Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Pass the popcorn, Nahanni: Obama campaign apparatus slams Leftist blogs and Paul Krugman; Jane Hamsher hardest hit

I love the smell of blue-on-blue conflict in the morning.

The Obama campaign's point person in New Mexico recently sent an email to supporters defending the president's position on the debt deal and bashing the Nobel Prize winning New York Times columnist Paul Krugman and the "Firebagger Lefty blogosphere."

That's right: the progressive Left -- the true Soviet wing of the Democrat Party -- doesn't think Obama is destroying the country fast enough.

The reality that President Obama is seeking re-election while the left wing of his party is profoundly disillusioned hit home last week at the Iowa State Fair when I watched DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz get heckled off stage by angry progressives. And Obama’s re-election campaign staff isn’t helping their boss much.

New Mexico OFA state director Ray Sandoval sent out an e-mail to Democrats, attempting to address their “frustrations” with the debt deal and including the text of a post from liberal blogger Spandan Chakrabarti:

Paul Krugman is a political rookie... Joining the ideologue spheres' pure, fanatic, indomitable hysteria, Krugman declares the deal a disaster - both political and economic - of course providing no evidence for the latter... He rides the coattails of the simplistic argument that spending cuts - any spending cuts - are bad for a fragile economy, ignoring wholeheartedly his own previous cheerleading for cutting, say, defense spending. But that was back in the day - all the way back in April of this year...

...The more than half-a-trillion in defense and security spending cut "trigger" for the Republicans will hardly earn a mention on the Firebagger Lefty blogosphere... No, the loudest screeching noise you hear coming from Krugman and the ideologue Left is, of course, Medicare. Oh, no, the President is agreeing to a Medicare trigger!!! Oh noes!!!


HuffPo’s Amanda Terkel explains that “Firebagger Lefty blogosphere” is probably a reference to Jane Hamsher’s Firedoglake.

To have the Obama re-election team trashing Krugman and Firedoglake ought to give you an idea of what a sense of hopeless doom the Democrats are facing as they look forward to 2012. FDL wouldn’t be trashing Obama if Obama wasn’t looking weak, and Obama’s staff wouldn’t be worried about a columnist or a blogger if the White House was generally winning the message war.

Just as nothing succeeds like success, nothing fails like failure. Ever since Obama got his ass kicked in the 2010 mid-terms, he has been covered in failure, and the negative mojo appears to be snowballing.

No butter, please, Nahanni.

I'm getting my cholesterol checked in the morning.


Hat tip: Memeorandum.

The Truth About Rick Perry: Cliff Notes Version

"...if Barack Obama remains in office another four years there is a very good chance that he will have the opportunity to name between three and four Supreme Court justices either through natural death or retirement."


For those interested in an overview of PeskyTruth's two masterful articles describing the pros and cons of Rick Perry ("Want to know more about Rick Perry?" and "Seventeen (17) things that critics are saying about Rick Perry"), please consider the following "Cliff's Notes" version.

Want to know more about Rick Perry?


• Fifth-generation Texan; married high school sweetheart Anita in 1982
• After graduating, joined Air Force in 1972 as C-130 pilot. Left in 1977 with the rank of Captain.
• For the next seven years, Perry farmed cotton and tended the family ranch
• Entered politics in 1984, served in Texas House of Representatives, as Agriculture Commissioner and Lt. Governor
• Succeeded G. W. Bush in 2000 after latter resigned to run for the presidency; reelected three times since

• Supports repeal of Obamacare, which he says "puts many states on a collision course with bankruptcy"
• Strong supporter of Second Amendment, received "A+" from NRA
• Staunch supporter of Israel; visited in 2007; received "Defender of Jerusalem" designation in 2009
• In 2009 and 2011, endorsed a resolution supporting state sovereignty under the 10th Amendment of the Constitution

• Opposes regulation of greenhouse gases; believes in "all of the above" energy strategy
• Moved Texas "aggressively" into a large portfolio of energy sources including renewable, natural gas, coal and nuclear
• Texas has become a national leader in reducing emissions and known pollutants
• Texas has the world's largest wind farm, producing three times as much power as second-place Iowa

• Faced with a budget deficit in 2010-11, Perry became the first Texas governor since WWII to cut general fund spending
• Also balanced budget in 2003 by cutting spending in a challenging economic environment
• Rebated or cut taxes to business in 2007, 2008 and 2009
• Signed both Cut, Cap & Balance pledge and Americans for Tax Reform pledge not to increase taxes
• By several independent measures, Texas has the second lowest tax burden in the country for individuals and businesses

• Has twice formally requested that the Obama administration and DHS provide more support for border security
• Passed a "Voter ID bill" in 2011 after six years of "fierce partisan battling"
• Applicants for TX driver's licenses must be verified federal immigration databases to ensure they are in the country legally
• In 2008 stated his clear opposition to Amnesty; has advocated for secure borders and "sensible immigration policies"

• In the last five years, Texas has created more net jobs than the other 49 states combined
• In 2005, signed a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman
• Over the past ten years, teachers' salaries have increased 30%
• State budgets have consistently cut general spending while spending more, year-over-year, on education

• Appointed an African-American as chief justice of Texas’s Supreme Court; appointed the state’s first Latina justice
• Since 2003 tort reforms, more than 21,000 doctors have begun practice in Texas
• This year, Perry signed a "Loser Pays" bill into law, which should cut down on frivolous lawsuits
• Perry is said to have appointed only "unabashedly conservative" judges and would "carry this philosophy into the White House"

Seventeen (17) things that critics are saying about Rick Perry


Gardisil is a vaccination designed to prevent cervical cancer caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV); the FDA approved the drug in 2006 and recommends vaccination in girls by age 12, before they become sexually active. Perry signed an Executive Order mandating vaccinations; this was overruled by a veto-proof majority in the Texas legislature. 18 other states, including New York and Michigan, had considered similar mandates, but none were actually implemented. Perry has since admitted his EO was a mistake, claiming he was motivated by his hatred of cancer (both of his parents are cancer survivors).

