June 18, 2013 — John Hinderaker

Two Stories About Privacy: A Journalist and a Quisling

Featured image There is lots of talk, these days, about privacy: about cyber surveillance; about intrusive government; about whether we can feel secure on the telephone and on line. Amid all the noise, it is sometimes hard to sort the wheat from the chaff. But one story that definitely deserves our attention is the hacking of CBS reporter Sharyl Attkisson’s home and work computers. This is precisely the kind of totalitarian scenario »
June 18, 2013 — John Hinderaker

CBO Analysis Confirms: Gang of Eight Bill Is a Disaster

Featured imageThe Congressional Budget Office released its analysis of the Gang of Eight’s immigration proposal today, and spinning is in full swing. The fact is, however, that the basic facts can’t be spun: the bill is a disaster. As with Obamacare, the Gang structured its bill to make it “score” artificially well from a budget perspective. They did this by delaying the newly legalized immigrants’ eligibility for most federal welfare benefits »
June 18, 2013 — John Hinderaker

“Marco, There’s Somebody on Television Pretending To Be You!”

Featured imageToday the Senate voted down amendments to the Gang of Eight’s bill that were proposed by Senators Thune and Vitter. Thune’s amendment would have required 350 miles of the 700-mile border fence that was mandated by the 2006 Secure Fence Act to be completed prior to any legalization of illegal aliens. The remaining 350 miles would have to be built thereafter. Thune’s amendment highlights what a joke the Gang’s promises »
June 18, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff

Let’s not go there [Updated]

Featured imageYesterday, I suggested that the most plausible scenario under which Congress enacts Schumer-Rubio style amnesty legislation is one in which: (1) the House passes very different legislation, but (2) relents in conference with the Senate, and (3) adopts the conference version with near unanimous Democrat support and a few dozen Republican votes. One way to avoid this scenario is for the House to pass no immigration reform legislation at all, »
June 18, 2013 — Scott Johnson

The cunning Mr. Cummings

Featured imageHouse Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa has posted a statement on the IRS investigation that responds to Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings’ announced intention to post the full investigative interview of IRS employee John Shafer online. Cummings has now posted the transcript here (part 1) and here (part 2), as the Washington Post reports. Here is Issa’s statement in its entirety: I am deeply disappointed that Ranking Member Cummings has decided »
June 18, 2013 — Steven Hayward

Energy Geek Week: Peak Oil RIP Edition

Featured imageCommenter David Hill reminded us yesterday of Steve Martin’s excitement about new phone books (one of my favorite scenes, too), but my seriously analogous moment comes this week every year when BP releases it Annual Statistical Review of World Energy.  For a data maven like me, it’s a total geekfest.  (“The new BP Review is out!  The new BP review is out!”)  Since BP makes its data available on downloadable »
June 18, 2013 — Steven Hayward

Green Weenie of the Week: Jerry Brown

Featured imageNow I know what you’re thinking: doesn’t California Governor Jerry Brown deserve a coveted Power Line Green Weenie lifetime achievement award for some of the things he did 35 years ago, when he was governor first time around?  Goes without saying.  It was back during Brown’s “Moonbeam” years that California embarked on its dirigisme energy policy, with some of the first major subsidies for wind and solar power that gave »
June 18, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff

The Gang that couldn’t talk straight

Featured imageYesterday, it was revealed that an aide to Sen. Rubio made the following statement to Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker: There are American workers who, for lack of a better term, can’t cut it. There shouldn’t be a presumption that every American worker is a star performer. There are people who just can’t get it, can’t do it, don’t want to do it. And so you can’t obviously discuss »
June 17, 2013 — John Hinderaker

Miss Utah vs. Barack Obama and Jay Carney

Featured imageThe Miss USA pageant was last night; it was won by Erin Brady, Miss Connecticut: There is an interesting trend toward the Northeast in Miss USA, as last year’s winner (and this year’s Miss Universe) was Olivia Culpo, Miss Rhode Island. But today’s news about the pageant focused less on Miss Brady than on Marissa Powell, Miss Utah. Miss Powell was the third runner-up, but she was deemed to have »
June 17, 2013 — Steven Hayward

