Saturday, May 17, 2014

CITY OF THE FUTURE: Where the Radical Left is Herding Us

Illustrated and sanitized for your protection by @BiffSpackle.

2008 GM document warned engineers to avoid "widow-maker", "deathtrap", "decapitate", "Hindenburg" and other inflammatory words

You may recall that GM has suffered from a series of embarrassing product defects and recalls including one that the company "didn't fix until 13 people had died."

Patrick George at Jalopnik discovered a GM Powerpoint that illustrates how the automobile manufacturer went so far off the rails related to a whole host of catastrophic product defects.

George calls the presentation a "smoking gun" intended to dissuade employees from candidly discussing safety issues. In fact, one panel goes so far as to request that engineers avoid the use of the words "defect" or "safety" and instead focus on "issue, condition or matter."


One panel offers a laundry list of words to avoid including "disemboweling", "impaling", "maiming", and "mangling" even if, presumably, victims were in fact disemboweled, impaled, maimed and mangled by said vehicles.

Larwyn's Linx: WH in CYA mode: VA scandal potentially bigger than IRS and Benghazi

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Nation

WH in CYA mode: VA scandal potentially bigger than IRS, Benghazi: ConIntel
WaPo: 1 million people may be getting incorrect Obamacare subsidies: Moe Lane
Jake Tapper blows up at WH: ‘How many dead veterans do you need?’: BPR

Is It True, Mr. Speaker?: George Rasley
Establishment Republicans Break Their Own Rules in Opposing Amash: FW
John Boehner Says GOP Wants to Deal With Immigration Reform: Roll Call

Favoring Teachers’ Unions Over Students: RWN
A New Level of Illegal Immigration Chaos: FPM
After Court Backs Gun Laws, D.C. Delegate Tells GOP to Kill Gun Bills: PJM

Jeb Bush Admires LBJ; Baffled by Opposition to Cheap Foreign Labor: GayPatriot
‘Undocumented Immigrant’ Viciously Beats Female Park Employee: Pat Dollard
Yo, Rand: 7 in 10 Favor Voter ID Laws: Hot Air

Economy

Weimar America: inflation is taking off, with no end in sight: WyBlog
White House says taxpayer-funded schools must enroll illegal aliens: Allen West
New Bill Makes States Repay Funds for Busted Obamacare Exchanges: Breitbart

Scandal Central

VA Spends $500 Million on Conference Room, Office Makeovers Under Obama: WFB
Shinseki: IG Investigation Prevents Me From Providing Info: DC
Memos Show VA Staffers Have Been 'Gaming System' for Six Years: NBC

“The Emerging Junta”: Protein Wisdom
Whistleblower Doctors Who Reported VA Abuses Suffered Retaliation: WZ
IRS Stonewalling FOIA Request of Correspondence With Democratic Members of Congress.: Instapundit

Climate & Energy

Greens Are Reds: Stephen Moore
Someone Tell the Record Polar Ice Cap It Should Be Melting: BarbWire
Emanuel's power pact could zap Chicago homeowners: ChicagoBusiness

Media

CBS's Steve Kroft in Iran: 'We Didn't Talk to Anybody Who Believes They're Building a Bomb': MRC
Scars and Stripes: Mark Steyn
Students Shout Down Speaker at Portland State: CI

NYT reporter: Clinton supporters “flailing” on naming her biggest accomplishment as Secretary of State: Scoop
The firebomb attack (you never heard about) on a bus of Jewish schoolgirls: LI
How to Successfully Troll MSNBC’s Ed Schultz: Mediaite

New Yorker Piece Features Alleged, Actual Numbers for Abramson Pay Gap: Mediaite
Limbaugh: Hillary Clinton’s Greatest Achievement Is ‘Her Gender’: Josh Feldman
Election Expert Predicts "Tidal Wave" Landslide for GOP in 2014: ConTrib

World

Karl Rove, Style Substance and Success: DTG
David Axelrod Now a Laughingstock on Two Continents: JWF
Communists to convene in Chicago: People's World

White House Envoy Indyk Caught Bashing Israel at Hotel Bar: WFB
Say, Where’s The Hashtag For Pregnant Christian Woman Sentenced To Death In Sudan?: RWN
International outrage grows for Sudanese woman sentenced to death for apostasy: Fox

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

The Mathematics Of Murder: Should A Robot Sacrifice Your Life To Save Two?: PopSci
The proven way to add value: Seth Godin
LifeLock Wallet pulled from app stores and all user data deleted amid security concerns: NextWeb

Cornucopia

How Dems Stole The 2012 Election: Western
The Myth of Prejudice: Gavin McInnes
Hidden Camera Exposes Sinister Anti-American 'Progressive' Agenda: BarbWire

Image: This Is the Pregnant Woman Sudan Wants to Hang for Marrying a Christian
Sponsored by: KENTUCKY: Fight Mitch McConnell's Lies: Support Matt Bevin for U.S. Senate

QOTD: "[Obama] Middle East envoy Martin Indyk was overheard at an upscale Washington, D.C., bar bashing Israel and fully blaming it for the recent failure of peace talks with the Palestinians, according to an individual who overheard the conversation and described it as a surprising and “nasty” 30-minute-long tirade against the Jewish state...

