Saturday, December 14, 2013

EXCLUSIVE PHOTO: Iran sends monkey into space, president says

I always get these hirsute little fellows mixed up.


Hat tip: Biff Spackle.

Larwyn's Linx: White House Says Obama Will Again Unlawfully Extend Amnesty For Young Illegals

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

Nation

White House: Obama Will Extend Amnesty For Young Illegals: Neil Munro
Boehner earns praise from leftists and crony capitalists alike: Protein Wisdom
One Year Later: Dan Zimmerman

John Boehner Eats His Young: Dick Morris
Mark Levin: Boehner Trashing Conservatives to Get Amnesty Votes: Tony Lee
Boehner gives immigration backers hope: Niall Stanage, The Hill

Budget Deal Sparks Revolt: Jeffrey Lord
Another Week, Another Trio of Obamacare Outrages: Tom Blumer
Obamacare's Never-Ending Fix-a-Thon: Megan McArdle

Economy

They Bravely Chickened Out: Peter Schiff
Ex-CBO Director Warns: Worst Hits to Medicare Advantage Are Come: PJM
Jeff Sessions: Senate GOP to Filibuster Paul Ryan's Budget Deal: Breitbart

Scandal Central

Another day, more endemic extortion from a regulatory Congress: Doc's Talk
HHS to Issa: You Can’t Be Trusted With Obamacare Documents: Matt Fuller
HHS sees train-wreck coming, now wants insurers to enroll people retroactively: David Freddoso

Obama Attempting to Make Targeting Tea Party Legal: Greg Campbell
Obama Officials Can’t Answer How Many Troops Have Died In Afghanistan This Year: Tammy Bruce
White House Twitter account operator lobbying hard for gig at Dept. of Education: Doug Powers

Climate & Energy

Keystone to the Kingdom: Matthew Continetti
Five Years Ago Today, Al Gore Predicted the North Pole Will Be Ice Free in Five Years: GWP
Mexico: Will fracking save the oil industry?: Fausta

Media

10 Quotes: Why So Many Conservatives Don’t Trust The Establishment GOP: John Hawkins
Codevilla: Republican leaders care more about loss of power than loss of liberty: Ginni Thomas
Unicorns & rainbows: Obama’s #GetCovered sign sparks corrective Photoshops: Twitchy

The Gray Lady is Plus-Sized; She Contains Multitudes: Ed Driscoll
DNC calls for Republican boycott of The Daily Caller, Rush Limbaugh: DC
Beck, Levin Hammer ‘Feckless,’ ‘Worthless’ GOP: Could Be Worse Than Dems: Josh Feldman

New Glock commercial sure to infuriate liberals everywhere: Dan Calabrese
To the Troll at IP 178.20.55.18: R.S. McCain
Allen West: “Maybe We Need Michelle ‘Death Stare’ Obama To Negotiate With Iran”: WZ

World

Chinese Navy Tries to Force U.S. Warship to Stop in International Waters: Bill Gertz, WFB
Colin Powell’s continued fall from grace: Allen West
Putin, the new Evita: Fausta

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Cashless society: A huge threat to our freedom: Scott A. Shay, CNBC
Blogging Via Google Glass? Yep, New Plugin Makes It Possible: Matt McGee
Facebook app Bitstrips: More than 30M avatars and counting: InsideFB

Cornucopia

#WaronBoys – the pathologizing of normal boy behavior continues: Protein Wisdom
The Plight of the Individual: 90 Miles
Barack and Michelle: The Love Story: Rosslyn Smith

Image: Nate Beeler
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Please Support the Senate Conservatives Fund

QOTD: "A Chinese naval vessel tried to force a U.S. guided missile warship to stop in international waters recently, causing a tense military standoff in the latest case of Chinese maritime harassment, according to defense officials.

The guided missile cruiser USS Cowpens, which recently took part in disaster relief operations in the Philippines, was confronted by Chinese warships in the South China Sea near Beijing’s new aircraft carrier Liaoning, according to officials familiar with the incident.

“On December 5th, while lawfully operating in international waters in the South China Sea, USS Cowpens and a PLA Navy vessel had an encounter that required maneuvering to avoid a collision,” a Navy official said...

A State Department official said the U.S. government issued protests to China in both Washington and Beijing in both diplomatic and military channels." --Bill Gertz

Friday, December 13, 2013

OHIO: Real Republicans Introduce Constitutional Carry Bill

Hey, Speaker Boehner: these are what we call real Republicans:

The citizen control lobby keeps trying to strip Americans of their unalienable rights, and liberty lovers keep punching back twice as hard.

Two Republican legislators propose eliminating the license required to carry a concealed handgun in Ohio, a change one describes as an effort to put Second Amendment rights on the same footing as others in the Bill of Rights.

The bill, introduced Wednesday by Reps. Ron Hood of Ashville and Matt Lynch of Bainbridge Township in Geauga County, would allow any person who is at least 21 years old to carry a concealed firearm, so long as they are not legally prohibited for some reason from having guns...

Lynch said the bill is an effort to treat the right to bear arms in the Second Amendment with the same freedom as other rights.

The right in the Second Amendment is the only one in the Bill of Rights that you have to get permission for,” Lynch said.

“You don’t have to have a speech license or a worship license or a freedom of the press license,” he said. “This is designed to put the Second Amendment on equal footing.”

The law would not end restrictions on taking firearms into certain restricted areas, but would end concealed carry licensing restrictions. Constitutional carry is becoming a more popular cause in the past year, as many Americans rebel against the thought of more citizen control laws. The common sentiment seems to be that not only are proposed citizen control laws counterproductive, but the current laws are too restrictive and should be rolled back.

This reality seems to be shocking to citizen control cultists, who can’t seem to grasp the basic concept that citizens want more liberty, not less.


You know, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are written in plain English. The right to defend the lives of you and your family members is not up for debate. That right is not given to us by any government; it is our right as human beings. It is a God-given right.

