Thursday, June 30, 2011

The genius of Democrat governance: 'Massive error' in new California tax code causes triple taxation on small businesses

When you've lost the San Francisco Chronicle...

California and Governor Jerry Brown made a massive error in the formation of a California Online Tax, that amounts to triple taxation in the state for online S-corporations. Amazon and Overstock aren't the only ones hurt by the new tax, and it should be challenged in court...

Unfortunately, Governor Brown has signed into law the bill that we emailed you about earlier today. As a result of this, contracts with all California residents participating in the Amazon Associates Program are terminated effective today, June 29, 2011...

...Frankly, while the law itself has many affiliates hoping mad, it was bound to happen. But the law's got a nasty bug in it that must be cleared up. I'll use my online sports game company as an example.

The State Of California has already taxed my Internet company for income earned. All of our sales are online. Plus, they get me for a personal income tax!

Under the new law, an online company like mine could be taxed three times: for total income tax, corporate, tax and then for sales tax. That's too much.

There's nothing in the law preventing such a scenario from happening, because there's to language to restrict the State Of California from such an action. If you're an online legal California Corporation, you're going to get taxed three times. It's that simple.

...It sets up a massive incentive for thousands of California Corporations to just quit the state and find other homes... One day next year, Governor Brown's going to wake up to the reality of no new taxes collected, and a massive exodus of Internet vendors. By then, any retro action would be too little, too late.

That's okay.

Send the businesses our way. We need smart, talented entrepreneurs who want to live in a free state. I mean, a Red State.


How's this for a deal: contribute $193K to your pension over your entire career, receive $130K pension salary for life. Welcome to Illinois!

When it comes to Illinois teachers' pensions, does the term ludicrous ring a bell?

...how can a 54 year-old Music teacher retire on a pension of $130,000 after working only 33 years and contributing only $193,000? Since he retired in 2009 he has already received more than he contributed ($225,000). That does not seem reasonable to the 95% of IL workers who are not in the state pension system. The cash value of his pension is 8 times what Social Security would be for the same salary and years worked. Why does any public employee deserve more than 8 times Social Security?

In fact, when you see the union hacks protesting, please consider the following:

Pensions four to seven times Social Security are not “modest”.

Here are the stats for the “average” retired teacher:
1. Average TRS [Teachers' Retirement System] pension – $46,000.
2. Average age at retirement – 58.
3. Average years worked – 25.
4. Average salary final year $61,000.

Mark Levin has a funny and uncannily accurate catch-phrase: "Liberalism is the philosophy of the stupid."

And every day we seem to gather more confirming evidence.


Want Jobs and Higher Salaries? Move to a Right-to-Work State

Do you prefer slavery or freedom? I ask that question because the modern-day version of slavery in this country is being forced to join a union -- and pay union dues -- against your will. And, as it turns out, in "union/slave states" there are provably fewer jobs and lower wages.

The business world is abuzz over the National Labor Relations Board's complaint vs. Boeing's new South Carolina production line. For NLRB critics, the case boils down to one thing: "right-to-work" laws.

Right-to-work states have generally lower unemployment, higher job growth, lower taxes and better business climates. They have growing populations and have been attracting businesses from other states.

In most states, once a workplace is unionized, employees are required to join the union or they can't work there. But 22 states, including South Carolina, have passed laws that give employees the right not to join. Hence the term "right-to-work."

Unions dislike these laws for the obvious reason: It reduces their membership.

Critics like the Chamber of Commerce say a union-friendly NLRB is simply punishing Boeing for choosing a right-to-work state, a charge the agency has rejected.

But if the complaint stands, it could stop firms in heavily unionized states from expanding or moving to right-to-work states. [And these states seem] to be a good deal for the workers, too. The U.S. unemployment rate is 9.1%. In right-to-work states the average is 7.9% — 8.6% adjusted for population.

Between 1977-08, employment grew 100% in right-to-work states vs. the national average of 71% and 56.5% in non-right-to-work states. That's according to a January study that Ohio University economics professor Richard Vedder did for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.

In this period, real per capita income in the right-to-work states grew 62.3% vs. the national average of 54.7% and 52.8% for non-right-to-work states... Between 2000-09, about 5 million people moved to right-to-work states from other states. The population of 25- to 34-year-olds in right-to-work states has grown 16%, according to an American Legislative Exchange Council study, indicating that they "attract the most productive members of society."

Union members: it's time to throw off your shackles. The Democrat-Union Boss alliance -- and their oppressive regulations from the EPA, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Labor, and dozens of other useless bureaucracies -- are funding your destruction.

Fight back.


Best Line Ever?

The tragedy -- one of open borders and cop-killers -- is no laughing matter. But the line is a keeper

An illegal alien, in Polk County , Florida , who got pulled over in a routine traffic stop, ended up "executing" the deputy who stopped him. The deputy was shot eight times, including once behind his right ear at close range. Another deputy was wounded and a police dog killed. A state-wide manhunt ensued. The murderer was found hiding in a wooded area. As soon as he took a shot at the SWAT team, officers opened fire on him. They hit the guy 68 times.

Naturally, the liberal media went nuts and asked why they had to shoot the poor, undocumented immigrant 68 times. Sheriff Grady Judd told the Orlando Sentinel: "Because that's all the bullets we had." Now, is that just about the all-time greatest answer or what!

