Sunday, February 05, 2012

Dear pro journalists: if the economy is improving...

...then perhaps you could explain:

If the economy is getting better, then why did new home sales in the United States hit a brand new all-time record low during 2011?

If the economy is getting better, then why are there 6 million less jobs in America today than there were before the recession started?

If the economy is getting better, then why is the average duration of unemployment in this country close to an all-time record high?

If the economy is getting better, then why has the number of homeless female veterans more than doubled?

If the economy is getting better, then why has the number of Americans on food stamps increased by 3 million since this time last year and by more than 14 million since Barack Obama entered the White House?

If the economy is getting better, then why has the number of children living in poverty in America risen for four years in a row?

If the economy is getting better, then why is the percentage of Americans living in "extreme poverty" at an all-time high?

If the economy is getting better, then why is the Federal Housing Administration on the verge of a financial collapse?

If the economy is getting better, then why do only 23 percent of American companies plan to hire more employees in 2012?

If the economy is getting better, then why has the number of self-employed Americans fallen by more than 2 million since 2006?

If the economy is getting better, then why did an all-time record low percentage of U.S. teens have a job last summer?

If the economy is getting better, then why does median household income keep declining? Overall, median household income in the United States has declined by a total of 6.8% since December 2007 once you account for inflation.

If the economy is getting better, then why has the number of Americans living below the poverty line increased by 10 million since 2006?

If the economy is getting better, then why is the average age of a vehicle in America now sitting at an all-time high?

If the economy is getting better, then why are 18 percent of all homes in the state of Florida currently sitting vacant?

If the economy is getting better, then why are 19 percent of all American men between the ages of 25 and 34 living with their parents?

If the economy is getting better, then why does the number of "long-term unemployed workers" stay so high? When Barack Obama first took office, the number of "long-term unemployed workers" in the United States was approximately 2.6 million. Today, that number is sitting at 5.6 million.

But there is some good news.

When Barack Obama first took office, an ounce of gold was going for about $850. Today, the price of an ounce of gold is over $1700.

The era of great prosperity that America has enjoyed for so long is coming to an end.

In fact, our long-term economic decline is about to accelerate.

So enjoy this "bubble of hope" while you can, because it won't last long.

As I have written about previously, many are warning that Europe is on the verge of a nightmarish financial crisis that could potentially plunge us into a global recession even worse than 2008.

So let us hope for the best, but let us also prepare for the worst.


Anyone with an ounce of sense knows that the economy isn't recovering in any meaningful way. Which excludes drones and legacy media.


Hat tip: Wolf Howling.

Alaskan Fishing Lodge Sign o' the Day


Hat tip: Wanda.

Warmal Colding strikes Europe: record cold snap kills hundreds; thousands trapped by "heaviest snow... ever recorded"

Al Gore hardest hit.

Bosnian authorities on Sunday used helicopters to evacuate sick people and deliver food to thousands of people who have been cut off by the heaviest snow the country has ever recorded... Across Eastern Europe thousands of people were digging themselves out from heavy snow that followed a weeklong cold snap that has killed hundreds.

More than 100 remote Bosnian villages are cut off by snow over 6 1/2 feet high in the mountains. More than three feet has fallen in the capital Sarajevo, where a state of emergency has been declared...

London's Heathrow Airport—Europe's busiest—canceled a third of Sunday's flights and warned of delays amid heavy fog.

...Rome is struggling under its first heavy snowfall in 26 years, and snow has also fallen on Spain's Balearic islands in the Mediterranean... Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday said the snowfall was beautiful, but he is wishing spring will come soon.

Please take note of the reaction of the global warming cult to news stories like these. When record cold temperatures savage the planet -- which some scientists believe herald the onset of a new ice age -- they screech that "weather isn't climate".

But when temperatures hit 100° in Manhattan during the month of July, they're the first to shriek about "evidence" of warmal colding.

How stupid do they think we are? Stupid enough to think that they can continue to pull off the United Nations' latest multi-billion dollar scam, courtesy of corrupt scientists seeking grant money and the Marxist left, who desperately want to regulate the economies of the West through cap-and-trade.


Newt Gingrich: How Romney won "should sober every Republican in the country"

PJMedia's Tatler characterized Newt Gingrich's concessionary press conference in Nevada last night as "odd". I just watched it and don't agree. In fact, I thought one particular interrogatory was especially insightful (hat tip to Biff Spackle for the transcript):

Question: Mr. Speaker, have you considered that voters just aren't buying what you're selling? You've been on the ballot now in five states and you've won one, but you've lost four. And you also talk about debates, but you've had 18 of them and generally you've been considered to have done well in them, but still that hasn't shown up in the polls?

Gingrich: I'm not going to defend the outcome in a state where I was outspent five to one. And I'd suggest you're sophisticated enough to understand that the idea that taking a state where the other guy spent five times as much money, and many of his ads were false as by both the Wall Street Journal and National Review, that maybe that's not a very accurate measure.

When it was an entirely positive campaign, up through mid-December, I was ahead by 12 points in Gallup. And this may happen again. I was actually ahead in Gallup a week ago. So I think in a few more weeks, I'll be ahead in Gallup again.