Ohio's state legislature gives me hope. It gives me hope that this Republic can yet be restored.


Hat tip: BadBlue Gun News.

Dan Bongino serves the Establishment GOP with divorce papers

Guest post by Dan Bongino


An open letter to the establishment GOP.

I am serving you with divorce papers. For those who are unaware of what happened, the establishment wing of the Party has openly declared war on the grassroots.

For those who say this fight is hurting the Republican "brand" I reply; it is those on both sides of the aisle who have betrayed their principles in the name of Party, that have destroyed their "brands".

As for the GOP, we used to stand for something; a lean, effective government, vibrant and robust individual liberty, and a passionate defense of the value of hard work and a commensurate respect for your wages by consistently fighting for your right to keep more of them. Where do you stand now? I know where the grassroots does.

This is our Party and we will demonstrate to the people we hope to represent that there is a group of people out there who refuse to be part of any "managed decline". We will only be part of a spectacular American resurrection.

America's best days are ahead and you and your fellow insiders and cronyists and "Party before country" loyalists, on both sides of the aisle, can bathe in your titles and power now but understand that I, and many others, have dedicated our lives to draining the dirty water from the bathtub.

Consider yourself served.


You can support Dan Bongino for Congress by clicking here. Hat tip: The Right Scoop

Warmal Colding Strikes Again, This Time in... Egypt

Five years ago today, Al Gore predicted that the North Pole would be ice-free in five years.

And now this:


Where's Michael "Piltdown" Mann when you need him?


Hat tip: BadBlue Tech News.

EXCLUSIVE: Nearing anniversary of Sandy Hook tragedy, President offers solemn tweet of remembrance, urges sensible gun bans

The First Amendment is under a full-throated assault by this administration, so why not the Second?


These people are truly sick.


Larwyn's Linx: And He Spake That They Should Be Deemed To Be Covered, And It Was So

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

Nation

And He Spake That They Should Be Deemed To Be Covered, And It Was So: Ace
The worst speaker of the House in the memory of living men: Rick Moran
On John Boehner’s Temper Tantrum: Erick Erickson

On To Amnesty: Erick Erickson
Disinformation behind Obamacare runs deep: Jonah Goldberg
Doctor, Nurse Vacancies Soar Amid Obamacare Rollout: Bruce Japsen

Congressmen: Bring Obama to Court: Daniel Halper
Georgia legislators to introduce bill blocking Obamacare: Michael Boldin
NCSen: Kay Hagan is in some serious trouble: David Freddoso

Economy

Full Interview: Mark Levin talks to Cavuto about Boehner and budget deal: Scoop
True unemployment rate 11% or higher in 49 of the last 50 months: Ed Carson
Dean Clancy on Paul Ryan's Budget Deal: Brad Jackson

The Broken GOP House: Daniel Horowitz
Pelosi on budget deal: ‘Embrace the suck’: Geoff Earle
GOP Aided by Democrats Attack Conservatives: RS

Scandal Central

Washington State Obamacare exchange raids enrollees’ bank accounts!: Moe Lane
To attract young people, ObamaCare OKs marijuana claims: Andrew Malcolm
Obama ATF is entrapping mentally disabled, giving pot to minors, luring guns near schools: Poor Richard

ObamaCare Whistleblower: I was Told IRS Harassment ‘Came From The Top’: Nice Deb
The Obamacare Scam -Trifecta: The 20,000% Mark-Up!: Adrienne
Don’t Be Fooled: Obamacare Is Not Getting Better; It’s Not Fixable: David Limbaugh

Media

Obama’s Achievement: Politifact Designates His Broken Obamacare Promise ‘Lie of the Year’: TPNN
PolitiFact Too Busy Lying For Obamacare To Notice This Year’s ‘Lie Of The Year’ as It Happened: Stephen Kruiser
WH Press Corps Revolts Against Carney: Albert Merrick

Krauthammer: Obama Admin is Inflating ObamaCare Enrollment Numbers: Glob
Slate: Mark Levin Inspiring 'Secretive' Cabal to 'Rewrite the Constitution': Ken Shepherd
David Horowitz Interview: We Are At War: Sara Noble

Mark Levin and Glenn Beck on the radio together discuss the Republican Party and more: Scoop
Team Obama and Team GOP Play Prevent Defense: Drumsticks All Around: MOTUS
Conservative warfare will lead to a permanent wilderness: James Varney

World

Culture of Corruption: The Dems’ Dangerous DHS Pick: Michelle Malkin
Intel Chairman: White House Paying 'Heavy Price' for Foot-Dragging on Iran, Syria: PJM
Presidential task force said to recommend overhaul of NSA: Steven Musil, CNet

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Twitter’s change to block function causes concern, confusion; Twitter reverses: Twitchy
Gmail change means faster images, fewer clicks, less risk, says Google: Barb Darrow
New Google Tips is surprisingly helpful: Rich McCormick

Cornucopia

Jesus wants you to judge: Matt Walsh
A collection of other Obama 'selfies' stolen from his phone: Cube
Hawaii plane crash fuels Obama 'birther' theories: Soumya Karlamangla, LA Times

Image: Pelosi on budget deal: ‘Embrace the suck’
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Please Support the Senate Conservatives Fund

QOTD: "Thomas Jefferson once said that “the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.” In other words, he believed that government debt was the equivalent of stealing money from future generations on a massive scale.

Right now, the U.S. government is stealing roughly $100,000,000 from future generations of Americans every single hour of every single day. And it is being projected that the U.S. national debt will more than double during the 8 years of the Obama administration. In other words, the federal government will pile more debt on to the backs of our children and our grandchildren during the Obama years than had been accumulated during all of the rest of U.S. history combined.

The federal government is literally destroying the future of America, and what we are doing to our children and our grandchildren is beyond criminal. If there was one thing that the Republicans in Congress were supposed to do, it was to do something about all of this debt. These days Republicans can’t seem to agree on much, but the one issue that virtually all “conservatives” were supposed to agree on was the national debt. The American people gave the Republicans control of the House in 2010 and 2012 for a reason. Unfortunately, nothing has been done. Our debt has continued to spiral out of control and now John Boehner and Paul Ryan are pushing a “budget deal” that will essentially give the free-spending Democrats virtually everything that they want for the next 10 years.

