What Obama’s willing to prove and what he insists on keeping secret

◼ Obama said that he shoots skeet all the time at Camp David. Conservatives laughed. Obama couldn’t let conservative deniers impugn his veracity, so he authorized the White House to release a photo purporting to show him shooting at some very low-flying skeet at Camp David this past August: - Bookworm Room

◼ W.H. Releases Photo of Obama Shooting a Gun - Daniel Halper/Weekly Standard

"President Barack Obama shoots clay targets on the range at Camp David, Md., Saturday, Aug. 4, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)," the caption reads.

"This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House."

◼ Media’s firearms experts confuse President Obama’s assault shotgun with rifle - Twitchy

◼ Despite Obama Regime Warnings Against Photoshopping Skeet Shooting Photo, Mockery Ensues UPDATE: Reuters Says Obama "Golfed" On Aug 4 - Marooned in Marin

◼ White House Brandishes Obama Skeet-Shooting Pic for Reporters - Paul Scicchitano/Newsmax

The National Rifle Association, which has rejected Obama's proposals for gun control, blasted the photo.

"One picture does not erase a lifetime of supporting every gun ban and every gun-control scheme imaginable," said Andrew Arulanandam, the organization's spokesman.

◼ White House forbids photoshopping of Obama shooting image…we couldn’t help ourselves! - poorrichardsnews.com

◼ Skeet-Shooting Obama: As Phony as the Photoshops - Moonbattery

...Not to mention Obama is pressing his cheek against the butt as he fires. It wouldn’t take much experience to learn not to do that.

◼ Seven Reasons Why it's a Photoshop - Michael Harlin/American Thinker

I'm sure we've all seen by now the "photo op" of President Obama shooting skeet. If he's shooting skeet then I'm Daffy Duck....

◼ Obama Skeet Shooting Photoshop Mania - Moonbattery

◼ O-Blam!-a backfire - Carl Campanile/New York Post

He’s full of skeet! Gun owners lampooned President Obama as Elmer Fudd yesterday after the White House released a photo — in the middle of a fierce national firearms debate — of the commander-in-chief shooting clay targets at Camp David over the summer. While the president’s shooting skills were being mocked, his own gun-control allies privately fretted that Obama risked being ridiculed as a phony for suddenly trying to portray himself as a friend of sportsmen and hunters. Or, conversely, that he was glorifying the use of guns.

◼ Media Follows Obama´s Orders to Mock Skeet-Gate Skeptics - John Nolte/Breitbart

Some of you younger folks might not remember this, but there was a time when the media questioned Power. No, really, once upon a time, the media saw it as its duty to be forever questioning and skeptical of Power, especially when Power was in pursuit of more power.

For example, Obama is attempting to grab more power for The State and criminals by way of gun control laws that infringe on our Second Amendment civil rights. In order to make his case, Obama is attempting to appear reasonable on the issue of guns, and one way he did this was to reassure Americans that he too is a sport shooter, and enjoys skeet shooting at Camp David.

Now, to those familiar with Obama's record of opposing guns at every turn and lying about almost everything, that struck us as odd.

Today, however, the White House released a photo that purports to show Obama (love that tucked-in shirt) shooting skeet last August. Except… he's shooting straight ahead, which means that there's either a barn door somewhere in need of some patching, or Obama is such an awesome skeet shooter, he hits them as they come out of the firing device.

I keed, I keed. There are legitimate reasons that would explain the angle of his gun, but....

Because the photo is odd, some are asking perfectly legitimate questions.

◼ Discussion at Lucianne

Mass Vanishing from Workforce Linked to Alien Abduction

◼ With over 8 million people mysteriously disappearing from the US workforce during President Barack Obama's first term, experts are working on a number of theories to explain this riddle, the most commonly mentioned reason being alien abductions occurring throughout the US on an extraordinarily massive scale. - Igor Toutellalai/The People's Cube

Groundhog Day 2013: 'Punxsutawney Phil' Predicts Early Spring

◼ When the Pennsylvania groundhog emerged from his dwelling at Gobbler's Knob Saturday morning, he did not see his shadow. - ABC News

"And so ye faithful, there is no shadow to see, an early Spring for you and me," proclaimed Bob Roberts, one of Phil's handlers.

According to folklore, if a groundhog emerges from its burrow and see its shadow, then six more weeks of winter weather is on the way.

But if it comes out and sees no shadow, spring is expected to come early.

Punxsutawney, the Pennsylvania town that is home to one of the most famous weather-predicting groundhogs, Punxsutawney Phil, has been carrying on the tradition of Groundhog Day since the 1800s, according to The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.

Morning Bell: How to Balance the Budget in 10 Years

◼ To prevent the federal debt from growing further out of control and harming economic growth in the long term, Congress must balance the budget in 10 years and keep it balanced—without raising taxes further. - Heritage Morning Bell

This 5-point checklist covers the do’s and don’ts of balancing the budget in 10 years (at the link)

◼ VIDEO: Jim DeMint Says Obama Is “Running Out of Excuses” on Debt - Rob Bluey/Heritage

Heritage Foundation President-Elect Jim DeMint told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren last night that President Obama is “running out of excuses” on America’s debt problem and liberals are in denial if they think Washington doesn’t have a spending addiction.

Greta, the president is running out of excuses. He can’t blame the last administration because he is the last administration. President Obama has spent more and created more debt than any president in history. Yet we’ve got the slowest recovery of any recovery in history.

Contraception mandate: Obama administration turns its back on the Sandra Fluke crowd

◼ Young liberal women helped deliver this election to President Obama. After hearing about the Obama administration’s proposed rule regarding the contraception mandate, some of these voters are not happy campers. - Twitchy

Bless their hearts. They voted for birth control pills and instead they’re getting War on Women™.

After phony #WarOnWoman (election tool) HHS backs off of contraception mandate for religious institutions. #Obamacare

— pinecohen (@pinecohen) February 1, 2013

Cowardly. Just absolutely cowardly. Women depended on you, President Obama, and you let us down.

— riz. (@Rizzz) February 1, 2013

Actually, the exemption applies only if your employer happens to be a religious organization, such as a church. Hobby Lobby and other businesses don’t get to opt out.

Hobby Lobby atty reaction to HHS:“Today’s proposed rule does nothing to protect the religious liberty of millions of Americans."

— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) February 1, 2013

In a final regulation issued Wednesday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) assumed that under Obamacare the cheapest health insurance plan available in 2016 for a family will cost $20,000 for the year

◼ The IRS’s assumption that the cheapest plan for a family will cost $20,000 per year is found in examples the IRS gives to help people understand how to calculate the penalty they will need to pay the government if they do not buy a mandated health plan. - Matt Cover/CNS News

Under Obamacare, Americans will be required to buy health insurance or pay a penalty to the IRS....

“The annual national average bronze plan premium for a family of 5 (2 adults, 3 children) is $20,000,” the regulation says.

Bronze will be the lowest tier health-insurance plan available under Obamacare--after Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Under the law, the penalty for not buying health insurance is supposed to be capped at either the annual average Bronze premium, 2.5 percent of taxable income, or $2,085.00 per family in 2016.

In the new final rules published Wednesday, IRS set in law the rules for implementing the penalty Americans must pay if they fail to obey Obamacare's mandate to buy insurance.

Priebus to Newsmax: We Need Permanent Campaigns

◼ Mitt Romney and Republicans across the country “did a pretty good job of running a nine-month campaign,” he said. “The problem is the other side did a really good job of running a four-year campaign. - Bill Hoffmann and Kathleen Walter/Newsmax

“While we were debating each other 23 times, the other side, the Obama campaign, was spending $150 million or whatever the number is on technology and data all across the country.

“So fundamentally we sort of have to accept the fact that we are in a permanent political environment and that nine-month operations aren’t going to work anymore, obviously.”

◼ Is Winning the Argument Enough? - Peter Wilson/American Thinker

On two occasions during the conference...someone mentioned a PDF called ◼ "Inside the Cave: An In-Depth Look at the Digital, Technology, and Analytics Operations of Obama for America."

As an aside, I mentioned this to a liberal friend and she said, is that title racist? Why? I asked, utterly confused. "Because he's a black man," she responded. So I guess "cave" is another new racist codeword.