As of June 22, 2011, approximately 35 million doses of Gardasil® have been distributed in the U.S... the CDC says: “Based on all of the information we have today, CDC recommends HPV vaccination for the prevention of most types of cervical cancer."

• The Trans-Texas Corridor was plan introduced by Perry in 2001 that would have created a $175 billion program to build high-speed auto lanes; truck lanes; commuter and freight rail; water, natural gas and oil transport; telecommunications and other services. After eminent domain and "NAFTA Superhighway" concerns were raised, the corridor was killed off.

Once a Democrat, he served as Al Gore's campaign manager in Texas. Perry had been raised a Democrat and Gore in 1988 "opposed the federal funding of abortion, supported a moment of silence in schools for prayer, approved funding of the Nicaraguan contras and was against the ban on interstate handgun sales." The experience with Gore's campaign helped convert him to the Republican Party, which he joined in 1989.

He advocated secession. Actually, his real statement -- after a speech was interrupted with chants of "Secede!" -- was, "We’ve got a great union. There is absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, who knows what may come of that. Texas is a very unique place, and we’re a pretty independent lot to boot."

Jobs created in Texas are low-wage. But, according to CBS MoneyWatch (4/11), Texas is ranked third among “Best States to make a living.” Texas has also seen its wages climb faster than the country overall. The "low-wage" canard was thoroughly debunked by Political Math.

Texas ranks poorly in educational spending and high school graduations, both of which are true statements. However, differing racial makeups make states difficult to assess head-to-head. But according to The Nation's Report Card, standardized testing shows white students, black students and Hispanic students in Texas outperformed those in Wisconsin in math, reading and science for both 4th and 8th grades.

Perry turned down $555 million in federal stimulus, but later asked for federal disaster aid for wildfires. Both assertions are true. But the Stimulus funds were a one-time payoff that had strings attached requiring Texas to continue paying the $555 million even after the federal funds had disappeared. Perry did accept other stimulus funds that had no such strings attached.

Perry says he hasn't raised taxes, but he actually has in certain cases. Perry's actual statement was “we don’t raise taxes." But certain taxes have increased including tobacco, fireworks, diesel equipment, franchise, and unemployment. But, overall, Perry's record is stellar. The state ranks 45th in per-capita taxes with a 7.9% combined state/local tax burden versus, say, New York’s burden of 12.1%. Texas has no personal income or capital gains taxes; and Perry vetoed a proposed Internet state sales tax.

"Perry has presided over the highest number of executions in the nation". This statement implies Perry was actively involved in the court cases, appeals and sentences when, in fact, he simply followed Texas law. Perry has commuted 31 death sentences, most for crimes committed as juveniles.

Perry refused to commute the execution of a Mexican national though the White House and Mexico itself had requested it. True enough. And the Mexican national -- who is not immune from prosecution under U.S. laws -- was a despicable animal who kidnapped, raped, tortured, sexually mutilated and then murdered a 16-year old girl. He confessed to the crime to both the police and his brother. After 45 separate hearings and appeals, Perry (thankfully) allowed the execution to proceed.

Did Perry preside over the execution of an innocent? Days before the execution of a man convicted of setting a fire that killed his three children, new evidence was presented by his defense attorney. Although Texas allows the governor to issue a 30-day stay of an execution, only the state's Pardons and Paroles board can issue clemency or commutation orders. This board reviewed the evidence and refused to recommend that Perry act.

Perry supports giving in-state tuition to illegals. This is true. In 2005, Perry signed a law that allowed any student who lived in Texas for at least three years and graduated from a state high school to receive in-state tuition.

"Rick Perry is gay" and "Rick Perry is homophobic". Politico and other magazines have inferred that there are questions about Perry's sexual preferences, These accusations remain unsubstantiated and there appears to be no evidence that Perry is either gay or homophobic. There is no question, however, that he supports the tenet that a marriage binds one man to one woman.

Perry is a "weak" governor. This argument is used by critics to minimize Perry's role in an obviously booming state. However, an independent assessment indicates that "thirty other state’s governors were ranked as having more power than Texas’ chief executive, seventeen are ranked about equal, and three had even less power."

Perry is "squishy" on immigration. He certainly has a mixed record; he has opposed an Arizona-style immigration law. But he recently added a bill that prohibited "Sanctuary Cities" (which didn't garner enough support to pass the legislature). Texas has earmarked more than $400 million for border security since 2005 with $152 million in the last legislative session alone.

"Perry is a member of the Bilderberg cabal and therefore believes in a New World Order (NWO)". Although Perry attended a Bildeberbug meeting in 2007, so have Presidents Clinton and Ford, Timothy Geithner, George Stephanopoulos, Thomas Friedman, Senators Chris Dodd, John Edwards, Diane Feinstein and Tom Daschle. Perry attended the meeting for three days in 2007 and apparently received his instructions on how to implement an NWO during that time.

