Thursday, April 25, 2013

The Sequester Fraud in One Picture

Suffering through hours of delays in air travel? Blaming the sequester? Thanks to Phil Kerpen, we get a true sense of how "devastating" the cuts to the FAA are.


Not only is the FAA receiving more money this year than ever before (even with the sequester), if memory serves roughly half of its personnel are non-essential. The President, however, chose to furlough only essential personnel to punish the American people.

Have we ever had a President who intentionally tries to inflict pain on the American people?

And have we ever had a media that refuses to report upon this and dozens of other arguably impeachable offenses (e.g., refusing to enforce immigration law, refusing to answer for the murder of an Ambassador, sending thousands of weapons to Mexican drug cartels, etc.)?

Those are both rhetorical questions.


Hat tip: Jim Simpson.

Larwyn's Linx: The Left-Wing Lie Machine Takes A Mortal Blow

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

Nation

The Left-Wing Lie Machine Takes A Mortal Blow: Denninger
Dead Boston jihadi bomber was on classified government watch list : Scoop
Boston manhunt brought people together -- over desire to have a gun: LI

Who the hell is the Saudi student at the Boston Marathon bombings?: AWD
Secretary Napolitano Caught in Lie, Media Absent: CDN
Breaking: Saudi Student Alharbi Visited the White House Several Times: GWP

Senator: We May Have Known About the Boston Bombings in Advance: RWN
Don’t Fall Into the Boston Immigration Trap: Foundry
DOD holding urban warfare exercise in Tinley Park: Trib

Economy

Tsarnaevs were on welfare until 2012: AT
Lawmakers negotiating Obamacare exemption for Congress: Riehl
Startup In Illinois or Texas? What Should A Startup Consider?: P&F

Scandal Central

Report: Obama, Clinton Misled on Benghazi: Max
Napolitano: Obama Regime can decide which laws to enforce: TPNN
Jon Corzine's Day of Reckoning?: WyBlog

Climate & Energy

Another Obama Green Project Folds after Getting Millions from Taxpayers: JW
If Obama Truly Wished To Turn Around The Economy, He'd Approve Keystone Today!: Lid

Media

Poll: Pelosi Most Hated Congressional Leader or the most surgically altered, at least: WZ
The "We Don't Want to Know" Form of Bias: Ace
Trust us! We're the government!: Sensing

Mark Levin: Obama has unleashed his wrath in the form of unnecessary furloughs of air traffic controllers: Scoop
National Parks Service worker says he’s forced to blame sequester if asked why no park tours: Scoop
Obama Counts on Media to Shift Blame for Flight Delays: AIM

NBC, ABC Ignore a Blistering House Report Placing Blame for Benghazi on Obama, Clinton: NB
100 Students Wear Shirt After One Suspended, Arrested for Wearing NRA “Protect Your Rights” Shirt: RWN
John Boehner's Daughter Marrying Pothead: NationalEnquirer

Boston Bombings Propel Fox News to First Place: AIM
A Nation Of Effeminate Eunuchs: Camp o' the Saints
A Note for Reese: Mike Stiles

World

Walid Shoebat exposes shocking Arabic Facebook page of failed jihadi terrorist arrested in Canada: Scoop
Boston jihad bomber was "angry that the world pictures Islam as a violent religion": JihadWatch
Tensions Grow Between China and India: Foundry

They Always Blame America First.: Geraghty
Saudis Have “Trusted Status” Into US – They Do The Vetting: UK France Germany Israel? No: MagNote
France: Muslim screaming "Allahu akbar" slashes rabbi's throat; authorities searching for motive: JihadWatch

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

The Trading Robots Really Are Reading Twitter: Yahoo!
Awesome CERN Animation of Big Data Behind the Super Collider: ScienceWorldReprot
BlackBerry Q10 Review: Can the Keyboard Bring You Back?: ABC

Cornucopia

Saudi Terrorist? What Saudi Terrorist?: MOTUS
Williams-Sonoma pulls pressure cookers from shelves: Clash
Unipartisanship in action: Axelrod to Join Romney at Summer Retreat: WS

Image: Science World Report - CERN Animation of Big Data Behind the Super Collider
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Get Ready for 2014: Support the Senate Conservatives Fund

QOTD: "The quasi-sympathetic "bomber brothers struggled with new identities in America" feature pieces are doing no favors for immigration reform. The notion that these two are somehow representative of some universal immigrant struggle to adapt to American life is weapons-grade horse[puckey]. Millions upon millions of immigrants made new lives for themselves in this country without feeling the need to bomb the Boston Marathon. If you think adaptation to American culture might cause you sufficient stress to make you commit mass murder, please leave immediately.

By the way, this society was pretty damn kind to these two. The terror-financing blog "MoneyJihad" assembles what we know of the brothers' finances -- and it includes a $2,500 scholarship from the city of Cambridge in 2011 and public assistance for the family." --Jim Geraghty

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

BENGHAZI-GATE EXPLODES: Congressional Investigators Say Hillary Clinton Lied Under Oath

Well, this would normally disqualify a politician from public office, but not a Democrat and certainly not Hillary Clinton.

A congressional report shows security cuts before the Benghazi attack were approved by the secretary of state and that White House talking points describing the events were edited to protect the State Department.

