Saturday, March 19, 2011

A Rudderless World: Three Graphs

An excellent Wall Street Journal interactive graphic depicts the tidal wave of unrest sweeping the Middle East.

Far from any sort of organized 'democracy movement', it is worth remembering that the region's civil unrest began for primarily one reason, which is honestly described by Ghana's major online news magazine.

The ongoing popular uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East poses the question if other developing countries, including Ghana, may experience similar or other forms of uprisings in the light of the imminent global food crisis of 2011... ...In 2008 riots from Haiti to Bangladesh to Egypt over the soaring costs of basic foods have brought the issue to a boiling point and catapulted it to the forefront of the world's attention...

...A major IFPRI Report launched in February 2011 stated that the causes of the 2008 global food crisis were similar to that of the 1972-74 food crisis, in that the oil price and energy price was the major driver, as well as the shock to cereal demand (from biofuels this time), low interest rates, devaluation of the dollar, declining stocks, and some adverse weather conditions....

As the dollar has drifted lower (illustrated in the above chart), thanks to a strategy of printing dollars (i.e., "Quantitative Easing") on the part of the Federal Reserve, the price of energy has skyrocketed as it is bought and sold using dollars.

Food prices, dependent upon fuel to farm and transport, have likewise leaped.

Notice a correlation?

The short version of the story is this: the policies of the hard-left Democrats have led directly to hunger, starvation and civil unrest around the world:

• Using food as fuel in bizarre efforts to reduce carbon dioxide, which is a plant food and beneficial to the environment

• And catastrophic deficit spending, adding nearly 60% to the national debt in three short years, which has resulted in the need to print trillions of dollars and enslave our children to debt

Everything the Democrats touch turns to crap, from their utterly reckless and criminal actions in the housing market to their global warming scam; from their country-bankrupting spending policies to their 'War on Poverty' that spreads more poverty and misery than any social program in history.

Everything they do is a failure -- and Barack Obama is their perfect poster-child.


After standing idly by for three weeks waiting for the world to step up, Obama launches Tomahawk attacks, stating that he "cannot stand idly by"

Bold, decisive action. That's what I think of when I contemplate the presidency of Barack Obama. Not Motown parties, not golf, not pickup basketball games, not NCAA brackets, not fundraisers, not vacations, not pontificating about the benefits of public sector unions, no, none of those things.

Just bold, decisive action.

President Obama said today he authorized U.S. missile strikes on Libya as part of a "broad coalition" seeking to protect Libyan citizens from attacks by dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

"This is not an outcome the United States or any of our partners sought," Obama said from Brazil, later adding: "But we cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people that there will be no mercy."

Obama, who is starting a five-day tour of Latin America, also said he is "deeply aware of the risks of any military action, no matter what limits we place on it," and "it's not a choice that I make lightly."

Using the word "coalition" five times in a three-minute address, Obama said, "we are answering the calls of a threatened people, and we are acting in the interests of the United States and the world."

Obama also repeated that he will not use ground troops in what has been dubbed "Operation Waffle Ditherer".

Okay, I made up that last part.

Although my operation name is probably a little bit more apt than "Aurora Dawn", considering as how the mad despot of Libya has been slaughtering people for three weeks now.


Larwyn's Linx: Randianism

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

Randianism: ProWis
Capitol Hill's Lindsay Lohan: Malkin
Obama to donors: 'Never take me for granted': Ace

WI A.G. Slams Ruling Blocking Union Reform, Promises Appeal: BG
Judge halts WI collective bargaining law: JSOnline
Dems argue party failing to humanize cuts, losing message war: Hill

A Theory On The Budget, The Shutdown And Libya: HayRide
Shankman issues warning, denies making death threat: Riehl
How to speed up the drug approval process: PJM

Economy

“Judge temporarily blocks Wis. union law”: ProWis
MI State Police Put In Danger by Lansing Mayor?: Malkin
Socialists flood Chicago immigration rally: Blaze

Union Violence Update: MI, WI and NJ: RWN
TARP Revisionism Watch: AmSpec
Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes? The SEC Perhaps?: RedState

Climate & Energy

A Simple Way to Get Rid of Ruinous Regulations: WashExam
Wind Farms Kill Whales: RWN
Your Fukushima Is Kohoutek Update: CBullitt

Media

Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush: Levin
The Blood on Obama's Hands: TL in Exile
Politico Tries To Cover For Obama’s Brazil Trip: RWN

'Setting the Palin Record Straight': ProWis
Well, So Much for ‘The Year of the Whistleblowers’: Driscoll
Please continue to believe that Sarah Palin is the unqualified one: Wizbang

The Gunwalker Scandal: Why? Where did it start? How high does it go? Issa should ask Rahm: Sipsey
For Nancy Pelosi It’s Lonely at the… Bottom: RWN
Helen Thomas to Playboy: Jews ‘own the White House’: Politico

World

Nuclear Warhead Parts Bound for Iran Seized in South Korea, Malaysia: Verum Serum
Will a nuclear Caliphate arise in the Middle East?: IBD
Genocide in Israel: NRO

Palin Doctrine Emerges as Arab League Echoes Her Demarche on Libya: NY Sun
Obama: the Weakest President in History?: Express (UK)
Good News: Exhausted Obama Now Planning Irish Golf Trip: JWF

663 Illegal Aliens From Countries With Ties to Terrorism Arrested Along Southwest Border in 2010: CNS
Srebrenica Resurrected: RedState
Egyptian Children's TV Show: We Must Liberate Jerusalem from 'the Disgusting Jews': Jawa

Professor Obama Explains Lessons To Be Learned From Latin America Trip: RWN
Libya: Preemptive Collateral Damage: Rosett
Facebook Jihad: Calling for Another Muslim War Against the Jews: Atlas