Texas has an abysmal rating compared to other states in ___. Whether its "uninsured children", "uninsured adults" or "percentage of people living below the poverty line", the rankings are selected by critics to smear Texas and Perry. Look for the following characteristics of these claims: no citations, no credible sources, no dates and no original context. Put simply, any rankings comparing Texas to other states must account for a large Hispanic population, many of whom entered the country illegally.

I would encourage you to read both of PeskyTruth's articles on Perry in full:

• "Want to know more about Rick Perry?"

• "Seventeen (17) things that critics are saying about Rick Perry"

This is an outstanding set of articles that really helps the reader gain a better understanding of the Texas Governor and would-be GOP candidate.


Hat tip: Ace o' Spades.

Larwyn's Linx: When a Civilization Goes Mad

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

When a Civilization Goes Mad: Solway
Rick Perry's Crony Capitalism Problem Is Extremely Troubling: Riehl
The "Allen West For Senate" Boomlet: Hayward

Fleebaggers hold on in WI, but GOP keeps Senate majority: Malkin
Palin And Bachmann, Not Steinem, ARE Feminism: RWN
Rick Perry’s bad, Obama-style medicine: Malkin

Reasonable Obama reasons that he's reasonable: VikingPundit
Philly's flash mobs: mayor aims at black community: CSM
If Bush said this...: TigerHawk

Economy

Rick Perry and the Texas Job Numbers: Political Math
Getting Rich the Old-Fashioned Way: Through Government: AmSpec
Obama's "Department of Jobs": FreedomWorks

Every Single One: Holder's Politicized Education Section: PJM
Obamunism + Car Industry = Impending Crash: RWN
Non-Union Boss Shot By Likely Union Member: Ace

Another Favored Obama Green Business Goes Bankrupt: RWN
Union Message for VZ Strikers: 'Open Season...Torture Them': JWF
Rep. Issa: NLRB Has Turned 'Rogue': Max

Gunrunner

Firearms from ATF sting linked to 11 more violent crimes: LAT
As Congressman Darrell Issa Chases Fast and Furious, the New York Times Deploys Smoke Screen: BigJourn
John Cornyn demands to know why Fast and Furious supervisors got promotions: Chron

Media

MSNBC Selectively Edits Perry Remark to Smear Him as a Racist: BigJourn
The Darrell Issa Hit Piece: Most Inaccurate NYT Article … Ever?: PJM
Citizen Journalism Stops a Liberal Meme In Its Tracks: RS

The Threat Of Liberal Judicial Activism Reaches New Heights : AT
Can Our Gun Rights Survive Boehner and Reid’s New ‘Super Congress’?: BG
Your Government -- Hard At Work: BlogProf

Whiner-in-Chief: Obama Blames “Little Blogs” And Fox News For Political Vitriol: WZ
Another Example of How the NYTimes Warps Truth: RWN
Barack Obama's 'battle bus' through the US: Telegraph

Kos’s Sexism And Homophobia: RWN
Bitter Cold Hits Hell After Nation Editor Credits Private Sector in States That Are 'Doing Quite Well': NB
Oh-bummer for ObamaCare: Norris

World

Obama Re-Writes History on Bush and Jerusalem: Commentary
State Department Funds Anti-American Propaganda: Commentary
Allen West Responds To CAIR Demand With One-Word Letter: “NUTS!”: WZ

Obama’s Ramadan Guest List Omits Controversial Attendees: Creeping
Special Accommodation for Sharia in Tennessee: Islamic Head Coverings Exempt from Sheriff Policies: Atlas
Germany, France Slide Toward Recession: Mish

Sci-Tech

Ever faked a cell phone call? You're not alone: CNet
Spectacular Hercules statue found in Jezreel Valley: Ynet
How to customize Google+ privacy: CNet

Cornucopia

Finally, the Beatles Remix of Obama’s Magical Misery Tour: Nice Deb
Obama Street Art: The Gimme, Gimme, Gimme Edition : Urban Infidel
WATCH: Giant Dog Welcomes Soldier Home After Nine Months Apart: Mediaite

What happened to my telephone?: JPA
Do Rich Liberals Understand How Insulting It Is To Average Americans When They Demand Tax Increases?: Glob
The Visceral Terror of a Tea Party Presidency: 10 Thoughts on the Coming Political Warfare of 2012: Tatler

Image: Right Wing News
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Allen West for Congress

QOTD: "The gradual but unrelenting insinuation of socialist and neo-Marxist doctrine into the liberal West, after it has been reliably shown to falter or collapse wherever it has been implemented, is still another index of severe mental disconnect and maladjustment to reality. Command economies are proven to be inefficient, and the welfare state, predicated on the punitive taxation of a shrinking and increasingly insolvent productive base to subsidize ever-inflating entitlement programs, has been properly described as a gigantic Ponzi scheme. Redistributionist and womb-to-tomb security states, as Margaret Thatcher famously said, will eventually run out of other people’s money. Nevertheless, this ideological will-o’-the-wisp continues to be diligently pursued." --David Solway

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Oh, My: Obama's Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Says Giving Away Food-stamps Is a Stimulus Program Which Puts People Back to Work

One in seven Americans (another Obama record!) is now on food stamps. Asked how the federal government might alleviate those high numbers, Obama Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack proclaimed that food stamps are "putting people to work".

No s***. He really said that.

Well, obviously, it's putting people to work. Which is why we're going to have some interesting things in the course of the forum this morning. Later this morning, we're going have a press conference with Secretary Mavis and Secretary Chu to announce something that's never happened in this country -- something that we think is exciting in terms of job growth...

