Thursday, June 10, 2010

In Economic Woes 06-10


How To Kill A Recovery

Ax May Fall on Mortgage Interest Deduction

McConnell Charges That ‘Major Part’ of Democrats’ Cap-Trade Bill ‘Essentially Written by BP’

Conference Committee Reconsiders Disastrous Derivatives Proposal

The Housing-Market Recession Is Not Over

Drug Patents: Prescription for Problems

CFA Urges a NO Vote on Baucus Substitute Amendment to "Tax Extenders" Package

Gulf Disaster 06-10


The Cover-up Is Worse Than The Slick

How the White House is Making Oil Recovery Harder

Disaster in the Gulf: 52 Days and Counting ...

Efforts to Limit the Flow of Spill News

Interesting graph showing where the oil spill is relative to atmosphere, sea level, and deepest depth of ocean. Hat Tip Jonah.

Gulf leak: biggest spill may not be biggest disaster

Defending Muslim Women

Ayaan Hirsi Ali Upends Leftist Stereotypes in Santa Monica Fabulous article with this compelling ending.
I realized that the real crux of the matter, and the truly paralyzing aspect for the liberals around me, was simply that — her courage. To the Hollywood community, a community that did not even have the courage to list Theo Van Gogh during the 2005 Oscar ceremony as one of the people in film who had died that year, a woman willing to continue espousing her deep convictions after being threatened with death by the same people who had murdered her colleague was utterly confounding. And for someone like me, a person who writes from behind a mask, not even for fear of death but of the economic retribution I might face from the supposedly tolerant community in which I live and work, the evening I spent in a room with Ayaan Hirsi Ali was all the more humbling.


Also about Ayaan Hirsi Ali - A wanderer from Islam with a message for the West
Why are so many liberal intellectuals, social democrats and feminists so silent on the more noxious features of Islam – the fierce intolerance toward unbelievers, the repression of individual freedom, the routine abuse of children, the misogyny, the forced subservience of women? “It’s the seduction of totalitarianism,” she says. In her view, Western defenders of Islam are the intellectual heirs of those highly intelligent men and women who used to heap praise on Comrade Stalin. “It’s a blind spot that left-wing intellectuals have always had.”

Ms. Hirsi Ali’s own history is a horrifying study in female subjugation. Her grandmother and mother hit her often. At 5, she was held down, screaming, as her genitals were mutilated. (She has nothing but contempt for feminists who urge us to understand this brutal practice in its cultural context.) She was regularly beaten by her brother, the enforcer of family morals. After being married off by her father to a Toronto cousin she had never met, she escaped to the Netherlands.

Free Speech: Use It or Lose It. Recently, independent journalism and blogging have come under attack on multiple fronts.

Bad Politician Bad 06-10


President Obama Job Approval

Gallup Daily: Obama Job Approval Only 4% Approval - Ouch

Nevada Senate: Angle 50%, Reid 39%

Obama unveils $400,000,000 civilian aid package for the Palestinians. That's your tax dollars at work people. Leaving the country to go to Palestinians living in a country run by terrorist thugs. Where is that LA Times party video?

Clueless About Gaza

Obama and the Trouble With Voting 'Present' Weak and radical, the president looks more like Jimmy Carter all the time.

Obama falls headfirst into the hypocrisy trap

Deal would have given Emil Jones Obama’s Senate seat

Is Obama at a Tipping Point?

President party boy The wrong kind of leadership

ACLU Chief 'Disgusted' with Obama's Policies

A Political Transfusion. The primaries are producing some welcome new talent.

Surprise SC Senate candidate has charge pending


Pennsylvania AG Sought to Anonymously Out Anonymous Critics

Dinosaurs vs. Zillionaires: Four Depressing Candidates Win in California

Some on the left not happy with Democrats

Audit: D.C. doesn't follow own laws on jobs, wages

Calif. voters overhaul primary election system

Are Obama staffers overexposed?

Big Union/ACORN/Leftie Groups 06-10


The growing power of government unions

ACORN employees tell FBI of deliberate election fraud, according to new documents PDF here.

Breaking: Radical Union Organizer-Black Liberation Activist Slugs Tea Party Protester in Face

FreedomWorks Activist Punched at Peaceful Protest to Oppose BP Bailout

AmeriCorps scandal figure invited to AmeriCorps conference

Obama team honors Walpin-gate transgressor

Academia-Gate: As Big Labor and Media Push ‘Researchprop’ on Our Kids, Who’s Really Paying the Cost? (Part 1) AND Academia-Gate: Ethically and Legally, ‘Cry Wolf’ Project Cries Out For Investigation AND Academia-Gate — the Nanny State & The Professors: My Brief Email Exchange With The Co-Chair of the “Cry Wolf” Project

Headline of the Day: Public Sector Union Edition: "Metrobus driver that punched McGruff the crime dog rehired"

SEIU’s Mary Kay Henry: Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss

Labor blows another $10 million on card check

FBI Documents Show Depth of ACORN Corruption

UPDATED - EPA Set For Massive Power Grab, Economic Destruction

DAMN IT - The Murkowski Resolution failed. Someone better nail those Senators who voted no because they are now personally responsible for the destruction of the US Economy.

Here is the Roll Call on the Murkowski Resolution. That RAT BASTARD WEBB voted No. Find your own Senator and if they voted NO, give a call. If the EPA gets it's nasty little hands on this power, our economy will swirl down the toilet.

Here is my email today to Senator Webb.
Dear Sen. Webb,

You voted no on the Murkowski Resolution. I will not forget or forgive this.

If the EPA gets to regulate carbon dioxide, our economy is going to suffer. I will hole YOU personally responsibile for that.

I have already blogged my displeasure on the two websites I participate in (one as an individual and one as a group blogging effort). Please rest assured, my opinion of you is being made very well known. And when you run for re-election, I will not have forgotten your vote. And I will blog RELENTLESSLY to expose your terrible voting deed to all Virginians.

