Holder Held In Contempt Of Congress

In the other big news item from today, Attorney General Eric Holder has been held in both civil and criminal contempt by the House of Representatives, for failing to turn over documents relating to the investigation of Operation Fast and Furious.  The House first passed the criminal contempt measure 255-67, which included 17 Democrats voting in the affirmative, and then the civil measure 258-95.  Members if the Congressional Black Caucus, as well as Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, walked out in protest.  The criminal measure brings the matter before District of Columbia U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen, who will have to decide whether to bring charges against Holder (who as Attorney General, just happens to be Machen's boss).

Read more at CNN, Fox News, ABC News, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

It's A Tax

So said the Supreme Court ruling written by Chief Justice John Roberts and released today concerning the mandate portion of Obamacare.  The mandate, which requires that American citizens purchase health insurance, had been argued by its supporters as justified by the Constitutional clause giving Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce.  The ruling rejected that argument and instead held that penalizing those who do not buy health insurance is within the congressional power to tax.  Fox News has this report.

A few years ago, ironically, the president claimed that the mandate is not a tax.  I guess that in some cases, something is not a tax, except when it is.


I know that there are a lot of reactions out there to this ruling, but I'll link just this one.  I. M. Citizen, writing in White House 2012, thinks that "Chief Justice Roberts is a genius."

UPDATE:  On second thought, I'll put a link to one more reaction, because it's where I got the title of this post.  Stixblog gives it a humorous spin.

Muslims In Dearborn Stone Christians

Some Christians decided to assemble near a Muslim festival in Dearborn, Michigan.  The Muslim response to the Christian presence wasn't too different from what some of their co-religionists do back in the Middle East.  Read the story at the Western Center For Journalism.

Teacher, Leave Them Kids Alone

Recently convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky got a little serenade from his fellow prisoners during his first night in jail, a rendition of Pink Floyd's Another Brick In The Wall.  Read the story at the Examiner, or if you'd like, feel free to sing along.

Parts Of Arizona's SB1070 Overruled By SCOTUS

Today the Supreme Court handed down in ruling on Arizona's controversial SB1070, striking down three of its provisions, but upholding the section 2(b), which allows law enforcement personnel to attempt to determine the immigration status of anyone reasonably suspected of being an illegal alien.

Read the story at AZFamily.

Read the court's decision here.

The Obama adminstration has reacted to the decision by pulling back on a program known as 287(g).

Read the story at Fox News.

Meet The New Boss

Muslim Brotherhood-backed Mohamed Morsi, a former Member of Parliament and more recently the chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party, has won the Egyptian presidential election.  Morsi defeated his opponent Ahmed Shafiq by about 800,000 votes.  By percentage, the vote was 51.7 for Morsi and 48.3 for Shafiq.  Morsi now holds the distinction of being the first democratically elected president of Egypt.  His educational background is in engineering, including a PhD from USC.

Some reports on Mr. Morsi's election:
Fox News: Morsi wins Egyptian presidential election.
The Washington Post: Mohamed Morsi named new Egyptian president.
The Times Of Israel:  Mohamed Morsi declared president.
The New York Times:  Morsi victory a potent weapon for Islamists.
MSNBC:  Morsi promises protester's bloodshed will not be in vain.
The Guardian: A profile of Mohamed Morsi.

Follow The Ideology

That's the advice from Bill Whittle, who gives us his take on the controversy known as "Fast and Furious".  From PJTV:

Guilty

Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky has been convicted of 45 out of the 48 counts against him.  The Centre County, PA jury returned the verdicts on the second day of deliberation.

Read the story at the New York Times, and at Fox News.

What The Fork Is Going On Here?

From Politico via Pat Dollard:

The annual conference of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials were treated to a lunchtime visit by the president.  Before he spoke, however, the delegates had to finish their lunches and turn in their forks.  Considering how many fundraising dinners and similar events that Obama has attended, just how realistic is the chance that some crazed nut is going to attack the president with a fork?  If a Republican president (or presidential candidate) took the forks away from a Latino crowd, even if it was the Secret Service's idea, wouldn't there be an accusation of racism after about 3 microseconds?

Links For The Start Of Summer

Today is June 21st, normally the first day of Summer, although due to the quirks of the calendar, the actual summer solstice can occur a day before or after this date in any given year.   Today certainly felt like summer, as daytime temperatures exceeded 90 ºF.  While having lunch at a restaurant yesterday (which was also very warm), I explained to the waitress, who has lived in the area (DC, northern VA and central MD) for less than a year, that similarly hot days are pretty common in the summer around here.  I hope she's not too worried about what she's in for.

The Supreme Court's ruling on Obamacare was expected to possibly be released today, but was not.  One possible outcome is that some parts of it, such as the individual mandate requiring everyone to buy health insurance, might be struck down while parts are left standing.  The American Thinker warns us to fear the split decision.

One decision released today by SCOTUS, as reported in Town Hall, is against the SEIU, in the process overturning a ruling by the Ninth Circus, er, uh, Circuit.

