Saturday, May 24, 2014

THE FREEDOM INDEX: Find Out Where Your Congressional Representative Stacks Up

Great data spotted at The New American.

The Freedom Index: A Congressional Scorecard Based on the U.S. Constitution rates congressmen based on their adherence to constitutional principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility, national sovereignty, and a traditional foreign policy of avoiding foreign entanglements. The percentages below are cumulative scores are based on key votes from 1999 through 2013. Click on a senator's or representative's name to get a detailed breakdown of his or her voting record.

Current Members of the 113th Congress


Alabama

Sen. Jefferson Sessions - 71%
Sen. Richard Shelby - 64%
Dist.2: Martha Roby - 61%
Dist.3: Mike Rogers - 54%
Dist.4: Robert Aderholt - 57%
Dist.5: Mo Brooks - 73%
Dist.6: Spencer Bachus - 53%
Dist.7: Terri Sewell - 15%

Alaska

Sen. Mark Begich - 15%
Sen. Lisa Murkowski - 50%
Dist.: Don Young - 56%

Arizona

Sen. Jeff Flake - 81%
Sen. John McCain - 63%
Dist.1: Ann Kirkpatrick - 23%
Dist.2: Ron Barber - 13%
Dist.3: Raul Grijalva - 29%
Dist.4: Paul Gosar - 75%
Dist.5: Matt Salmon - 73%
Dist.6: David Schweikert - 83%
Dist.7: Ed Pastor - 22%
Dist.8: Trent Franks - 75%
Dist.9: Kyrsten Sinema - 15%

Arkansas

Sen. John Boozman - 55%
Sen. Mark Pryor - 20%
Dist.1: Eric Crawford - 61%
Dist.2: Tim Griffin - 65%
Dist.3: Steve Womack - 58%
Dist.4: Tom Cotton - 60%

California

Sen. Dianne Feinstein - 13%
Sen. Barbara Boxer - 14%
Dist.1: Doug LaMalfa - 65%
Dist.2: Jared Huffman - 35%
Dist.3: John Garamendi - 14%
Dist.4: Tom McClintock - 93%
Dist.5: Mike Thompson - 20%
Dist.6: Doris Matsui - 20%
Dist.7: Ami Bera - 10%
Dist.8: Paul Cook - 55%
Dist.9: Jerry McNerney - 15%
Dist.10: Jeff Denham - 60%
Dist.11: George Miller - 24%
Dist.12: Nancy Pelosi - 17%
Dist.13: Barbara Lee - 28%
Dist.14: Jackie Speier - 23%
Dist.15: Eric Swalwell - 35%
Dist.16: Jim Costa - 18%
Dist.17: Michael Honda - 23%
Dist.18: Anna Eshoo - 20%
Dist.19: Zoe Lofgren - 24%
Dist.20: Sam Farr - 22%
Dist.21: David Valadao - 40%
Dist.22: Devin Nunes - 55%
Dist.23: Kevin McCarthy - 68%
Dist.24: Lois Capps - 21%
Dist.25: Howard McKeon - 51%
Dist.26: Julia Brownley - 10%
Dist.27: Judy Chu - 21%
Dist.28: Adam Schiff - 18%
Dist.29: Tony Cardenas - 31%
Dist.30: Brad Sherman - 21%
Dist.31: Gary Miller - 60%
Dist.32: Grace Napolitano - 22%
Dist.33: Henry Waxman - 19%
Dist.34: Xavier Becerra - 20%
Dist.35: Gloria Negrete McLeod - 33%
Dist.36: Raul Ruiz - 15%
Dist.37: Karen Bass - 24%
Dist.38: Linda Sanchez - 24%
Dist.39: Edward Royce - 73%
Dist.40: Lucille Roybal-Allard - 21%
Dist.41: Mark Takano - 30%
Dist.42: Ken Calvert - 51%
Dist.43: Maxine Waters - 27%
Dist.44: Janice Hahn - 33%
Dist.45: John Campbell - 71%
Dist.46: Loretta Sanchez - 26%
Dist.47: Alan Lowenthal - 30%
Dist.48: Dana Rohrabacher - 76%
Dist.49: Darrell Issa - 52%
Dist.50: Duncan Hunter - 76%
Dist.51: Juan Vargas - 30%
Dist.52: Scott Peters - 15%
Dist.53: Susan Davis - 17%

Colorado

Sen. Michael Bennet - 10%
Sen. Mark Udall - 21%
Dist.1: Diana DeGette - 19%
Dist.2: Jared Polis - 25%
Dist.3: Scott Tipton - 76%
Dist.4: Cory Gardner - 72%
Dist.5: Doug Lamborn - 78%
Dist.6: Mike Coffman - 75%
Dist.7: Ed Perlmutter - 15%

Connecticut

Sen. Christopher Murphy - 15%
Sen. Richard Blumenthal - 10%
Dist.1: John Larson - 21%
Dist.2: Joe Courtney - 17%
Dist.3: Rosa DeLauro - 20%
Dist.4: James Himes - 11%
Dist.5: Elizabeth Esty - 25%

