News of the Week for June 2nd, 2013
- Obama Scandals
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Obamacare
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Obama Scandals
People Sign “Thank You” Card to IRS for Targeting Conservatives
IRS may have targeted conservatives more broadly
WASHINGTON A group of anti-abortion activists in Iowa had to promise the Internal Revenue Service it wouldn’t picket in front of Planned Parenthood.
Former IRS Chief’s Wife Works for Leftist Campaign Finance Reform Group
On Friday, reports broke that Former IRS chief Doug Shulman’s wife works with a liberal lobbying group, Public Campaign, where she is the senior program advisor. Public Campaign is an “organization dedicated to sweeping campaign reform that aims to dramatically reduce the role of big special interest money in American politics.”
IRS collects docs from 88 employees in investigation
The Internal Revenue Service has told House GOP investigators they have identified 88 IRS employees who may have documents relevant to the congressional investigation into targeting of conservative groups, according to a congressional source familiar with the investigation.
Gun Rights
Republican Consultant Behind Anti-Gun Ads
Well, it seems Republican consultant Mike Murphy has decided to assist the anti-gun left. Jazz Shaw at Hot Air posted about his involvement with Bloomberg’s anti-gun ads directed towards Arkansas’ Democratic Senator Mark Pryor on May 26. While many conservatives might disagree with Murphy’s political analysis, he’s always entertaining to watch on Meet the Press. Yet, this little tryst with the pro-gun control crowd is nothing short of idiotic.
Colorado Lawmakers Facing Recalls After Gun-Control Push
Earlier this year, the Colorado state legislature successfully passed some strict gun-control measures, but gun-rights advocates say the issue isn’t settled: They’re mounting recall campaigns against some legislators who voted for the bill, including one of the state’s highest-ranking lawmakers. State-senate president John Morse and at least three other Democrats are facing recalls in their respective districts.
Britain wants its guns back
A Daily Telegraph online poll has revealed that over 80 percent of Brits would rather a repeal on the hand gun ban over various other “new law” choices
Military Vet Faces Charges For Firing Warning Shot At Suspect Trying To Break Into Home
A military veteran is facing criminal charges after firing a warning shot at a suspect trying to break into his house.
California lawmakers OK a dozen gun-control measures
The bills come in response to recent attacks. Senators also vote to strip nonprofits such as the Boy Scouts of America of their tax-exempt status for discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.
The zero-tolerance war on kindergarteners
Even talking about Bubble and Nerf guns gets punished.
Hide the Decline
Environment &
“Green Energy”
The madness of 98% consensus herds
“Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one.”
Obamacare
Government in Healthcare
Maine Doctor Able to Slash Prices in Half After He Stops Accepting Insurance
A Maine doctor announced last month he would stop taking insurance from patients as a form of payment. He instead posted how much different services would cost on his website.
Rate Shock: In California, Obamacare To Increase Individual Health Insurance Premiums By 64-146%
Last week, the state of California claimed that its version of Obamacare’s health insurance exchange would actually reduce premiums. “These rates are way below the worst-case gloom-and-doom scenarios we have heard,” boasted Peter Lee, executive director of the California exchange. But the data that Lee released tells a different story: Obamacare, in fact, will increase individual-market premiums in California by as much as 146 percent.
War & Terror
Special Forces ‘snatched’ Woolwich murder suspect from Kenya
An SAS unit “snatched” Woolwich terror suspect Michael Adebolajo as he tried to enter Somalia from Kenya, it has been reported.
America’s China mistake
As Beijing becomes more bellicose, Washington clings to the hope that military-to-military relations will somehow relieve tensions. They won’t.
Russia military-style arrest of mayor in Dagestan
Russian security forces conducted a military-style operation to detain the powerful mayor of Dagestan’s regional capital on murder charges Saturday, whisking him away in a helicopter to escape his private army of several hundred bodyguards, officials said.
National
La Raza (The Race) Partners with Feds to Hire Government Employees
The National Council of La Raza (translation: The Race) has partnered with the Office of Personnel Management to encourage Hispanic activists and members to burrow into the federal government.
Schools scanned students’ irises without permission
Parents in Polk County, Florida are outraged after learning that students in area schools had their irises scanned as part of a new security program without obtaining proper permission.
Judge in George Zimmerman Case Bars Damaging Martin Info
Judge Debra S. Nelson, who is the judge in the George Zimmerman trial for shooting Trayvon Martin, has barred some rather interesting information from being disclosed to the jury.