...Despite then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's denials that pleadings from Ambassador Chris Stevens, killed in the terrorist attack, never reached her desk, the interim Benghazi report concludes that:

Reductions of security levels prior to the attacks in Benghazi were approved at the highest levels of the State Department, up to and including Secretary Clinton. This fact contradicts her testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on January 23, 2013.


Indeed it does. On that date, Clinton testified: "I have made it very clear that the security cables did not come to my attention or above the assistant secretary level where the ARB (Accountability Review Board) placed responsibility."

The 46-page report by the five committees of jurisdiction cites an April 19, 2012, cable bearing Clinton's signature acknowledging a formal request dated March 28, 2012, from then-U.S. Ambassador to Libya Gene Cretz for additional security assets but ordering the withdrawal of security elements to proceed as planned.

After the attack, the talking points that became the administration's version of events were drafted. But contrary to administration rhetoric, changes to the talking points were not made to protect classified information. Concern for classified information is never mentioned in email traffic among senior administration officials.

...The report quotes one email saying there was concern that members of Congress would attack the State Department for "not paying attention to Agency warnings" regarding the mounting threat in Benghazi.


The report also says changes eliminating the truth about Benghazi were made at the behest of the White House and the State Department, and that the changes were made to make the administration look good.

The administration then sent Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, to appear on five Sunday morning talk shows with the newly edited talking points and the bald-faced lie that the attack on the Benghazi compound was spurred by a "spontaneous" demonstration against an anti-Muslim Internet video.

"What difference, at this point, does it make?" was Clinton's heated response when pressed why the White House long insisted the deaths of four Americans was the result of reaction to a YouTube video and not to an organized terrorist attack for which the administration was not prepared and tried to sweep under the Oval Office rug.

To the families of Christopher Stevens, Glen Doherty, Sean Smith and Ty Woods, the truth still matters and makes a world of difference.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. When the complete history of the Obama administration is written it will make Watergate look like a Lindsay Lohan shoplifting incident.


Hat tips: BadBlue News Service and MaserMedia.

TOLERANCE: Shiite Woman in Saudi Arabia Sentenced to 8 Lashes for Sending a Text Message

I only report. I don't decide.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - A Saudi Shiite woman has been sentenced to eight lashes by a court in Qatif for mistakenly sending a text message allegedly promoting the Shiite branch of Islam.

The 30-year-old woman, identified only as YH, has been pronounced guilty for sending an SMS to another Saudi woman, containing a list of internet addresses under the name 'Shiite Islamic religious services'.

One of the addresses apparently belong to Fatwas of Ayatollah Sistani, Iraq's most senior Shiite cleric who is renowned throughout the Gulf for his learned counsel on Islamic law.

The Saudi Arabian state is a staunch adherent to the Wahhabi, and publicly disparages the Shia sect. Shia Muslims are not allowed to practice their faith, or even profess their sectarian beliefs in private.

The act of calling people for Shiism, or openly advocating the Shia faith, has been pronounced as haram (forbidden and despicable in Arabic) by the Attorney General, who publicly demanded that YH be severely punished.

The sentence was eventually conferred by judge Davoud Mohammad al-Davoud, who, according to local sources, is an extremist sectarian with a history of harsh judgements.

The defendant, from the district of Awamiyya, vigorously contested the judgement.

"According to claims by the Attorney General, I have sent the SMS wrongly to an unknown number, and this might happen for anyone else, so, I do not accept the accusations," YH told the court, according to a report in Mehr News.

However, despite her vehement protestation YH has been unable to win a reprieve against her sentence.

Take this report from Iran with a grain of salt. The failed Persian state is in an undeclared state of war with the Sunni sect of Islam, represented primarily by Saudi Arabia.

So as for these genteel blokes acquiring nukes -- well, I for one don't foresee a problem.


The Strange Case of the Sealed Blago Tapes: Negotiations for Obama's Senate Seat Edition

Guest post by Barbara F. Hollingsworth, Washington Examiner, Local Editor


On March 15, 2012, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich reported to a low-security federal prison in Colorado to begin serving a 14-year sentence for public corruption, including an attempt to sell Barack Obama’s old Senate seat.

Blagojevich’s defense attorneys have insisted that the impeached former governor will someday be exonerated on appeal because U.S. District Court Judge James Zagel improperly sealed many of the federal wiretaps they claim would have proved his innocence.

“The judge would not let him play his tapes... there {sic} had tapes in both trials that would have established his innocence. The judge wouldn’t let us play them,” defense attorney Sam Adam, Jr. told Chicago’s CBS-Channel 2.

These are same court-sealed wiretaps that Chicago Tribune reporters Jeff Coen and John Chase claim they somehow received exclusive access to while writing their book, Golden, which was published in the fall of 2012.

Coen and Chase have repeatedly refused to name the source who gave them access to “all tapes in which Rod himself was talking,” although they said during a phone interview last fall that “there was no legal ban on us publishing them.”

However, as Illinoispaytoplay.com recently pointed out, the tapes and transcripts that were not played in court were under a protective order, and “the only way to legally obtain them is from the feds.”

One of the defense attorneys for Blagojevich’s brother, Robert, was even blunter. “If Jeff Coen said he listened to the 500 hours of tapes, he's a liar," Michael Ettinger told me in a recent email. “The government wanted all tapes, copies and transcripts returned before [Robert’s case] was dismissed out.” Ettinger added in a follow-up phone call, “Rod’s team had to give them back, too. No one kept them.”

