Sunday, August 08, 2010

Dayam: Photos of Jodie Fisher, Mark Hurd's Alleged Sexual Harrassment Victim at Hewlett Packard

If you're not a business news junkie, you may have missed word that HP's well-regarded chief executive resigned in a flurry of controversy on Friday. Mark Hurd had been accused on June 29th of sexual harassment by a former contractor. In addition, there were reports of expense report skulduggery. HP's board, mindful of ethical tarnish, acted hastily to force Hurd out.

[Jodie Fisher's letter] triggered a board investigation, said through her lawyer that she was "surprised and saddened that Mark Hurd lost his job over this. That was never my intention."

H-P said Friday that its board asked Mr. Hurd to resign as chief executive in large part because of expense irregularities uncovered during an investigation. It said he hadn't violated the company's policy regarding sexual harassment.

"Mark and I never had an affair or intimate sexual relationship," Ms. Fisher said. "I have resolved my claim with Mark privately, without litigation, and I do not intend to comment on it further." Mr. Hurd reached a settlement with her Thursday, according to another person familiar with the matter.

...Directors, mindful of the company's strict policy on ethics violations, began losing trust in Mr. Hurd as details emerged from their investigation, according to people familiar with the matter... Mr. Hurd didn't fill out his own expense reports and offered to pay back the amounts involved, which totaled about $20,000, another person familiar with the situation said. He didn't believe that the investigation would end with his resignation until the middle of last week, this person added.

Henry Blodget, meanwhile, reports that Hurd's people are denying that anything untoward occurred.

Now that both sides have had a chance to tell their stories in the Mark Hurd ouster, it's still not clear exactly why Hurd got the boot... And it's important that shareholders know exactly what happened, given that Hurd's departure has already cost them $10 billion.

...HP said Hurd lied about the identity of his dinner companions in his expense reports to conceal secret dinners with his apparent crush (who both sides say he didn't have sex with but who still sued him for sexual harassment anyway). Hurd's people counter that Hurd's secretary filed his expense reports and may not have known exactly who he was having dinner with (the reports are still his responsibility, obviously, but people do make mistakes). Hurd's people also counter that Hurd's expense reports sometimes DID list the woman as a dinner guest and that Hurd himself paid for other dinners with her where no business was discussed.

In a second allegation, HP also says Hurd had HP pay to fly the woman near to where he was staying even when she wasn't working for HP. That would be embezzlement if true, but Hurd's people deny that. They say in one of these instances, an event the woman was involved in was canceled at the last minute, after she had already made the trip.

Hurd is 53 years old, married with two kids. He said on Friday that he had "not lived up to his own standards of integrity".

And if $20,000 in misstated expense reports resulted in the termination, it would be truly shocking. Hurd's compensation over the last three years was nearly $100 million. His severance payment amounts to $12.2 million more.

What a strange, strange story.




'African-American Princess Meets Spanish King'

Dan from New York writes:

Michelle Obama meets Spain's king

My exclusive sources tell me this portion of Michelle's lavish vacation will be billed to the State Dept. The First Lady was carrying a diplomatic message from her husband to the King apologizing for the Spanish American War.

Ouch. If Dan were any more caustic, they'd have to categorize him as an acid.


James Zogby's Full-Throated Defense of Sharia and Cordoba House

On a day when headlines shrieked news of the tragic and vicious murders of a US medical team in Afghanistan by Islamists, James Zogby decided to publish a defense of the Ground Zero mosque in a major Middle Eastern newspaper.

Bad timing.

But, then, timing is often an issue for the apologists of Sharia since -- according to an official tally -- Islamists have been responsible for roughly 15,800 murders since 9/11.

Zogby's defense of the Ground Zero mosque is as dishonest as it is pathetic.

Having become a captive audience to the “clash of civilisations” rhetoric espoused by neo-conservatives and America’s Christian right, US Republicans have dug a deep hole for themselves concerning the Middle East and Islam.

Gee, James, and I thought the "clash of civilizations" rhetoric was coming from the Islamists? James Arlindson precisely described the goals of the Islamists using their own words. Among the highlights:

• Usama Bin Laden: "For [subordination to the Jews and occupation of Arabia] and other acts of aggression and injustice, we have declared jihad against the US, because in our religion it is our duty to make jihad so that God's word is the one exalted to the heights and so that we drive the Americans away from all Muslim countries."

• Mufti Madani: "... [T]he Muslims attained political power over all the others by waging Jihaad. They fought for Allaah’s pleasure and conquered nation after nation, including the superpowers of the Romans and the Persians... Even today the Muslims dominate large areas and will be able to dominate the rest if they unite, separate from the Kuffaar [Unbelievers] and wage Jihaad for Allah’s pleasure."

• Usama Bin Laden: "I am one of the servants of Allah. We do our duty of fighting for the sake of the religion of Allah. It is also our duty to send a call to all the people of the world to enjoy this great light and to embrace Islam and experience the happiness in Islam. Our primary mission is nothing but the furthering of this religion."

