Sunday, April 28, 2013

Remember hearing that 90% of Americans want gun control? Well, those claims were pig excrement.

Economist John Lott eviscerates the propagantician known as "Lies, Damn Lies and" Nate Silver (which is the nickname he prefers, I hear):

Despite assurances by the likes of Nate Silver that these are solid polls showing "Overwhelming majorities of 80 to 90 percent of the public say they favor background checks," 

I have previously noted my skepticism of claims.  To me, it wasn't too surprising that the Senate voted down the gun control bill about 10 days ago.  My concern is that people were really just being asked about whether they wanted to keep criminals from getting guns, not about the particular legislation being voted on by the Senate.  Well, now there is another poll by the PEW Research Center that I think is much more accurate.  It asks people whether they are happy that the Senate gun control bill was stopped.  Apparently, both Republicans and Independents are generally happy that it was stopped.  My guess is that Republicans should pay a lot more attention to what Independents and Republicans wanted than Democrats who wouldn't never have voted for the Republicans anyway.  It looks to me that Republicans voted the way that there constituents wanted.  So Republicans shouldn't really care that among all voters the poll showed support of 47 to 39 percent.  They should look at the results by political affiliation.

Many, such as the New York Times, paint a picture of Senators [like Max Baucus] who both simultaneously opposed the will of 90 percent of their voters and at the same time quake in fear of the NRA... Note in Baucus' case, he is retiring and yet he still voted against the so-called "universal background check" bill.  Might [the Times'] Mr. Nocera re-examine his piece?

By the way, the Nate Silver analysis of how Senators would vote on the Manchin-Toomey bill has sone major problem, he uses a very unreliable measure of gun ownership from Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.  If you use a bad survey, you get a lot of noise and it makes it more likely that you won't get a statistically significant result.  I also like the way he runs a regression after the fact rather than predicting how people were going to vote before the Senate vote.  Letting him play around with different factors (we have no idea how many regressions that he ran before he decided to report the one that he did) makes the predictive power of that regression pretty useless.

It's back to the propaganda drawing board for you, Mr. Silver!


Hat tip: BadBlue Gun News.

Larwyn's Linx: Near-Suicidal Immigration Policies

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

Nation

Near-Suicidal Immigration Policies: Hanson
The Collapsing of the American Skull: Steyn
Golf by Day, Party by Night: Obama Celebrates 120th Round of Golf: Dossier

Obama Taqiyya: Collins
The Amnesty bill is a mockery of the rule of law: RS
Chair of House Intel Committee: Bombers had Outside Help: WZ

Court Rules Election Fraud Got Obama On The Ballot In 2008: Hawkins
Will Doug Kmiec Please Stand Up?: Adams
Amnesty bill would ease terrorists’ path -- Kansas Secretary of State: Kansas

Economy

Paying the Jizya to Welfare Terrorist Tamerlan Tsarnaev: Corner
Confirmed: Majority of Illegal Immigrants Receive Government Welfare: GWP
WaPo: Obama Defense Cuts Slamming Economy: TAB

Shocker: No One Wants to Buy Student Loan-backed Securities: Mead
Is Capitalism Killing Our Morals and Economy?: Mish
Front-Line Observations From A Seasoned Gold & Silver Bullion Dealer: ZH

Scandal Central

Gowdy: Benghazi hearings ‘coming quickly’, promises explosive evidence: Scoop
DHS Training Video Depicts Gun Owners As “Militia Members” Planning Terror Attacks: WZ
Gohmert: Muslim Brotherhood Is Guiding Obama In Boston Bombings Investigation: ThinkRegress

Climate & Energy

Al Gore, please call your office: iOTW
The Media Just Doesn't Get Science, Part 16,331: Ace
ND oil production has increased more than 600%: SAB

Media

Help me find Media Matters’ apology to Andrew Breitbart on Pigford: LI
FEATURE: McCain Jauntily Raked Again (and Still Not on McCain's Blog-roll!): RSM
Sarah Palin Strongly Condemns White House Correspondence Dinner on Twitter: Sooper

MUST WATCH: Judge Jeanine’s EPIC smackdown on the mother of the Boston jihadi bombers: Scoop
Obama at WH Correspondents Dinner: 'I'm Not the Muslim Socialist I Used To Be' : RightPundit
The Swaggies: White House “correspondents” dinner: Fausta

Liberals Only Seem to Care When Kids Are Killed By Bullets: RWN
McRINO Teams Up With Biden To Push Gun Control: WZ
Conan O’Brien Blasts Drudge, Bush, Romney, CNN, The NRA, Matthews at WHCD: Mediaite

World

Krauthammer on border security: Ask Obama why he’s got a fence around the White House: DC
There's no argument between peace and war: Reagan
Spain and France Reach Record Unemployment: Mead

