Friday, January 28, 2011

Where's the Damn Report Card?

You know how normal people get report cards in school to tell them how they're doing?

And professionals receive performance reviews?

How about Democrats? Do Democrats ever look back? Ever do any introspection?

How's FDR's Social Security program doing? On solid ground after being sold to the American people as insurance, but defended in the Supreme Court as a tax?

What happened to all of those trillions of dollars paid in by retirees? Could it be that Social Security is bankrupt and headed to collapse in just a couple of decades?

Oh, and I've been out of town. How did LBJ's "Great Society" work out? All of those housing projects and wealth transfers? Did that "War on Poverty" succeed?

And how's 'Chain Migration' doing? Letting illegals stream over the border, give birth and claim citizenship? That working out well? All that Balkanization of large swaths of the United States? Going swimmingly?

And Medicare? You know, the medical program that is hemorrhaging $100 billion a year in fraud alone? How's that Medicare 'trust fund' working out? Going well?

And the Democrats' incessant push to lower eligibility for welfare payments, food stamps and tax credits? Is that cutting down on single-parent families and inner-city blight?

Oh -- and how's that Post Office thingy doing? Making lots of money? The paragon of efficiency?

What about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? How'd those 'job shops for connected Democrats' turn out? Those help the economy?

Anyone know what ever happened with the SEC? They still protecting investors from crooks like Bernie Madoff and Allen Stanford? Keeping folks safe from AIG and Enron?

* * * * * * * * *

Before they embark on brand new social engineering programs like Obamacare, couldn't we grade the Democrats' performance on their existing programs? Issue a report card before they nationalize even more sectors of the economy?

Couldn't we evaluate what's in place now? Before implementing a trillion-dollar "Stimulus" program, Cap-and-Trade, socialized medicine, a 2400-page "financial overhaul", and "comprehensive immigration reform"?

No. Democrats never look back. Never learn from failure. Never educate themselves. Because their ideology trumps history, facts, logic and reason. Which is why we must defeat them in 2012. Before it's too late.
 

I think I've finally figured out President Obama's foreign policy doctrine: 'Hey, we've really got to pass this child nutrition bill!'

Does the phrase 'out of his depth' ring a bell?

Egypt's secular government is about to collapse with hard-line Islamists positioning themselves to supplant President Mubarak

Lebanon is under new management: the vicious, Iranian-backed group called Hezbollah, which is responsible for the terrorist attack that killed 241 U.S. Marines in Beirut. Their aim is written into their charter -- to destroy Israel and the United States

Tunisia is in the throes of its own revolution with hard-line radical Islamists poised to take control of the government

Gaza's Hamas-led government is reportedly importing a new strain of Iranian extremists; Hezbollah agents are said to be making their way into the Palestinian enclave to train soldiers for an attack on Israel

Iran continues its work on nuclear armaments and intercontinental ballistic missile technologies, its steady progress delayed only by a clever cyber-attack

Mexico, on our unprotected southern border, is a failed narco-terror state with roughly 30,000 of its citizens killed in the last five years alone -- and refugees streaming north on a daily basis

Venezuela, Hugo Chavez' dictatorship, is now said to be fielding Iranian military personnel and missiles with 'scientific' collaboration revolving around warhead design and nuclear technology

• The military regime of North Korea recently torpedoed a South Korean warship and is threatening to retest its nuclear weapons

China is on the move: building aircraft carriers, stealth fighters, locking up energy contracts all over the world, and generally preparing to occupy Taiwan and -- eventually -- regions closer to the U.S.

In the midst of these ominous, momentous events, the President took time to field questions during a Q&A session hosted on YouTube. Among the weighty concerns: what the federal government should do about healthier food for schoolkids.

Hahahahahahaha... well, the, uh, the main thing I've done is, uh, ah, I... I... have the First Lady, who is, uh, just driving this, uh, this issue in, uh, incredible way across the country, uh, I don't know if you've read recently for example that, uhm, eh, she was able to negotiate something with Wal-Mart where, for the first time, they're going to start putting labels on their products and also emphasize more healthy choices for their customers...

...When Wal-Mart ends up saying, uh, we're gonna end up buying healthier stuff then suddenly all the producers start saying, we better start producing healthier stuff, eh, and that can make it cheaper... and one of the things we're trying to do is encourage linkages between, uh, local supermarkets, local farmers, local producers, to figure out how can we get fresh produce into communities...

As an aside, I wonder who's been controlling school lunch programs in Washington for, oh, the last forty decades or so? Would that be a giant, unaccountable, unelected bureaucracy that doesn't do anything well?

Just when you thought we would never see any President worse than the disgraceful Jimmy Carter -- who oversaw the creation of the Iranian Thugocracy -- we are forced to endure a man who befriends dictators, tacitly encourages despots, supports socialists and has the cojones to confront only one country: Israel. For building apartments in its capitol of Jerusalem.

And where is legacy media? Can they put together a few of these puzzle pieces for us?

Uhm, no. They're too stupid or too ideological -- and it really doesn't matter which at this point.

Consider the world an ocean boiling over in stormy weather -- and our ship of state is rudderless.


