News of the Week for Dec. 30th, 2012
Hide the Decline
Environment &
“Green Energy”
Earth First Journal Assassination Hit List
The latest newsletter from the environmentalist group Earth First! Journal contains a curious topic — assassinations.
Obamacare
Government in Healthcare
Basic errors killing 1000 NHS patients a month a study has revealed
The largest and most detailed survey into hospital deaths has revealed that almost 12,000 patients are needlessly dying every year as a result of poor patient care.
War & Terror
State Department resignations follow Benghazi report
Three State Department officials, including two who oversaw security decisions at the diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, resigned in the wake of a review of security failures there, senior State Department officials told CNN Wednesday.
Why Soldiers Keep Losing to Suicide
Most soldiers who take their own lives today have no history of deployment. They’ve never seen combat, never been to war.
Obama Blames Benghazi Attack on ‘Sloppiness,’ Says Investigation Turned Up ‘Some Very Good Leads’
President Barack Obama blamed the terror attack three months ago in Benghazi, Libya on “sloppiness,” and said “we have some very good leads” after the long investigation
National
Believe It or Not Mass Killings Are Not on the Rise, They Are on the Decline
Nikki Haley to appoint Rep. Tim Scott to Senate
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) will announce Monday that she will appoint Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) to the Senate, according to two sources with knowledge of the pick.
MSNBC’s Ed Schultz Talks Gun ‘Confiscation’
Liberals always say they don’t want to take away guns. But give them an awful tragedy like the Newtown, Conn. shooting and they get bolder and more honest. MSNBC host Ed Schultz showed a rare bout of such honesty during a brief Twitter exchange Saturday. Schultz asked “Why should anyone own an assault rifle ?” and followed it up by saying “it’s the confiscation of these types of weapons that counts and will have an impact.”
CNN’s Lemon Goes on Anti-Gun Tirade, Calls for Assault Weapons Ban
CNN anchor Don Lemon went on an anti-gun rant on Monday morning and called for an assault weapons ban. Lemon is only the latest CNN anchor to abandon journalistic standards and push for gun control.
Democratic lawmaker: To get gun control, Obama must ‘exploit’ shooting
A veteran Democratic lawmaker believes the nation will go along with stronger gun control laws if President Obama “exploits” the Newtown, Conn., tragedy and nudges Congress to action.
Sen. Manchin: ‘It’s Changed Me’
West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin appeared on both MSNBC’s Morning Joe and Andrea Mitchell Reports to discuss gun control in the wake of the Newtown tragedy.
Va. Sen. Warner Changes Stance on Assault Weapons
Sen. Mark R. Warner, among the few Senate Democrats to hold favor with the National Rifle Association, said Monday that the Connecticut elementary school massacre has reversed his stand on assault weapons.
Sen-elect Joe Donnelly, pro-gun Democrat, now open to gun control measures
Another pro-gun Democrat who has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association told CNN Monday that he’s open to looking at new legislation to tighten gun laws in the wake of the school massacre in Connecticut on Friday.
Booker shifting focus to Senate?
A little over a week ago, Cory Booker told CBS’ Face the Nation that he was considering a run against Chris Christie in next year’s New Jersey gubernatorial election, while offering a few qualifications on commitment to it. “I’ve got to… be a part of my party’s push forward,” Booker told Bob Schieffer, “whether it’s me as a candidate, or supporting other candidates for that office.” On the other hand, Booker also said, “I’m actually looking at [a Senate candidacy] a lot as well.”
Obama’s Stealth Redistribution Strategy
Resentment of the rich trumps all else in liberalism, and we are defending against a multi-front class war. President Obama is using a shotgun approach to redistribute your wealth, with multiple attacks on your income, property, savings, and cost of living. These coordinated attacks started after the 2008 election and are now set to hit critical mass in his second term.
Obama taps Biden to lead gun-violence curb
President Obama has tapped Vice President Joseph R. Biden to lead an administrationwide effort to curb gun violence in the aftermath of the massacre in Newtown, Conn., on Friday.
Obama To Unleash Racial-Preferences Juggernaut
If your organization has a policy or practice that doesn’t benefit minorities equally, watch out: The Obama administration could sue you for racial discrimination under a dubious legal theory that many argue is unconstitutional.
