Poor Richard's News

Gallup Poll: fiscal conservatives outnumber liberals 46% to 20%

Sun, 27 May 2012 00:48:46 -0500

With numbers like these, it’s no wonder President Obama has been going around fibbing about reducing spending.

from Gallup:

Americans are more than twice as likely to identify themselves as conservative rather than liberal on economic issues, 46% to 20%. The gap is narrower on social issues, but conservatives still outnumber liberals, 38% to 28%.

These results are based on Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs poll, conducted May 3-6. Since 2001, the poll has asked Americans to say whether they are liberal, moderate, or conservative on “economic” and, separately, “social” issues. The interpretation of what qualifies as social or economic issues is left to the respondent, given that the question does not define or provide examples of these types of issues.

In the same poll, on Gallup’s standard measure of ideology — not asked in reference to any set of issues — 41% identified themselves as conservatives, 33% as moderates, and 23% as liberals. Those figures aresimilar to what Gallup typically findswhen it asks people to identify their ideology.

Thus, compared with the standard measure of ideology, slightly more Americans say they are economically conservative and slightly fewer say they are socially conservative. Also, significantly more Americans say they are socially liberal than identify their basic ideology as liberal.

Over the last four years, an average of 48% of Americans have said they are conservative on economic issues, including a high of 51% in May 2010. From 2001-2008, an average of 42% said they were economically conservative. This increase in economic conservatism has been coupled with a decline in the percentage who say they are moderate on economic issues. There has also been a slight increase in the percentage of Americans identifying as economic liberals, to a high of 20% this year.

read the rest

Hmm…I wonder what events could have possibly occurred in the last four years to cause this increased conservatism?

Joe Biden shares moving personal story with military families

Sat, 26 May 2012 12:37:46 -0500

We’ve spent a lot of time around here giving Vice President Biden a hard time for all his gaffes, but I’ve got to give him credit today. As he spoke to military families, Biden shared his feelings from when his wife and daughters died in a car accident. It’s truly moving.

here’s the video:

Our hats off to you, Mr. Vice President.

Why does Obama keep mentioning "my sons"?

Sat, 26 May 2012 12:21:49 -0500

So, we all know what Obama’s sons would look like…if he had any. However, now that the Trayvon Martin story has gotten so out of control that politicians no longer want to touch it, why does Obama keep talking about his sons?

from CNS:

In two campaign speeches over the last two days, President Barack Obama has twice mistakenly mentioned “my sons” when defending his administration’s regulation requiring virtually all health-care plans in the United States to provide women, without any fees or co-pay, with sterilizations and all Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptives, including those that can cause abortions.

Obama, of course, has two daughters—10-year-old Sasha and 13-year-old Malia—but no sons.

On Monday, 43 Catholic dioceses and organizations across the country—including the archdioceses of New York and Washington, D.C. and the University of Notre Dame and Catholic University of America—filed 12 different lawsuits against the Obama administration arguing that because the sterilization-contraception-abortifacient mandate would force Catholics to act against the teachings of their faith it violates the First Amendment right to freedom of religion.

At the Iowa State Fair Grounds on Thursday, Obama said: “We don’t need another political fight about ending a woman’s right to choose, or getting rid of Planned Parenthood or taking away affordable birth control. We don’t need that. I want women to control their own health choices, just like I want my daughters to have the same economic opportunities as my sons. We’re not turning back the clock. We’re not going back there.”

Boththe transcriptof the Iowa speech distributed by the White House anda video of itposted by the Des Moines Register indicated that Obama mistakenly said “my sons.”

The video of the speech posted by the Des Moines Register also shows that despite his slip about “my sons,” the president was speaking with the help of a teleprompter.

On Wednesday at the Fox Theatre in Redwood City, Calif., Obama made the same mistaken reference to “my sons.”

“We don’t need another political fight about ending a woman’s right to choose, or getting rid of Planned Parenthood, or taking away access to affordable birth control,” Obama said, according to the White House transcript of his speech. “I want women to control their own health care choices, just like I want my daughters to have the same opportunities as my sons. We’re not rolling back the clock.”

read the rest

This is no doubt just a fumble of his words, but is he just that exhausted? Nothing like a little Freudian slip to get the conspiracy theorists going!

