Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Larwyn's Linx: Documents show media plotting to kill stories about 'Reverend' Jeremiah Wright

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

Liberty or Tyranny?: PJM (Solway)
Excusing the Oakland Rioters: MacDonald
Racist Mexican Group Harrasses Tea Party as 'Too White': GWP

Breitbart slaps down NAACP for racism: Hot Air
How many GOP Senators will oppose Kagan?: JIP
Strange Graham-Kagan dance: Times

Economy

Auditor: Obama killed tens of thousands of jobs with DealerGate: Hot Air
USDA Official Resigns After ‘White Farmer’ Video: Malkin
Massachusetts Offers Preview of Obamacare: Samuelson

The Time for Evasion is Over: Kristol
Coming Soon, The $1 Million Per Year Public 'Servant': Ace
More Union Thuggery in California: BlogProf

Berwick wasting no time spending taxpayer dollars: AmSpec
ObamaCare Mythology: One Man's Life is Another Man's Loss: AT
Poof! Obama sends Berwick Nomination to Senate: Nice Deb

Climate & Energy

Forget It, Envirowackos, We’re Not Giving Up Air Conditioning: RWN
Panel Which Exonerated Phil Jones' CRU Relied Upon One Man...: Ace
The Video President Obama Doesn’t Want You To See: RWN

Media

Documents show media plotting to kill stories about Rev. Jeremiah Wright: Caller
Republican Candidates Wise Up – Dodge State-Run Media Interviews: GWP
The National Disgrace of Texas: Hindenblog

CNN Guest: Black Tea Partiers Like Jewish Guards in Concentration Camps: NewsBusters
Busted: Think Progress caught manufacturing another Tea Party 'racism' story: GWP
Serious Human Beings: Doc Zero

Know What’s Awesome? Being Unemployed!: RWN
Misunderestimating Americans: SondraK

World

Frequent Muslim Speaker to Kids in New York Schools Supports Hamas, Hezbollah: PJM
Obama Again Predicts Direct Israel-Palestinian Talks, Is He Wrong Again?: BRubin
Stoning Exposes Barbarism of Islamic Law: London Free Press

Silent Jews, Again: When Will Leftists Realize That Unbelief Is A Belief?: RWN
Feds Hand $28 Million to Kenya Proxies Fighting for Pro-Abortion Constitution: LifeSiteNews

SciTech

73,000 Blogs Shut Down by Whom and Why?: Moonbattery
AntennaGate and the Future of Apple: PJM
New Technology has Creators Floating On Air: Fox

Cornucopia

The Awesomest Thing You'll Probably See Tonight: Ace
'We believed in our idea - a family park where parents and children could have fun- together': SondraK
Abu Dhabi gets ready to open Ferrari World: Maktoob

Images: Snooper's Report.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Stop Kagan Campaign


Monday, July 19, 2010

Stealth Jihad: the Mosque at Ground Zero

The brilliant Pat Condell.

They plan to open it on September 11th, next year.

Ferguson schools Krugman: America's unsustainable debt -- 'world war finance without the war' -- can only be solved with regime change

Vernon L. Smith, a 2002 Nobel Laureate in Economics, doesn't mince words in addressing President Obama. In short: stop the spending and face the deficit without adding taxes.

Please, No More Government Spending!... my colleague, Steven Gjerstad [and I] examine[d] the last 14 recessions including the Depression. We have been surprised and dismayed to learn that in 11 of these 14 recessions the percentage decline in new house expenditure preceded and exceeded percentage declines in every other major component of GDP. Hence the sources of the current debacle are hardly new! Moreover, past recoveries in the housing market have been closely associated with recovery from recession. The latest data continue to tell us that the turnaround in housing, consumer durables, and business investment are all anemic.

...Our best shot at increasing employment and output is to reduce business taxes and the cost of creating new start-up companies. Don’t subsidize them; just reduce their taxes even as they become larger; also reduce any unnecessary impediments to their formation. This is strongly indicated by the business dynamics program of the Bureau of Census and the Kauffman Foundation which has tracked new startup firms in the period 1980-2005. The entry of new firms net of departing firms in this period account for a remarkable two-thirds more employment growth (3 percent per year) than the average of all firms in the US (1.8 percent per year). The invigorating turmoil created by new technologies, with accompanying growth in output, productivity, and employment lead to new business formation as old firms inevitably fail. Reducing barriers to that growth encourage a recovery path which does not mortgage future output.

Of course, this common sense counsel defies the ideology of Alinsky and is certain not to be followed. And what comes next should strike fear into every American.

