Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Top 20 Reader Comments From the LA Dog Trainer's Coverage of Obama's Fundraising Visit to Hollywood That Paralyzed the City's Traffic

President Obama's motorcade paralyzed Los Angeles rush hour traffic for hours, resulting in thousands of outraged comments in local news sites. The worst part? Obama's sole reason for his visit was an exclusive, million-dollar fundraiser hosted by Holloywood's hoi polloi.

I am outraged that the president has chosen rush hour to travel through LA, and that law enforcement has not adequately routed traffic elsewhere. Obama has single handedly alienated hundreds of thousands of voters leaving them stranded for hours, unable to get in my case a few blocks. I finally left my car illegally parked in a permit only neighborhood just to get home. If I get a ticket, I will most certainly contest it. It's very hard to understand the total lack of respect for the working class here. -- BBlair

Hey, it could have been worse. Obama's policies have cost so many people their jobs that I'm sure the traffic volume was correspondingly reduced. Just think of how bad things would have been 12.2% of the city wasn't out of work. -- Charlie Foxtrot

Look at a Map of Los Angeles and estimate how many people move on that Map. Would you arrive at 3pm and shut down the 405 and then move eastward and completely shut down the small streets that millions of commuters use because they are no where close to a freeway, just to have a meal? If you do not live in Los Angeles you cannot make a comment. Move here pay to live here and then live here and then make a comment about what happened tonight. Cars were over heated. People had to leave their cars to walk home. About people walking to get water. Los Angeles is one of the driest places in the United States. Again live here and then speak. Get a map, ask some of the mother's stuck for hours and then talk to us about what happened. -- matflash

President Obama arrived in Los Angeles. For what? To pitch his failed presidency to a lot of Democrat fat cats who still think this total loser is the miracle worker. Note that the same Hollywood hacks - from creepy agents to old movie stars - are backing this failure. And he makes driving in Los Angeles worse than it is. I can't wait to vote against every incumbent on the ballot. Unfortunately, I can't vote Pelosi and Obama out of office. But in two years... Obama will be total history. He can go back to organizing neighborhoods. -- pasadena jag

Praise Obama! He must have been doing something really important, so all you people need to stop complaining. He could have been talking about the economee or how were going to get rid of Alqida or heal the world from the poison gases and oil leak. He's doing his best to make the world a better place so hwho cares if you were stuck in a little traffic. People are so selfish, just thinking about themselves while Obama is trying to help all of us. i love you Obama. Yes we can! -- Steve Blithe

I work in Beverly Hills and watched the traffic jam develop. I was essentially trapped in the office - my only choice would have been to drive the wrong way down a one way street so I could go north to Sunset.

I live in Playa del Rey with view that includes LAX departing flight paths over the ocean. What is particularly galling is that Sunday afternoon, I watched 3 Sea Stallion Ch53s escort 2 VH-3ds - Marine 1 and Marine 2 - into LAX. So - he had a chopper at hand...

This morning, the Sea Stallions and VH3s returned to LAX a little before 9am. On August 6th there was an uproar in DC about a Presidential visit to a sign company- Marine 1 was used instead of a motorcade which was deemed disruptive and expensive.

DC traffic can be every bit as horrible as LA traffic. One wonders why they didn't chopper him to his destination.

Tone deaf White House. -- Lemmy Caution

I had to abandon ship across the street from my house...only to be told that i could not walk across the street. My neighbors and I stared at the officer who was doing an outstanding job of playing the role of "silent scary guy" when we asked questions. When asked about crossing the street, we were literally told that we would be arrested by order of the federal government and that we could not cross until AFTER Obama left the fundraiser (this was at 7:20pm so we knew it would be a while). When asked how long he thought it might be we got a disinterested shrug. For those saying we're complaining about sitting in our air conditioned cars and to get a bike - nice try, but bikes, people, dogs...NO ONE was allowed to cross Olympic tonight. I gave up and enjoyed a cocktail at Marie Callendars on Wilshire until the street reopened. -- jg

That's it, I'm done. I even voted for him, but now I'm convinced that I'll vote for anyone but him in the next election. If this is how he handles something as mundane as a visit to Los Angeles, I have zero confidence in his and his team's ability to navigate the complex issues facing the country today. Who's the incompetent who figured it was OK to shut down Santa Monica and Olympic during rush hour? And how about the radio traffic reporters who said that they couldn't tell listeners which streets were closed because of "security." Someone should lose their job over this...in addition to Obama in 2012. -- Steve

Dear irritated LA, I feel for you. King Obama pulled the very same selfish type of stunt when he decided at the last minute to fly into Chicago's O'Hare airport so that he could have his birthday party with his Chicago political cronies. As a result, he completely grounded air traffic, caused numerous flight delays as well as flight cancellations (all at a major hub which jams up all other major hubs nationwide - I might add).