Oops! Rep Thaddeus McCotter might not be on the ballot in his district primary

Sat, 26 May 2012 12:14:19 -0500

His campaign was one of the biggest flops of the 2012 Republican Presidential primary season, but it seems Rep. McCotter was so focused on his doomed Presidential run that he may have neglected to turn in the proper number of signatures to be on the ballot in his district.

from Detroit Free Press:

Throwing his congressional race into turmoil, Rep. Thaddeus McCotter said Friday evening that he may not have turned in enough valid signatures to qualify for the Aug. 7 Republican primary in his suburban Detroit district.

In a statement, McCotter said the Michigan Secretary of State’s Office notified him about the apparent problem.

“Fully respecting the accuracy and integrity of the Secretary of State’s Office, we will thoroughly review our petition signatures for their sufficiency or insufficiency,” the Livonia Republican said in his statement. “Out of respect for Memorial Day, an announcement of our findings will be made public on Tuesday.”

According to the Secretary of State’s website, McCotter had turned in 2,000 signatures, the maximum allowable. Congressional candidates must turn in at least 1,000 and no more than 2,000 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.

The Secretary of State didn’t say how many signatures McCotter could be short by, but spokeswoman Gisgie Gendreau said Friday night that duplicate signatures were among the problems with McCotter’s petitions. When duplicates are found, both signatures are bounced from the petitions.

“He can make his case to the Board of Canvassers,” Gendreau said. “They still have to vote to certify the signatures.”

read the rest

Only 1000 signatures? Come on man! How did you even expect to compete for the Presidential nomination?

Surprise! Real deficit way bigger than reported

Fri, 25 May 2012 13:05:41 -0500

Poor Richard’s News recently brought to you the hilarious story of how a poor, ignorant sap at Market Watch actually tried to claim that Obama hasn’t spent much at all. Well not only has that piece of nonsense been debunked thoroughly, it turns out, to the surprise of no one I presume, the author doesn’t really know much about how federal government budgets work. In fact, he knows so little about it, he had never even heard of baseline budgeting. And he has a job at an economics magazine? Hmm…

In any case, USA Today has the real story of our current budget woes. And I must warn you, it ain’t pretty.

From the USA Today:

The typical American household would have paid nearly all of its income in taxes last year to balance the budget if the government used standard accounting rules to compute the deficit, a USA TODAY analysis finds.

Under those accounting practices, the government ran red ink last year equal to $42,054 per household — nearly four times the official number reported under unique rules set by Congress.

A U.S. household’s median income is $49,445, the Census reports.

The big difference between the official deficit and standard accounting: Congress exempts itself from including the cost of promised retirement benefits. Yet companies, states and local governments must include retirement commitments in financial statements, as required by federal law and private boards that set accounting rules.

The deficit was $5 trillion last year under those rules. The official number was $1.3 trillion. Liabilities for Social Security, Medicare and other retirement programs rose by $3.7 trillion in 2011, according to government actuaries, but the amount was not registered on the government’s books.

Read the Rest

Congress can simply change the rules for themselves and report numbers differently. Don’t you wish you could do that with your budget?

War on women? Democrats in Congress pay their female staffers less than their male counterparts

Thu, 24 May 2012 17:06:49 -0500

Most of us already know about the “boy’s club” over in Obama’s White House. Now we find out that Democrats on Capitol Hill pay their female staffers less than their male counterparts? Apparently that glass ceiling is still pretty hard. Oh the irony! So much for the Republican war on women….

from Free Beacon:

A group of Democratic female senators on Wednesday declared war on the so-called “gender pay gap,” urging their colleagues to pass the aptly named Paycheck Fairness Act when Congress returns from recess next month. However, a substantial gender pay gap exists in their own offices, aWashington Free Beaconanalysis of Senate salary data reveals.

Of the five senators who participated in Wednesday’s press conference—Barbara Mikulski (D., Md.), Patty Murray (D., Wash.), Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.), Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) and Barbara Boxer (D., Calif.)—three pay their female staff members significantly less than male staffers.

Murray, who has repeatedly accused Republicans of waging a “war a women,” is one of the worst offenders. Female members of Murray’s staff made about $21,000 less per year than male staffers in 2011, a difference of 35.2 percent.

That is well above the 23 percent gap thatDemocrats claimexists between male and female workers nationwide. The figure is based on a 2010 U.S. Census Bureau report, and is technically accurate. However, as CNN’s Lisa Sylvester hasreported, when factors such as area of employment, hours of work, and time in the workplace are taken into account, the gap shrinks to about 5 percent.

