Friday, March 15, 2013

Will Politico's Mike Allen Report That DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano Lied to His Face About Freeing Dangerous Illegals?

That's a rhetorical question, of course. Politico, which has the unofficial tagline "Why read White House press releases when you can read us?", generally has no interest in exposing mendacity, duplicity and corruption if the letter "D" appears behind a politician's name.

Consider the blatant lie that DHS strongman Janet Napolitano told Politico's Mike Allen:

Napolitano: Immigrant detainees story 'not accurate'


Napolitano ... addressed reports that DHS has released immigrant detainees from detention centers as a cost-saving mechanism due to budget uncertainties tied to last week’s sequestration and other looming budget fights. Napolitano said that “several hundred” detainees were released — not “thousands,” as news reports from last week had indicated...

...She stressed that those moved from detention centers were low-risk, and that the process would continue “for the foreseeable future... With sequestration looming and the end of the [continuing resolution] in a couple weeks, it’s like the perfect storm,” Napolitano said. “We really have to manage so many different things because we don’t have a budget.”

Just 10 days later, Napolitano's lies were officially exposed. Please consider "ICE Admits It Released More Than 2,000 Illegal Aliens, Including Serious Offenders:"

After weeks of denials, the Obama administration acknowledged Thursday that it had, in fact, released more than 2,000 illegal immigrants from immigration jails due to budget concerns during three weeks in February. Four of the most serious offenders have been put back in detention...

The administration had insisted that only a "few hundred" immigrants were released for budgetary reasons, challenging as inaccurate a March 1 report by The Associated Press that the agency had released more than 2,000 immigrants in February and planned to release more than 3,000 others this month. Intense criticism led to a temporary shutdown of the plan.

The director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, John Morton, told a congressional panel Thursday that the agency had actually released 2,228 people from immigration jails over the course of three weeks, starting February 9, for what he described as "solely budgetary reasons." They included 10 people considered the highest level of offender.

Perhaps the headline of Mike Allen's follow-up article will be headlined "Janet Napolitano Lied and People Will Die."

And then again, maybe Barack Obama will embrace capitalism.


Hat tip: BadBlue News Service.

What the Democrat Party Told Me

They told me that allowing law-abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons would turn our streets into rivers of blood.

They told me that taking trillions of dollars from the successful and giving it to those "who truly needed it" would cure poverty.

They told me that giving home loans to those who couldn't afford them would make the American dream achievable for all.

They told me that paying into the Social Security "Trust Fund" would guarantee a comfortable retirement for everyone.

They told me that allowing teachers to unionize in public schools would help inner city students reach for the stars.

They told me that the federal government could run a guaranteed, affordable health care program for seniors forever.

They told me that the new employment paradigm consisted of millions of "green jobs".

They told me that their support for immoral and criminal behavior wouldn't result in the breakdown of the two-parent family.

They told me that spending trillions on Stimulus programs would heal a damaged economy.

They told me that raising taxes on corporations and "the rich" would create more jobs.

They told me that our borders were "as secure as they've ever been".

They told me that intentionally restricting access to our own sources of energy would reduce dependence on foreign oil.

They told me that recklessly spreading unemployment benefits and food stamps would jump-start the economy.

They told me that, in spite of the VA and the Indian Health Service, they could successfully run the entire American health care system.

They told me that their record-breaking borrowing could never result in a downgrade of the United States' AAA credit rating.

They told me that "the Constitution doesn't matter".

They told me that the Constitution has to change with the times.

They told me that I exist to serve the government and not the other way around.

They told me that anyone who opposes their unconstitutional, reckless and failed policies are racists.

Well, I'm here to tell you:

Everything they told me was a lie.

Everything they told me was wrong.

Intentionally, diabolically, criminally wrong.

And if we don't begin to turn back the tide of centralized government, if we don't politically obliterate the Democrat Party, this beautiful Republic, this magnificent country, this bastion of free enterprise and private property rights, this shining city on a hill... well, it will be finished.


Related: Don't cry for me, America.

Larwyn's Linx: “Boehner: GOP a ‘minority party’”

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

Nation

“Boehner: GOP a ‘minority party’”: Protein Wisdom
A political party that panders to demographics is a party destined to lose: Rush
Auntie Zeituni Gripes About the Accommodations on Her Free Ride: RWN

Obama couldn’t eat at Hill meeting without food ‘taster’: DC
Apparently Bill Gates is dumber than I thought: WZ
The Escape and Roundup of the Sheep: The Civil Libertarian

Detroiters Pledge Uprising During State Takeover: MCM
Obama the Bully slaps the taste out of House Dem's mouth: Roll Call
Unfit For Office: Thomas Perez As Labor Secretary: IBD

Economy

Under Obamacare, Young Families Could See 189% Premium Hikes: AEI
One Man’s Fight Against Union Power: Mish
Pelosi Will Balance the Budget Over Her Dead Body: CNS

