OVERCOMPLICATED TRADING

Human tends to over-complicate things. It is in our nature to try and improve what we have but most of the time we overcomplicated things and forget about the simple solution.

In my previous post, I posted a chart of a basic system. It consist of candle stick chart, moving average and macd. Only 3 indicators and it is a very simple system rite?

The answer is, it is not so simple actually. Candle stick alone tell you 4 things that is, open, close, high and low price. MA tells you direction of trend, entry point, start and end of trend. Macd tell you trend, entry point, reversal point.

From only 3 indicators there are actually 11 information cramp into that small chart. Too much info and decision making is a hard job. Though i filter comments, no one has actually ask about the amount of information on chart. It seems people can accept 11 information at once. Can you manage 11 input at once and make a decision out of it??

Trading is actually much simpler. It is actually possible to make profit with only 1 information. Believe it or not??

OVERCOMPLICATED TRADING

Human tends to over-complicate things. It is in our nature to try and improve what we have but most of the time we overcomplicated things and forget about the simple solution.

In my previous post, I posted a chart of a basic system. It consist of candle stick chart, moving average and macd. Only 3 indicators and it is a very simple system rite?

The answer is, it is not so simple actually. Candle stick alone tell you 4 things that is, open, close, high and low price. MA tells you direction of trend, entry point, start and end of trend. Macd tell you trend, entry point, reversal point.

From only 3 indicators there are actually 11 information cramp into that small chart. Too much info and decision making is a hard job. Though i filter comments, no one has actually ask about the amount of information on chart. It seems people can accept 11 information at once. Can you manage 11 input at once and make a decision out of it??

Trading is actually much simpler. It is actually possible to make profit with only 1 information. Believe it or not??

Illinois Dems roll out congressional map that clobbers GOP

Crain's Chicago Business reports:

a state that now has 11 Republicans and eight Democrats in the House is likely to have as many as 12 Democrats under the new map

Never has been losing a House seat so much fun for the Democrat party.

Video: CNNs Jack Cafferty slams Obama for trip to Europe during tornadoes; WaPo blasts Obama on Israel policy

Obama's trip overseas is a total disaster. He screwed up a toast to the Queen of England, screwed up relations with Israel, and looked like a buffoon in both instances. Which he is. The timing of his trip wasn't so good either. CNN's Jack Cafferty on Obama's trip:

And then there is the Washington Post, no bastion of conservatism to say the least. In this piece by Jennifer Rubin (HT: memeorandum), she all but calls Obama a complete moron: In Britain Obama repeats his error on Israel

President Obama is in Europe, supposedly trying to dissuade the Europeans from participating in the Palestinians’ attempt to gain statehood without offering peace to Israel. At his press conference he, no surprise to his critics, revealed he really doesn’t have a clue how to proceed when he described the major issues between the parties...

Alan Dershowitz points out the key error that Obama made on the Middle East policy, one so fundamental one can only imagine it was his idea rather than anyone with a modicum of experience in the Middle East. Dershowitz explains:

There is no way that Israel can agree to borders without the Palestinians also agreeing to give up any claim to a “right of return.” As Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad Salaam once told me: each side has a major card to play and a major compromise to make; for Israel, that card is the West Bank, and the compromise is returning to the 1967 lines with agreed-upon adjustments and land swaps; for the Palestinians, that card is “the right of return,” and the compromise is an agreement that the Palestinian refugees will be settled in Palestine and not in Israel; in other words, that there will be no right to “return” to Israel.

President Obama’s formulation requires Israel to give up its card and to make a “wrenching compromise” by dismantling most of the West Bank settlements and ending its occupation of the West Bank. But it does not require the Palestinians to give up their card and to compromise on the right of return. That “extraordinarily emotional” issue is to be left to further negotiations only after the borders have been agreed to.

That is what has gotten sophisticated observers, including Democrats, on Capitol Hill so riled up...

It’s not some misunderstanding about Obama’s position on the 1967 lines, unfortunately. No, this is the same pattern that has driven American Jewish leaders and pro-Israel congressmen to distraction for over two years, as Dershowitz notes:

Once again, President Obama, by giving the Palestinians more than they asked for, has made it difficult, if not impossible, for the Palestinians to compromise. Earlier in his administration, Obama insisted that Israel freeze all settlement building, despite the fact that the Palestinians had not demanded such action as a precondition to negotiating. He forced the Palestinians to impose that as a precondition, because no Palestinian leader could be seen as less pro-Palestinian than the American President. Now he’s done it again, by not demanding that the Palestinians give up their right of return as a quid for Israel’s quo of returning to the 1967 borders with agreed-upon land swaps.

Democrats are loath to admit the president doesn’t know what he is doing, so they are left trying to convince themselves and others that this is a fuss about nothing. The most honest defense I heard from a pro-Israel Democratic staffer was to acknowledge that Obama had made mincemeat out of the “peace process” but to remind me that talks aren’t going anywhere anyway. In essence, “no harm, no foul” and look at all the hardware and military support we’ve given Israel

So at best, Obama is incompetent and doesn't know what eth heck he's doing. At worst, he does know and is doing it anyway. In either case, it's bad.

Taxpayers Pay For This Big Doubledipper (Video)

Illinois Review
 

Video: DC Liberals Sign Petition to Ban Conservative Websites

Via the Media Research Center on YouTube:

After hearing news the other day that the Obama administration had appointed a new position to monitor and push back against negative online press we thought some liberals in DC might think it wasn't enough. So we sent Joe Schoffstall out to see just how far liberals would go to silence conservative speech. Joe went around Georgetown in DC with a petition to "Ban Conservative Hate Sites". Here is what went down.