A significant “gender gap” exists in Feinstein’s office, where women also made about $21,000 less than men in 2011, but the percentage difference—41 percent—was even higher than Murray’s.

Boxer’s female staffers made about $5,000 less, a difference of 7.3 percent.

read the rest

Physician, heal thyself.

Market Watch: Yeah, Obama hasn't spent very much

Thu, 24 May 2012 11:50:27 -0500

I hope you weren’t just drinking coffee. Because I’m sure it’s now all over your computer screen thanks to an uncontrollable spit-take. But you read it right. The ~~partisan hacks~~ economists over at Market Watch actually try to whitewash Obama’s unprecedented spending spree.

Here’s the Article at MarketWatch. Read at your own risk:

Of all the falsehoods told about President Barack Obama, the biggest whopper is the one about his reckless spending spree.

As would-be president Mitt Romney tells it: “I will lead us out of this debt and spending inferno.”

Almost everyone believes that Obama has presided over a massive increase in federal spending, an “inferno” of spending that threatens our jobs, our businesses and our children’s future. Even Democrats seem to think it’s true.

But it didn’t happen. Although there was a big stimulus bill under Obama, federal spending is rising at the slowest pace since Dwight Eisenhower brought the Korean War to an end in the 1950s.

Even hapless Herbert Hoover managed to increase spending more than Obama has.

Read the Rest (if you actually want to)

I know, right? People actually believe this drivel. Anyhow, as obviously irresponsible as this is, it’s just as irresponsible for Politifact [sic] to give it a “mostly true” rating. If it weren’t so sad, it’d be funny. In any case, Political Math Blog shows us how they were able to pull off such an amazing lie (in infographic form).

Also, Hotair does its own debunking.

Aww, Biden's favorability now under water

Thu, 24 May 2012 09:42:23 -0500

Remember when Vice President J-O-B-S used to be popular? Me neither. But apparently some people do and that’s why there’s some outrageous outrage that he’s now viewed negatively by most of the American public.

From Gallup:

Americans are about equally likely to have a favorable (42%) as an unfavorable (45%) view of Joe Biden, which has been the case for most of his tenure as U.S. vice president. Americans were much more positive than negative toward Biden from the time he was chosen as Barack Obama’s running mate through the first several months of the Obama administration.

Read the Rest

Personally I think that Biden is the best thing to happen to conservatives in a long time. He makes Dan Quayle look like a brain surgeon. But now that “Anvil Joe” is starting to live up to his name, one can’t help but wonder if Hilary is waiting in the wings. Some say no. I say that Biden needs to stand up. Let ‘em see ya. Oh, wait, God love ya’. What am I talking about?

Obama's hypocrisy on private equity

Tue, 22 May 2012 19:02:31 -0500

In the past week, the Obama campaign has been working hard to disparage Mitt Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital as something sinister. In doing so, the campaign has criticized not just Romney and Bain, but private equity in general, all the while holding fundraisers and raising millions from other private equity investors. Yesterday, Anderson Cooper called them out on it on his program.

Today, we find out just how much hypocrisy there is in Obama’s criticism of private equity investors.

from the Hill (read the rest):

President Obama raised far more cash from hedge fund and private equity donors than any other candidate in the 2008 election cycle.

According to an analysis by the nonprofit group Open Secrets, Obama took in nearly $3.5 million from large private-equity donors that year — nearly twice what his general-election rival, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), pocketed.

The data bring into focus the thin line Obama must walk in attacking presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s background in the industry, which has sparked criticism from allies including Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker.

Obama is working hard to make the case that Romney’s background in private equity does not qualify him to be president. In fact, Obama and his campaign, in a series of ads, have sought to turn that background into a weakness by highlighting companies that failed after their purchase by Bain Capital, the private equity group founded by Romney.

The danger for Obama is that he’ll turn off the backers who helped his campaign in 2008. It’s a risky strategy, especially in an election year in which Obama will have to compete not only with the Romney campaign but with GOP super-PACs expected to play an outsize role in political attack ads this fall.

read the rest

Obama’s campaign fundraising was significantly down last month, falling 18% from what it was in March. His new strategy of biting the hand that feeds him is probably ill advised.

