Code Red

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WyBlog, the best thing about New Jersey since the invention of the 24 hour diner.

Chris Wysocki
Caldwell, NJ

The nine most terrifying words in the English language are "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." - Ronald Reagan

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Friday, 28 February 2014

I've been, ahem, "randomly" selected to participate in the American Community Survey

I plan to refuse, of course. And yes, the resistance will be blogged! I am a Citizen, not a Subject, and Dear Leader needs to be taught the difference.

Let's face it, me getting this survey from the Census Bureau is no more "random" than Lois Lerner's jihad against conservative non-profit groups. The Obama Administration is working overtime to harass their enemies, and intrusive demands for intimate details of my life is indeed government harassment.

Well guess what, I'm not going to help them build a dossier on me.

It's none of any bureaucrat's business how many toilets I have in my house.

The sole provision for data collection defined in our Constitution is for an enumeration of persons.

Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers. … The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct.

The Founding Fathers weren't busybodies. They believed in individual liberty, and would never have countenanced digging into the personal lives of their fellow citizens no matter what the supposed benefit might be.

Periodically counting heads is necessary to ensure proportional representation. Counting toilets is not.

And, as any schoolkid ought to be able to tell you, with the Fourth Amendment they explicitly protected us from intrusive government snooping:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.

So there is no Constitutional basis for the government demanding to know when I leave for work, what I eat for breakfast, or how long it takes my daughter to get to school. Let alone any of the other minutiae about disabilities, cost of utilities, computer and internet usage patterns, and how many burners are on my stove.

Then there's the question about fertility. Seriously? They wanna know if I'm pregnant? Curiously they don't ask how many abortions we've had. Oh, right, that's private information. Emanations of Penumbras dontcha know.

After that, they want to know whether or not I'm a citizen. But there's no box for "illegal alien." Gee, I wonder why!

And finally, as for any of their balkanized race and ethnicity questions, a pox on their quota-mongering houses. My race is American. That's all they need to know. And it's what I put on the 2010 census form. You know, the one that's (marginally) Constitutional.

Sadly, most sheeple will blindly follow orders and send the intimate details of their personal lives to Obama's storm troopers. But not me. I found this guy, who gives some pretty detailed information on how to politely and legally resist the Inquisition. I won't go quietly into that dark night!

Wish me luck. I'll keep you guys posted. Especially if I need bail money.

Wolverines!

Posted at 11:22 by Chris Wysocki [/misc] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: American-Community-Survey census privacy liberty freedom | Tweet

Thursday, 27 February 2014

The Religion Of Peace™ gets results, Katy Perry scrubs "offensive" music video

Gee, when you have a reputation for bombings and beheadings, your complaints get noticed.

An Islamic symbol has been removed from the online version of the Katy Perry music video for 'Dark Horse' after an online petition claimed it was offensive to the Muslim religion.

"At 01.15 into the video a man is shown being burned, whilst wearing a pendant (also burned) forming the word 'Allah' which is the Arabic word for God," wrote Shazad Iqbal in a Change.org petition calling for the video to be removed from YouTube. "Such goes to show, that blasphemy is clearly conveyed in the video, since Katy Perry (who appears to be representing an opposition of God) engulfs the believer and the word God in flames."

Over 60,000 people signed Iqbal's petition, and apparently someone involved with the video listened. While the video has not been taken down, as the petition called for, the pendant Iqbal mentioned has now been erased.

Good thing she caved, or the Mohammedans would be engulfing Katy Perry in flames for real.

And I gotta wonder, if another U.S. Ambassador gets killed this week, will Obama and Hillary blame it on her YouTube video? Maybe throw Katy Perry in prison?

Some say the move is off base, and that the controversy over Perry's video spotlights a double-standard, as artists like Lady Gaga and Madonna repeatedly use Christian symbols in music videos in ways that offend some Christians.

Christians don't blow shit up.

Yet.

Posted at 12:16 by Chris Wysocki [/islam] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: Islam dhimmitude Allah Katy-Perry Dark-Horse religion | Tweet

Wednesday, 26 February 2014

Convicted felon Democrat Tony Mack is finally ousted as Mayor of Trenton, NJ

One of the most liberal judges in New Jersey found Tony Mack's protestations unconvincing.

Convicted Mayor Tony Mack is in violation of state law and can no longer hold office, Judge Mary Jacobson ruled today.

Granting the request to remove Mack filed by the state Office of the Attorney General, Jacobson said Mack is no longer able hold office effective immediately.

"Once you are found guilty by a jury of your peers not only does the presumption of innocence disappear but with it comes the stigma and the shadow ... of being found guilty by a jury of your peers of crimes of dishonesty," Jacobson said.

Mack had argued that he should not be removed from office until he is sentenced in federal court — where he faces 20 years in prison — or until motions filed by Mack's attorney for a new trial are considered by the federal court.

But Jacobson said it would make no sense to wait for a period of several months before removing Mack from office. She said the state statute to remove him clearly says the removal would be effective at the time a jury returned a guilty verdict.

And from the Media Bias file, nowhere in the NJ.com article does it mention Tony Mack's political party affiliation. Which of course means he's a Democrat. When writing about trumped-up scandals like "Bridgegate" they always remember to put Republican after everybody's name. But Democrats never receive the same recognition.

Replacing Mack in the office of the Mayor will be City Council President George Muschal, who will hold the post until council meets to vote that either he should stay in office until the June or appoint someone else to serve the remainder of Mack's term. A municipal election is set for May when voters will elect a new mayor.

For the record, George Muschal is a registered Independent. He's also going to be the first white guy in 24 years to occupy the Trenton mayor's office. But his tenure will be short-lived because he has no plans to run for mayor in May. That field is already quite crowded, and he's not about to give up his position on the council.

And in the grand tradition of New Jersey double dippers, prior to joining the council Mr. Muschal retired from the Trenton Police Department. He's currently collecting a state pension of $59,583.72 per year, plus his council salary of $21,500. For the next few months he'll bump that up to the mayor's $126,460 annual salary.

Not bad for government work, eh?

Posted at 18:26 by Chris Wysocki [/nj_politics] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: Tony-Mack corruption Trenton-NJ NJ-Politics Democrats | Tweet

Our road salt is finally here, but the Jones Act cost NJ taxpayers an extra $700,000 to get it

Legalized extortion, the maritime union way.

New Jersey spent $700,000 more to have road salt shipped from Maine to Port Newark by barge than it would have cost had the federal government granted a waiver allowing a foreign vessel to deliver the coveted cargo, the state transportation commissioner said yesterday.

Shuttling 40,000 tons of salt over four trips by barge between Searsport, Maine, and Port Newark will cost $1.2 million compared with the $500,000 New Jersey would have spent if the cargo ship Anastasia S. had been permitted to take the load to New Jersey, Simpson said today after a meeting of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.

It was the same message Simpson, a close ally of Republican Gov. Chris Christie, delivered on Monday after a special NJ Transit meeting.

