Thursday, February 09, 2012

Larwyn's Linx: The attacks on Santorum have begun in earnest

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GOP Primary

The attacks on Santorum have begun in earnest: PW
Rick Santorum’s Sweep Changes the Race: RWN
Santorum In Second Place In Delegate Race: S&L

Santorum Kicked The Mitt Out Of Romney: Riehl
Tim Tebow, Tom Brady register to vote in MN: PJM
What is Low Republican Turnout Saying?: RLC

Nation

Justice Ginsburg Should Resign: AmSpec
DREAMers” promise action against Rubio at CPAC: Hot Air
FBI Announces that Americans Are Now a Threat to America: RLC

White House advises Senate to not lead in an election year: RS
Democrat state senator attempts to ban masturbation: Lane
Cancel Leviathan’s Invitation to the Wedding: NewAm

Report: Obama doubles down at Democrat retreat: Hot Air
Weak Obama May Back Off Church Attack: Tobin
Air Force trains flight attendants for VIP trips: Chron

Economy

Dependency Index Surges 23% Under President Obama: IBD
Obama planned to give Russian steel company a loan: Blogmocracy
NC's Renee Ellmers Waxes Henry Waxman: Riehl

Hoyer: ‘The Fact Is You Don’t Need a Budget’: CNS
2 charts: Obama’s ‘Buffett Rule’ is completely phony: Peth
War on Salt Heats Up: Moonbattery

House Conservatives Support Barack Obama’s Latest Stimulus: RS
Are Government Unions Out Of Control? An Infographic: ZH
#Occupiers Pillage Portland: GWP

Scandal Central

Fast and Furious: While Holder Makes Excuses, Mexico Is Making Arrests: BigG
Obama Weaponizes DOJ Against Murdoch: BigJ
Judicial Watch sues Energy Dept. for documents related to $529M Fisker loan: Hill

Climate & Energy

Little Green Morons: Caruba
Polar ice not melting as fast as you were told: Hot Air
The Himalayas and nearby peaks have lost no ice in past 10 years, study shows.: Instapundit

Media

MRC Study: ABC and NBC Anything But Fast and Furious On Gunwalking Scandal: NB
Rush: Santorum is last real conservative still standing: Scoop
CNN’s Roland Martin suspended for homophobic tweets: WaPo

WSJ: Waking Up To Dangers Of ‘Obama-Care’: S&L
Another sign of the plague of idiocy and sloth that is spreading across our nation: TAB
Breaking: Rick Santorum’s unironic wearing of sweater vests an electoral dealbreaker: PW

Ex-MSNBC GM Slams Chris Matthews, NYT, 'Media’s Shameful, Inexcusable Distortion' of Citizens United: NB
Does The Obamacare Mandate Further Religious Liberty?: Howling
Oh my: Majorities of liberal Democrats now support drone strikes, keeping Gitmo open: Hot Air

CBS Evening News Finally Covers 'Firestorm' Between Catholic Church and Obama: NB
Covering Up JFK’s Roguish Behavior for 50 Years Not Long Enough for NBC’s Viewers: NB
Elementary School Kids Indoctrinated About Obama’s Incredible Awesomeness: Breitbart

World

Christians Facing Genocide in Muslim World: IPT
Egypt: As many as 100,000 Christians have left in recent months: JihadWatch
BBC tells journalists to stop calling Qatada 'an extremist' - and showing pics of him looking fat: Daily Mail

Iran 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0: Hanson
New Illegal Alien Advocate Undercuts Border Control: IBD
Farewell to the Free Market?: CityJournal

Sci-Tech

The Latest, Terrifying Drone Dog: DefTech
Fatah official Facebook page glorifies terrorists: Creeping
FBI Puts Cloud Providers on Notice Over Security Rules: Wired

Cornucopia

A Fistful of Rebates: IowaHawk
Let’s Move: Tug of War in the White House: Powers
Superbowl Snipers: iOTW

Historic! Sales Soar for Famed Obama Painting: JWF
Moonbat Fashion: iOTW
Video: Parody of Clint Eastwood's Chrysler ad: Marathon

Image: Curmudgeonly & Skeptical
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Rick Santorum could use your help

QOTD: "The CAFE rule is the fleet-wide average fuel economy rating manufacturers are required by Washington to achieve. The new rule — issued in response to a 2010 Obama directive, not to specific legislation passed by Congress — would require automakers to achieve a 40.9 mpg CAFE average by 2021 and 54.5 mpg by 2025...

