(Paul Mirengoff) Great religious prophets, when they create a new religion, usually treat the greatest prophets of pre-existing great religions as their precursors. In this way, they gain credibility while putting the earlier prophets in their place. Barack Obama is trying to do something like this when it comes to previous presidents, as Seth Mendel of Commentary discovered when he visited a White House website that provides biographies of former presidents. Mandel found that Team Obama has added bullet points bragging about Obama’s accomplishments to the biographical sketches of every U.S. president since Calvin Coolidge (except, for some reason, Gerald Ford). For example: On Feb. 22, 1924 Calvin Coolidge became the first president to make a public radio address to the American people. President Coolidge later helped create the Federal Radio Commission, which has now evolved to become the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). President Obama became the first president to hold virtual gatherings and town halls using Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, etc. On August 14, 1935, President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act. Today the Obama administration continues to protect seniors and ensure Social Security will be there for future generations. In a June 28, 1985 speech Reagan called for a fairer tax code, one where a multi-millionaire did not have a lower tax rate than his secretary. Today, President Obama is calling for the same with the Buffett Rule. I’m not sure why the White House left out Gerald Ford. It could easily have said: During his college days, Gerald Ford was an outstanding football player, winning All-American honors at the University of Michigan. President Obama is a terrific pick-up basketball player with the sweetest left-handed jump shot you ever did see. And why did the White House go back only as far as Coolidge? Here a few more presidents he could have compared himself to: Woodrow Wilson believed in a “living Constitution” because he opposed limited government, separation of powers, and checks and balances. President Obama also believes in a living Constitution, and is none too fond of limited government, separation of powers, and checks and balances. William Howard Taft was our fattest president and at times had trouble with stairs. President Obama is our most svelte president and he literally bounds up stairs, at least when the cameras are rolling. Abraham Lincoln guided the North to victory in the Civil War, making many difficult decisions along the way. In the struggle against misguided people who may want to harm us, President Obama made the excruciatingly difficult decision to take out Osama bin Laden. Read the original post: A giant stands on the shoulders of dwarfs
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A giant stands on the shoulders of dwarfs
LONDON (Reuters) – Bank of England Governor Mervyn King is seen leaving the door open for more support for Britain’s struggling economy on Wednesday, prompted by escalating dangers from the euro zone. The Bank is expected to cut its growth forecast and nudge up its medium-term inflation prediction towards its 2 percent target – a sign that while more stimulus is not immediately on the cards, it could come if conditions worsen. … More here: UK economy ailing, BoE seen keeping options open
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UK economy ailing, BoE seen keeping options open
(Paul Mirengoff) If a left-wing president were to lose the New York Times, there would be good reason for him and his operatives to flip out. President Obama hasn’t lost the New York Times; he has merely “lost” a new poll by CBS/New York Times taken five months before the election. It shows him trailing Mitt Romney 46-43, and trailing among women by 46-44. And he hasn’t “lost” that poll in any strong sense; Romney’s lead is within the margin of error Apparently, though, this “setback” was enough to cause the hyper-sensitive Obama operation to lash out at the Times . According to a campaign spokesperson, the poll used a “biased sample.” The sample was biased, according to Team Obama, because the Times had used the same sample in April. That, of course, wouldn’t make the sample biased. Politico reports , however, that according to the Obama camp, the group surveyed in April had produced an “outlier” result in which Romney led its man. Team Obama’s complaints are without merit and border on the ridiculous. First, the April CBS/New York Times poll showed Romney and Obama in a dead-heat ; Romney was not ahead. And this finding was not out of line with other polls . Fox also showed a dead-heat. Quinnipiac had Obama up by 4 points, NBC/Wall Street Journal by 6, and CNN by 9. But Gallup had Romney ahead by 5 points and Rasmussen had him up by 3. Thus, nothing in the April results suggested that CBS/New York Times should not re-poll the group that showed the candidates tied. Second, there is nothing wrong with re-polling the same people. In fact, doing so can be useful in seeing how a major event (here Obama’s flip-flop in gay marriage) has affected the race. As a Times spokesperson patiently explained : While The Times and CBS regularly conduct fresh random sample surveys on a variety of issues, we occasionally employ a short-term callback method of previous respondents when we are interested in analyzing changes in public opinion on timely subjects, as we did, for example, upon the death of Osama bin Laden. As we pointed out when we published the article, results on subgroups from call back surveys have a larger sampling error. By the way, in the same new Times/CBS poll, two-thirds of those surveyed said that Obama’s switch on the gay marriage issue was politically motivated. No “sampling error” could explain that finding away. This election season figures to be a bumpy ride, with polling ups and polling downs for both sides. It’s not a good sign for the Obama campaign that it has overreacted shrilly and publicly to one marginally adverse poll. But maybe the problem was simply that Team Obama expects the New York Times to run better interference for it. Original post: Team Obama flips out over mildly adverse New York Times poll
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Team Obama flips out over mildly adverse New York Times poll
No inflight internet. I’ve only ever had it twice, but already it’s become a necessity. Follow this link: Travels through the Dark Ages
