Thursday, April 21, 2011

Larwyn's Linx: Obama’s crooked campaign cash-o-matic machine

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Nation

Obama’s crooked campaign cash-o-matic machine: Malkin
Environmental Red Tape Used to Prevent Border Defense: RWN
Obama skips visiting tornado-ravaged south for fundraising: NiceDeb

Reagan Democrats: 'Tea Baggers' or MSNBC Viewers?: Coulter
AZ border agents confirm 'no apprehension of illegals' policy: Lone
Executive Order may cut off funding to Obama's opponents: AT

Has the GOP surrendered on the debt ceiling?: AT
Kloppenburg requests recount in WI Supremes race: Cubachi
Is There Nothing That Obama Can't Do?: SDA

Economy

Clinton Tax Rates and Gingrich Spending Levels: AT
Socialist Teachers Discuss Indoctrinating Public Schoolchildren: Noisy
Bipartisan opposition to Obamacare's Death Panel Board: WZ

Federal Borrowing May Hit Debt Limit in a Week: CNS
Economic déjà vu from 1937 and 1938: DHB
Oil Crisis Just Got Real: China Cuts Off Oil Exports: ZH

Climate & Energy

Times Tough In Gulf One Year Later…Because of Obama: RWN
Red Flag of Earth Day: Noisy
Say, What’s The Deal With The $20 Billion BP Slush Fund?: RWN

Obama's Energy Lunacy: PJM
Apparently, American Teens Knowledge Of Climate Change Hoax Sucks: RWN
EPA Releases Global Warming Rap Song … Hilarity Ensues…: WZ

Media

Can anything Think Progress says about the Kochs be believed?: Tapscott
Papa John's Pulls Web Ads From Wonkette As Site's Editor Continues to Defend Disgusting Post: YWL
Unfettered capitalism? Where?: BSF

NY Times: Why, Yes, Military Spending Should Be Cut To Reduce Debt: RWN
Context Can Wait: CBS News Won’t Release Entire Obama ‘Hot Mic’ Recording: Malkin
Another Democrat That Hates the US Constitution: RWN

Obama's Apologists: AT
Liberals attack Paul Ryan because his father died young, resulting in survivor benefits: WashExam
Businessman Steve Wynn Warns Neil Cavuto the Middle Class Is Under Attack by This Government: WZ

World

Iran, Nukes, and China's Inroads to the Middle East: What's Next Mr. President?: Kahlili
Mounting Evidence of Rebel Atrocities in Libya: PJM
Muslim: “want to live under sharia law, go back to the hellhole country you came from”: Creeping

SciTech

A Warning to Iphone Users: Patterico
Obama jabs Republicans at Facebook town hall: CNet
Google shutting down most of Google Video, urges you to back up your greatest hits now: Engadget

Cornucopia

The Best Quotes From ’100 Simple Secrets Of Happy People’: RWN
Corsi's 'Where's the Birth Certificate?' Hits #1 on Amazon: Dollard
Election Insurance for WTF: Cube

Image: Gateway Pundit
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: MichelePAC!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Tipping Point: Government Cash Handouts Now Top Tax Revenues

If this isn't a harbinger of bad times, I'm not sure what would qualify.

U.S. households are now getting more in cash handouts from the government than they are paying in taxes for the first time since the Great Depression.

Gee, I'm not a math major, but that sounds... how you say in English? ...unsustainable to me.

Households received $2.3 trillion in some kind of government support in 2010. That includes expanded unemployment benefits, as well as payments for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and stimulus spending, among other things... But that’s more than the $2.2 trillion households paid in taxes, an amount that has slumped largely due to the recession, according to an analysis by the Fiscal Times.

Mission Redistribution... Accomplished!

Also, an estimated 59% of the 308.7 million Americans in this country get at least one federal benefit, according to the Census Bureau, based on 2009 data. An estimated 46.5 million get Social Security; 42.6 million get Medicare; 42.4 million get Medicaid; 36.1 million get food stamps; 12.4 million get housing subsidies; and 3.2 million get Veterans' benefits.

And the handouts from the government have been growing. Government cash handouts account for a whopping 79% of household growth since 2007, even as household tax payments--for things like the income and payroll tax, among other taxes--have fallen by $312 billion.

We have incurred massive deficits under the aegis of "Stimulus" that failed to stimulate anything other than public sector union jobs.

We have seen an unprecedented expansion of the welfare state, which is, as the author observes, "a tough feeding trough to take away from voters."

Social Security and Medicare are poised to implode like a twisted Ponzi scheme of such scale that the housing crisis looks like a pothole in comparison.

And, finally, we're headed for an inevitable downgrade of U.S. sovereign debt should conservatives not win the day against Democrats and RINOs.

For if we conservatives do not succeed, our system, our civil society, will remain stable... until it doesn't. And then, somewhere, Cloward and Piven will beam as the most magnificent society ever seen on the face of the Earth begins to crumble.


Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Arabs Introduce National Anthem for New PLO State [Dan from New York]

Dan from New York:

The 1967 “borders” the PLO claims it wants the “international community” to recognize now is another way of saying the “borders” the Arabs flatly rejected in 1948, 63 years from today.

That makes this rockin’ anthem the perfect choice for their new imaginary state.

And the perfect choice for the imaginary 'peace process'.

Diagnosing CBS News with Bipolar Disorder

Dammit, Jim, I'm a blogger, not a doctor -- but I've diagnosed CBS News with all the symptoms of Bipolar disorder. On the one hand, CBS scooped the entire media establishment with its aggressive and groundbreaking reportage of "Project Gunrunner".

Damning, newly-obtained emails show that a key gun shop owner made explicit concerns in writing last year in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms’ “gunwalking” scandal.

Starting in late 2009, ATF allegedly directed an undetermined number of Phoenix-area gun shop owners to go ahead with sales of thousands of assault rifles and other weapons to suspicious buyers...

... Insiders claim ATF knew the buyers were connected to Mexico’s drug cartels, but let the guns “walk” onto the street anyway in a misguided attempt to obtain intelligence... Investigators from Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) obtained the emails this week.

The ATF's stonewalling on Gunrunner has become so obvious that Rep. Darrell Issa today threatened to initiate contempt of Congress proceedings, which could result in fines and jail time for officials.

So while CBS has done yeoman's work on Gunrunner, it simultaneously appears to be censoring a recording of President Obama that could further damage his reelection hopes.

Last weekend, His Presidency Barack Obama was captured making potentially offensive comments to a group of big money donors who had paid large sums of money for special access to His Presidency.

We observed that CBS only released “selectively edited” moments from the raw tape. We know how much the mainstream media values complete and full disclosure of recordings of this nature, so we found it curious, to say the least, that there was not one drop of intellectual curiosity from these guardians of media purity regarding the content of the full recording.

Maybe CBS’s motive has nothing to do with protecting His Presidency from potential embarrassment. Perhaps, like Nixon before them, CBS accidentally erased the portions of the recording that they have not released. Anything is possible, right?

Alas, no. John Romano, Publisher of the blog “Yes, But, However!” has confirmed with CBS’s Mark Knoller (via Twitter) that CBS has decided that they are not going to release the complete recording.

@yesbuthowever Why haven’t you released all of the audio of President Obama’s “donor meeting”? If you have please link?

@markknoller This is my third request. Why will you not release the full audio of Obama’s donor conversation?

@markknoller My editors decided against it.

People can speculate as to what their motive is, but we suspect that they do not want to jeopardize their White House access leading into campaign season by being the ones to release the audio of His Presidency referring to Americans as "slugs."

I tweeted Knoller to ask if he'd heard the entire tape and whether he could summarize the president's remarks.

My jaw will drop to the floor if I get a response.


Larwyn's Linx: Gunrunner - ATF ignored warnings, DOJ ignores requests

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Nation

Gunrunner: ATF ignored warnings, DOJ ignores doc requests: Malkin
Arizona Prospering After SB 1070: RWN
Allen West Unloads on Obama: JWF

Why wasn't Hamas-linked CAIR cofounder prosecuted?: Jihad
The Anti-War Movement and Democratic Political Fans: Volokh
Islamic Honor Killing in Kentucky?: Jihad

Economy

Ex-SEIU Hack Named to Investigate Union Corruption: BigGovt
Fiscal Conservatives Go After Donald Chump: OTB
Jerry Brown's Sweetheart Deal for Corrections Unions: AmPower

Union Pay Chart o' the Day: Malkin
Chump Trump: Ryan's Plan Too Extreme: Ace
Life Expectancy 'Handouts'; Post-Retirement Work: Blumer

Even S&P Gets It: We’re Broke: IBD
Misdirected Death Threats: The "New Tone's" Innocent Victims: Malkin
MI Teachers' Union Sets Up Recall Front Group: BlogProf

Climate & Energy

A roadmap for America's energy future: Nunes
Global Warming Advocates Receive a Chilly Reception from the Supreme Court: Foundry
Why it seems that severe weather is “getting worse” when the data shows otherwise: WUWT

Obama: Don’t Blame Me For Rising Gas Prices After I Did All Those Things To Drive Them Up: RWN
Who can you trust? Or how one Leftist may be breaking free of the Goebbels’ school of Leftist lying: RWN
Charles Manson Endorses Global Warming Hoax: MB

Media

Conservatives hit Beck for taking content without attribution: DC
It’s Deja Ted All Over Again: Driscoll
'Amazon.com Is Doomed!': Power Line

Unprecedented: Liberal Media Dares To Wonder: Did Obama's Plan To Not Have A Plan Speech Backfire?: Ace
Reactions To Obama’s Town Hall, Today: NiceDeb
Obama Tells Kids GOP Will Reduce Deficit “On Your Backs”: GWP

