January 25th, 2015
Greece’s far left-wing Syriza Party has won a big victory there, claiming about half the seats in Parliament.
What does it mean? I took a stab at analyzing it before. Even with a majority, there’s a good chance Syriza will have to continue meeting the EU’s demands (which means pretending to impose austerity measures) if they want mean old Aunt Angela to keep loaning them money. Remember: Greece has never practiced real austerity. Not once since the European Debt Crisis hit has Greece balanced its budget, and its deficit for 2014 was 12.2% of GDP.
But even the fake austerity imposed has been too much for the Greek people, who collectively want a cushy welfare state but don’t want to pay the sky-high taxes required to pay for it. Promising people something for nothing has been the left’s popular electoral strategy for more than a century, but reality can only be held off for so long. Germany is not due for a federal election, so it’s entirely possible Merkel might still underwrite another bailout or two if Syriza is willing to continue the farce. A Greece shorn of the Euro would still be broke and badly in debt, and newly Drachma-backed securities would likely be toxic investments for all but the most speculative of bond traders. (Perhaps Syriza should investigate how well that printing money thing is working out for Venezuela.) “Forgive our debts or we won’t let you give us more loans!” is a proposition Merkel would probably find quite easy to refuse, and I suspect the risk of a Greek exit from the Euro is already priced into European markets. If Syriza insists on anything more than (possibly) a token debt haircut, the EU will probably be willing to call their bluff.
It’s generally best for the driver of a 1974 Ford Pinto to avoid engaging in a game of chicken with a Tiger tank…
Tags: Angela Merkel, European Debt Crisis, Foreign Policy, Germany, Greece, PIIGS, socialism, Syriza, Welfare State
Posted in Budget, Communism, Foreign Policy, Welfare State | No Comments »
January 23rd, 2015
This week haw been incredibly busy, so enjoy a briefer-than-usual LinkSwarm:
Eric S. Raymond on how Social Justice Warriors use Kafkatrapping, which presumes you are guilty until you are proven guilty or admit your guilt.
Instapundit on why Jews are leaving France. “Because they don’t feel welcome, and because they don’t feel safe.”
More about Europe’s jihadist “no go” zones.
New York Assembly speaker and longtime Democratic Party power-broker Sheldon Silver arrested for taking over $4 million in bribes.
“America’s lifestyle expectations are far too high and need to be adjusted so we have less things and a smaller, better existence” says billionaire who flew his family to Davos on his private plane.
I have nothing significant to say on the death of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Abdullah’s “reforms” were so small as to not be worth talking about, the Saudis are not our friends, they continue to export violent, backward Wahhabism, and they are occasionally useful but untrustworthy allies in a region where sometimes they are among the least horrible of possible alternatives.
“Hillary Clinton Is George Costanza. Every decision she’s ever made in her entire life has been wrong.” (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
Marco Rubio is in. (Hat tip: Jim Geraghty’s Morning Jolt.)
Boy does the liberal media hate American Sniper.
Related: Chris Kyle Derangement Syndrome.
Like father, like son.
Guess what happened at a concert against violence? Go ahead. Guess.
Dilbert via Twitter:
Tags: Crime, Democrats, Dilbert, feminism, Foreign Policy, France, Glenn Reynolds, Hillary Clinton, Instapundit, Jews, Jihad, LinkSwarm, Marion Barry, Marion Christopher Barry, Media Watch, Military, Republicans, Sheldon Silver, Social Justice Warriors, victimhood, Wahhabism
Posted in Crime, Democrats, Foreign Policy, Jihad, Media Watch, Military, Republicans | No Comments »
January 22nd, 2015
It was about time to do another update on Venezuela’s failing socialist economy when I dropped by Hot Air and saw that Ed Morrissey had already done all the heavy lifting for me:
“The currency in what should be the richest country in South America has collapsed, as well as its economy, under the dual weight of falling crude prices and the Chavista socialism that has been choking the country for more than a decade.”
More:
Venezuela’s Chavista policies have always ignored economic reality. Socialism is a fantasy economic system, especially as implemented by Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro.