"Inside the Cave" was not released by Republican racists but by Engage DC, a "well respected new media consulting firm." It's a scary and depressing document, which opens with a photo of a windowless office described with this caption: "The Cave in Obama for America's Chicago headquarters housed the campaign's Analytics team. Behind closed doors, more than 50 data analysts used Big Data to predict the individual behavior of tens of millions of American voters." These analysts are brilliant, young, and were willing to leave top firms to work for peanuts to re-elect Obama: "[Obama] went directly to Silicon Valley and to data analysts in the Fortune 500 and academia. One used to work at Pixar. Another was a high-energy particle physicist."

Romney spent millions on television ads, robocalls and the disastrous Orca, a "traditional corporate IT project gone bad," while Obama for America microtargeted voters through Facebook (34 million friends), Twitter, email (16 million on their email list compared to Romney's 2-3 million). OFA constantly tested new strategies -- "drunk donating," a "Quick Donate" app that processed donations through Amazon, and "upselling" donations (would you like to supersize that order?)

...when we look ahead, I'm not sure that winning the argument is enough. The Tea Party showed the power of our founding principles, but ultimately it wasn't enough on Election Day. Can we reach those workers getting paid minimum wage by Elizabeth Warren with arguments about fiscal responsibility? Can we fight donation-upselling by quoting the Constitution to young people who have been indoctrinated their whole lives and believe that the Founders were evil slaveowners? I don't think so, but it makes me mad. I'd love nothing more than to win elections by convincing voters that the ideas I heard this weekend are true and just, but I'm afraid the battle is going to be much harder, more boring, more calculated and more soulless.

The 2014 campaign for the House is already underway. We'd better get our Cave up and running.

Five Things We Didn't Know About 2012 Until Last Night, and More

◼ We know, we know: 2012 is over, done, in the rear-view mirror. But in the campaign finance world, midnight last night marked a sort of reckoning for 2012 politicos and entities, as it ws the FEC's deadline for filing all year-end campaign finance reports. - OpenSecrets.org

Obama and Democrats finished in the red, while Team Romney kept in the black.

Obama and DNC win, but end year with combined $21.5m in debt. The RNC is debt- free with $4.7m in cash reserves.

— Fredreka Schouten (@fschouten) February 1, 2013
If nothing else, Romney campaign efficient about closing out its books. Ended year with $383K cash on hand and just $825K in debt.

◼ Romney campaign gave $90K to Red Cross after Sandy - Politico

Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign quietly donated nearly $90,000 to the Red Cross in late November, according to a report filed Thursday night with the Federal Election Commission.

The donation came on Nov. 30 – about one month after Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on the East Coast, stretching thin the organization’s resources, and weeks after the GOP candidate lost to President Barack Obama.

Neither Romney nor his campaign publicized the donation, despite liberal allegations in the days before the election that he had used the Red Cross as a political prop.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE BACK UP TO 7.9%

◼ UNEMPLOYMENT RATE BACK UP TO 7.9%... (Convoluted headlines: Economy Adds Another 157,000 Jobs; Rate Up to 7.9%) - CNBC

◼ MEDIA SPINS UNEMPLOYMENT INCREASE AS GOOD NEWS

After the American economy delivered more bad news today in the form of an increase in the unemployment rate and job growth that barely kept up with the increase in population, it took exactly 4.3476 seconds for the Washington Post's Ezra Klein and some flak for NBC News to jump before the "Morning Joe" cameras to assure Americans this was good news.

◼ January Jobs Report Released Day After Obama Shuts Down Jobs Council - Independent Journal Review

◼ 8,500,000 Americans Left Labor Force In Obama's First Term - Noel Sheppard/Newsbusters

Lost in these headline numbers was another rise in the number of people not in the labor force.

This number now stands at a staggering 89 million, up from 80.5 million when President Obama took office.

This means that there are currently 8.5 million more Americans not in the labor force than just four years ago.

Forget all the other numbers.

This continued explosion of people not in the labor force should be tremendously concerning as it represents an obstacle for the government to ever balance the budget without drastically raising taxes on those still working.

◼ POOF: Another 170,000 disappeared in January... - CNS News

Can the GOP Find a Path Forward?

◼ Republicans are in better shape than Democrats were following their 2004 debacle. - Rich Baehr/PJMedia

In much the same way the Democrats started banging their heads against the wall after the disappointing 2004 election cycle, where the hated George W. Bush won re-election and the GOP improved its majorities in both the House and the Senate, the Republicans have gone through a similar concussion-inducing exercise following the disappointing 2012 election. Arguably, however, the GOP is better positioned today than the Democrats were after the 2004 defeat....

The 2012 elections demonstrated that the Republicans could be successfully portrayed by their opponents as a party largely made up of old white male voters who are protective of the wealthy and big corporations and hostile to the aspirations of minority groups, gays, and women. It mattered little that every one of these characterizations is largely or completely false. The GOP provided enough ammunition to keep some of these arguments alive....

The reality is that the GOP has far more minority group members who have been nominated and won in state elections than the Democrats have –governors in New Mexico, Nevada, Louisiana, and South Carolina; senators in Texas and Florida; and an appointed senator from South Carolina (the only African American senator, who was welcomed after his elevation from the House by an almost complete media blackout). The Democrats have only a New Jersey senator, a Hawaii senator, and the governor of Massachusetts who are members of minority groups. By and large, the Democrats are afraid to run minority group candidates statewide, and only nominate them to run in congressional districts where the minority makes up a majority of voters.

Krauthammer On Hagel: His Problem Isn't A Paper Trail, It's Lack Of Competence

◼ link, VIDEO - Real Clear Politics

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: His problem isn't a paper trail; his problem is a demonstrated, incredibly remarkable lack of competence. Look, the two lines of attack on him up until today were one, ideological, the content of what he's been saying over the years is out of the mainstream way out there, to the left of Obama. As McCain pointed out, he's a guy who got the surge completely wrong and he himself called the Iraq war a disaster and he voted to authorize the war. The first line on attack was on the content, the second one is on how honest is he because he's been denying essentially the essence of a dozen statements and ideas that he said in the past. And now, he says all of the sudden, 'Oh no, you know, on Iran, I changed my mind.'

All of the sudden, you know, he has seen the light on a dozen issues, overnight, as he's being challenged in Congress. But what happened today was shocking, because it showed an astonishing lack of competence. I mean, he was wobbly, he was weak, bumbling. As we saw in the first clip, he didn't, when he said, when he corrects himself, on containment and says, you know, well, I was wrong about supporting containment, our policy is that we don't have a policy on containment, it showed he's no idea about the single most grave issue facing the United States. Containment of Iran or not, and he was corrected by a Democrat. And then on the Israel issue, he was completely humiliated by Senator Graham when he was asked you said the Jewish lobby. (Special Report, January 31, 2013)

◼ Snort: Senators reportedly in ‘shock’ over Hagel’s ineptitude, bumbling

Several senators- even undecideds-tell me there's a ton of buzz on senate floor about hagel's lackluster performance. "Shock" is the word

— Dana Bash (@DanaBashCNN) January 31, 2013

Police NOT Obligated to Protect Citizens…Supreme Court Rules ‘You’re On Your Own’

◼ We were taught from the time were small children that if we are threatened by anyone we were to call 911 and asked them to dispatch the police. But is that the real function of the police department? - MinuteMenNews

According to the US Supreme Court decision in Warren v. District of Columbia in 1981, the police do not have the duty to provide protection and services to individuals except under specific assignments.

◼ Basically the Supreme Court ruled that police are not obligated to or have any duty to the victims of criminal acts. The main function of the police department is to arrest criminals and investigate crimes. - lastresistance.com

That only leaves one legal source of defense for every individual and homeowner. That defense is guaranteed by the Second Amendment in the right to bear and keep arms. That’s why the town of Kennesaw, Georgia passed an ordinance in 1982 requiring all homeowners to own a firearm to be used for protection. The only exceptions were for religious beliefs, convicted felons or those who had a strong conscientious opposition to guns. Consequently Kennesaw, a suburb of Atlanta, has one of the lowest crime rates in the nation.

So if you want to protect yourself and your family, I wouldn’t count on the police but rather I would urge you to go out and purchase a firearm and learn how to use it. Then if anyone breaks into your house, you’ll have your protection right there in your hands and you won’t have to wait for police who may or may not show up to help.

Homeland Security has advice for confronting mass murders: scissors

◼ That’s some of the helpful advice in a new instructional video from the Department of Homeland Security that was posted on the agency’s Web site just a month after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. - S.A. MILLER/NY Post

The nearly four-minute-long video opens with chilling scenes from the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood in Texas, and the 2011 attempted assassination of Gabrielle Giffords.

