Sunday, November 13, 2011

Outrage: Family of Brian Terry Receives Eric Holder's Apology For Fast and Furious AFTER Politico Publishes It

One of the most stunning revelations to arise during Eric Holder's testimony last week regarding Operation Fast and Furious was the fact that the DOJ had never issued an apology to the family of Brian Terry. The Border Patrol agent met his demise courtesy of Holder's Orwellian plan to demonize American gun-owners, and was but one victim among hundreds.

In fact, during his testimony, the embattled Attorney General refused to apologize to the family.

Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn asked Holder if he has apologized to Terry’s family for what happened to him because of the DOJ’s controversial program. Holder replied that he hasn’t.

“I have not apologized to them, but I certainly regret what happened,” Holder said.

Cornyn followed up, asking if Holder has “even talked to them.”

“I have not,” Holder replied.

Cornyn offered Holder the opportunity to apologize to Terry’s family, during the hearing, for his murder. “Would you like to apologize today for this program that went so wrong and that took the life of a United States law enforcement agent?”

Holder expressed his sadness without apologizing.

Fearing a public relations debacle after his testimony, Holder issued an apology shortly thereafter.

But a family friend of the Terry's told The Daily Caller that Holder's belated apology appeared in Politico before the family had seen it.

Politico reported Thursday that Attorney General Eric Holder sent a “private letter” to the family of murdered Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, apologizing for his death. But friends of the Terry family question the Department of Justice’s apparent decision to leak that letter to media before both his parents had read it.

...friends of the Terry family told The Daily Caller on Thursday that they haven’t received it...

...If what [they] said is true, either Holder never sent his “private letter” to Terry’s parents or someone at the Justice Department leaked it to Politico before its recipients received it.

A follow-up story indicated that Terry's sister had received an email apology prior to Politico's publication. That said, other family members -- including the parents -- had not seen the email prior to its online publication.

Consider: Holder had never apologized to the family of Brian Terry until he was forced to do so -- through sheer embarrassment -- by the House Judiciary Committee. Holder then sent an email apology, not even a written letter, to one of the family members. And without even waiting for it to get to Terry's parents, Holder then released the letter to the DNC's online public relations arm -- Politico -- in the hopes that it would absolve him of the stain of his outrageous conduct.

Terry's parents still blame Holder for their son's death.

Given the A.G.'s record of fabrications, deflections, misdirections, and outright lies regarding Fast and Furious, it's clear that only a Special Prosecutor will be able to discover the truth regarding Eric Holder's lawless operation.


Larwyn's Linx: Deficit Reduction Fever and Pork Chop Patty Murray

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

Nation

Deficit Reduction Fever: Steyn
Super Committee Party time for Pork Chop Patty Murray: Malkin
The Supercommittee's Emerging Secret Deal: Hewitt

Occupy Protesters Force Me to Work Overtime in Photoshop: Jawa
Scoring the #CBSNJDebate: Tatler
Obama's Virginia Defeat: Strassel

Bachmann Dominates CBS News/Nat'l Journal Debate: AmPower
Once written off, Gingrich surges: Times
Photos: Cops clear out Occupy Denver tent city: Marathon

Economy

Fannie, Freddie led mortgage market to the collapse: Exam
Romney: Send Out the Aides!: Kaus
Congress Members Took Part in Insider Trading: Abramoff: CNBC

4.5M have lost coverage since Obamamcare passed: LoneCon
CBS poll: Obama approval on economy still falling: Hot Air
The high price of political payback at McCormick Place: Crain's

Gunrunner & Energygate

Obama Supporter’s Company Wins $433 Million No-Bid Contract for Experimental Smallpox Drug: Malkin
White House Email: 'Coming Storm' Over Solyndra 'And Other Inside DOE Deals': ABC
Losing the Mandate of Heaven. Joe Paterno, the Gunwalker Scandal and the crisis of legitimacy.: SSI

Climate & Energy

Renewable Energy: Bubble, Scam, or Both?: Power Line
The End of the Light Bulb as We Know It: PJM
Obama Caves to Insatiable Wing of Party, Delays Keystone Pipeline: ATR

Media

Bloomberg Ignores Multiple Scandals of the Obama Administration: BigJ
The Big Loser of the Night: CBS: NRO
Univ of Maryland student govt unanimously votes for…silencing truth about Islam: Creeping

Bachmann accuses CBS of planning biased debate, shows emails as proof: Hill
Occupy Denver Tries To Storm BlogCon, Hippy Body Slam Ensues: WZ
Rusty Endorses Newt Gingrich for President: Jawa Report

Gingrich schools Pelley on “rule of law” on terrorists: Hot Air
Amerika, Oh, Amerika: Garden Serf
Herman Cain unwittingly takes lie detector test and... passes: Daily Mail

Penn State-Just The Beginning Of A Major Bombshell: Pagan Temple
Penn State and the Failure of Masculinity: First Things
If you were still not convinced about Politico's leanings....: Politico

World

Islamists Take Over Egypt: Library of Alexandria to Be Burned Again; Food for Half-Price: Hudson
Why Did Sarkozy and Obama ‘Dis’ Bibi?: BRubin
Statistics!: Jawa Report

Iran on Nuclear Threshold: AmSpec
Obama Orders U.S. to Spy More on Israel: Founding Bloggers
Google releases satellite images of possible Iranian nuclear facilities: Daily Mail (UK)

Sci-Tech

U.S. wins Twitter battle against foreign WikiLeaks collaborator: ZDNet
Anonymous and LulzSec trawl Google Code search for security holes: Sophos
Primal Experiment: Intentional Power Outage: Mark's Daily Apple

