Wednesday, November 02, 2011

Today's 'Paul Krugman Hoisted On His Own Petard', Self-Beclownment Edition

Is there a more hilarious propagand-conomist than Paul "The Problem with Keynesian Economics Is That We're Not Borrowing Enough" Krugman? I don't mean his looks. Ignore the elf-boy physique, concentrate on his record.

He's got enough face-plant-style failures to shame Milli Vanilli.

Today, Krugman is crying doom-and-gloom for the Euro, predicting bank runs, dogs and cats sleeping together, total fiscal apocalypse -- all thanks to the failed Eurosocialist welfare state. But it wasn't too long ago that Elf-Boy was championing the Eurozone...

• In "The Comeback Continent" (Jan. 2008), Krugman told us that the Eurozone was a bulwark of the world economy, worthy of emulation by the U.S.:

The G.D.P. of the European Union is roughly comparable to that of the United States; the euro is almost as important a global currency as the dollar; and the governance of the world financial system is, for practical purposes, equally shared by the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve.

But there’s another thing: it’s important to get the facts about Europe’s economy right because the alleged woes of that economy play an important role in American political discourse, usually as an excuse for the insecurities and injustices of our own society...

...What European countries definitely haven’t done is dismantle their strong social safety nets. Universal health care is a given. So are a variety of programs that support families in trouble, helping protect Europeans from the extreme poverty all too common in this country. All of this costs money — even though European countries spend far less on health care than we do — and European taxes are very high by U.S. standards.

In short, Europe continues to be a big-government sort of place. And that’s why it’s important to get the real story of the European economy out there.

According to the anti-government ideology that dominates much U.S. political discussion, low taxes and a weak social safety net are essential to prosperity. Try to make the lives of Americans even slightly more secure, we’re told, and the economy will shrivel up — the same way it supposedly has in Europe.

But the next time a politician tries to scare you with the European bogeyman, bear this in mind: Europe’s economy is actually doing O.K. these days, despite a level of taxing and spending beyond the wildest ambitions of American progressives.

• In "Why Oil Isn't Gold" (May 2008), Krugman told us how useless gold is as a store of value and, in "Wingnuts, wingnuts everywhere", he openly mocked gold-bugs.

Based on my analysis, a Ouija Board would do a far better job at predicting macroeconomic events than the embarrassment known as Krugman.


My Daughter [Papa B]

Papa B:

My daughter just walked into the living room and said "Dad, cancel my allowance immediately, rent my room out, throw all my clothes out of the window, take my TV, and stereo, and iPhone, and iPod, and my laptop. Please take all of my jewelry to the Salvation Army or Cash Converters. Then sell my new car, take my front door key away from me and throw me out of the house. Then disown me and never talk to me again.. And don't forget to write me out of your will and leave my share to my brother."

Well, she didn't put it quite like that. She actually said:

"Dad, I have decided to work for Obama's re-election campaign."


Iran's First Line Of Defense Against Israel [Dan from New York]

Dan from New York:

Military history will record Israel’s failure to vanquish Hizbullah in the Second Lebanon War as one of the great strategic blunders in the modern era of warfare. Israel had the golden opportunity to sever Iran’s right arm in the region, but PM Olmert and his military commander Halutz botched it. Olmert would then go on to compound his mistake two years later in Gaza, leaving Hamas - Iran’s left arm in the region - intact. Today, both Hamas and Hizbullah have grown much stronger, and so has their controller, Iran.

Here is a summary of a report from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. You can read the whole thing right here. It shouldn’t be a mystery why Iran would put this “information” into the news stream now. They’re trying to scare off an attack on their nuclear weapons program by hyping the response. But you be the judge. Even if Iran isn’t bluffing, what would prove more costly, an elective attack before they get the H-bomb, or an obligatory attack after? Failing to act decisively now could be fatal.

###

Hizbullah Discusses Its Operational Plan for War with Israel: Missile Fire on Tel Aviv and Conquest of the Galilee


In recent weeks Hizbullah leader Hasan Nasrallah held a series of meetings with his top-level military command as well as field commanders responsible for preparing for war with Israel. According to a source close to Hizbullah, Nasrallah's operational directive was that in the next military conflict with Israel, Hizbullah will hit Tel Aviv with missiles at the outset of the war, while also dispatching forces to conquer the Galilee.

Hizbullah forces are being trained to fire at least ten thousand missiles, right at the war's outset, at military and strategic targets such as airfields, military camps, and vital facilities including maritime ones, followed by the firing of rockets from launch sites whose location will come as a surprise to Israel.

The operational plan was formulated in tandem with senior Iranian strategic experts and will include a force of five thousand fighters who have recently trained in Iran, tasked with taking over designated zones in northern Israel including Nahariya, Shlomi, and Carmiel.

It was said that engineering units of the Iranian army had mined areas in the eastern Bekaa Valley that were seen as possible landing sites for Israeli special forces, and that Hizbullah had equipped itself with "smart" Iranian anti-tank missiles that can disrupt the defensive systems of Israel's Merkava tanks.

Nasrallah's recent escalation of public statements stems from heightened fear in Hizbullah that an Israeli and/or American attack on Iran is drawing nearer. As a strategic arm of Iran, Hizbullah sees itself as Iran's first line of defense against Israel.

To paraphrase Bill Ayers: it doesn't take a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing. I predict a revised forecast for the 'Arab Spring'.

Hopefully it involves darkness, followed by a bright flash of 8,000° heat in and around the compound protecting Ahmedinejad and the Mullahs.


Brilliant: DHS head Napolitano monitoring Twitter for civil unrest; could just head to #OccupyOakland instead

Let me guess: this little surveillance project will cost billions:

The world has seen a wave of civil unrest sweep across nations this year and as a result the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is taking measures to prevent any sign of social disturbance from happening within America. One of the measures include monitoring social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter, for clues on growing civil disobedience...

