Friday, January 14, 2011

May his Kingship be established in your lifetime and in your days

After the T-shirts, the speeches, the vitriol and the crass political gamesmanship, what remains is tragedy.

The death of Dorothy Morris, 76, left her husband, George, a widower after 54 years of marriage. The Tucson man was shot twice as he tried in vain to shield her -- his high school sweetheart -- from the barrage of bullets.

"George heard the pop-pop and tried to throw Dot to the ground and get on top of her, but it was too late," JoAnn Newland, the Morrises' neighbor, told The Arizona Republic. Friends said the Oro Valley couple acted like newlyweds and said George would lovingly refer to his wife as his girlfriend. "It was like they were still on their honeymoon after 50 years of marriage," Bonnie Royle, a neighbor who was friendly with the couple, told the paper.

Others described Dorothy Morris, a mother of two who was born and raised in Reno, Nev., as a kind and shy woman. "Dot was just a sweet, quiet, lovely person," Marilyn Melton, a friend, told the Reno-Gazette Journal. "I think what you'd call her is just nice, a nice lady, a nice human being." George remains hospitalized but is expected to recover from his wounds.

Phyllis Schneck, 79, left behind her three adult children, seven grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. Schneck's daughter B.J. Offutt struggled to comprehend how her mother, a homemaker and widow known for her cooking, could have come to such a violent end. "I can't make sense of it," Offutt told The Wall Street Journal. "There's no logical reason for it."

Offutt said she remembered her mother saying that she agreed with Giffords about "needing to better control the border." But another daughter, Phyllis Rautenberg, said their mother wasn't particularly political. "She was a woman that got married in the early 1950s, and she did all of that June Cleaver stuff," Rautenberg told The Washington Post. "She loved Tucson and had lots of friends there, and spent lots of time at her church."

Gabe Zimmerman was only 30. As Giffords' director of community outreach, he helped to plan the constituent meeting that ended in the deaths of six people. His father, Ross Zimmerman, said his son was caring, smart and hardworking. "I just want people to remember him," he told ABC News. The Giffords staffer had a fiancee, as well, a nurse by the name of Kelly O'Brien who is grieving today instead of planning her wedding. "For the moment, at least, Kelly has lost her future," Ross Zimmerman said of O'Brien.

C.J. Karamargin, another Giffords staffer, said Zimmerman, who grew up in California, was an incredibly hard worker. "Gabe was unfailingly patient with people. He presided over thousands of constituent cases," he told the Los Angeles Times. "He was helping World War II vets get medals, people with Medicare benefits, veterans with benefits issues. These are the types of things day-in and day-out he did, and he was determined to just do the best he could. He worked hard, he really worked hard."

Dorwin Stoddard, 76, died in the arms of his wife, Mavanell, or "Mavy" Stoddard, after trying to protect her from the gunfire. The pair were also high school sweethearts but grew up to marry other people before reuniting in the mid-1990s when they both became widowed. Dorwan was remembered as a caring husband and father and an active member of his church. Mavy was shot three times in the leg as she held her dying husband, but she survived.

Mike Nowak, the Stoddards' minister, said he could find no explanation for Stoddard's death. "You can't," he told The Arizona Daily Star. "We live in a world that is full of crime, full of hatred. You can ask yourself the question 'Why?' but there's never an answer when it hits so close to home."

There is a prayer that has been passed down through the millenia to memorialize our dearly deceased:

May the great Name of God be exalted and sanctified,
throughout the world, which he has created according to his will.

May his Kingship be established in your lifetime and in your days,
and in the lifetime of the entire household of Israel,
swiftly and in the near future;
and say, Amen.

May his great name be blessed, forever and ever.

Blessed, praised, glorified, exalted, extolled, honored elevated and lauded
be the Name of the holy one, Blessed is he-
above and beyond any blessings and hymns,
Praises and consolations which are uttered in the world;
and say Amen.

May there be abundant peace from Heaven, and life,
upon us and upon all Israel;
and say, Amen.


The Economist: Dudes, don't believe the scare tactics--the U.S. won't default if the debt ceiling isn't raised

At Reuters, Felix Salmon observes that The Economist has weighed in on the political football called 'raising the debt ceiling' with a decidedly unique view.

The US won’t default, even if the debt ceiling stays


Greg Ip makes a very important point today, which I haven’t seen made anywhere else*: even if the US debt ceiling isn’t lifted, that doesn’t mean the government will default.

In any given month, the government’s income dwarfs its debt-service obligations, which means that the government could simply pay all interest on Treasury bonds out of its cashflow. Greg hasn’t run the numbers on principal maturities, but I’m pretty sure that they too could be covered out of cash receipts—and when that happened, of course, the total debt outstanding would go down, and we wouldn’t be bumping up against the ceiling any more.

The point here is that the government has enormous expenditures every month, and debt service constitutes an important yet small part of them. If the debt ceiling weren’t raised, it stands to reason that just about any other form of government spending would get cut before Tim Geithner dreamed of defaulting on risk-free bonds.

Some of those spending cuts could be implemented almost invisibly. For instance, Social Security runs a surplus for the time being; it invests that money in special non-marketable Treasury securities, which count as Treasury debt. If the Social Security trust fund accepted instead just some kind of promise of a top-up at a later date, that could save billions of dollars right there...

