Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Beautiful: Chevy Volt Safety Issues 'May Have Been Suppressed' (plus, the Top 12 Chevy Volt Slogans!)

Gee, it seems so surprising that a government-owned auto company would use the instrumentalities of government to suppress safety findings.

Top 12 Chevy Volt Slogans

12. Fight global warming by driving an electric car that bursts into flames!
11. The money you will save at the pump helps you pay the deductible on your homeowners insurance.
10. If you have friends push it around while making ***vroom vroom*** noises, it's a lot like driving a car.
9. Reducing our dependence on foreign oil while reducing our garage to a pile of ashes.
8. We call it the “Volt” because the name "Chevy Coal" didn’t test well.
7. Ask us about our Sail option!
6. The Chevy Volt, the $41,000 before-tax-credit, four-seater that you might as well buy because you’re paying for it anyway car
5. Forward, into the futu-- AGGGHHH!!! AGGGHHH!!! PUT ME OUT!!! ROLL ME AROUND ON THE GROUND!!!
4. Got Squirrel?
3. The Kia of Golf Carts
2. I coulda had a V-8
1. Why pollute around you with exhaust when you can pollute far away with coal?
Following on from the announcement that GM is looking at redesigning the Chevrolet Volt’s lithium-ion battery system in the wake of several highly publicized fires resulting from test crashes, comes further news that both the automaker and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration delayed disclosure of their original findings by months.

Apparently, way back in June, General Motors heard about a Volt fire that happened three weeks after said vehicle was crash tested, yet it wasn’t until November that the company, or NHTSA disclosed there was a potential problem, urging both dealers and customers to drain the battery pack immediately following an accident.

As a result the public relations nightmare surrounding Chevy’s halo vehicle appears to be deepening, though a good deal of the blame in this case also rests with NHTSA.

Joan Claybrook, a former adminstrator at NHTSA believes part of the reason for the delay was the “fragility of Volt sales.” Yet she also believes that “NHTSA could have put out a consumer alert, not to tell them [customers] for six months makes no sense to me.”

GM designed a complex cooling system for the Volt’s lithium ion battery pack to help regulate its temperature (lithium-ion units are known for overheating), yet until July it hadn’t finalized a standard proceedure to power down the battery system, the Volt had already been on sale in the US for six months at that juncture.

The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, which crash tested a Volt back in February reported no incidents of fire as resulting from the accident, yet when a second crash test was performed in August, General Motors sent a technician to power down the battery.

General Motors is certainly blazing a path to a clean energy future!

Can I get a rim-shot?


Hat tips: Biff Spackle, IMAO, Michelle Malkin, The Other McCain, Cruze Forum and Greg Gutfeld.

Presidents Behaving Strangely [Dan from NY]

Dan from NY:

At some point (like now) it’s appropriate to ask Barack Hussein Obama “what can you be thinking?”

12/6/11

'Obama urging US lawmakers to soften Iran sanctions'


By REUTERS

Senator Mark Kirk, co-author of proposal approved 100-0 by Senate to penalize foreign financial institutions that do business with Iran's central bank, says Obama administration trying to undermine sanctions.

Dan, I beg to differ. This isn't 'strange' behavior on the part of President Obama.

He's doing precisely what he was taught to do.


Larwyn's Linx: Wargaming the Electoral College

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

Nation

Wargaming the Electoral College: Vodkapundit
The Orwellian American Left: DLim
Ten Reasons To Love Rick Perry : CDNews

Battlefield Main Street: Daily
Pelosi retreats from Gingrich insinuations: Lane
Newt fires back at Pelosi: Bring it on!: Scoop

Economy

Dodd-Frank Rules Will Crush Employment, Banks Warn: IBD
On Payroll Taxes, Milton Friedman and TANSTAAFL: AllAm
Jesse Jackson: "Christmas Should Be Poor People’s Holy Day": WZ

Congressional Insider Trading and the Media: Schweizer Speaks: NB
New Signs Of “Invisible” Bank Run in Southern Europe: WorldCrunch
Fed may give loans to IMF to help euro zone: paper: Reuters

Gunrunner & Energygate

Justice Dept. Caught In Lie About 'Fast And Furious': IBD
Friday 'Document Dump' Reveals DOJ Misled Congress: PJM
Hey, Guess Who Else Profited From Corzine's Debacle?: Ace

