New Evidence in Trayvon Martin Case

The New York Times has a graphic photo of George Zimmerman's injuries to his head: "New Details Are Released in Shooting of Trayvon Martin." (The Times has been obviously biased, be on the lookout for that at the link.)

And see Tom Maguire, "Zimmerman Case - Evidence Released, But Where?", and "Zimmerman Case - 'Contact Shot" Versus "Intermediate Range'."

And more video featuring the Martin family attorney: "Crump on new evidence Trayvon Martin Evidence."

It Is High Time We Elect a Businessman for the White House

From the letters to the editor at the Orange County Register, "So many reasons to dump Obama and Co.":

Recently I was unfortunate enough to hear the unmitigated arrogance of President Barack Obama and hapless Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., opine on the financial losses and mismanagement of JP Morgan.

Let’s review the government’s recent management expertise: General Services Administration? (taxpayer-financed Vegas junkets); Secret Service? (Hookers galore); Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? (billions of taxpayer dollars); The U.S. Postal Service? (Solyndra solar panels).

The government’s managerial expertise has cost taxpayers billions. JP Morgan has cost its shareholders billions, but it has cost taxpayers nothing. In addition, heads rolled at JP Morgan.

It is high time we elect a businessman for the White House.

Martin Brooks
GARDEN GROVE

I can dig it.

Mary Kennedy Hanged Herself

I want to come back to this story, since I promised an update when more information became known.

Of all the ways to go, I doubt I'd pick hanging if I was going to do it to myself. And for someone like Mary Kennedy, sheesh, perhaps she could have gone out on an overdose of tranquilizers or something. It would have been a lot less violent.

See the New York Post, "RFK Jr.’s wife hangs herself."

Jeremiah Wright and Democrat Double Standards

The big controversy today is over the now-reversed plan by the so-called Ricketts group to slam President Obama for his past incendiary relationship to Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Jr. The full blowout is at Memeorandum.

The hypocrisy of course is that Obama's 20-year relationship to the "God-damn America" pastor has been deemed off-limits by the Obama-enabling Democrat-Media-Complex, but any attacks on Mitt Romney's Mormon faith --- and especially the allegations of anti-black racism in the Mormon Church --- have been and will continue to be fair game for media coverage of the Romney campaign.

William Jacobson has the needed response to the left's demonic double-standards: "Do not think of the Jeremiah Wright in the room (Update – It worked, ads won’t run)."

And the far-left Greg Sargent at the Washington Post demonstrates just how badly upside down matters have become: "GOP struggles to banish ghost of Jeremiah Wright" (via Memeorandum). Sargent, and a host of others on Twitter, most conspicuously Donna Brazille, have immediately turned this into a case of Republicans using the "race card" against Obama. But obviously this isn't the GOP's ghost to banish. The president sat in the pews of Wright's black liberation church for 20 years and in 2008 John McCain caved to political correctness and refused to make those affiliations an issue. And while Mitt Romney did indeed mention Jeremiah Wright during the primaries, his campaign is blowing the messaging in response to the massive race-baiting attacks by the left.

The issue is not race. The issue is Barack Obama's long history of palling around with America-hating pastors, PLO terrorist-backing professors, Weather Underground terrorist, Bill Ayers --- and so many more.

In each case, to the one, these controversies have been deemed beyond the pale by the Democrat-Media Complex. The Romney people are surely hip to the coordination between the press and the Obama campaign. It remains to be seen if they're ready to stand up the the relentless abuse and endless racist attacks that have only begun to be leveled their way. Everything should be on the table. Cries of racism are simply smokescreens to guarantee that virtually nothing will be.

Here're the videos, in any case. At top, Romney claims he doesn't remember what he said on Hannity's but he stands by it anyway, and below are the original comments.

BONUS: See By Jeffrey Kuhner, at The Washington Times, "Jeremiah Wright can sink Obama: President’s former pastor telling story of betrayal and bribery."

ADDED: From Yid With Lid, "Did Mitt Romney Just Fall Into An Obama Trap?"

German Chancellor Angela Merkel: Stimulus Now an Option for Greece

This is a big change. Perhaps Hollande's got a little pull over at the Chancellery.

See the New York Times, "Softening, Merkel Says She Is Open to Stimulus for Greece":

BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said Wednesday that she was ready to discuss stimulus programs to get the Greek economy growing again and that she was committed to keeping Greece in the euro zone, signaling a softer approach toward the struggling country.

The fierce rhetorical salvos out of Germany in the past week gave way to conciliatory gestures by Ms. Merkel, who throughout the crisis has shown a propensity for managing through brinkmanship. “I have the will, the determination to keep Greece in the euro zone,” she said in an interview on CNBC on Wednesday, in what appeared to be an attempt to relax an increasingly tense situation.

If Greek officials are looking for “stimulus to be pursued for growth in the euro zone, which we could pursue in the interest of Greece, we’re open for this,” Ms. Merkel said. “Germany is open for this.”

Europe was shaken anew this week by the chaos in Greece, where a bank run threatened to hasten the country’s exit from the euro and jeopardize the Continent’s financial stability. While the impact of a country’s leaving the euro is hard to predict, economists fear the crisis could spread to much larger countries like Spain and Italy if financial markets bid up borrowing rates to unsustainable levels.

Ms. Merkel is preparing to head to Camp David in Maryland for the Group of 8 meeting beginning on Friday, and she is likely to be pressed there by the leaders of other industrial nations, in particular by President Obama, to find a way to quell the turmoil. On Tuesday night she met for the first time with France’s newly inaugurated president, François Hollande, who campaigned on the need for more growth-promoting policies.

In recent days Ms. Merkel has signaled a growing openness to additional growth measures as long as they do not interfere with the fiscal compact to cut deficits in the euro zone in the long run. “On the one hand we have the pillar of sound fiscal policy, and the second pillar will then be the growth component,” Ms. Merkel said in the CNBC interview.

That support could come in the form of money from existing European Union funds that would be redirected for use by crisis countries, said Fabian Zuleeg, the chief economist with the European Policy Center. That approach had been championed by Mr. Hollande.

But it will take more than technical adjustments to calm the growing political opposition to austerity in Greece, Spain and other hard-hit countries in the euro zone’s periphery, Mr. Zuleeg added. “We need to put together a package that looks convincing. It can’t just be rhetoric; it has to have some real elements to it,” he said. “The real element that certainly has to be in there is money.”

Continue reading.

Plus, at the Wall Street Journal, "Experts Try to Chart Path for Exit From Currency":

BRUSSELS — Returning to a national currency after more than a decade of using the euro and having its money managed by the European Central Bank would catapult Greece into a financial, legal and political no man's land.

Countries have defaulted, devalued, or even withdrawn from a broader monetary union in the past. But none has done it all at once—and certainly not an economy so deeply integrated into global financial markets.

Greece would have to remake its monetary system and rebuild its economy after a likely sharp devaluation that would have delivered a severe confidence shock to the population, undermined its banks and triggered likely defaults on debts to foreigners.

The consequences of an exit from the euro for Greece and the rest of Europe would likely be so tumultuous that policy makers have been reluctant even to speculate on how it could work. And even though the taboo of mentioning a euro exit has fallen away in recent months, going back to the drachma would likely be messy, with many steps having to be improvised overnight.

Until recently, policy makers usually smothered any questions on a potential euro exit with a simple answer: It's impossible to leave the common currency under European Union law. There is no provision in the EU treaties for exiting the euro zone without also dropping out of the broader 27-country bloc.

Leaving the EU would also mean an end to billions of euros in farm and development subsidies, as well as easy access to a large internal markets—a threat that Austrian Finance Minister Maria Fekter voiced Monday.

