Source: http://current.com/shows/infomania/92945495_finding-the-next-big-thing-at-sundance.htm
Monday, January 31, 2011
Second Federal Judge Strikes Down Obamacare
From Reuters:
A judge in Florida on Monday became the second judge to declare President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform law unconstitutional, in the biggest legal challenge yet to federal authority to enact the law.
U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson, appointed to the bench by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, ruled that the reform law’s so-called “individual mandate” [...]
A judge in Florida on Monday became the second judge to declare President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform law unconstitutional, in the biggest legal challenge yet to federal authority to enact the law.
U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson, appointed to the bench by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, ruled that the reform law’s so-called “individual mandate” [...]
Source: http://biggovernment.com/publius/2011/01/31/second-federal-judge-strikes-down-obamacare/
Netherlands severs ties with Iran after Hanging
In a significant development, the Netherlands has severed all ties with Iran after a Iranian-Dutch woman was hanged to death there for drug trafficking. The woman, Zahra Bahrami was earlier arrested for being part of the anti-government protests.
link:http://www.breakingnewsonline.net/world/6650-netherlands-severs-ties-with-iran-after-hanging.html
- added by:
Kristena - 3 comments
Source: http://current.com/news/92950162_netherlands-severs-ties-with-iran-after-hanging.htm?xid=RSSfeed
Our National Debt: A Clear and Present Danger
The time is now and the moment is at hand.� We must deal with the run-away spending of our federal government before our compounding debt drives us all into forced servitude for generations to come.� There is little doubt that our growing indebtedness is a clear and present danger to our liberty.
The events in Tunisia [...]
The events in Tunisia [...]
Source: http://biggovernment.com/rabonelli/2011/01/31/our-national-debt-a-clear-and-present-danger/
Re: Monday-Morning 2012 Buzz
Thanks for the update, Kathryn. To learn more about Huntsman, check out this lengthy Charlie Rose interview from December. In it, the former Utah governor explains why he took a post in Obama administration:
ROSE: You're a man often mentioned as having a very bright political future. So President Obama comes to you and says: "I want you to be my ambassador to China." Why? And why did you say yes?
HUNTSMAN: I like to think he did it because he cares about the relationship in the sense that bipartisan management matters. In 31 years of our diplomatic relationship, it hasn't given away to political extremes. It's been managed in a bipartisan fashion. And I accepted it because the President asked. If you can make a unique contribution, hardship though it might be, you stand up and serve.
Source: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/258439/re-monday-morning-2012-buzz-robert-costa
The disruptors arrive at Davos
Last year at Davos, I said I was among the disrupted when I preferred to be among the disruptors.
The disruptor arrived last night. Daniel Domscheit-Berg, former spokesman for Wikileaks and founder of the competitive OpenLeaks, came to a dinner about transparency at which I was a panelist, alongside the Guardian’s Timothy Garton-Ash, Human Rights [...]
The disruptor arrived last night. Daniel Domscheit-Berg, former spokesman for Wikileaks and founder of the competitive OpenLeaks, came to a dinner about transparency at which I was a panelist, alongside the Guardian’s Timothy Garton-Ash, Human Rights [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/buzzmachine/~3/ecQKa5S1SUc/
Monday Open Thread: Reservation Edition
Today, in 1876, the United States ordered all Native Americans to move onto reservations.
Source: http://biggovernment.com/publius/2011/01/31/monday-open-thread-reservation-edition/
A Sad Joke
With the publication of my series on Belarus earlier this week -- go here, here, and here -- I heard from many people who have worked in and around Belarus: mainly as missionaries and representatives of foreign governments (e.g., our own). What they have to say is, frankly, heartbreaking. There must be no more dismal place in all of Europe. (Of course, it is probably a Garden of Eden next to North Korea.) (Cuba is no picnic either, despite its fortunate location in the sunny, breezy Caribbean.)
One of my correspondents related what he called an “old joke” that “speaks loudly about the Belarusian people and culture.” Here goes:
A Russian sits in a chair with a tack on it. He jumps up, screams and yells, tosses the chair out the window, and kills half the people in the room.
A Ukrainian sits in a chair with a tack on it. He jumps up, screams and yells, grabs the chair to throw it out the window . . . but stops himself. He puts the tack in his pocket, thinking, “Hmmm, maybe I can use this . . .”
A Belarusian sits in a chair with a tack on it. And sits. And sits. And sits, thinking, “I deserve this.”
Belarus is one of the most brutalized, bloodied, and oppressed nations of the last 100 years. One can become perversely accustomed to it. But there also comes a time to shake oneself from the dust . . .
Source: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/258371/sad-joke-jay-nordlinger
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Visions of the Future Gallery
A collection of vintage advertisements depicting the future...includes online shopping, farming the sea, and the lunar unicycle!
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/pictures/view/81293410/
- added by:
DeliaTheArtist - 13 comments
Source: http://current.com/technology/92949206_visions-of-the-future-gallery.htm?xid=RSSfeed
Entrepreneurial Journalism curriculum at CUNY
Here are the courses that make up the new Entrepreneurial Journalism curriculum at CUNY. We plan to offer these courses this spring–to our own students and to midcareer journalists. Once approved by the state, we’ll award a certificate and then an MA in entrepreneurial journalism.
This Monday evening the 29th at 6p, we’ll hold an [...]
This Monday evening the 29th at 6p, we’ll hold an [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/buzzmachine/~3/c1a60TOU4HU/
Of Tigers and Tails
If Mubarak falls and the army keeps to the sidelines, the power vacuum within Egypt is ultimately likely to be filled by the most organized force that remains on the ground -- and it’s hard to believe that that force will be made up of middle-class liberals.
With Egypt reportedly mulling a transitional government, one potentially key figure, Mohamed El Baradei, would do well to ponder the political careers of Iran’s Shapour Bakhtiar (the first transitional prime minister in revolutionary Iran) and, of course, that of Alexander Kerensky. I’d like to be optimistic about how this all will turn out, but the lessons of history would suggest that that might not be wise …
Source: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/258332/tigers-and-tails-andrew-stuttaford
Back to the Future?
