August 31, 2011

3 reasons the Obama victory predictor could be wrong

There’s a pretty reliable prediction out that President Obama will win re-election in 2012. As reported by Allahpundit over at Hot Air, the Keys System sees Obama. Predictive modelling, while not my forte, is something right up my alley. I’m quite familiar with the design and upkeep of models in my day job - I work with them regularly and have even built one or two.  Without a great deal of insight into the specifics of the model, I can see few potential problems with the predicted outcome.

August 30, 2011

Daryl Hannah arrested.

Trying to make a splash she can no longer make with her career, Daryl Hannah got arrested for protesting against common sense.
Daryl Hannah was arrested by U.S. Park Police Tuesday at a protest in front of the White House, a police spokesman told TheWrap.

Hannah was participating in a sit-in against the construction of a pipeline that would stretch from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.
Why do I claim it's common sense that she seems to be against? It's explained here. And here.

Flashback: Thatcher's brilliance in 2 minutes

Admonishing government largess for what it is, Margaret Thatcher showing people what common sense looks like and why government should really consider applying some to itself.

Dictator Watch - Aug 30, 2011

It's been a while since I've focused on foreign dictators in a Dictator Watch post.  Perhaps none have been so light-hearted as this one.  But that's just a result of the subject matter.  Hugo Chavez looks like John Candy.Vlad Putin looks like a latter day Nero, Assad looks lonely, and Qaddafi looks like...well Qaddafi, but on the run.

Gunwalker scandal leads to ATF shakeup

In light of the Gunwalker scandal (aka Fast and Furious), it looks like some heads will roll. 

Via Fox:
The acting director of the Justice Department division caught up in a firearms trafficking scandal is being removed from his post, sources told Fox News on Tuesday. 
Kenneth Melson, who heads the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, will be reassigned elsewhere in the Justice Department. An announcement is expected late Tuesday morning.
Unfortunately, the wrong head was on the chopping block - is Attorney General Holder going to skate on this? Accountability only goes as high as it needs to in order to satiate the calls for justice.

Help for Obama's coming jobs plan

We all know that beyond rhetorically, the president has had a really hard time pivoting to a jobs focus.  He's supposedly pivoted to jobs a few times now, but there's been no evidence that he's actually done anything beyond his original free-for-all stimulus known as ARRA (or porkulus).  There's also little evidence that what he's done has accomplished anything - except for more debt that is.  So with him ready to deliver a new jobs plan with all the appearance of him having gone away to work on a high school project in time for a due date (including the typical high school minimal and haphazard effort), he's not likely to come up with anything new, or good.

Another Obama illegal relative?

Democrats Jimmy Carter had his brother Billy.  Democrat Bill Clinton had issues with his brother Roger.  Democrat President Obama had issues with an aunt Zeituni, and now an uncle as well.  I'm not saying it's a Democrat pattern...okay yes I am.

August 29, 2011

Just one question for Obama

According to a wonderfully wry RedState post today,
After Labor Day, Obama plans to unveil his highly unanticipated jobs plan. Much like his first jobs plan, this one will include massive stimulus handouts to special interests, prodigal infrastructure spending (as much as $556 billion), unprecedented extensions of unemployment benefits, and more welfare transfer payments. Concurrently, he will inveigh against “rich” job creators and offer a healthy dose of vapid rhetoric regarding regulatory reform. However, there will be something new – something more appealing to the skeptical electorate; extending the one-year cut in payroll taxes.
It goes on about some brilliant maneuver to snooker Obama on his health care bill - blah, blah, blah.  [Actually, for the sarcasm impaired; read it, it's good]. But what stood out for me was this phrase;

'a healthy dose of vapid rhetoric regarding regulatory reform'

Jon Huntsman back peddling faster than the evolutionary process

Via Politico,
Jon Huntsman earned a spate of positive headlines recently when he took aim at Rick Perry's skepticism about evolution and global warming, tweeting: "I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy."

But that doesn't mean Huntsman thinks evolution is a purely scientific process. In fact, Monday morning he suggested it has divine underpinnings.

