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6/30/13
NSA 'targets returning vets'
The NSA is systematically monitoring the Internet posts and telephone conversations of U.S. military returning from Afghanistan, according to a civil-liberties attorney.
“The FBI and the Secret Service are showing up to request an interview to question specific Internet posts the veteran has placed on websites such as Facebook,” explained attorney John Whitehead, founder of the Rutherford Institute. Whitehead said the agencies are looking for “anti-Obama views that can be interpreted to reflect psychological problems of sufficient seriousness to disqualify the veteran from ever owning a firearm.” Read more
“The FBI and the Secret Service are showing up to request an interview to question specific Internet posts the veteran has placed on websites such as Facebook,” explained attorney John Whitehead, founder of the Rutherford Institute. Whitehead said the agencies are looking for “anti-Obama views that can be interpreted to reflect psychological problems of sufficient seriousness to disqualify the veteran from ever owning a firearm.” Read more
Obama's forebears had slaves
An inconvenient irony: Census records and genealogical research show forebears of Obama's mother had slaves, according to a report in the Baltimore Sun. Read it all. [Thanks BJS]
Obama's electric apartheid
As part of his trip to Africa this week, President Obama will unveil a program to expand access to electricity to people in sub-Saharan Africa. The program, called Power Africa, stands in stark contrast to President Obama’s domestic energy agenda where he intends to bring down the federal government’s regulatory hammer on coal-fired power plants — regulations will almost certainly... raise electricity prices for millions of Americans.
The president has no such compunction in Africa, however, where fossil fuels of all types provide most of the power. Even more ironic is that Obama will make his announcement in South Africa, the Saudi Arabia of African coal. Read more.
The president has no such compunction in Africa, however, where fossil fuels of all types provide most of the power. Even more ironic is that Obama will make his announcement in South Africa, the Saudi Arabia of African coal. Read more.
Dim Crims 1
A man running from the police unknowingly ran into St. Louis County police headquarters and was apprehended at gunpoint behind the police chief's office. More [Thanks BJS]Dim crims 2
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[Thanks BJS]
Obama: It's all about me, me, me, not about you, you, you
President Obama today signed the visitors book at Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was jailed, “on behalf of my family,” suggesting he was representing himself at the historic site instead of the United States.
Read more.
Read more.
6/29/13
Barack Obama's Diary: The merry wives of Zuma
Dear Diary: Awkwaard. That's been the theme of my visit to South Africa so far. We met with President Zuma for lunch. "Mr President, I said, "this my wife Michelle." He shook her hand, put a hand behind my back and led me onwards to a matronly woman standing near him. ""This is my wife Nompumelelo," he said. I shook her hand. "Pleased to meet you ma'am," I smiled. Zuma walked onward to another-- younger-- woman. "This my wife Thobeka," he continued. This was getting weeeiird. He presented me to another--even younger-- woman. "This is my wife Nkosazana," he said. I tried to move onward. But Zuma stopped me. "Wait! There's more," he said. "This is my wife Gertrude, and, finally, Gloria." "Pleased to meet you, Finally Gloria" I said. After the meal I delivered a speech about the need for equal treatment for all and then resumed my seat next to Zuma. "Good advice," he said " I strive to treat my wives equally". This afternoon we drove to Johannesburg in The Beast. In case of wandering tigers, my Secret service detail had sniper rifles at the ready. But danger did not arise from wild beasts. But, augggh, from students at the University of Johannesburg who-- far from celebrating my awesomeness-- were protesting the killing of innocents by drones, by marching with posters of my face with a Hitler mustache. Outrageous! But enough about me. [Thanks: SVW]
6/28/13
Green nightmare: Wind turbine kills rare bird
There hasn’t been a sighting of a White-throated Needletail in the United Kingdom for 22 years, so some 80 birdwatchers flocked to Scotland this week to see it, the Telegraph reported. But instead of enjoying the world’s fastest flying bird soaring, they watched it fly into the blade of a wind turbine and die. Read more:
A delicious conservative fantasy
A woman woke up in the middle of the night wanting to relieve her cold sores with cream – but ended up fastening her lips together after using superglue by mistake. A Laughing Conservative correspondent wonders why this couldn't happen to Nancy Pelosi, or Harry Reid or Chuck Schumer or...
News source [Thanks: ECS]
News source [Thanks: ECS]
Jeb beclowns self, will present Liberty medal to Hillary
Hillary Rodham Clinton is the winner of the 2013 Liberty Medal which will be presented Sept. 10 by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, chairman of the National Constitution Center and a possible contender for the 2016 Republican nomination. More here. [Thanks ECS]
Socialist medicine at work
As many as 1,165 people have starved to death in Britain's National Health Service hospitals over the past four years reinforcing claims that nurses are too busy to feed their patients. The Department of Health branded the figures 'unacceptable' and said unannounced inspections will increase.
According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics following a Freedom of Information request, for every patient who dies from malnutrition, four more have dehydration mentioned on their death certificate. Read more
According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics following a Freedom of Information request, for every patient who dies from malnutrition, four more have dehydration mentioned on their death certificate. Read more
6/27/13
Looney lefties memorialize dead bumblebees
Fifty thousand bumblebees will be honored in a memorial this weekend in Oregon at the Wilsonville Target where a majority of the insects died. State officials directly linked the die-off to trees that had been sprayed with insecticide. Rozzell Medina, of Portland, said on a Facebook page that the event will "memorialize these fallen lifeforms and talk about the plight of the bees and their importance to life on Earth." [Thanks: ECS]
The Dung Beetle Award goes to...