That is why John Boehner and Paul Ryan should immediately resign." --Michael Synder

Thursday, December 12, 2013

SO SCAWY: Issa Issues Stern Warning #642 to Administration for Obstructing Congressional Investigators

Oh, I'm certain the Obama administration is absolutely terrified of House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa. At last count, Issa is trying to orchestrate 162 separate investigations. So what's one more?

House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa sent a stern warning to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Wednesday night: Obstructing a congressional investigation is a criminal offense.

At issue are the “attempts by the Department of Health and Human Services to prohibit contractors working on HealthCare.gov from cooperating with congressional investigators,” and Issa informed Sebelius in a letter that this obstruction is criminal.

“The Department’s hostility toward questions from Congress and the media about the implementation of Obamacare is well known,” Issa wrote... Issa called out an HHS instruction to a HealthCare.gov contractor, Creative Computing Solutions, Inc., to not comply with the Oversight Committee’s request for documents...

“The Department’s most recent effort to stonewall, however, has morphed from mere obstinacy into criminal obstruction of a congressional investigation,” he said.

And, despite all of the obstructions, the gun-running to Mexican drug cartels, the Americans left to die in Benghazi, the politicization of the IRS, the wiretapping of reporters, and numerous other impeachable offenses, House leadership refuses to form a Select Investigative Committee.
 

I get the distinct impression that John Boehner and Darrell Issa have no interest in getting to the bottom of these high crimes and misdemeanors.

I leave the reasons as an exercise for the reader.


Hat tip: BadBlue News.

Check out the final front page of The Onion's print version

As reported by Crain's Chicago Business, the final print version of The Onion was published today. Onion Vice Chairman Douglas Siegfried Zweibel wrote the following open letter to other media outlets:

A Message From The Onion's, Vice Chairman, Douglas Siegfried Zweibel

Wed, Dec 11, 2013 19:13 EST

To Whom It May Concern,

Please enjoy the latest print edition of the The Onion, America's Finest News Source, on newsstands now in every city on the planet. As but a mere speck of a crumb in the shadow of The Onion, you are no doubt aware that our newspaper's print revenues accounted for nearly 45% of the national GDP in 2013, making The Onion by far the most successful print-based media corporation in the world, and the vanguard of the burgeoning Print Media Revolution. May this most recent hard-copy issue serve as a subtle reminder of our disgusting wealth and prestige.

Cower before us, pathetic peon, and know that no matter what breed of calamity shall soon befall this doomed hellscape we call Earth, The Onion's print edition shall never die, shall never be rendered obsolete, shall never fall prey to a sudden and irreversible shift in the global media marketplace, and shall always be there, every week, until humanity itself has, God willing, passed from the cosmos.

Tu Stultus Es ,

Douglas Siegfried Zweibel

Vice Chairman

The Onion , America's Finest News Source

The Onion

730 N. Franklin, Floor 7

Chicago, IL 60654

Hat tip: the finest news aggregator in the local super-cluster, BadBlue News.

FIRST AMENDMENT? WHAT FIRST AMENDMENT? FCC to interrogate local news media to ensure appropriate content

The hard left Democrat Party despises free speech and every sunrise seems to bring new proof.

The Obama administration, like some sort of tinpot dictatorship, has created its own propaganda broadcasts, restricted press access to the president, seized phone records of 100 Associated Press reporters, wiretapped others, and publicly excoriated or banned media outlets that offered unfavorable coverage of the White House.

Now the next phase of the Obama administration's totalitarian scheme has begun, as Tim Cavanaugh describes.

It is, among other things, a thinly disguised attack on conservative talk radio.

The Federal Communications Commission is planning a broad probe of political speech across media platforms, an unprecedented move that raises serious First Amendment concerns.

The FCC’s proposed “Multi-Market Study of Critical Information Needs,” which is set to begin a field test in a single market with an eye toward a comprehensive study in 2014, would collect a remarkably wide range of information on demographics, point of view, news topic selection, management style and other factors in news organizations both in and out of the FCC’s traditional purview.

The airwaves regulator would also subject news producers in all media to invasive questioning about their work and content.

A methodology (PDF) worked up by Silver Spring, Maryland-based Social Solutions International (SSI) says that in addition to its general evaluation of news content, the survey will include a “qualitative component” featuring interrogations of news organization owners, management and employees.

Among the questions federal contractors will be asking of private media companies... [f]or media owners:

“What is the news philosophy of the station?”

For editors, producers and managers:

...“Who decides which stories are covered?”

For reporters:

“Have you ever suggested coverage of what you consider a story with critical information for your customers (viewers, listeners, readers) that was rejected by management?” (Followup questions ask the reporter to speculate on why a particular story was spiked.)

According to a May article in Communications Daily, Social Solutions International will be paid $917,823 for the study, which also questions news consumers about their habits and numerically codes news content according to how well, in the FCC’s view, it meets the “critical information needs” (CIN) of particular “communities.”

FCC Chairwoman "Mignon Clyburn" (yes, that's her name and she is related -- I'm sure -- to the far left, perma-politician James Clyburn) claims that "...the FCC has a duty to make sure that the industries it regulates serve the needs of the American public no matter where they live or what financial resources they have..."

Wrong, Filet. The FCC is to abide, first and foremost, by the Constitution. You have no -- zero -- right to interfere with media companies.

“In this study, the FCC will delve into the editorial discretion of newspapers, web sites and radio and TV stations,” Hudson Institute Fellow Robert McDowell, who served as an FCC commissioner from 2009 to 2013, told The Daily Caller. “This starts sticking the government’s nose into what has traditionally been privileged and protected ground. Regardless of one’s political stripes, one should be concerned.”

