Friday, December 26, 2014

Best Public School Signage Evah

A post by Leslie Eastman at Legal Insurrection set me off an a hunt for the signage behind this story. It didn't take long:

I suspect Santa will be bringing former New Jersey principal Antoinette Young a dictionary for Christmas this year.

A large sign outside a New Jersey elementary school that misspelled “December” appears to have cost the principal her $108,000 a year job.

The Bergen Record says the sign outside School 20 in Paterson also notified people of the date for “progress reepor” and contained a backward numeral 1.

City school board member Corey Teague circulated a photo of the error-filled signage and complained why nobody noticed for more than a week. December was spelled “Dicember.”

“If this is how the administration takes care of signage, how can we expect the students to do better? We must be held to a higher standard,” he wrote in an email accompanying the photo.

Days after Teague brought up the sign, education officials announced that the principal, Antoinette Young, was being demoted and transferred to another school.

By all means, libs, let's make sure that the poorest kids and their parents have no choice when it comes to their education.

Let's lock them into failing public schools where there's literally no accountability for teachers or administrators.

Because teachers' unions are for the children, right?


Hat tip: BadBlue News.

WHY, OF COURSE HE DOES: Eric Holder's DOJ Funds Rap Videos Extolling Cop-Killing

By Evan Gahr

The Obama administration’s Justice Department funneled at least $1.5 million in grants to a New York legal-aid group featured in a new rap video that depicts two young black men aiming handguns at a white police officer.

Some may find the lyrics eerily similar to the social media postings of the man accused of shooting and killing two New York City police officers execution-style in Brooklyn on Saturday.

The video for “Hands Up,” which also shows a white police officer gunning down a black motorist wearing a hoodie, contains lyrics suggesting revenge for much-publicized deaths of black men in confrontations with police.

Credited to rappers Uncle Murda and Maino, the video is subtitled “Eric Garner Tribute,” a reference to a black man who died while being pinned and restrained on a sidewalk by New York police officers.

The taxpayer money that went to the organization shown in the video, the Bronx Defenders, comes from a Justice Department program named for Edward Byrne, a New York Police Department officer who was shot dead at close range in 1988.

>>> Watch the Entire Video at Bottom

Among the lyrics to “Hands Up”:

For Mike Brown and Sean Bell, a cop got to get killed

’cause I’m black, police think they got the right to shoot me

No jail time, their punishment is death’s duty

… By any means necessary let’s make them respect us

Police investigators say that hours before he shot Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos as they sat in their squad car in Brooklyn, Ismaailyl Brinsley wrote these words on his Instagram account: “I’m putting wings on pigs today. They take 1 of ours, let’s take 2 of theirs.”

THE TIME IS NOW: An Article V Convention To Shrink Government and End Political Corruption

By Jim Rubens

Every two years, we hear that the coming election is a historic watershed.

Then on November 5, faced with the choice between making the hard choices needed to tackle our nation’s big challenges and positioning themselves for the next election, most Washington politicians instantly fixate on the next election.

Meanwhile, our national debt and unfunded future promises have mounted to a crushing $100 trillion. Our economy is fueled almost entirely on printed money and is producing too few living-wage jobs. Federal power is so dangerously concentrated that Washington now monitors much of our personal communication and controls the curriculum in our local schools.

Regardless of Republican or Democrat control, we are stuck with the Ex-Im Bank (half of whose taxpayer subsidized loan guarantees go to just one company, Boeing), corn ethanol mandates, the Raisin Control Board and sugar import restrictions (all drive up food cost to benefit a handful of agribiz campaign contributors), and the M1 Abrams tank upgrade program (lives on despite fervent opposition by the sequester-constrained Pentagon because program suppliers are spread across 173 Congressional districts). Congress rams through hyper-complex, purposefully unintelligible 2,000 page bills, unread by members and written by special interest lobbyists seeking economic and regulatory privileges at the expense of ordinary citizens.

Little has changed over the past thirty years, other than that the underlying problems have grown worse. Only by amending our constitution can we force Washington to exercise fiscal discipline, address systemic political money corruption, and relinquish power back to the states and the people.

There are two means provided in Article V to amend the constitution. All 27 amendments to date have been proposed by Congress and ratified by the necessary three-quarters of the states. But our constitution’s framers had the immense foresight to anticipate a Congress so corrupted by political careerism as to be incapable of self-reform and therefore provided a second and as yet unused amendment route. If the legislatures of two-thirds of the states (now 34) pass resolutions applying for a convention to debate and shape proposed amendments, Congress is compelled to call an amending convention. If a convention agrees on the language of one or more proposed amendments, legislatures or conventions of three-quarters of the states (now 38) must agree to ratify.

Twenty-four states, including New Hampshire, have already applied to Congress to call a convention to shape an amendment to require a balanced federal budget, other than in times of emergency. Supermajorities of the American people also want term limits for members of Congress, a smaller federal government, and a means to reign in systemic political corruption. Several national organizations on the right and left are asking state legislatures to apply for a convention to address one or more of these subjects.

