Monday, May 30, 2011

Larwyn's Linx: Memorial Day 2011: Honoring the fallen

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Memorial Day

Memorial Day 2011: Honoring the fallen: Malkin
They Who Serve: AT
The Last Full Measure of Devotion: Ace

THIS Is What American Troops Are Made Of…: Publius
Memorial Day 2011: BlackFive
Obama to Mark Memorial Day in Proper Style: Dossier

Weinergate

any old Twit(erer) understands what Weiner’s numbers mean: DTG
Weinergate: two more coincidences?: Tatler
The Evidence Suggests Anthony Weiner Wasn’t Hacked: RWN

#1 suspect in Weinergate hacking hasn't been contacted: Ace
It’s On!… Breitbart Confronts Anthony Weiner: GWP
Weinergate 'Suspect' Denies Posting Weiner Photo: BigGovt

Nation

Rolling Thunder Rolls Into DC: Malkin
President Ryan: Surber
Obama and Immigration: AT

Economy

Bye-Bye, Medicare! (As You Know It): Foundry
Union drivers: contracts more important than patients: RWN
EU Debt Contamination Deepens In Greece, Portugal, Ireland: ZH

How Fannie and Fed Caused the Crash: Cato
EU Holds Unannounced Emergency Talks With Greece: ZH
100,000 Protesting In Athens Right Now: ZH

Climate & Energy

Overpopulation is a Myth: Plenty of Food and Space Exist: LifeNews
EPA Gives Money to China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection: Foundry
Global Warming News from the Brits: RWN

Media

WeinerGate: MSM Ignores Trifecta of Sex, Politics, and a Rising Political Star: BigGovt
Anthony Weiner “Hacked”-Follow up with formal complaint to FBI (Weinergate): Ameristroika
George ("Howard Baker in '80!") Will: Everyone Knows That Palin Should Not Be Trusted With Nukes: OTB

Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin: NoisyRoom
Will America Suffer the Fate of Rome?: AT
E.J.: Our Imagination Deficit: NRO

World

Islam's Self-Destruction?: Knish
Obama’s Peace Partners Hold Pro-Bin Laden Rally: GWP
The Key to Obama’s Foreign Policy: the World Turned Upside Down: BRubin

Why Muslims are killing Christians and torching churches in Egypt: JihadWatch (Ibrahim)
Ohio: Couple guilty in Hizbollah funding case: Creeping
Hillary Clinton Releases Video Celebrating a Millennium of Muslim Inventions…?: GWP

SciTech

Smartphone Simulates Sensation Of Buttons On A Touchscreen: CrunchGear
InsecureID: No more secrets?: I, Cringely
Women who lose weight more attractive than their slim counterparts: Telegraph

Cornucopia

Back From Europe - The Most Interesting Man In The World: Cube
Active military and veterans hold less favorable view of Obama’s performance: DC
Paying tribute to dogs of war: Post

Image: Sondrakistan
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: This Memorial Day, Be Their Hero

QOTD: "...hacks [like that which Wiener is alleging] these days are crimes, and are especially serious when directed at Members of Congress. If his Twitter account has been compromised, what else would the attackers have access to? Instead of reporting the attack to the FBI though, Weiner has made jokes, and in fact keeps joking about it. This is unreasonable behavior in the face of an actual attack, however if it weren’t hack, then to report one would probably be a crime in itself.

So, Congressman Weiner, it’s up to you: Admit the truth, or file a formal criminal report with the attached penalties for filing a false report. Your own party has been making a big deal about “Cybersecurity” lately as a pretext for an Internet Kill Switch and other power grabs. Set an example, or admit the old Reichstag routine. Your call." --Neil Stevens

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Now that @GennetteNicole has broken her #Weinergate silence, I have just a couple of questions for her and @RepWeiner

Now that Weinergate has begun seeping leaking into traditional media (e.g., CBS, WaPo and National Review), the intended recipient of the Weiner-shot, Twitter user @GennetteNicole, has posted her side of the story.

In short:

• Her online relationship with Weiner had been mocked by a person who had "harassed" her "after the Congressman followed me on Twitter a month or so ago"

• She lays the blame for the Weiner photo on this person, never explaining how Weiner's account was hacked or compromised

• She says that she was not Weiner's girlfriend, had never met him, nor had "any inappropriate exchanges between Anthony Weiner and myself" occurred

Her statement avoids all of the incriminating details, prompting several questions:

1. Had you and Weiner exchanged direct messages before on Twitter? If so, can you reveal the nature of those messages since there weren't "any inappropriate exchanges"?

2. Why did Weiner add the #Thats545InSeattleIThink hash-tag to the tweet just before he the hacker sent the crotch shot? And why did you re-tweet that particular message?

3. Were you aware that porn star Ginger Lee boasted that she has received direct messages from Weiner in the past?

4. Would you agree that there are, as Robert Stacy McCain lays it out describes it, only two alternatives to this story?

  1. Weiner, a member of Congress with a high security clearance, was the victim of a federal crime involving a breach of his online communications accounts; or
  2. Weiner sent a picture of his penis to a college girl.

Since you obviously believe the first alternative, would you join us in requesting that the FBI investigate this egregious hacking incident immediately?

5. Come to Now that I think of it, have you contacted Rep. Weiner to find out why he hasn't contacted federal authorities regarding this breach of his verified account?

