The "Evil" Koch Brothers Speak

Charles G. Koch: Why Koch Industries Is Speaking Out - WSJ.com: "The Congressional Budget Office has warned that the interest on our federal debt is 'poised to skyrocket.' Even Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is sounding alarms. Yet the White House insists that substantial spending cuts would hurt the economy and increase unemployment.

Plenty of compelling examples indicate just the opposite. When Canada recently reduced its federal spending to 11.3% of GDP from 17.5% eight years earlier, the economy rebounded and unemployment dropped. By comparison, our federal spending is 25% of GDP.

Government spending on business only aggravates the problem. Too many businesses have successfully lobbied for special favors and treatment by seeking mandates for their products, subsidies (in the form of cash payments from the government), and regulations or tariffs to keep more efficient competitors at bay."

Eeeevil... And that evil Canada! We need to invade pronto! Ugghh.

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A Heads Up From Ace

Ace of Spades HQ: "Now, it has long been claimed that Obama's minions and the media (but I repeat myself) are just coming up with these nasty attacks themselves, and that our post-racial president has nothing, nothing at all to do with them.

Now we have proof from a reporter that's a lie.

Obama Reportedly Suggested Tea Partiers Are Partially Motivated By Race.
Kenneth T. Walsh, in a 'Special Report' for US News Weekly (2/26) titled, 'Race in the Era of Obama,' writes that in May 2010, President Obama 'told guests at a private White House dinner that race was probably a key component in the rising opposition to his presidency from conservatives, especially right-wing activists in the anti-incumbent 'Tea Party' movement. ... A guest suggested that when Tea Party activists said they wanted to 'take back' their country, their real motivation was to stir up anger and anxiety at having a black president, and Obama didn't dispute the idea. He agreed that there was a 'subterranean agenda' in the anti-Obama movement -- a racially biased one.'

I don't have a cite yet, because it takes a few days for US News to add this stuff to its online site, but I have that from a very good source."

A possible chink in the armor. I confidently predict at least 2k views on YouTube if there's audio /sarc. And of course, I'll retract this if nothing substantive comes up. But frankly I don't know how any sane person can believe anything other than this given already existing evidence as I have recently posted (see the second vid).

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Ask Milton

YouTube - State Budget Battle Showdowns: "private sector unions and private companies negotiate over dividing private profits, it is an adversarial relationship. Public sector unions negotiate with politicians who want their votes over how to divide money that belongs to the taxpayer. It's party1 and party2 agreeing on how to divide money from party3. Ask Milton Freidman how that works out. I'm Union CWA local 3204."

... or FDR or George Meany! LOL
Oh, and Scott Walker schooled O Duce today:

I’m sure the President knows that most federal employees do not have collective bargaining for wages and benefits while our plan allows it for base pay. And I’m sure the President knows that the average federal worker pays twice as much for health insurance as what we are asking for in Wisconsin. At least I would hope he knows these facts.

Furthermore, I’m sure the President knows that we have repeatedly praised the more than 300,000 government workers who come to work every day in Wisconsin.

I’m sure that President Obama simply misunderstands the issues in Wisconsin, and isn’t acting like the union bosses in saying one thing and doing another.

Reality hurts when you're a child in an adult's body.

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Innumerate Train Mania

Instapundit » Blog Archive » GEORGE WILL: TRAIN MANIA. “Generations hence, when the river of time has worn this presidency’s …: "GEORGE WILL: TRAIN MANIA. “Generations hence, when the river of time has worn this presidency’s importance to a small, smooth pebble in the stream of history, people will still marvel that its defining trait was a mania for high-speed rail projects. This disorder illuminates the progressive mind. . . . To progressives, the best thing about railroads is that people riding them are not in automobiles, which are subversive of the deference on which progressivism depends. Automobiles go hither and yon, wherever and whenever the driver desires, without timetables. Automobiles encourage people to think they—unsupervised, untutored, and unscripted—are masters of their fates. The automobile encourages people in delusions of adequacy, which make them resistant to government by experts who know what choices people should make.”

Plus this: “The average intercity auto trip today uses less energy per passenger mile than the average Amtrak train.”

Posted by Glenn Reynolds at 6:13 pm"

Unless of course his goal is to throw sand in the gears on purpose. Hmmm. Where have I seen evidence of this kind of thing before? Here's one of my favorites:
It's fascinating that if you go look at YouTube for "Obama skyrocket" that there is only one variant of this video that even breaks 100k views -- and only one other breaks 10k. So that means the sheep have let themselves be brainwashed and then blow dried to look like their idol Charlie Sheen. OMG! Did I just say that? I'll take it back when I see you give me the counter evidence...

What's even funnier is that when it's to the advantage of his argument he will readily admit -- as he does here -- that business will pass increased costs on to consumers. But if a non-Communist suggests such a thing why he's just economically uneducated and bitter! LOL

Oh, yes. And speaking of bitter don't forget this one which has a reasonably higher view count on its variants no doubt mainly because of the NRA not being extinct yet:

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Noble Sorts?

On Teachers and Others - Victor Davis Hanson - National Review Online: "So, yes, teaching is a noble profession upon which the future of our youth rests. It is not easy, and it is not as lucrative as the law or medicine. No doubt day-traders and the architects of hedge funds can make more in an hour than a sixth-grade social-studies teacher earns in a year, without either the caring or the commensurate work. Yet in comparison to most workers in the private sector, teachers are, in terms of working conditions and compensation, blessed — which is why we are told of Wisconsin that the problem is not really one of renegotiating wages, benefits, and pensions.

In these lean times, amid the furor and name-calling, we forget that teachers are not the wretched of the earth. They are often noble sorts, and that is reflected by what they make, how long they work, and the conditions under which they toil. If you doubt that, ask the almond farmer, roofer, or welder whose taxes pay their salaries."

This is another VDH RTWT.

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O Anti-business

FT.com / Companies / Industrial Goods - 3M chief warns Obama over business regulation: "The head of one of the US’s biggest industrial groups has launched a scathing attack on Barack Obama’s attempts to repair relations with companies, dubbing him “anti-business”.