Larwyn's Linx: The Use and Abuse of Democratic Freedoms

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Nation

The Use and Abuse of Democratic Freedoms: Roger Kimball
Newspaper Editor: Ferguson Protesters Should Wage War Against Cops: RWN
780,000 Good Men And Women In Blue: RWN

Garner’s daughter posts address of cop in hopes of murder: WAW
SWAT teams guard NYPD stations after social media threats; 7 arrested: Twitchy
Anti-cop punks in Oakland trash Christmas tree, smash windows: Twitchy

Bill de Blasio told NYPD not to arrest bottle throwing protesters: FAM
Michelle Obama's school lunch program based on junk science: Rand Simberg
Why was all-A Grosse Pointe teen killed on Detroit street?: Tresa Baldas

Unions to Recruit Illegals Covered by Obama Amnesty: Tea Party
Feds sign $7.8 million lease to house new immigration workers: The Hill
Will Jeff Sessions Strike Back In 2015?: W. James Antle III

Economy

Unions launch recruiting push for immigrants protected by Obama actions: Fox
Shocker: Obama Administration Manipulated GDP Data: Howard Richman
New NLRB rules give unions workers’ email addresses and phone numbers: Fox

Scandal Central

House Interim Report on IRS Scandal: IRS No Longer a Neutral Tax Collector: Sara Noble
DHS Department Using GPS Devices To Track Illegal Aliens Caught, Set Free At Border: WZ
HHS won’t say if it’s preparing for a Supreme Court Obamacare nightmare: Jason Millman

Climate & Energy

Hot Stuff, Cold Logic: Richard Tol
David Suzuki, High Priest of Global Warming, Torn to Shreds on Australian Public TV: MB
States, biz groups back coal company in EPA climate rule lawsuit: Timothy Cama

Media

The Ku Klux Con Job Award for Smearing Conservatives with Phony Racism Charges: NB
A Whopping 95% Of Black Americans Say Racism is a Signature National Issue: DownTrend
Man flips out when flight crew wishes him ‘Merry Christmas’; is kicked off plane to cheers: Unyielding

MARK LEVIN: “Yes they do have blood on their hands!”: Scoop
Top Trey Gowdy Rants From 2014: Western
Airline passenger tossed off plane after going nuts over staff’s ‘Merry Christmas’: John Hawkins

World

Obama's White Whale: Kenneth R. Timmerman
No Christmas Celebrations In Mosul, Iraq This Year: GWP
Santa as Hostage: ISIS Slaughters Reindeer in Christmas Message to Infidels: GWP

Israeli Girl Badly Burnt By Firebomb Tossed At Car: WZ
For third time this week, shots fired at Paris Jewish target: Times of Israel
IDF deploys Iron Dome near Netivot, Beersheba in wake of rising Gaza tensions: JPost

Germany: Over 17,000 Citizens Sing “Christmas Carols” in Streets… Muslims Are Furious: ConTrib
Like leftists here, Muslims torch police cars in Sweden: FAM
Why Does Nobody Want to Play with Turkey?: Burak Bekdil

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

How Many Stars Did It Take To Make Us?: Fraser Cain
Gravity Sketch Tablet Lets You Draw In Mid-Air: Fastcodesign
Hubble Sees the Beautiful Side of Galaxy IC 335: Red Orbit

Cornucopia

A Different Kind of Christmas List: 7 Best Unreliable CarMax Cars: Jalopnik
What it looks like inside your car’s engine: Holy Kaw!
How Do VC’s and Angels Value a Company?: P&F

Image: Hillary Clinton looks to shore up support on the left
Sponsored by: Boehner REPLACEMENT INSTRUCTIONS; Your step by step guide to replacing the SPEAKER!

QOTD: "Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democratic front-runner for president, is working hard to shore up support among liberals in hopes of tamping down a serious challenge from the left in the battle for the 2016 nomination.

Clinton has aligned herself firmly with President Obama since the November midterms on a range of liberal-friendly issues, including immigration, climate change and opening diplomatic relations with Cuba. In an impassioned human rights speech this month, she also condemned the CIA’s use of harsh interrogation tactics and decried cases of apparent police brutality against minorities.

The recent statements suggest a concerted effort by Clinton to appeal to the Democratic Party’s most activist, liberal voters, who have often eyed her with suspicion and who would be crucial to her securing the party’s nomination." --Anne Gearan

Thursday, December 25, 2014

COMING SOON: The Sixth Annual Fabulous 50 Blog Awards... #fab50

Forget the Pulitzers! Flush those stinking Nobel Prizes! There's only one award ceremony worth watching and let's all admit it.

Every year at this time we are pleased to announce the winners of the Fabulous 50 Blog Awards™, recognizing the year's 50 most important blogs and websites in the conservative world. No debates. No voting. No nominations. Just facts. Immutable truths, chiseled in stone and then forged on Zeus' anvil for all of human history. No prize carries more panache, more prestige, or more sex appeal than a Fab 50 Award, save something you might find in a Crackerjacks box.

If you are a winner, click the award badge that you would like to use, then copy the text in the HTML block below to paste into your template. Losing blogs are free, of course, to utilize the bold fresh LOSER badge.

300 x 400 Deluxe200 x 267 Midsize
180 x 241 Intermediate160 x 185 Mini200 x 267 LOSER

HTML to use in your template:

Related:
2013 Fabulous 50 Blog Award Winners
2012 Fabulous 50 Blog Award Winners
2011 Fabulous 50 Blog Award Winners
2010 Fabulous 50 Blog Award Winners
2009 Fabulous 50 Blog Award Winners.

And be sure to press your browser's Reload button continuously from now until New Year's Eve to make sure you don't miss this epic event, which is definitely slated to be televised on ESPN 8 ("The Ocho"), as far as you know.

