Saturday, April 30, 2011

Pass the Popcorn, Nahanni: Left Wing San Francisco Chronicle In All-Out P.R. War With Most Transparent Administration Ever

For an administration that likes to talk about "transparency", the Obama White House has earned the worst reputation for ostracizing media in modern American history.

Remember, in October of 2009, Obama's minions unsuccessfully attempted to ban cable news leader Fox News from the White House press pool.

Now, the most thin-skinned president ever (he's 'historic') is engaging in an all-out P.R. war with the ultra-left wing rag The San Francisco Chronicle.

Let's recap:

First, the Chronicle reported that the 'Administration exercise[d] its control freak streak' by threatening the paper after it reported unfavorable news:

It seems that Team Obama was none too pleased that veteran Chronicle political reporter Carla Marinucci posted a 40-second video of a group of supporters-turned-protesters serenading the president a cappella - "We paid our dues ... where's our change" - at a recent fundraising breakfast at San Francisco's St. Regis Hotel. The protesters' objection: the treatment of Wikileaks source Pfc. Bradley Manning.

The White House threatened that Marinucci would no longer be allowed to serve as a pool reporter during future Obama swings west. Marinucci's apparent offense was shooting video during an event that was closed to broadcast journalism...

...An administration truly dedicated to transparency would not require journalists to be "in the tank" as a condition of being in the pool.

Second, using its online public relations arm (the so-called "Politico", aka last refuge of downsized WaPo hacks), the White House denied it threatened the left-wing San Francisco newspaper.

The White House is denying that it threatened to exclude the San Francisco Chronicle from presidential events in its coverage area after one of its reporters recorded a video of singing protesters at a fundraiser last week that was restricted to print reporters...

...White House spokesman Josh Earnest told POLTICO on Friday that the Chronicle’s claims are “not true,” and that no such threat was ever made, but he wouldn’t provide further details...

Finally, the Chronicle today called the White House liars.

In a pants-on-fire moment, the White House press office today denied anyone there had issued threats to remove Carla Marinucci and possibly other Hearst reporters from the press pool covering the President in the Bay Area.

Chronicle editor Ward Bushee called the press office on its fib:

Sadly, we expected the White House to respond in this manner based on our experiences yesterday. It is not a truthful response. It follows a day of off-the-record exchanges with key people in the White House communications office who told us they would remove our reporter, then threatened retaliation to Chronicle and Hearst reporters if we reported on the ban, and then recanted to say our reporter might not be removed after all.

The Chronicle's report is accurate.

If the White House has indeed decided not to ban our reporter, we would like an on-the-record notice that she will remain the San Francisco print pool reporter.

I was on some of those calls and can confirm Ward's statement... Messy ball now firmly in White House court.

Mr. Producer, please cue the Joe Wilson "You lied!" soundtrack.

Oh and, hey, Nahanni -- where's the buttered popcorn, dear?


Hat tips: Drudge Report and Mark Levin.

No We Can't -- Michele Bachmann asks 'Do you want to live in a country that is "leading from behind?"'

I didn't hear a rimshot after a White House adviser described President Obama's foreign policy doctrine this way, so I assume it was serious.

Obama may be moving toward something resembling a doctrine. One of his advisers described the president’s actions in Libya as "leading from behind."

— Ryan Lizza, the New Yorker, May 2 issue

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann asks the candid question every American -- except you whack-job progressive drones -- should be asking.

Do you want to live in a country that is "leading from behind?"

...an Obama advisor describes the President's approach to foreign policy as "leading from behind," a "doctrine" that "comes from two unspoken beliefs: that the relative power of the U.S. is declining, as rivals like China rise, and that the U.S. is reviled in many parts of the world."

As a member of Congress and as an American, the notion that America is an exceptional place has given me a sense of optimism about our future that has guided me throughout my career and my life... To have a President who expresses the opposite, a pessimism about America's place in the world paired with an acceptance to let the world abuse us and pass us by, is unprecedented in the history of our nation...

...While the President tries to mask this with verbal gymnastics, the American people know that "leading from behind" is not leading at all--it is following and it is weak.

The America that we love is the giant that defeated the Soviet Union and liberated Europe, the inventor of the Internet and motorized transportation, and a great and giving people whose Navy accurately proclaims herself as "the global force for good." Whether we continue this legacy of greatness is not up to China, nor does it rely on the opinion of the international community. Our capacity to be great is far more personal, determined by the capacity for boldness possessed by each of us and by those who we trust to lead us--this is the core principle of the American spirit. Presidents from Roosevelt to Kennedy to Reagan did not just believe this notion, they shouted it from the mountaintops yet, contrastingly, for a President who made "Yes We Can" a household saying, this new "Obama doctrine" is better summarized by "No, We Can't." Americans know that we can do better.

Indeed we can.

Michele Bachmann is a patriot for speaking the plain truth about this disastrous administration. You can visit her Facebook page here and donate to her PAC.

I hope she decides to run, because I can unequivocally support Michele Bachmann for President.