Climate & Energy

Climategate 2 Emails Loaded with Bombshells : Heartland
A loophole in the incandescent light bulb ban?: WyBlog
Science of Public Choice Reveals Government is Motivated by Politics and Not by Science: Hayek

Media

Iran, Orwell & The Enigma Of Greenwald: Wolf Howling
Another Liberal Talk Radio Failure; San Fran Lib Station Replaced With Conservative Talk: Loesch
My Affair With Herman Cain: Riehl

Drudge headline that cost Newt 1,000,000 votes: Surber
Disgraced CNN Journalist Who Accused U.S. Troops of Atrocities to Produce GOP Debate: NB
GOP Moderator Donald Trump: Yeah, Obama's Birth Certificate Looks Pretty Fake To Me: Ace

Pedophilia Rampant In Hollywood, And Everyone Looks The Other Way, Charge Former Child Stars: Ace
Glenn Reynolds: Let’s put colleges on the hook for loans that their students can’t repay: Hot Air
Does Liberal Media Ever Identify Anyone as 'Liberal'?: ChicagoNow

World

A dubious death in Dubai: Officials tight-lipped over Iranian expat’s ‘suicide’: Timmerman
'Israel biggest loser from Brotherhood Egypt win': JPost
Despite Massive Fraud, Putin Loses Seats: PJM

Three Slaps and You're Out?: Baehr
Report: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Put On “War Footing” After Explosions Rock Key Nuclear Installations: WZ
Chavez Price Caps Spark Panic Buying of Coffee, Toilet Paper: Bloomberg

Report: UN to tax Americans for Green Climate Fund: Bruce
Egypt’s Rising Salafi Party Says Christians Will Be Better Off Under Sharia Law: WZ
The Arab Spring: Lancing The Boil: RWN

Sci-Tech

Could HTC phones be banned from the U.S.? (FAQ): CNet
Potentially Earth-Like Planet Has Right Temperature for Life: Wired
Yahoo lesson: Don't get comfortable, it'll kill your business: smh

Cornucopia

17 Days of Fun, Fun, Fun ~ The Obama Hawaii Vacation: GJ&JK
Kennedy Center Tributes: Sapphires, Diamonds & Salvation: MOTUS
New Bumper-Sticker Idea: Looking Spoon

Image: The Daily: Battlefield Main Street
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Senate Conservatives Fund

QOTD: "One thing that emerges from the new emails is that, while a large number of scientists are working on separate, detailed nodes of climate-related issues (the reason for dozens of authors for every IPCC report chapter), the circle of scientists who control the syntheses that go into IPCC reports and the national climate reports that the U.S. and other governments occasionally produce is quite small and partial to particular outcomes of these periodic assessments. The way the process works in practice casts a shadow over one of the favorite claims of the climate campaign​—​namely, that there exists a firm “consensus” about catastrophic future warming among thousands of scientists. This so-called consensus reflects only the views of a much smaller subset of gatekeepers." --Steven Hayward

Monday, December 05, 2011

A picture from President Obama's post-Constitutional America

I'm shocked. SHOCKED, I say.

I was strolling around the waterfront fish market in DC on Saturday, admiring the whole octopi, the squid, lobsters, jumbo crab legs and Maryland blue crabs for sale.

Imagine my surprise when I spotted this sign above a pile of crabs.

...But this is all good news, according to this administration. Remember, food stamps stimulate the economy!

Say, did someone mention another Obama record?

...according to the latest update from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), some 423,000 Americans found their way to minimum way subsistence, courtesy of Food Stamp handouts from Uncle Sam. Since the start of the Second Great Depression, food stamp participation has increased by 18.7 million, and is now at an all time higher 46.3 million.

All Bush's fault, or something. At least the chart below appears to be plateauing... Actually, sorry, no. It isn't.

Not to worry, folks.

At least the USDA has an excellent handle on how food stamps are being used.

Sorry. I couldn't restrain my chortle.


Hat tip: Occam's Razor X.

County Approves Display of Crucifixion of Santa Claus; Ten Commandments, However, Still Off Limits

I guess this is the kind of cultural shift that President Obama was talking about when he spoke about 'fundamentally transforming America'.

A skeleton, dressed as Santa Claus and nailed to a cross, was torn down by an enraged woman outside of the Loudoun County Courthouse.

The display was legally there, with the consent of the county, officials said.