Barack Obama's Diary: Goats and gay rights
Dear Diary: Auuugh! I get no respect for my awesomeness over here. Everyone is black so no-one thinks I'm special. I made a perfectly sensible speech about gay rights yesterday, saying that all of Africa should treat gays equally. President Macky immediately said they would allow nothing of the kind in Senegal and jail was the proper place for 'homosexuals'. I asked him: "How do you win office without the votes of gays?
President Macky said: "We don't have 'em so I don't need 'em." Macky added: "By the way, Vlad Putin called me yesterday and told me that, if you get out of line, I should publicly refer to you as 'Bath-house Barry.' Is that OK, "Bath-house Barry?"
The impudence! Tonight's State dinner is goin' to be awkwaard. I guess it will be a bowl of boiled goat and cassava accompanied by small talk with people who only speak Senegalese or French. Nobody knows the troubles I seen. But enough about me.
President Macky said: "We don't have 'em so I don't need 'em." Macky added: "By the way, Vlad Putin called me yesterday and told me that, if you get out of line, I should publicly refer to you as 'Bath-house Barry.' Is that OK, "Bath-house Barry?"
The impudence! Tonight's State dinner is goin' to be awkwaard. I guess it will be a bowl of boiled goat and cassava accompanied by small talk with people who only speak Senegalese or French. Nobody knows the troubles I seen. But enough about me.
Laugh of the Day...
In Texas there is a town called New Braunfels, where there is a large German-speaking population.
One day, a local rancher driving down a country road noticed a man
using his hand to drink water from the rancher's stock pond.
The rancher rolled down the window and shouted:
"Sehr angenehm! Trink das Wasser nicht. Die kuehe haben darein geschissen."
This means: Glad to meet you! Don't drink the water. The cows have crapped in it."
The man shouted back: "I'm from New York and just down here campaigning for Obama's health care plan. I can't understand you. Please speak in English."
The rancher replied: "Use both hands."
One day, a local rancher driving down a country road noticed a man
using his hand to drink water from the rancher's stock pond.
The rancher rolled down the window and shouted:
"Sehr angenehm! Trink das Wasser nicht. Die kuehe haben darein geschissen."
This means: Glad to meet you! Don't drink the water. The cows have crapped in it."
The man shouted back: "I'm from New York and just down here campaigning for Obama's health care plan. I can't understand you. Please speak in English."
The rancher replied: "Use both hands."
Bam bungles African debut
Senegalese President Macky Sall has rebuffed a plea by Barack Obama for Africans to give "gays" equal rights under the law.
"We are still not ready to decriminalize homosexuality," Sall said, while insisting that Senegal is "very tolerant" and needs more time to digest the issue without pressure. Read more. [Thanks BJS]
"We are still not ready to decriminalize homosexuality," Sall said, while insisting that Senegal is "very tolerant" and needs more time to digest the issue without pressure. Read more. [Thanks BJS]
6/26/13
Disgraceful: Britain bars US bloggers
British media sources are reporting that the bloggers Pamela Geller (Atlas Shrugged) and Robert Spencer (Jihad Watch) have been banned from entering the UK. They were banned as their entry was considered “not conducive to the public good.” ... Details here
Buddy, you gotta problem widdat?
A new survey shows that New Yorkers couldn’t identify any mayoral candidate except Anthony Weiner. Next time they should try showing pictures of their faces. [Thanks: IMAO]
NSA fears helping 'adversaries'
Shortly after the Guardian and Washington Post published their Verizon and PRISM stories, Jeff Larson of Pro Publica filed a freedom of information request with the NSA seeking any personal data the agency has about him: " I didn't expect an answer, but yesterday I received a letter signed by Pamela Phillips, the Chief FOIA Officer at the agency (which really freaked out my wife when she picked up our mail).
The letter, a denial, includes what is known as a Glomar response -- neither a confirmation nor a denial that the agency has my metadata. It also warns that any response would help “our adversaries". More here
[Thanks BJS]
The letter, a denial, includes what is known as a Glomar response -- neither a confirmation nor a denial that the agency has my metadata. It also warns that any response would help “our adversaries". More here
[Thanks BJS]
Barack Obama's Diary: Into Darkest Dakar
"Barack? Sorry, wrong number. I was trying to contact Lurch. But it seems that your NSA guys mistakenly transferred me to this number. I wanted to tell Lurch that Snowden geek of yours is still at the airport, singing like a canary to the KGB... Bwaaah-ha-ha-ha! I see the Supremes have found in favor of your Bath-house friends getting married, Barack. Take care...Bye."
Well, as you can imagine, that did not leave me in a benevolent mood. The 747 shuddered as the pilot deployed the air-brakes and we started our descent into Dakar. But enough about me.
Snowden sentenced to trial by airport
Laughing Conservative has a sneaking sympathy for leaker Edward Snowden, who is virtually imprisoned in the transit area of Moscow's international airport-- a place which the LC hopes never to have to visit again, with brutally-rude staff, poor food and a generally hostile atmosphere.
Obama again fails the leadership test
In reacting to the Supreme court striking down outdated voting laws, Obama has reflexively aligned himself with the racial-politics-as-usual crowd instead of bravely differentiating himself and acting as the leader of us all. The new kind of politician we were sold in 2008, as we see time and time again, is no different than the old kind, writes Keith Koffler.
6/25/13
The lie of 'carbon' pollution
Scientific illiterates like Barack Obama love to complain about 'carbon' pollution, a propaganda term that brings to mind charcoal, soot, coal, and other dusty black stuff. The 'carbon' they are referring to, of course, is carbon dioxide, a colorless, odorless gas that is an essential to all plant life, enabling photosynthesis, the natural process by which all plants turn sunlight into nutrients, feeding both themselves and us, while excreting life-giving oxygen as a byproduct. Our lives depend on it.