You can see what's to come from a mile away, even if you're blind:

So much for that whole 1st amendment thing, eh? That is just so... progressive of them, no?

GOP presidential hopefuls shift on global warming

USA Today

NPR Ombudsman Finally Questions Soros Funding

AIM

WP Reporter Harold Meyerson Explains His Commitment to Socialism (Video)

Harold Meyerson, who's a columnist at the Washington Post, and a leader of the Democratic Socialists of America explains his commitment to socialism. Just a reminder, Harold Meyerson is a leader of an extremist group that clearly wants to get rid of private property:

We are socialists because we reject an international economic order sustained by private profit

So, don't be fooled by Meyerson's misleading statements on socialism. You can't have private property without a private profits.

Mayor Bloomberg releases redacted taxes, details gifting

The New York Post

Coming To You Soon: Your Own Online Music Locker, Courtesy of Apple

TPM

Good news: Top tax rate to jump to 62%

The Founding Fathers set up a system where we live under the law, rather than the whims of man. In that regard, teh federal government was supposed to be by design limited. And it was until the 1930s when entitlements came into being despite their being unconstitutional. We no longer live under a limited government, and I'd like to see someone claim we do when that government steals 62% of the fruits of your labor: A 62% Top Tax Rate?

Media reports in recent weeks say that Senate Democrats are considering a 3% surtax on income over $1 million to raise federal revenues. This would come on top of the higher income tax rates that President Obama has already proposed through the cancellation of the Bush era tax-rate reductions.

If the Democrats' millionaire surtax were to happen—and were added to other tax increases already enacted last year and other leading tax hike ideas on the table this year—this could leave the U.S. with a combined federal and state top tax rate on earnings of 62%. That's more than double the highest federal marginal rate of 28% when President Reagan left office in 1989. Welcome back to the 1970s.

Here's the math behind that depressing calculation. Today's top federal income tax rate is 35%. Almost all Democrats in Washington want to repeal the Bush tax cuts on those who make more than $250,000 and phase out certain deductions, so the effective income tax rate would rise to about 41.5%. The 3% millionaire surtax raises that rate to 44.5%.

But payroll taxes, which are income taxes on wages and salaries, must also be included in the equation. So we have to add about 2.5 percentage points for the payroll tax for Medicare (employee and employer share after business deductions), which was applied to all income without a ceiling in 1993 as part of the Clinton tax hike. I am including in this analysis the employer share of all payroll taxes because it is a direct tax on a worker's salary and most economists agree that though employers are responsible for collecting this tax, it is ultimately borne by the employee. That brings the tax rate to 47%.

Then last year, as part of the down payment for ObamaCare, Congress snuck in an extra 0.9% Medicare surtax on "high-income earners," meaning any individual earning more than $200,000 or couples earning more than $250,000. This brings the total tax rate to 47.9%.

But that's not all. Several weeks ago, Mr. Obama raised the possibility of eliminating the income ceiling on the Social Security tax, now capped at $106,800 of earnings a year. (Never mind that the program was designed to operate as an insurance system, with each individual's payment tied to the benefits paid out at retirement.) Subjecting all wage and salary income to Social Security taxes would add roughly 10.1 percentage points to the top tax rate. This takes the grand total tax rate on each additional dollar earned in America to about 58%.

Then we have to factor in state income taxes, which on average add after the deductions from the federal income tax roughly another four percentage points to the tax burden. So now on average we are at a tax rate of close to 62%.

More from The Lonely Conservative and Wake up America. A video report:

Right back to the 1970's. So perhaps Chris Matthews really is the prophet that he fancies himself as being:Video: Chris Matthews Calls Obama ‘President Carter’

Blagojevich judge dismisses some defense arguments in 'an ironic and jocular tone of voice'

The Chicago Sun-Times

State Tax Collections Increase by 9.1% in the First Quarter, Largest Annual Gain in Almost Five Years

Carp Diem

The Art of The Steal - Official Trailer

YouTube. Please watch the trailer down below. This is a disturbing story.

Audio of Rosie O'Donnell: Global Warming Causing Deadly Tornadoes

Well, that didn't take long. The authorities barely had time to release the names of the missing people in Missouri after the killer tornado, dead people's bodies were still warm, and Rosie O'Donnell jumped onto the scene to claim that that particular tornado was caused by... global warming!

Too much snow was blamed on global warming after the same alarmists claimed there would be less. No matter what the weather does, it's due to global warming. Via The Radio Equalizer.

MA solves education problem: iPads for kindergartners

Deficit? What deficit? Taxechusetts has solved the crisis of education costs skyrocketing while test scores are simultaneously plummeting: buy iPads for 5 year olds. Uh - what? The heck is a 5-year old going to do with an iPad exactly? Watch episodes of Dora?

Keep you kids home. Homeschool. You'll be happy, your kids will be happy.

How Democrat Michelle Rhee Went From School Voucher Opponent to Advocate

Breitbart T.V.

Court: Dearborn violated free speech rights of Christians it arrested

An update from last year's post on this issue: 4 arrested for being Christians on public street in Dearborn arraigned on charges of "disturbing the peace". In Dearborn - aka Dearbornistan - it is considered 'disturbing the peace' to be standing on a public street proclaiming that you are a Christian. Here's the description from Dearborn authorities via The Detroit News last year:

...the four "chose to escalate their behavior, which appeared well-orchestrated and deliberate"

Of what behavior do they speak? Here's the video for some background:

Watch the above video again. They were outside the festival. And their camera equipment was confiscated when they were arrested. Yesterday, a federal appeals court smacked Dearborn something fierce for the gastopo tactics: Dearborn violated free speech rights, Appeals Court rules

A federal appeals court today invalidated a leafleting ban in Dearborn, ruling the city violated a man's free-speech rights when he was blocked from trying to convert Muslims to Christianity.

