Take a Bite of the Pie

Michael Ramirez is the finest political cartoonist of this, and perhaps any, generation:


He is one of the few who can be said to regularly speak truth to power.

Without Even Realizing It, DNC Public Relations Firm @Politico Inadvertently Reports on POTUS Law-Breaking... Again

Another day, another DNC press release from Politico:

President Obama’s budget will probably be released in March, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Thursday, but has been delayed in part by “manufactured crises” including sequestration.


“The series of manufactured crises around budget issues, certainly has resulted at least in part in those experts in the administration who work on those issues having to spend a lot of time dealing with those crises rather than on that,” Carney said during his daily briefing. “But that’s part of the job and they’re working on the budget.”

31 USC § 1105 - Budget contents and submission to Congress:

(a) On or after the first Monday in January but not later than the first Monday in February of each year, the President shall submit a budget of the United States Government for the following fiscal year. Each budget shall include a budget message and summary and supporting information.

If they weren't so busy threatening journalists, perhaps we could get Obama and his administration to submit a budget, as required by law.


Image hat tip: Lonely Conservative.

New technology could drive zero-emission, clean coal-powered cars; Richard Windsor hardest hit

I wonder what the overstuffed radical named "Richard Windsor" thinks of this innovation?

New technological advances may make it possible in the near future to engineer a coal-powered car so clean that it produces nearly no polluting emissions, including carbon dioxide...

“There are many exciting possibilities for the clean coal technology,” says Liang-Shih Fan, a chemical engineer and director of Ohio State University’s Clean Coal Research Laboratory. “We found a way to release the heat from coal without burning it. This could be applicable for many industries.”

Fan last week disclosed that he had discovered a way to get the energy out of coal without burning it, using iron-oxide pellets as an oxygen source, and contain the reaction in a small chamber from which pollutants cannot escape. The only waste product would be water and solid coal ash -- no greenhouse gases. As an added benefit, the metal from the iron-oxide is recyclable.

The energy creation process is commonly known as “oxidation,” and is the chemical combination of a substance with oxygen. The use of the process is envisioned by Fan and his colleagues as a replacement for old-fashioned coal power plants, which spew greenhouse gases.

If the technology can be successfully miniaturized enough to fit into cars, the fueling infrastructure needed to service them would not be all that difficult to develop, experts say.

My question, above, was rhetorical, of course. We know what "Richard Windsor" and her ilk think of anything that empowers the individual and freedom of movement: they despise it.

For these sixties-retread radicals, it's not about carbon dioxide, or pollution, or global warming, or climate change, or whatever they're calling their religion these days. It's about control over you, the individual. Restricting your movement, controlling the private sector, and setting industrial policy.

As Mark Levin often says, "Green is the new Red."


Hat tip: BadBlue News.

Finally, an age-old question answered

Papa B writes:

Finally this age-old question is answered: Is giving birth more painful than getting kicked in the cojones?

Women always say that giving birth is much more painful than a guy getting kicked in the cojones.

They are wrong, and here's the proof.

A year or so after giving birth, a woman will often say, "It might be nice to have another child."

You never, ever hear a guy say, "You know, I think I would like another kick in the cojones."

Case closed.

Check and mate.

National Journal Editor-In-Chief Ron Fournier: Clueless Hack -- or Touchingly Naive Drone?

Today the National Journal and its editor-in-chief Ron Fournier -- if that is his real name -- achieved the pinnacle of self-beclownment. The setup: Fournier, in a soporific commentary on the White House's threats against legendary journalist Bob Woodward, described his own brush with a nasty Obama senior staffer. Fournier says he's befuddled because...

I had a great relationship with Clinton’s communications team, less so with President Bush's press shop, and now -- for the first time in my career -- I told a public servant to essentially buzz off.

This can’t be what Obama wants. He must not know how thin-skinned and close-minded his staff can be to criticism.

Is Fournier a clueless hack or just a touchingly naive drone? I ask because Obama mentions his critics by name (Sean Hannity and Americans For Prosperity, come to mind) and levies punishments against the press on a routine basis.

Today, Reason's Mike Riggs documents dozens of well-known episodes, ending with the Woodward denouement.

• Valerie Jarrett ripping Cornel West for daring to criticize Dear Leader.
• The White House banning a San Francisco Chronicle reporter for filming an anti-Obama protest.
• The White House banning the press pool from a Silicon Valley fundraiser.
• The White House banning The Boston Herald for publishing a Mitt Romney op-ed.
• The White House agreeing to a local media interview, provided it not use any quotes nor mention the topics of the discussion.
• The White House calling a small-town newspaper to shriek about its coverage of Michelle Obama's haughty and dismissive treatment of Marine One chopper pilots.

And so on.

This is a fascist mind-set, in no uncertain terms.

As commenter BannedForSelfCensorship observes:

We need a new slogan for the media. "Speak truth to power" doesn't quite describe what they do nowadays does it? Repeat Truth from Power is more like it.

As I wrote in 2010, "unlike Tricky Dick Nixon, Barack Obama wears his Enemies List on his sleeve."

And for Ron Fournier to pretend to overlook all of the evidence of Obama's thin-skinned nature illustrates how much of a joke he is. He's a hack. A loser. And so is The National Journal, which is fit only for catching hair-clippings at the barber shop. That is, if you don't have a copy of The New York Times handy.

