Resources
For those who want further information about the topics covered in this blog, I recommend the following sites. I will add to this as I find additional good sources.
Hitler learns CBS is covering Fast and Furious.
Another funny use of the Downfall movie clip. ~Bob.
SOLYNDRAGATE: Huge Email Dump Implicates Obama And Rahm In Bankruptcy Scandal
Excerpt: The White House released a bunch of emails related to the Solyndra bankruptcy scandal to Congressional investigators today, in what has become a regular Friday evening email dump. The emails, obtained by several news organizations, implicate the most senior levels of the Obama administration in the scandal, which has tainted the White House since the solar company went bankrupt last month, leaving taxpayers on the hook for a $534 million federal loan.
This Isn’t ‘Lending’ — It’s More Like Looting
Excerpt: The first lesson should be that there are consequences if you do something extraordinarily dumb, and even more serious consequences if you commit criminal acts. I’d like to be wrong about this, but it looks like those responsible for this debacle will never be brought to account for offenses ranging from colossal incompetence to serious criminal malfeasance. (…) That Solyndra requires a top-to-bottom forensic audit could not be more clear, both to determine what its executives knew and when they knew it concerning the company’s dreadfully obvious lack of viability, and to determine how much money was drained from it by excessive and possibly fraud-driven spending. Is the necessary unfettered investigation occurring? The FBI has raided the place, but Solyndra management is stonewalling. With government acquiescence, Solyndra’s key investors moved themselves, possibly illegally, to the front of the line in priority during bankruptcy. One of those investors is a prominent Democratic Party campaign contributions bundler.
Jerry Brown - Illegal Immigrant Student Aid
Friends, consider how this may effect your children/grandchildren. --George H California Governor Jerry Brown on Saturday signed a bill giving illegal immigrant college students access to state-funded financial aid, the second half of two-part legislation known as the "Dream Act." The controversial measure, which passed the Democrat-controlled legislature on a party-line vote in September, represents a victory for immigrant-rights activists ahead of the 2012 presidential election. California is the nation's most populous state. Only two other states, Texas and New Mexico, allow illegal immigrants to qualify for state financial aid for college, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Jerry Brown signs Dream Act for illegal immigrants
Excerpt: Thousands of California students in the country illegally will be eligible to receive state financial aid to attend public colleges, as Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Saturday known as the California Dream Act. But Brown ducked a costly legal battle over affirmative action by vetoing a bill that would have let California's public universities consider an applicant's race and sex in admission decisions. "I wholeheartedly agree with the goal of this legislation," Brown said in his veto message of SB185. But because of Prop. 209 - the 1996 constitutional amendment approved by California voters that outlaws "preferential treatment" on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in public employment, education or contracting - Brown said the courts, not the Legislature, should decide if changes can be made. (Why should a little thing like being unconstitutional stop California from “protecting the victims?” Victims, victims everywhere, and nobody can think. If it’s that good an idea, it shouldn’t be any problem to pass another constitutional amendment to fix it. Why would the legislature pass a law so clearly in violation of the state constitution? Of course changes can be made—but, not by the courts, by the voters in an election. Emphasis added by me. Ron P.)
The Week That Was: 2011-10-08 (October 8, 2011)
Among the many interesting and useful articles in this week’s TWTW summary, I recommend #1, #3, and #4 as the most important. Ron P. Excerpt: 'Oil and gas will be important for the next few years. But we need to go on to green and alternative energy. [Energy] Secretary [Steven] Chu has assured me that within five years, we can have a battery developed that will make a car with the equivalent of 130 miles per gallon.'" President Obama in response to a comment by shale oil developer Harold Hamm. (…)The technology of extracting oil and natural gas from dense shale and oil sands is giving difficulty to those who desire control of these fuels. The false claim of peak oil or the high price of natural gas no longer can be used to justify programs of generating electricity from inefficient, unreliable, and expensive sources. Many in Washington, Brussels, and London are trying to stop the revolution by using special regulations that are not justifiable by science, economics, or public health. (…) President Obama's comment, quoted above, indicates the administration will not promote the oil and gas revolution and would rather wait for a great technological breakthrough in automobile batteries, a breakthrough the world has been waiting for since electric automobiles were first developed over 100 years ago. The administration's actions confirm this position - ignore the current technological breakthrough in oil and gas and wait for technological breakthroughs in solar, wind, and batteries.
