Thomas Friedman: a Crazed Sex Poodle Pining for China's Government Here in the United States

Thomas Friedman can't stop talking about the magnificence of the government of the People's Republic of China. Pity he hasn't moved yet.

Last year the New York Times’s Thomas Friedman, lamenting the political paralysis that was hindering the Obama administration’s legislative agenda, made this remarkable comparison: 'One-party autocracy certainly has its drawbacks. But when it is led by a reasonably enlightened group of people, as China is today, it can also have great advantages. That one party can just impose the politically difficult but critically important policies needed to move a society forward in the 21st century.'

Last month on Meet the Press, Friedman warmed to his theme: “I have fantasized—don’t get me wrong—but that what if we could just be China for a day? I mean, just, just, just one day,” he said. “You know, I mean, where we could actually, you know, authorize the right solutions … on everything from the economy to environment.”

Tommy's the best the Times can muster -- and his recommendation is as follows: Let's ignore thousands of years of brutal experience and the counsel of Polybius, Plato, Aristotle, Montesquieu, Locke, Jefferson, Adams and Madison, and follow instead the model of China's dictators.

Okay, Tommy Boy, let's check out the news from inside the PRC:

[In December], Wuhan City organized over 800 law enforcement officers to forcefully demolish nearly 40,000 square meters of illegal buildings that are near the Wuhan City to Huangshi City railway construction site. The phenomenon of local famers rushing to “grow houses” is very common.

Protesting the forceful demolition, a farmer woman was blocked out by hundreds Chengguan (city management) from her illegally built building.

...Experts pointed out that farmers “grow houses” are directly motivated by profits, however a deeper reason was because they fear for their lives after losing their land to the government project. In order to stop the root of the “growing houses” problem, the government should make efforts to find employment opportunities for the farmers and include them into the new city lives.

Well maybe that's just a fluke, because Thomas Friedman is oh-so-very knowledgeable about China's despots!

The case of Nail household is a common occurrence in China, however this incident is by far the most escalated conflict between residents and the government demolition team. Ms. Fan attempted to defend her house from the demolition squad by throwing home-made fire bombs…

Today, Ms. Fan’s house in Minghang district was to be forcefully demolished, Ms. Fan standing on the 3rd floor threw home-made fire bombs (at the demolition squad)... Upon seeing this news, I am pleased that after two decades of development, society has progressed. Sub-machine guns are replaced by high-pressured water gun. Then why would it lead to such brutal resistance? Because of the large-scaled building project of Hongqiao, Ms. Fan had an area 480 square meter home, but the government is only willing to offer the compensation of 670,000 yuan, which is 761 yuan per square meter of housing subsidies and 1,480 yuan for the compensation of the land.

When the city’s average commercial housing is measured by tens of thousands (per square meter), forced eviction’s price is still calculated with the hundreds, this is the reason why residents threw fire-bombs. That is, they were living in a 480 square meter home, you acquired their land for so called construction, that’s also business, your compensation for the family only is enough to buy a 40 square meters home, and then the demolitions team came. I think anyone who had weapons probably could not help themselves but to take them out in this situation.

But that kind of brutal repression must be an outlier sort of situation... because Thomas Friedman thinks tyrants are cool!

“Ten thousand girls go to Lingnan (South of the Five Ridges – the area covering Guangdong and Guangxi), millions of whoremasters go down to Dongguan”, this is an up and coming popular phrase and also depicts an image of how prosperous Dongguan is...

Prosperity is people’s first impression of Dongguan – in the past 30 years, Dongguan’s economy was developing at an unbelievably fast pace... As famous as its prosperity is the city’s sex industry...

Dongguan’s Tourism Bureau released data from the first half of this year showed that the city had a total of 96 hotels of various stars. In the past year, the financial crisis ruined Dongguan’s export-oriented economy. However in Houjie, this famous town in Dongguan, even in the middle of the night, there are young girls who are dressed sexily on the street. They wear short skirts, black stockings, high heels, carry a small handbag and hold a cigarette in their hands. Their faces are covered with heavy make-up, and they do not seem to mind the chilly night.

