Under the Fedora: Morale, Ratings and Old Yellowstain
If a Super PAC doesn’t raise any money does it become a mediocre PAC with different Tax Rules?
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Last week’s big news is the Supreme court’s 5-4 ruling on Obamacare yet, as you might guess I’m not too fond of it but electorally I see this as a disaster for the left
The president has been giving individual organization wavers. Mitt Romney has already said he will give the entire country a waiver to Obamacare. This means that in 2016 the democrat candidate will have to revoke that waiver in order to implement it.
So every four years the question will be before the American People: “Do you want Obamacare implemented or not?”, until it is implemented or repealed.
Democrats this is the political ground you wanted, I hope you enjoy it.
It’s actually funny to watch the left go after Romney for acknowledging the reality of the situation.
Well, I said that I agreed with the dissent. And the dissent made it very clear that they felt it was unconstitutional. But the dissent lost — it’s in the minority. And so now the Supreme Court has spoken. And while I agreed with the dissent, that’s taken over by the fact that the majority of the Court said it is a tax, and therefore it is a tax. They have spoken. There is no way around that.
When you are reduced to hitting Romney for saying what the Supreme Court said is what it said, that’s gotta be a bad sign for the left.
Victor Davis Hanson Wrote a piece full of worry and woe concerning election 2012 that prompted a long reply from me that said in part:
Yes we have to work hard, yes we can’t slack and yes I do expect these folks to be fight so dirty as to make a mud hole look like a bidet, but perception doesn’t trump reality. Cripes the president just won the biggest victory of his presidency in the supreme court and vulnerable democrats are still running away.
Now you might see the odd democrat in comparatively safe seat such as Nikki Tsongas.
willing to own Obamacare but I’m pretty sure you won’t be seeing candidates in swing districts doing this.
I wonder if she would be so confident if she realized that the GOP was spending 2.2 million dollars on congressional races on Boston TV.
Run that through your head a second in a year when Democrats can’t even pay for their own convention, a year when the president is reduced to begging newly weds for a share of their dowry and birthday money the GOP finds their prospects good enough to put 2.2 mill into the pot in Massachusetts.
Another interesting difference, look at that Tsongas interview, I asked her about the Swattings and she wasn’t familiar with them meanwhile…
When the time for my question came I mentioned the Aaron Walker Swatting asking if they would sign onto senator Chambliss’ letter if elected and would support a new such letter assuming a president Romney won. Their answers were notable in several ways.
Firstly they all knew about the issue. That might not seem odd but in the last 48 hours I’ve talked to more than a dozen offices of house and senate members for comment and the majority of the offices I spoke to had no idea what SWATTING was, yet all three of these potential congressmen knew about the issue and spoke forcibly on the subject
That says something doesn’t it?
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If that isn’t enough for somebody to worry about this interview was interesting…
Remember when the left was marrying itself to the occupods and I said this:
I keep expecting some elder statesman of the left to play Admiral Akbar, and shout to the Democrats who are jumping on the Occupy bandwagon: “It’s a trap!” But it looks like there aren’t any adults left to do so.
The adults never came but the media has conveniently forgotten the democrat party’s love affair with the occupods.
Hopefully the GOP will be running ads all this fall to remind them..
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How bad are things at CNN? They were likely the only people in the world who thought Anderson Cooper telling people he was gay was news.
“Coming Out” has become a cheap way to get a little press from the MSM. Every few months you hear about some person who doesn’t have a show or a prospect of a show. (David Ogden Stiers being the latest). Considering the culture of the entertainment industry that has all the bravery of jumping in front of a bandwagon.
Now if Anderson Cooper announced he was straight (like Dan Riehl), THAT would have been news and if he came out as a Believing Roman Catholic Republican, that would be an act of bravery.
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Speaking of ratings I’ve talked about what an Instalanche is. For those unfamiliar this is what it does to your stats here is an example

I bring this up because Robert Stacy McCain is now in his 48th day of covering the Brett Kimberlin story knocking off a total of 60 posts. Glenn Reynolds has instalanched him 42 times in that 48 days.
In my experience an Instalanche brings anywhere from 5000-10,000 hits the first day and say another 10-20% of that number the next, say 5500-12,000 hits overall, multiply that by 42 days and you get between 231,000 & 504,000 in 42 days.
Considering how much attention a single instalanche brings. Can you imagine regularly daily instalanches brings to a subject that people might wish are not discussed?
Kimberlin must be kicking himself for contacting Mrs. The Other McCain’s employer.
Politically this is going to end very badly for them.
