Tag Archives: Media

Economy, Media, Politics

Media Spin On Jobs

Below you will find the Department of Labor’s Employment Status Report for January 2013. The low-information voters wouldn’t believe how bad it is when the news reports typical to the AP broadcast (below) is all they may hear.

Note that the Associated Press can’t objectively report a statistic. Saying “almost 160,000” jobs were created when the number is 157,000. The mood Aaron Katersky creates is like blowing out the candles on a birthday cake.

AP Radio News

For starters, and you’ll never hear this from the mainstream media, in order to keep up with population growth and retirement rates, a ‘break-even‘ point in job creation is 250,000 a month. Any numbers below that means we are going backwards.

The January report shows 157,000 new jobs created, non-farm. That’s the category the media looks at. That was down from the month before (Dec. 2012) when 196,000 jobs were created. But the inquisitive media won’t tell you that.

Month after month, the President and his compliant media drum the point that jobs are being created every month. “It’s not as much as we’d like,” he says. That’s a better way to say “our way of creating jobs isn’t working, hasn’t worked, but we believe that eventually it will.” It is true that jobs are being created every month, but it is in spite of, not because of, Obama’s policies or his recently disbanded Jobs Council. We are going backwards.

Also missing from the AP’s (and everyone else’s) account is the fact that 169,000 jobs were lost. Those are 169,000 people who are out of work, and no longer counted as unemployed, even though they are, because they gave up looking for work. The DOL calls it the “labor participation rate.” In total, that number is 8.5 million people since Obama became President. Even with the DOL’s massaging the numbers via the workforce participation rate, the real unemployment number, the U-6, is 15.4% (see Table A-15. Alternative measures of labor underutilization). The “seasonally adjusted” unemployment percent is 14.4%.

The media parrots what the DOL says. For example, the report begins with this . . .

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 157,000 in January, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 7.9 percent. . .

What do they mean by “essentially unchanged?” The Dec. rate was 7.8%. It went up.

While you hear this AP radio news broadcast, listen too how they put lipstick on the fact that the economy has contracted over the last quarter. Not mentioning that the unemployment rate went up. No thought of a double dip recession, just the optimistic hope of a recovery later on.

Now, raise your hand if you think the media would ignore any of this if there were a Republican in The White House. Now, what are you going to do about it?

[scribd id=123826420 key=key-1wskfqpozzmo9lqhrlf6 mode=scroll]

Economy, Gun Control, Media, Politics

Fail, Economy Saved Or Created

It is amazing how the Left (which now includes the mainstream media), from the President on down, continues to speak about the ‘economic recovery.’ Even the slightly curious can verify that their talking points are even less credible today than they were 5 months ago. All economic indicators are down. And for the first time since the recession, GDP has gone negative.

gdp-fourth-quarter-2012

All of President Obama’s ‘investing’ has got us record unemployment, record annual deficits, record national debt, high food and energy costs, and higher health care costs. And while we watch the rise of radical Islam all over the world, the Federal Reserve continuing to monetize the debt and devalue the dollar, further depressing the world economy, the public’s attention is drawn towards reducing crime by telling citizens that they can no longer decide for themselves what kind of firearms they feel they need to protect their family and property. Left to their own devices, the administration will take your choice away.

The contracting economy is all the evidence you need to see that record government spending and borrowing is not making the economy better. All that, plus the attempts to tread on personal liberty, economic freedom, and the U.S. Constitution has been counter productive to everything the administration says, emphasis on ‘says,’ it wants to do.

It isn’t hard to imagine that if Obama was a Republican, the media would be writing stories about impeachment of the most incompetent President in our lifetime.

Link: U.S. economy contracts for first time since recession

Economy, Media, Politics

Surprise! Tax Hike Turned Into New Debt

Remember the tax hike that President Obama campaigned on? He said that the rich weren’t paying enough. That the top two percent needed to pay more, if we were ever going to begin to pay down that $16.4 Trillion debt.

Well guess what? His tax hike amounted to an extra (on paper anyway) $40 Billion. The Sandy Relief Bill he just signed for $50 Billion just spent all of that tax hike, and ADDED another $10 Billion to the debt that he, ostensibly, was going to start paying down. Understand that I don’t begrudge relief for the Sandy victims. They should have been helped at least as fast as the Katrina victims were. They were not. And nobody, including the media, seems to care. It is Obama’s blatant carnival Barker pitch, with a dash of class warfare and wealth envy thrown in, that I object to.