Gennette, I thank you for your public statement. Now it's time to tell the rest of the story. We only want to get the facts straight, right? And ensure this doesn't happen to other young innocents who receive lewd photos from Weiner malicious hackers?


Update: Weinergate: Two more coincidences.

Update II: The New York Post reports:

it appeared that Cordova and Weiner — a prolific user of social-networking sites who has run for mayor and indicated he will do so again — had some interaction on Twitter before.

Cordova began following Weiner on Twitter during the time his own tweets previously placed him in Seattle, and according to her statement, he began “following” her on the site, too.

Oopsie!

Update III: Gennette Was Not Alone… Weiner’s Twitter Friends Include Pages of (Very) Young, Cute Female Fans


President Obama came to Joplin to chew bubble-gum and do some prayin'; and he's fresh out of prayin'

Hopefully, he didn't snap his gum during the service.

Classy as always... Obama sits in front row and chews gum during the sermon at the Joplin Memorial Service. Maybe he learned this at his Trinity Church?




C'mon, Jim -- it's not fair to lay this at the feet of Wright.

Maybe he's just forgotten how to behave in church.


Hat tip: TrendingRight.

The Complete #Weinergate Timeline: Crack investigative journalists at Politico ignore overwhelming evidence it really was Weiner's wiener

When it comes to investigating Democrats -- especially nascent Democrat superstars -- the hacks at Politico must turn a blind eye to facts, logic and reason. Which also explains why they are Democrats. Consider what "media" must ignore to believe Rep. Anthony Weiner's story that the photo tweeted from his account, depicting a skinny white dude with bulging underwear, was not him. He asserts, on his Twitter account and through spokesmen, that his social accounts were all hacked and then immediately recovered somehow.

Consider this timeline:

03/13/2011 00:00 @GingerLee (porn star) boasts that she received a direct message from Weiner
04/09/2011 00:00 @GennetteNicole tweets "I wonder what my boyfriend @RepWeiner is up to right now"
04/10/2011 20:15 @Solzilla observes that "@GennetteNicole's @RepWeiner crush is cute."
04/12/2011 00:00 @maggiehenning, a school girl, tweets "talking to Rep Weiner ... right now! is my life real?"
04/13/2011 00:00 @patriotusa76 jeers "@repweiner talking to high-school girls now. Freak."
04/19/2011 00:00 @patriotusa76 notes that "@RepWeiner ... unfollowed 1 school girl. Now has 1 left ... initials: GN..."
04/19/2011 00:00 @GennetteNicole replies: "Are you insinuating that I'm a child? Don't mention in anymore tweets..."
05/13/2011 00:00 @maggiehenning, a school girl, tweets "@RepWeiner you used to follow me :( don't forget me!!!"
05/27/2011 16:00 @RepWeiner tweets that he is "Heading to 30 Rock to chat with Rachel at 9. #Thats545InSeattleIThink"
05/27/2011 19:30 @GennetteNicole re-tweets @RepWeiner's "30 Rock" message along with "#Thats545InSeattleIThink"
05/27/2011 20:00 @RepWeiner tweets "@GennetteNicole http://yfrog.com/h25m3luj"; the skinny white male erection photo
05/27/2011 20:04 @RepWeiner tweets "Killng me!! RT @kknapp1: @RepWeiner that is a tragedy! #EpicGame"
05/27/2011 20:05 @RepWeiner tweets "my tivo ate the hockey game! #WhoCanISue?"
05/27/2011 20:08 @RepWeiner tweets "@kknapp1 just kill me now."
05/27/2011 21:00 @RepWeiner tweets "Tivo eats the hockey game and Versus taunts me with endless postgame."
05/27/2011 21:10 @RepWeiner tweets "Followers of my lame hockey tweets recall i picked tb and nashville. #NotSoBrilliant"
05/27/2011 21:24 @RepWeiner tweets "Tivo shot. FB hacked. Is my blender gonna attack me next?"
05/28/2011 14:00 Gennette Nicole Cordova's social accounts are deleted (Twitter, Facebook, etc.)
05/28/2011 14:00 Congressman Weiner's yfrog photo albums are completely deleted along with suspicious tweets
05/28/2011 18:00 Gennette Nicole Cordova's web references, including her byline on school news stories, are deleted

Rather than preserve the "evidence" of the "hack", Weiner, Cordova and perhaps others involved have done precisely the opposite. They have laid waste to online evidence linking them. They have seemingly reviewed every web cache and social network attempting to delete stories, photos, names and any other possible references to their relationship.

And, somehow, the "hacker" -- in the midst of a series of tweets by Weiner -- was able to compromise both his Twitter and YFrog accounts, post a photo of someone who resembles Weiner, and then have control of the accounts wrestled back by the Congressman in a matter of a couple of minutes.

Yeah, that's believable. Politico, please change your name to Pwntico. Oh, and as for The New York Post -- how about The New York Pwnt?

A "computer hack" like this is a criminal matter. Why hasn't Weiner reported it to the authorities?


Related: You can see photos of Gennette Nicole Cordova and many of the tweets in question here.


