Friday, August 13, 2010

Citing Overwhelming Support by Vast Majority of Muslims Living in Foreign Countries, Obama Defends Ground Zero Mosque

Just when you think things couldn't get more preposterous, our beloved President unloads another pile of crack-pottery.

President Barack Obama defended the plan to build a mosque near the site of the 2001 terror attacks in New York, telling Muslim guests at a Ramadan dinner at the White House that the nation's commitment to freedom of religion "must be unshakable.''

Mr. Obama's remarks came after weeks of the White House sidestepping the debate that has roiled New York and the nation since developers announced plans to build a $100 million, 13-story mosque and Islamic cultural center just two blocks from the World Trade Center site.

[He said] "But let me be clear: as a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan... This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable..."

...A Marist College poll found that 53% of New York City voters oppose constructing the mosque near the former site of the World Trade Center. Just 34% favored the plan.

Debra Burlingame, whose brother Charles Burlingame was the pilot of the plane the terrorists hijacked and flew into the Pentagon, said she was furious over the president's remarks.

"I'm so angry. I believe this president has abandoned the American people,'' she said. "This isn't a fight about religious freedom for Muslims. No one has argued they don't have the property rights. This is about a project led by someone who says he's trying to build bridges and bring the community together and he's chosen probably the worst place in America and the worst way to do it.''

The president's statements are utterly, completely false.

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.

Sharia law is a legal system that completely rejects the Constitution and the American form of government. Thus, there is absolutely no "separation of church and state" issue.

3,000 souls were murdered by Islamists in the name of their political 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.

But as with health care and the economy, President Obama doesn't care what you or I think. Facts, logic, reason and history play no part in his "decision-making". Only ideology matters with this particular breed of hard-left Democrats.


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

'Dual Capacity': The Straw that Broke the Economy's Back

Easy-to-follow instructions: how to kill the economy in four easy steps -- and touch off the Dempression of 2011:

Step 1: Create an unbelievably onerous new regulation that hits small businesses particularly hard.

To partly fund ObamaCare, Democrats altered 1099 reporting requirements for small businesses beginning in 2012. Via a Google search, you can see the backlash from small business here. For a specific reaction, from one of many industries with serious concerns, see the National Restaurant Association. The move would saddle small businesses everywhere with a huge new administrative burden, as well as raise their taxes at a time when we need job growth from them.

Step 2: After weathering the outcry, pretend to listen to the American people and reconsider the new 1099 reporting regulations.

Late yesterday Majority Leader Reid re-filed a substitute to the small business jobs bill [which modifies] the expanded 1099 reporting provision enacted as part of the health reform bill.

Rather than simply repeal the regulation (as the GOP had attempted to do), the Democrat alternative will raise taxes on oil and gas companies in the U.S. only.

Step 3: Enact new taxes on domestic energy companies by taxing their foreign profits -- which are already heavily taxed in each foreign country in which the companies operate.

In the Obama administration’s 2011 budget proposal, included are provisions to change existing “dual capacity” rules, which are laws that grant tax breaks to American companies who generate income in foreign countries. These tax credits are used to offset the U.S. income tax on foreign income. Plans to change this policy would result in double-taxation on domestic oil and gas producers... [Foreign energy companies] carry on ...free of this added expense. State-controlled competitors in countries like Russia, Venezuela and China will secure energy sources at our expense.

In short, this will make domestic energy production completely unprofitable and will kill American jobs deader than Benito Mussolini.

Step 4: Profit! Well, the public sector profits, but Joe and Jane taxpayer take it on the chin, again.

It's a triple-whammy: energy prices will definitely increase (because there's less competition); Americans will lose jobs (as domestic energy companies cut unprofitable staff); and America will become even less secure (as more of our plentiful domestic energy sources lie fallow).

* * * * * * * * *

Add in the expiration of the evil Bush tax cuts on January 1st, 2011, and we have the recipe for a stake in the heart of the economy.

And should it be allowed to proceed unchecked, the "Great Recession" will henceforth be known as the "Dempression".

You've got to act in November, folks. That really is our last chance to set things right for our children. I'm not kidding -- it's happened throughout history and it can definitely happen again. That's not fear-mongering -- that's a fact.


