Immigration Reform Won't Make Social Security Solvent

From Byron York, at the Washington Examiner:

On May 8, the chief actuary of Social Security, Stephen Goss, sent a letter to Republican Gang of Eight leader Marco Rubio saying reform would have a positive effect on Social Security's finances in the next ten years. But that was easy. Most immigrants are well below retirement age; they won't collect Social Security benefits for many years. All they'll do for a long time is pay into the system.

But what about the long term? Goss promised to develop a 75-year analysis of the legislation "as quickly as possible." As it turned out, Goss delivered that long-term estimate on June 28, which just happened to be the day after the Senate passed the bill. It was never part of the debate.

According to Goss, the bill's long-term benefits are also positive -- but just barely, and not in a way that will strengthen the Social Security system as Graham and others claim.

The Social Security Administration's most recent estimate says the system will become insolvent in 2033. Under the Gang bill, according to Goss' estimate, even with all those new immigrants paying taxes, the system will become insolvent in 2035. Not much difference there. And after that, when the immigrants hit retirement age and begin collecting benefits, they will increase Social Security's deficit.

Of course, the immigrants will have children, who will also pay into the system. Put it all together, according to Goss, and immigration reform will add about $2 trillion in tax revenues in the next 75 years, while costing about $1.5 trillion in benefits. That's a net plus, but not much of a boon, since it is stretched out over more than seven decades -- and certainly not when one considers the tendency of federal programs to grow in cost.

So even with reform, the nation's entitlement programs are on as shaky ground as before.

Well, it helps a little. Why be niggardly about it? (Via Instapundit.)

Pamela Geller Smacks Down Michael Ghouse on Hannity's

At Atlas Shrugs, "HANNITY VIDEO: PAMELA GELLER V. MICHAEL GHOUSE SMACK DOWN DEBATE ON EGYPT / MORSI SITUATION."

Ecuador's Second Thoughts on #Snowden

That idiot Snowden's getting hung out to dry.

At the Guardian UK, "Rafael Correa not considering Snowden asylum: helping him was a 'mistake'."

And two videos, "Snowden asylum "economic suicide" for Ecuador," and "US warns Ecuador over Snowden case."

And at WikiLeaks, "Statement from Edward Snowden in Moscow." (Via Memeorandum.)

Obama Urges Morsi to Be 'Responsive' to Protesters

At Fox News:

President Obama has urged Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi to respond to issues raised by hundreds of thousands of protesters who have called for the Islamist leader to be removed from office.

The White House released a statement Tuesday saying that Obama told Morsi in a telephone conversation Monday that "the United States is committed to the democratic process in Egypt and does not support any single party or group." The statement went on to say that Obama "encouraged [Morsi] to take steps to show that he is responsive to [protesters'] concerns, and underscored that the current crisis can only be resolved through a political process."

The call from Obama came on the same day that Egypt's powerful military warned it will intervene if Morsi doesn't "meet the people's demands," giving him and his opponents two days to reach an agreement in what it called a last chance. Hundreds of thousands of protesters massed for a second consecutive day Monday calling on Morsi to step down.

Continue reading.

Is America Ready to End Prohibition?

Kennedy explains how beer sales remain so highly regulated in the U.S.

Arizona Firefighters Lacked Proper Escape Route

At LAT:

The 19 wildland firefighters killed in Arizona appeared not to have established an escape route to a safe site large enough for the entire group, a forestry official said Monday.

Safety protocols require crews to have a place to go in case fire overtakes them. That did not happen in the Yarnell Hill fire Sunday. The bodies of 19 members of the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew were found in or near their emergency fire shelters, leading officials to believe they were overrun by the wind-driven flames.

"Obviously it wasn't a big enough open field … if they had to deploy their shelters," said Art Morrison, a spokesman with the Arizona State Forestry Division.

"They were too close to heavy fuels, so they got overrun," he said.

Being overtaken by a fire you are striving to extinguish is a firefighter's worst nightmare, but it is not uncommon: Of the more than 1,000 fatalities among wildland firefighters since 1910, about 63% occurred during "burnover," when a fire front engulfed crews.

On Sunday, the grass fire had run through half of the Arizona town of Yarnell when the unpredictable winds shifted. About 4:30 p.m., fire managers lost radio contact with the crew.

The firefighters had been cutting lines at the front of the fire, the most perilous place to be, officials said. Placing a crew at the head of a fire is a rare tactic.

Continue reading.

More at the Arizona Republic, "Yarnell Hill Fire: Seeking answers in wake of tragedy."

Also, "Yarnell Hill Fire: In small town, 'it affects every single person'," and "Yarnell Hill Fire: Fallen firefighters were in prime of their lives."

VIDEO ABOVE: "2008: Firefighters trapped in 'burnover' find safety in their emergency shelters."

Added: At WSJ, "Sudden Turn in Flames Doomed Firefighters: Officials Say 19 'Granite Mountain Hotshots' Were Killed in Burn Over; Arizona Blaze Still Raging."

Obama Looks to Limit Damage Over EU Bugging

At Guardian UK, "Barack Obama seeks to limit EU fallout over US spying claims."

President says NSA will assess espionage allegations as France and Germany demand answers and warn of delay to trade talks.

Barack Obama has sought to limit the damage from the growing transatlantic espionage row after Germany and France denounced the major snooping activities of US agencies and warned of a possible delay in the launch next week of ambitious free-trade talks between Europe and the US.

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and French president, François Hollande, demanded quick explanations from Washington about disclosures by the Guardian and Der Spiegel that US agencies bugged European embassies and offices. Berlin stressed there had to be mutual trust if trade talks were to go ahead in Washington on Monday.

Hollande went further, indicating the talks could be called off unless the alleged spying was stopped immediately and US guarantees were provided.

The diplomatic row came as Edward Snowden – the fugitive National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower, who faces espionage charges in the US and is holed up in Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport – applied for asylum in Russia. Snowdenhe used his first public statement to attack the US for revoking his passport and accused it of bullying countries that might grant him asylum.

Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, said on Monday: "If he wants to go somewhere and someone will take him, go ahead. If he wants to stay here, there is one condition – he must stop his work aimed at bringing harm to our American partners, as strange as that sounds coming from my mouth. "Russia never gives anyone up and doesn't plan to give anyone up. And no one has ever given us anyone."

Continue reading.

Doris Kearns Goodwin and the 150th Anniversary at Gettysburg

An idiot and plagiaristic fraud.

She's interviewed by CBS News' Chip Reid at the clip.

But be sure to read this piece at Breitbart, "Doris Kearns Goodwin at Gettysburg: A Few Inappropriate Remarks."

Walid Phares: 'We Are Watching the Real Arab Spring...'

Via Jawa Report:

Santa Monica Civic Auditorium to Close

Thinking offhand, I saw Iggy Pop, the Psychedelic Furs, and Siouxsie and the Banshees at the Santa Monica Civic.

The place was cool, but it's closing now.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Santa Monica Civic Auditorium to close after 55 years as cultural mecca."

And at LA Weekly, "RIP Santa Monica Civic Auditorium: Former Punk Haven Finished Holding Concerts":

Due to a combination of obsolescence and budget cuts, the landmark venue -- located at Pico and Main -- is finished hosting concerts, though the auditorium will still have some city events.