I am completely disappointed in you.


Boxer: Carbon dioxide will be “leading cause of conflict” in next 20 years While I thoroughly disapprove of this descriptor of Olbermann's, my sensibilities would not be offended at all if he or anyone else called Boxer a "mashed-up bag of meat with lipstick". Because she is a sack of something and the above idiocy should clearly demonstrate that the ancient crone has clearly lost her freakin' mind.

(Originally published on National Review Online - The Corner, here)

I wrote this morning in the American Spectator about how tight the vote is on Senator Murkowski's bid to stop the EPA regulating CO2. It looks like Sen. Scott Brown is fully on board now, and three cheers to him for that, but thanks to a midnight deal by an obviously scared Harry Reid, Senator Webb of Virginia looks like he's going to vote no.

If you're a Virginian, get on to his office. You can call 1-866-507-1570 or use this handy-dandy message generator, courtesy of FreedomAction, to send his office an email.

Other senators are also on the fence. If you're a constituent of any of these and want EPA's power grab stopped, call or message them using the link above or this one from Americans for Prosperity. The senators that most need to hear from their constituents are:

Sen. Bayh, Indiana
Sen. Dorgan, North Dakota
Sen. Conrad (apparently targeted by Reid, like Sen. Webb), North Dakota
Sen. Tester, Montana
Sen. Pryor, Arkansas
Sen. Warner, Virginia
Sen. Begich, Alaska

Here are some things you can tell them:

● Every senator who votes no is taking full responsibility for the consequences of EPA regulation of greenhouse-gas emissions.

● The Reid alternative, a vote on Sen. Rockefeller's bill to delay regulation by two years, is not an adequate alternative. Who will invest in a new factory if EPA is going to begin regulating emissions within two years? Even Sen. Rockefeller is supporting Sen. Murkowski.

● The argument many Senators are making, that this is a vote against higher fuel-economy standards, is silly. See here.

This issue is vital. Any help you can give is much appreciated.

Daily Round-Up 06-10



Remembering the Victims of Communism

U.N. Treaty Threatens Parental Rights

Maybe Obamacare Really Will Lower Costs

GOP attacks Dems’ ‘California Schemin’ on Medicare payments

New Yorkistan? Initial lessons from the latest homegrown terror plot

JUNK SCIENCE AND JUNK POLITICS
DAMN IT - The Murkowski Resolution failed. Someone better nail those Senators who voted no because they are now personally responsible for the destruction of the US Economy.

From My Husband - Silly Arguments Against the Murkowski Resolution
Senator Boxer lost any credibility she might have had left when she said that the Murkowski Resolution would be like Congress "saying the Earth is flat." Preposterous demagoguery, as Marlo Lewis explains. Any Senator who claims his/her vote was swayed by that argument should be disqualified from office.

Climate change showdown

Is the EPA In Charge of Our Economic Future?

CARBON COPS: The EPA's Assault on Your Freedom & Thursday's Big Vote in the Senate

The Paralyzing Precautionary Principle. The "precautionary principle" sounds reasonable on first glance. The effect of adopting it, however, is paralysis.


MEDIA BIAS
Their integrity is water soluble

Roll Out Those Lazy, Hazy, Malaise-y Days of Summer 2010. Summer news used to be known as the "silly season." This summer, the ones looking silly are the legacy media.

MEMO TO MSM: Rush & Elton John Agree on Same-Sex Marriage

California Is Now Least Educated State

I got this in my email from the Center for Immigration Studies.

The report titled "A State Transformed: Immigration and the New California" is a fascinating albeit terrifying read. Lots of charts and documentation. Take a look for yourself.

The emailed notice contained this "discussion" closing:
California is home to the high-tech and entertainment industries, has one of the nation’s largest tourism industries, and has the most productive agricultural land in the country. Historically, it was not a state with a disproportionately large unskilled population, unlike Appalachia, parts of the American South, or the Rio Grande valley. Relative to other states, it had one of the more educated labor forces in terms of the share of workers who had completed high school. But today it is the state with the largest share of its labor force that has not completed high school.

Analysis of Census Bureau data through 2008 by the Center for Immigration Studies shows this relative change is a direct result of immigration. California has become a state with one of the most skewed income distributions and it is among the states with high rates of welfare use and lack of health insurance. Immigrants in the state are six times more likely than natives not to have completed high school. While some employers argue that a continuing stream of unskilled immigrant workers is desirable, such a policy has consequences. Productivity, standard of living, welfare use, health insurance coverage, and the tax base are heavily impacted by education levels. The low level of educational attainment in the state is likely to create significant challenges for California in the foreseeable future.

Hate Them? Buy Them.

Betting on the Bad Guys Cartoonist Scott Adams's personal road to riches: Put your money on the companies that you hate the most

I can't remember the last time I laughed out loud while reading investment advice that I am seriously considering following as soon as we have two pennies to rub together.
When I heard that BP was destroying a big portion of Earth, with no serious discussion of cutting their dividend, I had two thoughts: 1) I hate them, and 2) This would be an excellent time to buy their stock. And so I did. Although I should have waited a week.

People ask me how it feels to take the side of moral bankruptcy. Answer: Pretty good! Thanks for asking. How's it feel to be a disgruntled victim?

I have a theory that you should invest in the companies that you hate the most. The usual reason for hating a company is that the company is so powerful it can make you balance your wallet on your nose while you beg for their product. Oil companies such as BP don't actually make you beg for oil, but I think we all realize that they could. It's implied in the price of gas.

I hate BP, but I admire them too, in the same way I respect the work ethic of serial killers. I remember the day I learned that BP was using a submarine…with a web cam…a mile under the sea…to feed live video of their disaster to the world. My mind screamed "STOP TRYING TO MAKE ME LOVE YOU! MUST…THINK…OF DEAD BIRDS TO MAINTAIN ANGER!" The geeky side of me has a bit of a crush on them, but I still hate them for turning Florida into a dip stick.

