The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Shinseki Resigned? This Changes Everything!

Posted on | May 31, 2014 | 34 Comments

— Wombat-socho

So Eric Shinseki resigned yesterday as Veterans Affairs Secretary and is going to be replaced by Acting Secretary Sloan Gibson. And lo, all over Facebook, Twitter, and the rest of the Intertubes there was much rejoicing, for Something Had Been Done. Now there’s a lot of discussion over who’s going to be Shinseki’s successor, because of course all we need is the right guy in charge over there, right? Somebody to clean house, exorcise the eeeevil culture of sinister ineptitude, and usher in a new dawn of caring, sensitive, timely care for all those who served, right? Maybe Jim Webb can clean this Augean stable! Or Mad Dog Mattis!


Yeah, right. In case you missed my previous post about the VA, I suggest you go back and read it. The problems with the VA don’t start with Obama -although he’s done precious little about the problem except hector Congress for more money and pissed it away when he got it- or with Bush, as some on the left are trying to claim*, or even with Bill Clinton, Bush The Elder, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon or LBJ, to name just the presidents whose administrations I personally remember. You think it’s actually going to make a difference who replaces Shinseki? The Rock has some advice for you.


The only things that will change the VA are an aggressive expansion of the program to take Medicare-eligible vets out of the VA system and hand them off to civilian healthcare providers, and giving the new Secretary the power to utterly purge the Veterans Health Administration of everyone connected with the current scheduling debacle. Both of these will be fought tooth and nail by the existing bureaucrats and their union, along with the Democrats in Congress who are their allies – and the Establishment RINOs who just want to go along to get along. Of the two, I think the former is more likely, since it doesn’t do much to imperil the bureaucracy in the short term and is the simplest way for the current Administration to look like it’s “doing something for veterans”. Ideally, we’d terminate the Veterans Health Administration with extreme prejudice** and give veterans who can’t afford medical care Tricare without co-pays, but in that world we wouldn’t have the Departments of Education, Energy, Homeland Security and other exrescences either. Small steps. Reduce the load on the existing system now, and make reform of the VHA the opening wedge for destroying the civil service – or at least ridding the Federal government of its employee unions. One thing’s for sure, changing the man at the top won’t make any more difference to the Department of Veterans Affairs than changing the figurehead on a sailing ship made to the way it handled.


*h/t Charlie Martin on Facebook.
**There are other parts of the VA that aren’t nearly so screwed up.


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Category: Quinton Report, Scandal

#RLC2014 Straw Poll Results: @TedCruz

Posted on | May 31, 2014 | 52 Comments

by Smitty

Conservative Intel sponsored the poll.


And Senator Ted Cruz is the winner!
Further results:

1. Ted Cruz — 30.33 percent
2. Ben Carson — 29.38 percent
3. Rand Paul — 10.43 percent

more at the link.
Senator Rand Paul had won the last straw poll, in March.
Looking further down the report, blog favorite Allen West placed:

10. Paul Ryan — 2.05 percent
11. Allen West (write-in) — 2.05 percent

Interestingly, Governor Scott Walker was flying below the radar. One hopes the GOP capitalizes on this energy.

UPDATE: More at The Right Scoop.

Category: Republicans

FMJRA 2.0: Sirius

Posted on | May 31, 2014 | 17 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Toward Anarchy and Oblivion

Portrait of a Killer: Elliot Rodger Claimed in Video to Be ‘Supreme Gentleman’

Rule 5 Sunday: Memorial Day Weekend Edition

High School ‘Death Cult’: Parents Claim Daughters Were Targeted by ‘Coven’

Hollywood Director’s Son Kills Six in Shooting Rampage Against ‘Sluts’

FMJRA 2.0: Satisfaction

Deranged Cyberstalker Bill Schmalfeldt Doubts My Expertise in Crazy?

Alyssa Funke, R.I.P.

ROAD TRIP!

#OccupyResoluteDesk PSA

Creepy Little Weirdo’s Murder Rant Becomes Cultural ‘Rashomon’

LIVE AT FIVE: 05.27.14

#RLC2014 Ready to Rock

Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson Will Speak at Republican Leadership Conference

Monsters And A Mystery

pardon the dust!

LIVE AT FIVE: 05.28.14

#RLC2014 Cooking With Gas!

