Friday, April 06, 2012

And now: a word from our sponsor, Skyrocket Gasoline


Hat tip: Son of Soylent Green (NSFW).


Ignore the Government's Propaganda: The Real Unemployment Rate Is 10.9%

The American Enterprise Institute's James Pethokoukis uses the tools that legacy media won't bother with in their effort to regurgitate government propaganda. Which is to say: he uses arithmetic, logic, history and common sense.

Recall that back in 2009, White House economists Jared Bernstein and Christina Romer used their old-fashioned Keynesian model to predict how the $800 billion stimulus would affect employment. According to their model—as displayed in the above chart, updated—unemployment should be around 5.8% today.

But the true measure of U.S. unemployment is far worse:

1. If the size of the U.S. labor force as a share of the total population was the same as it was when Barack Obama took office—65.7% then vs. 63.8% today down from last month—the U-3 unemployment rate would be 10.9%.


2. But what if you take into the account the aging of the Baby Boomers, which means the labor force participation (LFP) rate should be trending lower. Indeed, it has been doing just that since 2000. Before the Great Recession, the Congressional Budget Office predicted what the LFP would be in 2012, assuming such demographic changes. Using that number, the real unemployment rate would be 10.5%.

3. Of course, the LFP rate usually falls during recessions. Yet even if you discount for that and the aging issue, the real unemployment rate would be 9.4%.

4. Then there’s the broader, U-6 measure of unemployment which includes the discouraged plus part-timers who wish they had full time work. That unemployment rate, perhaps the truest measure of the labor market’s health, is still a sky-high 14.5%.

5. The employment-population ratio dipped to 58.5% vs. 61% in December 2008. An historically low level of the U.S. population is actually working.


6. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or longer) account for 42.5% of the unemployment. That number is basically stuck. It was the same, for instance, in August 2010 and last December.

As Tyler Durden noted a few days ago, governmental entities like the Bureau of Labor Statistics are about as trustworthy as a slip-and-fall lawyer who's hooked on crack.


There's not a white America or a black America... there's only an America where Republicans want to poison kids

Is there any rhetorical device to which this president won't resort to retain his white-knuckled grip on the reins of power? His latest -- divisive and dangerous -- claims: Republicans want to poison children.

President Obama suggested this evening that the Republican governing agenda will lead to "poisoning our kids" with pollution.

"I believe that it is part of our solemn responsibility to future generations that we look after this planet; that we make sure our air is clean and our water is clean; that we’re not poisoning our kids," Obama said at a campaign fundraiser tonight. That credo came as he explained that "the contrast between visions in this election could not be more stark, because I believe that America is stronger when we’re looking for one another."

Obama's line evokes his Associated Press speech this week, when he said Republicans believe that if the government "let businesses pollute more and treat workers and consumers with impunity, that somehow we’d all be better off."
This kind of rhetoric is the sort of thing that you'd typically hear from Venezuela's Hugo Chavez or Cuba's Fidel Castro. That we hear it from an American president is indicative of how far the once-mighty Democrat Party has fallen.

There are no moderate Democrats left. There are only Marxists.

New Ambulance Design Spotted in Texas

From (who else?) Papa B:


Trayvon Martin? Perhaps Obama Could Explain Kesler Dufrene

The Washington Free Beacon calls Kevin Dufrene "Obama's Willie Horton." That's because Obama blocked the deportation of this illegal alien and convicted burglar. Said non-deportation then resulted in the utterly predictable murder of a 15-year old girl.

President Obama commented on the controversial killing of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin in a widely noticed Mar. 23 press availability.

The president has yet to comment, however, on another shooting victim whose death is connected to an administration immigration policy and may pose problems for his reelection campaign.

On Jan. 2, 2011, Kesler Dufrene is alleged by local police to have shot and killed 15-year-old Ashley Chow in Miami... Dufrene, a 23-year-old illegal immigrant from Haiti, was convicted on burglary charges in 2006.