...the DHS would create new guidelines to focus on “gleaning information from sites such as Twitter and Facebook for law enforcement purposes.” However, she went on to mention, that the guidelines would be implemented under strict laws “meant to prevent spying on Americans.”

Still, many social media users express concern that the government would track what they do on social sites.

Here's a free, money-saving tip for our beloved baritone DHS head: why not just send an agent to each of the Occupy protests to take pictures of the leftist kooks vandalizing private businesses?

Or, better still, just read the funny papers:

Anti-Wall Street protesters in Oakland have vandalized a Whole Foods store and shattered windows at two downtown banks.

Windows were shattered at a Bank of America branch, where someone also spraypainted "Class War" and "Shut it Down," near Lake Merritt and a Chase bank at 20th and Webster streets.

Police officers on Wednesday afternoon stood outside the Chase bank, where vandals also defaced the ATM machines, spraypainting them black.

"For the Commune," one graffiti message reads.

"Withdraw Only," another reads.

Remember, folks: President Obama, Vice President Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and a host of other radical leftists support this civil unrest.

2012 is coming.


Larwyn's Linx: Politico smear merchant Vogel worked for Soros group

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

Politico smear merchant Vogel worked for Soros group: Bozell
Occupy Oakland's Dangerous Strike Follies: Malkin
White House battles bullying…of Muslims: Creeping

E-Verify use soaring in… California!: PoliPundit
FBI arrests 8 in Florida for absentee ballot fraud: RS
Gun ownership in U.S. soars: Gallup: MarketWatch

Economy

Pelosi: Work union or don’t work at all: IBD
Colorado bellwether: Voters reject statewide tax increases: Malkin
US Food Stamp Usage Hits New Record: ZH

The Stupidity of “Buy American”: Stossel
How US Banks Are Lying About Their European Exposure: ZH
Lethally Leisured: Steyn

You Want More Equality? Support More Capitalism: RWN
MF Global Stole Hundreds Of Millions From Customers?: ZH
Let's Consider The Possible: Denninger

Gunrunner & Energygate

Documents detail early knowledge by Lanny Breuer and subordinates of "gunwalking": SSI
Gunwalker: Lanny Breuer Fails to Take Pressure off Eric Holder: Owens
Feinstein may have inadvertently confirmed Gunwalker ulterior motive: Martin

Climate & Energy

REIN in Regulations: No Regulation Without Representation: MagFarm
Democrat Blanche Lincoln To Obama: Stop Regulating: IBD
October Leaf vs. Volt Sales: Daily Bayonet

Media

Judge Richard Goldstone’s Mea Culpa, in the Pages of the New York Times!: PJM
NYTimes pretends Corzine isn't a Democrat Obama donor: Exam
Convicted Sex Offender Arrested for Rape of 14 Year Old at Occupy Dallas: VS

Gabbi Gifford Liberals Create Video In Which They Violently Murder "Republicans" (Warning, Graphic): PunditPress
Editor Shortage Showing at L.A. Times: Patterico
Four Lily White Liberals Smear a Black Man: AT

World

Egypt's Massacre of Christians: What the Media Does Not Want You To Know: Ibrahim
Nemesis: Beward Greeks Bearing Gifts: Belmont Club
Greece Replaces Top Brass; Is Papandreou Preparing for a Military Coup or Afraid of One?: Mish

The White Aborigines of the Post-Racial Left : Knish
Democracy Is Impossible: Williams
US Professor: "Death To Israel": JoshuaPundit

Fast cars and loose fiscal morals: more Porsches in Greece than taxpayers declaring 50K incomes: Telegraph
Fury in Germany after Greek referendum call: Reuters
S. Korea Plans $50B Fund for Reunification: Bloomberg

Sci-Tech

UK Cops Using Fake Mobile Phone Tower to Intercept Calls, Shut Off Phones: Wired
The iPhone 4S battery problem: USA Today
Twitter App --- Review: Wired

Cornucopia

U.S. Glossed Over Cancer Concerns Associated with Airport X-ray Scanners: Bruce
Mother of ‘Six Billionth Kid’ Blasts Deadbeat UN: Camelback
Something to Offend Everyone: C&S

Image: Michelle Malkin
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Ted Cruz for U.S. Senate

QOTD: "Whether Greece defaults or gets bailed out one mo' time doesn't really matter: It's insolvent, and there isn't enough money in Germany to obscure that fact indefinitely. The longer "political reality" tries to dodge real reality, the bloodier the eventual reacquaintance will be. Europeans are going to have to relearn impulses three generations of Continentals have learned to regard as hopelessly vulgar. Can they do that? A land of 30-year-old students and 50-year-old retirees has so thoroughly diverted the great stream of life that it barely comprehends what's at stake. " --Mark Steyn

Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Holder Justice Department on Both Sides of Obamacare's Tax Status

Well, this figures:

In anticipation of the Supreme Court choosing to hear the suits filed against the federal health care reform law, referred to by critics often as “ObamaCare”, the Obama Administration’s Department of Justice is pointing to issues they think the justices should address. Although the administration is alleging the penalty for running afoul of the law’s individual mandate should not be considered a tax, they have previously argued the penalty is a tax...

...This seemingly contradictory stance raises a significant issue …   Read more here and here.

I'm so surprised that a 2,200-page bill that no one read could cause this much confusion.


Say, how are all those government subsidies in health care and higher-ed working out?

For you drones out there: that's a rhetorical question. Turns out that college tuition and health care costs have skyrocketed, thanks to the bloated, unconstitutional federal leviathan that ruins everything it tries to control.

Can any of you liberals tell me when central planning has worked, by the way? That's also a rhetorical question, drones.

