Blog Heap of Links for the day 14 June 2011

At last night's Republican debate, the seven candidates talked about unemployment, taxes, regulations, former Gov. Tim Pawlenty's talk of a goal of 5% GDP growth, the individual mandate in the health care bill, the Independent Medicare Advisory Board, welfare reform, the Tea Party, currency policy, the National Labor Relations Board, Boeing, TARP, the auto bailout, Rep. Paul Ryan's Medicare proposal, former Gov. Mitt Romney's health care program in Massachusetts, raising the debt ceiling, raising the retirement age for Social Security, the role of religion in public life, the 10th amendment, Libya, Afghanistan, and so on. But President Obama's 2012 campaign is sending out a DNC video suggesting the candidates spoke only about sharia law, an anti-gay-marriage amendment, repealing health care, Sarah Palin, and the space program.

President Barack Obama said yesterday that you would want Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D.-Fla.) "on your side" because "she's got a cute smile," and you would want her "in your foxhole" because "not only is she charming" but she has a "dazzling smile," and is "tough as nails." ... "Don't mess with Debbie...." [a/k/a Sgt Schultz]

Barack Obama has long sought to bankrupt the coal industry. But, Cook County politician that he is and always will be, the relevant question is: who benefits from his plans wreck a major portion of our economy while also boosting electricity prices across America? A clue: he and his pals from Chicago have incestuous ties to the one company whose prospects will be boosted by Obama's policies. ... From the Tribune article: One company that expects to benefit from the changes is Chicago-based Exelon Corp., which has a large fleet of nuclear power plants that have low emissions and are cheap to run compared with coal plants.... What political figures close to Barack Obama have long ties to Exelon? David Axlerod, Obama's campaign strategist and chief domestic policy adviser (who had the office closest to the Oval one before he left the White House to return to the 2012 campaign trail), has reaped quite a few rewards from doing business with Commonwealth Edison, which became part of the Exelon octopus through corporate mergers... There are the legions of investors in green schemes who are Obama supporters and whose uneconomic projects can only succeed through government arm-twisting (an Obama talent). ... For history buffs, Com Ed at one time was headed by Tom Ayers, a power broker par excellence in Chicago. Ayers was the father of Bill Ayers....

Via Ace, remember how angry we all were when he admitted that "shovel-ready" public works projects — the ostensible target of the stimulus — um, don't really exist? The Democrats spent weeks before he was inaugurated selling voters on the concept and did a good enough job that they ended up with a $787 billion check from Congress for their trouble. Well, get ready to turn those frowns upside down, America: It was explained to Obama [at today's event] that the permitting process can delay projects for "months to years … and in many cases even cause projects to be abandoned … I'm sure that when you implemented the Recovery Act your staff briefed you on many of these challenges." At this point, Obama smiled and interjected, "Shovel-ready was not as … uh .. shovel-ready as we expected." The Council, led by GE's Jeffrey Immelt, erupted in laughter.

On Sunday John Zieger wrote a piece at the Daily Caller entitled, "The Sarah Palin I know". In his very lengthy article Ziegler writes what I would consider a self indulgent chronology of his interactions with Governor Palin, beginning just after the 2008 election. Between anecdotes of what seems like every single interaction Ziegler has had with the Palin family and their staff, he argues that not only is Sarah Palin unelectable in 2012 but her entering the race would ensure a second term for President Obama. At BigGovernment.com John Nolte does a fantastic job summarizing Ziegler's argument (using Zieglers own words) and disarming the bogus bombshell claims.

The one missing element? Overflowing crowds.... The top level of the 2,200-seat concert hall at the Adrienne Arsht Center for Performing Arts was entirely empty, as were the seats along the side of the second and third levels.

"He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious." -- Sun Tzu, The Art of War 6. More time to quietly Organize4Palin under the radar, saving up for the big push. 4. More time for Obama to screw up (again and again and again).

Why is the Los Angeles Times sitting on a videotape of the 2003 farewell bash in Chicago at which Barack Obama lavished praise on the guest of honor, Rashid Khalidi — former mouthpiece for master terrorist Yasser Arafat? At the time Khalidi, a PLO adviser turned University of Chicago professor, was headed east to Columbia. There he would take over the University's Middle East-studies program (which he has since maintained as a bubbling cauldron of anti-Semitism) and assume the professorship endowed in honor of Edward Sayyid, another notorious terror apologist. The party featured encomiums by many of Khalidi's allies, colleagues, and friends, including Barack Obama, then an Illinois state senator, and Bill Ayers, the terrorist turned education professor. It was sponsored by the Arab American Action Network (AAAN), which had been founded by Khalidi and his wife, Mona, formerly a top English translator for Arafat's press agency.

