Tuesday, April 01, 2014

David Returns to Italy

A bit of culture for a change, sent in by Ann.

After a two-year loan to the Smithsonian Museum in the United States, Michelangelo's David has returned to Italy.

The visit was generously funded by:

LATEST OBAMACARE LIE SHREDDED: 7.1 million enrollment number is bogus; only 858,000 have paid premiums

Gee, 858,000 is a far cry from the "7.1 million" signup number that the White House pulled out of its keister estimated as having signed up by the March 31st deadline.

Even worse? 858,000 is an infinitesimally small fraction of the "46 million"* uninsured Americans that Obamacare was supposed to address.

Yes, it's true: Democrats destroyed the American health care system for nothing.

A triumphant President Barack Obama declared Tuesday his signature medical insurance overhaul a success, saying it has made America's health care system 'a lot better' in a Rose Garden press conference... But buried in the 7.1 million enrollments he announced in a heavily staged appearance is a more unsettling reality.


Numbers from a RAND Corporation study that has been kept under wraps suggest that barely 858,000 previously uninsured Americans – nowhere near 7.1 million – have paid for new policies and joined the ranks of the insured by Monday night.

...Others were already insured, including millions who lost coverage when their existing policies were suddenly cancelled because they didn't meet Obamacare's strict minimum requirements.

...The president took no questions from reporters, but celebrated the end of a rocky six-month open-enrollment period by taking pot shots at Republicans who have opposed the law from the beginning as a government-run seizure of one-seventh of the U.S. economy.

'The debate over repealing this law is over,' he insisted. 'The Affordable Care Act is here to stay.'

The president also chided conservatives 'who have based their entire political agenda on repealing it,' and praised congressional Democrats for their partisan passage of the law without a single GOP vote.

As Aleister observes, For months we were told it was impossible to quote exact ObamaCare enrollment numbers yet somehow, one day after the close of open enrollment the Obama administration has suddenly announced the incredibly specific number of 7.1 million enrollees.


* 46 million uninsured? Yes, that's another lie. Hat tip: Weasel Zippers.

ERIC CANTOR'S INSIDER TRADING KABUKI DANCE: Let's Call it the Beltway Hokey Pokey

Guest post by Sara For America

Back in 2012, Eric Cantor dazzled us with his STOCK Act Hokey Pokey. Today he is going to teach us how to do this clever dance game.

Background

To start, you will need a piece of important legislation drafted to make members of Congress, their families and staffers adhere to the same standards as other Americans. In this case, the STOCK Act; a bill that prohibited insider trading by Congress based on non-public information gained in their role as lawmakers. Both Democrats and Republicans agreed that passing this law would help restore confidence in government, because Congress was making money hand over fist by exempting themselves from securities laws applied to the rest of us. (I know, that’s horrible, isn’t it?)

Step One

Listen to all the pros and cons about the STOCK Act so you can decide how best to approach it without angering your base (that would be Wall Street).

Larwyn's Linx: GOP establishment turns to Jeb Bush

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

Nation

GOP establishment turns to Jeb Bush: Thomas Lifson
The Game of Politics: Christian Mercenary
Signing Up for Obamacare Not So ‘Easy-Peasy’: WFB

Judaism, Christianity, Environmentalism: Dennis Prager
Sebelius Silent When Told Oklahomans Don’t Like Obamacare: Bruce
Did Kagan embarrass herself during Hobby Lobby arguments?: Thomas Lifson

How Foreign is our Policy?: Thomas Sowell
Rand Paul: U.S. Partly To Blame For Pearl Harbor, World War II: Scoop
Chris Christie is a Meathead: Jen Kuznicki

Sebelius: Did I Mention 10-20% of “Initial” Obamacare Enrollees Haven’t Paid?: WZ
LA Country: At Least 1 Million to Remain Unenrolled in ObamaCare: AmPower
Rep. Camp, chairman of powerful committee, will not seek re-election: Fox

Economy

New Yorkers Forced to Choose Between Groceries and Obamacare: MenRec
Damn the Bubbles, More Printing Ahead: Mish
#CommonCore Pushers Don’t Want You To See This: Zilla

Wasteful Government To Kid: Nice Try, But $400 Million Is Chump Change: Scoop
China Will Dominate the World, Fed Official Says: WSJ
Putin Flushes the US Dollar: Global Research

Scandal Central

"The Market Is Rigged" - Michael Lewis Explains How HFTs "Screw" Investors Every Day: ZH
Kansas Considers A “Punish Complainers & Silence Critics” Bill: Outcast
Tucson students get roughed up after Elite Eight game: ADI

