USA Today News: November 2012

Friday, November 30, 2012

Misunderstanders of Islam Arrested Trying to Bring WMDs into U.S.

Two Pakistan-born brothers living in Florida have been arrested on charges of providing support to terrorists and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction within the United States, authorities said on Friday.

The men were charged in a grand jury indictment announced by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. Federal prosecutors allege the men, both U.S. citizens, provided money, housing, communications equipment and transportation as part of a conspiracy.

A statement from prosecutors said the brothers’ alleged goal was “to use a weapon of mass destruction (explosives) against persons and property within the United States“. It did not elaborate and U.S. officials declined to go into details but said the arrests were not the result of a sting operation.

... “Any potential threat posed by these two individuals has been disrupted,” U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer said in a statement.

The accused were identified as Raees Alam Qazi, 20, and Sheheryar Alam Qazi, 30. They were arrested on Thursday in Fort Lauderdale and made an initial appearance in federal court on Friday.

This thought just popped into my head: the word irony can be defined as "The New York Times building being leveled by a WMD originally manufactured in Iraq under Saddam Hussein."

Image: Sun-Sentinel.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: A Brief Conversation In the Park

TRAMPLING INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY: The Hobby Lobby Letter Everyone Is Talking About

Editor’s Note: David Green is the founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., which is challenging the Obamacare contraceptive mandate. This letter is an excellent illustration of how unconstitutional, authoritarian, and centralized federal policies crush individual liberties. It is but one illustration of the amoral collectivism which is the hallmark of a nascent tyranny.

When my family and I started our company 40 years ago, we were working out of a garage on a $600 bank loan, assembling miniature picture frames. Our first retail store wasn’t much bigger than most people’s living rooms, but we had faith that we would succeed if we lived and worked according to God’s word. From there,Hobby Lobby has become one of the nation’s largest arts and crafts retailers, with more than 500 locations in 41 states. Our children grew up into fine business leaders, and today we run Hobby Lobby together, as a family.

We’re Christians, and we run our business on Christian principles. I’ve always said that the first two goals of our business are (1) to run our business in harmony with God’s laws, and (2) to focus on people more than money. And that’s what we’ve tried to do. We close early so our employees can see their families at night. We keep our stores closed on Sundays, one of the week’s biggest shopping days, so that our workers and their families can enjoy a day of rest. We believe that it is by God’s grace that Hobby Lobby has endured, and he has blessed us and our employees. We’ve not only added jobs in a weak economy, we’ve raised wages for the past four years in a row. Our full-time employees start at 80% above minimum wage.

But now, our government threatens to change all of that. A new government health care mandate says that our family business MUST provide what I believe are abortion-causing drugs as part of our health insurance. Being Christians, we don’t pay for drugs that might cause abortions, which means that we don’t cover emergency contraception, the morning-after pill or the week-after pill. We believe doing so might end a life after the moment of conception, something that is contrary to our most important beliefs. It goes against the Biblical principles on which we have run this company since day one. If we refuse to comply, we could face $1.3 million PER DAY in government fines.

Our government threatens to fine job creators in a bad economy. Our government threatens to fine a company that’s raised wages four years running. Our government threatens to fine a family for running its business according to its beliefs. It’s not right. I know people will say we ought to follow the rules; that it’s the same for everybody. But that’s not true. The government has exempted thousands of companies from this mandate, for reasons of convenience or cost. But it won’t exempt them for reasons of religious belief.

So, Hobby Lobby – and my family – are forced to make a choice. With great reluctance, we filed a lawsuit today, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, asking a federal court to stop this mandate before it hurts our business. We don’t like to go running into court, but we no longer have a choice. We believe people are more important than the bottom line and that honoring God is more important than turning a profit.

My family has lived the American dream. We want to continue growing our company and providing great jobs for thousands of employees, but the government is going to make that much more difficult. The government is forcing us to choose between following our faith and following the law. I say that’s a choice no American – and no American business – should have to make.

The government cannot force you to follow laws that go against your fundamental religious belief. They have exempted thousands of companies but will not except Christian organizations including the Catholic church.

Since you will not see this covered in any of the liberal media, pass this on to all your contacts.

Sincerely,

David Green, CEO and Founder of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.

Thanks to: The HayRide.