Joe Biden: the Tea Party is slowing the country's economic growth

Tue, 22 May 2012 14:03:56 -0500

First they tell us that the Tea Party is pretty much dead and gone. Now Vice President Joe Biden wants us to believe that the Tea Party is responsible for the slow recovery from economic recession.

Here’s the video:

from the Washington Examiner:

Vice President Joe Biden admitted to a group of supporters in New Hampshire this morning that the President would have been able help the economy “much, more” if the Tea Party hadn’t taken the House.

Biden showed the audience the Obama campaigns chart of job growth during the President’s first term in office and accused the Tea Party for stalling the recovery, because of the debt limit fight.

“Imagine where we’d be if the Tea Party hadn’t taken control of the House of Representatives,” Biden said adding that they were “a group set on obstructionism.”

read the rest

I guess “blame Bush” wasn’t working. So, now it’s “blame the Tea Party.” Blame anybody except for the one sitting in the Oval Office.

Newly surfaced YouTube video shows Trayvon Martin participating in a "fight club"

Mon, 21 May 2012 16:44:00 -0500

Last week, we learned that Trayvon Martin had drugs in his system at the time he was shot and killed. Today, a new video has surfaced showing Trayvon participating in a “fight club.”

Here’s the video:

from Gateway Pundit:

The video was uploaded on Trayvon Martin’s YouTube Channel.
At least, the video “Anthony vs. Curtis” was there last month.

But, after his death the video was later scrubbed from his YouTube Channel.

The video “Anthony vs. Curtis” has since been re-uploaded to YouTube. The video shows Trayvon engaged in actual and intentional violent conduct. You’ll notice Trayvon in the video, wearing a white cap with the striped shirt. You can hear his name called out about 5 seconds into the video.

You can also see Trayvon’s tattoo in the video.

read the rest

This story is a terrible case of an incident being tried in the media before all the facts were out there. Even President Obama jumped into the fray, polluting the jury pool before George Zimmerman is able to receive a fair trial.

Eventually, a judge and jury will decide whether or not George Zimmerman committed any crime when he shot Trayvon Martin. However, when that happens, Zimmerman deserves to have all the facts on the table.

UPDATE: YouTube scrubbed the video. Embed fixed with LiveLeak video.

Obama: Hey, Elizabeth Warren! I'm a Cherokee too!

Mon, 21 May 2012 14:14:10 -0500

This is getting hilarious. In the light of Elizabeth Warren’s faux Cherokee heritage controversy, a previously overlooked from President Obama’s memoir Dreams from My Father is raising some eyebrows. What is it about the left’s obsession with race?

From Breitbart:

President Barack Obama and Massachusetts Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren have more in common than just their liberal political ideology, Harvard Law pedigree, and Democratic Party affiliation. Both claim Cherokee ancestry, and neither can prove it.

Ms. Warren’s claims are current and well known, but President Obama’s claims were made back in 1995, when his memoir, Dreams from My Father, was published. On pages 12 and 13 of the 2004 paperback edition, the President unequivocally asserts his Cherokee ancestry:

If asked, Toot [Obama’s maternal grandmother, Madelyne Payne Dunham] would turn her head in profile to show off her beaked nose, which, along with a pair of jet-black eyes, was offered as proof of Cherokee blood.

Read the Rest

Facepalm.

On the surface, this seems like a superficial non-story in an attempt to smear a candidate during an election cycle. And I’ll admit, that’s how I saw it at first. But the more I think about it, the more I understand that it’s not just a distraction. It’s a perfect example of the hypocrisy of the left.

Liberals set up rules that completely ignore the notion that “all men are created equal”, then use these rules to divide the country and give freebies to those whom they perceive to be disadvantaged—based solely on race or gender. Then they seem shocked when they are called out for abusing the system they created.

Was Elizabeth Warren disadvantaged because of her race? If not, why would she check ‘Cherokee’ on her Harvard application? Seeing the way Harvard touted her “minority” heritage as a selling point for the school, one can’t help but wonder if there was someone more qualified than Mrs. Warren who was rejected because they were honest about their race. It seems likely.

This brings us back to Obama. Keep in mind, we don’t have his college transcripts. We know very little about his college days. We know his publicist touted Obama’s “born in Kenya” heritage for over 15 years. Who knows what he put on his college application? Was he a Kenyan-Indonesian-American-Caucasian-Cherokee? One can safely assume this much: those transcripts are locked for a reason. And I’d bet that it’s not because of how awesome they are.