Mary Zenecki, a county resident, wasn't having it. Piece by piece and bone by bone Zenecki took Skele-Claus off the cross and laid him on the courthouse's lawn. "You don't think this is offensive?" she asked.

The display was put there by Jeff Heflin. He applied for approval with the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors to put up his anti-Christmas Season display.

"It depicts how society's materialistic obsessions and addictions are killing the season's peace, love, joy and kindness," Heflin said.

How about we strive for separation of stupidity and state?


Hat tip: The Quinton Report.

Dear Abby [Papa B]

Papa B:

DEAR ABBY:

I have always wanted to have my family history traced but I can't afford to spend a lot of money to do it. Do you have any suggestions?

Sam in California.

DEAR SAM:

Register as a Republican and run for public office.

Abby

Bizarre Coincidence: Right-to-Work States Superior In Every Way for the 'Workers'

Why, this must be some sort of statistical -- how you say in English? -- anomaly. Turns out that states which force employees to join unions against their will are inferior to right-to-work states using about any economic measure you can think of.

The term 'Tax Freedom Day' was coined by the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan think thank. It translates to "the day when Americans... finally have earned enough money to pay off their total [federal, state and local] tax bill for the year."

Notice the eight-day difference between right-to-work and forced unionization states. For those of you who live in the latter, you spend eight days every year working for the unions.

Which is the way the self-professed Marxist union bosses like Andy Stern and Dick Trumka want it.


Deranged Propaganda Cartoonist Pat Oliphant Has a Simple Message for America: Republicans Are Pedophiles

Thank goodness we're in the post-Gabbi Giffords era, where political discourse is rational, reasoned and based strictly upon policy differences:

Progressives, the vultures of tragedy, aren’t above exploiting it for a political purpose. (See the funeral of Paul Wellstone, Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, the Tucson shooting.) Cartoonist Pat Oliphant is no exception: his latest attention-seeking panel compares Republicans to child rapists.

Factually, the only two lawmakers have been making news with child abuse scandal headlines and they’re both Democrats: David Wu and Dale Kildee.

People complain about polarization in politics -- well, let this putz serve as Exhibit A.

Rather than discuss the Democrats' failed 'War on Poverty, their complete disregard for the nation's highest law or their rampant support of election fraud, this pencil-necked kook enjoys creating Julius Streicher-like agit-prop.

Hey, miscreant: next time, why not just depict Republicans as rats who need to be thrown into concentration camps, like your hero Streicher used to do?

You're scum, Oliphant. You. Are. Scum.


Hat tip: JTT

America's Problem

Doug writes:

If you don’t already believe we’re headed for a potential disaster in America, just take a look at this Kleiner Perkins chart.


I blame Bush. Plus Millard Fillmore. But mostly Bush.

And definitely not the Stimulus package of 2009 that has been built into the baseline budget every year since.


Larwyn's Linx: Apocalypse Nowish

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

Nation

Apocalypse Nowish: NoisyRm
The Ethics of Eric Holder: AT
Bye, Bye Barney: Ace

The Welfare State's Day of Reckoning Is Here: Samuelson
Jess Jackson Jr. Document Dump: Malkin
Perry Suggests Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices: GWP

But Let's Not Profile!: Driscoll
Why I’m Endorsing Newt Gingrich: Hawkins
Obama writing off Pennsylvania?: PittLive

Economy

What Needs to Be Done to Fix Detroit: Mish
How the Left is Sucking the Life out of the Private Economy: AT
Congress Tees Up Year-End Spending Spree: Fox

California ‘The Big State that Can't' (or won't): Greenhut
Shock waves from MF Global collapse felt on farms: Yahoo!
Feel Stupid Yet, Occupiers?: iOTW

Obama to Travel to a Red State!: Dossier
We Need Employment Benefits, Not Another Permanent Welfare Program: RS
Contagion Catastrophe: NatlJrnl

Gunrunner & Energygate

White House denies reports Obama knew of ‘Fast and Furious’ in 2010: DC
Gunwalker: Justice Dept. Violated US Laws Beyond Those Being Investigated: PJM
Fast and Furious denials found to be false: UPI

New York Times Spins Fast And Furious Document Dump In Favor Of DOJ: BigJourn
‘Fast and Furious’ Not Holder’s First Controversy Involving the Murder of an American Citizen: BigGovt
General Motors buying back Chevy Volts: WDAY

Climate & Energy

Whether It Is Warming or Climate Change, It Cannot be the CO2.: Dr. Tim Ball
House says EPA rule costs 186k jobs per year: Exam
Missing You: Remy