Hat tip: Mark Levin. Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: The Filibuster Is Preserved - Progressives Lose

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

The Filibuster Is Preserved - Progressives Lose: RedState
Obama to push gun-control measures: WashExam
It's Official: Pence Won't Run for President: WZ

Palin said it best. Obama leaves everyone asking, WTF?: Cubachi
Attempts to Marginalize Bachmann Begin: RWN
Lefties Attack Texas ‘True The Vote’ Event: Huston

Economy

Where the cash goes, the Democratic policy flows: Tapscott
ObamaRail: RWN
Obamacare Demolished in 30 Seconds: TAB

Unions: 40% of those exempted from Obamacare: WashExam
Unions Realize They Need a PR Campaign: RWN
Some “No”s and “Yes”es of Health-Care: Hayek

Teleconference with Rand Paul: $500B in Cuts: RWN
Great News: Home Prices Still in Freefall: BlogProf
GE's Immelt? Not the Job Change We Can Believe In: PJM

Climate & Energy

Genocide Reduces Global Warming: AT
Breaking News: Elsie Springs a Leak: P&F
Himalayan glaciers not melting because of climate change, report finds: Telegraph

Media

Public Service Reminder: Seat of Political Hate Edition : Urban Infidel
Fixing Bathroom Tiles on the Titanic: NRO
Hypocritical Clown Nose On: Stephen Colbert Responds to ‘Big Hollywood,’ Trashes Palin … Again: Nolte

New Obama press secretary has solid conservative-smearing credentials: Malkin
Sarah Palin's Way Forward: AT
Fact Check: LGF PageViews – Broken, or Rigged: TDoD

PURE PROPAGANDA: Reagan And Obama On The Cover Of TIME: Glob
Backward Ran the Photoshops Until Reeled the Voters: Driscoll
Obama Stung by SOTU Plagiarism Rap: Cashill

Reason as a tool to change the culture of abortion: Pundette
NPR Cries Factual Foul on Paul Ryan for Saying 'Failed Stimulus' in SOTU Response: NewsBusters
Barack Obama fires up the health team: Politico

World

The Palestine Papers: Al-Jazeera Has an Agenda: JCPA
A New Nation is Born! Southern Sudan Votes for FREEDOM: Zilla
it all started with the letters "bcd" on the receiver ring of a model k-98 mauser my brother gave me...: Winter Soldier

The Rest of the World and Obama: AT
Dustbins I Have Known: Belmont Club
Blood on Bernanke's Hands; Riots in Egypt over Food Prices and Unemployment; Protests Spread...: Mish

SciTech

Peep show: inside the world of unsecured IP security cameras: Ars Technica
Hubble brings back baby photos of the universe : SMH
How Can I Illustrate The Dystopian Hellscape Presaged By Demand’s IPO?: TechCrunch

Cornucopia

Infographic: The 'Inception' Movie Contest Winner: FastCoDesign
A 12-Hour Commute on GW Parkway: NBC Washington
Self-destructive twits: Twitter's wall of shame: SMH

Taking the WTF Tour on the Road : MOTUS
Sponsored Facebook Posts Turn Your Updates Into Ads For Which You Get No Money: Consumerist
Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton have been offered $500,000 each to fight in a boxing match: NewsComAu

Image: BlackFive
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Senate Conservatives Fund

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Obama, Hillary, and the 796

The 2012 Democrat presidential nomination could be contentious this year. After the historic midterm beatdown suffered by the Party of Soros, things could get decidedly nerve-wracking for the Obama camp. In fact, the nomination process could come down to the votes of 796 "superdelegates" -- party insiders that retain a huge amount of influence (double that of the entire state of California). And after the 2010 thrashing, rumors are circulating that credible challengers -- perhaps including one Hillary Rodham Clinton -- could emerge to challenge Obama from the center. Heaven knows, there's a big freaking opening.

Which leads us to this trailer, courtesy of Biff Spackle's production company.

(Wind and thunder echoes in the background) 796

King Leonobama... riders from the Clinton camp are approaching...

Ickes... McCauliffe... and... Bill Clinton himself!?! W.T.F.??

You should have accepted the VP slot in 2008, my friend. Look where you've gotten us.

Where I've gotten us? I've accomplished more of Lenin's agenda in two years than you and Her Royal Thighness got done in eight! Socialized medicine... a takeover of two auto companies, the student loan business and the banks... the EPA shutting down energy supplies left and ri--

What you speak of is madness! This election debacle was historic all right... Hillary has aligned 80% of the big Democrat donors against you. You can step down gracefully -- say, for "health reasons" -- or you can face defeat on the field of the primaries.

I... am... Obama!!!

First... black... president... MY ASS!

Hillary's forces approach. Gather our soldiers and hide the women and children.

Sir! They have unleashed their legacy media archers! Their arrows blot out the sky!

Raise shields!

All is not lost. We still have our Axelrods! Obamans, attack!

Destroy them all -- but capture Chelsea if she's among them!

Aiiieeeeghghgh!! Barney Frank is watching!

Sir, we have vanquished the first wave of attackers!

Do not rest, my little sycophant. Look yonder... there approaches Hillary's elite phalanx of warriors!