Another Totally Frivolous Pop Culture Post

Featured imageSo a week or so ago on my post on “Jay Leno For President,” I noticed that frequent Power Line commenter David Hill’s FB identification reads: “Works at Veridian Dynamics.”  No way!  This is almost as good as spotting the Fred Hirsch Social Limits to Growth reference on The Big Bang Theory.  Better Off Ted (the home of Veridian Dynamics) was one of my favorite short-lived shows (not as short-lived as »
June 17, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff

Obama’s approval rating plummets

Featured imagePresident Obama’s approval rating is down to 45 percent, according to a CNN/ORC poll of 1,014 adult Americans. 54 percent disapprove of his job performance. A month ago, the same pollsters found that 53 percent approved of the Obama presidency while 45 percent disapproved. Thus, his numbers have, in essence, flipped — a turnaround of 8 points if one focuses on the “approval” side. Although the decline in Obama’s approval »
June 18, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff

Boehner commits to Hastert Rule on immigration reform

Featured imageI hear that at the weekly House GOP conference, Speaker Boehner firmly committed to the Hastert rule on immigration reform legislation, with no wiggle room. Boehner explained that he, Pelosi, and Hastert have violated the rule when they had no leverage and other options were worse, e.g., with fiscal-cliff legislation. But this is not the case with immigration reform, he said. Boehner’s view, from what I’m hearing, is that President »
June 18, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff

Tom Perez foiled, we hope

Featured imageWe have written about the lengths to which Tom Perez, President Obama’s nominee for Secretary of Labor, went to induce the City of St. Paul into withdrawing its appeal of a fair housing lawsuit that raised the viability of claims based on disparate impact. In exchange for dropping its case, the U.S. government, spurred by Perez, agreed not to intervene in an unrelated False Claims Act case that had the »
June 18, 2013 — Scott Johnson

Tell Dems: Stop scamming voters

Featured imageThe Democrats of the (Democratic) House Majority PAC are out with a seemingly ubiquitous Internet ad that blares: DON’T LET STUDENT LOAN RATES SKYROCKET! TELL REP. KLINE: STOP SCAMMING STUDENTS! Usage note: “Ubiquitous” is an adjective that does not admit of comparison. It means present everywhere at once. Something is not “very” ubiquitous, or “relatively” ubiquitous. In this context, when I use the adjective, I am describing a stupid left-wing »
June 17, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff

The immigration reform endgame

Featured imageEarlier today, I discussed a way in which the House leadership could bring a comprehensive, amnesty-style immigration reform bill up for a vote without clearly violating the Hastert Rule (under which only legislation supported by half of the Republican caucus comes to a vote). The House leadership could accomplish this, I speculated, if the House passes its own, significantly different immigration reform measure and then, in conference, accedes to a »
June 17, 2013 — Scott Johnson

Understanding Iran’s election

Featured imageIt really shouldn’t be difficult to understand Iran’s presidential election, assuming you pay attention to such things. If you get your news from the mainstream media, however, it might be close to impossible to understand it. As Paul demonstrates, going a little bit out of your way online you can quickly find just about everything you need to know about the election and the winner, one Hassan Rouhani. Take, for »
June 17, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff

Boehner reportedly will apply the Hastert Rule to immigration reform [Updated]

Featured imageThe Washington Examiner reports that Speaker Boehner will not bring a comprehensive immigration-reform plan to the floor if a majority of Republicans don’t support it. This is normal Republican policy in the House (it’s known as the Hastert Rule). I had speculated, however, that Boehner might waive the rule in the case of immigration reform legislation by applying a lower threshold, say one-third support. The Examiner reporter, David Drucker, cites »