Do you feel like a sucker yet? Well I don’t because I didn’t vote for him. By now you should know that any increased revenue will only go towards more spending as long as The One is in The White House. Obama’s purpose was to raise the tax rates on the upper income brackets, period. It had nothing whatsoever to do with paying down the debt.

h/t Mark Levin Show

Link: Remember Obama’s tax hikes on the rich to pay debt? He’s already spent every penny

2016 Election, Economy, Egypt, Media, Middle East, North Korea, Politics, Religion, War On Terror

So Much To Celebrate?

The Media, President, and Sec. of State seen here 'playing the fiddle while Rome burns.'
The Media, President, and Sec. of State seen here ‘playing the fiddle while Rome burns.’

If you watched at least five minutes of either the Senate or House hearings on Benghazi, you know that Sec. of State Hillary Clinton is the best Sec. of State that the United States has ever had. Which explains why we may never know why four Americans were left to die at the Libyan Consulate in Benghazi.

What’s not to celebrate? Beginning with the Arab Spring which quickly turned in to the Arab Winter, the President and Sec. Clinton rightfully deserve credit for dispatching Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak so that the Muslim Brotherhood could fill the power vacuum. Words like ‘democracy’ were thrown around like Egypt had their own Declaration of Independence. Two years later, Egyptians are still rioting in the streets over their new dictator President who is also head of the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist organization. Now Egypt has a new opposition group called the ‘Black Bloc‘ who don’t like the lack of religious freedom, worsening economy from what started the protests two years ago, and the dictatorial leadership from President Mohammed Morsi.

Then there is continuing high unemployment, record national debt in proportions amounting to generational theft, and a stagnant economy here. High energy and food prices. High, and getting higher, health care costs. Record number of people receiving government help, and growing.

Then there is a worsening Middle East, Syria in flames and alQaeda moving in, Iran nuclear, Northern Africa being overrun by alQaeda, North Korea nuclear, our Ambassador and three other Americans murdered by terrorists in Benghazi.

So much here to celebrate that there is speculation that, just like President Obama, Hillary Clinton may get a Nobel Peace Prize too! The interview on 60 Minutes even hinted at Sec. Clinton running for President in 2016. And why not? It is easier to throw gasoline on the fire by blaming everyone and anyone else than it is to accept responsibility for it and put it out.

Media, Politics

That Pesky FOX

progressive

The president told TNR editorFrank Foer and owner Chris Hughes that “One of the biggest factors is going to be how the media shapes debates.”

The media can either help break or uphold partisan gridlock, the president said, adding that “If a Republican member of Congress is not punished on Fox News or by Rush Limbaugh for working with a Democrat on a bill of common interest, then you’ll see more of them doing it.”

Translation: My presidency would be a lot easier if FOX News would only bend over too!

FOX is the target because presenting both sides of a story necessarily includes a side the President does not like. He prefers a media that not only reports, but pushes his side exclusively. That doesn’t reshape debate. That eliminates debate. But his version of the first amendment doesn’t stop there. It also includes discouraging Democrats from appearing on FOX News to reach that audience.

Greta Van Susteren has already written a critical blog post: “Apparently President Obama wants his usual media pass and Fox challenges his policies – which happens to be the media’s job.” She also accused Democrat brass of intimidation: “Some Democrats have told me that they want to come on Fox to discuss issues but they get heat from their Leadership for appearing on Fox.  Does President Obama know that? So which Party is intimidating its members?”

Link: President Obama Laments Rush Limbaugh And Fox News’ Influence On Public Debate

Florida, Gun Control, Media, Pensacola, Politics

Record Turnout, High Prices At Florida Gun Shows

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Opening hours line at the Florida Gun Show in Pensacola.

Through my unscientific poll of Facebook posts, people are saying that the lines to get into the gun shows in Pensacola, Jacksonville, Orlando, and Miami are the longest ever. Since the gun store shelves are almost empty and out of ammo, I have to believe that President Obama wins the ‘Top Gun’ Salesman of the Year award.

