Monday, November 15, 2010

What do the Ukraine and Pakistan have in common?

Their debt is rated the same as Ireland's.

Mary Ellen Synon, writing in The Daily Mail, offers an exceptional summary of Ireland's debt crisis which, you may have heard, is at a boiling point.

First the potato, now the euro: how Ireland has been destroyed again


...Today [once] swaggering Ireland has gone bust. Spectacularly, dramatically, perhaps irretrievably bankrupt, suffering the deepest recession in the world.

...So what went wrong? No one in Brussels will ever admit it, but it's the euro that ruined Ireland.

Ireland joined the single currency in 1999. At the time it was enjoying healthy growth, fuelled by investment from high-tech multinationals such as Dell, Intel and Pfizer, attracted by Ireland’s low 12.5 percent rate of corporation tax.

But after the Irish turned over their currency and their interest rates to the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, things began to change.

The ECB insisted upon low interest rates for the eurozone to help the sluggish German economy. But what suited Germany was all wrong for Ireland, turning healthy growth into a debt-fuelled property mania.

First the Euro-enthusiasts across the EU fostered the idea that, since all the members of eurozone shared a single currency and had promised to adhere to strict limits on debt and inflation, they were all equal in risk... This fiction led investors to imagine lending to Greece or Ireland was no more risky than lending to Germany or the Netherlands.

So Irish banks were free to suck in billions from Asia and Europe... These billions - many of which came from the City of London - were what fuelled Ireland’s asset bubble. ECB policy made sure the money was lent on to Irish property speculators at real interest rates that were actually negative... [and] eager to cash in on ever-soaring property prices, the Irish began a credit binge that drove up levels of personal debt to the highest in Europe.

Meanwhile the Irish Government enjoyed a tax revenue bonanza - and responded by letting public sector pay and spending rip so that today Ireland has the highest paid public sector in Europe... In short, joining the euro has meant almost everything that could go wrong in one country has gone wrong in Ireland.

Then in 2007, the inevitable happened and the property bubble burst. Tracts of land bought for hundreds of millions of euros for commercial development became worthless overnight. House prices crashed to half their value and are still falling...

...Irish banks have been destroyed by their bad loans and are insolvent. The bond markets will not lend money to the Dublin government, which is itself insolvent, driven to the edge of bankruptcy by trying to save the banks.

One economist pointed out last week the markets now put Irish sovereign debt in the same risk group as Ukraine and Pakistan.

And all this could have serious repercussions for Britain... Worse, Irish bankruptcy could lead to a contagion of default on debt among the other weak members of the eurozone. Such a contagion could put the banking system here under serious threat, especially if the Spanish were forced into default.

...While Britain’s national deficit – the amount by which Government spending exceeds annual revenue -- is about 10 percent of national output (called GDP), Ireland’s is 32 percent, possibly the highest in the world outside Zimbabwe.

Here, like California, is the idiocy of Paul Krugman's policy prescriptions writ large. Everything Krugman advocates, limitless Keynesian spending and untold amounts of debt, has already occurred in California, Illinois and Ireland.

And they're all about to topple in a vertigo-inducing onslaught of defaults and debasements. Which is why Krugman won't ever talk about them.


Bonus Quantitative Easing Chart o' the Day

I like to call it "money-printing", but the Fed calls it "QE2". That is, the recently announced second round of quantitative easing. Also known as monetizing the debt.

And a "huge list of investors and economists" are decrying the policy, going so far as to publish an open letter in today's WSJ.

We believe the Federal Reserve’s large-scale asset purchase plan (so-called “quantitative easing”) should be reconsidered and discontinued. We do not believe such a plan is necessary or advisable under current circumstances. The planned asset purchases risk currency debasement and inflation, and we do not think they will achieve the Fed’s objective of promoting employment...

We subscribe to your statement in the Washington Post on November 4 that “the Federal Reserve cannot solve all the economy’s problems on its own.” In this case, we think improvements in tax, spending and regulatory policies must take precedence in a national growth program, not further monetary stimulus...

...We disagree with the view that inflation needs to be pushed higher, and worry that another round of asset purchases, with interest rates still near zero over a year into the recovery, will distort financial markets and greatly complicate future Fed efforts to normalize monetary policy...

In other words: Stop using monetary policy to dictate fiscal policy! Use your bully pulpit and tell the President and his minions to slash the five trillion they've added since Pelosi took over the budget!

At least that's how I read it.

Your bonus hyperinflation chart o' the day is below. It depicts the price of gold in Reichsmarks during Germany's fateful five-year run ending in hyperinflation and economic destruction.

The red marks a linear scale ($400 to $1500) for the last five years, illustrating the price of an ounce of gold in U.S. dollars.

If the dollar does indeed melt down, I propose we call the new currency the quatloo (as in "I bid 50 quatloos on the newcomer"). Or the bernanke.