Larwyn's Linx: The Destiny of a Free Nation

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 Destiny of a Free Nation: Doc Zero
The Enumerated Powers Act: a Simple Test: AT
Figures: racist plant at rally was Obama campaign worker: GWP

14-year old shot in the back, killed by twice-deported illegal alien: WZ
The Weeping, Wailing, and Gnashing of Teeth: Hanson
John Boehner's Testing Time: BigGovt

Economy

Democrats funding abortion with your tax dollars: RWN
$26.1B Union Bailout Went to States that Didn’t Need it: GWP
Pensions that exceed base pay: blame the unions: RWN

An Argentina-like Economic Crisis: AT
White House: Fight Racism--Hire Criminals and Deadbeats: Patterico
SEIU intimidation outside of Whitman fundraiser: BlogProf

Obama: Hiring teachers for empty classrooms: Surber
Issa: I.G. agrees: Stimulus signs are inappropriate: PJM
Democrats' Two Steps to Sink Small Businesses: Enzi

Climate & Energy

It Has Been Foretold: Roger Pielke Jr.
Boone Pickens’s Plan Full of Hot Air: Jeff Rubin
Spinning the Defeat of Cap-and-Trade: GloWarm

Media

The Free Press / Public Knowledge Stylebook for Public Debate: MediaFreedom
Does Special Ed Own a Mirror?: Yardale
The Top Fifty U.S. Conservative Blogs In The United States: iOTW

How did the word 'Ponzi' get into the MSM?: Denninger
America's Slipping Grasp on Self-Governance: AT
George Will: Netanyahu, the anti-Obama: Solomonia

World

Everything you need to know about Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf (Ground Zero Mosque Imam): GWP
U.S. Treasury Department Marketing 'Zakat': Atlas
'Turks hit PKK with chemical weapons': JPost

The Left vs. America at Ground Zero: JRubin
An Iranian Connection to the Cordoba House Ground Zero Mosque?: PJM
Irregular Crossings: AmSpec

Who can I turn to?: Belmont Club
Man Wearing Burqa Robs Bank…: WZ
The Internet: Avenue For Women Jihadi 'Participation': Eurasia Review

SciTech

Android 'Voice Action' Launches: PC Mag
Digging History: The Latest Archaeology News: Fox News
Oracle sues Google over Android and Java: CNet

Cornucopia

These are not desks: iOTW (Semi-SFW)
Jackie Evancho, 10-year old Opera Singer: YouTube
Israel Finds 2,200-Year-Old Gold Coin, Most Valuable Ever: Fox News

Pics of the Day: Babies Refusing to Make Eye Contact With Dear Leader…: WZ
Rooftop Tennis Inside the Queen City's Tiara: YouTube
Performance Reviews: Clowns to the Left of Me: MOTUS

Images: Weasel Zippers
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: J.D. Hayworth for U.S. Senate

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Clinton denies role in Sestak job offer, Sestak denies Clinton's denial, Gibbs blows a gasket, and polygraphs around the country explode

Well, this is interesting.

...as you may recall, starting last year (and as recently as May 2010) Joe Sestak began to allege that the White House offered him an administration job in exchange for dropping out of Pennsylvania’s Senate Democratic primary... such offers are ...against the law.  Sestak never recanted and the administration claimed that he had garbled a perfectly-innocent and certainly not felonious invitation by President Clinton to have Sestak serve on a commission.  As Sestak had gone on to win the primary anyway, it seemed obvious that all parties involved on the Democratic side of things wanted to let the matter drop quietly.  As for Clinton... he never said anything at all on the subject, really.

Until now (see also here).  Bill Clinton’s now denying that he tried to get Sestak out of the race.

Now, we can only speculate as to why this is coming out now, but consider the following:
  • Clinton and Obama have been having proxy fights in a number of Democratic primaries lately.
  • The latest one of these was Colorado: Obama backed Bennett, Clinton backed Romanoff.
  • Romanoff was the other Senate candidate who reported being offered a job by the White House in exchange for dropping out of the race.
  • The Colorado primary was Tuesday.
  • Clinton’s denial of being involved in the Sestak job offer took place on Wednesday.
So you tell me.  Or, more accurately, Clinton and Sestak can tell the Republicans on the House Oversight Committee, who are quite keen to find out just who is lying.

