Organizations: Community, Commune, Communism

They all share the same root word.

Economy Grows in Q3, Recession Over? Not by Definition, Technically....

October 29 update: The Commerce Department, in its first estimate of third-quarter gross domestic product on Thursday, said the economy grew at a 3.5 percent annual rate, the fastest pace since the third quarter of 2007, after contracting 0.7 percent in the April-June period.

[. . .]

The surge in consumer spending and residential investment was likely driven by government stimulus programs.

The same-old, same-old shuffle scam....

A recession is defined simply as a period when GDP falls (negative real economic growth) for at least two quarters. Some economists prefer a definition of a 1.5% rise in unemployment within 12 months.

Keep this in mind and apply it to any media or government claims that the recession is easing or over.

U.S. GDP by quarter at a glance.

Economy returns to growth after a year of declines

Recession Over? Not by any Definition, Technically....

October 12 update: despite idiotic media reports to the contrary, nothing has changed to alter the realty of the data released less than two weeks ago....

A recession is defined simply as a period when GDP falls (negative real economic growth) for at least two quarters. Some economists prefer a definition of a 1.5% rise in unemployment within 12 months.

Keep this in mind and apply it to any media or government claims that the recession is easing or over.

U.S. GDP by quarter at a glance.

October 2, 2009: U.S. unemployment at 9.8 percent, adjusted to a real 17 percent.

Disturbing Video: School Kids Taught to Praise Obama

This video was filmed taken in June 2009 at the B. Bernice Young Elementary School in Burlington, NJ.

Lyrics:

Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
He said that all must lend a hand [?]
To make this country strong again
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
He said we must be clear today
Equal work means equal pay
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
He said that we must take a stand
To make sure everyone gets a chance
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
He said Red, Yellow, Black or White
All are equal in his sight
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
Yes
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama

Jump to

Hello, Mr. President we honor you today!
For all your great accomplishments, we all [do? doth??] say "hooray!"
Hooray Mr. President! You're number one!
The first Black American to lead this great na-TION!
Hooray, Mr. President something-something-some
A-something-something-something-some economy is number one again!
Hooray Mr. President, we're really proud of you!
And the same for all Americans [in?] the great Red White and Blue!
So something Mr. President we all just something-some,
So here's a hearty hip-hooray a-something-something-some!
Hip, hip hooray! (3x)

Freedom of Speech in America? Not so Much Anymore, Really....

A New Low: Obama Daily Tracking -14

These figures mark the lowest poll rating yet for Obama:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows that 27% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-one percent (41%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -14. These figures mark the lowest Approval Index rating yet recorded for this President. The previous low of -12 was reached on July 30 (see trends).

Prior to today, the number who Strongly Approved of the President’s performance had never fallen below 29%. Some of the decline has come from within the President’s own party. Just 49% of Democrats offer such a positive assessment of the President at this time.

At the other end of the spectrum, today’s total for Strongly Disapprove matches the highest level yet recorded. The 41% mark was reached just once before and that came one week ago today. Seventy percent (70%) of Republicans now Strongly Disapprove along with 49% of those not affiliated with either major party.

Source.

The Most Powerful Man on Earth Actually Said "All Wee-Weed Up!"

President Barack Obama launched a typical liberal-style mocking attack Thursday on politicos who think "Obama's lost his mojo."

Finding villains at every turn and in every shadow, Obama said, "There is something about August going into September where everybody in Washington gets all wee weed up!"

Incredibly, with soaring deficit spending, spiraling unemployment and an increasingly divided public, Obama said, "We should be proud of what we have done."

Source.

Cash for Clunkers Web Site Allows Govt to Track Your Computer, Seize Private Info

When a dealer goes to cars.gov to participate in the "Cash for Clunkers" program, and proceeds past the login, they are met with some very disturbing Privacy Act language:

A warning box will pop up, and it reads:

‘This application provides to the DoT CARS system. When logged on to the CARS system, your computer is considered a federal computer system and it is property of the United States government ... Any and all uses of this system and all files on this system may be intercepted, monitored, recorded, copied, audited, inspected, and disclosed to authorized CARS, DoT and law enforcement personnel, as well as authorized officials of other agencies, both domestic and foreign.'

