"ALL CAPS IN DEFENSE OF LIBERTY IS NO VICE."

Saturday, January 11, 2014

“COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATISM?” NO WAY; NO MORE RINO'S!

BRINGING BACK “COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATISM?” 

“Here’s a hint: If your approach to conservative governance would justify the Great Society, it’s usually a sign you took a wrong turn somewhere.” 
COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATISM AMOUNTED TO NO MORE THAN BIG GOVERNMENT LIBERALISM THAT WAS PRO-LIFE AND HAWKISH.

WE NEED BETTER THAN THAT.

WE DESERVE BETTER THAN THAT.

WE CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT!

WE'D BETTER DO BETTER THIS NOVEMBER.

IN FACT, IT'S  NOVEMBER OR NEVER!

WE DON'T NEED ANY MORE LIBERALISM...


WE DON'T NEED MORE OF THE SAME...


WE DON'T NEED LIBERALISM-LITE, EITHER.

SURE, THE LABEL "COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATIVE" HAS A NICE RING TO IT, BUT HALF THE POLICIES SUCK...


ELECTING ANOTHER "COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATIVE" WOULD BE LIKE ELECTING ANOTHER POTUS WHO WILL SPEND TOO MUCH AND FAVOR AMNESTY.

WE'D BE MUCH BETTER OFF IF WE ELECTED A REAL CONSERVATIVE, LIKE REAGAN...


OR SOMEONE LIKE THIS...


OR THIS GUY....


OR THIS GUY...


TOO BAD WE CAN'T ELECT THIS GUY!


ANY OF THEM WOULD BE BETTER THAN ANOTHER SO CALLED "COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATIVE".


UH-OH: GOLDMAN SACHS: STOCKS 30%-45% OVER-PRICED

ZERO: Goldman released a Friday evening note that is perhaps the most bearish thing to come out of Goldman's chief strategist David Kostin in over a year, (and who incidentally just repeated what Zero Hedge said most recently a week ago in "Stocks Are More Expensive Now Than At Their 2007 Peak"). To wit:
S&P 500 valuation is lofty by almost any measure, both for the aggregate market (15.9x) as well as the median stock (16.8x). We believe S&P 500 trades close to fair value and the forward path will depend on profit growth rather than P/E expansion. However, many clients argue that the P/E multiple will continue to rise in 2014 with 17x or 18x often cited, with some investors arguing for 20x. We explore valuation using various approaches.We conclude that further P/E expansion will be difficult to achieve. Of course, it is possible. It is just not probable based on history. 
The current valuation of the S&P 500 is lofty by almost any measure, both for the aggregate market as well as the median stock: (1) The P/E ratio; (2) the current P/E expansion cycle; (3) EV/Sales; (4) EV/EBITDA; (5) Free Cash Flow yield; (6) Price/Book as well as the ROE and P/B relationship; and compared with the levels of (6) inflation; (7) nominal 10-year Treasury yields; and (8) real interest rates. Furthermore, the cyclically-adjusted P/E ratio suggests the S&P 500 is currently 30% overvalued in terms of (9) Operating EPS and (10) about 45% overvalued using As Reported earnings.
TAB: A 30% correction is coming, and sooner than most people think.

REMEMBER: this would only erase last year's unbelievably big gains.


33 PERCENT RISE IN CONVERSIONS TO JUDAISM

More people are joining Judaism from outside:
The Religious Services Ministry reported a rise of 33 percent in the number of conversions to Judaism by non-Jews descended from Jews. This population includes both immigrants and native-born Israelis, and some 80,000 children and youths who are enrolled in the school system and serve in the Israel Defense Forces.

According the ministry report, 2013 saw a 25% rise in the number of conversations by immigrants from Ethiopia, which could be attributed to the recent aliyah in 2012 after the Gondar camp was closed in Ethiopia. The report cites a 48% rise in the number of conversions in immigrants from other countries, half of which -- around 300 -- are immigrants from India who arrived in 2013, and the rest are largely from former Soviet bloc countries. The report also documents a 21% rise in the number army court documents issued certifying conversions.
This flattering news made me think of something: maybe it would do for Jewish missionaries to consider prosyltizing to non-Jews more seriously? Maybe Europe could use a little bit of it too? For many years, missionaries have usually refrained from trying to talk non-Jews into trying the religion. But there might be something to changing the approach now, and I do believe it could help if Jewish missionaries would work on it for a change.

EVEN NYTIMES ADMITTING THE OBAMA ECONOMY STILL SUCKS

NYTIMES:  
Growth in Jobs Slows Sharply to 3-Year Low 
In December, employers added just 74,000 jobs, the slowest pace of growth in three years and far below the expectations of many economists who had grown convinced that the market was on a more solid footing.
OBAMA'S POLICIES HAVE EITHER NOT HELPED OR HURT THE ECONOMY.

NOT ONE SINGLE OBAMA POLICY HAS HELPED.

THE STIMULUS WAS A HANDOUT TO CRONIES.

AS WAS THE UAW BAILOUT.

OBAMACARE HAS BEEN A DRAG IN THE ECONOMY.

AND OBAMA REFUSES TO ALLOW THE KEYSTONE PIPELINE TO BE BUILT - OR FOR THERE TO BE ANY GROWTH OF ENERGY EXPLORATION OF FEDERAL LANDS OR OFFSHORE.

OBAMA HAS INCREASED POVERTY. OBAMA HAS HURT THE MIDDLE-CLASS.