Larwyn's Linx: Senior White House Official Threatens Bob Woodward

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

Nation

Senior White House Official Threatens Bob Woodward: Ace
Is Someone At The White House Threatening Bob Woodward?: Glob
The Growing Tyranny of the Political Elite: AT

Voting Rights at the Supreme Court Today: Foundry
The Government of the U.S. has slipped its moorings: Elephant
Cuomo: Hollywood exempt from strict NY gun control law: Fox

Obama's release of illegals is an impeachable offense: Scoop
The Tyranny of Obamacare Continues to Unfold: MB
Panel Splits Sharply on Feinstein's Assault Weapons Plan: Roll Call

Economy

Donna Brazile Has the Right to Be Stupid: JWF
Shock Report: $37,829 Added to US Every Second: GWP
Sure, the economy is creating jobs; guess where?: Hot Air

Food Stamps for Postage: USPS Accepts EBT: Breitbart
Only one “party” can speak truth about the U.S. dollar: Cary
Subway Founder: "If I Started Subway Today, Subway Would Not Exist": RCP

Scandal Central

Bankrupt Abound Solar to Bury Unused Solar Panels: Foundry
DHS Official Resigns As Obama Blasted for Releasing Illegal Aliens for "Budget Cuts": Sooper
Obama Unloads Immigration Detention Centers Ahead of Sequester: Joyner

Media

Transparency: Obama Clears Press From Room 'So We Can Take Some Questions': Breit
Bob Woodward blasts President Obama ‘madness’: Politico
Befuddled Donna Brazile’s Obamacare idiocy sparks discovery of #DonnaBrazileMysteries: Twitchy

Mark Levin on the Don Imus radio show: Scoop
Hill: "Obama using fake Twitter messages in fight over gun control," Brad Schenck possible culprit: Lott
In Closed-Door Meeting, Cantor Warned of ‘Civil War’: NRO

World

American Recessional: Hanson
Al Qaeda's Strategy of a Thousand Cuts: Elephant
IDF gears for escalation in West Bank: ynet

American Student Punished for Refusing to Recite Mexican Pledge: Fox
Sen. Feinstein: The Mandiant report on Chinese hacking is ‘essentially correct.’: NextWeb
RSA 2013: Security wonks debate whether China will get the message to stop hacking: SC Mag

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

The science of creating amazingly addictive junk food: Chron
Want More Followers On Twitter? Be Positive, Write Clearly And Retweet Well [STUDY]: MediaBistro
'Yahoo HR' Twitter Parody Mocks Marissa Mayer's Leadership: Mashable

Cornucopia

Obama: Sequester to Cause Asteroid Collision with Earth: Dossier
6-Year-Old Weightlifter's Feats of Strength Will Humble Yo: Mashable
What Schools Don't Teach: code.org

Image: Barking Crayon
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Vote in the 11th Annual CPAC Blogger Awards!

QOTD: "Can you imagine Ronald Reagan sitting there and saying ‘Oh, by the way, I can’t do this because of some budget document?’

Or George W. Bush saying, ‘You know, I’m not going to invade Iraq because I can’t get the aircraft carriers I need’ or even Bill Clinton saying, ‘You know, I’m not going to attack Saddam Hussein’s intelligence headquarters,’ as he did when Clinton was president because of some budget document?

Under the Constitution, the president is commander-in-chief and employs the force. And so we now have the president going out because of this piece of paper and this agreement, I can’t do what I need to do to protect the country. That’s a kind of madness that I haven’t seen in a long time." --Bob Woodward, interviewed on MSNBS's The Morning Shmoe

Democrats Never Leave Home Without It

I refer, of course, to the ubiquitous Obamacard.


It's all in fun, until someone actually has to pay for this mess.


Hat tip: Wanda.

Rendered Speechless Twice in a Day

Doc65 at Cast Boolits posts a keeper:

Any of you that have read my posts know I'm rarely at a loss for words, in fact I find that I tend to get a bit long winded from time to time on subjects that I'm passionate about.

I was totally at a loss for words TWICE today.

A few months back I was out west shooting at what I thought was an old rarely used gravel pit on county land, I'd shot there a few times as there was a fair amount of evidence that others did too: boxes, cans, sadly some glass, etc. While I was putting a few rounds over the Chrony an old farmer in an Ford with a snow plow on the front pulls up, so I stop shooting & talk to him for a few minutes, turns out it's his property, he just lets the county stage gravel there for county road maintenance. Well at that point I'm figuring I'm about to get run off, but no, he says he was about to post it a while back till he noticed that after each time he saw my Jeep(it's a bit distinctive being Ex USFS light Green) there was less leftovers than the day before, so I was welcome to shoot as much as I wanted, just not before sunrise "as the missus has trouble sleeping sometimes & I like to let her sleep if she can..."

About a month ago I was on my way back home & noticed him over at the house fighting with the snowplow mechanism. Seems it's been broken for some time, and he had a few rather steep quotes to fix it. I looked at it & it was going to need some work, but nothing too difficult, so I talked him into following me into town to my house where I could work on it(getting him to agree was no easy task), we got it in the garage & I sent him home in my Jeep, that was a Saturday morning, Sunday afternoon I called him & said when he got a chance come get it... I had all the pivot points rebuilt & re-enforced, a couple of supports re-welded & had the hydraulics working again. He asked what he owed me, told him, nothing, it was the least I could do, & still believe that. When he arrived we talked for a while & he grudgingly said that if they were better off financially he would have insisted on paying, but as it was he'd brought a couple boxes of beef, mixed steaks, roasts & burger(there was easily a hundred pounds of beef, worth more than I would have charged IF I were going to charge, but it was a situation where arguing it would have been disrespectful so I just said thanks you & we put it in the freezer).

