Thursday, September 16, 2010

Reflections from one year's worth of graphs and data

Over at the American Thinker, Randall Hoven has published a "Chart o' the Day" for a year now. What has he learned?

Then came Obama...

Hoven's post is an invaluable one, summarizing the inevitable havoc wrought by the 'progressives'.

Read the whole thing.


December 2009 and a possible rationale for Karl Rove's vicious attack on Christine O'Donnell

Is there a rational explanation for Karl Rove's vicious, unmanly and -- frankly -- outrageous attack on Christine O'Donnell?

On Tuesday, the night of Rove's explosion, The Freedomist reported that he had earlier been heavily invested in Mike Castle's campaign.

Sources at the Christine O’Donnell victory party revealed to The Freedomist that in December of last year Karl Rove met with Tea Party leaders in Dover, Delaware trying to get them to cut a 'deal' in which they would leave Mike Castle alone and NOT support O’Donnell.

The Freedomist has also learned that Rove was allegedly acting as an operative, although in what capacity it is not known, even as he is playing the role of a political analyst on Fox New in a fair and balanced way...

While Rove's possible affiliation with Castle's campaign hasn't yet been disclosed, I did locate an article that may help shed some more light on the issue.

Mr. Peabody, set the wayback machine to December 2009 and fetch me a copy of the Wall Street Journal while you're at it:

Can Republicans Retake the Senate in 2010?


Probably not, but their candidate recruitment so far has been stellar.

By KARL ROVE
...One feature giving Republicans an edge is that several senate seats are up for grabs because the politicians who were elected to fill them are now serving in the Obama administration. This includes seats formerly held by Mr. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden... Rep. Mark Kirk is a strong candidate to pick up Mr. Obama's old seat in Illinois. Rep. Mike Castle, a popular former governor, could pick up Mr. Biden's former seat in Delaware...

In other words, Rove was shilling for some of the more egregious liberal Republicans last December, especially Castle. A primary challenge by more conservative GOP candidates hadn't even been contemplated by Rove.

Was he a paid operative? Or did he just back the wrong horse, calling his credentials as the all-knowing, all-seeing 'architect' in doubt? Was the attack simply about diminished stature -- whether as a paid consultant or as an oracle for Fox?

That mental exercise is best left to the reader, but suffice it to say that his behavior will only help enrage and energize the conservative base. It's not complicated, Karl: it's only the freaking Constitution, to which neither you, Castle nor the rest of the entrenched Republican establishment seem to give a moment's thought.

That is why we're out to take over the GOP and throw all of the bums out, no matter their party affiliation.

See, that's not too hard to understand, is it, Karl?


Update: Michelle Malkin Rips Karl Rove a New One for His 'Vicious' Attacks on Christine O’Donnell.

Where's the ACLU when you need them?

Dan from New York:

"What'd You Learn in School Today?" "Allahu Akbar, Mom"

In late May of 2010, Wellesley, Massachusetts public middle school students took a field trip to the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center - a controversial Saudi-funded mega-mosque run by the Muslim American Society of Boston. There, the students were separated by gender and the boys were asked to join the Muslim adults in their prayer. Several of the public school boys took part.

Let's go to the videotape.


Gee, where are all of those liberals complaining about the separation of church and state?

Contact information for the Wellesley Public School system is here.


GTFO?

Dan from New York:

"... it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

  -- Senator Barack Hussein Obama, San Francisco Fundraiser, 2008

"They say I'm dumb. Yes, I'm dumb. I'm so dumb I got two Lincoln Continentals, that's how damn dumb I am!"

  -- Lenny Bruce send up of an Evangelical preacher in the brilliant Religions Inc. (1958)


It's a common trait of political elites to look down their noses at those who cling to their guns and religion and characterize it as a disorder. This year, though, it's proving to be a big mistake.

Signs continue to build that the state-run media's attempt to demonize the Tea Party movement has flopped on Main Street, if not Broadway. It was always about preaching to the perverted anyway and, thanks to Barack Hussein Obama, their numbers are dwindling rapidly. The Republicans' ugly knee-jerk reaction to the Tea Party challenge is fading too, now that the blue blazer conservatives have been mugged by the bumpkins and the party's operatives are beginning to see the light (of victory).

