Tuesday, October 30, 2012

PHOTOS OF NEW YORK'S SUBWAY SYSTEM: "the most devastating event to the city’s subway system ever"

Tyler Durden summarizes the damage to New York's all-critical subway system:

As everyone who has been to New York City knows, without its underground arteries - the subway system - the city is if not dead, than certainly in an indefinite coma. By that logic, New York will not get out of the critical ward for many days, because hours ago the head of the New York City’s transit system just called Hurricane Sandy "the most devastating event to the city’s subway system ever."


At last check seven subway tunnels under the East River had flooded, as did the Queens Midtown Tunnel—and Metropolitan Transit Authority chairman Joseph Lhota said there is “no firm timeline” for when the system would be back up and running. According to other MTA employees it would take between 14 hours and 4 days just to pump the water out of the subway system. We'll take the over.


Gothamist has additional images:


And don't ask what happened to all of the rats.


Larwyn's Linx: Benghazi-gate: What is being lied about, going unasked?

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

Nation

Benghazi-gate: What is being lied about, going unasked?: Anchoress
Beyond Impeachment: Treason: Simon
Benghazi timeline, sourced: ProWis

Benghazigate: Chapter Two: Babbin
The Presidency Loses Its Final Traces of Dignity: Dossier
Tyrone Woods Painted a Target, But the Missile Never Came: Rush

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...: BlackFive
New Projection of Election Results: Romney 52, Obama 47: WS
Rasmussen: Romney up in... Ohio: AIM

Incompetence, Indifference, or Just Plain Cowardice?: Elephant
Desperation Driving Obama: Finley
Postcards From An Underwater New York: ZH

Economy

Black Chicagoans rage against the Obama, the leadership, the machine: LI
Bailout Bombshell: Fiat Says Chrysler, Jeep May Move to Italy: NLPC
Illegal Immigrants Cost Michigan Taxpayers $1 Bil A Year: JW

Dana considering layoffs as Obamacare costs mount: Thurber
White House blocks oil production in Ohio: 200,000 jobs lost: Knight
Top Five Worst Obamacare Taxes Coming in 2013: ATR

Scandal Central

Report: Fast and Furious a ‘deliberate strategy’ laid out by Eric Holder, other Obama officials: DC
‘Highly confidential’ Treasury docs show Obama administration’s entanglement in Delphi pension scandal: DC
Chicago: Homicides already pass mark for 2011, defying trend in other US cities: CSM

Cook County lands $100 million federal Obamacare waiver: ChiBiz
Obama gave $443 million no-bid contract to drug firm run by Democrat fundraiser: Knight
Benghazi: Urgent call for military help ‘was denied by chain of command’: CSM

Climate & Energy

Dept. of Energy e-mails contradict Obama denials on another green energy failure: Hot Air
Pennsylvania Coal Companies Announce Layoffs, Blame Obama: H4A
How RFK Jr received $1.3M in FREE renovations to Westchester mansion, which he just sold for $4M: DailyMail

Media

Why Is Obama so Nasty and Vulgar?: Ledeen
Why I don’t believe the polls: Q&O
Oliver Stone rips Obama: USA Today

Having Run Out of Children and Single Women, Left Hires Foul-Mouthed Seniors: Babalu
12 Reasons to Vote Democrat: Fred's Corner
CNN political reporter not happy about favorable Romney coverage: Fox

World

‘Sharia Killed Ambassador Chris Stevens’: McCarthy
Benghazi and the Lethal Price of Arming Jihadists: FPM
Unreal: Obama Says 'Flexibility' Comment To Putin Meant He Was Busy Campaigning, Couldn't Talk: AllAm

The Liberal Man's Burden: Sultan Knish
Former Delta Operator on "The Panetta Doctrine" or also known as "The Dumbest S*** I Ever Heard!": BlackFive
Powerful new Benghazi ad: “When they called”: Scoop

Sci-Tech

How to use Twitter when you lose Internet access: WaPo
Google Adds Power Outage Information To Its Hurricane Sandy Crisis Map: TechCrunch
FDNY to NYC: Please don't tweet for help: CNet

Cornucopia

The Obama Curse strikes again: Bookworm
Warning, Storm of the Century On Direct Path for the White House: MOTUS
5 Deep Insights Gained from Watching Hoarders: Hawkins

Image: Shark in New Jersey (Comment)
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Make Calls for Romney-Ryan!