The Coroner also reported that the illegal alien died of natural causes. When asked by a reporter how that could be, since there were 68 bullet wounds in his body, he simply replied: ... "When you are shot 68 times you are naturally gonna die."

Snopes confirms the story, which was was too good to check anyway.


Hat tip: CBullitt.

Alaska to EPA: Suck It

The anti-energy policies of the Obama administration range from illegally obstructing oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico to revoking properly issued coal mining permits in West Virginia -- and everything in between.

Thankfully, states are starting to fight back, Alaska serving as only the latest example.

Big energy news was broken at today's press conference at the Chamber. Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell... and Alaska Commissioner of Natural Resources Dan Sullivan announced the state would allow drilling off a strip of state-owned land, expanding energy production:

It would allow the state to start allowing drilling in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, up to three miles off the federally protected regions of ANWR and the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, bypassing the need for federal permission...

While the state has no control over drilling in ANWR, it does own the three miles of Arctic Ocean just off the coast—after those three miles, the federal government owns the waters. Officials say it stands to reason that that three-mile ribbon likely cuts through the vast oil deposits believed to lie beneath ANWR and the Arctic Ocean. Alaskan officials and oil companies hope that by drilling in that strip, they can tap into up to a dozen giant oil pools that would otherwise be off-limits.

HAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHA (***cough*** ***wheeze***) HHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH AHHAHA (***erp***) HAHHAHA AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA (***owww***)

I think I just wrenched my clavicle, I was laughing so hard.

Well, this is certainly going to piss off the Obama administration.

To which I say: too damn bad. Maybe the entire bureaucracy could move to another country... one that enjoys restricting access to its own vast energy reserves.

Oh.

You say there aren't any?


Larwyn's Linx: Why the GOP shouldn’t go wobbly on taxes

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

Why the GOP shouldn’t go wobbly on taxes: Pethokoukis
Sixth Circuit sets Constitution afire: Hot Air
A Propaganda Press Conference: TRS

AmeriCorps scandal: Friend of the Obamas, Kevin Johnson: Malkin
Interstate Compacts and Do-It-Yourself Federalism: Cato
Two-faced RINOs: JPA

Justice Justice: Zombie
God Bless Our Military! Just not in Houston Natl. Cemetery: NJ-TX
FBI investigating Dallas Dem John Wiley Price?: Tatler

Economy

President Quixote’s Legacy: Pelerin
California, a State that Has Gone Stark Raving Mad: Ricochet
Report: Treasury must cut spending 44 percent in default: Hill

$2 Trillion in Cuts in Perspective: Cato
Idiot Mayor: Fight Al Qaeda by Restricting Gun Sales: RWN
MI Public School Sneakily Converted To Islamic Center: Creeping

Climate & Energy

Pollute for the Planet: CBullitt
With its oil treasure, Israel gets a shield from tyranny : Globe & Mail
White House: Smart Cars and Leafs for Thee: BG

Media

National Journal: White House Very Worried About Reelection: Ace
Obama's Absolutely Unbelievable Press Conference : Ace
Michele Bachmann has not yet clinched the GOP nomination, as best we can tell for now: LAT

Jon Stewart Under Fire: Steven Crowder & Herman Cain Rip Off the Clown Nose: BigHollywood
What if Newsweek still had readers?: Driscoll
Today’s Bachmann Hit Piece: Her Husband’s Practice Received Medicare Money!: RWN

Glenn Beck vs. the Mob: Coulter
AP Joins Bloomberg in Predictable Purge of 'Unexpectedly' in Consumer Confidence Report: NB
Dare to DREAM: Dick Durbin Says Maybe Someday an Illegal Alien Will Be Elected President: Malkin

Why Can’t Old Media Learn That Obama Has Contempt for Them?: RWN
Mainstream Media Find New Female Target in Bachmann: NB
Remember when Obama claimed that the Constitution was written 2000 years ago?: BlogProf

World

Great News: Obama Administration Puts Israel On List Of Countries That Support Terrorism: Lid
U.S Ignores Hillary Clinton's Powerful Aide Huma Abedin at Its Own Risk: HE
Not the Greeks, But Their Creditors Are Bailed Out: Ritholtz

Missile Defense Malpractice: IBD
Britain accuses Iran of secret nuclear-missile tests: GlobalPost
Reuters: Obama to Establish Formal Contacts with Muslim Brotherhood: Atlas

SciTech

Amazon Ends Affiliate Program in California: AmPow
Microsoft Takes to Cloud to Ward Off Competition: NYT
Google+ steers clear of privacy missteps: CNet

Cornucopia

"What’s going to happen to the children when there aren’t any more grown-ups?": AmDig
Ronald Reagan Trail: Peoria Heights: Marathon
The Org Charts Of All The Major Tech Companies (Humor): Insider

Image: Epic Too Big To Fail Infographic!
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Have an extra $5 to save your country? Support Michele Bachmann

QOTD: "The [Sixth Circuit] majority [decision upholding Obamacare's individual mandate] is ludicrous. It stated, "Virtually everyone will need health care services at some point, including, in the aggregate, those without health insurance."

All of us will need shelter. Should government control the residential housing market and compel individuals to buy approved housing?

All of us will need clothes. Should government control the clothing market and compel individuals to buy approved clothing?

All of us will need food. Should government control the food supply and compel individuals to buy only approved foods?

