine flights supporting offshore oil operations; federal, state, local and military flight operations supporting oil spill recovery and reconstitution efforts; and air medical and law enforcement operations.

While there might be low-level aircraft in the area (say, operating at 2,500 feet or lower) spraying dispersal agents, it would seem quite odd to ban all flights over the Gulf coastal region -- especially for news agencies trying to document the extent of the spill.

Except if the administration were trying to prevent news agencies from documenting the extent of the spill. And, thus, the extent of their incompetence.

What is the administration hiding?


Update: In the comments, GulfCoastBamaFan observes that the GIS (Geographical Information System) data related to the spill is now unavailable:

They also have a gag order on the GIS data for this incident, in direct contradition with NIMS protocol. Here's a letter from the GIS Institute's founder and the guy that set up the GIS servers and systems.

I've been trying in vain for weeks to get up-to-date data after either BP or the Joint Incident Command center in Houma, LA put all the GIS servers behind a firewall. Those data are supposed to be public record, and they will be critical in documenting response efforts.

All I want to do is post an updated map of the slick on my blog's Deepwater Horizon Timeline, using my own GIS application. But I can't get the slick data.

The level of mismanagement, the attempts to deceive, the quarantining of important data, the incompetence is as colossal as the incident itself.

GulfCoastBamaFan later pointed out that the GIS Institute took that letter down. I saved a copy and Google's cache still has a version available.


Related: Obama's Katrina: an Illustrated Timeline.


Hat tip: Pat. Linked by: Gateway Pundit and Jawa Report. Thanks!

Sprott: Not to raise any alarms or anything, but you may want to buy some gold to protect against 'the inevitability of a collapse in the dollar'

ZeroHedge points us to a column by Sprot Asset Management's John Embry (PDF), a cheery missive entitled "17 Reasons to Own Gold". One of the underlying reasons to hold a commodity like gold relates directly to the Obama administration's destructive spending policies, which are removing investors' last backstop from the global economic stage. With the spastic, out-of-control borrowing instigated by the Democrats' failed programs, even the U.S. can no longer be considered a safe haven.

1. GOLD IS RETURNING TO ITS TRUE HISTORIC ROLE AS MONEY


The role of gold in society was succinctly summed up by J.P. Morgan in 1912 when the renowned financier stated that “Gold is money and nothing else.” Ironically, he made that comment one year before the U.S. Federal Reserve was created. There have been long periods (1980-2000 being one) when this immutable fact was dismissed. The fact remains, however, that every fiat currency system in history has ended in ruins.

2. THE INEVITABILITY OF A COLLAPSE IN THE U.S. DOLLAR


The U.S. dollar is the world’s reserve currency and thus anchors the world’s monetary system. Unfortunately, by virtually any measurement we look at, the United States is beyond ‘the point of no return’ with respect to its financial position. Imbedded federal government debt of nearly $13 trillion, unfunded future liabilities in medicare, social security, etc. well in excess of $50 trillion and a current budget deficit of over 10% of GDP virtually ensures ongoing massive monetary debasement. When the near bankruptcy of the majority of the fifty states in the union is factored in, the situation looks even more dire.

3. OTHER SIGNIFICANT WORLD CURRENCIES OFFER NO REFUGE


The current travails of the European Union are well advertised. The recent pledge of nearly $1 trillion in potential bailout money by Eurozone members and the IMF in the wake of Greece’s problems, coupled with the fear of contagion throughout southern Europe, effectively disqualifies the Euro from serious consideration. Great Britain is in such disarray that it doesn’t even deserve comment. Japan has a rapidly aging population and embedded government debt that already exceeds 200% of GDP. Even China, that paragon of all things financial and economic, is suspect. As the result of its bank lending spree in 2009, the country is dealing with considerable overcapacity, an emerging inflation issue and a potential bad debt crisis in its banking system.

4. THE DESTRUCTION OF GOVERNMENT BALANCE SHEETS AND THE WIDESPREAD IMPLEMENTATION OF ZERO INTEREST RATE POLICIES MAY ULTIMATELY RESULT IN HYPERINFLATION


As the result of the global financial crisis which enveloped the world between late 2007 and early 2009, the world’s governments were forced to step in and bail out the financial sector while propping up overall demand in the face of the collapse in the private sector. This unfortunately occurred as their own revenue streams were under severe pressure due to the issues in the private sector. To combat the massive deficits that inevitably resulted, widespread quantitative easing (i.e. unfettered money printing) was undertaken. That policy is here to stay and the fiscal deficits in many countries have now reached percentages of GDP that have almost always resulted in eventual currency collapse. Thus, the frightening term ‘hyperinflation’ is now being heard with increasing frequency...