Climate & Energy

IPCC Report Released, Claims We’re Doomed: Cove
Despite IPCC doom report, this dataset of datasets shows no warming this millennium: WUWT
The Geopolitical Consequences of the Shale Revolution: AmPower

Media

NBC Scrubs Mentions of “Islam” And “Muslim” From Story On Female Genital Mutilation: WZ
The Problem Is Liberalism, Not Racism: Star Parker
Doc Thompson Exposes Eric Cantor’s Underhanded Stock Dealings – and Much More!: VaRight

Hey @SenatorReid, STOP ATTACKING FREE SPEECH!: Scoop
Air Force Removes Bible From POW-MIA Display: WZ
Chris Matthews Ranked “Most Hated” News Anchor in America: ConTrib

World

Megyn Kelly exposes CAIR trying to suppress documentary on Muslim Honor Violence: Scoop
Obama dismissed by Saudi King Abdullah?: Black Sphere
Iran names U.S. Embassy hostage-taker as U.N. ambassador: Pamela Geller

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

God's Green Earth: Act Well Your Part
HP unveils creepy app that stalks people as they shop: TechWorld
Victorinox Tested This Durable Watch By Driving a 64-Ton Tank Over It: Gizmodo

Cornucopia

I Booed de Blasio Today: iOTW
We’re Up To The Final Four - And The Final 24 for Obamacare.: MOTUS
Shults Media Relations Supports Gun Broker But . . .: TTAG

Image: Unfortunately this is not an April 1st joke..or is it?
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Fire John Boehner -- Support JD Winteregg!

QOTD: "MR. DRISCOLL: And Andrew, last question. What does your crystal ball forecast for the next few years of the Middle East, and Israel and America’s response to Iran?

MR. BOSTOM: It’s getting pretty dark. And I’m very concerned. I was hoping that in its own small way this book might concentrate minds about the need to do something, something to at least delay Iran’s nuclear program. Because if they develop a nuclear program, I think it’s going to be very, very destabilizing.

And, you know, are we going to have to depend on things like, you know, declining population, et cetera, to be a countervailing force? I wouldn’t hold too much hope in that. I think it’s going to be very chaotic and dangerous if Iran has a nuclear program.

Beyond that, I really can’t say. I do hope that Western societies begin to appreciate and stop denying the animating ideology. We’re living in an age of very vibrant Jihadism. And it comes wrapped in a package of pretty virulent Islamic anti-Semitism [and] general hatred of non-Muslims. And these attitudes are widely prevalent. They’re widely dangerous. They’re not healthy for the societies that are perpetuating them themselves. But they’re certainly not healthy for non-Muslim societies.

And I think there’s going to be more conflict. Maybe there’ll be a hiatus when there’s terrible internecine conflict, as we’re seeing in Syria. But I think we’re headed for very, very dangerous times. And an appeasement mentality, a denial mentality, is only going to make matters worse." --Ed Driscoll interviews Andrew Bostom

Monday, March 31, 2014

The Koch Ness Monster

Based upon "Rate the Oligarchs". Illustrated by @BiffSpackle:


Obama, Soros, Petrobras, Brazil & offshore drilling double standards
Tom Steyer’s Bet is Paying Off: Meet one of Barack Obama’s richest green energy cronies
Schweizer's New Book: 80% of Energy Department's "Green Loan" Program Went to Obama's Backers


JAIL THE GLOBAL COOLING DENIERS: @AdamWeinstein and @MichaelEMann must face the music

The science is settled:

HadCRUT4, the last of the five monthly global datasets to report its February value, shows the same sharp drop in global temperature over the month as the other datasets...


...Our dataset-of-datasets graph averages the monthly anomalies for the three terrestrial and two satellite temperature records. It shows there has still been no global warming this millennium. Over 13 years 2 months, the trend is zero.

The reason for the headline? Adam Weinstein of Gakwer is the same nitwit who wants the majority of scientists in the world jailed for expressing skepticism of the United Nation's global warming scam.

After all, "only 36 percent of geoscientists and engineers believe that humans are creating a global warming crisis, according to a survey reported in the peer-reviewed Organization Studies."

But do you want to know the funniest part of the global warming scam?

The fact that Al Gore, the man with one of the largest carbon footprints in the world, tells us that the ocean levels are rising and that temperatures are soaring.

Yet Gore recently bought his third (or fourth, I lost count) immense mansion... in sunny California, within a stone's throw of the ocean.


Hat tip: BadBlue News

The 4 Top Failures on Obamacare Deadline Day

Courtesy of Tammy Bruce, those of us who were enjoying Opening Day, or working, or otherwise ignoring the disaster that is this administration, can get the complete Obamacare wrap-up.

