Good Morning,
Propaganda: Obama ‘public sector just fine’
Reality: The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits climbed last week, indicating continued trouble for the labor market. The Labor Department reported Thursday that 386,000 people filed new jobless claims in the week ended June 9, up 6,000 from the previous week’s revised figure. That was 11,000 more than expected. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast 375,000 people would file new claims. Nationally, we have 1,403,187 homes in foreclosure. Between 60% & 80% of all new jobs created in our country can be attributed to Small Business. Drive around town this weekend and see how many vacant and going out of business signs you see. While promising to implement policies which strengthen small business, Obama continues to create policies destructive to business.
Propaganda: Republicans want to ‘end Medicare as we know it’.
Reality: Altogether, ObamaCare cuts $818 billion from Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) from 2014-2023, the first 10 years of its full implementation, and $3.2 trillion over the first 20 years, 2014-2033. Adding in ObamaCare cuts for Medicare Part B (physicians fees and other services) brings the total cut to $1.05 trillion over the first 10 years and $4.95 trillion over the first 20 years.
Propaganda: The government is here to help.
Reality: There are over 42.6 MILLION people receiving food stamps yet, Yesterday, the Senate voted to kill two amendments to the 1,000-page $969 billion farm bill (S.3240). One amendment would restore the free market to a sector of the agriculture economy; the other would decrease the food stamp rolls. The first amendment, which was actually sponsored by Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, would gradually phase out sugar subsidies. Believe it or not, since 1980, the federal government has been funneling billions of dollars to a few thousand rich sugar farmers through a complex system of price supports. Much like the ethanol boondoggle, the Feds also protect sugar cane and sugar beet farmers with restrictions on imported sugar.
Aside for the wasted taxpayer dollars on corporate welfare, our absurd sugar policy has increased the cost of food for households and food processors almost as severely as the ethanol subsidies jacked up the cost of corn and other food commodities. As Bloomberg will tell you, sugar is in almost everything we eat. Hence, our convoluted sugar policy is nothing more than a regressive and redistributive tax on consumers.
Like every government intervention, the sugar industry has a powerful lobby ensuring that the money keeps flowing and the prices remain high. The Heritage Foundation points out that “Sugar accounts for just 1.9 percent of the value of total U.S. crop production, but sugar producers fund 55 percent of crop-related political action committee (PAC) donations and 34.2 percent of crop-related lobbying expenses.” Crony capitalism is an expensive commodity indeed.
All this government intervention on behalf of Big Ag special interests – from ethanol and soybean welfare to sugar subsidies – has spiked the cost of food commodities, despite the great abundance of food in this country. That’s where the other hand of government swoops in with perpetual handouts that condemn millions of people to a life of dependency with no end in sight.
Propaganda: Obama said this week that our Economy is improving and our unemployment is better than Europe’s.
Reality: It’s largely reported that America has an 8.1-8.2 unemployment rate – you just heard Obama brag about it. Of course – the new math does not take into count those who have stopped looking for work; those who no longer quality for unemployment benefits; and the underemployed who are working part time jobs to just get by. The official unemployment rate ignores 88 MILLION people according to Rep. Duncan D. Hunter R-Calif. The REAL unemployment rate is 22.3% according to John Williams – Shadow Government Statistics. That equates to 1 in 5 Americans being unemployed.
Propaganda: Unions are a friend to the middle class:
Reality: Look no further than American Airlines (AA). AA remained a profitable company in an industry full of bankruptcies for decades, finally succumbing to the increasingly unsustainable union costs and being forced into bankruptcy in 2011. The situation is eerily similar to the auto industry woes as the bill came in on cushy pensions & mandatory wage increases in 2008. RS writes: As recently as this week, they’ve engaged in strong-arm tactics to force the issue:
American Airlines says it will reduce flights in July partly because of a shortage of pilots due to more of them calling in sick. … The 1 percent reduction in July’s schedule follows a 1.5 percent cutback in June, which was also blamed partly on higher usage of sick leave by pilots.
And of course there is some good old fashioned smearing as well:
As part of its effort to pressure American Airlines into allowing a union election for its passenger service agents, the Communications Workers of America launched an online and print ad campaign today arguing that the airline is acting “unAmerican” by trying to prevent the election.
Also, check out this infographic which lays out the ridiculous labor costs incurred as a result of union negotiation:
You read that right. Out of 100 filled seats on a flight, the airline profits off of just 1. And now the unions intend to sit in it.
http://www.redstate.com/aglanon/2012/06/14/unions-intend-to-strong-arm-american-airlines/
Propaganda: We must ensure ‘our party’ wins – regardless if our rep/candidate is a RINO or not – the ‘seat’ is what matters not the candidate. If ‘our side’ is in power, things will get better.
Reality: The real problem is the political process as it breeds career RINOs in the Republican Party and wild-eyed socialists – and worse – in the Democratic Party. They may come at issues from different angles, but the one thing they have in common is that they are corrupt beyond repair. Party heads offer we, the voters, the well packaged RINO time and time again. Nothing but the election or next election matters to the vast majority of insiders and doing what is best for America is almost always at odds with this single, self-serving objective and we fall for it hook, line and sinker. The time has come to put America FIRST – NOT the party. This RINO infestation we have – in both candidate and elected representatives, must come to an end sooner rather than later. WE are part of the problem as we keep voting for the RINO believing that positive change is coming. The globalists strategy is to field stealth candidates across the entire political spectrum, left to right. Therefore no matter which candidate wins, the globalist agenda goes forward. But since we, the voters, believe there was a candidate that apparently represented our position in the spectrum, we are fooled into believing we had skin in the game. The globalists currently control both parties. When the Democrats are in power, they push their domestic agenda. When the Republicans are in power, they push their foreign policy agenda. And we saps just keep giving power to one party, and then to the other, believing things will change. They never do. Grassroots candidates are where our time, energy and money should be spent – not on the party and their insider – status quo candidates! Imagine the possibilities if we had a system in place, where a woman or man could run on their abilities and their reputation, not on their contributions to the party. Party politics is OVER if we TRULY want positive, long lasting change.