Apparently BP has its own navy, a small air force, and enough money to build floating cities on the sea, most of which are still upright. If there's oil on the moon, BP will be the first to send a hose into space and suck on the moon until it's the size of a grapefruit. As an investor, that's the side I want to be on, with BP, not the loser moon.
Read the whole thing.

Zo Smacks Down Ashton But Good

"Joe Legal vs Jose Illegal"

I received this two emails this morning and mashed them together because they make an interesting illegal immigration point. My stance on illegal immigration is that it must be stopped and I whole heartedly support legal immigration (given that I've married an immigrant). I do feel that the businesses that hire illegals must be punished for breaking the law as much if not more so than the illegal immigrant breaking into our country.

Anyways, below is the email with the separately sent picture. The "math" may not be exact but I suspect it is within the realm of accurate. As a real-world income analysis of what could be happening, it's fair to say this is a decent description of the differences between a working class family and an illegal immigrant family.

Take a look at the sign this man is holding, then read the income analysis below.



You have two families: "Joe Legal" and "Jose Illegal".

Both families have two parents, two children and live in California.

Joe Legal works in construction, has a Social Security Number and makes $25.00 per hour, with taxes deducted.

Jose Illegal also works in construction, has NO Social Security Number and gets paid $15.00 cash per hour, "under the table".

Ready? Now pay attention ...

Joe Legal: $25.00 per hour x 40 hours = $1000.00 per week or $52,000.00 per year. Now take minimum 30% away for state and federal tax and Joe Legal now has$31,231.00.

Jose Illegal: $15.00 per hour x 40 hours = $600.00 per week or $31,200.00 per year. Jose Illegal pays NO state or federal taxes. Jose Illegal now has $31,200.00.

Joe Legal pays medical and dental insurance with limited coverage for his family at $600.00 per month or $7,200.00 per year. Joe Legal now has $24,031.00.

Jose Illegal has full medical and dental coverage through the state and local clinics at a cost of $0.00 per year. Jose Illegal still has $31,200.00.

Joe Legal makes too much money and is not eligible for food stamps or welfare. Joe Legal pays $500.00 per month for food or $6,000.00 per year. Joe Legal now has $18,031.00.

Jose Illegal has no documented income and is eligible for food stamps and welfare, due to his "anchor children" that were born in the US. Jose Illegal still has $31,200.00.

Joe Legal pays rent of $1,200.00 per month or $14,400.00 per year. Joe Legal now has $9,631.00.

Jose Illegal receives a $500.00 per month federal rent subsidy. Jose Illegal pays out that $500.00 per month or $6,000.00 per year. Jose Illegal still has $31,200.00.

Joe Legal pays $200.00 per month or $2,400.00 for car insurance. Joe Legal now has $7,231.00.

Jose Illegal says "We don't need no stinkin' insurance!" and still has $31,200.00.

Joe Legal has to make his $7,231.00 stretch to pay utilities, gasoline, etc.

Jose Illegal has to make his $31,200.00 stretch to pay utilities, gasoline, plus what he sends out of the country every month.

Joe Legal now works overtime on Saturdays or gets a part time job after work.

Jose Illegal has nights and weekends off to enjoy with his family.

Joe Legal's and Jose Illegal's children both attend the same school. Joe Legal pays for his children's lunches while Jose Illegal's children get a government sponsored lunch. Jose Illegal's children have an after school ESL program. Joe Legal's children go home and he needs to pay for a babysitter to watch them while he and his wife work.

Joe Legal and Jose Illegal both enjoy the same police and fire services, but Joe paid for them and Jose did not pay anything.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Obamacare 06-09


Told ya. Rationing Body = Death Panel

First victim of health care overhaul?
A Virginia-based insurance company says “considerable uncertainties” created by the Democrats’ health care overhaul will force it to close its doors by the end of the year.

The firm, nHealth, appears to be the first to claim that the new law has driven it out of business. “We don’t know what the rules are going to be, and, as a start-up, our investors need certainty,” nHealth CEO and President Paul Kitchen told POLITICO. “The law created so much uncertainty that is beyond our control.”

Last week, in a letter to the company’s 50 or so employees, Executive Vice President James Slabaugh said nHealth has stopped accepting new group customers and will terminate all business by Dec. 31.
Thanks an effing lot democrats.

And thanks a lot for this too. A Future With Fewer New Miracle Drugs

Big Union/ACORN/Leftie Groups 06-09


But I thought Unions existed to protect workers... HA! Marine Says He Faces Termination for Refusing to Pay Teacher's Union Fee

White House official: 'Organized labor just flushed $10 million down the toilet'

'There are too many government bureaucrats and they are paid too much'

Update: Obama's Union Busting WH: Labor Flushed Under The Bus

Is Hollywood Turning on Teachers Unions?

Itsa comin' - The June 8 elections: A verdict on incumbents, unions, and Democrats

Unions defend failed gambit to topple Lincoln

Gulf Disaster 06-09

Once a government pet, BP now a capitalist tool That's a lie.
BP has more Democratic lobbyists than Republicans. It employs the Podesta Group, co-founded by John Podesta, Obama’s transition director and confidant. Other BP troops on K Street include Michael Berman, a former top aide to Vice President Walter Mondale; Steven Champlin, former executive director of the House Democratic Caucus; and Matthew LaRocco, who worked in Bill Clinton’s Interior Department and whose father was a Democratic congressman. Former Republican staffers, such as Reagan alumnus Ken Duberstein, also lobby for BP, but there’s no truth to Democratic portrayals of the oil company as an arm of the GOP.

Two patterns have emerged during Obama’s presidency: 1) Big business increasingly seeks profits through more government, and 2) Obama nonetheless paints opponents of his intervention as industry shills. BP is just the latest example of this tawdry sleight of hand


Rolling Stone: Deepwater blew and Obama knew That's gonna hurt BO with the young ones.

