America’s Economic Freedom Has Rapidly Declined Under Obama

Heritage Foundation Daily Signal

. . . "The U.S. has fallen from the 6th freest economy in the world, when President Barack Obama took office, to 11th place in 2016. America’s declining score in the index is closely related to rapidly rising government spending, subsidies, and bailouts.

"Since early 2009:

• Government spending has exploded, amounting to $29,867 per household in 2015.
• The national debt has risen to $125,000 for every tax-filing household in America—a total over $18 trillion.
• The government takeover of health care is raising prices and disrupting markets.
• Bailouts and new government regulations have increased uncertainty, stifling investment and job creation.

"This is not something to take lightly. Economic freedom is the foundation of U.S. economic strength, and economic strength is the foundation of America’s high living standards, military power, and status as a world leader. The perils of losing economic freedom are not fictional." . . .

[VIDEOS] The Left’s unchanging tactics leave the world a dark and ugly place

Bookworm Room  "The horrible thing about Leftism . . . okay, let me rephrase that: One of the many horrible things about Leftism is that it trains its adherents to look at the world through dirt-colored glasses. Everything that is good and beautiful and charming is perceived as dark, depressing, and awful. " . . .
 . . .
"A large dance troupe performs the national dance of Ukraine — the Hopak. It is a tour de force:" . . .

What is HOPAK DANCE? /// Hopak nedir?

"When I watched the video, I was impressed and amazed. It’s beautiful and exciting and strong. But that’s not how Lefties see it. Here’s a line from the comments section that, to me, is destined to be a Leftist classic: “What they’re doing is impressive, but isn’t that focus on the men’s dancing really just a reminder of the patriarchy?' ” . . .
Much, much more here.

The Iowa caucuses, explained

Stephen Collinson CNN

Caucus meetings for Iowa Democrats, Republicans begin at 7 PM CT  

Better video at the link, but I haven't figured out how to embed it.

. . . "So how do the GOP caucuses work?

"The GOP process is the simpler one.

"Caucus meetings begin with the Pledge of Allegiance and then activists get straight to the main event -- selecting their presidential candidates in a binding vote.

"Each campaign gets the chance to have a representative make a final pitch to any wavering voters before a secret ballot. Some caucus sites might use a printed ballot paper. Others just go with a candidate's name on a scrap of paper.

"Raw totals of votes are tallied by local party officials and sent to Iowa GOP headquarters, where a running count is kept.

"And the Democratic ones?

"The Democratic caucus system is a little more intricate.

"As soon as the meetings open, attendees must declare a preference for a candidate." . . .

The Iowa caucuses could go entirely as predicted

Byron York

"Here's a radical thought: What if the latest Iowa caucus polls are basically correct? As we head into voting, there is no evidence that any candidate is collapsing, no evidence that any candidate is zooming upward, and there doesn't appear to be a lot of movement in the top three of Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio.

"But the ground game — what about that?" . . .

Victor Davis Hanson: California of the Dark Ages

Victor Davis Hanson

. . . ""Illegal Immigration also Changed the Nature of California

"The old measured migrations from Mexico did not tax the system. The American host was confident in helping the immigrant learn a new culture (or why else had he left his own in Mexico?), and so was not shy about assimilating and integrating newcomers. Not now.

"Huge numbers, illegality, and the far greater presence of ingenious peoples meant there were more immigrants, more who were poorer and more who did not speak English or even Spanish as their native language—at a time when the salad bowl and hyphenation replaced the melting pot. The result is that there are large areas of Central California that resemble life in rural Mexico. Within a radius of five miles I can go to stores and restaurants where English is rarely spoken and there is no racial or cultural diversity—a far cry from Jeb Bush’s notion of an “act of love” landscape.

"With unemployment at 10% or more in the interior of the state, with the public schools near the bottom in the nation, and with generous entitlements, it is no accident that one in six in the nation who receive public assistance now live in California, where about a fifth of the population lives below the poverty line." . . .

California of the Dark Ages

Victor Davis Hanson

. . . ""Illegal Immigration also Changed the Nature of California

"The old measured migrations from Mexico did not tax the system. The American host was confident in helping the immigrant learn a new culture (or why else had he left his own in Mexico?), and so was not shy about assimilating and integrating newcomers. Not now.

"Huge numbers, illegality, and the far greater presence of ingenious peoples meant there were more immigrants, more who were poorer and more who did not speak English or even Spanish as their native language—at a time when the salad bowl and hyphenation replaced the melting pot. The result is that there are large areas of Central California that resemble life in rural Mexico. Within a radius of five miles I can go to stores and restaurants where English is rarely spoken and there is no racial or cultural diversity—a far cry from Jeb Bush’s notion of an “act of love” landscape.

