Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Headline of the Day

Details are still few, but it appears five people in Minnepolis have a new respect for personal responsibility. 

Until the facts say otherwise, Kristinn Taylor at Gateway Pundit earns a hearty Ushanka Tip for her headline:
VIDEO PROOF=> 5 Black Lives Matter Protesters Shot AFTER REPEATEDLY Beating White Videographers
There will come a point in the near future when mutual respect is restored.

Is That a MIG, or a Black Swan?


 Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 last night.  This should make for an interesting week in the region and in the markets.



Will anyone remember what country started the destabilizing process, first with Libya, Egypt and Iraq, and then in Syria?

Will I be told such a question is "not relevant," is "petty politics," and "distracts from solving the problems" that were caused by such stupidity?  Probably.

U/T: WZ

UPDATED 7:56am:

ZH has posted two videos showing a dead Russian pilot.  Here is a screenshot of the video and the accompanying text:


UPDATED 8:15am:

Oil is up nearly 2% to $42.51.  Putin won't admit it, but today's shoot-down is good for Russia.

See my post from a month ago...

UPDATED 8:25am:

Added pic at top - from UK Telegraph.

There is not a lot of data yet.  But with the data we have at this moment, it appears the F-16 is a better fighter jet than the SU-24.

Monday, November 23, 2015

Cartoon Redistribution

FB Comrade J. shared this cartoon today.  I can't help but redistribute.


I See What You Did There

Journalism done right - Drudge:


Will any of the old media put these news stories together?  If not, why not?

Gun News

Gateway Pundit has a post today: GunTV – a Firearms Home Shopping Channel – Is Coming in January.


The last few years have been amazing for us gun nuts.  Nearly all states have discarded tyrannical gun-control laws, bowing to the desires of their law-abiding citizens.  And those citizens have jumped into the gun ownership and shooting sports by the millions.

Sources of reliable information have also emerged.  First it was Internet forums that connected professionals and amateurs in shared areas of interest.  Then James Yeager and others took to YouTube to share knowledge and lessons-learned.  These YouTube channels have created a feedback loop to manufacturers which, in turn, has led to dramatic improvements in quality and a focus on buyer preferences.  GunTV is a logical evolutionary step for America's massive gun culture.  I hope they do it right.

In other gun news:

A Ushanka comrade in the mid-west happens to work at the gun counter of a major retailer.  He contacted me this week to tell me of a new trend.  In the past week he has had 16 customers come in to buy AR-15 rifles and another 20 customers coming in to buy pistols.  ALL were first-time buyers.  And ALL said essentially the same thing when they approached the counter:  "This Paris attack pisses me off.  I am sick of this ISIS shit.  It is coming here.  I want a gun."

Of course, the unspoken message here is, 'I do not trust my government to protect me.'

My message to my fellow gun owners old and new:

Welcome Comrades!

Buying the gun is step one.  

Step two is go to a class. 

Step three is stay proficient.

Step four: enjoy being a part of the finest community on the planet.

As for training:  I have attended classes at three different schools.  All offered better training that I received in the Army. I recommend Yeager's classes at Tactical Response near Nashville.

The cool thing about guns is that you can have a great time in the shooting sports in addition to being able to rise to any threat level you may someday encounter.  I have Ushanka comrades (a cute couple with a strong marriage) who plan their vacations around training classes.  Twice a year they spend a week traveling and during each trip they attend a 2 or 3 day class.  It is a way to stay active, stay outdoors, and to meet new friends.

UPDATED 7:30pm:

Comrade Mike Vanderboegh at Sipsey Street Irregulars links to this Gun Owners of America post.  GOA is trying to get the National Firearms Act of 1934 overturned.  Why not?  ObamaCare and Gay Marriage are both now Constitutional.

Repeal of NFA is one of my extremist criteria I use to rank GOP candidates in my bi-monthly GOP Rankings Report.  None of the candidates have made such a promise, which tells me everything I need to know about the GOP candidates.

Today's WSJ

I feel compelled to comment on today's Wall Street Journal, the best of the old, declining media.