Larwyn's Linx: May Day--Wisconsin Witch Hunt Goes National

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

May Day--Wisconsin Witch Hunt Goes National: Malkin
Ryan ‘Debates’ Obama on Medicare During Town Halls: BG
Your Daily Dose of Allen West Awesomeness: WZ

Communist Party Predicts Huge May Day Rallies Across U.S.: Loudon
3 Convicted in Terror Cases Later Granted Citizenship: CNS
The Man With No Shame: BigPeace

Economy

CA Union Chief: Taxpayers Selfish and Full of ‘Envy’: RWN
Black CEO Blasts 'Marxist', 'Fanatical', 'Brownshirt' Obama: WZ
Geithner’s Spin: Auto Bailout A Success: RWN

Palin: Hell no-I would't vote to increase debt ceiling: Surber
Trump: Litigation Bully: Cato
Gov. Nikki Haley defends her state’s right-to-work status: Cubachi

Americans Are Ready to Take On the Deficit: Power Line
New FTC Guidelines Take Aim at Children’s Food Pitchmen: Hot Air
U. Missouri Fires Communist Labor Studies Professor: AmPower

Climate & Energy

Perspective Is Everything. Exxon vs. The Government: RWN
The UN “disappears” yet another inconvenient climate claim, and once again, botches the cover up: WUWT
Good grief: Liberals decry solar panels as they get rolled out into the field in New York: BlogProf

Media

Just Noting: Ace
White House Bans Uppity San Francisco Journalist: RedState
A Tornado Engulfs the White House: Power Line

Starve ‘em, strand ‘em, freeze ‘em: Obama’s plans for the elderly: Aces
The conspiracy theory that's worse than 'birthers' or 'truthers': Lid
Pat Quinn compares himself to Gen. George C. Marshall: Marathon

World

Muslims, protesters break barricades, attack Terry Jones in Dearborn: Creeping
New Sheriff in Town Ann Barnhardt: Fearless against Islam and the Obama Syndicate: NoisyRoom
Federal judge denies Hamas-linked CAIR access to FBI files: Atlas

Egypt: 2,000 Islamic supremacists protest outside Coptic Church: JihadWatch
Lara Logan Breaks Her Silence on Sexual Assault During Protests in Egypt: WZ
Chinese Warships in Australian Ports?: Loudon

SciTech

Twitter Gets Hit With Bizarre Class Action Lawsuit Over Unsolicited SMS Notifications: Crunch
Top-rated reviews of the week (photos): CNet
Ouch: Carol Bartz Gets A 75% Pay Cut: Insider

Cornucopia

Royal Jelly: iOTW
Deferments Helped Trump Dodge Vietnam: TSG
What to Wear When You Just Feel Like Looking Pretty: MOTUS

Sponsored by: TrendingRight.com - What's happening in conservative news RIGHT now!

Friday, April 29, 2011

A Trifecta of Central Planning Headlines: GM Edition

And the hits just keep on coming for GM. Please consider the following evidence that central planning works (if you're a Marxist ideologue):

Forbes Gives You 2011 List Of Worst Cars on the Road

Forbes released the 2011 Worst Cars on the Road list and, shockingly, GM and Chrysler dominate the list.

Chevy Volt not for sale, but available for test drive at local dealers

Interesting strategy: build super-expensive "green cars", but not enough to actually sell any.

Why Are General Motors Shares Stuck in Reverse?

Gee, let me guess: they're funded by the central planners in Washington (with our money), their quality ranks among the worst of all automakers, and they're building cars they can't sell.


Great News: Mass Graves Discovered in Failed Narco-Terror State on Our Unprotected Southern Border

Curious: I didn't read this in legacy media.

The body count from two areas of mass graves in Mexico had grown to 279, the government announced. In Tamaulipas, forensics had pulled 183 bodies from the mass graves. In Durango state to the west, the government had found 96 bodies to date. Both states are disputed territories but little is known of the motives for the killings...

...In Tamaulipas, the Zetas are battling the Gulf Cartel for control of this lucrative corridor. Numerous victims were pulled from buses as they traveled north and bludgeoned with sledge hammers, authorities reported. In Durango, as InSight has pointed out, the battle may be internal between members of the Sinaloa Cartel.  

Good thing that President Obama's Justice Department is suing Arizona so we can import more of this Hamas-style violence.


Gas Pump Sticky-Note Campaign: Pre-Printed Notes You Can Use!

The 'Gas Pump Sticky Note Campaign' is spreading.

Rather than hand-written notes, I've decided to create a set that you can print.

Here are the first two of the set.


Feel free to post suggestions for different versions. The idea is to use real news stories and data to highlight the radical, destructive and extra-Constitutional policies of the Obama administration.


Linked by: Legal Insurrection. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: Ten Rules for Liberty Guerillas

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

Ten Rules for Liberty Guerillas: Stop
A stupid DCCC ad for ignorant people: Pundette
HOA demands removal of sign supporting Marine son: SIGIS

Gov. Kasich to Obama: Do Your Own Job First: RWN
Ryan Gets Standing Ovation at Town Hall Meeting: WklyStd
Allen West: I stand on facts and the truth: Cubachi

E. St. Louis: More Registered Voters Than Residents: RWN
Liberal Utopia SF becoming child-free zone as parents flee: BlogProf
University of Montana to Teach Islamic Law Next Semester: WZ

Economy

Discovered: An UNLIMITED Obamacare Slush Fund: FW
Gold slams Bernanke's plans at the Fed: Kudlow
A Tale of Two Recessions and Two Presidents: IBD

Democrats' Pension Bomb About to Destroy Our States: RWN
CA Teachers' Union Funding Protests: AmPower
Wal-Mart: Our shoppers are 'running out of money': CNN

