Monday, December 24, 2012

Larwyn's Linx: The Perfect Prison

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

Nation

The Perfect Prison: Sultan Knish
Moving from an Emboldened Left in 2012 to a Legal Insurrection in 2013: LI
Avoiding Reality in the Gun Control Debate: Breitbart

Jazz Shaw’s The New Horizon on Gun Control: PatriotPerspective
Democrat Think-Tank: We Should Confiscate Guns: Loudon
The NR-F Minus: Six Meat Buffet

It's Time for Media Control: RWN
Cory Booker: “Criminals... killing people. Not [the] law-abiding”: JWF
California lawmakers train sights on gun ownership: Greenhut

Economy

Top GOP Senator: the "President Is Eager to Go Over the Cliff": GWP
How much did taxpayers lose in Obama’s GM bailout?: Knight
Worst of all worlds — all debt, no degree: CI

Here Comes the Cliff: Barone
Obama Gives Amnesty to Criminal Illegals and Illegals Under 30: Sentinel
The NLRB's Union Bonus: WSJ

Scandal Central

Hanoi John Kerry, Tax Evader: MB
Democrat Officials in MD, NJ, NY and MA Face Prison Time for Voter Fraud: GWP
The coming drone attack on America: Guardian (Naomi Wolf)

Climate & Energy

EPA offers hints on fracking’s future: Times

Media

Why Does Anyone Need An Assault Rifle?: PatriotPerspective
‘How Dare You Let Your Mental Illness Disturb My Gun-Control Narrative?’: RSM
Wall Street Journal columnist explains on Twitter how to deport Piers Morgan: DC

Gregory Mocks LaPierre for Proposing Armed Guards, but Sends Kids to High-Security School: WS
Kwanzaa Is A Fraud of A "Holiday" Created With A Fascist Goal: Lid
Obama Saves Earth From Apocalypse: What's Next?: Cube

Scenery chewing in the Theater of Outrage over Wayne LaPierre's unremarkable news conference.: Althouse
Tagg Romney: My Father Wanted To Be President Less Than Anyone: Breitbart
Meet the woman who got fired for being irresistible: Greenroom

World

Netanyahu: On Jerusalem, I don't care what the UN says: Hayom
U.S. Press Won't Report That Egypt's Constitution Is Sharia-Based -- And Socialist: Blumer
Barack Obama wimping out on Chuck Hagel?: Moe Lane

More statistics that prove gun homicides haven’t gone down in Britain: Scoop
What Happened When Guns Banned in Australia: MagNote
Yen Declines Following Shinzo Abe's Threat to Change Japanese Law; An Idle Threat?: Mish

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

NYPD to probe internet to detect future shooters: IT News Australia
World's Oldest Wooden Water Wells Discovered: NatureWorldNews
The Truth About Psych Drugs: WheelGun

Cornucopia

Thoughts On Gun Control From The Late Paul Harvey: Wolf Howling
Sweets, Treats and Tweets: MOTUS
Meet 1912’s Perfect Woman: Pear-Shaped, 171 Lbs, Doesn’t Know Fear: Jezebel

Image: This Is Why Launching Fireworks From a Hot-Air Balloon Isn’t the Best Idea
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Happy Post-Non-Apocalypse!

QOTD: "Senate Democrats have been avoiding tough votes on fiscal issues for some time. They haven’t passed a budget resolution for three years, though the budget act requires them to do so.

That likely reflects a reluctance to make their policies clear to the public and, perhaps, differences in their caucus making it as hard for them to muster a majority as it was for Boehner Thursday night.

Are we going over the cliff? Looks like it to me." --Michael Barone

Sunday, December 23, 2012

10 DIABOLICAL FISCAL FACTS: What the Talking Heads Refuse to Discuss

I simply cannot comprehend the malfeasance of the media in discussing America's fiscal situation.

This includes the entire spectrum of commentary, from the usual suspects on MSNBC to Fox News Sunday.

10. The President's desired tax hikes -- raising taxes on "the rich", those with an income over $200,000 ($250,000 for married couples) -- would pay for just 8 days of the federal government's operation.

9. The President's one-time, emergency Stimulus package of around $900 billion, passed in 2009, became part of the baseline federal budget and has been spent every year since.

8. According to The Wharton School, "The federal government ran annual deficits well above $1 trillion in 2009, 2010 and 2011... the largest deficits since World War II" as a percentage of GDP.

7. The federal government is spending so much more than it takes in that it is now forced to borrow 42 cents of every dollar it spends. This is an unsustainable rate -- and higher taxes do nothing to limit spending.