QOTD: "Now the President says that the US Military that he is at the head of (and controls) as the commander in chief are the ones who, after seeing the same information he did, decided not to help those besieged Americans and the President's personal envoy and representative who were under attack...

...I know that there are his sycophant defenders who are going to say "Whuh! Did you want the Delta Force SEALS to HALO rappel from the Space Shuttle and use their death rays and then use the Flux Capacitor to beam themselves to America?" No trolls, I expected them to do their job and give the Ambassador the assets he needed to be safe in the first place, but barring their lack of testicular fortitude to do that, I would expect that they would use whatever they had at their disposal to aid the living and destroy our enemies. Delta Force could have rigged in-flight for a jump into the nearest DZ that would have gotten them into the fight to be followed by heavier forces from Italy. AFRICOM SOF assets on the Horn Of Africa could have planned on the helo flight there, Fighter Jets, land or carrier based, could have been there early on and established a presence and put human eyes on what was happening.

So Mr. President, when you say that you didn't deny aid to those brave men in Benghazi, but that members of the US Military decided not to send aid to your personal representative under attack all on their own and you had no influence over that decision, then you are either derelict, incompetent, or a liar..." --DeeBow at BlackFive

Monday, October 29, 2012

GENIUS: Pepsi's Obama-style Branding Helped Crush Its Market Share

Who could have predicted that attaching your brand to an inexperienced, Alinsky-trained community organizer would turn out badly?

When Diet Coke surpassed Pepsi to become the No.2 soda in America, it was as if the Cola Wars had finally declared a winner: Coca-Cola...

[Much of the blame] has to do with the astronomical number of gaffes Pepsi has made in the past few years, particularly in its brand management and the way it has branded its flagship product...

Pepsi's 2009 logo redesign was dogged by political distractions


Pepsi paid Arnell Group an outrageous $1 million for this logo, which isn't drastically different from its predecessor.

The logo also made headlines for resembling that of newly elected President Obama...

...Coupled with Pepsi's new slogans -- "Yes You Can" and "Choose Change" -- the company was criticized for copying Obama's award-winning campaign and aligning itself with it at the same time.

Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi, in the job for about five years, was reportedly a huge Obama backer and behind the re-branding decision. Brilliant strategy: piss off half the country with your brand. I'd rather drink tap water than a Pepsi.



ANIMATION: Projected Hurricane Storm Track for Next Eight Days

Courtesy of Zombie:


#Beatdown2012


ERNST SHREIBER: What Ty Woods and Glen Doherty Should Have Done to Get the President's Attention

But before we get to what these two American heroes should have done, please consider the following report from Benghazi during the attack:

...Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty disobeyed orders to “stand down”... they instead “walked” while under fire to the Annex compound.

They walked there, approximately a half mile, retrieved the consulate employees, and walked them back to the Annex. Woods and Doherty were not in an armored SUV as previously reported. They were on foot and they were taking fire while doing so...

...When Woods and Doherty safely secured the 20 to 30 employees back in the annex they took up positions on the roof, and Woods engaged communication traffic... “Where the f*** is the Spectre??, referencing the AC-130 gunship he anticipated would be overhead by then. Obviously it was never sent.

So who refused help?

We still don't know. The President -- who is reported to have witnessed the attack live -- won't say. And the White House Briefing Room has been closed for two weeks, so no one can ask the lying hack Jay Carney.

They're in total cover-up mode.

Meanwhile, the State Department and the Intelligence Community are disavowing any responsibility for refusing Doherty and Woods backup.

The local station chief is reported to have said, "Hell yes, we asked for help!", referring to multiple requests for an AC-130 or a rapid response force to assist.

Commenting at Protein Wisdom, Ernst Shreiber offers the only strategy likely to have worked with the Obama administration:

"Hell yes, we asked for help!"

See. That right there was the mistake.

What they should have done is passed the hat and collected campaign contributions, bundle those contributions, send them off to a lobbyist who could bundle their contributions with other contributions from all the guys cooling their heels while waiting the “go.”

