Independent reviews of Obama's claims of job created by the stimulus bill show that the government is making up numbers. As Rep. Joe Wilson so aptly said it, "You lie!"
From Watchdog.org:
Just how big is the stimulus package? Well for one, it has doubled the size of the House of Representatives, according to recovery.gov, which says that funds were distributed to 440 congressional districts that do not exist.
According to data retrieved from recovery.gov, nearly $6.4 billion was used to “create or save” just under 30,000 jobs in these phantom congressional districts–almost $225,000 per job. The Web site operates on an $84 million budget and is tasked with monitoring the distribution of the $787 billion stimulus package passed by Congress–which, for the record, counts 435 members–in early 2009.
It's clear you can't trust anything coming from the Obama Ministry of Propaganda or the state-run media that should be reporting on the most corrupt and deceptive administration ever.
Barack Obama recently left the country for an Asian trip, but the country left Obama months ago as he continues to push a left-wing agenda the majority of Americans don't want.
Most Republicans saw through Obama, but now independents have opened their eyes, with 47% of independent voters telling Rasmussen Reports they strongly disapprove of Obama's job performance.
Writing in The Wall Street Journal, pollsters Scott Rasmussen and Doug Schoen warn that Obama must drastically change course or his presidency is doomed.
From their column:
The off-year elections in New Jersey and Virginia were indeed a warning sign to Mr. Obama. While the presidents ratings aren't likely to dip much further by year's end — given the size and support of his base — by focusing exclusively on his base he could create lasting political problems that plague the remainder of his term.
Unless Mr. Obama changes his approach and starts governing in a more fiscally conservative, bipartisan manner, the independents that provided his margin of victory in 2008 and gave the Democrats control of Congress will likely swing back to the Republicans, putting Democratic control of Congress in real jeopardy.
The latest Rasmussen Reports give Obama little hope unless he starts listening to the people:
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows that 29% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-nine percent (39%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -10.
Fifty-six percent (56%) of Democrats Strongly Approve while 66% of Republicans Strongly Disapprove. Among those not affiliated with either major party, 20% Strongly Approve and 47% Strongly Disapprove.
The Presidential Approval Index is calculated by subtracting the number who Strongly Disapprove from the number who Strongly Approve.
Overall, 50% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance. Forty-nine percent (49%) now disapprove.
Group Launches Drive for Balanced Budget Amendment
I applaud the efforts of the group Deficit Free to push for a Balanced Budget Amendment, but with Obama and Congressional Democrats spending money faster than the government can print it, it may be a lost cause.
The only way to stop the bankruptcy of the United States is to vote out every Congressional Democrat in 2010.
ALG Condemns $2.1 Trillion 'Takeover of Nation's Health Care System'
Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson condemned the House of Representatives for voting to approve "$2.1 trillion takeover of the nation's entire health care sector in spite of overwhelming public opposition to the measure."
Americans for Limited Government estimates the legislation will cost $2.1 trillion over 10 years once fully implemented, and "will drive millions Americans off of private, employer-based health care, on to substandard, below-average government-run care, and open the door for a single payer system," said Wilson.
ALG issued the following press release after the 220-215 House vote:
"This Congress is rotten to its core," said Wilson, adding, "Members no longer represent their constituents, they serve the Washington political elite. They have succumbed to the insider deals, handouts, and kickbacks Nancy Pelosi needed to secure the votes for the federal government to claim an iron grip of one-sixth of the nation's economy."
Citing the Congressional Budget Office cost estimate of H.R. 3962, Wilson said, "This bill will raise taxes by more than $780 billion and cut Medicare by more than $450 billion. In the process, they are enraging political independents and seniors, both critical voting blocs for whom dozens of vulnerable members in the majority must answer to."
"Members that voted for this abomination have signed a political suicide pact for which they will be held accountable," Wilson declared. "They have gone against the express will of their constituents who opposed this legislation."
The bill would force millions of uninsured Americans to obtain insurance or else pay a fine, includes employer mandates, and creates a national, government-run "public option." Americans for Limited Government estimates more than 45 million Americans would ultimately be required to enroll in government care at an average cost of $4,700 per individual to taxpayers.
"As health care costs skyrocket because of the elimination of the private sector health options contained in this bill, so too will the costs owed by taxpayers, resulting in hundreds of billions of deficit-spending," said Wilson. "Because insurance under the plan is mandatory, the more private insurers that are driven out of business by diminishing insurance pools, the more Americans who will be forced onto government-run and subsidized care."
"This bill will ration care away from seniors, water down and reduce the quality of everyone's care, increase health premiums, put bureaucrats between doctors and patients, break the public treasury, and leave taxpayers with a bill that cannot possibly be paid back," Wilson added.
According to Rasmussen Reports, 54 percent of voters oppose the "public option" proposed, which only 42 percent support. In addition, James Carville's Democracy Corps polls found a full 54 percent of seniors oppose the nationalized health care plan. According to the poll conducted in June, 41 percent of seniors strongly oppose the Obama plan and only 14 percent strongly favor it.
"To pass this monstrosity on the heels of Tuesday's overwhelming election results against her party, Nancy Pelosi has clearly lost her mind and needs to check her meds. She doesn't care if vulnerable members in her caucus are wiped out in 2010 or not," Wilson said.
"Democrats are throwing away seniors as a political constituency," Wilson added, stating in conclusion, "They are enraging independents, who see their children and children's children being burdened with an unsustainable debt that will rise to $20 trillion in 2020 and top the Gross Domestic Product in 2011. And taking over health care against the express wishes of tens of millions of Americans who like their private health options and want to keep them."
By formally endorsing the House health care bill, President Barack Obama effectively announced that the central promise of his 2008 campaign was a lie, says Americans for Tax Reform, a non-partisan coalition of taxpayers and taxpayer groups.
During the campaign, Obama made a "firm pledge" not to raise "any form" of taxes on families making less than $250,000 per year but the Pelosi bill would impose those taxes on middle-class familes, ATR argues.
The unemployment rate in the U.S. rose to 10.2 percent today despite guarantees by Barack Obama when he signed the $787 billion "stimulus" bill in February that unemployment would never rise above 8 percent. Of all of Obama's lies, this one is the biggest.
More than 16 million Americans are out of work, while Obama continues to insist that his "stimulus" package has "saved or created" 1 million jobs.
The Obama Administration has offered no proof of those 1 million jobs and has been caught several times "cooking" the numbers. The Associated Press continues to report on massive fraud involving the so-called "stimulus" jobs, whereby agencies receiving government money are counting jobs more than once or counting minimal raises given to workers as "saved" jobs to please their Washington masters.
On the same day the Labor Department released the new unemployment figures, Obama signed a 20-week extension of unemployment benefits for 1 million out-of-work Americans whose benefits had run out.
But there are another 6 million Americans who are out of work and have exhausted all unemployment benefits including extensions. Those 6 million will have to put "hope and change" on the table to feed their families as the Obama Recession continues to get worse. (A record 23 million Americans are now collecting food stamps.)
In blow to Obama, Democrats lose NJ, VA governor races
In a stunning upset, Republican Chris Christie defeated Democrat Barack Obama ... I mean Jon Corzine ... to win the New Jersey governor's race Tuesday.
Despite spending $23 million dollars and having Barack Obama campaign for him three times, Corzine, the free-spending liberal and Obama doormat, was tossed out by New Jersey voters in a a clear repudiation of the Obama agenda.
Christie's victory in heavily Democratic New Jersey should send shock waves through the Democratic Party establishment. Earlier in the evening, Republican Bob McDonnell won the Virginia governor's race in another litmus test of Obama's failed presidency.
Look for Democrats in Congress to bail out of Obama's big government, big deficit socialist agenda overnight.
Obama himself told New Jersey voters that the Christie-Corzine election was a referendum on his 10 months as president.
Corzine ran a nasty campaign of personal attacks, including making fun of Christie's weight.
The 300-pound Christie told supporters at a victory rally Tuesday night "we are going to pick Trenton up and turn it upside down."
With 75 percent of precincts reporting by 10:30 p.m., Christie had 50 percent of the vote compared to 44 percent for Corzine. Independent Chris Daggett had about 5 percent of the vote.
(Update: With 97 percent of precincts reporting at midnight, Christie had 49 percent of the vote compared to 44 percent for Corzine. Daggett finished with 5 percent.)
One year after the election of Barack Obama, voters could send a strong message they don't like the direction the country is headed by sweeping Republicans into office in the governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey and the special election in New York for a House seat.
Barack Obama came into office with a 62% job approval number, but that has dropped to 48% by October. Rasmussen offers a month-by-month look at Obama's failed presidency.
From Rasmussen Reports:
The president's ratings dipped slightly in October after stabilizing in September.
In October, for the third straight month, 39% Strongly Disapproved of the president's performance. The number who Strongly Approved fell two percentage points to 29%, the president's lowest full-month total to date. That leads to a Presidential Approval Index rating of -10, also a new low for Obama.
Also in October, the president's total approval slipped a point to 48%. His total disapproval remained stable at 51%.
U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts, who represents Pennsylvania's 16th Congressional District, wants to set the record straight about the latest bogus announcement by the Obama Administration that it has "created or saved" 650,000 jobs.
Earlier this week, The Associated Press reported that the official count of "created or saved" jobs from the $787 billion stimulus was 25,000. It's amazing what you can do with numbers.
Obama released figures from his economic team stating that more than 40,000 jobs have been "created or saved" in Pennsylvania by passage of the stimulus bill, according to Pitts.
Nationwide 650,000 jobs have been "created or saved" at the cost of approximately $1.2 million each, Pitts says. Economists agree that the figure of jobs "saved" is misleading and is not a legitimate economic measure, Pitts says.
