Wednesday, April 09, 2014

COLLUSION: Oversight's Elijah Cummings (D) Collaborated With IRS to Target Conservatives Then Lied About It

The wound to the Republic keeps festering, the infection growing deeper and more febrile. Katie Pavlich reports:

New IRS emails released by the House Oversight Committee show staff working for Democratic Ranking Member Elijah Cummings communicated with the IRS multiple times between 2012 and 2013 about voter fraud prevention group True the Vote. True the Vote was targeted by the IRS after applying for tax exempt status more than two years ago. Further, information shows the IRS and Cummings' staff asked for nearly identical information from True the Vote President Catherine Engelbrecht about her organization, indicating coordination and improper sharing of confidential taxpayer information.

Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Darrell Issa, along with five Subcommittee Chairmen are demanding Cummings provide an explanation for the staff inquiries to the IRS about True the Vote and for his denial that his staff ever contacted the IRS about the group.

“Although you have previously denied that your staff made inquiries to the IRS about conservative organization True the Vote that may have led to additional agency scrutiny, communication records between your staff and IRS officials – which you did not disclose to Majority Members or staff – indicates otherwise,” the letter to Cummings states. “As the Committee is scheduled to consider a resolution holding Ms. Lerner, a participant in responding to your communications that you failed to disclose, in contempt of Congress, you have an obligation to fully explain your staff’s undisclosed contacts with the IRS.”

...Up until this point, Rep. Cummings has denied his staff ever contacted the IRS about True the Vote and their activities during Oversight hearings. In fact, on February 6, 2014 during a Subcommittee hearing where Engelbrecht testified, Cummings vehemently denied having any contact or coordination in targeting True the Vote when attorney Cleta Mitchell, who is representing the group, indicated staff on the Committee had been involved in communication with the IRS...


Issa has gone so far as to accuse Cummings of instigating the partisan witch-hunt against True the Vote.

In February 2012, Engelbrecht’s True the Vote received a letter from the IRS requesting more information about the group; one of Cummings’s letters, which Engelbrecht received in October 2012, contained questions that closely mirrored those posed by the IRS. Issa details them in his letter, strongly implying that Cummings based his letter on the one Engelbrecht had already received from the agency: Both requested information about the software True the Vote was using for voter registration, about the process the group used to train its employees, and about the vendors it used to obtain voter lists.

True the Vote’s lawyer, Cleta Mitchell, raised the prospect that the minority staff had exchanged information with the IRS at a hearing in February. “We want to get to the bottom of how these coincidences happened,” Mitchell said, “and we’re trying to figure out whether any — if there was any staff on this committee that might have been involved in putting True the Vote on the radar screen of some of these federal agencies.” Cummings said in response that Mitchell’s tacit allegation was “absolutely incorrect and not true.”


No wonder Cummings has been so anxious to suppress the investigation: he's been intimately involved with the scandal.

Cummings should be censured and removed from the committee. Of course, knowing the cowardly leaders of the GOP, they'll moan "it's a sad day", and do nothing.

Based on my notes, Democrats have succeeded in hitting the trifecta of government corruption. We have a lawless President, a lawless Attorney General, and a lawless House Oversight Committee Ranking Member.

These people need to be dispatched in November and held to account. Talk to your family members, your friends and your colleagues. We have a rogue government; it can not stand if this country is to survive.


Hat tip: BadBlue News

Larwyn's Linx: Government Power and Evil

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Nation

Government Power and Evil: Daniel Greenfield
Why Obama’s Presidency Has to Be All About Race Now: Federalist
Pelosi and Schumer need to read the Constitution: Betsy McCaughey

The Meltdown of the Obama Genderhawks: Michelle Malkin
'Tax Freedom Day' falls three days later this year: DC
Two minority Democrats in Chicago support GOP candidate for governor: Allen West

Democrats, GOP all just united behind Cruz bill – unanimously: BPR
Obama To Attend Texas Fundraiser Same Day As Ft. Hood Memorial: CBS Houston
RGA poll shows Scott Brown ahead of Jeanne Shaheen in NH: Moe Lane

Economy

White House #WarOnMath: Women do not make 77 cents on the dollar: Freddoso
40 Central Banks Are Betting This Will Be The Next Reserve Currency: ZH
Hedge Fund Guys Who Started Mortgage Meltdown Want Your Tax Dollars: VDARE

Scandal Central

Massive Voter Fraud Tainted ’12 Election: Dick Morris
Ex Post Facto – Connecticut’s “Assault Weapon” Ban Is Blatantly Unconstitutional: Bearing Arms
GOWDY: You don’t have discretion on whether to follow the law or not… HOLDER: I disagree…: Scoop