I sure hope the Tea Party Express backs away from perhaps the lamest comment uttered so far gearing up for 2012.
Sal Russo, chief strategist for Tea Party Express, says TPE won’t go after Orrin Hatch in 2012 because 35 years ago Orrin Hatch supported Reagan over Ford.
No, I’m not making that up.
There are lots of reasons one may decide not to oppose Orrin Hatch. But having to jump into the way back machine to find one should not be it.
Club For Growth, perhaps in a hint of what it intends despite what its statement says, sent out a press release with these remarks from CFG President Chris Chocola:
“While Senator Hatch?s activity in the 1976 presidential campaign is commendable, a lot can change in 35 years,? said Club President Chris Chocola. ?Senator Hatch has a lower lifetime average on the Club for Growth?s Congressional Scorecard than his former colleague Bob Bennett for a reason. Orrin Hatch has done some good things over the decades, but six term incumbents who vote for TARP, the Bridge to Nowhere, the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac bailout, SCHIP, and higher taxes are quite clearly not ?as good as it gets,?? Chocola said. . . .
Chocola concluded, ?We have made no decision about the upcoming Utah Senate race, but when we do, our decision will be about improving the Senate in 2013, not 1977.?
As of yet I have no dog in the fight, though I suspect tea party activists in Utah, with or without TPE, will be looking for someone to oppose Hatch in 2012. That’s just reality.
Source: http://www.redstate.com/erick/2011/01/28/back-to-the-future/
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Who says our way is the right way?
As I sit on the board of Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, I have been thinking about the different ways people learn. RFB&D gives students the tools to learn by listening. We call that a disability. I think it may soon be seen as an advantage.
A group of Danish academics say we are [...]
A group of Danish academics say we are [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/buzzmachine/~3/Xfb_0A-AYR8/
Dennis Kucinich Files Lawsuit Against Congressional Cafeteria
**Written by Doug Powers Just to clear up a misconception right off the bat, in spite of some speculation over at Free Republic, Kucinich is suing the operators of the congressional cafeteria, but not for injuries he sustained by falling out of a poorly maintained high chair. From USA Today: Rep. Dennis Kucinich has filed [...]
Source: http://michellemalkin.com/2011/01/26/dennis-kucinich/
Freshman Johnson Delivers Weekly Address
A big week for Wisconsin: Sen. Ron Johnson, the freshman Republican from Oshkosh, delivers the party's weekly address, days after Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) gave the GOP rebuttal to President Obama's State of the Union address.
“In his response to the State of the Union address, my fellow Wisconsinite Paul Ryan -- a leader in tackling our spending problem -- did a great job of expressing our willingness to work with the president, and pointing out how critical it is for us to act now, before it’s too late," Johnson says. “The issues of spending, deficits, and the debt will be central in the upcoming debate over the 2011 spending bill and the need to raise the debt ceiling. This will be the moment of truth when talk and rhetoric must be turned into action and tangible results. Real reductions must be part of the solution."
Source: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/258367/freshman-johnson-delivers-weekly-address-robert-costa
Revolution in Egypt? And Could Jordan Be Next?
Is Egypt about to erupt in a full-blown revolution that could lead to the fall of President Hosni Mubarak’s regime? Might Jordan’s government be next?
One thing’s for certain: No one predicted the demonstrations in Egypt would grow so big so fast. Momentum for the protests is growing. A Facebook page promoting the democracy protests grew from 20,000 members on Wednesday to 80,000 on Thursday. The government then reportedly shut down Facebook, and disrupted Internet service in parts of the country. Twitter has been blocked. Police are beating protesters. As of Friday, more than 1,000 Egyptians have been arrested for demonstrating. Now an overnight curfew has been imposed and the Egyptian army has been deployed to urban centers.
One key factor fueling events: economics. Egyptians have been suffering double-digit inflation -- averaging between 10 percent and 14 percent -- and soaring food prices in recent years. Reports Reuters: “The Food and Agriculture Organization, a body of the United Nations, said on January 5 that food prices hit a ‘record high’ in December 2010, topping 2008 levels when riots shook Egypt as well as other countries.”
Most Egyptians are already dirt poor. Skyrocketing food prices are causing them to fear they may not be able to feed their families. This is creating a “perfect storm” of anger against the Mubarak regime — it’s corrupt, authoritarian, anti–human rights, and resistant to all positive economic and political reform. It’s been bad for the 30 years Mubarak has been in power, since the assassination of Pres. Anwar Sadat, the bold reformer. But now Egyptians are being pushed over the brink.
Calls for Mubarak to step down are growing. “Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog turned Egyptian reform campaigner, said he expected big demonstrations across Egypt on Friday, and that it was time for President Hosni Mubarak to go," reported Reuters. “ElBaradei, 68, left Vienna, where he lives, for Cairo on Thursday to join a growing wave of protests against Mubarak inspired by Tunisia’s overthrow of their authoritarian president. He told Reuters he would not lead the street rallies, but that his role was ‘to manage the change politically.’” On Friday, however, ElBaradei was placed under house arrest in Egypt.
In my 2009 non-fiction book Inside The Revolution, I described Mubarak as a “classic Resister.” While nominally a Sunni Muslim, he’s not an Islamic radical. He’s not a revolutionary of any kind. To the contrary, he doesn’t want real change of any kind. He just wants to retain power, keep things stable, keep wealth and power for himself, and pass the keys to the kingdom on to his son Gamal. But such resistance to positive change is inflaming the “rank-and-file,” everyday Egyptians who feel increasingly desperate and see others in the region (Tunisians, Iraqis, and the people of southern Sudan) changing their governments and having more of a say in affairs of state. Egyptians are yearning for something better, and now they’ve taken to the streets in hopes of getting it.
