From Debates to Occupy and on to the latest Crony Capitalism scandal

What’s new today

Our # 1 story reviews Saturday’s Republican debate.  Perry did a lot better, but it appears it is becoming a race between Romney and Gingrich.  #2 relates how Occupy Denver is being turned out of their overnight quarters.  #3 demonstrates what the final solution of problems end up being if you listen to the left.  #4 talks about the Occupy Movement and what it is degenerating into.  Newt is rising in story #5 while in #6 a liberal judge decides schools can ban wearing T-shirts with the American Flag on Cinco de Mayo.  #7 is advice from Gene Simmons of Kiss.  Finally #8 brings you the latest scandal from the Obama Administration.  Another example of crony capitalism.

1.  Republican Debate

IF THERE WAS A LOSER ON THE DEBATE STAGE TONIGHT, IT WAS CBS. First, they scheduled their debate on a Saturday night between two major football games. THEN THEY DECIDE TO ONLY BROADCAST THE FIRST HOUR OF THEIR 90-MINUTE DEBATE. Then their Internet feed failed for the final 30 minutes. This was CBS’s first and only debate — and it showed.

SCOTT PELLEY WAS A TERRIBLE MODERATOR. He treated the men who might be the next commander in chief like schoolchildren, cutting them off in mid-sentence, lecturing them to answer his questions. HE EVEN LECTURED NEWT GINGRICH ON POLICY, TELLING HIM THAT KILLING “TERRORIST SUSPECTS” IS “NOT THE RULE OF LAW.”  Big mistake. NEWT SMACKED HIM DOWN, explaining that we are at war AND IN WAR WE ARE ALLOWED TO KILL THE ENEMY WITHOUT A COURT ORDER.

This was CBS’s first and only debate — and it showed.

Of the candidates, RICK PERRY HAD HIS BEST DEBATE BY FAR. His construct of starting at zero on foreign aid with every country (including Israel) and then deciding from there what is in our national interests got good applause, and both Newt and Romney openly embraced it. He had several self-effacing jokes about that agency he forgot about at the last debate (Energy) which got big (friendly) laughs from the crowd. Despite Pelley’s blatant efforts to trip him up, he did not trip. Who would have imagined that Perry’s best debate would be on foreign policy?

NEWT HAD A VERY GOOD NIGHT AS WELL. In addition to smacking down Pelley on killing terrorists, HE REFUSED TO TAKE THE BAIT IN PELLEY’S EFFORT TO START A FIGHT BETWEEN HIM AND ROMNEY. He was clear and articulate and will only enhance his growing following with his performance.

ROMNEY PUT IN ANOTHER STRONG NIGHT. His best moment was when he was asked if he would negotiate with the Taliban: “We don’t negotiate with terrorists, I won’t negotiate with the Taliban.”…

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/283050/big-loser-night-cbs-marc-thiessen

I think the race is now starting to clear and is between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.  Either one of these candidates will wipe the floor with Obama.

2.  Police Clear Occupy Denver

When I ran over to the Civic Center park area after riot police clear out the Occupy encampment here, I found DOZENS OF RIOT POLICE FORMING A WALL TO BLOCK PROTESTERS FROM REENTERING THE PARK.

Impeded from reoccupying the park, the remaining group of protesters began shouting down the cops and taunting them. The protesters argued that it was a waste of taxpayer dollars to send so many riot police to handle what they saw as just some people peacefully camping. They said there were rapes, murders and other crimes that weren't being prevented because of the police focus on the protests.

"TODAY, YOU ARE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY," ONE FEMALE PROTESTER, JEANNIE HARTLEY, SHOUTED AT THE COPS. "TODAY, YOU ARE THE CRIMINALS."

Hartley, who noted she was a guest on Keith Olbermann on Oct. 31 to talk about police brutality (see interview here), claimed a cop hit her as hard as he could with a baton for no reason….

http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/police-clear-out-occupy-denver

It appears as health concerns rise, more and more cities are shutting down the tent cities of the Occupy movement.  As for the comment on history, I doubt that any of these protesters have the slightest inkling of any kind of real history.

3.   What the solution of the left always ends up at

No Logo author NAOMI KLEIN HAS A SOLUTION TO CLIMATE CHANGE and it goes like this: PUNITIVE TAXATION; MASSIVE WEALTH RE-DISTRIBUTION; THE ABOLITION OF FREE TRADE AND FREE MARKETS; A STATE-ENFORCED END TO TO THE "CULT OF SHOPPING"; THE WHOLE TO BE SUPERVISED BY A NEW WORLD ORDER OF SELFLESS ILLUMINATI (who presumably resemble Naomi Klein).

If it weren't so scary it would almost be funny, the way the leftie Canadian activist ON THE BASIS OF NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER DECLARES THAT THE TIME HAS COME TO STRIP THE HUMAN RACE OF ALL ITS HARD-WON FREEDOMS IN ORDER TO SAVE THE PLANET FROM A NON-EXISTENT PROBLEM. Unfortunately, Klein means it and her audience takes her seriously. Just read the first comment below her screed:

I can't say enough good things about this article. IT'S A MANIFESTO FOR THE NEXT 100 YEARS. CORPORATE CAPITALISM IS DOOMED BY THE IMMUTABLE FACT OF FINITE RESOURCES; IT WILL REQUIRE PLANNING AND SHARING TO SUSTAIN CIVILIZATION IN THE FUTURE, which is heretical thinking in the boardrooms of elite capitalists.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100117165/only-a-totalitarian-new-world-order-can-save-us-now-says-naomi-klein/

This has been said over and over again by lefties, but it isn’t highlighted by much of the media.  The left is truly dangerous if you believe in freedom and liberty.    

