Saturday, May 05, 2012

Larwyn's Linx: The Life of Zachary

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Nation

The Life of Zachary: City Journal
Economy Craters, Unemployment Soars, Obama Seeks Scapegoats: RSM
Obama meets his nemesis: AT

Obama Abolishes the Press Conference: Dossier
Dance around the May prole: JPA
Occupy Oakland May Day General Strike: Zombie

Economy

Jobless numbers down to 8.1% but almost no one believes it: Q&O
Why Did the Unemployment Rate Drop?: WSJ
Impending Market Dislocation? (PNSN): Denninger

Four Years of Obama Undoes Eight Years of Reagan: Ricochet
Forward to the Fiscal Cliff!: Beacon
71% of Top Companies To Drop Insurance Under ObamaCare: AllAm

California: “the ninth circle of business hell.”: Troglo
Common Cause: Uncommon Donors, Including Corzine: Beacon
The Crashing US Housing Metro Areas: DHB

2012 Elections

New mailer from 'Young Guns' backs Lugar, touts Ethanol: Breitbart
Santorum Endorses Mourdock: Malkin
Romney Slams Obama Over Disastrous April Jobs Report: AmPower

The Obama Campaign Organization: All Fumbles. No Spark.: Elephant
From ‘hope and change’ to ‘hype and blame’: RS
Lugar Flailing: Insults Republicans, Cites Labor Support In Latest Plea To Stay In DC: Riehl

Scandal Central

Holder is a Great Holder of Documents: DC
Game on, Mr. Holder: Fast and Furious Isn't Going Away: AT
Time for Eric Holder to Follow the Law: DC

Climate & Energy

Federal Agencies Out of Control: Quick Roundup: Cato
Heartland Institute Ends Experiment with 'Unabomber’ Global Warming Billboard: Heartland
The EPA is earning a reputation for abuse: WaPo

Media

Figures: Bin Laden Liked CBS & MSNBC, Loathed Fox: S&L
MSNBC rips Obama's #Julia ad: Exam
Best of #Julia Responses: Alexa

Occupy Cute Puppies!: Cube
Paul Krugman, wrong yet again about income inequality: Peth
New Details from Edwards trial make Silky Pony look like a manipulative low-life: Insider

Decolonize Oakland May Day Occupy Rally: Zombie
Number of Americans Paid Not to Work Growing Faster than Number of Taxpayers: Breitbart
New All American Radio: Doug Ross Talks Bad Blue and Stacy Washington Talks Race and Politics: AllAm

World

More on #Chen: Fausta
Somebody at NATO Needs a Geography Lesson: Powers
The Euro Area Economy Is Deteriorating At A Disastrous Pace: Insider

Former AG Mukasey: Obama Officials Drafted Memo to Blame Military If OBL Mission Failed: GWP
Huge Victory! SIOG, Human Rights groups succeed in stopping mega-mosque in Georgia: Atlas
Newest Navy Ship To Be Named, USS Time Limited, Scope Limited Military Action: Ace

Sci-Tech

Study Reveals Joggers Live 5 Years Longer: Wired
F-22 Pilots to Discuss Why They Won’t Fly the Jet: DefTech
Samsung Galaxy S3 review: Telegraph

Cornucopia

Julia's Circle of Life: IowaHawk
MittStache Caption Contest: Morlock
Big Guy’s Dolls, take 2: Paper, Blowup and “Composite”: MOTUS

When A Narcissist Falls Apart: Flopping Aces
Help Find This Occupying LA Maggot That Assaulted a Female Cop: Sooper
Two Burglars Enter The Home of Two Marines, Coroner Arrives Later: AllAm

Image: Occupy Oakland May Day General Strike (Zombie)
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Please support the Senate Conservatives Fund

QOTD: "A contempt of Congress citation targeting Attorney General Eric Holder, which was released on Thursday, details exactly what Operation Fast and Furious-related information he has refused to provide to Congress. House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa subpoenaed 22 categories worth of information about Fast and Furious from Holder on Oct. 12, 2011. According to Issa’s contempt of Congress citation draft, he hasn’t provided any documents for 13 out of the 22 categories. In a briefing paper accompanying the Holder contempt citation, Issa said that Holder hasn’t ‘completely fulfilled any of the 10 categories for which documents have been produced." --Matthew Boyle

Friday, May 04, 2012

The Scariest Jobs Chart — By Far (And You Haven’t Seen It Before)

Dude.

For all of the attention paid to the labor force participation rate — now at its lowest point since 1981 — much of the decline has little to do with the state of the job market and everything to do with demographics.
Harm Bandholz, chief U.S. economist at UniCredit, figures that fully half of the decline in the participation rate since the end of 2007 is due to the aging of the population and, thus, should have been anticipated.

...The focus of economics coverage should really be on the weakness in the jobs data that isn’t due to demographic shifts, and the data clearly show that the 16-54 population is ground zero for the jobs crisis.

Job holders among this group have declined by 4.9 percentage points since the recession began — nearly twice the 2.6-percentage-point drop in their labor force participation... Based on a normalized rate of participation, Bandholz estimates the unemployment rate would have been 10.1% in April, not 8.1%.

...In all, the share of job holders among those 16-54, 68.5% in April (up from a cycle low of 67.9%), remains 8 percentage points below the level that prevailed in 1999-2000. This is the worst level since the depth of the 1983 recession, but that episode was relatively brief.

Because younger workers have borne the brunt of the jobs recession, its economic effects — due to long-term unemployment, underemployment and stretched household balance sheets — may be more likely to linger.

You say excessive regulation, centralized micromanagement of the economy, and unceasing attacks on America's investors "rich" are counterproductive to job creation? I'm shocked. Shocked, I say.


The New York Times Accidentally Confirms the President's Laughably Pathetic Work Ethic

The New York Times offers us a rare glimpse into the Sunday meetings at which the president and his key advisers plot his reelection campaign.