...I should point out, when you talk about the SNAP program or the food stamp program, you have to recognize that it's also an economic stimulus. Every dollar of SNAP benefits generates $1.84 in the economy in terms of economic activity. If people are able to buy a little more in the grocery store, someone has to stock it, package it, shelve it, process it, ship it. All of those are jobs. It's the most direct stimulus you can get in the economy during these tough times.

Bask in the sheer genius of Tom Vilsack, peons: the government taking money from you hard-working Americans -- and giving it to others, without regard for their ability to work -- stimulates the economy!

Why didn't we think of this before?

In fact, let's put everyone in America on food-stamps! That'll be the ultimate Stimulus!

Ultimate, I say!

As an aside, my fellow Tea Party terrorists, Vilsack's wife is running against Rep. Steve King of Iowa, a true fiscal conservative.

Do we need another economic illiterate in Congress? I think not. Therefore I urge you to give $5, $10, whatever you can spare to Steve King's campaign.

We need exactly zero Vilsacks in office in 2012.


Related Fun: So the Democrats Finally Want Fiscal Responsibility? Great. Let's End Their Disastrous "War on Poverty"


Hat tip:
Real Clear Politics.

Ruh Roh: Senator Joe Lieberman Unsure Whether He Will Support Barack Obama in 2012

Senator Joe Lieberman, ostensibly a political independent but who caucuses with the Democrats, is wavering on the President.

Senator Joe Lieberman ... told host John McCaslin on America's Morning News radio show on Tuesday morning that he had not decided if he would endorse President Obama in 2012:

MCCASLIN: Will you be supporting Barack Obama in 2012 or are you going to be putting your money on a Republican candidate?
LIEBERMAN: Well I haven't decided and I'm just waiting to see who the Republican candidate is and what President Obama's positions are at that point, so I got a little time as an independent not to feel rushed, because this is an important position. And I'm only one person but for every one of us who we support next year is going to say a lot about how our kids and grandkids are going to grow up in America, so I'm watching.


Senator Lieberman appears to be losing confidence that President Obama could actually win in 2012. The Connecticut Senator also told WLS 890 am radio's Don Wade on Tuesday, whether President Obama will be re-elected is, “an open question.”

And who can blame him?

Furthermore, Lieberman is defending the GOP presidential candidates over their strong religious convictions.

Senator Joe Lieberman ... defended Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Minn), Texas Governor Rick Perry, and former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney against attacks they have received for speaking about their religious beliefs. Senator Lieberman says, " To me there's no good reason for it. If a person's faith matters, first its their right to say whatever they want. This is the history of our country. This country was founded on religious belief..."

[He was then asked], "Do you have a problem with Congresswoman Bachman, Governor Perry or former Governor Romney for their religious statements?" Senator Lieberman: "Oh God no, of course not. That's their faith. I give them all the credit. These kind of media attacks may backfire. Many Americans are turned off by that kind of sniping attacks."

Gee, but the Declaration of Independence only mentions God about six times, so I'm sure America's founders were intending to separate church and state.


Hat tip: Drudge Report.

Flashback: George Carlin Obliterates the Enviro-Statists

The late, great George Carlin had zero tolerance for the no-growth, flat-earth, Marxist environmentalists.

You got people like this around you? Country is full of them now! People walking around all day long, every minute of the day — worried about EVERYTHING! Worried about the air, worried about the water, worried about the soil. Worried about insecticides, pesticides, food additives, carcinogens; worried about radon gas; worried about asbestos. Worried about saving endangered species.

Let me tell you about endangered species, all right? Saving endangered species is just one more arrogant attempt by humans to control Nature! It's arrogant meddling! It's what got us into trouble in the first place! Doesn't anybody understand that? Interfering with Nature! Over 90 percent.. over... way over 90 percent of all the species that have ever lived — EVER LIVED — on this planet are gone. Whissshht! They are extinct!

We didn't kill them all.

They just... disappeared! That's what Nature does! They disappear these days at the rate of 25 a day, and I mean regardless of our behavior. Irrespective of how we act on this planet, 25 species that were here today, will be gone tomorrow! Let them go... gracefully! Leave Nature alone! Haven't we done enough?

We're so self-important. So self-important! Everybody's going to save something now. "Save the trees; save the bees; save the whales; save those snails." And the greatest arrogance of all, "Save the planet." WHAT? Are these f***ing people kidding me? Save the planet? We don't even know how to take care of ourselves yet. We haven't learned how to care for one another, we're gonna save the f***ing planet?

I'm getting tired of that s***. Tired of that s***. Tired! I'm tired of f***ing Earth Day! I'm tired of these self-righteous environmentalists; these white, bourgeois liberals who think the only thing wrong with this country is there aren't enough bicycle paths. People trying to make the world safe for their Volvos.

Besides, environmentalists don't give a s*** about the planet. They don't care about the planet. Not in the abstract they don't. Not in the abstract they don't. You know what they're interested in? A clean place to live. Their own habitat. They're worried that some day in the future, they might be personally inconvenienced. Narrow, unenlightened self-interest doesn't impress me.

Besides, there is nothing wrong with the planet. Nothing wrong with the planet. The planet is fine. The PEOPLE are f***ed. Difference. Difference! The planet is fine. Compared to the people, the planet is doing great. Been here four and a half billion years. Did you ever think about the arithmetic? The planet has been here four and a half billion years. We've been here, what? A hundred thousand? Maybe two hundred thousand? And we've only been engaged in heavy industry for a little over two hundred years. Two hundred years versus four and a half billion. And we have the CONCEIT to think that somehow we're a threat? That somehow we're gonna put in jeopardy this beautiful little blue-green ball that's just a-floatin' around the sun?