Officials: Russia Had Wiretap on Bomb Suspect, Discussed Jihad With Mother: RightPundit
‘Iran already past nuclear red line,’ expert says: Times of Israel
Ground Zero Mosqueteer Desecrates Remains Found at Triumphal Mosque Site: Atlas

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

My two-week review of Google Glass: it all depends on the price: Scoble
Vermont Telephone Company's gigabit internet service is live, half the price of Google Fiber: Engadget
Hashtags Gone Wrong: 6 Examples of Unfortunate Hashtag Choices: SocMedToday

Cornucopia

White House Correspondents’ Dinner: Waxing or Waning?: MOTUS
Critters and Kids: iOTW
Every Lad’s Dilemma: 1 Week Partying In Ibiza Or A Hot Summer Convertible?: CarThrottle

Image: White House Correspondents’ Dinner: Waxing or Waning?
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Support the Franklin Center's Fight Against Fascism

QOTD: "The Tsarnaevs’ mom, now relocated from Cambridge to Makhachkala in delightful Dagestan, told a press conference the other day that she regrets ever having gotten mixed up with those crazy Yanks: “I would prefer not to have lived in America,” she said.

Not, I’m sure, as much as the Richard family would have preferred it. Eight-year-old Martin was killed; his sister lost a leg; and his mother suffered serious brain injuries. What did the Richards and some 200 other families do to deserve having a great big hole blown in their lives? Well, according to the New York Times, they and you bear collective responsibility. Writing on the op-ed page, Marcello Suarez-Orozco, dean of the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, and Carola Suarez-Orozco, a professor at the same institution, began their ruminations thus:

“The alleged involvement of two ethnic Chechen brothers in the deadly attack at the Boston Marathon last week should prompt Americans to reflect on whether we do an adequate job assimilating immigrants who arrive in the United States as children or teenagers.' Alternatively, the above opening sentence should “prompt Americans to reflect” on whether whoever’s editing America’s newspaper of record these days “does an adequate job” in choosing which pseudo-credentialed experts it farms out its principal analysis on terrorist atrocities to." --Mark Steyn

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Someone Break the News to Marco Rubio: Amnesty Costs 70 Times More Than Enforcement

I respect Marco Rubio. I supported him in his Senate run. Most importantly, I believe he means well.

But the allure of power has proven too strong for him. Ensconced in the Beltway Bubble, Rubio's fallen for what I call "the legislation delusion". Roughly translated, it is the belief that complex, multi-faceted legislation can solve humanity's problems.

Obamacare is the quintessential example of law run amok: it represents tens of thousands of pages of regulations, arbitrary thresholds, segmentation of families into static classes, and other symptoms of a master planner's delusions.

What the Statist terms "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" is similarly -- and fatally -- flawed. It represents dizzyingly complex regulations, dependent upon arbitrary conditions, restrictions, and dictates all requiring millions of pages of flowcharts. It is the product of the proverbial "Mastermind": one who believes he or she can better orchestrate mankind than the entirety of the civil society.

And, as history has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, Masterminds must always turn a blind eye to the financial ramifications of their plans. One need only review the cost of Amnesty.

The cost of amnesty: $999 billion. The cost of attrition by enforcement: as little as $14 billion. Amnesty would cost up to 70 times as much as enforcing existing law.

$999 billion cost of Amnesty (Mass Legalization)

Source: The Heritage Foundation
Summary: The Heritage Foundation issued two studies in 2007 pointing out that the big problem with mass legalization is that (a) most illegal aliens are low-skilled and therefore do not earn enough money to pay enough taxes to cover the government benefits they receive; and (b), amnesty would eventually make them eligible for the full array of welfare and medical benefits offered by local, state and federal governments. They found the cost of allowing illegal aliens to remain in the United States, and eventually to become citizens, would be $3.7 trillion through the year 2056. That works out to a present cost of $1 trillion, at a 5 percent discount rate. In other words, immediately upon passage of an amnesty bill, the United States government would need to put $1 trillion into an investment earning 5 percent per year if it were honest about paying for the costs of amnesty.

$14 billion cost of attrition through enforcement option #1.

Source: Congressional Budget office Estimate for H.R. 4437.
Summary: This option is the bill H.R. 4437 sponsored by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner that passed the House of Representatives in 2005. This bill would have been so effective in combating illegal immigration that some 1 million illegal aliens marched in cities around the United States on May 1, 2006 to protest it. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would cost $1.9 billion over the 5 years 2006-2010, which we extrapolate out to the year 2056 using a linear model to account for cost increases. Then we use a discount rate of 5 percent to bring the future costs back to a single present cost figure. The resulting cost was actually $13.5 billion, which we round up to $14 billion to facilitate comparison to the other cost figures.

