Biff Spackle has $25 burning a hole in his pocket for the winner:
Friday, December 28, 2012
PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION TO KEEP THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS SAFE: It's Logic, Dammit!
A perfect idea:
And since Sen. Dianne Feinstein seeks to ban firearms, she should be a big supporter of these new gun-free zones.
Since our wise rulers in the governmedia have determined that gun-free status makes schools safer, if you care about the safety of the president and his children, you might want to sign this White House petition:
Eliminate armed guards for the President, Vice-President, and their families, and establish Gun Free Zones around them.
The explanation makes perfect sense:
Gun Free Zones are supposed to protect our children, and some politicians wish to strip us of our right to keep and bear arms. Those same politicians and their families are currently under the protection of armed Secret Service agents. If Gun Free Zones are sufficient protection for our children, then Gun Free Zones should be good enough for politicians.
Our rulers care enough about us little folk to want us to be safe from evil guns. Shouldn’t we care just as much about them?
And since Sen. Dianne Feinstein seeks to ban firearms, she should be a big supporter of these new gun-free zones.
Paradox [Dan from New York]
Dan from New York:
It goes without saying, Americans are uneasy about criticizing Islam.
Saudi detains dozens for "plotting to celebrate Christmas"
It's Official: Muslim Population of Britain Doubles
Number of mosques in US grew 74% since 9/11
After all, we’ve grown up with a First Amendment that this particularreligionpolitical system (and certain government officials) appears to despise.
THAT "COMING COLLAPSE" HAS BEEN COMING FOR DECADES: What does this gold ad from 1973 really tell us?
Considering that the CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of gold since 1973 is roughly 17.2%, who's to say this ad wasn't right?
With the race to devalue currencies around the world -- led by Ben Bernanke's magical printer -- and unsustainable sovereign debt, it's pretty clear that a collapse will come.
The only question is whether it's two years away -- or 10. History and arithmetic both tell us it won't be longer than that.
Hat tip: BadBlue Money News.
An ad from a 1973 issue of Barron's provides clear proof that feverish concerns about imminent economic collapse and a concomitant enthusiasm for precious metals has long been a theme amongst modern investors.
With the race to devalue currencies around the world -- led by Ben Bernanke's magical printer -- and unsustainable sovereign debt, it's pretty clear that a collapse will come.
The only question is whether it's two years away -- or 10. History and arithmetic both tell us it won't be longer than that.
Hat tip: BadBlue Money News.
Larwyn's Linx: Obama's GOP Tax Collectors
Send us tips! Bloggers: install a Larwyn's Linx widget. Get real-time news, 24/7, at BadBlue.
Laws, Little People, and the Public Interest: Malkin
You say you want a revolution?: AWD
Obama vs. America's Fiscal Health: DLim
At a Campus Near You: The End of Democracy In America: LI
Malkin hammers Cuomo on gun confiscation, Dem gun hypocrisy: Scoop
Hypocrisy Of Liberals Who Cling To Their Guns: IBD
Boy Uses AR15 To Stop A Home Invasion: Howling
GUN-FREE CHICAGO: Fatal Shooting Lifts Homicide Total to 500: Trib
What I Learned in the Poverty War: City Journal
President Obama's Legacy: $20 Trillion in Debt for 2016 Victor: Forbes
Businesses Look for Ways Around Health Care Law: FreeEnt
The FHA: A home wrecker: AEI
Santelli goes off: rips Fed, Obama, Geithner, Congress: GWP
10 Facts on the Fiscal Cliff, Debt, and Spending: Foundry
Why DC’s Business As Usual Crowd Fears The Fiscal Cliff: ConHQ
A Word on Sector Selection for 2013: RefBroker
Senate Republicans refuse to confirm Kerry until Hillary testifies about Benghazi: Hot Air
Attorney claims EPA chief resigned over alias email accounts: Fox
The Obama Green Energy Scam You May Have Missed: Townhall
Anonymous Narrative Arrives to Defend Gregory in Meet the Press Magazine Brandishment Episode: Blumer
Gun Debate Exposes Media’s Bias, David Gregory Exposed Their Hypocrisy: Mediaite
Dueling Headlines, TMZ/Obama Edition: Powers
Obama’s Family Vacation for Dudes: Dossier
Blogger publishes names, address of newspaper staff after gun-permit database disclosure: Fox
Allen West: ‘What the president is proposing is reflection of him living in some type of fantasy world’: Scoop
Gallup Poll: NRA Way More Popular Than the Media: JWF
CNN Feeds Anti-Gun Talking Point to Dem Congressman: NB
Desperate Screams of the Press Clowns: Erickson
Unexpected!: Cold Fury
MSNBC’s Toure: Gun Owners Should Be Treated Like Sex Offenders: WZ
Rep. Ros-Lehtinen invites Sen. Harry Reid to discover the real meaning of the term ‘dictatorhip’: Babalu
China wants Obama to ban all firearms: 90 Miles
Muslim Brotherhood Gets Top Security Clearance: Sentinel
Putin’s Adoption Ban Hits Senator Rubio Close to Home: Shark Tank
Saudi Arabia: 41 people arrested for "plotting to celebrate Christmas": JihadWatch
Windows 8's uptake falls behind Vista's pace: ComputerWorld
Putting Jay Glazer’s Perfect Punch And Other Infomercial Workout Systems To The Test: Consumerist
Kill All Republicans: A Sign Of Times: Cube
Corvette stolen in 1989 sold to OC man on eBay: KABC
Image: David Gregory’s Legendary “Gun Magazine of Perpetual Legality”!!