Well time went by & I had stopped a couple other times when I saw him out & a couple weeks ago he invites me in for coffee, I notice an old Winchester 94 in the corner, so I ask if I can look at it, he says go ahead, it's obvious it hasn't been fired in a LONG time. I put it back & told him if you ever decide to sell it, let me know & I'll give you a fair price for it.

That brings us to now, Friday evening he called & asked if I'd come out to breakfast Sunday(today), there's a few things he'd like to talk about, and a couple things he'd like me to look at. I said sure I'd be there. So we had breakfast, he looks at his empty coffee cup & gets up, I figured he was just going for a refill, but he walks into the other rooms & comes back with the old 94, says "me & Betty talked about it & think this has been standing in the corner long enough, we think Danny would want you to have it..." This is where I go speechless the first time as what just happened sinks in, They're only son, Danny, died in the 75 during the evacuation of Saigon, the trifold Flag & his Purple Heart & Silver Star are on the mantle is the only reason I know this as neither of them talk about it, the 94 was his rifle & it stood in that corner for 40 years.

I think I stammered something about not deserving it, I got a look from Bud that said arguing wasn't going to fly along with a few insistent words from Betty.

A little while later Bud & I were looking at one of the trailers that had a few issues, mainly just needed a few welds reinforced where they were cracking & he goes quiet for a minute & looks like he's a long way off thinking, then he comes back, looks at me & says "Ya know, we get a couple agricultural deer permits each year, ain't used 'em in ages, I think it'd really make Betty happy if next fall you'd use 'em with Danny's old rifle & if ya fill em you could skin 'em in the shed..." Well, now I'm speechless for the second time in an hour, had to clear my eye, must have gotten something in it, all I managed to say, I think, is "I'd be honored"

I feel like I've just been adopted as the grandson they never had.

Dang, I'm tearing up.


Hat tip: Gifford.

Favor to ask

Conservative pundit John Hawkins just emailed with some interesting news:

As I noted yesterday, I’m putting together the Nominees For The 11th Annual Blogger Awards (Sponsored by Right Wing News & TheTeaParty.net) at CPAC 2013.

There is one category... that will be voted on by the general public. That’s “The People’s Choice Award.” The voting in that category closes on Friday, March 1 at midnight. The winner will get special linkage at the top of TPNN’s newly designed website, 5 consecutive days of links at Linkiest next week and, of course, the winner will also receive a trophy at CPAC.

Congratulations to all the blogs that are up for an award (You can vote for your favorite here).

• Conservatives4Palin
•   Doug Ross  
• The Foundry
• Fire Andrea Mitchell
• Jammie Wearing Fools
• Jihad Watch
• The Mellow Jihadi
• Misfit Politics
• Moonbattery
• Nice Deb
• Patterico’s Pontifications
• Politichicks
• Protein Wisdom
• The Shark Tank
• Sweetness & Light

Once again, you can vote here.

I don't want to beg, but I'm begging here.

I just want the faux gold-plated trophy. I've never won anything before and my self-esteem issues are piling up like pancakes at Rosie O'Donnell's mid-morning snack.

Vote early and often, my friends. Pretend it's like Chicago for conservatives. Show those other SOBs how we roll here at Da Journal.


Image: Michael's Comments - Nice Deb.

BUT THERE'S NOTHING TO CUT: EPA Spending Up 51% Since 2008

Please note that when the president talks about the horrific effects of the Sequester, he's describing a two (2) percent reduction in spending. That's right: two cents of every dollar.

In addition, please observe that he always paints the cuts in the most demagogic ways possible: autistic children will be beaten, orphans will be thrown into the gutter, baby seals will be left to the nefarious designs of Michael Moore, and poisonous, orange-colored water will flow from your taps.

Because there's nothing to cut.

Federal funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is up by more than half – in real dollars -- since 2008, according to calculations based on Treasury Department data.

In 2008, EPA funding was $7,938,000,000, according to the Final Monthly Treasury Statement for fiscal year 2008. That would be $8,464,894,460 in real 2012 dollars, according to the BLS calculator.

The same Treasury report said EPA funding climbed to $12,796,000,000 in fiscal year 2012. That’s a 51.1 percent funding increase from four years earlier.

I sent several requests for interviews to EPA administrator Richard Windsor, but she did not reply by our deadline.

OUR BELOVED HOUSE SPEAKER: Just Like Patton

An inspirational leader, no?


One wonders what he's like at home after stubbing a toe.

Larwyn's Linx: The White House Court Jesters of Sequester

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

Nation

The White House Court Jesters of Sequester: Malkin
Mark Levin: These are very, very dark times for this country: Scoop
SkyFall: Now Playing Everywhere Across America: Dewey

Chuck Hagel — a litmus test for Republican weakness and stupidity: Bookworm
Farrakhan: Hagel and I are brothers from another mother: WS
Betrayal: Names of Republican Traitors on Hagel Vote: Atlas

Kentucky Senate Passes Gun Nullification Legislation: Cove
Muslims recruiting black youth in poorest DC neighborhoods: Creeping
Man Charged for Following Shotgun Joe Biden's Advice: WAVY

Economy

Illinois Can’t Even Afford to Pay Lottery Winners: RWN
Sen. Ron Johnson: If Boehner Caves on Taxes, He's Lose Speakership: Reaganite
DeMint: Obama Tax Hikes Will Do More Harm Than Sequester: Foundry

