Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Escape From Detroit

The incomparable Mark Levin often likens Democrats to locusts. Their policies destroy their own cities and towns, at which point many up and move to new places. Like red states. And they begin their destruction anew. And never once do they contemplate the rationale for their move -- that it is their collectivist ideology that eviscerates societies, as it has for centuries.

And nowhere is evidence of that phenomenon more apparent than Detroit, where Democrats have controlled every apparatus of city and county government for eons.

The population of Detroit has fallen back 100 years.

The flight of middle-class African-Americans to the suburbs fueled an exodus that cut Detroit's population 25% in the past decade to 713,777, according to Census Bureau data released Tuesday. That's the city's lowest population level since the 1910 census, when automobile mass production was making Detroit Detroit.

The decline, the fastest in city history, shocked local officials, who had expected a number closer to 800,000. Mayor Dave Bing said the city would seek a recount.

"If we could go out and identify another 40,000 people that were missed, and it brings us over the threshold of 750,000, that would make a difference from what we can get from the federal and state government," Mr. Bing said at a news conference Tuesday.

So Mayor Bing wants more money from the state and federal governments.

Here's a news flash, genius: both are broke.

Be proud of your wondrous city! Be proud of what the Democrat Party has done for Detroit... for Michigan... for New York, California and Illinois! Take some credit, Mayor Bing! Rejoice, for you are the Party of Locusts!


Hat tip: D&S.

But don't worry, the Fed says there's no inflation risk: Experts predict collapse of dollar as commodity prices skyrocket

Runner-up headline: Mission Cloward-Piven nears completion

Jeff Clark of Casey Research, writing at Zero Hedge, offers us the transcript of a roundtable featuring some of the world's best macroeconomic minds, Peter Schiff and billionaire Jim Rogers among them.

The "highlights":

Q: A lot of economists, including the government, believe the worst is behind us economically. Do you agree? If not, what should we be on the lookout for in 2011?

Jim Rogers: It is better for those getting all the government largesse, but the overall situation is worse. More currency turmoil. State and local problems, plus pension problems.

Bill Bonner: None of the problems that caused the crises in Europe and America have been resolved...

Peter Schiff: ...We are [like] an indebted family going out for an expensive meal to celebrate getting approved for a new credit card. It might feel good (at the time), but we're still simply delaying the inevitable...

John Williams: An intensifying economic downturn – what formally will be viewed as the second dip of a double-dip depression – already has started to unfold. The problem with the economy remains structural, where household income is not growing fast enough to beat inflation...

Steve Henningsen: ...What I will be watching for this year is sovereign and U.S. municipal debt corpses floating to the surface sometime in the months ahead...

Krassimir Petrov: ...No, the worst is yet to come. No structural changes have been made, no problems have been fixed. Printing money, a.k.a. Quantitative Easing, is a quick fix that has postponed the problem, yet also made it a lot worse. I would say that we are still in the early stages of the crisis and have another 4-8 years to go.

Bob Hoye: The worst of the post-bubble economic adversity is not behind us.

...Q: The U.S. dollar ended 2010 about where it started; does it resume its downtrend in 2011, or are fears about its demise overblown?

Jim Rogers: No, but further down the road...

Peter Schiff: It's hard to pinpoint exactly when the dollar will collapse, but it will take a miracle to avoid that outcome in the near term. It really depends on when the creditors of the United States realize that they are not going to get their principal returned to them in real terms, but rather in grossly devalued dollars. We have already seen the average duration of U.S. Treasury debt drop below that of Greece. No one wants to buy a 30-year bond with negative real interest rates as far as the eye can see...

John Williams: There remains high risk of a dollar selling panic unfolding in the year ahead, as the U.S. economy tanks anew, as the Fed continuously expands its easing, and as dollar holders dump the U.S. currency and dollar-denominated paper assets. Such would be a precursor to the inflation problem.

Thanks to reckless borrowing and spending programs like the "Stimulus" program, which failed to stimulate anything but government hiring, the U.S. dollar is tanking. The charts above represent the day's spot price of gold, oil and silver, respectively.

They continue to shoot to new highs, seemingly on a daily basis.

But Ben Bernanke, who completely failed to predict the housing crisis, now insists that long-term inflation risks are "unlikely."

In other news, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President just stated that the U.S. is at a "tipping point" and that it is "on a fiscal path to insolvency."

And America's current entitlement programs -- Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid -- are all headed for collapse if left untended. And rather than fix those problems, Democrats rammed a new entitlement program, Obamacare, down our throats last year; it will be the largest such program in world history.

As James Simpson aptly put it, "It is time to cast aside all remaining doubt. President Obama is not trying to lead America forward to recovery, prosperity and strength. Quite the opposite, in fact."

And now we have proof: the Left is trying to collapse our society.

Our only choice in 2012 is to politically eradicate the traitorous Democrat Party; to vote for the most conservative candidates possible; and to try and restore the rule of law in this country.

Anything less condemns our country to an ugly fate: the exact kind of collapse advocated by Cloward and Piven.

2012 is right around the corner. What are you doing to help reestablish Constitutional conservatism?


