Monday, April 28, 2014

A REVOLUTION OF CONSCIENCE: Remembering Pope John Paul II

Guest post by Investor's Business Daily

Leadership: The pontificate of John Paul II withstood the onslaught of secularism, liberation theology, totalitarianism, even an assassination attempt, and provided a moral compass to a world increasingly adrift.

It is said the late Soviet dictator Josef Stalin once dismissed the power of the papacy by asking, "The pope, how many divisions has he got?" But if any pope has shown how much influence a leader can have without an army, it has been this one.

Karol Wojtyla became a priest during the darkest days of the Nazi occupation of Poland, entering a seminary in 1942, an act that risked his very life. Like the first Christians in Rome, he was motivated by faith in a power he believed higher than any on Earth. Having lived under both Nazi and Communist tyranny, he had little tolerance for those who believed mankind could lift itself up.

He rejected "liberation theology" as an attempt to turn religion into a Marxist tool. In April 1990, he said in Prague "the claim to build a world without God has been shown to be an illusion."

In a 1983 visit to Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega's Sandinistas, accustomed to weak and corruptible Catholic leaders, attempted to turn a religious service into a Communist pep rally.

The pope, in effect, told Ortega to shut up and stop desecrating the Mass.

DISASTROUS ECONOMIC STATS RELEASED: Are Obama and Reid Still Going to Blame Bush for a Half Decade of Failure?

When even the pathetic loons at the Associated Press and Washington Post rip Obama and the Democrats for their disastrous economic policy prescriptions, you know things are bad. But more on that in a second.

Consider the latest delightful tidbits of fail:

BLS: In 20% of American Families, No One Works: "In 20 percent of American families in 2013, according to new data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), not one member of the family worked...

The BLS has been tracking data on employment in families since 1995. That year, the percent of families in which no one had a job was 18.8 percent. The percentage hit an all-time high of 20.2 percent in 2011. It held steady at 20 percent in in 2012 and 2013."

Men Who Work Full-Time Earn Less Than 40 Years Ago "The real median income of American men who work full-time, year-round peaked forty years ago in 1973, according to data published by the U.S. Census Bureau...


In 1973, median earnings for men who worked full-time, year-round were $51,670 in inflation-adjusted 2012 dollars. The median earnings of men who work full-time year-round have never been that high again."

And what are the Obama-Reid Democrats doing about this malaise?

As The Washington Post Editorial Board observes, that would be bupkis:
Mr. Obama’s budget is just the latest in a long line of plans... that fails to deliver what the country most needs. Sooner or later, change must come, and preferably before a crisis forces it on us.
Yo, nitwits: ever heard of Cloward-Piven? Crisis is what they want.

Oh, and Dave Espo from the Associated Press piles on:
Enter the [Obama] budget – and the contrast Democrats hope to set up with a Republican alternative. That would be far better, in their view, than an election that is a referendum on the slow recovery from the deepest recession in decades, Obama’s general stewardship across five years in office, the health care law and whatever else is contributing to the curdled national mood.
Curdled. I like that.

Obama and his agenda are both spoiled rotten.


Hat tips: BadBlue News and BB.

Larwyn's Linx: Cliven Bundy, the Dishonest Left, and the Welfare State

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Nation

Cliven Bundy, the Dishonest Left, and the Welfare State: Ari Armstrong
Wrong is the New Right: Daniel Greenfield
Unhealthy Trends in Nation Beg for Conservative Leadership: Star Parker

RINOs promise amnesty by August of this year: FAM
Amnesty: Boehner’s GOP Prefers To Die For Its Donors: VDARE
Oklahoma House seeks to impeach half of the state Supreme Court: Hot Air

TX Rancher Exposes Another Outrageous Land Grab, Needs Help: Scoop
More Vote Fraud Found in Florida: John Hawkins
States Respond to Islamic Sharia Law… By Banning It: ConTrib

Blogger crashes MAIG Presser, Durham Herald-Sun covers it: NC Gun
Head of Bloomberg's Moms Demand Action uses armed security?: John Lott
Woman murdered after attending anti-violence rally in Obama's old area: Marathon

Economy

Piketty’s new gilded age which isn’t: Hot Air
Progressives Plan Huge Illinois Tax Hikes: Mish
The UAW's new reality: Detroit News

Scandal Central

‘Mystery man’ requested IRS prosecute conservatives: Garth Kant
Louisiana GOP Files Ethics Complaint Against Harry Reid: WZ
TN sheriff's deputy fired: caught on camera choking an unresisting college student: Daily Mail

Police Chief: US Heading Towards ‘Police State: Susan Duclos
L.A. Police Captain: General Surveillance Just Like Street Lights: NRO
Blood of Patriots: Christian Mercenary

Climate & Energy

Ignorance And Cronyism Are The Only Settled Sciences: Derek Hunter
At least 17 dead after tornadoes cause devastation across central states: Daily Mail
Families Sue Frackers for $120 Million: Courthouse News

Media

‘Where was all this’? ESPN analyst notices an inconsistency in Sterling reaction: Twitchy
‘It’s us against the world’: NRA introduces most intense ad yet: BPR
Will’s Take: Hillary ‘Not Formidable’: NRO