It makes you wonder why the boy-president couldn't he have just landed at a military base instead thus allowing the rest of the working, taxpaying-citizens of this country to actually try to fix our economy instead of use it as there own private meal-ticket? Consider the math and the ramifications for his selfish act ... and keep in mind that Obama's stimulus package sure as heck isn't going to pay back all those stranded business people let alone the airlines for the costs resulting in the aftermath of having to re-book everyone.

But hey ... I guess what's important is that Obama got to go to both his parties (albeit on the taxpayer's dime). Thanks Mr. President. You're a shining example of fiscal responsibility. -- Brad Wilson

100K commuters X 4Hours X $10 per hour. Cost in lost time $4M+   Add in the cost of the gasoline lost while idling. And the transportation costs via AF1. Hope it was worth it, BO. Maybe the plan is to just hit LA up for a $1M campaign donation for NOT visiting next time. -- OBQuiet

It's all Bush's fault. -- Barry O.

A million people can't get home tonight, and for what? So a tiny group of fundraisers can kiss Obama's butt for a few minutes? Tonight Angelenos learn what this President thinks of them. We are all nowhere near as important, trying to get home to our kids from our jobs, as the President's fundraiser. This isn't the first time it's happened either, but by far the worst. When he was here for Boxer's thing a few months back that was a traffic disaster as well. He really needs to stay the hell out of this city unless he can take his chopper to the event. -- Tom

Wow. That was a total, complete mess. Never seen a traffic jam in LA like that...and this is LA! How much money was lost by Angelino business and residents having to deal with that unnecessary traffic disaster? I bet you not anywhere near what Obama raised at his fundraiser with with an elbow-rubbing Hollywood producer. And least I talk about the hundreds of thousand of lives of Angelinos like myself who after a long day working just wanted to get home to their kids/family, but instead were stuck in their cars for three hours going in circles. I am an Obama supporter, so don't try ripping on this email as some excuse for party stance. I can be pro Obama and still appalled at that disaster. And yes, an apology is owed. -- Trafficstucker

Da Mayor says ride a bike! It worked for China in the 60's. -- steve

8 yrs of Bush's administration and I never experienced anything like today. Luckily, I got out of west L.A. in the afternoon so I wasn't stuck for hours but they still closed Wilshire Blvd and parts of Santa Monica Blvd (even though Obama's plane wouldn't even land for at least an hour). I did have to walk about a mile to get to a bus stop - but what about the people who have mobility issues or little kids?

...Buses were being re-routed and the bus drivers didn't even know where they were going. People were waiting on Wilshire Blvd without a clue as to where to go to catch a bus because Metro (MTA) got limited information. Obviously Secret Service doesn't want to release the route they'll take for security reasons, but at least let LAPD and the city know which streets actually need to be closed. Let the bus agencies figure out where to detour their buses and let them inform passengers where to board. -- Cassie

Please, people, these are the elites, not to be bothered by your whining just because you had to spend hours gridlocked so they could whiz through empty streets with police and secret service escorts in the middle of rush hour(s). Know your place! You are the working tax paying drone class, here only to serve! -- nosanctuary1

what a nightmare. It took me 185 minutes to get home. Had I KNOWN about this, I would have stayed at work and relaxed or just gone out to eat but instead I was sitting in my car... for 185 minutes. Thanks LA. -- david goodberg

I forgot to add that I witnessed a few small car accidents during my 4.5 hour nightmare commute - and lots of drivers were swearing at each other, nearly fighting. This is simply unreal. -- DeeVee

Obama is the Marie Antoinette of the 21st century. -- Jim Appleby

But, folks, remember: Democrats are for the little people.


Question: What's more bizarre than Barack Obama's endorsement of a Sharia-compliant mosque in the World Trade Center debris field?

