Fabulous at 50! Smokin' Helen Hunt Shows Off Her Hot Bathing Suit Body!

Well, I sure miss on her television.

At London's Daily Mail, "Helen Hunt shows off her sensational swimsuit body as she hits the beach for new movie."

And here's the background on the movie she's filming, at E! Online, "Helen Hunt to Direct, Write and Star in Family Drama Ride."

Democrat Targeting of Tea Party Groups is Part of the Left's Long-Time Assault on the First Amendment

From Bradley Smith, at the Wall Street Journal, "The IRS Attack on Political Speech":

The Internal Revenue Service's scandalous targeting of tea party and conservative groups refuses to die, as one by one the administration's explanations prove untrue.

We were told that the White House, like the rest of the country, learned about the program on May 10 through a planted question asked of then IRS official Lois Lerner at an American Bar Association conference. Turns out the White House knew earlier. We were told the targeting was the work of a few rogue IRS employees in Cincinnati. Then those employees insisted that they were being managed from Washington.

We were told that no political appointees were involved, but now we know the scandal goes at least to the office of Obama appointee and IRS Chief Counsel William Wilkins. We were told that liberal groups were targeted, too. But then the IRS's inspector general, whose report exposed the harassment, clarified that only conservative groups were targeted.

Now the administration line is that the scandal is nonetheless "phony." That assertion is part of a Democratic counteroffensive contending that the tea party and conservative groups applying for "charitable" tax status never should have sought such IRS approval.

Rep. Xavier Becerra (D., Calif.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, argued on "Meet the Press" on May 19 that conservative groups were, "under the guise of a charity, [using] undisclosed millions of dollars to do political campaigns." At a May hearing, Sen. Bill Nelson (D., Fla.) claimed that the groups were supposed to spend their money on "charitable activities," and demanded of the IRS, "How could you all in the IRS allow the tax breaks funded basically by the taxpayer [to be spent] on these political campaign expenditures?"

Liberal columnist Jeffrey Toobin has also taken up the theme that the groups were seeking improper tax advantages. Writing in the May 14 issue of the New Yorker, Mr. Toobin argued that if approved by the IRS, the tea party groups would not pay taxes on contributions received. "In return for the tax advantage," he wrote, these groups "must refrain from traditional partisan political activity, like endorsing candidates."

This attack is wrong on the law, and cynical as politics. As these IRS apologists well know, liberal groups, such as Moveon.org, have long had the same tax status as that requested by the tea party and conservative groups—and that status is not of a "charity."

Charities fall under Section 501(c)(3) of the tax code, and they include the Red Cross, Boy Scouts, churches, private colleges and even overtly agenda-oriented organizations such as the NAACP and the Sierra Club Foundation. Contributions are tax deductible to the donor, and for that reason the organizations are prohibited from engaging in political activities.

Yet conservative groups targeted by the IRS did not seek tax status as charities. They were applying for designation as nonprofits operating under Section 501(c)(4) of the tax code, for "the promotion of social welfare." Contributions to 501(c)(4) organizations are not tax deductible, so there is no "tax break" for their donors. Nor do the groups themselves get a "tax advantage." Mr. Toobin argues that these groups should be reclassified under Section 527 of the tax code. More on that below, but 527 organizations also pay nothing in taxes. So there is no "tax advantage" to operating as a 501(c)(4).

So why was the IRS involved at all, and why does it matter? The answer is that the IRS scandal is part of a long-term assault on First Amendment rights. Thanks to "campaign finance reform," citizen groups must navigate a maze of government paperwork and apply to the IRS for a tax license to speak on politics. People literally need a lawyer to figure it out, and not just any lawyer, but one from the highly compensated and mostly Washington, D.C.-based bar practicing "political law."

Continue reading.

Smith's a former chairman of the FEC. He knows whereof he speaks. Frankly, this is the most lucid discussion of the "Section 500" tax categories I've read. Especially good is how he calls bull on all the fat-ass leftists defending the administration's authoritarianism. But this stuff has to come out in a political campaign to really pick up traction. The facts of Barack Obama's authoritarianism and corruption should be the centerpiece of a renewed conservative drive for Congress and the presidency. The scandals along with ObamaCare should be a perfect storm of disaster for Democrats seeking election. But the disgusting JournoList media bolsters the epic fail party in power, so it's a hard road ahead, either way.

