Google, Big Obama Donors, Bans Firearm Accessory Sales in Ads

-By Warner Todd Huston

Second Amendment, Schmecond Amendment. Google wants you to know that it is thinking of your “safety” as it announces that it has banned anything to do with firearms on its Google Shopping service. That’s what they’ve told HamLund Tactical, a Texas-based company that deals in ammunition and firearms accessories, anyway. Further, firearms customers have recently found that Google Shopping won’t give them any search results for firearm-related products anymore even though the change over isn’t supposed to fully take effect until July 1.

The folks at HamLund Tactical posted the letter they received from Google on a gun enthusiast’s message board called 68forums. In that letter, Google informs dealers in firearm accessories and ammunition that they will no longer be allowed to sell their wares through the Google service.

Starting July 1 Google has implemented the new policy, HamLund was informed. “We do not allow the promotion or sale of weapons and any related products such as ammunitions or accessory kits on Google Shopping. In order to comply with our new policies, please remove any weapon-related products from your data feed and then re-submit your feed in the Merchant Center,” the letter says.

This goes for knives as well as firearms and related products.
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Google, Big Obama Donors, Bans Firearm Accessory Sales in Ads”


Congressman Joe Walsh Has a Message for the Illinois GOP and America

-By Warner Todd Huston

Is Congressman Walsh Making a Populist Run for Illinois Governor?

Joe Walsh is not a rock star like Joe Walsh. Joe Walsh (the Congressman) is not Joe Walsh (The rock singer from the 1970s band The Eagles) yet both were in town this weekend working political ends. Singer Joe Walsh was stumping for Democrat Tammy Duckworth, a practically vacant, establishment Democrat who is good for little else but spewing talking points it doesn’t seem she fully grasps, while Congressman Joe Walsh was across town warning voters at a well attended townhall that thanks to Obamacare, the 2012 election may be our last chance to save America. (http://walsh.house.gov/)


Walsh was in the Elk Grove area to talk chiefly about the historic and historically bad Supreme Court decision that gave Obama a win on his nationalization of America’s healthcare industry. So, Obamacare was the big topic this day.

“I was overwhelmed by the close to 400 people who turned out for today’s forum,” Congressman Walsh stated. “It was clear from the crowd that this decision was not only historic, but also tragic. It’s even more clear that the only way to repeal this unpopular law is to do so legislatively. This health care plan is a job killing bureaucratic mess that is now recognized by the Supreme Court as a massive tax on the struggling middle class. I have made it clear that getting Americans back to work and repealing the President’s health care plan are my top priorities.”


More on healthcare in a moment, but first, after the townhall I had the chance to ask the Congressman some questions about his ideas and his campaign for reelection to his 8th District Congressional seat.

At the outset of our interview, Congressman Walsh had some very stern words for the Illinois Republican Party. In fact, he said the Illinois GOP is currently part of the problem, not the solution.

Here is a transcript of Walsh’s warning to the Illinois GOP.
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Congressman Joe Walsh Has a Message for the Illinois GOP and America”


Sign the Petition: Hands Off My Healthcare

-By Warner Todd Huston

Want to express your indignation at Chief Justice John Roberts’ sell out and the Democrats lie-filled faux healthcare law? Go HERE and sign the *petition to tell Congress and the Supreme Court that you are furious at this breach of trust with Americans everywhere.

If allowed to be implemented even in part, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will sink this country to worse than Greek levels in debt, poverty, and the destruction of our economic and business climates. Obama sold this communist plan with a lie on his lips. Not only by lying to the American public that this wasn’t a tax — a lie the Supreme Court corrected with its decision — but in the very name of the bill (the “affordable” part) the Democrats sold this law with lies on their lips.

*Petition sponsored by Americans for Prosperity.
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Sign the Petition: Hands Off My Healthcare”


News Corp to Split Entertainment from Publishing Division

-By Warner Todd Huston

News Corp watchers have been talking about a possible split of Rupert Murdoch’s massive entertainment and publishing empire for sometime and it looks like they are finally on the right side of the guesswork as the News Corp board met on Wednesday to consider separating Murdoch’s entertainment from his publishing division.