Climate & Energy

While we worry about fueling our cars, Obama hops Air Force One to tape Oprah: Pundette
Obama Regime Uses Tiny Lizard as Pretext to Strangle Texas Oil Industry: RWN
Costly ethanol subsidies should be ended now: WashExam

Media

Born to Be Mild: Belmont Club
Obama Administration Bans Reporter for Using Camera to Record Anti-Obama Protesters: PunditPress
First Look: Julianne Moore as Governor Sarah Palin, Actress Cast as Bristol: BigHollywood

NY Times Fabricates Timeline of 'Birther' Myth: First Spread by Hillary Clinton Supporters in 2008: NewsBusters
The Obama Lie That Drove the Birther Movement: AT
Economist Walter Williams reflects: battling Jim Crow, big government, and liberal orthodoxy: Reason

CNN: Trump Has Donated More Money to Dems Than Republicans: AllAm
Trump is Obama's Trump Card in 2012, in Cahoots to Replay Perot Spoiler Option: MPK
Breitbart at Heritage: HayRide

World

Meet Kim Jong Il’s Answer to Baghdad Bob: Malkin
Exclusive: A Massacre in Syria (Content Warning): PJM
Islamists Warn Muslims to Stay Away From Royal Wedding – Avoid Public Transport: GWP

GOP Rep.: Cut off All U.S. Funds to the Palestinians After Abbas and Hamas Reach Unity Deal: WZ
Rifts in Iran’s Leadership. Plus: Secret Meetings with Obama Admin?: Kahlili
Mosque denied in residential NJ neighborhood, legal jihad ensues: Creeping

SciTech

Is AT&T a wireless spectrum hog?: CNet
Google Pays $16,500 for Chrome 11 Fixes: eSecurityPlanet
What's going on with PHP 5.4?: InternetNews

Cornucopia

Prince William tells his bride Kate Middleton: 'You look stunning, babe': Telegraph
A Bad Time in Baltimore: DumpDC
Former President George W. Bush took part in a 62.5-mile mountain bike ride with wounded warriors: ArmyTimes

Image: Obama's in Chicago for Oprah Taping
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Tornado Victims -- How to Help


Thursday, April 28, 2011

Bumper Sticker o' the Day: Prove It

Uncle Ben sends this one in:

True dat.


Photo: Funnel Cloud Over Manhattan

Looks like NYC dodged a bullet.

With weather officials sounding the all-clear Thursday afternoon, Greater New York emerged undamaged from the historic tornado outbreak that has afflicted nearly half the nation and rendered this month the most tornadically active April in U.S. history.

Funnel clouds made their closest brush with New York City since striking Brooklyn and Queens last September, with a trained weather spotter observing three in short succession near Wayne, N.J., at about 12:15 p.m. Thursday. At one point, six counties in the region were under a tornado warning.

Radar imagery at that time confirms a significant threat, with Doppler wind estimates in excess of 70 mph.

If you can help support those impacted by the catastrophic storms in Alabama, click here for details.


DHS Insider: White House Silencing Reports That Border Patrol Has Caught Iranians, Syrians and Yemenese on Mexico-Arizona Border

"Vinnie", a caller from Long Beach, California on last night's Mark Levin radio program, told a brief, chilling tale of border insecurity.

You need to get this out to the people. I became aware about OTMs [Other Than Mexicans] coming over the border.

I work for Homeland [Security] and in our prisons right now, we have, Iranians, Afghanis, Pakistanis, Yemenese, Syrians... and our Border Patrol has found... the drug cartels are going to smuggle terrorists and terrorist weapons across our porous borders... especially in Arizona [Ed: would that be the same Arizona that the Obama administration's Justice Department has sued for enforcing immigration law? Why, yes, it would be]...

...So, we need to secure the borders -- and I don't know why this administration has not done anything... previous administrations have not done anything... this is a major issue. We are going to be hit from within. It's not going to come from outside, it's going to come from within...

...The [American] people are in the dark. They don't know what's going on. We apprehended more than a quarter-of-a-million illegals last year. Hundreds -- hundreds -- of those were OTMs. So this is a big concern and we need to get this [news] out in the open.

Just over the border in the failed narco-terror state of Mexico, we've seen the following ominous developments:

Hezbollah-style car-bombs
Al-Qaeda-style beheadings
A mass grave with nearly 300 bodies in it, including children -- bludgeoned to death

And, lest we forget, Arizona is now the kidnapping capital of the U.S.

But rather than protect the border, the cynical Obama administration and its Democrat sycophants are suing states like Arizona for enforcing the nation's immigration laws.

Remember in 2012.


Official Hi-Res Scan: President Obama's Official Birth Certificate

Another Biff Spackle semi-exclusive.

Donald Chump could not be reached for comment.


Hat tip: G.R.

Exclusive: Apple Announcement on iPhone Location Tracking

Biff Spackle relays the official Apple announcement on the revelations that its products are tracking the locations of users.

1. Why is Apple tracking the location of my iPhone?

Apple is not tracking the location of your iPhone. It is tracking the location of you, for marketing departments and governments around the world.

2. Then why is everyone so concerned about this?

Providing mobile users with fast and accurate location information while preserving their security and privacy has raised some very complex technical issues which are hard to communicate in a soundbite. Users are confused, partly because the creators of this new technology(including Apple) have not provided enough education about these issues to date. Put simply, you’re too stupid to understand why we’re recording your location at all times, saving that location, and sharing the information with any marketer with enough bucks and any governmental entity with a subpoena.