“A climate change response must have at its heart a redistribution of wealth and resources.”
- Quote by Emma Brindal, a climate justice campaigner coordinator for Friends of the Earth

“We’ve got to ride the global-warming issue. Even if the theory of global warming is wrong, we will be doing the right thing in terms of economic policy and environmental policy.”
- Quote by Timoth Wirth, U.S./UN functionary, former elected Democrat

“No matter if the science of global warming is all phony, climate change provides the greatest opportunity to bring about justice and equality in the world.”
- Christine Stewart, Former Canadian Minister of the Environment

4.  Occupy:  The Real Story

Much has transpired with Occupy Oakland since the grass was green in Frank Ogawa Plaza: businesses have been vandalized, banks terrorized, buildings occupied, commerce obstructed, and a man murdered, all to the tune of millions in damages the taxpaying 53% of the 99% will have to pay.

From occupying the park to closing the port, OCCUPIERS OF ALL STRIPES HAVE CONSISTENTLY DISPLAYED CONFRONTATIONAL BEHAVIOR -- INTIMIDATING CITIZENS, THREATENING BUSINESSES AND GOADING LAW ENFORCEMENT.

OAKLAND'S MAYOR QUAN and the press repeatedly stress that this is a "mostly peaceful" movement. They HAVE PUSHED THE NARRATIVE THAT THE VIOLENCE AT OCCUPY OAKLAND IS ATTRIBUTABLE TO 60-80 OUTSIDE ANARCHISTS -- members of the Black Bloc -- and that the vast majority of Occupiers are peaceful demonstrators clamoring for fair taxation and an end to corporate and millionaire greed.

But, for those of us who have been following this closely, OCCUPY OAKLAND IS RIDDLED WITH THE STEADY DRUMBEAT OF INTIMIDATION, VIOLENCE AND DESTRUCTION; AND THE ANARCHISTS ARE NOT THE ONLY PLAYERS.

At first the drumbeat is subtle, carefully tapping out a steady theme of defiance.

THE VERY ESSENCE OF THE OCCUPATION QUA OCCUPATION IS COERCIVE. It calls for squatting on public property and forcibly taking it over for the exclusive use of the Occupiers. When probed, squatters readily admit they intend to stay forever, take control of the means of production and Occupy Everything.

Occupiers bully their neighbors simply by "occupying" -- blocking access to the plaza, streets and commerce.

They intimidate businesses by vandalizing storefronts and using human blockades to shut down the city. Countless small entrepreneurs have lost money due to the mayhem and diminished patronage of the past few weeks. To date, three businesses have refused to sign leases, including one that would employ 100 people….

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/11/the_occupation_devolution.html#ixzz1dacdDuy0

This movement actually reminds me of the Ku Klux Klan rallies back in the 1920s.  By in large they were peaceful, but they were meant to intimidate. 

5.   Newt Rising

What goes up must come down. But Newt Gingrich may just add his own twist to the law of physics. GINGRICH MAY PROVE THAT IF A POLITICIAN TOUGHS OUT THE INEVITABLE CAREER DOWNS, HE MIGHT REBOUND -- AND SPECTACULARLY. Could Gingrich surprise everyone by securing the GOP presidential nomination and winning the presidency?

Two new polls should encourage Gingrich. On Friday, a McClatchy-Marist Poll showed GINGRICH EDGING OUT HERMAN CAIN. A CBS News Poll shows GINGRICH TIED WITH ROMNEY. If these polls are correct, they indicate that sexual harassment allegations against Cain have begun to stick. Further polling in coming days should reveal whether or not Gingrich's movement up is a trend….

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/11/newts_physics.html#ixzz1dadoluCb

Either Newt or Mitt will make mincemeat out of BHO in any presidential debates. 

6.   Two Precedents:  Which one doesn’t make any sense?

 In 1969, in Tinker v. Des Moines, the Supreme Court ruled that students at public schools had a FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT TO WEAR BLACK ARMBANDS TO PROTEST THE VIETNAM WAR, EVEN IF OTHER STUDENTS WOULD BE OFFENDED. The Court noted that because the students were “quiet and passive” while wearing the bands, they did not impinge on the rights of others. “A PROHIBITION AGAINST EXPRESSION OF OPINION, WITHOUT ANY EVIDENCE THAT THE RULE IS NECESSARY TO AVOID SUBSTANTIAL INTERFERENCE WITH SCHOOL DISCIPLINE OR THE RIGHTS OF OTHERS, IS NOT PERMISSIBLE UNDER THE FIRST AND FOURTEENTH AMENDMENTS,” the Court added.

Now, A FEDERAL COURT HAS RULED THAT A SCHOOL CAN FORBID THE WEARING OF AMERICAN FLAGS — American flags! — on Cinco de Mayo, on the grounds that THE PASSIVE WEARING OF SUCH FLAGS CAN CAUSE A “SUBSTANTIAL DISRUPTION” BY CAUSING FIGHTS BETWEEN WHITE AND HISPANIC STUDENTS. Not only does this contradict a Supreme Court ruling in a very similar case, but the “disruption” STANDARD ITSELF CREATES A “HECKLER’S VETO,” giving students and groups of students the ability to censor their peers by overreacting to speech they find offensive.

How about we punish kids who are enraged to the point of violence at the sight of an American flag, rather than censoring our nation’s most fundamental symbol?

This is a ridiculous ruling and should be overturned.

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/282995/against-banning-american-flags-robert-verbruggen

This one is a no brainer which also appears what the judge in the second case used.  Perhaps what the school should do is simply cancel any wearing of colors etc. on May 5^th.  No wait, wouldn’t that be infringing on the students right to free speech??? 

7.   Economic advice from Kiss’s Gene Simmons

…And we created this miserable economic state. IT'S LIKE FAT PEOPLE WHO THINK IT'S THE BAKERY'S FAULT THEY GOT FAT.

No, you kept going in there and you kept eating cake. It's not the bakery's responsibility to tell you to slow down.

BANKS SHOULDN'T HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO BORROW SO MUCH.

They're banks — they're supposed to lend you money. If you can't afford to take out £100,000, don't take out a £400,000 mortgage.