...Total costs, as calculated by the EPA, will exceed $157 billion, making this by far the most expensive CAFE rule ever. For comparison, the previous rule in 2010 cost $51 billion, according to the EPA. But the EPA doesn’t include this fact in its calculation: Annual U.S. car sales are 14-16 million units, yet over time, this rule will remove the equivalent of half a year’s worth of buyers." --Washington Examiner via Q&O

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Chicago Mayor Creepy Ballerina Forced to Pay for Violating Citizens' Second Amendment Rights

Ted Cruz alerts us to this outstanding development:

Very, very cool. Here’s a shot of the actual check that Rahm Emanuel had to write to the Second Amendment Foundation for the City of Chicago’s violating our right to keep and bear arms.

As the Solicitor General of Texas, I was honored to lead the States before the U.S. Supreme Court in the Heller case, which resulted in a landmark 5-4 victory, protecting our fundamental Second Amendment rights.

As an aside, Ted is a wonderful, truly conservative candidate for the Senate in Texas who deserves your support.

You've gotta love a candidate with a "Fire Holder" button on his home page.


Hat tip: Iowahawk.

The Hidden Taxes That are Crushing America's Poor

Barack Obama likes to claim he's a tax-cutter. Never mind that Obama's signature health care overhaul contains dozens of new taxes poised to take effect, curiously, right after the 2012 elections. Never mind that the "Bush Tax Cuts" that Obama now repudiates (just months after agreeing that they were necessary) are set to expire.

No, Obama's secret, insidious "tax hikes" are rising energy prices (PDF), which hit lower-income households hardest. The president's energy policy is simple: prevent exploration, drilling and refining; close electric power plants; and regulate new power sources to death.

Energy costs are growing and eating up a disproportionate share of low and fixed-income families’ budgets. The 60 million households that earn less than $50,000 per year, or half of all U.S. families, will devote an estimated 21 percent of their after-tax incomes to energy, compared to 12 percent spent in 2001.

Energy cost burdens are greatest on the poorest families. The energy bills of families earning less than $10,000 have risen to 78 percent of their after-tax income.

Minority families are burdened by higher energy costs. More than 60 percent of Black and Hispanic families had pre-tax household incomes below $50,000 in 2010, compared with 39 percent for Asian families and 46 percent for white households.

Lower and fixed-income senior households are among those most vulnerable to energy price increases. Food, health care and other necessities compete with energy for a share of the household budget. The $31,408 median income of senior U.S. households means that half of these households depend on incomes below this level.

EPA regulations drive up electricity prices... [Yet, e]lectricity is the bargain among all consumer energy products. This is due, in part, to the utility industry’s reliance on affordable coal. Electricity prices have increased by 51 percent in nominal dollars since 1990, while the nominal prices of residential natural gas and gasoline have nearly doubled and tripled, respectively.

Remember this golden oldie?

"Under my plan of a cap and trade system, [energy prices] would necessarily skyrocket. Even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad. Because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it — whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was... [t]hey will pass that money on to consumers." --Barack Obama, 1 November 2008

Hey, you know what? I've finally discovered a campaign promise that Obama actually followed through with!


The Obama Legacy: Sloth, Dependency and Depression

If you're wondering why the economy just can't seem to get rolling, please remember that the White House is motivating a record number of people not to work. It's called "building a culture of dependency (and a constituency of dependents)".

The American public's dependence on the federal government shot up 23% in just two years under President Obama, with 67 million now relying on some federal program...

[The] annual Index of Dependence on Government tracks money spent on housing, health, welfare, education subsidies and other federal programs that were "traditionally provided to needy people by local organizations and families."

The two-year increase under Obama is the biggest two-year jump since Jimmy Carter was president... The rise was driven mainly by increases in housing subsidies, an expansion in Medicaid and changes to the welfare system, along with a sharp rise in food stamps...

If there's anything the last half-century of failed Leftist policies have taught us, it's this: when you reward sloth, you get more sloth. Not to mention rampant fraud and monstrous waste.


Related: More than a third of all U.S. wages and salaries come from government confiscating wealth and redistributing it

Jimmy Carter to The 2nd Power = Barack Obama [Dan from NY]

Dan from NY:

Hostage crisis redux. I guess we could argue all day that Obama is naïve, stupid or complicit. But the damage is already done, and at the end of the day he’s allowed our country to look like a gullible tourist in the Arab bazaar. If you’re still looking for a reason to send Obama packing, I can’t think of a better one.

Egypt outlines evidence in case against Americans


CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian judges say the evidence collected in the case against 19 Americans referred to court for their alleged involvement in banned political activity through nonprofit groups includes maps, cash and videos taken of churches and military facilities.

Egypt's crackdown on pro-democracy and rights groups has soured relations between Cairo and Washington, which has warned Egypt that it could cut some $1.5 billion in aid over the dispute.

Sameh Abu-Zeid, one of two judges investigating the case, for the first time outlined for reporters Wednesday the evidence authorities have collected in the investigation.