Interesting.

A few months ago, one of our eagle-eyed commenters aligned another piece of the Sestak-White House puzzle.

I think that we can probably infer from your timeline that the job offer (Navy Sec.) to Sestak was made sometime between early February, 2009 to, at or around, March 26, 2009- contrary to what the White House and Sestak claimed last Friday that the offer was sometime "last summer". Sestak likely turned down the offer and told them he would stay in the race, so then Obama nominated Mabus. Any offer by the White House to Sestak after March 26 would've been predicated upon Mabus stepping down or being replaced -- possible, but less likely.

A possible related note: I have no idea whether this is relevant to your timeline at this point, but it might be, so I'll throw it out there: The White House Counsel at the time the job offer was made to Sestak was Gregory Craig. Robert Bauer, a former Democrat election lawyer, who wrote the Sestak legal memorandum released last Friday, now holds the position.

Rumors started leaking last summer -- less than half a year on the job -- that the highly experienced Yale Law grad Gregory Craig was already on his way out, and were reported in many media outlets (WaPo, WSJ, etc.). On July, 22, 2009 White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina denied the rumors, "Sounds like typical Washington parlor games to me. These rumors are wrong." (WaPo), and denied it again to the WSJ a month later...

...In September, Craig told a group of three people, which included the president, that he was thinking of resigning (according to Politico). He then announced his resignation in November, with Politico reporting that, "[H]is decision was unrelated to the difficulties in closing Guantanamo Bay prison or other policy issues." Politico also reported that, "Craig said he could 'think of many ways in hindsight that I could have better served the president' but declined to be more specific."

So, who knows Craig's specific reason for resigning, but inquiring minds might want to know...

One more data point: in news you definitely could have missed, White House Deputy Counsel Daniel J. Meltzer resigned earlier this year:

...Among other things, Mr. Meltzer played a leading role in the administration’s efforts to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and related policies affecting terrorism detainees.

He was also the White House’s main contact with the Justice Department’s powerful Office of Legal Counsel, which evaluates whether proposed policies would be lawful...

Fascinating.

Anyone willing to bet that our beloved investigative pro journalists at the "newspaper of record" will diligently research these matters?


Militant Quaker arrested at Atlanta airport for multi-state stabbing spree

I'm just guessing here, mind you, but all the signs point to another militant Quaker running wild.

Elias Abuelazam was about to board a plane for Israel when police arrested him Thursday in connection with a three-month stabbing spree that left five men dead, 13 others wounded and a Michigan city in terror. In the moments before the bald, pudgy man in flip-flops and shorts was handcuffed, passengers saw him nervously talking on his cell phone, insisting he wasn't violent.

The Israeli citizen and legal U.S. resident is charged in just one case out of Flint, Mich., the battered industrial city where most of the stabbings occurred, but authorities said more charges are expected there and in Ohio and Virginia. At least 15 of the 18 victims were black but it was unclear whether the attacks were racially motivated.

Interestingly, some media outlets are spelling Abuelazam's last name like this: "Abu Elazam".

Far be it from me to assume that legacy media would intentionally obfuscate the surname Abu Elazam, but the fact is that militant Quakers are running wild. And my sincere hope is that some staunch protectors of American liberty -- like, say, Morley Safer or Mike Wallace -- will report on this deadly scourge.


The 15 Craziest 'Before and After' Rock Star Photos

The full slideshow is here. Brace yourself: you'll be amazed, shocked and -- in some cases -- nauseous.















Not to be cruel, but when did Linda Rondstadt become a Chris Farley impersonator?

Also: remember how your parents always told you that time goes by quickly? They weren't joshin' you.

Andrew Cuomo's Great Escape

Ed Morrissey, reporting at Hot Air:

For a man who made time to stand up on stage with Charlie Rangel at his fundraiser/birthday party to be seen by Democratic bigwigs and party donors, Andrew Cuomo sure didn’t want to let New Yorkers see him at the event...