"With unemployment at 10% or more in the interior of the state, with the public schools near the bottom in the nation, and with generous entitlements, it is no accident that one in six in the nation who receive public assistance now live in California, where about a fifth of the population lives below the poverty line." . . .

Obama to visit Baltimore mosque with extremist ties

Barack Hussein Obama will be visiting an American mosque in Baltimore  which is apparently in a part of town that mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake did not give to protesters to destroy.

Obama is going to the mosque "to celebrate the contributions Muslim Americans make to our life,"

Obama to visit Baltimore mosque with extremist ties

. . . "It should be noted that all of this disturbing information comes from the Justice Department and not Islamophobic bigots. In short, the president is ignoring the facts dug up by his own law enforcement agencies and will lend credibility to a mosque with obvious ties to groups dedicated to destroying Israel and killing Americans.

"Why the Baltimore mosque? It's not like there aren't any mosques without ties to extremists in Washington or the nearby Virginia suburbs. The president has left himself wide open to criticism by visiting the ISB. Whatever statement he is trying to make with this visit will be lost in questions about his judgment."   By Rick Moran

Bernie Sanders before political office

Thomas Lifson  "Before he achieved political office, Bernie Sanders never had a steady paycheck in the first four decades of his life. Now, he aspires to the highest office in the land where he could play a decisive role in shaping the circumstances under which the rest of us work and receive (when we can) our paychecks.  It is a sobering record, as Investor’s Business Daily explains it:

His family managed to send him to the University of Chicago. Despite a prestigious degree, however, Sanders failed to earn a living, even as an adult. It took him 40 years to collect his first steady paycheck — and it was a government check.
“I never had any money my entire life,” Sanders told Vermont public TV in 1985, after settling into his first real job as mayor of Burlington.
Sanders spent most of his life as an angry radical and agitator who never accomplished much of anything. And yet now he thinks he deserves the power to run your life and your finances — “We will raise taxes;” he confirmed Monday, “yes, we will.”

The Briefing Room

Britain’s Muslim Population Soars Past 3 Million, Several Parts Of London Are Close To 50% Islamic…

Weasel Zippers

"Londonistan.

"Via The Sun:

"BRITAIN is home to more than 3 million Muslims for the first time ever with more than half born outside the UK, according to new figures.

I detect Photoshop

Soaring immigration and sky high birth rates have seen the number in the country double in a little over a decade.

Weasel Zippers *

Some parts of London are now almost 50 per cent Islamic, according to analysis from the Office for National Statistics.

If current trends continue the areas could become majority Muslim within ten years.

One in four Muslims in England and Wales are under ten years old than in any other age group indicating a very high birth rate within the community." . . .

* I smell Photoshop, but it indicates perpetual outrage.

Weasel Of The Week!!

Noisy Room " Yes, it’s time to present this week’s Statuette of Shame, The Golden Weasel!!

"Every Tuesday, the Council nominates some of the slimiest, most despicable characters in public life for some deed of evil, cowardice or corruption they’ve performed. Then we vote to single out one particular Weasel for special mention, to whom we award the statuette of shame, our special, 100% plastic Golden Weasel. This week’s nominees were all slimy and despicable, but the votes are in and we have our winner… the envelope please…

Harris County, Texas DA Devon Anderson!

"Nice Deb: I nominate the Houston Grand Jury for indicting the messengers instead of the actual offenders, in the Planned Parenthood investigation.

A Harris County grand jury investigating allegations that a Planned Parenthood clinic in Houston illegally sold the tissue of aborted fetuses has cleared the organization of wrongdoing and instead indicted two anti-abortion activists behind the undercover videos that sparked the probe.

Secret videographers David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt were both indicted on charges of tampering with a governmental record, a second-degree felony that carries a punishment of up to 20 years in prison. Daleiden received an additional misdemeanor indictment under the law prohibiting the purchase and sale of human organs.

Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson announced the surprising indictments Monday after a two-month investigation.

"Shocking, but maybe not too surprising considering Harris County’s reputation for political shenanigans. Former Texas Governor Rick Perry was also indicted by a Harris County grand jury, it so happens."

Anderson beat out these other nominees in the race for best weaseliness

"Fausta’s Blog: The Venezuelan prison guards who stripped-searched and molested the wife, and the mother, of political prisoner Leopoldo Lopez."

"The Independent Sentinel: I have to say Adam H Johnson who writes for the gutter crawling rag, Alternet, is one of the worst weasels I’ve come across.