When President Obama announced changes to rules on repaying college student loans, he said his goal was to ease the financial burden of getting a degree... But if the history of college financial aid (and other government attempts to protect consumers from costs) is any guide, Obama's plan will likely backfire.

Over the past three decades, financial aid has rocketed up 438% after inflation...

"By providing aid and subsidized loans, the government is trying to protect students, but the effect is perverse," said Jane Shaw, president of the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy in Raleigh, N.C. "They increase demand and enable colleges to hike tuitions virtually without restraint..."

...The same phenomenon has occurred in health care, where government for decades has worked to shield consumers from direct costs, fueling health care cost inflation by encouraging demand and giving doctors and hospitals greater license to raise prices.

Today, the government pays directly for over 44% of care, according to data compiled by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services... Consumers now pay just 12% of the nation's health care tab out of pocket vs. nearly half in 1960, fueling much of the nation's health care inflationary spiral.

2012 truly represents the final fork in the road for the American Republic.


So Proud: the Food Stamp President Sets a New All-Time Benchmark!

Does the word historic ring a bell?

...here is this month's refresh from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which informs us that in August, a new all time record number of Americans, or 45.8 million, relied on food stamps for sustenance. So for those who are looking for those up and coming states where the population has decided that slowly but surely work of any kind is an anachronism we suggest you move to Alabama, Delaware, Utah, or Washington: all states that have seen at least a 3% sequential increase in food stamp usage...

And, tangentially, confirming that this country's economy is headed straight to hell and won't pass go is the latest news from LPS according to which nearly 40% of loans in foreclosure have not made a payment in two years, and 72% have not made a payment in the past 12 months.

Sweet! Glad to see those billions spent to resurrect the housing industry are working out.

And don't forget: since "not even the USDA knows what people are buying with food stamps"", you can be sure your tax dollars are being used with the utmost efficiency.


Larwyn's Linx: ACLU: Obama “Authorizing Agencies to Lie”

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

ACLU: Obama “Authorizing Agencies to Lie”: Commentary
Smoking-Gun Document Ties Clinton Policy To Housing Crisis: IBD
Obama will ‘continue’ to act ‘independently’ without Congress: DC

‘No’ on Ohio Ballot Issues Means ‘Yes’ to Obama : Blumer
Now it's SC's turn to be sued for enforcing immigration laws: WZ
Cain Runs the Gauntlet: AmSpec

Economy

Obama's class warfare: it's all Obama's got left: DLim
Class warriors ignore the facts about America's rich and poor: Carroll
Labor Secretary Solis Calls Out "Tea-Baggers": BTB

Student Loan Debt Shows High Cost Of Federal Aid: IBD
A real discussion about the minimum wage laws: 10 Mile
European Banks Sink on Greek Vote Bombshell: CNBC

AFL-CIO Chief Richard Trumka Threatens Dems: WZ
Obama's FDA Executive Order: NRO
The Economics of Polarization: Spengler

Gunrunner & Energygate

Holder dumps new Fast and Furious docs as 11 more congressmen call for his resignation: DC
Why does Justice Department need to lie on FOIA responses?: Codrea
So Many Solyndras: Another DoE Loan Recipient Give Up the Ghost: Ace

Occupy

The 99%: Official list of Occupy Wall Street’s supporters, sponsors and sympathizers: Zombie
Man Found Dead at Occupy OKC: VS
Occupy Chicago says Michelle Obama's former employer is part of the one percent: Marathon

Climate & Energy

The Climate Scam Continues: IBD
Scientist Who Claims to Have "Proved" Global Warming- Accused of "Fudging" Truth By Colleague: Lid
'Call It the Electric Edsel' - Chevy Volt Lacks Drawing Power: PittLive

Media

Politico and Cain: Sexual harassment or political harassment?: JPA
Politico's Martin Dodges Question On Cain Details: NB
Politicobama: Glob

Ann Coulter Calls Politico's Herman Cain Hit Piece 'Another High-Tech Lynching': NB
All Three Networks Hype 'Bombshell Blast' Against Herman Cain: NB
Soros-Funded MoveOn.org Organizing Run On Banks: WZ

Mitt Romney, Weasel: Ace
Democracy vs. Mob Rule: Sowell
Cuban Intelligence in the USA: Loudon

World

The FBI, CAIR and Subterfuge in Connecticut: IPT
Breaking: AP reports on another 'suspicious [nuclear] site' in Syria : Matzav
Why Europe can't solve its debt crisis: Time

US fears unilateral Israeli strike on Iran: ynet
Misunderstanderer of Islam becomes third Minnesotan to self-detonate: GWP
Flag of Al Qaeda flies in Libya: Modicum of Insanity

Sci-Tech

Banks Working With NSA and Defense Contractors to Stop Hackers: PubInt
Outsmarted: Captcha security not much of a gotcha: CNet
Copyright bill controversy grows as rhetoric sharpens: CNet

Cornucopia

Behind Sean Hannity's Desk: GQ
Words, Words, Words: What’s in your wallet?: MOTUS
Ten leadership lessons from Ronald Reagan: Resist Tyranny

Image: Looking Spoon, Gary Varvel
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Herman Cain for President

QOTD: "The deputy legal director for the ACLU believes post-9/11 security policies specifically target Muslims, and that the intelligence community has taken training cues from bigots, not experts." --KSL

Monday, October 31, 2011

Smoking Gun: Document Found That Touched Off the Mortgage Meltdown

The entire Democrat Party hardest hit:

[In 1994] the federal government declared war on an enemy — the racist lender — who officials claimed was to blame for differences in homeownership rate, and launched what would prove the costliest social crusade in U.S. history.

