Quote of the Day: “The bride at every wedding, the corpse at every funeral, and the baby at every christening.”-Glen Reynolds on Obama from Obama enters the Republican race in Iowa
Pictures of the Day:
- Return to Close Encounters mountain: Photographer’s stunning images of the stars over iconic movie location at Devil’s Tower
- Lighten up! Incredible space shots show how Earth comes alive at night with millions of lights visible from orbit
Japan and the softly glowing world…
- JNN Live Video Feed (No delay)
- TEPCO Live Video Feed (30 second delay)
- BBC
- NHK in English (Live feed in upper right corner)
- Telegraph of London
- Kyodo Wire
- Japan Times
- Asahi Shimbun
- The Daily Yomuri
- Japan Today
- ImTranslator – Online Translator, Dictionary, TTS add on for Firefox (It comes in handy)
- Japanese government list of nationwide radioactivity concentration
- Japan Geigermap
- Ibaraki Prefecture Geiger Counter Readings
- US National Radiation Map (updated every minute)
- Via Soylent Green: Radiation Exposure in Daily Life
- Radiation Dose Chart
- Radiation Converter
- ZeroHedge commenter Max2205′s excellent post about radioactivity including a list of radioactive elements and their half lives.
- Donations to the American Red Cross that are being designated to Japanese Earthquake relief are already getting to the folks in Japan and are most helpful.
Reactor 3′s Radiation Remains High
2 Packbots from iRobot were apparently accompanied by 5 carbon-based workers and entered the Reactor 3′s reactor building to take the radiation measurement on June 24.
The result was announced on June 25 by TEPCO, and the radiation level remains high. At many places it was higher than in the previous survey which was done on June 8.
Some Kind of Fissioning Still Somewhere?
Radioactive iodine (I-131) inside the silt fence at the water intake canal for the Reactor 2 continues to be detected, although the amount is nothing like what it used to be back in April.
1 Sievert Water Leaking From Fukushima As Full Body Radiation Checks Begin Across Prefecture
Japan ‘discovers’ tons of radioactive water have been leaking into ground at Fukushima
Radioactive Cesium from Ashes from Household Garbage at Waste Disposal Plant in Edogawa-Ku, Tokyo
Not a water purification plant or at a waste water treatment plant, but a plant that burns regular, household garbage in eastern Tokyo was found with a high level of radioactive cesium in the fly ashes caught in the incinerator filter.
World News:
GREECE: The Ministry Of Finance Building Is On Fire
After the successful Greek austerity vote, the chaos in Athens continues.
CNB has just reported that the Greek ministry of finance building is on fire.
There’s smoke and teargas everywhere in Syntagma square, outside of the Greek parliament.
This realization — that Greece faces a tremendous challenge right now — may be behind the huge collapse we saw in Athens stocks right after the vote was passed.
PAPANDREOU HAS VOTES TO PASS AUSTERITY BILL: 155 VOTED TO EXTEND BANKER OLIGARCHY STATUS QUO
Fascism wins again, this time by a 4 vote margin. The world is saved… for a few hours.
Greek Anti-Cuts Rally Marred By Violence
Greece’s Only Cure Is The Free Market
EURUSD Plummets, Recovers, Drops Again On News PASOK Deputy Votes Against Austerity
The EURUSD just plunged after an announcement that the Greek ruling party deputy has just voted against the austerity package. 100 pip kneejerk reaction. Imagine what will happen when the house of cards finally collapses.
5 Year Bond Contagion As German Bobl Auction An Unsubscribed Failure
Bank of England has ‘Greek default contingency plan’
Anyone else see a problem with this? UN names North Korea chair of arms control agency
Massive Taliban attack on Kabul hotel
The hotel’s power has reportedly been cut, presumably by the bombers. Why they’d bother doing that if this is a simple suicide-bomb mission, I’m not sure. Alternate theory: Like Mumbai, this is not a simple suicide-bomb mission.
Ash cloud causes new air disruption, halting some flights to New Zealand
Greetings from London: A taste of Wisconsin as public unions prepare to strike
There’s much tension here as three-quarters of a million public union workers prepare to strike on Thursday. Featured above is one of countless posters littering the streets — I snapped it near the Earl’s Court tube stop. It’s a taste of Wisconsin across the pond as fiscal conservatives try to rein in bloated pensions and battle the entrenched culture of entitlement of Big Labor. Naturally, the unions have no problem endangering public safety and national security to protect their racket
Cairo police, protesters clash for 2nd day
The fact that this boat is named in Obama’s honor could not be any more fitting.
I am willing to bet that Israel doesn’t give a damn what the Obama regime wants after the BS it has tried to pull on them….6 Socialist Reps Ask Clinton to Help Protect Far-left Jew-Haters on Audacity of Hope Boat
Prominent Egyptian Cleric: Islam “Prefers Immoral, Licentious Men”…
Sorry CAIR/lefties, you can’t accuse us of “Islamophobia” for quoting Muslim religious leaders own words.
This is pathetic. Kucinich’s “fact-finding mission” is little more than a propaganda setpiece for the Assad regime, and while I have no doubt that SANA made Kucinich’s remarks sound more pro-Assad than they were, that hardly absolves him of responsibility for appearing in Damascus in the first place. The fact that he is still going out of his way to assume good faith on the part of Syrian propagandists just cements his status as Assad’s useful idiot.
Amnesty International and Prince: Time to Party Like It’s 1999 BC!
Back in 2003, Steven Den Beste noted that Amnesty International “is demonstrating that when the cards are down, its soul is for sale.”
I’d say that for both AI and Prince, those transactions have now been concluded.
Egypt’s pro-democracy activists feel their grip slipping
The pressing concern among independents and secularists is that the Brotherhood, the nation’s largest and best-organized party, may win about 25% of the seats in parliament and control even more through a coalition. This could give the organization the power to infuse the new constitution with conservative Islamic ideals to limit rights for women and non-Muslims.
“The Brotherhood is tyrannical in its opinions and views, and I think they will take the side of the Islamist businessmen who fund it and have strict Islamic ideologies,” said Khalid Sayed, a member of the Jan. 25 Youth Coalition. “Whatever constitution they might form would not fulfill the demands of Egyptians for civil rights and democracy.”
Egypt’s Official State School Curriculum Still Teaching Students Christians And Jews Are Infidels…
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Where they will now be considered “pro-democracy protesters” by the Obama administration.
Iran Test Fires Long-Range Missiles Capable Of Striking Israel, U.S. Bases…
Consider the source when reading this: How the demise of a trusted adviser could bring down Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Recent U.S. Meetings in Afghanistan with Iranian Terrorist Wanted by Interpol? Why?
It is time for Americans to seriously question, and thwart the foreign policy of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
There are number of events, which taken together, beg the question, who is Barack Obama working for? What is his end game? It does appear that he is taking the side of the some of the most evil players in the world, in the Islamic Republic of Iran. No one seems to notice. No one is asking why. If there is a second term of Obama, trust me, we will find out what final installment will be required for all of these “down payments.”
Afghanistan: Senior Al-Qaeda Leader Captured Dressed As A Woman…
North Korea shuts down universities for 10 months
North Korea has shut down its universities for the next 10 months and sent students to work in factories, agriculture and the construction sector as it struggles to rebuild its economy.
“This Time It’s Different”– The Four Most Expensive Words In The English Language
I’ve been around in the financial markets long enough, and lived through enough spectacular booms and busts, to know the telltale signs of a bursting bubble when I see them.
China today fits the bill… and that’s most likely going to be very bad news for industrial commodity prices and the economies of the countries that supply them. China accounts for less than 10% of global economic activity. Yet, the country is consuming nearly half of all the steel, cement, and copper used in the world.
You’ve seen the videos– vast, empty ghost cities in China with thick forests of empty apartment towers, 8-lane highways with no cars on them, and brand new government buildings and public infrastructure all sitting idle.
*snip*
These empty cities, bridges to nowhere, airports with only three or four flights per week, brand new bullet trains with hardly any passengers (because they can’t afford the fares), and millions of empty apartments are NOT indicators of a healthy economy at all.