Manufacturers could shift production out of the US to Canada or Mexico as a result, warned George Buckley, chief executive and chairman of 3M.

“I judge people by their feet, not their mouth,” he told the Financial Times. “We know what his instincts are – they are Robin Hood-esque. He is anti-business.”"

How could I be more shocked? Actually, the only thing that shocks me is that headlines like this aren't a daily occurrence. That just shows you how far we have already slipped into the "crony state" and the chilling effect the corrupt GM and Chrysler "bankruptcies" have had on corporations. Nice little business you have there ... it'd be a shame should anything happen to it...

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COTD: That Irrelevant Jefferson

Belmont Club » If you’ll just pay: "“Among the natural rights of the Colonists are these: First, a right to life; Secondly, to liberty; Thirdly, to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can.” Samuel Adams

http://history.hanover.edu/texts/adamss.html

“The true foundation of republican government is the equal right of every citizen in his person and property and in their management… To take from one because it is thought that his own industry and that of his father’s has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association–the guarantee to every one of a free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it… The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.” Thomas Jefferson

February 27, 2011 - 6:17 pm   Link to this Comment"

And a great irony in this compared to my last post. Did you know the following?:

Reflecting on Jefferson’s broad-based knowledge, President Kennedy once welcomed a group of forty-nine Nobel laureates to the White House with these words:

I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone. (Address to Nobel Laureates, Dinner for Nobel Prize Winners of the Western Hemisphere, 29 April 1962.)

Did you know that?

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The Real "John" Kennedy

Power Line: "The most entertaining documents relate to a trip Kennedy took to Latin America in 1961. He visited a number of countries, accompanied by his 'political counselor.' In each country, Kennedy met with prominent Communists or other left-wing leaders. The U.S. Ambassador to Mexico was outraged that Kennedy wanted to bring such people to the embassy--this was the heart of the Cold War, after all--and he refused, telling Kennedy to arrange his own interviews somewhere else. A State Department official in Peru described Teddy as 'pompous and a spoiled brat.'

In Colombia, the first person Kennedy wanted to meet with was Lauchlin Currie, a Russian spy who served as a key aide to Franklin Roosevelt, then moved to Colombia and renounced his American citizenship.

By the time he got to Chile, Kennedy apparently was tired of political work, so he 'made arrangements to 'rent' a brothel for an entire night' in Santiago. You can read the FBI reports here. Here is one of them; click to enlarge:"

And John's -- John Hinderaker that is -- coup de grace?

The year after his Latin American tour, Kennedy entered the United States Senate. It is quite remarkable: the Kennedy that emerges from the FBI reports sounds like a right-winger's cartoon fantasy of the man. However bad you thought Ted Kennedy was, he was worse!

Seems about right.

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A Values Question

Instapundit » Blog Archive » MICHAEL BARONE: Voting For The National Interest, Not Self-Interest. The recoil in 2010 against …: "A government intertwined with the private sector inevitably picks winners and losers. It allows well-positioned insiders to game the system for private gain. It bails out the improvident and sticks those who made prudent decisions with the bill.

Modest-income Americans think this is wrong. They want it fixed more than they want a few more bucks in their paychecks.

Traditionally, most Americans have opposed crony capitalism and corruption. But people in Washington have tended to misunderstand what’s behind this, interpreting it as a negotiating strategy rather than a values question.

Posted by Glenn Reynolds at 10:47 am"

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Welcome To Brazil

American Thinker: Welcome to Brazil: Lessons for the American People to Learn: "The only problem is that there far from enough legitimate jobs.  As with the unions in the US, the legitimate jobs have priced themselves out of the market.  Fortunately for Brazil, the jobs are driven underground instead of to Mexico or China. 

So there is a huge underground economy operating on a cash-only basis that keeps Brazil driving, if not afloat.  Some estimates offer that from one-third to one-half of the jobs are under the table.  If these jobs disappeared, this supposed economic darling would collapse literally overnight. 

The same government that supposedly looks out for the Working Man keeps a blind eye to the underground economy because it has to."

This is a RTWT for all of you scratching your heads about Brazil's supposed economic miracle under communist leadership. And welcome to your future...

And Terry Gilliam was no dummy was he, Buttle?

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Looks Like It's Past Due For O Duce To Shut Them Down

Ace of Spades HQ: "Just as it seemed that the world was running on fumes, giant oil fields were discovered off the coasts of Brazil and Africa, and Canadian oil sands projects expanded so fast, they now provide North America with more oil than Saudi Arabia.

With rising production from shale fields, the U.S. surpassed Russia last year to become the world's largest supplier of natural gas.

For natural gas, the U.S. has the four largest fields in the world..."

Don't you suppose he'll boycott Canada too, eh?

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A Second Stopped Clock Watch At The NYeT

Book Review - The Wrong War - By Bing West - NYTimes.com: "A riot ensued. “Kill the Americans!” the Afghans shouted. “Protect Islam!” Only later did a videotape of the incident show clearly that an Afghan had tossed the grenade.

About this, West writes:

“For three years, the provincial reconstruction team had lived in a compound a few blocks from the scene of the tragedy. The P.R.T. had paid over $10 million to hire locals, who smiled in appreciation. Every time a platoon from 1-32 patrolled through town, they stopped to chat with storekeepers and to buy trinkets and candy to give to the street urchins. Yet the locals had turned on the soldiers in an instant. That the townspeople in A-Bad who profited from American protection and projects would believe the worst of O’Donnell’s soldiers — whom they knew personally — suggested that the Americans were tolerated but not supported, regardless of their good works and money.”"

