Tuesday, July 12, 2011

No wonder the Stimulus worked so well: huge amounts spent on useful educational material like race-baiting manuals for teachers

When the full story of the "Stimulus" package is written -- trillions of dollars wasted since January 2009 -- you can be sure it will be rife with tales of waste, fraud and criminality. Oh, yeah. And race-baiting. The kind Jeremiah Wright is so famous for.

If I told you that your tax dollars (130,000 of them) went to buying a “diversity” manual that asserts the government and other institutions create advantages that “channel wealth and power to white people” and calls on educators to “take action for social justice,” what would you do? And if I told you that such a manual was required staff reading in Omaha, NE schools, what would you say?

Don’t believe me? Read on to learn about “The Cultural Proficiency Journey: Moving Beyond Ethical Barriers Toward Profound School Change.”

The book is a manifesto on cultural awareness. But what it calls for, some might say, is quite counter-cultural. The Omaha World-Herald details some of the work’s jaw-dropping statements.

For example, the book includes a quiz that determines a teacher’s cultural proficiency.

"Only those educators who acknowledge the existence of white privilege in America, that ‘white’ is a culture in America and that race ‘is a definer for social and economic status’ can reach proficiency,” the Herald notes. And those who don’t? They’re asked what they will do “to align yourself with the values expressed."

How much of the taxpayers' money has been wasted on this disgusting tripe? Actually, no one knows, though the publisher's website lists the following school systems as "clients".


• Anne Arundel Public School System, Maryland
• Bakersfield Unified School District, California
• Byram Hills School District, New York
• Cecil County Public School System, Maryland
• Carroll County Public School System, Maryland
• Executive Leadership Center, California
• Howard County Public School System, Maryland
National Association of Secondary School Principals
• Ontario Principal’s Council, Canada
• Ottawa-Carlton School District, Ottawa, Canada
• San Diego School District, California
• Urban Leadership Academy, Minnesota
• Wichita Public School District, Kansas
• Wicomico Public School System, Maryland
• South Washington County Schools, Minnesota
• York Region District School Board, Canada


You feeling stimulated yet?


Hat tip: TrendingRight.

Larwyn's Linx: Nobody Should Believe Anything Obama Says

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

Nobody Should Believe A Single Thing Obama Says: NiceDeb
Obama Digs In His Heels on Taxes: PJM
Moonbeam to conservative Californians: Leave, already!: RS

WaPo Underscores Heritage on Illegal Immigration Findings: Foundry
Palin warns Boehner on debt ceiling deal: Hill
TIR Poll: Bachmann Overtakes Romney in Iowa: TIR

Economy

President promises 'massive job killing taxes' if re-elected: Tatler
BUDGET: You Spent Yours : LFAYA
Obama's Failed "Tax Hike on the Debt Hike" Gambit: FreeWork

Obama: Relax, I Won't Raise Taxes 'til After I’m Reelected: Malkin
The Few, the Proud, the Employed: RWN
The Food Stamp Crime Wave: WSJ

WH Imposing Same Race-Based Loans Of '08 Collapse: RWN
Turns Out Obama Gave ACORN $541K This Year: AmSpec
A short list of Obama taxes to look fwd to: Toldjah

Gunrunner

Gunwalker Terrorizing America, Too: Guns Show Up in U.S.: Owens
More illegal gun operations surface, and the MSM tries to stay quiet: Tatler
Allen West: We need a special prosecutor to investigate Holder’s role in Operation Fast and Furious: Hot Air

Media

Media Matters Declared War, Let’s Give Them One: BigJournalism
Mark Levin vs. A Simple-Minded Christopher Manion: Riehl
Why Liberals and Democrats Should Oppose Obama’s Policies: BRubin

Los Angeles- Area Republicans, Remember: Special Election Is Today: Ace
Liberal California Media Cover Up Democrat’s Gang Ties in CD-36 Special Election: RWN
Pat Caddell reacts to Obama presser: “Does this guy have any idea what he’s doing?”: Scoop

World

News Flash: Syrian Regime Mob Attacks U.S. Embassy: BRubin
"Mr. Obama is on the side of the Mexican drug cartels": PatriotNet
Are We Going to Do Anything to Those Who Kill Americans?: Ledeen

SciTech

Fish Photographed Using Tools to Eat: Wired
Meet the Top 20 brands on Facebook: NextWeb
Bill Gates Flabbergasted by Gmail: Fool

How Digital Detectives Deciphered Stuxnet, the Most Menacing Malware in History: Wired
Secondhand Smoking Linked to Mental-Health Problems in Children: NatlJournal
Lock-in: Facebook blocks a second contact export tool: CNet

Cornucopia

The Americans Who Risked Everything: Limbaugh
MOTUS Gets Mail: Special Big White Edition: MOTUS
Woman Faces Jail Time For Growing Veggies In Front Yard: Consumerist

Image: Borderland Beat (Caution: graphic content)
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Got a $5-spot for Michele Bachmann to spare?

QOTD: "When President Barack Obama selected Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz to lead the Democratic National Committee, she was hailed as the best pick he could make... But, like “The Hangover Part II,” Wasserman Schultz hasn’t quite lived up to her billing.

From the start, there has been gaffe after gaffe, which either demonstrates a blind partisanship that shuns facts or a wide disconnect from the average voter." --Politico

Monday, July 11, 2011

Tim Geithner's Tippity-Top Secret Debt Ceiling Spreadsheet

Biff Spackle lands another exclusive: our beloved, TurboTax-challenged Treasury Secretary's secret spreadsheet that specifies who gets paid and who gets bounced if the debt ceiling ain't raised:

As the Bipartisan Policy Center confirms:

The BPC study found that the United States is likely to hit the debt limit sometime between August 2 and August 9. “It’s a 44 percent overnight cut in federal spending” if Congress hits the debt limit, Powell said. The BPC study projects there will be $172 billion in federal revenues in August and $307 billion in authorized expenditures. That means there's enough money to pay for, say, interest on the debt ($29 billion), Social Security ($49.2 billion), Medicare and Medicaid ($50 billion), active duty troop pay ($2.9 billion), veterans affairs programs ($2.9 billion).

