Monday, September 27, 2010

Reason #1,740 that retail investors have fled the stock market

There was another "flash crash" today. Progress Energy (NYSE:PGN) plunged from $44.50 to $4.57 a share in a matter of seconds shortly after 1PM today.

This represents the fourth flash crash since the monstrous May 6th dump that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummet 999 points in about 15 minutes. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Nucor Steel (NYSE:NUE) and Seagate (NYSE:STX) were also victims of sudden, unexplained plunges during the summer.

As the invaluable Zero Hedge has warned investors for 18 months or more, the entire stock market appears to be rigged to benefit the high-frequency traders (HFT):

"Whatever their cause, the frequent market outages only feed the sense that the entire market is either a casino rigged by the money never sleeps crowd or a house of cards on the verge of collapse. Neither view, it seems safe to say, is apt to restore investors' dwindling confidence."

The HFTs use monster computers and questionable trading techniques to battle one another, leaving the retail investor out in the cold. The trading volumes tell the tale, as retail investors appear to have fled the battleground.

Karl Denninger calls it "The High Frequency Trading Scam" and warned in 2009 that something akin to a flash crash can and would happen.

It was July 15, and Intel, the computer chip giant, had reporting robust earnings the night before. Some investors, smelling opportunity, set out to buy shares in the semiconductor company Broadcom... The slower traders faced a quandary: If they sought to buy a large number of shares at once, they would tip their hand and risk driving up Broadcom’s price. So, as is often the case on Wall Street, they divided their orders into dozens of small batches, hoping to cover their tracks. One second after the market opened, shares of Broadcom started changing hands at $26.20.

The slower traders began issuing buy orders. But rather than being shown to all potential sellers at the same time, some of those orders were most likely routed to a collection of high-frequency traders for just 30 milliseconds — 0.03 seconds — in what are known as flash orders. While markets are supposed to ensure transparency by showing orders to everyone simultaneously, a loophole in regulations allows marketplaces like Nasdaq to show traders some orders ahead of everyone else in exchange for a fee.

In less than half a second, high-frequency traders gained a valuable insight: the hunger for Broadcom was growing. Their computers began buying up Broadcom shares and then reselling them to the slower investors at higher prices. The overall price of Broadcom began to rise.

Soon, thousands of orders began flooding the markets as high-frequency software went into high gear. Automatic programs began issuing and canceling tiny orders within milliseconds to determine how much the slower traders were willing to pay. The high-frequency computers quickly determined that some investors’ upper limit was $26.40. The price shot to $26.39, and high-frequency programs began offering to sell hundreds of thousands of shares...

In other words, the programs probed for the limit price on the other side of the trade that they would not otherwise be able to determine. But by rapidly issuing and then canceling orders, they've found a way to game the system. And the system has become unstable.

Where the hell are the regulators?

Denninger and Zero Hedge have been asking this question for months. But given that politicians like Barack Obama, Chuck Schumer, Barney Frank, and Chris Dodd are among the biggest beneficiaries of Wall Sreet largess, I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for an answer.


Double-Your-Vote™ Election Sign

Every Republican Congressional candidate in the country should use the Double Your Vote™ approach depicted in this photo sent to us by Virtuous Republic.

VR says that conservative GOP candidate Steve Chabot is worth your support.

Separation of Religion and State: Why is President Obama Endorsing Muslim Superheroes Designed to Appeal to American Kids?

The comics of my youth left indelible impressions. I still recall the bravery of Sgt. Fury and his 'Howling Commandoes' as they fought the Nazis. The incredible powers of Superman, Batman and Spiderman. The inhuman strength of The Hulk. It's little wonder that impressionable kids around the world gravitate to idealized views of adulthood, placed before them by the comic books' authors.

It should come as no surprise then that in the Arab world, comics are often used for purposes of indoctrination: "In Iran, on Al-Quds Day, Iranian TV schedules are filled with cartoons about evil Israelis with red eyes, shooting and murdering innocent doe-eyed Palestinians... For older kids, the heroes fight back, and even get martyred in the cause of Allah... [the shows are used] to reinforce Holocaust denial and anti-Semitic propaganda."

Now a new series of comic books -- featuring Muslim superheroes -- are on sale in the United States. The Ninety-Nine comic series features a set of superheroes, each representing one of the 99 names of Allah.

The comics were first published in Kuwait and are distributed in the United States by Diamond.

ForwardSyria describes the characters as the brainchildren of Naif al-Mutawa, a psychologist by training.