Larwyn's Linx: What Christmas Really Means, And Why The Left Hates It

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Nation

What Christmas Really Means, And Why The Left Hates It: Joshua Pundit
Merry Christmas 2014: A Light Unto All Mankind: Publius
Texas Delivers Epic Bad News to Liberals Waging War on Christmas: ConTrib

The Left Discovers You Shouldn’t Collectivize Guilt : Charles C. W. Cooke
Officer Near Ferguson Kills Black Teen Who Pointed Gun At Him: Clash
Riot Police Needed To Protect Christians at Midnight Mass in STL: GWP

The IRS: Just One of Dozens of Uncooperative Agencies: Kevin D. Williamson
Al-Qaeda’s Younger Brother in Florida: Joe Kaufman
NY Fire House Flees After Cops Next Door Threatened by Black Gang: GWP

Washington Power Is Flowing Away: Michael Barone
Free Men Bear Arms: Captain's Journal
Machine Gun-Firing ex-Police Chief Now Claims He Was FBI Informant: Bob Owens

Economy

Public Pension Doom Begins to Descend: MB
The Shocking-But Not Surprising-Moody's Report on NJ Pensions: SBS
The $800 Billion Leveraged Loan Blacklist?: Pension Pulse

Scandal Central

Feds Preparing for 2015 Surge of Unaccompanied Children Across Border: WS
Belatedly Released and Revealing Fast & Furious Docs: Sharyl Attkisson
Corruption at DHS Inspector General's office does serious damage: Dan Cadman

Climate & Energy

EPA can't regulate lead bullets, says federal court: Zack Colman
We don't need more laws: Glenn Harlan Reynolds
The EPA wants you to build green fires in your fireplace this winter: Blaze

Media

"The Interview” really does subvert North Korea’s regime": Rich Klein
2014 Power Rankings: 25 Most Loved and Hated Conservatives in America: IJR
The President, Al Sharpton, and the Corruption of Modern Liberalism: Peter Wehner

Student Reporter under Attack at Brandeis for Reporting On anti-Police Tweets: LI
Pope says Islam is religion of peace, then begs Muslims to condemn violence: Robert Spencer
National Geographic Misidentifies Judaism's Holiest Site: CAMERA

World

Obama State Department Working With Designated Islamic Terror Group to Whitewash Them: FreePost
Turkey’s Two Thugs: Claire Berlinski
Spare a Christmas prayer for the suffering MidEast Christians: Nick Gray

No, North Korea Didn’t Hack Sony: Marc Rogers
Malmedy massacre survivor 'wanted to stay as still as I could': Stripes
Navy looking into whether alleged bin Laden shooter told too much: Stripes

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Inadvertent Algorithmic Cruelty: MeyerWeb
Helicopter Drone Makes First Flight from Navy Destroyer: DefTech
Lockheed Gets NASA Funding for the SR-72 Hypersonic Spy Drone: Erik Schechter

Cornucopia

YouTube will stream 'The Interview' on Christmas Day: Exam
Travel Posters from A Pre-Castro Cuba: Beast
Mayweather vs. Pacquiao unlikely to happen: Boxing News 24

Image: Isaac Levitan, "March" (1895)

QOTD: "Consider, if you will, the recent behavior of Salon’s Joan Walsh, who yesterday suggested in earnest that the conservative-led condemnation of the “climate” that supposedly provoked the shootings in New York City represented the unconscionable “politicization” of murder. “To blame the peaceful movement against police brutality that’s emerged nationwide,” Walsh wrote, is “the worst in demagoguery.” “Right wingers,” she added, “are using a terrible tragedy to make sure that no one can find middle ground.” Prima facie, I concur with Walsh, of course. But what, we might ask, has finally led her to this conclusion? After the shooting of Gabby Giffords in 2011, Walsh fretted dramatically about “the rhetoric of violence”; asked aloud, “Will any prominent conservatives denounce ‘reload’ and ‘crosshairs’ imagery?”; inquired dishonestly, “Is it really controversial to suggest that the overheated anti-government rhetoric of the last two years, with its often violent imagery, ought to be toned down?”; described Sarah Palin’s pretty standard political-campaign map as “unconscionable”; hoped that Republicans would find it in their hearts to “listen to Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, who denounced ‘the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about the government’ at a Saturday night press conference”; played a remarkably dishonest game of “But Anyway . . . ,” repeatedly noting that there was “no evidence” that Jared Loughner had reacted to any right-wing rhetoric before insinuating in the next breath that he must have; and, when her well was running dry, went so far as to suggest without any attestation at all that the shooter was a registered Republican.

Later, talking characteristically out of both sides of her mouth, Walsh proposed that “even if Tuscon exists in a vacuum,” it would still be the case that the “Tea Party’s violent rhetoric is dangerous.” Naturally, these accusations were part of a trend. Two years earlier, Walsh had cynically blamed conservative talk-radio for a shooting at the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. The perpetrator turned out to be a neo-Nazi." --Charles C. W. Cooke

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

YES, I WILL SAY IT: Merry Christmas, Everyone!

By Richard Larsen

“I’m offended every time I hear a Christmas Carol, or see a nativity scene, or see a cross, especially if it’s all lit up. Even the Santa Claus and decorations bug me because I know that it all has to do with Christmas.” Such was the comment made on a California radio talk show a few years ago, by a fellow who chose to take offense at the season, rather than look for the good.

It really is disconcerting that there are some who suffer great angst over a national holiday that is intended to acknowledge not just the birth of Jesus Christ, but our humanity and commonality.

Calvin Coolidge said, “Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.” When explicated in those terms it’s hard to imagine anyone taking umbrage at the celebration of Christmas.

Some are quick to take offense at various elements of our culture, and this time of year such relapses seem to increase significantly. Confucius is credited with saying, “He who takes offense when none is intended is a fool, and he who takes offense when offense is intended is a bigger fool.”