...[the] previously undisclosed sessions, which take place nearly every other week just across the hall from the Oval Office, are designed to bridge a divide between his campaign headquarters in Chicago and his aides in Washington in preparing for what Mr. Obama and his team anticipate will be a grueling race against Mitt Romney.

The cast of top advisers - a group limited to 10 in hopes of streamlining the meetings - offers a revealing look at the pecking order of the hierarchy in the Obama campaign... Neither Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. nor any other cabinet members are on hand. Instead, the room is filled with a group of trusted confidants who were at Mr. Obama's side during the last campaign.

The attendance roster, which was confirmed by multiple people familiar with the list, reveals a mix of White House staff, including David Plouffe, a senior adviser and campaign manager from 2008; Jacob J. Lew, the chief of staff; Valerie Jarrett and Pete Rouse, senior advisers; Dan Pfeiffer, the communications director; and Alyssa Mastromonaco, a deputy chief of staff who has worked for Mr. Obama since his days in the Senate.

The campaign team includes Jim Messina, the campaign manager, who sets the agenda for the meeting; David Axelrod, a senior strategist; Stephanie Cutter, a deputy campaign manager; and Larry Grisolano, a top political adviser.

What I found most interesting however, was not the machinations of his Red Diaper Baby advisers like Axelrod and Jarrett. Instead, it was the numerous references to Obama's lackadaisical schedule and the ridiculous amount of time he spends screwing around. Consider the following snippets from the Times article:

  • "...The gathering often takes place after Mr. Obama's regular Sunday round of golf..."

  • "...aides say he still spends far more time on his iPad checking scores on ESPN than obsessively reading up on Mr. Romney..."

  • "...[He] is set to open his re-election campaign formally on Saturday with back-to-back rallies in Ohio and Virginia..."

Formally launching his campaign? Obama has already held more fundraisers than the previous five presidents combined.

If you'd like to get a daily sense of the president's oh-so-busy schedule, I'd encourage you to visit White House Dossier on a daily basis. Keith Koffler does an outstanding job capturing the view from the White House press room -- sans the recycled DNC talking points. And he also publishes Obama's daily schedule, which -- to put it mildly -- is less than rigorous.


But it's only the most important job in the world, don'tcha know?

Furthermore, Obama's work ethic perfectly matches an unconfirmed description by the so-called "White House Insider", who long ago described Obama's White House "man cave" and his fixation with sports.

President Obama, when he is in his de facto office upstairs – the one that is closer to Jarrett’s own office, and a short hop over to the residence, he spends his time there often in shorts, or sweats, a t-shirt, and those sandal things…flip-flops...

...There is a large screen television in there and that’s where hours of his time are spent when he is actually at the White House. Day in and day out. The First Lady rules the residence, and the president heads over to his second floor West Wing study. Starting around last spring, he started to take regular briefings in there. And the instructions that went out on those briefings to the president were that they were to be most importantly – brief. Anything more than about 15 minutes is unacceptable to Obama. So let’s look through the eyes of someone heading into Barack Obama’s upstairs office at the White House to give him a briefing. Maybe it’s on national security. Maybe the economy. Energy policy. Whatever – doesn’t matter.

The scenario being played out these days is pretty much the same regardless of the particulars. You knock on the door – it’s always closed. Always. Often you have to knock for some time before being given approval from inside to enter. The big screen will be on – the volume loud. You can easily hear it from outside the door. The sports channels are the ones most commonly playing, though sometimes the channel will be set to music, or Fox News.

Sometimes Valerie Jarrett might be there, but most often it is just the president and his personal aide. A large leather chair will be facing the television – it’s well worn. Not part of the White House furnishings but something the president must have brought in from back home. That’s where you’ll most often find the President of the United States – the most powerful man in the free f***ing world.

He often sits with one leg draped over one of the chair’s arms and the other leg stuck straight onto the floor. Shorts, sweats, a t-shirt, and like I said, no shoes or just those sandal things that so many of the younger people like to wear these days. And that leg that’s draped over an arm of the chair will be bopping up and down, like…like someone with a lot of nervous energy. Like a kid does. And there’s the smell of smoke hanging on the president. The guy never quit smoking – that was all bulls***. I told you that already. In fact, there’s one of those smokeless ash trays on the desk in there. And that desk, it’s a mess. Magazines spread out all over it. Stupid s*** too. Real low brow reading material the president is into. People. Rolling Stone. Lots of those tabloid things. The most common thread with this s*** is it’s about the president. If it’s about him, he’s gonna read it. Good or bad – doesn’t matter. If somebody is talking about him, he’s reading it. He’s watching it. Whatever. The guy’s self-obsession is off the f***ing charts.

Accurate? I don't know. But it certainly fits the Times profile.

One thing is clear: we need to remove President Obama from the Labor Force Participation Rate in November.

Welcome Back, Carter: Labor Force Participation Rate Lowest Since '81

Say, is this chart racist?

...it is just getting sad now. In April the number of people not in the labor force rose by a whopping 522,000 from 87,897,000 to 88,419,000. This is the highest on record.


...The flip side, and the reason why the unemployment dropped to 8.1% is that the labor force participation rate just dipped to a new 30 year low of 64.3%.
Did I mention that this represents (yet another) Obama record? By some measures, there are actually 100 million working-age Americans that do not have jobs.

James Pethokoukis of AEI believes the real unemployment rate is closer to 11.1 percent.

...If the size of the U.S. labor force as a share of the total population was the same as it was when Barack Obama took office—65.7% then vs. 63.6% today—the U-3 unemployment rate would be 11.1%.


...[But if] you take into account the aging of the Baby Boomers, the participation rate should be trending lower. Indeed, it has been doing just that since 2000. Before the Great Recession, the Congressional Budget Office predicted what the partipation rate would be in 2012, assuming such demographic changes. Using that number, the real unemployment rate would be 10.7%.