Following President Obama’s speech committing the US to engage with the Arab world, Mutawa seized the opportunity to propose a crossover with the heroes of DC comics. The deal is underway to have heroes from the Justice League help out their new comrades, Jabbar, Jami, and Widad under the guidance of Dr. Ramzi as they battle Rughal to protect the stones of wisdom. This cast will also find its way to televisions soon, as Teshkeel Media enters into a partnership with UK animator Endemol.

President Obama has gone so far as to praise The 99 at the 2010 Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship.

The American president heaped praise on Naif al-Mutawa, whose superhero comic book, “THE 99” – ubiquitous at the summit – features Islamic themes. The President said that Mutawa had borrowed a page from Obama's Cairo playbook by introducing Superman and Batman to their Muslim counterparts. “And I hear they're making progress, too,” said Obama.

At the same time, negotiations with a major US cable broadcaster to air THE 99 animation series beginning this fall is in its final stages.

I won't ask why President Obama has praised a particular set of religious superheroes. Suffice it to say that it just seems odd.

I will observe that with or without the president's imprimatur, very little can possibly go wrong with a set of Muslim superheroes destined to leave indelible memories on impressionable young minds.


Larwyn's Linx: Senate Dems' New First Priority---Filibuster Reform

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

Senate Dems' New First Priority---Filibuster Reform: RWN
How to Lose an Election: AT
Barone: the civil war raging inside the Democrat Party.: RWN

Figures: Marxists, Democrats To March Together on 10/2: GWP
'The Midwest is going to be a killing field for Democrats': Surber
AZ-07: Ruth McClung standing up to open-borders extremism: Malkin

Economy

The Government Tapeworm: AT
Housing Rehab Equals ‘Government Gone Wild’: BMW
100 Pastors to 'Bait' IRS Today on 'Pulpit Freedom Sunday': TaxProf

The Green Gorillas of American Politics: WashExam
'Living Comfortably' in Europe?: Wizbang
College health plans suffering from 'uncertainty': Hot Air

Climate & Energy

EnviroNuts™ vow Obama primary challenge: Ace
Professor Bloodlust: Kill All Meat Eating Animals for Their Sake?: RWN
Getting Hosed at the Pump: AT

Media

'Momentum Watch' in The Miami Herald: Ace
Sneak Preview: The Hijacking of the 2010 Election: Cashill
Laughter erupts after Dem Congressman claims Social Security “stable”: Hot Air

L.A. Times uses skewed samples to show Boxer leading Fiorina: Patterico
10 Hateful Anti-Woman Acts By Leftist 'Feminists': RWN
Having Tired of Kicking Paul Krugman Around...: RWN

Politico Poll: 42% Get Their News From Fox, 30% From CNN and a Microscopic 12% From MSNBC…: WZ
The Libertarian Fallacy: RWN
Gitmo Horrors Continue: Detainees Limited to One Ice Cream: Malkin

World

Countering Islamic Indoctrination in Public Schools: AT
Chavez loses supermajority: Fausta
Venezuela a Hotbed of Anti-Semitic Rantings by the Governing Elites: PJM

The Iranian Mess: Ledeen
Pakistan: Muslims Attack Church, Set Fire to Stack of Bibles…: WZ
The Truth about Obamanomics — from Canada: Surber

Pakistani Taliban Stoned Woman to Death for “Being Seen With a Man”…: WZ
Great news: UN to appoint envoy to extraterrestrials: Hot Air

SciTech

White House wants to give law enforcers easier access to Internet, e-mail wiretaps: WashExam
China’s bizarre phenomena: buildings die unnaturally: China Hush
IG report fingers NOAA law enforcement abuses: AT

Cornucopia

Spray-on clothes unveiled on chemistry lab catwalk: iOTW
The Secret Is Out: Joe Biden's New Book Exclusive Excerpts: Diogenes
One of the Stupidest Commercials of All Time: iOTW

Images: Family Security Matters
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: AZ-07: Ruth McClung for Congress, standing up to open-borders extremism

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Ahmadinejad and Farrakhan Throw Ice Cream Party for Jeremiah Wright in Manhattan, Discuss Best Ways to Wipe Out Zionists and Crusaders

To be fair, I'm not sure if the distinguished Reverend Jeremiah Wright was actually in attendance (one can only guess), but the New York Post reports that two of the most vicious racists in the world had an opportunity to meet last week. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the hirsute midget despot and Hitler impersonator (word has it that's the description he prefers), held a 'hush-hush' meeting with Nation of Islam bigot Louis Farrakhan.

