Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Breaking: Media Cabal Buries News of Media Cabal

Scandal? What scandal? Dan from New York writes:

Don't blame yourself if you haven't heard about the JournoList conspiracy and its activities on behalf of Barack Hussein Obama. It just means you're still getting your "news" from the One-Party Media.

WSJ, Notable & Quotable, July 21, 2010


John Fund discusses how members of the liberal email group JournoList attempted to control media coverage of Barack Obama.

John Fund writing yesterday in the Journal's Political Diary e-newsletter:

From 2007 until last month, some 300 liberal journalists and policy wonks exchanged ideas and commentary on a secret, off-the-record Internet email group called JournoList. It was shut down after portions leaked, leading to the resignation of Washington Post writer David Weigel last month over his intemperate criticism of conservatives he was covering.

But someone who belonged to JournoList continues to leak information from its archives, providing a fascinating glimpse into how some liberal journalists coordinate their story lines to protect their favorite politicians and ideas. The Daily Caller website reports that at several times during the 2008 presidential race, "employees of news organizations including Time, Politico, the Huffington Post, the Baltimore Sun, the Guardian, Salon and the New Republic participated in outpourings of anger over how [Barack] Obama had been treated in the media, and in some cases plotted to fix the damage."

Some of the comments will no doubt revive conservative allegations of a liberal news media conspiracy. Spencer Ackerman, then of the Washington Independent, now at Wired, urged fellow journalists to kill the story of Mr. Obama's ties to the controversial Revered Jeremiah Wright by going after some of his critics. "Fred Barnes, Karl Rove, who cares—and call them racists," he urged. "What is necessary is to raise the cost on the right of going after the left. In other words, find a rightwinger's [sic] and smash it through a plate-glass window. Take a snapshot of the bleeding mess and send it out in a Christmas card to let the right know that it needs to live in a state of constant fear. Obviously I mean this rhetorically."

Chris Hayes of the Nation magazine urged "those in the ostensible mainstream media" who were on the list to ignore the Rev. Wright story. He insisted the real issue had nothing to do with Mr. Obama's pastor and instead "has everything to do with the attempts of the right to maintain control of the country."

Apparently, many on JournoList had an agenda that had little to do with covering legitimate news stories, but instead were concerned with protecting their friends and trying to ensure they had "control of the country."

###

Now that the cockroaches' temporary home has been exposed to the light of day, JournoList is kaput. But the cockroaches will survive. Expect them to scurry into a dank cellar before regrouping somewhere else.

False accusations of racism. Suppression and censorship of news deemed unacceptable. Endlessly marketing a big government, Statist agenda. Tacit, overt support for government control of nearly every facet of human life.

Forget the liberal media. Consider them the fascist media.


Exclusive Transcript: Lindsey Graham's Secret Meeting With Joe Biden

Mark Levin reported yesterday that Senator Lindsey Graham (r-SC) quietly met with VP Joe Biden last week for several hours. This occurred, of course, just before Graham's crucial vote on Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. Fortunately, Cub Reporter Biff Spackle had earlier disguised himself as a caddy and was able to plant a tiny webcam on the Presidential golf party earlier in the day. What you are about to see is real. So freakin' real, you'll think you're going crazy.

Lindsey... WHUSSUPPPPPP?

Joe, been a long time. You're livin' the high life, up heah with President Obama?

Damn straight, home slice. Snap your fingers and literally anyone in the world is at my beck and call within minutes. Like you.

Which brings me to our meeting today. The reason I wanted to speak to you today is --

Closing Gitmo? Global warming legislation? Amnesty for illegals? You know I aim to please. I'm the post-partisan conservative Republican!

(Man, talking to this rube, I finally feel like Alvin Einstein) No, Lin, it's the Kagan nomination. You've got the key vote on getting her out of committee, 'cause all the other Repuglicans said they'd vote no.

Joe, you know you can count on me. I'll do anything to get on camera. You need me to clean the president's ashtrays? Conduct a Congressional investigation of Lindsey Lohan?

