Throwin' a lot of shit at the wall, seein' what sticks.

The shift moves the focus of JusticeÂ’s argument from the Commerce Clause of the Constitution to the Necessary and Proper Clause, which says Congress can make laws that are necessary for carrying out its other powers.

The briefs give a long history of failed efforts to expand healthcare coverage and say the new lawÂ’s purpose was to reform the overall system.

“The minimum coverage provision is … necessary to achieve Congress’s concededly valid objective of reforming the interstate market in health insurance,” the Justice Department said in its first Supreme Court brief on the merits of the mandate.

"Reforming the interstate market in health insurance?" There is no such market, by law; states require insurance to be purchased from an in-state provider. A one or three line bill could create such a market.

Such efforts haven't "failed." They've never been attempted. This is their new justification for creating new powers of the state, and stripping away further freedoms from citizens?

That said, this seems too big to me. I feel like the Court will punt or bless it, because they tend not to make such big waves.

But then, Heller vs. DC. They do have some big opinions in them.

Posted by: Ace at 07:55 AM | Comments (166)
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Of course, they tell him this quite a lot, so it's not like it's new news or anything.

President ObamaÂ’s 2013 budget would add $3.5 trillion to annual deficits through 2022, according to a new estimate from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

It also would raise the deficit next year by $365 billion, according to the nonpartisan office.

The CBO estimate is in sharp contrast to White House claims last month that the Obama budget would reduce deficits by $3.2 trillion over the next decade. (emphasis added)

So, what, did they get the sign wrong? I mean, you don't go from a $3.2 trillion good guy to a $3.5 trillion miss by just forgetting to carry the one.

Of course, this is the same gang whose $900 billion health care plan just doubled in cost to $1.76 trillion (if we're lucky).

Davis Guggenheim, who couldn't find anything wrong with teh awesomeness that is Barack Hussein Obama, should've checked in with the CBO.

(h/t Scott)

Posted by: andy at 07:22 AM | Comments (141)
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T-minus 1 day to Kiss Me, I'm Irish Day.

Members of the Southern Miss pep band chanted "Where's your green card?" at Kansas State guard Angel Rodriguez at the game last night. Rodriguez is from Puerto Rico and is therefore a U.S. citizen.

Rick Santorum is defending his call for Puerto Rico to adopt English as endorser, delegate, and former senator Oreste Ramos defects. Says Santorum, Puerto Rico "needs to be a bilingual country, not just a Spanish speaking country." Um...

National security-type folks may be aware of the unusual group of folks that have been pushing in recent years for Iranian terrorist group MEK to be taken off the State Department terrorism list. The Treasury Department has opened an investigation into whether some of these folks, including former FBI Director Louis Freeh, have been accepting money from MEK, something prohibited by federal law.

Sprint is dumping LightSquared today. Sprint had offered to share infrastructure with the company if it managed to get FCC approval. Since such approval is not forthcoming in light of LightSquared devices' reported interference with GPS, Sprint is saying adios, mofos.

In gamer news, the long- and very long-awaited Diablo III is launching on May 15. There are also rumors that an Elder Scrolls MMOG is in the works.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 02:51 AM | Comments (413)
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With Barry It Was Always About Race

From a Illinois Daily Herald -Associated Press article on young Barack in May, 1990:

The charismatic 28-year-old, ensconced in the halls where tradition reigns, is taking aim at another custom: ObamaÂ’s sights are set on the South Side of Chicago, not on a U.S. Supreme Court clerkship or a fast-track career with, a cushy firm.

“It’s crucial that people don’t see my election [to the law review] as somehow a symbol of progress in the broader sense, that we don’t sort of point to a Barack Obama any more than you point to a Bill Cosby or a Michael Jordan and say ‘Well, things are hunky dory,’” Obama said.

“There’s certainly racism here. There are certain burdens that are placed, more emotionally at this point than concretely,” Obama said.

“Hopefully, more and more people will begin to feel their story is somehow part of this larger story of how we’re going to reshape America in a way that is less mean-spirited and more generous,” Obama said.

