Holder Held in Contempt

Checking in from my vacation in Vermont, to note that that, yesterday, Holder became the first U.S. Attorney General to be voted in contempt of Congress.  17 Democrats joined the Republicans in voting to hold him in contempt.

A Dark Day for Liberty

I am literally running out the door, but, for those that have not yet heard, the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare 5-4.  November just became that much more important.

12 Hours From Now . . .

we will know whether Obamacare lives or dies (or continues on in some sort of mutated-zombie form).  Then, later tomorrow, the House is expected to vote Attorney General Holder in contempt.  That pretty much guarantees it will be the biggest political newsday in this blog's short history.

Unfortunately, I am also leaving for vacation tomorrow.  While I hope to at least have time for some quick coverage to the Supreme Court's Obamacare decision, I recommend that readers refer to the sites on my Recommended Reading list for full coverage of these stories and everything else that happens over the next few days.  They all do a far better job than me anyway. 
I will be back to my regular blogging schedule on Monday.

First Obama Went After the Nation's Pools. Now He's Turning to Miniature Golf.

New government regulations limit the slope of the mini-golf holes and would force businesses to allow miniature horses on their premises as guide animials.

Abandon Ship!

The list of Democrats skipping the Democratic Convention is growing by the day.

Pressure

Thirty Republican senators signed a letter today asking Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special counsel to investigate the recent national security leaks.

2 Days to Go

And the latest NBC/WSJ poll continues to show that more Americans would be pleased if Obamacare is ruled unconstitutional.

By contrast: a Bloomberg poll found that a majority of liberal law professors believe the mandate is constitutional.

Big Sis to AZ, Supreme Court: Drop Dead

What's so great about the rule of law anyway?

Is the Country Unraveling?

Victor Davis Hanson:  Obama took a budding recovery in June 2009, and through massive borrowing, the federal takeover of health care, new expansions of food stamps and unemployment insurance, the curtailing of oil and gas leasing on public lands, new regulations, and non-stop demagoguery of the private sector slowed the economy to a crawl. His goal seems not to restore economic growth per se but to seek an equality of result, even if that means higher unemployment and less net wealth for the poor and middle classes. Obama hinted at that in 2008 when he said he would raise capital gains taxes even if it meant less revenue, given the need for “fairness.” Indeed, equality is best achieved by bringing the top down rather than the bottom up. Nowhere is the Obama model of massive borrowing, vast increases in the size of the state, more regulations, and class warfare successful — not in California or Illinois, not in Greece, Spain, or Italy, not anywhere.

That reminds me of this video:

Further Confirmation That Our Government is Detached From Reality.

The government is now fining people for failure to use a product that doesn't exist.

Bill Whittle Takes on Fast & Furious

Bill Whittle pulls no punches in the latest Afterburner.

Getting Married? Obama Wants You to Forgo Gifts and Have Guests Donate to His Campaign Instead

Same goes for birthdays and anniversaries.

It may be unbelievable, but it's real.

Good Question

What If Walmart Sold 2500 Guns Illegally, Walked Them into Mexico, and Hid the Documentation from Congress?

Romney Makes His Pitch to Hispanics

In contrast to Obama's pandering, Romney chose to bring his broader economic message to them.

Fast and Furious

If you are still trying to wrap your head around the facts of the Fast and Furious scandal, this podcast with David Kopel will tell you what you need to know.

Even Jon Stewart Isn't Buying Obama's Claim of Executive Privilege

Ed Morissey:  Not only does Jon Stewart tell an audience inclined towards supporting Obama in November exactly why Operation Fast and Furious was so important to investigate, he also explains that the Obama administration has been refusing to cooperate with subpoenas, giving false information to Congress, and generally stalling for the last several months. On top of that, Stewart then skewers the same Democrats who blasted George Bush in 2007 for hypocrisy in defending Obama’s executive privilege claim in 2012.

Follow the link for the clips.

Obama Campaign Outsources Truth

Via Twitchy:  President Obama is facing increasing deficits, not only in his spending habits, but in the facts. The Obama campaign is trying to frame former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney as the “inventor” of outsourcing American jobs to other countries.

Gallup: Obama Approval Rating at 43%; Down 7 Points in Two Weeks

Allahpundit offers his assessment over at HotAir.

If He's Lost the Media, Who's Left?

WH embarrassed during Fast and Furious Press Briefing:  "And when Carney said that Obama’s decision to assert executive privilege over documents subpoenaed by Congress was 'entirely about principle,' reporters openly laughed"

White House Asserts Executive Privilege over DOJ Fast and Furious Documents

In a surprise move, the Obama Administration today invoked executive privilege as a justification for withholding the DOJ's Fast and Furious documents.  Bryan Preston has been following the story with periodic updates all day.