Climate & Energy

The Washington Post Corrects, Disingenuously: Power Line
EPA Studies and Preordained Conclusions: AT
The Truth about Fracking : Kevin D. Williamson

Media

Some thoughts on 2016 from an anonymous journalist reader: Instapundit
Our Racist Media: Instapundit
Sharpton on Drug Sting Tape: Rev says government tried to set him up: NYDN

MOBZILLA. The Purging of Brendan Eich: Wilderness
The Endless Purge: Ace
New Dem Poll Warns Of Midterm Disaster For Democrats: WZ

CNN “Stunned” By White House’s Dishonest Rhetoric On Equal Pay: WZ
Ben Sasse: A Story That Needed Telling: Erick Erickson
Liz Cheney Fires Back at Pelosi: ‘Her Spine Doesn’t Reach Her Brain’: Mediaite

World

The New World “disOrder” Is On The Horizon: Asylum Watch
Kerry Rejects ‘Premature Judgment About the Failure of Everything’ in Obama’s Foreign Policy: PJM
Carney Says Iran’s Hostage-Taker Pick ‘Not Viable’ for UN Ambassador: PJM

Islam Is What Happens When Civilization Loses: Daniel Greenfield
Testifying Before U.S. Senate, Kerry Places Blame on Israel for Peace Talks Failure: Algemeiner
'Recognize Reality': McCain Criticizes Kerry for His Trifecta of Foreign Policy Failures: Breitbart

Banned in the British Library: Pipes
How to Assist Evil: Walter Williams
2013 Military Photographer of the Year awards: Stripes

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Google Enters the Hotel Business, Takes on Advertisers Priceline, Expedia, and Trip Advisor: Mish
Windows XP support officially ends today, still used by over 25 percent of PCs: Engadget
Brands of 1964: Where Are the Foods of Yesteryear? They’re Still Here!: American Digest

Cornucopia

Gender Pay Gaps and the Mighty Obama Samurai Pen: MOTUS
A Floridian Comments On Jeb Bush's Immigration Trial Balloon: VDARE
Pro wrestling legend The Ultimate Warrior dies at 54: Fox

Image: Ukraine: Communist lawmakers scuffle with right-wing
Sponsored by: Matt Bevin for Senate -- Help Fire Mitch McConnell

QOTD: "“For thirty years, nobody has wanted to run against [Mitch McConnell]. For thirty years he has been a bully who has intimidated people, and he has had this Machiavellian death-grip on people, and he has caused people to live in fear. But this our government, we pay his salary, and there is no reason people should be intimidated by a man who works for them.”" --Matt Bevin

Tuesday, April 08, 2014

The Incoherent Idiocy of Jeb Bush, Illustrated

Please tell me if any of this is inspiring.


The hilarious thing about the videotaped interview with Bush is that, like, 50 people were in the audience.

Maybe that's because these schmucks in the GOP establishment treat the grassroots -- actual American citizens -- worse than illegal immigrant lawbreakers, drug dealers, human smugglers, and gang members.

But that's just a hunch.


IRS POLITICAL HITMAN LOIS LERNER: Go to jail. Go directly to jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.

Guest post by Investor's Business Daily

Corruption: A House panel votes this week to formally ask the DOJ to pursue criminal charges against former IRS employee Lois Lerner. It is time someone in this administration were held accountable for something.

A staff report by House Oversight Committee chairman Darrell Issa reveals testimony by IRS agents that the IRS has not deliberately targeted progressive groups. Now comes word that the House Ways and Means Committee is sending a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder accusing former IRS director of tax-exempt organizations Lois Lerner of committing at least three crimes in the IRS's targeting tea party and other conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status.

That crimes have been committed and the Internal Revenue Service has become a corrupt criminal enterprise used to bludgeon political opponents of the Obama administration is hardly in dispute. The charge might have long ago been adjudicated had the Justice Department of Eric Holder, rife with its own very real scandals, not been politicized beyond all recognition.

According to the report, obtained by the Daily Caller, "Only seven applications in the IRS backlog contained the word 'progressive,' all of which were then approved by the IRS, while tea party groups received unprecedented review and experienced years-long delays."

CONFIRMED: Health Premiums Skyrocketing Thanks to Swine Flu and Obamacare, But Mostly Obamacare

The science is settled:

Health insurance premiums are showing the sharpest increases perhaps ever according to a survey of brokers who sell coverage in the individual and small group market. Morgan Stanley’s healthcare analysts conducted the proprietary survey of 148 brokers. The April survey shows the largest acceleration in small and individual group rates in any of the 12 prior quarterly periods when it has been conducted.

The average increases are in excess of 11% in the small group market and 12% in the individual market. Some state show increases 10 to 50 times that amount. The analysts conclude that the “increases are largely due to changes under the ACA.”