...Then there’s the broader, U-6 measure of unemployment which includes the discouraged plus part-timers who wish they had full time work. That unemployment rate, perhaps the truest measure of the labor market’s health, is still a sky-high 14.5% [and the] employment-population ratio dipped to 58.4% vs. 61% in December 2008. An historically and alarmingly low level of the U.S. population is actually working.

Americans got a "stimulus package", alright. Right where it counts.


Larwyn's Linx: Dubious donations (gangster government edition)

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

Nation

Dubious donations (gangster government edition): Power Line
Structure and Elements of a Disinformation Campaign: AT
Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be “Julia”: RWN

Obama Issues New Threat to Supreme Court over ObamaCare: CFP
Who the hell is "Julia," and why am I paying for her?: Harsanyi
Executive Order 13563 – Ceding U.S. Sovereignty?: Sentinel

From the Annals of ObamaCare: IL Suspends Health Exchange: Cato
The Life of Julia Under Obama and Mitt: SooperMexican
3 ICE Agents Shot in California: Fox Latino

Economy

The income-less Recovery: Peth
Unions not paying fair share to Democrats: Beacon
Illinois Faces 25% Cost Increase to Borrow $1.8 Billion: Bloomberg

Each Child Born Today will Inherit $1.5M of National Debt: Beacon
AP: Jobless Claims Down Most In 3 Months!: S&L
Pro-Violence Liberals Encourage Occupy Law-Breaking: RWN

Obama Promises Women A Lifetime Of Dependence: IBD
CNN Wakes Up: The 86 Million Invisible Unemployed: GayPatriot
Want to Have Less of Something? Make its Provision a “Right”: Bastiat

2012 Elections

If Wisconsin is competitive as in this poll, Obama should be concerned: Politico
Obama campaign outsourced $78K worth of telemarketing to call centers in the Philippines: Beacon
Obama’s imaginary girlfriend is really no surprise …: ProWis

Scandal Central

Fast and Furious: DoJ-supplied guns used in Mexican lawyer’s murder: Toldjah
Darrell Issa drafts contempt order to Eric Holder: Politico
Holder DEA apologizes for forgetting about shackled student for five days : DC

Climate & Energy

The Human Consequences of EPA’s War on Coal: Foundry
Shock: Green Jobs Figures Inflated: Beacon
Tens of thousands to fly to Rio to discuss how to limit greenhouse gas emissions: Malkin

Media

Over 30 Major News Organizations Linked to George Soros: MRC
Liberals Target Fox’s Broadcast Licenses: STACLU
All Five Cleveland Would-Be Bridge Bombers Are Occupiers; ABCNews Fails To Mention That: Ace

Obama’s White Girlfriend Turns Out to Be Fictional Character: MB
I'm Beginning to Suspect The Left Just Might Be Playing Fast and Loose With Race For Political Reasons: Ace
Why Julia?: Lady Liberty

#NotGoodEnoughForRomCon: Zilla
Dem congressman for Solyndra’s district is so clueless he thinks Solyndra makes cars: Tatler
Poll: Wasserman Schultz or Pelosi, the Next Possible Speaker of U.S. House?: Shark Tank

Politico’s Priorities: News analysis masquerading as news riles defense experts: Beacon
Nancy Pelosi: Seriously Not Funny: Twitchy
Hannity Destroys Occupy Organizer In Fiery Segment About Movement’s Violence: Mediaite

World

Chen Guangcheng Ignored by Hillary Clinton: WS
Vaunted Obama Courage Suddenly AWOL: IBD
More Navy SEALs coming forward to criticize Obama for aftermath of Bin Laden raid?: Hot Air

Obama's DoD not reporting Afghan attacks on American troops: Atlas
Obama Praises Nazi Supporter in Jewish Heritage Month Proclamation: Breitbart
Obama Dictates to Israel: Jerusalem is Not Your Capital (2011): Loudon

Bin Laden Documents Released: BBC
Al Qaeda Thought MSNBC ‘Neutral’ Until Keith Olbermann Firing: Mediate
Spring Break Tourism Surges in Mexico Despite Warnings: Fox News Latino

Sci-Tech

Oracle and the End of Programming As We Know It: Dr. Dobbs
Red wine anti-aging properties shown in new study: Global Post
Fake Apple Hardware: 9 Knockoffs That Would Make Jony Ive Cringe: Wired

Texting, tweeting and social networking are behind 'rough behaviour' of teens, says Pratchett: Daily Mail
A/B Testing: Why Is a Financial Times Subscription So Expensive?: Wired

Cornucopia

Shock and Gah!–The Michelle Obama Party Dress Thread: Bruce
Breaking News In The Obama "Girlfriend" Story...: iOTW
Docs reveal Hitler farted, received sex injections, craved cocaine: Exam

Image: Sad Hill News - Solyndra’s Agent, ‘Show Me The Money’
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Senate Conservatives Fund

QOTD: "One determining factor in the development of NPD [narcissistic personality disorder] is childhood abuse... Obama’s early life was decidedly chaotic and replete with traumatic and mentally bruising dislocations... Mixed-race marriages were even less common then. His parents went through a divorce when he was an infant two years old. Obama saw his father only once again, before he died in a car accident. Then his mother re-married and Obama had to relocate to Indonesia , a foreign land with a radically foreign culture, to be raised by a step-father. At the age of ten, he was whisked off to live with his maternal (white) grandparents. He saw his mother only intermittently in the following few years and then she vanished from his life in 1979." --Dr. Sam Vaknin

Bonus QOTD: "Obama is Jimmy Carter with a much creepier logo." --Me, just now.


Thursday, May 03, 2012

Have I mentioned lately that Democrat Elijah Cummings is a hack?

Elijah Cummings (D-MD), if that is his real name, is the ranking member on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. For nearly a year-and-a-half, Cummings has witnessed Eric Holder's Justice Department commit perjury, stonewall and otherwise impede the committee's investigation into "Operation Fast and Furious".