Already on probation for stealing a car, he pled guilty and was sentenced to five years in prison... The Miami Herald reported that in August 2007 a U.S. immigration judge ordered Dufrene to be deported to Haiti when his sentence was up.

However, the Obama administration halted deportations to Haiti following that nation’s devastating 2010 earthquake...

Dufrene was released in October of that year, three months prior to the January 2011 shooting that killed Chow and two others... Immigration authorities did not have to release Dufrene, despite the administration’s order to stop deportations to Haiti. In 2001, and again in 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that illegal immigrants unable to be deported could still be detained for up to six months.

Hey, Romney advisers (notice that I was polite and didn't say, "Hey, schmucks!"): maybe you could make an ad out of this all-too-typical result of Obama's disastrous open borders policy.


Larwyn's Linx: I Cannot Stand Him

Send us news tips. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget. Get real-time news, 24/7, at BadBlue.

Nation

I Cannot Stand Him: RightTruths
What Happened to Black Pride?: Jackson
Muslim Brotherhood In Our White House: NoisyRm

DOJ, liberal groups opposing voter ID require photo ID: Hot Air
Striking Down Obamacare: Obama Has It Backward: DLim
Is Obama 'Dangerously Close To Totalitarianism'?: IBD

Economy

Beware the Taxmageddon: Foundry
Congressman questions Labor Department propaganda: Beacon
March Top 10 sellers: Altima surprises, Prius soars: USA Today

Obama Misquotes Bible on Wealth Redistribution: AT
Obama energy policy: very few of the above: RWN
36 Obama aides owe $833,000 in back taxes: IBD

Scandal Central

An Update On The EPA’s Den Of Thieves: Wizbang
Fed Audit Confirms Govt. Corruption In Solyndra Deal: JW
He's At It Again: DayByDay

2012 Elections

Obama Reelection Strategy: Voter Fraud: MB
Santorum’s campaign releases their delegate count: Romney 571, Santorum 342: Scoop
Rubio Working on GOP Version of DREAM Act: CNS

Climate & Energy

Obama’s War On Coal Finally Dawns On Union Boss: “Our people’s jobs are on the line.”: LUR
How Reagan Cut Oil Prices And Why It Won't Happen Now: IBD
Obama Regulations Hand a Mining Monopoly to China – And Americans Suffer: GWP

Media

Romney slams new media at liberal journo event; conservative new media slams back: Twitchy
CBS reporter to Carney: President ‘made a mistake and you can’t admit it’: Beacon
Identity Theft: Another Tool for the Politics of Personal Destruction from the “Tolerant” Left: Zilla

Time Magazine's Disgusting, Condescending, Racist Interview With Nikki Haley: Glob
Conservatives take over Obama’s latest hashtag: Twitchy
Most Secretive, Least Vetted President In History Demands To Know, “What’s Romney Hiding?”: WZ

Former entitlement lib tells Rush Limbaugh that he saved her life: Scoop
Understanding the Slave Mentality: Alt Market
Huffington Post Promotes ‘Queer Christ’: MRC

Leftist Utopianism: ProWis
Guaranteed Not to Be Aired by the “Mainstream” Media: MB
Palin Bests Couric In Morning Show Ratings: 4029

World

Obama welcomes Muslim Brotherhood in the White House: Creeping
Concerns Endure over President Obama’s “Flexibility” Comments: Foundry
Rocket fired from Egypt hits Israeli city of Eilat: BBC

Brother of Ohio Soldier: 'We Are a Nation at War': ABC
Carney on Engagement: We’ll Judge Muslim Brotherhood by Actions, Not ‘Religious Affiliation’: Tatler
Tsunami 'ghost ship' sinks after US coastguard opens fire: Guardian

Sci-Tech

'Rude awakening' for Mac users: serious Mac flaw needs urgent fix: smh
First Google Android Bootkit Found: Dark Reading
Researchers Release New Exploits to Hijack Critical Infrastructure: Wired

