Be Nice to Homosexuals. Or Else.

Be sure to read Mark Steyn's excellent essay on the "tolerant" left's intolerance of mainstream Christian beliefs, and their intolerance of the temerity that anyone might express them.

See, "The Age of Intolerance" (via Memeorandum).

And because he's a bleedin' idiot (and epic asshole), LGM's Scotty Lame-ieux attacks Steyn on free speech grounds (although Steyn's not making a free speech argument).  See, "And David Duke is the New Fred Shuttlesworth!"

And previously, ICYMI, "GLAAD: Demonizing Critics in the Name of 'Equality'."

Phil Robertson answered a question about his thoughts on sin by paraphrasing the Bible: 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. #tcot pic.twitter.com/FZhKJ8GRpG

— Ron P (@romopar) December 20, 2013

Canada Slams U.N. Special Rapporteur Richard Falk on Israel 'Holocaust' Allegations

Background at Israel Matzav, "And again: Richard Falk calls Israel 'genocidal' (VIDEO)."

And at the Times of Israel, "Canada wants UN official ousted over ‘Palestinian holocaust’ comment."

Alessandra Ambrosio Holiday Video

Well, I guess she comes up short in the singing department. Easy on the eyes though.

Alessandra Ambrosio jingles her bells - and sings too - in new holiday video http://t.co/VLxtDgfWWr pic.twitter.com/LRDH4piqBc

— Daily Mail Celebrity (@DailyMailCeleb) December 21, 2013

'Blue Is the Warmest Color' Tops Daily Beast's '10 Best Movie Sex Scenes of 2013'

I used to go to a lot of foreign art films when I was in college, and I would have probably seen "Blue Is the Warmest Color."

These Daily Beast dolts are getting an erection out of it, however.

The 10 Best Movie Sex Scenes of 2013: http://t.co/RYkUsYFZy3 pic.twitter.com/PRwtWDU0oX

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) December 21, 2013

It was the most talked-about sex scene of the year for a reason. Abdellatif Kechiche’s three-hour French drama centers on Adèle (Exarchopoulos), a teenager who falls for blue-haired collegiate art student Emma (Seydoux). After sharing a few kisses in the park, the sexual tension builds to a fever pitch, resulting in a seven-minute paroxysm of sexual desire replete with clawing, slapping, scratching, moaning, and howling. Adèle and Emma contort themselves into a plethora of sexual positions. It’s feral, an explosion of their desire for one another. The scene is a bit problematic, too. It’s composed of medium shots from the perspective of the filmmaker (male gaze), never shifting to the perspective of the women, and it does drag. Oh, and the actresses hated shooting it—over 10 days. Nevertheless, it’s a powerful, important scene that challenges viewers’ heteronormative cinematic perspective. The first time I viewed it was at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado, seated next to a lil’ old lady slurping a gigantic cup of coke, who “oohed” and “aahed” the entire time. Priceless.

I don't see the sex-scene video, but I'll tell you, this movie's like a how-to manual for postmodern queer feminism.

Student Christina Edwards Claims White Lynching Was to 'Shine Light on an Old but Standing Matter...'

Here's a disgusting but all-too-inevitable twist on the left's racist grievance shakedown artists. It's all just "art" you see.

At Fire Andrea Mitchell, "Christina Edwards Sacramento State black student lynches two white males calls it art."

This lady, Ms. Edwards, is an "African American artist" who wanted to "cross-racial lines" to "create an open opportunity to personalize and empathize with his-story as a people and hopefully initiate compassion and change in terms of social and racial availability and equality."

With that, yet more evidence that regressive leftism makes you stupid. Lynching is not a "standing matter." And I doubt many people need to be forced to empathize with how a lynched black man would feel. All this does is instantiate and legitimize reverse racism as a form of "retribution," which not ironically is what her performance is entitled. Put a woman like this in power and you'll have real examples of "retribution" against whites. (Or, that is, put more women like this in power.) Think about it, such retribution is already real and frightening at campuses across the country.

More at Sac State's Campus Culture, "ARTIST: LYNCHING DISPLAY ON CAMPUS WAS ART MEANT TO BRING AWARENESS TO SOCIAL JUSTICE AND RACIAL INEQUALITY."

And at the New York Daily News, "Lynching art project with live men at Sacramento State University stirs outrage."

"Hitting a little too close to home":

CNN's Brianna Keilar: Lapdog Laughingstock

Keep humping that leg, lol.

At Director Blue, "LAPDOG MEDIA COMIX: CNN's Brianna Keilar, Laughingstock Edition."

U.S. Troops Attacked in South Sudan

At the New York Times, "Attack on U.S. Aircraft Foils Evacuation in South Sudan."

And especially at the Other McCain, who has been on this the last couple of days, "#SouthSudan 3 U.S. Troops Wounded as Rebels Fire on Transport Plane UPDATE: Four U.S. Casualties; Rebels Claim Overthrow of Oil Region Capital."

Hey, @BarackObama: Sorry to interrupt your vacation ... http://t.co/qjakck55cH #p2 #tcot #SouthSudan @AmPowerBlog

— Robert Stacy McCain (@rsmccain) December 21, 2013

Expect updates.

#ObamaCare's Radicalism Exposed

From Charles Krauthammer, at the Washington Post, "Story of the year":

The lie of the year, according to Politifact, is “If you like your health care plan, you can keep it.” But the story of the year is a nation waking up to just how radical Obamacare is — which is why it required such outright deception to get it passed in the first place.

Obamacare was sold as simply a refinement of the current system, retaining competition among independent insurers but making things more efficient, fair and generous. Free contraceptives for Sandra Fluke. Free mammograms and checkups for you and me. Free (or subsidized) insurance for some 30 million uninsured. And, mirabile dictu, not costing the government a dime.

In fact, Obamacare is a full-scale federal takeover. The keep-your-plan-if-you-like-your-plan ruse was a way of saying to the millions of Americans who had insurance and liked what they had: Don’t worry. You’ll be left unmolested. For you, everything goes on as before.

That was a fraud from the very beginning. The law was designed to throw people off their private plans and into government-run exchanges where they would be made to overpay — forced to purchase government-mandated services they don’t need — as a way to subsidize others. (That’s how you get to the ostensible free lunch.)

It wasn’t until the first cancellation notices went out in late 2013 that the deception began to be understood. And felt. Six million Americans with private insurance have just lost it. And that’s just the beginning. By the Department of Health and Human Services’ own estimates, about 75 million Americans would have plans that their employers would have the right to cancel. And millions of middle-class workers who will migrate to the exchanges and don’t qualify for government subsidies will see their premiums, deductibles and co-pays go up.

It gets worse. The dislocation extends to losing one’s doctor and drug coverage, as insurance companies narrow availability to compensate for the huge costs imposed on them by the extended coverage and “free” services the new law mandates.

But it’s not just individuals seeing their medical care turned upside down. The insurance providers, the backbone of the system, are being utterly transformed. They are rapidly becoming mere extensions of the federal government.

More at the link, and enjoy Paul Hsieh on Twitter:

It's. The. Law-unless-I-choose-to-exempt-you-from-it. pic.twitter.com/3v8y7OjlHs

— Paul Hsieh (@PaulHsieh) December 21, 2013

Why Putin Freed Mikhail Khodorkovsky

From Julia Ioffe, at the New Republic, "The Khodorkovsky Case: Putin Giveth and Putin Taketh Away":

This morning, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an oil tycoon who was once Russia’s richest man and who, for the past ten years, has been Vladimir Putin’s most famous, most irksome, and most ironic political prisoner, woke up in Segezha, a former Soviet gulag in Russia’s bleak northern stretches. He cleaned up the metal shavings on the floor of his section of the penal colony’s workshop where he spent his days making metal file binders. Then he had lunch: noodles. Then, at 2:20 pm, he was checked out of the penal colony, loaded onto a helicopter and flown, apparently, to St. Petersburg, though it later turned out he was on his way to Germany, where his mother is receiving cancer treatment.