This news has gone largely under the radar. But that's a shame, because artists like Iggy Pop, David Bowie, and Queen performed classic shows there in the '70s, and in the following decades the spot helped propel the national punk movement, hosting acts like X, The Misfits, The Cramps, Bad Religion, and Black Flag.

SUV Flips, Crashes on Northbound Interstate 5 at Laguna Freeway SR-133

Just got back from having dinner with my wife, down in Aliso Viejo. Turns out this Dodge SUV had traffic all backed up coming down the on-ramp merging onto I-5. I don't ever remember a car caught between the side rail and a lamppost. Maybe that saved a life. I didn't see any paramedics, although they might have taken off already. My oldest son took the photograph from the passenger's seat.

Allen West Hammers Lady Gaga's Homosexual National Anthem!

Awesome!

At Twitchy, "Allen West calls out Lady Gaga for ‘reprehensible’ version of National Anthem."

Gaga’s nat’l anthem defiling is reprehensible. She & all who cheer her should apologize 2 all serving & retired members of the Armed Forces.

— Allen West (@AllenWest) July 1, 2013

And watch it here, "Lady Gaga Changes National Anthem: 'Land of the Free, and the Home for the Gay...'"

Egyptians React to Army's Ultimatum — the Brotherhood is Finished!

At the New York Times:

As our colleagues David Kirkpatrick, Kareem Fahim and Ben Hubbard report, the head of the Egyptian military, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, gave President Mohamed Morsi 48 hours “to respond to the people’s demands” or the armed forces would move to impose its “own road map for the future.”

Reaction to the general’s warning, in a statement read aloud on state television, was swift, both online and on the streets of the capital, Cairo, where supporters and opponents of the president were still massed, one day after huge protests.

Foreskin Equality Now!

Here's the Facebook page for Foreskin Pride's NYC Annual Pride March - Intactivist Contingent.

And watch the group's (NSFW) video --- a beauty of a calling card! --- "Foreskin Pride Salute - World Premiere - Vancouver, August 5 2012."

Pants optional!

Intactivists, including representatives from Intact America, will gather in the New York City Pride March to SPREAD THE WORD that EVERY person has the right to an intact body. Intact America is proud to honor those in the gay rights movement who stand with us in the fight to end the brutality of circumcision.

Progress!

PREVIOUSLY: "Homosexual Marriage is War on Society," and "After #DOMA Ruling, Much Work to Be Done for Statutory Rape Equality."

Rhian Sugden Rule 5

How about a Monday babe blogging break from all the homosexual licentiousness!

Via Twitter:

More here, "Happy Canada Day."

And lots more a the Page 3 homepage.

March of Protest: Wave of Anger Sweeping Cities Worldwide

At the Economist, "The Protests Around the World: Politicians Beware":

A FAMILIAR face appeared in many of the protests taking place in scores of cities on three continents this week: a Guy Fawkes mask with a roguish smile and a pencil-thin moustache. The mask belongs to “V”, a character in a graphic novel from the 1980s who became the symbol for a group of computer hackers called Anonymous. His contempt for government resonates with people all over the world.

The protests have many different origins. In Brazil people rose up against bus fares, in Turkey against a building project. Indonesians have rejected higher fuel prices, Bulgarians the government’s cronyism. In the euro zone they march against austerity, and the Arab spring has become a perma-protest against pretty much everything. Each angry demonstration is angry in its own way.

Yet just as in 1848, 1968 and 1989, when people also found a collective voice, the demonstrators have much in common. Over the past few weeks, in one country after another, protesters have risen up with bewildering speed. They have been more active in democracies than dictatorships. They tend to be ordinary, middle-class people, not lobbies with lists of demands. Their mix of revelry and rage condemns the corruption, inefficiency and arrogance of the folk in charge.

Nobody can know how 2013 will change the world—if at all. In 1989 the Soviet empire teetered and fell. But Marx’s belief that 1848 was the first wave of a proletarian revolution was confounded by decades of flourishing capitalism and 1968, which felt so pleasurably radical at the time, did more to change sex than politics. Even now, though, the inchoate significance of 2013 is discernible. And for politicians who want to peddle the same old stuff, the news is not good.

Actually, most of these protests are against leftists and Islamists. If there's going to be a revolution it should be towards decency and good government. Lord knows there's a dearth of that right now, not least of which in the United States, where foreskin equality protesters have taken to the streets in recent days.

But RTWT at that top link.

National Organization for Marriage Slams California Attorney General Kamala Harris

NOM's not going to do much good as far as California's homo-marriage is concerned. Their rant isn't going to vacate the Court's decision sending Prop. 8 back to the Federal District Court, where the ruling of retired homosexual Judge Vaughan Walker has now overturned the will of the California majority. But I think there's going to be a backlash at the political class and its contempt for not just the majority, but for the rules of the game, and for the basic procedural due process guarantees. So, in that sense, let it rip. You gotta out these progressive degenerates with all you've got.

But read it all, "Meet Kamala Harris (and the Future We Must Avoid)" (via Memeorandum):

Marriage in California has now died for lack of a defense.

Most of us would consider such actions cynical, shameful and despicable. Clearly, they undermine public confidence in the legitimacy of the legal system. Yet Kamala Harris tells us that, "it's a great day" because, "it means those people who want to deny same-sex couples the benefits of equal protection and due process under the United States constitution cannot do so simply because they don't like the notion."

In other words, the more than 7 million Californians who exercised their sovereign right to amend their state constitution — an act that the California Supreme Court ruled overwhelmingly was a proper and legal use of the constitutional amendment process — don't matter because she, Kamala Harris, has determined that it was the wrong thing to do and she was not going to let them get away with this "notion." In the world of Kamala Harris, we are banished to the sidelines, not even fit to participate in civil discourse.

Continue reading.

Homosexual Marriage is War on Society

Hey, meet your progressive masters, the butch bungee jumping badass drill ass mofos!

From Star Parker, at Townhall, "Same-sex Marriage is War on Religion":

The preamble of our Constitution tells us that its purpose is to secure the “blessings of liberty.”

What is a blessing? The first definition in my Webster’s New World Dictionary says that a blessing is “a statement of divine favor”.

How can we secure divine favor in a nation for which the divine is unconstitutional? A prideful nation by definition must be a nation that rejects the idea of a blessing.

In the pride that precedes destruction in America of 2013, we reject that there are truths that don’t come out of a laboratory. We reject that that there are truths that parents get from their parents and pass on to their children.

We reject that there are truths that, when children learn them from their parents, and embrace them and become responsible for them, they become adults.

So now we live in society in which there is nothing that distinguishes a child from an adult, that distinguishes responsible from irresponsible.

Who suffers the most?

First and foremost, children. Because they are deprived from learning and taking seriously the very rules of life’s road that are critical to live successfully.

Even more so, children from minority families....

Let there be no doubt that same-sex marriage is about much more than marriage. It is a deliberate and conscious assault on religion and all traditional values.

We have only two options. Turn back to where we belong or watch the continuing collapse of our country.

Student Loan Rates Double Today

At USA Today, "Millennials' ball-and-chain: Student loan debt."

And at Instpundit, "ON FOX & FRIENDS, I talk about the higher education bubble and student loans."

Bestiality Becomes 'Lifestyle Choice' in Germany

Well, yeah.

The choices are endless. We're on the new frontier of equality.

Go progs!