1. At the oh-so-tactful Jezebel, "Obamacare Website Takes a Dump on Obamacare Enrollment Deadline.

Today's the last day to sign up for Obamacare if you're planning on using the healthcare.gov website. Unfortunately for people who tried to log onto the website during the wee hours of the morning today, that wasn't possible for a few hours. Because the website was down.

2. Daniel Halper says that "Sebelius Speechless After Reporter Tells Her How Unpopular Obamacare Is"

"At last check, 64 percent of Oklahomans aren't buying into the health care plan, they don't like Obamacare, and they've been pretty vocal about it," said the reporter. "Now that's going to be -- still continue to be -- a tough sell, but we'll see how that plays out over the coming months."

Then he waited for Sebelius to reply. And waited.

After about 7-seconds of dead air, the reporter broke in to say, "Alright, Secretary Sebelius, thank you so much for being with us this morning. I think we've probably lost sound here or something."

"I can hear you," Sebelius said, ending her silence.

3. Sen. John Barrasso simply confirms what we already knew, to wit, "White House ‘cooking the books’ on Obamacare"

Sen. John Barrasso has accused the Obama administration — which just claimed more than 6 million Americans have enrolled in Obamacare — of spinning the numbers on the federal health care overhaul and “cooking the books... I don’t think it means anything. I think they’re cooking the books on this.”

The White House still hasn’t released how many of the 6 million enrollment figure actually paid...

4. Chaser: "Valerie Jarrett to Hollywood to Get Obamacare in Movie, TV Scripts"

Valerie Jarrett explained in an appearance on Top That! on PopSugar.com...


..."That's part of why I'm in L.A. I'm meeting with writers of various TV shows and movies to try to get it into the scripts." When Jarrett says "it into the scripts," she's referring to getting references to Obamacare, the president's signature legislation, into the scripts of TV shows and movies..

That Valerie Jarrett's quite the looker.

And so smart.

I'm sure she'll do a great job marketing Obamacare.


Hat tip: BadBlue News

Larwyn's Linx: Obama administration released 68,000 convicted criminal aliens last year

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

Nation

Obama released 68,000 convicted criminal aliens last year: Caroline May
Surrendering America: Moonbattery
Lois Lerner could go to jail in contempt clash: Exam

Stopping the Bush Bandwagon: R.S. McCain
What Happens When The Facts Don’t Fit The Progressive Script?: Federalist
Black Democrat Gunrunner Linked To Yee Case Blames Racism: VDARE

BOOM: Dr. Ben Carson Has Been Recruited to Take Down Obamacare: ConTrib
VICTORY: Michigan Signs Pro-Gun Bill Into Law: ConTrib
Gunman herding people into breakdroom killed by CCW holder: IJR

The Flip-Flopping, Tangled Campaign World of Senator Landrieu: DTG
Rep. Castro (D-TX) Blames Bush for Latest ObamaCare Delay: Minority Report
Al Franken (D-MN) – KeyWiki Progressive/Marxist Profiles: Trevor Loudon

Economy

Cleveland Clinic: 75% Of ObamaCare Signups Have Higher Premiums: Breitbart
More than half of top posts in key Obamacare agency are vacant: Exam
Actor Dean Cain shares dismal economic snapshot: 5 years of Obama: Twitchy

Scandal Central

Possible voter fraud, defiinite incompetence involving Covered California: Moe Lane
Someone who’s not David Gregory convicted of stupid DC gun law violation: LI
Sen. Barrasso: Obama Administration Is Cooking The Books On Enrollment Numbers: Scoop

Climate & Energy

Gawker’s Adam Weinstein Wants to Put You in Jail for Being a Climate Change ‘Denier’: Rick Moran
Introducing ObamaCow: Mark Steyn
Alarmist Warns “Climate Change” Could Make Humans Extinct: Cove

Media

Blagojevich agreed to let Chicago Tribune reporters lie about the tapes?: IP2P
Obamacare shows why Chuck Schumer probably should avoid the fortune-telling business: Mark Tapscott
Anthony Weiner Even Worse As A Pundit Than He Was As A Politician: Adam Ozimek, Forbes

How unborn babies become 'clinical waste': Jeff Jacoby
EXCELLENT: Stephen A. Smith stands with Kobe Bryant on his Trayvon martin comments: Scoop
Democrat Bob Kerrey Calls Obama a Delusional Liar; Renders Himself MSM Nonperson: MinorityReport