6. The Federal Reserve is now buying nearly all (90 percent-plus) of the United States' newly issued debt in order to keep interest rates artificially low. In other words, the federal government is essentially loaning itself money by printing what it needs.

5. Again, according to Wharton, "Rising rates would cause severe problems for the U.S. government. The bulk of Treasury bonds in circulation have maturities of less than five years, which will require existing debt to be refinanced with new debt at higher interest rates. That will increase the government's debt-service costs."

4. Even under a best case scenario -- one in which interest rates gently rise to historically normative levels -- the U.S. will be forced to pay $5 trillion in interest payments alone over the next decade. Under other scenarios, the federal government would simply have to default on its obligations.

3. A recent conference of experts explored the ramifications of a federal default. In short:

Trillions of dollars of losses would roar through the world economy like a tsunami, damaging Treasury investors, including governments, corporations, pension and insurance funds, individual investors and people who own mutual funds. Panic would undoubtedly harm other types of investments as well, including stocks and real estate. And if the government wanted to borrow in the future, as it most likely would at some point, it would have to pay much higher yields to attract investors. As higher rates worked through the markets, state and local governments, corporations, homebuyers and other consumers would face higher rates as well.

2. A Treasury default would be so devastating that the entire financial sector could well be obliterated.

1. In the words of investor Kyle Bass, "The developed world faces a day of reckoning. It is time to act."

Where are the adults?

We face a real fiscal cliff; not the one you hear about from the talking heads, but a collapse that will devastate seniors, the poor and urban centers most of all.

And there doesn't appear to be a single pundit or politician capable of explaining this impending disaster.


Infographic: Addogram.

Progressive Follies [Big Fur Hat]

Two posters from Big Fur Hat at iOwnTheWorld:


Click here to see both.


Hat tips: iHateTheMedia and BadBlue News.

WHAT, ME WORRY? White House Chef Travels to Hawaii to Help Cater Presidential Vacation

When details of the Obama family's 20-day, $4 million vacation were recently revealed, one crucial aspect was omitted: the President is flying the White House chef to Hawaii.

President Obama’s vacation in paradise includes an element that may be making his time there even more fulfilling: the White House chef.

Sam Kass, the tasty-health-food guru the Obamas added to the White House kitchen in 2009 – they didn’t fire the old chef, just added a second – revealed his presence in Hawaii Saturday when he showed up on the golf course with the president.

It’s not clear if Kass hopped a ride aboard Air Force One or if he is staying with the Obamas and cooking for them. But it wouldn’t be surprising, given that he was their personal chef in Chicago for two years before moving to Washington to continue preparing their meals.

Nevertheless, the Obamas dined out with friends last night, heading to one of their favorite hangouts, the high-end Japanese fusion restaurant Morimoto.

Fortunately, there are no pressing matters of concern that need to be resolved before the end of the year, certainly none that would require the President's presence in Washington.


USEFUL IDIOT DAVID GREGORY: Faces a Year in Prison for Waving Around a High-Cap Magazine on "Meet the Democrat Press"

Your Honor, in the matter of District of Columbia versus David Gregory, I would like to submit into evidence Exhibit A for the prosecution.

Meet the Press’s studios are located in Washington DC. This morning on “Meet the Press”, David Gregory decided to wave around a 30-round AR-15 magazine.

From DC’s gun laws:

DC High Capacity Ammunition Magazines – D.C. Official Code 7-2506.01:

(b) No person in the District shall possess, sell, or transfer any large capacity ammunition feeding device regardless of whether the device is attached to a firearm. For the purposes of this subsection, the term large capacity ammunition feeding device means a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device that has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition...

Penalties:

It is also illegal to possess, sell or transfer any “large capacity ammunition feeding device.” A person guilty of this charge can be sentenced to a maximum fine of $1000 and/or up to a year imprisonment. D.C. Criminal Code 7-2506.01.

The incident was all part of David Gregory's blatant advocacy journalism, designed to advance the totalitarian and unconstitutional agenda of restricting access to firearms by law-abiding citizens.


The best response to Gregory's biased idiocy?



To paraphrase someone on Twitter, if it's Sunday, David Gregory's doing a crappy job on Meet the Democrat Press.


Hat tips: Twitchy and Katie Pavlich.

#Fab50: Announcing the 2012 Fabulous 50 Blog Award Winners

The moment you've been waiting for is here.

The votes are in. The anxious nominees' fingernails have been chewed down to the quick.

Winner - 2012 Fabulous 50 Blog Awards And at least one blogger just excused himself to go to the bathroom (number two, apparently, based upon the length of time he's been gone).