Larwyn's Linx: The 12 Worst Features of Obamacare

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

The 12 Worst Features of Obamacare: IBD
DOJ Memo Confirms Terrorists Have Crossed the Border: PJM
13 Illegals Arrested Wearing US Military Uniforms: Powers

Sen. Rand Paul on his nearly $4 trillion budget cut: Cubachi
Obama's War on the Middle Class: AT
Obama's health care reform is unhealthy for hospitals: BaltSun

Obama, the Left, and War: Kerwick
Adam and the Eve of a New Election Cycle in Florida: NRO
How Washington Ruined Your Washing Machine: WSJ

Economy

President Obama's Crony Capitalism: IBD
If I Were President: Obamacare, One Year In: Romney
Fed Official: US Approaching Insolvency: CNBC

It's About the Power Struggle: Knish
NJ judge rules money grows on trees: WyBlog
Japan and Libya - the Week That Was: Sargen

Climate & Energy

President Obama Can’t Wait to Buy More Foreign Oil: Foundry
Everything Old is New Again--Or Maybe Not: Elephant
Berkeley Prof Explains 'Trick' to 'Hide the Decline': BlogProf

Media

Valor Without Irony: Hayward
Armchair Barbarism :Spectator (Phillips)
So, How Did Rube Andi Sullivan Really Do?: Riehl

Sell Out: How I Started Working With Breitbart: Stranahan
'Too Good a Pleasure to Forego': RSM
Repeating History: ProWis

Black, Brown, White: Leftists Come in All Colors: BMW
Was Adam Smith the 18th-century’s Paul Krugman?: Hayek
IBD Poll Suggests 30 Million Americans Seeking Job: IBD

World

There are some things you simply don’t farm out — and national security is one of those things: Bookworm
Coalition of Confusion: Spiked Online
After the Tsunami: Japanese Return Home: ABC

Iraq vs. Libya: Obama Takes a Swipe at Bush for… What Exactly?: Malkin (Powers)
Understanding Obama: His One-World View and Foreign Policy: PJM
Multiculturalism in France: CBN

A Chavez Terror Network?: Fausta
What do you want for $4 million an hour?: Pundette
Obama To Brazil: ‘We Want To Be One Of Your Best Customers": SHN

SciTech

7 Implications of an AT&T/T-Mobile Merger: PopMech
Amazon, Android and Open Source: NetworkWorld
Court rejects Google Books settlement: CNet

Cornucopia

Stemless at the Stern: MOTUS
Woman Caught Lover Going To Opposite Field: TSG
Joint Chiefs Explain Libya War Goals: PacIntel

The Work Behind the 10 Most Creative Commercials Ever: BizPundit
Real Men of Genius - Salute to Mr. Combat Reflective Belt Sash Wearer: BlackFive
A Few Sunday Thoughts: PRS

Image: Tulip Landscapes in Spring
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Senate Conservatives Fund

QOTD: "A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear. The traitor is the plague." --Marcus Tullius Cicero (h/t: D&S)

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

10 of the strangest toys in history

Words fail.











Hat tip: R-Lo.

Didn't FDR execute a few people for doing what this ex-SEIU official is caught on tape espousing?

Runner-up headline: Caught on Tape: Ex-SEIU Hack Openly Plots to Collapse America's Free Market System and Overthrow the United States Government

I've said it before and I'll say it again. You can't be a progressive and honestly take an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. The progressive agenda is completely, utterly at odds with America's highest law.

And no one makes this more clear than ex-SEIU official Steve Lerner, who patiently explained a few days ago how the Democrats, the unions and the Soros globalists are helping to destroy the United States from within.

The headings are my "reader's digest" version -- but the words are those of the Leftists who are plotting to destroy you, your children and your way of life. But don't listen to me: listen to them.

W: We’re going to hear from Steve Lerner next, of SEIU, the Architect of the Justice for Janitors campaign. Currently, he’s working on partnering with unions and groups in Europe and South America, it’s building campaigns to hold financial institutions accountable.

The Left's Goal: to Destabilize the United States Financial System


S. Lerner: It seems to me that we’re in a moment where we need to figure out in a much more, through direct action, much more concrete way how we really are trying to disrupt and create uncertainty for capital, for how corporations operate. And it may sound like that’s a crazy thing that in a moment of weakness we could deal with it, but the thing about a boom and bust economy, it is actually incredibly fragile, because it’s not based on real way, well, it’s based on gambling and all of that. And so there are actually extraordinary things that we could do right now that would start to de, destabilize the folks that are in power and start to rebuild a movement...

Start by Collapsing the Banks


...And for example, 10% of homeowners, going back to where you started, who are under, a quarter of all people who own a home are under water. Right? Their home is under water, they’re paying more for it than it’s worth. Ten percent of those people are now in strategic default, meaning they’re refusing to pay but they’re staying in their homes. That’s totally spontaneous. Right? They figured out it takes a year to kick me out of my home because the mort, the foreclosure’s backed up. I’m going to say I won’t pay. It’s just what business does, it’s a good, a good business decision. If you could double that number, you would make banks, put banks on the edge of insolvency again.

How the Left Will Accomplish Collapse of the System


And so the question would be, what would happen if we organized homeowners in mass to do a mortgage strike. Just say if we get, and, and, if we get half a million people to agree, we’ll all not, we’ll agree we won’t pay our mortgages, it would literally cause a new financial crisis.

Let's go after J.P. Morgan!


...So, a bunch of us around the country are thinking about who would be a really good company to hate? We decided that would be JP Morgan Chase. …. And so we’re going to roll out over the next couple of months what will hopefully be an exciting campaign about JP Morgan Chase that is really about challenge the power of Wall Street. And so what we’re looking at is in the first week of May, we get enough people together – we’re starting now – to really have a week of action in New York with the goal of … I don’t want to go into any details because I don’t know which police agents are in the room, but the goal would be that we would roll out in New York the first week in May—

We're Going to Foment Civil Unrest and Break Down the Civil Society


[We] …connect three ideas – that we’re not broke, there’s plenty of money; they have the money, we need to get it back; and that they’re using Bloomberg and other people in government as the vehicle to try to destroy us. And so that we need to take on those folks at the same time and that will start here. We’re going to look at a week of civil disobedience, direct action all over the city, then we’ll roll into the JP Morgan shareholder meeting, which they moved out of New York because they were afraid, I guess, of Columbus, where there’s going to be a ten state mobilization to try to shut down that meeting. And then looking at bank shareholder meetings around the country and try to create some moments like Madison, except where we’re on offense instead of defense. Where we have brave and heroic battles challenging the power of the giant corporations, and we hope to sort of inspire a much bigger movement about redistributing wealth and power in the country.