Delaware

Sen. Thomas Carper - 14%
Sen. Chris Coons - 11%
Dist.: John Carney - 11%

Florida

Sen. Marco Rubio - 78%
Sen. Bill Nelson - 14%
Dist.1: Jeff Miller - 69%
Dist.2: Steve Southerland - 73%
Dist.3: Ted Yoho - 85%
Dist.4: Ander Crenshaw - 52%
Dist.5: Corrine Brown - 20%
Dist.6: Ron DeSantis - 85%
Dist.7: John Mica - 57%
Dist.8: Bill Posey - 88%
Dist.9: Alan Grayson - 23%
Dist.10: Daniel Webster - 64%
Dist.11: Richard Nugent - 69%
Dist.12: Gus Bilirakis - 62%
Dist.14: Kathy Castor - 11%
Dist.15: Dennis Ross - 78%
Dist.16: Vern Buchanan - 58%
Dist.17: Thomas Rooney - 73%
Dist.18: Patrick Murphy - 20%
Dist.19: Trey Radel - 70%
Dist.20: Alcee Hastings - 23%
Dist.21: Theodore Deutch - 14%
Dist.22: Lois Frankel - 25%
Dist.23: Debbie Wasserman Schultz - 15%
Dist.24: Frederica Wilson - 21%
Dist.25: Mario Diaz-Balart - 46%
Dist.26: Joe Garcia - 15%
Dist.27: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen - 42%

Georgia

Sen. John Isakson - 53%
Sen. Saxby Chambliss - 59%
Dist.1: Jack Kingston - 63%
Dist.2: Sanford Bishop - 28%
Dist.3: Lynn Westmoreland - 73%
Dist.4: Henry Johnson - 17%
Dist.5: John Lewis - 25%
Dist.6: Tom Price - 73%
Dist.7: Rob Woodall - 67%
Dist.8: Austin Scott - 73%
Dist.9: Doug Collins - 68%
Dist.10: Paul Broun - 90%
Dist.11: Phil Gingrey - 65%
Dist.12: John Barrow - 31%
Dist.13: David Scott - 20%
Dist.14: Tom Graves - 82%

Hawaii

Sen. Brian Schatz - 5%
Sen. Mazie Hirono - 12%
Dist.1: Colleen Hanabusa - 20%
Dist.2: Tulsi Gabbard - 40%

Idaho

Sen. James Risch - 85%
Sen. Michael Crapo - 68%
Dist.1: Raul Labrador - 89%
Dist.2: Michael Simpson - 55%

Illinois

Sen. Mark Kirk - 34%
Sen. Richard Durbin - 11%
Dist.1: Bobby Rush - 23%
Dist.2: Robin Kelly - 26%
Dist.3: Daniel Lipinski - 20%
Dist.4: Luis Gutierrez - 21%
Dist.5: Mike Quigley - 16%
Dist.6: Peter Roskam - 69%
Dist.7: Danny Davis - 24%
Dist.8: Tammy Duckworth - 15%
Dist.9: Janice Schakowsky - 23%
Dist.10: Bradley Schneider - 15%
Dist.11: Bill Foster - 13%
Dist.12: William Enyart - 20%
Dist.13: Rodney Davis - 65%
Dist.14: Randy Hultgren - 73%
Dist.15: John Shimkus - 53%
Dist.16: Adam Kinzinger - 59%
Dist.17: Cheri Bustos - 17%
Dist.18: Aaron Schock - 67%

Indiana

Sen. Joe Donnelly - 23%
Sen. Daniel Coats - 71%
Dist.1: Peter Visclosky - 28%
Dist.2: Jackie Walorski - 55%
Dist.3: Marlin Stutzman - 80%
Dist.4: Todd Rokita - 71%
Dist.5: Susan Brooks - 55%
Dist.6: Luke Messer - 65%
Dist.7: André Carson - 16%
Dist.8: Larry Bucshon - 67%
Dist.9: Todd Young - 60%

Iowa

Sen. Thomas Harkin - 14%
Sen. Charles Grassley - 61%
Dist.1: Bruce Braley - 19%
Dist.2: David Loebsack - 17%
Dist.3: Tom Latham - 50%
Dist.4: Steve King - 66%

Kansas

Sen. Pat Roberts - 61%
Sen. Jerry Moran - 64%
Dist.1: Tim Huelskamp - 88%
Dist.2: Lynn Jenkins - 75%
Dist.3: Kevin Yoder - 70%
Dist.4: Mike Pompeo - 66%

Kentucky

Sen. Rand Paul - 94%
Sen. Mitch McConnell - 62%
Dist.1: Ed Whitfield - 52%
Dist.2: Brett Guthrie - 68%
Dist.3: John Yarmuth - 19%
Dist.4: Thomas Massie - 100%
Dist.5: Harold Rogers - 52%
Dist.6: Garland Barr - 65%

Louisiana

Sen. David Vitter - 58%
Sen. Mary Landrieu - 20%
Dist.1: Steve Scalise - 74%
Dist.2: Cedric Richmond - 23%
Dist.3: Charles Boustany - 58%
Dist.4: John Fleming - 82%
Dist.6: Bill Cassidy - 68%