Media

The Chicago Tribune Reveals the Democrat 2012 Pitch to Independents: Cary
‘Exhausted From Grueling Fundraising Trips, POTUS to Vacation for 17 Days’: Driscoll
Hot Air Presidential Survey Results: Greenroom

Trump-ed up: You won’t believe what Eason Jordan’s up to now: Malkin
‘Why isn’t Brian Williams Telling Me This?’: Driscoll
Former Union Chief Andy Stern Praises Crony Communism: IBD

Chelsea Clinton's Baggage. No, Not Them.: AT
In Defense of a Democrat: RS
Newt Keeps Pitching the America of His Imagination: Barone

World

Obama's Ambassador To Belgium: Muslim Antisemitism Is Israel's Fault: Commentary
Clinton criticism sparks Israeli anger: Al Arabiya
Iranian Regime Claims It Shot Down US RQ-170 Drone: GWP

Obama’s Middle East Policy: A Unified Field Theory: BRubin
I Like These Guys: Productive Class Revolt
Khmer Rouge leader at Cambodian trial says they were not 'bad people' : Telegraph

Has the War with Iran Already Begun?: NatlJrnl
Did Iran Capture a U.S. Stealth Drone Intact?: Wired
Wahabbi Muslim turned Christian exposes Koran: Creeping

Sci-Tech

Mystery company buying up U.S. gun manufacturers: SFgate
Apple iOS is safer than Android, McAfee says: CNet
EFF asks US Copyright Office to exempt jailbreaking from DMCA: Sophos

Cornucopia

Slip n' Slide: iOTW
This Week in Automotivators: RWN
A Look Back At Paulina Gretzky’s Racy Twitter Account, Which Was Shut Down This Weekend: Sportsgrid

Image: Astonishing accident involving eight Ferraris 'world's most expensive car crash' (via TAB)
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Help Halt the NLRB’s Assault On America’s Union-Free Workplace

QOTD: "Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.
This is known as 'bad luck.'" --R.A. Heinlein

Sunday, December 04, 2011

Hell's Door vs. the Incandescent Light Bulb

In the middle of the Karakoum (Turkmenistan) desert, close to the tiny nomadic village of Darvaza, there is a crater about 100 meters in diameter and more than 25 meters deep. It is called "Hell's Door". Inside this well, a fire has been burning for more than 40 years.

A Soviet prospecting mission began here in the fifties. In 1971, a drilling operation exposed an underground cavity that discharged enormous quantities of gas. Thinking the supply of gas would last but a few weeks, Soviet engineers decided to torch the hole. And it's been burning ever since. The intense heat coming from the crater allows visitors to approach Hell's Door only for a few minutes at a time because of the unbearable temperature.

At night, the hole looks like Dante's Inferno: the fire burns in all its magnificence, giving the well the look of a volcanic burning crater.

* * * * * * * * *

40 years of intense, volcanic heat emitted by a massive, burning hellhole.

But you and I have to give up our incandescent light-bulbs.

For the children. Oh, and the global warming scam, too. But mostly the children. And Ewoks.


Euro-Bomb!

Guess the one word that describes the Eurozone (hint: it starts with 'S' and ends with 'crewed').

In simple terms, this is the stark reality: now that debt and risk have been repriced, Europe's debts are completely, totally unpayable. There is no way to keep adding to the Matterhorn of debt at the old cheap rate of interest, and there is no way to roll over the trillions of euros in debt that are coming due at the old near-zero rates.

Never mind actually paying down debt, sovereign, corporate and private--the repricing of risk and debt mean even the interest payments are unpayable. Consider this chart of one tiny slice of total EU debt:

There is no way to push the repricing genie back in the bottle, and so there is no way to roll over this debt and add to it--and to support the high-cost structure of Euroland's welfare-state governments and their astounding debt, then debt must be added, and in staggering quantities.

...[The] repricing has already occurred, and cannot be revoked or shoved back in the bottle. The Great European Debt Bubble has already burst, and so now it boils down to a simple choice: debt serfdom or open rebellion against the banks that profited so handsomely from the euro-fantasy.

There is no middle ground, as the debt cannot be repaid, not now and not in the future. It cannot be reshuffled, masked, or hidden; it can only be renounced.