3. Why is my iPhone logging my location?

The iPhone is not logging your location. Rather, it’s maintaining a database of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers around your current location, some of which may be located more than one hundred miles away from your iPhone, to help your iPhone rapidly and accurately calculate its location when requested. Using an on-board GPS and cell-tower triangulation algorithms would never, ever enter our minds. Seriously. We pinky-promise.

4. Is this crowd-sourced database stored on the iPhone?

The entire crowd-sourced database is too big to store on an iPhone, so we download an appropriate subset (cache) onto each iPhone. This cache is protected but not encrypted, and is backed up in iTunes whenever you back up your iPhone. The backup is encrypted or not, depending on the user settings in iTunes. The location data that researchers are seeing on the iPhone is not the past or present location of the iPhone, but rather the locations of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers surrounding the iPhone’s location, which can be more than one hundred miles away from the iPhone. We plan to cease backing up this cache in a software update coming soon. We were going to put the word soon in quote marks, but figured that would be too obvious. We can’t commit to a date for engineering, logistical, planning, technical reasons to be named later.

5. Can Apple locate me based on my geo-tagged Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data?

No. Not that you know of.

6. People have identified up to a year’s worth of location data being stored on the iPhone. Why does my iPhone need so much data in order to assist it in finding my location today?

The reason the iPhone stores so much data is a bug we uncovered and plan to fix shortly (see Software Update section below). We don’t think the iPhone needs to store more than seven days of this data. After seven days, we’ll make sure that data just goes to our data center.

7. When I turn off Location Services, why does my iPhone sometimes continue updating its Wi-Fi and cell tower data from Apple’s crowd-sourced database?

It shouldn’t. This is a bug, which we plan to fix shortly. Consider the word shortly in quotation marks, too.

We're Apple! You don't like it, buy a freaking Motorola StarTAC! Lusers!



Larwyn's Linx: The Obama Project -- The Case For Change

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

The Obama Project -- The Case For Change: Hewitt
Holder’s DOJ Scuttled More Terror-Related Prosecutions: PJM
DC Mayor Vincent Gray Wants No Black Child Left Unaborted: Life

Maxine Waters: Swamp Queen: Malkin
Did Obama Want to Elevate Trump?: Kaus
Bachmann explains what she would bring to the Oval Office: Cubachi

Finally: Catholic Church suspends Father Pfleger: Malkin
Christians mock gays at shocking Easter service: Zombie (NSFW)
Former Miss USA: TSA Agent “Touched My Vagina”: VS

Economy

Collective Bargaining Curbed in MA: AmSpec
Ryan's Budget Polling Better than Obama plan with Seniors: WklyStd
High Gas Prices Set to Cause Double Dip in Economy: NewAm

Can the Obama administration fire a private sector CEO?: RWN
Donald Trump’s Clothing Line Made In China: OTB
The Biggest Legalized Ripoff of America's Middle Class: RWN

Climate & Energy

Obama’s Top Six Gas Price Myths Busted: Foundry
Barack Obama Comes Out For Even HIGHER Gas Prices: RedState
World opinion on global warming: not so hot: WUWT

Media

‘The Incredible Shrinking New York Times’: Driscoll
Birthmageddon: the Long Form Birth Certificate Released?: Patterico
Why Obama's Birth Certificate Mattered: Virtuous

HOLY FREAKING CRAP: Video Shows Massive Tornado in Tuscaloosa AL: RSM
Sarah Palin's parting shot at Katie Couric: Politico
Man Gets Arrested For Reading Bible In Public In CA?: BlogProf

Breitbart: Mainstream Media Must be Defeated: RedCty
Telling Us Who They Fear: Left-Wing Journo Attacks Rep. Allen West: RWN
Great news: Superman to renounce his U.S. citizenship: Hot Air

World

Fatah Reconciles With Hamas; US Now Officially Funding Islamic Terrorism; How Will Obama Proceed?: GWP
Computer Worm Wreaking Havoc on Iran's Nuclear Capabilities: Timmerman
FBI warns of China-related wire transfer fraud: CNet

Gitmo files: Britain and its mosques a global center of terror: Creeping
Just Move the UN Human Rights Council to Syria: Rosett
Egypt/Israel Gas Pipeline Blown Up, An Indication of Obama’s Weak Leadership: Lid

Afghan officer fires on NATO troops, kills 9: ArmyTimes
Free speech, in all its glorious ugliness: RWN
Radical Islam now major threat in Denmark: TRS

SciTech

Apple: We'll fix iPhone tracking 'bug': CNet
April 27, 1981: Say Hello to the First Personal Computer Mouse: Wired
Visualized: ring around the world of data center power usage: Engadget

Cornucopia

You've GOT To Be Kidding Me (Birth Certificate): Denninger
Huge Internet Sex Study Reveals What People Really Want: Insider
Well finally: THE Obama Birth Certificate : MOTUS

Image: LifeNews
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: TrendingRight.com -- Conservative News, Right Now!

QOTD: "As a friend noted on Facebook, Obama’s popularity is falling so fast that Kenyans are now claiming Obama was born in the United States." --Erick Erickson

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Gas Pump Sticky Note Campaign Makes Its Way to Grocery Stores

From YourDaddy, citizen action at its finest.