No! Not them! The warriors of Mena, Whitewater and Roselaw... their very darkest forces gather... the most dangerous that the Clintons possess!

It can't be!! Not Begala and Carville! The most powerful enemies of all! Clinton backers disguised as "independent", mainstream media...

This is truly the end. We have no way to compete! Tonight... we dine... in hell!

Go tell George Soros, stranger passing by: that here, obedient to his will, we lie.

796. Resistance is futile.


C'mon, Speaker Boehner: Gird Your Loins and Tell the Truth to the American People--Of Course the Damn Retirement Age Needs to Be Raised

Everyone knows it, Speaker Boehner. So don't be a Sputnik -- just say so.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said he "made a mistake" when he suggested raising the retirement age to 70 last year... The Speaker indicated he was premature in suggesting raising the legal age at which retirees are eligible for full Social Security benefits, since he didn't want to pre-judge a debate over how to fix the entitlement program. He said he wouldn't rule out raising the retirement age, however.

...His comments walk back remarks from late June, when he said the retirement age would eventually need to be raised by five years, from 65 to 70.

...Democrats, for their part, have seized on those fears and sought to use them to their political advantage. They accused Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who delivered the official Republican response to Obama, of wanting to do away with Social Security...

Hey, schmucks: you've already destroyed Social Security, according to the CBO.

It's already running a deficit and is slated to run dry way ahead of schedule. You created this monstrosity -- and you destroyed it. So be proud, Democrats! Take credit for the havoc you've wrought!

...Fueling the new worry is a report this week from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that suggests Social Security may be more of a drain on scarce resources - or in need of strengthening - than had been thought previously... The CBO said that if interest were excluded, the system would run a deficit of $45 billion this year and a total of $547 billion from 2012 to 2021.

Outlays for Social Security, the CBO said, will hit $727 billion this year, 4.8 percent of the gross domestic product. In 10 years, as baby boomers retire in big numbers and benefits increase, the CBO estimates those expenses will reach $1.3 trillion, 5.3 percent of the GDP.

In other words, the program could be a drain on an already-strained federal system, so the Capitol buzz is this: Something has to be done. But it's difficult: About 53 million people got Social Security benefits last year, and the CBO estimates that will grow to 71 million by 2021.

You read that right. Social Security is headed right into the tarmac -- the way all Democrat social engineering efforts do.

Is that so difficult to fix? Of course not.

Washington indexes all kinds of entitlement payments to inflation. Gee, brainstorm! How about we index retirement to average life expectancy?

C'mon, Speaker Boehner. The American people aren't idiots. They respect politicians who tell the truth. So tell the damn truth and be proud of telling it. Stop playing Beltway politics as usual. The stakes are way too high to dissemble. Leave that up to the Soros-controlled Democrat Party.


Kudos to Senators Cornyn and Hatch: Propose Amendment Tying Spending Cap and Balanced Budget to Lifting Debt Ceiling

I'm warning you right now to prepare yourself for the propaganda. Legacy media will do anything -- anything -- to promote the notion that a failure to meekly raise the debt ceiling would result in utter disaster. Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria! Hell, based on the track record, some CBS anchor could very well go out and cap some homeless person if that would help sway public opinion.

So I have to extend my congratulations to Senators Orrin Hatch and John Cornyn -- both of whom I've leveled plenty of criticism at in the past -- for their negotiation tactics.

Sens. Orrin Hatch (R., Utah) and John Cornyn (R., Texas) are pushing for a balanced-budget amendment as part of any negotiations to raise the federal debt ceiling... Their proposal has gained support within the Republican caucus, but Senate Democrats have not yet signaled they would include it in any package that raises the debt ceiling above the $14.3 trillion level set by Congress last year. The Obama administration has said the U.S. could hit the $14.3 trillion debt level as soon as March 31, and they are pushing Congress to raise the limit soon. As of Friday, federal debt subject to the limit stood at $14.008 trillion.

The Hatch/Cornyn plan would, among other things, mandate total budgetary outlays for any fiscal year not exceed revenues; cap federal spending at 20% of GDP; [and] prohibit revenue raising moves that aren’t approved by two-thirds of the House and Senate. ... The House and Senate would have to sign off on any exemptions, with a two-thirds vote. Provisions could also be waived if there is a formal declaration of war or because of national security concerns.

Call your representatives and tell them you support this measure: No more blank checks.

This. Is. Sparta!


Hat tip: Mark Levin.

Iranian Suicide Bombing Manual Discovered on Arizona's Border With Mexico -- Which Is, Of Course, As Secure As It's Ever Been

As if a failed narco-terror state on our unprotected southern border isn't enough to alarm you, ABC-15 (Phoenix) reports on an ominous incident getting little attention from legacy media.

Officials have confirmed a book known for celebrating suicide bombers was found in the Arizona desert... An official with the Department of Homeland Security told ABC15 a copy of "In Memory of Our Martyrs" was spotted Tuesday ... [on] "a route known for smuggling illegal immigrants and drugs."

...the book is published in Iran and contains biographies of Islamic suicide bombers and other Islamic militants who died while carrying out their attacks... Authorities believe the book had been there for at least several days, or weeks.