"I've never been aggravated more in my life than about this salt issue, because this is a no-brainer for government to fix," he said at that meeting. "If we can't feel that it's in the public's interest to get salt down here, then there's no hope for anything else, as far as I'm concerned."

With the Obama Administration, when there's a conflict between "the public interest" and "union interests," the unions win, hands down, every time.

And the Jones Act exists to protect the maritime unions.

So to recap.

The good news is we got our road salt, which as, um, luck would have it, is just in time because it's snowing again as I write this.

The bad news is it took 2 weeks and an extra 700 grand to get it here.

Your tax dollars at work.

-----
Previously:
Protecting union jobs is more important than getting 40,000 tons of rock salt to NJ
Jones Act waiver denied! So let's close the interstates until NJ gets rock salt

Posted at 11:12 by Chris Wysocki [/news] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: Jones-Act road-salt shipping cabotage protectionism unions | Tweet

Tuesday, 25 February 2014

Dude, where's my tax cut? Chris Christie proposes a 4.2% spending increase

Remember when Chris Christie promised us a tax cut?

Yeah, me neither.

Remember when Chris Christie told NJ towns and school districts to cap their budget increases at 2 percent?

It's the law.

So why is he increasing state spending by more than twice that?

The $34.4 billion state budget unveiled by Gov. Chris Christie today makes modest spending increases to schools and Medicaid — and includes a $2.25 billion payment to the retirement fund for public workers, the largest in state history.

The Republican governor's new budget is 4.2 percent larger than the one he signed last year, and relies on revenue growth of 5.8 percent.

Today, the governor repeatedly highlighted New Jersey's tough financial situation and touted a series of spending increases that he managed to eke out, including "a record-setting $9 billion in direct aid to schools." That's an increase of $38 million from the current fiscal year.

"We will ensure that every one of our nearly 600 school districts receives an increase," Christie told lawmakers gathered in the Assembly chamber. He also proposed a $5 million pilot program to study longer school days in New Jersey, and another $5 million for "preschool initiatives."

Yippee ki yay, more money for the teachers union!

Christie's budget plan is also notable for what it doesn't include: a tax cut that the Republican governor had sought for years.

Well sure, he's been hanging out with Obama, so he learned how to play the game.

First, he promises us a tax cut to get our votes. Then, after he's safely re-elected he forgets who we are while thumbing his nose at our wallets.

Post by Rick Shaftan.

Tell me again why people call Chris Christie a "conservative?"

Posted at 16:46 by Chris Wysocki [/nj_politics] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: Chris-Christie budget taxes NJ-Politics | Tweet

Monday, 24 February 2014

Only in New Jersey: Get a government job, retire on $195,000 per year!

New Jersey's public pension system is $47 billion in the hole. But that doesn't derail the gravy train.

In 2010, 992 retired New Jersey public employees pulled in a pension of at least $100,000 per year.

By the end of 2013, that figure had swelled to 1,731 — an increase of about 75 percent.

A new report from New Jersey Watchdog goes into detail on exactly who is getting a six-figure annual payout in retirement, although some still hold other tax-payer funded positions.

Two retirees are each receiving $195,000 per year — former Jersey City school superintendent Charles Epps and retired Essex County College president A. Zachary Yamba.

Perusing the list one thing immediately jumps out. Under the "Retired From" column on line after line you see "BD OF ED" — Board of Education — especially at the very top where the highest payouts are shown.

Our public schools pay well, and they guarantee a very cushy retirement.

Also well represented, "Judiciary." Retired judges, living well. You'll recall these are the underpaid public servants who petulantly refused to contribute toward their own health care, requiring us to pass a state constitutional amendment compelling them to pony up.

Feel bad for them, I do not.

Rounding out the list, at slightly less than half (45%) of the 6 figure club, retired police and fire. Which stands to reason given that NJ has the highest paid police officers in the nation, and that's before the all too common overtime padding games they play to boost their pension payouts.

State Senate President Steve Sweeney (a Democrat, natch) has threatened to shut down the government if Governor Chris Christie tries to rein in even one dime of these lavish pensions. Because "public workers have given up too much already." So Christie's new budget will probably include draconian cuts to education and social services just to keep the public pension plan in clover.

Your tax dollars at work, buying pina coladas for guys sitting around a pool in Miami Beach.

Posted at 13:09 by Chris Wysocki [/nj_politics] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: NJ-Politics pension retirement Charles-Epps public-pension | Tweet

Sunday, 23 February 2014

Susan Rice says she has "no regrets" over lying to us about Benghazi

Why should she? Because, to coin a phrase — what difference, at this point, does it make?

To here her tell it, she was only passing along the lies Hillary and Obama told her.

National Security Adviser Susan Rice said Sunday she has no regrets over what she told the American public about the 2012 Benghazi terror attacks in the immediate aftermath of the deadly strikes.

Rice did a round of Sunday TV interviews a few days after the attacks, in which some of the information she gave was later proven incorrect.

"What I said to you that morning, and what I did every day since, was to share the best information that we had at the time," Rice told NBC's "Meet the Press" moderator David Gregory on Sunday. "The information I provided … was what we had at the moment."

Rice said "No," when Gregory asked whether she had any regrets about her statements.

Chris Stevens, Tyrone Woods, Glen Doherty, and Sean Smith were unavailable for comment.

And Makoula Basseley Makoula spent a year in jail to make sure Rice's story couldn't be disputed.

I suppose nobody in this administration "regrets" that either.

Posted at 17:06 by Chris Wysocki [/news] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: Benghazi terrorism Susan-Rice Hillary-Clinton | Tweet

Friday, 21 February 2014

Spendthrift Obama is dropping all pretense of "austerity" in his latest budget proposal

I'll bet you didn't know that up to now Barack Obama has been the very model of "austerity." Ask him, he'll tell you it's true.

Try not to laugh, OK?

Because I guess putting us $17.2 trillion dollars into debt isn't considered profigate in his universe. I wonder what he's smoking.

Anyway, now he says increasing our deficit by more than 60% since he took office hasn't been enough. He needs to spend more money. A whole lot more money.

President Obama's forthcoming budget request will seek tens of billions of dollars in fresh spending for domestic priorities while abandoning a compromise proposal to tame the national debt in part by trimming Social Security benefits.

With the 2015 budget request, Obama will call for an end to the era of austerity that has dogged much of his presidency and to his efforts to find common ground with Republicans. Instead, the president will focus on pumping new cash into job training, early-childhood education and other programs aimed at bolstering the middle class, providing Democrats with a policy blueprint heading into the midterm elections.

That policy being "throw money at people who vote Democrat."

Sadly, it seems to work. At least in the short term. Eventually their kids will have to pay that money back. Right now every man, woman, and child in America owes the Chinese $54,000. Make you check payable to the Peoples Liberation Army and try not to grimace when they become the world's #1 superpower.

As part of that strategy, Obama will jettison the framework he unveiled last year for a so-called grand bargain that would have raised taxes on the rich and reined in skyrocketing retirement spending. A centerpiece of that framework was a proposal — demanded by GOP leaders — to use a less-generous measure of inflation to calculate Social Security benefits.