It's entirely possible the great wave of hysteria that brought the Obamatons to power will utterly recede only two years after it inundated the land. If it does, it will be an affirmation of the underlying health and restorative powers of America's instincts and common sense.

Yet, as nice as that sounds, don't take it for granted. Complacency is not an option. There's still almost two months to go and only an all-out effort from here to the finish line will bring success. Obama will not go without a fight, and men like him seldom fight fair.

Only overwhelming with our numbers will work.

Remember: "If it's not close, they can't cheat."


Outlook Menu Mania

In addition to the recent, net-clogging "Here You Have" virus, which propagated using the Outlook address book, Microsoft's beloved email client is a continual source of unexpected delight. Like this menu, found when desperately trying to figure out why a message wouldn't format properly.

Sometimes you just have to shake your head.


Larwyn's Linx: November 2nd and New Jersey Route 3

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

11/2 and New Jersey Route 3: Hewitt
The Architect Has No Clothes: AT
More on Breyer’s horrible equivocation about burning Korans: Hot Air

Dem Congresswoman leaves message for lobbyist: pony up: BigGovt
What did Castle talk with Obama and Biden about?: Malkin
Politics Is Thicker Than Water: Stuff Floats: GoV

Economy

Keen Graphs of the Obvious: AT
As economy flounders, Democrats issue major announcement: GWP
Can Democrats Save Their Party?: AT

Big Labor Death Match: SEIU, NUHW Go Head-To-Head: RWN
Union Power and the Christie Effect: Malanga
Guest Post: The Smoking Ruin Solution: ZH

Climate & Energy

How Liberal Regulations Destroy People’s Lives: The Coal Example: RWN
China puts BP to shame as the US’s worst polluter: Doswell

Media

'Tokyo Rove': Malkin
Supreme Court Idiot: Bubba
Conservatives battle over Castle-O'Donnell: Soros Matters for America

Establishment Republicans…The Pouting Continues: RedState
Obama needs teleprompter to talk to grade school kids, pt. II: BlogProf
Five Reasons O'Donnell Could Win: Ace

Ride the Metaphor!: Driscoll
Creepy Reid hands O'Donnell general election ad on silver platter: Malkin
New Look Dems: Plus, How To Make Your Very Own DNC Logo: Malkin

World

Crawling Out from under the Rauf: Geller
Burning Koran Is Unconstitutional? Says Who? Only a Supreme :RWN
Book Review: The Palestinian Right to Israel: Daled Amos

Heh: Muslims Protest Moment of Silence: JWF
'Everybody Draw Muhammad' Cartoonist Changes Name, Goes Into Hiding at FBI’s Insistence: RWN
So Why Not Him?: Diogenes

SciTech

Wireless Car Sensors Vulnerable to Hackers: MIT Tech Review
Chase Site Still Crippled; Angry Users Take to Twitter: CNBC
Hearts Seem to Heal Slowest for Grouchy Pessimists: LiveScience

Cornucopia

Intolerance: A Party Platform: R&R
3 Reasons Why BlogCon is Made of Awesome: RWN
How to Open a Wine Bottle With a Shoe: Wimp

Thank you, a little slow at the gate!: Anchoress
A Creche, B-16 & Your Opinion, Please: Anchoress
Awesome: Michigan couple builds 40-foot lighthouse for their cottage: BlogProf

Images: Michelle Malkin and Doug Powers.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Christine 2010


Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Grandad remembers the good ol' days


Hat tip: Jersey Mike.

Pond Scum lobby worried that Harry Reid is giving it a bad name

Look up 'pond scum' in the dictionary and you may see the man who is attempting to tie amnesty for illegal aliens to a defense appropriations bill.

That's right: while we have men and women on the battlefield, a Democrat is once again playing politics with bullets, body armor and MREs.

This Democrat is trying to attach stealth amnesty -- that will encourage illegal immigration -- to a defense appropriations bill.

This Democrat is, for lack of a better term, pond scum.

[Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid has announced he’ll attach a DREAM Act amendment to the defense appropriations bill:

This work period, the Senate will consider the Defense Authorization bill. Along with critical support for our national security forces around the world, this legislation will address two other important issues that are long overdue.

Passage of this bill would overturn the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ rule for our armed forces. We will finally send a loud and clear message that everyone who steps up to serve our country should and will be welcomed regardless of sexual orientation.

We are also offering an amendment to pass the DREAM Act. This amendment will ensure that millions of children who grow up as Americans will be able to get the education they need to contribute to our economy. Students who come to America before age 16 and who have been here for five years should be able get their green card...

What is "The DREAM Act"? You'll love this:

S. 2075, the DREAM Act of 2005: Need a reward for sneaking into the country and then evading the police for five years? Well, how does amnesty and in-state tuition sound?

If my kids sneak out of the country and then back in, can they get the in-state tuition deal?

S. 2075 would grant in-state tuition and amnesty to illegal aliens under the age of 21 who had been physically present in the country for five years and are in 7th grade or above. Such a reward for illegal immigration serves as an incentive for more illegal immigration.


At what point can we stop questioning the Democrat leadership's patriotism and simply declare them enemies of the state?

Or is that too 'right wing'?


Could someone check the water inside the Beltway? Krauthammer and Rove teeter on the irrelevancy cliff as they brutalize Reagan's 11th Commandment

Charles Krauthammer and Karl Rove both have storied histories backing the conservative movement and, by extension, the Republican Party. But it would appear that they've become far too cloistered, or at least far too invested in the establishment, to truly understand the mood of the country.

Delaware voters turned out in record number to reject the ridiculous 'progressive Republican' Mike Castle in favor of a real conservative named Christine O'Donnell.

Nevada voters rejected two Republican candidates for a clear Constitutional conservative, Sharron Angle.

Rove and Krauthammer have now expressly attacked both. And for what? Because their predictions were wrong? Because they had a stake in the losing camps? I don't know and, frankly, I don't care.

It would seem that both analysts think the American people are too stupid to judge these things for themselves. I just hope they had a bad fish dinner a couple of nights ago and come to their senses shortly.

Gentlemen, there's a very simple playbook we're operating by. It's called the Constitution. Mike Castle and his ilk operate unmoored, picking and choosing policy positions like they're throwing darts.

We've had enough of that bulls***. The stakes are too high and the situation too dire to play that game.

Furthermore, as Jim Hoft reminds us, Ronald Reagan's 11th commandment was straightforward:

"Thou Shalt Not Speak Ill of Another Republican"

Dear Messrs. Rove and Krauthammer: learn it, love it, and live it.

Otherwise, prepare to be flushed down the irrelevancy hole. It's not a tough choice. James Madison or Karl Rove? Thomas Jefferson or Charles Krauthammer?

Gee, what a dilemma.


Update: Creepy Harry Reid hands O’Donnell her first general election ad on a silver platter

Roger Kimball unveils the ObamaCare money chart

Roger Kimball's "A lesson for David Axelrod" is worth reading in its entirety. But the money chart is this:

Percentage of men and women who survived a cancer five years after diagnosis:
U.S.            65%
England       46%
Canada        42%

Percentage of patients diagnosed with diabetes who received treatment within six months:
U.S.           93%
England      15%
Canada        43%

Percentage of seniors needing hip replacement who received it within six months:
U.S.            90%
England       15%
Canada        43%

Percentage referred to a medical specialist who see one within one month:
U.S.            77%
England       40%
Canada        43%

Number of MRI scanners (a prime diagnostic tool) per million people
U.S.            71%
England       14%
Canada        18%

Percentage of seniors (65+), with low income, who say they are in “excellent health”:
U.S.           12%
England        2%
Canada         6%

In sum, you can have health care, or you can have ObamaCare.  People have looked at the latter... and they don’t like what they see. That’s the reason it’s unpopular, and will become more so.

You know how the liberals progressives continually whine that we spend too much money on health care?

Because they're economic illiterates, I'll explain this phenomenon really slowly so they'll understand:

Because......... we......... can.