Federal Workers Making Over $180,000 Jumped 2,000% In Just the Past Five Years

Tyler Durden points us to a USA Today study of federal wages and benefits. Yes, we knew these people were completely out of control. But we didn't have a good picture of just how out of control they were and are -- until today (emphases mine).

For all those wondering how to cut down on government expenditures, here's a thought: cut the skyrocketing salaries! A study by USA Today, using US Office of Personnel Management data, confirms what has been widely known: that the biggest beneficiaries of government largesse over the past 5 years as a worker cohort, are none other than Federal workers themselves...

...The numbers are stunning: those earning over $150,000 in the past five years have grown from 7,420 to 82,034, a 1,006% increase. More shockingly, those earning over $180,000 has surged from just 805 in 2005, to 16,912 in 2010: a 2,001% increase... And it is on the background of this that Congress is planning on giving 2.1 million federal workers another 1.4% across the board pay raise!

...Additionally, it appears that the bulk of the gains have taken place since Obama took office.

...The biggest pay hikes have gone to employees who have been with the government for 15 to 24 years. Since 2005, average salaries for this group climbed 25% compared with a 9% inflation rate... And just to make sure you get really angry, here is how one Federal Union views the fact that government workers as a whole are now the second best paid group after Wall Street:

National Treasury Employees Union  President Colleen Kelley counters that the proposed raise "is a modest amount and should be implemented" to help make salaries more comparable with those in the private sector.
Once again, we get confirmation that Americans always get nothing more or less than the thieves in control they deserve, and elect.

President Obama keeps talking about "paying for" the expiration of the Bush tax cuts. By that, he means keeping the same amount of your money flowing to the bloated federal bureaucracy to pay for these outrageous salary increases.

I've got an alternative: let's return the entire federal government discretionary -- non-defense -- spending back to 1999 levels. You know, when Clinton ran that budget surplus Democrats like to crow about (yes, I know, it was really the GOP House -- led by now Ohio Governor John Kasich -- who balanced the budget, but ***shhh*** humor them).

And let's outlaw public sector unions while we're at it. They are the enemy of a Democratic society -- one need only look at the riots in the streets of Europe for a preview of our future if these anti-taxpayers continue to feast at the public trough.


HHS Buries 111 Waivers Issued For Its Disastrous One-Size-Fits-All Health Care Reform Bill, Affecting Nearly 1.2 Million 'Workers'

If you hadn't heard, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has already been forced to issue 111 one-year waivers to the ObamaCare socialized medicine program.

In early September, ...Obamacare promoter and Democrat Rep. Ron Wyden [pushed] for a special state waiver from the very federal mandate he advocated for everyone else... A few weeks later, McDonald’s finagled its own Obamacare waiver after warning federal regulators that it could be forced to drop its affordable health insurance plan for nearly 30,000 restaurant workers unless it got a pass.

In early October, the Obama administration announced it had granted waivers not only to McDonald’s, but also to several other firms and labor unions.

Now comes word that Torquemada HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has approved a whopping 111 waivers for businesses of all sizes, along with more unions and other providers of health insurance. The escapees include employers of many low-wage and part-time workers whose health insurance plans would otherwise be dropped, including Darden Restaurants — the parent company of the Olive Garden and Red Lobster and other chains, which employ some 34,000 people.

In total, Sebelius' waivers granted thus far affect nearly 1.2 million workers.

Let's not beat around the bush here: by issuing all of these waivers before the full effects of the law are even felt, the administrative state has admitted that its one-size-fits-all health care reform is a failure. Which any thinking person knew and predicted ahead of time (by definition, excluding all liberals who supported the bill).

Who gets hurt the most? Small- and mid-sized businesses who don't have the corporate attorneys and lobbyists to beg Washington for relief. Consider the amount of power that this fourth branch of government possesses: who gets health care, when, how and what treatments. This unelected body of masterminds -- who believe that they can control hundreds of millions of individual, rational decisions and one-sixth of the entire U.S. economy -- have already proven themselves a disaster.

And this is only the beginning.

Furthermore, when you put the power in the hands of unelected bureaucrats to decide who must obey the law and who is above it, you've eviscerated the entire rationale for the law.

This disastrous pile of manure disguised as "health care reform" must be repealed.


Larwyn's Linx: Waiver-mania--The Obamacare escapee list

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

Waiver-mania! The ever-expanding Obamacare escapee list: Malkin
Huge Illegal immigration smuggling cell busted in Arizona: Cubachi
Grabowskis Rule: Hayride

Valerie Jarrett Has a Problem: Strata-Sphere
Bridgeport's Missing Republican Votes: AT
3-year old girl accosted by TSA screeners: GWP

Economy

Maybe I'm Just an Alarmist: Q&O
China, Middle East May Own Stake in GM This Week: RWN
Paul Krugman: Use 'Death Panels' to Balance Budget: NewsBusters

Health Care Reform Group Gets Waiver from… Health Care Reform: GR
Race and Failed Leadership: MoneyRunner
Some Difficult Truths About Supplemental Security Income: SW