So we're more than pleased to announce the winners of the 2012 Fabulous 50 Blog Awards, the most prestigious new media awards in the conservative blogosphere.

Or, at the very least, in the 993 area code.

These awards recognize a variety of blogs and websites operating in the conservative hemisphere of the Internet, all of which have worked tirelessly to protect America from Statism -- some in very unique ways.

So, without further ado, may I have the envelopes, please?


Larwyn's Linx: Confirmed: John Boehner Is In Over His Head. Way Over His Head

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

Nation

Confirmed: John Boehner Is In Over His Head. Way Over His Head: Ace
World Still Here, But Obama Isn’t: Tatler
House GOP Circulates Plan to Oust Boehner: Breitbart

The Art of the Left Hook: Guns, Humanity, and Politics: BlackFive
Vain search for meaning in massacre: Steyn
The Climate of Fear and Powerlessness: CDN

How They Disarmed Our British Cousins: RWN
Obama Uses Funeral Service to Talk About Himself: WS
Reagan warned us about Obama: MB

Economy

2012 US economic year in review: 75 statistics of futility: PolFi
“The 10 Things In Economics That Everybody Should Know”: RWN
American History Not Required: CI

Federal Budget Process is Broken: Foundry
Big Business and Marxist Collusion – Bourgeois Socialism: Loudon
“The Collapse of Startups in Job Creation”: RWN

Scandal Central

Benghazi Questions, State Department Answers: RWN
East St. Louis Councilwoman, Boyfriend Charged in Beating of Elderly Best Buy Employee: GWP
Obama Golfing in Hawaii With Pal Arrested in Prostitution Sting: ABC

Climate & Energy

Obama releases first part of new regulatory agenda, drawing criticism from supporters, critics: Fox
I send Michael Mann a free WUWT calendar as a Christmas gift, and he goes full conspiracy theory: Watts
EPA issues air pollution standards for boilers and cement plants: LAT

Media

New York Times: GOP Unwilling to Acknowledge Obama’s Godhood: Moran
Herman Cain: The New York Times Is a "Racist Newspaper": Breitbart
Left Ridicules Democrat President's Cops in Schools Idea: MenRec

Celebs in Industry That Glorifies Violence Demands a Government Plan to Fight ‘Gun Culture’: Powers
Time Managing Editor Admits ‘Low Information’ ‘Morons’ Reelected Obama: Black & Right
How gun control "progresses" in Oregon.... AR-15 sale by AR-15 sale, that's how...: WinterSoldier

NY Times Really Upset Over Concealed Carry Laws: RWN
Nugent to Piers Morgan: Suck on my machine gun: Kenn's Videos
‘Three Strike’ Mental Illness Violence Law May Have Prevented Adam Lanza Slaughter: CDN

World

Lucky Man: Former Spook
CAIR Leader Calls For Destruction Of Israel: WZ
Egypt Opposition Alleges Vote Fraud in Referendum: ABC

Top House Dem Engel: Hagel has 'endemic hostility' toward Israel: Matzav
North Korea could have U.S. within missile range, says South: Reuters
Tipping point in Syria edges closer as West sees signs of Assad's demise: Haaretz

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

Facebook Recruiting Feedback: FRF Blog
Illegal Social Networking Parties On The Rise Around Southland: CBS LA
Turn your Raspberry Pi into a tiny Linux laptop: PC World

Cornucopia

The Creche by the Side of the Road: American Digest
Firing Workers For Being Too Sexy Approved By Iowa Supreme Court: OTB
“I’ll have what she’s having!”: iOTW

Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: COMING SOON: The 2012 Fabulous 50 Blog Awards... #fab50

QOTD: "Mr. Obama repeatedly lost patience with the speaker as negotiations faltered. In an Oval Office meeting last week, he told Mr. Boehner that if the sides didn't reach agreement, he would use his inaugural address and his State of the Union speech to tell the country the Republicans were at fault.
At one point, according to notes taken by a participant, Mr. Boehner told the president, "I put $800 billion [in tax revenue] on the table. What do I get for that?"

"You get nothing," the president said. "I get that for free." --WSJ via Ace

Saturday, December 22, 2012

NOSTALGIA: My Favorite Food Stamp Tweets of December

But there's nothing to cut.



But, hey: let's get a few more trillion in debt. What could go wrong?


S*** JUST GOT REAL: The 10 Most Terrifying Economic Numbers

The modern progressive movement has no understanding -- zero comprehension -- of how bad things are going to get when the inevitable federal default occurs. Borrowing 42 cents of every dollar you spend only works for so long.