At President Clinton's direction, no fewer than 10 federal agencies issued a chilling ultimatum to banks and mortgage lenders to ease credit for lower-income minorities or face investigations for lending discrimination and suffer the related adverse publicity. They also were threatened with denial of access to the all-important secondary mortgage market and stiff fines, along with other penalties.

The threat was codified in a 20-page "Policy Statement on Discrimination in Lending" and entered into the Federal Register on April 15, 1994, by the Interagency Task Force on Fair Lending. Clinton set up the little-known body to coordinate an unprecedented crackdown on alleged bank redlining.

The edict — completely overlooked by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission and the mainstream media — was signed by then-HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros, Attorney General Janet Reno, Comptroller of the Currency Eugene Ludwig and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, along with the heads of six other financial regulatory agencies...

...The unusual full-court press was predicated on a Boston Fed study showing mortgage lenders rejecting blacks and Hispanics in greater proportion than whites. The author of the 1992 study, hired by the Clinton White House, claimed it was racial "discrimination." But it was simply good underwriting.

It took private analysts, as well as at least one FDIC economist, little time to determine the Boston Fed study was terminally flawed. In addition to finding embarrassing mistakes in the data, they concluded that more relevant measures of a borrower's credit history — such as past delinquencies and whether the borrower met lenders credit standards — explained the gap in lending between whites and blacks, who on average had poorer credit and higher defaults...

Lenders -- faced with ten federal regulatory bodies, the Attorney General, the President and the HUD Secretary -- quickly fell into line.

[They] threw such a scare into the industry that the American Bankers Association issued a "fair-lending tool kit" to every member. The Mortgage Bankers Association of America signed a "fair-lending" contract with HUD. So did Countrywide.

HUD also pushed Fannie and Freddie, which in effect set industry underwriting standards, to buy subprime mortgages, freeing lenders to originate even more high-risk loans.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Barack Obama can blame George W. Bush, Herman Cain, Rick Perry, and Carmen Electra for the housing crisis. But the real culprits were the social engineers, criminals and cronies in the Clinton administration.

Please read the rest -- and pass it on.


Security: Humans are always the weakest link

Good article in today's Wall Street Journal describing the weakest link in the information security chain. The summary? You can have your firewalls, your intrusion prevention systems, your endpoint security systems, your anti-virus, your spam filters, your zero-day detection appliances, your application-aware firewalls, and the rest.

But then there's this:

Chris Patten called a large investment-management firm to report that he was going through a divorce and was worried that his wife had set up an account under a false name.

And with that story—entirely plausible but in this case a lie—a customer-service representative turned over customer account numbers and other details with a readiness that makes banks and other companies cringe.

Mr. Patten, a 35-year-old cybersecurity expert who was with the U.S. Air Force before he started working for a consulting firm in Kansas City, Mo., didn't actually use or sell the data, which he gathered in running a test for the investment firm of its security arrangements. But the ease with which the employee was persuaded to divulge the information points to a troubling trend, security experts and law enforcement officials say.

As banks and other large companies spend large amounts of money on building firewalls and using complex technology to fortify their systems, it is often their own employees who are letting identity thieves in the door...

User education and awareness are good starting points. And solid browsers that can help point out phishing attempts certainly help.

But the fact remains: social engineering is just too damn easy and there's no silver bullet. What's that old quote? "Make it idiot-proof, and someone will make a better idiot."


My favorite T-shirt for pissing off liberals

Heading to the gym this evening wearing my guaranteed-to-piss-off-liberals T.

By the way, the band I'm wearing on my right hand is from DefendMichael.com, the site set up to support Michael Behenna's defense. Michael was 101st Airborne serving in Iraq. While questioning Ali Mansur, a known Al Qaeda operative, the terrorist suddenly attacked Behenna. In the course of defending himself, Mansur was killed.

Benenna was subsequently tried and sentenced to 25 years in Leavenworth. His sentence has since been reduced twice after reviews by the commanding general of 101st Airborne and by the Army Clemency Board.

If you have a couple of spare bucks, you can PayPal Michael's defense fund at DefendMichael.com.


Top 15 Comments from Jonathan Alter's whitewash of Obama's scandal-plagued presidency, the most corrupt since Teapot Dome

Just in case you actually have a life and missed the weekend's latest journolistic implosion, please consider the delightful Bloomberg article by none other than failed Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter. Entitled "The Obama Miracle, a White House Free of Scandal, it is as fine a piece of propaganda as I've seen since the days of Der Stürmer. Here's just a taste:

President Barack Obama goes into the 2012 with a weak economy that may doom his reelection. But he has one asset that hasn’t received much attention: He’s honest.

Okay, that's it. That's all I can take. Suffice it to say that Alter's pablum is suitable only for drones and miscreants -- but I repeat myself. As of this instant, the article has generated nearly 1,600 comments. My favorites?

15. Obama's miracle is that the media barely covers the scandals. (JohnQPublius)

14. Jonathan Alter is the poster boy for media lap dog bias and Journol-list corruption. An article like this deserves the Josef Goebbles Award for journalistic integrity, or at the very least a Pulitzer. There is a reason why the MSM has become so hated, mistrusted, and ignored. Newsweek was sold for a dollar, AirAmerica bankrupt and defunct, the NY Times dying a death of a thousand cuts, MSNBC in ratings purgatory, and now this anencephalic miscreant brings his own brand of Obama apologism and misinformation to Bloomberg's tarnished brand. (PeterLocke)

13. NO media outlet with any sense of professionalism, objectivity, ethics of FACTS would have run this article. This, however, goes beyond error and omission. THIS is pure propaganda.