The DOJ gunrunning operation, which allowed guns to flow to Mexican drug cartels unimpeded, has thus far resulted in 300 dead. Among the victims: Border Patrol agent Brian Terry and the brother of the Chihuahua state attorney general.

Seven months ago, DHS head Janet Napolitano stated that she couldn't comment on the case because Justice was awaiting the results of the Inspector General's investigation. We're still waiting. And even interim results have been unlawfully withheld from Congress.

Finally, it would appear, the House has had enough. Committee chairman Darrell Issa has drafted a contempt order against Attorney General Eric Holder.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) circulated a draft contempt order against Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday for a “refusal to cooperate” in the investigation of the Fast and Furious gun-walking operation.

“In describing the results of the Justice Department’s refusal to cooperate — including the hardships the family of a fallen Border Patrol agent have faced in seeking the truth, and retaliation against agents who blew the whistle on gun-walking — this briefing paper provides the facts, on which decisions will be made,” the House Oversight Committee chair said in a statement... The briefing paper sharply criticizes the Justice Department’s response to the committee’s investigation of the botched gun program, alleging that the department failed to provide many of the documents the committee requested.

...“For over a year, the Department has issued false denials, given answers intended to misdirect investigators, sought to intimidate witnesses, unlawfully withheld subpoenaed documents, and waited to be confronted with indisputable evidence before acknowledging uncomfortable facts,” it reads. “’Operation Fast and Furious’ outrageous tactics, the Justice Department’s refusal to fully cooperate with the investigation, and efforts to smear and retaliate against whistleblowers have tainted the institutional integrity of the Justice Department.”

The stonewalling, intimidation and lies have been copiously documented, blatant and -- plainly -- outrageous.

If Democrats had an ounce of integrity among them, they would be likewise demanding an explanation from Justice and some measure of comfort for the 300 killed by Holder's operation.

But the modern Democrat Party has no integrity as evidenced by the words of ranking member Elijah Cummings.

“Holding someone in contempt is one of the most serious actions Congress can take, but it is being used in this case as part of a partisan election year witch-hunt,” Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) said in a statement. “Unsurprising these draft contempt documents were leaked to the press and Republican House leaders before Committee Members ever saw them, and are based on an investigation characterized by repeated claims that turned out to be false.”

...Issa spokesman Frederick Hill brushed away the accusation, promptly shooting back, “It’s disappointing, but not altogether out of character, for ranking member Cummings to dismissively ignore the struggles of fallen Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s family to learn the truth about his death.”

The Justice Department has repeatedly defied House subpoenas by withholding or redacting nearly all of the requested documents. They claim -- which has no basis in fact -- that Executive Privilege (which the administrative state does not possess) allows their inspector general's investigation to complete before presenting documents to Congress.

Did I mention that Holder's I.G. used to work for him and that her investigation has now gone on longer than the Warren Commission's investigation into JFK's assassination?

So a legitimate inquiry into DOJ actions -- which has resulted in the deaths of more than 300 people -- is now positioned by hacks like Cummings as a "partisan witch-hunt".

I'm going to love it when Republicans are in power of all branches of government and follow precedent: using all of the pathetic Democrat tactics against them.


Helpful hint for reading an article written by the Associated Press: if there are words in the story, you can be sure it's unmitigated bulls***

Sorry for recycling a headline, but it's appropriate for the kind of crap the Associated Press peddles on a daily basis.

Romney’s gay national security spokesman resigns after questions about his conservatism


Mitt Romney’s national security spokesman resigned Tuesday after critics questioned his conservatism because he is gay.

Richard Grenell announced he had decided to leave Romney’s campaign shortly after he was hired in late April. Grenell, who is openly gay, previously worked for neoconservative former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton, as well as other foreign policy hawks.

...A series of critics on the right had suggested Grenell’s sexuality would present problems for the Romney campaign...

Within 24 hours, GayPatriot helped debunk the story, which has about as much truthful content as a Michael Moore "documentary".

Lost in all the hullabaloo over Richard Grenell’s resignation from the Romney campaign are the actual words of his statement announcing his decision:

I have decided to resign from the Romney campaign as the Foreign Policy and National Security Spokesman. While I welcomed the challenge to confront President Obama’s foreign policy failures and weak leadership on the world stage, my ability to speak clearly and forcefully on the issues has been greatly diminished by the hyper-partisan discussion of personal issues that sometimes comes from a presidential campaign. I want to thank Governor Romney for his belief in me and my abilities and his clear message to me that being openly gay was a non-issue for him and his team.

Emphasis added. Some of the left have used this story as a cudgel with which to bash conservatives, but they ignore the strong critique this openly gay man offered of Obama’s foreign policy, who cited its many failures and faulted the president’s weak leadership.

And this openly gay man made clear that his sexuality was not an issue to the Romney team.

The Associated Press could not be reached for comment at press time, reportedly because they were feeding the million monkeys that write their stories.

Legacy Media Visual Style Guide

Just soes you keep the race-baiting consistent, the unmatched graphic geniuses at iOwnTheWorld offer the penultimate NBC style guide:


As an aside, a third NBC producer was just fired for editing the 9-1-1 tape to make Mr. Zimmerman sound... racist.


Life of Barry

First look, I guess, at the O's new fundraising website, which reportedly accepts lost, stolen and foreign credit cards. Because he's for the common man.


Spotted at Ace o' Spades, who says it was "an exact screen shot. X-A-C-T. Exact."


Related: The Death of Julia (caution: graphic).

Say, did I tell ever you that I gave the order to kill Bin Laden?

Because the only thing this failed president can do is distract folks from his miserable record.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Long-term unemployment affects nearly 30% of jobless Americans":

Photobucket

Nearly 30% of jobless Americans have been out of work for at least a year, according to the Pew Fiscal Analysis Initiative report on the first quarter...