It's your choice, Europe; choose wisely. If you want a model for sanity and growth, look to Iceland. They renounced their unpayable debts and debt-serfdom, and let the market reprice their currency, debt and risk. The nightmare is past for them; they chose wisely. Now it's your turn to choose.

The debt-serfdom will fall to you, not the banks or your Elites.

And if you find yourself mildly amused by the collapse of Europe's social democrat welfare states, a word of warning. We're next.


Media Struggle To Keep Their 'Narrative' Alive [Dan from NY]

Dan from NY:

Here’s a rather factual news story from the UK's Telegraph reporting the rise of the Islamist bloc in the wake of Egyptian elections. It's headlined Egypt elections: Islamists seize two-thirds of votes.

But let's review the last paragraph and the Muslim Brotherhood line spoon-fed and eagerly swallowed by the Telegraph’s reporter. See if you can stop yourself from laughing.

###

Seeking to allay the fears of Egyptian liberals, Essam el-Erian, the deputy leader of the Freedom and Justice party, said: “We represent a moderate and fair party. We want to apply the basics of Sharia law in a fair way that respects human rights and personal rights.”

The ludicrous Bill Kristol hardest hit.


Bumper Sticker o' the Day


Hat tip: Ray.

Can you guess what the 'worst-run states in America' award-winners have in common?

The financial website 24/7 Wall St. analyzed the worst-run states in America. Can you guess what the worst three states have in common?

48. Michigan
> State debt per capita: $2,963 (21st lowest)
> Pct. without health insurance: 12.4% (18th lowest)
> Pct. below poverty line: 15.7% (15th highest)
> Unemployment: 11.1% (3rd highest)

Michigan has arguably suffered more than any state in post-industrial America. The state is one of just four with a credit rating of AA-, although its debt per capita is actually below average. The state ranks among the worst in the country for violent crime, unemployment, foreclosures and home price decline.
Source: (September, 2011): From the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey for 2010, the percentage of residents 25 or older with a high school diploma

49. Illinois
> State debt per capita: $4,424 (13th highest)
> Pct. without health insurance: 13.8% (23rd lowest)
> Pct. below poverty line: 13.1% (25th lowest)
> Unemployment: 10% (10th highest)

Illinois has fallen from 43rd last year to the overall second-worst run state in the country. The state performs poorly in most categories, but is worst when it comes to its credit rating. Illinois has a credit rating of A+, the second worst given to any state, behind only California. The state has been on credit watch since 2008 because of budget shortfalls and legal challenges against then-governor Rod Blagojevich.

50. California
> State debt per capita: $3,660 (21st highest)
> Pct. without health insurance: 18.5% (8th highest)
> Pct. below poverty line: 14.5% (tied for 21st highest)
> Unemployment: 11.9% (2nd highest)

California has moved down one slot on from last year to earn the title of the worst-run state in the country. In the fiscal year 2009, the state spent $430 billion, roughly 14% of all the money spent by states in that year. Compared to its revenue, the state spent too much — California had the 10th lowest revenue per person, and spent the 15th most per person. California is the only state in the country to be rated A-, the lowest rating ever given to a state by S&P. Despite the huge amount the state spends each year, conditions remain poor. California has the second-lowest percentage of adults with a high school diploma in the country, the second-highest foreclosure rate and is tied for the second highest unemployment rate in the U.S.

What they have in common is this:

• Decades of unchecked Democrat control at every level of government

• Massive, bloated, public sector unions that are intertwined with the Democrat Party and demand increasing percentages of the economy; they have but one aim: to enrich themselves at the expense of the taxpayer

• Sanctuary cities that attract illegals, programs that offer easy access to welfare payments and government subsistence programs, high rates of single-parent families, and therefore high levels of urban crime

You would think that someone in legacy media would actually analyze this data and report on it, but then again, I've always been a dreamer.


In 1939, Eric Ambler Described the Obama Regime

Eric Ambler was the father of the modern espionage novel. In his 1939 work Cause for Alarm, Englishman Nick Marlow -- an engineer and salesman of machine tools used to make armaments -- finds himself trapped in prewar fascist Italy. Police, corrupt officials and spies are searching for him; he is on the run along with an associate well-familiar with the world of espionage and clandestine operations. That associate describes the lay of the land to Marlow, who believes himself an innocent wrongly accused of aiding Italy's enemies.

My friend, when you're above the law, when you are the law, the phrase about ends justifying means has a real meaning. Put yourself in their place. If you felt that the state which you worshipped above your God was endangered by the life of one insignificant man, would you hesitate to have him shot? I can tell you that you wouldn't.