SciTech

Latest Digitalglobe Satellite Photo Of Fukushima, As Thermal Imaging Continues To Be Top Secret: ZH
Hacking ATM Users By Gluing Down Keys: Schneier
How to make a nuclear reactor that can't have a meltdown: DVice

Cornucopia

Your Bracket Awaits, Mr. President!: IowaHawk
Obama’s Social Security Number ….. Or Is It?: iOTW
St. Patrick’s Day: “Present” and Engaged: MOTUS

March Madness: Insane Muammar Gaddafi Picks Himself, Yemen, Tunisia over Pro-Dem Insurgency: Doswell
Spy Shots: BMW flings M3 pickup around the 'Ring: Autoblog
10 Best Fight Videos: RWN

Image: American Spectator
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Please donate to help continue the search for Marizela Perez

QOTD: "Here, let me solve, like eight problems. Build the nuclear reactors at ANWR. You're welcome!" --Dennis Miller

Friday, March 18, 2011

Thank a union boss: city workers 'shell-shocked' after half of Costa Mesa employees are laid off and one then apparently commits suicide

The Los Angeles Times reports the tragic, but not unexpected, news of another union "negotiation" gone south.

Costa Mesa has sent layoff notices to nearly half of its employees in a dramatic austerity program being closely watched by other cities struggling with ballooning pension obligations.

The move was sharply criticized by union leaders, and it stunned city employees, one of whom apparently committed suicide by jumping off Costa Mesa City Hall hours after layoff notices went out Thursday.

...Costa Mesa is among hundreds of local governments around the country facing massive future shortfalls in what they owe retirees. This year's tab — $15 million out of the city's $93-million budget — is estimated to grow to more than $25 million within five years... Faced with an unprecedented pension and retiree healthcare crisis, "cities are being forced to look at things that would've been unthinkable before," he said.

It's not just the mid-sized cities: San Francisco is facing a truly dire situation that almost defies explanation.

San Francisco's public pension crisis is way worse than many thought... The San Francisco Employees Retirement System (SFERS), which covers most of the city's municipal workers,faces an unfunded liability of $4.4 billion on a market value basis. That's nearly $35,000 per every San Francisco household.

...SFERS' reported liability is based on an optimistic 7.75% annual rate of return. If the 1990-1999 historical average rate of return - 6.2% - is used, the city's unfunded pension liability grows to $6.8 billion.

...The city also reports more than $4.364 billion in unfunded retiree health care costs. That figure will likely grow to $9.5 billion by 2028. Without major policy changes, "the probability of San Francisco meeting its unfunded health care obligation is zero."

Thank the Democrats... and the unions. But I repeat myself.

In only five years' time, San Francisco's pension and health care costs are projected to hit $1 billion annually, more than the police, fire, sheriff, district attorney and probation departments -- combined.

There is only one way for the city to dig out of this hole: to reform the pension programs. But the city's labor unions "have made it clear that any changes will meet stiff resistance."

And that's just one reason the Democrats are called "the party of fiscal destruction."

Which is, I've heard, the term they prefer.


CBO has good news and bad news on the Obama budget. The good: deficit is much worse than predicted. The bad: the U.S. will collapse long before 2020.

Douglas Holtz-Eakin offers us a sobering snapshot of the latest Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report on President Obama's budget. I won't bore you with the details. Only a few low-lights are necessary.

• The national debt-to-GDP ratio rises above 87 percent - close to that of Greece.

• Their numbers are rosy because the CBO's deficit projections include $500 billion in Obamacare Medicare cuts without a so-called "doc fix". Obamacare also places immense obligations on state Medicaid systems when states can least afford them.

• The CBO predicts a downgrade of the U.S. as a sovereign borrower in only seven years. Put simply, the full faith and credit of our country is critically wounded as the federal government loses its coveted AAA credit rating. In short, it's like an individual having a crappy credit score: everything costs more.

The executive summary according to the Associated Press? "CBO: Obama understates deficits by $2.3 trillion."

In this case, the word "understates" means "lies about".

But, as you might expect, the real story is far worse than the CBO is letting on. After all, their analysts can only review scenarios as they are presented.

But over at MacroMon, a recent article explains why the world's largest bond investor shed his trillion-dollar-plus portfolio of U.S. Treasury debt. Hint: he thinks it's a really, really bad investment.

Background: the U.S. Treasury is prohibited from selling bonds directly to the Federal Reserve. Instead it sells them through so-called "primary dealers" (PDs) via auctions. But, as the graph depicts, the Federal Reserve is the one buying almost all new debt from the PDs, while paying hefty -- think hundreds of millions of dollars in markups -- for the privilege.

In short, the only folks willing to buy 10-year Treasuries that pay less than 3.5 percent would be your Federal Reserve. Which could explain why Bill Gross sold his U.S. debt when he did.

I don't mean to be Johnny Buzzkill, but I've got one more snippet for you.

In "Slouching to Fiscal Armageddon", Chris Banescu offers several ominous portents.

• The 2011 budget deficit is forecast to hit $1.5 trillion, the largest in history and 10% of America's total economic output (GDP)

• This follows a 2010 deficit of $1.3 trillion and a $1.65 deficit forecast for 2012. The three years under Democrat leadership have led to the most catastrophic deficits not just in U.S. history, but in world history.

• In those three years, the Obama Democrats have rung up $4.5 trillion in debt, double the entire $2.1 trillion incurred under eight years of the Bush 43 administration. This is an increase in deficit spending of roughly 570%.

• 40 cents of every dollar we now spend is borrowed.

• Within the next year, the country's debt will surpass our GDP.

• This year alone, we will spend $200 billion in interest payments -- and as we saw above -- those interest payments are being held extraordinarily low through a glut of short-term, low-interest financing; but as interest rates increase, as they must, we could hit $1 trillion a year in interest payments alone.