The Michelle Rhee Letters and Tapes: Ameristroika
Fed Up With the Fed: AT
Post Office Posts $8.5B Deficit After Massive Layoffs: BlogProf

Climate & Energy

Gangster government and the Gulf oil spill: Tapscott
US Oil Production Gearing Up: Al Fin

Media

Frank Rich Knows The Answer, He Just Can't Say It: LegalIns
'This Certainly Was the Worst 10 Days of His Political Life': JWF
Georgetown Prof: Obama “Bought and Paid For by Zionists,” American Media Controlled by Jews: WZ

Surprise: David Frum Writes in the NYT About The Tea Party: Turns Out They're 100% Wrong, 200% Ignorant: Ace
Without God, All Morality Is Subjective: RWN
American Narcissus: WklyStd

Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco: Zombie (NSFW)
It Begins: State-Run Media Tries to Paint Far Left McCaskill as “Centrist”: GWP
Barack Obama -- The Marxist-Leninist Years: Hayek Center

World

“The Left is Very Much the New Far Right”: Gates of Vienna
Obama Administration’s un-American Agenda: BigPeace
Ever Wonder Why You Don't Hear Anymore About How Hamas Was 'Democratically Elected': Daled Amos

GOP Rep. Trent Franks: “Obama Doesn’t Seem to Understand the Intent of Jihadist Ideology”: WZ
WMATA Police Seek to Identify Two Suspicious Metro Riders: Jawa
Democracy Activist Freed From House Arrest in Myanmar: RWN

Smackdown in Seoul: Obama Gets an ‘F’ in South Korea: PJM
The Road To Sharia: ThinkIsrael
The Jewish People vs George Soros: Sultan Knish

SciTech

US Navy's Free Electron Super-Laser Energy Weapon: Al Fin
China Challenges United States for Aerospace Leadership: AmPower
The Phone Call is Dead: TechCrunch

FTC Appoints Hacker as First Chief Technologist: NetworkWorld
Who Can Protect Us From Major Cyber Attacks?: DefenseTech
Beyblades: AmPower

Cornucopia

What’s the Very Best Thing About Republicans Winning the Election?: RSM
The Official Iggy Pop Shirtless Aging Timeline: BuzzFeed
The Smittymotivator: Troglopundit

Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Maggie's Notebook -- New and Improved


Sunday, November 14, 2010

Photos of the Quantitative Easing Krugman, Weimar Edition

On PBS' Inside Washington, Charles Krauthammer delivered a vicious smack-down to the malevolent partisan hack named Paul Krugman.



That would be the same Krugman who recommended that the Fed inflate a housing bubble back in 2002. Seriously.


Update: So how bad is quantitative easing?

Update II: Paul Krugman Recommends 'Death Panels' to Help Balance Budget

Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Mark Levin: "A Society Has To Be Insane..."

This is Cub Reporter Biff Spackle's transcription of the opening segment of The Mark Levin Show, 12 November 2010, click for MP3 download):

Something is happened in the last few days that's gone largely unnoticed. It's right in front of us, and everyone is talking around it, but no one is talking about it in a direct way.

Every single commentator, left, right and in between, is saying that our government does not work. I haven't heard anyone say that government is efficient; that government is doing what it's supposed to do; that government is terrific; no one.

Now this government, in so many ways, is not the government of our Constitution, is it? It is a massive, centralized vacuum that is sucking up pieces of our liberty, large and small, in a thousand different ways.

Unlimited Power

There's little this government does not do, and cannot do, if those in power want to do it. Given that the government is many times larger and more powerful than the Framers ever imagined... given that the Statists, with a short respite here and there, have had their way for the last 75 years... isn't it clear that the government they've created is defective?

The Statists themselves complain that despite the New Deal, the Square Deal, the Fair Deal, the Great Society and Obama Marxism... despite trillions and trillions of dollars... despite massive bureaucratic agencies... despite telephone books full of regulations... it doesn't work.

Despite Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid... despite government schools, government houses, government meals... despite the progressive income tax, the death tax, business taxes... it's not working.

And yet they demand more of the same. More government. More programs. More spending. More taxes. More debt.

75 Years

Even though the Statist model has failed over the course of three-fourths of a century in this country -- by their own admission! -- they insist that we ignore the evidence, reason, experience, and history... and continue on their path. Except, rather than moving gradually, that we continue on this path at breakneck speed.

Now, it is the Statist that has bankrupted the nation. It is the Statist who has destroyed the very entitlements they created, just as Ponzi and Madoff created "investments" and destroyed them too. It is the Statist that controls government-run education and has driven down the quality of education.

Even the Decifit Commission's report is at least a recognition that Statism has failed, although the report largely leaves the Statists in charge and their bureaucratic monuments in place.

The Statist argues against cuts... and for more of the same... while admitting that they failed.

A society has to be insane to continue to follow them and their course. Where does the Statist approach ultimately take us? When we will know that this Utopia they promise us exists? When will we know that it has been realized?