Related:
Berwick's First Strike: Susan G. Komen Foundation and Ovarian Cancer Alliance Decry First-Ever Medicare Denials of FDA-Approved Cancer Drugs
Good News for Seniors: the Most Powerful Man in the Medical Industry Has a Love Affair with Urine- and Feces-Soaked Beds

Are we men really this shallow and easily manipulated?

Uhm.

Don't answer that.


Connecticut: Anthem, Cigna blame 20%+ rate hikes on freakish outbreak of Ebola virus plus ObamaCare, but mostly ObamaCare

If I didn't know better, I'd say that Anthem and Cigna just told HHS Czar Katherine Sebelius to take her threats and -- well, you know. At least that's the way I interpret this news story from Connecticut entitled "Health Insurers Seeking Rate Hikes Of More Than 20 Percent In Connecticut."

Health insurers are asking for immediate rate hikes of more than 20 percent in Connecticut for some plans, citing rising medical costs and federal health reform laws as reasons.

...In what might appear to be an oddity, companies are citing a huge range of effects that the health care reform mandates will have on plan prices — from near zero to well over 20 percent. The reason is that among all the plans, some already deliver the provisions required by health reform, while others do not...

See, that's called the 'free market', progressives.

...Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Connecticut, by far the largest insurer of Connecticut residents, said in a letter that it expects the federal health reform law to increase rates by as much as 22.9 percent for just a single provision — removing annual spending caps. The mandate to provide benefits to children regardless of pre-existing conditions will raise premiums by 4.8 percent, Anthem said in the letter...

...CIGNA Corp. is asking for an increase of up to 1.3 percent for adding preventive care provisions, a 1 percent increase for waiving pre-existing conditions for children up to 19, and an increase of 14.5 percent for children from birth to 18 for new business, according to the Insurance Department...

It would appear that not a single member of the Democrat leadership has ever taken completed a course in economics. Or made a payroll. Or operated a cash register. Or cleaned up a bowling alley at nights while passing papers in the morning as a kid. But I'm not bitter.

...The proposed changes drew fiery response from elected officials. On Sept. 9, the Obama administration's Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wrote a letter warning the trade group America's Health Insurance Plans of a "zero tolerance" policy for "falsely blaming premium increases for 2011 on the patient protections in the Affordable Care Act."...

I think the voters are going to express a 'zero tolerance' policy for Katherine Sebelius and her boss in 2012. And, if we can take the House or Senate, well -- let the investigations begin.

...On Sept. 23, health insurers will be required to comply with an array of provisions that were part of federal health reform laws passed six months ago. In Connecticut, some of provisions were already extended to consumers by state law. Others were not, and they are cited as part of the reason for proposed increases to premiums starting Oct. 1.

"If you fail to recognize that the new requirements around benefits that were passed in federal reform were going to drive price, I think you're being intellectually irresponsible," said Keith Stover, a lobbyist with the Connecticut Association of Health Plans.

Did Keith just call Barack Obama a pinhead?

New regulations include eliminating cash limits on how much insurers pay per person each year, and throughout a person's lifetime. Insurers won't be able to deny coverage to children under 19 who have a pre-existing medical condition...

"Those are new benefits that are going to cost money," Stover said. "You can't just wave the magic wand and say, 'Do all these things, and they're free.' It just doesn't work that way."

Oh, don't burst any bubbles, Keith -- remember who we're dealing with! The liberals progressives don't worry about mathematics, logic, facts or reason -- they've got Marxist class warfare rhetoric to disseminate.


Post title shtick ripped from: Ace.