David Gregory Blames Tony Blair And George Bush For Islamic Jihad: WZ
‘YOU ARE THE PRESIDENT!’ See Obama’s latest ‘embarrassing’ selfie: Twitchy
Sarah Palin To Eric Holder In Awesome NRA Speech: ‘You Don’t Want To Go There Buddy’: Scoop

Media Matters founder David Brock: We appreciate Soros funding to pursue journalists: DC
In the End Neither Michelle O nor Batik Could Save the Ladies Home Journal: MOTUS
Dartmouth now bans white people from using the word 'fiesta': Thomas Lifson

World

Barack Obama’s administration inches toward calling Israel an apartheid state.: Moe Lane
It’s Come to This: State Dept. Nitwit Jen Psaki Now Tweeting Think Progress and Daily Kos Links: JWF
Former Russian PM Tells Washington to Hit Putin with Sanctions Where It Hurts: PJM

Putin’s Doomsday Plane circling near Finland for third day in a row: Aviationist
Russian Military Medics ordered Prepare to Serve inside Ukraine: John Galt
The Quest To Freeze "Putin's Billions": ZH

Obama: U.S. to impose new sanctions on Russia: LAT
Memphis Imam: Muslims Have Right To Kill Non-Muslims Because They Are Filth: WZ
US Plans Sanctions on Putin's Inner Circle, Russia's Third Largest Lender, and Gazprom: Mish

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Electronic Weapons: For Want Of A Satphone: StrategyPage
Microsoft discloses zero day in all versions of Internet Explorer: ZDNet
The Life-Saving Science Behind Sunscreen: Gizmodo

Cornucopia

Vatican Canonizes Two Dead White Guys, Ignores Obama: Cube
Lee Harvey Oswald Quietly Added To CIA Memorial Wall: DuffelBlog
Retired Air Force MP, 84, kicks home invader's ass: Stripes

Image: Exclusive: Kerry Warns Israel Could Become ‘An Apartheid State’
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Fire John Boehner Now -- Support J.D. Winteregg!

QOTD: "If there’s no two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict soon, Israel risks becoming “an apartheid state,” Secretary of State John Kerry told a room of influential world leaders in a closed-door meeting Friday.

Senior American officials have rarely, if ever, used the term "apartheid" in reference to Israel, and President Obama has previously rejected the idea that the word should apply to Jewish State. Kerry's use of the loaded term is already rankling Jewish leaders in America—and it could attract unwanted attention in Israel, as well.

It wasn't the only controversial comment on the Middle East that Kerry made during his remarks to the Trilateral Commission, a recording of which was obtained by The Daily Beast. Kerry also repeated his warning that a failure of Middle East peace talks could lead to a resumption of Palestinian violence against Israeli citizens." --Josh Rogin

Sunday, April 27, 2014

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: Tornado Likelihood Map for 27 April, 1982 through 2011

There's some heavy weather transpiring today, my brothers and sisters, so watch your six.

Mashable offers us an aggregated view of risk based upon location, observing:

A huge swath of the central United States, stretching from Nebraska to northern Louisiana, is on high alert through Sunday night for severe thunderstorms, including the possibility of multiple strong tornadoes, large hail and damaging straight-line winds... forecasters are urging residents in affected states to stay tuned to the latest forecasts, and prepare to take tornado precautions if necessary.

The Storm Prediction Center (SPC), which is the tornado forecasting branch of the National Weather Service, has issued a string of tornado watches, with the greatest risk of long-lasting, strong tornadoes focusing on Arkansas, eastern Oklahoma, northeastern Texas and northern Louisiana...


...To put the risk level into context, there are, on average, only a handful of "High Risk" severe thunderstorm days in the U.S. each year, as this is the peak alert level on the Weather Service's scale. This is the first "High Risk" day in the U.S. in 2014. The last one was in Nov. 2013, and last one in Arkansas was in May 2011...

...While this storm outbreak comes in an unusually quiet season, it is located close to the 30-year average location for the highest tornado risk on April 27, according to data from 1982 to 2010. Some well-known tornadoes have occurred on this day, including the 2011 Tuscaloosa tornado, which was a large EF-4 long-track tornado that killed 64...

You can be sure that the Global Cooling Deniers™ will blame any storm, of any magnitude, on the fact that you're not driving a Nissan Leaf.

But, then again, they drive gas-guzzling Jaguars. Which tells you everything you need to know about the Global Warming Climate Change scam.


Hat tip: BadBlue Tech News

Meet the Billionaire Pulling the Democrats' Strings on Keystone XL

Guest post by Stephen Moore

You’ve got to hand it to billionaire Tom Steyer. He tells Barack Obama and Harry Reid to jump, and they obediently reply: How high?

Mr. Steyer pulled off the policy coup of the year last week when the White House announced it would place the Keystone XL pipeline in regulatory purgatory for another six months at least. Mr. Steyer has promised $100 million to Democrats to beat back Republicans in the midterm elections this fall, and the campaign funds have already paid off in the scuttling of this $3 billion pipeline project. (Remember when Democrats were pro-infrastructure?) President Obama says we have to determine whether it is “in the national interest.”

Mr. Steyer protested this week that he is not the Democratic party’s version of the Koch brothers, who fund efforts to promote liberty and free enterprise. Mr. Steyer says that “there are real distinctions between the Koch brothers and us,” because the Kochs personally benefit from their political advocacy, while he is donating to save the planet. Never mind that he’s a major investor in solar-energy projects that compete with fossil fuels. Let’s just say that Steyer got more than just a lousy T-shirt for his political pay-to-play investment.