Marxism in Education: Schools Poisoned by 'Common Core Standards': Loudon
Surprise: Senate Democrats Want Another $1.5 Trillion Tax Increase: Foundry
Rick Perry: Why can’t rest of country balance it’s budget like Texas?: RedAlert

Sen. Robert Menendez a subject of grand jury investigation: Moe Lane
Another Hidden Obamacare Nugget About To Whack Big Employers: Tatler
Michael Moore says ‘capitalism is a crime.’ Shall we lock him up?: Twitchy

Scandal Central

Top US Admiral: Mythical Global Warming Is Top Military Threat: MB
Mark Kelly’s ‘AR-15 Stunt’ Provokes Giffords Gun Photos Leak: AmmoLand
What We Still Don’t Know About Benghazi: Foundry

Climate & Energy

Marcott’s hockey stick uptick mystery – it didn’t used to be there: Watts
The EPA: The Worst Of Many Rogue Federal Agencies: Forbes
Simple questions for Bill McKibben and Peter Gleick – with comic relief from Bill Nye: Watts

Media

“Nothing On This Green Earth Liberal Progressives Fear More” Than A Conservative “Black American”: WZ
Mark Kelly's AR-15 Stunt Prompts Giffords Photo Leak: Breitbart
Pamela Geller to Speak at CPAC: Atlas

Reuters Social Media Director Charged: Helped Anonymous To Hack And Alter Tribune Site: WZ
Losing it: Dianne Feinstein compares common firearms to child pornography: Owens
Obama Says He Fantasizes About Putting On A Fake Mustache And Going Put To Bars In Tel Aviv: WZ

Obama's Brackets: RWN
Coulter Destroys Feinstein Over Cruz Debate On Hannity: Mediaite
Bongino: “No Such Thing as Gun Control…It’s People Control”: Loudon

World

Military Doesn't Need To Worry About Climate Change: IBD
Protesters battle cops in Brooklyn streets for third night in a row; 16-year-old Kimani Gray shot in the back: NYDN
'Assassination attempt' of Kim Jong-un could explain calls for war: Express

Obama goes limp on Assad: Times of Israel
Osama has almost won. Thanks for helping.: Owens
Texas School Teaches 9-11 Hijackers Were “Freedom Fighters”: Western

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

CERN release preliminary results: particle looking 'more and more like a Higgs boson': Engadget
Illinois Scientists Find Rare, 600-Year-Old Coin in Kenya: AP
Samsung Announces New Flagship Galaxy S 4 Competitor to Apple's iPhone: MacRumors

Cornucopia

Dying Time: TL in Exile
Without Artifice and Illusion, We Got Nothing: MOTUS
Full Speech: Allen West at CPAC 013: Scop

Image: Moonbattery: Top US Admiral: Mythical Global Warming Is Top Military Threat
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: BadBlue Gun News

QOTD: "The first glimpses I got behind the scenes did little to garner my trust in the state of climate science — on the contrary. I found myself in front of a choice that just might have a global impact.

Briefly put, when I had to balance the interests of my own safety, privacy\career of a few scientists, and the well-being of billions of people living in the coming several decades, the first two weren’t the decisive concern.

It was me or nobody, now or never. Combination of several rather improbable prerequisites just wouldn’t occur again for anyone else in the foreseeable future. The circus was about to arrive in Copenhagen. Later on it could be too late.

Most would agree that climate science has already directed where humanity puts its capability, innovation, mental and material “might”. The scale will grow ever grander in the coming decades if things go according to script. We’re dealing with $trillions and potentially drastic influence on practically everyone.

Wealth of the surrounding society tends to draw the major brushstrokes of a newborn’s future life. It makes a huge difference whether humanity uses its assets to achieve progress, or whether it strives to stop and reverse it, essentially sacrificing the less fortunate to the climate gods." --Unknown author and person who released the Climategate 3.0 email treasure trove

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Is Dianne Feinstein Smarter Than a Sixth Grader?

And the answer...


The background story, if you missed it, is here.


GEE, WHICH ONE WILL SAVE THE COUNTRY FROM FISCAL COLLAPSE? Chart Compares House and Senate Budgets

The Statist kook Patty Murray hardest hit:

This week, the budget committees of both chambers of Congress released their budgets ahead of President Obama’s budget—marking the first time in 92 years that Congress kicked off the budget process instead of the President...


The House budget, under the helm of Chairman Paul Ryan (R–WI), delivers a balanced budget in 10 years by slowing the annual growth in federal spending from a projected 5 percent to 3.4 percent...

...The Senate budget, under the helm of Senate Budget Chairwoman Patty Murray (D–WA), makes no attempt at balancing the budget—ever. Instead, the Senate budget would ramp up spending immediately and raise taxes yet higher while continuing chronic deficits that rise higher in later years. The Senate budget would leave the nation even worse off beyond the 10-year budget window by failing to curb the growth in entitlement spending.

Medicare is the fastest-growing entitlement program, and Obamacare’s newest entitlements—the Medicaid expansion and health care subsidies—dramatically worsen federal health care spending, increasing it by now $1.8 trillion over a decade. And yet the Senate budget does nothing to correct course.