...“In the 30 minute conversation, no one at the table mentioned a single wrong thing the Palestinians had done,” according to the source who overheard the conversation. “There was no self-criticism whatsoever.”...

...“The staff relished how critical Indyk was of Israel in public speech,” the source said. “They laughed about it”..." --Adam Kredo

Friday, May 16, 2014

POLL: Pretty Much Everyone in America Wants an Investigation into Benghazi Except... the Media

Noah Rothman deserves our thanks. He is doing yeoman's work at Mediaite as but one of a handful of reporters willing to speak truth to power.

The journalistic establishment is convinced that the investigation into the attacks on Benghazi is a partisan sideshow that is unlikely to unearth any new information, the fact that new information was unearthed just weeks ago as a result of a Freedom of Information Act request notwithstanding. 

Nevertheless, reporters are quite sure that any investigation into the preparation for and response to the Benghazi attack is purely political. CNN’s Erin Burnett summed it up best when she declared on Wednesday night that even the word Benghazi has “become like abortion.” Meaning, the issue has grown so polarizing that there are few people left who can be persuaded to change their already settled opinion on the matter. 

Outside of the newsroom, however, opinions about Benghazi seem to be far less set in stone. On Thursday, Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace revealed that, according to the crosstabs on the latest Fox News poll, Democrats are just as eager for a definitive investigation into Benghazi as are Republicans in Congress

...That comes as a surprise only to those who refuse to acknowledge that there are outstanding questions relating to that attack. Writing in National Review, Jim Geraghty critiques MSNBC’s Chuck Todd, who recently insisted that “all the questions” relating to Benghazi “have been answered.” In a thorough post, Geraghty outlines just how many questions relating to the attack and its aftermath have not been answered and why the slow drip of information coming out of the White House begs for a stronger response from congressional investigators.

But while the country clearly believes there is more to the Benghazi story, and it is perfectly appropriate to investigate the White House’s handling of that attack, the latest Fox poll has its share of red flags for the GOP, too. ... When asked if Republicans in Congress are investigating the Benghazi attacks out of a desire to get to the truth or to secure “political gain” for themselves, 63 percent said that the GOP’s motives were not entirely pure... For now, however, this survey indicates that voters want to see a full accounting of events of what happened before and after the Benghazi attacks. The GOP has a mandate to pursue those answers, but voters have little patience left for the GOP and that mandate could quickly evaporate.
I must also mention that Rothman was one of 2013's Fabulous 50 Blog Award Winners, which recognizes a select group of elites in the world of online media.


THE SCAM IS SETTLED: Climate Extremists Threaten, Intimidate Scientists Who Expose Global Warming Scam

By Investor's Business Daily

Global Warming: A noted researcher who questioned the climate's sensitivity to greenhouse gases says his paper is not being published for ideological reasons and because it might fuel doubt in the climate change story.

First the climate change zealots tried to manipulate the data. Now they are trying to control the debate they claim is over.

It's not over, though, and the science is not settled as true science never is. But those, such as Swedish climate scientist Lennart Bengtsson, who dare to challenge the climate change orthodoxy are being silenced in an organized campaign.

In an echo of the infamous Climategate scandal at Britain's University of East Anglia, one of the world's top academic journals has rejected the work of five experts, including Bengtsson. One peer reviewer said the paper "is harmful as it opens the door for oversimplified claims of 'errors' and worse from the climate skeptics media side."

The Climategate scandal was a direct result of scientists at Britain's Climate Research Unit and others, such as Michael Mann, conspiring to manipulate "unhelpful" data and to "hide the decline" in global temperatures.

The Climategate emails leaked in 2009 made it abundantly clear that the suppression of skeptical papers in learned journals and conflicting data from the alarmist establishment has long been widespread and organized within the field of climate science.

On the Road to Tyranny in my Driverless Car

Google -- and perhaps others -- have been making great progress in perfecting a "driverless" car.


This development gives me great pause, but not for the rather esoteric hypotheticals described in Wired's "The Robot Car of Tomorrow May Just Be Programmed to Hit You."


The conundrum is rather simple: should a robot driving your car sacrifice your life to save two others?

MIND-BLOWING iPHONE APP: Word Lens

Dude.

Shortly after the iOS translation app "Word Lens" was featured in a prominent iPhone commercial from Apple, the developer behind the app has been snapped up by rival Google.


Quest Visual, the startup responsible for Word Lens translator available for iOS as well as Android and Google Glass, is now owned by Google, the developer announced on its website. There it revealed that Google plans to integrate Word Lens functionality into its own translation services.

Quest Visual said the change will allow its technology to provide "broad language coverage and translation capabilities in the future..."