What Constrains Them?

What are the limits on the power that this government -- that we're creating every single day -- has over us? Since the Constitution, we're told, really doesn't apply any more. Pretty scary, isn't it?

You see, we conservatives seek to work within a Constitutional system that they abuse, and even reject. So it's not really a fair fight, is it? No, it's not. They use unconstitutional and extra-Constitutional methods against us. And we continue to abide by the Constitution to defend ourselves.

Now, what is a "moderate" or a "centrist" under these circumstances? That is, politicians or professors or writers or even political activists who choose not to take sides, but claim to be "moderates" or "centrists". What are they, really? Well, they're appeasers.

When you face a soft tyranny that uses extra-Constitutional and unconstitutional means to continue to drive a stake through the heart of this country, and you claim to be a "moderate" or a "centrist", then you're an appeaser. You're a quisling.

They reject the Constitution or evade it. They seek to institutionalize their models, their viewpoints, in lieu of the Constitution. And that's the difference.

Now you can hear today, Nancy Pelosi saying no deal on taxes, no deal on cutting. Why is that she, and they, are never required to lay out exactly what they stand for? Now, we know what they stand for, but shouldn't they be required to tell us their beliefs... the extent to which our private property will be taken from us, the extent to which our liberty will be taken from us, and what this new government -- that they are pushing for relentlessly -- is going to look like?

Why aren't they required to lay out their pledge and their plan, rather than go out each day and try to undermine this society as they do? And the answer is really quite simple: they can't.

They are driving this society over the cliff, some of them because they really want to drive it over the cliff, some because are rote, some of them because they put politics ahead of country, but they're driving us in the same direction nonetheless. Over the cliff.

The House Is Not Nearly Enough

This is why all their talk about "oh, we'll push off the age increase on Social Security to 2075", while they mean to pocket all of the resources now, is disastrous. If we do not change the unconstitutional and extra-Constitutional aspects of this society, how is anything going to change? They're not going to change. I'm also practical enough to realize that -- hopefully -- we conservatives control the House, but we do not control the Senate, the White House, and we do not control the fourth branch of government.

The White House controls the administrative state, the fourth branch of government, entities like the EPA or the other monstrosities. And they can use them against us. And they will.

The House, hopefully, will pass legislation that advances the cause of Constitutionalism and liberty. So what do we need to do, you and me? We're not elected officials. Well, in addition to keeping the pressure on, we need to continue our role -- informing our fellow citizens -- because there are future elections and we must win them... with conservatives in primaries.

We must continue to spread the word about where we stand. We are for a society that nurtures the individual, we are for a society that accepts the limits on government, we are for a society that promotes and rewards success, we are for a society that creates opportunities for everybody.

Versus a bleak, iron-fisted, defective, bloated, centralized model that fails everywhere's it's tried. We must continue to spread the word. It is our only hope.

Our Mission Must Continue, Relentlessly and Tirelessly

Liberty is never safe from tyranny. Let me repeat that. Liberty is never safe from tyranny. We have masterminds all over our government, who pay others outside in government-like organizations, to promote Utopian schemes that have -- at their core -- having control over you.

I don't care what sort of Utopian societies you've read about or heard about, they all have a similar thread. That common thread is: control over the individual. We hear these phrases like "shared sacrifice" -- the individual is required to surrender his heart and his mind and his soul for "the greater good". One way or another. That's what they preach, one way or another.

So we have no choice, if we want to live as free people. And if we want our children and grandchildren to live as free people. We continue to spread the word. And people who want to negotiate with this Statist forces or ignoring 75 years of American history. Negotiatie for what? With what? Listen to them: they just got their asses kicked in a historic election -- and they're trying to control the agenda!

We Must Defeat Them

Then we must defeat them. We have only one part of an elected branch of government. And we're going to hold their feet to the fire. But we need more. We need to take over the entire government. And, unlike the Left, we'll do so in a Constitutional and legal way. Not by dumbing down the voting system, not by changing citizenship in order to import liberal Democrats, no. We'll do it the right way.

But ladies and gentlemen, make no mistake about it: this is a battle between liberty and tyranny. All the phony moderates and centrists who tell you to just relax, to pace yourselves, I say -- be more resolute than ever before.

Transcribed from: The Mark Levin Show, 12 November 2010, click for MP3 download.

Nice: Charlie Rangel Broke House Ethics Rules by Paying Defense Lawyers With PAC Money In His Trial for Breaking House Ethics Rules

The ethics trial of Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) is slated to begin tomorrow. Curiously, the Democrat leadership scheduled it to begin just after his reelection and just before control of the House flips over to the GOP in January.

Rangel is accused of violating more than a dozen ethics rules including failure to report huge financial transactions, failure to pay thousands in taxes, and drowning a woman at Chappaquiddick. Oh, wait -- that last one was a different Democrat. My mistake.

Rangel tapped his National Leadership PAC for $293,000 to pay his main legal-defense team this year. He took another $100,000 from the PAC in 2009 to pay lawyer Lanny Davis.