The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through all kinds of things worse than us. Been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles; hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors; worlwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages... And we think some plastic bags, and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference? The planet... the planet... the planet isn't going anywhere. WE ARE!

We're going away. Pack your s***, folks. We're going away. And we won't leave much of a trace, either. Thank God for that. Maybe a little styrofoam. Maybe. A little styrofoam. The planet will be here and we'll be long gone. Just another failed mutation. Just another closed-end biological mistake. An evolutionary cul-de-sac. The planet will shake us off like a bad case of fleas. A surface nuisance.

You wanna know how the planet is doing? Ask those people at Pompeii, who are frozen into position from volcanic ash, "How the planet's doing?" You wanna know if the planet's all right, ask those people in Mexico City or Armenia or a hundred other places buried under thousands of tons of earthquake rubble, if they feel like a threat to the planet this week. Or how about those people in Kilowaia, Hawaii, who built their homes right next to an active volcano, and then wonder why they have lava in the living room.

The planet will be here for a long, long — LONG — time after we're gone, and it will heal itself; it will cleanse itself, because that's what it does. It's a self-correcting system. The air and the water will recover; the earth will be renewed; and, if it's true that plastic is not degradable, well, the planet will simply incorporate plastic into a new paradigm: the Earth plus plastic! The Earth doesn't share our prejudice towards plastic. Plastic came out of the Earth. The Earth probably sees plastic as just another one of its children. Could be the only reason the Earth allowed us to be spawned from it in the first place. It wanted plastic for itself. Didn't know how to make it. Needed us. Could be the answer to our age-old philosophical question, "Why are we here?" "Plastic! A**holes."

So! So, the plastic is here, our job is done, we can be phased out now. And I think that it has already started already, don't you? I think, to be fair, the planet probably sees us as a mild threat. Something to be dealt with. And I am sure the planet will defend itself in the manner of a large organism, like a beehive or an ant colony, and muster a defense. I am sure the planet will think of something. What would you do if you were the planet trying to defend against this pesky, troublesome species?

"Let's see... What might... Hmm.. Viruses! Viruses might be good. They seem vulnerable to viruses. And, uh...viruses are tricky, always mutating and forming new strains whenever a vaccine is developed. Perhaps, this first virus could be one that compromises the immune system of these creatures. Perhaps a human immunodeficiency virus, making them vulnerable to all sorts of other diseases and infections that might come along. And maybe it could be spread sexually, making them a little reluctant to engage in the act of reproduction."

Well, that's a poetic note. And it's a start. And I can dream, can't I? See I don't worry about the little things: bees, trees, whales, snails. I think we're part of a greater wisdom than we will ever understand. A higher order. Call it what you want. Know what I call it? The Big Electron." The Big Electron...whoooa. Whoooa. Whoooa. It doesn't punish; it doesn't reward; it doesn't judge at all. It just is. And so are we. For a little while.


Central-Planner-In-Chief Tells Automakers: Stop Building SUVs and Trucks

Our beloved central-planner-in-chief has some management advice for automobile manufacturers:

The country’s automakers should ditch their focus on SUVs and trucks in favor of smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, President Obama said Monday.

You can’t just make money on SUVs and trucks,” Obama said during a town hall forum in Cannon Falls, Minn. “There is a place for SUVs and trucks, but as gas prices keep on going up, you have got to understand the market. People are going to try to save money.”

...Obama was speaking at the start of a three-day bus tour of the Midwest. He will visit Decorah, Iowa, later in the day.

Of course, gas prices might not be quite so high if the president would simply heed the rulings of multiple federal judges, including those who have found his administration in Contempt of Court for its illegal drilling bans.

And no word on what kind of mileage President Subprime McDowngrade gets on his three, armored Deathmobile buses.



Larwyn's Linx: Obama's Bleak Misery Tour

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

Nation

Obama's Bleak Misery Tour: Nice Deb
Bachmann Can Win: McCarthy
Court: DOJ must justify its Black Panther stall tactics: JW

Wisconsin Recall, Part Two: Fleebaggers face the music: Malkin
Tea Party Activists Confront Obama in Iowa: GWP
'Conscientious objector' doesn't object to killing Americans: WyBlog

Economy

The Truth about Billionaire Warren Buffett’s Tax Hike Pleas: Foundry
The Twilight Zone Prize in Economics: Zombie
Romney mocks Obama 'Magical Misery Tour': Post

CEOs go Galt on Obama: Surber
An added incentive to avoid doomsday defense cuts: Hot Air
Rick Perry’s Serious Unforced Error: Commentary

Warren Buffett’s Fiscal Innumeracy: Cato
George Friedman on a Crisis of Political Economy: Stratfor
Pelosi hammers GOP for ‘anti-worker agenda’: Hill

Climate & Energy

Strange Friends of the New EPA Trucking Regulations: AT
The Green Jobs Story Obama Doesn’t Want You to Hear: Foundry
California Outlaws Flat Sheets: RWN

Media

Rick Perry Embraces the Surber Rule: Surber
Obama to Stop at Economically Healthy Towns to Figure Out Why His Policies Haven't Ruined Them Yet: Powers
The Crown Heights Riot, 20 Years Ago This Week, The True Story is Never Told: Lid

MSNYT: Innovations in bias technology are coming at an increasingly rapid pace in the New York Times: Kaus
Hyperbloviating Think Progress Gets Its Collective Panties In A Wad Over Rick Perry: RS
Pedophiles Follow Close in the Footsteps of Militant Homosexuals: RWN