For some time Murdoch has resisted calls to split his empire into separate sections — even as recent as last month — but after the wiretapping scandals that hit his British newspapers, the idea seems to have become more acceptable to the media giant.

While the initial meeting was held Wednesday, the final decision might not be known until Thursday and the whole process could take as long as a year to work out.

This is not halving of the corporation, though. The publishing portion of the company is far smaller than the newer education/entertainment division so reports that we are about to witness a “splitting in half” of News Corp is an over statement.
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News Corp to Split Entertainment from Publishing Division”


Chief Justice Roberts Reelected Barack Obama On Thursday

-By Warner Todd Huston

I know many of you may be upset at this article, but I think the election is now over. Obama will get a second term. I don’t say this happily, but barring any really controversial incident that makes Obama look bad — or worse than he is, I should say — it looks to me that he’s now unbeatable, especially by a Mitt Romney.

Now, before you get your undies in a bunch, no this doesn’t mean we should throw in the towel and quit. It always amazes me that people go stampeding directly for the “oh, so you think we should quit” nonsense. I am not saying that, so stow your whining.

To me, the stars seem to be lining up for another Obama win, though certainly one not close to his numbers the first time ’round. Infuriatingly, it is Supreme Court Justice John Roberts that tipped it in for Obama. His giving Obama the supreme win on his socialist takeover of our healthcare system is the win Obama needed to show that he is “on the right track” as far as too many voters will be concerned.

If the Court would have invalidated Obamacare as it should have, Obama would have looked weak. He would have looked the loser. This would have been enough to keep some of his most freebie-loving voters from the polls on voting day and given Romney a fighting chance. But now that “free” healthcare is a big win, the “gimme” set will come out to vote for neo socialist Obama in hopes that in a second term he’ll pay their mortgage and give them a no-work government job.

But even beyond these freebie-grasping, lowlives that will now vote for Obama when many wouldn’t have been excited enough to come out were it a “free” healthcare loss, other Democrat voters who were down on Obama because he seemed to be losing everything lately will now feel energized to come out and vote.
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Chief Justice Roberts Reelected Barack Obama On Thursday”


Democrats Next to Move to Unionize Obamacare Doctors

-By Warner Todd Huston

In another sign that our healthcare industry is soon to be just another arm of the Democrat Party, Chicago are Democrat Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky thinks it’s a great idea if doctors unionize.

This will completely end any chance that doctors will care about patients. They will instead become just another uncaring, slipshod union hack that won’t much care about the excellence of his work because he’s protected by union rules. Patients will no longer matter.

Doctors will be just like officious DMV employees. Just like lazy Streets and Sans guys. Like all those little bored, arrogant placemen that work for government.

You, the patient, will no longer matter at all.

Welcome to Obamacare, folks. We’re all the victim of a death panel now.
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Democrats Next to Move to Unionize Obamacare Doctors”


CNN Mistakenly Reported Roberts Overturned Obamacare

-By Warner Todd Huston

Seven minutes of “f**king humiliation” is how one CNN staffer described the morning faux pas the “most trusted name in news” made when it reported that Chief Justice John Roberts overturned Obamacare’s mandate this morning.

As the Supreme Court of the United States was delivering its long awaited decision on Obamacare, CNN’s on-air news reader, 29-year-old Kate Bolduan, breathlessly said that the healthcare mandate was struck down. And I do mean breathlessly…

Kate Bolduan: We’re still going through the reading of the opinion, but I want to bring you the breaking news that according to producer Bill Mears, the individual mandate is not a valid, uh, not a valid exercise of the Commerce Clause. So it appears as if the Supreme Court Justices have struck down the individual mandate, the center piece of the healthcare legislation.

