News of the Week for Mar. 31st, 2013
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Obamacare
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Gun Rights
Stubborn Facts: The Gun Industry Employs Twice as Many Americans as GM (and That’s Just the Beginning)
Guns are big business in America – so big, in fact, that despite making vastly more firearms than any other nation, the U.S. also is the largest importer of handguns, rifles and shotguns.
WH tells Paul, Lee, and Cruz not to filibuster gun control bill
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and the two senators who provided the most support for his talking filibuster of the drone program intend to use less dramatic means to block the Senate gun control legislation, a move the White House suggested is insensitive to the victims of gun violence.
Alabama lawmaker’s email: ‘Slave-holding, murdering, adulterous, baby-raping, snaggle-toothed kin folk’
State Rep. Joe Mitchell, D-Mobile, had an outlandish exchange via email with a Jefferson County man who asked him and other lawmakers not to pass any laws that would restrict gun ownership.
Toy Gun Buyback Plan May Go Forward
A St. Louis pastor held a meeting at his church on Tuesday to talk with community leaders about a toy gun buyback program.
Biden: The assault-weapons ban is “just the beginning” of our gun-control plans
I missed this on Wednesday but Breitbart didn’t. Why would Crazy Joe confirm the worst suspicions of gun-rights supporters by admitting that Democrats won’t stop at the AWB? It’s much harder to use an incrementalist strategy towards aggressive regulation when you’re calling attention to your incrementalism. The way to play this, as Mike Bloomberg could tell you, is to reassure the public that you’re only trying to tweak their behavior at the margins with minor infringements on freedom. If you tell the frog you’re trying to boil him, he’ll jump out of the pot.
Sikh man cites religion in lawsuit against gun controls
A Sikh man is suing the state of California over its gun laws, arguing they violate his First Amendment rights to practice his religion by barring him from carrying the kind of weapons he says he needs for self-defense.
Unlike real engineers, social engineers avoid math
Opponents of nuclear power plants were cheered by the results of a recent study suggesting that, with public health in mind, more of these marvels that turn out cheap, clean energy ought to be shut down.
St. Louis Anti-Gun Rally Becomes Rally To Cede US Sovereignty
Earlier today a bunch of well-heeled progressive women from the nice, safe part of Missouri rolled into crime-ridden St. Louis city to condescend to city residents and hold signs proclaiming “Moms Demand Action! For Gun Sense In America!” Because what mom doesn’t demand action for things, gun sense especially? These moms aren’t like those pro-Second Amendment moms, who apparently do not demand gun sense, whatever that’s supposed to mean.
Hide the Decline
Environment &
“Green Energy”
Democratic New Mexico senator worked closely with convicted eco-terrorist
Democratic New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich founded an environmentalist group with a convicted eco-terrorist in the 1990s.
Where’s the hockey stick? The ‘Marcott 9′ show no warming past 1950
While it took me a while to get the time together to write an article about the Marcott paper, that does not mean I have not been looking at it and discussing it from nearly the day it was released. There has been volumes of discussion within The Right Climate Stuff group that I have been involved with. The ones that lean towards CO2 as something to be concerned about were initially rather excited about this paper, but that has taken a course correction as it has become clear how poor the science is in the Marcott paper.
Climate models aren’t good enough to hindcast, says new study
Only a few climate models were able to reproduce the observed changes in extreme precipitation in China over the last 50 years. This is the finding of a doctoral thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
The Eagle Ford Shale oil field came out of nowhere and had a $61 billion impact on the Texas economy last year
The University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA) released preliminary findings today for its second annual study of the impact of the Eagle Ford Shale on the Texas economy. In its first study for 2011, UTSA found that the oil and gas rush in South central Texas had an economic impact of $25 billion in the 20-county area, and supported 48,000 jobs in the oil and gas industry. But from 2011 to 2012, oil output in the Eagle Ford Shale nearly tripled from 128,000 barrels per day to 363,000 barrels per day, and that surge in oil production boosted the economic impact significantly according to UTSA’s new study for 2012.
The Meltdown Of Global Warmists Reveals Their True Priorities
Prominent global warming activist Michael Mann threw down the gauntlet against evangelical Christians this week, calling a distinguished climate scientist and well-known Christian an “evolution denier” while refusing to participate with him in a global warming debate. In the wake of Mann’s unprovoked attack, prominent ‘evangelical’ global warming activists, who target evangelical Christians by claiming to also be evangelicals, declined to stand up for the Christian scientist against Mann’s ugly and unprovoked assault.
Climate Change Endgame In Sight?