The Sticky Note Campaign is making deliveries in Georgia Supermarkets now.  Super-Charged with Conservative ideals REAL Americans all over the country and even an awakened Democrat or two are now participating in this grass roots initiative.  Its not a partisan issue either, no one  can afford these rising prices at the gas pump or the grocery store.

I just realized that I need to order more FREE PRE-PRINTED Sticky notes from the Koch Brothers -- gotta go now.





Be sure take pictures of your STICKY NOTES, upload them to your Facebook, TAG all your friends in the pics and then also be sure to share them with the event page.

I like it. It's a simple way to highlight the effects of the Democrats' disastrous deficit spending, their insane drilling policies, and their hatred of all things free market.


Also see: TrendingRight.com - What's Happening on Twitter Right Now!. Linked by: Instapundit. Thanks!

The Atlantic: Donald Chump May Be Dumber Than You Think

"He may be dumber than you think: Exclusive research reveals "Celebrity Apprentice" viewers are the most Democratic in primetime TV"

If Trump's sharp right turn and populist rhetoric were ratings ploys, they were -- like his thrice bankrupt casinos -- monumental failures.

"Celebrity Apprentice" viewers are the most Democratic in primetime TV.

...the audience for "Celebrity Apprentice" is among the most liberal in primetime television (see graphic above). Rather than add viewers, Trump foolishly appears to be driving them away...

Trump's ratings have clearly dropped. The fall-off has been especially pronounced over the last few weeks, a period that coincides with Trump's emphasis on Obama's birth certificate. "Something is definitely going on there," another media buyer told me. "He's dropped -- and that's a big f***ing dip." Given the liberal skew of Trump's viewership, that dip might not be surprising.

The Republicans flirting with Trump ought to remember his history:

• He was pro-choice a few years ago; now he's pro-life
• He donated $50,000 to the malevolent Rahm Emanuel's mayoral campaign
• He also donated to the ludicrous Marxists Chucky "Schmucky" Schumer and Anthony's Weiner in the last election cycle
• Just a few years ago, he wanted George W. Bush impeached
• He's done absolutely nothing to support the Tea Party over the last two years
• And, despite virtually the entire House GOP's support for Paul Ryan's Budget plan, Chump portrays it as 'too extreme'

We don't need P.T. Barnum in the White House. We need a Constitutional conservative -- in the worst way. And Donald Chump ain't it.


Hat tip: Mark Levin.

Get Your Personal Obamacare Opt-Out Waiver Today!

Have I got a deal for you!

From the looks of the roster of opt-outs to whom the White House has given special exemptions to ObamaCare, it appears to be a Who's Who of Groups Too Democrat To Snare.

Pardon me for sounding a bit self-serving and populist but if the buddies of the White House can Opt-Out of ObamaCare – You and I should be able to as well.

In September, Obamacare promoter and Democrat Rep. Ron Wyden applied for a special state waiver from the very federal mandate he advocated for everyone else.

Within a few weeks McDonald's Double Arch got it's own Obamacare waiver after informing federal regulators that it couldn't afford ObamaCare and would have to drop its affordable health insurance plan for nearly 30,000 restaurant workers unless it got a pass.

In early October, the Obama administration announced it had granted waivers not only to McDonald's, but also to several other firms and oh yeah - labor unions—Groups Too Democrat To Snare.

Of Course Obama and Congress are Exempt.

I almost forgot Muslims are also exempt.

...But that wasn't enough back-room dealing -- HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius approved an incredible 111 waivers for businesses AND Unions and other providers of health insurance.

Just curious... Which party is the party of big corporations and special interest groups?

According to HHS, waivers depend on "a series of factors including whether or not a premium increase is large or if a significant number of enrollees would lose access to their current plan because the coverage would not be offered in the absence of a waiver."

Ummm...According to the Medicare Actuary – Millions and Millions of Seniors will lose access to their current plan. Does that mean Seniors can Opt Out?

Hey Obama – I want to Opt Out TOO!
Please add my name to the National ObamaCare Opt Out Registry!
The NOOO! List is APPROACHING 1,000,000 STRONG



Hat tip: L.C. Linked by: Ace o' Spades. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: The Marxist in the Mirror

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

The Marxist in the Mirror: Nice Deb
Supreme Court Allows Obamacare to Metastasize: AmSpec
New Black Panthers Target Jews and Tea Partiers: NewAm

Lee: Debt Ceiling Charade Must Come to an End: Cubachi
Heckler arrested at Allen West town hall: Shark
Rubio: Debt limit debate is perfect time to address issues: Cubachi

Obamacare Slams Economy and the American Dream: Foundry
Obama rails against oil subsidies; gave $3B to ACORN: JWF
Palin on a Deadly Combination for the Economy: C4P

Economy

Are food prices higher? The answer is “yes”!: Q&O
Inside Every Leftist Is a Little Tyrant Dying to Get Out: Cato
Illinois ranks dead last in funding worker pensions: ChiBiz

Obamaflation Arrives: AmSpec
WI Voters Who Signed Recall Harrassed by Dems: Lid
Fiscal Follies, or Fundamental Reform?: Sargen

Climate & Energy

Obama Finally Says ‘Drill Baby Drill’ (No, Not You America): Malkin
EPA Chief Lisa Jackson Admits They’re the Reason for Rising Gas Prices: WZ
Paradox: Green-Loving Washington State About to Penalize Electric Car Owners: RWN