Pennsylvania has lost nearly 200,000 jobs in just the past year alone. Nationwide, more than 15 million Americans are out of work. The unemployment rate in the U.S. stands at a 27-year high.
Rep. Pitts' statement follows:
"Once again the administration is claiming that the wasteful $787 billion stimulus bill has 'saved' a distinct number of jobs. The White House has produced a number that is meaningless. There is no way to count jobs that weren't lost. I could just as easily come up with a formula to count the jobs that have been lost due this Administration’s policies on energy, health, and taxation.
"The truth is, unemployment is nearly two percent higher than the President projected. The administration’s website right now shows only one job saved in the entire 16th Congressional District. I understand that these numbers may be updated later today but they certainly won’t change very much. Right now this website shows that one job was created at the cost of $277,000 in government contracts.
"The government cannot create jobs, but it can make is easier or harder for employers to increase their payroll. With job-killing tax hikes in health care reform and the energy legislation being considered in Congress right now, how can we expect employers to invest in their business with confidence?"
Josh Gerstein of POLITICO recaps some of the outrageous behavior of Barack Obama that has gone "unnoticed" by the state-run liberal media.
From POLITICO:
A four-hour stop in New Orleans, on his way to a $3 million fundraiser.
Snubbing the Dalai Lama.
Signing off on a secret deal with drug makers.
Freezing out a TV network.
Doing more fundraisers than the last president. More golf, too.
President Barack Obama has done all of those things — and more.
What's remarkable is what hasn't happened. These episodes haven't become metaphors for Obama's personal and political character — or consuming controversies that sidetracked the rest of his agenda.
It's a sign that the media's echo chamber can be a funny thing, prone to the vagaries of news judgment, and an illustration that, in politics, context is everything.
Conservatives look on with a mix of indignation and amazement and ask: Imagine the fuss if George W. Bush had done these things?
News Item: 23 states report higher unemployment in September.
The Obama Recession continues ... and the state-run media is working overtime attempting to cover up the failing presidency of Barack Obama.
While the president and his loyal minions are wasting their time attacking FOX News for daring to criticize Obama's mounting failures, millions of Americans are losing their jobs while millions more have given up looking for work.
From The Associated Press:
Forty-three states reported job losses in September, while only seven gained jobs, the Labor Department said Wednesday.
Wednesday's report underscores the uneven nature of the recovery. The unemployment rate dropped in some Midwestern states as the manufacturing sector improved. But Florida and Nevada, two of the states hit hardest by the housing slump, reported record-high jobless rates.
Some of the states that lost jobs still saw their unemployment rates improve, as discouraged workers gave up looking for work. People who are out of work but no longer looking for jobs aren't counted as officially unemployed.
That trend was evident nationwide in September, as nearly 600,000 people dropped out of the work force, the department reported earlier this month.
The U.S. jobless rate rose to 9.8 percent in September, a 26-year high, from 9.7 percent. Some economists estimate it would have topped 10 percent if there had been no change in the labor force.
Harris Poll: Americans Give Obama Negative Ratings on 12 Key Issues
If this was a report card, Barack Obama would be flunking out of school.
The latest Harris Poll shows a majority of Americans give President Obama negative ratings on his handling of a dozen major issues.
Among the lowest numbers are for Obama's handling of unemployment, the federal deficit and the war in Afghanistan.
From the Harris Poll:
As President Obama's overall approval rating continues to slide, he cannot find much solace in Americans' opinions on his handling of 12 different issues as he does not have a positive rating on any of these.
The top one for President Obama is reducing the threat of terrorist attack with 41% giving his job on this a positive rating, down from 49% who said so in August. Two in five Americans also give the President positive marks on the environment (40%, down from 43% in August) and education (40% up from 37% in August).
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,293 adults surveyed online between October 5 and 12, 2009 by Harris Interactive.
President Obama is dealing with two different wars - one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan - and the American public is not pleased with his handling of either of them. In August two in five U.S. adults (42%) gave the president positive marks on his handling of the war in Iraq. Currently, that number has dropped to 34% while 66% give President Obama negative ratings on this war. The numbers for Afghanistan have gone down even more. In August, two in five (41%) gave the president positive ratings on the war in Afghanistan but now just one-quarter of Americans (27%) give him positive marks while 73% give him negative ratings.
The president has also spent a great deal of time trying to win the American public's support for his health reform plan but does not seem to be making much headway on this issue. Just three in ten Americans (31%) give President Obama positive ratings on his handling of health care while 69% give him negative ratings. In August, over one-third (35%) of U.S. adults gave the president positive ratings on this issue.
Looking at economic issues at least two-thirds of Americans give him negative ratings on all of these issues. On the economy overall, 67% give the president negative marks while one-third (33%) give him positive ones. In September, 40% gave President Obama positive marks on his handling of the economy. More specifically on his handling of regulating the financial system three in ten Americans (31%) give the president positive ratings while 69% give him negative marks. In August, 37% of Americans gave the president's job on this positive marks.
When it comes to the issue of taxes, three in ten Americans (29%) give the president positive marks on his handling of this issue while 71% give him negative ratings. Just one-quarter of Americans (26%) gives the president's handling of employment/unemployment a positive rating, down from 31% who felt this way in August. And, his lowest number is on the federal budget deficit where almost four in five Americans (78%) give President Obama negative marks and only 22% give him positive ratings.
So what?
The President needs a win, whether it is health care reform, some good economic numbers that matter to the American people or a change in Afghanistan. But, until he has something that resonates with the American public in a positive light, there is a sense that a negative attitude will permeate over all issues. One thing to note, education has actually ticked up a little and the White House had put forth their new education initiatives recently. Maybe this is the one issue that they should focus on for the near term, as long as they don't take their eye off of the economy.
Pennsylvania employers shed another 10,300 jobs in September, according to new employment figures released today by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry.
The Rendell Administration is attempting to put the best possible spin on the continuing bad news by pointing out that Pennsylvania's 8.8% unemployment rate "remained below the United States' unemployment rate, which rose one-tenth of a point to 9.8 percent."
Doesn't that make you feel better, especially if your unemployment benefits are about to run out?
The bottom line is that Ed Rendell, Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats have done a terrible job dealing with economic issues, resulting in record unemployment.
From the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry:
Pennsylvania's seasonally adjusted civilian labor force -- the number of people working or looking for work -- rose by 9,000 in September to 6,368,000.
Employment was unchanged in September, while resident unemployment rose by 9,000.
The Pennsylvania labor force was down 55,000 from September 2008.
Pennsylvania's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was up one-tenth of a percentage point to 8.8 percent in September.
The state rate remained below the United States' unemployment rate, which rose one-tenth of a point to 9.8 percent.
Pennsylvania's rate was up 3.2 percentage points from September 2008, while the U.S. rate was up 3.6 percentage points in the 12-month period.
Pennsylvania's seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs count dropped by 10,300 jobs in September.
The majority of the job losses were among service providing industries, however, the Professional and Business Services sector added 2,700 jobs.
Pennsylvania job count was down 198,100, or 3.4 percent, since September 2008. Nationally, jobs were down 4.2 percent over the same time period.
You too can be a Nobel Prize winner, says columnist Gil Spencer.
Here's how his hilarious new column starts out:
Only one of these actually happened...
1. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama’s vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.
2. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to ... President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his dream of a carbon-free Iran and his pursuit of a peaceful nuclear energy program. The committee also commends Mr. Ahmadinejad for keeping the peace in his country after rioters took to the streets demanding excessive and unreasonable democratic rights.
3. And the winner is ... Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for his promises to aid the poor people of his country and advocating a "socialism for the 21st century" that includes nationalization of industries and greater government control over the media. He has been an outspoken critic of cowboy foreign policy as practiced by the yet-to-be-convicted war criminal, George W. Bush.
To fully grasp the absurdity of Brack Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize, you have to review how the selection is made. It was recently revealed that the deadline for nominations came just 12 days into the presidency of Barack Obama, so The Chosen One was not selected based on his first 9 months in office, but on his first 12 days as president.
Tommy De Seno takes a look at Obama's first 12 days in the White House according to his public schedule to see what he did to deserve a Nobel Peace Prize in a priceless post at FOXNews.com
Some of the highlights of his first 12 days include "lunch with Joe Biden" and throwing a Super Bowl party. How's that for furthering the cause of world peace?
'Absurd decision on Obama makes a mockery of the Nobel peace prize'
From a scathing commentary by Michael Binyon in The Times of London over the decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama:
The award of this year's Nobel peace prize to President Obama will be met with widespread incredulity, consternation in many capitals and probably deep embarrassment by the President himself.
Rarely has an award had such an obvious political and partisan intent. It was clearly seen by the Norwegian Nobel committee as a way of expressing European gratitude for an end to the Bush Administration, approval for the election of America’s first black president and hope that Washington will honour its promise to re-engage with the world.
Instead, the prize risks looking preposterous in its claims, patronising in its intentions and demeaning in its attempt to build up a man who has barely begun his period in office, let alone achieved any tangible outcome for peace.
Read the full column, "Absurd decision on Obama makes a mockery of the Nobel peace prize," at the newspaper's Web site.
When I first saw the headline "Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize," I thought it was an April Fools joke. Then I looked the calendar and figured out it was not a prank. It's still a joke, but it really happened. Then I remembered that this is the same outfit that gave Jimmy Carter and Al Gore the same prize. That explains a lot.
Here's reaction to the news from around the blogosphere:
From Another Black Conservative: This has to be the most absurd thing I have ever seen in all my life. Obama has done absolutely nothing to earn the award and his efforts to rid the world of nuclear weapons has all the potential for an epic failure.