The idea infuriated Democrats and never gained much traction with rank-and-file Republicans, who also were unwilling to contemplate tax increases of any kind.

He's gonna print more money! Which'll really ratchet up inflation. Hence the need to abandon any pretense of keeping entitlements in check. Social Security payments will have to jump up just to keep pace. Hungry geezers don't vote Democrat!

"Over the course of last year, Republicans consistently showed a lack of willingness to negotiate on a deficit-reduction deal, refusing to identify even one unfair tax loophole they would be willing to close," said a White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe the budget before its official release. "That is not going to stop the president from promoting new policies that should be part of our public debate."

How quickly they forget that the Bush tax cuts expired.

Obama got his tax increases. Taxes are higher now than they've been in 3 decades. Yet, we never got one thin dime in budget cuts.

"Negotiate?" This president doesn't know the meaning of the word. He dictates. He demonizes anyone who dares to disagree with him. That's not a negotiation. That's petulance.

You know, this is why Ted Cruz is right. The GOP never should have given Obama a "clean" debt ceiling vote. Because as soon as Obama gets what he wants he demands more. He's never satisfied. He just keeps whining and complaining and blaming everyone else for his failures.

Who's he gonna blame when the U.S. goes the way of Venezuela?

Oh, right, George Bush.

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Posted at 15:26 by Chris Wysocki [/obama_watch] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: Obama deficit spending budget | Tweet

Thursday, 20 February 2014

All your LED light bulbs are belong to Big Brother

Yesterday's conspiracy theory is today's Homeland Security reality.

The LED light bulbs in Terminal B at Newark Liberty International Airport are spying on you. Yes, the light bulbs.

Whether or not you pay any attention to the lighting overhead, the lighting may be paying close attention to you.

There are cases when a LED light can spy by covertly listening and then send that audio over 300 meters away to the eavesdropper. But this time, it is the LED fixtures that are the "backbone" of a new surveillance system scrutinizing and recording us. The New York Times reported that 171 LED fixtures inside Terminal B at Newark Liberty International Airport are "watching" us.

Using an array of sensors and eight video cameras around the terminal, the light fixtures are part of a new wireless network that collects and feeds data into software that can spot long lines, recognize license plates and even identify suspicious activity, sending alerts to the appropriate staff.

It's not the "green" side of saving energy by automatically turning the lights off and on that has the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey excited and "already talking about expanding it to other terminals and buildings." Instead, the excitement comes from the mountains of data captured by sensors and analyzed by software about "the habits of ordinary citizens."

As LED lighting becomes more ubiquitous, so does the government's capability for surveillance. And because they're programmable, the spy technology is built-in to every Philips Hue bulb ever manufactured.

This is why we can't have incandescent light bulbs. "Saving energy" is just a distraction. The capability to spy on us and mine all that data is the Real Prize.

Let's get real. The light fixtures and LEDs at Newark Airport are not about saving energy … it's about watching us, analyzing data about us and storing it for who knows how long. As Justin Brookman from the Center for Democracy and Technology told the Times, "There are some people in the commercial space who say, 'Oh, big data — well, let's collect everything, keep it around forever, we'll pay for somebody to think about security later.'"

The irony is they're doing this at an aiport named "Liberty."

The danger is that pretty soon they'll be doing it in your living room.

And before you call me crazy, it isn't paranoia when the government really is out to get you.

Posted at 11:22 by Chris Wysocki [/tech] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: LED light-bulbs surveillance spying Big-Brother privacy | Tweet

Tuesday, 18 February 2014

The Obama Doctrine: Negotiate with terrorists, trade 5 Gitmo prisoners for one American POW

Remember when America didn't negotiate with terrorists?

Yeah, that was when we had a Real President.

Now we have Barack "I love the Muslim Brotherhood" Obama, and he's busy making new friends, with the Taliban.

The Obama administration has decided to revive talks with the Afghan Taliban in an effort to free the only known American soldier in captivity in exchange for the release of Taliban prisoners held at the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, The Washington Post reported late Monday.

Five Taliban prisoners who have been held at Guantanamo for years would be released to protective custody in exchange for the release of Bowe Bergdahl, who was captured in Afghanistan in 2009, the newspaper reported, citing current and former U.S. officials familiar with the decision.

The Post reported that senior officials from the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department and other agencies decided within the past month to allow the release of all five prisoners at the same time, though the exchange offer has not been formally made.

It makes me sick. How much more humiliation can this poor excuse for a president impose on my country?

Five bad guys will go free, to plot murder and mayhem again, because he's too weak and dilatory to effectively project American power. And yes, it's important to get our guy back in one piece. But not at the expense of emboldening the regime which helped Al Qaeda attack us on 9/11.

The next time they snatch an American they'll demand the release of 50 bad guys. And why not? Give in to one terrorist, and pretty soon every terrorist in the world is gonna want to get in on the action. It'll be open season on America.

Islam literally means "submission." And Barack Obama has repeatedly shown that he's more than willing to submit.

What's next? Unconditional surrender? I wouldn't put it past him.

Posted at 14:48 by Chris Wysocki [/obama_watch] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: terrorists Guantanamo-Bay Taliban POW Bowe-Bergdahl | Tweet

Jones Act waiver denied! So let's close the interstates until NJ gets rock salt

As I reported yesterday, NJ desperately needs rock salt. And we could have had 40,000 tons of it by now, if the Obama Administration is willing to buck the maritime unions and allow for a waiver of the Jones Act.

Today we got their answer — an emphatic "no."

With salt stockpiles dangerously low, the state transportation commissioner said yesterday New Jersey is just one snowstorm away from possibly closing major roadways — and he blames the federal government.

"A lot of the counties and municipalities are out of salt," Department of Transportation Commissioner Jim Simpson said yesterday. "If we have one more storm, New Jersey is going to have to close its interstates."

Simpson said he has been trying to get the federal government to grant a waiver allowing an empty ship already in Maine to bring 40,000 tons of road salt to Port Newark.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security denied his request, he said, and the salt remains in Maine.

Close the interstates Jim. Close 'em today.

Hey, it's what Dear Leader did with the National Parks. Shove the Jones Act right back into his unionista-loving face.

The whole thing is absurd. There's a ship ready to get the salt here within 2 days. But it's homeported in the Marshall Islands and thus prohibited from carrying cargo from one U.S. port to another.

We're supposed to wait three weeks while they find a suitable U.S. registered ship.

On Thursday, Simpson said, he received a note amounting to a denial of the waiver and was informed the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration was trying to locate a U.S. vessel that could bring the salt to Port Newark.

They found barges, he said. One that carries 10,000 tons and one that carries 5,000 tons and would get the salt to New Jersey in about three weeks, leaving more than half the load in Maine.

"Tell me how this is in the public interest — to deny New Jersey the ability to protect its own people?" Simpson said. "It's appalling. It's malfeasance."

It's sabotage by cabotage.

Thomas Allegretti, chairman of the American Maritime Partnership, the voice of the nation's domestic maritime industry, said a U.S. vessel will deliver the salt to New Jersey.

