» Reward: $100,000 for Full ‘JournoList’ Archive

Heh, this ought to be interesting:

Reward: $100,000 for Full ‘JournoList’ Archive; Source Fully Protected - Big Journalism: "I’ve had $100,000 burning in my pocket for the last three months and I’d really like to spend it on a worthy cause. So how about this: in the interests of journalistic transparency, and to offer the American public a unique insight in the workings of the Democrat-Media Complex, I’m offering $100,000 for the full “JournoList” archive, source fully protected. Now there’s an offer somebody can’t refuse."

» Obama’s Dilemma: Heavy Leadership Responsibility – Light Leadership Aptitude

Very enlightening read:

» Obama’s Dilemma: Heavy Leadership Responsibility – Light Leadership Aptitude - Big Government: "The president’s recent disappointing oval office speech elicited a chorus of criticism from across the political spectrum. For some reason the speech seems to have put a spotlight on the president as a leader, whereas other misjudgments in which he was directly involved in making policy had not. The oil spill, which was certainly no fault of Mr. Obama, seems to have finally caused the public and many of his cheerleaders among the pundits to focus on the president’s substance and not his style. That has been the unspoken, elephant-in- the-room, concern throughout his presidency, his aptitude for leadership. We are reminded of the lead-in lyrics to the signature song Ethel Merman belts out in Gypsy… “Curtain up…light the lights…you either got it…or you ain’t.”"

Inside the Black Panther Case

This isn't good:

ADAMS: Inside the Black Panther case - Washington Times

On the day President Obama was elected, armed men wearing the black berets and jackboots of the New Black Panther Party were stationed at the entrance to a polling place in Philadelphia. They brandished a weapon and intimidated voters and poll watchers. After the election, the Justice Department brought a voter-intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party and those armed thugs. I and other Justice attorneys diligently pursued the case and obtained an entry of default after the defendants ignored the charges. Before a final judgment could be entered in May 2009, our superiors ordered us to dismiss the case.

Christian Professor in Pakistan Beaten for Refusing to Convert to Islam

The religion of tolerance:

Christian Professor in Pakistan Beaten for Refusing to Convert to Islam: "Muslim students attacked a Christian professor at the University of Peshawar this month after he refused their demand to convert to Islam, the instructor told Compass.

Psychology professor Samuel John, a father of four who has been teaching at the university in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province for 12 years, said that as he came out of his house on the university campus at 8:30 a.m. on June 14, about 20 to 25 students rushed and assaulted him.

“I shouted for help, but no one came to help,” he said."

Power Line - How Unpopular is the Obama Administration?

This is a good point:

Power Line - How Unpopular is the Obama Administration?: "President Obama's approval ratings have declined steadily since he took office. Among likely voters, those who disapprove of his performance consistently outnumber those who approve by eight points or so. The margin between those who strongly disapprove and those who strongly approve is even greater.

I suspect, however, that those numbers actually overstate the popularity of the Obama administration. Many voters are reluctant to give up on a president they voted for, and, knowing that we are stuck with Obama until 2013, some prefer not to admit how poorly they think our president is doing. Further, Obama continues to enjoy a near-unanimous approval among African-Americans that probably reflects understandable loyalty as much as real satisfaction with the administration's policies."

COMMENT OF THE DAY: A reason for the “wealth or income gap”

Yeow...

Instapundit COMMENT OF THE DAY: "A reason for the “wealth or income gap”: Smart people keep on doing things that are smart and make them money while stupid people keep on doing things that are stupid and keep them from achieving.

People who get an education, stay off of drugs, apply themselves, and save and wisely invest their earnings do a lot better than people who drop out of school, become substance abusers, and buy fancy cars and houses that they can’t afford, only to lose them.

We don’t have an income gap. We have a stupid gap."