...The report found that of the 13.3 million unemployed workers in the country, 3.9 million had been jobless for all or most of 2011. That's more people than live in Oregon.

That 29.5% long-term unemployment rate is slightly off the peak reached in the third quarter of last year, when 31.8% of jobless Americans were out of work for a year. But the current rate is still more than triple the 9.5% from the beginning of the recession.

"The longer workers remain unemployed, the more likely they may lose skills and professional contacts, making workforce reentry even more challenging," researchers wrote in the Pew report. "Skill erosion may lead to lower future income for individuals and, for the economy as a whole, lower productivity and lost output."

Older workers were more affected than most, with nearly 44% of former employees older than 55 out of work for longer than a year.

By the way, did I mention that Republicans are trying to restrict your access to contraceptives?


Headline o' the day: Rip Van Wrinkle

Because it's not every day you see someone booked for this particular crime:



Larwyn's Linx: Obama caught in another falsehood

Send us tips! Bloggers: install a Larwyn's Linx widget. Get real-time news, 24/7, at BadBlue.
Obama caught in another falsehood: Q&O
Obama-endorsed Occupiers plotted to blow up GOP convention: S&L
A Psychologist Analyzes The President: Pelerin

Decoding Obama's Leftist Campaign Codewords: IBD
Occupy Chicago May Day pics you won't see in the old media: Marathon
SF May Day Occupier hurls bricks and iron bars at police: Tatler

Economy

Companies Would Save Billions by Dropping Health Coverage: Foundry
Companies To Save Money By Dropping Health Coverage: Cove
Another Texas Win: Best/Worst States for Business 2012: ChiefExec

Obama Is America's Biggest Job Outsourcer: IBD
Obama has a great jobs plan... for Europe: Beacon
Number of Occupiers Arrested Tops 7,000: WZ

Everyone Booze Up and Riot: Sultan Knish
Indiana Illegal Immigrants Receiving Massive Tax Refunds: Beacon
Europe's Scariest Chart Just Got Scarier-er: ZH

2012 Elections

W. Va. Dems Bail on Obama: Beacon
Obama Swiftboats Himself: CFP
Blogger offers $10,000 bounty for Obama college transcripts: DC

Scandal Central

Sens. Grassley, Thune Want Answers on Fisker Loan: NLPC
Latest Scam: Illegal Aliens Getting Bigger Tax Refund Checks: Your bloated government at work: GWP
Did Rielle Hunter almost have a drug-fuelled threesome with Molly Ringwald and Bret Easton Ellis?: Daily Mail

Climate & Energy

Cache of historical Arctic sea ice maps discovered: Watts
Taxpayers pay more than $150 million in EV tax breaks: Torque

Media

Soros Liberal Front Group Asks FCC to Cancel Fox Television's Licenses: NB
If you’re a blogger looking for a temporary boost in traffic today, try to piss off Stacy McCain: Troglo
Book cites journals of Obama's ex-girlfriend: USA Today

EPIC! Michelle Malkin torches Juan Williams for smearing the Tea Party as racist: Scoop
The Ineffable Sadness of the Obama Presidency: XCV
John Edwards' betrayed wife 'tore off bra': BBC

So What Else Did Obama Fake in his Memoir?: Tatler
Pamela Geller Takes on Catholic Slamming New York Slimes!: iOTW
Mob of between 30-100 black teens brutally beat white male and female in Virginia: FAM

World

Obama's Afghan trip: 14,000 miles for brief remarks lacking one crucial word: IBD
How The Palestinian Authority Fights Corruption: Gatestone
"Cuba May Be the Most Feminist Country in Latin America": Fausta

‘Forward’ Through History: Tatler
Classified Records Said to be Missing from National Archives: FAS
France: Islam in election debate: IIE

Sci-Tech

Frustrated advertisers to Facebook: Take our money -- please!: CNet
BlackBerry 10's bold new features explained: CNet
Source Says Documents Reveal “Something Big Is About to Happen” With Apple: iPhone5News

Cornucopia

Redneck Engine Removal: C&S
Hitler Discovers Obama Stole His Theme Song.: MOTUS
The 10 most expensive items ever listed on eBay: MarketWatch

Image: Weasel Zippers
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Richard Mourdock for U.S. Senate: Pink-Slip Dick Lugar!

QOTD: "Here's what Obama got politically from [his Afghanistan visit] stagecraft: Bonus public attention focused on the Osama bin Laden assassination anniversary. Photos of troops clamoring for his fist bumps. An entire day focused on him, his words and non-stop talk of the 10-year war winding down.

An entire news day, one of only 189 precious ones left before Nov. 6, not focused on Solyndras, prostitution scandals, GSA parties, $5 trillion in new national debt, no federal budget for three years running, high unemployment, sluggish growth, legal crucifixions nor Mitt Romney.

Nevermind the Kabul explosions, killing at least six, a couple of hours after his brief visit." --Andrew Malcolm

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Beautiful: Obama IRS Refunding Billions to Illegals Who Are Claiming Kids... In Mexico

Just when you thought your outrage-meter had pegged the needle, you come across a brand new atrocity courtesy of a government that is completely out-of-control.

...Investigative television reporter Bob Segall of Indianapolis NBC affiliate WTHR TV Channel 13, was contacted by a long-time central Indiana tax preparer, who blew the whistle on a multi-billion dollar tax fraud about which the IRS has done nothing, according to the TV news show video segment that aired on Monday.

“There is not a doubt in my mind there’s huge fraud taking place here,” he said, slowly flipping through the pages of a [heavily redacted] tax return... “We’re talking about a multi-billion dollar fraud scheme here that’s taking place and no one is talking about it,” he said.

The scheme involves illegal immigrants that are filing tax returns, claiming child credits for multiple dependents under their support in “their” U.S. household, and collecting enormous cash refunds–such as one persons tax return that showed income of over $14,000, who collected a cash refund of over $10,300.