It did not escape people’s notice, that almost exactly forty years ago, the same thing had happened with dissident and writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who, in February 1974, was arrested and dumped in Frankfurt. Nor that his freedom came on the Day of the Chekist, which celebrates the Soviet and Russian security agency once knows as the Cheka and, later, the KGB.

It was also the final twist in a nail-biting and wholly unexpected finale of a saga that has kept Moscow’s liberals and business community riveted for two days. Over the decade that Khodorkovsky has spent in prison, his children grew and the world moved on—his wife spoke of his wonder on seeing an iPhone for the first time—and a consensus set in: as long as Vladimir Putin is in the Kremlin, Mikhail Khodorkovsky will be in prison. The fact that the Kremlin manufactured not one, but two cases against him, and that there was official talk of it preparing a third; the fact that the mere mention of Khodorkovsky’s name infuriated Putin—and given the paralyzing pall his 2003 tarmac arrest sent through the Russian business community, it came up a lot—and led him to say things like “a thief must sit in jail”; the fact that Khodorkovsky underwent a profound and, through myriad op-eds, a very public transformation from robber baron to the conscience of a country, he had become the issue that never went away, the thorn in Putin’s side all added up to a grinding, hopeless inertia that touched even the seemingly unbreakable Khodorkovsky himself. In a recent interview, Khodorkovsky, who famously stayed in Russia even when he knew his arrest was imminent, even said that had he known how it would all go down, he would have committed suicide.

And then, yesterday, the bombshell: at the end of a four-hour press conference, Putin announced that, as part of a broad amnesty project to free some 3,500 prisoners to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Russia’s constitution, he would be freeing his arch-nemesis, Khodorkovsky, because his mother was ill.

The announcement was so shocking that it completely obscured that the two members of Pussy Riot who were still in jail were also being freed, as were four people wrapped up in the politically fraught case of opposition protests that turned violent in May 2012...

Continue reading.

As If Folks Needed a Reminder of @MSNBC's Moral Depravity

Here comes Robert Stacy McCain to give us one, "MSNBC OMFG: @ChrisLHayes and Guest @RichardKimNYC Talk About Butt Sex."

These people are sick. But then, you'd have to be sick to watch MSNBC.

BuzzFeed Gets Justine Sacco Sacked?

Well, BuzzFeed might have enabled the sacking Justine Sacco.

See, "Internet Erupts After PR Woman for Media Firm Tweets a “Joke” About Getting AIDS in Africa."

Well, that's not going over too well for AceofSpadesHQ, "Buzzfeed Gets Results: Random Person No One Ever Heard Of May Be Fired Because of Joke Tweet! Yaaayyyy!!!"

Sacco's employer, IAC (communications, entertainment), has issued a statement:

“This is an outrageous, offensive comment that does not reflect the views and values of IAC. Unfortunately, the employee in question is unreachable on an international flight, but this is a very serious matter and we are taking appropriate action.”

And nothing stays quite for long on the Internet, at London's Daily Mail, "'Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just kidding. I'm white!': Blonde female PR executive's racist tweet causes international outrage and may cost her her job"(via Dan Riehl).

Well, now everyone's waiting for her to land.

We're Witnessing the #ObamaCare Death Spiral in Real-Time

As always, the editors at the Wall Street Journal have nailed the administration's deceit and incompetence. See, "Obama Repeals ObamaCare."

Read the whole thing, but note especially these two paragraphs:

The only political explanation for relaxing enforcement of the individual mandate—even at the risk of destabilizing ObamaCare in the long term—is that the White House is panicked that the whole entitlement is endangered. The insurance terminations and rollout fiasco could leave more people uninsured in 2014 than in 2013. ObamaCare's unpopularity with the public could cost Democrats the Senate in 2014, and a GOP Congress in 2015 could compel the White House to reopen the law and make major changes.

Republicans ought to prepare for that eventuality with insurance reforms beyond the "repeal" slogan, but they can also take some vindication in Thursday's reversal. Mr. Obama's actions are as damning about ObamaCare as anything Senator Ted Cruz has said, and they implicitly confirm that the law is quarter-baked and harmful. Mr. Obama is doing through executive fiat what Republicans shut down the government to get him to do.

And as noted earlier, this latest "fix" creates huge incentives for individuals to avoid buying health insurance (and some of the already uninsured may create fake cancellation documents to take advantage of the changes), and thus we're really watching the opening moments of the much-predicted ObamaCare death spiral. See also Megan McArdle, at Bloomberg, "Obamacare Initiates Self-Destruction Sequence":

I’m not sure the administration is thinking that far ahead. The White House is focused on winning the news cycle, day by day, not the kind of detached technocratic policymaking that they, and the law’s other supporters, hoped this law would embody. Does your fix create problems later, cause costs to spiral or people to drop out of the insurance market, or lead to political pressure to expand the fixes in ways that critically undermine the law? Well, that’s preferable to sudden death right now.

However incoherent these fixes may seem, they send two messages, loud and clear. The first is that although liberal pundits may think that the law is a done deal, impossible to repeal, the administration does not believe that. The willingness to take large risks with the program’s stability indicates that the administration thinks it has a huge amount to lose -- that the White House is in a battle for the program’s very existence, not a few marginal House and Senate seats.

And the second is that enrollment probably isn’t what the administration was hoping. I don’t know that we’ll start Jan. 1 with fewer people insured than we had a year ago, but this certainly shouldn’t make us optimistic. It’s not like people who lost their insurance due to Obamacare, and now can’t afford to replace their policy, are going to be happy that they’re exempted from the mandate; they’re still going to be pretty mad. This is at best, damage control. Which suggests that the administration is expecting a fair amount of damage.

Still more at that top link (via Memeorandum).

The ObamaCare death spiral occurs when so few young people sign up for insurance that the system's structure of subsidies for older, less healthy consumers fails to operate correctly. This is why the Wall Street Journal argues, among others, that last night's "fix" will only cause insurance companies to jack up rates to cover losses. (And as McArdle notes, insurance companies will be even more entitled to a government bailout on their losses through the law's "risk corridors"). Folks have been warning about this "death spiral" for months.

It's still early, of course. But no doubt the White House is utterly panicked. It's a virtually certainly that more changes will be unveiled, perhaps more deadlines pushed back to minimize the Democrats' political losses next year. But by now only the most hackneyed ideological reprobates are defending the law anymore. Democrats can't run away from it fast enough and across the netroots regressive leftists are whining about how all they really wanted was "single-payer" (socialized medicine) in the first place. These people are idiots and moral retards. They deserve the political backlash now hammering them on the heads, and all the more that's likely over the next year. Screw 'em. God willing, the voters will crush the radical left for a generation or more.

Rockin' Kate Upton in 'The Other Woman' Trailer

Just got back from the movies ("American Hustle," a very good film), and hey that trailer for "The Other Woman" was something else.

And come to think of it, London's Daily Mail wrote on this yesterday, "'The boobs!': Cameron Diaz and Leslie Mann are mesmerised by Kate Upton's bikini cleavage in The Other Woman trailer."

And watch it here, "The Other Woman Official Trailer (HD) Kate Upton, Cameron Diaz."

Duck Dynasty: The Show That Got Away

An outstanding piece, from Pat Archbold, at the National Catholic Register:

This is what happened. The whole idea of the show was to parade these nouveau riche Christian hillbillies around so that we could laugh at them. “Look at them,” we were supposed to say. “Look how backward they are! Look what they believe! Can you believe they really live this way and believe this stuff? See how they don’t fit in? HAHAHA.”

When the producers saw the way the show was shaping up, different than they envisioned it, they tried to change course. They tried to get the Robertson’s to tone down their Christianity, but to their eternal credit they refused. They tried to add fake cussin’ to the show by inserting bleeps where no cussword was uttered. At best, they wanted to make the Robertson’s look like crass buffoons. At worst they wanted them to look like hypocrites.

