Doug Ross @ Journal: February 2012

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Shhh... no one tell the idiot legislators in California: job growth 52% higher in states with low business taxes

An executive looking for a place to locate his company might do well to consider Wyoming. That state is the most business-friendly in the country, at least when it comes to taxes, according to a new study.

The study, released by the Tax Foundation on Wednesday, found that when all the taxes businesses pay are factored in, Wyoming's rate is less than half the national average. The state is one of three — Nevada and South Dakota are the others — that doesn't have a corporate income tax.

Pennsylvania, meanwhile, wins the dubious distinction of imposing the heaviest tax burden on its businesses, with an overall effective rate that's 45% above the national average.

The study, titled "Location Matters," looked at a range of business taxes — corporate income, sales, property, unemployment, gross receipts and others. The accounting firm KPMG collaborated on the report with the Tax Foundation.

Among the most-populated states, California ranked 34th, Texas 12th, New York 42nd, Florida 19th, and Illinois came in 45th. Ohio, which came in 5th, imposes a low-rate gross receipts tax instead of a corporate income tax...

...A separate analysis by IBD found that states imposing the lowest tax rates on both new and existing businesses produced more jobs during the economic recovery than those states with the highest tax burdens.

You mean stealing more money from businesses -- to fund a bloated, unaccountable public sector -- leaves companies with less money to hire workers?

Gee, that logic is sooo difficult to comprehend. That is, if you're a Democrat or an idiot. But I repeat myself.

The University of California at Davis: Upholding a Proud Tradition of Racism, Bigotry and Intolerance

What's the definition of 'fascism' again?

University of California-Davis has a disruptive group of Muslim brownshirts who take every chance they can to act in a disgusting manner to enforce the blasphemy laws under the sharia (restriction of free speech)... The campus police did nothing to stop their disruptions...

Dear Police Chief Spicuzza,

I am writing to complain about UCD Police behavior at an event at 7:00 pm in Room 106 of Wellman Hall last night (Monday, Feb 27, 2012). That event was a program featuring two Israelis talking about what they do in Israel (one was a soldier, one not).

From the outset of the program, hecklers interrupted the program making it impossible for the program to proceed. One particular heckler hurled epithets at the speakers preventing their exercise of free speech--and the ability of the audience to listen. I am including a link to a video made at the event so that you can hear for yourself what he said and how he said it...

After this had gone on for some time, I approached a police officer who was standing idly by and asked why he was there if not to ensure order--and why the heckler was not being removed. He specifically and absurdly responded to me: “We have been instructed by our superior not to stop hecklers, and if you try to stop the hecklers, we have been instructed to close down the program.”

Eventually, after some 15 or 20 minutes the heckler left and the program continued. Heckling to a lesser degree continued all the way through the question and answer period. That the police did nothing was frankly infuriating. I would appreciate your response.

George Rooks
Retired faculty UCD

Can you imagine a branch of the KKK behaving like this during a presentation celebrating Black History Month? No, only Christians and Jews can be targeted this way while a radical, leftist university administration and its police force look on.

Spread the news far and wide.

U.C. Davis is no friend to free speech. Or American values, for that matter.

P.S., Here are some official Twitter handles for the Davis and California university systems. Feel free to contact them -- politely, of course -- and ask them why they endorse racism, bigotry and intolerance.

• @UCDavis
• @UCDavis_Morain
• @UCDavisDateline
• @UCNewsroom

Hashtag #GreatPR !

Now Egypt wants a prisoner swap: will legacy media finally report that we have a HOSTAGE FREAKING CRISIS?

Did someone say Jimmy Carter, Part Deux? Dan from NY writes:

Shades of Jimmy Carter. For 30 years. while Mubarak was running things, Egypt considered us an ally. Now, almost overnight, the new Muslim Brotherhood regime sees us as infidels. How can we ever thank you, Mr. Obama?