...But maybe the smartest thing for Geithner to do would simply be to stop paying the salaries of members of Congress and their staffs...

In other words, at least in the opinion of Ip and other experts, the U.S. has virtually no chance of defaulting on its obligations.

Which makes the incessant shrieks of the Democrats and legacy media ring all the more hollow.

And, as it turns out, only about 71% of the American people oppose raising the Pelosi debt ceiling.


Related: Let's Play 'Debt Ceiling Cap-and-Trade'!. Hat tip: C.B.

The Five Most Bizarre Google Earth Photos

Yes, that's a pink bunny somewhere in Italy. And, no, I have no idea why it's there.

Mysterious figure reminiscent of Chariot of the Gods.

A blue tree in Australia.

A bottomless pit in Libya.

A bizarre red lake in Iraq.

Hat tip: BeforeItsNews.

Larwyn's Linx: A Thank You Call to America's Worst Sheriff

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Nation

A Thank You Call to America's Worst Sheriff: RWN
Former Judge Rips Sheriff 'for the Defense' Dupnik: CNS
Arizona ‘Memorial’: A Most Disquieting Display: RWN

The answer is: those without shame: AT (Cary)
Rebranding Obamacare Repeal Won’t Make It More Popular: GP
FBI tracks Loughner's online gaming posts: WashExam

Libs Flock to Facebook Page Calling for Death of Sarah Palin: MB
Liberals’ “Civil Discourse” Calls for Palin’s Assassination: RWN
Untweeting The Sarah Palin Death Tweet: iOTW

Economy

Kill the Obamacare 1099 tax mandate: Malkin
Another Genius Idea from Central Planning: Mises
S&P, Moody's Warn On U.S. Credit Rating: WSJ

Illinois leads the way to fiscal perfidy: Tapscott
Feds Sue N.Y. For Millions In Medicaid Fraud: JW
Non-Agency MBS Default Rates by State: Mish

Climate & Energy

Why, Yes, We Must Cut Our Defense Budget For Globull Warming: RWN
Green journalists lament the lack of overwhelming coverage of global warming in the liberal media: WUWT
General Motors Accidentally Tells the Truth: BigGovt

Media

The New York Times' Tale of Two Speeches: NewsBusters
How Does the MSM’s Palin Recursion Mechanism Impact Global Warming?: Driscoll
MSNBC Graphic of the Week: Malkin (Powers)

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Krugman?: Driscoll
I Went to Tucson...: Grand Rants
A New Entry in the Urban Dictionary: Malkin (Powers)

Mark Levin's $100,000 Challenge to Chris Matthews: AmSpec
The Constitution War: JoshuaPundit
CBS Blames Sarah Palin For Injecting 'Politics and Controversy' Into Tucson Shooting: NewsBusters

Progressives live in the past when it comes to shaping the message: Bookworm
The Authoritarian Media: Taranto
why the sheriff of pima county is a cynical, disingenuous, duplicitous and deceitful political hack: Winter Soldier

World

Defense Secretary Gates’ Miserable Mission to China: RWN
Egypt Recalls Ambassador to The Vatican After Pope’s Defense of Christians: WZ
Jail for Rape Victim in Saudi Arabia: RI

UK: Police Fear "Racist" Label Over Crack Down On Muslim Pedophile Gangs - Former Chief: Jawa
EU Sends Diaries to School Students: All Religious Holidays Listed — Except for Christian Ones: WZ
Amazing Footage of Australian Flood: Mish

SciTech

AT&T Customer Service Rep Tells Us How She Really Feels: “This Is Bulls***”: TechCrunch
Stealing SIM Cards from Traffic Lights: Schneier
Google Launches More Financial Comparison Pages: Savings, Checking, CDs, and Mortgages: NetBanker

Cornucopia

What’s the Message of the Bible in One Sentence?: First Thoughts
The Most Amazing Press Release Ever Written: TechCrunch
Civility Flashback: Tapper

Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: THE WIRE 50: The Most Influential People In Media This Year

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Beautiful: 'Moderate', Unindicted Co-conspirator in Terror Funding Trial Instructs Muslims Not to Cooperate with FBI

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is an interesting group. It purports to speak for mainstream Muslim Americans, yet the group and its leaders have been tied repeatedly to radicals and extremists.

Less than two years ago the FBI severed its ties with CAIR "amid mounting concern about the Muslim advocacy group's roots in a Hamas-support network."

CAIR and its chairman emeritus, Omar Ahmad, were named un-indicted co-conspirators in the HLF case. Both Ahmad and CAIR's current national executive director, Nihad Awad, were revealed on government wiretaps as having been active participants in early Hamas-related organizational meetings in the United States. During testimony, FBI agent Lara Burns described CAIR as a front organization.

Hamas is a US-designated foreign terrorist organization, and it's been illegal since 1995 to provide support to it within the United States.

Amidst all of these troubling activities, CAIR maintains that it is simply misunderstood. It claims to be the the country's largest Islamic 'civil liberties group' and works 'to promote a positive image of Islam and Muslims in America.'

Yet on February 9th in Oakland it plans on hosting an event that celebrates tolerance for people of all religions and equal rights for women how to respond to FBI raids.