At London's Daily Mail, "Bestiality brothels are 'spreading through Germany' warns campaigner as abusers turn to sex with animals as 'lifestyle choice'."

Everything's a lifestyle choice.

If it feels good do it!

Kaitlyn Hunt at New York City Gay Pride Parade — #FreeKate

Of course!

She's at the forefront of statutory rape equality!

At the Other McCain, "Kaitlyn Hunt’s Big Gay Pride Day: Is ‘Jailbait Rights’ Now Mainstream?":

The Hunt family continued their campaign to make their 18-year-old daughter America’s Most Famous Sex Offender™ by taking her to New York for Sunday’s 44th annual Gay Pride Parade. Because defending Kate’s right to have gay sex with 14-year-olds isn’t all about lawyers and petitions, you know. It’s also about marching in parades and sightseeing in Manhattan and riding around in limousines.

You go, Kate! Statutory rape equality now!

That, and foreskin equality!

Don't miss those "foreskin pride" photos at the link!

PREVIOUSLY: "After #DOMA Ruling, Much Work to Be Done for Statutory Rape Equality."

Worries Swirl Over California's Initiatives

Following up on my previous article, "Prop. 8 Ruling Worries Direct Democracy Activists."

Now here's this at the Wall Street Journal, "Supreme Court's Dismissal of State's Gay-Marriage Ban Raises Concerns That the Move Sets Precedent Limiting Voter Power" (via Memeorandum and Google):

LOS ANGELES — Even as gay-rights advocates in California spent the weekend celebrating the U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing the resumption of same-sex weddings in the state, activists and government experts across the political spectrum were raising concerns the ruling weakens the power of voters to make law through the state's ballot-initiative process.

"You'd be hard pressed to find someone more enthusiastic about the outcome of the Supreme Court decision," California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom said in an interview Friday. As mayor of San Francisco, Mr. Newsom oversaw an administration that married thousands of gay couples in 2004—marriages ruled void by the state Supreme Court later that year. "But I do think the decision raises legitimate questions that are very problematic in the future," said Mr. Newsom, a Democrat.

Proposition 8, a ballot initiative approved by California voters in 2008, banned gay marriage in the state. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that its proponents weren't able to defend the law in court because they lacked the legal standing. Chief Justice John Roberts said that under federal precedents, the initiative sponsors were merely "bystanders" with no standing to appear in court.

The state's top officials, Gov. Jerry Brown and Attorney General Kamala Harris, both Democrats, had declined to defend Proposition 8, arguing it was unconstitutional.

Some proponents of the ballot-initiative process—a central if often troublesome element of California's political system—say they worry that the decision undercuts ballot initiatives' purpose: giving voters power to circumvent state officials and make laws directly.

Others argue that it is the judiciary's job to keep the legislative process in check—and to stop laws that are unconstitutional, even if they are supported by a majority of voters.

"Nobody ever imagined that the people on their own could pass any sort of legislation without some sort of judicial review," said Rick Jacobs, founder of the Courage Campaign, a progressive political-advocacy group in the state. "All the Supreme Court did was underscore that."

But some advocates of the proposition system argued that the Supreme Court, by refusing to grant the backers of Proposition 8 the standing to defend the law, effectively gave state officials veto power over voter-backed initiatives if they are challenged in federal court, simply by declining to defend those initiatives.

"It's troubling because often initiatives are passed for the very reason that the state legislature or governor don't support a particular law," said Richard L. Hasen, a professor of law and political science at the University of California, Irvine. Mr. Hasen, like some others worried about the implications for the state's ballot initiative system, said he supports gay marriage.

"On a personal basis I'm glad Kamala and Jerry didn't support Prop 8," said Charles Moran, chairman of the California Log Cabin Republicans and an openly gay political consultant based in Los Angeles. "But I'm not happy it set a bad precedent. This could have some long-term impacts on elective politics.…Anytime somebody has a statewide ballot initiative I think there's a new question that has to be asked: Will this pass the smell test of the attorney general and the governor?"

Crocodile tears.

Nothing will change. California's a socialist basket case, but hey, the progs got homosexual licentiousness under the law!

#TheyFeelPain - Shocking New #Inhuman Video Out Today From Live Action

This is the trick, just keep exposing the real-time death program of the pro-abortion left, via Lila Rose on Twitter.

Egypt's Army Issues Ultimatum to Morsi

At the New York Times, "Leader Given 2 Days to Satisfy Protesters or Face Takeover."

And see Mandy Nagy, at Legal Insurrection, "BREAKING: Egyptian Military Gives Morsi 48-Hour Ultimatum."

19 Firefighters Killed in Arizona Wildfire

At the Los Angeles Times, "Arizona wildfire kills 19 firefighters."

Also at the Arizona Republic, "19 firefighters die in Yarnell Hill Fire."

Public Approval of Supreme Court Falls to All-Time Low

At Rasmussen:

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 28% believe the Supreme Court is doing a good or an excellent job. At the same time, 30% rate its performance as poor. That’s the highest-ever poor rating. It’s also the first time ever that the poor ratings have topped the positive assessments. Thirty-nine percent (39%) give the court middling reviews and rate its performance as fair....

Overall, 39% of voters now believe the court is too liberal, while 24% believe it is too conservative.

Via Althouse.

CARTOON CREDIT: Catholic Culture, "The Supreme Court on Gay Marriage: A Quandary of Confusion."

Julian Assange Involvement in Edward Snowden’s Case is 'Sideshow'

It's an interesting interview.

At Politico, "Lawyer for Edward Snowden's dad: Julian Assange a ‘sideshow’."

Gettysburg and the Eternal Battle for a 'New Birth of Freedom'

From Allen Guelzo, at WSJ:

The Civil War was in its third year when Abraham Lincoln was invited to deliver his "few appropriate remarks" at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg. For most of those three years, the war had not gone well for the Union he had been elected to lead as president. A breakaway Confederacy of 11 Southern states had seceded, playing on their declared right to self-determination and fighting off every effort by Union forces to subdue their uprising.

Lincoln understood that their appeal to self-determination was dubious at best. The self-determination the Confederate states desired was the freedom to protect the legalized slavery of 3.9 million black people, purely on the basis of their race, in defiance of what the Declaration of Independence had to say about equality.

And having taken that step away from equality, the Confederacy had kept moving further and further away until its entire life came to resemble a European aristocracy. The Confederacy established an internal passport system for all persons, levied a steeply graduated income tax, appropriated private property for military use, and nationalized Southern industries—iron-making, clothing for military uniforms and even railroads. Even among whites, a disdainful hierarchy of thousand-bale cotton planters and poor white sandhillers emerged.

"The admiration for monarchical institutions on the English model, for privileged classes, and for a landed aristocracy and gentry, is undisguised and apparently genuine," marveled the British journalist William Howard Russell in 1861. King Leopold I of Belgium, in 1863, hoped that the Civil War would "raise a barrier against the United States and provide a support for the monarchical-aristocratic principle in the Southern states."

No wonder, then, that Lincoln exulted when the Confederate army under Robert E. Lee met with a climactic defeat by Union forces at the small Pennsylvania crossroads town of Gettysburg in July 1863. In Lincoln's mind, there was a symbolic coincidence in receiving the news of the Gettysburg victory on the Fourth of July. It was, he told a crowd of well-wishers in Washington, as though a bright line had been drawn between "the first time" in 1776 that "a nation by its representatives, assembled and declared as a self evident truth that all men are created equal," and 1863, when "the cohorts of those who opposed the declaration that all men are created equal" had "turned tail" and run.