That seems appropriate consideration for any who take offense at what is not intended to offend. Some, like the aforementioned caller, take offense from displays like nativity scenes or menorahs, appellations like “Christmas Trees,” or greetings like “Merry Christmas,” and even music that may make reference to He whose birthday we celebrate as a national holiday. No offense is intended, but a free and open expression of anything with a hint at religiosity creates an anxiety for some even as our celebration of Christmas continues to morph into more of a secular celebration.

Each of us determines for ourselves whether we will be offended. And it’s not just about Christmas or religious expression; it’s about everything in life. When we are offended, we’re making a conscious decision to grant someone else control over our attitude. If we allow others to offend us, whether intentional or otherwise, we sacrifice control of our attitudes to someone else.

50 Real Numbers From 2014 That Almost Defy Belief

By Michael Snyder

2014 was quite a bizarre year, wasn’t it? The past 12 months brought us MH370, Ebola, civil war in Ukraine, civil unrest in Ferguson, the rise of ISIS and the fall of the Democrats in the midterm elections. Our world is becoming crazier and more unstable with each passing day, and I have a feeling that things are going to accelerate greatly in 2015. But for the moment things are relatively quiet as much of the world stops to celebrate the holiday season, so now is a good time to look back and see where we have been over the past year. The facts that I am about to share with you sound false, but they are all quite true. If you doubt any of these facts, just click the link on the number to find the source. It has been said that truth is stranger than fiction, and that was definitely the case during the past 12 months. In no particular order, the following are 50 numbers from 2014 that sound fake but that are actually real…

2.5 – Researchers have discovered that characters in cartoons for children are 2.5 times more likely to die than characters in adult dramas. But as long as those characters look cute and make funny noises it must be okay.

$4.20 – The price of ground beef just hit a brand new record high of $4.20 a pound. Exactly 10 years ago, it was just $2.21 a pound. What do you think Clara Peller would say about this?

19.8 percent – This holiday season, nearly 20 percent of all American families are on food stamps. But since the stock market is soaring, most of the rest of the country doesn’t seem to care.

$20 – If you want to “lock down that new man for Christmas”, you can buy a positive pregnancy test on Craigslist for just 20 dollars.

29.0 years – The average age when a man in America first gets married has reached an all-time high of 29.0 years. Thus the need for the fake pregnancy tests.

31.1 percent – An astounding 31.1 percent of all U.S. young adults in the 18 to 34-year-old age bracket are currently living with their parents. But the good news is that demand for tacky basement decor is at an all-time high.

Ruining Christmas

By Alan Caruba

As usual, those for whom laws, ethics, and good will mean nothing have come together to try to ruin Christmas for the rest of us.

Christmas means different things to different people and depends to a large degree on age. For the young it is a magical time of getting gifts. As one grows older it is a time of giving gifts and sending cards. And for the very old who have outlived many family members and friends, it is tinged with sadness. In between is an orgy of advertising using Santa Claus to sell cars and much else.

I will begin with a fulsome condemnation of those who go to court or raise a cry about the presence of Christmas displays or any religious symbol on “public land.” The Constitution does not -- in any way -- forbid this. It forbids “the establishment of religion” which was understood to mean laws that made a particular religion a state religion such as the Church of England that exists today. The fact that some courts today do not understand this does not change the meaning or intent of the Constitution.

Christmas 2014, it must be said, is fraught with all manner of threats to our society and our nation.

Larwyn's Linx: Here It Comes – McConnell Says More Important to Say “Yes” To Big Government Than Attempt to Defund ObamaCare

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Nation

Here It Comes – Mitch McConnell Won't Defund ObamaCare: Treehouse
GOP Scrooges Hit Lee and Cruz: Jeffrey Lord
Democratic Obamacare supporters: Doctors are watching: Tori Richards

The Danger of Being A Cop In The United States: AC Spollen
Jeb Bush vs. Ted Cruz: Ben Shapiro
NYC: 911 Dispatchers Chattered About How They "Deserved It": Ace

Conservatives Must Crush Any Opposition To Senator Mike Lee: CHQ
Blame Game In NYC Cop Killings' Demonization Double Standard: Jonah Goldberg
All Life Matters: Jahi McMath’s Journey: Michelle Malkin

OC City Officials: Police Union Hired Team To Spy On Them: CBS LA
Creator of Controversial Gun Violence PSA Defends Herself: Vocativ
Judge throws out AZ sheriff's immigration suit against Obama: Reuters

Al Sharpton refuses to stop race hustling protests: FAM
Dear Bill de Blasio: Start Acting Like The Mayor of NYC: Mike Peters
Editorial In NYC College Newspaper Called For Violent Protests: Lid

Economy

Irrational exuberance in action, that 5% GDP growth number is a total fraud: WyBlog
Did Chicago Public Schools Use Grant as a Political Slush Fund?: Michael Volpe
Stockton, Detroit Exit Bankruptcy with Pension Systems As-Is: F&H

Scandal Central

Attkisson: Earnest Personally Hiding Obama Benghazi Night Photos: Pam Key
MUCH More Than a Smidgen--Issa Releases Report On IRS Targeting Of Tea Party Groups: Lid
Cop Killer Ismaaiyl Brinsley Attended Mike Brown-Eric Garner Rally: GWP

Climate & Energy

Columnist Finds ‘Downside’ to Low Gas Prices, They ‘Undo Progress’ on Green Energy: MRC

Media

Al Sharpton and New York Agitators Say They Will Not Pause Protests For Grieving Cops: Treehouse
Brandeis nutjob now claims she’s a victim: Allen West
If today’s media were reporting WWll: IOTWreport

World

Marking the End of Britain: MB
The Islamization of France in 2014: Soeren Kern, Gatestone
ISIS Says It Will Conquer Europe Soon, Undertake Religious Cleansing And Kill Ruthlessly: IB Times

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Why I love Microsoft’s fitness band, and what it means for the Apple Watch: Cult of Mac
Programmatic Predictions for 2015: Liz Rutgersson
Next Bond Villain May Drive Jaguar’s Jaw-Dropping C-X75: Car and Driver

Cornucopia

Christmas From Eve to Mary: Erick Erickson
Mele Kalikimaka 2014: MOTUS
BYU Football: Safety Kai Nacua Blasted for Cheap Shots: Lost Lettermen

Image: Christmas From Eve to Mary
Sponsored by: Boehner REPLACEMENT INSTRUCTIONS; Your step by step guide to replacing the SPEAKER!