WELL DONE, SUSAN RICE: Which countries voted to recognize the latest collection of genocidal maniacs at the United Nations

Twitchy points us to the following map:

Heckuva job, Susan! UN’s Palestine vote yet another failure for Amb. Rice
...On Wednesday, President Obama said he “couldn’t be prouder” of the “extraordinary” UN Amb. Susan Rice. Really? Heckuva job, Susan...

...Yep, that sea of green and black was Rice’s followup to her role in misleading Americans on the nature of the terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. Only eight nations joined the United States in voting “no” on granting Palestine nonmember observer status at the United Nations. Only eight. And instead of being fired, she may be up for a promotion to Secretary of State...

...And as [former State Department official Richard] Grenell notes, Rice “skipped the last open meeting before the planned UN vote to recognize Palestinian statehood.” That’s what Obama calls “extraordinary"...

Please recall that the Palestinian Authority, in addition to its terrorist roots and its non-stop curriculum of genocide for its children, was inspired by Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich.

And that what really happened in the Middle East is something you'll never see while watching antique media.

Stunning 3-D Map Shows Where Votes Were Cast

Well, this is mildly disturbing.

[These maps,] created by Princeton Professor Robert Vanderbei, takes a slightly different approach. It’s one of the few that shows the action in three dimensions.

Like some other maps we’ve seen, Vanderbei’s displays votes county by county, eschewing solid reds and blues for a palette of purples, graded according to how each county voted. But what makes Vanderbei’s visualization unique is his use of the z-axis to show how many people voted in these counties. In metropolitan areas, columns shoot up like neon skyscrapers; in flyover country, it’s typically more of a low-rise affair. But the effect is powerful: At a glance, Vanderbei’s map shows not just how the country voted, but where it voted, too...

And that means cities. The democratic lean of places like New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Boston shouldn’t be news to anyone, but seeing the results like this gives you a sense of just how overwhelming the number of voters really is in those densely populated urban centers. And so long as those towers stay blue, it’s why you won’t hear about states like California or New York being in play anytime soon.

Vanderbei, a professor of operations research and financial engineering, made his first "Purple Area" visualization after the 2000 election. He had been reading USA Today when one of the typical "county-by-county, red-blue" graphics caught his eye. That map, he says, "made me wonder why anyone would paint a county-by-county map in such a way as to imply that a county has cast its vote for one candidate or the other. I live in a county that went about 52% republican and 48% democratic in that election. Painting the county red seemed highly misleading..."

... my biggest takeaway was that the Obama campaign’s ground game in Colorado must’ve really worked. Denver’s the country’s 23rd most populous city--smaller in population than Houston, Dallas, El Paso, and Fort Worth to the south in Texas--but its impressively tall (and solidly blue) stack represents a key source of votes in what was a hotly contested state.

You can view the entire gallery here.

Hat tip: BadBlue.com/Tech.

HMMM: The Sensitive Man

Bernie -- the epitome of a true romantic -- sent this one in:

A woman meets a man in a bar.

They talk; they connect; they end up leaving together..

They get back to his place,

And as he shows her around his apartment.

She notices that one wall of his bedroom is completely filled with soft, sweet, cuddly teddy bears.

There are three shelves in the bedroom.

With hundreds and hundreds of cute, cuddly teddy bears carefully placed in rows, covering the entire wall!

It was obvious that he had taken quite some time to lovingly arrange them.

And she was immediately touched.

By the amount of thought he had put into organizing the display.

There were small bears all along the bottom shelf,

Medium-sized bears covering the length of the middle shelf,

And huge, enormous bears running all the way along the top shelf.

She found it strange for an obviously masculine guy, to have such a large collection of Teddy Bears.

She is quite impressed by his sensitive side.

But doesn't mention this to him.

They share a bottle of wine and continue talking and, after awhile, she finds herself thinking, "Oh my God!"

"Maybe, this guy could be the one!"

"Maybe he could be the future father of my children?"

She turns to him and kisses him lightly on the lips.

He responds warmly.

They continue to kiss, the passion builds.

And he romantically lifts her in his arms and carries her into his bedroom.

They rip off each other's clothes and the most passionate lovemaking session she has ever known ensues.

She is so overwhelmed that she responds with more energy, more creativity, more heat than she has ever known.

