Thursday, June 30, 2011

Dominique Strauss-Kahn Could Walk, Accuser's Credibility Questioned

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The sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn is on the verge of collapse as investigators have uncovered major holes in the credibility of the housekeeper who charged that he attacked her in his Manhattan hotel suite in May, according to two well-placed law enforcement officials.
Although forensic tests found unambiguous evidence of a sexual encounter between Mr. Strauss-Kahn, a French politician, and the woman, prosecutors do not believe much of what the accuser has told them about the circumstances or about herself.

It's important to maintain your credibility if you're going to accuse someone of rape even when there's "unambiguous evidence". Since DSK's accuser is seeking asylum, I wonder if her vanishing credibility will get her a one-way ticket back home. Wow. Just... wow.

Meanwhile, China's Xinhua is reporting that the IMF has moved on: First female IMF chief receives praise from former hometown of Chicago:

CHICAGO, June 28 (Xinhua) -- French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde made history Tuesday by becoming the first female managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and her appointment received wide praise in Chicago, where she once served as chairman of one of the world's largest law firms.

Video: Heritage Explains Federalism in Education

Heritage Foundation: Federalism in Education Made Simple‬‏:

Learn how the federal government is involved in the education system, and how the government's role in the public school impacts the effectiveness of educating the American children.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Tea Partier and State Rep Paul Curtman's June 30th Money Bomb


Missouri State Representative Paul Curtman (R-Pacific) gained national prominence almost two years ago with the short speech featured above. He delivered that speech at one of Senator Claire McCaskill's (D-MO) healthcare townhalls. He leveraged the fame that he gained that evening as well as his innate speaking ability to run for state rep as a Republican in a Democrat leaning district. Leading up to his victory last November, I put together the following promo video:


June 30th is the end of the fund raising quarter. As a result, Curtman sent out a request for donations. Here are some highlights from that request:
In 2010 you helped me send a message to the establishment: “You can recruit your liberals to run for office, but you cannot defeat the message of Liberty.” My district was the proving ground for grassroots support. You helped me defeat a deeply entrenched liberal incumbent who also happened to be a paid organizer for SEIU in a district where 56% of the voters identify with Democrats. You didn’t just help a little either; you helped me gather 57% of the votes!
...
You can help this campaign really take off now with a contribution, I'd certainly appreciate it. Please click here to make a generous contribution of $20.12, $35, $50, $100, $25 - or whatever you can afford.

Remember, on June 30th I must close the books on the current reporting period and tell the MEC (and thus every liberal in Missouri) exactly how much support Paul Curtman has.
I want to send a shockwave through the establishment and insiders, and this will be a big part of it.

For Liberty,
Paul Curtman

Air Force One on the Block: Let's Sell President Obama's Corporate Jet

NationalJournal.com: Obama: It's Kids Versus Corporate Jets on Debt-Ceiling Talks:

In his first full-scale news conference since March, the president insisted that Democrats had compromised in private talks by agreeing to billions of dollars in budget cuts that would hurt their voters. But, he said, Republicans were refusing to bend by not agreeing to eliminate tax breaks to owners of corporate jets and profit-rich oil companies. If Republicans get their way, Obama said, the end result would be unbalanced deal that lifts the debt limit but forces the government to make deeper-than-necessary cuts.

"If we do not have revenues, that means there are a bunch of kids out there who do not have college scholarships," Obama said. "[It] might compromise the National Weather Services. It means we might not be funding critical medical research. It means food inspection might be compromised. I've said to Republican leaders, 'You go talk to your constituents and ask them, "Are you willing to compromise your kids' safety so some corporate-jet owner can get a tax break?"'

This administration's failure to lead by example on issue after issue is an endless source of their own embarrassment. Just last week, Michelle Obama enjoyed half-a-million dollar trip to South Africa and Botswana on the tax payer's dime. Today, her husband, President Obama, mau mau's corporate jets. Clearly, Republican's must offer a compromise appropriate to the moral ground that the president has staked out. Here's one such compromise: when the White House agrees to forego further travel on their corporate jet, Air Force One, and their corporate helicopters, Marine One, and commits instead to travel by Amtrak One--perhaps alongside Joe Biden in Amtrak Two--then, and only then, should Republicans even consider the administrations proposals on corporate jets.