But the video quickly shifts to hokey footage of office workers scampering under desks, crouching in corners and racing into closets to hide from a rampaging gunman on the loose.

“To protect your hiding place, lock the door if you can. Block the door with heavy furniture,” recommends the male narrator, speaking in measured, authoritative tones.

Other survival strategies promoted in the video include hiding “behind large items such as cabinets or desks. Remain quiet. Silence your cellphone or pager. Even the vibration setting can give away a hiding position.”

Richard Feldman, president of the Independent Firearm Owners Association, said he has a better option for consideration than a pair of scissors when confronting an armed mass murderer — a legal firearm.

Obama's Act of Constitutional Disobedience

◼ link - Phil Kerpen/Townhall

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals emphatically smacked down the crazy idea that the president has the power to make recess appointments while the Senate is not in recess.

"An interpretation of 'the Recess' that permits the President to decide when the Senate is in recess would demolish the checks and balances inherent in the advice-and-consent requirement, giving the President free rein to appoint his desired nominees at any time he pleases, whether that time be a weekend, lunch, or even when the Senate is in session and he is merely displeased with its inaction," Chief Judge David B. Sentelle wrote. "This cannot be the law."

The decision means the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which lacks a quorum to function without the improperly appointed members, should shut down until legitimate board members are confirmed by the Senate. But it won't. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney insisted the decision "does not have any impact, as I think the NLRB has already put out, on their operations or functions, or on the board itself."

So the administration is openly defying the courts and the Constitution. But why?

◼ GOP Senators to NLRB, CFPB: Take Down the ‘Open for Business’ Sign

A trio of Republican senators today introduced a bill to block NLRB actions in the wake of a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that President Obama’s recess appointments to the labor authority were unconstitutional.

The Restoring the Constitutional Balance of Power Act of 2013 would prohibit the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) from enforcing or implementing decisions and regulations without a constitutionally confirmed board or director.

It would also block CFPB’s next transfer of funds from the Federal Reserve to carry out any actions that require the approval of a director.

It was introduced by Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), and John Cornyn (R-Texas).

“If they won’t take down their ‘Open for Business’ sign and put up one that says ‘Help Wanted,’ then the Senate will,” said Alexander. “The president created this problem but the Constitution provides him with a way to fix it—send the Senate acceptable nominees to fill these important positions.”

"...It's not just not true, it's Orwellian not true in that in-your-face way that's proud of how untrue it is and knows it doesn’t matter that everyone knows it's untrue."

◼ BUZZFEED MEMORY-HOLES JOURNOLIST - John Nolte/Breitbart

In a piece published late this morning ripping the Washington Post for not being as cool as BuzzFeed, Rosie Gray mentions Slate's Dave Weigel, and the events surrounding his parting of the ways with the Post in June of 2010:

Late to the internet and struggling to maintain its status as a top-tier news outlet, the Post turned to high-profile, often partisan bloggers, led by the liberal policy wonk Ezra Klein, to generate traffic and buzz. But the outlet's unfamiliarity with the online news environment quickly showed: Their first conservative blogger was fired in a plagiarism flap, and the second, Dave Weigel, was let go after Post management learned — apparently to their surprise, if not to his actual readers' — that he wasn't a movement conservative.

So snarky.

So clever.

Such a well-crafted piece of above-it-all, ironic distance.

No, really, that paragraph really is a thing of BuzzFeedian beauty.

Except it isn't true.

And it's not just not true, it's Orwellian not true in that in-your-face way that's proud of how untrue it is and knows it doesn’t matter that everyone knows it's untrue.

Anyone even somewhat familiar with media, knows that BuzzFeed is rewriting history here. But BuzzFeed doesn’t care, because in this new media-era, it's not the truth that matters, it's what the media wants to be the truth that matters. (Again, see: Economy, Obama's…)

But just for kicks, let's correct the record and tell the truth. I know it doesn’t matter anymore, and I don’t mean to come off as old-fashioned and force my values on anyone. But for old time's sake, let's pretend truth does matter.

In June of 2010 Weigel "resigned" from the Washington Post after it was discovered he had participated in something called Journolist; which was made up of a cabal of several hundred journalists, some of whom were caught red-handed (after the listserv leaked) coordinating coverage.

Dominican prostitute: Sen. Bob Menendez ‘likes the youngest and newest girls’

◼ In a little-noticed email published online Wednesday by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a young Dominican woman wrote nine months ago that she slept with 59-year-old New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez at a series of sex parties organized by Dr. Salomon Melgen, a longtime Menendez campaign donor. - David Martosko and Charles C. Johnson/Daily Caller

“That senator also likes the youngest and newest girls,” the woman wrote on April 21, 2002, according to an English translation provided to The Daily Caller by a native Spanish speaker.

“In the beginning he seemed so serious, because he never spoke to anyone, but he is just like the others and has just about the same tastes as the doctor, very refined. I think they were taking us more often to get us checked [medically] because of him.”

◼ Menendez: I Reimbursed Donor Nearly $60G For Dominican Republic Trips

Sen. Robert Menendez’s office says he reimbursed a prominent Florida political donor $58,500 in recent months for the full cost of two of three trips Menendez took on the donor’s plane to the Dominican Republic in 2010.

There was no public disclosure.

“The senator paid for the two trips out of his personal account and no reporting requirements apply,” Menendez spokeswoman Tricia Enright said Wednesday night.

Details of Menendez’s trips emerged as his office said unsubstantiated allegations that the senator engaged in sex with prostitutes in the Dominican Republic are false.

◼ Lautenberg calls Menendez controversy ‘a terrible tragedy’ - Aaron Blake/Washington Post

Sen. Bob Menendez’s (D-N.J.) New Jersey colleague has responded to the growing controversy surrounding the senator’s ties to a doctor who was recently raided, and he’s not exactly doing Menendez any favors....

“There a lot that’s said and covered, but I for one know Bob as a very capable United States senator, and I’m sorry to see him in this position,” Lautenberg said. “But I can’t give you anything more. Don’t want to. Don’t know to.”

Lautenberg later added he had not spoken to Menendez about the accusations but called them “devastating.”
“(He) has built an almost sterling reputation for a lot of years and our hope is that this, what we’re hearing, is not as it’s presented,” Lautenberg said. “I think Bob will survive this with his good work. This is a terrible tragedy. And we’re not yet sure what all of the facts are.”

◼ If Guilty, Menendez Could Face 30 Years in Prison - Daniel Halper/Weekly Standard

◼ Federal Election Commission records show that Dr. Salomon Melgen, the Miami ophthalmologist connected to New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez’s alleged prostitution scandal, has financed several high-ranking politicians from both political parties. - Matthew Boyle/Breitbart

◼ In Congress, Menendez made impassioned plea to end sex trafficking [VIDEO] - Daily Caller

◼ Harry Reid punts on Bob Menendez question as prostitution scandal deepens - David Martosko/Daily Caller

◼ ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN mum on FBI raid of doctor office tied to Menendez - Jeff Poor/Daily Caller

SHOCK: ECONOMY SHRINKS...GDP -0.1%

Drudge headlines:

Santelli: 'We Are Now Europe'...
Job market booming at IRS...
DEMS: BEST LOOKING CONTRACTION YOU'LL EVER SEE...
Automatic Budget Cuts More Likely as Stances Harden...
Pension insurer warns of rising deficit...
Dollar at 14-Month Low vs Euro...
FED: KEEP PUMPING...
Jobless claims rise sharply...

Heller case attorney: NY 7-round limit “clearly unconstitutional”

◼ On January 29, 2013, I attended a discussion between Alan Gura, the attorney who successfully argued the Heller v. D.C. and McDonald v. Chicago 2nd Amendment cases in the Supreme Court, and Cornell Law Professor Michael Dorf.... - Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion

The discussion was fascinating, and I strongly urge you to view the ◼ complete 1 hour video which is posted on YouTube.

They touched on a number of issues, including the concept of defending oneself against “tyranny” as a justification at the time of enactment (they both agreed that historically it was a factor), and other aspects of 2nd Amendment law....

Towards the end of the program I asked about the recent NY gun law which outlaws possession of handguns which hold more than 7-round magazines, although current owners can keep the guns so long as they only put 7 bullets in the 10-round magazine.

Because of where the microphones were placed, my question is a little hard to hear. I asked about whether NY’s 7-round limit was constitutional given that it is lower than the 10-round magazines which widely are accepted as within the norm, even by many gun control advocates.