As for Friedman's desire for a command-and-control approach to the climate "problem"? Yes, sir, that's a compelling proposition.

Hebei Province Shexian Tianjin Iron and steel plant (河北省涉县天津钢铁厂) is a heavily polluting company. Company scale is still growing, seriously affecting the lives of local residents. Thomas Friedman Approved!

Guiyu, Guangdong province, (广东省贵屿镇) rivers and reservoirs have been contaminated, the villager is washing in a seriously polluted pond. Thomas Friedman Approved!

In the Yellow Sea coastline, countless sewage pipes buried in the beach and even extending into the deep sea. Thomas Friedman Approved!

In Inner Mongolia there were 2 “black dragons” from the Lasengmiao Power Plant (内蒙古拉僧庙发电厂) covering the nearby villages. Thomas Friedman Approved!

Large amount of the industrial wastewater flowed to Yellow River from Inner Mongolia Lasengmiao Industrial District (内蒙古拉僧庙工业园区) every day. TFA!

Longmen town in Hanchen city, Shaanxi Province (陕西省韩城市龙门镇) has large-scaled industrial development. Environment is very seriously polluted there. TFA!

There are over 100 chemical plants in Jiangsu province coastal industry district. (江苏滨海头罾沿海化工园区) Some of them discharge wastewater into the ocean; some heavily contaminated sewage is stored in 5 “Sewage Temporary Pools”. During the 2 high tides in every month, the sewage then gets discharged into the ocean with the tides. TFA!

Anhui Province Cihu Chemical Industry District (安徽省慈湖化工园区) built a underground pipe to discharge wastewater into the Yangtze River. The wastewater sometimes is black, gray, dark red, or yellow, wastewater from different chemical factories has different colors. TFA!

Shanxi Province is the most polluted areas of China. It is also the province with the highest rate of birth defects. This loving farmer couple adopted 17 disabled children. TFA!

15-year-old boy from Tianshui, Gansu Province (甘肃天水), dropped out of the school after 2nd grade, followed his parents to Heilonggui (黑龙贵) Industrial District. He earns 16 yuan a day. TFA!

Inner Mongolia province Heilonggui (黑龙贵) Industrial District, the couple who worked at the Plaster Kiln and just got home. TFA!

Villagers from Kang village in Linfen City, Shanxi Province (山西省临汾市下康村) due to long-term consumption of the polluted water contaminated by industrial waste, there were 50 people who have cancer and cerebral thrombosis. 64-year-old Wang Baosheng got ill since 2003, he has fester all over his body so he cannot go to bed and lying face down on the edge of the bed each day. TFA!

Zhaozhuang village by the Hong River in Wugang City, Henan province (洪河边的河南省西平县张于庄村), Gao Wanshun’s (高万顺) wife died of cancer. Now he lives in poverty. TFA!

In Shanxi Province there are a lot of charitable nursing homes, to help disabled infants abandoned by their parents. TFA!

The oldest is 9, not going to school. The youngest is less than 2 years old. They lived in severely polluted area. They hands and faces were always dirty. TFA!

Every year, a lot of deficiency babies in Shanxi Province were abandoned. Kong Zhenlan (孔贞兰) in Qi town (祁县) who was making a living by recycling trash adopted 25 abandoned children. TFA!

Xuanwei (宣威) in Yunnan province is a cancer village. Every year there are more than 20 people die of cancer. 11-year-old student Xu Li (徐丽) is suffering from bone cancer.

The world is flat? No, Thomas Friedman's world-view is seriously f-ed up.

Oops! 2002 Document: In Case of Spill, Thad Allen Indicated That Coast Guard Incident Commander (Future Thad Allen) Should Waive Jones Act

USCG Admiral Thad Allen has spent a lot of time of late in front of the television cameras after the White House realized he made a much better face-man than, say, Janet Napolitano (oops -- did I say that out loud?).

 

 
Perhaps some of this time would have been better spent in front of a web browser, where he might have Googled his own 2002 recommendations from the 2002 International Oil Spill Conference (PDF).

