Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Good news: media controlled or influenced by George Soros reaches a third of a billion people a month

Like some sort of Bond villain, the malevolent financier George Soros directly reaches 330 million people through 180 different media outlets he funds, controls or otherwise influences. And his agenda is nakedly partisan and outright Statist, from the pathetic Media Matters to Think Progress; from NPR to the hilariously named Center for Public Integrity.

Books, newspapers, radio stations, TV stations, websites and cutting edge videos... [the] pieces of the George Soros media empire are as diverse as the nations of the world and just as widespread. From nakedly partisan left-wing media like Think Progress, the blog for the Center for American Progress, and a TV show on MSNBC, to the supposedly impartial National Public Radio, Soros has impact on the flow of information worldwide.

It gives him incredible influence. Every month, reporters, writers and bloggers at the many outlets he funds easily reach more than 330 million people around the globe. The U.S. Census estimates the population of the entire United States to be just less than 310 million.

...Just counting 13 prominent operations of the 180 media organizations he has funded equals 332 million people each month. Included in that total are big players like NPR, which received $1.8 million from Soros, as well as the little known Project Syndicate and Public News Service, both of which also claim to reach millions of readers.

And that's really just the beginning. That tally takes into account only a few of the bigger Soros-funded media operations. Many numbers simply aren't available. 'Democracy Now!' - 'a daily TV/radio news program, hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez' - is known for its left-wing take on global news. Its vitriol ranges from attacks on Blackwater founder Erik Prince and supporters of Andrew Breitbart (whom it calls 'Electronic Brownshirts'), to claims the U.S. is opposed to Arab democracy. Just that one Soros-funded operation is heard 'on over 900 stations, pioneering the largest community media collaboration in the United States.' But it posts no formal audience numbers. Phone calls to 'Democracy Now!' were not returned.

Laughably, Soros denies he has a media empire, despite spending easily more than $48 million on that empire and having top journalists from more than 30 major news organizations serving on the boards of groups he funds...

And people are worried about the power of Google or Fox News?

George Soros and Barack Obama are partners in a global effort to undermine the United States Constitution and American exceptionalism. Of that, there can be no doubt


And so it begins: one of DNC's largest contributors, billionaire Haim Saban, breaks with Obama over his antipathy towards Israel

Even uber-liberals were hit by the clue bat last week after President Obama's outrageous call for Israel to return to its 1967 borders.

One of the most important Democratic donors in the past two decades, whose generous contributions helped pay for the DNC headquarters in Washington, D.C., has indicated that he will not contribute to President Obama’s reelection campaign in 2012, because of the administration’s stance on Israel.

Billionaire financier Haim Saban told CNBC last night that Obama hasn’t done enough to show support for Israel. He also said that he has no plans to contribute to the president’s campaign.


“President Obama has raised so much money and will raise so much money through the Internet, more than anybody before him. And he frankly doesn’t, I believe, need any of my donations,” said Saban.

“I’m very perplexed as to why the president, who's been to Cairo, to Saudi Arabia, to Turkey, has not made a stop in Israel and spoken to the Israeli people,” he continued. “I believe that the president can clarify to the Israeli people what his positions are on Israel and calm them down. Because they are not calm right now.”

There have been reports that Obama is losing Jewish support after his clash with Prime Minister Netanyahu last week, but this development is the most significant so far. If a key donor like Saban has decided to break with the president, then there are likely others who will follow suit.

We were warning people about President Obama's bizarre ties to crackpots and extremists well before the 2008 election.

We welcome Saban and others who were finally hit by the clue train. Better late than never.


Hat tip: TrendingRight.com.

Larwyn's Linx: Palin's Secret Weapon

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's Secret Weapon: Bruce
Seventy-One Shots: The Death of Jose GuereƱa: PJM
An Anti-Israel President: WSJ

CAIR: Realistic homeland security drills are raaaaaacist: Malkin
DNC hacks try to use Netanyahu to stifle debate: WklyStd
T-Paw’s Five Greatest Challenges: NRO

Economy

Goodbye, New York: City Journal
Where Dreams Die: Hanson
Shades of 2008: A Greek Default Won’t Be ‘Contained’: Mauldin: Yahoo!