Paul Krugman Calls for Space Aliens to Attack Earth to Stimulate Economy: NB
Interview: Mark Steyn on After America: RWN
Social media causes collisions at intersection of business, personal lives: ChiBiz

Chris Matthews: News Organizations Are 'Going to Spend Every Nickel They Have' Investigating Rick Perry: NB
New York Times's Washington Correspondent Calls Rick Perry 'Horrifying': WS
George Will Slights Bachmann’s Fitness to ‘Control' Nukes--Just as He Slighted Palin's: CNS

World

Founder Of The Muslim Canadian Congress Says Muslim Brotherhood Has Infiltrated White House: Nice Deb
Communist Castro Regime Asks Visiting Democrats To Help Get Obama Reelected: WZ
Did CAIR shut down the CIA’s “homegrown radicalization” conference?: Creeping

The Global Financial System Is Bankrupt: Mish
Ron Paul: The GOP’s Henry Wallace: BigPeace
Bombs tear through 17 Iraqi cities, 63 killed: MyWay

Sci-Tech

Presenting The U.S. Military’s New Fighter, the F-35 Lightning II: RWN
Brit arrested in water fight planned via Facebook, BlackBerry: CNet
The Five Levels of ISP Evil: Sonic

Cornucopia

The 10 Biggest Lies of B-School: Forbes
“The Butter Cow Represents Humankind’s Tyranny Over Defenseless Animals.”: RWN
23-year old man caught stealing life-size Justin Bieber cutout from a record store: TSG

Image: @Astro_Ron - What a "Shooting Star" looks like #FromSpace - Perseids Meteor Shower
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Allen West for Congress

QOTD: "Big Government on America’s unprecedented money-no-object scale will always be profoundly wasteful (as on that Williamsburg flight), stupid (as at the TSA), and arbitrary (as in those waivers). But it’s not republican in any sense the Founders would recognize. If (like Obama) you’re a lifetime member of the government class, you can survive it. For the rest, it ought to be a source of shame to today’s Americans that this will be the first generation in U.S. history to bequeath its children the certainty of poorer, meaner lives — if not a broader decay into a fetid swamp divided between a well-connected Latin American–style elite enjoying their waivers and a vast downwardly mobile morass." --Mark Steyn

Monday, August 15, 2011

Exclusive: Layout of President Obama's Tragical Misery Tour Bus

Our enterprising cub reporter Biff Spackle has located a tippity-top secret schematic of President Obama's campaign Recovery Summer™ tour bus.

As you could have expected, the President is making do with spartan quarters that provide only the basic necessities of life.



The Reason I Detest the Left [Mark Levin]

Mark Levin:

Obama and the Democrats are trying to turn us against each other. They are trying to create hate. And at some point they're going to unleash mayhem. I truly believe this. They're playing with political fire; playing with societal fire. They're also creating the conditions of societal anxiety. People are worried about their own security, the stability of their lives, whether it's jobs, housing, transportation.

This is what happens when you devolve from liberty into tyranny. And what's clear to me now is that, based upon what the liberals are saying, what they've said over the last week, whether it's on the cable shows or in the liberal press, they're setting up the Tea Party, Fox News and talk radio for that which they are fomenting.

We have the Tea Party being called terrorists by a Congressman and the Vice President... other language being spewed about the Tea Party, so they really want to create hatred, negative images, strawmen. But the Tea Party is nothing more than the American people. That's what the Tea Party is.

Look at what happened in Wisconsin. The citizens of Wisconsin, in the various state elections, they beat back the forces of big government and their allies. We're not the minority!

We are the majority. But these people have been given things, taken from you and given to them, such that they believe they have a greater right to your private property -- your income, your labor -- than you do!

And they're not going to allow you to escape from this enslavement, from their perspective. I want you to think about this:

When Obama talks about "...this group deserves this...", he is saying that the government has the power to take your labor from you -- your work, your income, from you and your family -- that you have legitimately earned. And they take that from you for whatever reason he says... food-stamps, unemployment, medical care, highway construction, more federal bureaucracts... they have the right to take your labor, which is finite.

You only live so long. What you earn, taken from you and your family, and given to someone else for some other cause. And if you say no, they are arguing that the person they want to give it to -- who has not earned it -- and the cause they want to support... is a greater priority than you!

If you start looking at things this way, this is your labor, your work. You get up in the morning, put in a long day, go home in the evening -- maybe you have two jobs -- Obama is saying that your labor belongs to the government to give to somebody else! The government tells you what you get to keep!

Say your tax rate is 30%. That means 30% of the time you spend working for the government. You're not working for your family or yourself. And if Obama and the Democrats tax you the way that they want to, some states like New York and California, when you add in all of the various taxes, a typical person will be working over 60% of the time for the government!

So if you put in a 10-hour day, six hours of your day is going to the government to benefit someone else -- so they can buy their votes. So they can create these hostilities against you -- the taxpayers! Who make this system work!

We deserve thank you letters! Do we get thank you letters from the government? From any welfare recipient? From anyone? No! We're hated! "Oh, the Tea Party--we hate them!"

Why? Because we want to spend a smaller percentage of our lives working for somebody else -- as opposed to working for our own family? You know, there was a time in this country when that was considered the right thing! Self-sufficiency, independence, family.