So, I continue to stand in dissent and rebellion against the leftists destroying our once great country. But I'm still optimistic that the forces of good and decency can pull us back from the brink, and drive the Democrat-Socialists into long-term oblivion. God willing.

Escaped Python Kills Two Boys, 5 and 7, at New Brunswick Sleepover

I can't fathom the grief.

At London's Daily Mail, "First pictures of brothers, age 5 and 7, who were crushed in their sleep by 16-foot python that slithered into their room through a vent."

And an interesting post at Treehugger, "15-feet long African rock python escapes from pet store, kills two boys (age 5 and 7)."

Almost 30 Minutes with Kennedy!

Well, it's Kennedy and this Andy Schuon, but still.

At Reason, "Kennedy and Producer Andy Schuon on the Golden Age of MTV."

No Slutbags!

Another riot!

At the New York Post, "No Slutbags! Bogus 'interns wanted' flyers for Anthony Weiner popping up."

From Theo's

Nice.

"Bedtime Totty..."

Amazon's Jeff Bezos Buys the Washington Post

Fascinating.

At the Wall Street Journal, "Bezos Buys Washington Post for $250 Million: Amazon Chief's Deal Doesn't Involve Online Retailer but Shows Media Power Shift":

Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -1.06% Chief Executive Jeff Bezos is buying the Washington Post WPO +1.56% for $250 million in an out-of-the-blue deal that captures the newspaper industry's economic decline and the shift of power from old media to Silicon Valley.

The sale puts one of the most famous newspapers in the U.S.—the publication credited with breaking the Watergate scandal that led to President Nixon's resignation almost 40 years ago—in the hands of a Web businessman who rose to prominence only in the past 20 years.

It comes as many newspapers are struggling to survive. Print newspaper ad revenues fell 55% between 2007 and 2012, according to the Newspaper Association of America, as advertisers and readers have defected to the Web. Some newspapers have been forced to slash costs and in some cases file for bankruptcy. Just three days ago the New York Times Co. NYT -0.42% sold the Boston Globe for $70 million, having paid $1.1 billion for it in 1993.

The Internet is "transforming almost every element of the news business," Mr. Bezos said in a letter to Washington Post employees. "There is no map, and charting a path ahead will not be easy. We will need to invent, which means we will need to experiment," Mr. Bezos wrote.

He added that he won't be involved in the day-to-day management of the newspaper.

In an interview Monday, Washington Post Co. Chairman Don E. Graham praised Mr. Bezos's track record as a well-connected industry innovator with the patience to make difficult businesses profitable, but he acknowledged challenges.

"Jeff is a business person, not a magician. He is going to have to work as hard as everyone else to figure out the problem of news. But he brings a lot," Mr. Graham said.

Early this year, Mr. Graham brought in investment bank Allen & Co. to begin looking for someone to buy the Washington Post. The decision to sell had come after months of reflection among the company's board members, said one person familiar with the situation. Mr. Graham "couldn't see how to grow [the paper] and began to wonder if there was a better owner," the person said.

Mr. Graham spoke with many prospects directly, drawing on his extensive network in Silicon Valley. Mr. Graham, who has been an adviser to Facebook Inc. FB +2.99% chief Mark Zuckerberg, has spent years building relationships with technology titans, including Mr. Bezos, who had helped him make important hires such as Amazon veteran Vijay Ravindran, the head of WaPo Labs.

Several months ago, Mr. Graham's bankers reached out to Mr. Bezos, said a person with direct knowledge of the deal. Initially, Mr. Bezos held back, citing a lack of time to properly deal with a transaction. Then, in July, Mr. Bezos wrote an email to Mr. Graham saying, "If you're interested, I am," said another person familiar with the situation.

Mr. Bezos, who launched Amazon in 1995, is worth about $26 billion, courtesy of his stake in the e-commerce giant. As part of a planned stock sale, Mr. Bezos took in $185 million this month, representing less than 1% of his holdings. Forbes ranked him as the 19th most-wealthy man in the world, just ahead of Google Inc.'s Larry Page.

Mr. Bezos wasn't available for an interview.