Abolish the Department of Education: AmSpec
Another Democrat success story: half of Detroit properties haven't paid taxes: Mish
Coin Toss May Decide New Appeals of NLRB Decisions: Forbes

Scandal Central

Obama Releases ‘Waves’ of Illegal Aliens From Holding Centers: JWF
Grassley: Homeland Security may be monopolizing ammo market: SecInfoWatch
Fake Twitter Accounts? Obama’s Political Group Pushes Gun Control: Foundry

Media

How Obama Wins: Shapiro
Scare-questor - the 2 Percent Solution: BYOB: MOTUS
Morris:

The Evolution of Liberal Dance: Ace
Trainwreck: Keith Ellison wages verbal Jihad against Sean Hannity on his show: Scoop
The Curious Case of Keith “Crybaby” Ellison, CAIR and the Nation of Islam’s Man in Congress: NewsReal

World

Bangladesh's Secular Democracy Struggles with Violent Radical Islam: Cutting Edge
Obama’s Release of Thousands of Illegal Immigrants- Shades of Castro’s Mariel Boatlift: Shark Tank
On The Joke That Is The "Efficient" Italian Market: ZH

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

Chinese hackers: Professional cyberspies?: ArmyTimes
Ditch your laptop for under $100 with Dell Project Ophelia: CNet
Olive Oil Diet Curbs Strokes: WSJ

Cornucopia

Missed Connections: American Digest
Celebrity Guess-Off: C&S
My Rape Whistle is a Glock: AWD

Image: BarkingCrayon

QOTD: "List of Shame: Republicans Who Voted to Confirm Plainly-Unqualified Man to Lead the Defense Department... Remember them, and call them out as liars when they claimed they voted "against" Hagel. They did not.

Alexander
Ayotte
Blunt
Burr
Chambliss
Coburn
Collins
Corker
Flake
Graham
Hatch
McCain
Murkowski
Sessions
Thune

Now that's the list of people who voted "Yes" on cloture (guaranteeing Hagel's confirmation) but then cast a covering, false vote on the nomination itself (a meaningless gesture made for political purposes).

Interestingly, some people voted the other way around -- voting "No" on cloture but then "Yes" on the nomination itself.

Among them? Rand Paul, who's attempting to both be a Mainstream Conservative and also play to his father's supporters with their, um... views on Israel." --Ace

It would seem that the Second Amendment has "too much wiggle room"

It appears that Eric Holder's Department of Justice is unfamiliar with a little-known document called "The United States Constitution":

A leaked internal memo from the National Institute of Justice --the research, development, and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice– shows that none of Obama’s gun proposals will work without registration and forced buybacks amounting to confiscation of Americans’ guns.

The memo illustrates this by showing why high capacity magazine bans, gun buybacks, and “assault weapons” bans have failed to work in the past.

For example, according to the memo, the high capacity magazine bans that were in place from 1994-2004 had little impact because the bans contained too many exemptions. The memo says one of the key errors was that “the 1994 ban exempted magazines made before 1994 so that the importation of large capacity magazines manufactured before 1994 continued [throughout] the ban.”

Moreover, the memo points out that while the price of the magazines rose sharply, it was not driven up far enough to make them “unaffordable.” ... According to the memo, for a high capacity magazine ban to succeed Obama needs to ban not only the manufacture and sale of said magazines, but also the importation and possession. There also must be a federal buyback of all high capacity magazines already in circulation to ensure private owners haven’t held on to any covered by the ban.

....the memo says the first “assault weapons” ban failed to work for many of the same reasons magazine bans and gun buybacks failed to work–there was simply too much wiggle room for gun owners. Moreover, the memo says that because “assault weapons” are used in such a low percentage of crimes, the only way a ban can be effective is if it eliminates every “assault weapon” in the country.

According to the memo, the only way to fix it is to couple a ban with “a gun buyback and no exemptions.”

In my readings of America's founding -- including the Federalist Papers and the Anti-Federalist Papers -- I don't recall coming across the term "wiggle room". I'll have to review the Bill of Rights and see if I missed it.

The painting (above) depicts Patrick Henry.

Beretta offers free eBook on CCW

Very nice.

...wondering about how to carry? What kind of holster you should use? Location on your person?

What kind of clothes work best...?

If any of those ... questions (and more) have piqued your interest or come across your mind as you prepare to take personal defense into your own hands then there’s a pretty simple and easy to understand new resource out there for you...

Beretta USA has just published a short 10 step eBook to help get you started on your journey to arm yourself. Just click on the photo above/right, enter your name and email address and you can download the short, to the point and easy to read tips for concealed carry (CCW, CHL, CWP) permit holders today!

On a related note, high-cap magazines appear to be in stock at several local stores.


Hat tip: BadBlue Guns.

Crunchy on the Outside, Tender on the Insider

Palo Alto Networks, the very successful "next-generation firewall" vendor, just published its 10th edition of "The Application Usage and Threat Report". Its findings point to a threat landscape moving from outside the firewall to inside.

[Our findings imply] that perimeter security efforts are “crunchy on the outside” effectively stopping some of the threats. Shifting the focus to internal applications, the findings show that security is “tender on the inside”, with 97% of the vulnerability exploit logs found in only 10 applications (out of 1,395 found). Nine of these applications are considered high-value assets; they are internal or infrastructure related applications that are integral to many business functions. This data indicates that the strategy of attacking critical resources from inside the network continues to become the rule and not the exception, and will force enterprises to monitor their internal traffic for threats in addition to the perimeter.