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Petition: Eliminate DC Armed Guards, Establish Gun-Free Zones Instead
Nation
Obama's GOP Tax Collectors: Jeffrey LordLaws, Little People, and the Public Interest: Malkin
You say you want a revolution?: AWD
Obama vs. America's Fiscal Health: DLim
At a Campus Near You: The End of Democracy In America: LI
Malkin hammers Cuomo on gun confiscation, Dem gun hypocrisy: Scoop
Hypocrisy Of Liberals Who Cling To Their Guns: IBD
Boy Uses AR15 To Stop A Home Invasion: Howling
GUN-FREE CHICAGO: Fatal Shooting Lifts Homicide Total to 500: Trib
Economy
Fiscal Cliff's Dirty Secret: It's Not About Taxes At All: Rand PaulWhat I Learned in the Poverty War: City Journal
President Obama's Legacy: $20 Trillion in Debt for 2016 Victor: Forbes
Businesses Look for Ways Around Health Care Law: FreeEnt
The FHA: A home wrecker: AEI
Santelli goes off: rips Fed, Obama, Geithner, Congress: GWP
10 Facts on the Fiscal Cliff, Debt, and Spending: Foundry
Why DC’s Business As Usual Crowd Fears The Fiscal Cliff: ConHQ
A Word on Sector Selection for 2013: RefBroker
Scandal Central
"Richard Windsor," aka Lisa Jackson, Resigns From EPA, Using Her Own Name for a Change: AceSenate Republicans refuse to confirm Kerry until Hillary testifies about Benghazi: Hot Air
Attorney claims EPA chief resigned over alias email accounts: Fox
Climate & Energy
“EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson resigns”: ProWisThe Obama Green Energy Scam You May Have Missed: Townhall
Media
Public Safety Map: Where Are The Journal News Employees In Your Neighborhood?: WZAnonymous Narrative Arrives to Defend Gregory in Meet the Press Magazine Brandishment Episode: Blumer
Gun Debate Exposes Media’s Bias, David Gregory Exposed Their Hypocrisy: Mediaite
Dueling Headlines, TMZ/Obama Edition: Powers
Obama’s Family Vacation for Dudes: Dossier
Blogger publishes names, address of newspaper staff after gun-permit database disclosure: Fox
Allen West: ‘What the president is proposing is reflection of him living in some type of fantasy world’: Scoop
Gallup Poll: NRA Way More Popular Than the Media: JWF
CNN Feeds Anti-Gun Talking Point to Dem Congressman: NB
Desperate Screams of the Press Clowns: Erickson
Unexpected!: Cold Fury
MSNBC’s Toure: Gun Owners Should Be Treated Like Sex Offenders: WZ
World
FBI report from 1970 sheds light on PLO and Fatah penetration of the American political Left: GlickRep. Ros-Lehtinen invites Sen. Harry Reid to discover the real meaning of the term ‘dictatorhip’: Babalu
China wants Obama to ban all firearms: 90 Miles
Muslim Brotherhood Gets Top Security Clearance: Sentinel
Putin’s Adoption Ban Hits Senator Rubio Close to Home: Shark Tank
Saudi Arabia: 41 people arrested for "plotting to celebrate Christmas": JihadWatch
Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)
10 Raspberry Pi creations that show how amazing the tiny PC can be: Ars TechnicaWindows 8's uptake falls behind Vista's pace: ComputerWorld
Putting Jay Glazer’s Perfect Punch And Other Infomercial Workout Systems To The Test: Consumerist
Cornucopia
2012 Wardrobe Malfunctions: Reaganite (NSFW)Kill All Republicans: A Sign Of Times: Cube
Corvette stolen in 1989 sold to OC man on eBay: KABC
Image: David Gregory’s Legendary “Gun Magazine of Perpetual Legality”!!
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Petition: Eliminate DC Armed Guards, Establish Gun-Free Zones Instead
QOTD: "AP: We're Pretty Sure That Holiday Sales Were Bleak Due to Hurricane Sandy and the Newtown Massacre
Anything bad that happens under Obama's watch is beyond his control. He has no power over the economy -- its dire health is attributable to ATM machines, Japanese earthquakes, and the NRA's promotion of murdering children.
Of course, whenever there's a speck of positive economic news, that is due to Obama's mastery of the levers and gears of production...
...Much, much later the article mentions another possibility -- the coming financial cliff and people's fear of the next dip in the endless recession." --Ace
Thursday, December 27, 2012
CHART: America's Disappearing Fathers
Truly tragic:
The inconvenient truth? The "War on Poverty" and the Left's failed welfare state policies have decimated the two-parent family and ruined the lives of millions.
Of that, there can be no debate.
In every state, the portion of families where children have two parents, rather than one, has dropped significantly over the past decade. Even as the country added 160,000 families with children, the number of two-parent households decreased by 1.2 million. Fifteen million U.S. children, or 1 in 3, live without a father, and nearly 5 million live without a mother. In 1960, just 11 percent of American children lived in homes without fathers...
The spiral continues each year. Married couples with children have an average income of $80,000, compared with $24,000 for single mothers.
“We have one class that thinks marriage and fatherhood is important, and another which doesn’t, and it’s causing that gap, income inequality, to get wider,”
...Though income is the primary predictor, the lack of live-in fathers also is overwhelmingly a black problem, regardless of poverty status, census data show. Among blacks, nearly 5 million children, or 54 percent, live with only their mother...
[One black father] is quick to blame the absence of fathers to deaths or incarcerations, though women point out that many absent fathers live around the corner...
The inconvenient truth? The "War on Poverty" and the Left's failed welfare state policies have decimated the two-parent family and ruined the lives of millions.
Of that, there can be no debate.
Richard Windsor Resigns as Head of EPA
Or is the name Lisa Jackson? I'm so confused.
Her official email received too many messages?
Gee, I'm no Bill Gates, but I figure with 17,000 employees and an $8 billion budget the EPA could marshal the necessary brainpower to add a lisa.jackson2@epa.gov to their Exchange server.
Investors Business Daily summarizes the story as a question: "Is The EPA's Lisa Jackson Trying To Dodge A Federal Probe?"
Answer: of course she is. Just add this scandal to the list.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson has decided to resign her post as top environmental regulator, a move that comes as Congress applies pressure on her for complicating oversight of the EPA by using at least one secondary email address under an alias.
...Lawmakers and the EPA inspector general wonder if Jackson used a private email account created under an alias to develop those policies in a way that would be invisible to watchdogs and congressional oversight...
...Jackson used a private email under the alias “Richard Windsor” to correspond with EPA colleagues, a decision her staff defended by saying that her official email account received too many messages for her to use it efficiently.
Her official email received too many messages?
Gee, I'm no Bill Gates, but I figure with 17,000 employees and an $8 billion budget the EPA could marshal the necessary brainpower to add a lisa.jackson2@epa.gov to their Exchange server.
Investors Business Daily summarizes the story as a question: "Is The EPA's Lisa Jackson Trying To Dodge A Federal Probe?"
Answer: of course she is. Just add this scandal to the list.
RED ALERT -- ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN 2.0: Feinstein Reveals Her Plans for Gun Registration
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has revealed the contours of her second-generation Assault Weapons Ban and it includes restrictions on handguns as well as the mandatory registration of firearms.
Did you catch that? The Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 will require registration of firearms, which is always -- always -- the precursor to confiscation by a tyrannical government.
This is because once a gun is required to be registered, it is virtually confiscated. The government will know who possesses which firearms and where those arms are stored. And when they desire physical possession of those weapons (which history tells us is inevitable), they can then order the citizenry to voluntarily turn in their weapons.
This has happened over and over again throughout all of recorded history. In the 20th century alone, mandatory registration followed by confiscation occurred in Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Red China, and Cambodia. More recently, registration and confiscation have occurred in Great Britain and Australia.
Once registration has been accepted by the citizenry, the rules for gun ownership are gradually tightened. This serves to further reduce the number of gun owners and to help facilitate the eventual confiscation step.
The background check requirement is only waived for private gun sales, which helps prevent a registration list from being developed.
There is no "Gun Show Loophole"; there is only an exception for private sales. This protects Americans from a government run amok.
Because a government that pushes for gun registration distrusts its citizens, and have thereby earned the citizens' distrust.
The Second Amendment codified the God-given right of the individual to defend himself, his family, and his community. It is a right, granted by God, not a permission or license granted by government.
In the 20th century alone, the wisdom of the founders has been validated over and over again.
It could never happen here, you say? Perhaps. I wonder what the Japanese-Americans who were thrown into internment camps during World War II would tell us.
I suspect that this legislation will serve as a line in the sand for many.
Hat tips: Dean Weingarten and @HollyR_J.
Summary of 2013 legislation
Following is a summary of the 2013 legislation:
- Bans the sale, transfer, importation, or manufacturing of:
- 120 specifically-named firearms;
- Certain other semiautomatic rifles, handguns, shotguns that can accept a detachable magazine and have one or more military characteristics; and
- Semiautomatic rifles and handguns with a fixed magazine that can accept more than 10 rounds.
