Wednesday, May 18, 2011

WTF? Your tax dollars helping Government Motors sponsor movie celebrating birth of Chinese Communist Party

Well, this certainly appears to be a wise use of your tax dollars, Sparky.

Cadillac is a beloved American brand. So why is it starring in a propaganda film about the birth of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)? The U.S. government-backed General Motors (GM) has offered the car up for use in a new film celebrating the CCP’s 90th birthday, “The Birth of a Party.”

GM’s sponsorship of this celebration is appalling, considering the bloody history of the Chinese Communist Party and the role it has played in China’s dismal human rights record. The film covers events leading up to the CCP’s creation in the early 1900s. Cadillac announced itself as a “chief business partner” of the communist propaganda film the same year China refused to release democracy and human rights advocate Liu Xiaobo from prison to receive the Nobel Prize. Xiaobo was represented at the ceremony by an empty chair.

...There are certainly nobler causes to sponsor. For example, Heritage’s Dr. Lee Edwards chairs the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. The Memorial commemorates the more than 100 million victims of communism and is represented by a replica of a statue erected by Chinese students in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China in the spring of 1989. An estimated 65 million died as a result of communist brutality just under Mao Zedong. Surely this slaughter will not be part of the film GM is sponsoring...

I hear Iran and Syria are also big growth markets.

Perhaps GM can sponsor a movie about the glory of Jihad, too.


Hat tip: TrendingRight.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Ten million times worse than Valerie Plame: additional UBL mission leaks that we (and they) should not know

Where's Valerie Plame when you need her to screech about real national security leaks?

...The U.S. deliberately hid the operation from Pakistan, and predicted that national outrage over the breach of Pakistani sovereignty would make it impossible to try again if the raid on bin Laden’s suspected redoubt came up dry.

Once the raiders reached their target, things started to go awry almost immediately, officials briefed on the operation said.

...Adding exclusive new details to the account of the assault on bin Laden’s hideout, officials described just how the SEAL raiders loudly ditched a foundering helicopter right outside bin Laden’s door, ruining the plan for a surprise assault. That forced them to abandon plans to run a squeeze play on bin Laden — simultaneously entering the house stealthily from the roof and the ground floor.

...The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe a classified operation. [Ed: which, I believe, is still a crime.]

U.S. officials believe Pakistani intelligence continues to support militants who attack U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and actively undermine U.S. intelligence operations to go after al-Qaida inside Pakistan. The level of distrust is such that keeping Pakistan in the dark was a major factor in planning the raid, and led to using the high-tech but sometimes unpredictable helicopter technology that nearly unhinged the mission.

...Five aircraft flew from Jalalabad, Afghanistan, with three school-bus-size Chinook helicopters landing in a deserted area roughly two-thirds of the way to bin Laden’s compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, two of the officials explained.

Aboard two Black Hawk helicopters were 23 SEALs, an interpreter and a tracking dog named Cairo. Nineteen SEALs would enter the compound, and three of them would find bin Laden, one official said, providing the exact numbers for the first time... Aboard the Chinooks were two dozen more SEALs, as backup. [Ed: release of these numbers is not good.]

...As three of the SEALs reached the top of the steps on the third floor, they saw bin Laden standing at the end of the hall. The Americans recognized him instantly, the officials said... Bin Laden also saw them, dimly outlined in the dark house, and ducked into his room... The three SEALs assumed he was going for a weapon, and one by one they rushed after him through the door...

...Two women were in front of bin Laden, yelling and trying to protect him, two officials said. The first SEAL grabbed the two women and shoved them away, fearing they might be wearing suicide bomb vests, they said... The SEAL behind him opened fire at bin Laden, putting one bullet in his chest, and one in his head.

...Back at the White House Situation Room, word was relayed that bin Laden had been found, signaled by the code word “Geronimo.” That was not bin Laden’s code name, but rather a representation of the letter “G.” Each step of the mission was labeled alphabetically, and “Geronimo” meant that the raiders had reached step “G,” the killing or capture of bin Laden, two officials said.

...As the SEALs began photographing the body for identification, the raiders found an AK-47 rifle and a Russian-made Makarov pistol on a shelf by the door they’d just run through. Bin Laden hadn’t touched them...

And sorry about the "UBL death photo". I think this august journal was the first to post this particular image, and -- based upon the description of the firefight -- it's the only one I've seen that looks like an accurate representation.


Hat tip: JTT.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Love Child? [Photos - Updated]

The impeccably sourced Gawker (heh!) has an intriguing back-story to the Sperminator's shocking admission that he secretly fathered a love child and hid it from his family for more than a decade.

News of Arnold Schwarzenegger having fathered a child with a member of his household staff more than a decade ago shouldn't come as a surprise. The alleged existence of an out-of-wedlock son, including his name and his mother's name, was reported by the London Daily Mail in 2003. That's him playing high school football...

...I just heard from Wendy Leigh, the Schwarzenegger biographer and Daily Mail reporter who broke the love-child story in 2003, and she believes that today's revelations might be about a second love-child. "I'm hearing that this is a different child," she says. "Which means there are two." Leigh stands by her 2003 account Schwarzenegger being the father of Tanner Tousignant, but if what she's hearing today pans out, then Schwarzenegger's statement today wasn't about Tanner. So while he's still a Schwarzenegger love-child, he's not the latest Schwarzenegger love-child.