There’s an article by John Hawkins from Townhall out today – Five annoying types of Republicans. Worthy of your time:
http://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2012/06/15/five_annoying_types_of_republicans/page/full/
At a speech in Baltimore, President Obama laughingly dismissed the notion that he is responsible for our nation’s current spending orgy. Seriously.
Sporting a wide grin, Obama said, “I love listening to these guys give us lectures about debt and deficits.” He must think this subject is a real knee-slapper. He continued: “I inherited a trillion-dollar deficit. We had a surplus; they turned it into a deficit, built in a structural deficit that extends for decades. … We signed $2 trillion in spending cuts into law. I laid out a detailed plan for a total of $4 trillion in deficit reduction. … But even when you account for the steps we took to prevent a depression and jump-start the economy … spending under my administration has grown more slowly than under any president in 60 years.”
A fascinating question is whether Obama actually believes this fantasy or he and his disciples are laughing at us, as well.
Yes, he’s had some delusional enablers who have argued that he has been fiscally frugal, having actually slowed the rate of government spending. Yes, you read that correctly.
But how do these enablers make such a claim – in print, no less? Well, the best I can figure is that they say that the deficit for Bush’s final fiscal year was above $1 trillion and that hence Obama’s $1 trillion deficits thereafter constitute continuing the status quo; he’s not increasing the level of the deficits.
Wow. That’s creative, but it’s completely disingenuous. We must first understand that presidential term years don’t coincide with budget years. There is overlap, and the final Bush year was partially Obama’s.
Also, the final Bush budget year was extraordinary because the housing crisis had unfolded and there were TARP expenditures, many of which were later repaid. It’s also worth remembering that the primary cause of the housing crisis was the affordable housing policies that were mostly pushed by liberal lawmakers. President Bush might have been on board for some of this early on, but he strongly appealed to Democrats in Congress to curtail this program well before it had reached crisis levels, and scoffers such as Rep. Barney Frank dismissed him out of hand and assured the nation there was nothing to fear from these reckless policies.
Continue reading: http://townhall.com/columnists/davidlimbaugh/2012/06/15/obamas_ludicrous_self_portrait_as_a_budget_hawk
Both Obama and Mooch do this all the time, squeeze in an “official” visit on a fundraising trip and the bill gets handed to the taxpayers. Tonight is set to be a busy night for Barack Obama, as he speaks at not one but two A-list fundraising events in Manhattan. However, the President’s re-election campaign will not have to pay the full cost of his jaunt to the Big Apple, as he is combining the trip with an official event which will be charged to the taxpayer. Before the fundraisers, one at Sarah Jessica Parker’s house and one at the five-star Plaza Hotel, Obama scheduled a visit to the World Trade Center site. Obama has now held more fundraising events than the last six presidents combined, leading to his opponents coining the derisive nickname ‘Campaigner in Chief’. He frequently combines the events with his official duties, which allows his re-election campaign to defray the President’s travel costs by charging part of them to the public purse. http://weaselzippers.us/2012/06/14/taxpayers-foot-bill-for-obamas-manhattan-celebrity-fundraisers-thanks-to-quick-visit-to-the-world-trade-center/
Time to Revolt against America’s Royalty: http://wp.me/P2qIo2-P
30 year old atheist Alex Aan has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison and fined, Thursday, for posting ‘there is no god’ on Facebook and being critical of Islam. He was found guilty of “deliberately spreading information inciting religious hatred and animosity” under the Electronic Information and Transactions law. According to the judge, “What he did has caused anxiety to the community and tarnished Islam.” http://freethoughtblogs.com/maryamnamazie/2012/06/14/islam-hasnt-been-tarnished-humanity-has/
Wall Street rating agencies are starting to sound warnings again about the possibility of further downgrades of the once-perfect U.S. credit rating as a critical year-end deadline for addressing the nation’s mounting debt nears.
Standard & Poor’s Corp. this week said that the outlook for the U.S. rating is negative and suggested that it will downgrade the U.S. again if the political impasse over tax and entitlement reform extends into next year. The agency shook world markets last summer by downgrading the U.S. for the first time to AA+ from AAA.
S&P cites extreme politics as the biggest problem, and one that is getting worse as the presidential race and fight for control of Congress heats up. The agency doesn’t expect the political environment to improve after the elections – no matter who wins. At that point, Congress will have only two months to avert a massive fiscal train wreck from hitting the economy with huge tax increases and spending cuts at year’s end.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jun/14/debt-fight-poses-new-risk-to-us-credit-rating/
Mack Rights over at The Frederick Douglass Foundation of New York reviews the book Life At All Costs. http://www.fdfny.org/blog/2012/06/14/i-review-life-at-all-costs/
On Wednesday the Department of Energy began financing solar power installation research with a $2 million award to Solar Mosaic. The solar energy research company has former Obama “green jobs” czar Van Jones listed as an advisor. It also employed Rebuild the Dream, Jones’ firm, to do its public relations work.
The DOE’s grant money will be distributed to nine companies in four states. Solar Mosaic received the most money, four times the amount of most other grants.
Keep Talking – Keep Thinking and enjoy your weekend!
Lisa