Meanwhile, protests have mounted in recent days in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. There, too, economics is playing a critical role. Reports the AP: “The economy saw a record deficit of $2 billion this year, inflation rising … to 6.1 percent just last month and rampant unemployment and poverty — estimated at 12 and 25 percent respectively. ‘The government buys cars and spends lavishly on its parties and travel, while many Jordanians are jobless or can barely put food on their tables to feed their hungry children,’ said civil servant Mahmoud Thiabat, 31, a father of three who earns $395 a month.”
In Egypt, I don’t see the protests being driven initially or primarily by the Muslim Brotherhood (which started in Egypt in the 1920s) or by other radical Muslim groups, though the Islamists are certainly trying to take advantage. This would be a nightmare scenario we must pray never happens. We don’t want this to be another Iranian Revolution where an Islamic-radical madman takes over. If Mubarak falls, we want to see a group of pro-democracy, pro-free market, serious reformers come to power.
In Jordan, there is a very high risk that Islamic radicals would take over the regime. As I write in Inside The Revolution, “It is precisely because the Jordanians have made such progress [with positive political and economic reforms in the past two decades] that I am worried by the Radicals’ determination to launch a jihad there, seize the capital, and create a new anti-Israel, anti-Western base for Iran and al Qaeda. Therefore, I often pray for Jordan’s peace, prosperity and continued progress. I pray for King Abdullah’s health and safety, and I pray that the Lord would grant him the wisdom to know how best to move forward in such challenging times.”
On top of all this, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terror movement has just toppled the government in Lebanon. Iran’s leaders are convinced their so-called messiah known as the Twelfth Imam is coming to earth at any moment, and feverishly trying to build nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles to help usher in a new messianic age and an Islamic caliphate.
Unfortunately, the Obama administration doesn’t get it. “Our assessment is that the Egyptian government is stable and is looking for ways to respond to the legitimate needs and interests of the Egyptian people,” said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Is she kidding? The Mubarak regime is not stable. It is an authoritarian, corrupt, anti–human rights, anti–free speech regime. The Egyptian people deserve better. They deserve freedom and democracy and free markets. Perhaps the greatest democracy in the world should be backing them.
— Joel C. Rosenberg is the New York Times bestselling author of seven novels and non-fiction books on Israel and Islam. His newest book is The Twelfth Imam.
Club for Growth PAC Blasts Tea Party Express
Yesterday, NRO interviewed Sal Russo, the chief strategist for the Tea Party Express, who had high praise for Sen. Orrin Hatch (R., Utah), who's up for reelection in 2012. Amy Kremer, TPE's chairman, then e-mailed us her own take, which was not as complimentary. Now, the Club for Growth PAC, led by former Rep. Chris Chocola of Indiana, is weighing in:
The Club for Growth PAC today responded to comments made by Sal Russo, “chief strategist” of Tea Party Express, who yesterday announced the group would not oppose six-term Republican incumbent Senator Orrin Hatch in 2012. Russo explained his decision based on his 35-year relationship with Hatch, and Hatch’s support for Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaign in 1976, noting that in Russo’s opinion that makes Hatch “as good as it gets.”
“While Senator Hatch’s activity in the 1976 presidential campaign is commendable, a lot can change in 35 years,” said Club President Chris Chocola. “Senator Hatch has a lower lifetime average on the Club for Growth’s Congressional Scorecard than his former colleague Bob Bennett for a reason. Orrin Hatch has done some good things over the decades, but six term incumbents who vote for TARP, the Bridge to Nowhere, the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac bailout, SCHIP, and higher taxes are quite clearly not ‘as good as it gets,'" Chocola said.
The Club for Growth PAC played an instrumental role in the defeat of former Senator Bob Bennett at the 2010 Utah GOP convention, and was pleased to support now-Senator Mike Lee in the general election.
Chocola concluded, “We have made no decision about the upcoming Utah Senate race, but when we do, our decision will be about improving the Senate in 2013, not 1977.”
Source: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/258283/club-growth-pac-blasts-tea-party-express-robert-costa
Friday, January 28, 2011
Once Upon A Timeline
Episode two of the new community-developed TV series Bar Karma now has a title -- and we have more photos from the set to thank you for your contributions so far.
Source: http://current.com/studios/blog/92942051_on-the-set-once-upon-a-timeline.htm
Colorado ?Amazon tax? unconstitutional?
[UPDATE: 'Amazon tax laws,' for those who are wondering, represent attempts to get around a Supreme Court ruling regarding out-of-state transactions.� Residents of states who have a sales tax are theoretically expected to pay sales tax on all transactions, not just ones that take place in-state: however, vendors with out-of-state customers have long taken the position that trying to keep track of every jurisdiction's sales tax rules is an undue burden upon them.� The Supreme Court agreed, ruling that vendors are only required to track and collect sales tax on transactions for states where they had a physical presence.� This effectively means that online retailers such as Amazon.com are effectively released from the burden of collecting sales tax information.� Various Democratic state legislators - blanching at the very idea of trying to enforce individual residents from reporting their online transactions for taxation purposes - have attempted to make an end run around this ruling by writing legislation declaring in-state affiliates of online retailers as counting in terms of 'physical location:' Amazon's typical response is to immediately cancel all affiliate programs in the targeted state, thus eliminating any need for them to collect sales tax information.]
That’s the preliminary ruling by a US District Court judge, at least: he’s ruled that the law is unconstitutional on Commerce Clause grounds, and has issued a preliminary injunction to prevent the state of Colorado to enforce the disclosure rules on out-of-state vendors before the deadline.� I am not a lawyer, but the short version is that the judge ruled that the Amazon tax law violated the Commerce Clause by putting regulatory and disclosure burdens on out-of-state vendors that were not present on in-state ones; that the plaintiffs (including the Direct Marketing Association) had a valid chance to prevail in the broader case; and that until the issue was involved it would be inappropriate for the State of Colorado to collect information as per the Amazon tax law.