As reported by Reason, the Court also ruled against the FCC, saying that they couldn't penalize broadcast networks for violations of policy which occured before the policy was put into place.

According to Media Trackers, a California union official voted in the recent recall election in Wisconsin.

From Yahoo News, a type of agave known as a "century plant" because of the long time it takes between germinating and blooming is now blooming in South Carolina.  Its owner has been proud to show it off, even putting up a sign directing visitors to the plant.

CNS News reports that the $9 billion in stimulus funds going to solar and wind energy projects have produced 910 "direct jobs".  That's $9.8 million per job.

In Canada Free Press, columnist Judi McLeod writes about "Barack Obama, the Illusion."

The Patriot Post reports that the Commander-In-Chief has ordered the military to celebrate gay pride.

From World Net Daily, Arabs living under Palestinian Authority rule have been sentenced to death for selling property to Jews.  The reaction at the UN?  [crickets chirping]

WCNC has a video of Occupy Charlotte protestors dumping coal in front of the Bank of America headquarters.  But to their credit, the Occupiers actually cleaned it all up before they left.

Feel Good Story Of The Day

If you're a little kid, your first time dealing with death is likely to be that of your family's pet.  Four years ago, this was the experience of 7-year-old Sophie Roorda of St. Louis.  Her family thought that their mixed-breed terrier had been killed and eaten by coyotes.  But less than a month ago, another family found a disheveled dog, not far from the Roorda's home.  They took the dog to an animal hospital, where a microchip was found implanted in the dog.  The microchip identified the dog's owners as the Roordas, and Sophie now has her beloved companion back.

Read the story at the Daily Mail.

Roger Clemens Shuts Out Congress

The trial of former major league pitcher Roger Clemens, charged with lying to and obstructing Congress, ended today with not-guilty verdicts on all six counts - two of perjury, three of making false statements, and one of obstruction of justice.  Or to put it in baseball terms, Clemons 6 - Congress 0.

Read the story at CBS New York.

The New Definition Of Racism

I remember occasionally hearing or reading the meme that "race is a social contruct".  For the most part, I never thought it made sense, except for how mixed-race people are racially classified, such as by the notorious "one-drop" rule.  There are real and plainly observable physical differences between people who come from different parts of the globe.  This variation is indeed a biological fact.  On the other hand, calling race a "political construct" seems to have made more sense.  For example, look at the way black conservatives are called "Uncle Tom", "Oreo", or other terms that I don't feel like writing.  Misfit Politics goes deeper into this idea, and has figured out the new way in which racism is defined.

Read the entire article.

Links To Close Out The Weekend

As the weekend draws to a close, a few items in the news:

From CNN: Rodney King, who became famous for getting beaten by LA cops, whose acquittal lead to massive rioting a year later, has been found dead in his swimming pool.

From the Chicago Tribune: In Nigeria, the Muslim terrorist group Boko Haram attacks churches with suicide car bombs, killing 19 Christian worshippers.

From Cleveland.com: Japan's government has approved a plan to bring back online some of the nuclear reactors that were damaged in last year's earthquake and tsunami.

From the Daily Caller:  George Will responds to former Florida governor Jeb Bush's assertion that the Republicans have shifted to the far right.

From the Jerusalem Post: Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has told a German newspaper that he plans to retire from politics.

From Yahoo News: In the Greek parliamentary elections, the New Democracy Party received about 30% percent of the vote, resulting in pro-bailout parties gaining 161 of the 300 seats.

From the USA Today: President Obama's newest campaign ad, featuring his daughters.

From the Telegraph: Syrian forces loyal to President Assad have surrounded the city of Homs.  (H/T Holger Awakens)

UPDATE:
Let me add one more, from the American Thinker: The top ten reasons to vote for Obama, according to his supporters who gathered at "ATM Withdrawal Fest".

To Golf Or Not To Golf?

Today, David Axelrod is an important advisor to the most frequent golfer-in-chief in recent presidential history.  Back in 1994, however, he didn't think that presidents should golf too often, especially when the economy wasn't doing well.  Watch the video and read the story at the Washington Examiner.

Tear Down This Wall

Twenty-five years ago today, President Ronald Reagan spoke in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany.  In the speech, he told Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev what to do with the Berlin Wall.

Two years later, the wall came down, not by any action from Gorbachev, but instead from the German people.  Read more on the Berlin Wall at Berlin Wall Online, Berliner Mauer and Berlin-Life.

Cry Him A River

A Democrat voter in Wisconsin was justifiably disappointed in Tuesday's recall election results, but I'd say his claim that "democracy died" might just be a wee bit exaggerated.

Bob Welch 1946 - 2012

Guitarist-singer-songwriter Bob Welch, known for his work in Fleetwood Mac and a solo career after leaving them, has died in his Nashville, TN home, from what is reported be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.  He is survived by his wife Wendy Armistead Welch.