The 2-1 decision by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sends the case back to federal court in Detroit, where the city and Police Chief Ronald Haddad could be held liable for damages.

George Saieg, a Christian Arab American from California, sued Dearborn for being prevented in 2009 from handing out literature at the annual Arab International Festival on Warren Avenue. The festival will be held again next month.

The appeals court today said the city's ban is not reasonable and that the city and Haddad violated Saieg's First Amendment right to freedom of speech.

"Absent an injunction, Saieg will continue to suffer irreparable injury for which there is no adequate remedy at law," the court concluded.

Hopefully, the City will pay and furthermore will stop persecuting Christians. More from Answering Muslims: Free Speech Victory in Dearborn, Michigan!

Maybe I shouldn't say "in" Dearborn, since the city only sought to suppress free speech in this case. An outside court (the United States Court of Appeals) had to impose Constitutional law on the city.

Dearborn hosts an annual Arab Festival on Warren Avenue. During the festival, the street is reserved, but the adjacent sidewalks are not reserved and therefore remain public property. Hence, prior to 2009, many people would distribute pamphlets, DVDs, CDs, etc., on the public sidewalks. However, when Ronald Haddad took over as Chief of Police, he announced that no one would be allowed to distribute materials on the public sidewalks. Indeed, he insisted that no one would be allowed to distribute materials within five blocks of the festival. (He justified his decision by claiming that he needed to keep the area clear for pedestrian traffic.)

From a Constitutional perspective, this was quite disturbing, as the government was officially limiting free speech on public sidewalks. Moreover, those of us who attended the festival noticed that security only enforced the policy on Christians. Muslims remained free to distribute their materials.

...Lower courts had ruled in favor of Dearborn (i.e. that Dearborn police could stop people from exercising their freedom of speech on the public sidewalks adjacent to the festival). The appeals court reversed the decision on Constitutional grounds.

In 2009 these same people were attacked at the Muslim festival:

Federal judge rules corporate donation bans unconstitutional

Hot Air

Rick Perry Says He Will Consider White House Run

The Statesman reports:

Gov. Rick Perry today gave his strongest indication yet that he may run for president.
“I’m going to think about it” after the legislative session ends Monday, Perry said. He added, “But I think about a lot of things.”
For years, Perry has said that he would not run for president and that he had no interest in the job. He has often said that he has said no to the presidential question in as many ways as he could.
But he and his advisers have inched closer to saying he may run all week, following the announcement that Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels would not enter the GOP field. A couple of days ago, he told Greta Van Susteren on Fox News that a run was tempting.

The GOP's strongest potential candidate , right now.

We knew that: Barney Frank admits to helping gay lover land job at Fannie Mae ’91

Barney Frank isn't just any run of the mill Democrat hypocrite. This the the alpha hypocrite. From the memory hole: Barney Frank 2003: "Fannie, Freddie not in crisis." Barney Frank 2010: I never said that and YouTube doesn't exist. Barney Frank was by the way having a gay affair with a Fannie Mae executive while he and the Democrats attacked the regulator of the giant GSEs when they were trying to regulate them, squelched all 17 warnings coming from Bush. The rest, as they say, is history. An amoral one at that. Speaking of, more on that Fannie Mae/gay lover angle from The Boston Herald: Barney Frank knocked on his Fannie

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank admitted he helped his ex-lover land a lucrative post with Fannie Mae in the early 1990s while the Newton Democrat was on a committee that regulated the lending giant — but he called questions of a potential ethical conflict “nonsense.”

Imagine that...

“If it is (a conflict of interest), then much of Washington is involved (in conflicts),” Frank told the Herald last night. “It is a common thing in Washington for members of Congress to have spouses work for the federal government. There is no rule against it at all.”

...Asked if he should have disclosed his efforts to help Moses land the job at Fannie Mae, Frank said: “It was widely known. It was out there in the public. It’s nonsense.”

The GOP wasted no time, nor should they have:

“Just when you think you’ve heard the worst, Democrats in Massachusetts take shameless politics to a new low,” said Tory Mazzola, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. “The fact that Barney Frank didn’t see this as a conflict of interest is alarming by itself, but it’s so deceitful that it really shows voters that he’s not looking out for them in Washington.”

Recently there was this case of projection involving Frank: Barney Frank Calls Republicans Morally Stupid Bigots. Frank himself was at the top of the list of those that caused the mortgage meltdown:

Barney Frank - always looking out for his own Fannie.

UPDATE: Via Instapundit:

NOW IT’S BARNEY FRANK’S MOM who — well, whose group — turns out to have gotten Fannie Mae money.

Houston Overtakes Chicago as United's Number 1 Hub

USA Today reports:

It may surprise many travelers to learn that, after 80 years of supreme reign, Chicago is no longer United Airlines' biggest hub. According to Chicago ABC affiliate television station WLS, with Continental and United Airlines joining forces, Houston now claims the distinction of being the new, combined United Airlines' largest hub.

Not only has Houston outgunned Chicago for the No. 1 spot, United's management and Houston's mayor announced a $1 billion expansion and terminal renovation project this week, according to WLS.

"Chicago's hometown airline is still headquartered here with 3,000 jobs," says WLS, but "Chicago O'Hare operates 607 United flights per day, edged out by Houston's 630 each day, giving it the honor of biggest hub."

Another sign of Chicago's decline.

Rand Paul’s Passionate Speech Against the Patriot Act

The Blaze

Flashback: Rockefeller- Bush-Eugenics Connection

Exploring Bush

Fannie, Freddie regulator criticizes FOIA bill

Marketwatch reports:

The regulator for government seized mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Wednesday afternoon took issue with a Republican bill that would subject the two firms to new Freedom of Information Act transparency.