...For the individual insurance market (plans sold directly to consumers); among the ten states seeing some of the sharpest average increases are: Delaware at 100%, New Hampshire 90%, Indiana 54%, California 53%, Connecticut 45%, Michigan 36%, Florida 37%, Georgia 29%, Kentucky 29%, and Pennsylvania 28%.

It is believed that the increases triggered by Obamacare will be the biggest in history.


Hat tip: BadBlue News

Space Gun Showdown

Cool little contest over at GunNuts:

In the mid 2000s, the Sci-Fi channel was full of space-age guns as props in television shows. Two of the most prominent were the FN PS90 in Stargate SG-1 and the Beretta Cx4 Storm in Battlestar Galactica. But in the real world, which of these two lightweight carbines stands on top of the sci-fi gun heap?

FN PS90: The PS90 showed up in Stargate SG-1 as the primary weapon of the Space Assault Guys, or whatever they were called... The prop department of BG eventually dumped it specifically because it was all over SG-1, and they didn’t want their cool gun to be the same as the other show’s cool gun.


Beretta CX4 Storm: The Cx4 Storm made its Sci-Fi debut in Season 2 of Battlestar Galactica, as the primary long gun of the Colonial Fleet Marines. Knowing that the Storm carbine is generally chambered in 9mm, it requires a bit of a stretch of the imagination to see it taking down armored Cylon warriors, but hey, it’s called science fiction for a reason.


And the winner is... well, you'll have to visit.


Hat tip: BadBlue Gun News.

Larwyn's Linx: Harry Reid Took Money from Koch Lobbyist

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Nation

Harry Reid Took Money from Koch Lobbyist: Andrew Stiles
No, the Obamacare Debate Isn’t Over: David Catron
It's All Over But the Hand-Wringing for GM: Peter M. De Lorenzo

Mississippi GOP Chair Works Alongside NRSC To Damage McDaniel: Kuznicki
NRSC With Thad Cochran Would Destroy the Republic To Retain Power: Kuznicki
GOP Benghazi Probe Leader Has Huge Conflict of Interest: Dick Morris

Hillary Clinton’s Approval Drops by More Than 14%: ConTrib
Before 1993, there were no mass shootings on U.S. military bases: Renee Nal
CT weekend gun rally features game-changing speech, fired-up crowd: BPR

A Halo for Selfishness: Thomas Sowell
Gun Control States Have Much Higher Gun Murder Rates: Bob Owens
Hate Crime Charges Possible in Mob Attack: Patch

Economy

How Big Banks Created a Fed to Serve Their Own Interests: Nomi Prins
No connection between school spending, student outcomes: Fox
Hey millionaires, Illinois wants 10 percent of your cash: Townhall

Great moments in union contracts: Overlawyered
BOOM: UPS Fires 250 Union Workers for Refusing to Work: ConTrib
Retail Tsunami: 16 Major Chains Closing More Stores: Wealthy Debates

Scandal Central

Fox News Special Report: Enemies of the State: Nice Deb
IRS agent says NO progressive groups were targeted like Tea Party groups: Patrick Howley
Boehner says the House will hold Lois Lerner in contempt: Scoop

Climate & Energy

One-Way Discovery Channel: Mark Steyn
NYT’s Thomas Friedman Calls Global Warming Skeptics Trotsky Radicals: Sara Noble
California Water: It's the Storage: Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA)

Media

RAT: Al Sharpton's Secret Work As FBI Informant: TSG
Jay-Z is wearing something that is like a white person wearing a “I heart Ku Klux Klan” shirt: YC
Shut Up and Resign Already: R.S. McCain

Lib Law Professor Alan Dershowitz On His Former Student Ted Cruz : “Off The Charts Brilliant”: WZ
OKCupid CEO Gave $500 To Anti-Gay Republican: S&L
MSNBC Releases DNC Propaganda As 'News': TR

Mark Levin Calls Jeb Bush 'Act of Love' Remarks 'Utterly Irresponsible,' 'Typical Liberal Tripe': Breitbart
5,000 legal U.S. citizens getting screwed out of their tuition: YC
Crowd roars for George and Laura Bush at NCAA final: Twitchy

World

The Road to Progressive Dhimmitude: Robert Samuelson
More on that destructive Obama interview about Israel: LI
Obama Bypasses Congress, Will Allow "Immigrants" Who Have Helped Terrorists: ConTrib

More on Medicaid Than Population of Britain, France, or Italy: $2B to Treat Illegals Annually: MagNote
Will The Pentagon’s Secret Space Plane Ever Return to Earth?: Daily Beast
Look At What America Is Giving To Terrorists: Shoebat

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Microsoft Xbox pwned by 5-year-old security researcher: Sophos
Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen drops $40M to modernize voting: VentureBeat
Security and quality top companies' reasons for using open source: Katherine Noyes