Now imagine Word Lens operating using a pair of Google Glass. You're traveling abroad and simply look at a foreign language newspaper. The translated article appears on your heads-up display.

In some ways, thanks to the silicon transistor and Moore's Law, the current state of technology makes Star Trek look positively medieval.


Hat tip: BadBlue Tech News

Larwyn's Linx: Valerie Jarrett: 'We Have a Commitment' from Boehner on Amnesty This Year

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Nation

Valerie Jarrett: 'We Have a Commitment' from Boehner on Amnesty: Breitbart
Obamacare Worker: We Were Told To 'Act Like We Were Working': TR
The Corruption of the Eric Cantor Crowd: PJM

Our Oppressed Oppressors: Daniel Greenfield
Chilling: Reid would back Constitutional amendment limiting free speech: Toldjah
Ben Carson: If God Calls Me to Run for President, I'm Going to Run: Ace

TPM replays "Resistance Is Futile" tune on collectivist gramophone.: SSI
Tuesday's Election Results Torpedo The Dominant GOP Narrative ... Again: TPM
GOP establishment eats the party's young to save its corporate welfare: Exam

Economy

As vets die awaiting care, Pentagon backs Manning sex change: Unyielding
The VA’s Deadly Bureaucratic Drones: Michelle Malkin
Obama Sends in the Cleaner: Keith Koffler

Bankrupt Illinois Spent $12 Million on Medicaid for Dead People: Publius
Rep. Huelskamp: ‘Replace Common Core with Rush Limbaugh’s book’: Twitchy
Obama Golf: MB

Scandal Central

VA Officials Won’t Commit to Firing Employees Who Cooked the Books: PJM
Time To Give Up Opposition To Amnesty Everyone. Pro Amnesty Side Has...A Poll.: Ace
CRUZ: New emails escalate need for Special Prosecutor: YourHouston

Climate & Energy

Now It’s “Climate Disruption”: Richard Larsen
Abuse from Climate Scientists Forces Resignation from Skeptic Group after a Week: NRO
Rep. Keith Ellison says ‘communities of color’ hardest hit by climate change: Twitchy

Media

Abramson Firing: Did NYTimes Forget To Read Its 90 pieces On Equal Pay?: MRC
Lt. Col. Oliver North: “Any Other President Would Have Been Impeached: ConTrib
Karl Rove forces Bill Clinton to provide relevant health information about Hillary Clinton.: Moe Lane

This is my homophobic rant against Michael Sam: Matt Walsh
CNN Hounds Bernie Sanders on V.A. Scandal: 'You Sound Like a Lawyer Defending the Hospital': NB
Review: The Black Book of the American Left, Volume II: PJM

Democrats Mock Candidate and Iraq War Veteran As A Coward: MenRec
What’s In Your Wallet? Hope it’s not a Tea Party Membership Card.: MOTUS
Rape Culture is a ‘Panic Where Paranoia, Censorship, and False Accusations Flourish’: Christina Hoff Sommers

World

Moral compass points toward retribution in Nigeria: Jonah Goldberg
Obama Administration Threatened Nigeria With Sanctions In 2013 For Fighting Boko Haram: WZ
Hillary Didn't Label Boko Haram Terrorists Because It Would Have Hurt Obama Reelection Message: Lid

Obama Does Not Mention – Islam, Al-Qaeda, Muslims – Not Once in Today’s 9/11 Memorial: GWP
A Deal to Let Iran Cheat More Efficiently: Commentary
Levin: When are we going to talk honestly about the Islamo-Nazis who kidnapped Christian girls?: Scoop

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Apple Awarded Patent for Contact Aware User Interface in Messaging Applications: MacRumors
Comcast vs. Netflix: Is this really about Net neutrality?: CNet
Jupiter's Great Red Spot Shrinks to Smallest Size Ever Seen (Video, Photos): Space

Cornucopia

A Nation Reborn: Christian Mercenary
Brazil unveils ‘Robocop’ suit to protect super-elite police unit during World Cup: NatlPost
Deputies: Radio legend Casey Kasem found in Western Wash.: KOMO

Image: Brazil unveils ‘Robocop’ suit to protect super-elite police unit during World Cup
Sponsored by: KENTUCKY: Fight Mitch McConnell's Lies: Support Matt Bevin for U.S. Senate

QOTD: "I think the historic forces are on the side of the opposition. You go back and you know, this Bill, you go back to 1953, with the single exception, every single time one party has held a White House for two terms, they get thrown out on their ear. The only exception, of course, is Reagan being given what's essentially a third term with Bush because he was so successful. The country is already tired of Obama. The country is already in semi-depressed mood. They’re high numbers [on] wrong track. They are not going to be in a mood to reelect a Democrat. And I think the Democrats grossly overestimate how popular Hillary is. She may be popular with some of them. She may be popular with a lot of them. But they assume it's going to apply to the country. I think not." --Charles Krauthammer

Thursday, May 15, 2014

THE LAW, ILLUSTRATED: By Frédéric Bastiat

From Frédéric Bastiat:


WHAT COULD GO WRONG? The USDA wants... submachine guns

By James Simpson

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has just submitted an acquisition request for .40 caliber submachine guns. Who will be using them? The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service? The Federal Crop Insurance Agency? The Food Safety and Inspection Service? Will they use them to shoot rats in food warehouses and grain elevators?