During a "Fox and Friends" appearance, Huntsman reiterated that he trusts evolutionary science, but explained: "I believe in evolution. I think it’s part of God’s plan."
Yep, that'll help.  Way to quietly and creatively try to backtrack Jon.  

The real question about this is: who cares?  At under 1% approval the question has been asked whether he's campaigning for 2016 instead of 2012.  My supposition is that at the rate he's attracting new followers, he might be campaigning for 2112, because that's how long it will take him to get to double digits in the GOP primaries because let's face it, he's a liberal. 

It turns out 2112 is an ironic year - if you are a Rush fan you know the album of that name talks about a time when;
By 2112, the world is controlled by the "Priests of the Temples of Syrinx", who determine the content of all reading matter, songs, pictures - every facet of life.
Sounds like a progressive's paradise to me.

All of this is my roundabout way of saying today appears to be a slow news day.

August 28, 2011

Chuck Slowe: For Those On The Far Freaking Left...

From Chuck Slowe, another important reminder for all about the left and how their math is way off.
 For Those On The Far Freaking Left, Either Put Up or Shut Up! I Am Sick Of Your Lies And Half-Truths!  Simple Math Should Not Be That Difficult! When It Comes To Federal Taxes, Get Your Facts Straight! Most Of Your Constituents Pay None! 
 It's a good blog, go check it out. However, he's talking to a brick wall. Since the math doesn't support their argument, they rely on an inattentive audience and obfuscation to get their story line out there. And it works, much less so than it used to, but it still works. In other words - they're not changing. They won't do the math.

Hurricane Irene and the Broken Window Fallacy

Couldn't fit further left on the page.
So many people have spoken about the Broken Window Fallacy (myself included), that it's become a given that bad news and damage are not good for the economy.  That is it seems, unless you are Nobel Prize Winning economist, and progressivist shill Paul Krugman.

How someone wins a Nobel Prize in economics when they are calling for an alien invasion (or a faux one) is unclear.  How they get one when stuff they should know is blindly ignored is baffling.  How they get credence from a liberal media looking to elevate their side of the economic debate is less surprising, but it doesn't make it smart.  The New York Times may want to do some background checking on Mr. Krugman's economic prowess before continuing to push him as an expert because in the case of Hurricane Irene, he's got one more thing to add to his personal list of wrongness. He falls victim to a perfectly refutable idea that destroys his credibility in other matters completely.

The politics of a hurricane

Be Warned - I'm going to cut President Obama a little slack here.  But only a little.

It's tough being a leader in a natural disaster situation.  In 1999 the mayor of Toronto called in army to aid in a coming snow and ice storm of mammoth proportions.  Except the storm never materialized.  I don't recall specifically but I think there was less than an inch of snow.  The mayor was derided as an idiot from all quarters for a long time after that.  But if the mayor had done nothing and then the storm materialized, it would have been the same as it was for President Bush after Katrina (specific relevant issues of that situation aside for now).  
Click to enlarge.

The situation posed a virtual game theory 'no win' for him.  Just as with President Bush (who also had the issue of a state Governor who should have been doing a bunch of things that prevented him as President from being more proactive), the mayor had 4 possible scenarios that could have happened.

August 27, 2011

Saturday Learning Series - Malthus Explained and Debunked

Is it?  Really? Oh, the despair.
Some work on economics, the philisophical learning previously started will continue soon. But for now, I recently stumbled across this 50 minute lecture by Yale professor Douglas W. Rae who talks about, among other things how economic theorist Malthus got it wrong on capital, labor and the 'inevitability' of poverty .  The lecture is part of a course on capitalism. It's a terrific lecture if you give it a chance to soak in and watch more than the first few minutes and get to the point where he starts applying the introductory graphs to Malthus.

The FEC's upcoming blunder

Courtesy of www.oftwominds.com
This might be off the beaten path of electoral politics, but it still seems unnecessarily wrong.  As a full disclaimer this is not in any way related to birtherism, but is a legal matter related to an FEC ruling. 

