Tuesday, October 15, 2013

What's Really Behind Obama's Purge of Military Commanders?

Guest post by Investors Business Daily


Defense: The firing of two nuclear commanders in a week adds to a body count that suggests we have either the most corrupt and incompetent general staff in history or our military is being reshaped for other purposes.

The Obama administration, which has fired no one over scandals such as its Fast and Furious Mexican gun-running operation, its criminal negligence in the terrorist attack on our Benghazi diplomatic mission, or the use of the IRS to target and intimidate political foes, seems to have a curious obsession lately about ethics and competence in the U.S. military.

Last week the Air Force's two-star general in charge of the units responsible for its 450 nuclear missiles was fired "due to a loss of trust and confidence in his leadership and judgment," an Air Force statement said.

Maj. Gen. Michael Carey had commanded the 20th Air Force, responsible for the three wings that maintain control of the 450 intercontinental ballistic missiles scattered in missile silos across the northern plains.

The statement added that the decision to relieve Carey was based on information from an inspector general investigation into Carey's alleged behavior during a temporary duty assignment, which is the military's term for business travel. It was said to have nothing to do with the operational readiness of the ICBM force or recent failed inspections of ICBM units.

Obamacare Meltdown Continues: $171 Million State Exchange Website Running on Paper; Many States Have Zero Signups

A health insurance website reveals the ugly debacle that is Obamacare:

HHS has released no comprehensive data on how many people have enrolled for health insurance using the HealthCare.gov system...


...Oregon hasn't even tried to open its exchange website ... Vermont -- a thinly populated state -- received a large, $171 million grant to run its exchange and upgrade its technology, but its exchange system is still so buggy that officials are relying on paper applications ...

...In Oregon and Colorado, the official number of completed applications is still zero.

...As of Thursday, Delaware -- a state relying on HHS to handle enrollment -- had not yet confirmed news of any insurer making a single enrollment through the HealthCare.gov system.

As we predicted all along, Obamacare is a complete and utter clusterbungle. And it hasn't really even kicked in yet.

All the efficiency of the DMV combined with the compassion of the IRS. That's Obamacare.


Hat tip: BadBlue Money News.

BOOM: Ironclad Proof That "This shutdown was orchestrated and planned [by] the White House"

Guest post by "Friend of a Friend"

I have worked in the government on and off for 40 years. During that time I became quite familiar with requisitions, bidding, awarding contracts etc. It is a time consuming process with bean-counters and pencil-necked bureaucrats every step of the way.

The simplest request takes months not days or hours.

In less than 8 hours of the shutdown, miraculously, professionally printed 3-by-4 foot signs appeared all over the country in the tens of thousands saying this [park, facility, etc. with custom logos] closed due to government shutdown.

There has not been a government shutdown in 17 years.

These signs were designed, specifications were determined, signs were then requisitioned, bids were posted and vetted, government contracts were awarded.

The materials were then ordered and the signs manufactured then distributed by the USPS or freight companies.

This shutdown was orchestrated and planned well in advance at least 6-8 month ago.

Likewise with all of the government websites that instantly flipped over to landing pages that read "due to the lapse in federal government funding, this website is not available."

Millions of tax dollars were appropriated and spent in this process.

Let me repeat that: millions of your tax dollars were spent preparing for this.

There is a paper trail a mile long leading directly to the White House.


Hat tip: Heisenberg.

PICTURES FROM OBAMERICA: Walmart shelves ransacked thanks to EBT glitch and Y2K, but mostly EBT glitch

Isn't it amazing how able-bodied many of the folks using EBT cards appear to be? Healthy, young, able to, eh, work for a living?

KSLA reports on several Walmart stores that were ransacked after electronic welfare cards were "uncapped".

Shelves in Walmart stores in Springhill and Mansfield, LA were reportedly cleared Saturday night, when the stores allowed purchases on EBT cards even though they were not showing limits.

The chaos that followed ultimately required intervention from local police, and left behind numerous carts filled to overflowing, apparently abandoned when the glitch-spurred shopping frenzy ended...


...Lynd explained the cards weren't showing limits and they called corporate Walmart, whose spokesman said to let the people use the cards anyway. From 7 to 9 p.m., people were loading up their carts, but when the cards began showing limits again around 9, one woman was detained because she rang up a bill of $700.00 and only had .49 on her card. She was held by police until corporate Walmart said they wouldn't press charges if she left the food.

