Wednesday, July 03, 2013
DRUDGESTORM!
The links in red ("PHOTOS...") direct readers to an earlier Biff Spackle post entitled "15 Photos From the Tahrir Square Protests You'll Never See In Legacy Media. #Egypt #Morsi #Obama."
And this is what the real-time Google Analytics mobile app revealed during the height of the Drudgestorm:
Is there any more influential newsman than Matt Drudge?
For you drones and other miscreants out there: that's a rhetorical question. Put it this way: the entire editorial board of The New York Times wishes they had a tenth of the influence of Matt Drudge.
Egypt's Military Backs a Popular Uprising [Stratfor Research]
The Arab Spring was an exercise in irony, nowhere more so than in Egypt. On the surface, it appeared to be the Arab equivalent of 1989 in Eastern Europe. There, the Soviet occupation suppressed a broad, if not universal desire for constitutional democracy modeled on Western Europe. The year 1989 shaped a generation's thinking in the West, and when they saw the crowds in the Arab streets, they assumed that they were seeing Eastern Europe once again.
There were certainly constitutional democrats in the Arab streets in 2011, but they were not the main thrust. Looking back on the Arab Spring, it is striking how few personalities were replaced, how few regimes fell, and how much chaos was left in its wake. The uprising in Libya resulted in a Western military intervention that deposed former leader Moammar Gadhafi and replaced him with massive uncertainty. The uprising in Syria has not replaced Syrian President Bashar al Assad but instead sparked a war between him and an Islamist-dominated opposition. Elsewhere, revolts have been contained with relative ease. The irony of the Arab Spring was that in opening the door for popular discontent, it demonstrated that while the discontent was real, it was neither decisive nor clearly inclined toward constitutional democracy.
This is what makes Egypt so interesting. The Egyptian uprising has always been the most ambiguous even while being cited as the most decisive. It is true that former President Hosni Mubarak fell in 2011. It is also true that elections were held in 2012, when a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood's election as president highlighted the reality that a democratic election is not guaranteed to produce a liberal democratic result. In any case, the now-deposed president, Mohammed Morsi, won by only a slim margin and he was severely constrained as to what he could do.But the real issue in Egypt has always been something else. Though a general was forced out of office in 2011, it was not clear that the military regime did not remain, if not in power, then certainly the ultimate arbiter of power in Egyptian politics. Over the past year, so long as Morsi remained the elected president, the argument could be made that the military had lost its power. But just as we argued that the fall of Hosni Mubarak had been engineered by the military in order to force a succession that the aging Mubarak resisted, we can also argue that while the military had faded into the background, it remained the decisive force in Egypt.
Modern Egypt was founded in 1952 in a military coup by Col. Gamal Abdel Nasser. Nasser was committed to modernizing Egypt, and he saw the army as the only real instrument of modernization. He was a secularist committed to the idea that Arab nations ought to be united, but not Islamist by any means. He was a socialist, but not a communist. Above all else, he was an Egyptian army officer committed to the principle that the military guaranteed the stability of the Egyptian nation.
Larwyn's Linx: Rubio Would Lose in Landslide Among Hispanics
Nation
Rubio Would Lose in Landslide Among Hispanics: Dave BlountIs America in a Pre-Revolutionary State this July 4th?: Roger L. Simon
Liberals discard anti-war buttons along with their integrity: Zombie
Effort to Oust Attorney General Eric Holder Gains Momentum: Alex Newman
Awesome: Iraq Veteran Aaron Weiss Tells It Straight: GWP
Abortion Supporters Chanted “Hail Satan” Outside Texas Capital Today: Glob
The "Refuse to Enforce" Precedent: Ace
Kids in Service to Saul: Ed Driscoll
Rubio would lose Latino vote to Biden by 60 to 28: Daniel Greenfield
Economy
2 of Nation’s Top 4 Health Insurers Quit California's Individual Market: TatlerBankrupt cities dumping public workers on Obamacare: Rare
Hidden ObamaCare fees to cost one school district dearly in 2014: EAG
FLOTUS arrives in Senegal Wearing $1,295 Designer Dress: RightPundit
Houston Doctor Closing Practice Because of Obamacare: WFB
Border Insecurities (Cartoon): Branco
Scandal Central
TSA Now Instragramming Items They Confiscate: Andrew KaczynskiRevealed: Obama Administration’s Warrantless Collection of Citizens’ Personal Financial Data: JW
Feds redirect billions from student loan program for Obamacare: Leslie Eastman, CI
Climate & Energy
Perfesser Obama: Africa Must Remain Poor With No Power or the World Will Boil Over: RSHouse Gives Thumb’s Up to Offshore Drilling After Obama Climate Push: Bill Straub
Green Death: 14,000 Abandoned Wind Turbines in the USA: Instapundit
Media
Always Grateful Michelle Obama on Life of Luxury in the White House: “There are prison elements to it”: JWFRedState misstates Palin and misses the point: Kuznicki
Christian Century's Contributing Editor Also a Columnist at Anti-Semitic Publication: Camera
Cheering for a Free Egypt: Hugh Hewitt
Facebook Censors Steven Crowder Video About "Creepy Ass Cracker": The Blaze
George Carlin on the Arrogance of Mankind: American Digest
World
Confirmed: Obama Warns Egyptian Military Against Stepping In And Replacing Morsi: Nice DebPromise Meets Expiration Date: Ed Driscoll
A Young Jewish Man's Lethal Arab Spring Delusion: Andrew Bostom
Morsi Vows to 'Pay His Life' to Protect Islamist Constitution: Breitbart
Crude Cracks $102 As Egyptian Army "Ready To Die": ZH
European fascism, 21st century style: Harry's Place
Argentina Blocks Prosecutor from Telling Congress About Iran’s Troubling Terror Network: Bridget Johnson
China and Russia Increase Military Co-operation: Trevor Loudon
Military Coup Pending in Egypt; President Morsi Says His Blood is Cheap Price to Pay; Oil Spikes: Mish
Sci-Tech
Telescopic contact lenses magnify sight 2.8 times, turn wearer into cyborg: EngadgetHuman Head Transplants Are Getting Closer To Reality: Dan Nosowitz, PopSci
Debate: Because of inherent vulnerabilities, it is time to ditch Java: SC Magazine
Cornucopia
Candy-Colored Congo Sees Waking Dreams Verge Into Nightmares: WiredIntroducing Ibeenwitchhunt.com: HayRide
Buyer’s Remorse, or “Lie to Me Some More”: MOTUS
Image: BarkingCrayon.com
Sponsored by: Call Paul Ryan's office now at (202) 225-3031 and tell him NO AMNESTY
QOTD: "Will the GOP be willing to turn around? Not unless we have conservative leadership, and the only way to change the current leadership is if some State Committeeman challenges Reince Priebus as RNC chief, and gets in, yet I do not think we have a majority of conservatives in the RNC to pull that off, and every conservative must publicly get an answer from every Congressional hopeful to the question, “Will you support John Boehner as Speaker?” If they answer yes, they have chosen poorly.