...attackers will ... heavily modify and customize their communications not only to confuse traditional security, but also for more functional purposes. Malware will regularly modify peer-to-peer protocols in order to create their own resilient commandand-control communications. For example, the Zero Access botnet (and its rootkit) is one of the most popular pieces of malware in the wild, and likewise was the leading malware observed in our data. This particular malware uses customized peer-to-peer traffic as well as other customized UDP and TCP traffic for communicating with its command and control infrastructure. This traffic is critically important to the reliability and survivability of the botnet in the wild. The malware, having delivered its payload, is sacrificed and the botnet survives to execute the next phase of the attack.

...However while this traffic works perfectly well from the attacker’s point of view, it does not match any known applications, and was thus classified as being custom or unknown traffic ... The analysis clearly shows that customized or modified traffic is highly correlated with threats. This indicates that proactively controlling or blocking “unknown” traffic could easily provide a powerful and untapped strategy for controlling modern threats.

For large organizations concerned with Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), especially those launched by malevolent nation-states, internal network monitoring appears to be a must-do.

There's One Born Every Minute

That would be a Democrat born every minute. The Looking Spoon illustrates the hatchet-like cuts of the Sequester:


The federal government is borrowing 46 cents of every dollar it spends, but there's nothing to cut.

And the extremist Left finds nothing wrong with that model, which is destined for calamity.


Hat tip: Dewey from Detroit.

Larwyn's Linx: Who’s To Blame For The Sequester? Washington Is!

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

Nation

Who’s To Blame For The Sequester? Washington Is!: Landry
Sequestration: a crisis so awful the President won't do anything about it: Events
Surprise: Chuck Schumer Lied: Nice Deb

Democrats Plan to Pay Second Amendment Protesters Gets Shot Down: MenRec
They will never get our guns: BadEagle
Texas ‘Cruz Missile’ — Senator standing by his principles: Cowboy

Subjects, Citizens, Guns and The Sequester: RS
Chris Christie takes his Obama man-love to the next level: WyBlog
Rahm's Ratings Tank: Second City Cop

Economy

“The Non-Existent Spending Cuts Wrought By The ‘Devastating’ Sequester”: ProWis
Why won’t this administration look at this revenue source?: Q&O
Cut the Lego Purchases First, Mr. President: Geraghty

White House: Sequestration Will Hurt Department That No Longer Exists: Reason
Yes, they really are coming for your 401(k)s: MagNote
'Dignity Mortgages': Welfare By Another Name: IBD

Scandal Central

Menendez Feels “Sting of Discrimination” as Long-time US Escort Acuses Him of Lying: Nice Deb
Congressman @SteveStockmanUS Exposes Obama’s Anti-Gun Spambots: RSM
The Looming WARN Revolt: Black & Right

Obama Caught Using Fake Twitter Bots to Push Gun Control: PJM
If Only CNN had the resources that the Daily Caller Does...: DTG
Jay Carney Struggles To Deny $500,000 OFA Donation Gets You Access To The President: BuzzFeed

Climate & Energy

Report: Chevy Volt Battery Supplier Wasted Millions in Stimulus Funds: Breitbart
Challenge to EPA's 'Cap-and-Trade Tax' Going to Supreme Court: NewsMax
EPA's Fuel Folly: Politico

Media

Shepherds and Sheep: RWN
Terrorism Without End: FPM
David Cameron Bans Obama From Bringing Michelle to G8: GWP

WaPo Ombudsman Confirms Post’s Liberal Bias: AIM
How liberals fell in love with the imperial presidency (again).: Beast
The Onion Apologizes For ‘Crude And Offensive’ Tweet About 9-Year-Old Oscar Nominee: Mediaite

Washington Post Showing Bias and Idiocy in One Blithering Editorial: LibertyZone
Zany New York Democrat Wears Blackface, Afro Wig at Party: Can't Imagine Anyone Taking Offense: JWF
Sub-Plot Of Revisionist 'Argo': Rescuing Jimmy Carter: IBD

Dan Bongino debates Maryland gun control advocate on local news show: Scoop
"Loud Groans" Heard in Oscars Media Room When Michelle Obama Announced As Surprise Presenter: Breitbart
Chris Matthews Offers To Help Hillary’s 2016 Campaign: ‘We’ll Get You In There’: Aces

World

Guns Banned In Phillipines Ahead Of May Elections, But Criminals Didn't Receive The Memo: Cove
Muslims in Oxford accused of raping 12-year old whom they considered "property": TAB
Jihad -- or Criminality?: Pipes

Chuck Hagel blasted in full-page ad in Wall Street Journal and the Hill: Matzav
Farrakhan Recruiting Chicago Gang Members To Serve As Soldiers For The Nation Of Islam: WZ
Jimmy Carter: Obama ‘ran across the room’ to thank my grandson for finding the ’47 percent’ video: Malkin

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

No, Iran didn't really hack and down a foreign military spy drone: Sophos
Move Over, APTs -- The RAM-Based Advanced Volatile Threat Is Spinning Up Fast: Dark Reading
Why Your Smartphone Will Be Your Next PC: Techland

Cornucopia

A Review Of “A Failure Of Civility”: Bracken
Arizona Blogger Adventures: Ericka
Environmentalism and Human Sacrifice: RWN

Image: Dan Bongino debates Maryland gun control advocate on local news show
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Demand Richard Shelby Retract Support from Hagel:

DC Phone: 202.224.5744
DC Fax: 202.224.3416
Email Senator Shelby: http://shelby.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/emailsenatorshelby

"Senator Shelby, stand with your constituents & the people of Alabama and America. Vote NO on the confirmation of Chuck Hagel! Your vote affects all of us."