Lynd says at 9 p.m., when the cards came back online and it was announced over the loud speaker, people just left their carts full of food in the aisles and left.

As of June 2013, more than 47.7 million Americans were on food stamps. That figure is 1.1 million more than June of 2012 and about 2.5 million more than June of 2011.

How can it be said that America is in a recovery when more people are living in poverty, more are on food stamps, and more are on dependent on government than ever before?

Tragic: that's what I call the fraud, the waste, the abuse -- and, worst of all, the human toll of dependency -- related to these failed federal programs.


Hat tip: BadBlue News.

Larwyn's Linx: Reject This

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

Nation

Reject This: Erick Erickson
Valor: Another wounded warrior carried Barrycades: Twitchy
Ted Cruz Isn’t The Problem With The Republican Party; He’s The Solution: RWN

Fighting Obamacare: Cutting Spending vs. Limiting Harmful Government: RS
Dems refuse to fund government if they're required to use Obamacare: Coulter
Time for GOP to Quit Kicking the Can Down the Road: David Limbaugh

No, I Will Not Help, Donate, Or Continue: Karl Denninger
I saw DOOM drinking a piña colada at Trader Vic's and his hair was perfect: Ace
Ohio Gov. Kasich Abandons All Pretense of Fiscal Responsibility: FW

Economy

OMFG We're Gonna go through the Debt Ceiling!: Ace
Obamacare shock: $12,600 deductible, 40% co-pay, no competition: Exam
Obamacare causing massive rate hikes nationwide: RWN

Debt default: global threat, or greatest stimulus plan ever?: John Hayward
You'd Call Them Insane, Right?: Karl Denninger
Shutdown Theater: Um, Maybe Los Federales Spend Too Much: RWN

Dave Ramsey lays out the facts of Obamacare for all Americans: Poor Richard
Debt Limit Deal Could Test New Floor Procedure: Niels Lesniewski
Ted Cruz, House Republicans Meet in Secret at Tortilla Coast: Matt Fuller

Scandal Central

Surprise! Terry McAuliffe might have done some shady real estate investing: NakedDC
Jon Jarvis, Gute Amerikaner: J.R. Dunn
Surprise! Obama administration reviewed ONLY ONE BID for Obamacare website: Poor Richard

Media

Step Aside, NSA: What are Private Companies Gathering About You, Then Sharing?: Rodrigo Sermeño
SF Post financial advice columnist: take advantage of Obamacare by working & earning less: PJM
After Dems Blow Up Budget Deal, NBC's Guthrie Insists GOP Get Blame for Shutdown: Kyle Drennen

Politico's Chief Political Columnist: Why Not Kill Boehner and Cruz?: TruthRevolt
WaPo's Resident `Republican' Calls Cruz `Ted Bin Laden': Doug Powers
Two Weeks Later, Reporter Still Can't Sign Up for Obamacare: WS

Magnificent Imbeciles: the Enemy Within: Jen Kuznicki
Former Obama Supporter Mort Zuckerman: Obama an Ineffective, Contemptuous Loner: Reaganite
News Flash: CNN's Don Lemon Hates You: R.S. McCain

World

US Army defines Christian ministry as 'domestic hate group': Todd Starnes
Obama Administration Says Anti-Muslim ‘Hate Speech’ Can be Punished: Publius
Sweden: A New Hell for Women: Gates of Vienna

Dictator Obama padlocks Catholic Churches: WyBlog
Feds Blocking Road to Open-Air Flight 93 Memorial: CNS
The Truth About Palestinian Rock Throwing: Jawa

Sci-Tech

Big IT projects are hard: Online college application revamp crashes and burns:: WyBlog
Meth-like compound found in 2 workout supplements: AirForceTimes
KY man gets prison for hacking social networks to change conservative comments: Mandy Nagy

Cornucopia

Mine Enemy Grows Older: American Digest
How I Almost Became a Felon: Max McGuire, AmmoLand
Shutdown Day 14: All the Plants are Gonna’ Die!: MOTUS

Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: NEW JERSEY: IT'S SHOW-TIME!

QOTD:

Find Your Representative, call them, and tell them to HOLD THEIR GROUND

"We are hearing that our local congressional offices are getting flooded in letters, calls, and emails from the left demanding a clean continuing resolution and debt ceiling increase before attempting to negotiate and chastising Republicans for the shutdown. Essentially, that the Obama machine is ginning up the left.