This is only a preliminary injunction, obviously: if this court or a higher one decides that the law is Constitutional after all it’ll be reversed.� That’s why Colorado House Majority Leader Amy Stephens (Republican, of course) is introducing legislation repealing the original law.� Colorado Senate Majority Leader John Morse (Democrat) is reflexively opposing the repeal, even though he’s sufficiently ignorant of the ruling as to apparently think that either the DMA or its members have revenue caps of $600/year.� New Governor Hickenlooper is thus in a bit of a jam; he’s facing a House that decidedly flipped last election cycle and a looming court controversy, and a remarkably uneducated set of Senate allies on the other.� That this can be fairly categorized as a ‘bit of a jam’ tells you a lot about the current ideological condition of the various state Democratic parties.
And, note: the entire point of this law was and is effectively moot anyway.� Amazon promptly pulled out of its Colorado affiliate program a year ago as soon as the law was passed, as per its standard policy.� The state of Colorado isn’t getting that sales tax money - and it isn’t getting the income tax that would normally come from transactions made through the affiliate program, which Amazon.com does report and people do pay state and federal income tax on (full disclosure: I am one of them, as I am a Maryland Amazon
…And?
Moe Lane (crosspost)
*I assume that this was what state Senator Morse was talking about, or meant, or something.� It’s hard to tell with some of these guys.
Source: http://www.redstate.com/moe_lane/2011/01/28/colorado-amazon-tax-unconstitutional/
Obama?s State of the Union: A Collectivist Lauds Individualism
The one good thing about sitting through the painful lies and propaganda of Obama?s State Of The Union address was seeing the new Speaker of the House, John Boehner, in Nancy Pelosi?s seat. Seriously, you know it was killing her. I am sure they had to pry the gavel from her stone cold hands.
As for [...]
As for [...]
Source: http://biggovernment.com/pgeller/2011/01/28/obamas-sotu-a-collectivist-lauds-individualism/
Beltway Prom Night hangover: AFL-CIO and Chamber of Commerce now dating
Hey, remember when I warned you not to lose your heads during the midterm election season and fork over your hard-earned money to the open-borders, pro-bailout, pro-porkulus U.S. Chamber of Commerce? Sad to say, the told-you-so moment has arrived. Reminder: I blasted the White House thug tactics against the U.S. Chamber of Commerce again in [...]
Rasmussen on SOTU speech: No sale
Majority opposes new spending initiatives.
Source: http://hotair.com/archives/2011/01/27/rasmussen-on-sotu-speech-no-sale/
Sheila Jackson Lee: My Constituents are Ill-Informed
**Written by Doug Powers When a politician refers to the general public as “ill informed” on an issue (in this case it’s hospital closures due to the health care law) it’s just another way of calling them ignorant or stupid. Even so, it’s hard to argue with Sheila Jackson Lee (D-umb Constituents) when she makes [...]
Source: http://michellemalkin.com/2011/01/27/sheila-jackson-lee-my-constituents-are-ill-informed/
Thursday, January 27, 2011
The folly of high-speed rail, redux; Plus: Did Obama consult J-Nap on ?no pat-down? promise?
Among President Obama’s many pie-in-the-sky promises tonight, he delivered this: “Within 25 years, our goal is to give 80% of Americans access to high-speed rail, which could allow you go places in half the time it takes to travel by car. For some trips, it will be faster than flying ? without the pat-down. As [...]
Source: http://michellemalkin.com/2011/01/26/the-folly-of-high-speed-rail-redux/
Will Mike Pence Run for President? Should He?
Some conservative House members who are part of the Republican Study Committee are meeting at the Reagan Library right about now for a Heritage Foundation retreat. Indiana congressman Mike Pence was supposed to be among them, but he cancelled. Why? Because he’s up against a self-imposed end-of-January deadline about his own political future: Will he run for governor of Indiana? Will he run for president of the United States?
As we’ve noted here, there’s a "draft Pence" movement afoot in some quarters. I find it a bit fascinating. The obvious answer to a bad experience having a senator as president doesn’t seem to be go to the House. Mike Pence is a good, conservative legislator. But why now? Wouldn’t we all be better off -- including Indiana, which would have a good governor in Mike Pence -- if he had executive experience under his belt?
But yesterday I heard the best explanation yet for why Mike Pence would, could, and perhaps absolutely should run for president now, from a longtime senior Republican political aide who believes the “Why now?” question is exactly what leads to the answer that Mike Pence should run. This aide explained that 2012 would be Pence’s moment: “If you’re a smart, ambitious, medium-age pol . . . do you want to run against John Thune and Mitt Romney and [etc.] now? Or do you want to run against rock stars later?” Among the names he rattled off for future presidential candidates were Paul Ryan, Bobby Jindal, Marco Rubio, Nikki Haley, Susana Martinez, John Kasich, and Rob Portman. The aide, who has 20 years of experience in national politics, continued: “We are golden down the road. We don’t have a candidate this time. We need somebody. We’re going to have an embarrassment of riches before too long.”
My conversant continued: “People are looking around. . . . Mike Pence isn’t necessarily beating the best lineup we’ve ever had down the road. But if it’s 2011 and Mitt Romney is the frontrunner, you’re in a good place if you’re Mike Pence.”
This particular politico believes the issues that Pence is most passionate about are national ones. So while “ it would be a smooth road to the governor’s office” for Pence in Indiana, that’s not the choice he’d advise.
A source close to Pence confirms this is the decision he’s deliberating as I write, that it’s why he’s skipping the RSC/Heritage event, and that we can expect to hear Pence’s plans shortly.
What should Google do?
Twitter was abuzz last night with links to the David Segal’s amazing NYTimes yarn of a bad internet actor who says he uses — and eggs on — customer complaints to get more links and mentions online, thus more Googlejuice, thus more business.
The Times didn’t go the next step to ask what Google should [...]
The Times didn’t go the next step to ask what Google should [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/buzzmachine/~3/MQVtoox2SEQ/
Our New American Idol Fan Club
I have to say that I am enjoying K-Lo's transformation into a full-blown, out-of-the-closet American Idol fan here on the Corner. The obvious next step in this progression is for her to audition for the show.