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COTD: The Mad Dog

Click right now and RTWT:

Belmont Club » Where are the carriers?: "32. Arkroyal
Intel from inside Libya from a very reliable friend:

Mr. Schwanner,

I run a manufacturing business in Harvey, LA which builds oilfeld equipment. We have sales agents in several foreign countries, including Libya. This morning I received two emails from my agent in Tripoli. This gentleman has a PhD in Engineering, and has been representing U.S. and European companies in North Africa for many years. He was introduced to me two years ago by a member of the U.S. Commercial Service team from New Orleans. He was part of a Libyan trade delegation to the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston sponsored by the U.S. Commercial Service. I have every reason to believe that his observations are as accurate as can be expected under the circumstances he finds himself in. Here is the text of his two emails:

Received at 2:25 AMCST

I do appreciate your concern. My family is not in Libya. They are safe. I am barricaded in an apartment with enough food and water for about two weeks. I am fine. We do have electricity and water supply, but the mad dog is threatening to shut them off. Cell phones are down most of the time. The Internet is very sporadic and extremely slow to prevent people from sending photos and videos. When my monthly internet subscription expires, I will have no way to renew it..."

And a world wide cornucopia of mercenaries handsomely paid by the mad dog. Is this guy right that the Libyan uprising is not Islamist like Egypt and is instead closer to the ongoing Iranian uprising? Well, given O Duce gives only lip service to both Libya and Iran, it's within the realm of possibility isn't it?

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The Same Things

The Fed needs to free the market Outside the Box - MarketWatch: "The government and the Fed are currently doing the same things that got us into trouble. Bernanke has pushed interest rates lower and pumped in far more money than his predecessor Greenspan did. And rather than letting the housing market self-correct and find its natural bottom, the federal government is using every trick in the book to boost home prices.

Two strategies aim to contain imprudent risk-taking and speculation: One is to have the Fed inject boatloads of new money, while the government bails out banks that make bad loans, but hope that regulators can spot and defuse any trouble before it gets out of hand. We’ve already tried that and it didn’t work.

The other strategy is for the Fed and government to stop trying to steer the economy, and let private investors reap the benefits — or the losses — in a free and open market. Let’s try this approach this time around."

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No Shame

Instapundit » Blog Archive » ANN ALTHOUSE: Protesters at the Wisconsin Capitol disrespectfully have taped signs on and piled jun…: "ANN ALTHOUSE: Protesters at the Wisconsin Capitol disrespectfully have taped signs on and piled junk against the Veterans Memorial. “Meade and I confront them, and we’re told we’re the first people who’ve had a problem with it. I try to explain how that attempted defense of the behavior is only going to make it look worse. It means that of all these crowds of people in the Capitol, no one else has noticed or cared enough to say anything.”

Posted by Glenn Reynolds at 9:43 am"

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Beating France

TaxProf Blog: U.S. Effective Corporate Tax Rate Among Highest in World: "Cato Institute, New Estimates of Effective Corporate Tax Rates on Business Investment:

This bulletin presents estimates of effective corporate tax rates on new capital investment for 83 countries. “Effective” tax rates take into account statutory rates plus tax-base items that affect taxes paid on new investment, such as depreciation deductions, inventory allowances, and interest deductions. Our calculations also account for other taxes that affect investment, such as retail sales taxes on capital purchases and asset-based taxes.
We find that the U.S. effective corporate tax rate on new investment was 34.6% in 2010, which was the highest rate in the OECD and the fifth-highest rate among 83 countries. The average OECD rate was 18.6%, and the average rate for 83 countries was 17.7%."

Look on the bright side: we have a higher corporate tax rate than France! No, wait! That's not good, is it?

Well at least Uzbekistan, Brazil, Chad, and Argentina (ding ding ding -- we have a winner!) have stolen the march on us. But somehow I suspect that beating Argentina's 43.1% will be O Duce's next goal. It's only 8.5 absolute points and less than a 25% relative rate rise from here...

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How Much More Crisis Would You Like?

Gingrich: If Palin Took Obama Actions, There Would Be Calls for Impeachment: "Gingrich said it is absolutely critical for Obama to comply with Congress and  the constitutional process.

“I believe the House Republicans next week should pass a resolution instructing the president to enforce the law and to obey his own constitutional oath, and they should say if he fails to do so that they will zero out [defund] the office of attorney general and take other steps as necessary until the president agrees to do his job.

“His job is to enforce the rule of law and for us to start replacing the rule of law with the rule of Obama is a very dangerous precedent.'

Gingrich adds: “I don’t think these guys set out to create a constitutional crisis. I think they set out to pay off their allies in the gay community and to do something that they thought was clever. I think they didn’t understand the implication that having a president personally suspend a law is clearly unconstitutional.”"

Duh'O.

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The New Muammar?

Power Line - Muammar Christie?: "If these people would just carry around signs that say 'I want your money,' I would respect them more."

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A Compromise

Heritage and Reason deflate myths in PEU debate « Hot Air: "Given the circumstances, perhaps a compromise can be worked out.  Let’s allow the teachers to retain their collective bargaining rights intact — as long as Wisconsin taxpayers have the ability to opt out of the education monopoly entirely through fully-funded school vouchers.  If the public schools deliver a quality education under the current union-run paradigm, with tenure protecting poor performers, then the teachers will have nothing to fear.  If parents believe that they can get a better education for less money at private schools where the customers control the process and the prices, then taxpayers will have the ability to vote with their feet."

Heh.

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Already Hostages

Arab uprisings: Obama's response was dithering and pathetic. - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine: "Evidently a little sensitive to the related charges of being a) taken yet again completely by surprise, b) apparently without a policy of its own, and c) morally neuter, the Obama administration contrived to come up with an argument that maximized every form of feebleness. Were we to have taken a more robust or discernible position, it was argued, our diplomatic staff in Libya might have been endangered. In other words, we decided to behave as if they were already hostages!"

I have plenty of disagreements with Hitchens on a long list of topics needless to say. And perhaps you long ago stopped reading him. But when he is on your side, you need to to just go RTWT and be d*mn glad he is. He's clearly one of the most talented writers in this world and this one brings it home stunningly. You will not be able to wipe the smile off your face -- perhaps for days...