Question: But is that just ignoring the reality of the campaign? He has gone negative, it's working...

Gingrich: So the "reality of the campaign", to use your words, is that he has gone negative and it is working. And what I am asserting to you is that, over time, I don't believe the American people will approve of a campaign which actually suppresses turnout.

I think it's amazing that if you look in Florida, every county that I carried in Florida had an increased turnout; every county that Romney carried in Florida had a decreased turnout. Now that should sober every Republican in the country.

If the only way Romney wins is suppressing turnout, how's he going to do that in the fall?

If the only way he wins is outspending someone five-to-one, how's that going to apply to a campaign against Obama, who's going to outspend him?

Those are damned good questions.


Larwyn's Linx: Romney tries to cut off Newt’s SuperPAC funding

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

GOP Primary

Romney tries to cut off Newt’s SuperPAC funding: LI
Gingrich challenging the Florida delegate allocation?: RWN
Rasmussen: Santorum Leads Obama by 1 Point: WS

Nevada caucuses: Romney scores easy win: Politico
Newt gets conservative argument on poverty: GayPat
Romney: Obama should apologize to America: Breitbart

Nation

The Real Vote-Buying Scandal: TigerHawk
Scott Walker supporters: write Walker's name in: Althouse
State GOP Establishments Attack Their Base: Blumer

What Does It Take for a Politician to be Excommunicated?: ConCom
Rubio Gives Greatest Pro-Life Speech in a Generation: Ricochet
TSA Agent Caught Stealing $5K from Passenger at JFK: NewAm

Ginsburg to Egypt: Don't use US Constitution as a Model: AmSpec
The Perversion of the Words of Our Lord Jesus Christ: Erickson
Bloomberg tries to ban churches from using schools off-hours: WK

Economy

Obama’s failed promises: Nevada edition: RS
It’s Not (Only) the Economy ... and We’re Not Stupid: Kristol
Occupy Oakland–Your Weekend Mugshotspalooza!: Tammy Bruce

Good news: Schools teaching communism superior to capitalism: AllAm
Is this the teacher who handed out Pro Communism Cartoons?: Blaze
Obama Hangs Out with the DC 1% Donors Behind Closed Doors: ScMon

What is Romney's vision and what does it mean?: Howling
Democrat Senate Ignoring 30 Separate Jobs Bills: Breitbart
Juncker Warns Of Greek Default As Europe's Patience Wears Thin: ZH

Scandal Central

Obama can stop Holder's Fast and Furious cover-up today: Exam
Boehner mum on Holder as ‘Fast and Furious’ investigation gathers momentum: DC
Attorney General Eric Holder Disgusted by Personal Attacks at Fast and Furious Hearing: ABC

Allen West: Obama's Jerking Us Around With Falsified Unemployment Numbers: Ace
Amid contempt threats, White House gives up more Solyndra docs: Hill
Issa: DOJ Only Passed Along 8% of 80,000 Pages of Documents to Oversight: NoisyRm

Climate & Energy

Canadian Punch In the Kisser: Mead
In support of Dr. Michael Mann and open debate: Watts
Beijing’s South China Sea Gamble: Diplomat

Media

Rasmussen: Obama job approval among uncommitted voters at 20%; Update: Obama 44, Santorum … 45?: Hot Air
Surprise: NYT Smears Gingrich: AmSpec
Peter Schweizer Reacts to the STOCK Act Passing in the Senate: C4P

Mark Steyn: the Liberal Enforcers: Ace
The Wrath of the Abortion Movement Unleashed on Komen: AT
Has-Been Leftist Barbra Streisand: 'Barack Obama Has Not Put Anyone on Food Stamps': NB

World

Massive Anti-Putin Rally in Moscow: VS
The Upcoming Papal Visit to Cuba: Babalu
Russia and China veto resolution on Syria at UN: BBC

As Norwegian as the King: Gates of Vienna
Iranian warships dock at Saudi port: Breitbart
Snuffed Out: JihadWatch

Another Pallywood hoax exposed, again: LI
Russian scientists eye mission to moon this decade: Fox
Protests grip Cairo as pressure mounts for early vote: Reuters

Sci-Tech

Facebook 'makes it harder for brands to advertise for free': Telegraph
Hide From Google: Wired
Second Screen Experience for the Super Bowl Commercials: Wired

Cornucopia

Controversial Artist Depicts Obama Trampling The Constitution: CBS Las Vegas
Super Bowl Video Find: Only Chevy Silverados Survive Apocalypse; Aliens Wowed by Volt Tech: Motor Trend
Ravens’ Matt Birk & Terrell Suggs Honored For Outstanding Achievement: CBS Baltimore

Image: American Digest
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Rick Santorum for President

QOTD: "In that Obama has rendered no act of contrition or repentance, and is at the moment, at liberty in the land, we do, here and now, separate him from the precious body and blood of Christ, and from the society of all Christians. We exclude him from our Holy Mother Church and all her sacraments, in heaven, or on Earth. We declare him excommunicate and anathema. We cast him into the outer darkness. We judge him damned with the devil and his fallen angels and all the reprobate, to eternal fire and everlasting pain!" --Vanderleun

Saturday, February 04, 2012

Allen West: reports of huge drop in black unemployment last month kind of like reports that FLOTUS grows her own vegetables in White House garden

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this week that black unemployment dropped last week by a stunning 2.2% and that Santa Claus is hiring more elves this year than last. So things are really looking up for the economy.

