Sunday, January 29, 2012

Due to popular demand...

Several bloggers requested that I create some buttons or sidebar badges for the new BadBlue news service. Okay, it wasn't several. It was one. But still...

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If you don't know what BadBlue is, click here. Basically, it's a news service for the rest of us, completely automated using social networking chatter as the barometer for promoting news stories. So far it seems to be catching on.

Newt Gingrich Fires Back Against GOP Old Guard, Ann Coulter Hardest Hit

Ann Coulter is one of America's most talented conservative columnists. Of late, she has been curiously dogged in attacking Newt Gingrich -- unquestionably a captain of the "Reagan Revolution" -- while backing a man whose conservative credentials are dicey at best. Today Gingrich fired back.

Fox News Latino’s Victor Garcia did a phone interview with Newt Gingrich. During which the Former Speaker was asked about the recent Ann Coulter and Tom Delay criticisms...

Victor Garcia: You have been taking a lot of hits from Tom Delay now, Ann Coulter some of these people that some would consider on the far right of the conservative spectrum. What is your response to the criticism of those ones? Why do you think they are attacking you?

Newt Gingrich: Look I think there are a whole bunch of folks who represent the old order; they attacked Ronald Reagan in 1980 exactly the same way. They are looking at a national poll that shows me ahead of Romney 52-39 in a two way race and they are recognizing that if I come back as president, that I will be for very dramatic, very bold change and they are terrified. I have no interest in what Tom Delay did that got him in trouble. I thought it was wrong and a mistake, I have a very different approach to that and I have no Idea what motivates Ann Coulter but I find that she is all over the map. Basically she is for Romney and therefore anything she says about me is a reflection of the fact that she is for Romney. I expect people who are for Romney to attack me because they are terrified because he is losing.

I have no problem whatsoever with Coulter voicing her opinion, but she should -- like Karl Rove -- disclose whether any financial interests are playing a part in her support for Romney.


Hat tip: BadBlue.

Photos: Occupy DC Girds Its Loins for Eviction Tomorrow

My brother and I went down to McPherson Square today to mock some of the Occupiers for their upcoming eviction tomorrow.

Hopefully this isn't the tent of an English teacher.

Curiously, the encampment appears to be more reminiscent of a ghost town rather than a bustling village gearing up for a confrontation.

Eviction notices were taped to most of the tents.

Compliance bullet #2 could prove problematic in inclement weather.

The crowd couldn't get enough of the Daily Activity Board.

6:00AM Monday - a "General Assembly" will greet the Park Service eviction crew.

A raucous crowd of Occupiers met some tourists taking pictures.

"Comfort Station".

Sensible: fighting "American Fascism" by demanding more government.

Confrontational.

Occupy DC's art gallery: always a popular attraction.

If these guys expect to be teargassed and flash-banged tomorrow, they'd better get rowdier.


Anyone know how much it would cost to have one of these mounted on my hood?

I was thinking it would streamline my commute.


Related: The 10 Cars With the Most Obnoxious Drivers


Outrage: Tea Party Activists Burn American Flag, 300 Arrested

Did I say "Tea Party Activists"? Because I meant to say "Democrat-supported Occupy Loons."

Occupy Oakland protesters broke into City Hall, stole an American flag from the council chamber and set it afire Saturday night punctuating a wild day on the streets of the East Bay city in which police deployed tear gas, arrested more than 100 marchers and dodged hurling objects... Demonstrators spent the day trying to break into a convention center, and temporarily occupying City Hall and a YMCA, all while snaking around lines of riot-clad police.

...It marked the first major clashes between protesters and police since November and left three officers with minor injuries, as protesters threw bottles, metal pipe, rocks, spray cans and “improvised explosive devices” and lit flares, police said.

300 of the Tea Party activists Occupy Oakland Leftists were arrested according to The Los Angeles Times.

...About 300 people were arrested Saturday during a chaotic day of Occupy protests that saw demonstrators break into City Hall and burn an American flag, as police earlier fired tear gas and bean bags to disperse hundreds of people after some threw rocks and bottles and tore down fencing outside a nearby convention center.

...Dozens of police officers remained on guard outside City Hall around midnight following the most turbulent day of protests since November, when Oakland police forcefully dismantled an Occupy encampment. An exasperated Mayor Jean Quan, who faced heavy criticism for the police action last fall, called on the Occupy movement to "stop using Oakland as its playground."