As I sit here at the table made of recycled rain forest and sip from my controversial red cup, I look disapprovingly at the under-the-fold headline.  First, there is no war on the Islamic State as per our dear leader.  He has set the priorities for the nation, and global warming is the more pressing issue of the day.  Second, the only war I'm aware of is the one from the Islamic State.  A smart journalist (and editor) would understand that when one side detonates bombs and attacks, that it is they imposing war on the other side.  The Journal might as well announce we are now at war with Eurasia and are now allies with East Asia.

Look to the right and discover that "we" released a spy from jail.  Again, a smart journalist would know that "we" did not have any say in the matter.  Small-minded critics will call me anti-semetic, but I believe one can be both pro-Israel and still want Jonathan Pollard to rot in prison until his last breath (if not put up against a wall and shot).

And if it were not bad enough that we have a manipulative press and anti-American president, you'll see in the lower left that the establishment GOP is working against the best interests of Americans by trying to derail Trump.  As a detached observer to the 2016 campaign I have to express shock at the decisions of the GOP and their candidates (Kasich, Bush, Christie, Graham, et al).  They have to know the electorate's anger, the tea party's resolve, and the population's fear re: immigration, ISIS and economic decline.   Apparently they really think some dirt on Trump will result in him losing a single vote.  I don't like calling people "stupid" as I am a product of the public school system, so I'll say this:  The GOP leadership seems to be making some strategic mistakes in the 2016 election cycle.


Friday, November 20, 2015

Clarey Visit

No posts the past two days as Comrade Clarey came to visit.


And all I got was this $10 poker victory and an empty bottle of Rumple Minze...

UPDATED 11.21.15:

Comrade Clarey has posted his latest podcast - a conversation between the two of us.  I'm relieved that I didn't muck it up.  So relieved.

Check it out.  49 minutes.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Graham Stands Alone

As the only GOP presidential candidate who endorses unlimited refugee immigration from Syria and other Muslim countries after the Paris terror attacks, Graham separates himself from the pack.

Comrade MaryJaneAnklestraps (MJA) over at IOTW recognizes Grahams leadership with this portrait, aptly named "War Paint."


It is no secret Senator Graham's campaign slogan is "Ready to be Commander-in-Chief on Day One."  Apparently it is a secret, however, as to what responsibilities he thinks that role requires.

If you don't see it, you're in good company.  It took me a while to notice that MJA had photoshopped the lipstick.  Do you see it now?  I almost missed it.  Very subtle. 

Did you know that MJA is one of the original Ushanka Babes?  Here she is modeling the FORWARD placard on Glorious Hat


Stunning.  Yet fair.  

An enlightened mix of Bourgeois elegance with proletarian pride.

Monday, November 16, 2015

Plus de cuisses de grenouilles S'il vous plaît

That would be "More Frog Legs Please," according to Google Translate.

Comrade Joe Dan just released the latest 23 minutes of Intellectual Froglegs.  Who says there is no such thing as a free lunch?



18:04:
Look at these [Trump] buildings.  Obama, Trump built these.  And these were built by a man with vision.  And confidence.  And competence.
19:44:
Something like this [sad state of America] took a lot more than incompetence.  It took criminal intent.
Exactly.

Quote of the Day


Yours truly on FB, commenting on this Breitbart article:  Jeb: US Should Accept Refugees, But ‘Make Sure’ They’re Not Terrorists.
This Paris attack was the last opportunity for the losers in the GOP race to gain ground on Trump. Yet, nobody said to nuke Mecca. Nobody suggested expulsion of every Muslim from the US. Nobody promised pardons for vigilante justice that might occur at America's mosques. Trump retains the lead, the others might as well change their names to "McCain." Except Graham. He can keep his name.
As you know, I'm not picking a candidate this time around.  As it looks now, I figure by the time the primaries come to my home state of Ohio, there won't be much of a choice.  So instead I'm watching the campaigns.  And I'm criticizing the campaigns - see my biweekly GOP Rankings Report.