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Obamanomics

CBO: Jobs Created and Saved By Stimulus Cost At Minimum An Average of $228,055 Each | CNSnews.com: "Thus, the $821 billion cost of the stimulus divided by the maximum of 3.6 million jobs the CBO believes the stimulus may have saved or created equals an average of $228,055 per job.
At the lower end of the CBO’s top job-creating-and-saving estimate for the stimulus—1.4 million jobs—the jobs would cost an average of $586,428 a piece.
In February 2009, when President Obama signed the stimulus law the national unemployment rate was 8.2 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In January 2011, the national unemployment rate was 9.0 percent."

Same as it ever was...

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Banksters

Dylan Ratigan asks Fleckenstein: Has the Federal Reserve caused the recent commodity inflation? | Ron Paul 2012 | Sound Money, Peace and Liberty: "Dylan Ratigan asks Fleckenstein: Has the Federal Reserve caused the recent commodity inflation?"

The madness of bankster crowds.

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The Obviously Corrupt Stock Market In This Country

Any questions?

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Pals

Moonbattery: Obama and Gaddafi: Old Pals: "Another reason is that they have close friends in common. In 1984 Jeremiah Wright — Obama's spiritual mentor for over 20 years — traveled to Libya to kiss Gaddafi's ring as part of an anti-American propaganda junket that also included radical pal Louis Farrakhan.

If America's foreign policy appears to make no sense whatsoever, just keep in mind that people like this are running the country now."

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Do They Think They Work For Us?

Power Line - Public Sector Unions vs. America: "This video, produced by a group called Minnesota Majority, is sensational. It sums up what is at stake in the current battle between the public sector unions and everyone else. Check it out, and share it with your friends!"

NO. D*MN. WAY. They think you're their slave and you need to get in the back of the bus. Until O Duce throws you out and runs you over anyway.

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Emmanuel Goldstein Update

Instapundit » Blog Archive » NICK GILLESPIE: Why The Evil Koch Brothers Must Be Stopped: They Support Drug Legalization, Gay Ma…: "NICK GILLESPIE: Why The Evil Koch Brothers Must Be Stopped: They Support Drug Legalization, Gay Marriage, Reduced Defense Spending. Kind of an odd target for lefty demonization, but hey, you gotta find your Emmanuel Goldstein somewhere.

Posted by Glenn Reynolds at 1:27 pm"

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At The Taxpayer's Expense

Instapundit » Blog Archive » TIM CARNEY: Democrats Just Don’t Understand The New Populism. “The Left has misread the postbailou…: "TIM CARNEY: Democrats Just Don’t Understand The New Populism. “The Left has misread the postbailout populist sentiment all along, assuming public anger was directed at the rich. But American anger, I suspect, is directed not at some people who have money or success, but at those who profit through cronyism and their connections to power. In other words, anti-bailout anger is not anger at the rich, but anger at those unfairly getting rich — at the taxpayer’s expense.” Yes.

Posted by Glenn Reynolds at 11:22 pm"

Meanwhile -- while far too timid and fairly misdirected -- a Fed governor actually came out and said something that had at least a tenuous hold on reality. Most shocking of all he actually referenced Matt Taibbi's latest article: "Why Isn't Wall Street In Jail". Wow.

And did I forget to mention that we're a lot like China?

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Projecting Little Mustaches

Instapundit » Blog Archive » JAMES TARANTO: “It’s quite striking the way almost every lie the left ever told about the Tea Party…: "JAMES TARANTO: “It’s quite striking the way almost every lie the left ever told about the Tea Party has turned out to be true of the government unionists in Wisconsin and their supporters.”

Posted by Glenn Reynolds at 5:06 pm"

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China v Ostriches

Cables show China used debt holdings to press US: "Leaked diplomatic cables vividly show China's willingness to translate its massive holdings of US debt into political influence on issues ranging from Taiwan's sovereignty to Washington's financial policy.

China's clout -- gleaned from its nearly $900 billion stack of US debt -- has been widely commented on in the United States, but sensitive cables show just how much influence Beijing has and how keen Washington is to address its rival's concerns.

An October 2008 cable, released by WikiLeaks, showed a senior Chinese official linking questions about much-needed Chinese investment to sensitive military sales to Taiwan."

And we know which one the U.S. is don't we?

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Welcome To The cOllapse

Bat removal at McDonogh 35 hampered by 'endangered species' designation | New Orleans News, Local News, Breaking News, Weather | wwltv.com | Featured Videos: "NEW ORLEANS – Attempts to rid McDonogh 35 High School of bats that have been flying around the third floor are being hampered due to the fact that officials have been told these bats are an endangered species and can’t be exterminated.
School system officials have been trying for weeks to rid the school of the bat problem that has upset parents and students to the point that they staged a rally outside of the school last week to protest.
The third floor of the building has been closed for classes while exterminators try to get rid of the bats. Putting out poison or sprays is not an option as the bats have to be captured and relocated and released, according to school officials."

WAKE. UP.

It's better to have our children at risk of dying from rabies than to kill bats? Really?

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The Federalist #9 & #10 On The Wicked

Power Line - What He Said: "There's an old Abbott and Costello routine where Lou Costello responds to one of Bud Abbott's propositions with the rejoinder, 'That's a great idea! In fact, I was just about to think of it myself.' That's how I felt about Roger Kimball's observations about the scene in Wisconsin yesterday, especially the observation about the irony that this showdown is taking place in Madison, named for the founder who warned us about the dangers of factions acting against the public interest."

That would be in the Federalist papers #9 and #10. And Federalist #10 contains one of my all time favorite quotes from Madison:

A rage for paper money, for an abolition of debts, for an equal division of property, or for any other improper or wicked project, will be less apt to pervade the whole body of the Union than a particular member of it; in the same proportion as such a malady is more likely to taint a particular county or district, than an entire State.

He was correct about what's wicked. He missed that FedGov and the Communists could make it happen to the whole country at once.

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The Real Brownshirts

Ace of Spades HQ: "But then there was the mob that everyone had to go through to get to and from the area for the support rally. I wish I had video taped trying to leave. I had no sign, and was not an active participant - but I experienced first-hand the intimidation and hostility of either union mercenaries, or even worse, of the good people who have been getting whipped into an exhausted and desparate state by the union sponsored liberal rhetoric and atmosphere.