QOTD: "Going by objective standards of reason and fairness, Al Sharpton is not to blame for the assassination of two New York City cops over the weekend. Nor are New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, President Obama or any of the protesters and activists they supported, encouraged and allied themselves with. Going by what we know, the only person to blame is the man police identified as the killer, Ismaaiyl Brinsley.

This is the standard I’ve upheld in this space for years, when one madman after another has killed and maimed in the name of one cause or another. It’s also been necessary to uphold this standard when madmen have killed for no political cause whatsoever, but politicians and journalists have been determined to claim otherwise.

The most glaring example of this was the horrible 2011 shooting spree in Tucson that claimed six lives and horribly wounded then-U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. The shooting occurred during a period of maximum liberal paranoia about the tea party movement. And in a riot of groupthink, much of the elite media convinced itself — absent any evidence — that the killer, Jared Loughner, was inspired by, variously, Sarah Palin’s Facebook map of congressional races (there were targets over various districts where Palin wanted Democrats defeated), Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann’s overheated speeches and other forms of what New York Times columnist Paul Krugman called “eliminationist rhetoric.”

Indeed, Krugman’s response to the Tucson shooting was indicative of this thinking. In a column titled “Climate of Hate,” Krugman began: “When you heard the terrible news from Arizona, were you completely surprised? Or were you, at some level, expecting something like this atrocity to happen? Put me in the latter category.”

In other words, Krugman, like countless others, had his explanation ready before the event even transpired." --Jonah Goldberg

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Here comes the United Nations' Gun Grab

By Investor's Business Daily

Gun Control: To some, concern over a U.N. Arms Trade Treaty set to take effect Dec. 24 is much ado about nothing. But a president unconstrained by Congress or the Constitution may try to impose severe limits on gun rights.

All treaties must be ratified by two-thirds of the Senate, and that's not about to happen in the case of the unratified Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), particularly after the 2014 election that gave the GOP Senate control.

The same, of course, could have been said about the Kyoto Protocol and other climate change deals that mandate that governments tie their economies in knots to meet arbitrary emission goals to save the planet. The Senate has not and won't ratify any of those either.

Yet a president who pays no attention to Congress or the Constitution has through Environmental Protection Agency regulations sought to impose Kyoto and cap-and-trade through regulation and fiat.

The Orwellian-named United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, which has disarmed none of the world's tyrants or terrorists, has announced on its website that the ATT will take effect on Christmas Eve, a lump of coal in the stockings of anyone who believes, as our Founding Fathers did when they wrote the Second Amendment, that guns in the hands of private citizens are the best defense against predators, terrorists and, yes, tyrannical governments.

The Obama administration and its allies at the state and local level have gone after our Second Amendment gun rights through what they call "common-sense restrictions," and it wouldn't be beyond this president to seek to implement the treaty's gun-control provisions with his phone and pen as he's done with climate change.

Under the title of "General Implementation," Article 5 of the ATT requires that all states participating in the treaty "shall establish and maintain a national control system, including a national control list."

MARK LEVIN: We Are Experiencing an All Out War on Cops

By Mark Levin

My blood has been boiling, I have been grinding my teeth listening to all this, watching this. Two dead police officers. Murdered. The president of the United States issues a statement, a written statement. The attorney general the United States always wants to debate race. Nowhere to be found but. Another coward, another phony. Yes, they do have blood on their hands; no, they didn't kill the police officers but they have created an environment with their political war against the cops in this country.

Borne out of Ferguson, Missouri where a police officer there whose career is destroyed. Who has a death warrant on his own head. Was defending himself and shot a thug who first tried to take his pistol and then returned for more and out of that -- out of that -- the president of the United States, the attorney general the United States, that piece of crap Sharpton. Wherever he shows up, isn't it funny, things happen, usually violence. Out of that we get riots. Stores are burning in Ferguson, Missouri. People are throwing Molotov cocktails. People are shooting their guns.

The liberal Democrat governor pulls back the National Guard and the police have the walk around their hands in their pocket afraid to do any thing to protect the citizenry. Borne out of what?. A lie, a fraud because Michael Brown didn't have his arms up in the air. He was trying to assault again if not kill a police officer. And at that time, as I've pointed out, Obama and Holder and their surrogates were throwing fuel on the fire and that's exactly what they did. Holder even went there to personally throw fuel on the fire.

And all of a sudden, it's not just a Ferguson problem, it's a national problem. I intend to go up, what's going on there? It's a war on the cops. They want to nationalize local police departments. Nationalize them to ruin them. To control them. Every miscreant and malcontent suddenly has his say so over how our police officers are supposed to conduct themselves. All of a sudden every cop is supposed to wear a video camera. Why? Because they can't trust be trusted don't you know?