On September 24th, 2010, the FBI raided the homes and offices of anti-war and international solidarity activists in Chicago and Minneapolis. During the raids, the FBI took computers, cell phones, documents and personal family items. In total, 14 activists in Minnesota, Illinois, and Michigan were subpoenaed to appear before a Grand Jury on that date. Since then, 9 other activists have been subpoenaed, 6 of them Palestinian activists. This type of investigation is a tool to repress our movements for social justice and divide our communities.

The 23 activists have all refused to testify in this Grand Jury investigation.

Join us to get the facts on Grand Juries, know your legal rights with the FBI, understand why this is happening now, and learn how our communities can respond!

HATEM ABUDAYYEH, an activist and Palestinian community leader whose home was raided by the FBI on September 24th. Hatem will speak about the investigation, his experiences, and current political organizing.

It certainly sounds like they're all innocent of any wrongdoing, seeing as how they're refusing to testify.

Abudayyeh -- whose first name seems apropos, all things considered -- is an executive director of the Arab American Action Network and an "advocate for immigrant rights." ABC reported that the FBI raids sought information that would tie Abudayyeh to the radical terror group Hamas.

This would be entirely consistent for those affiliated with CAIR, as has been copiously documented by a multitude of sources.

Everyone with half a brain knows precisely what CAIR is. And this kind of event is just icing on the cake.


Hat tips: Fox News via Memeorandum. Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Extremist Rhetoric: the Political Cartoon That Touched Off The Civil War

Heated rhetoric indeed -- and certain to incite violence.

In this political cartoon, a Union officer (unidentified) swings a club labeled "Union" in defense against a many-headed serpent labeled "Secession"...

The serpent's heads are: Floyd, Pickens, Beauregard, Twiggs, Davis, Stephens, and Toombs, all leaders of the Southern secession movement and the resulting Confederacy. "

-- Civil War Treasures, New York Historical Society [Digital ID nhnycw/aj aj08074]

If only we had implemented the Left's plans -- and restricted political speech -- the entire Civil War could have been averted.


Top Ten Things We Can't Say Anymore

Dan from New York:

According to the Dept. of Homeland Security the following words, phrases and idioms are henceforth verboten:

1. Target audience

2. The movie bombed

3. I have a question. “Shoot!”

4. Attack ad

5. He shot his big mouth off

6. Over my dead body!

7. Annie get your gun

8. Bullets over Broadway

9. Killer app

10. I almost died laughing

Graphic guidelines to follow.

Larwyn's Linx: Liberals Seek Ban on Metaphors in Wake of Shooting

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Nation

Liberals Seek Ban on Metaphors in Wake of Shooting: Coulter
Bernie Sanders: Send me money or more people will die: FA
Finally: Dupnik releases police reports on Loughner, family: Hot Air

The Victim and His Victims: RSM
Dupnik's Real Outrage: Detroit-on-the-Desert: AT
Lawmakers consider new curbs on incendiary speech: Hill

Death Threats Against Sarah Palin at 'Unprecedented Levels': WZ
Unanswered Questions for Sheriff Dupnik: NoisyRoom
Branding the Tucson Massacre: Malkin

Economy

Half of All States Now Suing to Stop Obamacare: Foundry
Reaganomics vs. Obamanomics: It’s Reagan in a Rout: Blumer
Union Boss With Violent History Decries Rhetoric of Right: RWN

Illinois Corporate and Personal Income Tax Increase: HPA
Illinois Races Toward Cliff: Pundette
Majority of MI voters want state to be 'right to work': BlogProf

Climate & Energy

Global Warming Update: Snow in 49 States: Malkin
Elininationist Rhetoric: Greens Block Needed Dam In Australia and Now 70 People Are Dead: Ace
Snap! Road Salt For Globull Warming Snow Creating Coastal Marshes…In Heartland: RWN

Media

God-Haters and the Tucson Massacre: RSM
Partners In Blood: Con4Palin
Civility: Dozens of Twitter users call for Palin’s death: Caller

As The Dream Dies, The Dreamers Lash Out: Ace
Hard-Hitting Journalism from ABC: How Could Loughner Afford A $500 Glock?: S&L
Democracy Imperiled? Six reasons our democratic republic is in trouble.: PJM

Let’s Do Target Violent Rhetoric And Imagery: Strata-Sphere
Flashback: Yes, some college students do know how to act at a massacre memorial: Malkin
Tucson Memorial Event Features Best Presidential Speech In Years: Glob

Ahhh... Remember When The Left Thought Making Political Threats Was Pretty Darn Kewl?: Ace
Naming Names: Some Of The Liberals Who Were Overjoyed About The Tucson Shooting: RWN
The Trade-Off: Should We Commit Mentally Unstable People?: RWN

World

Animal Farm hits Britain in the guise of sexual orientation equality: Bookworm
Egypt: Police Officer Who Shot Train Passengers Checked For Crosses Before Shooting Them: WZ
Mount Etna Erupting?: ZH

NYT Hides Truth About Arabs in Israel: iOTW
Facts Be Damned!… Hillary Clinton Says Tucson Killer Was Politically Motivated: GWP
Canada--Finally Cooling to Global Warming: Bayonet

SciTech

US government breaks ground on US$1.2bn cybersecurity facility: SecureComputing
Unveiled: The Most Complete Map of the Universe Ever Made: Discover
MetroPCS accused of blocking certain Net content: CNet

Cornucopia

And the Oscar Goes To...: MOTUS
We Must Stop This Vile and Evil Rhetoric: Papa Todd
SnowCare for Troops offers free snow removal for military families: WyBlog

Image adapted from: iOwnTheWorld.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Gina Cobb
QOTD: Defending ourselves against what? Some a-hole on MSLSD with no numbers, no ratings, no audience, no substance, no common sense making an allegation. We know without question that the murderer in Tucson was mentally ill, a liberal pothead and all the rest of it. We know this for a fact." -- Mark Levin.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The Left's New Reichstag

Now that MSNBC has unleashed an unprecedented assault on civility, I think it's safe to say that the aftermath of the Tucson attacks represents the Left's new Reichstag.