Continue reading.

Afghan Security Forces Defuse Would-Be Suicide Bomber Before He Blew Himself Up in Jalalabad

This is freakin' rad.

At London's Daily Mail, "The real Hurt Locker: Moment a brave Afghan soldier defused suicide vest while hog-tied terrorist was STILL WEARING IT."

And at Thomson Reuters, "A member of the Afghan bomb disposal unit approaches a suicide attacker after his vest was defused in Jalalabad province."

Jimmy Kimmel Skit Whaps Paula Deen With a Stone

Jimmy Kimmel was on a roll the other night.

Also at Newsmax, "Jimmy Kimmel Black Eye Skit Mocks Paula Deen's Apologies (Video)."

Nationwide Protests Grip Egypt

These are mondo massive protests.

At WSJ, "Widespread Opposition Protests Grip Egypt: Biggest Demonstrations Since Mubarak's Ouster Urge Morsi to Step Down, Call Early Elections; a Crowded Tahrir Square":

CAIRO—Egyptians took to the streets on Sunday for nationwide protests against President Mohammed Morsi, presenting a massive popular opposition that rivaled the size of demonstrations that toppled President Hosni Mubarak more than two years ago.

By early evening, legions of protesters had crowded into Cairo's Tahrir Square and filled several city blocks in front of Ittihadiya Palace, the president's main residence, demanding that Mr. Morsi step down and call early elections.

In most protest areas, the atmosphere was ebullient. Families walked with children in tow, some with their faces painted, munching on snacks and waving Egyptian flags. Passing motorists honked their horns, lending a festival aspect to the marches despite weeks of concern over the potential for violence.

Parts of the capital that would normally be starting a workday Sunday were largely quiet. Protesters marched through streets that were almost empty of cars. Shops and restaurants in Cairo remained closed.

Although the main protests remained peaceful, the nation's Health Ministry said five people were killed and more than 400 injured around the country, the Associated Press reported.

Meanwhile, Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in Cairo were set ablaze. People inside the building were seen firing at protesters.

Demonstrations of comparable size were reported throughout the country, with streams of Egyptians flooding streets in the coastal city of Alexandria, southern Egypt and the heavily populated Nile Delta region. Smaller protests were held by Egyptian expatriates in Sydney, Paris, Washington and other capitals.

The size of the demonstrations—with the numbers of protesters estimated from hundreds of thousands into the millions—exceeded any of the protests that have taken place since Mr. Mubarak stepped down in February 2011. The massive turnout stood alongside Mr. Morsi's repeated claims that most Egyptians stood behind the country's first-ever elected president.

Continue reading.

And at the New York Times, "Video and Images of Anti-Morsi Protests."

Lady Gaga Changes National Anthem: 'Land of the Free, and the Home for the Gay...'

They're bringing on the backlash.

At Twitchy, "‘Disrespectful’: Lady Gaga ripped for changing the words to the national anthem."

And at the Washington Times, "Lady Gaga amends national anthem: ‘Land of the free, and the home for the gay’."

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Cartoons."

Also at Reaganite Republican, "Reaganite's SUNDAY FUNNIES."

CARTOON CREDIT: Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – Sour Kraut."

RELATED: "Our Hapless, Powerless President Can't Do Jack About Edward Snowden's Global Jetsetting."

Julian Assange Interview on ABC's 'This Week with George Stephanopoulos'

He just lies through his teeth at this clip.

HAT TIP: Memeorandum.

Traditional Sunday Rule 5

And by traditional, I mean traditional testosterone-driven male ogling of the feminine sex. All the gay "sweetness and light" is driving me crazy.

This is Miss Tori Lee at left.

And see Pirate's Cove, "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup – Pre July 4th!" and "If All You See……is a horrible fossil fueled vehicle being washed with precious non-renewable water, you might just be a Warmist."

Also at Gator Doug's, "DaleyGator DaleyBabe Jessa Hinton."

At Proof Positive, "Women of PETA XXXIV -- Because the world needs more naked, nearly naked and vegetable clad vegetarians!"

Now over at Randy's Rountable, "Thursday Nite Tart: Erica Redling."

At Zion's Trumpet, "It's Rule 5 Friday."

And going directly to Wine, Women and Politics, "Bonus Babes."

Also at Odie's, "Blonde Curtains ~OR~ Rule 5 Woodsterman Style."

From Animal Magnetism, "Rule Five Friday – Animal’s Manifesto, Part Ten." And at Bob Belvedere's, "Rule 5 Saturday: Chloe Vevrier."

And 90 Miles From Tyranny, "Rule 5 Sunday With Links." And from Dana Pico, "Rule 5 Blogging: The IDF again!"

Soylent Green has "Afternooner: Hot Wheels," and "Your AM Angel."

And at Drunken Stepfather, "PAULINA GRETZKY IS STILL IN A BIKINI OF THE DAY."

Also, at Pitsnipes and Gripes, "Random curves." Plus the Right Way has "Friday Babe."

Check Egotastic! too, "India Reynolds Stacks Her Stacks Up Against Courtnie Quinlan in the Battle of the Boobtastic."

Wrapping it up is Theo, "Bedtime Totty..."

Add your links in the comments and I'll update!

Supreme Court Denies Petition to Halt Homosexual Marriages in California

I commented on this previously, "'Tonight it is chaos and lawlessness, and anyone who is concerned about the rule of law ought to be deeply troubled by what happened here...'"

And now at the Los Angeles Times, "Supreme Court rejects bid to halt same-sex marriages in California," and the Hill, "Report: High court rejects petition to halt gay marriages in Calif." (Via Memeorandum.)

Party time!

Toronto Gay Pride Week 2013

At Blazing Cat Fur, "Toronto Gay Pride Week 2013 Kicks Off with a Jew-Bashing Lecture."

Well, the left's disgusting and deathly agenda is all of a piece, isn't it?

More, "Let the games begin..."

Also, "King and Queen" and "Its only just begun..."

Plus, "Which one is Justin?" and "Random Strange."

Still more, "More stuff but the dog is cool," "Socialism," and "Pride floats fall into two categories Crappy and Crappier."

Finally, "I think this is the Chief" and "TDSB of course."

That's quite a bit. Check back at BCF for more.

How Will Homosexual Marriage Supporters Argue Against Polygamy?

Well, WND has this, "Next Up, Polygamy?"

Actually, proponents of polygamist marriage aren't holding back at all.

At Reason, "So How About That Polygamy? Time to Talk About It?":

Will Wilkinson, blogging at The Economist, makes an argument that as with prostitution, our criminalization of polygamy often does the opposite of what’s intended and increases the victimization of women and children because of its shadowy status in culture:

If a man can love a man, a woman can love a woman and a man. And if they all love each other... well, what's the problem? Refraining from criminalising families based on such unusual patterns of sentiment is less than the least we can do. If the state lacks a legitimate rationale for imposing on Americans a heterosexual definition of marriage, it seems pretty likely that it likewise lacks a legitimate rationale for imposing on Americans a monogamous definition of marriage. Conservatives have worried that same-sex marriage would somehow entail the ruination of the family as the foundation of society, but we have seen only the flowering of family values among same-sex households, the domestication of the gays. Whatever our fears about polyamorous marriage, I suspect we'll find them similarly ill-founded. For one thing, what could be more family-friendly than four moms and six dads?

