Sunday, August 31, 2014

Obama and his Democrats at Thermopylae

Political Cartoons by Michael Ramirez

NBC’s Richard Engel: Military Commanders ‘Apoplectic’ Over Obama’s ‘No Strategy’ Remarks   "NBC News’ chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel claimed military commanders are “apoplectic” over President Barack Obama’s dithering on ISIS and admission that “we don’t have a strategy yet” to deal with them.

"Engel spoke Sunday on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” where he was asked by Andrea Mitchell about the “president’s reluctance to take the fight against ISIS to Syria.”

Shhh, Mr. President   "When world already thinks you’re weak, saying as much on live TV is probably a mistake."

... " The reality, alas, is that Obama is — and has always been — out of his depth on the international stage. Given the prestige of the presidency and the incredible institutional forces behind the office, particularly when a liberal is elected, it takes time to burn through all of the political capital that comes with the job. But Obama has been throwing that political capital on an Oval Office bonfire like so much kindling... "
Political Cartoons by Nate Beeler
Dianne Feinstein: U.S. should confront ISIS militarily   "In a New York Times op-ed this week, Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and John McCain wrote, "ISIS is a military force, and it must be confronted militarily."

"That assessment is no longer merely a partisan stance. On Sunday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, added her voice to that argument for further military action against ISIS.

" 'I happen to agree with what they said," Feinstein said on NBC's "Meet The Press.' "...

House Intel chief: Obama [foreign] policy in 'freefall'    “Our traditional allies are now standing up saying ‘well, maybe America is not the best force to lead us through these troubles,’ ” Rogers said.
Political Cartoons by Eric Allie
From the UK* Telegraph: Barack Obama refuses to decide and fails to act
"Just in case you thought that the Leader of the Free World was secretly harbouring a calculated, well-developed plan for bringing Isil(sp) under control and putting Russia’s imperial leader back in his box, Barack Obama banged that idea firmly on the head last week. He gave an extraordinary briefing, which the Washington press corps had been led to believe would contain a major announcement on the White House strategy on foreign policy. It did. The announcement was that there was no White House strategy on foreign policy. Seriously. In the president’s exact words: “We don’t have a strategy yet.' ”

* Remember the UK? They fought side by side with America to defeat the Axis powers in WW2 under Democrats Roosevelt and Truman. Mr. Obama is exhibit A that this is not your grandfather's Democrat Party.


It's a start: ‘Muslims against ISIS’ gather to ‘condemn inhumane crimes’

Twitchy    "Organizers promoted a “peaceful prayer rally” on the steps of Dearborn City Hall Monday evening “condemning inhumane ISIS crimes” and honoring journalist James Foley."

View image on Twitter
 
Video. "ISIS are "crazy criminals who are abusing our religion," said Imam Elahi of Islamic House of Wisdom in Dear... https://vine.co/v/Mlqp65OdUIZ
 
Niraj Warikoo @nwarikoo
Back on June 14, hundreds of people, almost all Muslims, jammed the steps of Dearborn City Hall to condemn ISIS. pic.twitter.com/79RmxDxwAD
View image on Twitter
 
 Hundreds Of Calgary Muslims Protest ISIS Violence In Iraq   "We are gathered here today to protest any form of terrorism which is happening around the globe, especially in Iraq," said Riyaz Khawaja, who is president of the Hussaini Association of Calgary, which represents Shia Muslims. "We gather here to raise our voices and let the Canadian government know that they should be vigilant about what's happening inside of Canada."
 
Muslims must stop ISIS/ISIL or have eternal stain on Islam like the Christians from the Crusades
 
Norwegian Muslims rally against Islamic militants    ..."Mehtab Afshar, head of the Islamic Council in Norway*, told the crowd: "They stand for terrorism, they stand for terror ... and we condemn that in the strongest terms."
"A small radical group in Norway has expressed support for Islamic State militants, angering moderate Muslims in immigrant communities in the country.
"According to the Norwegian security service at least 50 people have left Norway to become foreign fighters for militant groups in Syria.
Some of the almost 5,000 protestors attending a demonstration against
 ISIS, in Oslo, Monday, Aug. 25, 2014. Different Muslim groups were
 behind the initiative  which was attended by political and Muslim leaders.