And when interest rates climb, as they inevitably will, a default on the federal debt is all but certain. After the subsequent financial reckoning, the deep blue cities that blithely support economic illiteracy will be among the hardest hit.

Tyler Durden, one of the few voices for sanity in a world headed for economic suicide, lists 75 ominous economic stats. My personal top ten:

10. In December 2008, 31.6 million Americans were on food stamps. Today, a new all-time record of 47.7 million Americans are on food stamps. That number has increased by more than 50 percent over the past four years, and yet the mainstream media still has the gall to insist that “things are getting better”.

9. Back in the 1970s, about one out of every 50 Americans was on food stamps. Today, about one out of every 6.5 Americans is on food stamps.

8. Median household income in the U.S. has fallen for four consecutive years. Overall, it has declined by over $4000 during that time span.

7. When you total up all working age Americans that do not have a job in America today, it comes to more than 100 million.

6. Approximately 57 percent of all children in the United States are living in homes that are either considered to be either “low income” or impoverished.

5. Back in 1950, more than 80 percent of all men in the United States had jobs. Today, less than 65 percentof all men in the United States have jobs.

4. The average amount of time that an unemployed worker stays out of work in the United States is 40 weeks.

3. An all-time record 49 percent of all Americans live in a home where at least one person receives financial assistance from the federal government. Back in 1983, that number was less than 30 percent.

2. When you account for all government transfer payments and all forms of government employment, more than half of all Americans are now at least partially financially dependent on the government.

1. It is being projected that half of all American children will be on food stamps at least once before they turn 18 years of age.

But we're in a recovery! The people have spoken! Forward!


Image: @NF3L.

UTOPIA: Government-Run Health Care At Its Finest

Here's tomorrow's front page of London's Sunday Telegraph:


This kind of tragedy is the inevitable result of massive, unaccountable, unelected, bureaucracies that brook no competition and shield the incompetent and inattentive worker.

Sadly, the destiny of our health care system under Obamacare is as certain as the sun rising tomorrow morning.


FINALLY: House GOP Circulates a Plan to Oust Boehner

Matthew Boyle, writing at Breitbart, offers the best description I've ever seen on the inner workings of the House.

A coup appears to be in the works after John Boehner's two-year track record of failed leadership: repudiating the conservative base that brought him the Speakership; punishing Tea Party Republicans; abandoning first principles; and failing to address America's catastrophic spending problem.

[House s]taffers have compiled a detailed action plan that, if executed, could make this a reality.

The Republicans, both conservatives and more establishment members alike, are emboldened after the failure of Boehner’s fiscal cliff “Plan B” on Thursday evening. Dissatisfaction with Boehner is growing in the House Republican conference, but until now there hasn’t been a clear path forward...

...[T]he first step is to re-establish the election of the Speaker of the House by secret ballot, rather than by a public roll call vote. That’s because the members who would oppose Boehner, if there ended up not being enough votes to achieve their desired result or if Boehner scared via threat or coaxed via prize some of the opposition into voting for him, would be sitting ducks for retaliation in the near future.

...To establish a secret ballot election for Speaker of the House, one Republican member will need to step forward and introduce a resolution on the House floor on the morning of January 3, 2013, before any other business takes place. Those close to this plan are convinced that a member will step forward and introduce this resolution... the first order of business is for the House to elect a Speaker...

...[I]f a member introduces that resolution for a secret ballot, the whole House will vote on that first. That vote will need to have a public roll call, meaning the American people, the press, and Boehner will know who voted which way. Even so, those who are considering this path forward to unseat Boehner know that Boehner and other establishment Republicans can’t legitimately oppose the concept of a secret ballot election for a leader of a political body [because of widespread GOP opposition to union "card check" tactics].

...If a secret ballot election for House Speaker is established, step one of this plan against Boehner is complete.

...The second step of the circulated plan would require enough GOP members to band together and vote for somebody other than Boehner as Speaker... [for] someone to win the Speaker election, they’d need to secure 217 votes – or a majority of everyone voting... The House would continue having multiple elections throughout the day on January 3 until it agreed upon a new Speaker.

Republicans need not worry about handing the Speakership over to Nancy Pelosi or some other Democrat in this process, either. “Don’t worry about Speaker Boehner losing GOP votes in a secret ballot..."

It is still not possible for Pelosi to become Speaker even with 100 % of Democrats united behind her and a split GOP vote. The reason is to become Speaker it is not enough to win a plurality. One must win an absolute majority of all votes cast for an individual.