'Create Conditions of Ungovernability' (Overthrow the Government)


W: You were talking about why unions are so invested because of their pension plans and why ungovernability, as Frances Fox Piven and Cloward taught us, you know, poor peoples’ movements are successful when they create conditions of ungovernability. And then you win victories...

If we had a real Attorney General, Lerner would be arrested on the spot for plotting to overthrow the United States government. For waging war against the American people and our Constitution.

I hear that used to be a crime. In fact, if memory serves, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt executed a few American citizens on that charge.


Hat tip: Protein Wisdom.

Crony Capitalism Today: Ma Bell 2.0 Invested $15.5M to Lobby Federal Government Just Prior to Its Planned Takeover of T-Mobile

AT&T's recent announcement that it will buy wireless provider T-Mobile is yet another potentially crippling blow to the free market. In the exploding world of wireless, crony capitalism is helping to destroy competition.

And it's all been facilitated by horrific policies set down by the FCC and Congress, who have benefited mightily over the decades by thoroughly abusing their power to regulate.

AT&T is rallying its already massive lobbying efforts in Washington D.C., to get regulatory approval of its plan to buy Bellevue-based T-Mobile USA for $39 billion.

The WSJ reports that AT&T has a sizable lobbying army in D.C., with 93 lobbyists working its behalf. AT&T spent $15.5 million to lobby the federal government last year...

Gee, but I'm sure that's all coincidental.

And it looks like money will win out over the interests of the consumer as even the left-leaning FCC chairman appears to be open to the deal.

Executive Summary: the FCC is going to help reconstitute Ma Bell all over again. Let's call it Ma Bell 2.0.

The damage to the economy will be significant as it results in less competition, less risk-taking, less entrepreneurship, and less innovation. Higher prices for consumers and a step backwards for the U.S.

I can prove it.

Think of the most unregulated marketplace in the U.S. One with the least government intervention. If you answered software and Internet applications, you're a winner.

Over the last 25 years, the largely unregulated world of software has created untold trillions in value creation: Amazon, Microsoft, Google, eBay, Oracle, Facebook... the list goes on and on. Anyone with a good idea and some hacking skills can create a business worth tens or hundreds of millions of dollars.

No regulation. Unfettered competition.

But our disastrous telecom policy-makers can't stop regulating. If the federal government wants to spend money, it should subsidize fiber optic and wireless infrastructure to every home and every business to help give consumers more choice of pipe. Nowadays Internet connectivity is as basic a service as water or sewer lines.

The government should be there to promote commerce, not inhibit it.

The country that invented the Internet is quickly turning into a technological backwater thanks to the crony capitalism of the FCC, Congress and the telco/cable duoply.

They are invested in the past -- and no possible good can come from this deal. I'll put it this way: do you trust America's entrepeneurs or a Ma Bell reconstituted by a bunch of hacks in Washington?


Related: Beltway Comix: the FCC watchin' out for the little guy

Vying for the Krugman award, liberal econ blogger Barry Ritholtz markets the standard progressive fare: Fox-bashing propaganda

What exactly this story has to do with economics is beyond me, but Barry Ritholz's popular econ blog -- The Big Picture -- ran a headline earlier today that read "Fox News: Less Honest than Dictatorships."

Well, the post is nothing but a copy-paste of a CNN rush transcript that boils down to the following dialogue.

WOLF BLITZER, HOST: On another related – unrelated matter – maybe it is related – I want you to explain what you know about this suggestion Fox News reporting that you, a Reuters crew, some other journalists, were effectively used by Gadhafi as a human shield to prevent Allied fighter planes from coming in and attacking a certain position.

Explain what you know about this.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this allegation is outrageous and it’s absolutely hypocritical. You know, when you come to somewhere like Libya, you expect lies and deceit from the dictatorship here. You don’t expect it from the other journalists...

...So for them to say and call this – to say they didn’t go and for them to call this and say this was government propaganda to hold us there as human shields when they didn’t even leave the hotel, the correspondent didn’t leave the hotel and go and see for himself, is ridiculous.

We were taken there. We went in through the security. We filmed the building. We were given 15, 20 minutes to do that, five minutes in Gadhafi’s tent and then we were taken out... And I was literally physically pushed back on the bus when we left... That’s how quickly the government officials wanted to get us out.

Of course, the real story is simple. Jennifer Griffin simply reported what her sources in the defense community told her. No less a source than the left-leaning MediaBistro reported after CNN's diatribe that "Jennifer Griffin [is] sticking by report on journalists being used as human shields in Libya".

Griffin did not get into the media-on-media fracas touched off by her report earlier today in which British sources told her their mission last night was cut short because of the presence of the Western journalists and several Libyan civilians...

“They felt that the civilians and journalists had effectively been used as human shields and that was frustrating to them,” said Griffin tonight. “It was a very close call. In fact one official told me that there was a Reuters crew literally on a spot where they were going to drop a missile.”

...Griffin is sticking by her original report that “the Libyan government is using journalists as human shields.”

In fact, yesterday The New York Times -- not exactly a mouthpiece for the conservative right -- ran a story headlined "At Qaddafi Compound, a Human Shield."

For that matter, earlier today London's Daily Express ran with a screaming all-caps lede that read "COLONEL GADDAFI’S SUPPORTERS SURROUND HIS HOME AS HUMAN SHIELDS."