Cornucopia

A Veteran I was Fortunate to Know: Ace
A Day of Do-Overs: MOTUS
The Veteran I Knew Best: Ace

Nationals’ Wilson Ramos tells of kidnapping ordeal: Times
Saturday Night Live Ends Show With A Lot of Electronic Sex: Mediate
Every Generation: FreedomWorks

Image: People's Cube
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: A Letter Written by a Dear Friend

QOTD: "I think the arrogance, and frankly, the sometimes latent anti-Semitism that the Europeans have, that has been tragic over and over again…I mean, you know, here’s a man…Bibi Netanyahu is worried about the very survival of his country. He has in the Palestinian Authority somebody who is a clear public liar, who has said that ultimately, they don’t want a peace agreement, they want to get rid of Israel. He has in Hamas a mortal enemy. He has in Hezbollah a mortal enemy. He has in Iran Ahmadinejad, a dictator who says he wants to eliminate Israel from the face of the Earth. And yet their nasty comments are aimed at Netanyahu? I mean, it tells you just what’s wrong with the elites in Europe, and frankly, the elites in the United States." --Newt Gingrich

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Obama Making The World Safe For Political Islam [Dan from New York]

Dan from New York:

Hillary Clinton gave a major foreign policy address on Monday articulating the Obama Administration’s updated policy toward the Arab uprisings, and it didn’t get the news coverage it deserved. That was probably to be expected, since her speech revealed a pronounced tilt toward the Islamists vying for political power after the “Arab Spring”, a tilt that will discomfit many Americans. Luckily, some people were paying attention. Here are two reactions from solid Middle East analysts with disparate viewpoints and approaches who both reacted to Hillary’s remarks with similar raised eyebrows.

This is actually very important, especially if you are concerned about where Obama is leading our country.

More Questions Than Answers in Secretary Clinton’s Remarks on the Arab Uprisings


One of the consequences of Secretary of State Clinton’s speech will be for people in the Middle East to conclude that the United States now endorses Islamist parties.

-- Robert M. Danin, Council on Foreign Relations, November 8, 2011

It’s Official: Obama Administration Promotes Islamist Regimes; Insists They are Moderate


But now there can be no doubt that Obama’s Middle East policy is engaged in what might be the biggest blunder in the history of U.S. foreign policy.

-- Barry Rubin, PJ Media, November 8, 2011

I urge you click on the links and read both items. Then pass them on.


Good news: central planning experts at EPA attempting to shut down "95 percent of North Dakota['s oil] drilling"

Because, heaven knows, you wouldn't want to use any oil when you drill for... oil. The Minot Daily News reports on the EPA's latest job-destroying initiative:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is developing Underground Injection Control Class II permitting guidance for hydraulic fracturing activities that use diesel fuels in fracturing fluids.

"In our opinion, this is an underhanded attempt to pick the lock on the back door and get regulatory oversight over fracturing. As I have said earlier, this could easily stop 95 percent of North Dakota drilling for 18 to 24 months and slow it to half or less of current levels after that," said Lynn Helms, Bismarck, director of the N.D. Department of Mineral Resources.

The EPA is studying any potential impact of fracking on groundwater and drinking water and Helms has said also would impact drilling in the state. That study was announced earlier this year.

Hydraulic fracturing, also called fracturing or fracking, is a process used to break open oil-bearing rock with pressurized fluid and sand. The process is used in about 95 percent of the wells drilled in North Dakota.

..."They have conducted three public meetings and the environmental community is pressing for a broad definition of diesel fuel that would define it as any petroleum distillate that is found in diesel fuel," Helms said... He said this would be a different definition than the other 163 references to diesel fuel in the Energy Policy Act 2005.

Helms said the Independent Petroleum Association of America has filed a lawsuit to stop the process, with oral arguments to be heard in federal court shortly... A brief filed by IPAA legal counsel in March said, in summary, "there is no reason to believe that EPA's new interpretation of the SDWA and its implementing regulations reflects a carefully reasoned change in policy."

It goes on to say, "An agency cannot do so formally or informally without engaging in a proper rulemaking when the consequence for the regulated community is complying at the cost of many thousands of dollars or potentially being subject to an enforcement action. EPA's decision should be vacated and EPA should be barred from enforcing its position until such time as EPA engages in a rulemaking that satisfies the APA and the SDWA."

Should the EPA successfully shut down North Dakota's oil drilling operations, it will have contributed to President Obama's record-setting figure of nearly 3,000,000 U.S. jobs -- many of them union jobs -- destroyed by his environmental, flat-earth, no-growth Marxist bureaucrats.


"If you like your health care plan, you can keep it (except for 4.5 million of you gullible schmucks)"

I wonder how many of these folks were among the saps who voted for Obama?

Throughout the Obamacare debate, President Obama repeatedly promised, “If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.” Now, Gallup reports that from the first quarter of 2010 (when Obama signed Obamacare into law) to the third quarter of this year, 2 percent of American adults lost their employer sponsored health insurance. In other words, about 4.5 million Americans lost their employer-sponsored insurance over a span of just 18 months...

what’s clear is that, more than 25 months before Obamacare would really go into effect — if it’s not repealed first — employers are already dropping employees from their insurance rolls.