But Steyer, like most fanatical greens, really does have an intense hatred of this pipeline — and thus a motive that goes beyond any personal gain. To the far left, Keystone has become the symbol of the North American shale-oil-and-gas revolution that is crushing the brief and ill-fated renewable-energy fad. So anything that would efficiently transport these fossil fuels to market is evil.

For his part, Obama repeated the Big Green mantra that we shouldn’t build the pipeline if it would contribute to “carbon pollution.” By this logic, the U.S. government should shut down the existing 100,000 miles of pipeline in North America and stop all domestic fossil-fuel production.

But all of this is a sideshow to the really big question here, which is whether the GOP leaders are smart enough to capitalize on this Keystone blunder. The controversy exposes a widening fault line within the Democratic coalition that could split the party in two. It’s an intra-party blood feud between the blues and the greens: Blue-collar union Democrats (those who work in the private sector) desperately want the jobs associated with drilling, mining, and building the infrastructure to make those things happen. Many of the big unions, from the Teamsters to the welders and pipefitters, support the project and have furiously objected to Obama’s decision. The project creates 10,000 jobs that would pay between $50,000 and $100,000 a year. This isn’t minimum-wage stuff we are talking about.

Obama has made the laughable claim recently that the pipeline would lead to “only 50 permanent jobs.” So a $3 billion multistate pipeline that stretches more than 1,000 miles shouldn’t go forward, because it won’t boost employment permanently? Someone might want to explain to the president that in the private sector there is no such thing as a permanent job. (Those are to be found only in the government.)

FINALLY: A Practical Ferrari

Well, there should be nothing holding you back now.

...One of the biggest criticisms of Ferrari’s supercars is that they don’t exactly make good daily drivers. The Ferrari FF, however is one of the more accommodating models with its revolutionary lightweight all-wheel drive, four available seats, and shooting brake design that allows for greater luggage space.
...The owner of this Ferrari FF was spotted in Arlington, VA carrying around some lumber and taking advantage of the supercar’s capabilities. We would like to see it use that 651 horsepower engine to do some 0-60 mph sprints while carrying that lumber, though.

The Ferrari FF stickers for around $300,000. And this is Arlington, Virginia. You know: the Beltway, where price is no object.


Hat tip: BadBlue Car News

ATTENTION VOTER ID OPPONENTS: 44,000 Additional Bogus Voters Discovered in Virginia

Guest post by Kenric Ward

RICHMOND, Va. – A crosscheck of voter rolls in Virginia and Maryland turned up 44,000 people registered in both states, a vote-integrity group reported Wednesday.

And that’s just the beginning.

“The Virginia Voters Alliance is investigating how to identify voters who are registered and vote in Virginia but live in the states that surround us,” Alliance President Reagan George told the State Board of Elections.

George acknowledged that the number of voters who actually cast multiple ballots is relatively small. In the case of Maryland and Virginia, he revealed that 164 people voted in both states during the 2012 election.

But George said his group will expand their search for duplicate voters in the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Georgia.

“We are also determining the best way to identify non-citizens who have registered to vote and may have voted in past elections,” George said.

Larwyn's Linx: Obama’s Illegal Alien Magnet Kills Another Child

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Nation

Obama’s Illegal Alien Magnet Kills Another Child: Brenda Walker
LaPierre: "‘Gun Rights Have Become a Metaphor for Something Larger": Ace
First 96 Doctors She Contacted Wouldn’t Accept Her Obamacare Policy: WZ

Amnesty-Bound Eric Cantor Won’t Debate Dave Brat: MagNote
Lindsey Graham Agrees to Debate GOP Primary Challengers: NewAm
Guns And Abortion: States Starting to Rebel Against Federal Control: Publius

Jeb’s Pathetic Entry into the 2016 Presidential Race: Rick Jensen
IOWA: Senate Conservatives Fund Endorses Republican Joni Ernst: WFB
Top 10 Ridiculous Quotes by Senator Mitch McConnell: Julie Borowski

Elizabeth Warren would crush Hillary, and they both know it: LI
Leading Democrats for 2016's Nomination Are Old As F**k: Ace
Biden Using Office To Burnish Cred Ahead Of Possible 2016 Run: RWN

Economy

Obama, pretending he hasn’t been President all this time: GayPatriot
North Carolina Dumps Common Core: Lady Liberty
Fruit of the Loom to close Jamestown plant, lay off all 600 workers: Kentucky

Scandal Central

Justice Department Considered Arresting Conservative Activists: ConTrib
We Need Common Sense Gun Control -Take Guns Away From Democrats: Sara Noble
Stix Vindicated! Academics, Magazine Confirm Big City Police Are “Disappearing” Crime: VDARE

Climate & Energy

One of the Biggest Fat Cats in America is the BLM: Victor Keith
Stuart Varney Rips The Fig Leaf Away From Socialists Masquerading As Environmentalists: Caleb Howe
Salon writer Paul Rosenberg on why “deniers” are winning: WUWT

Media

The Forbidden Subject: Liberty's Torch
Immigration Reform Will Destroy My Dream: John Dunne
Liberal Loon Donald Sterling Caught on Tape Screaming Ugly Racist Epithets: AmPower