...Quan said that at one point, many forced their way into City Hall, where they burned flags, broke an electrical box and damaged several art structures, including a recycled art exhibit created by children.

Curiously, the media has failed to connect this violence with the explicit endorsements of the movement by President Obama.


Priorities

Contrary to rumor, the President and Democrats in Congress really do have a national security strategy. See if you can figure out what it is.

...President Obama and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta have already settled on a plan to slash $487 billion from existing manpower, as well as from procurement and development of equipment and weapons. The cuts include reducing the Army by 72,000 people and the Marines by 20,000. The cuts also include elimination of six tactical fighter squadrons and one training squadron, plus buying fewer F-35 Joint Strike Fighters -- on top of already planned reductions in the number of F-22 air superiority fighters to be put in service. The Navy will decommission seven cruisers and two amphibious craft, plus delay its procurement process for new ships. Together, these moves will dramatically reduce our ability to put "boots on the ground" and to insure the air superiority needed to protect and assist U.S. forces in major conflicts. Having such forces at the ready is also the best way to keep minor conflicts from exploding into big ones.

But the Obama-Panetta cuts aren't nearly enough for some in Congress. On Friday, representatives Barney Frank of Massachusetts, Barbara Lee and Lynn Woolsey of California, and Rush Holt of New Jersey wrote Obama to encourage him to "take even bolder leadership on this issue as you finalize your budget." They want Obama to double the Pentagon cuts because "the Cold War is long over, and no remotely comparable adversary has emerged or is likely to emerge. ... We believe that savings of around $900 billion over the next 10 years can be realized." Following their advice would greatly reduce the reach of American power, and make us seem like a paper lion to the bad guys of the world.

...The terrible irony here is that military spending has been on a steady decline since 1965, as seen in the nearby chart. And, as the defense portion of the budget has contracted for nearly five decades, entitlement spending has exploded... Obama, Panetta and their liberal Democrat allies like Frank are playing chicken with American security.

Was that last sentence racist? Let's ask Leonard Pitts.


Larwyn's Linx: What's Left to Say?

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

GOP Primary

What's Left to Say?: ProWis
We're screwed: Romney wants RomneyCare in every state: GWP
Gingrich gets endorsement from Herman Cain: Fox

Nation

F.A. Hayek On "The Great Utopia": ZH
Obama to the nation: Onward civilian soldiers: Will
Norquist: Impeach Obama over taxes?: Hot Air

Another Tea Partier arrested for death threat: Powers
Last Refuge of the Race Hustlers: Wolf Howling
Bishop Zubik rips Obama on health care mandate: PittLive

Economy

You Know Who Doesn't Agree the Economy Is Improving?: Ace
After Federal Bailouts, Now GM Lobbying States for More?: Huston
NLRB: Companies Must Turn Over Employee Contact Info: Blaze

The State of Our Union Is Broke: Steyn
Unfair to compare the Obama, Reagan economic recoveries?: Peth
Greeks Reject German Plan for EU Budget Commissioner: Mish

Scandal Central

The Holder Department Of Justice Takes The Fifth: GVB
Holder informed of ATF connection to Brian Terry’s murder day border agent died: DC
Burke of Fast and Furious had anti-gun history: Tucson

Climate & Energy

Al Gore's Paperboy is a Little Slow: iOTW
David Rose: Forget global warming - it's Cycle 25 we need to worry about: SC25
California goes full bats*** crazy: Soylent

Media

Gingrich: Coulter Represents "The Old Order": RCP
Obamacare and the Supreme Court: NRO TV
Eleanor Clift Says Something So Dumb Mort Zuckerman Does Double Facepalm In Disbelief: NB

Rich Lowry Was 12 When Reagan Was Elected And It Shows: Riehl
Allen West to Democrats: Get your leftism the hell out of America!: Scoop
Maher Mocks Gingrich's Wife as a Martian: NB

World

Cultural Marxism: Kimball
Nigeria: fundamental issues exposed by Boko Haram's gruesome rise: Guardian
Greece, creditors on verge of clinching debt deal: Reuters

Gutting America's military is no way to keep the peace: Exam
The Numbers Crunch: Bibi’s oriental viral video: JPost
Iranian bloggers to be executed for 'spreading corruption': Atlas