CA elementary school castrates Nemo the Clownfish, indoctrinates kids about being transgendered

Dude - what's my gender???

Folks - keep your kids home. Homeschool has not only been rewarding for my wife and I, but our kids have blossomed. And neither of us have any formal training whatsoever in elementary education, which says a lot about where elementary ed is at this point in time. Gone are the days when teachers used to drill kids in math, writing and reading. Welcome to the days when actual useful ed is replaced by "gender diversity."Via memeorandum: Transgender Clownfish? Gender Diversity Lesson at California School Riles Critics

A gender diversity lesson at a California elementary school that featured single-sex geckos and transgender clownfish has angered conservative critics, who question its appropriateness for in-class instruction.

Students in all grades at Oakland's Redwood Heights Elementary School got an introductory lesson on the topic on Monday. Fox News was allowed to sit in on the lessons, which included teachings to kindergartners and fourth-graders.

The lessons were presented by an outside anti-bullying educational group called Gender Spectrum, paid for with a $1,500 grant from the California Teachers Union.

Shocker that the teachers union was involved in indoctrinating children into deviancy, no? Instead of math, the kids are being subjected to inculcation including that there are different ways to be a boy:

The Government's War on Cameras

Reason T.V.

Obama's Millions for Fannie, Freddie Executives

The Daily Beast reports:

Over the last two years, the Obama administration has approved a whopping $34.4 million in compensation to the top six executives of the financially troubled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage giants, and lacks the necessary protections to ensure such compensation is even warranted.

The largesse flowed to the six executives even though the two companies they run struggle to staunch billions of dollars in losses, remain in government conservatorship, and must compensate taxpayers for assuming the companies’ liabilities during the mortgage crisis. To compensate taxpayers, Fannie and Freddie are tapping Treasury Department funds to pay required 10 percent dividends each quarter to the U.S. government.

Barack Obama believes in subsidizing the inefficient: in style.

Blagojevich Was Not Alone in Illinois Political Corruption

The Chicago Daily Observer reports:

Today, many of Blagojevich’s former friends and playmates deny knowing him or they are keeping their distance. Erstwhile friends such De Leo, Saviano, Quinn and so many others have vanished or suffered selective forms of political amnesia. Another former member of the Illinois State Senate, Barack H. Obama, used to count Blagojevich and the political wheeler dealer Antonin “Tony” Rezko as his friends and allies. President Obama, US Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-9th) and the newly elected Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel used to actively court Blagojevich when they were attempting to climb the rungs of the political ladder or seeking favors. Emanuel and his family members actually contributed to Blagojevich’s campaign fund on a reliable basis. Schakowsky, herself, sought to be named to the US Senate vacancy.

These opportunistic relationships soured when Obama’s career eclipsed that of Blagojevich and when the governor was impeached and removed from office. Nevertheless, there are numerous examples of both Emanuel and Obama trying to elbow their way into photographs in order to stand in close proximity to Blagojevich when they were absolute beginners and he was the established careerist. Emanuel actually succeeded Blagojevich in Congress in 2002 when the Elvis impersonator vacated the seat to run for the Governor’s Mansion. During that campaign and in the early stages of his Congressional career, Emanuel was all over Blagojevich like white on rice. Both men lived within one mile of each other in Chicago, an easy jog for Blago, until Emanuel foolishly made an estimated $80,000.00 legal mistake and rented his principal residence to tenants in 2009. In any event, it was not an accident that Emanuel was chosen to serve as the President-elect’s emissary when suggestions were made as to suitable appointees to the vacant US Senate seat. Blago and Rahm were political allies at one time and their relationship was viewed as the closest to being salvageable before the US Attorney came a calling.

Who could forget the video of Obama endorsing Blago down below?

Berkeley Unified School District was ranked among the worst in California for serving African American, Hispanic and low-income students, according to a recent study by Education Trust-West

The Daily Californian reports:

The Berkeley Unified School District was ranked among the worst in California for serving African American, Hispanic and low-income students, according to a recent study by Education Trust-West, an advocacy group based in Oakland.

The study, released April 27, gathered Academic Performance Index scores of students from 146 California school districts across the state. The districts were then ranked based on a combination of college-readiness, improvement of scores over time and gaps in achievement between white and minority students.

The school district was given a “D” overall, along with several other East Bay districts, and received an “F” for a wide achievement gap — coming in at 125 out of 126 schools measured in that category.

Doesn't Berkeley care about educating minorities? A truly great moment in Blue America.

Video: Fmr Clinton Adviser Walks Off Set Amid Heated Debate

The aftermath after this story broke: Video: Hot Mic Catches Clinton Hoping Dems Don't Use NY-26 Victory "As An Excuse To Do Nothing". The topic came up in a Fox News segment, and a former Clinton adviser ended up storming off:

The guy claimed 3 times that the GOP plan would kill senirs and then insisted that that was not fear mongering. This from the party that pulled $500 BILLION from Medicare to pay for ObamaCare.

Where's Tony Rezko?

The Washington Examiner

Irony: DNC Chair Wasserman Schultz Blasts GOP For Favoring Foreign Car Makers, Herself Drives Foreign Car

Ed Schultz was right about one thing before being suspended without pay for calling Laura Ingraham a slut - DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz is an utter joke. Apparently she can't see past the current political attack, even though she does what she accuses the other side of doing. Via memeorandum: DNC chairwoman doesn't drive American

The chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) appears to drive a foreign car, despite criticizing Republican presidential candidates for supposedly favoring foreign auto manufacturers.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the chairwoman of the DNC, ripped into Republican presidential contenders who opposed President Obama's 2009 bailouts for General Motors and Chrysler.