OBAMA IS A DISASTER.

WE CAN FIX THIS IN NOVEMBER.

IN FACT, IT'S NOVEMBER OR NEVER.

Friday, January 10, 2014

VIDEO: TED CRUZ: BRILLIANT WITHOUT A TELEPROMPTER , AGAIN

The "NRSC, NRCC, RNC — should stay the hell out of contested primaries"

My position on such matters has always been quite clear: The national party committees — NRSC, NRCC, RNC — should stay the hell out of contested primaries, period. If an incumbent Republican has a primary challenger, that’s his problem, and of no concern to the national committee, whose funds (and personnel) should be focused completely on defeating Democrats. Deviation from that rule is tantamount to the national leadership controlling the party from the top down, which has the effect of discouraging grassroots involvement. 
HE IS 10000000% CORRECT.

CHRISTIE JUST DOESN'T GET IT



CHRISTIE FELL INTO THE SAME TRAP THE OTHER RINO'S AND "MAVERICKS" FELL INTO:

THEY THINK THEY CAN GET THE MEDIA TO SUPPORT THEM IF THEY TAKE ON THE CONSERVATIVE BASE OF THE GOP.

BUT THE MEDIA ONLY LIKES THEM AS LONG AS THEY HURT THE GOP.

AS SOON AS THEY ARE A THREAT TO THE DEMOCRAT PARTY, THE MEDIA DUMPS'EM.

CHRISTIE IS BEING MADE THE CENTER OF CRITICAL ATTENTION SOLELY FOR ONE REASON:

HE LED HILLARY IN IOWA.

LET THAT BE A LESSON TO ALL IN THE GOP.

AND ANOTHER THING:

REMEMBER THAT NEWT TOOK THE LEAD IN THE PRIMARIES IN 2012 WHEN THE FOCUS OF HIS ATTACK WAS OBAMA AND THE MEDIA.

AS SOON AS HE ATTACKED ROMNEY, HE FELL APART.

THE GOP HAS GOT TO LEARN THAT CURRYING FAVOR WITH THE MEDIA IS A SUCKERS GAME, ONE TO BE AVOIDED.

THE MEDIA ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM.

ATTACKING THE MEDIA IS PART OF THE SOLUTION.


MEASLY 74,000 JOBS ADDED TO ECONOMY AS 350,000 MORE PEOPLE GIVE UP LOOKING FOR WORK

NO MATTER HOW THE OBAMUNISTS SPIN IT, THIS JOBS REPORT IS A DISASTER:
The US economy added just 74,000 jobs in December... ... The job creation figure, watched more closely as a sign of the health of the economy, was far less than the 197,000 analysts expected, and well below the trend for the past year......The household survey showed a significant fall in the size of the labor force, by 347,000, which combined with a 143,000 rise in the number of those with jobs, contributed to the sharp jobless rate fall.
JUST AS I PREDICTED.

AND IT'S GOING TO GET WORSE.

RETAIL PROFIT NUMBERS FOR CHRISTMAS WILL BE COMING SOON - AND THEY WILL BE ABOMINABLE.

AND THEN LAYOFFS WILL BEGIN.

AND THINGS WILL GET EVEN WORSE.

FASTER THAN ANYONE EXPECTS.

STAY TUNED...


ISLAM FASTEST GROWING RELIGION IN MANCHESTER, UK

But it was to be expected, seeing how the British government's been facilitating the rise of Islam in the UK. Mancunian Matters reports:
Islam is officially Manchester’s fastest growing religion and is expanding at more than double the rate of Christianity, MM can reveal.

University of Manchester data analysed by MM revealed that Islam is out-growing every other religion in the city.

According to the data 12.5% of those identifying themselves as Muslim in the 2011 census were aged between 0-4.

This is more than double the 5.6% of Christians aged 0-4 and significantly larger those of no religion at 6.8% [...]

“The size of Muslim families in general is double that of the European family and we have waves of Muslim immigrants coming to the UK.”
Soon, they're bound to become much like Bradford is today, with its significant Muslim population.

GAY MARRIAGE OPENS THE DOOR TO SHARIA IN AMERICA

Screenwriter Robert J. Avrech, who wrote the Devil Arithmetic movie in 2000, told the LA Jewish Journal that gay marriage and the political structure supporting it at all costs has given Islam an opening for polygamy:
In your recent piece for Jewish Action, the official magazine for the Orthodox Union, you claim Hollywood is executing “a brilliant, insidious stealth attack” on Jewish values and American culture. Is that because you would prefer Hollywood to foreground your own conservative values?

Robert Avrech: Obviously I would prefer that there be conservative values pushed in Hollywood movies, the way it used to be. But what’s happening now is that the values that are being pushed in Hollywood are pretty radical. There was a tremendous turning point in the culture when the sitcom “Friends” put on a lesbian marriage. And the redefinition of marriage is a radical idea, whether you agree with it or not.
To be fair, I'm not sure Hollywood pushed wholly conservative values in the yesteryear, because if you know where to look, there were movies and TV programs where the filmmakers made no secret of their preference for leftism over rightism. Granted, there was more respect for Judeo-Christianity back then, but the liberal bent they were so obsessed with upholding might have taken its toll as time went by.
You seem bothered by the preponderance of same-sex marriage in television and film.