Larwyn's Linx: O'Donnell Wins; NRSC Rages; Rove Freaks Out

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

O'Donnell wins; NRSC rages against the machine people: RWN
Unacceptable Behavior from the NRSC: Con4Palin
Rove bashes O'Donnell, NRSC cuts and runs: Malkin

Did Rove Try to Cut Deal for Castle With Tea Party?: Freedomist
Fox Should Suspend Rove And Investigate, Cornyn Must Resign: Riehl
DNC To Make 'Major Announcement' Wedneday: Nice Deb

Impeach Breyer?: Zombie
Sharron Angle Who Cannot Win Slightly Ahead Of Harry Reid: LegalIns
Illegal alien makes 'living' filing lawsuits: BlogProf

Economy

WSJ on 'The 1099 Insurrection': BizzyBlog
When Socialism Creeps In: Hanson
Preventing Your Government From Stealing Your Gold: Street

How Obamacare uses school lunch enrollees to expand its empire: Malkin
Why is L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa Trying to Kill Jobs?: RWN
The Polarizer In Chief: IBD

Climate & Energy

Harry Reid arrives at clean energy summit in fleet of gas-guzzling SUVs: BlogProf
Nuclear Energy...Duh!: Pop Atomic
Warmist Slander of Scientific Skeptics: AT

Media

Oliverio vs. the 1st Amendment: Surber
‘Now is the Time For the Idiots Who Supported My Opponent to Unite Behind Me…’: Geraghty
Poll: Marco Rubio leads by 16, Alex Sink leads by 8: Buzz

Anybody But: Belmont Club
What D'Souza Doesn't Get Quite Right: AT
The Obama Limbo Party: SHN

Tingles Says O’Donnell Won Because of Frustrated Hillary Voters…: WZ
About That Rift: RWN
WaPo's Ruth Marcus ‘Despondent’ Over Castle’s Defeat and O’Donnell’s ‘Scary’ Win: NewsBusters

World

Geert Wilders Warns America at 9/11 Remembrance Rally: LATL
Administration hails 'back door Islamist coup' in Turkey: AT
Iran Sinks Into the Much: Ledeen

Stimulus Loot Spent on Teaching Africans to Wash Their Privates: RWN
Cleric Praised by Ground Zero Imam Offers Tolerance Lecture: Islam Permits Killing Israeli Women and Children: WZ
Mystery bomber from Chechnya?: IIE

SciTech

Consumer Rights: Court Rules Against Used Software Sales: ECN
Former Top IBM exec Moffat gets six months in jail: CNN
Car Porn of the Day: Surber

Cornucopia

To Life: Vanessa's Wedding Surprise: YouTube
Nutrition and Economics: We Know More Than You Do: MOTUS
The Top 20 #ObamaChildrensBook Suggestions: RWN

Image: Jammie Wearing Fool
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Support Alan West for Congress

QOTD: "Conservatives should not tolerate the likes of Mike Castle because of the simple fact that a 51 member Senate with Mike Castle is a Senate where Mike Castle is the most important vote in the room. As Specter and others before him, that Senator will set the terms of policy debates, determining in advance what can succeed and fail. Those who advance the argument that a majority with Castle is better than being in the minority tend to place priorities on Senate committee chairmanships and staff ratios and lobbyist cash… a list which pales in comparison to the power they would wield as the broker for both sides. Again and again I saw this play out during my time as a Senate staffer, and anyone who tells you contrary is incredibly naive about the way legislative decisions are made.

As a friend of mine in the business of campaigns and elections has said, electing moderates simply to secure a majority for Republicans is a self-defeating proposition. We’ve seen this play out time and again. Career politicians abhor principle, and adore power and fecklessness. Their presence in Washington provides constant aid and comfort to the Left. They dilute the brand, confuse voters and sell out conservatives just at the moment they are needed most." -- Ben Domenech, RedState


Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Delightful: Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), on taxpayer-funded junket in Germany, agrees that most taxpayers are radicalized racists

That unspoken rule about never speaking ill of America while on foreign soil was eradicated long ago by the MoveOn Democrats. Interviewed by Der Spiegel, Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) pulled out the frayed, oft-used race card to explain America's opposition to the Marxist policies of Barack Obama.

SPIEGEL: But that's what we've had for the last two years, and it hasn't worked out well. If anything, the political tone in Washington has gotten worse.

Lewis: It's unfortunate. We have very little control over the fact that the Republican Party is being hijacked by the extreme right. That the Tea Party is gaining influence. We cannot tell the Republican Party who should be their leaders.

SPIEGEL: Of course not. But the question is whether Washington would function better if the Republicans had a majority in either the Senate or the House. Would that not make them less inclined to be obstructionist?

