Thursday, March 22, 2012

Larwyn's Linx: The Successful Desensitization of the American Voter

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

Nation

The Successful Desensitization of the American Voter: CDN
Progressive phase 1 complete: on to phase II: Blaze
Political Rope-a-Dope: Williams

How to Beat Obama: Hawkins
Protests Against Obama Mandate to Take Place in 129 Cities: LifeNews
For Government - No Limits: Thomas

Economy

HUD Pays Leftists $42MM to Teach Homeowners How to Pay Bills: GWP
Did The US Actually LOSE 1.8 Million Jobs In 2011?: Insider
Obama Campaign Spends $750K on Swag in February: ABC

Not On His Wach: Beacon
Braces for the Kids Just Got Pricier: Obamacare Tax Hike Case Study: ATR
Obama's Outrageous New DOL Rules Will Slam Family Farms: GWP

2012 Elections

The Consummate Etch-a-Sketch: RS
Obama Campaign Likely Censoring YouTube Comments: Dossier
Just a Brief Interlude: Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler

Faith-based energy policy: Hanson
Revisiting the Guy in Obama's Neighborhood: AT
Jeb Bush Backs Rubio for VP Nominee: NatlJrnl

Scandal Central

Holder Concealed Evidence of Gunrunner’s Release: Morris
ObamaCare Still a Disaster — No Matter How the Supreme Court Decides: Elder
Fox News debunks Obama’s oil lies: RS

Climate & Energy

"I Don't Get It:" Obama Baffled As His "Green" Investments Produce No Jobs: Ace
Obama Now Scrambles To Approve Transcanada Pipeline... Or At Least Half Of It; Environmentalists Furious: ZH
Court backs Idaho couple in battle with EPA: Times

Media

Axelrod Can't Explain Why Democrats Haven't Passed a Budget in 1,040 Days: WS
'Rush Limbaugh Show' responds to Brock: Politico
Wasserman-Schultz Lie of the Day: MRC

Report: Al-Qaida was saddened by Keith Olbermann’s MSNBC firing: DC
Bristol Palin: Bill Maher is Much More Than a Comedian: C4P
Conservatives hijack #WhyImIn: Twitchy

The 30 Best Conservative Twitter Feeds Of 2012: RWN
Philly owes $900K after failed attempt to evict Boy Scouts: Bruce
New Washington-ABC poll: Women prefer Rick Santorum to Mitt Romney:

World

Soviet Leader: Chernobyl Nuclear Accident Caused the Collapse of the USSR: ZH
France shootings siege: Live Report: Jakarta Globe
Obama UN Ambassador Bypasses Congress, Restores UNESCO Funding After 'Palestine' Recognition: WZ

Sci-Tech

Robots could be future playmates for kids: Fox
Nokia’s magnetic tattoo: Why your arm may be ringing someday soon: Star
Unseen Titanic: New images of wreck reveal entire ship for first time: Fox

Cornucopia

FLAT FLOTUS Shovels Food: Michelle Obama's New Cutout: Cube
Why I am a Democrat: IowaHawk
Live By the Sword, Die By the Sword, My Friend.: MOTUS

Image: Girl Goes Crazy in Class (NSFW)
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Rick Santorum for President

QOTD: "Just as every hardworking American family crafts a budget to keep track of its income, expenses, essentials and priorities, the United States government must do the same, lest we find ourselves in the same economic crisis year after year. For over 1,000 days, Senate Democrats have refused to pass a budget, while President Barack Obama’s budget is much of the same, more spending and debt. The definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. America’s hope for the future is the House Budget, a new plan of action with a fresh, bold, smart, approach to the way we have done things in the past. I am confident America will be better off once the House Budget is passed and put into law." --Rep. Allen West (R-FL)

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Munchkin WaPo Journolist Ezra Klein Bashes Ryan Plan, Somehow Omits Fact That Marxist Democrats Haven't Passed a Budget in 1,030 Days

Folks, this is how societies collapse. I don't just mean the virulent spread of corrupt, Marxist politicians that launched a successful coup inside the modern Democrat Party (as The Blaze observes, progressivism has transformed itself into full-blown Communism). It's also the tacit approval of tyranny, the abdication of journalism, the complete endorsement of lawlessness by pencil-necked Leftist hacks like Ezra Klein.

The country is headed down the fiscal tubes. Everyone from Peter Orszag to the CBO, from the Medicare Actuaries to the Social Security Administration agree we're headed for an economic catastrophe.

And yet thoughtless kooks like Ezra ("The Constitution is, dude, like a hundred years old! Who can understand it?") Klein have massive, though thankfully diminishing, bully pulpits at DNC press release outlets such as The Washington Post.

Unless you're really feeling masochistic, I'll spare you from reading Klein's latest tripe, entitled "Why the Republican budgets make the poor pay". Suffice it to say that Klein tries to paint Paul Ryan's budget as some sort of extremist plan to shortchange the poor.

Hey, dumbass: how's African-American and Hispanic unemployment working out under the masterful Obama?

Hey, idiot: how'd that multi-trillion dollar "Stimulus" package help unemployment and underemployment?