This is incompetence on a whole unfathomable level - Breaking: Miles of Oil Containment Boom in Warehouse- Just Sitting- Waiting For BP or US to Collect (Video!) I'm gonna say it, I miss George Bush.

Scapegoating has become a hallmark of this administration

EPA’s Global Warming Power Grab is Now About Oil Spills?

BP Oil Spill: Scientists Refute Obama's 3-Year Cleanup Prediction Instapundit's take - "But as noted earlier, the Persian Gulf recovered from the massive oil spills in the Gulf War faster than expected."

Bad Politician Bad 06-09



It's Time to Probe Obama's Top Advisers Over Job Deals, Issa Says

ACLU Sues to See Fed E-Mail Spying Records. The American Civil Liberties Union sued the federal government on Thursday seeking documents on what it calls an unconstitutional law that gives the executive branch power to collect Americans' international e-mails and phone records without a warrant or suspicion of wrongdoing.

Left-Wing Icon Daniel Ellsberg 'Obama Deceives the Public'

Race Based Politics

Itsa comin' - The June 8 elections: A verdict on incumbents, unions, and Democrats

Obama issuing memos of all sorts

The Alien in the White House The distance between the president and the people is beginning to be revealed.

Since when did America have a ruling class? A Slap In the Face for the Ruling Class

Oil spill clogging Washington's biggest mouths

Rolling Stone: Deepwater blew and Obama knew That's gonna hurt BO with the young ones.

GOP Senator: Senators need Kagan files by Friday

Great foreign policy, BO. Who's afraid of Barack Obama? Nobody

This is incompetence on a whole unfathomable level - Breaking: Miles of Oil Containment Boom in Warehouse- Just Sitting- Waiting For BP or US to Collect (Video!) I'm gonna say it, I miss George Bush.

Was There a Message Behind Tuesday's Primary Results? Yes, I think it was "Get Out".

Surprise SC Senate candidate has charge pending

In Economic Woes 06-09



Hope for change - U.S debt to rise to $19.6 trillion by 2015

Liberals need a Little Econ 101

Texas billionaire's legacy: Death, but no taxes. Family of world's 74th wealthiest person to benefit from Congress' lapse

Immigration, Capitalism, and Government

Only a fraction of those in need file for bankruptcy

Feel the Rage Liberals discover the right's critique of regulation.

Go Issa Go! Congressman Issa to Investigate Paulson, Center for Responsible Lending

Obamanomics Recession

Surprise: Wall Street ‘Reform’ Bill Picks Winners and Goldman Sachs Wins

Can Black Americans Afford Obama?

Swiping at Cards

Protecting Your Cash: Understanding FDIC Insurance

How much will Europe debt crisis affect Americans?

Why aren't banks lending? Because bureaucrats and politicians won't let them

Obama's federal spending doubletalk

TARP, Jr. By the way, every time I see a picture of him, I think "Geithner is a tool." Go figure.

National Deficit-Reduction Commissioner: "The market-worshipping, privatizing, de-regulating, dehumanizing American financial plan has failed and should never be revived" It's nice to see people still willing to be spectacularly WRONG.

Daily Round-Up 06-09



Itsa comin' - The June 8 elections: A verdict on incumbents, unions, and Democrats

Unions defend failed gambit to topple Lincoln

That's my gal - Palin's backing pays off for pals

Well, it was an excellent rant - The transformative power of Rick Santelli's rant

Gotta love that liberal, peace-loving left - Rabbi Receives Death Threats Over Helen Thomas Video

This is incompetence on a whole unfathomable level - Breaking: Miles of Oil Containment Boom in Warehouse- Just Sitting- Waiting For BP or US to Collect (Video!) I'm gonna say it, I miss George Bush.

Shhh, Thomas Sowell is speaking - The Real Public Service. It was Thomas Edison who brought us electricity, not the Sierra Club. Reminder, the Seirra Club has a history of supporting eugenics programs and restricting immigration.

In Emissions Battle, Automakers Pitted Against Miners, Farmers, Timber, and a Host of Politicians

What Happened to Feminism? Republican Women on the Rise

Please, Newsweek. Stop with the Fake Chivalry Because we chicks are way tougher than you. Remember, the side with the protest babes always wins.

Nice history lesson from Alan Snyder - Paine vs. Jay: Patriots in Contrast

Fashion Victims

It occurs to me that the reason why two-thirds of what passes for "fashion" these days sucks is that it is basically a reflection of what a gay man thinks is sexy.

Now, as a veteran fag-hag, I bow to no one in my respect for the gay community. However I do feel that most of the fashion I see is just modified drag-queen or exaggerated male fantasy filtered through estrogen.

I don't want to look skanky or as fashion-victim-y as Jessica Parker (seriously who wears those outfits either in real life or as Carrie?) but over and over we see these "edgy" and "fierce" fashion "editorials" that look interesting but rarely wearable.

I love to watch ANTM and Project Runway but I regularly disagree with the judges because while they have "fashion sense" they regularly fail to have good taste. And that's important because like-it-or-not, these people will dictate what is available to purchase but their failure to have good taste limits what is available for the other 99% of us to purchase. Seriously, while it might fly in NYC or LA, what woman is going to go to her office or place of business in a suit covered in zippers and taffeta?

And I swear to goodness if I see another 80s reference in clothing being treated as "new", I'm gonna slap someone.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Media Bias 06-08


Journalists as Polemicists: A Case Study I always like a good fisking.

Mark Steyn on Helen Thomas (good stuff!) - Gone... Going... Going...
Funny that you can get a video of Helen Thomas spewing her hate, but we can’t find one showing ugly names being shouted in a crowd at congressmen.

A guy with a flip camera just took out one of the most storied names in American journalism. Presumably US newspaper managements have been assured by Obama, Pelosi, Frank et al that that bailout's a-comin' any day now. The alternative is that they're inept timeserving mediocrities too dullwitted even to know they're going over the falls.
I'm not sure why they spiked it but as regards to Helen Thomas - good riddance to old trash. Cal Thomas column on Helen Thomas spiked

Remember that Lancet Study? On the Iraqi war dead? It turns out it may have been deeply flawed Sounds like it was criminally flawed.

