We Are So Doomed

Posted on | December 12, 2014 | 32 Comments

If you’re an optimist, you obviously don’t have young children, especially daughters. To be a parent in 2014 is to know for a certainty that the social fabric of our civilization is rapidly unraveling:

An 11-year-old girl from Arkansas gave her family the scare of their lives last week when she ran away from home after stealing $10,000 and jumped into a cab hoping to travel to Florida to meet a boy.
When Brent Waller discovered that his daughter Alexis was gone December 5, his first, terrifying thought was that she had been abducted. . . .
The 11-year-old girl had swiped $10,000 in cash from her grandmother’s sock drawer, crept out of the family’s Bryant, Arkansas, home in the middle of the night and hitched a ride with a stranger to a gas station in Little Rock.
Alexis then called a cab and asked the driver to drive her to Jacksonville, Florida, located about 830 miles away.
The girl said the taxi driver did not ask her any questions beyond her final destination and whether or not she had the $1,300 fare.
Alexis said she decided to make the long journey halfway across the country because she wanted to see a 16-year-old boy she met on vacation two years prior and had been talking to ever since.
The Florida teen said he knew nothing about Alexis’ plan. . . .

(Well of course he would say that, wouldn’t he?)

Police obtained phone records and were able to trace Alexis’ call to the Little Rock cab company, where officials said the girl wore heavy makeup and appeared to be 17 or 18, according to Arkansas Democrat Gazette.

(Parents: If your 11-year-old daughter is wearing heavy makeup, she’s planning to steal grandma’s money and run away.)

Before long, they reached the taxi driver the girl had hired, who told them they were driving in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia.
The 11-year-old’s parents immediately hit on the road, driving nine hours to pick her up.
In retrospect, Alexis Waller said she was glad her parents were able to track her down bring her home safe.
‘I knew I made a mistake after a while and I didn’t have a phone,’ Alexis told KARK-TV.

Isn’t that special? She steals $10,000 from grandma, calls a cab so she can run away to be with a teenage hoodlum she met on vacation two summers ago, but when she gets caught? “Mistake!”

She made a boo-boo, an oopsie. Just a lonely fifth-grade girl committing grand larceny to be with the 16-year-old boy she loves.

Doomed. We are completely doomed, I tell you . . .

For This Nightmare I Blame Al Gore, Who Invented the Internet http://t.co/h5viX7bmiS #tcot @instapundit

— Robert Stacy McCain (@rsmccain) December 12, 2014

Category: Crime, Culture, Doomed Beyond All Hope of Redemption

Secret Wars And Silos

Posted on | December 12, 2014 | 6 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho

I thought I’d already read David Drake’s What Distant Deeps, the eighth book in his Lieutenant Leary/RCN series, but I was wrong, and gladly so. Drake has become a master of filing the serial numbers off obscure historical events, repainting them, and turning them into decent adventure novels, and What Distant Deeps is another one of these. Leary and his crew (including Adele Mundy, Deadliest Librarian in the ‘Verse) are hired to carry the new Cinnabar commissioner to his post on a rather barbaric planet on the border with the Alliance, but as usual things go pear-shaped as it seems one of the Republic’s clients would like to reignite the recently-concluded war between Cinnabar and the Alliance. Skulduggery, mayhem and hilarity ensue.

Along the same lines, John Ringo and Julie Cochrane’s Sister Time is a wheels-within-wheels tale of assassination, theft, and inter-species trade war that brings “Iron Mike” O’Neal’s daughters Cally and Michelle together against a rogue human mentat who’s obtained what can only be described as a mind-raping device. Just to make things more interesting, the theft that begins the novel, where Cally snatches some extremely valuable code keys from a Darhel chief’s office, sets off an effort by the Tongs to badly screw a Darhel clan in the best way possible – costing them money and maybe, just possibly, a couple of clan chiefs. Probably the best of the three “middle” novels by Ringo & Cochrane dealing with the secret war between the O’Neal/Bane Sidhe and the Darhel, with the return of Mosovich and Mueller from the original Posleen War tetralogy as the cherry on the sundae.