As Oil Prices Rise, EPA Attempts to Shut Down Alaska Pipeline: RWN
Where's St. Al?: Power Line
President Obama: Desperate Seeking a 'Petro-Villain': RWN

Media

Dear NPR: What’s so funny about death threats?: Malkin
Krauthammer: Common Sense And Sensibility: Riehl
High Treason Case Dropped at the DOJ: Betraying America Sanctioned by Obama Administration: Atlas

Paul Krugman: For entitlement reform before he was against it: Malkin
The Left's Problem With Trig: IMAO
Allen West: Not Just Yes, But Hell, Yes!: RSM

Shocking New Study: The New York Times Always Favors Democrats: BigJourn
Another life line for Death Row cop-killer Mumia abu Jamal: Malkin
Pat Buchanan: MSNBC, Media Helping Obama "Conceal" Records: RCP

World

PJM Exclusive: Stuxnet Has Completely Paralyzed Iran’s Bushehr Plant: PJM
WikiLeaks: The Iraq-Al Qaeda Connection Confirmed, Again: WklyStd
Latest French Fashion Craze: Defiled American Flags: WZ

NASA Over a Russian Barrel: PJM
Palin on Libya: What the Hell Are We Doing There?: Cubachi
UK is Bigger Fiscal Mess than Spain or Portugal: Mish

SciTech

$30 million in wealth, created in 3 months, with one iPhone app: Althouse
How the iPad changes PC design: CNet
Nielsen: Consumer Desire For Android Grows, Unlike iOS And Blackberry: TechCrunch

Cornucopia

Michelle Obama: Deconstructing TIME : MOTUS
Baseball’s Greatest Play, 35 Years Later: Malkin
Obama's Long-form Birth Certificate Opens Twitter Account: GWP

Chicago Dem Luis Gutierrez goes crazy demanding Obama use executive order to grant amnesty: FAM
George Soros' Home Address: Dollard
Washington Declares War on Texas!: Cube

Image: Shark-Tank.Net
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: TrendingRight.com - Real-Time Conservative News

QOTD:

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Another Blue State Success Story: Illinois State Workers' Pensions About to Go Bye-Bye

All across the country, state public sector pensions are melting down faster than a Slurpee in one of Al Gore's four cavernous saunas.

That said, when it comes to the worst of the worst, no state beats the People's Utopia of Illinois, political home to one Barack H. Obama. Please consider 'Illinois ranks dead last in funding worker pensions."

For the second year in a row, Illinois ranks dead last when it comes to saving money to pay promised worker pensions -- and the hole is getting worse... According to a new report being issued this morning by the Pew Center on the States, Illinois through fiscal 2009 had set aside just 51% of the $126 billion it will need to pay retired workers their pensions.

...Above and beyond the $62 billion the state needs but doesn't have for pensions is another $44 billion it will need for promised retiree health care, Pew says. Illinois has set aside only .1% of that figure.

Yes, you read that right -- one tenth of one percent.

Normal citizens are forced to pay 7% or more into Social Security and their benefits are capped at about $30,000 annually. If they're lucky, they'll collect on most of that and some kind of very limited Medicare benefits, thanks to Obamacare's disastrous effects on seniors.

On the other hand, Illinois has thousands of retirees guaranteed six-figure salaries in retirement. 4,352 to be exact, a 20% increase over 2009. And the state's "new, improved" system limits payouts to "only" $86,000-a-year or roughly three times that of the typical private sector worker on Social Security.

The inmates truly are running the asylum in Illinois ("inmates" is a nice term for progressives).


Superb: President Obama unilaterally overrides Congress to permit unchecked Mexican trucks carrying heaven knows what into the U.S.

Legendary patriot Phyllis Schlafly alerts us to a particularly nefarious partnership between Barack Obama and the failed narco-terror state on our southern border.

Barack Obama's deal with the president of Mexico to allow Mexican trucks to carry their loads onto U.S. highways and roads is new evidence of his high-handed solo behavior that has become Standard Operating Procedure in the administration...

1. Obama's deal with President Felipe Calderon, announced on March 3, bypasses Congress, defies the wishes of the American people and looks like the action of a Third World dictator who thinks representative government is a nuisance and can be ignored. Congress made its wishes emphatically clear in 2007 when it voted to continue our ban on Mexican trucks. The House roll-call vote was 411 to 3, and the Senate's was 75 to 23.

2. Obama's deal is a direct attack on the jobs available to U.S. truck drivers because it helps big-business interests cut their costs by hiring cheaper Mexican drivers. Obama's deal is also an attack on small business (i.e., the owner-operated and independent truck drivers) who constitute the [vast] majority of U.S. trucks.

3. The claim that Obama's deal is reciprocal (i.e., U.S. trucks will be allowed to drive into Mexico) is so cynical that we can hardly believe anyone says it with a straight face. "South of the border down Mexico way" (in the words of the old popular song) is the most dangerous war zone in the world (more dangerous than Afghanistan or Libya), where U.S. truck drivers would become the targets of hijackings, theft, murder, kidnappings and even beheadings committed by the drug cartels.

4. Built into the Obama deal is the sneaky imposition of costs on both U.S. truck drivers and U.S. taxpayers. Each truck will be required to install an EOBR (electronic on-board recorder) costing $3,000 plus maintenance fees: U.S. drivers at their own expense and Mexican trucks as a gift from U.S. taxpayers paid out of the Highway Trust Fund. U.S. taxpayers are already paying $1,600 each for many Mexican trucks to replace their old mufflers with catalytic converters.