We'll muddle along somehow, until -- suddenly -- we won't


Joe Weisenthal says that the US financial system will have collapsed before Moody's gets around to downgrading its debt.

It probably bears worth repeating that if there were much about about Moody's clout in the sovereign debt arena, it should have be erased today: Moody's has no clout.

A downgrade of Ireland early on barely produced a blip on any market anywhere... That follows a recent spectacularly uneventful downgrade of Portugal.

Every once in a while Moody's lobs a very vague warning about debt and spending in the direction of London and Washington DC, and occasionally the subject of the US losing its AAA rating comes up... But really, Moody's is not going to be ahead of the US downgrade curve.

Writing at The Financial Times, Niall Ferguson clearly states that "the latter-day Keynesians have learnt nothing".

...what we are witnessing today has less to do with the 1930s than with the 1940s: it is world war finance without the war.

...Today’s warlike deficits are being run at a time when the US is heavily reliant on foreign lenders, not least its rising strategic rival China (which holds 11 per cent of US Treasuries in public hands); at a time when economies are open, so American stimulus can end up benefiting Chinese exporters; and at a time when there is much underutilised capacity, so that deflation is a bigger threat than inflation.

Are there precedents for such a combination? Certainly. Long before Keynes was even born, weak governments in countries from Argentina to Venezuela used to experiment with large peacetime deficits to see if there were ways of avoiding hard choices. The experiments invariably ended in one of two ways. Either the foreign lenders got fleeced through default. Or the domestic lenders got fleeced through inflation. When economies were growing sluggishly, that could be slow in coming. But there invariably came a point when money creation by the central bank triggered an upsurge in inflationary expectations.

...economists, like New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, who liken confidence to an imaginary “fairy” have failed to learn from decades of economic research on expectations. They also seem not to have noticed that the big academic winners of this crisis have been the proponents of behavioural finance, in which the ups and downs of human psychology are the key.

The evidence is very clear from surveys on both sides of the Atlantic. People are nervous of world war-sized deficits when there isn’t a war to justify them. According to a recent poll published in the Financial Times, 45 per cent of Americans “think it likely that their government will be unable to meet its financial commitments within 10 years”. Surveys of business and consumer confidence paint a similar picture of mounting anxiety.

The remedy for such fears must be the kind of policy regime change Prof Sargent identified 30 years ago, and which the Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan governments successfully implemented. Then, as today, the choice was not between stimulus and austerity. It was between policies that boost private-sector confidence and those that kill it.

If you don't mobilize everyone you can to vote in November... if you don't help to effect regime change... if you don't get your friends, neighbors, family members, and everyone else you know to vote... and if you don't vote out every Democrat traitor... well, my friends, it could be time to turn out the lights.


Wake Up, Senate Republicans: Elena Kagan Must Be Filibustered

Carol Taber:

As Dean of Harvard Law School, Elena Kagan banned military recruiters from campus because U.S. law said they couldn’t enlist homosexuals. Now, she invited the Saudis’ recruiters to promote their legal code, Sharia, which calls for homosexuals to be murdered and women to be treated like animals. If Kagan tolerates promoting the injustice of Sharia Law on the campus of Harvard, what kind of injustice will she tolerate in America during a lifetime on the Supreme Court?

That's an easy one.

She will be a rubber stamp for Barack Obama and the radical left's efforts to eradicate the last vestiges of the U.S. Constitution.

Consider the interplay between Sen. Tom Coburn and Kagan over a hypothetical question: whether the government could tell every American what they had to eat.

On Tuesday evening, Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) posed a hypothetical question to Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan: If Congress passed a law that said Americans "have to eat three vegetables and three fruits, every day ... does that violate the Commerce Clause?"

"Sounds like a dumb law," Kagan replied.

"Yeah, I got one that's real similar to it that I think is equally dumb," Coburn shot back, referring to Obamacare's mandate requiring individuals to buy health insurance. "I'm not going to mention which one it is."

Kagan couldn't answer the question. She couldn't bring herself to state, with all of her vast judicial experience, whether the Constitution allows Congress to pass a law that forces Americans to eat six servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

Wrong answer!

Lastly, in Kagan's estimation, the federal government has the right to ban books.

Elena Kagan argued on behalf of Citizens United essentially stating it would not be a violation of the First Amendment to have movies or even books banned. Of course, she only meant certain movies/books for specific times, but even so, I believe the point remains... all tyrants find a pretext for their tyranny. That tyranny may even begin with a humble, caring act, but one day we awake to find we have lost all freedom. When it comes to our rights, the freedom of speech is not one I am willing to mess around with. I could never support a Supreme Court nominee like Elena Kagan.

Comforting, eh?