Independence

What's the price for getting your own Solyndra up and running? Apparently, around $500,000

If you're a crony capitalist interested in getting a piece of the Beltway action, the going price for access to the Obama administration appears to be a minimum of $500,000. That would be half a million American dollars you'll want to launder through the perpetual Obama campaign.

Unlike a presidential campaign, Organizing for Action has been set up as a tax-exempt “social welfare group.” That means it is not bound by federal contribution limits, laws that bar White House officials from soliciting contributions, or the stringent reporting requirements for campaigns. In their place, the new group will self-regulate.

Officials said it would voluntarily disclose the names of large donors every few months and would not ask administration personnel to solicit money, though Obama aides will probably appear at some events.

...Giving or raising $500,000 or more puts donors on a national advisory board for Mr. Obama’s group and the privilege of attending quarterly meetings with the president, along with other meetings at the White House. Moreover, the new cash demands on Mr. Obama’s top donors and bundlers come as many of them are angling for appointments to administration jobs or ambassadorships.

“It just smells,” said Bob Edgar, the president of Common Cause, which advocates tighter regulation of campaign money. “The president is setting a very bad model setting up this organization.”

When questioned about this nefarious construct by a newly invigorated, post-election press corps, Jay Carney recited a stanza of "Humina Humina Humina."

...White House spokesman Jay Carney fielded real questions from the White House Press Corps today, if you can believe it... I think the corps is angry that they got shut out of the golfing trip last week. They asked if a $500,000 check to Organizing for Action bought special access to the president. Carney shuffled his feet.

We have written before about the new charitable organization associated with President Obama, which was launched over inauguration weekend. We reported that OFA (as it is being called) appears to be essentially a vehicle for businesses and wealthy individuals who seek to curry favor with the administration. If one wants to get in in front of the President one had better be ready to write a big check to the organization. It’s all tax deductible of course.

This sort of scandalous behavior is routine for the Obama administration. Remember, for example, that 80 percent of the Department of Energy's "Green Energy" loans went to Obama's campaign backers.

When the full history of the Obama administration is written, it will make the Teapot Dome Scandal look like a case of shoplifting.

Obama vs. Obama, Sequestration Edition

Integrity. That's what I love about our politicians.


The best thing about the Sequester? It could force our betters in Washington to *gulp* fly commercial.

REVEALED: Military Members Used as Props by Michelle Obama During Oscars Were Blinking Coded Messages

WASHINGTON, DC - An exclusive analysis by Cub Reporter Biff Spackle reveals that members of the military conscripted by First Lady Michelle Obama for her Oscar appearance were blinking coded messages.

Three of the four military personnel were, according to a computer-based analysis, using Morse code to signal the public that they were being forced to appear as props against their will.


This analysis can exclusively reveal the following:

• One male service member appears to have signaled: E-X-T-R-E-M-E   P-A-I-N   S-T-O-P

• A female service member repeatedly blinked: P-L-E-A-S-E   S-E-N-D   R-E-S-C-U-E   P-A-R-T-Y   S-T-O-P

• And another serviceman signaled: S-H-E   N-E-E-D-S   H-E-R   O-W-N   D-A-M-N   V-A-R-I-E-T-Y   S-H-O-W   M-A-K-E   I-T   S-T-O-P

The use of military members for the First Lady's commercial appearance raised the specter of impropriety according to Beltway insiders.

Longtime Hollywood insider Sparkles Malloy observed that, "if the Obamas really want to break the record for most television appearances, they ought to at least move to Los Angeles."

Larwyn's Linx: Hagel as recently as 2009 wanted to send U.S. troops to impose peace on Israel, Palestinians

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

Nation

Hagel 2009: Send U.S. Troops to Impose Peace on Israel, Palestinians: Breitbart
The Real Obama Agenda – the Destruction of US Nuclear Defense: Loudon
NASA: Subjugated, “Repurposed” and Sleeping With Our Enemies: NoisyRm

20 of the best pictures from the #DayOfResistance Rallies: RWN
Obama to Bus In People for NRA Protest in Albany: Is This Even Legal?: GWP
#WeDemandAVote? We Demand An Explanation, Mr. President: WZ

Biden: No Ordinary American Cares About Their Constitutional Rights: Breitbart
The Charade is Over: Owens
Judge Jeanine Rips Chicago Police Chief Garry McCarthy: GunWire

Economy

Will Obama push us over the edge?: Lott
Beretta To Bolt Maryland If Dem Governor’s Anti-Gun Bill Passes: WZ
Eric Sprott: Is the West Dishoarding Its Sovereign Treasure?: ZH

Obamacare Set To Worsen Florida's Doctor Shortage: Lid
White House details state-by-state impact of looming sequester cuts: Hill
Gasoline Prices up over 50 Cents per Gallon since December: CalcRisk

Scandal Central

LEAKED: Soros Group's Plan to ‘Eviscerate’ Conservative Government: Blaze
Almost No One Is Happy With Proposed N.C. Illegal Alien Driver’s License: STACLU
Long-time escort confirms Senator Bob Menendez paid her for sex: DC

Climate & Energy

Climate consensus in free-fall: Commentator
Just the Fracks, Ma’am: RS
The Light Brigade Shines for Capitalism: ObjStd

Media

CBS's Bill Plante: Obama Administration 'Undercutting First Amendment,' 'It's State-Run Media': NB
Crowley Busts LaHood: Post-Sequester FAA Budget $500 Million More Than 2008 When Planes Ran Just Fine: NB
Audience Cheers and Applauds When Leno Says Obama 'Doesn't Understand Economics': NB