Maine

Sen. Angus King - 15%
Sen. Susan Collins - 40%
Dist.1: Chellie Pingree - 28%
Dist.2: Michael Michaud - 28%

Maryland

Sen. Benjamin Cardin - 17%
Sen. Barbara Mikulski - 13%
Dist.1: Andy Harris - 78%
Dist.2: C. Ruppersberger - 16%
Dist.3: John Sarbanes - 17%
Dist.4: Donna Edwards - 21%
Dist.5: Steny Hoyer - 16%
Dist.6: John Delaney - 21%
Dist.7: Elijah Cummings - 22%
Dist.8: Chris Van Hollen - 18%

Massachusetts

Sen. Elizabeth Warren - 0%
Sen. Edward Markey - 22%
Dist.1: Richard Neal - 20%
Dist.2: James McGovern - 24%
Dist.3: Niki Tsongas - 16%
Dist.4: Joseph Kennedy - 31%
Dist.6: John Tierney - 26%
Dist.7: Michael Capuano - 27%
Dist.8: Stephen Lynch - 25%
Dist.9: William Keating - 24%

Michigan

Sen. Debbie Stabenow - 18%
Sen. Carl Levin - 12%
Dist.1: Dan Benishek - 66%
Dist.2: Bill Huizenga - 75%
Dist.3: Justin Amash - 92%
Dist.4: Dave Camp - 52%
Dist.5: Daniel Kildee - 40%
Dist.6: Fred Upton - 48%
Dist.7: Tim Walberg - 69%
Dist.8: Mike Rogers - 51%
Dist.9: Sander Levin - 17%
Dist.10: Candice Miller - 51%
Dist.11: Kerry Bentivolio - 80%
Dist.12: John Dingell - 21%
Dist.13: John Conyers - 28%
Dist.14: Gary Peters - 17%

Minnesota

Sen. Al Franken - 7%
Sen. Amy Klobuchar - 7%
Dist.1: Timothy Walz - 17%
Dist.2: John Kline - 55%
Dist.3: Erik Paulsen - 69%
Dist.4: Betty McCollum - 21%
Dist.5: Keith Ellison - 23%
Dist.6: Michele Bachmann - 80%
Dist.7: Collin Peterson - 46%
Dist.8: Richard Nolan - 35%

Mississippi

Sen. Thad Cochran - 54%
Sen. Roger Wicker - 52%
Dist.1: Alan Nunnelee - 64%
Dist.2: Bennie Thompson - 26%
Dist.3: Gregg Harper - 67%
Dist.4: Steven Palazzo - 66%

Missouri

Sen. Roy Blunt - 55%
Sen. Claire McCaskill - 17%
Dist.1: Wm. Clay - 24%
Dist.2: Ann Wagner - 63%
Dist.3: Blaine Luetkemeyer - 70%
Dist.4: Vicky Hartzler - 63%
Dist.5: Emanuel Cleaver - 23%
Dist.6: Sam Graves - 56%
Dist.7: Billy Long - 62%
Dist.8: Jason Smith - 75%

Montana

Sen. Max Baucus - 19%
Sen. Jon Tester - 22%
Dist.: Steve Daines - 60%

Nebraska

Sen. Deb Fischer - 70%
Sen. Mike Johanns - 68%
Dist.1: Jeff Fortenberry - 55%
Dist.2: Lee Terry - 56%
Dist.3: Adrian Smith - 69%

Nevada

Sen. Harry Reid - 17%
Sen. Dean Heller - 73%
Dist.1: Dina Titus - 10%
Dist.2: Mark Amodei - 68%
Dist.3: Joseph Heck - 63%
Dist.4: Steven Horsford - 13%

New Hampshire

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen - 9%
Sen. Kelly Ayotte - 68%
Dist.1: Carol Shea-Porter - 18%
Dist.2: Ann Kuster - 20%

New Jersey

Sen. Robert Menendez - 19%
Dist.1: Robert Andrews - 19%
Dist.2: Frank LoBiondo - 45%
Dist.3: Jon Runyan - 50%
Dist.4: Christopher Smith - 45%
Dist.5: Scott Garrett - 72%
Dist.6: Frank Pallone - 24%
Dist.7: Leonard Lance - 60%
Dist.8: Albio Sires - 11%
Dist.9: Bill Pascrell - 24%
Dist.10: Donald Payne - 26%
Dist.11: Rodney Frelinghuysen - 40%
Dist.12: Rush Holt - 26%

New Mexico

Sen. Martin Heinrich - 11%
Sen. Tom Udall - 21%
Dist.1: Michelle Lujan Grisham - 25%
Dist.2: Stevan Pearce - 55%
Dist.3: Ben Lujan - 19%