In response to news that the overall unemployment rate had dropped to 8.3 percent and the unemployment rate in the black community declined from 15.8 percent to 13.6 percent, [Allen] West floated the possibility that the numbers might have been cooked.

"Can someone tell me how employment in the black community has improved at a rate three times the national average in just a few months?? With numbers like today, urban communities should be well on their way to economic recovery then! There is something suspicious about the job numbers released today and it has me very concerned," West wondered Friday. "Is this dramatic supposed decrease in black unemployment a result of job creation or is someone playing around with the census numbers??"

Economists reached by The Hill for comment couldn't fully explain the unemployment rate change for the black community. William Darity, a professor of public policy at Duke University specializing in African-American studies and economics, wrote in an email to The Hill that the decline could have been due to a smaller labor force. He called the drop an "unbelievably dramatic drop" but didn't rule out the possibility of someone tampering with the numbers; he said there was no evidence one way or the other... "...a one month drop in the black unemployment rate from 15.8% to 13.6% strikes me as somewhat unprecedented."

President Obama hailed the January unemployment news as a sign that the economy is growing stronger.

No, seriously, he really said that, though he somehow neglected to mention that the Bureau of Labor Statistics had to disappear 1.2 million Americans from the labor force to 'reduce' the unemployment rate.


Hat tips: Ace o' Spades and BadBlue.

Sure, Why Not? Congress "Calls for Accelerated Use of Drones in U.S."

I don't see how anything could possibly go wrong with this.

A House-Senate conference report this week called on the Administration to accelerate the use of civilian unmanned aerial systems (UAS), or “drones,” in U.S. airspace.

The pending authorization bill for the Federal Aviation Administration directs the Secretary of Transporation to develop within nine months “a comprehensive plan to safely accelerate the integration of civil unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system.”

...[It also calls for tests] in cooperation with NASA and the Department of Defense, expanded use of UAS in the Arctic region, development of guidance for the operation of public unmanned aircraft systems, and new safety research to assess the risk of “catastrophic failure of the unmanned aircraft that would endanger other aircraft in the national airspace system.”

The Department of Defense is pursuing its own domestic UAS activities for training purposes and “domestic operations,” according to a 2007 DoD-FAA memorandum of agreement. (“Army Foresees Expanded Use of Drones in U.S. Airspace,” Secrecy News, January 19, 2012.)

Because drones are necessary to ensure citizens are driving the right electric cars, using the right light bulbs and bathing with legal shower heads.

The circle of liberty grows ever smaller around us, my friends.


Perfect: Obama pulls combat pay for U.S. troops

But he obviously holds the U.S. military in very high esteem.

President Obama’s latest policy outrage makes no attempt to hide his contempt for our military, as he is ordering that our troops serving overseas in war zones overseas are not to receive combat pay unless they are being shot at. A Marine who lives in Florida has just posted a note on Facebook which stated that he received a letter from his PayPal account that he would only be receiving his Hazard pay (Imminent Danger Pay) if he is actually in a hostile area and at risk of being shot at...

...According to Military.com, as of February 1, 2012, this new measure went into effect, and soldiers who are to received the additional $225/mo. combat pay ‘must’ must be in immediate risk of harm. The measure is very specific in its criteria for receiving the additonal pay.

This follows efforts by the president to make veterans pay for their own health insurance -- even those injured in combat -- and his calls last month for raises for millions of federal paper-pushers.

In other words, the president continues to siphon off more and more money from our defense infrastructure -- hitting our warriors first, last and hardest in the process -- to fund his green energy scams and public sector union cronies (which, coincidentally, also contribute heavily to his campaign).


Good news: Feds warn that using basic Internet privacy tools may be a sign that you're a terrorist

Strange that we hear so little about that "evil, imperialistic Bush presidency" these days.

A flyer designed by the FBI and the Department of Justice to promote suspicious activity reporting in internet cafes lists basic tools used for online privacy as potential signs of terrorist activity. The document, part of a program called “Communities Against Terrorism”, lists the use of “anonymizers, portals, or other means to shield IP address” as a sign that a person could be engaged in or supporting terrorist activity. The use of encryption is also listed as a suspicious activity along with steganography, the practice of using “software to hide encrypted data in digital photos” or other media. In fact, the flyer recommends that anyone “overly concerned about privacy” or attempting to “shield the screen from view of others” should be considered suspicious and potentially engaged in terrorist activities.