They stood blocking the way, leaving only a narrow two-person-wide space for thousands to funnel through. It was scary, claustrophic, and made me feel panicked. They glared, yelled, and one guy pushed me so hard I flew two feet forward. I thought my husband was going to lose it, so we stopped and just stood to the side where we were. I watched a lot of people from the rally pass in front of me experiencing the same thing. I saw middle class, working class people who looked liked my sister, my mother, my son or daughter, my neighbors... being taunted and intimidated by a mob hoping to provoke mayhem or violence. I looked for police help to secure a path or help with our exit, but I only saw them standing in isolated clusters amongst themselves, the nearest over 50 feet away from the crowd."

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Google Be Gone

Power Line - Bad Vibrations From Cairo: "To Jerusalem we go? That could be a big problem for both the U.S. and Israel, whose security policies have long rested on the historic peace between Egypt and Israel.

One of the western media's favorite Egyptian rebels is Google executive Wael Ghonim. No surprise there: if you had to choose among radical clerics like al-Qaradawi, hooligans like those who assaulted Lara Logan, and a suave, Westernized Google exec, whom would you want to interview? Ghonim was present on Friday and intended to address the crowd, but he was barred from the platform by al-Qaradawi's security. He left the stage in distress, 'his face hidden by an Egyptian flag.' Is Ghonim Egypt's Kerensky? Well, at least Kerensky got to rule for a while.

I very much hope I am wrong, but I am getting a here-we-go-again sense about events in Egypt and, I am afraid, through much of the region."

Am I shocked? Umm, no.

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The Big Splatter

Gonzalo Lira: “We Owe How Much?”: Waiting for The Big Splatter: "The American people collectively blew their country. So now, everyone’s pretending that everything’s fine, while they wait for the shit to hit the fan. 

Everybody with any sense knows that The Big Splatter is on its way—everyone knows there’s nothing that can stop it. So when bits of bad news crop up—like the revised deficit numbers—Americans are placid as Hindu cows. 

And why not? These deficit numbers are nothing! Americans all know that it’s going to get much, much worse. They all know that there’s no sense worrying about the little milestones on the road to hell. 

They all know that they’re waiting for The Big Splatter. "

I think Lira is mostly spot on in his writings. However, in this case he's wrong: Most folks I know have no clue how bad things are and have fully inhaled the Kool Aid. They each will be just one more lemming in the rioting and starvation to come. They will have no idea what hit them.

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Responsibility

Instapundit » Blog Archive » DEALING WITH ADULT RESPONSIBILITY. This reminds me of something my sister-in-law once said: “Our a…: "DEALING WITH ADULT RESPONSIBILITY. This reminds me of something my sister-in-law once said: “Our ancestors settled a continent, but we get upset if we have to go to the bank and the dry-cleaners after work.”"

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Actuality

Power Line - The Wisconsin Bill: What Does It Do?: "Here's what Governor Walker's Budget Repair Bill that they're so angry about actually does:

- Ask government workers to pay half the cost of their pensions - still less than private employees pay for their pensions

- Ask government workers to pay 12% of their own health insurance premiums - the national average for the private sector is over 20%

- End collective bargaining for government unions for pensions and benefits. Allow bargaining only for raises that are less than inflation.

- End forced union dues, collected by the state. Union dues would become voluntary.

- Union members get to vote yearly on whether to keep their union.

Are those significant reforms? Absolutely. Hence the desperation on the Left to frustrate them. But in talking about what is at stake, it is helpful to be concrete about what the legislation would actually do."

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Just In Particular...

Instapundit » Blog Archive » JOHN FUND: WHAT’S AT STAKE IN WISCONSIN: Plus, why the unions are really upset: Labor historian…: "The Wisconsin unions don’t seem to understand that Gov. Walker is just following what they have always asked for. Wealth redistribution. They say that the wealthy should share with the poor. Well, right now, the private sector worker makes about half of what the public sector worker does. Seems like the wealthy public sector should share.

Also, only a very small minority of private workers are unionized. Most of those unionized jobs have become so cost prohibitive that they are now overseas. I would say that with today’s technologies, those unionized school teachers could also be outsourced. Maybe they cannot see the writing on the wall. Or maybe they do.

Unions aren’t for wealth redistribution in general. Just in particular."

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Unsustainable

Opinion: What Does Government Do?: "When you put these two trends together, what you find is that the federal government has over the years essentially turned into a gigantic wealth-transfer machine -- taking money from a shrinking pool of taxpayers and giving it out to a growing list of favored groups.

Now, depending on your political perspective, you could view this is a good thing or a bad thing.

But whatever your view, this situation will make getting the federal budget under control increasingly difficult, since it will invariably involve pitting those writing checks against those cashing them."

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You Are In The Memory Hole

Moonbattery: Maher: Lenin and Stalin Were Right Wing: "Radical leftist Adolf Hitler had this to say about capitalism:

'We are socialists, we are enemies of today's capitalistic economic system for the exploitation of the economically weak, with its unfair salaries, with its unseemly evaluation of a human being according to wealth and property instead of responsibility and performance, and we are all determined to destroy this system under all conditions.'

However, his fellow lefties have managed the astounding propaganda feat of getting people to consider Hitler right wing, as if limited government and totalitarian government were somehow the same cause."

NaZi = National. SOCIALIST. Party.

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Really

Why Isn't Wall Street in Jail? | Rolling Stone Politics: "As for President Obama, what is there to be said? Goldman Sachs was his number-one private campaign contributor. He put a Citigroup executive in charge of his economic transition team, and he just named an executive of JP Morgan Chase, the proud owner of $7.7 million in Chase stock, his new chief of staff. 'The betrayal that this represents by Obama to everybody is just — we're not ready to believe it,' says Budde, a classmate of the president from their Columbia days. 'He's really fucking us over like that? Really? That's really a JP Morgan guy, really?'"