IT'S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO BE A GROWN-UP AND TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF….

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3929275/Debt-crisis-like-fat-people-blaming-bakers.html

In an age where you have young people marching protesting greed and the debt they’ve incurred going to college, this advice which is so simple, sound profound. 

8.   A New Obama Scandal in the Making?

Over the last year, THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION HAS AGGRESSIVELY PUSHED A $433-MILLION PLAN TO BUY AN EXPERIMENTAL SMALLPOX DRUG, DESPITE UNCERTAINTY OVER WHETHER IT IS NEEDED OR WILL WORK.

Senior officials have taken unusual steps to secure the contract for New York-based Siga Technologies Inc., whose CONTROLLING SHAREHOLDER IS BILLIONAIRE RONALD O. PERELMAN, ONE OF THE WORLD'S RICHEST MEN AND A LONGTIME DEMOCRATIC PARTY DONOR.

When Siga complained that contracting specialists at the Department of Health and Human Services were resisting the company's financial demands, SENIOR OFFICIALS REPLACED THE GOVERNMENT'S LEAD NEGOTIATOR FOR THE DEAL, INTERVIEWS AND DOCUMENTS SHOW…

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-smallpox-20111113,0,4293298.story

Crony capitalism strikes again.  How many scandals does this administration need to rack up before the MSM notices?

Social Security, Perry, and the polls

How Do You Spell Delusional?  DOE.

SOLYNDRA, a Fremont-based solar panel manufacturer that flared then sputtered, abruptly ceased operations on Wednesday and immediately LAID OFF ALL 1,100 OF ITS WORKERS.

The shutdown marks a high-profile collapse of a company that received more than $1.6 billion in federal and private funding in recent years.

"This was an unexpected outcome and is most unfortunate," Brian Harrison, Solyndra's president and chief executive, said.

THE COMPANY RECEIVED $535 MILLION IN TAXPAYER MONEY FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY and $1.1 billion in private venture capital funding.

"WE HAVE ALWAYS RECOGNIZED THAT NOT EVERY ONE OF THE INNOVATIVE COMPANIES SUPPORTED BY OUR LOANS AND LOAN GUARANTEES WOULD SUCCEED," said Dan Leistikow, a spokesman for the Department of Energy. "But we can't stop investing in game-changing technologies that are key to America's leadership in the global economy."..

http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_18795739?nclick_check=1

So here was in investment of over $486,000 per job lost. 







Men of the People

The portrait of Barack Obama's presidency is that of an egocentric -- not only incapable of leadership, but SOMEONE WHO VIEWS THE OFFICE AS A VEHICLE FOR THE SATISFACTION OF HIS DELUSION THAT THE WORLD NOT ONLY OWES HIM A LIVING, BUT A SUMPTUOUS ONE.

A TRAIT COMMON TO MANY WHO ESPOUSE SOCIALISM, INCLUSIVE OF DICTATORS AND DEMOCRATS, IS AN INSATIABLE APPETITE FOR SELF-INDULGENCE. While those on the conservative side of the political spectrum are often accused of hypocrisy when it comes to matters of sex and morality, those on the left are equally guilty, if not more so, in matters of money, paying taxes, and lifestyle.

Regardless of the public image they may convey, BARACK OBAMA AND HIS WIFE NEVER FAIL TO TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF A LIFESTYLE THAT WOULD BE THE ENVY OF ANY MODERN-DAY MONARCH while the bulk of the American populace struggles to afford life's necessities.

He is but another in a long line of those who promote socialism and proclaim to be "of the people" with only the interests of the citizens at heart -- as they duplicitously pursue a personal agenda. BEYOND THE UNQUESTIONED BELIEF BY THOSE ON THE LEFT THAT THEY ARE THE MOST CAPABLE, THUS SUPERIOR AND PRE-ORDAINED TO GOVERN THE MASSES, THE TRAITS MOST COMMON TO THE VAST MAJORITY OF SELF-DESCRIBED "PROGRESSIVES" IN POSITIONS OF POWER ARE JEALOUSY, GREED, AND MASSIVELY INFLATED DELUSIONS OF ENTITLEMENT….

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/09/barack_obama_man_of_the_people.html

Here’s an interesting look at the biggest problem the progressives have when it comes to actually living what they preach.  They don’t. 





Perry says Sky is Blue:  Progressives disagree

We can say one thing of the new GOP front-runner: Governor Rick Perry knows how to fire up a crowd. THE LEFTIST MEDIA BLEW UP THIS WEEK WHEN PERRY REITERATED A POINT FROM HIS BOOK FED UP! THAT SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE ARE PONZI SCHEMES.

"THERE IS NOTHING AT ALL ABOUT SOCIAL SECURITY THAT IS ANYTHING LIKE A PONZI SCHEME," DECLARES THE WASHINGTON POST'S PLUM LINE BLOG. (Bernie Madoff's lawyers must be wondering where this guy was during jury selection.) The blogger claims Social Security doesn't resemble the "deliberate and outright fraud" of a Ponzi scheme but IS SIMPLY A PROMISE TO TAKE TAXES FROM CHILDREN FOR THE BENEFIT A CERTAIN GROUP. (Whew, thank heaven that's cleared up!)

What this already troubling description of Social Security leaves out is that almost every subdivision of the program includes the word "insurance." WHEN FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT CAMPAIGNED FOR THE LAW, HE ROUTINELY CLAIMED THAT SOCIAL SECURITY WAS SYSTEM OF INSURANCE that would provide a pension income to the elderly. It wasn't until the 1937 SUPREME COURT CASE HELVERLING V. DAVIS WHERE THE SAME ADMINISTRATION ARGUED THAT SOCIAL SECURITY TAXES WERE NOT INSURANCE PREMIUMS AT ALL, BUT A GENERIC TAX TO BE SPENT AS GOVERNMENT SAW FIT. But the deception didn't stop there. To the present day, statements on the policy come regularly to the program's participants, perpetuating the illusion of a traditional retirement plan. But of course, only an uncouth Texan could describe that as "deliberate or outright fraud."…

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/09/perry_declares_sky_is_blue_media_shocked.html

Truth has a tough time in politics. 