Kimberly Guilfoyle, a legal analyst for Fox News, has interpreted the language to mean the government will assume very broad authority over your computer -- including the ability to seize personal and private information.

Guilfoyle also said legally the government can use Web software to track your computer any time they want once you've logged into the site.

Historic Obamanation: Illegal Alien Population Drops by 1.7 M illion

You no longer have to guess that things aren't going at all well in the economy when the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. has dropped nearly 14 percent in two years, and is still declining.

The Center for Immigration Studies estimates that since summer 2007 the illegal-immigrant population has dropped from 12.5 million -- its peak -- to 10.8 million in the first quarter of 2009.

The CIS report also said there is evidence that the number of new illegal immigrants arriving has fallen by about one-third in the past two years compared to earlier this decade.

From The Hill.

Taxes of Top 1% Now Exceed That of Bottom 95%

Newly released data from the IRS clearly debunks the conventional Beltway rhetoric that the "rich" are not paying their fair share of taxes and disproportionately benefited from the Bush tax cuts.

The IRS data shows that in 2007 -- the most recent data available -- the top 1 percent of taxpayers paid 40.4 percent of the total income taxes collected by the federal government. This is the highest percentage in modern history. By contrast, the top 1 percent paid 24.8 percent of the income tax burden in 1987, the year following the 1986 tax reform act.

Read it.

The Obama Czar List: 32 Unelected, Unaccountable Officials

Here is a list of 32 unelected people spending your tax dollars.

Read it (Excel).

The 5 Freedoms Obama Health Care Will Kill

According to Fortune magazine, there are five freedoms that you have now that the Democrats in Congress intend to take away from you. These are in the actual legislation.

Bluntly, Obama is lying to your face says he won't take these freedoms from you.

While the bill is written in the House, it's still Obama's health care bill. He can claim one thing while doing something totally different. All he has to do is sign the legislation.

1. Freedom to choose what’s in your plan
2. Freedom to be rewarded for healthy living, or pay your real costs
3. Freedom to choose high-deductible coverage
4. Freedom to keep your existing plan
5. Freedom to choose your doctors

Read it.

WaPo Bombshell: Obama Hiding Costs of Health Care Reform

President Barack Obama last week perhaps had his worst week since he was forced to throw his spiritual mentor, and longtime, friend Rev. Jeremiah Wright, under the bus.

It got a lot worse Sunday when the Washington Post editorial board accused the President of withholding from the public the true costs of the health care reform he so eagerly seeks:

Link.

The Health-Care Sacrifice
What President Obama needs to tell the public about the cost of reform

Sunday, July 26, 2009

PRESIDENT OBAMA sometimes presents health-care reform as a pain-free proposition, as simple as choosing the red pill over the blue -- one that's no more effective but costs twice as much. Asked at his news conference whether "the American people are going to have to give anything up in order for this to happen," Mr. Obama's basic answer was no. "They're going to have to give up paying for things that don't make them healthier," he said.

But Mr. Obama's soothing bedside manner masks the reality that getting health costs under control will require making difficult choices about what procedures and medications to cover. It will require saying no, or having the patient pay more, at times when the extra expense is not justified by the marginal improvement in care. Mr. Obama is right that sticking with the status quo is a bad alternative, but he isn't leveling about the consequences of change.

Are you clicking the link right now to make sure this really was a Washington Post editorial? Well, it gets better:

Take Mr. Obama's red pill-blue pill example. What if the pricey blue pill is actually better than the cheaper red one? What if it's better but just a little bit? What happens when a yellow pill comes along, costing twice as much as the blue? What happens if there's a new procedure that cures the ailment, but at an even bigger cost? [...]

The fundamental driver of health-care inflation is technological innovation. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that new technology accounts for about half the increase in health-care costs over the past several decades.

This is, for the most part, a good thing. Adjusted for inflation, health-care spending per person is six times what it was 40 years ago. But no one today would settle for 1960s-style medicine. Treating patients with heart disease was inexpensive then, because there wasn't a great way to detect problems before a heart attack and not much to do afterward. Today, angiograms can diagnose blockages. Bypasses and angioplasty can fix them. Drugs such as beta blockers can prevent repeat heart attacks. So spending for coronary care has soared, along with survival rates. Some medical innovations can save money, but the general arc has been better treatment -- at higher costs.