I think she would probably do best with a Duran Duran song. Anybody else have suggestions?
Source: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/258172/our-new-iamerican-idoli-fan-club-kevin-d-williamson
Beyond the Philadelphia Horror
The butcher of Southern California.
Source: http://michellemalkin.com/2011/01/26/beyond-the-philadelphia-horror/
Late Late Night FDL: 15 Step
Amazingly good fan footage of the enigmatic Radiohead,
Live in Prague, August 23rd, 2009
Live in Prague, August 23rd, 2009
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/firedoglake/fdl/~3/D3THtI-vPaY/
Germany, what have you done?
Street View is online in Germany and it includes — or rather, excludes — 244,000 addresses that Germans have demanded be pixelated. They have, in their word, demanded their Verpixelungsrecht.
It is more offensive than I had imagined, a desecration of the public demanded and abetted by German politicians and media on a supposed privacy [...]
It is more offensive than I had imagined, a desecration of the public demanded and abetted by German politicians and media on a supposed privacy [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/buzzmachine/~3/C3S9qd7ujvo/
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Car Jumps International Border Fence
Yesterday at approximately 9 AM a car jumped from the Mexican side of the border over the border fence and into the United States
http://bowlersdesk.wordpress.com/2011/01/26/car-jumps-international-border-fence...
- added by:
lmbowler - 14 comments
Source: http://current.com/news/92942495_car-jumps-international-border-fence.htm?xid=RSSfeed
Back to the knife
They’re very nice there, but I really need to stop hanging out at Memorial Sloan Kettering. I’m headed back Friday to get the remaining half of my thyroid out.
The biopsies show no cancer but the nodules growing in my thyroid could turn bad, so they say it has to come out. The first half [...]
The biopsies show no cancer but the nodules growing in my thyroid could turn bad, so they say it has to come out. The first half [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/buzzmachine/~3/aqVaw5bTcKA/
Madison libtalker Jon Sylvester being vile. Again.
This is what Madison, Wisconsin liberal talk show host John “Sly” Sylvester said last week about Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch on WTDY (office line 608-273-1000; Program Director Rex Charger) :
‘Would you like to move to Wisconsin? Would you like to move CouponCabin to Wisconsin? I’m Rebecca Kleefisch. I performed fellatio on all the talk show hosts in Milwaukee. And they endorsed me and that’s how I became lieutenant governor. And then I got colon cancer and I ran around the state to help people. Even though I have government health care, screw everyone else.’
More via Michelle Malkin: yes, in fact, that was a liberal male accusing a conservative female politician of being a literal prostitute (and mocking her for being a cancer survivor).� The man later admitted that his remarks might have gone a little too far*, which suggests that his host WTDY (office line 608-273-1000; Program Director Rex Charger) may be getting some heat for yet another bout of misogyny.� Yes, “another:” would you be surprised to hear that there’s a history there?� - You see, back in 2004 Sylvester used racist language against conservative and Republican African-Americans.� And let’s not forget the rape fantasies that this guy has.� That one’s from 2005, by the way.� The man seems to have quite the fascination with conservative women, in fact; and not in a particularly… gentle… way, either.
You know, some day some sociologist is going to try to write a doctoral thesis on the rise of misogyny, racism, homophobia, and general bigotry among the American Left, and how it is currently carefully nurtured and channeled into more ‘constructive’ avenues - which is a polite way of saying “and how the Democratic party encourages the misogynists, racists, homophobes, and bigots to go after Republican and conservative targets.”� I say “try” because there’s not a chance in creation that the unlucky doctoral student would ever survive his or her thesis defense.
Possibly literally.
Moe Lane (crosspost)
*Yeah, I know: the ruthless Darwinian process that is routinely inflicted on conservative pundits and commentators does have one silver lining; it eliminates the abjectly stupid and childishly vile would-be spokesmen for our side early in the process.� Not that we couldn’t police our own if we had to; after all, we’re not Democrats.
Source: http://www.redstate.com/moe_lane/2011/01/25/madison-libtalker-jon-sylvester-being-vile-again/
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
President Obama, the Bankrupt Do Not Invest
In the State of the Union speech, President Obama called for numerous “investments.” �Most Americans, especially fiscally conservative tea partiers, fully realize “investments” translates from DemocratSpeak to English as “spending.”
In his speech, the President called for additional deficit spending towards renewable energy, spending on infrastructure such as roads and bridges, and additional funds for education. [...]
In his speech, the President called for additional deficit spending towards renewable energy, spending on infrastructure such as roads and bridges, and additional funds for education. [...]
Source: http://biggovernment.com/pdennis/2011/01/25/president-obama-the-bankrupt-do-not-invest/
NPR blames us for its problems: Insane
Oy. I should be writing a book right now and not responding to the zillionth linkless attack on the ills of the blogosphere, this time from NPR’s outgoing ombuds, Alicia Shepard, who blames the “dark side” and “lousy job” of the blogosphere for NPR’s own admittedly unclear (not to mention wrong-headed, in my view) memo [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/buzzmachine/~3/kDB6RZXZA68/
Why 2012 Is Not 1996
A little history can be a dangerous thing, and in advance of Tuesday’s State of the Union Address by President Obama, political commentary will be focusing on Obama’s ability to replay 1995-96, when President Clinton rebounded from a similar rout in the midterm elections to more or less coast to re-election (while Clinton finished below 50% of the popular vote, it was only a “coming home” of Republicans in the campaign’s closing weeks that averted a more lopsided result; the outcome was not seriously in doubt).
Undoubtedly, Obama will have the opportunity to take advantage of many of the same dynamics that favored Clinton’s re-election, and he may succeed for those and other reasons. But history never repeats itself precisely. It is worthwhile to reflect on the many things that worked to Clinton’s benefit that Obama can’t count on:
1: The Democrats Still Hold The Senate: Clinton lost both Houses of Congress in the midterms, the third president of the past century to do so, the others being Truman in 1946 and Eisenhower in 1954. Both were re-elected; Truman used the GOP as a foil to confront, Eisenhower showed he could cooperate with the Democrats, and Clinton did some of both. Each was able in one sense or another to run on the same divided-government rationale that had helped them lose Congress in the first place.