Among the national issues identified back in the days of the evil Emperor Chimpy McBushitlerburton was this gem:

Put simply, this document summarizes the '2002 Spill of National Significance Exercise' in -- you guessed it -- the Gulf of Mexico.

A certain Vice Admiral by the name of, uhm, Thad Allen was in command of the entire region.

On page 3 of the document, a process to instantly waive The Jones Act was put in place.

The responsible party (steward) of the process is the United States Coast Guard (USCG).

MARAD (the United States Maritime Administration, responsible for naval defense readiness reserve) and Customs are also involved in vetting the waiver.

In short, Admiral Thad Allen should have instantly requested a waiver of the Jones Act, according to his own 2002 spill response exercise. In fact, the exercise that he helped spearhead identified it as a key -- key! -- issue.

Why isn't this a scandal?

And why is legacy media asleep at the wheel as we near day 73 of the worst maritime environmental disaster in American history? Could it be that President Not-Bush is in office?


Hat tip: CD.

Victor the Contractor: Incompetent Like a Fox

By Victor the Contractor

Lately I have been reflecting on why the Obama Presidency is so long on academic credentials yet so short on accomplishments. It has to do with the difference between doers and thinkers. The president has surrounded himself with stars of academia and political strategists who have an agenda to push in the process of governing but little in the way of management experience. Note that I distinguish between managing and governing. A governor, as described in the mechanical sense, guides a system that is already operational but requires minor adjustments to function optimally. A manager modifies that system to a greater or lesser degree to achieve a goal.

President Obama is barely able to govern, let alone manage when the need arises. A manager would have set up new guidelines for say, a national oil policy, instead of simply badmouthing fossil fuels and browbeating the corporate world into product reformulations that re-labeled existing technologies as new or green. A manager would have immediately set up a consortium of interests who had tangible experience with oil drilling and the attendant problems associated with it and not filled a room with academics and called it 'expert.' And lastly, a competent manager would not have ignored the whole mess for two months and lied about creating a panel that hadn't met nor had the expertise to deal with such a protracted problem a mile under water.

Even a governor who was worth his salt would have caught on, albeit late in the game, that you have to bring together people with real experience to deal with a developing environmental crisis. It may close beaches in four states for years. It may put a hold on a fishing industry whose workers already live hand to mouth. That BP decided to pay out unlimited funds, and we know that that is what it will come to barring bankruptcy, is small comfort to those who labored by the sea they are now barred from even dipping a toe into. Why the president waited two months to take control and even now is barring equipment and manpower from aiding the cleanup effort is secondary to the result of such incompetence: his neglect has resulted in a monumental environmental catastrophe.

You may say that the President needed time to formulate a plan or cull information from experts to engage in such a large scale enterprise, but there is little evidence that he paid any attention to the situation at all. His experts are accomplished authors and may even have received a Nobel Prize (of which he never tires of reminding us), but they live in pristine, oil-free ivory towers. They could no more stop a leak a mile down in the sea than I could convince liberals that budgeting helps you bounce fewer checks. No matter: President Obama can take time out from his various sporting activities to proclaim the spill solved while simultaneously giving a shout out to his intellectual 'soul brothers' in the New Black Panthers or some such nonsense.

I used to think that we were experiencing a sort of Jimmy Carter Redux: an incompetent president who enjoyed cloying press coverage while shaming the country for its superpower status and pontificating on our need to lower expectations. No more. I now feel that the far left splinter group of the Democrat Party is in fleeting control of the levers of power and will die on their collective swords to accomplish a fraction of the socialist agenda they have been advocating for a century. You've got to give them kudos for staying true to an ideology. They truly believe that most people need a government to care for them and protect them from themselves - even though history tells us otherwise. But I digress.

All agendas aside, and that is a big aside because I believe this catastrophe could have been avoided, the White House governs like a blindfolded sufferer of Parkinson's Disease serving high tea. It tramples the spirit of the Constitution while happily proclaiming the benefits of its high-minded efforts to grant the same 'rights' to Americans enjoyed by the Europeans. Those rights include a legal requirement to pay 60%+ taxes, the right to be free of moral restrictions like the rule of law or the maintenance of borders, the right to stay home and be provided for by 'evil rich people' and the right to limit the free speech of anybody who disagrees with them through the implementation of various 'Fairness Doctrines.'