After an intense, explosive night of raw passion with this sensitive guy,

They are lying there together in the afterglow.

The woman rolls over, gently strokes his chest and asks coyly,

"Well, how was it?"

The guy gently smiles at her,

Strokes her cheek, looks deeply into her eyes,

And says:

'Help yourself to any prize from the middle shelf'

Larwyn's Linx: Jim Geraghty: Let's Go Over The Cliff

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QOTD: "At this moment, Republicans in Congress need to examine which presents a more dire threat to the country:
A) A double-dip recession driven by the sequester and the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, or

B) the public’s belief (verified through polling) that our giant debt, our ticking time bomb of entitlements, and our gargantuan government can be solved by “asking the richest Americans to pay a little bit more,” as Obama insists.

Option A is terrible, but Option B is the giant locked door blocking all of the real solutions.

So if we must have tax hikes, let the tax cuts for every income level expire and let everyone of every income level pay higher taxes. Destroy the illusion among so many voters that they can get all the government they want without paying more in taxes." --Jim Geraghty

Thursday, November 29, 2012

GOOD NEWS: Democrat Congressman Floats Idea of Constitutional Amendment to Restrict Free Speech

And isn't this precisely what we've come to expect from the modern Democrat Party, with its increasingly authoritarian bent?

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) says, “corporations control the patterns of thinking” in the United States and that the Bill of Rights to the Constitution should be amended so that the government is given the power to restrict freedom of speech.

"We need a constitutional amendment to allow the legislature to control the so-called free speech rights of corporations," said Johnson... “They control the patterns of thinking ... They control the media. They control the messages that you get. So, you are being taught to hate your government--don’t want government, but keep your hands off of my Medicare by the way. I mean, we are all confused people and we’re poking fingers at each other saying, well you’re black, you’re Hispanic, immigration, homosexuals. You know, we’re lost on the social issues, abortion, contraception.

“And these folks," Johnson said, "are setting up a scenario where they’re privatizing every aspect of our lives as we know it. So, wake up! Wake up! Let’s look at what’s happening. We need a constitutional amendment to allow the legislature to control the so-called free speech rights of corporations.”

The modern Left is as far from classical liberalism as one could imagine.

These men are Statists: interested only in centralizing ever more power and in consolidating that power with fewer and fewer masterminds in Washington. These are the kind of men that our country's founders despised and feared.

They are would-be despots who worship unlimited government, who respect neither checks nor balances, and blatantly violate the Constitution at every opportunity.

I wonder what America's breaking point will be? By that I mean, when will have the circle of liberty constricted around the average American's throat sufficiently to waken the sleeping giant?

JUST BOUNCE: Stunned pundits react to Obama's "balanced deal" of no cuts, tax hikes, and increased spending

Charles Krauthammer:

It’s not just a bad deal, this is really an insulting deal… Robert E. Lee was offered easier terms at Appomattox and he lost the Civil War. The Democrats won by 3% of the vote and they did not hold the House. Republicans won the House. So this is not exactly unconditional surrender, but that’s what the administration is asking of Republicans.

There not only are no cuts in this, there’s an increase in new spending with a stimulus – this is almost unheard of. I mean, what do they expect? They obviously expect the Republicans will cave on everything. I think Republican ought to simply walk away. The president is the president, he’s the leader.

They are demanding that Republicans explain all the cuts that they want to make. We had that movie a year and a half ago where Paul Ryan presented a budget, a serious real budget with real cuts. Obama was supposed to give a speech in which he would respond with a counter offer and what did he do? He gave a speech where he had Ryan sitting in the front row, he called the Ryan proposal un-American and insulted him, offered nothing and ran on Mediscare in the next 18 months. And they expect Republicans are going to do this again?

The Republicans are going to walk on this and I think they have leverage. Yes, for congressional Democrats it will help them in the future if Republicans absorb the blame because we’re going to have a recession. But Obama’s not running again unlike the congressional Democrats. He’s going to have a recession, 9% unemployment, 2 million more unemployed, and a second term that’s going to be a ruin. That is not a good proposition if you’re Barack Obama.

Newt Gingrich:

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said Wednesday that House Republicans should stop negotiating with President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats on the fiscal cliff, saying that by doing so, they give Obama all of the leverage in the talks.