• And I haven't even touched upon the unfunded liabilities of Obamacare, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, which are projected to hit $144 trillion in unfunded obligations by 2015.

Now, consider the fact that the Democrats proposed a cut of $4.7 billion -- or about 25 hours of spending for the fiscal year 2012. As Banescu aptly puts it, "Clearly Democrats are not interested in helping this country avoid fiscal calamity."

A devastating debt crisis is coming; simple mathematics predict it. It is no longer a matter of if, but when. The time for hysterics, hyperbole, and finger-pointing is over. The time for political games, grand-standing, and partisan shenanigans is long past. This is no longer about Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative, or progressive issues. This affects all of us. The looming danger crosses all party and ideological lines and jeopardizes all Americans, present and future generations. We're staring down a massive debt tsunami that threatens the US with a fiscal Armageddon the likes of which we've never seen.

Since Democrats and the White House are obviously unwilling to face reality and completely AWOL on this crisis, here's a call to action to the conservatives and the Tea Party lawmakers in Washington, our only remaining hope... [Republicans,] you're going to be demonized and vilified anyway, regardless of what you do, [so] make a stand and demand meaningful reductions in government spending... Didn't the ObamaCare battles and the last few decades of disastrous compromises with liberals and progressives teach you anything?

...Demand real action and sweeping reforms. Do not back down and compromise just to get along. It doesn't work! Be ready to shut down the government if you have to... Make the hard choices and stand behind your principles. That is real leadership!

Thus far, our feckless, RINO leadership in the House can't muster either the eloquence or the courage to explain the dire situation in which we find ourselves. They also can't seem to craft a Continuous Resolution to fund only those parts of the government -- i.e., not Obamacare -- that the American people want.

I urge you to call the offices of Speaker Boehner and Leader Cantor and explain to them -- politely but firmly -- that there is no flipping time to spare. None.

The fuse on the time-bomb, which was lit by the 111th Congress and a radical Statist President, has but a nub remaining.


Linked by: Michelle Malkin, Protein Wisdom and The Tatler. Thanks!

Tokyo in danger? Animated radiation tracker depicts a troubling change in weather predicted for tomorrow

Tyler Durden at Zero Hedge is doing some of the best news aggregation related to the tragic aftermath of the Japanese quake, tsunami and nuclear disasters.

An animated fallout tracker illustrates a possible shift in the winds that could send plumes of radioactive material -- the actual amount is debatable -- into Tokyo itself*.


Well, you say, it can't be that bad, can it?

Hmm. Do you know who this man is?

This picture comes to us courtesy of The London Daily Mail, which captions it "The moment nuclear plant chief WEPT as Japanese finally admit that radiation leak is serious enough to kill people."

The boss of the company behind the devastated Japanese nuclear reactor today broke down in tears - as his country finally acknowledged the radiation spewing from the over-heating reactors and fuel rods was enough to kill some citizens... Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency admitted that the disaster was a level 5, which is classified as a crisis causing 'several radiation deaths' by the UN International Atomic Energy.

Officials said the rating was raised after they realised the full extent of the radiation leaking from the plant. They also said that 3 per cent of the fuel in three of the reactors at the Fukushima plant had been severely damaged, suggesting those reactor cores have partially melted down.

After Tokyo Electric Power Company Managing Director Akio Komiri cried as he left a conference to brief journalists on the situation at Fukushima, a senior Japanese minister also admitted that the country was overwhelmed by the scale of the tsunami and nuclear crisis... Deputy director general of the NISA, Hideohiko Nishiyama, also admitted that they do not know if the reactors are coming under control.

Pray for the people of Japan.


* Map source: Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG), Austria


Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!.

Larwyn's Linx: Rep. Mike Pence Says It's Time To Pick A Fight

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Nation

Congressman Mike Pence Says It's Time To Pick A Fight: Hewitt
ATF agents write Issa on Project Gunrunner: Sipsey
Tea Party Express battles California GOP leaders: Politico

Wisconsin or Venezuela?: AT
Don't let Wisconsin 2011 become Massachusetts 2010: LegalIns
Jim DeMint Blasts Defends Romney on RomneyCare: Ace

The Truth About Reform: IBD
Qadaffi's Chicago Connection: AT
Allen West: Obama Is an Unserious President: TRS

Economy

America Slouching Towards Fiscal Armageddon: AT
'War on Poverty': How many trillions must we waste?: Foundry
Dems’ Proposed Cuts: 1/7th of Deficit--for Tuesday: NRO

Bureaucrats to union thugs: Come out fighting: Tapscott
NJ shuts down Barack Obama Elementary School: Malkin
Say DEBT 50 Times, Fast.: RedState

Update to WI Public Union Extortion Letter: Ace
Scathing Report Details CalPERS Bribery Scandal: PEhub
Dems find tax increase they won't support!: RWR

Climate & Energy

Did Ken Salazar Mislead Congress on Drilling Applications?: WZ
The Warmist Cult: AT
Japan’s Tsunami Threatens The Global Warming Movement: WUWT

Media

House Votes to Defund NPR: Malkin
MSNBC: Hey, At Least Obama Isn’t a Chain-Smoking Fatty like Churchill!: RightSphere
Sarah Palin, the GOP "blue bloods" and "The aristocracy of nature": sisu

The Media and the Republicans: AT
20 Days of Left-Wing Thuggery in Wisconsin: When Will Obama, Democrats, and MSM Call for Civility?: BigGovt
Another Brick in the Paywall: WyBlog

World

‘Where Are the Americans?’ A Tale of Two Tsunamis: Kimball
Obama’s Rio Trip — No Treaties, No Summits, No Diplomatic Breakthroughs: WZ
Japan: 'I see no signs of fear ... I can feel my heart opening very wide' : SMH