"If it were up to the candidates for president on the Republican side, we would be driving foreign cars; they would have let the auto industry in America go down the tubes," she said at a breakfast for reporters organized by The Christian Science Monitor.

But according to Florida motor vehicle records, the Wasserman Schultz household owns a 2010 Infiniti FX35, a Japanese car whose parent company is Nissan, another Japanese company. The car appears to be hers, since its license plate includes her initials.

For her part, Wasserman-Schultz is a contradiction in and of herself: Idiotic: Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) OK with "Bush Tax Cuts", but wants term "ObamaCare" banned from House floor. More from  Weasel Zippers and RedState

UPDATE: DNC chief attacks GOP field on American ‘exceptionalism’. And how's this for irony from a pro-abort (statistically, half of aborted babies are female): DNC Chair: Republicans Are Waging a ‘War on Women’. More from Nice Deb, Gateway Pundit and American Spectator

‘The View’: it’s AOK to Call Women ‘Slut’

I guarantee this would not be the case had this been Sean Hannity rather than liberal Ed Schultz:

Ex-Fannie executive defends Barney Frank:Says pol didn’t have ‘influence’ in former lover’s hire

The Boston Herald reports:

The Fannie Mae executive who hired U.S. Rep. Barney Frank’s former lover was a campaign donor and once worked for the congressman — but denies the Newton Democrat’s recommendation played a role in the controversial 1991 hiring.

Gerald McMurray, a retired Fannie Mae senior vice president, told the Herald yesterday that Frank “didn’t have any influence” in the hiring of the congressman’s former companion, Herb Moses, to a position with the mortgage giant.

It makes you feel much better about Fannie.

Senate GOP blocks recess appointments

Politico

Dearborn violated free speech rights, Appeals Court rules

The Detroit News reports:

A federal appeals court today invalidated a leafleting ban in Dearborn, ruling the city violated a man's free-speech rights when he was blocked from trying to convert Muslims to Christianity.

The 2-1 decision by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sends the case back to federal court in Detroit, where the city and Police Chief Ronald Haddad could be held liable for damages.

Some people like the free market in speech.

Why Public Transportation Can't Work In America

New Geography reports on how public transportation isn't the future of America.

Video: Hot Mic Catches Clinton Hoping Dems Don't Use NY-26 Victory "As An Excuse To Do Nothing"

The Dems know that Medicare is bankrupt. The know it, but are choosing to do nothing about it on account of scoring cheap political points. In a candid moment, a hot mic gets Bill Clinton speaking the truth:

Video: Manhole Cover 'Dances' in Detroit

It's been very wet here in the Detroit area for a few weeks now. So much so that the storm sewers have such a high water flow that pressure gradients significant enough to lift manhole covers have appeared, such as this one:

Video: DNC Chair Wasserman Schultz Claims that by stealing $500 Billion From Medicare, Dems Added 12 Years of Solvency to It

Wasserman-Schultz, like other Democrats, overwhelmingly voted for ObamaCare that, in part, diverted $500 billion from Medicare to fund ObamaCare. Now she claims that the theft of half a trillion dollars from the program is extending it? Yup:

With that theft of the money, doctors are going to get their Medicare reimbursement rates cut substantially, which will lead to many doctors simply not taking Medicare patients at all. And this is going to help the program... how?

Video: Bill Clinton Tells Dems to Stop Playing Politics with Medicare, Defends Paul Ryan

For the first time in our history just entitlement spending by itself is greater than all federal tax revenues combined:

Instead of fixing the problem, the Democrats have punted, not even coming up with their own budget! Instead, they are content simply attacking, via demagoguery and demonization, the GOP that by the way did pass a budget. At least one Democrat is awake and seems to want to actually fix the problem rather than scoring cheap political points at the nations expense: President Clinton Tells Dems to Stop Playing Politics with Health Care

More here: Bill Clinton tells Democrats to do something about Medicare defends Paul Ryan

And via memeorandum: Bill Clinton to Paul Ryan on Medicare Election: ‘Give me a Call’.  More from Ann Althouse, Outside the Beltway, Fox Nation, Gateway Pundit, Don Surber, Ben Smith', The Lonely Conservative and National Review

Video: 2 Girl Scouts Assert Cookies Are Bad For Environment

This is the result of government education filling kids' heads with environmentalist crap rather than actual education:

Exit question: can the two girl scouts read, write and perform math at their grade level?

MI Teacher Rewarded With $135,000 For Threatened To Kill Herself and The Principal

In the real world, you get fired for something like this, thrown in the can and charged under the law. But in the artificial world propped up by thousand-page union contracts, you don't even get a slap on the wrist. Instead, you collect a bounty. From The Detroit News: Threaten the boss, win $135,000

...Upset at being suspended for two weeks for showing the R-rated movie "The Butterfly Effect" to an advanced psychology class without permission, Brown apparently went off her nut and threatened to kill herself and Principal Karl Heidrich.

Her threats were overheard by others who reported them to police.

In today's zero tolerance environment, a student who made such a threat would be expelled from school immediately, with little recourse for getting back in.

Brown, as a teacher, was placed on administrative leave, and her pay and benefits continued while school authorities figured out what to do.

What the district wanted to do, of course, is what any reasonable employer would do in that situation — fire the employee who made the threats in the interest of workplace safety.

But that's not such a simple decision when the employee is a teacher protected by both a union and tenure. The district, the Jackson Citizen Patriot reported, feared that getting rid of Brown the old-fashioned way would take months and a lot of cash.