Funny, Zog, but Bin Laden and Madani don't strike me as neo-cons or members of the Christian right, you pathetic twerp.

Comments a few weeks back by the 2012 presidential aspirants Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich, in opposition to the building of a mosque in New York City, are a case in point... Mike Huckabee, a leader of the religious right, has made disparaging comments about Muslims and is so bizarrely pro-Israel that he has stated “there’s really no such thing as a Palestinian”, while Mitt Romney, once the moderate governor of Massachusetts and now the darling of conservatives, has on more than one occasion suggested that the government wiretap mosques.

Zog, you've conveniently omitted one interesting factoid: the imam in question has endorsed the implementation of sharia law in the United States. By his own admission then, the brand of Islam he wishes to practice is not a religion -- it is a political system.

Zog, as you well know, Sharia law is a legal system unto itself that rejects the Constitution and the American form of government. Thus, there is absolutely no "separation of church and state" issue.

...They [the right wing] charged [Obama] with “moral equivalence” (meaning that he equated his concern with the Palestinians to the traditional American concern for Israelis)...

Precisely. Last time I checked, hard-line Israelis hadn't flown any planes into New York City skyscrapers. We can't say the same for hard-line Islamist extremists of the sort that rule Gaza.

This Republican drift and the harshness of its anti-Arab and anti-Muslim rhetoric is worrisome. America’s engagement across the Middle East and South Asia is too important and the dangers too great for such virulence and misunderstanding to have taken hold in one of our political parties, especially when the GOP’s leaders appear so willing to vent their venom and use it for political advantage.

Recognizing reality is not venom. 3,000 souls were murdered by Islamists in the name of their religion on 11 September 2001. Tens of thousands of innocents have perished since then -- killed in beheadings, stonings, executions, hangings, beatings, floggings, suicide bombings and more. All were murdered in the name of a political system that adopts the guise of a religion.

Sharia law, Zog, is law. A political system. Even you should be honest enough to admit it.

Zogby's headline is Virulent anti-Middle East rhetoric grips the US right. I should have termed this response Virulent pro-Sharia rhetoric grips terror apologists, which is a good deal more accurate.


Hat tip: Memeorandum. Also see: Hey, ACLU: I want to file a zoning permit next to the Ground Zero mosque! Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Washington Post's Eugene Robinson imitates Custer, claims 'Charlie Rangel is no crook'

One need only read the latest op-ed by the sixties retread named Eugene Robinson to comprehend the depths to which the Washington Post has descended. I did not make up the title of his most recent piece. Perhaps the Post, in its efforts to cut costs, outsourced title editing to The Onion.

Charlie Rangel is no crook


Charlie Rangel is no crook. He’s right to insist on the opportunity to clear his name, because the charges against him range from the technical all the way to the trivial...

...Rangel apparently was careless in filling out his required financial disclosure forms; he should have known better than to take that important exercise so lightly. And he’s accused of using a rent-controlled Harlem apartment as a campaign office -- which, I suppose, makes him the first New Yorker to look for loopholes in the city’s Byzantine rent-control laws. But where’s the old-fashioned venality? Where’s the out-and-out graft? Where’s even the hint of avarice?

...What’s missing is any allegation that Rangel bent or broke a single House rule -- or even a New York city ordinance -- for his own gain... ...Rangel was trying to satisfy his ego, not line his pockets. The real crime would be if such a long, distinguished, important public career ended in disgrace.

Eugene Robinson is a very, very disturbed individual. Rangel's dozen-plus charges would have landed any normal citizen in prison for a decade-long stint. The list of House ethics violations include, but are not limited to:

• Rewrote tax law to benefit a company that donated money to his namesake center;
• Used four rent-controlled apartments (violating NYC's rent-control laws) including using one as an office, not a residence (also violating NYC's laws), which also raises the question of an improper in-kind campaign contribution
• Improperly reported his ownership interest in a Dominican Republic condominium and failed to pay income taxes on $75,000 in rental income
• 'Intentionally failed to report' hundreds of thousands -- or millions -- of dollars in mysteriously acquired assets -- including an IRA, mutual fund accounts and equities

The full story will probably never come to light, thanks to the Journolistic practices of DNC PR hacks like Robinson.

Gee, look what I found: a Eugene Robinson op-ed from 2005!

Immoral Majority


...It may be too much to hope that the former House majority leader [Tom Delay] -- and how good it feels to write "former" -- will actually be convicted and do jail time. The indictment for criminal conspiracy returned by a Texas grand jury on Wednesday is for alleged campaign finance violations that are the rough equivalent of money laundering, which is not the easiest crime to prove in court.

But DeLay's problems are bigger than Texas. His golf-buddy relationship with Jack Abramoff, a fat-cat lobbyist under federal indictment, will face months of scrutiny. DeLay's resignation from the House leadership is supposed to be temporary, but Republicans ignored his wishes and picked a strong successor who could serve out the rest of this Congress if necessary. Clearly they believe their former leader will be distracted for some time.