"It's impossible to leave the euro zone—one can only leave the European Union," she told reporters at a meeting with her counterparts in Brussels. "After that, Greece would have to apply for re-accession and we would hold accession talks and look very closely whether Greece actually fulfills the accession requirements."

Ms. Fekter's comments reflect mounting frustration in some European countries with Greece, but also the idea that if a clear exit route is established, other countries may be encouraged to take the same course.

"Too much policy clarity on the questions raised by a Greek exit could be counterproductive," says Mujtaba Rahman, an analyst with Eurasia Group. "If too smooth a pathway were designed, it could encourage other struggling sovereigns to contemplate a similar fate in the medium to longer term."

On the other hand, making things difficult could heighten the strains on the Greek economy, and increase the economic fallout on other members of the EU. "It would be in the interest of the others to make sure that things aren't absolutely dreadful," says Roger Bootle, managing director of Capital Economics in London, who has written a 150-page paper on the practicalities of a Greek euro exit.

Obviously, that's why Merkel's softening her position.

But it doesn't look good either way.

See James Pethokoukis, "Don’t fool yourself, a Greek euro exit would be a fiasco."

I'm reminded of Pat Condell's video from last December, "The Gathering Storm."

Toronto's East End Madrassah Gets Permit Yanked After Anti-Semitic Postings Exposed by Blazing Cat Fur

BCF has the report, "Toronto school board pulls permit for madrassah after anti-Semitic postings on website."

Via Five Feet of Fury: "BlazingCatFur gets results: Permit pulled for Toronto’s anti-Semitic Muslim school."

Warm Southern California Weather

I'm hoping it stays like this into June --- so I can head down to Laguna Beach while my kids are in school. I'm almost done with final exams and it's warming up outside.

Here's Monday night's weather report with Jackie Johnson of CBS News Los Angeles. It's been even warmer this last couple of days:

And the Los Angeles Times' weather page is here.

PREVIOUSLY: "Evelyn Taft, Political Scientist."

Britney Spears Join Fox's 'The X Factor'

I'm behind on my Britney blogging, so what the heck.

I think Linkmaster Smith can relate, in any case.

See the Hollywood Reporter, "It's Official: Britney Spears, Demi Lovato to Judge 'X Factor'."

BONUS: "Rule 5 Tuesday," by Wombat at The Other McCain.

Senate Unanimously Rejects Budget Offered by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.)

The main story's at AoSHQ, "Obama's Budget Rejected Unanimously By Senate, 99-0."

But see also The Hill, "Sen. Sessions: Democrats just saying 'send more money'":

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) compared Democratic calls to vote down a number of Republican budget resolutions as equal to saying, "I caught a fish, I had a party, send more money."

Sessions came to the Senate floor just after Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) urged her colleagues to vote against a number of budget resolutions the chamber will consider Wednesday.

"My colleague just said just vote no on all of them and keep us going. Don't go back,'" Sessions said. "When I hear that ... it is 'let's just keep on the path that we're on. This is good enough. Let's be happy. We're in Washington, here's the ladder. We're in Washington, we're having fun. I caught a fish, I had a party, send more money.' Isn't that what it's all about?

"Isn't that what we're hearing from the other side? 'Send more money,' " Sessions continued. "And we'll take care of things for you. We don't have to cut anything. We don't have to reduce spending. We're not really on an unsustainable path."

After Sessions spoke, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Republicans are willing to compromise with Democrats on a budget but said compromise is impossible when Democrats haven't put forward any budget plan at all. Paul spoke to promote his budget resolution that balances the budget in five years.

"People say, 'Why don't you compromise with the other side,' " Paul said. "We will, but they have to have a budget. If ours balances in five, and the other side will promote one that balances in 10, compromise would be seven-and-a-half."

Paul said the only Democratic budget put forward so far is from President Obama, which never balances.

And see the New York Times, "Senate Republicans Engineer Rebuke on Budget," and "Obama and House Republicans Offer Taste of Renewed Fight Over the Debt Ceiling."

'Little Boys Playing Politics': O.C. GOP Establishment Smears Villa Park Councilwoman Deborah Pauly

I saw this first at the Los Angeles Times, "Mailer with George Wallace image backs O.C. supervisor hopeful."

This is the first I've heard about it, but I'm on Pauly's mailing list and she's denounced the controversy as juvenile politics:

The good ole boys are up to their bag of tricks. They look more like "little boys" playing badly on their political playground.

http://totalbuzz.ocregister.com/2012/05/14/george-wallace-mailer-for-pauly-draws-complaint/85400/

Instead of the above silliness, let's talk policy. When Todd Spitzer was on the Board of Supervisors (1996-2002), he enabled the criminal behavior of corrupt county sheriff.

http://www.fullertonsfuture.org/tag/mike-carona/

"It's time to get away from politics that attempt character assassination rather than offering solutions. Deborah Pauly cares about the issues and the people. There Isn't a better candidate for Supervisor."

- John Beauman, Former Mayor of Brea

Expect Success in 2012!
Deborah Pauly

That second link goes to the Orange County Register, "George Wallace mailer for Pauly draws complaint":

Back in 1967, when Gov.  George Wallace of Alabama was running for president on the American Independent Party ticket, Robert Walters was his California campaign manager.

Today, Walters lives in Orange. Last month, he mailed a letter on “Wallace for President” letterhead to 7,900 registered American Independent voters, asking them to support Deborah Pauly in her candidacy for the 3rd District seat on the county’s Board of Supervisors.

Wallace, who called for “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever,” famously stood in the doorway of the University of Alabama in 1963 in a symbolic attempt at  preventing two black students from trying to enroll. Walters, then a UCLA student, wrote a book defending segregation, which he self-published two years later after failing to find a publisher.

In his letter to voters, Walters notes that Pauly condemned two Muslim speakers outside a Yorba Linda fundraiser where the two speakers were appearing in February 2011, then adds “We need Deborah Pauly and her brand of hard core limited government, fiscally-conservative positions on the County Board of Supervisors.”

In an interview, Walters said the $3,600 cost of printing and mailing the letter was paid by himself, his wife and his daughter.
“I was moved by her commitment to standing up for what I think are the right causes, so I thought I’d help her,” Walters said.  ”She didn’t ask me to do it.”

He said Pauly knew about the mailer only because he sent her a courtesy copy. “Otherwise, she never would have seen it,” he said.

Campaign finance watchdog Shirley Grindle on Monday filed a complaint with the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission because Walters did not form a donor committee before doing the mailing. Also, the envelope doesn’t state who paid for the mailing, Grindle wrote in her complaint.

Walters said he didn’t know about those requirements before he sent the letter, but is in the process of forming a committee.

Todd Spitzer, Pauly’s opponent in the supervisor race, brought the mailing to the attention of Grindle and Total Buzz.

Scott Baugh, chairman of the O.C. Republican party and a supporter of Spitzer, said of Pauly, “It’s not surprising to me that somebody who defended a racist email depicting the president as a monkey would also associate with a known segregationist.”

Pauly is a national patriot. She was in the news last year after being attacked by the Hamas-linked unindicted co-conspirator CAIR (Council on American–Islamic Relations) after she spoke out against Islamists Imam Siraj Wahhaj and Amir Abdel Malik AliAli, who headlined a fundraiser in Yorba Linda. See, "U.S. flags, signs at protest of Muslim event," and "Video: Councilwoman condemns Muslim speakers."

I'll likely be giving the Spitzer campaign a call later to tell them to knock it off. Pauly's right: This is a despicable and supremely juvenile political attack. Voters in the O.C. deserve better.