Cornucopia

You Look Mahvelous, Dahling!: MOTUS
Audio: Saints’ defensive coordinator apparently targets 49ers for injuries in pre-game speech: Hot Air
Marine lawyers urge that sergeant be booted over Obama comments: LAT

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

QOTD: "I am NOT ON FACEBOOK. I am NOT ON FACEBOOK. I am NOT ON FACEBOOK. I am NOT ON FACEBOOK. I am NOT ON FACEBOOK. I am NOT ON FACEBOOK. I am NOT ON FACEBOOK. I am NOT ON FACEBOOK. I am NOT ON FACEBOOK. I am NOT ON FACEBOOK.

That is someone impersonating me. You just "friended" heaven-only-knows-who. CREEPY. Why are you even doing that Facebook crap? It cracks me up that people email me all of these stories about government surveillance and then are on Facebook all day every day, posting verbal and visual records of their entire lives. Uh, hello? Facebook is a giant self-service surveillance net." --Ann Barnhardt

Thursday, April 05, 2012

Obama's Got a Gun

Sad Hill News:


Obama says, ‘There is going to be a tug-of-war within the US between those who see globalization as a threat, and those who accept it’...

Yes, there is.

Among all the factors pushing up prices at the gas pump, the weakness of the U.S. dollar is one of the most important and least discussed. Ultimately, supply and demand set the price of oil, gasoline and all other sources of energy. But the fact that oil is priced globally in dollars also has consequences for American consumers.

When the dollar buys less, Americans pay more for oil. And right now the dollar is weak, its buying power diluted by easy money and huge budget deficits...

[Oil] plunged in the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan and the Federal Reserve under Paul Volcker moved aggressively to tamp down inflation and restore confidence in the dollar. The effort succeeded.

In some ways the world oil market has changed little since then. The Mideast is still the center of the action, and Iran is still the threat at center stage. But it's a different world for the dollar. Budget deficits under Barack Obama dwarf those under Ronald Reagan (and red ink back then broke peacetime records).

The Fed under Ben Bernanke has flooded markets with liquidity every bit as aggressively as Volcker's Fed worked to tighten. Though a weak-dollar policy is not official, it is widely recognized as a fact. Reversing that policy is possible, but it would take commitment and courage that we don't see from the government today.

It's not courage. It's ideology. Call it Obama's Cloward-Piven Energy Policy.



Headline o' the Day Award

Via Business Insider:

'Blake Griffin Dunked On Pau Gasol's Entire Family Tree...Twice!'


There is nothing to say here except "Pau, look out!"


I think the technical term is "double posterization".



Sign o' the Times [Papa B]

Papa B:

Texas Tan Line



Beautiful: Four Weeks of Government Unemployment Propaganda, As Regurgitated by Legacy Media

Annual budget of the fat, bloated and utterly useless Department of Labor: $14,000,000,000.00 ($14 billion)

Annual budget of the fat, bloated and utterly useless Bureau of Labor Statistics: $1,800,000,000.00 ($1.8 billion)

Tyler Durden deconstructing the Bureau of Labor Statistics' laughable propaganda: priceless!

For everyone who wants to see a simple yet explicit example of how the BLS' relentless propaganda courtesy of perpetual prior "adjustments" trickles down in terms of media propaganda, here it is.



All of this would be great... if only the March 15th original number of 351,000 wasn't lower than the April 5th pre-revision number of 357,000, and which next week will be revised to 361,000!

In other words, the BLS continues to revise prior numbers -- after the fact -- to disguise the ongoing Obama Recession.

On 3/15, 351,000 unemployment claims represented a four-year low
On 3/22, 348,000 also was a four-year low
On 3/29, 359,000 also was a four-year low
On 4/05, 357,000 also was a four-year low

Only in the mind of a propagandist does that math make sense.

Ain't our media great?