The 2011 Virginia Earthquake
Excerpt: Earthquakes of equal magnitude can cause vastly different ground shaking behavior, both in terms of ground shaking frequency and ground acceleration magnitude. Although Richter magnitude corresponds to the total energy released in an earthquake, that energy can be released and propagate in a variety of ways. For example, many people on the U.S. West Coast, who are much more familiar with earthquakes than their East Coast compatriots, were surprised that a mere 5.8 earthquake centered in Virginia could be felt in Massachusetts. Had a 5.8 earthquake occurred in San Diego, people in Los Angeles would probably never know it. (The Nuclear Science and Engineering department at MIT doesn’t post very often, so I don’t check it frequently. This post has been up for nearly a month. Still valid and useful background info, though. Ron P.)
The American Revolution of 2011
One man's mob is another man's lynching waiting to happen. Ron P. Excerpt: The fact of the matter is that leftist goals, economic and governmental, are as inherently incompatible with the founding documents and institutions of our Republic as Maximilien Robespierre's goals for France were with the monarchy. The institutions of our country are simply not designed to foster and achieve the radical makeover the Obama administration has in mind. This is, of course, why the powers that be have worked overtime to achieve their leftist goals by supra-governmental means, including the radicalization of agencies like the EPA, entities neither answerable to nor established by the Constitution or subject to the electorate. This is also why Wall Street, the epitome of free-market capitalism, has been targeted by the left -- Wall Street's capitalist principles are also inherently incompatible with schemes bent on distribution of wealth. The result of the incompatibility of these two entities -- on the one side, free and constitutionally established governmental and economic institutions, and on the other, the means and goals of the current radical administration and its allies -- is civil unrest to a degree scarcely seen since the Civil War. Thus we have the Wall Street protestors, who have now been joined by the too-often thuggish labor unions, organizations which have historically have often been wedded to violence as a means of achieving what cannot be gained by bargaining or legislative and judicial process. Comforting murmurs of support from President Obama, who says he understands the frustrations of the marchers, and House minority leader Nancy Pelosi's blessing -- "God bless Wall Street protestors"-- are green-light indicators that the Democratic leadership is callously and recklessly encouraging the mobs taking over the streets of our largest cities.
Defining “Anosognosia”
Excerpt: Although, as a rule, I prefer avoiding using words in my articles that will send most normal people scurrying for their dictionary, I only recently came acrossanosognosia and I felt I should share it because it so perfectly describes the mental condition of liberals. It is the total unawareness of one’s own disease, disability or defect. So when we find ourselves asking why leftists think and act as they do, apparently living in a fantasy world totally disconnected from reality, at least we now know there’s a word that defines it. I mean, what other reason would any American have for supporting the United Nations? By this time, rational people would understand that the U.N. is merely a larger, more corrupt, version of the League of Nations. Between 1919 and its dissolution in 1946, for all its self-laudatory hyperbole, the League stood idly by while Japan invaded Manchuria, Italy slaughtered Ethiopians and Hitler marched into Czechoslovakia and Poland. That should have been the end of it, but, instead, like one of those creatures from Night of the Living Dead, it rose from the grave and morphed into the U.N. And ever since, we Americans have provided the vile thing with shelter, 25% of its upkeep and 100% of any necessary renovations. And for what? So that the handful of decent nations that still exist in the world can consistently be out-voted by the Arab and Muslim members; and when more votes are required, there’s always Russia, China, Cuba, Laos, Cambodia, Uganda and the Congo, ready to pitch in. This is an organization that votes resolutions every other day condemning Israel, but nary a one against the Palestinians or the folks murdering Christians in the Middle East or the vile nations that at this late date are still dealing in the African slave trade.
Holder's Fast and Furious explanations unraveling
Excerpt: On this week's Fox News Sunday, Congressman Darryl Issa announced that "another round of subpoenas" will be sent out for additional documents regarding an anti-gunrunning operation that ended in tragedy with the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. While Attorney General Eric Holder continues to maintain he was kept in the dark by his subordinates, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-NE) and Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) yesterday in a joint statement said that Attorney General Eric Holder received at least five weekly memos beginning in July 2010, including four weeks in a row, describing the ill-advised strategy known as Operation Fast and Furious.