Who can bemoan the loss of a few thousand acres of shore-front property in the effort to save us from Global Warming through legislation that restricts the use of fossil fuels. After all, oil is poisoning the environment, whether in crude form or as an oxidized greenhouse gas. This mentality is exactly the same as banning guns because they kill people. Or banning SUVs because they burn too much fuel. Assuming the human race is unable to control its lusts is key to understanding the Democrats' tendency to over-legislate and -regulate.

But I fear in the case of the oil spill the White House is simply in over its head. Yes, an environmental disaster might make unconstitutional bans on drilling more palatable to a skeptical public. And yes the argument for alternate energy sources is buttressed by our inability to guarantee flawless drilling a mile or ten undersea. And yes, the environmental calamity fits well with that sex-crazed poodle Al Gore's scenario of fossil fuels destroying the planet, if only it were true...

There is no excuse for incompetency in the White House. That's why the press is so adamant about blaming an oil company and not the regulators who are charged with ensuring safe drilling practices. And all the better if you can blame a past president of the 'evil' party. But the claims of the press can no longer shield the Democrats' inattentiveness and often brutal arrogance from public view. The liberal apologists who mouth approval every minute and with every printed word no longer protect its favored party. Perhaps they still believe that incompetence can be ignored by the public so long as it serves their chosen agenda.

I could mention our porous borders hemorrhaging illegals while the scandalously incompetent Janet Napolitano declares them as secure as ever. Or the financial condition of our economy, with Barney Frank and Christopher Dodd insisting the housing market is sound after they effectively bankrupted the entire world through their criminal undersight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But Janet Napalitano was incompetent before President Obama came along; he just put her in charge of homeland security, a grave mistake indeed. And as for Barney Frank and Christopher Dodd, they have systematically planned for the ruination of the housing industry for decades. Yes, for decades. Under the guise of forcing banks to write mortgages for minorities, Messrs. Frank And Dodd have undermined the financial underpinnings for the entire world. They knew this would happen: they didn't care.

So when you refer to Obama as incompetent, you might want to think of it as, 'incompetent as a fox.' For even thought there is no management experience in the White House, there are many academics and failed revolutionaries who want to see our country burn. And they have until November 2nd to achieve their goals. After that, they will melt back into academia and become consultants and lobbyists. Think Harry Reid is worried about what he'll be doing on November 3rd? He's already got a lobbying gig lined up. Nancy Pelosi will be re-elected by the most liberal district in the union, or simply return to the Republic of California to mismanage her winery and hotel.

Management experience speaks volumes about style, substance and ethics. If President Obama had ever served as a Governor he would not now be President. But, as the press did not cover his wildly socialist stint in academia or his populist votes while in office, I wonder if experience would have mattered in his case. Incompetent like a fox: now there's a phrase.

Victor The Contractor

Markos Moulitsas reveals his popular Daily Kos website has been 100% satire for the last 18 months

Markos Moulitsas, the founder of the popular Daily Kos website, yesterday stunned the blogosphere by revealing that virtually all of the material published over the last 18 months was satirical, not factual, in nature.

I have just published a report by three statistics wizards showing, quite convincingly, that all of the material we ran the past year and a half was likely bunk.

It's true. Thousands of years of human experience show quite convincingly that modern progressives are socialist retreads. Facts, logic and reason demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt that the liberals' big government-slash-socialist agenda inevitably leads to the destruction of societies.

Kos continued:

Quite some time ago, we embarked on a secret project to revamp the content of the Daily Kos website. We intended to -- and have succeeded beyond our wildest dreams -- in replacing The Onion as the thinking man's humor portal.

If you Google "hilarious political satire", we're definitely on the first page of results along with JibJab and the entire New York Times editorial board.

And next year we will release our first motion picture, modeled after the National Lampoon Vacation series of films. Look for Kos Goes to College and Learns to Write Good in theaters mid-third-and-a-half-quarter 2011.

Kos also noted that "Premium Banner" sponsorships of the movie are still available but are selling fast.