The boy, Tanner Tousignant, graduated from Brea Olinda High School in Brea, Calif., last year, according to his Facebook profile. His mother, Tammy Tousignant, served as a stewardess on Schwarzenegger's private jet for 20 years. In a story that's no longer online, the Daily Mail's Wendy Leigh outed her as the mother of Schwarzenegger's child just days before the special election that swept him into the governor's office...

Tammy was in her late 20s when Schwarzenegger first strode on to the chartered private plane on which she was flight attendant. He was instantly beguiled by her, and soon, according to several sources, they became romantically involved.

'Everyone knew that she was Arnold's lover - everyone,' said a source who is employed in the tightly-knit circle of the California charter-jet business.

Tammy would fly all over America with Arnold - to Colorado, to Sun Valley - and as soon as the plane landed anywhere, she would disembark with him, climb into his limousine and drive off with him, leaving the crew watching... According to one of Tammy's colleagues, Kristin Campbell, she routinely boasted that 'her baby was Arnold's'. The same claim has been made by two other women who knew Tammy well...


...The Times story originally reported that the anonymous child bore the same distinctive name as one of Schwarzenegger's film characters (that detail has apparently been scrubbed from the current version online); "Tanner" was the name of Schwarzenegger's character in Total Recall. (Even more odd, his brother is named Connor, which is the name of the name of the hero in the Terminator series.)

All that said, the impeccably-sourced Huffington Post (heh!) says that Gawker's story is bunk.

Tousignant's attorney Thomas E. Anthony told RadarOnline.com Tuesday that a paternity test had been conducted and Schwarzenegger was not the father of her child.

“I will confirm the following: the Tousignant child was no ‘love child’ involving anyone other than the parents of the child, Tammy and her husband, Tom Tousignant. Arnold Schwarzenegger was not the biological father of the Tousignant child. All scientific tests confirmed that Mr. Tousignant was the biological father of the child," said Anthony, who represented Tousignant in 2003.

Update 05/18/2011 05:58:

The woman behind the latest Arnold Schwarzenegger-Maria Shriver marriage drama has been identified as Mildred Patricia Baena, 50, by celebrity news website TMZ.com...

Baena, a housekeeper, is reported to have given birth to a boy fathered by the former Californian governor about a decade ago, according to the website. She worked at her $1,200-a-week job, which included cooking, cleaning and laundry, for 20 years until her retirement in January.

Schwarzenegger, who completed his second term as governor earlier this year, is believed to have been supporting the unidentified boy financially since his birth... TMZ.com has also claimed that Schwarzenegger used his Santa Monica office for meetings with a series of women, around five to seven years ago.

Update: Current News has several interesting photos alleged to be the "love child" and Mom.


Update 05/19/2011 20:19: Betty offers this unique snapshot of one of Ahnold's other love children, who she names the "Hasta la vista baby".



Other Photo Essays You Might Enjoy


The Fork in the Road


What really happened


Genocide in Green



Sometimes, try as you might, you simply can't add any snark to a story

He still believes in me.

What kind of political leader tells his supporters this?

My belief in you has not lessened.

President Obama does. That’s what he said toward the end a speech at a campaign fundraiser last night in Washington to a relatively youthful crowd of supporters he was trying spur back toward the energy level of 2008.

He still believes in what he believes, which is also what they believe, he said.

The vision that brought us together in 2008, that’s undiminished in me.

And best of all, our Leader let it be known, thankfully, that he continues to have faith in you and me as well.

The confidence I have in the American people, in their decency, that’s undiminished.  My faith that we can make tough choices on behalf of future generations, that’s undiminished.

I just, I’m just, I’m really just crying right now.

Excuse me.

Okay, I’m better.

Last night I was talking to one of my plants, telling him – or her, who knows?? – that I thought Obama might have lost faith in me.

I told him – or her . . . oh for goodness sakes I’ll just call it “Plant,” – I told Plant that Obama seemed not to be paying attention to people like me. You know, going golfing and skipping disasters and so on.

I was going to write him a letter, saying, “What have I done wrong? What can I do to pleaseth thou and regain thy favor.”

Oh I hate when I slip into King Jamesspeak. Always happens with Obama.

But it turns out he still thinks I’m decent. And he believes I can make choices on behalf of future generations, which I can. I mean, I pick out my kids’ clothes every day.

I will try from now on to do things right, Mr. President. I’ll work for change you can believe in. I won’t give up hope, unless gas hits $5 a gallon. And as a sign of my nearly religious commitment, I will even obey Michelle’s dietary laws.

Because thou hast commanded . . .

Sorry.


There's a word for this kind of behavior.

It starts with 'd'. And ends with 'elusional'.


Hat tip and image credit: Sad Hill News.

Rife for abuse: Nancy Pelosi using Obamacare to reward her friends in S.F.

Not only is Obamacare clearly unconstitutional, it is certain to be abused by political hacks bent on enriching themselves.

It happens everywhere government runs health care: it's used to reward friends and punish enemies. And the opportunist hack known in some circles as "Nancy Pelosi" is among the first to abuse the power.