And with Democrat politicians willing to sell America’s technologies for campaign donations (Bill Clinton’s Loral debacle being the most infamous and treasonous case), odds are the PRC will catch up far sooner than anyone anticipates.
Southwestern Chinese city leading ‘red’ revival
The local satellite television station recently stopped broadcasting sitcoms and now shows only “revolutionary” programs and news. Government workers and students have been told to spend time working in the countryside. The local propaganda department launched a “red Twitter” micro-blogging site, blasting out short patriotic slogans.
And in what seems like a throwback to the days of the Cultural Revolution, residents have been encouraged — or told — to read revolutionary books and poetry and to gather regularly in parks to sing old songs extolling the Communist revolution. A recent Sunday gathering, including a colorful, choreographed stage pageant, attracted an estimated 10,000 flag-waving people, many in uniforms and red caps and mostly organized by the party chiefs in their schools and factories.
Opposition Leader embraces multiculturalism as Dutch walk away
The quashing of speech on the basis of its political content is fundamentally inimical to democracy. Every point at which freedom of expression is curtailed by government coercion means a point where parliamentary debate and the media dare not go.
Not only does this undermine our political liberties, but its social effect achieves the opposite of its declared intent. Rather than promoting peaceful coexistence, this regime of political censorship sets loose the spectre of official tolerance enforcers.
The Racial Hatred Act empowers the paranoid and petulant. And by rewarding those with the biggest chips on their shoulders, it exacerbates the ugly victim group sweepstakes that has come to dominate ethnic politics in Australia.
Intel Report says Hugo Chavez has Prostate Cancer
Huge underwater landslide causes mini-tsunami… off coast of CORNWALL
Google goes transparent with new data and new look
Governments take notice: You can investigate Google’s business practices, but Google is also studying you.
US News:
Land of the Six Dams News and Info sources:
- KELO-Sioux Falls, SD
- KFYR-Bismarck, ND
- KCAU-Sioux City, IA
- KETV-Omaha, NE
- Say Anything
- Plains Daily
- “Land of the Six Dams” flood gage status interactive map.
I guess it all depends on the definition of the word “seep”.
And all the buildings at the plant were supposed to be “watertight“, according to the NRC.
Oh Brother… Far Left Senator Harkin Blames Iowa Flooding on Climate Change (Video)
Fort Calhoun Nuke Plant: Borated Water in Reactor, Spent Fuel Pool, Normal Procedure, Says Plant CEO
As for the baseless rumor that the 2/3 of the nuclear fuel rods are still inside the reactor, I’d say that was true after all, if they are putting boric acid in the cooling water.
The NRC chairman Jacko, who toured the site on Monday, had these discomforting words to say, according to CNN’s article:
“In the end,” Jaczko said, “this challenge is yours.”
That’s eerily reminiscent of the Japanese regulators who have been basically saying this to TEPCO for over 3 months.
Flames are now 50 feet away! Los Alamos Fire: EPA Testing for Radiation
Chief: “We have fire all around the lab – It’s a road away” — “Zero percent containment”
And for just about anyone downwind of this, too…Residents worried about radioactive smoke plume if fire reaches radioactive waste: “If it gets to this contamination, it’s over — not just for Los Alamos, but for Santa Fe”
Wildfire Approaches Thousands of Drums with Plutonium-Contaminated Waste at Los Alamos Lab
At least they are not saying “they are safe”.
Cooling pump fails at New Jersey nuclear reactor, plant shut down — Remains in ‘hot shutdown’
Thomas Sowell on the Constitution and its relevance
Some clever people today ask whether the United States has really been “exceptional.” You couldn’t be more exceptional in the 18th century than to create your fundamental document — the Constitution of the United States — by opening with the momentous words, “We the people…”
Those three words were a slap in the face to those who thought themselves entitled to rule, and who regarded the people as if they were simply human livestock, destined to be herded and shepherded by their betters. Indeed, to this very day, elites who think that way — and that includes many among the intelligentsia, as well as political messiahs — find the Constitution of the United States a real pain because it stands in the way of their imposing their will and their presumptions on the rest of us.
More than a hundred years ago, so-called “Progressives” began a campaign to undermine the Constitution’s strict limitations on government, which stood in the way of self-anointed political crusaders imposing their grand schemes on all the rest of us. That effort to discredit the Constitution continues to this day, and the arguments haven’t really changed much in a hundred years.
Sowell focuses on Stengel’s article as just a variation on that century-old attack, but bear in mind that the Constitution and the ideas behind it and the Declaration of Independence are just as threatening to foreign despots now as they were “back then,” whether they be kings, theocrats, dictators, or dictators disguised as democrats. As Michael Ledeen often writes, we are the most revolutionary society on the planet, because we were founded and still largely believe the crazy notion not only that people are capable of governing themselves, but that they should, by right. And the dynamism unleashed by free societies scares the heck out of those who think themselves our “natural rulers,” from Riyadh to Brussels to… the House Progressive Caucus.
It’s something to think about next weekend while enjoying the hot dogs and fireworks.
S&P Will Slash America From AAA To D If The Treasury Misses A Payment
Ugly 7 Year Auction Caps Miserable Week For Bond Bulls
Why the ‘Unexpected’ Keeps Happening
If an irresponsible teenager repeatedly crashed his car into a tree whenever he had a few beers, we would never say his accidents were “unexpected.” Rather, they would be foreseeable consequences of driving while drinking. Similarly, we shouldn’t let journalists get away with describing as “unexpected” the foreseeable negative consequences of bad government policies.
Blogger Glenn Reynolds recently highlighted numerous examples of the media’s increasingly frequent use of “unexpected” to describe bad economic news. Unemployment “unexpectedly” rose despite federal “stimulus.” Home sales “unexpectedly” fell despite taxpayer bailouts. ER visits unexpectedly rose in Massachusetts despite RomneyCare. Similarly, the Pundit Press blog has rounded-up dozens of examples of such “unexpected” developments since January 2011.
However, the fact that such government interventions necessarily stifle economic progress is not news. Volumes have been written on this topic. The “natural laboratories” of East Germany vs. West Germany, North Korea vs. South Korea, and communist China vs. Hong Kong amply illustrated the principle that whenever government forcibly thwarted people from furthering their happiness and their lives, the result was misery and death.
HFT Packet Flinging Accelerating On The NYSE
All those who have been long awaiting the release of the 2011 American Eagle Silver coins by the US Mint can now relax. America’s official source of bullion will release the much anticipated 2011 edition tomorrow at noon, with a strict limit of 100 coins per household at the low, low price of…$59.95! Gotta love that physical-paper spread… It is almost as good as the gold-tungsten compression pair trade.
Yes, US Funds Really Are That Stupid
To err once is a mistake.
To do so twice is intentional malfeasance.
Incidentally there are several people who claim there’s no problem here even if there is a severe dislocation in Greece. Of course there were several people who assured us that subprime was contained in 2007 as well.
I suggest that you do your own diligence.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve Release Has Now Been Fully Priced In As Crude, Gasoline Surge
First Obama and the Democrats drained the treasury, now they are siphoning the gas tank…Time For Another SPR Crude Release?
Now that the impact of the first (of many) SPR release moves courtesy of an Obama administration desperately in need of political brownie points has been beyond wiped out, it is time for the IEA to leak rumors of another emergency meeting, and for our brilliant and fearless leaders to announce they are about to sell another 30 million barrels. After all there is just under 700 million barrels in the SPR now (pro forma for the first release).
AP: “If you’re a U.S. consumer, why would you be confident?”
Ouch.
Google Professor Warns: Obama Leading America On A “Crash Course” Towards Economic Disaster…
Obama: My Economic Policies Pulled The Country Back From The Brink…
Then pushed it over a cliff.
Obama To America: “Up Your Game”…
America to Obama: “Up yours.”
Debt “Deal”? The Fundamental Mathematics Of Failure
The Dems’ Unbalanced Debt Plan
This stands in stark contrast to the spending side of the ledger. Thanks largely to Obama’s and the Democrats’ spendthrift ways, the country is now on course for federal spending to reach 24% of GDP in 2021, rising to 27% by 2035.
Keep in mind that the only time we’ve ever reached federal spending levels of this magnitude was during World War II, and that trying to raise taxes to meet this level of spending would be economically ruinous.
So Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has it exactly right when he says: “America does not face a debt crisis because we tax too little, but because Washington spends too much.”
And Republicans are right to insist that the debt talks focus only on spending cuts, not tax hikes.
When it comes to the nation’s debt, the only balancing required is to lighten the too-heavy load on the spending side of the scale. Anything else risks consigning our children and grandchildren to an enormous pile of debt. And that really would be immoral.
The Deficit Is Worse Than We Think
There is no way to raise taxes enough to cover these problems. The tax-the-rich proposals of the Obama administration raise about $700 billion, less than a fifth of the budgetary consequences of the excess economic growth projected in their forecast. The whole $700 billion collected over 10 years would not even cover the difference in interest costs in any one year at the end of the decade between current rates and the average cost of Treasury borrowing over the last 20 years.
Only serious long-term spending reduction in the entitlement area can begin to address the nation’s deficit and debt problems. It should no longer be credible for our elected officials to hide the need for entitlement reforms behind rosy economic and budgetary assumptions. And while we should all hope for a deal that cuts spending and raises the debt ceiling to avoid a possible default, bondholders should be under no illusions.
Under current government policies and economic projections, they should be far more concerned about a return of their principal in 10 years than about any short-term delay in a coupon payment in August.
It’s Delightful, It’s Delicious, It’s Default
The way I see it right now, default still might be our least-bad option. Because default doesn’t necessarily lead to hyperinflation. Not if three things happen. We’ll call it the VodkaPundit Plan for Putting Washington Through Chapter 11. It goes like this:
1. Immediate cuts to spending.
2. A long-term plan to keep spending in line is enacted. (A glide-down path, along with maybe a balanced budget amendment.)
3. Hike interest rates. (To protect the dollar and give the middle class a reason again to save and investors a reason to invest. And also because “free” money makes people stupid.)
The first item is going to happen no matter what; we’re simply out of money. The second item is a necessary step to reassuring jilted creditors that maybe someday they can trust us again. And we are so deep in the hole that the third item might be possible only after we’ve defaulted. Lindsey never made that point that in his piece, but it seems perfectly clear: Since we can’t even afford to pay what we already owe, default is looking like our least-bad option.
Old America And Young America Go To War Over Resources
And Al throws a hissy fit when challenged by a local San Diego reporter on this ridiculous claim.
EPA Envirofanatics Waste Our Money Overseas
Of course; we could be only months from the whole nominally capitalist system completely caving in, paving the way for true socialism. This is hardly the time to stop spending money we don’t have on ideologically motivated nonsense.
In case anyone still thinks there could conceivably be a legitimate justification for this outrage, it should be pointed out that a lot of the money is being thrown at the same people we are borrowing it from.
[S]ince 2009 $718,000 went toward “air pollution” efforts in China… A $7.6 million grant went toward “technical assistance” in Russia.
Both of these antagonistic nations have been gaining leverage over us by buying our massive, unsustainable debt.
Panel: Green jobs company endorsed by Obama and Biden squandered $535 million in stimulus money
A closer look at the company shows it has never turned a profit since it was founded in 2005, according to its Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings.
And Solyndra’s auditor declared that “the company has suffered recurring losses, negative cash flows since inception and has a net stockholders’ deficit that, among other factors, [that] raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a growing concern” in a March 2010 amendment to its SEC registration statement.
“While we understand the purpose of the Loan Guarantee Program is to help private companies engaging in clean energy products to obtain financing by providing loan guarantees, subsequent events raise questions about Solyndra was the right candidate to receive a loan guarantee in excess of half a billion dollars,” Upton and Stearns wrote.
A June 2010 Wall Street Journal report indicating that Solyndra’s majority owner, Oklahoma billionaire George Kaiser, was a major fundraiser for the 2008 Obama-Biden campaign has stimulus opponents such as Citizens Against Government Waste crying foul.
“We have said this is pork-barrel spending since the beginning,” Leslie Page, spokeswoman for Citizens Against Government Waste, told The Daily Caller. “And the one thing about pork is its corruptive influences.”
Democrat Electoral Strategy: Be the Ones Who Count the Votes
Minnesota’s Mark Ritchie, communist-affiliated beneficiary of largesse from Soros and SOSP, shows us how it works.
Helping to elect Mr. Ritchie in 2006 and 2010, Democrats had one of their own making key decisions when the extremely close U.S. Senate race between incumbent Norm Coleman, a Republican, and his challenger, former comedian Al Franken, went to a recount in 2008.
As readers will recall, snatching victory from Norm Coleman and handing it to the obnoxious professional clown Al Franken stank to high heaven.
Franken was put in office by Ritchie, and Ritchie by George Soros & friends.
They need the votes. There are only so many dead people, Dallas Cowboy team rosters from the 1960’s, cartoon characters and superheroes that ACORN can ‘register’ to vote…Dems Don’t Have Budget, Have 9.1% Unemployment, Have Tripled Deficit… But Will Push DREAM Act for Illegal Aliens
DHS Stealth Amnesty Cover Up Exposed
After the story broke other media outlets began to dig around and Senate leaders launched an investigation into the stealth amnesty program that led to a 40% increase in the dismissal of deportations last year. Homeland Security officials denied it existed and scrambled to conceal details, according to new information revealed by the newspaper that originally cracked the story.
Internal Homeland Security documents obtained under public records laws prove that agency officials destroyed internal memos of the secretive process and lied to cover up the wrongdoing. Through a spokesman, one Texas Senator involved in the probe confirmed that DHS misled the public and Congress about its policy of directing dismissals of cases against criminal aliens.
Some of the records are heavily redacted, but it’s clear that illegal immigrants with criminal records were spared removal under the program, which was administered by high-ranking officials and attorneys at DHS.
ICE Memo References NLRB as Immigration Factor
Whether the person is currently cooperating or has cooperated with federal, state or local law enforcement authorities, such as ICE, the U.S Attorneys or Department of Justice, the Department of Labor, or National Labor Relations Board, among others (emphasis mine)
The ICE is including cooperation with the Dept. of Labor and the NLRB in this list? That doesn’t bode well for what may lie ahead. On one hand, it establishes a premise that would allow the type of situation to take place where immigrants seeking citizenship in this nation would find it easier to violate immigration laws by seeking the protection of Unions. With the increase in established international labor unions, facilitating the ease in transference of citizenship could become attached to union membership. OTOH, it also establishes the premise where immigrants who do not seek protection of labor unions or who are not willing to be involved in union activity will find themselves extremely vulnerable to having this stand used against them where obtaining citizenship or being deported are concerned.
The implications of this type of subtle subterfuge are blatantly obvious, isn’t it? And it is way past time at this point for members of Congress to get the message…
The Human Tragedy of Illegal Immigration: Greater Efforts Needed to Combat Smuggling and Violence
The reason for the current dog and pony show is to make passengers feel safe so we’ll keep flying. Which is another reason the granny groping is counterproductive. How can I feel safe when my life is in the hands of TSA agents who think “The Golden Girls” represent a terrorist threat?
Sadly, millions of Americans defend this stupidity, arguing that they’ll accept any amount of abuse and humiliation in the pursuit of security, “whatever it takes.”
Sorry, but count me out. When the feds get serious about the real security issues, like protecting our borders or at least admitting that radical Islam is part of the problem, then talk to me about Granny’s Depends.
But as long as it’s easier for Whitey Bulger to bring illegal prescription drugs across the border from Mexico than it is for an elderly leukemia patient to go home to Michigan, forget it.
TSA Agents Prevent Possible Terrorist Act
Another potential terrorist has been thwarted thanks to the Transportation Security Administration, and we should all be thankful that their vigilance, their professionalism, and their commitment to duty have served to make America a safer place.
In addition to all the Toddler Terrorists, Intifada Infants, and Kindergarten Killers the TSA has saved us from, we can now add cancer stricken, near death, frail 95 year old grandmothers to the list.
I am sure you won’t see the TSA groping them, either…Are airlines bribing politicians with super elite status?