“I mean, I really hope to be part of a transformation of this country.”And the future of black people and of America generally? “It depends on how good I do my job,” he said.

So in his view we’re a ‘just downright mean’ country. But don’t worry – he’s probably ‘proud of us for the first time’ for electing him president despite our inherent national racism. And maybe after a third term we’ll finally be worthy of The Lightworker.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 06:28 PM | Comments (744)
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Courtesy of JohnE, as always.
Updated to reflect recent polling (and some unpublished observations) giving the Republicans the edge in North Dakota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Florida, Montana, and Missouri; and Angus King the edge in Maine.

Republicans have a wide lead in North Dakota and Nebraska, a moderate lead in Florida and Wisconsin, and narrow but promising leads in Montana and Missouri, flipping the Senate. Ohio, New Mexico, and Hawaii could get interesting as time passes. Two of these three are open seats with competitive Democratic primaries, and Sherrod Brown's record in the Buckeye state might catch up to him (he currently enjoys double-digit leads over the Republican).

Be prepared for embiggened screen, it is a big map after the jump.
more...

Posted by: CAC at 04:15 PM | Comments (383)
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That would be the various boondoggle-tech he's "invested" your tax-dollars in. When those garbage pits of malfeasance start paying off, we'll be able to pay a little less. He claims.

Until then, though: He tells an audience they'll have to get used to paying more for energy.

This is in direct response to a student asking him what sacrifices he expects the nation to bear, by the way.

Well, he did warn us, didn't he?

Of course now, all of his flunkies and flacks are claiming he never intended anything like what he promised us would happen.

I prefer the "Old" approach to emerging technology: We adopt new technology when it is better and cheaper than the old technology, not when it is worse and more expensive, forced to convert over by a government demanding we pay more for less. So we can reap all these speculative benefits in a hypothetical future.

Thanks to Morgen. He found this and cut this, so this makes this, I guess, an exclusive.

In case you didn't know, John Sexton of Verum Serum got hired by Breitbart.com. Alas, they wanted him to shutter the site during his time of employment. So this is Morgen of that site.

Posted by: Ace at 02:53 PM | Comments (276)
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A lot of bloviating from lefties lately about an Obama "landslide". Some, when polls were more favorable, from conservatives about a Republican one. But what would one look like, exactly? Are the "mega-landslide" elections of 1964, 1972, 1980, 1984, and 1988 even possible at this point?

The short answer is no. In the past, states like New York, Texas, and California played the role of "big prize" purple states. So if a President or a candidate played their cards right, scoring a 400-500 electoral vote tsunami was very possible. There is only one state these days with more than 20 electoral votes that plays the cheating girlfriend, and that is that dirty skank we call Florida. Smaller states hold more sway in national elections these days, and the big states have fallen on one side of the ideological divide or the other.

Don't believe me? Well let's look at the absolute minimum states President Obama and his Republican challenger will carry: more...

Posted by: CAC at 01:54 PM | Comments (195)
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I know this is a couple of days old. Stick with it for a sec. I have a point.

He cannot find a single fault with Barack Obama.

Davis Guggenheim: "Well, I mean the negative for me was, there were too many accomplishments. I had 17 minutes to put them all in there."

Piers Morgan: "Oh, come off it! You can't say that with a straight face. Come on."

Davis Guggenheim: "I'm looking at you right now with a straight face."

Piers Morgan: "The only negativity about Barack Obama is there are too many positives?"

Davis Guggenheim: "That was the negative -- excuse me, that was the negative for me."

Piers Morgan: "Oh."

...

Piers Morgan: "But where do you find fault in him, personally?"

Davis Guggenheim: "I -- you know, I don't. I don't, frankly."

Piers Morgan: "He's a perfect human being?"

Davis Guggenheim: "Well, no. but I'm really quite in awe of him, as a leader, and the choices he's made."

Piers Morgan: "I mean, I'm only asking because you are a well-known documentary maker, and this would be the first movie, I guess, you've made where it's all completely positive. And even you personally don't see any negative at all in the guy. Do you think you were the right guy to make this? I mean, are you dispassionate enough to make a Barack Obama video?"