Republicans Need To Learn How To Play The Game On Social Security & Medicare: RWN
Emerging liberal meme: We gotta stop being so gosh-darned ‘tolerant’!: Toldjah
CAIR’s Strong-Arm Tactics in the Cradle of Liberty: PJM

An Interview With Andrew Breitbart: RWN
50 Percent Dissaprove of Obama's Performance; 37 Percent 'Strongly' Dissaprove: WklyStd
Donald Trump Falters on Question Over Privacy, Abortion: LifeNews

World

Steyn: America Doesn't Do Anything Small And If It Does Socialism...: Ace
Wake Up, Critics: Here’s Obama’s Grand Plan: PJM
The Globalists' Takeover of America: NoisyRoom

Nigeria Demonstrates How Muslims Lose Elections: MB
So What Happens If Christians Start To Behave More Like Muslims?: RWN
Venezuela, China Build Ties: NoisyRoom

SciTech

Moonbat Tech: Saving Gaia by Turning People Into Garden Manure: MB
Twading: The Twitter revolution comes to the financial markets: Bloomberg
Tablet sales may hit $75 billion by 2015: CNN Money

Cornucopia

View to a Kill: MOTUS
Progression of Boston Marathon Records: Kedrosky
Aroldis Chapman hits 106 mph on radar: Cincinnati

We Will Not Go Down Without a Fight: MB
The 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8 is the world’s angriest refrigerator: Jalopnik
Obamandius 2012 Slogan Art Contest: CBullitt

Image: BarkingCrayon.com
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Please support MichelePAC

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

And now a message from our sponsor, Government Motors



'They lost in the Supreme Court, they lost in Congress, they lost at the FEC, so now the president is just going to do it by edict'

Is this, as tipster "D&S" calls it, "Obama's Rubicon"?

An "impeccable source" alerts former Department of Justice Attorney Hans von Spakovsky to an imminent presidential executive order that would implement portions of the "DISCLOSE Act".

You may recall the controversial bill that Democrats tried to ram through Congress last year. Its intent was to make it more difficult for private individuals to fund campaign commercials while simultaneously shielding unions from disclosure requirements. In other words, Democrats -- true to form -- intend to limit free speech unless it politically benefits them. Former FEC Chairman Brad Smith characterized the DISCLOSE Act as "Democrat Incumbents Seeking to Contain Losses by Outlawing Speech in Elections Now".

Having failed to limit private speech in the Supreme Court (the Citizens United decision), having failed to pass the DISCLOSE Act itself, and having failed to railroad the Federal Election Commission, the president and his sycophants are using other means to achieve their extra-constitutional ends.

An impeccable source has provided me with a copy of a draft Executive Order (PDF) that the White House is apparently circulating for comments from several government agencies. Titled “Disclosure of Political Spending By Government Contractors,” it appears to be an attempt by the Obama administration to implement — by executive fiat — portions of the DISCLOSE Act.

This was the bill introduced last year by Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Chris Van Hollen to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC. The bill had onerous requirements that were duplicative of existing law and burdensome to political speech. It never passed Congress because of principled opposition to its unfair, one-side requirements that benefited labor unions at the expense of corporations. Democratic commissioners at the Federal Election Commission then tried to implement portions of the bill in new regulations. Fortunately, those regulations were not adopted because of the united opposition of the Republican commissioners.

As my source says... " It really is amazing — they lost in the Supreme Court, they lost in Congress, they lost at the FEC, so now the president is just going to do it by edict."

The draft Executive Order says it is intended to “increase transparency and accountability,” an interesting claim given the fact that federal contractors are already completely barred by 2 U.S.C. § 441c from making [political contributions either directly or to third parties].

...The problem is that this will require companies to delve into the personal political activities of their officers and directors — and require them to report political contributions those employees have made, not out of corporate funds (which is illegal), but out of their personal funds.

And note that these disclosure requirements will only apply to companies that make bids on government contracts. Federal employee unions that negotiate contracts for their members worth many times the value of some government contracts are not affected by this order. Neither are the recipients of hundreds of millions of dollars of federal grants.

When it comes to the radical leftists controlling the Democrat Party, there really appears to be no limit to their disregard for the law.

The Democrats want 'transparency and accountability' requirements levied only upon their political enemies, presumably so that union thugs can harass private individuals. We saw them run this game-plan in Madison, where state officials were subjected to death threats and their homes picketed.

We are seeing the disintegration of the civil society occur right before our eyes.


Hat tip: D & S.

Stop-Action Photos: I can sometimes see the future, and what I see is an IRS Proctoscopy for WFAA Television Reporter Brad Watson

Lesson learned: don't ask the president difficult questions because he's likely to get 'prickly'.