Of the 204 new Obamacare waivers President Barack Obama’s administration approved in April, 38 are for fancy eateries, hip nightclubs and decadent hotels in House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s Northern California district.

That’s in addition to the 27 new waivers for health care or drug companies and the 31 new union waivers Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services approved.

Pelosi’s district secured almost 20 percent of the latest issuance of waivers nationwide, and the companies that won them didn’t have much in common with companies throughout the rest of the country that have received Obamacare waivers.

...Other common waiver recipients were labor union chapters, large corporations, financial firms and local governments. But Pelosi’s district’s waivers are the first major examples of luxurious, gourmet restaurants and hotels getting a year-long pass from Obamacare...

Congress and government bureaucrats now have the power to reward and punish; to enrich their political allies and bankrupt their enemies; to deny health care services or permit them; to literally play God.

And that is why Democrats jammed through a monstrous bill that purports to be "health care reform". No one read the bill. No one knows exactly what it will do. But they knew enough, namely that it will grant unlimited, God-like power to a select few political hacks.

That's the real 'change' the drones voted for in 2008.


Hat tip: Memeorandum.

Larwyn's Linx: Bachmann likely to run, say senior insiders

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

Bachmann likely to run, say senior insiders: Cubachi
Arizona Hit Squads Targeting Hispanics: JWF
Newt Gingrich apologizes to Paul Ryan: Politico

Radical judicial nominee alert: Goodwin Liu headed for vote: Malkin
Palin on Pelosi's Obamacare Waivers: "This Is Corrupt": DC
Rand Paul: Smackdown!: WretchedNet

Democrats Use Foreign Money to Influence American Elections: RS
Paul Ryan For President?: Pundette
Kloppenburg Digs In Deeper: LegalIns

Economy

Study: Obama's Stimulus Cost 595,000 Jobs: IBD
Reform Health Care Administration and Save Billions: PJM
OH Teacher's Union React to SB5 with... Dues Hike: BigGovt

Illegal aliens get in-state tuition: RWN
The Unraveling of a Ponzi Scheme: BigGovt
Expensive Gas: It's the Weak Dollar, Stupid: WashExam

If Only Wal-Mart Would Start Supplying K-12 Schooling!: Hayek
NLRB wants unions to control business: WashExam
White House to Honor Schools Promoting ‘Environmental Literacy’: Malkin

Climate & Energy

Eco-Tard Math is Fun: CBullitt (Language Warning)
Who’s Up for $50 Light Bulbs?: Malkin
Perfect: Alleged GOP Candidate Huntsman Believes in Global Warming: Hill

Media

Fisking a fact check: Surber
No Newt Is Good Newt: Shiver
How About Santorum?: Zilla

Gingrich and Romney run against their own party: Barone
Glenn Beck Announces “Rally In Jerusalem” In August: NoisyRoom
Pic' of the Day: Gas Facts: RWN

And the Role of John McCain will be Played By…: Driscoll
Newt’s Tuesday Blogger Conference Call: RWN
Obama’s fundraising quarter worse than expected thus far?: HotAir

World

Bordering on War: Power Line
Abbas' Lies Contradicted From His Own Mouth: JoshuaPundit
Coptic Christians slaughtered in Egypt as the world looks away: Australian

U.S. Weapons in Cartel Hands? Blame Uncle Sam: PJM
Sources: Raiders knew mission a one-shot deal: NavyTimes
French News Sites Describe Breast Size of Strauss-Kahn’s Rape Accuser: RWN

Visegrad: A New European Military Force: Stratfor
Nakbacide: Greenfield
A Brief Guide to Why 1948 Was a Palestinian Arab and Arab Disaster: BRubin

SciTech

Sweeping bill would update privacy law: CNet
Groupon launching biggest deal yet, with Quiznos: ChiBiz
Sony needs to do more for PSN customers: CNet

Cornucopia

Arnold Schwarzenegger is...: iOTW
Only Israel: Yedida Freilich
I Love the Smell of Rich in the Morning : MOTUS

Image: 'Young Nancy Pelosi', provided by JM
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: TrendingRight.com - real-time conservative news

QOTD: "Sperminator: Now it makes sense... ...on a related note, there are unconfirmed reports of a strong-looking, naked 10-year old Hispanic boy (with sharp Austrian features and little caveman eyes) running around LA neighborhoods demanding other little boy's "clothes, sneakers and bike" --JTT

Larwyn's Linx: Gingrich vs. Ryan: No contest

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

Gingrich vs. Ryan: No contest: Pundette
America's Most (Un)Wanted Judges: PJM
Surprise! Obama's ACORN Thugs Preparing for 2012: AmSpec

Now Nursing Homes Wants Obamacare Waivers: Malkin
Tea Party activists expose gift cards for votes scam!: BigGovt
Trump exit signals end to silly season: Politico

Gingrich to House GOP: Drop Dead: WSJ
Soros-funded MoveOn.org plans to astroturf West's town hall: WZ
Dems Target Allen West Because They're Terrified of Him: HotAir

Economy

Shared Scarcity versus Renewed Prosperity: Ryan
Myth-busting the Debt Limit: Foundry
Obamacare Tax Hikes: One Down, Twenty to Go: ATR