I had high hopes for Hugh Howey’s Shift, which is the sequel to Wool but seems to be more of a backstory to the events in Wool. Maybe I’m just not in the mood for depressing stories right now, but this was reminding me entirely too much of an old novel by Howard Berk, The Sun Grows Cold, which tells the same sort of tale about the Apocalypse, and I just wasn’t feeling up to it.

On the other hand, Sam Schall’s Vengeance from Ashes is decent brain candy and worth checking out. I borrowed it from the Amazon Prime Lending Library and may be picking it up to keep next month when the loan expires; it’s that good. Basically, this is the tale of Marine Captain Ashlyn Shaw, framed along with her unit for war crimes and imprisoned in a brutal prison camp where abuse is the norm. A change in governments allows her friends and family to free her and her men, but can she trust them enough to help her find and impose justice on those who set her up to fall, even as a new war erupts on the frontier?

Thanks very much to everyone who bought stuff (not just books!) through my Amazon links these last couple of months; the commissions over the last couple of months have been really generous, and I can’t thank y’all enough. I really appreciate it. Remember that you have plenty of time to shop from the comfort of your home and get presents to your loved ones with Amazon Prime – ten more days with two-day shipping, and you can try it for thirty days for the amazing sum of NOTHING! Plus, free music, free streaming video, and the Amazon Prime lending library!
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Category: Books

LIVE AT FIVE: 12.12.14

Posted on | December 12, 2014 | 6 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho

TOP NEWS
Norks Lead Thug Regimes Piling On US After Senate CIA Report

Great Successor eyes the furor over the Senate CIA report with disbelief

China, Iran and North Korea pile on with the finger-wagging despite own questionable mores
CIA chief says “abhorrent” tactics may not have been essential

Modi Tells Putin Russia Will Remain India’s Main Defense Partner
India to assemble 400 Russian Ka-226T multi-role helicopters

House Narrowly Passes Spending Bill
Shutdown averted

POLITICS
Breaking Down The Cromnibus Vote

Rep. James Clyburn, 56 other Democrats voted for the spending bill

Interesting splits in both parties
Warren leads liberal Dems against bill

Pew Poll Finds Support For Gun Rights At 21-Year High

Poll: 70% Want Congress To Keep Probing IRS

DOJ Okays Tribes To Grow, Sell Marijuana

Massive Defense Bill Clears Senate Hurdle

Congressional Aides, Some Lawmakers Walk Out In Protest Of Brown, Garner Deaths

Conservative Group Sues CA AG Over Donor List Demands, Bullying

THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Asian Crude Drops To 5 1/2 Year Low On Supply Glut, Sucky Demand: WTI $59.20, Brent $63.33
Asian Shares Lifted By US Data, Oil Glut
Holiday Shopping Boosts US Retail Sales
Sea World Pushes CEO Overboard
CBS Extends CEO Moonves’ Contract Two Years
Staples To Merge With Office Depot?
Facebook Turns Thumbs Down On “Dislike” Button, Mulls Other Options
Father Of Web Tells Putin Internet Is Not CIA Project
Google To Close Engineering Office In Russia
Windows 10 Event Set For January 21
iRobot’s Latest Roomba Designed For Hackers

SPORTS
Defense Not Enough For Rams In 12-6 Loss To Cards

Arizona QB Drew Stanton gets carted off the field after being injured in the second half

Arizona wins on four field goals

Red Sox’ Cespedes Goes To Detroit For Porcello

Durant Leads Thunder Past LeBron-Less Cavs

Blue Jackets Tip Caps In OT, 3-2

Padres Acquire Kemp In Five-Player Deal

Sabres Edge Flames 4-3

Cam Newton Thankful To Survive Crash

Kings Spoil Cameron’s Debut As Sens Coach With 5-3 Beating

Ross Detwiler Swapped To Rangers For Two Minor-Leaguers

FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Marilyn Manson Denies Involvement In Lana Del Rey “Rape” Video

Directed by “Hostel” director Eli Roth

Manson added that he did actually want to make a video with Lana Del Rey but gave up on the idea after the collaboration proved difficult.