They desperately wanted us to laugh at the Robertsons. Instead, we loved them.

A&E wanted us to point fingers at them and laugh at them. But something else happened entirely. Millions upon millions of people tuned in, not to laugh at them, but to laugh with them.

And then we pointed at them. We pointed at them and said things like, “I wish my family was more like them. I wish we prayed together as a family. I wish we were together like the Robertsons.”

By the time this all happened, A&E had a conundrum. They knew who the Robertsons were and what they believe and they still held it in disdain. But they really liked the money. Really liked the money. So they lived with it.

But the progressives whose bank accounts were not growing fatter because of these backward rubes were never inclined to look the other way. They hate the show and they really hate the response to the show. They want it destroyed.

HAT TIP: Darleen Click, at Protein Wisdom, "Leftists are GLAAD to yell SQUIRREL DUCK!!"

ADDED: From Big Hollywood, "Sources: 'Duck Dynasty' Will Likely Be Cancelled."

The Left Against Zion

From Caroline Glick:

In the 1960s, the American Left embraced the anti-Vietnam War movement as its cri de coeur.

In the 1970s, the Left’s foreign policy focus shifted to calling for unilateral nuclear disarmament by the US and its Western allies.

In the 1980s, supporting the Sandinista Communists’ takeover of Nicaragua became the catechism of the Left.

In the 1990s, the war on global capitalism – that is, the anti-globalization movement – captivated the passions of US Leftists from coast to coast.

In the 2000s, it was again, the anti-war movement. This time the Left rioted and demonstrated against the war in Iraq.

And in this decade, the main foreign policy issue that galvanizes the passions and energies of the committed American Left is the movement to delegitimize Israel’s right to exist.

This week has been a big one for the anti-Israel movement. In the space of a few days, two quasi academic organizations – the American Studies Association and the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association – have launched boycotts against Israeli universities. Their boycotts follow a similar one announced in April by the Asian Studies Association.

These groups’ actions have not taken place in isolation. They are of a piece with ever-escalating acts of anti-Israel agitation in college campuses throughout the United States.

Between the growth of Israel Apartheid Day (or Week, or Month) from a fringe exercise on isolated campuses to a staple of the academic calendar in universities throughout the US and Canada, and the rise of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement to wage economic war against the Jewish state, anti-Israel activism has become the focal point of Leftist foreign policy activism in the US and throughout the Western world.

Every week brings a wealth of stories about new cases of aggressive anti-Israel activism. At the University of Michigan last week, thousands of students were sent fake eviction notices from the university’s housing office. A pro-Palestinian group distributed them in dorms across campus to disseminate the blood libel that Israel is carrying out mass expulsions of Palestinians.

At Swarthmore College, leftist anti-Israel Jewish students who control Hillel are insisting on using Hillel’s good offices to disseminate and legitimate anti-Israel slanders.
And the Left’s doctrinaire insistence that Israel is the root of all evil is not limited to campuses.

At New York’s 92nd Street Y, Commentary editor John Podhoretz was booed and hissed by the audience for trying to explain why the ASA’s just-announced boycott of Israel was an obscene act of bigotry.

Many commentators have rightly pointed out that the ASA and the NAISA are fringe groups. They represent doctorate holders who chose to devote their careers to disciplines predicated not on scholarship, but on political activism cloaked in academic regalia whose goal is to discredit American power. The ASA has only 5,000 members, and only 1,200 of them voted on the Israel- boycott resolution. The NAISA has even fewer members.

It would be wrong, however, to use the paltry number of these fringe groups’ members as means to dismiss the phenomenon that they represent. They are very much in line with the general drift of the Left.

Rejecting Israel’s right to exist has become part of the Left’s dogma. It is a part of the catechism. Holding a negative view of the Jewish state is a condition for membership in the ideological camp. It is an article of faith, not fact.

Disgusting and depraved.

Yet another reason I viscerally repudiate the left, and one of the most powerful reasons to continue to repudiate and destroy the cancer of regressive leftism.

Continue reading.

PHOTO CREDIT: Anti-Israel protest, Trafalgar Square London (2011), via Legal Insurrection, "Reader crowdsourcing project to fight American Studies Assoc anti-Israel boycott."

GLAAD: Demonizing Critics in the Name of 'Equality'

One of the best essays you'll ever read on the left's fascist totalitarianism, from Michelle Malkin, "GLAAD: Lethal Enforcers of the Left’s Tolerance Mob":

“Duck Dynasty’s” Phil Robertson is not alone. He’s the latest in a long, long lineup of politically incorrect targets of the left’s sensitivity mob. Founded in 1985, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) gangstas won’t stop until both the cultural and legal enforcement of their agenda are the norm.

The A&E network (Atheists & Elitists) suspended the reality TV patriarch and self-made businessman on Wednesday for the Biblical views he expressed in an interview with GQ. Robertson was asked by the liberal magazine what he viewed as sinful. Drawing on the condemnation of sexual immorality in Corinthians 6:9, he cited “adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers — they won’t inherit the kingdom of God.”

Robertson’s punishable transgressions? Responding honestly to a question posed to him (this was not an unsolicited “anti-gay rant”; it was a response) and abiding by his Christian faith. GLAAD’s P.C. Praetorian Guard sprung into repressive action. The same group that initially gave f-word-spouting, homophobic liberal Alec Baldwin a pass accused Robertson of uttering “some of the vilest and most extreme statements” against “LGBT people” ever. (They should listen to the Koran-inspired executioners’ rants of gay-hanging and gay-stoning Iranian mullahs sometime.) GLAAD also railed against Robertson’s “vile” preference for female anatomy over male as if it were an international human rights violation.

A&E folded faster than a stadium seat, immediately disavowing Robertson and suspending him from his family’s show indefinitely. Meanwhile, network execs continued to cash in on the lucrative “Duck Dynasty” empire with a marathon of program reruns on the very day they threw Robertson under the bus. The network is free to do that, of course. And I am free to tell you all about the radical thugs that A&E indulged.

GLAAD has worked tirelessly to marginalize and suppress the free speech of Christian leaders, Christian businesses and conservative talk-radio hosts dating back to their infamous Dr. Laura boycott 13 years ago. The group’s mission is not about equality or defending against “defamation.” It’s about silencing critics, making open debate radioactive, demonizing people of faith and making even the slightest perceived slight a hate crime...

Continue reading.

Glenn Reynolds with Mickey Kaus on 'InstaVision': Obama's Hipster Douchebag Fail

Via Moira Fitzgerald, "INSTAVISION: OBAMA'S HIPSTER DOUCHEBAG FAIL."

Also at Instapundit, "NOW ON YOUTUBE, My InstaVision interview with Mickey Kaus: Obama’s Second-Term Disappointment: Reduced to Mafioso Behavior and Hipster Twitter Ads."

Camouflage, Cross, and Christmas Tree: Sarah Palin Slams Left's 'Duck Dynasty' Controversy on Hannity

From the headline at Twitchy, "In defense of ‘Duck Dynasty’: Sarah Palin rocks camo, cross, and Christmas tree on Hannity [video]."

Extreme Hardship: White House Delays Portion of #ObamaCare Individual Mandate

The ACA includes a "hardship exemption" that allows individuals in worst case situations to avoid the requirements of the individual mandate. The Obama HHS Administration issued the relaxed rules yesterday afternoon, another delay in what's now nearly two dozen delays in this Democrat debacle.

At the Washington Post, "Obama administration relaxes rules of health-care law four days before deadline":

The Obama administration on Thursday night significantly relaxed the rules of the federal health-care law for millions of consumers whose individual insurance policies have been canceled, saying they can buy bare-bones plans or entirely avoid a requirement that most Americans have health coverage.

The surprise announcement, days before the Dec. 23 deadline for people to choose plans that will begin Jan. 1, triggered an immediate backlash from the health insurance industry and raised fairness questions about a law intended to promote affordable and comprehensive coverage on a widespread basis.