That leaves you with about $39 billion to fund (or not fund) the following:

Defense vendors ($31.7 billion)
IRS refunds ($3.9 billion)
Food stamps and welfare ($9.3 billion) -
Unemployment insurance benefits ($12.8 billion)
Department of Education ($20.2 billion)
Housing and Urban Development ($6.7 billion)
Other spending, such as Departments of Justice, Labor, Commerce, EPA, HHS ($73.6 billion)

Gee, let's see.

You mean we'd have to furlough:

Eric Holder? The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which is waging war on Boeing and other private sector companies? The EPA, which is trying to run an end-around on Congress with its own version of cap-and-trade? HHS, the blunt instrument of Obamacare? The Department of Education, also known as the stealth AFT and NEA funding agency? And HUD, progenitor of the Fannie Mae Housing Crisis, thanks to Andrew "The Architect of Ruin" Cuomo?

Wow. Tough decision. Let me think for a minute...

Furlough 'em. Nuke 'em from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Make Obama lead for a change. Force him to make the tough decisions.

I'm sure he'll do spectacularly well. After all, he had so much executive experience prior to taking the job. And he's maintained that stellar performance ever since.

PRESENT!


Why is President Obama backing the Mexican drug cartels? [Papa B]

Papa B:

That's not a joke. That's a serious question. Consider:

Exhibit A: The Obama-Holder Justice Department is suing Arizona for its enforcement of federal immigration law. Arizona's SB1070 is modeled directly after the immigration law passed by Congress and signed by President Roosevelt in 1940. In other words, Mr. Obama is siding with the Mexican government and its criminal elements against American citizens. Or, in the words of Professor Terry Lovell, "Mr. Obama is on the side of the Mexican drug cartels."

Exhibit B: The Justice Department's "Operation Fast and Furious" supplied more than 2,000 military-grade weapons -- many of them purchased with taxpayer dollars by government informants -- to the Mexican drug cartels. Among the weapons purchased for the cartels by the American people: Barrett .50-caliber sniper rifles, AK-47 assault rifles, and FN assault pistols. Put simply, Eric Holder was arming the Mexican drug cartels and lying to Congress about it.

Exhibit C: The Justice Department is also requiring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to free illegal aliens even if they are caught committing serious crimes. Because a significant percentage of illegals caught committing crimes are members of Mexican drug cartels and other gangs, Mr. Obama is literally issuing "Get Out of Jail Free" cards to the most vicious criminals imaginable.

This is not a joke. This isn't funny.

President Obama is doing his level best to support the Mexican drug cartels. And, if that's "over-the-top", prove it. Can you show me one shred of evidence that Mr. Obama supports the American people over the drug cartels?

And one more question: are traditional Democrats so cynical that they can support these activities? I pray not.

2012 is coming.


Tin Pot Syrian Dictator 1, Shlemiel-in-Chief 0 [Dan from New York]

Dan from New York:

Our correspondent in Jerusalem, Carl, has all the pitiful details on attacks today at the American and French embassies in Damascus by pro-Assad demonstrators.

How humiliating for our country was it? The French showed more fight than we did, that’s how humiliating. If you have the constitution for it, read Carl’s report with some excellent links right here: "Obama's response to attack on US embassy in Damascus: He's going to file a lawsuit ".

White House insiders say he's also going to put the Syrians on double-secret probation.


Larwyn's Linx: Study: U.S. Won't Default if Debt Ceiling Isn't Raised

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

Study: U.S. Won't Default if Debt Ceiling Isn't Raised: WS
Government of Sociopaths: Sultan
The "grand bargain" as campaign ploy: Greenroom

Why We Don't Recover: CityJournal
CA-36 Special Election Guide: Huey vs. Hahn: Zombie
Bachmann Responds to Pawlenty Comments: NRO

Economy

Great News: Friday's Anemic Jobs Number Are Likely Bogus: JWF
Democrats Propose Surprising, Innovative Method of Deficit Reduction: Ace
Our Retreat From Prosperity: AT

The Coming Collectivization of American Health Care: PJM
Social Justice: Obama and the Left's Not-So-Hidden Agenda: AT
Newt Gingrich: 'This is the Obama Depression': Note

U.S. Must Borrow $5K per Family to Fund Govt. Through 9/30: CNS
The Facts About Stimulus Spending: Reason
Unions and the Democrats, America’s political Ponzi scheme: IHTM

Gunrunner

No Answer From White House on Involvement in Fast and Furious: RWN
'Fast & Furious': Fast & loose: PittLive
The Government's Gunrunners: Post

Climate & Energy

Follow the Money: The EPA, ATF, DOJ and POTUS Under The Radar : Babalu
UN Says ‘Going Green’ Will Cost $76 Trillion: S&L
“Carbon Sunday” – The madness in Australia over the Carbon Tax: WUWT

Media

Think Progress Hacks Can’t Read but They Can Lie: VS
Do we really wonder who we’re dealing with?: ProWis
The Wisconsin redistricting maps are out: RS

Group Behind "The Marriage Vow" Removes Slavery/Family Reference From Pledge And Apologizes : Ace
Hume: "Obama Justice Department Reminds Me Of Nixon Justice Department": Aces
Lawsuit: Sheila Jackson Lee Tormented Disabled Ex-Aide: Lid

NY Times Thinks Economy Runs Thanks To Government: RWN
Video of NBC's David Gregory: The President's Economic Policies Have Failed: BlogProf
This picture is worth 2 trillion words: LegalIns

World

ATF Tampa Division Walked Guns to Honduras and to MS13 Gang Members: GWP
Figures. Obama Administration Sides With Lebanon’s Hezbollah Government Over Israel in Border Dispute.: GWP
New Australian law to make Muslims lift veils: MyWay

Top Jihad Website Hosted From New Jersey: Creeping
US goes after agents who moonlight for Mexican cartels: GlobPost
Argentina Charging Economists: Mises

SciTech

Global Warming: a Primer: Power Line
HP fiddles while Apple innovates: CNet
Former White House Staffer Fights Obama Obesity Efforts: NatlJournal

Cornucopia

Our First Salutary Tax Revolt: AmSpec
Aspen's Dirty Little Secret -- Its Airport: AspenTimes
The 25 Documents You Need Before You Die: Yahoo!