Ann Coulter, author and proud owner of Glorious Hat since 2008, tweeted a similar comment referring to Trump's lead Friday night, the night of the Paris terrorist attack:
They can wait if they like until next November for the actual balloting, but Donald Trump was elected president tonight.
UPDATED 11.16.15 9pm:

Five days after 129 innocents are murdered in Paris, Gov. Christie makes the following announcement (via Daily Caller):
. . . because he lacks the confidence in the Obama Administration’s vetting ability, he would not allow any Syrian refugees into America — not even “orphans under the age of five.”
Too little, too late, in my opinion.  But also predictable and predictably desperate.

U/T: Matt Bracken via FB


Sunday, November 15, 2015

Sunday Afternoon Cigar

Smoking a Rocky Patel Edge out by the firepit.


It was sunny and warm, so instead of wearing Glorious Hat today, I chose to wear my Intellectual Froglegs hat.

A little trivia for you.  Froglegs University is the only American university where:
The students don't feel entitled to other peoples' money.
Nobody feels the victim.
Not a single Marxist professor is employed.
The Second Amendment is celebrated every day.

I started reading Jack Hinson's One-Man War, by Tom McKenney.  Amazon:
The true story of one man's reluctant but relentless war against the invaders of his country.  A quiet, wealthy plantation owner, Jack Hinson watched the start of the Civil War with disinterest. Opposed to secession and a friend to Union and Confederate commanders alike, he did not want a war. After Union soldiers seized and murdered his sons, placing their decapitated heads on the gateposts of his estate, Hinson could remain indifferent no longer. He commissioned a special rifle for long-range accuracy, he took to the woods, and he set out for revenge. This remarkable biography presents the story of Jack Hinson, a lone Confederate sniper who, at the age of 57, waged a personal war on Grant's army and navy. The result of 15 years of scholarship, this meticulously researched and beautifully written work is the only account of Hinson's life ever recorded and involves an unbelievable cast of characters, including the Earp brothers, Jesse James, and Nathan Bedford Forrest.
 The Hinson story and Froglegs University are both located in Tennessee.  Coincidence?

GOP Rankings Report #8

The latest Rankings:


You can see the criteria I use to develop this report - here.

Again, I used the latest debate to rank the candidates on their attack focus - at other GOP candidates, or at the opposition in the Democrat Party.  This was important to me when I started these reports in August.  Apparently, it is a priority of a majority of GOP voters, and it has stifled internal attacks with all but two candidates (Jeb! and Kasich).  Further, I docked Rubio in this report, as you can see above, after his cheap shot on Rand Paul. 

Debate Observations:

Have you noticed there is only one person at the debates who would probably pass on being offered the VP role?  

Gov. Kasich is an anomaly.  An unwelcome, limp, RINO anomaly.  Rush nailed it - audio at Breitbart - fast forward to the 3:12 mark.

Fiorina had some great tax change suggestions, but I cannot reflect this in the report, as I require specific promises on the candidate's website.  Is this how she'll govern?  Say the right things to the right audience, but ignore their desire to see it in writing or the policy's execution?

Quote of the Debate #1 - Sen. Paul, on the growing wage gap:
We have to look to see where income inequality is the worst.  It seems to be worst in cities run by Democrats, states run by Democrats, and currently countries run by Democrats.
Quote of the Debate #2 - Fiorina, on the banking crisis of 2008:
I think what is interesting about Dodd-Frank, is it a great example of how socialism starts.  Socialism starts when government creates a problem, and then government steps in to solve the problem.  Government created the problem.  Government created the problem of a real-estate boom.  How did we create it?  Under Democrats and Republicans alike.  Fannie May and Freddie Mac.  Everybody gathered together.  Republicans and Democrats said ‘home ownership is part of the American dream.  Let’s create a bubble,’ and then government stepped in, by the way under President George W. Bush, banks were told, encouraged, told really, to buy other banks.  To take money.  And now what do we have Dodd-Frank?  The classic of crony capitalism.  The big have gotten bigger.  1590 community banks have gone out of business.  And on top of all that, we’ve created something called the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a vast bureaucracy with no congressional oversight, that’s digging through hundreds of millions of your credit records to detect fraud.  This is how socialism starts, ladies and gentlemen.  We must take our government back.
If you missed it, check out the foreign policy segment of the debate.  Nearly all the candidates were strong.  I don't recall McCain or Romney this strong or this detailed.
Grand slam by Fiorina in her plan to deal with Putin.  She set herself apart on foreign affairs.
Rubio was spot on re: Putin: "He's a gangster."
Jeb took time away from criticizing the other Republicans to get a dig or two in on Hillary.