The travel blog “View from the Wing,” considers this incident among other special perks from this highly regulated and subsidized business, and sniffs out “crony capitalism.”:
It’s one thing when an airline or hotel chain offers status to important customers to sway business, or to leadership of firms they’re doing business with. It’s another thing entirely when they’re offering these perks to politicians and bureaucrats. Mind you, I don’t blame the travel provider one bit. It’s how business is done, especially in highly regulated industries. Politicians hold a great deal of sway over a company’s profitability. It’s called crony capitalism.
The Latest From Obama’s Labor Dept: “You Might Be Union Busting If…”
Last week, the union extremists controlling the U.S. Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board conducted a coordinated attack on America’s job creators. The first punch, a 160-page rule-making proposal by the Department of Labor was issued on Monday for public comments. However, it was quickly drowned out by the second punch: Tuesday’s NLRB rule-making proposal to modify election procedures, which are intended to fast track union elections giving unions greater ability to unionize employees.
It is important to note that both rule-making proposals are intended to work together and, like an axe in an executioner’s hand, they are intended to make an employer’s resistance to unionization futile.
HHS Puts Doctor Snoop Plan on the Back-Burner
The plan has been put into hibernation. Why? Pretty much because too many people were paying attention:
The Obama administration will not move forward on a controversial proposal to have “secret shoppers” pose as patients to investigate how difficult it is for patients to receive primary care.
“On April 28th, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services submitted a notice to the Federal Register regarding a proposed study that would examine access to primary care,” an HHS spokesman said in a statement. “After reviewing feedback received during the public comment period, we have determined that now is not the time to move forward with this research project. Instead, we will pursue other initiatives that build on our efforts to increase access to health care providers nationwide.”
It’ll be back before long.
And the water keeps searching for the cracks…
GOP Rep. Frank Wolf Asks IRS To Investigate CAIR
Shouldn’t be long until CAIR calls Wolf an “Islamophobe.”
The Philadelphia conference essentially laid out the path that the Palestine Committee would take to accomplish its goal of supporting Hamas in the future. Wiretaps from the Philadelphia conference reflect that Ahmad participated…in a number of meetings related to the goals, strategies, and American perception of the Muslim Brotherhood. Topics discussed included redefining the perception of the suborganizations due to their work for the Palestinian cause, and the legal hurdles…faced when raising funds for Hamas and other Palestinian causes or when taking orders from overseas leaders.”
Judge Solis also declined an attempt by CAIR to remove the organization’s designation as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the Holy Land Foundation lawsuit, ruling that the government “has produced ample evidence to establish the associations” of CAIR with Hamas.
“The American people have a right to know why the Obama Justice Department decided against prosecuting a terrorist-connected Muslim extremist over the objections of federal investigators,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “The case against Ahmad and CAIR is substantial. And given the politicization of the Justice Department under Eric Holder, it certainly appears that Justice officials dropped this case in order to appease radical Islamic groups. The pattern of this Justice Department is to stonewall even the most basic requests for information under the law. The cover-up and secrecy is, frankly, like nothing we’ve ever seen.”
State Department Sends Lady Gaga on Mission to Rome
On June 11, Lady Gaga performed at a rally at the ancient Circus Maximus in Rome, Italy. The rally followed a gay pride march through the city of Rome.
Why would Shrillary and her moonbat underlings care so much about Lady Gaga making a big splash in Rome? Because it is the center of Catholicism, and Ms. Gaga is a shrill advocate of homosexual “marriage,” the Left’s latest favorite tactic in their war on Christianity.
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority agreed with the challengers in a 5-4 ruling.
“Laws like Arizona’s matching funds provision that inhibit robust and wide-open political debate without sufficient justification cannot stand,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority in a 30-page ruling.
The court’s four liberal members dissented.
Of course the liberals dissented. In a fair fight, liberals always lose an election.
Weiner horning in on successor race
His ego has no bounds.
In a dazzling display of arrogance, disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner is trying to insert himself back into politics — calling power brokers and would-be candidates for his old seat, hoping they’ll let him play a role in choosing his own successor, The Post has learned.
Weiner, who became a national dirty joke after he was caught sexting young women, now wants to be a kingmaker.
Democratic Rep. Laura Richardson could face jail time for ethics violations
The documents show Richardson using official taxpayer resources for political events, including fundraisers. “Rep. Richardson didn’t just violate House rules, she likely committed crimes,” said Melanie Sloan, CREW’s executive director.
In one instance, Richardson’s chief of staff, Shirley Cooks, told all of Richardson’s aides in an email from her official House account, “All staff are required to attend” a fundraiser held Sept. 29, 2010, adding, “Bring spouses and tell interns they have to be there as well. Thanks.”
The Obamas lead by (bad) example
I’ve participated in many leadership conferences and classes over my lifetime. One basic element of effective leadership has always been that “A leader must set the example for those whom follow.”
As measured only by that criterion, the Obamas fail miserably as leaders. Look, as a current example, at Michelle Obama’s recent family vacation to southern Africa.
At a time when most of us worry about being able to put food on the table, gasoline in the car or pay the mortgage, the president’s wife wastes millions of tax dollars in a shameless display of disregard for her husband’s position, the national welfare or, especially, for economic hardships being suffered by most of her “subjects.”
She’s off (that’s an interesting word as used here) on a completely useless, personal vacation trip to places such as the Republic of South Africa and Botswana (nice game parks there for the children). Yes, she’s taking her children (they will be able to write interesting reports about “What I did on my Summer Vacation”), but she’s reportedly also invited just about every relative, a few famous names and, of course, must include hair stylists, manicurists and massage therapists.
The Peronist in the White House
Obama is not going to nationalize the means of production. Marxists do that. Peronists build relationships with workers, unions, and the people who will riot in the streets. Peronists use those mechanisms to force compliance from those who oppose them.
Similarly, in Obama’s world, where there is opposition to the policies of labor, the SEIU (Sevice Employees International Union) will be out in force. The administration and a compliant media will be attempting to provide these bullies with both legitimacy and symbolic affirmation. This is what Peron did for the bullies of the CGT.
Marxism is about ownership. Peronism is about control, sometimes through ownership but more often through pressure. If you want to understand pressure, talk to bankers who didn’t want to make marginal loans under the Community Reinvestment Act or those who had almost no subprime mortgages and refused to accept TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) money. In both cases, the FDIC exerted enormous pressure to force compliance to decisions banks saw as inimical to their interests.
Obama the Peronist is more insidious, more difficult to fight, because he is not a Marxist. A grab for ownership stares you in the face. It is as blunt as it is obvious. But control is incremental and surreptitious.
Every day we awake to more and more government control, not by ownership, but by unaccountable czars, ukases, and bureaucratic organizations dictating how we conduct our lives.
Mark Steyn: Speechworld vs. Realworld
If we hadn’t been assured by the New York Times that this man is the Greatest Orator of All Time, there would be something offensive in the leader of the Brokest Nation in History bragging that we’re not the guys to shirk a challenge, however grueling and demanding it may be, no sirree.
The salient feature of America in the Age of Obama is a failed government class institutionally committed to living beyond its means, and a citizenry too many of whom are content to string along. Remember Peggy Joseph of Sarasota, Fla.? “I never thought this day would ever happen,” she gushed after an Obama rally in 2008. “I won’t have to worry about putting gas in my car. I won’t have to worry about paying my mortgage.” Is Peggy really the gal you’d want to hike a steep hill with?
Today’s Drudge Ku helps you understand why Obama just wasted everyone’s time with that press conference:
POLL: Obama 42%, any Republican 46%...
Campaign signals fundraising fail...
Jewish Dems Losing Faith...
Poll: Obama’s Approval Rating On Economy Hits All-Time Low, 37%…
White House Insider: Obama “Panicked” Over Re-Election Prospects
These internal polls are done regularly. If the results reflect positively for an administration, the results are given to certain media outlets and used to promote a president’s standing. For over a year the results of these internals have been shut down for the simple fact that time after time they have shown Barack Obama to be far less popular with American voters than the media has been attempting to spin. Obama’s actual approval numbers are now hovering between 38 and 40 percent, and even lower in some of the most critical swing states. He has lost ground most significantly in recent months with seniors and union members. Without those two groups, Obama cannot win re-election, and the White House is downright panicked about it.
Question: Explain what you mean by panicked.