Private vs. Public Investment

A single number tells us most of what we need to know about the recession and prospects for recovery. THAT NUMBER IS GROSS PRIVATE DOMESTIC INVESTMENT. It averaged 16% of the GDP in 2006-7, 11% in 2009, 12.4% in 2010. For the first half of 2011, it was 12.6%. This decline is large enough to account for most of the increase in unemployment. It must be reversed; there is no other way of returning to high employment.

HOUSEHOLDS ARE DOING THEIR DUTY, SPENDING 95% OF THEIR INCOME. Consumption is a dependent variable; it will never pull us out of recession. Consumption stimulus policies have failed and wasted tax revenue. Only more jobs and paychecks can do the job.

The Federal Reserve has maintained a discount rate of one quarter of one percent for 3 years to encourage lending and investment. It has done as much as it dared to raise exports and reduce imports by increasing the money supply and devaluing the dollar.

GOVERNMENT HAS INCREASED ITS SHARE OF GDP FROM 19.2% IN 2006-7 TO 20.9% IN 2009 AND 20.6% IN 2010. The increase in the deficit did not reduce unemployment. Can government increase its expenditures enough to counteract the decline in private investment? Can such an increase stimulate private investment? Is it possible to finance compensatory government spending by taxation?

Government expenditures

Arguments about the size of government are not just ideological; they are economic. At what point does increased taxation reduce growth? At what higher point does it reduce revenues? IF THE GOVERNMENT SPENDS 20% OF THE GDP, FINANCED BY TAXES, TAX RATES ON THE REST OF THE ECONOMY (BUSINESS, NONPROFITS, HOUSEHOLDS) MUST AVERAGE 25%. If government were to spend 25% OF THE GDP, TAX RATES WOULD HAVE TO AVERAGE 33%. Much depends on how government structures taxes and spends revenues. There is no sure knowledge, but I suspect that the tax rate that begins to reduce economic growth is much closer to 25% than to 33%....

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/09/recovery_by_the_numbers.html

A must read article that will give you a new look at what’s going on in the economy and what must be done to overcome the unemployment crisis.

Is Obama Running Against Congress?  He already Is.

Within minutes of agreeing with congressional leaders Wednesday night on an address to a joint session next week, PRESIDENT OBAMA FLASHED OUT AN EMAIL TO MILLIONS OF SUPPORTERS CRITICIZING THE CHAMBERS, THEIR MEMBERS AND VOWING TO PRESSURE THEM TO ENACT HIS AS YET UNSPECIFIED JOB CREATION IDEAS.

"IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE CONGRESS WAS FOCUSED ON WHAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE NEED THEM TO BE FOCUSED ON," the Democrat charged in an email with the subject line: "Frustrated."

It's not exactly clear how long "a long time" Obama was thinking of. But until midterm voters produced a historic House turnover to Republicans last November, Obama's Democratic Party controlled both houses with substantial majorities and gave him vast spending, reform and healthcare programs….

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/08/obama-jobs-speech-warning-to-congress.html

His comment about “a long time” is very telling.  His push to enact healthcare certainly qualifies as NOT being focused on what the American people need them to be focused on.  But this is as close as you’ll get to him admitted that. 

How Do Obama's Re-Election Chances Stack Up to Hoover's?

This article is making the rounds this morning, suggesting that Obama's got a lock on 2012. ACCORDING TO A MODEL DESIGNED BY AMERICAN UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR ALLAN LICHTMAN, WHICH HAS SUCCESSFULLY PREDICTED EVERY ELECTION SINCE REAGAN, OBAMA HAS ENOUGH OF ITS THIRTEEN "KEYS" TO ENSURE THAT HE WILL RETAIN THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2012. I thought it would be interesting to see how Hoover stacked up on the same model.

1.      Party mandate: After the midterm elections, the incumbent party holds more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives than it did after the previous midterm elections. Says Lichtman, "Even back in January 2010 when I first released my predictions, I was already counting on a significant loss." OBAMA LOSES THIS KEY. SO DOES HOOVER.

2.      Contest: There is no serious contest for the incumbent party nomination. Says Lichtman on Obama's unchallenged status, "I never thought there would be any serious contest against Barack Obama in the Democratic primary." OBAMA WINS THIS KEY. SO DOES HOOVER.

3.      Incumbency: The incumbent party candidate is the sitting president. EASY WIN HERE FOR OBAMA. SO DOES HOOVER….

…. Yet HOOVER DIDN'T JUST BARELY LOSE--HE WAS BEATEN LIKE A RENTED MULE. The problem is obvious, I think: unlike the economic models that rely on external metrics, perception is doing a lot of the work here. Do we count Obama's stimulus but not Hoover's? And if so, why? I understand you might say that Obama's was larger, more effective, etc but this is a political model--it's about perception, not the economic effect, which is captured in other variables. Hoover's deficit spending was perceived as a big deal, and became an issue in the 1932 election.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/08/how-do-obamas-re-election-chances-stack-up-to-hoovers/244368/

Lichtman’s article got a lot of response from both sides.  This is a fun and interesting comparison. Perhaps Obama isn’t the shoe in that Lichtman declared he was. 

Perry 44% Obama 41%; President Leads Other GOP Hopefuls

FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS YEAR, TEXAS GOVERNOR RICK PERRY LEADS PRESIDENT OBAMA IN A NATIONAL ELECTION 2012 SURVEY. OTHER REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES TRAIL THE PRESIDENT BY SINGLE DIGITS.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows Perry picking up 44% of the vote while the president earns support from 41%. Given the margin of sampling error (+/- 3 percentage points) and the fact that the election is more than a year away, THE RACE BETWEEN THE TWO MEN IS EFFECTIVELY A TOSS-UP. Just over a week ago, the president held a three-point advantage over Perry. (To see question wording, click here.)