Not available for a statement to WSJ, although here's his full letter at WaPo, "Jeff Bezos on Post purchase." (Via Memeorandum.)

And see, "Washington Post sale: Details of Bezos deal."

Now, if Bezos would just buy the Los Angeles Times I'd be set.

Al-Quds Day Rally, New York: 'Free Palestine — From River to the Sea...'

My god, the place was swarming with terrorists.

At Atlas Shrugs, "FORMER HAMAS-CAIR OFFICIAL SPEWS VICIOUS ANTISEMITISM AT 'AL QUDS DAY': ISLAMIC JEW-HATRED UNBOUND."

And at Silent Majority No More, "'Al Quds' Day – JEW HATRED & FASCIST LIES UNCHALLENGED in NYC."

Fascists, yes.

Sponsored by the Stalinist International Action Center Communists.

And their program? Push the Jews to the sea. They aggressively announce it every day. They want to eliminate the Jews from Israel, and once the Caliphate is restored they'll seek to spread Islamic rule across the rest of the world.

Always resist these people, the true representatives of leftism and Islam.

Sydney Leathers, Obama Democrat and Weiner Mistress, Shoots Porn Film for Hardcore Vivid Entertainment

Boy, that didn't take very long.

And, well, she says Weiner didn't take very long to, eh, you know what, so I guess it's fitting.

At London's Daily Mail, "Just when he thought it couldn't get any more humiliating. . . Anthony Weiner' sexting partner brings out her own X-rated movie":

Anthony Weiner's sexting partner has stripped down for the public as she filmed a video for a major porn distributor.

Sydney Leathers poses provocatively in a five-minute clip of the video, and talks about her virtual relationship with the disgraced congressman.

'He would always compliment me on my breasts and my butt and my feet, and he would always tell me I was the perfect height to wear heels,' the 23-year-old said.

Also at TMZ, "WEINER'S SEXTING PARTNER STRIPS NAKED -- In Hardcore Porn [PHOTOS]."

Hey, Democrats creating jobs!

Wonders never cease!

Added: The Other McCain links, "Will Sydney Leathers Porn Video Be Entitled, ‘Not Enough Latex on Earth’?" Thanks!

RNC Threatens Boycott of Network Debates Over Hillary Clinton Documentaries

At the Hill, "RNC warns networks: Drop Clinton movies or lose 2016 GOP debates" (at Memeorandum):

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus threatened to pull the group’s partnership with NBC and CNN for 2016 GOP presidential primary debates if the networks moved ahead with plans to air films on Hillary Clinton.

Rush calls the documentaries "four-hour mini-series commercials." And he says the GOP has "nothing to gain" by participating in the debates, which are solely designed to make the Republican candidate look bad.

Lady Gaga and Madonna Facing Punishment in Russia

Putin leads the world's biggest rogue regime.



More at Memeorandum.

Shakedown Scofflaw Tawana Brawley Finally Starts Paying Man She Falsely Accused of Rape in 1987

I saw this story the other day, but it's picking up traction.

Here's the background at the Washington Times, "Tawana Brawley found after decades, served court order for defamation case," and "Tawana Brawley, who faked rape, begins defamation payments 25 years later."

The New York Post tracked her down, and reported back in December, "25 years after her rape claims sparked a firestorm, Tawana Brawley avoids the spotlight."



And from yesterday's Post, "Pay-up time for Brawley: '87 rape-hoaxer finally shells out for slanderJust $431,000 to go."

And I guess there's no word from Al Sharpton, at Da Tech Guy's, "Al Sharpton useful to the Radical Left. Tawana Brawley not so much."

Also, from Gregory Kane, "COMMENTARY: It’s Time for Reverend Al Sharpton to Step Up Again For Tawana Brawley."

Headline Change on the DREAMers' Self-Deport Clusterf-k

Remember this, "Illegal Aliens Self-Deport in Latest 'Poor Me' Open Borders Shakedown Scam"?

Well, the whole scam's not turning out too well for the idiot DREAMers, who probably won't be allowed back in the county. The best part is how this puts Obama in a jam. The open borders shills aren't pleased by the sideshow either.

Thus, my headline change, at Twitter.

Bwahahah!!

