Doug Ross @ Journal

Thursday, January 03, 2013

Larwyn's Linx: Kicking the Can Over the Cliff

Send us tips! Bloggers: install a Larwyn's Linx widget. Get real-time news, 24/7, at BadBlue.

QOTD: "If you oppose taxing the lifeblood out of the people until their bodies are dried-up like beef jerky, well, you’re obviously a racist. Not that there’s any correlation. There doesn’t need to be a correlation in a world where feelings trump facts.

So quit hatin’, y’all! Let some air in this room! Raise that debt ceiling! Raise it so high we can’t even see it anymore! Let the clouds roll over our eyes and forever obscure the bad, evil, hateful truth for us! Let us pretend that the iron mallet of Western imperialist mathematics won’t strike us in the head! Let us hold hands, regardless of race, creed, gender, or sexuality, and pretend that math doesn’t exist! Math is for people who don’t like gay marriage and transgendered three-legged hamsters! Math is an illusion, and our feelings are the only things that are real!" --Taki's Magazine

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

STUNNING: Ohio State Researchers Discover Crippling Flaw in Batteries Powering Chevy Volts, Other EVs

Well, slap me on the butt and call me Nancy.

[Researchers at] Ohio State University [raised] new questions about the functional lifetime of a typical lithium-ion battery as used in a hybrid or battery electric vehicle.

A couple of Buckeye engineers found that, over time, a battery's lithium accumulates on the sheet of copper that serves as a "current collector" that transfers energy. With lithium ions traveling between the anode and cathode, lithium was previously thought to collect only on the anode's surface as the battery ages.

The issue of battery life and energy retention has been a major one as automakers offering electric-drive vehicles need to assure potential buyers that the newfangled car's battery life will equal or exceed the timeframe of typical vehicle ownership. General Motors gives an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty on the batteries in the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in (longer in California), while Nissan has said the battery pack for the all-electric Leaf will have 80 percent capacity after five years and 70 percent after a decade. Nonetheless, Nissan has been getting flak from a group of Leaf owners in Arizona who said their cars' battery capacity was shrinking more quickly than advertised. Perhaps OSU's research will help future electric vehicles avoid similar complaints...

Brainstorm! If you bundled campaign contributions for President Obama and would like to start a "green energy" company, I've got just the thing. Name your company something cool ("Lightbringer" comes to mind) and claim you're going to solve this very problem. The Department of Energy, I'm guessing, would be champing at the bit to send you $100 million or so of the taxpayers' loot.

Hat tip: BadBlue Car News.

REPORT: Tomorrow, John Boehner will either resign or be fired

Ron Meyer of CNS News has the latest dirt in the Boehner soap opera:

I have confirmed with a group of Congressmen that House Speaker John Boehner will not be reelected Speaker tomorrow.

He will either resign or be forced out tomorrow.

Only 17 members are needed to block Speaker Boehner's election tomorrow. A Speaker needs an absolute majority of all votes cast for a specific person.

If no one has a majority, the House is speakerless. I've confirmed these rules with the House Parliamentarian.

Boehner may be a competent ladder-climber but he is a horrible Speaker, especially in times as dangerous as these.

• Instead of forming alliances with the Constitutional and Tea Party conservatives who brought him to power, he instead waged war against them.

• Instead of taking advantage of the GOP's historic, sweeping victories in 2010, he bypassed the new Congress and cut a secret deal with Democrats that led to yesterday's "Fiscal Cliff" debacle.

• Instead of standing on first principles, he became the leader of the "Democrat Lite" movement, which can no longer be substantially differentiated from the Marxists running the Democrat Party.

• Instead of eloquently explaining to the American people the fiscal abyss we are facing and the certain impact of "financial repression", Boehner instead bumbled through a series of public appearances where he seemed to be negotiating with himself.

• And rather than operating as a strategist, a leader, and a statesman, Boehner allowed himself to be bullied by antique media and the Democrats (but I repeat myself).

We need a fighter as Speaker. I nominate Allen West, Paul Ryan, Sarah Palin or Jim Jordan.

Update: Close your eyes and imagine having a Speaker who can articulate his principles like this.

KINECT PLUS PROJECTOR: On-The-Go Touch Interface

For all of its well-publicized stumbles, one of Microsoft's major victories is the Kinect, which turns the human body into a user interface. While it's been used primarily for Xbox video games, the Kinect technology package can do considerably more.