Cornucopia

Uninstall Firefox: Dennis Prager
Federal Snipers Train Guns on Family For Filming Cattle: InfoWars
10 Prison Security Techniques Being Implemented on the American People: PSUSA

Image: Smart Cars Flipped Over in San Francisco
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Matt Bevin for Senate -- Help Fire Mitch McConnell

QOTD: "Results are presented on Table 1. The CCW dummy variable is significant and positive, but the assault weapons ban is insignificant. Given that the average gun-related murder rate over the period in question was 3.44, the results of the present study indicate that states with more restrictive CCW laws had gun-related murder rates that were 10% higher. In addition, the Federal assault weapons ban is significant and positive, indicating that murder rates were 19.3% higher when the Federal ban was in effect. These results corroborate the findings of Lott and Mustard (1997). These results suggest that, even after controlling for unobservable state and year fixed effects, limiting the ability to carry concealed weapons may cause murder rates to increase. There may, however, be other explanations for these results. Laws may be ineffective due to loopholes and exemptions. The most violent states may also have the toughest gun control measures. Further research is warranted in this area." -- Quinnipiac University’s Mark Gius

Monday, April 07, 2014

DEADLY EXPERIMENTS ON HUMANS: The Mengele EPA

Guest post by Investor's Business Daily

Mad Science: The Environmental Protection Agency has been deliberately exposing people — including children — with asthma and other health issues to pollution to justify ever-more-stringent air quality standards.

'Improvements to EPA Policies and Guidance Could Enhance Protection of Human Study Subjects," released by the EPA's Office of Inspector General on March 31, confirms that the agency "exposed 81 human study subjects to concentrated airborne particles or diesel exhaust emissions in five EPA studies conducted during 2010 and 2011."

According to the report, obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation, the human subjects, said to have given their "informed consent," were exposed to levels of pollutants up to 50 times greater than the EPA itself says is safe for humans. And there are questions as to how informed that consent was.

The Daily Caller said the inspector general's report revealed that "only one of five studies' consent forms provided the subject with information on the upper range of the pollutant" to which the people would be exposed.

Even more alarming, said the Daily Caller, a new and opinion website, "is the fact that only 'two of five alerted study subjects to the risk of death for older individuals with cardiovascular disease.' "

From the Daily Caller we also learn that "three of the studies exposed human subjects to high levels of particulate matter while two of the studies exposed people to high levels of diesel exhaust and ozone. Diesel exhaust contains 40 toxic air contaminants, including 19 that are known carcinogens and particulate matter."

There's also the issue of tests involving children and the EPA's efforts to cover this up. The agency also exposed children to pollution as part of an experiment at the University of Southern California. In February 2013, JunkScience.com, run by Steve Milloy, a Johns Hopkins-trained biostatistician, reported the EPA giving USC grant money to study how particulate matter affects "asthma in susceptible children."

The Twitter-Popularity of Different Beers, Mapped

Missing some large swaths of real estate but nevertheless:

Ever wondered how far and wide the love of your local cheap brew spreads? Well, wonder no longer, because this map shows where regional beers are most loved...

Using a database of one million geotagged tweets from June 2012 to May 2013 containing the keywords "wine", "beer" or the names of a range of light or cheaper beers within the continental US, some clear regional variations in alcoholic beverage preference are detected... While Bud Light is more popular in the eastern and southeastern US, Coors Light tends to dominate the west coast, with Miller Lite and Busch Light being preferred in the midwest and Great Plains. The dominance of these brands in virtual space is no surprise, as they also dwarf the competition in actual sales.

When I was a kid, Wiedemann (worst hangover beer ever) and Red, White & Blue (which was the discount version of Pabst, if you can believe it) were the cheapest six packs around. If memory serves, in the aftermath of the Carter Depression, high schoolers could pick up a six for $1.99, or so I heard from friends.


Hat tip: BadBlue Tech News

DEMOCRAT PARTY HARDEST HIT: No connection between education spending and student outcomes

Guest post by Rob Nikolewski

SANTA FE, N.M. – For decades, it’s probably the most troublesome question facing education: Why are results for U.S. public school students so mediocre, despite the billions of taxpayer dollars spent?

Andrew Coulson thinks he’s got the answer: Because there is no discernible correlation between spending and outcomes.

“The takeaway from this study is that what we’ve done over the past 40 years hasn’t worked,” said Coulson, director of the Center For Educational Freedom at the CATO Institute. “The average performance change nationwide has declined 3 percent in mathematical and verbal skills. Moreover, there’s been no relationship, effectively, between spending and academic outcomes.”

The CATO Institute is a free-market think-tank based in Washington, D.C.