Nobody interrupts POTUS: The outburst heard 'round the world


When the even-keeled and cool President Obama gets prickly in public, it never goes unnoticed... So it’s no surprise that Washington took notice when after a tense interview with a Texas TV reporter on Monday, Obama unclipped his microphone with no smile in sight, and tersely warned, “Let me finish my answers next time we do an interview, all right?”

Perhaps now we know why legacy media blistered Sarah Palin with complex, amorphous policy questions while simultaneously lobbing softballs to Obama.

Kudos to WFAA reporter Brad Watson for his straightforward questioning of the president.

Watson: Why do you think you're so unpopular in Texas?

A: Well, Texas has always been a... uhh... Republican state for... uhh... historic reasons... we, uhh, lost by a few percentage points in Texas --

Watson: ...Actually, you lost by about ten...

...

Watson: Was the shuttle not awarded to Houston due to politics?

A: I just said that wasn't true.

...

Watson: Are you going to campaign in Texas, or is the state written off?

A: I never write off... states and, uhh, I love, uhh, Texas.

Watson: After the interview, Obama pointed out that he doesn't like the interviewer challenging him (Obama: "Let me finish my answers the next time we're doing an interview.")

Has America ever had a more petulant and narcissistic man serve in the White House?

For you drones: that's a rhetorical question.


Hat tip: Memeorandum. Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: A San Francisco Tax Day Showdown

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Nation

A San Francisco Tax Day Showdown: Zombie
Obama Empire Strikes Back on HolderGate Report: PJM
The Single Most Terrifying Thing You'll Read About the Future: RWN

It's All Coming Apart: AT
Westboro Baptist Goes To Mississippi – And Loses: HayRide
If the Shoe Fits...: WZ

Economy

Taxpayers spent $400 billion complying with tax code: Foundry
Club for Growth: Trump Is No Conservative: NRO
Debt Clock in the House Chamber?: Malkin

Obama's 'deficit reduction' claim off by a trillion(+): Hennessey
And Then What?: Ace
LGF: Taxpayers Taking A Bath On GM Is Great News!: RWN

Geithner Confident GOP Will Cave on Debt Ceiling: RWN
Sterilization to be covered under ObamaCare: Ameristroika
If the unions have lost Detroit, they've lost. Period.: AT

Climate & Energy

UN to Debate Human Rights for ‘Mother Earth’ (to get out of paying those parking tickets): Malkin
Will California’s Cap & Trade System Be The First One To Ever Work? Ehr, No Stupid! Of Course, Not!: RWN
Are biofuel policies to help Mother Earth killing her most vulnerable children instead?: WUWT

Gov't Motors Energy Breakthrough - Chevy Volt Also Generates Thermal Energy: LegalIns
Good News! CFLs Now Reported To Release Cancer Causing Vapors!: RWN
EPA: Jobs Don't Matter: IBD

Media

Patient Obama: Hanson
How to Nail Obama On His Lies: Ace
Time Magazine Declares Icemakers to Be a Threat to the Planet: RWN

Donald Trump Is Nothing More Than A Self Promoter, and Let’s End the Birther Nonsense: RWN
Palin: Fresh Breeze In Wisconsin: IBD
AP headline: Super rich see federal taxes drop dramatically. Alternate Headline...: BlogProf

LA Times Reporter Wins Pulitzer For Exposing Corrupt Democrats: GWP
How Do You Solve A Problem Like Donald Trump?: OTB
Coffee Party Protest in Chicago Draws 20 People: JWF

World

Khamenei Rep: ‘Bahrain Primed To Spur Return of Twelfth Imam’: Kahlili
Is George Soros a Communist Agent?: Loudon
U.S. Gov't Agency Plans $2.84 Billion Loan for Oil Refinery—In Colombia: CNS

Monroe Wept: Brazil, Argentina Play Nice with Iran: PJM
Brazil: Iranian cleric recruiting for Islam…in time for the World Cup and the Olympics: Fausta
Andres Serrano's picture of Christ suspended in urine is destroyed in France: AT

SciTech

Dropped iPhone Calls Really Are an AT&T Thing: Fool
Tata: Building an auto empire in India: Fortune
WikiLeaks Cable about Chinese Hacking of U.S. Networks: Schneier

Cornucopia

Caution: Some Easter Spheres may be rotten: Cube
Video: Man spotted ironing his shirts on the M1: AutoBlog
Make Your Kid Rich With a Roth IRA: Forbes

Image: Zombie
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Washington State -- Still Looking for Marizela

Monday, April 18, 2011

Paul Krugman: How Dare Those Idiots at S&P Downgrade Their Outlook on U.S. Debt -- Don't They Know I Won a Nobel Prize?

For a guy who purports to be an economist, Paul Krugman seems far better suited to the role of propagandist. After markets were roiled today when Standard & Poor's shifted its outlook on U.S. debt to "Negative", Krugman reacted with haste and his usual attention to, uhm, detail.