As an aside, it's not at all far-fetched to presume that President Obama's friend and mentor Jeremiah Wright could have attended the meeting. After all, Wright and Farrakhan traveled together to Libya 25 years ago in order to pay their respects to the murderous nutcase Muammar Gaddafi.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's six nights in New York featured a secret sit-down with militant minister Louis Farrakhan, heckling in a hotel bar, and a fear of being rubbed out that bordered on paranoia... The president shared a hush-hush meal with Farrakhan and members of the New Black Panther Party Tuesday at the Warwick Hotel on West 54th Street...

...On Thursday night... [t]wo well-dressed women in their 40s came in [to the] Hilton Manhattan East], sat at the hotel bar and ordered drinks... One of them caught the attention of the president's security detail, which had set up a station in the hotel lobby. She was soon surrounded by eight angry Iranians, who ordered her to leave. She refused... A manager tried to calm things down. Suddenly, the woman stood up and pointed at the Iranians, yelling, "You stoned my sister! You're murderers!"

While the topic of the Hitler-Farrakhan discussions have yet to be disclosed, I feel comfortable in wagering it did not involve tonight's Jets-Dolphins game.


Update: On second thought, perhaps the real headline should be that Eric Holder's favorite bunch of fun-loving racists -- the New Black Panther Party -- met with Adolphminejad. I feel badly for the rank-and-file members of the Justice Department. The line between good and evil has been blurred so effectively that it's not even clear what side our country is even on anymore.

Hat tips: Mike and Gateway Pundit. Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Do you think this guy is fired up?

Papa B sent this snapshot in.




Wouldn't you love to see a hippie in a Prius -- slathered with "COEXIST" stickers -- cut this guy off?


Stuxnet In Pictures: The Cyber-Weapon Said to Target Iran's Nuclear Infrastructure

A programmable logic controller (PLC) is a specialized, self-contained computer system used in manufacturing and processing plants around the world.

Most PLCs utilize a diagrammatic programming language called "ladder logic", not dissimilar to traditional flow charts, to allow engineers to schedule activities, turn switches on and off, regulate work-in-process queues and perform many other functions using "code blocks".

For example, a refinery might employ a PLC to control the flow of oil and byproducts between multiple stages of the refining process. It would perform these tasks by opening and closing valves, reading level sensors, etc.

PLCs are often network-attached. The term SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) refers to a network of PLCs and related devices that are supervised by control systems.

With that as a bit of background, let's rewind to July 2010. That month security vendors began warning of a new type of malware identified as either "Tmphider" or "W32.Stuxnet". The malware used a zero-day Windows vulnerability (involving .lnk or .pif shortcut files) to install both kernel- and user-mode attack software.

Virtually every version of Windows was vulnerable. But, interestingly, the malware had first been spotted infesting Siemens WinCC SCADA systems. Siemens makes one of the world's most popular lines of PLCs and was, as of a few years ago, reported to have a third of the world's market share.

When Stuxnet infects a Windows machine, it reports back to a C&C (command and control) server the following information within an encrypted HTTP request.

• The Windows version information
• The computer name
• The network group name
• Flag for whether SCADA software was installed or not
• IP addresses of all network interfaces

Symantec reports that the malware has some amazing capabilities targeting SCADA directly: "Stuxnet has the ability to take advantage of the programming software to also upload its own code to the PLC in an industrial control system that is typically monitored by SCADA systems. In addition, Stuxnet then hides these code blocks, so when a programmer using an infected machine tries to view all of the code blocks on a PLC, they will not see the code injected by Stuxnet. Thus, Stuxnet isn’t just a rootkit that hides itself on Windows, but is the first publicly known rootkit that is able to hide injected code located on a PLC."

It appears that Stuxnet contains 70 or more hidden code blocks for PLC operations including some of the most basic operations. It can also customize the code blocks based upon PLC model and type. It is not yet clear, however, what the modified PLC code blocks are intended to do.

However, it is rather certain that the code is not intended to streamline processes and improve efficiencies:

A previous historic example includes a reported case of stolen code that impacted a pipeline. Code was secretly “Trojanized” to function properly and only some time after installation instruct the host system to increase the pipeline's pressure beyond its capacity. This resulted in a three kiloton explosion, about 1/5 the size of the Hiroshima bomb.

Given the countries targeted -- Iran appears to be a primary 'beneficiary' of Stuxnet -- researchers speculate that the malware was designed to destroy the Islamic Republic's burgeoning nuclear infrastructure.

If that is the case, I have only one word for Stuxnet: Godspeed.


Update: The AP reports that 'Worm hits computers of staff at Iran nuclear plant.'

Democrat Locusts: California's Taxpayers Owe Public Sector Pensions $2.5 Trillion (yes, Trillion) More Than State Officials Admit

David Roberts, writing at CalWatchdog, reports on the true scope of the financial disaster awaiting California's taxpayers.