* However, Islamic Council Norway   "The Islamic Council Norway was criticised in 2009 when, according to some sources, it refused to distance itself or comment on the leader of the ECFR, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, after he praised the Holocaust as "a divine punishment for the Jews." However, the council's leader did in fact issue a statement where al-Qaradawis praise of Holocaust was deemed "unacceptable", and promised that the council would pursue the matter through its membership in the ECFR."

Myth of arctic meltdown: Stunning satellite images show summer ice cap is thicker and covers 1.7million square kilometres MORE than 2 years ago...despite Al Gore's prediction it would be ICE-FREE by now

UK Daily Mail
These satellite images taken from University of Illinois's Cryosphere project show ice has become more concentrated
 "The speech by former US Vice-President Al Gore was apocalyptic. ‘The North Polar ice cap is falling off a cliff,’ he said. ‘It could be completely gone in summer in as little as seven years. Seven years from now.’
 
"Those comments came in 2007 as Mr Gore accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for his campaigning on climate change.
 
"But seven years after his warning, The Mail on Sunday can reveal that, far from vanishing, the Arctic ice cap has expanded for the second year in succession – with a surge, depending on how you measure it, of between 43 and 63 per cent since 2012."
...
"To put it another way, an area the size of Alaska, America’s biggest state, was open water two years ago, but is again now covered by ice."

Aha! More proof of glo- er, climate change!   Read more:

The Madness of 2008; A nation became unhinged by trivialities like “hope and change.” It has now awakened. (Well, not the liberals I know. TD)

Victor Davis Hanson
On the campaign trail, October 2008 (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
 
"America is suddenly angry at the laxity, incompetence, and polarizing politics of the Obama administration, the bad optics of the president putting about in his bright golf clothes while the world burns. Certainly, no recent president has failed on so many fronts — honesty, transparency, truthfulness, the economy, foreign policy, the duties of the commander-in-chief, executive responsibilities, and spiritual leadership."
...
Pundits vied for superlatives. On little evidence, Christopher Buckley assured us that Obama possessed “a first-class temperament and a first-class intellect.” For some, proof of Obama’s godhead became almost physical — a “perfectly creased pant” for David Brooks, a tingling leg for Chris Matthews. For Evan Thomas he was a “sort of God”; for one blue-chip historian he was the smartest man with the highest IQ ever running for the presidency. And on and on, as huge crowds acted as if they were watching Paul McCartney on tour in 1966. After the election, there was real apprehension that the country might not make it for the two and a half months until an elected Obama could take power." ...

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Fans unapologetically sing ‘Hail to the Redskins’ during pre-season game

Twitchy    "Phil Simms may have self censored himself from saying the name “Redskins” but fans show no signs of abandoning the name."
 

 
Lady of Redskins @LadyofRedskins
@wsk28rules @KeithOlbermann HAIL to the REDSKINS from a FULL BLOODED NA from Tsimshian Nation. VERY STRONG WILLED!!! pic.twitter.com/voUBDagTNg
 
View image on Twitter
 
Larry Kush @LarryKush734
@dtmleach Hail to the Redskins! Bleed Burgundy and Gold over here in Ann Arbor!
 
View image on Twitter

‘Try to imagine': Pat Sajak ponders level of ‘liberal outrage’ with golfer-in-chief of a different name

Twitchy

PAT-SAJAK-FTW

"With all that’s going on in the U.S. and the world, Pat Sajak wonders what the reaction would be if a different president golfed regularly during a time of crises(sic):"

Pat Sajak         @patsajak
Try to imagine Liberal outrage if a "rich, elitist, out-of-touch" President Romney golfed amid U.S. & world problems.
 
"The reaction if “President Mitt Romney” golfed regularly while the world burned?" ....
 

Harry Reid's Alma Mater Strips His Name from Building

NEWSMAX
Image: Harry Reid's Alma Mater Strips His Name from Building
 
... "This is a conservative base in Southern Utah and many people in southern Nevada also feel the same way," Cozzens said. "These people in Nevada do not espouse to Reid's political philosophies, and they told me they would not support the university or send any more of their children there, and this was coming from people who had already sent children to SUU, so long as Harry Reid's name remained."
Hat tip to Walt Stier; Santa Maria, CA

Corroboration:
NRO: Harry Reid’s Alma Mater Removes His Name from Building    “They thought there would substantial donations from Harry Reid’s friends,” Wyatt told the newspaper. “But there has never been any money donated for that purpose.”

Fox News video agrees    "Cedar City Councilman Paul Cozzens told The Specter he received $40,000 in pledges to remove the Nevada senator’s name in just five days."

 

 

D'Souza: ISIS Shows What Happens in a World Without US

Breitbart    “ 'When I came up with the subtitle for the book and the film, which is ‘America: Imagine a World without Her’ I truly meant it as a hypothetical ... let’s imagine, let’s envision what the world might look like if American influence begins to be diminished, begins to be subtracted.  Well, gee, we don’t actually have to imagine because that’s what Obama’s doing” he stated.

"And “when American leadership subsides, this [the current state of foreign affairs] is kind of what we have to learn to expect.”

"D’Souza also criticized the media for failing to hold Obama accountable for his foreign policy failures, declaring “in this country the media, the mainline media has not been holding Obama accountable, the guy has actually been on a six year honeymoon,” adding that “there is a desperate desire on the part of many in the media that this first African-American president not fail.' ” 
 

Voters who chose Dinkins, Obama and De Blasio produce what kind of results?

*Oct 20 - 00:05*
 
33% Rise in NYC Murders Under Bill “Soft on Crime” de Blasio    "Who could have predicted that electing a Dinkins aide whose only calling card was viral videos made by his obnoxious son and junkie daughter running on a 70s platform of class warfare, racial tensions and empowering criminals would backfire?"
...
Last year, the Big Apple racked up 334 homicides in 365 days, the lowest in the city’s recorded history.
“This is the residual effect of de Blasio’s backlash against stop-and-frisk,’’ the source said. “Cops aren’t stopping people and taking guns off the street, which emboldens the criminals,” the source said.
Another veteran investigator agreed, saying, “Cops are reticent about making stops because they don’t want to get punished.”


"...Stop and Frisk was one of the best tools for controlling gang violence and protecting black communities.   
"Now Bill de Blasio has taken that tool away and violence is on the increase."


How New York’s New Gun Control Law Is Working Out (Hint: Not Great)   ...“ 'You can’t blame them [Remington] when a state’s welcoming you with open arms and your home [state], they’re kicking you out the door,” said laid off worker Corey Etwell.
Indeed. More regulations almost always end up meaning fewer jobs. But hey, all the numbers aren’t bad. Cuomo can advertise the fact he killed jobs but increased memberships for the National Rifle Association." ...
 

Judicial Watch: Feds’ Bulletin Describes Threat of Imminent Terrorist Attack on Southern Border

Political Cartoons by Bob Gorrell

Andrew C. McCarthy    "For those of us who’ve been raising alarms about both the jihadist threat and the national-security vulnerability created by the Obama administration’s non-enforcement of the immigration laws, this is not a surprise — particularly less than two weeks before September 11. But it is nonetheless jarring to read  Judicial Watch has just put out this statement:
Islamic terrorist groups are operating in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez and planning to attack the United States with car bombs or other vehicle born improvised explosive devices (VBIED). High-level federal law enforcement, intelligence and other sources have confirmed to Judicial Watch that a warning bulletin for an imminent terrorist attack on the border has been issued.  Agents across a number of Homeland Security, Justice and Defense agencies have all been placed on alert and instructed to aggressively work all possible leads and sources concerning this imminent terrorist threat.

Specifically, Judicial Watch sources reveal that the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) is confirmed to now be operating in Juarez, a famously crime-infested narcotics hotbed situated across from El Paso, Texas.

  The Long Slow Flip-Flop Into Light    "Kerry is exhorting the world to rally itself into a grand coalition to battle ISIS, or ISIL, or whatever. Maybe agreeing on a name would be a useful first step for this coalition.

"Kerry's message of fear is totally at odds with Obama's message of numb complacency (which has the WaPo alarmed - do these guys even talk?) but it is Kerry's conclusion that leaves us laughing:" ...

Political Cartoons by Dana Summers

Why call those who fight for ISIS “Americans”?

They are not Americans; they are radical Muslims who currently live in America. I'd go one step further and ask are there any Muslims in this country who consider themselves "Americans"? I'd really like to know, please.

Legal Insurrection  "It’s really just common sense: “Americans” who leave this country to fight for ISIS, or any other country or entity or group who is our enemy, should no longer be referred to as “Americans” by the press.

"I know; fat chance. " ...
 ISIS iraq 7.25
... "the relevant statute is here. These portions seem especially apropos:

(a) A person who is a national of the United States whether by birth or naturalization, shall lose his nationality by voluntarily performing any of the following acts with the intention of relinquishing United States nationality—
(1) obtaining naturalization in a foreign state upon his own application or upon an application filed by a duly authorized agent, after having attained the age of eighteen years; or
(2) taking an oath or making an affirmation or other formal declaration of allegiance to a foreign state or a political subdivision thereof, after having attained the age of eighteen years; or
(3) entering, or serving in, the armed forces of a foreign state if
(A) such armed forces are engaged in hostilities against the United States, or…
(7) committing any act of treason against, or attempting by force to overthrow, or bearing arms against, the United States, violating or conspiring to violate any of the provisions of section 2383 of title 18, or willfully performing any act in violation of section 2385 of title 18, or violating section 2384 of title 18 by engaging in a conspiracy to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, if and when he is convicted thereof by a court martial or by a court of competent jurisdiction.

 SAUDI KING: JIHADISTS WILL REACH WEST 'IN MONTH'
"If we ignore them, I am sure they will reach Europe in a month and America in another month," he said in remarks quoted on Saturday by Asharq al-Awsat daily and Saudi-backed Al-Arabiya television station.

Political Cartoons by Glenn Foden

Friday, August 29, 2014

Obama has a great round of golf; General Green not so much

no vacation

Funerals Show Obama Insensitivity and Hypocrisy  "Three funerals this month — of Maj. Gen. Harold Greene, Chicago student Shaquise Buckner, and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., tell us much about the Obama Administration’s attitudes toward the military and hypocrisy on issues of race.

"Maj. Gen. Harold Greene, the two star general assassinated in Afghanistan was the highest-ranking U.S. military officer killed in combat since the Vietnam War.

"One would think that the major general’s funeral would have merited attendance by the president or at least the vice president.

"Did the president attend or in his absence send his vice president?

"No. He was relaxing in Martha's Vineyard.

"He sent Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno.

"The absence of the Commander-in-Chief or his Vice President was an insult and slap in the face to our military."

Also this comment sent by a friend in California (you may know him since he is the guy in that state who did not vote for Mr. Obama):

"Not only has Obama been unable to make any comment about the General’s sacrifice, he also was unable to find the time to make it to General Greene’s funeral, held on Thursday in Arlington National Cemetery.  Obama himself was conspicuously absent, but so were the Vice President and the Secretary of Defense.

"This is beyond outrageous, and should be taken as a blatant slap in the face of every military member and civilian that knows and understands the tradition, honor, and respect that comes with military service.  In what can only be a gross oversight, or else a belligerent middle-finger, Obama hasn’t even ordered flags to be flown at half-staff, like he did for the deaths of singer Whitney Houston, as well as the former communist and South African President Nelson Mandela.

"The activity that Obama thought more pressing than this hero’s funeral? Golfing."
 
Hat tip to Corporal Robert Hope, USMC; Sacramento, CA. Thanks, Jarhead

Snopes says the President did not break tradition by not attending the General's funeral

 
Not only has Obama been unable to make any comment about the General’s sacrifice, he also was unable to find the time to make it to General Greene’s funeral, held on Thursday in Arlington National Cemetery.  Obama himself was conspicuously absent, but so were the Vice President and the Secretary of Defense.

This is beyond outrageous, and should be taken as a blatant slap in the face of every military member and civilian that knows and understands the tradition, honor, and respect that comes with military service.  In what can only be a gross oversight, or else a belligerent middle-finger, Obama hasn’t even ordered flags to be flown at half-staff, like he did for the deaths of singer Whitney Houston, as well as the former communist and South African President Nelson Mandela.

The activity that Obama thought more pressing than this hero’s funeral? Golfing.
 
 


Who Was Missing From Acceptance Speeches at the Emmys and VMAs

The Daily Signal  "The MTV Video Music Awards and Emmy Awards this week offered pop culture fans a foretaste of awards season, which — say those who notice such things — kicks off in November.

"As the winners took the stage and clutched their trophies, they voiced immense gratitude to fans, producers, writers, agents, directors and so on.
Few, however, thanked God.

"Back in the day, it was almost commonplace for acceptance speeches in the televised awards shows to include thanks to God; arguably the practice waned but then was renewed after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, along with thanks to the first-responders and troops." ...
 

Social justice indoctrination in math class courtesy of Common Core

Math class common coreDanette Clark    "LOS ANGELES – To ensure that not a single minute of precious indoctrination time is wasted in the school day, liberal educators have incorporated brainwashing into every course subject, including math.

"Next month, the organization, Creating Balance in an Unjust World, will hold its annual conference on “math education and social justice”.

"The conference is sponsored by Radical Math, an organization founded by Jonathan Osler, a math and community organizing teacher at a Coalition of Essential Schools high school in Brooklyn, NY.
The Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) is the progressive education reform movement expanded by President Obama and domestic terrorist William Ayers through their work with the Chicago Annenberg Challenge in the 90′s.

"As I explained here, Common Core ‘architect’ David Coleman’s Grow Network also worked with Chicago Public Schools, Obama, and Ayers during that time."...   Full article...

Hat tip to Rachel Cohen

Common Core math question for sixth graders: Was the 2000 election ‘fair’?

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics held a conference April 9-12 in New Orleans where they discussed:
“such crucial issues as formative assessment in the common core state standards, number and operations, social justice, teaching computational fluency with understanding, leveraging technology, and supporting new teachers.” [Emphasis added]
"Social Justice? During math?
"Delving into a couple of lessons just a bit:

math-300x194 (1)

Feminists’ Failure on Rotherham and the subservience to multi-culturalism

Feminists see “rape culture” in nail polish (and everywhere else) but now remain silent about real abuse.

 
... "Feminists of the vocal, bathe-in-male-tears sort find proof of “rape culture” all about: in newspaper satire, in ’80s movies, in the verb “to force.” So one would think news that between 1997 and 2013 at least 1,400 children in Rotherham, England, were victims of sexual exploitation would confirm the feminist narrative and ignite their righteous fury.

"Not so fast." ...
...
Why, you ask? Here is why:
It is hard not to interpret the feminist blogosphere’s silence on Rotherham as an indication of the movement’s ultimate lack of seriousness. Perhaps they are not interested in confronting the ethnic and religious homogeneity of many of the perpetrators: Emma and the majority of the 1,400 victims were abused by “Asian” men — i.e., Muslim men typically from Rotherham’s Pakistani community. Local government leaders, social services, and law enforcement — for fear of being labeled racist — ignored numerous reports they received.
Rotherham’s — and England’s — Shame.  
"The Muslim men who tortured more than 1,400 girls are criminals.  So are the authorities who covered it up."
...
"The motives of the exploiters, though vile, are not hard to understand. They plainly include both racism and sexism alongside the lust and cruelty enabled by their misogynistic culture. But what explains the silence, the acquiescence, even the cooperation of the authorities? Their motives seem to derive from the rich stew of progressive absurdities that constitute official attitudes in modern Britain. The first is the fear of being suspected of racism. Again and again the police and the social workers shrank from intervening or responding to complaints because to do so would invite the accusation that they were “racist.” Most people in the Muslim community were unaware of this criminal conspiracy (and, shocked and horrified like everyone else, they now condemn it). But when it was brought to the attention of  “community leaders,” they too played the race card to suppress further investigation. To uncover such scandal would be not only racist, it would commit a sin against the ideal of multiculturalism that now actuates much official policy."

Hillary Clinton's Foreign Policy Failures

Definition of grovel Bing Dictionary  
  • behave in servile way: to act in a servile way, showing exaggerated and false  respect in order to please somebody or out of fear
  • crawl: to crawl or lie face down on the ground in humility or fear
  • wallow: to indulge in something unworthy
  •   

     
    Jonathan Levin   "Do not be fooled by Hillary Clinton’s attempt to rehabilitate her term as Secretary of State ahead of the 2016 presidential election.  From 2009 to 2013, Clinton embodied U.S. foreign affairs even as President Obama’s avowed policy of self-effacement descended into listless, desultory abdication.  Notwithstanding her recent critiques of Obama’s performance, Clinton’s failures as Secretary of State helped bring war to Europe, an arms race to Asia, and inferno to the Middle-East.  The U.S. and its international standing are weaker for Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State." Read more:


    Lower corporate tax rates. Now.

    Charles Krauthammer

     
    "The Obama administration is highly exercised about “inversion,” the practice by which an American corporation acquires a foreign company and moves its headquarters out of the United States to benefit from lower tax rates abroad.

    "Not fair, says Barack Obama. It’s taking advantage of an “unpatriotic tax loophole” that hardworking American families have to make up for by the sweat of their brow. His treasury secretary calls such behavior a violation of “economic patriotism.' ”

    "Nice touch. Democrats used to wax indignant about having one’s patriotism questioned. Now they throw around the charge with abandon, tossing it at corporations that refuse to do the economically patriotic thing of paying the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world."

    Thursday, August 28, 2014

    Krauthammer’s Take: Obama’s Climate Plan an ‘Incredibly Stupid Idea,’ But Any Agreement Would Have to Be International

    NRO    “It’s [the idea of the agreement] also based on the same assumptions that the Russians and the Chinese and others act the way Obama does — with adolescent idealism when it comes to foreign policy,” Krauthammer said. 
     

    O'Reilly: Al Sharpton 'Almost Single-Handedly Has Corrupted NBC News'

    MRC    "On his show Monday night, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly declared that MSNBC host and Ferguson, Missouri activist Al Sharpton "has become so controversial in America that it's hard to explain how a news agency, NBC, can even have him on the payroll." Mediabuzz host Howard Kurtz agreed, labeling Sharpton's employment with the network "a travesty." [Listen to the audio]

    "Kurtz pointed to Sharpton "delivering a pretty political speech at the funeral" of Michael Brown and being "the go-to guy for the Obama White House on Ferguson," proclaiming: "It is amazing to me, this just reeks that MSNBC thinks this is acceptable." Moments later, O'Reilly concluded: "I believe that Sharpton almost single-handedly has corrupted NBC News."

     '

     
    Al Sharpton Is Barack Obama's New Jeremiah Wright    ... "During the 2008 presidential election, when videos surfaced of Obama's 20 year mentor screaming "God d--n America!" and worse, then-Senator Barack Obama was forced to eventually cut ties with Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. Were it not for the unbiased, objective, not-at-all leftwing media collectively circling the wagons for Obama, John McCain would have been president." ... 
    ...
    "Heaven forbid Obama's go-to guy on race be a good man, a uniter and a healer. Allowing Americans to finally embrace reality -- all that we have in common and how far we've come -- is a direct threat to the Democrat's Jenga Tower of a coalition. The bitter fight to keep us divided using fabricated bogeymen must march on."

    Resist we will much: 

     
    Sharpton and Ann Coulter have an encounter over the Gates arrest some years back.
     

    Obama's DOJ Sues Minnesota City for Rejecting Islamic Center

    Breitbart
    cair-cartoon

     
    ... "The DOJ claims that the city violated the law when it refused the Abu Huraira Islamic Center the right to create an Islamic cultural center in the basement of the St. Anthony Business Center. The DOJ cites a violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act that was enacted in the year 2000.

    "In his press conference, Luger said that if local voters rose up to force their politicians to allow the Islamic center to be established and follow his interpretation of the law he would consider withdrawing the lawsuit. " ...

    MINNESOTASTAN: Hamas’ American affiliate CAIR says “jump.” Obama and Holder say, “how high?”

    Screen-Shot-2014-05-01-at-3.21.08-PM

    Economic Patriotism

    Bokbluster

    140827-economic-patriotism
     
    "President Obama’s favorite billionaire is making a run for the border. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway will finance Burger King’s purchase of Canadian donut dynamo, Tim Hortons.

    Economic Patriotism

    "As a Canadian operation, Burger King will still have to pay US corporate taxes on earnings inside the United States. But earnings outside the US will only be taxed at the rate of the country where they occur. US companies have to pay taxes in the countries where they operate and also must pay IRS the difference between those rates and the US rate. The Obama administration calls this economic patriotism.
    "Burger King’s move is called a tax “inversion”. Matt Levine gives a great explanation in this Bloomberg article.
    "The US corporate rate, including state and local taxes comes to about 40%. That’s the highest in the world outside the Islamic State jizya. Roberto A. Ferdman provides a nice chart in the Washington Post showing the tax rates of the 34 OECD countries.
    The nominal corporate tax rate in the U.S., which combines national, state, and city-level tax rates, is nearly 40 percent—the highest across all 34 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries. Canada’s, by comparison, is just over 26 percent

     
    "The highest nominal corporate tax rates
    "No OECD member country has a higher nominal corporate tax rate than the U.S.
    Graph at the link
     

    Two legal guests tell CNN their Brown shooting audio might be a hoax

    Hot Air  ... " CNN’s ratings have been phenomenal since the violence in Ferguson erupted, and the network has displayed a tendency in the past to latch onto any development no matter how dubious that keeps a ratings-grabbing story alive. The suspect audio supposedly of the moment when police shot and killed Brown may be another of these moments.

    "On Wednesday morning, CNN’s Michaela Pereira invited two former law enforcement officials on the program to discuss the authenticity of the tape.

    “ 'I’ve told your producers that for all I know this is one of Howard Stern’s punk people,” former LAPD officer David Klinger said. “It came out, what, two weeks after the event, and so I don’t have a high degree of confidence in it.' ” ...
     

     
    ... "CNN’s coverage of the events in Ferguson has, for the most part, been both compelling and informative. The ratings the network has earned are deserved. However, if this audio does turn out to be inauthentic, it would be another opportunity for CNN to learn the lessons of their saturation coverage of the missing Malaysian passenger airliner; sacrificing credibility for ratings is never a good tradeoff."

    How fracking insulates USA: Our view

    It eases security threats emanating from both the Middle East and Vladimir Putin.

     
    USA Today   ... "But there are legitimate reasons why things would look relatively good here while so much of the world burns. First among them is a U.S. energy renaissance that has left the nation far less dependent on Mideast oil.

    "The Energy Department projects that domestic crude oil production will average 9.3 million barrels a day next year. That's a 43% increase just since 2012, and a near doubling from 2008.
    Recent discoveries, meanwhile, have made natural gas so abundant that it could easily last more than a century at today's consumption rates.

    "Neither of these fortuitous developments would have happened without new drilling techniques, most notably hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," a process of using pressurized water, chemicals and sand to extract oil and gas from tight rock formations." ...

    And Obama will claim credit.

    Via Lucianne

    A Lump of Coal for the Climatistas


    Powerline   "Yesterday the Wall Street Journal reported (“Germany’s Expensive Gamble on Renewable Energy”) on the high cost of the climate-related energy fanaticism of Germany’s green shirts (why not?), which is not starting to take a tangible toll on the country’s economic competitiveness:
    Average electricity prices for companies have jumped 60% over the past five years because of costs passed along as part of government subsidies of renewable energy producers. Prices are now more than double those in the U.S. . .
     One government estimate projects the Energiewende by 2040 to cost up to €1 trillion, or about $1.4 trillion, or almost half Germany’s GDP and nearly as much as the country spent on the reunification of East and West Germany. . . 
    Yet nearly 75% of Germany’s small- and medium-size industrial businesses say rising energy costs are a major risk, according to a recent survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Federation of German Industry. . .
     
     

    Wednesday, August 27, 2014

    Ann Coulter asks: WOULD IT KILL YOU TO HIRE MORE BLACK COPS?

    Coulter answers yes and tells us why. The explanation is politically correct government.
    You have to read this entire column and not just the excerpts selected by me.

    147568 600 Affirmative Action cartoons

    Ann Coulter   ... "In a massive, detailed 2000 study of the effect of court-ordered affirmative action plans on police departments, economist John Lott found that the more minorities on a police force, the higher the rates of murder, manslaughter, violent crime, robbery and aggravated assault will be. Violent crime increased by a minimum of 3.3 percent every year after affirmative action policies went into effect -- and the spike in crime was highest in black neighborhoods.

    "    The problem was not with black cops, Lott's study showed, but rather with the lowering of standards across the board, resulting in less-qualified officers of every race. To get more of MSNBC's "voices of oppression" on police forces, requirements are reduced for all recruits. (Just as quality declined at MSNBC when "voices of oppression" had to be added to their lineup.)

        "We end up with cops who are criminals, the Rampart scandal of the 1990s and great movies like "Training Day."

        "About a decade into a federal consent decree requiring the Los Angeles Police Department to hire more minority officers, the LAPD'S Rampart division was employing gang members in uniforms.

    ...
    "Wait -- no applicants failed? That's precisely the point! Everyone gets an "A," every applicant becomes a police officer. "
    ...

       " The only real advantage to compelling the Ferguson police force to adopt affirmative action hiring policies is that the media will be tickled pink with themselves for striking a blow against "racism." On the other hand, more black people will be murdered, raped and maimed as crime rates rise. I guess it's really just a matter of priorities."

    From one of the Obama- friendly unions: EPA Plan: All Pain, No Gain

    Obama EPA Regulations

    International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers    "Climate change is a genuine crisis that must be addressed, but the Environmental Protection Agency's recently proposed Clean Power Plan is the wrong approach — for both the environment and the U.S. economy.

    "The EPA's rule — issued earlier this summer — will kill more than 150,000 jobs across the United States, while having a minimal effect on global greenhouse emissions.
    Edwin D. Hill
    International President

    "The rule will prematurely close dozens of major power plants in communities throughout the country, devastating local economies in largely rural regions that depend on the energy sector for jobs and growth.

    "By the agency's own estimates, this will shutter more than 40 gigawatts of coal-generating power by 2020 — on top of the 50 gigawatts scheduled to be lost by 2017 due to the Mercury and Air Toxics rule put into effect earlier. This puts not only jobs, but the whole electrical grid at risk.

    "Despite the growth of renewables like solar and wind, experts predict that it will take decades for alternative energy sources — which make up less than 13 percent of the U.S.'s net electricity generation — to adequately replace coal, the U.S. Energy Information Administration says.

    "For years, the IBEW has urged Congress to pass a national energy policy that addresses climate change without putting the reliability of our power grid at risk.

    "These regulations do the exact opposite. They threaten our ability to keep the power on during extreme weather, from winter's polar vortex to summer heat waves.

    "The U.S.'s share of global carbon emissions has been on steady decline for the last decade as the implementation of technology to capture carbon emissions, and the increased use of natural gas, solar and wind continue to grow. But unless we can bring developing nations like China and India — which are dramatically increasing their share of carbon emissions — to the table, any isolated U.S. effort to cut down on CO2 will be for naught.

    "That means the EPA's plan amounts to all pain and no gain. And it's working families and energy consumers who will feel the brunt of it, in the form of lost jobs, higher electricity prices and much greater risk of blackouts.

    "For years, we have been right about our estimates about how coal-fired plant shutdowns would negatively impact the grid and jobs — in contrast to the overly-optimistic predictions made by the EPA.

    "We, along with other unions representing energy workers, need to have our voice heard. The IBEW stands ready to work with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, along with leaders of the utility industry, to craft a true bipartisan energy plan to grow our economy, renovate our aged energy infrastructure and set a realistic plan for cleaner air and a healthy environment."

    CNN Now Worried Ferguson Shooting Audio Is Hoax

    Big Journalism   "When CNN first broadcast the unverified audio of the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, it was with all the sturm and drang of breathless breaking news. The audio led almost every hour and was the biggest story of the day. What a difference a day makes. The language coming from "New Day" anchor Michaela Pereira Wednesday morning is much more cautious. "Do you think it's authentic?", she squeaked to two law enforcement experts, both of whom believe it is a hoax:" ...
     

     
    ... "CNN's timing of the release made perfect sense. The leftwing network dropped the audio the day after treating the funeral of Michael Brown as though he was a head of state. With the death porn concluded and the Ferguson streets quiet, CNN needed to fill the race-baiting vacuum with something.
     
    "This is the second time CNN has been unforgivably irresponsible with audio." ...