Replicate the Success of Welfare Reform with Medicaid Block Grants

 

The Medicaid program imposes high costs while generating poor results. This Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation video explains how block grants, such as the one proposed by Congressman Paul Ryan, will save money and improve healthcare by giving states the freedom to innovate and compete.

The Impending Doom of Debt

The Wall Street Journal: Lawrence B. Lindsey: The Deficit Is Worse Than We Think:

...the president's budget of February 2011 projects economic growth of 4% in 2012, 4.5% in 2013, and 4.2% in 2014. That budget also estimates that the 10-year budget cost of missing the growth estimate by just one point for one year is $750 billion. So, if we just grow at trend those three years, we will miss the president's forecast by a cumulative 5.2 percentage points and—using the numbers provided in his budget—incur additional debt of $4 trillion. That is the equivalent of all of the 10-year savings in Congressman Paul Ryan's budget, passed by the House in April, or in the Bowles-Simpson budget plan.

The only real option is to cut spending, but since the only programs large enough to make a difference are Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, and Defense, it's politically impossible to make those cuts.

Monday, June 27, 2011

US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Social Media

Chief Justice John Roberts comments on social media. Included in his remarks, "I don't think any of us [Justices] have a Facebook page or tweet, whatever that is. But technology is making inroads." These comments were given during the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Annual Conference. See the complete program, via C-SPAN: A Conversation with Chief Justice Roberts.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Bernanke: Growth will Return in 2012

Brutally honest, Bernanke admitted that he had no clue what was actually causing the current fragility in the U.S. economic recovery.  While the FOMC statement assigned blame outside of the U.S., pointing at Japan along with rising food and oil prices, Bernanke was put on the spot by a reporter who noted the inconsistency behind that explanation and a lowering of long term forecasts.  Bernanke took the hit, admitting only some of the factors were temporary and that he didn’t know exactly what was causing the slowdown, but that it would persist.  “Growth,” said Bernanke, “will return into 2012.”

That reminds me of the classic F. A. Hayek quote: "The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design."

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Video: Missouri Conservative Coalition and Missouri Precinct Project


The playlist above includes two videos from a meeting of the Missouri Conservative Coalition that occurred earlier this month. The third and final video is about the Missouri Precinct Project.

Thanks to kinoxxbb for shooting and posting these videos!

Video: Marine Week in St. Louis is Underway

Mayor of St. Louis, Francis Slay, declared it Marine Week in St. Louis, June 20-26. Marines with 3rd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, and others from around the Corps, passed through the Gateway Arch in hopes of making it the best Marine Week yet. Cpl. A.J. Lugo reports.

USMC, Welcome to St. Louis!

Do Democrats Despise Mormons?

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Gallup: In U.S., 22% Are Hesitant to Support a Mormon in 2012:

PRINCETON, NJ -- Though the vast majority of Americans say they would vote for their party's nominee for president in 2012 if that person happens to be a Mormon, 22% say they would not, a figure largely unchanged since 1967.

The cross-tabs are much more interesting. Only 18% of Republicans said that they would not vote for a Mormon for president while an astounding 27% of Democrats said that they would not. That seems oddly intolerant for the free-love party, but perhaps this intolerance has come from watching the incompetence of Mormon Democrats in positions of authority. The bumbling leadership of Harry Reid comes to mind, but if that is the case, why not just vote for a new Senate Majority Leader?

Monday, June 20, 2011

Rev. Cliff Mansley on the Joplin Tornado Cleanup


Rev. Cliff Mansley of New Creation Church provided this update on the reconstruction efforts in Joplin Missouri in the wake of the devastating tornado that destroyed a six miles stretch of the town. Rev. Mansley's message is addressed to the General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church; however, much of the update will be of interest to others around the country that have been following this story.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Video: Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) on Free Trade and Jobs

In the Weekly Republican Address, North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven calls on the president to send job-creating free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama to Congress for approval.
I laughed when Hoeven opened this week's GOP address with a reference to Teddy Roosevelt's Great White Fleet. That is an exquisite example of congressional impotence in the face of an overreaching executive. The chairman of the Naval Appropriations Committee, Senator Eugene Hale, threatened to withhold funding for the Great White Fleet. Roosevelt had the authority so he sent the fleet anyway basically daring Hale to abandon it at sea.
Ironically, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-IN) threatened to de-funded the war in Libya earlier this week and on the eve of his deadline Hoeven reminds the world of the limits of congressional authority. Nice.
Hoeven's comments about the economy are spot on. Here's hoping he chooses better historical examples in the future.