In 1996 during the Clinton Administration, the Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) was created in order for both resident and non-resident aliens, regardless of immigration status, to fulfill their tax filing and payment obligations under IRS regulations–even though an ITIN does not confer the right to work and receive income in the United States.

This year tax preparation offices across the country were flooded by an estimated 2 million illegal immigrants, who in growing numbers have been taking advantage of a tax loophole called the Additional Child Tax Credit–a fully-refundable credit of up to $1000 per child–meant to ease the income tax burden on working families who have children living at home.

However, Segall’s investigation and reporting found many illegal immigrants who were claiming these tax credits, but for kids who live in Mexico–even listing nieces and nephews.

“We’ve seen sometimes 10 or 12 dependents, most times nieces and nephews, on these tax forms,” the whistleblower told Eyewitness News. “The more you put on there, the more you get back.”

After Segall reviewed many of the heavily redacted tax returns, it was still clear that the tax filers had received large tax refunds after claiming child tax credits for many dependents... “Here’s a return right here: we’ve got a $10,3000 refund for nine nieces and nephews,” he said, pointing to the words “niece” and “nephew” listed on the tax forms nine separate times.

“We’re getting an $11,000 refund on this tax return. There’s seven nieces and nephews,” he said, pointing to another set of documents. “I can bring out stacks and stacks. It’s just so easy it’s ridiculous.”

Segall of WTHR was able to speak with several of the illegal immigrants who, using Segall’s translator–confirmed it is easy.

...Segall then met with Russell George, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Inspector General for Tax Administration, who stated … “The magnitude of the problem has grown exponentially,” but that the IRS has known about the problem for years...

...Mr. George said his department has repeatedly warned the IRS that additional child tax credits are being abused by undocumented workers–in 2009 alone, their annual audit report showed that ITIN tax filers received about $1 billion in additional child tax credits... The same audit report from 2010 showed it cost the American tax payers more than $4.2 billion...

One worker interviewed by Segall at his home admitted that four other illegals used his address to file tax returns, even though they don't live there. Between them, they claimed 20 children and a total of 30 people living in the residence. These individuals received tax refunds totaling $29,608.

The man admitted that none of the "20 children" live in the U.S., nor have they ever even visited!

And what does the IRS have to say about this? Yes, they're defending the practice:

The agency sent WTHR a statement, defending its policy of paying tax credits to illegal immigrants.

"The law has been clear for over a decade that eligibility for these credits does not depend on work authorization status or the type of taxpayer identification number used. Any suggestion that the IRS shouldn't be paying out these credits under current law to ITIN holders is simply incorrect. The IRS administers the law impartially and applies it as it is written," the statement said.

...Over the past month, WTHR has tried to ask the IRS more questions about its efforts to prevent abuse involving additional child tax credits... Despite repeated phone calls, e-mails and a visit to IRS headquarters in Washington, the agency said none of its 100,000 employees had time to meet with 13 Investigates for an interview. An IRS spokeswoman said all staff were too busy because of the tax filing deadline in mid-April.

Apparently, the IRS doesn't have time to respond to some tax preparers, either... Last year, our whistleblower noticed dozens of undocumented workers had used phony documents and false income to claim tax credits. He reported all of it to the IRS.

"These were fraudulent, 100% fraudulent tax returns, but I got no response; absolutely none. We never heard a thing," he said. "To me, it's clear the IRS is letting this happen."

The IRS tells WTHR it can do nothing to change the current system unless it gets permission from Congress. In other words, according to the IRS, closing the loophole would require lawmakers to pass a new law specifically excluding illegal immigrants from claiming additional child tax credits.

Folks: this is a huge story.

I urge you to pass it on to your mailing lists.

This kind of travesty must end in November. Or this country really will be "fundamentally transformed", as Barack Obama promised.


But they're for the little people: Michelle mingles with the rabble while wearing a $2,700 sweater

"...it wasn't until I stepped away from the corporate track and worked in city government and eventually helped to found the Chicago chapter of Public Allies, an AmeriCorps program, a national service program, that I realized how important public service and community service was to my own development... And now that the two of us have moved to Washington, our new home -- (applause) -- we both have continued to stress the value of national and community service..." --Michelle Obama, 17 March 2009


The phrase "public service" must mean something different to the Obamas than to you or I.

In March, the first lady visited her British counterpart Samantha Cameron wearing a L’Wren Scott sweater in a trendy bright yellow hue. The embellished cardigan costs $2,720.

Obama, widely regarded as a fashion icon, likes the brand so much that she wore a peach cardigan from the same line last week during the Take Your Child to Work Day festivities.

The next day, she wore another sweater from L’Wren Scott, this one white with red trim from the Spring 2011 ready to wear collection, for a visit to Fort Stewart with the president.

She has been a fan of the brand’s cardigans since at least 2010, when she wore this black and white number to a childhood obesity event.

The first lady’s favorite embellished cardigans from L’Wren Scott range from $2,095 to $3,320. Plain cashmere-blend cardigans from the brand start at $910.

For Michelle, her selfless commitment to public service means living large while sticking taxpayers with the tab.

It translates to spending $10 million of the taxpayers' money on vacations in only a single year's time and living like, well, a millionaire or billionaire.

Michelle Antoinette is the very model of selfless public service.

Remember how the media viciously attacked Sarah Palin for her 2008 campaign wardrobe, which turned out to be borrowed?

Curious how you don't read a thing in old media about FLOTUS' extravagant lifestyle and wardrobe, eh?


Hat tip: BadBlue.com.

Good news, Californians: your support for the de-industrialization of America is working. The bad news: this means blackouts for you, dimwits.

Over the past several decades, the eco-Statists have infested every level of government in the great state of California. They have destroyed farmland in the Central Valley to save a creature no one even knew existed. They have issued an unceasing blizzard of regulations so formidable that businesses have been escaping the state en masse. And, in the ultimate irony, they have helped shutter power plants throughout the state.