Linked by: Gateway Pundit and Memeorandum. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: Obamacare “Power Grab” Unconstitutional

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Nation

Obamacare “Power Grab” Unconstitutional: RSN
There’s a Reason Why it’s called the Forgotten Man: Driscoll
Kagan Should Recuse Herself As To Obamacare: LegalIns

Progressive Republican Traitors Have Spoken: NoisyRoom
Illinois Democrats marginalize GOP and voters: Marathon
DNC Chair unaware illegal immigration is illegal: Blaze

Weinergate

Weiner’s Wiener? Who Is ‘Gennette Nicole’?: RSM
Rep. Anthony Weiner Selectively Edits Himself: Patterico
Why Would Weiner Care What Time It Was In Seattle?: BG

Anthony Weiner and his eponymous Twitter “hack”: RS
#Weinergate update: Coed being scrubbed from Google: RS
Has Weiner Reported ‘Hack’ to Authorities?: BG

Rep. Weiner's Twitter Account Hacked by Horny Look-Alike: VS
#Weinergate:The “Would Your Spouse Buy It?” Test: Stranahan
NY Post Covers For Weiner; Riehl Exposes Lies: Ace

Economy

The fake Chrysler loan payoff: Greenroom
Hey, Schmucks: Tax Hikes Are Not Government Savings: Foundry
Obama official ordered NLRB to pull rebuke of GOP budget: Hill

"Green" Movement: Anti-Capitalist, Anti-American: RWN
How to Beat the Market: Follow the Trades of 19 Senators: Mish
Here's What Will Happen When Greece Defaults: Mauldin

Climate & Energy

Climate Progress blog shuts down – disappears all previous comments: WUWT
A German With A Master Plan–What Could Go Wrong?: CBullitt
Tornado Train: C&S

Media

Krauthammer and Thomas Agree: Clinton and Obama are Hypocrites on Medicare Reform: NB
QQQ: Hitler on national collectivism, with a question: Maggie's Farm
Anti-Palin Books Proving to Be Commercial Flops: AT

Sisterhood and the SEALs: Mac Donald
Rolling Thunder Confirms Palin Invite; Andrea Mitchell Demonstrates Journalistic Incompetence, Bias: C4P
U.S. Tax Dollars Will Sponsor Gay Film Festival in...Bulgaria: Blaze

World

Osama Raid Avenged CIA Deaths, a Secret until Now: NewsMax
INTERPOL issues global alert for hundreds of Afghan jailbreak fugitives, some Taliban: Jawa
Norway: Muslim rapist tells victim that in Islam, women have no rights: JihadWatch

SciTech

Social media creates new teen ailment -- 'Facebook depression': KGW
Tibco, Oracle, Other IBD 50 Software Leaders Manage Data Explosion: IBD
Going Hard Worth the Weight: SMH

Cornucopia

Special Guest Commentary: Ace
Mr. President, Was This Book Really Necessary?: White House Dossier
I haven't been picking on the Obamas enough lately, so there's this...: C&S

Image: Verum Serum
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Missing in D.C.: GWU Campus Outreach director Matt Hill

QOTD: "In honor of Governor Schwartzenegger, a new commandment has been added to the Bible. Be sure to write this one in underneath the other ten: 'Thou Shalt Not Share Thy Rod With Thy Staff'" --Papa B

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Photos: Anthony Weiner's Self-Proclaimed Girlfriend is a 21-Year Old Coed, only 25 Years Younger Than the Married Congressman

Earlier today, Congressman Anthony Weiner appears to have made an underwhelming debut on Twitter. Which is to say, Weiner seems to have fat-fingered a direct message to a young lady, instead publicly replying to her. His tweet included a link to a photo of a skinny white male wearing briefs while in an aroused state.

Robert Stacy McCain offers some details on the mystery lady, who earlier had publicly tweeted that Weiner is her boyfriend:

Gennette Nicole Cordova is a student at Whatcom Community College, Bellingham, Wash., where she is a reporter for the student newspaper, Horizon... It must be emphasized that at this point we have no idea whether Ms. Cordova actually knows Rep. Weiner, whether her Twitter claim of him being her “boyfriend” was just a joke, or whether Rep. Weiner actually communicated with Ms. Cordova.

Let’s hope Rep. Weiner will clarify this confusion, before the media scrum descends on Ms. Cordova... The congressman’s office can either answer those questions — and answer them PDQ — or else wait until every political reporter on the West Coast is camped out in front of Ms. Cordova’s house.

If Ms. Cordova's assertion -- that she is dating Anthony Weiner (D-NY) -- is accurate, a couple of things are clear:

• Weiner's a freaking degenerate - forget just cheating on his wife, how about cheating on his wife with someone young enough to be his daughter?

• Weiner's a technological dunce - using Twitter to send randy photos (DM instead of @, oops!)

Ironic Surrealism has done much of the heavy lifting on the story, revealing several heretofore unknown digital assets.






If this story pans out -- and odds are increasing by the second that it is accurate -- then Weiner's career is over.

Oh, yeah, you're right. I forgot about Ted Kennedy. In that case, Weiner's career may just be getting started. In fact, someday he'll probably be a "lion of the Senate", too.


Update: Lee Stranahan:

As I write this, the tweet is still up at TweetCongress.org.

So, around the same time he was tweeting about hockey, he sends the underwear photos to that woman at @GennetteNicole. Don’t bother looking there, though. Rep. Weiner’s photos are all erased. And Gennette seems to have deleted her entire Twitter account. And, it seems, her Facebook account.