From Legal Insurrection: My initial reaction to Obama getting the Nobel Peace Prize was that this was Obamamania gone wild. That's part of it. But I think there is more to it. The internationalists have tied Obama's hands. Will Obama continue ordering drones to bomb houses in Pakistan? Will he listen to the military as to how to win in Afghanistan? Is there any choice but to consent to an Iranian nuclear weapon? Will the Peace Prize winner take all military options off the table?
From NW Republican: Not that I ever thought that Obama would not some day win the Nobel Peace prize. But this one? Now? Don't you think that this instance de-legitimizes the entire award? Something tells me that perhaps deep inside the bowls of the White House there are some folks who are a bit embarrassed over this.
From Warning Signs: Giving the prize to Barack Hussein Obama has rendered it a joke. In office less than a year, Obama has, in the words of a recent Saturday Night Live satirical skit, done "nothing" to deserve what once was one of the highest international accolades anyone could receive.
The Obama recession continues as the U.S. unemployment reached 9.8 percent in September.
It's the highest unemployment rate since June 1983, according to The Associated Press.
The Obama/Pelosi "stimulus" package, approved in February, has been a bust, with more than 15.1 million Americans out of work - 3 million more than when Obama took office.
From The Associated Press:
The Labor Department said Friday that the economy lost a net total of 263,000 jobs last month, from a downwardly revised 201,000 in August. That's worse than Wall Street economists' expectations of 180,000 job losses, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.
The unemployment rate rose from 9.7 percent in August, matching expectations.
If laid-off workers who have settled for part-time work or have given up looking for new jobs are included, the unemployment rate rose to 17 percent, the highest on records dating from 1994.
All told, 15.1 million Americans are now out of work, the department said. And 7.2 million jobs have been eliminated since the recession began in December 2007.
The department said 571,000 of the unemployed dropped out of the work force last month, presumably out of frustration over the lack of jobs. That sent the participation rate, or the percentage of the population either working or looking for work, to a 23-year low.
The unemployment rate would have topped 10 percent if the labor force hadn't shrank.
Older, laid-off workers are dropping out and requesting Social Security at a faster-than-expected pace, according to government officials. The Social Security Administration said earlier this week that applications for retirement benefits are 23 percent higher than last year, while disability claims have risen by about 20 percent.
Inflation Could Spell End of U.S. Financial System
This is scary stuff. If the policies of Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats are not stopped, we will see the collapse of the United States.
From the National Inflation Association:
It took 25 years for our national debt to double from $257 billion in 1950 to over $533 billion in 1975. Most recently, our national debt has more than doubled from $5.8 trillion in 2001 to its current level of $11.8 trillion in just eight years. Our national debt is now growing three times faster that it did decades ago, which means we should expect a very minimum of three times faster inflation.
This is indoctrination at its worst. And this is a public school, supported by tax collars. Does the separation of church and state apply when your church is Government and your deity is Barack Obama?
If you can't make out the sound, here is a transcript of the lyrics (2nd song sung to "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" -
Song 1: Mm, 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 fair 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
Song 2: (sing to the Battle Hymn of the Republic - everyone!) Hello, Mr. President we honor you today! For all your great accomplishments, we all doth say "hooray!"
Hooray, Mr. President! You're number one! The first black American to lead this great nation!
Hooray, Mr. President we honor your great plans To make this country's economy number one again!
Hooray Mr. President, we're really proud of you! And we stand for all Americans under the great Red, White, and Blue!
So continue ---- Mr. President we know you'll do the trick So here's a hearty hip-hooray ----
Hip, hip hooray! Hip, hip hooray! Hip, hip hooray!
Poll: 60% view Obama's handling of economy as negative
A new Harris Poll released shows growing discontentment over Barack Obama's handling of the economy.
Three in five Americans (60%) rate the job the president is doing on the economy as negative while two in five (40%) rate his job as positive, according to The Harris Poll.
The numbers are virtually unchanged from last month when 39% rated President Obama's economic job performance as positive and 61% rated it as negative, according to The Harris Poll.
More from The Harris Poll of 2,334 adults surveyed online between Sept. 8-15, 2009, by Harris Interactive:
Confidence in the White House
Confidence in the White House and the Administration to produce policies to help fix the economic crisis has dropped in the past month. In August, over half of Americans (53%) had confidence while 47% did not have confidence. One month later, over half of Americans (52%) now are not confident that the Obama Administration can produce policies to help fix the economic crisis while 48% are confident they will.
Financial conditions ahead
Overall, two in five Americans (40%) expect the economy to improve in the coming year while just over one-third (36%) say they expect it to stay the same and one-quarter (24%) believe it will get worse. In August, almost half (46%) of Americans believed the economy would improve in the coming year.
When it comes to household's financial situation, about half of Americans (48%) believe it will remain the same in the next six months while one-quarter (23%) say it will get better and three in ten (29%) believe it will get worse. This is almost unchanged from last month when 48% said it would remain the same, 24% said it would get better and 28% of Americans believed their household's financial situation would get worse.
The job market
When it comes to the job market, attitudes are mostly negative. Two-thirds of Americans (68%) say the current job market in their region of the country is bad while just one in ten (10%) say it is good and 22% believe it is neither good nor bad. Last month, 71% of Americans said the job market in their region was bad and 8% said it was good. Those in the West and Midwest are most negative about the job markets in their region (77% and 70% saying it is bad respectively) while 15% of Southerners say it is good.
Barack Obama and his media allies are jumping on the slightest bit of positive economic news to tell the American people that the recession is over.
Just tell that to the 15 million Americans who are out of work. Millions of those jobs have been lost during the Obama administration and most of them will never come back.
Today's headline: 42 states lose jobs in August, up from 29 in July
From The Associated Press:
WASHINGTON — Forty-two states lost jobs last month, up from 29 in July, with the biggest net payroll cuts coming in Texas, Michigan, Georgia and Ohio.
The Labor Department also reported Friday that 27 states saw their unemployment rates increase in August, and 14 states and Washington D.C., reported unemployment rates of 10 percent or above.
The report shows jobs remain scarce even as most analysts believe the economy is pulling out of the worst recession since the 1930s. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said earlier this week that the recovery isn't likely to be rapid enough to reduce unemployment for some time.
The jobless rate nationwide is expected to peak above 10 percent next year, from its current 9.7 percent.
Employers have eliminated 6.9 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007.
Texas lost 62,200 jobs as its unemployment rate rose to 8 percent in August for the first time in 22 years. The state's leisure, construction and manufacturing industries were hardest hit, losing 35,500 jobs.
Michigan saw 42,900 jobs disappear, including 15,000 in manufacturing, as the state continued to suffer along with its struggling auto industry.
Michigan's unemployment rate rose to 15.2 percent, the highest in the nation. When its jobless rate topped 15 percent in June it was the first time any state surpassed that mark since 1984.
Nevada has the second-highest rate at 13.2 percent, followed by Rhode Island at 12.8 percent and California and Oregon at 12.2 percent each.
The jobless rates in California, Nevada and Rhode Island were the highest on records dating to 1976. California and Nevada have been slammed by the housing bust, while Rhode Island has lost thousands of manufacturing and government jobs in the past year.
Georgia and Ohio reported the third and fourth-highest job losses, respectively, but their unemployment rates both fell as many of the unemployed dropped out of the work force.
A guest column from Tony Perkins of the Family Research Center on the hysterical left's use of race to shut down all criticism of the Obama administration.
Race Card: Sign of Desperation
By Tony Perkins
Yesterday, the House voted 240 to 179 to censure Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) for saying the President was lying about aspects of his health care reform plan. What was more telling than the vote was the rhetoric that surrounded it. Those pushing to publicly flog Wilson avoided the subject at hand, the health care reform plan and whether or not the President's statements were false.
Rather, House members like Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) used the opportunity to say Wilson 's actions were motivated by racial animus. In an interview with CNN, Johnson said "I guess we'll probably have folks putting on white hoods and white uniforms again and riding through the countryside, intimidating people. That's the logical conclusion if this kind of attitude is not rebuked." On ABC's World News, referring to Wilson's comments, Lee said "Hate speech can turn into hate crimes."
Working out of the Left's classic playbook, former President Jimmy Carter, interviewed on NBC Nightly News, chimed in not only on Wilson's comments but on the public opposition to the President's liberal plans saying, "I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he's African-American."
This is a classic move by the Left when they can't win the policy debate; they try to marginalize their opponents by calling them racist.
Six Republican Senators have written a letter to President Obama questioning the president's continued reliance on "czars" to run key parts of the government.
"These positions raise serious issues of accountability, transparency, and oversight," the letter states. "The creation of "czars," particularly within the Executive Office of the President, circumvents the constitutionally established process of "advise and consent," greatly diminishes the ability of Congress to conduct oversight and hold officials accountable, and creates confusion about which officials are responsible for policy decisions."
The letters was signed by Sens. Susan M. Collins, Lamar Alexander, Christopher S. Bond, Mike Crapo, Pat Roberts and Robert F. Bennett.
Read the full text of the letter at the link below:
At least 75,000 (or upwards of 1.5 million Americans by some accounts) marched in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Sept. 12, against the Obama Administration, the Democratic-led Congress and out-of-control big government in general.
It was one of the largest citizen-demonstrations in the nation's history.
But the liberal media largely ignored the protest or worked overtime to spin the story as some fringe-element demonstrating against a black president.
Some of the best (and unbiased coverage) of the event could be found in European newspapers, argues Investor's Business Daily.
"When Americans have to turn to the foreign press for truthful reports of the size of popular protests in Washington, it's time to wonder: Are we dominated by "state-run media"? the newspaper asks.
From the editorial:
When a million people travel to our nation's capital to object to excessive government spending, and the taxes they have to pay to sustain it, it constitutes a grass-roots force to be reckoned with.
But underestimates of the crowds by the so-called "mainstream media," along with their focus on the most extremist signs and slogans they could find (gun rights, for instance, or the president sporting a Hitler mustache), gave administration officials an opportunity to downplay the march's significance.