5. Obama's deal will make it easy for Mexican trucks to bring in loads of illegal aliens and illegal drugs. Border inspection will be a farce, maybe only one in 10 trucks inspected, perhaps merely one in 20.

Phyllis, dear, "illegal aliens" is so non-P.C. Liberals prefer the term "undocumented Democrats".

And then there's this: the EPA will use your money to equip Mexican trucks with anti-pollution equipment, since they're so freaking dirty.

Funny, we never hear how Mexico has to cap its carbon emissions.

Only us.

This administration must be politically eradicated in 2012 if this Republic is to survive. And there is zero percent snark in that previous sentence.


Catastrophe: State pension systems $1.26T in the red -- up 26% in one year

I suspect that the members of America's public sector unions will be nonplussed to discover that their platinum-plated benefits have all the likelihood of surviving as Tyrannosaurus Rex. Pew Research reports that these pensions, by and large, are headed right into the tarmac.

States are $1.26 trillion in the hole when it comes to their pension and retiree health obligations, according to a report released Tuesday...

...And taxpayers are ultimately on the hook for this shortfall, which soared 26% in one year...

...States are largely responsible for this predicament. As tax revenues plummeted, many skipped part or all of their annual retiree benefits contributions as they struggled to pay for education, Medicaid and other services.

States only contributed a total of 64% of the nearly $115 billion their actuaries recommended they put in their pension funds for that year, the center said. They now face a $660 billion gap in these accounts... Meanwhile states socked away a mere 36% of the recommended $47 billion in funding for their retiree health and other benefits. Even more concerning -- 19 states have saved nothing for these obligations, instead of paying the costs as they are incurred, the Pew Center said...

A commenter observes that ""Pennsylvania retired teachers receive 80% of their working salary and some receive free health care insurance for life. And, a 35 year 'pension/career' in teaching is the equivalent of about 28 years on the job in the private sector... There's not one company in the private sector, none, that allows you to retire with that exorbitant package - not one. No wonder states are flat broke. We're approaching the tipping point."

Approaching? I think we're well past it, folks. And to minimize the economic damage, we've got to contain the Statists and begin rolling back their insane fiscal policies.


Actual Yahoo! News Headline: 'Right Wingers Continue to Mean-Spiritedly Nitpick at President Obama'

Tipster JTT writes:

This is a real headline on Yahoo! News:

Who's writing this s***? Michelle Obama?

The author of the original article, some crackpot named Roy Barnes, vilifies criticism of President Obama. He writes: "Being against a president over his policies is one thing, but being petty over everything Obama says and does reflects the mean-spiritedness of many in the conservative movement."

Because Barnes and the rest of the rabid Left never, ever mocked Emperor Chimpy McBushitlerburton in a mean-spirited way, right?


Larwyn's Linx: Obama's Machete Hacks Up Pentagon Budget

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Nation

Obama's Machete Hacks Up Pentagon Budget: AmSpec
How Health Reform Punishes Work: WSJ
Trump hasn't voted in a primary in 20 years: Tatler

No SCOTUS fast track for Obamacare lawsuit: Malkin
A Tale of Three Budget Plans: FW
Haley Barbour's Not Running for President: RollCall

Breast cancer survivor humiliated, molested by TSA: Tatler
The Left Politicizes the Practice of Law: Power Line
NO Voter Fraud Here, just move along: MinRep

Economy

Uncontrolled Spending Is the Real Threat: Foundry
Give School Vouchers a Chance: FW
Into the Economic Abyss: ZH

Californication: Unions Ride Roughshod Over Jerry Brown: RedState
Union thuggery taught, encouraged at some MO universities: Toldjah
Silver, Gold Prices Push Higher: Street

Climate & Energy

As Gas Prices Reach $4 Per Gallon – The Obama EPA Forces Shell to Stop Drilling: RedState
Top 10 Environmental Scams: Human Events
Green Sin Week – your personal guide to penance: WUWT

Media

Imperial White House Admits Working On Executive Order Attacking First Amendment : Lid
The Mainstream Media Finally Investigates Birther Allegations: RWN
Hasner Announces for U.S.Senate, Mark Levin Endorses: Shark

Sarah Palin keeps getting everything right: Tatler
Politico Wants You To Meet The Unhinged Anti-Palin "Crusaders": RWN
New York Times: Benefits of Fed's QE2 Program "surprisingly small": Reason

Obama, ‘Leading from Behind’: Driscoll
Obama campaign manager: Here’s our blueprint for winning reelection: Hot Air
Taking Bets On Whether the Media Will Cover Marxist Union Instruction: BigJourn

Of economics, socialism and watermelons: Polipundit
Gas Prices Top $1-a-Gallon Higher than Year Ago; Media Don't Blame Obama: MRC
The Left's Conspiratorial Hatred for Sarah Palin is Truly Unprecedented: EIB

World

Nap-tastic! DHS Can’t Account for 10 Libyan Men It Caught and Released Inside U.S.: CNS
The suicide stunts at Gitmo revisited: Malkin
It's Time For Assad -- AKA Hillary's 'Reformer' -- To
Go
: IBD