All of a sudden all the police departments are overly-militarized. Why? Has somebody been shot with a tank? All of the sudden you can't profile. But of course you have to profile on a legitimate basis. It's done all the time. Obama does it endlessly.

We get a grand jury decision out of New York and all of a sudden the whole grand jury process is corrupt. It didn't matter that there were blacks on the grand jury. Oh, no, that doesn't matter. It didn't matter that the sergeant in charge was a female black. That doesn't matter, we only learned that five days after the fact.

And you know ladies and gentlemen, we even have pseudo-conservatives on TV and the radio. Remember they were wringing their hands. Weren't sure how to take a position on Ferguson for the first month, on the grand jury in New York. Oh, yes, yes I'm shocked by what happened. Shocked. Obama driving his radical leftist ideological agenda. Of course there is a war on the cops. There's a war on the private sector. There's a war on the American citizenry. He's fundamentally transforming America, and if you fundamentally transform America law and order goes out the door.


Read more at Real Clear Politics

Larwyn's Linx: The Race War Dreams of Neo-Liberalism: From The Sixties To Ferguson

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Nation

The Race War Dreams of Neo-Liberalism: From The 60s To Ferguson: Lee Stranahan
The Big Lie of the Anti-Cop Left Turns Lethal: Health Mac Donald
Thanks To Liberals, It’s Officially Open Season On Cops In America: DownTrend

House Conservatives Must Veto Boehner and D.C. Oligarchy: Daniel Horowitz
House Republicans break ‘Pledge to America,’ allow rushed legislation: Times
Mike Lee braces for primary challenge from the establishment: Manu Raju

Who's Responsible?: Thomas Sowell
Al Sharpton Marched With Protesters in NY Who Called for “Dead Cops”: ConTrib
Three cops killed over the weekend. Are we under siege?: Allen West

How Bruce Rauner (R-Gov. Elect-IL) can instantly become a GOP rock star: Moe Lane
De Blasio goes AWOL, avoiding families of murdered cops: Dan Riehl
Your doctor will soon ask you about guns: Dr. Mark Kestner

Economy

The magic and miracle of the marketplace: Christmas 1964 vs. 2014: Mark J. Perry
Food Bank Falls Victim to War on Christianity: MB
More of America’s superrich may be getting that way through entrepreneurship: AEI

Scandal Central

Thanks, Obama: Anti-Police Rhetoric Unlike Anything I’ve Seen in 45 Years: Howard Safir
Obama Ignored NY Police Shooting News While On Golf Course… Kept Golfing: ConTrib
Fla: 7 men kidnap, force 16yr old girl into prostitution: Local-10

Climate & Energy

All "97% Consensus" Studies Refuted by Peer-Review: Pop Tech
EPA Regs Issued Under Obama Are 43 TIMES As Long As The Bible: WZ
Could An Energy Bust Trigger QE4?: Peter Schiff

Media

Night Thoughts: Jay Nordlinger
Rangel Responds to Assassination of NYPD Officers: We Need More Gun Control or Something: JWF
Brandeis Student Leader: ‘No Sympathy’ for Executed NYPD Officers: Ruthfully Yours

Don't Worry About The Two Dead Cops' Families, Al Sharpton Says HE Is The Victim: Lid
Cop Killers number 1: IOTW Report
Time: Right-Wing Militias Are The Real Threat To Cops: DC

World

Oops! U.S. Offers $5 Mil Reward for Al Qaeda Terrorist it Released From Gitmo: JW
EU Gives Hamas Green Light to Attack Israel: Khaled Abu Toameh
IS said to execute 100 foreign fighters who wanted to quit: Times of Israel

China's leader is telling the People's Liberation Army to prepare for war: The Week
Russia’s Money Runs Away: AmInt
China pledges to help Russia overcome economic hardships: RT

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Comcast Lobbyists Hand-Out VIP Numbers to Fast Track Customer Service: Daniel Halper
Google and Facebook feel the wrath of German open source advocate: Sam Shead
Mind-Blowing Earth From Space Time-Lapses Compiled | Video: Space.com

Cornucopia

Mock We Much: MOTUS
Faith and Hope as an Economic Collapse Nears: Michael Snyder
Race-hustler, anti-Semite Al Sharpton is Obama's Go-To Guy: Ed Lasky (Aug 23, 2014)

Image: Virtue Has No Value
Sponsored by: Boehner REPLACEMENT INSTRUCTIONS; Your step by step guide to replacing the SPEAKER!

QOTD: "Predictably, this atrocity has led to more calls for gun control from the usual idiots. Let’s be crystal clear about this: Ismaaiyl Brinsley was a felon. As such, it was already against the law for him to own a gun. He committed this crime in New York City, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in America. He had a gun anyway. His victims were armed professionals, cops, exactly the people that the gun grabbers tell us are all we need to protect us from criminals with guns. It didn’t help them. Far from being an good example in favor of gun control, this is a blinding example of the futility of gun control. Criminals. Don’t. Obey. Laws. Passing more laws wouldn’t have done a thing to prevent this atrocity." --Ace

Monday, December 22, 2014

BOTH PC's ARE DOWN: North Korea Suffering a Complete Internet Blackout

While there are credible reports that North Korea may not have been behind the Sony hack, that hasn't stopped someone from taking out the DPRK's entire Internet infrastructure.

Which means both Commodore 64's are down.

[DPRK] has just four networks that connect to the world wide web -- and none of them are working today. "The situation now is they are totally offline," Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at Dyn Research told Bloomberg. After a weekend of spotty connections, the country's pipeline to the outside world reportedly went down this morning. "This isn't normal for them," Madory said. "Usually they are up solid. It is kind of out of the ordinary. This is not like anything I've seen before."