...the amount that taxpayers owe to provide pensions for local and state government employees is much larger – perhaps an extra $2.5 trillion – than government officials have let on, according to an economic advisor to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger...

How can this be? Doesn't the state use traditional accounting methods and auditors? Dude, this is California -- where Democrats have run wild for decades, enriching themselves at the public trough -- so the answer is: no.

"State and local governments utilize a misleading method for reporting the size of public pension obligations...

For example, an annual obligation of $30,000 for 25 years for a government employee’s pension is projected to cost the government $320,000, while the same $30,000/year, 25-year obligation in the form of a bond is projected to be $425,000...

“Two identical and unconditional obligations owed by the same government are valued at different amounts. The answer lies in the Alice in Wonderland world of government pension accounting that allows governments to hide liabilities.”

Well, that's an unexpected development: the unholy alliance of Democrat legislators and public sector unions bosses have utterly and completely screwed California's taxpayers.

...Because government officials are able to hide their future debt obligations in this way, they “are perversely incentivized to assume the highest rates of return in order to minimize reported liabilities, and then to swing for the fences in investing the capital of those funds in the hopes of actually achieving those returns, producing even more risk for the taxpayers who must make up for any pension fund shortfalls..."

In short, the Democrats who run the state and most municipalities are using every accounting gimmick in the book to set up a government-run Ponzi scheme that would make Bernie Madoff blush.

This fiscal fudging has led to the growth in the ticking pension time bomb in California...

In 1999 the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) reported that its assets equaled 128 percent of its liabilities when in reality its assets totaled only 88 percent of liabilities...

Encouraged by that accounting, the state Legislature enacted a law that year boosting pension promises. The hidden cost from that boost has already hit $15 billion and will reach at least $150 billion for the state budget...

More generally, after having reported that liabilities were a fraction of assets and projecting that the state’s pension costs would total $5 billion over the succeeding 10 years, the state actually incurred $25 billion over that period.

Democrat candidate Jerry Brown, who served as California's governor decades ago, has already admitted that a series of his earlier policy decisions were abysmal failures.

If California's beleaguered taxpayers want to turn the page on the Democrats' catastrophic policies, a vote for Meg Whitman would represent a start. The way California got into this mess in the first place is with failed leftist hacks like Jerry Brown.

Larwyn's Linx: The Meltdown; Make Way for Hillary

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 Meltdown: Surber
Clarice's Pieces: Make Way for Hillary?: AT
Racist Tea-Bagger Calls Out Obama: Shark Tank

John Kerry Thinks Yur Stuped (but yu new dat all ready): LegalIns
An Ayers-Kennedy Rift: JOM
Liberal Dem suddenly loses all political affiliations: Hot Air

'Dearborn Four' acquitted of being Christians at Islamic rally: WZ
Left-wing groups plan giant rally on Mall: York
Seriously: Good Job, President Obama: Surber

Economy

Doing Nothing, as Dems Prefer, Is Certain to End Entitlements: RWN
Why California Is Out of Toilet Paper: Surber
Texas SEIU Member Registers 23,207 Fraudulent Voters: GWP

Officials Hid Size Of Pension Crisis: $2.5T?: CalPolNews
U.S. Credit Unions: First Bailout Apparently Didn't Take: WZ
Obama attacks wealthy Americans, John Boehner: GWP

Climate & Energy

8 Terrifying Ways Globull Warning Can Kill You Dead: RWN

Media

NYT: Checkmate, Wingnuts; Left-Wing Sources Claim John ("Who?") Boehner Might Be Diddling Some Woman: Ace
Who Knew? 'Boehner’s Top Aide Is Little Known': JOM
Did I say 'rabid dogs'?: C&S

"Waiting for Superman," Waiting For The Left, and Remembering KJ Bentley: Hewitt
Chris Christie Handles Meg Whitman Heckler: Powers
Had An Affair With John Boehner? Please Call 1-866-NYT-DEMS: Malkin

Plenty of seats still available to hear The One: AT
Breitbart to Bill Maher: You know you’re not a libertarian anymore, right?: Hot Air
America: Ready for a New Direction: WashExam

World

At the UN, America Pays, Ahmadinejad Plays: Rosett
The OIC and the Modern Caliphate: AT
The Death of Laughter in China: PJM

The Arabs: Still Stuck on Rejectionism: AT
The Complacency and Complicity of America's Jews: AT
'The Most Important Blow Ever Against the FARC': PJM

SciTech

Cyber War on Iran: the Siemens Connection: PJM
Why I Gave Up On Digg: CNet
The Lost Babies Of China's One-Child Policy : Sky