Larwyn's Linx: Elena Kagan -- Lawyer by Day, Obstetrician by Night

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

Kagan Nomination

Lawyer By Day, Obstetrician By Night: Ace
Did Kagan lie to Supreme Court in 9/11 case?: TAB
Is this the Kagan 'smoking gun'?: Patterico

'A Pattern of Socialist Associations': the Early Years: NewZeal
Reports: Kagan used flat-out lies to win cases: NiceDeb
Sotomayor lied, Kagan's credibility died: Times

Nation

Obama's 'Coffee House' Loophole: Malkin
Adolf Farrakhan wants Jews to apologize: GWP
Where Did the Tea-Party Anger Come From?: Hanson

Reporter, Consultant, Housewife, Spy: AT
Pete Stark urinates all over voters: Malkin
NY should kill profs' foolish vote-count scheme: Post

Economy

Hasn’t the SEIU wasted enough of its members’ money?: Malkin
How the Worst Teachers are Rewarded by Unions: RWN
The Union-Only Protection Racket: Jacoby

So Tell Me: Charity and Government: Kesler
CBO Tax Analysis: Oof!: BlogProf
Why Obama is Sabotaging U.S. Economic Growth: AIM

Climate & Energy

Day 70: Feds Finally Accept Foreign Help with Spill: RWN
5 Ways the Administration Bungled the Gulf Spill: Townhall
Obama's Bureaucracies: They're spill-tastic!: Morris

Media

Left-wing group’s grant will 'educate' legacy media on Obamacare law: Malkin
Daily Kos to sue Research 2000 over polling fraud: Hot Air
The Perpetual Campaign: PJM

A Media Welfare State?: City Journal
I'll Take a Cashier's Check, Mr. Breitbart: IowaHawk
Tom Brokaw's Stunning Revelation: He's a Democrat: Malkin

Desperately Seeking Liberals: AT
Oops: Ambinder's Agitprop Requires Some Facts: RWN
Riehl's War on the GOP Establishment: Ace

World

Petraeus Testimony: Mudville Gazette
Would a Tehran 'No Fly' Zone Work?: AT
Obama surrenders: US arms sales to Taiwan on hold: People's Daily (China)

Why Islam Will Never Accept the State of Israel: AT
Leviathan's Loot: AT
Chavez Protesters in Venezuela Carry Stalin, Lenin & Marx Posters: GWP

SciTech

Science historian cracks "the Plato code": Manchester
Cisco introduces Cius Android tablet PC: CNet
Google Changing Course In Big Fight With China: IBD

Cornucopia

Amateurs: SondraK
Cities with worst traffic problems revealed: Maktoob
Saudi clerics battle over adult-breastfeeding: Maktoob

Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: J.D. Hayworth for U.S. Senate -- Retire John McCain Once and For All

The Invasion Continues as Drug-, Arms- and Human-Smuggling Gangs Operate in Arizona with Complete Impunity

The magnificent BorderInvasionPics.com website just posted its latest hidden-camera videos from the corridors controlled by Mexican drug- and human-smuggling gangs.

Day after day, BIP documents the unchecked flow of smugglers, armed criminals, the ill, the poor and others of unknown origin into the U.S.

Local law enforcement in Arizona says that "Mexican drug cartels now control parts of Arizona.

And the President and Democrats in Congress don't give a damn, no matter how many Americans are hurt, no matter how many cops are killed, no matter how much damage is done to our society.


Related Reading Just to Tick You Off Even More:
• The Shameless Duplicity of the Obama Administration: Napolitano Directly Contradicts Solis on Immigration Enforcement; Media Strangely Silent.
• Four Border Stories Guaranteed to Make Your Blood Boil
• Obama Administration Unveils Dramatic New Plan to Seal Massive Gulf Leak: Suing Arizona for Arresting Drug- and Human-Smugglers
• Anyone know what you call it when heavily armed intruders cross the border into the U.S. unmolested by authorities? Oh, that's right: Arizona.

