Saturday, August 04, 2012

Larwyn's Linx: The shocking truth that Harry Reid can't deny

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

Nation

The shocking truth that Harry Reid can't deny: Malcolm
6-Year-Old Gives 10 Reasons NOT to Vote for Obama!: NoisyRm
Obama frags military voters: Times

Dr. Obama, Your Patient, America, Is Not Ready for Hospice: DLim
Gun Owner Saves Cop's Life by Shooting Deranged Gunman!: Guns
Chick-Fil-A Spraypainted with Message “Tastes Like Hate”: Sooper

The Heavy Burden of Government: Rasmussen
Obama’s DREAM Order Allows Minor Criminals To Stay For $465: RWN
Obama App Allows You To Locate Home Of The Nearest Obamabot: WZ

Economy

Geithner, You Magnificent Bastard!: Innocent
Obama's Real Unemployment Rate Is In Double Digits: IBD
Rising unemployment numbers good for Obama!: Hill

This Jobs Report Was Anemic: Mish
WSJ Reveals Huge Hidden Union Political Spending: NLPC
The Chik-fil-A Controversy Explained in One Simple Picture: IMAO

Scandal Central

Emails Show Solyndra Push Was Rahm Emanuel's Idea: IBD
WH Chief of Staff Daley Briefed on Solyndra Concerns, Email Says: ABC
What Are The Chances? Obama, Jarrett, and Axelrod, All Connected to Communist Frank Marshall Davis: Loudon

Climate & Energy

If It’s Summer, It Must Be Time for the Left’s Annual War on Air Conditioning: Driscoll
Obama’s Radical Leftist Regulatory Czar Cass Sunstein Resigns: WZ
No Wonder Libtards Hate Fracking: Ace

Media

Attack of the Cookie Monster: Beacon
EXCLUSIVE---MUST CREDIT ACE: Harry Reid's Office Responds To Rumors He's A Pederast: Ace
DCCC Issues Public Apology To Sheldon Adelson For ‘Chinese prostitution’ Slander: Nice Deb

Fighting Reid With Reidiness: MB
Chick-fil-A Kiss-In, Hollywood: The Pictures: Zombie (Language Warning)
Former Limbaugh Advertiser Carbonite Admits Ditching Host Harmed Profits: NB

Why Doesn't Harry Reid Answer Sourced Accusations Of Racism And Corruption?: Riehl
BUSINESS WEEK: Solyndra is Obama’s Baby: CFP
Clint Eastwood endorses Mitt Romney (Updated): Politico

Obama’s Little Helper: The Triumphant Return of TOTUS XD-235: Driscoll
Horse Hockey: The Left’s Rafalca Derangement Syndrome: Malkin
Occupy Oakland Protesters Vandalize Obama Campaign Office: Sooper

World

The Civilization of Guns: Innocent
Abedin Family Journal Promoted Muslim Brotherhood Views: Bostom
North Korea Allows Broadcasts of Olympics : WSJ

Obama Administration Frees Terrorist Who Tortured To Death 5 Captured U.S. Soldiers: Jawa
Obama Embraces The Islamist Enemy Within: IBD
Panetta Attempts to Reassure and Restrain Israel on the Iran Nuclear Issue: Foundry

Sci-Tech

History And Science Predict A Violent Political Upheaval In 2020: Insider
Facebook hackers pwn baseball team pages, claim NY Yankees captain is having sex change: Sophos
Professor Billionaire: The Stanford Academic Who Wrote Google Its First Check: Forbes

Cornucopia

Rush Is Told That Obama Had the Lowest Grades of Any Harvard Graduate Ever: iOTW
I Saw It on the Internet: Ace
Swarm of thousands of bees delays Pittsburgh flight: AP

Image: Sondrakistan
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Support the Senate Conservatives Fund

QOTD: "This month, those "not" in the labor force increased by 348,000 to 88,340,000, another record high. If you are not in the labor force, you are not counted as unemployed... In the last year, those "not" in the labor force rose by 2,027,000...

Over the past several years people have dropped out of the labor force at an astounding, almost unbelievable rate, holding the unemployment rate artificially low... Given the complete distortions of reality with respect to not counting people who allegedly dropped out of the work force, it is easy to misrepresent the headline numbers.