...even if all 201 Democrats vote Pelosi, Boehner gets 1 vote, and the remaining 233 Republicans each vote for a different individual, Pelosi does not win. Pelosi would need 218 to reach a majority of the 435 votes cast for an individual. Since Republicans have a 33 vote advantage in the House, the only way Pelosi wins is if 17 Boehner opponents affirmatively vote Pelosi or abstain rather than simply vote for an alternative candidate. Both these scenarios are easily avoided...

Rumor has it that Paul Ryan's name is being circulated. I believe he is one man who gets it; and who could unite the conservative base as well as the establishment.


Larwyn's Linx: Boehner Must Resign

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

Nation

Boehner Must Resign: RS
Why Republicans Failed: P&F
How to downsize the federal government: AT

No agreement short of a complete sellout can be reached by year-end: LI
Leaders are people with followers: RSM
Just How Badly John Boehner Played His Hand: RS

An opinion on gun control: Correia
Andrew Cuomo: Gun Confiscation ‘Could be an Option’: JWF
Is it True Armed Civilians Have Never Stopped a Mass Shooting?: WS

Just How Badly John Boehner Played His Hand: RS
In 2000 Bill Clinton Wanted Cops in Schools Because of Columbine: Lid
Truism: WZ

Economy

If You Need Further Proof That Unions Control The Democratic Party: Glob
Disability growth outpaced job growth under Obama by 4 to 1: IBD
OOPS: Clinton implemented armed cops at schools in 2000: Tatler

What, me worry? Obama jets off to Hawaii for 20 days: GWP
Terrorist Bill Ayers: Left Must Use Education Monopoly: Blaze
The Smutty Professor: College Insurrection

Scandal Central

EPA Under Investigation for Using Fake Emails to Hide Info: JW
Quick dirty review of 2012 election fraud: JPA
Rubio Grills Deputy Secretary of State During Senate Hearing: Shark

Climate & Energy

The Domino Effect of Green Energy Failure: Beacon

Media

Two Possible Futures for the Ancien Regime: Driscoll
Obama’s Media Parrot Demolished on CNN: AIM
Mark Levin: Conservatives saved the Republican Party from itself: Scoop

Your Scary-Ass Chart of the Day: Driscoll
Laura Ingraham: Sources Say Paul Ryan to Replace John Boehner as Speaker: GWP
Obama’s Dangerous Record on Gun Control: Lubbock

Hot Mic: Reporters caught mocking NRA press conference but praising Code Pink demonstrations: Scoop
Gutfeld Hammers NYT’s Adolph Reed: RSM
Breitbart.com Star Dana Loesch Sues Site: BuzzFeed

World

More Than Just Another Cartoon: AmSpec
Soviet Accident Prevention Posters: The Back Story: Cube
Antisemitic Iranian Articles On Connecticut Shooting: Victims and Shooter Were All Jews: MEMRI

Defense Budget Priorities: Opting for American Decline: Foundry
Iran Gets Missile Shield: CDN
Marines’ new alcohol policy strictest in U.S. military: ArmyTimes

Court: Illegal Aliens Don’t Have 2nd Amendment Rights: JW
Sacre Bleu! The Collapse of French Pensions: Mead
Ex-Marine Jon Hammar back on US soil after release from Mexico prison: Fox

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

Hollywood’s culture of murder and death: Flopping Aces
UK Could get Compulsory Porn Filters: Zeropaid
How 10,000 Contracts Crashed The Market: Last Night's E-Mini Flash Crash: ZH

Cornucopia

Above and Beyond: C&S
Christmas “Gouls” and Goulash: MOTUS
Reader reactions to 'Jack Reacher': The fans are furious: LAT

Image: NASA Johnson Style
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Larry Correia

QOTD: "Gun Free Zones are hunting preserves for innocent people. Period.

Think about it. You are a violent, homicidal madman, looking to make a statement and hoping to go from disaffected loser to most famous person in the world. The best way to accomplish your goals is to kill a whole bunch of people. So where’s the best place to go shoot all these people? Obviously, it is someplace where nobody can shoot back.

In all honesty I have no respect for anybody who believes Gun Free Zones actually work. You are going to commit several hundred felonies, up to and including mass murder, and you are going to refrain because there is a sign? That No Guns Allowed sign is not a cross that wards off vampires. It is wishful thinking, and really pathetic wishful thinking at that." --Larry Correia

Friday, December 21, 2012

OH, IT'S ON: How to have Santa send personalized messages to your friends and family members

What could be cooler than getting a personal call from Santa?

It's that time of year again: Time to send someone a personalized holiday call from Santa Claus. The jovial St. Nick (or, well, Google) asks you a few questions then creates a customized message you can send by phone, email, or Google+.