There you go.

You're going to be seeing a lot of arguments like this. Americans have to hunker down and avoid the left's culture of depravity. It's nearly all enveloping, but a backlash is coming. I guarantee it.

And see from 2009, "How Does Gay Marriage Affect Me?"

Added: From William Jacobson, "Polygamy – another love that now dares speak its name again."

Who Are the True Defenders of the West?

"If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favourable reference to the devil in the House of Commons." --- Winston Churchill, comments to his personal secretary John Colville the evening before Operation Barbarossa.

I'm struck by Melanie Phillips' last line in her response to Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer's reply to her original screed on the Home Secretary's ban:

You’d never think from this, would you, that I wrote the book Londonistan, and have been viciously and repeatedly attacked for ‘Islamophobia’ on account of my warnings against Britain’s systemic failure to acknowledge the religious nature of the Islamic jihad against the west. You’d never realise from this, would you, that in my piece about the banning order I specifically condemned the UK government for allowing into the country inflammatory Islamic extremists while banning Ms Geller and Mr Spencer. No, all this is simply brushed aside -- because I do not think common cause should be made with thugs and neo-Nazis....

It would be comic, were it not a tragic illustration of the west’s inability correctly to identify just who are its enemies and who are its true defenders.

The implication is that by snobbishly dismissing the EDL as a bunch of hooligans and Nazis she's able to seize the high ground over Pamela and Robert. It's an amazing piece of sophistry, especially coming from one of such purportedly high British pedigree. No doubt Ms. Phillips is aware of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's comments on June 21, 1941, the night before Nazi Germany embarked on its fateful strategic gambit to invade Soviet Russian in Hitler's final bid for Lebensraum.

The Soviets after World War II would ultimately become the biggest threat to liberty in the West, but at that moment in 1941 nothing was more important than the defeat of the totalitarian Nazi regime. No country would be safe from Germany's insatiable racist hegemony. The fate of the British Isles and the Empire lay at the hand of Churchill's government. He wasn't about to stick up his nose and diss Stalin as some dirtbag cracker from the Georgian hinterland.

I think this comment at Blazing Cat Fur's thread really sums up:

Spencer and Geller are correct; Phillips is trying to distance herself based on Leftist character assassination, as if the Left does anything else. Phillips should have thought this through and realized she's just isolated herself by trying to distance herself.

She forgets; there's no distance. We all live in Dar al-Harb.

There may be some high principles at stake in this debate. There may be some reasonable claims about the need to keep distance from EDL. But for all of her erudition and past advocacy --- recall that Ms. Phillips has long been one of my favorite writers on the left's destruction of liberty, decency, and national security --- it's clear that she's made a serious lapse of judgment with her internecine war on Pamela and Robert, the premiere counter-jihadists in the U.S.

Pamela and Robert are the true defenders of the West. It's shameful that Ms. Phillips would so hastily throw them under the bus.

And with that, here's Pamela's response this morning, "MORE ELITISM":

Apparently Melanie Phillips can dish it out but she can't take it. She was shocked that both Robert and I would respond to her gratuitous attack on our work. She is calling her cop-out column "A hysterical and ignorant response."

What did she expect? That we wouldn't defend ourselves? She has attacked me before. She praised a blogger who wrote that I was "a lunatic blogger." Please go here and read it all. I did not respond, because lord knows that intercine warfare is the last thing we need. But the last shot she took was a step too far. Not now, when the stakes are so high and time is too short.

Hysterical and ignorant? Pathetic. More elitism. She says she doesn't want to engage in ad hominen attacks, so she lets others do the dirty work and then praises them.

Forgive me if I don't drop to my knees in thanks because she called us "anti-jihad" and not "anti-Muslim," "anti-Islam," or "islamophobic" like the enemy does. That's how low her bar is -- we are supposed to be grateful that she doesn't defame us.

She pats herself on the back for opposing our banning order, but so did some of our most vicious enemies. Are we to be grateful that she didn't support the ban? Really? Please, Mel, don't help me. With friends like you, we don't need Harry's Place.

As for the evidence she presents against the EDL, it is weak and unconvincing. The EDL was formed because the BNP was racist and anti-semitic. They purge BNP from their ranks. The EDL has a Jewish division (and an LBGT division, a Sikh division, etc.). Tommy has been arrested? So what? I never said these were Nancy boys. They aren't. And they don't play in the sandboxes of Oxford, Cambridge or The Spectator. He has paid his debt to society; how long will his troubled youth be held against him? He is, in his way, a more eloquent and impassioned voice against the islamization of his country than is Phillips.

The EDL has nothing racist or xenophobic about its platform. Phillips knows full well that the rare nazi salute at an EDL rally is most often the work of an infiltrator, a deliberate schemer attempting to smear the group. They are removed from the demo immediately. She ought to be more critical of those who seek to manipulate her good opinion.

Phillips says that the EDL targets mosques, but it doesn't. Actually Islamic supremacists fake attacks on mosques and try to pin them on the EDL, but Tommy Robinson has said: "Anyone who knows anything about our group knows there is no way we do anything like that. It’s just so blatant it’s not us."

Her reference to Vlaams Belang is really a low blow. First, because we attended a conference in 2007 that Filip DeWinter happened to be at (here). That is the extent of my relationship. I knew nothing of him or his group (I still don't) when I went to Brussels along with Bat Ye'or, David Littman, Dr. Aryeh Eldad (Israel), Robert Spencer, Dr. Andrew Bostom, Friends of Oriana Fallaci and the world's leading counter jihadists. Hundreds were there. So was DeWinter. So what? Melanie Phillips is now attaching herself to the libels of the execrable Charles Johnson. That tells you everything.

PREVIOUSLY: "Pamela Geller: 'With Friends Like These...'"

Also, "Free Speech Dies in UK: Robert Spencer, Pamela Geller Banned from Entering," and "Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer Banned From Britain."

Battle of Gettysburg Reenactment

KNXV-TV ABC15 Phoenix, "Thousands flock to witness reenactment of battle of Gettysburg."

And from Selena Zito, at the Pittsburgh Tribune, "Gettysburg: Where America got its chance to start over."

And a video at Telegraph UK, "Thousands take part in Gettysburg re-enactment."

'American Music'

From the band's January concert at the Observatory in Santa Ana. I looked into getting some tickets, but it was too late.

Why Humans Throw So Well

This is cool.

At the New York Times, "Scientists Unlock Mystery in Evolution of Pitchers":

No one knows whether Homo erectus, the early ancestor of both the Yankees and the Red Sox, threw the split-finger fastball.

But he could have, according to a group of scientists who offer new evidence that the classic overhand throw used by baseball players at all positions, and by snowball, rock and tomato hurlers of all ages, is an evolutionary adaptation dependent on several changes in anatomy. They first appeared, the researchers say, around 1.8 million years ago, when humans were most likely beginning to hunt big game and needed to throw sharp objects hard and fast.

No other primate throws with anything comparable to human force. Chimpanzees, who are much, much stronger, pound for pound, than human beings, can throw, as any zoo visitor knows. But the best an adult male can do is about 20 miles per hour. A 12-year-old human pitcher can easily throw three times that fast.

