Why Romney's Remarks on 47 Percent Dependency Are Wrong, Wrong, and Right

Reblogged from International Liberty:

Mitt Romney is catching a lot of flak for his surreptitiously recorded remarks about 47 percent of voters automatically being in the Obama column because they don't pay federal income tax and thus see themselves as beneficiaries of big government.

Since I've warned about dependency and raised the alarm that we risk becoming another Greece unless entitlements are reformed, one might think I agree with the former Massachusetts governor.

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The Washington Post answers Reagan’s question

Obama’s economic recovery adviser

Ronald Reagan met Jimmy Carter in their one and only debate a week before election day in 1980. At the end, Governor Reagan asked a question of the viewers and with it, some say, decided the race:

Now, 32 years later (has it been that long??) The Washington Post has answered that question for us: No way, no how.

Household income is down sharply since the recession ended three years ago, according to a report released Thursday, providing another sign of the stubborn weakness of the economic recovery.

From June 2009 to June 2012, inflation-adjusted median household income fell 4.8 percent, to $50,964, according to a report by Sentier Research, a firm headed by two former Census Bureau officials.

Incomes have dropped more since the beginning of the recovery than they did during the recession itself, when they declined 2.6 percent, according to the report, which analyzed data from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey. The recession, the most severe since the Great Depression, lasted from December 2007 to June 2009.

Overall, median income is 7.2 percent below its December 2007 level and 8.1 percent below where it stood in January 2000, when it was $55,470, according to the report.

But wait, there’s more! The median net worth of families declined nearly 40%, from $126,000 to $77,000, a level not seen since 1992. Blacks saw their income decline more than twice as much as Whites and Hispanics, a grim achievement for the first African-American elected to the presidency. Households that derive most of their income from the self-employed now have to make due with almost ten percent less. The only people who have done better, not surprisingly, are those collecting government checks.

Read the whole thing; it’s a horror story as much as a news article, and its key point cannot be driven home hard enough — for the average American, the “recovery” has been worse than the recession.

I’ve seen it written before that recessions caused by financial crises, as was the last one, take longer to recover from than those arising from industrial slowdowns. And, I’ll grant, Obama did inherit a bad situation, once made worse by the mistakes of the late Bush administration — TARP, the initial auto bailouts, &c.

But Obama is responsible for his administration’s policies since taking office, and he owns in its entirety the nation’s economic performance since June, 2009, when the recession ended and the so-called recovery began.

And that is a record of doing exactly the wrong things, resulting in a miserable failure that shows no sign of improvement — and may well get worse.

If you aren’t doing better that you were four years ago, if in fact your situation is objectively worse, then why on Earth would you vote for Obama?

PS: Romney-Ryan 2012, because I want someone in charge who can see that the private sector is not doing fine.

(Crossposted at Sister Toldjah)

The CIA documents the global cooling research of the 1970’s

Reblogged from Watts Up With That?:

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Despite what NCDC’s Thomas Peterson, Wikiwrangler William Connolley, and John Fleck would like you to believe as a “myth” (The Myth of the 1970s Global Cooling Scientific Consensus), there was in fact serious consideration of the global cooling issue in the 1970’s thanks to this 1974 document from the CIA. – Anthony

The CIA Report and the Warning from Wisconsin…

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I remember the global cooling hysteria from the 70s; my feeling is that the global warming... er.... "climate change" movement will look even sillier in just a few years.

UK embraces centralized energy planning policy

Reblogged from Watts Up With That?:

New Energy Bill Is A Disaster

Press Release from The Global Warming Policy Foundation

London, 23 May:  With the publication of its draft Energy Bill, the government has announced its intention to reverse the course of energy deregulation.

The Global Warming Policy Foundation warns that any attempt to turn back the clock to the dark period of centralised energy planning will not only damage Britain’s economy, but will almost certainly end in failure, just like other attempts to impose a centralised system of energy controls have failed in the past.

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And this is from a "Conservative' government?

No Matter How Hard Obama Tries, He'll Never Make America more Statist than France

Reblogged from International Liberty:

One of my first blog posts, back in 2009, featured Veronique de Rugy in a video, warning that America should not adopt the statist policies that caused so much damage in her home country of France.