Fast and Furious weapons were found in Mexico cartel enforcer's home http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-atf-guns-20111009,0,6431788.story?track=rss
Excerpt: High-powered assault weapons illegally purchased under the ATF's Fast and Furious program in Phoenix ended up in a home belonging to the purported top Sinaloa cartel enforcer in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, whose organization was terrorizing that city with the worst violence in the Mexican drug wars. In all, 100 assault weapons acquired under Fast and Furious were transported 350 miles from Phoenix to El Paso, making that West Texas city a central hub for gun traffickers. Forty of the weapons made it across the border and into the arsenal of Jose Antonio Torres Marrufo, a feared cartel leader in Ciudad Juarez, according to federal court records and trace documents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The smugglers' tactics — quickly moving the weapons far from ATF agents in southern Arizona, where it had been assumed they would circulate — vividly demonstrate that what had been viewed as a local problem was much larger. Six other Fast and Furious guns destined for El Paso were recovered in Columbus, N.M.
USDA threatens $60,000 fine, federal raid against woman in legal possession of indoor lemon tree
Excerpt: The US government's assault against innocent American citizens continues to get more aggressive and just plain strange, with new reports of harassment against honest owners of ordinary lemon trees. Health Freedom Alliance (HFA) reports that officials from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) are now spying on people whom they suspect are in possession of ordinary lemon trees, and threatening them with excessive fines and even federal raids if they refuse to surrender the plants on demand. Several years ago, Bridget Donovan, who has now been dubbed "The Lemon Tree Lady," purchased a Meyer lemon tree frommeyerlemontree.com. A resident of Wisconsin, Donovan purchased the tree legally and in full accordance with all federal and state laws regulating citrus transport, and had lovingly cultivated and cared for her indoor citrus plant for nearly three years. Then, out of nowhere, Donovan received an unexpected letter from the USDA informing her that government officials were going to come and seize her tree and destroy it -- and that she was not going to be compensated for her loss. The letter also threatened that if Donovan was found to be in possession of "regulated citrus" again, she could be fined up to $60,000. (First they came for the lemon trees....~Bob)
Soak the Rich
"You're either one of the 99 percent of one of the 1 percent," reads a sticker on a lamppost near my house. The implication being that if you're not one of the 1 percent, you should be packing your class warfare kit of cardboard signs, camping gear and iPods loaded with a copy of Paranoid Android and head on over to Wall Street. Soak the rich isn't an original slogan, but in this age of NGO's and a massive white elephant civil service, who are the rich exactly? Elizabeth Warren explained that the rich are people who build factories but aren't grateful enough to pay their fair share. Whatever that fair share might be. Warren has good reason to be outraged by business owners who just aren't paying enough. She's the one they're paying the money to. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau refused a Freedom of Information Act request to release her salary, but we do have the salary ranges for two assistant directors of sub-offices at the CFPB. The Assistant Director at the Office of Financial Empowerment, whose job is "developing and implementing policy and programs that empower low and moderate income and underserved consumers to make better informed financial decisions" has a salary range of 185,000 to 247,000 dollars.
The More the Hippies Protest Wall Street, the Lower Obama’s Numbers Get
Excerpt: So the hippies are still hunkered down by Wall Street. Like their hero Bill Ayers (aka, President Obama’s terrorist buddy), they are admitted anti-capitalists who want more government-sponsored wealth redistribution, education recognized as a human right, and cradle-to-grave healthcare at no cost to the one receiving the healthcare.
Know when to fold ’em
Excerpt: We already knew that government is a crappy mom, rule-giver, soothsayer and job-creator. So it was refreshing to hear that one of the Obama administration’s former top lieutenants, Larry Summers, admitted in a blunt e-mail that “Gov is a crappy vc,” or venture capitalist. What is disturbing about the bankruptcy of Solyndra, the California solar-panel manufacturer to which the government gave a $535 million loan guarantee, is not that Solyndra was a disaster, or that it blew so much money building itself, on one of the most expensive swatches of land in the universe -- an area where no factory has been built in at least a decade -- a tech temple whose conference-room walls magically changed colors, whose spa-like showers featured LED temperature readouts and whose robots hummed Disney tunes. The real mistake was funding Solyndra, and companies like it, in the first place. (Business people make decisions on the basis of economics. Government makes decisions on the basis of politics. Simple, but hard for some folks to understand. ~Bob.)
No justice from Justice
Excerpt: Two things to know about Attorney General Eric Holder: He lied to the American people -- under oath, before Congress -- and thus is unfit to investigate allegations of criminal negligence in the Justice Department. This is why House Republicans have called for a special prosecutor to investigate Holder for apparent perjury regarding his testimony on the administration’s “Fast and Furious” gun sting -- during which the US armed Mexican drug cartels with 2,500 high-powered, military-style weapons. We’re no fans of special prosecutors; they tend to get out of control. But the Justice Department has spent the summer obstructing a congressional investigation into the sting, and therefore can’t be trusted to police itself. Here’s why: On May 3, Holder was asked the simplest of questions before the House Judiciary Committee: When did you first know about Fast and Furious? His answer: “I’m not sure of the exact date, but I probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks.”