- Strengthens the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban and various state bans by:
- Moving from a 2-characteristic test to a 1-characteristic test;
- Eliminating the easy-to-remove bayonet mounts and flash suppressors from the characteristics test; and
- Banning firearms with “thumbhole stocks” and “bullet buttons” to address attempts to “work around” prior bans.
- Bans large-capacity ammunition feeding devices capable of accepting more than 10 rounds.
- Protects legitimate hunters and the rights of existing gun owners by:
- Grandfathering weapons legally possessed on the date of enactment;
- Exempting over 900 specifically-named weapons used for hunting or sporting purposes; and
- Exempting antique, manually-operated, and permanently disabled weapons.
- Requires that grandfathered weapons be registered under the National Firearms Act, to include:
- Background check of owner and any transferee;
- Type and serial number of the firearm;
- Positive identification, including photograph and fingerprint;
- Certification from local law enforcement of identity and that possession would not violate State or local law; and
- Dedicated funding for ATF to implement registration.
A pdf of the bill summary is available here.
Did you catch that? The Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 will require registration of firearms, which is always -- always -- the precursor to confiscation by a tyrannical government.
REGISTRATION IS CONFISCATION
The Holy Grail of the gun control crowd is registration of firearms.This is because once a gun is required to be registered, it is virtually confiscated. The government will know who possesses which firearms and where those arms are stored. And when they desire physical possession of those weapons (which history tells us is inevitable), they can then order the citizenry to voluntarily turn in their weapons.
This has happened over and over again throughout all of recorded history. In the 20th century alone, mandatory registration followed by confiscation occurred in Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Red China, and Cambodia. More recently, registration and confiscation have occurred in Great Britain and Australia.
Once registration has been accepted by the citizenry, the rules for gun ownership are gradually tightened. This serves to further reduce the number of gun owners and to help facilitate the eventual confiscation step.
THE "GUN SHOW LOOPHOLE"
The gun control crowd likes bleating about a "Gun Show Loophole" that ostensibly allows an individual to visit a gun show and purchase weapons without a background check. This is utter nonsense. The vast majority of guns sold at shows are by licensed dealers, all of whom must pursue background checks for each firearm they sell.The background check requirement is only waived for private gun sales, which helps prevent a registration list from being developed.
There is no "Gun Show Loophole"; there is only an exception for private sales. This protects Americans from a government run amok.
Because a government that pushes for gun registration distrusts its citizens, and have thereby earned the citizens' distrust.
IT WAS NEVER ABOUT GUNS
The clearest reason for the Second Amendment is to insure that the people retain a large measure of power, to balance that of the government.The Second Amendment codified the God-given right of the individual to defend himself, his family, and his community. It is a right, granted by God, not a permission or license granted by government.
In the 20th century alone, the wisdom of the founders has been validated over and over again.
It could never happen here, you say? Perhaps. I wonder what the Japanese-Americans who were thrown into internment camps during World War II would tell us.
I suspect that this legislation will serve as a line in the sand for many.
Hat tips: Dean Weingarten and @HollyR_J.
Larwyn's Linx: 2012: When Dreams Died
Send us tips! Bloggers: install a Larwyn's Linx widget. Get real-time news, 24/7, at BadBlue.
Another Obama ICE memo sabotages homeland security: Malkin
"Progressives" Panic As They Lose the Gun Narrative: Townhall
Fathers vanishing from American households: Times
Counting the dead vs. those who will live: Bookworm
Charts: Gun violence in America declining over last 20 years: Hot Air
The Magic of Gun Control: Events
Kwanzaa: Holiday Brought To You By The FBI: Coulter
Election Over, Americans Find They Were Duped By Obama: IBD
It’s Not a “Fiscal Cliff” … It’s the Descent Into Lawlessness: BigPic
Holiday Sales Stink, Guess Whose Policies Aren't To Blame: Cove
Obama Blows $7M+ Pretending He Cares About Fiscal Crisis: JWF
Will Rising Union Activism Expose The Zombified US Pensions?: ZH
'Disabled' Workers Hit New Record in December: 8,827,795: CNS
Scofflaw David Gregory Busted by Bloggers, MIA From ‘Meet the Press’: RSM
HuffPo Shocker: Clinton Policies Seriously Damaged Economy: NB
The year's 9 most hilarious New York Times corrections: TheWeek
OUTED: NY Journalists Who Published Name And Address Of Every Handgun Owner In Two Counties: WZ
Cowardice: Smug Journal-News Editor Deletes Facebook Page, Hides Tweets: JWF
Newspaper editor who published gun owners’ personal info protects her Twitter account: Twitchy
The Howard Kurtz Recursion: Driscoll
The Journal News (NY) Posts Names/Addresses of Handgun Permit Holders: UrbanGrounds
Gun Owner Map Backfire: Outing unarmed homes makes them sitting ducks: Wolf Files
'Assault Weapons' vs. 'So-Called Modern Sporting Rifles': A New York Times Lexicon: Reason
Obama’s Numbers Went Down, but Romney Never Inspired Voters to Vote: Barone
R.I.P. Newsweek: AIM
Tom Friedman: ‘Hagel Is Out of the Mainstream’: WS
Ancient temple, rare ritual tools discovered near Jerusalem: Hayom
FBI Memo: Hackers Breached Heating System via Backdoor: Wired
Software patents: The talk of 2012: OpenSource
Obama Dined at Morimoto, 41 Ate Chinese: MOTUS
The Media Violence Project: IowaHawk
Image: ABC's Brian Ross wins "Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste" Award
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: 2012 MRC Awards for the Worst Reporting
Nation
2012: When Dreams Died: HansonAnother Obama ICE memo sabotages homeland security: Malkin
"Progressives" Panic As They Lose the Gun Narrative: Townhall
Fathers vanishing from American households: Times
Counting the dead vs. those who will live: Bookworm
Charts: Gun violence in America declining over last 20 years: Hot Air
The Magic of Gun Control: Events
Kwanzaa: Holiday Brought To You By The FBI: Coulter
Election Over, Americans Find They Were Duped By Obama: IBD
Economy
Building The Fiscal Cliff, One Dollar At A Time : RWNIt’s Not a “Fiscal Cliff” … It’s the Descent Into Lawlessness: BigPic
Holiday Sales Stink, Guess Whose Policies Aren't To Blame: Cove
Obama Blows $7M+ Pretending He Cares About Fiscal Crisis: JWF
Will Rising Union Activism Expose The Zombified US Pensions?: ZH
'Disabled' Workers Hit New Record in December: 8,827,795: CNS
Scandal Central
State Department's Benghazi Resignations Were FAKE: LidScofflaw David Gregory Busted by Bloggers, MIA From ‘Meet the Press’: RSM
Climate & Energy
Big Brother: Feds Propose Tracking Black Boxes in All New Cars: 90 MilesMedia
D.C. Police: NBC told it could NOT use high-cap magazine in news segment: LIHuffPo Shocker: Clinton Policies Seriously Damaged Economy: NB
The year's 9 most hilarious New York Times corrections: TheWeek
OUTED: NY Journalists Who Published Name And Address Of Every Handgun Owner In Two Counties: WZ
Cowardice: Smug Journal-News Editor Deletes Facebook Page, Hides Tweets: JWF
Newspaper editor who published gun owners’ personal info protects her Twitter account: Twitchy
The Howard Kurtz Recursion: Driscoll
The Journal News (NY) Posts Names/Addresses of Handgun Permit Holders: UrbanGrounds
Gun Owner Map Backfire: Outing unarmed homes makes them sitting ducks: Wolf Files
'Assault Weapons' vs. 'So-Called Modern Sporting Rifles': A New York Times Lexicon: Reason
Obama’s Numbers Went Down, but Romney Never Inspired Voters to Vote: Barone
R.I.P. Newsweek: AIM
World
Where's Hillary?: WSTom Friedman: ‘Hagel Is Out of the Mainstream’: WS
Ancient temple, rare ritual tools discovered near Jerusalem: Hayom
Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)
This 200-Year-Old Mechanical Caterpillar Does Everything But Turn Into a Butterfly: GizmodoFBI Memo: Hackers Breached Heating System via Backdoor: Wired
Software patents: The talk of 2012: OpenSource
Cornucopia
The Obamas have yet to master this vacation wardrobe thing.: NakedDCObama Dined at Morimoto, 41 Ate Chinese: MOTUS
The Media Violence Project: IowaHawk
Image: ABC's Brian Ross wins "Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste" Award
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: 2012 MRC Awards for the Worst Reporting
QOTD:"In combing through the results of the 2012 election — apparently finally complete, nearly two months after the fact — I continue to find many similarities between 2012 and 2004, and one enormous difference...