The rule change was issued in a bulletin from the Department of Health and Human Services. It is the second major response by the Obama administration to a public and political furor that erupted in the fall when several million people who bought their own insurance began to receive notices that their policies were being canceled because they fell short of new benefit standards. The cancellations prompted complaints that President Obama had reneged on an oft-repeated promise that, under the Affordable Care Act, people who like their health plans could keep them.

At a news conference in mid-November, an apologetic Obama relented to the criticism, announcing that the federal government would let insurance companies continue for another year to offer individuals and small businesses health plans that do not meet the new requirements. The decision, however , is up to each state’s insurance regulator, and not all have gone along.

This second change, prompted by a group of Democratic senators — most of whom face tough reelection campaigns next year — goes substantially further in accommodating people upset about losing their policies. The latest rule will allow consumers with a canceled health plan to claim a “hardship exemption” if they think the plans sold through new federal and state marketplaces are too expensive.

The ability to get an exemption means that the administration is freeing these people from one of the central features of the law: a requirement that most Americans have health insurance as of Jan. 1 or risk a fine. The exemption gives them the choice of having no insurance or of buying skimpy “catastrophic” coverage.

Until now, the law allowed people younger than 30 to buy catastrophic coverage if they couldn’t afford a better health plan. The exception was an effort to attract young adults who have been particularly prone to avoiding coverage in the past. The law also has allowed hardship exemptions for people 30 and older who could not afford the regular coverage.

It is unclear how many people facing canceled policies will choose no insurance, bare-bones coverage or a plan through the insurance exchanges that meet new federal standards. But the prospect that healthy people with canceled insurance might opt out of the new health plans set off immediate alarm among insurance industry leaders, who already have been worried whether enough people who are inexpensive to cover will sign up.

It's catastrophic alright. A catastrophic cascade of ClusterCare fail. Ezra Klein, of all people, indicates the incentives for further abandonment of the law:

"This latest rule change could cause significant instability in the marketplace and lead to further confusion and disruption for consumers," says Karen Ignani, head of the trade group America's Health Insurance Plans. They worry the White House is underestimating the number of people whose plans have been canceled and who will opt to either remain uninsured or buy catastrophic insurance rather than more comprehensive coverage....

This puts the first crack in the individual mandate. The question is whether it's the last. If Democratic members of Congress see this as solving their political problem with people whose plans have been canceled, it could help them stand against Republican efforts to delay the individual mandate. But if congressional Democrats use this ruling as an excuse to delay or otherwise de-fang the individual mandate for anyone who doesn't want to pay for insurance under Obamacare, then it'll be a very big problem for the law.

It's all f-ked up, but RTWT.

Bwahaha!! 'Morning Joe' Panel Rips #PajamaBoy

At Free Beacon, "Morning Joe Panel Can’t Stop Laughing at Obamacare’s ‘Pajama Boy’" (via Memeorandum).

More at Althouse, "Watch out for the Pajama Boy virus — it's hard to resist. I'm not resisting."

London's Apollo Theatre Roof Collapses During Show

Lots of photos, although I'm not quite sure how the thing crashed down.

At London's Daily Mail, "'It was like an avalanche': Terror at West End theatre as 80 people in audience are injured after balcony collapses during performance."

More at Telegraph UK, "Apollo Theatre roof in London's West End collapses: scores injured."

No sign of foul play, apparently. Must have just been some structural fatigue, and it gave way at precisely the wrong moment.

Two U.S. Universities Withdraw from American Studies Association

No doubt Legal Insurrection's having an impact.

See, "Brandeis Univ. drops American Studies Association membership over Israel boycott," and "Penn State Harrisburg to drop American Studies Assoc membership after Israel boycott."

Sarkisian Assistant Accused of Paying for Recruit's Online Classes

Well, I though Orgeron deserved the spot, so what can you do?

At LAT, "Coach who was on Sarkisian's staff at Washington under investigation":

Huskies defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi is being investigated by USC and Washington over allegations that he paid for private tutoring for a recruit, a violation of NCAA rules. Sarkisian says he was unaware of alleged actions.

USC and Washington are investigating whether a football coach who worked under Steve Sarkisian at Washington violated NCAA rules by paying for private tutoring and online classes for a recruit.

The allegations surround the recruitment of Andrew Basham, a former defensive lineman at Lynnwood High in Washington, who signed a letter of intent with the Huskies last February but did not qualify academically to enroll.

Mike Davis, a throwing coach who helped Basham win a state shotput title, told The Times that Tosh Lupoi, Washington's defensive line coach, gave him $3,000 to cover private tutoring for Basham through a test preparation company. Davis said he also received $1,500 from Lupoi to reimburse Basham's father for online classes Andrew could use to raise his grade-point average.

NCAA rules prohibit universities from paying for a prospect's academic services. Head coaches are required to "promote an atmosphere of compliance" and are held responsible for the actions of assistant coaches and administrators who report, directly or indirectly, to them.

Lupoi did not return phone calls seeking interview requests for this story. Informed by text message that there were allegations he delivered cash on at least two occasions to a go-between to reimburse expenses for tutoring and online classes for Basham, Lupoi said in a text, "Well that's certainly false. I deny such allegations of violating NCAA rules w/ the recruitment of Andrew Basham."

Lupoi, who played football at California from 2000 to 2005, joined Sarkisian's Washington staff in 2012 after serving as Cal's defensive line coach for four seasons and gaining a reputation as an effective recruiter.

David Roberts, USC's vice president for athletic compliance, said Lupoi was among the coaches Sarkisian listed as possible candidates to become Trojans assistants, and that all proposed candidates were vetted. USC's compliance office began investigating Lupoi last week after receiving a tip from someone who said Davis had been the middleman in a transaction between Lupoi and a recruit. The Times received a similar tip.

Roberts contacted Davis on Friday. After speaking with him and also with Sarkisian, Roberts said USC found no evidence that Sarkisian knew about the alleged activity. "We don't have concerns about Steve's involvement," Roberts said.

You Think? 'Silent Night' Might Not Work So Well If You Take Out the Religious References

Freakin' morons.

You can't take Jesus out of "Silent Night," you pathetic secular public school demons.

Regressive leftists at work.

Gateway Pundit has it, "Long Island School Removes Words From Silent Night – Too Offensive (Video)." (Via Memeorandum.)

OMG! LOL! Just Sign Up for #ObamaCare Already! PLEASE!! I BEG YOU!!!

Too funny.

At Twitchy, "Move over, Pajama Boy! New ‘ad’ reveals Obama’s latest sidesplitting Obamacare-begging [Photoshop]."

BONUS: "MSNBC ‘reporter’: Criticism of OFA #PajamaBoy is cyberbullying; Mockery dons a onesie."

Sidesplitting!

Femen's Topless Jihadis

Well, the Atlantic's publishing some topless pics of the Femen ladies, so there you go.

Topless jihadis: Inside Femen, the world's most radical feminist movement http://t.co/yEcRSZ0EFA

— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) December 19, 2013

Bwahaha! OFA #PajamaBoy Deletes His Entire Online Social Media Presence!

It's Ethan Krupp, and he's been busy scrubbing.

From Charlie Spiering, at the Washington Examiner, "Meet Ethan Krupp: Pajamacare boy and Organizing for Action employee":

Pajamacare boy is Ethan Krupp, an Organizing for Action employee and the subject of ridicule after OFA created a social ad encouraging everyone to sign up for Obamacare.

Here's his LinkedIn profile:



Which apparently has now been deleted:

.@CharlieSpiering #PajamaBoy deleted his LinkedIn account: http://t.co/Xrg5pSvgeV

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) December 19, 2013

Poor kid. It's hard out there for an OFA homo.

Target Confirms Massive Criminal Access to Credit and Debit Card Data

At the New York Times, "Target Says Data for 40 Million Shoppers Was Stolen":

SAN FRANCISCO — Target confirmed Thursday morning that it was investigating a security breach involving stolen credit card and debit card information for 40 million of its retail customers.