I’m not really interested in gay marriage. I believe gays should get married if they want to get married. I have no problem with that. I want people to love each other. It’s the state intervention that bothers me, because then the state is going to have to involve itself in polygamy. One has to accept that when gay marriage becomes the law of the land in a majority of states. Then a Muslim is going to come forward with two wives, and he’s going to demand the right to marry his two wives. And once that happens, the door to Sharia in America is opened.
Yes, he has a point there. It's bad enough that mainstream TV and film have become so obsessed with featuring a predisposed view of homosexuality, and worse if politicians are going to go miles out of their way to persecute Christians and Judaists who oppose the belief system or just don't want to service it at the expense of their own faiths. Now, making this law of the land and forbidding Judeo-Christians the right to decline services is going to open the door to polygamy in the USA, with Muslims guaranteed to exploit every bit of it. Ironically, there's little or no chance Muslim homophobia will be opposed or even remotely condemned by propagandists like GLAAD
What values should Hollywood promote?

[My first choice] would be Hollywood admitting that the greatest danger to civilization itself right now is jihad and jihadists. Hollywood should confront that the way they confronted the Nazi threat and the imperial Japanese threat. [...]

In your article, you sound kind of peeved recalling a time when a studio hired you to write a script for a film (that ultimately didn’t get made) with the caveat: “Don’t malign all Muslims.” Isn’t that a reasonable request?

If you read the script, you would see that there were sympathetic Muslims within the movie. One of the characters was quite heroic, as a matter of fact. The problem is CAIR [the Council on American-Islamic Relations], which is a front for the Muslim Brotherhood. Their position is clear and unequivocal: No Muslim should ever be presented as a terrorist. Period. End of story.
Without a doubt, this was also a studio that was most kowtowing to such a vile organization. I don't know which one it was, but their modern MO makes it one studio that probably doesn't deserve any sane person's dollars.

Thursday, January 09, 2014

LET'S ELECT HILLARY CLINTON IN 2016 - AS MAYOR OF BENGHAZI



VIDEO POSTER LUCKY TO ESCAPE FROM UAE

A man from Minnesota who was imprisoned in the UAE for a video he uploaded has managed to make his way back to America:
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An American man is back in Minnesota after being held in prison in the United Arab Emirates for a parody video that was posted online.

Twenty-nine-year-old Shezanne Cassim of Woodbury, Minn., told reporters Thursday that he did nothing wrong and that there was nothing illegal about the video, which satirized youth culture in Dubai.

Cassim says he was "tried in a textbook kangaroo court" and convicted "without any evidence." He says his ordeal shows the UAE is "scared of democracy."

Cassim was in custody in the UAE for nine months in connection with the video. He was arrested in April and had been held at a maximum security prison in Abu Dhabi since June.

An airplane carrying Cassim home landed Thursday afternoon at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Well, he's right about their fears of democracy. We have another demonstration here of why nobody with sense should put money into the pockets of the UAE by vacationing there.

G. WILLOW WILSON REMAINS VERY DISHONEST ABOUT ISLAM

She gave an interview to Wired about the Muslim character being shoehorned into the Ms. Marvel role. Predictably, she won't be transparent about the belief system she thinks is so great, and in fact, she's being a tad insulting toward dissenters:
WIRED: There’s been a lot of scrutiny of the character since the announcement, particularly because of her Muslim faith. Do you feel like there’s extra pressure to treat her as a representative for all Muslims?

Wilson: There’s a burden of representation that comes into play when there aren’t enough representatives of a certain group in popular culture. So the few ones that do exist come under increased scrutiny and pressure, because they’re expected to represent everybody. Obviously, you can’t do that with one character and you shouldn’t, because it would stifle the narrative and prevent them from becoming a fully-realized person. So I think in situations like that, you just have to tread lightly and trust your gut. Kamala is not a token anything in any way. She’s very much her own quirky, unique, wonderful person. She’s not a poster girl for her religion and she doesn’t fall into any neat little box.

If you put the shoe on the other foot and said we’re going to have one Christian character that represents all Christians, the ridiculousness would be obvious right away. Are you talking about white Methodists from Oklahoma? Are you talking about Anglicans in Africa, who are the fastest growing group of Christians on planet Earth? It’s patently impossible for a Muslim character to represent “all Muslims.”
Who said anything about "tokens"? If you asked a realist, they'd say it was awarding all Islamofascists who condone the darkest passages of the Koran. If one knows where to look, there's members of 9-11 Families and victims of the Boston jihadists whom you can be sure would not approve of a propaganda piece that paints a false, superficial picture of Islam with no traces of the worst parts.

I notice she may also be resorting to a defense that Muslims committing violent jihad don't represent "true" Islam by first implying that "one Christian character" doesn't represent all Christians. Nobody said her creation was going to represent Muslims who believe in jihad, but if she won't be transparent about the Religion of Peace in and of itself, then she's only confirming what's wrong with the portrayal of Islam in various forms of mainstream entertainment today: they won't depict Islam in itself for what it truly is by quoting the darkest of verses like Sura 3:151, which says, "soon shall we cast terror into the hearts of unbelievers". I don't expect it to turn up in the series she's writing either. (And I might as well make a special note that it's easier to make clear that extremist Haredi clans like Neturei Karta and Satmar don't represent Judaism than it is to just merely say jihadists don't represent Islam.)
WIRED: What sort of response have you gotten since the character was announced in November? Has there been any backlash?