Perry leads by nine among men but trails by five among women. AMONG VOTERS UNDER 30, THE PRESIDENT LEADS WHILE PERRY HAS THE EDGE AMONG THOSE OVER 30. The president leads Perry by 16 percentage points among union members while Perry leads among those who do not belong to a union.

FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY CURRENTLY TRAILS THE PRESIDENT BY FOUR PERCENTAGE POINTS, 43% TO 39%. That’s a slight improvement for the Republican compared to a week ago. Earlier in the year, Romney held a one-point edge when matched against the president. Prior to today’s release, that was the only time a named Republican has held any kind of lead over President Obama. A Generic Republican currently leads the president 48% to 40%.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2012/election_2012_presidential_election/perry_44_obama_41_president_leads_other_gop_hopefuls

Pollster Dick Morris argues that any candidate who keeps Obama under 50% would beat him.  He’s contention is that with an incumbent president, the undecided will basically break completely against him (they already know who Obama is).  It is significant that with both Perry and Romney, Obama’s support is 43%.  This is not a good sign for Democrats. 

Living on minimum wage: Not really

The Truman Temptation

George F. Will says the president is, quite implausibly, attempting to mimic Truman’s 1948 reelection strategy. “The president really is tiptoeing up to the Truman temptation,” he says. Will tells ABCNews.com that Obama trying to “go back to 1948″ and run against a “do-nothing Congress.” This, he predicts in his usual manner, will not work.

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner

This is a pretty good video.

Obama Won’t Have a Real “Jobs Program”

…HIS SPEECH WILL NOT BE ABOUT JOBS. INSTEAD, IT WILL BE A CAMPAIGN SPEECH IN DISGUISE.

Obama cannot propose a real jobs program. His constituents would rebel. A REAL JOBS PROGRAM ATTACKS TOO MANY OF THE CORE BELIEFS OF HIS PARTY, SUCH AS MINIMUM WAGES AND HIGHER TAXES ON THE BETTER OFF. Even if his presidency rested on it, Obama couldn’t emulate Bill Clinton’s 1996 Welfare Reform Act that triangulated him from his own party. There is no way for Obama to enunciate the equivalent of Clinton’s “We must end welfare as we know it.” His core beliefs rule out such a dramatic move to the center.

However, IF OBAMA REALLY WISHED TO CREATE JOBS, HE MUST:

1. CONVINCE THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY THAT THE PRESIDENT IS NOT ANTI-BUSINESS BY:

• Requesting the resignation of the entire National Labor Relations Board …

2. TAKE ALL STEPS NECESSARY TO HOLD DOWN THE PRICE OF ENERGY. The President should remind us that increasing energy costs are job killers as we learned in the 1970s and 1980s. Among the specific steps he should propose:

• Drop the EPA’s most recent rulings against coal-fired electricity….

3. CREATE ECONOMIC CONDITIONS THAT ENCOURAGE BUSINESSES TO HIRE AND THE UNEMPLOYED TO SEEK AND ACCEPT JOBS. To do this, the president should:

• Not extend unemployment insurance. Empirical studies show that the unemployed find jobs shortly before their unemployment insurance expires. Further extensions will keep the unemployment rate high….

4. INSTEAD OF TRYING TO PROP UP THE OVERBUILT HOUSING MARKET, THE PRESIDENT SHOULD PROPOSE MEASURES TO ALLOW THE ECONOMY TO WORK OFF ITS EXCESS INVENTORIES of housing and to find a bottom in housing prices. Only after the bottom is reached will construction resume. To do this, he should:

• Establish the equivalent of the Resolution Trust Corporation of the 1989 to 1995 period to sell off the stock of foreclosed homes quickly so as to achieve a bottom in the real estate market.

• Announce a credible plan for the liquidation of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. …

5. THE PRESIDENT SHOULD REDUCE THE UNCERTAINTY WITHIN HOUSEHOLDS AND BUSINESSES caused by excessive government spending, deficits, and uncertain future tax liabilities. To do this, he should:

• Support the extension of the Bush tax cuts so that businesses and households have clarity as to their future tax obligations…
.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/paulroderickgregory/2011/08/28/why-obama-cant-support-a-real-jobs-program/

This is a very good article. I’ve given only the highlights. For more specifics go to the article and see what author suggest. If you have any other suggestions I invite you to leave them in the comments section.

Fanniegate: Gamechanger For The GOP?

…The Tea Party WMD stockpile is currently stored in book form: RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT: HOW OUTSIZED AMBITION, GREED, AND CORRUPTION LED TO ECONOMIC ARMAGEDDON. By Gretchen Morgenson, one of America’s best business journalists who is currently at The New York Times, and noted financial analyst Joshua Rosner, Reckless Endangerment gives the best available account of how the growing chaos in the mortgage and personal finance markets and the rampant bundling of dubious loans into exotically toxic securities plunged the world, and millions of American families, into the gravest financial crisis since World War Two. It is gripping reading as well, and its explanations are clear enough that readers without any background in finance will have no trouble following the plot. THE VILLAINS? AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE BETWEEN WALL STREET, THE DEMOCRATIC ESTABLISHMENT, COMMUNITY ORGANIZING GROUPS LIKE ACORN AND LA RAZA, AND POLITICIANS LIKE BARNEY FRANK, NANCY PELOSI AND HENRY CISNEROS. (Frank got a cushy job for a lover, Pelosi got a job and layoff protection for a son, Cisneros apparently got a license to mint money bilking Mexican-Americans of their life savings in cheesy housing developments.)