Setup: the Empire strikes back: Cold Fury
CNN analyst welches on bet after Andrew Branca wins “Stand-Your-Ground” Debate: LI
Has Thomas Piketty really found "the central contradiction of capitalism"?: Garett Jones

It’s 2014: Why Aren’t You Racist Yet?: R.S. McCain
Dana Loesch Confronts One of Bloomberg’s Anti-Gun Partners: Blaze
The People Have Spoken (And They Are Wrong): WRSA

World

Barack Obama’s Foreign Policy Is Driving Us Towards War: Sara Noble
Pope Francis Declares Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII as Saints: WSJ
Obama on Human Rights: Malaysia’s ‘Got Some Work To Do, Just Like the United States: Scoop

"F*** the EU," Revisited: Ace
Western feminists miss the big picture, author says: Sarah Oakes
The Jewish Luger: Stolen by the Nazis: Winter Soldier

Racist Murderous Pedophile Muslim Cult is Back in California: Daniel Greenfield
The Churchill Bust: Mark Steyn
China releases Japanese wartime documents: state media: Reuters

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

White House “big data” study to reveal potential for discrimination: Ars Technica
Why the Sharing Economy Is About Desperation, Not Trust: Slashdot
How To Hack Hiring: TechCrunch

Cornucopia

Shrinking #Diplomacy and Inflating #Egos: MOTUS
Firearms applications surge, swamp registration system: USA Today
Sexpo - #FitSex Is Now Trending on Instagram: Esquire

Image: Your Porn is Harder...
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Let's Fire John Boehner - Support J.D. Winteregg!

QOTD: "Forget the current polling as between Hillary and Elizabeth Warren. It pits Hillary against someone who “isn’t running.”

For all my criticisms of Warren, and they are extensive, I am convinced that if she ran, she would crush Hillary, just as Obama did.

Warren, as did Obama, has a unique ability to demagogue the core Democratic narrative of victimhood in ways that would make Hillary blush. She is more cunning than Hillary, more popular with the base, would bring an excitement the contrived Ready-for-Hillary movement could only dream of. Democrats may be “ready” for Hillary, but they don’t really want her." --William A. Jacobson

Saturday, April 26, 2014

YEP, IT'S A GLOBAL EMERGENCY: Sierra Club Directors Drive Around in Gas-Guzzling Jaguars

Dammit, these liberals broke my Hypocrisy Meter again!

Members of the Sierra Club’s board of directors are driving around in gas-guzzling vehicles, despite the group’s support for the Obama administration’s increased fuel efficiency standards.

The Sierra Club strongly supported the Obama administration’s increase in minimum fuel economy standards to 54.4 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2025, but it seems the Club’s top officials don’t practice what they preach.

The Sierra Club’s 15-member board of directors own a combined 32 vehicles, less than one-fifth of which are hybrids or electric vehicles. Seven of the 32 vehicles are sports utility vehicles...

...Two of the Club’s directors buck environmental protection for riding in style, by owning luxury Jaguars which have an average fuel economy of 18 mpg — much lower than the U.S. average fuel economy of 24.8 mpg in 2013.

These people think we're stupid. They sit in their air-conditioned office buildings; they jet around the world; and they drive luxury automobiles all powered by fossil fuels.

They don't give a crap about the environment. They're Marxist low-lifes, bent on control.


Hat tips: BadBlue News and BB.

ASKED AND ANSWERED: Ezra Klein wonders 'What’s the liberal equivalent of Climate Denial?'

RedState recently spotlighted an excerpt of Ben Domenech's The Transom, which featured a stunning smackdown of the 2013 World's Dumbest Blogger, Ezra Klein.

Ezra smarmily sneers “What’s the liberal equivalent of Climate Denial?” Domenech replies with the most perfect answer in the history of answers. “I assume by ‘climate denial’ Klein means an example where the bulk of real-world data, history, and experience indicate one thing, and liberals either deny its accuracy or say we ought to ignore it in order to pursue some higher aim via the policies they support. Perhaps one or two things may come to mind,” he says.

Caleb Howe was kind enough to render an answer.


"I believe the word you are looking for", Howe notes, "is BOOM."


CBO Purposely Understating Next Decade's Social Security Deficits by... One Trillion Dollars

Financial blogger Bruce Krasting has discovered a teensy, weensy accounting discrepancy between the Congressional Budget Office and the Social Security Administration. It only amounts to a hidden trillion dollar deficit... over the next 10 years.

As Krasting asks, "What's a trillion among friends?"

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) came out with its latest baseline estimates for Social Security (SS) this week... As an ex Wall Streeter I always go to the ‘Cash Flow’ numbers first, as cash flow is what drives most companies to success or ruin. The same rules apply for SS. I was surprised at the results presented by the CBO...

...CBO’s cash flow number for 2013 is a surplus of $38 [billion]... The difference between CBO and SS on the critical cash flow numbers is $106B in just fiscal 2013. The reason for this big discrepancy is the accounting treatment for interest. CBO includes interest income as a cash item, SS does not...