Not only did Miss Bolduan make CNN look bad but she also claimed that CNN’s man inside the courtroom, Bill Mears, told her this misconstruction of the facts over the phone. It doesn’t appear, though, that Mears actually said the whole thing was struck down but that young Bolduan just didn’t understand the complexities that Mears was trying to relate.
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CNN Mistakenly Reported Roberts Overturned Obamacare”


Obamacare: Largest Tax Hike in U.S. History

Obama specifically said (yes in his own voice) that Obamacare is not a tax when he sold this faux healthcare bill to the American people.

He simply lied. In fact, even after the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare only because it is a tax, Obama’s White House is still claiming it isn’t a tax.

Obama should go down in history are the biggest, most destructive liar ever to sit in the Oval Office.


CNBC Ratings Crash, Fox Business Network Surge

-By Warner Todd Huston

In this volatile market atmosphere, one might think that networks such as CNBC would be seeing all time high numbers as traders and other folks in the financial sector seek up-to-the-minute information. But as the second quarter comes to a close, CNBC is losing ground in the ratings and losing ground to upstart Fox Business Network, at that.

As the second quarter ratings hit it revealed the CNBC garnered its lowest ratings since 2005 in both total viewers as well as the coveted demo of persons aged 25 to 54. Even worse, chief business hour programming from 9:30 AM to 5 PM (ET) also had its worst low since 2005. CNBC also had its lowest rated quarter in the most sought after demo since 1997.

Just as alarming for CNBC is that one of their best anchors, Maria Bartiromo, had the worst rating for her timeslot since 1997.
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CNBC Ratings Crash, Fox Business Network Surge”


Fox News Brit Hume: ‘Republican Brand’ In ‘Terrible Shape’

-By Warner Todd Huston

You can’t call Fox News Commentator and Senior Political Analyst Britt Hume a shill for the Republican Party, especially after slapping the Republicans for having a brand name that is in “terrible shape” on the June 24 episode of Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace. Even after the bad several weeks the Democrats have had, Hume still felt the need to kick the legs out from under the Republicans.

Not only did Hume smack around the Republicans for their bad PR but he also warned that the GOP could suffer some backlash, or end up in “overreach,” with the Fast and Furious investigation.

No wonder Republicans can’t get ahead when even Britt Hume won’t give them credit where it is due while scolding them despite how badly Democrats have been doing of late.

Hume also noted that Republicans looked bad during the debt ceiling debate last year — even as he noted that the party was, as a whole, doing exactly what it promised to do with the debt ceiling.
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Fox News Brit Hume: ‘Republican Brand’ In ‘Terrible Shape’”


Success! Obama Spent $10B to Create 355 Jobs Per Year

-By Warner Todd Huston

Well, after the news from the Obama administration of its “highly successful 1603 tax program” the fantastic program that is responsible for successfully creating literally dozens of jobs at a mere cost of 10 billion tax dollars, why, I don’t want to hear you naysayers out there dissing the big guy again!

The Washington Free Beacon brings us the good news of this great Obama success having received a statement saying:

“The highly successful 1603 tax program has played a critical role in the dramatic expansion of America’s renewable energy industry over the past three years – supporting more than 30,000 renewable energy projects, leveraging more than $25 billion in private sector investments and creating tens of thousands of jobs in installation, construction and operation, as well as up and down the manufacturing supply chain,” said DOE spokesperson Jen Stutsman. “This program has helped to build infrastructure that will spur economic development and job creation in the country over the long-term and ensure the United States can compete in the global clean energy economy.”

That settles it, right?

Well, let’s see how U.S. Representative Cory Gardner (R, Colo.) added up the costs of this “success” at a recent House hearing.
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Success! Obama Spent $10B to Create 355 Jobs Per Year”


Wawagate: MSNBC/Andrea Mitchell Smear Romney With Edited Video

-By Warner Todd Huton

Once again the left-wing media edits a video to misrepresent what a Republican is saying in order to make him look the idiot. This time on June 18 at a campaign stop in Pennsylvania, MSNBC and Andrea Mitchell edited the context right out of a video of what Romney said about eastern U.S. chain restaurant Wawa’s in order to make it seem as if he was out of touch with reg’lr Americans.