$177 billion cost of attrition through enforcement option #2.

Source: Congressional Budget Office Estimate for H.R. 4088.
Summary: This option is the SAVE Act (Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement Act) that was introduced in the House of Representatives in 2007. This is a strong attrition through enforcement bill. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would cost $40.7 billion over the 10 years 2009-2018, which we extrapolate out to the year 2056 using a linear model to account for cost increases. Then we use a discount rate of 5 percent to bring the future costs back to a single present cost figure.

We conservatives are immigrants. We are first-generation immigrants or the descendants thereof. But we, as opposed to those whom the "Gang of Eight" would legalize, have followed a lawful process. We and our forebears have come to America's shores through Ellis Island and other ports of entry, applied for citizenship, and have become the law-abiding citizens that have shaped the country.

That is not what "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" represents: it instead grants legal status to those who have broken the law, stolen their way into the country without background checks, without any vetting of their connection to drug cartels or terrorism, and without even a modicum of examination.

There is only one acceptable response to the Gang of Eight's master plans. Seal the border, prove it is sealed over a substantial period of time, and then -- and only then -- will the American people countenance "amnesty" or whatever term the Statist uses to describe legalized lawbreaking.


THAT MUST BE ONE BORING PREACHER: 7-year-old boy steals dad's car to avoid church

If this kid applies as much energy to his schoolwork, he's gonna be one successful dude.

Police in Utah were in for a shock when they spotted an erratic driver recently. After following the white Dodge Intrepid for a spell, the pursuing officers watched as the driver parked the car, jumped from behind the wheel and ran into his father's house. Standard fare, you say? Not quite.


The driver was actually a seven-year-old boy who had pilfered his dad's keys to skip out on going to church. The officers opted to let the parents handle disciplining the youngster rather than subject him to the legal system, but cautioned the dad to keep his car keys in a more secure location in the future.

Good call.

You can check out video from the chase for yourself... The police say the kid did a pretty good job of keeping the car under control, but did run one stop sign. As Ricky Bobby would say, "I wanna go fast."

How come girls never engage in these kinds of capers? Why is it always boys?


Hat tip: BadBlue Car News.

Maryland: Another day, another burqa-assisted armed robbery

I blame Bush.

BEL AIR, Md. – A burqa-wearing man pretending to be a woman is in police custody after an armed robbery and dramatic police chase Friday afternoon.

Police say around 3 p.m. Harford County Sheriff’s deputies were called to Third Base Liquors on South Fountain Green Road in Bel Air for a report of a robbery. When officers arrived witnesses told them a man wearing a burqa covering his entire face except for his eyes entered the store and asked the clerk about beer.

Police say the man altered his voice to sound like a woman and chose a case of beer. As the clerk leaned over to pick up the beer the fake lady flashed a gun and announced a hold up.

The clerk gave the burqa-wearing female impersonator an undisclosed amount of cash and the robber left the store and jumped into a white SUV.

Police say an alert passerby noticed something strange, copied down the tag number and reported it to authorities. A short time later police saw the SUV on Rt. 40 at Rt. 755 in Edgewood and attempted to stop it. As the Divine wannabe fled west on Rt. 40, he clipped a car and lost control. The man was critically injured and taken to Shock Trauma for treatment.

The driver has not yet been identified and detectives are investigating if this robbery was connected to an armed robbery that had occurred earlier today in the 2400 block of Churchville Road in Bel Air. Witnesses in that case also reported a white SUV as a suspect vehicle.

Those damn Militant Quakers!


Hat tip: BadBlue News.

Old People Just Don't Get the 'Green' Thing [Papa B]

Papa B:

In the queue at the store, the cashier told an older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment."

He was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that old lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?

Papa B adds, "Remember: don't make old people mad. We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to piss us off."


Related: How did we survive?.

ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER: All 7 Billion Humans on Earth Have a Civil Right to U.S. Citizenship

If there has ever been a more malevolent Attorney General in American history, I'd like to know about it.

Attorney General Eric Holder told MALDEF, the Mexican American Defense and Educational Fund on April 24th, that he believes illegal aliens have a “civil right” to be put on a path to US citizenship.

HOLDER: Creating a pathway to earned citizenship for the 11 million unauthorized immigrants in this country is essential. The way we treat our friends and neighbors who are undocumented – by creating a mechanism for them to earn citizenship and move out of the shadows – transcends the issue of immigration status. This is a matter of civil and human rights. It is about who we are as a nation. And it goes to the core of our treasured American principle of equal opportunity.