...Should interest be included in the calculation of cash flow for SS? CBO says “yes”, I would agree with SS, and say “no”. Interest is paid in scrip [IOUs] – not cash... CBO and SS disagree on the most basic definition of financial health – Net Cash Flow. CBO has projections going out to 2024. This is CBO’s forecast of Net Cash Flow as compared to the accounting treatment for interest at SS:


The cummulative difference between CBO and SSA is $1.2 Trillion over the the next decade! ... Why does CBO have such a dramatically different assessment of Net Cash Flow for SS? I can’t answer that. I did contact CBO for an explanation, I never heard from them.

And you never will, Bruce. You never will.


Hat tip: BadBlue Money News.

Larwyn's Linx: Journey to the Center of the Common Core

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Nation

Journey to the Center of the Common Core: Right Planet
These are our Leaders?: Daniel Horowitz
Yes, It’s Time for a “Convention of the States” to Stop Obama: ConTrib

Speaker Boehner Mocks Colleagues Who Don't Want Amnesty: VDARE
McRINO Says America Has Dishonored Itself By Not Passing Amnesty: WZ
Bad Penny Boehner Just Won’t Go Away: RWN

5 Lives Wrecked By Obamacare: John Hawkins
VA faked waiting lists to hide patients who died awaiting care: Allen West
Elijah Cummings to Face Ethics Probe: BuzzPo

Remember When @RaniaKhalek Played ‘Count the Jews at the Nation’?: RSM
However SCOTUS decides gun carry case, infringements will go on: Codrea
Gore Won't Rule Out 2016 Run: TR

Economy

Is Obama Lying about Obamacare Numbers?: JW
War on Poverty Won’t Be Won – Unless We Change Strategy: RWN
NYT: We Don’t Know Much About E-Cigs, So Let’s Regulate Them: RWN

Scandal Central

REPORT: Obama Directly Armed the Benghazi Terrorists: ConTrib
Benghazi Bombshell: Ex-Military and CIA Committee: Obama and Hillary Did It: BuzzPo
SEC Joins Manhattan DA to Probe Christie’s Diversion of Port Authority Funds: MainJustice

Climate & Energy

Dips*** Chris Hayes Wants to Kill About 5.7 Billion People: NRO
Hostile Bureaucratic Armies: Christian Mercenary
How Now White Cowman?: Mark Steyn

Media

Shocka: CNN ‘Chicagoland’ Producers Worked with Rahm Emanuel Aides to Make Him Look Good: JWF
Some Bundy Jiu Jitsu for the Right: DTG
Black Marine Stands By Bundy: "He's No Racist!": AWD

Watch Mark Levin’s speech at the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum: Scoop
A 12 Year Old Conservative Blogger Explains: “What I Love About America”: RWN
Eric Holder Cancels Speech Ahead of Big Conservative Protest in Oklahoma City: IJR

Bundy crisis: Conservatives throw the republic under the bus: J.E. Dyer
Unedited Tape of Bundy Emerges, Sheds Light on 'Racist' Remarks: TR
Parent to Obama: Let me tell you about the Common Core test Malia and Sasha don’t have to take: WaPo

World

With Ukraine in turmoil, Hagel can’t get Russian counterpart to take his calls: Times
Pentagon: Russian Spy Ship, Tug Operating Near U.S.: WFB
US centers of Islamic activity form interesting map: Allen West

State Department launches devastating hashtag strike on Russia: John Hayward
Experts Warn More European Muslim Youth Are Radicalizing: IPT
Iran Elected to UN Commission to Protect Women After Scheduling Execution of Raped Woman: CAMERA

Europe 1939? Nope 2014: “All evil in the world originates from Jews and Zionist barbarism”: BCF
Anti-Semitism at Islamic Conference: a Wakeup Call for Europe?: Tom Wilson
Google is a ‘CIA project’ says President Putin: EuroNews

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Senator Ed Markey Bids to Impose Speech Codes on the Internet: MB
"Code Babes" Is Everything Wrong With Tech Culture—Plus Strippers: Gizmodo
How Mobile Shifted Are Your Customers?: Forrester

Cornucopia

Bowing to Non-American Customs and the Occasional Robot: MOTUS
New Andy Warhol computer art found on old floppy disks: Fox
Memorial Service for NewsBusters Associate Editor Noel Sheppard, 1960-2014: NB

Image: State Department launches hashtag strike on Russia
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Let's Fire John Boehner!

QOTD: "The IRS is now a weapon. A weapon to punish anyone who disagrees with them. And that means every one of you. They try to regulate our religion. They collect our cell phone and e-mail data. And they give us Benghazi, "Fast & Furious", ObamaCare, massive unemployment, a debt that will choke our grandchildren and one executive order on top of another, rather than expose government dishonesty and scandal the way they used to, the media leads whitewash it all. Move on, they tell us. There's nothing to see here. Don't worry.

One of america's greatest threats is the national news media that fails to provide a level playing field in this country for the truth." --Wayne LaPierre

Friday, April 25, 2014

INTERESTING: Watch Real-Time Urban Development Courtesy of Google Street View Time-Lapse

I've always had this hankering to see various intersections in big cities evolve over time.

Turns out, at least from a point in time, Google Street View can oblige.

The Washington Post's Emily Badget has some great examples. Here's one as a teaser (hint: use the splitter in the middle of the image to see the older and newer versions):

See all of them here.