The difference between Venezuela and the nanny-state petro-economy in Norway is that the latter preserves itself by respecting private property and foreign investment. From the beginning, Hugo Chavez attacked both, nationalizing oil production and criminalizing private investors as part of his “Bolivarian” revolution. When it did that, it chased off the talent needed to run oil production and the investment needed for all other kinds of goods and services. For a short period of time, their oil revenue allowed it to succeed in ignorance. When that failed, Chavez and now Maduro reacted to those predictable consequences by predictably imposing all sorts of rationing mechanisms which only decreased incentives for production and investment, especially in the legitimate economy. Now that the price of oil has collapsed, so has the official Venezuelan economy — and a populace used to a high standard of living now endures massive shortages and ever-increasing oppression to cover it up.
Morrissey, in turn, quotes a big chunk of this Matt O’Brien piece in the Washington Post:
Venezuela’s government is running a 14 percent of gross domestic product deficit right now, a fiscal hole so big that there’s only one way to fill it: the printing press. But that just traded one economic problem—too little money—for the opposite one. After all, paying people with newly-printed money only makes that money lose value, and prices go parabolic. It’s no wonder then that Venezuela’s inflation rate is officially 64 percent, is really something like 179 percent, and could get up to 1,000 percent, according to Bank of America, if Venezuela doesn’t change its byzantine currency controls.
What he said. Er, both of them.
Tags: Budget, hyperinflation, inflation, oil industry, socialism, Venezuela, Welfare State
Posted in Budget, Communism, Welfare State | No Comments »
January 21st, 2015
The working poor benefit from a lower cost of living in red states.
Five of the top ten U.S. cities in economic growth in 2014 were in Texas: Austin, Houston, Ft. Worth. Dallas and San Antonio. (There were also two in California: San Francisco and San Jose.)
The Texas Comptroller has released the Biennial Revenue Estimate 2016-2017, which estimates $113 billion in general revenue-related funds available. The report details also notes that “In the past six years, Texas created two-thirds of all net new jobs in the U.S.”
By contrast, with the California budget more or less temporarily balanced, Democrats want to start spending like drunken sailors with a stolen credit card again. Legislative analyst: You don’t want to do that.
The average CalPERS pension is up to five times comparable Social Security payouts.
Jerry Brown says he wants to tackle California’s pension crisis. Good luck with that. While Brown has occasionally been willing to buck his party, and may feel he has nothing to lose in his last term, there’s no reason to believe the Democrat-dominated state House and Senate share his sentiments. I predict a few cosmetic measures passing combined with a whole lot more can kicking until actual default looms. (Hat tip: Pension Tsunami.)
“Central Valley farmers say farming is doomed in their areas.” California’s water regulations are driving them out of business.
Stockton’s bankruptcy judge: screw secured debtors, we’ve got to start paying retirees.
Key figure in CalPERS pension fraud case apparently committed suicide. Hmmm…..
California’s Set Seal retail chain files for bankruptcy.
John G. Westine of California convicted of 26 counts of mail fraud in a phony Kentucky oil well scheme.
Bankruptcy lawyers gone wild!
Tags: bankruptcy, California, CalPERs, Crime, farming, John G. Westine, pension crisis, Stockton, Texas, unions, Welfare State
Posted in Budget, Crime, Democrats, Texas, unions, Welfare State | No Comments »
January 19th, 2015
Enjoy a Monday LinkSwarm to get your week started:
Police conduct anti-terrorism raids in Germany, Belgium and France. Could this be the start of a real effort to halt Islamic extremism in Europe? I rather doubt it. Too many leftist parties across Europe need Muslim votes, and European elites still seem implacably hostile to the Euroskeptic parties pushing for an end to unlimited Muslim immigration.
Old and Busted: Never again! The New Hotness: More dead Jews? Meh.
The late Anwar al-Awlaki was good at two things: drawing up plans to kill innocent people in the name of Islam, and banging skanky whores.
The Prime Minister of France: “I refuse to use this term ‘Islamophobia,’ because those who use this word are trying to invalidate any criticism at all of Islamist ideology.” (Hat tip: JihadWatch.)
More from France’s PM on the new antisemitism:
“There is a new anti-Semitism in France,” he told me. “We have the old anti-Semitism, and I’m obviously not downplaying it, that comes from the extreme right, but this new anti-Semitism comes from the difficult neighborhoods, from immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa, who have turned anger about Gaza into something very dangerous. Israel and Palestine are just a pretext. There is something far more profound taking place now.”