Goal of NLRB attack on Boeing: Back-door Card Check?: ShopFloor
CA State Workers Paid $100K+ For Unused Time Off: BlueCol
Union whistleblowers: beaten and harrassed for reporting fraud: NYDN

HUD’s “affordable housing” wasteland: Malkin
The Agency That Would Not Die: PJM
Obama Tells Companies to 'Step Up' and Hire Workers: CNBC

Climate & Energy

Former global warming alarmist scientist admits it is false science: BlogProf
Democrats try to disguise real reasons for high gas prices: RWN
The Global Warming Gravy Train: RWN

Media

The End of an Idea — Why Affirmative Action Should Stop: Hanson
Guess what, federal workers? Obama just stole your retirement money!: WyBlog
What's with The Joker picture of Ryan?: BackCon

Iowan to Gingrich: Get out now before you make a bigger fool of yourself: WashExam
Obama Too Busy To Attend Annual Memorial Service For Fallen Police Officers: NiceDeb

Local Liberals Reluctantly Replace their Sarah Palin Obsession with Koch Brothers: Doswell
Someone tell David Gregory that this food stamp chart is racist!: Glob
(1857) Frederick Douglass, “If There Is No Struggle, There Is No Progress”: BlackPast

World

'Die Welt': Iran building rocket bases in Venezuela: TAB
Hamas and Muslim Students Association Plan To Finish The Job Hitler Started: NiceDeb
Many in EU want to end “borderless” Europe: HillBuzz

Jan Schakowsky (D, IL): SEALs are criminals!: RedState
U.S. Imams Plot to Murder & Maim: Ransom
Money Troubles Take Personal Toll in Greece: NYT

Terrorist Admits to Sneaking 7 Al-Qaeda Members Across Texas-Mexico Border: GWP
Appropriate activity for Genocide Day: Phillips
Australia Largest Muslim Group Asks Government to Introduce Sharia Law; Gov’t Tells Them to Go Pound Sand: WZ

SciTech

How Google Is Secretly Building Its Facebook Killer: Insider
Are mobile phones causing the decline in bee numbers?: Crave (UK)
Apple, Google leagues ahead in mobile developer survey: CNet

Cornucopia

How close to a train track can you set up a vegetable market?: Wimp
Sneakers, Obots and Hucksters : MOTUS
Southwest Tells Mother & Daughter They're Too Fat To Fly, Apologizes: Consumerist

Image: Wired Magazine
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: "Trapped Under the Pack-Ice", an Adventure Story

QOTD: "...the sooner Greece defaults, the better off it will be. The sooner the IMF, ECB, and EU accept the fact that Greece is insolvent and cannot possibly return to growth via forced austerity, the better off the Euro-Zone will be.

Greece needs structural reforms but is not savable. Nor is Ireland, Portugal, or Spain. What can't be paid back, won't be paid back. Bond-holders are going to learn a much needed lesson." --Mike Shedlock

Monday, May 16, 2011

My Response to HuffPo's "Constitutional Expert" Deemed Too Controversial by Moderators, Censored for Using Facts, History, Logic and Reason

What's funnier than a Michael Moore and Keith Olbermann comedy team? Why, the idea of a "constitutional expert" opining at The Huffington Post.

Please consider the pitiful Dr. Leon Friedman -- if that is his real name -- who claims to be a professor of Constitutional Law at Hofstra Law School. Parents of students planning to attend law school: I feel safe in telling you that you can cross Hofstra off your child's list.

A federal appeals court has just heard the first appeals from lower court decisions dealing with the constitutionality of the federal health care law (alternately called "Obama care" and the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act"). A Virginia judge and a Florida judge (both appointed by Republican Presidents) have decided that Congress lacks power under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution to pass the federal health care law. Three other federal trial judges (appointed by Democratic Presidents) had upheld the law...

Why [must] ... Congress ... rely on specific enabling language in the Constitution that, according to those judges, must be as narrowly defined as possible? Why should there be strained and unrealistic limits on Congress' power to "regulate Commerce... among the several States," the broad language of the Constitutional provision?

...[Historically, the states formed a] central government [that] could also produce "certain blessings" for the people, according to Randolph. "Under this head may be considered the establishment of great national works--the improvement of inland navigation -- agriculture -- manufactures -- a freer intercourse among the citizens."

...The idea that the federal government should have fewer legislative powers than the states is based on nothing more than a perceived problem that existed 224 years ago and no longer has any force today.

Of course, Congress must rely on the specific words of the Constitution as a basis for any legislation, as the Republicans and the Tea Party insists. But those broad words -- "general welfare" "regulate commerce" -- must be read in accordance with the economic reality of our time, not the time in which the Constitution was ratified...

...Today's federal courts should follow the same path and uphold legislation like the Obama health care law that correct problems having a serious impact on our nation's economy and do effect "Commerce... among the several states".

The ideologically-driven notion that we cannot let Congress pass laws unless we can link them to specific language in the Constitution that must be as narrowly defined as possible must be rejected.

Horse-hockey, Dr. Friedman. This is simply your feeble excuse to shred more of our Constitution.

So far from its founding has America come that it would be well nigh unrecognizable to the Framers.

As for your ridiculous contention that you may adjust our highest law to meet your perceived needs, may I pose a hypothetical?