It’s also about the law and whether it and our sovereignty mean anything or not. Holder answers in the negative — they don’t. Anyone anywhere in the world can come here by hook or by crook, and crooks like Holder will make them citizens.

Consider the import of an Attorney General refusing to enforce our nation's most important laws: those underpinning equal protection, national sovereignty and national security. We have a government that intentionally ignores its own laws in pursuit of centralizing more power. There's an adjective for governments like this: tyrannical.

Had we statesmen or real leaders running the House of Representatives -- not clownish, cowardly buffoons like John Boehner and Eric Cantor -- Eric Holder would have been impeached long ago.


Hat tip: BadBlue News Service.

Still Life with Interloper

Spotted at Matt Dawson's Twitter feed:


Click to explodify

Larwyn's Linx: Pigford: NYT Pegs Obama for Vote-Buying Scheme

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

Nation

Pigford: NYT Pegs Obama for Vote-Buying Scheme: Breitbart
Pigford Scam: “This is institutionalized corruption of the highest order!”: Scoop
White House in Full Retreat as FAA Sequester Stunt Backfires: Benson

Obama to Largest Abortion Provider: 'God Bless You': WS
Rubio struggles to explain why ICE had no input into Amnesty bill: Breitbart
'Climate of Fear'? Obama's ATF pick facing probe over retaliation claim: Fox

Holder: Amnesty For Illegals a “Civil And Human Right”: Tatler
Republicans In Congress to Push AMMO ACT to Limit DHS Purchases: RWN
California May Be First State To Allow Non-Citizens To Serve On Juries: FNL

Gutsy Call on That Miranda Warning: Evidence of 3rd Bomber: Ace
White House Gets the Private Sector to do its Anti-Gun Dirty Work: RWN
Politico: Obama’s Hubris Problem: WZ

Economy

The Real Risks of Amnesty: Heather Mac Donald
Why ammo is getting so expensive: CDN
Fast-food, retail strikes echo Occupy: ChiBiz

Scandal Central

Obama, Clinton Campaign Officials Convicted of Election Fraud: Tatler
‘Five Jihadists Have Reached Their Targets in the United States Under Barack Obama’: Cry and Howl
Shock and surprise: Diane Feinstein’s husband’s company lands big high-speed rail contract: Toldjah

Climate & Energy

Pardon My English II: Vodkapundit

Media

Why we can't have a "reasonable discussion" on the Second Amendment: Denninger
Fumbling Bureaucratic Incompetence: JPA
Barbara Buono says Chris Matthews made her feel sexually objectified: FAM

Andrew Breitbart vindicated on Pigford after years of attacks from Media Matters and others: LI
Rubio hit hard after inviting comments on immigration bill: Exam
More Dirty Web Tricks: Vodkapundit

World

The First Terrorist War: American Digest
Obama’s Only “Game Changers” Come During Election Season: GayPatriot
Time to confront Obama: Glick

"I am an informant... Talibans are walking freely right here in the soil of America right now, right now": JihadWatch
10 Lessons from Cyprus: American
USDA Flyer: We Don't Check Immigration Status for Food Stamps: Breitbart

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

Tor Needs Bridges: Schneier
AT&T launches its internet of things effort and it’s pretty big: GigaOm
'Your infernal cable pipes come up from Hell, Virgin!': Register

Cornucopia

End of Week Buyer’s Remorse Roundup: MOTUS
Planned Parenthood Awards ‘Margaret Sanger’ Award to Short German's Solution to Undesirable Children: Sooper
Off-Duty US Sailor Knocks Out Dubai Rapist With Her American Thighs: Tatler

Image: The Eighteenth of April in Seventy-Five
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Get Ready for 2014: Support the Senate Conservatives Fund

QOTD: "Due to American pressure on Israel not to act, and due to the White House’s rejection of clearcut reports about Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, Iran has crossed the threshold. Iran will be a nuclear power unless its uranium enrichment installations and other nuclear sites are destroyed or crippled. Now.

True, the Americans set a different red line for Iran than Israel. They say they will not allow Iran to assemble a nuclear bomb. But to believe that the US has the capacity and the will to prevent Iran from climbing the top rung on the nuclear ladder is to believe in the tooth fairy – (see, for instance, North Korea)." --Caroline Glick

Friday, April 26, 2013

TIME TO BAN 3-D PRINTERS? First printed handgun imminent

I wonder what Bloomberg -- the idiot mayor, not the news service -- thinks of this?

Cody Wilson, the founder of Defense Distributed, says he is just two weeks away from 3D printing an entire handgun, out of ABS plastic. Once Wilson has printed the gun and ensured that it works, the weapon’s 3D model files will be uploaded to the internet and open sourced — so that you and I can print an almost-undetectable firearm.