The tenure law gives teachers the right to appeal a dismissal to the State Tenure Commission, a process that can take up to six months and cost $75,000. And the commission's decision can be appealed in court, adding to the cost and time consumed.

So Stockbridge instead entered into negotiations with Brown to convince her to leave voluntarily. Last month she did, with a $50,000 severance payout. When added to the pay and benefits earned while Brown was on leave, the cost to the district is $135,000.

For the union types that claim everything in that union contract is there to help educate the children, explain the above. Also, explain this that I posted on just recently: Video Report: Union’s ‘Last In, First Out’ Rule Forces Layoffs For Best and Brightest Teachers From Poor/Minority Schools

Exit question: how long before the above teacher is hired in Wisconsin?: The 'New Civility' (Cont'd): WI Teacher Charged With Sending Death Threats to GOP Lawmakers

Sharia In Germany: No Jail for Violent Child Rape - His Mom told him to do it

This is how far Germany has fallen, kowtowing to evil in letting violent child rape go unpunished:

The Obama Wreckovery: "Stubborn" Jobless Claims Still Keep On Climbing Higher

The establishment MSM continues to call the high jobless rate "stubborn" implying that something else is fighting the Obama policies and that it's not his fault. In fact, it is. 2 1/2 years after he pushed through the stimulus boondoggle after promising it would create 3.5 million NEW jobs and keep the unemployment under 8%, the unemployment rates continues to be above 9% (National Unemployment Rate At 9% More Than 2 Years After Obama Promised It Would Never Go Above 8%; Labor Participation Rate Still At All-Time Low) and 3 million jobs have been lost rather than gained. Welcome to the Obama wreckovery. Via memeorandum: Stubborn Jobless Claims Still Keep On Climbing Higher

The predictable result of liberal policies

New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly climbed to 424,000 last week from a revised 414,000 in the prior week, pointing to a painfully slow improvement in the nation's job markets.

The Labor Department on Thursday revised the prior week's claims number up from an originally reported 409,000.

Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast that claims last week would decline to 400,000, rather than rise.

The four-week moving average of unemployment claims, considered a better measure of trends since it smoothes out weekly variations, eased slightly to 438,500 from a revised 440,250.

Last week marked the seventh straight week in which claims topped the 400,000 level...

And from al Reuters: Corporate profits fall, jobless claims up. And Bloomberg: U.S. Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Climbed Last Week. After 2 1/2 years of economic disaster, how do they expect anything else?

UPDATE: Via drudge:

• Sale of seized homes at 28% -- 6 X normal...
• UPDATE: GDP 1.8%...

Video of Charles Krauthammer: How the Media Will Try to Help Re-elect Obama

The media ought to fill out tax forms with their advocacy of Obama as an in-kind contribution:

Via BreitbartTV. To the media, Obama is too big to fail. Speaking of the Obama voter: Rush Handles the Quintessential Obama Voter

Michael Moore: Since Obama "controls" car companies, he should force them to build trains, not cars

It it perhaps most ironic here that Moore wants to dismantle the auto industry, since he gained fame in the 'documentary' Roger and Me where he focused on the negative effect of supposed corporate greed on GM workers. After all, Moore has been caught calling cars "WMDs responsible for global warming". More along those lines in the current news: Michael Moore Urges Obama to Destroy the Automobile

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

"The auto thing is a good example too of where I wish Obama would just, if he would just ratchet it up another notch. Yes, he saved the jobs of all my friends back in Michigan. But now that we sort of control the car companies, let's get them doing mass transit. Let's get them doing things that are going to save this planet. Because the internal combustion engine is not going to get us to the 22nd century. That's just not going--we're not going to have a planet. That has to stop. And I just thought: gee, we have this power. You know, you can do things." -Michael Moore

So Moore only drives a bicycle and uses mass transit to get around, right? Yeah - I didn't think so. Exit question: if we ban the automobile and heavy equipment like bulldozers, what will Moore use to illegally fill in the wetlands at his luxurious mansion to expand his beech?

Irony: U.S. Transportation Sec rolls up in 7MPG SUV to unveil new fuel economy stickers

This is what Ray LaHood rolled up in to reveal the new fuel economy stickers:

From Jalopnik:

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood unveiled new fuel-economy window stickers for cars and trucks, saying "we're not just sitting around waiting for high gasoline prices to come down." His ride of choice to the unveiling: This 12-mpg Chevy Suburban SUV.

Except that it's not 12-mpg. For security reasons, bureaucrats at the highest level drive around in armored SUVs that are shielded from the possibility of EMPs (electromagnetic pulses) by replacing the fuel injection system with a carburetor. It gets 7-mpg. Maybe.

UPDATE: Sec. Ray LaHood: I'm Not In Favor of Vehicle Miles Traveled

Finally! MSNBC suspends Ed Schultz for calling Ingraham a 'slut'

I was wondering yesterday just what it would take for MSNBC to discipline Ed Schultz for spewing such vulgar hatred on the air: The 'New Civilty' (Cont'd): Ed Schultz Calls Laura Ingraham 'A Slut'. Praying for the death of Dick Cheney didn't do it:

“He is an enemy of the country, in my opinion. Dick Cheney is an enemy of the country….Lord, take him to the Promised Land, will you? See, I don’t even wish the guy goes to Hell, I just want to get him the hell out of here.”

Nor this:  Video: MSNBC's Ed Schultz: "We ought to rip (Cheney's heart) out and kick it around and stuff it back in him". Nor advocating voter fraud: Ed Shultz doubles down on stupid: "I’m not advocating voter fraud, I’m just telling you what I would do!" Nor his many meldowns accusing the GOP of murder: Latest Ed Shultz Meltdown: Republicans “Want to See You Dead…They Kinda Like It When That Woman Has Cancer”. Apparently calling Laura Ingraham a slut did: MSNBC suspends Schultz for calling Ingraham a 'slut'

"I could set the building on fire"

MSNBC has suspended Ed Schultz, host of the “The Ed Show,” for one week without pay for calling conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham a ‘right-wing slut’ on his syndicated radio program Tuesday.