Regime Appoints New Deputy Minister of Propaganda: Cary
Our Lawless President’s Crooked Favor Factory: RWN
Good News for School Choice: AT

NLRB’s Ominous Attack on Free Enterprise: LUR
SEIU Purple Army blunder of the day: Malkin
Norquist Emerges as Barrier to U.S. Debt Deal: Bloomberg

Climate & Energy

An Inconvenient Truth Five Years Later -- Science Fiction: MRC
Vitter To Salazar: You Want A Pay Raise? Fine – Do Your Job First: HayRide
Transcript: Al Gore Got ‘D’ in ‘Natural Sciences’ at Harvard: CNS

Media

Study: Liberal Academia Consistently Ranks GOP Presidents 10 Spots Lower Than The Public: WZ
What Say You to the Palestinian Perspective?: RWN
Mediaite Reveals Stunning Bottom-Line Numbers Behind Failed Media Matters: Dollard

Online political activists fret about Facebook bias: Hot Air
The Left's Dirty Little Secret: AT
A Texan Riding To Republicans' Rescue?: IBD

"Listening to Netanyahu was like listening to our collective conscience...": LegalIns
No Dog in That Fight, Mr President?: AT
Bumbling Barry's Bodaciously Bad Week: Diogenes

World

Pro-Terror Code Pink Loon Interrupts Netanyahu in Congress... Again: GWP
Texas: Muslim cab driver arrested after bomb squad raids apartment: JihadWatch
The Greek Bankruptcy: One Year Later - Exposing The Charlatans: ZH

The Controversial Anti-Palestinian Video That Was Banned From YouTube As 'Hate Speech': RWN
AIPAC Leftist: Please Don't Use Obama’s Support For Hamas-Fatah Terrorists as Political Football: GWP
NATO operations in Libya: data journalism breaks down which country does what: Guardian

SciTech

Schmidt: Want to get rich? Build a platform: CNet
Twitter Buys TweetDeck for $40 Million: TechCrunch
Report: 20,000 users added to 'Hurt Locker' suit: CNet

Armageddon 1958: Belmont Club
How Tech Legend Bill Gross Blew The TweetDeck Deal: Insider
IT Downtime Costs $26.5 Billion In Lost Revenue: InfoWeek

Cornucopia

Egypt finds 17 lost pyramids: GlobPost
1500 Still Missing In Joplin, Missouri – More Tornadoes on the Way: GWP
Navy Chief Dreams of Laser Warships, Ocean-Spanning Robots: Wired

Image: MEMRI
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Get a Team Bachmann T-Shirt!

QOTD: "As information, I was in the gallery for Netanyahu's speech this morning before the joint session of Congress. A friend of mine, who is chief of staff for a Republican congresswoman from New York, was able to snag me a ticket. It was a great experience... Bill Kristol was sitting in the next section, and I was four sections over from the woman who started waving a "Free Palestine" banner and screaming about Israel being a terrorist state (she was quickly and forcibly removed, as I believe I heard her face hitting one of the steps to the gallery as she was whisked away by security)." -- Uncle Ben

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Obama's "Outreach" to Islam Finally Taking Hold

Dan from New York:

The President and First Lady are in Britain on a goodwill tour. Pictured here are a few of the locals who were on hand to give BHO a proper British greeting.

The Bin Laden backlash: Angry Muslims demonstrate outside Downing Street as Obama visits Britain (UK’s Daily Mail)


Hat tip: Ruthfully Yours





Good to see Obama’s Muslim charm offensive has won over so many converts to our side. Of course, those pictured here are on the radical fringe. Most Britain’s “moderate” Muslims keep to themselves and avoid being photographed.

I say we give these tolerant souls a state!

As an aside, anyone willing to bet me $100 that we'll never see these photos in The New York Times?


Taxpayer Cash Inferno Chapter 5,034: Obama Will Spend Millions on Coal-Powered Chevy Volts and Charging Stations

Good news, peons: the Obama administration says it's going to burn a few more millions of your dollars funding our national automobile company (you may know it as "GM").

The Obama administration will announce today it is buying more than 100 Chevrolet Volts and install charging stations in government buildings in five cities, including Detroit, according to a report in The Detroit News... [It] says the General Services Administration — which oversees most of the federal government's 600,000 vehicle fleet — plans to buy the General Motors' Volts, 10 battery electric Nissan Leaf vehicles, and five Think City EV models from Finish EV startup.

In that regard, please consider the sources of electricity generation in this country, all of which are being gradually strangled by the White House.

Coal is, by far, the biggest single source of electricity. Which makes the Chevy Volt a coal-powered vehicle.

Of course, Obama did correctly predict that energy prices would "necessarily skyrocket" under his administration's policies.

As far as I know, it's the only prediction he's made that's come true.


Did you know that the U.S. has 57 states, that 10,000 people were once killed by a single tornado and that this is 2008?

Did you know that the United States has 57 states?

Or that 10,000 people were killed by a single tornado in Kansas?

Or that it's 2008?

All of these assertions were made by none other than Barack Obama. Most recently, New York Magazine reports that President Obama signed the guestbook in Westminster Abbey with a date that was only three years off.

This is how President Obama signed the guestbook at Westminster Abbey earlier today, where he got a tour from the Very Reverend Dr. John Hall and laid a wreath on the Grave of the Unknown Warrior.