"The maritime industry is working to ensure that the state has the resources it needs to meet its seasonal demand," Allegretti said. "Despite short notice by transportation officials, maritime operators are moving to accelerate a request for additional salt and will deliver a new shipment to New Jersey before it is needed again."

Translation? The check is in the mail.

So if Chris Christie wants to make a point, he'll close the interstates until it gets here. Three weeks of turning trucks back at the Pennsylvania border ought to get somebody's attention. Let's see the Teamsters union fight the maritime unions. I'll bring the popcorn.

Posted at 10:10 by Chris Wysocki [/news] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: Jones-Act Maritime-Law rock-salt New-Jersey unions cabotage | Tweet

Monday, 17 February 2014

Protecting union jobs is more important than getting 40,000 tons of rock salt to NJ

New Jersey is out of rock salt. And our roads are slick with ice.

There's a ship in Maine with 40,000 tons of rock salt. It could be here in two days.

Except, it's against the law for that ship to come here.

Getting the shipment to Port Newark has been frustratingly slow because of the state's inability so far to obtain a federal waiver of the 1920 Maritime Act, which requires that the shipment arrive on a vessel flying a U.S. flag.

State Department of Transportation spokesman Joe Dee said Sunday that state officials have been unable to obtain a waiver of what is known as the Jones Act, which requires that shipments from one U.S. port to another be carried by ships flying under a U.S flag.

More accurately, it has to be a U.S. built ship, owned by U.S. citizens, flying a U.S. flag, with a unionized crew of U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents.

The closest such ship is a month away.

Absent such a waiver, the state will have to send smaller and slower-moving barges to bring the shipment to New Jersey, Dee said.

A spokesman for Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said Sunday that his office and Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., have been in touch with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the state Department of Transportation in an effort to resolve the situation.

Don't hold your breath.

Dear Leader has a pen and a phone. But he won't use it this time. Because protecting union jobs is more important than keeping our roads safe to drive on.

On the plus side, we've finally found an immigration law he's willing to enforce.

Posted at 10:56 by Chris Wysocki [/news] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: rock-salt Jones-Act Maritime-Law unions cabotage | Tweet

Saturday, 15 February 2014

Elections have consequences: The Remington chooses Alabama over New York edition

Socialist Andrew Cuomo wants to ban guns.

Communist Bill De Blasio wants to arrest anyone who's ever owned a gun.

By voting for these two morons the citizens of New York have shown their disdain for the Second Amendment.

So when Remington needed to choose a state in which to create 2,000 jobs, they didn't choose New York.

Because in Alabama, Freedom still means something.

"High level sources have informed Yellowhammer News that Remington, one of the world's largest gun manufacturers, will on Monday join Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley in announcing that they are bringing over 2,000 jobs to Alabama. The company is viewing the move into Alabama as an expansion, but it will likely impact their Ilion, NY plant as well. The New York facility currently employs around 1,200 people. It is expected to stay open, but with a reduced workforce."

Apparently New York didn't learn from Colorado's mistake.

"I make this announcement with mixed emotions," Phillip Howe, president and CEO of HiViz, said in a statement. "Colorado is a beautiful state with great people, but we cannot in clear conscience support with our taxes a state that has proven through recent legislation a willingness to infringe upon the constitutional rights of our customer base."

Alas, "Recall Cuomo" is a non-starter. So Remington voted with their feet.

And they join a proud tradition of freedom-loving Americans thumbing their noses at socialism.

Big Labor suffered a "devastating defeat" Friday when workers at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga voted against joining the UAW.

Even better, it was a kick in the nuts to Dear Leader.

President Barack Obama on Friday waded into a high-stakes union vote at Volkswagen AG's plant in Tennessee, accusing Republican politicians who oppose unionization of being more concerned about German shareholders than U.S. workers.

That's funny. The only folks voting here are average Americans, and they rejected the Democratic Party's line.

The loss is an especially stinging blow for U.A.W. because Volkswagen did not even oppose the unionization drive. The union's defeat — in what was one of the most closely watched unionization votes in decades — is expected to slow, perhaps stymie, the union's long-term plans to organize other auto plants in the South. . . .

Standing outside the Volkswagen plant, Mike Jarvis, a three-year employee who works on the finishing line, said the majority had voted against U.A.W. because they were persuaded the union had hurt Detroit's automakers.

Unions are a cancer on America.

As are the anti-liberty policies of blue state politicians like Andrew Cuomo.

Fortunately we still have the ability to self-correct, and route around the problem. Good jobs are leaving the socialist enclaves. And any taint of the progressive stench is unwelcome where freedom reigns supreme.

Posted at 21:48 by Chris Wysocki [/news] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: gun-control Second-Amendment Remington | Tweet

Friday, 14 February 2014

Kansas moves to protect religious liberty, the forces of tolerance react predictably

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof …

Apparently in the original text there's a heretofore undiscovered asterisk or two.

Because homosexuality is our de facto national religion now.

And if its proponents have their way, the free exercise of religions which object to homosexuality will indeed be prohibited. (Except for Islam; the homofascists don't dare take on The Religion Of Peace™.)

There are two news items today which exhibit my thesis.

In Virginia, a federal judge has invalidated a state constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex "marriage."

Because obviously (a) the Fourteenth Amendment was intended for such a purpose, and (b) never mind the will of voters expressed in a referendum.

The ruling cites memorable Supreme Court travesties — Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Lawrence v. Texas and Windsor v. U.S. — like so many mileposts on the Highway to Hell, and who can argue with such sophistry when it's dressed up in costumes of legal precedent, bejeweled with a lot of emotional chatter about "loving, intimate and lasting relationships" and "sacred, personal choices"?

The sinful is now sacred? How's that for peeing on us Christians' cornflakes?

Try your schtick in a mosque and get back to me. That is, if your head is still attached to your body.

Meanwhile in Kansas, their state legislature moved to protect religious liberty.

A House bill directed at same-sex couples in Kansas who are denied services tied to weddings and civil unions passed Wednesday with Republicans arguing the measure reinforced religious freedom and Democrats labeling it a discriminatory assault on lesbians and gays.

Why is it that homosexual demands for special attention are never characterized as a discriminatory assault on religious liberty?

The GOP-led House voted 72-49 to approve House Bill 2453 with little commentary following lengthy debate Tuesday. The bill sent to the Senate was designed to shield people, groups and businesses that cite religious reasons for refusing to serve homosexuals engaging in activities viewed as religiously offensive.

Note that it doesn't say you can't do it. It just says we don't have to help you.

The bill allows government employees of the state, courts, schools and law enforcement agencies to treat as invalid the civil unions or marriages of two men or two women.

Go ahead, pretend to be "married." We're still not going to applaud.

Legislators supportive of the legislation were motivated by an assumption the federal courts eventually would declare unconstitutional a 2005 amendment to the Kansas Constitution banning gay marriage.

Wouldn't it be great if all these judges who are mesmerized by emanations of penumbras would actually read the Tenth Amendment?