Wilson: There’s been some hate from people who don’t read comics, which I ignore because in terms of this medium, they are illiterate. There’s this sense that [Muslims] shouldn’t even be there because it’s somehow un-American… Especially in comics, because [comics] are seen — by people who don’t read comics – as this wholesome, 100% “truth, justice and the American way” product. They’re not thinking about manga; they’re not thinking about all the changes that have occurred in comics over the last decade or so. They don’t know the history of the medium that well… and the medium has evolved.

On the other side, there’s a certain amount of apprehension from the Muslim community about whether or not [Kamala] is going to be a stereotype or a whitewashing. I think lot of Muslims have gotten fatigued by the way Muslim characters, even “positive” ones, are portrayed in the media. But I think that [apprehension] will go away when the book actually comes out, because no one’s actually read it yet! It’s something that we really put our heart and soul into. I’ve spent my entire adult life in Muslim communities of various kinds both abroad and here in the U.S. and these are issues that are really close to my heart. So I hope people will be pleasantly surprised.
It's un-American to be calling detractors "illiterate", or hasn't she thought about that? That's an awfully insulting way to talk about people she disagrees with. And since when was it only people not reading comics who "hate" this? What about those who do read comics and manga? That's a pretty laughable defense she's using there. She must think they don't watch movies and TV either, and obviously hasn't considered that her taqqiya (deception) is something that'll tell knowledgeable people how the medium has devolved into something less than honest. Nor has she pondered that there's people who have read the Koran/Hadith and know what the belief system is like, and will be wondering if any of the most telling verses will ever be mentioned inside. Wilson hasn't cited any in the interview, and if she hasn't, then again, we can't count on her to be transparent about it in the comics. Nor for that matter can we expect her to make any mention of non-Muslims who were hit the hardest by the tragedy on 9-11 or deal with them respectably.

And again, despite what she might think, there are Muslims out there who wouldn't approve of how she's written up the the character, no matter how positively she depicts the religion itself. She's also pretty oblivious to how, over the past decade, almost every depiction of Islam in mainstream showbiz has been otherwise positive, favorable, ignorant and unrealistic.
WIRED: Do you think the fact that Kamala is a woman as well as a Muslim will provoke different reactions?

Wilson: Possibly yes. We have this conversation in the American Muslim community a lot. Because the traditional mode of dress for Muslim women is so distinct – the headcovering, which is not there for guys – women carry a greater burden of representation than Muslim men do in non-Muslim societies. So there is that extra level of scrutiny about things like how the character is dressed or whom she interacts with. In the case of Kamala, I really wanted her to be representative of young American Muslims as they are, not how we idealize them. Most young American Muslim women do not cover their hair, so she doesn’t cover her hair… The key thing is authenticity, and not trying to please everybody with a cardboard cutout that doesn’t feel like a human being with flaws and quirks and charms.
Really? She hasn't seen the leading picture of Colleen LaRose, who wears a burka? Or what about one who insisted on wearing it at Disneyland? There's also 2 Muslim women - victims of honor killings, I might add - seen in this AFDI advertisement who wear burkas. Yet again, I think Wilson is being pretty dishonest, naive and certainly ambiguous here. No, of course not all Muslim women wear head coverings, but that doesn't mean they aren't upholding the worst beliefs in the religion (if they adhere to it, they're de facto casting a vote in favor of the worst parts no matter how "moderate" they might be), and not all of them are wearing it optionally either. Some have even lost their lives for not doing so. In LaRose's case, it does stem from a form of self-isolation, contempt and low self-esteem, but there's also plenty who are wearing those backwards garments because they're forced to.
WIRED: There’s a long tradition of super-powered characters like the X-Men in superhero comics serving as metaphors for issues of societal prejudice. Is there a metaphor behind Kamala’s shapeshifting powers?

Wilson: At the very early stages, I [said] I did not want her to have stereotypical girl powers. Nothing’s going to sparkle; she’s not going to float. I wanted her to have something kinetic and physical that would look fun on the page. There was a lot of back and forth about what her power set should be, and we settled on making her a polymorph.

Polymorphs have a very interesting history in comics, though, because they’re most often bad guys. They’re painted in a negative light because their powers are considered somewhat sneaky compared to the classic power sets like being strong or flying or shooting lightning bolts. So when we decided to make her a polymorph, it was very fraught because she can use her powers to escape what she sees as the conflict in her life between her family and faith and being an American teen. She can hide [from it], and that temptation is there. She can use her powers to try and be all things to all people, which also isn’t healthy. In a way, you’re unpacking two stereotypes, one about Muslims and one about shapeshifters, which I thought meshed nicely with the storyline. But it was a big risk. And I’m still having conversations about what lines to cross and which ones not to cross.

WIRED: In terms of her faith or her powers?

Wilson Both. Actually, in a lot of ways I’m a less concerned about the religious aspect. I’ve been writing about religion for a decade now and I’ve had these conversations many times. But when it comes to a polymorph, that means that you can change the look of a character in ways that are often very intrinsic to identity. You can change the character’s outward appearance of gender, you can change the character’s outward appearance of race.
I think this is pretty dishonest and distorted too, because Metamorpho is a shape-shifter who gave his powers a good name, and Plastic Man could count too. Why, even Dr. Strange might count, recalling an issue of the Defenders where he disguised himself magically as another person. But I'm not surprised she's unconcerned about religious aspects. Specifically, she doesn't care what critics of religion think of any refusal on her part to acknowledge the Koran's content, and she's not giving a good impression of herself when she describes the dissenters as "illiterates".