Image: The People's Cube
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Michele Bachmann for President

QOTD: "Anyone harboring any doubt over who is repsonsible for the failure of a “grand bargain” must consider Pres. Obama’s record. He avoided the debt before the election. After the election, he submitted a budget so absurd it got zero votes in a Democrat-controlled Senate. [Indeed, Senate Democrats have yet to submit a budget of any kind.] He has not moved from the positions he staked out in April. His position is not balanced, no matter how much the White House and the establishment media try to spin it as such." --Karl at the Greenroom

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Look to the Future, Comrades!

The Statist can never look at history, or at human experience, or their own record of failure. Thus, the Statist must paint a Utopian vision of the future.

Delivered on March 1, 1920 at the First All-Russia Congress of Workers, Vladimir Lenin concluded his keynote speech with the following promise.

We have now concentrated all our forces on the restoration of industry and are steadfastly waging this new war, in which we shall be as victorious as we have been hitherto. We have instructed a commission of scientists and engineers to draw up a plan for the electrification of Russia. The plan will be ready in two months and will enable us to got a full and clear picture of how, in a few years, the whole of Russia will be covered by a network of electric transmission lines, will be restored in a new way, not the old way, and how she will achieve that culture which [we] saw in Germany.

That is the way we must restore our industry, and that is the way we shall return a hundredfold the loan of grain we are taking from the peasants. We know that this cannot be done in a year or two; the minimum programme of electrification is calculated for a period of not less than three years, and the complete success of this advanced industry will require not less than ten years ... We have gained that experience in leading the masses with the help of urban workers which will carry us through all difficulties on this bloodless front of struggle against economic chaos and will lead to greater victories than those we gained in the war against international imperialism. (Applause.)

71 years later, when the Soviet Union collapsed, huge swaths of the country had no electric power.

In a speech delivered on January 8, 2009, President-Elect Barack Obama urged Congress to pass a Stimulus bill warning that the recession could become “dramatically worse” and last for years otherwise.

That is why we need to act boldly and act now to reverse these cycles. That’s why we need to put money in the pockets of the American people, create new jobs, and invest in our future...

That work begins with this plan – a plan I am confident will save or create at least three million jobs over the next few years... That’s why we’ll invest in priorities like energy and education; health care and a new infrastructure that are necessary to keep us strong and competitive in the 21st century. That’s why the overwhelming majority of the jobs created will be in the private sector, while our plan will save the public sector jobs...

To finally spark the creation of a clean energy economy, we will double the production of alternative energy in the next three years. We will modernize more than 75% of federal buildings and improve the energy efficiency of two million American homes, saving consumers and taxpayers billions on our energy bills. In the process, we will put Americans to work in new jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced – jobs building solar panels and wind turbines; constructing fuel-efficient cars and buildings; and developing the new energy technologies that will lead to even more jobs, more savings, and a cleaner, safer planet in the bargain.

To improve the quality of our health care while lowering its cost, we will make the immediate investments necessary to ensure that within five years, all of America’s medical records are computerized

This is the hallmark of the Statist.

Ideologically unable to unleash the private sector, the Statist must always paint a picture of a Utopian future hovering just a few years away. If only you can give him more money and more authority, this Utopia can be yours!

And, of course, it always fails to materialize.

We must deconstruct the Statists' policy failures. Look not at the mirage-like vision of the future that he paints; look instead at what he's done.


Linked by: Camp of the Saints. Thanks!

Worst. President. Ever.

For all of the drones out there suffering from Bush Tourette's Syndrome*, I present -- courtesy the Office of Management and Budget -- the only chart you need.

It turns out that the unemployment situation is so dire -- despite trillions in wealth redistribution -- that even the far left Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) has launched an organized attack on President Obama.

Black unemployment today continued to hover at a near record high of 16.2 percent, according to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Labor... The rate is near the highest rate recorded for blacks during President Obama's tenure... The black unemployment rate for June was 16.2 percent, the same as the May rate. The May rate was up from April's 16.1 percent, which was the largest increase since November's 16 percent.

On Thursday, members of the Congressional Black Caucus assailed Obama for his handling of the rising black unemployment rate.

"Can you imagine a situation where any other group of workers, if 34 percent of white women were out there looking for work and couldn't find it?" asked Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, the Democratic chairman of the caucus. "You would see congressional hearings and community gatherings. There would be rallies and protest marches. There is no way that this would be allowed to stand."

Not to mention what would have happened had there been a Republican President in office. Jesse, Al and a cadre of other crackpots -- possibly consisting of NYT reporters -- would be marching on Washington demanding something or other.


* You know: "It was Bush's fault! Bush! Bush! Bush did it! And Cheney! And Bush! And Lee Harvey Oswald! And Bush!"

Update: The Disappearing Black Middle Class


Hat tip: Gateway Pundit. Linked by: Ace o' Spades. Thanks!

Good grief, didn't anyone go to negotiating school? Feckless Mitch McConnell: "Nobody is talking about not raising the debt ceiling"

Hey, Mitch: if you're not prepared to walk away from the table, it's not negotiating, it's begging.

McConnell discussed the debt ceiling negotiations with Bret Baier on Fox News Sunday. McConnell was in agreement with Speaker John Boehner’s decision not to support a large deficit deal, yet also made a curious assertion that none of his Republican colleagues have ever claimed they will not be in support of raising the debt ceiling.