There is only one agency within the USDA that could justify the need for such weapons, the U.S. Forest Service. This is because much illegal activity goes on in national forests, over which the Forest Service has jurisdiction. This includes illegal poaching, marijuana cultivation, and other crimes. Some of those people are armed and dangerous. One might expect this to be a DEA or FBI responsibility, because of the drug nexus, but forest rangers know the terrain best. If it is for the Forest Service, then there at least is a rationale. Calls to the USDA to confirm this, however, have been so far unanswered.

There is another, more pernicious possible explanation however. Agencies tend to jealously guard their turf, and use it as an excuse to grow and expand all kinds of functions one would not normally consider under their purview. So rather than call in the DEA, the Forest Service instead jumped in enthusiastically to get its share of the drug enforcement money pie. A lot of this kind of expansion occurred following the 1989 creation of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (i.e. the Drug Czar). There was all kinds of "drug enforcement" money being proffered for agencies that became involved in President H.W. Bush's War on Drugs. I know that because as a budget examiner for the Office of Management and Budget I was directly involved in formulating budgets for a number of law enforcement agencies.

Since then the federal law enforcement function has metastasized. Most Americans are unaware that there are over 91 federal law enforcement agencies in existence today. When I was working there in the 1990s, there were about 72, so that is yet another growth industry for government, and a very dangerous one. And this growth has occurred despite the fact that creation of the Department of Homeland Security was supposed to consolidate agencies, not grow new ones.

This occurs everywhere governments are created however, and is why the founders specifically sought a federal government that was supposed to be limited. We can see today how the government has managed to get around that, but it has taken a long time. Don't let anyone tell you the Constitution is irrelevant. It is more important today than it ever has been.


Read more at Examiner.com.

HALL OF SHAME: GOP House Chairmen Actively Fought Select Committee for Fear of Getting Shown Up

Eli Lake at The Daily Beast is one of the true superstars of modern investigative reporting. Legacy media, namely the likes of 60 Minutes, long ago abandoned their charter of speaking truth to power and instead feature gauzy interviews with FLOTUS in the White House vegetable garden.

Lake has broken a series of fascinating stories on the scandals engulfing the Obama administration, most recently deconstructing the Benghazi cover-up that implicates both Obama and ostensible 2016 Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.


But yesterday's scoop also reveals something about the feckless House Republican leadership. Namely that various House committee chairmen fought tooth-and-nail against a Select Investigative Committee for reasons, well, you be the judge.

There is deep unease within the Republican leadership that the select committee, which has yet to announce a schedule of hearings, could backfire, and badly. Investigate and find nothing new, and the committee looks like a bunch of tin-hatted obsessives. Investigate and uncover previously-hidden secrets, and it makes all of the other Republican led panels that dug into Benghazi seem like Keystone Kops.

Based upon the performance of Judicial Watch, which routinely out-investigated the Keystone Kops House, the latter fear is well-founded.

Three Republican sources tell The Daily Beast that the chairmen of the House Intelligence, Armed Services, and Government Reform committees—Reps. Rogers, Buck McKeon, and Darrell Issa, respectively—all opposed the formation of a select committee on Benghazi. All three men have led their own investigations into the matter.

Well, not to toot my own horn or anything, but I certainly called that one last year. Here's what I published then:

BUT THEY'RE DOING IT FOR LOVE: 350,000 Illegal Aliens Incarcerated in U.S. at Cost of $11 Billion Annually

You may be suffering from scandal fatigue with the most lawless administration in modern American history (given the President's impressive official list of historic "firsts"), but the recent news about illegal aliens is truly stunning.

In 2013 alone, President Obama released 40,000 illegal aliens slated for deportation for serious crimes into the United States.

They include nearly 500 rapists and 200 murderers.

I wonder what the female victims of sexual assault and rape think of this development.

Hashtag WarOnWomen.

But this report made me wonder how many illegal aliens are incarcerated in the U.S.


A little research led me to a fairly startling number. In 2012 alone, it was estimated that 350,000 illegal aliens are imprisoned in the United States, having been convicted of major crimes.

I repeat: 350,000 illegal aliens are residing in our prisons.

And how much does each illegal cost the taxpayer? The New York Times states that "the annual average taxpayer cost in these states was $31,286 per inmate."

The total cost to the American taxpayer? $11 billion.

The American citizen is the victim of this open borders madness. Our health, welfare, and prison systems -- to name but a few -- are melting down.

But they're doing it for love, right, Jeb Bush?