What Bias? Washington Post ties Mitt Romney to 1857 massacre

Mon, 21 May 2012 12:00:00 -0500

It doesn’t get much lower than this, folks. Journalism is pretty much dead over at the Washington Post.

from WaPo (emphasis mine):

On the wildflower-studded slopes of the Ozarks, where memories run long and family ties run thick, a little-known and long-ago chapter of history still simmers.

On Sept. 11, 1857, a wagon train from this part of Arkansas met with a gruesome fate in Utah, where most of the travelers were slaughtered by a Mormon militia in an episode known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Hundreds of the victims’ descendants still populate these hills and commemorate the killings, which they have come to call “the first 9/11.”

Many of the locals grew up hearing denunciations of Mormonism from the pulpit on Sundays, and tales of the massacre from older relatives who considered Mormons “evil.”

“There have been Fancher family reunions for 150 years, and the massacre comes up at every one of them,” said Scott Fancher, 58, who traces his lineage back to 26 members of the wagon train, which was known as the Fancher-Baker party. “The more whiskey we drunk, the more resentful we got.”

There aren’t many places in America more likely to be suspicious of Mormonism — and potentially more problematic for Mitt Romney, who is seeking to become the country’s first Mormon president. Not only do many here retain a personal antipathy toward the religion and its followers, but they also tend to be Christian evangelicals, many of whom view Mormonism as a cult.

And yet, there is scant evidence that Romney’s religion is making much difference in how voters here are thinking about the presidential election and whether they are willing to back the former Massachusetts governor.

read the rest

So, even though there’s “scant evidence” that Romney’s faith makes any difference to voters in Arkansas, the Washington Post still opens their story about Romney with an anecdote about “the first 911.”

1857. That’s when this happened. Mitt Romney was born in 1947, 90 years later.

This is journalistic garbage at its worst.

43 Catholic institutions sue Obama administration over contraception mandate.

Mon, 21 May 2012 11:50:48 -0500

Because the Obama administration refused to back down from it’s mandate forcing religious institutions to provide contraception in their health insurance plans, 43 Catholic institutions have joined a lawsuit, suing the administration for violating their religious rights.

from Fox News:

Some of the most influential Catholic institutions in the country filed suit in federal district court Monday against the so-called contraception mandate, in one of the biggest coordinated legal challenges to the rule to date.

Claiming their “fundamental rights hang in the balance,” a total of 43 plaintiffs filed a dozen separate lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the requirement. Among the organizations filing were the University of Notre Dame, the Archdiocese of New York and The Catholic University of America.

The groups are objecting to the requirement from the federal health care overhaul that employers provide access to contraceptive care. The Obama administration several months back softened its position on the mandate, but some religious organizations complained the administration did not go far enough to ensure the rule would not compel them to violate their religious beliefs.

A statement from the University of Notre Dame said the requirement would still call on religious-affiliated groups to “facilitate” coverage “for services that violate the teachings of the Catholic Church.”

“The federal mandate requires Notre Dame and similar religious organizations to provide in their insurance plans abortion-inducing drugs, contraceptives and sterilization procedures, which are contrary to Catholic teaching,” the statement said.

read the rest

Let’s be clear, this is not a question of “women’s access to contraception.” Nobody is restricting that. No one is stopping anyone from going down to WalMart or Target and picking up their $8 birth control prescription.

The issue is simple: can the government force an institution to do something that in direct violation of their religious principals?

Even more #Occupy NATO terrorists arrested in Chicago

Sun, 20 May 2012 23:16:00 -0500

Yesterday, three Occupy NATO protestors were arrested in Chicago for plotting to firebomb President Obama’s campaign headquarters, Mayor Rahm Emmanuel’s house, and several police stations. Today, even more arrests were made as protestors planned to blow up a bridge in Chicago.

from the AP:

Prosecutors charged two more activists Sunday with crimes tied to the two-day NATO summit, accusing one of saying he wanted to blow up a downtown Chicago bridge and a second with seeking to build pipe bombs.

But attorneys for the two men said the charges were manufactured by a pair police informants or undercover officers they know as “Mo” and “Gloves,” and again accused authorities of trumping up a case to scare protesters in town for the summit.

“He is being targeted because of his beliefs,” defense attorney Molly Armour said of her client, Sebastian Senakiewicz. “These charges are extremely sensational.”