Baier, filling in for Chris Wallace, pressed McConnell on what would happen if no deal could be worked out and whether he was concerned with the consequences of what might happen if the debt ceiling is not raised. McConnell confidently responded, “nobody is talking about not raising the debt ceiling. I haven’t heard that discussed by anybody.” Yet Baier informed him that Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, among others, have explicitly said just that. Baier even quoted Bachmann saying “don’t let them fool you that the economy is going to collapse” if the debt ceiling isn’t raised.

McConnell however apparently didn’t want to address such comments and preferred to stay focused on his opinion of how serious it is to actually raising the debt ceiling...

Really? Why not?

The federal government takes in more than enough money each month to pay its obligations, pensions, military, Social Security recipients, etc. It's the rest of the bloated, useless federal bureaucracy (like the EPA and the NLRB) that would have to be furloughed.

And that's a bad thing?

Also, please consider our TurboTax-challenged Treasury Secretary's track record of predictions:

Geithner first began warning in January of "catastrophic" consequences if the debt limit is not raised by Congress, saying then that the borrowing cap could be hit as early as March 31.

That prediction soon changed to April 5, but it was not until Monday -- May 16 -- that the ceiling was officially reached as the latest government bond sales were settled.

In early April, Geithner also said the drop-dead date for a debt limit rise, when the U.S. would begin to default on its obligations, was July 8. This month he changed that to Aug. 2...

..."There is no certain day," said congressman James Lankford, a member of the fiscally conservative Republican Study Committee. "It's a moving target. Even if Aug. 2 is passed, Treasury has the tools in its back pocket to keep us from defaulting."

Lankford added: "Treasury has done a good job of trying to increase the panic, rather than giving us solutions."

Obama and Geithner are fomenting panic in order to keep spending like drunken liberals. If Boehner and McConnell had one-tenth of Michele Bachmann's guts, they'd walk away from the table now. The minimum annual cuts they must demand should start with the failed "Stimulus package", which is now built into the baseline budget.

In April, Andy McCarthy recapped the reasons not to raise the debt ceiling.

It's Negotiating 101, which our feckless GOP leadership appears to have either skipped or flunked.


Update: Bipartisan Policy Center: U.S. Won't Default on Debt If Congress Fails to Raise Debt Ceiling

Allen West on Operation Fast and Furious: Eric Holder needs to go. And if Obama doesn't force Holder to resign, he's complicit

This is why we love Rep. Allen West of Florida.

Florida Republican Rep. Allen West is demanding that President Barack Obama force Attorney General Eric Holder to resign.

Appearing on Nashville radio host Steve Gill’s show last week, West said Obama would be “complicit” with what he sees as Justice Department attempts to slow down and avoid a congressional investigation into Operation Fast and Furious and Project Gunrunner if he didn’t push his attorney general to resign. “The president needs to realize that Eric Holder needs to be removed from the Department of Justice,” West said after detailing why he thinks Holder should appear before an investigative committee to testify about how the DOJ has handled its response to the Operation Fast and Furious investigation. “Or else I believe President Obama is complicit and he is in approval of the actions of his attorney general.”

Gill followed up by asking West if he thought a special prosecutor was needed to investigate Operation Fast and Furious. West said he thought so, adding that the mishandling of the operation is a part of a “trend” he sees forming at the DOJ. West said the way Holder has handled Operation Fast and Furious is reminiscent of how he handled the New Black Panther Party voter intimidation scandal.

“This is just another sad chapter in the Eric Holder book of ineptness and incompetence,” West said.

That's putting it kindly.

How does "Speaker West" sound (although, Michelle Malkin suggests -- and I agree -- that "Vice President West" sounds even better)?


Related: Holder Lied, People Died.


Hat tip: TrendingRight.com.

Larwyn's Linx: Palin to GOP: tackle debt or expect a do-over in '12

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

Palin to GOP: tackle debt or expect a do-over in '12: GWP
Has Pelosi Been Marginalized?: Hot Air
ObamaCare, ObamaCars, and Government-Mandated Broccoli: PJM

As much debt as the prior 43 presidents combined: WZ
Conrad budget cuts $800B from Defense: Hill
Boehner Says Comprehensive Debt Deal Unworkable: RollCall

'The Constitution in 2020': Left Wages War on Founding Document: Dollard
Perry testing the Iowa waters?: Hot Air
Democrats Urge Justice Department to Investigate... Democrats?: WS

Economy

Our Excuser-In_Chief: Power Line
A Matter Of Principle - Taxes, Debt And The GOP: Joshua
Experts Go 0 for 85: Surber

President Obama Admits Welfare Encourages Dependency: Foundry
Six Months Left, Mr. President: Malkin
TSA workers stole $50K from travelers, sold on eBay: SAB

Gunrunner

Obama sold and tracked same guns to cartels he hoped to ban...: LI
Video Shows Obama and Holder Ordered Gun-running Scam to Drug Cartel: RWN
43 weapons in Phoenix traffic stop linked to ATF strategy: ABC15

Why did Obama administration deliberately allow illegal export of guns to Mexico and Honduras?: MoneyRunner
Ogden's 2009 presser on Gunrunner not exactly an admission of gunwalking.: Sipsey
Source claims ATF's Tampa SAC walked guns to Honduras!: Sipsey

Climate & Energy

Coal industry braces for massive layoffs: AT
100 years ago today, “climate disruption” traveled back in time to kill 652 people: WUWT
No “Glo-Bull” Warming in Canada and Way too Much Bull ‘Moose-ing”: RWN

Media

A Question for Ann Althouse: MoneyRunner
Well, This Is Going To Piss Off The "Greatest Generation" Crowd: JWF
Selective Outrage Over the Price of Booze: GWP

Media Matters and Dem Groups Form Organization to Track GOP Candidates with Army of Videographers: GWP
The Great Madness of 2004-10: Hanson
Autoworker Testifies on Union Election Intimidation and Harassment: BlogProf