Gura answered:

“Well the 7-round limit to me is clearly unconstitutional, for the reasons mentioned, Americans have expectation to find in common use handguns that have more than 7-rounds, and so a 7-round limit is plainly unconstitutional.”

◼ United States Senate Judiciary Committee Full Committee Hearing “What Should America Do About Gun Violence?” Written Testimony of David B. Kopel

“Doing something” is the slogan for politicians who seek merely to exploit terrible crimes for self-serving purposes. “Doing something effective” is the approach of people who want to save lives and protect the public, especially children.

David Freddoso: "When you’re talking about liberal media bias, it pretty much writes itself"

◼ MSNBC ‘essentially’ ran ‘a voter suppression campaign’ against GOP during 2012 presidential election, says author (David Freddoso)

By tarring conservatives as racist during the 2012 presidential campaign, MSNBC “essentially” mounted “a voter suppression campaign,” says the author of a new book on media bias.

“Some of the quotes I have in ‘Spin Masters’– you might remember them if you watch a lot of MSNBC — still make me cringe,” David Freddoso, author of the recently released book ◼ “Spin Masters: How the Media Ignored the Real News and Helped Reelect Barack Obama,” told The Daily Caller....

I’m always saving and categorizing noteworthy stories I read — essentially taking notes — just in case they prove useful later. In this case, the moment I figured I’d have to write something about media bias came on September 12 or 13. I was sitting next to Washington Examiner writer Phil Klein, who remarked in disbelief that the story about Benghazi — a huge story about Obama over-promising and under-delivering on Middle East policy — was being turned into a story about a Romney gaffe.

I began looking back also at other things I thought had been somewhat ridiculous — the media’s adoption of the phrase “War on Women,” for example, and the bizarre fascination with a contraceptive ban that no one actually seemed to be advocating — and wondered whether there might be enough material for a book. So I didn’t really start writing until after the election, but I had nearly everything outlined.

Did you begin writing before the campaign was over? It came out so fast.

Yeah, no kidding. But when you’re talking about liberal media bias, it pretty much writes itself. Well, now you know how I spent my nights, weekends, and Thanksgiving after the election.

Book Description
Publication Date: January 28, 2013
The biggest story of the election was how the media ignored the biggest story of the election.

Amid all the breathless coverage of a non-existent War on Women, there was little or no coverage of Obama’s war on the economy—how, for instance, part-time work is replacing full-time work; how low-wage jobs are replacing high-wage ones; how for Americans between the ages of 25 and 54 there are fewer jobs today than there were when the recession officially ended in 2009, and fewer, in fact, than at any time since mid-1997.

The downsizing of the American economy wasn’t the only story the media missed—or suppressed—there was also the unraveling of Obama's foreign policy and the deadly scandals at home (Fast & Furious) and abroad (the terrorist attack that killed the American ambassador at Benghazi).

But instead of serious, substantive journalism, the media reported ad nauseam on trifles (Big Bird), Republican-baiting hysteria (how everything the Republicans said was allegedly “racial code”), and distortions of Romney’s remarks (such as the 47% comment).

The media dropped the ball in covering the 2012 election, writes ◼ David Freddoso, editorial page editor of The Washington Examiner, and in doing so the media failed in their responsibility to keep politicians honest and the public well-informed. Freddoso, a New York Times bestselling author and former congressional reporter for National Review, fills this volume not only with outrageous examples of media bias, but also with dozens of real stories that genuinely inquisitive reporters should have relished but that the overwhelmingly liberal press didn't even bother to cover.

Full of the news you didn’t hear about in 2012, David Freddoso’s ◼ “Spin Masters: How the Media Ignored the Real News and Helped Reelect Barack Obama” will be the most provocative and accurate take of just how Barack Obama managed to get reelected amidst the worst economic times since at least the 1970s, and how the media helped him do it.

About That 'Permanent Democratic Majority'

◼ The ideological composition of the American electorate hasn't changed dramatically. Self-identified liberals were 25% of voters in 2012 and 23% in 2008. Conservatives were 35% of voters in 2012 and 34% in 2008. - Karl Rove/Wall St. Journal

Demography isn't destiny because nothing is permanent in politics—and Democrats' insistence to the contrary will likely lead them to overreach, ignoring issues such as jobs, anemic growth and deficits in order to tackle gun control and climate change. That would be good for Republicans. Governing from the hard left sunk Democrats in 2010 and would cost them again in 2014.

Colorado Energy Office Misspends Millions in Stimulus Funds

◼ link - Michael Sandoval/Heritage Foundry

The Colorado Energy Office (CEO) misspent millions in stimulus funds and could not account for a variety of other financial statements, according to a new audit from the Colorado state auditor.

The CEO, charged with administering energy funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and a host of other energy initiatives, “was unable to demonstrate that $252 million spent over the past six years was spent cost-effectively,” the report concluded. More than half of that amount, roughly $144 million, came from Recovery stimulus monies distributed between the 2009–2012 fiscal years (FY).

The audit found that the CEO did not calculate or maintain annual budgets for any of the 34 programs it administered since FY 2007. “As a result, CEO could not determine the total cost or the total amount spent for any of its programs,” the audit stated.

Red States Thrive, Blue States Dive: The State Tax Reformers

Tom Del Beccaro: "A new analysis by economist Art Laffer for the American Legislative Exchange Council finds that, from 2002 to 2012, 62% of the three million net new jobs in America were created in the nine states without an income tax, though these states account for only about 20% of the national population. The no-income tax states have had more stable revenue growth, while states like New York, New Jersey and California that depend on the top 1% of earners for nearly half of their income-tax revenue suffer wide and destabilizing swings in their tax collections."

◼ More Governors look to repeal their income taxes.

Washington may be a tax reform wasteland, but out in the states the action is hot and heavy. Nine states—including such fast-growing places as Florida, Tennessee and Texas—currently have no income tax, and the race is on to see which will be the tenth, and perhaps the 11th and 12th.

Oklahoma and Kansas have lowered their income-tax rates in the last two years with an aim toward eliminating the tax altogether. North Carolina's newly elected Republican Governor Pat McCrory has prioritized tax reform this year and wants to reduce the income tax. Ditto for another newcomer, Mike Pence of Indiana, who has called for a 10% income-tax rate cut. Susana Martinez, New Mexico's Republican Governor, has called for slashing the state corporate tax to 4.9% from 7.6%, and the first Republican-controlled legislature since Reconstruction in Arkansas is considering chopping its tax rates by as much as half.

But those are warm-up acts compared to Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman's announcement this month that he wants to eliminate the state income tax and replace it with a broader sales tax. "How many of you have sons and daughters, grandchildren, brothers and sisters and other family members who no longer live in Nebraska because they couldn't find a job here or they couldn't find the right career here in Nebraska?" he asked. He believes eliminating the income tax—with a top rate of 6.84%—will make the Cornhusker State a new magnet for jobs.

Then there's Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who wants to zero out his state's income tax (top rate 6%) and the 8% corporate tax and replace them by raising the state's current 4% sales tax. He would also eliminate some 150 special interest exemptions from the sales tax, including massage parlors, art work and fishing boats.

As an economic matter, this swap makes sense. Income taxes generally do more economic harm because they are a direct penalty on saving, investment and labor that create new wealth. Sales taxes, by contrast, hit consumption, which is the result of that wealth creation. Governors Jindal, McCrory and Heineman cite the growing evidence that states with low or no income taxes have done better economically in recent decades compared to states with income-tax rates of 10% or more....

Bond Girl Bootcamp

◼ Bond Girl Bootcamp

Bond Girl Bootcamp is truly a life's mission. Created by Jessica Ross, a woman who since birth had a burning passion for all things badass, whether shooting AK-47s, learning the craft of explosive stunts on movie sets, hanging 50 feet in the air as a cirque aerial performer, taking center stage as a fire breathing entertainer, studying competitive fencing at age 17 or training celebrities in burlesque and hooping. Her propensity for action, danger and self-reliance skyrocketed after boldly surviving a kidnapping and assault. Not one to dwell in life’s trauma, Ross packaged her lessons learned and launched this campaign of self-empowerment for all women. Bond Girl Bootcamp became a necessity – and now – a reality. Bond Girl offers women access to the training and skills that illuminate the inner confidence and strength whether in the home, at the office or on the streets. Who needs Sean Connery?