Studied - College Students Are Found to Have Less Empathy

Not surprising but still very disturbing:

Studied - College Students Are Found to Have Less Empathy - NYTimes.com: "Today’s students scored significantly lower in empathic concern (a 48 percent decrease) and perspective taking (34 percent), considered the more important indices of empathy. In a decisively everyone-for-themselves manner, they are less likely to agree with statements like “I often have tender, concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me” and “I sometimes try to understand my friends better by imagining how things look from their perspective.” This is particularly notable since these are considered shared social ideals: people are more likely to say they agree than they really do."

The Keynesian Dead End

This is a tough lesson to learn:

The Keynesian Dead End - WSJ.com: "President Obama's tragic mistake was to blow out the U.S. federal balance sheet on spending that has produced little bang for the buck. The fantastical Keynesian notion (the 'multiplier') that $1 of spending produces $1.50 in growth was long ago demolished by Harvard's Robert Barro, among others. That $1 in spending has to come from somewhere, which means in taxes or borrowing from productive parts of the private economy. Given that so much of the U.S. stimulus went for transfer payments such as Medicaid and unemployment insurance, the 'multiplier' has almost certainly been negative."

Michael Yon invited by Brits and US to embed again

This is good news:

Michael Yon invited by Brits and US to embed again: "Michael Yon has been invited to embed again by both Great Britain and the US.Michael Yon isn’t a correspondent who sparks a neutral reaction in the reader. You either love him or you don’t. There’s not much of an in-between."

Barack Obama is refusing to listen to reason on economic policy

Interesting:

Barack Obama is refusing to listen to reason on economic policy - Telegraph: "Mr Obama's cheerleader-in-chief in arguing the case for continued international deficit spending is the American economist Paul Krugman. This hyperactive Nobel prize winner has achieved almost celebrity status for his extreme neo-Keynesian views. Yet his frequent polemics on the supposed merits of 'let rip' public spending long since ceased to be based on objective analysis, and are instead argued as a matter of almost ideological conviction. He's as much a fundamentalist as the 'deficit hawks' he mocks."

Double-Dip Recession Fears Putting Scare Back in Market

I hope this is wrong:

Double-Dip Recession Fears Putting Scare Back in Market - Yahoo! Finance: "Few if any economists these days are forecasting a strong economy by historical standards. Estimates for gains in gross domestic product through the end of the year generally reside in the 2 percent to 4 percent range.

But some analysts see things even worse, and comparisons to the economy of 1930 are getting increasingly common.

Zimmerman said the stock market drops and rallies are much like those after the 1929 crash, and the economy was showing many of the same tendencies during both time periods, with diminishing commodity and rail car loadings figures signaling the impending full-fledged Depression much like prices are trending currently."

Peak oil postponed again

This is good news:

Peak oil postponed again – Telegraph Blogs: "So there is plenty of oil and gas after all. Prices will bumble along gently until well into the next decade. We are becoming more efficient in our use of energy, with 3pc extra savings annually. That is a faster pace than the rising real cost of fuel. Mankind will not run out of fuel for a very long time."

Cops arrest Christians for handing out gospel at Dearborn Arab festival? Update: Pushback

Incredible:

Hot Air Video: Cops arrest Christians for handing out gospel at Dearborn Arab festival? Update: Pushback: "Via Powerline, so insane is this that I’m paranoid there’s a key detail missing somewhere that might explain the whole thing. Could the Christians have been trespassing on private property, maybe? Sure doesn’t look like it, and in any case, they weren’t arrested for trespassing. They were arrested for “disorderly conduct,” which apparently now extends to the offense of offering religious literature to someone who might not want it."

Five Years After Kelo: The Sweeping Backlash Against One of the Supreme Court’s Most-Despised Decisions

Let the back lash continue:

Five Years After Kelo: The Sweeping Backlash Against One of the Supreme Court’s Most-Despised Decisions | Institute for Justice: Litigating for Liberty: "On June 23, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision called Kelo v. City of New London,[1] ruled that private economic development is a public use under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and that governments could take people’s homes, small businesses and other property to hand over to private developers in the hope of raising more tax revenue and creating more jobs."