Stupid Demonstration at Arizona Border Makes Fools of Supporters of #Immigration Overhaul. @MichelleMalkin http://t.co/9QBAZWIW0l

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) August 5, 2013

Melissa Debling for Zoo Today

Lovely.

All my brand new pics from last weeks @ZOO shoot is now online http://t.co/FndJXOKNCS pic.twitter.com/IyCwD7B9tF

— Melissa Debling (@MelissaD89) August 1, 2013

Dick Morris Explains Congress's #ObamaCare Exemption

He's so happy-go-lucky about it, and thus makes the Democrat #ObamaCare ghouls look that much more cartoonish.

You can't make up a more epic storyline for the monumentally corrupt political class.



And don't miss Patterico's smackdown of the utterly bankrupt Obama ghouls, "Utterly Corrupt Obama Rewriting ObamaCare Unilaterally (Again)." (At Memeorandum.)

VIDEO HAT TIP: John Hawkins.

Politico Changes Embarrassing Headline on OFA No-Shows — Hilarity Ensues

At Twitchy, "Lapdogs leashed? Politico runs cover for incredibly shrinking Obama cult, changes headline."

And earlier, "Schadenfreudelicious! More OFA Va. fail: Massive crowds in the ones attend Obama parties [pics]."

Hilarious!

“Sue Langley, faithful and dedicated @OFA volunteer starting off with introductions @OFA_VA pic.twitter.com/V4PLtE6GaL”

— OFA VA (@OFA_VA) August 4, 2013

#SadTrombone day for @OFA_Va http://t.co/HfqkLEzkjr Only one shows up? I've seen bigger crowds watch the grass grow!

— Sean O (@Sean_for_3) August 5, 2013

RT @whpresscorps: RT @BuzzFeedAndrew: Literally 1 person showed up to OFA's ObamaCare event in Virginia Sunday http://t.co/ceeBdq58wI

— HarrisFaulkner (@HARRISFAULKNER) August 5, 2013

Bet no one gets fired over this headline change RT @lachlan: Interesting headline change. http://t.co/QuloG9nhlz http://t.co/Gt865IZiQP

— Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) August 5, 2013

Man, this is getting too funny. The Dems are epic lulz!

Stella Creasy, Labour MP for Walthamstow, Decries Twitter Trolls and 'Wind-Up Merchants'

Here's the piece, "Stella Creasy MP: We can't leave Twitter to the trolls and wind-up merchants."

Louise Mensch is not pleased with the "wind-up merchants" bit:

Stella Creasy @stellacreasy MP,am a big fan, but worthless partisan Telegraph article, comparing @toadmeister and @DPJHodges to Katy Hopkins

— Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) August 5, 2013

That is really disappointing and kind of shameful. And a shabby attempt to shut down debate. Hodges and Toby Young both major figures

— Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) August 5, 2013

Toby Young runs a successful Free School and spearheaded the movement; Dan Hodges one of UK's foremost activists & bloggers @stellacreasy

— Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) August 5, 2013

To compare either to Katie Hopkins is so monumentally beneath you it renders your entire argument worthless. @stellacreasy

— Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) August 5, 2013

Katie Hopkins is just a mini shock-jock like Samantha Brick. To compare Young and Hodges to her = comparing Gove to her. Moronic

— Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) August 5, 2013

And here's this at the Guardian UK, "Katie Hopkins: queen of conflict."

Another leftist trying to "shut down debate." I'm shocked. Shocked!

China to Ditch One-Child Policy

It won't make much of a difference.

Human life is so degraded in China families will continue to practice infanticide. It's the result of a culture of collectivism and deprivation. And of leftism.

At Telegraph UK, "China to ditch its one-child policy as ageing crisis looms":

China's new leaders are close to abandoning the country's one-child policy, belatedly moving to avert an ageing crunch as the work force goes into sharp decline.

The official news agency Xinhua reported that the Family Planning Commission is studying proposals to lift the ban on a second child, if either parent is an only child. The body's spokesman said aim is to "improve" family policy, confirming leaks to Chinese newspapers that a major shift is in the works. The new rules are expected to come into force early next year, and may be extended to cover all families by 2015.

Jun Ma from Deutsche Bank said the new policies should shore up the pension system and inject stimulus as China's growth sputters. "As tens of millions of sibling-less people in China are now entering their child-bearing age, we expect this policy shift would induce a baby boom," he said.