Sci-Tech

Your iPhone Has To Be Made In China, And Apple Can’t Absolve Your Guilt: PaidContent
Apple Hits Back After New York Times Reports 'Significant Problems' With Manufacturers: FoxBiz
Twitter censorship plan sparks global outrage: Times

Cornucopia

Night Fishing in San Francisco: AmDigest
Video: The greatest guitarist ever?: Hot Air
Watch Newt Gingrich Lincoln Day Dinner Speech: Scoop

Prayers for Bella Santorum: Malkin
Disgraced teacher worth $10M, makes $100K a year, does nothing, refuses to leave: Post
Shipwreck hunters find mysterious object at bottom of Baltic Sea: Daily Mail

Image: Urban Infidel
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Rick Santorum for President

QOTD: "The president certainly had facts and figures at his disposal. He boasted that his regulatory reforms “will save business and citizens more than $10 billion over the next five years.” Wow. Ten billion smackeroos! That’s some savings — and in a mere half a decade! Why, it’s equivalent to what the government of the United States borrows every 53 hours. So by midnight on Thursday Obama had already re-borrowed all those hard-fought savings from 2017. “In the last 22 months,” said the president, “businesses have created more than three million jobs.” Impressive. But 125,000 new foreign workers arrive every month (officially). So we would have to have created 2,750,000 jobs in that period just to stand still."--Mark Steyn

Saturday, January 28, 2012

I accuse this chart of being racist!

James Pethokoukis calls this "the economic chart that may doom the Obama presidency."

Even if [Friday's] GDP report—for the fourth quarter of 2011—shows 3 percent growth or better [Ed: it did not, coming in at 2.8, worse than expected], it would be just the fourth time that has happened since the economy began turning up in June 2009: 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, 3.9 percent in the first quarter of 2010, and 3.8 percent in the second quarter of 2010. But no 3 percent-plus quarters since then.

The first nine quarters of the Reagan Recovery, by contrast, looked like this: 5.1 percent, 9.3 percent, 8.1 percent, 8.5 percent, 8.0 percent, 7.1 percent, 3.9 percent, 3.3 percent, 3.8, percent, 3.4 percent. In fact, the Reagan Boom went from the first quarter of 1983 until the second quarter of 1986 without notching a sub-3 percent GDP quarter.

So, while the Reagan Recovery quickly made up for lost years of growth, not so much for the Obama Recovery, as this chart in today’s Wall Street Journal makes clear:


Over at Business Insider, a surprisingly left-wing rag given its ostensible focus on the private sector economy, some ludicrous hack named Joe Weisenthal insists that all of this data is irrelevant. His latest piece, basically a troll's post with a larger-than-usual website, is entitled "Why The Obama Recovery Has Been Much More Impressive Than Reagan's" (no link, you can find it if you want to).

Another thing about Reagan was that he was a deficit-lover.
Reagan presided over the largest (still) one-year annual jump in the size of the national debt. (And PS: that just happened to be right after the recession, when the economy started growing like crazy as Pethokoukis notes)... The conditions behind the Great Recession were far worse than anything Reagan inherited, and Obama has pulled off a recovery with less of a sustained growth in Federal Government spending.

Hey, Joe - I wonder who was in control of the House during the Reagan years? Oh, yeah -- that's right. The Democrats, who insisted every one of Reagan's austerity budgets was "Dead On Arrival". Reagan wanted to eliminate the Department of Education, for instance. Sound like a big spender to you, Joe?

Reagan inherited double-digit unemployment, double-digit inflation, an oil crisis, a resurgent Soviet Union, and he'd turned America around in three years with a Democrat-controlled Congress. As a commenter observes:

A recap of Hope and Change since President Obama took office in Jan 2009. Comparing economic indicators starting in Jan 2009 to present day:

1. Federal debt has increased by 43% from $10.6 trillion to $15 trillion.
2. Americans living in poverty have increased by 16% from 39.8 million to 46.2 million.
3. Total unemployment (U6) has increased by 68% from 13.7 million to 23 million.
4. Price of gasoline has increased by 80% from $1.86/gal to $3.35/gal
5. Americans on food stamps have increased 42% from 31.8 million to 45.2 million
6. Home foreclosures per year have increased by 34% from 850,000 to 1,140,000
7. Total bankruptcy filings per year have increased by 42% from 1,117,641 to 1,593,081.
8. Median Household incomes have declined by 4%.
9. Average selling price of new homes has declined by 10%.
10. US dollar compared to foreign currencies has declined by 8.7%. [US dollar index of 85.9 in Jan 2009 to 78.5 in Dec 2011.]
11. US dollar compared to gold has declined 105%. [$855/oz. to $1750/oz.]