Coulson just released his study, “State Education Trends: Academic Performance and Spending over the Past 40 Years,” and he points to this chart that incorporates costs and the number of public school employees with student enrollment and test scores:

While spending has just about tripled in inflation-adjusted dollars and the number of school employees has almost doubled since 1970, reading, math and science scores for students have remained stagnant.

“That is remarkably unusual,” Coulson wrote in his study. “In virtually every other field, productivity has risen over this period thanks to the adoption of countless technological advances — advances that, in many cases, would seem ideally suited to facilitating learning. And yet, surrounded by this torrent of progress, education has remained anchored to the riverbed, watching the rest of the world rush past it.”

Larwyn's Linx: Digging Out From Under the Rubble of Obama's Catastrophic "Success"

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Nation

Digging Out From Under the Rubble of Obama's Catastrophic "Success": Ace
You Can’t Buy Insurance At Any Time Anymore: S&L
New Yorkers rally against Cuomo regime: Raquel Okyay

War to the Knife, Knife to the Hilt: R.S. McCain
Kansas Legislature Passes Sweeping Pro-2nd Amendment Law: RWN
Florida Senate Demands a “Convention of the States” to Stop Obama: ConTrib

Mr. President, I Have News for You: Carl Cannon
Democrats Stole $75K Worth of TVs During 2012 Convention: Publius
The Establishment GOP Proves It’s No Better Than the Progressive Left: GayPat

Photos, videos from gun rally at CT State Capitol in Hartford: FAM
Otis McDonald Passes Away: SCC
Kansas bill voids local gun control laws: Hot Air

Economy

This Is What Employment In America Really Looks Like…: Michael Snyder
Native-Born Americans Trail Immigrants In Obama-Era Jobs "Recovery": VDARE
Great news. Kentucky jail signing up exiting inmates for Obamacare: Hot Air

Scandal Central

Criminal Protection Racket: Contempt Charge Impotent, Latest on Civil Suit Against Holder: MagNote
Deadbeat: Charlie Rangel Stopped Paying Rent on NYC Office as of 2013, Blames the GOP: JWF
Co-Sponsor of UCLA anti-Israel divestment resolution arrested for false imprisonment: LI

Why did Calif. state Sen. Leland Yee escape terrorism charges?: Matthias Gafni
What Does the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Need with 96 Armed Agents?: Rick Moran
Yee's votes and checks often coincide: LAT

Climate & Energy

March Temperature Data Makes It Official: No Global Warming For Last 212 Months: WZ
Obama and the EPA Know No Bounds With Regard To Climate Change: Flopping Aces
“Climate Change” Might Possibly Maybe Damage Baseball: Cove

Media

How Comcast bought the Democratic Party: WFB
Blood libel in the Star-Ledger: Koch brothers blew up fertilizer plant in Texas: WyBlog
How to tell if a presidential candidate is an establishment Republican: Unyielding

The Liberal Gulag: The Brendan Eich case brings out the nature of liberal fascism: Kevin D. Williamson
Lawyer Hillary Vs The Allegedly Raped Child: S&L (2008)
Can We Credit the New Conceal Carry Law in Chicago for Reduced Homicide Rate?: Rick Moran

Celebrate Conformity!: Mark Steyn
Your Monday Dose of Doom & Gloom, Gotterdammerung-Sized: Stephen Green
Creepiness Runs in the Biden Family: Instapundit

World

Muslim Brotherhood Launches US Political Network to Promote Sharia Law: GWP
Jeb Bush: Many illegal immigrants come out of an ‘act of love’: WaPo
Malaysia Airlines MH370: authorities 'very close' to finding missing plane: Telegraph

China Lashes Out At North Korea: ZH
US sending 2 warships to Japan to counter NKorea: RedAlert
18,965,000 people know the Euro is not working: Commentator

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Had To Happen: Hacking Into A Tesla Model S Electric Car: Antony Ingram
How To Make Your Own Apps: Popular Mechanics
Added Sugar is The Single Worst Ingredient in The Diet. Period.: Authority Nutrition

Cornucopia

"This is the Renegade GOP That Goes After Sellouts on Both Sides": Reclaim Our Republic
Sunday: First World Problems Day: MOTUS
Honda speed-record lawnmower is quicker than its cars: Road & Track

Image: New Yorkers rally against Cuomo regime
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Support Chris McDaniel for U.S. Senate

QOTD: "Monday Should Be "Call Mozilla Monday"

Let this company of fascist cowards hear from you: hear from everyone: Mozilla Corporation - Mountain View, CA 650 Castro St Mountain View, CA 94041
Phone number (650) 903-0800

Current acting CEO is Mitchell Burke. Let her (yes "her") know where you stand on the issue.