Which makes me feel like it's morning again in America.

It's little wonder that the Washington Post is hemorrhaging readers faster than a door-to-door encyclopedia salesman.

It's the intellectual dishonesty, stupid.


Larwyn's Linx: Provisioning Sharpened Pikes at the Gates of D.C.

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

Provisioning Sharpened Pikes at the Gates of D.C.: AT
Obama's birther strategy has backfired: LegalIns
Hmmm: Illegal immigrant murders friend, drinks blood: TAB

Campaign Finance Reform. Or, as I like to call it: shut up.: RWN
Where do officials stand on the Ground Zero mosque?: Caller
For a preview of the the Ground Zero Mosque, see Virginia: McCarthy

Economy

No History of Racial Bias at CT Slaughterhouse: JWF
Medicare Actuary Doubts the Health of Medicare’s Trust Fund: Reason
Terrifying City Pension: Coming Soon to Your Hometown!: Reason

Palin fact-checks the fact-checkers on taxes: BlogProff
'Pro-business' Democrat: What's a P&L Statement?: DetNews
Democrat Jeff Greene and the Mortgage Meltdown: TampaBay

Obama Cripples Ford's Funding, Then Subsidizes It: AmSpec
O looks silly pushing job 'creation' myth: Post
1913 was a very bad year: AT

Climate & Energy

So Long to the Dustry Trail: AT

Media

Gotcha! Salon's Justin Elliot, Feces Fondue: iOTW
Losing the Celebrity Edge: HillBuzz
Media Attacks Black Tea Party Conservatives at National Press Club: GWP

Krugman's Incredibly Sloppy Hack Job On Rep. Paul Ryan : Wolf
Obama: Not the Great Stone Face : Hanson
Hilarious: Washington Post Tumbles Over Worries On Stanley Kaplan Unit: Barron's

Conservatives Should Stand Up and Support John Kerry: RWN
Can We Dispense, Now, With The Myth That They Feel Our Pain?: RedState
A Rather Angry America: Hanson

World

Tolerance: Muslim Activists Celebrate Ground Zero Mosque by Executing 10 Christian Missionaries : JWF
Photos Confirm Lebanon Used American Weapons To Attack Israel: MereRhetoric
The "Unsaid Apology" To Japan -- and Japan's WWII Brutality They've Never Apologized For: Marooned

Poll: Islamic Center near Ground Zero?: No Quarter
Ground Zero Mosque Would Desecrate the Memory of 9/11 Victims: PJM
Sharia Law in Canada and Britain: AT

Will Holder investigate Obama pal for providing material support to Hamas?: AT
In Afghanistan we see an appalling and probably hopeless example of what a low IQ society looks like: STACLU

SciTech

Hurd's double faults leave him out at HP: CNet
Playing Politics with Stem Cells: AT
The new RNC website is a dramatic improvement: RWN

Cornucopia

Slick Times: C&S
Family Splatter: American Digest
Lady M Ends the Racist Reign in Spain : MOTUS

Image: Spotted at Instapundit
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Christine O'Donnell for U.S. Senate


Saturday, August 07, 2010

BlackBerry Maker RIM 'Submits' to The Saudis

Dan from New York writes:

Liberals like to make the silly argument that if we bloody the noses of Islamic terrorists, the terrorists “win” because we “become like them.” But there are much better ways to allow Islam to undermine our way of life. Venal corporate executives and witless PC politicians are just two that come to mind.

CNET News, August 7, 2010

Report: RIM to let Saudis monitor BlackBerry data


BlackBerry maker Research in Motion has decided to allow the government of Saudi Arabia access to BlackBerry users' messages, in order to avoid a ban on the device in the country, the Associated Press reported Saturday.

The AP quoted an official at the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission as saying that the deal between RIM and the government would likely involve placing a BlackBerry server inside the country to enable the Saudis to monitor data.

...The Saudi government said earlier this week that it would order the country's three wireless carriers to block the popular BlackBerry device as of Friday if the government could not reach an agreement with RIM. The device apparently wasn't blocked outright yesterday, but service may have been disrupted.

The Saudis have expressed concern that the BlackBerry, which features exceptionally strong privacy safeguards, could be used by terrorists to avoid detection. The U.S. government and others have acknowledged that danger but have voiced their own concerns about protecting freedom of speech. The Saudi government blocks some Internet content for political reasons, and some have suggested that the pressure on RIM is an effort by the country to exert more control over communications.

Saudi Arabia is reportedly RIM's largest market in the Middle East, with about 700,000 BlackBerry users. It has not been alone in its objections to the device. The country's neighbor, the United Arab Emirates, has also announced intentions to block the BlackBerry, and Lebanon, Algeria, and India have pressured RIM as well.

RIM in particular is being targeted because it uses stronger data encryption for business customers than its smartphone rivals. It also routes e-mail traffic through its own network of servers, including many in its home country of Canada, making it harder for countries to tap into servers to read e-mail and intercept other data.