We need to make sure our elected officials are hearing from their supporters as well. Please encourage your networks to contact GOP reps to let them know you support their efforts in the shutdown and debt ceiling fights."

Monday, October 14, 2013

THE MIGHTY MICHAEL RAMIREZ: The Gravity of Our Situation

No one else is in Ramirez' league.


Visit Investors Business Daily for the best editorial page in America.


5 PHOTOS FROM #1MVETMarch: Riot Cops Manhandle Women and Children in DC

Fine work by DMLdaily in reporting from the scene yesterday in DC.


But I'm sure these guys were just following orders.


Hat tip: BB.

KEWL: Hidden Obamacare Website Warning Says You Have "No Reasonable Expectation of Privacy" For Your Data

I actually spotted this a few minutes ago (here's the actual address, midway through the signup process for reference purposes) and then saw that Jeryl Bier was one step ahead of me.

The launch of federal government's Obamacare insurance exchange, Healthcare.gov, has been plagued with delays, errors, and poor website design, even prompting USA Today to call it an "inexcusable mess" and a "nightmare".  Now comes another example of why the website's reputation is in tatters.  Buried in the source code of Healthcare.gov is this sentence that could prove embarrassing: "You have no reasonable expectation of privacy regarding any communication or data transiting or stored on this information system."  Though not visible to users and obviously not intended as part of the terms and conditions, the language is nevertheless a part of the underlying code for the "Terms & Conditions" page on the site.

After creating an account on Healthcare.gov, users are asked to click an "I accept" button under some routine Terms & Conditions prohibiting unauthorized attempts to upload information or change the website.  Once users click the button, they may proceed to shop for insurance and enter detailed personal information.  However, when the Terms & Conditions page is visible, the hidden sentence mentioned above along with several others can be seen by using a web browser's "View Source" feature...


I grabbed the actual HTML and pasted it below inside a colored block so you can see it for yourself.

Marketplace Account Registration - Log In - Terms & Conditions

Terms & Conditions

So that

remains accurate and available to you and all other visitors, we monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information or otherwise cause damage to the web service. Use of this system constitutes consent to such monitoring and auditing. Unauthorized attempts to upload information and/or change information on this web site are strictly prohibited and are subject to prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and Title 18 U.S.C. Sec.1001 and 1030.

To continue, you must accept the terms and conditions. If you decline, your login will automatically be cancelled.

  • You have no reasonable expectation of privacy regarding any communication or data transiting or stored on this information system.
  • At any time, and for any lawful Government purpose, the government may monitor, intercept, and search and seize any communication or data transiting or stored on this information system.

Any communication or data transiting or stored on this information system may be disclosed or used for any lawful Government purpose.

To continue, you must accept the terms and conditions. If you decline, your login will automatically be cancelled.


Find Your Representative, call them, and tell them to HOLD THEIR GROUND

As Bier observes, the critical terms and conditions do not appear on the page. They are only visible by viewing the source HTML underlying the page.

I guess this is no big deal, though, since the NSA is apparently allowed to monitor all of our personal communications and the IRS is permitted to politically target Obama's opponents while simultaneously enforcing Obamacare.


Hat tips: Jammie Wearing Fool and BadBlue News Service.

WaPo Dimwit Ezra Klein Stunned to Find out That Soviet-Style Bureaucracies Like Obamacare Are Colossal Failures

How many countries have to collapse under the weight of collectivism and unchecked centralized government until hacks like Ezra Klein embrace limited government? That's a rhetorical question, because for schmucks like Klein big government is a religious ideology, not a fact-based examination of facts, history, logic and reason.

Stephen Kruiser reads the loathsome little punk so that you don't have to.

Full time Obamacare cheerleader Ezra Klein has been all over the place lamenting the utter failure of ACA's first couple of weeks.

We're now negative 14 days until the Affordable Care Act [sic] and most people still can't purchase insurance. The magnitude of this failure is stunning. Yes, the federal health-care law is a complicated project, government IT rules are a mess, and the scrutiny has been overwhelming. But the Obama administration knew all that going in. They should've been able to build an online portal that works.

Early on, President Obama like [sic] to compare the launch of the Affordable Care Act to Apple launching a new product. Can you imagine how many people Steve Jobs would've fired by now if he'd launched a new product like this?