Not to mention adding a new, wildly unpopular and massive new entitlement program (Obamacare) when our existing entitlements are circling the drain.

Hey, Joe: you gonna put some ice on that, brother?


A simple illustration anyone can understand: why liberalism is the philosophy of the stupid

"The reason I say that liberalism is the philosophy of the stupid is because we can look at what's going around in the country today. If, in your own lives, you were pursuing policies that were destroying your own home ownership, that were destroying your own job, that were creating a massive, impossible debt for your family and your children in particular, you'd stop it. You wouldn't keep doing it!

"And yet for the liberal, if it's imposed on you -- and they feel that they can be immune from it -- they're for it.

"They wouldn't do to themselves and their own family what they're doing to you, and your family, and the whole nation!

"Take Barack Obama. Does Barack Obama conduct himself in his own, personal affairs, in his family's affairs, as recklessly as he conducts the affairs of the nation? No. Would he run up the kind of relative personal debt that he's running up for the nation? No way.

"Would he do anything that would endanger his position as president? Of course not -- he thinks his agenda will return him to office. He's taking care of his constituent groups...

So they do to us -- and they do to our society -- what they would never do to their own families. They do not live in their own lives as they seek to have the rest of us live. Or as they seek to have our society conduct itself." --Mark Levin, "Why Liberalism is the Philosophy of the Stupid".


Florida Tea Party Leaders Endorse Newt Gingrich

Floridians: I urge you not to allow the Beltway establishment to bully, threaten or scare you. Mitt Romney is the weakest GOP candidate of the bunch and Florida's Tea Party leaders see that threat clear as day.

"The Florida Tea Party Coalition With Newt" endorsed the former House speaker on Thursday, saying they would "help defeat Massachusetts Moderate Mitt Romney and then President Barack Obama."

“It is clear to me and many others in the tea party movement that Newt is the Reagan conservative that America needs,” said Peter Lee, founder and director of the East Side Tea Party of Orlando.

Lee was joined by statewide tea leader Patricia Sullivan, who said, “I stand with Newt because I know he will stand up to the establishment and insist on fiscal reforms."

In all, more than 30 Florida-based tea activists signed on to the coalition. The geographically diverse representatives ranged from the Panhandle to Broward County.

Separately, the TEA Party of Florida, the only political tea party registered with the state Division of Elections, endorsed Gingrich.

The GOP establishment's -- and, specifically, Mitt Romney's operatives' -- unconscionable attacks on Gingrich should motivate every undecided primary voter to support Newt Gingrich or Rick Santorum.

And I'm glad Florida's Tea Party leaders are playing hardball with the RINO mushes who won't fight Obama as hard as they fight conservatives.


Related: Debunking the Beltway Hacks' Latest Spin: Gingrich Will Harm Down-Ticket Republicans

Larwyn's Linx: Sarah Palin Unloads on Mitt Romney

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

GOP Primary

Sarah Palin unloads on Romney: GWP
Stop Trying to Manipulate the Conservative Vote!: Toldjah
"Not worth getting angry about"?!: Pundette

NRO, Elliot Abrams Caught Disseminating Crap: Riehl
Gingrich Leading as Fight Intensifies: WSJ
Report: Paul approved racist portions of newsletters: Politico

Another dishonest Romney attack, blunted: Cold Fury
Eviscerating Elliot Abrams over anti-Gingrich propaganda: Lord
Erick Erickson: Romney Can't Win: Riehl

Nation

Another witness testifies: paid for a forged ballot: MenRec
Tantrum on the Tarmac: NoisyRm
Justice Dept. to SCOTUS: Don't overturn entire law: Politico

Economy

A Nation of Dependents: IBD
Average federal pay matches Microsoft: AEI
Occupy movement arrest total now over 6,000: Marathon

Get a Load of These 'Unofficial' Federal Programs: Blaze
Warren Buffett: Leave My Stage Prop Secretary Alone!: JWF
Obama to Democrats: I Welcome “Robust Debate” On “Class Warfare”: WZ