New York

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand - 10%
Sen. Charles Schumer - 14%
Dist.1: Timothy Bishop - 20%
Dist.2: Peter King - 44%
Dist.3: Steve Israel - 18%
Dist.4: Carolyn McCarthy - 19%
Dist.5: Gregory Meeks - 19%
Dist.6: Grace Meng - 15%
Dist.7: Nydia VelĂ¡zquez - 25%
Dist.8: Hakeem Jeffries - 35%
Dist.9: Yvette Clarke - 23%
Dist.10: Jerrold Nadler - 23%
Dist.11: Michael Grimm - 51%
Dist.12: Carolyn Maloney - 21%
Dist.13: Charles Rangel - 18%
Dist.14: Joseph Crowley - 21%
Dist.15: José Serrano - 23%
Dist.16: Eliot Engel - 18%
Dist.17: Nita Lowey - 15%
Dist.18: Sean Maloney - 20%
Dist.19: Christopher Gibson - 71%
Dist.20: Paul Tonko - 20%
Dist.21: William Owens - 22%
Dist.22: Richard Hanna - 50%
Dist.23: Tom Reed - 65%
Dist.24: Daniel Maffei - 22%
Dist.25: Louise Slaughter - 20%
Dist.26: Brian Higgins - 16%
Dist.27: Chris Collins - 60%

North Carolina

Sen. Kay Hagan - 13%
Sen. Richard Burr - 57%
Dist.1: George Butterfield - 16%
Dist.2: Renee Ellmers - 63%
Dist.3: Walter Jones - 78%
Dist.4: David Price - 19%
Dist.5: Virginia Foxx - 71%
Dist.6: Howard Coble - 66%
Dist.7: Mike McIntyre - 45%
Dist.8: Richard Hudson - 70%
Dist.9: Robert Pittenger - 55%
Dist.10: Patrick McHenry - 72%
Dist.11: Mark Meadows - 75%
Dist.12: Melvin Watt - 23%
Dist.13: George Holding - 68%

North Dakota

Sen. John Hoeven - 56%
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp - 21%
Dist.: Kevin Cramer - 55%

Ohio

Sen. Sherrod Brown - 24%
Sen. Robert Portman - 50%
Dist.1: Steve Chabot - 63%
Dist.2: Brad Wenstrup - 60%
Dist.3: Joyce Beatty - 26%
Dist.4: Jim Jordan - 80%
Dist.5: Robert Latta - 72%
Dist.6: Bill Johnson - 66%
Dist.7: Bob Gibbs - 66%
Dist.8: John Boehner - 53%
Dist.9: Marcy Kaptur - 30%
Dist.10: Michael Turner - 47%
Dist.11: Marcia Fudge - 20%
Dist.12: Patrick Tiberi - 52%
Dist.13: Tim Ryan - 26%
Dist.14: David Joyce - 50%
Dist.15: Steve Stivers - 57%
Dist.16: James Renacci - 61%

Oklahoma

Sen. James Inhofe - 72%
Sen. Thomas Coburn - 82%
Dist.1: Jim Bridenstine - 90%
Dist.2: Markwayne Mullin - 70%
Dist.3: Frank Lucas - 59%
Dist.4: Tom Cole - 53%
Dist.5: James Lankford - 66%

Oregon

Sen. Ron Wyden - 17%
Sen. Jeff Merkley - 13%
Dist.1: Suzanne Bonamici - 29%
Dist.2: Greg Walden - 48%
Dist.3: Earl Blumenauer - 21%
Dist.4: Peter DeFazio - 32%
Dist.5: Kurt Schrader - 23%

Pennsylvania

Sen. Patrick Toomey - 67%
Sen. Robert Casey - 10%
Dist.1: Robert Brady - 21%
Dist.2: Chaka Fattah - 19%
Dist.3: Mike Kelly - 60%
Dist.4: Scott Perry - 70%
Dist.5: Glenn Thompson - 68%
Dist.6: Jim Gerlach - 40%
Dist.7: Patrick Meehan - 56%
Dist.8: Michael Fitzpatrick - 46%
Dist.9: Bill Shuster - 56%
Dist.10: Tom Marino - 57%
Dist.11: Lou Barletta - 60%
Dist.12: Keith Rothfus - 75%
Dist.13: Allyson Schwartz - 12%
Dist.14: Michael Doyle - 30%
Dist.15: Charles Dent - 45%
Dist.16: Joseph Pitts - 63%
Dist.17: Matthew Cartwright - 35%
Dist.18: Tim Murphy - 47%

Rhode Island

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse - 11%
Sen. John Reed - 14%
Dist.1: David Cicilline - 27%
Dist.2: James Langevin - 20%

South Carolina

Sen. Tim Scott - 81%
Sen. Lindsey Graham - 63%
Dist.1: Marshall Sanford - 85%
Dist.2: Joe Wilson - 60%
Dist.3: Jeff Duncan - 85%
Dist.4: Trey Gowdy - 80%
Dist.5: Mick Mulvaney - 78%
Dist.6: James Clyburn - 20%
Dist.7: Tom Rice - 70%