It is a great privilege to commemorate our common heritage, and common sacrifice.

Barack Obama

24 May 2008

It was really nice until he got the date wrong by three years. Granted, 2008 was a great year for him, and we might try to live it for as long as possible, too, if we were him. Also, though, he may have had a stroke.

Can you imagine the outcry from legacy media had George W. Bush committed just one of these gaffes?

Of course, media double-standards are nothing new for #44. We have Bush's college transcripts. Where are President Obama's?


It's come to this: Toyota creates in-car social network so your car can be all up in your grill with its wants and needs

I love technology, so I'm fine with this, but I could see how some people could think it's overkill. Geezers.

We've gone far beyond that "check engine" light now: Toyota has created a social networking function for its cars so you can friend it on Facebook or have it Tweet you when the gas is low or just chitchat about shoes with it. Because you know, checking the gauge when you're actually in the car would just be too much work.

Toyota will be launching its own private social network, Toyota Friend, CNNMoney reports. Beyond the private realm of Toyota Friend, users will be able to extend the communication to friends and family via Facebook/Twitter, receiving updates in your feed and such.

Commenter George4478 wins our prize for the best example of a tweet from your car.

Tweet: My accelerator is stuck. Please drive with caution.

Driver: I KNOW! Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!

To be fair, Toyota's brake problems were proven to be non-existent. As Kevin Hassett observed last March, "[President Obama] is using the power of government to harass the main competition of his union backers--a company, Toyota, that happens to have a mostly nonunionized workforce... This is the kind of thuggish government action one might expect from Vladimir Putin... It isn't acceptable behavior in our democracy."

Oh. You mean we still live in a democracy? That wasn't apparent to me.


Exclusive Photo: Actual Porn Found on Osama Bin Laden's Computer


Hat tip: (who else?) Papa B.

Highlights of Netanyahu's Address to Congress With Special Non-Appearance by Rand Paul and Prayers for a Balkanized Jerusalem by Joe Biden

England's far left wing rag The Guardian observes that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could probably win the GOP nomination in 2012 and it's probably not far off.

Despite an extremely troubling boycott by Senator Rand Paul and Joe Biden's pointed approval of a divided Jerusalem, Netanyahu came off like gang-busters with a single speech more memorable than all of Barack Obama's put together.

...you don't need to do nation- building in Israel. We're already built. (Laughter, applause.) You don't need to export democracy to Israel. We've already got it. (Applause.) And you don't need to send American troops to Israel. We defend ourselves... You've been very generous in giving us tools to do the job of defending Israel on our own ... I know economic times are tough. I deeply appreciate this...

...The brief democratic spring in Tehran was cut short by a ferocious and unforgiving tyranny. And it's this same tyranny that smothered Lebanon's democratic Cedar Revolution and inflicted on that long- suffering country the medieval rule of Hezbollah... So today the Middle East stands at a fateful crossroads. And like all of you, I pray that the peoples of the region choose the path less traveled, the path of liberty. (Applause.) ...

Israel has always embraced this path in a Middle East that has long rejected it. In a region where women are stoned, gays are hanged, Christians are persecuted, Israel stands out. It is different...

... Of the 300 million Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa, only Israel's Arab citizens enjoy real democratic rights. (Applause.) Now, I want you to stop for a second and think about that. Of those 300 million Arabs, less than one-half of 1 percent are truly free, and they're all citizens of Israel. (Applause.) ... This startling fact reveals a basic truth: Israel is not what is wrong about the Middle East; Israel is what's right about the Middle East. (Applause.) ...

...When I last stood here, I spoke of the consequences of Iran developing nuclear weapons. Now time is running out. The hinge of history may soon turn, for the greatest danger of all could soon be upon us: a militant Islamic regime armed with nuclear weapons...

...Now, I have no doubt -- I'm absolutely convinced -- that it will ultimately be defeated. I believe it will eventually succumb to the forces of freedom and progress. It depends on cloistering young minds for a given amount of years, and the process of opening up information will ultimately defeat this movement. But like other fanatacisms that were doomed to fail, militant Islam could exact an horrific price from all of us before its eventual demise... A nuclear-armed Iran would ignite a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. It would give terrorists a nuclear umbrella. It would make the nightmare of nuclear terrorism a clear and present danger throughout the world.

...the threat to my country cannot be overstated. Those who dismiss it are sticking their heads on the stand. Less than seven decades after 6 million Jews were murdered, Iran's leaders deny the Holocaust of the Jewish people while calling for the annihilation of the Jewish state. Leaders who spew such venom should be banned from every respectable forum on the planet. (Applause.)

...But there's something that makes the outrage even greater. Do you know what that is? It's the lack of outrage, because in much of the international community, the call(s) for our destruction are met with utter silence. It's even worse because there are many who rush to condemn Israel for defending itself against Iran's terror proxies...