You see, Krugman's a proponent of even more deficit spending and unchecked, centralized government. As such, he treats the very rational reactions to U.S. deficit spending by rating agencies as personal affronts.

OK, so Standard and Poors [sic] has warned that it might downgrade the US one of these days. At first read, what it says doesn’t seem too silly: it lays stress, rightly, on political gridlock. The point should be that the US is perfectly capable both of running large deficits now and getting its fiscal house in order over time; but not if the parties cannot agree on any kind of solution. What we do to spending this year or next is irrelevant.

That said, it’s worth remembering that S&P downgraded Japan in 2002 — and here’s what happened:

Japanese bonds became known as the “trade of death”, because people kept betting on an interest rate rise, and it kept not happening.

So, no big deal.

No big deal.

Dimwit (or propagandist) that he is, Olberkrugmann omits four salient details as context:

• Japan has a huge domestic market for its bonds as its citizens routinely convert savings into government bonds for patriotic reasons, not necessarily because they're sound investments.

• The Obama deficit spending is far worse than we've generally been led to believe: "The bottom line, and probably the main reason for the implicit S&P downgrade of the US, is that comparison [of] the President's budget to the CBO baseline indicates that deficits are expected to rise by 41% over the next 10 years: the CBO projects a deficit of $6.7 trillion while the President's number is $9.5 trillion, a 41% increase or $2.7 trillion." Oops.

• There's a sovereign debt crisis unfolding as we speak with the Greek 2-year bond yield passing 20 freaking percent today.

• And true inflation -- not the bogus "CPI" number -- is running wild with oil, gold, silver, and many food commodities all spiking.

This kind of note from Krugman reminds us why he omits his most important experience from his bio: serving as economic adviser to Enron.


Reuters: 'Capitalism is failing the middle class'

Someone at Reuters named 'Chrystia Freeland' -- if that is her real name -- wasted thousands of bytes of valuable web real estate the other day relaying a study that found 'Capitalism is failing the middle class'. It's as if she believes our economic system really is capitalism:

Global capitalism isn’t working for the American middle class. That isn’t a headline from the left-leaning Huffington Post, or a comment on Glenn Beck’s right-wing populist blackboard. It is, instead, the conclusion of a rigorous analysis bearing the imprimatur of the U.S. establishment: the paper’s lead author is Michael Spence, recipient of the Nobel Prize in economic sciences, and it was published by the Council on Foreign Relations...

...Spence and his co-author, Sandile Hlatshwayo, examined the changes in the structure of the U.S. economy, particularly employment trends, over the past 20 years. They found that value added per U.S. worker increased sharply during that period – 21 per cent for the economy as a whole, and 44 per cent in the “tradable” sector, which is geek-speak for those businesses integrated into the global economy. But even as productivity soared, wages and job opportunities stagnated.

Put yourself back in time 20 years. Take away your cellphone, your flat-screen, your car that does 0-60 in under 8 seconds, your Internet connection, your incredible selection of foods at the local grocery store, and every other innovation of our magnificent (capitalist) free market system.

Is the average worker really worse off now than 20 years ago? Could their quality of life truly be characterized as "stagnant"?

Of course not.

The headline should read 'Crony Capitalism is Failing the Middle Class'.

We've seen decade after decade of bigger, more centralized, government in the United States. The federal government has become so unmoored from the Constitution that it would be well nigh unrecognizable to our nation's founders.

Consider the tentacles that intertwine Goldman Sachs and the U.S. Treasury Department. Or General Electric and the Department of Health and Human Services.

The free market hasn't failed "the middle class" (whoever that is - and, by the way, that phrasing is prototypical Marx-Alinsky class warfare rhetoric).

Monstrous government programs have failed Americans: from disastrous housing debacles like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; the control of more and more elements of the energy sector in the name of a "global warming" fraud; "financial reform" authored by the likes of Barney Frank and Chris Dodd; further centralization of the health care industry; the failing welfare state; open borders; Social Security, Medicare, and dozens of other programs that are little more than legalized Ponzi schemes.

If Americans can ever restrain the government to its constitutional duties, we might truly unleash the "middle class".

What we have today is an out-of-control leviathan of a federal government, mandating our light bulbs, electric cars, low-flow shower heads, what kinds of insurance we must buy, and controlling literally every aspect of our lives.

It's not capitalism that's at fault. It's a bloated federal government and its pal, crony capitalism.