It's a fun little holiday tool that you can send to anyone, seeing as some choices for your recipient's occupation include "accountant," "IT guy," and "Sith master." Besides Christmas, you can choose the celebration to be "winter," "the season," and "staying warm," among others. (I'm fond of the nickname suggestions, such as "home skillet" and "schmoopie.")

Note that personal phone calls are available to North American phone numbers only and during the day

Click here to have Santa place a call.


SHANNON WATTS, FOUNDER OF "MOMS FOR GUN CONTROL", SLAMS BILL CLINTON: Sent Armed Guards into Schools in 2000

The hypocrisy of the would-be tyrants on the Left never fails to amaze. Case in point: one Shannon Watts, founder of "One Million Moms for Gun Control".

Gun-control advocates reacted with incredulity at the statements by Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, at his Friday press conference. LaPierre called for armed guards in every school in the nation and blamed violent media, video games, films and music videos, not guns, for violence in society.

"It was absolutely outrageous,' said Shannon Watts, who founded One Million Moms for Gun Control just five days ago. "They are about to see a tsunami of 84 million angry moms coming out at them. Angry moms like they have never seen before. We are going to do for gun control what Mothers Against Drunk Driving did for drunk drivers...

...We understand about the Second Amendment, but it was written in 1791, before AK47s." America needs common sense, she said.

In response, George Washington commented from the afterlife:

Firearms stand next in importance to the constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty teeth... from the hour the Pilgrims landed to the present day, events, occurrences and tendencies prove that to ensure peace security and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable... the very atmosphere of firearms anywhere restrains evil interference — they deserve a place of honor with all that’s good.

Shannon Watts is a nincompoop, who must ignore the hundreds of millions of innocent civilians killed by their own governments in the 20th century alone in her inane quest to trade liberty for security, which will secure neither.

Actually, I made that last sentence up. The rest was all George.

Now, among the multitude of reasons that Shannon Watts is a nincompoop, is the fact that Bill Clinton actually implemented armed cops at at schools in 2000.

Only Barack Obama cut the funding for it. Oops.

The NRA came out with a proposal to post armed police officers at schools to prevent or at least minimize the next school shooting. The left promptly called the idea nuts.

Turns out, it wasn’t a new idea. President Bill Clinton proposed the same idea in April 2000. He implemented it, too, only to see Barack Obama cut the funding for it.

So, if you’re keeping score, the NRA agrees with a 12-year old Bill Clinton position on school security. The left just called a former Democrat president “crazy.”

...The NRA today proposed protecting our children to a level similar to the way we protect our banks and many public buildings: With armed security. As we’ve established, this idea has been around for more than 12 years and was once proposed by a Democratic president. Many on the anti-gun left responded to today’s proposal not with a thoughtful rejoinder, but with calls to shoot Wayne LaPierre.

For students of history, I wonder whose counsel is more valuable: Shannon Watts -- or America's founders?


Hat tip: BadBlue News.

THE NEW MAGAZINES ARE HERE! THE NEW MAGAZINES ARE HERE!

The feckless platitudes of politicians and pseudo-pundits have kicked off the greatest gun-buying frenzy in recent American history.

On Saturday, anticipating the idiocy, I ordered a half-dozen magazines only two of which arrived today.


Of course, the real reasons for these tragic massacres won't be discussed inside the Beltway.


COMING SOON: The 2012 Fabulous 50 Blog Awards... #fab50

Forget the Pulitzers! Flush those stinking Nobel Prizes! There's only one award worth winning and we all know what it is.

Every year at this time we are pleased to announce the winners of the Fabulous 50 Blog Awards™, recognizing the year's 50 most important blogs and websites in the conservative world. No debates. No voting. No nominations. Just facts. Immutable truths, chiseled in stone and then forged on Zeus' anvil for all of human history. No prize carries more panache, more prestige, or more sex appeal than a Fab 50 Award, save something you might find in a Crackerjacks box.

The talented illustrators at the peerless iOwnTheWorld have created a stunning set of award icons, suitable for framing, the inspiration for your next tattoo, or even inclusion on the templates of the award winners.

If you are a winner, click the award icon that you would like to use, then copy the text in the HTML block below to paste into your template:

300 x 400 Deluxe200 x 267 Midsize
180 x 241 Intermediate160 x 185 Mini160 x 185 LOSER


HTML to use in your template:

Related:
2011 Fabulous 50 Blog Award Winners
2010 Fabulous 50 Blog Award Winners
2009 Fabulous 50 Blog Award Winners.