Read the full editorial, "Taking It To The Streets," at the newspaper's Web site.
The Independence Hall Tea Party Association, which sent 14 buses from the Delaware Valley to Washington, D.C., on Saturday, is holding a rally against President Obama at 4 PM Tuesday, just prior to Obama's appearance at fundraiser for Sen. Arlen Specter at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
From a press released issued by the group:
"We are rallying against Obamacare, Cap and Trade, and this administration's massive expansion of the federal government" said Organizer Chris Clemency. "We want the President to understand that Saturday's march on Washington, attended by at least 1.5 million Americans, is just the beginning of our efforts to stop his agenda."
"In just six short months, President Obama has tripled the deficit and quadrupled the national debt," he said. "Never before in the history of America has the government moved so quickly to spend so much money—it will ultimately lead to high taxation and even higher inflation."
Obama will headline a fund raising dinner for turncoat Arlen Specter, who was elected as a Republican but recently switched to the Democratic Party in order to strengthen his re-election prospects.
"Both Obama and Specter represent the politics of old," said protest organizer Teri Adams. "They do not represent the politics of hope and change." "We will continue to hold these demonstrations and fight on until the American public realizes these men do not represent the people's interests, but their own."
The Independence Hall Tea Party Association is a grassroots organization formed after Philadelphia Tea Party II held on Independence Mall on April 18th as part of the Tax Week Tea Party Protests also held nationwide.
Congressman Joe "You Lie!" Wilson notwithstanding, Barack Obama appears to have received a boost from last Wednesday's health care speech to a joint session of Congress.
A new Rasmussen Reports poll shows 48 percent of voters supporting Obama's plans for government-run health care although another 48 percent oppose it.
From Rasmussen Reports:
The post-speech bounce continues with the nation now evenly divided over the health care reform plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats, but the increase in support is still coming from Democratic voters rallying to their leader.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone poll shows 48% of voters favor the plan and 48% are opposed. That's up from 43% support at the end of August and from 44% earlier this week. Support has been growing since the president's speech to Congress Wednesday night aimed at getting his troubled health care initiative back on track.
Thirty percent (30%) Strongly Favor the plan while 40% are Strongly Opposed (see day-by-day numbers). In late August, just 23% were strongly in favor of the plan and 43% were strongly opposed.
Despite the spin from the Obama media about the U.S. has "turned the corner" on the current recession, there are ominous signs that the failed Obama economic policies of the past nine months could set the stage for even worse times ahead.
"The dollar is weakening, gold is hitting new highs and some foreign officials now want an alternative to the U.S. currency," writes Investor's Business Daily. "If you're looking for a market verdict on U.S. economic policy, look no further."
From the editorial:
As Heritage Foundation economist Brian Riedl notes, Washington is set to spend $30,958 per household this year — taking $17,576 in taxes and borrowing the rest from our kids.
If this were a temporary thing, it might not be so bad. But we're boosting federal spending from the 18%-to-22%-of-GDP range that has prevailed since World War II to 26% this year. And if Congress and the White House get their way, spending will stay at least that high forever — in effect, a 30% rise in real spending and taxes.
Investors worry about surging U.S. government debt, conservatively expected to grow by nearly $10 trillion over the next decade. Since every dollar the government spends comes from the private sector, that won't leave much for private investment here.
And this doesn't even count our exploding entitlements problem. We owe $51 trillion to Social Security and Medicare over the next 50 years or so — about $205,000 per person alive today.
By our foolish fiscal choices, we're in effect opting for stagnation and inflation over growth and prosperity. New regulations and government control of the auto, banking and financial services industries will lower corporate profits. So will higher taxes on individuals to pay for it all.
As Barack Obama attempts to salvage some form of health care reform with a prime time speech to a joint session of Congress, a new Associated Press-GfK poll says 52 of Americans oppose Obamacare.
The poll also finds Obama's job approval numbers heading south.
From The Associated Press:
With his health revamp moving slowly and unemployment edging ever higher, Obama's overall approval rating has also suffered a blow. The survey showed that 49 percent now disapprove of how he is handling his job as president, up from 42 percent who disapproved in July.
The grade people give Obama on health care also has worsened since July, when just 43 percent disapproved of his work on the issue.
The poll underscores how the president has struggled to win public support to reshape the nation's $2.5 trillion health care system and to put the brakes on a deep recession.
Forty-nine percent say they oppose the health overhaul plans being considered by Congress, compared to just 34 percent who favor them.
Obama's marks are also poor on the economy, with 52 percent saying they disapprove of how he's handled that issue.
A similar number disapprove of his handling of taxes, some of which may rise to help finance his health overhaul. And 56 percent dislike his handling of the budget deficit, which has skyrocketed under the costs of the financial bailouts and a recession that has caused sinking federal revenues.
Left unchecked, Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid plan to run up higher deficits over the next 10 years than all American presidents and Congress have incurred in the last 230 years.
From DefeatTheDebt.com:
Think America is "Unsinkable?"
Every year, the government spends hundreds of billions of dollars it doesn't have, and we sink deeper and deeper into debt. We cannot afford to go down with this ship.
The national debt will grow by more than $9 trillion, according to an August 2009 report by the White House Office of Management and Budget.
How much is $9 trillion, or even $1 trillion? Confronted with enormous numbers like millions, billions and trillions, it's helpful to use comparisons with other contexts. For example, one million seconds will pass in just 12 days. One billion seconds is almost 32 years. And one trillion seconds? That’s 31,688 years. One trillion dollars is a lot of money, and over the next decade the US federal government will borrow that sum nine times over — more than $9 trillion.
In the next 10 years, the federal government will borrow trillions of dollars for spending it cannot afford. But the American people will eventually have to pay the price for this irresponsible borrowing.
The federal deficit for the current fiscal year is four times higher than it was under George W. Bush. And keep in mind that Democrats have controlled Congress since 2007 and have approved record spending and record debt since then.
Under Barack Obama, the national debt will reach astronomical and unsustainable levels as the U.S. heads toward bankruptcy and national suicide.
A non-partisan group called Defeat the Debt has launched a public service campaign to inform Americans how serious the debt problem is. Here is the first of three articles on the subject:
How Much is a Trillion Dollars?
The national debt is larger than ever before, and experts predict it will only continue to expand.
The national debt will grow by more than $9 trillion, according to an August 2009 report by the White House Office of Management and Budget.
In July of 2009, the Congressional Budget Office and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation released their analysis of America's Affordable Health Choices Act. They estimated the bill would add an additional net deficit of $1.042 trillion over the next decade. In January of 2008, Social Security's unfunded liabilities were estimated at $6.6 trillion, and Medicare unfunded liabilities totaled more than $36.3 trillion, according to the GAO's Fiscal Year 2008 Financial Report of the United States Government. In addition to our current national debt of more than $11.6 trillion, our future obligations to Social Security and Medicare total $43 trillion.
How much is $9 trillion, or even $1 trillion? Confronted with enormous numbers like millions, billions and trillions, it's helpful to use comparisons with other contexts. For example, one million seconds will pass in just 12 days. One billion seconds is almost 32 years. And one trillion seconds? That's 31,688 years. One trillion dollars is a lot of money, and over the next decade the US federal government will borrow that sum nine times over — more than $9 trillion.
In the next 10 years, the federal government will borrow trillions of dollars for spending it cannot afford. But the American people will eventually have to pay the price for this irresponsible borrowing.
As we approach Labor Day, the government reports that the U.S. lost another 216,000 jobs in August, bringing the unemployment rate to a 26-year-high of 9.7 percent. There are now nearly 15 million Americans looking for work. The Obama recession continues.
A new CNN/Opinion Dynamics poll shows a majority of voters who consider themselves Independents disapprove of President Obama's job performance by a 53-43% margin.
This same poll had Obama's overall job approval number at 76% in February. It's now down to 53% -- a drop of 23 percentage points in six months.
Has it been 200 days since Barack Obama signed the centerpiece of his economic recovery plan, the $787 billion "stimulus" package passed the Democratic Congress?
How's that stimulus working out for you? No so well if you are one of the 2.2 million Americans who have lost a job since Obama signed the stimulus.
The Republican National Committee has compiled a 61-page recap of the Obama rhetoric and reality surrounding that stimulus plan.
From the report, CLAIMS VS. REALITY: Obama's Failed Economic Experiment:
It is appropriate on the 200th day of the stimulus to look back at exactly what the stimulus has accomplished. The answer is very little. What it has done, however, is give the American people a $787 billion bill they cannot afford. In this report, you will find 200 claims that President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, senior Administration officials and Congressional Democrats have made about the stimulus. None of these claims match reality.
When the stimulus passed, President Obama and Congressional Democrats promised the stimulus would be a targeted, timely and transparent effort to create jobs immediately. This compilation of 200 claims shows that promise has not been kept. Job losses continue, stimulus spending has been slow, and as even the Vice President has said, ― "we know some of this money is going to be wasted."
The Obama Administration and Pelosi-Reid Congressional Democrats have boldly declared that the stimulus is working and they have ― "rescued the economy," but facts are stubborn things. Unemployment is still high and the deficit is out of control. These are not reasons to declare victory.
I know the Kool Aid drinkers on the left will say that we have to give Obama more time, but 200 days is a long time to go down the wrong path. Eventually, we'll never find our way back unless we change direction.
Unemployment is rising, consumer confidence is lagging and the national debt is growing at astronomical rates under Obama. Are you better off today than you were six months ago?
From RNC Chairman Michael Steele:
"In the end, the stimulus is another failed experiment by the President that Americans cannot afford. Instead of creating jobs, millions are unemployed and billions have been added to our deficit. 200 days of this stimulus are 200 days too long."
You can download the full 61-page report in PDF format here.