After all, the media and the Democrat Party have conspired -- like the Nazis who orchestrated the arson at the Reichstag -- to blame unwitting innocents for a crime with which they had absolutely no connection.

And the Democrats' information warfare campaign occurred with such rapidity and at such scale that one would think Journolist was still in operation.

Perhaps to mark the 2,000th member joining the Facebook group 'I hate it when I wake up and Sarah Palin is still alive', the former governor of Alaska issued a statement today that read, in part:

Vigorous and spirited public debates during elections are among our most cherished traditions. And after the election, we shake hands and get back to work, and often both sides find common ground back in D.C. and elsewhere. If you don’t like a person’s vision for the country, you’re free to debate that vision. If you don’t like their ideas, you’re free to propose better ideas. But, especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible.

There are those who claim political rhetoric is to blame for the despicable act of this deranged, apparently apolitical criminal. And they claim political debate has somehow gotten more heated just recently. But when was it less heated? Back in those “calm days” when political figures literally settled their differences with dueling pistols?

As could easily have been predicted, the scripted reaction from many on the left was a knee-jerk, hateful response.

Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democrat of Florida, who is a close friend of Ms. Giffords, issued a statement condemning her use of the phrase “blood libel.” ... “Palin’s comments either show a complete ignorance of history, or blatant anti-Semitism,” said Jonathan Beeton, Ms. Wasserman Shultz’s spokesman. “Either way, it shows an appalling lack of sensitivity given Representative Giffords’s faith and the events of the past week.”…

Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of a pro-Israel group called J Street, said that “when Governor Palin learns that many Jews are pained by and take offense at the use of the term, we are sure that she will choose to retract her comment, apologize and make a less inflammatory choice of words.”

Yes, it appears that after being libeled, Palin made the fundamental mistake of saying so.

The people who falsely and maliciously accused Sarah Palin of inciting Jared Loughner to murder now are criticizing Palin for using the term "blood libel." ... Matthew Yglesias of Think Progress [Ed: who I believe prefers his titular title, 'The World's Dumbest Blogger'], who was responsible along with Markos Molitsas of DailyKos for spreading the connection between the Palin electoral target map and the shooting, smugly asserts that Palin just can't take criticism

There's just one little problem.

Of Course It's a Blood Libel -- and the Left's 'Big Lie' Tactics Smack of Nazism Too


Two elements of Nazi propaganda involved 'blood libel' and 'the big lie', both of which were used to paint Jews, Catholics, gypsies, homosexuals and other 'undesirables' as evil outcasts without whom society would be better off.

Put simply, Sarah Palin got it right. Falsely accusing someone of shedding blood is the very definition of a blood libel.

At Conservatives For Palin, Sheya writes:

Ever since I was two years old, I was told stories of Jewish persecution and blood libels. I was told how the Jews were accused for using the blood of Christian children to bake matzoh bread. I was told the stories of how whenever there was a murder in town the Jews were blamed for it. Whatever the scenario, the chain of events were the same. The Jews were accused of a murder, followed by calls for their deaths, followed by riots and then killings of all the Jews. At all time when the Jews spoke up and defended themselves, they were told to sit down and shut up and further killings took place just for that reason alone.

After the horrific killings in Tucson this Saturday and the finger-pointing at Governor Palin begun, I was mad and I was angry. Not that I’m not used to seeing irrational criticism thrown at Governor Palin, I’m used to seeing that by now and frankly I have come to expect it. But this time it was different; this time it felt as if all those stories I was told as a kid were coming to life. A heartless murderer shot and killed innocent victims. Governor Palin, who is hated just because she exists, was blamed, and that was followed by a flood of calls for her death on Twitter and Facebook. If this isn’t a blood libel than nothing is.

And no less a macher than Alan Dershowitz agrees that the governor's use of the term is accurate and appropriate.

No, the goals of the Left are to use this Reichstag moment to crush two more of our rights.

The First Amendment - "Lawmakers consider new curbs on incendiary speech"

The Second Amendment - "Violent talk blocks sane gun laws"

I'll net it out: Democrats wanted to use this moment to shred more of the Constitution. It's their new Reichstag fire.

The ends justify the means for this sorry lot. And if stepping over the victims of Tucson in their rush to destroy our freedoms is the price, it's one they're more than willing to pay.


Linked by: Michelle Malkin and Memeorandum. Thanks!

The eerie similarities between Tea Party conservatives and Jared Lee Loughner

As Left Coast Rebel observes, there are way too many similarities for the connection to be a mere coincidence...

I can guaran-damn-tee Sheriff Barney Fife Dupnik has this chart on his office wall.