Wisconsin: Muslim hits man on the head with tire iron for insulting Islam
Excerpt: At least he didn't behead him. He must be a moderate.
USGCRP draft strategic plan
The excerpt is from about three quarters of the way down the post and discusses Dr. Judith Curry’s impromptu statement at a meeting of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. She says she got a lot of applause. I think she deserved it. Ron P. Excerpt: A plus B most emphatically does NOT equal C. A+B=C represents the linear, “truth to power” model of decision making that has been known for decades NOT to work for complex environmental problems. Decision making associated with the issues of climate and global change can be characterized as decision making under deep uncertainty. The deep uncertainty is associated with our reliance on projections from climate models, which are loaded with uncertainties and do not adequately treat natural climate variability. Further substantial areas of ignorance remain in our basic understanding of some of the relevant physical, chemical and dynamical processes. If we as scientists are not humble about the uncertainties and areas of ignorance, we have an enormous capacity to mislead decision makers and point them in the direction of poor policies. Uncertainty is essential information for decision makers.
A Second Open Letter to the So-Called ’99%’
Excerpt: Non-conformists can be an entertaining lot. Like the gentleman above, in order to demonstrate their non-conformity to the society that they believe owes them so much, they rebel against it. They denounce it. They show their non-conformity by conforming to something else, something edgier, but no less predictable. They’re not really non-conformists, then, but just conformists of a different stripe. And having chosen their brand of conformity, they bristle when the society they rejected rejects them right back. In this case, it’s not at all clear why the young man piled up student debt. What sort of job did he expect to get, with his arms covered in tattoos? Who would hire a CPA or lawyer who went around choosing to look like that? Who wants that look in their elementary schoolkid’s classroom? The young man’s appearance works for some businesses, but not most, and that’s just reality. What was the goal of piling up all that debt? What was the end game? What sort of career did he hope to land? (In approximately 1962, Woody Guthrie wrote a song called “Little Boxes” parodying the many cookie-cutter housing developments. I doubt it was more than a month or two before a version by Malvina Reynolds appeared parodying the Beats in the village and their fake non-conformity (http://www.mp3lyrics.org/w/woody-guthrie/little-boxes-beatnik-version/). It rings even truer today, nearly 50 years later. --Ron P. Which Ron used to sing in pubs back in his folk singer days. ~Bob.)
Gunwalker: Dems Abandoning Ship?
Excerpt: U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has come under fire this week: evidence revealed he either ignored weekly reports in the summer of 2010 that discussed Operation Fast and Furious, or he committed perjury when he claimed he first found out about the program in early 2011. The former suggests incompetence, the later criminality — either would be legitimate reasons to see him removed from office. (…) The President also touted the DOJ inspector general’s investigation of the scandal. He did not note that Cynthia A. Schnedar is an acting inspector general who has already been accused of using her office to obstruct the House Oversight Committee’s investigation, and who works for an administration that tends to fire inspector generals that do not report what the administration would like to hear. However, it seems that the Obama administration’s allies are falling silent in regards to Holder, Obama, Fast and Furious, and allegations of other gunwalking programs.
Telling the Truth Slowly
Excerpt: In a week that was supposed to focus on jobs and the economy, President Obama’s team spent an awful lot of time of augmenting and editing their official stories for two burgeoning controversies under investigation by Republicans in Congress. And in doing so, they spent some of the precious capital of credibility and trust that every president must earn from the American people, while handing their nemeses a new political attack line. The defining moment of the week came late Friday when the White House borrowed a page from the well-worn playbook of professional spin masters and by finally giving reporters a batch of long-sought documents about a controversial loan to the now-bankrupt solar firm Solyndra on the eve of a three-day holiday. (Being left-of-center, Daily Beast can’t just come out and call the President or Attorney General crooks and or poor BS artists, but that’s the feel they convey in this update on both the Solyndra and Fast and Furious scandals. I suspect if Hillary suddenly decides to run for the nomination, the left press will immediately drop O for HRC; I think they are tired of the bovine dung. Ron P.)
Obama homeowner program fraud-infested, claims legal group
Excerpt: According to a report, at least $5 billion in stimulus funds were allocated to “weatherization” programs nationwide with virtually no oversight and plenty of corruption. While the news media focus on the Obama-led assault on Wall Street and finance, and the continued controversy over health care, a legal watchdog group has exposed another example of government mismanagement -- even out-and-out fraud.