Fret not, dear citizen. Our beloved baritone DHS secretary, Janet Napolitano, assures us that the border is "as secure as it's ever been."

Which, judging by the number of illegals flooding the U.S., isn't as reassuring a statement as she might have hoped.

Please, Mr. President -- don't secure the border until after the attack. That way the crisis won't go to waste.


Linked by: Michelle Malkin and Weasel Zippers. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: Rubio co-sponsoring DeMint's Obamacare repeal bill

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

Rubio co-sponsoring DeMint’s Obamacare repeal bill: Cubachi
Obama’s State-of-His-Next-Campaign-for-President Address: RWN
It's On: Keith Ellison (D-MN) vs. Allen West (R-Infidel): WZ

Obamacare Waivers Jump from 222 to 729 in One Month: Verum
Beyond the Philadelphia Horror: Malkin
Pelosi logged $2MM in military jet expenses in 2 years: JW

Why Bachmann's Speech Was The Best: Riehl
Hope, Change and 'Invest': Coulter
Making Obama a One Term President: AT

Economy

SOTU 2011: The Man on the Moon & the Union Sputniks: RedState
GOP Links Balanced-Budget Measure to Debt Ceiling Vote: WSJ
National Debt Increases by $100MM During SOTU Address: PJM

Planned Parenthood: A Defacto Abortion Tax on America: RWN
Inflation is so much worse than we're being told: Insider
How Bad is Detroit’s Detroitification?: MCC

Climate & Energy

Carol Browner Goes, Draconian Policies Stay: IBD
George Monbiot’s Predicted Global Famine No More Evident Than Global Warming: RWN
UN's IPCC Climate Models' Predictions of Rainfall Completely Wrong: C3

Media

GoProud, SoCons, The CPAC Boycott, & Homosexuality In Context: Wolf Howling
Two State of the Union Speeches Later...: RWN
Wolf Blitzer Beclowns Bill Maher on CNN: NewsBusters

I Wish I Were a Democrat: AT
The Aim of Blood Libels: Glick
The Leader of the Conservative Wing of the First (Extended) Family: Wolf Files

“Birther” movement gets boost from journalist friend of HI governor: Toldjah
MTV Knows New Show May Break Child Porn Laws: NewsReal
Dispatch: The American Psyche and a 'Sputnik Moment': Stratfor

World

Mexican Cartel Caught Sneaking Muslim Jihadi Into U.S.: Dollard
Iran’s Defense Minister Vahidi Threatens the West. Remember Who He Is?: PJM
Dem Rep. Ackerman Cuts Ties With Soros Front Group J-Street: WZ

Keith Ellison’s alma mater, UMinn, to launch Islamic sharia law program: Creeping
Slow Learners to Set Sail on ‘Freedom Flotilla 2′ to Gaza: BigJournalism
Gay Activists Offended by New Ground Zero Mosque Imam’s Views On Homosexuality: WZ

SciTech

Facebook beefs up security after Zuck hack: FT
Browser-Powered Desktop Notifications Are Coming To Gmail: TechCrunch
Thirty Years of the Best First Person Shooters Ever Made: Ace

Cornucopia

How to Get Unlimited Monies!: TrollScience
Reason #69: Why Sarah Palin Is So Freaking Awesome
Man arrested after, eh, climaxing during TSA patdown: C&S

Image: People's Cube
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Celebrate All Palin February!
QOTD: "What other event draws more than 10,000 of your fellow Americans who agree with you on at least 75% of the issues? To be honest, I hate to travel. I hate being away from home. But there are no “Lonely Conservatives” at CPAC. To sit it out because there may be a few sponsors or speakers I disagree with would be silly. Sometimes I think people just take themselves too seriously. Life is short and precious, we shouldn’t be making enemies of our friends.

You know I’m not shy about calling out RINO’s, but that doesn’t mean I’m afraid to be at the same venue where a few of them might show up. Who knows, if enough of us are there, maybe we can convince them of the error in their ways. It’s too bad some conservatives don’t even want to bother trying." -- Lonely Conservative, 'In Defense of CPAC'

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Our Legacy Media Thought Experiment for the Day

Prior to his State of the Union address, President Obama went to lunch with five of his most trusted public relations advisers.

President Obama met with several top news personalities and pundits on Tuesday before his State of the Union Address.

Per a White House pool report, the president met with the group for lunch at the White House this afternoon.

Among the figures reported to be meeting with the president were:

• CNN's Wolf Blitzer
• ABC's Diane Sawyer
• ABC's George Stephanopoulos
• NBC's Brian Williams
• MSNBC's Chris Matthews

...The president has been known to meet with journalists occasionally for informal chats. The discussions are typically off the record, meaning that the content of Tuesday's discussion will likely remain unknown.

Here's our thought experiment for the day:

Imagine that just before the State of the Union in 2006, when Iraq was reaching a boiling point, President Bush went to a private lunch with Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Charles Krauthammer and Hugh Hewitt. The topics of their discussion were off the record, meaning that they were not disclosed to legacy media.

I want you to predict how many outraged New York Times op-eds would result. How many Special Comments and Worst Person in the World bile-duct secretions by Strap-On would be produced as a consequence. And how many deranged Vanity Fair conspiracy nuts would become employed in the aftermath.