Look what RepWeiner tweeted earlier in the evening. I don’t know what it means, but look..why is he talking about Seattle?

Well, Gennette seems to live in Seattle. Could be a weird coincidence. Or about 5 of them.

Oops.


Update II: Commenter yarrrr observes that @GennetteNicole retweeted Weiner's Seattle/Maddow message:

Oops, part deux.


Update III: Ace, acting as a caustic agent:

I continue assuming, as Weiner says, that his Twitter account and his separate-company yfrog picture account were simultaneously hacked, and then someone sent this stuff to a college student in Seattle, and also, for reasons I don't get, he previously posted a helpful "that's about 5:45 in Seattle" tweet when discussing an upcoming appearance on Maddow.

I also assume that, after immediately wrestling control of these accounts from the mischievous malefactors, he deleted the offensive material, rather than preserving the evidence for the police...

...So for right now, I'm just assuming that Anthony Weiner is every bit as honest in his personal life as he is in his professional life, every bit as straight and true in his personal dealings as in his political posturings.

Every. Single. Bit.

Let me give the Magic 8-Ball of Plausibility a shake:

REALLY?! REALLY!? ARE YOU SERIOUS??!!


Update IV: The Complete #Weinergate Timeline.


Linked by: Ace o' Spades, Gateway Pundit and Memeorandum. Thanks!

Exhibit A: Food-Stamp Fraud

Via the always-entertaining Curmudgeonly & Skeptical comes more evidence that every one of the Democrats' budget-busting social-engineering programs are failures, through and through.

Consider: at least ten cents of every dollar government spends on Medicare and Medicaid is fraudulent, according to experts that put the total amount of criminal waste at over $100 billion.

Since Barack Obama took office, roughly 12 million additional people have begun using food-stamps. And since Democrats took control of Congress in January 2007, almost 20 million people have joined the rolls of food-stamp recipients.

15 out of every 100 people living in the U.S. are now receiving food-stamps.

And a huge percentage of these people are using them for fraudulent purposes. Worse yet, the unfettered giveaway of these chits leads to all sorts of unintended consequences: more single-parent families and more violent crime in inner cities, to name just two.

It's time to end the Democrats' failed "War on Poverty" once and for all.


Anthony's Weiner Makes Underwhelming Twitter Debut

The recently married Congressman from New York, Anthony Weiner, appears to have bungled the dispatch of a direct message on Twitter, instead sending a very public tweet. The reply, sent to an unnamed female, linked to a photo of a thin white male's groinal area, in brief-style underwear, while in a state of arousal.

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY 9″) finds himself in a late night online pickle.

This evening a photo surfaced on Congressman Weiner’s yfrog account and in his verified Twitter timeline of a man in his underwear with an erection. The photo was reportedly sent to a woman on Twitter. We’ve protected her name and her account, which was at one time verified to be active but has since been deleted after the photo in question was deleted...

...Coincidentally, the rest of the photos in the congressman’s alleged yfrog account were also deleted around 11 p.m. eastern...

...Weiner, who married Hillary Clinton’s longtime assistant, Huma Abedin, last year, has been Tweeting about hockey this evening. Confusion reigns online as puzzled Weiner followers wonder what occurred to Weiner’s timeline.

The photo, stored at Weiner’s alleged yfrog account, is connected to his verified Twitter account. Were his yfrog and Twitter accounts hacked as well?

I'm guessing that's the weiner story Weiner is sticking with.

Remember that a Republican -- Rep. Christopher Lee (NY-26) -- resigned after a similar, less lewd, photo was published on an Internet dating site.

But Democrats operate under a different set of rules than the rest of us.

Rep. Gerry Studds continued serving in Congress even after being censured for having sex with a 17-year old Congressional page.

Rep. Barney Frank continues to serve in Congress even after a series of sex-related scandals including the discovery that a gay prostitution ring was operating out of his home.

And so on, ad infinitum.

Anthony's Weiner needs to resign from Congress immediately. It's the ethical thing to do. He won't, of course, because he's a shameless, power-hungry, Marxist hack like his mentor Chuck Schumer. He won't resign because it would be the ethical thing to do.


Linked by: American Power and Memeorandum. Thanks!

The Ladies of the View Have Assured Me That It's Okay to Call the New DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Slut

In an effort to lay down covering fire for "Red" Ed Schultz -- recently suspended from MSNBC for calling Laura Ingraham a "slut" -- the erudite deep-thinkers at The View tell us that it's perfectly acceptable to call women "sluts" and "whores".

(Begin Clip) ED SCHULTZ, liberal talk show host: President Obama is going to be visiting Joplin, Missouri on Sunday. But you know what they're talking about? Like this right-wing slut, what's her name – Laura Ingraham? Yeah, she's a talk slut. (End Clip)

BARBARA WALTERS: I would like to say that Joy Behar, on this program, has called me a slut.

(Laughter)

GOLDBERG: Joy Behar has called many people a slut on this program. Did you hear from this woman's organization? Ever?

JOY BEHAR: Why Barbara, when I call her a slut, the truth is an ultimate defense. That's all I have to say. ...

GOLDBERG: Have they [NOW] ever gotten a hold of you and said you can't – you shouldn't be calling women sluts?

BEHAR: No – ...

BEHAR: Mine is done with humor.

SHEPHERD: Don't you – don't you think it's a difference when a woman is calling another woman a slut verses a man, because he's attacking her –

GOLDBERG: No. Slut is slut. ...