Remember the hysteria the greeted Hurricane Katrina? The denunciations of George Bush and the Army Corps of Engineers? The round-the-clock charges of racism?The unremitting media consternation about government "failure"? Compare all that with the formerly mainstream media's response to the devastation wrought by tornadoes these last few weeks in the Midwest. In order to help you with the exercise, I pass along a few photographs from that unfolding horror, with accompanying questions that a friend sent me. [UPDATE: some of these photographs come from previous natural disasters in the Midwest: the response, however was always the same.]

A new 32-page comic book entitled "Political Power: Hillary Rodham Clinton" details the behind-the-scenes machinations of Clinton's contentious 2008 presidential run against then-Sen. Obama, up through his nomination of her as secretary of state. It's a follow-up sequel to the Bluewater Production's first comic book of Clinton, which focused on her early life.

During Monday night's GOP debate in New Hampshire, CNN's John King, the moderator, had a hard time keeping the candidates under the 30 second-per-answer time limit. So he resorted to what sounded a lot like grunting. Instead of interrupting the candidates forcefully, King would signal that their time was up by uttering "uh" over and over again or repeatedly saying "all right" or "OK." The tactic wasn't very effective, but King did succeed in annoying many people who tuned in to watch the debate.

SHADY GROVE, Md. - Trains are running again on the Red Line in Montgomery County, after a woman "threatened to blow up the train." Train service between Shady Grove and Grosvenor was shut down for about two hours during a police investigation. Shuttle bus service was established for those two hours. ... According to Metro officials, the woman got down on her knees and "threatened to blow up the train." She reportedly said, "You killed my family."... The woman is of Indian origin. She is a permanent resident of McLean, Va., but carries an Indian passport.

Yes, that is an actual headline at Cnn money. Yes, really. Go look at the link and you will hardly believe it (and I have screenshots, anticipating a full scrubbing of this). And, I will note, there isn't anything there labeling it an editorial. And even then, wingnuts? Really? ....

I've been annoyed for a few years now at the identification of American conservatives with the color red. The connection of particular colors to the two major US political parties was inconsistent prior to the late 1990s, though the parties had existed for well over a century by that time. As far back as the 1888 national elections, the Republicans were blue and the Democrats red. This was used off and on for most of the last century.

Stories about violent "flash mobs" roaming Chicago's North Side neighborhoods have been in the news the past 2 weeks. People are worried about the impact these mobs will have on tourism and the city's economy. Some are asking why this social unrest is happening, now, so soon after Mayor Daley left office. Kevin O'Neil writes in the CTA Tattler, "Chicago police and Streeterville universities are warning residents and passersby to be aware of traveling mobs of teenagers who use the CTA and cell phones to meet up in the Near North Side area and commit crimes..." According to Jack Marshall, "The Chicago media has adopted an odd policy in reporting the incidents: it has not reported the fact that the mobs were made up of African-American youths." Flash mobs of African-American youths are not the only reporting about race that is ignored in the Chicago media. For too long the media has ignored the hypersegregation in the city, as well.... The Chicago Democrats have controlled the city for more than fifty years. The mayors Daley instituted policies that not only segregated the city and the schools, but also insured the survival of the Democratic Party at the expense of many neighborhoods.

What justification does Congress have to trample on the Bill of Rights? They use the commerce clause. When the Constitution with the approval by the states. Congress is delegated the authority to regulate commerce between the states. The word regulate has a different meaning today than it did back in 1789. In the early days regulate meant keep regular and free flowing, and unrestricted. Today it that very word has changed in its meaning now is defining as to restrict, restrain and control commerce. This has created an economic climate with draconian laws putting an undue burden on the people and small business with regulations that are counterproductive.

If you live in the UK, you are not supposed to see part of this video. Does it contain pornography, graphic violence or slander? Nope. It contains a document of something that happened in a public place. [Innocuous video of a public effort based on the Magna Carta]

Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie met his Mexican counterpart Guillermo Galvan Galvan here Wednesday to promote bilateral military cooperation. Liang, also China's state councilor, said that Mexico is China's good friend and partner in the Latin American region, adding China attaches great importance to developing ties with Mexico. China is willing to boost its military ties with Mexico and deepen bilateral military exchanges and cooperation in various fields, he said.

