MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Record Number of Tent Cities Springing Up Around the Country

By Michael Snyder

Just like during the last economic crisis, homeless encampments are popping up all over the nation as poverty grows at a very alarming rate. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, more than half a million people are homeless in America right now, but that figure is increasing by the day. And it isn’t just adults that we are talking about. It has been reported that that the number of homeless children in this country has risen by 60 percent since the last recession, and Poverty USA says that a total of 1.6 million children slept either in a homeless shelter or in some other form of emergency housing at some point last year. Yes, the stock market may have been experiencing a temporary boom for the last couple of years, but for those on the low end of the economic scale things have just continued to deteriorate.

The Anti-Cinderella Man (Part I)

By Jim Quinn

There are several movies I will watch every time they are aired on one of my generally useless 600 cable channels. They all have the same thing in common – a compelling character portrayal which keeps you riveted and mesmerized by how the protagonist deals with adversity and circumstances beyond their control. The movies I can’t resist include: The Godfather I & II, The Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption, Apocalypse Now, and Patton. Another captivating movie, which didn’t do well at the box office, is Cinderella Man. The portrayal of Depression era heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock by Russell Crowe is inspirational, with a rousing and improbable victory by the champion of the common man. While watching this great movie a few weeks ago I found myself equating the themes to the current presidential campaign.

SHOCKED FACE: Under Obama, National Deficit Skyrockets to Ludicrous Levels, Again

By Timothy H. Lee

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) just revealed that this year's federal budget deficit will rise to $590 billion, a depressing 35% increase over last year's already-high $438 billion: 

CBO now estimates that the 2016 deficit will total $590 billion, or 3.2 percent of GDP, exceeding last year's deficit by $152 billion...  The deficit is growing in 2016 because revenues are up only slightly, by less than 1 percent ($26 billion), whereas outlays are projected to rise by 5 percent ($178 billion). 

As Barack Obama staggers toward the end of his failed presidency, that marks just the latest milestone in what is perhaps his worst legacy, one that remains grotesquely underreported by the "watchdog" mainstream media. 

GEE: I wonder why Hillary won't talk about the economy?

By William Teach

At the end of the day, in virtually every poll, the top issues are the economy, jobs, and wages. This is what Americans truly care about. Bread and butter issues. All the social justice worker stuff is low hanging fruit. Man-induced climate change is typically last or next to last. Most of the things Hillary talks about are low ranking issues.

Why? Because it’s rather hard to make the case to keep doing the same things that have left the economy crippled.

HEY, DEMOCRATS: Capitalism Works, If Government Lets It

By Richard Larsen

A seemingly accelerating trend with many Americans is to look with skepticism and a jaundiced perspective at business, capitalism, and the profit motive. In spite of efforts by some to rewrite history, those of us who are students of history recognize that capitalism made America the economic superpower that it is. And the more we allow government to interfere in our economy, the more we move toward a fascistic system where government controls the means of production.

Business and the profit motive have turned us from an agrarian to a high-tech producing and consuming nation. All of us are dependent upon business and the profit motive for everything we do every day. From the manufacturer of the bed we arise from and the alarm clock we wake up to, to the toothpaste, shampoo, and comb we use in the morning. The beverage we imbibe to give us a kick-start in the morning and the vehicle we drive to work are products of once small businesses that have grown sometimes to global proportions. If any of those products or services we depend on get too expensive, we start shopping for cheaper alternatives. That’s capitalism in a nutshell.

FUNNIEST CHART THIS YEAR: Illinois Obamacare Premiums to Skyrocket up to... 90%

The hits just keep on coming in the deep blue state of Illinois.

There are the public sector union pension plans, which are simply bankrupting the state.

There are the ever-increasing property, income and sales taxes.

Oh. And then there's the ultimate irony: the health care system in the state that gave us Barack Obama is going to be -- yes, you guessed it -- financially eviscerated:

30 Blocks of Hillary and Her Watermelons

By Jim Quinn

I haven’t provided a 30 Blocks of Squalor update in a while, but to my delight none other than Hillary Clinton made an appearance on the 30 Blocks this past week, spurring me to ponder her level of commitment to the black families of West Philly. She gave a stirring anti-capitalism speech at West Philadelphia High School. The purported reason for the rally was a get out the vote event. In the corrupt cesspool of Philadelphia that means having black voters casting more votes for their Democrat candidate than there are registered voters. Obama won 102% of the vote in 2008 and 2012 in West Philly. Hillary should hire the Black Panthers who did such a bang up job encouraging white voter turnout in 2008.