So is anybody going to be held accountable? Is anybody going to be fired? Will anyone new be brought in to run the cleanup effort? Does the Obama administration know what went wrong, and are therr [sic] real plans to find out?

What's abundantly clear to anyone who reported on the run-up to the federal health-care law's launch is that the White House had no idea how badly the Web site [sic] would perform. They expected problems. But the full extent of the disaster was either obscured or ignored. Heads should roll for that. Changes should be made because of that.

(Quick aside: two typos in four paragraphs there. Doesn't WaPo have editors or spell-check?)

It's beyond adorable seeing Klein lament government rules as an obstacle to implementing more...government rules. But hey, at least he noticed!

I can hear some of you asking, "Oh, Doug - why are you so harsh on misguided hacks like Ezra Klein?"

Because he and his ilk are destroying my country, that's why. Every family in America is now in hock to creditors to the tune of, oh, about $600,000 in direct debt and unfunded liabilities.

They talk about conservatives being religious zealots? No, SOBs like Klein are the religious extremists, bent on bankrupting the country and destroying it in pursuit of some Utopian fantasy that has never existed in human history and can't ever be achieved.

Thousands of years of human experience with failed, despotic governments isn't enough for Klein; the Constitution, which radically changed the relationship between the individual and government isn't enough for Klein; the brilliance of the Framers, who provably created the greatest system of government ever seen on Earth isn't enough for Klein.

No, instead Klein thinks a back-bencher state Senator from Chicago's Daley Machine, who has never run a single business in his life, or created a single job, or accomplished anything of substance, can plan the entire auto industry, energy industry, health care industry and banking industry.

Folks, that is religious extremism.

Klein is a malevolent propagandist and he deserves every bit of mockery and criticism he gets.


Hat tip: BadBlue News.

Larwyn's Linx: Pass a Debt Limit Increase From the House!

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

Nation

Pass a Debt Limit Increase From the House: Erick Erickson
Hey, Republicans: why not try having cojones for once?: AWD
Obstructing Conservatives: Erick Erickson

Barrycades No Match for Million Vet March: Twitchy
Vets March; 'Barrycades' Fall, Ted Cruz Speaks!: IJ Review
Vets march past the White House carrying Obama’s ‘barrycades’: Scoop

Obama flees the White House in Marine One as Veterans march: FAM
Sarah Palin Storms DC, Riot Police Show Up: Shark Tank
D.C. Riot Police Engage Protesters Outside The White House: Shark Tank

Health care execs afraid to talk on the record about Obamacare problems: LI
Dem trickery on Obamacare: selectively delaying parts of the law: John Lott
Cali DA Raids Offices Of Kareem Ahmed, Obama Mega Donor: WZ

“This is Not Just Abstract. This is Real”: Daniel Horowitz
Return to Sender: III Percent
National Park Service as King Barack's Sheriff of Nottingham: SSI

Economy

Illinois School Gives Kids a Death Panel Assignment: Publius
Stop Working: Lt. Jim Glennon, Law Officer
No Beretta 92 FS Allowed: Second City Cop

Sequestration Is the Bipartisan Law of the Land. Fight on Obamacare.: Erick Erickson
Thousands Of Doctors Fired By United Healthcare In Connecticut: WZ
If a Government Shutdown Falls In the Forest, And No One Hears It...: Backwoods

Scandal Central

America's New Obstruction Of Justice Crisis: Chriss Street
Banned from Handing Out Constitutions on Constitution Day: Foundry
Along With NPR, Soros Groups Get Millions in Taxpayer Funds: NLPC (2010)

Media

Tavis Smiley Confesses Obama Has Been Horrible for Blacks: RWN
Debating Ezra Klein On Why The Shutdown Won’t Matter In 2014: Hugh Hewitt
Fox News ratings up, MSNBC president complains and wants an investigation: Christopher Collins

Big Surprise: CNN Belittles And Pigeon Holes #1MVetMarch: WZ
84-Year-Old Obama Supporter Pulls Gun on Conservatives Protesting: Publius
Black mob attacks cop in Chicago. Fractured skull. Media silent.: WGBAL

America Needs a White Republican President: Black Sphere
Details Emerge From Ted Cruz’s White House Meeting With Obama: Andrew Kirell
Is #VVS13 ‘Extremist’? Floyd Corkins Could Not Be Reached for Comment: R.S. McCain

