Comments 5-23-13

The Fed sneezes, markets fall. As Monty keeps telling us, things that can't go on forever, won't. Always remember that stock markets operate largely on the Greater Fool theory. Update: be sure to read the various posts over at Zero Hedge. [Fritzworth]

Comments 5-22-13

Newsmax: Alan Dershowitz: IRS Chief Lerner 'Can Be Held in Contempt
"'You can't simply make statements about a subject and then plead the Fifth in response to questions about the very same subject' . . . . 'Once you open the door to an area of inquiry, you have waived your Fifth Amendment right. . . .'" [rdbrewer]


Andrew C. McCarthy: A Fifth of Obama
Criticism of the committee and Lerner's use of the Fifth. Related: Charles Krauthammer's take. [rdbrewer]


Allahpundit: Rothenberg: Forecast for Senate seats changing because of White House scandals
"The one thing Rothenberg’s pick-six has in common, of course, is that they’re red states, and if ever there was a scandal to get red-state voters motivated to turn out, it’s the IRS scandal. . . [T]he Republican base might ride a wave of righteous rage to the polls and swamp Dems again like they did in 2010." [rdbrewer]

Top IRS Official's Attorney from Firm with Close Ties to White House. Very close ties, and even some "clean up" work for dirty Dems. Just a coincidence, I'm sure. [Fritzworth]

Orin Kerr: Can A Congressional Witness Deny Guilt and Then Plead the Fifth?
"I don’t think the answer is clear, as there are no cases quite like it. The general rule is that a witness can’t testify about her version of the facts and then invoke the Fifth Amendment when facing cross examination." [rdbrewer]

Funny, Pungent Review of Olympia Snowe's Dreary Book of Cliches and Musty Farts

Immigration bill: Illegal immigrants will not be required to pay all back taxes [rdbrewer]

Huge theoretical prime number breakthrough."...no matter how large a twin prime is, there will always be another pair of primes separated from it by less than 70 million..." IOW-finding very large primes by twin-prime jumping is very brute forcible approach when another pair are only a (relative) handful of iterations away worst case. [PA]

Idiotic Brit MoD officials out sniper's ID, forcing him into hiding. Clue: shadow warriors like to stay in the shadows, doh![PA]

HMS Ark Royal hauled off to be cut up for scrap. The Brits no longer have an aircraft carrier, abeit even a decommissioned one, and won't for another 10 years[PA]

More F-35 problems. The cyborg'ish super-helmet for the pilots doesn't work. Never saw that coming, did you?[PA]

Dumbass commits hit & run, brags about the crime on Twitter. Unfortunately for her, the police know how to use teh Twitterz too [PA]

Jonah: Obama’s ‘Idiot’ Defense
"But, suddenly, when the administration finds itself ensnared by errors of its own making, the curtain is drawn back on the cult of expertise and the fantasy of statist redemption." [rdbrewer]

Apple Benefits Shareholders, Senate Democrats Cry Foul And, as usual, "Senate Democrats" includes John McCain.

John Kerry: Making Clinton look good. First Russia, now the Middle East -- I can hardly wait to see how Kerry deals with China. [Fritzworth]

TMZ: Tanning Mom Records Music Video, 'It's Tan Mom'
Possibly the worst video ever. [rdbrewer]

BuzzFeed: Advisers Urged Obama Early On To Release Comprehensive Benghazi Timeline: How Obama got tripped up by his lawyers. Subtitled: Read tomorrow's Ezra Klein and Josh Marshall pieces today

Comments 5-21-13

Another centrally planned economy ravaged by Hyper-Inflation.
Diablo III [ArthurK]

Senate panel OKs tax-welfare benefits for newly legal immigrants [rdbrewer]

California has spent $28 million to build 9 hydrogen stations to fuel 200 cars
Yes, Two Hundred Cars. ht @TheGWPF [ArthurK]

Sen. Whitehouse Issues Statement
"Tragically, and unbeknownst to the Senator at the time, a series of tornadoes were hitting Oklahoma at the same moment he gave his remarks." You see, he didn't know about the tornadoes he was talking about. H/t @jamiedupree. [rdbrewer]

Kirsten Powers: How Hope and Change Gave Way to Spying on the Press
"First they came for Fox News, and they did not speak out—because they were not Fox News. Then they came for government whistleblowers, and they did not speak out—because they were not government whistleblowers. Then they came for the maker of a YouTube video, and...." [rdbrewer]


Convoy of hope: Glenn Beck arrives in Okla. with two truckloads of food, water and diapers [rdbrewer]



Over 150 conservative leaders, groups sign letter opposing Gang of 8 bill
Gang of 8 Gang of assholes. (Pictured: Schumer looks on smugly while Rubio does his bidding.) [rdbrewer]


Former IRS chief: Can't say how targeting happened
No one in the Obama administration ever knows anything. At what point will they be criticized in the MBM for terrible management? [rdbrewer]

On The 9th Day, God Made A Dog
Auto play video [Ben]