All of us will need transportation. Should government control all modes of transportation and compel individuals to buy only approved transportation services?

And, now that the Constitution has been shredded, where does this control over the individual end?

I'll tell you where it ends: with the destruction of this Republic, by a fifth column called the cadaver of the Democrat Party, a once-proud and patriotic group that has been utterly subsumed by the maggots known as Marxists." --Me, just now.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Discouraged Texas rancher [Papa B]

Papa B:

While riding down along the border this morning,

I saw a Muslim extremist fall into the Rio Grande River.

He was struggling to stay afloat because of all the guns and bombs he was carrying.

Along with him was a Mexican who was also struggling to stay afloat because of the large backpack of drugs that was strapped to his back.

If they didn't get help, they'd surely drown.

Being a responsible citizen and abiding by the law to help those in distress, I informed both the El Paso County Sheriff's Office and Homeland Security.

It is now 4pm, both have drowned, and neither authority has responded.

I'm starting to think I wasted two stamps.


Graphic: gas taxes by state -- take a wild guess which states are the worst for gas taxes?

You don't have to be Kreskin to figure it out: the failed blue states of Illinois, New York and California take the prize.

The oppressive tax burdens of these destructive, Democrat-controlled states help explain why people and businesses are fleeing for greener pastures.


Rubes [Dan from New York]

Dan from New York:

If you still get your news from the trained seals of the left-leaning lamestream media then you’re to be excused if you haven’t heard about the first "World Without Terrorism Conference" in – wait for it – Tehran over the weekend.

Curiouser still is the guest list, which included a number of prominent “US allies” who have been mega beneficiaries of American blood and treasure. As MEMRI reports, “the conferees included Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Pakistani President Asif 'Ali Zardari, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.” Andrew McCarthy also has details and commentary at National Review Online.

I guess this “conference” wasn’t a big story because it creates a nasty case of dissonance in the pea-size brains of our newsmen. When everyone’s ox is gored it’s hard to find the liberal slant. First and foremost, the event highlights the utter failure of Obama’s “engagement” policy, and what a pitiful sucker the President has willfully chosen to be at America’s expense. It also turns the spotlight on the ungrateful Muslim basterds and the neocons who love them. To think, our very own spawn are betraying us even before the last American has died on their behalf. Then there are the rosy cheeks and white shoes that make up our corps of sophisticated diplomats and spooks. Portraying them as nothing more than bewildered tourists on a tour of the Kasbah is hard when your job is protecting the White House.


Hat tips: Ruthfully Yours. Original image (pre-GINC): Xinhuanet.

Where to put Obama's picture? [Papa B]

Papa B:

George Washington, our nation's first president and leader of the American Revolution!


Abe Lincoln, an honorable leader who pulled our nation through its darkest hour!


Alexander Hamilton, a Founding Father, first Secretary of the Treasury and leader of the Constitutional Convention!


Andrew Jackson, "Old Hickory", who fought the British in New Orleans!


Ulysses Grant, Union army general, who led the North to victor over slavery during the Civil War!


Ben Franklin, a genius, inventor, statesman, political theorist and leading author of the Constitution!


And, at long last, we have someone to put on the food stamp!

Obama's put more people on food stamps than any other president, so this placement is most appropriate. Unlike the Nobel Peace Prize, for which he did nothing, this is an "honor" he truly deserves.

Violent, urban flash mobs: the delightful product of the Democrats' unbounded welfare state and gun control

"Flash mob crimes" are a growing problem in large cities around the country. The phrase refers to a large crowd of individuals -- usually teens -- that use social networks to coordinate riots, assaults and robberies. And they occur almost exclusively in cities where the concealed carry of firearms is either banned altogether (unconstitutionally, as in Chicago) or permit holders are simply harassed to discourage them from packing.

The inevitable result: law-abiding citizens are unable to protect themselves from swarms of attackers. Consider the following sampling of incidents that have occurred in Philadelphia over the last few months.

Teens in a mob assault and rob Center City patrons


The two young women were sitting at a window table inside the Max Brenner restaurant on 15th Street, near Walnut, sharing chocolate fondue after some shopping... But their night on the town was about to become frightening.

...Heading their way was a pack of teens roving through Center City after leaving a North Philadelphia music festival... They were part of about 100 or more young people who had left Saturday night's event, police said, committing a series of violent assaults and robberies, including one against Maria, 25, of North Philadelphia, and her cousin Cecilia, 29, of Havertown.

Woman's leg broken, others hurt in Spring Garden mob attack


A WOMAN'S leg was broken and several other people were injured Saturday night when a large group of teens accosted pedestrians in Spring Garden, police and witnesses said... Philadelphia police responded to two reports of pedestrians being assaulted by a large group of young people along Broad Street about 9:30 p.m... the mob ranged from 50 to 100 people and that participants not only assaulted people but also threw trash cans and lit fireworks...

Hearing for Flash Mob Looters


Police are seeking a joint hearing for the juveniles arrested and linked to the flash mob that filed into a 69th Street department store last week and stole sneakers, socks, watches and other merchandise... The group, all West Philadelphia residents, boarded SEPTA’s Elevated train in the city and got off at the 69th Street Terminal at approximately 7 p.m. on June 23... “They proceeded up the hill to the Sears store and entered together,” police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said, estimating 30 to 40 teens engaged in the planned flash mob...