Hey, schmuck: how do you think the poor and seniors will fare when the interest on the debt is a trillion dollars in just a handful of years?

Hey, crackpot: how do you think seniors will like having $575 billion pulled out of Medicare to pay for a new, insanely complex, Rube Goldberg experiment in central planning called "Obamacare"?

Oh, and hey, Leftist tool: did you know that the Party of Marxism -- your party -- hasn't passed a budget in 1,030 days or so? And you're complaining about a thoughtful attempt to save the country from fiscal collapse? How about some vitriol for this egregious, unlawful, treasonous failure by Democrats in Congress?

These are all rhetorical questions, because the device has yet to be invented that can measure the amount of intellectual honesty possessed by the likes of this hack.

Oh, and by the way, all of those names I called Klein are the terms he prefers, I hear.

Until legacy media erases its mastheads of thoughtless tools like Klein, they are flat-out doomed.


Turns Out Bluto Really Did End Up In Congress: Keith Ellison Asserts That the Nazis Bombed Pearl Harbor

Yes, this is what passes for informed commentary among the intelligentsia of the Democrat Party. And these are the idiots who want to rule our health care, our access to energy, our automobiles, our light bulbs, our toilet paper, our factories, and every other aspect of our lives they can think of.

Bluto: Hey! What's this lying around s***?

Stork: Well, what the hell we s'posed to do, you moron?

D-Day: War's over, man. Wormer dropped the big one.

Bluto: Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!

Otter: Germans?

Boon: Forget it, he's rolling.

Bluto: And it ain't over now. 'Cause when the goin' gets tough... [pauses to remember the rest of the phrase] ...the tough get goin'! Who's with me? Let's go! [runs out, alone; then returns]

Bluto: What the f*** happened to the Delta I used to know? Where's the spirit? Where's the guts, huh? This could be the greatest night of our lives, but you're gonna let it be the worst! "Ooh, we're afraid to go with you Bluto, we might get in trouble." Well, just kiss my ass from now on! Not me! I'm not gonna take this! Wormer, he's a dead man! Marmalard, dead! Niedermeyer—

Otter: Dead! Bluto's right. Psychotic, but absolutely right. We gotta take these bastards. Now we could do it with conventional weapons, but that could take years and cost millions of lives. No, I think we have to go all out. I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody's part.

Bluto: And we're just the guys to do it.

D-Day: Let's do it.

So it turns out that Bluto really did end up in Congress!

Congressman Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) made some astonishingly ignorant statements during a discussion about the Iranian nuclear issue on Fox News's The O'Reilly Factor Tuesday... The pièce de résistance was him telling host Bill O'Reilly that the Nazis bombed Pearl Harbor...

CONGRESSMAN KEITH ELLISON (D-MINNESOTA): No, they [Iran] don’t have a weapon. They have not made a decision to do one. The inspections…

BILL O’REILLY, HOST: How would you know they have not made a decision to do one? How would you know that?

ELLISON: Because. I’m glad you asked. Because we have satellite technology. We have technology that can detect.

O’REILLY: They’re underground. The satellites can’t penetrate the earth. They’re underground.

ELLISON: We have inspections that have gone on.

O’REILLY: They won’t let the inspectors in as I’ve said three times.

ELLISON: Yes they have. There have been a number of inspections.

O’REILLY. No there haven’t. They went two weeks ago and they wouldn’t let them go in.

ELLISON: Well, Bill, I’m sorry, but I’m not going to back a war based on a maybe. 4,409 Americans are dead because somebody—

O’REILLY: Congressman, the reason we like you as a guest is because you’re an honest man, But I will point to history. I will point to history. The same mindset was taken when dealing with Nazi Germany. We’re not going to go in aggressive action. We don’t believe they’re going to do this. We don’t believe they’re going to do that. And they absolutely did everything. So I think you’ve got to learn from history.

ELLISON: Let me tell you in World War II, in World War II they attacked Pearl Harbor. That would be enough.

O’REILLY: No, this is the German theater not the Japanese.

I suggest that we start a Twitter meme -- hashtag #EllisonHistory -- to memorialize Bluto Ellison's brilliance.


Postscript: I haven't been over to Ace's place yet today, but I have the sinking feeling that he beat me to this precise post -- only about 75 times funnier.


Stunning Photos Released: Complete Wreckage Map of Titanic on Sea Floor

National Geographic is commemorating the 100th anniversary of the SS Titanic's fateful voyage with new images constructed using a "mosaic" of photographs that are stitched together digitally. The results are fairly spectacular.

On 10 April 1912, the largest and must luxurious liner in the world -- the SS Titanic -- departed Southampton, England on her maiden voyage to New York City.

Upon striking an iceberg, it sank rapidly, overwhelming the capacity of the lifeboats and costing 1,517 their lives.

The stern (top image) and bow (bottom) of the ship were separated during the catastrophic sinking. These images were constructed using "optical mosaics" of hundreds of high-resolution photographs, stitched together using sonar location data.

"This composite image, released by RMS Titanic Inc., and made from sonar and more than 100,000 photos taken in 2010 from by unmanned, underwater robots, shows a small portion of a comprehensive map of the 3-by-5-mile debris field surrounding the stern of the Titanic on the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean. The luxury passenger liner sank about 375 miles south of Newfoundland, Canada."