How long before my mortgage becomes "living and breathing"? After all, my "economic reality" now may not match the time at which it was written. And what's this magical expiration date you've arbitrarily assigned to our highest law? Does it apply to any law?

And if the federal government can arbitrarily control all commerce, what prevents it from mandating shelter for everyone? Or food? And what measures must it use to compel adherence?

Let us consult James Madison, principal author of the Constitution, who utterly rejects your assertion.

I entirely concur in the propriety of resorting to the sense in which the Constitution was accepted and ratified by the nation. In that sense alone it is the legitimate Constitution. And if that is not the guide in expounding it, there may be no security for a consistent and stable, more than for a faithful exercise of its powers. If the meaning of the text be sought in the changeable meaning of the words composing it, it is evident that the shape and attributes of the Government must partake of the changes to which the words and phrases of all living languages are constantly subject. What a metamorphosis would be produced in the code of law if all its ancient phraseology were to be taken in its modern sense.

Such is the philosophy of the Democrats, who believe that the end always justify the means.

Tyranny: that is what we oppose.

The British philosopher John Locke was deeply interested in a design for government that would prevent it from descending into tyranny. In the late 17th century, Locke argued that monarchs had no "divine right" to rule; instead, he asserted that the source of power lay in the people. Furthermore, he stated that humans were born into this world with certain natural and "inalienable" rights including to "life, liberty and property". Locke believed that government could not grant these rights because they were God-given; therefore, no government could take them away or withhold them from the people.

Thomas Jefferson used Locke's concepts as central tenets when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. He proclaimed the government's foremost duty was to protect the sacred attributes of the individual.

We conservatives are originalists: If the Constitution's meaning is not interpreted as the framers intended, if it can be altered at will, then what protects any law from arbitrary interpretation, from the capricious whims of the ill-intentioned?

To create a man-made right to health care, you must first assume control of people's lives: doctors and nurses, to name but two groups of free people. You must compel them to deliver services, perhaps to change their residences and places of work, you must violate their God-given natural rights -- their freedom! You must truly enslave them to grant your man-given rights!

Where are your limits on government control, Dr. Friedman? What are the limits on your evisceration of our Constitution?

And that question is one that this alleged excuse for a "Constitutional expert" cannot answer.

Which is why the moderators refuse to even allow it to be seen.


Related: Write Your Own Laurence Tribe Op-Ed -- How the Constitution Empowers the Federal Government To Do Anything It Wants!.

I Don't Know This Newton Gingrich Fellow, But I Do Believe He Could Give Mr. Obama a Real Run for His Money In the Democrat Primary

This young Gingrich fellow cuts a fine figure on the Sunday talk shows, really laying into those Rethuglican upstarts. Just listen how incensed the Right's puppetmaster, a Mr. Rush Z. Limbaugh, becomes in describing Newton's fabulous policy positions.

I am not going to justify this. I am not going to explain it. The attack on Paul Ryan, the support for an individual mandate in health care? Folks, don’t ask me to explain this. There is no explanation!

...What do you mean, if I don’t explain it, who will? There is no explanation for it. First off, it cuts Paul Ryan off at the knees. It supports the Obama administration in the lawsuits that 26 states have filed over the mandate. I guess, what? Back in 1993, Newt supported an individual mandate, everybody should buy insurance. I am as befuddled as anyone else is what I’m telling you.

Anyone who can befuddle Limbaugh deserves the utmost respect from Democrats, of that you can be sure.


The Border Protest You Never Heard About

President Obama visited El Paso, TX on May, 10th and mocked those concerned about border security with tales of "moats and alligators". Upon hearing this rhetoric, a group of citizens directly impacted by Democrats' open-borders policy decided to take action, not that you'd ever hear about it from legacy media.

The residents of the Chiricahua-Peloncillo drug and human smuggling corridor that runs from the Mexican border north through eastern Arizona and western New Mexico are circulating a petition to send to the White House in response to President Obama's recent immigration speech.

"It is with great wonderment and sadness that we listened to your May 10 speech on immigration issues. All of the joking about moats and alligators cut residents of Portal, AZ, to the core as we sheltered with friends or at a Red Cross evacuation site, to survive a terrible fire that still threatens our lives and property, as well as our ecotourism-based economy," the letter reads.

On Sunday, a massive fire broke out in Horseshoe Canyon, about 50 miles north of the Mexican border, which residents and law enforcement say they believe was started by criminal illegal aliens. Last year, a fire in the same location caused more than $10 million in damages.

"During its first 24-hrs, the fire consumed a greater area than did last year's fire over a 6-week period. Local residents were roused after midnight, and some slept fitfully in cars after fleeing with family photos and any valuables that could be quickly assembled. Elderly retirees left with medical supplies, including oxygen tanks on which some depend," the letter reads.

...Jeff Gee, one of the organizers behind the petition and a firefighter battling the still-burning fire in Horseshoe Canyon, says he was insulted by Obama's speech... "We’re doing everything we can to get the word out that this is serious problem, it’s not just a border issue, the drugs and crime are moving through the corridor and they keep going to major cities. I don’t know if this letter will help, but nothing else is."