A Long History Of Ineptitude And Corruption

LIVE AT FIVE: 05.29.14

#RLC2014 N’Awlins, Y’all

LIVE AT FIVE: 05.30.14

Top linkers this week:

  1. Batshit Crazy News (19)
  2. Regular Right Guy (9)

Thanks to everyone for their linkagery!


Category: FMJRA Award

#RLC2014 N’Awlins, Y’all

Posted on | May 30, 2014 | 104 Comments

NEW ORLEANS
After a busy first day at the Republican Leadership Conference, we headed to Daisy Dukes on Chartres Street for a midnight breakfast. Yesterday, Sarah Palin was a surprise speaker here at the Republican Leadership Conference, introducing Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson, who made news:

In a speech he delivered Thursday, Robertson did just that, telling the GOP to “get Godly” and decrying some of the White House’s recent actions as “downright embarrassing.”
At the heart of Robertson’s message — a half-hour speech that was delivered at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana — was the notion that Republicans need to get back on track by reconnecting with the Lord.
“GOP, you can’t be right for America if you’re wrong with God,” Robertson told the crowd, according to the Washington Post’s Post Politics blog. “You want to turn the Republican Party around? Get Godly.”
He later quipped, “I guess the GOP may be more desperate than I thought to call somebody like me.”
As for President Barack Obama, Robertson said some of the things coming from the White House are “downright embarrassing,” the New Orleans Advocate reported.
“We’re up against evil like I’ve never seen in my life. I’m sitting there and I’m thinking, ‘What’s coming out of the White House?,’” he said. “The only thing I can tell you folks is it’s just downright embarrassing.”
Robertson also spoke out against racism, noting that one’s skin color has nothing to do with a person’s character.
“There’s one race on this planet, and it’s called the human race,” Robertson added. “Therefore you have no right to color-code anyone. We’re all the same family.”

Today: Haley Barbour, Donald Trump, Allen West, Mike Lee and Newt Gingrich.




 

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Category: Fear and Loathing in the French Quarter

LIVE AT FIVE: 05.30.14

Posted on | May 30, 2014 | 16 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho

TOP NEWS
Pro-Russian Rebels Down Army Helicopter, Fourteen Killed

Pro-Russian rebel sits watch atop an APC in Donetsk

One general, thirteen other soldiers killed; rebel leader in Donetsk admits some fighters were Russians

National Spelling Bee Ends In Tie
Boys from New York, Texas split title after five deadlocked rounds

NSA Releases Snowden E-mails
Refutes traitor’s claimed whistleblowing attempts



POLITICS
State Department Under Fire For Boosting Shady Lawyer Fired By Imprisoned Marine

Alejandro Osuna: fired by SGT Tahmooressi

Osuna advised Marine to lie to Mexican officials



House Votes To Shield States With Medical Marijuana Laws



Chicago Aldermen Introduce $15/Hour Minimum Wage Bill

Detroit Losing Millions As Suburban Counties Drop City Water

Zuckerberg, Wife Throw Away $120 Million On Bay Area Public Schools

Oregon Governor Plans To Sue Contractor Over Failed Obamacare Website

Congress Funds Army’s Hypersonic Missile After Red Chinese Missile Test



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Asian Crude Mixed; Ukraine Crisis And Increased US Gasoline Demand Provide Support: NYMEX $103.37, Brent $110.01
Virgin Galactic Signs Spaceflight Deal With FAA
Energy Department Shakes Up Natural Gas Export Approval Process
E-Cigs Could Sweeten Potential Reynolds/Lorillard Deal
Pending Home Sales Up 0.4% In April
Walmart Slams Critical Analysis Of Executive Compensation
Google Bows To EU Privacy Ruling, Will Allow Europeans To Be “Forgotten”
Microsoft’s New Smartwatch To Play Nicely With Androids, iPhones
Google Video Quality Report Shames ISPs For Slow Streaming Of YouTube Videos
Intel Unveils New Tech For Self-Driving Cars
The “Dots” Sequel Will Seem Awfully Familiar To “Candy Crush” Players