The comments echoed allegations repeatedly made by Egypt's ruling military council that "foreign hands" are plotting unrest in Egypt.

Among the Americans referred to court is the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Barack Obama makes Jimmy Carter look like Idi Amin Dada.


Too good to check: Barry Soetoro's Columbia University ID Card

Dave Blount posts the following mysterious image (Photoshopped? You make the call) under the banner "No Wonder Obama’s College Records Are Top Secret":

Luckily for the Indonesian citizen Barry Soetoro, or Barack Hussein Obama as he now calls himself, foreign students can get special assistance compliments of American taxpayers. The downside is that they are not eligible to be President...

...This document is guaranteed to be at least as genuine as the birth certificate [he] finally coughed up.

While the ID card could very well be a fake, Columbo's questions remain unanswered:

Ah... Sorry to bother you President Obama, Sir.


Larwyn's Linx: Rick Santorum Sweeps Trio of States

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

GOP Primary

Rick Santorum Sweeps Trio of States: CDN
The 'GOP base really does not want Romney': Corner
How Mitt Could Be Beat: RSM

Romney gets Rick-rolled; Santorum sweeps: Malkin
Romney Would Fit Right In On The Ninth Circuit Court: Riehl
Your Choices: Romney, Santorum or Sweet Meteor of Death: RSM

Nation

Our Constitution Is Out of Step with the Rest of the World: Cato
Obama Amnesty: Deportations At Record Low: JW
9th Circuit finds "Constitutional right" to gay marriage: Howling

Rant on HHS Mandate: Pundette
Dem. idiot wouldn't have voted for Obamacare if regs were known: WS
ObamaCare: the gift of Kafkaesque Statist absurdity...: PW

Economy

The unemployment chart Obama doesn’t want you to see: Peth
Barack Obama, Super-hypocrite on SuperPACs: Patterico
The Well-Deserved Death of California's Redevelopment Scam: Reason

Meet Pepe Cardona, the next Marc Rich: WyBlog
Government Can't Make Us Happy: Stossel
Sessions: Under Obama, Government Gets Bigger as Middle Class Gets Smaller: NoisyRm

Scandal Central

Fast and Furious, as a police operation, doesn't make sense, but as a...: MoneyRunner
Fast and Furious: Three Questions Not Asked: Owens
How many dead Mexicans would it have taken for Eric Holder to fire people?: Moe Lane

Climate & Energy

Two more scientists change sides in the AGW debate: Q&O
Scientist: global warming causes worst winter in years: Surber
Vlad in Vostok: Bayonet

Another Green Prophet Defects: Power Line
McIntyre catches the University of East Anglia in a web of lies: Watts

Media

The Secular Media vs. Religious Liberty: Bozell
WaPo: Politicians loot treasury for personal gain. Apparently that’s news: Q&O
Rush Limbaugh Parody of Clint Eastwood “Halftime in America”: Scoop

Think Progress, Media Matters Downplay Iranian Nuke Threat: Free Beacon
The Good, the Ad, and the Ugly: Daily
Maynard’s Reaction to that Detroit/Clint Eastwood Commercial: Bruce

The Blaze Jumps the Shark: Nice Deb
Mark Levin: We're Living In A Post-Constitutional America: RCP
U.S. authorities go after Murdoch: Reuters

World

Watch Eastern Saudi Arabia: Commentary
Two can play the same ‘BOYCOTT’ game: BNI
Greek Economy Implodes: Budget Revenues Tumble 7% In January On Expectation Of 9% Rise: ZH

Good News: U.S. Taxpayers Subsidize More Overseas Mosques: Creeping
Shariah law: Aceh’s morality police seek greater power: GlobalPost
Soros Warns Of Chaos, But Supports People Creating It: IBD

Are We Losing the War in Afghanistan?: Max Boot
Military ties mark Kim Jong Un’s inner circle: ArmyTimes
China leader-in-waiting carries heavy political baggage to U.S.: Reuters

Sci-Tech

Facebook governance a concern for California pension fund: Reuters
'Doomsday Preppers' highlights extreme survival techniques: USA Today
Google's HUD glasses have been sighted: CNet

Cornucopia

Obama's War on the Church: Spew
Problems Solved: Check!: MOTUS
Oh, Brother: Braves Throwback Uniform Praised for "Lack of Racism": Modicum

Last known WWI veteran dies at 110: ArmyTimes
Sea World’s Shamu ‘Slavery’ Case – PETA Demands Civil Rights For Animals: SHN
OWS & the planned “endgame” for the U.S: CFP

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

QOTD: "Operation Fast and Furious was specifically conceived so that “walked” guns would be recovered at crime scenes in Mexico. Their serial numbers would be provided to the ATF by Mexican authorities for tracing. Regardless of motive, the entire operation was premised on weapons being recovered at crime scenes in Mexico, and law enforcement agencies are well aware that criminals primarily abandon weapons only after they’ve been used in serious felony crimes such as murder or attempted murder.