'Thank You, Warren.' 'No, Thank You, Mr. President!': AT
180 Reasons NASA Thinks We Should Have A Moon Base: Insider
Facebook Readies IPO Filing: WSJ

Scandal Central

Documents say DOJ knew of Fast and Furious connection day after Terry murder: Codrea
Fast and Furious: Game Over: ConCom
F&F Document Dump: SSI

Climate & Energy

16 Concerned Scientists: Chill Out, No Need To Freak Over Anthropogenic Global Warming: Pirate's Cove
Scientists to Politicians: Let’s Put Climate Alarmism on Hold for 50 Years: VS
Shoppers Say Chevy Volt Expensive, Nissan Leaf Ugly in Study: Trib

Media

You dumb racist conservatives are dumb. And racist.: Hot Air
Glenn Beck’s Staff Threatened by Soros Operatives: NoisyRm
LOL! More than a quarter of Obama’s State of the Union TV viewers shut it off after the first five minutes: FAM

Obama Tells House Dems: “Let’s Go Out There And Change The Country”: WZ
Tapper Informs Stephanopoulos: Obama ‘Can’t Run’ on His Achievements Because ‘They’re Not Popular’: NB
Mooch Dines With Planned Parenthood Executive: WZ

World

All American Muslims in Dearborn Heights Arrested for Assault on Christian Quarterback: Creeping
Soros Think Tank Adviser: There’s No Peace Because Those Rich Jews Bribed Congress: BigPeace
Nightmare of disorderly default focuses minds on Greece: Reuters

Iranian leader says Egypt’s new parliament a step toward Islamic regime: JihadWatch
The Islamic Paradise of the Needle and Powder: Greenfield
Obama administration using loophole to quietly sell arms package to Bahrain: ForPol

25 Homecomings: Jawa
Experts Are Terrified By Greece And Its Debt Problems: Insider
Pakistani Foreign Minister: Islam Is The “Most Misunderstood” And “Misrepresented” Religion In The World: WZ

Sci-Tech

Good news: FBI seeking social media monitoring tool: Breitbart
Google Already Knows You’re a 24-Year-Old Woman Who Loves Wombats: Wired
RIM CEO eyes "significant" plans for BlackBerry: Reuters

Cornucopia

Beat My Caption: C&S
Geriatric Snow Plow: MagFarm
Georgia Birther Hearing Proceeds Without Obama, Without Effect: PuffHo

TGIF: Frequent Flier Edition: P&F
The Donkey Whisperer: HayRide
You Aren’t Tough. These Guys Are Tough: Wired

Image: DaleToons via Western Rifle Shooters
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Rick Santorum for President

QOTD: "...some of these completely unbiased, intellectually curious academic institutions may have something of a vested interest in proving their point [that conservatives are stupid]. You see, as the economy continues to falter and conservative, austerity leaning measures begin to take hold and spread at both the state and federal levels, the wellspring of cash which fuels the universities begins to dry up as well. And not to cast aspersions on anyone’s intellectual honesty here, but coming up with a result that casts doubt on the people threatening to dry up your grant money might not be the worst outcome in the world." --Jazz Shaw

Friday, January 27, 2012

Maps: Exploiting America's Treasure Trove of Energy, Before and After the Obama Presidency

I think this is what President Obama called a "blueprint" in his State of the Union address.

Today in Las Vegas, the President repeated his energy talking points from Tuesday's State of the Union speech.

Oil and gas leases takes years to develop, but the administration is claiming credit for an uptick in domestic oil and gas production that is a result of previous administration policies and increased production on private lands. [h/t Geoffrey Styles]

The administration's oil and gas exploration "blueprint" adds virtually no new production and takes years of potential energy off the table. This map made by the Senate Republican Policy Committee illustrates what new oil and gas exploration was permissible prior to President Obama taking office, and how his administration’s policies have changed it:


As an aside, are these maps racist? Perhaps we should ask Leonard Pitts.


I guess the drones didn't like my questions for President Obama

So Google's YouTube service is sponsoring a post-State of the Campaign Union Q&A with President Obama and the drones are out in force. After submitting what I believe are reasonable questions and having many of them voted up, the O-bots began swarming and down-dinging them.

Suffice it to say that Obama will field no tough questions in this venue, whether through tacit censorship or simply because charismatic demagogues don't take tough questions.