Of course not. The Democrats are like lemmings, following their Pied Piper and marching us off the cliff in lockstep and right into a fiscal abyss.

Their strategy is called "Cloward-Piven Government" and it translates to the economic destruction of America.


PREVIEW: Here is the actual short form to apply for subsidized health care from the federal government

Straight from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) comes the elegant and concise form CMS-10440, also known as "Data Collection to Support Eligibility Determinations for Insurance Affordability Programs and Enrollment through Affordable Insurance Exchanges, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program Agencies".

Here's the cover page of the application that lets individuals and families apply to the federal government for subsidized health care coverage.


To give you a sense of how complex the application is, think of doing your taxes and multiply it by the number of people in your household. Here's a sample of one page:


And here's the entire paper application, which weighs in at a hefty 21 pages.


Not to worry: the specifications for the electronic version of the application run a tidy 61 pages.

Obamacare is a complete and utter disaster. How many people will be able to understand -- not to mention actually complete -- this mess?

The entire health care system is coming unraveled and the drones are too stupid to understand that they voted for their own destruction.


THE TRANSCRIPT: Cruz vs. Feinstein on Guns

Today in a meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee, one of the upper chamber's most brilliant legal minds interrogated one of the most mendacious and immoral. I refer, of course, to Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) being questioned by Ted Cruz (R-TX).

The Independent Sentinel (a member of the invaluable Watcher's Council) provides us with the transcript and some needed perspective (video here).

[Their Q&A] can only be described as a perfect example of a very legitimate and pertinent question, followed by a totally evasive and self-glorifying, political non-answer.

CRUZ: The question that I would pose to the senior senator from California is Would she deem it consistent with the Bill of Rights for Congress to engage in the same endeavor that we are contemplating doing with the Second Amendment in the context of the First or Fourth Amendment, namely, would she consider it constitutional for Congress to specify that the First Amendment shall apply only to the following books and shall not apply to the books that Congress has deemed outside the protection of the Bill of Rights? Likewise, would she think that the Fourth Amendment’s protection against searches and seizures could properly apply only to the following specified individuals and not to the individuals that Congress has deemed outside the protection of the Bill of Rights?

FEINSTEIN: I’m not a sixth grader. Senator, I’ve been on this committee for 20 years. I was a mayor for nine years. I walked in, I saw people shot. I’ve looked at bodies that have been shot with these weapons. I’ve seen the bullets that implode. In Sandy Hook, youngsters were dismembered. Look, there are other weapons. I’ve been up — I’m not a lawyer, but after 20 years I’ve been up close and personal to the Constitution. I have great respect for it. This doesn’t mean that weapons of war and the Heller decision clearly points out three exceptions, two of which are pertinent here. And so I — you know, it’s fine you want to lecture me on the Constitution. I appreciate it. Just know I’ve been here for a long time. I’ve passed on a number of bills. I’ve studied the Constitution myself. I am reasonably well educated, and I thank you for the lecture.”

Yes, Ma’am, you’re most all of the things you stated... but you didn’t answer the question...

One other very important point... [most] of the weapons you’ve listed in this legislation have been proven NOT to have been used at Sandy Hook. You are using the horrible deaths at Sandy Hook to promote a political ideology and playing on the heartstrings of Americans in the process. That’s despicable.

When a legislator is forced to use emotion and insults -- rather than the law -- it is a tacit admission that her argument is a sham.

Tell me, Ms. Feinstein: which "military-style assault weapons" used at the time of America's founding were banned by the Framers?


Hat tip: BadBlue 24-7 News.

Larwyn's Linx: Get ready to filibuster the radical Thomas Perez

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

Nation

Get ready to filibuster the radical Thomas Perez: AmSpec
Now We Know Why Schumer's Been Hiding His Gun Control Bill: LibertyZone
Obama's Promised Transparency: Where the Hell is It?: Mish

Obamacare Will Not Crumble Without a Government Shutdown: RS
Prelude to a Revolution: Owens
Bloomberg: I Meddle Because I Care: Reason

Government Waste: Criminal: Elephant
Dismantling Washington: RWN
Gabby Giffords' Husband Buys an AR-15 and then Lies About Why: Ace

Economy

Obama: What Debt Crisis?: Malkin
February Deficit Hits $203 Billion: Virtuous
Why I'm more worried than Paul Krugman about the debt: EconBrowser

Affordable Care Act Is Unaffordable And Onerous: IBD
Politicians' Public Service Often Creates Public Suffering: IBD
Local health insurance agent: Get health insurance now: KTRE-9

Applying For Obamacare Could Be As Fun As Doing Taxes: Cove
VISTA Program Encourages Volunteers to Overcome White 'Privilege’: CNS
Baby shot in Chicago: A surgical team's desperate attempt to save baby's life: Trib

Scandal Central

Ruth Marcus: OFA is taking porous campaign finance laws and exploiting them to the max: Hot Air
Americans are fat. The Country is broke. Let's subsidize the sugar industry!: Instapundit
Four NY Democrats Sentenced to Community Service, Jail Time For Role in Voter Fraud Case: MenRec