Ettinger stated, “Judge Zagel ordered them sealed in federal court. Releasing them could put you in jail. And yet [Coen and Chase] openly admitted they had sealed documents that somebody gave them. The only two possibilities are: (1) the two sets of attorneys, and (2) the government. I promise they didn’t come from us. No one from our team who was bound by the judge’s order would do that. I’ve know Sam Adams for 35 years, and Rod’s camp would have no reason to risk their law licenses and be jailed for contempt either.”

When I asked the Tribune reporters to respond to being called a liar by Robert Blagojevich’s attorney, Coen replied in an email: “I don't know how we can do that without getting into the source of the material, which we have said we can't do. There are quotes in the book that are from tapes outside the public record, so I'm not sure why this is such a mystery to you. We stand by the book.”

But that seems to be in direct contradiction to a statement made earlier by Randall Samborn, public information officer for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago, who told me in an email: “Any tapes that were not played at trial are not public and are not available,” when we asked for the same tapes cited by the Tribune reporters. “Your presumption that this office has provided anyone with non-public recordings is inaccurate.”

Here’s the problem: If the Tribune reporters didn’t get the tapes from the U.S. Attorney's Office, which under the terms of the protective order was the only one who could have released them without violating federal law, Chase and Coen could not have gotten them legally, as they claim.

"This is the most horrifying thing I've ever seen"

Oh, my.


"The Realistic Baby Mask":




No additional commentary is required.

Thanks a lot, Twitter. What is seen cannot be unseen.


Larwyn's Linx: Dissecting the Gang of 8′s enforcement sham

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

Nation

Dissecting the Gang of 8's enforcement sham: Malkin
Report: Hillary Lied Under Oath About Benghazi Security: Exam
Rubio Shamefully Attacks Conservatives Over Immigration Reform: Shark Tank

Securing Members of Congress from Transparency: Schneier
Can a President Who Promised to 'Stand with the Muslims' Protect Us?: AT
Given life under Obama, more Americans already feeling better about Bush: IBD

Jihad Blows Up the Liberal Utopia: AmSpec
Moderate low-information tweets: Kuznicki
Boston Bomber Admits He Was Defending Islam: WZ

Economy

Fed Gives Finger To Congress: Denninger
Perez Abomination Grows: AmSpec
$3 Million Retirement Cap in Obama's Budget Would Not Apply to Him: Breitbart

"Free" Welfare Phone Program Now Costs Over $2 Billion: RWN
Doing less with more: President Obama's intentional airport delays: Exam
In the midnight hour, it is revealed Boston Bombers got welfare: LI

Scandal Central

XO: Obama To Ban Importation of Ammo, Magazines and Gun Accessories Without Congress?: SHTFplan
House GOP Benghazi Report: Clinton OK'd Security Reduction: Roll Call
Paul Ryan Intern Adam Savader Arrested: RSM

Climate & Energy

Report: Obama-funded Fisker lost $557K per electric vehicle sold: DC

Media

Dealing with A Press Gone Pyscho? Drinking Helps…: Leath Penguin
Politico Ignores Dzhokhar's Pro-Obama Tweets, Reports No Obvious 'Political Outlook' of Tsarnaevs: NB
Mike Bloomberg Suggests We Need To Sacrifice The Constitution: Mataconis

Robert Redford: ‘How He Kept His Radical Edge’: Driscoll
Obama’s body language tells more about him than his lofty words: CFP
Question For Those Who Study CNN Kremlinologist Style: Driscoll

World

Boston Bomber Database Error Underscores Terrorism Watch List Weaknesses: IPT
US imam calls on Muslims in US to wage jihad: DC
Mosque that Boston suspects attended has radical ties: USA Today

Kissing the Crocodile: Sultan Knish
Stunner: Mosque Bombers Attended Has Radical Ties, Speakers Urged Beating Wives, Killing Jews: JWF
Podcast: The Nexus of Latin American Radicalism and Middle Eastern Terrorism: Fausta

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

Twitter to create ‘social TV lab’ with agency, lands biggest ad deal yet: LostRemote
Why facial recognition couldn't identify Boston bombing suspects: Sophos

Cornucopia

Warrantless Entry: C&S
I’ve Got a degree. In Science!: MOTUS
Just another guy in the neighborhood: Sondrakistan

Image: Why Time Travel is Confusing: Gizmodo
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Urgent: Support the Franklin Center's Fight Against Fascism

QOTD: "The last week has provided a multitude of revelations about our government and the people of this country. The billions “invested” in our police state, along with warnings from a foreign government, and suspicious travel patterns were not enough for our beloved protectors to stop the Boston Marathon bombing. After stumbling upon these amateur terrorists by accident, the 2nd responders, with their Iraq War-level firepower, managed to slaughter one of the perpetrators, but somehow allowed a wounded teenager to escape on foot and elude 10,000 [cops] for almost 24 hours. The horde of heavily armed [cops conducted] illegal searches of homes and treat[ed] innocent people like criminals. The government completely shut down the 10th largest metropolitan area in the country for an entire day looking for a wounded 19 year old. The people of Boston obeyed their zoo keepers and obediently cowered in their cages.