Harry Reid campaign bundler Harvey Whittemore guilty of three counts
A U.S. District Court jury has found developer Harvey Whittemore guilty on three counts of making illegal campaign contributions to Harry Reid
Massachusetts auditor finds more than 1,000 dead people on welfare
A state audit today found Massachusetts has handed out $18 million in “questionable public assistance benefits” over the past few years, including welfare to more than 1,160 people who were either dead or using a deceased person’s Social Security number.
DHS Accosts Project Veritas after exposing CA Assemblyman ‘Homeless Bill of Rights’ Hypocrisy
Our investigators visited the homes and offices of legislative sponsors of the California Homeless Bill of Rights to find they’re not interested in practicing what they preach. Their investigative reward? Homeland Security threatening their fourth amendment rights
Rookie Police Officer Shot Fort Worth Homeowner Six Times
The daughter of the homeowner shot and killed by Fort Worth police early Tuesday morning says the department has misrepresented details surrounding the shooting.
Obama: ‘I Could Not Be More Anxious’ To Have Pelosi Back As Speaker
Returning to the town that launched his political career, President Barack Obama gave a boost Wednesday to Democrats chasing control of the House, telling donors he’s still seeking compromise with Republicans — but if that fails, it’s up to Democrats to finish the job.
Grumpy Cat getting live-action movie
Grumpy Cat, whose real name is Tarder Sauce but is called Tard for short, is getting her own movie.
California Senate votes to revoke Boy Scouts’ nonprofit status
Even as the Boy Scouts of America moves to allow gay youths to join its troops, the California Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that would revoke the organization’s nonprofit status because it does not permit the participation of openly gay adults.
Republican Red Flags All Over in Bellwether States
The GOP’s recruitment struggles in Virginia and Colorado don’t bode well for the party’s long-term health.
Zimmerman prosecutor withheld evidence
A court employee who retrieved photos and deleted text messages from Trayvon Martin’s cellphone has been placed on administrative leave after an attorney testified that prosecutors didn’t properly turn over the evidence to the defense, an attorney said Wednesday.
Former WWE World Champion Could Be Next Republican Senator From Tennessee
Glenn Jacobs, the seven-foot-tall professional wrestler better known as Kane, just might be the next Republican senator from Tennessee.
Harry Reid’s Friend
Harvey Whittemore fraudulently funneled money into Reid’s reelection campaign.
DOJ: Social Media Posts Trashing Muslims May Violate Civil Rights
In its latest effort to protect followers of Islam in the U.S. the Obama Justice Department warns against using social media to spread information considered inflammatory against Muslims, threatening that it could constitute a violation of civil rights.
Google Chairman Bankrolls Tech Shop Exclusively for Democrats
I’ve written previously about how embedded Google, Inc., is with the Democratic Party and the Obamasphere in particular.
‘Liberal Activist’ Admits to Bugging Mitch McConnell’s Office
Writing for Salon, Curtis Morrison, a self-titled “liberal activist,” admits to bugging Mitch McConnell’s office. He claims to have been inspired by Julian Assange and claims, “If given another chance to record him, I’d do it again.”
The GOP’s Built-In Midterm Turnout Advantage
If and when Republicans gain a modest number of House and Senate seats in November 2014, the Beltway set may be tempted to interpret the results as a sixth-year itch rebuke of President Obama on everything from IRS/DOJ/Benghazi to rocky implementation of the Affordable Care Act. To do so would be to ignore simple demographic math: likely GOP success in 2014 has much more to do with a shifting electorate than shifting opinions.
Third-grade boy forced to perform oral sex on three male classmates at Harlem school: suit
The incident took place at P.S. 194. The ringleader — who was in fifth grade and had been involved in an attack on a female student two years earlier — along with two third-grade students, pushed the boy into a bathroom stall, where he was forced onto his knees and had his hands behind his back. The boy’s mother is filing a $6 million lawsuit on Friday against the Education Department.
The Wonderful World of Capitalism, in 1950s Cartoon Form
How the middle-income consumer became the ‘dominant economic personality’ of the mid-century United States.
Economy
& Taxes
‘Austerity’ To Blame? But Where’s The Austerity?
Die-hard Keynesians bemoan that, with a few exceptions, the world’s economies are drowning in the quicksand of austerity. They preach we need more government spending and stimulus, not less. Northern Europe should bail out its less-fortunate neighbors to the South so they can pay their teachers, public employees and continue generous transfers to the poor and unemployed. If not, Europe’s South will remain mired in recession. In America, Keynesians entreat the skinflint Republicans to loosen the purse strings so we can escape sub par growth. They advise Japan to spend itself out of permanent stagnation and welcome recent steps in this direction.
International
EU exit would put US trade deal at risk, Britain warned
Obama officials say that the UK would probably be excluded from a trade agreement worth billions a year if it leaves the EU
Scottish outrage at ‘nanny state’ plan to ban pint glass in Highlands pubs
Plans to ban the pint glass from pubs throughout the Highlands of Scotland have sparked outrage.
New attack on Chilean presidential candidate Pablo Longueira
The attack was carried out by a group of protesters who expected the candidate, who was conducting an interview on local radio. The command will take a decision this afternoon.
More Glittering Success for Latin American Socialism
Argentina and Venezuela may one day grow weary of being global laughingstocks and turn to sensible policies, but at least for now the socialist dream lives on.
Venezuela furious at Colombia’s meeting with opposition leader
Venezuela reacted with fury to Wednesday’s talks between Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles, saying it was a “bomb” in ties and recalling an envoy to Colombia’s peace process.
Second sandwich hurled at Australian Prime Minister
As a career politician, Julia Gillard is used to having insults flung at her. But it appears she is also getting used to having sandwiches thrown too.
The Road Europe Is On
A man has been arrested for the stabbing of a French soldier last weekend. A native of France, Alexandre Dhaussy is a convert to Islam — like the two men who hacked Drummer Rigby to death in Woolwich, like the young wife of the Boston Marathon bomber, and the young Canadian jihadist the bomber hooked up with in Dagestan, and the Belgian teenagers who ran away from home to fight in Syria.
Turkish police fire tear gas in worst protests for years
Turkish police fired tear gas and water cannon on Friday at demonstrators in central Istanbul, wounding scores of people and prompting rallies in other cities in the fiercest anti-government protests for years.
Lesbian-Positive Men’s Locker Room at the University of Toronto
Being a politically correct idiot was an asset for those who worked in the Canadian academia. It looks like now it is a requirement. Case in point – the University of Toronto.
Venezuela police seize 2,500 rolls of toilet paper in overnight raid
Police in Venezuela say they have seized nearly 2,500 rolls of toilet paper in an overnight raid of a clandestine warehouse storing scarce goods.
The BBC: A Child Sex Abuse Ring Masquerading as a Broadcast Network
More child sex abuse allegations have surfaced inside the British Broadcasting Corporation. They include current network staff and contributors, as well as some who have left the network.
Aging Chinese Face a Bleak Picture
High Rates of Poverty, Disability and Mental Illness Haunt Elderly, Pose Growing Economic Challenge
Thousands take to streets on third day of Turkey protests
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Turkey’s four biggest cities on Sunday and clashed with riot police firing tear gas in the third day of the fiercest anti-government protests in years.
Opinion
Barack Obama, the Good Tsar
As I’ve gotten older, one thing I’ve realized is that many of Russia’s supposedly unique foibles (grasping bureaucrats, ineffective institutions, corruption, etc.) are actually incredibly banal. Far from distinguishing the country or giving insight into the depths of the usually unknowable “Russian soul,” these failures are easily visible in almost every country in the world. They, obviously, vary in strength and intensity, not even the most committed relativist would say that bureaucrats are equally corrupt or the roads equally bad across all countries, but there is a fundamental continuity across cultures, time, and space.
When “Diversity” Means Conformity
I wrote here the other day about how “diversity” has become a latter-day Stalinist concept, when it doesn’t imply downright hate from the left, just as “multiculturalism” is cover for self-loathing of Western civilization rather than a genuine curiosity about what might be learned from other cultures. (I think it was Allan Bloom who pointed out, for example, how few of the devotees of “multiculturalism” actually bother to learn a foreign language.) Above all, the “diversity” mongers demand absolute conformity to their creed, making a hash of an otherwise worthy concept.
Leviathan Fail
The State faces humiliation and bankruptcy, and that’s the good news.
Helpful reminder: Communism kills, capitalism saves.
Remember, in the 20th century:
One man’s individual drive and industry saved about a billion people*;
The impersonal forces of market-based capitalism redeemed about one billion people;
And international Communism? …Well, at least we kept them from killing more than one hundred million people.