Larwyn's Linx: Barack Obama, Constitutional Ignoramus

Send us news tips. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget. Get real-time news, 24/7, at BadBlue.

Nation

Barack Obama, Constitutional Ignoramus: Power Line
Barack Obama vs. Anthony Kennedy?: WS
To Save ObamaCare, Obama Does Full Court Press: IBD

Youths Screaming This Is For Trayvon Beat 78 Year-Old: GWP
This Week Obama Jumped the Shark: Commentary
Obama Says Thinking About Resurrection of Jesus Helps Him: JWF

Economy

‘The president is clearly, indisputably wrong’: Peth
Are the bailed-out car companies profitable? No. Here's Why.: Peth
Students angry over pricey courses pepper-sprayed: MyWay

Coca Cola Caves to the Democrats: Blogmocracy
Department of Labor Propaganda: Beacon
Dem spends $29K in taxpayer funds for better Tweets: Beacon

Does Obama's critique of Ryan's budget sound familiar?: Malkin
The Second Foreclosure Tsunami Is Coming: ZH
It Turns Out Warren Buffett Is A Master Of Avoiding Taxes: Insider

2012 Elections

Mark Levin and the Omens of Doom: RSM
The Obama Campaign's Big Blunder: AT
Santorum Taking Four-Day Break from Campaign Trail: MyFoxDC

Scandal Central

DOE Rushed Treasury on Solyndra to Accommodate Press Release: Foundry
Obama's Willie Horton: Beacon
Paul Ryan's Hunger Games: WSJ

Climate & Energy

Subpoenaed: GOP wants to know why Obama administration misled Americans on drilling ban: Hot Air
How A Dumb Law Blocks A Great Way To Fuel America: Forbes
Mine union boss: Coal industry could suffer same fate as bin Laden: Hill

Media

CNN: Unemployment Can’t Go Much Lower: S&L
Unreal. Obama Instructs Lapdog Media On How to Report His Positions: GWP
Why Bother, Comrade?: Camp o' the Saints

Does Harry Reid have the courage to boycott MSNBC over Lawrence O’Donnell’s bigotry?: Moe Lane
Pinterest Comment Of The Day, Presumably From North Korea: Hawkins
Jeffrey Toobin: The Fifth Circuit threw a “hissyfit” in asking the DOJ for a letter on judicial review: Hot Air

The 15 Best Websites To Read For Conservative Columnists: Hawkins
The Big Lie: Dollard
Judge Napolitano: I Think the President Is Dangerously Close to Totalitarianism: GWP

Doughy, Has-Been Spinster Maureen Dowd Attacks Supreme Court: NB
If Romney loses to Obama, it will be because of his supporters not his opponents: LI
Obligatory: Don’t hate her because she’s beautiful: Hawkins

World

Report: Two More “Accidental” Explosions at Iran Nuke Sites: Radical
US/China Relations Getting Ugly: Instapundit
With Leaks, Obama's Last Excuse on Israel Gone: Pollak

Sci-Tech

Oracle Rejects Google's Settlement Offer, Aims for Android Ban in Trial: DailyTech
You don’t want Google’s Project Glass: Slashgear
Driving Inside the Soviets’ Secret Submarine Lair: Wired

Cornucopia

Exposing the Obama-Soetoro deception: CFP
Maryland's Mega Millions mystery: 'Winner' in hiding, co-workers in limbo: Fox
In wake of scandal, power struggle spread from Penn State campus to state capital: ESPN

Image: iOwnTheWorld
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: BadBlue.com - Real-Time News

QOTD: "The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence." --John Adams

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

More anti-Obama street art spotted

It started last year and included a sticky note campaign.


I have a strong feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of this over the next few months.


'It's on, cuz we don't have to worry about re-election'

Gee, this doesn't send shivers up my spine:

President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign website has removed several videos that pitched alarmist messages to African-American voters, following reporting by The Daily Caller and the Fox News Channel.