Two legal experts told The Post such spending is against House rules... "It's a breach of congressional ethics," one campaign-finance lawyer said... Washington, DC, political lawyer Cleta Mitchell said there is "no authority for a member to use leadership PAC funds as a slush fund to pay for personal or official expenses."

..."Accepting money or payment for legal expenses from any other source, including a PAC, would be a gift and is barred by the House rules," the lawyer said.

On top of the $393,000 in PAC funds, records show Rangel yanked $1.4 million from his campaign coffers in 2009 and 2010 to pay the firm Zuckerman Spaeder, his main legal-defense team, and $100,000 in 2009 to pay Davis' firm... He also spent $147,577 for Washington, DC, lawyer John Kern and $174,303 for Watkins, Meegan, Drury & Co., a firm that offers forensic accounting and legal services...

Rangel probably figures the ethics trial on these new charges won't take place until mid-November 2012, at which point he'll already have been reelected for the 75th time in a row.

We call this phenomenon Schadenfraud (translated: "Nancy Pelosi's 'most ethical Congress evah'").


Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

It's Infidel-tastic! Fairmont Hotels Opens a Luxurious New Resort That You're Not Allowed to Visit

A Friday news item in Maktoob noted that some Islamic clerics are worried about overbuilding in the holy city of Mecca (Makkah).

Inside the mosque, all pilgrims are equal as they circle the black stone known as the Kaaba towards which Muslims around the world turn in prayer every day... But outside an array of towering five-star hotels have sprung up where the wealthy can bask in a 24-hour view of the Kaaba. The high-rises dwarf the mosque and the surrounding town, nestled in the mountains in the hinterland of the port city Jeddah...

In recent decades many old houses have been torn down in Mecca to allow better access to the haram, making way for malls, hotels and huge underground parking areas. Locals are compensated for houses they lose... Irfan al-Alawi, an Islamic theology professor based in London, said the Vatican would never sanction such work in its own sacred precinct... The government should use space outside the city to build hotels, he said: "Mecca doesn't have to look like Manhattan or New York".

The grandest hotel of all is actually being constructed by a North American company -- Fairmont Hotels -- which is building the Makkah Clock Royal Tower.

The resort features two spas and the world's largest clock-face "perched Big-Ben style" facing the Kaaba.

I find it bizarre that the Fairmont organization would support this type of project in the apartheid city of Mecca.

The Left always tries to paint Israel as some sort of "Apartheid State", even though every religion imaginable is practiced and Arabs serve in parliament and at all levels of government.

But when it comes to a true apartheid state, no country is more intolerant that Saudi Arabia. It bans the practice of all religions except Islam, treats women as fourth-class citizens, practices stone-age Sharia law, and bans travel to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina by infidels. That would be you, me and probably most in the Fairmont organization.

As an aside, you hard-line Islamic clerics out there may want to issue some fatwas on the Fairmont.

After all, their travel brochure for the Makkah resort includes alcoholic beverages among the amenities offered.

Of course, that sort of hypocrisy is pretty much accepted for the elite in Saudi Arabia, though it's usually not advertised so boldly. Especially in "Makkah".

Tolerating and supporting apartheid of the sort practiced in Saudi Arabia is especially depressing for a company headquartered in North America and doing business in many U.S. cities.

I know this much: I'll never stay at a Fairmont hotel again.


Linked by: American Thinker. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: 'Don’t worry about me doing the right thing'--West

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

Allen West: 'Don’t worry about me doing the right thing in DC': Cubachi
Dems In Chaos: Nice Deb
Conditioning Americans to accept the unacceptable: RWN

This is the Moment: Belmont Club
The $2B Vacation Summit Was an Epic Fail: RWN
Attorneys heading to the exits in Alaska?: Hot Air

Tea Partiers to GOP: Fall in line or face challengers: DC
Don't Let the DC Insiders Steal Our Members of Congress: Iron Mill
Turning the Border into the Next ‘Third Rail’?: PJM

Economy

Good News: DOJ Gave Millions to “Sanctuary Cities”: WZ
Municide Slaughter Begins in the Bond Market: Shenandoah
7 of 10 Richest Counties in U.S. Surround DC: WTOP

Surprise: Pelosi really can create jobs: AnBlkCon
Is the Federal Reserve Destroying the Dollar?: AT
Cigarette Tax Hike Means New York State Budget Shortfall: LawHawk

Climate & Energy

The Global Warming Court Battle Heats Up in Virginia: AT
Pseudo-car pimped by pseudo-pResident: Cold Fury
Shocked as hell: Threat to tropical rainforests from global warming grossly exaggerated by enviro-nuts: RWN

Media

‘The Demagogic Bloggers on the Right’: RSM
Patterico’s Latest Gambit: Trying to Pit Michelle Malkin Against Mark Levin?: RSM
Amazon Pulls Pedophile Book, HuffPo Libs Lament: Moonbattery