Stengel-gate/National Constitution Center Update: We Got Mail!: BG
Well, we’ve been saying California should do more to be like Texas: RWN
AP Report Interrupts Two-Sentence Boehner Statement With Seven Grafs of Obama Hype: NB

World

Top U.S. Military Officer: Iran Is In a Shooting War With America. OK, Where’s the Policy Response?: BRubin
China's Inflation Hits 6.4%, Food Prices Soar 14.4%: Mish
Homosexuality permitted in 113 countries, illegal in 76: The News (PK)

Hezbollah and Iran south of the U.S. border, some experts say: DC
Islam ‘Was The First Organized Socialist Movement In The World’: BigPeace
Saudi’s help woman lose her head: Creeping

SciTech

The Chevy Volt: A love-hate relationship: DigitalTrends
Major grocery chain gets rid of self-checkout: CNet
ORCL, MSFT could cash in big on Android sales: CNet

Cornucopia

Grinding America Down: Copybook Headling
Kate’s “Marilyn moment” in Calgary: WZ
Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me: BMW

Image: Sad Hill News
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Michele Bachmann for President

QOTD: "Supposedly, United States taxpayers were picking up the tab for Mexican drug lords' weaponry in order that the ATF could identify high-up gun-traffickers. But, as it turns out, these high-up gun-traffickers were already known to other agencies – FBI, DEA and other big-spending acronyms in the great fetid ooze of federal alphabet soup in which this republic is drowning. And, indeed, some of those high-ups are said to have been paid informants for those various federal agencies. So, in case you're wondering why Obama's second annual Recovery Summer is a wee bit sluggish at your end, relax: Stimulus dollars went to fund one federal agency to buy guns for the paid informants of another federal agency to funnel to foreign criminals in order that the first federal agency might identify the paid informants of the second federal agency.

Meanwhile, what did the drug cartels, the recipients of the guns, do with them? Well, they used them to kill at least one member of a third federal agency: Brian Terry of the United States Border Patrol. If that doesn't bother you, well, they also killed not insignificant numbers of Mexican civilians.

If, by this stage, you're wondering why U.S. stimulus dollars are being used to stimulate the Mexican coffin industry, consider the dark suspicion of many American gun owners – that the real reason the feds embarked on this murderous scheme was to plant the evidence that the increasing lawlessness on the southern border is the fault of the gun industry and the Second Amendment, and thereby advance its ideological agenda of ever greater gun control." --Mark Steyn

Saturday, July 09, 2011

It Would Seem That the Teary-Eyed John Boehner Came Perilously Close to Wimping Out Again With Major Tax Increases in Debt Ceiling 'Deal'

Headline updated based on suggestions from commenters

It's the last straw. I'm guessing this Wall Street Journal report is accurate; and, if so, the American people and the pathetic John Boehner should begin weeping.

House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) said the White House and congressional leaders have stopped pursuing the major deficit-reduction deal tackling entitlement programs and an overhaul of the tax code that he and President Barack Obama had been seeking.

A statement from Mr. Boehner issued late Saturday, after a conversation with Mr. Obama, said efforts by both parties to reach a deal to reduce the federal deficit by $4 trillion over the next decade reached an impasse this weekend over the issue of taxes. Mr. Boehner said negotiators will instead work toward an agreement closer to $2 trillion.

"Despite good-faith efforts to find common ground, the White House will not pursue a bigger debt reduction agreement without tax hikes," Mr. Boehner said. "I believe the best approach may be to focus on producing a smaller measure, based on the cuts identified in the Biden-led negotiations, that still meets our call for spending reforms and cuts greater than the amount of any debt limit increase."

...Messrs. Obama and Boehner had agreed to shoot for a $4 trillion deal that would include up to $1 trillion in tax increases, which Republicans have resisted, and significant savings in Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, which drew criticism from Democrats. Their hope was to go beyond the minimum deal necessary to win votes in Congress necessary to raise the federal debt ceiling and to make a landmark strike at deficit spending.

..."The White House would not agree with the core elements of tax reform proposed by the speaker," the Republican familiar with the discussions said. "A gulf also remains between the Speaker and the White House on the issue of medium and long-term structural reforms."

Hey, schmuck: you don't need to do anything. The government isn't going to default; it isn't going to renege on Social Security; and it could run for a year on current revenues.

James Pethokoukis called it earlier tonight: Obama is "snookering Boehner on taxes".

The media accounts of the tax reform deal being cooked up by President Obama and House Speaker Boehner aren’t all that clear. But it is looking like a big tax increase:

– The White House is insisting that as part of any deal the current tax rates on the middle class—the child tax credit, etc.—would be made permanent, while the lower rates on capital gains, dividends and the higher income brackets would expire after 2012. Taken by itself this would be a tax increase pure and simple and violate the GOP’s campaign pledge.

...More troubling than these details is the staggered timing. Republicans would be putting their fingerprints on a tax increase in return for spending cuts as a first order of business, which would raise the dividend and top income tax rates to 39.6% (from 35%), or 41% if you include the phase-out of deductions. (Plus the 3.8% payroll tax hike baked into ObamaCare.) Only then would Mr. Obama and the Democrats negotiate the details of tax reform and lower overall rates...

...as much as $1 trillion would be in revenues: $700 billion from letting the Bush tax cuts for the highest income brackets expire and another $300 billion from increased revenues, from auctioning off frequencies, increased payments to federal pension plans and ending agriculture subsidies in addition to ending tax breaks such as deductions for corporate jets, yachts and race horses...

All very confusing, but the best I can make of it is this: higher taxes now in exchange for a promise of tax cuts later to be “paid for” by reducing tax breaks/deductions/loopholes with perhaps some of that money going toward deficit reduction.

I can tell you this: Democrats need a lot more tax revenue to make their long-term budget plans works. This is why Obama has not offered a long-term budget plan. The need for massive tax increases would then be clear to all. In private, liberal economists all talk about a need for a value-added tax to raise the additional revenue.