The Cook County State’s Attorney’s office charged Senakiewicz, 24, of Chicago, with falsely making a terrorist threat. Mark Neiweem, 28, of Chicago, is charged with attempted possession of explosives or incendiary devices. Both men were arrested Thursday.

read the rest

Mmmm. It’s just like Nancy Pelosi said last year when this whole Occupy thing was getting started: “God bless them for their spontaneity!”

Yeah, Occupy is basically just like the Tea Party, except Tea Partiers bring their kids to events. Occupiers bring…well…bombs.

Fox News's Chris Wallace crushes all opponents on Jeopardy's Power Players week

Sun, 20 May 2012 19:38:00 -0500

It was Power Players week on Jeopardy this week, bringing together news anchors and network contributors from all across the spectrum of major news outlets. Contestants included Chris Matthews, Anderson Cooper, NBC’s Chuck Todd, CNN’s, BBC’s Katy Kay, and our old pal and President Obama’s former Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

Robert Gibbs ended up winning his match, but only because his competition was so bad. He bested Chris Matthews and CNN’s Lizzie O’Leary with an embarrassingly low $5,600.

But surely one would have expected a brillant mind like Chris Matthews to take home the week’s bragging rights. After all, Matthews spent considerable time mocking Sarah Palin, suggesting she would do terribly on the show. ”Don’t put her on Jeopardy!” he sneered! But no, Chris Matthews delivered a dismal performance, finishing in last place with only $2,300. Oh, the shame!

Still more embarrassing than Chris Wallace’s performance was the New York Times’ three-time Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Tom Friedman. He finished with a hilariously bad $1,000, losing to CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

And who do you suppose took top prize for the week? Surely somebody from the elite liberal media, right? Nope. It was Fox New’s Chris Wallace. But wait! I thought Fox News was full of dolts and idiots. This can’t be right! But it’s true. Chris Wallace ended the show with $22,800, better than any of the competition for the entire week.

More #occupy terrorism: 3 arrested in plot to bomb Obama's campaign headquarters and Mayor Rahm Emmanuel's house

Sat, 19 May 2012 23:23:00 -0500

Let’s review: Last year, DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz blamed the shootings in Tucson Arizona on the Tea Party, even though the shooter had no conservative affiliations whatsoever. Then this year, she said she “admires” the Occupy Wall Street Movement. She didn’t disavow the Occupy movement after active members got caught trying to blow up a bridge in Cleveland. I wonder if she’ll say anything this time.

from Brietbart:

Three of the individuals arrested in the Wednesday apartment raid of an Occupy Chicago member were charged last night for conspiracy to commit terrorism. The suspects, Brian Church, 20, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Jared Chase, 24, of Keene, N.H.; and Brent Vincent Betterly, 24 were detained for approximately 48 hours before finally being charged around 2 am this morning.

The suspects are apparently the same three individuals who published the recent viral video on YouTube of what they claimed was police harassment outside of Chicago Police Department. Coincidentally two of these suspects appear to have been at the first violent action of the NATO week protests on Tuesday night.

These individuals spoke out and taunted the police in that march through the south side of Chicago, dubbed the “F*ck the Police” march. After the police refused to take the bate of protesters torment and ridicule, the protesters declared they would “continue on their peaceful way.” However video obtained exclusively by Breitbart.com shows the behavior of the apparent suspects and their cohorts was nothing remotely resembling a peaceful nature.

read the rest

These three weren’t just going to throw Molotov cocktails in the street. No, they had even bigger targets in mind.

from the Hill (emphasis mine):

Law enforcement officials arrested three men in Chicago this week who are accused of planning to attack President Obama’s campaign headquarters, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s home and various police stations and squad cars, according to reports on Saturday.

The three men were making Molotov cocktails for their plan to disrupt the NATO summit this weekend, prosecutors told The Associated Press. They have been charged with providing material support for terrorism, conspiracy to commit terrorism and possession of explosives.

read the rest

So, here’s my question: will Debbie Wasserman Schultz finally disavow the Occupy movement if they attempt to bomb her campaign headquarters?

No, it’s totally the Tea Party that’s violent and evil.