In discussing the attacks on French synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses this summer, during the Gaza war, he said, “It is legitimate to criticize the politics of Israel. This criticism exists in Israel itself. But this is not what we are talking about in France. This is radical criticism of the very existence of Israel, which is anti-Semitic. There is an incontestable link between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. Behind anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism.”
Michael Totten quotes the late Christopher Hitchens. on the jihadist opinion of the current controversy: “Carving up grandfathers and granddaughters with an axe on New Year’s Eve can be okay if it’s done to protect the reputation of a seventh century Arabian man who heard voices.”
Bobby Jindal: “Islam has a problem.”
“Victimology is the language and currency of our politics.”
All those Harvard professors supporting ObamaCare are shocked to discover they’re paying for it.
“In 2009, 76 Democrats represented primarily white working-class congressional districts. Just 15 of them are still in the House today.”
A majority of the GOP gains since then have come from the Democrats’ near-total collapse in one set of districts: the largely blue-collar places in which the white share of the population exceeds the national average, and the portion of whites with at least a four-year college degree is less that the national average. While Republicans held a 20-seat lead in the districts that fit that description in the 111th Congress, the party has swelled that advantage to a crushing 125 seats today. That 105-seat expansion of the GOP margin in these districts by itself accounts for about three-quarters of the 136-seat swing from the Democrats’ 77-seat majority in 2009 to the 59-seat majority Republicans enjoy in the Congress convening now.
“It was not merely Democratic politicians who were wiped out in November. A plethora of liberal shibboleths were also massacred.”
Virginia voters won’t let a little thing like pleading guilty of contributing to the delinquency of a minor prevent him from regaining his seat in the House of Delegates. (Hat tip: Ace of Spades.)
How big is Texas?
Three myths about Medicaid expansion. I hope that Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick understand that we didn’t elect them to cave in on ObamaCare…
Are your tweets University of Indiana-approved, comrade? (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
Feminism’s empathy gap. Or the Shanley Kanes of the world reject the experiences of women that don’t fit their preferred victimhood narrative…
How a Global Warming true believer became a skeptic.
10 bodies, 11 severed heads found in Mexico.
Pictures of empty Venezuelan store shelves, as Socialism continue to work its usual magic.
Liberal California billionaire Tom Steyer may run for the senate. Hopefully he’ll have the same luck as the politicians he donated to in 2014…
Only found out recently that Death by Government and genocide/democide expert R. J. Rummel died March 2, 2014.
Conservatives win several rule fights in the Texas House.
Rick Perry’s farewell address.
Gregg Abbott’s inauguration will have 4 tons of brisket. Or, as we call it in Texas, “an appetizer.”
Times when climbing down a chimney is a good idea: Your name is “Santa Claus.” Otherwise? Not so much.
A cure for cracked winter hands.
“My personality is as spartan as a Danish furniture catalog, why can’t yours be the same?” (Hat tip: Dwight.)
American Sniper kills at the box office:
Tags: American Sniper, Anwar al-Awlaki, Belgium, Bobby Jindal, Democrats, feminism, France, genocide, Germany, Global Warming, Islam, Jihad, LinkSwarm, Medicaid, Mexico, ObamaCare, Paris, R. J. Rummel, Republicans, Rick Perry, socialism, technology, Texas, Venuzuala
Posted in Communism, Democrats, Global Warming, Jihad, ObamaCare, Republicans, Texas, Waste and Fraud | No Comments »
January 18th, 2015
From Milo Yiannopoulos comes the story of the man who taught Shanley Kane how to troll.
San Francisco-based feminist troll Shanley Kane is a racist “full of hatred” who as recently as 2012 expressed disgust at interracial relationships and who uses racially-charged epithets to describe black people, a former boyfriend has claimed.
“I’ve never made a sincere apology in my entire life, ”Andrew Auernheimer told Breitbart in an explosive interview that makes outrageous claims about Kane’s racist past. “The public largely despises me for my political views—I’m one of the most visible and public advocates of white nationalism—and my position as the world’s most notorious Internet troll. But I’ve never done anything that I think I should be sorry for, with one exception: for a few short months, I dated Shanley Kane, the technology industry’s feminist antagonist, and I taught her Internet trolling.”
Auernheimer says that Shanley frequently shared his racist and antisemitic views while they were dating.