Kudos to Bush for suggesting full reversal of ALL Obama regulations.  I'd be willing to add that to the Domestic Policy list in this report if I saw the specifics.  Frankly, if Bush were serious, he'd post such a plan on his website.

Candidate Website Reviews:

Changes to candidate sites since my last review:
1. Trump has added a US-China Trade position,
2. Jeb finally changed his home page picture - a new, younger Jeb,
Cruz, Fiorina, Kasich and Pataki still do not have Issues tabs on their websites.  I am considering sending this fact to the next debate moderators.  If it made the debate, it would light a fire under the candidates and maybe sell a Glorious Hat or two.  Until they explain themselves, I will suspect they don't have Issues tabs for one of five reasons:
1. The candidate has had their success handed to them their entire career, and has never thought of leading or taking a stand, or communicating their vision,
2. The candidate is hiding something - similar to the way Democrats hide their actual plans for office,
3.  The candidate's campaign is in disarray and is trying to wait for a Trump flame-out,
4. Taking a stand will reduce the candidate's donor pool, or
5.  The candidate thinks you are too stupid to notice.
The website rankings have not changed since the last report.

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Quote of the Yesterday (France)


As France deals with the aftermath of last night's ISIS terrorist attack, where the number killed exceeded 150 was 129, we here in the States have to contemplate our security once again.

Hours before the inbred goat-f**kers attacked in France, their protector-in-chief here in the US said this:
I don’t think they’re gaining strength. What is true is that from the start, our goal has been first to contain and we have contained them. They have not gained ground in Iraq, and in Syria they’ll come in, they’ll leave, but you don’t see this systemic march by ISIL across the terrain.

What we have not yet been able to do is to completely decapitate their command and control structures. We’ve made some progress in trying to reduce the flow of foreign fighters and part our goal has to be to recruit more effective Sunni partners in Iraq to really go on offense rather than simply engage in defense.
I think the biggest mistake you or I could make here is to dismiss Obama's comments as either stupid or naive.

President Obama and his inner circle are neither.  He and his team just have a different vision for the future than you and I do, or our founders did.

Obama has set the table for ISIS in both Europe and the US out of a hatred for Western Civilization and the values we hold dear.  His hope is to exchange security (more likely a sense of security) for core freedoms with a scared populace .  Freedom to bear arms.  Freedom of movement.  Freedom to worship.  Freedom to disagree.

My suggestions: Don't get scared, but instead get angry. (Which you already are if you're reading this) Also, bear arms.  Move.  Worship.  And disagree.

U/T: Breitbart (w/ video).  Image by Mohammad cartoon champion, Bosch Fawstin, who shared on FB today.

CORRECTED 11.15.15 9am:  Total murdered.

UPDATED 11.17.15 1:30pm:

Comrade Branco offers us a visual:


Friday, November 13, 2015

It's Fair. . .

Our Cartoon of the day, by Comrade Branco:


Hey Bernie, you gray-haired commie, what goes around comes around.

Safe Place


Do you realize the term "Safe Place" is just one tactic in a much larger war?

These events are coordinated and are intended to prepare the battlefield for the next Communist push into our lives: forgiveness of student loans, free college, acceptance of felons in the workplace, further dilution of traditional family values and religious values, more free stuff, etc.

I also think America's liberals progressives communists realize their Hope and Change Utopia has only 433 days left, and that there is a possibility that grownups will be back in charge in 2016.

It is now or never.  Snowflakes in America's Universities, Unite!