The popular vote margins were similar — 51 to 48 percent for George W. Bush in 2004, 51 to 47 percent for Barack Obama in 2012.
The one enormous difference was turnout. Turnout between the 2000 and 2004 elections rose from 105 million to 122 million — plus 16 percent. Turnout between the 2008 and 2012 elections fell from 131 million to 128 million — minus 2 percent.
Turnout is a measure of organization but also of spontaneous enthusiasm." --Michael Barone
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
THE ENTIRE NBC FIREARMS CRIME SAGA, POINT-BY-POINT: Is David Gregory Hiding From the Cops?
In his zeal to pursue additional -- and provably useless -- gun control laws, Meet The Press host David Gregory waved around a high-capacity magazine last Sunday to make a rhetorical point during an interview.
You probably know that the District of Columbia -- where the show is taped -- has some of the most restrictive gun control laws in the U.S. (and the expected high rate of violent crime... but, I digress). In fact, D.C. prohibits the possession of high-cap mags, a crime punishable by up to a year in prison and a fine of as much as $1,000.
• An enterprising blogger pointed this fact out after Meet the Press and noted that Gregory very well could be prosecuted for this crime.
• The hypocrisy is noteworthy: Gregory sends his children to a school protected by as many as 11 armed security officers, but I suspect he believes his children are more deserving of protection than yours.
• It turns out that NBC requested permission to use the mag -- and was denied. Blogger William Jacobson did the detective work and verified that the DC Metropolitan Police Department not only refused NBC's request but is now actively investigating the alleged crime.
• As you could have predicted, the entire antique media complex is running interference for Gregory:
(a) CNN's Howard Kurtz, for example, is shocked -- shocked! -- that anyone could be prosecuted for simple possession when no crime was intended. Welcome to the America in which tens of millions of law-abiding citizens live under threat of nonsensical and provably useless laws, Howie, you dunce.
(b) Fox News' Greta Van Susteren also labeled the pursuit of Gregory "silliness".
But, as Jacobson points out, "One of the problems with the ever expanding gun laws advocated by Gregory and others is that otherwise law-abiding citizens get caught up inadvertently violating the law... while criminals do what they please and powerful people don’t get prosecuted."
• The lurid gossip site TMZ is running interference, claiming that somehow the ATF got involved and said possession of the mag was jest fine. [Insert pregnant pause here] The ATF? Facilitating firearms crimes? Perish the thought.
• But it doesn't look like Gregory's convinced. Curiously, he's bailed out of hosting Meet the Press in DC this week, perhaps fearing a Blues Brothers-like greeting from the law enforcement community.
And it couldn't happen to a more deserving would-be tyrant. As Moe Lane observes, David Gregory can and should be arrested for violating DC's gun law.
DC's gun laws state that Gregory is a criminal. He should therefore be treated as one, just like you or I would be.
You probably know that the District of Columbia -- where the show is taped -- has some of the most restrictive gun control laws in the U.S. (and the expected high rate of violent crime... but, I digress). In fact, D.C. prohibits the possession of high-cap mags, a crime punishable by up to a year in prison and a fine of as much as $1,000.
• An enterprising blogger pointed this fact out after Meet the Press and noted that Gregory very well could be prosecuted for this crime.
• The hypocrisy is noteworthy: Gregory sends his children to a school protected by as many as 11 armed security officers, but I suspect he believes his children are more deserving of protection than yours.
• It turns out that NBC requested permission to use the mag -- and was denied. Blogger William Jacobson did the detective work and verified that the DC Metropolitan Police Department not only refused NBC's request but is now actively investigating the alleged crime.
• As you could have predicted, the entire antique media complex is running interference for Gregory:
(a) CNN's Howard Kurtz, for example, is shocked -- shocked! -- that anyone could be prosecuted for simple possession when no crime was intended. Welcome to the America in which tens of millions of law-abiding citizens live under threat of nonsensical and provably useless laws, Howie, you dunce.
(b) Fox News' Greta Van Susteren also labeled the pursuit of Gregory "silliness".
But, as Jacobson points out, "One of the problems with the ever expanding gun laws advocated by Gregory and others is that otherwise law-abiding citizens get caught up inadvertently violating the law... while criminals do what they please and powerful people don’t get prosecuted."
• The lurid gossip site TMZ is running interference, claiming that somehow the ATF got involved and said possession of the mag was jest fine. [Insert pregnant pause here] The ATF? Facilitating firearms crimes? Perish the thought.
• But it doesn't look like Gregory's convinced. Curiously, he's bailed out of hosting Meet the Press in DC this week, perhaps fearing a Blues Brothers-like greeting from the law enforcement community.
And it couldn't happen to a more deserving would-be tyrant. As Moe Lane observes, David Gregory can and should be arrested for violating DC's gun law.
I am perfectly serious. David Gregory needs to be arrested, for a very simple reason: if I publicly demonstrated my possession of an illegal magazine in DC then I would be arrested – which is something that I already knew very well. That David Gregory apparently did not is because David Gregory thinks that he is protected by privilege – which, as Robert Anton Wilson once reminded us, literally means ‘private law.’ The DC law is absurd and inequitable; it should be repealed. But if it is not going to be repealed then it absolutely must be enforced equitably.
DC's gun laws state that Gregory is a criminal. He should therefore be treated as one, just like you or I would be.
I WONDER WHY THEY WAITED UNTIL AFTER THE ELECTION? EPA Cranks Out Third Job-Killing Regulation in a Week
Merry Christmas, Tiny Tim: the EPA has issued yet another devastating regulation. The Boiler MACT rule will hit American companies with a double whammy: it will kill jobs and spike the prices of almost every good and service. Oh, and there's an added bonus: it will make U.S. companies even less competitive internationally.