Due to an accident on the Schuylkill Expressway, I happened to drive by West Philly High on the morning of her speech. I had to dodge gaping potholes, ignorant double parked squalorites and SEPTA buses on Chestnut Street while driving my five year old Honda Civic on the 30 Blocks of Squalor to my job. Hillary flew into Philly on a private jet, stepped into a stretch limousine driven by a chauffeur, surrounded herself with dozens of armed Secret Service agents and campaign apparatchiks in black SUVs, and proceeded to create gridlock as traffic laws don’t apply to the ruling elite.

HILLARY AND SOROS: Their Campaign of Global Chaos

By Caroline Glick

Major media outlets in the US have ignored the leak of thousands of emails from billionaire George Soros’s Open Society Foundation by the activist hacker group DCLeaks. The OSF is the vehicle through which Soros has funneled billions of dollars over the past two decades to non-profit organizations in the US and throughout the world.

According to the documents, Soros has given more than $30 million to groups working for Hillary Clinton’s election in November, making him her largest single donor. So it is likely the case that the media’s support for Clinton has played some role in the mainstream media’s bid to bury the story.

It is also likely however, that at least some news editors failed to understand why the leaked documents were worth covering. Most of the information was already public knowledge. Soros’s massive funding of far-left groups in the US and throughout the world has been documented for more than a decade.

But failing to see the significance of the wider story because many of the details were already known is a case of missing the forest for the trees. The DCLeaks document dump is a major story because it exposes the forest of Soros’s funding networks.

The first thing that we see is the megalomaniacal nature of Soros’s philanthropic project. No corner of the globe is unaffected by his efforts. No policy area is left untouched.

Donald Trump's Lincolnesque Moment

By David Horowitz

Today in Dimondale Michigan Donald Trump gave what was not only the best speech of his campaign but a speech that will one day be seen as a landmark in the emergence of a new Republican Party – a party finally returning to its roots as the party of Lincoln. If this sounds like hyperbole ask yourself what other Republican leader in recent memory has addressed America’s African American communities in this voice:

TRUMP: When I Win In November, African-American Families Will Win Too

By Donald J. Trump

When I win the presidency in November, it’s going to be a victory for the people. A victory for the wage-earner, the factory worker, a victory for the everyday citizen – and for all the people whose voice hasn’t been heard.

It will be a win for the voters – not the pundits, not the journalists, not the lobbyists, not the global special interests funding my opponent’s campaign.

This is going to be your victory. And here is why:

CLINTON VS. TRUMP TAX PLANS: The Differences to Your Wallet Will Blow Your Mind

By Robert Donachie

Democratic and Republican nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump agree that the U.S. tax code needs major changes, but their proposed changes have drastically different effects on Americans’ pocketbooks.

Clinton wants to increase taxes on individuals, specifically wealthy Americans, and businesses. She also proposes a significant change to the capital gains tax and wants to expand the estate tax, according to analysis by the Tax Foundation.

Trump wants to abolish the estate tax and wants an income tax reduction that encompasses most American families.

Let’s get into the specifics of each tax plan and how they impact America’s bottom line.

Suddenly, The Washington Post is Worried About the Ever-Expanding Power of the Presidency

By William Teach

We’ve just spend 7+ years living under a president (perhaps yours, not mine) who has increased the power of the Chief Executive and the agencies which report to him by leaps and bounds. Obama has used whatever power he could take, legally or not, constitutionally or not, whenever he wants. The rule making emanating from the White House and federal agencies has been breathtaking. But, now, this is suddenly a problem. From the hoity-toity halls of the Washington Post, can you guess why? The headline says it all

DEAR MICHELLE OBAMA: Let My People Go!

By Daniel Greenfield

At the DNC, Michelle Obama put on her victimhood hat one more time and declared, “I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves.” It’s not a new line, but an ongoing mantra. Back in 2009, Michelle whined that, “Many slaves who couldn’t enter the building worked to create the building.”

But that’s too past tense. Michelle’s house continues to be built and maintained by slaves. Her lavish lifestyle of endless vacations, parties and public appearances is funded by millions and millions of slaves.

Michelle Obama lives a life that is more lavish and luxurious than that of the average plantation owner.