South Dakota

Sen. Tim Johnson - 16%
Sen. John Thune - 57%
Dist.: Kristi Noem - 69%

Tennessee

Sen. Bob Corker - 66%
Sen. Lamar Alexander - 54%
Dist.1: David Roe - 74%
Dist.2: John Duncan - 81%
Dist.3: Charles Fleischmann - 69%
Dist.4: Scott DesJarlais - 78%
Dist.5: Jim Cooper - 23%
Dist.6: Diane Black - 66%
Dist.7: Marsha Blackburn - 63%
Dist.8: Stephen Fincher - 74%
Dist.9: Steve Cohen - 21%

Texas

Sen. John Cornyn - 69%
Sen. Ted Cruz - 95%
Dist.1: Louie Gohmert - 75%
Dist.2: Ted Poe - 71%
Dist.3: Sam Johnson - 65%
Dist.4: Ralph Hall - 60%
Dist.5: Jeb Hensarling - 66%
Dist.6: Joe Barton - 61%
Dist.7: John Culberson - 65%
Dist.8: Kevin Brady - 57%
Dist.9: Al Green - 24%
Dist.10: Michael McCaul - 61%
Dist.11: K. Conaway - 62%
Dist.12: Kay Granger - 51%
Dist.13: Mac Thornberry - 54%
Dist.14: Randy Weber - 70%
Dist.15: Ruben Hinojosa - 21%
Dist.16: Beto O'Rourke - 30%
Dist.17: Bill Flores - 68%
Dist.18: Sheila Jackson-Lee - 24%
Dist.19: Randy Neugebauer - 65%
Dist.20: Joaquin Castro - 25%
Dist.21: Lamar Smith - 54%
Dist.22: Pete Olson - 72%
Dist.23: Pete Gallego - 15%
Dist.24: Kenny Marchant - 68%
Dist.25: Roger Williams - 75%
Dist.26: Michael Burgess - 66%
Dist.27: Blake Farenthold - 71%
Dist.28: Henry Cuellar - 18%
Dist.29: Gene Green - 27%
Dist.30: Eddie Johnson - 19%
Dist.31: John Carter - 58%
Dist.32: Pete Sessions - 61%
Dist.33: Marc Veasey - 25%
Dist.34: Filemon Vela - 25%
Dist.35: Lloyd Doggett - 25%
Dist.36: Steve Stockman - 95%

Utah

Sen. Orrin Hatch - 58%
Sen. Mike Lee - 91%
Dist.1: Rob Bishop - 68%
Dist.2: Chris Stewart - 65%
Dist.3: Jason Chaffetz - 80%
Dist.4: Jim Matheson - 35%

Vermont

Sen. Patrick Leahy - 16%
Sen. Bernard Sanders - 27%
Dist.: Peter Welch - 24%

Virginia

Sen. Mark Warner - 13%
Sen. Timothy Kaine - 0%
Dist.1: Robert Wittman - 66%
Dist.2: E. Rigell - 68%
Dist.3: Robert Scott - 23%
Dist.4: J. Forbes - 57%
Dist.5: Robert Hurt - 71%
Dist.6: Bob Goodlatte - 61%
Dist.7: Eric Cantor - 56%
Dist.8: James Moran - 20%
Dist.9: H. Griffith - 80%
Dist.10: Frank Wolf - 49%
Dist.11: Gerald Connolly - 15%

Washington

Sen. Patty Murray - 11%
Sen. Maria Cantwell - 13%
Dist.1: Suzan DelBene - 30%
Dist.2: Rick Larsen - 18%
Dist.3: Jaime Herrera Beutler - 67%
Dist.4: Doc Hastings - 56%
Dist.5: Cathy McMorris Rodgers - 64%
Dist.6: Derek Kilmer - 25%
Dist.7: Jim McDermott - 25%
Dist.8: David Reichert - 39%
Dist.9: Adam Smith - 20%
Dist.10: Denny Heck - 20%

West Virginia

Sen. Joe Manchin - 35%
Sen. John Rockefeller - 13%
Dist.1: David McKinley - 63%
Dist.2: Shelley Capito - 46%
Dist.3: Nick Rahall - 34%

Wisconsin

Sen. Ron Johnson - 86%
Sen. Tammy Baldwin - 27%
Dist.1: Paul Ryan - 58%
Dist.2: Mark Pocan - 40%
Dist.3: Ron Kind - 23%
Dist.4: Gwen Moore - 24%
Dist.5: F. Sensenbrenner - 77%
Dist.6: Thomas Petri - 61%
Dist.7: Sean Duffy - 63%
Dist.8: Reid Ribble - 72%

Wyoming

Sen. John Barrasso - 80%
Sen. Michael Enzi - 71%
Dist.: Cynthia Lummis - 80%

Read more at The New American.

ANOTHER @BIFFSPACKLE EXCLUSIVE: Republicans are Racist, Misogynistic, People-Haters

From the pen of our summer intern, @BiffSpackle.


You can see the rest of Biff's comic collection here.