West Philly man pleads guilty to 'flash mob' assault


A West Philadelphia man - charged in one of the first "flash mob" incidents in Center City, during which a bicyclist was beaten unconscious - pleaded guilty Monday in an agreement that will keep him in prison for five to 20 years... Stephen Lyde, 23, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, conspiracy, and riot in the May 30, 2009, assault on Thomas Fitzgerald, who was yanked from his bicycle and beaten during the melee at Broad and South Streets...

Mobs Are Born as Word Grows by Text Message


[Philadelphia] flash mobs have taken a more aggressive and raucous turn here as hundreds of teenagers have been converging downtown for a ritual that is part bullying, part running of the bulls: sprinting down the block, the teenagers sometimes pause to brawl with one another, assault pedestrians or vandalize property... ...In a Feb. 16 melee, 150 teenagers spilled out of the Gallery shopping mall east of City Hall during rush hour and rampaged through Macy’s, knocking down customers and damaging displays...

Pennsylvania has a law on the books that permits concealed carry, but Philadelphia's city officials have done their best to block and harass permit holders. The result: defenseless citizens at the mercy of mobs.

Economist John Lott explains how it's done:

In the last two years, Philadelphia police have confiscated guns from at least nine men - including four security guards - who were carrying them legally, and only one of the guns has been returned, according to interviews with the men... Philadelphia has unusually strict criteria for obtaining a concealed-carry permit. Philadelphia, according to police and gun owners, relies heavily on a clause that allows denial of a permit based on "character and reputation" alone...

Flash mob crimes represent the confluence of two failed Democrat social engineering policies:

• A massively expanded welfare state, which -- as study after study after study has shown -- encourages single-parent families and breeds criminals;

• And onerous gun control laws, which only impact the law-abiding citizens who follow cities' unconstitutional dictates

You know what would stop 'flash mob crimes'? Shooting about a dozen criminals in the kneecaps.

That sounds cruel, but now that Democrats have begun to unravel the civil society, I don't see many good alternatives.


Linked by: Ed Driscoll and Marathon Pundit. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: Tom Coburn’s Bizarre, Unworkable Tax Hike Plans

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

Tom Coburn’s Bizarre, Unworkable Tax Hike Plans: RWN
DOJ sued for documents: why did it not prosecute CAIR?: JW
The Gaffe King: From the Cul De Sac

Stealing the Election of 2012: Hedgecock
Vote Fraud Paradise in Maryland: RWN
Gunrunner whistleblower says ATF fired him: Fox

Obama's 'Unseemly But Perfectly Legal' WH Fundraisers: Ace
Ganging Up on Justices Thomas, Scalia, and Alito: AmSpec
Sarah Palin’s Unlikely Supporter: ABC

Economy

Who To Blame For the Economic Meltdown of 2008?: RWN
Criminal probe requested for far left Laura Richardson (D-CA): FAM
Redistribution via Price Discrimination: AmSpec

Pimco cries wolf on US debt ceiling: Mish
The Unions' Real Enemy: Themselves: RWN
Obama Will Vacation on Martha's Vineyard: PolWire

Climate & Energy

The New York Times’ natural gas fiasco: Hot Air
Hilarious: Obama’s Regulatory Czar Cass Sunstein Tells Congress That Regulations Were Worse Under Bush: WZ
Strategic Petroleum Reserve Release Now Been Fully Priced In: Crude, Gasoline Prices Surge: WZ

Media

Obamalitico: Bachmann Has a Thin Legislative Record or Something: JWF
Stephanopoulos Tries Savaging Bachmann: FoxNation
Tearful Glenn Beck Describes How He And His Family Were Attacked In New York Park: Mediaite

Time Like Totally Explains the Constitution To You Wingnutz (and Commits 13 Factual Errors In Doing So): Ace
George Stephanopolous: Flake: Levin
Levin: Stephanopoulos Is Foolish in Lecturing Bachmann: AmSpec

Akin Refuses to Apologize For Saying, ‘At the Heart of Liberalism…Is a Hatred For God’ (Video): GWP
Why the ‘Unexpected’ Keeps Happening: PJM
The Obamas lead by (bad) example: Hernando Today

Greece

Greece Refuses To Heed Reality: IBD
Breakdown of Greek Austerity Measures: ZH
Violence Erupts At Greece Austerity Rally: Sky

World

Palin, the Flotilla, and the L.A. Times Khalidi/Obama Tape: Simon
Uh oh: White House caught lying about Petraeus’s withdrawal recommendations?: Hot Air
Islamic Attack, Suicide Bombers Storm Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul: Atlas

Israeli Defense Force: Flotilla groups "serve as a cover for Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood": JihadWatch
Greetings from London: A taste of Wisconsin as public unions prepare to strike: Malkin
The real face of Hizb ut Tehrir: Creeping

EPA Gives Millions In Foreign Handouts: JW
Pawlenty Argues On Obama’s Behalf, Says War Powers Act “Does Not Apply” To War In Libya…: WZ
More Jewish Donor Trouble for Obama: Commentary

SciTech

This iPhone App Scans Skin For Melanoma: Insider
Tag Heuer outs $6,700 Link Phone for those who like alligator skin with their Froyo: Engadget
Microsoft puts Office in the cloud, confronts Google: Reuters