Remembering Operation Barbarossa

Remembering some of the largest battles of all time:

Remembering Operation Barbarossa | The Weekly Standard: "Sixty-nine-years ago today, 3.5 million German troops, plus another million from Nazi allies, invaded the USSR. (Geographically, the land now makes up Lithuania, Belarus, eastern Poland, Ukraine, and Moldavia). It was the largest army ever assembled, the most ambitious invasion ever attempted, and it led to the most staggering land battles ever fought—and to casualty rates that can only be rivaled by the mass starvations of the worst twentieth century tyrannies."

The Agony of the Liberals

We can only hope conservatism is on the rise:

Op-Ed Columnist - The Agony of the Liberals - NYTimes.com: "But it’s here, with the looming fiscal crisis, that the more legitimate liberal fear comes in. Liberals had hoped that Obama’s election marked the beginning of a long progressive era — a new New Deal, a greater Great Society. Instead, from the West Coast to Western Europe, the welfare state is in crisis everywhere they look. The future suddenly seems to belong to austerity and retrenchment — and even, perhaps, to conservatism.

In this environment, the rage against Obama for not doing more, now, faster, becomes at least somewhat understandable. It’s not that he hasn’t done a great deal for liberals during his 18 months in office. It’s that liberalism itself may be running out of time."

Friends of Israel Initiative

Some good points are made here:

Friends of Israel Initiative: "Stand for Israel, Stand for the West
The Friends of Israel have joined together in a new international initiative on the basis of the following convictions:"

Court Grants Motion - Pastor Allowed to Distribute Christian Literature to Muslims

Good. HT: Ken

Thomas More Law Center - News: "A three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals today granted an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order, allowing Pastor George Saieg, a Sudanese Christian, to distribute religious literature and discuss his Christian faith to Muslims attending this year’s annual Arab Festival held in Dearborn Michigan.

The Sixth Circuit’s ruling followed a June 7, 2010, decision by federal District Court Judge Paul D. Borman that sustained the City of Dearborn’s policy of prohibiting Pastor Saieg from distributing his religious material near the festival."

A wizard's words finally set free

Absolutely fascinating:

A wizard's words finally set free -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY: "To hear an ailing 82-year-old Thomas Edison speak, with the great inventor's voice, wheezy and high-pitched, growing husky and choked as he praised his good friend Henry Ford who stood alongside President Herbert Hoover on a stage on Oct. 21, 1929 is catching lightning in a bottle."

The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Gallup: Majority Say Obama Doesn't Deserve Re-Election

Still a long way to 2012 but this doesn't look good:

The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Gallup: Majority Say Obama Doesn't Deserve Re-Election: "Gallup is out with a new poll finding that by a 51 percent to 46 percent margin, Americans don't believe President Obama deserves to be re-elected. Among independents, 53 percent say he doesn't deserve to win re-election."

American Thinker: A Shrink Asks: What's Wrong with Obama?

Very interesting. HT: Glenn

American Thinker: A Shrink Asks: What's Wrong with Obama?: "So what is the matter with Obama? Conservatives have been asking this question for some time. I've written a number of articles trying to solve the mystery.

Even some liberals are starting to wonder. James Carville railed about Obama's blase attitude after the catastrophic oil spill. The New York Times' Maureen Dowd revamped Obama's 'Yes We Can' motto into 'Will We Ever?'"

Crude Politics - WSJ.com

Hmmm... HT: Ken

Crude Politics - WSJ.com: "When President Obama last month announced his six-month deepwater moratorium, he pointed to an Interior Department report of new 'safety' recommendations. That report prominently noted that the recommendations it contained—including the six-month drilling ban—had been 'peer-reviewed' by 'experts identified by the National Academy of Engineering.' It also boasted that Interior 'consulted with a wide range' of other experts. The clear implication was that the nation's drilling brain trust agreed a moratorium was necessary.

As these columns reported last week, the opposite is true. In a scathing document, eight of the 'experts' the Administration listed in its report said their names had been 'used' to 'justify' a 'political decision.' The draft they reviewed had not included a six-month drilling moratorium. The Administration added that provision only after it had secured sign-off. In their document, the eight forcefully rejected a moratorium, which they argued could prove more economically devastating than the oil spill itself and 'counterproductive' to 'safety.'"