Then the lobbyist could have sat down with Jarrett or Axelrod over lunch and talked about all the exciting green energy ideas the consulate staff had come up with in their free time -- but before the pols in D.C. could get rich cashing in on those ideas -- the administration would first have to save the lives of the consulate staffers.

Rest in peace, Ty Woods and Glen Doherty. We won't forget you. And we won't let the most incompetent, partisan administration in American history forget you either.



Creaky, Partisan, Antique Media Finally Wakes Up: "President Obama has a problem with independents"

And the owners of The New York Times and The Washington Post wonder why their papers are bleeding out?

President Obama has a problem with independents. And it’s not a small problem.

In the last three releases of the tracking poll conducted by The Washington Post and ABC News, Obama has trailed former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney among independent voters by between 16 and 20 percentage points.


That’s a striking reversal from 2008, when Obama won independent voters, who made up 29 percent of the electorate, by eight points over Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

For months, independents have been breaking for Romney by double-digits, yet only within the last couple of days has vintage media seen fit to report this inconvenient truth.

Now even if Democrats match GOP turnout -- which is unlikely -- the margin of independents breaking for the GOP are going to make Nate Silver look like Nostradumbass. Just like 2010.

But that's why they're called "vintage media".


Larwyn's Linx: The Benghazi Story Refuses To Die, And It’s Hurting President Obama Badly

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

Nation

The Benghazi Story Refuses To Die, And It’s Hurting The President: Mead
WH: ‘We Decline to Comment’ on What President Knew: CNS
Aide: Obama didn’t deny requests for help in Benghazi: Malkin

Accomplice Media, Three Years Later: R&R
Presidential Depraved Indifference: NoisyRm
McCain: Libya worst cover-up I've seen: Politico

Obama's Hope Fades in Virginia: AmSpec
Citing internal polls, Kasich predicts Romney win in Ohio: Newsmax
Mason-Dixon: Florida’s gone and thanks for playing, Barry: Moe Lane

Economy

ObamaCare – proving the critics right daily: Q&O
Why this libertarian is voting Romney, with enthusiasm: DoL
Ohio Democrats trash Dayton park at Obama-Biden rally: Lower the Boom

Scandal Central

What the Obama Administration does not want you to see: Gretawire
You Watched Them Die, Mr. President: Western Journalism
Comedian Rahm Emanuel: Obama 'Took Control' During Benghazi: JWF

Climate & Energy

The fraudulent Nobel Laureate: Steyn
Week in Review: Judith Curry
Romney reaps benefits of Obama backlash in coal counties: Hot Air

Apps and tips for coping with Hurricane Sandy: Tuaw
New York Mayor Orders Evacuation Of "Zone A" Residents: ZH
Keeping Up With Sandy on Twitter: AllThingsD

Media

Hume: Mainstream Media ‘Remarkably Reticent’ to Pursue Benghazi Cover-Up: NB
Media Blackout: Aside from FOX, Sunday News Hosts Fail to Raise Benghazi: Breitbart
It Will Happen Again: Cary

Judge Jeanine Rips BHO Over Benghazi, And There Is A Larger Problem: RSM
Cutter Attacks Des Moines Register For Endorsing Romney: “Not Based At All In Reality”: WZ
Fired Up: Massive Romney Crowds Chant '10 More Days': Twitchy

Busted: Washington Post deletes all Hating Breitbart reviews again: LI
Pennsylvania & Minnesota in play?: GayPatriot
Obama Shows Photo ID To Vote: Alphecca

Obama Finished? Leftist ‘Main’stream Media Goes All-In For Mitt Romney: SHN
Stand Down Obama and Biden, Stand Down: AT
WaPo poll: Republicans ready to elect Mitt Romney!: RS

World

Obama Tried to Normalize Iran Relations: Israeli Paper: Tatler
AP Report: 150 Gunmen Involved In Benghazi Attack, Arrived In Trucks With Ansar Al-Sharia Logo: WZ
Beersheba schools closed as Grad rockets strike city: Hayom

Special Ops SLAM Obama: HillBuzz
Clinton Dept. of State Backing the Anti-Semitism Party in Ukraine?: Wizbang
“World is Becoming More Leftist” – Russian Communist Party Boss: Loudon

Sci-Tech

This Is Steve Jobs’ Yacht: Gizmodo
Real-life tractor beam developed at NYU: Ars Technica
Anonymous Is Going After Zynga For Mistreating Employees: TechCrunch

Cornucopia

Lena Dunham: Your First Time: Token Libertarian Girl
Caption Contest: MB
Comparing the instincts of Mitt Romney to those of Barack Obama: Moe Lane

Image: Michael Ramirez
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Make Calls for Mitt Romney!