Lewis: No. I think the Republican Party is going to the extreme. If it continues on the path it's on, it will continue to be a minority party for many years to come.

SPIEGEL: There has been a lot of talk about how the black community felt about Barack Obama's election. Now, though, everyone is talking primarily about white anger. How does the black community feel about his presidency thus far?

Lewis: The black masses in America love Barack Obama. Black candidates and black Members of Congress would love to have Barack Obama come and campaign for them. I wish I could get him to come down to Georgia to campaign for me, but he thinks my seat is safe. He is very popular. You cannot say anything negative about Barack Obama in the African-American community and get away with it.

...SPIEGEL: The radicalization of the right, in other words, isn't necessarily due to the US having a black president for the first time ever?

Lewis: In some quarters, it's true, people cannot get used to the idea that a person of color is president of the United States. People cannot get comfortable with the idea that so many people are coming from different parts of the world to America. In just a short time, America will be a minority majority, and that feeds some of the frustration.

You see, John, you may be a touch senile, but we opposed HillaryCare. Not because Hillary's a woman -- though I'm sure you'd like to play the gender card -- but because it sucked.

We support Alan West for Congress. Not because he's black, but because he's teh awesome.

We believe in history, facts, logic and reason -- the distillation of which is the Constitution. Perhaps you've heard of it.

Oh, and that race card? It appears to have seen better days.


Related: Timeline: Anatomy of a Tea Party Smear by the Democrat-Media Complex.

Hat tip: PJ.

Cheat Sheet for November



President Obama: 'the economy was in really bad shape--I feel pretty confident when we get the autopsy back it'll say it died of natural causes'

The invaluable Doctor Housing Bubble offers a lengthy and detailed analysis of the true state of housing in the U.S. In a word: it's Obama-ified.

Remember when good old Hank Paulson gave us a three page memo requesting $700 billion for “troubled assets” which was a nice euphuism for toxic mortgage crap? Some have forgotten the days of September 2008 when the word bailout seemed to be a daily utterance. By the way, the vast majority of those toxic mortgages still sit on the balance sheet of banks even after the money is now out the door...

...At the peak of the housing bubble in 2006 Americans had $13 trillion in equity in their residential real estate. At the peak, total residential mortgage debt stood at $9.8 trillion. Today, American households have $6.2 trillion in equity while mortgage debt has grown to $10.3 trillion. In other words American households have faced a real financial loss of $6.8 trillion. At the same time you’ll notice that the amount of mortgage debt has remained steady. The toxic mortgage waste just sits idly by while banks use the taxpayer wallet as an ATM...

...Again, without fixing the core of the banking system we are doomed for another crisis. Those that believe the narrative that “we had to do what banks wanted us to do” forget that it was the banks that spearheaded this housing bubble in the first place. They were the industry that created collateralized debt obligations and option ARMs. The anger in this upcoming election is justified but might miss the real financial problems. The fix has been in for decades. Until we reform how banks and corporations lobby politicians we can simply expect more crony capitalism for years to come. In fact, the amount of lobbying dollars went up at the height of the crisis... [at right]

...Home values need to reflect a healthy job market meaning wages can support local home prices without taking on some exotic loan. Instead of focusing on that key part of the equation, banks with the support of the government have been obsessed with lowering lending standards, 3.5% FHA insured loans, HAMP, wacky refinance programs, ignoring non-payments, pushing option-ARMs into 40-year interest only balloon mortgages, but in the end it hasn’t worked because jobs can’t justify bubble home prices even today after a severe correction.

Central planning never works. If it did, North Korea, Cuba and the Soviet Union would be thriving economic powers.

Yet our current Democrat leadership is moving us closer and closer to their failed models; they want to set fees for medical care, dictate what kind of cars to build, determine where oil companies can drill, and prevent electricity from being generated by nuclear energy or coal. Centralized industrial policy.

Central planning never works.

You have to help educate your friends, your neighbors, and your family members to deconstruct the Marxist class warfare of the left. By Obama's formulation, the guy who spent his whole life saving to buy a gas station and now grosses $260,000 and employs six people is 'rich'. So is the police officer who works some overtime and is married to a NICU nurse on the 11p-to-7a shift.