Clearly, the reason is not muscle strength, according to Neil Roach of George Washington University, first author of a report in the journal Nature released on Wednesday. Dr. Roach, who conducted the research as a graduate student at Harvard, and his colleagues there used motion-capture video to analyze the throwing motion of 20 college athletes, who hurled baseballs at a target about 100 feet away, with and without a brace that restricted shoulder motion.

They analyzed the structure of the shoulder and upper arm, the motion and the forces involved, and concluded, first, that muscles alone cannot account for how hard and fast humans throw. The shoulder and arm and the rest of the body involved in the throwing motion must be storing elastic energy, like the long tendon of a kangaroo when it hops, or the human Achilles’ tendon in running and jumping, they said.

“You’re storing energy in your shoulder,” Dr. Roach said, speaking from Africa, where he was heading to Lake Turkana to look at fossil footprints of human ancestors about a million and a half years old. The storage occurs in the cocking motion, when a thrower brings hand and ball back, preparing to throw. “It works just like a slingshot would. You’re actually stretching the ligaments.”

Several developments in anatomy allowed humans to throw this way, he said, including a waist that allows twisting and a relatively open shoulder, compared with those of other primates like chimpanzees.

Looking at the fossil record, Dr. Roach and colleagues put the moment at which these changes came together in one body at about 1.8 million years ago, when Homo erectus first appeared. “It’s possible that Homo erectus could throw as fast as we do,” Dr. Roach said.

More at that top link.

Kate Upton for Vogue Brazil

On Twitter:

#voguebrazil pic.twitter.com/4MuIGRQvkN

— Kate Upton (@KateUpton) June 27, 2013

And at London's Daily Mail, "Kate Upton the queen of curves brings smouldering glamour to Vogue Brazil in her 'favorite' photo shoot yet."

Obama Visits Fake Slave House, Gazes Through Trash Door

Historians have debunked this "slave house" visit.

And Blazing Cat Fur has more.

I commented on this earlier as well, with considerable contempt.

'Tonight it is chaos and lawlessness, and anyone who is concerned about the rule of law ought to be deeply troubled by what happened here...'

That's John Eastman, Chairman of the Board of the National Organization for Marriage, quoted at the Los Angeles Times, "Prop. 8 backers make emergency effort to block same-sex marriages."

He needs to let this one go. And the Prop. 8 sponsors need to let this go too. The game was rigged. Use that against them in future battles, but let it go for now in California. See SCOTUS Blog, "Emergency stay of California same-sex marriages sought" (at Memeorandum).

Guardian and Observer Runs Front-Page Story on Secret European-U.S. Surveiliance Deal Sourced to Jew-Hating Conspiracy Theorist Wayne Madsen

Here's the cover image on Twitter:

OBSERVER FRONT PAGE: "Revealed: secret European deals to hand over private data to America" #skypapers pic.twitter.com/MTRmz9qrZq
— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 29, 2013

Here's Michael Moynihan:

Holy shit. Guardian just did an NSA story sourced to insane crackpot Wayne Madsen. Is their Google broken? http://t.co/Mcb3vd0OdE
— Michael C Moynihan (@mcmoynihan) June 29, 2013

And Louise Mensch calls out Madsen:

Guardian and Observer Weakend - run front page NSA story based on word of conspiracy theorist crackpot (Obama's gay, Israel caused 911)
— Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) June 29, 2013

And checking the Guardian's homepage, here's the headline at the link for the article, "Taken down: deals to hand over private data to America."

The piece is still available, however, at Democratic Underground (with a Che Guevara avatar adding a nice touch there), "GUARDIAN: Revealed: secret European deals to hand over private data to America":

At least six European Union countries in addition to Britain have been colluding with the US over the mass harvesting of personal communications data, according to a former contractor to America's National Security Agency, who said the public should not be "kept in the dark".

Wayne Madsen, a former US navy lieutenant who first worked for the NSA in 1985 and over the next 12 years held several sensitive positions within the agency, names Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain and Italy as having secret deals with the US.

Madsen said the countries had "formal second and third party status" under signal intelligence (Sigint) agreements that compels them to hand over data, including mobile phone and internet information to the NSA if requested.

Under international intelligence agreements, confirmed by declassified documents, nations are categorised by the US according to their trust level. The US is first party while the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand enjoy second party relationships. Germany and France have third party relationships.

And it's clear the Guardian's editors knew of Madsen's reputation as a conspiracy theorist, as the article makes mention of their source's controversial background:

In an interview published last night on the PrivacySurgeon.org blog, Madsen, who has been attacked for holding controversial views on espionage issues, said he had decided to speak out after becoming concerned about the "half story" told by EU politicians regarding the extent of the NSA's activities in Europe.

He said that under the agreements, which were drawn up after the second world war, the "NSA gets the lion's share" of the Sigint "take". In return, the third parties to the NSA agreements received "highly sanitised intelligence".

Madsen said he was alarmed at the "sanctimonious outcry" of political leaders who were "feigning shock" about the spying operations while staying silent about their own arrangements with the US, and was particularly concerned that senior German politicians had accused the UK of spying when their country had a similar third party deal with the NSA.

Although the level of co-operation provided by other European countries to the NSA is not on the same scale as that provided by the UK, the allegations are potentially embarrassing.

"I can't understand how Angela Merkel can keep a straight face, demanding assurances from Obama and the UK while Germany has entered into those exact relationships," Madsen said.

Read the whole thing at Southport - UK Front Pages.

And it turns out this Madsen dude's a regular on 9/11 truth central's Prison Planet with Alex Jones.

And according this pro-Israel website, the dude's a raving anti-Semite, "Wayne Madsen Promotes Classic Anti-Semitism on Iran’s PressTV," and "So Typical of Wayne Madsen’s Paranoia, Da Joos “Control” Obama and Romney." (Follow the links at those entries.)

I'll update with developments, but it's pretty telling that the far-left Guardian went ahead with a front-page story, with the hard copy print runs already rolling, while sourcing a hardcore 9/11 truther and Jew-hating conspiracy theorist. Well, come to think of it, that's not too different from Glenn Greenwald's ideological program, so there you go.

PREVIOUSLY: "Glenn Greenwald Speaks on NSA Surveillance at Socialism 2013 Conference."

Glenn Greenwald Speaks on NSA Surveillance at Socialism 2013 Conference

I think it's pretty telling that these people (Greenwald and Jeremy Scahill who introduces him) are addressing a conference of Marxists, who are by definition anti-American. Greenwald goes on about how the main responsibility of journalism is to piss off those in power. I'm amazed at how radical leftists reject the idea that there is nothing that government might keep secret in the name of carrying out national security programs. Certainly more honesty and transparency in government is needed, especially under this administration, which has done nothing but lie about what it's doing, but the left's cries of tyranny would be much more credible if they were joined by widespread protests against the Democrats and calls for impeachment of President Obama. Progressives pushed for impeachment of President George W. Bush, to say nothing of multiple calls for war crimes trials for the entire membership of the hated Bush-Cheney cabal. One those who called for that very thing, who now talks a tough game on civil liberties while refusing to walk the walk, is the idiot Kevin Gosztola at Firedoglake.

He's got an entry on this up this afternoon, "Glenn Greenwald’s Speech to the Socialism Conference [with Transcript]." (Via Memeorandum.)

Rosie Jones and India Reynolds Celebrate Wimbledon

At Egotastic!, "Rosie Jones and India Reynolds Play Tennis for Nuts."