And now, the piper must be paid.

Will blackouts darken Calif. this summer?


California could be headed into another “perfect storm” of coincidental events that may result in an electricity shortage during the hot months of July, August and September... ...the Independent System Operator (ISO) serves as the central operator for the state electric grid. The ISO said that, while statewide reserves are fine, local and regional shortages could emerge. Of particular concern is the San Diego area due to the San Onofre shutdown...

...Southern California is working fast to get back into service two gas-fired power plants in Huntington Beach that were mothballed last year. This indicates how fast events have turned around on electric capacity planners.

To comply with regulations, both of the decommissioned Huntington Beach gas power plants had their gas lines severed and three-foot holes were cut in the boilers...

Enjoy your blackouts, drones!

Put it this way: the eco-Statists, working with the EPA, are intentionally sabotaging power generation. Why? So the federal government can step in -- as they did in automobiles, health care, banking, and student loans -- to effectively nationalize another industry.

Don't believe me. Just review their 10-point plan.


Helpful hint for reading an article written by old media: if there are words in the story, you can be sure it's unmitigated bulls***

See if you can detect the sublime -- almost invisible -- bias from USA Today (PDF):

5 men targeted bridge near Cleveland, upset that Occupy wouldn't back violence

The FBI sting operation that led to the arrests of five men in an alleged conspiracy to blow up a Cleveland-area bridge involved now-familiar undercover techniques to identify a potentially dangerous terrorist plot...

...What sets the alleged Ohio operation apart is its link to self-proclaimed anarchists — with no connections to international terrorist organizations — who believed that members of the ubiquitous Occupy protest movement had not gone far enough to express their displeasure with high-flying corporate America...

...Almost immediately after the charges were announced, the Occupy campaign moved to distance itself from the allegations... Acknowledging that the suspects ... were "associated with Occupy Cleveland," the group said in a statement that the five were "in no way representing or acting on behalf of Occupy Cleveland.''

I've highlighted the attempts of old media -- including in a headline -- to distance the Occupiers from the Occupy movement. A movement, I might add, endorsed by Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi.

Pity that few media outlets also noted that the same group had plotted to bomb this summer’s Republican National Convention.

Of course, the real headline should have read: "Obama-Endorsed #OWS occupiers arrested for plotting to blow up bridge, GOP convention". But that would have required accuracy, honesty and integrity, three attributes sorely lacking in state-run media.


Larwyn's Linx: For The Truth About ObamaCare, Just Follow The Money

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

Nation

For The Truth About ObamaCare, Just Follow The Money: IBD
America’s Two-Faced Liberals: Williams
Mayor issues emergency order after mayhem in Seattle: NoisyRm

Marx, Engels, Lenin, Trotsky … Obama!: RSM
Judiciary Chairman Unleashes on Holder: PJM
The Warren Wreck: Beacon

Economy

The income-less Recovery: Peth
Tea Party Drives Educational Reform With Free Market Principles: IBD
Illinois Faces 25% Cost Increase to Borrow $1.8 Billion: Bloomberg

Three Years of Shame: Bise
Rupert Murdoch predicts global economic crash: Twitchy
Banks Get White Powder Letters For Occupy's May Day Insanity: Cove

Obama Lies To Union That Supports Keystone XL Pipeline: IBD
The Hypothetical President: Harsanyi
Total US Debt Soars To 101.5% Of GDP: ZH

2012 Elections

Obama still behind 2008 pace with Jewish voters: Barone
Obama's New Campaign Slogan Is a Nazi Marching Tune (and tied to Marxism, socialism) : HySci
Jewish voters leaving Obama: Beacon

Newt: All of us have an obligation to do everything we can to defeat Barack Obama: LI
Afghanistan Must Be A Swing State, Because Obama Just Landed There To Give A Speech: Ace
Wis. Gov. Walker raises $13M for recall election: USA Today

Scandal Central

Occupy Chicago May Day video: Teamsters boss swats down my camera: Marathon
What happens if Congress finds Attorney General Holder in contempt in the 'Fast and Furious' scandal?: Fox
Video: Why does President Obama take so much credit for killing Bin Laden?: Jawa

Climate & Energy

Obama’s Crucifixion of “Big Oil”: Foundry
Vermont: doing their part to save the planet, one scoured mountain top at a time.: SDA
Quite possibly the funniest weather/climate photo, evah: Watts

Keeping Nature Exactly as Is … Forever: Stossel
Will blackouts darken Calif. this summer?: Cal Watchdog
Coincidence? Obama Praised EPA In Speech About Cuyahoga River In Cleveland Last January: Glob

Media

Exclusive: Obama Insider Reveals Secret Strategy to Beat Romney: Klavan
Washington Post‘s Dana Milbank Calls Obama’s Constant Campaigning ‘Sleazy’: Mediate
Hey, Girl! It's Paul Ryan!: RWN

There are no more "indispensible" political news or opinion sources: Hawkisn
Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman, Sadly A Perfect Storm...: Traditional Woodsman
Five Mostly Peaceful Anarchists Charged With Trying to Blow Up Cleveland Bridge: JWF

Jarvis DeBerry’s Predictably Ignorant Column Attacking The 2nd Amendment: HayRide
Our Anti-Obama Press?: Bozell
Pathetic Michelle Obama spins a fable about her own mother Marian Robinson at a fundraiser: FAM

World

The path to bin Laden’s death didn’t start with Obama: Rodriguez
Communism Still a Horror; People Still Flee: Mead
Happy Victims of Communism Day! (2010): Somin

Vice President’s office behind turning away of senior Chinese defector from consulate in China: Beacon
Europe’s Jew Hatred Isn’t Just On The Fringe: Mead
Obama Campaign Slogan “Forward” Has History in Communist Propaganda, Probably Just a Coincidence: AllAm