Those are the Democrats' hated 'rich folks' because they both gross (not net) over $250K.

And everyone is suffering with the after-effects of the real estate meltdown.

It is indisputable that the housing crisis was precipitated by the social engineering tomfoolery of the Clinton Democrats. Andrew Cuomo (then-secretary of HUD) and Janet Reno were the enforcement arms of Bubba's administration and they used threats and legal arm-twisting to force banks into underwriting unqualified borrowers.

The actual testimony of the Democrats during that era is available to anyone curious enough to view it -- but you won't see it on ABC, CBS or PMSNBC.

And a word of warning: the housing crisis won't damage as many lives as ObamaCare will.

It's November or never.


Good News: Democrats Declare a Regulatory Jihad on Small Businesses, Which Will Only Erase or Destroy 340,000 Jobs Annually

You know it's bad when even CNN doesn't mince words.

Senate takes up 'job killing' IRS rule


The Senate will also decide whether to repeal a law enacted as part of health care reform that will require small businesses to file millions of new tax forms -- a provision a top Republican calls "job killing..."

A small section of the massive health care law mandates that beginning in 2012, all companies will have to issue a 1099 tax form not only to contracted workers, as they must already do, but also to any individual or corporation from which they buy more than $600 in goods or services in a year.

The IRS Form 1099 is used to document income for individual workers other than wages and salaries: Freelancers get them and businesses send them out. Under the new law, the 1099 form would be used to track payments for services and tangible goods. Also, it requires that 1099s be issued not just to individuals, but to corporations as well.

The result would be millions of additional tax forms...

Chris Wysocki reports that the Democrat-controlled Senate failed twice this afternoon to repeal the disastrous 1099 requirements.

The Barack Obama Death to Small Business Tax Reporting Act of 2010 will stand... Senate Democrats successfully defeated an amendment offered by Senator Mike Johanns (R-Neb) that would have repealed an Obamacare provision which requires all businesses to file Form 1099 with the IRS for every vendor that sells them more than $600 in goods.

President Obama insists the reporting provision is necessary to ensure compliance with our tax laws. Business groups, and anyone with even an ounce of common sense, have pointed out that it is a regulatory nightmare.

Think about a midsized trucking company. The back office would have to collect hundreds of thousands of receipts from every gas station where its drivers filled up and figure out where it spent more than $600 that year. Then it would also need to match those payments to the stations' corporate parents.

See, this is what happens when you hire a bunch of academics who've never worked a real job in their lives and put them in charge of our economy.

Of course, the economic illiterates in the Democrat Party haven't done the complex calculations to arrive at the number of jobs this provision will cost.

The real costs, in dollars and misery, will be shockingly high.

Earlier today on Fox Business, Gerri Willis stated that the rule "...is a mountain of paperwork and will cost businesses about $17 billion [annually]."

My magic calculator puts the number of jobs erased or destroyed by this madness at 340,000 $50,000-a-year jobs. And that will be but one toll of this monstrous 'health care' bill that no one even bothered to read.

Remember to thank a Democrat on the first Tuesday in November.


Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Sen. Jim DeMint obliterates Mike Castle: 'I was there when we had the numbers, but didn’t have the principles'

In an interview yesterday on The Mark Levin Show, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) vaporized the arguments made by Mike Castle's supporters with a single sentence:

"I was there when we had the numbers, but didn’t have the principles"

There should be no confusion about Constitutional conservatives' support of Castle's nemesis, Christine O'Donnell.

• Mike Castle is a staunch supporter of unions -- especially the SEIU -- and said support only began after copious amounts of union money began flowing into his campaign coffers.

• Mike Castle supported one of the most outrageous violations of the First Amendment -- the DISCLOSE Act -- ever seen in Washington. Its intent -- to baldly suppress conservative speech -- was so obvious that Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) stated that without the DISCLOSE Act, "we'll see more Republicans getting elected -- both local, state and federal [sic]."