◼ The James Bond movie series wouldn't be complete without a sexy Bond girl, but jumping out of planes, flying helicopters and shooting 9 mm guns aren't reserved for just Hollywood movies anymore.. - Elisabeth Meinecke/Townhall Sep 29, 2011

For California girl Jessica Ross, becoming a real-life Bond girl is personal.

Four years ago, Ross was working in the marketing and advertising industry. During a trip to Hawaii, she was kidnapped by people working for an international sex trafficking ring, raped and severely beaten.

"In about 24 hours, I was left for dead on the side of the road. I had no chest left," Ross tells Townhall.

During painful court proceedings and while under surveillance, Ross was able to tie into a network of people from agencies like the FBI and Secret Service who became her family, and she's been able to turn her horrific experience into something positive by empowering other women through founding what is now known as the Bond Girl Bootcamp. ...

Bond Girl Bootcamp's Web site describes the program as "a 360[-]degree hardcore experience where you'll gain talents and confidence that will blow your boyfriend's mind and skills that could blow his head off." It continues: "Adrenaline pumping adventure, tactical training and raw emotion are just a taste of what you'll get before lunch. Should you choose to accept your mission, you'll train under the direction of special ops instructors, world class linguists, high[-]speed stunt drivers, shoot-to-kill marksmen and avant[-]garde burlesque performers. We're not here to baby anyone, and we don't charge extra for the bruises...."

'Raaaacist' Report: CNN execs complained that audience for Soledad O’Brien’s show was “too ethnic”

◼ Alternate headline: “Not too many OWS members watching Soledad O’Brien’s show.” - Allahpundit/HotAir

Although I wonder if the most revealing bit in the excerpt is the half-assed idea that the difference in buzz between O’Brien’s show and “Morning Joe” is … the panel format. Does anyone smarter than the CNN programming trust actually believe that? Scarborough gets buzz because (a) he’s a former congressman who knows heavy hitters in Washington and does terrifically well at getting them to come on the show and (b) he’s a Republican who’s best known for criticizing Republicans, which the media always deeply respects. What’s more buzzworthy, a panel featuring Soledad talking to random CNN contributors about the budget or a panel featuring a former GOP representative telling the press what it wants to hear about how the NRA is going to destroy the Republican Party? C’mon.

U.S. 'backed plan to launch chemical weapon attack on Syria and blame it on Assad's regime'

◼ Leaked emails from defense contractor refers to chemical weapons saying 'the idea is approved by Washington' - Louise Boyle/Daily Mail

Leaked emails have allegedly proved that the White House gave the green light to a chemical weapons attack in Syria that could be blamed on Assad's regime and in turn, spur international military action in the devastated country....

The emails were released by a Malaysian hacker who also obtained senior executives resumés and copies of passports via an unprotected company server, according to Cyber War News.

The U.S. State Department had not returned a request for comment on the alleged emails to MailOnline today at time of publication....

◼ LEAKED EMAILS PROVE OBAMA "BACKED PLAN TO LAUNCH CHEMICAL WEAPON ATTACK ON SYRIA AND BLAME IT ON ASSAD" - Atlas Shrugs

Thanks to Armaros for sending this news story. He laments: "Obama brought me to a point where, contrary to how I always felt and most of us do wanting to win debates and be proven right, I am now days hope to be wrong. I hope that the story I am reading is not true as much as I despise this impostor. Your book was one of the first, if not the first series of information I was hoping to be proven wrong. Now daily I see stuff I wish turning out as some Alex Jones conspiracy or FB hoax or whatever...except the truth."

Harry Reid declines to endorse Dianne Feinstein's assault-weapons ban

◼ “She’s talked to me about her assault weapons. The new one. She believes in it fervently and I admire her for that. I’ll take a look at that,” he said in response to a reporter's question. “We’re going to have votes on all kinds of issues dealing with guns, and I think everyone would be well advised to read the legislation before they determine how they’re going to vote [on] it.” - The Hill

Mother Loses All Four Children to Chicago's Culture of Violence

◼ About 5,000 have been murdered in Chicago over the past 10 years. One family in particular has been hit hardest by the violence. Shirley Chambers has lost four children to gun violence since 1995. Is the bloodshed in Chicago the result of guns, or is there something more happening with the culture in the Windy City? Find out. - Trifecta/PJM

Instead of delivering a memorable address on a contentious mess, Obama spent $522 per word to say “Me too” in the desert.

◼ Kurtz: Say, did Obama dupe the Washington Post?

◼ What Was the Point of Obama’s Immigration Speech? - Mark Krikorian/National Review

I know the president likes the sound of his own voice, but, really, what was the point of his immigration speech today in Las Vegas? He didn’t deal with any of the hard issues — like guestworkers or spousal immigration rights for homosexual couples or how many millions more people a year he wants to admit — and just regurgitated the usual boilerplate about how we’re a nation of immigrants and our system is broken, etc.

In fact, he’s become self-parody. I always point out that the DREAM Act was never designed to actually be enacted — it’s a gimmick used to make the case for a broader amnesty, as in: “Here’s young Luis, been here since he was 9 months old, valedictorian, headed to MIT, and when he gets out he’s going to join the military to help vanquish America’s foes — therefore, all 11 million illegals need to get amnesty.” In his speech today, the president said just that, pointing out young Alan, born in Mexico, came here as a child, going to college, studying to be a doctor, and wants to join the Air Force. Somehow, Alan is an argument for “comprehensive immigration reform.”

One notable thing is that he said “illegal” or “illegally” six times by my count, including once saying “the tide of illegal immigrants.” Contrast that to Rubio and McCain, who clung to the leftist euphemism “undocumented.” So are the Republican amnesty-pushers to Obama’s left, at least in this respect? That’s pretty pathetic.

Wrong Girl

Wrong Girl:



Wrong Diner:



Wrong House:



◼ GLOCK RELEASES NEW PRO-GUN COMMERCIAL THAT’S SURE TO MAKE GUN OWNERS SMILE - The Blaze

The terrifying mindset of Secretary Clinton

◼ link - Joseph Curl/Washington Times

Her words are already long gone from the daily flow; in fact, they never really resonated at all, were all but ignored by the mainstream media, and were characterized more as a feisty in-your-face comeback than what they truly were.

And what they truly were was horrifying — but at the same time a deep insight into the Democratic mindset, as well as a peek at what may be coming in 2016.

...from her perspective, there doesn’t need to be any investigation into why the administration said what it said. It’s like a child breaking a lamp, lying about it to his parents, and then saying, “Look, we could go on and on about who said what about breaking the lamp, but fixing the lamp now is really all that’s important — let’s move on.”

And that is terrifying. The secretary of state said simply, “The ends justify the means.” The Obama administration had lied about what happened in Benghazi to help secure a second term for the president, buried the murder of Americans in a private investigation, then, when finally questioned, said, “What difference does it make!?” what we said way back then.

The assault weapon myth

◼ Obama, Feinstein and allies use fear mongering to push gun-grabbing agenda - Emily Miller/Washington Times

President Obama and his allies, such as Mrs. Feinstein, deliberately misuse the term “assault weapon” to confuse the public. Assault weapons are machine guns, automatic rifles that continue to fire until the trigger is released. These guns have been highly regulated since 1934 and are never used in crimes. The guns that this congressional bill targets are simply the standard semi-automatic weapons that fire one bullet with each trigger pull.
The best illustration of this deception is Mrs. Feinstein’s placing of the “Armalite M15 22LR Carbine” on her list of items that she claims have the sole purpose “to hold at the hip if possible, to spray fire to be able to kill large numbers.” This particular weapon fires a .22 long rifle cartridge, which has one-tenth the power of the standard military round and is generally suited for plinking tin cans or hunting small varmints. It simply looks like a military rifle, which fits Mrs. Feinstein’s effort to eliminate items that look scary to her.

During the marathon news conference, politicians played on emotions rather than facts. We know the new “assault weapons” ban would be useless because crime didn’t decrease during the 10 years that the 1994 ban was in effect. In the eight years Americans have been free to buy any semi-automatic rifles, gun ownership has gone up while crime has steadily declined.

(This is the first in a four-part series on dispelling gun myths. Click here to read part two: ◼ The High-Capacity Magazine Myth. Click here to read part three: ◼ The Cop-Killer Bullet Myth.)

Deception is the key component in the latest push for more gun control laws. During her soap opera press conference Wednesday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein used a liberal clergyman to give her the moral high ground in her campaign to infringe on the Second Amendment.

