Why isn't it working?

What’s new today

Our # 1 story is an excellent look at Keynesian economics and why it isn’t working.  #2 has one of Obama’s cabinet secretaries demeaning the TEA Party and using a sexual slur in referring to them. #3 tells the story of how the Russians have tried to get a spy into close connection with the Obama Administration.  #4 relates how Nancy Pelosi thinks Boeing should either unionize their new plant in South Carolina or shut it down.  I guess you have to be a union member to have a job in Nancy’s America.  #5 shows how despite what you hear from the left, school teachers make more than their counterparts in private industry and if you include fringe benefits, a lot more.  #6 shows the hypocrisy in the left.  While the OWS are out protesting Wall Street, we see Fannie and Freddie executives getting millions in bonuses even after the Federal government has had to come up with hundreds of billions in bailouts.  Finally in #7, we find that the British government is cutting the subsidy to solar in half and the predictions are that the industry will fold as a result. 

1.   Four Reasons Why Keynesians keep getting it Wrong

…FIRST, BIG INCREASES IN SPENDING AND GOVERNMENT DEFICITS RAISE THE PROSPECT OF FUTURE TAX INCREASES. Many people understand that increased spending must be paid for sooner or later. Meanwhile, President Obama makes certain that many more will reach that conclusion by continuing to demand permanent tax increases. HIS DEMANDS ARE A DETERRENT FOR THOSE WHO DO MOST OF THE SAVING AND INVESTING. Concern over future tax rates is one of the main reasons for heightened uncertainty and reduced confidence. Potential investors hold cash and wait.

SECOND, most of the government spending programs redistribute income from workers to the unemployed. This, Keynesians argue, increases the welfare of many hurt by the recession. What their models ignore, however, is THE REDUCED PRODUCTIVITY THAT FOLLOWS A SHIFT OF RESOURCES TOWARD REDISTRIBUTION and away from productive investment. Keynesian theory argues that each dollar of government spending has a larger effect on output than a dollar of tax reduction. But in reality the reverse has proven true. PERMANENT TAX REDUCTION GENERATES MORE EXPANSION THAN INCREASED GOVERNMENT SPENDING OF THE SAME DOLLARS. I believe that the resulting difference in productivity is a main reason for the difference in results….

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204777904576651532721267002.html?mod=rss_opinion_main

Well worth your time to read the entire article. 

2.   Carrying Water for Obama, Hilda Solis Picks a Fight with the Tea Party

With the team behind President Barack Obama targeting the Sunshine State in their bid for a second term in 2012, the White House sent U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis to speak to the Florida Democratic Convention on Saturday.

A day after Vice President Joe Biden told the convention at Walt Disney World that Obama needed to carry Florida to win in 2012, SOLIS ATTEMPTED TO RALLY DEMOCRATS FOR THE ELECTIONS AND URGED THEM TO PUSH FOR THE OBAMA JOBS PLAN WHICH, with Republicans controlling the U.S. House, has no chance of passing Congress.

Speaking at a luncheon event on Saturday, Solis carried water for Obama, bashing Republicans and praising the administration’s economic policies.

Solis offered harsh words about conservatives. Looking at 2012, SOLIS SLAMMED THE TEA PARTY MOVEMENT, CALLING THEM “TEABAGGERS” and promising the Obama administration will take them on.

http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/carrying-water-barack-obama-hilda-solis-picks-fight-tea-party

These people are simply ignorant bigots.  Calling TEA Partiers what she did is the equivalent of a racial slur.  It’s time for Solis to resign. 

3.   Russian Spies come close to infiltrating Senior Obama Administration

The FBI rounded up a network of deep-cover Russian spies last year after the group came close to placing an agent near a Cabinet official in the Obama administration, a senior FBI  counterspy said Monday as the bureau released once-secret documents on the case.

Frank Figliuzzi, assistant FBI director for counterintelligence, did not identify the Cabinet official, but OTHER U.S. OFFICIALS SAID IT WAS SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON.

Mr. Figliuzzi said in an interview that the FBI decided to end its more than 10-year-long counterspy investigation of the network because of concerns that THE SPIES WERE “GETTING VERY CLOSE TO THEIR OBJECTIVE.”

“These 10 Russian officers were sent to the U.S. on a specific mission to get close to U.S. policymakers and leaders in our government,” he said, noting that one had developed a friendship with someone close to a Cabinet official.

Mrs. Clinton’s spokesman at the time the case broke, P.J. CROWLEY, SOUGHT TO DISTANCE HER FROM THE CASE, BUT DID NOT DENY THAT SHE WAS THE PERSON MENTIONED IN COURT PAPERS. “There is no reason to believe that the Secretary of State was a special target of this spy ring,” Mr. Crowley said in an email….

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/oct/31/fbi-says-russian-spies-got-close-to-cabinet/

The lesson here is that we need to be ever vigilant. 