'On this solemn occasion, we remember those who were lost and pray for the wounded, while wearing our 100% cotton souvenir collectible T-shirts'

Everything he touches turns to crap. And you know of whom I speak.

President Obama used to preach that there was no “Red America” and no “Blue America,” just one America.

But tonight at the memorial for the Tucson massacre victims, it will be a sea of blue as the White House unveils the “Together We Thrive” logo and slogan.

Yes, the Tucson massacre is being branded...

...Can’t the Democrat political stage managers give it a break just once?

The answer is... eh, no.

Though I suppose we ought to be grateful that they seem to have forgotten the styrofoam Grecian columns.


Let Me Welcome Everybody to the Wild, Wild West--a State That's Untouchable Like Elliot Ness

"Now let me welcome everybody to the wild, wild west... A state that's untouchable like Elliot Ness...
The track hits ya eardrum like a slug to ya chest... Pack a vest for your Jimmy in the city of sex...
We in that sunshine state with a bomb ass hemp beat... the state where ya never find a dance floor empty"
-- California Love


California's budget deficit is $25 billion and the preliminary budget for the coming year doesn't even come close to addressing the gap.

The preliminary budget looks to cut $12.5 billion in spending and seeks to maintain current revenues with a likely ballot measure that will hit in June...

...over 41 percent of state revenues come from the personal income tax. Now logically you can figure out on your own that with less people working and many working in lower paying jobs that this line item will shrink (and it has)...

...[The] projections [at right] have always been much too optimistic and that is why California has always faced reoccurring budget shortfalls. Each year serves as a baseline and rarely allows for any variance in terms of facing a contraction. Now if the state is hauling in money then problems can be plastered over and the tech and real estate bubbles provided this cover for many years. That cover is no longer available.

So you have to wonder where this money is going to come from. You can cut but is there any appetite for additional taxes? We will find out in June when it is put to a vote...

...I’m amazed how little coverage has been given to the California employment market. California is in the midst of the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression but rarely do you see anyone talking about this. This isn’t some kind of monthly aberration but the unemployment rate has shot off the charts since 2007.

Right now, Illinois is in the midst of raising the personal income tax 66% -- from 3% to 5%. Consider a working couple that makes $100,000 a year combined. The state hike represents $167 a month taken right out of their pockets.

But the top income tax rate in California is already nearly three times that of Illinois; and still lawmakers can't come close to making ends meet.

The Democrat welfare state is failing in both states with public sector workers retiring at age 55, picking up generous pensions with lifetime salaries and full health care coverage. And these proposed hikes don't come close to addressing the pension liabilities that will crush states like Michael Moore sitting on a souffle.

In the midst of this madness, state bureaucrats are still foaming at the mouth advocating suicidal policies that will further decimate the civil society.

UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau has come out swinging over the shooting spree that wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killed six people, linking it to Arizona’s “discrimination against undocumented persons” and a “climate in which demonization of others goes unchallenged and hateful speech is tolerated.”

In a campus-wide e-mail message, Birgeneau said: “It is not a coincidence that this calamity has occurred in a state which has legislated discrimination against undocumented persons.”

He added that “this same mean-spirited xenophobia played a major role in the defeat of the Dream Act by our legislators in Washington, leaving many exceptionally talented and deserving young people, including our undocumented students, painfully in limbo.”

In other words, despite billions of dollars spent each year by citizens to support the state's three million or more illegal immigrants -- who tax the medical, welfare and prison systems to the breaking point -- Dr. Schmuck believes that more open borders are the answer.

And rather than act as voices of reason, legacy media outlets like The Los Angeles Times are doing their level best to market the illusion that still more tax increases are a necessary evil. Mike Shedlock disagrees.

I just took the interactive LA Times California Budget Balancer exercise...I vehemently protest.

This was a blatant effort to force people into accepting a need to raise taxes. To balance the budget I made every possible program cut offered. It was not enough. To balance the budget I had to raise sin taxes and gas taxes.

Shedlock asks the very same fundamental questions that all overtaxed Californians must be wondering:

• Where was a proposal to privatize the prison system using non-union labor?
• Where was the proposal to eliminate prevailing wage laws?
• Where was the proposal to eliminate defined benefit plans for all government workers?
• Where was the proposal to virtually privatize every conceivable government job to the private sector?
• What about programs that could be eliminated entirely?

Where indeed? The problem is that Governor Jerry Brown is still 'Moonbeam', the failed Governor of days past, who can't or won't wage a serious war with the unions. Chris Christie he ain't.

His predictable failure sets the stage for very serious pain in the future.

Unless Brown finds a unicorn to defecate nuggets of solid gold, California is certain to experience massive upheaval, up to and including civil unrest. I hate to say it, but I believe it to be true.

Because the liberal-dominated politicians and bureaucrats take the status quo for granted -- even though the status quo is about to collapse.


'We Must Stop This Vile and Evil Rhetoric'

Papa Todd writes, "From the 'Mecca for prejudice and bigotry' -- my hometown, Tucson Arizona":

I asked him to call Sheriff Dupnik to report this divisive filth, but reportedly the county's top law enforcement official is booked solid on MSNBC for the next few days.