21-year-old man uses legally owned firearm to defend family from three criminals: Knight
CNN Accuses MSNBC Of Pushing White House “Propaganda” With Axelrod, Gibbs Hirings: Beacon
Feelgood Story of the Day: Texas Man Guns Down Home Invader: JWF

Dictatorship of Hypocrites: The Media's Crusade Against Cruz: Breitbart
And here our troubles began: Cold Fury
‘Oh My God’: Yes — The Oscars Really Did Have Michelle Obama Present the Best Picture Honors: Blaze

World

Kabul: U.S. Special Forces must leave province: Marine Times
Gruesome beheading of Coptic Christian men in USA: Commentator
Senators Urged to Carefully Review Hagel Responses and Record Before Confirmation Vote: B'nai B'rith

Palestinian Incitement, Fatah Diplomacy, Hamas Moves Fuel Third Intifada Speculation : The Tower
Exposing the UN's dirty little secrets: Commentator
Iranian media criticize Oscar win for ‘Argo’: WaPo

Benedict Face to Face with Islam: First Things
#MyJihad in Egypt: Jihadists deface Egyptian cultural icons: Atlas
The NRA’s David Keene gives a Masterful Defense of the 2nd Amendment at Harvard University: FreeLight

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

The New Car Radio? Spotify And Ford Hook Up To Launch Voice-Activated Music Streaming: Forbes
How I Hacked Facebook OAuth To Get Full Permission On Any Facebook Account: Goldshlager
From top dresses to last-minute surprises, Google Trends from the Oscars: GoogleBlog

Cornucopia

Organizing For Amerika, One Moron At a Time.: MOTUS
24 things cops know, but most people don’t: Police One
Why the Obamas’ REALLY lost their law licenses. Answer may surprise you.: HillBuzz

Image: Marathoner closes last race at age 101
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by:

QOTD: "At a meeting in Seoul Korea, March 2012, with then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, US President Barack Obama leaned toward Medvedev, thinking he was off mike and said, “On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this can be solved, but it’s important for him [Prime Minister Vladimir Putin] to give me space.” He added, “This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.”

That was the single most important statement made by Obama in his entire first term of office.

The destruction of the US nuclear deterrent and the American military has been Moscow’s, Beijing’s and Havana’s number one dream for decades.

It is what Obama’s communist mentors such as Frank Marshall Davis, Alice Palmer and Bill Ayers, have always worked relentlessly towards. Now their protege has the power to make that hellish fantasy a reality.

At last some in Washington seem to be taking the US’ looming national suicide seriously." --Trevor Loudon

THE TAKEOUT SOFT DRINK MENACE: Michael Bloomberg bans 2-liter soda bottles and mixers in nightclubs

I would love to get a psychiatric workup of New York City's troubled mayor. It would be fascinating to know more about his bizarre, maniacal need to control people, whether it's banning salt, or painkillers in hospitals, or guns, or even his penchant for distributing abortifacients to schoolchildren without informing parents.

Now the mayor's infamous war on soda has expanded:

Say goodbye to that 2-liter bottle of Coke with your pizza delivery, pitchers of soft drinks at your kid’s birthday party and some bottle-service mixers at your favorite nightclub.

They’d violate Mayor Bloomberg’s new rules, which prohibit eateries from serving or selling sugary drinks in containers larger than 16 ounces... Bloomberg’s soda smackdown follows his attacks on salt, sugar, trans fat, smoking and even baby formula.

...The city Health Department last week began sending brochures to businesses that would be affected by the latest ban, including restaurants, bars and any “food service” establishment subject to letter grades... And merchants were shocked to see the broad sweep of the new rules.

...Typically, a pizzeria charges $3 for a 2-liter bottle of Coke. But under the ban, customers would have to buy six 12-ounce cans at a total cost of $7.50 to get an equivalent amount of soda... It will also trash more plastic into the environment.

...And if you’re looking for a night of bottle service at a Manhattan hot spot, be warned: Spending $300 on a bottle of vodka no longer entitles you to a full complement of mixers... The carafes in which mixers are typically served hold 32 ounces, and the most common mixers — sodas, cranberry juice and tonic water — will be limited. Only water and 100 percent juice will be unlimited.

What's truly tragic about this brand of idiocy is how it distracts officials' attention from the city's real challenges.

• Its welfare funds are being spent in strip clubs, porn joints, and liquor stores

• It has $21 billion in pension obligations over the next 30 years

• Its recent spate of hate crime and violence

But don't worry: banning 20-ounce sodas is just the first step to fixing the city's problems.


Hat tip: Weasel Zippers.

GRASSROOTS: Progressive gun-control policies so popular they have to pay people to rabble-rouse

Consider how hard it must be to operate a progressive "grassroots" organization. Your policies have failed for decades. Your current positions -- like trying to ram gun-control down Americans' throats -- are wildly unpopular.

So unpopular, in fact, that you have to pay people to take your positions.

The liberal organization Progressive USA Voters, which is housed in the same progressive Denver office building as a chapter of the infamous left-wing astroturf group ProgressNow, is offering an hourly wage of between $9 and $11 to join its gun-control campaign in Chicago, according to a flyer that was photographed and posted to Reddit Friday... “Join the Campaign to Stop Gun Violence” reads the flyer, which also notes, “Hourly Wage: $9-11/hr.”