I'm done with Bloomberg. (Liz)

12. Makes you wonder if it's media bias or is the press just this stupid? (Good Luck)

11. This writer is a mindless liberal robot or just hallucinatory. Scandal free? That makes me FAST to respond and FURIOUS to boot. (Ghs2050)

LOL. They say the Left has the best drugs and this article leads me to believe it's true! Scandal free administration! Now that takes bulls balls to say! (Kevin Jackson)

10. That's it. I'm reporting all of you to ATTACKWAAAAATCH!!! (Dalai Grimm)

9. How about assasinating American citizens without due process?
How about engaging in an undeclared war?
How about authorizing the DOJ to lie in response to FOIA requests?
How about protecting his campaign donors (rather than the taxpayer) in the Solyndra bankruptcy?
How about protecting union members rather than shareholders in the Chrysler/GM bankruptcy?
How about "if you like your current health plan, you can keep it"?
How about "I never heard any of those sermons by Jeremiah Wright"?
... the list goes on, and on, and on, and... (dsmith3000)

8. Alter is ludicrously ridiculous in his myopic, shallow "analysis" of Obama being scandal-free. The fawning press that passes for journalists nowadays don't bother "reporting" on the real state of affairs in the USA. We Americans must read UK news outlets to find out what's truly happening in the U.S., since our own "journalists" don't bother reporting real news. While the press continues wearing their sideblinders and tunnel-vision, rose-colored glasses, the rest of America is increasingly moving beyond Obama's empty promise of "hope and change". It's time to move on and get a president who will run our country, rather than continually run for office. (lifeisgood)

7. Pretty funny, Mr. Alter. You should pitch it to Saturday Night Live. (Charlie Gutierrez)

6. The failure to mention operation "Fast and Serious" should be telling in and of itself. A government agency violated US law, Mexican law, and International law and no one involved has been fired yet, in fact some have been promoted. And if it is true that Obama is quick to fire those who step out of line, it is even more likely that he knew of and approved the operation and tactics used. (Micah Robert)

5. Is this The Onion? Pravda? Yeah, he's scandal free if you don't count any of his many scandals, and he's honest if you don't notice that every other word of his mouth is a lie. (Cara C)

4. Alter's miracle is being brain dead and still being able to get things published. (G)

3. Perhaps Mr. Alter-nate Reality could just go to http://obamascandalslist.blogspot.com. They are on scandal #296. And each reported in great detail. (GracieZG)

2. Seriously, this guy is paid for his insight? My dog is more insightful. I'm serious, #$% stinks, but not if you bury it, like my dog does. The reason Obama has no scandals is that the media refuses to report any. Fast and Furious? Solyndra? Jeremiah Wright? His domestic terrorist mentor? His wife's sweetheart job deal at the Chicago hospital, his sweetheart house purchase...the list goes on.
Jonathan Alter, keep those dirty pictures of the Bloomberg editor well hidden. Otherwise, to answer your question, yes I would like fries with that. (jeffaguthrie)

1. The scandal is the deficit and the debt. The scandal is unemployment rate. The scandal is not addressing the back-breaking cost of all the high-salaried public employees at all levels of Govt that get pensions, health care, and early retirement. The scandal is accepting the Nobel Peace Prize without having accomplished one thing. The scandal is having your Sec of State say "How do you deal toughly with your banker?" when asked about growing Chinese aggression with regard to its neighbors, their natural resources, and their manipulated currency.

The scandal is the growing black-on-white flash mob crime and the lack of its mention by the White House or the national media. The scandal is giving away billions in green loans to big campaign contributors. The scandal is playing golf +90 times, plus expensive vacations, plus lavish travel and parties for family and friends while we are hurting economically. The scandal is obvious campaigning on the taxpayer dime while also collecting huge donations. The scandal is Fast and Furious gun running and the resulting deaths.

The scandal is promising to close Guantanamo on the campaign trail but then discovering that maybe (when reality is actually considered) its a good idea to keep it open. The scandal is squandering our victory in Iraq by failing to negotiate a proper SOF (Status of Forces) Agreement so we could maintain at least 1 real base as a reminder to Iran that we are watching them. The scandal is a failed Iranian policy that will result in their acquisition of nuclear weapons.

The scandal is the expanding role of Govt in monitoring our every movement and financial interaction. The scandal is the radical environmental regulations that ignore private property rights and have de-industrialized this country. The scandal is enacting new complex laws and then offering waivers to those companies that have the biggest potential political donation checkbook.

The scandal is the public education system that cannot educate black or Hispanic kids regardless of the billions spent. The scandal is dramatically expanding food stamps, but then looking the other way at the obvious fraud. The scandal is a set of labor laws and regs that punish companies that move from a Blue State to a Red State.

The scandal is the hollowed out City of Detroit as a prime example of what happens when Big Labor and Big Democratic Govt seize total control. The scandal is the crushing poverty and crime in Washington DC and almost any center of Govt in this country. It seems like the closer you live to Govt, you are either a very well paid Govt worker or are at the bottom of the barrel as a victim of all the learned helplessness that Govt "help" inspires.

The scandal is that there just isnt enough room to list everything. Maybe we can hope that all of this wasn't intentional, but simply a result of ineptitude and inexperience. The scandal is that this is our best-case scenario. (JOCB)

* * * * * * * * *

Well said, my friend. Well said.

As for you, Alter, your sycophantic drivel will go down in history with that of Goebbels, Pravda, Tass and Kim Jong-Il's pronouncements. You're a pencil-necked joke of a partisan hack who has ruined several media outlets already and is well on the way to crushing Bloomberg's valuation. Enjoy your momentary haven in liberal-land while it lasts: with work like this, your pink-slip should be arriving momentarily.