While the FEC may be technically correct in it's narrow band of responsibility, the disconnect from practicality exemplifies the problems with bureaucracy.


August 26, 2011

Q2 GDP only 1%?

The revised Q2 GDP was this morning pegged down a few tenths of a percent to 1%. Call it 'unexpected', call it growth, call it whatever you want, you can't spin it enough to keep the economic outlook rosy.

It does not bode well for the double dip recession outlook.



Quick question on Washington Monument damages

Is somebody going to fix this, or is there no money left in that infrastructure stimulus money to bother? The Washington Monument is a national treasure is it not?  It should be repaired, as soon as possible immediately.

Somewhere in there the irony of the symbolism of a cracked Washington Monument got lost on many in D.C.


God and Google

Google has apparently stopped recognizing religious institutions as non-profit organizations benefits.  Faith-based groups must now pay for Google tools that were once free.  If you do an internet search on 'Google is God' you'd be surprised how many matches you'll find.  This however is one letter different from that phrase - it's Google vs. God.

August 24, 2011

Even a hurricane won't move O

Via CNN:
There have been no discussions about President Barack Obama changing his vacation plans and leaving Martha's Vineyard early, according to White House Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest.

But White House officials are "watching the weather reports" and tracking the progress of Hurricane Irene closely, Earnest said.
No word on whether it might speed up his jobs plan.

Blogging for profit or virtue

I'm a conservative. I wholeheartedly support free market capitalism. I not only support it, but in my own small way, outside of my day job, I try to partake of the opportunity with my limited available bandwidth.  As of this month, I've finally generated enough revenue from ads on my blog to merit a check from Google (I use AdSense). Yay me.  It took just under 3 years; I'm not exactly a blog advertising powerhouse.  But it does provide me with a sense of accomplishment and motivation.

What oil exploration does for a local economy

Fort McMurray - once and future boom town.
Back a few years ago the oil deposits being recovered in Alberta Canada provided a massive boom to the local economy of small towns like Fort McMurray.  The town experienced everything from housing shortages, to donut shop jobs paying $20/hour in donut shops.  Oil means jobs.  As Alberta readies for yet another boom after a lull created by the financial crisis of 2008, leadership in the United States continues to waffle on whether to take advantage of the resources of a friendly neighbor that is anxious to sell, and indeed of it's own resources that are practically stopped compared to what they could be providing.  Why this great opportunity is going relatively unnoticed is not as puzzling as it is concerning.

August 23, 2011

Some new two word opinions

Again I'm swamped.  But I've got some more quick - very quick, in fact two word opinions - on some of the latest news items because I just can't let them pass without saying something.


August 22, 2011

Maxine Waters' Tea Party Bile

Maxine Waters recently told Tea Party members to 'go to hell'. I wonder if she meant Inglewood California in her California's 35th congressional district, where the unemployment rate is a national embarrassment .


Flashback 2009 - I want Obama to succeed.

Back in 2009 I predicted President Obama would have to lead from the center-right or else his policies would prove ineffective and he would suffer losses in both big 2010 and 2012.  Looks like I am on track so far. Sweet.

Canadian Socialist Leader Dies

Canadian politics is a little off the theme of my blog except where it provides an example for American politics. Today it does not do that.  However, a big story in Canada today is worth noting because it affects Canada's future as far as the progress of progressivism in the country.  NDP (socialist) leader Jack Layton, who in the latest election (that served up Canada's first conservative majority in decades) brought the socialist party to previously unattainable heights, has succumbed to cancer.

August 20, 2011

Saturday Learning Series - Argument Fallacies

After a short summer recess, the Saturday Learning Series is back with a timely look into debate fallacies, just in time for primary season getting under way.

August 19, 2011

Consistency

Whatever.
This morning I was waiting to take the local commuter train in to my office.  A train came past the station in the other direction at a fairly high speed and did not stop.  That's a normal occurrence. It's so normal in fact, that people standing a few feet away on the platform didn't bat an eyelash or turn around as it sped past them.