Gov. Sam Brownback said when asked about the bill that he had dedicated himself to fighting for basic human rights, including religious liberty, in many countries and for many different faiths.

"Americans have constitutional rights, among them the right to exercise their religious beliefs and the right for every human life to be treated with respect and dignity," the Republican governor said.

The homosexuals demand respect from us. But they refuse to respect our beliefs in return. Their disdain for religion pours forth — we are "anti-gay" purveyors of "vicious discrimination" out to turn back the clock on civil rights.

Such hysteria is underwhelming. The oft-cited example of homofascism at its worst is the Colorado baker who politely refuse to participate in the charade of a same-sex "marriage." Adhering to his conscience was quickly redefined as "hate." As if a random sole proprietor has the power to prevent two homosexuals from fully enjoying their chosen lifestyle.

This notion that a business has to cater to every customer's whim is preposterous. Several years ago my daughter wanted a Club Penguin birthday cake. We went to arguably the best bakery in town. "Sorry," he said, "I can't make that."

You'll be shocked to learn we didn't sue him.

And I'll bet you can't guess that we found a different bakery willing to create the cake she wanted.

Kansas isn't saying you can't have your cake. Kansas is saying that you might need to find a bakery that wants to make it for you. Then, everybody's happy. The religious baker's conscience is clear. The guy who made your cake has a few extra bucks in his pocket. And contrary to hyperbole, you have your cake.

So chill out. You live your lives. We'll live ours. If perchance our paths cross, let's smile, nod, and move on. That's my definition of "tolerance." Hopefully it's yours too.

Posted at 15:24 by Chris Wysocki [/religion] Comments | Perm Link |
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Thursday, 13 February 2014

Facebook is no longer sure if you're a boy or a girl

In The Beginning God created Adam and Eve. Yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg added 50 some-odd variants, because, diversity!

You don't have to be just male or female on Facebook anymore. The social media giant is adding a customizable option with about 50 different terms people can use to identify their gender as well as three preferred pronoun choices: him, her or them.

Really? Only three "preferred pronouns?" C'mon, you guys can do better than that!

Facebook said the changes, shared with The Associated Press before the launch on Thursday, initially cover the company's 159 million monthly users in the U.S. and are aimed at giving people more choices in how they describe themselves, such as androgynous, bi-gender, intersex, gender fluid or transsexual.

Curiously missing from the list is "confused."

Masen Davis, executive director of the San Francisco-based Transgender Law Center, said it may be hard for some people to understand the importance of having the ability to select from multiple genders online. But he said many transgender people will be thrilled with the change.

"We applaud Facebook for making it possible for people to be their authentic selves online," he said.

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.

Now, as a private company, Facebook is of course free to implement whatever features they like. And if letting someone pretend he/she/it is an "authentic" non-binary pangender transexual radfem activist, well it's obviously just another way to increase the value of Zuck's stock options.

My concern is that Facebook hasn't gone far enough. All 50+ of their gender-bender monikers still exist on a male — female continuum. There is a box for "bigender," but not one for tri, quad, or penta-gender. Labels exist for women becoming men, or men transforming into women. You can be a "transgender person," which is apparently disjoint from those of you who are "transexual persons." Not to worry though, FB has plenty of combinations in between.

Which is all well and good.

But, what about Vissians and Andorians? Their sexuality is much more complicated. Surely Facebook wouldn't want to discriminate against the universe of Star Trek.

I mean, if you're going to entertain 50 fictions, why not throw in a few more?

Posted at 23:28 by Chris Wysocki [/tech] Comments | Perm Link |
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Convicted Trenton Mayor Tony Mack can keep his job, for now

Tony Mack refuses to go quietly. Because sucking at the public teat is all he knows how to do. So in his mind a conviction on six federal corruption counts isn't an impediment to him remaining mayor of Trenton, NJ.

And a judge just conditionally agreed, saying Mack has two weeks to make his case.

Convicted Mayor Tony Mack can remain in office at least two more weeks after he was given the chance today to fight a state attorney general's effort to remove him.

Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson set a Feb. 26 hearing date at the Mercer County Criminal Courthouse for Mack, when he will be able to appear and contest that his conviction on six federal corruption counts puts him in violation of state law. A written answer from him is due two days before.

Jacobson was responding to a complaint filed Monday by a deputy attorney general seeking an order of forfeiture that would force Mack from office. Mack was convicted Friday in federal court after a monthlong trial but has opted not to resign. Though state law says he is now ineligible to serve as mayor, without a resignation it will take a judge's declaration to enforce state statute.

Mary Jacobson is the same looney-liberal superior court judge who invented New Jersey's "right" to same-sex "marriage." So let's just say that if you were looking for a judge who can twist the law to keep Tony Mack in office, Mary Jacobson would be at the top of your list.

Because, in case you hadn't guessed by now, Tony Mack is a Democrat.

So it's understandable that the Star-Ledger isn't clammoring for his resignation. After all, he didn't cause a traffic jam.

Meanwhile, Mack's minions are rallying to his side.

Business Administrator Sam Hutchinson said Mack has not been in City Hall this week.

"He is on leave," Hutchinson said.

When asked if it was sick leave, vacation time or for some other reason, Hutchinson responded, "It is appropriate," and refused to provide further details.

Hutchinson said he was notified Mack was on leave, but refused to say how or by whom he was told or whether Mack was still in the city.

You can be sure of one thing though. Tony Mack is still on the city's payroll. And it looks like that's where he's gonna stay.

Only in New Jersey.

Posted at 10:32 by Chris Wysocki [/nj_politics] Comments | Perm Link |
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Wednesday, 12 February 2014

Angry federal judge bitch-slaps Jon Corzine over MF Global failure

Jon Corzine's weaselly ways have hit a brick wall.

A federal judge has ordered Jon Corzine and other former MF Global officials to face a class-action lawsuit filed by customers of the failed futures firm.

But before denying the ex-New Jersey governor's attempt to escape the lawsuit, Judge Victor Marrero took him, his fellow defendants and the parties suing them as well to task.

Decrying the "wasteful and rancorous litigation" that he said has characterized the legal dispute between the commodity customers and former MF Global officials, Marrero blasted both for "failing to concede any ground to each other even in the light of clear, controlling case law that should generate agreement and consensus among people moved by reason, good faith and common sense."

Marrero particularly pointed a hard finger at Corzine and his co-defendants for continuing to deny any responsibility in the collapse of MF Global, which led to the disappearance of some $1.6 billion customer money from segregated accounts.

The firm fell into bankruptcy on Halloween 2011 after investors and ratings agencies were spooked by a massive and mostly undisclosed stake the firm had amassed in troubled European sovereign debt. The investment, built up during Corzine's short tenure as a chairman and chief executive officer, was a part of the former Goldman Sachs CEO's strategy to turn the struggling MF Global into a powerhouse investment bank.

Marrero praised the commodity customers' "compelling" account of the causes and events around the firm's collapse. "Yet MF Global's high-ranking officers, including several of the Defendants here, continue to assert... that it is not even plausible that anyone of them could bear any responsibility for any part of the harm MF Global's disintegration caused."