Answer: Nancy Pelosi's repeated calls for an investigation into the funding of... not the WTC mosque, mind you, but the opposition to the mosque.

I'll save Pelosi the time, effort and cost related to the investigation. She can start with a subpoena of the 9/11 families who were stunned by the President’s support of the Ground Zero mosque. I'm sure that would go over well with the American people.

There is something fundamentally and deeply wrong with Nancy Pelosi.


Image: Sad Hill News. Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: Who is Funding Alexi Giannoulias?

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Nation

Who is Funding Alexi Giannoulias?: WklyStd
Barack Obama’s Ground Zero Mosqapocalypse: RWN
Reid Birthright Video Found: LegalIns

Blago Verdict: the Lone Juror Holdout: Malkin
Obama's Witch Hunter: FPM
Pelosi supports Mosque protest investigation: SHN

Economy

Summer of Corruption: Obama's Becker Edition: Malkin
Unions: the Democrats' Tree of Liberty: Wolf
Obama Sets the Stage for a 'College Bubble': AT

Obama has already brought 'change' to America: Sowell
What happened to the 400,000 jobs Pelosi promised us?: RWN
3 more things we learned about Obamacare after it passed: WashExam

The Ruling Class Takes Care of Its Own: Blumer
Thought Control at Augusta State U.: FSM
Obama and the Teachers Unions: ITT

Media

Moe Lane Uses Everything But Two-by-Fours and Brickbats on Leftist Nutbag Peter Beinart: Moe Lane
The Ground Zero Mosque - Not Just Another Building Two Blocks From Ground Zero: JOM
Is Harry Reid Un-American?: Taranto

Politico Ignores Dems. Culture of Corruption to Talk of GOP’s ‘Offbeat Candidates’: RWN
Comedy at Midnight (Strap-On): Ace
Beck told: no prayer at Kennedy Center event: BlogProf

World

Ground Zero Mosque’s Hidden Websites: Follow the Shariah: Big Peace
Obama: Property rights for Muslims but not for Jews: GWP
Louisiana At Leading Edge In Fight Against Shariah: Hayride

Cordoba or Tours: Navon's Blog
How Much Do Muslims Really Understand About Islam?: Old Ironsides
Targeting North Korea: Let’s Think Like a Kim: PJM

El Jefe Reid nos dice: SooperMexican
eHadi and His Wife Compiled Hit List that We Weren't On: Jawa
Hilarity at The Hague: Charles Taylor, Blood Diamonds, and Naomi Campbell: NewsReal

SciTech

Oh Dear: Nancy Pelosi Pulled FDA Strings To Get Democratic Super-Donor Access To Prohibited Experimental Drug: Ace
What If There Was A Massive Natural Disaster And No One Noticed?: Ace
Do-it-yourself solar power for your home: CNN

Cornucopia

Why you shouldn't try to drive through a forest fire: Ace
Periodic Table of Swearing: GOT (NSFW)
What Are You Doing?: Denny

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


Tuesday, August 17, 2010

What's the Carbon Footprint of the Massive, Hours-Long L.A. Traffic Jam Caused by President Obama's Million-Dollar Hollywood Fundraiser?

Just one Presidential motorcade during rush hour is all it takes to set Los Angeles afire, rhetorically speaking.

President Obama raised $1 million Monday for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

He also alienated some Angelenos, at least temporarily, as his motorcade mangled evening traffic en route from the Beverly Hilton to the Hancock Park home of producer John Wells, whose credits include “West Wing,” “ER” and “Southland.”

The glitterati paid through the nose,

The entry fee was $2,500, but co-hosts — including Abrams, Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey and Marilyn Katzenberg, and Barbra Streisand — paid $30,400 a couple. They didn’t all attend, however.

The ones who didn’t attend were probably stuck in traffic, along with the hoi polloi.

It takes little effort to cause a traffic jam at rush hour in LA, but the mark of real talent is causing gridlock for cars while blocking pedestrians:

Although it was a friendly crowd, the street closures snared not just vehicles but pedestrians — if calls, e-mails and posts to The Times’ website were any guide.

Yes, Los Angeles is fuming, but remember: it's for the children.


White House Releases Barack Obama's Official Passport. And, Yes, It's Redacted.