Boehner thereby won a triple jackpot, a bonanza for conservatives and supply-siders … while Obama, giving up all that for a trivial symbolic victory, lost his Progressive shirt. The mainstream media, with a few exceptions such as Howard Kurtz at the Daily Beast, was too deep in the tank to report that the Emperor has no clothes.

◼ How President Obama Lost His Shirt to John Boehner - Ralph Benko/Forbes

The House, under the leadership of Speaker John Boehner, has precipitated a postponement in the debt ceiling fight until May. This represents a strategic choice by Boehner to make the Sequester fight, not the debt ceiling fight, the next major engagement. Much of the mainstream media now is accusing Congress of “kicking the can down the road.” They are missing the strategic implications....

Dazzled by Obama’s Ozymandias-scale sneer most liberals failed to notice that Boehner quietly made 99% of the Bush tax cuts permanent. As Boehner himself dryly observed, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board member Steve Moore, “”Who would have ever guessed that we could make 99% of the Bush tax cuts permanent? When we had a Republican House and Senate and a Republican in the White House, we couldn’t get that. And so, not bad.’”

“Not bad” is a resounding understatement. Dealt a weak hand, Boehner managed to 99% outfox, on tax policy, a president who had the massive apparatus of the executive branch, the Senate majority, and a left-leaning national elite media whooping it up for a whopping tax increase. Even more impressively, Boehner pulled it off with steady nerves while under heavy pressure from the anti-spending hawks in his own caucus.

Boehner, deftly, also dramatically raised the threshold, on which Obama had campaigned, at which the modest 3.6% rate increase kicked in. Yet his biggest win may have been in making the Alternative Minimum Tax patch permanent. This changes the baseline with profoundly positive implications for future tax reform and economic growth.

Boehner thereby won a triple jackpot, a bonanza for conservatives and supply-siders … while Obama, giving up all that for a trivial symbolic victory, lost his Progressive shirt....

The Democrats, apparently, still don’t know what Boehner has hit them with. Thanks to the Sequester anti-profligacy conservatives now negotiate from strength. What are the implications of putting the Sequester fight before the debt ceiling fight? ... the answer, at the link.

LAURA BUSH COMING TO REDDING

Laura Bush will be coming to Redding to speak on March 17th!

The Redding RFW would like to invite any club members from Northern Division to join them. They have 250 seats blocked; there are 150 in the center and then 50 each for the other two categories. Prices are: $61.61, $71.95 and $83.25. Again, the date is Sunday March 17th @ 3pm. Laura Bush speaks @ 3:45pm and is finished at 4:45 pm. Since our access code is: REDREPWOMEN, let's ALL WEAR RED!!! You can pay and ask for a certain price level and the best seats available. So, of course sooner is better than later! Dates open for booking your reservation are: Monday, 1/28 to Friday, 2/1.

The code for the Redding Republican Women is 'REDREPWOMEN' This link will take you directly to the (TICKETFLY) purchase page for 'A Conversation with Laura Bush': ◼ http://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/200651

I hope to see you in Redding on March 17th!
Roseann Slonsky-Breault
CFRW-Northern Division President

It's Not Too Late! CFRW Members!

It is not too late to register for our Winter Conference in San Diego, February 8-10!!

YEAR OF THE WOMAN!
MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS TODAY!
◼ San Diego Marriott Mission Valley Reservations- phone: 619 692 3800 – Code: CFRW

Brief schedule of events and speaker's list:

Friday-2:00 Workshop –Benefits of Mentoring
Friday-5:30 Ambassador Event- Tom del Beccaro
Saturday- Speakers: CRP Candidates, Former Senator Jim Brulte, Tom del Beccaro
Saturday Lunch: John Nienstedt, Pollster, Researcher
Saturday workshops: 2:00 Voter Integrity, Message Communication, Recognizing Demographic Change
Saturday Banquet Speaker: Rosario Marin
Sunday Speakers: Michelle Steel, Shawn Steel, and Senator Jean Fuller

◼ CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION! REGISTER TODAY!

When you say, “My God, one of every three welfare recipients lives in California,” or “California schools are terrible,” you mean really, “Not in Newport or Carmel. So who cares about Fresno, or Tulare — they might as well be in Alabama for all the times I have been there.”

◼ California at Twilight - Victor Davis Hanson/PJM

...We are like the proverbial spoiled third-generation progeny of the immigrant farmer: the first-generation toiler lived in a hovel until he bought his 80 acres with paid cash. The second remodeled the old house, had a nicer car than a tractor, doubled the acreage, but took the weekend off and had less money in the bank than did his dad. The third fantasized and puttered about in his hiking boots, went through the inheritance, mortgaged the land — and was as glib and mellifluous as he was broke.

California is a tired idea.

Health Insurance Rate Shock Looms for California Consumers

◼ While calling for a special legislative session to ensure the Exchange is prepared to open for business, he (Governor Brown) also warned consumers of rate shock. - Loren Kaye/Fox&Hounds

“While every effort will be made to promote affordability, large rate increases in the individual insurance market are likely at the outset (of ACA implementation), due to the requirement to offer coverage to all individuals, provide a higher level of benefits, and due to a significant increase in enrollment which will increase demand for services.”
California is one of only 14 states (plus DC) that have both set up a state exchange and opted into expansion of its Medicaid program. Another 13 states have said “no” to both a state exchange and Medicaid expansion, while the rest are either divided on the issue or have not yet made a decision....

One area where California is not a leader is in understanding the trajectory of insurance costs for individuals and small businesses.

Many states and state-based organizations have analyzed how the ACA will affect health insurance premiums for small groups and individuals. This is important because the Act made significant changes in rating and benefit rules, which will not only change underwriting criteria, but also market incentives for policyholders. The studies commissioned by the various states and others have predicted significant rate shock for 2014.... MORE at the link.

SKEETER? A CNN JOURNALIST DID A SEGMENT INSINUATING OBAMA’S LYING ABOUT HIS SHOOTING

◼ “Obama the skeet shooter,” she began. “Yeah, I’m not making this up. I mean, if someone is, it isn’t me.” - The Blaze

◼ Update: FOX NEWS SOURCE: OBAMA ‘COULDN’T HAVE BEEN MORE UNCOMFORTABLE’ SKEET SHOOTING AT CAMP DAVID - The Blaze

The Jobs Council was obviously designed as a fig leaf to cover up the administration’s complete lack of direction on economic policy

◼ OBAMA TO KILL JOBS COUNCIL - Breitbart News

A White House aide tells The Hill today that the jobs council “was only intended” to last for two years. Obama is reportedly irked by the fact that the jobs council has recommended lifting regulations rather than creating new ones. Since the American people obviously did not hold Obama accountable for his economic failures as president, he is now going to focus on other issues: climate change, gun control, abortion, and immigration.

Charles Krauthammer: I love to hear the president whine about FOX News and talk radio

◼ Charles Krauthammer: I love to hear the president whine about FOX News and talk radio - Charlie Spiering/Washington Examiner @charlesspiering

President Obama stated in a interview with the New Republic that Fox News and Rush Limbaugh hampered his ability to work with Republicans.

“If a Republican member of Congress is not punished on Fox News or by Rush Limbaugh for working with a Democrat on a bill of common interest, then you’ll see more of them doing it,” Obama said.

◼ Goldberg, Krauthammer address ‘grotesque’ recent media coverage of Obama [VIDEO] - Jeff Poor/Daily Caller

“I love to hear the president whine of Fox News and talk radio,” Krauthammer said. “I think we ought to be proud of the fact that we annoy him so much. If you look at the lineup on one side, the liberal media, you start with ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, PBS, MSNBC, the elite newspapers, the one remaining news magazine, the universities, Hollywood — it doesn’t stop anywhere. On the other side: talk radio and Fox News. They can’t stand the fact that they no longer have a monopoly.”

“So, I think it ought to be taken as a compliment,” he continued. “And you know, what I have always said about Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdock: Their genius was understanding and locating a niche audience in broadcast cable news, which is half the American people — the half that suffered for decades by the fact [that] you get news presented from a single perspective over and over again. And finally, the fact that there is a new perspective, talk radio and Fox, and they can’t stand it. It is a source of pride, I would say.”

◼ Take the exam in Althouse's on-line class in media bias. - Althouse

“If by some random fluke I learned today I was pregnant,” Williams boasts, “you bet you’re a-s I’d have an abortion. I’d have the World’s Greatest Abortion. … I still need to acknowledge my conviction that the fetus is indeed a life. A life worth sacrificing.”