The Daley Gator : My Nominee is Katrina Pierson, Trump Campaign spokesperson. I knew that when presidential nominee shyster Donald Trump hired campaign spokes-shyster Katrina Pierson that she would be trouble for him.

"Well, there it is. What a despicable group of  Weasels…ANY OF THEM COULD WIN! Check back Thursday to see which Weasel walks off with the statuette of shame!"

American silliness Jan 31, 2016

'They' is Destroying the English Language  . . . "What happened here, however, was something different. This new usage is politically-correct jargon that is being forced on the public. Singular they now refers to those sexually-confused individuals who do not wish to be called he or she. It has been determined that “they” can now refer to a “known person as a non-binary identifier.” Predictably newspapers like the Washington Post have already included this usage in their style books. In so doing, they (plural) have declared grammatical war upon the language." . . .

33 More Barbie Body-Type Suggestions   . . . "I’ve noticed that real women’s bodies are all different and unique! Can you believe that? Like snowflakes! Here are just 33 different types of Barbies that Mattel could add to more accurately represent women:" . . .Full article here.

The Oscars: Having an Opinion Is Now Racist  . . . "Black activists think that forcing someone to give you a trophy is the same thing as winning it.  They pester and protest because they know that we'll listen.  We've given in to some unreasonable demands and found dozens more following them." . . .

This Oregon Woman Was Just Fired From Her Job For Being Pro-Life  "After Harmony Daws, of Oregon, was nominated president of a pro-life group, her boss decided to fire her from her job at a cleaning business because of her work as an activist." . . .

Somehow I'm sure we have many like her in the US

“diversity is more important than your security.”

Anti-Israel movement hijacks MLK Day again in Nancy Pelosi country.   "Co-opting the American civil rights movement in the interest of anti-Israel activism."

"Some Stanford students turned a Black Lives Matter march into an anti-Israel event by unfurling a huge Palestinian Flag on the bridge span at its highest point.  Hundreds of motorists were trapped, and they caused accidents. One of the key activists involved was Kristian Davis Bailey, a leader of attempt to demonize Israel by tying Zionism to problems of non-whites in the U.S. through the theory of “intersectionality.' ” . . .

The ugly PC race to be the ‘victimiest’ victim
I'm victimer than you guys!
"Actress Julie Delpy should have known she was doomed to defeat in her artless attempt to displace African-Americans as bigger victims of discrimination in Hollywood. Given the highly publicized outrage about the upcoming Oscars’ lack of non-white nominees, Delpy’s comments that “sometimes I wish I were African American” and “nothing worse than being a woman in this business” were ill-considered at best."

The Obamas: ‘We’ve Been Racially Mistreated’  "President Barack and wife Michelle Obama told People magazine in an interview to be released Friday that they personally identify with everyday experiences of racial bias in America."

Michelle Obama – Angry Black Woman  "Michelle Obama continues to play the victim, encouraging other Blacks to be victims instead of taking personal responsibility for their actions.   Again Really?   Michelle came from a Middle Class Black family in Chicago.  She attended an Ivy League school to become an attorney.  Michelle was paid several hundred thousand dollars a year to work part time for a hospital system in Chicago, to buy influence, while her husband was a Senator. " . . .

Links to commentaries

Petraeus Prosecuted -- Why not Hillary?  . . . "The cases are almost identical, but Petraeus admitted his crime, apologized for it and paid a fine. Now the man who is arguably the most significant American general since World War II, who achieved a victory in Iraq that President Obama threw away, is going to be publicly humiliated and his reputation permanently tarnished. Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, whistles past her own graveyard, escaping punishment thus far for exposing our most classified secrets to foreign enemies on an unsecured server in her private residence. As Fox News’ Catherine Herridge noted in her blockbuster report:" . . .

Hillary Cackles In Response To Reporter’s Question If She Will Release Info On Speeches For Goldman Sachs

"It’s a tell. Every time she cackles, you know she’s trying to cover things up."

All Hail Diversity! Olympic Transgender Athletes Can Compete As The Gender They Identify As…  "Transgender athletes will no longer be required to undergo gender reassignment surgery in order to participate in the Olympics, according to documents obtained by Outsports on Thursday."

Country’s Biggest Whiners Go To War Over How Much Their Lives Allegedly Suck "The nation’s biggest whiners, white liberal feminists and black racial grievance mongers, have officially gone to war over whose lives suck the most … in regard to thriving in Hollywood."
Rubio Crushes Clinton In Minnesota  "The Minnesota Poll on the 2016 presidential race is out, and its results will be shocking to some. On the Republican side, opinion is split: Marco Rubio leads with 23% and Ted Cruz is second with 21%. But in a general election matchup, Rubio wallops Clinton by nine points, 49-40." . . .