Take Walmart, for example — a prominent Obamacare supporter. Gallup writes,

“The nation's largest private employer, Wal-Mart, announced in October that new part-time employees who work less than an average of 24 hours a week would no longer be able to get their health insurance from the company. Wal-Mart laid out several other cuts to its health insurance offerings, including some workers’ ability get coverage for their spouses. Other companies have already made and will likely continue to make similar changes to their health insurance benefits….

“If Wal-Mart's decision is a precursor of how employers intend to manage their healthcare costs, the downward trend in employer-based healthcare will likely continue.”

So in addition to costing about $2.5 trillion over its real first decade (2014 to 2023), looting nearly $1 trillion from Medicare over that time (according to the CBO), forcing Americans to buy government-approved health insurance under penalty of law, and amassing unprecedented power and money in Washington at the expense of Americans’ liberty — if Obamacare stays on the books, you may like your health care plan, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can keep your health care plan...

Jeffrey Anderson concludes: "It's time to repeal Obamacare."

And he's right. But we had better nominate a Constitutional Conservative to battle Obama, for the RINOs and big-government, establishment types like Mitt Romney haven't demonstrated they have the stones for this fight.


Photo: Michael Moore's Lakeside Mansion Perfectly Illustrates His Empathy With the 99%

No wonder Michael Moore reacted so strongly to a reporter's question about his purported wealth, estimated recently at $50 million.

Because Andrew Breitbart did the heavy lifting old media refuses to do, illustrating the hypocrisy of the morbidly obese faux-Communist:

Left-wing filmmaker Michael Moore has been touring Occupy Wall Street demonstrations across the country–including some of the most violent, such as Occupy Oakland–urging activists to continue their fight against the wealthy “one percent” of Americans... Through an independent source, Big Hollywood has obtained exclusive photographs of the house matching the address of Moore’s waterfront mansion. It is the kind of luxurious summer home that 99 percent of Americans can only dream of owning.

...Moore’s Torch Lake vacation home is likely worth close to $2 million...

...In addition, according to statistics from 2009, Forest Home Township has no black residents. The township is roughly 98 percent white. Call that 99 percent, and Moore’s claim to be among “the 99 percent” begins to have some basis in reality.

No one begrudges Moore his wealth, but it is deceitful for him to claim poverty while encouraging class warfare among other Americans. It is also purely narcissistic and selfish for Moore to back radical and destructive socialist policies that would deny other Americans the opportunity to become as rich as he is.

If I were a member of the #OWS crowd, I would occupy Moore's house.

Heaven knows he's got enough room for even twenty Moore-sized people in it.


Hat tip: Drudge Report.

Caller to Mark Levin Show Describes How Nancy Pelosi and her Husband Abuse Their Power to Stiff Small Business

According to The New York Daily News, Nancy Pelosi's net worth skyrocketed by a jaw-dropping 62% over the last year of her tenure as Speaker of the House. Her net worth was $22 million in 2009 and is currently reported at $35.2 million.

Which makes her failure to pay her bills all the more outrageous. A caller to the Mark Levin Show (11/9/2011 about 1:32) named "Sharon" (a cover name) described tactics that are probably all too common among the Democrat elite who claim to be for the "little people".

Hi, Mark, I just wanted to call in and let you know a year ago, October 2010, my plumbing company did some work for Ms. Pelosi and her husband in D.C., took care of her problem and billed her accordingly... She chose to ignore payment of that bill and we kept sending her an invoice, pretty much on a routine basis and never heard back from her.

We sent her a nice letter saying, 'Please, this invoice is past due', and she chose not to pay it. She says she's for the common person, but it's ironic.

...I work for the plumbing business... this has been over a year now... [There's no dispute] ...the problem was solved and the thing that bothers me is that we provided materials for the job, the labor was performed, my employer paid the plumber and had to buy the materials, and it just seems very unfair that everything was done in good faith... and nothing reimbursed... [The owner] is a small-business owner and he knows this is going to be the case on an occasional basis, but it seems so unbelievable that somebody in that position -- who can afford to pay her bill for a service that was rendered -- chose not to.

...It was October of 2010 and Mr. Pelosi called the office and I happened to be the one who answered the call. He, it was interesting, we chuckled after we hung up, because he was dropping his name, his wife's name, interjecting it into the conversation... to make clear that I understood who this was...

We showed up, took care of the problem, everything was solved. Just a routine service call... it wasn't a major thing, it had to do with the bathtub in the bathroom, it wasn't draining properly. And she want to be able to use that as a form of relaxation at night; he informed me of that in the call. So we took care of that for her. It was nothing serious or overly complicated.

[The bill wasn't a large amount] ...not at all, absolutely blowing us off.

Levin observes that "this is the sort of thing that happens all the time. The little people are kicked around by the big people who claim to love them. All the time. I've heard stories -- the Kennedy family, other families -- you'd be amazed."

Folks, this is what an oligarchy looks like. And this is why we must flush all Democrats and RINO pretenders from office in 2012. Business as usual needs to come to an end in Washington, and we need to send a message. Let's call it "flush twice to remove the clingers". It's time to re-establish Constitutional government in Washington.


By the numbers: Obama jobs destruction plan to accelerate in 2012

If you do a Google search on President Obama's oft-repeated statement -- "I will not rest until every American has a good job" -- you'll get 6.6 million results.

Yet three years after the mortgage meltdown and the vaunted Obama stimulus program, the real unemployment rate (U-6) actually worsened even if we look at the year of 2011 alone. The U-6 unemployment rate remains over 16% and could actually be far worse because of some of the tricks used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In fact, ShadowStats.com puts unemployment in excess of 22 percent.