Larwyn's Linx: Politico and Cain: Return of the High-Tech Lynching

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

Politico and Cain: Return of the High-Tech Lynching: Simon
If This Were An Actual Test…: NoisyRm
What Are Unalienable Rights?: Longcore

Ryan Foremost Defender of American Conservatism: Commentary
Cain on Abortion: the Epilogue: Pundette
The Oppo Dump on Herman Cain Begins in Earnest: Erickson

Former Aide: Cain ‘Never Even Bordered on Inappropriate’: RSM
Why The Pass On #OWS And Paul Supporter Antisemitism?: Riehl
Which GOP candidate will challenge Wasserman-Schultz?: Shark

Economy

Richard Epstein Explains the Inequality Myth on PBS: HyScience
Blame the Predecessor: A Historical Leftist Tactic: Pacepa
Federal Student Loans: Trouble for Students and Taxpayers: NewAm

America Now More Pro-Civil Service Than Russia: Marsden
NASDAQ proposes to legalize exchanges' illegal behavior: ZH
Congress Just Can’t Stop Trying to Micromanage... Part 5,672: Cato

Gunrunner & Energygate

One Pivotal Week For Fast and Furious: AT
Energy Department-Backed Company Under SEC Investigation: Foundry
Coddling Illegals, Jailing Agents: IBD

Climate & Energy

Energy Production On Federal Lands Way Down Under Obama: BigPeace
The Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project puts PR before peer review: Watts
‘The Delinquent Teenager’ shows IPCC far from objective science: FinPost

Media

More MSM Fantasizing: “Honest” Obama’s Miraculous “White House Free of Scandal”: Nice Deb
Another altered state heard from . . . And don't forget to try the unicorn skittles: SSI
The New Propagandists: Paul Nathan

PMS-NBC Analyst: GOP Sees Herman Cain as a 'Black Man Who Knows His Place': Maggie's Farm
Ann Coulter Calls Politico's Herman Cain Hit Piece 'Another High-Tech Lynching': NB
Bob Schieffer’s Smokin’ Interview with Herman Cain; Update: Tom Brokaw ‘Stunned’ by Smoking Ad: Malkin

Population Bomb Epic Fail: Hayward
ClimateGate II: How Will Al Gore and His Global Warming-Loving Media Respond?: NB
Next Time, Drop Me a Line (or, My Hellish Morning): Daily Gut

World

Revised Forecast For The Arab Spring: Fox
The New York Times doesn’t know from terrorists: JRubin
Hmmmmmmmmm...: Matzav

Treaty of Debt - An Eye Opening Video on the ESM Bailout Mechanism: Mish
Berlusconi on Very Shaky Political Ground: PJM
Xtranormal Explains The European Non-Bailout Best: ZH

In Foreign Affairs, Obama Needs Respect, Not Love: Barone
The Secret War: How U.S. hunted AQ in Africa: ArmyTimes
Egypt: Christian Student Murdered By Muslim Classmates for Wearing a Cross: Atlas

Sci-Tech

The Collapse of Western Science: JPA
Anonymous Threatens Mexico’s Murderous Drug Lords: Wired
U.S. Government Moves To Ban Internet Access: Sword

Cornucopia

Would you call that a point?: Maggie's Farm
Blunt: iOTW
Madoff Book's 9 Juiciest Bits: Beast

Image: Engadget -- Porsche-Designed BlackBerry
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Help Rand Paul Stop the EPA

QOTD: "[Author Donna Laframboise] introduces us to numerous well-credentialled skeptics, including Jason Johnston, an expert in environmental law, who set out to verify whether the ­IPCC reports in fact “conformed with the peer-reviewed climate science literature.” His conclusion: “on virtually every major issue in climate change science,” IPCC reports “systematically conceal or minimize what appear to be fundamental scientific uncertainties.”

The Delinquent Teenager reveals how inconvenient science has been buried and sums up: “The IPCC ignores the consensus among hurricane experts that there is no discernable link to global warning. It ignores the consensus among those who study natural disasters that there is no relationship between human greenhouse gas emissions and the rising cost of these disasters. It ignores the consensus among bona fide malaria experts that global warming has not caused malaria to spread. In each case the IPCC substitutes its own version of reality. In each case that version of reality makes global warming appear more frightening than genuine experts believe the available evidence indicates." --Peter Foster

Sunday, October 30, 2011

WaPo columnist Jennifer Rubin in trouble for... a retweet

Somehow unable to find any hint of left-wing bias, the Washington Post ombudsman has mysteriously discovered a controversy. Of course, it involves one of the paper's few conservative op-ed columnists. Specifically, he finds fault in Jennifer Rubin's choice of... re-tweets.

...a tweet that The Post’s conservative opinion blogger, Jennifer Rubin, put out on Twitter on Oct. 18. Actually it was a retweet of a tweet from Rachel Abrams, a hard-line pro-Israel blogger who used the tweet to link to her blog post on the release by Hamas of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, held for five years in captivity in Gaza.

The original blog post by Abrams (not by Rubin) was offensive to many readers in its anti-Palestinian language. The fact that a Post blogger — even an opinion blogger like Rubin not subject to the same ethical guidelines as Post news editors and reporters — retweeted it, outraged many. I didn’t like it either, and I’ll elaborate on that in my Post Roast on Monday.

The Washington Post has a legendary track-record of partisanship and left-wing spin. Some would even call it 'historic'.

The same ombudsman found nothing untoward with the paper's hit-piece on Marco Rubio's heritage, though critics from across the political spectrum pilloried the Post's coverage.

Consider the irony: Rubin appears to be in trouble for re-tweeting a link to a hard-line Israeli blogger. Meanwhile, its liberal columnists and reporters (like Bob Woodward, Steven Mufson, Leila Fadel, Mary Beth Sheridan, Karen Tumulty, food critic Tim Carman and many more) can literally say and write anything so long as they echo the left-wing, Statist talking points.


ClimateGate Redux: Co-Author of Seminal Climate Change Paper Refutes Its Conclusion: There's No Damn Warming

The scamtabulous theory of warmal colding hardest hit:

It was hailed as the scientific study that ended the global warming debate once and for all – the research that, in the words of its director, ‘proved you should not be a sceptic, at least not any longer’.