QOTD: "Stephen K. Bannon’s film “The Hope and the Change” is a very powerful force in this election…and would have an even bigger impact if we could get people to watch this movie who REALLY need to see it.

Let’s face it, the truly “undecided” and “Independent” votes out there are people who don’t read political websites. If they did, there’s no way they could really be “undecided” since they’d have more than enough information in front of them to conclude that Barack Obama does not deserve reelection.

The key to making this as big a win for Mitt Romney as possible is using the remaining days of this election to put “The Hope and the Change” in front of as many eyes as possible…particularly those people who tend to avoid politics and don’t know they can see the movie for free on Hulu.com right now..." --Kevin DuJan

Sunday, October 28, 2012

THREE HURRICANE SANDY MAPS: This is nothing to take lightly

Listen to the authorities and take every precaution you can:

• From The Atlantic, "Sandy is now the biggest tropical cyclone ever":


• From USA Today, approximate storm surge levels across the East Coast.


• From Zero Hedge, an evacuation map of Manhattan (Zone A, in red, has been ordered evacuated).


This storm is a monster.


SCANDAL COMPARISON CHART: Benghazi-gate vs. Valerie Plame

Please review the following chart. At the bottom, I have a suggestion for any Republican candidate, representative or pundit who is asked why they are "politicizing" Benghazi.


My suggestion for those who are confronted with charges of "politicizing" Benghazi?

I don't need to be lectured by the likes of you -- who made "Valerie Plame" a household term -- when a U.S. ambassador and three other personnel are dead, when the president lied for days about how they were killed, and when we can't find out why they were refused help, because the man ostensibly in charge refuses to take serious interviews and the White House Briefing Room has been closed for more than two weeks.


EXCLUSIVE: Obama Crisis Management System



















GOSH, WHICH COULD IT BE? "Either Fox is making stuff up, or the administration is lying through its teeth"

Rick Moran deconstructs the latest Benghazi-gate revelations and finds only one possible scenario: the White House is lying.

The CIA is denying. The Pentagon is denying. And now the White House is denying that anyone refused to send help to our embattled CIA and State Department personnel engaged in a seven hour running firefight with more than 150 jihadists.

It just doesn’t get any lamer than this:

The White House on Saturday flatly denied that President Barack Obama withheld requests for help from the besieged American compound in Benghazi, Libya, as it came under on attack by suspected terrorists on September 11th.

“Neither the president nor anyone in the White House denied any requests for assistance in Benghazi,” National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor told Yahoo News by email.

Why was this so hard for President Obama to say on Friday when asked a direct question about assistance to Americans under fire?...

...How do we know that the White House is lying about denying requests for military assistance from our beleaguered diplomats? Consider: If a news story is published basically accusing the President of the United States of standing by while Americans were killed, shouldn’t the reaction from the White House be a little more indignant? A little more agitated? Perhaps a lot angrier?

All of these denials point to one of two conclusions; either Fox News is making stuff up, or the administration is lying through its teeth. There is no other possible explanation.

And I would note the extraordinary detail in the Fox article, including specific communications between the various locations in Libya and national security people in Washington. If Fox is making stuff up, someone has a pretty vivid imagination.

Jennifer Rubin observes that the Benghazi cover-up now has three distinct facets, none of which have been suitably addressed by the administration.

The Benghazi debacle has three parts: how we neglected security while al-Qaeda was building a presence in Libya; whether the administration tried to mislead the public as to the nature of the attack; and now whether the administration denied pleas for help from operatives on the ground at the consulate.

Daniel Gardner goes further, labeling the president a "coward and a disgrace":

Obama was meeting with national security leaders when the attack in Benghazi went down. Unclassified documents reveal he received emails directly from Benghazi within minutes of the beginning of the attack, staff in Benghazi were in real-time contact with the State Department, and two drones overhead in Benghazi showed Washington exactly what was happening on the ground there.