Look over right folks: "When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators." - P. J. O'Rourke

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Must Watch: Stanley Kurtz On The New Strategy Of Socialism From Below (Bumped -- And Much More)

PowerLine has done a great service and made this 40 minute video interview available of Stanley Kurtz on his new book "Radical-in-Chief: Barack Obama and the Untold Story of American Socialism". You have no idea what you're up against until you WTWT:

UPDATE: I have decided to bump this for a while. All the other content on this site is noise level until you understand O Duce thoroughly. This is the single best relatively short time investment to do that.

Norman Thomas, a leader of the American Socialist Party said:

Now, back in 1927, an American socialist, Norman Thomas, six times candidate for president on the Socialist Party ticket, said the American people would never vote for socialism. But he said under the name of liberalism, the American people would adopt every fragment of the socialist program…
One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It’s very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project…

Did I forget to mention that one of his relatives is Evan Thomas of Newsweek fame? You know, the rag that recently said we are "all Socialists now"? Is everything in your world a coincidence? (And how's this for a surprise?: You MUST at least read Marx's 10 point plan from "The Communist Manifesto". It's very short and you'll quickly see that we have fully implemented 3 of them, 5 are a battlefield we keep losing ground on and only 2 of them require discussion on their subtleties.)

A close second in importance is to re-watch Reagan's "A Time For Choosing" until it sinks in. (And if you're more of the libertarian/ atheist persuasion then you need to first go over and discover Eric Raymond's post on "Gramscian Damage" to get in sync with all of this.)

And something possibly even more stunning is David Ramsay Steele's article "The Mystery of Fascism". You simply don't have a clue about Fascism until you've read it -- well maybe that and Orwell's "Pacifism and the War" (And perhaps in yours also... ;) Sorry, but you've been completely brainwashed into believing that Fascism is a phenomenon of the right -- it's actually a schism of the left.

Finally, if you've never actually read "1984" please at least take the time to read the "book within the book": "The Theory and Practice Of Oligarchical Collectivism".

There. A powerful introduction to rational conservative/ libertarian thought you will find yourself shocked to know existed all in about 3 hours. (And for extra credit, go here.)

And yes, as long as we live in an imperfect world there will be conspiracies to guard against. The key is to spend enough of your time away from intoxicating substances so you can rationally assess them.

UPDATED AGAIN: OK, OK. Let's make sure nobody tries to excommunicate me from the "faith" before I catch my mistake! No post operating at even this level of conciseness can be allowed to ignore Hayek. Did you know you can download the official Reader's Digest version of "Road To Serfdom"? Yes, there was one and it is a great place to start for beginners -- just keep following my links... Here's the shortest tease possible:

CENTRAL. PLANNING. CANNOT. WORK. IN. A. MODERN. ECONOMY.
EVEN. IF. ALL. THE. PLANNERS. ARE. ALBERT. EINSTEIN. HIMSELF.

Have you ever looked at the difference between North and South Korea from space at night?

(Yes of course, virtually all of this has been on this blog for a while now...)

P.S. If mention of the secret protocol ever disappears from that Wikipedia article I just linked then you will know the Orwellian memory hole has truly expanded beyond tolerance. That's possibly the most famous conspiracy of the 20th century -- unless you consider Winston Churchill to be a massive conspiracy all by himself ;) (If you read the Orwell links I gave earlier you'll also realize that Orwell himself has already been stuffed down his own memory hole.)

ANOTHER UPDATE: Improved the Hayek update ;)

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Buehler? Buehler?

Power Line - Reagan and Taxes: "Second, many conservatives were not happy with Reagan for this in 1967. In fact he was booed at an opening day major league baseball game in the spring. But the hit Reagan took proved evanescent for several reasons, but the main one is that over the long run everyone could see whose side Reagan was on, and whose side his opponents were on. When the state budget accumulated a large surplus in Reagan's second term, he wanted to give the whole surplus back to the taxpayers, which liberals revealingly called 'an unwarranted expenditure of public funds,' since they truly believe all your money belongs to them. As Reagan said in a speech at the time, 'I want you to know that I am just a frightened of government, even though I am now a part of it, as I have been these many years, and I believe being frightened and concerned with the growth of government is legitimate.' The tax bill he was forced to adopt, he underscored, 'does not represent my philosophy of government. I still think the government of California costs the people of California too much.' Query for Robinson: can he find me one Democrat--just one, anywhere--Buehler, Buehler??--who talks like that about government."

This is a RTWT.

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A Conspiracy Theory? Umm, Nooooo...

Beck’s Matthews-Mocked Conspiracy Confirmed: Video of US Communists, Socialists & Labor Unions Working With Muslim Brotherhood-Associated Groups | The Blaze: "Posted on February 4, 2011 at 10:10am by Naked Emperor News"

And speaking of the history of this particular "conspiracy" you might want to look at "Emulation, The Sincerest Form Of Holocaust". Click through the clipping and you can read the full thing as written by that far right wing nut-job -- what's his name? -- oh, yeah Alan Dershowitz. You need to read his book "The Case For Israel" and especially the chapter on Haj Amin Al-Husseini.

Oh. And you might want to plan on being in Denver May 4th.

UPDATE: Silly me forgetting to mention that the reason our "liberal" friends always want to say "Nazi" and never "National Socialists" is ... well ... obvious isn't it? If hijacking the conversation down a memory hole is your goal anyway.

The real nut job is the person who can delude themselves that the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem could spend WWII as one of Hitler's radio hosts spouting off about killing the Jews behind every tree without being on Hitler's side. LOL

And do you really think that Hitler didn't think he would squash the Muslims like bugs when it came time?

UPDATED YET AGAIN: Oh, and Hitler never participated in any other conspiracies?! LOL Ever hear of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact? The enemy of my enemy...

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Understanding Politicians

It can never be pointed out often enough that there IS a reliable way to tell if a politician is lying: His lips are moving:

The more you lie, the easier it gets - health - 08 February 2011 - New Scientist: "'In people who lie a lot in real life [such as pathological liars], this dominant truth response might not be as strong as we theorise,' says Ewout Meijer of Maastricht University in the Netherlands.