The New York Times Celebrates Mass Murderers and Genocide -- Again: AT (Lewis)
Glenn Greenwald Does His Israel-Firsters Dance Again: LegalIns
Does President Obama really expect a reporter to ask about his compliments?: WashExam

HuffPo's Les Leopold: In Denial: Denninger
No, Ted Koppel, cable did not kill news: Surber
Obama’s Favorite Techie Toy: The iReggie: Malkin

World

Care to Support the Faithful in Iraq?: BrutHon
Anti-Semitic Themes Skyrocketing in Mainstream British Circles Over Past Year: WZ
Six Years Ago, Yasir Arafat Died; Today His Legacy Still Prevails: No To Peace, No to Compromise: BRubin

Nama saya Barry Obama dan Saya lahir di New Mexico: C&S
Israel and UNESCO: AT
Women's Wrongs at the U.N.: HuffPo

Clarice's Pieces: Restoring American Stature Abroad: AT
Conservative Group Calls on Justice Dept. to Investigate Muslim Prayers on Capitol Hill: Fox
Blogger to receive life sentence for Facebook criticism of Islam: Maktoob

SciTech

The End of In-Flight Wi-Fi?: Schneier
Cowboys fire coach, forget to renew Web domain: CNet
Galaxy vs. iPad: Clash of the Tablet Titans: TNW

Cornucopia

Someone Must Pay: C&S (NSFW)
The Chuck and Barry Show: MOTUS
The 12 Traits That Made The Most Exceptional People I’ve Ever Known Stand Out: RWN

IowaHawk Free Speech Suspension Crisisgate: IowaHawk
President Falls for Invisible Air Force One Gag: Moonbattery
"[T]here was some confusion as to what book young Obama was writing.": Althouse

Image: Shenandoah - John Galt FLA
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Support Jim DeMint's Senate Conservatives Fund


Saturday, November 13, 2010

Holy Crap -- What the Hell Happened to Billy Jack?

Oh, my.

Here's Billy Jack in his heyday (played by Tom Laughlin).

And here he is on YouTube recently.

Well, this is certainly a depressing turn of events.


10 Foods You Can Still Legally Buy In the U.S. (At Least For Now) That Can Kill You Dead

#10. The Clam Sandwich.

#9. Food Cart Salad Bar.

#8. Bacon-and-Cheese-Stuffed Pizza Burger.

#7. Frozen Mussels.

#6. Vending Machine Burritos.

#5. Roach Coach Chili.

#4. Sea Urchin Topped With Quail Egg Sushi.

#3. Sweet Cabbage and Cod Croissants.

#2. Hot Dogs Stored and Cooked in a Vending Machine.

#1. Mass-produced Sloppy Joes.

Shhh. Don't tell anyone in San Francisco.


Oh, This is Rich: HuffPo Nut Can't Remember When Members of Congress Ever Met With Foreign Leaders Against the Will of the White House

Some crackpot named Amanda Terkel, writing at the execrable Stuffington Roast, is shocked -- shocked! -- that a member of the the House majority met with the Israeli P.M.

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday during a meeting in New York that the new GOP majority in the House will "serve as a check" on the Obama administration, a statement unusual for its blunt disagreement with U.S. policy delivered directly to a foreign leader...

...Ron Kampeas from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency news agency found Cantor's comments extremely surprising, writing, "I can't remember an opposition leader telling a foreign leader, in a personal meeting, that he would side, as a policy, with that leader against the president. Certainly, in statements on one specific issue or another -- building in Jerusalem, or somesuch -- lawmakers have taken the sides of other nations. But to have-a-face to face and say, in general, we will take your side against the White House -- that sounds to me extraordinary."

What a tool.

It's certainly easy to forget this meeting of Democrat Chris Dodd (D-CT) with Syrian dictator-slash-Iranian-terror puppet Bashar Assad against the wishes of the Bush White House.

Or this meeting between the pathetic John Kerry (D-MA) and Assad.

Or the time that the disgraceful Bill Nelson (D-FL) met with Assad.

And who could forget this meeting between Stretch Pelosi and Assad?

Not only did Democrat leaders meet with the head of the terror-state; not only did they fly across the globe to meet; but they also did so in the midst of the Iraqi conflict in which:

Syria was secretly building its own nuclear facility (later destroyed by the Israelis, thankfully)...

• Credible military reports stated that Assad was (and is still) holding Saddam Hussein's WMDs...

• And, worst of all, Syria was actively exporting weapons to Iraq's insurgents during the war that were used to kill American troops.

In a late update to the article, however, Terkel happens to remember one of many visits by Democrat leaders to express support for Syria's terror-state, but only to attempt to point out GOP "hypocrisy".

Yes, dimwit, because Syria -- a puppet of Iran -- was and is a known terror-state and avowed enemy of the U.S. Its support for Hezbollah, for instance, was also instrumental in the bombing that killed 241 U.S. Marines.