In one video that the campaign yanked from the “African-Americans for Obama” section of its website Tuesday, actress Tatyana Ali seemed to predict that a second Obama term would bring a host of benefits to African-Americans once the president no longer had to concern himself with campaigning.

“What really excites me … is that a U.S. president has only two terms,” a laughing Ali said in the footage that the Obama campaign scrubbed from its website Tuesday. “In the second term, ‘it’s on,’ because we don’t have to worry about re-election.”

...The video series, titled “Leading Women Defined,” focuses on African-American women, including Valerie Jarrett, Obama’s longtime aide and a former Chicago government official. It was produced by Black Entertainment Television and is still available on that that network’s website.

“We’re encouraging people to come out and vote to, as we say, vote like your life depended on it,” BET CEO Debra Lee said in one of the videos...

The BET videos include a raft of black-targeted messaging, including a reminder that Obama has delivered $1 billion dollars to historically black colleges and universities and $3 billion in contracts and loans to African-Americans entrepreneurs...

"In the second term, ‘it’s on,’ because we don’t have to worry about re-election"?

What's on?

Oh. That's right. More race-baiting. More deficit-spending. More unemployment. More class warfare. More trickle-up failure. More crony capitalism. More lawlessness. More socialism.

More "fundamental transformation".

Got it.


Here's the one chart you can show to any liberal propagandist who claims GM paid off its debt to taxpayers

When the president or any other propagandist tries to claim that GM and Chrysler have made the American taxpayer whole, wave this in their face.

In a February 28 speech, President Obama referred to this expenditure of $80 billion as a bet on the American worker, and added: “Now, three years later . . . that bet is paying off, not just paying off for you, it’s paying off for America.” His implication that the bailout is succeeding-that it will not ultimately be a loss for taxpayers-is a constant theme of Democrats.


The [accompanying] chart, drawn from information released by the Treasury, shows the current status of the financial assistance that the automotive industry has received through TARP. Out of the total $80 billion that has been paid out, only $35 billion has been repaid, some $7 billion has been written off, and $37 billion is still outstanding. That is, 9 percent of the original amount has already been lost, and close to half is still in limbo.

The latest Congressional Budget Office report estimates that the total cost of the bailout will end up being $20 billion. The biggest culprit will be GM, since the Treasury has no remaining investment in Chrysler, having sold its shares in July 2011.

The automakers may be profitable now, but only because we are not counting the taxpayer losses against the profits. If the president continues to avoid this simple math, perhaps someone should ask him why he didn’t shower billions on every industry and create millions more jobs.

Repeat:

Close to 10 percent of the "investment" has already been irretrievably lost. And it's questionable we'll ever see the other half of the money.



Good News: Your Tax Dollars Going to Lionize Race-Baiters

I wonder if they have these posters in Hymietown?

‘Take to the streets’: Obama Labor Dept. glorifies Sharpton, Jackson in protest-preaching poster

President Barack Obama’s labor secretary, Hilda Solis, has authorized new posters in elevators throughout the Department of Labor’s Washington, D.C. headquarters building. The posters feature a photo of her marching in protest alongside the Rev. Jesse Jackson and MSNBC television host Rev. Al Sharpton, among others.

The photo depicts Solis acting as an emissary of the Obama administration protesting against Alabama’s strict new law combating illegal immigration. Solis has her arms locked with Sharpton, and Jackson is a few feet away. The poster also carries a message for federal government employees — who are traditionally expected to be apolitical in the performance of their duties.


“Whether we take to the streets or simply do our work with integrity and commitment here at the U.S. Department of Labor,” the poster reads, above Solis’ signature, “We are all marching toward the same goals: safer workplaces, fair pay, dignity on the job, secure retirement and opportunities to make a better life. I believe in the power of collective action.”

A Labor Department spokeswoman did not respond to The Daily Caller’s request for comment on whether Solis is encouraging federal workers to use their positions to promote a political agenda. Even so, an official sign describing the posters’ purpose indicates that may be the case.