Crucially, says psychologist Scott Lilienfeld of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, the results raise the intriguing possibility that at least some lie detector measures may be relatively ineffective for practiced liars, including psychopaths. 'Lie detector tests are most often used on people suspected of crimes, who have higher rates of psychopathic characteristics – including pathological dishonesty – than other individuals,' he says.

'The finding implies that peppering a lie-detector test with simple questions designed to elicit a truthful response will strengthen the brain's truth response, making it harder for someone to lie. This will increase the accuracy of such tests,' says Meijer."

And now we have emerging scientific evidence. RTWT.

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COTD: O Never Mind

Obama Admin Admits There Was No Electronic Problem Causing Toyota Sudden Acceleration: "84 You know, if Toyota just unionized and asked the government to bail it out and turn it over to us, this unpleasantness could have been avoided.
Posted by: The UAW at February 08, 2011 07:14 PM (xeG08)"

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Still A Time For Choosing

Ace of Spades HQ: "First his seminal speech...'A Time For Choosing'. A great speech from 1964 in support of Bary Goldwater. The depressing thing about it? Considering the speech is almost 50 years old and we are dealing with many of the same problems, we as a nation chose poorly."

And apparently it will always be a time for choosing. Sigh.

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West Is The Best (Part 83,593)

Lt. Col. Allen West - Ricochet.com: "But the real story here is that Lieutenant Colonel West, now a Congressional Representative of Florida, was willing to state such a political incorrect view so straightforwardly in public.

That sort of political courage will be very necessary in the next decade... not only to face down our false allies in the OIC, but also to address the entitlement reform that our politicians have avoided for generations.

Check out West's stances on other issues.

Sorry, Florida, but we might have to steal this guy for a presidential run in 2012."

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They DO Want To Hurt The Economy

O Duce does anyway:

Instapundit » Blog Archive » YEAH, WHO WANTS A RELIABLE OIL SUPPLY FROM A FRIENDLY NEIGHBOR? Big Green Groups Tell Obama To Tell…: "YEAH, WHO WANTS A RELIABLE OIL SUPPLY FROM A FRIENDLY NEIGHBOR? Big Green Groups Tell Obama To Tell Canada To Drop Dead. It’s almost like these people want to hurt the economy."

The only question is whether his useful idiots are smart enough to have a clue. My guess is not:

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Debt Is The Money Of Slaves: Video Redux

Future Money Trends On Why Gold Is The Money Of Kings, And Debt Is The Money Of Slaves | zero hedge: "The folks at Future Money Trends have released another comprehensive video clip which summarizes the key aspects of the gold price thesis (which should be all too clear to our readers, who have been following it since $800). At 6 minutes long, virtually anyone can afford to take the time and hear it out, which we certainly urge now that we once again have increasing chatter that QE3 is around the corner (those $4 trillion in deficit funding pieces of paper won't monetize themselves). That alone is sure to send gold again in play: after all the biggest jump in the precious metal last year occurred only after the 'incredulous' ones realized that Bernanke was not at all kidding about his infinite dilution quest (yes, the Fed will do anything to save the banking masters)."

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It Starts With An O

A reminder:

We The Free: Welcome To "Inequality": "In the name of reducing inequality, some of our politicians want to raise taxes and other government obstacles to the kind of risk-taking and hard work that allow Americans to climb the income ladder so rapidly. As the Treasury data show, we shouldn't worry about inequality. We should worry about the people who use inequality as a political club to promote policies that reduce opportunity."

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An Actual Impossibility

Why the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets are Not Collapsing | Watts Up With That?: "Global warming alarmists have suggested that the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica may collapse, causing disastrous sea level rise. This idea is based on the concept of an ice sheet sliding down an inclined plane on a base lubricated by meltwater, which is itself increasing because of global warming.

In reality the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets occupy deep basins, and cannot slide down a plane. Furthermore glacial flow depends on stress (including the important yield stress) as well as temperature, and much of the ice sheets are well below melting point.

The accumulation of kilometres of undisturbed ice in cores in Greenland and Antarctica (the same ones that are sometimes used to fuel ideas of global warming) show hundreds of thousands of years of accumulation with no melting or flow. Except around the edges, ice sheets flow at the base, and depend on geothermal heat, not the climate at the surface. It is impossible for the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets to ‘collapse’."

The alarmists expect you to believe that ice sheets with a mean yearly temperature of -50C (Antarctica) and -25C (Greenland). Did I forget to mention that -25C is about as cold as a well functioning freezer? And you know how fast things are melting in there eh?

And Antarctica? Next subject please...

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Go Stifle Yourself

Ace of Spades HQ: "Mr. President, we don't have an incentive problem. We have regulation problems. We have tax problems. We have rising energy and commodity prices. We have an increasingly unfavorable global business environment. We have legislative uncertainties hanging over businesses' heads like the Sword of Damocles.

But we want to make money. We want to do business. We want to innovate so that we can make more money and do more business. We don't need more incentives - incentive is built into the American system and psyche.

And we particularly don't need a ridiculous self-defeating scheme whereby the government encourages innovation via incentives funded by taxation, which stifles innovation."

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We Now Interrupt The Fake Hysteria For A Real Problem

RTWT:

Magnetic polar shifts causing massive global superstorms - by Terrence Aym - Page 4 - Helium: "'The track of the spin axis began to slow down and by about January 8, 2006, it ceased nearly all relative motion on the x and y coordinates which are used to define the daily changing location of the spin axis.'

And the Earth stopped wobbling—exactly as predicted as another strong sign of an imminent Ice Age.

So, the start of a new Ice Age is marked by a magnetic pole reversal, increased volcanic activity, larger and more frequent earthquakes, tsunamis, colder winters, superstorms and the halting of the Earth's precessional wobble.

Unfortunately, all of those conditions are being met."

Anyone with a brain who looks at the geological scale temperature history of the planet would be insane to expect the next epochal temperature move would be up. In fact, they would start building coal power plants like crazy and pray like the dickens that the alarmists are right. In the face of all sanity of course.