Cornucopia

Bumper Sticker o' the Day: RWN
22-Year-Old Brit Buys $150M Spelling Manor: Zillow
HATE-TORN MARIA SHRIVER’s REVENGE: National Enquirer

New Fee Is Your Chance To Break Verizon Contract Without Paying Early Termination Fee: Consumerist
For $15,800, is the V for Victory?: Jalopnik
The new forbidden cartoons: Muslim Minnie and Mickey Mouse: Malkin

Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: The Astute Bloggers --- Redesigned and Rarin' to Go

QOTD: "Even if you did the defense cut, defense cut is $50 billion. You could do that for 30 years, that $50 billion. You could collect all of that money. It wouldn't recover one year of Obama deficit spending. That is not where the money is. The money isn't in that or the oil, or the tax breaks the oil companies are getting, which is $2 billion a year. The money is in entitlements.

And unless Democrats are willing to do something important on entitlements, we won't get anywhere on this. That, I think, is the ultimate redline. I think Obama decided he doesn't want to touch entitlements in a significant way, because demagoguing entitlements and Medicare is the way he gets re-elected.” --Charles Krauthammer

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Hey, Chris Wallace: do you know how many people called Michele Bachmann a 'flake' before you slandered her on Sunday? None, dimwit.

Through the magic of a cool new research tool called Google (you may have heard of it, Chris), I decided to find out who had called GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann a "flake" prior to Chris Wallace's interview.

After all, Wallace had asserted that was "the rap" on Bachmann.

To test this assertion, I constructed a fairly complex query (here) that found all pages that mentioned:

• 'Michelle Bachmann' and the word 'flake'

Omitting the following pages:

• Those referencing the last name 'Wallace' or his show 'Fox News Sunday'
• Posted On 6/26 through 6/28 2011

Here are the complete results:

Er, Chris, no one had called Bachmann a 'flake'.

'Cepting you, of course.

Which means one of two things: you're an agenda journalist trying to demean a conservative female... or... you were showing off for Jon Stewart.

In either case, you're a decidedly unserious choice for any job at Fox News.

We can tune into ABC, CBS or NBC for this type of horsecrap.


Update: Chris Wallace's Greatest Interview Questions


Related: Michele Bachmann 2012. Linked by: Gateway Pundit. Thanks!

All Americans Shoulds Receive ObamaCare Waivers [Michele Bachmann]

By Michele Bachmann

Since its passage last year, over 1,300 ObamaCare waivers have been rewarded, exempting nearly 3.1 million Americans out of the monstrous health care overhaul. With several hundred more waivers pending, the Obama Administration has decided it will no longer accept waiver applications after September 22nd of this year. These waivers are extremely telling; if ObamaCare was truly the reform our healthcare system needs, why is the Administration allowing so many to opt out of the program?

It comes as no surprise that hundreds of companies are applying for waivers from ObamaCare. Business owners across the country continue to voice concern over how to implement the new ObamaCare rules without paying fines, laying off workers or even going bankrupt. As the book Why ObamaCare is Wrong for America points out, “ObamaCare will lead to slower wage growth, fewer job opportunities, and more businesses going under.”

Yet, the waiver-granting process became increasingly questionable as companies applied for exemptions. It seemed that ObamaCare regulators were passing out waivers mostly to friends of the Administration. For instance, of the 204 waivers granted by the Administration in April, nearly twenty percent went to some of the finest restaurants and businesses within House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s district. Even more jaw-dropping, of those 3.1 million individuals exempted from ObamaCare through waivers, over half – 1.55 million – are union members.

President Obama’s health care reform grows the size of government and increases its impact on our lives. According to Why ObamaCare is Wrong for America, ObamaCare sets in motion a massive federal bureaucracy with at least 159 new federal agencies, creates more than $500 billion in new taxes and will take $575 billion away from Medicare. In my view, it is time that every American, regardless of their relationship with the Administration, receives a permanent waiver from ObamaCare. I remain committed to working towards the complete repeal of this legislation.

You can support Michele Bachmann for President by clicking here.


The Obama 2012 Campaign: Nothing says 'I feel your pain' like $36,000-a-plate fundraisers with Wall Street executives

John Edwards was right. There really are two Americas. One for Democrat-slash-Wall Street royalty and one for the rest of us.

While many of the biggest name financiers feel that they can’t publicly support Mr. Obama through campaign contributions the way they did in 2008 — “it would be bad for business,” one brand-name chief executive of a major bank acknowledged — some still plan to vote for him. And some begrudgingly acknowledged that they don’t yet see a viable alternative to Mr. Obama among the Republican field.

It also turns out that Wall Street is not the only one concerned about optics. The president’s re-election campaign has not been actively courting Wall Street’s biggest C.E.O.’s to appear at such fund-raisers out of fear that their support could offend his most liberal backers, two people involved in planning his fund-raiser at Daniel said.

A picture of [Goldman Sachs CEO] Lloyd [Blankfein] and Obama together probably isn’t helpful,” one of these people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid upsetting his role in the campaign... While Wall Street executives still complain about the president’s name-calling and pressure for a regulatory overhaul, many say privately that his bark has been worse than his bite.

Obama hasn’t been too bad to banks. He could have been worse,” said a top executive at one of the nation’s largest banks, a big supporter in the past who decided against attending the dinner because he did not want his colleagues and clients to see him supporting the president... “His rhetoric was obnoxious,” he added, referring to the “fat cat” comments, “but since the midterms, he’s turned it off.”