In the latest of many scandals involving President Barack Obama's, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's monstrous economic stimulus, a fraud-infested welfare program to make low-income houses energy efficient is cheating taxpayers out of billions with a recent example documented in Wisconsin, according to public-interest group Judicial Watch. According to a report by JW, at least $5 billion in stimulus funds were allocated to “weatherization” programs nationwide with virtually no oversight and plenty of corruption. The U.S. Department of Energy distributes the cash to local “community groups” that usually subcontract companies to do the actual work. Low-income homeowners get free insulation, sealing and even new central heating and cooling systems compliments of Uncle Sam. Some people even get new refrigerators, water heaters and furnaces.
Hillary's enemies list now includes Gunwalker reporters
Excerpt: Nixon was not the only one with an 'enemies list.' It is well-documented that Bill Clinton had such a list. So did George W. Bush. And, by extension, due to her marriage to the former President, Hillary Clinton has such a list. And apparently the reporters who have exposed her involvement in the Gunwalker scandal are on it. One reporter in particular was informed today by sources inside the State Department that he is now on that list. So far no one in the mainstream media has reported the bombshell information revealed over the past 2 days by Mike Vanderboegh that indicates Hillary was in the loop on the illegal scheme from Day One. Thus, the mainstream media has thus far avoided Hillary's ire. This is no surprise. It took the media several months to begin to report the story of 'Operation Fast and Furious,' also known Project Gunwalker, in spite of the fact that this writer, Kurt Hofmann, David Codrea, and Mike Vanderboegh had been writing stories about it since December of 2010--Vanderboegh and Codrea being the first. (So, how do I get on the list? ~Bob.)
W.H. aide on Solyndra: '*#~@ show'
Excerpt: When Solyndra hit the fan in August, White House energy adviser Heather Zichal may have summed it up best: "*#~@ show," Zichal wrote in an email Aug. 25. Zichal’s email is one of dozens showing Obama administration officials were planning how to handle a Solyndra bankruptcy days before the solar company went under. On Aug. 17, Dan Utech, an energy special assistant in the White House, wrote in an email that DOE had learned Solyndra was beginning to shut down operations. “It’s unclear what that means in terms of how many people are involved at Solyndra, but we’re now in a place where this could break at any time. DOE communications will be reaching out to WH comms shortly to coordinate.” The emails also show officials were staking out positions and assigning blame.
The great Palestinian lie: It’s not about Israel. It’s about Jews.
The Only Choice Is Where It Gets Burned
Excerpt: We have an amazing chance right now to secure a long-term oil supply from a friendly next-door neighbor instead of a bunch of aggro folks in the Middle East. If James Hansen and his allies prevent us from doing that, I will call down curses on their heads in the name of his precious grandchildren that he’s always talking about. Here’s the pathetic size of the emissions they’re up in arms about—the total emissions from the Canadian oil sands are 0.1% (a tenth of a percent) of global GHG emissions … and the emissions will happen whether the Keystone XL pipeline is built or not. If Hansen sentences his grandkids to get their oil from the Middle East and watch China burning the Canadian oil, he’s done much, much, much more damage to his grandchildren’s prospects than anything that might come from the extra few percent of CO2, CO2 that will come from the oil sands in any case. (Willis Eschenbach looks into the realities of a possible Keystone XL Pipeline. He finds some very interesting facts. Emphasis in the excerpt is in the original. Ron P.)
Amish Men's Beards Cut Off; Police Suspect Amish-On-Amish Violence
Excerpt: At least three attacks in rural eastern Ohio since September prompted the victims -- all Amish -- to look outside their traditionalist community to seek help from local police. In one nighttime raid in Carroll County, a group of men knocked on a door, pulled a man out by the beard and tried to chop off his facial hair, the Wheeling Intelligencer reports. In Holmes County, a posse allegedly broke into a home, lopping off the hair and whiskers of everyone inside, including a 13-year-old-girl and 74-year-old man. (It seems sectarian strife isn’t just Catholic-Protestant, Sunni-Shi’ia, or Buddhist-Hindu. Almost as Bob says, beware of men with a pipeline to their God and a pair of scissors or a razor. Ron P.)