Digging under the surface, the drop in the unemployment rate over the past two years is nothing but a statistical mirage. Things are much worse than the reported numbers indicate." --Mike Shedlock

Friday, August 03, 2012

Lesson learned: don't try to evade the police while driving a "SmartCar"

If you like driving a golf cart, only without the neck-snapping acceleration, I'd recommend a "SmartCar".


Suffice it to say that Jesse James here was caught, slammed to the ground, and is now living in close quarters with a personable cellmate named Cletus.



That's Government For You (***Forehead Slap***): Court Approves Discrimination Lawsuit against… the EEOC

Everything this federal government touches -- with the exception of our military and intelligence branches, which are actually authorized by the Constitution -- turns to crap.

And you can quote me on that.

A federal appeals court has revived a lawsuit filed by a woman who claims her employer discriminated against her because of her disabilities.

Oh, the employer? The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U.S. agency that enforces federal employment discrimination laws.

Mary Bullock, who has multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus, was an administrative law judge for the EEOC from 1999 to 2007. She sued the commission in October 2006, alleging violations of the Rehabilitation Act.

Ms. Bullock accused the agency of retaliating against her for seeking the accommodations because of her MS and for alleging discrimination after her requests were ignored.

She said in her lawsuit the agency withheld promotion, refused to allowed her to work at home and imposed tighter deadlines on Ms. Bullock than on her non-disabled colleagues. Ms. Bullock said she was ostracized and effectively discharged.

So it turns out the EEOC could be violating its own regulations. Perfect. That's the entire federal government in microcosm.


Hat tip: Winterspirit.

Credible Sources: Harry Reid Not Only a Pederast, But Also Afflicted With Microcephaly

Is there any political cartoonist as talented as Michael Ramirez?


I think not.


Hat tips: Tammy Bruce and BadBlue.

Horrifying: Liberal Super-villains

You'll be seeing these kooks in your nightmares, courtesy of the brilliant Looking Spoon.



That's only a taste. Check out the rest here.



Don't Cry For Me, America



In the early 20th century, Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world. While Great Britain's maritime power and its far-flung empire had propelled it to a dominant position among the world's industrialized nations, only the United States challenged Argentina for the position of the world's second-most powerful economy.

It was blessed with abundant agriculture, vast swaths of rich farmland laced with navigable rivers and an accessible port system. Its level of industrialization was higher than many European countries: railroads, automobiles and telephones were commonplace.

In 1916, a new president was elected. Hipólito Irigoyen had formed a party called The Radicals under the banner of "fundamental change" with an appeal to the middle class.

Among Irigoyen's changes: mandatory pension insurance, mandatory health insurance, and support for low-income housing construction to stimulate the economy. Put simply, the state assumed economic control of a vast swath of the country's operations and began assessing new payroll taxes to fund its efforts.

With an increasing flow of funds into these entitlement programs, the government's payouts soon became overly generous. Before long its outlays surpassed the value of the taxpayers' contributions. Put simply, it quickly became under-funded, much like the United States' Social Security and Medicare programs.

The death knell for the Argentine economy, however, came with the election of Juan Perón. Perón had a fascist and corporatist upbringing; he and his charismatic wife aimed their populist rhetoric at the nation's rich.

This targeted group "swiftly expanded to cover most of the propertied middle classes, who became an enemy to be defeated and humiliated."

Under Perón, the size of government bureaucracies exploded through massive programs of social spending and by encouraging the growth of labor unions.

High taxes and economic mismanagement took their inevitable toll even after Perón had been driven from office. But his populist rhetoric and "contempt for economic realities" lived on. Argentina's federal government continued to spend far beyond its means.

Hyperinflation exploded in 1989, the final stage of a process characterized by "industrial protectionism, redistribution of income based on increased wages, and growing state intervention in the economy..."

The Argentinian government's practice of printing money to pay off its public debts had crushed the economy. Inflation hit 3000%, reminiscent of the Weimar Republic. Food riots were rampant; stores were looted; the country descended into chaos.