He pointed to the appointment of William Daley, a former senior executive at JPMorgan Chase, as the president’s chief of staff as a sign of Mr. Obama’s shifting approach toward big business... Mr. Obama’s dinner last week raised $2.3 million, outpacing an original projection of $1.5 million. And the Democratic National Committee raised $10.5 million in May, surpassing the Republican National Committee, which raised $6.2 million...

Of course, if you've lost the readers of The New York Times...


Chris Wallace's Greatest Interview Questions

The bizarre interview of GOP front-runner Michele Bachmann ("Are you a flake?") by Fox News analyst Chris Wallace wasn't his first encounter with controversy.

Although I wonder if he'd have the cojones to ask the following questions.

"Are you a Marxist? I mean, that's what the rap on you is?"

"Are you a bit too ample in the derriere to be lecturing people on their diets? I mean, that's what the rap on you is -- too much 'junk in the trunk', if you will."

"Are you as stupid as you sound? Let's face it, that's what the rap on you is?"

"Are you a pathological liar? I'm sure you know that's what the rap on you is?"

"Are you a mentally unbalanced, barely coherent dimwit? I mean, that's what the rap on you is?"

"Are you a perverted wanker? That's what the rap on you is?"

* * * * * * * * *

Hey, Wallace: go drink a big tall glass of shut-up juice, you freaking dweeb.


Update: Hey, Chris Wallace: do you know how many people called Michele Bachmann a 'flake' before you slandered her on Sunday? None, dimwit.


Linked by: The Tatler. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: DHS Stealth Amnesty Coverup: Even Convicted Criminals Stay

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

DHS Stealth Amnesty Coverup: Even Convicted Criminals Stay: JW
WTF: Debt Ceiling Compromise is to Slash Defense Spending?: Hot Air
FEC Violation: Obama Films Campaign Ad In White House: RCP

Democrat Electoral Strategy: Be the Ones Who Count the Votes: RWN
TSA Agents Prevent Possible Terrorist Act: IndReal
Blagojevich found guilty on most counts: Pundette

The Human Tragedy of Illegal Immigration: Heritage
Obama's new war is on doctors: Surber
The Racism Everyone Pretends Doesn't Exist: Zilla

Economy

ICE Memo References NLRB as Immigration Factor : LUR
The Peronist in the White House: PJM
The Dems' Unbalanced Debt Plan: IBD

Obama's The One? How About Obama's the 0.8: Ace
Obama’s Labor Dept: 'You Might Be Union Busting If…': RS
Wisc. Teachers Protest Working an 8-Hour Work Day: RWN

Climate & Energy

The Failure of Al Gore, Part One: Mead
Green jobs company endorsed by Obama and Biden squandered $535MM in stimulus money: DC
Fuel prices rein in July 4th travel plans: Chron

Media

Increasingly shameless WaPo covers for Gunwalker: Owens
College Democrats Unleash Powerful New Ad: Ace
Party Like It's 2004: Driscoll

Bashing Bachmann: A Review of Liberal Media's Most Obnoxious Attacks on the GOP Presidential Contender: NB
Why I left the Spectator: Phillips
Lawyer Lists Four Possible FBI Responses to Federal Judge Re: Missing OKC Bombing Tapes: BMW

A Culture War Against Conservative Women: Foundry
Bachmann On Obama: “He Fears Me”: WZ
Name That Party: Blago's Dem Affiliation Left Out of Seven AP Stories: NB

World

Iran Threatens Turkey, Reveals Missile Silos: Kahlili
Starving plight of N Koreans revealed: ABC Australia
Nothing To See Here, Just More Evidence Of American Decline: RWN

Shock: Iran Defense Minister — a Killer of American Soldiers — Meets with U.S.: Kahlili
St Nicholas Church Rally at Ground Zero: Rebuild the 95-Year-Old Church, Stop the Ground Zero Mosque: Atlas
Terror-linked CAIR Taps Hizballah Apologist For Tampa Office: Creeping

SciTech

Google's record-breaking traffic: By the numbers: TheWeek
Google's War on Nonsense: Opinionator
Microsoft to test white-space spectrum for wireless: CNet

Cornucopia

Grudge Retort: C&S
Ante Upped on ‘Win Dinner With President Obama’ Contest: Malkin
Onion Editor's leg broken, others hurt in Spring Garden mob attack: Philly

Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Michele Bachmann for President

QOTD: "With a crowd like this, there is no better stump speaker in the Republican field than Bachmann. Only Cain comes close." --ABC's Jonathan Karl with Michele Bachmann in Iowa

Monday, June 27, 2011

Bankrupt 'Green Jobs Company' Received $535 Million in Stimulus Money, Was Coincidentally Headed by Huge Obama Contributor

If this Republic survives the Obama presidency, I truly look forward to the first comprehensive, tell-all biography of our 44th president. Because when it comes to stories like this one, I'm betting we've only seen the tip of the iceberg.

The Obama 'Green Jobs' Scam That Redistributed Half-a-Billion Dollars to His Political Backers


Solyndra, Inc. was supposed to have showcased the effectiveness of the Obama administration’s stimulus and green jobs initiatives, but instead it has become the center of congressional attention for waste, fraud and abuse of such programs.