4.   Nancy Pelosi:  Government should shut down non-union manufacturing

In an interview late last week, House Minority Leaeder Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told CNBC that BOEING SHOULD EITHER UNIONIZE ITS PRODUCTION FACILITIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA, OR SHUT THEM DOWN ENTIRELY.

“Do you think it’s right that Boeing has to close down that plant in South Carolina because it’s non union?” asked host Maria Bartiromo. Pelosi’s reply: “Yes.”

THE MINORITY LEADER QUICKLY ADDED THAT SHE WOULD RATHER IT SIMPLY UNIONIZE AND STAY OPEN. BUT BARRING UNIONIZATION, BY PELOSI’S REASONING, IT SHOULD SIMPLY SHUT DOWN…

http://hotair.com/archives/2011/11/01/pelosi-heck-yeah-the-government-should-shut-down-that-scab-plant-in-south-carolina/

Freedom and liberty aren’t Democratic values at least they aren’t if you believe what former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said. 

5.   Public school teachers make more than private sector workers

We can already hear the anguished, angry protests of the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers. But our headline captures the essence of an important new study being released today by Jason Richwine of the Heritage Foundation's Center for Data Analysis and American Enterprise Institute's Andrew Biggs. RICHWINE AND BIGGS FOUND THAT WHEN PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS AND PRIVATE SECTOR WORKERS ARE COMPARED OBJECTIVELY ON THE BASIS OF COGNITIVE SKILLS -- RATHER THAN YEARS OF SERVICE OR EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT -- THE EDUCATORS ENJOY HIGHER COMPENSATION -- contrary to the claims of union officials in public debate and in negotiations with school boards.

This is seen most dramatically WHEN WORKERS SWITCH FROM NON-TEACHING JOBS TO TEACHING JOBS. SUCH A MOVE TYPICALLY RESULTS IN A WAGE INCREASE OF APPROXIMATELY NINE PERCENT. "TEACHERS WHO CHANGE TO NON-TEACHING JOBS, ON THE OTHER HAND, SEE THEIR WAGES DECREASE BY ROUGHLY 3 PERCENT. This is the opposite of what one would expect if teachers were underpaid," Richwine and Biggs said….

…"More generous fringe benefits for public-school teachers, including greater job security, MAKE TOTAL COMPENSATION 52 PERCENT GREATER THAN FAIR MARKET LEVELS, equivalent to more than $120 billion overcharged to taxpayers each year. Teacher compensation could therefore be reduced with only minor effects on recruitment and retention," Richwine and Biggs conclude….

http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/2011/10/public-school-teachers-make-more-private-sector-workers#ixzz1cSZmj9ZL

This certainly puts a hole in the underpaid, overworked meme by the NEA. 

6.   Crony Socialism at Work at Fannie And Freddie

The Obama administration’s efforts to fix the housing crisis may have fallen well short of helping millions of distressed mortgage holders, but THEY HAVE LED TO SEVEN-FIGURE PAYDAYS FOR SOME TOP EXECUTIVES AT TROUBLED MORTGAGE GIANTS FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC.

The FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY, THE GOVERNMENT REGULATOR FOR FANNIE AND FREDDIE, APPROVED $12.79 MILLION IN BONUS PAY AFTER 10 EXECUTIVES FROM THE TWO GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED CORPORATIONS LAST YEAR MET MODEST PERFORMANCE TARGETS TIED TO MODIFYING MORTGAGES IN JEOPARDY OF FORECLOSURE.

The executives got the bonuses about two years after the federally backed mortgage giants received nearly $170 billion in taxpayer bailouts — and despite pledges by FHFA, the office tasked with keeping them solvent, that it would adjust the level of CEO-level pay after critics slammed huge compensation packages paid out to former Fannie Mae CEO Franklin Raines and others.

Securities and Exchange Commission documents show that Ed Haldeman, who announced last week that he is stepping down as Freddie Mac’s CEO, received a base salary of $900,000 last year yet took home an additional $2.3 million in bonus pay. Records show other Fannie and Freddie executives got similar Wall Street-style compensation packages; Fannie Mae CEO Michael Williams, for example, got $2.37 million in performance bonuses.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/67292.html#ixzz1cSeBDJnJ

This is a major scandal.  The cause of most of the economic problems remains unchanged and even the compensation packages are completely out of whack with the real world.  It’s time to dissolve Fannie and Freddie. 

7.   UK cuts Solar Subsidy

HUNDREDS OF SOLAR COMPANIES ARE LIKELY TO GO BUST BY CHRISTMAS AFTER THE DEPARTMENT FOR ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE CONFIRMED IT IS LOOKING TO HALVE SUBSIDIES FOR NEW PANELS.

Greg Barker, minister for climate change, said the "feed-in tariff" subsidies are currently too generous, because the cost of installing solar panels has fallen.