In a statement, Target said that criminals gained access to its customer information on Nov. 27 — the day before Thanksgiving and just ahead of one of the busiest shopping days of the year — and maintained access through Dec. 15.

“As of Dec. 15, we identified an unauthorized access and were able to resolve the issue,” Molly Snyder, a Target spokeswoman, said in an email.

A security blogger, Brian Krebs, first reported the breach on Wednesday.

Target said that criminals had stolen customer names, credit or debit card numbers, expiration dates and three-digit security codes for 40 million customers who had shopped at its stores. The company noted that online customers were not affected by the breach, which appeared to have been isolated to the point-of-sale systems in Target’s retail stores.

Immediately after discovering the breach, Target said, it alerted federal authorities and financial institutions, and is currently working with a third-party forensics firm on an investigation.

Hey, you're safer shopping online, especially through my Amazon links!

'Fuck you, Gillespie. You reek of libertarian insecurity about the infantilization of man-children...'

That's Big Fur Hat slamming Reason's Nick Gillespie, at iOWNTHEWORLD, "The Godfather of Hipster Douchitude is Laughing at Pajama Boy, But On a More Nuanced and Correct Level."

He's the Godfather alright.

Another reason I'm not socio-libertarian.

The Academic Boycott and the Failure of the American Jewish Diaspora

Here's Pamela Geller's commentary, at the Jerusalem Post:

The ASA declared in a statement: “The resolution is in solidarity with scholars and students deprived of their academic freedom and it aspires to enlarge that freedom for all, including Palestinians. The ASA’s endorsement of the academic boycott emerges from the context of U.S. military and other support for Israel; Israel’s violation of international law and UN resolutions; the documented impact of the Israeli occupation on Palestinian scholars and students; the extent to which Israeli institutions of higher education are a party to state policies that violate human rights; and finally, the support of such a resolution by a majority of ASA members.”

If the resolution were in solidarity with scholars and students deprived of their academic freedom, then it would oppose these academic boycotts of Jewish scholars and academics. The ASA’s condemnation of U.S. military and other support for Israel exposes its vicious agenda. U.S. military and other support of Israel is an impediment to the annihilation of Israel. This boycott mimics the Nazi purge of academics and scientists.

Israel has not violated international law or UN resolutions, and if these so-called academics had even a rudimentary knowledge of history -- the San Remo resolution, Balfour, the White Paper, and Islamic Jew-hatred -- they would apologize and retreat with their heads hung in shame. The ASA ought to issue a resolution that Islamic anti-Semitism is a violation of human rights, and that calls for a Jew-free “Palestine” are a human rights violation, and the repeated “Palestinian” calls for the destruction of Israel are a monstrous human rights violation.

RTWT. And at Atlas Shrugs, "PAMELA GELLER, THE JERUSALEM POST: THE ACADEMIC BOYCOTT AND THE FAILURE OF THE AMERICAN JEWISH DIASPORA."

Lee Rigby Murder Convictions

At the Los Angeles Times, "Two Muslim extremists convicted in fatal attack on British soldier."

Also at the Mirror UK, "Recap: Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale found guilty of Lee Rigby murder."

And at Blazing Cat Fur, "Background story on Lee Rigby's killer Michael Adebolajo."

Rosie in Red, White, and Blue

It's Rosie Jones, who's British, although she's fine in the Stars and Stripes.

And more Rosie on Twitter.

Stop Making Fun of Effeminate Pajama Boy!

As seen at Weasel Zippers, "Lib: Making Fun of Obamacare's Effeminate Pajama Boy Is 'Homophobic'…"

'All these people wake up every morning and go to work where they spend the entire day laboring to destroy morality in America...'

"All these people" are the moral reprobates of the homosexual lobby, "Gay, Inc.," according to Robert Stacy McCain. See, "This Is Not News: Carl Herold and His ‘Domestic Partner’ Charles Dunnavant."

And Althouse weighs in on the debate, "Was Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson fired after likening homosexuality to bestiality?" (A beefy comment section there as well.)

And here's Erick Erickson, "Ultimately There Will Be No Option for Silence or the Sidelines. You Will Be Made to Care" (via Memeorandum):

I have told you people again and again. You will be made to care.

Evil preaches tolerance until it is dominant and then it seeks to silence good. Phil Robertson, patriarch of the Duck Dynasty clan, honestly answered questions during an GQ interview. He spoke openly of his Christian faith. Because he offended a secular left at war with orthodox Christianity, he must be punished...

RTWT.

ADDED: At Legal Insurrection, "Duck Dynasty guy, slippery slopes, and counting sins."

Obama to Nominate Max Baucus as Next Ambassador to China

This sounded funny when I first saw the news.

See LAT, for example, "Obama to pick Sen. Max Baucus as ambassador to China, officials say."

I haven't the slightest clue about Montana politics, but without even the least bit of research, this post at Yid With Lid sounds about right to me, "The REAL Slimy Political Reason Max Baucus is Being Sent to China."

Montana's governor's a Democrat who'll appoint Baucus' replacement (apparently Lieutenant Governor John Walsh), who'll then become the odds-on nominee in 2014, and eventually a Democrat incumbent in the general with better odds to hold the seat.

Boy, the Dems sure are desperate.

Yid With Lid isn't convinced, and neither am I, clue or no clue.

Andrea Tantaros: 'The Administration's Actually Enabling the Jihadists Rise Up...'

The beautiful Ms. Tantaros calls it on the bullseye.



More at Jihad Watch, "Interfaith outreach in Nigeria: Muslims murder at least 205 Christians."

ISIS Rises in Syria

It's the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

At Der Spiegel, "Masked Army: Shadowy Jihadist Group Expands Rapidly in Syria":

A murderous Islamist group called ISIS is obstructing Syrian rebels in their battle against President Bashar Assad's regime. The Free Syrian Army seems barely able to put up a fight in the face of their brutal tactics.

The sender was unidentified, but the young engineer knew who the email was from as soon as he opened the attachment. Beneath a picture of the brutally mutilated corpse of Muhannad Halaibna, a civil rights activist known throughout the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, was a single sentence: "Are you sad now about your friend?"

Mere hours later, the engineer and 20 other members of the Syrian opposition -- doctors, city council members and activists -- escaped from Raqqa into Turkey. They weren't fleeing Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime, but a new and terrible power that has no face and goes by many names. The official name of this al-Qaida branch, which has broken away from Osama Bin Laden's successors, is the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS). "Daaisch" is the most common abbreviation of the group's name in Syria. "But we call them the Army of Masks," says Basil, the engineer who fled the country, "because their men rarely show their faces. They dress in black, with their faces covered."
In addition to civil rights activist Halaibna, the group's thugs have kidnapped hundreds of others in Raqqa, where Assad's army was driven out back in March. The jihadists seized the chair of the city council, the heads of the civilian opposition, an Italian Jesuit and six European journalists. Anyone who opposes the ISIS fighters, or who is simply considered an unbeliever, disappears.

ISIS maintains four prisons for holding its hostages in this area alone. And Raqqa was only the beginning. In the last four months, the jihadist group, which was still essentially unknown in Syria at the start of this year, has seized control of several cities, as well as strategically important roads, oil fields and granaries.

What is currently taking place in the north and northeast of the country could bring about the worst case scenario: Syria's disintegration. This is not because the Syrian rebels are eager al-Qaida supporters -- as Assad's propaganda has claimed since the spring of 2011 -- but because people are exhausted after three years of destruction and don't have much energy left to oppose the jihadists' rapid expansion.

More at the link.

And see Weasel Zippers, "Syrian Jihadists Post Pictures of Beheaded Alawite Civilians…"

Well, not too many folks are worried about this, but Syria's the new ground zero for global Islamic jihad.

National Lampoon's #ObamaCare Vacation

A humorous editorial at the Wall Street Journal.