MTV issues casting call for teens wanting to lose their virginity in new reality show

Fri, 18 May 2012 15:26:00 -0500

And so MTV sinks to a new low (even though some of us didn’t think it was possible).

from Breitbart:

A tipstersent this to me this morning and after clicking the link, I — the guy who thought he had seen it all from our pop culture overlords — literally gasped:

DO YOU WANT TO TAKE THINGS TO THE NEXT LEVEL? LIKE, ARE YOU READY TO HAND OVER YOUR V CARD? OR DO YOU HAVE A FRIEND WHO IS READY TO LOSE IT?

Young adulthood is a time for exploration. New relationships, fresh experiences and sexual firsts…

Now MTV is looking to frankly capture that journey in a new series called My First…We’re looking for adults who are ready to go all the way. Let MTV come along on your journey… as you try to lose your virginity! (Note: We will be filming whether or not you accomplish this goal… but NOT the act itself. Duh.)

If you are 18 years or older and are willing to candidly allow MTV to accompany you on the journey toward “losing it,” please send us an email.

MTV can and undoubtedly will hide behind the fact that 18 year-olds are legal adults, but you can prey on adults just as easily as you can prey on children, especially young adults conditioned by pop culture outlets like MTV to believe celebrity and narcissism are virtues.

And the bait here is celebrity. Debase yourselves for our cameras and we’ll make you a star! This isn’t about love or finding love or even losing your innocence to someone you love.

read the rest

Absolutely disgusting. Does anybody remember when MTV actually played music videos? Those were the days. What do you call what MTV does now? I know…trash.

Aw! Bill Clinton won't endorse Charlie Rangel

Fri, 18 May 2012 14:34:43 -0500

After being found guilty of ethics violations, Charlie Rangel is fighting for his political life in his election bid for a 22nd term in Congress. His old pal Bill Clinton won’t be around to help him out this time.

from the New York Post:

Bill Clinton is abandoning his old ally Charles Rangel, who is fighting for his political life as he seeks re-election to a 22nd term, The Post has learned.

Harlem Rep. Rangel won’t be getting an endorsement from the former president, who will sit out the primary, a Clinton source said.

Clinton strongly backed Rangel’s re-election in 2010 when the incumbent was under fire for House ethics-rules violations that later led to a congressional censure.

Clinton even personally taped a message that was phoned in to voters on behalf of Rangel, who has been a loyal Clinton backer for decades.

Rangel, in turn, vehemently defended Clinton during the ex-president’s impeachment proceedings, and led the charge to launch Hillary Rodham Clinton’s political career, helping her get elected to the US Senate from New York.

Rangel also supported Hillary Clinton’s campaign for president over Barack Obama, who didn’t endorse Rangel last time and is staying neutral in this year’s primary.

But the Clinton source said the former president has a personal conflict this time around. One of Rangel’s rivals, Clyde Williams, was a top aide at the Clinton Foundation and worked in the Clinton administration.

“He is grateful for Clyde’s work with the foundation. Because he has personal relationships with several of the candidates in the race, he doesn’t feel it’s appropriate to weigh in on the race,” a Clinton official said.

read the rest

See, kids, this is what happens when you do something stupid like evade paying taxes. You get found out. After you get found out, your friends don’t want to be your friends any more.

Autopsy: Trayvon Martin had drugs in his system when he was shot.

Thu, 17 May 2012 21:44:01 -0500

This story just gets sadder and sadder to me.

from CNN:

In his 911 call just before the shooting, Zimmerman had speculated that the teen looked like he was “up to no good or he’s on drugs or something.”

But Martin’s defenders have portrayed Zimmerman as the aggressor, accusing him of profiling the African-American teen. Plus, one expert notes the traces of the marijuana-related substance found in the teen’s system — as measured hours after his death — don’t necessarily speak to any level of intoxication, while another adds that marijuana use typically doesn’t make people prone to aggression.

Martin’s blood contained THC, which is the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, according toautopsy results released Thursday.The autopsy was conducted February 27, the day after the teenager was shot dead.

Toxicology tests found elements of the drug in the teenager’s chest blood — 1.5 nanograms per milliliter of one type (THC), as well as 7.3 nanograms of another type (THC-COOH) — according to the medical examiner’s report. There also was a presumed positive test of cannabinoids in Martin’s urine, according to the medical examiner’s report. It was not immediately clear how significant these amounts were.

No precise levels on the urine were released.

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The autopsy report also showed that Trayvon had bruised knuckles and was shot at close range, both evidence that may back up George Zimmerman’s story.