Obama won’t have the same crisp contrast with Congress; the unpopular Harry Reid is still running the Senate, and sooner or later it will become impossible to conceal that fact. History suggests that this can matter: Obama’s the third President in the past century to lose only the House and keep the Senate in the midterms, and the other two - Taft and Hoover - both got slaughtered (Hoover carried just six states and drew 39.7% of the popular vote, Taft carried just two states, finished third in a three-way race and drew just 23.4% of the popular vote).
2: The GOP Candidate in 2012 Will Not Be A Leader of The GOP Congress: A hugely underrated factor in Clinton’s revival was the fact that his opponent was also one of the leaders of the Congressional Republicans across the table from him; in addition to Bob Dole’s other flaws as a candidate (his age, his status as an ideas-free compromise-driven moderate, his lack of executive experience), Dole couldn’t run a campaign independent of Newt Gingrich and the rest of the Congressional GOP, which not only tied him down on particular issues but also diminished him in the eyes of the public, as Clinton alone would negotiate with - and face down - a team of which Dole was only one representative. Whoever the GOP nominates in 2012 will have the ability a presidential candidate usually has to declare some level of independence from his or her Congressional party.
3: Obamacare passed; Hillarycare didn’t: As unpopular as the Clinton Administration’s health care plan was, it wasn’t a major issue in the 1996 campaign because it had failed and, with Republicans controlling both Houses of Congress, it wasn’t coming back. (Ditto Clinton’s destructive BTU tax). Not so Obamacare, which remains very much a live issue. There’s clearly a decisive majority supporting repeal right now in the House, and possibly a majority could be mustered in the Senate (certainly if the GOP gains more seats in 2012), but obviously not enough votes to override Obama’s veto. Unless Mitt Romney wins the nomination, the GOP will almost certainly run a presidential candidate who can and will mount a full-throated campaign in favor of repealing the bill. The same will be broadly true of a number of Obama’s big-spending, big-regulating initiatives.
4: The Economy: The unemployment rate is the most obvious of numerous economic indicators showing the U.S. economy in bad shape in 2011: unemployment, as low as 4.3% when voters elected the Democrats to control Congress in November 2006, was 6.5% when Obama was elected and 8.5% when he was inaugurated, and he expended much political capital arguing that his “stimulus” package would fix this with federal spending on “shovel-ready” projects; instead it peaked at 10.6% in January 2010, and remains above 9% a year later. These are very high numbers historically; since 1960, the unemployment rate has been above 6% on election day five times, and the only time the party in power wasn’t booted was 1984, when the 7.2% rate was the lowest it had been since before President Reagan took office and had plunged more than three points in two years. By contrast, the unemployment rate in 1996 was 5.4%, down from 7.4% when Bill Clinton was elected. If Obama can’t make the argument that Presidents Reagan and Clinton made - that they were not only making major headway on unemployment but in better shape than they were when elected (in Reagan’s case, the slight drop in unemployment was accompanied by an enormous drop in interest rates and inflation and a stock market boom) - he’ll face an electorate that is much more suspicious of entrusting him with the economy for four more years.
5: War: It is little remarked today, but a significant factor in Clinton’s loss of prestige in 1993-94 was as a result of his obvious unreadiness to be Commander-in-Chief and resulting series of fiascos in the deployment - or not - of American troops. The timeline of that period shows a straight line from Clinton’s indecsiveness in Somalia (the “Black Hawk Down” battle of Mogadishu) to the ignominious withdrawal of U.S. assistance from Haiti in the face of opposition armed mainly with machetes, to the genocide in Rwanda that followed when it was apparent that the U.S.-led “New World Order” would not have the will to back up its own rhetoric.
But to Clinton’s good fortune, other than the situation in the former Yugoslavia (the massacre at Srebrenica took place in July 1995), the overall global situation was unusually peaceful in 1995-96, as the world continued to reap the dividends of the end of the Cold War and associated boom in international trade. Even longstanding hotspots like Northern Ireland, Palestine and South Africa were making efforts at peace; it would be a few years before it was obvious to casual observers that the September 1993 Oslo accords were not a plausible foundation for peace. Most importantly, by 1996 there were few American troops in harm’s way. And the differences between Clinton and Dole on overall national security strategy were not dramatic. The election was fought almost entirely on domestic policy.
This will not be the case in 2012. America is still at war in Afghanistan, as well as maintaining a significant presence in brittle Iraq. It is possible that tensions with North Korea and the strategic rivalries with China and Russia could calm down, but the multifaceted issue of what do do about the threat of the political project of radical Islam remains a divisive issue, and the war in Afghanistan is specifically divisive within Obama’s party in a way that no foreign policy question was in 1996. It’s premature to predict how the national security issues will play out, but it’s hard to imagine them being as completely secondary as they were in 1996.
6: Money: In 1996, Bill Clinton was able to raise a massive warchest and start spending it very early, famously deploying direct TV ads in battleground states as early as July 1995. Obama, who is expected to raise a billion dollars for his re-election, will have no trouble doing the same, but ironically, the Republican nominee in 2012 may be helped at the front end by the chaos of the presidential field; it will be more difficult to hammer one front-runner with ads the way Clinton did to Bob Dolegingrich (as you’d have thought his name was from the ads). And it seems unlikely, in the current environment, that the opposition will simply run out of money the way Dole did between wrapping up the primaries and launching his general election campaign. I’ll be very surprised if the Republicans are as hobbled by a financial imbalance as they were in 1996.
7: Obama’s Not Clinton: This should be an obvious point. Obama has his strengths as a politician, notably his ability to deliver prepared speeches, but he lacks Clinton’s gifts as a retail politician, he’s prickly when questioned, and of course unlike Clinton - who learned triangulation as a way of regaining the governorship of Arkansas after his 1980 defeat - Obama has no real experience of moderate governance to fall back on. Clinton signed a longstanding conservative policy priority (welfare reform), and didn’t campaign against it; Obama’s most significant nod to the center so far was signing a temporary extension of the Bush income tax cuts, but he has promised to run against them.