The Network researcher didn't go out of his way to suggest that North Korea's internet service is under direct attack, but the idea has some merit. Just last week the FBI officially stated that it believed North Korea to be behind the recent hack at Sony Pictures, and US President Barack Obama promised to "respond proportionally, and in a place, time and manner that we choose." Considering the events of the past week, it's an easy suspicion to cling to, but it's also very unconfirmed: White House National Security spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan stated that the White House has no new comments on North Korea today. "If in fact North Korea's internet has gone down," she wrote to Bloomberg, "We'd refer you to that government for comment."

US involvement isn't the only possibility either -- North Korean's own infrastructure could simply be buckling due to poor maintenance or, more likely, China (the country through which North Korea pipes all of its internet connections)could be disrupting service directly.

Rumor has it that the country's chubby, mass-murdering dictator is highly exercised that he no longer has access to his favorite, eh, "lingerie" sites.


Comcast Lobbyists Hand-Out VIP Numbers to Beltway Elites so They Can Avoid Normal Customer "Service"

Think it's easy being a crony capitalist? Well, you're right. It is. If you're one of the Oligarchs inside the Beltway, there's no telling what kind of favors you can secure.

Daniel Halper describes how cable provider Comcast (also known as "The Worst Company in America") allows DC's elites to bypass the company's seventh level of Hell, which is the term the Customer "Service" department prefers, I hear.

Having a problem with your Comcast cable? No problem--that is if you fall into the following categories: "congressional staffers, journalists, and other influential Washingtonians." Just talk to a Comcast lobbyist. 

In a lengthy piece on how NBC's David Gregroy was fired, the Washingtonian reveals the cable company's way of "sucking up to Washington."

Comcast also had an even more personal way of sucking up to Washington. Its government-affairs team carried around “We’ll make it right” cards stamped with “priority assistance” codes for fast-tracking help and handed them out to congressional staffers, journalists, and other influential Washingtonians who complained about their service.

Comcast, however, maintains this VIP treatment is not exclusive to powerful people in Washington.

A Comcast spokeswoman says this practice isn’t exclusive to DC; every Comcast employee receives the cards, which they can distribute to any customer with cable or internet trouble. Nevertheless, efforts like this one have surely helped Comcast boost its standing inside the Beltway and improve its chances of winning regulatory approval for its next big conquest: merging with the second-largest cable provider in the country, Time Warner Cable.


That's right: the most unpopular company in America is lobbying Congress to merge with the runner-up, Time Warner Cable.

But don't worry, peon: I'm sure they'll get to your call sometime before the NFL playoffs begin.


Hat tip: BadBlue Tech News.

BRILLIANT: U.S. offers $5 million reward for Al Qaeda terrorist it released from Gitmo

Just when you think the Left's tactics have hit rock bottom, they pull out a Tunnel Boring Machine and start digging a new sub-level. Judicial Watch has the summary of another brilliant maneuver by the Smartest President Ever™ with an assist from everyone who thinks Gitmo should be shut down:

Years after liberating an Al Qaeda operative from the military prison at Guantanamo, the United States government has put him on a global terrorist list and offered a $5 million reward for information on his whereabouts.

The unbelievable story comes as President Obama frees more and more terrorists—including four to Afghanistan over the weekend— long held in the military compound at the U.S. Naval base in southeastern Cuba. The president’s goal is to close the prison, a campaign promise that dates back to 2008, by relocating the last of the world’s most dangerous terrorists. Still left at the facility are 9/11 masterminds Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi as well as USS Cole bomber Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri.

Hundreds of Gitmo terrorists have been discharged over the years under a program that started with President George W. Bush and continued full-throttle with this administration. Intelligence report after intelligence report has revealed that many rejoin terrorist missions after leaving the military prison. In fact, Judicial Watch has been reporting this for years. Back in 2010 JW wrote about a report that the Director of National Intelligence gave Congress documenting that 150 former Gitmo detainees were confirmed or suspected of “reengaging in terrorist or insurgent activities after transfer.” At least 83 remained at large, according to the document.

Larwyn's Linx: "Operation Revenge"

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

Nation

"Operation Revenge": Dan Riehl
FBI Issues Warning: Black Prison Gang Is Targeting White Cops: GWP
Ferguson Protestors Cheer Execution Style Murders Of NYPD Cops: Surge

Preliminary injunction hearing Monday regarding Obama "Amnesty" Order: CFP
WH: Courts have NO Power to Review Obama’s Decision-Making: Godfather
When the American President Hates America: Erick Erickson

Are drone strikes more defensible than "torture"?: Victor Davis Hanson
Obama’s foreign policy enters 12-step program: RS
Spy vs. DiFi: Debra Saunders

Chuck Todd: Christie will lose fight for donors against Jeb Bush: Lid
Will Bill de Blasio be Forced to Resign?: Roger Kimball
Al Sharpton Today: I’m The Victim Here: Treehouse

Economy

Living Large in a Shrinking Cocoon: Walter Russell Mead
Common Core Vocabulary Teaches About Mohammed and Islam: Sara Noble
Radical Leftist Who Chairs Department at U. of Michigan Goes Full Moonbat: MB

Scandal Central

Who is Ismaaiyl Abdullah Brinsley— The Thug Who Executed 2 NYPD Officers?: WAW
Eric Holder’s Transgendered Mutilation of Title VII: Ed Whelan
Gun Control Cultist Calls For Children To Steal Parents’ Firearms, Bring Them To Schools: Bob Owens