And be sure to press your browser's Reload button continuously from now until New Year's Eve to make sure you don't miss this immense event, which could very well be televised on ESPN 8 ("The Ocho"), as far as you know.


SHHH, NO ONE TELL PIERS MORGAN: Violent crime in the U.K. five (5) times worse than in the U.S.

Maybe this is why Piers Morgan's bowels loosen whenever people try to have a rational discussion about firearms. He seems so... defensive.

Britain’s violent crime record is worse than any other country in the European union, it has been revealed.

Official crime figures show the UK also has a worse rate for all types of violence than the U.S. and even South Africa – widely considered one of the world’s most dangerous countries.

The Tories said Labour had presided over a decade of spiralling violence.

In the decade following the party’s election in 1997, the number of recorded violent attacks soared by 77 per cent to 1.158million – or more than two every minute.


...Britons suffer 1,158,957 violent crimes per year, which works out at 2,034 per 100,000 residents. By contrast the number in notoriously violent South Africa is 1,609 per 100,000.

The U.S., meanwhile, has a rate of 466 crimes per 100,000 residents, which is lower than France’s, at 504; Finland’s, at 738; Sweden’s, at 1123; and Canada’s at 935...

If I were a lesser man, I'd call Morgan a pompous, euro-trash fraud who was fired in England for publishing doctored news photos.

But I'm too polite for that.


Related: Piers Morgan Quiz.

COLOR ME SURPRISED: Another Fatal Smart Car Accident

Driving around a golf cart on roads populated by real vehicles is like a 150-pounder trying to play offensive line in the NFL:

An Upland man was killed Wednesday... following a crash on the eastbound 210 Freeway east of Towne Avenue. Antonio Sanchez, 62, was pronounced dead at the scene around 2:45 a.m., according to a California Highway Patrol news release.

Sanchez was traveling east on the 210 freeway near Towne Avenue when he was involved in a minor crash, according to CHP officials... Sanchez's Smart Car was disabled and remained in the fast lane of the freeway without it's lights on, officials said.

Shortly after the initial crash, a motorist in a 1996 Toyota Camry rear-ended the Smart Car... The driver of the Camry was taken to Pomona Valley Community Hospital with minor to moderate injuries.

This was a Camry versus a Smart Car. You can only imagine, say, a Lincoln Navigator hitting one. Or a semi.

And these are the kinds of cars that the Obama EPA intends all of us to drive, at the trifling cost of only $6,700 per car.


Image: SmartCarWreck.com.

Larwyn's Linx: "Get the hell off the stage, Boehner"

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

Nation

"Get the hell off the stage, Boehner": Scoop
446 Children Shot in Chicago This Year, Media Curiously Silent: NoisyRm
Boehner's "Plan B" a Miserable Failure: Times

What the Looming Port Strike Is Really About: Malkin
Gun Control and Sandy Hook: Boortz
Harvard: Firearm Ownership Doesn't Correlate With Violence: CFIF (2007)

"Nothing more dangerous to liberals...": Scoop
Apocalypse now: Cold Fury
Transgender Teen Planned Shooting, Bombing at AZ H.S.: Sooper

Economy

The Law That Could Have Prevented the Newtown Massacre: NoisyRm
Obama: Raise Tax On The Rich....For The (Murdered) Children: Ace
Why Are Broke Local Governments Paying For Agenda 21?: LoneCon

The 7 most illuminating economic charts of 2012: AEI
The GOP's Horrific Political Strategy: Hawkins
Boehner Kills Vote on Plan B, Recesses for Christmas: Bruce

Scandal Central

Three Debate Tips for Those Calling for More Gun Restrictions: Ari
Colorado Teacher Union Coordinator Gets Caught “Off Camera”: Spotlight
The Feds Can't Unload GM Quick Enough...: Reason

Climate & Energy

Steven Chu to leave Department of Energy?: Moe Lane
CLIMATE CHANGE FAIL: New leak shows predictions of planetary warming have been overstated: Times
Massive snowstorm blamed for deaths in 5 states: USA Today

Media

An Open Letter To Dr. Janet Rosenbaum: Finem Respice
The 40 Most Obnoxious Quotes Of 2012: Hawkins
Jordan Bred 11 riots, deaths: Twitchy

Attention, Piers Morgan: Is Saturation Coverage Encouraging Mass Murderers?: Ace
GOA’s Larry Pratt DESTROYS CNN’s Piers Morgan on CT Shooting: NoisyRm
In Which Obama Fails To Mention A Single Instance Of Gun Violence in Chicago: Glob