It made me think about how dependent we are as humans on the concept of consistency.  People in that instance were so accustomed to the train going by to the next station at the start of the line, that it did not occur to them that tonnes of potentially lethal steel is speeding past a few mere feet away.  

August 17, 2011

Link love

So I'm working 14-16 hours a day lately and my blog is suffering.  Trust me, I'm not complaining - I'm working.  Until I'm back to normal, check out these quality posts elsewhere:



The bigger the lie, the more people you fool.

The Black Caucus is losing patience with Mr. O.



Romney can't win, Perry can.

Nobody can win, except Sarah Palin.

Nobody can win but Newt Gingrich.  No link?  Oh wait, he'll have the Hawaii vote.

Always end with a chuckle.

August 16, 2011

Obama is twice the man Bush was!

President Obama is twice the man President Bush was - sorta.  Consider the following statistics.

Some more two word opinions

I'm not really back from an unintended break in posting.  August has been an unusually busy month for me at work.  Consequently, my  posting frequency has suffered.  That's unfortunate because going into the dog days of August when there will be little new to discuss, my free time might just be normalizing.  That will mean I'll have to write more analytical essays, which might not be so bad since it's my preference anyway. In the meantime, anti-essays will be the order of the day since I only have 10 minutes to get this post done. 


Since brevity is the soul of wit, I give you more two word opinions.  The truth is that each of these today could still be reduced to a single word, so I'm not being as brief as possible..  I'll leave it to you to figure out for yourself  how to shorten these.

August 13, 2011

Bachmann, Palin and haiku


At this point, anything that doesn't resemble "Obama wins" is an exciting thing for conservatives to see.  While the straw poll isn't anything official as far as the race goes, it's probably more interesting to note that Ron Paul, highly organized in this sort of contest didn't win.  He in fact ran second.  Bachmann won.  Does that help her or is it just what was expected?

August 11, 2011

Not NOT politics as usual

President Obama came into office promising to move beyond politics as usual. He talked about being the first post-partisan president. He talked about the oceans stopping their rising and the earth cooling. Out of those three points he can make a claim of success on two of them. Instead of ‘not politics as usual’, he’s opted for more politics than usual. I guess in a sense that isn’t a lie. More politics than usual is in itself not usual. As for the oceans stopping rising and the earth starting to cool, everyone but Al Gore now sees Global Warming as not completely irrefutable. The earth isn’t perceived as hot as it was the day President Obama took over the white House. While that’s just reality creeping in, and not Obama’s doing, indeed Global Warming isn’t as much a dire future as it once was…perceived. That it was never that bad doesn’t factor into Obama’s claim of course. As to being post-partisan, if by the definition he means hyper-partisan then he’s right, otherwise he has no business backing up that claim.

August 10, 2011

Racism and Obama

I can't believe this still has to be addressed, but it is what we are up against as conservatives - be it social, fiscal, or national defense conservatives. The left has successfully planted the notion that differences with Obama are based in racism. No everyone doesn't believe that, and those who do likely vary in degrees of belief. But the belief does exist, and in whatever numbers, they make a difference on some scale when it comes to voting

I received an email from reader that said something to the effect, and I'm paraphrasing here, that some people in government resent having an African American in a position of higher authority than them. Some of them would try and stop him from succeeding at whatever he would put in front of them for the good of the USA.. Listening to the president you could tell that he knows some thing is wrong and he’s not getting the support that he should be getting. Now is not the time to try and make him fail as the country will go deeper into a hole.

August 9, 2011

Anarchy in the U.K.

It was either that, or London Calling. Whatever happened with the police and the drug suspect shooting, it doesn't justify widespread riots that are seemingly misdirected at the rich and conservatives. This is no doubt being if not orchestrated by leftist elements, then taken advantage of by them.  They leverage public anger and misinformation to create mayhem within a capitalist system. They think they are doing a public service.

Now enjoy the Sex Pistols.

 

Why Today's Dow Jones Recovery ISN'T Rainbows & Unicorns


The Dow Jones (DJIA) rebounded by over 400 points today after yesterday's Monday reaction to the Friday downgrading of the U.S. government's credit rating.  The market rebound is being attributed to the Fed's comments today that the interest rates will not change for the next two years.  Good news if you believe it.