How many cases are there where families are really on the edge? Where if they didn't have to pay those high taxes, they'd have a little bit more money to buy higher quality food, a better car, a better education, maybe a vacation... everybody talks about Obama having a right to take a vacation... well, does everybody else who actually works for a living have a right to take a vacation?

Maybe if you could keep a little bit more of your money, you could take a vacation? It is stunning what we accept in this nation. It happens gradually, but it happens. We have a new tax in place: 3.8%. So if you sell your house and you still have equity -- if you're lucky enough to have muscled throug this market, a market which blew up thanks to the Community Reinvestment Act, another government policy -- you've made a little profit, maybe you want to live off it, pass it on to your children, well, that's going to be taxed at 3.8% now.

Why? Obamacare! Obama said, "I'm not raising taxes on the middle class." Well, we're talking about the middle class! Your presciption drugs, they're very expensive, right? They're taxed! Medical devices, wheelchairs, whatever... taxed! More taxes, new taxes!

Now here's the grift: they're going to spend as much as they want. They're going to keep borrowing money, spending money. Taxes can't keep up with their spending, they never can and they never will! So it's almost gratuitous... the government wants to control a certain percentage of your life, your working life. You have got to look at taxes that way. A 30% tax rate is 30% of your work effort!

When you add in your property taxes, local income taxes, excise taxes, state income taxes, gas taxes, and when you add in the federal income taxes, you have no idea what percentage of your life, your labor, you are delivering to bureaucrats in government! And, of course, they never have enough! They always want more! I'm not talking about millionaires and billionaires! I'm talking about you! I'm talking about you.

The reason I detest the Left so much, and believe me I detest the Left, is because they believe they have a moral claim on you! Literally, you! They believe they have a moral claim on your physical and intellectual labor! They have a moral claim -- they believe, they insist -- on a part of your work day!

And when they say you have to pay your "fair share", they're saying you have to work longer and harder for the government. There is no fair share! They don't have a claim on your life! They don't have a claim on your intellectual and physical labor!

No! They have to operate within the Constitution. We fund them within the Constitution, under our rule of law, no more and no less. Anything more is illegitimate. It's a liberty issue, ladies and gentlemen. Your liberty! Don't allow the way you think to be controlled and dictated by the Left, their language and their propaganda.

When they say "tax increases" or they use regulations to control you, to increase your expenses or limit your lifestyle, that is you that they are taking from. Your life. Your liberty.


Hat tips: Transcribed by Biff Spackle from the Mark Levin Show, 8/11/2011.


One of the most useless blog posts in world history

This is a QR code, which Wikipedia describes as:

(abbreviated from Quick Response code)[, it] is a specific matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) that is readable by dedicated QR readers, smartphones, and, to a less common extent, computers with webcams. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded may be text, URL, or other data.

In the interest of experimentation, I generated a QR code for this august journal using Kaywa's free, online service.

If you have a smartphone, you can download and use a QR code reader app for free. Fire up the app and do a quick scan of your laptop/desktop screen to surf to one of the finest blogs in the 939 area code. And remember to bookmark it on your smartphone for a daily panoply of real news, opinion and shiftless frivolity.

Of course, if you're viewing this post on your smartphone, this could be one of the most useless blog posts ever.



Time Magazine Nails It: The Cause of S&P's Downgrade of the U.S.

With their usual attention to detail, the crackerjack reporters at Time Magazine have finally discovered the root cause of S&P's downgrade of U.S. debt instruments.

I'm glad they cleared that up, because I was truly confused.

So it wasn't a Democrat refusal to address entitlement reform. It wasn't the Democrats' repudiation of every single suggestion by the Obama "Deficit Commission". It wasn't a failure of the Democrat-controlled Senate and President Obama to proffer a budget for more than 800 days. Oh, and it wasn't a "one-time, emergency Stimulus", the most aggressive spending increase in world history, that is now built into the baseline budget.

It also wasn't a refusal to acknowledge the repeated failure of Keynesian economics. It wasn't passing the most expensive entitlement program ever -- Obamacare -- which passed in the dark of night so Americans could "find out what's in it". Furthermore, it wasn't a massive, command-and-control takeover of the financial industry -- Dodd-Frank -- with a bill so immense and complex that even today no one can predict exactly what it will do to banks and insurers.

And it certainly wasn't the thousands upon thousands of bureaucrats in the EPA, the Interior Department and the National Labor Relations Board, which are shuttering businesses large and small.

No, none of those things were responsible for the debt crisis and downgrade. This was:

Thank goodness we still have true journalists at Time who are willing to cut through all of the clutter, confusion and misinformation to report upon the real culprits of the deficit debacle.



Larwyn's Linx: Betting It All and Losing

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

Betting It All and Losing: The Razor
Why Perry May Be the Real Deal: Hot Air
A New Low – Obama Daily Approval: 39% Approve: GWP

Barack Obama’s Emotional State of Mind: Wehner
American Tinderbox: Mead
Veterans Rising: ‘Veterans in Defense of Liberty’: Tatler

Hey, but the anti-gun people were predicting a bloodbath!: Instapundit
King or kingmaker, Sarah Palin's heart and mind will energize: sisu
Waterloo Wrap-up: Perry embraced, Bachmann falls a little flat: Hot Air

Economy

Sweet Fancy Moses, the Unemployment Problem Is Solved!: Pundette
Obama DID Lie: Obamacare Pays for Illegal Aliens: STACLU
Clyburn Will Use Super-Committee Post to Redistribute Wealth: WZ

Geithner and Bernanke need some serious introspection: RWN
Tax On Rich Would Pay For 1 Week Of Gov’t: S&L
SEC Investigating S&P for Insider Trading on the Downgrade: Wire