The National Association of Manufacturers is calling out the Obama administration.
And, as usual, these regulations were all withheld from the American public until after the election. This is just another example of how the progressive Left must hide who they are from the American people. It's called deception.
It's not just the fiscal cliff we have to worry about. It's not just the overhang of deficits. It's also the intentional, wanton destruction of the American manufacturing sector, pursued by the eco-statist Left through hundreds of thousands of pages of excessive regulations and executed by thousands of unelected, nameless bureaucrats.
Everyone with two neurons to rub together knows that the federal government has a catastrophic addiction to spending. And I can think of no better way to start fixing that problem than by nuking the EPA's budget, say, by 90 percent. Nuke it. It's the only way to be sure.
The National Association of Manufacturers is calling out the Obama administration.
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) President and CEO Jay Timmons issued this statement on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final Boiler MACT regulation:
“For the second straight week, the EPA has finalized another costly and crippling regulation at a time when our economy is on the brink. Boiler MACT will not create jobs, and studies indicate it could cost manufacturers as much as $14 billion. Manufacturers are understandably growing more pessimistic about the direction of the economy. The end-of-year regulatory assault on businesses, combined with the uncertainty of the fiscal cliff, makes for one of the worst business environments in living memory.
...this regulation remains far from being realistic. Currently, it is 20 percent more expensive to manufacture in the United States compared to our major trading partners, and Boiler MACT will only drive that differential higher...
And, as usual, these regulations were all withheld from the American public until after the election. This is just another example of how the progressive Left must hide who they are from the American people. It's called deception.
It's not just the fiscal cliff we have to worry about. It's not just the overhang of deficits. It's also the intentional, wanton destruction of the American manufacturing sector, pursued by the eco-statist Left through hundreds of thousands of pages of excessive regulations and executed by thousands of unelected, nameless bureaucrats.
Everyone with two neurons to rub together knows that the federal government has a catastrophic addiction to spending. And I can think of no better way to start fixing that problem than by nuking the EPA's budget, say, by 90 percent. Nuke it. It's the only way to be sure.
IRONIC PRIVACY FAIL: Facebook Founder's Sister Suffers Photo Leak
Well, if the sister of Facebook founder Jerry Zuckerberg screwed up her own privacy settings, what chance do the rest of us have?
The article implies that Schweizer was not actually connected directly to Randi, but had simply subscribed to her updates.
So the failure was presumably either user error by Randi or facilitated by the vagaries of Facebook's notoriously nebulous privacy settings.
It doesn't help that this particular incident follows hot on the heels of Instagram's (a Facebook acquisition) public relations disaster.
It remains to be seen whether Facebook will get this privacy thing right, balancing the need to generate top-line growth with the privacy requirements of a fickle user community.
Hat tip: BadBlue Tech News.
...Mark Zuckerberg's sister Randi has complained about a Facebook privacy breach.
Randi, the former head of marketing for Facebook and the executive producer of Bravo's reality series Silicon Valley, complained when Callie Schweitzer, director of marketing and projects at VoxMedia, posted a photo of Randi and her family (including Mark) reacting to the new Poke app. Randi originally circulated the photo on Facebook to her friends, but Schweitzer posted it publicly on Twitter:
...Zuckerberg and Schweitzer have since deleted the conversation, but according to BuzzFeed, Schweitzer originally wrote "@randizuckerberg demonstrates her family's response to Poke" with a link to the pic. Randi then replied "@cschweitz: Not sure where you got this photo. I posted it only to friends on FB. You reposting it on Twitter is way uncool."
The article implies that Schweizer was not actually connected directly to Randi, but had simply subscribed to her updates.
So the failure was presumably either user error by Randi or facilitated by the vagaries of Facebook's notoriously nebulous privacy settings.
It doesn't help that this particular incident follows hot on the heels of Instagram's (a Facebook acquisition) public relations disaster.
It remains to be seen whether Facebook will get this privacy thing right, balancing the need to generate top-line growth with the privacy requirements of a fickle user community.
Hat tip: BadBlue Tech News.
Larwyn's Linx: The Real Cliff
Send us tips! Bloggers: install a Larwyn's Linx widget. Get real-time news, 24/7, at BadBlue.
Bloggers Outing Gun Owner Outers at The Journal News: CFP
‘How do you trust someone when they change their stance...?’: JWF
On Killing: Denninger
Brilliant: Jesse Jackson Asks Jail Inmates to Help End Gun Violence: JWF
Gunman William Spengler Used Bushmaster, Left Chilling Note: ABC
Four Words for Gun Grabbers: "Shall Not Be Infringed": Breitbart
Why Cuomo’s Nutty Gun Confiscation Plan Will Never Work: JWF
Look At All These Guns People Got for Christmas: AtlWire
The government failed: Let’s depend more on the government!: CFP
Soaking the rich, Obamacare style: DC
The gift of self-empowerment: Malkin
Surprise: State-Run Broadcasting Pushes for Higher Taxes: NB
Boo hoo: Obama may cut vacation to deal with fiscal crisis: JPost
So how does Journal – News reporter Dwight R. Worley rate a NYC pistol permit?: Fountain
Planned Parenthood Did One Abortion Every 95 Seconds—As Many in One Year as Live In Cincinnati: CNS
Piers Morgan: Thousands petition for deportation: BBC
New York Tells Rapists, Thieves and Murderers Which Homes to Target: NoisyRm
Why the Jews Vote for the Democrats: CFP
BBC's 'Top Gear' Host to America: 'It took us 40 years to get rid of Piers Morgan, do not send him back': Breitbart
Israeli PM Netanyahu's Christmas Message: JoshuaPundit
Human Rights Watch (partially) changes its tune - but only partially: Simply
Allah Akbar and Ho Ho Ho: Sultan Knish
Syria converts combat aircraft to WMD-armed drones: Hayom
Egypt's Morsi signs Islamist constitution into law: JPost
Prominent Imam in U.S.: Resurrected Caliphate Should Wage Jihad: Mauro
Christians suffer persecution worldwide during Christmas season: Twitchy
Muslims Open Fire on Midnight Mass at Nigerian Church: Atlas
Facebook Wants People To Pay (Them) To Spam (You): Denninger
Report: Chinese PLA Access 80% of “World’s Communications”: DefTech
Video: The freaky deaky Norwegian kicker: Greenroom
From Slum to Swan Lake: AP
Image: Twisters to ice, holiday weather is perilous
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Linkiest
Nation
The Real Cliff: Christopher DemuthBloggers Outing Gun Owner Outers at The Journal News: CFP
‘How do you trust someone when they change their stance...?’: JWF
On Killing: Denninger
Brilliant: Jesse Jackson Asks Jail Inmates to Help End Gun Violence: JWF
Gunman William Spengler Used Bushmaster, Left Chilling Note: ABC
Four Words for Gun Grabbers: "Shall Not Be Infringed": Breitbart
Why Cuomo’s Nutty Gun Confiscation Plan Will Never Work: JWF
Look At All These Guns People Got for Christmas: AtlWire
Economy
Obama Scrooges Christmas: RSMThe government failed: Let’s depend more on the government!: CFP
Soaking the rich, Obamacare style: DC
The gift of self-empowerment: Malkin
Surprise: State-Run Broadcasting Pushes for Higher Taxes: NB
Boo hoo: Obama may cut vacation to deal with fiscal crisis: JPost