Cornucopia

The Will of the People: America’s Last Best Hope: RWN
Comment o' the Day: Hmmmmmmmmm: HillBuzz
Daily Scoreboard: Surber

Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Go Viral on Barney Frank

QOTD:

"[T]here’s been a steadily-growing controversy over the [New Black Panther] situation, and [Christopher] Coates’s testimony yesterday was a bombshell. Coates - who, as the WaPo itself notes, is a Clinton appointee with ties to the ACLU - essentially said everything that I did in the last paragraph, only much more formally, and with names liberally named. Which is why the front page, and not, say, the ombudsman’s; Christopher Coates is not an easy figure to dismiss. Although I expect that there’s a staffer over at MMfA, OfA, or the DNC with a new weekend project." -- Moe Lane, RedState


Saturday, September 25, 2010

Toy o' the Day

Spotted at Dezeen:


Hat tip: C&S.

Watershed Moment: A Few Minutes Ago, the New York Times Was Finally Forced to Report on the New Black Panther Whistleblower's Testimony

Moments ago, The New York Times finally reported on the testimony of Justice Department Civil Rights attorney Christopher Coates. The most experienced attorney in the Voting Rights division alleged institutionalized racism by the Holder DOJ. Worse for President Obama, Coates is a former ACLU attorney and was originally hired by Bill Clinton. He represents the antithesis of a 'right wing' zealot.

True, the Times' article will most likely appear on page B-17 of tomorrow's fish-wrap of record. Yes, the entire article is roughly three column-inches.

But since the ice was smashed with original reporting by the Washington Post, the DNC publicists at the Times appear to have given up on their information suppression campaign.

If proven true, Coates' allegations represent Watergate-level criminality by the Obama-Holder Justice Department. And the controversy just won't die, thanks to continued, original coverage by Pajamas Media, Michelle Malkin and other new media outlets.

As for the rest of the legacy media's reporting on Coates' testimony, the scoreboard stands as follows:

ABC News: nothing.
CBS News: one short AP wire story on 9/24.
NBC News: one short AP wire story on 9/24.
Politico: one story on 9/25.
Los Angeles Times: two articles including substantial original writing.
MediaMatters: one list of cherry-picked facts using the standard, Soros-approved damage-control format.

Watergate started with a botched break-in. Methinks the Times' reportage represents a real watershed moment in the pursuit of Eric Holder's bizarro DOJ.

Stunning: ACORN affiliate SEIU found facilitating rampant vote fraud

A group of concerned Texas citizens unwittingly discovered rampant vote fraud during the 2008 election, apparently orchestrated by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

“The first thing we started to do was look at houses with more than six voters in them" Engelbrecht said, because those houses were the most likely to have fraudulent registrations attached to them. "Most voting districts had 1,800 if they were Republican and 2,400 of these houses if they were Democratic... But we came across one with 24,000, and that was where we started looking."

It was Houston's poorest and predominantly black district, which has led some to accuse the group of targeting poor black areas. But Engelbrecht rejects that, saying, "It had nothing to do with politics. It was just the numbers.”

...“Vacant lots had several voters registered on them. An eight-bed halfway house had more than 40 voters registered at its address,” Engelbrecht said. “We then decided to look at who was registering the voters."

Their work paid off. Two weeks ago the Harris County voter registrar took their work and the findings of his own investigation and handed them over to both the Texas secretary of state’s office and the Harris County district attorney.

Most of the findings focused on a group called Houston Votes, a voter registration group headed by Steve Caddle, who also works for the Service Employees International Union. Among the findings were that only 1,793 of the 25,000 registrations the group submitted appeared to be valid. The other registrations included one of a woman who registered six times in the same day; registrations of non-citizens; so many applications from one Houston Voters collector in one day that it was deemed to be beyond human capability; and 1,597 registrations that named the same person multiple times, often with different signatures...

I find it almost stupefying to have discovered that some of my neighbors support the modern Democrat Party, seeing as how it's mostly funded by public sector union bosses, illegal immigration front groups, trial lawyers, and George Soros-style America-haters.


Hat tip: Scott.

What Do You Call a Group of Terror-Supporters, Racists and Communists Under One Roof? Since 1/09, That Would Be The Department of 'Justice'

You've probably read the recent reports by Justice Department whisteblowers alleging institutionalized racism by the agency's Voting Rights Division. The most visible example, of course, was the non-prosecution of the 'New Black Panthers' who threatened voters at a Philadelphia polling place.

But the DOJ is not simply infested with racists.

Recall that other senior Justice officials under Attorney General Eric Holder were members of the "Gitmo Nine". This cadre of attorneys helped defend terrorist detainees imprisoned at Guantanamo, many pro bono -- i.e., out of the "goodness" of their hearts. In other words, senior members of Holder's crew volunteered their time to defend those who had a direct or indirect involvement in the barbaric 9/11 attacks that killed 3,000 Americans.