The OmniTouch project—a joint project between Microsoft Research and the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie-Mellon University—mounts a rig containing small pico projector and a Kinect-like 3D scanner on the user’s shoulder...

...The projector displays graphical images onto virtually any surface, while the 3D scanner’s depth-sensing capabilities transform the projection into an interactive, multi-touch-enabled input—and, thanks to some technical trickery, there’s no special calibration or training required.

You can imagine such a system projecting a full-sized QWERTY keyboard on a random flat service to allow faster keying on, say, a tablet computer.

Hat tip: BadBlue Tech News.

AL GORE'S CURRENT TV IS NO MORE: Assets sold -- and Gore will serve as adviser -- to... wait for it... Al Jazeera

The New York Times' Brian Stelter reports that Al Gore's Current network was just acquired by Al Jazeera and will dissolve as an independent entity. And Gore will serve as an adviser to Al Jazeera.

BREAKING: Al Jazeera is finalizing a deal to take over Current TV. nyti.ms/VvhxMe
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 2, 2013

After years of trying, Al Jazeera is buying its way into American homes. A huge moment for the Qatar-based news giant. nyti.ms/VvhxMe
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 2, 2013

Al Jazeera's going to position this as an AMERICAN news channel. 60% out of New York, 40% out of Qatar. nyti.ms/VvhxMe
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 2, 2013

Current will cease to exist. Gore will serve on the "advisory board" for "Al Jazeera America," according to internal memo.
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 2, 2013

Among the assets Al Jazeera is buying from Current: its carriage deals w/ DirecTV, Comcast, Dish, Verizon, AT&T. But NOT Time Warner Cable.
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 2, 2013

Time Warner Cable's pithy goodbye to Current: Our agreement "has been terminated... We are removing the service as quickly as possible."
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 3, 2013

I consider Gore joining forces with Al Jazeera a powerful merger of propagandists.

Train Carrying Biofuel Crosses Border 24 Times Without Unloading to Exploit Obama "Green Energy" Loopholes

But, hey: it's not like the U.S. is running trillion dollar deficits or anything.

A cargo train filled with biofuels crossed the border between the US and Canada 24 times between the 15th of June and the 28th of June 2010; not once did it unload its cargo, yet it still earned millions of dollars. CBC News of Canada was the first to pick up on this story on the 3rd of December 2012, and began their own investigation into the possible explanations behind this odd behaviour.

CN Rail, the operator of the train, stated their innocence in the matter as they had only “received shipping directions from the customer, which, under law, it has an obligation to meet. CN discharged its obligations with respect to those movements in strict compliance with its obligations as a common carrier, and was compensated accordingly.” Even so, they still managed to earn C$2.6 million in shipping fees.

During their investigation CBC managed to obtain an internal email which stated that the cars of the train were all reconfigured between each trip but that the cargo was never actually unloaded, because “each move per car across the border is revenue generated”, the sale of the cargo itself was inconsequential.

The cargo of the train was owned by Bioversal Trading Inc., or its US partner Verdero, depending on what stage of the trip it was at. The companies “made several million dollars importing and exporting the fuel to exploit a loophole in a U.S. green energy program.” Each time the loaded train crossed the border the cargo earned its owner a certain amount of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs), which were awarded by the US EPA to “promote and track production and importation of renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.” The RINs were supposed to be retired each time the shipment passed the border, but due to a glitch not all of them were. This enabled Bioversal to accumulate over 12 million RINs from the 24 trips, worth between 50 cents and $1 each, which they can then sell on to oil companies that haven’t met the EPA’s renewable fuel requirements...

When we get an adult in the White House, the first order of business should be to nuke the EPA's budget from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Hat tip: LVN.

Larwyn's Linx: When In The Course Of Human Events...

Send us tips! Bloggers: install a Larwyn's Linx widget. Get real-time news, 24/7, at BadBlue.