Anyone who posts comments on the White House's Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Twitter pages will have their statements captured and permanently archived by the federal government, according to a plan that the White House is now seeking a contractor to carry out.
The Executive Office of the President is looking for a private contractor to capture and archive comments and information posted on social networking and new media sites where the White House has established a presence. While the Presidential Records Act (PRA) generally requires that the administration preserve information generated by the president and his staff, the White House says that in seeking to collect and preserve comments made by common citizens on social networking sites it is acting "out of an abundance of caution" to comply with the law.
In mid-August, the White House put out a "request for quotation" (RFQ)which seeks bids from private firms for the project. Under the terms stated by the White House, the contractor would have broad responsibilities in collecting information from White House related Web pages.
The RFQ for bids says the contractor is to "capture, store, [and] extract" information that will be transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for permanent storage. According to the White House proposal, the information involved will include the "capture of comments and publicly visible tags posted by users" on publicly accessible Web sites where the White House has established a presence.
That's the minimum number of Pennsylvania jobs that would be lost if the Waxman-Markey bill, better known as Cap-and-Trade, is passed by the Senate. The House already approved the bill and President Obama said he would sign it if passes both chambers of Congress.
The 71,500 estimate comes from the National Association of Manufacturers, which commissioned a study to look at the impact of the Waxman-Markey bill in each state. The job loss number could go as high as 97,500 in Pennsylvania.
More from the study:
Higher energy prices would have ripple impacts on prices throughout the economy and would impose a financial cost on households. Pennsylvania would see disposable household income reduced by $148 to $285 per year by 2020 and $926 to $1,507 by 2030.
The study concluded that bill would cots 2.4 million jobs across the United States.
To review the complete study, visit the National Association of Manufacturers Web site, http://www.nam.org/
Six months of failure under the Democratic leadership of Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid has convinced 7 in 10 Americans that big government liberalism is not the way to go, according to a new poll.
From the latest Rasmussen Reports:
Seventy percent (70%) of likely voters now favor a government that offers fewer services and imposes lower taxes over one that provides more services with higher taxes, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
That’s up five points over the past month and is the highest level measured in nearly three years.
Just 19% would prefer a government that provides more services in exchange for higher taxes, down five points from July and the lowest level in over two years. This marks the first time the percentage of voters who prefer this type of government has fallen below 20%.
Most Republicans (88%) and voters not affiliated with either major party (78%) like a government with lower taxes and fewer services, and 48% of Democrats agree. However, one-in-three Democrats (34%) prefer more government services and higher taxes.
White House estimates of a $9 trillion budget deficit over the next 10 years ($2 trillion more than the White House predicted just a few months ago) are still way off the real deficit projections, according to an editorial in The Wall Street Journal.
The Congressional Budget Office predicts that debt held by the public as a share of GDP, which was 40.8% in 2008, will rise to 67.8% in 2019 — and then keep climbing after that, says the newspaper.
The CBO says this is "unsustainable," but even this forecast may be optimistic, the newspaper says.
From the editorial:
The real fiscal crisis in Washington is that neither Congress nor the White House are offering any escape from these trillion-dollar deficits. Mr. Obama has not called for automatic and immediate spending cuts. He has not proposed eliminating hundreds of wasteful programs. To the contrary, the White House still hasn't ruled out another fiscal stimulus, as if a $1.6 trillion deficit isn't Keynesian stimulus enough. The Administration's celebrated scrub through the budget this summer identified $17 billion in agency savings. That's what Uncle Sam is borrowing every three days.
Obamanomics has turned into an unprecedented experiment in runaway government with no plan to pay for it, save, perhaps, for a big future toll on the middle class such as a value-added tax. White House budget director Peter Orszag promises that next year's budget will have a "plan to put the nation on a fiscally sustainable path." Hide the children.
Read the full editorial, "The Pelosi-Obama Deficits," at the newspaper's Web site.
Harris Poll: Americans Give Obama Negative Ratings on 12 Issues
Bad news across the board for Barack Obama and his failed presidency from the latest Harris Poll:
As President Obama's overall job approval remains just barely positive, when presented with a list of 12 issues he is currently facing, the American public believes that the job he is doing on all 12 of them is negative. The one that is closest to an even split among adults is reducing the threat of terrorist attacks against the United States where just over half of Americans (51%) give the president negative ratings and 49% give him positive ratings.
These are some of the findings of The Harris Poll, a new nationwide survey of 2,498 U.S. adults surveyed online between August 10 and 18, 2009 by Harris Interactive.
Looking at the economic issue overall, three in five Americans (61%) give President Obama negative ratings on the economy, while 39% give him positive ones. In June, 43% of Americans gave President Obama positive ratings on the economy. When it comes to specific economic issues, the news is worse for the president. On regulating the financial system, 63% give President Obama negative marks and on taxes two-thirds of Americans (67%) give him negative marks. Seven in ten Americans give the president negative ratings on employment/ unemployment (69%) and social security (70%) while over three-quarters (77%) give him negative marks on the job he is doing on the federal budget.
Looking at the environment, 57% of Americans give President Obama negative marks for his handling of that issue. When it comes to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the American public is of a similar mind. Almost three in five U.S. adults (58%) give President Obama negative marks on his handling of the war in Iraq and 59% give him negative ratings on his handling of the war in Afghanistan. More than three in five Americans give President Obama negative ratings on the overall job he is doing on education (63%) and health care (65%).
There is also a generation divide on these issues. The youngest generation, Echo Boomers (those aged 18-32) are less likely to give President Obama negative ratings on 11 of the 12 issues. On one, the environment, Baby Boomers are the most "positive" on the job the president has done. In comparison, Matures (those aged 64 and older) and more likely to give President Obama negative ratings on 11 of the 12 issues. On social security, Gen Xers (those aged 33-44) are the most negative.
Barack Obama begins a 10-day vacation with his job approval numbers continuing to sink.
From Rasmussen Reports:
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows that 29% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-nine percent (39%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -10 This is the first time since July 31 that the President's Approval Index has fallen to negative double digits.
The Obama media is proclaiming that the recession is over. Tell that to the nearly 16 million Americans who are out of work. That's about 1 in 10 Americans.
Barack Obama's job approval numbers melting with the August heat. His approval rating has dropped 16 percentage points in just six months, worse than any other president in his first term in office since polling began.
The faltering economy and the ill-conceived health care plan have combined to drop Obama's job approval rating to 49%, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports.
"Last November, the President won 53% of the vote nationwide. His overall approval has now been below 53% among likely voters every day for a month," Rasmussen Reports states.
More from Rasmussen Reports:
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows that 30% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-eight percent (38%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -8.
Forty-four percent (44%) of voters now trust Republicans more than Democrats on health care. Forty-one percent (41%) trust the Democrats more. While those numbers are essentially a toss-up, they represent a significant shift in opinion. It’s the first time Republicans have held any advantage on health care in years of tracking the issue. In June, the Democrats held a ten-point advantage on health care.
The Presidential Approval Index is calculated by subtracting the number who Strongly Disapprove from the number who Strongly Approve. Overall, 48% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance. That's up a point from yesterday but down five points from a month ago.
Last November, the President won 53% of the vote nationwide. His overall approval has now been below 53% among likely voters every day for a month.
Responding to a questioner who expressed concern about Obamacare eliminating private insurance options, Barack Obama had this to say today at a town hall gathering in Portsmouth, N.H.: "I have not said that I was a single payer supporter."
That is not what Barack Obama said in an earlier forum on government-run health care. His exact words were: "I happen to be a proponent of a single payer universal health care plan."
Do you get the idea now that you can't trust anything Obama says?
A guest column by Robert Romano, senior editor at Americans for Limited Government.
The Rise of the Obama Police State — An Early Demonstration?
By Robert Romano
"We don't want interacting," said the police officer, to the shock of the conservative activist holding the camera. She was in Baton Rouge, LA, filming a demonstration by ACORN in favor of Barack Obama's proposed government-run health care. And what she had just witnessed, as the officer led the offending man away who had dared speak to the activist, was nothing short of the disruption of free speech, of the press, and of the right to assemble — by the police.
As reported by the Examiner, "Things took a surprising and dangerous turn when a police officer, clearly sympathetic to the ACORN rally, attempts to shut down the opposition. At one point, during a very civil discussion between an opponent and a supporter of the president's plan, the police officer returned and actually told the individuals opposing the president's plan they were not allowed to speak. The man in blue shirt, a supporter of the president's plan, later returns and attempts to defend the free speech rights of the counter protesters."
For all intents and purposes, she was reporting on the demonstration. And yet, every time she attempted to converse with opponents of ObamaCare, the police intervened. Not exactly what one would call the protection of unalienable rights. It looks more like a police state — in its infancy.
On Wikipedia, a police state is described, "The inhabitants of a police state experience restrictions on their mobility, and on their freedom to express or communicate political or other views, which are subject to police monitoring or enforcement." Exactly what was seen in Baton Rouge.
In this case, nobody was arrested. But it is troubling, to say the least, that the police were apparently ordered to disrupt any interaction between supporters and opponents of ObamaCare, even ones that were perfectly willing to debate.
"We disagree. We can have a civil conversation and talk while we walk. We disagree. It's fine," said one ObamaCare supporter, who too was disgusted by the police action.
Really, the ones who had obviously expressed a desire to avoid even civil discourse of their views were the ACORN demonstrators. Of course, there is no such thing as freedom from speech, or debate. But if one does not like what is being said, they can simply move to the other side of the street.
But since they were protesting, wasn't the point to defend their views? When they put themselves out there, as members of a self-described public interest organization, they actually are public figures — a part of the national political debate. That makes the views expressed by the organization subject to public scrutiny by press or citizen journalists alike.