August 8, 2011

Wait, that's not global warming. What is that?

Solar flares having a potentially massive impact, coming soon to a planet near you. Who knew the sun could have such a fundamental impact on the earth? Not this guy.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a federal agency that focuses on the condition of the oceans and atmosphere, said a severe solar storm could cause global disruptions in GPS systems, power grids, satellite communications, and airline communications... 
In a huge solar storm back in 1859, telegraph offices worldwide were hit, some telegraph operators reported electric shocks, the telegraph systems malfunctioned and even paper caught fire. It is the strongest solar storm on record and is called the “Carrington Event,” which is named after Richard Carrington, who viewed and reported on the solar flare of Sept. 1, 1859. In 1989, six million people in Quebec, Canada were left without power for several hours when a solar storm took down a power grid.

Obama movies: Lien On Me

Here's a list of Obama movie titles I can come up with as the prime actor in the debt situation.  If you've got some, throw them in the comments section.

  • Lien on Me
  • The HangOver-Draft
  • Slumdog Trillionaire
  • The Debt Poet Society
  • dRain Man
  • Citizen Keynes'
  • Debt Day Afternoon
  • Trillion Dollar Baby
  • No Money For Old Men
  • 2011: An Arrears Odyssey
  • Raging Bull$&!%
  • The Treasure of the Socialist Madre
  • Federal Reservoir Dogs
  • Requiem for a Socialist Dream
  • The Shining (Path)
  • Fiscal Gump
  • 12 Angry Radicals
  • Crouching "Terrorists", Hidden Debt
  • Debt Soup
  • Recovery Window
  • Radical Without A Cost
  • Saving Private Donors
  • Some Like It Debt


Liberal Spin - It's Just Newsweek


I was listening to The Five on Fox today and liberal pundit Bob Beckel was admonishing the panel over the interpretations of Newsweek's latest cover  of Michele Bachman.  The National Organization of Women (NOW) called it sexist.  I don't think it is, but it's certainly unfair.  Beckel even said the cover wasn't the best, but he said it's not right to tar the entire media as anti-conservative because of something Newsweek did.  In principle he's right.  But everyone knows the media is primarily liberal.  In any case I wanted to point out why it can be argued that (1) it's not women but it's conservatives and (2) it's not just Newsweek, it is indeed the media.

The Christian Post says Fox takes it easy on Palin.

I guess The Christian Post  would prefer Fox act like MSNBC.
It’s probably not shocking news to learn that Fox News’ personalities go easier on their colleague Sarah Palin than other networks do. However, what has created a media stir up this week was just how honest two personalities, Greg Gutfeld and Bob Beckel, were when talking about their coverage of Palin on Wednesday. Gutfeld and Beckel, co-host of the Fox News program, The Five, were discussing Palin’s defense of the Tea Party this week. Gutfield announced that he felt awkward when talking about the possible GOP candidate because to him she is “like a coworker.”
But the real question is, as a Christian shouldn't they be doing something other than looking for dirt that they can't even confirm?
This brings up an ethical question, if not problem, that surrounds Fox News. Many commentators on Fox News are not just viewers sitting on the political sideline but active participants as well. Does this pose a conflict of interest in Fox’s coverage of politics? Many on the left have often said “yes.” After all, it is reasonable to see how colleagues would not want to beat up on each other; if for nothing more in order to maintain workplace civility. 
There has been no proof or record that Fox withholds financial assets from employees who “beat up on” Palin.
Who are these people, and are they really a Christian organization and not a communist front?  I mean, I can't prove it, but you know it right?

Sarcasm note for the hard of interpreting:  See what I did there?  I accused them of something I couldn't prove, just like they did.