Here's yer tax hike exemption card you was promised

Americans for Tax Reform will ship you your own, valuable tax hike exemption card for a nominal contribution. Here's the way it works:

If you make under $250,000 a year and find yourself confronted with any of the taxes highlighted on the ATR site ("Tax on Indoor Tanning Services," "Medicine Cabinet Tax," "Special Needs Kids Tax," etc.) simply use these instructions:

How to use the card:

Step 1: Present the card to merchants, employers, and tax authorities.

Step 2: If challenged, pleasantly ask: "Are you calling President Obama a liar?"

“I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.”

--Candidate Barack Obama, Sept. 12, 2008

“If your family earns less than $250,000 a year, you will not see your taxes increased a single dime. I repeat: not one single dime.”

--President Barack Obama, Feb. 24, 2009

“The statement didn’t come with caveats.”

--Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs, April 15, 2009, when asked if the pledge applies to healthcare

What's still unclear is how the tax hike exemption card would work after Democrats slap on their massive new VAT taxes? Of course, it may not matter, because they're guaranteed to supercharge the economy, especially after the Bush tax cuts expire*.


Hat tip: Amalaur.

* Thanks in part to the ludicrous John McCain -- of McCain-Feingold, Amnesty for Illegals, the Gang of 14, and numerous other affronts to the Constitution.

Gee, What a Surprise: Under Oath, Union Official Says Obama Lied About Blago Contacts

Sitting down? I don't want to catch you off guard, but a powerful Democrat union boss said that President-elect Obama lied about not having contact with disgraced Governor Rod Blagojevich about his vacated Senate seat.

Top union leader Thomas Balanoff said he was at dinner the night before the November Presidential election when he got a call that was blocked... So he didn't take it.

Later he listened to his messages: "I walked outside, listened to it and it was from President Obama," Balanoff said.

"Tom, this is Barack, give me a call," the soon-to-be President-Elect said on the message... After Balanoff sent word through an Obama aide to call him back, Obama returned his call later that night.

"Tom, I want to talk to you with regard to the Senate seat," Obama told him... Balanoff said Obama said he had two criteria: someone who was good for the citizens of Illinois and could be elected in 2010.

Obama said he wasn't publicly coming out in support of anyone but he believed Valerie Jarrett would fit the bill.

"I would much prefer she (remain in the White House) but she does want to be Senator and she does meet those two criteria," Balanoff said Obama told him. "I said: 'thank you, I'm going to reach out to Gov. Blagojevich."

Balanoff then described a Nov. 6, 2008 meeting he had with Rod Blagojevich to recommend Valerie Jarrett for Barack Obama's Senate seat.

Curiously, most reporters appear to be ignoring the fact that Obama, on several occasions, denied having contact with Blago either directly or indirectly.

In December of 2008, for instance, he flatly denied any discussions:

President-elect Barack Obama said Tuesday afternoon that he has had no dealings with Governor Blagojevich over his replacement in the Senate...

"I had no contact with the governor or his office, and so I was not aware of what was happening," Mr. Obama said. "And as I said it is a sad day for Illinois. Beyond that I don't it's appropriate to comment."

And on another occasion that same month, Obama repeated the claim:

In December 2008, Obama said he was "appalled and disappointed" by the revelations that the Illinois governor was involved in a "pay-to-play" scheme to fill his Senate seat.

"I have never spoken to the governor on this subject. I'm confident that no representatives of mine would have any part of any deals related to this seat," Obama, then the president-elect, said at the time.

But the union boss recalled things differently, testifying under oath that Obama was directly involved and, therefore, that he lied about his wheeling-and-dealing over potential Senate appointees.

Surely some pro journalists could figure out these discrepancies, what with their layers upon layers of fact-checking. Though with Journolost (sic) shut down, keeping all of the narratives straight -- between Newsweek, the New York Times, NBC, Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod -- must be exceedingly difficult.

Behold the Crazed Economic Recovery Poodle

Can you tell what the difference is between America's prior major recessions and this one? No, I mean besides a Congress and President bent on the destruction of American capitalism.

Every other recession began to heal after sensible policies -- tax cuts or spending cuts or other mechanisms to enable the private sector to regroup.

Welcome to the Obama recovery!