“One of the things I would say to House Republicans is to get a grip,” Gingrich said in a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif.

“They are the majority. They’re not the minority,” he said, enunciating the words as if explaining the concept to someone who did not understand it. “They don’t need to cave in to Obama; they don’t need to form a ‘Surrender Caucus.’”

...He also addressed the recent focus on Grover Norquist and his no-raising taxes pledge, which some Republicans have abandoned in recent weeks, calling it a “distraction.”

“I give Obama great credit for this. I have never seen anybody better at finding trivial distractions in order to avoid responsibility,” Gingrich said.

Rush Limbaugh:

Part of Obama's transformation of America is wiping out the Republican Party. And anyone who fails to understand that that is also part of Obama's agenda at this moment, anybody who fails to understand that is really not paying attention and is too caught up in traditional conventional wisdom about, "Well, it was just another election. Well, yes, Obama won. Yes, we marshaled our forces, but we need to stand for pro-growth policies and all that rotgut." Yes, we do. There's no way we're ever gonna be tied to pro-growth policies if our fingerprints are on this coming disaster...

... The best thing to do is back out of this and let Obama and the Democrats have it and do what they gotta do. 'Cause that's gonna happen anyway. I don't know about you, but I don't want my fingerprints on this.

Obama has yet to make any serious offer -- a "balanced" offer, using his terminology -- and Republicans need to just walk away. Obama created the fiscal cliff; he created sequestration; he made his bed. Let him lie in it.

HOW HYUNDAI BRINGS INSPIRATION TO ITS CAR DESIGNERS: 82-foot wide big-screen with 36-channel surround sound

Writing at Fast Company Design, Mark Wilson points us to a video that illustrates how Hyundai helps inspire its car designers.

Designing a car is about so much more than designing a car. Not so long ago, Ford’s J Mays told me that he’d urge his designers to talk about anything but cars--movies, music, and travel--to keep them inspired.

WIth that in mind, it makes a lot of sense that Hyundai tapped Universal Everything, a studio known for creating stunning animations for Coldplay and big commercial brands, to create 18 inspiring animations to be played on Hyundai’s campus outside Seoul. These weren’t advertisements to be played at trade shows but internally focused media, to generate new ideas from within.

“Our outside perspective of the company forms fresh ways of looking at their processes, leading to a series of abstract films, with only subtle hints of automotive and construction details,” Universal Everything’s Matt Pyke tells me. “The abstract, logo-less approach was taken to ensure every viewer found their own interpretations.”

The collection of “video sculptures” is an incredibly diverse play on several tactile materials. It ranges from riffing on the human figure in motion (with bright lights and color)--which is a bit of a Universal Everything trademark at this point--to intense liquid particle effects, to a choir of plasticky geometric aliens, to, yes, even a car being carved from a solid block by wind...

I wonder if Hyundai would consider adopting a conservative blogger and installing similar hardware in his home to inspire him.

Hat tip: BadBlue.com/Tech.

HEY, DEMOCRATS: I'll listen to Warren Buffett's tax hike ideas when he decides to PAY HIS OWN DAMN TAXES

Warren Buffett's marketing efforts for Barack Obama's class warfare campaign are despicable on two fronts. First, they do nothing to address the country's catastrophic deficit problem:

A search at the Associated Press’s national website on Warren Buffett’s last name at about 5 p.m. ET returned two recent items which are still present there. Each item (here and here) mentions the Obama Fan of Omaha’s idea to “impose a minimum tax of 30 percent on income between $1 million and $10 million, and a 35 percent rate for income above that.” Neither mentions the pathetically small amount such a tax would raise while seriously impacting the ability of high income earners who own or run businesses to expand them — or in some cases causing them to shrink.

It’s the same at other establishment press outlets. Two recent New York Times items found in a search on Buffett’s full name (here and here, the latter item being Buffett’s own op-ed on Sunday) fail to note how little money Buffett’s proposed tax hikes would raise. So how little is “little”?

Buffett hasn’t been entirely consistent in his expressed suggestion. Earlier this year, he wanted a rate of 30%, while his recent Times op-ed suggests 35% for those earning over $10 million. James Pethokoukis estimated in April that the amount which would be raised would be about $5 billion — “although experience suggests that it won’t raise even that much.” The government currently spends $5 billion about every 12 hours, and runs an $5 billion deficit in less than two days.