Mitchell likened her heavily edited video to George H.W. Bush’s “grocery scanner moment,” when, in his run for reelection in 1992, he was portrayed by the Old Media as never having seen a price scanner at a grocery store (though this characterization was untrue). The media used that moment to smear Bush as an out of touch elitist that simply couldn’t understand the common man. Mitchell used her current dishonest video to promulgate the same smear against Romney.

MSNBC edited out all the things that Romney said in connection with Wawa’s in order to make Romney into a person that was “amazed” by the technology of using a touchscreen system to order his food as the Wawa restaurant. MSNBC portrayed Romney as someone who had never seen such technology, systems with which regular Americans throughout the east coast are well familiar. Mitchell made Romney into an elitist that had never had to deal with something the rest of us use every day.
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Wawagate: MSNBC/Andrea Mitchell Smear Romney With Edited Video”


RO12 Film Premiere Review: Occupy Unmasked

-By Warner Todd Huston

One of the things we were treated to at this year’s Right Online event, sponsored by Americans for Prosperity, was the world premiere of the documentary film Occupy Unmasked.

The one thing I can say about this film is it is absolutely intense. The amount of violence committed by the “Occupy” leftists is shocking when you see so much of it gathered into one visual presentation. But the behind the scenes lies and the smoke screen deployed to hide who is really behind the creation and launching of this so-called “movement” is just as shocking and this film documents both.

The film features Andrew Breitbart in the first of the two recent films he helped along and stars in (the other being Hating Breitbart — see preview HERE), films that ended up being the last two major projects he finished before he so regrettably passed from us. It is also a production of Citizens United.

Now, by intense, I really mean it. When the film was over I was almost fatigued by all the swirling images of the hate, the violence, the anti-Americanism and the lies from these leftists behind Occupy. It all washed over me like a wave of emotion during the film. In some ways it was over whelming.
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RO12 Film Premiere Review: Occupy Unmasked”


Right Online 2012: Great Success at the Vegas Venetian

-By Warner Todd Huston

For my final report on the fifth annual Right Online 2012 sponsored by Americans for Prosperity we’ll be talking about the parade of great speakers like NRO writer Jonah Goldberg and environmental apostate (as far as the left is concerned) Ann McElhinney. But first a word about the great hotel and casino in which we stayed.

The Venetian Las Vegas is in many ways a conservative’s dream hotel — well, unless you opposing gambling, and certainly many conservatives do — that aside, as I was saying, The Venetian is the best of Vegas and the best for conservative entrepreneurship. You see, this hotel is the only union free hotel on the strip.

But not only is The Venetian union free, it also has the highest paid staff getting the best benefits in Vegas. This is because conservatives know how to treat their employees!

If you are planning a Vegas get away, even if you aren’t planning on gambling, come stay at the Venetian. Heck, it’s even the biggest single building in the world, now. The suites are incredible, there’s shopping, big time stage shows, swimming, and eating and drinking galore.

Just look at this incredible room:

See the sacrifices I have to make to report these events to you?

Anyway, folks, do yourselves a favor if you’re coming to Las Vegas, book The Venetian.
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Right Online 2012: Great Success at the Vegas Venetian”


Assoc. Press Now Pushing Anti-Scott Walker Story About… Beer?

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Associated Press seems to be still on the lookout for stories about how Wisconsinites (especially “unions”) hate Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker — yes, even after he beat a recall attempt getting even more votes than he did during his first run for the Guv’s manse. This time AP is pushing the tale that Carrie Nation’s alcohol prohibition “union” is mad at Walker for wanting to serve beer at his unity picnic. Yeah, the same 140-year-old group chiefly responsible for passing the ill-fated Prohibition Act on the country in the 1920s.