After Dithering, Obama Decides He Wants To Bomb Libya: RWN
Rubio to State Dep’t spokesman: Why did we wait for the UN to act against Qaddafi?: Hot Air
Vlog: Fukushima is no Chernobyl, and here's why: BlogProf

Egypt Frees 950 Islamist Prisoners Including Ayman al-Zawahiri’s Brother: WZ
Barack Obama’s “understanding” of all things Muslim: RWN
Yen hits record-high against US dollar as Nikkei falls: BBC

British Public Schools to Push Homosexual Curriculum: RWN
Japan 3-17-11: Worry About Cholera, Plague, Dysentery, Not Neutrons: CBullitt
Sitting in their classroom, 30 children whose parents have not returned after tsunami: Daily Mail (UK)

SciTech

Nine secret tricks for Google services: Macworld
White House wants wiretapping privileges for... copyright violators: CNet
Tweets that can get you fired: Forbes

Cornucopia

Why Do Despots Hate Teh Boobehs?: Ace
Efficiency versus Survivability: Wizbang
Forward, Into the Past: Driscoll

Image: iOwnTheWorld.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Sad Hill News Hits 500,000 Mark

QOTD: "So the environmental, flat Earth, no-growth Marxists want all of us to drive electric cars. Could we at least wait until scientists have created a battery that will power a freaking iPhone for just one day?" --Me, just now.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Disenchantment Digest: March 17th Edition

Count the following drones among those who have lost the faith.

• There's Hillary Clinton:

Fed up with a president “who can’t make his mind up” as Libyan rebels are on the brink of defeat, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is looking to the exits... At the tail end of her mission to bolster the Libyan opposition, which has suffered days of losses to Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s forces, Clinton announced that she’s done with Obama after 2012 — even if he wins again.

“Obviously, she’s not happy with dealing with a president who can’t decide if today is Tuesday or Wednesday, who can’t make his mind up,” a Clinton insider told The Daily. “She’s exhausted, tired... If you take a look at what’s on her plate as compared with what’s on the plates of previous Secretary of States — there’s more going on now at this particular moment, and it’s like playing sports with a bunch of amateurs. And she doesn’t have any power. She’s trying to do what she can to keep things from imploding.”

Clinton is said to be especially peeved with the president’s waffling over how to encourage the kinds of Arab uprisings that have recently toppled regimes in Egypt and Tunisia, and in particular his refusal to back a no-fly zone over Libya.

In the past week, former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton’s former top adviser Anne-Marie Slaughter lashed out at Obama for the same reason... The tension has even spilled over into her dealings with European diplomats, with whom she met early this week... When French president Nicolas Sarkozy urged her to press the White House to take more aggressive action in Libya, Clinton repeatedly replied only, “There are difficulties,” according to Foreign Policy magazine.

...Or as the insider described Obama’s foreign policy shop: "It’s amateur night."

• There's Joan Baez:

POLITICO: Amnesty International has been very outspoken in denouncing military commissions at Guantanamo Bay, and just this month the president announced that those trials would resume for detainees, ending a two-year hiatus. What was your reaction when you heard that news?

Baez: It's a sin. There's no excuse for it in the first place. To have people detained there for nine years without having a trial boggles the imagination. I'm not sure why it stays open.

POLITICO: The president campaigned on the promise of closing Guantanamo. What does this move mean to someone like yourself, who supported his candidacy in 2008?

Baez: Part of that stuff comes from just being in office. I'm not defending him at all, but I know that people with those ideals and dreams, once you get into office, your hands are tied by so many people. My concern with Obama is, I don't know who he listens to. He's a Nobel Peace Prize winner — as kind of silly as that was and premature — but he could meet with Nobel Peace Prize winners who have moved mountains and he could do extraordinary things by not falling into the trap that I think he is: of waking up in the morning and meeting with the military. So that's all he gets for input, unless we can make ourselves heard somehow.

• And there's The Aspen Institute:

If the Aspen Institute represents America’s liberal elite, then Obama is in trouble... Lloyd Grove writes for the Daily Beast that attendees at this year’s Aspen Ideas Festival, who might be considered as Obama’s “natural base” are outspokenly critical of him. Below are excerpts from Grove’s article, “The Elite Turn Against Obama“:

“If you’re asking if the United States is about to become a socialist state, I’d say it’s actually about to become a European state, with the expansiveness of the welfare system and the progressive tax system like what we’ve already experienced in Western Europe,” Harvard business and history professor Niall Ferguson declared during Monday’s kickoff session, offering a withering critique of Obama’s economic policies, which he claimed were encouraging laziness. “The curse of longterm unemployment is that if you pay people to do nothing, they’ll find themselves doing nothing for very long periods of time,” Ferguson said. “Long-term unemployment is at an all-time high in the United States, and it is a direct consequence of a misconceived public policy.”

Ferguson was joined in his harsh attack by billionaire real estate mogul and New York Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman. “The real problem we have,” Zuckerman said, “are some of the worst economic policies in place today that, in my judgment, go directly against the long-term interests of this country.”

Both [Ferguson and Zuckerman] lambasted Obama’s trillion-dollar deficit spending program—in the name of economic stimulus to cushion the impact of the 2008 financial meltdown—as fiscally ruinous, potentially turning America into a second-rate power.

I'd print out the complete list of those disenchanted with Obama, but my spreadsheet maxes out at 65,535 records.


Mission Accomplished: 'Obama's energy policies are crippling [the] economic recovery'

Joseph Mason, writing at The Washington Examiner, seems perplexed by the Obama administration's suicidal energy policies.

...[The only] two new permits issued by the Interior Department ... this month hardly qualify as a strong signal from D.C. (One was for a project with BP as the largest owner, and the other simply allowed resumption of a previously approved operation.)