8. MINE SUPPLY IS NOT ANTICIPATED TO RISE FOR SEVERAL YEARS, IF AT ALL


Despite gold prices surging from a low of $252 per ounce in 1999 to over $1,200 recently, mine production has been eroding for nearly a decade. This suggests that mine supply is insensitive to higher gold prices, a fact confirmed in the 70’s when mine supply actually fell as gold made its historic rise from $35 per ounce to $850. Aaron Regent, the head of the world’s largest gold company, Barrick Gold, was quoted at a conference in late 2009 lamenting the state of the gold mining business. He
went so far as to suggest that global gold production was in terminal decline despite
record prices and the Herculean efforts by mining companies to discover new ore bodies in remote areas. He actually alluded to “peak gold” by implying that production has already reached levels that can’t be exceeded, an expression that is now commonplace in the oil industry...

11. INCREASING SKEPTICISM ABOUT U.S. GOLD RESERVES


The U.S. has long been the world’s largest gold holder with a current reported position of 8,133 tonnes (over $300 billion worth). However, there have been recurrent rumors that the U.S. has mobilized an unknown portion of their gold reserves via swaps to facilitate leasing, a key component in the gold price suppression scheme. The absence of any outside audit of the reserves since the 1950’s and the Fed’s current intransigence towards being subjected to an audit only heighten suspicions that the U.S. does not have nearly as much gold as they claim...

14. [PRICE] SUPPRESSION IS EVIDENT IN THE CONTINUING EXTREME UNDERVALUATION OF GOLD


Measured by any number of metrics (gold price in relation to the staggering amount of money and credit that has been created over the past several decades, gold’s extreme undervaluation relative to platinum, the gold producers’ pathetic returns on capital at the current price, etc.), gold is far behind where we believe it should be. If gold had merely kept up with the reported rate of U.S. inflation since its peak price in 1980, it would presently be trading in excess of $2,300 per ounce.

If you're interested in diversifying your investments with gold, Sprot offers a physical gold ETF (exchange-traded fund) and there are numerous choices for purchasing gold bullion should you require physical delivery.


Disclosure: I have no interest in any of these organizations and simply want Democrats to stop spending our kids' and grandkids' money without permission. Linked by: Ace of Spades. Thanks!

Federal government: yes, we know Obama promised you wouldn't lose your health care plan if you liked it, but he was playing you like a fiddle

When you lose you employer-sponsored health care plan -- you know, the one that you were promised you could keep -- remember to thank a Democrat.

Internal administration documents reveal that up to 51% of employers may have to relinquish their current health care coverage because of ObamaCare.

Small firms will be even likelier to lose existing plans.

The "midrange estimate is that 66% of small employer plans and 45% of large employer plans will relinquish their grandfathered status by the end of 2013," according to the document... In the worst-case scenario, 69% of employers — 80% of smaller firms — would lose that status, exposing them to far more provisions under the new health law.

The 83-page document, a joint project of the departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and the IRS, examines the effects that ObamaCare's regulations would have on existing, or "grandfathered," employer-based health care plans.

Yes, it's true that the president repeatedly promised Americans that those who like their plans could keep them.

Yes, it's also true that he lied.

In fact, most Americans will lose their current health care plans, just like conservatives predicted, over and over again during this debate.

Which is why every Democrat must be voted out of office in November. Every one must go. There are no "conservative" or "moderate" Democrats left. Not when they urinate on the Constitution and spit on the American people, in deference to the orders of Obama, Pelosi and Reid.


Report: Egyptian Foreign Minister says Obama told him to be patient; he will 'show the Muslim world how [to] deal with Israel'

Victor Mordecai, writing in the May 2010 edition of Israel Today (PDF, 4MB), offers this report which, as yet, is unconfirmed by an independent source such as MEMRI.

My wife Rachel, who monitors Arab language broadcasts for Israel Radio, picked up a revealing statement on the “Round Table Show” on Egypt’s Nile TV.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said he had a one-on-one meeting with Obama, who told him that he was a Muslim, the son of a Muslim father and stepson of Muslim stepfather, that his half-brothers in Kenya were Muslims, and that he was sympathetic to the Muslim agenda. He asked the Arabs to show patience.

Obama promised that once he overcame some domestic American issues (like healthcare reform), he would show the Muslim world how he would deal with Israel.