Video: President Obama Treats "Shovel-Ready" as a Laugh Line

What was once a serious part of President Obama's roughly 800-billion dollar American Recovery Act - 'shovel-ready projects' - now seems to have become a laughing matter.

The key quote comes at the end where President Obama admits: "Shovel-ready was not.. ah... as shovel-ready as we expected." We'll be hearing that sound bite a lot leading up to the 2012 election.

The Education of Robin Carnahan

In her 2008 bid for Missouri's Secretary of State, Robin Carnahan received 1.7 million votes--the most votes ever of any candidate to run for state wide office in the Show Me State. In her failed 2010 senate bid, Carnahan received 0.7 million votes. Having lost a million voters in just two years, her remarks at yesterday's Jefferson-Jackson dinner make perfect sense: it's all about the people.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Video: AG Holder Grilled about Fast and Furious on Capitol Hill

Rep. Darrell Issa discusses Attorney General Eric Holder's testimony and the investigation into the Justice Department's "Operation Fast and Furious". An operation which deliberately let operatives of Mexican drug cartels purchase guns at licensed U.S. firearms dealers and did nothing to intercept the gun purchaser or retrieve the guns even when they were under active surveillance by federal law enforcement officials.

Much more detail at CNS News including this key bit:

Before the operation was ended, however, Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was murdered by alleged drug cartel operatives in Arizona. Among the 20 individuals indicted as result of Operation Fast and Furious was Jaime Avila. As early as November 2009, federal authorities had had evidence of illegal gun purchases by Avila. Two AK-47s purchased by Avila—with the full knowledge of the ATF in the conduct of Operation Fast and Furious--were found at the scene of Agent Terry’s murder.

Video: Speculating about Anthony Weiner's Future Plans

 

The money quotes run from 0:40 to 0:48. Anyone that campaigns against Weiner will blast those eight seconds over and over again. Associated Press: What Will Weiner Do Now?

It's not clear what direction Anthony Weiner's life will take now that he as resigned from Congress after a sexting scandal. New York is likely to hold a special election sometime in the next few months to pick his successor.

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I'm trying to imagine what their slogan will be... "America deserves worse" or maybe "Don't worry. We'll find a cabinet position for Jamie Gorelick!"

Friday, June 17, 2011

Video: Transportation Spending: Debunking the Myths, Reviewing the Facts

 

Reason TV: Veronique de Rugy: The Facts about Transportation Spending:

The United States spends about $160 billion annually on highways, with about one-fourth of that total coming from the federal government. Highway spending was originally supposed to be funded by gas taxes and other highway user fees which would be paid into the Highway Trust Fund. In recent years, however, the amount of money Congress has spent out of the general fund has exceeded the dedicated trust funds set aside for highway spending. As Reason columnist and Mercatus Center economist Veronique de Rugy explains, that's due in part to the fact that proceeds from the federal gas tax now go to pay for such non-highway related projects as maintaining sidewalks, funding bike paths, and creating scenic trails. In her latest appearance on Bloomberg TV, de Rugy explains the facts about transportation spending by separating economic myths from economic truths.

Video: The Expectations, Effects, and Legacy of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act

Interesting historical review from CATO Institute: The Legacy of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act:

The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act was a grave error for U.S. trade policy. As the United States slid into depression, the act represented a desperation move by Congress and President Hoover. Since then, presidents have regarded free trade as the rule rather than the exception. Economist Douglas A. Irwin discusses the Smoot-Hawley Act and its legacy.

Video produced by Caleb O. Brown and Austin Bragg.