...why has peace not been achieved? Because so far, the Palestinians have been unwilling to accept a Palestinian state if it meant accepting a Jewish state alongside it. You see, our conflict has never been about the establishment of a Palestinian state; it's always been about the existence of the Jewish state...

... Israel will not return to the indefensible boundaries of 1967. (Cheers, applause.) ...the Palestinian refugee problem will be resolved outside the borders of Israel... (Applause.) You know, everybody knows this. It's time to say it. It's important.

...And as for Jerusalem, only a democratic Israel has protected the freedom of worship for all faiths in the city. (Applause.) Throughout the millennial history of the Jewish capital, the only time that Jews, Christians and Moslems could worship freely, could have unfettered access to their holy sites has been during Israel's sovereignty over Jerusalem... Jerusalem must never again be divided. (Applause.) Jerusalem must remain the united capital of Israel. (Applause.)

...peace can only be negotiated with partners committed to peace, and Hamas is not a partner for peace. (Applause.) Hamas -- Hamas remains committed to Israel's destruction and to terrorism. They have a charter. That charter not only calls for the obliteration of Israel, it says: Kill the Jews everywhere you find them...

The Prime Minister's address spoke of freedom, secular tolerance and peace. As opposed to teaching hatred from birth, honoring suicide bombers, and worshiping death.

Hey, but let's give 'em a state!


Related: "When we say never again, we mean never again."

Larwyn's Linx: Obama Still Poised To Silence Critics

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

Obama Still Poised To Silence Critics: NiceDeb
Bye-Bye Brown: LegalIns
Medicare and Free Market Principles: AmSpec

On the Scene in Joplin: PJM
Beltway Newt: No, really, I’m you!: Malkin
Our Interview with Tim Pawlenty: Rush

Eric Cantor Gives AIPAC Delegates a Lesson: PJM
MI swears in pro-terror U.S. attorney: Creeping
Kucinich Runs for His (Political) Life: WklyStd

Economy

Chief Medicare Actuary: Obamacare Will Hurt Seniors: Lid
American Government Must Be Torn Down and Rebuilt: RWN
Obama’s economic advisers not bullish on America: HotAir

Labor Dept. hit with FOIA request over cost of iPhone app: DC
Cash Strapped States Cut Back, Socialists Lose Big: RWN
Ex-NAACP President blasts Sharpton, liberals: 'welfare pimp': BlogProf

Climate & Energy

The Case For Repealing Ethanol Subsidies: Ace
The Christian Al Gore: Taranto
Photos: Tornado Rips Through Joplin, Missouri: DenvPost

On the Money, Down the Drain: Cold Fury
An Inconvenient Truth, five years on: Bayonet
Drilling in the Eagle Ford shale sparks S. Texas job boom: Chron

Media

DOJ, DHS Film Instructs Law Enforcement to Obey Sharia Gender Discrimination: Counter
Could Herman Cain Be the Next President Ronald Reagan?: Fox
Andrew Sullivan's Revelation: Lane

"At the wrong place at the wrong time in his own home": Cold Fury
The Strange and Contradictory Perceptions of the Obama Speech on Israel: PJM
"...no one who ever dated him ever showed up...": C&S

Suffolk University Poll: Fox Most Trusted Political News Source: HyScience
Herman Cain admits he didn’t understand ‘Right of Return’: TRS
Progressive Parents Raise Genderless Baby: RWN

World

Three Cheers for Terroristine : Knish
The Auschwitz Lines: 1967 is 1948: Friedman
Obama Adminstration Holds Peace Talks With Taliban in Germany: GWP

Cynthia McKinney: Islamofascist tool: Malkin
Ahmadinejad’s Team Expects Arrival of 12th Imam … on June 5: PJM
Perfect. Ahmadinejad Lectures Auditorium of Black Cloaks About Western Abuse of Women: GWP

Barack Obama’s Disregard for Ally’s Security Begs Clarity: Palin
Two New Videos from Syria (Content Warning): PJM
Two patients die after waiting in ambulance outside 'full' British hospital: Menmedia UK

What Would Jabotinsky Do?: Friedman
Saudis set June 17 for women to flout laws by driving: Chron
The Clang Heard 'Round the World: No Sheeples

SciTech

Congress looks into FCC commissioner's move to Comcast: CNet
Google Advisor: Will New Tool Save You Money?: BNet
Foxconn: No delays in iPad supply after explosion: CNet

Cornucopia

Harris/Playboy Sex Survey (Includes Ideological Breakdowns): Ace
Federal Reserve Posters (1920′s): BigPic
Terrifying first person video of Joplin, Mo. tornado: CBS

The government’s guide to becoming a tasty treat for a zombie: DPU
Michelle Obama Windswept In Ireland: SHN
Mark Levin: My buddy Pepsi: TRS

Image: via Wanda.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: How to Help Out Joplin's Tornado Victims

Monday, May 23, 2011

Irony-meter explodes: California, which imprisons about 30,000 illegal immigrants, ordered to release 30,000 prisoners due to overcrowding

The United States Supreme Court has ordered California to release roughly 30,000 prisoners because of overcrowding:

The Supreme Court ordered California on Monday to release tens of thousands of its prisoners to relieve overcrowding, saying that "needless suffering and death" had resulted from putting too many inmates into facilities that cannot hold them in decent conditions.