My over-under for the total is 45.


Hat tip and Image (slightly modified from original): Weasel Zippers.

Hey, Democrats: How Many Years Before All of the Outrageous Bills You Slammed Down Our Throats Become 'Living and Breathing'?

Liberals have a fundamentally different perspective on Constitutional interpretation than conservatives. Conservatives believe that there is only one legitimate way to interpret the Constitution: as it was written. This school of thought is called originalism and no less an intellect than the mighty James Madison said the following regarding this approach.

Do not separate text from historical background. If you do, you will have perverted and subverted the Constitution, which can only end in a distorted, bastardized form of illegitimate government. In effect, the Obama administration.

Eh, okay -- I added that last sentence.

Liberals have invented all sorts of clever schemes for avoiding originalism, even though the Framers studied thousands of years of human history to create a resilient, flexible framework upon which the body politic could grow. They have discovered numerous methods to reject the nation's highest law, upon which they take an oath to uphold when they enter office!

• They reject originalism through the lens of technology: Gee, the framers didn't talk about the Internet, so we've got to create brand new rights from whole cloth!...

• They reject originalism through a fabricated principle called 'Judicial Precedent': Hey, I don't care what unconstitutional decision the Warren Court came up with, it's 'Judicial Precedent'!

• They reject originalism through another fairy tale called 'Judicial Review': Hey, we don't like that legislation, so we'll just dismantle it.

• They reject originalism through social engineering: former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall once said, "You guys [i.e., white people] have been practicing discrimination for years. Now it's our [i.e., black people's] turn."

In short, liberals view the Constitution as amorphous and flexible -- "living and breathing", if you will -- in order to advance their agenda.

But I ask you: many laws and contracts are very old (even 99-year leases in Hawaii appear to be commonplace) -- so how many years do we have to wait to call the laws we don't like 'living and breathing'?

Is 50 years enough? 100? 150 years?

Because these laws, contracts and other agreements can't possibly be binding once they hit that limit. They've got to be living and breathing, because the terms could never anticipate all of the changes in technology, transportation and communications... right?

So how many years must we wait before we reject all of the liberals' failed social engineering programs by reinterpreting them under this 'living and breathing' escape hatch?

Not that the country will survive on the spending glide-path we're on right now. But I'm just wondering. Any liberals care to venture an answer?


Orange County Register: 'Jerry Brown is Doomed'

California Governor Jerry Brown -- both a product and an enabler of the state's powerful public sector union caucus -- is caught between a rock and a hard place. The Orange County Register's Shawn Steel explains:

Jerry Brown is doomed. That's one way to read his new state budget, which seeks to eliminate the $25 billion deficit with equal parts spending cuts (primarily to social services) and tax increases. The new governor wants voters to re-impose the 2009 tax hikes on themselves for another five years – the same taxes they overwhelmingly refused to extend for two years. Mindful of that outcome, Brown has embraced blackmail: Renew the tax hikes or school spending will be slashed.

Brown's budget is a doomed half-measure that confirms he is a conventional liberal. The spending cuts are significant but insufficient, and in the unlikely event voters renew the tax hikes, the damage to our anemic economy virtually guarantees the promised revenue won't materialize.

A recent study of how governments cope with deep deficits and debt found those that successfully restored fiscal order employed budget solutions consisting, on average, of 85 percent spending cuts (including 22 percent cut from government wages and salaries). The typical failed solutions [Ed.: i.e., the typical Democrat solutions] relied on equal parts tax hikes and spending cuts – Jerry Brown's formula.

Most revealing is what the new budget plan doesn't do: tackle the pension time bomb and the bloated state payroll. Given the magnitude of our chronic deficits, the state payroll should be rolled back at least to 2000 levels, yet Brown's budget [does little].

Why target welfare recipients instead of state employees? Because welfare recipients don't have a union. Public employee unions spent $40 million on Brown's behalf, and they expect a return on their investment. On his first day in office, Brown replaced seven pro-charter-school reformers on the state Board of Education with status quo educrats – including the lobbyist for the state teachers union. [Ed.: But remember: it's all about the children with Democrats. They care. Deeply]

The hard truth is: Restoring California's fiscal health requires dramatically downsizing the number of state employees and their unsustainable pensions and benefits. That would require Jerry Brown turning on the public employee unions that elected him – an act of [unprecedented] political audacity...

...We're just entering what the rest of country went through in 2009-10: an era of complete liberal Democratic dominance. There were no Republican fingerprints on President Barack Obama's Great Leap Leftward, and American voters responded by handing the GOP historically huge gains... Granted, Brown took office amidst a mess – but one in large measure the handiwork of the government unions that put him in office...

...His budget plan doesn't go far enough to stop California's slouch to insolvency. The further cuts will send union members into the streets, earning Brown their hostility but with not offsetting credit with voters. Jerry Brown will never be re-elected if he allows California to become even a shadow of Greece. He is doomed unless he breaks the power of the government unions.

I predict that Brown doesn't have the spine to buck the unions.

No Democrat does. The unions, along with trial lawyers, illegal immigrants and the dead are their most important constituencies.