The numbers do not lie -- although it's possible they're racist

I love how these inside-the-Beltway hacks say that Newt Gingrich or Rick Santorum "can't win" against Obama. The numbers say different. Obama got 52.7% of the vote as a messianic, post-partisan, post-racial and completely unknown quantity. Now we know he's not a messiah, he's highly partisan, he's also willing to divide Americans along racial, ethnic, income and any other lines he can come up with to dredge up votes, and he is a highly known quantity, which is to say a SCOAMF.

Following President Barack Obama’s self-congratulatory State of the Union address, Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, produced a simple chart that tells the real story of the Obama administration:

America Before President Obama Took Office and Now

 

Before

Now

Change

Number of Unemployed1

12.0 Million

13.1 Million

+9%

Long-Term Unemployed2

2.7 Million

5.6 Million

+107%

Unemployment Rate3

7.8%

8.5%

+9%

“High Unemployment” States4

22

43

+95%

Misery Index5

7.83

11.46

+46%

Price of Gas6

$1.85

$3.39

+83%

“Typical” Monthly Family Food Cost7

$974

$1,013

+4%

Median Value of Single-Family Home8

$196,600

$169,100

-14%

Rate of Mortgage Delinquencies9

6.62%

10.23%

+55%

U.S. National Debt10

$10.6 Trillion

$15.2 Trillion

+43%


For more, and for references, visit the House Ways and Means Committee website here.


Shhh... no one tell Leonard Pitts.


Cool: Handgun about the size of an iPhone

Granted, it's kind of a "last line of defense" sorta thing, but still:

Heizer Defense Double Tap


• The Titanium Tactical Pocket Pistol
• The first concealed carry .45 ACP born from aerospace technology and 100% USA made.
• 5/8 Inches Wide Hammerless No Snag Design
• The future of concealed carry firepower is now in your hands!

• Titanium Frame with a MIL-STD finish that resists corrosion
• Two rounds in the chamber and integral grips house an additional two spare rounds
• Ported barrel reduces muzzle flip and recoil
• Slim, no-snag hammerless design for easy pocket carry
• Thumb latch auto ejects spent rounds
• 7 Patents pending including double-action trigger system
• 1911 Ergonomics and loaded rounds are visible
• Quick change - interchangable barrels

HEIZER Firearms has developed the world's smallest and lightest .45 ACP concealed carry pistol on the market today. Also available in 9mm.

Daddy like. Of course, Daddy likes him all kinds o' guns.


Hat tip: Bernie.

Good News: Average Federal Worker Getting Paid As Much As a Microsoft, Intel or Cisco Employee

But remember, folks: there's nothing to cut.

The average federal government employee receives [a total] annual compensation of around $133,000. How does this match up to the private sector?

CNN Money has a nice survey of the 25 highest-paying companies in the country, outlining the average total compensation per employee in each one. According to CNN, the closest match to federal employment is Microsoft, whose average employee compensation is $132,023 per year, making it the 17th highest-paying company in the country.

When high federal pay is pointed out, public employee unions counter that federal employees are more productive than the average private sector worker, due to their greater education and experience. But do you think that the average federal employee is more productive than the average Microsoft employee? Or Intel, or Qualcomm, both of which pay around the same?

Have you ever called a federal agency to try to get help? It's kinda like the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, only without the prompt customer service. So I can't wait until we get BMV-style health care.

Say, I wonder if Leonard Pitts thinks this chart is racist?


Hat tip: BadBlue.

Hey, Leonard Pitts: Is This Chart More or Less Racist Than Newt Gingrich?

Leonard who? Exactly. Leonard Pitts -- for the 99.9999999% of Americans who've never heard of him -- is a back-bencher op-ed columnist who never met an opportunity to race-bait that he didn't like. Pitts' specialty is interpreting every statement --- including the terms "food stamps", "arugula", and "golfer-in-chief" -- as a secret racist code known only to Republicans... and Leonard Pitts.

Let's listen in as all six of Pitt's neurons fire at once to create version 17,031 of the same column he's written weekly for years (subtitled, "Republican are racists"):

I got my first job when I was 12. The deacons at my church paid me $2 a week to keep it swept and mopped... So I do not need Newt Gingrich to lecture me about a good work ethic. In this, I suspect I speak for the vast majority of 39 million African Americans.