Computer Virus Infects Predator Ground Stations
Excerpt: Air Force officials have not grounded any Predators or Reapers as a result of the virus, and operations continue unabated. The attack is just the latest sign that modern warfare has gone online. "This should not come as a surprise to anybody. As long as remotely piloted aircraft rely on command controlled configurations, interference with the control mechanisms will be an issue. One way to negate these kind of instances is to move toward more autonomous control mechanisms," retired three-star general David Deptula, former chief of the Air Force's intelligence and reconnaissance efforts, said in an email to AOL Defense. Deptula is a member of the AOL Defense Board of Contributors. "Welcome to the world of cyberwar. It's not just the stuff of Powerpoint and speeches. It's real."
Brown Still Leads in Mass. Senate, But Warren Closing In
Excerpt: Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., continues to enjoy remarkably high personal and job-related poll numbers, but Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren remains stubbornly close in a 2012 election matchup, according to a new survey of Bay State voters released Friday. Brown's lead over Warren, according to the Western New England University poll, is just five points: 47 percent to 42 percent. Warren has benefited from the announcement of her candidacy last month; in March, Brown sported a 17-point lead over Warren. Independents -- the largest voting bloc in Massachusetts -- propel Brown to his lead, breaking for him, 57 percent to 32 percent. (Two important points need making here: first, this will be a very tough election for Brown to win. It will be his first “general election” run and he won’t be able to take advantage of the reduced turnout of a special election. Further, as the only statewide office held by a Republican, his mere presence offends the sensibilities of all Democrat operatives, but especially those of the unions that were unable to deliver the expected easy victory two years ago during the special election. Second, I have to agree the terminology used by Democrats here is more accurate: that mass of voters isn’t “independent,” but rather “un-enrolled” (they simply don't want to be called for contributions or volunteer work). Virtually all of them will have an opinion right from the beginning, and judging by all the Democrats in office, most of them will vote for the Democrat UNLESS Brown can say or do something to swing them in his direction. That will take time, effort, and more money than Brown is likely to find here in the Bay State alone. If he can get outside help, it will make a big difference to his chances to hold the seat. And, folks, he’s about as conservative as Massachusetts can stand. I realize that makes him a centrist—or even a “liberal Republican”—everywhere else in the country, but would you rather stroke your ideological purity while whining about losing or do you want to win with less than ideal, but better than you’d get otherwise? As a Training Manager, one lesson I used to pound into trainees was this: you can mentally construct an “ideal job seeker” but you can’t hire him cause he always applies somewhere else; you have to hire from those that actually apply. Ron P. I hope those folks complaining that Brown is a RINO don't get to find out how mush they like Sen. Warren sucking up to Majority Leader Reid. ~Bob.)
Shocking Costs Of Environmentalism
Excerpt: Those who fancy themselves to be green progressives are about to get some unwelcome "progress." Thanks in part to environmental rules, electricity bills are headed for double-digit increases. 'Americans," the Daily Beast/Newsweek reports, "are about to get another kick in the wallet." A review of regulatory filings by the news source found that "utilities are seeking permission to pass on hundreds of millions of dollars in new charges to customers to help upgrade aging infrastructure and build new or retrofitted power plants that comply with tougher environmental regulations." The filings indicate "at least 16 utilities covering 6.1 million customers are seeking rate hikes of 5% or more," while "almost half of those want increases of 10% or more." Yes, the environmentalists' bill is now coming due.
CBO: Obama Jobs Act Would Increase 2012 Deficit by $288 Billion
Excerpt: The Congressional Budget Office reports that the "American Jobs Act" would make the federal deficit jump $288 billion in 2012. In other words, the 2012 deficit would rise by about twenty-five percent--from $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion. The most recent budget fight between Republicans and Democrats resulted in just a $22 billion cut to the 2012 deficit. The CBO predicts that over 10 years the American Jobs Act would raise enough taxes to pay for the short-term stimulus:
Elizabeth Warren: 'I'll Survive' Scott Brown's 'Jabs'
Excerpt: Warren answered a question in a Democratic debate Tuesday on how she paid for college. "I didn't take my clothes off," quipped the Harvard Law Professor, referring to the fact that Brown posed nude for Cosmopolitan in 1982 to make money. She added that she went to a public university, took out loans and had a part-time job. Brown appeared Thursday on Boston radio station WZLX, where the disc jockey asked him for a response to Warren's comments. "Thank God," he said, laughing. (“How to Slant the News 101” lesson of the day: Make a mildly disparaging remark about an opponent and NO MATTER HOW HE RESPONDS, BE OFFENDED. LOUDLY. Warren made an almost cute remark that drew laughter during the Democrat debate among Senate candidates. Her remark could have been taken as offensive, and had the shoes been reversed, certainly would’ve been. Brown, instead of playing gotcha, responded with “Thank God,” an indeterminate phrase with no specific obvious meaning. Who knows? 30 or 35 years ago, Warren might’ve been a babe (seems unlikely, but you never know). He might even have been congratulating her on being resourceful enough to avoid the need to pose nude. Warren, the perpetual victim, immediately became offended about “remarks about her appearance.” And, of course, the media buy into it at once. Does this remind anyone of then-Vice President G. H. W. Bush’s remark about kicking a little ass (against the Mondale-Ferrarro ticket)? Democrats immediately claimed it was all but sexual harassment and tried to pound the Reagan-Bush ticket with it. I’d have responded “I couldn’t possibly have meant Geraldine Ferrarro; I said kick a LITTLE ass.” At least the fight would’ve had some fun in it then. Ron P.)