Scandal Central
Obama Claus: Adds Time To Collect $50K Reparations: BreitbartSo how does Journal – News reporter Dwight R. Worley rate a NYC pistol permit?: Fountain
Climate & Energy
Amateur Video of Tornado in Mobile, AL: SooperMedia
DC Police Investigating NBC's Gregory for Violations of Gun Ban Laws: BreitbartPlanned Parenthood Did One Abortion Every 95 Seconds—As Many in One Year as Live In Cincinnati: CNS
Piers Morgan: Thousands petition for deportation: BBC
New York Tells Rapists, Thieves and Murderers Which Homes to Target: NoisyRm
Why the Jews Vote for the Democrats: CFP
BBC's 'Top Gear' Host to America: 'It took us 40 years to get rid of Piers Morgan, do not send him back': Breitbart
World
The Science of Islamophobia: GoVIsraeli PM Netanyahu's Christmas Message: JoshuaPundit
Human Rights Watch (partially) changes its tune - but only partially: Simply
Allah Akbar and Ho Ho Ho: Sultan Knish
Syria converts combat aircraft to WMD-armed drones: Hayom
Egypt's Morsi signs Islamist constitution into law: JPost
Prominent Imam in U.S.: Resurrected Caliphate Should Wage Jihad: Mauro
Christians suffer persecution worldwide during Christmas season: Twitchy
Muslims Open Fire on Midnight Mass at Nigerian Church: Atlas
Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)
Dark “Clouds” Forming After Netflix Outage Blamed On Amazon: CBS PhiladelphiaFacebook Wants People To Pay (Them) To Spam (You): Denninger
Report: Chinese PLA Access 80% of “World’s Communications”: DefTech
Cornucopia
Merry Christmas From the Second Amendment: Dancing CzarsVideo: The freaky deaky Norwegian kicker: Greenroom
From Slum to Swan Lake: AP
Image: Twisters to ice, holiday weather is perilous
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Linkiest
QOTD: "You may think it's a horrifying idea to arm teachers.
Did you ever think to stop and ask why you believe that, and whether your viewpoint is rational -- or whether you're being manipulated by the media and politicians for their own ends at the expense of your children?
Let's analyze this.
Do you think it's wrong to have an armed guard in your bank? How about the guy delivering the money to your grocery store in the armored car? Should he have a gun? Does your local grocery store's cash drawer -- or that of your bank -- have a higher value than your child? If you believe that the armored car or bank should have someone carrying a gun to protect that cash drawer while your child's teacher should not, that is what you believe.
How about the President? Should he have dozens of people all around him, every minute of the day, all with guns? How about Obama's two daughters -- should they have an armed Secret Service detail at their school, with guns, every single day? Do Obama's children have more value than yours? If you believe his children should have someone with a gun available to protect them but your child's teacher should be barred by law from carrying concealed and thus able to serve as a last line of defense for your child, that is what you believe.
How important are your children? More important than a drawer full of money? As important as President Obama's daughters? If you answered in the affirmative to both you do not want to ban guns -- you want the "Gun Free School" law repealed now and you want all teachers, administrators and staff who are willing and able to carry concealed firearms in the unlikely but possible case that a bad guy may try to murder your children." --Karl Denninger
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Note Alleging Slave Labor and Torture Found in Toy Made in China
A handwritten note discovered tucked inside a Made in China Halloween kit offers some troubling -- and entirely believable -- allegations.
While unverified, the note jibes with many other reports.
The People's Republic of China is a totalitarian slave state.
And yet it is routinely praised by the Left, from Barack Obama to The New York Times' Thomas Friedman. Which provides a perfect insight into their worldview.
Hat tip: BadBlue News.
The note was found by Julie Keith. The emotional letter had been sitting inside the package of a K-Mart 17 ’Totally Ghoul Piece Graveyard Kit” that Ms. Keith purchased a year ago to decorate her home. She did not use it last year. However, this past Halloween, Julie decided to open the box. That’s when she discovered the folded, handwritten note wedged between styrofoam skulls and bones.
Sir: If you occasionally buy this product, please kindly resend this letter to the World Human Right Organization. Thousands people here who are under the persicution of the Chinese Communist Party Government will thank and remember you forever.
The letter continues, adding allegations of the horrible conditions under which the laborers are working;
• 15 hour workdays
• seven days a week (no holidays)
• low wages of 10 yuan per month (that works out to about $1.60 per month in U.S. dollars)
• For the record, China Daily reports that the average monthly salary for workers in that country ranges from 2742 to 4672 / yuan per month (or $440 to $750 per month). A salary of 10 yuan per month would be less than 5% of what the poorest regions are paying workers.
The author claims that many of the laborers are there for 1-3 years as punishment, although they were not afforded a trial. And poor work (in the eyes of the supervisors) often triggers torture and rude remarks.
There is also a charge in the unsigned letter that workers are forced to be there in retaliation for being Falun Gong members (something that is not approved by the CCPG – Central China Power Group).
While unverified, the note jibes with many other reports.
The People's Republic of China is a totalitarian slave state.
And yet it is routinely praised by the Left, from Barack Obama to The New York Times' Thomas Friedman. Which provides a perfect insight into their worldview.
Hat tip: BadBlue News.
A Merry Dependent Christmas to You and Yours
An Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card resembles a typical credit or debit card. The EBT system is used to deliver "public assistance benefits", like the old food stamp program. It's ostensibly designed to simplify the delivery of benefits and reduce the stigma associated with using food stamps, but it is rife with fraud and abuse.
In Massachusetts, for example, nearly 90 percent of EBT benefits are withdrawn as cash.
So what difference does a ban on EBT cards at liquor stores, strip clubs and nail salons make if you can withdraw benefits in the form of cash? If the latest info on Twitter is any indication, none.
But, remember Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer: even though the entire system is collapsing, there's nothing to cut.
Hat tip: Flopping Aces.
In Massachusetts, for example, nearly 90 percent of EBT benefits are withdrawn as cash.
Does it make any difference for the state to ban the use of EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) cards at tattoo parlors, strip joints or package stores if beneficiaries can use them to get cash from an ATM?
What difference does any kind of control on the use of the actual cards make if the benefit can accessed in cash?
...According to that EBT Commission report, 85% of EBT benefits, or $77 Million in a three month period between October and Dec. 2011, were translated into cash at ATMs.
So what difference does a ban on EBT cards at liquor stores, strip clubs and nail salons make if you can withdraw benefits in the form of cash? If the latest info on Twitter is any indication, none.
Lol ill put the whole EBT card on it RT @i65scootdawg: Bet some food stampson dis nets And celtics game @realniggasolo
— Solo Junior (@RealNiggaSolo) December 25, 2012
Lemme have thousands on that ebt -_______- Bruh..how many kids is that
— Desire` (@FoxiBrowne) December 25, 2012
Pray that congresspass that bill.OryourEBTand all that is done.
— blogkingnyc (@BlogKingNyc) December 25, 2012
Breaking down cocaine with an EBT.