Unfortunately, this is only the tip of the iceberg. The job losses we'll see in the coming years will make what we've seen thus far look like a jaunt in the park. A quick review of recent articles describing the impact of the massive regulatory state (the EPA alone has grown 120 percent under Obama) offers some ominous projections for future job losses.

DescriptionJobs DestroyedSource
Delaying the Keystone XL Pipeline until after the 2012 election20,000LA Times
Forcing lignite coal plants in Texas to close (EPA)14,000Heritage
Gulf Drilling Moratorium (Interior)72,000LA Times
EPA's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule1,440,000Daily Caller
EPA's determination that coal ash is a "hazardous waste"250,000Western Caucus
EPA's shutdown of AEP plants5,000CAPPS Online
EPA's commercial and industrial boiler regulations800,000Clatskanie Chief
Interior Department's protection of lizards and smelt fish75,000Human Events
Jobs killed by the Obama environmental machine2,676,000

That's nearly 3,000,000 jobs that President Obama's policies will have un-saved and un-created. Middle-class jobs. Blue-collar and white-collar jobs. Trucking jobs, manufacturing jobs, union jobs.

Liberals, drones, progressives and other anti-American malcontents would be hard-pressed to prove that this President isn't intentionally trying to establish a permanent underclass, whose subsistence is dependent upon the largesse of the federal government.

Because every action this president seems to tack seems to prove that the destruction of the middle class is among his chief goals.

And, further: President Obama is 'historic' only in the sense that he is the most effective job destroyer ever.


Larwyn's Linx: CBS Report to Expose Insider Trading on Capitol Hill

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

Nation

CBS Report to Expose Insider Trading on Capitol Hill: C4P
Occupiers part of grand alliance against the productive: Steyn
Reggie Love, longtime Obama aide, to leave White House: LAT

A Thank You and a Reminder: Green Mountains
Seven Dead at Occupy Protests So Far: AmPower
Univision Poll: GOP candidates and the Hispanic vote: Karl

Economy

Better education through lower taxes: DC
Too Big To Fail Can't Be Fixed With Dodd-Frank in Place: AmSpec
Islam's War on Free Speech: Atlas

Obama’s Pipeline Punt: Cmmntry
Elena Kagan: Excited When Obamacare Passed: LoneCon
Greece Turns to Iran for Oil as Credit Shut Down: Mish

Gunrunner & Energygate

Family of Murdered Border Agent Lashes Out at Holder: Fox
Spiritual Warfare. "Drink water, pray, drive on.": SSI
Video: Cornyn blows up “Bush did it too” on Fast and Furious: Hot Air

Climate & Energy

Ah–Chu: Guess Who Funded Spain’s Green Energy Disaster: Soylent Green
Republicans test Senate's will to stand up for EPA: BizWk
Energy Department failed to sound alarm as Solyndra solar company sank: WaPo

Media

NBC, ABC Skip Obama Administration's Delay of Pipeline That Could Create 20,000 Jobs: NB
Penn State: the Death Penalty Awaits: Shayne
NBC and CBS Give Scant Coverage to Deadly Shootings at Occupy Wall Street Protests; ABC Ignores: NB

Michelle to Serve as NASCAR Grand Marshal: Dossier
Media Attempt to Cover up Obama Comments on Israel: BigJ
POLITICO: Occupy Wall Street Is Winning: Glob

World

China's economy showing signs of trouble: AT
Connecting the Nuclear Dots on Iran: FPM
Invisible Run on Banks Becoming Conversation With Italian Yields Above 7%: Bloomberg

Newt on Israel, Sarkozy and Obama: Hewitt
The Unreported Tragedy of Cuba’s Repressive Communist Regime: Foundry
Sharia mortgage racket fails, leaves 200 Canadian Muslim families in limbo: Creeping

Eurozone Debt Crisis Reveals China's Economic Weakness: Stratfor
"I Want You All Fired" Yet Another Fantastic Video from Nigel Farage, Speaking to European Parliament: Mish
$400,000 prize offered to break up the euro: CNN

Sci-Tech

Everything should be open source, says WordPress founder: ZDNet
Reader Gets AT&T To Admit It's Their Towers That Suck, Not The iPhone: Consumerist
iOS 5 battery fix here--and more fuel for Apple rumor mill: CNet

Cornucopia

Plan to Save the Country: Soldiers optional. Ditto, tools, books, magazines and property reviews (?): MOTUS
Hashtag Of The Entitlement Generation: SDA
God Bless Mexifornia – American Flag T-Shirts Banned On Cinco de Mayo: SHN

Image: @Kenny4Field
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Senate Conservatives Fund

QOTD: "Sarkozy then said of Netanyahu, “I cannot bear him, he’s a liar,” to which President Obama reportedly said, “You may be sick of him, but me, I have to deal with him every day.”A number of journalists heard this but did not report on it after staffers from Sarkozy’s office went to the journalists and told them the comments were meant to be private. According to reports, French media tradition requires journalists to honor that privacy, and in keeping with that tradition, they were asked to sign agreements to that effect. Apparently many of them complied “due to the sensitivity of the issue.” But it was a French website, Arret sur images, that first reported the conversation. Reporters from Reuters and the Associated Press confirmed the account of the conversation. Sarkozy’s and Obama’s offices have refused to comment." --AIM

Friday, November 11, 2011

An Illustrated Thank You Note to the Marines

And to all of our armed forces, police officers, firefighters and emergency personnel:







Thank you for your service.


Hat tip: MGySgt Kirk.

Yo, Dems: how many years we gotta wait before Obamacare is a 'living and breathing' law so we can start ignoring it?