Hat tip: Zero Hedge.

Larwyn's Linx: Protecting the Second Amendment (But Just Barely)

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

Second Amendment

Protecting the Second Amendment (But Just Barely): Foundry
The New Normal: After Heller and McDonald: Reynolds
History Justifies Overturning Chicago Gun Ban: PJM

Nation

I was inside Holder's 'unequal enforcement' DOJ: PJM
Inside the Black Panther Case: Times
Kagan: it's fine if the law bans books: GWP

Can we win on illegal immigration?: RWN
Another Outrageous Obama DHS Appointment: Malkin
What's Next for Byrd's Senate Seat?: WashExam

Economy

Issa: How much for the Stimulus propaganda signs?: PJM
Is President Obama Trying To Kill Gulf State Economies?: RWN
How did the New Deal work out?: AT

Brown can't support a $19B tax hike: GWP
Return of the Slaughter Rule: Phony Budget Edition: GOPleader
Obama enlists radicals, unions for amnesty bill: GWP

Climate & Energy

Sex Complaint Against Gore is Detailed, Credible: WashExam
Jobs, Environment at Odds Again: WSJ
'Sustainability' on Campus: NAS

Media

Chronicle: Conservative Women Are 'Pseudo-Women' and 'B***hes': RWN
Alleged spy’s newspaper commentaries pretty much what you’d expect: Greenroom
Obama's Wonderland Is No Fairy Tale: AT

Why I Denied David Frum’s Site a Spot In The Blogads Conservative Hive: RWN
Is the Tea Party a Christian Movement?: Patheos
Media Used 'Conservative' Label on Bush Nominees to High Court; Obama Picks Always 'Centrist': NewsBusters

World

The Long Road to Jerusalem: Anchoress
Ten arrested as Putin spies: PJM
Venezuela’s Chavez and Trotsky, and Oliver Stone: Kesler

Oren Spills the Beans: JRubin
Hugo wants to put Israel in its place: AT
Hamas-Fatah fuel spat leaves thousands in the dark: JPost

SciTech

iPhone 4 teardown reveals $188 cost to build: CNet
Court patent ruling leaves software patents intact: MacWorld
Facebook's paternalistic attitudes aren't empowering: CNN

Cornucopia

Leadership: Denny
Just Desserts: iOTW
Red River Gorge closed after bear attack: Kentucky

Image: iOTW
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Sharron Angle.

An open letter to Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee

Republican Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee,

Pursuant to the Elena Kagan confirmation process, I would like to call your attention to a little-known fact related to the role of the minority party on the committee. That is, Rule IV of the Judiciary Committee states that "at least one member of the minority party must vote to end debate in committee."

For Elena Kagan to move to a vote in the Senate, at least one Republican on your committee must accede to end debate. I suggest you hold firm and refuse to end debate.

This Democrat-controlled Congress and this Democrat President have declared war on the American people. Against the clear wishes of the people:

• they have passed a multi-trillion dollar bonanza of federal spending aimed at saving government, not private sector jobs, thereby rewarding their union supporters at the expense of subsequent generations;

• they have rammed through, without a single Republican vote, a brand new entitlement program -- socialized medicine -- when the country can least afford its existing entitlements;

• they are attempting to use unaccountable bureaucracies like the EPA to levy crushing new energy taxes, which will allow an unelected, fourth branch of government to completely control industrial policy;

• they aim to jam through thousands of pages of financial regulation that not a single representative has read, the effects of which cannot be predicted, and that doesn't address the root cause of the economic meltdown: the government-sponsored entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac;

This egregious band of career, Leftist politicians have made a mockery of representative government because, even as the American people prepare to boot them out of office in November, they plot to defy the will of the people.

In a set of moves unprecedented in American history, Democrats intend to use the lame-duck session combined with budget reconciliation to do what the American people have rejected. They intend to pass their radical agenda despite what 75-80% of the American people want. They intend to flip off the citizenry, bypass the filibuster and violate their oaths to uphold the Constitution.

This band of Statists has declared war on the GOP and the American people.

It's time to stop playing patsy and refuse to vote Kagan or any other non-originalist nominee out of commitee.