N.Y. Times misses the real lesson of charter schools

The Consequences of Media Failure: Demopaths Setting the Global Agenda. An examination of just how badly CNN failed to accurately cover the flotilla incident — repeating nonsense when better information was available — and the ramifications.

Attack of the bloggers! Is the (Real) News Dead? As a door knob. Or rather, no. Real news is very much alive but you won't find it in the MSM or being taught at J-school.

Obamacare 06-08


Obamacare First Order of Business: Drop Coverage for 1 Million

If You Like It, You CAN'T Keep It

Only idiots and Obama believe it is. Obamacare Isn’t Medicine for Deficit
At this point, there are only two camps of honest people: those who believe Obamacare will blow up the budget, and that this is a problem; and those who believe that Obamacare will blow up the budget, and that this is not a problem (because wealth redistribution is more important, and because the wealthy can be taxed more if needed).
Avik Roy, a savvy health care analyst in New York City

The More We Learn, The Worse It Gets

Another Round of Obamacare Obamaganda

Obama Launches Health Care Law Push in Face of Public Opposition

Big Union/ACORN/Leftie Groups 06-08


SEIU Endangering Lives

Revolt Against the Public Sector

Ensuring Boom Continues For Gov't Workers

Not sure I agree with that but this public worker job growth is unsustainable. No Jobs Would Be Better Than More Government Jobs On a related note, how come the useless idiots always talk about sustainable food, etc., but never protest unsustainable public jobs?

How the ‘Social Justice’ Left Uses Economic Incentives to Create Academic Propaganda. It's crap like this that makes me want to send our kids to Hillsdale.

In Economic Woes 06-08


Taxpayers Left with the Bill Again

Ax may fall on tax break for mortgages. Nice timing. Our economy is in tatters because the house bubble created by democrats burst and now they want to end the tax break on mortgages. I can't imagine a faster way to get taxpayers to pick up their pitchforks.

Where are the jobs? No payoff from O's spending

May Employment Report

‘A Very Deep Hole’

Federal Spending by the Numbers

Pass earmark transparency now

A dishonest debate on VAT

Democrats propose further tax hike on offshore oil And just how will they do that when most of our oil comes from foreign nations who I'm sure have no interest in complying.

Senate to Consider Job-killing ‘Carried Interest Tax’ Within Days. Because the best time to raise taxes is in a freakin' recession.

74% Oppose Taxing Internet News Sites To Help Newspapers

2010 Tort Liability Index Ranks States’ Tort Climate — Alaska ranks best, New York and New Jersey worst

Moody's Downgrades Illinois Bonds, Revenues Continue Slide

Bad Politician Bad 06-08


President Obama Job Approval

My husband names and shames. Begich Quite Likes That Sword of Damocles

Questions Abound on Political Job Offers

This is a hot mess too since basically the democrats are trying to de-fang the ethics oversight committee now that they created in order to sting republicans. But now that they're in trouble... - Advocates push back against black lawmakers on ethics office

The ties that bind. Remember Rahm Emanuel's rent-free D.C. apartment? The owner: A BP adviser. Bah. BO's Big Oil ties are so much worse than Bush's that I think the entire leftwing of America owes George an apology. The thing of it is BP got a huge pass from eco-leftie groups because it paid them off with "donations" and in return, the greens never went after BP which had the industry's worst environmental record of all the large oil companies by the way. The whole lot of them should be ashamed. ... Sorry for the rant. There's a long history of eco-terrorist green groups attacking my husband and his collegues with lies and disinformation while taking vast sums of money from the Big Oil companies that caved to their greenie threats. The only reason why the greens attacked Exxon so much was because Exxon refused to give them their blackmail money aka donations. Yes, I am bitter much. These eco-jerks have sent my husband and his co-workers death threats. And now I'm supposed.... Never mind. Suffice it to say that Obama and his cronies hands are covered with oil stains.


Obama Prevaricates about Jobs

Responding to the president's Carnegie Mellon economic speech

SWEET! Student Behind Obama Falls Asleep During Commencement Address

Reid, Pelosi head for climate clash. How about freeing up businesses so they can create some gosh darn jobs instead of this trashy legislation that will only drive the country further into ruin, you useles sacks of skin?

Shamed: Hodes, Shea-Porter in hiding Hiding from your bosses is an excellent way to get fired.

Lefties Heckle Pelosi (BWAHAHAHA)


Pushing a Liberal Agenda, With Democrats as Target

I'm Tired of Condescending Politicians

Gee I wonder why? Voters' support for members of Congress is at an all-time low, poll finds It's pathetic that the Washington Post finds this news. Like the TEA Party arose because they liked what the government was doing.

Tea Party Rides Anti-Incumbent Wave as 11 States Pick Candidates

Don't Forget To Vote

I did. And fingers crossed the guy I picked will CRUSH Connelly in November!

Today’s Under-the-Radar Primaries

From RCP - Super Tuesday's Under-the-Radar Races

Primary Fun Day

Tuesday's Elections: Sex, Spending and Slaying the Dragon

Daily Round-Up 06-08


WARNING: BLOGGER IN FOUL MOOD. MIGHT HAVE TO BE A SHORT ROUND-UP TODAY.

Leave Wal-Mart alone. My kids wouldn't have half their clothes without Wal-Mart! (And they don't have that many clothes to begin with.) Anti-Wal-Mart Astroturf

Stalin statue in Virginia a huge bust. This is so disgusting and what really nauseates is that the Martin Luther King Memorial is in trouble! Donate here to help!

Well. Good. DuPont wins USDA approval for new soybean trait that could broaden uses AND Paper industry tests genetically altered trees

Freer Trade is Key to a Cleaner Environment and Green Growth Wealth = clean. Let's help poor countries become wealthier and clean the earth.