Larwyn's Linx: Another Day, Another Series of Horrific Stories Out of Veterans Administration Facilities

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

Nation

Another Day, Another Series of Horrific Stories Out of the VA: Jim Geraghty
Top Black Democrat Turns On Obama, Says He's Lying About VA Scandal: IJR
Kelly File: Obama Has Already Ignored 3 IG Reports on VA Failures: FNI

The Hillary-Industrial Complex: NRO
All Hell Breaking Loose and Dems J**king Off on Twitter: Ace
Rockefeller Defends His Race-Baiting: Keith Koffler

Source reveals to me what really happened in Benghazi: Allen West
Cruz Warns Dems Plan to Repeal First Amendment: TR
John Conyers loses appeal to be put on Michigan primary ballot.: Moe Lane

Economy

Why didn’t Piketty’s Harvard publisher spot the errors FT exposed?: SpecUK
Obamacare’s Economically Destructive Welfare Expansion: RWN
Weird: Gun-Free Restaurants Keep Drawing Armed Robbers: Poor Richard

Freeloader-in-Chief: ‘I Don’t Take Free Food’: JWF
As Gold Manipulation Comes To Light, Trends Makes More Sense: Kid Dynamite
Driverless cars could cripple law enforcement budgets: NetworkWorld

Scandal Central

DOJ Used Lois Lerner to Build Criminal Case Against Nonprofits: JWF
Sorry, John Kerry Can't Testify About Benghazi; He Is Just Too Busy: ZH
The Benghazi YouTube Video Narrative Began the Night of the Attack, Says Issa: VictoryGirls

Inequality Before the Law: Mark Steyn
Hillary Stacks the Benghazi Select Committee: Arnold Ahlert
What Else is Obama Hiding?: JW

Climate & Energy

Climate Alarmist Who Warned Of Global Cooling In 1975 Admits He Was Wrong: LoneCon
End Crony Capitalism, Sell Federal Land, Limit Tax Breaks for the Rich: RWN
Alternative Energy Breakthrough: AmDigest

Media

Our Veterans Administration: Ushanka
Andrea Mitchell to Dem Congressman: 'Why Even Play the Game' of GOP's Benghazi 'Witch Hunt'?: MRC
Democrats' Ridiculous Bossy Bumper Sticker Just Begs to be Photoshopped : PJM

What White Democrats Really Think About Black Americans: Patricia L. Dickson
Networks Cover "Bridgegate" More in 4 Days Than the VA Scandal In an Entire Month: Ace
Call (of Duty) Waiting: Hopenchange

CNN: Where News Goes to Die: Ed Driscoll
Group Behind ‘Pitfalls Of Working With White People’ Received Nearly $1 MILLION in Public Grants: GWP
Amazon Engaging in Digital Book-Burning?: NYT

World

New Ad Campaign “Truth About CAIR” Hits NYC Subway Platforms: Creeping
Syrian female refugees on sale on Facebook; women sold in mosques: JW
Bosnian refugee in Sweden: “What I fled from in 1992 has now arrived here.”: JW

Jews, Get Out of Europe: P. David Hornik
Accommodating CAIR at 9/11 Memorial Like Giving Nazis Veto Power at Auschwitz Memorial: BCF
Home Depot’s Double Standard: Fires Christian, Allows Terror-linked Muslims to Proselytize: Creeping

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Google offers best argument for broadband competition: Marguerite Reardon
Short-Throw Touchscreen Projector Means There's No Remote To Lose: Gizmodo
Marc Andreessen on net neutrality: Marginal Revolution

Cornucopia

They All Look Like Game Show Hosts to Me.: MOTUS
Something Wonderful: Story of My Life - ThePianoGuys: American Digest
Thoughts on Liberty (Updated): DeRP

Image: The Rash
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: BOOM: Chris McDaniel for Senate

QOTD: "The United States Government is corrupt. The IRS is corrupt, the EPA is corrupt, the Department of Justice is corrupt. They use their powers selectively to chastise their political enemies. In a hyper-regulatory state, there are laws against everything, and everyone is guilty of being in breach of at least 300 of them at any hour of the day. I have no use for Dinesh D'Souza, for example, but it seems obvious that he's been set up as this season's Benghazi video maker. There are gazillions of $20,000 campaign-finance infractions across America, but the only guy that's been singled out is the fellow who made a hit anti-Obama movie. As John Hayward puts it, he's been

'...busted for doing 59 in a 55-mph campaign-finance zone in your little compact car, while huge semi trucks full of political cash blast past you at a hundred miles an hour without the cops batting an eye.'

D'Souza's enemies are gloating. As is the habit in the American system, he will most likely be prevailed upon to cop a plea in return for a reduced sentence. And everyone else will get the message: If you make a film or write a book attacking Obama, make sure it's a flop - or anyway not so big a hit it catches the regime's eye." --Mark Steyn

Friday, May 23, 2014

PICS: OFA fanatics' "Like a Boss" meme completely pwnt by Ted Cruz and the entire Interwebz

Someone who no longer works at Organizing For Alinsky came up with this brainstorm:



Ted Cruz, however, really is a boss:

Scandal Déjà vu: As Veterans Needlessly Suffer, President Obama Refuses to Hold Anyone to Account

By Investor's Business Daily

Scandal: While his clueless Veterans Affairs secretary stays, the president issues his response: If reports are true, people will be held accountable — that is, as soon as he gets the inspector general's report in August.