BEHAR: He was angry.

With The View covering for me, I can safely say that a perfectly reasonable nickname for the Marxist crackpot running the DNC is Debbie Wasserman-Slut -- aka "The Best DNC Chair the GOP Ever Had".


Larwyn's Linx: Constitution Still Applies In Dearborn, Even If It Offends Some

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Nation

Constitution Still Applies In Dearborn, Even If It Offends Some: Ace
Sarah Palin's Magic Bus: Toldjah
Texas governor will consider running for president: WashExam

Barney Frank’s Friends with Benefits: Malkin
Wisconsin Ends Vote Fraud: Surber
Bachmann notes 'calling' to run for president: WashExam

Weinergate: Lewd Photo Hits Twitter: BG
The Best DNC Chair the GOP Ever Had: HE
DNC sets sights on Herman Cain: DC

Economy

Dems' plan: kill U.S. healthcare, remake in socialist image: RWN
Poll: Almost 2/3 of Voters Want Balanced Budget Amendment: Lid
The DOJ's Lies About Immigration Cases: WashExam

School Choice is the New Normal: Foundry
Unions Are Major Recipients of Obamacare Waivers: NLPC
Pawlenty was 'open to' mandate in '06 speech: Politico

Climate & Energy

Chris Christie: New Jersey’s Al Gore: JunkScience
Heritage busts Obama gas price myths: TRS
Yes, Chris Christie still believes in global warming climate change: AmSpec

Media

Things That Make You Say Hmm: Potluck
On War and Revolution: Fat in Indiana
Forget the spin. Taxpayers still on the hook for auto bailouts: WashExam

The Selling of Barack Obama: How CBS's 60 Minutes Works Overtime for the Obama Left: MRC
Why Do Michelle Obama’s Staff Members Keep Quitting?: Glob
Loon Professor: Lone Pro-Life Wacko More Threatening to U.S. Than Unconstitutional GWOT: AmPower

What's Really in Those Teen Magazines? (Hint: Nothing Remotely Romantic): NewAm
Krugman Calls Congressman Ryan a Liar and a Sore Loser: NB
CNN's Cafferty blasts Obama on Euro-trip; WaPo slams President on Israel policy: BlogProf

Shock: The New York Times Lied About Israeli Reaction to Netanyahu's D.C. Adventure: Lid
Poll: Palin near top of re-shaped GOP field: WashExam
Know Why Obama Stammers? Cause He’s So Frikkin’ Brilliant!: RWN

World

The Obama Dilemma: Vodkapundit
Wow!… Canada Defends Israel From Obama Administration – Blocks 1967 Line From G8 Statement: GWP
Arab Springtime for Hitler: Egyptian group announces intent to form Nazi party: JihadWatch

Anti-Communist Hero Lech Walesa Snubs Obama Invite – Says He’s Too Busy: GWP
Never Saw This Coming: Goals Shift In Libya Kinetic Operation: RWN
Suspected Rwanda genocide mastermind arrested: GlobPost

Ahmadinejad says Iranian people demand "complete elimination of Israel": JihadWatch
CT: Muslim Brotherhood founded group to hold convention Memorial Day weekend: Creeping
Muslim terrorist group Hamas on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube: Creeping

SciTech

As the World Turns: Sondrakistan
Homeland Security Wants Mozilla to Pull “Domain Seizure” Add-On: TorrentFreak
Pioneer demonstrates cool Floating Vision displays: CNet

Cornucopia

"I said, 'Look but don't touch.'": AmDigest
"We’re On a Mission From God… We’re Getting the Band Back Together": MOTUS
Here’s a new cause you can, uh . . . get behind: Madrid

Image: Sondrakistan's Public Service Announcement
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: TrendingRight.com - Your Real-Time Conservative News Fix

QOTD: "As the stunning and overwhelming response to Prime Minister Netanyahu in Congress showed, Israel matters in American politics like almost no other country on earth. Well beyond the American Jewish and the Protestant fundamentalist communities, the people and the story of Israel stir some of the deepest and most mysterious reaches of the American soul. The idea of Jewish and Israeli exceptionalism is profoundly tied to the idea of American exceptionalism. The belief that God favors and protects Israel is connected to the idea that God favors and protects America." --Walter Russell Mead

Friday, May 27, 2011

15 Photos from the Joplin, Missouri Tragedy: Utter Devastation #joplinrelief #tornado

Lee writes, "The President phoned in his concern between rounds of Guiness in Ireland and botched toasts to the Queen. Photos of the home front attached."
















Please click any of the photos to help out the victims of this catastrophe.


As California's prison system implodes, corrections union blocks random searches and inks deal letting guards bank unlimited vacation time

Every day and in every way, Governor Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown is proving to be an utter disaster for the beleaguered taxpayers of California. Just a month ago, he approved a deal that will cost taxpayers dearly.

A contract negotiated between Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration and the politically powerful prison guards’ union could prove costly to taxpayers because it lets guards bank unlimited vacation time that must be paid out when they retire, a legislative analyst said Tuesday...

...the average correctional officer already has nearly 19 weeks of accumulated leave time, currently valued at $600 million.

And, despite evidence that some staff members help facilitate a massive smuggling operation into prisons -- corrections unions are blocking all efforts to self-police.