There has been a lot of talk about whether Gingrich’s recent language , including his performance at last week’s South Carolina debate and his earlier declaration that Barack Obama has been America’s best “food-stamp president,” amounts to a coded appeal to racist sensitivities. The answer is simple: yes.

In this, Gingrich joins a line of Republicans stretching back at least to Richard Nixon. From that president’s trumpeting of “law and order” (i.e., “I will get these black demonstrators off the streets.”) to Ronald Reagan’s denunciation of “welfare queens” (i.e., “I will stop these lazy black women from living high on your tax dollars.”) to George H.W. Bush’s use of Willie Horton (i.e., “Elect me or this scary black man will get you..”) the GOP long ago mastered the craft of using nonracial language to say racial things.

So I assume Pitts will agree with me when I categorically condemn the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. Census Bureau and the USDA for helping to produce this chart:

...While it's true that the country has been headed in this direction for many years — with the explosion in entitlements since the 1960s and the aging of the population — Obama has, in fact, greatly accelerated the trend...

Direct payments. The amount of money the federal government hands out in direct payments to individuals steadily increased over the past four decades, but shot up under Obama, climbing by almost $600 billion — a 32% increase — in his first three years. And Obama's last budget called for these payments to climb another $500 billion by 2016, at which point they would account for fully two-thirds of all federal spending.

...Food stamps. This year, more than 46 million (15% of all Americans) will get food stamps. That's 45% higher than when Obama took office, and twice as high as the average for the previous 40 years. This surge was driven in part by the recession, but also because Obama boosted the benefit amount as part of his stimulus plan.

...In just nine years, entitlement spending is on track to eat up 61% of the federal budget, according to the CBO. And unless these programs are cut back, they will soon consume all federal taxes, one CBO budget scenario predicts.

In other words, we're headed for complete fiscal collapse -- and Pitts is cheering Obama on with unsustainable programs wracked with fraud, cronyism, and ill-intentions.

And are things better for African-Americans under Obama? Of course not. In fact, a new low -- less than 80% of African-Americans (I assume Pitts thinks they're racist, too) -- now support President Obama.

Ronald Reagan inherited a far worse economy from Jimmy Carter: double-digit inflation; double-digit unemployment; and a Soviet Empire that was extending its tentacles all over the globe while the U.S. had single-handedly begun disarming itself.

In three years' time, Reagan had transformed the economy to the benefit of all Americans by unleashing the private sector through smaller government, less regulation, and lower taxes for all -- especially the productive members of society, irrespective of race, religion, creed or hair color.

Instead of building on a proven template of color-blind success, Pitts continues his failed career of race-baiting, which requires him to ignore history, facts, logic and reason in pursuit of a Utopian society that can't exist, won't exist and has never existed in all of human history. His path is the path to misery and, like all drones, he's too stupid to even comprehend his own endgame.


Larwyn's Linx: The Romney Campaign’s Newt-Ain’t-Reagan Assault

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

GOP Primary

The Romney Campaign’s Newt-Ain’t-Reagan Assault: HayRide
Confirmed: Romneycare = Obamacare: Malkin
Surprise! Romney Donated to Democrats: PndtPrs

Santorum eviscerates Romney over RomneyCare: Scoop
Santorum wins debate, but Romney beats Newt: Exam
Romney’s Big Healthcare Lie: RS

President Obama: I’m going to win reelection: Hill
Romney Praised Hezbollah in 2008: Hillbuzz
Mr. and Mrs. Crankypants: Malkin

Nation

Texas Sues DOJ Over Voter ID Law: JW
Christian Student Bullied for “Bullying”: MB
Who Will Be Thrown Under The Bus After Marco Rubio?: C4P

The state of the State of the Union: JPA
The Brutal NRCC ‘Every Day’ Ad.: Moe Lane
Denying Islamists Federal Security Clearances: PJM

Economy

The economic case against Obama, all in one chart: Peth
Is President Obama Creating A Nation Of Dependents?: IBD
December New Home Sales Worst On Record: S&L

The Debt Monster That Ate the World: Pelerin
NLRB To Force Companies To Turn Over Employee Telephone Numbers & E-Mail Addresses To Unions?: LUR
Poll: 54% Want SCOTUS to Kill Individual Mandate: WZ

Obama’s vision for a Spartan America: Goldberg
Obama’s Misstatements on the Union: DLim
Why Obama is Toast: RWN