The proposed cuts, due to come into force from December, will see the amount earned from each panel fall FROM 43.3P PER KILOWATT HOUR OF SOLAR POWER TO 21P. This will save energy customers around £23 a year - or £700m in total - because the subsidies are funded through electricity bills.

However, the industry warned that many home owners and companies may immediately back away from the flagship scheme because IT WOULD NOW TAKE UP TO 25 YEARS TO EARN BACK THEIR INVESTMENTS.

Gaynor Hartnell, chief executive of the Renewable Energy Association, said: "The installation rate is likely to fall drastically, and many of the 25,000 newly-employed in this industry may end up joining the dole queue."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/8859934/Government-accused-of-destroying-25000-green-jobs.html

This is the problem with green energy.  It is unreliable and expensive.  Without subsidies it is unworkable.  So when people talk about cutting government subsidies to all energy, it’s a good idea and it means the death of solar and wind energy.

Thursday: Obama, spending, and the debt

Politics
Bankers Say Supporting Obama Is "Bad For Business" And Embarrassing

IT IS WELL DOCUMENTED THAT WALL STREET WAS DEEPLY OFFENDED BY OBAMA'S "FAT CAT" COMMENTS AFTER HE WAS ELECTED PRESIDENT, so much so, that longtime Democratic supporters have shifted their support to the GOP for the next election.

In fact, some Wall Streeters even alleged that at an even more basic level, Obama just doesn't like rich people.

But apparently the disdain for Bam on the Street may be mostly appearances.
According to Andrew Ross Sorkin at Dealbook,

While MANY OF THE BIGGEST NAME FINANCIERS FEEL THAT THEY CAN’T PUBLICLY SUPPORT MR. OBAMA through campaign contributions the way they did in 2008 — “it would be bad for business,” one brand-name chief executive of a major bank acknowledged — SOME STILL PLAN TO VOTE FOR HIM….

http://www.businessinsider.com/bankers-actually-do-support-obama-theyre-just-too-embarassed-to-do-it-publicly-2011-6#ixzz1QevR9Zp2

Stupidity knows no bounds. There should be a new book written, “What’s the Matter with Wall Street?”

Poll Numbers Continue Alarming Trend for Obama

As Alana wrote earlier today, according to the latest McClatchy-Marist poll:

• ONLY 37 PERCENT OF REGISTERED VOTERS APPROVE OF PRESIDENT OBAMA’S HANDLING OF THE ECONOMY, HIS LOWEST RATING EVER.

• By nearly 2-1 (61 percent v. 32 percent) voters disapprove of how he’s handling the federal budget deficit.

• Fifty-eight percent of voters disapprove of Obama’s handling of the economy, comprising 60 percent of independents, 31 percent of Democrats and 91 percent of Republicans.

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/06/28/poll-numbers-continue-alarming-trend-for-obama/

This is actually worse for Obama than it seems. Pollsters always add, but people still approve of him personally. We won’t vote for him to be a friend, but someone responsible for the economy as President. This points to a big loss next year.

Morning Examiner: Obama’s debt deal desperation

The Gang of Biden is dead. President Obama has met with one Republican leader once on the debt limit. And that meeting produced nothing. Meanwhile there are only 24 working days until financial Armageddon supposedly begins on August 2nd. THE WHITE HOUSE IS GETTING DESPERATE.

THEY APPEAR TO HAVE REALIZED THAT THE REPUBLICANS ARE 100 PERCENT SERIOUS WHEN THEY SAY THEY WILL NOT PASS ANY DEBT-LIMIT HIKE THAT INCLUDES ANY TAX HIKES. But Obama's base would be demoralized if he failed to win tax hikes. So the White House needs a game changer. Two possibilities have emerged.

From the White House, National Journal’s MARC AMBINDER REPORTS THAT OBAMA BELIEVES HE CAN GET THE REPUBLICANS TO CAVE ON TAXES IF HE FIRST LETS THE BOND MARKETS PANIC IN LATE-JULY. Obama then hopes that Wall Street and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will force Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to compromise, like he did on the FY 2011 budget deal earlier this year.

Outside the White House, more and more prominent Democrats are questioning whether the debt limit is even constitutional. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., became the latest Democrat to raise the argument yesterday. IF THERE IS NO DEBT DEAL, AND BOND MARKETS DO PANIC, WHAT IS STOPPING OBAMA FROM JUST ORDERING TREASURY SECRETARY TIM GEITHNER TO ISSUE MORE DEBT? IF OBAMA CAN JUST IGNORE THE WAR POWERS ACT, WHY NOT THE DEBT LIMIT TOO?...

http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/06/morning-examiner-obama-s-debt-deal-desperation#ixzz1Qfe7IWih


Obama and the Democrats are in trouble. The debt is leverage that the Republicans have over a Democrat Senate and an extremist executive. I’m looking for something that the democrats will howl at.