Monday's Conference Call at Mozilla
Dial-in: conference# 8600
US/California/Mountain View: +1 650 903 0800, x92 Conf# 8600
US/California/San Francisco: +1 415 762 5700, x92 Conf# 8600
US/Oregon/Portland: +1 971 544 8000, x92 Conf# 8600
CA/Vancouver: +1 778 785 1540, x92 Conf# 8600
CA/Toronto: +1 416 848 3114, x92 Conf# 8600
UK/London: +44 (0)207 855 3000, x92 Conf# 8600
FR/Paris: +33 1 44 79 34 80, x92 Conf# 8600
US/Toll-free: +1 800 707 2533, (pin 369) Conf# 8600

Ms. Mitchell Baker, Co-Founder
Li Gong, Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of Mobile Devices
Mr. Tristan Nitot, President of Mozilla Europe Operations
Ms. Christie Koehler, Head of Education
Mr. Harvey Anderson, Senior Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs" --American Digest

Sunday, April 06, 2014

How's your blood pressure?

Via DailyTimeWaster:


A report issued in 2004 stated that illegal immigration required California taxpayers to shell out over $10 billion a year. It's far more than that now.


ARMS RACE AMONG THE BUREAUCRATS: Why has every government agency become militarized?

Guest post by Rob Nikolewski

SANTA FE, N.M. — In late February, four federal agents carrying side arms with a drug-sniffing dog descended on the Taos Ski Valley in what was called a “saturation patrol.”

Authorities were working on tips of possible drug selling and impaired driving in the ski resort’s parking lot and surrounding area.

But the agents weren’t from the FBI, ATF or even the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Rather, the agents represented the U.S. Forest Service.

“It’s one of the untold stories about government,” said former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, who lives in Taos, is an avid skier and has been a leading critic of the operation that turned up only a few minor infractions. “People don’t grasp the size and the scope of these entities and their law enforcement arms.”

It may come as a surprise to many U.S. taxpayers, but a slew of federal agencies — some whose responsibilities seem to have little to do with combating crime — carry active law enforcement operations.

Here’s a partial list:

That’s right, NOAA — the folks who forecast the weather, monitor the atmosphere and keep tabs on the oceans and waterways — has its own law enforcement division. It has a budget of $65 million and consists of 191 employees, including 96 special agents and 28 enforcement officers who carry weapons.

Larwyn's Linx: Thousands defend the Second Amendment at Connecticut gun rights rally

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

Nation

Thousands defend Second Amendment at Conn. gun rights rally: Twitchy
Finally: Issa Schedules Lois Lerner Contempt Vote for Next Thursday: John Hawkins
99% in NY Refuse To Register “Assault Weapons” Ahead of Deadline: Bob Owens

Obama's Transformation of America: Outpost
No regrets: Mark Pryor would vote for Obamacare all over again: Hot Air
Hillary struggles to list accomplishments as Secretary of State: CCP

Common Core-approved Textbooks Rewrite Second Amendment: NewAm
Report: 99% of New Yorkers refuse to register their "assault" weapons: Bob Owens
Why NRA battles courts for right to carry a concealed weapon: CSM

The Premature Obamacare Victory Lap: Rick Jensen
I am reassessing my support of full disclosure of campaign contributions: Moe Lane
Obama’s gun-control dictate on ‘mental health’ threatens veterans’ rights: Times

Economy

Democrat Senator Tells GM Car Owners to Stop Driving Immediately: Jim Geraghty
Dartmouth University Parkhurst Occupation: AmPower
Students Fed Up With Michelle Obama’s School Lunch Overhaul: Blaze

Scandal Central

How Cory Booker’s Friends Made Out Like Bandits : NRO
GOP Establishment uses Left-Wing Race Attack Against Conservative Chris McDaniel: R.S. McCain
Mozilla Clams Up: Tatler

Climate & Energy

Debunking a Few Commonly Held Fracking Myths: Jazz Shaw
Hooray! How To Talk To A Climate Contrarian (If You Must): Cove
Welcome to the party, guys: Cold Fury

Media

If CEO had to resign for views on gays he held in 2008, shouldn’t Obama do the same?: BPR
Krauthammer calls for ‘counter boycott’ over Mozilla CEO’s forced resignation: BPR
I Take Exception To Mr. Sowell’s Targeting of Ted Cruz: Primordial Slack

Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign That Changed America: Jen Kuznicki
Scarborough: Reid, Dems “too stupid to be in politics”: Hot Air
‘Don’t Think That Can’t Happen’: Rush Limbaugh’s Terrifying Vision: Blaze

Free Speech “Evolves” to Pro-Choice: “I Choose Who Gets To Enjoy It.”: MOTUS
Axelrod admits Dems have 'major hurdles,' after new poll: Fox
Instapundit schools Jesse Jackson on ‘immorality’ of Hiroshima bombing: Twitchy