It is one of the largest prison release orders in the nation's history, and it sharply split the high court... the total prison population is now about 32,000 more than the capacity limit set by the panel...

...In dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia called the ruling "staggering" and "absurd" ... He said the high court had repeatedly overruled the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for ordering the release of individual prisoners. Now, he said, the majority were ordering the release of "46,000 happy-go-lucky felons." He added that "terrible things are sure to happen as a consequence of this outrageous order." Justice Clarence Thomas agreed with him.

In a curious coincidence, it turns out that California imprisons roughly that many illegal immigrants.

As of Dec. 31, 2009, California prisons had 22,173 inmates with an immigration hold or potential immigration hold, according to a Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation analysis. That represented 13 percent of the state's 168,830 inmates.

Inmates self-identify their country of birth, so the citizenship breakdown may not be entirely accurate, according to CDCR spokesman Gordon Hinkle. For instance, 827 of the inmates with an actual or potential immigration hold reported they were born in the United States, but they have a hold because their citizenship is in question...

Conservatively speaking, I figure that the "22,000 self-reported illegals" figure really amounts to 30,000 or more.

And what could possibly go wrong with freeing these felons?

After all, just three days ago, a prison riot in Sacramento involved 150 inmates and left several badly injured

But out in the real world, I'm sure they'll be on their best behavior.


Linked by: Memeorandum. Thanks!

Sah-weet! Crony-Filled Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board Paid $6,000/Hour Each

What do you get when you combine crony capitalism, organized crime, corruption, graft, public sector union bosses and the outright rape of the taxpayer?

That would be the Democrat Party of Illinois:

The March 17 monthly meeting of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board began at 10 a.m. in Springfield.

The board members approved the minutes of the previous month's meeting. They discussed labor disputes from several school districts. They issued orders in several cases. They heard staff reports. They moved the date of the next monthly meeting. They took six votes (all unanimous), including the adjournment vote, which came at 11:16 a.m.

Their effective pay for that 76-minute meeting was about $7,800 each.

Four of the board members are paid $93,926 a year, with the chairwoman getting $104,358 for a job that generally entails one meeting per month, usually for one to two hours. Relevant documents are sent to board members' homes ahead of time. A full-time staff member gives them recommendations at the meeting. Most of the votes are unanimous. Some board members don't even travel to all the meetings, instead listening in by phone.

How do you get a gig like that? Technically, you just have to be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate. But the members of the educational labor board aren't what you'd call typical citizens.

One is married to a state senator. One is an ex-Springfield lobbyist. One is an ex-legislative staffer. One is an ex-gubernatorial aide.

The board is one of more than 320 in the state's executive branch, where unelected appointees preside over governmental decisions from utility rates to pollution control to property tax appeals. Some 30 of the boards offer payment for members ranging from a few hundred dollars per meeting to five or six figures a year, records show. Salaried board members also get state pensions...

...[Sen. Dan] Duffy [R-Barrington] introduced legislation in February that would bar the relatives of state officials from getting board or commission appointments. The legislation didn't even get a committee hearing.

Citizens of Illinois: please keep electing Democrats.

We need the productive citizens and businesses you keep chasing out of your monumentally defective state.


Our Balkanized United States: Cal State Fresno Offers Separate Latino Commencement Ceremony for Racial Separatists, Presumably

Apparently Cal State Fresno held a separate commencement ceremony for those students who really don't want to assimilate, or heaven forbid, associate with non-Latinos.

Here's the screen-cap (click to zoom):

I wonder whether CSU held separate commencements for blacks, whites, native Americans, and other groups.

As for the politicians who support illegal immigration and Balkanization, I wrote the following in "What Democrats Believe":

These temporary politicians -- these useless Democrats hacks -- no longer represent the people. They represent illegal aliens, who are trespassing in our country; who are entering our land without any background checks or vetting procedures; who are driving up unemployment among citizens; who often come for free health care services or schooling or more nefarious reasons; who do not understand the history or traditions of this country; and whose presence here will ultimately Balkanize this country in ways no one can possibly foresee.