Nation

When In The Course Of Human Events...: Denninger
Senate Tax Bill Passes House: Ace
Something funny happened on the way to tyranny: Owens

Obama's Tax Evaders of the Year: Malkin
We already gave up on the Constitution: DC
US Marine Pens Viral Letter to Anti-Gun Sen. Feinstein: GWP

Why the 2nd Amendment: Williams
Obama's Leadership Failure: Samuelson
72-hour disclosure rule, R.I.P.: Twitchy

Economy

Senate Bill Is $600 Billion Tax Hike: Foundry
Obama's 'messianism' makes economy a secondary concern: York
Hey House Republicans, Here’s What Obama is Saying Today: RS

Deficit 'fiscal cliff' bill actually spends $330 billion more: Times
President rejects his bipartisan commission: Mankiw
Each year taxpayers fund more single-parent families: ¡No Pasarán!

Obama Deal Adds $4 Trillion to Debt Over 10 Years: Mish
President Obama Hails 'Cliff' Deal, Warns of Next Fiscal Fight: ABC
Texas Judge Rules State Can De-Fund Planned Parenthood: LifeNews

Scandal Central

Make America (And Congress) Pay Their Bills; Stop Congress From 'Fixing' Their Financial Mess: Strata
Senate passes massive tax cut which raised taxes over $600 billion in middle of night without reading the bill: LI
Congress approves fiscal crisis bill: Fox

Climate & Energy

The age old battle of the thermostat – the ‘Goredian’ Knot of global temperature: Watts
No Regulation? No Problem: Stossel

Media

You Have Been Drafted: TL in Exile
Ready to Face a Gunfight, Armed With a Slingshot?: DC
Gallup: Record number of Americans oppose handgun ban: HySci

Allen West Calls Senate ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Compromise “Illogical and Disrespectful” To Americans: Shark Tank
NYT Op-Ed: Let's Give Up On The Constitution: Wolf Howling
Professor calls for abolition of Constitution: CDN

Irony: New York Paper That Revealed Legal Gun Owners Hires Armed Security: WZ
Group claims hacked subscriber database of NY newspaper which published gun permit map: LI
Sources: Enough Republicans Willing to Unseat Speaker Boehner: Breitbart

World

The smoke screen has lifted. Sen. John Kerry officially nominated for Secretary of State.: Loudon
More on the Links between Obama and Saddam Hussein: Pipes
France: 1,200 Cars Burned; Police Attacked Over New Years: Atlas

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

Teen Solves Quantum Entanglement Problem for Fun: Wired
Armed robbers hit Paris Opera Apple Store, initial reports put heist at over $1.3M: 9to5Mac
Windows 8 Even Less Popular Than Vista: Slashdot

Cornucopia

How class warfare weakens America: Ryan
Happy New Year, 2013: MOTUS
'Oompa Loompas' sought by police over Norwich assault: BBC

Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: 90 Miles From Tyranny

QOTD: "The "fiscal cliff" is a massive failure of presidential leadership. The tedious and technical negotiations are but a subplot in a larger drama. Government can no longer fulfill all the promises it has made to various constituencies. Some promises will be reduced or disavowed. Which ones? Why? Only the president can pose these questions in a way that starts a national conversation over the choices to be made, but doing so requires the president to tell people things they don't want to hear. That's his job: to help Americans face unavoidable, if unpleasant, realities. Barack Obama has refused to play this role.

Instead, he has cast the long-term budget problem as a question of whether the richest 1 percent or 2 percent of the population should pay more in taxes. Not only that, but he has insisted that the higher taxes be paid by raising rates, as opposed to reducing various tax breaks (deductions, exemptions, preferential rates) enjoyed heavily by upscale Americans. The obsession with rates is bad policy (higher rates may threaten risk-taking, work effort and hiring) but qualifies as good politics: It signals Obama's macho; he's tough on the rich, who are implicitly blamed for the nation's budget and economic woes...

...Of course, Obama would offend many Democrats if he entertained benefit cuts in Social Security and Medicare: higher eligibility ages, higher premiums for affluent elderly, structural changes in the health-care system to reduce costs. Just as many Republicans don't want taxes raised a penny, many Democrats don't want benefits cut a penny...

...Unfortunately, much of the media have accepted the Obama narrative that it's only Republican rigidity that frustrates negotiations and leads to deadlock. This means, of course, that there's even less incentive for Obama and congressional Democrats to engage in genuine bargaining.