Insider: Just what I said. Obama’s team is terrified of the data they are getting back from the internals. Absolutely panicked. Literally panicked. There was a meeting among the president’s re-election team recently, Plough’s group, and the internal polling data was the main topic, and everybody was apparently expressing concern over the numbers. The president was not at this meeting, but was soon after briefed on it. There were no real answers given on how to improve the numbers, and that set the president off. He tore into staff. This has been happening with greater and greater frequency lately. The president kept repeating, “Why isn’t it working?” I am not certain what he was referring to with that question, but he was said to have repeated the question a number of times during the briefing. Whatever “it” might be, the indication is clear. President Obama is panicked over the now very real possibility he will be a one-term president.
It’s been a rough June for the White House. Instead of being able to run a campaign taking credit for economic improvement, President Obama will, according to the latest forecasts, be trying to win four more years amid a grim economy next year. The president’s reelection team, once hoping to run on a “Morning in America” theme now doesn’t have that luxury. No wonder, the president’s advisers over the past month have been making moves that suggest they’re awfully concerned about his prospects
861 days and $787 billion in, Obama pleads for more time on jobs
A little-noticed deadline comes Thursday night. That’s the end of the first fundraising quarter Obama and others will be reporting to the Federal Election Commission. Obama’s got his wife out doing a trio of fundraisers this week. And he’s certainly been diligent at it, even hitting up those Wall Street bankers he used to call fat cats for a Manhattan soiree last week that cost $35,800 per plate.
Great news: President to start operating on gut instinct
If this spin is intended to get Obama off the hook for bad policy decisions in the first two years, it might work — once. He can claim to have worried too much about consensus and having taken ill-advised half measures or even entirely bad decisions to gain it, and some might give Obama the benefit of the doubt for a short period of time, even though Obama assembled the team that provided that advice. If, however, Obama’s actions that follow don’t provide some kind of immediate relief from consistently sour economic news and better progress on the war and foreign policy, then Obama owns the results entirely. It won’t be possible to blame aides and advisers during the 2012 campaign after trying to sell the “gut instinct” change in 2011.
Addendum: Another thought occurred to me. Wasn’t the sales pitch on Obama that he would take an intellectual rather than instinctual approach to policy? This seems to suggest that even the White House realizes that they can’t sell Obama as a Mensa candidate in 2012.
Obama: It’s Kids Versus Corporate Jets on Debt-Ceiling Talks
Kids versus corporate jets.
If President Obama’s news conference accomplished anything on Wednesday afternoon, it underscored, in striking tones, his strategy for winning the debt ceiling fight with Republicans: Make it a clash of classes.
Rich versus Poor.
Us versus Them.Those who support children, food safety, medical research and, presumably, puppies and apple pie versus the rich fat cats who don’t.
In Obama’s world, Democrats are for kids and Republicans are for corporate jets. That is a sharp distinction that could help put the GOP on defensive, but it may not be enough to persuade Republicans to change their posture on the debt-ceiling talks.
Obama conveniently seems to have forgotten that it is his buddies like Oprah, Hollywood types, Rock stars, Wall Street bankers and brokers who are the ones that own the most private jets. Oh, and let us not forget wealthy Democrat congresscritters like Nancy Pelosi and Claire McCaskill and senators like John Kerry. It is probably why he so eagerly made sure they got tax breaks for their jets…FLASHBACK: AP: Stimulus includes tax break to promote private jet sales
Uh oh: White House caught lying about Petraeus’s withdrawal recommendations?
I can’t help but wonder: Why would the White House lie and claim that Obama’s withdrawal plan was within the range of options presented to him by Petraeus? I thought the next 18 months were going to be all about Obama going with his gut. Wingin’ it, if you will.
His gut told him that he needs to get reelected, and the easiest way to do that was to yank as many troops as possible out of the country no matter what it might mean for the war. That was the only “range of options” that mattered.
So he winged it.
Michelle Obama Denies She Ever Supported Gay Marriage…
What, she afraid Barack might leave her?
Obama White House Defends Breaking Law: Says WH Fundraiser Was Not Really a WH Fundraiser
Its’ an Obama World.
Team Obama released a fundraising ad filmed inside the White House this week.
Fundraising from inside the White House is generally prohibited by law.
Obama pushing behind scenes to win over big-dollar donors
President Obama and top White House aides are waging a behind-the-scenes push to win over skeptical big-dollar donors — whose early money is needed to help fund a dramatic summertime expansion of his battleground-state machinery.
Campaign officials are working to broaden Obama’s network of “bundlers,” the well-connected rainmakers tasked with soliciting big checks from wealthy donors, while seeking to preserve the aura of a grass-roots movement by luring back the kind of small Internet donations that helped shatter fundraising records four years ago.
To do so, Obama and his aides are leveraging every asset available to a sitting president — from access to top West Wing officials to a possible food tasting with the White House chef.
John Edwards was right. There really are two Americas. One for Democrat-slash-Wall Street royalty and one for the rest of us.
Ante Upped on ‘Win Dinner With President Obama’ Contest
The Conductor of the Train to the Future? I’ve, uh, got other plans that night…
If they’d have said the First Lady would also be attending and serving French fries and fat cakes she brought back from her “promoting healthy eating” tour of Botswana, Obama’s campaign might have my check by now.
Obama’s Iowa Lunch Stop Strictly Adheres to Items Found on USDA ‘Lunch Plate’
Ross’ restaurant is known for dishes called “Mountains”; their signature dish is the Magic Mountain: Texas grilled toast, hamburger meat, French fries or hash browns and cheese sauce.
[...]
The president bought Magic Mountains for three customers in the restaurant, and brought four Magic Mountains and two Volcanos (the Magic Mountain with the addition of chili) back to traveling companions.
[...]
Obama also challenged the accompanying members of the press to eat “the whole thing.” He called them “chickens” for not taking them up on the challenge.Obama then told the fry cook that if he’d donate a hundred bucks to his campaign he could come and get some pointers from the White House chef. Just kidding… I think.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled lecture about the dire emergency that is childhood obesity and what we can all do to lead by example.
Finally, We Have Something In Common With Obama, Neither Of Us Want Him To Be In Washington…
Practice what you preach, asshole…Obama Will Vacation on Martha’s Vineyard
Bitter Half Spent Large in Africa
Like the EPA, the Bitter Half is assiduously doing her part to usher in oligarchical collectivism by crushing our quasi-capitalist economy under government debt. You thought she was doing nothing over in Africa besides pigging out on French fries and fat cakes? Wrong:
First Lady Michelle Obama’s trip to South Africa and Botswana last week cost taxpayers well over half a million dollars, possibly in the range of $700,000 or $800,000, according to an analysis by White House Dossier.
Many of the trip’s expenses cannot be obtained with specificity, including the cost of local transportation for the first lady, Secret Service protection, the care and feeding of staffers, and pre-trip advance work done by administration officials in South Africa. …
Based on the plane’s tail number and a description of it in a press pool report, it’s clear Mrs. Obama flew over and back on a C-32, a specially configured military version of the Boeing 757 that also ferries the vice president on occasion and is sometimes known as “Air Force Two.”
5 Ways Obama Could Lose in 2012
Mark Penn tells GQ the five ways that President Obama could lose reelection next year.
The big one: “Obama no longer has national security as a deficit. He’s answered the 3 a.m. call. But the economy is still a huge vulnerability, and there are still questions about how in touch he is with people out in the heartland. After the Gulf War, I don’t think Bush 41 got cocky. He just wasn’t mindful of the economy, and then he had the moment with the supermarket scanner. So for Obama, this is not the time for another Broadway date. And the period between now and the election is a Martha’s Vineyard-free zone.”
Gunwalker/Fast & Furious
Gunwalker: What Will Happen When Ken Melson Testifies?
We’ll know in several weeks if one of these scenarios comes to pass, or if something unexpected occurs to change the equation entirely.
One thing will not change: Hundreds have died as a result of a dangerous and illegal operation that occurred on President Obama’s watch, and someone is going to have to pay the price.
ATF Whistleblower Who Spoke Out on Gunwalker Program Is Fired
In December Vince Cefalu of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms publicized the agency’s role in allowing thousands of guns to cross the U.S. border and fall into the hands of Mexican drug gangs.