This is the bow on the ocean floor.

You can see the entire album here.


Magazine Cover o' the Day: Semper Fi!

Surely it can come as no surprise to the anti-American Left -- i.e., the Democrat Party -- that the U.S. military despises Barack Obama. After all, this is the president who promised to "fundamentally transform" America, and started by gutting NASA, all branches of the service, and our nuclear deterrent force.

Sgt. Gary Stein might be saying things about President Obama that a lot of Marines think, but some are saying he took it too far.

Stein has come under fire for stating on Facebook that he wouldn’t follow certain orders given by his commander in chief. And Marines say Stein’s not alone in his disapproval. More anti-Obama talk is being heard in the workplace and new Military Times poll data shows declining approval among military service members for the president’s job as commander in chief.

The Marine Corps depends its chain of command structure, especially in a time of war. Some Marines say Stein and other vocal Marines like him are undermining that system.

The full article requires a subscription, but suffice it to say this behavior is simply quid pro quo.

A president who has defied multiple court orders, operated outside the bounds of the Constitution on numerous occasions, and runs arguably the most lawless administration in history should know: what goes around comes around.


Hat tip: Wanda.

Larwyn's Linx: Joe Biden, a Sobering Reminder of Who Will Run Your Health Care

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

Nation

Joe Biden, a Sobering Reminder of Who Will Run Your Health Care: Sundries
Illinois abandons gun rights, empowers criminals: Events
Axelrod Jokes About Voting Early And Often In Illinois: RCP

Bloomberg blocks food to homeless for high salt, fat content: Hot Air
Abortion, Sonograms & The War On Women: Wolf Howling
Doctors Create New Ad: Obama Throws Granny Off the Cliff: GWP

Economy

It’s official: Obama increased the national debt more than Bush: Hayward
Tampa's tax fraud epidemic gets national scrutiny: TBO
Genius: State Dept. announces search for Amelia Earhart's plane: Fox

The Simple Problems Of Too Much US Debt: ZH
Obama-Endorsed Occupieres: "Only Blood of Rich Will Stop Occupy": GWP
Alan Grayson Beclowns Himself, Again: Ace

“ObamaCare” Sparks Rallies for Religious Freedom Nationwide: CFP
Obama's 6/100th of One Percent Solution: Power Line
A Look at Obama’s Budget Priorities: RS

2012 Elections

Obama Bundler Bails Over Israel Borders: Beacon
Romney’s Win In Illinois: Yet Another Reason To Root For A Brokered Convention: Hawkins
Illinois: More delegates for Romney but no end in sight: USA Today

Scandal Central

Obama’s Algae Racket: Malkin
Fast & Furious: New evidence that ATF deliberately armed drug cartels: Scoop
Issa Report Uncovers Fraud in DOE Loans: CFP

Climate & Energy

The Administration’s Anti-Energy Record: Chapter and Verse: Power Line
Salazar Lied About Oil Production on Federal Lands: NRO
Here's Steven Chu, Conservin' and Stuff: Ace

Media

MSNBC's Sharpton Sinkhole: NB
BREAKING [must credit protein wisdom]: Robert Deniro at fundraiser: “It’s too soon for a black first lady.”: ProWis
Paul Ryan talks about his plan to prosperity with Mark Levin: Scoop

Bret Baier Strikes Back At President's Alleged Claim Fox Says 'Obama Is a Muslim 24/7': NB
Hume rips Obama documentary: ‘Winners take responsibility. Losers blame others’: DC
Will this drive the Leftist Loons crazier than they already are?: AWD

Tom Hanks, Narrator of Obama Hagiography, Performed With Guy In B L A C K F A C E,at Fundraising Auction: Ace
Pointing At Conor Friedersdork And Laughing At Him: Riehl
Why Mainstream Media Ignores Conservative Bestsellers: Friedersdork

White House Admits Asking Media to Scrub Reports of Malia Obama's Mexican Vacation: NB
The story of Malia Obama’s Mexican vacation reveals double standards and a noodle-spined media: Bookworm
Beleaguered Rush advertiser: This is not a boycott, it’s an organized terrorist attack!: Scoop

World

Toulouse shootings: police arrest man and corner suspect in raid: Guardian
The Jawa Report: France: Horrifying Account of Murder Of 8yr old Jewish School Girl: Jawa
Toulouse no longer safe: JPost

World's Smartest Man Sends Daughter to Failed Narco-Terror State That Gets Hit by Earthquake: Fausta
Anatomy of a Slander: EU Official Compares Toulouse to Gaza: Commentary
Socialized Medicine Success Story 3,504,606: Low staffing levels in UK 'harms elderly care': BBC

Sci-Tech

Yes, Your New iPad Actually Runs 10 Degrees Hotter Than Your Old One: Insider
Job seekers getting asked for Facebook passwords: smh
Free Portfolio Advice, For Real: CNet

Cornucopia

"John Carter" Turning Into Costly Flop; With Mini-Review-- It's Pretty Good!: Ace
Controversial Painter Depicts Obama With Burning Constitution: CBS Washington
Potential Employers Now Have The Nerve To Ask For Applicants' Facebook Passwords: Consumerist

US Secret Service Says No Anti-Obama Rallies Allowed!: CFP
Man Successfully Flies With Custom-Built Bird Wings: Wired
Museum confirms still life it holds is by Van Gogh: Yahoo

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

QOTD: "A week ago I was talking with a Republican Congressman from Minnesota who described an encounter with President Obama, in which he tried to explain to Obama that FDA regulations are devastating the medical device industry, of which Minnesota is a major center. After the Congressman had explained the problem, Obama put his hand on his shoulder and said, “There isn’t really much I can do about that. The FDA is an independent agency, you know.”