Ground and Pound: #TrayvonMartin Was Waling on George Zimmerman MMA Style

Here's the comment from Patriot Lemonade on Twitter:

Witness puts #Trayvon on top of Zimmerman throwing MMA style Ground and Pound punches with #Zimmerman screaming for help. #ZimmermanTrial

And at Legal Insurrection, "ZIMMERMAN TRIAL BLOCKBUSTER — TRANSCRIPT — Eyewitness Good: Black guy in black hoodie on top punching down Mixed Martial Arts style":

The State seems to have suffered the most destructive of its own witnesses to date in calling Jonathan Good to the stand.Good was composed, coherent, and direct through his extensive testimony, the entirety of which was entirely consistent with the defense’s theory of lawful self-defense.

More at Legal Insurrection.

RELATED: "Tommy Christopher: ‘Cracker’ is a compliment, you guys!"

PREVIOUSLY: "#TrayvonMartin Supporters Keepin' it Classy on Twitter."

California Heat Wave

Record hot weather today. We just got back from having lunch at Subway with my wife down in Aliso Viejo. We're glad to get back home in the air conditioning. Man. I've got the Angels at Houston on and will be blogging throughout the evening.

See the Los Angeles Times, "Heat wave: It's 116 and rising in Palm Springs, Death Valley."

And a slideshow, "Heat wave in the Southland."

Hate-Fueled Psycho Alec Baldwin Gets a Pass From GLADD

This something else, at TMZ "GLAAD — Alec Baldwin Gets a Pass ... 'Cause We're Starf**kers."

And from Darleen Click, "It was never about “homophobia” or “sexism” or “racism” …":

It is about Leftism, and once a good member of the cult, you can do anything …

Also at BuzzFeed, "9 Ridiculous Quotes From Alec Baldwin’s "Apology" Interview."

And at GLADD, "ALEC BALDWIN SPEAKS OUT IN SUPPORT OF THE GAY COMMUNITY."

Screw em' both --- Baldwin and GLADD. It's not about rights. It's about power and the destruction of decency and morality. Screw 'em --- the bungee bunghole jumpers.

'Go to the barricades for religious liberty...

From Kathryn Jean Lopez, at National Review:

That’s the headline on a piece today in the N.Y. Daily News from Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

He writes:

Religious freedom is a good in its own right, and it also fosters the common good. It enables people of faith to contribute to their communities. We see faith in action in schools, clinics and humanitarian assistance projects throughout the world. Faith inspires people to serve their neighbors, enriching the public life we all share.

Faith communities are also vital participants in public debates and often help hold governments accountable to their people. From neighborhood parish schools to faith-based soup kitchens and immigrant resource centers, religious ministries are essential to the social fabric.

And religious freedom reinforces other freedoms — of conscience, of the press and of assembly, to name just a few.

You’d think that governments would encourage religious liberty as a way to help their societies advance. But as Pope Francis has said, “In the world today, freedom of religion is more often talked about rather than put into practice.” Instead, many restrict religion and feed societal animosities toward religious minorities in the name of “good order” and control.

The result is too often violence and social conflict.

No doubt.

PREVIOUSLY: "Mofo @Dat_Nigga_Reppy Be Down Wit Some Anti-Christian Hatin'!" And, "Faith, Any Faith, Has Now Officially Become Hate Speech."

Mofo @Dat_Nigga_Reppy Be Down Wit Some Anti-Christian Hatin'!

Hey, ain't nevah no surprises wit dat hate-addled mofo Walter James Casper III --- a.k.a. @Dat_Nigga_Reppy, since he be down with somma mofo @Dat_Nigga_Vonni hatin' on Twittah.

Seriously, @Dat_Nigga_Reppy done be tweetin' him some Erik "Lumberjack" Loomis anti-Christian hate:

On Our Knees for America - Lawyers, Guns & Money : http://t.co/uqQzOy78RH
— J. Casper (@repsac3) June 28, 2013

I done already be blogging on dat mf, "Faith, Any Faith, Has Now Officially Become Hate Speech." And @Dat_Niggy_Reppy already done tweeted him some anti-Christian hate from vile mf POS John Aravosis:

Most unfortunate logo and slogan in the history of American politics http://t.co/9kFgSStb3z
— J. Casper (@repsac3) June 28, 2013

These mofos be lying, especially epic liar @Dat_Nigga_Reppy. I been calling out dat fool for his mf harassment for long time, yo. Ima get me some cops comin' down on that bitch for his serial harassment, cracka fool!

Mf @Dat_Nigga_Reppy just be like @Dat_Nigga_Vonni on #TrayonMartin on Twittah:

Its a #Free world #Fuck all u #CreepAssCrackers  #RIPTRAYVON
— Vonni Versace (@Dat_Nigga_Vonni) June 27, 2013

I got these #Crackers goin crazy on my #TL bout that #zimmerman shit
— Vonni Versace (@Dat_Nigga_Vonni) June 28, 2013

@CreepyKyle13 kill all u Zimmerman supporting mfs!!!
— Vonni Versace (@Dat_Nigga_Vonni) June 29, 2013

See dat, mofo! Next up, we likely be seein' @Dat_Nigga_Reppy gonna be down with poppin' some Christians, no doubt yo! More here, cracka!, "#TrayvonMartin Supporters Keepin' it Classy on Twitter."

BONUS: "Bwahaha!! Poor Widdle Wepsac3 Whines Hilariously: 'I'm the Victim! It's Me, I'm the Victim!'"

Bwahaha! I be laughin' at dat bitch!

A Thriving American Legacy in Iraq

Leftist anti-American Bush-haters will never credit American democracy promotion in Iraq, but as time goes by the evidence is coming in on the epic power of the freedom agenda.

From Fouad Ajami, at WSJ, "A Thriving American Legacy in Iraq."

And from J.J. Gould, at the Atlantic, "10 Years After the Fall of Saddam, How Do Iraqis Look Back on the War?":

... for those of us who lived under the tyranny of Saddam Hussein and understand what tyranny means, ... the difficulties of today, the pains of today, and the disappointments of today -- and they are very profound, because Iraqis deserve better -- these pale in comparison to what we had to endure. ... Then, people had the certainty of the knock on the door late at night, and could possibly end up in a mass grave. Two weeks ago, in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, a new mass grave in which there were some five-six people who were shot. Their families never heard from them since 1988. They were found and they could only be identified by the pajamas they were wearing as they were taken from home. These are the type of stories that my people, my community, had to endure.

VIA Instapundit.

Markets Brace for Post-Fed World

At WSJ, "Despite Best Yearly Start Since 1999, Investors Spooked by Central Bank's Signals See Turbulence Ahead":

The U.S. stock market had its best start to a year since 1999, but by Friday—the halfway mark of 2013—investors had ditched their party hats and braced for the Federal Reserve to cut back on policies that helped send stocks soaring this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the first six months of the year up 14%, but all the gains came in the first five months. The Dow fell 1.4% in June, including a 114.89 point, or 0.76%, drop on Friday to 14909.60.

The impact on financial markets from an anticipated shift in Fed policy in the second half of the year is now a matter of intense debate. In the past week, senior Fed officials have sought to reassure markets the central bank would withdraw its assistance gradually and only if the U.S. economy appeared strong enough.

But some investors said they were bracing for more tumult in the months ahead, as markets face a new, uncertain world.