...Americans for Limited Government communications director Rick Manning led the Department of Labor’s public affairs department during the George W. Bush administration. He told TheDC that Solis appears to be more interesting in politicking than actually enforcing laws... “This administration seems to be more interested in using public resources to promote extra-legal social change through propagandizing the federal workforce rather than simply enforcing the laws passed by Congress..."

If you're looking to confirm the president's affinity for race-baiting kooks, please note that Sharpton was also just invited to a White House breakfast.


Hat tips: Pat Dollard and BadBlue.

Controversial Poster o' the Day: Pro-Choice


Larwyn's Linx: Obama campaign website yanks BET videos

Send us news tips. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget. Get real-time news, 24/7, at BadBlue.

Nation

Obama campaign website yanks BET videos: DC
Judidical activism for me, but not for thee: Betsy
President Shows Off His Scholarity: Sundries

A Highly Developed Talent of President Barack Obama: Sowell
President Obama, Are You Serious? Are You Serious?!: Alexa
Obama Demands SCOTUS become His Rubber Stamp: NoisyRm

To The Race-Baiters: Now You Have Problems: Denninger
Appeals Court Angrily Challenges Obama: MenRec
Obama and the Mother of All Tyrannies: Harsanyi

2012 Elections

The Democrats’ Election Forgery Racket: Malkin
Wisconsin, Maryland GOP Primary Results HQ: RSM
Illegal Alien Mass Voter Fraud Discovered in FL: NoisyRm

Obama pitches 'second term' during NCAAs, fans revolt: Twitchy
Obamacare will be Romney’s savior: RWN
Obama’s Battleground Advantage: PJM

Economy

Absolute Beginners: Nancy Pelosi Says We Should "Begin" With Taxes On The Rich: Ace
Government Services Administrator Forced Out For Lavishly Wasting Money On Luxe Vegas "Conference": Ace
President Obama Accuses Bill Clinton of ‘Thinly Veiled Social Darwinism’: Cato

Dupes For the State: Williams
Paul Ryan Cracks Up At Question About Obama’s Latest Demagogic Attack: NiceDeb
Our Dangerous Dependence on Foreign Chocolate: Foundry

Scandal Central

Obama scrubs website: In a second term, it’s on, 'cause we don’t have to worry about re-election: FAM
Does Obama Know How the Supreme Court Voted?: RS
The Vetting - Valerie Jarrett Keeps Obama Close to Radical Roots: Breitbart

Climate & Energy

Good News! Reno Wind Turbine That Cost $21,000 Saves $4!: Pirate's Cove
Hey, what if we had invested all those useless green energy dollars in pipelines?: WyBlog
Inhofe Blasts Obama’s Latest Falsehoods: Cap And Trade Edition: CFP

Media

The 15 Best Conservative News Sites On The Internet: Hawkins
Obama delivers what may very well be the worst speech in history: Elephant
Evolution of an Obama Dictatorship: Nullifying Congress to Nullifying the Supreme Court: NoisyRm

Two Florida Men Who Could Look Like Obama’s Son Carjack Man and Beat Him With Hammer: JWF
#Resist44: the Conservative Alternative to #Gen44: CDN
We have officially reached the David Dinkins stage of the Obama presidency: WyBlog

Bret Baier destroys whiny propaganda minister Jay Carney over Obama’s budget: FAM
AP Chairman Comes Close to Endorsing Obama: NoisyRm
Why Obama Shouldn’t Declare War on the Supreme Court: Meacham

World

Israelis blame administration leaks for ‘diplomatic, military and even operational damage’: World News Tribune
Why Did the Administration Leak the Israel-Azerbaijan Story?: Commentary
The Wasted 1-Day "Summit": Fausta