I'll do it all. You know I need the face-time: the more I get on ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and MSNBC, the better my chances for reelection. Or even a Presidential run of my own someday!

That's using your head, Lin. Plus we can guarantee a good writeup with all the major papers: we just distribute a press release on Journolist and *poof* it's everywhere!

Not to worry, Joe Joe. This Kagan seems like a real judicial heavyweight to me. A real breath of fresh air. Supports the military and believes in the Constitution. This is a no-brainer. You didn't even have to ask.

But there is just one other thing...

You name it, Lin!

If anything happens to me in the next election, for any reason, I want President Obama to name me Secretary of Bipartisanship. Create a new cabinet position where I can influence more Republicans to be moderates. And more Democrats to be further left.

Hmmm.... that's the kind of role we could really get behind. Tell you what. Let me talk to Barack after he gets back from the country club and we'll discuss it. Now get the hell out of here, you big goofball, and I'll see you on Call of Duty in a couple of hours.


Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: Liberal Journalists Suggested Feds Shut Down Fox News

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

The Journolist Conspiracy

Liberal Journalists Suggested Feds Shut Down Fox News: Caller
Yes, Liberal Journalists Did Manipulate The 2008 Election: LegalIns
The One-Party Media: Power Line

Journolist to the rescue!: AnBlackCon
‘Fred Barnes, Karl Rove, Who Cares? Call Them Racists’: PJM
Flashback 2008: CNN’s ‘Rev. Wright-Free Zone’: NewsBusters

Nation

Bulletin From the Front: Morris
The Case Against the New Black Panthers: NRO
Race Card Fraud: Sowell

Finding Our Inner Maximus: AT
FBI: Times Square Bomb Could Have 'Killed Thousands': Fox
Pro-Israel group attacks Democrat Sestak: Caller

Economy

Why does Ken Salazar hate our economy?: Malkin
Kaus: Unions Own the Democrat Party: Reason
Saint Shirley's $13M settlement against the FDA: AmPower

Obama's FDR-like Bait-and-Switch: RWN
Hobbling a Housing Recovery: AT
Some Cali civil servants make nearly $1MM/year: Hot Air

Media

Sherrod Blames NAACP for Resignation: Anchoress
Eleanor Clift: Palin is Buchanan in Drag: RWN
Credibility Problems at the Washington Post: Blogger Fabricates Content of Reza Kahlili Speech on Iran: PJM

Journolisters' Plot to Stifle 2008 Rev. Wright Coverage Not the First Example of Proven Media Coordination: NewsBusters
Michigan Blogger/Activist Chetly Zarko Dead At Age 39. RIP My Friend...: BlogProf
April 28th, 2008: CNN’s Longest Day: Driscoll

World

Kagan: A Large Foot in the Door for Sharia Finance: GoV
Iranian Revolt Against Khamenei Begins?: Ledeen
Return to the KGB? New powers given to Russia's security agency: AP

Palin Rightly Rejects Ground Zero Mosque; Bloomberg and Aide Reject Her. And Sanity: RWN
America's Fast Track to the Third World: AT
Nobody Has a 'Right' to Charity: RWN

SciTech

Military tech slowly approaching awesomeness of Death Star weaponry: Hot Air
Survey: Facebook fails at customer satisfaction: CNet
Apple's $15.7 billion in revenue is highest ever: CNet

Cornucopia

Gumby wore shoes: on the moon: MOTUS
Obama's Hidden Arizona Agenda: Langbert
I'll Take a Cashier's Check, Mr. Breitbart: IowaHawk

Images: Maktoob
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: J.D. Hayworth for U.S. Senate: NO MORE RINOs!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

The Behavior of Women, Explained by Engineers

The Mistress-in-Chief sent this one in:







Sah-weet! Not Only Did Clinton Cronies Destroy Fannie Mae While Sucking Down $200MM in Compensation, They Got Countrywide Sweetheart Mortgages, Too!