And by 1994, Argentina's public pensions -- the equivalent of Social Security -- had imploded. The payroll tax had increased from 5% to 26%, but it wasn't enough. In addition, Argentina had implemented a value-added tax (VAT), new income taxes, a personal tax on wealth, and additional revenues based upon the sale of public enterprises. These crushed the private sector, further damaging the economy.

A government-controlled "privatization" effort to rescue seniors' pensions was attempted. But, by 2001, those funds had also been raided by the government, the monies replaced by Argentina's defaulted government bonds.

By 2002, "...government fiscal irresponsibility... induced a national economic crisis as severe as America's Great Depression."

* * *

In 1902 Argentina was one of the world's richest countries. Little more than a hundred years later, it is poverty-stricken, struggling to meet its debt obligations in the midst of droughts and economic malaise.

We've seen this movie before. The Democrats' populist plans -- their inane class warfare arguments -- can't possibly work, because government bankrupts everything it touches. History teaches us that ObamaCare and unfunded entitlement programs will be utter and complete disasters.

Today's Democrats are guilty of more than stupidity; they are enslaving future generations to poverty and misery. And they will be long gone when it all implodes. They will be as cold and dead as Juan Perón when the piper must ultimately be paid.

November is the last chance we may have to save this precious country.


References: A tear for Argentina's pension funds; Inflation in Argentina; The United States of Argentina.

Billboard o' the Day: Free Radicals

Via iOwnTheWorld:

Billboard at Exit 355 near Oak Ridge TN on I-40 West in Roane County:


Text at bottom: Join the Roane County Tea Party.

These men were truly unique. They believed in the spiritual power of individual liberty, the immutable desire of man to be free, the sacrosanct concept of private property, and the requirement to restrain government.

Throughout all of human history, governments were instituted by the power-hungry to control and dominate the masses. But these men were different. They designed a system of laws that allowed the people to control and dominate the government.

We call our playbook "the Constitution". And those politicians -- especially the members of the modern Democrat Party -- who take an oath to uphold it and then promptly ignore it, must be obliterated at the ballot box in November.



Larwyn's Linx: $GM is Imploding — and Team Obama is Lying About It

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

Nation

$GM is Imploding — and Team Obama is Lying About It: Tatler
The Art of Subversion: Promoting an Unrevolution: CDN
Obama stiffs California city while Romney pays on time: IBD

Romney Adviser: Obama’s Campaign Chief Has Broken the Law: JWF
Obama Regime Tries to Hide Its Funding of Racist La Raza: MB
Jon Stewart Is Right: Harry Reid Is A Freakishly Terrible Person: OTB

Economy

Trumka's Latest Abuse of Union Dues: Lid
Good news: food stamp benefits even more easily available!: Foundry
Illegal immigrants prove big business for prison companies: AP

Amtrak lost $800M on cheeseburgers and soda: Exam
He Runs His Campaign Like He Runs America: SDA
Tax Scam: IRS Pays Out Billions in Fraudulent Refunds : CNBC

Union thuggery in Louisiana: AEI
$230 Mil Later DHS Realizes Nuclear Detectors Don’t Work: JW
10 days in the police academy, 14 years on disability : Sun-Times

Scandal Central

Obama Campaign Sues to Restrict Military Voting: Breitbart
Photo ID Protects Seniors, Poor And Minorities: S&L
Solyndra CEO Called the Federal Government the ‘Bank of Washington’: Foundry

Labor Dept. Waives 60-Day Notice To Help Obama Win: IBD
Another ATF Director Bites The Dust Over "Fast And Furious": Waznmentobe
Orrin Hatch’s Election Promise Gone With the Wind: RS

Climate & Energy

Sessions Hammers Boxer at Global Warming Hearing: Breitbart
EPA 'Guidance' on Coal Permits Slapped Down: Courthouse News
Inhofe Exposes Another Epic Fail by Global Warming Alarmists Thursday: Watts

Media

Misreading the TEA Leaves: ProWis
Adam M. Smith Is The Chick-fil-A Drive-Thru Bully: RWN
Morbidly obese never-was director: ‘I Wouldn’t Say I Support’ Obama: CBS DC