That day appears to have arrived. The new issue of The Economist has a long feature on the declining confidence in the high estimates of climate sensitivity.
Obamacare
Government in Healthcare
Obamavote: Healthcare application registers voters, too
The 61-page online Obamacare draft application for health care includes asking if the applicant wants to register to vote, raising the specter that pro-Obama groups being tapped to help Americans sign up for the program will also steer them to register with the Democratic Party.
Three Years of Obamacare: $31 Billion in Regulation Costs, 71.5 Million Hours in Compliance
President Obama’s signature health-care law, which turned three over the weekend, has already accounted for $31.3 billion in regulatory costs and liabilities, as well as 71.5 million hours of paperwork, according to a study from the American Action Forum (AAF) released Monday.
California’s $910 Million ObamaCare Exchange
How much does it cost to open one of ObamaCare’s state-run health exchanges? In California, the answer is nearly $910 million and counting.
Brazilian doctor accused of killing 20 terminally ill patients to free up hospital beds ‘could be responsible for 300 more deaths’
Virginia Soares de Souza was arrested after premature deaths on her watch
Accused of giving fatal drug doses to patients at a Curitiba hospital
If responsible for 300 deaths, would be ‘worse than Harold Shipman’
The Secret Republican Plan to Repeal ‘Obamacare’
And why the fight is far from over.
CNN: Hey, were Americans misled about the costs of ObamaCare?
Things that could have been brought to our attention….three years ago!
War & Terror
Bank Of Cyprus Bomb Explosion Reported In Limassol
An explosion has occurred outside of a Bank of Cyprus branch in Limassol, according to sources enikos.gr and SigmaLive.
U.S. says it sent B-2 stealth bombers over South Korea
The United States said Thursday it flew stealth bombers over South Korea to participate in annual military exercises amid spiking tensions with North Korea.
National
FAU Student Claims He Was Suspended For Refusing To Step On Jesus
A student at Florida Atlantic University said he was unfairly suspended from his Intercultural Communications class because he refused to step on Jesus.
Kagan 2009: “There is no federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage”
That’s the statement Elena Kagan made back in 2009 when she was going through confirmation proceedings to become Solicitor General
Education Department posts, then removes quote by Mao Zedong
The Department of Education pulled a “Quote of the Day” by Chinese dictator Mao Zedong from its children’s website Friday after a screenshot of the quote went viral.
Johnson Will Announce Retirement in South Dakota on Tuesday
Sen. Tim Johnson will announce his future political plans in South Dakota on Tuesday, and according to a Reuters report, the three-term Democrat will retire.
The ‘Science’ of Same-Sex Marriage
Oral arguments on gay marriage take place before the Supreme Court the last week of March, and the pile of amicus briefs filed by interested parties long ago passed the point of redundancy. We prefer briefs filed by disinterested parties, such as the one put before the Court earlier in the month by Leon Kass of the University of Chicago and Harvey Mansfield of Harvard University. The Kass-Mansfield brief is silent on the larger question of gay marriage as social policy. The professors instead confine themselves to a shared area of expertise: the relation between social science and cultural and political life, which they have pondered and written about for many years.
Benson High teacher’s Planned Parenthood opposition caused district action against him, he claims
A Benson High School teacher claims Portland Public Schools placed him on paid administrative leave and plans to dismiss him because of his views against Planned Parenthood and abortion.
Wide range of potential outcomes on gay marriage
The Supreme Court can choose from a wide array of outcomes in ruling on California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage and the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
Bondage pol was hard-ly working
Jersey Dem’s kinky office e-mails to spank-me stalker
New affirmative action case at Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is broadening its examination of affirmative action by adding a case about Michigan’s effort to ban consideration of race in college admissions.
Alameda County rewards boss: $400k…for life
Alameda County supervisors have really taken to heart the adage that government should run like a business — rewarding County Administrator Susan Muranishi with the Wall Street-like wage of $423,664 a year.
University Takes Action to Punish Student
A Florida Atlantic University student who filed a complaint against his professor after he was ordered to stomp on the name of Jesus has been brought up on academic charges by the school and may no longer attend class, according to documents obtained by Fox News.
Assemblyman Steven Brooks could be first Nevadan expelled from legislature
A Democrat representing Las Vegas could go down in Nevada history as the first lawmaker to be expelled from the legislature.
Early tea leaves from Supreme Court arguments on gay marriage: Kennedy hints that he wants Prop 8 case dismissed?