Operation Fast and Furious was conceived knowing that Mexican nationals would be sacrificed in significant numbers if the tracing operation had any chance of working." --Bob Owens

Tuesday, February 07, 2012

At last: Regulations.gov website makes it easy to track the millions of pages of edicts levied upon us by our federal overlords

It's about time the federal government gave us Regulations.gov, a helpful Internet portal that indexes the hundreds of thousands of pages of laws, regulations, and dictates that we're expected to know.

Suffice it to say that Regulations.gov uses a powerful, clustered set of web, application, database and storage servers that require enough electricity to power all three of Al Gore's mansions.

Thankfully, this new portal makes it straightforward to find out that:

Tomatoes are governed by 7,789 existing and proposed regulatory documents.
Window cleaning is regulated by 5,579 documents.
Light bulbs, by 4,038 documents.
Dry peas, by 1,775 documents.
Lint filters, by 439 documents.
Home gardens, by 436 documents.
Lemonade, by 175 documents.

Give it a try and let us know in the comments what you find.

Word has it that Regulations.gov tried to add a Twitter feed, but all of the Obama administration's new bureaucracies were producing so many new regs that it melted Twitter down.


Related: A Child's First Book of Government Regulations.


Hat tip: Brad.

"CO2 Lies": German Media Destroys the Global Warming Scam; Al "Three Mansions" Gore Unavailable for Comment

And the hits just keep on coming for the United Nations' global warming scam:

“THE CO2 LIES … pure fear-mongering … should we blindly trust the experts?”


That’s what Germany’s leading daily Bild (see photo) wrote in its print and online editions today, on the very day that renowned publisher Hoffmann & Campe officially released a skeptic book – one written by a prominent socialist and environmental figure.

This is huge. More than I ever could have possibly imagined. And more is coming in the days ahead! The Bild piece was just the first of a series.

Mark this as the date that Germany’s global warming movement took a massive body blow.

Today, not one, but two of Germany’s most widely read news media published comprehensive skeptical climate science articles in their print and online editions, coinciding with the release of a major climate skeptical book, Die kalte Sonne (The Cold Sun)...

What has set it all off? One of the fathers of Germany’s modern green movement, Professor Dr. Fritz Vahrenholt, a social democrat and green activist, decided to author a climate science skeptical book together with geologist/paleontologist Dr. Sebastian Lüning. Vahrenholt’s skepticism started when he was asked to review an IPCC report on renewable energy. He found hundreds of errors. When he pointed them out, IPCC officials simply brushed them aside. Stunned, he asked himself, “Is this the way they approached the climate assessment reports?”

Vahrenholt decided to do some digging. His colleague Dr. Lüning also gave him a copy of Andrew Montford’s The Hockey Stick Illusion. He was horrified by the sloppiness and deception he found. Persuaded by Hoffmann & Campe, he and Lüning decided to write the book. Die kalte Sonne cites 800 sources and has over 80 charts and figures. It examines and summarizes the latest science.

Conclusion: climate catastrophe is called off.

Hey, John Boehner: you listening? The EPA needs to be de-funded completely.

That agency is a multi-billion dollar organization built on a series of lies and crimes, as the horrific story of DDT reminds us.

And if Boehner won't do it, we need to find a House Speaker -- like Michele Bachmann or Allen West -- with the stones to shred this taxpayer-funded boondoggle benefiting the Marxist Left.


Hat tip: Vicki.

Oops: even legitimate solar companies suffering "carnage, layoffs, and plant closings"; Obama's green jobs scam hardest hit.

It's not just President Obama's "green energy" payoffs to campaign contributors companies like Solyndra, Fisker, et. al. that are suffering.

Even legitimate companies are melting down thanks to a serious lack of demand for their wares.

Solar carnage hits suppliers, as Sanyo, Sumco, Schott cut manufacturing, causing jitters downstream


Carnage in the solar industry is spreading upstream as companies that make ingots and wafers used in cells and panels announce layoffs and plant closures...

...A spokesman for Sanyo, a Japanese company with a plant in Salem, confirmed Monday that it would shut a California factory that makes solar wafers using older technology.

Producers blame a worldwide glut of silicon ingots and the wafers they're sliced into to make the solar cells that go inside panels. As with cells and panels, much of the oversupply results from increased production in China, analysts say, as well as demand declines from reduced European subsidies for solar power...