But a liberal think with close ties to the White House, the Center for American Progress, recently released a budget plan that goes out to 2035. It shows taxes as a share of the economy rising dramatically to nearly 24% of GDP vs. around 18-19 percent historically. And I am guessing they would go even higher if the table went beyond 2035. If Boehner and the Republicans don’t hold the line now on taxes, this is the American future...

Let me repeat this simple message to Speaker Boehner and Leader McConnell: if you cave on this ridiculous plan, prepare to be removed from your lofty positions on the Beltway cocktail and talk show circuits.

Your timidity is helping to destroy the American economy. Say hello to Speaker West and Leader Rubio.


Sign the Cut, Cap, Balance Pledge



Linked by: Protein Wisdom. Thanks!

Good news: all-out civil war explodes on our unprotected southern border

Dispatches from the invaluable Borderland Beat:

Massacre at Monterrey Bar Leaves 20 Dead
A bar attack leaves three people fighting for their lives in Mexico.

Authorities say more than 15 armed men rushed into Sabino Gordo killing 20 and injuring five.

The gunmen filled three vehicles a little after 10:00 p.m. on Friday. Officials say the bar, where the attack, happened is considered a meeting ground for the Zetas. State police believe this was an attack made by the Gulf Cartel.

A waitress and two customers were among the dead.

Gulf Cartel arsenal seized in Zacatecas
On Wednesday, July 6, a Mexican Army unit, armed with information from an anonymous tip, seized four vehicles and an arsenal with Gulf Cartel (CDG) identification marks in the municipality of Tepechitlan, Zacatecas ... [including]

• 15 assault weapons (AR-15 and AK-47)

• 4 fragmentation grenades

• 7,601 rounds of live ammunition

• 15 ballistic vests

• 274 magazines

• 16 sets of tactical gear

• 4 vehicles, 1 of them armored.

Fighting reported in Michoacan: Governor's house attacked
Thursday did not begin well in Michoacan. At approximately 11:00am a group of gunmen attacked the offices of Governor Leonel Godoy but were routed and captured by state ministerial police guarding the installation.

It was unknown if Governor Godoy was in his offices at during the attack.

By late Thursday afternoon armed confrontations between Federal forces and gunmen and the appearance of “narco” blockades were reported in at least ten municipalities of Michoacan. The fighting and blockades, which began at 5:00pm, were the result of the violent reaction of Caballeros Templarios to a Federal Police operations in the municipalities of Apatzingan, Aguillia and Paracuaro.

The heaviest fighting was reported in the Apatzingan valley and blockades thrown up to impede movement by the authorities were reported in the municipalities of Morelia, Apatzingan Parácuaro, Uruapan, Aguililla, Los Reyes, Pátzcuaro, Zinapécuaro, Quiroga and Maravatío.

Many of the blockades involved burning automobiles, buses and tractor-trailor rigs.

* * * * * * * * *

But, by all means: let's not secure the border with the failed narco-terror state to the south. Especially since Mexico now appears to be hosting Hezbollah terrorists in addition to bloodthirsty drug cartels.


Holder Lied, People Died

"Project Gun Runner" -- also known as "Operation Fast and Furious" -- was a massive firearm smuggling program orchestrated by the Department of Justice. It was ostensibly designed to monitor the flow of weapons to Mexican drug cartels. More than 2000 weapons, including military-style assault- and sniper rifles, were intentionally sold to the cartels over the protests of gun-shop owners and ATF field agents. And virtually none of the weapons were actually tracked by U.S. officials.

The murders of at least two American law enforcement officials and dozens of Mexican nationals have since been tied to these weapons.

In sworn testimony, Attorney General Eric Holder denied knowledge of Gunrunner on May 3, 2011.

Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee says he does not believe Attorney General Eric Holder gave accurate testimony under oath to Congress during the House Judiciary Committee on May 3.

Asked in May when he learned of Operation “Fast and Furious” and “Project Gunrunner,” Holder claimed he ‘probably’ learned of it ‘over the last few weeks.’ In the testy exchange that followed, Issa pointed out that two Americans were killed by weapons associated with the botched operation, and that in the end, no major criminals were brought to justice. Issa also implies that the Department of Justice was deliberately slow-rolling the request for documentation about the program. You can watch the exchange between Holder and Issa here.

Unfortunately for Holder, an April 2, 2009 speech in Cuernavaca, Mexico documented his boasts about Operation Gunrunner to Mexican authorities.

Last week, our administration launched a major new effort to break the backs of the cartels.  My department is committing 100 new ATF personnel to the Southwest border in the next 100 days to supplement our ongoing Project Gunrunner, DEA is adding 16 new positions on the border, as well as mobile enforcement teams, and the FBI is creating a new intelligence group focusing on kidnapping and extortion.

In addition, the book Mexico-U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress alludes to Holder's vociferous support of these types of operations.

Holder praised Mexico-U.S. cooperation in the investigations that led to [the] indictments [of 43 Mexican drug dealers]... ...ATF has begun a new intelligence-driven effort known as Gunrunner Impact Teams (GRITs)... and beefed up its Project Gunrunner program as a part of its efforts to stop the flow of guns into Mexico... ...on August 13, 2009, DHS and DOJ, along with Mexico, signed a letter of intent to develop a coordinated, bilateral arms trafficking strategy...

Not only did Holder lie to Congress, but President Obama likewise has feigned ignorance. Yet Gunrunner was part of the "Stimulus package" signed by the President in 2009.

The original Southwest Border Violence Reduction Act of 2009 was sponsored by Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-Texas. Rodriguez's co-sponsors were two other Texans, Henry Cuellar and Silvestre Reyes, plus Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., and Harry Teague, D-N.M.