Mark Levin: GOP Will Not Grow Appeal With ‘Embarrassing’ Pander To Adelson: Jen Kuznicki
Liberal law professor sides with conservatives on Hobby Lobby: BPR
Piers Morgan Uses Swan Song To Call For the Disarmament of U.S. Citizens: NB

World

Lining Putin’s Pockets: Senators Want Obama to Call Off Contracts with Russian Arms Giant: PJM
France's Reckoning: Rich, Young Flee Welfare State: CBN
German chancellor on NSA’s “high-value targets” list: Ars Technica

The Permanent War: Richard Baehr
Campus brownshirts on the march: Caroline Glick
I saw the future — anti-Semitism — at McMaster University: Gary Gerofsky

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

London skeletons reveal secrets of the Black Death: Jill Lawless, Phys.org
Banks pulls out of class-action suit against Target, Trustwave: IDG
Microsoft promises to stop searching user accounts for stolen material: SCMag

Cornucopia

The Right Wing News Conservative Minority Polling Project: RWN
The Presidential Regional Power Brackets: BHO Picks the Dark Horse: MOTUS
6 signs that you’re a liberal who is out of touch with reality: YC

Image: London skeletons reveal secrets of the Black Death
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Support JD Winteregg and fire John Boehner!

QOTD: "“I must study politics and war,” John Adams said, “that my sons may have the liberty to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, and naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain.” In Harry Reid’s America a man must win political office so that his sons may have the liberty to practice law and register as lobbyists, engage in rent-seeking and government relations and crisis management and communications, in order to give their children a right to live in Brooklyn, to enroll in the New School, to visit the Vermont Studio Center, to have cronies finance their off-off-off-Broadway shows, to enjoy their allowance from grandpa. This is the arrangement put before the voters this coming Election Day; this is the “system” rigged to benefit the family Reid; this is the configuration of power that Charles and David Koch want to disrupt. How awful of them. How “un-American.”" --Matthew Continetti

Sunday, March 30, 2014

FORMER DEMOCRAT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE BOB KERREY: Obama a Failed, Delusional Liar

I have a dream.

I have a dream that someday, somehow, a real media will emerge and replace what is now a nakedly partisan propaganda wing of the Democrat Party, which uses brand names like NBC News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN, to name but a few.

But, until then, we'll have to rely upon foreign media outlets to confirm what we all know to be the truth.

...Obama, he said Wednesday in his Manhattan office, knew full well he was lying when he promised that the Affordable Care Act would allow Americans to keep insurance plans they liked... 'He had to know he was misleading the audience,' Kerrey said quietly, recalling the newly minted president's countless promises as Congress and the public debated his signature health insurance overhaul...

...Obama compounded his rhetorical mistakes with political ones, he said, by agreeing to ditch a proposal allowing Americans to buy into the Medicare system the way they would buy a policy from a private insurer...

...In his Washington, D.C. days, the former Nebraska governor often stood out as the rare Democrat who publicly lamented U.S. entitlement programs' seemingly unstoppable march to insolvency...

'We're robbing from the future to pay for the past,' he told MailOnline on Wednesday. 'We just are... And we're shoveling more and more money to people over the age of 65.'

The result, he said, is a set of financial chains clamped tightly on future generations.

...Asked how to break the congressional logjam, Kerrey thought for a moment and said, softly, 'It takes a president. It takes a president.'

Is Barack Obama that president? Kerrey stayed silent but shook his head... 'I'm shaking my head "no,"' he acknowledged, finally.

...Another of Obama's failings, according to Kerrey, is an inflated sense of Americans' appetite for programs to correct what the White House calls 'income inequality,' through new taxes and other income-shifting initiatives that transfer wealth from the rich to the poor... The president's re-election 17 months ago wasn't a mandate to conduct class warfare, he said.

...Obama isn't the first president to make that kind of miscalculation – Kerrey calls it 'self-delusion' – while in office... Bill Clinton [was] an unusually good liar. Unusually good,' the Nebraskan said in 1994.

He told MailOnline that he 'actually intended it as a compliment,' although Clinton 'didn't take it that way.'

Obama's lies, he said, stem from the same human flaw... 'That self-delusion moment comes in a single declaratory sentence,' Kerrey said, which is, "If they just get to know me, they'll vote for me" ... 'It's just self-delusion. ... Some of us are good at it, and some of us are bad.'

You know, it's the strangest thing.

Bob Kerrey is a very well known Democrat, a former senator, governor and presidential candidate.

I just did a quick news search for Bob Kerrey's statements in U.S. media. Can you guess what I found?

Yeah, that's right: nothing. Nada. Bupkis. Zip. Nil. Zilch.