Unclassified emails reveal three requests were made from Benghazi for help, and all three requests were rejected with orders to “stand down.” Special Forces troops were available and within two or three hours could have saved at least two of the four who died at the end of the seven-hour attack.

Obama literally watched the seven-hour battle refusing to send troops to save Americans…or, he didn’t care to watch or to intervene. Regardless, he didn’t care enough to save American lives when he had the opportunity.

The mainstream media is not even covering this story, but is [instead] parroting Obama’s talking points...

And all of this misdirection, all of the lies, all of the cover-ups detract from the simple truths of heroism that have been all but ignored by antique media:

A short distance from the American compound, two Americans were sleeping. They were in Libya as independent contractors working an assignment totally unrelated to our embassy. They also happened to be former Navy SEALs. When they heard the noise coming from the attack on our embassy, as you would expect from highly trained warriors, they ran to the fight. Apparently, they had no weapons, but seeing the Libyan guards dropping their guns in their haste in fleeing the scene, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty snatched up several of these discarded weapons and prepared to defend the American compound.

Not knowing exactly what was taking place, the two SEALs set up a defensive perimeter. Unfortunately Ambassador Stevens was already gravely injured, and Foreign Service officer, Sean Smith, was dead. However, due to their quick action and suppressive fire, twenty administrative personnel in the embassy were able to escape to safety. Eventually, these two courageous men were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers brought against them, an enemy force numbering between 100 to 200 attackers which came in two waves. But the stunning part of the story is that Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty killed 60 of the attacking force. Once the compound was overrun, the attackers were incensed to discover that just two men had inflicted so much death and destruction.

As it became apparent to these selfless heroes, they were definitely going to lose their lives unless some reinforcements showed up in a hurry. As we know now, that was not to be. I’m fairly certain they knew they were going to die in this gun fight, but not before they took a whole lot of bad guys with them!

Consider these tenets of the Navy SEAL Code: 1) Loyalty to Country, Team and Teammate, 2) Serve with Honor and Integrity On and Off the Battlefield, 3) Ready to Lead, Ready to Follow, Never Quit, 4) Take responsibility for your actions and the actions of your teammates, 5) Excel as Warriors through Discipline and Innovation, 6) Train for War, Fight to Win, Defeat our Nation’s Enemies, and 7) Earn your Trident every day.

Thank you, Tyrone and Glen. To the very last breath, you both lived up to the SEAL Code. You served all of us well. You were courageous in the face of certain death.

And Tyrone, even though you never got to hold your newborn son, he will grow up knowing the character and quality of his father, a man among men who sacrificed himself defending others. God bless America!


Last night, Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer said his sources revealed that Obama was one of the people in the room watching the Benghazi attack occur in real-time.

This entire administration needs to go.


HAMMER TIME: Florida Gone for Obama

Moe Lane says, "Thanks for playing, Barry."

The writing was on the wall when Suffolk stopped polling there, but Mason-Dixon confirmed it today: it’s over in Florida and Romney will win.

An exclusive Tampa Bay Times/Bay News 9 poll of likely voters along the Interstate 4 corridor finds Romney leading Obama 51 percent to 45 percent, with 4 percent undecided.


“Romney has pretty much nailed down Florida,” said Brad Coker of Mason-Dixon Polling and Research, which conducted the poll for the Times and its media partners. “Unless something dramatically changes — an October surprise, a major gaffe — Romney’s going to win Florida.”


Which both campaigns know very well. What I’m hearing privately – and it may also be public information right now – is that Obama for America has left the shell of its Florida operation up for appearances, but moved out its funding and national support out to other, more hopeful places

Twitchy is reporting that immense crowds formed a line a mile long to see Mitt Romney in Pensacola.

Some clever and intrepid group even created a U.S. flag using their T-shirts and careful pre-positioning (insert):


According to various Twitter reports, the crowd kept chanting, "Ten more days, ten more days!"

Methinks that Florida just told Mr. Obama, "See ya... wouldn't want to be ya!"

Which battleground state will be next to send the president a pink-slip?