The Congressman described this as an instance of Obama’s “cluelessness,” but I think he gave the president too much credit. Obama knew perfectly well what the consequences of staffing the federal alphabet-soup agencies with hard-line left-wingers would be. He tries, now, to distance himself from the terrible consequences of his own appointees’ actions, but he is fully responsible for them. The Obama administration has gone out of its way to make you poorer. Anyone who votes to re-elect the president deserves another four years of misery." --John Hinderaker

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Great news: Iran allied with Obama 'spiritual mentor' Jeremiah Wright to foment violence at radical Anti-Israel protest

Isn't it time legacy media vetted Obama -- or do they just want to wither and die, leaving real journalism up to the Army of Breitbarts? I'm wagering on the latter.

The Iranian regime is behind a global, anti-Israel protest movement that has attracted endorsements from former government officials and allies of President Barack Obama—including his longtime pastor and mentor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Billed as a purely peaceful protest movement, the Global March to Jerusalem (GMJ) is an amalgam of anti-Israel activists from across the world. On March 30, the group plans to storm Israel’s borders, likely provoking a bloody conflict.

The Global March adheres to a radical left-wing ideology that denies Jewish historical connections to Jerusalem. Organizers have vowed to “end the Apartheid, ethnic cleansing and Judaisation policies affecting the people, land, and sanctity of Jerusalem.”

At the center of the movement lies Iran, which has provided moral and logistical support to various anti-Israel proxy groups participating in the march, according to an Israeli intelligence group and other experts.

Iran’s ultimate goal, they say, is to foment global disdain for Israel, thus diverting attention away from its disputed nuclear program.

True to form, the usual cadre of Islamofascists, useful idiots, and progressive Democrat Marxists -- like Barack Obama's longtime friend and mentor, Jeremiah Wright -- will find a way to demonstrate their open hatred of America and Israel.


Related: Six Degrees of Barack Obama

Tweet o' the Day: It's the New Math

For the supposed party of "science and knowledge", Democrats sure seem to need a lot of remedial math help.

Back-story here.


The very definition of cool

Spotted at iOwnTheWorld:


In fact, there may be only one thing cooler than Spock leaning on a Riviera.

In your heart of hearts, you know what it is.

Kirk. With a green chick.

Checkmate.


4 Charts: "Ryan’s tax plan is a powerful antidote to Obamanomics"

The quote, from Investors Business Daily, summarizes the battle between good and evil, fiscal sanity and economic collapse, Paul Ryan vs. Barack Obama.

Faced with the economic failures of a Democratic president, Rep. Paul Ryan is, like Ronald Reagan, "raising a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors." Ryan's Rx for America: a jobs-generating tax code.

...He would cut the top marginal tax rate from its current 35% to 25%. (A second Obama term could mean a big tax increase, with the top rate going back up to Bill Clinton's 39.6%, as President George W. Bush's tax cuts expire next year.) ... Instead of the six brackets under our current punitive tax code, Ryan gives us just two: 25% and 10%.

And America's corporate tax — at 35% the highest rate in the world, with the exception of Sub-Saharan Africa's one-party socialist state of Cameroon — is cut to 25%, and it largely eliminates the taxation of U.S. companies' overseas profits.

Individuals and businesses would be taxed $2 trillion less over 10 years under Ryan's plan than under President Obama's budget, while the federal government would spend more than $5 trillion less.

Ryan also scraps something politicians have been promising to get rid of for years, but haven't: the infamous Alternative Minimum Tax. The AMT was passed over 40 years ago to punish a tiny handful of tax-sheltering "super rich," but — surprise, surprise — soon started slamming the middle-class.

...Ryan's tax reform would help bring America back to what it could, and should, be. It may just be the best weapon in the GOP arsenal.

Where is the Democrats' budget?

For more than 1,000 days -- a record period of time -- the Party of Economic Suicide has failed to produce one.

Where is Obama's budget?

He doesn't have one. He even rejected all of the recommendations from his own "Deficit Commission".

Instead, Obama's "solution" is to demonize various productive members of society, including energy companies, doctors, health insurers, small business owners (the so-called "rich"), and the like.

So you won't see any charts or graphs produced by Democrats. Because they know that we are on the road to fiscal collapse or, as the modern Marxist Democrat Party likes to call it, "fundamental transformation".


Shock: Stimulus dollars disproportionately sent to states controlled by... Democrats

And all this time, I'd believed that an inexperienced, unqualified community organizer -- controlled by the Chicago Democrat Machine -- would have been above reproach. My mistake.