World

Obama's Evasive Letter to Benghazi Victim's Father: Diana West, Breitbart
China Looks to Make After America a Reality: Ed Driscoll
Sen. Rand Paul: ‘Worldwide War on Christianity’ Ignored by Obama, Media: Blaze

Bail Ins and Taking Private Wealth: Daniel Amerman
Sarah Palin: We were met by a SWAT team in full riot gear at Lincoln Memorial: Scoop
Ancient Protestants Fought Against Ancient Muslims — A Call For Unity: Shoebat

Sci-Tech

Synopsis of Computer Glitch Blamed For Nationwide EBT System Shutdown on Saturday: FreeNC
Backdoor found in D-Link router firmware code: Jeremy Kirk, IT World
The Average Man, Rendered and Visualized: Jamie Condliffe, Gizmodo

Cornucopia

WTF Theater. Episode 8: Shelter in Place: Dewey From Detroit
The Saddest Fluke of the Government Shutdown: Cube
"This will warm your heart...every person on Welfare would have to watch it over and over.": FreeNC

Image: Via Twitchy
Sponsored by: Call Your Representative and Tell Them to Stand Strong: DEFUND OBAMACARE

QOTD: "Among Obamacare’s many problems, technology is the least of it.

Obamacare vests more power in more bureaucracies which have shown themselves willing and able to act with petty vindictiveness, spite and political partisanship.

Nice little medical condition you have there. Would be a shame if that leaked out." --William A. Jacobson

Sunday, October 13, 2013

OBAMA PRIORITIES: Veterans Greeted With Barricades and Riot Police; Illegal Immigrants Welcomed with Open Arms

Javier Manjarres relays photos of riot police engaging veterans at the #1MVetMarch:


Riot cops even showed up at the Lincoln Memorial to fend off dangerous interlopers like Sarah Palin:


Oh. And they needed armored vehicles to make their point.


Now I ask you to step back and consider the priorities of President Obama:

Immigration rally allowed on Mall despite shutdown


A week after World War II veterans struggled to gain access to a memorial on the National Mall due to the government's partial shutdown, thousands of people pushing for a new immigration law have been cleared by the government to proceed with a concert and rally Tuesday on the Mall.

The march, dubbed the "Camino Americano", or "American Road," is hosted by groups including the Service Employees International Union and Casa de Maryland...


..."It's bad enough watching these marches when we watch illegal aliens breaking our laws. Now they're being given free range on these public parks while we've seen the greatest generation military vets being turned away from their sacred memorials," said Bob Dane, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group that opposes proposals in Congress to legalize the nation's undocumented immigrants. "It's offensive and it shows where their loyalties lie."

This administration appears to be something unique in American history. It continually flouts Constitutional limits, rewrites individual laws, defies American traditions, and undermines Judeo-Christian morals.

We have never seen its likes before and it could well take a miracle for the civil society to survive it.


Hat tip: BadBlue News.

AWESOME: Vets Dismantle Fences Around War Memorials, Then Barricade the White House

Guest post by Tyler Durden

The "Million Vet March" in Washington D.C. appears to be escalating as reports of barricades being torn down, police in riot gear and snipers being deployed, and a growing crowd at The White House chanting for its shut-down suggest the people are growing restless.

Via Epoch Times,

Protesters have gathered in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, according to reports.

Park police in riot gear were deployed in front of the building.

“US Park Police have arrived in front of WH. Some in riot gear! Tea party/veteran protesters start booing,” wrote CNN’s Jim Acosta on Twitter.

A rally took place at the World War II memorial and headed to the White House, reported NBC Washington. Several thousand demonstrators came out, it said.

NBC reported that people were carrying barricades that were likely from the WWII memorial to the White House area.

The DC Police Department said its officers are on the scene.

“MPD is on the scene at White House with USSS & USPP concerning protest – marchers using sidewalk,” it wrote on Twitter.

Commentator Sarah Palin and Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) were on the scene and spoke to demonstrators.

The organizers of the protest described themselves as the “Million Vet March.”

It said that veterans and military members are “being used a political pawns in the ongoing government shutdown and budget crisis,” its website reads.

Jeff Tompkins, a protester, told NBC that  “it should be open to everyone to come down here and see this … this is not just and not fair,” referring to the WWII memorial.