Stonewall everything.

They've Pearl Harbored the American people enough. It's time for our Midway.

Why didn't I think of that? The Democrat-controlled Illinois Economic Recovery Panel Recommends... Income Tax Increases!

From the state of Illinois comes this happy news for beleaguered taxpayers:

A blue-ribbon commission charged by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D) with studying the state's fiscal crisis is recommending significant reforms to the tax code to capture billions of new dollars and address fundamental tax fairness problems.

Among other things, the commission June 24 recommended increasing personal and corporate income taxes, and imposing the personal income tax on retirement earnings...

Sounds "fair" to me! Make it tougher on businesses and retirees -- I'm sure they'll love it!

The commission also recommended an expansion of Illinois's sales tax base to include services.

Why not breathing, too? Eh, forget it -- I guess they're doing that with carbon taxes.

Quinn called on the commission to develop specific recommendations aimed at ensuring long-term health and prosperity for Illinois.

"Long-term health and prosperity!" Doesn't that sound like a Soviet slogan from the fifties?

The report included a detailed analysis of the Illinois tax code and said the current structure is antiquated and unfair, and raises inadequate revenues for state services.

Note that the converse is never true: state services are never -- never -- too costly compared to revenues!

The commission recommended several modifications to the state's income tax structure, including a two percentage point increase to both the personal and corporate rates. The change would generate another $6 billion annually. The commission further suggested that the personal income tax be imposed on retirement earnings, collecting $1.6 billion into state coffers.

Gee, that should be popular.

"I appreciate the hard work of the Economic Recovery Commission," [Gov.] Quinn said. "Its insights will help us work together to build on our existing assets and position our state for strong, lasting recovery as we move out of this historic recession."

Yes, I'm sure the citizens of Illinois will appreciate the recommendations of their betters in Springfield. After all, it's clear they don't pay enough in income taxes, property taxes, excise taxes, gas taxes, sales taxes, corporate taxes, capital gains taxes, etc. etc. etc.

I'm betting that retirees and businesses will now flock -- flock! -- to Illinois knowing that Democrats have returned the state to fiscal health.

(Just between you and me, I don't care how much Illinois raises in increased revenues. It will never be enough to pay for their out-of-control Democrat masters and their union bosses. I'll repeat: it will never be enough. Don't tell anyone I said that, though.)

Paging Jonathan Alter--Joint Chiefs Chairman Slams Obama's Insane Spending: Says Nation’s Debt is Biggest Threat to National Security

Paging Mr. Alter... Mr. Alter... It's time for you to unleash your dogs of demagoguery...

Another member of the military's top brass has roundly criticized the President and the Democrat-controlled Congress; in this case, pointing to their catastrophic levels of deficit spending. Little-publicized were last week's comments by Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, at a breakfast hosted by The Hill newspaper.

Adm. Mike Mullen... renewed his warning that the nation’s debt is the biggest threat to U.S. national security.

“I was shown the figures the other day by the comptroller of the Pentagon that said that the interest on our debt is $571 billion in 2012,” Mullen said at a breakfast hosted by The Hill. “That is, noticeably, about the size of the defense budget. It is not sustainable.”

Even under the rosy projections of the Obama White House, which thus far have proven to be worse than if you'd used a dartboard, the deficit is dangerously high.


The Obama/Democrat budget doesn't contemplate closing the deficit for as far as the eye can see.


Despite the utter failure of every spending program they've tried -- starting with the $860 billion "Stimulus" package -- the Democrats continue to shovel the taxpayers' hard-earned dollars into their cash furnace.


Worse still, they are creating deficits that endanger the ability of the country to survive: not simply from a national security perspective, but from the standpoint of risking a total economic collapse.


What happens when our interest costs become unsustainable? Barack Obama and his left wing sycophants in Congress will be long gone, having left their legacy of misery and destruction to our heirs.

Perhaps the laughingstock of a "journalist" -- Newsweek's Jonathan Alter -- can co-author another hit piece with David Axelrod similar to the one that took out General McChrystal.

Odds are Alter can get Mullen fired for the same offense -- for telling the truth.