The analysts say industry turmoil and continued low prices will at least indirectly affect Sanyo, SolarWorld and other companies with Oregon operations that the state has subsidized to attract. Across the United States, some factories could move to other states, such as Texas and Mississippi, that offer rich incentives, said Fatima Toor, a Lux Research analyst in Boston. She expects more closures, layoffs, mergers and potential bankruptcies... "There's going to be a lot of blood in the coming couple of years," Toor said...

Meanwhile, America's vast, natural treasure trove of gas, oil and coal goes largely untapped thanks to an administration beholden to radical eco-Marxists.

And thus we remain the only country on the planet that restricts access to its own energy supplies.


Media to Obama: We've got your back [Dan from NY]

Dan from NY:

In this short video, Obama complains to Matt Lauer that the Constitution has gotten in his way and he hasn’t been able to “force” Congress to pass all the legislation he wanted. Even allowing for the fact that Fox cut this clip just as Obama was trying to repair his gaffe, it still exposes a man with a strong authoritarian streak and an outsized ego.

Oh, and one more thing. We just spent a solid week hearing from all corners of the media that Romney is “not concerned about the very poor.” Are you surprised that the same gang hasn’t swarmed over Obama’s revealing slip? (Rhetorical question]

Yes, that pesky Constitution -- which Obama took an oath to uphold -- keeps getting in the way.


Larwyn's Linx: Halftime in America: An Open Letter to Clint Eastwood

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

Nation

Halftime in America: An Open Letter to Clint Eastwood: VS
Love the Constitution? DHS believes you're an extremist: PJM
Feds Ask Supremes for More Time to Defend ObamaCare: NewAm

Accents, politics, and double standards: Malkin
Obama 2012: He’ll Do Better This Time, Honest: Treacher
Obama: “I’m Getting Better As Time Goes On” : GWP

As It Turns Out, Money Is Speech: Cato
Need Another Motivation to Vote Obama Out?: Powers
The Prescience of The Founding Fathers: Babalu

Economy

The "1 Percent" Exodus: FPM
Coming soon: Individual mandate to buy Chevy Volts: Exam
Surprise! RomneyCare Costs Exploding, Hidden From Public: CDN

Cardless National ID and the E-Verify Rebellion: Cato
Detroit ‘Comeback' Ad Filmed in New Orleans, L.A.: WS
GM owes us $25B: Who paid for Super Bowl Chevy Volt Ad?: MagNote

Public Pension Watch: Chicago, New York, and Providence: Conservatory
Obama Press Secretary Jay Carney: People Dropping Out of Workforce Is “Economic Positive”: GWP
Joe Biden Admits Tuition Subsidies Horrible for Tuition Prices: SAB

GOP Primary

Santorum's Got Game: Malkin
Upcoming states could serve as bulkhead for Santorum: Fox
Records Show Ron Paul Trips Paid Twice: Roll Call

The Case for Santorum: WS
Gosh, everybody's for Santorum now: RSM
Mitt’s Big Guns Now Trained On Santorum: NiceDeb

Scandal Central

$1 Billion on Sports Cars: ABC Reports on Obama’s Electric Car Funding Fiasco: VS
Report: Lawmakers Steered Earmarks Near Their Own Properties: Roll Call
RNC chairman: Holder acting like he’s under an ‘air of indictment’: DC

Climate & Energy

Why Yes, The Climate Change Hoax Is About Big Government: RWN
CAFE standards, market distortion and the usual results: Q&O
Germany in skeptical turmoil on both Climate and Solar/Windfarms: Climate

Media

Communism Collapsed: Who Cares?: Power Line
Teachers' union boss who makes $550K argues against school choice: "Life's not always fair': Breitbart
Moron Congressman: Truthful Media Is the Enemy: Breitbart

'Does Axelrod Poll For ABC?': NB
Who Castrated Ann Coulter?: AmSpec
What would de Tocqueville think of President Barack H. Obama and modern America 2012?: CFP

Top 10 Reasons to Vote Democrat: LoneCon
Rachel Maddow Lies Again, Claims Rick Santorum Wants to Ban Contraception: LifeNews
Was Eastwood's Super Bowl ad pro-Obama?: Politico

CBS News D.C. Station Slams Voter ID Bill in Va. As '"Jim Crow" Voting Legislation': NB
Polygamous Ancestors and the Road to Full Disclosure?: Hanson
Thrice-Married NPR Snob Garrison Keillor Mocks Newt Gingrich as a 'Polygamist': NB

World

Never Mind Israel, Iran’s First Target Might Be its Arab Neighbors: Commentary
Bashar Assad emails leaked, tips for ABC interview revealed: Haaretz
Did Chinese Espionage Lead to F-35 Delays?: DefTech