Egypt Demands Prisoner Swap: Terrorist Detainees for NGO Civilians

Are the bitter fruits of Senator John McCain’s “diligent diplomacy” a humiliating prisoner “exchange”—innocent US NGO workers, for hardened jihadists, including the notorious “Blind Sheikh” Umar ‘Abd-al-Rahman, who orchestrated the murderous 1993 World Trade Center bombing?

My colleague at Translating Jihad has fully translated an Arabic Al-Arabiya story entitled (pathognomonically), “ ‘Umar ‘Abd-al-Rahman at Forefront of Egyptian-American Prisoner Exchange Deal.”

The Egyptian government began taking steps to respond with the American offer to release 50 Egyptians being held in American prisons–including Shaykh ‘Umar ‘Abd-al-Rahman—in exchange for the release of 19 Americans accused in the case of foreign funding of civil society organizations. This is according to what was confirmed by Major General Muhammad Hani Zahir, an expert in military studies and international counterterrorism.

Zahir in comments to the newspaper ‘al-Masriyun’ said it was necessary for Egypt to exploit America’s weak position, especially after condemning its citizens in cases affecting Egyptian sovereignty over its territory. He added that Egypt should not permit this exchange to take place unless the American administration agrees to release more than 500 Egyptians being held in American prisons, of whom the Egyptian foreign ministry knows nothing.

If the crux of this story is accurate, it will represent a modern variant of capitulation to the anti-modern dictates of jihad warfare. Jihad, this ancient, but vibrant Islamic institution grounded upon hatred of the non-Muslim infidel, has long used captured infidels—including, prominently, non-combatants seized as “booty” during endless, unprovoked incursions into the lands of the infidel—to ransom in exchange for captured murderous jihadists.

I wonder how bad business has to get for legacy media to start actually reporting the news?

Or is that now the responsibility of the blogosphere?

Report: Obama kept Air Force One aloft an extra half hour to watch Knicks-Heat game

Do as I say, not as I do: but peons like you and I are supposed to live a more spartan life to ensure we don't emit any extra carbon dioxide.

President Obama flew to Florida this past week to explain high gas prices. According to the Washington Post, on his way to Florida this past Thursday, reporters were "perplexed" at the President's 41 minute flight from Washington, DC to Orlando, Florida taking 1 hour and 15 minutes. The flight was in the air an extra 30 minutes, burning precious fossil fuels.

It does not seem a coincidence that the President landed right at half time of an NBA basketball game between the star studded Miami Heat and New York Knicks. Some theorized that the President delayed his flight in the air to watch more of the basketball game.

I could drive my convertible for 100 years straight and not emit as much CO2 into the atmosphere as President Obama did watching the Lebron/Lin-sanity matchup.

To his credit, the president did have a constructive couple of weeks.

• As part of the 'In Performance at the White House' PBS series, Obama hosted B.B. King, Mick Jagger and a host of other music luminaries for another of his posh, weekly soirees.

• He also held an 'NBA fundraiser', which raised $2.1 million by charging $30,000 a head.

This follows a luxury ski vacation in Aspen, just a few weeks after a 17-day Hawaiian vacation that reportedly cost $4 million (up from $2.5 million in 2010).

So you peons keep doing what you're doing. We have a president and a demanding first lady to support.

Hat tip: BadBlue News.

The curious case of the missing $800 billion

James Pethokoukis points us to an astounding observation by economist Mike Darda of MKM Partners:

Wages and salaries advanced at a 5.4% annualized rate after rising at a 6.5% rate in Q3. After adjusting for prices, real wage and salary income rose 4.5% A.R. in Q4 after a 3.9% annualized rise in Q3. Real wages and salaries are up 3% y/y, the fastest annual rate of increase since 3Q07...

Unfortunately, due to the depth of the 2007-2009 recession, wage and salary income is still 11% below its pre-crisis trend. This fact is reflected in the still-low employment/population ratio for prime age adults (25-54) and the still-high level of underemployment and near-record level of long-term unemployment. So, while the recent data are encouraging, there is a long way to go.