USS Iowa Relocating to Port of Los Angeles

The AP story is here: "WWII-era battleship USS Iowa being refitted to move to new home as naval museum in SoCal."

And from a week or so back, at the Long Beach Press-Telegram, "USS Iowa store set to open Thursday in downtown San Pedro."

The museum opens in July. I'm going to make it over there, if I don't forget about it.

PHOTO CREDIT: Wikipedia Commons.

Keeping Hate Alive at The New York Times

This report was up on the sidebar at the New York Times yesterday afternoon: "Trayvon Martin Case Shadowed by Police Missteps." I thought it strange since blockbuster information came out yesterday as well, which worked to bolster George Zimmerman's account of the incident, and hence support both his theory of the case and the police department's handling of it. This AP clip has the background:

Now see Tom Maguire's analysis, "Zimmerman Case - Keeping Hate Alive The Times":

The NY Times can't quite bring itself to report on the latest news in the Zimmerman case - Zimmerman's medical file shows he was banged up and Martin's autopsy showed bloody knuckles - so they hand the mike to the Ben Crump, the Martin family attorney, and rehash every possible mistake made by the Sanford PD.

Presumably their goal is to pretend that, however ludicrous the current situation, the media and the prosecutor acted in good faith in bringing us here.

What would really be impressive would be a mea culpa about the Times mis-reporting and errors. Some of those errors have been corrected. On the other hand, the Times also makes new ones, such as the laugher in today's story (my emphasis)...

RTWT. (Via Memeorandum.)

House Passes Violence Against Women Act Along Straight Party Lines

The Christian Science Monitor reports: "House passes Violence Against Women Act, grudgingly."

The White House isn't pleased. At National Journal: "White House Threatens Veto of House's Weaker Violence Against Women Bill."

CNN's Ashleigh Banfield Slams Obama Aide Ben LaBolt for Cheap Campaign Ad Smearing Mitt Romney

I meant to post this the other day, but got sidetracked:

More at Protein Wisdom.

Romney Campaign Blocks Media Access in Florida

The Romney camp needs to stand up against media bias, but this isn't the way to do it.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Romney campaign calls reporter restrictions a staff 'error'."

Also at the New York Times, "Romney Camp Tries to Limit Reporters’ Access, and Rope Line Ruckus Erupts."

'Wiped Out'

It's Keith Morris' band, OFF!:

Jennifer Lopez Leaving 'American Idol'

At Los Angeles Times, "Rumors swirl about Jennifer Lopez leaving 'American Idol'."

Also at E! Online, "Sources: Jennifer Lopez Is Leaving American Idol!"

And see Dorothy Pomerantz, at Forbes, "J.Lo's Stunning Career Reincarnation Puts Her No. 1 on the Celebrity 100."

BONUS: From London's Daily Mail, "J-Lo dips low! Jennifer Lopez flaunts her famous curves in an array of plunging swimsuits for new sizzling shoot."

Lamborghini Crash Video is YouTube Sensation

I saw this the other day at the Daily Mail, "Not so flash now: Watch impatient driver of £140,000 Lamborghini crash between two cars after racing off from lights."

And at Chicago Tribune, "Lamborghini crash video becomes YouTube sensation."

Lady Gaga Indonesia Concert Canceled After Islamic Hardliners Denounce 'Vulgar' Performer

The report's at the Wall Street Journal, "Indonesia Blocks Gaga After Islamists Protest."

And at Atlas Shrugs, "Why Doesn't Gaga Go Gaga Over Sharia?"

Also at London's Daily Mail, "You definitely won't get into Indonesia in that outfit! A ginger Lady Gaga struts through the airport in just a Chanel jacket."

Mary Kennedy Dead at 52

So sad.

See the New York Post, "Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s wife found dead in home."

And at London's Daily Mail, "BREAKING: Robert Kennedy's ex-wife Mary found dead in New York home in apparent suicide."

Radar Online was first to break the story, "Police At Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s House, His Wife Mary Dead at 52."

I'll be updating when more information and video is available.

Added: Here's the video...

More details at the Los Angeles Times, "Mary Richardson Kennedy, wife of RFK Jr., found dead in New York."

Joe Biden Unhinged Rant Against the Rich: 'They Don't Get Who We Are'

This dude is losing it, via Fire Andrea Mitchell:

And at KCRA Sacramento, "Biden Fires at Romney During Fiery Speech."

Cannes Film Festival Sexism Controversy

The never ending story.

See London's Daily Mail, "Cannes Film Festival at centre of sexism row over top award." And from Telegraph UK, "Cannes 2012: Organisers accused of sexism":

A group of prominent female directors, including Andrea Arnold, have accused Cannes 2012 organisers of sexism.

The absence of women directors from the Cannes competition line-up is “a great pity and a great disappointment”, according to British film-maker and jury member Andrea Arnold.

All 22 films competing for the Palme d’Or are male, prompting a group of prominent female directors to write a letter accusing organisers of sexism.

The open letter to French newspaper Le Monde said: “Men love their women to have depth, but only when it comes to their cleavages,” and claimed that women were only allowed to walk the Cannes red carpet “on the arm of a prince charming”.
Asked about the sexism row, Arnold said: “It’s true the world over and in the world of film that there just aren’t many women film directors, so I guess Cannes is a small pocket that represents how it is out there in the world.

“And that’s a great pity and a great disappointment because women obviously make up half of the population; they have voices and things to say about life and the world that it would be good for us all to hear.”

RELATED: "She's a bit tied up at the moment: Diane Kruger makes her debut on the Cannes jury in a racy, lace-up mini-dress."

Gallup: Historical Comparisons Indicate Massive Obama Repudiation in November

Democrat reelection prospects are sinking steadily, so why is this man smiling?

See Gallup, "National Mood a Drag on Obama's Re-Election Prospects."

Comparing today's economic and political ratings with those from previous years when presidents sought re-election reveals that today's climate is more similar to years when incumbents lost than when they won.

Perhaps the broadest indicator of the public's mood comes from Gallup's satisfaction measure, which asks Americans if they are satisfied or dissatisfied with "the way things are going in the United States at this time." The 24% of Americans currently satisfied is most similar to the 20% recorded in May 1992 during George H.W. Bush's first and only term. Bush was also the only sitting president of the last four to lose his re-election bid.

By contrast, satisfaction was above 35% in May of 1996 and 2004, in advance of Bill Clinton's and George W. Bush's re-elections. And it was 48% in September 1984, the closest time period Gallup has to May of Ronald Reagan's re-election year.

The extent of Americans' concern about the economy -- as evident in their top-of-mind mentions of it as the nation's "most important problem" -- is greater today than for any president seeking re-election since Jimmy Carter in 1980. The current 66% mentioning one or more economic concerns is substantially higher than it was in May 2004 or May 1996, and moderately higher than at the same point in 1992 and 1984. Americans' mentions of the economy did surge in August 1984 to 65% -- comparable to where they are today -- but fell to 51% by September.

More at Memeorandum.

PHOTO CREDIT: The White House Flickr page.

Alarm Grows Among Dems About Obama's Chances

Oh my goodness, how could that possibly be?

See Chris Stirewalt at Fox News:

“You can be stylish and powerful, too. That's Michelle’s advice.” -- President Obama telling graduates to temper but preserve their interest in clothing during his commencement address at Barnard College, a women-only college of New York’s Columbia University.

It has taken months of bad news, but Democrats increasingly believe that President Obama might just lose his re-election bid.

The latest wake-up call comes in the form of a New York Times/CBS poll showing Republican Mitt Romney in the lead not just among registered voters overall, but with women and independents.