Prior to Saturday, Research in Motion had resisted demands to modify its server network, as well as other efforts to regulate the BlackBerry. Last year, the state-owned mobile operator in the United Arab Emirates encouraged BlackBerry users there to install a "performance enhancement patch." RIM criticized the patch as spyware and published instructions on how to remove it, saying it could "enable unauthorized access to private or confidential information stored on the user's smart phone." The carrier denied that claim.

In a report yesterday, Reuters quoted an analyst in the Middle East as saying that RIM's placing a server in a country would be similar to handing that government a "master key" to the BlackBerry.

Dee-lightful.


Pass the Popcorn, Nahanni: HuffPo Readers Try to Blame Everyone But the Left for the Collapse of the Modern Welfare State

There's nothing more entertaining than watching the rabid denizens of PuffMo froth over the collapse of the modern welfare state. In this case, Arianna's tepid tout sheet features eight states that are slashing services due to immense budget deficits.

KlinzBoy: "This is all the result of 30 years of conservative policies. We bought in and here we are. This is all part of the plan folks."

Sean6399: "Illegal immigration has destroyed California's budget. Schools are full of the children of the illegals. California's prison population is 20% illegal immigrant. Hospitals are full of these impoverished economic refugees who can't pay for the government services they suck up... But observation of these facts is clearly motivated by racism."

The dense ball of cement that is DSOTM's brain: "The Costs of Illegal Immigration vs. State Budget Deficits: a Chart"
DSOTM: "I find it so ridiculous that the people of Arizona want to spend the millions defending the immigration bill and lay off teachers at the same time... Way to go Arizona, you're all white future looks mighty bright"

Winston120: "The States have to align with the realities of the current economy. Printing money in DC to prop up budgets in states can't go on forever. The entire civil servant population needs an overhaul. In my state, CA, the civil servant salaries and pensions are outrageous and unsustainable. These leeches still want to retire at 50 while people in the private sector will see retirement raised to 70 and maybe more. A 20-25 year retirement gap alone is outrageous. "

Gee, and all this time I thought America had thrived because of the Constitution that the "right wing" founders created, which led to the most prosperous society on the face of the Earth? My mistake.
Procrustes13: "Let's play how low can your wages go. Down, down, down they go. A permanently-lower standard of living is the right wing utopian future. "

Robinhood1: "Do you expect Democratic politicians to turn against their union masters? That leaves the Republicans, who are more interested in keeping gays in their place. The average resident is screwed."

Racoon1: "The old, the sick, the children.......do with less or do without. This is civilization?"

I love it when the deepest of blue states blame Republicans for the giant turds their Democrat masters left in the punch bowl. Cali, NY, Illinois -- heartless Republican leaders!
BiseeOrNotBisbee: " It is in the Republican world. :( "

MissingAmerica: " We need an overhaul in government. To cut budgets in education and yet continue to fund war and penal institutions is simply assuring that we will have no shortage of ignorant warriors in the future, especially since no one will be educated well enough to teach anything else. How I miss the days when we expended our efforts on the young people and the living, rather than depleting funds for the common good in order to fund death, destruction, ignorance and chaos. How far we have sunk since I was a child! "

BannorHill: "Since when did State budgets fund the war? States do not finance death and destruction yet they have unbalanced budgets. The state proplem is not war funding but over spending in wrong areas. A typical problem of big government. "

TruelyFedUp: "Please see my petiton entitled Unemployment Solution USA ... to help the 44.25 million unemployed in America have a solution like you have seen here... Our alternative is to have massive numbers of hungry, angry people with the right to bear arms in our neighborhoods seeking any means to survive.

Gee, putting the unemployed in 'compounds'. Sounds familiar. Like 1930s Germany.
MissingAmerica: " While parts of petitions ideas are good, it has one basic flaw. If funds are removed to assist the unemployed who are not a part of the community, it requires them to relocate to what is effectively a compound... What we do need is a government that encourages corporations to return to us. I could see the government funding the building and/or retrofitting of factories for corporations who agree to return to the land of their industrial birth. They could fund the building of housing around those industries."

RobinHood1: "Too bad so many Republicans distracted the voters with the bogus issue of gay marriage. The right wingers should have sponsored an initiative to roll back government pensions instead."

Firstep: " Meanwhile we are paying for a big vacation in Sapin "

That 4.6% unemployment was a bitch!
Welib: " And George Bush didn't even bother to show up for work for more than 3 years of the 8 years he was supposed to be working for us. He took a 3 year vacation! 1020 days! "

AyeChart: "The states (run in the main by left-wing Democrats) liberal states and cities for the most part, have been cutting NECESSARY and BENEFICIAL services while funding left-wing liberal boondoggles like opera houses and art museums and other items that COULD BE CUT WITHOUT ENDANGERING the citizens. But NO! They continue to fund the icing on the political cake while cutting back police and firemen, etc."