Obama declares war on all of us
"Seeing as how coal remains the largest single source of electrical power in the United States, Obama's declaration of war on coal means just one thing. He has declared war on electricity and, therefore, the livelihood of each and every American." Read more
NSA deletes fact-sheet from its website
The National Security Agency appears to have removed from its website a two-page "fact sheet" describing the government's use of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act as it applies to Internet snooping programs. On Monday Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Mark Udall, D-Colo., accused the NSA of providing Americans with false information about civil liberties protections in the document.
The NSA document said communications involving an American are "promptly destroyed" and that "dissemination of any information about U.S. persons is expressly prohibited" except under certain circumstances. Find out more. [Thanks: BJS]
The NSA document said communications involving an American are "promptly destroyed" and that "dissemination of any information about U.S. persons is expressly prohibited" except under certain circumstances. Find out more. [Thanks: BJS]
Barack Obama's Diary: How I scared Bad Vlad
"Barack, we've still got your guy at the airport, we 'repaired' his four computers and we were considerate enough to back-up his hard drives. Bwaaa-ha-ha-ha!"
"Vlad," I said, "if you don't send him back I'm going to be really, really cross with you."
"Oh, yeah," he replied, "now I'm really, really scared. Are you flying over here with Lurch to come get me? Bwwaaah-ha-ha!...sucker!"
That Putin is so mean. But I still had my upcoming capitalism killer to comfort me. After lunch with Biden, I announced an all-out war on coal-fired power plants, something guaranteed to piss off the rich who have air conditioning and higher utility bills. But enough about me.
Obama, the fool on The Hill
"How could a goofy techie expose our Government's incompetence?
The goofy techie, of course, is Ed Snowden, and the question might seem hard to answer if the Obama administration’s incompetence were not on display for all to see. The international press, belatedly catching on to the fact that our president is a fool, is having fun with the U.S. Thus, Reuters headlines, with a snicker: “Questions turn to U.S. competence in Snowden saga.” As well they might..." Don't miss the rest of this take-no-prisoners report on Obama's incompetence.
The goofy techie, of course, is Ed Snowden, and the question might seem hard to answer if the Obama administration’s incompetence were not on display for all to see. The international press, belatedly catching on to the fact that our president is a fool, is having fun with the U.S. Thus, Reuters headlines, with a snicker: “Questions turn to U.S. competence in Snowden saga.” As well they might..." Don't miss the rest of this take-no-prisoners report on Obama's incompetence.
Bam beclowns self with war on carbon dioxide
As President Obama today announces a series of onerous, unilateral new regulations to try to limit carbon dioxide emissions, a leading climate scientist admits that the lack of warming over the past 15 years contradicts 98 percent of the climate change models, and that another five years of static temperatures will force scientists to completely revamp the theory. Read more
6/24/13
Obama 'ignored by international community'
Charles Krauthammer says that China, Russia and the international community at large, don’t care what Obama says, because they neither respect nor fear him
Putin cleans Obama's clock
"With the Snowden situation, Vladimir Putin seems intent not only defying America but embarrassing her, says a piece in Commentary. "It turns out that an irresolute amateur like Barack Obama was the best thing that the brutal but determined Putin could have hoped for. He’s cleaning Obama’s clock..." Read it all.
Ted Cruzes to poll victory
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz scored a huge victory in a White House Dossier poll of readers’ preferences for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, garnering nearly a third of the vote, while former conservative darling Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida barely registered in the survey. Cruz has emerged during his first year in the Senate as an unflagging conservative leader on a string of issues, most notably gun control and immigration. Thirty one percent of voters in the poll, who mostly described themselves as conservative, said Cruz was their choice for president. While Cruz’s star has soared, Rubio’s has dimmed nearly the point of invisibility. Rubio, who has drawn conservative ire for his banner role in pushing an immigration reform bill this year, drew just three percent of the vote. Details here
6/23/13
The Queen's Riddle
Barack Obama met with the Queen of England. He asked her, "Your Majesty,
how do you run such an efficient government? Are there any tips you can give me?"
"Well," said the Queen, "the most important thing is to surround yourself with intelligent people." Obama frowned, and asked, "But how do I know the people around me are really intelligent?"
The Queen took a sip of tea. "Oh, that's easy; you just ask them to answer an intelligent riddle." The Queen pushed a button on an intercom. "Send David Cameron in here, would you?"
Cameron walked in and said, "Yes, Your Majesty?" The Queen smiled and said, "Answer me this please, David, your mother and father have a child. It is not your brother and it is not your sister. Who is it?" Without pausing, Cameron answered, "That would be me."
"Yes! Very good," said the Queen.
Obama returned home and asked Joe Biden, the
same question: "Joe, answer this for me. Your mother and your father have a child. It's not your brother and it's not your sister. Who is it?" "I'm not sure," said Biden. "Let me get back to you on that one..."
He went to his advisers and but none could give him an
answer. Finally, he ran into Paul Ryan on Capitol Hill. Biden asked: “Paul, can you answer this for me? Your mother and father have a child and it's not your brother or your sister. Who is it?"
Paul Ryan answered: "That's easy, it's me!"
Back in the Oval Office, Biden told Obama: "I did some research and I have the answer to that riddle. It's Paul Ryan!" Obama leaped to his feet and yelled: "No, you idiot, it's David Cameron!"
[Thanks ECS]Snowden 'flying to Cuba'
Reuters reports that former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden is booked on a flight from Moscow to Cuba on Monday, Russian news agencies Interfax and Itar-Tass cited sources at Russian airline Aeroflot as saying on Sunday.