SPORTS
Duncan, Spurs Thrash Thunder, Take 3-2 Lead

Kawhi Leonard takes the rebound

Duncan leads Spurs 117-89 rout with 22 points

Rangers Take Out Habs 1-0; First Stanley Cup Shot Since ’94

Springer Stays Scorching, Lifts Astros Over O’s

Royals End Skid, Down Jays 8-6 In Tenth

Joe Nathan Saves The Tigers From The A’s, 5-4

Red Sox Complete Four-Game Sweep Thanks To Braves Error

Mets Win Third Straight, 4-1 Over Phillies

Ryan Zimmerman Takes Infield, BP



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Eva Green: Too Sexy For The MPAA

Kiboshed “A Dame To Kill For” poster

Sequel to Frank Miller’s Sin City opens August 22

“Orange Is The New Black” Star Laverne Cox Talks About The Transgender Movement

Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt Bring Their Kids To “Maleficent” Premiere

AnnaLynne McCord Is Done Being Quiet About Her Sexual Assault

Unspeakable Armenian Bored With Marriage Already?


Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer To Buy LA Clippers For $2 Billion

Chris Evans And Sandra Bullock An Item?

Lady Gaga Postpones Tour Due To Bronchitis

Gwyneth Paltrow Says Getting Trashed On The Internet Is Just Like War

“Cliffhanger” Reboot Moving Forward

Selena Gomez Being Treated For Lupus

Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt Wide Awake After 24-Hour Transcontinental Premiere Marathon



FOREIGNERS
Japan Tax Hike Lifts Inflation To 23-Year High
Teenage Girls Raped, Hung From Tree In Uttar Pradesh
Abe To Promote Japan As Counterweight To Red China
Thai Army Seeks Hearts And Minds With Smiles, Stickers, And Selfies
Putin Creates New Trade Bloc From Former Soviet States
Shimon Peres, Mahmoud Abbas To Pray With Pope Francis At Vatican June 8
PRC Promises Improvements In Restive Northwest
With Centrist Parties In Disarray, France’s National Front Benefits
Narendra Modi To Move Into PM’s Residence, Declines Changes
Turkey’s Supreme Court Rules YouTube Ban Unconstitutional



BLOGS & STUFF
Blackmailers Don’t Shoot: “Rosemary’s Baby” Review
Doug Powers: Irony, Clinton Style – Hillary Making Millions With Speeches On Income Inequality
Twitchy: Jen Psaki’s Claim Of Obama’s Humility Leaves Citizens In Stitches
Bearing Arms: White Kids Died. We Oughta Pass A Law.
American Power: Desperate Democrats Looking Ahead To 2016 Election
American Thinker: The “Being There” President
BLACKFIVE: What Did Ranger Up Know And When Did They Know It?
Conservatives4Palin: The Public Isn’t Buying The Left’s Global Warming Con
Don Surber: Daily Scoreboard, May 29
Jammie Wearing Fools: White Privilege Causes Everything
Joe For America: Green Beret Slams Gwyneth Paltrow
JustOneMinute: Back To The Big Speech
Pat Dollard: Texas Border Patrol On Brink Of Collapse?
Protein Wisdom: Feds Prosecuting Tree-Trimmer For Unintentionally Bruising Herons
Shot In The Dark: Lucking – “So Stupid You’re Not Acting Stupid”
The Jawa Report: Dirka! Dirka! Jihad! Cadbury Bunny!
The Lonely Conservative: Michelle Obama Doesn’t Want Poor People To Have Potatoes
This Ain’t Hell: The IG Report And The HVAC Hearing In One Word – Brutal
Weasel Zippers: Fabulous! Obama Administration Seeks To Designate Gay Landmarks
Megan McArdle: US Economy Takes Another Sick Day


Deadline to submit links for tomorrow’s FMJRA is noon Saturday.
DO IT.
Deadline to submit links for Rule 5 Sunday is midnight tomorrow.
DO THAT TOO.


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Category: Live at Five

#RLC2014 Cooking With Gas!

Posted on | May 29, 2014 | 57 Comments

NEW ORLEANS
The Republican Leadership Conference begins this evening with speeches scheduled by GOP chairman Reince Priebus and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, and the air is thick with excitement. Or maybe the air is thick with humidity, which seems to be somewhere between 99 and 100 percent today. Periodic showers are actually a relief from the general steaminess of the subtropical climate in this Gulf port city. New Orleans is to humidity what Silicon Valley is to computer software.