Professor Richard Muller, of Berkeley University in California, and his colleagues from the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperatures project team (BEST) claimed to have shown that the planet has warmed by almost a degree centigrade since 1950 and is warming continually... [their] work was cited around the world as irrefutable evidence that only the most stringent measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions can save civilisation as we know it...

...But today ... a leading member of Prof Muller’s team has accused him of trying to mislead the public by hiding the fact that BEST’s research shows global warming has stopped.

Prof Judith Curry, who chairs the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at America’s prestigious Georgia Institute of Technology, said that Prof Muller’s claim that he has proven global warming sceptics wrong was also a ‘huge mistake’, with no scientific basis... Curry is a distinguished climate researcher with more than 30 years experience and the second named co-author of the BEST project’s four research papers.

...She said this affair had to be compared to the notorious ‘Climategate’ scandal two years ago...

...In fact, Prof Curry said, the project’s research data show there has been no increase in world temperatures since the end of the Nineties – a fact confirmed by a new analysis that The Mail on Sunday has obtained...

...a report to be published today by the Global Warming Policy Foundation ... drawn from the BEST project’s data and revealed on its website ... shows that the trend of the last decade is absolutely flat, with no increase at all – though the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have carried on rising relentlessly...

...In fact, she added, in the wake of the unexpected global warming standstill, many climate scientists who had previously rejected sceptics’ arguments were now taking them much more seriously... They were finally addressing questions such as the influence of clouds, natural temperature cycles and solar radiation – as they should have done, she said, a long time ago.

Rumor has it that Dr. James Hansen, the infamous, taxpayer-funded climate kook, is on suicide watch.


Salacious background details: Inside the U.N.'s Global Warming Scam. Hat tip: Memeorandum.

How many 22-year old cars still look modern and up-to-date in 2012?

Go back in time 22 years, say to 1989. Which car -- make and model -- could still be sold today without any cosmetic changes whatsoever?* Before you scroll down, take a guess: I think only one vehicle passes muster.

To stir your memory a bit, consider the following vehicles from the 1990 model year.

*Ignoring the massive books of new regulations, of course, which multiply like weeds and govern every aspect of our lives -- from shower-heads to bumper designs, to the size of toilet tanks to the kinds of light bulbs you are allowed to buy.

Well, this is a sweet unit. If you ever wondered how GM melted down, consider the following three words: Fake. Wood. Paneling.

This high-end Audi looks a little more modern than the wagon, but it still doesn't come close to today's sleek designs.

This Cadillac was another victim of a slow-moving company that punched out angular cars that looked boxes, only not as sexy.

The design of this subcompact hatchback was a bit ahead of its time, but certainly couldn't compete against its modern competition: the Toyota Yaris, the Nissan Versa, the Mini Cooper, etc.

People who owned these vehicles hated them. Slightly less reliable than the Hindenberg, these Jettas were mechanical disasters and looked like someone slapped wheels on a refrigerator. Rumor has it the body was made entirely of compressed rust.

So what's the answer? Try this bad boy:



I believe this vehicle -- the 1990 Nissan 300ZX -- would still sell well today.

Which is a real testament to its designers.


Images: Edmunds.com.

Photo: Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader Greet One Another, December 2012

Wouldn't this pair blow a few minds?

With Senator John Kyl vacating his post in 2012 and the Palin family moving to Scottsdale, wouldn't the former governor make an outstanding replacement? I mean, not only for Kyl, but for the anti-charismatic Mitch McConnell as well?

And it goes without saying: Rep. Allen West should be the House Speaker. No one else, save Paul Ryan perhaps, carries the conservative leadership mantle as well.


Sheriff Paul Babeu interviewed on Operation Fast and Furious: U.S. officials are "accessories to murder"; Jonathan Alter hardest hit

This morning the Arizona Daily Star published an exclusive interview with Sheriff Paul Babeu of Pinal County. Babeu's department has been on the front lines of the carnage wrought by open borders, the civil war raging in Mexico and the ATF's bizarre "Gunwalker" program that sent military-style weapons to the drug cartels.

Q: When you says that those officials who carried out Fast & Furious should be considered accomplices or accessories to murder, are you serious, or is that a rhetorical point, that they could be charged? If serious, who in the ATF/DOJ chain of command should be investigated as possible accomplices or accessories to murder and other crimes? The line agents? Their supervisors? The U.S. Attorney's Office or Justice Department officials involved?

A: The American people deserve a thorough, impartial, and independent review of what happened here. Nothing short of that will ever be acceptable. The Justice Department has a serious conflict of interest in policing itself... This is why the Sheriffs of Arizona both Republicans and Democrats are demanding a Special Counsel to investigate Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice for their roles in Operation Fast and Furious...

...those responsible should be held criminally accountable for allowing 2,000 guns including assault weapons and 50 caliber rifles to be purchased on U.S. Soil and then turned over to the drug cartels of Mexico. As a result of their reckless facilitation and distribution of these weapons, our deputies and American citizens may now face the barrel of a gun that was placed in the hands of criminals by [ATF] and Attorney General Eric Holder. Citizens of the United States and Mexico have already been murdered by cartel members who now posses these weapons. There is no doubt more bloodshed will occur on both sides of the border, since over 1,500 weapons still remain unaccounted for...

Q: You have said repeatedly that you think Operation Fast and Furious was designed to lead to gun-control measures. What evidence of this have you seen? How can I find it?

A: This administration has repeatedly stated in the media that “90% of the weapons used to commit crimes in Mexico come from the United States.” They have used this argument in their support of tougher gun control measures. If you google search the quoted information, you will see numerous stories about it. Here is one such story link regarding the quote.