Itar-Tass cited its source as saying Snowden would fly from Havana to the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said it was looking into the situation and confirmed Snowden may be planning to travel through Moscow as a transit passenger en route.
Itar-Tass cited its source as saying Snowden would fly from Havana to the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said it was looking into the situation and confirmed Snowden may be planning to travel through Moscow as a transit passenger en route.
6/22/13
Dim Crims: Tiny shorts bring big trouble
Stripper Tiffany Evans, 20, was busted carrying 47 bags of heroin which fell out of her tiny shorts during a traffic stop in Springfield, New York, on Friday. Read more
Barack Obama's Diary: Into the bush with Bush
Obama's monstrous Press gag
Before Obama's inauguration, there were a grand total of three prosecutions of leakers under the Espionage Act. That's because the statute is so broad that even the US government has largely refrained from using it. But during the Obama presidency, there are now seven such prosecutions: more than double the number under all prior US presidents combined. "How can anyone justify that?" asks Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald. Read it all [Thanks: BJS]
A taxing tale
A father walks into a restaurant with his young son. He gives the young boy three nickels to play with to keep him occupied. Suddenly, the boy starts choking, going blue in the face.
The father realizes the boy has swallowed the nickels and starts slapping him on the back. The boy coughs up two of the nickels, but keeps choking. The father panics, shouting for help. A woman in a blue business suit is sitting reading a newspaper and sipping a cup of coffee. At the sound of the commotion, she looks up, puts her coffee cup down, neatly folds the newspaper, gets up from her seat
and makes her way, unhurried, across the restaurant. Reaching the boy, the woman carefully drops his pants, takes hold of the boy's testicles and starts to squeeze and twist, gently at first, then firmly. After a few seconds the boy convulses and coughs up the last nickel, which the woman deftly catches in her free hand. The woman hands the nickel to the father and walks back to her seat without saying a word. The father rushes over to thank her, and says:
"I've never seen anybody do anything like that before. Are you a doctor?
"No," she replied,
"I'm with the IRS"
Code Red: new Special Forces unit formed
The Pentagon announced today the formation of a new 500-man elite fighting unit called the United States Redneck Special Forces (USRSF)
These boys will be dropped off in Afghanistan and have been given only the following facts about terrorists:
The season opened today.
There is no limit.
They taste just like chicken.
They don't like beer, pickups, or country music
They are directly responsible for the death of Dale Earnhardt.
The Pentagon expects the fighting in Afghanistan to be over in a few weeks.
[Thanks: TOTUS]
These boys will be dropped off in Afghanistan and have been given only the following facts about terrorists:
The season opened today.
There is no limit.
They taste just like chicken.
They don't like beer, pickups, or country music
They are directly responsible for the death of Dale Earnhardt.
The Pentagon expects the fighting in Afghanistan to be over in a few weeks.
[Thanks: TOTUS]
The Dirty Fork
Yesterday we published a British comedy video that readers loved. For those, like the LC, who like British comedy, here's a Monty Python classic, "The Dirty Fork."
6/21/13
Irish socialist mocks 'slobbering' over Obamas
Irish socialist rips Obama [Thanks: White House Dossier]
Dumb slebs: Farewell y'all
The Food Network said Friday it would not renew the contract of Paula Deen.
The announcement came only hours after Deen issued a strange video statement on YouTube -- that was then removed – in which she repeatedly apologized, but failed to specifically address allegedly racist comments she made in a recorded deposition.
“I want to apologize to everybody for the wrong that I’ve done,” she said in the short, emotional video. “I want to learn and grow from this. Inappropriate and hurtful language is totally, totally unacceptable.
“I’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way but I beg you, my children, my team, my fans, my partners, I beg for your forgiveness. Please forgive me for the mistakes that I have made.”
The Food Network issued a one-sentence statement late Friday saying, "Food Network will not renew Paula Deen's contract when it expires at the end of this month." Read more.
The announcement came only hours after Deen issued a strange video statement on YouTube -- that was then removed – in which she repeatedly apologized, but failed to specifically address allegedly racist comments she made in a recorded deposition.
“I want to apologize to everybody for the wrong that I’ve done,” she said in the short, emotional video. “I want to learn and grow from this. Inappropriate and hurtful language is totally, totally unacceptable.
“I’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way but I beg you, my children, my team, my fans, my partners, I beg for your forgiveness. Please forgive me for the mistakes that I have made.”
The Food Network issued a one-sentence statement late Friday saying, "Food Network will not renew Paula Deen's contract when it expires at the end of this month." Read more.
A few minutes of humor
Readers look to us for a few laughs each day. Humor has been in short supply today, so here is a British video sketch from the Sixties that stands up well to the test of time.
6/20/13
These doctors take cash, not insurance -- and love it
Fed up with declining payments and rising red tape, a small but growing number of doctors are opting out of the insurance system completely. They’re expecting patients to pay cash.
Some who have gone that route love it, saying they can spend more time with and provide higher-quality care to their patients. Read more. [Thanks ECS]
Some who have gone that route love it, saying they can spend more time with and provide higher-quality care to their patients. Read more. [Thanks ECS]
Socialist Medicine in Action
"I'm trying to think of professions where killing people wins you promotion, a higher salary and a bigger pension. Apart from the military, the only one I can think of is the National Health Service. Lest you think this is a sick joke, consider the case of Cynthia Bower," writes James Delingpole in The Telegraph
"This lovely, talented lady first proved her mettle as chief executive of the strategic health authority NHS West Midlands, whose responsibilities included Mid-Staffordshire hospital. When evidence emerged that vast numbers of patients – possibly as many as 1,200 – were dying there from neglect and shoddy care, Ms Bower's health authority dismissed it as a statistical blip. Later, though, Ms Bower was big enough to admit that the situation at Stafford "wasn't on my radar." Read it all.
