The Final Five: June 15, 2012

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Tonight's Crazy Story:
Semitrailer Leaks Fuel After Duct Tape Patch Fails
A semi truck stopped at a rest stop leaked approximately 100 gallons of diesel after the driver thought he had fixed the leak with duct tape.

Topic One: Immigration Confusion
Much of the news today centered around Obama's immigration plans. From the rose garden, Obama announced today that his administration would offer two-year deferrals for about 800,000 illegal immigrants. Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano stressed that this is not an amnesty program and it will not lead to lawful status or citizenship. According to the CNSNews article, those eligible must meet all five of these criteria: "1) Illegally entered the United States when they were under 16 years old; 2) Have continually resided in the United States for at least five years; 3) Are currently in school, have graduated from a U.S. high school, obtained a GED, or has been honorably discharged from the military or Coast Guard; 4) Have not been convicted of a felony or “serious misdemeanor,” multiple misdemeanors, or are a threat to public safety or national security; and 5) Is under the age of 30."

However, in doing this, is Obama disregarding immigration law? "In yet another demonstration of contempt for the rule of law and the separation of powers, the Obama administration has announced that it will no longer enforce our immigration laws (not that he’s been enforcing them until now). The Washington Times broke the story this morning about a secret memo from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that establishes new policies advising agents to release some illegals caught crossing the border. The new policy will encourage agents to suspend deportation proceedings and grant amnesty to those who ostensibly fit the criteria of the Dream Act – a bill that was defeated with overwhelming bipartisan support of Congress. Hence, the administration is publicly declaring that federal agents will ensure our laws are not executed faithfully."

Another potential problem with this plan is that it makes some people more illegal than others: "I'm pretty sure Congress is going to challenge his ability to declare one set of illegals not illegal, and keep the rest of illegals, illegal. Perhaps Obama has mistaken that cardboard crown he got from his last trip to Burger King for the real thing. He sure is acting like a king, isn't he?"

Time for a Laugh:
"Republican Senator John McCain and Democrat Harry Reid have called for the federal government to step in and help regulate the sport of boxing. Is that a good idea — something so corrupt and unethical attempting to regulate something so corrupt and unethical?"
-Jay Leno

Topic Two: Egyptian Turmoil
Courts throw Egyptian politics into turmoil: "A panel of judges appointed by Egypt’s ousted president, Hosni Mubarak, threw the nation’s troubled transition to democracy into grave doubt Thursday with rulings that dissolved the popularly elected Parliament and allowed the toppled government’s last prime minister to run for president, escalating a struggle by remnants of the old elite to block Islamists from coming to power."

Is Egypt headed for civil war: "The short-term success (or lack thereof) of the military’s ploy can be measured by the outcome of this weekend’s presidential run-off election between the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi and former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq. In addition to its ruling regarding parliament, the court ruled that Shafiq will remain on the ballot because a law barring former members of Mubarak’s government is unconstitutional. I hope that the marker laid down by the military will re-route Egyptian democracy away from Islamist control. However, I am not confident that it will. And even if it does, this may not be the end of the matter. Islamist clerics and their followers seem to be as determined as the military to see Egyptian “democracy” follow a pre-determined course. Indeed, though the military ultimately may be bluffing, the Islamists almost certainly are not. Thus, Egypt could be heading for a bloody civil war."

Yet, despite this development, our "gaffer-in-chief" Joe Biden praised the Arab Spring today: "President Joe Biden, speaking at a high school commencement ceremony in Virginia on Thursday, called the Arab Spring a “democratic movement”--on the same day that the Egyptian high court nullified the Islamist majority parliament and the Egyptian military assumed control of the legislature. "The democratic movement that swept across the Middle East, the so called Arab Spring, began when a lowly fruit vendor set himself ablaze to protest a corrupt government, igniting a confrontation magnified by social media that literally set off a revolution that was waiting to happen for well over 200 years,” Biden said in his speech at Tallwood High School in Virginia Beach, Va."