As to the complaint that we will be ruled for a very long time with Democrats in charge without any hope of reprieve if a third party forms, we just lost the biggest, most winnable contest this nation has ever seen, and with the current leadership silencing conservatives, we will be ruled for a very long time with Democrats in charge." --Jen Kuznicki
Tuesday, July 02, 2013
SURPRISE! Democrats frantically trying to roll back Obamacare before 2014 midterm elections
...the rolling thunder of the approaching ObamaCare train can be heard in the distance. Smart Democrats are beginning to get frantic about the need to suppress the confusion and hide the cost of ObamaCare between now and the 2014 midterm elections. We are just three months away from the October 1st enrollment start date and so far, nothing about the ObamaCare implementation process should be politically encouraging for Democrats. In fact, the more people learn about ObamaCare, the more frightened they become.
Which may explain this report:
The Obama administration will not penalize businesses that do not provide health insurance in 2014, the Treasury Department announced Tuesday.
Instead, it will delay enforcement of a major Affordable Care Act requirement that all employers with more than 50 employees provide coverage to their workers until 2015... The administration said it would postpone the provision after hearing significant concerns from employers about the challenges of implementing it.
...The Affordable Care Act requires all employers with more than 50 full-time workers provide health insurance or pay steep fines. That policy had raised concerns about companies downsizing their workforce or cutting workers’ hours in order to dodge the new mandate.
Why the delay? Insiders say it has nothing at all to do with you or I, the American citizen. It has to do with the midterm elections:
...the Treasury source said the extra year will give the White House an extra year to persuade health insurers to participate in the exchanges that make up the backbone of the Affordable Care Act.
The revised timetable, the source added, will also push back the final implementation of Obamacare's penalties past the 2014 midterm elections...
Say, aren't Obamacare's timetables the law of the land? Meaning the Obama administration can't lawfully modify them? Uhm, yeah:
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chair Darrell Issa, a California Republican, piled on Tuesday evening, drawing attention to the GOP's efforts to repeal the Obamacare law in its entirety.
'The House has repeatedly voted to repeal Obamacare because it will not work and is bad public policy,' Issa said in a statement. 'The President has delayed a critical component of the Affordable Care Act because it is absolutely unaffordable for American job creators and workers. It is unclear that he has the authority to do this without Congress.'
'This is another in a string of extra legal actions taken by his Administration to mask the horrible impact his law will have on the economy and health care in the United State...'
If we had an effective opposition party -- you know, the opposite of John Boehner, Karl Rove, and the rest of the RINO dolts -- the IRS would have been completely defunded after its latest scandal. I'm guessing 80 percent of the American public would have been okay with that and it would have prevented the enforcement of Obamacare.
But those deep thoughts are far beyond the GOP establishment wimps who spend more time and energy fighting their conservative base than they do the Marxist Left.
AWESOME: White House collecting personal financial records of 5 million Americans without warrants or due process
Judicial Watch announced today that it has obtained records from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) revealing that the agency has spent millions of dollars for the warrantless collection and analysis of Americans’ financial transactions. The documents also reveal that CFPB contractors may be required to share the information with "additional government entities." The records were obtained pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed on April 24, 2013, following the April 23 Senate Banking Committee testimony of CFPB Director Richard Cordray...
[The documents outline the] scope of the [CFPB] program accordingly:
The panel shall include 5 million consumers, and joint borrowers, co-signers, and authorized users [emphasis added]. The initial panel shall contain 10 years of historical data on a quarterly basis [emphasis added]...
The CFPB data collection program has been highly controversial since the April 2013 hearing, when Cordray disclosed elements of the venture at a Senate Banking Committee hearing. At the time, the US Chamber of Commerce accused the CFPB of breaking the law by demanding the account-level data without a warrant or National Security Letter.
In short, the Obama administration is unlawfully collecting the private financial information of millions of Americans. This time, it's under the aegis of another massive, thousand-plus page bill (Dodd-Frank) that not one legislator read or understood before voting upon.
Let's recap: the Obama administration is building a massive database on you. Your private health information, your personal financial data, your telephone calls, your Internet activity and -- soon -- your driving habits.
I forget: would you call this sort of activity by a government fascism, despotism or totalitarianism?
Or just all of the above?
Hat tip: BadBlue News.