Judge Marrero ain't buyin' what Jon Corzine is shovelin'.

Sadly though, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman still isn't interested. In his office, evidence is only "compelling" when it can be used against enemies of the regime. Since Jon Corzine is a big-time Friend of Barry, his Get Out Of Jail Free card remains in good standing.

Posted at 13:58 by Chris Wysocki [/democrats] Comments | Perm Link |
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Fascist Obama decrees no more layoffs, Obamacare now guarantees your boss can't fire you

Attention American business! All workers are now guaranteed their jobs, for life! Layoffs will result in an investigation by armed agents of the Internal Revenue Service. Participation in Obamacare requires you to comply.

No, I'm not making that up. Dear Leader has effectively nationalized every small business in America. Because if we can't fire someone, or change their hours, we no longer have control over what used to be ours.

The Lonely Conservative exposes his tyranny:

Monday night on the "Kelly File" Megyn Kelly revealed that the Obamacare mandate delay includes a provision directing employers that they are not to lay off workers if they want to take advantage of the delay. Nice Deb picked up on it:

"Basically", she continued, "what the government is telling employers is that you will not fire a single person. You will not lay off a single person — if you want to take advantage of our gift. And you have to certify it under penalty of perjury to the IRS that you didn't do that!"

IRS storm troopers are our new masters. That's fascism. Straight up fascism. There's really no other way to describe what this president has done.

And he did it with the stroke of his pen. L'Etat, C'est Moi!

Meanwhile John Boehner continues to bow down before His Imperial Majesty. I really wish I knew why.

America is doomed.

Posted at 11:27 by Chris Wysocki [/obama_watch] Comments | Perm Link |
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Tuesday, 11 February 2014

NJ Horizon BCBS still can't bill you correctly for Obamacare, says "just send us money"

Obamacare is the glitch that keeps on glitching.

Customers of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, the state's largest health insurance company, have faced a rocky transition to Obamacare since the law went into effect last month.

A combination of glitches on the federal website, the company's new billing system and the difficult weather resulted in Horizon extending its deadline for payments originally due Feb. 1.

The carrier's Facebook page first told customers on Jan. 29 that those who purchased a policy through the federal website, www.healthcare.gov, might not have received their bills on time. The message urged those whose payments were due Feb. 1 to pay even if they hadn't received any bill.

In other words, trust us! Send money now, we'll figure out later if it was enough.

They're blaming the weather. And that gawd-awful Obamacare web site.

Horizon spokesman Tom Vincz said "file transfer issues" from the federal website left the company with insufficient information to generate an invoice for those customers who selected a policy but didn't pay on the spot.

The affected customers were those who signed up for coverage that was to start Feb. 1.

It's almost as if the whole thing is being run by a community organizer with no actual work experience…

Posted at 10:21 by Chris Wysocki [/obamacare] Comments | Perm Link |
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Monday, 10 February 2014

Dear Leader decrees another Obamacare delay, Employer Mandate postponed until 2016

Once again Barack Obama rewrites a law on the fly. Because enforcing the Employer Mandate this year guarantees the Democrats will lose control of the Senate in the midterm elections. Which, of course, is the reason he postponed it last year too. Obamacare Is The Law, unless the law is politically inconvenient.

The lawless Obama administration will delay the employer health insurance mandate another year due to the upcoming elections.

A Department of Justice brief suggested nearly 80 million Americans will lose their health care insurance due to Obamacare.

80 million pissed off voters == Harry Reid's retirement party. So, keep 'em in the dark for another year!

The Obama administration announced Monday it would give medium-sized employers an extra year, until 2016, before they must offer health insurance to their full-time workers.

Firms with at least 100 employees will have to start offering this coverage in 2015.

By offering an unexpected grace period to businesses with between 50 and 99 employees, administration officials are hoping to defuse another potential controversy involving the 2010 health-care law, which has become central to Republicans' campaign to make political gains in this year's midterm election.

Even the nation's largest employers got a significant concession: They can avoid a fine by offering coverage to 70 percent of their full-time employees in 2015 and 95 percent starting in 2016. Under an earlier proposal, employers with at least 50 employees would have been required to offer insurance, beginning 2015, to 95 percent of those who work 30 hours or more a week, along with their dependents.

Remember when it was important to make sure everybody had health insurance? Yeah, me neither.

You know what's even more infuriating? The fact that Mitch McConnell and John Boehner let Dear Leader get away with this shit. They won't even try to make him follow the law.

The proper response to a lawless executive branch is impeachment.

Don't hold your breath.

Posted at 17:22 by Chris Wysocki [/obamacare] Comments | Perm Link |
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Sunday, 09 February 2014

WaPo: How to indoctrinate your neighbor into the Cult of Climate Change

It's always amusing to read the Sunday Star-Ledger op-ed pages, and today's didn't disappoint. They reprinted a Washington Post column by Brian Palmer entitled "How to convince your friends to believe in climate change. It's not as hard as you think."

Hint, it's not about science. Oh no, taling about science is a "loser" according to researchers who are working on finding ways to convince people that climate change is real.

Wait, what?

There's an extensive body of research on how to persuade those who view science with suspicion — it's called the science of science communication. Much of the work centers on climate change.

They say "communication," I say Brainwashing.

"Speak openly of your personal ownership of your convictions," he notes. "Say, 'This is what's important to me, and this is why.' Don't get caught up in the scientific discussion. You're not a scientist, and evidence doesn't persuade people who reject climate change. What carries power is your personal conviction as a friend, colleague or neighbor."

Don't worry about why! Ignore your lying eyes! Join the Cult of Climate Change! All the cool kids are already here!

Better yet, gang up on the "denier," and pound him with peer pressure!

Climate change communications research suggests that a person's views are formed in large part by their social network. When a climate change rejectionist finds he is surrounded by believers, it eases the path toward changing his mind. Say that you, too, were once reluctant to accept the idea of climate change. It helps your audience identify with you.

Go ahead, tell me that isn't creepy.

Now you'll need a compelling argument to explain why you came around. As Marshall notes, communications research shows that "because scientists say so" is a loser. (President Obama made this mistake last week in his State of the Union address, when he bluntly declared that "climate change is a fact.")

Climate Change is Truth, don't be misled by facts.

The "compelling argument" is, of course, FUD, as in sowing doubt. "You buy homeowners insurance even though your house probably won't burn down. So if there's even a slight chance of rising sea levels, why not do something Right This Minute?"

Um, maybe because insurance has a proven risk-reward curve, and climate change hysteria doesn't? The oceans aren't dramatically rising ("yet, say the cultists). Nevermind that a scant 40 years ago these very same alarmists were 100% certain we were entering a new ice age. As climate scales go, 40 years is less than the blink of an eye.

I look out the window and see 2/3 of the United States covered in snow. Anybody wanna revisit that ice age theory again?

Then, OK, if we won't buy the FUD, it's onward to the circular reasoning! "The Pentagon is on board the Climate Change Express, why aren't you?"