Climate & Energy

Climategate 3.0 has occurred – the password has been released: Watts
Climate Change: Key mission for the US Navy?: Times

Media

US Media Shocked, Dismayed to Learn that the New Pope is In Fact Catholic: Tatler
Harvard Study Shows No Effect Of Firearm Laws On Gun Deaths: GunMag
Mattel’s thinly-disguised attack on the human race itself: Troglo

Mark Levin calls out Obama and Democrats on Hannity TV show: Scoop
As U.S. Debt Exceeds $16 Trillion, NYT Reporter Asks 'What Is So Special About a Balanced Budget?': MRC
I swear, blogging is like crack.: Troglo

Ace blows the lid off Mark Kelly’s AR-15 background check exposé: Twitchy
1936 Redux – It’s Really Never Different This Time: Flopping Aces
MSNBC ending Ed Schultz's weekday show: Politico

World

The New Pope, Pope Francis: First Things
Of course Hamas killed the baby: Gatestone
Qatar Cuts Egypt Loose as Financial Picture Darkens: Mead

Susan Rice's College Thesis: in Praise of the the Murderous Mugabe Regime: Blaze
Gallup: Global Image Of America Tanks: WZ
New pope has history of good relations with Jewish community: Times of Israel

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

Mystery Motorola phone leak could point to new Google influence: Verge
How Virtual Health Assistants Can Reshape Healthcare: Forbes
German telecom company provides real-time map of Cyber attacks: GSN

Cornucopia

Outlaw Gunsmithing: Protein Wisdom
Captions, Please: iOTW
Obama: The "It Wasn't Me" President: Ace

Image: iOwnTheWorld: "Captions, Please"
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: BadBlue Gun News

QOTD: "I would buy Gold in JPY [Japanese Yen] and go to sleep... Sell JPY, Buy Gold, Go to sleep, and wake up ten years later and you'll be fine. Don't put all your money in it but that is the single best investment you can make today." --Kyle Bass

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

This may be Paul Krugman's kid

I'll say it again: Michael Ramirez may be the most talented political cartoonist of not just this -- but any -- generation.


As our national treasure Mark Levin demonstrates night after night, liberalism is indeed the philosophy of the stupid.


WHOA: Mobile Apps Business Expected to Be Double the Size of the Entire Movie Industry... This Year

I really had no idea that revenues from the mobile app business will hit about $25 billion this year -- roughly double the revenue of every movie theater in America.

...The global apps business is expected to make $25 billion in revenue this year, up 62% from a year ago, according to Gartner. To put that in perspective, movie theaters sold less than half that dollar amount at the box office in 2012.

And we have a ton of apps to choose from: Apple’s store now has about 800,000 apps, compared with 700,000 on Google GOOG -0.28% Play, 125,000 on Windows and 70,000 for Amazon.

Yes, business is booming. But it’s also unpredictable. About 63% of the apps used daily now differ from those used daily a year ago. Our attention span is so short these days – and the competition is so fierce – that we soon move on to the latest and greatest app.

On average, we only focus on about eight apps at a time. And we use these apps more than you might think: The average smartphone user spends two hours a day with apps, more than double the time spent two years earlier...

...Where did we find all this free time?

It’s hard to say exactly — if you look at the following graphic, the amount of time watching television and surfing the Web is flat in the past couple of years. Of course, we often have apps running in the background, like music-streaming apps, allowing us to multitask.

So consumption of apps is catching up to television viewing – some might say that’s a good thing, that apps are more productive than watching “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”

...But, as the following graphic shows, productivity apps capture just 2% of our time. Rather, games are stealing the most of our attention...

...43% of our time is spent catapulting angry birds at pigs and fighting monsters...

Thinking about developing your own mobile app? Have at it, but recognize that the odds are long.


Only five of the top 250 app publishers in the Apple Store are "virgins", the rest are reported to be veteran development shops. Electronic Arts, for instance, has dozens of bestselling apps and a marketing budget to match.

But a single good idea -- likes Tetris or Angry Birds, for instance -- can change the game. In truth, it's never been easier to write a software bestseller.


SURPRISE! Democrats' Green Power Sources Will Crush the Budgets of Lower- and Middle-Class Families

I apologize for using the language of the left. America, of course, has no static class structure. Every day some of "the poor" become rich and some who are rich lose everything and become poor. But I digress: the point of this post is to highlight the effects of the Obama Democrats' green energy agenda.

In short, every form of power they advocate will be more expensive -- in some cases, five times more expensive -- than clean fossil fuels like natural gas.

The cost of generating electricity includes the capital cost, the financing charges, and the production or operating costs (including fuel and maintenance of the technology) at the point of connection to an electrical load or the electricity grid. When determining what new plant to build, a utility company will compare all these costs [i.e., "the levelized costs"] across the slate of available generating units...