In September of 2008, no less an authority than William Jefferson Clinton admitted the culpability of Democrats in destroying the financial system: "I think that the responsibility that the Democrats have may rest more in resisting any efforts by the Republicans and the Congress or by me when I was President to put some standards and tighten up a little on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac."

Clinton understandably downplays his role. Aside from appointing Andrew Cuomo and Janet Reno, who helped usher in the subprime era, other Clinton apparatchiks served in key roles managing Fannie and Freddie.

Consider Clinton's Deputy A.G. Jamie Gorelick. Though she had no training or experience in finance, Gorelick was appointed the Vice Chairman of Fannie Mae and served in the role from 1997 to 2003. During that six-year period, she earned over $26 million.

During Gorelick's tenure, Fannie suffered a $10 billion accounting scandal, an ominous harbinger of its looming troubles. One of the falsified transactions helped FNMA hit earnings targets for 1998, which triggered bonuses for top executives including nearly $800,000 to Gorelick.

Put simply "Jamie Gorelick was one of the Fannie executives who benefited from inflated bonuses based on Enron-style accounting."

In 2002 Business Week interviewed Gorelick concerning the health of Fannie Mae. She responded, "We believe we are managed safely. We are very pleased that Moody's gave us an A-minus in the area of bank financial strength -- without a reference to the government in any way. Fannie Mae is among the handful of top-quality institutions."

Less than a year later regulators "accused Fannie Mae of improper accounting to the tune of $9 billion in unrecorded losses."

Other Democrats were the top recipients of Fannie Mae's money-dispensing leaf-blower, with Chris Dodd (D-CT), Barack Obama (D-IL) and John Kerry (D-MA) claiming the top three slots.

Four Clinton cronies pulled down nine figures in total compensation together from Fannie Mae:

  • Franklin Raines ($90 million in compensation)
  • Daniel Mudd ($59 million)
  • Jamie Gorelick ($26 million)
  • James Johnson ($21 million)
But that's not all.

Earlier today, Politico reported that this same quartet hit the trifecta. Not only did they leave the taxpayers holding a trillion-dollar check through their mismanagement and skulduggery... not only did they take outrageous paychecks while ruining the company... they also appear to have received the "Chris Dodd" sweetheart mortgage deals from Countrywide, the bankrupt lynch-pin of the meltdown.

Employees at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — including top executives — received 173 cut-rate loans from Countrywide Financial, according to a congressional probe... ...The investigation... also identifies Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson, former CEO Franklin Raines, former Vice Chairman Jamie Gorelick and Mudd as having received loans as part of the “Friends of Angelo” program — named for former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo. The executives were previously identified as being part of the embattled lender’s loan program but have denied knowing that they were singled out by the lender. Johnson alone received $10 million in loans, according to the letter.

Countrywide Financial collapsed in 2008 and its assets were absorbed by Bank of America.

Gorelick, now employed by the same Wilmer-Hale law firm that helps defend Gitmo detainees, emailed Politico after the story broke today and claimed the loan "looked like a market rate, the loan had standard fees, and no one ever indicated that I was being given a discounted rate... I used a widely available courtesy line for efficient handling but did not seek or expect a discounted rate."

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

And Hillary Clinton's got a nice real estate deal for you to invest in -- it's called Whitewater and it has a ton of potential.

These people are so crooked you can open wine bottles with 'em.


A trip through the archives: the agitprop the Journolist conspiracy produced

By now you've probably heard about the cabal of liberal journalists (but I repeat myself) who conspired to salvage Senator Obama's presidential campaign in 2008. After Fox News uncovered videos of Obama's longtime friend and pastor, Jeremiah Wright, directing racist and anti-American screeds from the pulpit, the campaign appeared to be foundering.

Journolist, Ezra Klein's private mailing list, provided the venue for journalists from Time, Politico, the Puffington Toast, the Baltimore Sun, the Guardian, Salon, the New Republic, and other outlets to orchestrate a rescue operation on several noteworthy fronts:

• To label conservative journalists 'racists' for reporting the news; and
• To suppress any discussion of Wright's disgusting rhetoric.