Sadly (but predictably), the politicians in Washington ignored Veronique's sage advice. The burden of government has expanded since that video was released, including the…

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France plays two roles in America this year: as a goal for Obama and the progressives, and as a warning to the rest of us.

President Obama Accuses Bill Clinton of "Thinly Veiled Social Darwinism"

Reblogged from International Liberty:

Actually, Bill Clinton must be something even worse than a social Darwinist. That's because the title of this post is wrong. Obama said that Paul Ryan's plan (which allows spending to grow by an average of 3.1 percent per year over the next decade) is a form of "social Darwinism."

But the proposal from the House Budget Committee Chairman only reduces the burden of federal spending to 20.25 percent of GDP by the year 2023.

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Knowing the dislike between the Obama and the Clinton camps, I'm sure Obama would have included the former president, had he known.

Obama vs. the Founding Fathers

Reblogged from International Liberty:

I've repeatedly said that Michael Ramirez is a good political cartoonist (see here, here, here, here, here, and here), and he's proved his worth in this cartoon that cleverly mocks the cavalier attitude that statists have about America's founding principles.

And here are two more Ramirez cartoons, including one that also uses the theme of Obama vs the Founding Fathers.

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Ramirez is my favorite cartoonist these days. Always spot-on.

Report: John Edwards to admit soon that he is father of mistress’ baby

Via WRAL:

Raleigh, N.C. — Sources have told WRAL News that they expect former U.S. Sen. John Edwards to admit that he is the father of his former mistress’ 18-month-old daughter.

Edwards, a two-time Democratic presidential candidate, confessed last August to having an affair with Rielle Hunter, who served as a videographer on Edwards’ 2008 campaign. He has denied fathering her daughter, saying his relationship with Hunter ended before the child was conceived.

The name of the girl’s father isn’t disclosed on her birth certificate.

Andrew Young, a long-time Edwards aide, initially claimed to be the father of Hunter’s child, but he is reportedly writing a book in which he will claim Edwards is the father.

[...]

Sources said Edwards’ public admission could come before the end of the criminal investigation.

I’m trying to figure out why he didn’t make this admission when he first confessed to the affair? I mean, at that point his political career was pretty much over – why not go all the way? Then again, as I’ve noted numerous times before, this man is a slick pathological liar and will dodge and weave and lie on just about any issue.

I wish his illegitimate young daughter the best life has to offer. Hopefully she’ll never know how hard her father tried to deny the fact that she was his.

Cross-posted from the Sister Toldjah blog.

Wednesday Reads

Here are a few links for your perusal:

—– Tom Blumer has the laugh out loud post of the day: Dem Rep Who Opposes Photo ID To Vote Requiring Photo ID For Town Halls (screencaps included)

—– Michelle Malkin nails the left again in a devastating post about ObamaCare “human props” – and the left had you thinking that only the eeeevil W had “staged” town halls …

—— Via the WSJ, “economists” are saying that the recession is over. It’s a “recovery” that – according to one economist quoted by the WaPo – “only a statistician can love.”

—– Democrat Senator Ben Nelson (NE) is hitting back at liberal critics of his opposition to ObamaCare in a new ad that is pretty sharp. You can watch it here.

—– And speaking of ObamaCare, contrary to what President Obama claimed during his NH “town hall” yesterday, the AARP has not endorsed his healthcare plan.

—– The latest poll numbers from Rasmussen show the GOP looking good so far in this year’s race for the Governor’s seat in VA: McDonnell (R) 47% Deeds (D) 38%.

—– The Heritage Foundation takes an in-depth look at the disaster that is “cap and trade.” (via Power Line)

—– Oh, why won’t Gov. Marc Sanford resign already?

—– John Hawkins recently surveyed conservative bloggers to find out which conservatives they respected the most. You can read the results here.

—– The College Politico busts the media on attributing an Obama-as-Hitler poster to a “conservative mobster” at a town hall when the poster is actually the product of Democrat Lyndon LaRouche’s own website.

—– Last but most certainly not least, please continue to keep our men and women in harm’s way overseas in your thoughts and prayers. The Marines in Afghanistan have launched a major offensive called “Operation Eastern Resolve” – aimed at liberating the northern Helmland province of Dahaneh from Taliban control.