Earlier today, an accidental click-through to Politico revealed a gleeful leftist high-fiving himself with the all-but-certain-Pulitzer-winning article entitled "Don't look, birthers, it's Obama's passport!"

Obama PassportNow, personally, I could care less where Obama was born at this point -- he's done a damn fine job ruining the country regardless.

But the Journolist-wannabes at Politico appear to have missed the point.

Why are the issue and expiration dates redacted?

Under what sort of passport did Obama travel to Pakistan in his college years?

As Jake Tapper reported during the campaign:

"I traveled to Pakistan when I was in college -- I knew what Sunni and Shia was [sic] before I joined the Senate Foreign Relations Committee."

This last part -- a college trip to Pakistan -- was news to many of us who have been following the race closely. And it was odd that we hadn't hear about it before, given all the talk of Pakistan during this campaign.

So I asked the Obama campaign for more information.

Apparently, according to the Obama campaign, In 1981 -- the year Obama transferred from Occidental College to Columbia University -- Obama visited his mother and sister Maya in Indonesia. After that visit, Obama traveled to Pakistan with a friend from college whose family was from there. The Obama campaign says Obama was in Pakistan for about three weeks, staying with his friend's family in Karachi and also visiting Hyderabad in Southern India.

Before Politico's reporters celebrate this dramatic, revealing release of new information about Obama, perhaps they could explore these redactions, his missing medical records, his missing college transcripts, his missing senior thesis, his missing law firm records, his missing State Senate records, and every other important piece of information regarding his background and upbringing.

Or would that be racist?


'Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor Obama's ICE stays these drug- and human-smugglers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds'

The patriots at BorderInvasionPics posted a new video clip last week, this one illustrating the relentless flow of drugs into the U.S.

Janet "The Border's As Secure As It's Ever Been" NapoliReno was unavailable for comment at press time.

In the mean time, the "U.S. Border Patrol has pulled back from parts of the border in his and neighboring counties because manning those areas has become too dangerous."

Yes, we really are retreating from our own border.

Change!


At last: inventory inside a Wal-Mart that rivals the richness and diversity of the shoppers

Yes, we have the wild assortment of people. But China has the inventory.

Don't bother surfing over to Snopes. It's just too good to check.


Hat tip: Larry.

Bloomberg's quiet investments in Sharia Finance: an ulterior motive in backing Ground Zero's Victory Mosque?

Lower Manhattan's St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church once sat across the street from the World Trade Center's Tower Two. It was leveled during the catastrophic attacks of 9/11.

For years, church officials have attempted to get permission to rebuild. Yet the New York Port Authority and other local bureaucrats have thrown every obstacle in the book at the rebuilding project. They said the proposed new church was too big and its dome too high -- even claiming that the structure could rise no higher than the WTC Memorial.

St. Nicholas Church’s difficulty in getting approvals to rebuild stands in stark contrast to the treatment that the developers of the proposed Cordoba mosque have received...

New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, state Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo, and a raft of city officials have all come out publicly in favor of building the mosque, and the city’s Landmarks and Preservation Commission recently voted unanimously to deny protection to the building currently occupying the site where the mosque is to be built.

The mosque is proposed to rise 13 stories, far above the height of the World Trade Center memorial, with no height restrictions imposed...

...The contrast has not been lost on at least one candidate for Congress. George Demos is a Republican running in New York’s 1st Congressional District... Demos said it is the church that has been unjustly delayed. “One place of worship was destroyed in the attacks. That should be the first thing on that board’s agenda. That should be the first priority,” he said. “There were actually relics of St. Nicholas in that church that were lost in the attacks. Why is it that the same government officials who are so ferverently fighting for the mosque’s right to be built aren’t also fighting for the church to be rebuilt.”

Demos was critical of Mayor Bloomberg’s recent comments on the occasion of the Landmarks Commission vote. In a speech immediately following the vote, Bloomberg said, among other arguments, that allowing the mosque project to go forward would be a victory of sorts over the forces that attacked America on 9/11.

Why would the Ground Zero mosque receive such seemingly special treatment?

An observant tipster notes that Bloomberg's namesake news service has a significant financial interest in keeping those of Middle Eastern heritage happy.

Spurred by a recent boom in sales in the region, Bloomberg is expanding its Dubai office into a regional hub, a move that will as much as quadruple its local staff over the next year.