According to a new report on President Obama’s stimulus package and its effect on the economy, the amount of stimulus money that went to each state was correlated with the number of Democrats in each state’s congressional delegation...

...[The study] also examines rates of unemployment, poverty, foreclosures and bankruptcies in the various states in late 2008 and early 2009. In all four cases, more grievous economic conditions were negatively correlated with the allocation of stimulus dollars. States with higher unemployment rates, for instance, tended to receive less stimulus money per capita.

The authors draw a damning conclusion: “It’s not the poor, it’s not foreclosures, it’s not bankruptcies, it’s how many Democrats are in your congressional delegation... That’s what a trillion dollars of spending was all about: crony corruption.”

[Others have also] documented the seemingly political use of taxpayer money by the Obama administration, most recently showing spikes in the awarding of federal grant money while Congress was considering major pieces of the president’s agenda.

If you liked him in Solyndra, Sun Power, Nevada Geothermal Power, SolarReserve, et. al., you'll love Obama's crooked Stimulus deals!


Related: Your Handy Dandy EnergyGate Cheat Sheet

Larwyn's Linx: Obamacare Is A Cancer That Must Go

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

Nation

Obamacare Is A Cancer That Must Go: Foundry
The Obama Way: Boker Tov Boulder
Surprise! Obama to Visit Keystone Pipeline Project: Malkin

Economy

Obamacare's Five Tax Increases That Most Hurt Seniors: ATR
White House won't mark two-year anniversary of Obamacare: Beacon
QOTD: Income inequality narrative killer edition: Q&O

Strong Majorities Say Obama Policies Crushing Them: WZ
TSA Screener Pats Down Toddler in Wheelchair With Hip Cast: Reason
20M May Lose Employer Health Insurance: INN

WI students in State Capitol chant “We’re with Walker”: LI
January 1, 2013 -- Financial Armageddon: Elephant
GOP Budget: Slash Taxes, Tax System, Scrap AMT: ZH

2012 Elections

Cry Baby Cry: More Obnoxious, Effeminate Self-Pity From Obama: Ace
Hill Poll Results Grim for Obama: Power Line
Santorum Sees a Much Closer Delegate Race: PolWire

Scandal Central

New documents: ATF had “Fast & Furious” prime suspect in custody in 2010 — and let him go: Hot Air
Stimulus Update: Clean Energy ‘Savings’ of the Day: Malkin
Gee, Wonder How This Will Go Over At The Trial?: Soylent Green (NSFW)

Climate & Energy

Production of Oil, Gas and Coal on Federal Lands Sinks to Nine-Year Lo: Foundry
President Obama to Visit an Oil Field!!: Dossier
Issa goes on epic Twitter rant against Energy Dept. claims: Twitchy

Media

AFP story on Obama daughter’s Mexico trip scrubbed from Internet: DC
What the Mailman Knows about Ayers and Obama: Cashill
For News Organizations, Tech Giants Loom Large: NatlJrnl

Why Is the Story About Malia Obama Vacationing in Mexico Disappearing from the Web?: Blaze
Breaking: AP gets its butt kicked by Twitter: Twitchy
Over-40 Male Sues LA News Stations, Alleging They Only Want Pretty Young (Unqualified) Girls: Ace

Rosie O’Donnell Treats The People Around Her Like Trash: Hawkins
Prager Schools Soledad Over Her Failed Critical Race Theory Segment: Breitbart
Malia in Mexico Despite Security Warning, Story Being Scrubbed: Breitbart

World

Israel: Iran nuke site soon immune to strike: CBS
Carmageddon: European New Car Sales Crash, Worst February in History: Mish
Gunmen ambush, kill 12 police officers in Mexico: AP

Michelle Tells Vets To Honor Iraq War Dead And Wounded By Campaigning For Barack: WZ
The Real Reason the NAACP Went to Geneva: Prager
Napolitano May Exempt Muslims From Airport Pat-Downs: JW (2010)

Sci-Tech

Why Your Office Needs a MakerBot Printer: BizWk
Apple: We Sold A 'Record' Number Of iPads This Weekend: Insider
Microsoft Said to Finish Windows 8 in Summer, With October Debut: Bloomberg

Cornucopia

Rutherford B. Hip: Paco
Top 20 tweets of #BarackObamasPresidentialFacts: Twitchy
2012 Consumer Reports' Worst Used Cars: ABC

Name of Jessica Simpson's Baby Leaked Online: Ace
‘Game Change’: A made-up narrative from two axe-grinders: Times
Top 10 Images That Were No Photoshopped: Looking Spoon

Image: 'Hunt for serial scooter killer who strikes at precise four-day intervals'
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Rick Santorum for President

QOTD: "He told them he was in contact with Mexican cartel members at the time, too. But he promised them — cross his heart and hope to die — that he would help them with their imbecilic gunrunning operation if they let him go. Which they did. And of course, they never heard from him again.

If that sounds insane to you, I’d gently suggest that perhaps you need a bit more brainwashing." --Allahpundit, "New documents: ATF had “Fast & Furious” prime suspect in custody in 2010 — and let him go"

Monday, March 19, 2012

Oops: Rogue Federal Agency Reveals Production of Fossil Fuels on Federal Lands Is... At a 9-Year Low

Barack Obama's ludicrous energy fabrications hardest hit.