Team Obama nervous

IT’S BEEN A ROUGH JUNE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE. Instead of being able to run a campaign taking credit for economic improvement, President Obama will, according to the latest forecasts, be trying to win four more years amid a grim economy next year. THE PRESIDENT’S REELECTION TEAM, ONCE HOPING TO RUN ON A “MORNING IN AMERICA” THEME NOW DOESN’T HAVE THAT LUXURY. No wonder, the president’s advisers over the past month have been making moves that suggest they’re awfully concerned about his prospects:

http://nationaljournal.com/columns/against-the-grain/nerves-show-on-team-obama-20110628

This one is well worth your time to read it. It talks about the four corners of the Obama reelection strategy and the holes they are trying to fill.


Obama: Do you want the good story or the bad one?

First the good one

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA SAYS IT WOULD DEFY COMMON SENSE FOR BOEING CO. TO HAVE TO SHUT DOWN A NEW AIRCRAFT PLANT OR LAY OFF WORKERS AS A RESULT OF A LABOR DISPUTE WITH THE GOVERNMENT.

Obama says companies need to have the freedom to relocate work, though they must follow the law when doing so.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-says-us-companies-like-boeing-need-freedom-to-relocate-within-us/2011/06/29/AGwD3pqH_story.html

The left is quick to condemn companies moving jobs overseas, but here we have a case of a company wanting to keep jobs in America although in a right to work state. It would seem the NLRB should remember this before they do stupid things.

And now the bad one

Lieutenant General John Allen told the Senate Armed Services Committee today that the AFGHANISTAN DECISION PRESIDENT OBAMA ANNOUNCED LAST WEEK WAS NOT AMONG THE RANGE OF OPTIONS THE MILITARY PROVIDED TO THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF. Allen’s testimony directly contradicts claims from senior Obama administration officials from a background briefing before the president’s announcement.

In response to questioning from Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Allen testified that Obama’s decision on the pace and size of Afghanistan withdrawals was “a more aggressive option than that which was presented.”

Graham pressed him. “My question is: Was that a option?”

Allen: “It was not.”

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/general-reveals-obama-ignored-militarys-advice-afghanistan_575902.html

The question here is not whether Obama had the right to override the military’s options, but was it wise to do so. It appears this was a political decision rather than a military one.

Michele Bachmann from a liberal perspective

The Michele Bachmann surge (confirmed most recently by the latest PPP poll) suggests the question is not whether Bachmann is a legitimate contender for the Republican nomination but what it will take to stop her from winning. AS I'LL EXPLAIN, I DO THINK BACHMANN CAN BE STOPPED. BUT THE GENERAL ADVANCE OF CONSERVATISM WITHIN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OVER THE LAST THREE DECADES HAS BEEN A REPEATED PATTERN OF THE UNTHINKABLE BECOMING THINKABLE, and the trend has sharply accelerated over the last two years. Moderation simply lacks any legitimacy within the GOP. It exists, but -- UNLIKE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, WHERE MODERATION IS A FREQUENT BOAST -- it's undertaken almost entirely in secret. Since Barack Obama's inauguration, virtually every quarrel within the Republican Party between moderates and maximalist partisans has been resolved in favor of the latter. Bachmann has positioned herself as a mainstream, serious figure who has also outflanked the other as-yet announced candidates. They will have a hard time attacking her without seeming to attack conservatism itself.

http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-chait/90963/how-stop-bachmann

I wanted to quote this article because of the underlying assumptions. The author talks about conservatism overwhelming moderation in the Republican Party vs. the Democratic Party where it is a “frequent boast.” Moderation has absolutely no power in the Democrat Party. If it did, the Democrats wouldn’t have lost 63 seats in the House of Representatives. But from the left’s viewpoint, what is actually a moderate position seems far to the right.

Chokegate: The left responds to Ann Althouse

I want you to see the kind of thing that passes for mainstream media commentary in this town:

In one narrative, Bradley rushed Prosser with her fists up and Prosser managed to touch her neck while defending himself. It is, my colleagues in the press now say, a classic “he said/she said” controversy. No, it's not. IT IS A CONTROVERSY ONLY IF PROSSER'S HANDS WERE NOWHERE NEAR BRADLEY'S NECK. I MEAN, COME ON!

There follows a tirade about what we teach our sons about violence against women, as if, in a face to face physical encounter, the man is always wrong. SO, AS A WOMAN IN THE WORK PLACE, CAN I GET RIGHT UP IN ANY MAN'S FACE, GET AS ANGRY AS I WANT, SHAKE MY FIST RIGHT BY HIS BIG OLD GLASSES, AND THE MOMENT HE FLINCHES, IF HIS HAND TOUCHES ME, I GET TO SHOUT "VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN" and he's the one who's screwed? As a feminist, I would just love to have power like that. That's sarcasm, I hope you're not too far gone to realize….

http://althouse.blogspot.com/2011/06/local-journalist-bill-wineke-demagogues.html

It’s funny how your ideology will determine who you want to believe that will lead you to create a scenario where that person will be in the right or the other person will be in the wrong.