Which, coincidentally, is how much real Americans should rely upon vintage media.


Hat tip: BadBlue News

FOUR RACES TO WATCH: What patriots can do now!

Is the Tea Party dead? Is Constitutional Conservatism an anachronism? Are those resisting America's descent into tyranny simply going to roll over against the progressives' 100-year war on America? I, for one, say: hell, no.

What can you do? Pick out one or more of these races and offer your support with time or money. Any amount will help.


It's time to take back the Republican Party. Let the losers in the establishment form a third party. The time for action is now.


Larwyn's Linx: Leland Yee, the Kochs, and a Corrupt Press

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

Nation

Leland Yee, the Kochs, and a Corrupt Press : Jonah Goldberg
‘Shrimp Boy’ Chow, Yee, FBI — Your Tax Dollars at Work: RWN
CA state senator Leland Yee – suspended and sent home with $90,000: PW

House GOP Leaders Find Getting A Majority Of Votes Too Difficult: Ace
New ‘March Madness’ Ad From Bevin Campaign: Scoop
Cruz: When GOP Takes Control of Senate...: RightPundit

And You Thought 'Sinkhole Of Bureaucracy' Was A Metaphor: Camp o' the Saints
Travels With Potus, Flotus And The ‘Riddler’: Michael Reagan
McCain: I want to name new immigration reform law after Ted Kennedy: Hot Air

Economy

Untruthful and Untrustworthy Government: Victor Davis Hanson
Universal Health Care Woes – How governments save money: Politisite
NLRB Says “No Workplace Secrets Allowed!”: Blue MauMau

Scandal Central

Agenda 21 Takeover in Klamath Basin: Farm Wars
Lt Gov. Anthony Brown debacle: MD Obamacare exchange dies: Moe Lane
Hmm: Dems Immediately Seized Upon Bogus Koch/Keystone WaPo Article: Ace

Climate & Energy

Man With Largest Carbon Footprint In World To Go After Methane: RWN
Behead Those Who Insult the Prophet Mannhammed!: Mark Steyn
White House: EPA to study methane, possible regulations: Fox

Media

CNN’s Big Important News Team Doesn’t Cover Every Single Stupid Little Story, You Peons: Caleb Howe
I Can See a Big Mouthed Hypocritical Progtard From My House: iOTW
A Moment Of Earthquake Zen: Vin Scully Is Unshakeable: Caleb Howe

Harry Reid Doesn’t Like Reporters Poking Into His Family Affairs: LoneCon
'Noah' Review: Brilliantly Sinister Anti-Christian Filmmaking: John Nolte
‘Racist’ Michelle Obama quote fools panel; Bill Maher pretends Paul Ryan said it: BPR

A great friend, a great blogger has passed away…: Scoop
Obama kisses Justin Bieber to promote healthcare in SNL’s brutal Obama-bashing open: BPR
The Tragic, Tragic Life of Gwyneth Paltrow: Ace

World

Loud + Weak = War : Victor Davis Hanson
U.S.-EU Statement Calls for Enforcement of UN Arms Treaty: NewAm
Pushing Toward The Final War: Paul Craig Roberts

Because We are at War: Creeping
The Muslims of America Wage Legal Jihad Against the Christian Action Network: GoV
Gingerbread: Better than Belgian “chocolate” or a “lace doily”…no?: MOTUS

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Raising the Dead: Ace
Earthquake may have hit on dangerous fault that worries scientists: LAT
Outstanding Entries in the 2014 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest: MyModernMet

Cornucopia

Michelle Recalls Surviving American Death Camps: Cube
That Awkward Moment...: Diogenes
Criminals Want Your Guns: Act Well Your Part

Image: Sinkhole of Bureaucracy
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Fire John Boehner: Support J.D. Winteregg for Congress

QOTD: "Think 'Sinkhole of bureaucracy' is just a metaphor? Well it is, but not just a metaphor, it’s also a Washington Post.com headline for an article written by David A. Fahrenthold and a place in Boyars Pennsylvania. It’s actually an old limestone mine where 600 government workers are employed by the Office of Personnel Management to process retiree benefits by hand, shuffling paper which they keep in 28,000 file cabinets. But not to worry the work is done at the speed of 1977.

I’m not sure just where David A. Fahrenthold is heading with this series [on government waste called "Breaking Points"] but I shall certainly keep my eye out for more articles. Breaking points is certainly an apt description of what government does and does to us. At some point I’m sure we’ll discover that the fault lies with white privilege or the Tea Party." --Bob Belvedere

Saturday, March 29, 2014

AWWWWWWWWW: Half-Dog Lives!