Keira Knightley Expecting First Child

Beverly Johnson: Bill Cosby Drugged Me

“Sons Of Anarchy” Actor Skins, Cooks, And Eats Ex’s Pet Rabbit

Ariana Grande Reportedly Insists On Being Carried When She’s Tired

Floyd Mayweather Sits Down With LAPD, Talks Earl Hayes Murder/Suicide

“Next Top Model” Contestant Sues Tyra Banks

Carrie Underwood Vs. LeAnn Rimes: Country Catfight!

FOREIGNERS
Teen Blows Himself Up During Kabul Play Condemning Suicide Bombers
Hong Kong Police Arrest 209 Protesters, Clear Main Camp
Abe’s Party Set To Win Big Despite Faltering Economy
Ukraine President Slams India Over Crimean Leader’s Visit
Palestinians To Discuss Cutting Security Ties With Israel Over Abu Ein’s Death
Twin Blasts Kill 31 In Nigerian City
Sensitive Topics Off The Agenda As Li Goes Overseas
No Papal Meeting For Dalai Lama During Visit To Rome
Man Charged Over London Slavery Allegations
How The Labor/Livni Deal Could Backfire

BLOGS & STUFF
First Street Journal: This Is What Senator Feinstein Was Trying To Accomplish
Michelle Malkin: The Cop-Hating Cult Of Larry Davis
Doug Powers: Elizabeth Warren Was Against Government Shutdowns Before She Was For Them
Twitchy: Rep. Jim Bridenstine’s Common Sense Reason For Voting No On The Cromnibus
American Power: The Left’s War Against Justice And Peace
American Thinker: Rolling Stone Et Al. Bemoan The Culture They Helped Create
BLACKFIVE: The New, The Discounted, The Free
Conservatives4Palin: Governor Palin – The Motivating, Simple Sparks That Can Make Our Day
Don Surber: Colleges Are Run By Morons
Jammie Wearing Fools: Lerner E-Mails Reveal Obama’s DOJ Was Involved In IRS Targeting
Joe For America: Black Lives DON’T Matter
JustOneMinute: More Reality Comes Crashing In
Pamela Geller: Biden Tried To Lecture Ayaan Hirsi Ali About Islam
Protein Wisdom: The Campus Rape And Sex Management Industry
Shot In The Dark: Number Soup
STUMP: 80 Percent Pension Funding Hall Of Shame – Experts Say
The Gateway Pundit: Armed “Black Lives Matter” Protesters Loot Black-Owned 7-11
The Jawa Report: Channel 4 Doxxes @ShamiWitness
The Lonely Conservative: $1.1 Trillion Spending Bill Passes House
This Ain’t Hell: Bob Kerrey Slams “Torture Report”
Weasel Zippers: Illegal Immigration Skyrockets As Deportations Fall To All-Time Low
Megan McArdle: Is Tomorrow Too Late For Greece?
SteynOnline: Climate Of Corruption

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Category: Live at Five

What Are The Odds That Boehnerdict Arnold Ends Up Making Wurst of Brat?

Posted on | December 11, 2014 | 31 Comments

by Smitty

It’s been depressing to see the fine print unfold: elections have consequences, so long as those consequences tend toward expanding the federal government, centralizing power, diminishing liberty, and crushing the borders.

. . .Brat takes his mandate to halt amnesty as a promise made to his district. Most point to Brat’s opposition to amnesty as the primary reason he defeated Eric Cantor, and Brat’s victory over Cantor was later revealed to be the primary reason that amnesty didn’t happen last summer.