Hysteria on the image conscious right

In a recent poll, Rasmussen reports that 29% of Americans regard the Tea Party as having acted in a terrorist type fashion during the debt ceiling debate.  Economic terrorism?  Sure that exists but is caring about the solvency of your country really the same as flying a plane into the world trade center?  No, it's hyperbole.  Ridiculous hyperbole.  But the real problem is that 29% of Americans believe it.  However, what I want to focus on is the reaction on the right, because it strikes me as overly image conscious, and unnecessarily worried.

August 7, 2011

Timothy Geithner, you are WRONG!

Huh?
Three times Timothy Geithner strays from fact into propaganda in his attempt at lambasting Standard and Poors on their downgrade of the United States' AAA credit rating.  Of course it's no surprise that Geithner got his talking points wrong.  He was wrong on the Keynesian solution to the recession, he was wrong on his assertion that there would be no downgrade and he looks bad for both.  Of course he's angry and not responding rationally, but that doesn't excuse his 'wrongness'.

Dick Durbin, you are WRONG!

Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D), said the following;
The downgrade “is also a political one, partisan gamesmanship has left global markets, rating agencies and the American people searching for stability.”
No Dick, people are searching for stability because Democrats pressed the accelerator to the floor on spending and run up trillions of dollars in unsustainable debt in just a few short years. They've done so at such a pace that the out of control spending under President Bush looks minuscule by comparison. It's time to come clean on spending Dick, or this problem will only grow worse. You can't fix something you don't recognize as a problem. Admitting you have a spending problem is the first step to recovery.

*********************************************************

As an adjunct to the story, the Democrats, particularly the White House, seem poised and eager blame the messenger - Standard and Poors - rather than face reality.  Republicans won't negotiate?  You can't negotiate with those who can't or won't face reality. Standard and Poors are just the latest in the blame Democrats throw around for their own hyperbolic mistakes.

*********************************************************

There's been a breach in the Obamacrats' wall of denial and blame, that's the reason behind the panic reaction to the news of the credit rating downgrade by the administration.  You'd better believe they are working furiously behind the scenes to get their Asian counterparts to stop this from becoming a full fledged collapse.

Good news: Boeing still works

787 Flight Deck
Here's some good news in the midst of the economic doom and gloom, and it comes from one of the companies the progressivist administration is trying to hinder.  Boeing has it's first 787 Dreamliner client-ready. These planes should turn out to be game-changers.  Instead of Superjumbo A380s from Airbus which are merely prestige planes, the smaller 787 Dreamliner is economically very practical and opens up aviation to smarter distance flights on a much more economic scale.  In hard times economically globally, seemingly everywhere but China, an American company has a product built with the foresight suited to the economic foresight and with the future potential scarcity of fuel in mind. It's a potential game changer.

Here's the way forward - step one

Image via varight.com
With a downgrade of the nation's credit rating, the reverberations are being felt around the world.  Israel's stock market nosedived, China is saying the world will abandon the dollar, and all eyes are turning to the Asian markets for Monday morning to see how bad the bleeding is going to be.  Standard and Poors says there's a 1 in 3 chance another downgrade will occur in the next 2 years from AA+ to AA.  In light of that frenzied panic, and/or coming panic for some, certain things are going to have to happen at this potential inflection point in American history.

August 6, 2011

Obama's trickle-down misery

Not wrong.
In an embarrassing turn of events, with the first time in history America's credit rating being down-graded from AAA to AA+, the added humiliation came with China scolding America on it's addiction to debt.
State news agency Xinhua said unless the US cut its "gigantic military expenditure and bloated welfare costs," another downgrade would be inevitable. 
But other countries, such as Australia, France and Japan, said they retained their faith in US bonds.
The downgrade ended a week of growing uncertainty for the world economy.
Fears that the US might be headed for a double-dip recession and the eurozone's debt problems were set to spread to Italy and Spain saw stock market sell-offs around the world.
The downgrade is a major embarrassment for the administration of President Barack Obama and could raise the cost of US government borrowing.
This in turn could trickle down to higher interest rates for local governments and individuals.
Could?  How about will?

Balanced Budget Amendment is on the table

...in Italy. Apparently Italians have more of a stomach for reality than the Greeks, Spanish or America.