...EIA provides an estimate for the levelized costs for each technology it represents in the National Energy Modeling System—the modeling system used to produce the forecasts for the Annual Energy Outlook. These estimates are provided here and in the graph below. The agency provides the costs for dispatchable technologies (such as coal and natural gas) and for non-dispatchable technologies (such as wind and solar) separately because they are not directly comparable...


...If the wind stops blowing or the sun stops shining, a dispatchable technology must be available to supply the demand. Thus, non-dispatchable technologies supply energy, but not capacity since they cannot be counted on continually to meet demand...

...An example of this situation occurred recently in California when the state hit its highest demand at 5 pm, when wind was producing a mere 350 megawatts out of an installed wind capacity of 4.3 gigawatts (8.1% of installed capacity). Other technologies had to be called on to supply power at California’s peak load. Wind generation is generally the greatest during the night when demand for electricity is the lowest, so it does little for providing power when that power is most needed...

If the eco-tards are able to fulfill their mission of locking away Americas' vast treasure trove of energy -- estimated to last for centuries -- they will not only cause the price of power to skyrocket. Every good and service will see immense price spikes, from grocery stores to laundromats, as the Marxist left continues its war on capitalism.


Quantitative Sleazing

Commenting at The Saddest Chart in America, the eponymous Anonymous writes:

US debt held by the public is now at about the same level as it was when Obama was elected. The deficit spending is financed by bonds from treasury, but they are being bought by the fed.

Therefore, to be precise, we are printing new money to 'pay' for 42 cents of every dollar the federal government is spending.

Here, from the St. Louis Fed, is the chart of doom.

We won't be destroyed by the 16 trillion dollar debt. We will be destroyed by the hyperinflation resulting from the massive expansion to the money supply. Once it costs a billion or so for a loaf of bread, they'll pay off the debt.

Only a moron, an intellectually bankrupt progressive stooge, or Paul Krugman could support this madness. That which they would never do to their own families, they impose upon us with the force of law. I can not, in good conscience, stand silent while the most magnificent society ever seen on the face of the Earth is intentionally sabotaged from within.


Larwyn's Linx: The Obama Credo

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

Nation

The Obama Credo: Stella Paul
A Cup of Soda in Hell: Sultan Knish
Where Do Criminals Get Guns?: Extrano's Alley

Government schools and the culture of cowering: Pundette
First Look at the 2014 Ryan Budget: Foundry
CO Senate Democrats Pass Controversial Gun Control Bill: GWP

We Have Language for S. 374, the Transfer Ban: Pagun
New York Counties Work to Repeal State Gun Control Laws: NewAm
Obama's Desire: Mining Gazette

Economy

Obamacare: First You Pass It, Then You Learn What It Does: Mead
Vulnerable Incumbent Democrats Leery of Budget: RS
Five Guys Franchise Owner: Obamacare to Hike Burger Prices: Inquisitr

Defunding Obamacare is This Easy: RS
Another Gun-Free Zone That Won’t See My Money: LibertyZone
Small Businesses Continue to Air — and Vent — Obamacare Opinions: CNBC

House GOP's 10 Year Balanced Budget Plan: Ace
Detroit: What Democrats Do: RSM
The EPA: An Impediment to Economic Recovery: Foundry

Scandal Central

Rep. Frank Wolf: We need a Select Committee to get to the bottom of Benghazi: Scoop
Obama Lets China Steal Top Secret NASA Technology?: Western
Breaking: DOJ Inspector General Report Details Racialist Practices Inside Eric Holder's Domain: Adams

Climate & Energy

“Climate change” cools off: RS
Whoops! Green Cars Not So Green: STACLU
EPA Nominee Gina McCarthy Has A History Of Misleading Congress: Forbes

Media

Mark Levin: I’m convinced the House GOP leadership has a Republican deathwish: Scoop
Howard Kurtz Beclowns Himself Yet Again: Twitchy
Can Poor People Be Trusted With Guns?: Lott

White House Aide: Reaching Out to Republicans a 'Joke,' Stunt for Media: WS
"Who's That Ugly Dwarf With His Hand In Your Mouth?": Preemptive Offenses
‘Pour it on!’: New York Post celebrates Nanny Bloomberg’s supersized failure: Twitchy

"The Sickest News Story Ever": Atlas
J. Christian Adams on the damning IG report on dysfunction and racism in DOJ: Scoop
Future Kentucky Sen. Puffy Face: Everything She Doesn’t Like Is Rape: RSM

World

Chaos from the Sky: Why the EMP Threat Is Real: Foundry
REYNOSA: The Truth of The Government...and the Real Truth: Borderland
China's "Hogwash" Getting Worse As Floating Dead Pigs Rise To 3300, Pig Virus Found: ZH

South Africa – Gun Registration Has Led to Gun Confiscation in Two Short Years: GWP
Chavez successor tells Venezuelans to 'voluntarily disarm': Commentator
Obama Trying to Deport Homeschooling Family: Publius

Defense Department Fights Climate Change on Two Fronts: Roll Call
Ted Cruz: Let’s Hope Fidel and Raul Castro Join Hugo Chavez and Die Soon: RWN
Forbes Finally Calls 'Em Out: Denninger