SURPRISE: Islamists Seek to Disguise Nature of Islamists' Attacks inside 9/11 Memorial Museum

Guest post by Investor's Business Daily

Death Of Truth: An imam objects to a film set to be shown at the National September 11 Memorial Museum because it might make people believe radical Islam was involved in the terrorist attacks. We're not making this up.

It has been said that the first casualty of war is truth. And in this age of political correctness, the war on terrorism — described by this administration as either over or merely a series of overseas contingency operations in response to man-caused disasters — is a classic example.

The lone imam on an interfaith advisory group to the National September 11 Memorial Museum, set to open May 21, has quit in protest of a seven-minute documentary narrated by NBC anchor and noted right-wing extremist Brian Williams because it might give low-information viewers the impression that the al-Qaida terrorists who attacked America and killed 3,000 people were, dare we say it, Muslims.

"The screening of this film in its present state would greatly offend our local Muslim believers as well as any foreign Muslim visitor to the museum," Sheikh Mostafa Elazabawy, the imam of Masjid Manhattan, wrote in a letter to the museum's director.

Failed Speaker Boehner Squeals and Whines to Mock Fellow Republicans for Refusing to Pass Amnesty

Unbelievable.

Bryan Preston explains:

As anyone who had paid any attention at all knows, the GOP has faced off against Barack Obama, Harry Reid, and the dishonest shills in the mainstream media for years. They have been called “racists” for trying to uphold the rule of law. They have been called “terrorists” and “arsonists” for trying to get rid of Obamacare, an unpopular law that the Democrats foisted on the nation against the majority’s will. And as anyone who has paid any attention at all knows, Obama has proven to be entirely untrustworthy with the basic rule of law.

Boehner himself has questioned whether Obama can be trusted to obey the law. Why, then, is he mocking Republicans? Does he believe that mockery is the way to earn trust? If that’s what he thinks, then he is every inch the unifying leader that Barack Obama is.

What did Boehner think he was accomplishing by mocking Republicans who doubt that Obama will enforce any provision of any immigration reform that he does not like? What did Boehner think he was accomplishing by mocking his own party as it is fighting to take control of the Senate? What kind of an idiot thinks that mocking your allies is any kind of useful or effective leadership?

John Boehner is pitiful. The sooner House Republicans vote him out of the speakership, the better.


The video really is shocking for the level of disrespect Boehner has for his colleagues and his constituents.

Click here to help fire the failed Speaker of the House.


Larwyn's Linx: Boehner Mocks Fellow Members of House Over Failure to Pass Amnesty

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

Nation

Boehner Mocks Fellow Republicans Over Failure to Pass Amnesty: Irascible
Harry Reid's Long, Steady Accretion of Power & Wealth: Adam O'Neal
Obamacare Slashes Home Health Care Services For the Elderly: AmJrnl

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D, New Hampshire) is afraid that she’ll lose: Moe Lane
Why Is Andrew Cuomo So Afraid to Debate Rick Perry?: JWF
Welp: Cover Oregon has died: Moe Lane

Obama's Dirty Watchdogs: Michelle Malkin
Obama is Bursting the Left's Bubbles: J.R. Dunn
Cruz, heading to NH, talks 2014, 2016, the ‘direction of America’: John DiStaso

Scalia: Sotomayor's 'doubly shameful' suggestion that voters are racist: Exam
Florida House Demands “Convention of the States” to Stop Obama: ConTrib
Kansas Gov. Brownback Signs Bill Nullifying All City, County Gun Laws: Daley

Economy

California phone kill-switch bill fails vote in state senate: Martyn Williams
Obama’s Income Inequality Scam: David Limbaugh
Boehner mocks GOP colleagues on immigration reform: Cincinnati

Scandal Central

Darrell Issa seeks answers about Justice Department's role in IRS targeting: Exam
Transparency: DHS Watchdog Altered Reports As He Sought Top Job With Obama Administration: JWF
DOJ Pardon Atty. Quits as Obama Plans to Free Thousands of Drug Convicts: JW

The VA has a secret death list, wanna bet Obamacare has one too?: WyBlog
#WarOnWomen: Major Obama, DNC Donor Brutally Assaults Girlfriend, Gets Probation: JWF
Feds Beg Supreme Court to Let Them Search Phones Without a Warrant: Wired

Climate & Energy

Rolling Stone: Obama Has Already Decided to Reject Keystone Pipeline: TR
Unions Criticize Obama’s Delay of Keystone XL Pipeline: Deneen Borelli
Excuse #11: Surface Heat Doesn’t Matter: Cove

Media

What I learned today, redux: Protein Wisdom
‘Who the F Are U?’: R.S. McCain
Army Veteran gets huge applause after blasting New Jersey Democrats at gun control hearing: Scoop

A Beginner’s Guide to Liberals: Clay Carpenter
53% Think Neither Political Party Represents the American People: Rasmussen
Gallup: Illinois tops the list of states whose residents think they live in the worst state possible: David Freddoso

Bundy’s Non-Racist, Pro-Black, Pro-Mexican, Anti-Government Remarks: Pat Dollard
Cliven Bundy Responds To Charges Of Racism: ‘The Statement Was Right’: Scoop
Most Laughable Attempt at Skewing the Facts of the Day: Colossus