Last fall the U.S. government’s Energy Information Administration reported a 40 percent decline in oil and natural gas production on federal lands compared to 10 years ago.

The White House and a prominent liberal in Congress protested. They said EIA, a trusted source for reliable energy information, was wrong. They complained that EIA hadn’t accounted for all data from the Department of Interior.

EIA released an updated analysis last week. And while the number isn’t as drastic as originally reported, EIA confirmed the Obama administration is overseeing a sharp decline in fossil fuel production (coal, oil, and natural gas) on federal lands, which recently hit its lowest point in nine years...

[Contrary to President Obama's claims, t]he administration, meanwhile, has also taken several steps to limit production. Heritage’s Nick Loris noted these four steps taken by the Obama administration:
  • Withdrew areas offered for 77 oil and gas leases in Utah that could cost American taxpayers millions in lost lease bids, production royalties, new jobs and the energy needed to offset rising imports of oil and natural gas.
  • Cancelled lease sales in the Western Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic coast and delayed exploration off the coast of Alaska and kept other resource-rich areas off-limits.
  • Finalized rules, first announced by Secretary Salazar on January 6, 2010, to establish more government hurdles to onshore oil and natural gas production on federal lands.
  • Withdrew 61 oil and natural gas leases in Montana as part of a lawsuit settlement over climate change.
“The big picture is clear that government policies undertaken by the Obama administration have produced a significant decline in offshore oil production on federal lands in fiscal year 2011,” the Institute for Energy Research said in response to last week’s updated EIA analysis. “That is certainly not a way to increase domestic production of oil and keep oil and thus gasoline prices in check."

Report after report after report illustrate two immutable facts: (a) the United States has the richest set of energy resources on the planet; and (b) President Obama is lying about virtually every aspect of his "energy policy" to try to salvage his reelection bid.


Related: Diagramming President Obama's Oil Lies

Another Judicious Use of Taxpayer Funds: Obama Administration Spent $1 Billion On Propaganda in 2010

Just when you think that waste in government can't get any worse, you get a nice thwack in the forehead with a report like this:

Report: US government spent at least $945M on advertising in 2010


Federal agencies spent at least $945 million on contracts for advertising services in fiscal year 2010, and that sum doesn't include all public communications expenditures in the agencies reviewed or even all of the executive branch, a congressional report out last week shows.

Congressional Research Service reported that the calculation was incomplete since the total sum may never be fully known.

...The report says that advertising serves many purposes, including informing the public of its rights and entitlements; telling the public of the agency's activities; inviting public comment on proposed rules; warning the public of perils; and discouraging harmful or dangerous behaviors...

...Congress has criticized government spending on advertising on two recent occasions, [including] in August 2010, when House Republicans on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee faulted seven agencies for engaging in propaganda to promote the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Yes, it's of the utmost importance to advertise non-stop to the American people to ensure as many as possible become dependent on government before the 2012 elections.


Russia Hits Reset on the Arab Spring: Sends Troops Into Syria -- ABC

Dan from NY:

This is starting to get interesting. The way Obama is playing his hand, all the bad actors – Russia, Syria, Iran, the Islamists and Turkey - stand to gain influence in the region at America’s expense. Let’s hope our people (and the Republican candidates) come to realize before the election that it’s more than just the economy, stupid, it’s our deteriorating position in the world.

ABC News, 19 March 2012

Russian Anti-Terror Troops Arrive in Syria


MOSCOW, Russia - A Russian military unit has arrived in Syria, according to Russian news reports, a development that a United Nations Security Council source told ABC News was "a bomb" certain to have serious repercussions.

Russia, one of President Bashar al-Assad's strongest allies despite international condemnation of the government's violent crackdown on the country's uprising, has repeatedly blocked the United Nations Security Council's attempts to halt the violence, accusing the U.S. and its allies of trying to start another war.

Now the Russian Black Sea fleet's Iman tanker has arrived in the Syrian port of Tartus on the Mediterranean Sea with an anti-terror squad from the Russian Marines aboard according to the Interfax news agency. The Assad government has insisted it is fighting a terrorist insurgency... The presence of Russian troops in Syria could be a "pretty obvious" show of support to the regime, according to Russian security expert Mark Galeotti.

...Moscow has long enjoyed a cozy relationship with the Assad regime, to which it sells billions of dollars of weapons. In return Russia has maintained a Navy base at Tartus, which gives it access to the Mediterranean.

...Russia's Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov denied reports that Russian special forces were operating inside Syria. He did say, however, that there are Russian military and technical advisors in the country.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said the U.S. government had not heard of the reports of Russian troops in Syria and declined to comment.

Everything the Obama administration touches turns to crap. From the "Stimulus", to health care, energy, the Middle East, you name it. As Mark Levin aptly puts it, "Obama is a human wrecking-ball." And I see no evidence to the contrary.


Hat tip: Dan from NY.

Breaking: Pelosi Slams President For High Gas Prices

Well, it's breaking news in the sense that the Associated Press considers it timely.

Remember these golden oldies?

Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton and Debbie Wasserman Schultz attacked George W. Bush for high gas prices back in 2008. Now Obama and democrats are complaining that Republicans are politicizing gas prices...

...Even back in 2006 Democrats were politicizing gas prices and the economy when gas was $3 dollar a gallon and the unemployment rate was 5%... The New York Times reported...

Democrats running for Congress are moving quickly to use the most recent surge in oil and gasoline prices to bash Republicans over energy policy, and more broadly, the direction of the country.

With oil prices hitting a high this week and prices at the pump topping $3 a gallon in many places, Amy Klobuchar, a Democratic Senate candidate in Minnesota, is making the issue the centerpiece of her campaign. Ms. Klobuchar says it "is one of the first things people bring up" at her campaign stops.

To varying degrees, Democrats around the country are following a similar script that touches on economic anxiety and populist resentment against oil companies. "It's a metaphor for an economy that keeps biting people despite overall good numbers," said Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Mr. Schumer said Democratic candidates in 10 of the 34 Senate races this year had scheduled campaign events this week focusing on gasoline prices.


Of course, now that gas prices are at an all-time, seasonally-adjusted high, any cries for expanded drilling, exploration and refining are met with the sputtering Democrat-Marxist-Flat-Earth-No-Growth-Eco-Statist response: "Don't politicize gas prices!"

If Democrats weren't in power, they'd be useful only as comic relief, preferably in a reality show sandwiched between Hoarders and Snapped.


Europe: Brace for Impact

Q: How's that austerity thingamabob working out in Europe?

A: It was only the "worst February for new car sales in Europe since the turn of the century."

Now, it is beginning to hurt: The European new car market crashed in February. According to data released by the European manufacturers’ association ACEA, new car sales were down 9.7 percent in February. Two months into the year, car sales in the EU are down 8.3 percent from the same period a year earlier.

...The harmless looking percentages hide the fact that this February was the worst of the millennium. Only 888,878 units changed hands in the EU27 in February, the lowest level since comparing months made sense (going back further is futile, the EU was much smaller then…) Even during carmageddon, European had not seen a February as bad as this one...

Hey, I've got an idea! Let's mimic the failed European social Democrat welfare state model like Paul Krugman says! I'll bet that'll work out super!


Hat tips: Mish and BadBlue.

Larwyn's Linx: Progressivism and the authoritarian impulse

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

Nation

Progressivism and the authoritarian impulse: ProWis
Holder in '95: We Must "Brainwash People" to Control Guns: Breit
Biden Booed at Pittsburg St. Patrick’s Parade: ConCom

ObamaCare: Twice as expensive, and getting worse: Hayward
Surprise: Health Care Wasn't Broken: AEI
2001: Eric Holder used 9/11 to argue for more gun control: Scoop

Economy

Big Labor's Big Bucks: WS
Cheap Money, Expensive Gas: Events
WI: 29 sitting judges signed 'Recall Scott Walker' petition: CapPrev

Causes of the Crisis: Samuelson
Smartest President Ever Not So Hot at Negotiation: Instapundit
Will Apple Announce "The Dividend" Tomorrow?: ZH

2012 Elections

If the Presidential Election Were Held Today...: Mead
The Romney Fiscal Record: the 800 lb. gorilla: RWN
Romney wins in Puerto Rico while focused on Illinois: Fox

Scandal Central

Gun-tracking operation caught top suspect, then let him go: LAT
Fast and Furious scandal update shows whistleblower risks: Examiner
Another F&F ‘doc dump’ as interest renewed in probe: Examiner

Climate & Energy

Flashback to 2009: Administration Policies Sought to Discourage ‘Overproduction’ of Oil: RS
Gosh, Wally, I guess President Obama was serious about shutting down the coal industry: Paco
Obama continues faux class warfare attack on Oil Industry tax breaks: CapPrev

Media

‘Intellectual Bankruptcy’, Dr. Krugman?: RS
Rush move to Twitter has boycott organizers worried: LI
NYT confirms Islam a violent religion, runs anti-Catholic ad but won’t run identical anti-Islam ad: Creeping

Humor-Deficient Charles Johnson Sides With #Occupy Movement vs. NYPD: RSM
NPR's anti-Apple activist lied about working conditions: Breitbart
The Killing Of Trayvon Martin Is Not A ‘Black Problem’: Mediaite

This was not the first time Soledad O’Brien tried to rewrite history : Flopping Aces
Alexandra Pelosi "is declining to understand the critique": Althouse
Staffers Say Working With Liberal Hero Rosie O’Donnell a “F***ing Hellhole”: WZ

World

Obama Preps for a ‘Non-Emergency’ Named Iran: NoisyRm
Money, career woes reportedly plagued Afghan killings suspect: Fox
Egypt, Hamas spar over Gaza electricity crisis: JPost

Iran's War in Gaza: ForPol
Four Shot Dead Outside Jewish School in France: BBC
Syrian Rebels Detonate Deadly Car Bomb For Second Day In a Row: WZ

The Best Quotes From David Horowitz’s “Left Illusions”: Hawkins
Mexican cartel says no violence during papal visit: Fox
Cuba detains 70 Ladies in White ahead of pope visit: Reuters