Snipers at the ready atop the White House as the crowds gather...

Via Twitchy,

Amazing.

Now, the protest continues outside of the White House.

OH, MY: New York Times and Chicago Tribune Roast Obamacare

Or, as I prefer to call it, ObamaCouldn'tCareLess. Both articles are must-reads (as well as the comments, which are hysterical - accusing, for instance, the Times of acting at the behest of Fox News or Rush Limbaugh).

[Link]: “These are not glitches,” said an insurance executive who has participated in many conference calls on the federal exchange. Like many people interviewed for this article, the executive spoke on the condition of anonymity, saying he did not wish to alienate the federal officials with whom he works. “The extent of the problems is pretty enormous. At the end of our calls, people say, ‘It’s awful, just awful.' ” ...

...Administration officials dug in their heels, repeatedly insisting that the project was on track despite evidence to the contrary...

Dr. Donald M. Berwick, the administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in 2010 and 2011, said the time and budgetary pressures were a constant worry. “The staff was heroic and dedicated, but we did not have enough money, and we all knew that,” he said in an interview on Friday.

Not enough money? Apparently, borrowing 40 cents of every dollar it spends isn't enough for this government. There's never enough money to get a doddering, incompetent, bloated, obese, monopoly of a federal government to work as efficiently as the free market.

[Link]: Adam Weldzius, a nurse practitioner, considers himself better informed than most when it comes to the inner workings of health insurance. But even he wasn't prepared for the pocketbook hit he'll face next year under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

If the 33-year-old single father wants the same level of coverage next year as what he has now with the same insurer and the same network of doctors and hospitals, his monthly premium of $233 will more than double. If he wants to keep his monthly payments in check, the Carpentersville resident is looking at an annual deductible for himself and his 7-year-old daughter of $12,700, a more than threefold increase from $3,500 today.

Gee, who could have predicted that a 2,200-page bill that no one read before voting on would have resulted in an unworkable disaster?


Hat tip: Hugh Hewitt.

Larwyn's Linx: Obamacare -- Mind-Boggling Incompetence

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

Nation

Obamacare: Mind-Boggling Incompetence: Tom Blumer
Ted Cruz to House: ‘Stand Firm’ on Obamacare, We Will Win: Niels Lesniewski
When You’ve Lost Wolf Blitzer...: Andrew C. McCarthy

The Threat We Face: FPM
Incomprehensible Sums: Thomas Purcell
From the Vietnam Vets Memorial: Power Line

Obama’s Confession of Indifference : Jonah Goldberg
6 Things Every American Should Know About Obamacare: John Hawkins
Watch Mark Levin’s fantastic speech at the Steve Lonegan campaign rally: Scoop

Dems reject proposal from right-wing extremists Susan Collins, Joe Manchin: Powers
The Values Voter Summit -- Must Watch: Nice Deb
Lincoln Memorial visitors breach Barrycades, get tossed out by Park Police: Twitchy

Is Milton Wolf the next Ted Cruz?: Frances Weaver, The Week
Mark Levin: ‘America is a blue state,’ so amend the Constitution: BPR
Senior Democrat, GOP Aide Get Into Altercation on House Floor: Matt Fuller

Economy

EBT card failures cause ‘complete chaos’ at Walmart stores: Twitchy
If we're in a "recovery", what explains the massive layoffs?: Jim Quinn
‘Riot time!’: Food stamp users in near-panic over EBT card failures: Twitchy

Scandal Central

It’s Not Your Help to Give: R.S. McCain
Immigration Advocates Hit New Low on Capitol Hill: RWN
D.C. Double Standard: Feinstein gets guns to push gun control, GOP senators do not : Guns

Media

Sebelius: We Are Bringing Western Civilization to Its Knees With O-Care: GWP
ATF Denies Censoring Fast and Furious Whistleblower After Blocking Book Publication: Pavlich
War Vets show the world true face behind Obama mask: CFP

World

“More Outrageous treatment of our Military – This is utter BS”: Allen West
Funding Jihadists while Denying Military Benefits: Andrew C. McCarthy
Gee, One Might Almost Get the Impression That the DOD Has Been Infiltrated: MEMRI

Tommy Robinson, Former EDL Leader, Capitulates to Islam, Joins Forces of Global Jihad: AmPower
As Obama grovels to Rouhani, executions surge in Iran after election of "moderate": Atlas
Soros-connected Vote-counting Firm Expands in U.S.: NewAm