Cuomo left the Plaza Hotel by an underground tunnel and popped up a block away — but not far enough to elude trackers with cameras. Cuomo hailed Rangel while in the Plaza as a man who “delivered” for his constituents, but didn’t have much to say to constituents as he raced for his car, as GOP gubernatorial hopeful Rick Lazio notes on his site today...

Cuomo, a gubernatorial hopeful who also wavered on whether he would attend, had kind words for Rangel. “Charlie delivered for New York,” Cuomo said. “He delivered for this nation.”

GOP gubernatorial contender Carl Paladino slammed Cuomo for standing by Rangel while promising to clean up Albany.

“How can New Yorkers believe Cuomo’s the man to correct the course of our corrupt ship of state when he’s laying in bed with Ripoff Rangel at the The Plaza hotel?” asked Paladino.

Heck, they can’t even ask Cuomo to answer that question; he runs too fast to get an answer.

The current Attorney General has little to say about alleged corruption and ethics violations when it comes to Democrats, except to raise funds for those colleagues. Shouldn’t his office be investigating the allegations specified by the House rather than partying with the defendant in that trial?

Ouch.

If you're unfamiliar with Cuomo's outrageous background -- namely the fact that he should be wearing an orange jump suit in Leavenworth -- I'd suggest reading Architect of Ruin, his illustrated resume.


Larwyn's Linx: Enough -- Blago, Jesse Jr. and Democrats' Summer of Corruption

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Nation

••••••••• Enough ••••••••• : Corner
What the Colorado primary results really mean: Barone
Compassionate, feeling, caring Democrats: Babalu

Summer of Corruption: Blago and Jesse Junior: Malkin
Schools Erase America From U.S. History: GWP
It’s Come to This: Democrat Bashes Obama/Pelosi: RWN

DNC spokesman: pro wrestling is totally real!: Troglopundit
Clinton Backing Away from Sesktak Story?: Hot Air
The Obsolescence of Barack Obama: WSJ

Economy

Democrats Loot Food Stamp Fund; Cut Military; Bail Out Teachers: RWN
Irony: $26-Billion Bailout To States Helps Pay For Illegal Immigration: Kesler
Uh-oh: Housing Prices to Drop 30% More By 2014?: BlogProf

Summer of No Recovery: AT
Obama July Deficit Tops Bush Deficit For All of 2007: GWP
Memo to GOP: It's Big Government, Stupid!: NRO

Climate & Energy

Al Gore: 'The United States Government as a Whole Has Failed Us' on Global Warming: B&MI

Media

Washington Post Has Watergate Scandal of Its Own: AIM
Charlie Gasparino: GE Execs Encouraged CNBC Staff to Go Easy on Obama: NewsBusters
Why Are Liberals So Ashamed Of What They’ve Done Since Obama Got Into Office?: RWN

Manufacturing Liberals: AT
ABC's George Stephanopoulos Hits Michelle Malkin With White House Spin on Dem Corruption: NewsBusters
Heartland bankers blast D.C. 'demagogues': Cashill

World

Taxpayers Funding Mosque Construction: Pundette
We Muslims know the Ground Zero mosque is meant to be a deliberate provocation: Ottawa Citizen
The WikiLeaks Hoax, Part I: PJM

No Time To Scrimp On Defense: IBD
Daisy’s Con: Ground Zero Mosque Imam’s Wife Tells Whopper About Me: Wafa Sultan
Sharia Science: Journey To The Center Of Time: CBullitt

Jeffrey Goldberg Probes Israel's Iran Strike Option: Is Netanyahu a "Bomber Boy"?: WashNote
Siddique Watch: Biased BBC
If Obama were President in 1941, we’d have lost WW2: EternityRoad

SciTech

Report: Official Twitter share button on the way: CNet
Leaked Verizon Road Map Screams Android, Android, Android: CRN
Cops Love iPhone Data Trail: Sun-Times

Cornucopia

It's the Dad Life: COTM
Disguised Weapons: Don't Even Reply (NSFW)
We The People: NosPopulus