Scandal Central

Another Stimulus-Backed Energy Company Files for Bankruptcy: Foundry
Two Billion Obamadollars Later, Brazil’s Oil Goes to China: RedCty
First Lady unveils Spanish-language food program: WZ

Climate & Energy

Administration's Blueprint Locks Potential Energy Sources: FreeEnt
Virginians Get First Peek at Secret UVA emails: ATI
Ener1 Bankruptcy Is Latest Obama Green Jobs Flop: IBD

Media

Interviewing Mark Levin About His New Book, “Ameritopia: The Unmaking of America.”: Hawkins
Mark Levin Talks to NewsBusters About 'Ameritopia' and Media's Role in Advancing Utopianism: NB
Obama's Ratings Collapse: NatlJrnl

Errant Email to Congressional ‘Allies’ on Keystone Exposes Media Matters’ Tax-Exempt Fraud: Pollak
Media Matters Dismissed Insider Trading Issue, Attacked Schweizer; Politico Followed Suit: Riehl
RNC Releases New Ad in Advance of Obama’s “State of My Campaign” Speech: JWF

Video Of Newt Bashing Reagan Is Bogus: Riehl
MRC's Bozell Announces Launch of 'Tell the Truth! 2012' Campaign: NB
Reuters makes 5 corrections on Rubio hit piece: Exam

Levin: Newt did more for the conservative movement than virtually all of his critics today: Scoop
Media Matters: The Unpaid Research Department of Politico: BigJ
CNN Turns Blind Eye To Obama-Alinsky Ties: IBD

World

Think Progress Scrubs 'Borderline Anti-Semitic' Rhetoric from Website: WS
New Pentagon plan would cut ground forces by 100,000: Fox
U.S. outrage as Egypt bars Americans from leaving: Reuters

Obama in Foreign Policy Hell: Spengler
N. Carolina Muslims arrested in plot to behead witnesses in recent terror conviction: Creeping
Sources: 30 Pounds Of Cocaine Found At United Nations: CBS NY

Sci-Tech

Scientists create first free-standing 3-D cloak: Eurekalert
My Horrific Experiences With Sony Customer Support: Mish
Everything Wrong with Zynga in One Image: Forbes

Cornucopia

Turkey Day: Thin skinned, Breasts and Necks. Mmm, mmm mmm!: MOTUS
No Obama in court, no ‘birther' ruling: AJC
Obama & his Attorney fail to appear for Trial and 2 Hour Hearing: Obama not qualified for Ballot?: The Steady Drip

The Political Correctness hierarchy: lepers trump amputees: Troglo
Vintage American Ads Get Online Archive: WSJ
Despite Unfair Tax Burden, Warren Buffett's Secretary Was Just Able To Buy A Second Home: TSG

Image: iOwnTheWorld
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Rick Santorum for President

QOTD: "It won’t decide the 2012 election, but the meltdown of Barack Obama’s Islamophile foreign policy has to hurt. Iran’s imminent acquisition of nuclear weapons humiliates a president so committed to dialogue with the evil lunatics in Tehran that he refused to support a mass outpouring of democracy demonstrators during the summer of 2009. Obama’s closest foreign policy friendship is with the Islamist president of Turkey, who has jailed more journalists than China and steered his country towards imminent economic disaster. Tayyip Erdogan may not be a terrorist, as Rick Perry said in last week’s debate, but he backs them, including Hamas.

And then there is Egypt: Even the New York Times has noticed that Egypt’s economy is collapsing, and that the country faces disaster as it runs out of money." --Spengler

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Graphing the popularity of a breaking news story...

The BadBlue automated news service added a cool new feature this weekend: you can now track the popularity of a given news story over time. Here's an example:

If you visit the BadBlue home page, you'll notice each story has the following format: headline, news source, popularity and permalink (the ∞ symbol).

Obviously, if you click on the headline, you'll go to the news story. If you click on the name of the news source, you'll get a complete listing of the top stories collected by the news service:

You'll also notice from the detail above that there is a permalink symbol (the mark). Click on that to see the chart of that story's popularity and any comments on the story itself.

Check it out. It's kinda like the Drudge Report, but automated to be more non-partisan. Heh.


Thought Experiment: Imagine This Ad Running in The New York Times

That booming sound you heard in the distance was the head of Bloomberg (the idiot mayor, not the news service) exploding.


Hat tip: Jay Paull Vintage Print Advertisements.