Sci-Tech

Why US government IT fails so hard, so often: Sean Gallagher, Ars Technica
‘Gloriously inept’: Obamacare website so bad the ‘error page has an error’: Twitchy
UCSD Students Test Fire 3D-Printed Metal Rocket Engine: Slashdot

Cornucopia

Shutdown Day 12: Dog Day Afternoon: MOTUS
Ronald Reagan on Socialism...: Act Well Your Part
The greatest athlete of all time just retired: Frances Weaver

Image: Watch Mark Levin’s fantastic speech at the Steve Lonegan campaign rally
Sponsored by: Call Your Representative and Tell Them to Stand Strong: DEFUND OBAMACARE

QOTD: "In the past few days, I have pointed out that he has no right at all to castigate me or anyone else for real or imagined mistakes of prognostication. But the fact that Paul Krugman is often wrong is not the most important thing. It is his utter disregard for the norms of civility that is crucial here. I am not alone in being dismayed by Krugman's "spectacularly uncivil behavior". It is "my duty, as I see it, is to make my case as best I honestly can," Krugman has written, "not [to] put on a decorous show of civilized discussion." Well, I am here to tell him that "civilized discussion" matters. It matters because vitriolic language of the sort he uses is a key part of what is wrong with America today. As an eminent economist said to me last week, people are afraid of Krugman. More "decorous" but perhaps equally intelligent academics simply elect not to enter a public sphere that he and his parasitical online pals are intent on poisoning. I agree with Raghuram Rajan, one of the few economists who authentically anticipated the financial crisis: Krugman's is "the paranoid style in economics":

All too often, the path to easy influence is to impugn the other side's motives and methods ... Instead of fostering public dialogue and educating the public, the public is often left in the dark. And it discourages younger, less credentialed economists from entering the public discourse.

Where I come from, however, we do not fear bullies. We despise them. And we do so because we understand that what motivates their bullying is a deep sense of insecurity. Unfortunately for Krugtron the Invincible, his ultimate nightmare has just become a reality. By applying the methods of the historian - by quoting and contextualizing his own published words - I believe I have now made him what he richly deserves to be: a figure of fun, whose predictions (and proscriptions) no one should ever again take seriously." --Niall Ferguson

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Top 5 Reasons the GOP Will Win the Shutdown (Unless They Fold With the Winning Hand)

Though they don't seem to realize it, John Boehner and Republican leaders in the House have President Obama and the Democrats in a political chokehold. Boehner need only keep the government shuttered (actually, the 17 percent of government deemed "non-essential") until Obama capitulates. How do I know that Obama will capitulate?

1. The massive, furloughed federal bureaucracy is the Democrat Party. Every day that goes by during the shutdown, the louder the cries will grow from the furloughed masses of (mostly) Democrats in the unelected fourth branch of government. The shutdown is inflicting direct pain on the Democrat Party. The longer that pain is applied, the better. All of the pressure is on Obama to reopen government, despite the media hype.

2. The conservative base is fired up. Go figure: actually taking a stand motivates the majority of Americans who identify themselves as conservatives. That includes most Republicans and a huge chunk of independents who have lost faith with the Nixon-Rockefeller-Bush wing of the GOP. Keeping the conservative base fired up wins elections. Standing and fighting wins elections. Winning on principle wins elections. We saw that in 2010; and we saw how well nominating another McCain/Dole centrist worked in 2012. If the GOP has a prayer of gaining ground in 2014, it must keep conservatives off the sidelines. And that is what Ted Cruz has done.

3. The shutdown reveals how little the federal government matters to us. Outside the Beltway, the impact of the shutdown is almost non-existent. Consider a government that has nearly a million "non-essential" employees: each and every day the federal behemoth remains shuttered is a day reinforcing how ridiculously huge and useless much of the leviathan has become.

4. The shutdown reveals how petty and spiteful this administration is. It took more effort for the National Park Service to build barricades around the World War II Memorial to keep veterans out than to staff it during normal operations. All over the country, the NPS and other elements of the government engaged in unprecedented activities to inflict pain on the American people. What better way to remind Americans that -- unless it is stopped -- this petty and spiteful administration will soon control the entire health care industry.