Not that you'd remember any of that, "Terkel" -- if that is your name.


Hat tip: Memeorandum.

Top 25 #StupidSuperheroes

'Nother Twitter meme where I was late to the party. Here's my Top 20:

25. @FlamingOMom4: Stench Armstrong
24. @TedInATL: The Asthmatic Avenger
23. @PhilipMurphyNYC: Captain Armenia
22. @TedgForce: Rustman
21. @PoliticsOfFear: Captain Dingleberry

20. @EricTheWhite: Tran Helsing
19. @directorblue: BadKarmaMan
18. @SavingTheWorld: StareDevil
17. @Jimi971: Global Warming Man
16. @TedInATL: Captain Colostomy

15. @GayPatriot: Mucus Man & Bile Boy
14. @DHSmith24: NagWoman
13. @MRinLA: The Human Flash-Drive
12. @Caper29B: Captain Kissass
11. @CatsPolitics: She-Male, Princess of Power

10. @ChrisBarnhart: Dr. Snide Allusion
9. @JCCentCom: Lintman
8. @TheNewSmallgGay: The Blue Bedbug
7. @directorblue: PullMyFingerMan
6. @MattBramanti: Lex Lutheran

5. @iParker002: Slow Motion Man
4. @IMAO_: The Human Porch
3. @BenFroland: The Flatulent Four
2. @TX_USMC: Ob/Gyn Kenobi
1. @FlamingOMom4: Upper G.I. Joe

Update: Just thought of one: Krugman!

Rare Bipartisan Agreement

Dan from New York:

Obama's economic view is rejected on world stage


--New York Times, 11/12/2010

Embarrassment in Seoul


Has there ever been a major economic summit where a U.S. President and his Treasury Secretary were as thoroughly rebuffed as they were at this week's G-20 meeting in Seoul? We can't think of one.

--WSJ, November 13, 2010

Some expected a liberal savior and others a crypto-Socialist ogre. The good news is Obama is disappointing all of us. He's proving too clumsy and inept to justify either our greatest hope or our greatest fear. The anti-Obama Rebellion that swept our country on November 2nd was a national cathartic; it blessed our country with a chance to reverse Obama's worst errors and prevent the commission of others.

Although it will surely be a cliffhanger, even the oncoming calamity of a nuclear Iran - a "game changer" if ever there was one - could be turned back, provided we elect a new president in 2012. By that time, the Iranians may have a nuclear weapon but it would likely be primitive, and its means of manufacture would still be fragile and vulnerable to a determined attack. By then, Israel too could be much better prepared mentally and militarily to take on the job alone, or better still, cooperate with the new White House occupant to rid the world of Ahmadinejad's atomic suicide bombs.

So as it turns out, Obama is not a prince nor is he an ogre. He's a plain-vanilla loser, a sad sack who keeps spilling hot soup in his own lap. Let's be thankful for little things, but not take anything for granted either. We need to make certain our pathetic president is sent home to the Second City the first chance we get.


What does the market know about California's finances that the rest of us don't?

The bond markets are depicting some very ugly goings-on in California

Over at The Big Picture, Barry Ritholz focuses our attention on the meltdown of California's municipal debt obligations. Translated for progressives: the market believes that something very bad -- Greece-like, in fact -- is happening in the Blue State Utopia of windmills, unicorns and Jerry Brown.

California Muni Bond Fund Shellacking


Since so many of you have asked: These funds are getting mangled on expectations of — All Aboard! Munis and California joining Ireland on the default train... Even the general Muni funds have lots of California Exposure...




Sure, the Governor declared a "fiscal emergency" a few months ago. True, the state wants to sell $14 billion in new debt instruments to any suckers interested parties it can find.

But we already knew all of this. Everyone in America already was aware that Cali is an economic train wreck.

Everyone, that is, except for Paul Krugman who has yet to compare his insane national policy prescriptions with what is already unfolding in the Democrat Utopia of California.

So what's really going on? Your guess is as good as mine, though if you believe in "The Wisdom of Crowds", you may want to batten down the hatches.


Hat tip: Mish.

Larwyn's Linx: Mid-Term Message To Dems Bounced 'Mailer-Daemon'

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

Mid-Term Message To Dems Returned "Mailer-Daemon": LegalIns
Jim DeMint for President?: Liberty Musings
Old Glory Banned From California Middle School: RWN

Former ACORN Worker Takes Plea Deal for Vote Fraud: RWN
Tea Party Battle Plan: AT
The Congressional Follies, 111th Edition: AT

Economy

The SEIU's Shady Political Cash: RWN
Cartoon Bears Explain Lousy Monetary Policy: Hope for America
Financial Briefing: Quick hits: Ace

Gut FinReg Too: IBD
Christie to Public Sector: ‘Let Me Help You Pack’: PJM
Kent Conrad's Political Suicide: Ace

Did the Dems pass Obamacare for 8,000 people?: AT
Democrats want to kill Boris' goat: StateBrief
The Election Cycle: Will It Still Apply This Time?: Sargen