Taking the "Heart of Gold" Meme to its Next Logical Conclusion
As with all things media-related, the reality is considerably uglier than the studio veneer.
Are you ready for Hillary in 2016?
Larwyn's Linx: Amnesty Supporters – Fire Them and Don’t Hire Them!
Nation
Amnesty Supporters – Fire Them and Don’t Hire Them!: Tammy BrucePelosi Admits Amnesty Push: “70% of Hispanics Vote Democrat”: WZ
How embarrassing: Priebus tells Latinos, “The GOP has changed.”: Kuznicki
Obama Tells Africans Not To Trust America: John Hawkins
Inside the NSA: Matthew M. Aid
Sheriff’s Fight With Feds Likely Over Residents Carrying Guns: CBS Sacramento
Mission Accomplished: Liberty News
Gunowner Insurance Proposals Threaten At Federal, State Level: Bearing Arms
Magpul Donates Mags for Recall of Pro-Gun Control Dems: AmmoLand
Economy
36 Hard Questions About The U.S. Economy the Media Should Be Asking: TECBEurozone jobless rate at record high of 12.1 percent: Commentator
Obama On $100M Family Trip To Africa; Cancels July 4th Fireworks: WZ
Scandal Central
The IRS Continues Its Abuse Of Power: Loren HealRise in Illegal Immigration Overwhelms Local Police: JW
GLAAD: Alec Baldwin's Homophobic Rants: Totes Cool: Ace
Climate & Energy
Our President Needs a Science Lesson: Steve MaleyObama: 'Planet Will Boil Over' If Young Africans Are Allowed Cars, Air-Conditioning, Big Houses: CNS
Why Did High Priest Of Cthulhu George W. Bush Train Conservatives To H8 Gaia?: RSM
Media
Americans reward the Obamas' endless African safari with a new poll plummet: Andrew MalcolmNetwork News: 33 Minutes to Ancient Paula Deen Slur, 8 Minutes to New Alec Baldwin One: Ace
IBD/TIPP Poll: Obama's Approval Dives To Record Low: IBD
Sen. Ted Cruz: Priest’s beheading ‘grim reminder’ not to arm jihadists: Twitchy
Mark Levin on Zimmerman trial: The prosecution appears to have no case at all: Scoop
Pamela Geller SLAMS Jihadi Apologist Michael Ghouse For Slander on National TV: GWP
Are you kidding me? CNN broadcasts George Zimmerman’s personal info including his #SSN: Scoop
Alec Baldwin: He is the very Model of a Modern Media Liberal: Da Tech Guy
Restaurant Bonefish Grill Drops Spokesperson Alec Baldwin: Sooper
World
After Speaking To Obama, Morsi Rebuffs 48 Hour Ultimatum: Nice DebObama 2011: Mubarak Must Go; Obama Today: ‘It’s not our job to choose who Egypt’s leaders are’ : JWF
Crickets from White House on Largest Protest in Human History: Tatler
Sophisticated, Educated, Enlightened Europeans Shocked to Learn Obamessiah's Been Spying On Them: Ace
French President Hollande Gives Obama An Ultimatum: ZH
A Bad, Bad Choice: CJHSLA
Yes, You Can Tell the Truth About Jihad Violence in Britain (As Long As You’re For It): Robert Spencer
Obama supports voter ID. For Kenyans.: Todd Cefaratti, TPNN
The NSA's Harmless ‘Metadata’? German Politician Shows You What It Reveals: Liz Klimas, Blaze
Sci-Tech
If You Search, Advertise on, Invest in, or Have Kids Who Use Google, You Must See This: Rob Enderle10 biggest home networking mistakes (and how to fix them): Network World
Facebook's Advertising Is Starting To Spiral Out Of Control: Forbes
Cornucopia
The true meaning of the 4th of July: Rick Montes, TACOur Rainbow Connection: MOTUS
30 Under 30: RedAlert
Image: Egypt on edge after military's ultimatum to Morsi
Sponsored by: Call Eric Cantor Now at 202-225-4000 and Tell Him NO AMNESTY: BORDER SECURITY NOW.
QOTD: "According to Der Spiegel, the NSA has been going through the phones, computers, and who knows what else of European Union officials. If European politicians were any angrier, they would be commenting on Daily Kos. They're so mad, Islamic Rage Boy is telling them to calm down. Alec Baldwin is imploring them to not lose their temper...
As an American, I'm not particularly bothered by the NSA giving a technological colonoscopy to every electronic gadget used by every European diplomat. That's just good old-fashioned intelligence-gathering. The U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment doesn't say Jacques merde about unreasonable searches on foreign officials.
Of course, it doesn't bother me because I'm not a European diplomat and I never really thought Obama was the embodiment of hope and change. If I had gone to that big rally in Berlin in 2008 and told my constituents that this president really was the polar opposite of George W. Bush in all the ways that mattered to those kumbaya-minded Europeans, well… yeah, I'd feel like a fool, too." --Jim Geraghty
Monday, July 01, 2013
15 Photos From the Tahrir Square Protests You'll Never See In Legacy Media. #Egypt #Morsi #Obama
Consider the dichotomy: Obama 2011: Mubarak Must Go; Obama Today: ‘It’s not our job to choose who Egypt’s leaders are’.
Update: Via Robert Spencer:
Hat tips: BadBlue Real-Time News and Dancing Czars.
Helpful President Schultz Infographic
The Complete IRS Timeline helps illustrate the, eh, disconnect between the president's story and reality.
Hat tip: BadBlue News and Nice Deb.
IT'S COME TO THIS: Al Gore Says That Warmal Colding Turned the Earth Upside Down!