It turns out April Todd-Malmlov, the state director of Minnesota's MNsure exchange, resigned under pressure after taking a vacation to the Cayman Islands. And the editors snark, "Is Mr. [John] Podesta or Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius due for a holiday? A flap over an inopportune vacation might be the only thing that would force the White House to hold someone responsible for ObamaCare."

Read it all at that link. The editors slam far-left Podesta as a "hit man."

More here, "Podesta’s Non-Apology Presages More WH Lies."

NYT Poll: Majority of 53 Percent of Uninsured Disapprove of #ObamaCare

That's a bit higher than even those who're insured.

See, "Uninsured Skeptical of Health Care Law in Poll":

WASHINGTON — Americans who lack medical coverage disapprove of President Obama’s health care law at roughly the same rate as the insured, even though most say they struggle to pay for basic care, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

Fifty-three percent of the uninsured disapprove of the law, the poll found, compared with 51 percent of those who have health coverage. A third of the uninsured say the law will help them personally, but about the same number think it will hurt them, with cost a leading concern.

The widespread skepticism, even among people who are supposed to benefit from the law, underscores the political challenge facing the Obama administration as it tries to persuade millions of Americans to enroll in coverage through new online marketplaces, a crucial element of making the new law financially viable for insurers.

Continue reading.

Also at Weasel Zippers, "New CBS/NYT Poll Finds Only 15% of Insured Americans Think Obamacare Will Help Them…."

This is the Ad Every Republican Should Run in 2014

Says American Glob.



HAT TIP: Legal Insurrection.

Business Insider's (Childless) Josh Barro Bilks Amazon.com's Mother's Discount Program

The revolting turd's actually boasting about it.

See Truth Revolt, "Obama's Favorite Columnist Invents Fake Child to Get Amazon Mom Discount."

There's video at the link.

Amazon knows some customers will lie, indicating that it relies on an "honor system."

Obviously, Barro --- not to mention his smirkily approving MSNBC co-hosts --- is rather dishonorable.

More from Mary Katharine Ham, at Hot Air, "War on Moms: MSNBC pundits plot to fraudulently claim our Amazon benefits" (via Memeorandum).

Indefinite Hiatus for 'Duck Dynasty's' Phil Robertson After Speaking Truth to Homosexual Depravity

I don't watch the show --- shoot, I don't watch half the shows everybody's always talking about on social media.

But the response to this story has been unusually intense, so here's the obligatory write-up.

The Other McCain queries, "Is Phil Robertson Wrong?"

Of course he's not wrong. At issue is Robertson's interview at GQ, where he rebuked homosexuality as an abomination, at Memeorandum, "What the Duck?"

As usual, the issue for me is the double standard. Twitchy has that, "Selective outrage: GLAAD slams Phil Robertson after letting Alec Baldwin slide," and "A&E suspends Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson; Katie Pavlich, others rip ‘crap’ decision."

Here's the Real #ObamaCare Homosexual Outreach!

You gotta check this out at AoSHQ, "Oh My: Footie Pajama Guy Wasn't the 'Gay Outreach' Effort of Obamacare's Minions. This [is] the Gay Outreach Effort":

It is hard to take the left seriously when it accuses the right in trafficking in easy, insulting stereotypes when it appears they do little but that themselves.

Boy, talk about some easy trafficking.

This advertisement is freakin' homo! See, "Get Enrolled."

And here's the website, "Out 2 Enroll":

What if I’m transgender?

Being transgender is no longer a preexisting condition – and insurance companies cannot refuse to sell you a plan or charge you more based on your gender identity. If you are a transgender person, you have the right to expect that your plan will cover the services you need as long as those services are covered for other people on your plan. These services may include preventive screenings such as mammograms, Pap tests, and prostate exams; hormone therapy; and mental health services. Depending on your plan, these services may also include surgical procedures related to gender transition.

Now that's progress!

UPDATE! Turns out Bob Belvedere's, uh, beaten me to the punch, "Vex Appeal."

India Removes Barricades at U.S. Embassy in Delhi in Retaliation for Diplomatic Row

The BBC reports on the removal of the barricades, which signals state support for attacks on the U.S. mission. I'm sure the symbolism's not lost on the State Department, although history shows the suits at Foggy Bottom don't care much for the lives of diplomats serving overseas.

At the New York Times, "U.S. Moves to Cool India’s Rage Over Arrested Diplomat":

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John Kerry called a senior Indian official on Wednesday to express his “regret” over an episode in which law enforcement officials in New York arrested an Indian diplomat last week and strip-searched her.

Mr. Kerry’s call to the official, Shivshankar Menon, India’s national security adviser, was disclosed by the State Department in a statement.

The Indian government has complained bitterly about the treatment of the diplomat, Devyani Khobragade. In New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called the arrest deplorable, Indian newspaper editorials expressed outrage, and the police removed barriers meant to protect the American Embassy.

Ms. Khobragade, 39, was accused of submitting false documents to obtain a work visa for a housekeeper, and Indian newspapers said she had been subjected to repeated body cavity searches.

The United States Marshals Service, which handled her detention, said that she had been subjected to the standard detention procedures for “arrestees within the general prisoner population.”

She was thrown in a cell with drug addicts and prostitutes.

Better than being abandoned to the terrorists at diplomatic compound, I guess.

Record High 72 Percent of Americans See Big Government as Threat

At Gallup, "Record High in U.S. Say Big Government Greatest Threat."

Politics goes in cycles, they say. But all the recent polling portends a massive electoral earthquake in 2014. Unless the Democrats see some really dramatic improvement in the numbers, they're looking at perhaps the most disastrous midterm repudiation in the postwar era. The Senate in particular will be the venue to watch. Republicans need 6 seats, but Democrats are defending 21.

I can't wait. It's gonna be a bloodbath.

Fabulous Rhian Sugden Photoshoot

Very nice.

From JD Anwar Photography in London.

New PICCIE!!! @Rhianmarie pic.twitter.com/jQLs4LQBq7

— JD Anwar (@JDAnwar) December 16, 2013

Click around at the Twitter profile for additional photos.

And here's the website.

Leftist Character Assassins Now Remorseful Over Destruction of Mitt Romney

The fact is, Mitt Romney was one of the most decent men to ever run for the presidency, and his character assassination by Team Obama and the administration's despicable minions is one of the most vicious, lowdown political smears in the history of presidential politics. And now that it's all over, leftists grudgingly admit, "Gee, Romney was actually a pretty decent guy."

See the ultimate regressive asshole Paul Waldman, at the American Prospect, "New Documentary Threatens to Make You Like Mitt Romney: He was, after all, human":

During the 2012 campaign, I, like every liberal writer whose job it is to comment on politics every day, wrote many unkind things about Mitt Romney. Much of the time I found him more sad than despicable; politicians who nearly reach the pinnacle of their profession while being manifestly awful at politics are a rare and curious breed. Like Al Gore before him, Romney's discomfort with the requirements of campaigning was so close to the surface that he couldn't help but inspire a kind of pity. That isn't to say that I didn't find plenty of his statements and policy positions contemptible, because I certainly did, and said so without hesitation. But in the end, Romney wasn't as easy to hate as some other politicians might be.

So a year after he joined that small, melancholy club of presidential losers, it's time that even those of us who thought it would be a terrible thing if he became president can see Romney as a human being. In January, Netflix will be releasing a behind-the-scenes documentary called "Mitt," and the preview is surprisingly endearing...

In other words, "we f-ked that guy over more ruthlessly than one of R. Kelly underage sexual assault victims."

But continue reading (via Memeorandum).

So far it's just Waldman saying Romney was "human after all," but expect more "nice things" to be said about the former GOP standard-bearer --- as leftists have no more utility in their disgusting attacks on Romney and his family. The Democrat henchmen did their job. Obama won his reelection, and the country is suffering just as Romney himself predicted during the campaign. It's enough to make you hate politics, or something.

Ben Bernanke Struggled to Boost U.S. Economic Growth

Bernanke's stepping down at the end of the month, and the Fed's supposed to ease off its economic stimulus policies, but we'll see. A report at the New York Times, "Fed Scales Back Stimulus Campaign."