Prior infractions that got noticed by MSNBC, including an obligatory threat to burn down MSNBC (something that I wrote about as well: Unhinged Ed Shultz threatens to burn down MSNBC studios! Then breaks down crying!):

...Page Six reported in August that he threatened to “torch this [bleep]ing place” after MSNBC failed to include him in election-night promos. Sources said that MSNBC brass threatened to fire him if he repeated the outburst, though MSNBC declined to comment on it at the time.

A month later, TV Newser reported that he was reprimanted by MSNBC brass for calling New Jersey Governor Chris Christie a “cold-hearted fat slob.”

Ed Schultz himself is big enough to have smaller big people in orbit around him (Irony: Obese Ed Shultz mocks obese Chris Christie for being fat (again!)). The irony. Goodbye Ed! You won't be missed!

UPDATE: The apology:

Rebuke: US Senate rejects Obama $3.7 Trillion budget 97-0

The establishment MSM is in whitewash mode, putting up headlines that the Senate rejected Paul Ryan's budget that was passed by the House by a margin of 40-57. Via Insty: Senate Rejects The Ryan Budget. But that's not the big news yesterday. The big news is that that same Senate rejected Obama's budget 97-0. 97-0! Not one single solitary Democrat voted for Obama's budget! From The Hill: Obama budget receives zero votes in Senate

No senators voted for President Obama's 2012 budget when it came up for a vote in the Senate Wednesday.

A procedural vote to move forward on the president's plan failed 0-97.

Just minutes earlier, the Senate failed to advance Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) budget plan by a vote of 40-57 as five Republicans voted against their party.

Why point out that 5 Republicans voted against the Ryan plan and not explicitly point out that 54 Democrats voted against Obama? So with Democrats rejecting both budgets, they sureley must have one of their own, right?

"The Senate just voted unanimously against proceeding to the president’s budget. That’s right, unanimous opposition to the president’s budget that spends too much, taxes too much and borrows too much," said Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) "Not a single Democrat voted for it. We’d vote on the Democrats’ budget, too ... but they don’t have one."

As Harry Reid had said: ‘Foolish’ for Democrats to offer budget plan. Political courage no full display, no?  s I have pointed out many times in this blog, the FY 2007 federal budget - the last one put together by Republicans - was $2.7 trillion. Since Pelosi and Reid took over, the federal budget is at $3.8 trillion, which Obama is trying to continue at that level. The deficit is entirely comprised of new Democrat spending since 2007.

Video: Storm Chasers Capture Incredible Video of Oklahoma Tornado

We are indeed mere specks on God's world: Storm Chasers Capture Incredible Video of Oklahoma Tornado

Plus: Tornado Causes Widespread Damage In Sedalia, MO; St. Louis Under Tornado Warning

In pics: Tornado-Devastated Joplin, MO, From Above

An update to the videos I posted yesterday: Harrowing 1st-Person Video of Joplin MO Tornado. Via memeorandum: Tornado-Damaged Joplin, From Above. All I can say is wow:

Plenty more pics at the link.

UPDATE:  Laura Ingraham: There Are Pictures of Devastation in Missouri, Then Obama Lifting Glass of Champaign

Bush would have been crucified in the media for the exact same thing.

DOJ files brief in support of health care reform law

[JURIST] The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] on Friday filed a brief [text, PDF] with the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit [official website], arguing that the health care reform law [HR 3590; JURIST news archive] is constitutional. In January, a judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida struck down the law [JURIST report] as a violation of the Commerce Clause [Cornell LII backgrounder] of the US Constitution. In its brief, the DOJ argued that the interstate health market can be regulated by Congress because it is fundamentally different from other markets due to the pervasive government involvement in health care spending. It also argued that the minimum coverage provision, which is the focus of the litigation, is constitutional because it regulates only economic activity, disputing the lower court's finding that failure to purchase health insurance could not be regulated as interstate commerce. Citing to the US Supreme Court case of Gonzales v. Raich [JURIST report], the brief argued that there only needed to be a rational basis [Cornell LII backgrounder] for Congress to believe that the regulated conduct substantially affects interstate commerce, which was met here.

Congress's findings and the legislative record leave no doubt that the minimum coverage provision—which regulates the way people pay for services in the interstate health care market—is a valid exercise of the commerce power under the standards established by the Supreme Court. It regulates activity that is commercial and economic in nature, and that substantially affects interstate commerce. First, Congress found that people who consume health care without insurance shift billions of dollars of costs annually to other participants in the interstate health care market. Second, Congress found that the minimum coverage provision is key to the viability of the Act's regulation of medical underwriting, which guarantees that everyone will be insurable regardless of illnesses or accidents.