Larwyn's Linx: Bombshell Email Proves Weaponization of the IRS Came From Washington

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Nation

Bombshell Email Proves Weaponization of IRS Came From DC: Bryan Preston
CRACK! McConnell’s Metal Strap of Control Breaks: Jen Kuznicki
Is the White House producing campaign ads for Biden?: Dossier

Congressman: White House led 'Worst Prison Break in American History': TR
New IRS e-mails: Yep, direction came from D.C. and yep, it was political: Hot Air
Bill Clinton Says Hillary Took 6 Months To Get Over Concussion: Instapundit

Mark Levin on IRS: Carl Levin should be dragged in front of a grand jury: Scoop
Death Penalty Opponents, Have I Got A Deal For You!: Ann Coulter
USDA buying. 40-cal submachine guns: Scoop

Economy

Rahm Emanuel Announces He Will Give Illegal Aliens City Jobs, Internships: RWN
Record-high debt not the only bad number for new college grads: Melissa Quinn
Chicago principal says Emanuel administration stifles dissent: Trib

Scandal Central

GOP Overturns Obama: Victims Of Ft. Hood Will Get Honors, Benefits: RWN
Obama: If ‘Million Excess Votes’ in NYC Moved to Midwest...: Tatler
New Documents Show IRS HQ Control of Tea Party Targeting: JW

Climate & Energy

Bengtsson Burners: Mark Steyn
Village Idiot: Mark Steyn
Finally, backpedaling on crazy talk about Antarctica, Glacier Ice Sheet Melt, Sea Level Rise, LAX: WUWT

Media

The Holocaust Revisited—An Open Thank You Note to Ed Schultz: Roger L. Simon
Daily Show DESTROYS Harry Reid over Koch brothers hypocrisy: Scoop
Karl Rove’s boneheaded swipe at Hillary Clinton: John Kass

Did Scott Brown’s 2010 Win Spark The IRS War On The Tea Party?: Glob
‘War on women is coming from inside the house!’ NYT pay equity sanctimony: Twitchy
Liberal Tolerance (Caution: Graphic Language): John Hawkins

Obama Advisor David Plouffe is a Lying Scumbag And Here’s Proof: Glob
Fox News Poll: 50% Believe Hillary Clinton Deceived Public on Benghazi: FNI
Funny video: Hillary’s lack of accomplishments shows why Hillary could be president: Hot Air


World

The real Benghazi scandal was Obama's drive-by war in Libya: Exam
Modern world is still premodern in many ways: Victor Davis Hanson
Russia Wants to Limit U.S. Access to Space Station: DefenseOne

I though Obama said Al Qaeda is on the run?: Tatler
What a shock: Newsweek reporter who accused Israel of 'unprecedented spying' 'has a history': Matzav
Vassar condemns “racist, anti-Semitic graphic” posted by Students for Justice in Palestine: LI

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Anyone in the U.S. Can Buy Google Glass Now: Gizmodo
Facial transplants are safe, viable, and help patients thrive after a decade of success: SingularityHub
US reports third case of potential MERS virus: Yahoo!

Cornucopia

“All of your wallets are belong to us, comrade.”: MOTUS
Congratulations to Rush Limbaugh: Erick Erickson
Operation American Spring to hit D.C. to oust Obama, Biden, Boehner, Holder: Times

Image: Selfie of the Day: The Most Epic Selfie Ever
Sponsored by: Fight Mitch McConnell's Lies: Support Matt Bevin for U.S. Senate

QOTD: "When the party leader in the Senate thinks he has to influence, through negative attacks, a Senatorial primary in Nebraska which, by all accounts was going to be a Republican win in the general election anyway, it’s a sign he knows he’s losing his grip. And if McConnell knows it, they all do.

Notice McConnell helped attack a man who made Obamacare his major focus. Shouldn’t that tell us just where his priorities lie?

On every front, the establishment and its mouthpieces are seriously misreading, or ignoring national sentiment, and the campaigns waged by the NRSC are childish, dishonest, delusive, and sometimes downright mean and nasty. This is their idea of “disagreement” within the “family.” And all at a time when the American public want positive, uplifting messages from people they think they can trust to stop the left from ruining the country.

Make no mistake, this Sasse win sounds like a metal strap snapping under tension, letting loose the minds and thoughts and free will of the electorate. Let that sound echo throughout the nation." --Jen Kuznicki

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Institutionalized Corruption on Wall Street

By Jim Quinn

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” Upton Sinclair – I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got Licked

“The U.S. financial markets had always been either corrupt or about to be corrupted.” - Michael Lewis, Flash Boys

I finished reading Michael Lewis’ Flash Boys take-down of Wall Street banks, hedge funds, government regulators and high frequency traders last week when I had spare time created by a weeklong denial of service attack on my website. It appears to me technology is being utilized more frequently as a mechanism for malevolence rather than a mechanism for good. The smartest guys in the room are figuring out ways to steal you blind in the financial markets, pilfer your personal information, spy on your electronic communications, and censor your right to free speech by taking away your ability to communicate freely on the internet. After reading Lewis’ maddening tome and experiencing the frustration of an attack that reached 50 million hits per day on my website, I’m reminded of two quotes from the brilliant dystopian visionary Aldous Huxley.

“Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards.” ― Aldous Huxley – Ends and Means

“You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you mad.” Aldous Huxley

Technology has been pushed on the masses like a drug by the mega-corporation and mega-media dealers. Just walk down any city street and observe the technologically entranced zombies shuffling along the sidewalks staring blankly at a tiny screen, tapping away on an itsy bitsy keypad as if whatever they are conveying is of vital importance to the future of mankind. # Give me a break. God forbid if we had to go out in public without our iGadget attached to an appendage. We might actually have to use our brain to think. We might be able to look someone in the eye and smile. We might be able to say hello to a stranger. We might have to act like a human being.

STUNNING: White House Hashtag Strike Against Islamist Terror Group Boko Haram Proves Curiously Ineffective

By Investor's Business Daily

War On Terror: The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee reminds us of why our friends no longer trust us, our enemies no longer fear us and that un-friending terrorists on social media is not a foreign policy.

We've all seen the photo of first lady Michelle Obama holding up a sign with the hashtag slogan "Bring Back Our Girls." It underscores a totally unserious foreign policy that relies on gimmicks and reset buttons as Russia and radical Islamists go on the march.

"You can't base your policy on what's trending on Twitter," House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday, a day after the first lady made her Mother's Day Twitter hash-tag appeal to put social media pressure on the Islamist terrorists of Nigeria's Boko Haram. The group abducted 276 Nigerian schoolgirls and has reportedly converted some who were Christians to Islam.

Delivering the Saturday radio address, Mrs. Obama seemingly framed the incident as part of some sort of sexist war on women, as one of "grown men attempting to snuff out the aspirations of young girls."

She did not mention that the schoolgirls are Christian and their abductors are Islamist, or that while Boko Haram abducts girls from schools to be sold as wives or slaves, it kills the boys outright.

This White House sees social media as substitutes for action and as excuses for its foreign policy failures, such as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's in Benghazi.

Why Game of Thrones Author George R.R. Martin's Computer is Impervious to Any Virus or Malware

Interesting interview last night in which George R.R. Martin proclaims that his writing computer simply can't be hacked.

He has two computers, one for general work on the Internet, the other for writing his massive books. Why is the latter impervious to computer attack?

...the guy still writes all the books on a DOS-based computer. Specifically, with a program called WordStar 4.0, free from evil viruses that lurk on the Internet.


No spell-check or auto-correct either. Why?

Targaryen? Did you mean TireCenter?


Hat tip: BadBlue Tech News

ANOTHER JUDICAL WATCH BOMBSHELL: Emails Reveal IRS Targeting Directed by Washington

Remember these "blasts from the past"?

Washington Post, 5/10/13: Lois Lerner blames front-line employees in Cincinnati for IRS targeting

Fox News, 6/7/13: Cincinnati IRS official: Lerner claim that targeting done by two rogue agents is "absurd"

Washington Post, 11/20/13: IRS e-mails show Cincinnati official fuming over Lois Lerner comments

Once again, an independent watchdog group has uncovered evidence of criminal activity on the part of the Obama administration. Not John Boehner's bumbling, overlapping committees that are supposed to provide Executive Branch oversight. An independent group.

Judicial Watch today released a new batch of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) documents revealing that its handling of Tea Party applications was directed out of the agency’s headquarters in Washington, DC. The documents also show extensive pressure on the IRS by Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) to shut down conservative-leaning tax-exempt organizations. The IRS’ emails by Lois Lerner detail her misleading explanations to investigators about the targeting of Tea Party organizations.

...One key email string from July 2012 confirms that IRS Tea Party scrutiny was directed from Washington, DC....

...Another email string from February – March 2010 includes a message from a California EO Determinations manager discussing a Tea Party application “currently being held in the Screening group.” The manager urges, “Please let ‘Washington’ know about this potentially embarrassing political case involving a ‘Tea Party’ organization. Recent media attention to this type of organization indicates to me that this is a ‘high profile’ case..."

...[In addition,] correspondence to internal IRS investigators from [Lois] Lerner, dated April 2, 2013, ... tries to explain the “Be on the Lookout” (BOLO) criteria used to select organizations for screening and scrutiny...

...The IRS documents also include a presentation entitled “Heightened Awareness Issues” with a red and orange “Alert” symbol identifying the “emerging issues” that trigger scrutiny for organizations seeking tax-exempt status. Page six of the presentation focuses on the Tea Party organizations [at right]...


Now consider the kind of groups that Lerner specifically called out for scrutiny:

1. "Tea Party"
2. "Patriots"
3. "9/12 Project"
4. "Issues including government spending, government debt and taxes"
5. "Educating the public through advocacy/legislative activities to make America a better place to live"
6. "Critical of the how the country is being run"

Do me a big favor and read numbers 4, 5 and 6 again.