People who reject climate-change science often find the views of the Department of Defense persuasive, and the Pentagon is extremely concerned about climate change.

"Large areas of the world will be submerged," Lewandowsky explains, "and residents of Bangladesh and Pacific island nations won't drown silently: They will migrate. Refugees sow the seeds for conflict." The Pentagon is already considering the need to shift resources from traditional combat to humanitarian operations to address these scenarios.

Um, who ordered the Pentagon to "consider" the impact of Climate Change? Why that would be the Climate Change Cultist in Chief! The Pentagon is following orders, which not to put too fine a point on it, is just what you're supposed to be doing you Gaia-hating gas-guzzling greenhouse-gas-emitting goober. Get with the program already!

No thanks. I used to trust the Pentagon. Until Obama started purging all the top Generals and Admirals, replacing them with administration sycophants. Now it's a hotbed of political correctness, social engineering, feminut orthodoxy, and junk science. Plus, the civilian command structure under both Leon Panetta and Chuck Hagel is full of political hacks who've never worn a uniform.

They've manged to bungle our victory in Iraq, leave Afghanistan and Libya in shambles, turn Egypt over to the Muslim Brotherhood, embolden Syria and Iran, and sold out Israel. If the political leadership at DOD can't fight a conventional war, what makes anyone think they can lead our fight against the chimera of Climate Change?

The cultists realize they have their work cut out for themselves.

Finally, don't get your hopes up. Changing someone's mind is a slow, laborious process. Your obstinate uncle, neighbor or colleague isn't going to slow-clap you out of the room after your irresistible climate-change argument. All you can do is plant a seed. So go do it.

I can't plant any seeds. The ground is frozen solid. But since you agree that "changing someone's mind is a slow, laborious process," why not try a little introspection of your own? Maybe this climate change thing isn't something we can control. Maybe nature is more powerful than we are. Maybe we should be looking for ways to adapt rather than trying to maintain an untenable status quo.

I think that's called Evolution. Perhaps you've heard of it.

Posted at 14:40 by Chris Wysocki [/agw] Comments | Perm Link |
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Friday, 07 February 2014

Wherein I find myself in agreement with not one, but 2 Obama Admin officials today

Those officials being VP Joe Biden and Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland.

Biden: LaGuardia Airport is like a third-world country.

Vice President Joe Biden, never one to hide what he's thinking, said Thursday that New York's LaGuardia Airport feels like "it's in some third world country."

"If I blindfolded someone and took them at 2:00 in the morning into the airport in Hong Kong and said 'where do you think you are,' they'd say, 'this must be America, it's a modern airport,'" Biden said during a speech on infrastructure in Philadelphia.

"But if I blindfolded you and took you to LaGuardia Airport in New York, you must think, 'I must be in some third world country.' I'm not joking," he added as the audience broke out in laughter.

Hell to the yes! LaGuardia is a pit. Newark and JFK are only marginally better. Why? No competition. The Port Authority runs all 3 (along with Atlantic City Airport and Stewart Airport in Newburgh, NY). So there's no incentive for any of our airports to woo travelers because they'd just be competing with themselves.

What do you get when you have a captive audience at the mercy of a monopolistic bureaucracy? A level of mediocrity that would make Bangladesh blush. I've seen South American bus stations with better ambience than Newark's Terminal B. And although it's been a few years since I've had to trudge through LaGuardia or JFK I can't imagine they've aged gracefully.

Adding to Joe's crediblity on this one — he rides Amtrak, so presumably he's seen the hellhole that is Newark Penn Station. If he thinks LaGuardia is worse than that, yikes.

Then we have Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs, heard on tape saying, "Fuck the EU."

Yeah baby! A bigger bunch of whiny self-important pretentious overbearing nanny-state bureaucrats can't be found. (Except perhaps at the EPA…)

They have time to regulate the curvature of bananas, which sadly leaves them without the ability to help midwife democracy in Ukraine.

Nuland's criticism of the EU comes in the context of praising United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for picking an envoy to deal with the political crisis.

Nuland argues that the U.N. envoy will "help glue this thing and to have the U.N. glue it. And you know, f--k the EU," she adds.

"Exactly," Pyatt can be heard replying. "And I think we got to do something to make it stick together, because you can be sure that if it does start to gain altitude the Russians will be working behind the scenes to torpedo it."

So she's one for two. Because Ban Ki-moon and the Useless Nations aren't measurably different from the Bozos in Brussels.

But hey, any day where I can agree with something an Obamunist says? Either I'm getting soft, or these guys are finally finding a clue.

Posted at 11:34 by Chris Wysocki [/news] Comments | Perm Link |
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Thursday, 06 February 2014

Sochi Olympics update: Meet the new Soviet Union, same as the old Soviet Union

At the Sochi Olympics, the KGB is watching you in the shower.

So far, the story of the Olympics in Sochi has been complaints about and funny photos of the bathrooms and hotel rooms in Russia.

Dmitry Kozak, "the deputy prime minister responsible for the Olympic preparations," responded to criticism of the accommodations.

"We have surveillance video from the hotels that shows people turn on the shower, direct the nozzle at the wall and then leave the room for the whole day," Kozak said.

Wait, what? Surveillance video of the showers?

Sure, it's par for the course for the KGB.

Speaking of Sochi's accommodations, I'm finding it quite humorous that our uber-liberal commie-loving press corps isn't enamored with their luxurious proletarian dachas.

The little sink sits atop an exposed white plastic pipe, stuck to the wall and surrounded by an unruly gob of caulk. Might as well forget about a shower curtain. The way the bathroom is set up there's no place to affix a rod.

The single room has two lamps — which don't have light bulbs, but that's okay because they aren't near any unused outlets. An overhead chandelier has five shades, three of them with bulbs. There's no phone. The television doesn't work. A brainstorm interrupts an unsuccessful effort to plod through the manual — in Russian. There's no battery in the remote!

Comrades! You guys spent decades extolling the virtues of communism. Google "Soviet apartment block" to refresh your memory and revel in the utilitarian conformity. Then tell me your hotel isn't 10 times better!

It could be worse you know. They could have hired NJ Transit to arrange your transportation.

Posted at 13:06 by Chris Wysocki [/news] Comments | Perm Link |
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Wednesday, 05 February 2014

Freedom's just a buzzword for liberals without clues

With apologies to Kris Kristofferson and Janis Joplin...

Freedom's just a buzzword for liberals without clues,
And Obamacare ain't worth nothin' but it's free,
Feeling good was easy, doc, when Carney sang the blues,
And doctor, that was good enough for me,
Good enough for me and my insurance company.

But when it comes to Weapons Grade Stupid, ladies and gentleman, I give you … Jay Carney

During a press conference on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary called "freedom" a "buzzword." He was discussing Obamacare's effect in lessening work hours because it lowers the hourly threshold an American must work in order to obtain health care.

It's not anything but an added choice that they have that allows them more freedom, to use a certain buzzword, more choice.