Update: Ohio Newspaper Poll Has Race Tied at 49; Romney Erases 5-Point Obama Lead. Nate Silver hardest hit.

Larwyn's Linx: Benghazi bungle requires act of urgent political hygiene

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

Nation

Benghazi bungle requires act of urgent political hygiene: Steyn
Benghazi-Gate: Was General Ham fired after ordering rescue?: ProWis
Barack Obama: Soft on Rapists: RS

They Found Him Slumped Over His Machine Gun…: Babalu
Obama's Job Approval Drops 7 Points in 3 Days: CNS
How Team Romney Sees the Poll: York

Presidential Performance Review: Williamson
W.H.: Obama Didn't Nix Rescue Force For Benghazi: Ace
Don't Be Surprised if It's Pennsylvania: AT

Economy

This election is really about Obama's failed leadership, economy: IBD
Vandals key “OBAMA” on cars near home with Romney signs, but...: IHTM
Marines, police prep for mock zombie invasion: Fox

Romney Can Get the Job Done: RWN
Doctors Fear Government Trap: NoisyRm
'Frankenstorm' Could Have Severe Impact on Major Cities: CNBC

Scandal Central

OH Early Voting 'Dominance' for Obama: Bogus: Breitbart
Lt. Gen. Mcinerney on Benghazi: Whoever gave the “stand down” order is responsible for killing ambassador: Scoop
Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer: Sources tell me Obama was in the room watching Benghazi attack: Scoop

Climate & Energy

Did Barack Obama Intentionally Mislead KUSA’s Kyle Clark About ‘Abound Solar’?: RS
Hurricane Sandy threat launches mass evacuations on East Coast: Times
Millions across East Coast brace for 'Superstorm' Sandy: Fox

Media

Blog 538 on Ohio: Volokh
Eli Lake Gets the Scoop: NRO
Pigs Are Flying: The Des Moines Register Endorses Mitt Romney: Caffeinated Thoughts

How Conservatives on Twitter Forced Obama to Face the Benghazi Debacle: Sooper
Trickle-Down Leadership: CDN
What do you think of Mitt Romney’s “kill list?”: Hot Air

@DanRiehl Update 27 October 2012: RSM
"I Pledge to Serve Barack Obama" (Urgent 2012 Election Update): Reason
Obama dips below 50 percent in new Pa. poll: Hill

The Democrats' Civil War Begins on November 7th: HillBuzz
Emotional Pat Caddell on the MSM ignoring Benghazi: “These people have no honor!”: Scoop
Madonna booed after touting Obama in La. Concert: AP

World

Palestinians fire 3 Grads, 2 Kassams at Israel: JPost
David Axelrod's Communist Ties Exposed: RSM
Saudi authorities disperse anti-Assad protest in Mecca: JPost

Sci-Tech

Microsoft Surface Review: The PC of the Future Needs More Apps: Techland
10 tell-tale signs that your website may need a redesign: NextWeb
Steve Ballmer’s Dilemma: Cringely

Cornucopia

Stewardess!!?!!: iOTW
It’s 3:00 AM, Barry’s Asleep? Hey, he’s got a fundraiser in Vegas in the morning!: MOTUS
Famed trainer Emanuel Steward dies: ESPN

Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: FINAL STRETCH: Support America's Comeback Team

QOTD: "Why would Obama and Biden [decline to give the order to save Benghazi]? Because to launch a military operation against an al-Qaida affiliate on the anniversary of 9/11 would have exposed the hollowness of their boast through convention week and the days thereafter – that Osama was dead, and al-Qaida was finished. And so Ty Woods, Glen Doherty, Sean Smith and Chris Stevens were left to die, and a decision taken to blame an entirely irrelevant video and, as Secretary Clinton threatened, "have that person arrested." And, in the weeks that followed, the government of the United States lied to its own citizens as thoroughly and energetically as any totalitarian state, complete with the midnight knock-on-the-door from not-so-secret policemen sent to haul the designated fall guy into custody." --Mark Steyn

Bonus QOTD: "Under your management, violent crime is up 18 percent — the first such increase in 20 years. Your “Fast and Furious” project has caused serious damage to the balance sheet: one dead federal officer, more than a hundred dead civilians, a seriously cheesed-off next-door business partner, and zero cartel convictions — the lattermost being, if I understand your business strategy, the whole point of this mess. Your performance reports here have been remarkably obstructive, which is why you should have on our advice terminated Eric Holder." --Kevin D. Williamson

Saturday, October 27, 2012

LATEST STORM TRACK: Hurricane Sandy

This updated tracker was posted just five minutes ago on NOAA's website.