Governments Work Together at Our Expense

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri could soon learn whether it will have to repay millions of dollars to the federal government for mistakenly inflating its food stamp rolls throughout much of the past decade.

State officials acknowledged in December 2009 that a computer programming error led Missouri to over-report the number of food stamp participants to the federal government for six straight years. During that time, Missouri received more than $14 million in federal bonuses because of its high participation rates.

So Missouri was overpaid $14 million dollars by the Federal government. Later we get this response from the feds:

"Kudos to the state for recognizing there was indeed a problem and reporting it," [Jean] Daniel [spokeswoman for the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture] said. "It's a long process when you have to go back in and pull all those samples and redo all this."

So the spokeswoman for the federal government expresses sympathy for the difficulty of doing the right thing?! I find that striking because the state of Missouri acted so harshly against small business owner Stephanie Patton. Missouri's Department of Social Services and Department of Health and Senior Services destroyed Stephanie's adult daycare business with their racist regulatory overreach. Because of ongoing legal proceedings, Stephanie has not been able to re-open her business and return to the work she loves. So we see an odd professional courtesy between Missouri and the feds while closer to home it's "small business beware." I doubt the economy will turn around while cozy state and federal regulators only hold private individuals and businesses to account.

Video: As American as the No Knock Raid

WARNING: video contains graphic images of police shooting people and pets.


"No Knock Raid," written and performed by Toronto-based musician Lindy, is a searing indictment of one of the most aggressive, ubiquitous, and mistaken tactics in the War on Drugs.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Dominique Strauss-Kahn Initially Claimed Diplomatic Immunity

When Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested at John F. Kennedy airport last month on his way out of the country, police said he initially told them "I have diplomatic immunity." 

When police asked him to show his papers, he answered: “It’s not in this passport, I have a second passport. Can I speak with someone from the French Consulate?”  

Strauss-Kahn’s statements are contained in a Voluntary Disclosure Form given by prosecutors to defense lawyers and filed by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance on Thursday.

Doesn't his claim of diplomatic immunity undermine his case? I mean, isn't a jury (or judge) more likely to believe that he was trying to hide something? I guess we'll see.

Rep. Anthony Weiner Resigns

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POLITICO.com: Anthony Weiner resigning, sources confirm - Maggie Haberman and Jennifer Epstein:

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) will resign from his seat in Congress, heeding calls from President Barack Obama, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and dozens of other congressional Democrats, sources confirm to POLITICO. The resignation ends nearly three weeks of tumultuous political controversy since the New York congressman sent a lewd picture of himself over Twitter which he claimed at first was a result of a hack, and later admitted he had sent himself.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Book: The Declaration of Independents

The Economy Can't Die Because It's a Zombie

Asia Times Online: SPENGLER: Zombinomics and volatility:

We aren't going to have another financial crash. In fact, nothing at all is going to happen. Forecasting the United States economy is about as exciting as predicting next quarter's gross domestic product in 1957 Poland. You want to know what's going to happen, comrade? Read the Five Year Plan. With 40% of US personal income coming from transfer payments, it's almost nostalgic to call it capitalism.

I think he's wrong about another crash. I think there will be one, but I have to admit that it's a strong argument.

Video: Flood Waters Approach Hamburg, Iowa

Associated Press: Crews Race to Build Up Levee to Aid Iowa Town:

Workers are racing to protect an Iowa town from the floodwaters of the Missouri River by adding several feet of dirt to a temporary levee. The situation grew worse when the river punched through a second levee, the town's main protection.

FEMA Victimizes the Victims

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Jefferson County resident Jonathan Stewart said he laughed in shock after the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) claimed the house his family lost in the deadly April 27 twister was ‘not unsafe to live in’.
...
The devastating reality is the house is now a concrete slab surrounded by rubble.

I wish I were surprised by stories like this.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

A Day at Vacation Liberty School

Day begins with sign-in
I went to the second day of Vacation Liberty School Tuesday morning to shoot some video. It will take a little while to produce the video, but I also took a few pictures which you see here.