Meanwhile Aaron Worthing/Walker has his court day the 5th. On the 4th he told of the hearing that led to his silencing:
I have gotten some criticism for representing myself. I won’t say I was the most stellar advocate. Not all lawyers are trial lawyers, and I know I am not one of the great ones yet. I hope to change that with experience. But at the same time, I think I did an adequate job. I don’t believe I lost because of a poor presentation. I believe I lost because the judge disregarded the law, and it is hard to see how a more experienced lawyer could have forced a judge to follow Supreme Court precedent. But maybe that is just my ego talking; I report, you decide.
But there was a more basic reason why I didn’t hire a lawyer. You shouldn’t have to hire a lawyer, damn it—doubly so when you are unemployed. You shouldn’t have to pay money in order to maintain your freedom. That’s not freedom! Judges in the district courts should have been sufficiently solicitous of the First Amendment that they should not have allowed a man like Kimberlin to penalize a person for protected speech.
Read the entire thing. That we are at a point where he even has to have a 2nd hearing simply amazes me.
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I spent a good chunk of my 4th with some friends that I hadn’t seen in a bit just sitting and talking with our spouses.
The older I get the more things like this become appealing.
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Finally , there are reports that John Roberts changed his vote on Obamacare, first preparing to overturn it and then around May changing his mind.
Now if Justice Roberts wants to change is mind based on the law, or the court arguments or some other precedent that’s fine, but if the chief justice of the supreme court changed his ruling either because of pressure from the left. That’s just cowardice.
If the above is true than Justice Roberts has earned the nickname “Old Yellowstain”, but lets take it one step further. Let’s say he didn’t make the change because of pressure from the left. What if he thought it would be politically advantageous to the right and rules that way accordingly.
That would not only be a national disgrace but an insult to every person who has sat on a jury sequestered from their family.
I’ve said it before the everybody deserves a Mulligan and I can give Roberts one here, but if he thought he was going to make friends on the left by doing this, he’s is pretty gullible.
Hope you enjoyed the 4th, see you next week.
Bankrupting America Daily Spending Update:

Another California Town Files for Bankruptcy. Reuters reports: “Mammoth Lakes, California filed on Tuesday for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection from its creditors due to a nearly $43 million legal judgment against it. The filing follows a vote Monday by Mammoth Lake’s town council in favor of a bankruptcy filing, specifically to seek protection from the property developer awarded the judgment against the resort town ofabout 8,000 residents in the Sierra Nevada mountains … Stockton, a city of nearly 300,000 people in California’s Central Valley, filed for bankruptcy protection last week, becoming the most populous U.S. city to seek protection from its creditors. The Sacramento court in which Mammoth Lakes filed for bankruptcy protection is due on Friday to hear Stockton’s Chapter 9 case.”
Experts Worried About Jobs Numbers Tomorrow, Cite European Debt Crisis as Major Obstacle to Recovery. The Hill reports: “Weak June manufacturing numbers released Monday intensified concern about the fragility of the economic recovery and turned election-watchers’ attention toward unemployment numbers due out at the end of this week. … China’s economy, which helped pull the world out of recession, is slowing dramatically, while the European debt crisis continues to bite at the American recovery. The White House is bracing for the June jobs report on Friday, which economists expect will show gains of roughly 100,000 — not enough to stifle unemployment. … ‘In the short run, the best we can hope for in the United States is that Europebasically muddles through,’ said Jacob Kirkegaard, a research fellow at thePeterson Institute for International Economics. And even if Europe manages to muddle, the bleak new manufacturing data cast a fresh shadow on the nation’s recovery. ‘We never expected anything like the magnitude of the decline in the new orders index,’ RDQ Economics wrote in a research note, adding that ‘uncertainty about the state of the economic expansion just got ratcheted up a notch with this report.’”
France Is in the “Danger Zone” of Falling Into a “Debt Spiral” … Pro-Spending President Faces Tough Choices. CNBC reports: “Having been in power for less than two months Francois Hollande is facing the first major test of his pro-growth election commitments after a warning from the national auditoffice that France’s economy is in the ‘danger zone’ and risks falling into a ‘debt spiral.’ Late on Monday the national audit office said the French budget deficit will overshoot by 6-10 billion euros ($7.56-12.6 billion) this year and by 33 billion euros in 2013. In order to bring the budget in-line with EU rules, Hollande is going to have to make difficult decisions on spending and taxes that could draw criticism from his own party and unions who supported the pro-growth message that saw him beat Nicolas Sarkozy to the presidency in May.”
Americans Spent Less in June, Consumers “Slowing Down.” The Associated Press reports:“Shoppers, worried about jobs and the overall economy, pulled back on spending in June, resulting in tepid sales results for many retailers. The reports raise concerns about Americans’ ability to spend during the back-to-school shopping season, which starts later this month. As merchants reported their sales early Thursday, many of them disappointed. Costco Wholesale Corp. reported a gain below Wall Street expectations. Target Corp. and Macy’s Inc. also missed estimates. One bright spot was Limited Brands, which reported a robust gain that surpassed Wall Street predictions. ‘These are disappointing results,’ said Ken Perkins, president of RetailMetrics, a research firm. ‘The consumer is slowing down and becoming increasingly more cautious as the economic backdrop is deteriorating. This doesn’t set up particularly well for back-to-school.’”