Instead, in Omerica, apparently there is the stunning emergence of a political elite. They are beyond reproach and criticism. And the police will see to that, as can be seen in this appalling display.
Robert Romano is the ALG Senior News Editor. For more, visit GetLiberty.org
America's third largest party has called on Barack Obama and the Democratic Party to end what appears to be "a budding campaign of union violence targeted at citizens who differ with the White House" over Obamacare.
The Libertarian Party opposes not only the White House's plans for government-run medicine, but the use of violence to achieve political or social goals, says Donny Ferguson, Libertarian National Committee Communications Director.
From a press release issued by the Libertarian Party condemning the Gestapo-tactics orchestrated by the White House to silence critics of Obamacare:
"The Libertarian Party is founded on one principle. We do not support the initiation of force to achieve political or social goals," said Donny Ferguson, Libertarian National Committee Communications Director. "Democrats seem to think differently. When the Obama administration ordered Democrats to 'punch back twice as hard' against citizens who question them, Democrats responded. This Chicago-trained White House has brought Chicago-style union violence to small towns across America."
A Tampa Bay Tribune story and a video posted to the Drudge Report both report physical assaults on dissenting citizens by union organizers brought to meetings by Democrats. In Tampa, union organizers blocked citizens who differed with the White House from entering a public town hall with Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL,) and allegedly scuffled with some of them. A video posted to YouTube appears to show union organizers physically attacking citizens who disagreed with the White House.
"The White House told Democrat leaders Thursday (Aug. 6) to 'punch back twice as hard' when citizens express disapproval. That kind of irresponsible rhetoric is never proper when discussing popular dissent. The also made it clear they will bend Senate rules and force through government-run health care whether or not America supports it. That is a frightening departure from the traditional American practice of governing though popular will," said Ferguson.
"If bringing in union thugs is an attempt by Democrats to scare citizens into not questioning them, it won't work. Union violence may be how communities are organized in Chicago, but the American people won’t stand for people who think violence is the proper response to the fact they no longer have majority support."
"Americans still believe in the consent of the governed. Libertarians urge Democrats to listen to the American people, call off their union enforcers and drop their wildly unpopular scheme of government-run medicine," said Ferguson.
For more information on this issue, visit Libertarian Party Web site at http://www.LP.org
Chilling post by Jeff Emanuel at RedState.com about the network of informants Obama has set up to spy on fellow Americans who resist his socialist agenda. This is only the beginning of the totalitarian state Obama and his followers want to set up.
From Emanuel's post:
If you see anybody publicly opposing President Obama's plan to implement a government-centric overhaul of the health care system, the White House wants you to report that person (or persons) ASAP.
From the White House Web site:
There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows that 30% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-eight percent (38%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -8.
Overall, 50% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance. Forty-nine percent (49%) now disapprove. Starting today, a new graphic has been added to this page highlighting the President’s overall levels of approval.
The Presidential Approval Index is calculated by subtracting the number who Strongly Disapprove from the number who Strongly Approve.
Why is President Barack Obama in such a hurry to get his socialized medicine bill passed?
Because he and his cunning circle realize some basic truths:
The American people in their unimaginable kindness and trust voted for a pig in a poke in 2008. They wanted so much to believe Barack Obama was somehow better and different from other ultra-leftists that they simply took him on faith.
They ignored his anti-white writings in his books. They ignored his quiet acceptance of hysterical anti-American diatribes by his minister, Jeremiah Wright.
They ignored his refusal to explain years at a time of his life as a student. They ignored his ultra-left record as a "community organizer," Illinois state legislator, and Senator.
The American people ignored his total zero of an academic record as a student and teacher, his complete lack of scholarship when he was being touted as a scholar.
Now, the American people are starting to wake up to the truth. Barack Obama is a super likeable super leftist, not a fan of this country, way, way too cozy with the terrorist leaders in the Middle East, way beyond naïveté, all the way into active destruction of our interests and our allies and our future.
The American people have already awakened to the truth that the stimulus bill -- a great idea in theory -- was really an immense bribe to Democrat interest groups, and in no way an effort to help all Americans.
Now, Americans are waking up to the truth that ObamaCare basically means that every time you are sick or injured, you will have a clerk from the Department of Motor Vehicles telling your doctor what he can and cannot do.
So let me see if I get this straight. The "Cash for Clunkers" program is the only part of the $787 billion stimulus package that is working, so the Obama administration pulls the plug on it. Is that about right? Makes perfect sense.
House Minority Leader John Boehner made a good point today:
"There are a lot of questions about how the administration administered this program. If they can't handle something as simple as this, how would we handle health care?" the Ohio Republican told The Associated Press.
And this from Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., who has heard complaints from dealerships about how incompetent the government is on a fairly straightforward program.
"The federal government can't process a simple rebate. I've got dealers who have submitted the paperwork three times and have gotten three rejections," Hoekstra told the AP. "What is a dealer supposed to do?"
Poll: Just 23% Believe Health Care Costs Will Go Down under Obamacare
Why is Barack Obama expending so much energy on a health care reform bill that will not lower the cost of health care for the average American family?
It's clear most Americans have figured out that Obamacare is the latest big-government plan to move the nation toward socialism.
From Rasmussen Reports:
Americans are fairly evenly divided on the health care reform proposals working their way through Congress, but most remain convinced that the plans will raise costs and hurt the quality of the care they receive.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 47% are in favor of the reform effort proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats while 49% are opposed. Those figures include 25% who Strongly Favor the plans and 41% who are Strongly Opposed.
The specifics of what will be in a health care reform plan remains hotly debated in Congress at the moment. When a final proposal emerges, it is possible that support could move significantly in either direction.
Currently, 76% of Democrats favor the proposal and 76% of Republicans are opposed. Among the unaffiliated, 35% are in favor and 60% are opposed. Notably, just 16% of unaffiliateds Strongly Favor the legislative effort while 47% Strongly Oppose it.
It's time to pull the plug on Obamacare. We've seen the damage Obama and his minions have done to the economy. Do you want to entrust your family's health to Obama?
If you think it's tough now dealing with insurance companies and hospitals, wait until the federal government takes over the health care system.
The detailed flow chart above shows the complex health care reform proposal by Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats.
The chart identifies at least 31 new federal programs, agencies, commissions and mandates that accompany the unprecedented government takeover of health care in America.
"Why should any patient be forced to give control of their health care over to this Faustian pit of Washington bureaucracy?" asked Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX), the lead House Republican on the Joint Economic Committee.
"This government takeover has only one guaranteed result: to tell Americans what doctors you can see, what treatments you deserve and what medicines you can have."
These new levels of government bureaucracy, agencies, organization and programs will all be put directly between the patient and their health care.
This is why Obama and Nancy Pelosi are trying to rush the 1,018-page bill through Congress before anyone has a chance to read it or property debate it. Don't let them railroad your family's health care. Stop Obamcare now.
What goes up must come down, but how quickly the might Obama has fallen.
From Rasmussen Reports:
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows that 30% of the nation's voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-eight percent (38%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -8.
Just 25% believe that the economic stimulus package has helped the economy.
The Presidential Approval Index is calculated by subtracting the number who Strongly Disapprove from the number who Strongly Approve.
Overall, 49% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance. Today marks the first time his overall approval rating has ever fallen below 50% among Likely Voters nationwide. Fifty-one percent (51%) disapprove.
Eighty-three percent (83%) of Democrats continue to approve of the President’s performance while 80% of Republicans disapprove. Among those not affiliated with either major party, 37% offer a positive assessment. The President earns approval from 51% of women and 47% of men.
'How To Stop This Rush To Failure And Fix What Really Needs Fixing'
They rushed through a TARP bailout for banks that is full of fraud, waste and mismanagement.
They rushed through a $787 billion "stimulus" bill that is full of pork spending and has failed to create any jobs.
They rushed through an energy bill that is really a huge energy tax in disguise.
Now Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats want to rush through a $1.5 trillion government-run health care overhaul.
Haven't we learned anything from the mistakes of the past six months?
Paul Howard, director of the Center for Medical Progress at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, and Tarren Bragdon, chief executive officer of the Maine Heritage Policy Center, want to know why the rush to turn health care over to the government.
From their column in Investor's Business Daily:
Rather than fix the system's underlying problems (the tax treatment of health insurance and perverse payment systems in the Medicare and Medicaid programs), Democrats stand poised to heap more taxes, fees and regulations on private businesses and insurers. The only hope for fiscal sanity is the public's growing unease with Congress' profligate spending.
The Congressional Budget Office scored the original Kennedy-Dodd bill (from the Senate health committee) costing $1.5 trillion over 10 years, with similar tallies for other bills in the House and Senate.
The oddity is that White House experts suggest that as much as 30% of all health care spending — about $700 billion annually — in the U.S. is wasted every year, more than enough to pay for health coverage expansions and still have plenty left to pay down the deficit.
So where's the savings in Democrats' legislation?
Read the full column, "How To Stop This Rush To Failure And Fix What Really Needs Fixing," at the newspaper's Web site.
Inconvenient Truths About How Obamacare Will Affect You and Your Family
The Institute for Health Freedom wants Americans to know what's included in the Obamacare bill making its way through Congress:
* Eliminates Existing Private Insurance Coverage (i.e., Eliminates Your Choice of Insurance that Is Not "Acceptable" to the Federal Government, But Is Just Fine With You and Your Family)
* Includes the AMA-Backed/Insurance Industry-Backed Mandate for Individuals to Purchase Health Insurance
* Denies Coverage for Unlicensed Alternative Providers
* Paves the Way for Use of Machine-Readable Health-Plan ID Cards for Everyone
* Establishes a "Real Time" Data System (to Determine Financial Responsibility and Eligibility for Health Care)
* Promotes Child Home Visits
* Moves 83.4 million people from private to public insurance
* Includes a Single-Payer Health-Care Amendment
* Requires Everyone to Buy a Health Plan Essentially Written by the Federal HHS Secretary
Obama Puts Politics Before Principle in Abortion Coverage
Government-paid abortions is a major part of the health care reform Barack Obama is pushing. Explain to me again how that will help reduce the cost of health care for the average American?
