Blog Heap of Links for the day 23 March 2012

has anyone noticed that our president no longer conducts his rare press conferences with the traditional trappings of American flags in the background?

Instead, a bright yellow curtain replete with what some people believe are Arabic symbols now decorates the press room...

The Oval Office is now almost devoid of the traditional display of American red, white, and blue. It has been replaced with what appears to be middle eastern wallpaper, drapes, and decor and the hallway Obama uses to talk to the press now features middle eastern-style chairs, drapes, etc.

And, has anyone noticed that Obama seems more Islamic than he seems American?

If Iran goes nuclear it will change our world.

An Iranian atom bomb will force Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt to acquire their own atom bombs. Thus a multipolar nuclear arena will be established in the most volatile region on earth. Sooner or later, this unprecedented development will produce a nuclear event. The world we know will cease to be the world we know after Tehran, Riyadh, Cairo or Tel Aviv become the 21st century’s Hiroshima.

An Iranian bomb will bring about universal nuclear proliferation. Humanity’s greatest achievement since 1945 was controlling nuclear armament by limiting the number of members in the exclusive nuclear club. This unfair arrangement created a world order that guaranteed relative world peace.

[From Ari Shavit, New York Times, quoted in War News Update, whose editor comments, "This is the worse case scenario .... one that is unfortunately slowly unfolding in front of our eyes."]

Samsung’s 2012 top-of-the-line plasmas and LED HDTVs offer new features never before available within a television including a built-in, internally wired HD camera, twin microphones, face tracking and speech recognition. While these features give you unprecedented control over an HDTV, the devices themselves, more similar than ever to a personal computer, may allow hackers or even Samsung to see and hear you and your family, and collect extremely personal data.... And while there is no current evidence of any particular security hole or untoward behavior by Samsung’s app partners, Samsung has only stated that it “assumes no responsibility, and shall not be liable” in the event that a product or service is not “appropriate.”...
[h/t samzenpus on SlashDot, c/o Ace of Spades\

MRCTV's Alicia Powe and Katie Yoder confront DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) about her claim that Republicans want to 'literally drag us all the way back to Jim Crow laws' by enforcing voter id laws. Schultz denies ever making a Jim Crow reference. [Video]

Before Any Facts Are Known About Whether George Zimmerman

1. Is Even A Republican, Or
2. If He Listens To Talk Radio At All, And
3. Has Paid Any Attention Whatsoever To The Republican Presidential Race,

Let's Sound Smart By Accusing Rush, Newt And Rick Of 'Creating The Environment' That Led To TrayVon Martin's Death

President Obama denied culpability for the failure of solar firm Solyndra in a radio interview on Tuesday, instead pinning the blame on Congress and the Chinese.

Jonatha Carr is a black female college student in Florida. She was organizing a bus trip to take people to a protest for Trayvon Martin. Immediately after being interviewed by the media, she begins screaming hysterically during a lecture. She screams about white people over and over, attacks one student, and threatens to murder her professor.

BOXER: (bangs gavel) Sen. Inhofe, my dear friend. (bangs gavel) [video]

From the Department of “WTF WERE YOU THINKING YOU F*%#ING MORON” comes a great clip of a very misguided father showing his young child how awesome skate boarding can be. [Horrifying video]

Child endangerment charges have been filed against an Uptown [Chicago] couple accused of flying to Las Vegas and leaving their two children, 12 and 9, home alone for nearly two days.

Certainly many of us are not happy that this ended the way it did – but what was this kid doing lurking where he obviously did not belong? What was his intent? And why did he attack Zimmerman?

Does that count?

When he claims there was “no probable cause to engage [Martin]“, West ignores eyewitness and other solid evidence that Martin attacked Zimmerman. Martin’s behavior and actions might be explained by use of drugs and/or criminal intent so yes, I agree with West that we need a fair, complete investigation by RESPONSIBLE ENTITIES (this pretty much excludes the DOJ and Eric Holder) and this does need to be handled without undue influence of POLITICIANS (like West, as well as others), the media, and the “usual suspects” (assorted “Reverends” and other known racists like “Looney Louie”).

Congressman Allen West: ...Let’s all be appalled at this instance not because of race, but because a young American man has lost his life, seemingly, for no reason. I have signed a letter supporting a DOJ investigation. I am not heading to Sanford to shout and scream, because we need the responsible entities and agencies to handle this situation from this point without media bias or undue political influences. This is an outrage.

Debi Vinnedge, of the pro-life group Children of God for Life, explained,

"What they don't tell the public is that they are using HEK 293 -- human embryonic kidney cells taken from an electively aborted baby to produce those receptors. They could have easily chosen animal, insect, or other morally obtained human cells expressing the G protein for taste receptors."

In August 2010, PepsiCo entered into a four-year agreement with Senomyx for the development of artificial high-potency sweeteners for PepsiCo beverages. Under the contract, PepsiCo is paying $30 million to Senomyx for the research and future royalties on PepsiCo products sold using Senomyx technology. When the prolife group wrote both companies requesting they use one of several non-objectionable, viable cell lines listed in their patents, Senomyx did not respond. PepsiCo did reply however and insisted that its use of the research from Senomyx would produce "great tasting, lower-calorie beverages."

Besides waiting nearly a week before identifying the Army staff sergeant who's accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers, the U.S. military scrubbed its websites of references to his combat service. ... Several former military officers said they were perplexed that the Army would try to remove information that already had been public. One called it "unusual." Experts agreed that the effort was futile. ... [h/t War News Update]

Richard Clark Rodgers was born January 1, 1916 and died March 14, 2012. He is survived by Lillian, his wife of 70 years. He is also survived by sons Dick (Linda), Bozeman, MT, Stephen (Mary), Edinburg, VA, and Greg (Mikki), Tucson and by his daughter Mary (Jim), Tucson and many grandchildren and great grandchildren. Richard was the rector at St Luke's Episcopal Church in Bartlesville from 1947-1966 and was involved in the transition of Jane Phillips Hospital to Jane Phillips Episcopal Hospital. Richard and Lillian retired to Tucson in 1983 after his career as an Episcopal priest in Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. Memorial Service were held at St Alban's Episcopal Church, Tucson, AZ at 2pm on Saturday, March 17, 2012. [Father Rogers, thank you for answering my silly childhood questions about God in a way that told me, even if we can't know the whole truth, we can find answers. Thank you for being there that strange day when I reached out for help. Your smile continues to light my heart.]

Here’s a little civics lesson from the Founding Fathers for the insufferable Madame Pelousy and the Manchurian Moonbat (hint, they would be tried for treason in those saner times):

“On every question of construction [of the Constitution], let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed.”
— Thomas Jefferson

With respect to the words general welfare, I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators.
- James Madison

“Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters.”
— Daniel Webster

“It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood.”
- James Madison

“Since the general civilization of mankind, I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpation”
- James Madison

“The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny”
- James Madison

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
- Benjamin Franklin

Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of Liberty.
- Thomas Jefferson

“In questions of power then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.”
- Thomas Jefferson

If we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.
- Thomas Jefferson

To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.
-Thomas Jefferson

“The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.”
-Thomas Jefferson

“The Tenth Amendment is the foundation of the Constitution.”
- Thomas Jefferson

If Congress can employ money indefinitely to the general welfare… they may appoint teachers in every state… The powers of Congress would subvert the very foundation, the very nature of the limited government established by the people of America.
- James Madison

“When governments fear the people there is liberty. When the people fear the government there is tyranny.”
— Thomas Jefferson

I think we have more machinery of government than is necessary, too many parasites living on the labor of the industrious.
-Thomas Jefferson