The stakes of this nomination could not be higher. Elena Kagan believes:

• That Sharia law should be effective in the U.S., but the military should not recruit on campus.

• That the federal government has unlimited power to control your lives, far beyond anything envisioned by the founders, including the right to tell you what to eat, when to sleep or anything else they might contemplate.

• And that Congress can ban books, movies, talk radio, or any other form of media.

Kagan has no business on the Supreme Court.

• Call 202-224-5225, the Republican office of the Judiciary Committee.
• Call 202-224-4280, the GOP office of the Constitution Subcommittee.
• Call 202-224-4124, Jeff Sessions, the ranking member for the GOP and tell him to knock some sense into Lindsey Graham.
• Call 202-224-5972, Lindsey Graham.

Tell them that he GOP must use every procedural tactic in the book to block this dangerous enabler of tyranny. Tell them why. And demand they stop this woman from destroying the Constitution.


Al Qaeda's Second-in-Command Slams Gaza Blockade... by Egypt

Stratfor Research relays a Reuters report that Ayman al-Zawahiri -- reportedly Al Qaeda's #2 -- slammed "pro-Western Arab leaders".

His charge is astounding: that they are harming the residents of Gaza more than Israel. Further, he pilloried Egypt's leadership for its blockade of Gaza, as it prevents the free flow of people and goods.

Just wondering: does this mean -- officially -- that Al Qaeda is more tolerant of Israel than Barack Obama?


Larwyn's Linx: The Magic Number in the Senate

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Nation

The Magic Number in the Senate: Power Line
A People’s History Of American Moronitude: Crittenden
What do Bill Ayers and Van Jones Have in Common?: NewZeal

Exclusive: Sarah Palin's 2012 Ground Game: RWN
Moral of Obamacare: Taxes In, Doctors Out: LegalIns
Unions Holding Up Cash for Troops: RWN

Economy

Repealing ObamaCare is Just the First Step: BigGovt
Lost in Taxation: IRS Gains Massive New Powers: WSJ
So much for the 'frivolous' Commerce Clause challenge: Volokh

Remember the Pay-Go rule Obama Wanted? Neither does he: Greenroom
Roads to Ruin: Towns Rip Up the Pavement: WSJ
Illinois Pensions: Rob the Poor and Give it to the Rich: ChampionNews

Climate & Energy

BP, feds clash over reopening capped Gulf oil well: WashExam
Eco-Indulgences, Get ‘em While They’re “Hot”: CBullitt

Media

Bob Schieffer: I Didn’t Ask Holder About the Black Panther Thing Because I Didn’t Know About It: Malkin
States with Stricter Gun Control Laws Are Less Safe: PJM
Former US-Based Jihadi Blogger Samir Khan Behind al-Qaeda in Yemen’s New Online Magazine: WZ

Why the Left is wrong to defend the Panthers: Adams
A War Amongst Ourselves: AT
The Ancien Regime Isn’t Going Out Without a Fight: Driscoll

World

Muslim Bus Drivers in England Refuse to Allow Blind Passengers and their Guide Dogs On Board: WZ
It's Okay to Kill Your 14-Year Old Muslim Daughter in Canada: NRO
Oh, the Humanity: Spectacular New Mall Opens in Gaza: TGM

What Happens If Things Go Really Badly? $15 Trillion of Sovereign Debt in Default: CalcRisk
Top Chinese Economist: Stop Buying U.S. Treasuries, Start Buying Gold: Insider
Unwilling British workers has fuelled migration, says minister: Telegraph

Single-Payer Hell: Cash crisis in Britain leaves patients lying on operating tables: BlogProf
Venezuela's 'revolution' is springing leaks everywhere: LAHT
U.S. Will Send $7.5B to Pakistan: BBC

SciTech

U.S. dietary guidelines hard to swallow: Malanga
Twitter, Twitter, little stars: Maktoob
I'm From the Government and I'm Here for Your BMI: AT

Cornucopia

Gee, What Do You Think Attracted Obama to This Ice Cream Shop?: Powers
Obama moves away from 'Freedom of Religion' toward 'Freedom of Worship'?: Catholic.org
Fabu Friday: Autumn People

Images: iOwnTheWorld.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Arizona’s Fight – America’s Fight


Sunday, July 18, 2010

The Illinois Taxpayer Was Treated 'Like Custer at Little Big Horn'

Champion News (hat tip: ChicagoNow) describes the gradual descent of the Illinois public sector pension into its current state of quasi-insolvency. The TRS (Teachers' Retirement System) pension deficit alone is $44 billion.

If the rules in effect in 1970 when the pension guarantee was approved were still in effect we would have approximately a $10 billion surplus in the TRS fund.