First, as I reported earlier, Vacation Liberty School (VLS) is an educational program that leverages a Vacation Bible School model to teach children in grades five to eight about American history. The program uses role playing and games as well as classroom lectures and discussion groups to deliver the curriculum. You can learn more about the VLS program at the St Louis VLS website.
The "Narrator" and Reverend Thomas Prince
After sign-in and "homeroom" the students attended a re-enactment. The Narrator provided context to the students while Reverend Thomas Prince spoke in the Old South Church in 1746. This setup a later classroom discussion about the importance of the clergy leading up to the American Revolution.
Instructor in Revolutionary Period Dress

During the Revolutionary War, the Christian clergy of the United States who supported the war were known as the Black Robe Brigade. The agitation of the Black Robe Brigade for the rights ultimately protected by the Bill of Rights inspired many Americans to take up the cause against Britain.

The VLS Central Banker
Details of that history were reviewed in the classrooms after the historical role playing. One important aspect of the classroom activity is that students are rewarded for participation. If they answer a question they get a "nugget". Those nuggets, which happen to be Jolly Rancher candies, are a critical component of the economic lesson that runs through the week-long course.

Nuggets are something with intrinsic value. However, they can be traded in to the Central Banker for paper money. Tuesday morning the Central Banker was offering one "dollar" per nugget. Now, the dollars can be used to buy toys at the VLS store. This sets up a simplified economy that the children have an interest in understanding so that they can try to figure out if they can "game" it.

I wonder if the Central Banker will change the nugget to dollar trade-in ratio later in the week.

Here's my full slide show from Tuesday VLS:

Russia Today Gets Mocked for their Anti-Americanism

 

(FEATURING: Comrade Putin, Lenin, Stalin and one decadent capitalist)

Relatively fresh in the fight for carriage in American cable markets, Russia Today stumbled into the ring with all the grace of a drunken Moscow ballerina. Not only does RT lack the lavish funding of its competitors (think Al-Jazeera English), but journalistic integrity as well. In its place you'll see angry anchors and the same depth of investigative reporting found in the school paper. Maybe Russia Today needs a little PR help. In a fit of Western charity, Accuracy in Media has developed a promotional video that highlights the little network's core strengths -- while tipping its hat to the decadent, capitalist audience. Enjoy!

Hat tip to TrevorLoudon.com who notes:

Virulently anti Western Kremlin propaganda channel Russia Today gets a well deserved lampooning.

British MEP Daniel Hannan on America

 

Daniel Hannan has seen our future and it isn't pretty. The fiery British member of European Parliament (and YouTube sensation) was at The Heritage Foundation last week to discuss his new book, The New Road to Serfdom: A Letter of Warning to America and to sound the alarm to Americans of the creeping European-style socialism that is gaining ground among our government.
Hannan has an interesting perspective on the United States. He makes the point that the special relationship between his Britain and America is not so much about governments, but rather is forged between the people of the two countries.

Michele Bachmann Announced Monday that She Will Run for President

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, an outspoken Republican with close ties to the tea party, announced Monday that she is running for president, a candidacy that could further shake up a volatile fight for the GOP nomination.

Will the Courts Stop Obamacare?

Law gavel

Three U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals are poised to render decisions on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in the coming months. Despite hundreds of briefing pages and numerous oral arguments, government lawyers have yet to address the law's most basic constitutional infirmity. Only a "general police power"—the right to enact laws alleged to be in the public interest without regard to interstate commerce or some other federal legislative authority—can support the law's centerpiece, the "individual mandate" that all Americans purchase health insurance. The Constitution denies that power to the federal government, reserving it to the states alone.

In enacting the individual mandate, Congress purported to rely on its power to regulate interstate commerce and, in the process, reach individuals who are already engaged in that commerce. But the individual mandate does not regulate commerce, interstate or otherwise. It simply decrees that all Americans, unless specially exempted, must have a congressionally prescribed level of health-insurance coverage regardless of any economic activity in which they may be engaged. Requiring individuals to act simply because they exist is the defining aspect of the general police power that Congress lacks.

There are so many reasons why it's a bad idea to vest a "general police power" with the Federal government. Healthcare is just one of them. Of course, it remains to be seen whether or not the courts will grant this power to DC.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Obama Hails Bus with Anthony Weiner Underneath

In an exclusive interview with TODAY’s Ann Curry that will air on Tuesday’s show, President Barack Obama said that if he were Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner right now, he would resign in the wake of the scandal in which Weiner admitted to sending explicit photos of himself to women online.
“I can tell you that if it was me, I would resign,’’ Obama told Curry.