Why Doesn't Harry Reid Answer Sourced Accusations Of Racism And Corruption?: Riehl
Boom!: Purposeful “Not a gay in me” YouTube Star FIRED From Vante: Nice Deb
Alleged Child Molester Harry Reid Manages to Turn Romney’s Tax Returns Into a Good Story for Romney: JWF

Two Years Ago Today:Turbo-Tax Tim Wrote "Welcome To the Recovery" For NY Times : Lid
Not news: GM's ongoing tax break and dealer stuffing: Bizzy
Tingles: My Son's Views are to the Left of Obama: AIM

Obvious: Vintage Media can't find any of Obama's records, but unearth Romney's H.S. report card: Bluegrass
Dying MSM Blacks Out Chick-Fil-A Story: WS
Mark Levin: It’s not about trickle down, its about an iron-fisted authoritarian government: Scoop

World

Internal Struggles Ravage Southern Europe: Mead
Gov @BillHaslam brings sharia to the Tennessee Dept of Children’s Services: Creeping
How DSA Marxists Influenced Health Policies for Both Major Presidential Candidates: Loudon

Ahmadinejad: World forces must annihilate Israel: Atlas
@NJGovChristie hosts Ramadan dinner, reaffirms support for Hamas-linked imam: Creeping
Has Obama Already Ordered Military Intervention in Syria?: Sooper

Sci-Tech

"See who viewed your Facebook profile" scam targets users via Twitter: NetSec
Facebook: 8.7 percent are fake users: CNet
Corkamix: Google Code

Cornucopia

A Typical Day in Berkeley: Zombie
6 People Who Defied Gravity (And Then Kicked It in the Nuts): Cracked
Psychiatrist warned university about accused Batman gunman: report: Trib

Image: Zombie
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Senate Conservatives Fund

QOTD: "Modern journalism is indistinguishable from public relations. PR people do not investigate or report, they come up with a narrative, break it down into talking points and then sell it down by the docks. Their narrative is "Our company is great and the other company is bad". When their company does something wrong, then it's, "Our company really isn't responsible for this" and "The other company is much worse than we are."

When it comes to politics all you really hear from the media anymore is the same lazy spin you can find on corporate press releases. Read the press releases from a squabble between two companies, switch out the names of the companies to, "Obama" and "Romney" and imagine that Obama Inc. owns the media. Now you know everything you need to know about politics." --Daniel Greenfield

Thursday, August 02, 2012

Checkmate: Idiot Abuser of Innocent Chick-Fil-A Employee Has Suddenly "Left the Company"

Vintage media didn't bother covering Chick-Fil-A Apprecation Day... or the bizarre Leftist who taped himself verbally abusing an innocent employee of the restaurant chain.

Turns out that the self-made YouTube star is no longer affiliated with his employer:

TUCSON, AZ--(Marketwire - Aug 2, 2012) - The following is a statement from Vante:

Vante regrets the unfortunate events that transpired yesterday in Tucson between our former CFO/Treasurer Adam Smith and an employee at Chick-fil-A. Effective immediately, Mr. Smith is no longer an employee of our company.

The actions of Mr. Smith do not reflect our corporate values in any manner. Vante is an equal opportunity company with a diverse workforce, which holds diverse opinions. We respect the right of our employees and all Americans to hold and express their personal opinions, however, we also expect our company officers to behave in a manner commensurate with their position and in a respectful fashion that conveys these values of civility with others.

We hope that the general population does not hold Mr. Smith's actions against Vante and its employees.

I, for one, applaud Vante for its stand against fascism.

Nice Deb has more.


Hat tip: The invaluable BadBlue News Service.

Geniuses at EPA get hacked: personal data of up to 8,000 employees exposed, including bank accounts and SSNs

And these are the masterminds who want to regulate all industrial activities in the U.S.?

EPA security breach exposes personal information of 8,000 people


A computer security breach at the Environmental Protection Agency exposed the Social Security numbers and banking information of nearly 8,000 people, most of them current employees, the EPA confirmed...

...The agency currently is funding about $5 billion under almost 700 active contracts, according to May 31 data... Included among the exposed information was Social Security numbers, bank routing numbers and home addresses...