Islam's Groundhog Day: Greenfield
'Death sentence': Pensioner with aneurysm that could kill her anytime told NHS won't pay for surgery: DailyMail
Major Obama Donors Tied to Fugitive Who Fled to Mexico: NYT

A UN Farce in Syria: Sultan Knish
Denying Islamists Federal Security Clearances: PJM
Obama, Democrats Own Syria Failure: Pollak

Sci-Tech

Russian scientists reach buried Antarctic Lake Vostok: Fox
Gunning for Netflix: Redbox and Verizon to Launch Video Service This Year: Wired
How NASA Makes Those Incredible High-Res Images of Earth: Wired

Cornucopia

On Reagan’s Birthday, His Legacy Lives On: Foundry
The residences of U.S. presidents: Inman
Could Obama Face Felony Charge In Arizona?: CDN

Image: Serena Williams warms up in Australia
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Support Rick Santorum for President

QOTD: "Why Santorum? In my estimation, Santorum is the last consistent conservative standing, and the only one both promoting the conservative agenda and campaigning as a conservative in the race. That doesn’t make Santorum perfect; he lacks the executive experience I’d like to see, and some of his positions in the past and present give me pause. However, compared to the heterodoxies of his competitors in the GOP race, Santorum has a superior record on promoting conservative policies and values.

Even more than that, though, Santorum has demonstrated a level of personal integrity in this race that outshines the rest of the field. Santorum has campaigned with blue-collar Reagan Democrats in mind, pushing for an economic plan that would revitalize manufacturing and small business. He could easily have tipped over into class-warfare populism while Gingrich and Romney bashed each other over their work at Bain and Freddie Mac in order to ingratiate himself with that sector by playing on latent envy. Instead, he defended capitalism and both of his competitors on the campaign trail more effectively than either could defend themselves." --Ed Morrissey

Monday, February 06, 2012

CBS New York: "Catholic League Poised To Go To War With Obama Over Mandatory Birth Control Payments"

Hey, David Gregory: can you hear me now, you pencil-necked geek?

Catholic League Poised To Go To War With Obama Over Mandatory Birth Control Payments


Donohue Says 70 Million Of His Voters Ready To Alter Presidential Election


NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Catholic leaders upped the ante Monday, threatening to challenge the Obama administration over a provision of the new health care law that would require all employers, including religious institutions, to pay for birth control.

...Catholic leaders are furious and determined to harness the voting power of the nation’s 70 million Catholic voters to stop a provision of President Barack Obama’s new heath car reform bill that will force Catholic schools, hospitals and charities to buy birth control pills, abortion-producing drugs and sterilization coverage for their employees.

“Never before, unprecedented in American history, for the federal government to line up against the Roman Catholic Church,” said Catholic League head Bill Donohue.

Already Archbishop Timothy Dolan has spoken out against the law and priests around the country have mobilized, reading letters from the pulpit. Donohue said Catholic officials will stop at nothing to put a stop to it.

“This is going to be fought out with lawsuits, with court decisions, and, dare I say it, maybe even in the streets,” Donohue said.

Maybe a real miracle will occur and David Gregory of Meet the Depressed will read something besides The New York Times. Because, based upon Sunday's show, he's either an embarrassing moron or a DNC hack. Actually, I forgot a third option: perhaps he's both.

NEWT GINGRICH: Furthermore, you know, he's--he has declared what--it's not just an economic election, you know, he's basically declared war on the Catholic Church, and that's the language of Archbishop Dolan of New York. And I think you're going to see a very severe reaction to the idea of a radical Obama administration...

DAVID GREGORY, HOST: Well, let's--explain what you're talking about.

GINGRICH: ...imposing secular rules on religion.

GREGORY: This is for insurance to be provided, including contraception, for employees around the country.

GINGRICH: Right.

GREGORY: And--but religious institutions would be exempted. How is this a war against religion...

GINGRICH: No.

GREGORY: Well, religious institutions, churches and the like, would be exempted, and there are states that have very similar rules to ensure the health and safety of, of women that they get covered in their workplace, whether it be a Catholic hospital or other kind of institution.

GINGRICH: Well, I mean, you, you just managed to precisely repeat the Obama administration's line, which is also the American Civil Liberties Union line...

I love how these liberal hacks always argue with their Republican guests as they try to toe the Axelrod talking points. Curiously, we never see them act contentiously with, say, Obama, Wasserman-Manhands, Schmuck Schumer, and the like.

It's times like these that I really miss Tim Russert.


Oh, my. Gallup: underemployment actually ROSE to 18.7% in January

Ex-Pravda employees at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (and The New York Times) hardest hit

Underemployment, a measure that combines the percentage of workers who are unemployed with the percentage working part time but wanting full-time work, surged to 18.7% in January. This is a worsening from the 18.3% of December...