The entire episode was an epic fail. The gang that couldn’t shoot straight needed an old man to find the bomber in his backyard boat. The people of Boston exhibited the passivity and subservience demanded by their government. Since the capture of the remaining terrorist, the shallow exhibitions of national pride at athletic events and smarmy displays of honoring the police state apparatchiks who screwed up – allowing the attack to occur and looking like the keystone cops during the pursuit of the suspects, has revealed a fatal defect in our civil character. We are living in a profoundly abnormal society, with millions of medicated mindless zombies controlled by a vast propaganda machine, who seemingly enjoy having their liberties taken away. Most have willingly learned to love their servitude. For those who haven’t learned, the boot of our vast security state will just stomp on their face forever. We’re realizing the worst dystopian nightmares of Orwell and Huxley simultaneously. This abnormalcy bias will dissipate over the next ten to fifteen years in torrent of financial collapse, war, bloodshed, and retribution. Sticking your head in the sand will not make reality go away. The existing social, political, and financial order will be swept away. What it is replaced by is up to us. Will this be the final chapter or new chapter in the history of this nation? The choice is ours. " --Jim Quinn

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Politico lets the cat out of the bag: immigration "reform" would give Democrats a permanent majority

Well, anyone with an ounce of sense knew this was the case, but this is the first time I've seen it in black and white. I refer, of course, to the Obama administration's press release blog, otherwise known as Politico:

Immigration reform could be bonanza for Democrats


The immigration proposal pending in Congress would transform the nation’s political landscape for a generation or more — pumping as many as 11 million new Hispanic voters into the electorate a decade from now in ways that, if current trends hold, would produce an electoral bonanza for Democrats and cripple Republican prospects in many states they now win easily.

...Republican Mitt Romney ... would have lost the national popular vote by 7 percentage points, 53 percent to 46 percent, instead of the 4-point margin he lost by in 2012, and would have struggled even to stay competitive in GOP strongholds like Texas, which he won with 57 percent of the vote...

...Texas, where the unauthorized immigrant population is second only to California’s, had an estimated 1.65 million undocumented immigrants in 2010, according to statistics from the Pew Hispanic Center. Romney won the state in 2012 by just under 1.3 million votes...

...In Arizona, Romney won by 212,000 votes — and there are an estimated 400,000 undocumented immigrants in the state as of 2010... Even Georgia, which isn’t a border state and doesn’t immediately come to mind when thinking of immigrant-heavy states, would be affected: Georgia had an estimated 425,000 undocumented immigrants in 2010, per Pew Hispanic Center’s estimates, and Romney won there by 308,000 votes...

If all those immigrants had voted in 2012 and President Obama had won 71 percent of them — the percentage he won among Latinos nationally — he would have come in less than 50,000 votes short in Arizona, within about a half-million votes of winning Texas and 125,000 votes shy in Georgia.

Politico quotes the quintessential loser and establishment RINO consultant Steve Schmidt -- you know, the genius behind the McCain 2008 campaign -- who says that Republicans are bound to get some Hispanic votes if they support Amnesty.

Say Steve-o, what's the track record to support this conjecture? Let's look, just for fun.

--1980 Jimmy Carter, 56% Ronald Reagan, 35% +21

--1984 Walter Mondale, 61% Ronald Reagan, 37% +24

--1988 Michael Dukakis, 69% George H.W. Bush, 30% +39

--1992 Bill Clinton, 61% George H.W. Bush, 25% +36

--1996 Bill Clinton, 72% Bob Dole, 21% +51

--2000 Al Gore, 62% George W. Bush, 35% +27

--2004 John Kerry, 58% George W. Bush, 40% +18

--2008 Barack Obama, 67% John McCain, 31% +36

--2012 Barack Obama, 71% Mitt Romney, 27% +44

In other words, over the last 9 election cycles, Democrat presidential candidates won the Hispanic vote by an average of 33 percentage points. But I'm sure the brilliant strategist Steve Schmidt can turn things around, even though a huge chunk of illegals are de facto Democrats, i.e., dependent upon government largess.

If the Gang of Idiots -- which is the phrase they prefer, I hear -- get their way, the entire United States will become a supersized version of California. Only with crappier weather.


Hat tip: BadBlue News.

UN "Human Rights" Official: Boston Got What It Deserved

Guest post by Anne Bayefsky


UN Human Rights Council “expert” Richard Falk has published a statement saying Bostonians got what they deserved in last week’s terror attack. He quotes W.H. Auden to make his point: "to whom evil is done/do evil in return.”

Richard Falk is the UN’s “Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.” He has held the post since 2008, despite exposure as a 9/11 conspiracy theorist.

In his latest rant, published online on April 21, 2013 by foreignpolicyjournal.com. Falk repeats the libel that prior to 9/11 President George W. Bush was seeking a “pretext” for war, and that anything Israel is the opposite of “justice and peace.”

And then he attacks Bostonians head-on. The police action in Boston was a "hysterical dragnet." Boston’s dead were "canaries" that "have to die" because of America’s “fantasy of global domination."

Falk explains the attacks as justifiable “resistance.” In his words: “The American global domination project is bound to generate all kinds of resistance in the post-colonial world.”

He minimizes the crime and predicts worse if America doesn’t change its ways to better accommodate the demands of “the Islamic world.” As he puts it: “In some respects, the United States has been fortunate not to experience worse blowbacks, and these may yet happen…”.