So now, the AP has its headlined, “Walker Angers Temperance Union by Serving Beer,” and is seriously trying to get the nation all ginned up over the fact that the beer hating Women’s Christian Temperance Union is upset at the Governor.

What is the Women’s Christian Temperance Union? The WCTU started way back in 1873 ultimately becoming a major political force when its most well-known advocate, Carrie Nation, helped lead the way for the 18th Amendment, the one that banned alcohol in the United States. Of course, Ms. Nation died 8 years before the Amendment succeeded in becoming law, but that doesn’t stop her from being one of the main reasons for giving rise to the exciting career of our most honored Chicago citizen, Al Capone. Thanks, Carrie.

So, who cares much about what the WCTU is doing now some 90 years after their main premise was proven an abject failure? The AP apparently.
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Assoc. Press Now Pushing Anti-Scott Walker Story About… Beer?”


Obama Labor Dept. Forces Journalists to Use Government Issued Computers?

-By Warner Todd Huston

Journalists are crying foul at a new Obama policy that will deny them the right to use their own computers to write stories from economic data issued inside the halls of the Department of Labor. Instead, the DoL says, journalists will have to use government owned computers, government selected software, and government owned Internet transmission lines to write their stories about the data issued by the department.

All news organizations have been ordered to remove their computers, tools, and other electronics from the Department of Labor by June 15 and will not be allowed to bring any of their own electronics into the place from that point forward.

Until this change, the practice had been that the economic data was released to journalists ahead of the official release date in a special “lock-up” room inside the DoL. Reporters then used their own computers and software to write their draft reports and create their graphics and tables on the data. Then, once the release time for the data was reached, the DoL allowed the journalists to transmit their stories from inside the special room over Internet lines that have been installed and paid for by news media outlets.
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Obama Labor Dept. Forces Journalists to Use Government Issued Computers?”


What, Mr. President? The Private Sector is ‘Doing Fine’??

On Friday, President Obama inexplicably said ‘The private sector is doing fine.'” Since the president is completely out of touch, these middle class workers talked about their experiences to remind him of the realities of the Obama economy.

Transcript
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What, Mr. President? The Private Sector is ‘Doing Fine’??”


CPAC Chicago, Part 4: Joe Walsh, Randy Hultgren, Straw Poll Results

-By Warner Todd Huston

Finally, in part four we’ll hear from two solid Illinois Congressmen, the 8th District’s Joe Walsh and Randy Hultgren of the 14th. We’ll also hear the, perhaps not startling results of the straw poll, the most important question from which was who Romney should pick for his vice presidential candidate (hint, the top picks weren’t any of his one-time rivals for the nomination).

Congressman Joe Walsh


Rep. Joe Walsh gins up the crowd

Joe Walsh of the Illinois 8th District is the one Congressman that the left wants to eliminate more than any other Republican Congressman. This is because Joe has carved out from among his fellows an outsized voice for conservatism. He appears regularly on TV and radio to tout the conservative message. But he’s become a major target of Democrat redistricting and now faces a tough challenge to be reelected in his newly reconfigured 8th District. Me, I think he can easily beat the know-nothing candidate the Democrats have put up against him, but Joe is taking nothing for granted.

One thing is sure, though, Joe Walsh knows how to get a conservative audience in motion.
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CPAC Chicago, Part 4: Joe Walsh, Randy Hultgren, Straw Poll Results”


CPAC Chicago, Part 3: Bobby Jindal, Peter Roskam, Michele Bachman

-By Warner Todd Huston

In part three of our series we’ll take a look at the speeches of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Illinois Congressman Peter Roskam, and Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota. Bachmann’s speech was quite interesting for its singular focus on a particular jihad-supporting Muslim group that is operating in America today. Bachmann was vehement that Obama ban this group.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal


Gov. Bobby Jindal on the main stage

Jindal is another favorite of the greater conservative movement. He has a very compelling story of immigrant parents that came to America to become part of this great nation to finally see their little son become the most powerful man in their adopted state. It’s the perfect American story, for sure.