Muslims Order Christians to Leave Village in Pakistan

Dhimmitude:

Muslims Order Christians to Leave Village in Pakistan: "The head of a Muslim village last week ordered 250 Christian families to leave their homes in Khanewal district, Punjab Province, local residents said.

Abdul Sattar Khan, head of village No. 123/10R, Katcha Khoh, and other area Muslim residents ordered the expulsions after Christian residents objected too strenuously to sexual assaults by Muslims on Christian girls and women, said a locally elected Christian official, Emmanuel Masih."

If Israel goes down, we all go down

This is from the former PM of Spain. Good for him:

World Jewish Congress - OPINION - Jose Maria Aznar: If Israel goes down, we all go down: "For far too long now it has been unfashionable in Europe to speak up for Israel. In the wake of the recent incident on board a ship full of anti-Israeli activists in the Mediterranean, it is hard to think of a more unpopular cause to champion.

In an ideal world, the assault by Israeli commandos on the Mavi Marmara would not have ended up with nine dead and a score wounded. In an ideal world, the soldiers would have been peacefully welcomed on to the ship. In an ideal world, no state, let alone a recent ally of Israel such as Turkey, would have sponsored and organised a flotilla whose sole purpose was to create an impossible situation for Israel: making it choose between giving up its security policy and the naval blockade, or risking the wrath of the world."

Obama Oil Spill Speech Reax: Epic Fail

Nice round up to the reactions of Obama's speech. Bottom line, he whiffed:

Obama Oil Spill Speech Reax: Epic Fail

Long Road to Adulthood Is Growing Even Longer

I've seen this as a trend for some time:

Long Road to Adulthood Is Growing Even Longer - NYTimes.com: "Baby boomers have long been considered the generation that did not want to grow up, perpetual adolescents even as they become eligible for Social Security. Now, a growing body of research shows that the real Peter Pans are not the boomers, but the generations that have followed. For many, by choice or circumstance, independence no longer begins at 21."

Social Security cash flow suddenly negative

This is scary:

Social Security cash flow suddenly negative | Washington Examiner: "Social Security tax receipts for the first half of 2010: $346.9 billion; Social Security benefits payments for the same period: $347.3 billion. Before this year, projections have always been that Social Security wouldn’t cross that line into negative cash flow for five years or so. Now it’s a reality. Congress has been spending Social Security’s positive cash flow for years. Now there’s no positive cash flow to spend."

Obama and the Media - Isn’t It Ironic? - NYTimes.com

This is Maureen Dowd?

Op-Ed Columnist - Obama and the Media - Isn’t It Ironic? - NYTimes.com: "he former constitutional lawyer now in the White House understands that the press has a role in the democracy. But he is an elitist, too, as well as thin-skinned and controlling. So he ends up regarding scribes as intrusive, conveying a distaste for what he sees as the fundamental unseriousness of a press driven by blog-around-the-clock deadlines.

The 21st-century press beast is a scary multimedia monster, caught up in the trite as well as the vital, and reporters rarely can be as contemplative as the cerebral Obama would like."

Ramirez on historical stature

Hot Air: Ramirez on historical stature

‘Unapologetic bear’ says the worst of current economic woes are far from over

I hope he's wrong, but...

‘Unapologetic bear’ says the worst of current economic woes are far from over | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment: "Rosenberg, you see, is an unapologetic bear. He’s no perma-bear — the man was a bullish for most of the 1990s — but his reading of today’s data leaves him no choice but to continue sounding the alarm in the face of those who would have us believe the worst is past. We caught up with Rosenberg yesterday afternoon to get his read on Dow 10,000, Ben Bernanke, and the future of gold."

Obama White House cavalier toward technology policies aimed at preventing abuses of Presidential Records Act

I suppose some would think this is surprising:

Obama White House cavalier toward technology policies aimed at preventing abuses of Presidential Records Act | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment: "When the administration slapped the wrist of one of its top technology officials this spring for violating Barack Obama’s ethics pledge, a spokesman claimed the breaches were isolated incidents.

But a Daily Caller investigation reveals a cavalier attitude at the Obama White House toward longstanding safeguards designed to prevent abuses of the Presidential Records Act and other laws – including acts that carry serious legal implications."

The-housing-market-recession-is-not-over:

Well this is a big bummer:

the-housing-market-recession-is-not-over: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance: "Why you shouldn't be overly optimistic about real estate right now

After years of hearing how home prices are plummeting and foreclosures are mounting, consumers want to feel hopeful about the housing market — but maybe they're being too optimistic.

In a presentation to the National Association of Real Estate Editors in Austin, Texas, last week, Stan Humphries, Zillow.com's chief economist, pointed to four myths he said consumers are latching on to as they try to make sense of recent housing statistics.

The four myths:

ACORN employees tell FBI of deliberate election fraud, according to new documents

I'm not surprised:

ACORN employees tell FBI of deliberate election fraud, according to new documents | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment: "The radical activist group ACORN “works” for the Democratic Party and deliberately promotes election fraud, ACORN employees told FBI investigators, according to an FBI document dump Wednesday.

The documents obtained by Judicial Watch, a watchdog group, are FBI investigators’ reports related to the 2007 investigation and arrest of eight St. Louis, Mo., workers from ACORN’s Project Vote affiliate for violation of election laws. All eight employees involved in the scandal later pleaded guilty to voter registration fraud."

Saberpoint: Rabbi Who Taped Helen Thomas Is Inundated With Hate Mail and Death Threats

Good grief, this just goes to show that anti-semitism is alive and well:

Saberpoint: Rabbi Who Taped Helen Thomas Is Inundated With Hate Mail and Death Threats: "Rabbi David Nesenoff of New York is the cinematographer who taped Helen Thomas's anti-Israel rant this week. The YouTube video of Thomas went viral and she was denounced far and wide, leading to her abrupt retirement from the White House Press Corps.

Now Rabbi Nesenoff is the recipient of torrents of hateful bile from anti-semites and Islam-Firsters who are outraged that Jews should be allowed to exist."

The Alien in the White House

Very interesting:

Dorothy Rabinowitz: The Alien in the White House - WSJ.com: "The deepening notes of disenchantment with Barack Obama now issuing from commentators across the political spectrum were predictable. So, too, were the charges from some of the president's earliest enthusiasts about his failure to reflect a powerful sense of urgency about the oil spill.

There should have been nothing puzzling about his response to anyone who has paid even modest critical attention to Mr. Obama's pronouncements. For it was clear from the first that this president—single-minded, ever-visible, confident in his program for a reformed America saved from darkness by his arrival—was wanting in certain qualities citizens have until now taken for granted in their presidents. Namely, a tone and presence that said: This is the Americans' leader, a man of them, for them, the nation's voice and champion. Mr. Obama wasn't lacking in concern about the oil spill. What he lacked was that voice—and for good reason."

Pols turn on labor unions

I don't see this as a bad thing:

Pols turn on labor unions - Ben Smith and Maggie Haberman - POLITICO.com: "Spurred by state budget crunches and an angry public mood, Republican and some Democratic leaders are focusing with increasing intensity on public workers and the unions that represent them, casting them as overpaid obstacles to good government and demanding cuts in their often-generous benefits.

Unlike past battles over the high cost of labor, this time pitched battles over wages and pensions are being waged from Sacramento to Springfield to New York City and the conflict is marked by its bipartisan tone, with public employee unions emerging as an intransigent public enemy number one in cities and state capitals across the country."

Aging Baby Boomers and the Generational Housing Bubble:

Long, but interesting:

Aging Baby Boomers and the Generational Housing Bubble: Foresight and Mitigation of an Epic Transition - Journal of the American Planning Association: "Sellers of existing homes provide 85% of the annual supply of homes sold, and home sales are driven by the aging of the population since seniors are net home sellers. The ratio of seniors to working-age residents will increase by 67% over the next two decades; thus we anticipate the end of a generational housing bubble. We also find that younger generations face an affordability barrier created by the recent housing price boom. With proper foresight, planners could mitigate what otherwise could be significant consequences of these projections."

Glenn Reynolds: Higher education's bubble is about to burst

Good advice, not all college degrees are created equal:

Glenn Reynolds: Higher education's bubble is about to burst | Washington Examiner: "College has gotten a lot more expensive. A recent Money magazine report notes: 'After adjusting for financial aid, the amount families pay for college has skyrocketed 439 percent since 1982. ... Normal supply and demand can't begin to explain cost increases of this magnitude.'

Consumers would balk, except for two things.

First -- as with the housing bubble -- cheap and readily available credit has let people borrow to finance education. They're willing to do so because of (1) consumer ignorance, as students (and, often, their parents) don't fully grasp just how harsh the impact of student loan payments will be after graduation; and (2) a belief that, whatever the cost, a college education is a necessary ticket to future prosperity.

Bubbles burst when there are no longer enough excessively optimistic and ignorant folks to fuel them. And there are signs that this is beginning to happen already."

Obama loses the Left: suddenly, it's cool to bash Barack

Yep:

Obama loses the Left: suddenly, it's cool to bash Barack - Telegraph: "The problem for the President is that even if the former Beatle does speak for billions, the overwhelming majority of those are overseas. Polls show that around 10 per cent of those who voted for Obama in 2008 now disapprove of his performance and the heavy turnout of young people and black voters among the 69 million who back him will not be repeated again.
McCartney's banalities were an example of a transatlantic dissonance that is all too apparent these days. Whereas Europe is stuck in November 2008 and still hopelessly in love with Obama, Americans have got over the historic symbolism of it all and are now moving on as they live with the reality."

Political problems converging on Obama White House all at once

Obama's horrible, terrible very bad week:

Political problems converging on Obama White House all at once | The Daily Caller: "President Obama complained recently that he had endured the toughest 18 months as a president of any since the Great Depression.

Perhaps he spoke too soon.

While his first year and a half may have been challenging on a policy level, the president is now facing political problems that have thrown his administration completely off message and are likely to inflict lasting damage on him and his reputation as both a political reformer who represents a new kind of politics and as a competent manager of the government.

Everything seems to be converging at once this week."

Who In the MSM Will Stand Up For Michael Yon?

Yon really has been the must read for unbiased coverage of the wars:

Who In the MSM Will Stand Up For Michael Yon? - Big Journalism: "The best war journalist of our time has been kicked out of Afghanistan and the media could not care less.
Let the administration boot Helen Thomas out of her seat in the front of a White House press conference and there would be outrage. Remove Jonathan Karl from the Capitol and media would revolt. Kick Andrea Kremer off Sunday Night Football and there would be pandemonium."

Israel was right to board the Gaza flotilla - The Daily Beast

Yep, and it's good to see this article in the Daily Beast which is not known for its conservative views:

Israel was right to board the Gaza flotilla - The Daily Beast: "Israel had every right under international law to stop and board ships bound for the Gaza war zone late Sunday. Only knee-jerk left-wingers and the usual legion of poseurs around the world would dispute this. And it is pretty clear that this 'humanitarian' flotilla headed for Gaza aimed to provoke a confrontation with Israel. Various representatives of the Free Gaza Movement, one of the main organizers of this deadly extravaganza, have let it slip throughout Monday that their intention was every bit as much 'to break' Israel's blockade of Gaza as to deliver the relief goods."

Moynihan’s Message - NYTimes.com

I had never heard of this report:

Op-Ed Contributor - Moynihan’s Message - NYTimes.com: "FORTY-FIVE years ago this month, Assistant Secretary of Labor Daniel Patrick Moynihan began quietly circulating a report he had recently completed about the “tangle of pathology” — out-of-wedlock births, fatherless households — damaging low-income black families. The title said it all: “The Negro Family: The Case for National Action.”

It proved enormously controversial and established its author’s reputation as an iconoclast, yet today the Moynihan Report is largely forgotten. Sadly, its predictions about the decline of the black family have proven largely correct."