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Travels through the Dark Ages
It’s an Obama world. ( Salon ) Illegal alien students sued today to overturn the US upper chamber’s filibuster rule. They want you to pay for their education. The Washington Times reported: Illegal immigrant students and members of the House sued the Senate this week to try to overturn the upper chamber’s filibuster rule, arguing that the 60-vote supermajority requirement violates the Constitution and is blocking important legislation such as legalization for illegal immigrants. If successful, the lawsuit, filed Monday, would rewrite the way the Senate operates — though courts generally have been reluctant to meddle in internal congressional rules. Still, the effort mixes two thorny issues in separation of powers and immigration, and is likely to keep the Dream Act at the forefront of the national debate. The bill would legalize illegal immigrant students and young adults who were brought to the U.S. as children and who are seen as among the toughest cases in the immigration debate. In late 2010, the Dream Act passed the House but was blocked from action by a filibuster in the Senate. The 55-41 vote fell five shy of the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster. “The filibuster is exactly that — it’s a rule that’s crippled our system of government. Undocumented youth, perhaps like no other group, understands about the legislative process,” said Caesar Vargas, an illegal immigrant who went through college and law school and could benefit from the Dream Act legalization bill. “We have lived it; we have shed tears for it. And we have seen a minority able to cripple dreams.” The filibuster is not found in the Constitution, but rather is a Senate rule that stems from its tradition of extended debate. Lawmakers used to use that extended debate privilege to talk legislation to death, so the chamber came up with the “cloture” rule, which, after several changes, now allows debate to be cut off if 60 of the 100 senators vote to do so. Far left open border activists are reportedly energized following Barack Obama’s gay marriage flip-flop. Excerpt from: Illegal Alien Students Sue to Stop US Senate Filibuster
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Illegal Alien Students Sue to Stop US Senate Filibuster
Anything involving George Soros can not be good. Liberal “individuals of considerable means” gathered in Miami this weekend for a covert meeting hosted by the Democracy Alliance, a fundraising network of Leftist billionaires. Cloaked in secrecy, many high profile Liberals and uber-wealthy donors, including George Soros, were seen attending the event at the Biltmore, a 4-star, highly upscale hotel costing as much as $3,000 per night. To the dismay of the event organizers, a reporter for the Washington Free Beacon breached the walls and identified the following parties: George Soros , Andy Stern (former president of SEIU ), Michael Vachon, Ari Rabin-Havt, Exec. VP of Media Matters , reps from the Center for American Progress , former Rep. Tom Perriello, several CAP Board members, DA Board members, Van Jones , former Rep. Alan Grayson, SEIU’s Larry McNeil, and many others. The Washington Free Beacon has more, A secretive network of left-wing billionaires and their political operatives descended on the luxurious Biltmore Hotel in Miami over the weekend to discuss strategy for the coming elections. The location of the conference had been kept a closely guarded secret by the members and guests of Democracy Alliance (DA), a collection of ultra-wealthy liberal donors formed in 2005 , and is reported here in a Washington Free Beacon exclusive. Attendees roamed the grounds at the 150-acre tropical resort on their way to cocktail gatherings, salsa dance lessons, and workshops such as “Occupy the Voting Booth” and “The 1 Percent Rule.” Local police guarded entrances as members attended a “partners only” meeting in the hotel’s Country Club Courtyard. … A Free Beacon reporter who tried to attend the conference after-party was intercepted by Alexandra Visher, the DA’s vice president of partner engagement and communications. “These are individuals of considerable means” who often support policies that run contrary to their own interests, Visher said, as she escorted the reporter out of the party. … The conference was attended by the biggest names in liberal politics, including billionaire financier George Soros, who has already pledged at least $2 million to pro-Democratic groups this cycle . The actual amount Soros has contributed may be much higher, according to experts. … Soros publicly contributed $1 million to MMFA in 2010 , after years of speculation that he was the group’s primary secret donor. … DA founder emeritus Rob Stein has described the group as a “ political investment bank ” whose mission is to “balance the market place of ideas and political activism with center-left ideas, messages, and organizing strategy.” Members are required to pay annual dues starting at $30,000 and contribute at least $170,000 per year to recommended groups. The timing of the conference was significant as the organization is said to be experiencing dissent within its ranks . More: Wealthy Leftist Fundraising Network, Democracy Alliance, Hosts Secretive Spring Meeting
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Wealthy Leftist Fundraising Network, Democracy Alliance, Hosts Secretive Spring Meeting
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Global stocks slid and the euro fell to a four-month low on Monday as a political impasse in Greece heralded a potential exit for the country from the euro zone, while a move to prop up lending in China and poor European data pointed to slower world growth. Safe-haven currencies, including the dollar and the Japanese yen, rose and government debt gained as coalition talks in Greece on Sunday proved fruitless, increasing the chance of another election in mid-June. … Read the original here: Fear of Greece euro-zone exit sparks sell-off
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Fear of Greece euro-zone exit sparks sell-off
Dimon says he was ‘dead wrong’ to dismiss questions of his chief investment office shortly before reporting a $2bn loss in the division See more here: JPMorgan probe into London role in loss
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JPMorgan probe into London role in loss