California passes austerity budget

The Legislature passed an austerity budget Tuesday night that would CUT FROM UNIVERSITIES, COURTS AND THE POOR, SHUTTER 70 PARKS AND THREATEN SCHOOLS BUT WOULD NOT — BY OFFICIALS' OWN ADMISSION — RESTORE CALIFORNIA'S LONG-TERM FINANCIAL HEALTH.
The UC and Cal State systems would face about a 23% funding cut, among the steepest in the proposal. Cash grants for the needy would fall, a program to help thousands of teen mothers get an education would be suspended and hundreds of millions of dollars would be siphoned from mental health programs.

The state park closures would be the first ever. Courts would face what the state's chief justice has described as crippling reductions.

In an optimistic forecast, LAWMAKERS BUILT IN AN EXTRA $4 BILLION OF REVENUE. If all that cash does not materialize, K-12 schools — which had so far survived negotiations relatively unscathed — would face a cutback equal to shortening the academic year by seven days….

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-state-budget-20110629,0,1794731.story

Eventually reality comes even to the Golden State. When will it come to Washington?

Economic Freedom and Prosperity

…. Blogger Glenn Reynolds recently highlighted numerous examples of the media’s increasingly frequent use of “unexpected” to describe bad economic news. Unemployment “unexpectedly” rose despite federal “stimulus.” Home sales “unexpectedly” fell despite taxpayer bailouts. ER visits unexpectedly rose in Massachusetts despite RomneyCare. Similarly, the Pundit Press blog has rounded-up dozens of examples of such “unexpected” developments since January 2011.
However, the fact that such GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS NECESSARILY STIFLE ECONOMIC PROGRESS IS NOT NEWS. Volumes have been written on this topic. The “natural laboratories” of East Germany vs. West Germany, North Korea vs. South Korea, and communist China vs. Hong Kong amply illustrated the principle that whenever government forcibly thwarted people from furthering their happiness and their lives, the result was misery and death.
The same phenomenon can be observed in the natural laboratories within the United States. ECONOMIST MARK PERRY HAS DESCRIBED HOW BUSINESSES ARE LEAVING CALIFORNIA IN “RECORD NUMBERS” FOR STATES LIKE TEXAS THAT OFFER GREATER FREEDOM FROM BURDENSOME REGULATIONS. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that 37% of all net new American jobs since the recovery began were created in Texas.
Similarly, when the Mercatus Center released its 2011 Index of Economic and Personal Freedom ranking all 50 U.S. states, THEY NOTED TWO INTERESTING FACTS. FIRST, ECONOMIC FREEDOM CORRELATED WITH INCOME GROWTH. SECOND, AMERICANS “VOTED WITH THEIR FEET” AND MOVED FROM STATES WITH LESS FREEDOM TO STATES WITH MORE FREEDOM…

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/why-the-unexpected-keeps-happening/

And which party is the party of economic freedom? Which party is the party of economic regulation? Progressivism is based on the idea that wise people running things will do better than an economy where everyone has the freedom to buy and sell as they choose.


Unions off Target

Confronted with an unwelcome intrusion, employees at A TARGET STORE IN NEW YORK REJECTED UNIONIZATION AND DEALT A BLOW TO THE GRAND PLANS OF THE UFCW.

That average Americans continue to stand against these job-killing, profit-leaching forces is most encouraging. But make no mistake, the fight is far from over.

LABOR UNIONS ARE IN DECLINE AND DESPERATE. Today, union membership is under 12% of the U.S. workforce -- it was over 20% in the 1980's. Among retail unions, like the United Food and Commercial Workers International (UFCW), membership has also undergone sizeable erosion, down over 40% nationwide since 1983….

….At the Target store in Valley Stream, NY, the UFCW's efforts to unionize workers was supposed to be a harbinger of things to come -- a national comeback if you will. BUT OVER 60% OF EMPLOYEES VOTED DOWN THE MEASURE. As one worker put it, "what do I need a union to fight for me for?" Good question….

…Predictably, and on cue, the UFCW SOUGHT TO INVALIDATE THE ELECTION RESULTS. IN FACT, THE UNION CALLED ON THEIR COMRADES AT THE NLRB TO INVESTIGATE TARGET FOR ILLEGALITY, SUPPOSEDLY FOR EMPLOYING FEAR, INTIMIDATION, AND THREATS AGAINST WORKERS. How typical of union thugs..…

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/06/a_union_off-target.html

Unions are a dying institution in the private sector in America.
Global Warming

Al Gore, Free Speech and Climate Change

….GLOBAL WARMING IS A LOSING ISSUE. The failure of the UN’s climate conference in Bonn earlier this month shows waning appetite for the issue on an international scale. A new survey commissioned by Yale and George Mason Universities finds THAT LESS THAN HALF OF AMERICANS BELIEVE THAT HUMAN ACTIVITIES CONTRIBUTE TO PLANETARY WARMING AND JUST 39 PERCENT AGREED THAT “MOST SCIENTISTS THINK GLOBAL WARMING IS HAPPENING.” Pew’s annual “top policy priorities” poll RANKS GLOBAL WARMING 21ST OUT OF 22 ISSUES IN IMPORTANCE, BEATING OUT OBESITY but trailing such off-the-radar topics as transportation and lobbyists. When unemployment rates exceed nine percent and national debt approaches annual GDP, citizens tend to focus on concrete rather than amorphous issues. IN HARD TIMES, WE WANT THE NEWS, NOT THE WEATHER.