She also told the UK Guardian a week ago:
Kamala's faith, she says, "is part of her personal journey, but she is in no way a poster child for religion [...]
Well I'm sorry, but if her religion plays the kind of role it does here, it's not a matter of whether she's a poster child, but whether her storytelling acknowledges the verses in the Koran. If not, then once again, we have a case of a belief system nobody wants to be open about.

In the end, she does not sound like a very respectable or dignified person and her defenses sound silly at best. Oddly enough, the Kuwaiti Naif al-Mutawa who published The 99 comic was more honest about Islam 3 years ago, though he still signaled he was unhappy that anyone would take a negative stand about it:
Al-Mutawa called “Holy Terror” par for the historical course for Islam.

“There’s no denying that terrible things have happened in the name of my religion – as they have in the names of most religions, if not all religions,” he said. “As human beings, we’re a little bit lazy. We don’t like to change the schemas in our minds. We like to fit new information into existing schemas. That’s why to some people anything to do with Islam is going to be bad.”
Not everything. If Holy Terror took an unapologetic and critical approach, that's just what most realists today appreciate. It doesn't mean the book wouldn't be lousy, but the position on the Religion of Peace in itself is much preferred to one that takes a naive, dishonest approach that won't be open about the contents of the Koran's belief system. His claim we like to inject "new information" is also pretty fishy, suggesting he's still deriding anybody with a negative opinion of Islam as some kind of a schemer. Too bad.

U.S. Oil Boom Upsets World Markets - 15 Refineries Close In Europe - U.S. Cuts Back On Nigerian Crude, and Will Soon Cut Back on Saudi Arabian Crude As Well

The Muslim world is about to take a big hit, and it is directly the result of American Capitalism.

It is not because of Obama, or our war policy, or because Americans are, or are not aware of Sharia law and the evils of Islam.

It is because Capitalists believed that with investments in Fracking technology, they could bring oil up from the Earth that was never previously thought to be recoverable.

Hail Capitalism.

From Bloomberg: 
The U.S. oil boom has put European refineries out of business and undercut West African crude suppliers. Now domestic drillers threaten to roil Asian markets and challenge producers in the Middle East and South America.
Fifteen European refineries have closed in the past five years, with a 16th due to shut this year, the International Energy Agency said, as the U.S. went from depending on fuel from Europe to being a major exporter to the region.

Nigeria, which used to send the equivalent of a dozen supertankers of crude a month to the U.S., now ships fewer than three, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

And cheap oil from the Rocky Mountains, where output has grown 31 percent since 2011, will soon allow West Coast companies to cut back on imports of pricier grades from Saudi Arabia andVenezuela that they process for customers in Asia, the world’s fastest-growing market.

“I don’t really think anyone saw this coming,” said Steve Sawyer, an analyst with FACTS Global Energy in London


Everyone should read the Astute Bloggers. 

Back to the story.

“The U.S. shale boom happened much faster than people thought. We’re in the middle of a new game. There’s nothing in the past that predicts what the future will be.”
Advances in extracting oil from shale rock drove a 39 percent jump in U.S. production since 2011, the steepest rise in history, and will boost output to a 28-year high this year, according to the EIA. While drilling in shale is more expensive than other methods and poses environmental challenges, the prospect of a growing supply is encouraging analysts to predict a more energy-independent nation.
I want to add something. Europe was hardest hit at first by this boom in American Oil and Technology.

And that is unfortunate.

But, while I am not sure of the reason, one can bet it's because of European Government regulation of the oil industry driving the base price of oil production above market value.


Wednesday, January 08, 2014

THE GREEN ECONOMY-CLIMATOLOGY-GOVERNMENT COMPLEX

Ike in his farewell speech warned of the military-industrial complex:


Originally the speech was more specific: he warned of the military-industrial-Congressional complex - and Congress buying crap the military didn't need.
What we have now are three other complexes:
  • the government-union-politician complex
  • the welfare state-politician complex
  • the climatological academy-green economy-politician complex
And each part of each complex works together, helping each other/their common interest.

Over the course of the last 50 years of the so-called "War on Poverty" trillions have been spent with hardly any positive effect. To some degree, the effort was reformed during the Clinton years, but Obama has largely reversed that.

Scott Walker may have successfully taken on the government worker's union, but they have just taken complete control of NYC - a prize that is probably more lucrative for the unions.

The Green Economy is another example of crony socialism. CHICKS ON THE RIGHT:
The Weekly Standard recently interviewed MIT climate scientist Richard Lindzen, and the entire column is great if you want to check it out, but there was one paragraph that stood out to me above all the rest. It explains exactly why climate scientists with uber-impressive resumes have so many people alarmed about man-made global climate change:
If Lindzen is right about this and global warming is nothing to worry about, why do so many climate scientists, many with résumés just as impressive as his, preach imminent doom? He says it mostly comes down to the money—to the incentive structure of academic research funded by government grants. Almost all funding for climate research comes from the government, which, he says, makes scientists essentially vassals of the state. And generating fear, Lindzen contends, is now the best way to ensure that policymakers keep the spigot open.
That's it. Plain and simple.
IOW: If you want a government grant you don't apply for a study that will prove we should weaken govt-green economy complex.

Or what I call the machine. OBAMA GAVE SOLYNDRA MORE THAN $500 MILLION. WHAT DID WE GET FOR IT? ABSOFRICKINLUTELY NUTHIN.