Has anyone in Congress read the 1,018-page Obamacare bill?
American Legion: Veterans want no part of Obamacare
The national commander of the nation's largest veterans service organization says military and veterans health care should not be part of any national health care bill.
Reacting Barack Obama's urgent call for immediate Congressional approval of a government-run health care system, American Legion National Commander David K. Rehbein issued the following statement:
"While The American Legion appreciates the complexity of the health care reform challenge facing the President and Congress, on behalf of our nation's 26 million veterans and the nearly 2 million personnel now on active duty in more than 130 countries, we urge Congress to ensure that veterans' and military health care not be part of any national health care bill. They should be exempt in the legislation."
Rehbein added, "Our nation must maintain its long standing tradition that veterans' and military health care systems will remain independent and focused on our most deserving citizens.
"The American Legion has a proud tradition of securing and preserving the earned benefits of America's veterans," continued Rehbein. "Ensuring timely access to quality health care for today's military and veterans is of paramount concern. These are the citizens who have borne our battles in previous wars as they still are in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have earned our care the hard way. We, as a nation, have an obligation to ensure that their health care is not compromised," he concluded. With a current membership of 2.6 million wartime veterans, The American Legion was founded in 1919 on the four pillars of a strong national security, veterans affairs, Americanism, and the mentoring of youth. Legionnaires work for the betterment of their communities through more than 14,000 posts across the nation.
For more information about the American Legion visit its Web site, www.legion.org
America's third largest party urges Congress to take its time deliberating the proposed government takeover of the nation's health care system amid pressure from the Obama White House to quickly adopt the troubled proposal with minimal debate and most members of Congress not having read the bill.
From a release issued by the Libertarian Party:
Libertarians oppose the plan, which deepens the federal budget deficit and leads to the rationing of basic health care.
"As confidence in President Obama's plans for a federal government takeover of medicine plunges, the White House is pressuring legislators to rush to judgment while the plan can still be salvaged," said William Redpath, Libertarian National Committee Chairman. "We urge Congress to deliberate this massive government takeover carefully, take their time to allow Americans to read the full bill and then vote down this legislative disaster."
A poll conducted independently by the Gallup organization, not for any party or group, and released today shows disapproval of the Obama plan tops approval among adults by a 50 percent to 44 percent margin. Among political independents, the gap grows. Fifty-five percent of independents disapprove of Obama’s plan. Only 40 percent approve.
"The more we find out about the Democrat plan, whether it's the language on page 16 outlawing private insurance or Section 440 empowering government to visit your home and monitor your parenting, the more obvious it becomes why President Obama wants as little transparency as possible. As we saw during the rush to the Iraq war, nothing good can happen when the president demands Congress give him what he wants immediately and without debate," said Redpath.
The Libertarian Party is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting http://www.LP.org.
Barack Obama will use a prime-time televised news conference tonight to salvage his government-run health care plan. Good luck with that.
From Rasmussen Reports:
The health care reform legislation working its way through Congress has lost support over the past month. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 44% of U.S. voters are at least somewhat in favor of the reform effort while 53% are at least somewhat opposed.
Today's 44% level of support is down from 46% two weeks ago, and 50% in late June.
Opposition has grown from 45% in late June to 49% two weeks ago and 53% today. As in earlier surveys, those with strong opinions are more likely to oppose the plan rather than support it. The current numbers: 24% strongly favor and 37% strongly oppose.
The tide has turned. The more Americans learn about Obamacare, the less they like it. That's why Obama and Pelosi are trying to ram the bill through Congress before the August break. Like the stimulus bill and the cap-and-trade energy tax, the fewer membes of Congress who read the bill, the better chance it has of passing.
Poll: 54% say Obama taking nation in wrong direction
The honeymoon is officially over. On the six-month anniversary of start of Barack Obama presidency, a new Associated Press-GfK Poll finds a majority of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.
Asked if they would say the country is heading in the "right direction" or in the "wrong direction," 54% of Americans say the nation is headed in the "wrong direction." That's up from 46% in June.
I love the headline on AP's story on their own poll: "Great hopes for Obama fade to reality"
The reality is that Obama has made more mistakes in six months than presidents make over eight years. On the economy, social issues and foreign policy, Obama has made one disastrous decision after another.
And despite having the mainstream media run interference for him, the American people have finally figured out that Obama is all style and no substance.
From the Associated Press story by Nancy Benac and Trevor Tompson:
In Obama's case, the problems he's confronting domestically and internationally are legion, and his ability to blame them on his predecessor is fading. Challenges still abound in Iraq and Afghanistan. Unemployment, at 7.6 percent in January, hit 9.5 percent in June and is expected to keep rising well into next year. Almost 4 percent of homeowners with mortgages are in foreclosure, and an additional 8 percent are at least a month behind on payments — the highest levels since the Great Depression. The president is deep into the debate over how to overhaul the nation's health care system, and people are nervous about how their own insurance could be affected. Obama's critics are accusing him of conducting a risky "rand experiment" that will hurt the economy and could force millions to drop their current coverage.
And it's not just Obama who is slipping in the polls.
The job approval of the Democratically-controlled Congress — already historic low levels — continues to slide, dropping 6 percentage points to 32 percent, according to the poll.
From a disturbing report by Eamon Javers in Politico about Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats leading the U.S. to economic suicide:
A series of bailouts, bank rescues and other economic lifelines could end up costing the federal government as much as $23 trillion, the U.S. government’s watchdog over the effort says – a staggering amount that is nearly double the nation’s entire economic output for a year.
If the feds end up spending that amount, it could be more than the federal government has spent on any single effort in American history.
For the government to be on the hook for the total amount, worst-case scenarios would have to come to pass in a variety of federal programs, which is unlikely, says Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for the government’s financial bailout programs, in testimony prepared for delivery to the House oversight committee Tuesday.
The Treasury Department says less than $2 trillion has been spent so far.
Read the full story at POLITICO and call your representatives in Congress and tell them they will be out of a job in 2010 if they continue to follow Obama over a cliff.
Remember all the media hype about Obama bringing out tons of voters to cast ballots in the historic election of 2008? It didn't happen.
The share of eligible voters who actually went to the polls in November 2008 declined from November 2004, according to new U.S. Census figures.
A total of 63.6 percent of eligible voters, or 131.1 million people, cast ballots in the contest between Barack Obama and John McCain last November. The voter turnout in 2004 for the George W. Bush-John F. Kerry showdown was 63.8 percent.
While the total number of votes cast was higher by 5 million, the turnout was down, especially among older white Americans, according to the Census Bureau.
This is a case where people voted with their feet and none of the above resulted in Barack Obama as president. How's that "hope and change" working out for you now?
"The 2008 presidential election saw a significant increase in voter turnout among young people, blacks and Hispanics," said Thom File, a voting analyst with the Census Bureau's Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division. "But as turnout among some other demographic groups either decreased or remained unchanged, the overall 2008 voter turnout rate was not statistically different from 2004."
Read more from the new report, Voting and Registration in the Election of 2008, at the link below:
First Joe Biden, then Barack Obama and now Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke are fessing up they don't know what they're doing when it comes to the U.S. economy.
The Federal Reserve predicted today that unemployment will top 10 percent, despite earlier assurances from Obama that it would not go higher than 8 percent if his stimulus package was approved.
With more than 15 million Americans out of work and an additional 500,000 losing their jobs every week, there's no end in sight for the Obama recession.
Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Mort Zuckerman, chairman and editor in chief of U.S. News & World Report, says the unemployment picture is much worse than the government is letting on.
From his column:
Job losses may last well into 2010 to hit an unemployment peak close to 11%. That unemployment rate may be sustained for an extended period.
Can we find comfort in the fact that employment has long been considered a lagging indicator? It is conventionally seen as having limited predictive power since employment reflects decisions taken earlier in the business cycle. But today is different. Unemployment has doubled to 9.5% from 4.8% in only 16 months, a rate so fast it may influence future economic behavior and outlook.
How could this happen when Washington has thrown trillions of dollars into the pot, including the famous $787 billion in stimulus spending that was supposed to yield $1.50 in growth for every dollar spent? For a start, too much of the money went to transfer payments such as Medicaid, jobless benefits and the like that do nothing for jobs and growth. The spending that creates new jobs is new spending, particularly on infrastructure. It amounts to less than 10% of the stimulus package today.
Read the full column, "The Economy Is Even Worse Than You Think," at the newspaper's Web site.
He never had support from Republicans and now independent voters are waking up to the realization that "hope and change" won't put food on the table as the Obama recession continues.
From a story posted on POLITICO about Obama's declining job approval numbers:
In a potentially alarming trend for the White House, independent voters are deserting President Barack Obama nationally and especially in key swing states, recent polls suggest.
Obama's job approval rating hit a — still healthy — low of 56 percent in the Gallup Poll on Wednesday. And pollsters are debating whether Obama's expansive and expensive policy proposals or the ground-level realities of a still-faltering economy are driving the falling numbers.
But a source of the shift appears to be independent voters, who seem to be responding to Republican complaints of excessive spending and government control.
"This is a huge sea change that is playing itself out in American politics," said Democratic pollster Doug Schoen. "Independents who had become effectively operational Democrats in 2006 and 2008 are now up for grabs and are trending Republican.
"They're saying, 'Costing too much, no results, see the downside, not sure of the upside,'" he said.
Read the full story, "Independents begin to edge away from President Obama" at POLITICO
The latest Rasmussen Reports numbers corroborate Obama's declining popularity.