— Jordan (@jordvnx) December 25, 2012
I'm thankful for this EBT giftcard I got. Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday to the homie Jesus
— AC (@ac_carter2) December 25, 2012
I BOUGHT ALL MY FOLOWERS. THERES A SERVICE DAT ACCEPTS EBT. IM POPPIN, U NOT. STOP HATIN BITCH
— Neville Corley (@nevillemanukkit) December 25, 2012
“@rickanbagher: Micheal Kors must have had a sale huh”<<naw these hoes been saving EBT up since June
— Applejack Milk (@YZFRStew) December 25, 2012
😂😂RT @gottahave_ash: Louis bag wit an EBT card in it . Swag !
— Dijon (@dijonlyte) December 25, 2012
But, remember Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer: even though the entire system is collapsing, there's nothing to cut.
Hat tip: Flopping Aces.
Larwyn's Linx: 2012 Lie of the Year: Government is affordable
Send us tips! Bloggers: install a Larwyn's Linx widget. Get real-time news, 24/7, at BadBlue.
The March to Liberty: TL in Exile
Massive Response to Petition to Deport Piers Morgan: MB
The importance of prosecuting David Gregory...: LI
Do the coup on Boo-Hoo. Boehner, that's who: AWD
David Gregory's kids' school has 11 armed guards: Breitbart
Spending to Increase 55 Percent Under Obama's Plan: WS
Gun Sales Set Hits Record Of 16.8M Background Checks: Breitbart
FDR policies prolonged Depression by 7 years: UCLA
Congratulations: California named worst "Judicial Hellhole": Exam
American dream fades for Generation Y professionals: Hot Air
Chicago Teachers Union offers class cutting help to members: Marathon
What Millions Want For Christmas: A Job: Mish
Fuzzy Numbers Drive Obama Hurricane Sandy Request: Foundry
Erik Loomis' Twitter Timeline Available Dating Back to June 2012: AmPower
NY Newspaper Publishes Name, Address Of Every Handgun Owner In Nearby Counties: WZ
The Message Of Christmas Is Important For Hotcoldwetdry Or Something: Cove
More fact-free claims about austerity: Hayek
Sam Donaldson Tells Tea Partiers 'It's Not Your Country Anymore - It's Our Country': NB
Random Thoughts: Sowell
Sandy Clause: Hopenchange Cartoons
Piers Morgan wants ‘amendment to the Bible’ on gay marriage: Twitchy
The NRA plan is so stupid that 1/3rd of all public schools already use it: NRO
AP Cites Only 2.7 Percent Black Friday Weekend Rise After Trumpeting 7 Percent Weeks Ago: BizzyBlog
Getting into the eggnog? Fox Nation at it again, baffles followers with hilarious mistweet: Twitchy
The Islamization of Germany in 2012: Gatestone
13 injured after Chinese man drives car with makeshift-explosives into students: Fox
First rocket launched from Gaza since Pillar of Defense cease-fire: Hayom
Mainstream Media Decides By Defending Itself Israel is Blocking Peace: Lid
Piers Morgan Deportation Petition Reaches 49,000 Signatures, White House Must Respond: Mediaite
Google's Biggest Hits and Misses of 2012: PC World
Spooks use internet and social media to advertise their skills: smh
Cutting the Cord, Part 1: Content: IMAO
Officials: NY gunman set 'trap' for firefighters: AP
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Announcing the 2012 Fabulous 50 Blog Award Winners
Nation
2012 Lie of the Year: Government is affordable: Hot AirThe March to Liberty: TL in Exile
Massive Response to Petition to Deport Piers Morgan: MB
The importance of prosecuting David Gregory...: LI
Do the coup on Boo-Hoo. Boehner, that's who: AWD
David Gregory's kids' school has 11 armed guards: Breitbart
Economy
Change: 712,000 Americans Fell Into Poverty Last Year: GWPSpending to Increase 55 Percent Under Obama's Plan: WS
Gun Sales Set Hits Record Of 16.8M Background Checks: Breitbart
FDR policies prolonged Depression by 7 years: UCLA
Congratulations: California named worst "Judicial Hellhole": Exam
American dream fades for Generation Y professionals: Hot Air
Chicago Teachers Union offers class cutting help to members: Marathon
What Millions Want For Christmas: A Job: Mish
Fuzzy Numbers Drive Obama Hurricane Sandy Request: Foundry
Scandal Central
Holder imports more foreign Muslim terrorists to U.S. courts: CreepingErik Loomis' Twitter Timeline Available Dating Back to June 2012: AmPower
NY Newspaper Publishes Name, Address Of Every Handgun Owner In Nearby Counties: WZ
Climate & Energy
Yay! I've been included on an eco-terrorist assassination list! They were kind enough to include my address!: AdamsThe Message Of Christmas Is Important For Hotcoldwetdry Or Something: Cove
Media
Krugman vs. … Krugman on doomsday cults and the national debt: AEIMore fact-free claims about austerity: Hayek
Sam Donaldson Tells Tea Partiers 'It's Not Your Country Anymore - It's Our Country': NB
Random Thoughts: Sowell
Sandy Clause: Hopenchange Cartoons
Piers Morgan wants ‘amendment to the Bible’ on gay marriage: Twitchy
The NRA plan is so stupid that 1/3rd of all public schools already use it: NRO
AP Cites Only 2.7 Percent Black Friday Weekend Rise After Trumpeting 7 Percent Weeks Ago: BizzyBlog
Getting into the eggnog? Fox Nation at it again, baffles followers with hilarious mistweet: Twitchy
World
Jews should never be without weapons — nor should anyone else: BookwormThe Islamization of Germany in 2012: Gatestone
13 injured after Chinese man drives car with makeshift-explosives into students: Fox
First rocket launched from Gaza since Pillar of Defense cease-fire: Hayom
Mainstream Media Decides By Defending Itself Israel is Blocking Peace: Lid
Piers Morgan Deportation Petition Reaches 49,000 Signatures, White House Must Respond: Mediaite
Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)
2012: The year cloud computing took a bite out of IT: InfoWorldGoogle's Biggest Hits and Misses of 2012: PC World
Spooks use internet and social media to advertise their skills: smh
Cornucopia
Merry Christmas from Mish and Darlene Love: MishCutting the Cord, Part 1: Content: IMAO
Officials: NY gunman set 'trap' for firefighters: AP
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Announcing the 2012 Fabulous 50 Blog Award Winners
QOTD: "So many violent metaphors from the Apostles Of Nonviolence. And may I note that if teachers are too dumb and undisciplined (“mobs”) to be trusted with guns, then why, exactly, are they to be trusted with our children?" --Glenn Reynolds
Bonus QOTD: "I doubt David Gregory intended to violate D.C.’s ban on the possession or transfer of high capacity ammunition magazines when he waved around such a magazine during his interview of Wayne LaPierre yesterday... But assuming, as Gregory stated, that the magazine was for an AR-15, then why shouldn’t Gregory and the staffers to and from whom the magazine was transferred, be prosecuted? Particularly in light of Gregory’s aggressive demand for more guns laws.
...Why should NBC News and its star be above the law? There’s another lesson here.