...Federal agencies reported more than 40,000 security incidents that placed sensitive information at risk during 2010 — a 650 percent increase compared with five years ago, according to an October 2011 report from the Government Accountability Office.

Meanwhile, the EPA's delightful attempts to regulate CO2 -- now definitely proven not to affect global temperatures -- will cost America trillions.


Papa B got a new dog

Oh, this figures.

I got a new dog to guard our house. It was a little more than I thought I should pay, but I think when word gets out we'll be a truly crime-free neighborhood.

The nice part is he is a year old and already fully trained. For your safety you might want to call the house from the driveway while remaining inside your car!


Not directly related, but still.



Solyndra: Now with toxic waste!

It's two, two, two Obama Campaigns in one!

The Obama Campaign On Solyndra, Two Weeks Ago: “Successful And Innovative.” OBAMA CAMPAIGN SPOKESWOMAN LIS SMITH: “In fact, both Republican and Democratic administrations advanced Solyndra’s application, and the company was widely praised as successful and innovative both before and after receiving the Department of Energy loan guarantee.” (David Shepardson, “Romney Targets Obama, Loan For Electric Vehicle Startup In New Ad,” The Detroit News, 7/18/12)

The Obama White House On Solyndra, Twelve Months Ago: “Ugh”. (Zeke Miller, “White House On Solyndra Failure: ‘Ugh,’” BuzzFeed, 8/2/12)


At least Solyndra's executives maintained plenty of respect for the taxpayers before the end...

Solyndra CEO Called the Federal Government the ‘Bank of Washington’

From today’s House Energy and Commerce Committee report on the Department of Energy’s Solyndra loan guarantee comes this startling revelation: Chris Gronet, the CEO of Solyndra, referred to the federal government as the “Bank of Washington,” adding, “it continues to help us.”

The report underscores the degree to which the Energy Department prioritized political considerations over economic ones when deciding to restructure Solyndra’s loan.

Here is a screenshot of the email:


Well, at least Solyndra was environmentally conscious...

Solyndra Not Dealing With Toxic Waste At Milpitas Facility


MILPITAS (CBS 5) — Three months ago, CBS 5 caught Solyndra tossing millions of dollars worth of brand new glass tubes used to make solar panels. Now the bankrupt solar firm, once touted as a symbol of green technology, may be trying to abandon toxic waste...

...Solyndra leased a building on California Circle for the final assembly of its solar panels. But the cleanup at the leased building in Milpitas is in limbo, because Solyndra doesn’t want to pay.

CBS 5 found the building locked up, with no one around. At the back, a hazardous storage area was found. There were discarded buckets half filled with liquids and barrels labeled “hazardous waste.”

The building’s owner, a company called iStar, claimed in court documents, “there may be serious environmental, health and safety issues” at the premises. According to the documents, they include, “numerous containers of solvents and chemicals…and processing equipment contaminated with lead.”

“Essentially it looks like they left a pretty big mess behind,” San Jose State Assistant Professor Dustin Mulvaney told CBS 5.

Stay tuned for the musical production, Solyndr-Ugh.



When will Harry Reid come clean about his alleged pederasty?

Instapundit highlights the Senate Majority Leader who insists that his recitation of unfounded, anonymously sourced rumors is entirely legitimate ("I don’t think the burden should be on me"):

And I don’t think the burden should be on me to resolve those Harry Reid pederasty rumors, either. But when there’s this much Harry Reid pederasty buzz on the Internet, I think Sen. Reid owes the public an explanation.


Ace drily observes, "It's not Harry Reid's burden to prove the thing he just made up, you see. It's Romney's burden to disprove the thing Reid just made up. Meanwhile, millions of parents in DC and Nevada send their sons to school every day without knowing whether Harry Reid is, or is not, a pederast."

I, for one, encourage Senator Reid to take a polygraph exam so we can get to the bottom of these sickening allegations.


Hat tip: JTT.

Yard Sign o' the Day: The Patriot

Spotted in Longview, Texas:


Hat tip: Conrad.