In 1998, the Washington Post ran a picture of Earth from space. I can't remember why, but I think it was a picture from the international space station.
The picture infuriated then-vice president [Al] Gore. He called the Post's executive editor to tip him off about the "error."
"I decided I just had to call because you've printed a picture of the Earth upside-down."
It didn't occur to Gore that, from space, there is no upside down.
Really.
Democrat Pride: And Al Gore is the intellectual giant upon whom Obama relies to guide America's industrial and regulatory policies.
Oh, and this just in: according to Vermont's self-professed Socialist-cum-Democrat Senator Bernie Sanders, weather is the greatest planetary crisis that we face.
Every summer the planet gets warmer and every winter the planet cools. It's called "the seasons".
The Earth lies within the heliosphere. That is, within the atmosphere of the sun. And all of the warmal colding religionists have completely omitted the sun from their computerized models.
Yes, really.
Larwyn's Linx: At What Point Will America No Longer Tolerate Obama’s Constant Lying?
Nation
At What Point Will America No Longer Tolerate Constant Lying?: Nice DebAfter Gang of Eight: Won’t get fooled again: Byron York
Polygamy – another love that now dares speak its name again: LI
Obamacare is about permanent Democrat control: Sensing
Nancy Pelosi: Abortion Safety Laws an 'Assault' on 'Women's Health': Breitbart
Obama: More electricity for Africans, less for Americans: Rare
Colorado’s Paul “Buddy System” Rosenthal Runs From Constituents: Loesch
Horrifying: Entire hot shot crew perishes in Arizona’s Yarnell Fire: Malkin
Wendy Davis: If It’s Not a Baby Then You’re Not Pregnant: Rebecca Downs
Economy
20 Signs America is in Decline: John HawkinsHi, Rhode Island! Enjoy your 10% #Obamacare hikes!: Moe Lane
Quinn: ILL-inois pension debt only growing by $5 million per day: Marathon
Healthy Americans Face Premiums That Will Double Or Triple: LoneCon
Union Bosses Fear ‘Collapse’ of Obama’s NLRB: RS
Happy days: ammo is here again!: AWD
Scandal Central
It’s "Not An Invasion", If We Think They Belong Here: NoisyRoomWhere's the special prosecutor? The IRS scandal demands an independent investigation: Chicago Tribune
Michael Jackson paid £23MM buying silence of at least 24 young boys he abused over 15 years: Mirror
Climate & Energy
Our President Needs a Science Lesson: Steve MaleyObama’s Climate Plan; Economic Disaster Based Upon Bogus Science: Blogmocracy
Green energy success in Britain: Public outcry over increasing blackout risks: Daily Mail
Media
Obama, in South Africa, Tells U.S. Media to 'Behave': BreitbartPelosi Helpfully Offering GOP Advice on Presidential Politics: JWF
AllenWest Goes Nuclear On Obama: WZ
Another Race-based Show Trial Turns Into Farce: Clarice Feldman
NFL… we’ll pass on pimping Obamacare, thanks: Hot Air
Why CNN is in trouble: Moe Lane
World
Obama's epic failure in Egypt: millions march in anti-Morsi, anti-Obama protests: AtlasFools Rush In Where Statesmen Fear to Tread: Barry Rubin
Live blogging anti-Morsi Tamarod protests in Egypt: Patrick Poole
Conspiracy, Treachery, and Terror: Ongoing Litigation Exposes CAIR’s Massive Web of Fraud and Deceit: AFLC
Unbelievable: Outrageous Avatar Of US Embassy Riyadh Twitter Account: WZ
Scores of protesters try to storm Muslim Brotherhood HQ in Cairo: RT
TheNazis and the Palestinian Movement: Ted Belman, Israpundit
Mexico is outraged: how dare the U.S. secure its border!: Elephant
Tennessee imam: Jews and Christians filthy, their lives and property can be taken in jihad: JihadWatch
Sci-Tech
US senators demand to know from Clapper extent and benefits of spy program: John Ribeiro, IT NewsThe Unreported Revolution In Air Combat: StrategyPage
Sentient world: war games on the grandest scale: Mark Baard, Register
Cornucopia
Keeping Up With the Obamas: MOTUSWhat could have beens in Vietnam: Bruce Kesler
Guess Who Else Is In South Africa? Reggie Love!: WZ
Image: Shotguns, petrol bombs and rocks: Scores of protesters try to storm Muslim Brotherhood HQ in Cairo
Sponsored by: Call Paul Ryan's office now at (202) 225-3031 and tell him NO AMNESTY
QOTD: "...those activists who want to make the Palestinian cause the 21st-century equivalent of the movement that opposed South African apartheid in the 20th century will—assuming they conform to basic standards of honesty—find it very difficult to invoke Mandela as support. Mandela’s memoirs are full of positive references to Jews and even Israel. He recalls that he learned about guerilla warfare not from Fidel Castro, but from Arthur Goldreich, a South African Jew who fought with the Palmach during Israel’s War of Independence. He relates the anecdote that the only airline willing to fly his friend, Walter Sisulu, to Europe without a passport was Israel’s own El Al. And the ultimate smoking gun—the equation of Israel’s democracy with apartheid—doesn’t exist.
Mandela once wrote that Jews, in his experience, were far more sensitive about race because of their own history. Now, it is absolutely true that there are parallels between the oppression suffered by South African blacks under racist white rulers, and Jews living under hostile non-Jewish rulers. The notorious Group Areas Act, which restricted black residency rights, brings to mind the enforced separation of Jews into the “Pale of Settlement” by the Russian Empress Catherine in 1791. Many of the other apartheid regulations, like the ban on sexual relationships between whites and blacks, carried echoes of the Nazi Nuremburg Laws of 1935.