...Pro-Arab, so-called Christian presidents are one thing. But how concerned should we be if the US President is a Muslim who is loyal to the Muslim agenda to isolate and weaken Israel? When the Palestinians talk about nothing but war with Israel and its annihilation, and the president of what was our strongest ally backs their demands for a state with Jerusalem as its capital, and adheres to the same faith, should we not be warning the American public?

...It is time to create an awakening among our true brethren and allies in America: Congress, the Jews and the Christians. We must work together to thwart the emerging alliance between the US and the Arab-Islamic agenda. We must pray for an awakening among the Jews and a Christian revival for Israel’s survival.

In September of 2009, Obama did meet with Ahmed Aboul Gheit. This photo, provided by the State Department, depicts the pair with their spouses.

And it is well-known that Gheit is a true hard-liner when it comes to Israel. One of his recent editorials spelled out his hatred for the Jewish state:

All the Arab sides – both those who support negotiations and the ones who pin their hopes on resistance – must refrain from extending a [friendly] hand to the extremist Israeli government. What we need now is to increase Israel's isolation, to besiege it as an occupying country, and to expose its racist face and gain the world's support for our just causes. If this peaceful siege does not achieve the hoped-for results, we will discuss [what to do] when the time comes.

I repeat: though Obama and Gheit definitely met, the report of the President's statement is unconfirmed. However -- for a guy who marinated in Rev. Wright's anti-American, Hamas-supporting, and antisemitic Church for two decades -- it wouldn't come as much of a surprise to find out it's entirely accurate.


Hat tip: Pat. Linked by: Michelle Malkin and The Astute Bloggers. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: The verdict is in -- President Obama is a failure

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 verdict is in -- President Obama is a failure: Strata-Sphere
Obama's Treachery: AT
Brewer: About that chain migration...: Hot Air

Corrupt Pelosi Congress Looks to Weaken Ethics Rules: RWN
Join a Breakfast with Pelosi: One Hour. Five Grand.: PJM
Chicago Alderman says you're a Nazi: RWN

Economy

The Second Grand Unification Theory of Sucking: VodkaPundit
Pelosi: We'll stop blaming Bush when our his problems go away: BlogProf
The Incestuous 'Financial Reform' Committee: OpenSecrets

Obamacare: Eliminating the Poor and Elderly’s Last Resort: RWN
What a surprise: HAMP failed: Denninger
Asset Manager: Markets are Manipulated by HFT: ZH

Climate & Energy

53 days later, administration doesn't know who's in charge of spill: GWP
NOAA: Temperature Accuracy Doesn't Matter: PJM
Did Ken Salazar Violate Federal Law When He Lied?: Hindenblog

Media

Putting the watchdogs on the payroll: AT
Gun Control and Mass Murder: Lott
Secession? What about Ejection?: AT

The Campaigner-in-Chief Takes Responsibility: Patterico
Tina Brown Says 'Wingnut' Women Blow To Feminism. I say, What Feminism?: RWN
Shocker: Newsweek Compares Alvin Green to Sarah Palin: GWP

Who is Mosab Yousef?: SMY

World

Why Is the State Department Covering for a Known Terror Group?: PJM
Saudi Arabia Gives Israel a Pass: Patterico
Blockades and Muslims: AT

Mahdi Bray's Slipper Evasions: IPT
Emily Henochowicz, American Anti-Israel Activist, Is Left's Next Rachel Corrie: AmPower
British ObamaCare update: First baby born under NHS feels betrayed by system: Marathon

SciTech

Hearing for the First Time: Ace
The iPhone, Net Neutrality and the FCC : WSJ
Black Holes Now Racist: Hot Air

Cornucopia

Mamas, Please Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys: MOTUS
Cthulhu awakens on Facebook to terrorize the left: Hot Air
The American Man: R.I.P.: Stuart Schneiderman

Images: Dan Riehl.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Save Mosab Yousef: Help Him Stay In The U.S.


Friday, June 11, 2010

Obama strikes back at Arizona: ICE to provide beverage bars, movie nights, dance classes and computer training to illegals

The Houston Chronicle reports that the Obama administration is making things considerably more comfy for illegal immigrants. ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is rolling out a series of upgrades to detention centers including self-serve beverage bars, continental breakfasts, movie nights, art classes, internet access, computer training classes, bingo, dance classes, decorative plants and a variety of other upscale benefits.