Larwyn's Linx: The ‘You Didn’t Build That’ Dialectic and the Darkness of Collective Punishment

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

Nation

‘You Didn’t Build That’ and the Darkness of Collective Punishment: Oleg
Rahm Emanuel, Chick-fil-A, and the easy slide into fascism: Morrissey
Owner: Chick-Fil-A set a new world sales record today: Hot Air

100 days is a long time: Hanson
Like Demagoguery, Only Dumber: Power Line
Obama’s October Surprise May Be His Ugliest Action Yet: CFP

Obama's Signature Move: Unsealing Private Records: Coulter
Zero-Free Zone – Public Schools to award half-credit for cheating: Todd
Obamacare’s Anti-Religious Freedom Mandate Starts TODAY: Foundry

Economy

Markets are Broken: P&F
Another city in Cali files for bankruptcy: GayPatriot
Harkin: you need birth control pills because you PMS: NakedDC

Palin slams Warren's Marxist, redistributionist ideas: Breitbart
$4B Tax Hike Set to Shake Down States with No Income Tax: ATR
The U.S. Postal Service and the Constitution: Cato

Climate & Energy

Hey, Gas Prices Ticking Up (Unexpectedly): Wizbang
Obama regulations kill Ohio coal mine, hundreds of jobs wiped out: Events
Federal Government Sues to Gain Control of Southern State’s Water Supply: GWP

Media

The Most Important Press Conference Ever Held at Any Time in U.S. History: Part I: NoisyRm
Media Crusade Against Chick-Fil-A Continues: MRC
Jon Lovitz has second thoughts about calling himself ‘liberal’: Twitchy

George Will, Wrong Again: Kuznicki
Twitter does something really, really, really stupid - will they fix it?: BoingBoing
Can you do journalism on Twitter?: Scripting

@BarackObama: Why Did You Remove The Red State/Blue State Image?: Jawa
Newsweek vs Chick-Fil-A Barack Obama & Democrats choose…Poorly: DTG
Would-Be Internet ***Star!!!*** Seeks To Document Hatred & Stupidity; Succeeds: Ace

World

Britain: Muslim Polygamists to Get More Welfare Benefits: Gatestone
Obama authorizes secret support for Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaeda rebels in Syria: JihadWatch
Hizballah TV App Removed by Apple, Google: IPT

US warns Israel not to 'overplay its hand' on Iran : Matzav
A Kink in our Armor – US Electrical Grids in Danger: Get SHIELD HR668 Moving: MagNote
Obama Speaks With Turkey's PM While Holding Baseball Bat: WZ

Sci-Tech

Dropbox confirms hack, announces 2-factor authentication: NetSec
Amazon Lockers make a quiet debut in Silicon Valley: GeekWire
Missile Defense Staff Warned to Stop Surfing Porn Sites: Bloomberg

Cornucopia

Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day – A Light-Hearted Tribute: Koch's Tour
FORWARD. at last; FORWARD. at last. Thank God almighty, we’re going FORWARD. At last!: MOTUS
After record sales, Chick-Fil-A denounces Islam, MSNBC and the Prius: AWD

Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Support Jim DeMint's Senate Conservatives Fund

QOTD: "Now, neither Emanuel nor Menino can legally bar Chick-fil-A from their cities. But this attitude — that businesses are worthy of government bans simply for failing to tow the liberal line — now infuses the Democratic Party. It’s why President Obama’s allies at Media Matters consistently team up with him to launch devastating boycotts against conservative business people. It’s why those public relations assaults are invariably well coordinated with government actors who suggest that force of law be used to punish those conservative business people.

This is the difference between free speech and fascism. It’s one thing for people to choose not to engage in business with people with whom they disagree. That’s often nasty and extreme, but it’s certainly within First Amendment territory. It’s another thing entirely for the government to step in to punish people who disagree with liberal policies, simply because they disagree with liberal policies. That’s fascistic. It’s deeply dangerous. And it’s becoming the ugly new attitude of the Democratic Party elite." --Ben Shapiro

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

Not desperate at all. Obama doesn't just want your wedding gifts, now he wants your booze money!

This is the kind of desperate, cynical tactic that makes me disregard all of the idiotic polling data we get fed by vintage media.

Democrats should save the booze money until after the election.


They are going to need it.

I agree.

Not one person who voted for McCain in 2008 will vote for Obama in 2012.