As in The Great Depression gave 34 million Americans the "freedom" to work fewer hours. Or "choose" not work at all. Apparently Herbert Hoover was ahead of his time. All he needed to do was pass out free health care and the Dust Bowl would be just a figment of our imaginations.

Obamumism, and liberalism, are the antithesis of Freedom and Liberty.

Listen up America. You can be beholden to the state. Or you can stand on your own two feet.

Did they get you to trade your freedom for ghosts? Liberty for change?

Did you exchange a walk-on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?

How I wish Ronald Reagan was here.

Posted at 20:53 by Chris Wysocki [/democrats] Comments | Perm Link |
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Tuesday, 04 February 2014

Justice Antonin Scalia: Of course WW II-style internment camps could happen again

And Barack Obama is just the guy to do it.

Justice Antonin Scalia predicts that the Supreme Court will eventually authorize another a wartime abuse of civil rights such as the internment camps for Japanese-Americans during World War II.

"You are kidding yourself if you think the same thing will not happen again," Scalia told the University of Hawaii law school while discussing Korematsu v. United States, the ruling in which the court gave its imprimatur to the internment camps.

The local Associated Press report quotes Scalia as using a Latin phrase that means "in times of war, the laws fall silent," to explain why the court erred in that decision and will do so again.

"That's what was going on — the panic about the war and the invasion of the Pacific and whatnot," Scalia said. "That's what happens. It was wrong, but I would not be surprised to see it happen again, in time of war. It's no justification but it is the reality."

Panic? You mean like when Obamacare completely implodes, or Janet Yellen craters the dollar? Or maybe something simpler, say a nationwide rollout of Connecticut's gun confiscation? Because I could totally see the Alinskyites rounding up anyone who dares to oppose Obama's Executive Orders.

The IRS already has a list.

A few years ago DHS implemented a 100 mile "Constitution Free Zone" at the U.S. border. A federal judge recently ruled that's A-OK.

I live within that 100 mile cordon of fascism. Chances are that you do too.

And since Obama bought his own Lubyanka it's not inconceivable that he'll want to use it.

Before you dismiss me as a conspiracy nut, ask yourself this: Do you trust your government?

Posted at 22:39 by Chris Wysocki [/news] Comments | Perm Link |
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Ethically challenged Congressman Rob Andrews (D-NJ) will "retire" today

Rob Andrews sees the writing on the wall. So he's bailing out while the coast is still clear. And before the House Ethics Committee throws him out.

U.S. Representative Robert Andrews, D-1st, of Haddon Heights, is expected to announce today that he will resign from Congress this month and go to work for a Philadelphia law firm, according to Philly.com.

The Democrat is in his 24th year in the House of Representatives. In the midst of ethics investigations into his personal use of campaign funds, Andrews is planing to take a public affairs position at he unnamed law firm.

A House subcommittee was formed in March 2013 to look at Andrews' use of $30,000 in campaign funds to pay for his family to go to Scotland, and for other expenses. The subcommittee would also investigate whether he made false statements to federal officials.

A Star-Ledger report also showed Andrews used $10,000 to pay for a graduation party for one of his daughters and contributed thousands of dollars to theaters that cast his daughter in plays.

Just another typical Democrat.

But since he didn't cause a traffic jam, nobody was actively clammoring for his resignation. It's just a nice surprise on an otherwise mundane Tuesday morning.

Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out Rob.

UPDATE 04 Feb 2014 11:23:
And to almost no one's surprise, George Norcross has annointed his baby brother Donald to occupy Andrews' seat.

Posted at 09:33 by Chris Wysocki [/democrats] Comments | Perm Link |
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Monday, 03 February 2014

Will the FCC shut down Fox News now that Obama has blamed them for all his problems?

It's not without precedent.

Obama has gone out of his way to make sure that journalists keep their mouths shut about the shady actions and scandals that his administration has been involved in.

He threatened to destroy the career of a Fox News reporter exposing the truth about Benghazi. He's using Soviet tactics to prosecute a filmmaker who made a movie exposing Obama's radical background. He's also been the most aggressive president since Nixon in keeping a tight grip on information. One former NSA official even came out and said that Obama's tactics have made the US a police state.

And let's not forget how he used the IRS to harass Conservatives.

Oh, wait, he told Bill O'Reilly he really didn't do that. Honest.

And besides, all his problems are caused by Fox News. They're spreading lies!. Lies and more lies! It's all lies!

While speaking about Benghazi, Obama laughed at one point when O'Reilly asked about Susan Rice's contention that the attack was a spontaneous action.

About two minutes later, Obama blamed Fox News for people believing Obama did not call the Benghazi attack terrorism.

"Your detractors believe that you did not tell the world it was a terror attack because your campaign didn't want that out," O'Reilly said.

"And they believe it because folks like you are telling them that," Obama said.

"No, I'm not telling them that," O'Reilly responded to laughter.

You know what I find most disconcerting? How he laughed at O'Reilly's questions. Classy, that, isn't it? Real Presidential.

Because he knows he can squash O'Reilly and Fox like a bug. And he won't hesitate either, especially since Democrat control of the Senate is hanging in the balance.

If the 2014 election is a referendum on President Obama, Democrats are in deep trouble.

That's according to a new state-by-state study of Obama's job-approval ratings released by Gallup that puts his disapproval rating at over 50 percent in 10 of the 21 states where Democrats are defending Senate seats this fall. In many of those states, Republicans have recruited strong candidates and are preparing to spend big bucks to win the six seats they need to regain the majority.

Obama is deeply unpopular — with a disapproval rating higher than 55 percent — in five states: West Virginia (67.3 percent disapproval), Montana (60.9 percent), South Dakota (59.3 percent), Arkansas (57 percent) and Alaska (55.4 percent).

Beyond those five seats, there is a second tier of states where the president's disapproval rating stands somewhere between 50 percent and 55 percent, including: Iowa (50.1 percent disapproval), New Hampshire (50.2 percent), North Carolina (50.4 percent),Colorado (51.2 percent) and Louisiana (53.9 percent).

So I'm sure it's just a coincidence that new IRS regulations will effectively put most conservative groups out of business, right before the 2014 midterm elections.

IRS Reg-134417-13 will forbid conservative groups from holding voter registration drives, advertising, promoting, and prohibits any kind of political activity including rallies, mailings, teas, and forums.

Meanwhile unions, a heavy Democrat-friendly constituency, are exempt from these new rules. I'm sure that's just an oversight…

Anyone here remember Nakoula Basseley Nakoula? He spent a year in jail to cover Susan Rice's ass, and emerged with a case of Stockholm Syndrome worthy of a North Korean propaganda film.

Dinesh D'Souza made a movie critical of Obama, and he was promptly indicted by Eric Holder's DOJ. Nothing suspicious about that right?

If Bill O'Reilly is next, who'll be less surprised than me?

Bonus exit question: If there was "not a smidgeon" of corruption in the IRS scandal, then why did Lois Lerner take the Fifth?

Posted at 14:38 by Chris Wysocki [/obama_watch] Comments | Perm Link |
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