"We think it is going to be a bumpy summer, a volatile summer," said Rebecca Patterson, chief investment officer at Bessemer Trust, which manages about $60 billion in New York. Ms. Patterson added that she was optimistic U.S. stocks would pull through with gains.

In June, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke confirmed the central bank's intentions to start trimming aid this year. But he said any changes would depend on continued economic strength and be limited to gradual reductions in monthly bond-buying. Increases in the Fed's target short-term interest rates, he said, would require a return to 6.5% unemployment.

The stock market has since swung down and then up as investors tried to predict the fallout. Bond prices took an even bigger hit and yields, which rise as bond prices fall, surged.

Most Fed officials said the markets overreacted to Mr. Bernanke's news conference, but one said market volatility was a normal reaction to the prospect of a pullback by the Fed.

nvestors have become dependent on the Fed's unprecedented injections of cash into markets, including the current $85 billion-a-month bond-buying program. There is no historic experience to help predict how the unwinding of such an elaborate support system will unfold, creating uncertainty.

Jim Dunigan, chief investment officer at PNC Wealth Management, which oversees about $116 billion, compares a gradual withdrawal to movie hero Indiana Jones trying to grab a diamond from the stones of an ancient tomb without bringing the whole edifice crashing down.

"How do you withdraw the support, which has been massive?" Mr. Dunigan said. "It is hard to do. Throttling back is going to be a little tricky."

That was revealed this month, when the mere mention of a Fed pullback roiled markets across the globe. Gold ended its worst quarter since the start of modern gold trading in 1974; Brazilian stocks were down 16% and the Australian dollar tumbled more than 12%.

The U.S. bond market, which is the direct recipient of the Fed's monthly purchases, has been especially hard hit.

Faith, Any Faith, Has Now Officially Become Hate Speech

At All The Right Snark, "Finally! SCOTUS Gives the Left a Group They Can H8!!!"

Ah, yes. In the name of equality Liberalism can finally, openly, and with judicial fiat hate Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus. And they don’t have to feel guilty at all!!

What a coup!

And supporters of homosexual “marriage” took to the Twitters to share their SCOTUS-approved H8:

“Take that bitches!!!” was the tolerant Left’s response.

In an effort to be able to “live their lives and love their loves” freely, they now have the door kicked wide open to hate those folks who disagree with them and hate them with impunity!!!

Ain’t life grand?!

You see, there’s equality, then there’s equality.

And a First Amendment protection to practice your religion isn’t something that you can do with equal freedom as say two men who want to get married in your church.

Faith, any faith, has now officially become hate speech.

More at the link (via iOWNTHEWORLD).

BONUS: Some mondo sized stupidity and Christian hatred, from Erik "Lumberjack" Loomis, "On Our Knees for America." Because descending to bended knee in prayer is really all about cone jobs for your bestest bungee bunghole jumping homies. WINNING!

Labor's Kevin Rudd Returns as Prime Minister of Australia

Julia Gillard to sacked. See the Guardian UK, "Julia Gillard ousted as Australia prime minister":

Australia's first female prime minister, Julia Gillard, has been sacked by her party just months before the next election and replaced by the man she ousted three years ago.

After an unprecedented day of political bloodletting in Canberra, Kevin Rudd beat Gillard in a ballot of MPs by a margin of 57 to 45 to become Labor party leader. It is only the second time a sitting Australian prime minister has been removed from their first term in office by their party; Rudd was the first.

Delivering his victory speech, Rudd dedicated himself to winning the election in September. "In 2007 the Australian people elected me to be their prime minister. That is a task that I resume today with humility, with honour and with an important sense of energy and purpose."

He also paid tribute to Julia Gillard. "She is a woman of extraordinary intelligence, great strength, great energy. All of you across the nation would recognise those formidable attributes," he said. "Julia has achieved much under the difficult circumstances of minority government, helped by a dedicated set of ministers."

"She has been a remarkable reformer and I acknowledge those contributions this evening," he said.

Rudd said he had taken on the challenge of the leadership because he could not "stand idly by and allow a (conservative) Abbott government come to power in this country by default".

There's background on Gillard's sacking at the link, although I like this:

Conservative opposition leader, Tony Abbott, whose party is well ahead in the polls, criticised the revolving door of Labor leadership, saying Australians deserved better.
"She has been a remarkable reformer and I acknowledge those contributions this evening," he said.
"In 2007 you voted for Kevin and got Julia," he said. "In 2010 you voted for Julia and got Kevin. If you vote for the Labor party in 2013 who knows who you will end up with."

Next Battlegrounds in Homosexual Marriage

Hey, the Sodomites are just now getting started.

At the New York Times, "Both Sides on Same-Sex Marriage Issue Focus on the Next State Battlegrounds":

With the expected addition of Californians after Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling, some 30 percent of Americans will live in states offering same-sex marriage.

Now the two sides of the marriage wars are gearing up to resume the costly state-by-state battles that could, in the hopes of each, spread marriage equality to several more states in the next few years, or reveal a brick wall of values that cannot be breached. There is wide agreement from both sides on where the next battlefields will be.

Proponents of same-sex marriage were already energized by victories in six states over the last year, bringing the total number authorizing such unions to 12 states, before California, and the District of Columbia. They are hoping for legislative victories this fall or next spring in Illinois and possibly New Jersey and Hawaii.

Twenty-nine states — not including California —have constitutional amendments defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Some advocates expect that in the November 2014 elections, Oregon and perhaps Nevada or Ohio could become the first states to undo their amendments. At the same time, a court case in New Mexico could extend marriage rights.

These strategists agree they are unlikely to win over more conservative states in the South and the West in the foreseeable future. But, looking at the historical experience with issues like bans on interracial marriage, which the Supreme Court outlawed only in 1967, they feel confident that if equality spreads to more states and public attitudes continue shifting, a future Supreme Court will find that marriage is a right for gay men and lesbians as well as heterosexuals.

“Building a critical mass of states and a critical mass of public support — that’s how social movements succeed,” said Evan Wolfson, the founder of Freedom to Marry. “We’ll pursue this strategy until we finish the job,” he said, “and I think it will be a matter of years, not decades.”

The opponents of same-sex marriage, while unhappy that the Supreme Court struck down a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act and opened the door to gay marriage in California, are taking heart that the court did not declare same-sex marriage a constitutional right.

After a recent succession of stinging defeats in Delaware, Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, Rhode Island and Washington State — after political campaigns in which they were heavily outspent — the groups have also vowed to step up fund-raising for advertising and mobilizing supporters.

“These court decisions could be a real boon to our fund-raising,” said Frank Schubert, a conservative political consultant and vice president of the National Organization for Marriage. “People tend to react when the wolf is at the door.”

Well, not just wolves, but jackals, serpents and general pestilence.

The New Yorker's already ramming homosexuality down our children's throats, to say nothing of other bodily parts, "Bert and Ernie's 'Moment of Joy' — The New Yorker's #DOMA Cover."

Winnie Mandela Daughter Attacks 'Racist' Media 'Vultures'

These folks are keeping it classy.

See, "Video of Mandela’s Daughter Calling Reporters ‘Vultures’."

Who's This Hot Celebrity Stepping Out of a Car?

A funny TMZ video:

Canada's Socialist Teachers Brainwash Students

Well, it's not just Canada, obviously.

But see Blazing Cat Fur.