Larwyn's Linx: I Repeat to the Trumka-Obama Class War Cult: Go To Hell

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Nation

I Repeat to the Trumka-Obama Class War Cult: Go To Hell: Breitbart
Tea Time in Wisconsin: NoisyRoom
NC Marines, Army Families Hard Hit by Storms: WZ

PalinTracker: Into the Breach: PJM
President Whatever finds things not going his way: Barone
Fire John Boehner!: JPA

DOJ Source: Muslim 'Outreach' Hurt Terror Investigations: PJM
Protest fashion — pick your favorite from yesterday's event: Althouse
President Obama to ignore 'czar' ban: Politico

Economy

Atlas is Shrugging in California: AmPower
The Benevolence of Greedy Capitalism: TL in Exile
Geithner: GOP leaders say they'll raise the debt ceiling: Hill

Half of All Americans Pay No Taxes, May Get Refund Anyway: GWP
The Obvious Answer to New Jersey’s Pension Mess: Bury
CT Labor Battle Highlights Ticking Time Bomb: RS

Climate & Energy

Oil Without Apologies: WSJ
Gore compares global warming to civil rights movement...: C&S
Unpopular Pat Quinn still taking shots at Scott Walker: Marathon

Media

‘Obama is Not as Nice as He Looks’: Driscoll
The Media is Not, Repeat Not, Biased Against ‘Tea Party Radicals’: Powers
The AP Ponders the "Super Rich": Power Line

Al-Jazeera has fans in Obama W.H.: Politico
Jon Huntsman for President! (of the MSM): Malkin
Democrats' Disgust With Obama: Beast

Content Warning Not Strong Enough for This Video of Leftist Freakout at Oregon Tea Party Rally: Blaze
Film review: Atlas Shrugged: Hot Air
Just finished seeing Atlas Shrugged: DPU

Paul Krugman Calls for the Assassination of Paul Ryan: RS
Tea Party Sues Coldwater, MI For Idiocy And Banning Free Speech, But Mostly For Banning Free Speech: RWN
Obama’s latest words of wisdom:: DPU

World

A Communist Conspiracy?: Nyquist
De facto Sharia in London: ProWis
As Putin Crushes Russia’s Internet, Obama Stands By: PJM

Mexican Drug Cartels Targeting Children: PJM
Say “Goodbye” to the Dollar: Loudon
Oceania has never been at War with Abu Ghraib: Driscoll

How Vittorio Arrigoni Went to Gaza Hoping to Die: PJM
FEC to Investigate Atlas Disclosure: Obama's Millions in Foreign Campaign Contributions: Atlas
Zhou Pledges More Tightening; Moody's downgrades China Property: Mish

SciTech

Windows 8: Portable Workspace allows you to run Windows from a USB device: WinRumors
Awesome 1000 horsepower Chevy powered Ferrari 360 is awesome: Jalopnik
FlyNano: FlyNano

Cornucopia

Saturday Automotivators: RWN
Deconstructing our First Ladies of Lightness: MOTUS
Film claims discovery of nails from Jesus's cross: Maktoob

I'm Ready for My Closeup: iOTW
Ode to the One-Piece Bathing Suit: DPU (NSFW)
Why God Gave Us Ray Guns: C&S

Image: iOwnTheWorld
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: MichelePAC

QOTD: "Barack Obama says we need to 'win the future,' and one more roll of the dice should do it: a trillion dollars of chips on the stimulus came up empty but let’s pile another couple trillion on Obamacare, and 'high-speed rail,' and 'green jobs,' and 'broadband access' . . . And all the while Wayne Newton is singing 'Danke Schoen' in Chinese. But don’t worry, we’re not just throwing our money away. We’re playing to a system! The president calls it 'investing in the future.'

How do you 'invest in the future'? By borrowing $188 million every hour. That’s what the government of the United States is doing. It’s spending one-fifth of a billion dollars it doesn’t have every hour of every day of every week — all for your future!" --Mark Steyn

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Mission Accomplished! Gas Surpasses $4/Gallon Throughout the U.S.

Kids, I finally found a policy position that the President hasn't lied about. Candidate Obama wasn't kidding when he said that energy prices 'would necessarily skyrocket' under his regime of manufactured shortages, drilling bans, cap-and-trade, and refinery shutdowns.

Gas in 6 states, nation's capital tops $4 a gallon


Add New York to the growing list of states where gas prices are topping $4 per gallon.

On Sunday, the Empire State became the sixth state to top $4 for the average price of a gallon of gas, joining Alaska, California, Connecticut, Hawaii and Illinois, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge. The average price of gas also rose to more than $4 per gallon in Washington, D.C., on Saturday.

...The next states to join the list could be Michigan, which has gas for $3.95 per gallon on average, and Indiana, where the average price is $3.94. Nevada, Washington and Wisconsin are close behind... Hawaii has the highest price in the U.S. at $4.48 per gallon. Wyoming has the lowest, at $3.54.

The national average for gas has increased for 26 straight days, and is now at $3.83 per gallon. That's up 29 cents from a month ago. Retail surveys suggest motorists are reacting to higher prices now by buying less fuel. Still, the government expects pump prices to keep climbing this summer as vacationers take to the highways...

No one in the Gulf region is surprised by these developments.