...Logging into an account associated with a residential internet service provider (such as Comcast or AOL), an activity that could simply indicate that you are on a trip, is also considered a suspicious activity. Viewing any content related to “military tactics” including manuals or “revolutionary literature” is also considered a potential indicator of terrorist activity. This would mean that viewing a number of websites, including the one you are on right now, could be construed by a hapless employee as an highly suspicious activity potentially linking you to terrorism.

Well, all of these warnings seem justified. After all, the DHS was eerily prescient when it warned of imminent attacks by right-wing extremists in 2009.


Social Security Administration Misplaces Car Keys Plus One Trillion Dollars, But Mostly One Trillion Dollars

How disconnected from reality do you have to be to believe that an enormous federal bureaucracy -- that can't fire anybody, has no competition, and operates like the DMV -- can effectively run the entire health care system?

Answer: You have to be a Democrat.

The outlook for Social Security's trust fund has deteriorated to an astonishing degree over the past year, new Congressional Budget Office projections show... [The] CBO expects the trust fund to peak in 2018 and decline to $2.7 trillion in 2022 — a full $1 trillion less than Social Security's own actuaries predicted last year.

...Under current law, once the trust fund is gone, Social Security could only pay 78% of benefits. Since older retirees and the disabled would be protected, new retirees would face much deeper cuts to a benefit that is not especially generous to begin with... The average retired worker received a $1,200 monthly benefit last year before Medicare premiums were subtracted.

...Assuming a 22% automatic cut, average earners (about $43,000 in 2012) halfway into a 40-year career would have to set aside more than 5% of annual wages, or $2,150 a year, to replace [the] lost benefits.

Already, the next president will have to address a near-term crisis in Social Security's disability insurance program that CBO expects to hit in 2016 — resulting in immediate cuts for many of the neediest beneficiaries.

...Social Security already is cash-flow negative, taking less in revenue than it pays out in current benefits. CBO sees the program's $48 billion cash gap in 2011 rising above $100 billion by 2019... And depressed Treasury rates mean smaller interest payments on the trust fund's official balances.

Like night follows day, bankruptcy awaits each and every one of these Democrat-created programs, all operating outside the Constitution (not to mention the laws of arithmetic and common sense).


Larwyn's Linx: Obama Thinks Veterans Are Only Good For Menial Jobs

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

Obama Thinks Veterans Are Only Good For Menial Jobs: RWN
Friday doc dump: Obamacare’s job-killing medical device tax: Malkin
Military silences chaplains: no speaking against Obamacare: Blaze

Jim Moran, Racist Pig: Malkin
GOP Rep. walks out on Obama's partisan "prayer" breakfast: GWP
Mass Voter Fraud Uncovered in FL: Breitbart

Economy

8.3% Unemployment? Completely Phony: Peth
Unemployment disaster: 1.2M driven out of the workforce: Hayward
Real unemployment rate hits 11.5%; propaganda gap rises: ZH

The Motor City Plunges Off the Greek-Style Debt Cliff: CDN
Government Unions Support California Tax Hike: Foundry
Providence, RI faces bankruptcy by June: Mish

Budget? Who Needs A Budget?: Power Line
Surprise! Harry Reid, Democrats, Refuse to Budget, Again: RWN
Improving black people’s lives is not racist: HoosierAccess

GOP Primary

Gingrich, Romney, Trump Monopolize Media; Santorum Keeps Campaigning: RSM
For Romney and Paul, a strategic alliance: WaPo
Santorum: Obama Most Anti-Religion President in History: Max

Scandal Central

Groundhog Day: Holder Repeats Fast And Furious Lies: IBD
Military Is Now Telling Catholic Chaplains What They Can And Can't Say About The Obama Administration: Insider
New BS BLS Report Shows Obama Costs US $20 Trillion: Ransom

Media

Pew: Democrats getting hammered by religious voters.: Moe Lane
Pelosi Praises Planned Parenthood’s Corruption of Girl Scouts: MB
Santelli: 1.2 Million Fall Out Of Labor Force As Participation Rate Hits 20-Year Low: RCP

The Incredible Shrinking New York Times: Insider
Not News: Significant Non-Citizen Voting Found in FL 2 Days After Tampa Paper Says It's 'Nonexistent': NB
Trends in Party Identification of Religious Groups: Jewish Support for GOP Rises: Pew

World

Israel Puts Global Facilities On High Alert Following Warning Of Rising Iran Strike Threat: ZH
Obama Poised to Betray America Through 4 UN Treaties: Nice Deb
Planting Trees Is Racist: IPT

Philadelphia City Council Welcomes Its New Sharia Overlords: Creeping
Greece About to Go Boom: Mish
Do You Like Online Privacy? You May Be a Terrorist: PubInt

Justice Ginsburg to Egyptian TV: You probably don’t want to use our Constitution as a model: STACLU
Army rules Manning will face court-martial: ArmyTimes
Panetta reassures European allies over defense cuts: Reuters

Sci-Tech

Twitter and Facebook, Why Twitter Might Be Worth More In The Long Run: P&F
US government and military to adopt custom Android phones, says CNN: Verge
Autonomous Quadrotors Fly Amazing Formations: Wired