For Democrats, clinging to political power trumps the Constitution; it trumps the laws they have passed; it trumps the concerns of the citizenry; it trumps every moral and ethical tenet of this country. But their appetite for raw power is so insatiable, and it is so naked and malevolent, that they are willing to sacrifice future generations so they can climax on unchecked power.

The Democrat Party must be politically crushed in 2012 if we are to save this Republic.


Hat tip: Niniane.

Larwyn's Linx: Obama and Democrats Must Answer for Debt Ceiling

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

Obama and Democrats Must Answer for Debt Ceiling: DLim
U.S. Loses Track Of Millions Who Overstay Visas : JW
Barry's Bullying Failed With Bibi: AmSpec

Pawlenty Roasts Obama in Official 2012 Announcement: Blaze
Pawlenty Officially Announces on Monday: RS
Ryan: I’m not running for President, either: HotAir

Is Cynthia McKinney Committing Treason?: RWN
ABC's Sloppy Coverage of Sarah Palin: C4P
Nashville: Losing Our Community (to radical Islam): Creeping

Economy

Repent! The End of Keynesian Economics Is At Hand! : Power Line
The Wages of Socialism in Europe: RWN
Vermont Prescribes Socialized Healthcare: NewAm

Union Brags: Donations Scored Sweetheart Contract: BigGovt
Spain Socialists Suffer Heavy Election Losses: Malkin
Sen. Johnson: Democrats are afraid to release budget plan: Hill

Climate & Energy

Unions Panic--EPA to Kill Tens of Thousands of Jobs: BlogProf
In NYC, You Need a License to Pump Gas: Blaze
Culinary no-no #222: Franklin Now

Media

Israel’s Pre-1967 War Borders: What They Mean: MagNote
Media Reaction To Obama's Speech Reveals Progressive Movement: Lid
Commando vs. Hipster Doofus: WZ

Media Circus of Biblical Proportions at Armageddon HQ: Zombie
Students Who Claim Support of Free Speech Want Conservatives Banned From Airwaves: BigJourn
Conspiracy Garbage on Zero Hedge: Mish

President Obama's Speech to AIPAC, an Assessment: PJM
Review: The Terrorist Next Door: How the Government is Deceiving You about the Islamist Threat: PJM
Obama’s Three Lies to AIPAC: BigPeace

World

Palestinians: Pre-1967 Borders Sound Good, Just Like Obama Said: LegalIns
Obama Tells Israel: Turn Over The Tomb of Jesus to Hamas: BigPeace
The Rise of Samantha Power and the risks for the American- Israel relationship: AT

Obama double downs at AIPAC: JRubin
Playboy covergirl says not Muslim, but had to act like one: Creeping
Cain: Elect Me, Then I’ll Tell You What I Think About Foreign Policy: OTB

Obama at AIPAC: Beneath the Flattery, He Revealed His Indifference to Israel: BRubin
Top 10 Obama Foreign Policy Flubs: HE
Negotiating With Animals: Wolf Howling

SciTech

New malware tricks users into thinking hard drive failure is imminent: Geek
How the iPad changes PC design, part 2: CNet
Tesco’s Dunnhumby Buys BzzAgent For $60 million: TechCrunch

Cornucopia

RIP, Macho Man: ProWis
Bin Laden Videos Leaked: Diogenes
Apocalypse Mao and Frau : MOTUS

This Week in Automotivators: RWN
Man's concealed handgun saves him and his dog: Sky Valley
SuckedIn or LinkedIn? - Investing for Idiots: Townhall

Image: Weasel Zippers: Paul Ryan Pimp-Slaps David Gregory
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: FreedomWorks' Debt Ceiling Debate Scorecard

QOTD: "While the first round of bailouts started with the banks themselves, the next round spread to the very same countries who bailed out the banks to start with. Fast forward (a mere 2 years) to today and Greece, Ireland and Portugal are now showing the fissures within the European system. The next round of bailouts has the potential to crack the fissures wide open. So, here we go with round 3 of European bailouts which will consist of bailing out Greece, then Ireland and then Portugal yet again. Yes, this is the classic definition of insanity at its best. The risk now however with round 3 is that the Greeks have now informally played the “we’re leaving the Euro” card. The Irish and the Portuguese will watch closely to see if the Greeks get what they want. If the Greeks are successful (and they will be), the Irish and the Portuguese will demand even better terms for their bailouts. We do not blame anyone for becoming dizzy with this ongoing story. All you need to know is that the ride may continue for a while longer, yet at some point, someone will leave the Euro. And when this door opens, the rush to the exits may surprise everyone." --IceCap Asset Management

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Critiquing Mish's "Better Way"

Mike ("Mish") Shedlock observes that the recent set of protests in Greece, Spain, Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois and now Oregon are symptomatic of a belief in legalized theft.

The protests in the US and Europe have a common theme "gimme gimme gimme".