I urge all media outlets to refuse to cooperate with the FCC.

Our free speech rights aren't subject to the whims of these Marxist hacks.

Every single media outlet should reject the FCC's intrusive interrogatories on constitutional grounds.


Hat tip: Mark Levin.

Larwyn's Linx: The Ryan/Murray Budget Deal Is... Awful

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

Nation

The Ryan/Murray Budget Deal Is... Awful: Ace
Ryan Deal Limits Senate GOP’s Power to Block Tax Increases: Jonathan Strong
What the Hell, Paul Ryan?: Ace

The Ryan Budget is Partly Bill Clinton's Republican Legacy: Erick Erickson
Running on Obamacare… away from the election: Hot Air
Radical Marxist Nutjob Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) Praises Sebelius: Breitbart

Picture surfaces that blows up left-wing’s ‘racist’ voter ID cry: BPR
Senate Republicans Are Plotting a Talkathon: Michael Catalini, Roll Call
Jailtime for Air Soft guns in NJ: This Ain't Hell

Economy

Shorter Ryan: I’m Gonna Kick Tomorrow: R.S. McCain
An Ugly Budget Deal but a Deal: Debra Saunders
About That Illinois Pension "Fix": Mish

Dyslexic Priorities in Budget Deal: Daniel Horowitz
Levin: Does GOP not understand the whole system is going to collapse?: Scoop
Nobody saw this coming: WyBlog

Budget Deal Countdown: Bill Straub
‘Income Inequality’ — The Biggest Lie of All: Roger L. Simon
Only 7,000 Illinoisans enroll in Obamacare in first 2 months: Peter Frost, Tribune

Scandal Central

Obama gets 7-4 majority on DC Circuit, the court that hears challenges to his exec actions: PJM
Oregon Has Spent $300 Million To Sign Up 44 People For ObamaCare: Glob
Child pornography investigation roils Senate office: Alexis Levinson, DC

Climate & Energy

EPA Releases Most-Wanted List of Eco-Fugitives: BMW

Media

Photog Apologizes For Catching Obama's Selfie: S&L
Paul Ryan = Sell Out: Marooned in Marin
New Hampshire Democrats Wage War on a Woman: Hideout

Just another idiotic WSJ rant: Mark Levin
Kook Quotient Continues to Rise: WaPo Adds MSNBC's Maddow to Editorial Page: TruthRevolt
‘Remember me?’ Obama mascot Julia joins ranks of those screwed over by O-care: Twitchy

Stockman: Budget deal a 'joke and betrayal': Jeff Morganteen, CNBC
The Huffington Post's Political Team Is About As White As You Would Have Guessed: Ace
Obama’s most loyal followers are about to screw him: MinorityReport

World

Nuclear gangbangers have upper hand on global police: Victor Davis Hanson
IPT Exclusive: Jihad-Supporting Imam Raised Millions on U.S. Fundraising Tour: IPT
Calling attention to slaughter of white farmers in South Africa is racist: Renee Nal

Baby, It's Cold Outside: MOTUS
Obama is an international embarrassment – mocked in five different UK papers for selfie: FAM
Source of Snowden's Documents Listed on Cryptome: Cryptome

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Intel and Hardware Random Number Generators: Market Ticker
Death of Underage Worker Sparks More Accusations of Labor Violations: Richard Padilla, MacRumors
Now, just what in the hell am i up to .... no. 3 .... final hint ....: Winter Soldier

Cornucopia

The 2013 Hater's Guide To The Williams-Sonoma Catalog: Drew Magary (h/t Navin)
The Art of the Remake XI: Chicago Boyz
Oh, Bother: Hopenchange

CAPTION THIS: Obama putting the 'fun' back in 'funeral': Cube
Have your selfie a merry little Christmas: A postcard from the White House [Photoshop]: Twitchy
This could be the hottest toy (for liberals) of the holidays: The Looking Spoon

Image: Picture surfaces that blows up left-wing’s ‘racist’ voter ID cry
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Help Support Matt Bevin for Senate in Kentucky!

QOTD: Via LiberalLogic:

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

RUH ROH: Harvard Study Suggests Youth Are Shunning Obamacare; Fiscal Death Spiral Awaits

Guest post by Eric Boehm

Obamacare is striking out with young people — those healthy folks who are suppose to actually make it work.

Young people are perhaps the most important demographic to the success of the Affordable Care Act, but most Americans under 30 are opposed to the law. They particularly dislike the individual mandate that requires them to buy insurance or pay fines in form of higher taxes.

A new survey from Harvard University found a large majority of young Americans do not believe the law will save them money, do not believe it will improve their health and do not intend to sign up for insurance through the new exchanges.

If that’s all true – particularly the last part – it is very bad news for President Barack Obama’s signature policy achievement.

The Affordable Care Act hinges on getting young, mostly healthy people to sign up for insurance. That will help spread out the costs incurred by the older, more expensive enrollees who also will use the system.

This cost-pooling is central to the economics that underpin the law, and if young people decline to enroll, costs for everyone else could skyrocket.

The data from the survey demonstrates a striking rejection of the ACA by millennials under 30,” wrote John Pulice of the Harvard Political Review, which provided analysis of the survey.

The 2013 Harvard Public Opinion survey included interviews with 2,089 Americans between the ages of 18 and 29. Interviews were conducted between Oct. 30 and Nov. 11, and the poll has a margin of error of 2.1 percent.

The results show many young people are not buying the promises of Obamacare. A mere 17 percent of those polled believe their quality of health care will improve under the Affordable Care Act, while 44 say it will get worse.

But millennials’ views on health care costs are even bleaker.

Only 10 percent of those surveyed said the ACA will decrease their health care costs, with 50 percent saying it will increase their costs and 36 percent expecting their costs to stay the same, according to the Harvard poll.

Of those surveyed, only 20 percent said they plan to enroll in a health care plan through an exchange, while 47 percent said they would not enroll.