Pethokoukis adds: "Fun coincidence: The missing wage and salary income, $800 billion, is about the same as the cost of the Obama stimulus."

Larwyn's Linx: Romney Sweeps to Double Republican Primary Victory

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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

A lawsuit you'd only find in West Virginia [Uncle Ben]

Uncle Ben:

This is a real lawsuit, one that if you read the newspaper articles about it, doesn't seem to be that big a deal.

Some articles are here and here, but you don't really need to read those.

Basically, a frat boy at Marshall U. shot off a bottle rocket, startling another guy who fell off a deck that had no railing, and hurt his arm.

Since it was fraternity property, and the fraternity was letting people drink underage, and do dangerous things like shoot off bottle rockets, he's suing.

BUT. Read the details of exactly how foolish the behavior was:

West Virginia: it's all relative.

Taranto obliterates the "Santorum as unelectable extremist" meme

James Taranto pounds the final nail into the coffin off the ludicrous contention that Rick Santorum is "unelectable". The last major Republican candidate to receive that kind of label was the "too old", "too crazy", "too stupid", "too conservative", and "too warlike" man named Ronald Reagan.

This column has recently become skeptical of the view--nearly universal on the liberal left but common as well among conservative elites--that Rick Santorum is "unelectable" or far less likely than Mitt Romney to defeat President Obama in November. A new USA Today poll reinforces our skepticism.

The survey, conducted by Gallup, included two samples of registered voters: 1,137 from a dozen "swing states," all of which Obama carried in 2008, and another 881 nationwide. The swing states included six that George W. Bush carried twice (Colorado, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia), three that Bush carried once (Iowa, New Hampshire and New Mexico), and three that last went Republican in 1988 or earlier (Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin).

The findings: Santorum leads Obama in the swing states, 50% to 45%, and nationwide 49% to 46%. This gives him an edge of three percentage points over Romney, whose swing-state lead is 48% to 46% and who ties the president nationally at 47%.

To be sure, this is only one poll, and the election is still more than eight months off. One possible explanation is that voters are less unfavorably disposed toward Santorum because they don't know him as well as they know Romney, and that once they learn how hard-core the former senator is on social issues, they'd bolt for Obama if Santorum becomes the nominee.

Writing in BusinessWeek, Bloomberg columnist Clive Crook offers another explanation for Santorum's appeal, while also arguing that it is limited by social issues:

Santorum combines this proletarian stance--unusual in a hard-right conservative--with more familiar elements of GOP populism: patriotism, reverence for family, hard work and self-reliance, hostility to big government, and proud religiosity (to a fault, in his case). If not for the extremism on sexual politics, it would be a potent blend even beyond the Republican Party's social-conservative core.

The trouble with this is that, as we've noted, "the extremism on sexual politics" is in substantial part mythical--and the propagation of the myth doesn't seem to be hurting Santorum. The timing of USA Today's survey (Feb. 14-21 in the swing states and Feb. 20-21 nationwide) coincides with a media hysteria in which the former senator's critics have frequently exaggerated or distorted his views to make him appear more extreme than he is. If he wins the nomination, he will have several months to explain himself to an electorate in which extreme social liberals constitute a small minority. And by that point, conservatives and Republicans who are now joining in on the "extremist" attacks would have an interest in setting the record straight.

Say, I've been out of the country for a while. How'd that Bob Dole and John McCain as "electable moderates" thing work out for the GOP?

Related: Time to Take a Stand

Google offers $1 million reward to hackers who exploit Chrome

There's security and then there's security.

Google has pledged cash prizes totaling $1 million to people who successfully hack its Chrome browser at next week's CanSecWest security conference.