That's the danger of Fascism, of state-worship.

It supposes an absolute, an ego-centric unit. The idea of the state is not rooted in the masses, it is not of the people. It is an abstract, a God-idea, a psychic dung-hill raised to shore up an economic system that is no longer safe. When you're on the top of that sort of dung-hill, it doesn't matter whether the ends in reality are good or bad. The fact that they are your ends makes them good--for you.

Isn't that an apt phrase to describe today's radicalized Democrat Party and its sycophants in legacy media?

They are state-worshipers. Government can do no wrong, despite copious amounts of history, facts, logic, reason and common sense that would say otherwise.

Their religion is the state. And, for them, the ends always justify the means.


Larwyn's Linx: Herman Cain: Wasted Potential

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

Nation

Herman Cain: Wasted Potential: Sunshine State Sarah
Destination Iowa: The Intersection of Preparation and Opportunity: RSM
The Romney Electability Myth: Wolf

Circling the Drain: R.I.P., Democrat Party (1828-2012): CFP
Romney’s flatline: Behind the Gingrich surge: Podhoretz
Bachmann Endorses Harrington to Defeat Wasserman-Schultz: Shark

Economy

Three Charts Which Say There's No Recovery: Virtuous Republic
Gun Sales Huge on Black Friday: Surber
Stern Idiocy: AmSpec

"Somebody needs to pay for all my children": ProWis
Donald Berwick's Replacement Has a Troubling Past: AmSpec
Choking on Obamacare: Will

Top 10 Barney Frank Offenses: HE
A slow bank run is already taking place in Europe: Economist
Occupy SF Launches Its Own... Bank?: Zombie

Gunrunner & Energygate

Friday’s Fast & Furious Fallout: Fatal Falsehoods From Feds?: Lane
Obama’s Global Godfather dragged in with the CH2M Hill scandal tide?: CFP
Solyndra saw staff "mutiny" before Obama visit: Reuters

Climate & Energy

Climategate 2.0: A Sequel As Ugly As The Original: GWPF
Climategate 2.0 Roundup: Ace
Suppression of climate debate is a disaster for science: Wente

GM Admits Volt is a Dud, Sales Will Be 30% Below Estimate: VS
Team ugliness – a call to get a skeptic's PhD thesis revoked: Watts
Berg Says He Doesn’t Trust The EPA’s Assurances On Fracking: SAB

Media

Caught on Video: Democratic Congresswoman Does Crossword Puzzle on House Floor: Blaze
White House needs to come clean on Elena Kagan and the Affordable Care Act: WaPo (Lamar Smith)
High School Student Fights Bachmann on Gay Marriage Stance at Town Hall Meeting: Blaze

Shedding a bit of light on the current political continuum: ProWis
I Hope You're Prepared, Really: Denninger
Newtspeak Deconstructed: Pundette

The Men from La Washington: Constitution Alley
Politico on Solyndra: Take Your Pick!: WaPo
Herman Cain: 'I Am Suspending My Presidential Campaign;" Will Endorse Candidate Who Is Not Obama: CNS

World

Can Israel Survive A Second Obama Term?: Legal Insurrection
Egypt's Descent: Steyn
SecDef Panetta shows how the Obama Administration is Selling Out Israel…and US Interests: BRubin

The Rise of the Fifth Reich?: Mead
Obama Fundraiser and Ambassador Blames Israel for Anti-Semitism: WS
China’s Carrier Seen From an Airliner: DefTech

The Next WikiLeaks Bombshells?: RWN
U.S. Must Understand 21st-Century Combat: Allen West
Before and After Photos of Iran’s Destroyed Missile Base: DefTech

Sci-Tech

Carrier IQ Unfairly Targeted, Researchers Say: TPM
Silicon Valley's Incubator Glut Is Real: AtlWire
Nasdaq's Lax Security Made Exchange an Easy Target for Hackers: Wall Street and Tech

Cornucopia

Fast, Furious and FUBAR: MOTUS
More Military Dogs Show Signs of Combat Stress: NYT
Criminally Reckless: C&S

Image: DragonLaffs
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Help protein wisdom celebrate a DECADE OF FO-SHIZZLE

QOTD: In a 2008 campaign speech, our Dear Ruler proclaimed: “I'll make our government open and transparent so that anyone can ensure that our business is the people's business. No more secrecy. That is a commitment that I make to you as president.”