According to a Feb. 17 letter signed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, Michigan Republican, and Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns, Florida Republican, to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, the Fremont, Calif.-based solar panel manufacturer should never have received a $535 million loan guarantee from the stimulus.*

...The Energy Department estimated in a March 20, 2009 press release that the loan guarantee would create 3,000 construction jobs and a further 1,000 jobs after the plant opened... And President Barack Obama and Vice President Joseph Biden each personally showcased Solyndra as an example of how stimulus dollars were at work creating jobs, during appearances at the company over the course of the following year...

...Obama made similar claims in a May 26, 2010 speech at the plant, but the 1,000 jobs he and Biden touted in their respective speeches failed to materialize...

Instead, Solyndra announced on Nov. 3 it planned to postpone expanding the plant, which put the taxpayers on the hook to the tune of $390.5 million taxpayers... It also announced that it no longer planned to hire the 1,000 workers that Obama and Biden had touted in their speeches and that it planned to close one of its older factories and planned to lay-off 135 temporary or contract workers and 40 full-time employees.

A closer look at the company shows it has never turned a profit since it was founded in 2005... And Solyndra’s auditor declared that “the company has suffered recurring losses, negative cash flows since inception and has a net stockholders’ deficit that, among other factors, [that] raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a growing concern” in ... March 2010...

A June 2010 Wall Street Journal report indicating that Solyndra’s majority owner, Oklahoma billionaire George Kaiser, was a major fundraiser for the 2008 Obama-Biden campaign...

In other words, your kids and grandkids will be paying back that half-a-billion dollars (with interest) -- which was borrowed from the Chinese -- to pay off a huge Obama contributor (coincidentally).

Hashtag: WeGotReamed. Hashtag: Criminals. Hashtag: ChicagoPolitics.


Destroyers, Stealth Fighters, Aircraft Carriers and Drones: China's Military Buildup is Anything But Benign

China is unquestionably behind the U.S. when it comes to defense technology, but there is little doubt it is ratcheting up dramatically.

...Some time ago it was revealed that in its rush to "catch up" with western military technology, China has now developed an aircraft carrier and a stealth fighter (reverse engineering efficiency notwithstanding)...

Now, it appears that China has developed its first ever unmanned drone...

...Wired has the latest: "It was another big reveal in a long history of them...

...Six months after the Chinese air force let the first photos of its new stealth fighter leak online, Beijing’s military has "accidentally" showed off another secretive weapon system: a small drone, apparently used to scout ahead of China’s fast-growing fleet of warships...

...Details of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle — gleaned entirely from a snapshot (PDF) taken by a Japanese navy patrol plane last week — are sketchy, at best. But the new UAV certainly represents a step forward in China’s development of American-style spy drones." Of course, the "leak" is anything but, and is merely another attempt to demonstrate its ongoing scramble to keep up with the US across all verticals.

And with Democrat politicians willing to sell America's technologies for campaign donations (Bill Clinton's Loral debacle being the most infamous and treasonous case), odds are the PRC will catch up far sooner than anyone anticipates.

Which makes Ron Paul's insane anti-military alliance with the hard left all the more egregious. America must be strong, period. And anyone who says otherwise is either ill-informed or a kook.


Grim Milestone: Obama HHS to send spies into doctors' offices

Or, as Don Surber puts it, "Obama’s new war is on doctors."

President Obama’s solution to a shortage of doctors caused by Obamacare? Spy on them. ...Of course, that is not the spin from the New York Times:

Alarmed by a shortage of primary care doctors, Obama administration officials are recruiting a team of “mystery shoppers” to pose as patients, call doctors’ offices and request appointments to see how difficult it is for people to get care when they need it.

The administration says the survey will address a “critical public policy problem”: the increasing shortage of primary care doctors, including specialists in internal medicine and family practice. It will also try to discover whether doctors are accepting patients with private insurance while turning away those in government health programs that pay lower reimbursement rates.

...“I don’t like the idea of the government snooping,” said Dr. Raymond Scalettar, an internist in Washington. “It’s a pernicious practice — Big Brother tactics, which should be opposed.”

So, American Medical Association, how’s that support of Obamacare working out for you?

The AMA doesn't care: its leadership is getting amply rewarded for its support of America's largest entitlement program.

When I sent Doctor Jay the article, he responded:

Thanks,

Actually, I was aware of it. What a waste of resources.

And what do they do with this info? Command Docs to accept government insurance?

Precisely, Jay.

In a wonderfully written article in National Affairs by Avik Roy, the imminent and inevitable collapse of Medicare is described in plainspoken terms that even liberals should be able to comprehend.

Something like the Ryan approach will be crucial to the future of Medicare. The program is set to go bankrupt in a decade, and seems past the point of small fixes or yet another tweak to the price-control formula (as proposed under Obamacare). A broader reform must come. Medicare's history, its importance to the seniors who depend on it, and the nature of its fiscal problems suggest that such a reform must take account of six factors.

First, we must remember that Medicare's primary achievement — protecting economically vulnerable retirees — is a salutary one, the preservation of which must be the cornerstone of reform ... As many have suggested (and as the Ryan budget proposes), reforms should be implemented only for future enrollees age 55 or younger, in order to allow for a gradual transition into a reformed system, and to preserve benefits for those who have long planned their retirements around the existing system.