Meanwhile, in the news — the science is settled!

Men who report watching a lot of pornography tend to have less volume and activity in regions of the brain linked to rewards and motivation, says a new German study.
The study, published in JAMA Psychiatry, can’t say watching porn caused the decrease in brain matter and activity, however.
It’s not clear, for example, whether watching porn leads to brain changes or whether people born with certain brain types watch more porn, said Simone Kühn, the study’s lead author from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, in an email.
“Unfortunately we cannot answer this question based on the results of the present study,” Kühn said.
But, she noted, the results provide the first evidence for a link between pornography consumption and reductions in brain size and brain activity in response to sexual stimuli.

This explains a lot — Anthony Weiner, for example, is an obvious case of Pornography-Induced Brain Damage Syndrome. Also: Adulterous sexting — “chexting,” cheating by texting — destroys marriages.

Don’t know if Phil Robertson will talk about this stuff during his RLC speech, but I’m pretty sure he’s against it.




 

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Category: Fear and Loathing in the French Quarter

LIVE AT FIVE: 05.29.14

Posted on | May 29, 2014 | 11 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
El-Sisi Sweeps To Victory In Egyptian Presidential Vote

A supporter in Alexandria holds an Egyptian flag with the former general’s face pasted on

Takes 93% of the vote, but turnout only 44% of electorate


Obama Signals Reset In US Foreign Policy
Urges against “military adventures” in West Point speech


Inspector General’s Scathing Report Brings Bipartisan Calls For Shinseki To Resign
Democratic Senators Franken and Udall join GOP in demanding resignation of VA Secretary



POLITICS
Federal Judge Halts Executions In Ohio Until Mid-August

More time for lawyers to argue over drug mix for lethal injections

Related: Supremes Strike Down Florida’s Narrow Definition Of Retardation For The Death Penalty

Veterans Group Pressures Senate Dems On VA Reform

Traitor Snowden Wants To Come Home, But Not To Jail

Lawmakers, Interest Groups Clash Over Administration’s New Rules For Power Plants

Chicago Mayor Emanuel Wants More Restrictions On Gun Shops

Federal Judge Blocks Mississippi From Revoking License Of State’s Last Abortion Clinic

Seattle Police Sue To Block New Use Of Force Guidelines

Union Leaders Under Fire For Unregistered Lobbying



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Asian Crude Up From US Close On Stockpile Suspicions: NYMEX $102.86, Brent $109.83
Japan April Retail Sales Down 4.4% From 2013
Hachette Escalates Dispute With Amazon Over Data Distribution
A Pushback On Green Power
Wall Street Flat Even As S&P Hits New High
Bond Yields Hit Low For The Year
Proxy Adviser ISS Urges Target Stockholders To Oust Directors
Apple Confirms $3 Billion Deal To Buy Beats
Google Confirms Most Of Its Employees Are White, Male And Nerdy
Samsung Reveals Simband And Sami Health Platform
Iranian Hackers Targeting US Officials Through Social Networks
Mary Meeker Says Mobile Is Keeping Tech Party Roaring



SPORTS
Blackhawks Suddenly Back In The Series

Hawks Tip Kings In Double Overtime

5-4 win in Game 5 keeps Blackhawks alive

Owner Of Tampa Bay Bucs Malcolm Glazer Dead At 85

Pacers Limit LeBron To 7 Points In 93-90 Win


Jays Win Ninth Straight, Edge Rays 3-2

Giants Blank Cubs 5-0

Red Sox Win Third Straight At Expense Of Braves, 4-0

Howard’s Three-Run Dinger In 9th Boosts Phillies Past Rockies

Astros Pound Royals 9-3

Marlins Bullpen Collapses, Fish Win Anyway In 10th



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Stacey Dash Joins Fox News

Best known for role in “Clueless”, endorsement of Mitt Romney

Will be doing cultural analysis and commentary


Poet Laureate Maya Angelou Dead At 86

LeVar Burton Reviving “Reading Rainbow” On Kickstarter

Evan Rachel Wood, Jamie Bell Separate After Almost Two Years

Hayden Panettiere Pregnant, Expecting First Child With Wladimir Klitschko


Adriana Lima Has Poor Taste In Men: Hooked Up With Justin Bieber At Cannes

Man Cuffed For Rushing Brad Pitt At “Maleficent” Premiere

Iggy Azalea Tops Hot 100 With “Fancy”