5. Because it's the right thing to do. We are watching the fiscal destruction of this country. How else can one phrase it? When interest rates return to the mean, the federal government's reckless spending policies will instantly quadruple the amount it must pay to service the debt. What happens then? It's anyone's guess, but one thing is certain: all of the outcomes are bad, ranging from another Great Depression to a complete collapse of the civil society.

Call your representative now and tell them to stand strong. They have Obama and the Democrats pinned. Now they can just wait for the three-count.

Update: Jeff G. writes:

Add another, Doug:

No increase in debt limit means O will have to cut spending to 2001 levels. Or else unilaterally declare he can raise the debt ceiling -- openly declaring himself king, supported by Democrats.

Which should remove a lot of blinders and be one of those "teachable moments". As well as an impeachable offense.

12 More Photos From the Truckers Ride for the Constitution You'll Never See In Legacy Media. #T2SDA #PatriotTruckers

You can see Part I here:



Related: 15 Photos From the DC Truckers Ride for the Constitution You'll Never See In Legacy Media. #T2SDA @T2SDA.

Larwyn's Linx: House Republicans look to set stage for what might be called a strategic retreat

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Nation

GOP looks set to stage what might be called a strategic retreat: Tatler
Huelskamp: If GOP Caves it Will "Anger the Entire Conservative Base": TPNN
Shutdown: Free North Carolina

Obama to Boehner: Drop Dead: Matthew Vadum
The Dangerous Dishonesty of Possible SCOTUS Nominee Pam Karlan: Adams
The Obama-Reid Gamble: Newt Gingrich

Cruz handles Obamabot hecklers effortlessly: Twitchy
Only 2 People Attend 'Obamacare and You!' Event in SC: Daniel Halper
AP: Only 16% of Independents Approve of Obama: TPNN

Economy

Niall Ferguson: Paul Krugman Has Gotten Nearly Everything Wrong: Ace
IRS Cincinnati Employee Staging Hunger Strike to Protest Shutdown: JWF
Thank a Democrat: 9 health insurers exit Nebraska: Fox

Study finds IRS suppression of Tea Party swung 2012 election: Sean Higgins
Obama’s America: 7-Eleven Promoting EBT Pizza: Stephen Beadencup
SpiteHouse: Not just NPS, closures by U.S. Forest Service too: Marathon

Scandal Central

Vicious: Arlington Cemetery Strips Gravesites of Mementos: TPNN
I’m Sure It was a Different Sarah Hall Ingram Who Visited the White House 155 Times: Tatler
IRS, White House officials that shared confidential taxpayer info had 155 meetings: Patrick Howley

Media

Elitist drivel at Business Insider: “Washington should ignore what Americans think”: Poor Richard
Nate Silver: Political Fallout May be Overhyped: Keith Koffler
New Ann Coulter book rages at GOP with 'change or die' them: Paul Bedard

Can This Administration Sink Any Lower?: AWD
Mark Levin at the Values Voter Summit 2013: Scoop
Col. Allen West: Obama Is “Spoiled Brat Child, Pathological Liar”: WZ

World

CIA warned that Snowden was a problem in 2009: Eric Schmitt
2-star in charge of ICBMs fired: AirForceTimes
NSA Staff Whining That President Obama Isn't Defending Them Enough: TechDirt

What the Modern Martyr Should Know: Gates of Vienna
History Rhymes: ObamaCare Website and the Ukrainian Wheat Farmers: Ann Barnhardt
How do you deal with a President who is hell bent on destroying America?: Beck

Sci-Tech

No Good Excuses Exist For the Failure of Obamacare’s Expensive Website: Joshua Sharf
Now ANYONE can search for you on Facebook: No more hidden profiles: Josh Peterson
Cadillac ELR arrives on lots in January, starting at $76,000: Timothy J. Seppala, Engadget

Cornucopia

Stasicare: Shenandoah
The Egg: 1776
1997 Jeep Cherokee - $1750 (Enid, OK ): Craigslist

Image: Obama’s America: 7-Eleven Promoting EBT Pizza
Sponsored by: Call Your Representative and Tell Them to Stand Strong: DEFUND OBAMACARE

QOTD: "Boner Unveils His Old Strategy

• Start a fight
• Give up just before you win
• Get nothing out of it
• Look like a total fool
• Let down your constituents
• Reinforce the dictatorship"

      --Steven Goddard