In fact, the conversations on Journolist went far beyond what most reasonable Americans might imagine among those claiming the mantle of "journalists".

Thomas Schaller, a columnist for the Baltimore Sun as well as a political science professor, upped the ante from there. In a post with the subject header, “why don’t we use the power of this list to do something about the debate?... “It would create quite a stir, I bet, and be a warning against future behavior of the sort..."

...[The Nation's Chris] Hayes urged his colleagues – especially the straight news reporters who were charged with covering the campaign in a neutral way – to bury the Wright scandal...

[The Washington Independent's] Spencer Ackerman [was resigned to defending Obama and Wright, stating:] "Part of me doesn’t like this s*** either... But what I like less is being governed by racists and warmongers and criminals... It’s not necessary to jump to Wright-qua-Wright’s defense. What is necessary is to raise the cost on the right of going after the left. In other words, find a rightwinger’s [sic] and smash it through a plate-glass window. Take a snapshot of the bleeding mess and send it out in a Christmas card to let the right know that it needs to live in a state of constant fear. Obviously I mean this rhetorically."

"...take one of them — Fred Barnes, Karl Rove, who cares — and call them racists. Ask: why do they have such a deep-seated problem with a black politician who unites the country? What lurks behind those problems? This makes *them* sputter with rage, which in turn leads to overreaction and self-destruction."

All of this is some damning stuff, but I wondered: what kind of articles did legacy media run in the immediate aftermath of the conspiracy? Did Journolist really have an impact?

It took but a few moments to find the template: Kevin Merida's May 2008 article in WaPo -- alleging all sorts of racism against Obama and his campaign workers -- to pick up the meme.

• 05/24/2008 Salon: How much will white racism hurt Obama?
• 05/23/2008 CBS: Obama's wife remains fair game for GOP
• 05/19/2008 Washington Post: Clinton Quiet About Own Radical Ties; Faulting of Obama Called Hypocritical
• 05/18/2008 Times-Union: Obama helps transcend racism
• 05/15/2008 NewsHounds: Master (race) baiter O'Reilly still rampaging after Syracuse professor
• 05/13/2008 Washington Post: Racist Incidents Give Some Obama Campaigners Pause
• 05/11/2008 Herald-Mail: Old racial hate phrased a new way
• 05/06/2008 Evening Standard: Racism and the threat of assassination haunt Barack's historic achievement
• 05/05/2008 Black Star News: Conservative Media Duplicity; George Will’s Big Obama Lie
• 05/01/2008 CBS: Michelle Obama: "Voters Are Tired Of This"
• 04/31/2008 Leonard Pitts: Let us face the ugly truth of racism
• 04/28/2008 BBC: Obama's pastor defends comments
• 04/26/2008 USA Today: Obama's ex-pastor: Comments taken out of context
• 04/26/2008 Newsweek: With Barack Obama, it's about much more than just race.
• 04/25/2008 Globe & Mail: Are Rust Belt race relations working against Obama?
• 04/21/2008 NPR: Appalachia the Scapegoat for America's Racism

So if you didn't know the media was dead, the Daily Caller's report just printed the obituary.

Which raises -- once again -- the question: what other stories has the media suppressed?

Like the Khalidi tape: recall that the Los Angeles Times has yet to release the tape (or even a transcript) of Barack Obama's speech at the banquet for PLO member Rashid Khalidi.

I have a new name for the mainstream media. I shall call it, from this point forward, the laughingstock media. They're unworthy of any contemplation above and beyond that which I'd devote to The Daily Show.

Oh, and Spencer Ackerman, if that is your real name, don't let me catch you on the street lest I be tempted to bust your head through a plate-glass window, take a snapshot of the bleeding mess and send it out in a Christmas email to Journolist.

Obviously I mean this rhetorically.


Lindsey Graham's shocking admission: I've got a skull full of stupid

Lindsey Graham has a blunt admission for Republicans.

Elena Kagan now has at least one Republican vote for confirmation to the Supreme Court: that of Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who said Tuesday that she was not someone he would have chosen "but the person who did choose – President Obama – I think chose wisely."