Just want to get this up before fuller reports of this morning’s oral arguments start trickling in. SCOTUSblog is on the scene and says we may, against all odds, see this case dismissed
Democrat Senators Mary Landrieu and Bob Menendez Angrily Rebuke Ted Cruz’ Stance Against Forced Abortions
Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu (democrat) joined accused child rapist Bob Menendez (democrat) in rebuking their colleague Ted Cruz for daring to stand up against forced abortions on Saturday. In fact, Mary was so incensed that Cruz would dare speak up to demand that the United States not support those countries who force women to kill their children, she marched right over to his desk and yelled at him.
Free Speech under Fire in Michigan Cattle Field
Is it illegal to paint a political message on the side of a makeshift hay loft and leave it in your cattle pasture? If you live in Gaines Township, Mich., apparently, yes. Vern Verduin did that, painting “Marxism/Socialism = Poverty & hunger” and “Obama’s ‘mission accomplished.’ 8% unemployment. 16 trillion debt” on the side of two tractor trailers on his 40-acre farm.
Americans Are Migrating To More Free Republican States
Americans are migrating from less-free liberal states to more-free conservative states, where they are doing better economically, according to a new study published Thursday by the George Mason University’s Mercatus Center.
Booker Mulls Mandating Armed Guards, Curfews For Newark Businesses After Recent Violence
‘If You Want To Stay Open Later, Maybe There Should Be Certain Requirements’
Dodgeball Removed From Windham, NH Schools
The classic gym class game has been a rite of passage for years, but dodgeball may have met its match in the form of the Windham School board, which at a recent meeting voted 4-1 to end dodgeball and other so-called “human target” activities, games with names like bombardment and slaughter.
Yes, liberal friends, the government is ‘protecting’ you from delicious, local food
I can feel it. This is where we come together, people. When it comes to our stomachs, we’re all libertarians now.
Planned Parenthood Official Argues for Right to Post-Birth Abortion
Florida legislators considering a bill to require abortionists to provide medical care to an infant who survives an abortion were shocked during a committee hearing this week when a Planned Parenthood official endorsed a right to post-birth abortion.
Nevada Assembly ousts embattled legislator Brooks
The bizarre 10-week odyssey of troubled state lawmaker Steven Brooks saw some measure of finality Thursday when the Assembly voted to expel him from the Nevada Legislature.
Former assemblyman Brooks arrested in California on multiple charges
Former Nevada Assemblyman Steven Brooks is thrown to the ground and a police officer jumps on him. The officer winds up for three powerful punches, although it’s unclear if he actually struck Brooks.
The History of Political Correctness
Confused as to why driving the herd into accepting the sick blasphemous farce of homosexual “marriage” is so important to the hardcore leftists who determine the government–media’s agenda? This history of political correctness makes the one-sided Culture War comprehensible.
The Madness of Cesar Chavez
A new biography of the icon shows that saints should be judged guilty until proved innocent.
Economy
& Taxes
Cyprus strikes last-minute EU bailout deal
Agreement set to involve heavy losses for wealthy investors, while those with savings under €100,000 will be spared
Illinois governor says pension woes hurting infrastructure program
Illinois’ inability to fix its woefully underfunded public pension system could derail plans by the state to continue to issue debt to fund an ongoing infrastructure improvement program, Governor Pat Quinn said on Monday.
Analyst: California State Pension Reporting “Fatally Flawed”
California’s budget was recently hailed by Governor Brown as ‘balanced’ after years for carrying a deficit. But a new study published by the California Public Policy Center financial analyst John Dickerson found that the States accounting is ‘fatally flawed’ and with new accounting rules set to be imposed, the result will be mega state pension debt currently not being disclosed to the public.
Cyprus Capital-Controls Q&A
Following the deal between Cyprus and its international creditors on a bailout, there are just as many questions as answers, particularly surrounding the imposition of capital controls.
Cyprus bail-out: savers will be raided to save euro in future crises, says eurozone chief
Savings accounts in Spain, Italy and other European countries will be raided if needed to preserve Europe’s single currency by propping up failing banks, a senior eurozone official has announced.
Cypriot Youth Rise Up In Pictures: “They Just Got Rid Of All Our Dreams”
There is a reason we think of youth unemployment as the ‘scariest’ thing in Europe as we have discussed here and here. After a few months of relative calm, it appears the youth are once again finding their hopes dashed and are protesting. As Reuters reports, thousands of students and bank workers protested in the Cypriot capital Nicosia today.
Russia, South Africa Seek to Create OPEC-Style Platinum Bloc
Russia and South Africa, countries that hold about 80 percent of platinum group metal reserves, plan to set up an OPEC-type trading bloc to coordinate exports.