And see the Wall Street Journal, "Meltdown Averted, Bernanke Struggled to Stoke Growth: Fed Chairman Fails to Engineer Robust Recovery, Even With Extraordinary Measures" (via Google):

After a financial crisis he didn't see coming, Ben Bernanke steered the U.S. away from a potentially devastating panic. Yet five years later, the recovery he helped engineer with extraordinary policies remains frustratingly weak.

As Mr. Bernanke prepares for his final days as Federal Reserve chairman, that legacy—a mix of failings, boldness, persistence and frustration—is coming into sharper focus, and with it a clearer picture of the power and limitations of modern central banking.

Fed officials meeting in Washington on Wednesday face another consequential decision: a close call on whether to start winding down their $85 billion-a-month bond-buying program.

At the root of the issue is a long-running debate between Mr. Bernanke and other Fed officials about how much more a central bank can or should do to try to spur an economy that hasn't been wholly responsive to its efforts.

It could be the last big Fed decision before Mr. Bernanke ends his chairmanship next month, eight years after taking the helm in what he expected to be a far-more-placid era.

"I will make continuity with the policies and policy strategies of the Greenspan Fed a top priority," Mr. Bernanke said at his first confirmation hearing in November 2005, citing predecessor Alan Greenspan. He talked broadly of the need to ensure financial stability, but made no mention in his statement of the threat from a housing boom that by then had begun showing signs of cracking.

How would you rate Bernanke's performance? How will history remember him? Weigh in here.
Fans of Mr. Bernanke say history will mark him most as the courageous economic steward who, once crisis struck in 2008 and 2009, flooded the financial system with loans and averted another Great Depression.

"This is like saving you from nuclear war," said Ray Dalio, founder of the giant hedge fund Bridgewater Associates.

Mark Gertler, a New York University economics professor and friend of Mr. Bernanke, said that "like Roosevelt, he was the calming influence, the grown-up in the room, during the darkest days of the economic turmoil."

Before then, however, came calculations that haunt the Fed.

Mr. Bernanke's first steps in office were to continue a succession of small interest-rate increases that some economists say were too late, and too timid, to curb a badly swollen housing bubble.

Mr. Bernanke has disputed that analysis, but acknowledged that the Fed failed to adequately supervise banks before the crisis or to see danger to the broader financial system—mistakes that have since led Congress to revamp Washington's approach to financial supervision.

Early on, Mr. Bernanke embraced only reluctantly the interventionist stance that has come to define his stewardship.

In December 2007, for example, he said he was "quite conflicted" about whether to cut interest rates sharply, according to transcripts of Fed's meetings. That turned out the be the month the recession began. At other times, he talked about wanting to avoid bailing out financial markets, institutions or people.

Timothy Geithner, the former Treasury Secretary and New York Fed president, saw the reserved former professor's worldview change in early January 2008 as financial turmoil deepened and started to bite the economy.

"That's when he decided that the risks were so great and he was going to have to be much more aggressive," Mr. Geithner said. "He kept at it."

It is widely accepted that the landmark policies Mr. Bernanke championed during and after the crisis—rock-bottom interest rates, loans to banks and controversial bond buying—averted an economic calamity. Their failure to spur a vigorous recovery, however, has created perhaps the biggest unanswered question about Mr. Bernanke's legacy.

"I wish I was leaving with the unemployment rate at 5% instead of 7%," he said wistfully during a November discussion with high-school teachers.

The Fed has promised to hold short-term interest rates near zero at least until the unemployment rate, currently 7%, falls to 6.5%. And in an effort to drive long-term rates down, the central bank has accumulated more than $3 trillion in Treasury bonds and mortgage securities.

In the process, it has flooded the U.S. banking system with money, funds available for banks to lend. These cheap-credit policies, in theory, should spur job-creating growth.

There's a fabulous graphic here, "Imperfect Tools, Imperfect Economy." Pay attention to the radical growth and scale of quantitative easing after 2009. The Fed flooded the economy with money, deflating the currency while staving off a collapse in growth. Seriously. Just take a look at the scale of the monetary stimulus. That's gotta be unprecedented.

See that New York Times piece at top for more.

MSNBC's Krystal Ball: 'Every Non-Incarcerated Adult Citizen Gets a Monthly Check From the Government...'

She's a blithering idiot, but typical of the deep bench of brain-dead socialists at MSNBC.

At Sweetness and Light, "Krystal Ball: Give Everyone a Minimum Income."

Elie Wiesel Ad in NYT and WSJ: 'Iran Must Not Be Allowed to Remain Nuclear'

At Algemeiner, "Elie Wiesel Says ‘Iran Must Not Be Allowed to Remain Nuclear’ in Full Page Ads in NYT, WSJ."

And at Israel Matzav, "Elie Wiesel's full-page ad in today's New York Times against Iran remaining nuclear."

Here it is:

Iran Must Not Be Allowed to Remain Nuclear

If there is one lesson I hope the world has learned from the past it is that regimes rooted in brutality must never be trusted. And the words and actions of the leadership of Iran leave no doubt as to their intentions.

Should the civilized nations of the world trust a regime whose supreme leader said yet again last month that Israel is “doomed to annihilation,” and referred to my fellow Jewish Zionists as “rabid dogs?”

Should we who believe in human rights, trust a regime which in the 21st century stones women and hangs homosexuals?

Should we who believe in freedom trust a regime which murdered its own citizens in the streets of Tehran when the people protested a stolen election in the Green Revolution of Summer, 2009?

Should we who believe in the United States trust a regime whose parliament last month erupted in “Death to America” chants as they commemorated the 34th anniversary of the storming of our Embassy in Tehran?

Should we who believe in life trust a regime whom our own State Department lists as one of the world’s foremost sponsors of terrorism?

America, too, defines itself by its words and actions. America adopted me, as it did so many others, and gave me a home after my people were exterminated in the camps of Europe. And from the time of the founding fathers America has always stood up to tyrants. Our nation is morally compromised when it contemplates allowing a country calling for the destruction of the State of Israel to remain within reach of nuclear weapons.

Sanctions have come at a terrible economic cost for the people of Iran. But, unfortunately, sanctions are what have brought the Iranian regime to the negotiating table.

I appeal to President Obama and Congress to demand, as a condition of continued talks, the total dismantling of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and the regime’s public and complete repudiation of all genocidal intent against Israel. And I appeal to the leaders of the United States Senate to go forward with their vote to strengthen sanctions against Iran until these conditions have been met.

I once wrote that history has taught us to trust the threats of our enemies more than the promises of our friends. Our enemies are making serious threats. It is time to take them seriously. It is time for our friends to keep their promises.

Elie Wiesel

Nobel Peace Laureate

This Ad was produced by This World: The Values Network (LOGO)

Executive Director, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

And Sponsored by Michael Steinhardt, Board of Governors, This World: The Values Network; co-founder Birthright Israel

WaPo's Greg Sargent is 'Waiting for Barack'

Big Fur Hat posted this mock-up the other day.



And Memeorandum's got a thread with the idiot's latest ClusterCare ramblings, "The consequences of GOP opposition to Obamacare."

You might notice how, for the idiot shill Sargent, any and all problems with ObamaCare are to be blamed on Republicans. It's disgusting. Lonely Con has more on that, "Will The GOP Fall Into The Democrats’ Obamacare Trap?"

Also at AceofSpadesHQ, "Let's Go Cherry-Picking!"

#ObamaCare 'Disaster' Erodes Faith in Government

Emily Ekins breaks down the finding from the latest Reason-Rupe poll, via Reason, "Obamacare Launch Eroding Faith in Government as Problem Solver: Reason-Rupe Poll December 2013."

And going right to the poll, "Americans Want to Go Back to Previous Health Care System, Disagree With President Obama on Size and Power of Government."

Devastating.