The result is that we're not getting the debate we deserve and that budget choices are being made mainly by default. Just as important, the periodic, ugly confrontations over budget policy -- the paralysis and bitterness they involve -- corrode confidence and weaken the economy. A weak economy creates few new jobs, and the lack of jobs is the nation's No. 1 social problem. Obama's abdication of responsibility may be in his political self-interest, but it is profoundly hostile to the national interest." --Robert J. Samuelson

Tuesday, January 01, 2013

CHART: Putting the Senate Cliff Deal In Perspective

Well, this certainly puts the Senate's tax hike in perspective, to wit:

"One of those occasions when one picture really does speak a thousand words."
With Obama's trillion-dollar deficits, year after year after year, I wonder what the over-under for economic collapse is in Democrat circles?

Hat tip: Allahpundit.

Democrat Mayors Celebrate the Success of their Gun Bans

The 5 Most Mind-Blowing 3-D Printed Objects Of 2012

The 3-D printing revolution is in its infancy, but you can sense the promise from some of the coolest builds of 2012.

5. ...Luc Fusaro’s 3-D-printed running shoe [is a] custom-fabricated concept that can theoretically shave 3.5 percent off a sprinter’s time--enough to change his or her position on the medal podium. Using a nylon polymer powder and an additive manufacturing process known as selective laser sintering, Fusaro can turn a 3-D scan of an athlete's foot into a custom-fitting, bare-bones athletic shoe with no extraneous material and a super-lightweight structure...

4. ...a Japanese exhibit provid[es] a glimpse of the photo booth of the future. Rather than providing the usual short reel of head shots, this imaging booth takes 3-D scans of visitors and then turns that data into a 3-D printed figurine. It’s you, in three dimensions...

3. ...At a New York hacker conference back in July, a German security consultant known only as “Ray” made something of a mockery of one of law enforcement's most important accoutrement: the handcuff. Using plastic handcuff keys that he printed from CAD files on a 3-D fabricator, he wowed the crowd be easily popping open sets of cuffs designed by multiple European security firms...

2. ...A University of Southern California professor has devised a layered fabrication method he calls Contour Crafting that he believes could be used to print entire buildings. Professor Behrokh Khoshnevis isn’t the first person to suggest 3-D printing structures like this, but his method is novel in that it would also add plumbing, electrical wiring, and other infrastructure as the structure is built, layer by layer, from the ground up...

1. ...then there’s Defense Distributed, a.k.a. the Wiki Weapon Project, the initiative cooked up by a University of Texas Law student and some of his buddies to 3-D print a working firearm...

One of the impacts of this new technology: some believe that "regulation or banning of firearms... will soon be impossible."

Hat tip: BadBlue Car News.

JUST LIKE LINCOLN: the most dignified, presidential and high-minded president of any president, ever

Like David Gregory, when I think of President Obama, I immediately think, "Lincoln!"

• This morning, without even waiting for a compromise deal to pass both the House and the Senate, President Obama was already ridiculing Republicans. Congratulating himself, he took credit for breaking the Republican Party's longstanding pledge to oppose tax increases: "[This is] one of the most consequential policy achievements of the last couple of decades."

• Yesterday, before the Senate had worked out its own deal early this morning, the president held what "had the feel of a campaign event" complete with cheering "middle class workers". During the event, Obama "took shots at Congress and Republicans" and issued "a stern warning to the GOP" that he would not tolerate any spending cuts.

• And before the deal was signed, Obama "gloated that if Republicans accepted this deal it would amount to a surrender on taxes" in a move that seemed "designed to sabotage a deal he allegedly wanted."

As Robert Samuelson wrote in today's Washington Post:

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office puts it this way: "...the United States cannot sustain the federal spending programs that are now in place with the federal taxes (as a share of GDP) that it has been accustomed to paying."

Until Obama conspicuously and consistently acknowledges these realities in straightforward and unmistakable language -- something he hasn't done and shows no signs of doing -- he cannot be said to be dealing honestly with the budget or with the American people. The main reason that we keep having these destructive and inconclusive budget confrontations is not simply that many Republicans have been intransigent on taxes. The larger cause is that Obama refuses to concede that Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are driving future spending and deficits. So when Republicans make concessions on taxes (as they have), they get little in return. Naturally, this poisons the negotiating climate.

Obama wants the country to go over the fiscal cliff. He wants the deficit to reach 200 percent of GDP (the course it's on), which means a certain economic collapse.

He wants these things.

How else can he foment a crisis ("Never let a crisis go to waste", in the words of his former Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel) and "fundamentally transform America" (in his own words)?

I believe we have a very troubled individual running things. And what is even more troubling is the fact that about 50 percent of American voters have no earthly idea where's he's taking us. Nor do they care.