...The company has ... been developing an Islamic finance portal, which Mr Linnington said would be helped by having more people on the ground building relationships.

“Particularly since the meltdown of the western capitalist system, there has been an increasingly large focus on the virtues of Islamic finance,” he said. “Today, there is no one single provider of information that caters to the Islamic finance market. So by Bloomberg being here, we are in the process of building out an Islamic finance product. We are very confident that we can build a product that meets the needs of the market right now.”

"Islamic finance" refers to banking systems and investments that are consistent with Islamic law (Sharia). For instance, Sharia prohibits the payment or receipt of interest on money lent. The rules associated with Sharia finance present significant and profitable business opportunities for men like Mayor Bloomberg.

In short: Churches and Synagogues bad. Sharia Finance and Islamic Victory Mosques good.


Hat tips: Crane, Mark Levin and BNI.

'I solved the mosque problem'

So writes Don Surber.

You are welcome, America.



Walking my way back on mosque, babe

(Cut to the chase)

Make it an ecumenical building.

Sure.

it will work out fine.

On Fridays, it can be a mosque for Islamic worship.

On Saturdays, a synagogue.

On Sundays, a church.

Good idea.

If anyone objects, just scream "RACIIIST" at the top of your lungs while speed-dialing Al Sharpton.


Larwyn's Linx: Clip and Save Until November 2nd

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

Clip and Save Until November 2nd: Hewitt
'I would like to see what they’re doing in Arizona done here': Malkin
The Re-Hollowing of the Military: Commentary

'Transparency' Mask Dropped: RWN
9th Circuit Grants Stay Pending Appeal in Prop. 8 Case: LegalIns
Nice: Dem Congresswoman brings thug to town hall meeting: GWP

Change: Obama's $30K-a-head Hollywood Fundraiser: WashExam
If You Thought "Taxation Without Representation" Was Bad...: Wizbang
Bam to New York: Drop Dead: AT (Lewis)

Economy

Dems Continue to Loot Food Stamp Fund, Now to Help SEIU: RWN
Another Day, Another Union Bailout: WashExam
HUD offers interest-free $50K loans to unemployed: Hot Air

Your Recession, Not the Government's: Surber
Fiscal Conservatism's Social Roots: Jacksonian
Thoughts on Q.E. II: Sargen

Climate & Energy

How Obama is locking up our land, continued: Malkin
Granholm: Criticizing Chevy Volt is “un-American” or something: Hot Air
Liberals (again) blame, in unison, global warming for local weather: BlogProf

Rand Paul Gets It: Attacks Obama-Pelosi in Kentucky Coal Country: GWP

Media

What Can Be Done About the Increasing Worthlessness of Your Vote?: Patterico
Time’s Mark Halperin Pleads with GOP Not to Use Obama’s Support of Ground Zero Mosque Against Dems: WZ
Geller Goes Hollywood: RSM

Rush Limbaugh Calls Barack Obama our 'First Anti-American President': WZ
A Couple Of Pointers For TheStreet.com On Blogging Etiquette: Zero Hedge
LA Teachers' Union Wants to Censor the Times: LAT

World

Hamas Supports Building Ground Zero Mosque: RWN
Obama Changes Mosque Vote to “Present”: RWN
The Real Problem is Not the Mosque but the Nukes: AT

Bolton: Israel has Eight Days to Decide: GWP
'America is a project, Europe is a sorrow': Driscoll
IN PICTURES: Al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP): Occident

Panderer: the Trouble with Harry: Fausta
Tolerance: Afghan Man and Woman Stoned To Death For Adultery: iOTW
Ground Zero Mosque odds and ends: Treacher

SciTech

Suit alleges Disney, other top sites spied on users: CNet
Volt Before and After: Highlighting Government Shortcomings: iOTW
The Coolest Thing You'll See Today: Whatever

Cornucopia

Those Voices Don't Speak For The Rest of Us: iOTW
Weekend Caption Contest™ Winners: Wizbang
Exercise in Tolerance: R&R

Images: Fox News
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Had enough of Harry Reid? Support Sharron Angle in NV!

Monday, August 16, 2010

If Barack Obama Was Intentionally Trying to Destroy America, What Exactly Would He Be Doing Differently?

Discuss.