Cornucopia

Here on Republican Isle: GayPat
Mooch To Promote “Healthy Eating” At Bottomless Pasta-Pit Olive Garden: WZ
Iran Says It May Ban Samsung Over Israeli Commercial Depicting Mossad Agents Blowing Up Nuke Plant: WZ

Image: Wired
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Rick Santorum for President

QOTD: "I was talking to a CEO last year — an Obama supporter no less — who told me he was amazed at how openly Administration officials threatened to use media demonization if he didn’t play ball. It’s like they’ve got the press in their pocket or something. But now some of those officials have to be thinking that the people they threaten will be around after Obama’s gone, and they’ll remember." --Glenn Reynolds

Friday, February 03, 2012

Shock: People of All Religions Abandoning Democrat Party in Droves

But Pew Research didn't poll Militant Quakers, so maybe they're the exception:

As the 2012 presidential election approaches, the partisan affiliations of the electorate have shifted significantly since 2008. In surveys conducted in 2011..., 34% of registered voters described themselves as Democrats, down four points compared with 2008 (38%). Over the same period, the percentage of voters describing themselves as Republicans has held steady at 28%, while the total saying they are politically independent or have no partisan preference has risen four points (from 34% in 2008 to 38% in 2011).

...A new analysis shows that the share of voters identifying with or leaning toward the GOP has either grown or held steady in every major religious group. This includes both religious groups that are part of the GOP’s traditional constituency as well as some groups that have tended to be more aligned with the Democratic Party, including Jewish voters...

Among white evangelical Protestants (a traditionally Republican group), support for the GOP has grown from 65% in 2008 to 70% today. The GOP has also posted gains among Mormons, with 80% now saying they identify with or lean toward the Republican Party. Republican gains are also apparent among white mainline Protestants (who were evenly divided between the parties in 2008 but who now favor the GOP by a 12-point margin) and white non-Hispanic Catholics (among whom an eight-point Democratic advantage in 2008 has become a seven-point Republican advantage at the end of 2011). Even Jewish voters, who have traditionally been and remain one of the strongest Democratic constituencies, have moved noticeably in the Republican direction; Jewish voters favored the Democrats by a 52-point margin in 2008 but now prefer the Democratic Party by a significantly smaller 36-point margin. There has been less change in the partisanship of black Protestants and the religiously unaffiliated, two other strongly Democratic groups.

The analysis shows that across several religious groups, the move toward the GOP has been at least as large – if not more pronounced – among those under age 30 as among those 30 and older. White evangelicals under 30, for instance, are now more heavily Republican than those over 30 (82% vs. 69%); in 2008, by contrast, the partisan preferences of younger evangelicals closely matched those of evangelicals over age 30. And among white non-Hispanic Catholics under age 30, support for the GOP has increased from 41% in 2008 to 54% in 2011.

Jesse Jerkson and Al "No So" Sharpton hardest hit.


A Conservative Alternative to the Drudge Report?

BadBlue News ServiceSenator Fred Thompson says that "Romney has Drudge (top news source) in back pocket."

While that may or may not be true, there appears to be an alternative news aggregator that seems to be taking off. BadBlue.com monitors the social networks to determine which news stories are getting the most "buzz". It runs 24/7/365 monitoring hundreds of news sites and (most importantly!) blogs.

Here's how it looked when this post was created:

Unlike the Drudge Report, you can find the top stories that are trending now, over the last 24 hours, the last week, or even the last month.

You can even track the popularity of each story over time. Here's an example:

Need a list of stories from each news source? Here are the top stories from Ace of Spades:

Check it out and, if you like it, bookmark BadBlue and follow its updates on Twitter at @BadBlueNews.

Now conservatives have a choice.


"Obama's Enemies List"

When the full history of Barack Obama's administration is written, I feel confident that Richard Milhaus Nixon will look like an Eagle Scout in comparison. Former Solicitor General of the United States Ted Olson explains:

How would you feel if aides to the president of the United States singled you out by name for attack, and if you were featured prominently in the president's re-election campaign as an enemy of the people?

What would you do if the White House engaged in derogatory speculative innuendo about the integrity of your tax returns? Suppose also that the president's surrogates and allies in the media regularly attacked you, sullied your reputation and questioned your integrity. On top of all of that, what if a leading member of the president's party in Congress demanded your appearance before a congressional committee this week so that you could be interrogated about the Keystone XL oil pipeline project in which you have repeatedly—and accurately—stated that you have no involvement?

Consider that all this is happening because you have been selected as an attractive political punching bag by the president's re-election team. This is precisely what has happened to Charles and David Koch, even though they are private citizens, and neither is a candidate for the president's or anyone else's office.

...This is why it is exceedingly important for all Americans to respond with outrage to what the president and his allies are doing to demonize and stigmatize David and Charles Koch. They have been the targets of the multiyear, carefully orchestrated campaign of vituperation and assault described above—and much more. It has been choreographed from the very top. When the president personally takes leadership, his political surrogates and army of allies in the press and Congress quickly and surely follow the direction and tone he sets.