Finally, Amnesty International -- a true right-wing conspiracy if there ever was one -- even published a FAQ regarding Gaddafi's use of human shields ("What about reports that Libya is using ‘human shields’?"

It's in CNN's interest -- given that its ratings are trailing the Hallmark Channel and airport radar -- to foment a "controversy". And leftist econ blogger Barry Ritholz is more than happy to oblige, so long as it means his analysis consists of typing an inflammatory headline, followed by [Ctrl]+[C] and [Ctrl]+[V].

Somewhere, Paul Krugman is green with envy.


Larwyn's Linx: Pence - Fund government a day at a time if necessary

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

Pence: Fund the government one day at a time if necessary: Cubachi
Awesome: Obama unveils 'Conservation Youth Corps': GWP
Claire McCaskill 'forgot' to pay $200K in taxes on her plane: GWP

Union-bought Dems rush to aid of NLRB?: RS
Majority of emailers supported Scott Walker's stance: Cubachi
CORE Rejects Trumka's MLK Comparison as 'Absurd', 'Insulting': AmSpec

Obama writes Congress from Chile, explains 'discrete' attack: WZ
Chicago’s Most Notorious Priest Finally On Way Out?: RWN
Allen West Mimics Harry Reid: SharkTank

Economy

Obama's Secret Tax Hidden in Budget: Ace
We Already Tax the Rich More Than Any Western Nation: RWN
Union members should know their leaders are betraying them: WashExam

Obamacare turns 1 with 21 new or higher taxes: ATR
Whoa: Some WI teachers got 90 sick days a year: GWP
'Queering' California History Books: The Final 'Frontier': RWN

Climate & Energy

Another Gulf Oil Spill Near Deepwater Drilling Site – W&T’s Matterhorn SeaStar: SHN
The Fall of the House of TEPCO: AT
Oh, Noes, Globull Warming Caused Rising Seas Threaten New Jersey: RWN

Obama: Drill, Brazil, Drill!: IBD
Energy Secretary Chu Embraces High Gas Prices, Again: Foundry
AGW Assclown Non Sequitur Of The Week: CBullitt

Media

Hey, NPR: Fund your own lame liberal humor — and leave my family alone: Malkin
Democrats Celebrate One-Year Anniversary of ObamaCare by Lying About It: Ace
Liberal Media Stunned: Emails Show Public Favored Scott Walker’s Union Bill: GWP

Why Are NRO And Heritage Undermining Conservatism's Future?: Riehl
What Are You Waiting For?: TL In Exile
They F***ing Hate You: BSFootprint

The Compliments Just Keep Pouring In For Obama In Libya: RWN
Tingles: “Right’s Support of Israel Not Based on Friendships or Values… Just a Weird Right-Wing Thing”: WZ
Paul Krugman and The Know-Nothings: AT (Lewis)

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Editor On WI Union Violence: ‘You Reap What You Sow’: BigJourn
Minnesota Republicans Seek To Arrest Poor People For Carrying More Than $20 On Their Persons: Ace
The Two Modes of America's Child Emperor: No Sheeples

World

Five Of The World’s Most Dangerous Places to Be a Christian: AllAm
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Accuses Obama of “Lying”: WZ
Freedom-Loving Jihadists Stone Mohamed ElBaradei in Cairo: Atlas

Stumbling into the Libyan War: PJM
Syria: The Revolt Continues: Ledeen
Official Photograph: Governor Palin Meets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: GWP

Soros Invests $811 Million In Brazilian Oil: S&L
(PJM Exclusive) Iran Orders Attacks on Saudi Interests Worldwide: PJM
Army Braces For Worst As Trophy Photos of Murdered Afghan Civilians Leak: Ace

SciTech

Sprint dials up Google Voice for all subscribers: CNet
Twitter turns 5, goes from 0 to 140 million tweets a day: CNN
BlackBerry PlayBook priced at $500 for 16GB WiFi model, pre-orders begin today: Engadget

Cornucopia

Sammy Hagar: Aliens Uploaded My Brain in An Experiment: AllAm
'Young' Love for Tiger: Post
Thank you for your support: www.findmarizela.com: Malkin

Image: iOwnTheWorld
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Stop Obama's EPA from Increasing American Energy Costs!
QOTD: " Barack Obama has now been responsible for firing more cruise missiles than all other Nobel Peace prize winners combined.

He’s still in 2nd place for number of Arab deaths caused (and 3rd place for Muslim deaths) behind Yassir Arafat and Mikhail Gorbachev." --bgates

Monday, March 21, 2011

Perfect: California Democrats Want to Eliminate Secret Ballot in Union Elections To, Uhm, Make the State's Horrific Deficit Even Worse

On the same day that The Sacramento Bee writes that California's "unfunded liability for state retiree health costs over the next 30 years [are] nearly $60 billion", the Democrat kooks in the state capitol are trying to further increase the incredible power of public sector unions.

I've heard of fiscal suicide before, but never quite so egregious a case as this.

If state Dems get their way, it might be bye-bye secret ballot


State Democrats are again trying to eliminate the secret-ballot vote for union certification. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg describes his latest measure as “the alternative electoral method for choosing collective bargaining representatives.” It is that, and a lot more.

Under “card check,” instead of voting for or against union representation by secret ballot, workers would be asked to sign union cards in front of organizers and colleagues, potentially subjecting them to harassment or intimidation. [Ed: Gee, after their performance in Wisconsin, who'd have thunk it?] Once a majority of employees has signed cards, the union is recognized.

Opponents charge that SB -104, Steinberg’s new bill, not only drops the right to a secret ballot but unfairly penalizes employers for potential violations during union organizing. And opponents are critical that unions are not penalized under this bill for the same type of potential violations during organizing.

The Steinberg bill has the support of more than 20 unions and labor organizations, including the California Labor Federation, the Teamsters, the United Nurses Association and the AFL-CIO...

...Barry Bedwell, president of the California Grape and Tree Fruit League said ... the bill unfairly imposes hefty penalties against employers for potential intimidation, “but has no mention in it about intimidation from the unions.” Bedwell described passage of the bill as “a wholesale license for union intimidation.”

Another disturbing aspect of the bill is that an employee’s card can be signed up to one year before actually being used in a union election, nor is proof of employment required — a decision upheld by the ALRB... Card-check promoters have good reason to be confident that Gov. Brown would not veto Steinberg’s bill.

The genius of Democrat governance is this: it's like a game of political musical chairs. Who ever is left standing when the whole system collapses is the loser.


RED ALERT: Son of Wisconsin Activist Judge Has Anti-Governor Walker Propaganda Littered Throughout His Facebook Page

And I do mean "RED".

Last Friday Wisconsin Judge Maryann Sumi, breaking all court precedent, overruled the electorate, the Wisconsin state legislature and Governor Scott Walker by issuing a temporary restraining order that prevented implementation of the state's new public sector employment law.

Earlier today the invaluable RedState reported:

Judge Maryann Sumi should have recused herself entirely from the Wisconsin battle due to her inability to be neutral in this case. You see, Maryann Sumi has a clear conflict of interest. Her son is a political operative who also happens to be a former lead field manager with the AFL-CIO and data manager for the SEIU State Council. Both the SEIU and the AFL-CIO have members who are public-sector employees in Wisconsin. In fact, as a federation, the AFL-CIO can boast of several member-unions that represent public-sector employees. Maryann Sumi is hardly an unbiased judge in the matter.

Not only that, but Jacob 'Jake' Sinderbrand is a virulent anti-Walker campaigner. Consider, for example, his Facebook page.

Sinderbrand's Marxist crew is linked throughout.

The material is so offensive that it wouldn't surprise me to find out that members of Sinderbrand's posse are among those issuing threats to Wisconsin's legislators and Governor.

Long story short: Judge Sumi has a dog in the hunt.

She's a disgrace for not recusing herself and should be recalled or removed from office if the law permits.


Linked by: Michelle Malkin and AllAmerican Blogger. Thanks!

You Can't Make This Up, Although I Wish I Did [Dan from New York]

Dan from New York:

THIS IS NOT A TEST!

Obama Marks Iranian Holiday (Nowruz)


* * * * * * * * *

Hey gang, here’s a neat idea. Let’s not argue about whether our President is an Islamophile, a crypto-Muslim, a naive sap, a usurper, born on a distant planet, or simply a garden-variety incompetent – any or all of which could be true.

Instead, let’s bury our petty differences and concentrate on finding a rock-solid man or woman to send Obama back to Chi Town as a private citizen the first chance we get, November 2012. It’s the least patriots who love America can do for our country.


Hush, little media children... more death threats in Wisconsin

More Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin are receiving death threats for casting votes, though to read state-run media you'd never have an inkling.

For this kind of news, we turn to a local TV outlet, WQOW in Eau Claire, WI.

State lawmakers receive threats after budget repair bill passes


Lawmakers across the state have been under attack following the passage of Governor Walker's budget repair bill.

State senator Dan Kapanke's car was vandalized, and he says he's received several death threats, forcing him to cancel meetings. The Wisconsin Department of Justice has also investigated death threats sent to other state republican lawmakers, identifying a suspect who was responsible for sending several threatening e-mails.

"I know I have received death threats in my office, and that's very disturbing, and we don't need that kind of activity in Wisconsin, and I think most of us are above that, and hopefully those kinds of things will stop," says Senator Terry Moulton (R-23rd Senate District).

Senator Moulton is hoping the state can be healed, and both republicans and democrats can come together to work on the state's upcoming budget. Sunday night, hear more from local lawmakers about how they think both parties can work together once again.

Last week Noel Sheppard at NewsBusters observed that ABC, CBS, MSNBC, NBC and NPR had all censored news of these death threats.

To give credit where credit is due, it appears only CNN has had the temerity to report the outrageous behavior of the Democrat Party, President Obama's community organizers and the public sector union bosses.

Which means there's probably an IRS investigation or three in their future.

Isn't it lovely to see the collapse of a civilization right in front of our eyes?


Larwyn's Linx: On and On Wisconsin

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

On and On Wisconsin: NRO
WI Fleebaggers Drafted Rule Used By GOP: LegalIns
Outrage as Judge Blocks Wisconsin Union Law: NewAm

America Through the Looking Glass: Hanson
America: a Nation With an Addict's Mentality: RWN
Palin Visits the Western Wall: Cubachi

Obama-Linked Socialists Encourage Militant Protests: Loudon
Rep. Allen West forms ‘Guardian Leadership PAC’: Cubachi
Kucinich: Are Missile Strikes Impeachable Offenses?: Malkin

The Georgia Mosque Controversy: HillBuzz
Nation of Islam: Selective enforcement or protected speech?: LVRJ
Bridgewater Mosque Construction: War of Words: NJ

Economy

WI's 'Dysfunctional' Supreme Court Doesn't Bode Well: LegalIns
SEIU Hit With RICO Lawsuit, Blames…Koch Brothers: BigGovt
Big Payday for Some Hill Staffers: FW

WI Judge Sumi & Her (SEIU, AFL-CIO) Political Operative Son: RS
When even Cuomo is forced to attack...: Tapscott
Budget Nuclear Option: Shut Down Obama Until the Election: PJM