AL GORE BLAMES ANOTHER CULPRIT FOR HIS CAUSE’S DEMISE, NAMELY, FREE SPEECH. The Nobel Prize winner writes in Rolling Stone that “the ‘conversation of democracy’ has become so deeply dysfunctional that our ability to make intelligent collective decisions has been seriously impaired.” It’s not just that the public square has become a dangerous place for global warming, but that skeptics of anthropocentric global warming have put their money where their mouths are. “POLLUTERS AND IDEOLOGUES ARE TRAMPLING ALL OVER THE ‘RULES’ OF DEMOCRATIC DISCOURSE,” GORE COMPLAINS….

http://frontpagemag.com/2011/06/29/al-gore-in-denial/

Gore and the rest of the Progressives are dangerous to our liberty and our country. They see dissent as something that is dangerous and should not be tolerated. They know what is true and if you disagree with them you are trampling all over the “rules” of democratic discourse. Their solution is to end democratic discourse.

Science

Cancer Surges In Body Scanner Operators; TSA Launches Cover-Up

Fearful of provoking further public resistance to naked airport body scanners, THE TSA HAS BEEN CAUGHT COVERING UP A SURGE IN CASES OF TSA WORKERS DEVELOPING CANCER as a result of their close proximity to radiation-firing devices, perhaps the most shocking revelation to emerge from the LATEST FOIA DOCUMENTS OBTAINED BY THE ELECTRONIC PRIVACY INFORMATION CENTER.

After Union representatives in Boston discovered a “cancer cluster” amongst TSA workers linked with radiation from the body scanners, THE TSA SOUGHT TO DOWNPLAY THE MATTER AND REFUSED TO ISSUE EMPLOYEES WITH DOSIMETERS TO MEASURE LEVELS OF EXPOSURE.

The documents indicate how, “A large number of workers have been falling victim to cancer, strokes and heart disease.”

“The Department, rather than acting on it, or explaining its position seems to have just dismissed. I don’t think that’s the way most other agencies would have acted in a similar situation if they were confronted with that question,” EPIC’s Marc Rotenberg said….

http://www.infowars.com/cancer-surges-in-body-scanner-operators-tsa-launches-cover-up/

This sounds a bit over the top to me. Exposure to radiation normally takes much longer to cause cancer than we find here. But forewarned is forearmed and in checking out EPIC they appear to be a legitimate foundation.

Obama, Fannie and Freddie and other current events

Obama pays tribute to bin laden raiders?

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, BASKING IN U.S. PUBLIC APPROVAL FOR THE KILLING OF OSAMA BIN LADEN, FLEW TO A MILITARY BASE IN KENTUCKY ON FRIDAY TO THANK SPECIAL FORCES WHO CARRIED OUT THE DEADLY RAID AND LED A RALLY FILLED WITH CHEERING TROOPS.

With his poll numbers up and even Republican critics congratulating him for the bin Laden operation, Obama paid tribute to the elite military team in a secrecy-shrouded meeting at Fort Campbell five days after announcing the al Qaeda leader was dead.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/06/us-binladen-obama-idUSTRE7455FG20110506


It appears Obama is playing this for all it’s worth. That’s the reason I put the question mark at the end of the headline.



Fannie asks for more taxpayer money

FANNIE MAE ASKED THE GOVERNMENT FRIDAY FOR AN ADDITIONAL $8.5 BILLION IN AID AFTER DECLINING HOME PRICES CAUSED MORE DEFAULTS ON LOANS GUARANTEED BY THE MORTGAGE GIANT.

The company said it lost $8.7 billion in the first three months of the year. Those losses led Fannie to request more than three times the federal aid it sought in the previous quarter. THE TOTAL COST OF RESCUING THE GOVERNMENT-CONTROLLED MORTGAGE BUYER IS NEARING $100 BILLION - the most expensive bailout of a single company.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_EARNS_FANNIE_MAE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-05-06-16-58-01


It’s time to sever any government ties to Fannie and Freddie.



US gains 244,000 jobs: Unemployment bumps up

U.S. EMPLOYMENT GROWTH ACCELERATED LAST MONTH AS THE ECONOMY ADDED 244,000 JOBS, BUT THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE ROSE TO 9 PERCENT, THE LABOR DEPARTMENT REPORTED ON FRIDAY.