So... if Obama chose wisely... and you would not have chosen her... then that makes your choice... something other than wise.

I'm taking up a collection for 2014. Call it the Graham Cracka Fund.


Update: RINO Lindsey Graham Is Lone Republican to Vote For Kagan

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

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 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.


Subtle. Public Sector Union: Keep Us at Full Employment or the Subways Could Get Bombed.

Via Mish, New York's Metro workers -- the Transport Workers Union -- is running this ad in Metro Magazine.

Nuance.

As usual, the public sector unions are desperately scrabbling for any way to keep afloat -- in this case, trying to get federal stimulus dollars. Using Stimulus money represents a band-aid-sized fix for a double amputation.

There's no money left. And roughly 400,000 public workers must go.


Larwyn's Linx: The Most Racial President; Progressivism and the Dissolution of Boundaries

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 Most Racial President: WashExam
A Dangerous Disaffection: Power Line
Countrywide: Congress for Sale: Post

Angle Goes for Reid's 'Green' Jugular: NewsBusters
Sharron Angle: the Tea Party's Patton of the West?: Tapscott
Progressivism and the Dissolution of Boundaries: AT

Economy

Berwick will decide how much your life is worth: PJM
Big Labor Plays with Fire -- Taxpayers Get Burned: WashExam
AFL-CIO's 'Firewall' Strategy to Prevent 'Speaker' Boehner: PuffHo

Zuckerman: Obamanomics “our economic Katrina”: Hot Air
Taxing tanning beds…for racial justice: RWN
Financial Disaster Awaits in 'Reform' Bill: WashExam

Climate & Energy

Obama Takes Credit For Oil Cap: RWN
NYT: Steven Chu Frustrated Cleanup Efforts: AT
Obama’s Dog Flies to Vacation on Separate Jet: Malkin

Media

Through a Gimlet Eye: Studying the Washington Post, Kremlinologist-Style: RWN
Benevolent Billboards Pop Up, Marketing 'Right to Die': AT
Photos: South Orange County Patriots Rally for Arizona: AmPower

Andrew Breitbart to NAACP’s Ben Jealous: “Go to Hell!”: Giles
Fighting for Free Speech in Detroit: Geller
WaPo's Milloy: White People Are All Racist Exploiters: GWP

World

Riots in Dudley: 'People are walking past covered in blood': GoV
.........Cordoba.........: Crittenden
Presbyterian Youths Riot in France: JWF

Unilateral Disarmament: North
Iranians Still Killing American Soldiers in Iraq: PJM
Russian spy ring was no joke, but still treated that way: WashExam

Iranian Refugees - A Human Rights Disaster: AT

SciTech

Army tests HULC robotic exoskeleton: CNet
RIM co-CEOs pull no punches responding to Apple's antenna statements: Engadget
Doctors Make Magnetic Mask For Trauma Victim: iOTW

Cornucopia

I Will Survive: iOTW
Doswell Man Still “Seriously Considering” Standing in Hurricane Booth at VCC Mall: NFD
5% Rule and Social Security: Denny (Language Warning)

Image: RedPlanetCartoons
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Sharron Angle for U.S. Senate--Help Crush Harry Reid in November


Saturday, July 17, 2010

Hezbollah-style Car Bomb Kills Four Near Texas Border

Via Drudge, it would appear that Hezbollah's influence continues to creep northward from Mexico City.

People in Juarez are recovering from a car bomb that killed four Thursday night...

The victims include two federal agents, an ambulance worker and a doctor who was in the area when the bomb went off.

Tonight, we have learned that it was a car bomb that was detonated with the same kind of sophistication that is used by terrorist groups like Hezbollah.

A number of people were injured during the attack. Today we know that seven federal police agents were severely injured. A news photographer from channel 5 in Juarez remains in critical condition.

Hezbollah has been operating in Mexico for a number of years, thanks to funding from Iran.

So... would it be worth the $5 billion and change it would cost to construct a secure double fence on the southern border?