This administration is completely out of control. Worse, we have a Republican leadership group that is as useless as the G in Lasagna.

Consider that the prior bombshell, the White House talking points email on Benghazi, Judicial Watch was able to uncover more information on the IRS than was provided to any of Boehner's Congressional committees.

John Boehner needs to name a Select Committee on the IRS Scandal.

The fact that Judical Watch was once again to secure documents that Boehner's handpicked committees were not speaks volumes about the Speaker's failed leadership.


Hat tip: BadBlue News.

Larwyn's Linx: Ben Sasse Wins Decisively in Nebraska GOP Senate Primary

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Nation

Ben Sasse Wins Decisively in Nebraska GOP Senate Primary: WS
Replacing Cantor with a Freshman Congressman is Good for VA-7: VARight
Watch: Eric Cantor Booed By Tea Party Activists: Breitbart

Panetta, Morrell endorse Select Committee on Benghazi: Power Line
State to House: find a “more appropriate witness” than Kerry on Benghazi: Hot Air
Beck: Why Jeb Bush and Chris Christie back Common Core: Scoop

More Than Talk Needed to Rescue Trapped Vets: Betsy McCaughey
Holder DOJ to Monitor Tuesday's Nebraska Republican Primary: VictoryGirls
Black Republican Group Calls for the Impeachment of Barack Obama: ConTrib

SC GOP Votes To Censure Lindsey Graham For Being a RINO: WZ
Insanity: what's wrong with this picture?: AWD
NJ Senate passes magazine ban; Bill limits capacity to 10 rounds: Guns

Economy

Dude, where's my tax cut? Chris Christie's budget includes 23 fee hikes: WyBlog
Student Loans Soar To Record $1.111 Trillion, Up 12% In Past Year: ZH
Cash for Obamacare Shirkers: Michelle Malkin

Scandal Central

Jay Carney: Joe Biden's son accepted position with Ukrainian gas company as 'private citizen': Exam
Price for Nevada dad to see state's school files on his kids: $10G: Fox
U.S. Frees 36,007 Illegal Aliens With Serious Criminal Convictions: JW

IRS paid at least $13B in improper tax credits: Fox
Holder: No Plans at DOJ to Investigate Secret Waiting Lists and Veteran Deaths at VA Hospitals: WS
Rep. Elijah Cummings Could Go To Prison for Five Years: RightPlanet

Climate & Energy

Keystone XL Failure On The Senate Floor Leaves Mary "Landfill" Landrieu Sputtering: HayRide
Coal rules will devastate, say biz groups: Hill
Brrr… Antarctic Sea Ice at Record Levels By ‘Significant Margin’: GWP

Media

How you know Hillary’s brain damage is worse than we thought: Aces
If Obama had a son, he’d be just like Mike Sam. But he wouldn’t play football.: MOTUS
No NFL Sensitivity Training for HAMAS Support or Jew-Hatred, Just for Dissing Gay Draft Kiss: Debbie Schlussel

Trey Gowdy Silences the Press: PJM
WaPo Calls for Shariah Blasphemy Laws in America: BarbWire
Jacqueline Kennedy’s newly discovered personal letters reveal 14 years of secrets: WaPo

CBS News reveals another VA center with a secret waiting list: Scoop
Gross! Dem Rep. Joe Garcia Picks His Ear… Then Eats It: WZ
NYPD blotter: Alec Baldwin arrested for ‘biking while a douchebag’: Doug Powers

World

Iran's Final Solution: PJM
Obama’s Alliance with Boko Haram: Daniel Greenfield
CAIR Wants ‘Islamist Extremism,’ ‘Jihadism’ Removed From 9/11 Museum Video: CNS

U.S. Ambassador: Sanctions Against Russia Are '21st Century Use Of Force': WS
U.S. Conducts Nuclear Response Exercises: DefenseOne
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Liberals Take Heed, Boko Haram the 'New Wave of Jihadism': Breitbart

Partner in Peace Newspaper: Israel's Creation is 'Greatest Crime Known to Humanity': TR
Ted Cruz’s 10 Questions on Benghazi: Blaze
CNN promotes Jihadist campaigning for sharia law and teaching of Islam in public schools: BNI

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Can Google Influence Elections?: Slashdot
How Amiga hackers saved Andy Warhol's digital images: Engadget
16-year-old Canadian boy arrested for over 30 swattings, bomb threats: Sophos

Cornucopia

What it's like to own a Tesla Model S (as long as you don't live where it's cold outside): The Oatmeal
More Than Half of Google’s Revenue is From the U.S. Military and Government: Political Blindspot
#DoNotRidiculeHashTagDiplomacy: Cube

Image: Stunning Images Of Chinese Riot Police Training For A "Working Class Insurrection"
Sponsored by:
Fight Mitch McConnell's Lies: Support Matt Bevin for U.S. Senate

QOTD: "Senate Democrats on Monday blocked a request from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to approve a resolution supporting the creation of a select committee to investigate Benghazi....