Climate & Energy

Throw Carol Browner under the bus: Malkin
A bad news week for AGW proponents: WUWT
High School Science and Cap and Trade Legislation: AT

New EPA Regs Would Kill Jobs, Stall Economy: Tapscott
The Renewable Electricity Standard Con: AT
Spain Wants More U.S. Money for Its Failed ‘Green’ Agenda: PJM

Media

Dem Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee: Rush Limbaugh Using 'Racial Undertones,' is 'Abusing the First Amendment': WZ
Far Left Furious GOP Won’t Join in Team Obama’s Attacks on Israel: GWP
Hugh Hewitt Schools Muslim Guest On Sharia Law In The US: BlogProf

Scarborough: Top Dems in Senate Have All Told Me That "Obama Has No Idea What He's Doing": GWP
Newsweek Merges with Daily Beast: RWN
Scientific American's New Consensus: IBD

The WaPo Shivs The One: Driscoll
Michael Moore: ‘Good Thing for Dems’ That Conservative Dems ‘Thrown Out of Office’: NewsBusters
Jon Stewart to Madcow: You guys went a little overboard with the “teabagger” thing, don’t you think?: Hot Air

World

The Grand Obama $2 Billion “Vacation” Summit–Epic Fail: RWN
Intentionally Misunderstanding Things: Bookworm Room
The Time is Upon Us - Are You Ready? : Zilla

Securing Israel Secures America: AT
The Feminist Politics of Islamic Misogyny: AT
Hindu terrorism neglected by Obama: Pakistan Daily Mail

SciTech

Lifting of blogger's story triggers online furor: CNet
Windows Phone 7's third-party apps easy to decompile, native code hooks exposed: Engadget
Where does Google TV go from here?: CNet

Dengue Fever Strikes Miami: First Local Case in 50 Years: Instapundit
Oh Snap! Google Zings Facebook: Mediaite
Nissan GT-R pitted against F3 racer... in the wet: AutoBlog

Cornucopia

How The Japanese See TSA Airport Security: Ace
And The Winner For Best “Old Spice Guy” Parody Ever Goes To...: SportsGrid
A Shabbat Story: Klotz

Image: Ace o' Spades.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Support Joe Miller's Recount Efforts in Alaska

Friday, November 12, 2010

Kewl: Eco-Friendly Studio Apartment for Inland Waterways

WaterSpace is a studio apartment designed to float in marinas and inland waterways.

It's a neat idea, but if you get motion sickness, it's probably not for you.


Democrats doing awesome job with Stimulus oversight: spot-check in New Jersey shows only about 10% being lost to scams and waste

The two-word phrase starting with 'cluster' comes to mind.

Contractors billed New Jersey $27 for light bulbs, and ran up tens of thousands of dollars in other “unreasonable costs” on a $119 million weatherization program funded with U.S. stimulus money, the state auditor said...

Out of $613,600 in charges reviewed, $54,000, or 8.8 percent, was deemed unreasonable by [the] Auditor...

...About $5 billion in stimulus funds were provided to the weatherization program, according to the Energy Department’s website...

Yes, it's true: the Democrats can't even run a weatherization program without rampant fraud.

Say, wasn't Joe "The Genius" Biden supposed to be watching over this program with his hawk-like attention to detail?

Really, don't fret, folks: I'm sure nothing can go wrong with the Democrats' plans to nationalize one-sixth of the economy. Really -- it's only your health care, after all.


Thanks, Democrats: One of Nation's Largest Sellers of Long-Term Care Insurance Announces It's Exiting the Market

There may not be an official "public option" in the Democrats' health care bill, but that isn't helping the dozens of private insurers wounded by the bill. The thousands of pages of law, regulations and dictates have removed all predictability for insurers and have forced many to reconsider their presence in the health insurance business.

One of the country's largest purveyors of long-term care insurance announced earlier today that's it is leaving the market altogether.

MetLife announced it’s discontinuing the sale of new long term care insurance coverage (LTCI) on Thursday. The decision comes after an extensive review of the business but will have no impact on existing insureds’ coverage as long as premiums are paid on time.

...According to the Wall Street Journal, MetLife is among the bigger sellers of the coverage, with about 600,000 policyholders, or about 8%, among the eight million who have long-term-care insurance in the U.S., according to the company and an industry trade association.

The announcement comes as a surprise and at a time when companies like John Hancock Financial are asking state regulators for an average 40% increase for most of its long term care policyholders...

Gee, I've been out of the country for a while. How's that whole ObamaCare thingie working out?

Unlike those evil health insurers, the federal government is a real monopoly from which there is no escape and no appeal. That's why the average wait for a specialist in Britain is about 18 weeks (that's more than 4 months for you Democrats), at which point many needing specialized care could be dead.

But don't worry, folks: our beloved leaders in Congress aren't subject to the same requirements that us little people are. So they'll be around for a really, really long time. Kinda like the old Soviet Union.