The Democratic Party and Jewish Anti-Semitism: Sultan Knish
Reichsführer Ogabe Strikes Another Blow Against Israel: Nice Doggie
World Mourns As Communist Darkness Falls Upon America (2010): EU Times

Sci-Tech

Coolest jobs in tech: Hackers for hire: Ars Technica
How China Steals Our Secrets: NYT
So How Long Until We Can Write The Obituary For Windows Phone?: Insider

Cornucopia

Did Obama '08 Threaten Chelsea's Life to Keep Parents Silent on Obama’s Ineligibility?: GodfatherPolitics
Hi Neighbor! Special Guest Commentary by the Palin Homunculus Living Inside Liberals' Heads: IowaHawk
Obama Circling the Drain: AWD

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

QOTD: "Cosmic visions of society are not just visions about society. They are visions about those people who hold these visions and the role of such people in society, whether these people are deemed to be leaders of a master race, the vanguard of the proletariat, saviors of the planet, or to have some other similarly self-flattering role as an anointed visionary group ‘making a difference’ in the unfolding of history." --Thomas Sowell

Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Federal Appeals Court: Yo, Barry -- You Got 'Til Thursday to Explain Your Chavez-Like Speechifying

The envelope was addressed to a "Mr. Soetero", I hear.

A federal appeals court is striking back after President Obama cautioned the Supreme Court against overturning the health care overhaul and warned that such an act would be "unprecedented."

A three-judge panel for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday ordered the Justice Department to explain by Thursday whether the administration believes judges have the power to strike down a federal law.

...One justice in particular chided the administration for what he said was being perceived as a "challenge" to judicial authority -- referring directly to Obama's latest comments about the Supreme Court's review of the health care case.

The testy exchange played out during a hearing over a separate ObamaCare challenge. It marked a new phase in the budding turf war between the executive and judicial branches.

"Does the Department of Justice recognize that federal courts have the authority in appropriate circumstances to strike federal statutes because of one or more constitutional infirmities?" Judge Jerry Smith asked at the hearing.
Justice Department attorney Dana Lydia Kaersvang answered "yes" to that question.

A source inside the courtroom, speaking to Fox News afterward, described the questioning by Smith as pointed. Smith also made clear during that exchange that he was "referring to statements by the president in the past few days to the effect ... that it is somehow inappropriate for what he termed unelected judges to strike acts of Congress. ... That has troubled a number of people who have read it as somehow a challenge to the federal courts or to their authority," Smith said. "And that's not a small matter."

Smith ordered a response from the department within 48 hours. The related letter from the court, obtained by Fox News, instructed the Justice Department to provide an explanation of "no less than three pages, single spaced" by noon on Thursday.

Ace summarizes:

Obama is currently inviting the courts to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act, passed by truly solid democratic majorities, and still popular law. He has instructed his lawyers to not defend the law against challenge (Congress, I believe, has petitioned to intervene to defend the law).

So no, he doesn't really believe the courts can't strike down laws.

He's just lying for political effect, as usual.

CHANGE.
HOPE.
PROGRESS.
IN OTHER WORDS: A HUGO CHAVEZ-INSPIRED CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS.



Commerce Claws [Ramirez]

The brilliant Michael Ramirez.



Hat tip: Investors.com.

Hilarious Upside-Down Hockey-Stick Graph o' the Day

And it couldn't happen to a more deserving industry:

The Newspaper Association of America reported that advertising revenue for print newspapers in the U.S. fell to $20.7 billion in 2011. Adjusted for inflation, that’s the lowest annual advertising revenue for newspapers since 1951, sixty years ago. It took 50 years to go from about $20 billion in inflation-adjusted annual newspaper ad revenue in 1950 to $63.5 billion in 2000, and then only 11 years to go from $63.5 billion back to about $20 billion in 2011. This could be one of the best examples ever of “Schumpeterian creative destruction” displayed in a single graph.


My question about newspapers is a simple one: why do I need printouts of Democrat National Committee press releases when I can read them online?