Let Them Eat King Cake: MOTUS
Motorist Finds Way to Thank Obama Voters: Sharp Elbows
Investigating You: RWN

Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Allen West for U.S. Congress


Wednesday, August 11, 2010

CNN Poll: 68% of American Voters Oppose Ground Zero Mosque

Dan from New York:

CNN Poll: 68% of American Voters Oppose Ground Zero Mosque


BY John McCormack

August 11, 2010

CNN polls registered voters on the Ground Zero mosque:

As you may know, a group of Muslims in the U.S. plan to build a mosque two blocks from the site in New York City where the World Trade Center used to stand. Do you favor or oppose this plan?

The response:

Favor 29%
Oppose 68%
No opinion 3%

So, according to the Center for American Progress, two out of every three voters are un-American bigots.

I can only imagine that voters would be even more opposed to the U.S. government's funding of the Ground Zero Mosque imam's Middle East junket.

Think about it: President Obama voted "present" on the Ground Zero mosque.

And although he's been curiously silent on the topic, his State Department's appointment of Rauf says it all.

Dude.


Summer of Recovery: 'The IMF has... pronounced the U.S. bankrupt'

For your consideration, an eclectic montage of upbeat economic stories:

U.S. Is Bankrupt and We Don't Even Know It: Laurence Kotlikoff


Let’s get real. The U.S. is bankrupt. Neither spending more nor taxing less will help the country pay its bills.

What it can and must do is radically simplify its tax, health-care, retirement and financial systems, each of which is a complete mess. But this is the good news. It means they can each be redesigned to achieve their legitimate purposes at much lower cost and, in the process, revitalize the economy.

Last month, the International Monetary Fund released its annual review of U.S. economic policy... the IMF has effectively pronounced the U.S. bankrupt. Section 6 of the July 2010 Selected Issues Paper says: “The U.S. fiscal gap associated with today’s federal fiscal policy is huge for plausible discount rates.” It adds that “closing the fiscal gap requires a permanent annual fiscal adjustment equal to about 14 percent of U.S. GDP.”

The fiscal gap is the value today (the present value) of the difference between projected spending (including servicing official debt) and projected revenue in all future years...

Sounds sustainable!

Looking for a more positive assessment? How does a comparison to a Disney character sound?

America is a "Mickey Mouse economy"


America is a "Mickey Mouse economy" that is technically bankrupt, according to Jochen Wermuth, the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) and managing partner at Wermuth Asset Management.

"America today looks like Russia in 1998. Consumers, companies and the government are all highly indebted. America as a result is a bankrupt Mickey Mouse economy," Wermuth told CNBC.

Kewl! Thanks, Mister Prezodent!

Deficit in July Totals $165.04 Billion


The U.S. government spent itself deeper into the red last month, paying nearly $20 billion in interest on debt and an additional $9.8 billion to help unemployed Americans.

Federal spending eclipsed revenue for the 22nd straight time, the Treasury Department said Wednesday...

The $165.04 billion deficit, while a bit smaller than the $169.5 billion shortfall expected by economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires, was the second highest for the month on record...

The highest was $180.68 billion in July 2009...

That level of deficit spending comes to, uhm, $2 trillion a year. For you leftists out there, that would pay for about... carry the one... 20 years of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars -- combined. Oh, and it's another Obama record for economic master FAIL.

Freddie Mac requests $1.8B more in aid after 2Q loss


The government rescued McLean, Va.-based Freddie Mac and sibling company Fannie Mae from the brink of failure nearly two years ago...

The new request means they have needed $148.2 billion to stay afloat, about $63.1 billion of which is being used by Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac is losing money from bad loans it backed, many of them before the housing market went bust...

It had $118 billion in bad loans at the end of June, up from $103.4 billion at the end of last year. It owned more than 62,000 foreclosed properties in June, up from about 35,000 a year earlier.

To put it all in perspective, please recall the following:

The Democrats' so-called "financial reform bill" completely ignored Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. To have truly repaired these government-sponsored entities -- which triggered the 2008 economic calamity -- would have exposed some very, very embarrassing truths.

And the real reasons for the mortgage meltdown.