...Before 1970 there were few substantive changes to the pension rights granted to retirees. Afterwards the teacher unions worked their legislative magic and got increased benefit after increased benefit passed starting immediately in 1971. It was like Custer at the Little Big Horn - except the taxpayers didn't know about the slaughter until 40 years later.

Here is a list of just some of the pension enhancements passed by a compliant legislature at the expense of every Illinois taxpayer:

1971 - Pension maximum raised to 75% from 60%. That didn't take long.
     - Annual COLA raised to 2% from 1.5%
     - No pension reduction if younger than 60 with 35 years service.
1972 - 85 sick days (1/2 year service) allowed for early retirement.
1973 - Survivor benefits paid at age 50 instead of 55.
1978 - Annual COLA raised to 3% from 2% (not compounded)
1979 - ERO (Early Retirement Option) allowed.
1980 - Retiree health insurance program established.
1982 - Employer pick-up of employee contributions allowed.
1983 - Unmarried children over 18 eligible for health insurance coverage.
1984 - Sick leave credit upped to 170 days from 85 days.
1990 - 3% COLA compounded.
1990 - Survivors get COLA.
1990 - Disability and pensions added for part-time and substitute teachers.
1991 - Retiree health care premiums 75% subsidy.
1998 - Waive Early Retirement cost - 34 work-years becomes 35 years for pension.

Each legislative step led the Illinois taxpayer closer and closer to ruin.

Public sector unions have been waging war against the very hand that feeds them for decades.

Whether these unions are disbanded legislatively or crushed through other means, disband they must.


Of pet rocks, Neverland, digital license plates and bag bans: California legislators recess while the budget-less state burns $52 million a day

California faces an improbably huge $26 billion budget deficit. The state legislature is more than a month late in meeting its constitutionally-mandated deadline to pass a budget.

How have California's Democrats responded? Burning the midnight oil? Working feverishly to avoid a fiscal vortex?

Eh, that would be "no".

Both the Senate and the state Assembly have adjourned until August for summer recess. And, back at home, this claque of savvy legislators has proposed the following Einstein-esque solutions to the meltdown.

State Sen. Curren Price (D-Los Angeles) proposes that California require every car and truck to use digital license plates that would display advertising. Kind of like billboards, only much tinier. And hazardous, because people are driving, not watching TV.

• Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles) wants to replace the state rock of California because it contains traces of asbestos.

• Assemblyman Mike Davis (D-Los Angeles) believes that transforming Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch into a state park would be the state's ticket to riches. Aside from the massive investment it would require and the troubling allegations of on-premises pedophilia, the state just closed 220 of 279 state parks to save money. Mike Davis, however, thinks spending $100 million-plus on Neverland would make "great sense".

• Assemblyman Julia Brownley (D-Los Angeles) may have the answer to the budget crisis: she has proposed a bill that bans the use of paper and plastic grocery bags. Californians who forget to bring reusable bags to the store would pay an estimated $1 billion in new taxes; businesses that hand out paper or plastic bags for free would be fined $10,000 per offense.

California is burning an extra $52 million each and every day that passes without a budget. And its legislators are among the most inane, useless bureaucrats west of the Beltway.

Mark Levin said the other day that "liberalism is the philosophy of the stupid."

I was hesitant to believe him. Until now.


North Korea Celebrates Sinking of South Korean Warship With Dramatic New Propaganda Poster

Business Insider:

North Korea now appears to be gloating over its sinking of the South Korean warship, the Cheonan, according to Radio Free Asia (via Gawker).

The poster, reads, “We will smash you with a single blow if you attack!”.

Photographed by a Chinese businessman visiting North Korea, the poster may be from a previously conflict, but is nevertheless being circulated in the country now...

The split of the boat is similar to how the Cheonan was destroyed, according to a military analyst speaking to Radio Free Asia.

Aren't centralized, authoritarian dictatorships grand?

Two Photos That Illustrate the Unfettered Lunacy of the Democrat Party

Welcome to the logic of the left.



The TSA under Janet NapoliReno is busy spending hundreds of millions of the taxpayers' dollars on sophisticated full-body scanners capable of detecting weapons and explosives almost at the molecular level. Every airline passenger -- flying internationally or domestically -- will soon be subject to even more intrusive scans than the current regimen requires. No fluids. Take your shoes off. No jackets. Scan all of your bags.

And this is all hunky-dory with the left.


Yet somehow, it's controversial to demand security on our southern border as website after website documents the unchecked flow of armed illegals smuggling drugs and thousands of humans into the country each month.

Somehow that's controversial.


Idea: Mark Levin.