Larwyn's Linx: Hijacking a Massacre

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Giffords Shooting

Hijacking a Massacre: LegalIns
Idiot Threat-monger Pleads for Civility: WashExam
The Sixties Were Violent, Not Today: Simon

Obama Calls Dupnik: Hey, Thanks For Being Such a Help!: Ace
The Man Who Thought He Could Fly: JPA
Bernie Sanders: Mixing Fundraising and Tragedy: Politico

The Worst Sheriff In America: Malkin
Incitement to Tyranny: AT (Shiver)
Twitter Wants Me Dead: Verum Serum

Nation

Pawlenty--not man enough to be President: Instapundit
A Candidate for RNC Chair and His Anti-Constitutional Ideas: Adams
Peter King's 2nd Amendment-Sabotaging Chicken Little Bill: Malkin

Economy

Lower wages for workers who lost jobs: CalcRisk
The Delusional Harry Reid: 'Social Security is Fine': IBD
Job Openings Down for 3rd Time in 4 Months: Bloomberg

Kerry: It's the Pork That Binds Us: Malkin (Powers)
Will the Last Person to Leave Illinois Please Turn Off the Lights?: Cato
Illinois Passes 66 Percent Income Tax Increase: Fox

Climate & Energy

Treehugger: Can We Now Tone Down The Anti-AGW Rhetoric?: RWN
Oil Spill Antidote: More Federal Bureaucracy: IBD
Good News: Ford Hires Eco-tard Ed Begley as Spokesman: BlogProf

Media

The Media Has Declared... WAR!: AT
Arizona Republic to Sheriff Dupnik: Shut Up and Remember Your Duty: Instapundit
Media Guide for the Journalistically Challenged: BigJourn

Want to See Some Hate From America's Leftist Democrats?: RWN
The Real Victim Is Always David Frum: Clouthier
Republican President Obama’s Calls for Violence Have Horrific Consequences: Virtuous

'Paul Krugman, Buffoon': Instapundit
And Speaking Of Krugman And Double Standards At The Times...: JOM
The Politicized Mind: Brooks

World

Amateur Hour In The White House: Obama Ticks Off The Brits: RWN
The Rape Victim as Criminal: GoV
Violence Over Surging Food Prices In Algeria Spreads As Rioting Leaves Many Dead In Neighboring Tunisia: ZH

SciTech

Hands on: BlackBerry Playbook review: TechRadar
The Hottest New Technologies of 2011: Forbes
Jared Lee Loughner’s online handle was likely Erad3: FAM

Cornucopia

Paul McCartney arrested for Sharon Tate murders: Doswell
The Sarkozys Come Calling. Please Bring Dom.: MOTUS
People Of Georgia Freak Out Over Snow, Empty Walmart Shelves: Consumerist

Image: Ramirez, via iOwnTheWorld
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Doug Powers
QOTD: "The problem is not the cultural triggers. The problem is the mental illness. Like nearly every other culture on Earth, our culture expresses plentiful imagery and words concerning metaphors of weaponry, hunting, conflict, and war, and 99% of this does not come from politics. It comes from everyone’s daily life.

The despicable thing here was seizing upon a tiny insignificant corner of this vast and widespread cultural reality, based on a cyncial desire to create an association between a horrific event and designated political opponents. This was done almost instantly, from many directions, in advance of any facts whatsoever. This false claim was to some extent premeditated. The Democrats and the media were locked and loaded, by the admission of some of their own just waiting for something like this. They seek to undo the collapse of their statist program by creating a right-wing bogeyman. It won’t work. I predict this absurd attempt at slander will actually hasten the collapse. Too many people see the falsehood and cynicism. Too many people realize that when this desperate and defeated political movement talks about its enemies, it is actually talking about THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES." -- 'Wm. T. Sherman', a Commenter at Flopping Aces


Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Oh. No. He. Didn't. Chris Matthews blames the Tucson shootings on... the strident tone of Mark Levin's voice

Not that you needed more proof that Chris Matthews has lost all command of his faculties, but tonight's diatribe should confirm what we all knew. The Tingle-Master -- which is the term he prefers, I hear -- assailed constitutional attorney and radio host Mark Levin this evening in what must be an all-time record for IQ mismatch. I liken it to a toy poodle attempting to mount Marmaduke.

Chris Matthews, joined by two liberal talk radio hosts on Tuesday's Hardball, essentially blamed...Mark Levin for creating the climate of hate that led to the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords as the envious MSNBC host proclaimed: "People like Mark Levin...every time you listen to them are furious, furious at the left with anger that's just builds and builds in their voice and by the time they go to commercial, they're just in some rage, every night, with ugly talk....They must have an audience. I looked at the numbers today. They have big audiences! And I guess that's the question. Why and is it ever going to stop if it keeps working?"

E. Steven Collins, another Philly area talker, sided with Arizona Sheriff Clarence Dupnik who attacked Rush Limbaugh, as he hailed: "The sheriff is Tucson was absolutely right...It does impact people who may have a mental problem or may not" and added that there was a "direct relationship" with Sarah Palin putting crosshairs on her Web site over Giffords' district and the loss of a life of "that little girl who went down to meet the congressperson."

Levin is a man who is passionate about what he believes. Since he was a teenager he has revered the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the rule of law, all of which combine to protect the civil society and the precious country that liberals take for granted.