It was heartening to see so many people getting CWP (Concealed Weapons Permit) training. Young, old, Black, White, and everywhere in between. And they weren’t all republicans either. Believe it or not, democrats believe in personal protection too. Contrary to Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Barack Obama’s argument, I didn’t see any gang members or gang bangers there buying guns. I saw everyone there that was buying, filling out the required paperwork and going through the background check procedure.

The laws of supply and demand have affected the firearms industry, at least at the retail level. Weapons like the AR15 that was $600-700 three months ago, are now between $2000 -3000. Ammo? You’re lucky if you find what you’re looking for. There was no 40 caliber range ammo, which was what I was looking for. I later found some, at before hysterical (over $1.00/round) prices  too, at a local shop off the beaten path. Not at the gun show. The name of which shall stay my secret. You’ll have to email me to get it.

Happy Shooting!

2012 Election, Media, Politics

President Obama’s ‘Movement’ – OFA

There’s a reason I often refer to President Obama as a community organizer. First of all, because that’s what he was from the beginning of his political life after college. And secondly, that’s all he knows, and what he does today. Only on a national basis. But you no longer have to see if from me. See it from his email and the video from the First Lady, Michelle.

Saying that the Obama’s don’t like America as it is, and want to fundamentally change it is not hyperbole. Barack said so in his 2008 campaign. Now in 2013, watch Michelle tell you that her and Barack want to change our country as they think “it should be.”

Ross —

Today, a new grassroots organization is being launched: Organizing for Action.

Following in the footsteps of the campaign you built, Organizing for Action will be an unparalleled force in American politics. It will work to turn our shared values into legislative action — and it’ll empower the next generation of leaders in our movement.

Our work didn’t end on Election Day.

Organizing for Action will support the legislative agenda we voted on, train the next generation of grassroots organizers and leaders, and organize around local issues in our communities.

Watch this video the First Lady recorded about the next step of this grassroots movement, and say you’re in:

Their appeal to the low-information voters is simple. Empowering them all as political activists to change this country. Is that what Americans elected him to do? On the contrary. If he was honest with the American people and campaigned on what he wanted to do to this country, or if the media had vetted him, Hillary Clinton may have been President. Are the days of electing presidents to be good stewards of the country now over? A country in a “movement” without a rudder (constitution) and no money to sustain itself? Lord help us all.

Gun Control, Media, Politics

Our Un-Presidential President

Remember when President Obama said this at his anti-gun pep rally yesterday?

40 percent of all gun purchases are conducted without a background check.

Here’s where he had to go to come up with that bogus (for 2013) number. Now watch how many news sources in the mainstream media will report the truth about Obama’s “statistic” that is his main justification for panic and new gun laws.

The dubious statistic of guns that avoided background checks — which is actually 36 percent — comes from a small 251-person survey on gun sales two decades ago, very early in the Clinton administration. Most of the survey covered sales before the Brady Act instituted mandatory federal background checks in early 1994.

“If Obama’s gun control case is so strong, why can’t he make it without using cooked numbers, or surrounding himself with children?” Like a good community organizer will do, if you don’t have a crisis, make one up if it will help your cause.

Link: Obama’s bogus 40% stat  |  The 40% Unchecked Gun Lie

Gun Control, Media, Politics

Will Atty. Gen. Holder Turn Himself In?

More meaningless rhetoric from the Imperial Ruler (aka President Obama) today,  on executive orders and other demands that will do nothing to stop the kind of violence he and VP Biden want to stop, no matter how many cute children they use for props. The most intriguing statement was this one . . .

And finally, Congress needs to help, rather than hinder, law enforcement as it does its job. We should get tougher on people who buy guns with the express purpose of turning around and selling them to criminals. And we should severely punish anybody who helps them do this.

Considering that the Dept. of Justice and its ATF did exactly that in a program called Fast and Furious, I guess we can expect Eric Holder to turn himself in after rounding up all the others that were involved with it. Lucky for President Obama, the Freetown shooting did what Fast and Furious failed to do. It presented a crisis to jump on to. And when there’s an agenda involved, you just can’t let a crisis go to waste.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for anyone in the DOJ to pay any price for Fast and Furious. If the media isn’t interested in pursuing it, then it must not have happened.