MARK LEVIN ON OBAMA'S HANDSHAKE WITH CASTRO: "The bigger the gulags that they have, the more deference he gives them"

Yesterday Mark Levin returned to the microphone, offering some choice words for Barack Obama and his bizarre deference for mass-murdering dictators.

All this talk about the memorial for Nelson Mandela in South Africa. And Obama conducting himself in a reckless manner because that's what he does for which he's cheered on by the lib media. Honestly, I was surprised that Obama and Raul Castro didn't exchange spit. Really.

We all know Obama has an affinity toward these totalitarian regimes. I'm not surprised in the least. And he's bowing to them and shaking their hands -- almost the bigger the gulags that they have, the more deference he gives them.

And I was thinking about this, and I'm not going to waste a lot of time on it because folks, here's the truth, no one will remember what Obama said in South Africa. We don't even remember what he said today and he said it today. No one will remember much about that memorial other than it was for Mandela. So, take that to heart.

But, I was thinking. When Obama leaves office, there won't be tens of millions of people newly freed from behind the Iron Curtain, or under the thumb of some third world dictator, and so forth as they were under Reagan and Thatcher. Margaret Thatcher was responsible for -- along with John Paul II and Ronald Reagan -- the freedom of over a hundred million people behind the Iron Curtain, and with Reagan, also in our own hemisphere in toto.

Obama won't be in any such movements. In fact, I dare say more people will be imprisoned and enslaved when he leaves office then before he came to office. And it's a disgrace -- as I said maybe two weeks ago, but certainly last week -- how our government, the Obama administration, treated the passing of Margaret Thatcher, who is responsible for the freedom of more people than any of Obama's favorite leaders or what have you. Absolute disgrace.

And there they are clowning it up, acting goofy, in the stands, in the cheap seats. Just ridiculous. I listened to Obama for Obama for about fourteen seconds and there he was again, what effect Mandela had on him. He started with the I, I, I. I said that's enough, I don't need to hear this crap. And I didn't and I'm not playing any the clips either because I don't care what he said. It doesn't matter to me. It doesn't affect my life nor yours.

One thing that did happen there that should draw our attention, at least to a point, as pointed out in the White House Dossier website. When Former President Bush, George W. Bush, when his face appeared on the video monitor at the memorial, in Johannesburg, he was booed. He was booed according to the White House poll report, which cited local press outlets.

Now, when the images of Obama and his wife popped up there was a thirty-second deafening roar, the pool writer wrote.

George W. Bush did more for South Africa and Africa period than Barack Obama has ever done. Obama is better at crafting his public image and saying the right things.

Bush personally saved the lives of millions of South Africans with his President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, ensuring AIDS drugs are available to South Africa’s impoverished masses.

And he's booed. He's booed. The Washington Compost talked about the success of this program. It said:

In South Africa, the success ( of PEPFAR) was extraordinary. AIDS killed roughly 2.3 million in South Africa -- once one of the worst-affected countries in the world -- and orphaned about a million children there, according to the United Nations. Today, rates of infection have fallen to 30 percent, and nearly 2 million people are on antiretroviral drugs.

Meanwhile, Obama has cut this program and generally has been customarily inattentive to it, as The Washington Post essentially reported. He's cheered, Bush is booed, the media is slobbering all over Obama.

Larry Elder also posed an excellent question that is sure to be ignored by the left and vintage media (but I repeat myself).



Hat tip: BadBlue News.

About those "devastating" cuts to the food stamp program...

Let's ignore the fact that we are told incessantly we're in an economic recovery, yet the food stamp program keeps exploding.

And let's ignore the fact that, by some estimates, more than half of the food stamp program is wasted on fraud and criminal activity.

Let's ignore the fact that you can buy food stamps on Craigslist and every social media site known to man (and some scientists have yet to discover). And let's ignore the notion that you can walk into liquor stores in some neighborhoods and pay with food stamps. No, let's put all of that aside.

As Mike Shedlock explains, the entire program is poised to crash, which makes the Democrats' bleating whines about draconian cuts all the more ludicrous. But, then again, that's why they're Democrats.

Please note that the alleged $40 billion in cuts is really only $4 billion in a close to $80 billion program. They arrive at $40 billion by multiplying $4 billion by 10 years ... The cuts then are $40 billion in an $800 billion program. And I actually doubt we will ever see those "cuts" in the first place.


  • SNAP benefits more than doubled between 2000 and 2007.
  • Between 2007 and 2013 snap benefits went up another 150%.
  • Trendline growth would have annual benefits at about $32.5 billion.
  • Instead benefits are more than double.
  • Liberals are whining about a 5% cut when a cut to the trendline would be a 50% cut


  • Participation is nearly double what it was in 2007.
  • Participation in 2013 is 275% of the 2001 total.

...Supposedly a 5% cut is draconian.

The Problem

  • Growth in the number of participants is on an unsustainable trend. 
  • Growth in benefits per person is also on an unsustainable trend.
  • Multiply the two together and you get the first chart.

As is typical with government programs, there is no incentive by the administrators to eliminate waste or fraud.  ... The more funding for food stamps, the bigger the salaries and staffs of the administrators.

I suggest that we need a way to provide necessary safety-net benefits while simultaneously providing an incentive to get off the program and get a job.

I repeat my proposal...

  • Prohibit food stamp purchases of potato chips, snacks, soft drinks, candy, pizza, frozen foods of any kind except juice.
  • Limit food stamp users to generic (store brand vs. name brand) dried beans, rice, peanut butter, pasta, fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, frozen (not bottled) juice, canned vegetables, canned soup, soda crackers, poultry, ground beef, bread, cheese,
    powdered milk, eggs, margarine, and general baking goods (flour, sugar, spices).
  • Calculate a healthy diet based on current prices, number in the family, ages of recipients, and base food stamps allotments on that diet.
  • In the interest of health and cleanliness, expand the food stamp program to include generic soap and laundry products.

My proposal will not only lower the cost of the food stamp program, the resultant healthier diets would lower Medicaid and Medicare costs as well.