Piers Morgan berates another pro-gun advocate on his show, calls John Lott a liar: RedAlert
It's Handguns Now? Mental Midget Soledad O'Brien Repeatedly Asks Democrats About Limiting Handguns: NB
Personage of the Year Magazine Covers: Cube

World

Benghazi Whitewash Report: Systematic State Department Failures: JWF
Proof of a Scandal: U.S. Policy is Making Syria into an Anti-Western, Antisemitic Islamist State: BRubin
Spec ops troops’ stress ‘worse than we thought’: ArmyTimes

Violent Britain: NRO
A Soldier's Eye View of Chuck Hagel: Tom Cotton
Turkey Endorses Iranian Nuke, No One Notices: Mauro

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

China now blocking encryption: Schneier
The top 4 career trends for 2013: VenBeat
Air Force asks ESPN for help in analyzing drone footage: Fox

Cornucopia

Other Refinement: Worst. Gingerbread. House. Ever.: R&R
Just in time for Christmas: Obama Barbies: Henneman
Annual Company Christmas Party: AmPower

Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Allen West: Boycott All Travel to Mexico!

QOTD: "I agree [U.S. Marine Jon] Hammar’s treatment is an “absolute disgrace and it is unconscionable that Jay Carney knew nothing about this. There is no excuse for this and the picture of an American, a Marine, chained to a cot is despicable.

In some ways, Lance Corporal Hammar is another victim of the botched “Fast and Furious” program. Mexico has stringent gun control laws in part because of weapons illicitly purchased in the US and trafficked back into Mexico.

I pray that, just as with Benghazi, the new normal for Time magazine’s Man of the Year is not to abandon this Marine, as his Administration did two Navy SEALs. These actions only serve to erode the trust and confidence in the Commander-in-Chief from our men and women in uniform – and all Americans, for that matter.

Support the travel boycott to Mexico, and call the White House to let this Administration know we do not tolerate abandoning LC Hammar.”--Rep. Allen West

Thursday, December 20, 2012

BUMMER: EPA suffers slight setback in attack on America's family farms

The American Farm Bureau Federation is helping publicize the EPA's methodical extermination of the family farm.

In a surprise about-face, the Environmental Protection Agency has withdrawn an order demanding that West Virginia poultry grower Lois Alt obtain a Clean Water Act discharge permit for stormwater runoff from her farmyard or face up to $37,500 per day in penalties. While the action is a great victory for Alt, it leaves unresolved a major legal issue with serious implications for other livestock and poultry farmers that must be addressed, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia ruled in October that AFBF and West Virginia Farm Bureau have the right to join Alt’s lawsuit. EPA had aggressively opposed the Farm Bureaus’ participation. EPA’s withdrawal of the order comes six months after Alt filed her legal action and a mere six weeks before Alt and AFBF are scheduled to file briefs challenging EPA’s interpretation of the law.

In withdrawing its order, EPA cited new management practices identified during a May 2012 re-inspection of the farm. However, EPA’s inspection report also states that dust, feathers and small amounts of manure were still observed on the ground at the farm – which was the very same basis of EPA’s original order, according to AFBF General Counsel Ellen Steen. “EPA still has not backed away from its position that any amount of pollutant on the ground at a livestock or poultry farm requires a Clean Water Act permit,” according to Steen. “The more likely reason for EPA’s withdrawal is that it does not want to defend its position in court.”

“This is a personal victory for Lois Alt, but it should not have taken a federal lawsuit to convince EPA to withdraw an order that was illegal from the start,” said American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman. “EPA’s withdrawal of the Alt order without correcting its legal position still leaves other farmers and ranchers hanging in uncertainty, vulnerable to the same threats that Ms. Alt faced.”

EPA’s November 2011 order threatened Alt with $37,500 in fines for each time stormwater came into contact with dust, feathers or small amounts of manure on the ground outside of her poultry houses... EPA also threatened separate fines of $37,500 per day if Alt failed to apply for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. Alt responded by filing her own legal challenge to the EPA order in June 2012.

“EPA says its withdrawal is based on a May 2012 re-inspection of the farm, but I can’t help but notice that EPA only withdrew the order after Farm Bureau was granted intervention in October,” Steen explained. “It’s like upsetting the chess board when you know you are in danger of losing. All signs are that EPA does not want to defend its position in court.”

“EPA knows very well that most farmers lack the resources to fight back when they face an EPA order – even if the order has no legal basis,” noted Stallman. “We are happy for Ms. Alt that EPA has flinched, but the principles for which she stood remain in danger.”

As an aside, this is all out of the playbook.