If the GOP can make this narrative mainstream, and put this picture into the heads of voters nationwide, the Democrats are toast. The party will have to reinvent itself (or as often happens in American politics, be rescued by equally stupid Republican missteps) before it can flourish.
If Morgenstern and Rosner are to be believed, THE AMERICAN DREAM DIDN’T DIE OF OLD AGE; IT WAS MURDERED AND MOST OF THE FINGERPRINTS ON THE CORPSE COME FROM DEMOCRATIC INSIDERS. Democratic power brokers stoked the housing bubble and turned a blind eye to the increasingly rampant corruption and incompetence at Fannie Mae and the associated predatory lenders who sheltered under its umbrella; core Democratic ideas may well be at fault….

….The Morgenson/Rosner story is a simple and easily grasped one. It is made for campaign ads. THE GREAT VILLAIN, THE MAN WHO ALMOST RUINED AMERICA ACCORDING TO THE BOOK, IS JAMES JOHNSON, long one of the most important members of the Democratic establishment. He ran Walter Mondale’s campaign. He chaired John Kerry’s search for a vice-president — the brilliantly executed search that chose the revered anti-poverty warrior John Edwards….

http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2011/06/07/fanniegate-gamechanger-for-the-gop/

Try putting this forward and the liberals come after you with a hatchet. It was the Republicans according to them who removed regulations that led to this disaster. However, the only financial regulations acted upon during the 8 year Bush Presidency was the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 which required more disclosure and held employees criminally responsible for many of the disclosure required by the bill. Also when Bush tried to tighten up on Fannie and Freddie it was the Democrats who defeated this effort

Comparing Perry to?

While some wonder whether GOV. RICK PERRY’S RED-HOT RISE IN THE POLLS MAY COOL AS QUICKLY AS THE FORTUNES OF FRED THOMPSON AND WES CLARK BEFORE HIM, others see a more apt comparison to a different late-starting candidate.

He was a governor and natural politician with a knack for working the crowds. He was late to join what was seen as a less-than-stirring field, and he had a laser focus on the economy. PERRY MIGHT NOT APPRECIATE HIS POLITICS, BUT HE’D SURE LIKE TO EMULATE HOW BILL CLINTON CHANGED HIS ADDRESS IN 1992.

“Perry wouldn’t necessarily like the comparison, but he may turn out to be the Republican Bill Clinton for ’12,” said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

There are clear differences — a Rhodes scholar who tacked to the center versus a proud Aggie decidedly on the right — but it’s the political path to which Sabato refers.

“Clinton wasn’t the winner in either Iowa or New Hampshire (though he finished second in New Hampshire and called himself the ‘comeback kid’ after his controversies had cost him). CLINTON FINALLY STARTED MOVING WHEN THE BATTLES MOVED SOUTH. IN THAT YEAR, THE KEY FIRST RACE WAS GEORGIA, WHICH CLINTON WON. IN 2012 IT WILL BE SOUTH CAROLINA,” SABATO SAID….

http://blog.chron.com/rickperry/2011/08/commentary-rick-perry-is-as-natural-on-the-stump-as-clinton-was/

I remember being on a plane and talking with a young political operative for Clinton in 1991. He was gushing over how charming and in touch Bill Clinton was. If Perry gets this kind of a response in a year where Obama’s record is so bad, it could be a landslide for the GOP.


Living on minimum wage

MICHELE BACHMANN ANNOUNCED THAT SHE WOULD CONSIDER REDUCING MINIMUM WAGE AS A MEANS OF INCREASING EMPLOYMENT. …

…ACTUALLY, MINIMUM WAGE IS NOT ALL THAT BAD. WITH STATE AND FEDERAL AID, A $7.25 AN HOUR WORKER GETS $14 AN HOUR IN PAY AND BENEFITS FROM TAXPAYERS AND HER EMPLOYER.

Florida raised its minimum wage to $7.31 an hour on June 1, 2011. That would make 40 hours of work worth $292.40 a week. BACHMANN’S NET PAY WOULD BE $275.88 AFTER THE 5.65% FICA TAX. Next year, FICA is supposed to bounce back up to 7.65%, but we shall see. Florida has no state income tax and her income would be too low to pay federal income taxes to cut into that.

But wait, there is more. FOOD STAMPS WOULD INCREASE HER MONTHLY INCOME BY $133 — making her take home pay (based on 4.33 paydays per month — or 13 every 3 months) $306.57.

HER EITC — EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT — WOULD BE APPROXIMATELY $2,600 A YEAR — OR $50 A WEEK, BRINGING HER UP TO $356.57.

Low-income people in her state are eligible for assistance on the heating or air conditioning bills. THIS RANGES FROM A MINIMUM OF $150 A YEAR TO $300. ROUND THAT OFF TO $156 A YEAR AND SHE GETS ANOTHER $3 A WEEK. Every little bit helps. Her take-home pay is now $359.57 a week or nearly $9 an hour tax-free. She also would be eligible for federal rent subsidies, which would stretch her wages even further.

ADD IN THE $10,000 A YEAR MEDICAID BENEFIT AND SHE IS HAULING IN $14 AN HOUR, or about double what her apparent pay is. Don’t knock Medicaid. It is first dollar coverage, unlimited with no deductions.

In actual cash, she would have $275.88 a week, plus $30.71 in food stamps. Federal subsidies would cap her rent at 30% of her pay. Each spring she would collect a $2,600 bonus from the IRS in the form of that EITC. If she has any children under 18, she would get better benefits including a $1,000 per kid annual gift from the IRS, more food stamps and free meals for the children when they are old enough for school at age 4….

http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/archives/41107

We have a fairly generous safety net to go along with minimum wage. We spend on average 16,000 per person who fall under the poverty line ($22,000 for a family of 4—that would be approximately $11 per hour).

Obama and 2012

Obama declares war on House Republicans

President Obama, on the road and seemingly excited to be there, unleashed an assault on Congress and his Republican rivals, accusing them of making the economy worse and threatening their political futures.