The changes, detailed in an internal ICE e-mail obtained by the Houston Chronicle, were welcomed by immigrant advocates who have been waiting for the Obama administration to deliver on a promise made in August to overhaul the nation's immigration detention system.

The 28 changes identified in the e-mail range from the superficial to the substantive. In addition to “softening the look of the facility” with hanging plants and offering fresh carrot sticks, ICE will allow for the “free movement” of low-risk detainees, expand visiting hours and provide unmonitored phone lines.

ICE officials said the changes are part of broader efforts to make the immigration detention system less penal and more humane.

But the plans are prompting protests by ICE's union leaders, who say they will jeopardize the safety of agents, guards and detainees and increase the bottom line for taxpayers. Tre Rebstock, president for Local 3332, the ICE union in Houston, likened the changes to creating “an all-inclusive resort” for immigration detainees.

“Our biggest concern is that someone is going to get hurt,” he said, taking particular issue with plans to relax restrictions on the movement of low-risk detainees and efforts to reduce and eliminate pat-down searches.

To demonstrate the scale of the problem, ICE houses nearly half a million illegal immigrants annually. Many are convicted criminals (recidivists included) including rapists, drug dealers and murderers.

The unions that represent prison guards are rightfully worried. Reducing pat-down searches will allow weapons, drugs and other contraband into detention centers.

The ICE memo reads as follows:

From: Conry, Steven
Sent: Thursday, May 27, 2010 2:38 PM
To:
Cc:
Subject: Immeidate Attention - New ICE Requirements
Importance: High

Below, please find a list of facility modifications which we will discuss at our
upcoming meeting at 2:45 pm.

In addition [to the policy reforms], CCA will provide the following no-cost
improvements at each of those nine facilities. [Elizabeth; Eloy; Florence;
Houston; Laredo; Hall County; San Diego; Stewart; Hutto]

· Allow visitors to come for as long as they like during a 12-hour period each day and on weekends.
· Increase availability of legal supplies and postage to indigent detainees for legal correspondence.
· Add research resources at the law libraries.
· Play the “Know Your Rights” legal orientation video in each housing unit every day (not in lieu of in person legal programs but in addition to them).
· Increase contact visitation space for legal counsel.
· Design and provide an area at each facility for contact visitation.
· Allow free movement within the institution for detainees of appropriate classification levels.
· Allow detainees of appropriate classification levels to wear their own clothing, within reasonable limitation, and providing non-penal clothing for detainees to wear.
· Eliminate lock downs and lights out for appropriate classification levels
· Reduce the frequency of and, as reasonable, wholly eliminate pat down searches
· Provide more normalized common areas.
· Soften the look for the facility with hanging plants, flower baskets, new paint colors, different bedding and furniture, wall graphics and framed pictures on the walls, and enhance the aesthetics of the living areas.
· Expand programming for detainees to include movie nights, bingo, arts and crafts, dance, walk and exercise classes, health and welfare classes, basic cooking classes, tutoring and self-paced computer training on portable computer stations.
· Provide celebrations of special occasions and allowing a detainee to receive outside, packaged food for celebrations and while visiting with family and friends.
· Increase the number of phones and unmonitored lines for attorney calls.
· Design new menus with greater variety and reduce repetition of food
· Offer continental breakfasts that are completely self serve on holidays
and weekends.
· Provide fresh carrot sticks and celery or other vegetables in a bar format.
· Provide self-serve beverage bars.
· Offer water and tea in the housing areas at all times.
· Provide a unit manger so detainees have someone available to talk to and to solve problems in the facility other than the immediate guard.
· Increase training unique to each facility so staff are aware of the nature and needs of the population of each facility.
· Survey community-based immigration advocacy groups and immigration attorneys for suggestions that may improve communication and ease of access.
· Designate an employee at each facility for consular access issues to improve consular access.
· Ensure third party legal education programs are made available at all ICE sites.
· Provide four hours or more hours of recreation in a natural setting, allowing for robust aerobic exercise.
· Provide email access for detainees, as is currently provided at Hutto.
· Provide internet-based free phone service.

The Obama administration claims that there's not enough money for key defense programs. Minor things like, oh, I don't know -- freaking missile defense!

But there's apparently plenty of money to keep illegal immigrants in clover. Yes, these Democrats are really fine at this governin' business.


Hat tip: Charlie Foxtrot.

Thomas Jefferson, tonight on Hannity

Tonight on Hannity -- a world-exclusive, the first televised interview with Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States.

Hannity: Sir, thank you so much for meeting with us. It's a unique honor and privilege.