And President Obama's call to add nearly $37 billion to the oil industry's tax burden offers a much clearer message... By the administration's own estimates, the moratorium cost the Gulf region 20,000 jobs through September 2010 alone, and its permitting freeze continues to directly and indirectly eliminate jobs and close businesses.

Obama's mission has succeeded: idled rigs are moving to foreign countries, gas prices are skyrocketing, and America's national security interests are endangered.

And despite a federal judge holding the administration in contempt of court for unconscionable permitting delays, America's self-imposed starvation diet will continue.

The 5th Circuit granted the Obama administration a stay from having to act on permit applications for Gulf of Mexico deepwater drilling projects - just under the 30-day deadline set by a federal judge who called the delays "increasingly inexcusable."

U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman had granted an injunction to Ensco Offshore Company, a shallow-water drilling company, on Feb. 17... The federal judge has said the Interior Department's "permitting backlog becomes increasingly inexcusable" as the months stretch on... With the 5th Circuit's order Tuesday, those delays will continue pending the government's appeal.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has not acted on any drilling permit applications since the government imposed a blanket moratorium on offshore drilling about a month after the spill.

Officials defended the halt, which they said would give agents time to examine the then-current procedures and regulations imposed on deepwater drilling companies operating in the Gulf, and to tighten regulations, if necessary.

Feldman nixed the ban in June, finding that one rig explosion was not reason enough for the government to assume other rigs posed a similar threat of catastrophe. Within weeks, the Interior Department issued a second moratorium - one that offshore drilling companies, including Ensco, criticized as being nearly identical to the first. Ensco filed suit in July.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said the government would enforce the moratorium, one way or another, until drilling safety and oil-spill response protocols were improved.

...In early February, Feldman said the Obama administration acted in contempt for continuing to enforce the moratorium after he had found the drilling ban was "arbitrary and capricious... As the first anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster draws near, any reason that would have justified delays has, under a rule of reason, expired ... Beginning to process permit applications will restore normalcy to the Gulf region and repair the public's faith in the administrative process."

By some estimates, allowing aggressive shallow-water oil exploration in the Gulf would add nearly $2 billion a year to the U.S. economy.

That doesn't sound like a lot, what with the government in hock to China for about a trillion dollars, but -- for the real economy, believe me, it is.


Democrat Senatorial Committee Announces the Winner of Its Bumper-Sticker Contest... And It's Awesome!

The Democrat Senatorial Committee has announced the winner of its bumper-sticker contest -- and I must say, it's teh awezem. Check it out:

I thought about this long and hard.

It just needs a slight modification.

You know, to make it more accurate.

Fair and balanced.

I think this may be the real winner:



Sen. Jeff Sessions Pins Obama Nominee to Mat, Gets Tap-Out

Earlier today the Senate Budget Committee held a hearing to consider the nomination of Ms. Heather Higginbottom, named as a prospective deputy budget director by President Obama.

As Ms. Higginbottom -- true to form for this White House -- has zero budget experience, the results were as you might have expected.

...Sen. Sessions [R-AL] confronted the nominee over false assertions from the White House regarding the president's budget.

Both President Obama and his budget director haverepeatedly said that the president's budget allows us to “live within our means,” “spend money that we have each year,” and “begin paying down our debt.”

Numerous fact-check organizations have found these statements to be false, and Sessions has argued that these inaccurate claims undermine efforts to confront our growing fiscal crisis.

In reality, the budget that President Obama submitted adds $13 trillion to the national debt, never has a deficit less than $600 billion, and spends more than it takes in every single year.

Ms. Higginbottoms' testimony is an uncomfortable reminder of just how twisted and bizarre the Democrats' arguments for their unparalleled deficit spending have become.


Update: Heather Higginbottom's Socialist Connection

Don't worry about the National Guard leaving the border in June--84% of all illegals caught last year were never prosecuted anyway

Tell me the first thing that pops into your head when I say the words "Janet... Napolitano."

On second thought, don't bother. This is a family blog.

Allow me to present "84% of Illegals Caught in 2010 Never Prosecuted":

An illegal alien apprehended by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency during the last fiscal year had an estimated 84 percent chance of never being prosecuted... Of 447,731 illegal aliens apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol during fiscal year 2010 (which ended last September), only 73,263 (16.4 percent) were prosecuted, according to the submitted data. That means that 374,468 illegal aliens that were taken into custody (83.6 percent) were never prosecuted...

...CBP divides the almost 2,000-mile-long U.S.-Mexico border into nine sectors. Running from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf Coast they are, in order, San Diego, El Centro, Yuma, Tucson, El Paso, Marfa, Del Rio, Laredo, and Rio Grande... of the 212,202 apprehensions along Arizona’s Tucson sector – which is where most of the apprehensions took place in FY2010 – only 30,748 (14.5 percent) led to prosecutions.

Testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee on Feb. 9, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano told lawmakers that her “top priority in terms of effective control is the Tucson sector of the southwest border.”

Napolitano's statement, as you might expect, is at complete odds with what's really happening. Please consider "National Guard troops off the US-Mexico border June 30."

Nine months after President Obama agreed to pay for emergency deployment of 1,200 National Guard troops along the southwest border, plans are in place to withdraw the reinforcements — including 285 National Guard troops in Texas.

Isn't it interesting? The one thing the federal government is supposed to do -- protect the citizenry from invaders -- it won't do.

And the things it is expressly prohibited from doing by the Constitution -- interfering in your health care choices, telling you what kind of light bulbs you can buy, what kind of toilets you can use, managing every aspect of your lives -- it can't stop meddling with.

Which is why this administration must be flushed from office in 2012 -- in fact, flushing twice would be better to ensure the hangers-on are removed from the bowl.


Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

The Anti-Boehner--Pelosi 'Drove Health Care Down GOP's Throat'

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

Anti-Boehner: Pelosi 'Drove Health Care Down GOP's Throat': Riehl
Allen West: Why I voted against the CR: Cubachi
Clear Evidence of Vote Fraud in NM: Patterico

The 'Untouchable' $23.6 Billion: Foundry
RINOs anonymously slamming conservatives to media: RS
Should illegals be able to sue the government?: RWN

MI: Two Dems Charged With Forged Ballot Paperwork: GWP
The Match Up: Palin vs. Christie: ConNJ
Nevada Dems hiding their desperate schemes: RWN

Economy

Ryan: No More Empty Promises: NRO
U.S. Debt Adds $72B Same Day House Votes to Cut $6B: CNS
Inflation Caused by Bernanke's Easing May Doom Dems: Tapscott

AFL-CIO chief wants to get into elementary schools: Noisy
TSA Unionization: Exercise in Political Back-Scratching: BigGovt
No Recession at the Post Office: BlogProf

Interior Secretary Caught Lying About Drilling Permits?: Tapscott
Alan Greenspan: Stimulus hurt recovery: CNN
Class warfare update: Schakowsky wants millionaire tax: Marathon

Climate & Energy

Japan, the Persian Gulf and Energy: Stratfor
The EPA is Fueling Nonsense: Foundry
Why Is NASA Hiding James Hansen’s Ethics Records?: PJM

Media

Obama’s Preacher: Black Liberation Theology Is Marxism; Capitalism Is Demonic: GWP
People Are Starting to Notice: Power Line
Activists and Crawlers: Tatler

Reporter Asks Carney About Situation in Japan: Got Me Dude, “You Have Reporters in Japan”: WZ
Four New York Times journalists missing in Libya: Malkin
My Prez wants to party all the time, party all the time, party all the ti-ime: Toldjah

Why They Really Fear Sarah Palin, And Why She Should Run: Riehl
Just a Video Reminder: Lefty Protesters Hate America: RWN
Celebrating James Madison: Cato

World

The REAL Big Oil: Hayride
Obama to Japan After Earthquake: Our Friendship Is “Unshakeable”: WZ
A Detailed Look At The Spent Fuel Rod Containment Pools At Fukushima: ZH

Bomb hidden in Islamic religious tome explodes on investigators: GWP
11-year-old brutally murdered by jihadists: 'Love everyone': JihadWatch
UK Death Panels in Action: Hospital Refuses to Treat Baby Because it Was Born Prematurely: WZ

SciTech

With hacking, music can take control of your car: ITworld
US Army to deploy Individual Gunshot Detector, essentially a radar for bullets: Engadget
iPad 2's weight loss secrets bared: CNet

Cornucopia

White House Insider: "Something Was Not Right with This President: NewsFlavor
Making It Big: Lame Cherry
Other?: RWR

Obama Reflects On His Vacation, Er, Presidency – A Picture Story: SHN
Obamas Make History with Bold Choices: MOTUS
100 Great Quotes About Life And Living: RWN

Image: Weasel Zippers
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Finding Marizela: Please support donation fund, keep spreading word

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Senate's Cowboy Poet Suddenly Concerned With Bipartisanship and Compromise

The Senate Majority Leader is a bizarre, left-wing spendaholic named Harry Reid. While busy borrowing money from the Chinese to fund "Cowboy Poetry", Reid today decried the short-term budget fixes known as "Continuing Resolutions" or CRs.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, Nev.) blamed “tea party extremists” on Tuesday for blocking a compromise that would allow Congress to keep the government running through September, the latest move by Senate Democrats to deflect responsibility for a partial government shutdown.

“Some Tea Party extremists seem to think ‘compromise’ is a dirty word, and have said that they would rather shut down the government than work with Democrats to find a common-sense, bipartisan solution,” Mr. Reid said in a statement Tuesday...

And why are these CRs even necessary?

Because for the first time in modern history, the last Democrat Congress and Democrat President failed to pass a budget for fiscal year 2011.

That's not the Republicans' fault.

Furthermore, the last Democrat Congress and the Democrat President rang up more debt in three years ($4.6 trillion) than the country incurred during its first 220 years of existence. During Obama's presidency, the debt has increased 55%.

That's not the Republicans' fault.

Just last month, the federal government registered a $223 billion budget deficit for one month, which was more than the total deficit for the entire year of 2007 ($161 billion).

As for bipartisanship, it was the Democrats' malevolent strategy to exclude Republicans from every major decision over the last two years.

• ABC News: GOP Shut Out of Stimulus Negotiations

• CNN Situation Room: Secret Healthcare Negotiations Meant to Shut Out GOP and the American People

• Rep. Paul Ryan: Republicans Shut Out of the Financial Reform Process

Sick: the protector of cowboy poets, the man who is bankrupting our children and grandchildren, is complaining about a lack of partisanship.

These Democrats have truly lost their minds. They need to be crushed in 2012 and rendered no more a political force than the Whigs. They are that malevolent, that nefarious and that dangerous to the American people.


Voters Recall Republican Mayor of Miami-Dade, But Not For the Reasons You Might Think

Somehow I don't think the union bosses will be celebrating the political demise of this particular Florida Republican.

Miami-Dade County voters recalled their top elected official Tuesday, culminating an effort financed by a billionaire car dealer and fueled by frustrations over a poor economy and unpopular policy decisions...

...Some 88% of 200,347 voters elected to oust Republican Carlos Alvarez, with 707 of 829 precincts reporting, along with early and absentee ballots...

...Last fall, Mr. Alvarez agreed to increase pay and unfreeze some benefits for unionized public employees. At the same time, he raised property taxes for two-fifths of the county's homeowners, by an average of 13%...