In nakedly political terms, OBAMA SPOKE REPEATEDLY ABOUT CHALLENGING CONGRESS IN NEXT YEAR'S ELECTIONS IF THEY REFUSE TO COMPROMISE WITH HIM ON THE ECONOMY, and he took thinly veiled swipes at his Republican opponents.
As the president embarked on his Midwestern bus tour, stopping in Minnesota and Iowa and small businesses along the way, he fired off his most intense criticism of Congress yet, WARNING LAWMAKERS THEY WILL BE DEFEATED IF THEY CONTINUE TO OBSTRUCT HIS POLICIES….

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/176971-unleashed-from-washington-obama-declares-war-on-house-gop

I don’t know if Obama is simply delusional or is living in a time warp where he thinks it is 2008 and he still doesn’t have a record that he will be held accountable for.

Generic Poll: Republicans +7

Republicans have bounced back to a seven-point lead on the Generic Congressional Ballot for the week ending Sunday, August 14.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 44% of Likely U.S. Voters would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate, while 37% would choose the Democrat instead. THE GOP’S LEAD IS UP FIVE POINTS FROM A WEEK AGO, THE FIRST FULL WEEK SURVEY SINCE CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT AGREED ON A SPENDING CUTS DEAL TO RAISE THE FEDERAL DEBT CEILING. Last week’s two-point gap was the narrowest lead Republicans had held since mid-May.

REPUBLICANS HAVE LED ON THE GENERIC CONGRESSIONAL BALLOT EVERY WEEK SINCE JUNE 2009, leading by as much as 12 points and as little as two. The week before Election Day last November, support for Republicans peaked at 51%, the highest level of support either party has enjoyed in the last two years. GOP support has remained in the narrow range of 41% to 44% since late March, while Democrats have earned 37% to 40% in the same period.

DEMOCRATS ENJOYED A SEVEN-POINT LEAD ON THE GENERIC CONGRESSIONAL BALLOT - 42% TO 35% - WHEN OBAMA TOOK OFFICE AS PRESIDENT IN LATE JANUARY 2009.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/generic_congressional_ballot

As I said above, I think Obama is living in a time warp and thinks this is 2008.

Rick Perry: The Facts the Left will try to distort

Over the past couple of months Rick Perry has been considering a run for POTUS. As of Saturday, August 13, he’s in with both feet.

Since he’s been Governor of Texas for over ten years, folks from the other “56 states” are asking Texans what kind of governor he’s been and what we think. I decided that what I “think” isn’t good enough – I could be wrong. So, I decided to do some research on Perry’s record and form a more accurate, FACT-BASED OPINION ON HIS QUALIFICATIONS INSTEAD OF RELYING ON MY GENERAL PERCEPTIONS.

Here are the 17 areas
1. Gardasil
2. Trans-Texas Corridor
3. He used to be a democrat
4. Texas to secede from the Union
5. Job creation in Texas
6. Texas Schools
7. Turned down federal stimulus but asked for disaster aid for wildfires
8. Tax policy—raised taxes?
9. Executions
10. Refused commuting death sentence
11. Cameron Todd Willingham
12. Instate tuition of illegals
13. Rick Perry is gay
14. Texas governors are weak governors
15. Perry squishing on immigration
16. Bilderberg
17. Bad statistics for Texas

http://peskytruth.wordpress.com/2011/07/19/rick-perrys-negatives/

This is an excellent article that will allow you to respond to libs who try to denigrate Perry’s character and records.   Facts always seem the best way to answer them.

The Leftist Dream becomes the Left’s Biggest Nightmare

…With a 70 percent approval rating and supermajorities in both houses of Congress, OBAMA COULD HAVE DONE ALMOST ANYTHING THROUGHOUT 2009.

Instead, HE CHOSE THE PATH OF JIMMY CARTER AND THE PRE-1995 BILL CLINTON — even more redistributive state programs, more stifling regulations, more petulant talk about “them,” more class warfare, more debt, and more failed big government.

As a genuine reactionary wedded to the dream of the 1960s, OBAMA NOT ONLY REJECTED THE IDEA OF NATIONAL RENEWAL, BUT HASTENED BY A DECADE OR SO OUR DAY OF RECKONING WITH THE OUT-OF-CONTROL WELFARE STATE. Was he naïve in thinking that the private sector could be hectored and harassed, and still create enough new wealth to fund his growing redistributive agenda? Or was he Machiavellian in seeing that only by massive new debt, government regulations, and spread-the-wealth programs WOULD AMERICA BE REDUCED TO THE STATUS OF JUST ANOTHER INDEBTED EUROPEAN-STYLE SOCIALIST STATE — in itself a good and long-overdue thing?...

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/274706/obama-s-paradoxes-victor-davis-hanson

This is a question that the right is asking and the left is just starting to acknowledge. It isn’t working out like they thought it would and as the left has to do, they will turn on Obama and declare it was his faults that caused the failure not the Leftist Ideals.

Thanks for the Tip

When not comparing himself to Lincoln, the President is apparently explaining to automakers about how to make money. ACCORDING TO OBAMA, AUTOMAKERS “HAVE TO UNDERSTAND” THAT THEY “CAN’T JUST MAKE MONEY ON SUVS AND TRUCKS” BECAUSE CONSUMERS ARE GOING TO DEMAND MORE FUEL-EFFICIENT VEHICLES “AS GAS PRICES KEEP ON GOING UP.”

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/274742/obama-tells-automakers-how-make-money-jonathan-h-adler

This would be more credible if he were telling them how to spend money. But his warning about gas prices going up certainly has credibility since he’s promised to help that along.


Just a run of Bad Luck

"We had reversed the recession, avoided a depression, gotten the economy moving again," President Obama fantasized on the campaign stump in Iowa. "BUT OVER THE LAST SIX MONTHS, WE'VE HAD A RUN OF BAD LUCK."

Bad luck?