The Times/CBS survey is unique in that the pollsters called back the same phone numbers they had a month before. In April, Obama and Romney were dead even. Now, Romney leads by 3 points overall. That’s still within the margin of error -- a statistical tie.

But the shifts with women, moderates and independents are all statistically significant. Obama lost 5 points with each of those demographics.

Team Obama has for months been warning Democrats not to be overconfident and warning of a close election, with the president increasingly sounding the alarm for donors and activists in recent campaign appearances.

Since the general election season kicked off in earnest in the last week of March, Obama has had an almost unbroken string of losing weeks, starting with his overheard conversation with former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

There was the back-and-forth with the Supreme Court over his health law, the attack by one of Obama’s advisers on Ann Romney, the GSA Vegas scandal, the hookers in Cartagena and then the baffling case of the gay marriage half-reversion.

Some of the problems were just bad luck (hookers), some were just blunders (hot mic) but much of the rest has been about Obama trying to galvanize his base coalition and secure the massive donations he needs to finance the most expensive campaign in history.

His trip to New York on Monday was the best example yet. Obama delivered a groaner of a speech at Barnard College in which he did everything but shout “girl power” at the end.

And then in an appearance on a left-leaning ladies chat show, ABC’s “The View,” Obama rhapsodized about his partial reversion to previous support for gay marriage in advance of attending a fundraiser with his party’s fundraising shop for “gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender” Democrats that featured Ricky Martin, he of Menudo, bikini briefs and “She Bangs.”

You need money to win Ohio, but it may not be worth the price of all this gay pride to get it. As the Times poll showed, a huge majority believe Obama’s rhetorical reversion was about politics, not a personal moral journey. Even those who are fine with gay marriage, may find it unseemly to see Obama waving the rainbow flag so vigorously in pursuit of cash.

More at the link (via Memeorandum).

PREVIOUSLY: "Disastrous New York Times Poll Shows Obama Falling Behind After Coming Out for Gay Marriage."

IMAGE CREDIT: The People's Cube.

Fiscal Cliff May Rattle Economy Before Deadline Arrives Amid Election-Year Gridlock

At IBD, "Fiscal Cliff May Rattle Economy Even Before Deadline":

Regardless of how the year-end "fiscal cliff" of tax hikes and spending cuts is resolved, uncertainty over what lawmakers will do could weaken the economy before the deadline if businesses delay investment and hiring.

Add to that the Supreme Court's ObamaCare ruling and the possibility the debt ceiling will need another lift before the November elections, and the outlook gets even hazier.

Warnings about the fiscal cliff have largely centered on what would happen if all the Bush and payroll tax cuts expire, automatic budget cuts go into effect and ObamaCare tax hikes kick in. Estimates on the hit to 2013 GDP are 4%-5%.

But concerns are turning to the potential harm the uncertainty could inflict this year, especially during an election season.

"It's starting to definitely creep up on the radar," said Michael Hanson, senior economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart recently warned of a "financial shock" if markets don't see enough progress on the fiscal cliff.

In a quarterly conference call on May 2, Boston Properties (BXP) noted problems closing deals with the federal government in the Washington, D.C., area.

"The fiscal cliff that we're all looking at is clearly creating an environment where the procurement process is really, really slow," said Douglas Linde, president and chief financial officer.

But manufacturers aren't voicing any concerns about the coming fiscal cliff, said Bradley Holcomb, chair of ISM's Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. Even worries over the European debt crisis have ebbed.

He attributed their confidence to the nearly three years of uninterrupted manufacturing growth and healthy order books. He sees lawmakers eventually resolving fiscal policy disputes, despite what news headlines might say.

"It's a nonissue at this point," he said. "It's like Europe. It's going to get resolved somehow."

Even if questions about future fiscal policy aren't hitting businesses yet, negative effects will become more real in the second half of the year, Hanson predicts.

Democrats and Republicans will dig deeper into opposing positions on which he doesn't see them compromising soon after the election. Short-term extensions or retroactive changes in early 2013 wouldn't lift today's cloudiness either, he adds.

"People are going to board up the house before the hurricane comes, not after," Hanson said.

See also the New York Times, "Republicans Pledge New Standoff on Debt Limit."

Plus, from the House GOP Conference, "FULL TEXT: Speaker Boehner's Address on the Economy, Debt Limit, and American Jobs" (via Memeorandum).

The Road to Fiscal Hell is Paved With Progressive Intentions

A phenomenal essay, from William McGurn, at the Wall Street Journal, "Jerry Brown vs. Chris Christie":

In his January 2011 inaugural address, California Gov. Jerry Brown declared it a "time to honestly assess our financial condition and make the tough choices." Plainly the choices weren't tough enough: Mr. Brown has just announced that he faces a state budget deficit of $16 billion—nearly twice the $9.2 billion he predicted in January. In Sacramento Monday, he coupled a new round of spending cuts with a call for some hefty new tax hikes.

In his own inaugural address back in January 2010, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie also spoke of making tough choices for the people of his state. For his first full budget, Mr. Christie faced a deficit of $10.7 billion—one-third of projected revenues. Not only did Mr. Christie close that deficit without raising taxes, he is now plumping for a 10% across-the-board tax cut.

It's not just looks that make Mr. Brown Laurel to Mr. Christie's Hardy. It's also their political choices.

When the Obama administration's Transportation Department called on California to cough up billions for a high-speed bullet train or lose federal dollars, Mr. Brown went along. In sharp contrast, when the feds delivered a similar ultimatum to Mr. Christie over a proposed commuter rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey, he nixed the project, saying his state just couldn't afford it.

On the "millionaire's" tax, Mr. Brown says that California desperately needs to approve one if the state is to recover. The one on California's November ballot kicks in at income of $250,000 and would raise the top rate to 13.3% from 10.3% on incomes above $1 million. Again in sharp contrast, when New Jersey Democrats attempted to embarrass Mr. Christie by sending a millionaire's tax to his desk, he called their bluff and promptly vetoed it.

On public-employee unions, Mr. Brown can talk a good game—at Monday's press conference, he announced a 5% pay cut for state workers, and he has proposed pension reform. Yet for all his pull with unions (the last time he was governor, he gave California's public-sector unions collective-bargaining rights), Gov. Brown, a Democrat, has not been able to accomplish what Republican Gov. Christie has: persuade a Democratic legislature to require government workers to kick in more for their health care and pensions.

Now, no one will confuse New Jersey with free-market Hong Kong. Still, because the challenges facing the Golden and Garden States are so similar, the different paths taken by their respective governors are all the more striking. And these two men are by no means alone.

Continue reading.

It might get so bad in California that the progressive electorate gives up and elects a reformer in the Christie mold. I'm not holding my breath, but one can hope.

VIDEO c/o TigerHawk.

'I can experience my sexuality in different ways: with my boyfriend or girlfriend, with a casual relationship, or with different sexual partners...'

You won't believe this report on "Sex: A Tell-all Exhibition" at the Canada Science and Technology Museum. Or, maybe you will, considering everything else.

See Blazing Cat Fur: "Your tax dollars are funding a graphic sex show developed for 12 year-olds."

The War Can Be Won in Afghanistan

It's the weekend interview, at the Wall Street Journal, "H.R. McMaster: The Warrior's-Eye View of Afghanistan":

One of the general's historical models is Colombia, where a few years ago many people believed the government couldn't stand up to the narco-terrorist FARC insurgency. "What was the problem of Colombia in the late '90s? It was political will to take [the FARC] on," he says, adding that U.S. counternarcotics and other efforts helped lay the groundwork that Álvaro Uribe built on after winning Colombia's presidency in 2002.