NRA Sees Huge Spike in Membership After Sandy Hook Massacre; Numbers Said to ‘Dwarf Past Trends’
Though it has remained largely silent since the horrific school shooting in Newtown, Conn. last week, the National Rifle Association has reportedly registered about 8,000 new members a day since the tragedy.
Squeezing breasts ‘can stop cancer’
A little squeeze may be all that it takes to prevent malignant breast cells triggering cancer, research has shown.
Unedited footage of union assault on Steven Crowder
Analyzing shooting rampage statistics after Newtown school Shooting
The average number of people killed in mass shootings when stopped by police is 14.29
The average number of people killed in a mass shooting when stopped by a civilian is 2.33
Shape of human hand may have evolved for fighting, scientists say
Cuomo Says He’ll Outline Gun Proposal Next Month
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Thursday that he had started discussions with leaders of the State Legislature about new gun control measures, and that he planned to propose a package of gun legislation in his State of the State address on Jan. 9.
2012: The Year in Bans
Before the New Year has even begun, proposals to ban everything from assault weapons to vaccine ingredients are in the works for 2013. But as 2012 has proven, no ban goes down without a fight. This past year, everything from baby bottles and baggy pants, to buffet binges and bare bums have been subject to controversy. Online, in schools, and in courtrooms, new rules gave way to both progress and setback, both praise and outrage. If nothing else, a few bans just made us laugh.
David Gregory Violates DC Gun Law On National TV —– Update: CNN’s Don Lemon Admits To Breaking Gun Laws, Too?
Meet the Press’s studios are located in Washington DC. This morning on “Meet the Press”, David Gregory decided to wave around a 30-round AR-15 magazine.
Desert Storm commander Norman Schwarzkopf dies
Truth is, retired Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf didn’t care much for his popular “Stormin’ Norman” nickname.
California gun sales jump; gun injuries, deaths fall
Gun deaths and injuries have dropped sharply in California, even as the number of guns sold in the state has risen, according to new state data.
Former President George H.W. Bush moved out of intensive care
Former President George H.W. Bush’s condition improved enough for him to be moved on Saturday out of the intensive care unit and into a regular room at the Houston hospital where he was admitted last month for respiratory problems, a spokesman said.
Neil Abercrombie ignores Daniel Inouye’s dying wish, picks Brian Schatz for Hawaii Senate.
Teen’s Mom Speaks Out On Her Son and ‘Explosive’ Chemicals
‘Gun Control Fails,’ Say Statistics from … Gun-Control Advocates
All you need to know: the key gun statistics, straight from the gun-control groups themselves
Obama: I Will ‘Get [Gun Control] In The First Year’
Today on Meet the Press, President Obama promised to “move [gun control] through Congress; I’d like to get it done in the first year.”
Obama hopes to enact new gun-control measures in 2013
President Obama on Sunday said he would make gun control a priority in his new term, pledging to put his “full weight” behind passing new restrictions on firearms in 2013.
Economy
& Taxes
The major manufacturing indices are pointing to a US slowdown
Over $9 Billion in Sandy Bill for Transportation Spending That Won’t Occur for Two Years
Taxpayers for Common Sense vice president Steve Ellis e-mails reporters a list of projects getting funded in the $60.4 billion Sandy relief bill being pushed forward, including those that are either not Sandy-related and/or not urgent
Comfort Dogs in Newtown Help Kids (and Adults) Deal with Grief
Republicans Must Retreat, Not Surrender, on the Fiscal Cliff
What George Washington Could Teach John Boehner & Mitch McConnell
Do-Gooders Ruining Lives in Congo—with the Best of Intentions, Of Course
A small provision in the Dodd-Frank financial reform law was supposed to stop valuable “conflict minerals” from fueling war in eastern Congo.
CA Tax Revenues Continue to Drop Despite Voter-Approved Tax Increases
On Tuesday, California released a report that revealed state tax revenues have plummeted even further below Gov. Jerry Brown’s (D) estimates, even after residents voted to increase taxes via Proposition 30 in November’s elections.