"This lovely, talented lady first proved her mettle as chief executive of the strategic health authority NHS West Midlands, whose responsibilities included Mid-Staffordshire hospital. When evidence emerged that vast numbers of patients – possibly as many as 1,200 – were dying there from neglect and shoddy care, Ms Bower's health authority dismissed it as a statistical blip. Later, though, Ms Bower was big enough to admit that the situation at Stafford "wasn't on my radar." Read it all.
Barack Obama's Diary: Hi-Ho silver
Dear Diary: Auuggh! I am really, really pissed at the feeble response to my amazing Berlin speech. I covered all of the things that
European social democrats want to hear: that we'll eventually close Guantanamo, that we'll weaken our nuclear arsenal by a third. I even had some kind words for the Taliban and their apparent willingness to enter peace negotiations In reply the Taliban fired several large rockets at Bagram Base, killing four Americans. The Taliban have their own agenda and clearly can't be trusted. But there's no silver bullet for that. People have even been complaining about my supposed excessive use of the words "no silver bullet." Anyhoo, after my speech, me, Michelle and the girls boarded Air Force one for the trip home. Marvellous Marv, my trip director, had placed my blankey, Boo-boo, under my pillow and I rubbed my cheek with the blankey's satin edge, sucked my right thumb and fell asleep watching an episode of Storage Wars in which Brandi and Jarrod lost out. I find the setbacks of others strangely intriguing. Maybe it's because I'm so talented that I rarely experience even minor failure in my own life. But enough about me. Obama praises Taliban, Taliban kill 4 Americans
The Taliban has claimed responsibility for an attack that killed four American troops only a day after Barack Obama praised the Taliban for being willing to enter peace negotiations. More here.
Bam bombs in Berlin
Nile Gardiner of the Telegraph writes that, in stark contrast to that of his presidential predecessors, Barack Obama’s message in Berlin was pure mush, another clichéd “citizens of the world” polemic with little substance.
This was a speech big on platitudes and hopeless idealism, while containing much that was counter-productive for the world’s superpower. Ultimately it was little more than a laundry list of Obama’s favourite liberal pet causes, including cutting nuclear weapons, warning about climate change, putting an end to all wars, shutting Guantanamo, ending global poverty, and backing the European Project. It was a combination of staggering naiveté, the appeasement of America’s enemies and strategic adversaries, and the championing of more big government solutions. Read it all
6/19/13
Socialist medicine in action
Inspectors who investigated the death of 16 babies at a British National Health Service hospital, assembled evidence of neglect. This evidence was then reportedly destroyed on the orders from the top in an attempt to cover it up. Read more [Thanks BJS]
AP sources ''clam up in fear'
Associated Press president Gary Pruitt has slammed the Department of Justice for acting as “judge, jury and executioner” in the seizure of the news organization’s phone records and he said some of the wire service’s longtime sources have clammed up in fear. Pruitt said the department broke its own rules with the seizure, which he said was too broad, and by failing to give the AP notice. Pruitt questioned the DoJ’s actions concerning the subpoena — had the DoJ come to the news organization in advance, “we could have helped them narrow the scope of the subpoena” or a court could have decided, he said. Read more. [Thanks BJS]
Obama Cruzified on Twitter
Senator Ted Cruz has sent this Tweet: to his followers : Anyone know if President Obama intends to perform background checks on the Syrian rebels before providing them weapons?
6/18/13
Barack Obama's Diary: Angular Merkel
Dear Diary: I barely had time for a nap on the way to Berlin from Belfast. After Air Force One had landed I was whisked away to the famed Brandenburg Gate to address the German people. Angular Merkel was waiting to greet me. I raised my right arm, palm facing forward, in the traditional German salute. "Heil, Angular" I said and, before I could lower my arm she had grabbed my right hand and crushed it in an iron grip, even more formidable than Putin's. "Shaddup," she said through clenched teeth while feigning a welcoming smile. I turned to face the audience, a paltry crowd not befitting a statesman of my stature. This was the moment I had prepared for...the sound-bite that would follow me through history, like Kennedy's Ich bin ein Berliner or Ronald Reagan's Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall."Angular Murphy" I proclaimed in ringing tones, "Open this gate." She turned to me and hissed: " It's already open, you moron." But enough about me.
Delusional Obama thinks Iran has changed
President Obama says that the Iranian people have “rebuffed the hardliners and the clerics” in the country by electing a moderate president over the weekend.
“I think it says that the Iranian people want to move in a different direction,” Obama said in an interview on PBS.
"He can’t really be this stupid, can he?" asks Jammie at Jammie-Wearing Fools. More.
“I think it says that the Iranian people want to move in a different direction,” Obama said in an interview on PBS.
"He can’t really be this stupid, can he?" asks Jammie at Jammie-Wearing Fools. More.
Slogan of the Day
“Democracy: Citizens watch government. Tyranny: Government watches citizens.” --from a sign carried by an anti-Obama protester in Berlin. [Thanks BJS]
Barack Obama's Diary: With a Sheila under me arm
Dear Diary: After a walk-and-talk meeting this morning with British PM David Cameron an Enda Kenny, Taoiseach of Ireland, I took my leave of them by singing "With me a Sheila under me arm and a twinkle in me eye, I'll be off to Tipperary in the..." For some reason they lengthened their stride and I was left behind. My Secret Service detail hurried me into The Beast, thence to Airforce One and Berlin, where the formidable Arugula Merkel awaits. But enough about me.