This rant by "Welib" has it all: Bush lied. Borrowing from our grandkids' to fund 99 weeks of unemployment makes sense when the government's got record-setting debt. Talk radio is inciting people to violence. And Valerie Plame is a hero. The guy apparently never heard of the Democrat creations called Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Come to think of it, a more terrifying example of the typical drone mentality you'd be hard-pressed to find. This guy needs to be in a laboratory so scientists can figure out how and when his brains leaked out of his ear-holes. My guess is it was sometime during his AFT-approved education.
Welib: "You're full of *hit! Talk about endangering citizens? You are trying to hang that stink on liberals? Get out of here. Republicans sent this country to war FOR LIES. That's not just 'endangering' our citizens lives, it's making them give up their lives so Republicans can make money.

...Republicans refused and still refuse to sign off on benefits for the American people and rebuild this country, but they don't mind spending billions and billions rebuilding other countries.

...Republicans incite violence against Mr. Obama and other minority Americans, al la Glenn Beck, Fox News, Rush Limbaugh. Mr. Obama gets 400 times the threats GWB got and the Repubs even show up to Obama's town halls with not just guns, BUT LONG GUNS, ASSAULT RIFLES.

...The Repubs would have shot anyone on site if they had come like to within 2 miles of Bush! There wasn't even free speech back then. Like Valerie Plame found out, you tell the truth, your career is over!

...IS IT AN ACCIDENT THAT REPUBLICANS HAVE BANKRUPTED US TWICE AND PUT A 7.5 TRILLION DOLLAR HOLE IN OUR ECONOMY? "

MarkAndre: " Wow a psychotic rant from a liberal, what are the odds, it is all Bush’s, and the Republican fault: after 19 months of Obama and a Democratic majority only a fool could not see the truth! "

Gee, I feel all sparkly clean now!

'Smith, get a motorcade to take me over to Bethesda Country Club. I grow tired of the people's incessant complaints about unemployment.'

Tyler Durden once again lifts the veil on the real economy and finds the true unemployment (U-3) rate is roughly 14.7%.

The first chart below demonstrates the LFP [Labor Force Participation] rate, which a derivative of the chart we presented earlier, has now plunged to the lowest level in over 25 years, or 64.6% (gotta go back to December 1984 for the first time this was passed). So we decided to "normalize" the LFP by keeping it at the peak achieved at the turn of millennium, or December 1999, when it hit a peak of 67.1%. Now as everyone knows the US population has been soaring since then, and with the cost of living increasing ever more with each day, and as more and more family members are forced to join the work pool, it makes sense that in a normal economy, the LFP should continue rising instead of declining. We thus kept it constant at the 67.1% level (instead of doing the conservative thing and pushing it higher along the trendline), and ran the unemployment numbers through, assuming this part of the jobless equation was constant. To our surprise, we found that the U-3 rate (not the U-6), which today was supposed to be 9.5%, in fact turns out to be 13.0% as of July: an all time record save for the 13.6% recorded in December 2009. And if instead we use the trendline number of a 68.5% LFP rate, the unemployment rate today would be 14.7%. In retrospect we sympathize with Christina Romer's decision to get the hell out of Dodge... Reported and adjusted labor force participation rate:


Running these numbers through the actual unemplyment calculation, reveals the following: while assuming a declining LFP rate we obviously get the 9.5% unemployment rate, assuming a peak 67.1% LFP results in a 13.0% unemployment rate. And if the labor force participation rate were to grow according to trendline, the jobless rate in the US today would have been reported at 14.7%, just about where the U-6 was reported, but based on an entirely different methodology.


Pity the geniuses who work in legacy media haven't figured out that (a) this kind of story is newsworthy; and (b) it sells papers.

Because the logical follow-up question is: when will these jamokes figure out that the economic damage is intentional?


20 Grooviest Vintage Tech Ads

Jenny sent this one in.





Maine's Free-Spending RINOs Love Running Up the National Debt

Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, the twin "moderate" Republican Senators from Maine, have accumulated a troubling and inconsistent track record when it comes to upholding the Constitution. Their latest move: voting to confirm Elena Kagan when they know full well that the new justice is a political operative appointed with a single mission. Her job is to uphold the constitutionality of ObamaCare, the most intrusive federal over-reach in American history.

Snowe and Collins held the crucial swing votes for the Orwellian 'DISCLOSE Act', a blatant attempt by Democrats to squelch free speech. Thankfully, they voted the right way, but only after high drama (likely involving billions in bribes earmarks) in the upper chamber.