Berkshire to Pay Nothing to Be Among Top Goldman Sachs Holders
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A) is poised to become one of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS)’s largest shareholders without paying anything after the companies agreed on a plan to settle warrants granted at the height of the 2008 financial crisis.
Surging Student-Loan Debt Is Crushing the System
Student-loan defaults surged in the first three months of 2013, while efforts to collect bad loans are faltering, according to credit analysts and government audits. It is the latest twist in a college debt crisis that is hanging over recent graduates and dragging on the broader economy.
Food Stamp Enrollment by State
The number of people receiving food stamps through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program rose during the recession. The sluggish job market, higher poverty rate and changes to the way applicants are evaluated have contributed to the rising ranks. Historically, enrollment has fluctuated seasonally and with emergency federal assistance in the wake of natural disasters.
Caught In The Cyprus Crossfire: Small Businesses Suddenly With Zero Cash
One of the prevailing false conventional wisdoms about the Cypriot cash confiscation is that it primarily affected rich, tax-evading individuals of Russian origin. Alas, those same individuals are likely to have been least affected, as subsequent discoveries of capital control breaches by the “richest and best connected” reveal, while increasingly it appears that the uninsured depositors on whose back the nation of Cyprus was bailed out are small and medium corporations, who had been parking cash for net working capital purposes with Cyprus’ banks, cash which is now gone forever to feed the creeping insolvent Euro-monster, and which can’t be used to fund such day to day business activities as payroll, purchases, and business operations.
States limiting freedom pushes people out: ColumnWilliam Ruger and Jason Sorens
Where legislators think they’re responsible for protecting you from yourself, it’s no great surprise that they also see fewer limitations on their power in other areas.
Big depositors in Cyprus to lose far more than feared
Big depositors in Cyprus’s largest bank stand to lose far more than initially feared under a European Union rescue package to save the island from bankruptcy, a source with direct knowledge of the terms said on Friday.
Under conditions expected to be announced on Saturday, depositors in Bank of Cyprus will get shares in the bank worth 37.5 percent of their deposits over 100,000 euros, the source told Reuters, while the rest of their deposits may never be paid back.
Cyprus President’s Family Transferred Tens Of Millions To London Days Before Deposit Haircuts
A day after former Cypriot President Vassilou was found to be among many elite Cypriot (politicians and businessmen) who had loans written-off by the major (now insolvent) banks; it appears the rot is far fouler than expected. In a somewhat stunning (or purely coincidental) revelation, ENETEnglish reports that Cypriot newspaper Haravgi claims that current President Nicos Anastasiades’ family businesses transferred ‘dozens of millions’ from their Laiki Bank accounts to London just a week before the devastating depositor haircuts were unleashed upon his people.
Do not use Safety Deposit Boxes
U.S DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY HAS TOLD BANKS – IN WRITING – IT MAY INSPECT SAFE DEPOSIT BOXES WITHOUT WARRANT AND SIEZE ANY GOLD, SILVER, GUNS OR OTHER VALUABLES IT FINDS INSIDE THOSE BOXES!
Baker’s got finger in political pie
The East Walpole baker who took a stand against food-stamp fraud at the Braintree Farmers Market last year by refusing to accept EBT cards for her whoopie pies and pastries is now starting her own political movement.
‘It’s robbery!’ New Cyprus bombshell as Britons are told they may lose EVERYTHING over £85k
Bank of Cyprus will see 37.5% of deposits over £85k converted into shares
Laiki Bank customers are also reported to be facing the loss of 80%
Experts say there is a good chance that shares will be worthless
International
Tories Rising Star Boris Johnson Humiliated on Live TV
The interview above has caused something of a political earthquake in Britain. Boris Johnson is one of the Tories’ (Britain’s conservatives) rising stars and current mayor of London, but he was completely and utterly rattled during an appearance on the BBC Sunday. His questioner, Eddie Mair, asked him questions about past affairs (with women not his own), Johnson “making up” a quote when he was still working for the Times of London newspaper, and even his friendship with individuals who ran into trouble with the law.
Two senior Doctor Who staff ‘used their jobs to sexually exploit young male fans of BBC show in 1980s’
Producer John Nathan-Turner ‘groomed young men who visited studios’
Production manager Gary Downie was also involved, new book claims
Book claims JNT once engaged in sex act in BBC office while on phone
Why are Zimbabwe police seizing radios?
Wind-up, solar-powered radios might seem like an excellent idea to help cash-strapped Zimbabwean villagers pass the long, dark evenings.