In its attempts to defend its outrageous behavior, the Justice Department has all but bragged that it will also hire Communists. RedState's Moe Lane catches an utterly bizarre statement in the Washington Post's reporting of the whistleblower testimony.

Justice officials tried to turn around the [racism] allegations, pointing to internal watchdog reports accusing the George W. Bush administration of politicizing hiring in the civil rights division. The watchdogs concluded, for example, that the division's former head refused to hire lawyers who he labeled "commies."

Yes, the Holder Justice Department believes that failing to hire Communists -- the very enemies that America battled tooth-and-nail during the Cold War -- is somehow equivalent to institutionalized racism. Screening out the very Communists who would destroy America, apparently, is no longer a concern of the Obama DOJ.

The modern Democrat Party appears to have lost its collective mind. Although, I suppose with the election of Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, we already knew that.

Remember in November.


My Best Idea Ever: Let's Implement the DISPOSE Act!

Democrats have now twice come within a gnat's whisker of squelching conservative free speech. The Orwellian DISCLOSE Act would grant political free speech rights to unions while simultaneously stripping these rights from businesses. The bill requires War and Peace-style disclosure from businesses, limiting their ability to advertise on television and radio.

I've thought of a way to fight back, which -- in my humble opinion -- is nothing short of brilliant. The DISPOSE Act would take care of situations like this one:

Taxpayer anger against President Barack Obama and Congress is counterproductive because policy makers took measures including deficit spending to stimulate the economy, billionaire investor Warren Buffett told CNBC.

“Sentiment has turned very sour in the last three or four or five months,” the chairman and CEO of Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said in an interview broadcast Thursday.

“I hope we get over it pretty soon, because it’s not productive,’’ Buffett said. “We will come back regardless of how people feel about Washington, but it is not helpful to have people as unhappy as they are about what’s going on in Washington.”

More than three-quarters of U.S. investors view Obama as anti-business and are pessimistic about his policies, a Bloomberg survey this month indicated.

The U.S. unemployment rate is 9.6 percent, even after an $814 billion stimulus measure enacted last year and other government actions.

Actually the number is closer to $860 billion, but who's counting? After all, it's only your money.

The DISPOSE Act would directly target crony capitalists like Buffett, Bill Gates and others. These men have used the free market system to make tens of billions of dollars each and yet they support Obama, the Democrats, and the continued growth of government at the expense of the individual.

The DISPOSE Act would modify the income tax law: if an individual or corporation publicly advocates increased taxes, unwarranted Keynesian deficit spending, or other anti-free market policies, their tax rates would immediately double.

But, Doug, I can hear you say: that would contravene the First Amendment! Ah, but here's the brilliant part, if I do say so myself (humbly, of course): the DISCLOSE Act has already laid the precedent for this action. If corporate free speech can be targeted, why not Buffett's companies -- or Gates'?

Perhaps a First Amendment challenge to the DISPOSE Act would rule it unconstitutional for individuals. But if the DISCLOSE Act -- that targets corporate free speech -- is presumably legal, then penalizing every company on which Buffett serves as a board member or officer would therefore be equally legitimate.

After all, men like Buffett have made huge fortunes -- which no conservative begrudges in the least -- but they now advocate for policies that destroy free enterprise and crush capitalism. So DISPOSE would target companies whose board members or officers attack the free market.

After all, the Constitution is not a suicide pact.

My hope is that the DISPOSE Act would shut these crony capitalists up. Because anyone who's benefited from the immense tapestry of riches offered by the American free market system should evangelize it -- not participate in its destruction.


Larwyn's Linx: The Color of Tea; It's a Women's Movement

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 Color of Tea: PJM
‘The Tea Party Movement Is a Women’s Movement’: RWN
National Review: Help Out Joe Miller: Con4Palin

Time for a Change at the DOJ: PJM
How far gone are the House Democrats?: Pundette
Harry Reid's Thugs Attack Angle Supporters: GWP

Which Malik Shabazz Visited White House in July 2009?: BigGovt
The Chicago Way Is Not Going Anywhere: RWN
Carnahan refused to clear dead people from voter rolls: GWP

Economy

How privileged Democrats pay for their houses: Malkin
A Nation in the Grip of Faulty Economics: AT
Pelosi Increased National Deficit Eightfold During Reign: GWP

The Huge Union Payoff You Never Heard About: RWN
Public Unions Still Begging for Tax Hikes, Handouts: Mish
The New Keynesian Model is a Fraud: Denninger