While Maine contributes only $6 billion annually to federal coffers, Snowe and Collins exhibit no qualms in spending the rest of the country's money. Or, rather, many subsequent generations' money, which will have to be repaid with interest.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_tax_revenue_by_state

Federal tax revenue (2007)

Rank State Gross collections (2007) Population (2007) Revenue per capita
44 Maine $6,289,216,000 1,317,207 $4,774.66

http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/olympia_snowe.htm
  • Voted YES on $192B additional anti-recession stimulus spending.(Jul 2009)
  • Voted YES on modifying bankruptcy rules to avoid mortgage foreclosures. (May 2009)
  • Voted YES on additional $825 billion for economic recovery package. (Feb 2009)
  • Voted YES on $60B stimulus package for jobs, infrastructure, & energy. (Sep 2008)
  • Voted YES on $2 billion more for Cash for Clunkers program. (Aug 2009)
  • Voted YES on Congressional pay raise. (Jul 2009)
Missing is the latest state bailout bill.

This is how Collins and Snowe maintain their power. They play footsy with Democrats in order to spend more and more of the taxpayers' money -- Collins is directly responsible for $377 million in pork over the last couple of years; Snowe is at $368 million.

This is why "moderate" Republicans must be primaried and defeated. The country is bankrupt. It can't afford any of this garbage. Yet Snowe and Collins -- vote after vote -- flirt with the radical leftists who control the Democrat Party. That's the same Democrat Party which appears to have launched a Kamikaze attack on the entire U.S. financial system.

The welfare state is dead. And, despite their high positions, Collins and Snowe appear to be the last so-called Republicans in the country to have received the memo.


Hat tip: K.

Toon o' the Day: Road Rage

By PlanetKram.

In case you missed it, HillBuzz has the back-story.

Larwyn's Linx: Why ObamaCare Has Gaping Holes

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

Why ObamaCare Has Gaping Holes: Patterico
Censorship --- Dhimmi Censorship: iOTW
Affirmative Action in Congress: Taxman

Lindsey Graham: My vote for Kagan inspired by Jesus: Hot Air
The Hiroshima Question: AT
McCain Blowing Up Colorado GOP: PJM

Economy

No Shady Banking Buddy Left Behind: Malkin
Summer of Recovery, Democrat-style: Virtuous Republic
Black Teenage Unemployment: 40.6%: HNN

Unions want baby sitters declared public employees: WashExam
Anger mounts over Michelle's £150k Spanish holiday: MoneyRunner
Interactive Visualization Of Russia On Fire: ZH

Climate & Energy

Global Warming, R.I.P.: AT
Electric Car Subsidies Boost the Rich: Post
Hey, let's hire some eco-scoundrels to create agitprop!: CBullitt

Media

Dismantling Joe Klein: Commentary
Bloggericide: Ohio Officials Charge Blogger With Campaign Violations: GWP
Putting the Ham Back in Alhambra: MOTUS

Time Magazine: Normal Americans Are Ignorant Bigots: RWN
Michelle’s “Excellent Adventure”: Another sign Obama doesn’t really want to be President: Simon
How's that Hopey Changey Working Out?: Boortz

Media Matters caught red-handed editing Beck audio: Mediaite
Benign Dictatorship and the Progressive Mind: AT

World

The Foundations of our World: Belmont
Nukes: Time For a Live Demo: AmDigest
The Word 'Superpower' Should Be Retired?: Dinocrat

Pawlenty Slams Ground Zero Mosque: Unpatriotic of Muslims to Build on “Hallowed and Sacred Ground”: WZ
Lord God, Free At Last: Rifqa Bary’s Victory in Ohio: Chesler
The Manhattan Mosque and Women: AT

SciTech

The Truth About Digg Patriots: RWN
What makes a tweet influential? New HP Labs social media research may provide answers: HP
Anthropologists unearth cozy Neanderthal cave sleeping chamber: TAB

Cornucopia

Contest: emails Journolist members will send each other if there's a November bloodbath: iOTW
Don't Click the Link!: Moe Lane (NSFW)
Boy Scouts Send Prez a Little Message: WZ

Images: DotPenn.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Sick of Harry Reid? Support Sharron Angle for U.S. Senate

Friday, August 06, 2010

Correlation between a person's mind and his desk

Jasmine sent this one in:

Saw these photos on the Internet about the correlation between a person's mind and his desk...

(William F. Buckley)

(Nat Hentoff)

(Albert Einstein)

(Community Organizer)


RED ALERT: Unanimous Vote by AFL-CIO Group Demands Obama Administration Stop Setting Illegals Free

Are you tired of getting riled up by a new affront each day? So am I -- believe me. But gird your loins, dear reader, because the two of us are about to experience new levels of progressive depravity.

It was unanimous. That is, 259 of 259 representatives of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement arm of the AFL-CIO voted to demand the removal of President Obama's DHS immigration heads. 100%. And, surprisingly, you won't read it in your beloved daily fish wrap.

In an unprecedented move within the Department of Homeland Security, the detention and removal officers and agents responsible for and sworn to enforcing our nation's immigration laws issued an exhaustive, scathing letter simply titled "VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE IN ICE DIRECTOR JOHN MORTON AND ODPP ASSISTANT DIRECTOR PHYLLIS COVEN" on June 11, 2010. The letter, acquired through sources, provides a litany of examples of how ICE's mission is being skewed towards supporting an unflinching goal of amnesty by refusing to allow agents to do their job; allowing criminal aliens to roam free; depleting resources for key enforcement initiatives that preceded this administration; and misrepresenting facts and programs, demeaning the extent of the criminal alien problem and geared to support amnesty.