Exit, stage right! Running, even….

That’s it, I’m outta here! I’m off for a week’s vacation to magical, mystical Indianapolis to attend the GenCon game convention (Yes, I am a geek.  ) and commune with the Indianapolis Artsgarden.  (Which, as anyone who has seen it and watched anime can tell you, is secretly a giant robot left by an ancient race to defend the Earth. Really. Stop looking at me like that.) I’ll be back next Monday night.

Public Secrets won’t lie fallow, however. The inimitable Sister Toldjah has kindly agreed to fill in for me with the occasional post, just to keep things hopping round here.  Her blog is one of the top stops in the Right-o-sphere, and I’m truly happy to have her here as a pinch-hitter. Thanks, ST! 

Waterloo on the Potomac?

President Obama is worried about his agenda, as well he should be given that his health plan is opposed even by members of his own party. He’s starting to speak in apocalyptic terms, reportedly telling a House Democrat that defeating his health-care reform will destroy his presidency:

A telling episode recounted by Senate Finance ranking member Charles Grassley reveals the Obama administration might be more worried than they are letting on that a Republican senator’s comparison of the healthcare overhaul to Waterloo might be dangerously close to the truth.

Grassley said he spoke with a Democratic House member last week who shared Obama’s bleak reaction during a private meeting to reports that some factions of House Democrats were lining up to stall or even take down the overhaul unless leaders made major changes.

“Let’s just lay everything on the table,” Grassley said. “A Democrat congressman last week told me after a conversation with the president that the president had trouble in the House of Representatives, and it wasn’t going to pass if there weren’t some changes made … and the president says, ‘You’re going to destroy my presidency.‘ “

The White House did not respond to requests for comment.

Yeah, I wouldn’t comment if I were in the White House, either. It can’t be very inspiring to the troops to see their leader preparing to form square with the Old Guard like Napoleon at Waterloo, or worse, remind one of Captain Queeg fretting over the strawberries.

The most noticeable facet of this is the sheer narcissism: it isn’t about health care or greenhouse gases or fixing the economy — it’s about “my presidency.” That is, “it’s all about me.”

Or, as they used to say in the old commercial, it’s all about The O.  But Sabine Ehrenfeld is much hotter.

Sorry, Mr. President-Messiah.

LINKS: Blue Crab Boulevard sees something other that total self-absorption here. Allahpundit see the connection to La Ehrenfeld, too.

Another test

To see how smileys look.

 

Test

Just testing the video on this blog:

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!

Poor Pennsylvania

For the first time in years, maybe decades, their primary vote today counts for something. It could influence the nation’s direction for years to come. It could make history.

And their choice is between a serial liar and a patronizing pol who looks down on them.

D’oh!

Technorati tags: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Pennsylvania

More weird conspiracy theories

Bobby Kennedy tricked Marilyn Monroe into committing suicide.

(hat tip: PJM)

 

Technorati tags: Marilyn Monroe, Bobby Kennedy, suicide, conspiracy theories

As amended by Judge Taylor

From Cox & Forkum.

“Dear Arab brothers. You lost”

An Arab author gives his Palestinian brethren a needed talking to:

The war with Israel is over.

You have lost. Surrender and negotiate to secure a future for your children.

We, your Arab brothers, may say until we are blue in the face that we stand by you, but the wise among you and most of us know that we are moving on, away from the tired old idea of the Palestinian Arab cause and the "eternal struggle" with Israel.

Dear friends, you and your leaders have wasted three generations trying to fight for Palestine, but the truth is the Palestine you could have had in 1948 is much bigger than the one you could have had in 1967, which in turn is much bigger than what you may have to settle for now or in another 10 years. Struggle means less land and more misery and utter loneliness.

At the moment, brothers, you would be lucky to secure a semblance of a state in that Gaza Strip into which you have all crowded, and a small part of the West Bank of the Jordan. It isn’t going to get better. Time is running out even for this much land, so here are some facts, figures, and sound advice, friends.

This reflects a growing trend among Arab intellectuals and their dictatorial governments: they’re more concerned with the rise of religious fundamentalism and Shia Iran than with the Jews of Israel, who just want to be left alone. Even Saudi Arabia has criticized Hizbullah in this recent crisis. Could this be an indicator of the tide of public opinion turning against jihadis and the cult of death?