Moreover, my proposal would give people a strong incentive to get off the food stamp program without intrusive, costly big-brother ideas like drug-testing which cannot possibly work...

Let me put this in terms even progressives can understand: either the economy is recovering, in which case we can slash food stamps... or we're still in the Obama Depression.

Which is it, dimwits?


Charts: Tim Wallace. Related: How we lost the "War on Poverty".

EXCLUSIVE: A Christmas Postcard From the White House

It's one of the most holy times of year:



Hat tip: American Glob.

Larwyn's Linx: 100 Lawmakers Gather at Mount Vernon To Talk Convention Of States

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

Nation

100 Lawmakers Gather at Mount Vernon To Talk Convention Of States: NoisyRm
Mark Levin interviews Paul Ryan on the new budget agreement: Scoop
Ineducability: Freedom's Torch

The Colorado #obamacare exchange is a disaster.: Moe Lane
Fresh New Lows: Ace
Never Let the Dead of Sandy Hook Go to Waste, or Rest in Peace: John Ransom

End Of Filibuster Brings First Of Many Radical Judges: IBD
D.C. Wants to Let Non-U.S. Citizens Vote in Elections: JW
FL state senators push for constitutional convention : BPR

All I Want for Christmas Is My Freedom Back: Betsy McCaughey
Polls Find Big Trouble Ahead for Democrats: Bryan Preston
Mary Landrieu Backing Radical Marxist Democrat In South Dakota: HayRide

Economy

BOHICA Act of 2013: Erick Erickson
“Thank You, Paul Ryan, Sir!”: RS
Please Pray for Me… I Am Losing My Insurance: Jim Hoft

Scandal Central

Lead FBI Benghazi Investigator Has Never Testified Before Congress: Kerry Picket
Proud confessions: I trade food stamps ‘for beer, vodka and cigarettes’: BPR
How the ATF Manufactures Crime: Charles C. W. Cooke

How Every Part of American Life Became a Police Matter: Chase Madar, Mother Jones
Nation of Islam Receives Farm Subsidies: NRO
Bill Elliot’s IRS Audit Has Been Terminated: iOTW

Climate & Energy

EPA says taking over private property will benefit the economy: Michael Bastasch
Our Fragile Planet: Walter Williams
Figures. As Nation Suffers Record Cold, Snow… Greenpeace Warns of Global Warming: GWP

Media

Oscar’s Farks O’ The Week, Bad Selfie Edition: HayRide
Have You Forgotten?: R.S. McCain
Rick Warren Piers Morgan: “I fear the disapproval of God more than I fear your disapproval...”: RWN

The 40 Best Conservative Websites Of 2013: RWN
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) Declares Political War On NRA, Pro-Gun Senators: A.W.R. Hawkins
Self-Avowed Terrorist Bill Ayers: Obama like ‘imperial leader’: Tal Kopan

Paul Krugman, The Wonk Gap, and The Eternal Church of the All-Seeing State: Ace
No, You Can't Keep Your Drugs Either Under Obamacare: Scott Gottlieb
Social justice indoctrination in math class courtesy of Common Core: EAG

World

Obama Administration Admits Iran Will Get $20 Billion from Sanctions Relief – Not $7 Billion: GWP
Democratic Congresswoman Does Not Seem to Understand What, or Where, Benghazi Is: Ace
Dem Rep Unloads on Obama Over Castro Handshake: GWP

Nelson Mandela and Ronald Reagan: Arnold Steinberg
Somali Refugees Say South Africa is Too Dangerous: Daniel Greenfield
Ukranians say NO to Lenin: Susan L.M. Goldberg

The Damage of a Handshake: Otto J. Reich
Mooch Obama jealous over another woman?: Matzav
Mandela Crashes Obama Johannesburg Appearance: Cube

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

The Worst IT Project Disasters of 2013: Chris Kanaracus, CIO
Trending tech hashtag goes viral: Here are 10 truly awesome #FiveWordTechHorrors: Taylor Soper
Palantir’s Latest Round Valuing It At $9B Swells To $107.8M In New Funding: Kim-Mai Cutler

Cornucopia

The Greatness of Dirty Jobs: American Digest
To Be . . . Or To Do?: This Ain't Hell
Fire Sale: Genuine Mandela Brand Necklacing Kits: Cube

Image: The Greatness of Dirty Jobs
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Convention of States: Download the Free Handbook

QOTD: "The Gold Plan... that’s when you have to sell your wedding ring in order to pay the deductibles.

The Silver Plan... is the color of your hair by the time you finally get signed up for it.

The Bronze Plan... that’s the color your finger is going to be after you give yourself a prostate exam." --Larry the Cable Guy

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

ATF Caught Using Felons, Teens, and the Mentally Handicapped to Systematically "Manufacture" Gun Crimes

Charles C. W. Cooke, writing at National Review, describes the latest appalling ATF scandal:

Since the president was reelected in November of last year, a good deal of poison has been poured into Washington’s grimy alphabet soup. Among the departments that have become embroiled in scandal are the IRS, the DOJ, the DOE, the EPA, the NSA, the USDA, and, of course, the ATF. This week, the lattermost is back in the news — and for good reason.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is probably best known these days for the failure of its disastrous Fast and Furious scheme — a botched initiative that aimed to give American guns to Mexican cartels first and to ask questions later. Under pressure, the administration was quick to imply that the mistake was an aberration. But a watchdog report, published last week by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, suggests that the caprice, carelessness, and downright incompetence that marked the disaster was no accident. In fact, that it is endemic in the ATF.

After a bungled sting attracted the suspicion of the Milwaukee press earlier this year, reporters started to examine similar enterprises in the rest of the country. What they found astonished them. Among the tactics they discovered ATF agents employing were using mentally disabled Americans to help run unnecessary sting operations; establishing agency-run “fronts” in “safe zones” such as schools and churches; providing alcohol, drugs, and sexual invitations to minors; destroying property and then expecting the owners to pick up the tab; and hiring felons to sell guns to legal purchasers. Worse, perhaps, in a wide range of cases, undercover agents specifically instructed individuals to behave in a certain manner — and then arrested and imprisoned them for doing so. This is government at its worst. And it appears to be standard operating procedure.