The letter, authored by ICE Union President Chris Crane, begins as follows, noting that all ICE union representatives have signed on to a unanimous "Vote of No Confidence" in ICE leadership:

On June 11, 2010, the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council and its constituent local representatives from around the nation, acting on behalf of approximately 7,000 ICE officers and employees from the ICE Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), cast a unanimous “Vote of No Confidence” in the Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), John Morton, and the Assistant Director of the ICE Office of Detention Policy and Planning, (ODPP), Phyllis Coven.

Providing numerous facts the media and public have not been privy to, the letter relates ICE leadership dishonesty and failure to abide by their oath to uphold the law. The letter also outlines the importance of local law enforcement referrals to ICE, and the striking symbiotic relationship between local enforcement and ICE on immigration matters. Exemplary are these two bullets:

• While ICE reports internally that more than 90 percent of ICE detainees are first encountered in jails after they are arrested by local police for criminal charges, ICE senior leadership misrepresents this information publicly in order to portray ICE detainees as being non-criminal in nature to support the Administration's position on amnesty and relaxed security at ICE detention facilities.

• The majority of ICE ERO Officers are prohibited from making street arrests or enforcing United States immigration laws outside of the institutional (jail) setting. This has effectively created "amnesty through policy" for anyone illegally in the United States who has not been arrested by another agency for a criminal violation.


In one uncharacteristic note of sarcasm, the outcome of the Obama Administration new detention policy is described as follows, including dance lessons and hanging plants for criminal aliens in detention facilities:


• ICE Detention Reforms have transformed into a detention system aimed at providing resort like living conditions to criminal aliens. Senior ICE leadership excluded ICE officers and field managers (the technical experts on ICE detention) from the development of these reforms, and instead solicited recommendations from special interest groups. The lack of technical expertise and field expertise has resulted in a priority of providing bingo nights, dance lessons and hanging plants to criminals, instead of addressing safe and responsible detention reforms for non-criminal individuals and families. Unlike any other agency in the nation, ICE officers will be prevented from searching detainees housed in ICE facilities allowing weapons, drugs and other contraband into detention centers putting detainees, ICE officers and contract guards at risk.


Interestingly, ICE Director John Morton told the Washington Post, in regard to this letter and other interest groups that call for his resignation (apparently this is quite common for him), that such letters are just, "part of the territory here." Mr. Morton, may I suggest that a significant problem with dismissing a No Confidence Vote from your entire employee population is, when you run an agency of 7,000 officers and agents, you can't do your job unless they do theirs? Oh wait, that is the whole point, is it not?


Dereliction of duty?

Impeachment?


Not sure... but what did Obama know -- and when did he know it?


Related Reading Just to Tick You Off Even More:
The Shameless Duplicity of the Obama Administration: Napolitano Directly Contradicts Solis on Immigration Enforcement; Media Strangely Silent.
Killing the Nuns Americans Won't Kill
Four Border Stories Guaranteed to Make Your Blood Boil
Obama Administration Unveils Dramatic New Plan to Seal Massive Gulf Leak: Suing Arizona for Arresting Drug- and Human-Smugglers
Anyone know what you call it when heavily armed intruders cross the border into the U.S. unmolested by authorities? Oh, that's right: Arizona.

Let Them Eat Arugula: Are the Obamas Disconnected From Reality?

Tom Blumer sketches out the full contours of Michelle Obama's European vacation: 60 rooms in a five-star resort at $2,500 a night. Per room. That's $150,000 a night for a First Lady's vacation. Blumer's conclusion is discomfiting.

I... worry that what we are really witnessing is how people who can get away with it act when they know a collapse is coming (another example relating to Nancy Pelosi is here). That is, have fun and spend wildly while you can, because a few years from now all of this will be a distant memory. I hope I’m wrong.

Most liberals are simply too ignorant of history and too caught up in the pursuit of their own gratification to ever believe the merry-go-round can grind, quite suddenly, to a halt.

Exhibit A: A helpful chart and timeline explaining Michelle Obama's super-important job at the University of Chicago Hospital (UCH), a position coincidentally created just after her husband's election to the Senate... and dissolved moments after she resigned to move into the White House.

Sandwiched, of course, by Sen. Obama's $1M earmark to UCH.

In 2002, Michelle Obama was hired by the University of Chicago Hospital as its "Executive Director for Community Affairs" at a salary of approximately $120,000.

In January of 2005, Barack Obama was sworn in as a United States Senator.

In March of 2005, Michelle Obama was promoted to "Vice President for Community and External Affairs" and her salary bumped nearly $200,000 (from $121,910 to $316,962). This position was "newly created" for Mrs. Obama.