...this shouldn’t come as a shock, based on the history of the Obama administration thus far. Did you know that the federal government’s 35 largest agencies actually decreased the number of fulfilled FOIA requests by more than 12,400?

How’s this for irony: “The Obama administration censored 194 pages of internal e-mails about its Open Government Directive,” according to the Associated Press." --Neal Boortz

Saturday, December 03, 2011

Top Five Way to Intimidate Obnoxious Drivers

5. Bullet holes. Nothing says you mean business like bullet holes. Before leaving on your commute, shoot 20 or more holes through non-critical areas of your car. This will intimidate other drivers and they will part like the Red Sea before Moses. (Important: make sure to use a .40 cartridge or higher; anything smaller is difficult to see in low light)

4. Dress like a Zombie. If someone pisses you off, jump out at the next stop light... and make sure fake blood splurts out of your mouth.

3. Armor your car like Humungus' command vehicle in Mad Max. Extra credit for having an insane assassin with a red mohawk come along for the ride.

2. Cow-catcher. A cast-iron cow-catcher attached to the front of your beater says you're serious about going places. And the ladies really dig 'em.

1. Flamethrower. Nothing says get the f*** out of my way like igniting a 90mph stream of molten naphtha.

Can you tell I had a lousy commute this evening?


Update: Todd sends a pic of his car during his L.A. days.



Holder DOJ Releases its List of the 10 Most Wanted Right-wing Extremists

Civilian Internal Security Force * * * CONFIDENTIAL BULLETIN


[10] Neal Boortz: Prolific promoter of dangerous ideas such as the "FairTax" and "Tea Parties". Boortz commands an immense radio audience and frequently appears on television while shamelessly preaching heretical, extremist views such as changing the tax code and reducing the size of government bureaucracies.

[9] Hugh Hewitt: The former child star ("A Christmas Story") has grown up to become the reported leader of the far right-wing Northern Alliance, host of a syndicated radio program and television commentator. Do not approach without electronic warfare support as Hewitt is known to use social media at the drop of a hat.

[8] Andrew Breitbart: Internet savant who controls a powerful digital media empire, he should be considered armed (with an iPad) and dangerous.

[7] Glenn Reynolds: (AKA "Instapundit") mass purveyor of right-wing propaganda and linkage; performs "blogging" at rates that can only be called dangerous. His family members are also "bloggers" and may be considered equally radicalized.

[6] Sean Hannity: one of the few rightwing extremists who is fluent in all types of mass media; from radio to television to the Internets. He has become even more radicalized since his partner of many years quit (Alan Colmes). Colmes was reportedly a calming force and tempered Hannity's extremism. Without that balancing influence, Hannity is said to have become a cheerleader for extremist views like flat taxes and "smaller government".

[5] Rush Limbaugh: Said to command an army of right-wingers approaching 40 million. Do not approach without RPGs and other heavy weapons.

[4] Michelle Malkin: Right-wing extremist who is not easily pigeon-holed or stereotyped; appears on television and radio; in newspapers and on the Internet. Despises corruption and, unlike Joe Biden, does not utilize a comb-over as a disguise. Evangelizes radical concepts such as "secure borders", "strong national defense" and "fiscal responsibility for government." Therefore, do not approach without overwhelming superior force.

[3] Mark Levin: Highly dangerous and said to be the intellectual leader of many right-wing extremists. Known to openly flaunt radical documents such as the Constitution, The Declaration of Independence, and Bastiat's "The Law". Skilled in multiple forms of martial arts and once registered his feet as lethal weapons.

[2] All Veterans: Veterans possess combat skills and experience that are attractive to right-wing extremists. President Obama's Civilian National Security Force is concerned that right-wing extremists (hereafter referred to as "wingnuts") either are veterans or will attempt to recruit veterans.

[1] Larwyn: no details are available regarding this shadowy figure, who is said to be a hidden force behind right-wing extremism. A national task force has been assigned to determine the identity of this individual.




Remember, CONTACT the Civilian Internal Security Force (or NBC if the line is busy) should you identify any of these individuals. DO NOT ATTEMPT to engage in a political debate yourself as you WILL lose and will likely suffer severe psychological damage.


Someone finally invented a word to describe the Obama presidency

Via DragonLaffs:

Ineptocracy (in-ep-toc’-ra-cy) - a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.