Liberals have a fundamentally different perspective on Constitutional interpretation than conservatives. Conservatives believe that there is only one legitimate way to interpret the Constitution: as it was written. This school of thought is called originalism and no less an intellect than the mighty James Madison said the following regarding this approach.

Do not separate text from historical background. If you do, you will have perverted and subverted the Constitution, which can only end in a distorted, bastardized form of illegitimate government. In effect, the Obama administration.

Eh, okay -- I added that last sentence.

Liberals have invented all sorts of clever schemes for avoiding originalism, even though the Framers studied thousands of years of human history to create a resilient, flexible framework upon which the body politic could grow. They have discovered numerous methods to reject the nation's highest law, upon which they take an oath to uphold when they enter office!

• They reject originalism through the lens of technology: Gee, the framers didn't talk about the Internet, so we've got to create brand new rights from whole cloth!...

• They reject originalism through a fabricated principle called 'Judicial Precedent': Hey, I don't care what unconstitutional decision the Warren Court came up with, it's 'Judicial Precedent'!

• They reject originalism through another fairy tale called 'Judicial Review': Hey, we don't like that legislation, so we'll just dismantle it.

• They reject originalism through social engineering: former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall once said, "You guys [i.e., white people] have been practicing discrimination for years. Now it's our [i.e., black people's] turn."

In short, liberals view the Constitution as amorphous and flexible -- "living and breathing", if you will -- in order to advance their agenda.

But I ask you: many laws and contracts are very old (even 99-year leases in Hawaii appear to be commonplace) -- so how many years do we have to wait to call the laws we don't like 'living and breathing'?

Is 50 years enough? 100? 150 years?

Because these laws, contracts and other agreements can't possibly be binding once they hit that limit. They've got to be living and breathing, because the terms could never anticipate all of the changes in technology, transportation and communications... right?

So how many years must we wait before we reject all of the liberals' failed social engineering programs by reinterpreting them under this 'living and breathing' escape hatch?

Not that the country will survive on the spending glide-path we're on right now. But I'm just wondering. Any liberals care to venture an answer?


Meet Bill and Joan, your next door neighbors who are "millionaires and billionaires'

Did I say "millionaires and billionaires"? I meant members of the middle class, who will be paying considerably more in taxes after the 2012 elections.

Meet the Smiths: 26-year-olds Bill and Joan have been married for five years and have two young children. Bill earns about $65,000 a year in sales and Joan has gone back to work and earns about $35,000 annually. Bill owes quite a bit on his college student loans and will pay about $3,000 in interest on them in 2013. With Joan working again, they are paying $3,000 for year-round child care. Joan inherited some AT&T stock from her grandmother, which pays her $1,000 in dividends every year. Finally, counting home mortgage interest, they have about $20,000 in itemized deductions.

The first big change affecting the Smiths will be a combined increase in income tax rates, and a tightening of tax brackets as a result of the expiration of the Bush tax cuts. We estimate this will cost them $960 in 2013.

Bill will lose the complete deduction of his student loan interest in 2013, costing about $840. The pair's allowable deduction for child care will drop to $2,400 from $3,000, and they will also see their credit for children drop in half, costing another $1,000.

The marriage tax penalty will come roaring back to hit the Smiths in 2013, costing an estimated $500. The tax on their dividend income will go increase to $280 from $150, adding another $130. Finally, although we did not calculate the effect, without Congressional action to once again "fix" the alternative minimum tax, the Smiths could owe this ugly tax as well!

Luckily for the Smiths — but not for many Americans — other major changes for 2013, which do not personally affect them, include a phase out of itemized deductions and personal exemptions if their income starts to climb.

In summary, because of tax laws expiring this year and next, we estimate that the Smiths will owe $3,598 more in income tax in 2013 than in 2011 with no change in their income.

Joan and Bill will be paying an additional $300 a month thanks to the policies of the Obama Democrats.

They're really looking out for the little guy, eh? So the next time Barack Obama demonizes the wealthy and claims to be protecting the middle class, just remember the bite he's going to be taking out of our paychecks. Cuts which were timed, fortuitously for him, to kick in after the 2012 elections.


Hat tip: Mark Levin.

Larwyn's Linx: Not safe to display the flag in a U.S. high school

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

Nation

Not safe to display the flag in a U.S. high school: Volokh
The Left's Many Double Standards: David Limbaugh
The Problem With American Culture: Ramirez

K Street’s Super Committee Splurge: Malkin
Obama Demonstrates Why ‘Government Efficiency’ Is a Joke: Cato
Lesson from Ohio: Kill, replace Obamacare: Murdock

Economy

'Mini-Ponzi Scheme' takes down Obama crony Corzine: MRC
We Must Crush the Army of Krugmanites into Submission: Mish
Punt: White House to “reassess” Keystone pipeline: Hot Air

Rand Paul: Dems walk away from table: Hannity
Robbery and Opportunity: Arctic Patriot
Calif. Revenue Off by $1.5B: Controller: Bloomberg

World has Major Funding Gap; Run on Greek Banks?: Mish
Why Italy’s Days in the Eurozone May Be Numbered: Roubini
Uh oh: China's real estate bubble has burst?: TAB

Occupy

Murder at #OccupyOakland: Zombie
Elite Berkeley Students Upset They’re in the 1%, Throw Occupy Tantrum: Zombie
Karl Marx Puppet Visits Occupy Wall Street: Forward