The Facts about the Alternative Minimum Tax

The Alternative Minimum Tax was created in 1969 to prevent 155 extremely wealthy taxpayers from using deductions and credits to avoid paying any federal income taxes. Yet as Reason columnist and Mercatus Center economist Veronique de Rugy explains in her latest appearance on Bloomberg TV, today the tax overwhelmingly impacts non-millionaires living in just a handful of states. By separating economic myths from economic realities, de Rugy explains the facts about the Alternative Minimum Tax.

President Obama's Dismal Treatment of Our Israeli Allies

The Washington Post: Obama bullies Israel; so much for promises at AIPAC:

Since the president’s Arab Spring speech, friends of Israel have been nervous about at least two issues: the promise Israel would not have to sit down with those who seek its destruction and the negotiations based on the “1967 borders with land swaps.” This weekend it became apparent that there is much to worry about and that the Obama administration has been playing a game usually practiced by the Palestinians, namely telling its domestic audience one thing and the negotiating parties something different.
Keep that in mind and consider this post from Newsflavor: White House Insider: Obama’s Rage Over Netanyahu Meeting: "What the F-ck was that?" (h/t Gateway Pundit):
Shortly after the photo-op meeting and “working lunch” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the one that saw President Obama openly chastised by the Prime Minister for Obama’s earlier public comments regarding wanting to see Israel return to its 1967 borders, the president verbally “went off” on Richard Daley in the private study area that adjoins the Oval Office.  President Obama’s verbal attack was clearly heard by numerous staff up and down the West Wing hallways.

The essence of the president’s rage and embarrassment can best be summed up with him yelling out very loudly, “What the f-ck was that!?”  That phrase was apparently repeated a number of times in the span of about five minutes, a time period in which Obama’s voice became “louder and louder” and culminating in Obama exclaiming, “Never again!  Do you understand me? Never again!” Any response by Bill Daley back to the president, if given, was not overheard.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Obama's Plan to Bankrupt Coal-fired Power Plants is Underway

chicagotribune.comCoal plants closing: Why coal plants closing means higher electricity prices:
Consumers could see their electricity bills jump an estimated 40 to 60 percent in the next few years.
The reason: Pending environmental regulations will make coal-fired generating plants, which produce about half the nation's electricity, more expensive to operate. Many are expected to be shuttered.
The video above is from before the 2008 election, so it's clear from the Chicago Tribune article that the President's plan to close coal-fired power plants via bankruptcy is proceeding as planned. I expect that coal mines and the coal distribution infrastructure will suffer a similar fate.

International Monetary Fund Hit with Cyber Attack

Reuters: IMF latest target in string of cyber attacks:

(Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund has been hit by a cyber attack on its computer systems, an IMF spokesman said on Saturday, highlighting a growing rash of network break-ins at high-profile institutions.
Several senior officials with knowledge of the attack said it was both sophisticated and serious. “This was a very major breach,” said one official, who said that it had occurred over the last several months, even before Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the French politician who ran the fund, was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a chamber maid in a New York hotel.

It is often possible to determine the country of origin for attacks like this; however, the articles do not indicate where the attacks originated.

Video: Herman Cain on the "Fair Tax"

 

HERMAN CAIN ON "FAIR TAX" 110611 The term "fair tax" is propaganda. It's a transfer of tax reporting from those with a paycheck to small businesses that provide services. Cut govt spending by 50%, no tax on services.

I like the idea of the "Fair Tax", but there's a huge constituency that will guarantee that it never goes into effect. That constituency is the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). I just don't see how you fire everyone at the IRS.

Hypocrisy at the Los Angeles Times

The Gateway Pundit: LA Times Won’t Release Obama-Khalidi Tape But Posts 24,000 Sarah Palin Emails:


In 2008 The LA Times withheld a video that contained footage of Barack Obama celebrating with a group of Palestinians who were openly hostile towards Israel. Barack Obama reportedly even gave a toast to a former PLO operative, Rashid Khalidi, at this celebration. This was something the LA Times hid from the American public before the election. The media refused to release the video.