The misuse of government power to damage or demean one's political enemies is abhorrent and the very antithesis of a free society and a government of laws, not men. It is time for the public to ask those engaged in these practices, "Have you no sense of decency?"

Simple answer: no.

Barack Obama is, in word and deed, trying to turn this country into a banana republic, suitable more for Hugo Chavez than a normal American president. Every action is politicized and every instrumentality of government is used as a support for Obama's 2012 reelection campaign.

Sorry, Rick Moran, but this administration represents a group of hard-core, Marxist ideologues for whom the ends always justify the means. Which is why the Democrat Party must be flushed from office in November, at every level of government.


Lies, Damn Lies, and Obama's Unemployment Numbers

Look up bogus in the dictionary and odds are you'll see a picture of President Obama standing in front of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Such is the reputation of the BLS as the nation's leading producer of economic propaganda.

You may have seen their headline number of 8.3% unemployment earlier today. What you didn't see is that the BLS had to "disappear" 1.2 million people out of the workforce over the last month alone to achieve that "drop".

It’s the headline that a President facing re-election with a dismal economic record didn’t want to see:

1.2 million people driven out of the workforce in a single month!


A frantic White House exploded into damage-control mode, as a deeply shaken President Obama retreated into his chambers. Nervous spokesmen fanned across the airwaves to stammer apologies, search for silver linings among the storm clouds, offer campaign boilerplate about “hope and change,” and desperately search for some way to blame George Bush for an absolute unemployment disaster that occurred over three years after he left office…

What’s that, you say? You didn’t see that headline? Well, of course not, silly. All you’re seeing in the headlines is good news, because the official, heavily-massaged U-3 unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent. Fewer people in the workforce means the percentage of unemployed people in the workforce drops.

Tyler Durden uses an illustration to explain how the Democrat employment scam works:

Sick of the BLS propaganda? Then do the following calculation with us: using BLS data, the US civilian non-institutional population was 242,269 in January, an increase of 1.7 million month over month: apply the long-term average labor force participation rate of 65.8% to this number..., and you get 159.4 million: that is what the real labor force should be.

The BLS [instead] reported ... 154.4 million: a tiny 5 million difference. Then add these people who the BLS is purposefully ignoring yet who most certainly are in dire need of labor and/or a job to the 12.758 million reported unemployed by the BLS and you get 17.776 million in real unemployed workers.

What does this mean? That using just the BLS denominator in calculating the unemployed rate of 154.4 million, the real unemployment rate actually rose in January to 11.5%. Compare that with the BLS reported decline from 8.5% to 8.3%. It also means that the spread between the reported and implied unemployment rate just soared to a fresh 30-year high of 3.2%. And that is how with a calculator and just one minute of math, one strips away countless hours of BLS propaganda.

Oh, and just for reinforcement, the invaluable James Pethokoukis piles on:

...If the size of the U.S. labor force as a share of the total population was the same as it was when Barack Obama took office... the U-3 unemployment rate would be 11.0 percent.

...Then there’s the broader, U-6 measure of unemployment which includes the discouraged plus part-timers who wish they had full time work. That unemployment rate is still a sky-high 15.1 percent.

Based on Peth's data, the BLS has "disappeared" a startling four million workers to get unemployment "down" to 8.3 percent.

This kind of egregious activity -- certain to go unreported upon by legacy media -- is why I like to call the BLS unemployment numbers "the Eric Holder of Economic Reports."


Larwyn's Linx: The bombshell CBO report and why Obama should be worried

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

The bombshell CBO report and why Obama should be worried: Hot Air
Obamacare’s Latest Victim Is Religious Freedom: Foundry
Waivers: The Yellow Brick Road To Amnesty: Bruce

What does Obama do all day?: Kaus
Breaking: Heath Shuler (D, NC) cuts and runs.: RS
Shocker: More Wisconsin Recall Fraud: BigG

Economy

A Year Later, Obamanomics vs. Reaganomics: Cato
Obama Underestimated 2012 Deficit by... $500 Billion: WS
Planned layoffs surge in January: Challenger: Reuters

ObamaCare Advisers Predict Death of Health Insurers: NewAm
Disgusting: Occupy Charlotte Used Water Supply as Toilet: VS
Thank a Union: Alleged Perv Teacher on Full Pension: VS

Krazy Kat-ifornia: JPA
A Former Union Thug’s Take On Right-to-Work: RS
Social Security Trust Fund Outlook Takes $1 Tril Dive: IBD

GOP Primary

Newt Beats Mitt on Energy Policy: NRO
It's Insane For Conservatives To Back Romney In The General: Riehl
The Fractious Rich Lowry and Jennifer Rubin: Lord

Scandal Central

Holder to Issa: I’ll hold people accountable … for whistleblowing: Hot Air
Holder DOJ lets bribery-compromised officials free indicted financial-crime suspects: DC
Holder to Issa: I wasn’t aware of your subpoena: Scoop

DOJ: First “Fast and Furious,” then bribery, and now kiddie porn?: PubSecrets
Holder to Puerto Rican Rep: 'Wherever you're from': Exam
Groundhog Day: Holder Repeats Fast And Furious Lies: IBD