Zakat is not about charity, but jihad: Creeping
U.S. Aid Is Holding Africa Back: RCM
More than 160 prisoners released from Gitmo were judged "likely to pose a threat to U.S.": JihadWatch

SciTech

Apple’s Location Tracking Is An Outrage — Where’s The Apology?: Yahoo!
Hard-Drive Steganography through Fragmentation: Schneier
AT&T starts selling 'cell tower in a suitcase': CNBC

Watch This Impressive Forerunner Of The iPad From 1994: Insider
Lessons From a Cloud Failure: It’s Not Amazon, It’s You: WebMonkey
Five business models to boost electric cars: CNet

Cornucopia

Cube: "Billion Dollar" Campaign Fund Goal Still Not Met!!: People's Cube
Cops: Man Battered Kin During Argument Over HBO's "Game Of Thrones": TSG
Lindsay Lohan to work as janitor for community service hours: LAT

Image: iOwnTheWorld
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: TrendingRight.com - Real-Time Conservative News

QOTD: "...there is an ongoing effort to destroy this woman. Forget anything about Sarah Palin other than she's a person. The left always talks to us about compassion. She's a human being. She has kids. She's got a family. Yeah, she sought public office, but there's no sense of proportion to any of this... I'm wracking my brain trying to think of a period of time with anybody else other than Nixon, where there has been anything like this... This is not the imagined fantasy from Hillary Clinton who said that the Monica Lewinsky claims were made up by "a vast right-wing conspiracy" to discredit Bill. This is a genuine, real, existing, right-in-front-of-our-eyes conspiracy. Now, Reagan was attacked by Republicans, too, and hard. People forget that he was an outsider who threatened the establishment GOP base. The Democrats on the left attacked him, too.

But Palin seems to be in a class of her own, and it just keeps ratcheting up. It just keeps becoming even more intense. The attacks on her daughters and her Down Syndrome child is beyond anything I've ever seen." --Rush Limbaugh

Monday, April 25, 2011

EPA again blocks Shell from drilling on leases it bought from the federal government for billions, which should do wonders for gas prices

For those of you drones out there who still think, naively, that President Obama is trying to help out the little guy, may I present the following chart?

This is the average, retail national price of a gallon of gas over the past year.

So, Doug, you say -- the price of gas isn't President Obama's fault. It's the speculators. And the oil companies. And Sarah Palin.

Au contraire, mon frere.

The Environmental Protection Agency -- also known as the flat-Earth, no growth, taxpayer-funded, eco-Marxists (which is the term they prefer, I hear) -- is intentionally killing off domestic energy production. Presumably this makes good on at least one of President Obama's campaign promises -- in this case, that energy prices "will necessarily skyrocket."

Earlier today the EPA blocked Shell Oil's second effort to drill an exploratory well in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea.

As Steve Maley puts it, "We have handed radical environmentalists veto power over domestic development."

In 2008 Shell bought the Chukchi Sea leases from the U.S. for $2 billion and then spent another $2 billion on a "pre-drill exploratory phase." Because of ice cover, even basic exploration tasks are difficult, expensive and limited to certain months of the year.

After three years of investment by Shell, the eco-Marxists at the EPA pulled the rug right out from under the beleaguered oil company for specious, ludicrous reasons ("The EPA’s appeals board ruled that Shell had not taken into consideration emissions from an ice-breaking vessel when calculating overall greenhouse gas emissions from the project").

We are the only country on the face of the Earth that restricts access to its own vast energy resources.

These suicidal policies represent an existential economic and national security threat.

And this is an intentional strategy on the part of President Obama.

I hate to use the I-word, but I truly feel that these policies -- opposed by the vast majority of Americans and unworthy of a "Commander-in-Chief" -- represent a crime of the highest order.

And this setback will cost Shell roughly $4 billion or more, which should do wonders for gas prices. Republicans better stand up to these bullying environmental nuts and de-fund the entire EPA until Obama is out of office.

Yes, I said it: Nuke the EPA from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.


Chart: GasBuddy.com. Hat tip: Michelle Malkin.

Officials now finding IEDs on bridges in 'safe as it's ever been' border area

If I were to pick who is the biggest disaster in the Obama administration, starting with Geithner, Holder, Napolitano and including Obama himself, it would resemble one of those electronic horse racing games. They're all neck and neck, back and forth, until someone wins. And the winner varies randomly, depending upon the time of day.

Consider, if you will, this delightful news story published by KRGV (Rio Grande Valley, TX), headlined "Improvised Explosive Device Discovered On An Overpass In Brownsville".

Police say a passerby on the southbound side of Highway 77 noticed what looked like a grenade near the FM 1732 overpass and alerted authorities around 5 p.m. Sunday.

The improvised explosive device or I-E-D was disarmed by a bomb squad using a robot...

No one was hurt...

...Parts of Highway 77 were closed for several hours.

Police are continuing to investigate.

It wasn't too long ago that Stratfor reported that IEDs and car bombs are becoming commonplace in Mexico as the failed narco-terror state collapses from within.


Last July, "a car bomb ... was detonated with the same kind of sophistication that is used by terrorist groups like Hezbollah."

In fact, Hezbollah has been operating in Mexico for a number of years, thanks to funding from Iran.

And our border remains wide open with states that dare to enforce existing immigration law targeted by the Obama administration.

I don't know who said it, but it rings true: "Lawlessness begets lawlessness."


Hat tip: Tatler.