Mandela’s diagnosis was that Africans should be the sovereigns of their own destiny..." --Ben Cohen
Sunday, June 30, 2013
If you live in the United States, you are already far too late [finem respice]
If you live in the United States it may finally be dawning on you that you have something of a problem in the government to which you are now a Subject. In fact, the details of the [NSA Snooping|Verizon Metadata|IRS Political Targeting|Bankruptcy Preference|Fast and Furious|State Department Coverup|Libyan Ambassador|George Takei Facebook Ghostwriting] scandal are meaningless. You are already far too late. It will get worse before it gets better, it may never get better again, and, frankly, finem respice has not a shred of sympathy for your plight or that of your countrymen/women. In fact, given the manner you have quashed the opportunity- almost unique in the history of the species- created by an impossibly rare coexistence of liberty, private property, free markets, the rise of scientific method, and freedom of expression (to name just a few) there is more than a passing argument to be made that your society has squandered one of the greatest intellectual and individualistic fortunes in history.
Moreover, less charitable commentators may one day look upon what you have vainly and arrogantly loosed upon the world and wonder if the word "criminal" might not actually be excessive. To the extent humanity was headed towards something approaching a post-scarcity society finem respice would not wonder if you have collectively set that project back decades, or even centuries.You see, for generations now you have collectively built and nurtured a massive, living, metabolizing creature. From the inanimate, intellectual detritus of "progressivism" and your unending and increasingly all-consuming narcissism you have kneaded it into a shapeless husk, pouring in rank mud like "Save the Planet," "Global Warming," "The American Dream of Home Ownership," "The War on Drugs", "Mothers Against Drunk Driving", "The War On Terror", "Speculators", "Too Big To Fail", "The 1%", and of course the essence and spark of its life, "…if it saves just one child." In conjunction with (but far more so than the other buckets of intellectual mud) "…if it saves just one child" has created the Golem of Government.
It was useful once, certainly, but it has since grown larger and more unwieldy as you slumbered. It is more potent than you now, and now it wields its own momentum with a self-directed animus of its own design, winding to and fro, unpredictable and twister-like, a destructive force that, despite what you thought, is not magically contained by the frontiers of the United States. Its power is extraterritorial and carves a wide swath across and through international law, international relations, international taxation, "force projection," and grips a stranglehold on the global financial system, which it greedily claims as its own and uses as hostage to bend the laws of other states to its will.
With almost Tolkienesque malice it seeks to see all, hear all, and know all- and owing to complacency that runs the gamut from your blithe acquiescence to your active participation, increasingly looks close to meeting its total information omniscience goal. Yet, the Golem is possessed of no craft, no subtlety, no art. Its sensory organs inform crude appendages that know how to do nothing but squeeze, smash, stomp, kidnap, and explode the targets of its interest without apology or feeling. Moreover, the Golem has no sense of proportion, happily imposing costs of $10 billion on the developed world to collect less than one tenth of that in revenue for itself, raining fire from the sky upon any collection of persons it feels might maybe contain a couple troublemakers. It thinks nothing of shutting down the 20th largest city within its borders (at a cost of many billions of dollars) to hunt down a single sleep-deprived, starving, wounded, and suicidal criminal. Likewise, it laughs to spend hundreds of thousands in time and expenses to ransack those of its Subjects' entities with operating budgets of $20,000, $15,000, or even less, or to ruin a mid-sized enterprise with a displeasing political orientation over vague foreign regulations on the exportation of wood.
Liz Mair Rips the Republican Establishment: It's Chock Full of Frauds
Really starting to wonder if "conservatives" have lost all principles. First, "conservatives" backed Bush, father of Medicare Part D, NCLB..
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) June 28, 2013
Second, "conservatives" opposed Medicare cuts & campaigned against them. Third, we have "conservatives" making Dem arguments on tech policy.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) June 28, 2013
(note that by "traditional," I mean from the still very recent time when unions didn't want more immigration esp guest workers)...
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) June 28, 2013
Fourth, we have "conservatives" using traditional union talking points increasingly on free trade & outright & commonly on immigration...
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) June 28, 2013
Fifth, I have now seen multiple examples of "conservatives" talking about how by not getting the fed govt more involved in student loans...
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) June 28, 2013
... the Democrats are supposedly "screwing over" students. Because nothing says "conservatism" like turning the govt into a massive bank...
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) June 28, 2013
... involved in a bunch (more) unwise lending that inevitably helps to promote more inflation in education costs, rather than constrain it.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) June 28, 2013
Just a few examples. For a lot of people, "conservatism" actually means "economically liberal, culturally conservative and/or reactionary."
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) June 28, 2013
And the irony in all this is, no, it's not just the establishment GOP that dabbles in this. It's the populist, grassroots wing also.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) June 28, 2013
In fact, it may be even more the populist, grassroots wing than the establishment, overall. In any event, I find it depressing.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) June 28, 2013
I don't mind people who are legitimately 3-legged stool conservatives. I disagree w them on social policy & to an extent defense/forpol...
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) June 28, 2013
...but at least they are legitimately conservative and not, you know, frauds. What I can't stand are people claiming to be "conservative"...
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) June 28, 2013
...when they would, in fact, support a bunch of liberal policies if an R were advancing them or if Obama were advancing the opposite policy.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) June 28, 2013
Obama is obviously a big liberal, and rarely does he propose anything outside bog standard liberal policy. But Medicare cuts...
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) June 28, 2013
... and his (recent, occasional) embrace of free trade and more legal immigration are things where he's shown more market friendliness.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) June 28, 2013
And yet, you still get "conservatives" who are like "no Medicare cuts!" "no free trade!" and "stop (virtually all) legal immigration too!"