...U.S. unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, increased slightly to 8.6% in January from 8.5% in December...

...Regardless of what the government reports, Gallup's unemployment and underemployment measures show deterioration since mid-January. While the unemployment rate of 8.6% for January is up only modestly from December, this overall increase subsumes the more negative trend of the most recent weeks. In turn, this also seems consistent with Wednesday's ADP report showing less job growth in January than in the prior month.

In fact, the only group showing the employment situation improving in January was the BLS. And it had to remove 1.2 million Americans from the labor force to do so.

Here's a helpful hint for the CFO of Gallup: I predict a major audit by the IRS is in your future.


Hat tips: I Hate the Media and BadBlue.

Unfortunate Romney Campaign Photo o' the Day

Via Dave Weigel:

I can't wait for Romney to roll up in his Bentley at CPAC. Because the Maybach is just a little too much.


Update: Commenter Sara informs us that Weigel and the rest of the crew fell for a photoshop (and a pretty darned good one, at that).

Ron "Mr. Small Government" Paul seems to have been double-billing travel at your expense #tlot

But, like his racist newsletters, I'm sure he knew nothing -- NOTHING -- about any of this.

Roll Call identified eight flights for which the Texas Republican, a GOP presidential candidate and leading champion of smaller government, was reimbursed twice for the same trip. Roll Call also found dozens more instances of duplicate payments for travel from 1999 to 2009, totaling thousands of dollars' worth of excess payments, but the evidence in those cases is not as complete.

...Roll Call obtained copies of credit card statements for a corporate American Express card assigned to Ron Paul & Associates Inc. on which many flights were purchased. The flight details on those statements matched payment records filed to the Federal Election Commission and office expenses itemized in quarterly Congressional disbursement statements published by the Chief Administrative Officer of the House... Public records show hundreds of flight payments between 1999 and 2009 in which both the House and Paul's campaign paid for plane tickets of the same price and about the same date.

Ron Paul is a fraud. And it's a shame that most of his believers are too deluded to recognize that he's a complete sellout.

Did you know, for instance, that Paul's campaign is collaborating directly with Mitt Romney's campaign to ensure -- no, not some grand position in an ostensible Romney administration -- a speaking part at the GOP convention?

The remaining candidates in the winnowed Republican presidential field are attacking one another with abandon, each day bringing fresh headlines of accusations and outrage.

But Mitt Romney and Ron Paul haven’t laid a hand on each other... they never do.

...Romney’s aides are “quietly in touch with Ron Paul,” according to a Republican adviser who is in contact with the Romney campaign... The two campaigns have coordinated on minor things [because] Paul’s presence in the race helps keep the GOP electorate fractured...

...“Ron Paul wants a presence at the convention,” the adviser said — and Romney, if he is the nominee, would grant it.

In other words, Paul-bots, your mystical hero has been taking your money, your time, your support and blowing it all trying to get the most liberal candidate in the field nominated.

So he can get himself a speaking gig at the RNC.

You just got pwnt.


Related: 10 fun facts you may not have known about Ron Paul.


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City Workers in Hazmat Suits Clean Up After Occupy DC Kooks Evicted

Just in time for CPAC, the toxic Occupy DC protesters say they'll be returning to McPherson Square.

The Occupy D.C. protesters are returning to McPherson Square park, after it was closed late Saturday when tensions escalated between the protesters occupying the park and the U.S. Park Police trying to enforce the no camping rules at the park.

McPherson Square reopened Sunday afternoon, after police removed several tents for violating the no camping rules, and for being considered a biohazard. Some of the tents are still standing, but the park looks remarkably different from Friday... Officials said it was relatively peaceful but got tense late Saturday when an officer was hit in the face with a brick as police pushed protesters out of the last section of the park. The officer was taken to a hospital for treatment... [A] total [of] 11 people were arrested.

...Officials used barricades to cordon off sections of McPherson Square, a park under federal jurisdiction near the White House, and checked tents for mattresses and sleeping bags and sifted through piles of garbage and other belongings. Some wore yellow biohazard suits to guard against diseases identified at the site in recent weeks. Officials also have raised concerns about a rat infestation.

That move left large swaths of open space and raised questions about exactly what would remain of the encampment once the enforcement was over.

"We found urine soaked bedding materials, bottles of urine, and in some of the tents we found dead rats," says U.S. Park Police spokesman David Schlosser.

The Washington Examiner has before and after pictures of McPherson Square.