Occupy Wall Street: Zucotti Square Day 53 & Counting - The Crazy Has Set In : Urban Infidel
The Five Most Infantile Beliefs on Display at the ‘Occupy’ Tantrums: PJM
Second Shooting Death in 24 Hours at #OccupyOakland: GWP

Gunrunner & Energygate

Solyndra Subpoena Deadline Comes and Goes; Update: W.H. Will Turn Over ‘Some’ Documents: Malkin
Emails: White House, Biden’s office ‘orgasmic’ over Solyndra deal: Times
White House Misses Solyndra Deadline: ABC

Grassley: Holder refusing to provide 11 witnesses for Fast and Furious interviews: SSI
Fire Eric Holder: Palin
Holder Plays Dumb, Dems Push Gun Control: Owens

Media

Anti-Cain Hoax Exposed: LegalIns
The News Behind the News: Hanson
Newt Mocks Bartiromo's 'Funny' Defense of the Liberal Media: NB

NESN: Penn State Scandal May Get a WHOLE LOT Worse: Tatler
Paging the NAACP, Al Sharpton, the Congressional Black Caucus, and FCC: Malkin
Hard-hitting WaPo coverage: Occupy D.C. mob has created a “vibrant brand of urbanism”: Hot Air

World

Religion of Slavery: Sultan Knish
Israel vs. Iran: To Strike or Not to Strike?: Glick
The Rising Threat from Nigeria's Boko Haram Militant Group: Stratfor

It’s Official: Obama Administration Promotes Islamist Regimes; Insists They are Moderate: Lid
Former Top CIA Lawyer Under Investigation: NatlJrnl
Honduras: President opens session with Koran reading, Islamic prayer: Creeping

Sci-Tech

Blogging Common Releases Overview of English Blogosphere: BloggingCommon
Six Deadly Security Blunders Businesses Make: Dark Reading
$19 for unlimited cell phone service? Am I dreaming?: Wired

Cornucopia

CNBC: “They’re nuts. They’re Nuts! They know nothing!!!” Updated: Breaking News on Love's Loss!: MOTUS
Quentin Tarantino's Next Flick Has An Unbelievable Cast And An Insane Premise: Insider
Moonfail: Video of Astronauts Falling on the Moon: DefTech

Man Arrested After Calling 911 Five Times To Complain About His Broken iPhone: TSG
Missouri woman found fused to recliner in home: MyWay
‘It felt like someone put lighter fluid on me and caught me on fire’: 3 Days in August

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

QOTD: "Italy desperately needs structural reforms especially the ability for corporations to fire people much easier than they can now. Long-term, reforms will make Italy more competitive. Short-term, reforms coupled with austerity measures will add so much pain (not that it takes that much) that the vast army of Krugmanites will howl at the moon.

Also bear in mind there have been no reforms that have started yet, only promises to make reforms. Things in Italy are about to get much worse, and Italy is already in recession." --Mike Shedlock

Thursday, November 10, 2011

How bad is government spending, really?

Ken from S.F. writes:

Putting specific government spending into context helps point out the insanity.

The latest comparing the postal service budget overruns with the federal tax revenue by state.

Unfortunately, after 20 minutes of searching, I can only find 2007 numbers. Figure they would be pretty easy to get a hold of.

Postal Service expects $6 billion loss this year

Federal Tax Revenue By State

I wonder how the people in these states would feel if asked how they feel that all of the money taxpayers pay to the federal government is equivalent to the budget overrun of the USPS?

Now: I would like you to imagine the day -- in the not too distant future -- when the federal government controls every aspect of health care delivery. Or, roughly, one-sixth of the economy.

Get your surgeries in now, before it's too late.


Ohio's pro-union election results: not quite as bad as they look

While the major networks are trumpeting the unions' big victory in Ohio, the news isn't quite as glum, nor the labor win as large, as it may first appear.

Ohio's Issue 2 was a referendum on repealing SB5, a bill that reduced certain public sector union benefits. The repeal effort passed by a wide margin -- 61-39.

Correspondent Amalaur describes the lay of the land:

Turnout in my conservative area of the city was very light. This wasn't an issue election for most voters I guess... unless they were members of a public sector union. To their credit (or at least to the taxpayers' credit, since they're funding the public sector), the unions swamped the airwaves with messages like "Vote no on 2 or you'll call 9-1-1 and no one will answer" and "if your house catches on fire, it'd be a shame if no one showed up."

Really sleazy and dishonest stuff. And the worst part is, many union members are going to pay for their mistake with their jobs. They were sold down the river by the union bosses. The layoffs are gonna come fast and furious (heh!), because the cities and towns have no way to pay their bills. SB5 would have helped the municipalities employ more cops and firefighters, not less.

What was SB5 all about? Oh, my, it was so onerous:

• Government employees would have to pay at least 15 percent of their health care costs

• Government employees would have to contribute at least something to their pension plans

• It preserved collective bargaining, but reduced the impact of tenure on schools' hiring decisions

But the loss wasn't nearly as bad as it looks. Turnout was relatively low, and the vote to crush Obamacare (Issue 3 - by dismantling the individual mandate) passed by a wider margin than Issue 2 -- 66% to 34%.

That tells me that even Democrats despise Obamacare.

And 2012 will be the ultimate referendum on that particular clusterf***.

Furthermore, unions from around the nation sent $30 million into Ohio to defeat SB5 -- against roughly $7 million to oppose the repeal effort, gathered from a hodgepodge of grassroots groups.

The executive summary: don't be disheartened. Ohio's labor victory was an anomaly, thanks to truly deceptive advertising, a huge spending disadvantage, and low turnout.