Just imagine how many union members would vote Democrat after getting hosed by Brown?

No, my prediction is simple: civil unrest and chaos in California. I would hate to see it, but can't envision another way out.

And isn't that how all socialist systems end -- in utter collapse? You know, the line about at some point, you run out of other people's money?

As an aside: when we build a border fence after booting 44 out of office, can we also build one around California?


O-toons, Episode 84

Larwyn's Linx: State of the Obama 'Remaking America' Revolution

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

State of the Obama 'Remaking America' Revolution: AT
The Most Offensive Line in the State of the Union: Patterico
The Bachmann Speech: RedState

Private Citizens Fight Voter Fraud: Adams
Hard choices cannot wait another year: Coburn
Obama: In 5 years, you'll be blown away!: BlogProf

Regulations and Rhetoric: Blankley
A State of the Union response or a 2012 match-up?: JRubin
Obama Adviser Plouffe: Obama Will Address Gun Control: RCP

Economy

The state of the union is weak, and getting weaker: Blumer
Obama’s Sputter-nik moment: Cash for Education Clunkers: Malkin
The mother of all Big Dig boondoggles: Malkin

One of Obama’s Biggest Donors Now His 'Economics Adviser': RWN
Unions Bullying Employers With Help From NLRB: Lonely
GE Pays Tax Rate of 4%; Wal-Mart... 34%: Minyanville

Climate & Energy

EPA ruling means most foods and drinks are polluted: Aces
Browner out at the White House – Hansen bites back: WUWT
Van Jones: Environmentalism is Really All About Social Justice: BigGovt

Media

You blew your Sputnik moment, Barry: Surber
Obama now praises Reagan after bashing his 'dirty deeds' in '95: York
Devastating… Frank Luntz Focus Group Dumps On Obama’s SOTU Address: GWP

The Right Side Of The Blogosphere’s Reaction To Obama’s State Of The Union Speech: RWN
More Gosnell victims come forward with horror stories: Pundette
SOTU FU: CBullitt (Language warning)

Nino Wows 'Em: LegalIns
SOTU 2011, Deconstructed: Hayride
Rep. Broun to Obama: 'You believe in socialism': Hill

World

Coexist? I don’t think so: HillBuzz
A New Diaspora--Jews Leaving Europe: Commentarama
Ban Ki Moon is letting the Israel-bashers of the Human Rights Council make the UN look bad: NYDN

Ethiopian Muslims warn Christians to convert, leave city or face death: JihadWatch
Sharia is Coming!: CJ
The Real Disconnect in the Peace Process: JPC

Moscow's Silent War Explodes: StrategyPage
Case Closed: Power Line
It's (Semi) Official: Egyptian President's Son And Family Have Fled To The UK: ZH

SciTech

Verizon's iPhone hot spot to cost $20 a month: CNet
RIM: Playbook Could Sell 6M Units First 12 Months: Barron's
Yahoo Is Firing Again, While Google is Hiring More Than Ever: TechCrunch

Cornucopia

Cops Probe IHOP Melee Caught On Tape: TSG
Movie: For Overseas Distribution ‘Captain America’ Won’t Be Captain America: RWN
Time Lapse: C&S

Image: People's Cube
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Please Support the Senate Conservatives Fund
QOTD: "[Governor Jerry] Brown took office amidst a mess – but one in large measure the handiwork of the government unions that put him in office. His budget plan doesn't go far enough to stop California's slouch to insolvency. The further cuts will send union members into the streets, earning Brown their hostility but with not offsetting credit with voters. Jerry Brown will never be re-elected if he allows California to become even a shadow of Greece. He is doomed unless he breaks the power of the government unions.

In 2012, the budget will still be in the red. Overregulation and overtaxation will keep the economy feeble, unemployment high and state revenue down. Public perception of government employee unions is at an all-time low. States like Mississippi and Wisconsin are demolishing the myth of Brown's "green economy" by using tax incentives to lure solar manufacturing and jobs out of California. There will be no Arnold Schwarzenegger to tarnish the GOP brand. The lowered threshold for budget approval allows the Democratic majorities in the Legislature to enact radioactive budgets without a single Republican vote. Brown and the Democrats will be solely responsible for the state of the state." -- Shawn Steel

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Barack Obama's State of the Union speech in 90 seconds [Biff Spackle]

Cub Reporter Biff Spackle condensed the full transcript of Barack Obama's State of the Union speech into the Cliff Notes version.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, and Professor Piven:

I'd like to welcome the new Tea-Baggers and pray for the recovery of Gabby Giffords, wounded in a tragic attack by right-wing conservatives and/or Sarah Palin.

Look, it's no secret that I'm a Marxist. Look it up. Textbook definition. But I realize now, having withstood a massive repudiation in the midterm elections, that I'm going to have to pretend to be a centrist again. Let's all relive the glory days of my 2008 campaign when a snappy logo, a compliant media and an amorphous slogan -- Change! -- catapulted me to my first real job.

America! Hopes! Dreams! Civility! Al Sharpton's shiny blue suit! Taco Bell's new crispy burrito with extra cheese! All of these things, plus an enormous, doddering federal bureaucracy, determine whether new jobs and industries take root in our country.