Despite the Obama Administration's move, Issa's House Committee moved forward and voted to hold Holder in contempt (Plus, the family of Brian Terry comments that Obama has compounded their personal tragedy).

Plus, Vodkapundit considers the broad scope of the executive privilege assertion.
And Mark Levin looks at where the House should go from here.

Obama's Grandfather Tortured By the British?

A fantasy (Like most of the President's memoir).

So what else would explain Obama's antagonism towards the British?

A Bad DREAM?

Mickey Kaus:  The maddening details of Obama's DREAM Decree.

Obama Predicted a Strong Economy, But Blames His Failures on Bush

That pretty well sums things up.

Hat tip to Instapundit.

MSNBC Smears Romney With Deceptive Edit of His Wawa Remarks.

MSNBC tried to manufacture a George H.W. Bush grocery store checkout scanner moment, but got caught by a blogger.

Dana Loesch: 

Andrea Mitchell attempted to use a deceptively edited clip to persuade her audience that Romney is out of step with the average voter.

Sooper Mexican compared the edited clip with the full Romney remarks. They clearly show Romney was amazed at the ways in which private sector competition motivates businesses, a fundamental that the government lacks. Mitchell deliberately omitted this point to falsely portray Romney as a fool.

 Of course, no apology has been forthcoming.

What Will Hundreds of Thousands of Job Permits Do to the Economy?

Ed Morrissey:  With potentially as many as 800,000 new workers flooding into the system, what happens to the millions of Americans who can’t find work now?

Immigration Laws? What Immigration Laws?

Probably the biggest news that I missed while out of town last week was Obama's unilateral decision to selectively stop enforcing the nation's immigration laws in a manner he sees as politically expedient.  Here are a few commentaries.

John Hinderaker observes that this is but the latest example of Obama undermining the rule of law.

Michael Ramirez

Bob Krumm looks at the precedent, however, and finds a silver lining for conservatives.

Obama Must be Defeated

So says one of his former law professors.

Sorry for the Light Blogging Lately

But I was travelling for work the last few days and then spent today celebrating my first Father's Day with my daughter and the rest of my family. 

Things should be back to normal starting tomorrow.  Otherwise, all I can say is: At least I wasn't the only person shirking my responsibilities.

Broken Campaign Promises: Six Times Obama Promised To Cut The Deficit

How did that work out?

Chart via Gateway Pundit

On Flag Day, the Duke Salutes Old Glory

Hat tip to GayPatriot for finding the video.

America on Track to Add Three Times More Debt Than Eurozone over 5 Years

Weekly Standard:

The eurozone might be cracking up, but as far as debt goes, America appears to be in worse shape than the entire eurozone in the long run. According to a new chart set to be released later today by the Republican side of the Senate Budget Committee, America is on track "to add three times more debt than [the] eurozone over [the next] 5 years."

Already, as the chart shows, America's debt exceeds the eurozone's, roughly $16.6 trillion to $13.3 trillion. (These numbers are based on what the debt is expected to be by the end of this year.) But by 2017, that gap is projected to widen, and America's debt is expected to be $22.3 trillion, while the eurozone's debt will be $15.2 trillion.

Of course, Obama and the Democrats don't have a plan to address our debt crisis.  They just oppose the Republican plans.
Hat tip to Weasel Zippers.

Good News Keeps Coming From Wisconsin

Romney now leads Obama in Wisconsin 47%, 44%.  It's just one poll, but remember, a Republican hasn't won Wisconsin since Reagan's landslide in 1984.

Obamacare: A Model For Crony Capitalism

The Wall Street Journal: 

On Friday House Republicans released more documents that expose the collusion between the health-care industry and the White House that produced ObamaCare, and what a story of crony capitalism it is. If the trove of emails proves anything, it's that the Tea Party isn't angry enough.

Over the last year, the Energy and Commerce Committee has taken Nancy Pelosi's advice to see what's in the Affordable Care Act and how it passed. The White House refused to cooperate beyond printing out old press releases, but a dozen trade groups turned over thousands of emails and other files. A particular focus is the drug lobby, President Obama's most loyal corporate ally in 2009 and 2010.

The business refrain in those days was that if you're not at the table, you're on the menu. But it turns out Big Pharma was also serving as head chef, maître d'hotel and dishwasher. Though some parts of the story have been reported before, the emails make clear that ObamaCare might never have passed without the drug companies. Thank you, Pfizer.