Speaking of stories, Jindal has a lot of them especially where it concerns his involvement in the BP Oil spill from 2010. I’ve seen Jindal relate this tale several times and it is always a good one. His description of how the federal government was more interested in observing its silly OSHA than deal quickly with the emergency before them was telling and hilarious — though ultimately sad and infuriating. Since this is standard stump speech stuff of Jindal’s, though, I did not Tweet that segment.

Like the others Jindal started praising the Walker win in Wisconsin. One of his funniest lines was that all the news people were proclaiming that the vote would be so close that it would be a long night for Wisconsin as they tallied the votes. But reality proved that the whole thing was over in a matter of hours with Walker’s landslide. Instead of it being a long night for Wisconsin, Jindal joked that it was instead a “long night at Obama headquarters in Chicago!”
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CPAC Chicago, Part 3: Bobby Jindal, Peter Roskam, Michele Bachman”


CPAC Chicago, Part 2: Richard Mourdock, Chris Christie, Herman Cain

-By Warner Todd Huston

In part two of my coverage of CPACs first Midwestern conference event, we will see some of the high spots of the floor speeches of Indiana Senate Candidate Richard Mourdock, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie – always a crowd favorite – and the redoubtable Herman Cain. Cain also visited the media room and I have video of that below the fold.

Indiana Senate Candidate Richard Mourdock

Richard Mourdock is the current Indiana State treasurer but he also just defeated long-time incumbent Senator Richard Lugar for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate from Indiana. He’ll face the Democrat come November. Mourdock has been widely touted as the insurgent Tea Party candidate that beat Lugar, the old line, establishment man.

“No one expected a lowly state treasurer could take out a 36-year Senator! But we DID,” Mourdock said triumphantly.

Mourdock also noted that Senator Chuck Schumer of New York has called him the “Hoosier headache.” Mourdock was rather proud of that appellation.
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CPAC Chicago, Part 2: Richard Mourdock, Chris Christie, Herman Cain”


CPAC Chicago, Wisconsin Praised, Obama Razed — Part One: Rick Santorum, Ron Johnson

-By Warner Todd Huston

Well, Friday evening, June 8, 2012, we marked the end of the first CPAC event held in Chicago and what a great event it was. The triumph in Wisconsin was on everyone’s mind but so was Obama’s dismal record. Not just dismal, but according to several speakers, even dangerous. The economy and the election of Romney were focal points but so was foreign policy this day. One theme, though, was constant: Obama has to go.

Because of other things going on and the several press availability sessions, I didn’t catch every speaker in the main hall, but I did hear the speeches of (in this order) former Senator Rick Santorum, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, Indiana Senate Candidate Richard Mourdock, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Illinois Representative Peter Roskam, Minnesota Representative Michelle Bachmann, and Illinois Representatives Joe Walsh and Randy Hultgren. I also heard and recorded the press availability sessions of Herman Caine, Peter Roskam, and Michelle Bachmann and I caught most of Kansas Representative Tim Huelskamp’s.

Other notables whose speeches I missed were Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, Heritage Foundation President Ed Feulner, and Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback.

The event was a great success with well over 2,000 participants, all seats filled for the most part during the speeches and some great groups like the United Republican Fund, the Illinois Policy Institute, the Heartland Institute, Champion News, and others hosting and participating.

I’ll say a few words about the speakers I did see in the order I saw them and I’ll do this in a few installments so that this won’t be one long, overly taxing post. Now, as each of these speakers appeared before us I live Tweeted their comments, so the following quotes are pulled from my Twitter feed.

But before I do that, each speaker was quite enthusiastic over the win of Governor Scott Walker who defeated an effort by the far left and their union overlords to recall him in Wisconsin. Each speaker praised Walker and crowed about the left’s loss in there. I won’t regurgitate the Wisconsin hunk of each speaker as they were pretty much all the same; exuberant. The essential point was that we are all cheeseheads now.