Random staff searches that are part of an effort to curb the smuggling of cell phones into state prisons are drawing objections from the powerful union representing correctional officers...

Union officials contend the monthly searches of all employees are overly intrusive and misguided. The two-year program dubbed Operation Disconnect was enacted after 10,000 cell phones were taken from prisoners last year.

Unchecked Democrat-slash-union control of the state has left California with "the walls closing in on both prisoners and lawmakers."

On Monday, a Supreme Court ruling ordered California to shed some 30,000 prisoners over the next two years. The ruling underlines the cold reality that our current prison system’s lock-up-as-many-people-as-possible-and-throw-away-the-key philosophy is a bad idea. It was always a bad idea. But now it’s a bad idea that officially violates the constitutional prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment.

It was only a matter of time.

Indeed.

Everything the Democrat Party touches turns to crap. Its incessant push for Statist policies, central planning and union control of the workplace, is killing California, Illinois and New York. People and businesses are fleeing and well they should.

The modern Democrat Party is a disaster, whether measured in economic, ethical or moral terms. They represent the antithesis of the principles of America's founding.


Dear President Obama... [Papa B]

Papa B:

27 May 2011

Dear President Obama:

I am writing today with a somewhat unusual request. First and foremost, I will be asking that you return America to its August 20th, 1959, borders so that Hawaii is no longer a state and you are no longer a citizen.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Heh.

Larwyn's Linx: SCOTUS upholds Arizona illegal immigration sanctions

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

Supreme Court upholds Arizona illegal immigration sanctions: Malkin
Marco Rubio, "a man in a field of mice": sisu
A Storm Chaser's First-Hand Account of the Joplin Tornado: Atlantic

Some People Will Believe Anything: Cobb
Pawlenty knocks out Obama in one tweet: Tatler
Obama boasts he's secretly destroying Second Amendment: RWN

Governor Palin Will Go On a “One Nation” Bus Tour: C4P
The rhetorical clarity of moral clarity: Bookworm
Jon Huntsman's Common Sense Campaign for America: Morgenr

Economy

The world will not end on August 2nd: FW
New Jersey courts not interested in Democracy: RWN
Good News / Bad News for Debbie Wasserman Schultz!: RS

Out of Business: Atlas
It's the MediScare, stupid: Riehl
$500MM Obamacare Program to Help Kindergartners 'Sit Still': CNS

The Obama Administration’s ‘Sidam Touch’: Blumer
Obama Regime Threatens to Cut Off Texas Air Traffic: RWN
Former ECB Chief Economist Says "Greece is Insolvent": Mish

Climate & Energy

Genius: U.S. Transportation Secretary rolls up in 7MPG SUV to unveil new fuel economy stickers: BlogProf
Know What “Climate Scientists” Hate? Having To Show Their Work: RWN
Morbidly Obese Film Director: Since Obama Controls Car Companies, He Should Make Them Build Trains: BlogProf

Media

MSN Money Finds 10 Reasons 'You Should Love $5 Gas': NB
Sarah Palin for President: Greenroom
Fleebagging TV: Democrat Walks Off TV Show: RWN

NPR ombud: Yeah, that Soros money might be a credibility problem: Hot Air
Keith Olbermann Hint from Morning Joe: Wayne Barrett
Hey, who’s up for banning Hot Air? : Hot Air

Rush: Obama scared of real conservative like Palin: TRS
How to argue entitlement policy, Democrat-style: Hot Air
Know Why Obama’s Having Problems? Raaaaacism!: RWN

World

Brain Bran: It clears out sclerotic synapses: Primordial Slack
The Dreamer Goes Down For The Count: Walter Russell Mead
Israel as Middle Eastern hegemon: Spengler

Disposable Lives: Pundette
Arab Spring… Egypt Now Has a Nazi Party: GWP
Poll: 12% of Israeli Jews consider Obama to be pro-Israel: JPost

U.S. Congressman Says The Obama Administration Materially Supporting Terrorists: BigPeace
Pro-Palestinian-in-Chief: Kurtz
Nasrallah (Hezbollah Leader) Proudly Endorses The Murderous Assad (Syria): Jawa

SciTech

Startup Wants To Be The First Facebook Competitor, Has Big Money Behind It: Insider
How secure is your wallet in Google's hands? (FAQ): CNet
Field Cam Makes iPad Camera Easier to Use: Wired

Cornucopia

Anguish: Wizbang
Getting Our Doobie Face On: MOTUS
So You Have a College Diploma: IowaHawk

Image: How to argue entitlement policy, Democrat style
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: TrendingRight.com - Your Real-Time Conservative News Fix

QOTD: "The only remaining question is whether [Obama's] perverse and ultimately self-defeating policy is born of genuine antipathy toward Israel or of the arrogance of a blundering amateur who refuses to see that he is undermining not just peace but the very possibility of negotiations." --Charles Krauthammer

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Pipsqueak Media Correction of the Day

Oh, this is rich:

Brilliant.


Say, how's that super-aggressive legal pursuit of the guy who jailbroke the Playstation working out for Sony?

You don't tug on Superman's cape ... You don't spit into the wind ... You don't pull the mask off the ol' Lone Ranger ... And you don't mess around with Jim


Technical geniuses enjoy challenges. They like puzzles -- unlocking secrets. One such person -- going by the online nomme de guerre "Geohot" -- is famous in the hacker community for, among other things, "jailbreaking" the Sony Playstation 3. The term "jailbreak" simply means that the hardware was "unlocked" so that it could run software of the owner's choosing, not just Sony's.