Cutest pup ever.

Meet the half-dog. Unlike the half-cat, the half-dog is real.


The half-dog's name is Duncan Lou Who. Duncan Lou Who lives with the good folks at Panda Paws Rescue. His two back legs were removed early in life; he uses a wheelchair sometimes but hates it.


Duncan Lou Who loves to run, and I can't stop looking at him.


Hat tip: BadBlue Fame (yes, BadBlue has an entertainment channel cuz, yes, there's a culture war underway, too).

IRS COMMISSIONER MOCKS CONGRESS: Dares Oversight to Hold Him in Contempt Over Political Targeting

It isn't pretty when the rule of law begins crumbling right before our eyes.

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen told a House panel that congressional investigators can try to hold him in contempt over the Tea Party targeting scandal whenever they think that they can make the charge stick, something he thinks is unlikely.

The topic came up when Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., asked for a date at which it would be appropriate for agency officials to be held in contempt if they have not yet provided the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee with documents that have been requested from the IRS.

"I think the timeline is whenever you think you could actually sustain that in a court," Koskinen replied. "I think we have a strong case that we have been cooperative, continue to be cooperative, and anybody looking at the systems we have and the time it takes would find that we've provided you more cooperation than, in fact, might be expected. And I think that, in fact, arguing and threatening contempt in that situation without understanding the circumstances is probably not going to be held up."

It wasn't the only time that accusations flew during a testy congressional hearing, as Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, forced Koskinen to admit that he had patterned his testimony on a proposed regulation affecting the political activity of nonprofits after a Treasury Department official's letter to Congress. Koskinen had previously said he had not conferred with administration officials.

Remember, House Speaker John Boehner refuses to name a Select Investigative Committee to conduct a formal inquiry with dedicated and experienced staff members.

Chalk this up as reason #4,035 that Boehner needs to go.


Hat tips: Conservative Tribune and BadBlue News

A MESSAGE FROM GLENN BECK: The Revolution Starts in Kentucky

Guest post by Glenn Beck

One week. 

That's how long we have until FreePAC Kentucky. And honestly, I can’t wait to be there. I want you to be there, too.

This event is going to be amazing. If you haven't been to a FreePAC yet, this isn't any normal rally. It's going to be the event of the year. That's because FreedomWorks members like you aren't just your average patriots!

Matt Kibbe, Deneen Borelli, Andrew Wilkow, and the Rev. CL Bryant are coming to Louisville with me. And I’m VERY excited to announce that Kentucky Senate Candidate Matt Bevin will be joining us at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville on April 5th!

I remember FreePAC Dallas just a few days before the Texas primary in 2012. It was ELECTRIC. I think that FreePAC Kentucky could be even better. I can’t wait to get to Louisville. I hope you’ll be there.

Beck General FreePAC Banner Email

FreePAC passes are selling fast. So if I’m going to see you there, you need to order your passes today – right now – before they’re gone. VIP passes are almost sold out already! They cost $50, and get you premium seating, a t-shirt, and a special meet and greet with Matt Kibbe. If you want one, you NEED to get it today before it’s too late!

FreePAC Beck VIP Pass Email Banner

You can order a general admission pass, but these won’t last either! If you’re not getting a VIP ticket, you need to get one of these. This pass costs $15, and it guarantees you a great seat at this historic event. I hope you order yours today.

This is going to be one of the best events of the year. You know how much I believe in FreedomWorks, and I think that FreePAC is the REAL event for conservatives.

I can’t wait to see you there.

Your Pal,

Glenn Beck

 
Editor's note: Biff Spackle and I plan on attending. Hope to see you there.

DEMOCRATS CONTINUE TO SHRED OUR HEALTH CARE SYSTEM: Nation's Top Hospitals Opt Out of Obamacare

Guest post by Tori Richards

The Obama administration has been claiming that insurance companies will be competing for your dollars under the Affordable Care Act, but apparently they haven’t surveyed the nation’s top hospitals.

Americans who sign up for Obamacare will be getting a big surprise if they expect to access premium health care that may have been previously covered under their personal policies. Most of the top hospitals will accept insurance from just one or two companies operating under Obamacare.

“This doesn’t surprise me,” said Gail Wilensky, Medicare director for the first Bush administration and senior fellow for Project HOPE. “There has been an incredible amount of focus on the premium cost and subsidy, and precious little focus on what you get for your money.”

Regulations driven by the Obama White House indeed have made insurance more affordable – if, like Kathleen Sebelius, you’re looking only at price. But responding to Obamacare caps on premiums, many insurers will, in turn, simply offer top-tier doctors and hospitals far less cash for services rendered.