Climate & Energy

EdSec: Let's Turn Kids Into Good Environmental Citizens': RWN
Tom Friedman's Totalitarian Temptation: AT
Rep. Sarbanes Advocates Green Brainwashing for Children: BlogProf

Media

Hippie-Punching: It's Not Just for Conservatives Any More: AnBlkCon
Racist Dem Loretta Sanchez `Did Not Intend to Offend Anyone’…: WZ
Sirhan Sirhan dedication backfires on Bill Ayers 36 years later: Zombie

Colbert: the perfect bookend for the 111th Congress: Driscoll
Report from the media conference call with NFIB's Brad Close about Mark Kirk: Marathon
The Flood is Coming: Babalublog

'I guess [the Coates] story has officially broken out of the blogosphere now': Instapundit
Hey, Feminists! Go Make Me A Sandwich: Wizbang
Christine O’Donnell on Socialism in America :AnBlkCon

World

President Obama’s Rwanda Moment: LATL
Texas Board of Education Calls for Textbook Publishers to Curtail Pro-Islam Bias: WZ
Meet the Muslim Superheroes who are Ready to Indoctrinate American Kids: FSM

Obama’s Afghanistan Strategy: They Win, We Lose: RWN
Freed US Hiker Meets With Ahmadinejad: WZ
Chart: Where Every Major Country Is In The Global Debt Cycle: Insider

SciTech

Stuxnet Heralds New Generation of Targeted Attacks : Dark Reading
Google: Chrome Frame Ready for Prime Time CNet
Employee Monitoring--Coming Soon To A Network Near You: Dark Reading

Cornucopia

This is Brilliant! I finally get it!: Dewey
‘Hope’ Artist Shepard Fairey Disappointed in Obama Presidency…: WZ
Hire a Vet: They’re not as stupid as John Kerry said they were.: MOTUS

Images: Weasel Zippers
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Help Sharron Angle Kick Harry Reid Out of Office!

Desperate Democrats' Latest Mailer: Evil Tea Party Will Kill Old People

The desperate campaign of Nancy Pelosi's protege Connie Pillich -- an Ohio incumbent -- has unleashed another attempt to stop Tea Party founder Mike Wilson in his tracks. Check out the Democrats' latest mailer, which does everything but paint Wilson as a bloodthirsty animal, trying to break into grandma's house to ensure that she'll never collect on Medicare.

But everyone who has studied the matter knows that the only folks killing Medicare are Democrats. Health Reform Report's latest newsletter offers the troubling statistics.

Medicare's own Chief Actuary was careful to explain in his own unprecedented accompanying report that the Medicare payment rates for the doctors and hospitals serving seniors will be cut by 30% over the next 3 years. By 2019, those Medicare payment rates will be lower than under Medicaid.

And the Democrats' gouging cuts don't even include the devastating changes to Medicare Advantage. Medicare's Chief Actuary estimates that half of all seniors on Advantage will lose their plan.

Who's sending this garbage out?

Who do you think?

These Marxists are out of control. They are an abomination.

If you've got a few bucks to spare, help Mike to show these leftists the door in November.


Friday, September 24, 2010

Ask not for whom the bell tolls, Eric Holder: "The DOJ is infested with racially motivated hostility towards equal enforcement of the law"

Leave it to Christian Adams, the recently resigned DOJ official, to succinctly interpret the testimony of one Christopher Coates. The former Justice voting rights chief blistered Attorney General Eric Holder's Justice Department as having metastasized with a sickening form of racism.

Coates described a Justice Department that is actively hostile to a race-neutral approach to law enforcement. He stated that he was reprimanded by Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King after he asked job applicants whether they could enforce voting rights laws without considering race.

There is a deep-seated opposition to the race-neutral enforcement of the Voting Rights Act against racial minorities and for the protection of whites who have been discriminated against... The opposition within the Voting Section to taking actions on behalf of white voters in Noxubee County, Mississippi,... was widespread...

...The final disposition of the [New Black Panther] case, even in the face of a default by the defendants, was caused by this incorrect view of civil rights enforcement, and it was intended to send a direct message to people inside and outside the Civil Rights Division. That message is that the filing of voting cases [against blacks] would not continue in the Obama administration...

Coates describes blatant lawlessness inside the Holder Justice Department.

Illustrative of the chaos, reporter Mike Roman revealed earlier this week that one of the Philadelphia New Black Panthers -- Jerry Jackson -- is a "felon in possession of a firearm."

Adam states that Holder's Justice Department is intentionally failing to enforce federal statutes that ban the possession of firearms by felons.

This administration and this Congress is lawless. And that is why the House must be cleaned in November -- and that's just for starters.