Mr. Obama, meet the late Robert A. Heinlein, a Naval Academy midshipman-turned-influential-author, who decades before you entered the Oval Office presciently described your administration. IT WAS HEINLEIN WHO PENNED ONE OF THE MOST INSIGHTFUL OBSERVATIONS EVER OF HUMAN NATURE:

"Throughout history, POVERTY IS THE NORMAL CONDITION OF MAN. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded - here and there, now and then - are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. WHENEVER THIS TINY MINORITY IS KEPT FROM CREATING, OR (AS SOMETIMES HAPPENS) IS DRIVEN OUT OF A SOCIETY, THE PEOPLE THEN SLIP BACK INTO ABJECT POVERTY. THIS IS KNOWN AS 'BAD LUCK.' "

Mr. President, you didn't run into bad luck. YOU CREATED IT…

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/aug/16/the-bad-luck-president/print/

But it took Bush eight years to screw up this bad, and you expect Obama to fix it in only 31 months? Yes we do. When you have a problem and you call someone to fix it, you expect them to fix it. If they don’t, you fire them and hire someone else.

Liberal Psychoses

… LIBERALISM IS, LIKE ALL POLITICS, SELF-INTERESTED, EMBRACED BY THOSE WHO RECEIVE TRANSFER PAYMENTS AND THOSE IN CHARGE OF ADMINISTERING THE REDISTRIBUTIVE STATE. BUT IT ALSO PROVIDES PSYCHIC EXEMPTION TO A NEW UPPER CLASS AND ASKS LITTLE CONCRETE IN RETURN — no tutoring of the illegal alien, no side-by-side residency in the Section 8 apartment to help create “community,” no hiring in the progressive law firm of a ghetto intern in lieu of the Yale undergraduate. IT IS THE WORST SORT OF PETTY HYPOCRISY: an exemption for the guilty soul through support of the redistributive state aimed at the noble but unapproachable poor —and through a clear disdain for the crass and aspiring middle class, which lacks the taste of the elite and the supposedly tragic nobility of the impoverished and victimized.

Some are surprised that Barack Obama – the community organizer, the hard-core leftist, the pal of Bill Ayers and Rev. Wright (compare the homes of each), the totem of the left — would buy a mansion and worry about the price of arugula. Or that when president, he would play golf more in three years than the aristocratic Bush did in eight. Or that in recessionary times, when iconic presidential sacrifice is critical, the First Family would favor Martha’s Vineyard, Vail, and Costa del Sol over the White House grounds or Camp David.

But this disconnect again is logical not aberrant. It is precisely because Obama rails about “fat cats,” “corporate jet owners,” “millionaires and billionaires,” and pontificates about “redistributive change,” “enough money,” “spread the wealth,” and “unneeded income” that HE FEELS SPIRITUALLY CLEANSED AND SO CAN SATISFY HIS NATURAL APPETITES FOR THE GOOD RARIFIED LIFE…

http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/liberal-psychoses/2/

An interesting piece trying to make sense of the liberals of today. It’s not very flattering which is not what the new left is all about. They crave acknowledgement, much as the Pharisees in the Bible did.

Sunday after the Iowa Straw Poll

And the Winner of the Ames Straw Poll Is…

With a sizable turnout about 3,000 votes greater than organizers expected, 16,892 total votes cast, REP. MICHELE BACHMANN WINS THE AMES STRAW POLL. More results as they come in.

Rep. Ron Paul placed second, and Gov. Tim Pawlenty placed third.

http://pajamasmedia.com/tatler/2011/08/13/and-the-winner-of-the-ames-straw-poll-is/

This is the equivalent of getting the results of a preseason game in the NFL. There is some interest, but it really doesn’t mean a thing.

Pawlenty Drops Out

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty dropped out of the race for the GOP presidential nomination on Sunday, hours after finishing a disappointing third in the Iowa straw poll.

"I WISH IT WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT. BUT OBVIOUSLY THE PATHWAY FORWARD FOR ME DOESN'T REALLY EXIST SO WE ARE GOING TO END THE CAMPAIGN," Pawlenty said on ABC's "This Week" from Iowa shortly after disclosing his plans in a private conference call with supporters.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?
f=/n/a/2011/08/14/politics/p054559D49.DTL#ixzz1V0rMvKVs
It’s probably for the best. He wouldn’t have been able to raise enough money to properly compete.

More Reason Obama will Lose in 2012

…Gault cites a number of factors for declaring that "temporary shocks" is no longer a credible explanation for soft growth during the first half of 2011, including:

• "HISTORICAL REVISIONS TO GDP," which showed growth tailing off to just 1.6% over the past four quarters.
• CONFIDENCE IN U.S. POLICYMAKING HITTING NEW LOWS, a trend reflected in Friday's dismal consumer confidence data. "The artificial debt-ceiling crisis took the country to the brink of default," he writes. "And the resolution produced just more discretionary spending cuts, not progress on entitlements and revenues, which are the long-term keys to the problem."
• EUROPE'S SOVEREIGN DEBT CRISIS SPREADING beyond the so-called periphery while "European policymakers have been consistently one or two steps behind the markets in their reaction."…

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/consumers-lose-confidence-once-hopeful-economists-172309264.html

Expect to see a lot of lashing out by the Democrats at the TEA Party and Republicans. They will attempt to improve their prospects by tearing down the opposition. It’s the only thing they have left.

Perry is Officially In

Texas Gov. Rick Perry tossed his cowboy hat into the ring Saturday, shaking up the GOP race as he puts his undefeated political record on the line in his first presidential rodeo.

"IT IS TIME TO GET AMERICA WORKING AGAIN AND THAT'S WHY WITH THE SUPPORT OF MY FAMILY AND UNWAVERING BELIEF IN THE GOODNESS OF AMERICA, I DECLARE TO YOU TODAY AS A CANDIDATE FOR THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES," he said in a speech at a RedState Gathering of conservative activists in Charleston, South Carolina.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/08/13/perry-to-announce-candidacy-for-gop-presidential-nomination/#ixzz1V0teL9d8

One in and one out.  It's starting to get interesting.  What will Sarah do?