This is what those on the left and most in the mainstream media don't get.

Yes, course health care costs have dramatically increased in the last 40 years as have health insurance premiums. But what do you get for the extra expense now?

There's a reason why the fastest growing segment of our population is over the age of 80.

But that comes with a price.

Democrat's 'Retarded' Health Care Bill

The proposed health-reform bill from the House of Representatives refers to mentally disabled people as "retarded" -- a term advocates, relatives and physicians find outdated and offensive.

The bill refers to: "A hospital or a nursing facility or intermediate-care facility for the mentally retarded...."

If you wanted proof that 20-something Congressional staffers are the ones really running the government, you need look no further than this example. It smacks of immaturity.

Then again, this is what we come to expect from a political ideology that empowers the president to refer to his poor bowling skills on "The Tonight Show" as "like the Special Olympics," and say police were acting "stupidly" when protecting the public.

I wonder what would happen if the bill refereed to African-Americans as colored?

Read it.

The Healthcare Chart Democrats Don't Want You to See

It's a bureaucratic nightmare....

Roll Call today reported that Democrats are preventing Republican House Members from sending their constituents a mailing that is critical of the majority’s health care reform plan, blocking the mailing by alleging that it is inaccurate.

The dispute centers on a chart created by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) and Republican staff of the Joint Economic Committee to illustrate the organization of the Democratic health care plan.


At first glance, Brady’s chart resembles a board game: a colorful collection of shapes and images with a web of lines connecting them.

But a closer look at the image reveals a complicated menagerie of government offices and programs that Republicans say will be created if the leading Democratic health care plan becomes law.

Click here for an enlarged version.

If 84 Percent of Americans are “Very Satisfied” or “Satisfied” With Their Current Health Care, Where's the Crisis?

A poll conducted by the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and Zogby International finds that 84 percent of Americans, including 46 percent of Americans without health care insurance, are "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with the health care they currently receive.

Released on Wednesday, the poll was glaringly absent from most news reports late last week and over the weekend.

Poll.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Responds to Drudge

Ignoring the obvious question concerning the difference between a sandwich-ready coldcut and a shovel-ready job, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack responds to the Drudge report of a two-pound frozen ham, sliced, priced at a cool $1.191 million.

USDA Link.

New Stimulus Bill Would be Third, Not Second

The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 (Public Law 110 - 1850).

Do you remember that one?

Oh yeah, that one.

It's the one where the government tried to stimulate the economy by throwing checks at everyone.

The stimulus package was passed by the Democrat controlled U.S. House of Representatives on January 29, 2008, and in a slightly different version by the Democrat controlled U.S. Senate on February 7, 2008.

The Senate version was then approved in the House the same day.

The bill was signed into law on February 13, 2008 by President Bush with the support of a majority of Democrat lawmakers, as well as a minority of Republicans.

The law provided for tax rebates to low- and middle-income U.S. taxpayers, tax incentives to stimulate business investment, and an increase in the limits imposed on mortgages eligible for purchase by government-sponsored enterprises (e.g., Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac).

The total cost of this bill was projected at $152 billion for 2008.

Thus, any new stimulus bill would be THE THIRD STIMULUS BILL.

Why, after two failed stimulus efforts attempted by simply throwing money at the problem, would we want another stimulus effort that throws even more money at the problem and would most likely fail, too?

Isn't it time to start thinking about tax breaks and incentives to stimulate the economy?

Tran$parency: $18M Being Spent to Redesign Recovery.gov Web Site

The General Services Administration said yesterday that $18 million in taxpayer funds are being spent to redesign the Recovery.gov Web site.

Read it.

If you think $18 million spent to redesign a government Web site is "fraud, waste or abuse" of tax dollars, report it here.

Govt Report: Housing Market Crash Traced to Govt Intervention

A report released by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform finds that the housing bubble that burst in 2007 and led to a financial crisis can be traced back to federal government intervention in the U.S. housing market.

The report’s findings are particularly significant and relevant since President Barack Obama’s announced financial reform initiatives do not include reforms to address flawed government housing initiatives.

One must keep in mind that the federal government has been under the watchful eye of Democrat majority control in the Senate and House of Representatives since 2006.

Read it.