Everyone wants something, and they want to take it from someone else to get it. In the US, the SEIU is right at the top of the list in wanting to pick the pockets of everyone else for their own self-serving benefit...

...Public union members [in Oregon] want to preserve the status quo, just as they do in Greece and Spain... Well the status quo is broken, and proof is easy to find: Public union wages and benefits have bankrupted many cities and states. The way to fix the problem is to get rid of public unions not increase their power.

Shedlock observes that austerity measures are absolutely necessary, but so too are real repercussions for the bankers whose bad decisions are still being backstopped by taxpayers.

The SEIU and their Greek counterparts want no part of the pain. Unfortunately untenable wages and benefits helped wrecked Greece and they have bankrupted many cities and states in the US.

So, yes there is a "better way". The "better way" is to stop the bailouts of banks and stop handouts to unions as well.

The Better Way

  1. Implement Rand Paul's national Right-to-Work proposal
  2. Scrap Davis-Bacon and all prevailing wage laws
  3. Get rid of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD, and the FHA
  4. Stop the bailouts of banks at the expense of taxpayers
  5. Implement Paul Ryan's Voucher Proposal for Medicare (see Who’s Right on Medicare Reform, Ryan and Rivlin or Obama and Gingrich? for details.)
  6. Reduce military spending substantially
  7. Stop attempting to be the world's policeman
  8. Kill the student loan "debt-slave" program
  9. Pass a Balanced Budget Amendment
  10. Audit the Fed then end the Fed

That is the better way. It will be difficult to pass those measure because each proposal has a mob of naysayers and constituents all clamoring "gimme gimme gimme".

We need a leader willing to spell out the serious situation the nation faces, what must be done about it, and the sacrifices that must be made for the nation to get out of its hole.

President Obama is clearly not that leader. Indeed he fails on every point.

I like the sentiment, but Mish's list has a couple of clearly defective points:

6. Reduce military spending substantially - How? Where? Should we cut carrier battle groups in the age of a nuclearized Iran, which seeks the return of the Twelfth Imam? Cut missile defense as Iran builds missile bases in Venezuela? Slash cyber-defense while China wages open information warfare against the West? Eviscerate NASA, now that Obama has largely defunded it and pillaged many of its capabilities?

China is on the move. Iran is on the move. Islamist terror groups are sprouting in cities all over the world, including our own.

Slashing defense in this environment is tantamount to national suicide. Besides, our military is about the only damn piece of the federal government that works the way it's supposed to. And it's almost the only piece of the current federal government authorized by our nation's highest law: the Constitution.

10. Audit the Fed then end the Fed - only a partial ding: auditing the Federal Reserve is long overdue. But, as for ending the Fed? What's its replacement for facilitating inter-bank lending?

There have been central banks in the U.S. since 1791. The Fed, in its current incarnation, was intended to help prevent banking panics, a long series of which had precipitated its creation.

The problem is that the Fed's mission has continually expanded to the point where Ben Bernanke, the Fed's Chairman, openly states that he believes his mission is to directly influence the economy.

I'd be satisfied with returning the Fed to its original mission.

Other than these two items, I think Mish's list is a damn good start.


Protocols of the Elders of Sullivan: Pothead Andrew Sullivan Says Israel Used Its Control of Jewish Media to Attack Obama

It's true: I read these pathetic, leftist drones so you don't have to. Someone named David Drumm (if that is his real name), writing at Jonathan Turley's wretched site, calls our attention to America's favorite pothead, Andrew Sullivan.

Andrew Sullivan notes the immediate hysteria and hypothesizes that “it was the Israelis who immediately got their US media mouthpieces to spin the speech as some sort of attack.”

Yes, Andi's referring to the Jewish-controlled media, which somehow continues to employ crackpots with failed drug-tests.

But remember, folks: when a liberal talks about "the Jewish-controlled media" or blatantly stereotypes blacks, it's not racist. I can't explain it, but it's just not.


Linked by: PJ's Tatler. Thanks!

Hamas to President Obama: Bugger Off

Dan from New York:

Hamas: Obama speech will not force us to recognize Israel


JPost.com, 05/22/2011

Group spokesman slams US president's speech to AIPAC, says Obama's comments show Washington will "support the occupation at the expense of the freedom of the Palestinian people."

###

As our parents used to say about lost causes in the old days, "What’s the use talking?"

Which makes the latest, carefully-edited agitprop from Soros Matters especially humorous.

Especially for those who know what really happened in the Middle East.


Obama doubles down: Israel needs to adopt 1967 borders, split itself into two pieces and accept a contiguous Palestinian state #aipac

Speaking at AIPAC this morning, President Barack Obama reiterated his call for a "sovereign, contiguous Palestinian state" using "1967 borders with mutually-agreed upon swaps".

He also claimed his comments on Thursday were "misrepresented."