Now agent Cefalu is without a job. The ATF terminated him this week.
Assault weapons linked to ATF strategy turn up in Valley; Case agent honored with lifesaving award
Phoenix ATF agents recently testified that during that case, they knowingly allowed weapons to slip into the hands of buyers who would then distribute the weapons to known criminals.
The strategy was supposed to lead ATF officials to drug cartel leaders, but agents admitted they never followed the weapons to see where they went.
As a result, they testified, hundreds of weapons are now on the streets in the United States and Mexico.
The ABC15 Investigators have uncovered new information showing weapons linked to that case and strategy are turning up in crimes in Valley neighborhoods.
Pravda on the Potomac: Washington Post Again Covers for Gov’t on Gunwalker
Why would the Post want to downplay these facts?
To acknowledge the multi-agency involvement is to admit that Gunwalker was not an isolated incident, but a wide-ranging operation involving the highest levels of the Obama administration, a cabal of politicians and operatives that have long favored various gun control schemes and live by the mantra “never let a crisis go to waste.”
It is utterly repellent that the editorial board of the Post is more interested in acting as a public relations department for the government than it is in investigating the latest Iran-Contra or Watergate.
Once upon a time, the Post took the lead in investigating corruption at the highest levels of government.
That time and that integrity have both long since passed.
The war that dares not speak its name…US and Libya:
*crickets*
Let me guess, when Obama took the oath of office he had his toes crossed so the rules don’t apply to him?
Look for the Union Label/Whackademia/The Badger Rebellion:
Wisc. Teachers Protest Working an 8-Hour Work Day
Even so, what is the whining going on here? These taxpayer paid for, government employee teachers are upset that they have to work an 8-hour day like everyone else does? How does that win them any sympathizers in the general public?
Hopefully it won’t. Hopefully, these pampered, highly paid public employees will at least find they have to work the same number of hours that the people paying their salaries have to work!
With some Wisconsin teachers making over $100,000 a year in average annual compensation, one would think they’d be smart enough to keep quite and suffer the small indignities, eh?
Wisconsin Choke Charge Appears Bogus
The story was leaked to the George Soros-funded Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, which promoted the accusation against Prosser and backed it up with anonymous sources.
This is just another sign of how brutal the battle between liberals and conservatives in Wisconsin has become. Having failed to stop the governor’s legislative agenda via boycotts by Democratic legislators and then a failed court challenge, is appears the next phase of this no-hold-barred dustup are attempts to personally destroy those associated with support of Walker’s ideas. While not much may come of the investigation against Prosser, it is a sign of how nasty things have gotten there. While one would hope that judges, of all people, would use this incident as a sign its time to turn down the temperature in Wisconsin, it may be the start of a new round of political mudslinging.
If these UAW idiots are smart they won’t try to pull the same kind of crap they pulled in Wisconsin down south or some of them might end up goin’ fishin’ ‘”Chicago Style”…UAW Threatens to Brand Foreign Auto Plants In The South “Human Rights Violators” If They Don’t Unionize…
Now the kicker to this story is the workers at these plants in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee don’t want to unionize; in fact, they’re extremely happy with their jobs.
The Unions’ Real Enemy: Themselves
We’ve long since passed the days where unions were valuable organizations that protected workers from abusive practices.
Now, unions are a just another racket. They funnel money into the coffers of Democratic politicians and in return, the Democrats rewrite America’s laws to force companies to pay union members more than they’re worth on the free market.
Obviously, if you’re paying your workforce more than they’re worth on the free market and you’re running up against a firm that doesn’t do that, it gives your competitor an edge.
One glorious day in America, hopefully, unions will cease to exist. If and when that day comes, they’ll have nothing to blame for it other than their own greed.
In Other News…
Angry moviegoer harasses Glenn Beck’s wife in NYC park
No matter what valid criticisms can be made of Mr. Beck, he doesn’t deserve this — and his wife really doesn’t. On his radio show and website yesterday, Beck said his family was accosted while watching a movie in Bryant Park in NYC Monday night. A particularly angry moviegoer spilled a glass of wine on Beck’s wife, Tania, while another man loudly told the family, “We hate conservatives here.”
But the Becks didn’t leave immediately because, as Beck said, “I have a right to watch a movie and enjoy a movie with my family in the park. I have a right.”
Blagojevich found guilty on most counts
And Illinois voters elected him to run their state twice. Very bleeping discouraging.
Lawyer Lists Four Possible FBI Responses to Federal Judge Re: Missing OKC Bombing Tapes
Trentadue added that it’s no coincidence FBI lawyers asked the judge to set the deadline for their response one day before the Fourth of July weekend (a.k.a., “the deadest of dead news weekends of the year”). They won’t want any publicity on this one.
Despite the catastrophic election of 2008, this is still America. But it won’t be for long if we don’t put up some resistance. The liberal mob isn’t getting any prettier.
A Culture War Against Conservative Women
Bachmann On Obama: “He Fears Me”…
Sarah Palin Slams Foul-Mouthed Hollywood Haters Outside Movie Premiere (Video)
Palin was in Pella, Iowa, at the premiere of a documentary about her called The Undefeated, which opens with several minutes of Hollywood entertainers using some of the most vulgar language imaginable to express their displeasure with the former vice presidential candidate. Some appear genuinely angry, and Steve Bannon cuts to news footage twice in the film of Palin being hung in effigy.
After the movie, as throngs of supporters and reporters clamored for attention, THR asked her: “In the first 10 minutes where all the celebrities are trashing you, how do you respond to something like that?”
Palin said she hadn’t seen or heard much of the TV and radio footage before seeing it in the movie, which bleeped some of the dirtier language, though it was easy to determine what the entertainers were saying, including lots of profane references to the female anatomy.
“This is the first that I’ve seen much of that. It kind of takes you back,” she told THR. “It makes you want to reach out to some of these folks and say, What’s your problem? And what was the problem? And what is the problem?
If you want to imagine it without watching, picture a adapted-for-the-stage middle-school production of Melrose Place.
Mostly they just babble. They’re Democrats because they’re… I don’t know. All I know is that if you’re doing a video with a backdrop you need to stand a couple of feet ahead of it so you don’t cast distracting shadows on it.
I haven’t seen this much pale Gothic skin and amateurish lighting since ScyFy ran a 44 hour Dark Shadows marathon hosted by Barnabas Collins’ entertainment lawyer.
Vote Fraud Paradise in Maryland
As it happens the citizens against this Maryland version of the DREAM Act didn’t just collect the requisite 18,579 (or so) petition signatures, they collected 40,000! This made the supporters of illegal immigrants suddenly all upset, as you can imagine, and here is where the lawbreaking came in.
Opponents of the folks trying to dump the illegal-supporting bill did what leftists always do. They began to bend, rip, distort and break the rules.
The libs trying to protect the favored status for illegals went to a friend in the government and somehow were able to get hold of all the petitions, then they were somehow allowed to remove all those petitions from the authorities, and they somehow were able to take all these petitions to a local copy shop so that they could make Xerox copies of all the petitions.
These leftists claim they wanted all the petitions so that they could “check the validity of the signatures.” Determining whether the signatures are fake or legit is not a leftist advocacy group’s job, of course. It is the job of the state. Still, it is obviously a lie, anyway. There is little doubt why these leftists want these names, addresses, emails, and phone numbers. It’s for one reason and one reason only and that would be to harass the voters that dared sign the petitions.
How Your Personal Information in Maryland Got into the Hands of…….????
Incredible! Just think who could be pouring over your personal information at this very minute—a major Washington DC law firm connected with the DNC with all of its power to intimidate (no wonder the bureaucrats at the State Board of Elections crumbled so quickly and handed over the CD with tens of thousands of names of disgusted Maryland voters when they could easily have postponed the release).
This (instate tuition for illegal aliens bill) is a big deal to the Democratic Party in the sanctuary state of Maryland so they are bringing in the big dogs. Is their goal to possibly disenfranchise voters and potentially suppress the vote in Maryland?
Make no mistake, there is only one reason that Sandler and CASA wanted the list—they plan to use it!