Gregory’s possible violation of the law was exposed by the conservative blogosphere, which also pointed out that Gregory sends his kids to a school with armed security at the same time he was mocking the NRA suggestion of armed security in schools." --William Jacobson
Monday, December 24, 2012
THE CHUCKLEHEAD FACTOR: Whatever you do, don't blame Boehner, Cantor, or LaTourette for the demise of "Plan B"
Guess who's to blame for the embarrassing failure of John Boehner's "Plan B" to avoid the fiscal cliff?
You are. The Constitutional Conservatives and the Tea Party movement that brought Boehner into power:
It's not because of Boehner's secret negotiations with Obama, bypassing the traditional committee process in formulating a deal:
It's not because Boehner jammed a secret plan down the throats of the majority without even soliciting other opinions from Republicans:
It's not because Boehner purged fiscal conservatives from all positions of power a few weeks ago:
It's not because of an intransigent president who has no interest in negotiating in good faith.
No, it's not John Boehner's fault. It's the fault of the chuckleheads.
And what chucklehead got us into this mess in the first place? Oh, that's right: John Boehner, who squandered the historic Tea Party victories in the midterm elections of 2010. He rushed into a deal without even waiting for the new Congress to assemble, as then reported by The New York Times.
In every way, John Boehner has demonstrated a complete lack of vision, will and strategic thinking when it comes to facing the true economic cliff that this country faces.
But whatever you do, don't blame Boehner. Blame the chuckleheads.
Private Message to Steven LaTourette: You're a disgrace. We have an acolyte of Saul Alinsky who is trying to destroy the economy and you're talking about a tax increase that won't do anything to address the deficit nor save this Republic. Get your nose out of Boehner's kiester and think of your country for once, you hack.
You are. The Constitutional Conservatives and the Tea Party movement that brought Boehner into power:
Republican Rep. Steven LaTourette said that Boehner is not to blame for the stalemate, the Tea Party is.
“I don’t know what the number is but say the number is 40 out of 240 – that’s not a repudiation of his leadership. That’s the same 40, 50 chuckleheads that all year … have screwed this place up. And he has done everything in his power to make nice to them, to bring them along, to make them feel included, but it hasn’t mattered,” he said.
It's not because of Boehner's secret negotiations with Obama, bypassing the traditional committee process in formulating a deal:
House Speaker John Boehner reportedly had another secret meeting with President Barack Obama on fiscal cliff negotiations on Monday. This is the latest in a series of behind-closed-doors talks between the two.
On Friday and over the weekend, Boehner caved on the debt ceiling and on taxes enraging conservatives while failing to delight the president enough to cut a deal...
[This] was “their third conversation in the last five days.”
It's not because Boehner jammed a secret plan down the throats of the majority without even soliciting other opinions from Republicans:
...Leadership never worked with members in crafting Plan B. "We walked into conference" on Monday, one Republican member told me, "and we were told, 'Here it is. Here's what we're going to do.' "
"I don't think they ever really gave members an opportunity to weigh in," one House chief of staff told me. One Boehner ally suggested that rather than reach out to the rank and file, Boehner used Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan as "proxies," to gauge conservative sentiment.
The conservative Republican Study Committee wanted a floor vote, during consideration of Plan B, on an amendment to permanently extend all Bush tax rates. Boehner quashed that idea...
It's not because Boehner purged fiscal conservatives from all positions of power a few weeks ago:
In a discouraging sign for conservatives hoping the GOP will stay true to the fiscally conservative Tea Party message that won in 2010, House Speaker John Boehner has reportedly removed several of Congress’s most outspoken fiscal hawks from committees dealing with fiscal matters, citing their unwillingness to be “team players.”
...With fiscal cliff negotiations at a stark impasse, this could signal that Speaker John Boehner believes he will be forced to accept a deal that contradicts fiscally conservative principles, possibly to a degree that the grassroots would see as problematic.
It's not because of an intransigent president who has no interest in negotiating in good faith.
This morning, the Wall Street Journal provides a detailed account of how the fiscal cliff talks “hit the wall.” The entire article is a must read, but one blurb really jumps out:
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.”
We’ve said all along that President Obama’s offers on the fiscal cliff were outrageous. That may have been an understatement.
No, it's not John Boehner's fault. It's the fault of the chuckleheads.
And what chucklehead got us into this mess in the first place? Oh, that's right: John Boehner, who squandered the historic Tea Party victories in the midterm elections of 2010. He rushed into a deal without even waiting for the new Congress to assemble, as then reported by The New York Times.
In every way, John Boehner has demonstrated a complete lack of vision, will and strategic thinking when it comes to facing the true economic cliff that this country faces.
But whatever you do, don't blame Boehner. Blame the chuckleheads.
Private Message to Steven LaTourette: You're a disgrace. We have an acolyte of Saul Alinsky who is trying to destroy the economy and you're talking about a tax increase that won't do anything to address the deficit nor save this Republic. Get your nose out of Boehner's kiester and think of your country for once, you hack.
CHANGE: In 2012, Generation Y voted to impoverish themselves
Good work, kids!
Just one in five college graduates are on a legitimate career path?
Glad we found all of this out before the election.
Unless and until this country decides to vote for fiscal sanity, Generation Y -- and every subsequent generation -- faces a future that is decidedly bleak.
The endless class warfare, the untenable deficit spending, and the lack of leadership from the president all mean that the U.S. is destined to suffer a financial catastrophe the likes of which we haven't seen since the Thirties. We can look to Argentina for a recent example of a debt-fueled societal crisis.
Sorry, kids: it ain't gonna be pretty.
Generation Y professionals entering the workforce are finding careers that once were gateways to high pay and upwardly mobile lives turning into detours and dead ends. Average incomes for individuals ages 25 to 34 have fallen 8 percent, double the adult population’s total drop, since the recession began in December 2007. Their unemployment rate remains stuck one-half to 1 percentage point above the national figure.
Three and a half years after the worst recession since the Great Depression, the earnings and employment gap between those in the under-35 population and their parents and grandparents threatens to unravel the American dream of each generation doing better than the last. The nation’s younger workers have benefited least from an economic recovery that has been the most uneven in recent history.
“This generation will be permanently depressed and will be on a lower path of income for probably all of their life — and at least the next 10 years,” says Rutgers professor Cliff Zukin, a senior research fellow at the university’s John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development...
Only one-fifth of those who graduated college since 2006 expect greater success than their parents, a Rutgers survey found earlier this year. Little more than half were working full time. Just one in five said their job put them on a career path...
Just one in five college graduates are on a legitimate career path?
Glad we found all of this out before the election.
Unless and until this country decides to vote for fiscal sanity, Generation Y -- and every subsequent generation -- faces a future that is decidedly bleak.
The endless class warfare, the untenable deficit spending, and the lack of leadership from the president all mean that the U.S. is destined to suffer a financial catastrophe the likes of which we haven't seen since the Thirties. We can look to Argentina for a recent example of a debt-fueled societal crisis.
Sorry, kids: it ain't gonna be pretty.
The Most Terrifying Photo You Will See This Fortnight
Your eyes are not deceiving you.
The topmost selection is a vending machine burrito that could very well be consumed this Christmas Eve.
The topmost selection is a vending machine burrito that could very well be consumed this Christmas Eve.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)

