We no longer must consult history for a lawyer-hero willing to take personal risk for sacred principles such as the rule of law and racial equality. Our age can claim Christopher Coates. My profession has not seen a hero like Coates since the giants of the civil rights movement convinced the courts to eradicate legal racial discrimination. Coates has dedicated a lifetime to following in their footsteps, to ensuring free access to the ballot.

Today, in the twilight of his career, America witnessed his finest hour.

Eric Holder is destined to become one of history's laughingstocks -- and, very likely, a criminal one at that.

The nation of cowards is coming to call.


Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Survey: Nation's Unemployed Cheered by Comedian Steven Colbert's Hilarious Congressional Testimony Advocating More Illegal Immigration

Citing rising unemployment and concerns with the nation's morale, Congressional Democrats hosted comedian Steven Colbert in the Capitol Building today to highlight the seriousness of their efforts to right the ship of state.

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) noted that Colbert's testimony before Congress was a huge win for the Democrats stating, "Nothing brings a country together like immigrant jokes delivered in deadpan by Steven Colbert, the nation's best-known comedian who wears glasses and hosts a fake news show patterned after O'Reilly."

"Bringing Colbert in to deliver his incisive commentary demonstrates the seriousness with which we take our work here in Congress.

"Also, remember to try the roast beef special -- and don't forget to tip your waitresses."

Democrat pollsters echoed Hoyer's claim, with reports that the nation's morale had improved over 17.4% after Colbert's humorous foray into Congress. The respected political analysis website 538.com found that five of eight Bethesda, Maryland residents would vote Democrat after watching the funnyman's testimony.


Larwyn's Linx: ObamaCare--It's Even Worse Than We Thought

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

ObamaCare--It's Even Worse Than We Thought: WashExam
Chris Coons is wackier than Christine O'Donnell: WashExam
Obama Made Us Do It!: Hanson

DeMint rips Senate GOP for aiding Murkowski's treason: Hot Air
Congressman Warns Holder: PJM (Watch Live at 10am)
It's the Federalism, Stupid: AT

Why the Eleanor Holmes Norton Phone Call Matters: BigJournalism
Allen West's Internal Polling Puts Him Up Six: Ace
The Most Radical Judges Money Can Buy: Hot Air

Economy

Well, it looks like ACORN laundered millions of your money: Malkin
The Democrats Surrender: Betsy's Page
Sorry, But We Deserve Our Schools: AT

EPA’s Lisa Jackson: Wild ‘Wealth Creation’ Claims: BigJournalism
A Smarter Way to Win the War on Poverty: RWN
'DREAM Act' Threat Remains: AT

Climate & Energy

Toldja So: Blockbuster Revelations in Chevron-Ecuador Lawsuit: BMW
Climate Alarmists Despair That They 'Need A New President': RWN
I Know, Let’s Make US Kids Into 'Good Environmental Citizens'!: RWN

Media

No, Your Argument Is Incoherent!: Surber
What's Wrong With This Picture?: BrutHon
Liberal media goes on attack against GOP's Boehner: Post

Under-the-Bleachers Blogger Externalizes Rage, Demands to See Speedo Picture: RSM
Nice. Liberals Are Now Calling Christine O’Donnell A ‘Whore” on National TV: GWP
New York Times Reporter Kevin Sack Issues White House Press Releases for Obama-Care: NewsBusters

“Sesame Street” comes up with bold new way to increase audience: Hot Air
Illinois: Dems float another phony GOP candidate: Marathon
Run Castle Run!: Con4Palin

World

Jihadists Making Themselves at Home in Philadelphia: PJM
Mainstream Islam Rejects Freedom of Conscience: PJM
Obama's Broken Moral Compass On Display at the U.N.: Bayefsky

Vatican Official: 'Islam Will Sooner Or Later Conquer Majority of Europe': GWP
Australian Muslim cleric calls for a beheading. Who cares?: WashExam
How to Win the Trade War with the Democrats: AT

SciTech

Oops. Solar heat has been left out of IPCC models: Ace
HP Windows 7 Slate Video Suggests Trainwreck in Making: eWeek
US communities pin hopes on 'super wi-fi': BBC

Cornucopia

Rant of the Day: SondraK
The Last Best Hope: Ace
Men are from Mars...: SondraK

Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Support Lt. Col. Allen West for Congress

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Photos: Cadillac CTS-V, the fastest production sedan in the world

A few photos doesn't quite do it justice.





Does the phrase 556 horsepower send a shiver up your spine? Supercharged -- and therefore no turbo lag?

A claimed 3.9 0-to-60 should get your attention. It just better not be an electric!