“Here we are eight months later,” [Cruz] said. “The perpetrators still have not been caught and the confusion about what occurred on September 11, 2012, in Benghazi has only gotten worse.”

...[Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob] Menendez... argued that some of Cruz’s unanswered questions are political in nature, such as whether President Barack Obama slept the night of the attack that left four Americans dead. Menendez said a better question might be whether Obama was even told about the attack that night... ...Cruz pounced on that statement as an example of why a select committee is needed.

“The Democratic senator from New Jersey, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, just told this body that he has no idea if President Obama was even told four Americans were under terrorist attack,” Cruz said. “He doesn’t know what if anything the President could have done to save them... I would suggest that’s exactly the reason we need this committee.” " --Pete Kasperowicz

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

GOOD NEWS: Obama has only released 40,000 illegal aliens with serious criminal records inside the U.S.!

It's another historic first!

Besides implementing a flagrant amnesty plan that defies Congress and the rule of law, the Obama administration freed tens of thousands of illegal immigrants convicted of violent and serious crimes last year, according to the government’s own records.

The crimes committed by illegal aliens released from federal custody include homicide, sexual assault, theft, kidnapping and alcohol-related driving convictions. In all, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) freed 36,007 aliens convicted of 88,000 crimes from detention centers throughout the United States, according the breathtaking agency records, which were obtained this month by a nonpartisan research center dedicated to studying immigration issues.

...In some instances the releases were actually contrary to law and local illegal immigrant sanctuary policies did not play a role in the vast majority. This indicates that it’s part of the Obama administration’s broader amnesty policy, which has favored letting illegal aliens live outside detention centers while their cases get resolved.

Let’s take a look at the breakdown of crimes committed by this latest batch of freed illegal aliens. The records show that more than 16,000 were convicted of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Over 9,000 had dangerous drug convictions, 1,075 were convicted of aggravated assault, 426 of sexual assault and 193 of homicide. Additionally, the records show that 1,160 of the freed illegal immigrants had stolen vehicle convictions, 303 kidnapping convictions and 303 flight escape convictions.

...This is hardly the first time that the government rewards illegal immigrants with serious criminal records. Last summer Judicial Watch reported that legislation crafted by the bipartisan Gang of Eight in the U.S. Senate would grant amnesty to illegal aliens with drunk-driving, domestic violence, aggravated assault and child abuse convictions. In its report JW noted that groups that would normally be vocal on these sorts of issues remained silent. As an example we offered the nation’s largest organization working to stop drunk driving and support victims of the violent crime—Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)—which refused to criticize the proposed law even though it will essentially reward those convicted of driving dunk. Through a spokeswoman, MADD said it “doesn’t get involved in immigration matters.”


I'll say it again: if any of these scandals had occurred under a Republican president, the usual cadre of brain-dead liberals would be calling for impeachment.

But, as it stands, you'll read the following tragic numbers here and precious few other places.

The document reveals that the 36,007 convicted criminal aliens freed from ICE custody in many instances had multiple convictions. Among them, the 36,007 had nearly 88,000 convictions, including:

  • 193 homicide convictions (including one willful killing of a public official with gun)

  • 426 sexual assault convictions

  • 303 kidnapping convictions

  • 1,075 aggravated assault convictions

  • 1,160 stolen vehicle convictions

  • 9,187 dangerous drug convictions

  • 16,070 drunk or drugged driving convictions

  • 303 flight escape convictions

Remember that old progressive saw that Obama and the other charlatans on the Left rolled out after Sandy Hook?

"If we can only save one child"?

Thousands of men, women, and children are killed and maimed by illegal aliens each year, whether on the roads or during the commission of crimes.

Not by guns. By illegal aliens.

In 2012 alone, it was estimated that 7.5 million illegal aliens are imprisoned in the United States, having been convicted of major crimes.

7.5 million illegal aliens in prison.

But if we can only save one child, right?

But, transgender rights, y'all!

These liberals are the lowest of the low.


Hat tip: BadBlue News

My Favorite Handful of the 10 Safest New Cars in the World

AutoGuide has an entire Top 10 list, but a few of my favorite new vehicles are the following:

8. 2014 Honda Accord


Both the Honda Accord coupe and sedan have received a NHTSA five-star overall safety rating and IIHS Top Safety Pick Plus. The sedan is priced from $22,745 while the coupe starts at $24,415. For power, the base model Accord comes with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine with 185 hp and 181 lb-ft of torque while the more powerful V6 offers 278 hp and 252 lb-ft of torque... Fuel economy when equipped with the four-cylinder engine and a CVT tops out at 27 mpg in the city and 36 mpg on the highway while the V6 nets 21 mpg in the city and 34 mpg on the highway.