Climate & Energy

EPA’s Greenhouse Power Grab: Baucus’s Revenge, Democracy’s Peril: PJM
No Nukes? Wind Won't Keep Us Warm: RWN
Brazilian oil giant Petrobras told it can use deep-water vessel in Gulf: Chron

Media

Another Rube Self-Identifies: Instapundit
Setting the Pain Record Straight: Bila
Jane Fonda Disinvited from Keynoting Women’s Summit: Malkin (Powers)

Brazil’s Anti-Obama Riots Ignored by Media: BigJournalism
NYT, There You Go Again (4): Palin
Andrew Sullivan: 'I Don't Know Why Anybody Voted for Obama in the Primaries-It's a Clintonian Mess': NewsBusters

NPR Smears Michelle Malkin After Her Cousin Goes Missing: GWP
Wasted Space at the Washington Compost: NRO
So, Shailagh Murray, when did you start dickering with Biden for a job?: Tapscott

World

Obama Punked by the Arab League on Libya: Tatler
Dear Arab League: You asked for this, now shut up: Toldjah
Japan's disaster toll rises with 18,000 deaths: AP

The Great Barack & War Swindle: Driscoll
Egypt’s Protesters Back in Tahrir Square: Referendum Vote Passes – Favors Muslim Brotherhood: MagNote
Flashback to Obama 2007...: BlogProf

Fortunately, We Have Been Using The Smart Diplomacy: JOM
The New Egypt: Muslims Burn Down Church then Kill the Protestors: NewsReal
The Real Reasons Behind Libya Attack: Petrobras, Soros, 3 Women, “New” U.N. Agenda: RWN

SciTech

AT&T to Buy T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion: Wired
Google accuses China of meddling with Gmail: CNet
STELLAService Raises $2M, Tests Online Customer Services So You Don’t Have To: Crunch

Cornucopia

I probably won't fly down to Rio...: MOTUS
Utah Adopts Official State Firearm: JWF
This Week in Automotivators: RWN

Image: Grouchy Old Cripple
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Find Marizela

QOTD: “I think John Boehner has been an incredible disappointment. I think John Boehner has basically climbed into the Bob Dole suit, and I think they misunderstand the lessons of the 2010 election, which is that the tea party chose to work within the diseased husk of the Republican Party it loathes. And it still hasn’t forgiven for 2006 and 2008. So for the Republicans to demonstrate that ‘hey, we’re back to 2006 again,’ except on Obama-level spending, is not a good idea.

We need Republicans to at least take the lead in broadening public discourse,” he continued. “This country is broke. It’s the brokest country in the history of the planet. And the idea of arguing over itsy-bitsy, half a billion here and half a billion there, and continuing resolutions staggering forward every ten days, is preposterous. It’s inadequate to the task. It’s inadequate for the challenge facing America”

...the political institutions of the United States are simply impervious to course correction ... And there are no good conclusions to be drawn from that, because basically what we’re being offered it one party that wants to floor it and put its foot on the pedal as we go over the cliff, and another party that says, ‘Oh, no, no, no, it’s OK – vote for us. We’re only going to go over the cliff in third gear.’ That’s not enough of a choice for a functioning two-party system." --Mark Steyn

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Top 25 #ObamaMissionNames [Bumped & Updated]

Well, the real name -- supposedly -- was "Operation Odyssey Dawn". So the big hash-tag tonight last night listed some alternatives. My favorites?

25. @_EternalRuler_ Operation "bitter Libyan clingers".
24. @irishspy Operation Enduring Narcissism
23. @NotChrisRock Operation Brazilian Wax
22. @Hanif_Ali Operation so that's what the red button does
21. @OMFGitzDLAU Operation, STOP! Hammer Time.
20. @breeannehowe Operation France Backed Me Into A Corner
19. @directorblue Operation Enduring Urkel
18. @TheWardini Operation tear down this tent
17. @dancurry Operation Bracketus Interruptus
16. @krmullins1964 Operation Beer Summit!
15. @AmishFlyers66 Operation Nine Months In The Senate Didn't Prepare Me For This Sh**
14. @krmullins1964 Operation One Term President!
13. @directorblue Operation Waffle Ditherer
12. @jwehrle Operation Back Nine
11. @voltnation Operation Chevy Volt
10. @iowahawkblog Operation Unlike Bush Wars This One Is Justified Because Hey Look A Squirrel
9. @directorblue Operation Panty-Waist
8. @iowahawkblog Operation Summer's Eve
7. @MDMRN Operation Organizing for Libya
6. @xKidAndroidx Operation Call of Duty
5. @libertys56 Operation Nobel Peace Prize
4. @sgo2267 Operation If Michael Moore Calls Tell Him I'm Not In
3. @TRMirCat Operation FINE! I'll do something
2. @_EternalRuler_ Operation "Why can't I just eat my waffle?"
1. @timharder Operation Double Standard

Bonus #ObamaMissionNames:

5. @JimmyJames38: Operation Husky Kid Body Slamming Flea Sized Bully
4. @IowaHawkBlog: Operation Cognitive Dissonance
3. @The_Gnu_JGH: Operation My Own Private Kosovo
2. @djsmuzz: Operation Aimless Fury
1. @ToddRoberts1962: Operation Start without Me
0. @directorblue: Operation Merciless Unicorn


Photo o' the Day: Connections

Doc Holiday:

This picture was taken right after the earthquake in Japan...

...and shows you how every living thing on this planet is connected (Thanks to Billy Zero for the photo)


Crony Capitalism Digest: General Electric to Purchase Immense Fleet of Chevy Volts That Aren't Marketable in the Real World

Every once in a while we get a glimpse into GM's Chevy Volt sales and they always remind me of Chris Farley in Tommy Boy.

