Saturday, December 29, 2012

PHOTOS: The $17M mansion the founder of an electric car maker bought after getting $465M in federal green energy loans

Let me guess: he's doing it for the children. His children, that is.

Taxpayers footed the bill for a $465 million loan to troubled electric carmaker Tesla as part of President Barack Obama’s “green energy” stimulus. But Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk is now riding high with the purchase of his new $17 million mansion.


Here's a photo of the exterior of Musk's home in Bel Air, a 20,000-square foot palace equipped with wine cellar, tennis court, and pool.

Mr. Musk’s 20,248-square-foot hilltop mansion boasts breathtaking views, a two-story library with rolling ladder, a home theater, and a five-car garage to house his taxpayer-subsidized, pricey Tesla vehicles.

In September, The New York Times reported that Tesla had burned through cash and missed production targets, raising “questions about the long-term viability of the company” and igniting “ criticism of the government’s energy loan program, which has been heavily promoted by the Obama administration..."


Reportedly you can see the ocean from the terrace.

Coincidentally I'm sure, Musk donated over $100,000 to the Obama 2012 campaign.


And Tesla produced a grand total of 359 cars last quarter.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: when the complete history of the Obama administration is written, it will make the Teapot Dome look like a case of shoplifting.

Never have so few stolen so much from so many.


Hat tips: Sad Hill News and Lee.

SHOULD THE U.S. DEFAULT NOW... OR LATER? The only question we should be asking about the debt ceiling

Here's something you probably didn't read in the funny papers: $2.1 trillion has been added to the national debt in the last 16 months alone.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has alerted Congress that the nation will once again hit the debt ceiling on Monday, but that his department can take “extraordinary measures” to keep paying the bills for another few months.

Incredibly, the debt ceiling was raised from $14.294 trillion in August 2011, to its current level of $16.394 trillion. Thus in the span of only sixteen months, the Obama administration has added a whopping $2.1 trillion to the national debt. [Source]

The entire hullabaloo about the "Fiscal Cliff" is a politico- and media-manufactured diversion.

The real discussion we need to have -- but won't -- concerns the "Fiscal Abyss" (in the words of former Comptroller General David Walker) facing our nation.

Raising taxes is like putting a Band-Aid on a severed femoral artery.

DON'T RAISE THE DEBT CEILING

I've thought long and hard about this issue -- and have arrived at what is probably a controversial opinion: Republicans should refuse to raise the debt ceiling without huge spending cuts and entitlement reforms.

Here's a news flash: President Obama wants the country to default. He has layered on so much debt, so fast, that the U.S. simply can't honor its obligations.

And the administration's cascade of regulations (like "Boiler MACT") are explicitly designed to prevent the economy from growing fast enough to help make up the difference.

DEFAULT NOW -- OR DEFAULT LATER?

The real question we should be asking is whether a default now is preferential to a default later.

I believe a default now is by far the best solution for the vast majority of Americans: when the default occurs, it will shock the financial system, rattle markets around the world, and -- in all likelihood -- herald the onset of another Great Depression.

A default several years down the road, however, will be far worse for America:

The crash will be much larger, and much more catastrophic for the citizenry -- and it will hit seniors and the poor much harder;

America's manufacturing sector will be less able to recover than it is today, having been downsized by this administration's regulatory onslaught;

And America's citizens will be even less self-reliant, whether it comes to EBT cards, firearms, family-owned farms, and every other measure of independence;

The military will be weaker, having been gutted by years of Obama's efforts to defund national defense;

The real question we must ask is this: do we want the economy to crash on Obama's timing -- or ours?

THE NEXT DEBT-CEILING DEBATE

I believe that the House of Representatives should refuse to raise the debt ceiling without immediate and immense cuts and entitlement reforms. Barring, say, a $900 billion reduction in annual spending (removing the Stimulus from the baseline budget, for example), the House should refuse to raise the debt ceiling.

Let the country default.

It is provably better to default now than later.


We know that President Obama wants the country to default. That much is clear with the accompanying chart, which comes to us directly from the White House. He just doesn't want the default to happen quite so soon, before he's had a chance to -- in his words -- "fundamentally transform" America.

So let's default now, before things get immeasurably worse.


Larwyn's Linx: Ban Schools, Not Guns

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

Nation

Ban Schools, Not Guns: Taki's Magazine
Laws Are For the Little People: Steyn
The Day the War Began: TL in Exile

Feinstein: All Gun Owners Should Be Registered, Fingerprinted: Breitbart
An Open Letter to President Obama on Gun Control: Kuznicki
Feinstein's Gun Control Bill Will Trigger The Next American Revolution: ZH

Obama Flies From Hawaii To Offer Same Craptastic Cliff Deal: RWN
Here's Why Someone Would Need To Own An 'Assault' Rifle: IBD
Dick's Refuses to Honor "Military-Style" Rifle Orders: Blaze

Economy

$1 Trillion Obamacare Tax Hike Hitting on Jan. 1: ATR
The best and worst economic ideas of 2012: Peth
Nation running out of ammo: LI

Obama Orders Pay Raises for Federal Workers: WS
The Obama NLRB’s Christmas Gift To The Unions: LoneCon
‘Fiscal Cliff’ Distracts As ‘Fiscal Abyss’ In Japan, UK and U.S. Cometh: ZH

Scandal Central

Lisa Jackson forced out of EPA: Moe Lane
Remember When the Left Used to Freak Out About News Like This?: Powers
Lt. Col. Ralph Peters: Something is fundamentally wrong with the media in this country: Scoop

