France elects Socialist President, circles the drain

There are certain truths that should be self-evident. Things like 2+2=4 and Socialism never works, for example. Don't tell that to the French, though. They've just elected a far left socialist named Francois Hollande, who apparently won, in part, by appealing to the ignorance of an economic truth that should be self-evident. A majority of France's populace got tired of austerity measures so they believed a man who promised to spend more of what the country doesn't have - money.

Via BBC:

Mr Hollande - the first Socialist to win the French presidency since Francois Mitterrand in the 1980s - gave his victory speech in his stronghold of Tulle in central France.

He said he was "proud to have been capable of giving people hope again".

He said he would push ahead with his pledge to refocus EU fiscal efforts from austerity to "growth".


"Europe is watching us, austerity can no longer be the only option," he said.

After his speech in Tulle, Mr Hollande headed to Brive airport on his way to Paris to address supporters at Place de la Bastille. His voice hoarse, he spoke of his pride at taking over the mantle of the presidency 31 years almost to the day since Socialist predecessor Francois Mitterrand was elected.

Imagine being maxed out on all of your credit cards and on the verge of bankruptcy. You go to see a credit counselor, who proceeds to put you on a painful but necessary path that will bring you out of debt. A year goes by and that painful path is wearing on you. Along comes a loan shark who says he can make everything better.

France just listened to that guy.

h/t Drudge

Anti-Gun Group's reaction to Fast and Furious makes the case that the operation was about Gun Control

It's quite obvious that ideology trumps race when it comes to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus' (CHC) apparent disinterest in getting to the truth about Fast and Furious, which is directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of hispanics. Now, there appears to be a new twist on what else ideology trumps - the truth.

The reaction of the leader of an anti-gun group has actually decided to all but deny that Fast and Furious guns were used in the deaths of hundreds of Mexicans. In so doing, Ladd Everitt actually and unwittingly makes the case that the entire operation itself was about gun control.

Via the Daily Caller:

A spokesman for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, a left-wing anti-gun group based in Washington, D.C., told The Daily Caller his organization doesn’t believe firearms trafficked to Mexico in Operation Fast and Furious have killed hundreds of civilians in that country. That those guns have been used often to kill Mexicans is a position articulated by both Attorney General Eric Holder and Mexican authorities.

Coalition spokesman Ladd Everitt argued that there was no evidence for The Daily Caller to report that “[t]here are hundreds of Mexican citizens who were murdered with weapons the Obama administration gave to cartels through Fast and Furious and two American law enforcement officers — Brian Terry and Jaime Zapata — were killed with Fast and Furious guns.”

Everitt argued that he didn’t think there is “actual trace and ballistics evidence to prove that conclusively.”

And when TheDC presented Everitt with video of Holder’s own admission that the death toll from Fast and Furious weapons will likely increase, he scoffed.

During an exchange with Texas Republican Rep. Ted Poe before the House Judiciary Committee on Dec. 8, Holder was asked if he would agree that “more people are going to die” because of Fast and Furious. “Unfortunately I think that’s probably true,” Holder admitted in his testimony.

But Everitt, an anti-gun advocate, attacked Holder’s statement to Congress as “purely speculative.”

Uh, yeah, the guy with probably the most to lose over Operation Fast and Furious - Eric Holder - concedes that guns from the operation have been used in countless murders and Everitt basically accuses the Attorney General of lying.

If Everitt is right, doesn't it mean that Holder perjured himself?