You read that right: even if the truly wealthy didn't find ways to get their money out of the U.S. or otherwise evade these taxes, the amount raised by Buffett's brilliant plan wouldn't pay for two days of this massive, bloated federal government's deficit spending.

It also turns out that Buffett is hardly a model citizen when it comes to paying his own taxes:

It Turns Out Warren Buffett Is A Master Of Avoiding Taxes

Lately, Warren has been a shill for Obama. Over and over again, we hear how good ole Warren “wants” to pay more taxes and thinks his wealthy buddies ought to follow suit. “We aren’t taxed enough,” he says. Well, let’s take a closer look at just where Warren stands when it really comes down to paying his taxes...

There are two recent cases where Warren has done everything possible to AVOID paying taxes that he actually owes. The first case involved a 14-year fight over the dividend-received deduction that was finally settled with the IRS in 2005. The second case is still pending after 10 years in which he owes just over $1 BILLION in back taxes. Both of these cases are well-documented and you can satisfy yourself simply by using Google to inquire as to the voracity of these assertions. Also note the timeframes of 14-years and 10+-years; not exactly a haphazard hissy fit. While you’re at it, you might also ask yourself “why” Warren says one thing in public discourse while he practices the exact opposite in his business and personal life. Is not that the definition of hypocrite?

...Buffett is now at the center of another tax controversy, according to The Wall Street Journal. His recent decision to invest in Bank of America “represents another tax-avoidance triumph for the Berkshire chief executive,” the Journal wrote in an editorial ... “With the exclusion for Mr. Buffett and his fellow shareholders, Berkshire will enjoy an effective tax rate of 14.175% on the $300 million in dividends it will receive each year from Bank of America,” the Journal reported. [Remember, his secretary pays a higher tax rate?].

Look up "crony capitalist" in the dictionary and I'll bet you see a lithograph of Warren Buffett staring back at you.

Hat tips: Mark Levin and BadBlue News.

CHART: The Financial Impact of Raising Taxes on "the Rich"

I created this chart to put the "fiscal cliff" discussion in perspective.

The overall pie represents total federal outlays since Barack Obama took office, including next year, which is the subject of all the hullabaloo.

The red represents the amount of debt -- borrowing, which must be repaid along with interest -- that the federal leviathan has rung up on our children's behalf.

And that tiny green sliver? That represents the impact of allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire for the top two tax brackets, er, I mean: "The Rich".

Those additional taxes mean nothing to the yawning chasm of debt. It's a spit in the bucket. Bupkis.

So, where are your spending cuts, Mr. President?

Larwyn's Linx: Socialists Outline Democrats' Agenda for Next Two Years

Send us tips! Bloggers: install a Larwyn's Linx widget. Get real-time news, 24/7, at BadBlue.

Nation

Socialists Outline Democrats' Agenda for Next Two Years: Loudon
Stop Blaming Grover. Stand and Fight.: AmSpec
The Incestuous Bleeding of the Republican Party: RS

WH: Send Us Videos of Yourselves Calling for Higher Taxes: Powers
Mediocre House Committee Chairmen Selected: RS
Ted Cruz’s First Decision is a Huge Deal: RS

Susan Rice Is Unqualified To Be Secretary Of State: IBD
The Ignoble Return of Alan Grayson: MB
IL: Convicted child predator likely to win Congress: NakedDC

Economy

Obamacare Health Exchanges Won’t Work: P&F
"Poverty" pays better than middle-class employment: Events
A Laffer Curve Warning about the Economy and Tax Revenue: Cato

Health Care Law Pushes Employers to Cut Hours: FreeEnt
Democrats' "Fair Share of Taxes" Argument is a Fraud: Lid
Make the Democrats Own the Obama Economy: Coulter

Obama Sets GOP Trap With Fiscal Cliff Strategy: IBD
DC Takes Top Honors -- for Worst Graduation Rate in U.S.: CNS
Out-of-control government wants to attack the 401(k): IBD

Scandal Central

Analysis Of Obama’s Benghazigate Cover-up: NoisyRm
CBS’s Sharyl Attkisson tries to untangle twisted trail of Benghazi talking points: Twitchy
Justice Dept, House Seek to Resolve ‘Fast and Furious’ Suit: Mason County Daily