Spending to Increase 55 Percent Under Obama’s Plan
Spending will increase 55 percent over the next decade, if President Barack Obama’s budget plan goes into effect. The finding comes from the Republican-side of the Senate Budget Committee, which notes that Obama’s “Proposal Would Spend $880 Billion Over Already Projected Increases.”
Tiny gold bars latest rage for jittery investors
Private investors in Switzerland, Austria and Germany are lining up to buy gold bars the size of a credit card that can easily be broken into one gram pieces and used as payment in an emergency.
How the fiscal cliff fight will end (unhappily for Republicans)
The word among some Senate Republicans is that a fiscal cliff deal is likely to be struck by Sunday, or Monday at the latest. (And Monday, being December 31st, is in fact the latest a deal could be struck to avoid January 1 tax increases.) Those Senate Republicans hope the final deal will make permanent current tax levels — Bush tax cut levels — for everyone who makes below $500,000.
$1 Trillion Obamacare Tax Hike Hitting on Jan. 1
On January 1, regardless of the outcome of fiscal cliff negotiations, Americans will be hit with a $1 trillion Obamacare tax hike.
International
Conservatives sweep to power in faltering Japan
Japan’s conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) surged back to power in an election on Sunday just three years after a devastating defeat, giving ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a chance to push his hawkish security agenda and radical economic recipe.
Abe, LDP Take Japanese Elections
Japan’s election results are in, and the vote has gone as expected. As most predicted, the Liberal Democratic Party have won elections handily, taking power from the Democratic Party, which has cycled through three Prime Ministers over the past four years. Now, the charismatic, nationalist LDP leader Shinzo Abe will assume the premiership for the second time in five years. But despite a wide margin of victory, Abe appears to be proceeding cautiously
Women without Hijabs were prevented from voting in Egypt
Is it any wonder the sharia constitution passed?
More of Obama’s progress in Egypt. And American women supported that prig.
Gérard Depardieu to return French passport
Gérard Depardieu has declared that he will return his French passport and leave his homeland, in an exasperated letter where he fired back at the French government’s criticism of his decision to move to Belgium.
British Doctors Call for Ban on Long Kitchen Knives to End Stabbings
The good news is that if we ever do get that assault rifle ban, followed by a handgun ban, followed by a ban of anything that can shoot bullets, the “Banners” will still have a banner year of banning all the other ways with which people kill other people.
French court rejects 75 percent millionaires’ tax
France’s Constitutional Council on Saturday rejected a 75 percent upper income tax rate to be introduced in 2013 in a setback to Socialist President Francois Hollande’s push to make the rich contribute more to cutting the public deficit.
Christianity ‘close to extinction’ in Middle East
Christianity faces being wiped out of the “biblical heartlands” in the Middle East because of mounting persecution of worshippers, according to a new report.
Opinion
The Implicit Racism of Ezra Klein
Ezra Klein leaps proudly into the gun control controversy, claiming that he’s just presenting a list of 12 “facts” to help inform the debate.
22 Stats That Prove That There Is Something Seriously Wrong With Young Men In America
When are we finally going to admit that we have a very serious problem with this generation of young men in America?
UK Punching Below Its Weight?
An excellent new column in the FT takes on one of Britain’s biggest flaws: its widespread tendency to underestimate its own relevance. Although Britain is no longer the globe-dominating power it once was, it remains one of the richest and most powerful countries in the world, a fact that too many Britons tend to forget
The Demography Cliff
The New York Times has finally discovered that fiscal cliffs aren’t the only thing that menace the modern nation-state. There’s a demographic cliff, too. A couple weeks ago, the Times’s Ross Douthat wrote a column about America’s bleak demographic future and suggested that the reason we aren’t having enough babies is that we’ve become a decadent society.
Liberal Fascism: The Font
While I was flying back from New York City a couple of weeks ago, I finally got around to watching the DVD of the 2007 movie Helvetica. Simply put, this is The Greatest Movie Ever Made About a Type Font, but then, the roster of this cinematic genre wouldn’t take all that long to assemble. (Hopefully someone is shooting Font Wars: The Zapf Dingbats Strike Back even as we speak.)