Google will reward winning contestants with prizes of $60,000, $40,000, and $20,000 depending on the severity of the exploits they demonstrate on Windows 7 machines running the browser. Members of the company's security team announced the Pwnium contest on their blog on Monday. There is no splitting of winnings, and prizes will be awarded on a first-come-first-served basis until the $1 million threshold is reached.

...At last year's competition, Internet Explorer and Safari were both toppled but no one even attempted an exploit against Chrome (despite Google offering an additional $20,000 beyond the $15,000 provided by contest organizer Tipping Point).

Chrome is currently the only browser eligible for Pwn2Own never to be brought down. One reason repeatedly cited by contestants for its lack of attention is the difficulty of bypassing Google's security sandbox.

If you're still surfing with Internet Explorer, I would recommend giving Chrome a try. It's fast, secure and free. You can download it here.

Hat tip: @KimZetter.

Breaking: Democrats urge more dependence on foreign oil. Seriously.

Is there a more malevolent Statist hack in Congress than Chuck "Schmucky" Schumer (which is the nickname he prefers, I hear)?

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) urged Saudi Arabia to pump more oil yesterday. This comes after his party has repeatedly stifled energy production here at home...

Senate Republicans are bashing Sen. Charles Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) call for increased Saudi Arabian oil production to help ease prices, alleging it shows that Democrats are weak when it comes to boosting North American energy supplies and jobs.

Schumer on Sunday urged Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to press Saudi officials to expand production, noting that the kingdom is producing well below its capacity of 12.5 million barrels per day.

Republicans are hopeful that the letter provides a political opening to undercut Democratic and White House energy policies.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) office on Monday circulated a press release headlined “Top Democrat Senator Demands Increased Energy Production, Jobs In Saudi Arabia Rather Than Increasing American Energy And American Jobs.” ... Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, also doesn’t want Schumer’s letter to go unnoticed.

“Rather than approve the Keystone pipeline, the Democrats’ energy plan now calls for the most powerful nation in the free world to politely ask other countries for more oil and cross our fingers,” he said in a statement.

Not only did President Obama block the monstrous Keystone XL pipeline -- which would have helped reduce America's dependence on foreign oil -- but Schumer himself has helped block drilling throughout the United States.

Consider this blast from the past. Mr. Peabody, set the Wayback Machine to April of 2008:

Now, yesterday ... [President Bush] made a presentation on energy and said much of the same thing you just said here; and Senator Schumer from New York went out and responded to it and said, "If we started drilling in ANWR today we wouldn't have a drop of oil for ten years." Well, of course, Bill Clinton vetoed the first time this came up in 1994. We could have been at this four years according to his ten-year plan. He also said something that mathematically doesn't make sense. He said that this million barrels a day that ANWR would produce would reduce the price of gasoline or oil -- I forget which one he specified -- by a penny. Well, that's absurd, because when the price of oil... When we lose a million barrels in the supply, does the price only go up a penny? They're using scare tactics, here. We need resources. We need our oil, and you got Schumer out there saying, "No, it wouldn't matter," and they're misleading people thinking that there's a substitute for it right around the corner when there's not.

They've been saying that drilling doesn't matter for over 20 years now. They're lying. They've been saying it would take 10 years to develop a new oil field. They're lying.

Democrats are provably wounding America's economy -- and its national security posture -- through their defective, Utopian schemes.

Larwyn's Linx: The First Amendment, Explained Well

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

GOP Primary

The First Amendment, Explained Well: Sundries
USA Today: Obama trails Romney, Santorum in swing states: HotAir
Romney’s (Bumpy) Road to Victory: ABC

Santorum in Lansing: Romney's Attack Ad Campaign Is a 'Joke': RSM
Santorum Retakes Lead in Michigan: PolWire
Santorum seeks Democrat support in Michigan robocalls: WaPo

Nation

The Jew-bashing, race-hustling friends of Obama are back: Malkin
Michelle Lets Governors Gorge on 2,000 Calorie Dinner: Dossier
Cardinal George: The End of Catholic Hospitals In U.S.: Ace