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) June 28, 2013
And then, because these "conservatives" want free things & big government too, they're like "turn the govt into a bank!" and "expand govt!"
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) June 28, 2013
You can criticize libertarians for having extreme minority viewpoints and espousing often impractical policy.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) June 28, 2013
But people who call themselves libertarians generally, you know, hold policy positions that are 90% legitimately libertarian.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) June 28, 2013
And we tend to be consistent in taking and holding those stances regardless of who's in office and what the derp du jour is.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) June 28, 2013
I was about to say the same about liberals, but actually, that's only vaguely true, and only if you exclude civil liberties & forpol.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) June 28, 2013
Larwyn's Linx: Keep Calm and Read Animal Farm
Nation
Keep Calm and Read Animal Farm: MOTUSWe might as well put the Constitution out of its misery: Mark Steyn
Perverse Incentives and Perverse Decisions: James Simpson
The Pit at the End of the Rainbow: George Neumayr
How the NSA Collects your Internet Data in Four Charts: ZH
Is Obama Collecting Data on Gun Owners?: Patterico
Third Party? Palin warns GOP: Abandon us, we’ll abandon you: Scoop
Did Senators Really Tell Biden They're Afraid of Cruz and Rand Paul?: NB
California Marriage Case: It’s Not Over Yet: Elizabeth Slattery
Economy
So Much for Patient Privacy: Koch's TourUSDA Tells Magician to Write Disaster Plan for His Rabbit: Bob McCarty
White House recruits librarians to promote ObamaCare: Fox News
Red – and I do mean red – herrings of the Left: Larry Sand, EAG
Paul Ryan Leading House for 'Amnesty' Deal: NewsMax
Coal-state Dems chisel away at Obama climate plan: Fox
Scandal Central
Benghazi: The Truth Behind the Smokescreen.: Bret Baier, Fox NewsHostage Crisis: The Blind Sheikh, Benghazi and Smoking Guns: Shoebat
Secret-court judges upset at portrayal of ‘collaboration’ with government: WaPo
Climate & Energy
Shocker: "Global Warming: Scientists' Best Predictions May Be Wrong": AceWind power kills birds. Birds that Greenies are supposedly FOND of.: Moe Lane
Tropical depression strengthening in Pacific off Mexico: USA Today
Media
Washington Post Airbrushes Racist Trayvon-Related Headline: Ed DriscollZimmerman Prosecution Has a Huge Problem: George Zimmerman re-enactment video with the police : Gretawire
The @Paula_Deen backlash: When is enough enough?: Sister Toldjah
Alec Baldwin's anger management problems: he's gotten away with bad behavior way too long: EBL
Nwe Guardian "Scoop" Sourced to Jew-Hating Conspiracy Theorist Wayne Madsen: American Power
Judge Jeanine Pirro slams the IRS for more employees pleading the 5th: Scoop
Rush Limbaugh: ‘Wait Until the Republican Party Hears About This’: Blaze
EXCLUSIVE: Capital One’s New Slogan, “What’s In Your Closet?”: Jim Hoft
Tracy Martin, Trayvon's father, scrutinized over suspicious activity: Joseph Cotto
World
Obama Readies US Marines to Assist in Egypt… But Wouldn’t Send US Marines to Benghazi: Jim HoftU.S. prison warden: Muslim prayers led to Muslim gangs: Creeping
Mandela's passing and the looming threat of a race war against South Africa's whites: Daily Mail
The Mood of 1980: Victor Davis Hanson
England is no longer a free country: Datechguy
“You Can’t Say That in Austria”: Gates of Vienna
Sci-Tech
How a total n00b mined $700 in bitcoins: Ars TechnicaEncryption Has Foiled Wiretaps for First Time Ever, Feds Say: Wired
University of Michigan activates antimatter 'gun,' cartoon supervillains twirl moustaches anew: Engadget
Cornucopia
Are You Real? Do You Lead From Your Heart?: Jeff CarterCheaper Than Dirt Have Lost Their Minds!: GunWire
6 brothers fought in World War II: Navy Times
Image: AP: Thousands of protesters gather in Tahrir Square to rally against Egypt's Morsi
Sponsored by: Call Paul Ryan's office now at (202) 225-3031 and tell him NO AMNESTY
QOTD: "Whatever you may think of the English Defence League (I'm not a fan, myself), yesterday's arrest of its leaders Tommy Robinson and Kevin Carroll was another example of inexcusable overreach by the Metropolitan Police - and not simply because of the implications around stopping two men walking down the street, but because of how much it's going to cost you and I in the long run.
From what I can tell of the video of the incident, this will be an easy legal encounter for the EDL leaders, who will no doubt report the wrongful arrest to the Independent Police Complaints Commission and may well be able to drag the Met through the courts too.
But think about the costs involved in deploying the officers in the first place, the cars, the filming, the pre-briefings, the post-briefings, the paperwork and the presumptive legal battle. That's an awful lot of wonga to drop to stop two thugs walking past an East London Mosque. And in any case, shouldn't the burden of non-violence (is it a burden?) be on the side of those who would claim to be offended by the EDL presence?
I know they say that freedom isn't free. It looks like tyranny costs a pretty penny too." --Raheem Kassam
Saturday, June 29, 2013
3 Reasons to Oppose the Senate's Amnesty Bill
You can follow Rep. Bridenstine on Twitter at @RepJBridenstine.
Along with Dred Scott and Korematsu, the Supreme Court's DOMA decision will live in infamy
Washington, DC—The 5-4 opinion by the Supreme Court on the Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) raises serious questions about the legitimacy of the Court’s authority. History has proven that the Court does not always issue legitimate opinions.
In Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857), Chief Justice Roger Taney wrote for the majority that while some states had granted citizenship to blacks, the U.S. Constitution did not recognize citizenship of blacks. Taney wrote that blacks were “regarded as beings of inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race, either in social or political relations; and so far inferior, that they had no rights that the white man was bound to respect; and that the negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his own benefit.”Thus, according to the Court, Scott had no standing to file the suit. As might be expected, this decision created further rift between the North and the South in the days leading up to the Civil War. The Fourteenth Amendment later put the nail in the coffin of the Dred Scott decision. This decision was illegitimate and is repudiated today.In Buck v. Bell, 274 U.S. 200 (1927), Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, writing for the Court, described Charlottesville, Virginia, native Carrie Buck, whom he described as an “imbecile,” as the “probable potential parent of socially inadequate offspring, likewise afflicted,” and he went on to say that “her welfare and that of society will be promoted by her sterilization.”
His infamous words still cause one to shudder when he wrote, “Three generations of imbeciles are enough.” The Buck v. Bell case approved forced sterilization to prevent “feebleminded and socially inadequate” people from having children. This horrible decision set the stage for more than sixty thousand sterilizations in the United States and was cited favorably at the Nuremberg trials in defense of Nazi sterilization experiments. Incredibly, this decision has never been overturned. Even so, this decision was illegitimate and is repudiated today.In Korematsu v. U.S., 324 U.S. 885 (1945), the Court upheld Executive Order 9066, which ordered Japanese Americans to be herded into internment camps during World War II.
Citizenship had no value to the Japanese.
All persons of Japanese decent were placed in custody, despite the constitutional guarantee of the Fifth Amendment. This decision, too, is illegitimate.
Justice O’Connor, writing in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Penn. v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833, 864-869 (1992), candidly acknowledged:
As Americans of each succeeding generation are rightly told, the Court cannot buy support for its decisions by spending money and, except to a minor degree, it cannot independently coerce obedience to its decrees. The Court’s power lies, rather, in its legitimacy, a product of substance and perception that shows itself in the people’s acceptance of the Judiciary as fit to determine what the Nation’s law means and to declare what it demands. . . .
The Court must take care to speak and act in ways that allow people to accept its decisions on the terms the Court claims for them, as grounded truly in principle, not as compromises with social and political pressures having, as such, no bearing on the principled choices that the Court is obliged to make. Thus, the Court’s legitimacy depends on making legally principled decisions under circumstances in which their principled character is sufficiently plausible to be accepted by the Nation.
The 5-4 decision by the Supreme Court in the Federal Defense of Marriage Act case has caused millions of Americans to lose confidence in the Court. The decision is as far removed from the Constitution and the Court’s prior precedent as the east is from the west.
Led by Justice Kennedy, the majority of the Justices have cut the tether that once connected them to the Constitution. This decision does not even pretend to be governed by the Constitution or Court precedent. Although the Court used the words “equal protection,” the Court never engaged in an equal protection analysis. Not once did the Court identify the right sought by the petitioners. Not once did the Court ask whether the claimed right was protected, either by an enumerated provision of the Constitution or deeply rooted in history and necessary to ordered liberty. Not once did the Court seek to determine the level of judicial scrutiny the case should receive.
In short, this opinion represents the personal views of five Justices and it finds no support in the Constitution or reason. As history has shown us, such decisions delegitimize the Court. On top of this flawed opinion, the majority demeaned the Court and weakened its authority by labeling as hateful those who believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman.
Marriage predates religion and all civil authorities. It is ontologically a union of a man and a woman and is part of the natural created order. Such irresponsible language by the Court undermines its legitimacy in the eyes of the people. The Court does not have unlimited authority. This decision presumed too much of the people’s blind acceptance of its authority. Just like a corporate act cannot be ultra vires (beyond its authority), the people may determine that this decision is beyond the authority of this Court. If that happens, the Court will lose its authority.
Hat tip: BadBlue News.
The 10 most dangerous play things of all time
VERY BAD SANTA: We made our list, checked it twice, crammed it with naughty, and left out the nice
Several years ago, Target recalled 10 of its Kool Toyz-brand play sets, citing hazards like "lead paint," "sharp points," and "puncture wound potential." The toys, which included plastic aircraft carriers, dinosaurs, and tanks, all appeared harmless enough. But according to the killjoys at the Consumer Product Safety Commission, children—at least those prone to eating plastic objects as big as their head—were at serious risk. A week later, Mattel recalled 4.4 million Polly Pocket dolls and accessories because kids were swallowing the toy's magnets. The Associated Press reported, "If more than one magnet is swallowed, they can attach to each other and cause intestinal perforation, infection or blockage." Three children required surgery.
In 2006 alone, some eight million units of toys were recalled in the U.S., according to W.A.T.C.H., a toy-safety advocacy group. But Kool Toys and Polly Pockets are kids' stuff compared to the hazardous baubles of yesteryear. In the spirit of the holidays, we present the 10 most dangerous toys of all time, those treasured playthings that drew blood, chewed digits, took out eyes, and, in one case, actually irradiated. To keep things interesting, we excluded BB guns, slingshots, throwing stars, and anything else actually intended to inflict harm. Below, our toy box from hell.
1. Lawn Darts
DEATH FROM ABOVE - Respect the Jart or it will destroy you
Removable parts? Suffocation risk? Lead paint? Pussy hazards compared to the granddaddy of them all. Lawn Darts, or "Jarts," as they were marketed, would never fly in our current ultra-paranoid, safety-helmeted, Dr. Phil toy culture. Lawn darts were massive weighted spears. You threw them. They stuck where they landed. If they happened to land in your skull, well, then you should have moved. During their brief (and generally awesome) reign in 1980s suburbia, Jarts racked up 6,700 injuries and four deaths.