6/17/13
NSA veterans: 'We told you so'
When a National Security Agency contractor revealed top-secret details this month on the government's collection of Americans' phone and Internet records, one select group of intelligence veterans breathed a sigh of relief, USA Today reports. Thomas Drake, William Binney and J. Kirk Wiebe had paved the way.
For years, they had told anyone who would listen that the NSA collects huge swaths of communications data from U.S. citizens. They had spent decades in the top ranks of the agency, designing and managing the very data-collection systems they say have been turned against Americans. When they became convinced that fundamental constitutional rights were being violated, they complained first to their superiors, then to federal investigators, congressional oversight committees and, finally, to the news media. Read it all. [Thanks: BJS]
For years, they had told anyone who would listen that the NSA collects huge swaths of communications data from U.S. citizens. They had spent decades in the top ranks of the agency, designing and managing the very data-collection systems they say have been turned against Americans. When they became convinced that fundamental constitutional rights were being violated, they complained first to their superiors, then to federal investigators, congressional oversight committees and, finally, to the news media. Read it all. [Thanks: BJS]
Why lying to America is not OK
A member of Congress asks the director of national intelligence if the National Security Agency collects data on millions of Americans. "No, sir," James Clapper responds. Pressed, he adds a caveat: "Not wittingly." Then, NSA programs that do precisely that are disclosed, writes Liz Sidotti for AP.
"It turns out that President Barack Obama's intelligence chief lied. Or as he put it last week: 'I responded in what I thought was the most truthful or least most untruthful manner, by saying, 'No,' because the program was classified. The White House stands by him. Press secretary Jay Carney says Obama "certainly believes that Director Clapper has been straight and direct in the answers that he's given." If there have been repercussions, the public doesn't know about them." Read more
"It turns out that President Barack Obama's intelligence chief lied. Or as he put it last week: 'I responded in what I thought was the most truthful or least most untruthful manner, by saying, 'No,' because the program was classified. The White House stands by him. Press secretary Jay Carney says Obama "certainly believes that Director Clapper has been straight and direct in the answers that he's given." If there have been repercussions, the public doesn't know about them." Read more
Majority now disapproves of Obama
President Barack Obama’s job approval rating fell sharply over the past month—from 53 to 45 percent, according to a new CNN poll. Fifty-four percent of Americans disapprove of the job he’s doing, also up from 45 percent, the survey found.
Sixty-one percent disapprove of the way he’s handling government surveillance of Americans in the aftermath of a series of dramatic reports about National Security Agency spying, while 35 percent approve. More details here. [Thanks: BJS]
Sixty-one percent disapprove of the way he’s handling government surveillance of Americans in the aftermath of a series of dramatic reports about National Security Agency spying, while 35 percent approve. More details here. [Thanks: BJS]
Official contradicts IRS claim
An Internal Revenue Service supervisor in Washington says she was personally involved in scrutinizing some of the earliest applications from tea party groups seeking tax-exempt status, including some requests that languished for more than a year without action, AP reports. Holly Paz--until recently a top deputy in the division that handles applications for tax-exempt status, told congressional investigators she reviewed 20 to 30 applications, which contradicts claims by the agency that a small group of agents working in an office in Cincinnati were solely to blame for mishandling the applications. Read it all. [Thanks BJS]
6/16/13
Barack Obama's Diary: Putin up with Vlad
Here I am at a golf resort at Lough Erne in Northern Ireland for the G8 summit. I had been hoping for a superb opportunity to distract attention from the various "scandals" back home and display my unique talents as a statesman and diplomat. But Air Force One had not even landed at Belfast before Vlad the Inhaler was warning the rest of us, via the media, not to arm the Syrian rebels. What an atrocious schemer he is. He knows perfectly well that I have just authorized such arming and he wants the limelight for himself. From previous experience I know the man loves to show off his torso. So I will invite him for a swim in the resort pool. Now he is divorced he will leap at the chance to display his squat, muscled body to the media. He loves to goad me, to crush my elegant fingers in a harsh handshake as he fixes me with those cold, narrow-set blue eyes, looking for the slightest flinch. And so it was today. "Care for a refreshing swim, Vladimir?" I asked him. "Да" he said, which means "yes " to those of you without my extensive education and knowledge of Cyrillic script which I learned at Moscow University [no you may not see my transcripts]."Let's meet at the pool in ten minutes, " Da!" I replied. I went to my suite where Marv Nicholson had already laid out my swimming shorts. When I arrived at the pool, Vlad was already strutting about self-importantly chest puffed out, belly drawn in. Without further ado I dove in and he followed. Out of breath, we soon stopped swimming and began to tread water. Unseen by me, he dove under, again seized my shorts in both hands and ripped them down over my feet, throwing them out of my reach at the edge of the pool. I was naked and thus trapped in the water. "Marco! [code for "help!"] I yelled to any of my Secret Service detail who might be within earshot Luckily my aid, Marv, had just arrived at the pool with a towel. "Polo!" he yelled back, immediately reading the gravity of the situation and tucked a toe under my wet shorts, dragging them discreetly back into the water where I was able to grasp them as they sank and wriggle them back on. Awkwaard! As I emerged from the water, I saw Vlad sitting in a poolside chair, heaving with Slavic laughter. I hissed at him: "ублюдок" [bastard!] and stomped off to the refuge in my suite, there to restore my dignity with a bottle of Guinness from the mini-bar. But enough about me.Dim crims: Moses parts the traffic
Police a have arrested an Alaska man who they say was driving a motorized shopping cart while drunk and in possession of stolen cookies and cake mix. Merrill K. Moses, 63, was arraigned this week in Fairbanks on charges of drunken driving, shoplifting and refusing to take an official sobriety test. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 5, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports. Read more.Dumb slebs try to set nuclear strategy
Alec Baldwin, Matt Damon and John Cusack are among an array of A-list actors starring in a new video urging President Barack Obama to "set the world's course" for an end to nuclear weapons, at the G8 Summit in Northern Ireland. Eminent global military strategists Whoopi Goldberg, Morgan Freeman, Naomi Watts and Christoph Waltz also lend their profound opinions.. Read more
The NSA CAN tap your home phone
The National Security Agency has disclosed, in a secret Capitol Hill briefing, that thousands of analysts can listen to domestic phone calls. Not only does this disclosure shed more light on how the NSA's formidable eavesdropping apparatus works domestically, it also suggests the Justice Department has secretly interpreted federal surveillance law to permit thousands of low-ranking analysts to eavesdrop on phone calls. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, disclosed this week that during the briefing he was told that the contents of a phone call could be accessed "simply based on an analyst deciding that."