Sci-Tech

Report: Tablets helping improve news consumption: CNS
Building Blocks: Awesome Lego Science Models: Wired
Here’s What Happens When Our Nation’s Capital Is Nuked: Gizmodo

Cornucopia

This Is Your Life, Barack Obama: Granny Jan
Chinese farmer gets 13 years for Forbidden City theft: Reuters
We Are Sooo Wearin’ O’ the Green: MOTUS

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

QOTD: "The facts are pretty simple. As a matter of both science and reality, battery technology is neither good enough nor cheap enough to supply American needs relating to transportation. Even were there batteries available for vehicles, the cost of conversion for the tens of millions of cars on the road right now would be cost prohibitive and increasing fuel standards, resulting in smaller and smaller cars, penalize families. Try piling a family of four in a Prius for a trip to grand mom’s house for Spring Break. The luggage and leg room will make for an exciting time.

Even beyond the family car, a battery will not put an 18 wheeler on the road, a 747 in the air, or a locomotive on its rails. Americans depend on crude oil right now and in the future. To cling to the hope of a battery that can meet American automotive needs is anti-science and as realistic as fueling our future with unicorn farts. See Charles Lane at the Washington Post for more on the President’s crusade against science.

This President’s policies have done everything possible to drive up the price of crude oil in hopes that some mythical unicorn fart, solar panel, or battery will come online quickly enough to meet American needs. It is not happening. Going back to May of 2009, the President insisted on discouraging the “overproduction of oil” as potentially damaging to our national security. If only we had a President who understood supply and demand."--Erick Erickson

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Surprising Shortage of Gullible Rubes: Obama Fundraising Turns Out To Be Far More Difficult Than Anticipated

Finding buckets of big money from Forrest Gump-level intellects appears much harder than predicted for the ill-fated Obama regime.

The Washington Post notes President Obama trails Republican front-runner Mitt Romney "in finding donors willing to give $2,000 or more -- a surprising development for a sitting president, and one that could signal more worrisome financial problems heading into the general election. At this point in the last election cycle, Obama had received such large donations from more than 23,000 supporters, nearly double the 11,000 who have given him that much this time. President George W. Bush had more than four times the number of big donations at this point in his reelection."

"Republicans and Democrats alike thought that Obama would have a big financial advantage over Republicans this fall given his record-breaking 2008 fundraising and his status as the sitting president. But the trend of slackening big-donor support is the latest in a series of indications that the 2012 money battle is going to be much tighter than once imagined."

It's not just the big-money donors. The same problems extend to the rabble.

Last July, President Obama's campaign announced that it had raised an average of $29 million in each of the previous three months for itself and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). I was only mildly impressed. After all, that was well below the $50 million a month needed to reach the campaign's goal of a $1 billion war chest for the 2012 race... Seven months later, I'm even less impressed. Through January, the president has raised an average of $24 million a month for his campaign and the DNC...

...many of Mr. Obama's 2008 donors are reluctant to give again. The Obama campaign itself reported that fewer than 7% of 2008 donors renewed their support in the first quarter of his re-election campaign. That's about one-quarter to one-third of a typical renewal rate: In the first quarter of the Bush re-election campaign, for example, about 20% of the donors renewed their support.

There are other troubling signs. Team Obama's email appeals don't ask for $10, $15, $25 or $50 donations as they did in 2008, but generally for $3. Nor are the appeals mostly about issues; many are lotteries. Give three bucks and your name will be put in a drawing for a private dinner with the president and first lady... it suggests the campaign has found that only a low price point with a big benefit can overcome donor resistance...

...This perhaps explains why the White House told congressional Democrats last week not to expect a single dime for their campaign efforts from the Democratic National Committee this year. All the DNC's funds will be needed for the president's re-election.

His campaign's financial situation also may explain why Mr. Obama has embraced Super PACs after decrying them as a "threat to democracy" in the midterm elections...

In related news, the number of Obama's 2008 donors who remain unaffected by the SCOAMF's disastrous policies continues to plummet.


Images: iOwnTheWorld.

A brief, illustrated missive on those Can-Am Spyder Ads

If you've been watching the NCAA Tournament, even for just a few minutes, you've no doubt seen the ads for the Can-Am Spyder. This is the three-wheeled (don't call it a tricycle!) version of the venerable sportbike, presumably built for the suburbanite with an attitude. Thought not quite enough attitude to ride a real sportbike.

But the funniest part of the ads is the fawning reassurance factor, apparently revealed by careful focus-group testing. That is, the secret fear of every Can-Am buyer is: "Will Real Bikers™ Laugh At Me"?

The first attempt to assuage these concerns in the ads is this drive-by acknowledgement by real bikers. Like, don't worry, dude -- you're still cool even though you're driving a trike.

Just to reinforce the notion that Can Am drivers aren't nerds is this scene, like something out of Roadhouse. This is where the hard-assed, grizzled biker inspects the Can Am and then nods approvingly. When, as we all know, he'd be laughing his ass off, pointing, and slapping his knee.

Methinks the marketers overdid the message. Be happy in your geekiness. Revel in it. Don't fight it. Hey, it works for me!