Why the Boston Bombers Succeeded [Stewart]

Guest post By Scott Stewart, Stratfor Research

When seeking to place an attack like the April 15 Boston Marathon bombing into context, it is helpful to classify the actors responsible, if possible. Such a classification can help us understand how an attack fits into the analytical narrative of what is happening and what is likely to come. These classifications will consider factors such as ideology, state sponsorship and perhaps most important, the kind of operative involved.

In a case where we are dealing with an apparent jihadist operative, before we can classify him or her we must first have a clear taxonomy of the jihadist movement. At Stratfor, we generally consider the jihadist movement to be divided into three basic elements: the al Qaeda core organization, the regional jihadist franchises, such as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and grassroots operatives who are radicalized, inspired and perhaps equipped by the other two tiers but who are not members of either.

Within the three-tier jihadist movement there exist two distinct types of operatives. One of these is the professional terrorist operative, a person who is a member of the al Qaeda core or of one of the regional franchises. These individuals swear loyalty to the leader and then follow orders from the organization's hierarchy. Second, there are amateur operatives who never join a group and whose actions are not guided by the specific orders of a hierarchical group. They follow a bottom-up or grassroots organizational model rather than a hierarchical or top-down approach.

There is a great deal of variety among professional terrorists, especially if we break them down according to the functions they perform within an organization, roles including that of planners, finance and logistics specialists, couriers, surveillance operatives, bombmakers, et cetera. There is also a great deal of variety within the ranks of grassroots operatives, although it is broken down more by their interaction with formal groups rather than their function. At one end of the grassroots spectrum are the lone wolf operatives, or phantom cells. These are individuals or small groups that become radicalized by jihadist ideology but that do not have any contact with the organization. In theory, the lone wolf/phantom cell model is very secure from an operational security standpoint, but as we've discussed, it takes a very disciplined and driven individual to be a true lone wolf or phantom cell leader, and consequently, we see very few of them.

At the other end of the grassroots spectrum are individuals who have had close interaction with a jihadist group but who never actually joined the organization. Many of them have even attended militant training camps, but they didn't become part of the hierarchical group to the point of swearing an oath of allegiance to the group's leaders and taking orders from the organization. They are not funded and directed by the group.

Larwyn's Linx: Is Citizenship A New Tactic In The War On Terror?

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

Nation

Is Citizenship A New Tactic In The War On Terror?: RS
Saudi National Said Connected to Boston Bombings: Blaze
DHS failed to deport Boston terrorist after 2009 conviction: Clash

Sheriffs, Immigration Officials: No One Consulted Us on Immigration: IMS
Beck: We know the Saudi national was involved in the bombing: Scoop
Paul to Reid: Suspend Immigration Bill Until Security Studied: Tatler

DHS Could Have Prevented Bombing?: Riehl
The Bombs Didn’t Have Permits Either: Commentary
The Victims, In Pictures [Warning: Extremely Graphic]: Jawa

Compare and Contrast: ProWis
I Have Seen Shameful Things: Erickson
Obama political arm strikes fear in GOP: Politico

Economy

Graph shows who is (and who isn't) paying taxes: Mish
Another IRS Scandal; Employees Lie to Get Welfare, Food Stamps: JW
America's Low Labor Participation Rate: Now For the Really Bad News: RCM

Obama’s Labor Department Nominee Is The Embarrassing Gift That Keeps Giving: RS
Boston Taxpayers Helped Finance Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s Mosque: MB
Jim Cramer's Mad Money Picks 2011 and 2012- Performance Recap: PunditTracker

Scandal Central

Key Congressmen Request Classified Briefing on Saudi ‘Person of Interest’ in Boston Bombing: Blaze
A trail of blood from Benghazi to Boston: CFP
Charles Rangel files lawsuit against House members to overturn censure: Malkin

Climate & Energy

13 Worst Predictions Made on Earth Day, 1970: FW
The True and Ugly Story of Earth Day: Shapiro
Just Doing His Part? Earth Day Co-Founder Killed Girlfriend, Had Her Composted: MenRec

Media

A System Adrift: TL in Exile
Geraldo Rivera Apologizes To Muslims For The Boston Marathon Bombings: RWN
US Army Tells Troops to Scrape Bible Verses Off Their Weapons: GWP

Two Russian-Speaking Men: We're Journalists Working for the Boston Globe: Instapundit
Devastating: Philly-area columnist asks a key, yet horrifying, Gosnell question: Twitchy
Boston and shattering a MSM gun meme: DTG

Boston Bombing Suspect Shootout Pictures: OnHand
Earth Day: Barack Obama Hails Barack Obama For His Historic Steps To Save The Planet: WZ
Fox News Tops Ratings During Busy News Week: MediaBistro

World

A Sleeper Cell in America?: JihadWatch
Information Arises on Chiheb Esseghaier, al Qaeda Terrorist Arrested in Canada: PunditPress
RCMP thwart 'major terrorist attack' in Canada 72: Toronto Sun

Islamberg, USA: The Muslim Only Town Where Residents Learn Guerilla Warfare Tactics: KafirCrusaders
Iran smuggling oil to China in violation of sanctions, investigation suggests: WFB
Boston Jihad Bomber Eyed in Jewish Triple Murder: Atlas

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

How Twitter is becoming your first source of investment news: WaPo
Repurposing Photoshop For The Web: Smashing
Your Non-Plastic Bags Are Killing the Earth, Hippies.: RWN

Cornucopia

Watertown 4/19/2013: MRCTVone
Bill? GLAAD Advocate for Change?: MOTUS
Lecturing American Victims, Protecting the Perpetrators: iOTW

Image: JIHADISTS, AS YOUNG AS 5 YEARS OLD, IN TRAINING (Atlas)
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Urgent: Support the Franklin Center's Fight Against Fascism

QOTD: "I believe that any real comprehensive immigration reform must implement strong national security protections. The facts emerging in the Boston Marathon bombing have exposed a weakness in our current system. If we don’t use this debate as an opportunity to fix flaws in our current system, flaws made even more evident last week, then we will not be doing our jobs.