Our Endowed Rights: XCV
Former Rezko partner says he gave Tony $400K for Obama: ILP2P
Happy 3rd Anniversary to the Tea Party Movement: Meckler

Gibson Guitars: Six Months Later: Blogmocracy
Issues that unite: the repeal of Obamacare: Q&O
Poll Shows Swing States Oppose Obamacare: Beacon

Economy

The Lifestyles of Rich and Famous Democrats on the Public Dole: Ace
Poll: Vast Majority of Likely Voters Think Rich Already Pay Their Fair Share: Beacon
China will be world's largest economy before 2030: Reuters

The Fed's Anti-Recession Effort May Unleash 15% Inflation: IBD
Obama to cut healthcare benefits for Military: Beacon
More bad news: U.S. water bills to triple: Exam

Did Obama actually embrace Bowles-Simpson? Please: Peth
President Obama Kept Air Force One In The Air An Extra 30 Minutes To Watch A Knicks Game?: SAB
"Progressive" Reporting on Scott Walker’s Recall Election: RWN

Scandal Central

Obama's Energy Lie Exposed: Power Line
Holder could be jailed for Fast and Furious coverup: NewAm
After Cutting Pay For Soldiers in Harm's Way, Obama to Cut Healthcare For Active Duty Soldiers, Too: GWP

Climate & Energy

Shameless: Dems Urge Saudi Arabia to Pump More Oil But Won’t Open Drilling Up in U.S.: GWP
7 Gas Facts Obama Cannot Escape: BigGovt
Calm Opposition to the Storm of Climate Change: Wizbang

Media

David Brock Paid Former Boyfriend $850,000 To Settle Alleged "Blackmail" Threat: Ace
Shorter WaPo Columnist: How Dare You Criticize Obama During Black History Month: BigJ
S.E. Cupp Smacks Down Margaret Carlson for Calling Santorum a Zealot: NB

It's Now or Never?: Patterico
Obama Camp Sending Creepy, Intimidating Email To Former Donors Who Failed to Donate in 2012: Nice Deb
Andrea Mitchell Frets: Voters May Punish Obama Over War, Gas Prices Though He Has 'So Little Control': NB

Allen Dershowitz declares war on Media Matters: Blogmocracy
No Time Left For You: Muir
A Movie about Muhammad: An Idea whose Time Has Come: Geller

World

Slashing Defense Budget Puts Nation at Increased Risk: Foundry
Report: Millions of White House dollars helped pay for NYPD Muslim surveillance: Fox
‘Greece in death spiral’: RT

"from viewers like you" ... a lesson in combined armor & infantry warfare ...: Winter Soldier
Army IDs remains of last missing GI in Iraq: ArmyTimes
You’re Not a Boiling Frog, But You Might As Well Be.: Sundries

AP Reports: Israel Will Not Warn The US About Iran Strike--Why is This Surprising?: Lid
Exclusive Interview: Infidel Victim of Pennsylvania Sharia Judge Reveals Inside Details of Case: Geller
Syrian activists: 64 bodies found near Homs in one of the worst mass killings: WaPo

Sci-Tech

Medical tattoos offer important health information: ABQJournal
It's Not Easy Predicting the End of the iPhone: AtlWire
Get more from your mobile with the Asus Padfone: CNet

Prosthetics Breakthrough Might Fuse Nerves With Fake Limbs: Wired
Site Was Attacked by Hackers–WordPress Vulnerability –”31.184.242.102?–Clean Now: Virtuous Republic
Facebook: We're Not Reading Your Texts But We Can If We Wanna: Consumerist

Cornucopia

The Very Last Picture Show: Sultan Knish
1 dead, 4 wounded in shooting at Ohio school; student described as outcast is arrested: WaPo
‘Buy a Gun’ & ‘Keep Your Powder Dry’: Economists Warn of Looming ‘Economic 9/11′: Blaze

Image: No Encore, Please - i Own The World
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Rick Santorum for President

QOTD: "Thanks to Mitt Romney, politicians will never again assume that feigning interest in NASCAR is a surefire way to show the common touch:

Two days away from a critical primary in Michigan, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney detoured to Daytona International Speedway on Sunday....Does he follow the sport?