Climate & Energy

Wavering: Obama Signs Anti-Carbon Tax Bill: Breitbart
Green Energy Stimulus Bankruptcies Come in All Sizes: NLPC

Media

Associated Press Paints Murders in Benghazi as Mere 'PR Disaster': Breitbart
Pushing Conservatives Off the Fiscal Cliff : Bozell
Krauthammer’s Take: Any Republican Who Caves on Entitlements ‘Is a Fool’: NRO

L.A. Times Covers SWATting on Front Page: Patterico
Lefties 'Discover' That Susan Rice Has 'Conflict of Interest' Energy Investments: NB
After silence, Jill Kelley defends herself: ArmyTimes

Is the Enemy Us?: Berlinski
Poll: Americans Who Believe Economy Will Worsen Jumps 27 Points Since Obama Reelected: CNS
Conservatives Must Learn the Dark Arts of Image Manipulation: AT

World

Beauty Queen Died With Gun in Hand: Borderland
30 Tennessee counties received bomb threats Tuesday: Creeping
27 indicted in Mexican Mafia gang extortion case in Ventura County: KABC

Indebted Dragon: The Ponzi Scheme Driving China's Construction Economy: Mish
Militant Muslims Cutting Out Tongues: Gatestone
Generals Smuggled Maps, Compasses, Real Money to German-Held POWs Via "Monopoly": Ace

T-ball war in the Middle East: Hanson
Michelle Malkin: Egyptian Islamists are playing America’s leaders for fools: Scoop
Egypt’s ‘moderate’ despot: Goldberg

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

Subcompact Publishing: CraigMod
Stop UN Control of the Internet: Morris
Biggest black hole blast discovered: New observations reveal most powerful quasar outflow ever found: Phys.org

Cornucopia

Angry White Dude's Five Favorite Self-Defense Guns: AWD
The girl who grew Lincoln's beard: TheWeek
Oops: White House holiday treats for reporters remind us that yes, Obama ate a dog: Twitchy

Image: Evidence Obama paid to join Democrat Socialist 'New Party'
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Sondrakistan

QOTD: "Next week, the United Nations’ attempt to take over the Internet will kick into high gear when the International Telecommunications Union meets in Dubai with representatives from 193 countries to craft a new governing structure for the Internet. The meetings are expected to last two weeks.

If you haven’t heard about this issue, there’s a reason. The negotiators have kept the tightest possible lid on their discussions to prevent word of the regulatory proposals from leaking out...

...But the first reports are horrific. Vinton Cerf, one of the founders of the Web and currently a vice-president of Google, warns, “The open Internet has never been at higher risk than it is now.” He adds, “If all of us do not pay attention to what’s going on, users worldwide will be at risk of losing the open and free Internet.”

The very concept of U.N. control of the Web is horrible. The U.N. is corrupt and biased in favor of authoritarian regimes. But this particular regulatory proposal is even worse. It takes the leading force for democracy in the world today — the Internet — and could transform it into an instrument for propaganda and oppression..." --Dick Morris

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

WELFARE'S FAILURE AND THE SOLUTION: A Phenomenal Presentation from the State of Pennsylvania

Tyler Durden -- via "When Work Is Punished: The Tragedy Of America's Welfare State" -- points us to an exceptional presentation by Gary Alexander, the Secretary of Public Welfare for the State of Pennsylvania. Read the whole thing.

READ THE REST

Promoting innovation and competition between the states? Saving money for the federal government? Makes perfect sense, as long as you're not a radical Leftist.

Which is why the Democrat Party will ignore these and all other reforms. They're not trying to fix big government -- they're trying to expand big government.

Which is why the entire system is headed for collapse.

I HOPE YOU'RE SITTING DOWN: Why Gold Is Insurance

Writing at Safe Haven, Przemyslaw Radomski offers the historical perspective on U.S. deficit spending and the price of gold.

I repeat: you should be sitting down before viewing the following graph.

While the general idea of dividing your portfolio between long-term and speculative capital (the latter is only the money you can afford to lose) is not a particularly new one, the inclusion of the insurance part in the portfolio may make it more robust to financial blow-ups. We will now focus on that - gold and silver as insurance against severe financial turmoil.