'How many Volts did we sell, Tommy?' 'Uhm... ni... niner.' 'I can't hear you, you're trailing off and did I catch a niner in there?'

...General Motors lobbied for a $7,500 tax refund for all buyers, under the shaky (if not false) promise that it was producing the first all-electric mass-production vehicle... At least that's what we were once told... GM has continually revised downward its estimates of how far the machine would go before the gas engine fired, and now says 25 to 50 miles.

It turns out that the premium-fuel fired engine does drive the wheels... It's doubtful that GM would have gotten such a subsidy if it had been revealed that the car would do much of its freeway cruising with a gas engine powering the wheels. [After all, a] hybrid is a hybrid, and the Prius no longer qualifies for a tax credit.

...[The Volt Consumer Reports] tested cost [a] whopping $48,700 minus the credit... [one] reason that Volt sales are anemic: 326 in December, 321 in January, and 281 in February. GM announced a production run of 100,000 in the first two years. Who is going to buy all these cars?

...Recently, President Obama selected General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt to chair his Economic Advisory Board. GE is awash in windmills waiting to be subsidized so they can provide unreliable, expensive power.

Consequently, and soon after his appointment, Immelt announced that GE will buy 50,000 Volts in the next two years, or half the total produced. Assuming the corporation qualifies for the same tax credit, we (you and me) just shelled out $375,000,000 to a company to buy cars that no one else wants so that GM will not tank and produce even more cars that no one wants...

Don't bother waiting for Statist kooks like Anthony Weiner to decry these tax breaks for 'millionaires and billionaires'.

And a related thought: don't liberals read history books? Obviously not, because the last command-and-control economy this size was in a land called the Soviet Union.

And we all know how that turned out.


Hat tip: Moonbattery.

What I Like About Obama

Via Glenn Reynolds, the blog comment of the day, month and/or year.

What I like about Obama

Obviously, the biggest problem with Bush was sending the military into an Arab Muslim country that hadn't even attacked us. Among the several things that made that offensive were

• the rush to war - it was only several months after the possibility of military involvement was raised that combat operations began

• lack of United Nations sanction - only 17 relevant resolutions were ever passed before they were enforced


• lack of Congressional oversight - the President authorized the use of military force based on the flimsy pretext of a bill passed by Congress titled "Authorization of the Use of Military Force", rather than seeking a document that had the words "declaration of war" in it; that's every bit as bad as getting no Congressional approval at all

• obvious financial motives - clearly no one approved of the murderous dictator or sought a normal working relationship with him besides the French; at the same time, one couldn't help but be suspicious of the fact that the population we were ostensibly protecting was located conveniently near the oil fields

• stretching our military - we were overburdened as it was, and our brave military despite its courage lacked the resources for yet another operation

• inflating our military - the only way to keep the bloodthirsty Pentagon beast fed was to give it the hordes of jobless young men who had no prospects in an economy that saw unemployment skyrocket above 4% in most states

• ignoring our generals - the decision to go to war was made by political hacks who had never worn a uniform

• inflaming the Arab Street - despite some touchy-feely talk about Islam, it was impossible for the Muslim world not to notice how the President made repeated, insistent proclamations of his Christianity, how he only ever used the military against Muslim targets, and how at the time the war started he'd kept the concentration camp at Guantanamo open for over a year

• wasting money - it was completely irresponsible to commit the military to an expensive mission when the President's fiscal mismanagement had resulted in a budget deficit of over $150 billion in 2002

But anyway, what I really like about Obama is that he's gone 29-3 in his bracket picks over the first two days. You have to spend a lot of time watching college basketball to be that good.

Wow. I recommend putting ice on that.


An Open Letter to Union Members Only (Not Bosses)

Dear Union Member,

Did you know that your very own union bosses are working against you? Did you know that almost all union officials are out to make themselves wealthier and more powerful -- while impoverishing you in the process? And did you know that this is easy to prove, if you can just assemble the puzzle pieces? Please consider:

Mining Workers - According to a study by the United Mine Workers of America, a new EPA rule cracking down on 'airborne toxins' could cost 250,000 workers their jobs.

Steel Workers - The United Steelworkers wrote last August that the EPA's new environmental regulations would cost "tens of thousands" of union members their jobs.

Farm Workers - Legendary unions like the UFW are threatened by oppressive EPA regulations ranging from oversight of spilled milk to dust kicked up by farm equipment. By making farming more expensive with onerous regulations, fewer dollars can be spent on workers' salaries and benefits. Layoffs of union members will be the inevitable result.

Labor - For at least a dozen years, certain powerful union bosses have advocated open borders policies. In 2000, the AFL-CIO's bosses "called for blanket amnesty for illegal immigrants." And today, despite high unemployment, leaders of big unions like the SEIU still pursue the same policy of "comprehensive immigration legislation (i.e., amnesty)." This could cost union members hundreds of thousands of jobs as lower-wage workers displace American citizens throughout the economy.

When you get your next paycheck, take a minute to calculate how much money is going to union dues (for example, $90). Multiply that by the number of pay periods per year (say, 26). The total (in this example, nearly $2,500) is going to line the pockets of the union bosses and donate exclusively to one political party: the Democrats.

Your money -- the product of your labor, your finite time on Earth spent working -- is being stolen and funneled to the same political party bent on destroying you. The EPA is destroying jobs. The Department of the Interior is destroying jobs. The Department of Labor's open borders advocacy is destroying jobs. All of these immense bureaucracies, which you pay for with your taxes (more money stolen from you) are targeting you, America's backbone.

And they do so with the full knowledge and help from the union bosses who support Democrats.