Media

How Western media enable Islamic terrorism: Commentator
Marco Rubio Dismantles Chuck Todd on Meet the Press: Scoop
Sarah Palin & Ted Cruz: The Two Most Powerful People on Earth: Erick Erickson

13-year-old son of NYPD officer says goodbye to ‘best dad in the world’: BPR
Former NYPD Commissioner: De Blasio and Sharpton Have Blood on Their Hands: Scoop
Al Sharpton, racist provocateur: Gary Gross

Will Dems who blamed Palin for Giffords attack refuse a ‘conversation’ about NYC shootings?: Hot Air
Rudy Giuliani: “President Obama’s Propaganda Was Pushed To Make People Hate The Police”: Treehouse
Rev. Al Sharpton says he's received threats since police slayings: SI Live

World

David Boies: Obama Response to North Korea Cyber Attack Was Too Late and ‘Blamed The Victim’: WFB
Could US even launch a nuke if it wanted to? Growing alarm at decay of weapons command: Daily Mail
ISIS MANIFESTO: What Every American Must Know About ISIS Plan To Kill ‘10 Million Americans’: Shoebat

2 car bombs rock southern Sweden's city of Malmo: Times of India
“The Revolution in the Netherlands Has Started Now”: GoV
Isn’t it time for Muslims to stop blaming the media for “distorting the image of Islam?”: BNI

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Sony Group Chief Information Security Officer: Cryptome
Sony looking for ways to distribute 'The Interview' online: Martyn Williams
IT's leading role in customer experience: IT News

Cornucopia

NY Yankees To Pay For Officer Rafael Ramos’ Children’s Education: WZ
Project Blue Light: IOTWreport
Drive-through Jeweler: RWN

Image: IOTW Report
Sponsored by: Boehner REPLACEMENT INSTRUCTIONS; Your step by step guide to replacing the SPEAKER!

QOTD: "Tell me, Mr. Holder, do you think your irresponsible and even reckless broadsides against local law enforcement, and those of the president, have contributed in any way to a growing hate for and endangerment of our police officers? " --Mark Levin

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Movie Poster From 2012 Is Startlingly Prescient

I can't discern the name of the artist, but if someone recognizes the work, please let me know in the comments. This startlingly accurate poster is dated 2012, but it applies just as much today as it did in January of 2009.


Barack Obama, Eric Holder, Al Sharpton, and Bill DeBlasio own this madness.


U.S. College Chancellors Admit BDS Goal Is the Elimination of Israel

By Tammi Benjamin

Santa Cruz, CA, Dec. 18, 2014 – Twenty-two groups wrote to nine University of California (UC) Chancellors today, demanding they publicly state their commitment to upholding UC policies which prohibit academic student employees (ASEs) from using their instructional positions to promote a boycott of Israel.

The UC Regents Policy on Course Content prohibits ASEs from promoting political propaganda or advocacy in the classroom. UAW 2865, the union representing 13,000 graduate instructors on nine University of California (UC) campuses, voted last week to join the international campaign for “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” (BDS) against Israel.

“We represent 22 organizations with hundreds of thousands of members and supporters nationwide, who are deeply concerned for the safety and well-being of Jewish students at colleges and universities across the country in light of the rising tide of anti-Israel sentiment and the rapid growth of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement on many campuses,” wrote the groups. “While we support the right of every member of UAW 2865 to exercise his or her freedom of speech outside of the instructional setting, we are greatly concerned that these union members, who are responsible for instructing hundreds of thousands of undergraduate students, will bring their unscholarly, politically motivated and antisemitic propaganda and advocacy into UC classrooms, where it certainly does not belong.”

The BDS movement has become increasingly explicit in expressing its ultimate goal of eliminating Israel. This goal was echoed by members of the UAW 2865 BDS Caucus panel at UC Berkeley last month, when they stated that the purpose of BDS is “isolating Zionism” and “bringing down Israel.” In embracing a movement that calls for the elimination of the world’s only Jewish state, UAW 2865 members are trafficking in open antisemitism.

Furthermore, the BDS movement calls for a campaign of anti-normalization whose goal is to delegitimize and silence anyone who accepts the legitimacy of Israel. On numerous college campuses, including at the University of California, aggressive anti-normalization campaigns have targeted Jewish and pro-Israel students for harassment, intimidation, bullying and physical assault.

MIKE LEE: How Illegal Aliens Will Receive Fast Track to Citizenship Under Obama’s Executive Amnesty

By Senator Mike Lee (R-UT)

As we all know, the President has recently announced executive action on immigration — what he calls “deferred action” for millions of aliens who are here illegally, but who have children who were born here and are therefore U.S. citizens. 

The President has repeatedly assured the American people that he is not creating a path to citizenship for those people.  But the President is not telling the truth.  He and his Administration have cleared the pathway to citizenship for millions of people who crossed our border illegally; they know that’s what they’ve done; and it is illegal.

Immigration law is very complicated, but here’s the bottom line:  If you are a foreign national and a parent of a U.S. citizen, when that child reaches age 21, assuming you haven’t committed certain crimes or done certain other things, you can get a green card and, eventually, citizenship. 

However, if you crossed the U.S. border illegally — “entered without inspection” as the law says — you first have to leave the country, wait a period of either 3 or 10 years before returning (depending on how long you had resided in the U.S.) and then come back into the United States lawfully in order to get back on the path to citizenship.

That’s how the system is designed to work. That’s what the law says.

But the President is now opening a huge loophole, using a program called “advance parole,” that will allow millions of illegal aliens, who are not currently eligible for citizenship, to bypass the rules and become eligible for green cards and eventually citizenship.

Here’s how it works: