Statism is turning America into Detroit – Ayn Rand's Starnesville come to life

Daniel Hannan

"The Observer, naturally, quotes a native complaining that ‘capitalism has failed us,’ but capitalism is the one thing the place desperately needs. Detroit has been under Leftist administrations for half a century. It has spent too much and borrowed too much, driving away business and becoming a tool of the government unions."

Detroit: all the way down the Telegraph Road  "Well, if you’d like a musical interlude, just listen to this song “Telegraph Road” by Dire Staits ...
"The song was first performed by its composer Mark Knopfler and the band in March of 1981, thirty-two years ago. Knopfler, who was born in Scotland but grew up in England, reports having written the song during a visit to—of course—the city of Detroit, driving along Telegraph Road and thinking of the rise and fall of the city."

'25 Facts About The Fall Of Detroit That Will Leave You Shaking Your Head'   ...."He also believes that most other big cities will eventually end up like Detroit. The key word is "eventually. As the state of Illinois has shown, kicking the problem down the road can be done for a very long time by fudging the numbers and raising taxes. So unless there's another financial meltdown, most municipalities large and small will be able to muddle through, dying a slow death as politicians scramble to avoid the inevitable."

Shame on this president. He shows himself to be little better than Al Sharpton

From American Thinker:

There, but for the grace of God...   "Barack Obama has once again interjected himself into the Trayvon Martin post verdict emotions by trying his best to aggravate all parties involved by stating "Trayvon Martin could have been me." 

'Better Angel' Obama Incites More Turmoil  "Whenever Barack Obama "expands on [his] thoughts a little bit," America is in for an eye-opener, which is exactly what happened when he recently crashed a press briefing to comment on the George Zimmerman trial.

"Exposing his true colors, the president extended condolences to the Martin family and completely ignored the Zimmerman family, which has also endured considerable pain during what Obama admitted was a "tragic situation." "

Obama: African-Americans Are Incapable of Acting as Citizens of the United States  "It is with sadness that I witnessed the president of the United States tell the world that African-Americans are incapable of functioning as responsible citizens at the most basic level."

Hamas Mourns Death Of Helen Thomas…

Weasel Zippers

"But the “stand” referred to by Hamas was, perhaps unsurprisingly, nothing to do with women’s emancipation. Instead, the group – which calls for the annihilation of the Jewish people in its charter – praised Thomas for a rather ugly tirade against an American rabbi, filmed in 2012.

"In the video, seen below, Thomas tells her Jewish interviewer that Israel should “get the hell out of Palestine,” and that the Jewish people should go home to “Poland, Germany … and America and everywhere else.” " 

israelnationalnews

Obama’s safe, overrated and airy speech. Dr. Ben Carson and a Democrat discuss the affair with Chris Wallace

Salon  "When people hold their breath for your imminent words, isn’t it exasperating when you open your mouth, but don’t say much?

"Finally the president has spoken about George Zimmerman’s acquittal. Even as the country waited for his singular response – the nation’s leader and a law professor who once looked like Trayvon Martin – the president danced around the issues. And what a dramatic anti-climax, listening to the president refuse to say anything insightful or profound about the acquittal. In signature professorial style, the president gave us the “context” to the episode and to black people’s “pain.” But he didn’t offer a meaningful opinion on the episode’s hot molten core: racial profiling, vigilantism, and “Stand Your Ground” laws."

So he didn't say much one way or the other? How about the fact that he didn't try to tamp down the riot threats and the black bigotry that tears this nation apart?  Via Lucianne.

Video: Dr. Ben Carson: 'Racial Profiling Not the Real Threat to Young Black Men'  "Race relations in the wake of George Zimmerman´s acquittal has become a contested topic in the United States, with even President Obama weighing in on racial profiling. Dr. Ben Carson and Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD) continued the discussion of race on Fox News Sunday. Rep. Edwards believes it was appropriate for the president to speak about race as it relates to this case. “When I talk to my son who’s 24 and to his peers, what they say is that the president gave them their voice for their experiences.” "
If this means anything to you, Bill Maher called Dr. Carson a "drooling idiot"

Move over NSA, here comes the Obamacare Big Brother database

Rare 

 "Would you trust thousands of low-level Federal bureaucrats and contractors with one-touch access to your private financial and medical information? Under Obamacare you won’t have any choice.

 "As the Obamacare train-wreck begins to gather steam, there is increasing concern in Congress over something called the Federal Data Services Hub."....

Iran’s Mullahs Demand Justice for Trayvon

Washington Free Beacon.  

Iranian officer lashes convict (AP)

 

"Iran’s foreign ministry on Friday criticized the acquittal of George Zimmerman and chastised the United States for widespread “racial discrimination.”

" “The acquittal of the murderer of the teenage African American once again clearly demonstrated the unwritten, but systematic racial discrimination against racial, religious, and ethnic minorities in the US society,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Araqchi was quoted as saying by Iran’s state run Fars News Agency."

Oh, well then...

A little Rolling Stone humor from Townhall

 

 

 

The Zimmerman case: A touch of sanity

Charles Krauthammer  " “No justice, no peace,” chants the telegenic mob. In a civilized society, however, where the mob doesn’t rule, justice is defined by the verdict that follows a fair trial. It’s the best that humans can do.

"And in the case of George Zimmerman, we have a verdict. It followed a trial every minute of which was seen by the world. Nothing secret, nothing hidden. Where in the trial was there racial bias? What evidence of the case being tilted toward the defendant because the victim was black? What sign of any racial animus in the jury?"

"Those undeniable realities have not prevented Benjamin Crump, attorney to the victim’s family, from placing Trayvon Martin in the tradition of Emmett Till and Medgar Evers.

"This is a disgrace. Those were race crimes of the most savage and undeniable kind."....
Krauthammer gives Obama credit for wise words, which he pointedly has never done in five years.
....

Afterward, the president acted responsibly. “A jury has spoken,” he said, and then used the moment to reflect on other things, such as care for one’s neighbors and concern for one’s community, thus helping de-racialize the case.

Bloodied and bruised at the moment of surrender: Dramatic new pictures emerge of the moment 'Boston bomber' climbed from the boat where he had been hiding, as a sniper took aim at his head

UK Daily Mail

Sobering pictures were taken by Sergeant Sean Murphy, a tactical photographer with the Massachusetts state police

Murphy released the pictures to the Boston Magazine without permission in response to Rolling Stone's cover image of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

"Cornered by police, the photos show the 19-year-old in a blood-splattered black jumper, with hands stained red and a sniper's laser aimed directly at his forehead.
"The sobering pictures were released by Sergeant Sean Murphy, a tactical photographer with the Massachusetts state police, in a bid to show the real face of terrorism in reaction to the 'glamorized' image of Tsarnaev that graces the cover of Rolling Stone magazine's controversial new issue.
"The officer has now been suspended over his decision to leak the photos, and will find out next week whether or not he will be allowed to keep his job."

This would make a better Rolling Stone cover:

Obama paints himself into a corner over Trayvon Martin

Washington Examiner  "The president's own words more than a year ago — "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon" — are fueling the push for his Justice Department to bring federal charges against Zimmerman, the Hispanic neighborhood watch coordinator who has become a symbol of a broken justice system in the eyes of civil rights groups.
"When Obama waded into the controversy in March 2012, his words seemed to carry limited consequences. His statement of support for the Martin family played well with supporters and was more than a year away from the polarizing trial.
"It's not that simple anymore."
....

"I wouldn't go there," said a Justice Department official who served in President George W. Bush's administration, cautioning against a civil rights case against Zimmerman. "It's an incredibly high standard to meet, and it's turned into such an explosive political situation. I would be stunned if they pursued a case."

Via Lucianne
 

IRS scandal is unraveling

Thomas Lifson  "We can now officially say that the IRS harassment of conservative groups is a political scandal connected to the Obama political machine. Despite the best obfuscatory efforts of Obama henchmen like Rep. Elijah Cummings, yesterday the IRS scandal was tied to a political appointee of President Obama. Step-by-step the chain is being followed upward by the House Oversight Committee chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa."

Toonpool

IRS Hearings: Republicans Ask Questions, Democrats Attack Issa  "Rep. Gerry Connolly, a liberal from Virginia, spent his entire question period upbraiding Issa and launching pre-emptive strikes against the Inspector General, who will testify later.  He did not ask a single question of the witnesses.  Democrats also launched broadsides against Mitch McConnell and Marco Rubio over statements those Senators have made about the IRS."

Federal Study: Fracking Process To Drill For Oil and Gas Does NOT Pollute

Yid With Lid   "CBS is reporting that a landmark federal study on  fracking conducted by the Department of Energy, shows no evidence that chemicals from the natural gas drilling process,  seeped its way up to contaminate drinking water aquifers at a western Pennsylvania drilling site."
....
"The federal government gave hydraulic fracturing a clean bill of health in 2004 and there has never been a documented case of ground water contamination owing to hydraulic fracturing. However, bowing to the environmentalists, president Obama has insisted that the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Interior and the Department of Energy to conduct new tests on the process.  This study is part of those tests."

So treat those anti-fracking TV shows and movies as what they are: propaganda.

 Hat tip to Jeffrey Dunetz at Conservative Bloggers on Facebook