Davis Guggenheim: "But, Piers, you haven't seen the movie. You've only seen the trailer."

Piers Morgan: "Well, I've asked you to list all the negatives and you said the only negative was you couldn't put enough positives in."

Davis Guggenheim: "Well, that's true. That's true."

Posted by: Ace at 01:53 PM | Comments (156)
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Greeks started buying potatoes directly from farmers. Oh, the humanity!

The craze, which some are already starting to call the “Potato Revolution,” began in the northern town of Katerini two weeks ago. A group of local activists set up a website to allow people to order potatoes directly from local farmers, and then pick them up in a parking lot on the weekends. Their project was an instant hit. In the past two weeks, they’ve already sold 100 tons of potatoes, and inspired agricultural students in Thessaloniki to launch a similar program. Dozens more cities across Greece are planning to follow suit.

. . .

“A funny thing happened – the local supermarkets started slashing their prices”

But as LauraW says in email:

I'm sure there is some Greek bureaucrat searching furiously to discover what law they're breaking. . . . [A]ctually, it's a no-brainer that they are breaking some law or other. In a euro-socialist economy, if two parties to a transaction are both happy with the deal, and no one is getting bribed to allow it, it's illegal.

Sure, those potatoes must be inspected. You have to submit samples, and they have to be tested in a lab for deliciousness. Only then can the potatoes be certified as "potatoes." Greek bureaucrats will not allow you to trade in "dirtbacks" and "Idaho turdmuffins."

Follow me on Twitter.

Posted by: rdbrewer at 12:31 PM | Comments (224)
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Here's the weird thing: Dan Riehl gets name-checked.

First, the picture, so you don't feel you have to click on Playboy.

I guess I will be nice and say she looks like Tiffany Amber-Thiessen there. But if anyone knows what I'm talking about, that's... backhanded.

Anyway, here's some of her profundities.

PLAYBOY: Conservatives are as hard on you as liberals. Right-wing blogger Dan Riehl sniped that “this self-indulgent set of mega-breasts doesn’t belong anywhere near a TV studio commenting on anything.”

MCCAIN: Who says stuff like that? Some guys out there just can’t handle a woman with a strong opinion. And the quickest way to cut down a woman is to talk about her appearance. Do I care? No. Every guy I’ve ever dated and every boyfriend I’ve ever had—nobody ever complained about my body. And there are way more important things for me to do than obsess about my weight. We have an election going on, people!

Yeah, let's not talk about Meghan McCain's sex life or body any more. She's a serious commentator; she's above that.

PLAYBOY: Say a little more about the hanging-out-in-bed-with-girlfriends part.

MCCAIN: Watch it, mister. My friends from home came over to support me, and we got in my parentsÂ’ big bed. They have this huge California king and we just stayed up eating ice cream. IÂ’m not a lesbian, if thatÂ’s what youÂ’re asking. IÂ’d be the first person to tell the world I was gay. IÂ’m not private about anything. I think you should live how you should live. But IÂ’m strictly dickly. I canÂ’t help it. I love sex and I love men.

Oh. Maybe she's not above that.

You know, for a girl who feigns outrage when it's suggested she's just boobs and a wig, she sure does natter on forever about her boobs.

PLAYBOY: Do you ever think twice about partying in public for fear it will show up on Gawker the next morning?

MCCAIN: Oh, I can’t live like that. I do get paranoid when I’m wearing low-cut dresses that somebody’s going to take a picture and put it on the internet and be like, “Meghan was showing off her breasts again.” But you know, showing a little cleavage can make a girl feel sexy too. Like Jessica Simpson says, if you got it, you should flaunt it once in a while. I’ve been pretty open about the fact that I like to go out and have a good time with friends. I’ve never done drugs, and I never would. So there’s that. But what am I supposed to do, stay in and read a book?

Uchh! A book?!! Heaven forfend. You get knowledge-cooties from books.