Because the same legal standards that apply to phone calls also apply to e-mail messages, text messages, and instant messages, Nadler's disclosure indicates the NSA analysts could also access the contents of Internet communications without going before a court and seeking approval.
The disclosure appears to confirm some of the allegations made by Edward Snowden, a former NSA infrastructure analyst who leaked classified documents to The Guardian. Snowden said in a video interview that, while not all NSA analysts had this ability, he could from Hawaii "wiretap anyone from you or your accountant to a federal judge to even the president." Read more.
[Thanks BJS]
Because the same legal standards that apply to phone calls also apply to e-mail messages, text messages, and instant messages, Nadler's disclosure indicates the NSA analysts could also access the contents of Internet communications without going before a court and seeking approval.
The disclosure appears to confirm some of the allegations made by Edward Snowden, a former NSA infrastructure analyst who leaked classified documents to The Guardian. Snowden said in a video interview that, while not all NSA analysts had this ability, he could from Hawaii "wiretap anyone from you or your accountant to a federal judge to even the president." Read more.
[Thanks BJS]
6/15/13
GOP may block IRS money for Obamacare
Mounting scandals at the Internal Revenue Service may starve the agency of the funds it needs to play a major role in Obamacare. Obama sought a significant budget increase for the IRS for next year, when the agency will start doling out subsidies to help people buy health insurance on state-based exchanges. Congressional Republicans, however, see management problems at the IRS as an opportunity to limit the agency's funding just as it is trying to put in place the massive new law. Read more
Impeach, Impeach!
"The time for words is over. Action must be taken. Obama has no regard for the American people. Obama has no regard for the rule of law. Obama has no regard for the Constitution," says the Western Center for Journalism. It continues:
Obama shoved socialized healthcare down the throat of America, a program that is driving up the cost of health insurance and is projected to cost almost two trillion dollars—just in the first decade! If the massive debt amassed from Obama’s trillion dollar Stimulus and multi-trillion dollar bank bailouts don’t bankrupt this country, ObamaCare surely will.
Obama has continually tried to disarm the American people, attempting to nullify the Second Amendment through a phony “assault weapons” ban, not to mention trying to sidestep Congress by planning to sign the United Nations Small Arms Treaty. This so-called “treaty” will put UN regulations above the Constitution.
Obama shipped guns to Mexican drug cartels in the Fast and Furious program in order to blame the increase in drug cartel violence on American gun dealers—specifically to limit our Second Amendment rights. Included in the thousands of guns shipped to Mexican drug cartels are the weapons used to murder Border Patrol agent Brian Terry and ICE agent Jaime Zapata...Obama has targeted his enemies with the IRS—the Tea Party, pro-life Groups, any group or person that opposes his radical leftist policies.
Obama has targeted the press, including Fox News and the Associated Press. As we learned yesterday, CBS News’ Sharyl Attkisson’s work and home computer was hacked. Someone was “scrubbing” data—that is, stealing files—from her computer at the exact time that she was exposing Obama’s Benghazi cover-up. That it was an Obama operative is a forgone conclusion.
Obama has taken the Patriot Act to an unimaginable, Orwellian level. The NSA under a program we know now called PRISM is spying on every single American, ingesting literally everything that is communicated electronically: phone calls, email, text, Facebook posts, Skype, travel records—even credit card transactions and banking records.
The time for words is over. Action must be taken. Barack Hussein Obama should be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors—now—today" Read it all
11 ways in which O's Syria policy makes no sense
Keith Koffler at White House Dossier has come up with 11 ways in which Obama's Syria policy makes no sense:
Here are four:
1. We are aiding the rebels now that they are losing, instead of when they might have won. Go figyah!
2. We waited until more than 90,000 people died before finally sending more than fruit baskets to the opposition.
3. We may well be a dollar short and a day late – the Syrian army and Hezbollah are on the move and looking like winners.
4. Even if we can save them, we are giving the rebels just enough arms so that the slaughter can continue, but not enough for them to win. Read the rest of the sorry list.
Here are four:
1. We are aiding the rebels now that they are losing, instead of when they might have won. Go figyah!
2. We waited until more than 90,000 people died before finally sending more than fruit baskets to the opposition.
3. We may well be a dollar short and a day late – the Syrian army and Hezbollah are on the move and looking like winners.
4. Even if we can save them, we are giving the rebels just enough arms so that the slaughter can continue, but not enough for them to win. Read the rest of the sorry list.