"Not as closely as some of the most ardent fans," he said. "But I have some friends who are NASCAR team owners."" --Jesse Walker

Monday, February 27, 2012

Holy crap: Asus demos smartphone that transforms into tablet, notebook

This, in my humble opinion, is the future of personal computing platforms. Tiny, powerful, transportable, and usable in the context of multiple form factors.

Summary: Asus showed up at Mobile World Congress with the Padfone, its latest head-scratching device that lets you take a phone and turn it into a tablet and a notebook...

...At its most basic level, the Padfone is a candy bar Android smartphone with high-end, though hardly revolutionary, specs. You'll find a 4.3-inch AMOLED display, a Qualcomm dual-core processor, messaging and e-mail, Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, an 8-megapixel camera, a second VGA shooter around front, and a media player...

...The Padfone's story, however, isn't about what the phone can do, but about what you can do with the phone. Building where Motorola's laptop dock left off, the Padfone can slide into the Asus Padstation to become a 10.1-inch tablet...

...Everything that you can do on the phone, from browsing the Web, to playing media, to using apps, you now can do in tablet form. You can even make calls using the integrated speakerphone or a Bluetooth headset (you'd look pretty silly carrying a tablet next to your ear)...

...But the Padfone doesn't stop there. You can also turn the tablet into a small notebook by attaching the Asus Station Dock keyboard. Like with the Transfomer Prime, the keyboard will snap onto the bottom of the tablet for your typing needs...

CNet Asia's Aloysius Low has a more comprehensive first look.

I seriously think this is the future of personal computing.

Good News: DHS Spending $11 Million Scouring Web for Criticism of Its Policies

I'd have loved to have heard the shrieks of indignation coming from The New York Times and the rest of the leftist infrastructure had John Ashcroft and other Bush administration officials engaged in this kind of egregious behavior.

No double standards here, folks.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been paying a defense contractor $11.4 million to monitor social media websites and other Internet communications to find criticisms of the department’s policies and actions.

A government watchdog organization, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), obtained hundreds of documents from DHS through the Freedom of Information Act and found details of the arrangement with General Dynamics. The company was contracted to monitor the Web for “reports that reflect adversely on DHS,” including sub-agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Citizenship and Immigration Services, Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In testimony submitted to the House Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, Ginger McCall, director of EPIC’s Open Government Project, stated that “the agency is monitoring constantly, under very broad search terms, and is not limiting that monitoring to events or activities related to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or manmade disasters…. The DHS has no legal authority to engage in this monitoring.”

McCall added: “This has a profound effect on free speech online if you feel like a government law enforcement agency—particularly the Department of Homeland Security, which is supposed to look for terrorists—is monitoring your criticism, your dissent, of the government.”

Rest assured that our beloved, baritone DHS secretary -- and her ostensible boss, Eric "Fast 'n' Furious" Holder -- would never, ever use this kind of information to go after private citizens. They're just doing research.

As far as you know.

Consider this reason number 43,263 to kick this administration's ample rear out of office in November.

Update: PrairiePundit writes: "This may explain my jump in hits."

Hat tip: BadBlue.com.

It's for the children: Nevada teachers union bosses hit the taxpayer-funded jackpot

Reason number 40 jazillion that collective bargaining must be banned.

In Las Vegas, you don’t have to be a gambling addict to strike it rich. In fact, you only need to become a union boss and the odds are, you too can be a ‘one percenter.’