Twelve Katy Perry Cosmo Covers You’ve Never Seen Before

Jay-Z Splits From Longtime Business Partner

Jennifer Aniston’s “Life Of Crime” Movie Poster

Nia Vardalos, Playtone Reuniting For “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” Sequel

Gwyneth Paltrow: Goopers “Do Not Give A F*** If The Facebook Guys Think We’re Hot Or Not”



FOREIGNERS
Oil Tanker Explodes Off Southwest Coast Of Japan
Russia Urges “Emergency Steps” Over Ukraine After Rebel Losses
Bedlam In Beirut As Syrian Expats Vote
Husband Of Pakistani Woman Beaten To Death Demands Justice
Fugitive Korean Ferry Owner’s Daughter Detained In Paris
France Begins Eviction Of 650 Migrants From Calais Camps
Philippine Economic Growth Dips Below 6% As Storm Impact Lingers
PRC Sentences 55 In Xinjiang Mass Trial
Pakistani Taliban Splits Amidst Infighting
Thai Junta Frees Opponents
Russia Expresses Concern Over Unrest In Abkhazia



BLOGS & STUFF
First Street Journal: What The VA Did Is What We Can All Expect Under Single-Payer
Michelle Malkin: Justice For Taryn And Tanner
Twitchy: Stacey Dash Laughs At The Haters, Thanks Fans
American Power: Scout Willis Goes Topless In NYC To Protest Instagram
BLACKFIVE: Less Than 25% Of West Point Cadets Give President Obama A Standing O
Blackmailers Don’t Shoot: Some People Are Just Crazy
Conservatives4Palin: All Factions Of GOP Uniting Behind Joni Ernst In Iowa
Don Surber: Daily Scoreboard, May 28
Jammie Wearing Fools: Obama’s Extremist “Climate Change” Scheme Could Cost His Horrible Economy $50 Billion A Year
Joe For America: Joe The Plumber Responds To Critics Of His Letter To Parents Of Shooting Victims
JustOneMinute: I Love The Smell Of Burning Straw In The Morning
Pat Dollard: Senator Toomey Pushes Bill To Allow Vets To Sue VA Employees
Protein Wisdom: “Statistics Aren’t Enough To Discredit Piketty’s Failed, Blood-Soaked Ideas”
Shot In The Dark: Hatred Of Choice
STUMP: Piketty, Public Pensions, And Predetermined Policies
The Jawa Report: Epic Battle Highlights – Sharpton Vs. Teleprompter
The Lonely Conservative: Pelosi Wants To Fix Obamacare With Single Payer
This Ain’t Hell: Widow Sues VA Over Vet’s Death
Weasel Zippers: Barack Obama Marks Maya Angelou’s Death With Picture Of…Barack Obama
Megan McArdle: DC Should Stop Coddling Tenants


Category: Live at Five

#RLC2014 Ready to Rock

Posted on | May 28, 2014 | 18 Comments

NEW ORLEANS
We left Atlanta about 4 p.m. Tuesday, but the legendarily gridlocked city traffic hindered us only slightly as we made our way down I-85 and soon we were on our way toward Montgomery. We stopped for dinner at a Mexican restaurant near the Alabama capital.

By dinnertime yesterday, the story that I was first to report — that Duck Dynasty‘s Phil Robertson would speak at the Republican Leadership Conference — was all over the media. (“Gee, Stacy, how did you get that scoop?” Don’t ask, don’t tell.) We didn’t arrive here at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside until after midnight and then met with RLC staff for a walkthrough of the empty venue.

This morning I had a long, late breakfast, then did another walkthrough about noon — the place was still empty, but when we went back at 4 p.m., the crews had begun setting up.

You can check out the schedule for the RLC — Sean Hannity will be broadcasting his Fox News show live from here Thursday.

Caleb Bonham of Campus Reform arrived for RLC this afternoon and we met up with him. Campus Reform has a great story today:

UCLA to host event encouraging
students to masturbate instead
of studying for finals




 

Category: Fear and Loathing in the French Quarter
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