Climate & Energy

Warmie Angst & The AGW Theory Hanging By A Single Untested Hypothesis: Wolf Howling
Now Why Would Coal Mines Be Laying People Off?: AllAm
Read All About it: Al Gore's 'melting' Antarctic claims refuted by reality: Depot

Insurers Required to Report on Global Warming Predictions: MenRec
Concrete Evidence Man is Causing Glacier Retreat: Malkin

Media

Obama Hides From the Press: Surber
Allen West Questions Florida Legislators’ Motives: Shark Tank
Salon v McKeon: When is an investigative reporter not an investigative reporter: Q&O

How dare a private group spend its money as it wants? Liberals Slam Susan G. Komen: Bookworm
Chris Christie stands up for his bizarre NJ Supreme Court nominees: WyBlog
Ann Coulter's Laughably Weak Attempt To Defend RomneyCare: Riehl

Give Me Your Money In the Name of Jesus: RS
Gospels Contradict Obama's Idea Of A Socialist Jesus: IBD
Okay, I’ve been sitting on these quotes long enough.: Troglopundit

World

Israeli: Iran creating missile to hit U.S.; East Coast in reach: LAT
Is Israel preparing to attack Iran?: WaPo
#OWS May Day Agitprop: UrbInf

Breaking: Democrats Preyed On Immigrants In Ballot Fraud Scandal: MenRec
Israel says Iran has material for four A-bombs: Reuters
Meet the Air Force’s Newest X-Plane: DefTech

Sci-Tech

Mark Zuckerberg’s Letter to Investors: ‘The Hacker Way’: Wired
Microsoft Vows to Fix ‘Broken’ Code In Open Source Cloud Project: Wired
LEAKED: Here's Everything Coming In The Next Windows Phone: Insider

Cornucopia

Separated At Birth?: Moonbattery
I Guess Endorsements Do Matter: AllAm
McDonald's Finally Realizes Pink Slime Is Not An Appetizing Burger Ingredient: Consumerist

Two Hogs, Two Shadows: MOTUS
Terrell Owens out of work, going broke and 'in hell': LAT
'Fear Factor' contestants told by NBC to shut up about canceled episode they starred in: Fox

Image: iOwnTheWorld
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Rick Santorum for President: Yes, He Can Win

QOTD: "Thus, the administration that took military action in Libya without any authorization from force from Congress, that appointed czars with policymaking authority without Congressional confirmation, and that made ‘recess’ appointments while Congress was not in recess is invoking executive privilege to cover how the Department of Justice reacted when Congress began asking about a gun-trafficking operation that got U.S. law enforcement officers murdered by Mexican drug cartels.

All from a president who railed against a runaway imperial presidency when George W. Bush sat in the office he currently occupies." --Jim Geraghty

Thursday, February 02, 2012

Three Must-Read Quotes from Eric Holder's Fast and Furious Testimony Today. Plus: Brian Terry's Mother Rips Holder.

Eric Holder was back in front of the House Oversight Committee today to testify on Operation Fast and Furious. For those unfamiliar with the crimes, consider it like Watergate, only with 300 dead -- including Brian Terry, a U.S. Border Patrol agent killed by murder weapons supplied to drug cartels by Eric Holder.

During testimony, three particular quotes struck me as especially memorable:

• GOP Rep. Anne Marie Buerkle to Eric Holder:

"What more could have possibly gone wrong before you'd have been held accountable [for Operation Fast and Furious]? I would suggest that the President has been eerily quiet about coming to your defense. So let me ask it this way: How many more Border Patrol agents would have had to die as part of Operation Fast and Furious for you to take responsibility?"

• Eric Holder threatens Darrell Issa, asserting that Congress can not view sealed wiretap records even if a whistleblower reveals them:

"That direction that you just said, about the media and Congress and court orders, is really incorrect and you act at your peril if you think that's the truth."

• GOP Rep. Patrick Henry to Eric Holder on the delays in the DOJ's "investigation", which has now taken longer than the Warren Commission Report on the assassination of JFK:

"Thirteen months later, we have a possibility of somebody actually being punished for an agent getting killed. This is absolutely absurd."

Brian Terry's mother also watched Holder's outrageous performance today and had the following to say on Facebook.

“THIS IS FOR YOU SON,” Mrs. Terry posted on Facebook at about 3:30 p.m. “Mr. Holder. How come you can never say my sons name. You never have. All i ever hear you say is ‘i didnt find out or I cant say’ Im actually tired of hearing your double talk in answering questions. What a joke you are. You know my son was a real AMERICAN, a WARRIOR, and a HERO, who was also protecting COWARD POLITICANS like you.”

“Hope you remember that,” Mrs. Terry added in her message to Holder before signing it: “PROUD MOM OF BRIAN A. TERRY.”

Brian Terry was murdered with a weapon his own government allowed to be sold to Mexican drug cartels via Operation Fast and Furious. Like Terry, about 300 Mexican citizens were also murdered with the guns Holder’s Justice Department gave to the drug cartels.