'If these allegations prove to be true, it is dishonorable, it is disgraceful and I will not tolerate it, period," the president said, drawing a red line in his first public comments in weeks on the issue after a meeting with Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki at the White House.

His faux outrage and emotionless tap-dancing differed little from his comments when the IRS was found to be targeting Tea Party groups to aid his re-election.

"If in fact IRS personnel engaged in the kind of practices that have been reported on and were intentionally targeting conservative groups, then that's outrageous and there's no place for it," he said then, promising to wait, yep, for an inspector general's report.

Veterans are tired of waiting for reports. There have been at least 50 of them, as senators pointed out to Shinseki at a hearing, not counting the transition briefing President-elect Obama received in 2008 about a problem he pledged to address in 2009.

Now he has to wait for one more?

As the Washington Times notes, Obama's transition team was warned in 2008 of no less than three audits that showed the VA Department was misreporting wait times for medical treatment, including one audit revealing delays nearly 10 times worse than officially acknowledged. As we have noted, Obama promised then to fix a situation he now says he doesn't have enough data on.

Obama, at his meandering presser Wednesday, said he wants "to know the full scope of this problem, and that's why I ordered Secretary Shinseki to investigate."

Larwyn's Linx: Al Qaeda Fanatics at Gitmo Treated Better Than Our Vets

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Nation

Al Qaeda Fanatics at Gitmo Treated Better Than Our Vets: Pat Dollard
Senate Democrats Just Blocked a Bill to Increase Accountability at VA: WFB
Democratic War on One Woman: WSJ

Hillary’s dilemma: How to distance herself from Obama: Jonah Goldberg
In Obama’s Own Words He’s ‘Betrayed’ Our Veterans: JWF
How America Treats Illegal Aliens vs. Veterans: Michelle Malkin

Democrats threaten John Boehner on immigration reform: Exam
Reid: Let’s pass Amnesty now and wait for President Cruz to enforce it: Hot Air
Self-Defense for the Self-Defense Industry: Torch

Rand Paul drops me a note: PW
IRS to Scrap Proposed Regulations: NRO
GOP to Reid: We’ll See Your ‘Fill the Tree’ with a Filibuster: Tatler

Economy

Employers to Dump 90% of Health Care Plans: Thanks, ObamaCare!: FW
47% of Unemployed Have Given Up Looking for a Job: Mashable
Common Core’s dirty little secret and the field tests: EAG

Scandal Central

Hillary Lied, Americans Died: R.S. McCain
Obama Administration’s First Response to Benghazi Attack Was to Work on a Back Story: GWP
Pelosi Attempts to Derail The Benghazi Investigation With Hyper-partisan Democrats: JoshuaPundit

DOJ Admits Fast & Furious Docs Should Be Released Under FOIA After Stonewalling Lawsuit: JW
Issa Subpoenas Eric Holder for IRS Documents: ConTrib
FBI Urged to Investigate James O'Keefe's Tactics in Hollywood Activist Sting Operation: Paul Bond

Climate & Energy

Obama designates another half a million acres in New Mexico as a national monument: Hot Air
Tom Steyer-Koch Won't Help Mary Landrieu. He Won't Even Try.: HayRide
Climategate 3.0: Blogger Threatened for Exposing 97% "Consensus" Fraud: William F. Jasper

Climate alarmists make major blunder in reporting Antarctica ice loss results: WUWT
Obama’s Alarmist “Climate” Report Debunked by Scientists: Alex Newman
The Nod-Nod, Wink-Wink Game Pundits Play With the IPCC: CFP

Media

Review: “Faithless Execution—Building the Political Case for Obama’s Impeachment” by Andrew McCarthy: AIM
In a Month, TV News Gives Less Airtime to VA Scandal than Bridgegate Received in Four Days: MRC
Reich On: Stephen Green

Remember When the Left Raved About the VA?: Glob
The Veterans Scandal: Socialized Medicine on Trial: Roger L. Simon
Katie Pavlich calls out Mediaite over ‘bogus, completely out of context headline’: Twitchy

Al Sharpton Defends Racist Rant: ‘It Was Only One Jew’: Jerome Hudson, Daily Surge
Toys For Totalitarians - Enemy At The Gates: SWAT Mag
BOOM: Voter Turnout Nearly DOUBLED in TX After Voter ID Law: ConTrib

World

Ah, those women-loving, progressive Russians!: Donald Sensing
Waking up the Islamist deniers: Anthony Furey
Iran Releases Fans Detained Over Music Video: TNW

Clinton team begged Dems to to protect Hillary at Benghazi hearings: Rick Moran
“Without a Strong Army, There is no Sovereign State”: Gates of Vienna
Who Needs The United States? Not Russia And China: Michael Snyder

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

NASA lets enthusiasts reboot zombie 1970s spacecraft: Jacob Aron
Does U.S. business stand a chance of keeping Chinese cyber-spies out of its data?: Ellen Messmer
7 Facts: eBay Fumbles Password Reset Warning: Dark Reading