Perfect Timing: Media Matters Beclowns Itself Just as FDA's New Death Panel Begins Process of Denying Access to Breast Cancer Treatment

If you look up schmucks in the dictionary, odds are you'll see this logo. The nutters at Media Matters selectively spliced Jim Hoft's pick-up of this story to apply their typical Streicher-style spin.

While I appreciate the free P.R., what you'll want to note is what the cretins forgot to mention. That is, the Susan G. Komen for The Cure Foundation -- not exactly a bunch of wingnuts -- are among those protesting the FDA's discontinuation of Avastin "for metastatic breast cancer patients, noting that it is effective for some patients and warning of a chilling effect on new drug development if approval is withdrawn."

In the kind of exquisite timing at which Media Nutters specializes, Ace o' Spades reported the following delightful development earlier today, complete with flaming skull.

Ho Boy: FDA May Rescind Approval Of Anti-Breast-Cancer Drug As Political Favor To Obama


The FDA is not supposed to consider costs of treatment. Their mandate is to determine if a drug is "safe and effective," period. If it's safe and effective, it gets approved. Period. That's their job. Officials there recently re-iterated that cost considerations are not part of their mandate.

...This presents a political problem for Obama in the case of anti-breast-cancer drug Avastin. Apparently it's quite expensive. His new head of Medicaid and Medicare, Berwick, who makes a point of talking up controlling costs by denying some treatments, is going to deny reimbursement for an anti-prostate-cancer drug, Provenge. Or, well, they're still mulling it over, which means they're considering not covering it.

And now there is the anti-breast-cancer drug Avastin. Like Provenge, it has already been approved by the FDA. But that creates a political problem -- how can Obama control costs and reassure the public that he's not, as maintained by his critics, denying useful and effective drugs to seniors in order to free up money for ObamaCare?

Oh -- here's a great idea! We'll just get the FDA to rescind its previous approval of the drug so that Medicare and Medicaid don't even have to consider reimbursing for it, thus sparing Obama a political headache, and merely at the cost of taking off the market, from anyone suffering from breast cancer, a drug already deemed "safe and effective" by the FDA.

Federal regulators are considering taking the highly unusual step of rescinding approval of a drug that patients with advanced breast cancer turn to as a last-ditch hope... The FDA is not supposed to consider costs in its decisions, but if the agency rescinds approval, insurers are likely to stop paying for treatment.

This is criminal. To avoid a difficult political debate -- and the honest confession that "bending the curve" of Medicare costs to free up money for ObamaCare is going to require a lesser standard of treatment -- the FDA is killing a safe and effective drug and thereby outlawing for anyone, including those who can be helped by this drug and no other, and who are paying for the drug with their own private insurance or own out-of-pocket money.

Ace points out that your betters -- i.e., the Maxine Waters and Charlie Rangels of the world, who are above the law -- will certainly have access to any drug they need.

As for the peasants?

We're just numbers in one of Donald Berwick's actuarial tables.

And what will you drones at Media Matters do now? The pencil-necked geek named TBogg appears to have proffered an invitation for you. Of course, it could be time for you to have another slumber party so you can regroup.


Set the Anger Level to Boil

Last week the invaluable Cato Insitute published several charts derived from a Bureau of Economic Analysis study of compensation.

In terms of raw wages, federal workers are making 38% more than their private sector counterparts.

Figure 2, which I like to call They're Really Making More Than Double, tallies federal workers total compensation -- including benefits -- against those of the taxpayers.

The idiot race-baiter Shirley Sherrod was right when she said, "you never get fired from a government job". Compare the federal termination rate -- the total of discharges and layoffs -- with that of the private sector. Private workers are more than three times likely to lose their jobs.

Finally, Cato observes that the "quit rate" is a good indicator as to whether compensation is overly rich. Private workers quit their jobs more than eight times the rate of federal workers.

Outraged yet?

Well, I've got one more factoid for you: Obama and the Statist Democrats want even more of your money. Even if they lose the election in November, they intend to pass new energy taxes, try to jam through a VAT tax, and slam in a mandatory unionization bill called "card check".

In other words, no matter how much money they take from you, it's never enough.

You had better vote in November if we have a prayer of stopping this madness. I've got a few suggestions as to how we can attack the Democrats' purely evil lame-duck intentions -- but only if we can take one or both houses of Congress in the fall. Those will be posted shortly. Remember November.