Gold may be perceived as insurance if you believe that, because of psychological reasons, it appeals to investors as a wealth-preservation vehicle. In case of financial turmoil they turn to precious metals, the increased demand causes an increase in the price and gold and silver deliver on their promise to provide an alternative to government bonds.

There is also another dimension to it: in the past gold and silver were used as money. As a matter of fact, gold had been indirectly used as money up to 1971 when U.S. president Richard Nixon officially announced that the U.S. government would cease to adhere to its promise to redeem the greenback in gold. Since that moment money has been only paper and a promise of the government to accept payments in it...

Some investors fear that excessive deficits as seen in the U.S. will result in money being printed on a large scale (which actually is already the case: open-ended QE) or even in the implosion of the dollar. The bigger the deficits, the more likely such a scenario seems. This is shown on the chart below.

...since 2000 increases in the U.S. debt have been accompanied by increases in the price of gold. This might reflect investors' fear that the U.S. government will eventually default and their belief that gold may be a safe haven in case of such a development.

The abovementioned points may lead to the conclusion that gold may in fact skyrocket if things get out of hand in the U.S. or in the European Union. The main problem here is that nobody knows when (if at all) the paper currencies will begin to visibly deteriorate or disappear completely. Precisely because of that, we suggest holding on to gold and silver at all times with a part of your portfolio.

We call this part of your portfolio "Insurance," because by holding on to gold and silver even during corrections you accept small losses in hope of enormous gains should serious economic turmoil materialize. Economic crises have the inherent quality of catching most investors off-guard. We don't want you to be among them.

If you believe that government can continue to increase its debt -- which already amounts to 550 percent of GDP (all the goods and services produced in a year) -- then by all means, ignore the advice.

Because if you believe that, you're obviously a Democrat and an Obama supporter, in which you can fend for yourself after the inevitable reboot.

Hat tip: BadBlue.com/Money.

KEWL: Google introduces hiring and entrepreneurship courseware for veterans and military spouses

Well, this is a worthy cause made all the more timely because of the devastating cuts to defense spending orchestrated by President Obama.

...we’ve put the powers of Google+ behind a single hub called VetNet. Today, VetNet launches as a partnership with three founding organizations: the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Hiring Our Heroes program, the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) and Hire Heroes USA. In the long run, other organizations will be able to offer their services to the veteran community, all in the same easy-to-use place.

Through VetNet, these founding partners offer a full spectrum of employment resources for members of the community. Whether starting a job search from scratch, looking for mentors in a specific industry or starting a business, transitioning service members, veterans and military spouses will be able to connect with career services, job opportunities and each other.

All of the content and resources are organized into three tracks by objective, each hosted on its own Google+ page.
Basic Training Track (google.com/+VetNetBasic): The place to start. From resumes to interviewing tips to advice from buddies. Dial into our first Resume Workshop today at 3pm EST.
Career Connections Track (google.com/+VetNetCareer): Walmart, GE and Capital One are just a few of the companies that are participating in VetNet to help veterans and military spouses find civilian careers. Check out today’s Vets In Finance panel at 2pm EST.
Entrepreneur Track (google.com/+VetNetEntrepreneur): An 8-week college-level course on the fundamentals of starting a business, starting next week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Pass it on to any active-duty and vets you know.

Hat tip: BadBlue.com/Tech.

DEAL! Let's take that "$10 in cuts for every $1 in tax increases" the Democrats have been talking about for years

I just wish a single Republican leader could speak coherently about the fiscal cliff. To wit:

• Since 2002, Democrats have opposed all -- every single one -- of the Bush tax cuts. Every year. Until this year. What changed their minds?

• And if some tax cuts are good, why aren't more cuts better?

• Lastly, for years -- years! -- Democrats have been screeching about the supposed intransigence of Republicans in refusing a deal that offered $10 in spending cuts for one dollar in tax hikes.

Well, Democrats say they want a tax hike on "the rich" (actually, the "rich" include any sole proprietor or small business that grosses -- not nets -- as little as $200,000 a year).

That "10-for-one" deal would trade an $85 billion tax hike on America's top two percent for $850 billion in spending cuts. Coincidentally, that's the size of the so-called "one-time, emergency Stimulus" that gets spent each and every year as part of the baseline budget.