I’m kind of looking forward to CPAC next year. Conservatives have a long slog ahead of them, struggling against the Democommies and their Vichy GOP sympathizers. But I expect Brat will get a hero’s welcome, rolling in off the grill.

via Instapundit

Category: Republicans

LIVE AT FIVESIX: 12.11.14

Posted on | December 11, 2014 | 2 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho

TOP NEWS
Dick Cheney: Senate Committee’s CIA Report “Full Of Crap”

Our Dark Lord is not pleased by your shenanigans

“We did exactly what needed to be done…and we were successful”
UN says US officials must be prosecuted
CIA fights back after torture report

Hong Kong Police Clear Central Pro-Democracy Protest Site
Banner near downtown PLA base: “It’s Just The Beginning”

Putin Arrives In India For Summit Talks With Modi
Putin looking for economic deal to blunt Western sanctions

POLITICS
Spending Bill In Danger As Pelosi Demands Changes And Conservatives Peel Off

Conservatives ready to throw down against the leadership

Budget would raise limits on donations to political parties

State Department Stonewalling Requests For Hillary Files

Navy’s Laser Weapon Up And Running In Persian Gulf

Hayden Slams Senate Committee CIA Report

Judge Denies Continuance In Aurora Shooting Trial

Congress Approves Sanctions On Venezuelan Leaders

Poll: Majority Opposes Obama’s Immigration Actions But Hispanics Approve

THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Asian Crude – Bears Still On The Rampage: WTI $61.41, Brent $64.75
Asian Stocks Fall With Oil, Dollar Gets Respite
Wall Street Drops Most Since October As Energy Renews Selloff
Multiemployer Pensions Could Face Cuts
Airfares May Be Cheaper In 2015 Thanks To Fuel Slump
Walgreens CEO Announces Plans To Step Down
Google News To Shut Down In Spain
Delhi High Court Bars Xiaomi From Importing, Selling Phones
Jesse Jackson Pushes For More Diversity In Silicon Valley
Instagram Now Bigger Than Twitter
Apple Goes On The Offensive In iPod Trial

SPORTS
Warriors Extend Streak To Fourteen Against Rockets

Draymond Green overcomes the Rockets’ James Harden

Fourth-quarter rally gives Golden State the win, 105-93

Dodgers Acquire Howie Kendrick, Working On Rollins

Leafs Beat Red Wings 2-1 In Shootout

Gary Andersen Goes From Badgers To Beavers

Scherzer To The Yankees?

Ducks Edge Oilers 2-1

Red Sox Acquire Wade Miley From Snakes

Starless Spurs Hand Knicks Another Loss

Nyets Trade Kirilenko To Sixers

India Goes 369/5 On Third Day Of Test Vs. Australia

Hornets 96, Celtics 87

Kenyans Arrive In Pakistan For One-Dayers

Wizards Edge Magic At The Buzzer, 91-89

Timbermutts Rise Up, Bring Down Blazers 90-82

Desmond To The Mariners?

FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Scarlett Johansson: Motherhood Is “Magical – And Exhausting”

Interviewed by Barbara Walters for upcoming Walters special

“I’m nursing and I love it…It’s the best way to get back in shape”

Pippa Slams Unspeakable Armenian’s Naked Butt Cover

“Slumdog Millionaire” Co-Stars Split After Six Years

Avril Lavigne Suffering From Undisclosed Health Issues

Taylor Swift Secretly Dating Rocker Matt Healy

Bill Cosby Sued By Rape Accuser For Lying

Kirsten Dunst, Jeff Plemons To Star In “Fargo” Season Two

Zooey Deschanel Sued: You Broke My Horse, Now Pony Up!

Princess Charlene, It’s Twins!