...Progressive USA Voters is specifically focused on the April 2013 special election for Jesse Jackson Jr.’s vacated House seat in Illinois’ Second Congressional District. The group is targeting Democratic primary candidate Debbie Halvorson, who accepted more than $10,000 from the National Rifle Association, according to the Progressive USA Voters website... Halvorson is running against former state representative Robin Kelly, who has received the endorsement of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s super PAC, Independence USA, which is also attacking Halverson on the issue of Gun Control.

...Progressive USA Voters is a project of Progressive USA, which claims to “advocate for sensible policy solutions, hold our nation’s elected officials accountable for their actions and take head-on the flawed policies and hypocrisy of the radical right.” The group does not list its staff or directors on its website, and does not disclose its donors to the Federal Election Commission.

Progressive USA is based in Denver, Colorado, at 1536 Wynkoop Street, according to its Facebook page. The building at 1536 Wynkoop Street is owned by the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado. The building, known as the “Alliance Center,” houses various nonprofit organizations, including ProgressNow Colorado, a chapter of the notorious national left-wing astroturf organization ProgressNow.

It's important to remember what the word "progressive" really means. Historically speaking, the Progressive movement is indistinguishable from Communism.

These days, the entire Lefist movement has been so radicalized, it's been built on money, payoffs and astroturf, not true public support.

This weekend, for example, organizations affiliated with the president's endless campaign were caught spamming Twitter using bogus accounts to promote their horrifically unpopular gun-ban agenda.

Whenever you hear the word "progressive", pronounce it com·mu·nist.

NEW COMIC STRIP: Hitler Finds Out About the Nationwide #DayOfResistance Rallies

Larwyn's Linx: Inhofe to Senate -- Don’t Confirm Hagel

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

Nation

Inhofe to Senate: Don’t Confirm Hagel: Foundry
Court victory confirms: Illinois concealed carry on the way: Owens
Is Oregon writing the Worst. Gun. Law. Evah?: Hot Air

The Spot-On Quote Of The Day…: Camp o' the Saints
A Robust Defense of the 2nd Amendment: Patterico
Obama Front Group Holds "Massive" Vigil at NRA Headquarters: Nice Deb

Hey, Nice Try With the #DemandAVote Spambots, #p2! Jacked, Busted!: RSM
Texas moves to block police from enforcing federal gun laws: Breitbart
Scorecard: How Many Rights Have Americans REALLY Lost?: Washington's

Economy

Surprise: Most Miserable Cities in U.S. All Heavily Democrat: STACLU
America's Tragic Future In One Parabolic Chart: ZH
45 Gun, Ammo Suppliers Refuse Sales to 2nd Amendment-Hating State: CDN

Obama Pushes Amnesty Harder; Americans Not on Board: RWN
More gun companies not selling to law enforcement in anti-gun states: Hot Air
Spam accounts push Obama’s #WeDemandAVote gun control effort: Twitchy

Scandal Central

Obama, Holder Called Out for Not Enforcing Existing Gun Laws: NewsMax
U.S. Court of Appeals Rejects Hearing Obama NLRB’s ‘Ambush Election’ Appeal & More…: RS
Pressure Mounting on President, Attorney General Regarding Lack of Prosecutions for NICS Denials: NRA-ILA

Media

Andrew Cuomo freaks out over a little hostile media coverage.: RS
Woodward: Why is Obama still misleading everyone on the sequester?: Hot Air
Joe Biden: Ya Can't Make These Feces Up: Ayoob

Ted Cruz Sets the Record Straight on Guns: Lott
The Right should buy the Boston Globe…and staff it with conservatives: DTG
Carolina Review – The Shared History of African Americans and the Republican Party: CI

Ted Cruz Not Backing Down: Yes, Harvard Law’s Faculty Is Infested With Marxists: WZ
Ex-Secret Service Agent's Patriotic Speech Catches Fire: IJ Review
Law Student "Schools" Policeman On His Gun Rights: Co-IronWill

World

Imam Of Virginia Mosque Calls For Armed Jihad: WZ
American Muslim Jurists: Offensive Jihad -- Not Yet: Mauro
An Islamic Coup in India – Mughalistan: NoisyRm

MUST READ – Walid Shoebat on Bible Prophecy: What lies ahead: Scoop

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

Some Off-Shore Oil Rigs Have Been “Incapacitated” By Malware Thanks To Pirated Music and Porn: Gizmodo
AT&T-Mozilla "WebPhone" gives a glimpse of the dumb pipe future: Ars Technica
The Facebook mistakes people make after a date: CNet

Cornucopia

Dirty Dancing: MOTUS
Sensitivity And Hand Guns…: That Mr. G Guy
Police find Range Rover, ID suspect in Vegas shooting: Fox

Image: Debra, Westminster, California
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Top 15 #DayOfResistance Photos You Will Never See in Democrat Media

QOTD: "[Illinois State] House Democrats were given a lesson in the real-world consequences of ignoring the Seventh Circuit ruling when the 180-day stay expires on June 8th.

The technical review staff (legal beagles) told the Democrats that Alvarez was all wet in her office’s pronouncement and that inaction on passing a carry bill would have dire consequences for gun control in Illinois.

Specifically, House Democrats were told that Illinois would effectively have “Constitutional Carry” where anyone who was eligible to own guns could carry them freely in public without training, licensing, qualification and precious little in the way of restriction.

After a lot of back and forth, one Chicago Representative asked if someone could carry a loaded rifle into the Statehouse. He was told “Yes”.

It was reported that you could hear a pin drop for an uncomfortably long time after that as a stunned silence came over the room." --JBoch