****

Not to be out-whined by their comrades at the University of Missouri, Yale students deplore the invasion of their 'safe places:'



For those who don't watch South Park, please reconsider.  They are confronting political correctness head-on this season, albeit in their usual juvenile manner.  As you watch, imagine how much dough Trey Parker and Matt Stone are making off of these leftist concepts.  I'd take their profit margin over Planned Parenthood's any day.  I subscribe to their season at Amazon.


As for safe places, may I share a suggestion?
If you carry a concealed handgun, every place is your safe place.
Instapundit has a USA Today article suggesting, after seeing the Yale video above and the shenanigans in Missouri, that the voting age should be raised to a more appropriate age.  I disagree (but do not take offense).  Here is what I would have liked to see -  notice the power of the pen:
Missouri:  The football season cancelled and games forfeited, professor Glick and her husband fired for inciting mob violence, and scholarships revoked for the offending players.

Yale:  Snowflake expulsion.
Where did I come up with these radical, extremist ideas?  Did I just make these things up??

No.  These were the responses common in 'my day.'


Fred offered a suggestion in his latest, Missouri: Taking the National Temperature:
If universities accepted only those with intelligence and interest, the noise level would drop appreciably.
A novel idea that I feel compelled to agree with.

As you watch these outbursts continue in parallel with the civil unrest and racial tension, remember this truism:
A Communist takeover only occurs in moments of crisis and chaos.
UPDATED 15 minutes later:

Author, Comrade and Glorious Hat owner, Matt Bracken, shares this like-minded article at Defense Watch:  The new Gulag Archipelago on our college campuses.
Who said communism is dead? It’s alive and well on our nation’s campuses.

---

Under the guise of imaginary offenses, these little Maoists are creating the new Gulag Archipelago on the nation’s campuses. Yale and Mizzou and hundreds of other places of higher learning are becoming modern day Pol Pot re-education camps.

Like the Red Guards, the fanatical college age thugs who enforced Mao’s insane Cultural Revolution, today’s college radicals are the enforcers of cultural Marxism and the destroyers of free speech and freedom itself.

What’s the cause of all this? Who’s to blame? Look no further than their Baby Boomer parents and the leftist, do-gooder K-12 educators who have created a walking, talking, protesting Frankenstein monster called the Snowflake Generation.

UPDATED one hour later...

Gun Owners of America just posted this on FB. 


I like the way they think.

Pic of the Day

By the same comrade who designed our Glorious Hat ad at the left:


Splendid.

U/T: Googie

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Who?

Drudge:


We just had a GOP debate with 8 qualified candidates. 

That is twice the number of DNC candidates, although I bet you'd get the same number if you added the ages of both sides...

So why the panic?  Hmmm?

Could it be:
A. This is a deception tactic by the Washington Post.  Part of their never-ending 'The GOP is in disarray' message to discourage Republican voters.  Example.  More examples: see my MSM election Analysis videos linked at the left.

B. The "Republican Party" that the Washington Post is referring to are the establishment types who are getting blown away by the Trump-Carson-Tea Party phenomenon.  It sucks calling the reliable deep-pocket donors and getting voicemail, eh?

Dating Photos

Imgur has a post of dating site photos from a certain country.  Can you guess which country?

Hint #1: The country that tells Obama when the US military can fly near Syria.


Hint #2: The country that is currently marching through Ukraine.


Hint #3: The country that keeps approaching the US borders with their reconnaissance aircraft.

How can they be so superior to us? 

Have you seen the students at the University of Missouri??

Go check out the other photos.  Perhaps you'll find your mate...

University of MIssouri

A follow-up to yesterday's post.

Some images found on social media and image-sharing sites:







UPDATED 11.13.15 7am:


Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Juxtaposed, For Your Pleasure

First, two videos.  One real, one sarcasm.  Both uncomfortable to watch.

This one from the Missouri Campus where the mob successfully deposed the university president because feelings, or something.




Lenin would be proud.  First agitate.  Then take over.