We could see such an outcome again, says Gen. McMaster, especially given "the innate weakness of Afghanistan's enemies."

"What do the Taliban have to offer the Afghan people?" he asks. They are "a criminal organization, criminal because they engage in mass murder of innocent people, and criminal because they're also the largest narcotics-trafficking organization in the world. Are these virtuous religious people? No, these are murderous, nihilistic, irreligious people who we're fighting—we along with Afghans who are determined to not allow them to return."

Taliban groups, he adds, are increasingly seen by Afghans "as a tool of hostile foreign intelligence agencies. These are people who live in comfort in Pakistan and send their children to private schools while they destroy schools in Afghanistan." He notes, too, that indigenous Afghan fighters are wondering where their leadership is: "One of the maxims of military leadership is that you share the hardships of your troops, you lead from the front. Well they're leading from comfortable villas in Pakistan. So there's growing resentment, and this could be an opportunity to convince key communities inside of Afghanistan into joining the political process."

More at that top link (via Ahmad Majidyar on Twitter).

Disastrous New York Times Poll Shows Obama Falling Behind After Coming Out for Gay Marriage

I've been thinking about this poll all day.

If Democrat strategists thought Baracky would get a bump after coming out, this ought to be a rude awakening.

See: "Obama’s Switch on Same-Sex Marriage Stirs Skepticism." (Via Memeorandum.)

It's a terrible survey for Obama. Fifty-one percent oppose same-sex marriage, and just 42 percent support it (way below the recent findings at Gallup and elsewhere). But when civil unions are added as an option, support drops to 38 percent. And the Times over-samples Democrats (and more profoundly, under-samples Republicans). See Rasmussen, "Partisan Trends."

Also at Hot Air, "NYT/CBS poll: Romney 46, Obama 43," and The Other McCain, "Distraction Tactic Backfires: Romney Gains in Polls After Obama Gay Shift."

PREVIOUSLY: "Majority of Americans Says Homosexual Relations Morally Acceptable."

Europe on the Brink of Collapse

Actually, it's Greece in the headline at Telegraph UK, "Greece on brink of collapse." But as Greece goes, so goes the European project:

Europe’s financial crisis lurched into a perilous new phase as dire predictions emerged of a collapse in Greece’s economy, with a run on its banks bringing an inevitable end to its membership of the euro.

As leaders in Athens accepted the need for a new general election to end a national stalemate, the International Monetary Fund said Europe’s leaders should prepare for the possibility of a Greek departure from the single currency.

Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF, warned she was “technically prepared for anything” and said the utmost effort must be made to ensure any Greek exit was orderly. The effect was likely to be “quite messy” with risks to growth, trade and financial markets. “It is something that would be extremely expensive and would pose great risks but it is part of options that we must technically consider,” she said.

Raising tensions still further, Germany warned Greek voters that the wrong result in next month’s election will force their country out of the single currency.

Greece’s president warned, perhaps most alarmingly, that its banks risk running out of money, posing a “threat to our national existence”.

The escalating turmoil sharpened fears in financial markets, with European shares and the euro itself falling again. On the stock markets, the Eurostoxx 600 fell 0.7 per cent to a year-low; Germany’s Dax dropped 0.8 per cent and Spain’s Ibex was down 1.6 per cent. In London the FTSE100 slid 0.5 per cent. Following this month’s inconclusive election, Greek parties yesterday failed again to agree a new government. A new election, most likely to be held in mid-June, could see more gains for parties that want to reject the austerity measures that are a condition of international efforts to bail out the debt-crippled state.

More at the link. And about that video up top, "Francois Hollande: we want to work together for the good of Europe." The guy was just sworn in today and you'd think his most important constituent is Angela Merkel!

And from this morning's Wall Street Journal, "Contagion Fears Hit Markets" (via Google):

LONDON — Investors battered European stocks, dumped the bonds of Spain and Italy, and bid the euro down against the dollar Monday after the collapse of weekend coalition talks in Greece edged that country closer to an exit from the euro zone.

The sweeping market action dealt a blow to hopes that the damage of a Greek exit, should it occur, could be comfortably contained.

In the market carnage, Greek stocks fell to two-decade lows, and Spanish bond yields leapt to levels not seen since the panic of last November. Shares of a big Spanish lender dropped 8.9% on the Madrid bourse, pulling the benchmark index down 2.7%. The Italian market also fell 2.7%, and the euro slid to $1.2845 late Monday in London, its lowest level in four months.

The troubles in Greece come at a perilous time for the rest of the currency union. Its policy of restoring financial-market credibility and international competitiveness through tough fiscal austerity is running aground. The grand "firewall" of funds meant to insulate precarious countries from their sinking peers is still modest relative to the potential needs. The vast cleanup of the troubled corners of the banking system has hardly begun. The central bank is reaching the limits of its desire to step in and help—and its injection of €1 trillion ($1.3 trillion) into the banking system seems to have bought only a small measure of calm for its very big price.

"We are more or less in a vacuum," says Jens Nordvig of Nomura in New York. "We are entering a very dangerous phase."

The situation is compounded by a dismal economic picture, which tightens the strains on fraying societies and makes the task of generating growth to repay debts ever harder. Fresh data Monday showed industrial production in the 17-nation euro zone falling 2.2% in March from a year earlier....

For much of the past two years, European officials insisted that a country's departure from the euro zone would be inconceivable. In recent weeks and months, however, that tone has changed to acknowledge the possibility of an exit—with some leaders suggesting it could be withstood by the nations that remain.

Patrick Honohan, Ireland's central bank governor, said at a conference Saturday that a Greek divorce wouldn't necessarily be "fatal" for the currency union and could "technically" be managed. Dutch Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager said Monday ahead of a meeting of euro-zone finance ministers in Brussels that the "contagion risk would be far, far smaller than one-and-a-half years ago."

Yet German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble acknowledged "the price would be very high" if Greece left the euro, both for the country and for the broader euro zone.

Actually, it's an utter disaster any way you look at it. The system won't work. Greece will go and then the next weakest member will succumb to the markets as well. Spain? Italy? Who knows. It's not as if the European economies are picking up or anything. And Berlin doesn't look in the mood to serve as lender as last resort in any case. Things need to continue to shake out on their own and that will put further strain on the grandest plans of Eurozone planners in Brussels. It's an amazing time to be watching this. And don't forget: The collapse of Europe casts fresh aspersion on the progressive left's statist project here at home. That's why President Obama told Hollande not to fulfill his campaign pledges to soak the rich and stroke the public workers unions. If France falls further, the socialist brand will bear the brunt of popular recrimination.

Glenn Reynolds Interviews Jonah Goldberg

At Instapundit:

And you can pick up Goldberg's new book here: The Tyranny of Cliches: How Liberals Cheat in the War of Ideas.

Terrorists Posing as Students Wreak Havoc in Montreal

PREVIOUSLY: "Quebec Student Protests Wreak Anarchy on Montreal."

Now here's the report from Ezra Levant's show last night, via Blazing Cat Fur, "Stop Me If You've Heard This Before: Cops Cave to Radicals."

And see also Sun News, "Protests Hijacked."

Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron at World Premiere of 'Snow White and the Huntsman'

At Telegraph UK, "Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart attend Snow White and the Huntsman premiere in London."

Actresses Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart did battle on the green carpet as they braved the cold in black gowns at the world premiere of Snow White and the Huntsman.

Shameless: Barack Obama Slammed John McCain on Immigration in 2008, Flip-Flops in 2012 With Lies Attacking Mitt Romney

Via BuzzFeed, "Obama Hasn't Always Liked John McCain's Immigration Stance":

At a fundraiser tonight, President Barack Obama said his 2008 opponent believes in Immigration reform, as opposed to Mitt Romney. But in 2008, Obama ran this ad attacking McCain on Immigration, tying him to Rush Limbaugh and George W. Bush.

Here's the translation:

"They want us to forget the insults we've put up with, the intolerance," the television ad's announcer says in Spanish as a picture of Rush Limbaugh appears onscreen with quotes of him saying, "Mexicans are stupid and unqualified" and "Shut your mouth or get out."

"They made us feel marginalized in a country we love so much," the ad continues. "John McCain and his Republican friends have two faces. One that says lies just to get our vote and another, even worse, that continues the failed policies of George Bush that put special interests ahead of working families."

And here's more at BuzzFeed, "Obama: Romney Is Worse Than John McCain":

President Barack Obama told an audience in New York tonight that Mitt Romney is worse than his 2008 opponent Sen. John McCain.

“We have a very clear contrast this time. John McCain believed in climate change and believed in immigration reform," Obama told an audience of about 200 donors who paid at least $5000 for a ticket to the event. "What we have this time out a candidate who said he would rubber stamp a Republican Congress that wants us to go backward, not forward.”

Utterly shameless.

It would be mindboggling if it wasn't so unexceptional. Obama will do anything to win. Anything.

RNC Ad: 'Empty Promises: Debt and Deficits'

Via Weasel Zippers:

Duane Lester Confronts Newspaper Publisher Who Shamelessly Stole His Work

This will lift your spirits.

If you're blogging and putting up quality content, I can guarantee you that some of your stuff has been lifted lock, stock and barrel. I've had to put out a few takedown notices to online sources, since my stuff's been aggregated without permission. But I haven't dealt with full-blown professional plagiarism. This is something else, from Duane Lester, at All American Blogger, "How to Assert Copyright Over Your Work When It’s Been Plagiarized (Video)":

HAT TIP: Five Feet of Fury, "Video: blogger confronts newspaper that stole his story."

PJ News Break with Scott Ott: 'Hip Hip, He's Gay!'

Via Theo Spark:

Nigel Farage on the EU Project: 'We Face the Prospect of Mass Civil Unrest, Even Revolution...'

This guy's videos get a lot of play, and it's no wonder why.

Via Small Dead Animals:

Majority of Americans Says Homosexual Relations Morally Acceptable

It's not normal behavior, actually. It's been effectively normalized by a decades-long campaign by the radical left to portray homosexual relations as no different from any other pairing. And it won't stop with redefining marriage. Look for a complete obliteration of gender distinctions as well. Shouldn't take long at the rate we're going.

See the report from Gallup, "U.S. Acceptance of Gay/Lesbian Relations Is the New Normal":

This Gallup trend mirrors the growth in public support for legalizing gay marriage, which has risen from 42% support in 2004 to 50% or greater support in the last two years. Americans' support for gay rights on both questions leveled off in this year's Values and Beliefs poll, conducted May 3-6.

Check the link for the graphics (via Memeorandum).

RELATED: From the New York Times, "Politics Seen in Obama's Same-Sex Marriage Support" (via Memeorandum).

House Democrats Receive Training On How to Attack Republicans for Alleged 'Race Coded' Language

I saw this earlier at Legal Insurrection, "Democrats trained to allege Republicans use racially-coded phrases."

And here's the segment on Sean Hannity's last night:

Luisana Lopilato Ultimo Lingerie Video

A follow up from earlier this year.

And see London's Daily Mail, "Making a splash! Luisana Lopilato unveils Ultimo's new 'curve-creating' swimwear."

Michelle Goldberg's Chutzpah

Michelle Goldberg was rightly and vehemently called for her despicable attack in Ann Romney. The video is here: "Pro-Choice Extremist Michelle Goldberg Smears Ann Romney as Just Like Hitler, Stalin."

Upset by the backlash, Goldberg has written a faux apology, basically doubling down and dissing Ann Romney for her alleged determination to "play up the idea that’s she’s being victimized for being a stay-at-home mom." Boy, that's takes a lot of gall, which Goldberg has in spades. See, "Michelle Goldberg on the Ann Romney Hitler Tempest":

I got into trouble ... by saying that Romney’s closing lines, about how there is “no crown more glorious” than the “crown of motherhood,” reminded me of the pronatalist propaganda of World War II-era totalitarian regimes. That was a mistake. Not because I don’t think it’s true—when I read Romney’s words, I immediately thought of the “Motherhood Glory” medals that Stalin gave to women who had lots of children, and of the Nazi cult of motherhood, which Hitler called women’s “highest exaltation.” To me, bombastic odes to traditional maternity have a sinister ring, especially when they come from people who want to curtail women’s rights. But it was an offhand point, and one that wasn’t worth the aggravation it’s caused. I should have realized that right-wingers were going to pretend that I was saying that Romney is akin to two of the century’s most murderous tyrants.

For the record, I don’t believe that Ann Romney is either Hitleresque or Stalinesque. Rather, I think she is a calculating political wife who once struck me as fairly likeable, but who is now determined to play up the idea that’s she’s being victimized for being a stay-at-home mom. Her op-ed was part of that effort. Unfortunately, if the messages I received on Monday are any indication, it’s an effort I might have assisted.

In addition to missives full of obscenities, critiques of my appearance and expressions of regret that my mother failed to abort me, there have been a bunch of calls for me to apologize to Romney for calling her a Nazi. If I had done that, of course, I would. I’m tempted to anyway, in case my words have been genuinely rather than tendentiously misunderstood. Romney, though, has made it pretty clear that she relishes opportunities to act the martyr. When CNN contributor Hilary Rosen inadvertently launched a new phase in the mommy wars by saying that Ann Romney was unqualified to serve as her husband’s chief adviser on women’s issues because she had “never worked a day in her life,” Mrs. Romney was delighted. “It was my early birthday present for someone to be critical of me as a mother, and that was really a defining moment, and I loved it,” she said at a private fundraiser.

So my apologies aren’t for Ann Romney, but for everyone else...

I wrote about Goldberg late last year, when she wrote a prominent essay foolishly denying anti-Semitism in the Occupy Wall Street movement ("Occupy Wall Street and the Jews"). And see also, "Michelle Goldberg: 'A Feminist With Paranoid Fantasies About Christian Fundamentalists Taking Away Her Sacred Right to Choose'."

HAT TIP: Twitchy, "Michelle Goldberg’s faux-pology to Ann Romney."

LightSquared Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Bloomberg reports: "LightSquared, Failed Wireless Venture, Files Bankruptcy."

And for the political significance of this, go back and read Michelle's report from last September: "LightSquared: Obama’s Dangerous Broadband Boondoggle."

Pro-Choice Extremist Michelle Goldberg Smears Ann Romney as Just Like Hitler, Stalin

I've written about Michelle Goldberg many times. I was literally sickened when I read her book a few years back, which is a global manifesto for infanticide (The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power, and the Future of the World). So whenever I see stuff like this I'm not surprised at all:

One would think the left would have learned from the Hillary Rosen debacle that attacks on Ann Romney are bound to backfire on the ranks of Obama cheerleaders. But yesterday on MSNBC, liberal columnist Michelle Goldberg appeared to escalate the attacks on the would-be first lady with a bizarre riff on an inoffensive Mother’s Day op-ed published in USA Today. Mrs. Romney’s memoir of her own mother as well as her experience raising her five boys and becoming a grandmother of 18 is about as controversial as apple pie, but her use of the term “crown of motherhood” — which she said is the “most glorious” of hats that women wear — set Goldberg’s teeth on edge.