Cochise County, Ariz., Sheriff Larry Dever, who penned an op-ed in The New York Times Friday describing the plight of border residents, [said] that the petition is a plea for the administration to take a closer look at the hardships they are suffering... "These people are not overreacting. What they suggest in letter is very deep part of their belief system based on their experience and their experience has been horrific -- they see human smuggling and drug trafficking, they sit on their porch and watch people walk through, they've had their homes burglarized," Dever said.

...In the letter, petitioners say that despite the president's protestations, "neither the border nor daily life" is secure... "Seizure of record quantities of drugs may pad the statistics of Homeland Security, but it does nothing to ease the burdens we have been forced to bear. Over the years, as our homes have been burgled or invaded, our fences, water lines and windows repeatedly broken, our businesses driven toward bankruptcy, our natural surroundings desecrated by trash and fire, and our lives even obliterated (neighbor Rob Krentz, murdered by a drug scout), it has amazed us how little note is taken of these tragedies by our government and the press," the letter reads.

Unfortunately, these pleas are certain to fall on deaf ears, because the Democrats need the votes, man!

And I don't mean the votes of legal immigrants, Hispanic or otherwise. I mean undocumented Democrats.


Michele Bachmann Has a Question for You

And the question is:

Unfortunately, there was no Hellz, no answer, so I just voted No.

I support Michele Bachmann, a true Constitutional conservative. Let her know where you stand.


Top 12 Photos From the 'Finish What Hitler Started' Rallies #nakba

"Right of return" is a synonym for the right of the Palestinians to invade Israel. And the Palestinian people are so incredibly violent that they've been walled off by their Muslim brothers in both Jordan and Egypt. You don't hear much about those security fences, but when it comes to the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan and Egypt keep their distance from the barbarians for good reason: they get killed if they don't keep the walls in place.












And Israel is, of course, the proverbial "canary in the coal mine" for Western Civilization.


Images via: Atlas Shrugs, W.P., and Conservative Tree House.


Larwyn's Linx: Newt Stumbles Out of the Gate

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

Newt Stumbles Out of the Gate: Malkin (Powers)
Is Obama really going to run on the GM bailout? Really?: RWN
Allen West for President? Some Hope So: NAM

Gingrich, Romney Implode on Health Care: AmSpec
Is Bill Richardson Involved in New Pay-to-Play Allegations?: HotAir
Memo to Gingrich: Get Lost. Now.: AmSpec

Federal task force refuses to investigate NYC bomb plot: WZ
Muslims Rally for Genocide in NYC: Atlas
Ellison: Obama Must Tell Muslims We're Not at War (Again): WZ

Economy

Could Technical Default Today Save America?: BigGovt
Social Security deficits now ‘permanent’: RWN
LIRR engineer pulls in $250K with OT pay: NYDN

A Verdict on Obama's "Stimulus" Plan : Power Line
Ron Paul's Hypocritical Fiscal Irresponsibility: RWN
Oh, and About Obama Capturing Ohio in 2012...: PittLive

Climate & Energy

CO2 Mitigation: It’s Dopey: Monckton
Figures: NASA-Funded Group Doctors Sea Level Data: BlogProf
Obama Announces New Oil Drilling for EPA to Block: Malkin (Powers)

Media

AP-GfK = Absolutely Pathetic Garbage for Koolaiders: Blumer
David Gregory: Hey, Isn't It Racist To Say A Black President Presides Over a Poor Economy?: Ace
Brit Hume warns Obama is ‘toast’ if current conditions persist: DC

How Drudge Has Stayed On Top: Carr
Patterico Criticizes Google; Gets Locked Out of Gmail: Patterico
Media Amnesia: Why Has No One Reported Obamas Massive Egyptian "Spring" Misread: NEN

Top 10 Most Obnoxious Hollywood Liberals: HE
Nate Silver: Palin In Strongest Position to Fill the Hole Created by Huckabee’s Exit: C4P
SNL Parodies Obama’s El Paso Immigration Speech: SAB

World

Obama's inexcusable indecision on Syria: Jacoby
Nakba Violence Erupts in Middle East — Analysts: Iran, Syria Leveraging Arab Spring to Destroy Israel: AmPower
Read It Now: The Possible/Probable Main Crisis for 2012: BRubin

From the Muslim World, Big Donations to American Colleges: PJM
Turning Point in the Arab-Israeli Conflict?: Pipes
There were two groups of refugees in the '48 war, though only one gets any attention: INN

Police Raid Florida Mosque in Politically Correct Fashion: AT
Obama's Intuition Stinks: iOTW
Fury at Iran's 'eye-for-an-eye' acid punishment as sentence is branded 'cruel and inhumane': DailyMail (UK)

SciTech

Air beware: 2.3-pound Samsung laptop hits stores: CNet
Serious Failure: DailyWTF
Google's Chrome OS: Start small, then build: CNet

Cornucopia

This Week in Automotivators: RWN
Other Cultures Are Much Superior To America’s: iOTW
The Rise of "Logical Punctuation".: Slate

Bin Laden's Harem pictures: FreakingNews
It's Still 1930 for 'Progressives': iOTW
Jewels from one of Britain's richest women on sale: CNS

Image: What Time Is It?
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: TrendingRight: conservative news headlines in real-time

QOTD: "You don't have any 'right' to medical care... medical care does not appear out out of [thin air]. Acquiring an MD is a long and expensive process. Hospitals and medical equipment costs money. When you say that you have a 'right' to health care what you are really saying is that you have the right to the labor and resources of others." --davidscommonplacebook

Sunday, May 15, 2011

White House approves 200 more Obamacare waivers; but, unfortunately, won't tell us whose applications were rejected

Will the few remaining defenders of Obamacare finally capitulate when the total number of people receiving waivers exceeds those still in the program?