CHRIS TURNEY - THE LEADER OF THE ANTARCTIC MISSION THAT GOT STUVK IN THE ICE HAS A WEBSITE WHICH PERFECTLY ILLUSTRATES HOW THE PSEUDO-SCIENCE OF ANTHROPOGENIC CLIMATE CHANGE SERVES THE INTERESTS OF THIS COMPLEX - (AND CONFLICTS WITH THE PUBLIC INTEREST):

CHRIS TURNEY

I am an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow and 
Professor of Climate Change at the University of University of New South Wales where my team and I are focussing our efforts on using the past to better understand the changes we are seeing today. To do something positive about climate change, I helped set up a carbon refining company called Carbonscape which has developed technology to fix carbon from the atmosphere and make a host of green bi-products, helping reduce greenhouse gas levels.
These 4 complexes are why I am now a small government libertarian: the smaller government is, the less they can steal.

The less they can waste.

The less power they have to screw things up.


THIS IS HOW YOU END POVERTY

IT IS THIS SIMPLE.


"Bridge-gate??? OMG!!!"

Benghazi? What difference does it make?...
Fast & Furious? Yawn...
Obamacare lies? So what?
Bridge-gate??? OMG!!!
MSM declares that Governor Chris Christie scandal makes him ineligible to run against....Hillary Clinton?

TUNISIA REJECTS SHARIA FOR POLITICS

Wow, it looks like Tunisia is taking up some common sense. Well, almost:
Tunisia has rejected Islam as the source of its laws, with the country’s Islamist-dominated constituent assembly voting to adopt new articles amid fears that ongoing disagreements may derail the constitution altogether.

The country that in 2011 gave birth to the Arab Spring has adopted new articles in its upcoming constitution, the first two of which state that Tunisia is a “civil” republic based on the rule of law, but with Islam remaining as its state religion. After Saturday’s vote, 12 of the 146 articles discussed have now been adopted.

[...] Although a secular country during the former president’s rule, months of violent political unrest and assassinations opened the door for new ideas on how the country should be run. But Saturday’s vote put that on hold, retaining Islam’s position only as a moral – not legal – authority.
Nothing is "moral" about Islam. But for now, it's lucky Tunisia's not embracing it as the official political line for the country. Unfortunately, if they think Islam still makes for perfect belief systems even outside the parliament, they're terribly mistaken.

THAT WAS FAST: 2 YEARS OUT FROM ELECTION, AND HILLARY MACHINE KNOCKS-OUT CHRISTIE

CHRISTIE WAS HILLARY'S BIGGEST FOE, UNTIL NOW.
UNTIL NOW, CHRISTIE LED HILLARY IN IOWA.
THAT WAS BEFORE THE HILLARY MEDIA MACHINE, AKA THE NYTIMES AND THE REST OF THE LEFTIST DOMINATED MEDIA, WENT AFTER THE NY GOV:
Emails link top Christie aide to GWB lane-closing controversy  —  Private messages between Governor's Christie's deputy chief of staff and two of his top executives at the Port Authority reveal a vindictive effort to create “traffic problems in Fort Lee” by shutting lanes to the George Washington Bridge …
RELATED:

 Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Big Trouble  —  As I've written several times, this Christie Bridge Scandal is far more potentially damaging for Christie that it might seem on its face because its fits so perfectly with the negative view (as opposed to the positive view) of Chris Christie.  That is, that he and his crew are thugs and bullies.

 Kate Zernike / New York Times:
Top Christie Staff Sought Lane Closings as Revenge  —  A series of newly obtained emails and text messages shows that Gov. Chris Christie's office was closely involved with lane closings on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge in September, and that officials closed the lanes …

 Wall Street Journal:
CONNECT  —  A top aide to Gov. Chris Christie told an executive at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey it was “time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee” before the authority closed lanes onto the George Washington Bridge in September, triggering a week of massive traffic jams, documents show.
Discussion: Talking Points Memo and CNN
 Politico:
Emails tie Chris Christie staff to bridge flap  —  Emails emerged Wednesday tying New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's staff to the closing of lanes on a key bridge in September — shutdowns that caused massive traffic problems and sparked allegations that the closures were the result of political retribution.
LAST WEEK THEY SPREAD SOME BIGTIME BENGHAZI LIES TO PREEMPTIVELY NEUTRALIZE HILLARY'S WEAKNESS ON THAT FRONT. 

 I EXPECT THEM TO BE AS RUTHLESS IN THEIR SUPPORT OF HER AS SHE HAS BEEN - WHICH MEANS THEY WILL DO ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING - INCLUDING LIE, CHEAT AND....

BTW: THIS ATTACK ON CHRISTIE WILL BE EFFECTIVE - BECAUSE HE IS A BULLY UNFIT FOR THE OFFICE.

THIS ATTACK HELPS CONSERVATIVES AND HURTS RINOS.

SO THANKS, HILLARY!

[ASIDE: I THINK IT'S RICH THAT CHRISTIE'S FOLKS DID THIS IN RETALIATION TO FORT LEE'S MAYOR'S DISLOYALTY; (HE ENDORSED CHRISTIE'S OPPONENT IN THE LAST ELECTION. THIS AFTER CHRISTIE PLAYED KISSIE-FACE WITH OBAMA JUST BEFORE THE ELECTION IN 2012!]


Tuesday, January 07, 2014

2016!?!? WHY WAIT? THEY'RE READY FOR HILLARY RIGHT NOW!