World

Bush B**** Slaps Obama: The Leadership of Personal Diplomacy: MagNote
Photos capture Afghan women defying Taliban threats of violence to vote in election: Twitchy
U.S. Warns China Not To Attempt Crimea-Style Action In Asia: HuffPo

South Korea: Soldiers Find 3rd Suspected North Korean Drone: Stratfor
ABN Amro Ex-CEO Found Dead: ZH
Bananageddon: Millions face hunger as deadly fungus decimates global banana crop: Independent

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

What I Learned Negotiating With Steve Jobs: Lipstick & Politics
‘An American Nightmare’: The Story That Made Beck Say ‘We Are Becoming a Thugocracy’: Blaze
How Many People Does It Take to Colonize Another Star System?: PopMech

Cornucopia

Just A Girl In A Bikini Getting Tasered For Climate Change: Cove
BOOK DOWNLOAD: Thud Ridge by Jack Broughton: The Learned Turtle
Top 10 Most Powerful Sedans: AutoGuide

Image: Debunking a Few Commonly Held Fracking Myths
Sponsored by: Matt Bevin for Senate -- Help Fire Mitch McConnell

QOTD: "Comments on Mozilla Firefox reflect that the ouster of CEO Brendan Eich is not exactly going over well with the general public. In the past day alone, the website has received over 13,000 comments, with the vast majority expressing anger over the decision..." --Renee Nal

Saturday, April 05, 2014

Democrat calls for Obama to ban "assault weapon" imports due to Democrat gun-running of "assault weapons"

Instead of banning "assault weapons", I'd suggest banning progressives instead. After all, you can't be a Marxist and honestly take an oath to uphold the Constitution.

Rep calls for President to ban “assault weapon” imports due to Yee case

Citing the fact that now-suspended California state Sen. Leland Yee allegedly planned to help bring illegal guns into the country, Rep. Jackie Speier, (D-CA), is calling for the President to ban the import of ‘lethal assault weapons.’

This announcement came Wednesday from the Congresswoman, who represents the same district that Yee hailed from.

“This FBI investigation of Leland Yee reveals how easy it is to import lethal assault weapons that were previously banned,” said Speier in an emailed statement from the Representative’s office to Guns.com.

“This case should be a warning to us all that even the most trusted appearing among us are ready to do real harm,” she said.

Her solution to fix future instances of potential gun running such as in the Yee case? Call on the White House to ban the import of “assault weapons.”

“Since Congress can pass no meaningful gun-control laws, even after the mass killing in Newtown, President Obama should use his pen to slow the import of these weapons, which have no place in our homes,” wrote Speier.

Yee, who up until last month was a member of the Californian State Senate and candidate for Secretary of State, was indicted on March 26 on charges that included numerous counts of public corruption and weapons violations. The latter, according to a 137-page affidavit filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, included helping to broker a deal with Islamic rebels in the Philippines for $2 million in military-grade weapons up to and including shoulder-fired missiles. These munitions would be smuggled from the Pacific to a port in New Jersey and were intended for criminal, not civilian use.


Jackie Speier is a useless hack. Her fellow Democrat planned to violate dozens of federal, state and local laws by importing weapons for Islamofascist terrorists. And writing new laws would help... how?


Hat tip: BadBlue News

The 5 Most Exotic Restaurant Venues in the World

My personal favorites from Bloomberg's Top 10 Amazing Restaurants in Unexpected Places:

5: Ithaa Undersea Restaurant, Rangali Island, Maldives - Situated more than 16 feet below sea level in the Indian Ocean, this glass-enclosed spot cost about $5 million USD to construct. Patrons can scope 180-degree views of coral reefs and a wide variety of fish, as well as manta rays, sharks, and other aquatic inhabitants


4: The Dining Pod, Koh Kood, Thailand - Once you’re seated inside a giant open-air bamboo capsule with a table and cushioned seats, you’ll be raised up into the rainforest trees and have your food delivered by a zipline-riding waiter. (The ocean views are pretty impressive, too.)

PICTURES FROM #FreePAC Chapter 2: @RevCLBryant @WilkowMajority @DeneenBorelli @MissouriTorch

More awesomeness from FreePAC:

Senate candidate Matt Bevin and family

Blogger's Row

The outstanding speaker Reverand C.L. Bryant

PICTURES FROM #FreePAC Chapter 1: With @WilkowMajority @DeneenBorelli @MissouriTorch

Well, Biff Spackle and I are here at FreePAC's Kentucky Event (hashtags #FreePAC and #FreePACKY), and have our first batch of pictures uploaded. If you're here, stop by the media row and say hi.

2 hours before the show opens, the crowd was already piling in to the convention center.