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

Facebook Reveals Secrets You Haven't Shared: CNBC
Draft Is The Best Word Processor You Can Write With Today: TechCrunch
Intuit fixes TurboTax software after 'unacceptable' glitches affect 10,000 customers: ComputerWorld

Cornucopia

12 Steps to World Government: American Digest
Missing MO Than I Expected: MOTUS
Hey, You Left Your Counterfeit Money Inside This Possibly Stolen Printer You’re Trying To Return!: Consumerist

Image: Bosch Fawstin: "Ted Cruz on Ayn Rand"
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: BadBlue 24-Hour news

QOTD: "There will come a day when sugary sodas are utterly stigmatized. There will come a day when no responsible adult will consume a soda pop, or give one to a child. But this is not that day. This day, we fight!" --Tom Maguire

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Top 10 Organizations Slashing Workers And Hours Thanks to Obamacare

Those greedy capitalists! The nerve of them trying to survive a brutal economy and a one-size-fits-all, government-mandated health insurance program!

As employers and businesses prepare for Obamacare’s sweeping changes and mandates to begin in 2014, many are already laying off some of their employees... Here are [just] 10 examples of job loss due in whole or part to Obamacare and its consequences:

Medical Device Tax

  1. 1,000 jobs lost:Stryker Corporation Confirms Obamacare Layoffs.”
  2. 275 jobs lost:Medical Device Tax Blamed for Welch Allyn Layoffs.”
  3. 100 jobs lost:Latest Obamacare Casualty: 100 Workers at Smith and Nephew.”

The 2.3 percent excise tax on the sale of medical devices, one of the 18 tax hikes in Obamacare, is estimated to cost the industry over $29 billion between 2013 and 2022. Many employers in the industry are compensating for the tax hike by reducing their labor costs.

Medicare Payment Cuts

  1. 950 jobs lost:Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center Reengineers Cost Structure, Eliminate Positions.”
  2. Up to 400 jobs lost:Orlando Health to Cut Record Number of Jobs to Save Money.”
  3. 52 Jobs lost:Delaware Hospice Lays Off 52 Workers amid Federal Changes.”
  4. 58 jobs lost:Hospital Layoffs and the Affordable Hea[l]th Care Act.”

Obamacare reduces Medicare spending by $716 billion from 2013 to 2022, with a majority of the payment reductions hitting Medicare Part A providers, which includes hospitals, hospices, skilled nursing facilities, and nursing homes. As these providers are trying to do more with less federal reimbursement, they are laying off their employees to cut down costs.

If Obamacare’s rates remain law, the Medicare trustees predict, “the lower Medicare payment rates would result in negative total facility margins for an estimated 15 percent of hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and home health agencies by 2019, and this percentage would reach roughly 25 percent in 2030 and 40 percent by 2050.” The payment cuts are simply not sustainable.

Employer Mandate

  1. At least 7,386 full-time jobs turned part-time:State Grapples with Insurance Rules for Part-Time Workers.”
  2. 400 full-time jobs turned part-time:Health Care Law Brings Double Dose of Trouble for CCAC Part-Time Profs.”
  3. 300 full-time jobs turned part-time:Wendy’s Franchisee Slashes Employee Hours to Sidestep Obamacare.”

Obamacare’s employer mandate forces all employers with more than 50 full-time employees, defined as those who work at least 30 hours per week, to provide health insurance for employees or pay a $2,000 penalty for each employee after the first 30 workers. This creates an incentive for businesses to avoid both the penalty and cost of coverage by hiring part-time employees instead of full-time employees... This affects a wide range of American workers, from restaurant employees and college adjunct professors to state government workers


Remember: the real Obamacare regulations don't kick in until 2014.

We have not yet begun to suffer under this Soviet-style, authoritarian, and unconstitutional system of managing 16 percent of the entire U.S. economy.


Jan Schakowsky's Toilet

Illinois Representative Jan Schakowsky is a known Marxist sympathizer. Her history makes clear that she despises the United States Constitution and that the oath she took to serve in Congress was as bogus as a George Soros 9-dollar bill.

And thanks to Jason Mattera's hidden camera, Schakowsky once again revealed her inner tyrant. This time she was caught admitting that the Democrats' real agenda is shredding the Bill of Rights, thereby setting the stage for a hard tyranny.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), a member of the Democratic Party’s leadership in the House of Representatives, suggested to Jason Mattera at a Feb. 13 women’s rights rally that plans for an assault weapons ban and private-sales background checks were only the beginning of a broader gun control agenda extending to handguns as well.

...Schakowsky: We’re on a roll now, and I think we’ve got to take the--you know, we’re gonna push as hard as we can and as far as we can.

Mattera: So the assault weapons ban is just the beginning?

Schakowsky: Oh absolutely. I mean, I’m against handguns. We have, in Illinois, the Council Against Handgun... something [Violence]. Yeah, I’m a member of that. So, absolutely...

Mattera: We’ll never get a handgun ban with the Second Amendment as stated.