We should not proceed until we understand the specific failures of our immigration system. Why did the current system allow two individuals to immigrate to the United States from the Chechen Republic in Russia, an area known as a hotbed of Islamic extremism, who then committed acts of terrorism? Were there any safeguards? Could this have been prevented? Does the immigration reform before us address this?

There should be hearings in the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee that study the national security aspects of this situation, making sure that our current immigration system gives individuals from high-risk areas of the world heightened scrutiny." --Sen. Rand Paul

Monday, April 22, 2013

BIDEN: Corn Syrup, Coal Power More Dangerous Than Terrorism

Mr. Peabody, set the Wayback Machine to 2007.

BILL MAHER: Senator Biden, forgetting about the upcoming Iowa Caucus for just a moment, which would you honestly say is more like to contribute to the death of your average American: a terrorist strike, high-fructose corn syrup, or air that has too much coal in it?


BIDEN: Air that has too much coal in it, corn syrup next, then a terrorist attack, but that is not to diminish in any way the fact that a terrorist attack is real. It is not an existential threat to bringing down the country, but it does have the capacity still to kill thousands of people. But hundreds of thousands of people die and their lives are shortened because of coal plants, coal-fired plants, and because of corn syrup.

One. Heartbeat. Away. From. The. Presidency.

Stand up, Chuck!


Hat tip: BadBlue News Service.

The 20 Most Stunning Poverty Statistics of the Obama Epoch

It's even worse than we thought.

1 - According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately one out of every six Americans is now living in poverty. The number of Americans living in poverty is now at a level not seen since the 1960s.

2 - When you add in the number of low income Americans it is even more sobering. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 146 million Americans are either “poor” or “low income”.

3 - Today, approximately 20 percent of all children in the United States are living in poverty. Incredibly, a higher percentage of children is living in poverty in America today than was the case back in 1975.


4 - It may be hard to believe, but approximately 57 percent of all children in the United States are currently living in homes that are either considered to be either “low income” or impoverished.

5 - Poverty is the worst in our inner cities. At this point, 29.2 percentof all African-American households with children are dealing with food insecurity.

6 - According to a recently released report, 60 percent of all children in the city of Detroit are living in poverty.

7 - Back in the 1970s, about one out of every 50 Americans was on food stamps. Today, close to one out of every six Americans is on food stamps. Even more shocking is the fact that more than one out of every four children in the United States is enrolled in the food stamp program.

8 - For the first time ever, more than a million public school students in the United States are homeless. That number has risen by 57 percent since the 2006-2007 school year.


9 - Family homelessness in the Washington D.C. region (one of the wealthiest regions in the entire country) has risen 23 percent since the last recession began.

10 - One university study estimates that child poverty costs the U.S. economy 500 billion dollars each year.

11 - At this point, approximately one out of every three children in the U.S. lives in a home without a father.

12 - Families that have a head of household under the age of 30 have a poverty rate of 37 percent.

13 - Today, there are approximately 20.2 million Americans that spend more than half of their incomes on housing. That represents a 46 percent increase from 2001.

14 - About 40 percent of all unemployed workers in America have been out of work for at least half a year.

15 - At this point, one out of every four American workers has a job that pays $10 an hour or less.

16 - There has been an explosion in the number of “working poor” Americans in recent years. Today, about one out of every fourworkers in the United States brings home wages that are at or below the poverty level.

17 - Right now, more than 100 million Americans are enrolled in at least one welfare program run by the federal government. And that does not even include Social Security or Medicare.

18 - An all-time record 47.79 million Americans are now on food stamps. Back when Barack Obama first took office, that number was only sitting at about 32 million.

19 - The number of Americans on food stamps now exceeds the entire population of Spain.

20 - According to one calculation, the number of Americans on food stamps now exceeds the combined populations of “Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.”

In March of 2009 -- yes, a full four years ago -- I warned "Obama's destruction of the economy is intentional."

After 48 months, I see no evidence to the contrary.

His policies represent fiscal suicide. And nothing, not facts, logic, or reason, will dissuade him from his ideology of collectivism that can't work, won't work and has never worked in all of human history.


Slow Down Immigration Reform: An Open Letter to Sen. Harry Reid from Sen. Rand Paul

Guest post by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)

Dear Majority Leader Reid,

As our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to those affected by the tragedy in Boston, I urge you to incorporate the following national security concerns into the comprehensive immigration reform debate. Before Congress moves forward, some important national security questions must be addressed.