◼ So what if abortion ends life? - Mary Elizabeth Williams/Salon

I believe that life starts at conception. And it's never stopped me from being pro-choice.

◼ ‘All Life is Not Equal’ Ms. Williams wrote those things. She wrote them, not from Nazi Germany in 1925, but, rather, from America. Wednesday. - Matt Barber/Oregon Magazine

In her jaw-dropping article, “So what if abortion ends life?” Williams – a mainstream, though uncharacteristically honest pro-abort scribe for Salon.com – has inexplicably broken from the Orwellian left’s ministerial script. In so doing, she’s severely undermined the very cause for which she would gladly “sacrifice” (dismember alive that is) her very own daughter. A daughter, mind you, whom she coldly acknowledges to be “a human life.”

◼ ‘So what if abortion ends life?’: The most vile thing you’ll read all week - Matt K. Lewis/Daily Caller

Have you seen the column titled, “So What if Abortion Ends Life,” by Mary Elizabeth Williams?
I’m a couple days late to it. It is so rare that someone is so forthcoming about their horrifying beliefs, that I just didn’t know how to respond until now.

◼ Is abortion about women? - Irin Carmon/Salon

◼ ‘SO WHAT IF ABORTION ENDS LIFE?’: PRO-CHOICE WRITER SAYS SOME BABIES ARE ‘WORTH SACRIFICING’ - Billy Hallowell/The Blaze

“Here’s the complicated reality in which we live: All life is not equal,” she wrote. “That’s a difficult thing for liberals like me to talk about, lest we wind up looking like death-panel-loving, kill-your-grandma-and-your-precious-baby storm troopers.”

...See, Williams believes that a fetus, while it is a human life, does not need to be afforded the same rights as the woman who it resides in. She goes on to say that the woman is the “boss” and that it is her right to decide whether having that baby fits in with her life circumstances and health. In the end, Williams argues that this personal decision — predicated upon a woman’s individual situation — should always take precedent over the fetus that is inside of the female.

As for the semantics surrounding abortion, Williams calls for pro-choice advocates to be less squeamish, especially when it comes to avoiding whether or not an unborn baby should be considered a “life.”

“When we try to act like a pregnancy doesn’t involve human life, we wind up drawing stupid semantic lines in the sand: first trimester abortion vs. second trimester vs. late term, dancing around the issue trying to decide if there’s a single magic moment when a fetus becomes a person,” she continued. “Are you human only when you’re born? Only when you’re viable outside of the womb? Are you less of a human life when you look like a tadpole than when you can suck on your thumb?”...

Announcing Breitbart’s “The Conversation”

◼ Note from Senior Management: Breitbart

On Wednesday of this week, Breitbart News will be launching a new feature/vertical on our website called “The Conversation.” Look for it in the navigation bar.

The Conversation will be a place where our readers can watch an ongoing dialogue amongst a select group of thought leaders that includes Ace of Spades, Iowahawk, David Webb, Shark Tank, DocZero, Nice Deb, Jerome Hudson, Lisa De Pasquale, William A. Jacobson of Legal Insurrection, and Adam Baldwin, along with John Nolte, Ben Shapiro, Larry O’Connor, Sonnie Johnson, Liberty Chick, Jon David Kahn, as well as other writers and contributors from Breitbart News.

Also, look for regular guest contributors stopping by—there are sure to be some nice surprises, and we fully expect the roster to expand and evolve—incorporating more friends and more leading voices from inside and outside the company.

When we first sat down to redesign the website, The Conversation was always a central part of Andrew Breitbart’s vision. He loved dialogue and the free flow of ideas. He loved conversation and was a always a fierce proponent of more voices, not fewer—so don’t be surprised to read some alternative political views. Andrew also envisioned a place where bloggers and citizen journalists who might not have another way of conversing, interacting, and reacting publicly with each other, could do so in one central location.

◼ I can promise you one thing - The Conversation will never be dull. - Nice Deb

◼ Breitbart.com's "The Conversation" Launches Tomorrow (Wednesday) - Ace Of Spades

Calling the NRA ‘venal,’ Feinstein insults legal gun owners

◼ Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) referred to the National Rifle Association as "venal" during an appearance on CNN's State of the Union wth Candy Crowley - Eric Golub/Washington Times

"The NRA is venal. They come after you, they put together large amounts of money to defeat you," she said on CNN's "State of the Union." "They did this in '93, and they intend to continue it."

Feinstein claims the NRA, and by default its members, are the biggest "stumbling block" when it comes to passing her broad gun control legislation.

This came only days after CBS correspondent Bob Schieffer compared the NRA to Nazis.

Her statements come on Holocaust Rememberance Day, a day on which many are taking the time to remember and reflect the destruction of so many innocent lives.

It is time for a calm recitation of some simple, basic truths....

To attack the NRA as “venal” or an organization as “Nazis” is a casual and indirect way to express contempt for millions of Americans and their beliefs while maintaining plausible deniability.

It is a lot like attacking the “Jewish lobby” while avoiding the charge of anti-Semitism. It is disturbing but unsurprising that a liberal Jew like Feinstein would fail to understand that.

My father is a Holocaust survivor and an NRA member. If more Jews had been armed during the Holocaust, there might have been more dead Nazis and fewer dead Jews by the end of the war.

Is it Feinstein’s intent to imply that people like my father are venal for wanting to make sure that the words “never again” mean exactly that?
__________________Brooklyn born, Long Island raised, and now living in Los Angeles, Eric Golub is a politically conservative columnist, author, public speaker, satirist and comedian. Eric is the author of the book trilogy "Ideological Bigotry, "Ideological Violence," and "Ideological Idiocy." - He has also been a guest speaker for HRWF

Um, why is Obama spending $1.6 million of taxpayer dough for Vegas amnesty speech?

First question for Obama tomorrow should be: why did you fly to Vegas at taxpayer expense and untold cost to the environment?

— Rachel (@esqcapades) January 29, 2013

◼ link

Obama 2 LV 4 Immigration speech -- cost to taxpayers > $1.6 million bit.ly/117ANpE Couldn't he just do a BIGBROTHER SuperSkypeScreen?

— RuBegonia (@RuBegonia) January 29, 2013

The New Republic is a magazine for liberals (or “progressives,” or whatever the left wants to call itself these days), just as National Review and the Weekly Standard are magazines for conservatives, and Reason is a magazine for libertarians.

◼ ‘Free of Party Ideology or Partisan Bias’ - Ed Driscoll/PJM

Like Charles Foster Kane buying the fictitious New York Inquirer and publishing his “Declaration of Principles,” Chris Hughes, the co-founder of Facebook who’s now the new owner of The New Republic (which has also had issues with being fictitious itself from time to time) declares that under his watch, TNR will be “will strive to be free of party ideology or partisan bias:”

With this issue, we relaunch The New Republic. Our goals may be somewhat different from those of the magazine’s founding fathers, but we share their unabashed idealism. We believe that our new hyper-information age is thrilling, but not entirely satisfying. We believe that there must remain space for journalism that takes time to produce and demands a longer attention span-writing that is at once nourishing and entertaining. We aim to tell the most important, timely stories about politics, culture, and big ideas that matter to you.

The journalism in these pages will strive to be free of party ideology or partisan bias, although it will showcase passionate writing and will continue to wrestle with the primary questions about our society. Our purpose is not simply to tell interesting stories, but to always ask why these stories matter and tie their reporting back to our readers. We hope to discern the hidden patterns, to connect the disparate facts, and to find the deeper meaning, a layer of understanding beyond the daily headlines....

◼ The Pragmatic New Republic - Jonah Goldberg/National Review

One of the things that has always made it stand out is its determination to advance a liberal perspective while being as clear-eyed and cant-free as possible (National Review has a similar mission on the right). Maybe that’s what Hughes means here. But I’m not so sure. Nowhere in his letter does he mention the words “liberal” or “progressive” — odd for what amounts to the mission statement of America’s most venerable liberal (or progressive) opinion magazine.

◼ "The journalism in these pages will strive to be free of party ideology or partisan bias..." - Althouse

...I must say, I'd never paid any attention to Chris Hughes before, and I didn't yesterday until pushed by my commenters. On the evidence of the interview he and Franklin Foer did with the President, I saw him as another media suckup doing Democratic Party politics under cover of journalism. Seeing this "free of party ideology or partisan bias" business now only inclines me to scoff. If that's what you wanted as your brand, why did you lead off with that interview?...