Schakowsky: I don’t know. I don’t know that we can’t. And there may be an allowance, once again, for communities--I have communities in my district that prohibited handguns within their borders. The rights of municipalities and states to view that as a sensible way to keep people safe--I don’t think it’s precluded...

When Mattera asked why legislators were not pressing for a handgun ban, given that most murders are committed with handguns, Schakowsky replied: “Because we’re not going to be able to win that. Not now.” She went on to explain why background checks were a useful interim policy, arguing that they would “address any kind of weapon.”

Schakowsky’s remarks about plans for broader gun control are not the first time she has revealed the long-term goal behind short-term policy debates. She has a tendency to do so when speaking to apparently sympathetic audiences. In 2009, she told a crowd that the goal of Obamacare would be to “put the private insurance industry out of business.”

Any self-described "progressive" (i.e., socialist) serving in Congress is an enemy of the Constitution. In a sane society, such a person would be ejected from government for violating their oath of office.


Hat tip: BadBlue 24-Hour News.

EXCLUSIVE: Black Smoke smoke emerges from Senate chimney

Cub Reporter Biff Spackle emails us this photo, which he claims is a world exclusive.


To be perfectly frank, the photo might not depict the U.S. Senate, as Spackle has been known to drink around NCAA tourney time.


Shocker: Illinois settles pension fraud charge with SEC

I know, it's hard to believe that a state with the squeaky clean reputation of Illinois -- and its fabulous Democrat-slash-union monopoly on government -- would get caught up in something like this.

Illinois settled a fraud charge Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it misled investors with shoddy disclosure between 2005 and 2009 about the significant financial risks posed by its pension funding system.

The SEC's two-and-a-half-year probe into the state's pension disclosure concluded Monday with the announcement of a civil charge of fraud against Illinois for violating federal securities laws in its public pension disclosures in offering statements on $2.2 billion of general obligation bonds.

The state settled the charge by agreeing to a cease-and-desist order in which it neither admitted nor denied the order's findings. Illinois does not face any fines or penalties.

The order offers a stinging assessment of the state's past disclosure practices for failing to provide investors with material information about its pension funding system and the stress it posed to the state's fiscal condition.

The action Monday is the second taken by the SEC against a state. New Jersey entered a settlement order in 2010. "Municipal investors are no less entitled to truthful risk disclosures than other investors," said George S. Canellos, acting director of the agency's Division of Enforcement. "Time after time, Illinois failed to inform its bond investors about the risk to its financial condition posed by the structural underfunding of its pension system."

The state established a 50-year funding schedule in 1994 with payments based on a statutory formula, not an actuarially required contribution. The SEC found that the methodology structurally underfunded Illinois' pension obligations and backloaded the majority of pension contributions far into the future...

...Illinois faces a staggering $95 billion of unfunded liabilities for a funded ratio of just 40.4%, the worst among U.S. states...

Say, I've got an idea! Let's have the same jamokes who drove Illinois into bankruptcy run the federal government!


Hat tip: BadBlue Money News.

The Saddest Chart in America

I forget: is this going to be the third or fourth annual "Summer of Recovery"?

Record Dow Jones, record US debt ($16,701,846,937,879.74), and now, once more, record number of Americans on foodstamps. According to the USDA, an all time high of 47,791,966 Americans closed 2012 in possession of the highly desired Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card, managed by who else but JPMorgan. And with a civilian non-institutional population of 244.4 million in December, this means that a record 19.56% of eligible Americans are on Foodstamps.

In December an additional 109,924 Americans became reliant on foodstamps for their poverty-level needs, bringing the total to 47.8 million.

Interesting, as well, that the Chase website has been inaccessible for much of the day, but its EBT (electronic benefits transfer, aka welfare) card portal is working jest fine, thanks.


To recap: the country is borrowing 42 cents of every dollar it spends, it has expanded food-stamp benefits to nearly 1 out of 5 residents (including millions of illegal aliens), and the only things the Obama administration can find to cut are White House tours and national defense.


Larwyn's Linx: The Koch Brothers, The Tides Foundation, and the Fundamental Dishonesty of the American Media

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

Nation

The Koch Brothers, The Tides Foundation, and Media Dishonesty: Ace
Schakowsky Busted: Assault Weapons “Absolutely” Just the Beginning: Nice Deb
Soda Ban and the Government Leviathan: Commentary

Funny, funny lines from the Senate’s budget follies: RS
Colorado State Senate Approves 5 of 7 Gun Control Bills; Including Mag Ban: FAM
Why Things Never Change: ZH

Rape Victim Begs CO Legislators to Let Her Defend Herself: Hawkins
Judge Properly Tosses New York City Soda Ban: ObjStd
VA tells New York and Cuomo to get stuffed: AP

Economy

Blue State Schools: The Shame of a Nation: Mead
Ensuring Black Kids Get Inferior Education: a Civil Rights Issue?: Hawkins
Democrat Senate hopes to pass first budget in four years: Roll Call