The drones don't seem to understand that the laws of economics can't be flaunted any more than can the law of gravity. The taxpayers certainly understand it, because they have to live within their budgets every day of the week.

It's a lesson that the union bosses will, inevitably, be forced to learn, but hopefully not as a result of a complete collapse, Argentina-style, of the economy. Which is apparently what some Democrats secretly desire.


We Now Join the Nuclear (and Economic) Meltdown Already in Progress

Chris Martenson is a scientist and financial analyst by trade who used his unique combination of skills to predict the 2008 economic meltdown. His latest message is a bit more chilling than usual -- and certainly worth a moment's consideration.

...For decades, the world has been running its own nuclear-style reaction, only in the currency and debt markets, where exponentially-accelerating piles of debt and money have spun about faster and faster in a gigantic, complex, coordinated reaction, the core of which is, and always has been, the United States.

At the very center of this ungainly money reactor is the main fuel pile itself, the US Treasury market. With any interruption to smooth flow of money through this pile, it will immediately become unstable.

The threat I see goes like this:

Stage 1: The world watches, riveted, as Japan suffers a tragic and horrible earthquake and tsunami, but as horrifying as these are, they are localized phenomenon affecting a relatively small percentage of the country. The real trouble lurks within damaged nuclear plants, which are now ruined and will never again produce electricity for Japan, creating instant shortages that will take years to remedy. Worse, a dangerous plume of radioactivity is carried south by winds. Tokyo partially empties and shuts down for all practical purposes.

Stage 2: The abrupt slow down of the world's third largest economy alters the smooth flow of cash around the globe, and even causes reversals of some other long-standing flows. Chaotic eddies emerge in a decades-old pattern of ever-increasing flows of money into and out of the money centers, and various carry-trade and other interest-rate-sensitive strategies blow up. Manufacturing in Japan screeches to a halt, disrupting just-in-time manufacturing strategies both internally and across the globe.

Stage 3: In order to fund the rebuilding effort, Japan has to buy a lot of items from foreign suppliers at the same time that its exports plunge precipitously. At first Japan simply does not participate in US Treasury auctions, leading to a shortage of buyers. But eventually Japan has to sell some of its vast hoard of US bonds in order to pay for external items needed for its reconstruction. Further, insurance companies, huge holders of US bonds, face stiff liability claims in the wake of the worst natural disaster to hit a heavily industrialized center and are forced to redeem enormous amounts of Treasury paper. US Treasury yields begin to climb.

Stage 4: Continuing unrest in the MENA region serves to keep oil elevated and local funding needs high, while Europe's weaker players (the PIIGS) continue to slip under the waves. Money continues to ebb away from the US Treasury market. Forced by circumstance, the Federal Reserve reverses its linguistic course and opens the monetary floodgates once again. There's nothing like a crisis to justify more money printing, especially to a one-trick pony (the Fed) that only knows how to stamp its hoof on the 'print' button.

Stage 5: An increasingly chaotic monetary and fiscal situation spills over into the derivatives arena, creating a number of financial accidents. Stressed governments find themselves in more of an arguing mood than a pull-together-and-sing-Kumbaya mood, and agreements are hard to come by. Banks begin to fail again, global trade falls off, unrest continues to build, and then it happens - a currency crisis.

Stage 6: Everything changes. Faster than you think.

...Okay, folks, this is not a drill... Events have now sped up to the point that we cannot predict what will happen next. At this point a systemic banking crisis, complete political upheaval in one or more countries, a currency crisis, or a debt crisis are all within the realm of the possible.

This is the most difficult Alert I've ever had to write, because I know I have not yet processed all the necessary information to truly assess the risks. I am operating on gut instinct here, and several of you have already reminded me to trust myself. Thank you. That's what I am doing now.

...As always, I have no idea if anything is going to transpire or not, or when. How's that for indecisive? But I can tell you that the pressures are larger than they’ve ever been throughout this long emergency and that conditions are ripe for an avalanche. My sincerest hope is that this will all blow over. But hope alone is a terrible strategy, and so we prepare.

Martenson has a plethora (yes, I said it!) of free information available on his website, including a crash course on the economic crisis and a What Should I Do? guide.


And the Hits Just Keep On Coming

Turning our attention away momentarily from the unfolding catastrophe in Japan, please consider the following, er, historic milestones.

Biggest Jump in Food Costs in More Than 36 Years: "Wholesale prices jumped last month by the most in nearly two years due to higher energy costs and the steepest rise in food prices in 36 years... Food prices soared 3.9 percent last month, the biggest gain since November 1974."

Building permits fall to all-time low: "The number of permits for future housing construction fell 8.2%, to an annual rate of 517,000 permits last month, down from a revised 563,000 in January, the Commerce Department said... That was the lowest level seen since the government started tracking the figures in 1959, and much worse than the 565,000 permits economists had expected."

Total US Debt Hits $14.237 Trillion, Debt Ceiling At $14.294 Trillion: "Following the settlement of $67.6 billion in debt from last week's auctions, the Treasury managed to raise its dangerously low cash to a level that will give Tim Geithner pocket change for another week, or $99.5 billion. Alas, the cash buffer came at a price: total debt increased from $14.166 trillion to $14.238 trillion. As a reminder, the debt ceiling is $14.294 trillion, so on a pure basis there is a $56 billion buffer or less than one's week's worth of auctions."

Obama picks Kansas to win NCAA men's tourney: "President Obama picked the Jayhawks to beat Ohio State in the finals of the men's NCAA basketball tournament... Obama picked Kansas last year -- and watched them lose in the second round, as Duke went on to capture the men's hoops title."

