News of the Week for Mar. 10th, 2013
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Obamacare
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Gun Rights
The Great Ammunition Myth
The government is not planning a violent putdown of civil unrest.
Colorado Dem To Rape Survivor At Gun Hearing: “Statistics Aren’t On Your Side”
During the hearing for the state’s proposed college campus gun ban, rape survivor Amanda Collins bravely shared her story of survival. Democrat Senator Evie Hudak responded
School Offers Counseling for Students Troubled by Pastry-Gun Incident
As you know if you have been following this dramatic story unfolding in Brooklyn Park, Maryland, seven-year-old Josh Welch has been suspended for two days after he allegedly fashioned his breakfast pastry into the shape of a gun
Gun Control Laws Advance in Colo. — Here’s Everything You Need to Know About Proposed Bans and Background Checks
A series of sweeping gun-control measures in Colorado are on track to hit the governor’s desk by the end of the month, with Democratic committees in the Legislature advancing all the bills despite a Capitol packed with hundreds of opponents and surrounded by cars circling the Capitol blaring their horns.
The Latest Proposed Gun Control Bill Out of Florida May Be the Most ‘Ridiculous’ Yet
If a Florida Democrat has her way, anyone who tries to buy ammunition will have to first complete an anger management program. Critics are slamming the bill as a ridiculous and unconstitutional proposal to deal with gun violence.
Knife-Wielding Home Intruder Meets Gun-Wielding Homeowner — It Didn’t End Well for One of Them
A man was shot and killed by a homeowner after he attempted to break into a home in Spokane, Wash. by entering through the doggie door.
New York SAFE Act Makes Owning Five or More Firearms a Felony
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s aggressive reaction to December’s Sandy Hook shootings placed New York State on the path of the strictest gun control law in the country. Froced through the Assembly and State Senate, it was packed full of goodies from mostly Downstate politicians until the final bill has so many provisions that many don’t know the full extent of the consequences.
South Dakota governor signs bill allowing armed teachers in the classroom
South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard on Friday signed a bill allowing teachers to carry guns in school, making his state the first to enact such a law since the Newtown shooting tragedy.
Dianne Feinstein: ‘Legal to Hunt Humans’
“The time has come, America, to step up and ban these weapons. The other very important part of this bill is to ban large capacity ammunition feeding devices, those that hold more than 10 rounds. We have federal regulations and state laws that prohibit hunting ducks with more than three rounds. And yet it’s legal to hunt humans with 15-round, 30-round, even 150-round magazines. Limiting magazine capacity is critical because it is when a criminal, a drug dealer, a deranged individual has to pause to change magazines and reload that the police or brave bystanders have the opportunity to take that individual down.”
NRA campaign in high gear
The National Rifle Association and its allies are kicking their lobbying forces into high gear as the Senate heads toward a vote that could remake key pieces of the country’s gun laws.
Hide the Decline
Environment &
“Green Energy”
New Study claiming global temps highest in 4000 years, contradicted by previous studies — Media touted study based on ‘reconstructed data’ from only 73 data sites
Analysis: New study has ‘disappeared The Ice Age!’ — Study in Science ‘completely obliterated the entire paleo record’
Smoking Gun That The New Hockey Stick Is Junk Science
Ten thousand years ago, most of Canada was covered with ice. This would have reflected most of the summer sunlight received there back into space, and would have had a huge cooling effect on the planet. The 1990 IPCC report correctly showed this, with temperatures about 4C cooler than the Holocene Maximum.
Marcott et al claim of ‘unprecedented’ warming compared to GISP ice core data
Obamacare
Government in Healthcare
Elderly woman dies after nurse refuses to do CPR
An elderly woman being cared for at a Bakersfield retirement facility died after a nurse at the facility refused to perform CPR on the woman after she collapsed, authorities said.
California Nursing Home Permits 87-Year-Old Woman To Die Rather Than Render Simple CPR, Because It’s Their “Policy”
Oh, it’s your policy? I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was your policy. Certainly if you have a “policy” you are justified in permitting a woman under your care to die without taking any action to help her at all.