From a dead-on Karl Rove column in The Wall Street Journal:
In February, President Barack Obama signed a $787 billion stimulus bill while making lavish promises about the results. He pledged that "a new wave of innovation, activity and construction will be unleashed all across America." He also said the stimulus would "save or create up to four million jobs." Vice President Joe Biden said the massive federal spending plan would "drop-kick" the economy out of the recession.
But the unemployment rate today is 9.5% -- nearly 20% higher than the Obama White House said it would be with the stimulus in place. Keith Hennessey, who worked at the Bush White House on economic policy, has noted that unemployment is now higher than the administration said it would be if nothing was done to revive the economy. There are 2.6 million fewer Americans working than Mr. Obama promised.
The economy takes unexpected turns on every president. But what is striking about this president is how quickly he turns away from his promises. He rushed the stimulus through Congress saying we couldn't afford to wait. Now his administration is waiting to spend the money. Of the $279 billion allocated to federal agencies, only $56 billion has been paid out.
Rove asks why anyone in their right mind would trust Obama's promises on health care reform based on his six months of broken promises on every other issue.
The Obama energy tax passed the House by a 219-212 margin, but it can be stopped in the Senate. If you don't want to pay nearly $2 trillion in new taxes on electricity and other forms of energy to give more money to Al Gore and his global warming cabal, contact your U.S. senator and tell him to vote NO on "cap and trade."
As if Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats havent' done enough damage to the U.S. economy, a new report warns that another recession could hit in late 2010.
This assumes the U.S. recovers from the current recession, which has dragged on for 18 months and has been prolonged over the past six months by Obama's ill-advised economic policies.
From a story by Kent Hoover in the Philadelphia Business Journal:
The end of the recession is "literally just around the corner," the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's chief economist said, but there is a 15 percent to 20 percent chance of another economic downturn by late 2010.
Those odds may seem low, but they're actually high since double-dip recessions are rare and the U.S. economy grows 95 percent of the time, said the chamber's Marty Regalia.
He predicted that the current economic downturn will end around September but that the unemployment rate will remain high through the first half of next year. Investment won't snap back as quickly as it usually does after a recession, Regalia said.
Inflation, however, looms as a potential problem because of the federal government's huge budget deficits and the massive amount of dollars pumped into the economy by the Federal Reserve, he said. If this stimulus is not unwound once the economy begins to recover, higher interest rates could choke off improvement in the housing market and business investment, he said.
"The economy has got to be running on its own by the middle of next year," Regalia said.
Almost every major inflationary period in U.S. history was preceded by heavy debt levels, he noted.
On the bright side, a "double-dip" recession in 2010 will most like result in a backlash against Democrats in the midterm Congressional elections. The end of a Democratic majority in Congress would put a stop to Obama's socialist agenda for the remaining two years of his term.
Read the full story, "Economist: U.S. may see double-dip recession by late 2010," at the Philadelphia Business Journal's Web site.
How's that trillion-dollar "stimulus" package Nancy Pelosi pushed through Congress and Barack Obama signed in February working out for you?
If you're one of the nearly 3 million Americans who have lost their job since Obama took office, not so well.
Now Obama is talking about a second "stimulus" plan, one that would even more to the national debt, with no guarantee it would create a significant number of jobs.
A new Rasmussen poll says 60% of U.S. voters now oppose the passage of a second economic stimulus plan this year, a five-point increase in opposition since the issue was first raised in March.
Just 27% of voters favor a new stimulus plan, unchanged from the earlier findings. Thirteen percent (13%) are not sure, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
Eighty-one percent (81%) of Republicans and two-thirds of voters not affiliated with either major political party (66%) are against passage of a second stimulus plan. Democrats are much more evenly divided, but a plurality of those in Barack Obama’s party (45%) like the idea.
Similarly, a sizable majority of conservatives (82%) oppose a second plan, but a plurality of liberals (45%) favor it.
The Washington Times is the latest newspaper to criticize Barack Obama's failed "stimulus" package, calling it "a stimulus for the rich" in a new editorial.
From the editorial:
President Obama billed the stimulus package as a national effort, one that would involve spending "in communities across America." But the money is not being doled out proportionally across the country. The most funds are not even being distributed to the areas with the greatest economic problems.
It is not surprising that political calculations play a major role when the government hands out money. But it is shocking that Mr. Obama and the Democrats are sending stimulus funds to those places that need help the least.
From a recent editorial in Investor's Business Daily:
At this point in a normal downturn lasting 11 months, the economy should be booming — with big jumps in GDP and 300,000 new jobs each month coming mostly from the private sector.
But 18 months into this downturn, we're still losing jobs — with 2.7 million gone in the private sector just since January, when the Democrats took full control of the government.
Shrinking GDP has crushed investment. First quarter gross private domestic investment — a proxy for business investment — plunged 20%, or nearly $450 billion, annually. The outlook is grim.
Worse, the June jobs data mark a milestone of sorts: Our unemployment rate equals that of the no-growth Eurozone nations.
Why is this job decline happening? The private sector — the real engine of economic and job growth — won't hire because it's scared of what it sees coming out of Washington.
On the horizon, as far as the eye can see, are higher taxes, uncontrolled spending and layers upon layers of new regulations.
U.S. unemployment reached 9.5 percent in June, a 26-year high, according to the Labor Department, and Barack Obama is "deeply concerned."
He should be. He promised unemployment would top at 8 percent and start to decline if Congress agreed to his massive spending proposals. Just another in a string of broken promise by Obama.
Employers slashed 467,000 jobs in June, obviously not getting the memo from Obama and his sycophants in the media that things are turning around.
From The Associated Press:
Many economists predict the jobless rate will hit 10 percent this year, and keep rising into next year, before falling back.
All told, 14.7 million people were unemployed in June.
If laid-off workers who have given up looking for new jobs or have settled for part-time work are included, the unemployment rate would have been 16.5 percent in June, the highest on records dating to 1994.
Since the recession began in December 2007, the economy has lost a net total of 6.5 million jobs.
Some 3 million jobs have been lost since Obama took office.
The $1 trillion "stimulus" bill he signed in February to put Americans back to work has been a total failure.
His nationalization of banks, insurance companies and auto manufacturers has done little to restore faith in the U.S. economy.
His $1.9 trillion energy tax (cap and trade) will kill tens of thousands more U.S. jobs.
And then you have Obamacare, the government-run health system that will add trillions of dollars in debt.
Are you better off today than you were six months ago?
It's a shame we can't cast a vote of no confidence against the Obama Administration. Six months into the era of "hope and change," we've gotten "despair and more of the same."
More than 3 million Americans have lost their jobs since Obama took office, bringing the nation's unemployment rate to nearly 10 percent.
Gas prices are creeping toward $3.00 per gallon.
The trillion-dollar "stimulus" bill turned out to be what many predicted: A Democratic Party pork bill to reward the special interests who helped get them elected.
The government has taken over the banks, the car companies and now wants to run the health care system.
If Cap and Trade passes the Senate, electricity rates will skyrocket.
And what about the price of potatoes? Yes, potatoes.
That's what tipped off Mark Cour at the Circumlocution for Dummies blog that something is terribly wrong with America in the age of Obama.
From Circumlocution:
I'm not sure if anyone other than myself noticed, but the price of practically everything you may set out to purchase has escalated of late. Escalated and then some, I’d say. On Friday I paid $6.99 for a 10-pound bag of potatoes. That same bag of spuds would have set me back for $2.99 as little as a year ago.
And as I was exiting the supermarket with my overpriced veggies in hand, I passed a guy wearing a T-shirt with that “Yes we can” bit emblazoned on it. And after a quick mumble to myself, I thought, Yes we can? Yes we can, what?
Exactly what are we doing?
It get much better. It's one of the best commentaries I've read anywhere about the current state of affairs in this country.
The Supreme Court today overturned a lower court ruling written by Judge Sonia Sotomayor establishing racial quotas in a case involving New Haven, Conn., firefighters.
The top court ruled 5-4 that racial quotas are unconstitutional and sent the case back to the appeals court.
The ruling shows clearly what an intellectual lightweight Sotomayor is and also exposes her lack of basic understanding of the U.S. Constitution. That might explain why Barack Obama picked her for the court. Peas in a Pod.
Sotomayor will still get confirmed by the intellectual lightweights in the U.S. Senate, but at least the pretense of her qualification for the Supreme Court is no longer in question.
We now understand she was nominated because she's a Hispanic woman ... and not the most qualified person for the job. Isn't that filling a racial quota?
The problem with liberals is that they're stuck in the 1960s and 1970s. Time has passed them by.
All the propaganda. All the back room deals. All the pork amendments to buy votes.
And all Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi could get was a 219-212 margin to pass the cap and trade energy tax in the House?
Don't be surprised if the $1.9 trillion global warming tax fails in the Senate.
A 7-vote margin in the overwhelmingly Democratic House? That's pathetic. A total of 44 Demcorats voted against cap and trade! It took 8 GOP House members to pass it.
It's not looking good for Obamacare or other future Obama spending sprees.
House Democrats are beginning to worry about their re-election chances in 2010 as the Obama recession continues, unemployment is reaching record levels and the unprecedented debt Obama has piled on the U.S. takes its toll.
Tony Phyrillas is the city editor and political columnist for The Mercury, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning daily newspaper in Pottstown, Pa. Phyrillas has won several national and state awards for his columns. Phyrillas has been featured on National Public Radio (NPR) and in The New York Times and is a frequent commentator on radio and television programs. He co-hosts "Talking Politics with Tony Phyrillas & Mike Pincus" Thursdays at 5 p.m. on WPAZ 1370 AM.
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Independent reviews of Obama's claims of job created by the stimulus bill show that the government is making up numbers. As Rep. Joe Wilson so aptly said it, "You lie!"
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