...Holder is clearly not telling the truth about his role in Gunrunner. He knew about it, boasted of it and took credit for it. Now he's orchestrating a cover-up of it. President Obama needs to man up about Gunrunner and either take responsibility for this tragedy or admit, under oath if need be, that even he didn't know what was in the stimulus bill.

During an interview with a Univision reporter that aired in March, Obama said he was "absolutely not" informed about the ATF program that deliberately funneled guns into Mexico. "I did not authorize it," he said. "Eric Holder, the attorney general, did not authorize it..."

We need a special prosecutor.


Linked by: Ace o' Spades and Sipsey Street Irregulars. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: Say No To the Dems’ July Surprise

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

Say No To the Dems’ July Surprise: Power line
These Things I Deny: Hayward
90% of Obama Travel at Least Partly Politics: Dossier

Desperate & Dangerous: The Left’s 14th Amendment Ploy: BG
Today's Democrats and Slaveholders: RWN
Sen. Mike Lee Rips Geithner a New One on 14th Am. Ploy: CFJ

La Raza, Feds Team Up to Push Govt. Aid in Spanish: JW
Liberalism: Out of a Job: Belmont Club
MoveOn.org Threatens Boycott of Obama Re-Election: AmSpec

Gunrunner

Holder feigns ignorance but bragged of Gunrunner in '09: BG
ATF’s Fast and Furious: Shovel-Ready Jobs for Gravediggers: VS
The Stimulation Of Murder: IBD

Economy

Economic Calamity: P&F
Five Ways Obama Tanked Employment: Foundry
Feds’ deficit streak hits record 33rd straight month: Times

Did Ron Bloom Lie to Congress?: Exam
Amnesty Costs 70 Times More Than Enforcement: NUSA
Retirement Fund Plunder Update: $206B So Far, $62B Left: ZH

Climate & Energy

Lights Out: Cold Fury
EPA Gives Millions to Enviro Groups That Sue it: Cato
Regulating California’s Auto Industry into the Electric Chair: FreeWork

Media

How liberal lies seep into pop culture and become 'fact': Toldjah
Krauthammer Corrects 'Inside Washington' Host: David Brooks 'Is Not A Conservative': NB
Phone hacking scandal: enemies of free press are circling: Telegraph

Liberal spin on 9.2% unemployment: Surber
Rapid response: New Romney ad hits Plouffe’s stupid unemployment comments: Hot Air
R.I.P. Betty Ford: Tatler

Politicians’ Immoral Behavior Becoming Acceptable: RWN
Patriotic Stirrings in the Real America: AmSpec
Warren Buffett: I Could End the Deficit in 5 Minutes: Malkin

Hatch Sets the Record Straight: “Reducing Tax Expenditures” is a Tax Increase, Plain and Simple: ATR
Ohio citizens fighting Obamacare with proposed amendment: Hot Air
Does Medicaid Save Lives?: AmSpec

World

Judith LeBlanc: Top US “Peace” Activist and Communist Leader: NoisyRm
Citizen U.S.A. The Reality: CFP
Think Tank To Obama: The Military’s Budget Is Not Your F***ing Welfare ATM: Dollard

No Answer From White House on Involvement in Fast and Furious: RWN
Bachmann first presidential candidate to sign anti-Sharia pledge: JihadWatch
Thwartilla: Israel blocks mass fly-in by pro-Palestinian "activists": JihadWatch

Muslims to defend sharia law in NY, NJ, Texas: Creeping
Illegal Alien Who Raped and Murdered Teenager Executed Over Obama's Strenuous Objections: MB
Egyptian Leader Threatens Jews, Christians…All of Humanity: ‘Whole World Belongs to Us’: NoisyRm

SciTech

Why Google+ Is Better for Business: Datamation
Verizon: unlimited 3G customers can upgrade to 4G, keep data pack and grab $30 tethering: Engadget
Verizon pushes latest Thunderbolt update: solves reboot issues, kills free mobile hotspot: Engadget

Cornucopia

Bastiat for the Ages: Mises
Here's a Victory I Missed: C&S
The world’s most expensive paintings: Telegraph

Hoo Boy, How About This PSA?: Sondrakistan
Kate Middleton Suffers Wardrobe Malfunction: Gawker
Koch Heads: Sondrakistan

Image: Adapted from Sonadrakistan
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Brutha, can ya spare $5 for Michele Bachmann's Campaign?

QOTD: "Many traditions have gone by the wayside during the last few years of Democratic control, none more important than the legislative process itself. The idea that major legislation affecting the lives of hundreds of millions of Americans and the future prosperity of our children and grandchildren should be rushed through Congress without being read, without being debated, without being amended, without being made known to voters, is an outrage. With respect to the budget, it is an illegal outrage." --John Hinderaker

Friday, July 08, 2011

Quote o' the Month: Messrs. Boehner and McConnell -- Just Say No

John Hinderaker:

Many traditions have gone by the wayside during the last few years of Democratic control, none more important than the legislative process itself. The idea that major legislation affecting the lives of hundreds of millions of Americans and the future prosperity of our children and grandchildren should be rushed through Congress without being read, without being debated, without being amended, without being made known to voters, is an outrage. With respect to the budget, it is an illegal outrage.

Republicans should have nothing to do with such banana republic proceedings. There should be no eleventh-hour cosmic bipartisan deal on the budget. The nation’s fiscal future should be debated and legislated on in an organized, transparent, legal, public manner. First choice: Republicans vote against an increase in the debt limit. Contrary to hysterical pronouncements from the likes of the discredited Tim Geithner, this would not cause the federal government to default on its bonds. Rather, the government would continue to pay principal and interest as it comes due, and would be forced to cut spending in other areas.

As they say on the real blogs, read the whole damn thing.


Hat tip: Verum Serum. Related: An Open Letter to @SpeakerBoehner and Sen. McConnell: You Blow This and You Are Political Toast.

"Millionaires and Billionaires"

The committee calls Thomas Edison to testify. Please swear him in.

Mr. Edison, describe for the committee the nature of your "light bulb" invention.