• Mike Castle does not agree with the Second Amendment, having earned an 'F' from the NRA for his 'lifetime achievements'.

• Mike Castle doesn't believe in free enterprise, having earned a pathetic 43% from the Club for Growth.

• Just like Charlie Crist, Arlen Specter, and other unprincipled candidates, Castle won't rule out a third-party run if he loses the primary. And, like Crist, you can be certain he will shape-shift faster than a character from a Star Wars' cantina.

The times are too perilous to tolerate this kind of behavior when there are alternatives who will support that archaic document called "the Constitution". The squeamish Beltway Republicans may have heard of it.

BootMikeCastle.com's Frank puts a bow on the matter when he states, "Mike Castle is so far left, that if he were to win the GOP primary, his Democrat opponent in the general election would be able to run to the right of Mike Castle."

And that, my friends, is why we support the Constitutional alternative: Christine O'Donnell. And, yes. My prediction is that she can and will win the general election. And it won't be close.


Larwyn's Linx: In Delaware -- Castle, Soros and a Health Advisory

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Nation

DE Senate GOP Primary: Castle, Soros & a Health Advisory: Malkin
Nuts and Sluts In Delaware: LegalIns
DOJ I.G. will investigate Obama voting rights record: Malkin

Obama Parties While Democrats Run From Their Party: RWN
Anger Is Now Hardened into Resolve: PJM
Is November Just the Beginning?: AT

Economy

Get Ready for Your Health Care 'Re-Education': PJM
Comedy Czar: Recovery Summer Not About Jobs, Stupid: Malkin
Party Time at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: RWN

Geithner the Stooge: Denninger
Reflections on Mark Hurd: Brenner
Lather, Repeat, Repeat, Repeat: SondraK

Record Increase in Poverty Under Obama: RWN
Economic Doomsday? Dr. Doom Thinks So...: Ace
CabbageGate: Taking a Leaf out of the Forgotten Man: Driscoll

Climate & Energy

Obama jobs death toll watch: 150,000 more energy jobs in danger: Malkin
Obama Hails Opening of Michigan Plant That Makes $33,000 Car Battery: GWP
Good news: Feds spent $18,000 to monitor negative media coverage of BP oil spill: Hot Air

Media

Responding to Paul Mirengoff at Power Line: Mark Levin
We Are The Ones Who'll Show You The Door: AT (Cary)
Pax Americana (1949-2010): AT

Did Castle Vote to Impeach Bush?: Power Line
Why Christine is Surging: 3 Ads from Tea Party Express: RWN
He Said/She Said: SondraK

Why Blog Con Mattered So Much: RWN
The First Inaugural BlogCon 2010 (27 Pics): RWN
Evan Sayet's Right2Laugh: Series Premiere: RightNetwork

World

'I Heart The Mosque' Shirts Printed by Moondhimmis to 'Challenge Islamophobia': WZ
Islam, Islamism, and Moderation: PJM
IPT: Ground Zero mosque official is 9/11 Truther, sits on board for 9/11 Truth org: Jawa

Reaping the Whirlwind: AT
Mexico Arrests El Grande: Fausta
Muslims Attack Hindus in India: A Warning For the West?: Chesler

Somalia: Islamists Execute Christian Leader, Kidnap His Children to Convert Them to Islam: WZ
Copenhagen Bombing Suspect Still a Mystery: Jawa
Pics from the Front: WZ

SciTech

US scientists learn how to levitate tiny objects: Reuters
Microsoft’s Response to Russian Scandal: Volokh
What are telecom, tech firms spending on lobbying?: InternetNews

Cornucopia

Video: Meet the man who won the Medal of Honor: Hot Air
Memory Hole: Munich Massacre Week: LegalIns
Epic Beatdown of Megan McCain: Ace

Images: Mike Lynaugh.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Right2Laugh: Series Premiere


Monday, September 13, 2010

10 Amazing Photographs From the Civil War

Dennis points us to a large collection of amazing photographs at Mike Lynaugh's site. He writes, "Most probably a million wet plate photos were made during the Civil War... These are pretty amazing considering they were taken up to 150 years ago."











See the rest here.