Creating a 3D-printed gun, and contributing the model files to the public domain, is the culmination of DefDist’s Wiki Weapon project. The Wiki Weapon project was created in mid-2012 by Cody Wilson, with the lofty but perhaps slightly misguided [sic] goal of fulfilling every American citizen’s Second Amendment right to bear arms. Back in July 2012, DefDist produced a 3D-printed a lower receiver for an AR-15 rifle, in January of this year it 3D-printed a 30-round AR-15 magazine, and then in March DefDist finally received its federal firearms license, which is required to legally make and sell guns. Now, it seems, according to an interview with Mashable, Wilson is almost ready to release an entirely 3D-printed handgun.

Tyranny just got a skōsh harder.

After all, if the people can't be trusted with guns, why should the government?


Hat tip: BadBlue Gun News.

TED CRUZ: Surprise Visit to the Freedomworks Texas Summit

Senator Ted Cruz made a surprise visit to the Freedomworks Texas summit earlier today:

Highlights:

  •  We're winning and it's because of what folks like us are doing
  •  The Obama people tried to protest the Senator's office in Dallas and Tea Party folks outdrew them 3:1.
  • There are few things elected officials like less than getting heat from their constituents.
  • "We've had five or six lunches with a bunch of Republican Senators standing up and looking at Rand [Paul] and Mike [Lee] and me and yelling at us at the top of their lungs...I mean really upset...and they say 'look, why did you do this, as a result of what you did, when I go home my constituents are yelling at me that I've gotta stand up on principle!"
    • I'm really not making that up.
  • Before you did that [threatened to filibuster gun control legislation] the politics were great, the Dems were the bad guys and the Republicans were the good guys; now we just look like a bunch of squishes.
    • "Well, there's an alternative, you could just not be a bunch of squishes."
  •  Gun control isn't over.
  • How do you get something bad passed in Washington?!?
    • You do it fast and in the middle of night.
  • Success begets success; if we stand up once, we'll do it again.

God Bless Constitutional Conservatives like Ted Cruz. Say a prayer for men and women like him tonight.


Hat tip: Cahnman's Musings.

Copyright-challenged Moonbat Unveils Anti-Bill of Rights Poster, Ace Promptly Pimp-Slaps It Into Oblivion

I refer, of course, to convicted copyright violator Shepard Fairey, who has unveiled a new poster: this one demonizing the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.


Over at Ace o' Spades, John E hands the ludicrous kook Fairey a nice tall glass of Shut Up Juice:


Hey, Shmep: you want to put some ice on that?


WHO NEEDS AMNESTY? Obama Administration Conspiring with Mexican Government to Rip Off American Taxpayers

If there's an award for real investigative journalism, this year Judicial Watch should win it hands down. Its investigations into rampant criminality by the Obama administration culminated this week with a truly appalling revelation: the White House and the Mexican government are working together to rip off the American taxpayer.

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch today released documents detailing how the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is working with the Mexican government to promote participation by illegal aliens in the U.S. food stamp program.

The promotion of the food stamp program, now known as “SNAP” (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), includes a Spanish-language flyer provided to the Mexican Embassy by the USDA with a statement advising Mexicans in the U.S. that they do not need to declare their immigration status in order to receive financial assistance. Emphasized in bold and underlined, the statement reads, “You need not divulge information regarding your immigration status in seeking this benefit for your children.”

...The documents obtained by Judicial Watch show that USDA officials are working closely with their counterparts at the Mexican Embassy to widely broaden the SNAP program in the Mexican immigrant community, with no effort to restrict aid to, identify, or apprehend illegal immigrants who may be on the food stamp rolls...

...“The revelation that the USDA is actively working with the Mexican government to promote food stamps for illegal aliens should have a direct impact on the fate of the immigration bill now being debated in Congress,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “These disclosures further confirm the fact that the Obama administration cannot be trusted to protect our borders or enforce our immigration laws. And the coordination with a foreign government to attack the policies of an American state is contemptible.”

Who needs Amnesty? The Obama administration and the Mexican government are collaborating in bankrupting this nation. Each year, hundreds of billions of dollars are stolen through rampant waste, fraud and abuse of America's wealth redistribution programs. And the White House is actively encouraging it.

Our nation is going broke and the Democrat Party is actively trying to send it over the cliff.


Hat tip: BadBlue News Service.

Would-be Despot Michael Bloomberg Says That He and the Rest of Big Government Can Ignore the Constitution

Guest post by Investors Business Daily

Tyranny: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says that in light of the Boston Marathon bombing, our interpretation of the Constitution will "have to change." Americans should be appalled at such a statement.

But they're not. His comments "we live in a complex world where you're going to have to have a level of security greater ... our laws and our interpretation of the Constitution, I think, have to change" have drawn yawns.
More frightening than his statement is the nagging fact that the public has not risen up in opposition to his declaration. A free nation should respond to such a crude threat to its liberties with righteous anger.

But we're not such a free nation anymore. Long ago much of the country changed its interpretation of the Constitution. To many now, it simply means what they want it to mean, not what it actually says.

Limits have been ignored, federalism evaded, wealth seized and redistributed, property confiscated, private affairs invaded and businesses subjugated. Yes, we've even endured swarms of federal officers harassing our people, and eating out our substance.

These acts were done, however, quietly and gradually. No one announced that the Constitution was going to be violated, that our liberty would be infringed upon.

But Bloomberg, who doesn't care one hoot about constitutional or God-given liberties, telegraphs an intention to breach the Constitution and no one is scared?

Maybe that would change if the right questions were asked, such as:

Whose interpretation does the mayor suggest we follow? And if the question is simply which group gets to decide, then aren't we living in a land not of law but of force?

What about those who disagree with the new interpretations? Is it just tough luck for them?

Should the dissenters simply sit down, shut up and accept whatever the political elites hand down?

Bloomberg's explanation is that he merely wants to protect Americans from a "very dangerous world" where "we know there are people who want to take away our freedoms." Freedoms, Mr. Mayor, such as the choice of soft drink size, the voluntary and peaceful intake of salt and trans fats, or the right to own firearms?

Maybe there are enemies out there who want to take away our freedoms. But clearly, and sadly, we have political leaders who want to do the same thing.

Seems like terrorists win either way.


Hat tips: Investors Business Daily and Nate Beeler Cartoons.

The 10 Least Known Facts About Obamacare

A recent article in Yahoo! Finance ("Business Owners Confused as Ever by Obamacare") inspired our enterprising cub reporter Biff Spackle to assemble the following little-known Obamacare facts.

10. In New York City, you lose your right to health care by consuming a Chili Dog
9. All insurance plans come with a free weekly newsletter from Dr. Kevorkian
8. In low tier plan, anasthesia administered orally via shots of Jim Beam
7. Employers with 50 or more workers required to offer health insurance or face waterboarding
6. Overflow E.R. patients in Florida automatically airlifted to Cuba for treatment
5. All of your personal health records available to you via Dropbox.com
4. Sex changes are free of charge, but reversing sex changes requires a $20 co-pay
3. Over-the-counter drugs must be purchased from a company owned by Nancy Pelosi's husband
2. Couples earning more than $250,000 are prohibited from having more than one child
1. Any elective surgery requires a suppository

All of these are 100 percent verified accurate, as far as you know.


Hat tip: BadBlue Money News.

Larwyn's Linx: Conclusive Proof That Obamacare Is Brilliant Legislation

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

Nation

Conclusive Proof That Obamacare Is Brilliant Legislation: Mead
Source: Tsarnaev brothers had 7 more bombs to set off in NYC: Riehl
Feds Further Investigating Role of Bomber's Wife: WS

Levin: Holder to blame for prematurely Mirandizing bomber, foiling FBI: Scoop
Worst. Political. Class. Ever.: Q&O
DOD Launches Urban Assault Training In Chicago Suburb: GWP

MA Governor shuts down welfare probe citing terrorists' right to privacy: Scoop
NYC: Privacy Off the Table, We Need More Cameras: Reason
Ron Paul Sabotages Son’s Race with Fringe Advisory Board: Mead

Economy

USDA Sponsoring U.S. Food Stamp Program for Illegal Aliens: JW
American Families Cannot Afford the Cost of Amnesty: Foundry
Gov. Pence: 5 percent income tax cut largest in Indiana history: IndyChannel

Confirmed: Henry Blodget is an ass-kissing idiot: Denninger
It's A Bit Early To Declare A Winner In The Economic Debate: ZH
Record Number of US Households on Food Stamps: Tatler

Shareholder asks GE to give back taxpayer profits: Exam
27 GOP Senators Embrace Internet Taxes: Find Out Who: Scoop
Meet The Gang Leader Who Fathered 5 Kids With 4 Of His Prison Guards: RWN

Scandal Central

White House: Clinton’s 'Signature' on Benghazi Docs Doesn't Mean She Knew of Them: CNS
FBI, Oakland police make arrest after raiding building: KGO-TV Channel 7
Just when you thought sequester nonsense couldn't get worse: Budget Cuts Could Delay 'Boston Bomber' Trial: ABC