Record 47,791,996 on Food Stamps in December (1 in 4 in D.C.): WS
Government Advertises for Nearly 2,600 New Jobs Since Sequestration: PJM
The Real Story Behind The Unemployment Rate?: ETF Daily

Cruz on Obamacare: ‘We Should Repeal Every Word of It’: WFB
Foodstamp Recipients Hit Record, Alongside Record Dow Jones And Record Debt: ZH
Feds Spend $1.5 Million to Study Why Lesbians Are Fat: CNS

Scandal Central

JW Sues Obama State Department for Benghazi Attack Videos and Photographs: JW
Schakowsky: Assault Weapons Ban 'Just the Beginning': Breitbart
Air Force Chaplain Awarded Bronze Star for PowerPoint Teaching Proper Sensitivity for the Koran: NRO

Climate & Energy

Oh yay, the junk science of Globull Warming is now part of US school curriculum: WyBlog
Keystone XL: Parallels to the Alaska Pipeline: Foundry
Eastern Kentucky Coal Clouds Potential Judd Senate Bid: Roll Call

Media

To Speak of Woe That Is in Teen Pregnancy: Mac Donald
Dana Milbank: Future Scholars Will Be Shocked By Number of F-bombs Dropped By This White House: NB
South Carolina to have first openly gay Republican Senator?: Howe

CNN Panel Scoffs at Press Getting 'Manipulated' by Sequester Hype, Forgets CNN Did, Too: NB
Fallon Fox: Transsexual Mixed Martial Arts Fighter: MB
Public School Insanity: Reynolds

Owned! Mark Kelly (D-Media Whore) likely committed a felony being ‘straw purchaser’ of AR-15: FAM
Organizing For Action Is NOT Non-Partisan: Glob
40 Obama White House aides owe the IRS $333,000 in back taxes: Instapundit

World

The Fruits of Appeasement: Pakistan Defies Obama, Biden, Kerry and Hagel - Sides with Iran: TAB
The 'Racist' and the Unknown Man: Steyn
An Auschwitz Survivor Searches for His Twin on Facebook: Beast

FY 2014 Budget Should Keep Defense Fully Funded: Foundry
Backlash: Obama Regime’s Decision to Release Illegal Alien Prisoners Infuriates GOP Lawmakers: Nice Deb
John Bolton: Obama Administration Is Holding Talks With Taliban in Doha and Qatar: GWP

CBS Asks: Where are the Benghazi survivors?: IJ Review
DOJ Looking to Saudi Arabia for Counter-Terrorism Measures: Too Many Americans are Violent: MagNote
Saudi Arabia may stop beheadings over shortage of swordsmen: Fox

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

Online Betting Site InTrade Shuts Down: AllThingsD
Ohio Judge Rules Speed Cameras Are a Scam: Slashdot
How online ruined dating ... forever: Fortune

Cornucopia

It's the People's House: Sondrakistan
Tea Party “Terrorists” now on U.S. Army kill list?: Western
New Egyptian Law Allows Unrestricted 'Citizen's Arrests' Of Foreign Tourists: Joshua

Image: Atlas Shrugs
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: BadBlue Tech News

QOTD: "The same week that President Obama’s administration announced that due to sequestration, White House tours would be cancelled, sources at the White House announced that it would be hosting megastars Adele and Beyonce at Michelle’s 50th birthday party next year. “America’s First Lady will be holding a huge celebrity-packed party for her birthday at the White House next year and, as she adores Adele and Beyonce, she has asked them both to sing..." --Sondrakistan

Monday, March 11, 2013

DUDE: Astrobiologists may have confirmed extraterrestrial life

This news appears, eh, somewhat important:

Researchers in the United Kingdom have found algae-like fossils in meteorite fragments that landed in Sri Lanka last year. This is the strongest evidence yet of cometary panspermia — that life on Earth began when a meteorite containing simple organisms landed here, billions of years ago — and, perhaps more importantly, that there’s life elsewhere in the universe.

In December 2012, a fireball was seen over the skies of Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka. Over the following few days, fragments of the fireball were collected and sent to Sri Lanka’s Medical Research Institute, where initial microscopic analysis revealed siliceous microalgae known as diatoms. As you can imagine, with this being the first ever evidence that life might’ve arrived on Earth via a meteorite, the scientific community was skeptical of the results — and so some fragments were sent to Cardiff University in Wales for further analysis. The researchers at Cardiff are now reporting that they’re sure that these fragments come from an extraterrestrial meteorite — and that there are definitely “fossilized biological structures” within them. Panspermia, it seems, is a go.


There are a few competing theories for how life began on Earth. Panspermia, where life arrived on the back of a comet or asteroid, is one. Abiogenesis, the theory that life spontaneously erupted from inorganic molecules in Earth’s primordial soup, is another. Directed panspermia, where an alien race intentionally sent an asteroid or spacecraft loaded with living organisms to Earth, is another slightly more exotic theory. As for which theory is correct, we’ll probably never know — but the Polonnaruwa meteorite definitely puts the odds in panspermia’s favor...