I believe that any real comprehensive immigration reform must implement strong national security protections. The facts emerging in the Boston Marathon bombing have exposed a weakness in our current system. If we don't use this debate as an opportunity to fix flaws in our current system, flaws made even more evident last week, then we will not be doing our jobs.

We should not proceed until we understand the specific failures of our immigration system. Why did the current system allow two individuals to immigrate to the United States from the Chechen Republic in Russia, an area known as a hotbed of Islamic extremism, who then committed acts of terrorism? Were there any safeguards? Could this have been prevented? Does the immigration reform before us address this?

There should be hearings in the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee that study the national security aspects of this situation, making sure that our current immigration system gives individuals from high-risk areas of the world heightened scrutiny.

In the wake of 9/11, there was a comprehensive reform of our intelligence gathering system, yet our improved intelligence gathering system did not adequately detect these extremists. We need to understand possible intelligence failures and craft solutions.

Media reports indicate that the deceased bombing suspect was interviewed by the FBI two years ago at the request of a foreign government. We need to know the details of this interview. We need to know if this interview might have given investigators any reason to conclude that this individual might be dangerous or at least worthy of further inquiry. If so, was there an intelligence failure? At the very least, it should be examined.

Media reports indicate that both the bombing suspects were legal permanent residents and one is reported to be a naturalized citizen. We need to make sure that we have safeguards against this type of situation happening again.

In 2002, Congress set up the National Security Registration System (NSEERS), yet it was suspended in 2011 by Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. That system had problems, yet was still based on the practical idea that extra screening is necessary from nations that have a higher population of extremists. Congress might need a similar system updated for current circumstances to be rolled into comprehensive immigration reform.

I would like the US-VISIT/OBIM program studied to see if it actually works, or at least study the process by which we collect and analyze biometric data on immigrants.

Our refugee programs have proven to be a problem. On, January 29, 2013, two Iraqi citizens living in Bowling Green, in my home state of Kentucky, were sentenced to long prison terms for participating in terrorism and providing material support to terrorists while living in the United States. How did this happen? Does the current immigration reform address how this might have happened? We may need more scrutiny when accepting refugees from high-risk nations.

I want to make sure that any new bill addresses the visa entry and exit programs, in addition to refugee programs that have proven problematic in Bowling Green and possibly, if media reports are correct, in Boston.

Finally, do we need to take a hard look at student visas? Should we suspend student visas, or at least those from high-risk areas, pending an investigation into the national security implications of this program?

I respectfully request that the Senate consider the following two conditions as part of the comprehensive immigration reform debate: One, the Senate needs a thorough examination of the facts in Massachusetts to see if legislation is necessary to prevent a similar situation in the future. Two, national security protections must be rolled into comprehensive immigration reform to make sure the federal government does everything it can to prevent immigrants with malicious intent from using our immigration system to gain entry into the United States in order to commit future acts of terror.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

Rand Paul, M.D.


Hat tip: TPNN.

Media Quiz: Possible Motives for Boston Marathon Bombing

In spite of a plethora of evidence, the kooks in media and the Obama administration -- but I repeat myself -- appear thoroughly stumped in ascertaining the motives of the Boston bombers.

For that reason, I offer the following helpful quiz for the administration and its public relations officials in antique media.

Question: What was the motive for the terror attack at the Boston Marathon?

Please select only one answer from the following choices:

Nicki Minaj not returning tweets, which indicts all of American society

Tsarnaev brothers are Yankees fans; took the term "Bronx Bombers" a little too seriously

Sick of TBS, which keeps showing the same "Master of my domain" Seinfeld rerun

Revenge for food poisoning incident at Boylston Street's Mr. Sushi

Bitterly clinging to holy book and pressure cookers

Hope to inspire Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to make the movie of the Tsarnaev Brothers' lives

Six-month trip to Russia centered around study of Rasputin's love-making techniques

That idiot Elvis impersonator stole my Ricin idea

Even Cialis ain't working

Kill infidels in the name of Jihad


Larwyn's Linx: Agents of Influence in the Boston Attacks

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

Nation

Agents of Influence in the Boston Attacks: Floyd
The ‘Co-exist’ Bombers : Steyn
FBI: Boston suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev followed 'radical Islam': LAT

The First 14 Problems With The Immigration Reform Bill: Hope
More arrests in Boston bombing case?: Hot Air
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev ate his gun in boat, may never be able to be questioned: Riehl

Russia asked FBI to investigate Boston bomber just six months ago: Scoop
Flashback: Obama Administration Declares War On Terror Is Over: WZ
I know the Boston bombers: Fox

Ball Status: Dropped: Ace
Terror Expert: Islamist Chatter Indicates “They Are Part of a Cell”: GWP
Caught just in time: 'Bombers Were About to Plant More Devices': Daily Mail

Economy

How Schumer Ran Rings Around Rubio: Power Line
The Age of Aquarius Meets Smith & Wesson: Tatler
The American Melting Pot is Broken: Elephant

Scandal Central

Liberal Professor: We Used “Too Much Force” Capturing Boston Bomber: RWN
Store Owner May Be Prosecuted For Killing An Armed Robber Who Shot At Him: RWN
California Gun Confiscation Bill Passes, Approves $24 Million To Expedite Illegal Gun Seizure: HuffPo

Media

Georgetown University, a cover-up?: A Voice for Men
After Gun Debate, Media Credibility Is Shot: NB
This Man Gets It: Wayne Dupree