Plunge in Performing Arts Jobs
Might explain Occupy Wall Street. ~Bob.
Congressional Research Service Finds US Exposure To Europe At $640 Billion And "Could Be Considerably Higher"
Excerpt: If there is one thing that matches John Paulson's dramatic conversion to the anti-Midas of our times, it is Tim Geithner's uncanny ability to say something only to be proven to be a pathological liar within months if not weeks (who can possibly forget: "Is there a risk that the United States could lose its AAA credit rating? Yes or no?” "No risk of that."). Now we can add hours. Because it was only yesterday that in testimony to Congress, he said in an attempt to be the latest to defend Morgan Stanley, that "The direct exposure of the U.S. financial system to the countries under the most pressure in Europe is very modest." (To be fair, this administration considers $640B to be modest. They can print and spend that over the weekend. ~Bob.)
Joke
Obama invites Bill Ayers to the White House, shows him around, pictures of his Chicago mansion, $2M bus, and vacations to places like Martha’s Vineyard and Spain. Ayers says, “I’m happy for you Barry. But what will you do if the socialists get in control?”
Hillary's smoking gun--the next segment in State Department's role in Gunwalker http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-national/hillary-s-smoking-gun-the-next-segment-state-department-s-role-gunwalker
Excerpt: "We have to recognize and accept that the demand for drugs from the United States drives them north, and the guns that are used by the drug cartels against the police and the military, 90 percent of them come from America." The person who spoke the words quoted above was Hillary Clinton. The year was 2009 in an interview with Lara Logan of CBS News, just prior to a trip to Mexico City to meet with Mexican officials concerning gun and drug smuggling. The statement shows that not only was the State Department heavily involved in the Gunwalker scandal, as reported earlier today, but Secretary of State Hillary Clinton herself was at the forefront of pushing the false assertion that '90% of the guns used by Mexican drug cartels come from the United States.' It has only now been discovered the extent to which Clinton was involved. (When guns are outlawed, only the ATF will sell guns to outlaws. ~Bob)
Poverty in America Tweet
David Limbaugh At lunch, restaurant owner told me she was disgusted that some of her able-bodied young employees wouldnt work 2 many hrs bc lose foodstamps Stunning Revelation by NYC Police Commissioner:
Protesters Had a ‘Countdown’ & ‘Charged’ Cops
OWS has had more violence so far than the Tea Party in two years. From a Tweet. ~Bob. Excerpt: New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly made some stunning revelations on Thursday regarding videos that surfaced on YouTube Wednesday night showing police beating back Wall St. protesters. According to him, the protesters actually planned to antagonize police, even instituting a “countdown” before they “charged” officers. “What they did is they counted. They actually had a countdown — 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 — they grouped together, they joined arms and they charged the police. They attacked the police. They wanted to get into Wall Street, they wanted to occupy Wall Street,” Kelly told reporters. “These people wanted to have confrontation with the police for whatever reason. Somehow, I guess it works to their purposes,” he added. He also promised such protesters would be “met with force when they do that,“ which he called “just common sense.”