6/14/13
Just in time, Bam begins another war
"Well, isn't that convenient? At the moment when the Obama administration is feeling more heat than ever before, it starts another war. Suddenly everyone is talking about Syria and not the IRS scandal, Benghazi, NSA snooping or any of the other ...scandals that have popped up in recent weeks," writes Michael Snyder at The Economic Collapse blog,
" As if on cue, Obama made headlines all over the globe by claiming that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against the rebels "multiple times", and that the U.S. was now ready to do more to assist the rebels. That assistance is reportedly going to include "military support" for the rebels and a no-fly zone over at least part of Syria is being discussed. Without a doubt, these are acts of war, and this conflict is not going to end until Assad has been ousted. But Assad will not go quietly.
And all it would take is for Assad to fire a couple of missiles at Tel Aviv for a huge regional war to erupt in the Middle East. And what happens if Russia or China decides to get involved in the conflict in Syria? Obama is playing with fire, but he has shown again and again that he is willing to do virtually anything if it will benefit him politically...." Read it all.
The Dung Beetle Award goes to...
The Academy of Dung Beetles' Award is being rolled toward 'academics' Nora Timmerman and Julia Ostertag who say that parents who read their kids bedtime stories about happy, human-like animals like Franklin the Turtle or Arthur, are exposing their kids to racism, materialism, homophobia and 'patriarchal norms'. Read moreBarack Obama's Diary: Decisions, decisions
How Yahoo fought PRISM --and lost
Yahoo, one of the companies named as part of the NSA's PRISM data collection program, didn't go quietly, according to a New York Times report. The company was behind a 2008 court challenge to fight a court order requiring the company to give them data without a warrant, which they lost and ushered them into PRISM. Read more.
Why Govt won't use USPS
Godfather Politics asks:" Since the United States Postal Service is part of the US government, wouldn’t it make sense for the government to use the USPS? Evidently, they aren’t. According to recent reports, 25 federal agencies have contracted with UPS from 2010 to 2013, resulting in their receiving $122 million of government business. Fed Ex received contracts from the feds for the same time period worth $48.5 million.
So how much business did the federal government do with its own Postal Service? Would you believe that during the same three and half year time period that they only received $29.3 worth of government business?
The reason? It’s because UPS and Fed Ex are cheaper to use than the USPS and the government agencies contracting with other mail carriers did so to save taxpayer dollars.
If the federal government won’t do business with their own Postal Service due to higher costs then why should they expect anyone else to? Read more.
So how much business did the federal government do with its own Postal Service? Would you believe that during the same three and half year time period that they only received $29.3 worth of government business?
The reason? It’s because UPS and Fed Ex are cheaper to use than the USPS and the government agencies contracting with other mail carriers did so to save taxpayer dollars.
If the federal government won’t do business with their own Postal Service due to higher costs then why should they expect anyone else to? Read more.
6/13/13
Wrath of O unleashed as Assad crosses red line
White House officials have admitted that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime used chemical weapons repeatedly against anti-government rebels, acknowledging the leader had crossed the "red line" that President Obama said would warrant deeper U.S. intervention in the nation's civil war.
Obama has agreed to provide "military support" to Syrian rebels, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes said, but he refused to specify the actions.
"Our intelligence community assesses that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons, including the nerve agent sarin, on a small scale against the opposition multiple times in the last year," Rhodes said. Read more
Obama has agreed to provide "military support" to Syrian rebels, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes said, but he refused to specify the actions.
"Our intelligence community assesses that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons, including the nerve agent sarin, on a small scale against the opposition multiple times in the last year," Rhodes said. Read more
Obama still silent on cash for Karzai
Sen. Bob Corker, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is still trying to get answers from Barack Obama regarding Afghan President Hamid Karzai's claims that he has been getting deliveries of CIA cash for years.
"I write again to request an explanation of the incoherent United States policy in Afghanistan made evident by the claims of cash payments to President Karzai," Corker wrote to Obama on Thursday. The Tennessee lawmaker—who has made two previous written requests for information, to no avail—noted that a key U.S. goal in the war-torn country has been to battle corruption. Read more
[Thanks BJS]
[Thanks BJS]
Bam bans mosque monitoring
The White House assures us that tracking our every phone call and keystroke is to stop terrorists, and yet it won't snoop in mosques...That's right, the government's sweeping surveillance of our most private communications excludes the jihad factories where homegrown terrorists are radicalized, reports Investors Business Daily. "Since October 2011, mosques have been off-limits to FBI agents. No more surveillance or undercover string operations without high-level approval from a special oversight body at the Justice Department dubbed the Sensitive Operations Review Committee. Who makes up this body, and how do they decide requests? Nobody knows; the names of the chairman, members and staff are kept secret. Read More [Thanks: ECS]
The Secret War
FOR YEARS FOUR-STAR GENERAL KEITH ALEXANDER HAS BEEN BUILDING A SECRET ARMY CAPABLE OF LAUNCHING DEVASTATING CYBERATTACKS. NOW IT’S READY TO UNLEASH HELL. Don't miss this account of America's secret war. Read it all.
Tip of the Iceberg: Lawmakers 'astounded' by NSA briefing
The federal surveillance programs revealed in media reports are just "the tip of the iceberg," a House Democrat said Wednesday. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) said lawmakers learned "significantly more" about the spy programs at the National Security Agency (NSA) during a briefing with counterterrorism officials. The briefing was meant to convince lawmakers that the surveillance programs are legal and necessary in fighting terrorism. Sanchez said lawmakers were "astounded" by what they heard. Read more
[Thanks BJS]
[Thanks BJS]