(hat tip: Irish Pennants)

If we have any hope in the war against Islamic fascism

…It’s that our enemies are mind-bogglingly self-destructive:

Palestinian rocket hits Israeli city

Yes, those geniuses in Hamas (or Islamic Jihad, or al-Qaeda, or one of any number of lunatic murderers) fired a rocket toward the Israeli city of Ashkelon and hit a schoolyard. Luckily, no children were at school that day. Still, the Israelis likely will pound Gaza even harder as they search for kidnapped Corporal Gilad Shalit. What else can they do? The government has an obligation to defend its people, and, so far, PM Olmert has shown little reluctance to use force when needed.

Ze’ev Schiff of Haaretz wonders if the attack on the Ashkelon school wasn’t spurred by outside powers:

The firing of a rocket from the Gaza Strip to
Ashkelon’s center on Tuesday constitutes an unequivocal invitation by
Hamas to war. The Palestinians who launched the rocket apparently are
members of the Hamas military wing, but it’s quite possible that either
an Iranian or Syrian element interested in intensifying the military
conflict with Israel spurred the move.

Perhaps, and it isn’t impossible that Hamas-directed elements had goals that converged with the interests of Syrian and/or Iranian intelligence. It doesn’t change my point, however, that jihadis and those who support them are singularly naive or shortsighted: refusing to abide by the Oslo Accords; refusing to recognize Israel as the prior government had done; firing rockets into Israel almost from the moment Israel gave back Gaza; tunneling into Israeli territory, killing two soldiers, and kidnapping a third; and now rocketing a schoolyard.  Instead of taking the opportunity the Israelis presented them to build their country in Gaza –you know, schools, hospitals, roads– they instead buy weapons on the black market and use them to attack Israel proper.

And then they whine and scream when someone hits back.

And yet, like our jihadi enemies in al-Qaeda, maybe they’re not stupid. Maybe they’re simply showing their true faces for what they are: murderous thugs motivated by a Nazi-influenced ideology who cannot be negotiated with.

Either way, the fight goes on.

(hat tip: Roger L. Simon)

Oh, for Pete’s sake!

From the AP: American GI’s Indictment Sought in Italy

ROME (AP) — Prosecutors have requested the
indictment of a U.S. soldier over the shooting of an Italian
intelligence agent at a checkpoint in Iraq last year, a prosecutor said
Monday.

-and-

The agent was heading by car to Baghdad airport
on March 4, 2005, shortly after securing the release of an Italian
journalist who had been kidnapped in the Iraqi capital when he was shot
at the checkpoint.

Another agent, who was driving the car, and the journalist, Giuliana Sgrena, were wounded.

Italy and the United States issued separate reports on the incident, after failing to agree on a shared version of events.

U.S. authorities have said the vehicle was traveling fast, alarming soldiers, who feared an insurgent attack.

Italian officials claimed the car was traveling at normal speed and
blamed U.S. military for failing to signal there was a checkpoint.

Giuliana Sgrena is an Italian journalist working for a Communist newspaper who was kidnapped by Iraqi terrorists in 2005. The Italian government paid ransom (which they deny) and secured her release. Apparently they neglected to tell the Americans they were picking up a hostage and bringing her home, so, when they approached the US Army checkpoint and failed to stop, the soldiers did as they should and opened fire. The driver, an Italian agent, was killed, and Sgrena and one other person were wounded.

The Italians, whose public never supported the liberation of Iraq, screamed about "trigger happy Americans," but investigation showed that the soldiers’ account of why they fired was correct, and that Sgrena, a terrorist sympathizer, was lying in her account — which she kept changing. The Italian "case" had no credibility and was pursued strictly for home consumption.

(While the original Yahoo articles are no longer available on the web, you can read excellent summaries here, here, and a whole slough of articles here.)

Now Italy has a left-wing government beholden to its anti-American Communist partners, who have adamantly opposed the intervention in Iraq, so of course they resurrect this nonsense.

Doesn’t the Italian judicial system have something better to do like, oh, crack down on the Mafia or keep a watch on radical imams preaching hate and the downfall of democracy in Italy?

Unbelievable.