WZ reports the crowd there were directed in their actions by the Ferguson Bolsheviks, proving once again that all mobs - so far - have been saturated in the envy and resentment of Marxism.

On the plus side, these liberal studies students have provided Trey Parker and Matt Stone with another script for their outstanding review of political correctness this season

And the wonderful sarcasm - an accurate statement of what the Democrats have done to public education.  From the same kids behind #Equality.




Next, two ushanka photos.  One real, one sarcasm.



Remember, winter is coming!  Buy your Glorious Hat here.

Monday, November 09, 2015

Pic of the Monday

Workers of the World, Unite . . . in paying taxes so others don't have to work!


U/T: Hippie Critic

Thursday, November 05, 2015

Ohio

Ohio is one weird state.  I s**t on it a lot because I feel compelled to return the favors.

The many favors...


This isn't scientific, but it seems a majority of odd news comes from this state.  Today:

1)  Four men were recently arrested in Ohio for terrorism.  (WZ)

2) The Cleveland lad, Julian Hernandez, didn't know he had been missing for 13 years until he applied to college.  (CNN)

Minnesota, Comrade Clarey's home state, currently holds the record for the most ISIS recruits.  While I'm sure Michigan is a close second, I have to wonder where Ohio is on that list.

Here is Aaron, wearing Glorious Hat, warning his followers away from Ohio:




I would not argue with someone who says Ohio is getting better.  When I moved to Ohio in 2008, it was ranked #45 in the nation for business friendliness.  Moving from California, this seemed like a step in the right direction.  At that time, Indiana was #11 and Kentucky was mid-twenties - two nearby states that I wish I had considered.

Today, Forbes lists Ohio at a remarkable #15, and Chief Executive lists it as #22.  Their rankings for Indiana, respectively: #8 and #6.

Check out the Forbes ranking for the state.  Specifically, the Labor Supply and Growth Prospects rankings...



Quote of the Day


Author, Comrade and Glorious Hat owner, Matt Bracken, commenting on Carol Brown's American Thinker blog post, Where's the best place to house colonizers?:
The only good to come out of the Muslim hijrah invasion of Germany is the object lesson it will provide to America. And we have the 2nd amd, and millions of scoped rifles, so busing Muslim invaders into Anytown USA won't be a smooth operation.

Ask Lebanon what results from taking in millions of angry Muslim refugees. The coming Eurabian Civil War will be Lebanaon X Yugoslavia X Syria. With that example in front of us, American open-border Quislings will have to go into hiding, and will be very nervous around rope or lamp posts.
Matt served in Lebanon in the 80's as a Navy SEAL.  Check out his other predictions in his Enemies trilogy.

Matt also links to this story from Idaho.  Apparently some Americans are getting ahead of the coming crisis.

Wednesday, November 04, 2015

MSM and Yesterday's Elections


It smells like victory.

Comrade Mikhail and I had a tradition that lasted over a decade (96-06'ish), back when we lived close to each other.  Every election night we'd watch the returns together.  And we'd watch Dan Rather and the other libs do the reporting.  It was quite fun when the Republicans had winning nights.  Watching the libs keep from crying while having to report the news.  Those were the days.


You can get a taste of this fun from CNN: Election Day: Bevin wins in Kentucky, Ohio rejects pot.

Yesterday, the Republicans won nearly all, if not all, off-year elections and ballot initiatives.  I don't know the exact count because I rely on the MSM for the reporting.  It must have been good, or else I'd be seeing "We told you so!" in the MSM headlines, and pictures of celebrations with rainbow flags and smug speeches.  Instead, I see a whole lot of this:


You'll see at the CNN piece that, while they waste your time with noise, they don't waste your time with numbers.  Did X win by 0.1%, or 20%?  Who knows?

The two ballot items I was paying attention to were Ohio's #3 and California's F.

#3 was Ohio's attempt to legalize marijuana and further transfer values from families and religion to the government. The MSM and local media had expected #3 to pass. CNN will now tell you that it was "deeply flawed" and that the results show "a strong base of support" for this.  They don't tell you that it lost 64-36.