[My controversial remarks] discussed a border that is different than one negotiated on June 4, 1967. That is what "mutually agreed-upon swaps" means.

...The ultimate goal is two states for two peoples... Each state enjoying mutual recognition, self-determination and peace.

If there is a controversy then, it's not based in substance ... I said publicly what has long-been discussed privately.

Forget the '67 borders for a moment. Consider the implications of a "contiguous Palestinian state".

This current map illustrates the idiocy of such a plan. To join Gaza with the West Bank would require splitting Israel into two pieces.

That ain't gonna happen.

So President Obama just doubled-down on an absolutely nonsensical proposal.

Israel tried this before: it gave Gaza to the Palestinian people. And it quickly became an armed camp, a launchpad for non-stop terror attacks.

Any hope for peace with these barbaric throwbacks is delusional. There can't be peace with those who want you dead.


Related: What Really Happened

Linked by: Gateway Pundit, Protein Wisdom, iOwnTheWorld, and Soros Matters. Thanks!

Steny Hoyer Just Slapped Down Obama's 1967 Borders Statement #aipac

Watching the live feed from AIPAC, Steny Hoyer just slapped down Barack Obama's assertion that Israel should return to its 1967 borders:

Israel's borders must be defensible and must reflect reality on the ground!...

...the reconciliation of Hamas and Fatah puts the future in doubt ... let us make this clear: peace can only be achieved by a return to the negotating table without pre-conditions...

I believe in Palestinian statehood, but I oppose [an outside force imposing it]... peace cannot be imposed, it must be negotiated ...

We will not compromise or temporize, we will not ... fund a government that does not recognize ... Israel's right to exist...

Sounds like Hoyer has completely repudiated the "Obama Doctrine".


Larwyn's Linx: Yes We Cain -- Mitch Daniels Bails Out of Race

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

Yes, We Cain - A first-hand report from Atlanta: PJM
Good News: Daniels Not Running for President: WashExam
Helpful tips for confused voters: Boortz

Newly found documents suggest Kagan planned Obamacare defense: DC
Will Biden move to impeach Obama now?: GWP
West faces tough questions at town hall in Pompano Beach: Sun-Sent

Palin: My Goal Is to Ensure Obama Is Not Reelected: TRS
AFL-CIO's Trumka Pledges Endless Class Warfare: RS
The Case for Herman Cain for President -- Solving for X: Cain

Economy

From Social Security to Food Benefits, It’s Welfare Gone Wild: PJM
The Coming Deflationary Contraction: AT
In their defense, I haven’t released a spending plan yet, either: RWN

Trumka issues threat to Dems: Help us or pay: DC
Nearly 3 Million Paid Hours Spent By Federal Employees on Union Activity: ATR
High-tax Illinois giving out more tax breaks: Marathon

Climate & Energy

Shocker! Tracking “Climate Change (Hoax)” Money Proves Difficult: Cove
NASA’s New Mission: Left-Wing Propaganda Targeting Children: RWN
I’m sure the Chinese will stop if you ask them…: WUWT

Media

The Scolding Of America’s Child Emperor: No Sheeples
Dupnik's SWAT Team Defends Shooting Iraq Vet 60 Times!: BlogProf
Recent College Grads Have Lost That Hopey Changey Feeling: RWN

The AIPAC Policy Conference: A Report from a Press Reception: PJM
Rock You Like a Herman-Cain: AT
Fellow Student at Columbia Raises Questions About Obama's Admission: Ace

You Stay Classy, CNN: Driscoll
Omission Watch: Job Creation Staggering at 'Slowest Post-Recession Rate Since Great Depression': NewsBusters
Leftists Angry That Bush Is Making Money on the Lecture Circuit: PACNW Righty

World

Contemporary coverage of the Six Day War — clear-sighted and moral: Bookworm
The Coming Assault on Israel: AT (Lewis)
Lawsuit: Iran Knew About 9/11 Attack: Timmerman

Israel and Obama’s Radical Past: NRO (Kurtz)
Obama's Borderline Treachery: NRO
SLAM!! Bibi Diplomatically "Slaps" Obama During White House Press Op: Lid

How’d Obama’s Little Middle East Speech Go Over In Syria?: RWN
NYC: 'Obama bows to Islamic aggression': UrbInf
Obama’s Middle East Speech: The Opposite of Strategy Is Catastrophe: BRubin

SciTech

The Great PJ Media Space Debate: PJM
Iceland closes main airport amid volcano eruption: LAT
Apple enlists iPads for retail signage: CNet

Cornucopia

I Hope that Whiff of Manure is Coming From the Organic Garden: MOTUS
Drivers Beware: Don’t Stare At Katy Perry: TSG
Hamilton Montana - Police Car Stop Shots Fired: YouTube

Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Herman Cain for President