Second, we must appreciate the power of cost-sharing ... from 2003 to 2010, Medicare's prescription-drug benefit contained significant cost-sharing provisions, in plans administered entirely by private insurers, and the program came in under budget as a result...

...Third, we must introduce means-testing into Medicare...

...Fourth, we should index the Medicare retirement age to life expectancy...

Fifth, we must address the substantial problem of Medicare fraud. It is estimated that $60 to $100 billion of annual Medicare spending — between 8% and 13% of the total — is fraudulent. Medicare processes over one billion claims per year, and is required by law to reimburse claims within 15 to 30 days. This makes it almost impossible to prevent criminal activity. Private administration of the program would do much to incentivize the development of more thorough auditing practices.

Finally, Medicare must evolve into a system in which individuals can shop for value in insurance plans...

This moment in our politics — when our long-term fiscal situation has suddenly captured public attention — might just offer the opportunity to attempt such [steps]. It is an opportunity we must not allow to slip by.

But instead of seriously addressing their own collapsing entitlement programs, Democrats instead demagogue serious plans like that proposed by Paul Ryan. They mock those would repair the system. They run commercials showing Republicans pushing Grandma off a cliff.

And they will spy on doctors and eventually enslave them. Too harsh a term? What would you call compelling doctors to work at wages dictated by the state? To serve the federal government in locations specified by the state --- whether they like it or not?

That, my friends, is the inevitable result of Obamacare. Indentured servitude at best, slavery at worst. In other words, Obamacare has nothing at all to do with improving health care in America. It is intended to control you. Your body, the physical container of your soul, so that the government -- not God and not family -- becomes the most important entity in your life.

It is a totalitarian system and antithetical to the America's founding, traditions and history.

I urge you to remember in 2012.


Larwyn's Linx: Romney, Bachmann lead in Iowa

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

Romney, Bachmann lead in Iowa: RS
How About Some 2012 Speculation?: Ace
The Dangerous Effort to Delegitimate Supreme Court Justices: Volokh

A GOP Debt Limit Warning On Taxes: RWN
What if Obama just ignores Congress on the debt ceiling?: Hot Air
Queen of the Tea Party: WS

'Change' President holding de facto fundraisers at White House: Hot Air
Blatant corruption and Nazi-style tactics in Maryland: Simpson
TSA makes 95 year old woman in wheelchair remove adult diaper: TRS

Economy

CBO: Tax Hikes Unnecessary to Fix Budget: Foundry
Just When You Thought Our Fiscal Nightmare Couldn't Get Worse: DLim
Detroit: DOT lays off drivers while directors get new hybrid SUVs: RWN

I Accidentally Stumble Into A Hotbed of Educational Indoctrination: Lid
CT: Public Unions Reject Sweetheart Deal, 7,500 Layoffs On Way: Mish
Forecasts for Growth Drop, Some Sharply: CNBC

Climate & Energy

Cash for Pumpers: AT
Obama’s EPA Sets Out to Destroy US Factories With Boilers; Affecting Millions of US Jobs: GWP
Next target: your cable box: Surber

Media

Great moments in journalism: “Are you a flake?”: Hot Air
How stupid/evil was Bill Lueders's attack on Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser?: Althouse
Chris Wallace Apologizes to Michele Bachmann for Asking if She’s a ‘Flake’: Malkin

Reviewing Ann Bradley’s physical attack on David Prosser…: Moe Lane
The rise of Michele Bachmann: Power Line
What Would Our Founding Fathers Think of Repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”?: TheGraph

Stossel Admits He Could've Had Breitbart's ACORN Scoop But Passed Due to ABC's Politics: NB
Chris Wallace PWNs Jon Stewart Anew: Ace
CBS ignores Herman Cain’s third-place performance in Iowa poll: DC

Equality Ãœber Alles, New York: RSM
Media And Squishes Favorite Jon Hunstman Won’t Win Because He’s “Not Angry”: RWN
Like Chauncey Gardiner, Obama is profoundly aloof: Barone

World

Illegal Aliens Set Arizona Afire: MB
LA Is Now Part of Mexico? US Soccer Team Booed In Their Own Country: BP
Will U.S. Suspend Aid to Egypt’s Military?: PJM

Presenting The (Only) Four Outcomes To The Global Public Debt Crisis: ZH
UN Secretary General Congratulates Iranian Fox for Guarding the Hen House?: PJM
Hamas-Tied CAIR Releases Its First Annual Hit List: Atlas

SciTech

Citigroup hacking nets $2.7 million from customers: CNet
10 Creative Social Media Resumes To Learn From: Mashable
Google: Tool or Trust?: RWN

Cornucopia

Not every horror movie has to last two hours: Bear Mountain
The better sex life diet ... and do we all marry the wrong person?: SMH
The Prince Who Blew Through Billions: Vanity Fair

Image: New York Daily News
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Can you spare $5 to help Michele Bachmann's campaign?

QOTD: "With the City of Chicago already running into major trouble with roving bands of black gangs attacking and robbing people in broad daylight in wiliding incidents (and it’s only a matter of time before they start killing people) we have a top cop more interested in appearing at racist churches making race-baiting speeches than doing his job. Emanuel better watch out because what we obviously have here is just another arrogant jack-booted thug that thinks he should be allowed to make up his own laws instead of enforcing the laws actually on the books." --Warner Todd Huston