It is very likely that organizers will succeed in getting in-state tuition for illegals on the ballot for 2012 and that leaves these Washington hot shot lawyers 17 months to find ways to discourage voters.
6 Illegal Aliens Arrested at Georgia Capitol Protest After Blocking Traffic
Ship them home.
In many of these brutal attacks, the news media make no mention of the race of the perpetrators. If it were white racist gangs randomly attacking blacks, the mainstream media would have no hesitation reporting the race of the perps. Editors for the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune admitted to deliberately censoring information about black crime for political reasons. Chicago Tribune Editor Gerould Kern recently said that the paper’s reason for censorship was to “guard against subjecting an entire group of people to suspicion.”
These racist attacks can, at least in part, be attributed to the black elite, who have a vested interest in racial paranoia. And that includes a president who has spent years aligned with people who have promoted racial grievance and polarization and appointed an attorney general who’s accused us of being “a nation of cowards” on matters of race and has refused to prosecute black thugs who gathered at a Philadelphia voting site in blatant violation of federal voter intimidation laws. Tragically, black youngsters — who are seething with resentments, refusing to accept educational and other opportunities unknown to blacks yesteryear — will turn out to be the larger victims in the long run.
Black silence in the face of black racism has to be one of the biggest betrayals of the civil rights struggle that included black and white Americans.
The 18-year-old student who was brutally beaten in an alleged attack by a teenage gang has spoken out for the first time about his ordeal.
Four members of the gang were charged under South Carolina’s old lynching law for the vicious beating, which left Carter Strange so badly injured he required facial reconstruction surgery.
The Racism Everyone Pretends Doesn’t Exist
Mine was one of the last families to escape the neighborhood, and while I was leaving all of my friends behind, I was delighted to be starting a new life someplace where it would be far less likely that I’d become a crime victim simply for being the “wrong” color. They called it white flight, they said it was racist, but what it was would be better defined as survival. My neighbors and I loved our homes, we never would have left it it hadn’t become so dangerous to stay.
Black racism is just as real as other kinds of racism and just as evil, but it is even more dangerous than the others because few will even acknowledge that it exists, much less do something about it. That needs to change, although it will be an uphill battle when you’ve got race hustling grievance mongers like Obama’s Attorney General Eric Holder undermining any attempts to see justice served for victims of hate crimes if they aren’t in his preferred demographic and fellow race hustling grievance mongers like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson aiding in cover-ups and suppression of any honest conversation of the matter with the MSM following in lockstep. The whitewashing of black racism needs to stop – NOW.
Obama’s Racial Politics Are Playing in Peoria
“Will it play in Peoria?” is a phrase dating to the 19th century, a reference to whether some idea would go over well in mainstream typical America, the premise being that if it will float in Peoria it will succeed everywhere.
One particular idea is currently playing in Peoria which regrettably is becoming all too typical in our country, young blacks rioting in the streets, threatening to “kill all white people around here,” assaulting whites, and intimidating cops, white people, and black people alike.
Peorians were advised to avoid their yards and front porches and stay indoors, as if that were a solution to the mayhem.
The real issue, however, is not only what’s been playing in Peoria but what’s also going on in the rest of America. Peoria’s violence is simply and unfortunately a microcosm of events which are largely being ignored by the mainstream media or, if reported at all, are censored.
Note the assploding irony of a hardcore lefty trying to disparage the Pledge by comparing it to The Communist Manifesto.
Home In Wyoming Serves As Corporate Headquarters For 2,000 Businesses
Some are demanding that these states be forced to end their status as corporate havens, but isn’t there a healthier way to look at this?
It seems to me that the solution to companies fleeing heavy taxes and regulations is to ease those taxes and regulations. So often in politics business is treated like the enemy. The reality is that businesses and the bedrock of the economy.
Instead of making states like Wyoming and Delaware more like the rest of the country, maybe the rest of the country should be more like Delaware and Wyoming.
California Lawmakers Voting on “Abracadabra” Budget [so that they can get paid]
The details are below, but first check out the reaction to the budget: Brown doesn’t want to talk about it (why not? Isn’t he proud of it?)
“ Marilyn Cohen, president of Envision Capital Management in Los Angeles, said the revenue expectation was risky and reminded her of the budget tricks Brown said he would avoid.
“I like to call it the Abracadabra budget,” Cohen said. “Abracadabra and the $4 billion magically materializes.”
The grumpy governor, when finally cornered for a comment by the SF Chronicle, clearly feels the only way to balance his budget is to raise taxes.
“We will get those tax increases, one way or the other…”
San Francisco Lawsuit: Muslim Woman Sues Abercrombie and Fitch to Wear Hijab
Arizona Plugs Art Commission Money Hole
“Government support is integral,” Booker said. “It provides access to the arts to the population. It provides a common good. That’s the bottom line. The revenue is used for programming that doesn’t generate revenue.”
That it doesn’t generate revenue proves to a liberal that it must be a wise “investment,” so long as our collectivist overlords deem it to be in the “common good.”
In the free world, the fact that it doesn’t generate revenue proves that it is not worthwhile. If people want something, they will pay for it voluntarily. There has always been art, but only since it started being financed with other people’s money has it degenerated into crucifixes in urine and absurd poseurs vomiting on canvasses.
Homosexual “Pride” Event Blossoms Into Riot
A great idea for a reality show would be to have a homosexual anarchist mob and one of the black mobs that have been preying on Caucasians meet up, making sure both sides are armed with lethal weapons.
But then, the homosexual anarchists would just run away. They’re only brave when confronting store windows.
Next Boom Industry in New York: Gay Divorce
Now they shall truly have equality. They’ll be as miserable as a lot of straight couples.
Sexual identity: Another hill to die on
A little pop quiz for you (and take care — it’s trickier than it seems):
How many sexes are there?
If you answered “two” (as in male and female) you’re a hopeless old fogey.
The correct, up-to-date answer, according to an Oakland, CA, public elementary school, is “more than two.” The abolition of childhood (Steyn’s phrase) continues apace.
Charges Against Emily Good Dropped
It took less than a minute for a judge to dismiss an obstructing governmental administration charge against Good, saying there was no legal basis to move forward.
Good was arrested last month while videotaping a traffic stop outside her Rochester home. She was taken into custody after Good failed to go inside her home when ordered to by Rochester police officer Mario Masic.
New Hampshire Scraps Taxpayer Funding For Planned Parenthood…
Planned Parenthood Sues Kansas Over Law Yanking Their Taxpayer Funding…
VA Cemetery Tells Volunteers To Stop Telling Families “God Bless You” During Funerals…
Local veterans and volunteer groups are accusing Department of Veterans Affairs officials of censoring religious speech — including banning the word “God” — at Houston National Cemetery.
In one example cited in documents filed this week in federal court, cemetery director Arleen Ocasio reportedly told volunteers with the National Memorial Ladies that they had to stop telling the families, “God bless you,” at funerals and that they had to remove the words “God bless” from condolence cards.
The new allegations of “religious hostility” by VA and cemetery officials follow on the heels of a controversy over a prayer in Jesus’ name by Pastor Scott Rainey at a Memorial Day service in the cemetery.
MSM Circus and Celebutard Side Show:
Palin, the Flotilla, and the L.A. Times Khalidi/Obama Tape
Since then my obsession with this hidden tape has, if anything, grown, inspired by Obama’s continuing ambivalence, veering toward contempt, for the state of Israel. Others have recently chimed in on the subject, like Jim Hoft noticing a certain irony in LAT’s behavior spurred by recent events (“L.A. Times Won’t Release Obama-Khalidi Tape But Posts 24,000 Sarah Palin Emails“). And then Stanley Kurtz amplified Hoft with “Release the Redacted Transcript!” Making note that the Times claims to have promised not to release the video itself, Kurtz wrote: “I doubt the L.A. Times will ever release the actual video tape, but I do think there’s a scenario in which a transcript might be produced.”
Perhaps because I live in L.A. and know the LAT well, have written for it on occasion, I am far less optimistic than Stanley that such a revelation would occur. Though better written than the lefty blog, the L.A. Times is barely three degrees to the right of the Daily Kos and many times more stodgy. The Times admits mistakes less often than Markos Moulitsas. And I suspect their editorial board would rather see the return of the McNamara Brothers, who dynamited the Times building in 1910, than do anything that might possibly harm the reelection of Barack Obama.