Nobody has been held accountable inside the Justice Department, and more than 100 congressmen, three U.S. senators, two sitting governors and all major Republican presidential candidates have demanded that Holder step down in the wake of the scandal. Holder has time and again refused to hold anybody accountable and has refused to step down himself.

Holder never even apologized to the Terry family until publicly shamed into it during November's Congressional testimony. And, even then, he released the apology publicly to Politico before the family ever saw it.

Holder needs to be held in Contempt of Congress right now and prosecuted for obstruction of justice.


Cartoon: IBD - Ramirez

Four charts: how Obama destroyed the energy economy in the Gulf of Mexico

A report issued Tuesday by the Greater New Orleans Economic Alliance reveals the true economic devastation wrought by President Obama's draconian and illegal oil drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico

Thanks to the people at the New Orleans Regional Economic Alliance, one can cut through all the claims about how oil drilling in the United States is back to normal since the Gulf oil spill.

The [accompanying] figures ... show the trends in both shallow- and deep-water drilling permit approvals in the gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. As can be seen, the Obama administration did not let that crisis go to waste, it used it to implement another plank in its anti-fossil fuel agenda...

Regardless of the Obama administration’s claims that they aren’t hindering oil exploration and development in the Gulf, a few minutes of looking at their own data tells the real story: they’re both cutting it down, and stretching it out.

So the next time legacy media allows President Obama to claim that oil drilling is back to normal in the Gulf, remember these charts.


Hat tips: HyScience and BadBlue.

'Progressives' Believe Strongly in the Separation of Church and State. Except, Of Course, When It Comes to Abortion.

If the ramifications weren't so diabolical, the hypocrisy exhibited by Democrats would be laughable.

It has not even been two years since Obamacare was enacted, and already the President’s health care law has taken another victim — the religious freedoms Americans hold dear, as reflected by the First Amendment.

The Obama Administration recently reaffirmed a rule under Obamacare that requires many religious employers to provide health care coverage for all FDA-approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and related education and counseling. On the grounds that certain FDA-approved contraceptive methods can sometimes “cause the demise of embryos both after and before uterine implantation,many groups also believe that the rule forces them to cover abortion.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is calling the contraception mandate an “unprecedented” attack on religious freedom. And in statement after statement issued in diocese after diocese, many bishops are publicly declaring that they “cannot” and “will not” comply with “this unjust law.” As Cleveland Bishop Richard Lennon explained, “Unless this rule is overturned, Catholics will be compelled either to violate our consciences or to drop health care coverage for our employees.”

It’s not just Catholics affected by the rule, however. Leaders from other faith traditions have expressed their concern, and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has already filed a lawsuit on behalf of an interdenominational Christian college that objects to providing abortion and related education and counseling in its health care insurance. “The mandate is un-American, unprecedented, and flagrantly unconstitutional,” says an attorney for the college.

As shocking as the Obama Administration’s action is, it should not come as a surprise. Heritage experts explained years ago that freedom of conscience in health care is closely linked to greater personal freedom over health care decisions. Health care expert James Capretta says that “it was inevitable — only a matter of time,” now that the government is calling the shots and making health care choices for the American people. “Just the sight of Catholic leaders’ being forced to go begging before federal officials ought to be enough to convince most Americans that handing over so much power over such sensitive matters to the federal government was a terrible, terrible mistake,” he writes.

Pathetic Democrat dupes like Bart Stupak and Steve Driehaus hardest hit.

The leaders of the Catholic Church could begin their fight by excommunicating Nancy Pelosi, Kathleen Sebelius, and any other Catholic members of the Democrat Party who support this outrage.


Genius: Starting in 2014, Obamacare begins taxing... itself.

Gee, it's so surprising that we keep uncovering time-bombs buried inside a 2,200-page bill that no one read.

Under the health care overhaul, the federal government will begin taxing itself and the states beginning in 2014... And that’s giving state Medicaid directors heartburn.

The law calls for a new tax on health insurers’ premium revenue — intended to help pay for expansion of coverage to 32 million uninsured Americans. But the tax will be paid by all insurers, including those that contract with states to provide coverage to recipients of Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for the poor. Under federal law, that fee must be paid by the Medicaid program, meaning that state and federal governments must pick up the tab.

A report released today by the actuarial firm Milliman Inc. said the tax will cost the Medicaid program between $36.5 billion and $41.9 billion over 10 years. At least $13 billion will be borne by states, and at least $23.5 billion by the federal government, based on the state-federal Medicaid matching formula, according to the report paid for by the Medicaid Health Plans of America, which represents private health plans that cover people on Medicaid. According to the America’s Health Insurance plans, the tax overall would generate at least $73 billion from 2014-2019.

“This is not an issue on most people’s radar screens, but this is going to be a big problem,” said Matt Salo, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors. “This policy never really made sense … I get the point of an insurance tax, but when you are just passing on those costs to Medicaid, that makes no sense.”

With delightful surprises like this built into the Democrats' destructive health care bill, it's no wonder that Obama's advisers are predicting the death of America's health insurance companies. Which should do wonders for unemployment.