Californians Not Enjoying Their First Taste of Obamacare
Health insurance costs are skyrocketing in California, where many citizens will soon face double digit premium hikes. According to the LA Times, Blue Shield of California and Aetna Inc recently announced premium “increases that average more than 11 percent for about 47,000 individual and small-business policyholders.” California health bureaucrats are understandably unhappy and blame the insurance companies for the new rates.
Bid to defund Obamacare gains momentum in Senate GOP
This week it appeared Republican Sens. Ted Cruz and Mike Lee would wage a lonely war over their threat to hold up a continuing resolution to fund the U.S. government if they are not given a vote on a budget amendment to defund Obamacare. Now, it’s not quite so lonely. Sens. Marco Rubio and James Inhofe have joined Cruz and Lee, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Friday that he “looks forward to supporting” the amendment.
War & Terror
North Korea threatens nuclear strike, U.N. expands sanctions
North Korea threatened the United States on Thursday with a preemptive nuclear strike, raising the level of rhetoric just before the U.N. Security Council approved new sanctions against the reclusive country.
Democrats actually rejected this resolution.
National
The Floodgates Open: More Accounts of White House Thuggery Emerge
In the wake of last week’s brouhaha between journalistic legend Bob Woodward and the Obama White House, other reporters have come forward to talk about their own experiences with the controlling and sometimes abusive administration.
Gay marriage will destabilise family life, sociologist warns
Gay marriage will further destabilise marriage and family life in Britain, a leading sociologist has warned Parliament.
DOJ: Children Do Not Need—and Have No Right to–Mothers
The Obama Justice Department is arguing in the United States Supreme Court that children do not need mothers.
College: Where Free Speech Goes to Die
The value of the university once lay in its providing a nurturing space for what English poet and essayist Matthew Arnold called “the free play of the mind upon all subjects,” which would foster the “instinct prompting [the mind] to try to know the best that is known and thought in the world, irrespective of practice, politics, and everything of the kind.”
Conservative geeks want a wired GOP
Silicon Valley and the GOP — together at last?
Orson Scott Card’s Superman story shelved after Card’s view on Gay Marriage
Yale hosts workshop teaching sensitivity to bestiality
On Saturday afternoon, Yale hosted a “sensitivity training” in which students were asked to consider topics such as bestiality, incest, and accepting money for sex.
Hugo Chavez, fiery Venezuelan leader, dies at 58
President Hugo Chavez, the fiery populist who declared a socialist revolution in Venezuela, crusaded against U.S. influence and championed a leftist revival across Latin America, died Tuesday at age 58 after a nearly two-year bout with cancer.
‘Freedom’ license plate banned in Washington D.C.
The word “FREEDOM” is among the list of banned vanity license plate slogans for Washington D.C., according a government file obtained by a Freedom of Information Request filed by the transparency website GovernmentAttic.org.
The K-12 Implosion
Economist Herb Stein famously said that something that can’t go on forever, won’t. For decades now, America has been putting ever-growing amounts of money into its K-12 education system, while getting steadily poorer results. Now parents are losing faith in public schools, new alternatives are appearing, and change is on the way.
Author Quotes Then-Professor Obama Saying, ‘I Don’t Believe People Should Be Able To Own Guns’
In his new book, At the Brink, economist and author John Lott Jr., assesses the presidency of Barack Obama and recalls conversations regarding gun laws they had while working at the University of Chicago.
U.S. and Texas flags flown at half-staff for Hugo Chavez
United States flags are normally lowered to half staff when one of the country’s leaders dies, but a Venezuela-based company lowered it when Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died.
Hawaii Senate votes to decriminalize marijuana
The Hawaii state Senate has voted unanimously to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana.
Rand Paul filibuster ranks among Senate’s longest
After nearly 13 hours of talking, Sen. Rand Paul’s filibuster is one for the history books.
The Kentucky Republican comes in at No. 9 on a draft list of longest Senate speeches kept by the historian’s office, clocking in at 12 hours and 52 minutes.
Here Are All the GOP Senators That Participated in Rand Paul’s 12+ Hour Filibuster… and the Ones Who Didn’t
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Wednesday staged an incredible nearly 13 hour filibuster to block President Barack Obama’s CIA nominee John Brennan, but mostly to bring attention to potential drone strikes against Americans in the U.S.
Senator Levin won’t seek re-election in 2014
Democratic Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, chairman of the powerful Armed Services Committee, said on Thursday he would not seek re-election in 2014, ending more than three decades in the Senate.
Are Grading Trends Hurting Socially Awkward Kids?
Eccentric children — including those on the autism spectrum — often have unique academic abilities. But today’s teaching philosophies are making hard for them to shine.
Self-Healing Concrete Uses Sunlight to Fix Its Own Cracks
Researchers have demonstrated a way to give concrete surfaces the ability to heal when small cracks appear, an advance that could allow bridges and other structures to last longer.
Remember The Democratic Poll Worker Who Boasted About Voting Six Times For President Obama?
Melowese Richardson, a Democratic poll worker, proudly admits she not only voted twice for herself, but voted for family members who had also already voted! She voted as many as six times.
Blue Civil War in Obama’s Home State
Illinois’ troubles are about to get much worse. On Wednesday, Governor Pat Quinn unveiled what some are calling the state’s “worst-ever budget” and blasted legislators for doing nothing about the state’s $96 billion unfunded pension liability. Another two years of stasis and President Obama’s home state will officially be “spending more on public pensions than on education”, according to Governor Quinn.
Another California Coastal Commission Horror Story
I used to think there wasn’t much a hole in the ground could do. The hole could get bigger, or it could get smaller. And that’s about it. But I’ve recently learned that a hole in the ground can not only suck an enormous amount of money, time and energy from a fellow, it can drive him to the edge of madness as well.
Duke Student: Heterosexual, White Female Opinions Unimportant On Campus
Heller Bests Reid in Judicial Nomination Fight
Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., has apparently won his dispute with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., over the nomination of Elissa Cadish to be a U.S. District Court judge in Nevada.
Most NYC High School Grads Need Remedial Help Before Entering CUNY Community Colleges
Basic Skills Like Reading, Writing And Math Need To Be Re-Learned
Eighty Percent of NYC High School Grads Lack Basic Reading Skills
Moonbat-infested unions and government bureaucrats have been entrusted with the education of future generations. It’s not working out.
Ted Cruz May Not have a List of Communists at Harvard Law, But I Do
After all the howling and vituperative whining from left-wingers it turns out Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was absolutely correct when he said Harvard Law School had significant numbers of what might reasonably be called “communists.”
In Minnesota, marriage as we know it is at stake
The marriage amendment may have fallen short at the polls in November, but a majority of Minnesotans continue to support marriage as the union of one man and one woman, according to recent polls by KSTP/SurveyUSA and the Star Tribune. In the Star Tribune poll, only 38 percent said they favored legalization of same-sex marriage.
California lawmakers avoid campaign contribution limits with ballot measure accounts
Thirteen years after California instituted campaign finance limits, lawmakers at the state Capitol are making broad use of a maneuver to avoid them.
Economy
& Taxes
The Reverse-Joads of California
Low- and middle-income residents are fleeing the state. Sacramento’s liberal policies may bear much of the blame.
Matthew Yglesias Does Not Understand Basic Accounting
He is the author of Slate’s “Moneybox” column which focuses on business, economics, and finance
In hunt for revenue, Washington eyes 401(k) tax breaks
Pressure is growing to change incentives for retirement savings as U.S. lawmakers look for revenue, and top earners may pay the price.
Email tells feds to make sequester as painful as promised
The Obama administration denied an appeal for flexibility in lessening the sequester’s effects, with an email this week appearing to show officials in Washington that because they already had promised the cuts would be devastating, they now have to follow through on that.
Spending cuts may be answer to slow economic growth
The Dow set a new high on Tuesday, but the larger economy is a different story. What if today’s sluggish economic growth turns out to be the new normal? That’s the unsettling question asked by some of our most creative economic thinkers.
Why Did America’s Economy Boom When Reagan and Clinton Reduced the Burden of Spending?
Triggered by an appearance on Canadian TV, I asked yesterday why we should believe anti-sequester Keynesians. They want us to think that a very modest reduction in the growth of government spending will hurt the economy, yet Canada enjoyed rapid growth in the mid-1990s during a period of substantial budget restraint.
The Drama Over, Time For Smart Budget Cuts
Since 2002, total federal spending has increased nearly 89% while median household income has dropped 5%.
