Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Seventy years ago, Operation Jericho: RAF breach Amiens prison walls

Feb 18, 1944; 70 years ago  ... "Information: Mosquitos of 140 Airfield are to attack the prison at AMIENS in an attempt to assist 120 prisoners to escape. These prisoners are French patriots condemned to death for assisting the Allies. This air attack is only part of the plan as other assistance will be at hand at the time.
"Date and Time: 18th February, 1944." ...
 Here, Mosquitos of No. 487 Squadron RNZAF clear the target at low level as the first 500-lb bombs to be dropped detonate near the south wall of the prison.
Here, Mosquitos of No. 487 Squadron RNZAF clear the target at low level as the first 500-lb bombs
 to be dropped detonate near the south wall of the prison.
 
"On the 18th February the RAF conducted one of their most successful low level raids, freeing large numbers of the French Resistance with their raid on Amiens Prison."
Contemporary newsreel explaining the raid: 

BREAKING--CBO: Minimum Wage Increase Will Cost 500,000 Jobs (Updated)

Yid With Lid Entire article quoted below:
"The non-partisan Congressional Budget office confirmed GOP fears about a minimum wage increase. According to the report embedded below, the Democratic Party proposal to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 from $7.25 would reduce employment by 500,000 workers by 2016, but that low-wage workers still employed would see their incomes boosted.

The report looks at two options:
  • The first would raise the wage in three steps every year through 2016 on July 1, to $10.10. Once the $10.10 wage is in effect, it would rise with inflation. CBO found that the range of job losses under this option would most likely be around 500,000 people. It estimated that 16.5 million workers would see their incomes rise, no  consolation to those who lost their jobs. 
  • Option two increases the minimum wage to $9 per hour over the two years, without indexing it to inflation. This option would only kill 100,000 jobs.
It will be interesting to see how the Democrats who used the "non-partisan" CBO reports to sell Obamacare, react to a CBO report which disagrees with their policy. The full CBO Report follows:



 

Vetting Hillary (Updated) " Dems Can ‘Attack Palin’s Whole Family,’ But GOP Won’t Dare Target Hillary"

"Willey claims Mrs. Clinton, the former U.S. secretary of state, has orchestrated a series of investigations designed to discredit the many women who have claimed her husband sexually assaulted them.
" 'The point is what this woman is capable of doing to other women while she's running a campaign, basically, on women's issues,' she said. 'It just doesn't make any sense.'
" 'She singlehandedly orchestrated every one of the investigations of all these women.' "
Willey (L) and Juanita Broddrick (R) both claim Bill Clinton sexually assaulted them. Broddrick's allegations include her insistence that the former president raped her in 1978, but she has changed her story several times
Willey (L) and Juanita Broddrick (R) both claim Bill Clinton sexually
 assaulted them. Broddrick's allegations include her insistence
 that the former president raped her in 1978, but she has changed
 her story several times
... "And addressing claims by some Democrats that Republican politicians are conducting a so-called 'war on women' through their social policies, Willey turned the notion on its head." 
 
... "It's not ancient history; it reveals something about who Clinton was and still is. And re-examining her past is entirely consistent with practices in recent campaigns.
 
"In the 2012 presidential race, for example, many in the press were very interested in business deals Mitt Romney made in the 1980s. In the 2004 race, many journalists were even more interested in what George W. Bush did with the Texas Air National Guard in 1968, as well as what John Kerry did in Vietnam that same year. And in 2000, a lot of journalists invested a lot of time trying to find proof that Bush had used cocaine three decades earlier."
 
UPDATE: Limbaugh: Dems Can ‘Attack Palin’s Whole Family,’ But GOP Won’t Dare Target Hillary   "He pointed out the GOP kid-gloves approach may have seriously hurt Mitt Romney in 2012, and now establishment types like Karl Rove have warned against making issues out of Monica Lewinsky to hit Hillary Clinton with."
 

Buyer’s Remorse: Economist Poll Finds 71% of Obama Supporters “Regret” Voting For His Re-Election…

  "Assuming most of them voted for Obama in 2008, this fits Einstein’s definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again hoping for a different results."
 