Read the whole thing.  Hat tip to Hotair.

Remember Julia?

Julia was Obama's faceless vision of women as wards of the state.  Julia, meet Emily:

The Net Worth of the Average American Family Nosedived Nearly 40% in Just Three Years

"In 2007, the average family’s median wealth was $126,400; by 2010, it was just $77,300."

House Moving to Hold Holder in Contempt

Washington Times:  House Republicans said Monday that they will move to hold Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. in contempt of Congress, escalating a separation-of-powers battle over Fast and Furious, the Obama administration’s botched gun-walking operation.

With the blessing of Republican leaders, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell E. Issa will hold a vote next week to recommend contempt proceedings, and a House floor vote could follow soon after as the GOP seeks to keep the pressure on President Obama ahead of November’s elections.

Plus, Issa says that he expects 31 Democrats will join Congressional Republicans in the vote.

Smart Diplomacy

Gateway Pundit:  "Israeli Mossad agents told Haaretz that Stuxnet was developed by Mossad and not the Bush Administration. The agents also claim the Obama Administration disclosed the program to help Barack Obama’s reelection campaign."

Plus, John McCain continues to blast the Obama Administration for its national security leaks.

Does the Obama Administration Leak Classified National Security Information?

Yes.  It's as simple as that.

Axelrod Repeatedly Dodges Questions Asking Whether "the Private Sector Is Doing Fine."

Ed Morissey looks at what is really going on in the public and private sectors.

Plus, a response from the Romney campaign:

The CBO Is Going to Need a Bigger Chart

Zerohedge:  "[W]hen it comes to the most recent forecast of US public debt . . . the CBO has officially run out of charting space. As can be seen on the graphic below, sometime in 2042 the CBO will need a bigger chart to represent US public debt as per the Extended Alternative Fiscal Scenario, which the CBO itself admits "is more representative of the fiscal policies that are now (or have recently been) in effect than is the extended baseline scenario."



Of course, the entire system will collapse long before then, unless we dramatically change the current trajectory.  Doing so starts by changing the President in November.

The Food Stamp President

John Hinderaker:

Under Barack Obama, food stamps have exploded to become one of the largest federal spending programs. This is partly because of the lousy Obama economy, of course, but it goes much farther than that: food stamp spending has skyrocketed because the Democrats want dependency on welfare programs to be the rule, not the exception. Barack Obama is indeed the nation’s first food stamp president.

 

Read the whole article.

Obama Lied: New Evidence Proves He Was a Member of the Socialist New Party

Media complicit in the lie.

The Private Sector is Doing Fine?

Obama apparently thinks so.

James Pethokoukis explains just how detached from reality this statement is.

Romney asks whether Obama is "really that out of touch?"

John Hinderaker asks whether this is Obama's most clueless moment yet, which is saying something.

And Vodkapundit analyzes Obama's inevitable "clarification." 

Legitimacy

More Than 2/3 of Americans hope the Supreme Court overturns Obamacare.

Clinton v. Obama

Vodkapundit:

You can imagine [] that the West Wing must be reeling this week, after a series of irritating little shivs Clinton slid into their backs over the last few days.

It’s no secret that Clinton isn’t exactly a big fan of President Obama’s. Clinton might be the master of making other people mad, but he himself was red-faced pissed off after Team Obama accused him of racism during the 2008 primary fight. And for good reason, too. My personal take is, that was the moment the Race Card lost its trump. Playing it on Clinton, our “first black president”? Dumb move, Barack.

And now comes the payback.

Obama attacked Mitt Romney’s record at Bain. Clinton said his record there was “sterling.” Oh, Clinton said it ostensibly in the course of explaining why Romney shouldn’t become president — but the real message was heard loud and clear.

Obama wants us to believe that the economy is improving, that we’re on track, that we must move “forward.” So Clinton said we’re already back in a recession.

Obama wants the Bush tax rates for the wealthy to expire. Clinton wants to extend all the Bush rates for a year. He later “clarified” and explained he only wanted to keep the Bush tax rates for everyone but the wealthy — but the clarification never carries as much weight as the original statement. And Bill Clinton doesn’t make a whole lot of misstatements during an election fight.

I think Vodkapundit hit the nail on the head here.  Clinton has, justifiably, never forgiven Obama for playing the Race Card on him back in 2008.

McCain: Top-Secret Leaks Coming From "Highest Levels" of White House

And Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein expresses similar concerns over those leaks.

What's national security when there is an election to win?

Romney: Obama Slowed Recovery to Push Obamacare

Not only did Obama neglect the recovery to push Obamacare, he made the economy considerably worse by passing it.