At the same time they are stating this, our own Federal government was using taxpayer money from the stimulus to purchase automatic weapons and sell them directly to the most dangerous criminals in North America... The firearm dealers in these cases flagged the purchases and reported them to the Federal government, who then ordered them to make the sale anyway.

Q: You have repeatedly said Operation Fast and Furious is worse than Watergate. In what ways are Fast and Furious and Watergate similar?

A: If you knew that a foreign power had caused over 2,000 guns to arrive in the hands of America's most dangerous criminals, what would you say? What if those weapons had been used to commit more than 200 murders?

Now consider that the Federal government did just that--and to an ally. Nobody died because of Watergate and no treaties were violated. People on both sides of the border will be dealing with the deadly fallout for years to come. But before this is over, we'll know exactly what Barack Obama knew--and when he knew it.

...Fast and Furious quickly proved to be a catastrophe, but the public didn't learn about it until Agent Brian Terry was murdered on American soil. Since then, whistleblowers have been punished, those responsible have been promoted, scapegoats have been offered, and inconsistent testimony provided to Congress. This is a textbook attempt at obstruction by the Federal government.

The family of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry reached out to me after his murder. I have promised them, that I will continue to demand justice...

...On September 20th, 2011 the Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Darrell Issa, reported to media that the Attorney General in Mexico has said at least 200 murders south of the border happened as a result of Operation Fast and Furious. Eleven crimes in the United States have been linked to [it] up to this point.

...Project Gunrunner received "directly allocated" stimulus funds. It is our understanding that Operation Fast and Furious was tucked under Project Gunrunner, essentially using the same funding...

Issa has also done several interviews where he has stated, “U.S. dollars were used in at least some part to buy weapons.” Below is a link to a Fox News Story on the topic as well. As you will read, ATF Agent John Dodson was ordered to buy weapons and later sell them to known illegal buyers.

Please don't concern yourself with the hundreds of murders and the 1,500 weapons that remain unaccounted for; this is not a scandal according to America's finest journalist, Jonathan Alter.


Larwyn's Linx: How Can Holder Keep Holding On?

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

How Can Holder Keep Holding On?: AT
Liberal Indulgences: Hanson
Pelosi's pitch to donors: turning point in 2012: Hill

Everything old is old again: ProWis
It took too long to get a Herman Cain: RWN
Obama Uses OWS Language, Rails Against “Top 1%”: WZ

Economy

“If I Lose Custody, I Lose My Check”: Virtuous
The Answer Is a Balanced Budget Amendment: AmSpec
Communist-progressive team fights cuts to budget: AmPower

Adult Babies: Steyn
How Harrisburg Borrowed Itself Into Bankruptcy: WSJ
The mayor's millionaire club-Rahm's inner sanctum: ChiReader

Gunrunner & Solyndra

Did major Gunwalker figure hand over documents?: Examiner
Hillary: DOJ Did Not Seek License to Send Guns to Mexico: CNS
Napolitano queried on lack of ‘Fast and Furious’ probe: Times

Occupy

Occupy Denver Turns Violent: JWF
#OccupyWallStreet: The Rap Sheet, So Far: BigJ
Never Ending Supply - Howard Stern Exposes More Idiots at Occupy Wall Street. #OWS: Sharp Elbows

Climate & Energy

Gore Effect Hits Occupiers: Sunday Is Climate Justice Day: RWN
Best Confirms Global Temperature Standstill : GWPF
Central Park in NYC Sets October Record for Snow: CNS

Media

Levin: Boehner Has ‘Poisoned’ Two-Thirds Of Tea Party-Elected Congressmen: CNS
Inevitable: Jersey Shore for politicos coming soon: Hot Air
Des Moines Register Iowa Poll- Cain And Romney Basically Tied: Ace

The Best Summary Of The Politics I've Seen Thus Far: Denninger
Video: Steven Crowder on Occupy Wall Street Racism: MB
George Will column on Mitt Romney: 'Has conservatism come so far ... for THIS?': Politico

NBC and ABC Tout Injured Protester as 'Rallying Cry' for Occupy Wall Street: NB
Compare and Contrast: WZ
Texas Gun Store Bans Socialists, Obama Supporters in Radio Ad: GWP

World

Islam or Islamist?: McCarthy
Just moments after Hillary urges talks with Taliban, they kill more than a dozen U.S. soldiers: TAB
Herman Cain Channels John Bolton: Odysseus

Portugal Is Next: Improverished PIIG Demands US Assistance, Debt "Haircut" To Come Next: ZH
The Euro Bailout is Illegal: NRO
Why the latest eurozone bail-out is destined to fail within weeks: Telegraph

Palestinian Islamic Jihad Bombards Southern Israel With Grad Rockets, One Dead, Four Injured: WZ
British MP Forced to Hide After Muslim Extremists Storm Mosque During His Visit in North London: GWP
Libya: Al-Qaeda Flag Planted On Benghazi Courthouse: WZ

Sci-Tech

Escaping the Zombie Apocalypse By Air: Al Fin
16-foot python found in Florida had eaten a deer: MSNBC
Blue Coat confirms Syria used its Web filtering devices: CNet

Cornucopia

Study Shows That Spending Time as a Hippie Leads to Heart Attacks in Later Life: AmDig
Book 'em, Mondo!: MOTUS
Ohio University’s Creepy ‘Anti-Racism’ Halloween Campaign Goes Horribly Wrong: SHN

Image: iOwnTheWorld
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Adam Hasner for U.S. Senate

QOTD: "Long time government and political workers are blind to opportunities outside government. Being immersed in the process of the bureaucracy and extremely inexperienced in the real world, they fail to understand when change is needed or a dangerous line has been crossed. With well intentioned ignorance they slavishly follow the established process – sometimes to horrible results." --A.J. Strata