8: No Oklahoma City: One of the fortuitous events that played into Clinton’s hands was the Oklahoma City bombing, and while Tim McVeigh was not in a conservative of any stripe, Clinton was able to slow the Right’s momentum by blaming Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh for encouraging “anti-government” sentiment. Obama’s allies tried the same thing with the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, but their palpable desire to score political advantage from the tragedy, combined with the fact that the shooter turned out to be a left-leaning nutjob with no connection whatsoever to conservatives, fatally undermined that argument, as subsequent polls have shown that solid majorities don’t blame political debate for the shootings.
All of this is before we observe other features of the landscape not existing in 1996, like blogs and the Tea Party movement, as well as the possibility that John Boehner, having lived through 1995, will not repeat all of the same mistakes made by Newt Gingrich. As I said above, none of this is an argument that Obama is necessarily doomed or can’t repeat some of the aspects of Clinton’s revival plus some new tricks of his own. But treating 2012 as a straight replay of 1996 is not just bad punditry, it’s bad history.
Source: http://www.redstate.com/dan_mclaughlin/2011/01/24/why-2012-is-not-1996/
Huckabee says to count him out of early debates
Media wants to "sucker" candidates.
Source: http://hotair.com/archives/2011/01/24/huckabee-says-to-count-him-out-of-early-debates/
Monday, January 24, 2011
What did Google do?
Reuters asked for an op-ed on the handover at Google. Here it is:
The miracle of Google was that it could accomplish anything?let alone become the fastest growing company in the history of the world and the greatest disruptive force in business and society today?while being run by a committee, a junta, a council of the [...]
The miracle of Google was that it could accomplish anything?let alone become the fastest growing company in the history of the world and the greatest disruptive force in business and society today?while being run by a committee, a junta, a council of the [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/buzzmachine/~3/nTMN7pKJR_U/
The Philadelphia Horror: How mass murder gets a pass
The “fetal material”-stuffed freezer at Philadelphia’s “Women’s Medical Society” The mainstream news reports about Philadelphia’s serial baby-killer Kermit Gosnell and his abortion clinic death squad only scratch the surface of his barbaric enterprise. You must, must, must read the entire, graphic, 281-page grand jury report (embedded after my column below) to fully fathom the systematic [...]
Source: http://michellemalkin.com/2011/01/21/the-philadelphia-horror-how-mass-murder-gets-a-pass/
Captain Underpants and the Waitress
Bar Karma cast members Cassie Howarth and Matthew Humphreys reveal the sexual tension between their characters, Dayna and Doug -- is a relationship inevitable?
Sunday, January 23, 2011
?Competitiveness? Is Peace
I spent much of the day Friday pointing out how stupid it was for Obama to put outsourcer, China nut, and TBTF bankster Jeff Immelt in charge of his Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. Meanwhile, Paul Krugman and Robert Reich have been focusing on Obama's frame for the problem as "competitiveness."
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/firedoglake/fdl/~3/tMARW3f1gBg/
What did Google do?
Reuters asked for an op-ed on the handover at Google. Here it is:
The miracle of Google was that it could accomplish anything?let alone become the fastest growing company in the history of the world and the greatest disruptive force in business and society today?while being run by a committee, a junta, a council of the [...]
The miracle of Google was that it could accomplish anything?let alone become the fastest growing company in the history of the world and the greatest disruptive force in business and society today?while being run by a committee, a junta, a council of the [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/buzzmachine/~3/nTMN7pKJR_U/
Repeal of ObamaCare in the Senate - Part II
Now that the House has passed H.R. 2, ObamaCare Repeal, by a 245-189 vote, the fight moves to the Senate.� I wrote a few days ago Repeal of ObamaCare in the Senate - How to do it�and I wanted to further explain�how to force a vote in a Senate on�H.R. 2 or another measure to repeal every word of ObamaCare.�
Here is exactly how one member of the Senate can force a vote on ObamaCare repeal.� First, one Senator needs to use the provisions of�Rule 14, to block H.R. 2 from being referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee�(HELP).� This Committee helped write one version of ObamaCare and will squash any further action on�H.R 2.� For arguments sake, let’s say that a Senator has done so and H.R. 2 will be on the Senate Calendar after one legislative day has completed.
Just to be clear,�the power to force a vote on full repeal of ObamaCare�is fully within the power of one Senator.� Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has declared that the Senate will not vote on a repeal measure, yet he does not have the power to block all debate and dissent.��The pending filibuster reform proposal may play a role in how this procedure plays out.� All one conservative has to do�is follow some simple steps and the Senate will commence a debate on the House passed H.R. 2 or a Senate version of�ObamaCare repeal�early as next week.
Once you object to the bill being read a second time, it�can sit�on the Calendar for the next 2 years or until conservatives have mustered the votes to pass the bill.� Conservative have a few options.� Option one is to force a vote on H.R. 2 and option two is to use the amending process in the Senate to force a vote on full repeal.
The idea I explained�was�praised�by some and panned by others.� Just to clarify, I did not invent this strategy.� It has been used by Republicans and Democrats alike in the past.� It is a seldom used procedure that may lead to a quick vote in the Senate on full repeal, if executed deftly.
Quin Hillyer of the American Spectator said:
Every single Republican senator should read this brilliant piece�on legislative tactics by Brian Darling of the Heritage Foundation. It explains, step by step, exactly how Senate Republicans can ensure that Harry Reid can’t unilaterally bottle up repeal of Obamacare without it reaching the Senate floor. All it takes to keep repeal alive in the Senate is a simple procedural objection, followed by the support of 16 senators at the appropriate time. There will be no excuse for the repeal to be buried in a Senate committee. None. In fact, if Senate Republicans fail to follow Darling’s outline, every single one of them — especially the leaders — should slink home in shame, under a hail of metaphorical rotten tomatoes.