Watchdog.org looked at the top 18 hospitals nationwide as ranked by U.S. News and World Report for 2013-2014. We contacted each hospital to determine their contracts and talked to several insurance companies, as well.

The result of our investigation: Many top hospitals are simply opting out of Obamacare.

ALLEN WEST: We may finally know why John Boehner is helping to cover up the Benghazi debacle

Guest post by Allen West

The intricate web spun around the incident at Benghazi seems to have no end. It is really quite shameful for this nation that we have come this far and still have no resolution as to what truly occurred that fateful night of September 11, 2012 — nor do we have a select committee with subpoena powers, despite broad support in the House.

However, there are some who embody the highest level of journalistic integrity and will not allow this story to fade away. One of those individuals is Catherine Herridge of Fox News. Her recent analysis brings forth more questions than answers about how a particular consulting firm, Beacon Global Strategies, is entwined with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and others involved with the controversy.

As Herridge reports, Beacon Global Strategies employs former CIA Acting Director Mike Morell, Philippe Reines, whom the New York Times magazine recently described as Clinton’s “principal gatekeeper” and who traveled with her to over a hundred countries, Jeremy Bash, former chief of staff to Leon Panetta and Andrew Shapiro, a Clinton policy adviser at the State Department whose portfolio included ridding Libya of shoulder-launched missiles called MANPADs.

But this is also a bipartisan mess, as Beacon Global Strategies also employs J. Michael Allen, who was a former majority staff director for the House Intelligence Committee.

For the full report by Catherine Herrdige, click here.

One just has to become more and more suspect about what happened in Benghazi, but even more concerning, will we ever ascertain the truth?

Herridge’s report does nothing to dispel my belief there is bipartisan culpability on Benghazi and hence why, even with a majority of House support, we do not have a select committee with subpoena powers.

There are far too many lies, cover-ups, and unanswered questions — not to mention secrecy and questionable maneuvers. I believe one day America will come to know that Benghazi was one of the darkest days in our history, and our government sought to hide the truth.



Read more at AllenBWest.com

OH, NOES: Thanks to global warming, the Commonwealth of Kentucky will be beachfront property

Oh, my bad.

I meant that Kentucky was beachfront property... just 100 million years ago.

During the Cretaceous, 139-65 million years ago, shallow seas covered much of the southern United States. These tropical waters were productive–giving rise to tiny marine plankton with carbonate skeletons which overtime accumulated into massive chalk formations. The chalk, both alkaline and porous, lead to fertile and well-drained soils in a band, mirroring that ancient coastline and stretching across the now much drier South...


...Over time this rich soil produced an amazingly productive agricultural region...

I'm so confused. If the "human virus" has damaged the planet so badly, why would the sea be returning to the levels of pre-human days?

That is, if sea levels really are rising. Which, of course, they are not.


Hat tip: BadBlue Tech News

Larwyn's Linx: The Grandfather

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

Nation

The Grandfather: Matthew Continetti
The “No Soros Money In New Hampshire” Fairy Tale: GraniteGrok
Laws and Politicians are made to be broken: Blasted Fools

A practical definition of tyranny: Cold Fury
Treacherous Path To Oblivion: Christian Mercenary
VA Hides Names of Hospitals Where Vets Died From Delays: WFB

Economy

Short Film “I, Pencil” Wins Grand Prize at Manning Centre Competition: CEI
29 mind-blowing photos that show you how badly liberalism has ruined Detroit: YC
Obamacare Is a 'Haves and Have Nots' Health System: FiscalTimes

Obama is Spending $15,000,000+ on Vacation Flights ALONE: ConTrib
No money for military, but Feds spent $700K on ‘climate change musical’: DC
Rick Santelli Exposes The Real Enemy (And It's Not Deflation): ZH

Scandal Central

Reid Misuse Of Campaign Funds Twice 1st Report: S&L
A Case for Voter ID: RWN
Gunners Impressed with Mindblowing Scale of Leland Yee Hypocrisy: PJM

Climate & Energy

Canada Suffering from Climate Model-Based Energy Regulations: PJM
Putin Makes Germany Question Move Off Nuclear: S&L
EPA, FBI Raid USA Brass: Bob Owens

Media

Obamacare support drops to 26% in new AP poll: Scoop
Nate Silver, Roger Pielke, and journalism ethics: Luboš Motl Pilsen
Jeffrey Toobin's embarrassingly bad write-up of the Hobby Lobby oral argument in The New Yorker.: Ann Althouse