Distinguished representatives and guests, while the idea of electric lighting is not a new one, neither had it been a practical matter until we produced our new incandescent light bulb.

It uses a lower current of electricity and is both safe and economical.

So this electric light bulb that your firm invented: do you agree that demand for affordable lighting will skyrocket and that more and more electricity will need to be produced? Have you considered the impact on carbon emissions into the atmosphere -- the inevitable result of lighting all of these "bulbs"?

No, sir. We were simply trying to create a useful product for consumers, one that enhances safety and society as a whole.

Have you considered alternative lighting mechanisms that would consume less electricity? How many "green collar" scientists are working in your laboratories? Have you considered the impact of your invention on climate change?

No, sir -- I'll admit we were simply trying to create a functional light bulb.

And this phonograph you've invented, Mr. Edison, have you evaluated how its production could skyrocket due to high demand for musical recordings? Have you produced an assessment for the EPA and state regulators as to its impact on the environment? Production of tin, vinyl and other substances could explode!

Ah, never mind.

The committee calls Henry Ford.

Here.

Please explain this "invention" of yours: this "mass-produced" automobile.

Ladies and gentlemen, one day it struck me. We could produce cheaper goods, without compromising quality, by standardizing designs and assembly processes. We created an "assembly line" that helps us mass-produce vehicles...

These "cars" of yours are reproducing like locusts! Virtually everyone is driving them! And where do you think you'll get the fuel, the gas for these --

Distinguished Representative, America's natural resources are plentiful and there is no shortage of oil. Furthermore, our new processes are a significant improvement because automobiles can be produced more efficiently and consistently.

Mr. Ford. Mr. Edison. The conclusions of this committee are clear. The U.S. government cannot tolerate out-of-control corporate entities run by super-wealthy individuals such as yourselves. We must confiscate your factories and laboratories until they can be unionized; vetted by federal, state and local regulators; and certified as "green".

In short, we must call a halt to your outrageous activities. You and Mr. Edison are dismissed.


An Open Letter to @SpeakerBoehner and Sen. McConnell: You Blow This and You Are Political Toast

You cave on the debt ceiling without meaningful spending cuts -- not Social Security, not Medicare, not some far-off, mystical trillion dollars a decade in the future -- but cuts now in the massive discretionary spending programs that exploded under the 111th Congress, well, then you are both political toast.

President Obama has publicly vilified you, has equated you with terrorists ("holding a gun to the American people's head") and has now gone 800 days without a budget. He spent this money. He knew it would blow past the debt ceiling. This is his fault And now he demands something "balanced"?

This is the real deal, since you or your staffers haven't figured it out yet: Obama is prepared to slash Social Security, Medicare, Defense--in fact, anything except the bloated public sector unions.

As always with Obama, it's about the unions. There can be no negotiation with the ideologues who have blown trillions in borrowed money to no avail.

The bloated government bureaucracies are the Democrat Party and vice versa. One can't exist without the other.

If you -- Senator McConnell -- and you -- Speaker Boehner -- blow your advantage, you can stick the old political forks in you. You're done.

Your starting position -- non-negotiable -- should be the Cut, Cap, Balance Pledge.

Period.

No secret, back-room deals. No bullcrap "trillion-dollar spending deals for 2020 with non-tax revenue increases".

This is Obama and the 111th Congress' fault. They didn't pass a budget. They spent like drunken liberals. And, as we speak, they are destroying the full faith and credit of the United States Treasury.

If you are too wedded to your status on the Beltway cocktail and press circuit -- rather than as representatives of a pissed-off electorate -- there will be hell to pay.

Hell.

To.

Pay.


P.S., How's "Speaker West" sound to you?

4 brutal graphs: how President Obama and the Democrats rewarded sloth and unemployment and got... more sloth and unemployment

With the release of the latest horrible jobs report, liberals continue to wonder why the employment situation remains so dire.

To explore the answer, we'll visit the Department of Labor's website, which houses several useful databases. Among the most important measures the agency tracks is Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR). This is the percentage of the working-age population that are either employed or unemployed but seeking a job. The remainder are either not looking for employment, are discouraged workers, or otherwise completely out of the workforce.

Looking over the last 30 years, this is the worst environment for employment since Jimmy Carter's recession. President Ronald Reagan attacked the malaise by slashing tax rates, reducing regulation and -- basically -- getting government out of the way of the private sector. In addition, the Welfare Reform Act of 1996 had a markedly positive effect on the LFPR.

After the dot-com bubble collapsed and the after-effects of the 9/11 attacks rippled through the economy, the LFPR stayed stable for years. From the summer of 2003 until the Fannie Mae housing meltdown of late 2008, the rate hovered around 66%.

Even after the housing meltdown, the LFPR stayed basically the same until the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Why?

Basically, President Obama and his Democrat super-majorities in the 111th Congress incentivized sloth, fraud and unemployment. Why are many Americans out of the workforce?

Consider the major milestones in the Democrats' job-destroying policies:

03-01-2009: SNAP (Food Stamp) Participation Rates Leap
11-06-2009: Unemployment Extension Adds Up to 99 Weeks of Benefits
03-23-2010: Obama Signs Health Care Bill Today as GOP Challenges Constitutionality
04-02-2010: Census hiring expected to reach peak in next several months
05-27-2010: Obama Extends Moratorium; Agency Chief Resigns
09-16-2010: New PPACA [Obamacare] Provisions Take Effect in September – But Do Your Clients Know?
02-03-2011: U.S. in Contempt Over Gulf Drill Ban, Judge Rules
06-11-2011: Utility threat to shutter coal plants fuels EPA battle
07-08-2011: Report: Obama’s oil company tax proposal would jeopardize thousands of jobs

These are but a few of the employment-crushing steps embarked upon by Obama and the Democrats. And, as you can see, more are on the way.

They have yet to figure out that if you reward sloth, you get more sloth. And the worst is yet to come.

Remember in 2012.