As the Daily Caller notes, with “Vagina Monologues” playwright Eve Ensler sitting alongside and nodding at her every word, Goldberg claimed the phrase was redolent of the propaganda used by totalitarian regimes to put women in their place.

“I found that phrase ‘the crown of motherhood’ really kind of creepy, not just because of its, like, somewhat you know, I mean, it’s kind of usually really authoritarian societies that give out like ‘The Cross of Motherhood,’ that give awards for big families. You know, Stalin did it, Hitler did it.”

Later on Twitter, Goldberg denied that she had meant to compare Romney to those mass murderers; there’s little question she seemed to imply a commonality between Republican attitudes toward women and those of the Nazis and Communists...

Continue reading.

And at Twitchy, "Newsweek’s Michelle Goldberg: Ann Romney is kind of like Hitler and Stalin."

Goldberg is one of those radical progressives who really set my teeth on edge. But she gets hammered at that Twitter thread, so I can't say that's not satisfying.

Police Raid UC Berkeley's Occupy the Farm Encampment (VIDEO)

Freakin' dirtbags.

At the Berkeley Daily Planet, "Flash: UC Berkeley Police Arrest Two Protesters, Order Others Off Gill Tract."

And at the Oakland Tribune, "UC police clear out "Occupy the Farm" protesters in Albany."

ALBANY -- University of California police arrested protesters still occupying the university-owned Gill Tract on Monday morning, ending a standoff of sorts that had stretched out for weeks.

Officers clad in riot gear and brandishing batons began staging early in the morning near the 10-acre site near San Pablo and Marin avenues that is used for research by UC Berkeley's College of Natural Resources.

Nine protesters were arrested and several more left the parcel of land voluntarily a short time after 6:15 a.m., when UCPD officers moved onto the field and issued a dispersal order.

An assembly of police from different UC campuses along with Albany police and the Alameda County Sheriff's Office totaling upwards of 100 officers encountered fewer than 10 protesters on the field, most of whom were still sleeping. By 9 a.m., the remaining encampment was cleared.

All except a young man who is sitting in a tree near the tract and refuses to come down.

Of the nine arrested, two were detained for sleeping overnight on the actual tract and seven were arrested outside the fence line on suspicion of unlawful assembly. They were taken to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, said UC Berkeley police Lt. Eric Tejada.
University spokesman Dan Mogulof said police gave the protesters "ample warning and notice that if they left voluntarily, they would not be arrested."

RELATED: From Zombie, "Meet the New Farm, Same as the Old Farm? Occupy Seizes Berkeley’s “Gill Tract”."

Quebec Student Protests Wreak Anarchy on Montreal

I feel kinda dumb just now blogging about this. The protests in Quebec are a major event in the ongoing collapse of ordered society in the West.

Blazing Cat Fur has the latest on this, "Stupid Leftist protesters block students trying to get back to school." Following the link takes us to a report from Sun News discussing the months-long strike that has kept at least 300,000 students from attending classes. And the part that struck me is that despite court injunctions ordering college and universities to open their doors, administrators have defied the injunctions, citing the danger of violence from the mobs. Simply astonishing:

More than two-dozen Quebec colleges and universities have opted to defy court injunctions obtained by students this year.

The schools say they want to avoid confrontations with protesters, some of whom have ransacked colleges in the past.

Also on Monday, marching students blocked traffic in the streets of north-end Montreal. A second group of demonstrators blockaded an education department building in Longueuil, on Montreal's south shore.

Police used pepper spray to clear access to the building.

A general, unlimited student strike began on Feb. 14 to protest Premier Jean Charest's decision to increase annual tuition by $1,800 over the next seven years.

As many as 300,000 students have missed all or part of their semester.

Students have held nightly protests in Montreal for nearly a month.

Some of the demonstrations have turned violent, prompting the federal and municipal governments to introduce bans on masks at protests that could take effect later this year.

Yes, the protests have turned violent. It turns out protesters lobbed smoke bombs in the Quebec subway last week, shutting the place down and causing general outrage at the movement with the general public. Here's a report, from the National Post, "Four suspects in Montreal subway smoke-bomb case will remain detained for more than a week," and video from the Montreal Gazette:

And it's no surprise, but here's video from Democracy Now! featuring an interview with Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, the spokesperson for CLASSE (Coalition large de l’Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante). It turns out Nadeau-Dubois is under fire in some quarters for refusing to denounce the violence. See: "Quebec student leader: Gov't apathy worsened dispute."

It's clear that the tuition fee hikes are only the pretext from a massive anarcho-socialist mobilization to bring down the regime. The conservative government of Premier Jean Charest is in fact proposing only mild fee increases, which would be about $200 a year, or $100 a semester. That's hardly the "privatization" of public services that the protesters are decrying. CLASSE obviously doesn't want a deal and instead prefers more anarchy and violence in the streets:

Student leaders said this weekend there was still hope for a resolution, even after the resounding rejection by students last week to the agreement in principle reached between the government and the student federations on May 5.

Nadeau-Dubois said the ball was now in Charest’s court, and they were waiting for a new offer from the government.

He did not think the recent wave of court injunctions giving students the legal right to return to class would be effective, as many protesters are against having the courts being used to break the strike movement.

CLASSE is organizing a mass protest for Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., starting at the corner of Viger Ave. and Bleury St., labelled a “disruption ... aimed at reminding the rich of this world they are rich because they’re keeping us poor.”

Nadeau-Dubois said CLASSE prefers to keep the exact nature of the “disruption” secret until the protest.

Disgusting.

See also Graeme Hamilton, at the National Post, "Hard to claim Montreal violence isn’t tied into wider protest movement."

Obama Slammed for Hypocritical Ties to Wall Street Fat Cats

The Democrat-Obama freaks don't have a prayer on the economy, despite their pathetic smear efforts.

At CNN, "Group's new ad pegs Obama to Wall Street," and Moe Lane, "Barack Obama’s convenient Wall Street hypocrisy." (Via Memeorandum.)


Check the links for the earlier video.

Here's the latest from American Future Fund:

Barack's Bogus Bain Attack

At The Lonely Conservative, "Obama’s New Anti-Capitalism Attack on Romney Already Debunked."

And from W. James Antle, III, at The American Spectator, "The Bain Wars."

And at Memeorandum.

Gay-Marriage Cases Pose Legal Tests for Administration

A report at the Wall Street Journal, "Gay-Marriage Legal Tests Loom":

President Barack Obama last week cast his support for same-sex marriage as a personal view on policy, not a constitutional imperative. But because the Supreme Court long has defined the right to marriage as a "fundamental freedom," legal analysts say his administration is sure to face pressure to weigh in on the marriage question when it reaches the Supreme Court.

That pressure could mount as early as this fall, if the challenge to California's Proposition 8, a voter-approved initiative that barred gay marriage, reaches the final stages.

If that happens, Mr. Obama "will surely be asked by advocates for LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] rights to support a decision upholding a federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage, which would take it out of the hands of the states," said Theodore Olson, the Republican former solicitor general who has helped lead the challenge to the 2008 initiative restricting marriage to a man and a woman.

Mr. Obama said Wednesday that while he now believes same-sex couples should be able to marry, historically the definition of marriage "has not been a federal issue." He said he viewed the battles over same-sex marriage at the state level as a "healthy process."

Thirty states now ban same-sex marriage, while six states and the District of Columbia permit it. Two additional states have passed bills allowing gay-marriage, though it's possible they could be overturned by voter referendums.

Asked if he would request the Justice Department to join the legal fight against state laws banning same-sex marriage, the president said only that he had "helped to prompt" the department's decision to abandon its defense of the Defense of Marriage Act. That 1996 law bans federal recognition of state-authorized same-sex marriages.