The one-child policy dates back to 1971 in its original form and has led to 336m abortions and 222m sterilisations, often badly executed in poor regions. Recent abuses have caused uproar, with photos circulating on the internet of a young mother lying beside a fully formed baby after she had been seized by police for failing to pay the "social compensation fee" for an illegal child. She was forced to undergo an abortion just before her natural birth.

Premier Li Keqiang clearly views the policy an anachronism at a time when China is running out of workers, and faces a demographic time-bomb. There are currently five workers for every pensioner. This ratio will fall to two by 2035.

The policy has always been a patchwork of measures. Ethnic minorities are exempted. Farmers are allowed a second child if the first is a girl. The urban middle class can usually pay the fine, barely enforced in Shanghai where fertility rates are collapsing for other reasons. The shift in policy may come too late to avert an ageing shock. The workforce shrank by 3m last year, an inflection point that has come sooner than expected.

RTWT.

Leftists love all those abortions --- the more the merrier!

Congress's #ObamaCare Exemption

A great leader at the Wall Street Journal, "The President intervenes to give Members and staff a break":

To adapt H.L. Mencken, nobody ever went broke underestimating the cynicism and self-dealing of the American political class. Witness their ad-libbed decision, at the 11th hour and on the basis of no legal authority, to create a special exemption for themselves from the ObamaCare health coverage that everybody else is mandated to buy.

The Affordable Care Act requires Members of Congress and their staffs to participate in its insurance exchanges, in order to gain first-hand experience with what they're about to impose on their constituents. Harry Truman enrolled as the first Medicare beneficiary in 1965, and why shouldn't the Members live under the same laws they pass for the rest of the country?

That was the idea when Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley proposed the original good-enough-for-thee, good-enough-for-me amendment in 2009, and the Finance Committee unanimously adopted his rule. Declared Chairman Max Baucus, "I'm very gratified that you have so much confidence in our program that you're going to be able to purchase the new program yourself and I'm confident too that the system will work very well."

Harry Reid revised the Grassley amendment when he rammed through his infamous ObamaCare bill that no one had read for a vote on Christmas eve. But he neglected to include language about what would happen to the premium contributions that the government makes for its employees. Whether it was intentional or not, the fairest reading of the statute as written is that if Democrats thought somebody earning $174,000 didn't deserve an exchange subsidy, then this person doesn't get a subsidy merely because he happens to work in Congress.

But the statute means that about 11,000 Members and Congressional staff will lose the generous coverage they now have as part of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). Instead they will get the lower-quality, low-choice "Medicaid Plus" of the exchanges. The Members—annual salary: $174,000—and their better paid aides also wouldn't qualify for ObamaCare subsidies. That means they could be exposed to thousands of dollars a year in out-of-pocket insurance costs.

The result was a full wig out on Capitol Hill, with Members of both parties fretting about "brain drain" as staff face higher health-care costs. Democrats in particular begged the White House for help, claiming the Reid language was merely an unintentional mistake. President Obama told Democrats in a closed-door meeting last week that he would personally moonlight as HR manager and resolve the issue.

And now the White House is suspending the law to create a double standard. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) that runs federal benefits will release regulatory details this week, but leaks to the press suggest that Congress will receive extra payments based on the FEHBP defined-contribution formula, which covers about 75% of the cost of the average insurance plan. For 2013, that's about $4,900 for individuals and $10,000 for families.

How OPM will pull this off is worth watching. Is OPM simply going to cut checks, akin to "cashing out" fringe benefits and increasing wages? Or will OPM cover 75% of the cost of the ObamaCare plan the worker chooses—which could well be costlier than what the feds now contribute via current FEHBP plans? In any case the carve-out for Congress creates a two-tier exchange system, one for the great unwashed and another for the politically connected.

It's just terrible legislation, passed with the greatest of socialist intentions, and exempting the very people who "know" what's good for everyone else.

We need repeal. But we also need for Democrats to eat ObamaCare in 2014 --- ram it back down their throats, and they can choke on that crap-burger.

More at the link.

Yale Sex Week

This is not only interesting but the author, Kate Maltby, is hilarious.

At Telegraph UK, "What I learned at Yale Sex Week: porn never goes away when it's banned, Dave."