Larwyn's Linx: A Tale of Two Republican Parties

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

Nation

A Tale of Two Republican Parties: Knish
It's takers vs. makers, and the takers are winning: Reynolds
The first County Sheriff Project event: a rousing success: ConPrev

Box-checking Obama in a Liberal Cocoon: Barone
Retiring Blue Dogs Cite Pelosi as Reason for Leaving: WZ
Simple Test to Determine if You're a Racist: SDA

Economy

Congress should investigate Obama's bogus jobs data: Times
About time: PA rolls out drug tests for welfare recipients: Fox
Europe's shadow darkens outlook: Reuters

Obama's Army on the March: Moonbattery
Remember MoveOn.org's quaint Bush deficits ad?: MoneyRunner
Occupy protesters returning to McPherson Square: WTOP

CLASS Act Is Dead, but Obama Won’t Repeal It: RWN
Greece has reached the latest of many last ditches: NRO
Occupy Oakland burns U.S. flag for second week in a row: WZ

GOP Primary

My choice: Rick Santorum: Morrissey
Oh, My: Gingrich Really Did Save Reagan Revolution!: RS
Romney's ridiculous support of minimum wage indexing: C4P

Good News for Rick Santorum!: WS
Questions on Romney Give Obama Boost: ABC
Why not a Santorum-Gingrich ticket?: Politico

Scandal Central

Chronicling MSM’s Coverage Of Holder’s Fast and Furious Testimony: Chastain
Holder still hasn’t talked ‘Fast and Furious’ with Clinton, Napolitano, Obama: DC
The Bain of Obama’s existence: Solyndra audit coming this week: Chron

Climate & Energy

Rare Honest Piece at L.A. Times Skewers Radical Left's Environmental Hypocrisy: AmPower
Snow traps thousands across eastern Europe: WSJ
Biased climate survey sent to all NOAA employees: Watts

Media

“Political Moneyball: The Conservative Strategy for Winning the Fight Coming After the Election”: ProWis
CNN's Crowley Does Two Segments on Jobs Numbers Without Mentioning Plummeting Participation Rate: NB
Newt Gingrich Continues to Attack Obama Administration Over Its Assault on Religion: GWP

Santorum on Birth Control Mandate: The Bishops “Got What They Deserved”: Nice Deb
Obama uses the National Prayer Breakfast to rewrite the New Testament: ProWis
Time to Update Your Bookmarks and Blog Rolls: Camp o' the Saints

NY Times Edits Khamenei’s Speech, Omits Calling Israel a “Cancerous Tumor” And Vowing To “Cut It Off”: WZ
Justice Ginsburg causes storm dissing the Constitution while abroad: DC
Clint Eastwood Makes Obama's Day: NatlJrnl

In Servitude to Savages: Atlas
Regarding Ann Coulter and TEA Party Hypocrisy: ConCom
JFK's teen mistress speaks out: Post

World

Countdown to Zero in Tehran and Jerusalem: Knish
On the Road to Armageddon – Moving Ragnarok to the Middle East: NoisyRm
Syria's most senior defector: Assad's army is close to collapse: Telegraph

Iranian Parliament's Website: Attack Israel this Year - 9 minutes are enough to finish Israel: INN
After string of foiled plots, concerns mount over Iranian-backed terror: JTA
Saudi Arabia woman sues government for driver’s license: Bikyamasr

The New Egypt - 19 Americans To Be Tried Over NGO Work: Joshuapundit
Is Europe setting up clash between Muslims and the West?: CNN
Brazen crook steals $400,000 Bentley sports car from a downtown garage: Post

Four Ways Obama Is Using the United Nations to Shaft the USA: MB
Is Obama's Peace Prize About To Be Confiscated? Nobel Peace Prize Jury Under Investigation: ZH
But The EUros Are So Much More Cosmopolitan Than We Prudish And Puritanical Colonials: Soylent (NSFW)

Sci-Tech

Social media all a-Twitter with 16M hits during Super Bowl: Post
Anonymous hacks lawyers for Marine accused of Iraq massacre: CNet
Is Google Bouncer going to bounce all malware from the Android Market?: Sophos

Cornucopia

Game Day Special: Strike a Pose: MOTUS
The Second Lady of the United States: Cube (NSFW)
For Your “Fixing The GOP” Tool Kit…: Soylent

Image: Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize To Be Revoked?
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Support Rick Santorum for President

QOTD: "To argue and debate about how Romney will perform in the White House (or to opine on how fine a man he is, which is true - but so what?) is to completely miss the only point that matters in 2012, which is denying Obama four more years to administer the coup de grace to the US." --NRO Commenter LKS

Sunday, February 05, 2012

Our First Post-Post-Racial President

Oh, this just takes the cake.

I remember well the "Crackers for McCain" web page.

Someday soon, I hope, we will have a president that doesn't divide Americans by race, color, religion, income, or other arbitrary segments in order to pander to them.

A president who takes to heart the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.:

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

In other words, a president who believes in the unique value of each and every individual, in each and every American.


Hat tip: JTT.