Climate & Energy

Hooray! Warmists Say Ocean Is Eating 90% Of The Warmth: RWN

Media

'This is what revolutions are made of!' Levin BLASTS Congress for exempting themselves from Obamacare: Scoop
Donna Brazile Praises Bush’s Katrina Efforts, Dems Become Apoplectic: Tatler
‘Every voice counts’: Michelle Malkin wins Breitbart Award: Twitchy

From Melting Pot to Pressure Cooker: RS
Salon Clown David Sirota: Yeah, We Totally Deserve Terrorist Attacks: Tatler
Why We Can't Have A "Reasonable Discussion" On 2A: Denninger

World

BREAKING: SYRIA USES CHEMICAL WEAPONS. Does this MEAN WAR?: RWN
Thanks to Islam, Kentucky Derby a virtual police state: Creeping
Saudi Arabia deports man for being 'too handsome' and 'irresistible to women: FirstPost

Vienna: Muslims demonstrate outside U.S. Embassy in favor of the Boston jihad bomber: JihadWatch
Gun Debate: U.S. Murder Rate Actually Low Worldwide: CFIF
Iraq Fears Rise as Clashes Spread to Northern City: ABC

A National Security History Lesson for Marco Rubio: Malkin
What Motivated the Boston Bomber’s Trip to Russia?: Foundry
Attention, Michael Scheuer: Egyptian Muslims murdering Christians with impunity: JihadWatch

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

Nutrino Is A Virtual Nutritionist For iOS: TechCrunch
Samsung Profits Soar on Phones, Tablets; High Hopes for Galaxy S4: CIO
Judge rules that Motorola's patents aren't worth the $4 billion a year it demanded from Microsoft: Verge

Cornucopia

Michael Shannon Reads the Insane Delta Gamma Sorority Letter: FunnyOrDie (NSFW)
Remembering the Armenian Genocide: WZ
Shoot or Don't Shoot?: Ace

Image: Americans for Prosperity protests FAA furloughs and flight delays
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Get Ready for 2014: Support the Senate Conservatives Fund

QOTD: "The administration furloughed federal workers whose absences would cause the most pain to the public. ObamaCare officials, meanwhile, are still at work, though they should have been the first ones sent home.

In an effort to sour the public on the automatic cuts of sequestration, and try to get the voters to blame Republicans for the deal that was President Obama's idea, the administration has furloughed air traffic controllers — leading to more than 1,000 delays since the furloughs were implemented last weekend — and canceled White House tours, causing disruptions, inconvenience and frustration for the public." --Investors Business Daily

Thursday, April 25, 2013

AT LAST, SOME IN CONGRESS ASK: Why does the DHS need 1,000 more rounds of ammo per person than the U.S. Army?

Kudos to Representative Jason Chaffetz for calling out a Department of Homeland Security that appears to resemble President Obama's "Civilian National Security Force" more and more each day.

Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz said Thursday that the Department of Homeland Security is using roughly 1,000 rounds of ammunition more per person than the U.S. Army, as he and other lawmakers sharply questioned DHS officials on their "massive" bullet buys.

"It is entirely ... inexplicable why the Department of Homeland Security needs so much ammunition," Chaffetz, R-Utah, said at a hearing.

The hearing itself was unusual, as questions about the department's ammunition purchases until recently had bubbled largely under the radar -- on blogs and in the occasional news article. But as the Department of Homeland Security found itself publicly defending the purchases, lawmakers gradually showed more interest in the issue.

...Chaffetz, who chairs one of the House oversight subcommittees holding the hearing Thursday, revealed that the department currently has more than 260 million rounds in stock. He said the department bought more than 103 million rounds in 2012 and used 116 million that same year -- among roughly 70,000 agents.

Comparing that with the small-arms purchases procured by the U.S. Army, he said the DHS is churning through between 1,300 and 1,600 rounds per officer, while the U.S. Army goes through roughly 350 rounds per soldier... He noted that is "roughly 1,000 rounds more per person."

Drones over America. Gunships over Miami. Citizens who believe in the U.S. Constitution labeled as "extreme right wing terrorists."

Hair standing up on the back of your neck yet? If not, it should be.


IT'S COME TO THIS: Law enforcement officials now suing their bosses to be allowed to enforce the law

I refer, of course, to the most lawless administration in American history.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano does not have the authority to refuse to enforce laws that require illegal immigrants to face deportation, according to the federal judge hearing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement union’s lawsuit against DHS.

“The court finds that DHS does not have discretion to refuse to initiate removal proceedings [when the law requires it],” U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor said Wednesday, per Business Week. O’Connor asked DHS and the ICE union to offer additional arguments before he makes a final ruling on the legality of President Obama’s “deferred action on childhood arrivals” program, which invoked prosecutorial discretion as a means of allowing people to stay in the country if they would have qualified for amnesty under the Dream Act, which never passed Congress.