BRICS Now the New “Imperialists” in Africa
Here’s one job Americans should be overjoyed to outsource: global imperialist overlord. Historically, the US has shouldered the burden of this charge, making the big investments in foreign mines, energy supplies, and transport networks necessary to keep the liberal global economic system healthy and growing. Needless to say, Uncle Sam ruffled many a local feather in the places where he made these investments. But now America can sit back a bit: The BRICS are increasingly taking the flak.
Whomever wins the April 14 vote in Venezuela will receive a desolate landscape, made it worse by a never ending campaign.
The blame needs, of course, to fall on chavismo or whatever political ersatz comes after two decades of romantic robinhoodery blended with mean political expediency. Though the weak-minded pusillanimous opposition leadership of the first decade is also to share the blame. But they are less guilty because in the end they were nice people, educated, polite and thus woefully unprepared to the onslaught of thuggery that Chavez unleashed on Venezuela. By the time they realized who they were dealing with they had lost any capacity of response and the electorate had become dependent on Chavez for its self esteem sustained on the occasional social handout.
U.K.: Child abuse cops seize VIP list: Politicians, MI5 agent, Royal aide and pop stars all named
First arrests expected soon following dawn raid in connection with suburban guest house that operated as gay brothel
Jimmy Savile: ‘He was the tip of the iceberg’
The wide-ranging investigation into Sir Jimmy Savile’s depraved activities has focused attention once more on claims of a possible paedophile ring and a ‘culture of cover-up’ on Jersey.
Prince Andrew’s billionaire paedophile friend given permission to land private jet at RAF base for visit Sandringham
Queen summons son to convey concerns over links to Jeffrey Epstein
Billionaire met Beatrice when she was nine and Eugene at eight
Duke lobbied for Azerbaijan on MONDAY
Opinion
President Robespierre
Revolution that eats its children nibbles at Hollywood’s Daryl Hannah, Alec Baldwin, Roseanne Barr.
Salvation Through Extinction
Should San Bernardino cease to exist?
As one of the largest American cities ever to declare Chapter 9 bankruptcy, San Bernardino found itself driven to insolvency by three things. Revenues from sales and property taxes were too low; the city’s charter required that public-safety workers’ salaries be equivalent to those in wealthy coastal suburbs; and public-safety workers’ contracts were letting them retire early with high pensions, to which they didn’t have to contribute. Before it looked to Chapter 9 last year, the nation’s second-poorest major city (after Detroit) had a $46 million budget deficit.
Has a Century of Progressive Education Turned Us into Obedient Sheep?
A vile murderer taunts the family of his victims and everyone in the court just sits there and takes it. This wouldn’t have happened 100 years ago.
Same Sex Marriage Is Not the Same As Opposite Sex Marriage
At the core of the two same-sex marriage cases argued this week before the Supreme Court is the fundamental question of whether the Constitution requires the state and federal governments to treat same-sex marriage exactly the same as traditional, opposite-sex marriage for all purposes for all time, or whether it is permissible to draw reasoned distinctions between the two, ranging from California’s simple reservation of the term “marriage” to opposite-sex couples to the federal government’s comprehensive reservation of all federal benefits of marriage (including joint tax filings, Social Security benefits and immigration status) to opposite-sex couples.
Culture War 3.0 and the Charge of the Light Brigade
So, today I had the dubious pleasure of having Rush Limbaugh take a shot at me over a quote I gave Politico’s Alex Burns. And yes, if you’re in the GOP consulting world, you’ll get phone calls and emails when you get dissed by the Big Man.
History Lesson: Racist Democrats and the Big Lie
In order to escape their truly wretched past (click on the link for my short book on the subject), modern Democrats have has adopted as an article of faith the bedtime story that, thanks to Tricky Dick Nixon’s “southern strategy,” the racists who had been the backbone of their party for the better part of a century suddenly switched to the GOP en masse some time around 1968, with the happy result that now all the racists are on the right. Presto — instant virtuousness and a clean slate!
Bioshock Infinite Vs. American Exceptionalism
While elevating gaming to a semblance of art, the dystopian series takes unwarranted shots at both Ayn Rand and the Founders.
You Will Be Made to Care
Much has been said about this post, including a good bit of heat toward me for putting on the front.
If The Democrats Can Be Rehabbed, Then So Can The GOP
The University Utopia
Just after November’s election, I posed three paradoxes of American politics, asking why certain demographic groups make up reliable voting blocs for the left, even though the pro-free-market ideas of the right have so much to offer them.