Chris Christie's Islam Problem: Pipes
West Point Cadets Spend Night in Jersey Mosque: Creeping
No, really: 'Man marries goat' captivates millions: Telegraph

Sci-Tech

'Meat glue' poses health risks for consumers: KABC
Court bans Microsoft products from German market: Reuters
Historic Photos From the NYC Municipal Archives: Atlantic

Cornucopia

BO the Builder: skills, not so hot, butt he sure can dress the part: MOTUS
The Obama Bounce Test: Looking Spoon
Brutal ad slams Obama: Heroes don’t spike the football: Scoop

Image: Painters suspended on cables of the the Brooklyn Bridge, on October 7, 1914
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Now or Never: Richard Mourdock for U.S. Senate

QOTD: "In a Washington Post op-ed, Jose Rodriguez, a CIA veteran and author of the new book "Hard Measures: How Aggressive CIA Actions After 9/11 Saved American Lives," concedes that Obama "deserves credit for making the right choice."

But he notes that like the moon landing, the killing of bin Laden was merely the culmination of an effort that predated the incumbent's arrival in the White House by years: "[Obama's] administration never would have had the opportunity to do the right thing had it not been for some extraordinary work during the George W. Bush administration." Rodriguez notes further that "much of that work has been denigrated by Obama as unproductive and contrary to American principles."" --James Taranto

Tuesday, May 01, 2012

Illustration: The President Honors SEAL Team 6's Need for Anonymity

Our winner: AfterMath, courtesy Laughing Conservative:


Interesting.


Obama taking credit for the Bin Laden hit is like Nixon taking credit for the moon landing

Read, rinse, repeat and forward:

Imagine if President Nixon had decided to base his 1972 re-election campaign on the boast that he landed on the moon. His predecessors tried and failed for eight years. It wasn't an easy decision--what if something went wrong? But that's why you hire a president, to make those gutsy calls. Which path would George McGovern have taken?

That's analogous to President Obama's effort to campaign on the killing of Osama bin Laden. His absurd braggadocio is turning one of the few successes to occur under his leadership into a political liability.

I know this much. The SEALs have had enough.

Navy SEALs blasted Barack Obama for taking credit for the killing of Osama Bin Ladent. One SEAL went as far as to say Obama did not even make the call.

‘In years to come there is going to be information that will come out that Obama was not the man who made the call. “

This was devastating. Leave it to the British press to get to the facts of the matter.

Mitt Romney had a good line when he stated that "even Jimmy Carter" would have ordered the UBL hit. Not only that, even Moonbeam Kucinich would have as well.

And then there's this:

Remember when Obama threatened to prosecute the CIA interrogators whose work led to the Bin Laden killing?

Remember when Obama put three (3) Navy SEALs on trial on the word of a murderous, scumbag al-Qaeda terrorist?

Remember when Obama installed a man who had defended Al Qaeda terrorists as #3 in the Justice Department, in charge of Gitmo terrorist trials?

And remember when Obama denounced the same enhanced interrogation techniques that led trackers to Bin Laden?

There's hypocrisy. There's Democrat hypocrisy. And then there's Obama.

Chevy Volt: The Only $41,000 Car In the World That Leases for $350/mo., Courtesy of... You

According to Investors Business Daily, the special inspector general overseeing the TARP bailout says that GM and its lending arm still owe taxpayers more than $40 billion.

GM ... still owes more than half the $50 billion in federal funds it received when the combination of the recession and its costly union contracts drove it into bankruptcy. And its lending arm, GMAC (now Ally Financial), still owes $14.5 billion...

...What's worse, it's not clear that GM actually repaid what it's gotten credit for repaying. Check out this note buried in the inspector's report: "As part of a credit agreement with Treasury, $16.4 billion in TARP funds were placed in an escrow account that GM could access only with Treasury's permission."

As it turns out, GM got Treasury's OK to "repay" more than $6.7 billion "using a portion of the escrow account that had been funded with TARP funds." So GM is merely paying the government back with government money, not money GM is earning selling cars, as the administration has claimed.

Worse, GM in effect is still borrowing money. Consider this item from the report: "What remained in escrow was released to GM." Bottom line: Taxpayers have not been paid back and are still on the hook as GM continues to require government help. Yet Obama has hailed the GM bailout as the signature achievement of his big government programs.

As if to illustrate the administration's lies, a friend checked out a lease on a Chevy Volt (MSRP: $41,000). He reported back that the car leased out at $350 a month for 36 months!

I figured he had to be lying. After all, he's a Dem. But, it turns out, he wasn't fibbing a bit.

...although most of the world will surely report on how the Volt MSRP of $41,000 puts it out of the reach of the average consumer, ... the real story is the fact that, if you lease the Volt, it will cost you the same as leasing a LEAF: $350 a month for 3 years.

That certainly makes things interesting, doesn't it?

...So how did GM make the Volt available for the same lease price as the LEAF given that the Volt's base MSRP is $8,000 higher than the LEAF's? For starters, when you lease a plug-in car from a manufacturer, the manufacturer can take the available $7,500 federal tax credit for themselves and roll that into paying down the MSRP. Add to that the Volt's $2,500 down payment, and now you're paying a lease on a $31,000 vehicle instead of $41,000...

The magic all comes down to the manufacturer's calculated residual value—how much they think the car will be worth at the end of the lease. GM has made the calculation that the Volt will maintain a very high value over the first three years of its life. As a result, GM has effectively engineered a situation where the vast majority of Volt buyers will decide to lease the car. Twinges of the EV1 days will surely flit through the minds of the old school California mandate folks when GM took all the EV1's back at the end of their leases and crushed them...

In other words, GM loses money on every car, but they make it up in volume.

Or, by filching money from the taxpayers while claiming all of their loans were repaid.

This, my friends, is lawlessness, but not unexpected coming from the parasites infesting the Democrat Party.