House to Investigate Another Bankrupt Solar Company That Received A DOE Loan Guarantee. The Washington Examiner reports: “House investigators have asked executives and former executives at Abound Solar, a now-bankrupt solar company that received a $400 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy, to testify before Congress about the DOE subsidy. The House Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending invited the Abound Solar CEO andformer CEO to testify, along with some Energy Department officials after the company announced it is filing for bankruptcy, despite drawing about $70 million of the $400 million available from the DOE loan guarantee. The bankruptcy announcement comes after Abound laid off 280 employees in March. The DOE loan guarantee was projected to create 1200 permanent jobs.”
Twitter has to Disclose “Occupy Wall Street” Protester’s User Information, New York Judge Rules

In the midst of the “Occupy Wall Street” protests in October 2011, the NYPD arrested around 700 ‘protesters’ on Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan District Attorney (MDA) moved to prosecute them swiftly. It is common knowledge now that protesters communicated and organized by using social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. Utilizing portable as well as more traditional computing devices like desktops and laptops, protesters set up an effective communication web.
The MDA subpoenaed protesters that he deemed to be the key figures in the organizing the protests. Malcolm Harris, who was originally charged with disorderly conduct and then released, was singled out for special scrutiny. The MDA decided to assemble all of his social media communications and filed a subpoena demanding that Twitter and other social networking sites disclose Harris’s user information and personal posts. Malcolm Harris used the nickname ‘destructuremal’ on Twitter and the MDA insisted on a comprehensive disclosure including tweets and other private user information.
Twitter was quick to take the subpoena to court arguing that the MDA’s demands were not reasonable as fulfilling these requests would be an undue burden to the company and have unpredictable legal ramifications. Twitter stressed that this kind of disclosure would result in a violation of U.S. Privacy Law, for instance, the Stored Communications Act. Matthew A. Sciarrino, New York County Criminal County Judge, was unmoved by Twitter’s appeal and delivered what many consider to be a landmark legal decision.
The judge ruled that tweeting can not be categorized as private messaging and, in Matthew Sciarrino’s words, is no different than “screaming… out the window”. Citing a few recent changes in Twitter’s terms of service, the judge reasoned that Twitter’s resistance to the subpoena was not compelling. There was a silver lining for the defendants as the judge ruled that a legal warrant is required to reach information older than 9 months.
The decision was received with alarm. The ACLU and Twitter promised to fight the ruling and Malcolm Harris’s public declarations were similarly combative. Shortly after the judge’s ruling, Twitter released its first ever transparency report detailing the number and source of information and takedown requests it processed in 2011. The United States ranked close to the top.
Although the final words are yet to be uttered, the New York judge’s decision stands as another loud signal that privacy is something that individuals should not take for granted in the age of internet.
Obama-Biden Hypocrisy on Debt
Obama-Biden Hypocrisy on Debt — Change Direction at http://www.GOP.com
Video: John Stossel – Amtrak Off The Rails
Amtrack is another grossly wasteful big government creation. From http://www.LibertyPen.com
IRS & HHS Already Drafting 13K+ Pages of Regulations to Enforce ObamaCare
Now that the Supreme Court has given the go ahead to ObamaCare multiple agencies are left with the herculean task of writing and implementing the rules and regulations of this monstrosity.
From FoxNews:
The IRS, Health and Human Services and many other agencies will now write thousands of pages of regulations — an effort well under way:
“There’s already 13,000 pages of regulations, and they’re not even done yet,” Rehberg said.
“It’s a delegation of extensive authority from Congress to the Department of Health and Human Services and a lot of boards and commissions and bureaus throughout the bureaucracy,” Matt Spalding of the Heritage Foundation said. “We counted about 180 or so.”
There has been much focus on the mandate that all Americans obtain health insurance, but analysts say that’s just a small part of the law — covering only a few pages out of the law’s 2700.
“The fact of the matter is the mandate is about two percent of the whole piece of the legislation,” Spalding said. “It’s a minor part.”
Much bigger than the mandate itself are the insurance exchanges that will administer $681 billion in subsidies over 10 years, which will require a lot of new federal workers at the IRS and health department.
“They are asking for several hundred new employees,” Dorn said. “You have rules you need to write and you need lawyers, so there are lots of things you need to do when you are standing up a new enterprise.”
Let’s hope, that come November , all this work will have been for not and the Republicans can take control of the Senate, keep control of the House, and win the Presidency so we can get full repeal of this ungodly mess called ObamaCare!