Cornucopia

Lunatics From Towson University Win National Debate Contest: MB
Moving Lips Part 2: The Critical Deficit: Torch
America’s Got Talent...how about voting for it for a change???: MOTUS

Image: America’s Got Talent...how about voting for it for a change???
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Now is the Time: Chris McDaniel for Senate

QOTD: "...our veterans, our military have to be a priority. He [Obama] said he ran on that for his campaign. You know when he was Senator that he, you know, the veterans meetings that he went to - he missed 19 out of 37 of those meetings. You know he was told in 2008 this was a problem, he did nothing about it! So I don’t understand that. Number one. Number two, if this government cannot handle taking care of 5 million veterans, how are they gonna handle taking care of 300 million Americans with ObamaCare? How?" --Stacey Dash

Thursday, May 22, 2014

GEE, BUT DEMOCRATS SAY THERE'S NO VOTE FRAUD: 308,000 Virginians Registered to Vote in Other States

By Kenric Ward

RICHMOND, Va. — Some 308,000 Virginia voters are also registered elsewhere, according to an analysis of 22 states’ election records.

The finding follows Watchdog.org’s report of 44,000 people who appear to be registered in both Virginia and Maryland.

The latest survey found the 308,000 double registrations by matching names, birth dates and the last four digits of Social Security numbers.

The Virginia Voters Alliance, which reported the results, identified “big gaps” in the voter-registration process.

“Say you move to Kansas and tell the election office there that you were registered in Virginia when you submit your Kansas voter-registration form,” explained VVA president Reagan George. “If the Kansas election official is bureaucratically lazy or politically motivated your name never gets removed. The same thing can happen on the Virginia end, and you stay double registered.”

How many of the 308,000 voters cast multiple ballots in a single election is not known.

Obama wants to use banks to obliterate the Second Amendment

By Genevieve Wood

Leave it to the Obama administration to come up with perhaps the most backdoor strategy to date to go after guns.

Operation Choke Point, launched by the Department of Justice in 2013, was initially set up to monitor banks and other financial institutions that handle transactions for payday loan businesses and other online lenders the government considered open to fraudulent activities. What does this have to do with guns?

Operation Choke Point is now being used to intimidate banks that do business with online merchants the Obama administration deems “high-risk.” On that list are porn stores, escort services, drug paraphernalia shops and, you guessed it, gun retailers.

In other words, if you’re a bank, the government may be breathing down your neck about businesses it deems “high-risk” for fraudulent activity. It may swoop in at any time to open up an investigation into your banking business if its agents “think” one of your clients is engaged in illegal behavior. Why would you take on that client in the first place? It’s much less costly for you to stop dealing with these companies than to submit to investigations and audits.

That means gun shops that offer their products online and use a third-party company such as PayPal to handle credit card transactions are increasingly not worth the risk.

Peter Weinstock, an attorney focusing on investigations of financial institutions, says, “This administration has very clearly told the banking industry which customers they feel represent ‘reputational risk’ to do business with. So financial institutions are reacting to this extraordinary enforcement arsenal by being ultra-conservative in who they do business with: Any companies that engage in any margin of risk as defined by this administration are being dropped.”

Already, gun retailers in Florida, Nevada and Arizona have experienced the fallout of such heavy-handed government tactics – from banks freezing their accounts and refusing to process their credit card transactions to dropping their accounts altogether.

GOOD NEWS: Facebook will secretly eavesdrop on your conversations, TV shows and other background noise

And what could possibly go wrong with giving a massive, faceless corporation unfettered control of your computer, essentially turning it into a clandestine listening post?

..."I hope there are people who love the feature and post more," says Facebook's product manager excitedly about the new feature they just added. We suspect people will not... As the WSJ reports, starting Wednesday, the app has the ability to recognize music and television shows playing in the vicinity of users. Read that again... 'in the vicinity of users'. In other words, Facebook is unveiling its own NSA-style eavesdropping feature (on you and all your friends). Don't worry though... even if users decide not to share what they’re hearing or watching, Facebook will hold onto the data in anonymous form, keeping tabs on how many users watched particular shows. Sound familiar?

Facebook’s mobile app just grew a keen sense of hearing. Starting Wednesday, the app has the ability to recognize music and television shows playing in the vicinity of users... The feature is designed to make it easier for users to share. When users begin to write a post, the Facebook app will offer to include information about music or shows playing in the background.


...If enough users opt in, the new Feature could give Facebook enough data to start compiling television ratings. Even if users decide not to share what they’re hearing or watching, Facebook will hold onto the data in anonymous form, keeping tabs on how many users watched particular shows...


We are sure this will not be abused or hacked by the NSA... and we are sure there will be plenty of small digital print that users will understand... One wonders though, is there any way for non-Facebook users to know that they are being eavesdropped upon?

I think Facebook should be required to sound a blaring, high-pitched beeping noise -- say, similar to the Emergency Broadcasting System, only more shrill and annoying -- to ensure that everyone within earshot is aware they are being surveilled by the NSA Facebook.


Hat tip: BadBlue News