Great bloggers representing The Missouri Torch and LipsticksandPolitics.


Larwyn's Linx: Startling: Every Government Agency Is Aggressively Pushing Obama’s Agenda

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

Nation

Startling: Every Government Agency Is Enforcing Obama’s Agenda: Sara Noble
Chicago’s newly armed residents send murder rate plummeting: BPR
Democrats and the Hypocrisy of Campaign Finance Reform: LI

13K In Maryland Lost Insurance Thanks to Obamacare and Never Got It Back: Outcast
Jindal On The Upswing, Landrieu In Trouble In Latest Grigsby Poll: HayRide
GOP Now Leads in Seven Senate Races for Dem Seats: Dick Morris

Why Do 'Progressives' Love Moving Backward?: Jim Yardley
Obamacare's tangled web of lies and loss: RWN
Bruce Braley (D CAND, Iowa-SEN) equates lawyering to farm work: Moe Lane

Hillary Clinton bails on San Diego appearance after Benghazi protest scheduled: BPR
Population in LA County Hits Unsustainable Record High: RWN
War-gaming the opening blows in CT: SSI

Economy

Note: Severe Technical Damage: Karl Denninger
Meet “Lowflation”: Deflation’s Scary Pal: Peter Schiff
NC drivers could be charged by the mile: WGHP

Scandal Central

House Intel Chair: Obama Knows Where Benghazi Terrorists Are, But Won’t Pursue Them: GWP
Rewriting the Second Amendment: Bob Owens
Gutierrez: Obama Ready to Halt Deportations With Executive Orders: Roll Call

Climate & Energy

Russia prepares to attack the petrodollar: VOR
GOP lawmakers push EPA to ax proposed water rule amid outcry from farmers: Fox
Activist Demands Imprisonment for “Climate-Change Liars”: CFIF

Media

Andrew Sullivan: 'We Are No Better Than The Anti-Gay Bullies': TR
ABC Smears Former Mozilla CEO with Westboro Baptist Footage: PJM
Hillary: There’s a Double Standard on How Women are Treated in the Media or Something: JWF

Blackout: 140 Days Since ABC's 'Nightline' Has Covered ObamaCare: MRC
USA Today Echoes Occupy Wall Street: MRC
Hostile Takeover Week at College Insurrection: LI

World

Euro crisis worsens and Spanish flock to Britain: Commentator
Islamic group gets OK to cut crosses off New York Catholic church: BCF
Israel, Palestinians, US to meet to revive talks: Times of Israel

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

It’s Time For Christians To Blacklist Mozilla Firefox And OkCupid: John Hawkins
Graphic: A Timeline of Corporations in the Collaborative Economy: Jeremiah Owyang
Ship looking for missing plane detects ‘pulse’ signal: Post

Cornucopia

Ted Cruz presents ‘The Broken Window Theory of Obamacare’: Twitchy
With A Clear Conscience: Christian Mercenary
Musings After Midnight: LibertySphere

Image: Obama Knows Where Benghazi Terrorists Are, But Won’t Pursue
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Retire John Boehner; Support JD Winteregg for Congress

QOTD: "We have numerous people that we know participated in the Benghazi attacks affiliated with al-Qaeda that are still on the battlefield. We have the capacity to get them but there’s no planning to get them. We have other serious al-Qaeda threats that normally we would take off the battlefield, but because of this Administration’s more kinder, gentler approach we have not done that." --Rep. Mike Rogers, Chairman of House Intelligence Committee

Friday, April 04, 2014

Mozilla chose... poorly

If you would like to assess how far American culture has descended, look no further than the case of Mozilla's (maker of the Firefox browser) CEO.
Andrew Sullivan, himself a gay man, voiced strong disgust on his blog The Dish towards Mozilla Firefox forcing CEO Brandon Eich to resign for having donated $1000.00 to California's Prop 8 campaign in 2008 seeking to ban gay marriage, saying Eich had been "scalped by some gay activists".
As ConservativeIntel notes, "Mozilla set a new company record today for online customer dissatisfaction":
If Mozilla was hoping to avoid controversy by edging out former CEO Brendan Eich, the company has most certainly failed. The graph below comes from the feedback page on their site. This chart goes back to when the comment system was adopted, and the highest number of “sad” comments is today, by a factor of about two. The second highest number came yesterday.

Look, I can understand folks supporting gay marriage. I, for one, believe that marriage as a contractual instrument codified in religion or law should be traditional, i.e., between a man and a woman. I mean, human procreation kinda depends upon it, last time I took biology.

Is my opinion controversial? It would seem so, at least in the age of Obama and Gomorrah.

Why would Mozilla inject itself into issues of faith, morality and marriage? I leave the answer to that question as an exercise for the reader.


Hat tip: BadBlue News