If you want to save this country for yourself and your children -- to save this country from rampant deficit spending, insane immigration policies, nightmarish environmental regulations -- you need to ignore the bosses whose mansions and boats you're funding with your hard work. You must throw out the Democrats bent on destroying you and your family.

America hangs in the balance.

Sincerely,

Doug Ross


Linked by: Protein Wisdom. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: Death Threats by the Dozens in Wisconsin

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

Death Threats by the Dozens in Wisconsin: Murdock
O'Keefe Receives Death Wish/Threat: WZ
Obama wants to disarm us for our own good: BigGovt

Family Feud: Do Republicans Need A Therapist?: BigGovt
FL judge allows case to proceed under Islamic law: JihadWatch
Chicago Commies, Reconquistadors Unite Against America: MB

On Planet Obama, Life's a Beach: Pundette
Reconquistadors Mob Arizona Attorney General: MB
Sarah Palin Sure Sounds Like She’s Running for President: Powers

Economy

Activist Judge sides with public sector unions, again: AT
The two-trillion-dollar mistake, Take 2: Hot Air
Amtrak CEO's train breaks down on way to Biden station: Malkin

Government Motors Guilty of Fraud on Chevy Volt: MB
Allen West Warns of 'Fiscal Armageddon': Cubachi
Rand Paul Proposes $4 Trillion Budget Cut: Mediaite

Climate & Energy

Another Gulf Oil Spill Near Deepwater Drilling Site – W&T’s Matterhorn SeaStar: SHN
IPCC guru was a student when writing 'authoritative' reports: AT
Guess What’s Building On Mount Kilimanjaro?: RWN

Efforts Underway In Alaska To Dismantle Sarah Palin’s Successful Oil Tax Program, (ACES): NiceDeb
The Reality of Wind Turbines in California: WUWT
Thank God For North Dakota (and Brazil?): Randy

Media

Threats Made Against Ann Althouse; Dan Riehl Interviews The Skel Making The Threats: Ace
Steyn disappointed in GOP: ‘I think John Boehner has basically climbed into the Bob Dole suit’: Caller
Michael Moore rips Obama over Libya: Hill

Questions about Libya: Pundette
Michael Moore Rips Obama Over Libya, Compares Him to Bush, Suggests He Return Nobel Peace Prize: WZ
Andrea Mitchell Explains Why NPR Should Be Funded With Your Money: MB

World

This is Your World without Traditional US Leadership: Greenroom
Chernobyl in perspective: A footnote: Power Line
Obama Plagiarizes Bush: Surber

Obama vs. Obama on War Justification: VS
Palin's Passage to India: sisu
Jets over Libya as H. Clinton Assumes Presidency: Simon

Is "Regime Change" The End Game In Libya?: Ace
“Who The Hell Do You Think Your Are?” Farrakhan Blasts Obama For Calling For Gaddafi to Step Down: FlopAce
Egypt: Hundreds of Islamists Hurl Stones at ElBaradei, Prevent Him From Voting on Constitutional Referendum: WZ

SciTech

RIP Digg.: TechCrunch
The Death of the Telephone: I Won't Miss It: BSF
Watch giant tsunami wave approach a Japanese ship: Jalopnik

Cornucopia

Random Thoughts By Big Marko-D: Clarion
Pick Your Own Regulation: C&S
Man Captures Video of Japan’s Tsunami Wave Rolling in from Inside his Car: WZ

Image: Gateway Pundit
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Find Marizela

QOTD: “Dear News Media:”: "Remember back in ’50s and early ’60s, when we set off something like 900 atomic bombs in Nevada? And how we just let the fallout blow wherever and it landed all over the eastern US? And how it wiped out life as we know it and all that was left from Colorado to the Atlantic were six-legged rats battling two-headed cockroaches in the glowing ruins? ... Yeah. Exactly. So shut up with the panic already."

Saturday, March 19, 2011

JudicialWatch: Misunderstanderers of Islam Recruiting Youngsters to Slaughter Children of Non-Believers

JudicialWatch has released documents it obtained from the Defense Department that detail an organized campaign by Islamofascists to recruit children and to launch terrorist attacks against the children of "non-believers".

• Extremist groups in Saudi Arabia and Yemen used religion as the main mechanism for recruiting juveniles. Extremist groups preferred juveniles who were poor or involved in illegal activities since they made easy targets for recruitment.

• Extremist groups are not looking for a particular characteristic in a recruit, but prefer juveniles who are poor or are involved in drinking and drugs. The juveniles are looking for happiness and fulfillment in their lives, and they have not found it. For these reasons they are susceptible to being brainwashed by extremist groups.

• No juvenile has resisted taking part in an operation. Most juveniles are eager to participate after hearing a religious speech given by one of the trainers at the camp.

• The Terrorist and Extremist Groups (TEGS) justify their attacks on young children (ages 5 through 17) by claiming that the children are either non-believers or children of non-believers. The attacks on children are deliberate actions.

• The attacks on children are psychological operations against non-believers to prevent them from organizing against the TEGS. The TEGS attack schools and buses to maximize psychological effect. Attacks against children in schools and buses are used because they are easy targets. The attacks are conducted to show non-believers how little the TEGS think of non-believers’ lives who are against Islam.

• The TEGS consider attacks on children legitimate. The TEGS believe the attacks on children are a religious good deed and attackers will go to heaven. The TEGS encourage their members to launch attacks on children.

• Juvenile females are recruited into the extremist groups, but not for operational purposes. The juvenile females become brides for extremist members.

If you're waiting patiently for America's un-indicted co-conspirators like CAIR to denounce these 7th century barbarians, I'd advise you not to hold your breath.