THE CYNICAL POLITICS OF BARRY OBAMA


AFTER GOLF, EVERYTHING OBAMA HAS FOCUSED ON HAS TURNED TO SHIT:
  • OBAMACARE IS CRUMBLING; 
  • IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN ARE FALLING; 
  • THE MIDDLE EAST IS HEATING UP; 
  • REAL UNEMPLOYMENT IS HIGH AND STAGNANT; 
  • AND OUR NATIONAL DEBT IS GROWING.
MEANWHILE, OBAMA AN HIS CYNICAL COMRADES BARK ABOUT STUPID ISSUES WHOSE ONLY REAL PURPOSE IS TO RILE UP THEIR GULLIBLE BASE.

UNDER OBAMA, THE POLITICAL GAME HAS NOT ONLY BECOME A THREE RING CIRCUS, THE USA IS  FAST BECOMING A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY.

WE WILL HAVE ONE CHANCE TO STOP THE DECLINE.

IT'S NOVEMBER OR NEVER.


TURKEY BUILDING A SECURITY WALL: WILL THE LEFT PROTEST???????

Via Israel Matsav:
Turkey is building a wall along its border with Syria (to keep the terrorists out?) (Hat Tip:Edward F). 
  • Turkey is building a four-meter high wall along part of its border with Syria to try to stop people from illegally bypassing its checkpoints.
I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE LEFT PROTEST THIS  WALL THE WAY THEY'VE PROTESTED THE ONE ISRAEL BUILT THAT PRETTY MUCH ENDED PALI' TERROR ATTACKS WITHIN ISRAEL. 

I WON'T HOLD MY BREATH.



REMINDER: JERUSALEM IS MORE THAN 3000 YEARS OLD - AND IT WAS ONLY SPLIT FOR 18 OF THEM

THAT'S RIGHT.

KIND DAVID FOUNDED JERUSALEM ABOUT 3000 YEARS AGO.

JERUSALEM WAS ONLY SPLIT FROM 1949 TO 1967.

18 YEARS.

18 OUT OF 3000.

THAT'S 6/10THS OF A PERCENT.

THAT'S HARDLY REASON TO SPLIT IT AGAIN, ESPECIALLY SINCE IT IS THE CAPITAL OF ISRAEL AND WAS NEVER THE CAPITAL OF ANY OTHER ENTITY OR POLITY.

THAT'S RIGHT: NO OTHER RULER OF THE REGION EVER MADE JERUSALEM THEIR CAPITAL OR THE CHIEF OUTPOST OF THEIR COLONIAL RULE.

GIVING IT AWAY NOW WOULD BE AN ATTACK ON HISTORY AND AN ASSAULT ON DESTINY.

IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN.

THE WORLD WILL END BEFORE JERUSALEM IS EVER SPLIT AGAIN.


NAFTALI BENNETT SAYS NO TO 1967 BORDER LINES

The head of the Jewish Home party has spoken out against veiled references to dividing Jerusalem:
The term “1967 lines” has been used regarding talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, in reference to the PA claim of ownership to all land that was under Jordanian control between 1949 and 1967.

The words have been used to conceal the true weight of the concessions being demanded, Minister of Economy Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) warned Tuesday, in a speech at the Institute for National Security Studies.

“Friends, the games are over. We won’t play with words anymore: the ’67 lines’ means splitting Jerusalem, and giving up the Mount of Olives – where Menachem Begin, Rabbi Kook, and Eliezer Ben-Yehuda are buried – and giving up the Kotel, the Temple Mount and the Old City,” he declared.

“How will history remember a leader who agrees to give up Jerusalem? How will it remember the first leader in Jewish history who dares to do that? And what’s more, to do it voluntarily?” Bennett asked.

“Is the prayer of Jews worldwide, ‘In Your mercy, return to Your city, Jerusalem’ a party slogan, which can be changed overnight?” he demanded.

A concession like that may win Israel temporary goodwill from the international community, Bennett said, but it would come at a high price: “another round of attacks and terrorism, which we would come into weaker than before, and with no moral right to defend ourselves after having declared that what is ours – is not ours,” he warned.
He's said the party will quit the coalition if this kind of concession is agreed upon, but:
However, Bennett did not say that the Jewish Home would leave the government automatically over any agreement.

Bennett’s remarks came a day after US Secretary of State John Kerry left the region having yet to win agreement from the sides on a framework for continued negotiations toward a permanent deal. Some reports suggest he will return as soon as next week.
Nice of Bennett to lash out, but he's going to have to be a lot more convincing if he wants to defend the country properly.

NEW KNESSET LAW STIPULATES 5 YEAR PRISON SENTENCE FOR POSTING SEX TAPES ILLEGALLY

An interesting law's been drafted to protect victims of sexual harassment:
The "Sex Tape Bill" became law Monday night, meaning that the dissemination of sexual photos or videos of someone without his or her knowledge is considered sexual harassment.

Anyone who posts sexual content without permission will be considered a sex offender and can be sentenced to up to five years in jail.

MK Yifat Kariv (Yesh Atid), who proposed the bill, said the law is meant to stop "the disgusting phenomenon of virtual rape," adding "This is a dangerous phenomenon that must be uprooted, and I'm glad the Knesset thinks so, too."