The report easily bested analysts' expectations for a decidedly mediocre jobs report and marked the fastest rate of employment growth since last year when census hiring inflated numbers. Private-sector growth clocked in at 268,000, the highest level since 2006. The public sector continued to lose ground, shedding 24,000 jobs in April.

Hiring in the service sector drove the gains, with sizable jumps in retail trade (up 57,000), professional and business services (up 51,000), leisure and hospitality (up 46,000), and health care (up 37,000). Goods-producing sectors showed less of a bump, and construction job levels didn't budge, a reflection of how depressed the housing market continues to be.

THE NUMBER OF LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYED--DEFINED AS THOSE INDIVIDUALS BEING OUT OF WORK FOR MORE THAN 26 WEEKS--FELL 283,000 TO 5.8 MILLION, AND THEIR SHARE OF UNEMPLOYMENT FELL TO 43.4 PERCENT.

http://nationaljournal.com/economy/u-s-adds-244-000-jobs-in-april-but-unemployment-rises-20110506


The reason the unemployment is bumping up is that with 43.4% of the unemployed over 26 weeks, a large number of people have dropped out of the workforce. When new jobs start to happen, these people who were counted before, are counted again.



Oil prices drop

OIL FELL ON FRIDAY TO CAP A FRENZIED TRADING WEEK THAT SLICED PRICES BY A RECORD OF MORE THAN $16 A BARREL ON DEMAND WORRIES AND A MOVE BY INVESTORS TO SLASH COMMODITIES EXPOSURES.

Oil bounced up early, then began to erase gains as the dollar rose. Crude turned negative late, extending Thursday's shock-inducing collapse, when Brent fell by as much as $12, a record, in a furious, high-volume session that saw wave after wave of selling as key technical levels were broken.

Selling pressure on oil and other commodities came on several fronts throughout the week. Investors weighed factors from the death of Osama bin Laden to the impact of higher fuel and commodity costs on consumer nation economies to the monetary policy in major economies.

CASCADING SELL STOPS CREATED A "DOMINO EFFECT", said Tom Bentz, director of BNP Paribas Commodity Futures in New York. "It became a vacuum of less people trying to buy and more people trying to sell."

Brent crude fell $1.67 to settle at $109.13 a barrel in heavy trade, with volumes twice the 30-day moving average. THE CONTRACT TUMBLED $16.76 A BARREL FOR THE WEEK, MARKING THE LARGEST WEEKLY DECLINE EVER IN DOLLAR TERMS.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/oil-steadies-10-percent-drop-181035172.html

Some more good news to go along with the death of UBL. But it’s not entirely good news.

“The good news is that the economy added about 268,000 new jobs. The bad news is that 25 percent (62,000) were from McDonald’s. Were Obamacare Waivers Responsible for 25 percent of Private Sector Job Growth?” It appears Obama’s new campaign slogan may be “Do you want fries with that?”




Despite UBL’s fate, Obama’s fate still up in the air

Significantly, a Newsweek/Daily Beast poll conducted immediately after the bin Laden announcement SHOWED NO OVERALL BUMP IN THE PRESIDENT’S APPROVAL RATING, WHICH REMAINED STUCK AT 48 PERCENT. A STRIKING 92 PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS STATED THAT THE KILLING OF BIN LADEN WILL HAVE NO EFFECT ON THE WAY THEY WILL VOTE IN 2012, AND JUST 39 PERCENT FELT THAT OBAMA WAS DOING HIS JOB WELL ENOUGH TO DESERVE RE-ELECTION.

On the crucial issue of the economy, a mere 27 percent of respondents in the Newsweek/Daily Beast poll agreed that it was heading in the right direction, compared to 60 percent who felt it was not. And WITH THE CRITICALLY IMPORTANT INDEPENDENT VOTERS, OBAMA REMAINS IN SERIOUS TROUBLE. As leading pollster Douglas Schoen notes, independents retain grave doubts over the president’s handling of economic issues:

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100086957/the-obama-presidency-remains-in-decline-despite-the-killing-of-osama-bin-laden/

The politics of the SEAL operation is in full gear. Obama goes to ground zero and the next day goes to praise the SEALs. That is good politics. The problem Obama has is that as wonderful as this is, “It’s the economy, Stupid” seems to be in full force.



I’m from the government and I’m here to help

In May 1962 the local Volunteer Fire Company had been hired by the town council to clean up the landfill. As was done in the past, Firemen set the dump ablaze, let it burn for a while, and then doused the fire, or so they thought. Several days of flareups followed. Finally to their horror they discovered the fire spread through an improperly filled hole in the rock pit, ignited a coal seam and flared into the coal mines below.