International
Assad Forces Defeated in Syria’s Raqqa, Ambushed in Iraq
Syrian rebels appear to have captured the northern city of Raqqa, in one of the biggest gains of their two-year revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.
Dutch TV shows Muslim kids praising Hitler, Holocaust
The Chávez Record
Hugo Chavez is dead. He leaves behind a country ruined by populist policies he referred to as “Socialism of the 21st Century.” Venezuela under 14 years of Chavez’s leadership benefited from about $1 trillion in revenues from the oil bonanza but has little to show for it. Instead, the country has largely followed the path described by economists Rudi Dornbusch and Sebastian Edwards in their 1991 classic, The Macroeconomics of Populism in Latin America.
Irish Senator suggests net users register passport and IP address
Committee hearing on abuse of social media also offers pay-to-post as troll-stopper
‘Unclassified and unidentified’ life found in Antarctic lake
Russian scientists claim to have found new “unclassified and unidentified” life forms after drilling through almost 4km (2.3 miles) of ice to reach a hidden lake in Antarctica.
Opinion
California becoming a feudal society
For most of its history, California has occupied a special place in the mind of most Americans. From the height of the Gold Rush through the 1980s, California’s warm weather and booming economy drew enterprising, educated and talented immigrants from across the country. California was the melting pot of America’s melting pot, leading all states in the number of residents who were born in other U.S. states.
“Do We on the Right Still Trust the People?”
Jim Geraghty asks that provocative question in his Morning Jolt newsletter and concludes the answer is…not really.
Are Republicans Doing Better Than You Think?
At The Hill, John Feehery makes a provocative claim: John Boehner and Mitch McConnell are eating Barack Obama’s lunch
The Engineers of Human Souls
Exactly sixty years ago today, Iosef Vissarionovich Djugashvili, the Georgian son of an illiterate shoemaker, and better known to the world as Joseph Stalin, died in his bed. The relative peacefulness of his death, set against the ruthless torment he inflicted on millions of his “own” people, is emblematic of why Robert Conquest called the twentieth century “the ravaged century.”
Will Obama turn the United States into the world’s largest banana republic?
Back in my teaching days, many years ago, one of the things I liked to ask the class to consider was this: Imagine a government agency with only two tasks: (1) building statues of Benedict Arnold and (2) providing life-saving medications to children. If this agency’s budget were cut, what would it do?
How to Revive the GOP
Attempts to remake the GOP in the wake of 2012 have thus far been discouraging. Most recently, CPAC, a conservative confab attended by some of the biggest names in the GOP, made headlines for snubbing New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and banning a pro-gay rights group.
Journalists as Ring Wraiths
When you’ve got a country to transform, any caviling is disloyalty.
It, Our Child
Beck Laxton and her partner Kieran, from Sawston in central England, referred to their son, Sasha, as “the infant” and dressed the youngster in ambiguous outfits to keep his sex a secret from friends and strangers. They decided to tell people the child’s gender after it became more difficult to conceal when he started pre-school.
Blue Civil War: The Battle for California
Via Meadia readers know that the most important political battle in America today isn’t the much-ballyhooed battle for the soul of the GOP. It is the blue civil war, pitting key elements of the Democratic coalition against one another as the old social model fails and the growth curve of rising blue model costs runs up against fiscal limits. Blue model policies, whatever their merits, don’t generate the revenue that can support blue model institutions and methods, and when those shortfalls appear, the coalition divides. It’s happened in Wisconsin, it’s happened in Indiana; it’s happened in Michigan and it is happening in California.
The Power of One Man’s Conviction
What was it about Rand Paul’s filibuster that has captivated conservatives all over the country and reinvigorated their desire to fight for our Constitutional Republic? The irony is that the drone issue was not even one of the most popular issues among many conservatives until last night. I suspect that many conservatives don’t necessarily agree with some of Paul’s assertions about targeting terrorists like Al-Awlaki overseas, although we are all (everyone except for McCain and Graham) concerned about targeting Americans on American soil. Yet he has become an overnight sensation, not just among his core libertarian base, but among the broad conservative movement.
Are Christians Guilty Until Proven Innocent?
Anti-gay violence is despicable and those who encourage it are to be deplored.