Gulf Coast lawmakers and drilling industry officials say a "de facto moratorium" remains in effect, stifling an industry that accounts for thousands of jobs in the region.

Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee... said 12 drilling rigs have left the Gulf because Interior officials aren't acting quickly enough to approve drilling permits... Hastings and Sen. David Vitter, R-La., are pushing legislation that would speed the permit process in the Gulf, where Vitter said "we still have a virtual shutdown."

The slowdown in the permitting process is intentional and its results will be disastrous for not only the Gulf Coast, but the entire U.S. economy.


Chart: GasBuddy.com

Finally: an Honest 'Stimulus' Construction Sign

Courtesy of Woody, a truly honest construction sign for the American Recovery and Ripoff Act of 2009.

It would be great to have these printed up as full-sized stickers. Interested parties could then overlay them on the ridiculously commonplace construction signs to remind people where this money is really coming from.

Hat tip: Boy Moto.

Linked by: Weasel Zippers. Thanks!

Inside a Chinese Wal-Mart

America has the funniest-looking shoppers. But China has the coolest inventory.

Don't bother surfing over to Snopes. It's just too good to check.


Hat tip: Larry.

And now a message from our sponsor, Government Motors

Timeline Illustrates Precisely Why We Need a New Speaker: John Boehner's Profile in Ineptitude

Can someone send a copy of Negotiating for Dummies to Speaker Boehner? Please consider the Speaker's feckless statements and actions over the last several months -- after being handed his position by a huge groundswell of conservative support known as the Tea Party movement.

1/7/2011: Boehner Doubles Down On Promise To Cut $100 Billion: "Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) yesterday doubled down on $100 billion in cuts. 'No ifs, ands or buts about it,' he said."

2/20/2011: House Approves $61 Billion Spending Cuts, Raising Risk of Federal Shutdown: "Senate Democrats already have said they won’t accept the cuts in the $1.2 trillion spending bill, and Obama’s budget office has threatened a presidential veto. "

3/2/2011: Boehner: Compromise Will Trim GOP’s $61 Billion Budget Cuts: "Responding to a question Tuesday about whether he foresees the House ultimately budging from the $61 billion figure, the Ohio Republican did not say that the chamber would hold firm when the Senate returns their proposal, which will likely include less than a $61 billion reduction in spending levels."

3/10/2011: Tea Party pressures Boehner in budget battle: "Complaints by Tea Party Republicans have already forced Boehner to almost double the amount of spending cuts proposed this year from $32 billion."

4/4/2011: Boehner says $33 billion in cuts is not enough: "I’ve made clear that their $33 billion is not enough and many of the cuts that the White House and Senate Democrats are talking about are full of smoke and mirrors. That’s unacceptable," the Speaker said.

4/7/2011: Interviewed on ABC News, Speaker Boehner vows not to shut down the government over a 2011 "continuing resolution" budget impasse: "I've said that 1,000 times since the first of the year. I do not want to shut the government down. I think that is irresponsible." [Ed: As an aside, the government has been shut down numerous times in recent years including a 21-day impasse during the Clinton administration.]

4/12/2011: Boehner touts fact that ''Budget Agreement Eliminates Funding for Obama Czars' as a reason to support the continuing resolution budget deal.

4/14/2011: Boehner: I’m standing by the $38 billion number: Boehner stands by the $38 billion in cuts, saying that this was really "$78.5 billion less than what the president wanted to spend... [and that he was] very disappointed in [Obama’s] speech yesterday,"

4/15/2011: CBO Says Spending Cuts Aren't As Advertised: "The Congressional Budget Office reports that the $38 billion in cuts to the budget for the current fiscal year will actually reduce this year's deficit by only about $352 million."

4/16/2011: Boehner’s office is not surprised Obama found a way to circumvent Congress, according to a staffer. A spokesman for Boehner said that the Speaker was not surprised that Obama has chosen to ignore the budget rider eliminating funding for the "Czars".

In other words, Boehner held the trump card -- a partial shutdown of the government -- in his hands and threw it away. Without leverage, he was unable to live up to anything resembling his promises. Promises that the American people support and demand.

As Paul Ryan put it after witnessing the president's hyper-partisan campaign speech on Wednesday, "the gauntlet has been thrown down" by Obama. He's gone all in. The big entitlement programs and the American economic system itself are headed for collapse. That's not what I say. That's what Peter Orszag, Obama's former economic adviser, says: 'If policymakers will not act before we have a fiscal crisis at the federal level, a fiscal crisis we will ultimately have.'

We need a new Speaker of the House. Someone who understands that we're up against true sixties radicals. These are people who want to see the whole society burn down. Because that's where we're headed without a major course correction.

We need a fighter and a competent negotiator. Boehner has proven that he ain't it.

How does Speaker of the House Allen West sound?


Chart: the Power of Drudge to Move Stock Prices?