The District of Columbia, New York City, and Philadelphia all appear to be directly in the path of "Frankenstorm".


OUCH: First Des Moines Register Endorsement for GOP in 40 Years; Obama's Iowa Spokesman Hardest Hit

Dude.


HHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH *cough* HAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHA *wheeze* HAHAHHAHHAHA *gurk* HAHH -- Owww. I think I wrenched my cleavus muscle.

#Beatdown2012.


NO INVESTIGATION NECESSARY: 10 Questions President Obama Can Answer Himself

I'm not much of a fan of the Weekly Standard or its editor Bill Kristol, but his Ten Questions for the White House is getting a lot of play -- and rightfully so:

...it should be possible to answer these simple questions as to what the president did that afternoon and evening, and when he did it, simply by consulting White House meeting and phone records, and asking the president for his recollections.

1.) To whom did the president give the first of his "three very clear directives"—that is, "make sure that we are securing our personnel and doing whatever we need to?"

2.) How did he transmit this directive to the military and other agencies?

3.) During the time when Americans were under attack, did the president convene a formal or informal meeting of his national security council? Did the president go to the situation room?

4.) During this time, with which members of the national security team did the president speak directly?

5.) Did Obama speak by phone or teleconference with the combatant commanders who would have sent assistance to the men under attack?

6.) Did he speak with CIA director David Petraeus?

7.) Was the president made aware of the repeated requests for assistance from the men under attack? When and by whom?

8.) Did he issue any directives in response to these requests?

9.) Did the president refuse to authorize an armed drone strike on the attackers?

10.) Did the president refuse to authorize a AC-130 or MC-130 to enter Libyan airspace during the attack?

THE WEEKLY STANDARD has asked the White House these questions, and awaits a response.

As an aside, wouldn't it be great if we had a functioning antique media?


SMELLS LIKE DESPERATION: Krugman, Reich resort to name-calling, denial when confronted with reality

As if binders, Big Bird, bayonets and dunce caps haven't sufficiently embarrassed Democrats, the half-pint nitwit named Robert Reich, a former Clinton crony and full-time Leftist crank adds to the classy repartee:



Here's another mature take, this one from the loathsome troll Paul Krugman.


Gee. That's convincing.

Meanwhile, back in the little land we like to call "reality", the anger of the American people is becoming palpable.

Yesterday's seven-day Gallup tracker showed Romney increasing his lead overnight by two points -- 47-50% to 46-51%. The last time Romney was below fifty in this poll was almost two weeks ago, on October 14. Since the move to likely voters, Obama has yet to reach 50% in Gallup and hasn't even been able to reach 48% since October 1.

...Today's three-day Rasmussen tracker shows Romney leading 50-46%. That's a one-point increase over yesterday's 50-47%. Romney also increased his lead by two points in the Rasmussen tracking poll of the eleven combined swing states. Today the former Massachusetts governor sits at 51%, while the former community organizer languished at 45%. Those six-points represent Romney's best lead yet. Quite incredibly, Obama led this poll by three points ten days ago. That's a nine-point swing towards Romney.

Oh, "Doctors" Reich and Krugman, I'm sure the unraveling Benghazi scandal will dramatically improve turnout for Democrats.

Write it down: 2010 is going to look like a warm-up compared to what's going to happen on November 6th. That's why I've been using the hashtag #Beatdown2012, and I encourage you to use it too.

By Wednesday morning, Messrs. Krugman and Reich will have badly soiled their Depends.


IMPLOSION: Obama fumbles local reporter's Benghazi question; CIA director throws President under bus

When confronted with a local reporter's pointed questions regarding Benghazi, President Obama fumbled his response and inadvertently provided a few clues into the timing and the cover-up.

KYLE CLARK: Were they denied requests for help during the attack?


PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, we are finding out exactly what happened. I can tell you, as I've said over the last couple of months since this happened, the minute I found out what was happening, I gave three very clear directives. Number one, make sure that we are securing our personnel and doing whatever we need to. Number two, we're going to investigate exactly what happened so that it doesn't happen again. Number three, find out who did this so we can bring them to justice. And I guarantee you that everyone in the state department, our military, the CIA, you name it, had number one priority making sure that people were safe. These were our folks and we're going to find out exactly what happened, but what we're also going to do it make sure that we are identifying those who carried out these terrible attacks.

Last night, attorney Mark Levin deconstructed Obama's response as follows:

• ...the minute I found out what was happening, I gave three very clear directives...

Note that this is stated in the present tense. The president found out about the attack while it was happening.

• ...make sure that we are securing our personnel and doing whatever we need to...

Well, sir, what orders did you give? Were they disobeyed? Did you receive requests for help? Notice that the president carefully avoided the reporter's actual question (lesson for vintage media: this is what your predecessors actually used to do) about whether calls for help were refused.

• ...Number two, we're going to investigate exactly what happened so that it doesn't happen again...

So during the attack, you clearly ordered an "investigation"? Does that make sense to anyone?

• ...Number three, find out who did this so we can bring them to justice...

So while the attack was occurring, you want to find out who was attacking and arrest them? Again, does this make any sense at all?

Late last night, CIA Director Petraeus absolved the agency of blame:

Breaking news on Benghazi: the CIA spokesman, presumably at the direction of CIA director David Petraeus, has put out this statement: “No one at any level in the CIA told anybody not to help those in need; claims to the contrary are simply inaccurate.”

Put simply, Petraeus has handed the hot potato to President Obama.

Now let's examine the president's schedule on 9/11/12:


According to the official White House record, Obama, Biden and SECDEF Panetta were meeting approximately one hour after the Benghazi attack began.

Time for some answers, Mr. President, and we don't have to wait for the results of an "investigation" to hear your responses:

1. When did you first receive word of the Benghazi attacks?

2. Did you receive requests for help from those on-scene and, if so, when?

3. What orders did you issue, if any, after receiving word of the attacks and when did you issue them?

4. Within two hours of the attack, your own schedule indicates you were meeting with the Vice President and the Secretary of Defense. Did you discuss Benghazi and, if so, what information did you receive and what orders did you issue in that meeting?

5. There have been no White House press briefings for more than a week. Why?


Levin believes that the president received word immediately of the attacks and, whether through fear of the political ramifications or simple indecision (akin to voting "present"), watched as Americans were slaughtered as they begged for help.

And then he headed to Vegas for a fundraiser.

There are, of course, other theories worth exploring.


RESET: Russia conducts first large-scale exercises of strategic nuclear forces since Cold War

Hey, beatnik: need more proof that the only way to deter tyrants and preserve peace is through strength?

Large-scale exercises of the Strategic Nuclear Forces under the command of President Vladimir Putin have completed in Russia, the president’s press-secretary Dmitri Peskov reports.


He says that these were the first nuclear force exercises on such a large scale in Russia’s modern history.

On Friday, a Topol intercontinental ballistic missile was successfully launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk Region.

Also on Friday, The Svyatoy Georgiy Pobedonosets nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine of the Pacific Fleet launched a ballistic missile from the Sea of Okhotsk to the Chizha testing ground in the north of European Russia and Tupolev-95 and Tupolev-160 strategic bombers launched four missiles to the Pemboi testing site in the Urals Region.

Pemboi has also become the site where the Russian troops for the first time successfully hit a cruise missile with the Pantsir-S surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapon systems of the latest generation (the NATO name SA-22 Greyhound).

Voice of Russia, RIA, Interfax

Gee, that Hillary Clinton is doing a swell job, ain't she?

Consider this reason seventy bajillion proving that Democrats remain The Party of Weakness and Appeasement.

And weakness invites war, which is the course this administration has set for America.

Mitt Romney was completely, utterly correct when he named Russia a primary geopolitical foe. It is arming Iran and once again threatening its neighbors. None of its strategies, perforce, are intended to do anything but harm the interests of the United States.

Hat tip: Canada Free Press.

This is actually someone's house in Manassas, Virginia

There is no truth to the rumor that this is Papa B's house.


Via Dr. Melissa Clouthier.