The Obama administration approved 204 new waivers to Democrats' healthcare reform law over the past month, bringing the total to 1,372.

The waivers are temporary and only apply to one provision of the law, which requires health plans to offer at least $750,000 worth of annual medical benefits before leaving patients to fend for themselves. Still, Republicans have assailed the waivers as a sign of both favoritism and of major problems with the law.

"The fact that over 1,000 waivers have been granted is a tacit admission that the healthcare law is fundamentally flawed," Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said in March...

...Upton is one of three House committee chairmen who has used new oversight powers to investigate the annual limit waivers...

There is a movement afoot that would allow you to apply for your own, personal waiver.

I wonder what would happen if, say, 75 million people applied for one?


No, it's not a story from the Onion: Zimbabwe worried about U.S. dollar as reserve currency, urges move to gold-backed standard

How bad are the dollar's prospects now that President Obama has bankrupted the Treasury with "Stimulus" programs, "Cash-for-Clunkers", "Green Jobs", the auto bailout, HAMP, HEMP, and everything in between? This bad.

THE central bank says the country must consider adopting a gold-backed Zimbabwean dollar warning that the US greenback’s days as the world’s reserve currency are numbered.

Government ditched the Zimbabwe dollar in 2009 after it had been rendered worthless by record inflation levels and adopted multiple foreign currencies with the US dollar, the South African Rand and the Botswana being the most widely used.

“We need to re-think our gold-mining strategy, our gold-liberalisation and marketing strategies as a country. The world needs to and will most certainly move to a gold standard and Zimbabwe must lead the way.”

Gono said the inflationary effects of United States’ deficit financing of its budget was likely to impact other countries to leading to a resistance of the green back as a base currency.

... “The events of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis demand a new approach to self reliance and a stable mineral-backed currency and to me, Gold has proven over the years that it is a stable and most desired precious metal,” Gono said.

“Zimbabwe is sitting on trillions worth of gold-reserves and it is time we start thinking outside the box, for our survival and prosperity.”

Zimbabwe is only the latest in a series of countries, whose leaders are to the right of President Obama (like Red China, for instance), who are demanding an end to America's insane levels of deficit spending.

Given the Cloward-Piven Strategy the Democrats are implementing, said advice is certain to fall on deaf ears.


Linked by: Ace o' Spades. Thanks!

Demonizing Conservatives. Literally! [Photo]

Dan from New York:

The Joker?


This is a picture by Reuters of Rep. Paul Ryan, Chairman of the U.S. House Budget Committee, at a dinner hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama in the White House on May 2, 2011. It appears as a photo illustration accompanying an online Reuters story today about budget negotiations. Anybody who has ever worked in the news media knows that dozens of photographs (or scores) are taken from many angles and then evaluated before one is approved for publication.

Hurry and click the links before Reuters’ twits realize what twits they are and pull the shot down.


Hint for legacy media: this continual demonization of Republicans is getting old and tired. Like legacy media itself.


Linked by: iOwnTheWorld. Thanks!

Texas officials: ATF touched off 150-acre wildfire

With a major drought and 2.5 million acres consumed by flames, Texas has been repeatedly rebuffed in its efforts to have the state declared a 'major disaster' area by FEMA. The Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, and other officials believe the White House is pursuing a "political vendetta" against Texas by refusing aid.

On top of that, it would appear that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms may have touched off another wildfire that destroyed 150 acres.

The fight between Texas and Washington, D.C., over wildfires in the Lone Star State just got nastier... A county official in the Texas Panhandle is now blaming a federal agency for starting one of the fires through carelessness.

Tom Edwards, the county attorney in rural Motley County east of Lubbock, said on Friday that the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives was responsible on Tuesday for sparking a fire that consumed 150 acres.

"You can quote me on it: That bunch has a real corner on stupid," Edwards told Reuters.

Tom Crowley, a spokesman with the federal agency, said bureau officials were assisting four local bomb squads -- at their request -- to destroy some explosives. Firefighters were on hand, he said. The wind picked up, but the explosives were too dangerous to move, so the officials went ahead and destroyed the explosives.

..."We've got the federal government that has refused to provide assistance to the state on the request of Governor Perry because of all our statewide fires, and then in waltzes federal agents and they start a fire," Edwards said... "We had high winds, we're under a burn ban because of extensive prairie fires, brush fires, and in they rolled with the idea of blowing up things."

...Fires covering some 203,000 acres were still burning as of Friday, according to the Texas Forest Service. The state remains dangerously dry, with 47 percent of Texas listed as in "exceptional drought" by the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Along with Gov. Perry, Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison have repeatedly blasted the White House for denying the state's request for a federal disaster declaration.