The FIRST ACTION BY PA'S DEPT. OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES IN JULY 1962, WAS TO DRILL BORE HOLES TO MONITOR THE FIRE. HOWEVER THIS MISSTEP PROVIDED A NATURAL DRAFT, AIDING THE FIRE'S COMBUSTION.

BY MAY 1969, THE FIRE THREATENED HOMES. COMMUNITY LEADERS PROPOSED SURROUNDING IT WITH A TRENCH, BUT OFFICIALS AND AGENCIES FRITTERED AWAY TIME, WHILE FAILING TO FUND THE $50,000 NEEDED TO COMPLETE THE PLAN. …

…National attention descended on Centralia in February 1981 when the ground collapsed under a 12 year old boy playing in his grandmother's backyard. Todd Domboski survived by holding onto exposed tree roots in a 150 foot deep sinkhole until pulled to safety…..

Although burning for over 19 years, environmentalists with their willing accomplices in national media quickly passed judgment and ASSIGNED BLAME TO INTERIOR SECRETARY JAMES WATT. Eco-activist Joan Quigley (in her book The Day the Earth Caved In: An American Mining Tragedy) wrote that WATT'S RESIGNATION "ACCOMPLISHED MORE FOR CENTRALIA THAN TODD DOMBOSKI, CONCERNED CITIZENS AND THREE DECADES OF FEDERAL MINE RECLAMATION LAWS COMBINED." One would think putting out the fire would do more for Centralia.

Watt was destroyed, yet no further activist effort was put forward to resolve the disaster. In 1984 Congress appropriated $42 million for voluntary acquisition and relocation in Centralia. By now $7 million was spent fighting the fire. Eleven years later in 1995 $53 million was spent moving residents and fighting the fire with no resolution.

TODAY THE CENTRALIA FIRE BURNS UNDER THE TOWN AND IN THE SURROUNDING HILLSIDES on several fronts. There is nary an eco-activist or carbon crusader in sight. No, THEIR NEW ECO-HYSTERIA IS FOCUSED 90 SHORT MILES AWAY IN DIMOCK, PA. WEBSITES LIKE PROPUBLICA SPREAD THE RHETORIC OF FEAR FOR THEIR NEW ENERGY DEMON: FRACKING. Green minions blog with quotes like "stop these people before all of their creeks and ponds are filled with carcinogenic sludge," this while standing upwind of the noxious fumes and toxic gases released up through the back yards, basements, and streets of Centralia.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/05/the_bestever_symbol_of_governm.html


And these are the people who want to decide what kind of light bulb you can have, what type of energy you can use, and how to make your life risk free.



Union rules and we pay

NO-WORK JOBS IN A MOB-LINKED UNION COULD ADD NEARLY $100 MILLION TO THE PUBLIC COST OF REBUILDING GROUND ZERO, A NEW REPORT CHARGES.

The Real Estate Board of New York, a major developers' group, says antiquated rules let a cadre of crane and heavy equipment workers pocket six-figure paychecks for little more than showing up.

In the next three years the no-work jobs, controlled by Locals 14 and 15 of the Operating Engineers, could add $96.2 million to the cost of World Trade Center projects, the REBNY says.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/the_mob/2011/05/08/2011-05-08_nowork_all_pay_ground_zero_rebuild_costs_up_96m_under_union_rules.html

We’ve all seen the videos where you have 10 people at a construction site and one of them is working while the others watch. While this may seem funny, it’s also very costly to the taxpayer or even to someone buying a new home.

Europe: The future of the USA under Obama?

GREECE, IRELAND, AND PORTUGAL ARE NOW FROZEN OUT OF CREDIT MARKETS. The yield on Greek two-year bonds is 24 percent and on both Irish and Portuguese bonds of similar maturity around 12 percent. No country can afford to borrow at those rates. Of interest to the White House and Congress might be the speed with which the markets move: Interest rates charged on Greek debt increased by 10 percentage points in the past month.

THE DEBT BURDEN ON THESE COUNTRIES IS IN EXCESS OF THE 90 PERCENT OF GDP THAT SCHOLARS NOW AGREE STIFLES GROWTH. Portugal’s debt is at 90 percent of its GDP and rising, Greece’s is approaching 150 percent, and “Ireland’s debt now appears to be bigger, in relation to its economy, than the reparations imposed on Germany after the First World War,” according to economist Anatole Kaletsky.

THESE ECONOMIES CANNOT GROW THEIR WAY OUT OF THE PROBLEM. The Greek economy shrank at an annual rate of 4.5 percent last year and is forecast to decline this year at 3.2 percent. Portugal’s will shrink at an annual rate of 1.5 percent, guesses the International Monetary Fund. And Ireland, despite a robust export industry and a corporate tax rate of 12.5 percent that, at half the EU average, remains attractive to foreign investment, might eke out growth of 1 percent. No way these growth rates produce enough tax revenues to meet debt obligations.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/coming-euro-crack_558504.html


This may be a preview of the USA if we don’t get our borrowing under control.