FROM THE COMMENTS: Tibore said... "The journalism in these pages will strive to be free of party ideology or partisan bias..."

WHAAAAAAAA HAA HA HA HA HA!! WHOOOO HE HE HEEEEEEE! AAAAAAAAAAH, HAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA....

(*sniffs*) Oh man, that was good...

California becoming less family-friendly

◼ State’s policies tend to discourage families with children, resulting in slower economic engine, widening gulf between workers, pensioners. - Joel Kotkin/OC Register

For all of human history, family has underpinned the rise, and decline, of nations. This may also prove true for the United States, as demographics, economics and policies divide the nation into what may be seen as child-friendly and increasingly child-free zones.

Where California falls in this division also may tell us much about our state's future. Indeed, in his semi-triumphalist budget statement, our 74-year-old governor acknowledged California's rapid aging as one of the more looming threats for our still fiscally challenged state....

◼ THE STATE OF JERRY BROWN’S CYNICISM - Tom Del Beccaro, Chairman, California Republican Party/Flash Report

The State of the State speech has come and gone. Governors, politicians that they are, use the speech to advocate for their political causes and themselves – and that’s ok. Jerry Brown’s recent speech was no different in that regard. But hidden in the rhetorical flourishes and references, was a contradictory and cynical speech....

Simply stated, Brown gave a flowery speech that defies his actions.

Brown decried that there are too many laws being passed in California. This from a Governor that has signed over 12,744 laws including hundreds last year alone! If he thought there were too many law and regulations in California, he should have vetoed the vast majority of those laws. To present himself to California in the State of the State as being adverse to the proliferation of laws is well beyond cynical. The failure of the major media to point out that contradiction is a sad day for our state.

While offering the jobless precious few words on which to hang their hopes, Brown talked about the need streamline regulations to help the economy. Of course, later in the speech, he touted the benefits of the largest regulatory scheme in the history of America, AB 32, the Global Warming law. That is contradictory at best – cynical at worst.

Overall, the speech sounded conservative in parts such as when he advocated the decentralization of policy and the need to save in case of future troubles. Why would Brown take that position when, in truth, he wants to raise expenditures to rise by $25 billion over the next few years?...

AB 8: The Car Tax Increase is Back Again

◼ In an unusual procedural maneuver, Assembly Bill 8 (Henry Perea) has already been set for a committee hearing. This is odd since it is so early in the legislative session and strongly suggests to us that the skids are greased for this pernicious piece of legislation. - Jon Coupal/Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

One would think that the passage of Proposition 30 -- giving California the highest income tax and sales tax rates in America -- would have momentarily satiated the appetite of our governing political class before they continued their assault on hardworking California taxpayers. But there is no rest for the wicked. In a matter of days, our Legislature will launch a new attack on all Californians who drive a car....

Even if this “deal” were worth it as a matter of policy, the majority party has a horrible track record in keeping its promises and shouldn’t be trusted. For example, these very fees were supposed to disappear by 2014. But now we’re being told they should be extended until 2023. And who’s to say that, once the tax hike is in place, the harmful diesel truck regulations won’t be immediately reinstated. After Democratic leadership reneged on the deal with Republicans to put a spending limit measure on the ballot in 2012, any Republican who even considers supporting AB 8 is delusional.

Let’s be clear. The diesel regulations which are crushing the trucking industry and inflicting enormous harm on the California economy need to go. But hitting citizen taxpayers -- who are now leaving California in record numbers -- is not the answer.

With the beginning of the legislative session, 120 lawmakers have a new opportunity to start doing the right thing by reducing job killing regulations without charging car drivers in return.
__________________Jon Coupal is president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association -- California's largest grass-roots taxpayer organization dedicated to the protection of Proposition 13 and the advancement of taxpayers' rights.

Cal Fire kept $3.6 million from state's treasury, records show

◼ The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection hid $3.6 million from legal settlements rather than depositing it into the state’s cash-strapped general fund as required, interviews and documents reviewed by The Times show. - LA Times

For seven years, Cal Fire placed the money with the nonprofit California District Attorneys Assn., paying the group to hold it. Cal Fire used the cash for equipment purchases and training purposes.

The practice ended last year amid questions about whether the fund was legal.

After questions from The Times last week, Cal Fire director Ken Pimlott notified the state Department of Natural Resources and state Department of Finance about the existence of the fund. The Department of Finance is planning an investigation.

That probe follows revelations that the state Department of Parks and Recreation hid $20 million as parks were being closed because of budget cuts. In the wake of the parks department scandal, the Department of Finance looked for secret funds in other departments but did not find Cal Fire’s account with the prosecutors’ association, a spokesman said.

Auditors found more than $200 million that agencies had squirreled away as lawmakers cut the state budget.

The Cal Fire fund is just the latest discovery of money hidden by California agencies and raises questions about whether there are others that like this one were entirely off the state books.

Obama: I go skeet shooting ‘all the time’

◼ link - Charlie Spiering/Washington Examiner @charlesspiering

◼ Bitter clinger! Obama claims that he totally goes secret skeet shooting all the time, guys - Twitchy

Obama Goes Shooting 'All the Time,' He Claims… and we also learn that "Skeet" is "Hunting" shar.es/CYdoH via @breitbartnews

— Gunservatively (@Gunservatively) January 27, 2013

@hale_razor I challenge anyone to provide date, time, and photos of Obama's last skeet-shooting outing.

— Mark C (@mcassill) January 27, 2013

◼ Reporter to Jay Carney: So, how often does the president shoot skeet? Carney: Squirrel! - Michelle Malkin



◼ From Annie Clinton to Buffalo Barack - Victor Davis Hanson/National Review

In weighing in on the president’s recent assertion not that he plays golf regularly, but that he shoots all the time (“Up at Camp David, we do skeet shooting all the time”), one need only replay Barack Obama’s own skepticism circa 2008 on Hillary Clinton’s similar assertion of her own gun-toting pedigree: “Shame on her. Shame on her, she knows better. She’s running around talking about how this is an insult to sportsmen, how she values the Second Amendment, she’s talking like she’s Annie Oakley! Hillary Clinton’s out there like she’s on the duck blind every Sunday, she’s packin’ a six shooter! C’mon! She knows better. That’s some politics being played by Hillary Clinton. I want to see that picture of her out there in the duck blinds.”

◼ Update: FOX NEWS SOURCE: OBAMA ‘COULDN’T HAVE BEEN MORE UNCOMFORTABLE’ SKEET SHOOTING AT CAMP DAVID - The Blaze

“The only time he shot skeet was for President’s Cup,” the source, who asked not to be identified, told FoxNews.com. “I was there. He stayed for about five minutes, and couldn’t leave fast enough.” The President’s Cup is a shooting competition tradition involving the presidential Marine guards.

...The source said Obama has only gone skeet shooting a couple of times at the most. It’s “very hard…especially for someone not used to guns,” the source added. “He couldn’t have been more uncomfortable.”

Anna Wintour's boyfriend 'owes US government $1.2 million in taxes'

◼ J. Shelby Bryan, the long-term boyfriend of Anna Wintour, the Vogue editor in contention to be Barack Obama's next ambassador to Britain, owes the US government more than $1.2 million (£760,000) in taxes. - Jon Swaine/The Telegraph

Mr Bryan, a former adviser to Bill Clinton who helped raise funds for Mr Obama's re-election campaign, has owed the money to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) since 2006, according to court filings obtained by The Daily Telegraph from Texas.

Mr Bryan, who has been in a relationship with Ms Wintour since 1999, was also pursued for outstanding Texas property taxes, and has had energy companies he owns in the state chided by local authorities for falling behind on their financial filings.

The findings may threaten Ms Wintour's confirmation as a US ambassador if nominated by Mr Obama. Her appointment would need to be approved by the US Senate, which has in the past objected to irregularities in the tax affairs of nominees and their partners.

Ms. Wintour was one of Mr Obama's leading fundraisers during his re-election campaign, bringing in $500,000 to the president's coffers. At one $35,000-a-plate fundraising dinner in August, Mr Obama thanked "Anna and Shelby for being such extraordinary hosts".

While helping to add to Mr Obama's $1 billion re-election fund, however, Mr Bryan had a significant debt to the US government. A lien filed in Texas shows that he owed more than $1.6 million in March 2006. He has since paid back about $400,000.