Via FT:
The country’s debt is equal to almost 120 per cent of gross domestic product.

The Italian government would continue to work on the package through August and parliament could be called back early from its summer recess to pass the necessary legislation, the official said.

The measures included a plan to amend the constitution to make a balanced budget mandatory, a second constitutional change that would force “closed professions” to liberalise services, a speeding up of welfare reforms, and other structural reforms designed to boost Italy’s stagnant economy.

Cuts in the “cost of politics” – including salaries of elected officials and subsidies to political parties – were also on the agenda, which had been agreed in outline with leaders of employers’ associations and trade unions on Thursday.
Let's hope for Italy's sake this happens, and hopefully for America's sake, people learn a lesson form it.

Saturday Learning Series: Radical-in-Chief Author Stanley Kurtz

The Obama is a socialist meme seems to have run it's course in a sense and been replaced on the right with Obama is incompetent.  Why can't both be true.  Kurtz points out why Obama's beliefs matter and what the implications are going forward, and in 2012.

Some more two word opinions

I'm falling behind on posting again.  In order to do a quick catch up, here are some quick two word opinions on some recent headlines.  On a side note, this is 500% harder than doing it in three words.

Unemployment rate dips to 9.1%. Oh really?

S&P downgraded the AAA credit rating to AA+. Truth hurts.


US Postal Service could default? About time.



Tea Party versus GOP fallout on debt ceiling debate? Not now.

Senate Democrats cave on FAA legislation passed by Congress. A win.


More posts are coming - with more words.

August 4, 2011

Keeping score

As of this writing, it looks like the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down about 500 points, down over 10% over the last two weeks.  U.S. borrowing has exceeded 100% of GDP, European countries are in panic over sovereign debt.  That doesn't mean it's time to panic.  It's more keeping score.

What interests me though is whether things might have looked a little cheerier if Cut Cap and Balance had passed earlier this week.

Revisions, revisions

Perhaps we weren't paying attention when the unemployment rate was below 6% under President Bush, but there seems to be revision after revision, usually for the worse, and well enough after the fact that to go deliberately unnoticed by the media.  The unemployment rate has, during the Obama administration, been revised upward a number of times following a supposed improvement in the rate.  The next month, with a new rate out, an addendum frequently updates the previous month's rate, typically it's been upward.

America's Best Days Are Ahead (Reagan 2.0)

The polls indicate I'm wrong; a recent Rasmussen survey indicates that just 32% of the country thinks America's best days are in the future. That dovetails well with other surveys that indicate less than 20% of Americans feel the country is headed in the right direction. The latter surveying is something I happen to believe myself - the country is indeed headed in the wrong direction. But the best days for the United States of America are still in the future.

August 3, 2011

Post fatigue, stay tuned

There are a lot of things worth blogging about of late, but I'm a little burnt out from the budget ceiling debate and tied up with my day job. I'll be back soon with opinions and thoughts on everything from victory in Afghanistan to who won the debt ceiling fight to the Capital Account Balance and lots of other stuff.

Stay tuned.

August 1, 2011

Tea Party Romney?

Mitt Romney, be it for political reasons, or economic, is opposing the budget deal. Finally. He has been silent on the issue, not wanting to rock the boat of his polling lead in the GOP primaries. It may be a day late and a dollar short, but at least he came down on the right side of the Cut Cap and Balance proposal.
Exeter, N.H. (AP) -- Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney opposes the deal to raise the nation's debt ceiling.

The former Massachusetts governor says the compromise, backed by President Barack Obama and congressional leaders in both parties, opens the door to higher taxes and defense cuts. Romney opposes anything other than the House Republican "cut, cap and balance" approach that required Congress to send a balanced budget amendment to the states.
Politically it may be a smart move to finally decide to come down on the same side of the debate as the Tea Party and his strongest challenger currently in the field - Michele Bachmann. If he can take away her biggest issue, he removes a big impetus behind her support. Still, he hasn't been very vocal on the issue and in the face of leading from behind from the Obama White House, voters, particularly conservatives, may be in no mood for that sort of style.
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