Astoundingly excellent automatically generated headlines o' the day

Spotted at Memeorandum.

Mr. Krugman, meet Mr. Ponzi. Mr. Ponzi, meet Mr. Schmuckman. I mean Krugman.


Larwyn's Linx: America's Democrat-Socialist Party

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

America's Democrat-Socialist Party: RWN
Congressional Report Blasts 'Propaganda Presidency': PJM
Harry Reid can’t believe I’m a Hispanic Republican: Cubachi

Palin on WTC Mosque: Not Above Your Pay Grade, Barack: NiceDeb
Good News: Border Patrol Forced to Retreat From Border: WZ
Obama vs. the Survivors of 9/11: GoV

Economy

The New Abnormal: Doc Zero
The Free-Marketeers Strike Back: City Journal
Feds to Guarantee Million Dollar Condos in NYC: BigGovt

The Journolist Issue No One Is Bringing Up: No Pasaran
Surprise! Economic Numbers Are 'Worse Than Expected': AT
Do We Really Need a New Tax?: AT

Media

Green Light People: RWN
That "20 Worst Americans of all time" list compiled: Althouse
Charlie Crist Hearts the Ground Zero Mosque: RWN

Actually, Mr. President, that’s not what the Constitution says about the Ground Zero mosque: Surber
Talking Down to a Bigoted Nation: Belmont Club
That New Yorker Cover: Not So Funny Now: Grand Old Partisan

The Enigma of Our Age: Hanson
Post About Coffee Party Decline Removed From Its Website: LegalIns
If Timothy McVeigh had been a Christian: AT

World

The Koran and the Psychopathology of the Prophet (Part II): GoV
Remembering FDR's Historic Shinto Shrine Speech: Hindenblog
Here's Why It's Called the 'Ground Zero Mosque': Malkin

General Petraeus: Not so Fast on That 2011 Troop Withdrawal, President Obama.: WZ
Why Are the Intolerant Preaching Tolerance?: Gutfeld
N.J. rabbi leads Jews, Muslims on interfaith trip to Nazi concentration camps: NJ

Why is the Ground Zero mosque removing web pages, and changing its name?: Creeping

SciTech

Defeating Rogue Ads: Network World
Chrysler's Gun-Toting Pickup Truck: Fox News
Report: Hurd short-circuited HP board's probe: CNet

Cornucopia

The Not-So-Great Generation and the Vision That Dare Not Speak Its Name: AmDigest
Mystery Solved!: C&S
Spider-Man’s Got Nuttin’ on These Guys: Parkway Rest Stop

Miniature Golf for a Miniature Vacay: MOTUS
Your Ad Here!: MOTUS
Pirate Latitudes: Parkway Rest Stop

Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Like Eric Holder? Then Thank John McCain


Sunday, August 15, 2010

Democrats Gone Wild: California So Broke It's Assessing Payroll Taxes and Fines on Down's Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy Caretakers It Hasn't Paid

A KPBS interview with California State Assemblyman Joel Anderson (R) describes the tragic failure of the Democrat Party's brand of socialism.

Q: Tell me where we are with the vote on the budget.

A: We haven't had a vote yet. I'm in the minority party. We don't dictate when the votes come. The majority party does. Last year, we issued over 450,000 IOUs, totaling more than $3 billion. And many of these IOUs went to individuals and also to companies.

Q: Who gets the IOUs?

A: Vendors. Primarily vendors of the state of California.

Q: People who sell to the state?

A: Or people who have services. For example, we have Novis Homes in... in San Diego County. This is a 70-bed facility for Down's Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy clients. Many are orphans, their parents have long since passed away. And they're looking at a $270,000 fine.

Q: Can they say open under these circumstances.

A: I don't see how they can. Because they're having a tough time meeting payroll. And at the same time, we're asking them to pay payroll taxes.

I wonder whether the taxpaying residents of California's sanctuary cities appreciate the genius of the Democrat Party's brand of economic leadership.


Making a Statement--Harvard University Divests Itself of Israeli Companies; Invests Heaviest in China's Polluters That Use Child Slave Labor





From the Israeli business journal Globes (via Drudge):

In another blow to Israeli shares, the Harvard Management Company notified the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday that it had sold all its holdings in Israeli companies during the second quarter of 2010. No reason for the sale was mentioned. The Harvard Management Company manages Harvard University's endowment.