We're in a Recession and Should Extend the Bush Tax Cuts for the Rich

So says . . . Bill Clinton.

Wisconsin Election

Polls in Wisconsin close in the next half hour.  Professors Althouse (in Wisconson) and Jacobson are live-blogging the results.

Meanwhile, in what is hopefully a good sign, the White House continues to downplay the results.  Jay Carney even had the audacity to complain about Walker outspending his opponent.  Remind me: how much did Obama outspend McCain by in 2008?

UPDATE:  NBC and Fox News have both called it for Walker!!

Shameless: Obama Leaks National Security for Political Gain

Investor's Business Daily:

From leaks about Osama bin Laden to those detailing cyberattacks on Iran, a disturbing pattern of publicly disclosing classified material to give Barack Obama a political boost is emerging. Under this president, our enemies don't need spies.

The fact that the Allies in World War II had the ability to intercept and decode German and Japanese military transmissions, leading to critical military victories at Midway and elsewhere, remained a secret until long after World War II was over, and it didn't matter who knew it. "Loose lips sink ships" was then more than a clever wartime slogan.

The pattern of national security leaks under this administration and its political exploitation of what should be secret has even liberal media flagship CNN wondering if "President Barack Obama's administration can keep a secret — or in some cases even wants to."

More Bad News: US Factory Orders Post "Surprise" Fall in April

New orders for U.S. factory goods fell in April for the third time in four months as demand slipped for everything from cars and machinery to computers, the latest worrisome sign for the economic recovery.

The Commerce Department said on Monday orders for manufactured goods dropped 0.6 percent during the month. The government also revised its estimate for new orders in March to show a steeper decline.

Economists had forecast orders rising 0.2 percent in April.

The report showed broad weakness in a sector that has carried the economic recovery, adding to a growing body of soft economic data.

Hotair has additional commentary.

The Second Most Important Election This Year

Readers, if you happen to live in Wisconsin, remember to vote for Governor Scott Walker (and Lieutenant Governer Rebecca Kleefisch)  in today's recall election.  If you don't live in Wisconsin, but know someone who does, call them and make sure they remember to vote for Scott Walker (and to bring a friend as well).

Income Inequality

Walter Russell Mead:  Last year the US made great strides towards a more equal society: we cut the number of millionaires by more than 100,000. According to a study from the Boston Consulting Group, 129,000 evil US millionaires rejoined the ranks of the proletariat last year as the value of their stocks, cash and other non-business and non-property assets fell below the magic number.

4.3 percent of US households still qualify as millionaires by that measure, but OWS partisans shouldn’t despair. Perhaps with another few years of stock market declines, slow or negative economic growth and low interest rates we can take another big whack out of that number.

This is, of course, exactly the wrong way to think about things. Poverty is the problem we want to fight, not an excess of wealth. And the best way to fight poverty is for the overall productivity of a society to grow. That only comes when new products, new enterprises and new and more efficient ways of doing things are entering the market — and that generally means that the people who thought up those new ideas and did the hard work to make them real are getting rich.

Hat tip Instapundit.

Perspective

In less than one full term, Barack Obama has outspent the previous five Presidents.

Friends of Obama: Why is Jon Corzine Not on Trial?

Jeff Carter:  Came across this article on May 29 that talks about the continuing saga of MF Global and Jon Corzine. It’s amazing that this epic financial scandal gets no consistent main stream media coverage. Over a billion was stolen. Corzine is in Madoff territory.

And yet he continues to raise money for Barack Obama. 

Hat tip to Instapundit.

More Bad News on the Jobs Front

Core Employment-To-Population Ratio Near Historic Low - Shows Labor Markets Worse Than Jobless Rate Suggests.

Disaster

Hotair reports:  Analysts expected the US economy to add 150,000 jobs in May. Instead, we saw only a net gain of 69,000 jobs, and the jobless rate went up slightly to 8.2% . . . .  U-3 (the topline jobless rate) went from 8.1% to 8.2%, the first increase of any kind in that measure since June 2011. The U-6 figure, which comprises all unemployed and marginally attached workers, rose from 14.5% to 14.8%.

James Pethokoukis:  Miserable May jobs report suggests U.S. in recession red zone. 



"And, as the above chart shows — originally from Obama economists Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein in January 2009 –the current 8.2% unemployment rate is 2.5 percentage points above where Team Obama predicted it would be right now if Congress passed his trillion-dollar stimulus plan."

Meanwhile, President Obama responded to today's jobs report by attending SIX fundraisers.

Q1 GDP Revised Downward

And after-tax corporate profits fell for the first time in three years.