World

Russian Democracy-Mobiles Being Unloaded At Port In Venezuela: WZ
Benghazi cover-up: Al-Qaida’s Libyan comeback raises questions: Allen West
How North Korea Turned Kim Jong Un’s Baby Photos Into Propaganda: Elias Groll

There’s no Plan B for Obama’s foreign policy: Jonah Goldberg
An Israeli Soldier to American Jews: Wake up!: Times of Israel
A fatal wait: Veterans languish and die on a VA hospital's secret list: CNN

Anti-Semitic Mock Eviction Notices Come to NYU: TR
France: LePen advocates stripping Islamists of French citizenship and deporting them: Daily Smug
Muslim Heritage: Freedom Is Just Another Word

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Report: Some Retail Firms Still Don't Recognize Cyber Security Risks: Dark Reading
Women With Wide Hips More Sexually Active Due To Confidence Bestowed By Evolution: MedDaily
94 pages of leaked docs show how the FBI used Sabu to get #Anonymous to attack sites: Cryptome

Cornucopia

BREAKING: Hundreds Feared Dead In Coors Light Party Train Crash: The Onion
No Childs’ Fat Behind, and No Salad Overdressed: MOTUS
Japanese MP Calims Obama Cheats on Michelle and their looming divorce is 'an open secret': Daily Mail

Image: How North Korea Turned Kim Jong Un’s Baby Photos Into Propaganda
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Video: John Boehner Suffers from "Electile Dysfunction"

QOTD: "House Speaker John Boehner theatrically mocked his fellow Republican Congressmen for being afraid to reform immigration policy when he spoke Thursday before the Middletown Rotary Club in his home district.

"Here's the attitude. Ohhhh. Don't make me do this. Ohhhh. This is too hard," Boehner whined before a luncheon crowd at Brown's Run County Club in Madison Township.

"We get elected to make choices. We get elected to solve problems and it's remarkable to me how many of my colleagues just don't want to ... They'll take the path of least resistance."

Boehner said he's been working for 16 or 17 months trying to push Congress to deal with immigration reform... The GOP-controlled House has refused to pass the immigration proposal passed by the Democrat-led Senate that includes a path to citizenship for millions of people living illegally in the United States. Critics characterize it as amnesty. Boehner is advocating for a step-by-step process..." --Sheila McLaughlin

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Hannity's Old House is for Sale

I guess I should've been a talk radio host.

And, no, drones: he doesn't live here any more.


EEK: Compare the Size of Asteroids to Places on Earth

Nancy Atinkson at UniverseToday:

So, how big is that space rock?

Sometimes when I see data on sizes and distances in relation to stuff out in space, it’s hard to get a frame of reference, since those two categories tend to lean towards the super-big. But now, I’ve got a little help. Space enthusiast and software engineer Ciro Villa has brought some of these references closer to home with these fun graphics that provide accurate size ratios and proportions of objects in space compared to places on Earth.

Villa calls these graphics “hovering celestial objects” and while all of these scenarios are impossible in real life, he’s placed large asteroids and moons next to Earthly locations to provide a good frame of reference for dimensions. Please note that most of these objects have absolutely no chance of colliding with Earth as they are not anywhere near our neighborhood and are not expected to visit it either.

“My representations are is purely for illustrative purposes,” Villa said. “I have maintained the size ratios and proportions as accurately as possible just to demonstrate the dimensions. This is mostly a ‘fun’ exercise.”

For example, I regularly drive through the St. Louis, Missouri metro area, so I have a sense of how big it is. Above, Villa places Asteroid 243 Ida — which has an average diameter of 31.4 km (19.5 miles) — to hover right above St. Louis. 31 km is about the distance from East St. Louis, Illinois to Creve Coeur, Missouri, which are the generally accepted eastern and western borders of the St. Louis metro area. I could probably drive across Ida in about 30 minutes — if it’s not rush hour, that is!


Introducing: Orcus and Vanth hovering over Eastern Texas and Western Arkansas...

THANKS, DEMOCRATS: Prepare for Electrical Grid Failures

Guest post by Steve Goreham

Americans take electricity for granted. It powers our lights, our computers, our offices, and our industries. But misguided environmental policies are eroding the reliability of our power system.

Last winter, bitterly cold weather placed massive stress on the US electrical system ― and the system almost broke. On January 7 in the midst of the polar vortex, PJM Interconnection, the Regional Transmission Organization serving the heart of America from New Jersey to Illinois, experienced a new all-time peak winter load of almost 142,000 megawatts.

Eight of the top ten of PJM’s all-time winter peaks occurred in January 2014. Heroic efforts by grid operators saved large parts of the nation’s heartland from blackouts during record-cold temperature days. Nicholas Akins, CEO of American Electric Power, stated in Congressional testimony, “This country did not just dodge a bullet ― we dodged a cannon ball.”

Environmental policies established by Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are moving us toward electrical grid failure. The capacity reserve margin for hot or cold weather events is shrinking in many regions. According to Philip Moeller, Commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, “the experience of this past winter indicates that the power grid is now already at the limit.”