Brad Pitt Doesn’t Want His Daughters To Get Tattoos

FOREIGNERS
Israel Reinforces West Bank Troops Ahead Of Palestinian Minister’s Funeral
Suicide Bomber Kills Six Afghan Soldiers On Kabul Bus
Afghan President “Shocked” BY CIA Torture, Vows Investigation
UN Human Rights Chief Slams Indifference To Deaths Of Boat People
UK Police Arrest 76 At Eric Garner Protest In London
Kurdistan Remains Part Of Iraq – For Now
Brazil Renews Debate Over Amnesty For 1979 Junta Leaders
Australia Looks To Sell Uranium To Ukraine
Livni Joins Opposition to Challenge Netanyahu

BLOGS & STUFF
Doug Powers: Trey Gowdy Pummels The Obamacare “Architect”
Twitchy: Lizz Winstead Gripes About “Taking Down Rape Survivors”, Gets Schooled
American Power: Democrats Lost The South With Culture War And Elitism
American Thinker: American Deceptionalism
Blackmailers Don’t Shoot: LAUSD Embraces Candy Crush And Marxism
Conservatives4Palin: Governor Palin Reacts To The Omnibus Spending Bill
Don Surber: Our Moral And Intellectual Superiors
Jammie Wearing Fools: After Being Arrested, Moronic NYC Protester Returns For Fanny Pack, Gets Busted For Another Assault On Cop
Joe For America: Are Americans Sufficiently Impaired?
JustOneMinute: As Usual The President Will Disavow Any Knowledge Of His Actions
Pamela Geller: Mass Polygamy In UK Muslim Community – “Practiced In Enormous Scale”
Protein Wisdom: “The Torture Revealed In The Senate CIA Report”
Shot In The Dark: This Saturday, Help Save Freedom
STUMP: Public Pension Choices – Visualizing The Sources Of Bad Experience
The Gateway Pundit: Betrayal – Boehner Funds Obamacare For A Year In Spending Bill
The Jawa Report: Ferguson Protester Prophesied – White People Going To Laugh At Your Ass
The Lonely Conservative: All Hope Is Not Lost
This Ain’t Hell: Obama Wants Authorization For “Boots” In Iraq
Weasel Zippers: Food Stamp Recipients Top 47 Million For 37 Straight Months
Megan McArdle: Amazon Doesn’t Have To Treat Its Workers Fairly
Mark Steyn: Congress Shall Make No Memo

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Category: Live at Five

I Do Not Think That Word Means What Gruber Thinks It Means

Posted on | December 10, 2014 | 24 Comments

by Smitty

Via Hot Air, emphasis mine:

In an appearance on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Gruber was probed by Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) over his lamentation that the administration’s lack of honesty about the imposition of taxes both on those who do not purchase insurance and on those who do have insurance. Turner prodded Gruber over whether he had any conversations with members of the White House who perhaps shared his opinion that the ACA needed to be crafted in a “tortured” way to ensure its passage.

After much deliberation, Gruber finally answered: “I honestly do not recall.”

One does not condone torture, but occasionally one perceives the source of temptation to throw someone down the stairs, up the stairs, and then back down the stairs. Anything to enhance the likelihood of recollection.

Category: Health Care

A NEW CHALLENGER APPEARS

Posted on | December 10, 2014 | 8 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Beating on the agitprop outlet formerly known as the National Newspaper of Record is a favorite pastime in the conservative blogosphere, and you could make a compelling argument that some blogs do little else. Which is not a criticism, mind you; it’s necessary work, and God bless the people that read the New York Slimes so I don’t have to. Still, I have to admire Elijah Lovejoy for his chutzpah in launching Stories They Forgot, a website dedicated to serving up all the news that the Gray Lady doesn’t see fit to print. It acknowledges its debt to Drudge, but the site is more than just a pile of links going off in all directions; instead, stories are organized by topic and it’s all news, without any opinion filler. Big Fur Hat at IOTWReport had some nice things to say about it, as did his commenters, and I think Mr. Lovejoy may have a hit on his hands here. Take a gander at it and tell me what you think in the comments.