If You Oppose Obama, You're a 'Hater'

See Rush Limbaugh, "If you don't like what's going on in Washington, if your solution is to vote Republican, you're a hater."

More, "Washington Post says you're a 'hater' if you're among 71% who oppose ObamaCare, 12/17/13."

Hat Tip: Robert Stacy McCain, "Haters Gonna Hate, Deniers Gonna Deny."

Ann Coulter Explains Why Santa Claus and Jesus Can't Be Black

She's "insanely jealous of Megyn Kelly."

Caganer Figurine Has Nelson Mandela Taking a Dump

Well, this goes against the grain a bit.

Watch toward the end of the clip. It's Saint Mandela squatting.



Hey, they've got Queen Elizabeth taking a dump as well, so what can you do?

See Telegraph UK, "Barcelona 'pooper' figurines hit shelves."

Organizing for Action Brings the Lulz with 'Grown Man in a Onesie' Talkin' #ObamaCare

At Twitchy, "‘This is getting insane’: OFA’s onesie-clad Obamacare spokesmodel inspires mockery."

How do you plan to spend the cold days of December? http://t.co/Rwf5AYc3bG #GetTalking pic.twitter.com/PBQ397yLf4

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 17, 2013

@baseballcrank LOL! What the hell is that!? I'm still laughing

— Michi I. (@michi83) December 17, 2013

More at Big Government, "OFA VIDEO TEACHES PARENTS HOW TO INJECT OBAMACARE INTO CHRISTMAS DINNER."

Actually, that parents' indoctrination video debuted before Thanksgiving. I guess it's making a comeback for Christmas, because ObamaCare is working so wonderfully, or something.

How the Media Will Report the Apocalypse

Heh.

At BuzzFeed.

Be sure to click through. It's all good.

How The Media Will Report The Apocalypse ⇁ http://t.co/1KbaQqQn9z pic.twitter.com/bFJ1fLormd

— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) December 18, 2013

The Decline of American Propaganda

It's an embarrassing time for Democrats. Ruthlessly embarrassing.

Here's Iowahawk on Twitter.

US government propaganda, 1943 http://t.co/x1lFdK9aUz US government propaganda, 2013 pic.twitter.com/UgEmUBtO1M

— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) December 18, 2013

Via Instapundit.

Mega Millions Jackpot Soars to Estimated $636 Million

I don't go in for it, although my wife does.

Here's the Associated Press:

AP VIDEO: As the Mega Millions jackpot soars to an estimated $636 million, some players share their plans: http://t.co/J0xojJQyQ4
— The Associated Press (@AP) December 18, 2013

But see Michelle Malkin:

Powerball. Megamillions. Whatever the name, it's all the same government-protected, regressive tax-subsidized scam.
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) December 18, 2013

Well, maybe some lucky schlep will win the big one, at the Boston Herald, "Mega Millions jackpot near record payout: Visions of 600M $ugarplums."

Embrace the Suck

Look, I keep signing off with "embrace the suck," so I might as well post the source for this hilarious ode to Democrat incompetence.

It's House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, of all people.

At the New York Post, "Pelosi on budget deal: ‘Embrace the suck’."



And while Pelosi's dissing the budget deal, it's embrace the suck all around for Democrats in 2014. And some of them aren't up for it. See Glenn Reynolds, "YOU DON’T NEED A WEATHERMAN TO SEE WHICH WAY THE WIND BLOWS: Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) resigns rather than face Mia Love again in 2014."

Obama Hijacks NSA Technology Meeting to Fix #ObamaCare

He's such a loser.

At London's Daily Mail, "Obama 'hijacks' tech executive meeting to make 'PR pitch' on Obamacare website fix instead of dealing with NSA surveillance":

"'We didn't really care for a PR pitch' about Obamacare, said one executive."

Yeah, well, embrace the suck brother.

Obama Meets with Tech CEOs as NSA Backlash Builds

At NYT, "As Tech Industry Leaders Meet With Obama, N.S.A. Ruling Looms Large."

Notice at the video how Vice President Biden's sitting next to Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. She should be careful: "‘Every HR department’s worst nightmare’: Photo of Joe Biden getting his grope on causes a stir," and "‘Watch his hands, Brooke’! Gropin’ Joe Biden creeps on CNN’s Brooke Baldwin [pic]."



And here's NYT on yesterday's big ruling, "Federal Judge Rules Against N.S.A. Phone Data Program."

But see Orin Kerr, at Volokh, "Preliminary Thoughts on Judge Leon’s Opinion." (Via Memeorandum.)

Leeches in U.K.'s House of Lords

This is interesting. Scandalous even.

At Mirror UK, "Lord Hanningfield expenses scandal: 'There are 50 other peers doing it that I could name'," and "Expenses cheat Lord Hanningfield shows that House of Lords must be reformed."

You have to read this dolt justify clocking in and out on the public's dime. At the links. (Via Louise Mensch.)

Millennials to Obama: You Suck, Mofo

At USA Today, "USA TODAY/Pew poll: Obama struggles with Millennials":

WASHINGTON — Millennials have provided invaluable political support to President Obama over the course of his presidency, voting for him by a roughly 2-to-1 margin in his two successful campaigns against Mitt Romney and John McCain.

But as Obama tries to climb out of a 2-month-long malaise that saw his popularity sink with the fumbled rollout of the federal health care exchange, the president appears to have nearly as much work to do with young people as he does with older Americans.

Forty-five percent of 18- to 29-year-old Americans say they approve of the way Obama is handling his job; 46% disapprove of his job performance, according to a year-end USA TODAY/Pew Research Center Poll. The president's approval rating with young Americans — which stood at 67% just ahead of his second inauguration less than a year ago — now mirrors the general population, according to the poll.

The USA TODAY/Pew sample is of only 229 young Americans -- a subset of 2,001 adults polled from Dec. 3-8 -- and has a margin of error of +/- 8 percentage points.

But the findings mirror other recent polling that suggests Obama has seen his approval rating slide with young Americans....

In the USA TODAY/Pew poll, just 41% approve of his signature health care policy, while 54% disapprove. Overall, 40% of Americans approve and 55% disapprove of his health care policy, according to the poll.

The tough polling numbers with young Americans offer a snapshot of the road ahead for the Obama administration in repairing damage caused by the troubled rollout of Obamacare, which has even worn on some of the president's most ardent supporters.

The administration has dedicated much of the president's time and political capital toward making implementation of Obamacare a success after battling with early problems -- the glitch-riddled online exchange and the outrage that ensued when millions of Americans on the individual insurance market received cancellation notices because their policies didn't meet minimum benefit requirements set by the law.

Key to making the Affordable Care Act a success is enrolling plenty of young, healthy people whose participation will offset some higher risk and older uninsured Americans who are expected to flock to the exchanges.

Kyle Olberding, 23, an Army veteran who now works at a candy shop, said that he admires Obama for ending the war in Iraq and winding down the war in Afghanistan and credits the president for pursuing a diplomatic solution with Iran over its nuclear program.

But Olberding, of Wichita, Kan., said he is unhappy with the president's efforts on the economy, reducing the federal budget deficit and implementing the health care law. Olberding, who said he works full time but doesn't make much money, said he remains uncertain about whether he can afford health insurance and resents being required to purchase it.

"At this current point in my life, I have other things that need to be paid for and the extra cost is just not something I can afford right now," said Olberding, who said he hasn't yet explored the website or looked into the level of subsidy he might qualify for.

So true.

And here's that killer Harvard poll from earlier this month, "Millennial Generation Abandons Obama."

With O getting trashed like this all the time, this next year is going to be fantastic! Embrace the suck, Dems!

George and Johnny Huynh, Up and Out

I love Twitter stories like this, at Twitchy, "Boston Globe reporter shares personal story of hope, the American dream, ‘what’s right’."

Here's a link to the article I wrote: http://t.co/mMwheRtTyi. And here's a link to the video @laurenfrohne made: http://t.co/lc9XQIfvMf

— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013