Levin served for eight years in the Reagan administration including stints in the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior. Today, in addition to his talk show host duties, he provides pro bono legal services as president of Landmark Legal Foundation.

Furthermore, Levin is a man who explicitly decries violence and brooks no such talk on his show.

He is a man who, on a nightly basis, discusses history, philosophy, logic and reason. Listen to one of his shows and there is a good chance you will hear him recite accounts of the first Tea Party of 1773, Paul Revere's ride, or the historic passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Levin often opines on the Framers' intent for the Constitution's Commerce clause, based upon his extensive readings of the Federalist Papers. He has described the founders' reliance upon Montesquieu's separation of powers, John Locke's concepts of natural, God-granted rights, the power of the free market as expressed through Adam Smith's 'invisible hand', and de Tocqueville's immortal Democracy in America.

Therefore Chris Matthews has discarded -- or worse, never bothered to listen to -- the content of Levin's commentary and instead assails the tone of his voice.

Yes, you heard me: MSNBC's Chris Matthews is attacking the tone of Mark Levin's voice.

Which describes, in a sentence, the depths to which the modern Left has descended.

For it is they who market divisive and destructive rhetoric. It is they that advocate lawless behavior. And it is they who reject the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Which is why they grabbed this opportunity by the throat: to suppress the free speech of those with whom they disagree.


Kewl: MoveOn.org Tells Al Sharpton and Jeremiah Wright to Shut Up

At least that's how I read this email from MorOn.org that uses the bloody Tucson massacre as a marketing campaign.

Okay. Maybe I took a few liberties with the logo.

The rest of the email is legit.


Legends of Law Enforcement: Sheriff Clarence L. Dupnik

In this episode of Legends of Law Enforcement, we celebrate the legendary and storied career of Pima County Sheriff Clarence L. Dupnik.

Dupnik's career traces back decades and involves solving some of history's most notorious crimes:

Dupnik was the first to identify the infamous serial killer 'Jack the Ripper' as an ancestor of William F. Buckley.

"America's Sheriff" states that Jimmy Hoffa, possibly buried at the Meadowlands, was "whacked" by Barry Goldwater.

Dupnik also believes that Charles Manson was wrongfully imprisoned for the "Redrum" murders of Sharon Tate and others. The sheriff asserts that Tate's Hollywood connections to Ronald Reagan were never sufficiently explored.

Dupnik agrees with the court that freed O.J. Simpson and 'knows in his heart' that Rush Limbaugh is somehow to blame.

Finally, the sheriff has assembled copious amounts of evidence that the Columbine killers were directly inspired by pundits Sean Hannity or Mark Levin.

That's all the time we have tonight. Join us next week when we celebrate the law enforcement career of Deputy Barney Fife.


Paul Krugman's Dissociative State

The psychopathology of serial murder: a theory of violence:

Children who do not have the power to control the mistreatment they suffer create a new reality that they can escape to. This new reality becomes their fantasy that they have total control of and becomes part of their daily existence. In this fantasy world their emotional development is guided and maintained...

...According to Garrison (1996), "the child becomes sociopathic because the normal development of the concepts of right and wrong and empathy towards others is retarded because of the child's emotional and social development occurs within his self-centered fantasies. A person can do no wrong in his own world and the pain of others is of no consequence when the purpose of the fantasy world is to satisfy the needs of one person"...

...Boundaries between fantasy and reality are lost and fantasies turn to dominance, control, sexual conquest, and violence, eventually leading to murder. Fantasy can lead to the first step in the process of a dissociative state, which, in the words of Stephen Giannangelo, "allows the serial killer to leave the stream of consciousness for what is, to him, a better place."

The author must be mistaken: I saw no mention of Sarah Palin or the Tea Party.


Larwyn's Linx: John Green--True American Hero

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

Giffords Shooting

John Green--True American Hero: R&R
The Left Puts a Bullseye on the Right: RedState
Did Sheriff Dupnik Dismiss the Loughner Threat?: Moe Lane

While we're raising questions--I have a few about Dupnik: Patterico
Dupnik Jeopardizing Prosecution; Must Resign Now: RWN
Details Emerge About AZ Shooter, None Involve Palin: Bruce

Nation

Free Speech in the Crosshairs: AT
Shaping the Message: Progressives Living in the Past: Bookworm
Hillary Hauls Out Old 'Extremist' Rap: IBD

Economy

Jerry Brown skips biggest budget problem: pensions: SFgate
The $17M Foreclosure (in Beverly Hills): DHB
VA looking at alternative currency in case of Fed 'breakdown': ZH

Climate & Energy

Met Office Spins Itself Deeper Into The Hole: GWPF
Ecotards: Eat bugs, not meat, to “save the planet”: WUWT
Global Warming Panic explained: HyScience

Media

Motivations for Murder and Manipulation: Wolf Howling
When Your Best Hope is a Blood Libel: Hindenblog
Socialist Party Lays Blame for Arizona Murders: NoisyRoom

Yes, We’re Putting Liberals In The Crosshairs: RWN
Naturally: Rush Limbaugh Added to Sheriff’s Blame List: Malkin
Taranto: Dupnik Distracting Public from Examining His Contacts With the Killer: GWP

The Heroes In Our Midst: IBD
A Bizarro World NYT Editorial : CFB
Tragedy In Tucson: On Palin's Hands?: IBD

World

The Israeli Way of War: Totten
Mexican drug cartels strike again: 25 killed, 15 decapitated in Acapulco: Cubachi
Iran bans 'tight jeans', tattoos at some universities: Maktoob

SciTech

LinkedIn scam - the fraudulent survey which wasn't: Sophos
AT&T Should Shut Up About Verizon iPhone: Insider
Google lets apps tap into goo.gl URL shortner: CNet

Cornucopia

Rest in Peace, Dick Winters: Leadership: P&F
iPhone case? Bottle opener? Both.: AllTop
The History Of What Things Cost In America: 1776 to Today: 247 Wall St.