Climate & Energy

The 10 Worst Regulations of 2012: Foundry
New Hawaii Senator Who'll Take Many Fossil Fueled Air Trips Pledges To Tackle Hotcoldwetdry: Cove
An open letter challenging the EPA on CO2 regulation: Tucson

Media

The No Santa Clause: MOTUS
Gannett’s Journal News Produces New Maps: iOTW
Chelsea Clinton, Still NBC’s Pretend Journalist: Daily Download

Hard Lines: TL in Exile
Everybody Hates Piers Morgan: RSM
What will be the likely model of american insurrection, if "gun control" doesn't "go well?": Winter Soldier

Steyn: Laws are for little people: Ace
Experts: Trained Police Officers Better Than Armed Guards In Schools: RWN
Jesse Jackson Spews Nonsense Trying To Defend Chicago Gun Ban After 500th Homicide: Bruce

World

FLASHBACK: Kerry Voted Against Gulf War, Proposed Multilateral 'New World Order': Breitbart
Caribou Coffee, Church's Chicken owned by Muslim Brotherhood-linked bank: JihadWatch
Where will Assad go?: Fausta

Hagel Slammed on Sunday Shows: Beacon
Indian Muslim leader: "Remove police for 15 minutes, we will finish off one billion Hindus": JihadWatch
Chinese Hackers Suspected in Cyber Attack on Council on Foreign Relations: Beacon

Yasser Arafat’s widow admits Palestinian terror campaign in 2000 was premeditated: DC
Desert Storm Victor Stormin' Norman Schwarzkopf R.I.P.: IBD
Special Report: Inside the West's economic war with Iran: Reuters

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

China Patches a Hole in the Great Firewall: Mead
Congress decides every aspect of your electronic life can be spied on without a warrant...: BoingBoing
CALEA Is Watching YOU!: 90 Miles

Cornucopia

Yellow Toes: iOTW
Can’t Even “Hang On By My Fingernails”: Zilla
There Were Two "Rocket Launchers" Turned in at LA's Gun Buyback Program: AtlWire

Image: iOwnTheWorld
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Shopper, Please Come Forward and Accept Your 2012 PUK Award Nomination

QOTD: "If we are foolish enough to embrace a ban on any weapon in the coming Congress, then we are unwittingly embracing a ban on every weapon.

Republicans in the House and Senate need to let Feinstein and company know this is a non-starter, and voters need to start weighing potential congressional candidates for 2014 on the basis of where they stand on the 2nd Amendment.

Gun-grabbers need not apply." --AWR Hawkins

Friday, December 28, 2012

CSI: Little Rock

Q: Why is it so difficult to solve a murder in Arkansas?

A: All the DNA matches and there are no dental records.


Note: For those Arkansanians offended, feel free to substitute AL, KY, LA, MS, or WV when forwarding.

Hat tip: PointsNFigures.


CAGE MATCH: 3rd Annual PUK Awards Underway

iOwnTheWorld is conducting its third annual PUK awards as a series of cage matches. Click here for the first one.


I don't care who you are, that there is funny.


CASH MONEY CAPTION CONTEST: Cthulhu Feinstein

Biff Spackle has $25 burning a hole in his pocket for the winner:



PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION TO KEEP THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS SAFE: It's Logic, Dammit!

A perfect idea:

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 particular religion political 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?

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.

Nation

Obama's GOP Tax Collectors: Jeffrey Lord
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

Economy

Fiscal Cliff's Dirty Secret: It's Not About Taxes At All: Rand Paul
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

Scandal Central

"Richard Windsor," aka Lisa Jackson, Resigns From EPA, Using Her Own Name for a Change: Ace
Senate 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”: ProWis
The Obama Green Energy Scam You May Have Missed: Townhall

Media

Public Safety Map: Where Are The Journal News Employees In Your Neighborhood?: WZ
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

World

FBI report from 1970 sheds light on PLO and Fatah penetration of the American political Left: Glick
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

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

10 Raspberry Pi creations that show how amazing the tiny PC can be: Ars Technica
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

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:

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.

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.


TROLLING REDNECKS 101: Having Fun in the Woods

Hat tip: Papa B:



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.

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.

Nation

2012: When Dreams Died: Hanson
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

Economy

Building The Fiscal Cliff, One Dollar At A Time : RWN
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

Scandal Central

State Department's Benghazi Resignations Were FAKE: Lid
Scofflaw 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 Miles

Media

D.C. Police: NBC told it could NOT use high-cap magazine in news segment: LI
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

World

Where's Hillary?: WS
Tom 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: Gizmodo
FBI 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.: NakedDC
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

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.

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.

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?

...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.

Nation

The Real Cliff: Christopher Demuth
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

Economy

Obama Scrooges Christmas: RSM
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

Scandal Central

Obama Claus: Adds Time To Collect $50K Reparations: Breitbart
So how does Journal – News reporter Dwight R. Worley rate a NYC pistol permit?: Fountain

Climate & Energy

Amateur Video of Tornado in Mobile, AL: Sooper

Media

DC Police Investigating NBC's Gregory for Violations of Gun Ban Laws: Breitbart
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

World

The Science of Islamophobia: GoV
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

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

Dark “Clouds” Forming After Netflix Outage Blamed On Amazon: CBS Philadelphia
Facebook 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 Czars
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

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.

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.