Assault Rifles for Christ: Roc Morin
L.A. Times Once Again Misstates Evidence on Global Warming: Patterico
NY Times Still Very Concerned Over Christie “Lane Closures”: RWN

Ebony Apologizes to RNC’s Williams: Andrew Johnson
Hobby Lobby case reveals single-payer agenda of radical left SCOTUS judges: Allen West
Mainstream Media Runs Away from Democratic Chinatown Gangster/Gun-Controller Story: Alec Torres

World

Russia’s Threat in the Americas: Joseph Klein
Obama Administration Caught Giving FREE High Tech Military Equipment to Russia: GWP
Cheney defends waterboarding: I would do it again, ‘results speak for themselves’: BPR

Ukraine weather forecast: cloudy, with a chance of Russians: John Hayward
State Department Gets Tough on Putin By Posting Selfies: JWF
Tablet: "The Chinese Believe That the Jews Control America.": VDARE

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Journalists increasingly under fire from hackers, Google researchers show: Ars Technica
Teen to government: Change your typeface, save $135 million a year: CNN
USB Attacks Need Physical Access Right? Not Any More...: Packet Storm

Cornucopia

The Sons of AnarchYee: MOTUS
Should NCAA Athletes Unionize? Be Careful What You Wish For: P&F
Oh, Poop: Woodsterman

Image: Woodsterman
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Fire John Boehner: Support J.D. Winteregg for Congress

QOTD: "I wanted to know: Would Jesus ever use a gun?

The pastor thought a moment. “I don’t think so, because as God, he doesn’t need a gun. He can command anything, and it would happen. But all of his followers carried swords for three and a half years, and not one time did he tell them to put those swords down. The only time that Jesus told Peter to put his sword back was at the very end. That was because Jesus came to die on the cross to pay for our sins, and he did not want Peter to get in the way.”

“Why did Jesus want them to have swords?”

“For exactly what we need guns for—for personal protection and to protect our liberties… All you have to do is read 1984 to know what’s going on in this country.”" --Roc Morin

Friday, March 28, 2014

GOOD NEWS: Titanium shields to be added to Tesla batteries to prevent untimely explosions

The headline says it all: "Tesla Model S To Get Titanium Battery Shield, Plus Deflectors:"

Tesla Motors announced this morning that it will fit three new underbody components to all Model S electric cars to add further protection against impacts from road debris, which caused a pair of fires in its cars last fall.

Those two Model S cars were severely damaged when their battery packs, mounted under the floor, were pierced by road debris and subsequently caught fire.


A third Tesla fire occurred in Mexico after a Model S was stolen, run off the road at high speeds, and through a reinforced concrete wall, tearing off wheels and totaling the car.

No one has been injured or killed in any Tesla fire; drivers were able to pull over, park the cars, and walk away following a warning from the cars' monitoring system.

If only scientists could invent a car that would be impervious to road debris. Perhaps, I don't know, maybe using a combustion engine. It's just an idea.


Hat tip: BadBlue Car News

A "BREATHTAKING" REDUCTION OF U.S. POWER: Obama Defunds Critical Hellfire and Tomahawk Missile Systems

Guest post by Investor's Business Daily

Defense Spending: Two more weapons systems, including the Navy's premier attack missile, have been targeted for elimination by the administration years before their usefulness ends or replacements are ready.

How ironic that Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Barack Obama used the Tomahawk missile he now seeks to scrap as his weapon of choice when on March 19, 2011, he launched Operation Odyssey Dawn and fired 112 Tomahawks at Libyan targets to enforce a U.N.-backed no fly-zone in support of Libyan rebels fighting Moammar Gadhafi.

Future presidents will not be able to carry such a big stick. Along with the Hellfire air-to-ground attack missile, the Tomahawk is considered by the administration to be one of those Cold War weapons no longer needed.

Under Obama's budget proposals, the Navy, which as recently as last year had plans to buy 980 more Tomahawks, the primary cruise missile used throughout the fleet, will see purchases drop from 196 last year to just 100 in 2015. The number will then drop to zero in 2016.

The U.S. used 220 Tomahawks in the fight with Libya, according to the Washington Free Beacon. With the States using about 100 Tomahawks annually, our inventory will be depleted around 2018. No future purchases are planned, and no replacement is in the pipeline.

"It doesn't make sense," Seth Cropsey, director of the Hudson Institute's Center for American Seapower, told the Free Beacon. The move, he said, is "like running a white flag up on a very tall flagpole and saying, 'We are ready to be walked on.'"

If someone were trying to "reduce the U.S. ability to shape events" in the world, Cropsey added, "they couldn't find a better way than depriving the U.S. fleet of Tomahawks. It's breathtaking."