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal [emphasis added]:

In 2009, the last year for which a required Internal Revenue Service report is available, more than a third of the union’s $4.1 million budget went to pay just nine leaders. Each earned between $139,785 and $208,683 for a total of $1.5 million, according to the Clark County Education Association’s report to the IRS.

John Jasonek, then executive director, got $208,683 for running the union but also received $423,863 from two affiliated organizations — the union’s Community Foundation and Center for Teaching Excellence — making his total pay $632,546.

In addition, union-created Teachers Health Trust CEO Peter Alpert was paid $546,133.

Unfortunately, unlike the one-armed bandits that line the Vegas Strip, becoming rich as a union boss is a little less random. [Hint: Knowing someone helps.]

Hey, the taxpayers, they gots plenty o' dough, right?

They'se never gonna miss it!

And it's for the kids, see?

Cartoon by: A. F. Branco.

Confirmed: Obama Slashes Health Care Funding for Seniors and the Military; Spigot to Public Sector Unions Still Wide Open

Of course, members of the armed forces and senior citizens aren't required to contribute to a proxy for the Democrat Party, but I'm sure that's just coincidental:

• Exhibit A - Tricare costs would jump in budget plan:

Pentagon officials will continue pressing in 2013 for significantly higher Tricare fees for military retirees, including older retirees covered by Tricare for Life, as well as higher drug co-pays for all Tricare beneficiaries.

The Defense Department’s proposed 2013 budget calls for annual enrollment fees for retirees in Tricare Prime to rise next year by 30 percent to 78 percent... depending on military retirement income.

• Exhibit B - Paul Ryan: Obamacare is Real Medicare Killer:

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan says contrary to what Democrats are saying, it is Obamacare — not his budget plan — that will kill Medicare... “Obamacare kills Medicare as we know it,” Ryan said. "Obamacare raids $500 billion from Medicare to spend on Obamacare, puts in place a [15-member] board to ration Medicare."

• Exhibit C - Obama’s budget calls for federal pay raises; workforce size stays flat:

President Obama wants to give raises to people collecting federal paychecks... The White House budget plan released Monday would increase federal civilian pay by a modest 0.5 percent... The budget proposal also projects that federal employment levels will remain essentially flat in fiscal 2013, growing by 0.1 percent, or 2,400 employees, to 2.1 million from the 2012 estimated level.

• Exhibit D - Obama budget slashes military spending, sends 'savings' to domestic agenda:

President Obama sent an annual budget request to Capitol Hill today that does little to reduce the deficit but dramatically cuts military spending anyway. Even though last year’s debt ceiling deal was supposedly agreed to in order to reduce America’s crushing debt burden, Obama is apparently planning to use half of the cuts in war spending to “help finance a major six-year, 50 percent increase in transportation spending.”

Defense cuts in the name of debt reduction are really for increased domestic spending. This is not a surprise. Last summer, President Obama made his priorities clear: social spending trumps national security...

Executive Summary

Obama's priorities are: (a) ~~stealing~~ redistributing money from seniors, the military and the intelligence community; and (b) spending those funds on public sector union wages from which mandatory union dues are deducted.

Those dues, in turn, end up laundered into Obama's campaign coffers.

Which explains his priorities. Not health care. Not national security. Not seniors. Getting reelected. First, last and everything in between. That is his priority.

Larwyn's Linx: The Community Organizer’s Collectivist Vision

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

The Community Organizer’s Collectivist Vision: Dossier
Uncivil Rights: Knish
An American ‘Kadi’ in Pennsylvania’s Court: BigPeace

Nancy Pelosi: Vicar of Contraception: BigGovt
Obama Campaign Tries Intimidation to Boost Fundraising: BigGovt
Americans Are Incredibly Pessimistic About The Future: Insider

Koch Bros. Hit Back at Laughably False Obama For America Email: Bizzy
Psycho Occupier Threatens to “Put Down” Cops Like “Dogs”: VS
Denver: Leftist Mob Hurls Pi$$ Bombs at Police: GWP