I posted on California's F yesterday.  The kill-Airbnb/kill-capitalism measure failed 45-55.  This is a huge margin in that city of liberals progressives communists.

Kentucky has a new, and rare, Republican governor.  Virginia retains a Republican legislature to block Clinton-machine hack Gov. McCauliffe.  Houston told the gays that they are like everyone else and not extra-super-special.  The people said "no" to new taxes.  Coos County Oregon gave their sheriff the authority to ignore any federal or state gun law that he deems unconstitutional.


The MSM will tell you otherwise, but I think all these elections bode well for 2016.

UPDATED 11.6.15 6am:

Comrade Joe Dan, of Intellectual Froglegs fame, shared this on FB. 


Yep, that about sums it up.

Tuesday, November 03, 2015

The [Current] Truth About Precious Metals Investing

Illuminati Silver has a great commentary on 'gold pumpers,' those who talk-up precious metals and talk-down other investing options.



I posted a similar discussion back in March, where I proved that precious metals investing would have been the worst idea during the Obama years.  That is still true today.

Here is why both of our reviews are worthy of consideration: both Illuminati Silver and I presented our findings from a pro-precious metals perspective.

AirBnB

Ronald Reagan:
Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
Airbnb is moving.


Airbnb is an accommodations web-service that lets home owners and renters offer their unused living space.  It sidestepped the hotel industry, disrupted the hotel market, and empowered entrepreneurs around the globe. 


The Commies agree: This innovation must be stopped.


Had the Internet existed in 1908, I'd link to the TechCrunch article from the San Francisco hippie rally protesting the bourgeois automobile and demanding massive tax penalties against the capitalist endeavor.  Think of the stagecoach workers being thrown out on the streets!

Airbnb has been in the news twice this week.


First, they took it to the government with a splendid ad.  However, ball-less as many entrepreneurs and venture capitalists are these days, they took the ad down moments after the liberals bleated.

You see, the government started taxing Airbnb ABOVE AND BEYOND the normal corporate taxes.  They justified the tax increase with the usual: the children, the libraries and parks, fairness.  The Obama voters agreed.  Not with critical thought, but out of envy and resentment.

So, did the tax revenue help the children?  The libraries and parks?  Those due some fairness?  Or did it go to failing union pensions and deficit spending?  Airbnb was asking:
Dear Public Library System,

We hope you use some of the $12 million in hotel taxes to keep the library open later.

Love, Airbnb
BAM!  The government scam exposed in 24 words.  Like I said, "splendid."


Airbnb is in the news again today with the California Proposition F, on today's ballot.  Proposition F would limit Airbnb hosts to renting their space to 75 days a year.  (That leaves 290 days a year they can rent their spaces for cash via Craigslist, thus saving both Airbnb and themselves thousands in taxes.)

The proponents say Prop F is causing rent rates to increase in San Francisco, thus increasing the number of homeless in that homeless-friendly city.  If the Marxists had half a brain cell among their masses, they'd know that the market dictates rent rates, and Airbnb just facilitates the market mechanism of finding the true market rates. 

We'll be watching today's vote.  And if F passes, we'll be watching San Francisco's rent rates plummet as the liberals promised.

Sunday, November 01, 2015

GOP Rankings Report - Nov. 1

The latest Ushanka GOP Rankings Report!


Regretfully, there are few changes since our last report.

I used the CNBC Debate to determine the rating for attacks - GOP-focused vs. Anti-DNC.  Governors Kasich and Bush are, again, zeroes for using their few minutes to attack GOP candidates rather than address the 7 years of Obama and the 4 years that Hillary and Bernie promise us.  Shameful.

Senator Cruz still does not have an Issues tab on his website, but he did release his tax plan there.  He gets a max score of 3 for his tax plan promise.

You can see the detailed criteria for this report here.

The supporting data for this report:


GOP Websites

There were no changes to the GOP websites since the last website report.  The stats:
  • 28% of the GOP Candidates DO NOT HAVE AN ISSUES TAB ON THEIR WEBSITE,
  • Another 36% have an Issues tab with no actual promises within.