Quite a "crime", eh?

Well, Sony went after Geohot with a vengeance and, in retrospect, it turns out that targeting the hacker community may not be the soundest business strategy.

Unless you have been living under the rock, you must have heard of the lawsuit that sony has filled against Geohot for making PlayStation 3 exploits and jailbreak tools public. No matter what, there’s something that Sony always gets back from Geohot, pwnage for life...

...In a latest effort to publicly pwn Sony, Geohot gives you "The Light It Up Contest"...

...He sums everything up in a single phrase "You’re f***ing with the dude who got the keys to your safe".

Lyrics:

Yo it’s geohot
And for those that don’t know
I’m getting sued by Sony

Let’s take this out of the courtroom and into the streets
I’m a beast, at the least, you’ll face me in the northeast
Get my ire up, light my fire
I’ll go harder than Eminem went at Mariah

The lawsuit was unexpectedly resolved in April when George Hotz ("geohot") consented to a permanent injunction.

Since then, as you have probably heard, Sony suffered a catastrophic data breach. An attacker compromised the personal information of more than 100 million people and literally brought the Playstation Network (PSN) to a grinding halt.

Sony just announced that the breach could cost it more than $171 million -- and that figure will likely rise substantially.

The breach of Sony's PlayStation Network will end up costing the electronics giant at least $171 million, according to a preliminary financial forecast released Monday.

Expenses related to the compromise, which also affected Qriocity and Sony Online Entertainment services and exposed the personal information of more than 100 million people, likely will rise... Anticipated losses already tower over those experienced by other companies that experienced massive breaches, including TJX and Heartland Payment Systems.

Not included in the $171 million figure are the expenses related to defending against a number of class-action lawsuits that already have been filed or are expected in the near-term.

Jailbreaking a device became a crime (in quotes) with the passage of a highly questionable law called DMCA (the Digital Millennium Copyright Act). Looking at it in purely scientific terms, a user that jailbreaks a phone might be voiding the warranty, might be performing a scientific experiment with their own property, might be experimenting with running "unauthorized" software... but, unless done for profit, doesn't seem to pass the smell test as a "crime".

It is unknown whether the attack on Sony was related to its aggressive legal pursuit of Geohot. But one thing is certain: attacking the hacker community for questionable "crimes" doesn't appear to be a viable business strategy.


Hat tip: Carlos.

Party of the rich: Democrats in Congress score 'abnormal' stock profits

Corporate executives are banned from trading stocks based on inside knowledge, but apparently Democrats in Congress operate under no such restriction.

An extensive study released Wednesday in the journal Business and Politics found that the investments of members of the House of Representatives outperformed those of the average investor by 55 basis points per month, or 6 percent annually, suggesting that lawmakers are taking advantage of inside information to fatten their stock portfolios.

...Despite the GOP’s reputation as the party of the rich, House Republicans fared worse than their Democratic colleagues when it comes to investing, according to the study. The Democratic subsample of lawmakers beat the market by 73 basis points per month, or 9 percent annually, versus 18 basis points per month, or 2 percent annually, for the Republican sample...

...Strict laws ban corporate executives from trading on their insider knowledge, but no restrictions exist for members of Congress. Lawmakers are permitted to keep their holdings and trade shares on the market, as well as vote on legislation that could affect their portfolio values...

Government is the most powerful, unaccountable and monopolistic "corporation" of all. Which is why the Framers created the Constitution the way they did: to constrain government, not us.

Consider the Democrat swamp un-drained


Related: The Secret Garden (and Mansion) of Christopher Dodd

Democrats: yep, we're going to continue scaring Seniors until Medicare collapses under its own weight

Look up pond scum in the dictionary and odds are you'll find the logo of the Democrat Party.

The leaders of Democrats' campaign committees said Thursday they wouldn't get "cocky" about their victory in New York's 26th Congressional district but promised to keep attacking Republicans over Medicare.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel (N.Y.) and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (Wash.) spoke to reporters about their plans, attempting to use Rep.-elect Kathy Hochul's win to gain momentum without sounding overly optimistic.

"Today I can tell you that I fundamentally believe that the House of Representatives is in play," Israel said during a briefing at the Democratic National Committee. He said Hochul's victory doesn't mean Democrats would win back the 24 seats necessary to recapture the House in 2012, "yet." He said the Tuesday special election would not make Democrats "cocky."

...Israel hammered home three points: Democrats are recruiting good candidates, the DCCC is out-raising the National Republican Congressional Committee even though the GOP is in the majority and the party apparatus for mobilization is strong, which he called "a critical element for taking the House back."
Israel told reporters that earlier this month 43 recruits visited Washington. After Hochul's win, Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.) "made 50 calls to our top 50 recruits," he said.

...Murray criticized the GOP for saying they would focus on jobs and the economy but instead focusing on "changing Medicare as we know it today in order to protect the wealthiest Americans and tax cut subsidies for oil companies."

The Democrat game-plan can be summarized thusly: lies, demagoguery, class warfare and, finally, a tragic collapse of the entire system.

I can't remember who said it, but the GOP needs to run a very simple tag-line from this point forward: Democrats lied, Medicare died.