In February of 2006, Barack Obama requested a $1 million earmark for a new hospital pavilion at the University of Chicago. It's unclear whether additional favors were granted to those connected to UC. And days after she formally became the First Lady, effective 9 January 2009, Michelle Obama resigned her position at UCH.

Effective 14 January 2009, Michelle Obama's VP position was eliminated, its functions absorbed into another executive's position. This prompted writer Don Rose to ask "[If] that work can be folded into another guy’s, why was it separate in the first place?"

Excellent question. Some roguish wags might speculate that a quid pro quo arrangement was in effect; pay-to-play as it were. But that seems highly unlikely given Barack Obama's high ethical standards*.

The moral of the story is that the Obamas appear to be without moral or ethical underpinnings. The lessons of right vs. wrong, history vs. ideology, rationality vs. random action are lost on Michelle and Barack Obama.

Exhibit B: No one begrudges a Spanish holiday when Bill Gates blows a million of his own money on it. When Michelle "Marie Antoinette" Obama abuses the taxpayers' largess, however, it's another story completely. Patterns, it's all in the patterns.

• 26-Jul-2010: Obama Birthday Dinner Has $30K Price Tag
• 22-May-2010: As economic worries worsen, White House puts on the glitz
• 03-May-2010: NYMag: Michelle Obama Wears Prabal Gurung and Big, Expensive Jewelry to Correspondents’ Dinner
• 06-Apr-2010: Robert Amsterdam: Obama's Expensive Dinner at Prague Castle
• 11-Jun-2009: Obama girls fly to Paris: Another expensive private date, and this time it's a family affair
• 31-May-2009: Althouse: Obama takes his wife on a very expensive date

There is no right versus wrong, there are no ethical norms. There is no moral foundation. And that simple fact could very well be at the root of our problem.


* Ignoring, of course, Auchi, Ayers, Blagojevich, Jarrett, Jones, Rezko, etc.

Larwyn's Linx: Justice Department steers money to favored groups

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

Justice Department steers money to favored groups: York
The shady Shorebank bailout revisited: Malkin
Border Agents Vote 'No Confidence' In ICE Leadership: GWP

Yeah, They Lied (x 10): LegalIns
Caddell: Country's Mood Is "Pre-Revolutionary": Ace
Federalism: if not now, when?: AT

Economy

The 'Social Security Trust Fund' Is Broke: Foundry
More 'Unexpected' Economic News: RWN
Geithner's SS report is much worse than it looks: Insider

Michelle Obama is not on food stamps: Surber
Government Motors Buying Off Democrats: BlogProf
Tone Deaf President Still Pushing 'Card Check': GWP

Slave-labor conditions at Sherrods’ farm?: Zombie
Homage to Bretton Woods: Sargen
AFL-CIO Chief Pleads for Union Support: RWN

Climate & Energy

Best Letter Ever: Texas To EPA — GTFO: CBullitt
Obama 'trying to dictate the powertrain... of the future': BlogProf
Texas tells the EPA to pound sand: RWN

Media

Don't Be Scared of Godwin's So-Called Law: AmSpec
The Magical Jesus of Soros and Pelosi: NewsReal
Outrage as Race Ignored in Hiring Decision: RWN

#rsrh Top Ten Signs of DOOM.: Moe Lane
Krugman Will Believe Anything That Makes Health Care Reform Look Good: JOM
We know who's to blame for Omar Thornton's murders of 8: RWN

World

Terror Alerts Confirm PJM Reporting on Hamas Fundraiser’s Scheduled Memphis Event: PJM
Niqab Security Outrages at Canadian Airports: Pipes
Michelle And Sasha’s Excellent Spanish Adventure…At Taxpayers Expense!: GWP

SciTech

Android Now Outselling iOS? Explaining the Game of Chess That Google Plays in the Smart Phone Space: Zero Hedge
Platinum-nanoparticle-based catalyst could lead to low-cost, stable fuel cells: Kurzweil AI
Ten Reasons to Love the Bomb: AT

Cornucopia

You Manga-nificent Bastards: Lurid Asian "News" Animation Now Does Lindsay Lohan: Ace
NBC Takes Olbermann Off Sunday NFL Broadcasts: SBB
Jefferson was right to fear the courts: AT

Images: People's Cube.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Support J.D. Hayworth for U.S. Senate -- Defeat John McCain


Thursday, August 05, 2010

Rats now catapulting themselves off the SS Obama: administration's incoherent 'economic adviser' resigns

Christina Romer, President Obama's top economic adviser, just announced she's quitting.

Romer finally came to the conclusion that marketing the destruction of the economy as positive news was as inexplicable as a Treasury Secretary who cheats on his taxes.

Of course anyone who thought that any President would be more likely to listen to an academic, rather than a political handler (like Rahm) was always doomed to be mistaken.

We can't help but observe that the news comes out one night before the monthly job figures... It was part of her job to always write the post-release spin, and explain how a seemingly bad number was actually good.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but Romer shoulda known better.

After all, how many freaking jobs did Saul Alinsky ever save or create?