The judge’s comments come one day after Napolitano scolded the union, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Gang of Eight’s immigration bill, for challenging the policy she and Obama have implemented.

“There are tensions with union leadership, unfortunately,” Napolitano told Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., on Tuesday. “Here’s what I expect as a former prosecutor and attorney general: that is that law enforcement agents will enforce the law in accordance with the guidance they are given [by] their superiors.”

In response to the court, Senator Jeff Sessions reamed out Napolitano for her lawless behavior.

[The federal judge] said that the Secretary [of the Department of Homeland Security] doesn’t have the ability to direct agents not to do what Congress has explicitly required them to do...

This Secretary has proven that she’s not willing to have the laws of this country enforced. And has even been sued by her own law enforcement officers. This is just a dramatic example of the problems I’ve been hearing from federal law officers. They needed to be respected, they needed to be affirmed in their duties on a daily basis out confronting people who are unlawfully here... And they’ve been undermined in that. And their morale has plummeted. And the Secretary hasn’t even talked to them...

I’ll tell you who else hasn’t talked to them, the people who wrote this bill. Chris Crane, the head of the Association, wrote, called, publicly asked the opportunity to participate in these discussions and at least tell them what the real world is like. But no, they had the Chamber of Commerce, they had the Ag people, they had certain union officials, they even had La Raza—they’ve all been meeting and talking. But not the people who are out there struggling every day trying to make sure we have a lawful system.

This administration. Is. Out. Of. Freaking. Control.


A single graph that depicts a society spiraling into the dustbin of history

Why work when you can just collect disability? After all, last month a record 8.9 million took advantage of impossible-to-verify "ailments" like back pain and mood disorders.

...Today, 6.5 workers are on disability for every 100 who have a job. That's double the ratio from two decades ago. The number of people on disability has climbed almost sixfold since 1970.

That influx has caused SSDI costs to climb faster than its dedicated payroll tax revenues. The program has been running a deficit since 2009, and will be insolvent by 2016, according to the program's administrators...


...Last year, the federal government paid $135 billion in disability benefits, which is more money than it devoted to food stamps and welfare combined.

And because those on disability are eligible for Medicare benefits after two years, the sharp rise in SSDI enrollment has put a huge strain on Medicare's budget, costing the program $80 billion in 2012, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

In other words, one-sixth of Medicare's budget now goes to pay benefits for working-age disabled.

Record numbers on disability, a large percentage of which are fraudulent. Record numbers on food stamps, many of those fraudulent. Record welfare payments, many of those also fraudulent. Record income tax credit fraud. In fact, government officials have documented hundreds of billions of fraudulent payments each year laced throughout the federal government's massive, unsustainable wealth redistribution programs.

One might call this the Obama-Krugman-Blodget recipe for national suicide.

But I'll be charitable and simply ask: what is this, the fourth annual "Summer of Recovery"?


When the Next Attack Comes

When, not if, the next attack comes, I would like you to remember the following letter and the response to it by the Obama administration.


In total, nearly 50 Islamic and Islamist front groups signed the letter. The administration's response was horrifying and, given this president, utterly predictable.

Secret briefings by the FBI about its purge of counter-terror training documents and the identities of the outside experts who helped direct it have only heightened the concerns by some members of Congress that the agency is trading national security for political correctness...

...The FBI began reviewing all of its counter-terror training materials last September in response to media reports describing controversial statements in documents and lectures, allegedly including the assertion that devout Muslims are more likely to become terrorists.

Islamic and Arab-American groups protested and demanded removal of all references they deemed to be anti-Islamic. Within days, the bureau launched a review to ensure all FBI training materials are factual and do not rely on stereotypes.

To lead its review, the bureau created a five-member advisory panel that includes three outside Islamic experts, whose identities the agency will not disclose publicly.

After six months, almost 900 pages of documents were removed from the curriculum. Those are the materials members of Congress have been reviewing, but cannot discuss.

How much collateral damage is acceptable before Islamofascism is placed back on the required reading list for national security personnel?

We know that blowing up the Boston Marathon -- killing and wounding hundreds -- isn't likely to garner attention from Democrats, establishment RINOs and vintage media.

So, if you would, please hazard a guess:

How many dead Americans are acceptable to the Obama administration before it is forced at address the Jihadists who revel in the deaths of innocents?

A. 57 - one for each state.
B. 100 - round number could represent "grim milestone".
C. 3,000 - more than 9/11.
D. 10,000 - in other words, detonating a small nuclear device.
E. 1,000,000 - detonating a large nuclear device, or multiple devices and/or an EMP.
F. Other - some other noteworthy attack (e.g., taking out MSNBC)

Answer in the comments, if you would.


Hat tip: Mark Levin.