2012 will offer only the first of these tactics to Barack Obama. And the electorate will be anything but disinterested.


Great news: Immigration agents ordered not to arrest illegal aliens, even those caught committing felonies

How is it that the Democrat ruling class shows more allegiance to illegal aliens than to America's citizens whose Constitutional duty it is to protect?

Chris Crane, president of the union that represents the nation’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, has provided the House Judiciary Committee [with] internal ICE emails [that] verbally ordered officers in the field not to arrest illegal aliens who did not have prior criminal convictions--even if they were fugitives evading deportation orders or were individuals who had illegally re-entered the United States after being deported and were thus committing a felony.

“Increasingly, ICE headquarters leadership refuses to put directives to supervisors, agents and officers in the field regarding law enforcement operations in writing... Orders and directives are given orally to prevent the activities of ICE's leadership from becoming public,” Crane, president of the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council 118, testified. “Agents and officers in the field are frequently under orders not to arrest persons suspected of being in the United States illegally.

...“ICE officers and agents also alleged that they were not permitted to arrest or even speak to confirmed or suspected illegal aliens encountered in the field during operations and were prohibited from running standard criminal record checks for wants and warrants,” said Crane, who also serves as an active-duty ICE officer.

Can you imagine the kind of damage Barack Obama will do to this country if he is reelected in 2012 and no longer has to even pretend to care about America?


House Judiciary to DOJ Assistant A.G. Weich: now, explain to us why you lied under oath in February about Fast and Furious?

Via the invaluable Sipsey Street Irregulars comes the following press release issued by the House Judiciary Committee. In related news, Eric Holder just downed another roll of Tums.

On February 4, 2011, [Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs Ronald] Weich stated the following in letter to Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) who had asked if allegations that officials had intentionally allowed criminals to guns had been “walked” in Operation Fast and Furious:

“ATF makes every effort to interdict weapons that have been purchased illegally and prevent their transportation to Mexico.”

...Evidence gathered during the course of the congressional investigation into Operation Fast and Furious has shown that this statement was untrue – ATF, in allowing guns to walk, did not make every [Ed: or any, in many cases] effort to interdict them and prevent their transfer to Mexico['s drug cartels]. Evidence gathered in the investigation has also shown that senior Justice Department officials knew at the time Weich made his statement in February that it was untrue.

Mr. Weich, as you are well aware, it is a crime to knowingly make false statements to Congress,” Chairman Issa writes in his letter to Weich... "Whether it is the case that you were fed a lie and faithfully repeated it in a letter to Congress, or whether it is the case that you took the initiative to lie to Congress yourself, you are responsible for the contents of letters that bear your signature.”

Issa also issued a demand for documents that describe which officials in the Holder DOJ -- up to and including the A.G. himself -- orchestrated Weich's lies.

Oh, and Mr. Weich, a word of advice: I recommend you negotiate a deal for immunity in exchange for disclosing the truth about Holder's Gunwalker operation -- if only to keep yourself from sharing a cell with Bubba, who despite his 6'4", 275lb. frame, has quite the delightful personality.


Hat tip: D&S.

Larwyn's Linx: Cain allegations have Axelrod's stink all over them

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

Nation

Cain allegations have Axelrod's stink all over them: Coulter
Half a Loaf in Ohio’s Issues Election: Blumer
Union official: ICE ordered not to deport illegals: CNS

Drunkblogging Wednesday’s GOP Presidential Debate: Vodkapundit
The Moment Perry's Presidential Chances Flash Crashed: ZH
60 Minutes Investigation: Pelosi Stock Investments: SF Weekly

Feds investigate Paterno: Surber
Obama Unbound: Hanson
AP Exclusive: Cain accuser filed complaint in next job: AP

Economy

Crony Capitalism, Christmas Trees, and the Stupidest Tax Ever: ZH
Beware the Technocrati: Mish
Public School Teachers Are Overpaid by 52%: Carpe

If.........: Belmont Club
Fresh anti-Semitic videos coming out of Occupy Wall Street: Zombie
Occupy Portland protester arrested for Molotov Cocktail attack: GWP

Gunrunner & Energygate

The Hearing. The Gunwalker Conspiracy Cover-Up's Dog and Pony Show: SSI
New e-mails reveal: White House did meet with top donor on Solyndra: Hot Air
Former US Attorney admits leaking document to smear Fast & Furious whistleblower: Hot Air

Another DOE Loan Scandal: Are We Bailing Out Spain’s Solar Collapse?: PJM
Revealed: Top Obama Bundler George Kaiser Pushed Obama White House For Loan to Solyndra: GWP
The Great Stonewall of Obama; Update: Solyndra e-mail contradicts White House on donor contact: Malkin

Media

One Cain accuser has money problems, the other filed a job complaint against another employer: Hot Air
Karen Kraushaar's Former Supervisor: Her Complaint's Frivolous, Her Work Ethic Poor, I Doubt Her Credibility: Ace
Big Media Is Biggest Loser In Cain Controversy: Thomas

Networks Cheer 'Big Victory' for Unions in Ohio, Ignore Rejection of ObamaCare Mandate: NB
Perry implodes; Update: Campaign is over, says top fundraiser: Hot Air
Rick Perry’s ‘Oops’ in Republican debate could have long-lasting implications for his campaign: WaPo

Fox Basically Has a Liberal Democrat Problem: Pagan Temple
Cain hits Home Run on 'Kimmel': Fox Nation
Video: The greatest constituent meeting ever?: Hot Air