...

Fast forward to this week—

The Los Angeles Times released 24,000 Sarah Palin emails today.

While media bias is so common it's not really news, it is nonetheless important to note their hypocrisy along the way.

Strike Three! Another Year, Another Trillion Dollar Deficit

The Hill's On The Money: Federal budget deficit on track to eclipse $1 trillion for third year:

...through eight months of the 2011 fiscal year the nation is facing its third straight $1 trillion-plus deficit -- totaling $927.4 billion so far compared with $935.6 billion during the same period in 2010...

It's just red ink as far as the eye can see.

Running on Empty Rally at K & N

K & N Tea Party Rally  Dana Loesch

The video above was sent in by Doug while the photos were sent in by JD Wilson. Thanks guys! Doug will have a write up of the Running on Empty Rally soon over at the Examiner.com.

Video: Ann Coulter's 'Demonic'

She’s as divisive as ever, lobbing red meat to her base while driving the Left to fits of rage. It’s in her DNA. But her tabloid style distracts from a larger truth. Few can illuminate the chasm between Right and Left like Coulter. You just have to endure her baiting prose to see it.

It sounds like Demonic is a nice pick-me-up for conservatives. Coulter is always a fun read.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Al Qaeda Leader Fazul Abdullah Mohammed: Dead

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Somali officials confirmed today that Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, al Qaeda's leader in East Africa and a senior Shabaab commander, was killed at a Somali military checkpoint in Mogadishu earlier this week. Fazul is one of the most wanted terrorists in East Africa for his role in attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania as well as his role within Shabaab.

Including Bin Laden, that's the third high level Al Qaeda leader that's been dispatched in the past two months.

Nancy Pelosi Boards Bus With Anthony Weiner Underneath

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CNN.com: Calls mount for Weiner's resignation:

New York (CNN) -- Three weighty Democratic voices -- including Nancy Pelosi -- on Saturday called for the resignation of embattled U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, who has been under fire after admitting to inapporpriate communications with women online.

And like the rest of the ruminant Democrats, Nacy joins the herd. What a reversal. Just yesterday the Atlanta Journal Constitution was reporting: Pelosi declines to call for Weiner's resignation.

How Long Until QE3?

CNBC: Fed Will Buy $50 Billion of Treasurys in Final QE2 Push:

The flood of Federal Reserve money that has supported Wall Street and the rest of the U.S. economy for two and a half years will shrink to a trickle with the conclusion of the Fed's bond purchases announced Friday.

At the close of business Friday, msnbc.com reported: Stocks fall again; Dow below 12,000 level:

If the indexes continue their slide for another week, it would be the first time in 10 years that the market suffered a seven-week stretch of losses. The last such stretch began in May 2001 as the dot-com bubble deflated.

That sounds like Wall Street is preparing to ask for another round of Quantitative Easing to prop up the stock market.

China Rating Agency Warns of US Default

Yahoo! News: China ratings house says US defaulting:

A Chinese ratings house has accused the United States of defaulting on its massive debt, state media said Friday, a day after Beijing urged Washington to put its fiscal house in order.

I think that China is not so much lending us money as they are purchasing future foreign policy concessions. I guess their rating agencies have to pretend otherwise.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Video: Gates Warns of Dim Future for NATO

 

In his last official speech as Pentagon chief, Secretary Robert Gates warns about a 'dim, if not dismal' future for the European-American military alliance and cautions of continental drift.

Waiting for Another Economist from Academe

NYPOST.com: Professor disaster:

We are witnessing the total failure of academic Keynesian economics, with its heavy emphasis on high taxes and exorbitant government spending. Yet Obama sails blithely on, already in full campaign mode and still blaming George W. Bush and the Republicans (admittedly no models of fiscal restraint or responsibility) for everything.

The author, Michael Walsh, is pretty harsh on academic economists. I think that's unfair since the issue is--as the quote above implies--Keynesian economic group think. There are economists that represent other economic schools of thought. Hopefully, so of them will at least be interviewed.