Media beclowns itself over Bachmann
So what is up? Reporters are supposed double-check politicians. But the combination of an absence of double-checking Barack Obama — ignoring obvious mistakes — an a certain glee among certain people in finding a gaffe where there is none makes the bias even more pronounced and obvious. These clowns ain’t too bright, are they?
By the way, did Stephanopoulos never run into Obama at Columbia? They both should have been in the same class year.
Mark Levin clubs George Stephanopolous like a baby Seal with The Clue Bat™-George Stephanopolous: Flake
These flaky journalists really should get their facts and history right before playing the gotcha game, or it might come back to bite them thanks to a fact-checker like me.
Speaking of Bill Clinton’s former chief of staff: Disgusting… Stephanopoulos to Bachmann: Media Plans On Investigating Your 23 Foster Children (Video)
They still haven’t uncovered Barack Obama’s college thesis but are determined to investigate and harass Michele Bachmann’s foster children.
NBC Nightly News Reports Bachmann’s John Wayne Gaffe, Ignores Obama’s Fallen Soldier Error
A cheap shot the folks at MSNBC and NBC seem very comfortable in taking.
But the hypocrisy doesn’t end there.
As NewsBusters reported last week, President Obama on Thursday said he had literally awarded a Medal of Honor to one Jared Monti, meaning in person while he was alive.
Unfortunately, Monti was bestowed this honor posthumously in 2009 having been killed in Afghanistan three years prior. Obama later apologized to the family for his misstatement.
Despite the seriousness of this gaffe, MSNBC and NBC have yet to report it. In fact, according to LexisNexis, through Sunday, not one television news network has.
It appears a Republican presidential candidate confusing the names of two small Iowa towns most people have never heard of is far more important than a sitting president mistaking a fallen hero for a live one.
Name That Party: Blago’s Dem Affiliation Left Out of Seven AP Stories
‘Does the Constitution Still Matter?’ — a Follow-Up
At Patterico, Aaron Worthing dismantled the Time piece and found 13 factual errors.
Without a doubt the next issue of Time will address these discrepancies by publishing a lengthy article on how Michele Bachmann is factually-challenged.
The same Randi Rhodes who claimed Palin likes to “sleep with teenage boys” and who was caught lying about being “mugged” in NYC to drum up publicity for her failing Air America show.
RFK Jr.: There Was a ‘Huge Appetite’ for Air America
Damn, the heroin abuse really took a toll on this guy. There was a “huge appetite” for Air America? Really? Where? They beat conservative radio in every market?
Dude really needs a reality check.
The dead babies thrown in the dumpster beg to differ.
John Lennon … Reagan Republican?
In new documentary Beatles Stories, Seaman tells filmmaker Seth Swirsky Lennon wasn’t the peace-loving militant fans thought he was while he was his assistant.
He says, “John, basically, made it very clear that if he were an American he would vote for Reagan because he was really sour on (Democrat) Jimmy Carter.
“He’d met Reagan back, I think, in the 70s at some sporting event… Reagan was the guy who had ordered the National Guard, I believe, to go after the young (peace) demonstrators in Berkeley, so I think that John maybe forgot about that… He did express support for Reagan, which shocked me.["]
Lennon met Reagan on Monday Night Football, actually, as Frank Gifford recalled. This would have taken place a few years (December 1974, farther back than Giffords’ recollection) before Seaman started working for Lennon. I read an account about this meeting in another book, which described the interaction as friendly and gracious on the part of both men. That telling squares with the account at this site, although the post there offers no supporting citations.
While I’m a fan of the music of the Beatles, I found Lennon’s solo career to be too preachy for my taste. I especially didn’t care for “Imagine,” a treacly pseudo-philosophical nihilist rant dressed up as a ballad. According to Seaman, I wasn’t alone in that assessment:
“He was a very different person back in 1979 and 80 than he’d been when he wrote Imagine. By 1979 he looked back on that guy and was embarrassed by that guy’s naivete.”
Even so, I have trouble imagining Lennon as a Reagan Republican, but it’s certainly interesting to try.
Global Warmening:
Al Gore’s next crusade: in your bed
You heard that right: To save mother Gaia, it’s imperative that we kill ourselves as a species. Let a thousand flowers bloom, but be sure to have only one or two kids, lest you make “climate change” worse.
Ladies, this means you: “One of the things we could do about it is to change the technologies, to put out less of this pollution, to stabilize the population, and one of the principal ways of doing that is to empower and educate girls and women,” Gore said in New York last week. “When that happens, then the population begins to stabilize and societies begin to make better choices and more balanced choices.”
This from a guy who has the carbon footprint of Bigfoot: four kids, a jet-fueled lifestyle, a huge Nashville mansion that’s four times the size of the average new American home and uses up 20 times as much electricity.
Hypocrisy, anybody?
The Failure of Al Gore: Part Deux
The global green treaty movement to outlaw climate change is the most egregious folly to seize the world’s imagination since the Kellog-Briand Pact outlawed war in the late 1920s. The idea that the nations of the earth could agree on an enforceable treaty mandating deep cuts in their output of all greenhouse gasses is absurd. A global treaty to meet Mr. Gore’s policy goals isn’t a treaty: the changes such a treaty requires are so broad and so sweeping that a GGCT is less a treaty than a constitution for global government. Worse, it is a constitution for a global welfare state with trillions of dollars ultimately sent by the taxpayers of rich countries to governments (however feckless, inept, corrupt or tyrannical) in poor ones.
For this treaty to work, China, India, Nigeria and Brazil and scores of other developing countries must in effect accept limits on their economic growth. The United States must commit through treaty to policies that cannot get simple majorities in Congress — like sending billions of dollars in climate aid to countries like Iran, North Korea, Syria and Pakistan, even as we adopt intrusive and expensive energy controls here at home.
The green plan is a plan for a global constitution because the treaty will regulate economic production in every country on earth. This is a deeply intrusive concept; China, Nigeria, Myanmar, Iran and Vietnam will have to monitor and report on every factory, every farm, every truck and car, every generator and power plant in their territory. Many states do not now have and possibly never will have the ability to do this in a transparent and effective way. Many others will cheat, either for economic advantage or for reasons of national security. Many states do not want their own citizens to have this knowledge, much less the officials of hostile foreign powers.
The Sock Drawer:
Lost penguin Happy Feet told to swim home
IT sounds like the ultimate travel disaster.
A wrong turn and suddenly you’re lost and alone in a foreign land.
You’re so hungry you eat some dodgy food that lands you on the operating table.
But the ultimate indignity comes when after trying to leave you find you don’t have the right papers to get home.
This is no human holiday from hell but the story of the emperor penguin dubbed “Happy Feet” – after it was found stranded on a New Zealand beach.
*snip*
The latest development in the 3200km saga has found he will not be returned home to Antarctica.
Instead “Happy” should start preparing for a long swim after an advisory group convened by the Department of Conservation (DOC) said the bird should be released into the Southern Ocean, southeast of New Zealand.
The Antarctic Treaty, signed by 46 nations and enshrined in New Zealand law, stipulates that no living bird is allowed to be taken into Antarctica.
To do so would breach the treaty’s protocols on environmental protection because of the risk of disease,
Happy Feet has a fishy appetite
The lost Emperor Penguin recovering at Wellington Zoo after an operation to remove sand, stones and sticks from its stomach is proving to be a tough young bird.
This afternoon as it was being handled by zoo staff who were about to feed it, the penguin showed it had plenty of spirit.
Staff tasked with feeding the penguin said he was getting used to human treatment, and had not been fighting against them.
Vets say the penguin is recuperating well after having sticks and stones removed from its stomach.
Vets say a large amount still remains, but they hope it will be flushed from its body in coming days after the 10-month-old bird – nicknamed ‘Happy Feet’ – has been fed a mixture of oil, fish and laxatives.
US and Britain top league table of countries that would be worst affected by an asteroid strike
Clever Crows reveal learning traits
Elijah Wood: ‘Hobbit cameo feels like family reunion’
QUIZ: Do You Know Who Produces The World’s Biggest Commodities?