World

The Feminist Awakening: TL in Exile
Deleting Online Jihad on Twitter: MEMRI
Precedent For Jizya Tax? Obama Imposes “Fee” On All Christmas Trees By Decree: Sword

Dem Rep. Jerrold Nadler Says He Hopes Deficit Supercommittee Fails So Military Will Be Gutted: WZ
SWAT teams dispatched as gun battle unfolds near Escobares: Rio Grande Monitor
Sen. Joe Lieberman Shreds Obama For “Insulting” Netanyahu: WZ

China's Elite Are Privately Talking About A Revolution: Insider
INsider: 'Biggest bank run in history' could spark more panic in Europe: InvNews
Italy Bond Attack Breaches Euro Defenses: Bloomberg

Sci-Tech

Why The Phenomenal Failure of Today's Test Doesn't Bother Me : Ten Mile Island
Google's Schmidt: Android 'started before the iPhone effort': CNet
Google+ Is Dead: Slate

Cornucopia

On this day in 1989: Ace
We interrupt this program for a word from our sponsor…: MOTUS
10 Most Disgusting Things Discovered in McDonald’s Meals: BizPundit

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

QOTD: "I find Marxism to be a vapid and ultimately, infantile, view of the world that has one sole interest – to invest a self-selected nomeklatura with the means to ideologically and morally justify the creation of a prison state. To stamp out individual volition and embrace the culture of the ant and the bee. To ensure that harmony is struck no matter what the human cost. Absent violence and mass privation, Marxism in the world of humanity simply does not ring true to both its ambitions and the fruit of its practice. Marxism is, at bottom, a death cult. --Bill Bupert

Wednesday, November 09, 2011

How about Gloria Allred and Sharon Bialek take lie detector tests?

In all of American history, has there ever been a presidential candidate or sitting president who was asked to take a lie detector test by a member of the media?

Answer: no.

How about the numerous accusations of sexual violence against women by Bill Clinton? Or Barack Obama's links to domestic terrorists, racists and virulent anti-semites?

Of course not.

Only a black conservative would be targeted this way, with the accusers tied (coincidentally, I'm sure) to the Obama machine.

Bialek, who just happens to live in Obama campaign chief David Axelrod's luxury building, is a woman with a checkered background:

Sharon Bialek is 50, out of work and, according to one who knows her, she’s a smooth operator living way above her means... Bialek pranced into the Friars Club yesterday with lawyer -- who else? -- Gloria Allred aboard patent-leather do-me pumps. She proceeded to spill a dirty little secret she claims to have harbored these last 14 years -- presidential front-runner and fellow Republican Herman Cain made a pass at my junk!

With that, she became the fourth woman to accuse the GOP presidential front-runner of sexual harassment -- and the first to proudly show her face.

She did so with the breathy giddiness of a gal who’s read too many bodice-rippers. Bialek, who had her bleached-blond hair set in waves for the occasion, recounted with a broad grin the night back in 1997 when she flirted like a tart with the “inspirational” Mr. Cain... But the question remains: Why sit on this seeming sexual assault for 14 years?

According to someone who knows Bialek: “...she’s a complete gold digger. It’s all about the money.” The friend said she comes from a lower-middle-income family, but lives in a posh apartment running from bill collectors. “Most of her jobs ended in termination. It’s always the employer’s fault, not hers.

“This is a lady who lives off the system. She is hellbent on finding a way of never having to work and living the lifestyle she wants to live, a very affluent lifestyle. In my next life, I want to come back as her.”

It's not hard to imagine her approaching Axelrod, who she admits she's seen in the building, and offering her "services". Character-assassination services, that is, not unlike the many Axelrod campaigns where mysterious allegations are unearthed and sealed records become, eh, unsealed.

Veteran CBS reporter Bill Kurtis called Bialek a "woman with a history" and implied it was more likely she would have sexually assaulted Cain than vice versa.

Say, I've got an idea: how about a polygraph apiece for Sharon Bialek and Gloria Allred?


Update: "Investigator: Herman Cain innocent of sexual advances"

Middleton: Contraction Interruptus

Reggie Middleton of Boom Bust Blog:

I have always been of the contention that the 2008 market crash was cut short by the global machinations of a cadre of central bankers intent on somehow rewriting the rules of economics, investment physics and global finance. They became the buyers of last resort, then consequently the buyers of only resort while at the same time flooding the world with liquidity and guarantees. These central bankers and the countries they allegedly strive to serve took on the debt and nigh worthless assets of the private sector who threw prudence through the window during the “Peak” phase of the circle of economic life, and engaged in rampant speculation.

Central bankers worldwide have interrupted the cycle here under the apparently mistaken impression that they can override the business cycle and skip past the contraction phase. This is most apparent in equity markets where excess liquidity has pushed all equities straight up, as well as bond markets where yields have been suppressed to artificial (ZIRP) levels. The truth cannot be concealed in real asset markets where properties are still dropping. It was the real asset market that kicked off the bust to begin with, and it will probably be the real asset markets that bring us back to reality.

The extended contraction has only been exacerbated by the folly of central economic planners experimenting on a global basis and in concert to defeat the laws of economic mother nature.

Oh, and for those still under the mistaken impression that contagion has been contained, Barclays is here to disabuse you of that quaint notion: Italy Is Finished: "Mathematically Beyond Point Of No Return".

The era of Europe's heavily unionized, social welfare states is drawing to a close. Misery, war and poverty will follow as certainly as night follows day. Pity that Democrats are too stupid to get the message here at home.