Others may look at this as just a case of two horrible people hooking up together, but I choose to look at another way, the Hollywood way: as a sitcom waiting to happen.
He’s a vicious racist.
She’s the Queen of the Feminist technology trolls.
When they get together as broke roommates in trendy San Francisco, the insults will fly—and LOVE will bloom!
Internet Trolls in Love! Coming to FX this fall…
(Hat tip: Instapundit.)
(Previously.)
Tags: #GamerGate, feminism, Milo Yiannopoulos, Shanley Kane, Social Justice Warriors, technology, trolling
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
January 16th, 2015
So how did John Kerry apologize for the Obama Administration not sending a representative to the most important anti-Jihad rally in history?
He had James Taylor sing “You’ve Got A Friend.”
No. Really. That’s an actual thing that actually happened:
I’m trying to think of the last music performance that generated such cringe-worthy embarrassment for all involved. It may have been this:
I’m trying to imagine a musical choice that would have been more pathetic and I’m failing. Sir-Mix-A-Lot singing “Baby Got Back” would be more head-scratching, but at least wouldn’t have called for a double facepalm.
Well, I guess Cheap Trick’s “Surrender” would have been slightly more insulting.
A few Twitter reactions:
Thank God Kerry was never elected President…
Tags: Democrats, Foreign Policy, France, James Taylor, Jihad, John Kerry, music, Paris
Posted in Democrats, Foreign Policy, Jihad | No Comments »
January 15th, 2015
For those not up to speed on the EarthQuest saga, it was an attempt to build an “ecological theme park” northeast of Houston in Montgomery County. The fact that it was going to be built with a large dollop of taxpayer money via a special taxing district only enhanced the stench of Eu de Boondoggle EarthQuest gave off, as grandiose plans gave way to missed construction and funding dates, at least one bankruptcy filing and a complete halt to visible activity. It’s essentially been moribund since 2012.
Now from dedicated EarthQuest watcher Sopboxmom comes news that the IRS has revoked Institute EarthQuest’s tax-exempt status:
Exempt Organizations Select Check
Automatic Revocation of Exemption Information
The federal tax exemption of this organization was automatically revoked for its failure to file a Form 990-series return or notice for three consecutive years. The information listed below for each organization is historical; it is current as of the organization’s effective date of automatic revocation. The information is not necessarily current as of today’s date. Nor does this automatic revocation necessarily reflect the organization’s tax-exempt or non-exempt status. The organization may have applied to the IRS for recognition of exemption and been recognized by the IRS as tax-exempt after its effective date of automatic revocation. To check whether an organization is currently recognized by the IRS as tax-exempt, call Customer Account Services at (877) 829-5500 (toll-free number).
Revocation Date (effective date on which organization’s tax exemption was automatically revoked):
15-May-2014
Employer Identification Number (EIN):
26-2454184
Legal Name:
INSTITUTE EARTHQUEST
Doing Business As:
Mailing Address:
21575 US HIGHWAY 59 NORTH
NEW CANEY, TX 77357-8355
United States
Exemption Type:
501(c)(3)
Revocation Posting Date (date on which IRS posted notice of automatic revocation on IRS.gov):
15-Oct-2014
Exemption Reinstatement Date (effective date of tax exemption, determined by the IRS
after the organization’s exemption was automatically revoked and the organization applied for reinstatement of exemption.):
Finally, despite their zombie website, EarthQuest has ceased to be, and even nailing it back on the perch wouldn’t help.
More information here.
Tags: EarthQuest, Houston, IRS, Montgomery County, Texas, waste
Posted in Texas, Waste and Fraud | 1 Comment »
January 15th, 2015
Via Instapundit comes updated news of Operation Choke Point, the Obama Administration’s unconstitutional attempt to force the banks and credit unions used by gun dealers (and other targeted businesses, most of which are entirely legal) to close their accounts. Bank regulator’s have denied they were doing this in the past, but now a gun business owner has recorded a credit union manager telling him the Feds have forced them to close his account.
Here’s a Fox News report on the case:
Imagine the media outcry if a Republican administration were using the same tactics against abortion clinics or gay bars.
The new congress should investigate this along with Fast and Furious…
Tags: gun control, Guns, Obama Scandals, Second Amendment
Posted in Guns, Obama Scandals, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »