“I AM A FIRM BELIEVER IN THE PEOPLE. If given the truth they can be depended on to meet any national crises. The great point is to bring them the real facts………Abraham Lincoln
STILL JOBLESS AFTER ALL THESE YEARS……This past week., at the White House, President Obama faced the media to once again plug the American Jobs Act, his plan for more stimulus spending, paid for with even more taxes. In September, the U.S. unemployment rate held steady at dismal 9.1%, with 14 million Americans out of work. In September about 103,000 jobs were added, but 45,000 of those were Verizon strikers returning to work, and the number of long-term unemployed (27 weeks or more) increased by 208,000? According to the CBO the unemployment rate will remain above 8% until 2014.
If you demand more, want to see full employment, we will have to wait until 2018, and that will only happen if employers regain their confidence, and begin to add 176,000 per month… In the President’s press conference (October 6th) was asked to comment on the federal Reserves’ chairman’s warning that the economic recovery is “close to faltering”. The President’s answer? Laying the blame as far away from his doorstep as possible, pointing a finger at everything from the tsunami in Japan to the GOP in Congress. Ending his response, he attempted to dress up his plan in an imaginary cloak of bi-partisanship, claiming “every idea we have put forward are ones that traditionally been supported by Democrats and Republicans alike”….. Not so, as the Washington Post points out. A key component of the President’s plan is taxes, and there are lots of them. The Presidents’ proposal would impose $1,5 trillion in permanent tax hikes over 10 years, Senator Harry Reid knows the plan is indefensible, and proved it by going out of his way to “change the rules of the Senate” last night to avoid his caucus voting on it. The Democrats don’t want to be on record of supporting the President’s latest stimulus, so now the legislative body is at an unprecedented standstill. Yesterday, Tuesday, the Senator Reid could get the needed 60 votes…..they are now trying to reduce the bills that will never be acceptable, and reintroduce a new “JOBS BILL” that they hope will pass….
“A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man. Which debt he proposes to pay off with your money “….G Gordon Lilly
United States and Taiwan……diplomatic relations with mainland China in 1979, Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act, with veto proof majorities to ensure that future Presidents would sell the island the armaments it needs to defend itself. The is now in danger of becoming a dead piece of paper, as the Obama Administration “reportedly “is planning to reject Taiwan’s to buy badly needed new F-16 fighters. It’s time for Congress to act, in case Congress decides the self- imposes deadline of October 2011.
IS THE Postal SERVICE DOOMED….Neither rain, nor snow, nor heat is supposed to stop the United States Postal Service from delivering mail, but it can be saved from mounting debt , plummeting volume , and the not-so-slow-motion postal train wreck. Last week, the USPS barely avoided default when Congress extended the due date of $5.5 payment due to the Treasury for retiree health benefits… It lost $8.5 billion last year, and expects to lose $10 billion more in 2011… According to 2010 study by the Boston Consulting Group, mail volume will decline an additional 20 percent by 2020, with first class mail dropping a jaw breaking35 percent.
OBAMA and the SUPREME COURT ….. The Obama administration asked the Supreme expected after the Justice Department announced earlier this week it would not challenge a Lower Court’s ruling.
The key takeaway from this brief is that the White House wants the Supreme Court to hear the case for its merits and weigh in on whether the individual mandate is constitutional. It does not want the Court to dismiss the case on procedural grounds or get into issues of whether parties have a right to be bringing this case in the first place.
“A DEMOCRACY MUST BE SOMETHING MORE THAN TWO WOLVES AND A SHEEP VOTING ON WHAT TO HAVE FOR DINNER”…James Brovard
RISKY IRAQ DRAWDOWN………A flurry of newspaper articles reporting that the Obama Administration may decide to disregard the advice of its military commanders, and reduce the U.S. military presence in Iraq to less than 4,000 troops by the end of the year, which prompted 42 distinguished American foreign experts to write a letter to the President, on September 15, urging him to reconsider.
Although violence in Iraq is much diminished from its peak in 2004-2007, Iraq’s fragile coalition government needs U.S. military assistance to ward off threats posed by pro-Iranian militias, al Qaeda in Iraq terror groups, ant he simmering disputes in northern Iraq between Iraq’s Kurds, Turks and Christian groups……
Time FOR ACTION ON PAKISTAN……….Unless Pakistan agrees to take recourse against those ISI officials involved in the September 13 attack, and to work more closely with the U.S. in confronting the Haqqani network, the U.S. will have to review its policy toward Pakistan. For its part Nina Rabban KHAR, P:akistani Foreign Minister warned” that these continuing allegations could cause the United States to lose an ally”……..wider breach has developed between Pakistan and the United States, the killing of bin Laden, living in an area, a mere stone’s throw from Pakistan’s Military Academy. Pakistan’s “hiding bin Laden for many years is the most serious cause of the distrust of the Pakistan’s, seems that they are playing both sides of the street.
SHOVELING for LABOR……….The first stimulus bill of over $800 billion was sold in part, that our badly needed infrastructure was “shovel ready”……having proven that this bill resulted in creating anything, except an increasing deficit. Now the President wants another stimulus bill “called JOBS BILL”. Which fortunately did not pass in the Senate?
Did this stop cash strapped California’s Governor Jerry brown, no way Jose’….on this past Sunday he signed a bill that attempts to prevent California cities from banning Government-mandated project labor agreements, or PLAs…..PLAs are pre –hired agreements that contractors negotiate with labor unions. Contractors must generally agree to play by union work rules, pay workers union wages, and contribute to union health and retirement funds—whether or not the employees they hire belong to a union.
According to many studies, PLAs raise costs by 12% to 18%, which partially explain why cash strapped cities and states and tapped-taxpayers are against moving to abolish that rule, which unions hope the new law will discourage cities from leaving the doors open to non-union contractors.
The California law is the first of its kind and non-union contractors fear that this new law will deter cities from passing. Cities that ban government mandated PLAs could face legal challenges and harassment from the union. The other fear facing the non-union contractors is the state could refuse to fund their projects….
“IF YOU THINK HEALTH CARE IS EXPENSIVE NOW, WAIT UNTILL YOU SEE WHAT IT COST WHEN IT’S FREE”………….P.J.O’Rourke
WHAT IS NEXT IN LIBYA……….. The Obama Administration, which stumbled into a war in Libya with no clear military plan or exit strategy, now must fashion a suitable and acceptable way forward…The Administrations short-sighted effort to score a quick and easy military over Gadhafi’s regime failed to end the threat to civilians in “days not weeks “as the President promised. The Administration now has to scramble to develop and implement a long term strategy for a post Gadhafi Libya.
Dim headed me, I thought we were no longer going police the world and along the way create statehood.……The United State has committed itself to help the rebel TRANSITIONAL NATIONAL COUNCIL to stabilize Libya, restore law and order and prepare the way for an orderly transition to a new representative government. The USA should also assist in Libya’s reconstruction and the rapid repair of its damaged oil exports back to previous levels.
NOW would be the right time to discuss the Tran-Continental oil and gas pipe line starting in Canada with it ending in Texas. Permitting has nearly been complete, except for the environmentalist’s court actions and threat for not backing Obama in 2012, the agreement will require the President’s signature. Imagine receiving oil and gas from a neighbor without the need of our military. The combination of Canada and the United states will have the largest oil and gas reserves in the world.
Are there problems, of course there was, and still is, mainly in treating the water that is used in the process, has contaminated some of the drinking water……as Winston Churchill once quibbled about Obama’s America “you can count on it to do the right thing—after it’s tried everything else”.
Will go into more detail next issue, very important issue to our way of life.
“JUST BECAUSE YOU DO NOT TAKE AN INTEREST IN POLITICS, DOESN’T MEAN POLITICS WON’T TAKE AN INTEREST IN YOU”…Pericles..(400 B.C.)
SOLYNDRA CONFLICKS EXTEND A LONG WAY……….There is still more to the “Solyndra Senators”……In addition to the taxpayers losing $535 million under the Federal Department of Energy, other federal agencies also provided millions of dollars in grants to states, cities, counties and towns to purchase Solyndra solar panels. Many states provided other tax credits to those who purchased solar panels.
There is also a potential conflict of interest between owners of companies who were recipients of government grants and their employees who may belong to union who take campaign contributions from the owners and unions. The news article predicted that at the end of the day the loss to taxpayers could be closer to a billion dollars.
“TALK IS CHEAP… EXCEPT WHEN CONGRESS DOES IT”…Anonymous
THE BIGGEST TRADE BARRIER…….When President Obama was on his mid-western tour, when asked about the Korea, Columbia and Panama ‘free trade agreements’ WHICH HAVE BEEN SITTING ON HIS DESK FOR OVER 3 YEARS…….his response to the question, was “ these trade agreements all would be law if not for an obstructionist Congress. Passing the deals is something Congress could do right now”
Liar. Liar, your pants are on fire (not from Rep.Wilson)……Congress cannot pass agreements “right now”, because the bill is still sitting on his desk. Signed by Congress over three years ago, and before Obama became President, just needs the President’s signature, and a Page to bring the document over to Congress.
LABOR LEADERS TO OBAMA….STOP KILLING JOBS……..Many major unions are clashing with a Democratic administration, which usually, they walk lock step. They now are starting to call the EPA the “Employment Prevention Agency”
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, of Texas wrote to the EPA on be–half of its 23,000, warning the EPA that “red tape” would jeopardize 2,500 jobs working on 6 power plants across the state of Texas.” The 76,000 member United Mine Workers claim that the closing of fossil fueled plants would kill 54,300 jobs and indirectly destroy 197,140 others working in the coal utility and railroad industries.
There is more on this subject, and breaking news by the minute, but I have run out of time, and my fingers and brain, are getting weary……Hope all is well, see y’all in the funny paper, which are not so funny anymore, as some of the creators are resorting to the news of the day……..AP