Image: Blog Prof
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Fire Andrea Mitchell

QOTD: "Even before the dead were buried, the left was attempting to use this tragedy for political purposes, even while the high-minded leftist punditry called for a discussion of the state of our "political discourse" (thinking that conservatives would be hurt by that discussion).

Turns out that the left and the punditry were far, far off-base factually in trying to blame Palin, Beck, Limbaugh, Fox News, George Bush, etc. for the shooting. We now learn that this guy is a nutcase who is, if anything, a lefty. (Professes admiration for the Communist Manifesto and disdains the U.S. Constitution, plus he has been obsessed with Rep. Giffords since 2007, well before Palin even arrive on the national scene.)

The left made a gamble here -- that the facts that would come out would support their anti-conservative speculation. That gamble failed . . . badly.

Soon, folks, after we've paid our proper respects to the dead and considered the facts that have emerged, let's consider what the shameless and distracting conduct of the left indicates about who is to be entrusted with the levers of power in this country, going forward." -- Commenter on E.J. Dionne's disgusting column


Monday, January 10, 2011

Validating Aspects of 'The Cholla Jumps' Backstory

Within hours of the shootings in Tucson, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik made the questionable decision to appear on as many national television programs as possible. In each appearance, he made the rather bizarre assertion that talk radio, the Republican Party or other dark forces motivated young Loughner to commit mass murder. These statements were completely unfounded and Dupnik admitted as much when pressed.

Furthermore Dupnik actually confessed that Loughner had made prior death threats against a person who was not Rep. Giffords.

What the The Cholla Jumps site is alleging – and which has not yet been confirmed- is the following:

Jared Loughner has been making death threats by phone to many people in Pima County including staff of Pima Community College, radio personalities and local bloggers. When Pima County Sheriff’s Office was informed, his deputies assured the victims that he was being well managed by the mental health system. It was also suggested that further pressing of charges would be unnecessary and probably cause more problems than it solved as Jared Loughner has a family member that works for Pima County.

The question is, is this true?  We don’t know – yet – but it’s certainly plausible

Indeed. And we can validate elements of the back-story to help determine veracity. Consider this claim from the Cholla story: "Amy Loughner is a Natural Resource specialist for the Pima County Parks and Recreation."

This appears to be a true statement.

Her name is listed in several places around the web as affiliated with Pima County.

Amy was married to Randy Loughner in 1986.

Who is Randy Lee Loughner?

An unconfirmed report describes him as also affiliated with local government, working in -- of all places -- "Child Protective Services."

The question arises, in part because of the sheriff's odd behavior: did the fact that one or both parents worked in local government allow them to "pull strings" to protect a troubled child?

Karl Denninger thinks that is a distinct possibility.

What's your response to this Mr. Dupnik?  A bit of truth comes out, eh?  Exactly how many felonies did you decline to investigate and prosecute?   Are you going to slink away from the white-hot light of truth or will you "man up" and admit that your scurrilous allegations were disseminated simply to try to save your own hide from the entirely-appropriate wrath at the ballot box that is certain to ensue come next election?

The suspect didn't just post one threat on an Internet forum and there wasn't "just one" incident - it's alleged here that he made multiple death threats against the staff of the college he was ejected from, radio personalities and local bloggers.

Each and every one of those threats was an offense and had just one of them been prosecuted it would have resulted in the suspect being blacklisted in the NICS database - and thus he would not have been able to buy the gun he shot the people in Tuscon with.

And before you go off on this guy and his blog being some sort of nut, here's the credentials from his page:

James Kelley is a native of Tucson, born here in 1961. A Navy veteran, he graduated twice from the Defense Language Institute in Monterey CA majoring in Albanian and Persian-Farsi. He was a Balkan area, Middle East North Africa, Southwest Asia, and Gulf Area analyst for the Naval Security Group and the National Security Agency. He received his Bachelor of Science in Sociology from the University of the State of New York, Albany. Since leaving the service he has worked as a premium cruise line representative, telecommunications specialist, real estate broker, and as a substitute teacher in local school districts... Presently, Mr. Kelley is a contributing columnist for the Arizona News-Telegraph and the Executive Director of SocialNetworkingWatchdog.Org, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to educating youth and seniors on personal security while using social networking.

Does Arizona have a recall process for so-called "elected officials" who behave like this and refuse to accept responsibility for their conduct - including but not limited to blaming others for their own failures that result in the death of innocent people?  How about some sort of impeachment procedure?  If you don't, you need both - right now.

Best-a-luck in the next election Sheriff.  You're gonna need it.

Perhaps some "professional journalists" could actually "investigate" this matter if they could take time away from inventing new lies about Sarah Palin.


Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!