Rick Santorum


Rick Santorum on the main stage

Former Pennsylvania Senator and recent GOP Presidential candidate Rick Santorum gave one of his well-crafted, typically workman-like speeches. One of Santorum’s early points was that America is at a “tipping point” and we’d better be there to tip it in the right direction.
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CPAC Chicago, Wisconsin Praised, Obama Razed — Part One: Rick Santorum, Ron Johnson”


Equal Pay? More Like Special Payoffs to Trial Lawyers

-By Warner Todd Huston

Democrats and left-wing activists have lately been pushing the idea of “equal pay” for women in an attempt to find some issue that would take attention away from the horrible economic record of the Obama administration as the campaign for the White House heats up. But who really benefits from this push? Trial lawyers, of course.

This week the Democrats tried to float the “Paycheck Fairness Act,” but it failed in the Senate in a 52-47 vote.

So what would this act do? As Andrew Stiles reports:

The “Paycheck Fairness Act” would have established unlimited punitive damage claims in class action lawsuits filed against employers in instances of alleged gender discrimination. The chief beneficiaries of the bill, experts told the Washington Free Beacon, would not have been female workers but the lawyers and law firms that would litigate the lucrative lawsuits made possible by its passage.

Naturally trial lawyers have given more than $230 million to federal political candidates with the largest amount going to Democrats — $132 million to Senate democrats alone.
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Equal Pay? More Like Special Payoffs to Trial Lawyers”


Prediction: Media Will Dismiss Walker Win as Meaningless

-By Warner Todd Huston

As I write this it is only hours before the polls in Wisconsin open to take votes for the Walker recall effort. Polling data says that Walker will likely win this election, though the media spin this as a “close” thing. Whether Walker will win or not I won’t guess on the eve of voting day, but one thing I can say for a fact is that if Walker does win this election the media will claim that the election is meaningless as to any greater import to the 2012 election cycle.

That’s right, if Scott Walker retains his governorship, the media will suddenly find that this recall election really doesn’t mean a thing.

Now, this is a far different narrative as we stand pre-election day. The media has been calling this election an important bellwether for unionism. They have said that this election has excited unions and driven them to the streets in an important show of unanimity.

The election has also been called a trial run for the November presidential election one that might act as a guidepost of what will happen with Obama vs. Romney.
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Prediction: Media Will Dismiss Walker Win as Meaningless”


Racine Tea Party Rally for Scott Walker/Kleefisch (Also Paul Ryan, Dana Loesch, Tony Katz, More)

-By Warner Todd Huston

This morning I got up bright and early, jumped into the car and took a drive up into Wisconsin to witness the Racine Tea Party rally in support of Wisc. Governor Scott Walker. Speakers included the lovely Rebecca Kleefisch (Wis. Lt. Gov.), Rep. Paul Ryan, State Senator Van Wanggaard, Talk Show Host Tony Katz, Breitbart Editor Dana Loesch and more.


Racine Tea Party Main Stage

It was a beautifully sunny day, perfect temperature, a nice breeze swept over those 3,000 or more gathered, and, in fact, you couldn’t ask for a better out doors experience. But beyond the wonderful weather was the upbeat enthusiasm bubbling up from crowd and speakers alike. This was no down in the dumps group. They were ebullient and thrilled to be out and active for the conservative cause.


The crowd as seen from the main stage


Sign: “Republicans are Makers Democrats are Takers”

This recall election is a total sham. For one thing it is practically illicit. The Democrats never gave Walker a chance to do anything before claiming he needed to be recalled for cause. They’ve abused the recall law, too. Officials are supposed to be recalled for malfeasance in office, not mere political temper tantrums. One way to prove that these leftists violated the spirit of the law is the recall Walker website was registered the same day Walker was elected!

Yet, curiously enough there was no hate spewed — though certainly opposition expressed. There was also no upside down American flags, no communist propaganda, no signs with anyone called “Hitler,” and on top of all that there wasn’t a scrap of garbage left on the ground after everyone left. Not much like an Occupy Whatever rally, eh?