In related news, Ashton Kutcher is a tool. Ashton Kutcher Blames Oil Spill on RNC Convention Speakers but he drives this. Could someone please send him a rock to crawl back under?

He's probably not there now. Osama bin Laden and top aides are hiding in Sabzevar, Iran

Actually, Elton John had a great time at Rush Limbaugh’s wedding

Obama Threatens to Beat Up Gulf Coast 'Cause he's so tough and all. Maybe he'll take Bill Maher's advice and thug-out.

WH staffers having oil nightmares So are we all, dumb asses, so are we all.

Mosque and State: The Greater Implications of the 9/11 Islamic Center. There is an already existing mosque near the WTC site. Why can't they simply renovate that? To me, that is perfectly acceptable. And for those who can't understand why this is a big deal, imagine if a Christian group built a 15-story church in the middle of Baghdad and called it the Knights Templar House. How do you think that would go down? Anger in NYC Over Proposed Ground Zero Mosque Video.

Are Europe’s political elite on course to destroy the EU? After meeting the President, I think so

Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? Self-identified liberals and Democrats do badly on questions of basic economics.

All Eyes Shifting to Supreme Court

How Obama Reduced Crime Rates Last Year. Well, at least the "bitter clingers" are safe.

More Food Idiocy

Beware the celery juice! Like "organic food", these senseless fears of things like salt and nitrates are only creating markets for dubious products of limited value.

Because I can't link to this online, I am copying this from the July & August "Notes from Readers" edition of Cook's Illustrated (the single best cooking magazine on the market today).
Nitrate-Free Bacon
I often see "no nitrates or nitrites added" bacon in the grocery store. How does this differ from regular bacon? E.W. New Orleans, LA.
Nitrite has long been a controversial food additive, with studies showing it forms carcinogenic compounds called nitrosamines when heated in the presence of proteins, like those in bacon. Regular bacon is cured with nitrite (NO2) or a virtually identical chemical, nitrate (NO3), both of which act as preservatives, though only nitrite has the potential to form potentially harmful nitrosamines. Bacon labeled "nitrate-or nitrite-free" on the other hand, is brined with salt, a bacterial lactic acid starter culture, and celery juice (sometimes listed as "natural flavor").

But here's the catch: Celery juice naturally contains a high level of organic nitrate, which is converted into the problematic nitrite by the bacteria in the starter culture and also by saliva during chewing. Despite this fact, it's technically correct to label the bacon "no nitrates or nitrites added," since the compounds are formed during production, not added as ingredients. The question is: How do the levels of nitrite and nitrate in uncured bacon compare with those in its cured counterpart?

When we fired up strips of our favorite supermarket bacon, Farmland Hickory Smoked, along with Farmland All-Natural Uncured Bacon ("no nitrate or nitrite added"), tasters found the sampled virtually identical in taste and texture. To quantify the nitrite and nitrate levels in these bacons, we sent three packages of each type to a lab for testing. For comparison, we also sent three packages of the Best Buy from our tasting of artisanal bacon, Applegate Farms Uncured Sunday Bacon (labeled "no nitrites added"). As we expected, all the of the bacons contained nitrite and nitrate and the nitrite levels were well withing U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines of no more than 120 parts per million (ppm). But to our surprise, the uncured bacon actually had higher levels of nitrite than the cured meat: Farmland Hickory Smoked Bacon registered an average of 9.7 ppm nitrite (and 48ppm nitrate), while its All-Natural counterpart showed an average of 16.3 ppm nitrite (and 10.3 ppm nitrate). And the Applegate Farms Uncured Sunday Bacon averaged more than three times the level of regular bacon: 35 ppm nitrite (and nearly as much nitrate, at 44.3 ppm).

The bottom line: All bacon is likely to contain nitrite and nitrate, whether added at the outset or formed naturally during processing. If you want to avoid these compounds, you'll have to avoid bacon - and any other processed meats containing celery juice - altogether.

Defending Small Business & The Constitution

Peekaboo! I See You…Acting Unconstitutionally
During the next two weeks, the Supreme Court will rule on a case that, if decided correctly, will bring relief to small businesses all over the nation. The details of the case sound arcane, but they get to the heart of how America is governed and what the Founders intended. Should the Justices uphold a challenge to the constitutionality of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB, often pronounced "Peekaboo"), then entrepreneurs, the Constitution, and the rule of law will win. The losers? Beancounters and bureaucrats.

Facing public anger after the demise of Enron, Congress rushed to pass the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (known as Sarbox), which imposed a ton of new paperwork on businesses in the name of preventing another Enron-like scandal and subsequent bankruptcy. Ironically, many of the new requirements were already present at Enron, and the main beneficiaries of Sarbox were the Big Five accounting firms.

To oversee this huge exercise in ineffective check-box regulation, Sarbanes-Oxley set up a new bureaucracy, the PCAOB. Peekaboo has vast powers, including the ability to fine companies up to $2 million for even inadvertent breaches of its rules, which can go into absurd detail. Auditors must, for example, rule on which low-level employees have access to computer passwords.

Peekaboo's clunking fist has fallen the most heavily on small businesses, which find compliance harder. Big businesses, which are the big accounting firms' main clients, are able to absorb the large cost of the accounting requirements. Small accounting firms that specialized in helping small clients are unable to cope with the workload and are going out of business. A University of Rochester researcher has calculated that Sarbox has hammered the economy with over $1.4 trillion in direct and indirect costs.
There's more. Read the whole article by my husband and published in The American Spectator to learn how this stupid regulation, the PCAOB, "has been a little-noticed exacerbating factor in the current recession."

Responsible Drill Baby Drill

Tapping the Well of Freedom. A non-governmental response to the Deepwater Horizon crisis.
When the Deepwater Horizon first started gushing oil, many considered the incident an example of private enterprise having no regard for the environment. However, it is becoming clear that government was involved from the start, is in charge now (as President Obama himself tells us), and cannot do much about the problem. So is there any way to address this?