Larwyn's Linx: Tea Party Claims First Victory in 2014

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Nation

Tea Party Claims First Victory in 2014: TR
This is How Empires Collapse: Charles Hugh-Smith
Sonia Sotomayor Spells Out Racist Utopia Liberals Want: Outcast

Why the Bundy Ranch Is Just the Beginning: Ben Shapiro
Illinois Governor Compares Black Republicans to Nazis: WFB
Perry confirms: Texas will stand up against the Feds: Scoop

Harry Reid: a McCarthy For Our Times: Victor Davis Hanson
Jeb Bush Says He's Thinking About Running for President: Ace
Muslim Brotherhood Launches Own U.S. Political Party: IBD

Reported death of a viable challenge to Lindsey Graham grossly exaggerated?: LI
SCOTUS to decide whether government gets to decide what truth is: Ace
Paging Senator Tom Udall… The Grass Roots are Calling: Liberty Speaks

Economy

The Politics of Poverty: Kevin D. Williamson
A Short Introduction to Investing (in 400 words): RPSeawright
Try swallowing this ObamaCare pill: BarracudaBrigade

Scandal Central

South Carolina: Vincent Sheheen: The Molester’s Lawyer: RS
Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) pushed IRS to crack down on Tea Party groups: Moe Lane
Oklahoma Man Slams ‘Dishonest’ HHS Letter Forcing Him To Sign Up For Obamacare: WFB

Stunner! Benghazi Was a Base for Illegal Arms Shipments to Syria: Sara Noble
Commission Finds Benghazi Could Have Been Avoided Had US Not Switched Sides in GWOT: MB
Reid: ‘Something Will Happen’ To Stop Nevada Rancher Cliven Bundy: CBS Las Vegas

Climate & Energy

Ruling Class Cronies: Pelosi Relative Given $737 Million For Green Energy Project: HayRide
EPA Head McCarthy Won’t Talk About Keystone XL, Instead Pushes Global Warming Hoax: MB
America’s power grid at the limit: The road to electrical blackouts: DC

Media

The Liberals' New Hero: Thomas Piketty Recycles Marx: City Journal
What Does Media Embrace of Hard-Left Marxist Theories of Piketty Tell Us?: Ace
Obama Skipped Aunt's Funeral; Went Golfing Instead: Daniel Halper

Gauntlet Thrown—and Caught: Ed Driscoll
What You Won’t Read in the Papers About the ‘Central Park Five’: Ann Coulter
The High Cost of Liberalism: Part III: Thomas Sowell

2016: A Juxtaposition Odyssey: Ed Driscoll
Hillary Clinton is Worthless - Literally: Eagle Rising
CT News Affiliate Seems Upset Gun Owner Wasn’t Charged For Self Defense Shooting: Bob Owens

World

The Serpent's Tongue - An Open Letter To Catherine Ashton, EU Policy Chief: JoshuaPundit
Islam’s Religious War with Everyone: Daniel Greenfield
Who are the Victims and Who Are the Victimizers?: Gatestone

War Games As Putin Covets Eastern Ukraine And Beyond: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton
If the Islamists could only find a way to blame the Amish: Common Sense & Wonder
Zimbabwe: Is Deflation a Bigger Devil?: AllAfrica

Leaked Photos and Released Emails show Clintons in Bed with Muslim Brotherhood: Shoebat
Iran sweeps coveted UN rights posts: CFP
Sharia in Sweden: New Law Criminalizes Criticism of Islam: Pamela Geller

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Not one but two different triangular mystery jets are being secretely flown across the US: Aviationist
A 'crack in the cosmic egg': Symmetry
Microsoft OneDrive alters user files, adds unique IDs: IT News

Cornucopia

The only way to end racial discrimination is…through racial discrimination?: MOTUS
Cartoon of the Day: Trust the government to enforce the law: Unyielding
This is a Disgrace: R.S. McCain

Image: The only way to end racial discrimination is…through racial discrimination?
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Karen Handel for Senate in Georgia

QOTD: "Professor Mark R. Rank of Washington University, co-author of Chasing the American Dream: Understanding What Shapes Our Fortunes, tells a different story [of so-called "Income Inequality"] in a review of his own and others’ research in last Sunday’s New York Times. Far from having the 21st-century equivalent of an Edwardian class system, the United States is characterized by a great deal of variation in income: More than half of all adult Americans will be at or near the poverty line at some point over the course of their lives; 73 percent will also find themselves in the top 20 percent, and 39 percent will make it into the top 5 percent for at least one year. Perhaps most remarkable, 12 percent of Americans will be in the top 1 percent for at least one year of their working lives.

The top 1 percent, as I have noted here before, is such an unstable group that it makes no sense to write, as so many progressives do, about what has happened to its income over the past ten year or twenty years, because it does not contain the same group of people from year to year. Citing tax scholar Robert Carroll’s examination of IRS records, Professor Rank notes that the turnover among the super-rich (the top 400 taxpayers in any given year) is 98 percent over a decade — that is, just 2 percent of that elusive group remain there for ten years in a row. Among those earning more than $1 million a year, most earned that much for only one year of the nine-year period studied, and only 6 percent earned that much for the entire period.

“Ultimately,” Professor Rank writes, “this information casts serious doubt on the notion of a rigid class structure in the United States based upon income. It suggests that the United States is indeed a land of opportunity, that the American dream is still possible — but that it is also a land of widespread poverty.” Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics finds that among the allegedly privileged 1 percent, inherited wealth accounts for only 15 percent of household holdings, a smaller share than it does among middle-class families." --Kevin D. Williamson