The DOJ also argued that the law was constitutional as an exercise of Congress's taxing power, and that plaintiffs did not have standing to bring the suit in the first place. The Eleventh Circuit denied the petition for initial hearing en banc [JURIST report] in the appeal. The order confirmed that the appeal will nonetheless be expedited. Oral arguments are currently scheduled for June 8 before a randomly-selected three-judge panel. The identities of the panel members will not be disclosed until at least 14 days before the arguments. Last month, the Obama administration filed a brief with the court contesting the plaintiff states' request [JURIST report] to have the appeal heard by an en banc court. Last month, Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli filed a petition for a writ of certiorari [JURIST report] with the US Supreme Court asking the court to rule on the constitutionality of the law on an expedited basis, before the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit rules on the issue, but the Obama administration opposes the petition [JURIST report]. In January, a judge for the US District Court for the Western District of Virginia dismissed a lawsuit [JURIST report] challenging a provision of the health care reform law. In October, a federal judge in Michigan ruled that the law is constitutional [JURIST report] under the Commerce Clause as it addresses the economic effects of health care decisions, and that it does not represent an unconstitutional direct ta

DOJ files brief in support of health care reform law

[JURIST] The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] on Friday filed a brief [text, PDF] with the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit [official website], arguing that the health care reform law [HR 3590; JURIST news archive] is constitutional. In January, a judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida struck down the law [JURIST report] as a violation of the Commerce Clause [Cornell LII backgrounder] of the US Constitution. In its brief, the DOJ argued that the interstate health market can be regulated by Congress because it is fundamentally different from other markets due to the pervasive government involvement in health care spending. It also argued that the minimum coverage provision, which is the focus of the litigation, is constitutional because it regulates only economic activity, disputing the lower court's finding that failure to purchase health insurance could not be regulated as interstate commerce. Citing to the US Supreme Court case of Gonzales v. Raich [JURIST report], the brief argued that there only needed to be a rational basis [Cornell LII backgrounder] for Congress to believe that the regulated conduct substantially affects interstate commerce, which was met here.

Congress's findings and the legislative record leave no doubt that the minimum coverage provision—which regulates the way people pay for services in the interstate health care market—is a valid exercise of the commerce power under the standards established by the Supreme Court. It regulates activity that is commercial and economic in nature, and that substantially affects interstate commerce. First, Congress found that people who consume health care without insurance shift billions of dollars of costs annually to other participants in the interstate health care market. Second, Congress found that the minimum coverage provision is key to the viability of the Act's regulation of medical underwriting, which guarantees that everyone will be insurable regardless of illnesses or accidents.

The DOJ also argued that the law was constitutional as an exercise of Congress's taxing power, and that plaintiffs did not have standing to bring the suit in the first place. The Eleventh Circuit denied the petition for initial hearing en banc [JURIST report] in the appeal. The order confirmed that the appeal will nonetheless be expedited. Oral arguments are currently scheduled for June 8 before a randomly-selected three-judge panel. The identities of the panel members will not be disclosed until at least 14 days before the arguments. Last month, the Obama administration filed a brief with the court contesting the plaintiff states' request [JURIST report] to have the appeal heard by an en banc court. Last month, Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli filed a petition for a writ of certiorari [JURIST report] with the US Supreme Court asking the court to rule on the constitutionality of the law on an expedited basis, before the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit rules on the issue, but the Obama administration opposes the petition [JURIST report]. In January, a judge for the US District Court for the Western District of Virginia dismissed a lawsuit [JURIST report] challenging a provision of the health care reform law. In October, a federal judge in Michigan ruled that the law is constitutional [JURIST report] under the Commerce Clause as it addresses the economic effects of health care decisions, and that it does not represent an unconstitutional direct ta

Health Care’s Strain on Environment Could Be Less

A new study suggests health IT systems can help reduce negative impacts on the environment. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Norbert Kaiser

A Kaiser Permanente study into the use of health information technology concludes that electronic health records could lower carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 1.7 million tons if used across the whole U.S. population.
Health care-related activities contribute as much as 8 percent of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, but the study suggests this can be curtailed with greater adoption of technology within the healthcare system.
READ: Health Care Reform’s Eco Impact
The study also went in depth on Kaiser Permanente’s existing health IT systems. It found that the health insurance company saved 1,044 tons of paper for medical charts; reduced toxic chemicals by 33.3 tons from X-ray machines by digitizing and archiving scans; and saved up to 92,000 tons of CO2 emissions by replacing face-to-face patient visits with virtual ones.
In 2004, President Bush signed an executive order to establish this kind of technology in hospitals, not only for the environmental benefits, but also for the improved efficiency and economic value. A RAND Health study found that widespread adoption of health information technology could save the U.S. healthcare system $81 billion annually.
But until recently, adoption numbers have been low.
Last year, the top five medical groups, including Kaiser Permanente, banded together to create a patient information exchange consisting entirely of electronic health records.
Obama administration incentives, up to $44,000 per physician, may have helped spur the endeavor, but health information technology has a long way to go before all of the potential benefits are see

Health Care’s Strain on Environment Could Be Less

A new study suggests health IT systems can help reduce negative impacts on the environment. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Norbert Kaiser

A Kaiser Permanente study into the use of health information technology concludes that electronic health records could lower carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 1.7 million tons if used across the whole U.S. population.
Health care-related activities contribute as much as 8 percent of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, but the study suggests this can be curtailed with greater adoption of technology within the healthcare system.
READ: Health Care Reform’s Eco Impact
The study also went in depth on Kaiser Permanente’s existing health IT systems. It found that the health insurance company saved 1,044 tons of paper for medical charts; reduced toxic chemicals by 33.3 tons from X-ray machines by digitizing and archiving scans; and saved up to 92,000 tons of CO2 emissions by replacing face-to-face patient visits with virtual ones.
In 2004, President Bush signed an executive order to establish this kind of technology in hospitals, not only for the environmental benefits, but also for the improved efficiency and economic value. A RAND Health study found that widespread adoption of health information technology could save the U.S. healthcare system $81 billion annually.
But until recently, adoption numbers have been low.
Last year, the top five medical groups, including Kaiser Permanente, banded together to create a patient information exchange consisting entirely of electronic health records.
Obama administration incentives, up to $44,000 per physician, may have helped spur the endeavor, but health information technology has a long way to go before all of the potential benefits are see