Robert Lawrence Welch Jr. was the son of Hollywood producer and screenwriter Robert L. Welch Sr. and actress Templeton Fox Welch.  After briefly trying to learn the clarinet, Welch switched to guitar during his teenage years.  After graduating high school, he studied French, first at UCLA and later at the Sorbonne in Paris.  He played in the American R&B band Seven Souls, before forming the short-lived trio Head West, and later becoming the first American to join Fleetwood Mac.  In a "small world" coincidence, the band's secretary Judy Wong was herself an American who had gone to high school with Bob Welch, who was living in Paris when contacted by them in 1971.

It Wasn't Al Gore?

We all know that Al Gore created the Internet, don't we?  After all, he told us himself, right?

But seriously folks, the Internet was not created by the former Vice President or any other politician, but grew out of a military project called ARPAnet, which was started back during the 1960s.  However, at the recent World Science Festival in New York city, attendees learned about a Belgian information expert named Paul Otlet, who in 1934 conceived some of the ideas that later were implemented within the structure of the Internet.

To learn more, watch this video and read the story at FoxNews (and the links above).

D-Day Memories From Yogi Berra

This video is three years old, but still poignant.  In June of 1944, the man who would later become famous as the New York Yankees catcher (and still later their manager) was a low-ranking naval sailor awaiting the start of the invasion of Normandy, having volunteered and trained for duty on a rocket boat.  These boats, each with a 6-man crew, would move toward the beaches in front of the infantry riding aboard landing craft, in order to launch their rockets at the German positions.

Read more about Berra's experience at The Tablet.

Walker Wins

According to various media outlets, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker (R) has won his recall election, prevailing against Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett (D).  Walker had previously beaten Barrett in the regular election of 2010.  Due to provisions of the Wisconsin Constitution, lieutenant governor Rebecca Kleefisch, who had been elected on a ticket with Walker in the regular election, faced a separate recall vote.  Among those reporting on the Wisconsin recall election are:

Los Angeles Times
CBS News
NY Daily News
Wall Street Journal
Washington Post

Some of us conservatives, of course, are happy about the results, and hope that what happened this evening is a prelude to the next regular election.  As The Army You Have puts it, "See you in November".

Flying Cat Alert

I vaguely remember running across a book called 101 Uses For A Dead Cat or something like that.  It appears that a man in the Netherlands has found use #102, after the untimely demise of his feline friend.  Read the story at the MailOnline.

Watch at your own risk.  Not for the easily offended, easily grossed out, or PETA members.

Some History....and Today

First, some history:

Two hundred years ago today, on June 4th, 1812, the United States House of Representatives voted to declare war on Great Britain.  The Senate concurred on June 17th.  President James Madison signed the declaration on June 18th, thus inaugurating the conflict known to history as the War of 1812.

Seventy years ago today, American and Japanese naval forces began fighting the Battle of Midway, which would result in the Japanese losing all four of their aircraft carriers, while the Americans lost one of their three.  Midway is generally thought to be first naval battle in which the ships on opposing sides never saw each other.

Now, onto some items from today:

From Liberty News, each job produced by the "Stimulus" bill costs somewhere between $540,000 and $4.1 million.

From King5, two sex offenders have been shot dead in Clallam County, Washington.

From the BBC, rebels in Syria abandon a ceasefire brokered by the UN.

From the Weekly Standard, Jesse Jackson compares Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, soon to face a recall vote, to past Alabama governor George Wallace.

From Reuters via MSNBC, a Kuwaiti man gets 10 years in prison for insulting Mohammed on Twitter.

From MSN, an injured bus driver saves his passengers, before dying.

From SFGate, for one Canadian, previously convicted of murder, karma wasn't a bitch, but instead was a bear.

From National Geographic, there will be a transit of Venus tomorrow.  If you miss it, the next one won't occur until 2117.

From CBS News, a woman in New Jersey discovers that the "face-eating" victim in Miami was her long-lost father.

From the Newark Advocate, one for the "Don't You Hate When That Happens?" department, a firearms instructor shoots himself in the leg.

And to finish off, from the Right Scoop, two miniature schnauzers welcome their soldier home.

Elizabeth Warren: House Flipper

Senatorial candidate and possible part-part-part Cherokee Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass), who has recently complained about the lending practices of "predatory" banks and the resulting "heartless" foreclosures, has profited, and helped members of her family profit, from the practice of "flipping" houses, including properties upon which banks had foreclosed.  Most of the activity took place during the 90's, before the real estate market collapse of 2008, but if banks were acting as predators, Warren had already made quite a bit of money as a scavenger.

Read the story at the Boston Herald.

Mubarak Sentenced To Life, But Egyptians Still Angry

Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has been sentenced to life in prison for "enabling the massacre of protestors" who had risen up against his rule.  Egyptians were initally euphoric at Mubarak's sentence, but then became angry because he and other defendants were ruled not to have been responsible for ordering the killings, and because other charges such as profiteering and economic fraud were dismissed.

Read the story at the Guardian.