Link: Remarks by the President and the Vice President on Gun Violence   |   New Fast and Furious docs released by White House

2012 Election, Economy, Media, Organized Labor, Politics

Obama’s Arrogance On Display

It was much more than simply arrogance on display at today’s White House Press Conference. More lies and obfuscation and finger-pointing. More ducking responsibility for his own lack of leadership. Stunning, but not surprising.

Hard as he may try, and contrary to what he said, he does not have a mandate to increase the national debt and continue deficit spending year after year just because he was re-elected. The first time he was elected, he ran on decreasing the deficit by half by the end of his first term. It was $500 billion when he took over. The deficit isn’t $250 billion. It is 1.2 trillion, for four years in a row. The Republican majority House was also re-elected. And that’s where the spending is authorized. According to the Constitution. I know. He doesn’t like it, nor has he tried to protect and defend it. Remember, that is what he took an oath to do. And what he will do again next week. But that’s another story altogether. The people don’t want deficit spending. They want the debt to be paid down. Not added to.

At the presser, he said he cut the debt by $4 trillion dollars. Where? On Mars? He has added over a trillion dollars in deficit spending for each of the first four years of his administration. And, plans on adding another $4 trillion dollars over the next four years in his second term. Bringing the total national debt from the $10 trillion he inherited, to $16 trillion now, and to $20 trillion by the end of his second term. And he stands there with a straight face and chastises Republicans for being irresponsible for not wanting to pay our bills. And the press corp let him stand there and get away with it. Not one question challenging the truth and voracity of his claims.

On the contrary. He was irresponsible for not only maxing out the credit card, but for treating it like there is no maximum amount he can spend. He paints a picture of dire consequences if the U.S. doesn’t pay its bills. Like a child who misbehaves, he has to face the music. His actions have consequences. He is the one that overspent. Now, not only he, but all of us must pay the piper and face whatever dire consequences we have coming because we’re tearing up that credit card. Forget about raising the debt ceiling another dime. Deal with it. Only after that will this country be able to recover and get itself on the right track again.

He proved himself incapable of making the tough decisions needed to insure the sustainability of Medicare, Medicaid,  and Social Security. That is the epitome of irresponsibility. Instead, he demagogues Republicans for wanting to cut it. The hard truth is, those programs can’t be saved without cutting them somewhere and somehow. They no longer fit the demographics for which they were designed. Period. And they cost many times more than they were anticipated to be in the first place. Sooner or later, interest rates will return to ‘normal’ levels. And by the time that happens, the interest on our debt will be equal to or greater than our GDP. By any definition, that’s broke. That’s irresponsible.

Fact is, he is the irresponsible one. First by neglecting his duty to pass a budget and work by one for all of his first term. Having no budget to hold him back allowed him to run up the debt via CR’s (continuing resolutions) for every year of his administration. Paying off donors, unions, and bailing out his buddies created no jobs. It merely completed the quid pro quo. Wasting taxpayer dollars on one green energy bankruptcy after another. And enriching the bankruptcy lawyers in the process. It’s a win, win, lose. Green investors who are also donors and campaign bundlers win. The bankruptcy lawyers win for handling the bankruptcies with zero transparency. And the taxpayers lose all the way around.

One of the punch lines in this presser was his declaration that the government is part of the economy. As if that is a justification for the never-ending spending. He is right to the extent that the government is part of the economy. It is the overhead of the economy. It produces nothing. It only takes from the producers in taxes, and borrows and spends on growing the government even bigger. The cost of government used to be 18 percent of GDP. Then 20 percent under Bush 43. Now it is over 22 percent heading to 25 percent. The community organizer does not care that there isn’t enough money to sustain a government this big. Nor does he care that as government grows, the private sector gets smaller, along with our freedom and liberties.

That’s Obama’s vision of fundamental change in America. That’s what being irresponsible is. And there’s no way in hell he can embarrass me for not paying our bills by not raising the debt ceiling. It’s time for him to be spanked (figuratively of course), take the credit card away, and do what every other American has to do to survive within their means. Whatever happens is the result of his misbehavior. It won’t be the end of the world as we know it. It will mark the dawn of sanity in running the country.