A Chinese national company is interested in developing a 10,000- to 30,000-acre technology zone for industry, retail centers and homes south of the Boise Airport. Officials of the China National Machinery Industry Corp. have broached the idea — based on a concept popular in China today — to city and state leaders. ... "Idaho's the last state that should say we don't want to do business with Asia," said Lt. Gov. Brad Little. "Asia's where the money is."...

In its latest court pleadings in a lawsuit against WND co-author David Gaubatz and his son Chris, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, effectively demands that the blockbuster book "Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America" be removed from bookstores, online retailers and any supplier and "returned" to the Muslim group. ... After filing two unsuccessful versions of its complaint, CAIR has filed yet another amended complaint that asks federal Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington, D.C., to bar the Gaubatzes and anyone related to their effort from publishing the documents and recordings obtained in the undercover operation.... "Even if lawsuits ultimately fail in court, they can be deadly," Garbus wrote. "The cost, time, and harassment value of extensive litigation can compel publishers and authors to delete controversial passages from books critical of government officials and their policies."

A Bartlesville woman died early Saturday from injuries sustained a week before in a fall near the Caney River. David Cox said his wife, Deborah Cox, 60, stepped off the Pathfinder Parkway — near a steep trail leading to the river — and tumbled down the bank onto some rocks while the couple was at the end of Delaware Avenue, south of the river, watching their grandchildren fish around 4:15 p.m. on June 3.

Earlier this year, the Transportation Security Administration halted a program that allowed airports to privatize their screeners, citing safety concerns, but airport administrators say TSA stopped the program with little warning and without adequate justification.

There were two stories of Sino-American relations in the 1960s and 1970s, the oft-told tale of normalization with tbe People s Republic of China and the less-noted saga of friction with, and final abandonment of, the Republic of China. [How Kissinger and Nixon threw Taiwan under the bus in their haste to be the first to open up Communist China]

If you're not laughing along with Sarah Palin's playing Gotcha! with the media, you're not paying attention.

I took on Ziegler when he was pro-Palin, so let's dispense with any Palinista crap, shall we? That was after Ziegler was dragged out of CPAC-W for going off on David Keene. Scroll down for the full audio of my inteview with him and some CPAC video, as well. I ended it by telling him to have a nice life, after he suggested I had no ethics because I said I'd post the audio he had agreed to my recording. He then claimed he expected me to transcribe it and only post the text. Yeah, right! That made a lot of sense after the fact. I suspect he realized how bad he actually comes off when you hear him going on.

Yesterday, in an interview with CBS News, GOP Presidential hopeful Herman Cain was asked whether he thought homosexuality was a sin and whether being gay was a choice. His answer: "I believe homosexuality is a sin because I'm a Bible-believing Christian, I believe it's a sin. But I know that some people make that choice. That's their choice. And I believe it is a choice." Am I pleased with this answer? No. Do I agree with Mr. Cain? No. I know being gay isn't a choice and I know it firsthand. I also do not believe that homosexuality is a sin. Does any of this change how I feel about Herman Cain? Not at all. The bottom line is that Herman Cain's personal position on whether being gay is a sin or a choice has no bearing on whether the policies he supports would be good for gay and lesbian Americans. The truth is that Herman Cain is running on a campaign centered on conservative policies that would improve the lives of all Americans — including gay Americans.

Even though the media too often sadly chose sound-bites over substance, they did get lots of substance during our "One Nation" tour from the nearly two dozen opportunities I got to speak candidly with them and talk about policy, politics, history, and everything in between. More importantly, I got to talk with countless everyday Americans who want to get our country back on the right track. It's been an extraordinary honor to meet so many fellow patriots who care deeply about this country, who want a brighter future for all of us, and who recognize the undeviating line that connects our history to our future.

[Video summary of Palin's education-promoting vacation]

Sarah Palin imagined God talking to her in a deeply touching email she wrote two weeks before her fifth child, Trig, was born with Down's Syndrome, it was revealed today. The poignant message to family and friends, included in 25,000 pages of her private emails made public on Friday, may alter the way the former Governor of Alaska is viewed by the American public.

What the press does not realize is that they've exposed their own pathetic bias. By taking part in this witch-hunt, the media exposed themselves as nothing more than a politically driven, organized group of DNC opposition researchers. WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU: The media is cherry-picking small excerpts to highlight, but they are leaving the bulk of the 24,199 pages out of their reports. That's where you come in… We need to gather links from the email database that prove what kind of leader Governor Palin really is.

well worth listening to. Levin chronicles the email dump and media hypocrisy in his inimitable style. The Great One even does a hilarious imitation of Ron Paul.