Cornyn observes that the state has not even entered the hottest months of the year and that the unfolding disaster will be worsened by the Obama administration's Chicago-style machinations.


Hat tip: Drudge Report.

Israel invaded on three fronts

In the Golan Heights, in Gaza and in Jerusalem, Palestinians used the anniversary of Israel's birth to launch attacks on our only Democratic ally in the Middle East.

Dozens of people were injured when Israeli troops opened fire as a group of demonstrators from Syria tried to break through a border fence at the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Forty-five people were injured in the incident.

Across the West Bank and Gaza, hundreds took to the streets in demonstrations marking the anniversary of Israel's creation in 1948.

In northern Gaza, at least six people were injured when Israeli soldiers opened fire on a group of young demonstrators approaching the border.

Outside Jerusalem, soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets to break up a group of people throwing stones.

Israel had heightened security in anticipation of unrest leading up to Sunday's protests marking "Naqba" - or "the catastrophe." Some activists have called for a new "intifada" - or uprising - against Israel.

I believe that it was Reliapundit, in a prediction written a couple of days ago, who was the first to predict the outbreak of the 'Third Intifada'.

These 'protests' are thinly-veiled proxy attacks organized and funded by Iran, Syria, Egypt and the other 7th-century barbarian extremists.

How's that 'Democracy Movement' working out, Sparky?


Hat tip: Dan from New York.

Larwyn's Linx: Huckabee Is Out: Who It Helps and Who It Hurts

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

Huckabee Is Out: Who It Helps and Who It Hurts: RS
WI Dems Seek To Throw Out Legitimate Votes: LegalIns
Romney's Fix: Steyn

Escape from New York State: Driscoll
Department of Pre-crime: NRO
Second Amendment Rights not Assured Despite Court Wins: PJM

Bill Clinton: Hey, let’s have a Ministry of Truth, or something: HotAir
American Convert to Islam Injured While Making Powerful Bomb: WZ
Christie, Walker may back Daniels if he runs: HotAir

Economy

Democrats: Where. Is. Your. Budget?: Power Line
Senate GOP Embarrasses Dems Over Boeing: PJM
Worst Recovery Ever For Small Businesses: Mish

A phony buyer of $19B in Treasurys a week: ZH
The NLRB’s Ironic Lawsuit Against Arizona: HotAir
What does a trillion dollars look like?: ZH

Climate & Energy

The Facts and Obama's War On Domestic Oil & Gas: Wolf Howling
Obama ‘s Weekly Address: Drill, Baby Drill!: GWP
Finally: The Climate Scientist Rap: JWF

Media

Is This Too Much?: Surber
AP Tars Tea Party Movement as ‘Grandfathered’ By Ron Paul: RWN
Hip hop mogul Russell Simmons slams Sean over rapper criticism: Hannity

Newsweek-CNN’s Fareed Zakaria regularly advising Obama: Creeping
Evidence Aplenty That “Nitecruzr” Represents Google: Patterico
Krauthammer Scolds 'Inside Washington' Host for Calling GOP 'Mediscare' Letter Hypocritical: NewsBusters

With Obama Back Under 50% Job Approval Rating, Suddenly Obama Stands for Oil Drilling: ScarMonk
NJ high school student challenges . Michele Bachmann to a duel: RWN
Top 10 Hoaxes Perpetrated by the Left and Trumpeted by a Complicit Media: NewsReal

World

The real housewives of Abbottabad: Tatler
Everything You Wanted To Know About Porn, Weed, And Toilets In Afghanistan: DeadSpin
Smoke the Donkey is an American now: Marathon

72 Years Ago Great Britain Left Jews To Die In The Holocaust: Lid
Turkish Association in Germany Calls for Autonomous Government for Turks : StopTurkey
In repressive North Korea, facelifts and skinny jeans are in style: GloPost

SciTech

Facebook-Google rivalry intensifies with PR fiasco: MyWay
Nvidia CEO: Why Android tablets aren't selling: CNet
Social Gamer Zynga Isn't Playing Around: IBD

Cornucopia

Wine: It's All In Your Head: Post
Silver lining for music fans in Lime Wire case: CNet
Ancient 'debit card' discovered in Saxony-Anhalt: TheLocal

Image: Via Don Surber
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: TrendingRight: conservative news headlines in real-time


Saturday, May 14, 2011

One Less RINO to Worry About: Huckabee Bails on 2012 Bid

Well, that's one less RINO we need to worry about.

In the end, Huckabee decided that he didn't want to abandon the media empire that he has built since his failed presidential bid four years ago. In addition to his TV show, Huckabee hosts a nationally syndicated radio program, gives paid speeches around the country and has even launched a series of animated videos for children on American history.

The talk show is the centerpiece of Huckabee's enterprises, which have made the one-time Baptist preacher from Hope, Ark., and 10-year governor a wealthy man with a $2.2 million beachfront home under construction in Florida. Huckabee, 55, and his wife moved their residency and voter registration to the state last year.

Mike Huckabee helped give us the feckless candidacy of John McCain in 2008 by sabotaging Mitt Romney.

The true GOP front-runners are Michelle Bachmann, Herman Cain, Sarah Palin and Rick Santorum. Having Huckabee out of the race is a promising development.