If there's any site that personifies the power of the 'new media' it's The Drudge Report:

The Power Of A Link: How Mere Mention By Drudge Can Send A Stock Price Tumbling


Coincidence? Maybe. But there’s no denying the stories Matt Drudge puts on his Drudge Report get plenty of attention. For bloggers and media types, a Drudge link feels like winning the lottery–suddenly the world’s at your door, eagerly consuming your content. But what if the content in that Drudge link is bad news about your business? Well, that’s a lot of eyeballs reading something you’d rather see buried. Instead, the Drudge link can grab hold of your stock price and sink it six feet under.

Take, for instance, General Motors... Every time Drudge links to a lousy story–like the April 10 story in The Wall Street Journal about a Chevy that lost its steering wheel–the carmaker’s stock falls faster down the edge of the mountain:

So the lesson’s clear–at least for auto makers–make sure your steering wheels stay on tight, and try to get ignored by The Drudge Report.

Uhm, dude. A better approach: try making cars that people want to buy and you won't have to fear publicity.

Larwyn's Linx: Palin to Obama: You ignored us in 2010, but won't in 2012!

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

Palin to Obama: You ignored us in 2010, but won't in 2012!: TRS
Scott Walker Won't Be Recalled, Will Be A Top VP Contender: LegalIns
The Importance Of Donald Trump To GOP Politics: Riehl

Obama: I voted as a Senator to help my career, not the country: AT
Loser Charlie Crist Supporting Allen West's Opponent: WZ
From Evil War Criminal to Democratic Hope: Instapundit

Palin to union members: Walker is saving your jobs!: Cubachi
Rubio blasts Obama at Tea Party rally: Cubachi
Palin in Madison: Veni, Vidi, Vici: Pethokoukis

Economy

Damning Documents Found: Stimulus-funded Gunrunner Project: GWP
A Modern Fairy Tale: Fat in Indiana
My Challenge to Liberals: RightSphere

Preference Cascades and Forbidden Thoughts: Ace
The Anti-Reagan: PJM
GM's new cars: burning up, falling apart, recalled: Uncov

Tax Day Tea Party Protests

New York City Tax Day Tea Party 2011: UrbInf
Tax Day Rallies in Mission Viejo and Oceanside — Stop Spending Money!: AmPower
Welcome to the Tampa Tax Day Tea Party! : Tackett

Climate & Energy

Energy: A Tale of Two Narratives: AT
Can “Extreme Weather” Cause Tectonic Movement?: RWN
April snowstorm closes Interstate-70. Who knew Al Gore was visiting Kansas?: Wolf

Media

Republican Says Obama2011™ Signing Statement Not Constitutional; Obama2008™ Agrees: Malkin
Obama's Speech Was Meant to Reassure the Left: Cost
Hey Anna Wintour! Great Timing on That Mrs. Assad Profile: Manolo

Obama in Leaked Audio: 'Just Try to Repeal ObamaCare,' I Dare You: PunditP
Counter-Counter-Revolutionaries in Wisconsin: Instapundit
“Inappropriate and Denigrating”: RWN

Mark Levin on Why Trump Is the Worst Candidate Ever: Patterico
Best Sentence CXI: RWN
Allen West raises an impressive amount in the first quarter: Cubachi

World

'We Will Conquer The Netherlands': GoV
The Insurrection Is On, But the Masochists are Running the Government: Ledeen
The Fruits of Baathism and Arab Nationalism: JOdysseus

Hezbollah Leader Nasrallah Defends Ties to Syria & Iran – Tells Guerillas to Be Prepared to Invade Israel: GWP
Top GOP Rep: if Palestinians Use UN to Declare Statehood US Aid to Both Could Be Cut: WZ
UC Irvine Students Charged With Disrupting Israeli's Speech Say 'Muslim' An Islamophobic Codeword: WZ

SciTech

Computer Glitch Turns Nissan Leaf Into Non-Starter: TAC
iPhone 4 About To Be Flickr’s Top Camera. Point & Shoots? Pretty Much The Opposite.: Crunch
What App Developers Want: Letters To Steve Jobs And Larry Page: Crunch

Cornucopia

I Still Don’t Think This Will Help: iOTW
Red Flags Popping Up All Over Bank of America: CNBC
How to Launder Money: FPTCI

Image: The People's Cube
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Public Podcast: Sarah Palin’s Madison Tea Party Speech

QOTD: "Our president isn’t leading; he’s punting on this debt crisis. Win the future? The only future he wants to win is his re-election." --Sarah Palin

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Stiff Upper Lip

Papa B:

You have to hand it to the Brits when it comes to golf. This notice was posted in war-torn Britain in 1940 in a north-country golf club.

German aircraft from Norway would fly on missions to northern England; because of the icy weather conditions, the barrels of their guns had a small dab of wax to protect them. As they crossed the coast, they would clear their guns by firing a few rounds at the golf courses. Golfers were urged to take cover.


Cojones!