Look at all the progress we've made in saving the economy from the worst crisis since the Great Plague:

We passed a historic health care bill that no one read and fewer understand. Over at the EPA, we're using a leaf-blower to dispense new regulations and set industrial policy. We've issued oil drilling moratoriums. passed a financial reform bill that didn't address Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Took over the student loan business and two failed auto companies. Blew out a trillion-dollar stimulus package that kept the public sector union bosses in clover.

It's steps like these that have kept unemployment well below 20 percent!

Many people watching tonight remember a time when finding a good job meant showing up at Bill Ayers' house for a fundraiser -- or teaching ACORN hacks how to intimidate businesses. But the world has changed: more people frown on domestic terrorism and rampant vote fraud than in the old days.

And the world operates faster now: China and India are moving towards capitalism, which gives us the opportunity to redistribute our wealth to them. See, we tilt towards a command-and-control economy, impoverish ourselves, which means we use less of the world's resources. Which is more fair.

Blah blah blah, founding fathers, yada yada yada. Free enterprise. Sputnik. Solar shingles. California smelt. Green jobs. 400 million green jobs by 2020.

Education -- but no charter schools. Charter schools are the work of Satan. We want to prepare 100,000 new Democrat voters, I mean public school teachers, in the fields of, ahhh, whatever.

Education -- but don't worry about single-parent families. More welfare, more food stamps, more government subsidies for single Moms... 'cuz it's worked out so well over the past 50 years.

Now, listen carefully. I'm a centrist. Promise. Because I'm about to use the phrase... ... ... illegal immigration. Among Democrats, that's a no-no. We like to call illegals undocumented workers. Or, among ourselves, undocumented Democrats.

That's why we have to build stuff, you know -- towns and roads and stuff. Oh and railroads. Lots of railroads, 'cuz we've got to use less resources which means traveling together like the folks in China and India do. We'll call it 'high-speed rail' 'cuz it sounds cooler.

To streamline business, I've ordered a cursory review of government regulations, while -- behind the scenes -- I've got the EPA pumping out enough new regs to blow your frickin' mind, man! 'Cuz I'm a centrist!

Now, hahahahahahahahahahahahaha, I've heard tell that some are a mite concerned about Obamacare. If you have any issues or ideas for improving it, we'll air 'em on C-Span so the whole American public can see 'em. For five whole days before we vote. It'll be awesome.

And we have to freeze spending, right where it is. Even though that means we're spending roughly 48% more each year than we take in. 'Cuz I'm a centrist.

It means we'll have to reduce health care costs like Medicare and Medicaid and that new, unsustainable health care takeover we just passed. To do so we'll have to centralize all decision-making in a streamlined, efficient government bureaucracy consisting of 135 agencies, offices and bureaus. Lean and mean, baby, lean and mean.

And we've got to talk about Social Security. Not do anything, hell no! Look what happened to Bush after he tried to work on it! Now, if we could just get our hands on all of those IRAs and 401(k) plans... we could guarantee every American a retirement income for life. We'd put it away, stash it in a foolproof lock-box. A vault. Locked away, safe and sound. Oh -- and we'll tax the hell out of the rich, 'cuz I'm a centrist.

In the coming months, we'll develop a proposal to merge, consolidate, and reorganize the federal government in such a way that we'll preserve all of those bureaucrats who vote Democrat every election, but will look like we're more efficient because we'll be regulating even more than we do today.

And thanks to our tough foreign policies, Iran's poised to get nukes, North Korea's nutcase dictator is sinking South Korean ships, Hezbollah's taking over Lebanon, China's launched its new stealth fighter with stolen technology, Russia's got a new czar, and pretty much everyone is laughing at us. Except the Zionists. They're not laughing, believe you me.

Constitution. Founding Fathers. Blah blah blah. Centrist. Look at my watch. You're mesmerized. You're falling into a deep, deep sleep. Repeat after me: I'm a centrist. Cen... trist.

What's that old Reagan line? Oh, yeah: "Thank you, God Bless You, and may God Bless the United States of America." The centrist, civil United States of America.


Linked by: Michelle Malkin and RightNetwork. Thanks!

Democrat Governors Turn Teabagger

Isn't it curious how -- after all of their social engineering programs and union payoffs have collapsed into bankruptcy -- Democrats at the state level have begun to wake up, sounding a lot like members of the Tea Party? Exhibit A: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo:

This is a time of crisis for our state... We have the worst business tax climate in the nation, period. Our taxes are 66% higher than the national average... The State of New York spends too much money, it is that blunt and it is that simple...

...most damaging, our expenses in this state far exceed revenue [and this year we face a] very large deficit about $10 billion ... Next year, the problem goes to $14 billion. The year after, the deficit goes to $17 billion...

...We spend more money on education than any state in the nation and we are number 34 in terms of results. We spend more money on Medicaid than any other state in the nation and we are number 21 in results. We spend about $1.6 billion per year in economic development and we are number 50 in terms of results... We now have more than 600 Executive branch agencies.

...We have to hold the line on taxes for now and reduce taxes in the future. New York has no future as the tax capital of the nation. Our young people will not stay. Our business will not come...