This is a Different Clinton --- and a Very Different Democrat Party

By Brian Rogers

This week, Philadelphia is welcoming a very different Democratic Party from the last time a Clinton was on the ballot for president.

Twenty years ago, President Bill Clinton declared "the era of big government is over," just as Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell's tax cuts and reform agenda were helping revitalize the City of Brotherly Love.

But Democrats gathering in the home of Ben Franklin have shifted sharply left on fundamental issues in recent years.

With the meteoric rise of avowed socialist Bernie Sanders and his liberal ally Elizabeth Warren - who both spoke in prime time to open the convention Monday night - this week will show that this is no longer the party of Bill Clinton and Ed Rendell.

IT'S OFFICIAL: Hillary Clinton Declares War on Small Business

By ARsquared

Hillary Clinton can try to run and hide from the radical ideas proposed in the democrat Platform, but her policies proposals confirm her full embrace of the “The Sanders Manifesto,” which declares war on small business and threatens millions jobs across the country.

Last night, in an interview with CBS’s Charlie Rose, Clinton ridiculously claimed that her policies and the policies of her Party had not shifted to the left, even though Socialist Bernie Sanders called the democrat Platform “the most progressive platform ever.” Clinton’s laughable argument that the democrat Party is the party of the “center-left” couldn’t be more untrue:

EVEN NEWSPAPERS AGREE: Democrat Platform Officially Lurches All the Way to Full Radical Left Nutjob

By ARsquared

A week after the Democratic platform committee approved what Bernie Sanders has touted as “the most progressive platform in history,” a number of editorials from over the weekend highlighted the ramifications of the Democrats dart to the left and echoed claims made by AR2 following the release of “The Sanders Manifesto” last week.

The New York Post noted the makeup of the party platform, claiming that Bernie Sanders and his supporters “won the war for the party’s soul,” and that while Hillary Clinton’s name is on the ticket, “the Sandersnistas are pulling the strings.” The Post also highlighted why this is a major problem for Hillary Clinton:

DEMOCRAT PARTY GOES FULL RADICAL NUTJOB: "Most Progressive Platform Our Party Has Ever Seen"

By AR Squared

“Most ambitious and progressive platform our party has ever seen.”

Those are words spoken by Hillary Clinton’s senior policy advisor about the draft of the Democratic Party platform and they should frighten every American that supports free enterprise and a restrained federal government. The platform draft approved by the Democratic drafting committee consisting of both Clinton and Sanders allies includes proposals that will make it more difficult for individuals to break free from government constraints and achieve the American Dream.

There are many dangerous proposals in the Democratic Party’s platform that should raise concern:

30 Blocks of Dog Sh** and Democrats

By Jim Quinn

Earlier this week I left for work on a cool crisp sunny morning at 6:30 am. Traffic seemed lighter than usual. Even the Schuylkill Expressway was moving smoothly. I just knew it was going to be one of those rare 45 minute uneventful commutes. Boy was I mistaken. Half way down the Schuylkill traffic came to a grinding halt. I flipped on the traffic report and found out there was a bad bus accident near Girard Avenue blocking two lanes. My delightful commute had turned into a house of horrors. We inched along at 5 mph for the next five miles.

My Plan B was in effect. I’d get off at Belmont Avenue and take that to Girard Avenue (Route 30) and then down to 34th Street where I usually end up in the morning. Of course, hundreds of other drivers chose the same Plan B. The ramp to get off the Schuylkill and onto Belmont was jammed. I eventually got onto Belmont and proceeded past City Line Avenue and into the jungles of West Philly. My day got even better when there was an accident on Belmont in the right lane that delayed my commute further. But I eventually made it to the intersection of Belmont and Girard, making my left turn into... squalor.

GRIM MILESTONE: More than 100 million working-age Americans do not have jobs

By Michael Snyder

This is exactly what we have been expecting to happen. On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the U.S. economy only added 38,000 jobs in May. This was way below the 158,000 jobs that analysts were projecting, and it is also way below what is needed just to keep up with population growth. In addition, the number of jobs created in April was revised down by 37,000 and the number of jobs created in March was revised down by 22,000. This was the worst jobs report in almost six years, and the consensus on Wall Street is that it was an unmitigated disaster.

The New York Times Fails Logic Class, Chapter 46,080

By Karl Denninger

There's an old saying that goes something like this:

"One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results."

That would fit the NY Times editorial board.