But his voters seem to have moved on and are ready for the next election, giving Obama very early lame duck status before the midterm elections. The poll, for example, found that Hillary Clinton has a higher favorability rating than the president. While Obama is underwater in his ratings, Clinton is buoyed by a 50-percent favorable to 43-percent unfavorable rating, with a sizable 28 percent rating her “very favorable.”

As for Romney, his favorable ratings have dropped, but he would edge Obama by about three million votes, probably because Americans are not wowed by Obama's second term performance, not because they like Romney more.

 

VW workers vs. the UAW; RACISM!

VW Bronco
 
"As absolutely pathetic as this is, we all knew it was coming."
 
NRO: VW Workers Escape from Detroit   "Inflating paychecks is not the only way to hobble a car company. Beyond wages and benefits, the UAW afflicted the domestic automobile industry with ridiculous and cumbrous work rules — a recent volume of which weighed in at 22 pounds — and, perhaps more important, with a poisonous, us-and-them attitude regarding the firms that employed its members. The combination of UAW micromanagement and adversarial culture, not wages per se, is what helped to do in GM. "
 Political Cartoons by Lisa Benson

The king wields executive orders like a scepter

 
Obama to take executive action on fuel efficiency    "President Obama will again bypass Congress and take executive actions to promote his agenda on Tuesday - this time by ordering the federal government to develop the next round of greenhouse gas standards for medium- and heavy-weight trucks by March 2016."
 
Political Cartoons by Gary Varvel
 
 

'Satan' character removed from film 'Son of God' because he looked too much like Obama

Now if Satan had looked like George Bush...
 
 
A feature film based on the wildly popular 10-hour History Channel min-series, "The Bible," will not include the character of Satan.

Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, producers of the History Channel series and the feature film "Son of God" that opens next month, didn't want a repeat of the [controversy] that occurred when one of the episodes in the mini-series featured an Obama look alike Satan tempting Jesus.

What do you think? Separated at birth?
 
OK, but now there's this thing in an Egyptian newspaper: (From September 5, 2013) "Popular and widely read Egyptian newspaper Al Wafd published the above picture today portraying U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama as Satan himself. The unflattering picture has been making the rounds on Facebook in the Middle East and, according to Al Wafd, is representative of the hatred growing numbers of people in the region have for the American president, thanks to his staunch and unwavering support for Islamists and jihadiis — whether in Nigeria, Libya, Egypt, or Syria — even as they terrorize, murder, rape, and burn down Christian churches, that is, even as they engage in diabolical activities."
 
Egyptian-media-portray-Obama-as-satan

 
 

Monday, February 17, 2014

US press less free; Ranks 46th in press freedom, down 13 places.

Reporters Without Borders  ... "Rich in diversity, the United States and Brazil should have given freedom of information a supreme position both in their laws and their social values. Unfortunately the reality falls far short of this.
 
"In the United States, 9/11 spawned a major conflict between the imperatives of national security and the principles of the constitution’s First Amendment. This amendment enshrines every person’s right to inform and be informed. But the heritage of the 1776 constitution was shaken to its foundations during George W. Bush’s two terms as president by the way journalists were harassed and even imprisoned for refusing to reveal their sources or surrender their files to federal judicial officials.
 
"There has been little improvement in practice under Barack Obama. Rather than pursuing journalists, the emphasis has been on going after their sources, but often using the journalist to identify them. No fewer that eight individuals have been charged under the Espionage Act since Obama became president, compared with three during Bush’s two terms." ... 

Why doctors should escape from the system, especially if elections offer no help.


Dems plan to neutralize Obamacare as an election issue ... "This sounds all well and good, except Republicans basically hardly need to lift a finger. What will drive people to vote is their personal experience with Obamacare and from what we've seen so far, those experiences do not favor the Democrats. Higher premiums, coverage they don't want, being kicked off their insurance and unable to keep their doctor - all of this and more will make whatever the Democrats say about Obamacare seem hollow and empty."
Political Cartoons by Nate Beeler
In a recent debate, I pointed out that far from helping the uninsured, Obamacare had created millions of new uninsured. My opponent responded, “Whenever you try something this big, there are always going to be some bumps in the road.”
That statement sums up the totalitarian mindset of the hard left, which is, “the ends justify the means.” So what if millions lose their insurance? We are on the bumpy road to nirvana, where everyone has access to the same level of care, regardless of income. If a relative handful of people are inconvenienced, injured, or even killed, well, that’s too bad for them!