As with Fast and Furious, the primary objective of the ATF’s stings seems not to be to fight a known threat but instead to manufacture crime. Across the country, the agency has set up shops in which it attempts to facilitate or to encourage illegal behavior, and it has drafted citizens into the scheme without telling them that they were involved. It is fishing — nonchalantly, haphazardly, even illegally. And the consequences can go hang.

Some of the stories are heartrending. Tony Bruner, a convicted felon with an IQ of 50, was hired in Wichita to work at “Bandit Trading,” a fake store that agents had established as a front. Bruner didn’t realize that he was working for the ATF — he thought he had finally found a steady job. But the agents knew how valuable Bruner could be to them, recognizing immediately that he was disabled (or “slow-headed,” in one agent’s unlovely phrase) and that he would therefore be easy to manipulate. Having established his trust, agents asked Bruner to find guns for them, which he agreed to do...


The Journal Sentinel investigation is worth reading in its entirety. Some of the low-lights:

■ Agents in several cities opened undercover gun- and drug-buying operations in safe zones near churches and schools, allowed juveniles to come in and play video games and teens to smoke marijuana, and provided alcohol to underage youths. In Portland, attorneys for three teens who were charged said a female agent dressed provocatively, flirted with the boys and encouraged them to bring drugs and weapons to the store to sell.

■ As they did in Milwaukee, agents in other cities offered sky-high prices for guns, leading suspects to buy firearms at stores and turn around and sell them to undercover agents for a quick profit. In other stings, agents ran fake pawnshops and readily bought stolen items, such as electronics and bikes — no questions asked — spurring burglaries and theft. In Atlanta, agents bought guns that had been stolen just hours earlier, several ripped off from police cars...

■ Agents pressed suspects for specific firearms that could fetch tougher penalties in court. They allowed felons to walk out of the stores armed with guns. In Wichita, agents suggested a felon take a shotgun, saw it off and bring it back — and provided instructions on how to do it. The sawed-off gun allowed them to charge the man with a more serious crime.

Perhaps House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa could open up a formal inquiry into the almost unbelievable misbehavior of the ATF.

That is, if it doesn't impact the 42 other investigations he's "working on".


37 Reasons the Media is Lying to You About a "Recovery"

Guest post by Michael Snyder

"If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it." Sadly, that appears to be the approach that the Obama administration and the mainstream media are taking with the U.S. economy.

They seem to believe that if they just keep telling the American people over and over that things are getting better, eventually the American people will believe that it is actually true. On Friday, it was announced that the unemployment rate had fallen to "7 percent", and the mainstream media responded with a mix of euphoria and jubilation. For example, one USA Today article declared that "with today's jobs report, one really can say that our long national post-financial crisis nightmare is over." But is that actually the truth? As you will see below, if you assume that the labor force participation rate in the U.S. is at the long-term average, the unemployment rate in the United States would actually be 11.5 percent instead of 7 percent. There has been absolutely no employment recovery. The percentage of Americans that are actually working has stayed between 58 and 59 percent for 51 months in a row. But most Americans don't understand these things and they just take whatever the mainstream media tells them as the truth.

And of course the reality of the matter is that we should have seen some sort of an economic recovery by now. Those running our system have literally been mortgaging the future in a desperate attempt to try to pump up our economic numbers. The federal government has been on the greatest debt binge in U.S. history and the Federal Reserve has been printing money like crazed lunatics. All of that "stimulus" should have had some positive short-term effects on the economy.

Sadly, all of those "emergency measures" do not appear to have done much at all. The percentage of Americans that have a job has stayed remarkably flat since the end of 2009, median household income has fallen for five years in a row, and the rate of homeownership in the United States has fallen for eight years in a row. Anyone that claims that the U.S. economy is experiencing a "recovery" is simply not telling the truth. The following are 37 reasons why "the economic recovery of 2013" is a giant lie...

#1 The only reason that the official unemployment rate has been declining over the past couple of years is that the federal government has been pretending that millions upon millions of unemployed Americans no longer want a job and have "left the labor force". As Zero Hedge recently demonstrated, if the labor force participation rate returned to the long-term average of 65.8 percent, the official unemployment rate in the United States would actually be 11.5 percent instead of 7 percent.

#2 The percentage of Americans that are actually working is much lower than it used to be. In November 2000, 64.3 percent of all working age Americans had a job. When Barack Obama first entered the White House, 60.6 percent of all working age Americans had a job. Today, only 58.6 percent of all working age Americans have a job. In fact, as you can see from the chart posted below, there has been absolutely no "employment recovery" since the depths of the last recession...

#3 The employment-population ratio has now been under 59 percent for 51 months in a row.

#4 There are 1,148,000 fewer Americans working today than there was in November 2006. Meanwhile, our population has grown by more than 16 million people during that time frame.

Missing Radioactive Material Highlights the Nuclear Terror Threat Lurking on our Porous Southern Border

Guest post by Investor's Business Daily

National Security: The theft of a truck carrying dangerous radioactive material combined with terrorist group activity in the hemisphere shows that the need for a secure border involves more than illegal immigration.

Mexican authorities said Wednesday they found the stolen truck and likely recovered all of the radioactive cobalt taken by a group of thieves who were probably after the truck, unaware it carried a deadly cargo.

Cobalt-60, which is used in radiation therapy to treat cancer, was being transported from a hospital in the northern city of Tijuana to a radioactive waste storage center. But what if the thieves were terrorists who knew what the truck was carrying and targeted it to gain material for a so-called "dirty bomb"?

At a nuclear security summit in South Korea last year, Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), identified cobalt-60 as one of the materials that could be used with conventional explosives to make such a weapon.