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The Train To Moscow

Instapundit » Blog Archive » EGYPT: A LETTER FROM SALIM MANSUR. “I am more convinced now, as I wasn’t when Paul Kennedy wrote a…: "EGYPT: A LETTER FROM SALIM MANSUR. “I am more convinced now, as I wasn’t when Paul Kennedy wrote about the rise and fall of great powers, that the West has gone over the tipping point in its terminal decline. That intelligent people, or people who claim to be intelligent, (I have in mind the talking heads in the U.S. media such as Chris Matthews or Fareed Zakaria) cannot make the difference between the sham of the Muslim Brotherhood talking about freedom and democracy and the generic thirst in man to be free. These are the people who have like the Bourbons learned nothing and forgotten nothing. They are glibly about to put the Lenins of our time into trains heading for Moscows of our time, they find nothing odd that they are pushing for the Muslim Brotherhood to be taken into governing when everything needs to be done to keep the Muslim Brotherhood out.”"

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United

Moonbattery: Are We United Yet?: "Of all the excuses I heard from people who pushed Affirmative Action to the last limit of lunacy by voting for an unqualified leftist with a secret history and alarming associations, the most bizarre was that he would somehow 'unite' all Americans. Gallup shows us how that's working out:"

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Obamalypse Now

Moonbattery: Open Thread: "Via Nobarack08's Weblog, on a tip from TED."

Perhaps even an understatement at this rate...

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Actual Facts Lead To Right Turns

Kirsten Powers: Americans Should Worry About ‘Islamic Power in Cairo’ « Hot Air: "Writing at The Daily Beast, liberal columnist and pundit Kirsten Powers (who has family in Egypt) noted,

I spent much of yesterday interviewing American experts on the region—including two Brookings Institution scholars who are experts on the Muslim Brotherhood—and was reassured over and over that the organization has reformed and does not seek to establish a fundamentalist state. One claimed that Brotherhood officials have said they view Copts as equal citizens.

My relative laughed at this. He says when Brotherhood members have been asked about how they would treat Christians they are vague. When asked about whether they would nationalize the banks, they are vague. Even one of the Brookings scholars told me that the Brotherhood would probably segregate the sexes. This is far from a secular group.

That Powers, a proud “progressive,” is writing about this makes it clear that such fears are not merely being propagated by “right wingers.”"

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O Say Can You See Which One?

HT Moonbattery

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The Suicide Sieve

Iranian Book Celebrating Suicide Bombings Found in Arizona Desert | The Gateway Pundit: "An Iranian suicide book was discovered in the Arizona desert near the border with Mexico.
FOX News reported:

A book celebrating suicide bombers has been found in the Arizona desert just north of the U.S.- Mexican border, authorities tell Fox News.

The book, “In Memory of Our Martyrs,” was spotted Tuesday by a U.S. Border Patrol agent out of the Casa Grande substation who was patrolling a route known for smuggling illegal immigrants and drugs.

Published in Iran, it consists of short biographies of Islamic suicide bombers and other Islamic militants who died carrying out attacks."

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How To Not Watch Al-Jazeera

You need to go RTWT:

American Thinker: The Story of the Egyptian Revolution: "Today the Egyptians are scared. They have been given a glimpse of hell and they don't like what they see. Contrary to Al Jazeera's propaganda, the Egyptian masses are not demonstrating anymore. They are protecting their homes and families. The demonstration last night had 5,000 political activists participating and not 150,000 as Al Jazeera insists. At this moment, no one outside of those political activists cares less now if the President will resign or not. They have more important concerns now; security and food.

So where are we today? Well the answer is still not clear, yet a couple of conclusions are evident.

1.      The Gamal inheritance scenario is finished.

2.      Mubarak will not run for another Presidential term. His term ends in October and either he will serve the rest of his term or will resign once things cool down for health reasons, which are real. He is dying.

3.      The army is in control now. We are heading back to the 'golden age' of army rule. The 'kids' are no longer in charge. The 'men' are.

4.      Until the economy fails again, the neo-liberal economic policies are over. Forget about an open economy for some time."

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Staying Alive

Belmont Club » I’ll See You In September: "That will be down to one and none as the week wears on. The NYT concluded: “The protests’ crippling effects could give Mr. Mubarak and his new cabinet perhaps only a few weeks to re-establish order before shortages, rising unemployment and a deep crisis set in, economists said.” That’s only half right. It also means that the opposition has only a short time left before people are forced to turn away from demonstrating to concentrate on finding the means to stay alive.  Watch for the word “humanitarian crisis” to creep into the news."

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"Medicine" The Che Way

Power Line - Annals of Government Medicine: "Clinical evaluations of the victims found signs of malnutrition, a high incidence of anemia and vitamin deficiencies, according to the official report, which said the hospital received enough food for 2,458 patients when there were only 1,484 patients, the official report said. It added that an absence of controls 'favored the misappropriation of resources destined fundamentally for the nourishment of the patients, as well as for clothing and bedding for their protection.'

Mental hospitals where the patients have no blankets and are malnourished because unaccountable government employees stole their food to sell it on the black market--that's government medicine in action."

Welcome to Che's hell. Coming to a town near you.

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Limits

Review & Outlook: The Constitutional Moment - WSJ.com: "Congressional Democrats and the Obama Administration justified this coercion under the Commerce Clause, so it is fitting that Judge Vinson conducts a deep investigation into its history and intent, including Madison's notes at the Constitutional Convention and the jurisprudence of the fourth Chief Justice, John Marshall. The original purpose of the Commerce Clause was to eliminate the interstate trade barriers that prevailed under the Articles of Confederation—among the major national problems that gave rise to the Constitution.

The courts affirmed this limited and narrow understanding until the New Deal, when Congress began to regulate harum-scarum and the Supreme Court inflated the clause into a general license for anything a majority happened to favor.

In a major 1942 case, Wickard v. Filburn, the Court held that even growing wheat for personal use was an activity with a substantial economic effect on interstate commerce, thus justifying federal restrictions on the use of agricultural land meant to prop up commodity prices. It wasn't until the William Rehnquist Court, a half-century later, that the Justices began to recover some of the original limits, notably in the Lopez (1995) and Morrison (2000) cases."

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