Revenge Tour Begins Tomorrow: WZ
What Do We Do Now?: Pournelle
When Foodstamps Ended in Atlanta: CDN

Gunrunner

Gowdy: ‘Impossible to Conceive’ Holder Not Aware of Gunwalker: PJM
Documents: Obama Admin. Sold Guns to Sinaloa Cartel, Allowed Cocaine into U.S.: RWN

Climate & Energy

Surprise! California high-speed rail cost explodes: Hot Air
The (polar) bear facts: Post
Pielke Sr. on the quality of global surface stations: WUWT

Media

Obama's Cheap 'Shot: SHN
Black Conservatives Hold First Annual Move-On-Up.org Conference in St. Louis: GWP
In Search of Intelligent Life: Relectant Rebel

John Bolton: " Why I May Run For President" and Why We May Need Him: RightTruth
Future Newsweek Covers : Knish
Note to WaPo's editorial board: pace yourselves, guys. It's still a long way to November 2012.: Ace

Agnostics for Perry: Simon
NYT Chides Republican Debate For Incivility: S&L
Democrats Hate that Tea Parties Are Peaceful: NRO (Charen - 2010)

Liberal Psychoses: Hanson
Wow! DNC Chair Wasserman Schultz Booed & Heckled in Iowa : GWP
According to Howard Baker-supporter George Will, Obama is the 2012 Winner: Malkin

World

Secret peace talks between US and Taliban collapse over leaks: Telegraph
More along the lines of Fool Britannia by Peter Hitchens. "The Country Formerly Known as Great Britain." : Sipsey
UK riots: Before-and-after images of the devastation: BBC

Sci-Tech

SF Transit Police Jam Cell Phone Reception to Disrupt Protest: Greenroom
Camaro airbag spontaneously deploys while drifting : AutoBlog
Why 21st Century Warfare Is Different (and the US Military Is So Good): Ace

Cornucopia

More New Reality: iOTW
Five People Dead, 45 Injured After Stage Collapses At Indiana State Fair: Mediate
Rembrandt work stolen from California hotel: Telegraph

Image: Image: "Whatever It Takes" --- Tacky Raccoons
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Senate Conservatives Fund

QOTD: "Some are surprised that Barack Obama – the community organizer, the hard-core leftist, the pal of Bill Ayers and Rev. Wright (compare the homes of each), the totem of the left — would buy a mansion and worry about the price of arugula. Or that when president, he would play golf more in three years than the aristocratic Bush did in eight. Or that in recessionary times, when iconic presidential sacrifice is critical, the First Family would favor Martha’s Vineyard, Vail, and Costa del Sol over the White House grounds or Camp David.

But this disconnect again is logical not aberrant. It is precisely because Obama rails about “fat cats,” “corporate jet owners,” “millionaires and billionaires,” and pontificates about “redistributive change,” “enough money,” “spread the wealth,” and “unneeded income” that he feels spiritually cleansed and so can satisfy his natural appetites for the good rarified life. On Monday swear that corporate jets blew up the budget, on Tuesday feel free to host corporate jet fly-in donors who pay $50,000 to hear you rail about the pernicious culture of corporate jets. Mutatis mutandis, so too an Al Gore or John Kerry." --Victor Davis Hanson

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Life explained by scientific graphs [Papa B]

Papa B shared these informative charts with us.















The Only Chart You Need To Whip Out When Liberal Kooks Claim the Deficit Was Caused by the Bush Tax Cuts

The federal deficit problem was caused by the Bush Tax Cuts? Really, drones?

The Bush Tax Cuts ("Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003") were signed into law on May 28, 2003, just months before the start of the 2004 fiscal year.

The results -- in terms of real revenue to the U.S. government -- were stunning.

According to the OMB's own figures, the Bush tax cuts resulted in an explosion of revenue to the U.S. government.

That's not to say Bush wasn't a profligate spender -- he was. But in virtually no cases were Democrats arguing that he spend less (unless you count national security).

In fact, fiscal conservatives opposed Bush's absurd policies on spending, amnesty and the expansion of Medicare.

But no one in world history has ever spent money like Barack Obama.

These statements are indisputable.

Which is why they are certain to be rejected by the diminishing cadre of Obama-Democrat drones, who appear to be completely immune to facts, logic and reason.


Hat tip: Caller Steve from Los Angeles on the Mark Levin Show, 7/18/2011.


The new bumper stickers are here! [Papa B]

Papa B (who else?) sent these in. His M.O. remains the same: political correctness is always checked at the door.



Photos: Don't tell anyone at the EPA about these appliances -- they might just go ahead and mandate them

Don't tell anyone in Washington: the Democrats might go ahead and force us to buy these things -- just like health care -- "in our own best interest."

5. LG offers the combination Microwave Oven & Toaster.

4. Hammacher Schlemmer doubles your pleasure with AM talk radio and toasted bagels in the morning.

3. No to be outdone at breakfast innovation, the geniuses in Tokyo have created the 'Coffee-and-Egg Toastenator.'

2. You're not imagining things: this really is the In-Sink Dishwasher from KitchenAid. And if you have to ask how much it costs, well, I'll tell you: about $1,800.00.

1. Lastly, the "Washup" looks like something Al Gore could have dreamed up. Not for himself, mind you, but for the little people. The "gray water" used to wash your clothes is reused to flush the toilet.

Just don't drop the load after you've -eh- dropped a load. If you get my drift.


Hat tip: My Bad Pad.