And plenty of people -- and I mean plenty -- of people who voted for Obama gave up long ago on the SCOAMF. They will either sit out the election to express their disgust with the pathetic record of the Obama administration.

Or they will support Romney. Vociferously. If that is a word.


Hat tip: Mind-Numbed Robot.


Great news, seniors! Obamacare Robs Medicare of $716 Billion to Fund Itself!

Say, you didn't really need that heart transplant, did you?

Last week, a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report updated the amount of money Obamacare robs out of Medicare from $500 billion to a whopping $716 billion between 2013 and 2022.

According to the CBO, the payment cuts in Medicare include:

  • A $260 billion payment cut for hospital services.
  • A $39 billion payment cut for skilled nursing services.
  • A $17 billion payment cut for hospice services.
  • A $66 billion payment cut for home health services.
  • A $33 billion payment cut for all other services.
  • A $156 billion cut in payment rates in Medicare Advantage (MA); $156 billion is before considering interactions with other provisions. The House Ways and Means Committee was able to include interactions with other provisions, estimating the cuts to MA to be even higher, coming in at $308 billion.
  • $56 billion in cuts for disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments.* DSH payments go to hospitals that serve a large number of low-income patients.
  • $114 billion in other provisions pertaining to Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP* (does not include coverage-related provisions).

...In total, Obamacare raids Medicare by $716 billion from 2013 to 2022. Despite Medicare facing a 75-year unfunded obligation of $37 trillion, Obamacare uses the savings from the cuts to pay for other provisions in Obamacare, not to help shore up Medicare’s finances.

Best of all, the Medicare trustees (PDF) predict that 15 percent of all major medical facilities will be operating at a loss in a mere seven (7) years. Which means, of course, that they will close their doors or dramatically reduce access to services.

Oh. And in less than 20 years, that same shortfall will apply to 25 percent of all major medical facilities.

You know how in England, 130,000 seniors are intentionally and systematically starved to death in their ultra-humane, socialized health care system?

Well, not to worry. I'm sure that could never happen here.

Because we have masterminds like Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. And I'm sure they covered all of the bases in their 2,800-page "Affordable Care Act" bill, despite the fact that not one single person bothered to read it.



Top 10 Chick-Fil-A Photos: Tastes Like Liberty

Irvine, California:


Maryville, Tennessee:


"Chicagoans hungry to flip the bird to Rahm, nicely":


Atlanta, Georgia:


Brentwood, Tennessee:


Fresno, California:


Gilbert, Arizona:


One correspondent said she "couldn't even get close" to the store in Asheville, NC:


Palm Beach, Florida:


Somewhere in America:


Ace has the quintessential summary of the situation.


Hat tip: BadBlue.


Billboard o' the day: blue-screen


Hat tip: Wanda.

When is wearing a $990 shirt evidence of being "out of touch", but sporting a $6,800 jacket is deserving of praise?

It's a trick question. When you're a member of vintage media, of course!

Back in May, Ann Romney, wife of Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, wore a $990 Reed Krakoff silk shirt for a media appearance. The item of clothing set off a media firestorm, with the Romneys widely accused of being “out of touch” with average Americans.

In particular, the Washington Post wrote that the $990 blouse “will not help her husband change those perceptions, no matter how many Laundromat photo ops are on the campaign’s itinerary.”


Fast forward to last Friday, when First Lady Michelle Obama attended an Olympics reception for heads of state at Buckingham Palace, donning a J. Mendel cap sleeve jacket from the 2013 Resort collection.

The price-tag? $6,800.

This time, the Washington Post simply described the intricacies of the jacket and noted that Mrs. Obama has previously been criticized for “not dressing up enough for Queen Elizabeth II, so she stepped up her game.” No snide remarks, no outrage over the cost, no suggestion she was “out of touch.”

Gee, WaPo hacks: last time I checked, the Romneys actually made their money working in the private sector, as opposed to living on the public dole.

Pray tell, Michelle's everyday wardrobe includes $1,000 handbags, $150 T-shirts and $540 sneakers (not to mention her "priceless" gowns, dresses, and other outfits).

Maybe one of you enterprising pro journalists could total up Michelle's wardrobe budget and ask a few questions about it. Or would that be too much work?