Harvard Management Company stated in its 13-F Form that it sold 483,590 shares in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) for $30.5 million; 52,360 shares in NICE Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: NICE; TASE: NICE) for $1.67 million; 102,940 shares in Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP) for $3.6 million; 32,400 shares in Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE:CEL; TASE:CEL) for $1.1 million, and 80,000 Partner Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTNR; TASE: PTNR) shares for $1.8 million.

Harvard Management Company's 13-F Form shows some interesting investments. Its two largest holdings, each worth $295 million, are in... Chinese equities, and the other on emerging markets...

Makes perfect sense, doesn't it? Harvard has massive investments in China, the world's home of child slave labor as described over and over and over again by human rights activists.

Q: How many days a week do you work

A: Seven days. We start half past six in the morning and work 'til midnight.

Q: What toys are produced at the factory?

A: Dolls and dogs for Disney.

Just so I understand, Mr. and Mrs. Harvard University alumni, China's rampant use of slave labor and unbelievably nefarious pollution of the planet are swell.

But Israel's efforts to defend its tiny strip of land from swarms of intolerant extremists is somehow wrong.

I guess you have to possess a different sort of mindset to understand the reasoning.

Perhaps some Harvard alumni who might be concerned with this logic could pursue an inquiry into the rationale behind this divestiture.

 



Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Aerial Photograph: The Exact Location of Ground Zero Victory Mosque

I got it here, via Larwyn.

Oh, yes, I'm certain the location is designed to engender feelings of peace and tolerance among all people.

Pass it on.


Tolerance Road, Exit 1 Mile






Thanks to the useful idiots on the Left, the road to tolerance is one-way only.


Update: Religious Tolerance, Egyptian-Style.

Taxpayer-subsidized Islamic Outreach Digest

Also known as The Daily Outrage.

The State Department’s Islamic Supremacist


It's unbelievable but true: the imam of the projected Islamic supremacist mega-mosque at Ground Zero, Feisal Abdul Rauf, is on a grand tour to Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates - paid for by the U.S. State Department with taxpayer money.

The State Department confirmed Tuesday that they were sending Rauf on this mission. "He is a distinguished Muslim cleric," insisted P. J. Crowley, a State Department spokesman...

Documents Posted On DHS And U.S. Muslim Brotherhood’s January Meeting


...documents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that detail a two-day meeting on January 27 and 28, 2010, between DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and Arab, Muslim, Sikh, and South Asian "community leaders." The documents include a list of participating individuals and organizations, some with controversial radical ties, including:

  • Imad Hamad, Midwest Regional Director of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. According to press reports, Hamad is connected to the Marxist-Leninist terrorist group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and has financially supported the Islamist terrorist group Hezbollah. In a television interview in 2002 on Fox's Detroit affiliate, Hamad supported a Palestine Authority TV program that urged children to become suicide bombers, calling the program "patriotic."

  • Salam Al-Marayati, Founder of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC): According to press reports, Al-Mayarati has long been criticized for his extremist views and statements. In 1999 former House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-MO) withdrew his nomination of Al-Mayarati to the National Commission on Terrorism because of Al-Mayarati's extremist politics

One of the organizations that attended the meeting, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), was named as an unindicted co-conspirator by the federal government in a plot by the now-defunct Holy Land Foundation to fund the terrorist group Hamas.

Obama: No, Wait a Minute. I do Endorse THAT Ground Zero Mosque.


At the iftar dinner, Obama cast his vote with the mosque builders. And then he pulled back.

And then he had his spokesman pull back the pullback. “Just to be clear, the president is not backing off in any way from the comments he made last night,” the White House’s Bill Burton said Saturday. “It is not his role as president to pass judgment on every local project. But it is his responsibility to stand up for the Constitutional principle of religious freedom and equal treatment for all Americans. What he said last night, and reaffirmed today, is that if a church, a synagogue or a Hindu temple can be built on a site, you simply cannot deny that right to those who want to build a mosque.”

* * * * * * * * *

I keep shaking my head, as if awakening from a bad dream, and asking myself, "Can you believe this s***?"

But it's all very real. And the consequences will literally shake the foundations of this country unless we can begin reversing course in November.