Yes. We need to move away from the crony corporatism that has characterized much of the nation’s energy sector during the last century or so. It would be foolish to promise that market-based reforms would prevent another disaster, but they would be more effective than yet more meaningless bureaucracy. There are several reasons for this.
Read the whole thing, my husband has several very good points in this article originally published on National Review Online.

Monday, June 7, 2010

In Economic Woes 06-07


U.S.’s $13 Trillion Debt Poised to Overtake GDP: Chart of Day

Obama’s Stunning Achievement

America’s jobless picture is alarmingly bleak

What's truly terrifying is that without the Census sheenanigans skewing the jobs market, the number of new jobs would be only 20,000!The Sobering Message in May's Jobs Report

Ouch - Markets About to Turn Nasty, Buy Barbed Wire: Advisor

Tax Hikes and the 2011 Economic Collapse Today's corporate profits reflect an income shift into 2010. These profits will tumble next year, preceded most likely by the stock market. This is from the Wall Street Journal and by Arthur Laffer so you might wanna take it seriously.

Does Bad Jobs Report Mean We're Headed for a Double Dip?

VAT is evil. We Need a VAT? We Already Have One

Why a VAT is no solution to our budget woes

Reforming the ‘Glorious Privilege’ Why the tax code is like daytime television.

Video: “The stimulus failed”

Harvard study shows earmarks cost jobs Quite frankly, the great big "duh" around this study throws Harvard's scholarship into doubt.

Richard Fisher, Senior Fed Official: White House Is Dead Wrong

A three-fer! Unions are hurting our economy. Unions have evolved into thugocracies. And Unions attempt to puppeteer politicians. Pols turn on labor unions And by the way, Unions were amazing at protecting workers from horrible working conditions in turn-of-the-century factories. Amen. However, how dangerous is it to work for the federal government that they need a union?

Your tax dollars at work - Deficit Reduction Commission Seeks Increase in its Budget

Gov't awards $234 million in AmeriCorps expansion

Question: Were these jobs "created or saved"? Obama Lauds Jobs Created By Census

WSJ: Gay Couples Get Equal Tax Treatment. I have no beef in this as I believe in domestic partnerships/civil unions. Just don't call it marriage.

Supreme Court Expected to Rule Soon on PCAOB's Constitutionality

Media Bias 06-07



BREAKING - HELEN THOMAS ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT Did she jump or was she pushed? Who cares, the old bat is gone. And rightly So!

Helen Thomas Retires, Effective Immediately

Why Are We Tolerating Helen Thomas' Journalistic Hypocrisy? Well, we tolerate the entire liberal media's hypocrisy...

Be careful, if you have a heart, this will make you weep. An open letter to Helen Thomas

The Washington Post Keeps Rockin’, Hides Helen Thomas’ Bigotry. Another "Macaca" moment, but infinitely worse, and actually bigoted? Not a chance, if the Post can help it.

But Wait, There's More
Rabbi David F. Nesenoff, the man behind the Helen Thomas video, was just on Fox News, and he says Part II will be released "in a day or two."


Media cries conservative hypocrisy on oil spill

FTC floats Drudge tax. Journalism can reinvent itself without government 'help'

The FTC Confuses Newspapers With Journalism as it Seeks New Media Tax

Palestinians, Uighurs, and the Curiously Selective Media

Go get 'em, girl! Newsweek Frets Over Conservative Hotties; Newsweek, Heal Thyself

On a related note - Hot Men 2010: The Hottest Conservative Men Scroll down past the judges to get to the "good stuff". #1 Adam Baldwin (aka Jayne) So. Totally. Hot. But why is the dreamy Stephen Green #20? And Alfonzo Rachel should be higher up and with a better pic. He's a cutie pie. Apostle Claver is cute but #9 Steven Crowder is a bit too loud for me although I like many of his PJTV Videos and that he has humbly described his own mug as "punchable". Finally, I concur with big man Christie making the list but surely Micheal Yon should be way higher up. His bravery alone merits it.

Bill Maher Loses Religion-Bashing Battle With S.E. Cupp and History’s Inconvenient Truths

Government-Funded Journalism is More Dangerous Than Corporate-Funded Journalism

Bad Politician Bad 06-07


President Obama Job Approval

Obama Asks Supreme Court to Overturn Napolitano-Endorsed Immigration Law

PJTV Video (Trifecta) - America: Enforce the Laws or Take it Off the Books!

Barack Obama Ignores D-Day Anniversary – Goes to Theatre Party

Ax the hacks, Bam Get rid of White House political office

So how's that workin' for you now, BO? Obama 2008: I ran a big campaign, so I can handle a Gulf emergency

How Washington Just Worsened the Gulf Oil Spill. President Obama made BP’s problem worse, and in so doing has worsened the problems facing not only the administration but also the unfortunate residents of the Gulf of Mexico.

PJTV Video (Front Page With Allen Barton) - Big, Big Government: Can Anything Reduce the Size or Scope of Power?

More Obama change to believe in: Americans now see him as a partisan Democrat

Democrats Acting More Partisan than Republicans

Open revolt: are disgruntled Democrat insiders sabotaging the Obama administration?

Dude, you are no longer campaigning. Shut up and do your job. - Barack Obama shows you how to call in to radio shows to voice your support for Elena Kagan.

Holder must go - Eric Holder's Two Standards

Let's see if they have the balls to use those tools - Republicans still have tools to keep the heat on White House about job offers

40 years after 1st win, NY Rep. Rangel runs again. Rangel is one of what I call the Congressional Crypt-Keepers. He's been in office for too long and has got to go.

Timing of probe is crucial for Charlie Rangel
If the ethics committee releases a damaging report on Rangel before the Sept. 14 primary, it could be a death blow to the Harlem congressman’s storied career and open the door to a serious Democratic challenge, Democratic colleagues and party strategists said.