Hey, Republicans: could you ask the Democrats where the list of spending cuts are that meet their vaunted 10-for-one deal? That would take the $850 billion Stimulus out of each year's insane levels of borrowing and deficit spending?

Hey, Republicans: can you ask President Obama and the Democrats where their list of spending cuts is? Because I haven't seen one.

Can't anyone here play this game?

Larwyn's Linx: A Constitutional Republic or a Socialist Democracy?

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Nation

A Constitutional Republic or a Socialist Democracy?: Kuznicki
Why state regulation is better than federal regulation: BtB
Liberal Education Creates Dumb People: Hideout

Hey, remember when Democrats loved the filibuster?: Hot Air
How to Make Harry Reid’s Power Grab Work for Conservatives: Foundry
Axelrod Surprised by Romney Campaign's Missed Chances: Beast

Parting Company: Williams
'Shut Up, Grandpa!': AT
Why The ‘Clinton Tax Rates’ Didn’t Create Prosperity: VARight

Economy

Where's The Pressure On Dems To Cough Up Spending Cuts?: IBD
Crushing Small Businesses With Taxes: ServedFirstClass
Billionaire Crony Capitalist Wants to Crush Small Competitors: Foundry

Are Republicans Set to Cave on Tax Hikes?: FW
Reflections on Meaning of "Last Minute": Mish
When Work Is Punished: The Tragedy Of America's Welfare State: ZH

Scandal Central

As Benghazi Plot Thickens, Congress Must Not Get Sidetracked: AIM
Lindsey Graham More Disturbed After Meeting With Ambassador Rice Than Before: Nice Deb
Obamacare’s “Silver Lining” Looking Rather Dubious: Mead

Climate & Energy

Obama the Job-Killing Owl-Killer: Malkin
On noes! CO2 dissolving snails in Antarctica: Watts
DOD Wastes Billions on Non Military Projects: JW

Media

Rebuttal of Ezra Klein’s and Dustin Siggins’s blatant lies: CDN
Hurricane Sandy Victim Upset After Being Played By Obama For A Photo-Op: HySci
I don't know art, but I know what I like: GWP

A Primer for Rich Donors Who Got Taken to the Cleaners by Republican Consultants: Erickson
Levin: GOP should buy prime time TV to explain truth about fiscal cliff directly to Americans: Scoop
Reagan: Bush 43 Needs to Stand Up and Tell Americans Where Economic Blame Belongs: GWP

Time: Hey, You Know Who'd Make A Good Person of the Year? Sandra Fluke, That's Who: Ace
Suggestion for Time's Person of the Year: The Vagina: Ace
Who is Grover Norquist?: ATR

Krauthammer: Obama Not Trying to Fix Debt; He’s Trying to Destroy the Republicans: Beacon
Gaza: Media Distortions in Words and Images: JihadWatch
A Letter From a Friend: Coulter

World

What I Saw During Operation Pillar of Defense: AT
Disaster averted: Mother of four fends off intruder from Gaza: Hayom
A free school under a bridge in India: NBC

Report: Iran Building 50 Kiloton Nuclear Device: Bruce
Florida imam's jihad terror ties exposed by local news station: JihadWatch
'Poison' pen mightier than sword for would-be North Korean assassin: CNN

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

Apple is killing us softly: NoJitter
2012 May Be The Year Banner Ads Started To Die: SFGate
Runno takes its Foursquare-style gamified fitness app to Android: NextWeb

Cornucopia

Teddy Bears Illustrate Obamacare: MOTUS
Cletus J. Horndog: 'I'll put on a hoodie and jog to your house': Daily Mail
Bond-style weapons carried by North Korean assassin unveiled: Telegraph

Image: Assembly Hall will be a house of horrors for visiting teams
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: MoneyRunner

QOTD: "What Reid is trying to do is wrong, yet the only way for conservatives to fight back is to engage the fight. If Reid is going to push the theory that until the Senate operates under the rules, there are no rules, then he has provided an unprecedented opportunity for conservatives to push some real Senate rules reform ideas. If there are no rules, then Reid can’t stop conservatives from offering a never-ending stream of rules change ideas for the Senate to cast votes on..." --Brian Darling