Now, that aside, I'm serious, Meghan McCain is a serious commentator, a strong woman with a strong opinion. Stop sexualizing her immediately.

PLAYBOY: You once wrote, “Nothing kills my libido quite like discussing politics.”

MCCAIN: Oh my gosh. ItÂ’s so true. I went on a date, like, a week ago, and the guy just wanted to talk policy and strategy the entire time. Talk about a mood killer. IÂ’m obsessed with this stuff, but it doesnÂ’t put me in the mood. When IÂ’m dating, I want to hear what music a guy likes, what he does for fun, and I want him to make me laugh. If he can make me laugh, I donÂ’t care if he looks like Zach Galifianakis; itÂ’s an instant turn-on.

Whoops. Meghan McCain's alleged aversion to sexualization seems a bit overstated. She just doesn't like it when you sexualize her in a bad way.

If you want to chat her up like You Like What You See, she's game.

Okay, here comes the part where she claims she loves being single as she cries into a pint of Haagen Dasz.

PLAYBOY: And youÂ’re still single?

MCCAIN: Oh my God, I love being single. I can do whatever the hell I want all the time. I have no one to check in with. When youÂ’re in a serious relationship, you kind of have to check in before you go out with your friends or do whatever. I think IÂ’m a bit of a commitment-phobe. Or maybe itÂ’s just that I havenÂ’t met the right guy. DatingÂ’s okay, but guys can be weird. They think if they Google you and talk about stuff youÂ’ve said, they get to make out with you at the end of the first date.

Please stop sexualizing Meghan McCain. She's a strong woman with a strong opinion.

Well she's about to be asked about an alleged intellectual hero, Hunter S. Thompson. Since this is about her current "job" as some kind of pundit, I'm sure she'll leave sex out of this and just talk about Serious Things. Because she's a strong woman with a strong opinion.

PLAYBOY: WhatÂ’s up with your Hunter S. Thompson obsession? WouldnÂ’t he have hated your conservative views?

MCCAIN: I love, love, love Hunter. I read Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail in high school and loved his take on politics. I love the way he wrote with such disregard for authority and the status quo. I’ve been considering getting his quote “Buy the ticket, take the ride” tattooed on my body, but I haven’t decided. I told my friend, and she said it sounds really sexual, so we’ll see.

Whoops, there we go again.

I like how she needs a friend to inform her that a tattoo ("on my body" -- but where else could it go, Meghan? Why say "on my body," except to talk about just that again?) which reads "Buy the ticket, take the ride" might scan as a little sexual.

To some people. To others, not so much. But some people might take that as sexual.

And... of course it would be on her back. Where else would it go?

So. Some people might find that sexual.

Thank God Meghan McCain's friend was far-sighted enough to make that odd connection for her.

But trust me, Hunter and I would have been fast friends. He was on Late Night With Conan OÂ’Brien once and he was drinking whiskey and shooting guns. I appreciate both those things. We would have understood each other.

Your dumb internet editors don't understand you, but a drunk writer would have?

Oh, and that's not even the end of the day's Meghan McCain news. She's seen a therapist over her body-shaming.

"Now I’m very sensitive to any pictures taken of myself at photoshoots and whatever because the internet has this very weird —especially people in politics — this very weird reaction to my body, because I’m not super skinny. I have large breasts. I know! They’re real, I can’t do anything about it and the internet just has this really weird reaction to my body … I’ve seen a therapist about it, if that means anything. There’s like this obsession (with my body). I think people don’t understand why I haven’t lost a bunch of weight right now, because [sarcastic] ‘all women in the media should lose a bunch of weight if they want to go on television to talk about anything.’”

I know this is a defensive reaction, and people don't talk about what actually upsets them, preferring to speak in euphemisms, but no one's complaining about the boobs, you know.

Eh.

Here's me being nice: I'm sure she means well, and she does love her father.

Someone has to.

Bonus: Someone posted an unpublished shot from Playboy, in which you can see most of one nipple.

Posted by: Ace at 12:04 PM | Comments (432)
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