In a recent debate, I pointed out that far from helping the uninsured, Obamacare had created millions of new uninsured. My opponent responded, “Whenever you try something this big, there are always going to be some bumps in the road.”
That statement sums up the totalitarian mindset of the hard left, which is, “the ends justify the means.” So what if millions lose their insurance? We are on the bumpy road to nirvana, where everyone has access to the same level of care, regardless of income. If a relative handful of people are inconvenienced, injured, or even killed, well, that’s too bad for them! It’s all for the greater good. To make an omelet you have to break some eggs!


The MyRA; Are Democrats coming after your retirement savings?

A nation deserves whatever government it gets. And ours just granted this administration another four years. (By a slim margin, however.)
 
THETHIEFEXECUTIVE
 
"Reuters and zero hedge posted articles this past week about the EUs serious plan for the wholesale confiscation of the personal savings accounts of over 500 million EU members to prop up their moribund economy. Zerohedge pointed to the possibility that Obama’s MyRA could end up being the same thing, a theory we have discussed here for three years, most recently in January.
"It’s not just a possibility, Mr. Obama has enunciated this plan in his 2008 and 2013 budgets. He clearly wants the $17.5 trillion in personal retirement savings accounts and he believes the government should be the steward of our money
....
"It’s coming. Obama wants your personal retirement savings. He will start with a deceptively helpful retirement plan for people who don’t have one, but I think we all know where this is going. We are talking about $17.5 trillion and if you think the government doesn’t want it, you are  naïve."
 
"The myRA account is intended to help low- and middle-income employees who do not have retirement accounts start saving for retirement. The incentives to start saving include:
  • Automatic payroll deductions of as little as $5 a pay period after a $25 initial investment.
  • A safe investment where the principal is guaranteed by government bonds.
  • No fees whatsoever.
  • Ease of decision making as the only investment available is government bonds.
What's All the Fuss About myRA Accounts?   "The myRA earns interest from the federal government at the same rate federal employees earn through the Thrift Savings Plan Government Securities Investment Fund. In 2013, holders of that fund earned 1.89%."

Glenn Loury asks: How does Bill Clinton "get to go around and be an honorable defender of the Democratic Party line, which is a pro-woman line..."

Althouse    ... "How is it that the press and everybody else can just forget about the exploitation of women when they're actually exploited and yet are prepared to level their howitzers of criticism on any Republican who might say something that could be construed as anti-woman, who hasn't been messing around with the interns under his charge?' "

 

The Fundamentally Transformed Presidency: Who Can Stop It?


... "What Obama has done by riding roughshod over the Constitution will come back to haunt us in the future. Any president from now on can use the "Obama rule" to change legislation more to his liking or political advantage, making a mockery of the separation of powers and well-ordered government."

Andrew C. McCarthy; Rand Paul’s Frivolous NSA Lawsuit   ... "It is true that the NSA’s program may be illegal. But that has nothing to do with the Constitution." ...

Sure, we know Mr. Obama said that in light-hearted jest. But the words have summed up this administration and it's actions since 2009.
... "What’s more, as Rogers explained, the Obama administration decided that employers who fall below 100 employees “must certify to the IRS—under the threat of perjury—that the reasons for your employee head count have nothing to do with your opposition to or avoidance of Obamacare. .  .  . It’s jaw-dropping that if you fall below 100 employees, the burden will be on you to prove that you meant no disrespect to Obamacare.”
"... and now the White House has opened the door to prosecuting those they deem to be insufficiently committed to Obamacare. When will the nightmare end?' ”
The key point here for me is this:  "Unless, that is, our elected officials in Congress act to defend the rule of law. ...It’s Congress that has the powers of oversight, of the purse, of confirmation, and of legislation. It’s true that one chamber, the Senate, is of no use because for the Democrats who control it party loyalty seems to have trumped institutional responsibility. But the Republicans control the House, the people’s House.
 
"The Republican party’s “brand” has been tarnished in recent years... But perhaps part of the solution is for the Republican party to go back to its roots as the party of the rule of law and of equality before the law."
Emphases added, TD
Political Cartoons by Bob Gorrell