Jefferson: You're welcome, young man. Your industrious society has created many marvels worthy of the American people.

Hannity: Mr. President, President Obama entered office with a huge amount of "hoopla" and an almost messianic belief that he can "heal the environment", fix the economy, and solve problems like global terrorism. But the economy remains in desperate straits, his foreign policy is a shambles, and an unprecedented environmental disaster is underway. What do you make of the "Obama Legacy"?

Jefferson: No man will ever carry out of the Presidency the reputation which carried him into it.

Hannity: His immense, trillion-dollar "stimulus" package puts control of the people's money in the hands of a few central planners. What is your reaction to that strategy?

Jefferson: Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories... I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them but to inform their discretion.

Hannity: So you are generally opposed to a top-down stimulus package and prefer that the spending decisions reside with the people who pay taxes?

Jefferson: I own that I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive.

Hannity: What about Democrats' tendency to grow the size of government and intrude in every aspect of our lives... from the New Deal's entitlement programs, transportation, energy, health care, etc.?

Jefferson: My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.

Hannity: And increasing taxes on the highest earners -- the "progressive" income tax?

Jefferson: A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor and bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government.

Hannity: How troubling is it that the amount of debt that the Federal Government is undertaking -- combined with entitlement programs that are massively underfunded -- means that we are passing huge amounts of debt to our children and grandchildren.

Jefferson: It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world... Never spend your money before you have earned it.

Hannity: What would you like to say to the those of our current leaders who are operating under ethical clouds: from Rangel, to Dodd, Murtha, Frank, Mollohan, Clinton, Geithner, Holder and Reid.

Jefferson: Our country is now taking so steady a course as to show by what road it will pass to destruction, to wit: by consolidation of power first, and then corruption, its necessary consequence.

Hannity: You've seen one of my "man-in-the-street" interviews, where we ask random people simple questions about current events, like 'who is the Vice President'? We found during the Obama campaign that many of those voting for him were completely uninformed and various surveys confirm that general ignorance about the man and his motives. Is that troubling?

Jefferson: If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.

Hannity: Mr. President, what are your thoughts about President Obama basically ignoring Republican requests for a bi-partisanship approach to the stimulus package, health care reform and climate change, stating "I won" and to get over themselves?

Jefferson: Bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression.

Hannity: The concept of welfare, where the state redistributes wealth to the poor even though many could easily work, has been statistically shown to increase single-parent families, a culture of dependency and crime. What are your thoughts on welfare?

Jefferson: Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition.

Hannity: Moving to the First Amendment: this concept of blogging, where anyone can be a well-read author or pundit, is a new innovation for politics. Do you believe that blogging is a useful tool to promote Democracy?

Jefferson: Information is the currency of democracy... Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.

Hannity: Interestingly enough, the whole newspaper business has suffered mightily with the rise of the Internet. Your reaction?

Jefferson: I do not take a single newspaper, nor read one a month, and I feel myself infinitely the happier for it.

Hannity: Regarding the Second Amendment, Barack Obama has historically opposed private ownership and possession of firearms. In fact, his home city of Chicago has onerous regulations that effectively prohibit guns altogether, yet the city has the highest number of murders per year of any state in the Union. Your thoughts?

Jefferson: No man shall be debarred the use of arms... Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, and must be that of every free state. For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best security.

Hannity: How do you respond to Democrats who have made a variety of moves to revive the ill-named "Fairness Doctrine", which threatens conservative free speech and which was already ruled unconstitutional once in our history?

Jefferson: I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man... It behooves every man who values liberty of conscience for himself, to resist invasions of it in the case of others: or their case may, by change of circumstances, become his own.

Hannity: Final question, sir. What about the Democrats' massive dependency programs, entitlement programs, and efforts to censor free speech such as the "Fairness Doctrine"? Doesn't this violate the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution?

Jefferson: Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.

Hannity: Thank you so much for your valuable time, Mr. President.

Jefferson: You are most welcome, young man. Your society is truly a marvel. I can assure you that the founders are proud of you. The blessings bestowed upon you are formidable. But you must protect this precious gift against a devilish foe. This enemy, insidious in its designs, is burrowing at the foundations of our country and has as its aims the destruction of our founding principles.

I call upon you to resist this foe: the modern Democrat Party.


Note: Every Jefferson response is verbatim as reported by BrainyQuote. If statements were made at separate times, they are separated by an ellipsis when combined.
Fox News Ticker: Hijacked from from the brilliant People's Cube.