Dan Friedman at the Atlantic has this take:
Republican aides noted they can force a vote by offering the repeal as an amendment, or by using the Senate’s Rule 14 process to bring the bill to the floor, then filing cloture on it. The easiest course for the GOP might be to try to force a vote on the repeal as an amendment to a bill that’s likely to pass, such as an appropriations measure. Reid can block amendments to bills, but Republicans could then force a vote on a motion to suspend the rules to take up the amendment. They would need 67 votes to win such a vote. Any other course would require 60 votes. (The conservative Heritage Foundation has more on how Republicans could arrange a vote.)
�Alex Pareene of Salon was not as flattering:
It was previously thought that Harry Reid would simply block a vote on repeal and that would be the end of it, but Minority Leader Mitch McConnell always finds a way. He could use “Rule 14″ to bring it to the floor, for example. Or — and this is what he’ll probably do — he could attach repeal as an amendment to something likely to pass the Senate.� The Heritage Foundation even has a little FAQ�on how the Senate can repeal Obamacare. Of course, irony of ironies, every repeal option requires either 60 or 67 votes. “This would put many Senate Democrats in the interesting situation of voicing support for so-called ‘filibuster reform’ while at the same time using the filibuster rule to block an up or down vote on Obamacare.” An interesting situation indeed! I imagine we’ll be hearing a lot about “up or down votes” over the next two years, after having heard nothing about them, at all, from the ruling party over the last two years
Any Senator could use the provisions in�Rule 22�to commence debate on H.R. 2 after that Senator gets control of the�floor for the purposes of moving to proceed to the bill.� If they have gathered up�the signatures of�sixteen Senators as early as next week, they may be able to force an elongated debate on repeal of ObamaCare.�
Please note that it is possible to force Democrats to do something that they have denounced for months — filibuster.� I am sure the�liberal forces in favor of�so called Filibuster Reform over�at firedoglake and the Washington Post (including Ezra Klein) will call for a filibuster if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) can’t table a motion to proceed to H.R. 2.� If Reid does not have 50 votes to dispense with this bill using a motion to table, he is in deep trouble and the bill may pass the Senate.� The only way Democrats could block a vote on H.R. 2, if they lose 4 votes, is for them to obstruct a vote with a filibuster.
One element of the procedure that I failed to explain in detail in my prior blog posts is the need for a Senator to get the floor to move to proceed to H.R. 2.��Any Senator can�move to�proceed to a bill.� It is a myth that only the Majority Leader has the power to move to proceed to bills.� It is common practice, but no rule locks in the right of the�Majority Leader to have the sole power of the motion to proceed.
If Reid has 50 votes (and the presumed support of the Vice President)�then�he can move to table the motion to proceed to H.R. 2 after a Senator makes a motion to proceed to H.R. 2.� If he does not�move to table or loses the support of 4�members of the Democrat Caucus, then�Reid will have to lead a filibuster of the motion to proceed to�the repeal of ObamaCare bill.��Ironically, if the Udall “Filbuster Reform” proposal�becomes part of the Senate’s rules, then Democrats would be�precluded from filibustering the motion to proceed to H.R. 2 and the filibuster would come on the actual bill.�
It is also a possibility that a Senator could hold H.R. 2 on the Senate calendar so it will be there for the next 2 years until conservatives can build up the support of 60 members while they force a vote on full repeal as an amendment to a bill.� It is difficult for members to offer amendments in the Senate because of�Senate Majority Leader Reid’s tyrannical (according to one of Reid’s former Democrat colleagues) abuse of the Senate’s rules.
Senator Reid has abused Rule 22 to “fill the amendment tree” to block all opportunities for Republicans to offer amendments over the past four years.� At last count he has used the blocking tactic 44 times in his four years as Majority Leader.� Not surprisingly, liberal Democrats like Senators Udall of New Mexico and Merkley of Oregon have not proposed the stripping of this power from the Majority Leader as part of “Filibuster Reform.”� They do have a provision that allows the Republican Leader “two germane” amendments, yet they do nothing to prevent Reid from filling the tree on every bill for the purposes of blocking a full and fair debate on every piece of legislation that comes before the Senate.
If�Reid continues abuse the rules of the Senate, then Senators will have to use the procedure of�Suspending the Rules, requiring 67 votes, to force�vote after vote on�repeal of ObamaCare.� Then they can gaugesupport until they can secure a majority or supermajority of Senators to pass H.R. 2.
Now the million dollar question is — how do you get over the 60 vote threshold?� I say you shame the Democrats into allowing an “up or down vote.”� If they really don’t like the idea of “obstructionism” and the filibuster, then they could be shamed into an up or down vote on full repeal of ObamaCare.
It is possible, if Republicans can pick up 4 democrats, to not file cloture to force the Democrats to put up or shut up on the filibuster.��Reid will either stand�down and allow an up or down vote on H.R. 2 or he will filibuster a final vote on the bill.�
Please don’t interpret my analysis to be an endorsement of filibuster reform.� I still believe that the rules should stay the same and that the right of members to filibuster should be preserved, yet it would be a true test of the word and honor�of Democrat Senators who have written to Leader Reid to demand reform of the Senate’s rules to curtail filibusters.�
Conservatives and the Tea Party Nation will be watching the Senate very closely to see if one Senator will stand up and start the process of forcing one, or multiple votes, on the full repeal of President Obama’s unconstitutional health care reform law.
Source: http://www.redstate.com/brian_d/2011/01/21/repeal-of-obamacare-in-the-senate-part-ii/
Does Anyone Know The Truth About This New Albany Blog?
I’d like to know what this is about, because it doesn’t sound right to me.
New Albany | Becca
My parents and I moved to a hippie community on the Oregon Coast this summer and it’s a freak show. These photos were taken from behind Bennie and Laura’s cabin. I like lying on the forest floor, listening to music and watching the sky through the trees.
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joeeddy - 5 comments
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