Gentry Liberals and Brass Knuckles: The Case of Maureen Dowd: Mead
Americans Avoided MSNBC During Busy Horrific News Week: NB
Koch Brothers Make Play for Media Empire: Blaze

Politically correct epistemic closure counterattacks Boston Marathon bombing reality: LI
Let’s Hope the Next Bomber is a Liberal Journalist: Taki's Mag
April 19th, 2013: III Percent

World

Boston jihad murderer became devout Muslim, grew long beard, hectored friends about Islam: JihadWatch
The Saudi role in the Boston Marathon terror attack: Matzav
Dead Boston Jihadist Tamerlan Tsarnaev: I Don’t Like America: “They Shouldn’t Be In Muslim Countries”: WZ

Boston Bombing Lesson: Ban Niqabs and Burqas: Pipes
More background on Boston Jihad Bomber: "A Path to Paradise": Atlas
Shots Fired! Security at Tennessee Nuke Plant Exchanges Gunfire With Unknown Attacker: LibertyNews

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

Stephen Hawking lays out case for Big Bang without God: NBC Science
Three Quick Ways to Ease Your Transition to Windows 8: PC World
Microsoft CFO Quits: Slashdot

Cornucopia

Muslim Pot-Smoking Bombers: SHN
Coming Soon to a White House Near You: Lame Duck Dynasty: MOTUS
Allen Iverson, NBA icon, struggles with life after basketball: WaPo

Image: Wife of Boston Bomber Dreamed of Joining Peace Corps – Instead She Married a Terrorist
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Get Ready for 2014: Support the Senate Conservatives Fund

QOTD: "Tamerlan Tsarnaev was thrown out of the mosque -- the Islamic Society of Boston, in Cambridge -- about three months ago, after he stood up and shouted at the imam during a Friday prayer service, they said. The imam had held up slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. as an example of a man to emulate...

Enraged, Tamerlan stood up and began shouting... 'You cannot mention this guy because he’s not a Muslim!'..." --Andrew Tangel and Ashley Powers

Sunday, April 21, 2013

LIBERALS SHOCKED, CONFUSED: Heavily-Armed Boston Bombers Didn't Have Gun Permits

Or explosives permits, for that matter.

A perplexed Associated Depress reluctantly reports:

Massachusetts police official say the brothers suspected of bombing the Boston Marathon before having shootouts with authorities didn't have gun permits.

Cambridge Police Commissioner Robert Haas tells The Associated Press in an interview Sunday that neither Tamerlan Tsarnaev (tsahr-NEYE'-ehv) nor his brother Dzhokhar had permission to carry firearms.

...he [also] says the 19-year-old Dzhokhar (joh-KHAR') would have been denied a permit because of his age. Only people 21 or older are allowed gun licenses in Massachusetts.

The suspects were also accused of hijacking a Mercedes on Thursday night.

Haas says the pair didn't release the driver, but he escaped when he was left alone while the two men entered a convenience store.

So let's pass some more gun control laws, right, progressive nitwits?


Hat tip: @SisterToldjah.

TERRORISM AND THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION: Willful Ignorance or ... ?

A rough timeline for your consideration:

03/30/2011 Russa tells FBI: Tamerlan Tsarnaev is a radicalised Islamicist

06/09/2011 Napolitano: No "Logic" In Profiling Muslim Men Under The Age Of 35

02/15/2012 FBI Purges Training Material of “Anti-Islam” Documents

10/01/2012 Tsarnaev enters U.S. after six-month trip to area bordering terror hotbed Chechnya

10/31/2012 Russia asks FBI to investigate Tsarnaev -- the FBI never responded

03/20/2013 Special Travel Benefit for Saudis a "Slap in the Face"

03/21/2013 Imam From Radical Mosque Invited to Speak at Obama’s Boston Service

04/15/2013 Tsarnaev brothers detonate IEDs at Boston Marathon, killing 3 and wounding 200

04/21/2013 'Police may never question marathon bombing suspect', says the Mayor of Boston

The President asserts that officials don't know the bombers' motives and that he'll get to the bottom of it.

Here's a tip that should save him some time: Jihad.

As Andrew McCarthy adroitly notes, no matter how many times the Obama administration tries, "Jihad will not be wished away."

And, as an aside, we still have no earthly idea what Barack Obama did before, during and after the attacks in Benghazi that killed four Americans including an Ambassador.

And now, a public service announcement on immigration from Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Brought to you courtesy of the Sunday talk shows, which iOwnTheWorld watches so you don't have to.


As Dave Cutler wrote recently, we need comprehensive immigration law enforcement. Passing more laws -- when our current ones aren't enforced -- makes no sense, unless you're a Democrat or a miscreant. But I repeat myself.


CHART: The Historical Growth of Government

In good times and bad, government grows.

The ever-encroaching 'might' of the government - or perhaps, put another way, the ever-decreasing need to be gainfully employed or productive...

People who choose to work in government aren't angels, they aren't better than you or I. Many are just as corrupt and greedy as miscreants in the private sector. The difference: government corruption steals liberty from each and every one of us.

That is why government just can't seem to downsize.

In retrospect, it would appear that the 16th Amendment -- which legalized the federal income tax in 1913 -- provided the jet fuel for the Beltway's power-hungry elite.

The result? As the government expands, individual liberty contracts.