Debt Watch:
$15,736,971,094,472.17
( As of Thursday, June 14, 2012 )

Change: +$1,788,670,700
Your share as a citizen: $50,328.01
Share per household: $137,758.43
Debt since Obama inauguration: $5,110,094,045,559

Topic Three: The California Conundrum
California is the Greece of America: "Reality has smashed the Golden State across the face with an iron fist. In fact, all of the measures that Democrats are taking in California will surely fail — they're half-measures. The state suffers from a $16 billion deficit and has over $500 billion in unfunded pension liabilities. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's pension reform wouldn't even make a dent. Gov. Jerry Brown's welfare reform would save just $880 million — and meanwhile, recent studies show that $69 million in welfare cash is spent in casinos, cruise ships and Hawaii every year. The new deal with the CHP won't touch the CHP pension problem, which amounts to more than $3 billion per year. The LAUSD's furloughing will save a few bucks but won't touch its $390 million deficit."

However, these problems are not stopping the state from implementing costly energy standards: "Always looking to become more green, California's latest regulations will make homes and buildings more energy efficient-- and more costly. Starting in 2014, buildings must have features like solar-ready roofs and sensor lighting systems. Improved fans and windows that help control temperature are also highly recommended. Many upgrades, like the windows, will be easily visible. Others, like hot water pipe insulation, will be hidden. And some homebuyers may not ever want solar power, as it's still pretty expensive. Even so, state energy officials say they have an obligation to require installation of these energy-saving features while the structure is being built."

Art Laffer says that we need to "flatten" California: "California’s after-tax rate of return for doing business lags so far behind other states’ … that the exodus shouldn’t surprise anyone. Yet the state’s Democratic leadership is pushing a November ballot measure aimed at raising income and sales taxes in order to make up for lost revenue,” he adds. Although Laffer — himself a member of the California exodus — has lobbied for a flat tax in the broken state for years, his efforts have been met with little success. However, now that California’s financial crisis has taken on comical proportions (a $16 billion shortfall?), maybe — just maybe — state lawmakers will listen to what he has to say."

Tweet of the Day:
Ken Gardner (@kesgardner): Remember when the left screamed bloody murder each time GWB signed an executive order they thought was contrary to law? Where are they now?

Topic Four: Taxpayer-Funded Campaigning
Obama was in New York City last night for two big fundraising events, raising a total of $4.5 million. First, he visited Sarah Jessica Parker's home, where 50 visitors were served chicken and steak at a price of $40,000 per plate. Then, he visited the Plaza Hotel, where 250 guests paid a cheaper price of $10,000 per plate for dinner and a performance by Mariah Carey. Finally, he concluded the day with an "official" visit to the World Trade Center, meaning that taxpayers are left paying part of the cost of his travel.

However, in an ironic mistake, the President apparently dined and dashed the day after he made this quote, "It’s like somebody goes to a restaurant, orders a big steak dinner, martini, all that stuff. And then, just as you’re sitting down, they leave, and accuse you of running up the tab!"

Food for Thought - A Quote from our Founders
"Neither the wisest Constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are corrupt."
-Samuel Adams

Topic Five: ObamaCare and the Free Market
Jeff Jacoby makes the case that the free market lowers costs, and more regulation raises them: "Six years after RomneyCare became law, health insurance coverage in Massachusetts is all but universal. Yet a new statewide survey finds that those most in need of medical care are finding it harder than ever to pay for. According to the study, which was directed by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and sponsored by WBUR, the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, and the Robert Wood ­Johnson Foundation, 78 percent of sick adults consider health care costs a serious (50 percent say very serious) problem in Massachusetts. And far from seeing improvement, nearly two-thirds of sick adults say the problem has only gotten worse over the past five years."

"This wasn't supposed to happen. Romney was confident his law would ease the pressure of medical costs. "Every uninsured citizen in Massachusetts will soon have affordable health insurance and the costs of health care will be reduced," he optimistically forecast in 2006 . Yet today 14 percent of sick adults in Massachusetts report being unable to get medical care they needed at some point over the past 12 months, usually for financial reasons. About half of those who went untreated said they couldn't afford the out-of-pocket costs; another 21 percent said their insurer wouldn't pay for the test or treatment."

Tomorrow in History
June 16, 1858 - Speaking in Springfield, Illinois, Abraham Lincoln delivers his House Divided speech.

Grab Bag - Interesting and Important Stories to Conclude Your Evening:
Obama and Romney now tied...in Michigan

Bing (by Microsoft) celebrates flag day; Google ignores it

Obama plagiarizes himself

"Racist" Obama campaign checks IDs at door

Latest Rasmussen polling gives Romney 269 electoral votes

Should Congress examine every bank loss?

The special-interest state

The boom in online freelance workers

California teacher-of-the-year gets lacks seniority, gets pink slip

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