Andrew Cuomo is a true far Left progressive. Yet even he has given up on the progressive agenda. California's Jerry Brown, himself such a radical progressive that his nickname is 'Moonbeam', is now recommending $12.5 billion in spending cuts next year (hint: it's not nearly enough).

Yet still Barack Obama refuses to cut. He organized a deficit commission and then promptly ignored its recommendations. The country is monetizing its own debt at a frightening clip, yet Obama's spending agenda persists. Republicans proposed a return to 2006 spending levels -- and Obama can't find anything to cut, despite adding $5.2 trillion in new deficits since Democrats took control of the purse-strings.

Even the hard-core Leftists in power -- like Cuomo and Brown -- have given up on their failed and unsustainable social engineering programs. All of them are cutting spending, enacting austerity measures, and trying to wrestle deficits to the ground.

All of them that is, except for President Obama, who seems bound and determined to Cloward-Pivenize the United States.


O-toons, Episode 81

In Memoriam: Jack LaLanne, In His Own Words

Jack LaLanne, the father of the modern fitness movement, was legendary for his strict diet, gladiator-style workouts and lifelong devotion to healthy living. He passed away Sunday at age 96 -- a blow to many of us who thought the man was immortal. And rather than recast his biography, I'll let the man speak for himself through some of my favorite quotes.

• "Coaches told some of the pro athletes who wanted to come to me to stay away or they'd get thrown off the team. They said I'd make athletes muscle-bound. One time... it was during World War II, I took the entire University of California football team out to the sand dunes near Cliff House in San Francisco. I grabbed the heaviest guy and put him on my back, and I ran up the dunes. Then I made each of them do it. Nearly killed them! They were heavin' all over the place!"

• "I train like I'm training for the Olympics or for a Mr. America contest, the way I've always trained my whole life. You see, life is a battlefield. Life is survival of the fittest... How many healthy people do you know? How many happy people do you know? Think about it. People work at dying, they don't work at living. My workout is my obligation to life. It's my tranquilizer. It's part of the way I tell the truth--and telling the truth is what's kept me going all these years."

• "Don't talk age! Age has nothing to do with it. One of my guys who started out at my gym is 87 now, and he still does ten bench-press reps with a hundred-pound dumbbell in each hand. He's training to set a leg-pressing record. I put things in the guy's brain way back when, and now he'll never get away from it."

• "Thoughts are things. Negativity is what kills you... It's tough to do, but you've got to work at living, you know? Most people work at dying, but anybody can die; the easiest thing on this earth is to die. But to live takes guts; it takes energy, vitality, it takes thought. . . . We have so many negative influences out there that are pulling us down. . . . You've got to be strong to overcome these adversities . . . that's why I never stop."

• "...most Americans these days—they want to overeat, overdrink, smoke and not exercise, and then they go to the doctor saying, "Give me a magic shot, doctor, so I can feel better and look better." They all want that, but as I said, there is a price to pay. Living is tough, it's hard, and most people, especially religious people, spend too much time on their spirituality, hoping that this spiritual thing is going to do something for them. It doesn't work that way!"

• So that's how I get my reward. Can you put a price on a life? If you can save somebody's life, get that person to reduce their weight or get these older people working out, well, look what you've done—you've saved a life, the most precious thing there is!"

• "Now a lot of people say, "Oh, I don't have the time." Or, "Oh, but I don't like it, Jack." But you know, I try to get to the gym by five in the morning, and I work out for two hours. To leave a hot bed and a hot woman to go to a cold gym—now that's dedication! And I've never heard this once—knock, knock, knock on the window in my gym: "Jack, this is Jesus, I'll work out for you today!""

• "I get so ticked off. People are so misinformed these days. They tell you to eat no starch, no fats, to sell a diet, to make money. Where can you get a better food than nuts and grains? ...Would you give your dog a cigarette and a doughnut for breakfast every morning? People think nothing of giving themselves that for breakfast, and they wonder why they don't feel good."

• "The average person who is 70 or 80 is over the hill... They're fat, they're racked with aches and pains. Then you get people over 90 who are running marathons, because they worked at living. I have a lot of energy and you know why? Because I use it. It's use it or lose it, and it's believing in something. Most people just go through life existing, waiting for retirement. That's the death knell."

• "If you can't afford a half hour three or four times a week taking care of the most priceless possession, your body, you've got to be sick. You're stupid."

• "If man makes it, I don't eat it. I practice what I preach. I eat 10 raw vegetables, 5 pieces of fruit, egg whites and fish for protein, and whole grains. Finally, if you can't have a sense of humor, you're dead."

• "My whole career, doctors and so-called experts called me a crackpot and charlatan... But I was right... I train two hours every day. I do an hour and a half of weight training, then maybe a swim or a walk. I like change. I change my program every 30 days. You know, you get bored. The only thing I don't change is my wife."

• "Sitting around on your big fat gluteus maximus talking about the good old days. The good old days are right this second. You've got to exercise VIG-OR-OUSLY! Life is tough. Life is a challenge. Life is a battlefield... . Life is an athletic event, and you must train for it."

Rest In Peace, Mr. LaLanne. Your legend lives on.