Because every expert agrees: without changes, Medicare is set to collapse. And the Democrats are lying to the American people in a petty, last-gasp attempt to stay in power. Which is why pond-scum now talks down to Democrats.


Hat tip: TrendingRight.

Larwyn's Linx: The Summer That Gave Us the Constitution

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Nation

The Summer That Gave Us the Constitution: Foundry
The Lessons of NY-26: LegalIns
Preview of Sarah Palin’s new movie: TRS

Obama: We’re working on gun control “under the radar”: Hot Air
Barone: GOP Must Go on Offensive in MediScare Campaign: Ace
White House Propaganda Czar Married to 'Betray-Us' Crank: GWP

White House bans newspaper for printing Romney op-ed: RWN
Clinton admits Dems playing politics with Medicare: GWP
Loughner ruled incompetent to stand trial: GWP

Economy

Porkulus: Cash for Tax Cheats: Malkin
Jailbreak: Mac Donald
How Prison Unions Helped Create Overcrowding Problem in CA: AllAm

Ryan Video Counters Dem Lies About Medicare: GWP
ObamaCare: Survival of the Well-connected?: NewAm
Obama budget: 0-for-97: WZ

You Will Respect My Authoritah!: NoisyRoom
Court Orders U. Va. to Release Michael Mann Documents: ATI
Chrysler parties after paying off borrowed money with borrowed money: BlogProf

Climate & Energy

57% Of Americans Think Electric Cars Suck: RWN
Oh noes! The abalone must be saved so we can eat it!: WUWT
Socialism in action: Oil-Rich Venezuela Suffers From Energy Crisis: RWN

Media

AP Factchecks Netanyahu--I Return The Favor: Daled Amos
More misogyny at MSNBC: Neanderthal host attacks Laura Ingraham as a “slut”: Malkin
Don Surber Strikes Again: American Digest

Bursting liberal assumptions about the peace process: Elder of Ziyon
Mainstream Media Marvel Over Michelle: NB
The Best Quotes From Laura Ingraham’s “The Obama Diaries.”: RWN

The Republic is saved: Obama says he’ll only serve for eight years: IHTM
MSNBC Cruelly Suspends Mentally-Challenged Man With Few Job Prospects: Ace
Joe Klein: The result in NY-26 was a “victory for socialism”: HotAir

World

Obamacare for Israel: McCarthy
Former Attorney General Mukasey: Prosecuting CIA Agents ‘Unconscionable’: Foundry
Vacationer-in-Chief Plans Trip to Resort Island of Bali: WZ

DNC Head Debbie Wasserman-Schultz Demands That Republicans Not Make an Issue of Israel In 2012: Ace
British Press Pans Obama’s Empty TelePrompter Speech to Parliament: GWP
The Joys of Socialized Healthcare: UK Doctors Prescribing Water to Keep Elderly Patients From Dying of Thirst: WZ

SciTech

YouTube Turns 6 Years Old, Daily Views Shoot Up To 3 Billion (Yes, 3 Billion. Daily.): TechCrunch
Yahoo Paid $20M for a 12-Week-Old Company: A Brilliant Move: FoxBiz
WebP, Google's answer to JPEG, gets better quality: CNet

Cornucopia

Dogs Make Employees More Productive At Work: Insider
New report and map chronicles the visceral reality of 47,000 preventable pedestrian deaths: T4America
Allen West is asking for your help now!: We the People

Image: Ace o' Spades Open Thread
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: TrendingRight.com - Your Real-Time Conservative News Fix

QOTD: "...here is the situation in California. Tens of thousands of prisoners are scheduled by a U.S. Supreme Court order to be released. But why this inability to house our criminals when we pay among the highest sales, income, and gas taxes in the nation? Too many criminals? Too few new prisons? Too high costs per prisoner? Too many non-violent crimes that warrant incarceration? God help us when they are released. We know what crime is like now; what will it be like if thousands are let go? I doubt they will end up in the yards of the justices who let them out." --Victor Davis Hanson, 'Where Dreams Die'

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Pass the Popcorn, Nahanni: Democrat Lawmaker Accuses President Obama of Favoring Hamas Terrorists Over Israel's Freedom Fighters

Well, this ought to help Democrat party unity.

House lawmakers from both parties are siding with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over President Obama in their differing approaches to the Israel-Palestine border dispute... Obama last week called for Israel's 1967 borders to mark the "foundation" for renewing stalled peace talks between the two sides – a concession to Palestine that Netanyahu has bluntly rejected [as indefensible]...

...Rep. Robert Andrews (D-N.J.) said Tuesday that Obama is "tilting toward Hamas" – a reference to the Palestinian group the United States and Israel consider a terrorist organization. He emphasized that Congress would never base its approach to Israeli aid on such a position.

"A majority of the Congress disagrees with him,” Andrews said of Obama.

Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.), for one, said the president "absolutely … made a mistake" with his 1967-borders proposal, and suggested it would harm — rather than bolster — the chances of renewed peace talks.

"With all of the political turmoil and unrest in the Middle East, I don’t understand why the president injected himself into that issue right now," he said.

Uhm, because he marinated in the race hatred of Jeremiah Wright's church for two decades? Because he associated with known PLO figures and Hamas sympathizers? Because his political career was launched in the home of two domestic terrorists?

Nah, couldn't be any of those things.