The Yesh Atid lawmaker said her initiative was inspired by a recent case of what has become known as "revenge porn," in which a video of a couple having sex went viral on the messaging smartphone application WhatsApp, after the man sent the video following his breakup from the woman.
I think this is a clever law they've come up with. It can even help defend victims of blackmail. I'll be honest, I have no idea how some sex offenders manage to film trysts without the victim noticing, but it's wrong, and a way must be found to stamp down on their revolting humiliations of women in distress.

WHAT OBAMA IS DOING WHEN HE'S NOT GOLFING: WATCHING TV

NO WONDER EVERYTHING IS EFFED UP.


BRRRRRRR!: an inconvenient markdown


FACTS ARE INCONVENIENT THINGS...

THE LEFT'S "BLOOD LIE" AGAINST THE RIGHT

The big bad basic blood lie the left tells about the right is that the right hates poor people and non-whites.

The left tells and retells this lie in many different ways.

Critics of Obama's policies are called racists. Critics of raising the minimum wage or raising taxes on the wealthy are called racists - who hate the poor and love the rich. If you defend the 2nd Amendment - and stand your ground laws (which are disproportionately used in court by non-whites defending themselves), then according to the left you're a sociopathic racist, (who also likes mass shootings and the bloodthirsty targeting of young, innocent black males). If you favor pregnancies going full term and unwanted pregnancies ending with adoption instead of abortion, then - despite the fact that this would disproportionately save more non-white lives - according to the left you are a female hating racist.

All this is total bullshit.

Advocating smaller and more limited government, the right of self-defense, less abortion and lower taxes benefits the poor, non-whites and underclass more than dependency on the largesse of politicians. The Great Society failed. Moynihan saw this 50 years ago; it is just as true now.

That's why these attacks by the left against the right are blood lies; they are lies intended to turn people viscerally against the right - and their own interests.

Sadly, many non-whites and many in the underclass believe these blood lies and end up supporting the policies of the left which has actually been doing them great harm.

Well, not all of them: the professional race-baiters, the crooked politicians and their cronies and the government unions do very very very well.

I wish blacks and latinos and the union members would wake up - see the blood lies for what they are - and simply vote their interests

If they did, then the GOP would win resounding victories and this nation of the machine, by the machine and for the machine would perish from the earth.


Monday, January 06, 2014

BLEG: HAVE THE OBAMA'S LOGGED MORE AIR-FORCE-ONE MILES FOR VACATIONS AND CAMPAIGN STOPS THAN FOR OFFICIAL BUSINESS?

Just asking.

(I betchya a decent reporter like Mark Knoll or Sharyl Attkisson or Jake Tapper could find out...)


JIHAD JANE GETS ONLY 10 YEARS IN PRISON

Probably no surprise she'd get a rather lenient sentence, but that's what the final ruling was (Hat tip: Jihad Watch):
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Pennsylvania woman involved in a deadly terror plot has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Fifty-year-old Colleen LaRose had faced a potential life term. But Judge Petrese Tucker accepted a government request to reduce the sentence, because of her extensive cooperation with investigators.

Prosecutors still asked for decades in prison, fearing she remains dangerous.

LaRose, of Pennsburg, Pa., called herself "Jihad Jane" online and agreed to kill a Swedish artist who had offended Muslims.

Both sides agree that she was lonely and isolated and endured harsh abuse throughout her life. But they disagree on how great a threat she was.

Larose told the judge she became obsessed with jihad, saying she was "in a trance" and thought about it from morning to night.

She already has spent four years behind bars.
And even that's not enough. This is a major disappointment, no matter how much she failed to carry out the abominable plot she was going to take part in. She should have gotten much more than a mere decade.

Sunday, January 05, 2014

THE NEXT TIME HE TRAVELS OVERSEAS, LET'S GIVE OBAMA THE SAME AMOUNT OF PROTECTION HE AND HILLARY GAVE AMBASSADOR CHRIS STEVENS

JUST AN IDEA...


WE'RE READY FOR HILLARY 2016!


CAN ANYONE NAME THREE GOOD THINGS SHE ACCOMPLISHED AS SENATOR OR SECRETARY OF STATE?

NOPE.

SHE'S A LOSER.


JERUSALEM POST OMITS AN IMPORTANT FACT ABOUT SERBIA DURING WW2

A writer to the Jerusalem Post pointed out a serious distortion in their coverage of the Wiesenthal Center's current project:
Your news story “Simon Wiesenthal Center to launch lastditch effort to capture Nazis in Serbia” (December 30) fails to mention that Serbian Jewry was murdered during the Holocaust by the Croatian Ustashe, a fascist movement that was allied with Hitler and aided the Axis powers in their occupation of Yugoslavia.

This omission is significant because it leaves the reader with the false impression that Serbs were behind the slaughter of the country’s Jews. It was in fact the Croatian Ustashe, headed by Ante Pavelic, that masterminded and carried out the genocide.

Pavelic, who was chosen by Hitler, vowed to cleanse the country of Serbs and Jews. He passed anti-Semitic racial laws, ordered the torching of Serb towns and churches, and forced 200,000 Serbs to convert to Catholicism.

The Ustashe also operated the death camp of Jasenovac, known as “the Auschwitz of the Balkans,” and was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Serbs and tens of thousands of Jews.

Serbs and Jews died together at the hands of Croatian fascists during the dark period of World War II. This shared horror, forged in blood, is what underlines the close relations that exist nowadays between Serbs and Jews.
It's certainly disgraceful that the Post would fudge this up. Many mainstream press sources are already guilty of scapegoating Serbs as attacking Bosnian Muslims, when it was the other way around, and even the Post is not innocent here.