Obama bucks up donors for 2012 fight: "Working to invigorate one of his most important constituencies, President Barack Obama urged major Democratic donors Wednesday to hang on to the enthusiasm they felt during his first run for the White House as his 2012 re-election campaign approaches... Obama made his remarks to about 500 members of the Democratic National Committee's national finance committee and national advisory board at a Washington hotel. These major donors will play a crucial role in the money race [for 2012]."

Are we having fun yet?


Larwyn's Linx: Obama's First Two Years a Disaster for America

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Nation

Obama's First Two Years a Disaster for America: AT
An Open Letter to Harvey Weinstein : Knish
The Justice Department Fix Is In: Adams

Pence: 'Better to shut the government now...': Cubachi
A simple reason not to shut down the government?: RWN
Do labor unions deserve special treatment?: Power Line

Economy

The Triumph of Crony Capitalism: Mises
California Moves Closer Toward Default: BigGovt
Idiot Leftists Boycott, Vandalize the Wrong Bank: GWP

The Fragility of Complex Societies: Hanson
Health Care Waivers For Everyone!: Reason
Unions Use Kids As Shields in WI: RWN

Climate & Energy

Governor Palin: The $4-Per-Gallon President: Con4Palin
Global warming down under: 10 little facts: WUWT
New Light on “Hide the Decline”: ClimateAudit

Senate Democrats scramble to defend EPA: Politico
Does Obama Think I Drive a Bugatti Veyron?: Malkin
Scouts Get Kellog’s To Limit Use Of Palm Oil: RWN

Japan

Japan: Vast Devastation: Boston Globe (The Big Picture)
Al Jazeera Explains What A Fukushima Meltdown Would Look Like: ZH
Japan reactor design caused GE engineer to quit: Reuters

Media

The Stench in Here Is Terrible: Zombie
Shame: Ignoring Death Threats to Wisconsin Politicians Is Media Bias: HuffPo
For first time, you online news consumers outnumber those newspaper readers: the impact on politics: LAT

Hope. Change. Nixon.: Surber
Obama’s Refusal to Provide Records on Healthcare Meetings Should Sound Alarms: BigGovt
Krugman Admits He Lives in a Bubble: BigJourn

Rush Limbaugh Warns GOP Leaders: The Tea Party ‘Made Your Leadership Possible’: Mediaite
We're All Golf Widows Now: AT
Wanda Sykes: 'Has Obama Had One Relaxing Day Since He's Been In Office?': NewsBusters

The Politico Wonders “Where’s Waldo, Er, Obama?”: RWN
“Political violence,” like the violence sometimes perpetrated against abortion providers?: Troglo
The 25 Best Conservative Columnists Of 2011: RWN

World

Israel Demands Apology From CNN: BigJournalism
Don't Let Them Sweep this Horror under the Rug : Zilla
Security forces move to clear out Bahrain protesters: Maktoob

Young Leaders of Egypt's Revolt Snub Clinton in Cairo: Tapper
The Great Food Crunch: Samuelson
Chavez Rails Against the Boobs: Fausta

From Bloomberg to NPR: Selling out to Shariah for Fun and Profit: AT
In Iran, the Despots Grow Desperate: PJM
One Lone Student Against Terror at Claremont McKenna: BigPeace

SciTech

Apple Accused of Slowing Web Apps to Benefit App Store: Wired
New Twitter Stats: 140M Tweets Sent Per Day, 460K Accounts Created Per Day: Crunch
You Really Should Be Turning Off Portable Electronic Devices On Planes: Consumerist

Cornucopia

Feed Your Family on $10 Billion a Day: IowaHawk
Hoax of the decade? Fake Times Square video iPhone hacker a strong contender: Sophos
Bobby Unser vs the Feds: Foundry

Image: Ben Franklin’s Daily Schedule
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: : Searching for Marizela: New videos, message from her parents

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Legacy Media Wakes Up, Notices That President Obama is Far More Energized by Motown and Wisconsin's Unions Than Global Calamities

Politico headlines its latest "President Obama staying in background on deficits."

Which is a polite way of saying that he's busy arranging his next Remembering Motown party. Or jetting to Rio.

But it was Ruth Marcus, the liberal Washington Post columnist, who got the ball rolling with her op-end entitled "Obama's 'Where's Waldo?' presidency" and asked, "Where's Obama? No matter how hard you look, sometimes he's impossible to find."

Except when there's a party or a pick-up golf game.

The left-leaning Ottawa Citizen titled its missive "Obama's foreign policy is in tatters" and observes, "It used to be said by critics that Canada offered all aid short of help in global crises; now regrettably the same might be suggested of the Obama administration as it loses its position and influence in a critical part of the world."

CBS News highlighted the tenuous policy positions of Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), who called out the president in harsh terms: "Dem Sen. Joe Manchin: Obama has 'failed to lead' on spending."

The New Republic, which once championed Obama's candidacy, now appears to have come to the same conclusion the rest of us did, oh, around 2007: "The clock is ticking on action in Libya—and on the president’s foreign policy legacy" and notes that France and the Arab League are both more hawkish on Gaddafi than the U.S. -- for the first time in history.

As it turns out, the only person yet to notice the president's detachment is the brilliant economist Paul Olberkrugmann.


Maps and Satellite Imagery: the Nuclear Crisis in Japan

This map depicts the relatively tiny distances between the epicenter of the monstrous quake, the twin Fukushima nuclear plants and the city of Tokyo.

This is the northern (Daiichi) plant of the two in a satellite photo dated 2004.

This is the same plant moments after yesterday's explosion that blew the Unit 3 reactor building apart.

The human toll of the catastrophe is only partially represented here.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Japanese people. If you have a few pfennigs to spare, the Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Fund can use a hand.


Satellite Imagery: Digital Globe via Zero Hedge.
Maps: London Daily Mail.