Occupy Wall Street Now Occupies Obama
President Barack Obama’s amazing news conference yesterday made one thing abundantly clear: America’s #1 community organizer—in a switcheroo—has himself now been organized by a community, in particular those demonstrators up in New York and several other cities across America. To the extent that the ideological circus of Occupy Wall Street (OWS) agrees on much, it’s that inequality is what really ails America—and more government is the solution. And Obama apparently couldn’t agree more. During the Q&A with reporters at the White House, Obama endorsed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s plan to pay for Obama’s jobs bill with a massive surtax on the rich, saying he was “comfortable” and “fine” with it. Obama then embarked upon a lengthy impression of consumer-teer Elizabeth Warren as he railed against banks trying to make big profits by tricking consumers (while failing to note that few people other than Dodd and Frank think banks are no longer “too big to fail”). Great. A replay of Al Gore’s grating “people versus the powerful” campaign of 2000. And who knows, maybe it will get Obama’s 2008 electoral coalition wee-weed up enough to carry him to a narrow victory in November 2012. But is the president really going to run a reelection campaign on such phony and distracting issues? Apparently so. (Obama would run on eating kittens if it polled at 51%. ~Bob.)
Girl, eight, sold to Afghan police officer as his bride
Child marriage—it’s not just a good idea, it’s the Shari’a Law! ~Bob. Excerpt: Ten years after British forces entered the war-ravaged country, the Standard has uncovered shocking evidence of an eight-year-old girl who was married off to a policeman for cash. She was sold to the officer, in his twenties, in clear breach of laws introduced two years ago to protect women. She was then the subject of a remarkable battle that symbolises the plight of girls in Afghanistan. Her story vividly highlights the failure to bring about social reforms in the stricken nation, despite the long presence of British forces.
Solyndra: Obama and Rahm Emanuel pushed to spotlight energy company
Excerpt: White House staff discussed in emails that either President Obama or his former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel were eager to help spotlight a solar company in early 2009, despite numerous internal warnings that the company could be financially unstable, according to new e-mails. The administration was working to arrange a way for Obama to headline a press conference in early September to announce that Solyndra of Fremont, Ca. had won a $535 million government loan to spur clean energy firms — the first his administration had provided. (Half a billion of your grandkids’ dollars for a photo-op. ~Bob.)
No adults among the Occupy Wall Street protesters
Excerpt: I wouldn't think it would be worthwhile to draw attention to the Occupy Wall Street "movement," or its list of demands that wouldn't pass muster in an average kindergarten class. But if America's president and vice president choose to talk about it, and give it credibility, then it's news. According to Vice President Biden, demands such as free college, pay independent of work, a $20 minimum wage (why not $100 or $1,000?), and a nation with open borders have legitimacy and "a lot in common with the Tea Party movement." President Obama sees these demonstrations against corporate America as reasonable protests toward "the same folks who acted irresponsibly trying to crack down on abusive practices that got us into this situation to begin with." This should provide perspective to what our most fundamental problem is today. We have an endangered species in America whose loss threatens our future. That species is called the American adult.
Frustrated lawmakers have few options to deal with Europe's debt crisis
Excerpt: Europe’s continued debt struggles are weighing down the U.S. economy and financial markets, leaving lawmakers frustrated that there is little, if anything, they can do to alleviate the problem. The worries were evident at several hearings this week as multiple lawmakers probed financial regulators about the nation’s susceptibility to Europe’s debt struggles, including ways Congress could help guard against them. Along with those questions came gripes about what little lawmakers can do to address the situation. “One of the frustrations is that we don’t have any control over Europe’s decisions,” said Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.), voicing a typical complaint. “Is our financial system sufficiently protected?” (In WWII Budapest, it is reported that the Nazis (doubtless to the approbation of their Islamic admirers) would line up Jews who were chained together on a bridge over the Danube. They would shoot the fortunate one on the end, who would fall into the river, dragging the others to their drowning deaths one by one. The US economy is chained to other economies, eventually to Greece, Spain, Ireland, and the rest of the EU disaster states. It’s hard to see how their collapse doesn’t drag the rest of us into the abyss with them. ~Bob.)
Democrats aim to tax the rich — but who are they? First they said it was couples making more than $250,000. Now they've proposed a 'millionaires tax.' Consensus is proving to be elusive.
Excerpt: President Obama and Democrats in Congress have aligned on a populist, "tax the rich" strategy for the 2012 campaign. Now they have to figure out exactly who that is. It was clear they had not resolved the thorny question last week, as Senate Democrats unveiled a new "millionaires tax" to pay for the president's jobs bill. The proposal neatly replaced Obama's preferred funding plan and probably bolstered the bill's chances in the Senate. But it also appeared to depart from the party's previous characterization of "the haves we're asking to have less." Obama and his fellow Democrats for years have described the wealthy as couples making more than $250,000 and individuals making more than $200,000 — 3% of U.S. households. By shifting away from that number in hopes of benefiting from the sound-bite punch of a millionaires tax, the administration may find it difficult to return to casting the broader net.
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Robert A. Hall
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