"A dirty bomb detonated in a major city could cause mass panic, as well as serious economic and environmental consequences," Amano said, according to a copy of his speech. Detonation of such a bomb in a big city, he warned, "could cause mass panic, as well as serious economic and environmental consequences."

Bombs made with cobalt-60 "pose a threat mainly because even a fraction of a gram emits a huge number of high-energy gamma rays; such material is harmful whether outside or inside the body," according to a 2011 report by the Congressional Research Service.

The U.S. government has sensors at border crossings and seaports to prevent radioactive materials from entering the country. But nuclear terrorists are not likely to check themselves through customs or show up at border checkpoints. They'd more than likely cross through porous openings in our border with Mexico, or maybe through one of the sophisticated tunnels that have been dug under the border.

We know state sponsors of terror have nuclear material and that terrorist groups have plans for such material. We know OTMs — other than Mexicans — have been coming across our border with the flood of illegal immigrants. We also know that cross-border tunnels capable of smuggling more than drugs, guns and people have been uncovered.

Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., recently sent a letter to the Homeland Security Department asking that a task force investigate growing ties between Hezbollah and the drug cartels as well as growing evidence of a Hezbollah presence in Mexico. If the cartels can smuggle drugs and people into America, Hezbollah and al-Qaida have to know they can smuggle in trained terrorists or the makings of a dirty bomb.

Larwyn's Linx: Impeachment Lessons

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

Nation

Impeachment Lessons: Andrew C. McCarthy
Minnesota's health insurance exchange in death spiral: Moe Lane
MSNBC Focus Group Agrees Obama’s a Total Failure: JWF

Of course: Obamacare plans won't cover treatment at top hospitals:: Doug Powers
South Carolina voting on bill to end Obamacare in state: Bruce Parker
Poll: Tom Cotton up 7 on Mark Pryor in Arkansas: Hot Air

Healthcare.Gov Wants Your ATM and Credit Card Pin Numbers: RWN
Did Newtown Really Wreck Obama’s Second Term?: Bryan Preston
Knockout Game Goes Terribly Right: CNS

Economy

GOP Deal: More Taxes for Obamacare, Increased Spending?: Horowitz
The Big Spenders Return: Erick Erickson
U. of Washington email smears Tea Party with KKK comparison: CI

Jay Richards: 8 common myths about wealth, poverty and free enterprise: Knight
Feds Lose $10.5 Billion In Sale Of Remaining GM Stock: WZ
CBO: Top 40% of earners paid 106% of taxes: Poor Richard

The Great MacGuffin: Mickey Kaus
‘Income Inequality’ — The Biggest Lie of All: Roger L. Simon
Illegal Immigrants sue Georgia for taxpayer assistance: RWN

Scandal Central

The NSA is watching you through your XBox live, World of Warcraft account: NakedDC
It's not just the NSA, every beat cop in America has your cellphone records: WyBlog
When Obama Claimed He Was "Outraged" By IRS Targeting Scandal, He Was, Get This, Lying: Ace

Climate & Energy

Obama’s Air-Pollution Regulations on Trial: Ben Geman
Global Warming Alert! Antarctica sets record for coldest Earthly temperature ever recorded: Poor Richard

Media

Liberals More Divisive, Have An Illusion Of Uniqueness: Psychological Science Magazine: RWN
MSNBC’s Alternative Universe : Charles C. W. Cooke
Hillary Clinton Exposed, Movie She Banned From Theaters: Minority Report

NYT: My, many of these ObamaCare premiums aren’t really as low as they seem, are they?: Hot Air
Cheney: IT WAS A LIE: Keith Koffler
Little Green Footballs and DaTechGuy blog Two Blogs Two paths: DTG

“You Can’t Shake Hands with a Clenched Fist.”– Indira Gandhi: MOTUS
The Latest IRS Power Grab: SSI
But You Already Knew This...: 90 Miles

World

Demented Rules of Engagement Kill US Troops: MB
Saudis to Obama: We Will Not Tolerate a Nuclear Iran: Karin McQuillan
Look who’s catching a ride with Obama aboard Air Force One: BPR

The Migratory Patterns of Mujahideen: Gates of Vienna
Obama “Hangs NSA Out to Dry” – Morale Suffering: Trevor Loudon
Marine Kills Two Taliban At Close Range, Beats Third To Death With His Own Gun: WZ

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

True facts about Ocean Radiation and the Fukushima Disaster: Kim Martin, Deep Sea News
Hacker Releases Software to Hijack Commercial Drones: Bryant Jordan
Home Appliance Makers Connect with Open Source 'Internet of Things' Project: Loek Essers, CIO

Cornucopia

Obama Exchange: iOTW
Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope: Cube
Bummer: Loathsome Democrat Alan Grayson Lost $18 Million in Fraud Scheme: JWF

Image: Marine Kills Two Taliban At Close Range, Beats Third To Death With His Own Gun
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Are you tracking progress on a Convention of the States?

QOTD: "The Constitution assumes that the different branches of government will protect their institutional turf. That is, the Framers calculated that, faced with a Democratic president who usurps legislative prerogatives, a Democratic congressman would see himself, first and foremost, as a congressman. Valuing the duties of his office over party loyalty, he would join with other legislators to rein in executive excess.

Today’s Democrats, however, are less members of a party than of the movement Left. Their objective, like Obama’s, is fundamental transformation of a society rooted in individual liberty and private property to one modeled on top-down, redistributionist statism. Since statism advances by concentrating governmental power, Democrats — regardless of what governmental branch they happen to inhabit — rally to whatever branch holds the greatest transformative potential. Right now, that is the presidency. Thus, congressional Democrats do not insist that the president must comply with congressional statutes. Laws, after all, must be consistent with the Constitution to be valid, and are thus apt to reflect the very constitutional values the Left is trying to supplant. Democrats want the president to use the enormous raw power vested in his office by Article II to achieve statist transformation. If he does so, they will support him. They’ll get back to obsessing over the “rule of law” if, by some misfortune, the Republicans someday win another presidential election." --Andrew C. McCarthy