"We consider that a violation of the equal protection clause," the president said.

That law and California's Proposition 8 are the two major gay-marriage issues working their way through federal courts.

Chuck Cooper, an attorney representing Proposition 8's backers, declined to comment on the legal implications of the president's remarks. The measure's sponsors have asked the full Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a February opinion that upheld a federal district judge's ruling striking down Proposition 8. Whatever happens in that circuit, the losers are expected to seek review from the U.S. Supreme Court.

That's an excellent summary, and there's lots more at the link.

Massive Anti-Austerity Protests in Spain

It doesn't look good over there.

At the New York Times, "Tens of Thousands Protest Austerity in 80 Spanish Cities":

MADRID — Tens of thousands of Spaniards took to the streets during the weekend to protest austerity budget cuts and commemorate the anniversary on Tuesday of a movement that inspired other groups on Wall Street and across the Western world.

Over all, protesters gathered in about 80 Spanish cities, but again, one of the biggest turnouts was in Puerta del Sol, the Madrid square that almost a year ago became the center of a nationwide, youth-led movement seeking to overhaul Spain’s political parties and other traditional institutions. About 40,000 people gathered in the square on Saturday evening, while a similar number of protesters rallied in a square in Barcelona.

This time, however, the authorities had decreed that protesters would not be allowed to turn Puerta del Sol into an encampment and that any gathering there would have to end by 10 p.m. Instead, to reduce the risk that a standoff could turn more violent, the police waited until 5 a.m. Sunday to clear the square, arresting 18 people. Two police officers were injured during the operation. The protesters — known as the indignants — are vowing to make further attempts to seize control of the square before Tuesday. The movement is known in Spain as 15-M because of its starting date last year.

Underlining the extent to which Spain is fighting the economic crisis, the national government in Madrid warned during the weekend that it might need to take over the finances of Asturias, a northern region, because of concerns that the government there cannot meet deficit-cutting targets. Spain also announced further measures to shore up the banking sector, just days after seizing control of Bankia, the largest and most troubled mortgage lender.

Continue reading.

Michael Kinsley Has Wrong Premise About Capitalism

An awesome letter to the editor at the Los Angeles Times, "Kinsley's views on capitalism."

I'm surprised this one saw the light of day:

Re "Overvaluing the free market," Opinion, May 8

Michael Kinsley has a wrong premise about capitalism. Its justification is not that it makes a contribution to society (though it does that) but that it respects each individual's right to his own life and the fruits of his efforts.

Anyone, rich or poor, who earns his money honestly has the right to use it as he wishes. No on else has a moral claim on it. No one has a right to say how much another person should earn if the money is earned through voluntary trade.

Seizing or limiting another person's wealth because he is judged to have too much is not social justice but exploitation.

 Edwin A. Locke 
 Westlake Village

Top-Heavy Administration at Long Beach Community College

From the letters to editor, at last Thursday's Long Beach Press-Telegram:

Re "It's the government's fault" (Letters, May 3):

Taylor Ramsey notes it's the elected officials' fault, not just students and faculty. I couldn't agree more. In 1986, Long Beach Community College had approximately 25,000 students and one president, three vice presidents, nine deans and six associate deans. Today it has 26,729 students, one president, one executive vice president, four vice presidents, three associate vice presidents, 10 deans, three interim deans and 14 directors -- more than double the amount of administrators. Each of these administrators makes more than $140,000 a year (over $4 million in administrative payroll alone). Next time you hear about layoffs of classified staff, loss of teachers, students who can't get financial aid, can't get classes to graduate, or can't get in to college, remember that the LBCC Board of Trustees approved these huge salaries and the cuts to staff, teachers and classes that're now hurting students.

-- Michael Smith, Long Beach

Smith is responding to the letters from May 3rd, here.

And see the report on the recent campus protest: "Students proclaim death of education at Long Beach City College."

The faculty union has put the latest contract negotiations to a vote, and there's a lot of grumbling among the rank and file. The contract might be voted down and then the negotiations would require some kind of outside mediation. I'll update if there's local news coverage.

Until then...

Femen Activists Get Naked to Raise Political Awareness

At Der Spiegel, "The Body Politic: Getting Naked to Change the World":

The Ukrainian activist group Femen has made headlines around the world by baring their breasts to protest against prostitution, exploitation and corruption. But can their naked stunts change anything, or are they just providing images for a sex-obsessed media?

Oksana Shachko, a girl with a doll-like face, is supposed to go to prison for five years.

It's a cool spring Thursday in Ukraine as the 24-year-old walks through the streets of Kiev with her attorney. She is wearing a leather jacket and black boots, and dangling an almost-finished cigarette between her fingers. Five years, because she bared her breasts in public once again.

The hearing at the Interior Ministry is at 5 p.m., and they are in a hurry. They walk past tall, brown and gray buildings from the Stalin era. They discuss ways to put a positive spin on the expression "kiss my ass," which is what Oksana said to the Indian ambassador. "It was a happy protest. A happy protest for the rights of Ukrainian women," Oksana finally says. She's decided it's what she will say in the hearing at the Interior Ministry.

Shachko is a Ukrainian women's rights activist, and her weapons are attached to her pale, petite body like the two halves of an apple.

Her weapons are the symbol of femininity, motherhood and sexuality, and filmmakers and marketers have used them millions of times to sell everything under the sun, from yogurt to vacuum cleaners. They have put Oksana and her fight onto cover pages around the world, and they've made her and her fellow activists into the cover girls of an international protest movement -- the icons of a naked rebellion.

Their supporters believe that by using these weapons, the women have invented a new feminism. Their critics say that they are turning themselves into pornography with these weapons.....

Oksana is a professional icon painter and lives in a run-down studio apartment in Kiev with greenish mold on the ceiling. In other words, she has a profession and is living an ordinary Ukrainian life of poverty and turmoil. But her apartment is full of protest signs, and she has drawn a picture of a Femen activist, with flowing hair and bare breasts, on the wall. It's a self-portrait of a woman who is causing a lot of trouble.

She was released from a Moscow prison a few days ago, after having tried -- topless -- to steal the ballot box containing Russian leader Vladimir Putin's ballot during the March 4 presidential election. The stunt got her two weeks in a prison cell.

Now she stands accused of hooliganism and occupying the Indian Embassy to protest a claim by the Indian Foreign Ministry that women from post-Soviet countries are going to India to work as prostitutes.

Although the Indian Embassy denied the claim, this didn't stop Oksana and three other women from storming the building. They waved the Indian flag and banged it against windows and doors, shouting: "Ukrainian women are no prostitutes" and "kiss my ass."

There's lots more at the link.

Plus, from Saturday's Toronto Sun, "Topless activists protest Euro tournament."

VIDEO: "More Topless Ukrainian Protest Ladies!"

Arsala Rahmani, Top Afghan Peace Negotiator, Shot Dead in Kabul

At the Los Angeles Times, "Afghan assassination casts more gloom over peace efforts."

KABUL, Afghanistan — A brazen daytime assassination on Sunday offered a grim reminder of stymied progress in a key part of NATO's effort to wind down the Afghan war: peace talks with the Taliban.

Arsala Rahmani, a senior member of the Afghan government body set up to conduct negotiations with the militant group, was shot and killed while traveling by car through the Afghan capital, police said. Coming less than nine months after the assassination of the head of the High Peace Council, the killing cast yet more gloom over Western-backed efforts to bring the insurgents to the bargaining table.

The Obama administration had hoped to have substantive progress on the negotiating front to cite when a NATO summit convenes next week in Chicago. Instead, preliminary contacts appear to have broken down.

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