KEWL: Car News Channel Added to BadBlue

For those unfamiliar with it, BadBlue is a real-time news service not dissimilar to the Drudge Report. But BadBlue uses social networking, not a human editor, to promote stories to the front page.

In addition to political, technology, and financial news, the service has added a car channel to track automotive news.

If you're into cars, check it out:

The address is http://BadBlue.com/Cars.

Larwyn's Linx: Obama Seizes Control of the US Military – Cataclysm Ahead

Send us tips! Bloggers: install a Larwyn's Linx widget. Get real-time news, 24/7, at BadBlue.

Nation

Obama Seizes Control of the US Military – Cataclysm Ahead: Loudon
The Freedom Cliff: FPM
Gun Grabbers Gone Wild: Blumer

Happy New Year?: Sowell
Gun grabbers: How extreme?: Q&O
Pravda Columnist: Americans never give up your guns: Mishin

Resolve to Conquer or Die: Norris
Chicago:Obamaland Reports 500 Homicides (So Far) This Year: RSM
Levin: Welcome to representative, constitutional government--Not!: Scoop

Economy

Senate passes Obama’s fiscal cliff tax hikes in dead of night: RS
Brooks: This Deal is Rather a Crap-burger, eh?: Cove
Fiscal crisis measure now heads to the House for approval: Fox

Are we helping poor Americans?: Foundry
Dem Rep Moves to Block Obama's Federal Pay Increases: WS
Everybody chill about the fiscal cliff — Joe Biden’s got this: Malkin

Administrative Bloat at America’s Colleges and Universities: OTB
1%: Teachers Union Spends Millions on Lavish Parties and Conferences: JWF
Top 10 Heritage Charts of 2012: Foundry

Scandal Central

Bill Ayers/Bernardine Dohrn Wanna-Bes Busted: JOM
Judicial Watch Announces List of Washington’s “Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians” for 2012: JW
Meet the new Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn: Greenroom

Media

NYT Op-ed: “Let’s Give Up on the Constitution”: ProWis
Extra-constitutional power is what they’ve always wanted: LI
Why, It Must Be Awesome to be Barack Obama: CDN

Top 10 Heritage Images of 2012: Foundry
Dingus in your bin’ess: This Ain't Hell
Obama’s wrong: This ‘cliff’ deal still raises taxes on the middle class: WaPo

The Values Economy: Sultan Knish
The 2012 Twitchys: Top 20 deleted tweets of the year: Twitchy
Obama Squee Interview: Blaming Americans On Guns And Benghazi Sloppiness: Cove

New York Times Editorial Calls for Canceling the Constitution: MB
The U.S. Constitution in Plain Language: CDN
David Gregory’s Slobbering Obama Interview: DLim

World

CAR Redux: Diplomad
As world hesitates, al-Qaida carves out own country in Mali, prepares to defend it: WaPo
Gun Control: Will the GOP cave on banning high-capacity magazines?: Scoop

NBC: Something Fishy About Hillary Clinton Blood Clots: WZ
Arab Money & The Purchase of a President: NMJ
What Price U.S. Citizenship?: Thomas

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue.com/Tech)

Six things every new iPad (or iPhone) owner should do immediately: ZDNet
The QLOCKTWO W By Biegert & Funk Is A Timepiece For Literate Lovers Of Good Design: Crunch
Chinese Telecom Giant Huawei Accused Of Offering Embargoed HP Equipment To Iranian Companies: Crunch

Cornucopia

Best Bumper Stickers of 2012: LI
A Very Special MOTUS Retrospective: the Best of 2012: MOTUS
5 Embarrassing Family Cars: CarBuzz

Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: SpellChek

QOTD: "Park Dietz, a forensic psychologist, believes that to fix [the mass shooting] trend two major steps must be taken: a return to the “emotional tone” of reporting on these events and a reduction or elimination of biographical and identifying information about the shooter. Dietz believes the media culture now helps “incentivize those rare individuals who might be prepared to act similarly.” According to Dietz,”No amount of fulfillment of morbid curiosity is worth more lives.”

Kelly believes along with the cries for increased gun legislation in America, “there are also angry calls for a new journalism.” People were angered by images of reporters in Connecticut interviewing terrified children and are “calling for an end to news as spectacle.”" --Anjali Sareen