The morning started with the Americans For Prosperity bus pulling in and a short address by AFP President Tim Phillips who was introduced by California talk show host Tony Katz. Katz also emceed the later Racine rally, as well.
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Racine Tea Party Rally for Scott Walker/Kleefisch (Also Paul Ryan, Dana Loesch, Tony Katz, More)”


Rock-N-Roller Confronted With Capitalism

-By Warner Todd Huston

Jack White recently of the band The White Stripes has realized something important, capitalism works. At least it works when properly approached and with the release of several special vinyl albums he is trying to do it right, much to the consternation of some of his cheapskate fans.

As it happens, Mr. White is part of Third Man Records label, a company that produces special pressings on vinyl for the collectors market. But, seeing as how they are both limited and collectors editions, they aren’t cheap. This has apparently made some of his fans mad.

With a price tag of upwards to $300 a piece, some fans have claimed Jack White is ripping them off. But Mr. White begs to differ. He says there is no reason why he should sell these collectors items at cheap prices just so that ebay speculators can buy up a large number of them only to go online and flip them for two, three, or more times as much as the original purchase.
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Rock-N-Roller Confronted With Capitalism”


New Fox Business Network Show: Money With Melissa Francis

-By Warner Todd Huston

A new show is soon to debut on Fox Business Network. The new show, Money With Melissa Francis, will premiere on June 4 at 5PM/ET featuring Melissa Francis, recently of CNBC.

Francis was dubbed the “The Empress of Energy” by the New York Post for her reporting of the commodities market live from the floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange. In a recent interview Francis talked about that incident.

I traveled around the world covering OPEC and anything related to energy, and got the Saudi oil minister to go on camera for the first time in as long as anyone could remember, so the Post did a fun article that I still have somewhere.

Melissa Francis will work to break all the day’s top financial stories and will discuss in depth how they impact our country, our markets, investors, and decision makers.
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New Fox Business Network Show: Money With Melissa Francis”


EU’s Regulated Mobile Prices Higher than US Competitive Mobile Prices

-By Scott Cleland

The EU’s latest round of mobile price regulation provides a golden opportunity to show how market competition produces much better results for consumers than government price regulation. Ironically, the European Parliament voted this week to lower mobile roaming charges by mid-2014 to levels that will still be much higher than America’s competitive wireless market prices are today.

Per New York Times reports, the EU mandated price for making a roaming mobile voice call will be reset from 35 cents a minute today to 19 cents a minute by mid-2014, and the price for receiving a roaming mobile voice call will be reset from 11 cents a minute today to 5 cents by mid-2014. Putting this in perspective, Recon Analytics’ research shows that Americans pay 4.9 cents a minute vs. 16.7 cents a minute for Europeans — ~70% less; and because of these dramatically lower American wireless prices, Americans consumers use more than twice as much wireless as Europeans, 875 minutes of use per month vs. 418 minutes for Europeans. Simply, the EU’s ~50% mandated price reductions will still have European consumers paying much more for mobile usage even if one incorrectly were to assume that competition won’t further lower the market price for American consumers like it has every year.
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EU’s Regulated Mobile Prices Higher than US Competitive Mobile Prices”


Rage in the Illinois House

-By Warner Todd Huston

Illinois House Rep Mike Bost (R, Murphysboro) came to his wits end over the last second introduction of a pension reform bill by House Speaker Michael Madigan (D). The bill was introduced only minutes before Madigan wanted to force the House to vote on the bill. As the bill was introduced, Bost went nuts on the floor screaming and throwing papers in a rage.

“These damn bills that come out here all the damn time, come out here at the last second!” Bost yelled. “I’ve got to figure out how to vote for my people!”

Bost’s biggest complaint is the fact that for years only one man has had total control over the entire state. That one person would be Democrat House Speaker Mike Madigan.
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Rage in the Illinois House”