The best part about Jarts was that they eliminated all speculation from true outdoor fun. (Is this dangerous? Hell yes, now chuck it!) And they were equal opportunity: All it took to play lawn darts was a sweaty grip. For good measure, it was also nice to have a small sibling around to stand on the other side of the house and tell you how your throw looked (and by how much you cleared the chimney).
The actual rules of lawn darts, as laid out by the manufacturer, were never important. No one is known to have used Jarts for their intended purpose. It shouldn't be surprising, then, that an accident involving a wayward spear and the semi-permeable head of a seven-year-old resulted in the toys' being banned from the market in 1988. Sadly, today's underage boys will never know the primal excitement of a summer's evening spent impaling friends before suppertime.
2. Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab
FISSION BUDDY - Fallout shelter not included
Honey, why is your face glowing?
Larwyn's Linx: What would tyranny look like in America? Look around.
Nation
What would tyranny look like in America? Look around.: Daniel HorowitzGOP Rep: Obamacare building database on every American: Breitbart
Senators Ask if NSA Collected Gun Data: WFB
Guess Who’s Welcome in the White House?: Jonathan S. Tobin
South Africa: Protesters Rip “Arrogant, Selfish, Oppressive” Obama: WZ
Think Gubmint spying is bad now? You ain’t seen nuthin’ yet : Flopping Aces
The Sandbagging of America: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton
Coulda been Obama's son brings people together: Twitchy
Here Come the Trayvon Martin Riots!: AWD
Economy
The bill with the surprise inside: The IRS is now your doctor, sort of: WatchdogNearly 1/5th Of Congress Getting Both Pension And Salary: Doug Mataconis
FHA Swamped by Defaults: Losses Up to $115 Billion: Mish
Barack Obama’s $100M African vacation is now a family affair: Naked DC
Taxing People Out of 2nd Amendment Rights: Sara Noble
22% Think Obamacare Will Make Things Better, 42% Say Worse: Mish
Scandal Central
Another White House play date with Muslim jihad: Michelle MalkinCommunist Party Will Work With Democrats (and RINOs) to Fight Conservatives in 2014: Trevor Loudon
US Park Police Loses 1,400 firearms, including machine guns: PJM
Climate & Energy
Is Carbon Dioxide Guilty and Global Warming Settled Science?: Dr. Ileana Johnson PaughIn Pursuit of False Climate Idols, Paul Krugman Wants the Poor to Suffer and Die: Jeffrey Dorman
Obama: Make climate change a must for your vote: Josh Lederman
Media
20 Signs America is in Decline: John HawkinsBret Baier: Have Talked To A Few Survivors, More Shoes To Drop In Benghazi Case: WZ
Historic: iOTW
Covert Agenda: US Didn't Become Pro-Gay Overnight: Paul Strand, CBN
Sarah Palin hopes Rubio’s phone call from Obama ‘was worth 30 pieces of silver’: Twitchy
NJ: Police nab scumbag home invader: Daily Mail
Zimmerman trial blockbuster — Eyewitness says Trayvon on top punching Mixed Martial Arts style: LI
ABC, CBS & NBC Too Excited by Wendy Davis to Realize They're Losing Abortion Debate: Geoffrey Dickens
Alec Baldwin Shuts Down His Toxic Little Twitter Feed After Violent, Homophobic Meltdown: Bryan Preston
Liberal Admits (Justified) Desire For Control Of Our Lives: Political Outcast
I Dare Liberals to be Outraged at This Parody of The New Yorker's Gay Marriage Cover...: The Looking Spoon
Historical Flashback: Chicago Women’s Protective Association Urges Women Carry Arms: Tammy Bruce
World
Crystal Meth Floods U.S. Border Crossing: BreitbartObama's War of Ideas: Caroline Glick
Retired US general may have leaked Stuxnet cyberattack details': Jon Swaine, Telegraph
Notes on the Turkish Troubles: America’s muted response is both confusing and disheartening.: Claire Berlinski
“It goes without saying”: the Further Rhetoric of Terrorist Apologia: Sad Red Earth
If Only Our Foreign Enemies Were Republicans: Hanson
Return of the Yellow Star: Steve Apfel, The Commentator
Congressman Steve Stockman Says Senate Amnesty Bill Is Unconstitutional: RWN
The world hates Obama’s America more than Bush’s: Time Magazine
Sci-Tech
Voyager I, At The Edge Of The Solar System, Finds The Unexpected: Doug MataconisNew Breed of Banking Malware Hijacks Text Messages: Penny Crosman, American Banker
The Chilling State of Cyber Affairs (US DoD Report): Infosec Island
Cornucopia
Shapey Dave Pilot: Blur BrainAd Campaign Uses Powerful Photographs to Explain that Facebook Likes Don’t Help: DL Cade, PetaPixel
Why many NBA draft picks will go broke: Matthew Heimer, MarketWatch
Image: Here is Wall Street NYC, as it looked in 1883
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Support the Senate Conservatives Fund
QOTD: "Obama is a man of ideas. And he has surrounded himself with men and women who share his ideas. For Obama and his advisers, what matters are not the facts, but the theoretical assumptions - the ideas - that determine their policies. If they like an idea, if they find it ideologically attractive, then they base their policies on it. Consequences and observable reality are no match for their ideas. To serve their ideas, reality can be deliberately distorted. Facts can be ignored, or denied." --Caroline Glick








