But if the ethics committee’s findings come out after the primary, Rangel will very likely survive and win a 21st term in the House. Still, that timing would raise questions about the ethics committee’s process and whether the investigative panel was too aware of the political calendar.

Be afraid, be very afraid. Election spooks lawmakers, curbs Congress spending

Running scared Congress doesn't want to spend? Oh my!

A small regional party

Big States Dilute Tea-Party Strength Without More Cash and Organization, Movement May Be Unable to Repeat Small-Market Victories I think the authors of this article might want to look at the chart contained in the post above.

Yes: Candidates Will Have to Appeal to Independents

The Sestak Affair Will Not Go Away



Incumbents Fight for Political Life, Newcomers Eyeing Victory in Tuesday Elections

Race of the Day: Taking OR-5

The most important political race in America?

Democrats Skip Town Halls to Avoid Voter Rage Cowards! You work for us and your bosses would like to have a word.

Milk Carton Democrats in Congress still avoiding constituents

Speaking truth to power – New Jersey style

A three-fer! Unions are hurting our economy. Unions have evolved into thugocracies. And Unions attempt to puppeteer politicians. Pols turn on labor unions (Talk about biting the hand that feeds their political ambitions.) And by the way, Unions were amazing at protecting workers from horrible working conditions in turn-of-the-century factories. Amen. However, how dangerous is it to work for the federal government that they need a union?

Obama brings Nixonian twist to oil spill

The Oil Leak and the Blame Game: Déjà vu All Over Again

Gov't fails latest test of trust in Gulf

We'll see. Pelosi's Loss Could Be Obama's Gain. A pivot to the center (and re-election) would be easier without the House speaker. Pelosi is an evil old cow but Obama is never going to go to the center. And nobody's gonna win nothin' without an economic turn around and elevated employement.

No Worse Friend, No Better Enemy

Big Union/ACORN/Leftie Groups 06-07



Organizing for America and the DNC: ACORN 2.0 With documents! This is a must read. The DNC is hand-in-glove with corrupt ACORN.
Click here to view the DNC major donor list ACORN used to fundraise for its voter registration drives.


Speaking truth to power – New Jersey style

Ax the hacks, Bam Get rid of White House political office

Hey, union man

A three-fer! Unions are hurting our economy. Unions have evolved into thugocracies. And Unions attempt to puppeteer politicians. Pols turn on labor unions And by the way, Unions were amazing at protecting workers from horrible working conditions in turn-of-the-century factories. Amen. However, how dangerous is it to work for the federal government that they need a union?

Liberal House Dems, unions push for $23B fund to save teacher jobs

Daily Round-Up 06-07


Because, if true, this is a huge deal, I am reposting this report - Satellite Photos Support Testimony That Iraqi WMD Went to Syria

Personally, this is a good thing. When people (black or white) get to choose where to send their children, the kids get a better education and the educational system learns where its weak links are. 'Black flight' changing the makeup of Dallas schools

Upwards of Eight Thousand Protest 911 Mega Mosque on D Day! UPDATE: More Coverage, Photos

PJTV Vide (Sonja Schmidt's Left Exposed) - Tales From the Right Side: Barack and Michelle

Nice verbage. On the Home Page
Iain Murray argues for a non-governmental response to the Gulf oil spill.
Daniel Foster discusses five technological marvels at work in the Gulf crisis.
Michael Barone predicts a tough election year for the Democrats.
Edward Whelan calls for a tough Senate inquiry into Elena Kagan’s judicial philosophy.
Jeffrey A. Miron explains why the tea-party movement should take the libertarian position on drug prohibition.
Kathryn Jean Lopez argues that the media is attempting to weaken Catholic identity.



GENERAL BAD BEHAVIOR


British Petroleum and Walmart Want You to Pay their Bills

Time to set Amtrak free. When I lived in Manhattan, I used Amtrak all the time but when I price them out compared to airlines, Amtrak always loses. Shame. Definately need privately run train systems on dedicated tracks - especially to free more track for environmentally friendly freight trains.

I'm sure there's a very good reason - From the oil spill to the financial crisis, why we don't plan for the worst

Another Going-Away Party


OBAMACARE


The "kids" are not all right. OBAMACARE POLLING BADLY IN MICHIGAN
And this is interesting: “Young people ages 18-29 were more against the changes than any other age group, with 69% opposed.”
AND this again Disasters

I really wish they wouldn't. White House and Allies Set to Build Up Health Law

12,000 California nurses ready to strike


JUNK SCIENCE

Sound science on trial

Global-Warming Bill Contains Ethanol Subsidies, Which Cause Famine, Hunger, Food Riots, and Political Unrest

My view of the EPA is very similar to the one espoused in Ghostbusters. Always seemed like a pretty accurate portrayal to me. Senate fight over EPA resolution to highlight first week after recess

Shades of Erlich! Societal Collapse Due to Peak Oil ‘Inevitable,’ According to Researcher

The state is insolvent and this is what they do?!? Calif. moves to ban plastic bags at grocery stores The thing of it is, I'm willing to bet that a lot of those "reusable" grocery bags where made in Chinese sweatshops not renown for their environmental awareness.

Obama Uses BP Oil Spill to Push Corporate-Welfare-Filled Global Warming Bill That BP Once Lobbied For


FIGHTING CORRUPTION


Marine Stuns Tea Party Crowd With Verse of Star Spangled Banner. Video

Our Kids Deserve Balance in the Classroom

Hot Men 2010: The Hottest Conservative Men Scroll down past the judges to get to the "good stuff". #1 Adam Baldwin (aka Jayne) So. Totally. Hot. But why is the dreamy Stephen Green #20? And Alfonzo Rachel should be higher up and with a better pic. He's a cutie pie. Apostle Claver is cute but #9 Steven Crowder is a bit too loud for me although I like many of his PJTV Videos and that he has humbly described his own mug as "punchable". Finally, I concur with big man Christie making the list but surely Micheal Yon should be way higher up. His bravery alone merits it.