Home Prices in September Fall Faster than Expected

Damndest recovery I've ever seen.

Prices of single-family homes in September fell more than twice as fast as expected from the prior month, while prices compared to a year earlier rose more slowly than forecast, according to a widely watched index of U.S. home prices released on Tuesday.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas declined 0.8 percent in September from August on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected a decline of 0.3 percent.

WikiLeaks, Hillary Clinton, and the Smoking Gun

More circular artillery from the left, this from Slate...

But what makes Clinton's sleuthing unique is the paper trail that documents her spying-on-their-diplomats-with-our-diplomat orders, a paper trail that is now being splashed around the world on the Web and printed in top newspapers. No matter what sort of noises Clinton makes about how the disclosures are "an attack on America" and "the international community," as she did today, she's become the issue. She'll never be an effective negotiator with diplomats who refuse to forgive her exuberances, and even foreign diplomats who do forgive her will still regard her as the symbol of an overreaching United States. Diplomacy is about face, and the only way for other nations to save face will be to give them Clinton's scalp.

Incompetance does have it's consequences.

Monday Funny

Leslie Nielsen Dead at 84

An absolute virtuoso in the art of deadpan humor, he will be missed.

North Korea Deploys Missiles on Southern Border

Measured yet steady escalation.

North Korea is taking its belligerency to a new height today, as it has deployed surface-to-air missiles on its southern border with South Korea. This raises concern that the North could attack or otherwise become more belligerent in the very near future.

The Russian-made missiles have been deployed since the North's artillery shelling of the South this past Tuesday.

As the hostilities between the South and North seem to mount, the United States is carrying out war games with the South while China is calling for emergency talks. Yet the North seems to refuse to listen to reason.

The reason why North Korea is acting so belligerently is uncertain. Some analysts believe it is to attract attention, others believe it is to test the United States, while more believe it is simply to start a war with the South.

Sunday Funny

First lady loosens up food rules: 'Have pie! Eat the dressing!'

First Lady Michelle Obama encouraged American families to enjoy their food over the holiday weekend and not to worry about "how much you eat."

Obama, who is spearheading a nationwide campaign against childhood obesity, explained to 20/20 host Barbara Walters that "this is the time" to let go a bit.

"I would urge people to use this time to come together, as families and community, and don't take it for granted. Be kind to each other and laugh a little bit. And don't worry about how much you eat. Just enjoy it," she said.

Memo to Thunderbutt, mind your own freakin business! We don't need your permission for squat.....at least for the moment.

Mohamed Osman Mohamud, Somali-born US teen, arrested for alleged blast try

One has to wonder how many others are running around out there that are NOT part of a sting operation.

Undercover agents in a sting operation stopped a Somali-born teenager from blowing up a van full of explosives at a crowded Christmas tree lighting ceremony in downtown Portland, federal authorities said.

The bomb was a dud supplied by the agents and the public was never in danger, authorities said.

Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, was arrested at 5:40 p.m. Friday just after he dialed a cell phone that he thought would set off the blast but instead brought federal agents and police swooping down on him.

Happy Thanksgiving

Carter pushes talks with North Korea

Epic fool.

Former President Jimmy Carter says the Obama administration should "consider responding" to North Korea’s deadly shelling of a South Korean island and other recent incidents by engaging in direct talks with Kim Jong Il’s government.

“Pyongyang has sent a consistent message that during direct talks with the United States, it is ready to conclude an agreement to end its nuclear programs, put them all under IAEA inspection and conclude a permanent peace treaty to replace the ‘temporary’ cease-fire of 1953,” Carter wrote in Wednesday’s Washington Post. “We should consider responding to this offer.”

Sure, you bet, reward this rogue regime for their aggressive contemptuous behavior.

Obama calling Lee over North attack

When you're the most powerful nation in the world and you project weakness, this is what happens. Expect lots more.

Obama is "outraged" by North Korea's attack on a South Korean island, White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton said Tuesday.

Obama plans to call South Korea's president, Lee Myung-bak, on Tuesday, Burton said, adding that Tom Donilon, his national security adviser, called Obama at 3:55 a.m. to tell him of the attack.

"The president is outraged by this action," he told reporters on Air Force One. "We stand shoulder to shoulder with South Korea."

Comment of the day " STOP or we’ll tell you to stop again!”

Thanks to Blueflag at FR.

Barbara Bush: ‘You Can’t Dislike Bill Clinton

Ramblings from the matriarch of a soon to be irrelevant elitist dynasty. Why not go back to Texas you crusty old cow and STFU.

Over the weekend former First Lady Barbara Bush shocked some when she took a jab at Sarah Palin, saying she hopes the former Alaskan governor stays in Alaska. Now she’s following that up with another surprising statement, this time saying that “you can’t dislike Bill Clinton.”

During an interview with Larry King that aired in full Monday night, Barbara admitted that while “it took me a little while” to warm up to the man who beat her husband and won the presidency in 1992, she now has nothing but good things to say about him. “You can’t dislike Bill Clinton,” she said. “He’s very likable. And he was so good to George… he would let George have the bed. I have a feeling Bill wishes he had a father like George, truthfully”.

Monday Funny

Democrat Corruption Part Deux

Expect a double secret probation in her future...

Apparently, the Charlie Rangel ethics trial was just the warm-up act. The New York Times reported over the weekend that the House Ethics Committee suddenly postponed the trial of Maxine Waters on ethics violation because it found more evidence of direct intervention by her office to benefit the bank in which her husband owned a substantial interest. According to new e-mails uncovered by the committee, her chief of staff directly coordinated with other members of the House Financial Services Committee on behalf of OneUnited:

A newly discovered exchange of e-mails led the House ethics committee on Friday to delay its trial of Representative Maxine Waters, a California Democrat accused of helping steer bailout money to a bank in which her husband owned shares.

The e-mails are between Mikael Moore, Ms. Waters’s chief of staff, and members of the House Financial Services Committee, on which Ms. Waters serves. The e-mails show that Mr. Moore was actively engaged in discussing with committee members details of a bank bailout bill apparently after Ms. Waters agreed to refrain from advocating on the bank’s behalf. The bailout bill had provisions that ultimately benefited OneUnited, a minority-owned bank in which her husband, Sidney Williams, owned about $350,000 in shares.

We May Be Infidels But....

But I thought Cuba had the best healthcare in the world.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- Saudi Arabia's aged ruler will fly to the United States for medical tests over a blood clot, according to a Saudi official, in a development that would renew questions about succession in the oil-rich kingdom.

The 86-year-old King Abdullah is set to leave on Monday, three days after he was admitted to the hospital suffering from back pain due to a blood clot, the official said late Saturday. The official didn't say which hospital would receive the king.

On Friday, the palace said that the king had a blood clot, which had created pressure on the nerves surrounding a ruptured disc.

Obama administration plans to pull back National Guard from much of the border

The worst border violence ever and this is his solution?

The Obama Administration plans to withdraw National Guard troops from the Texas, New Mexico and California borders by the end February under a new Southwest security plan, even as turmoil in Mexican border cities grows, according to documents obtained by The Washington Examiner.

A letter sent to various members of the Texas Congressional delegation from Texas' Gov. Rick Perry's office says, "In February, 2011, the Texas, New Mexico, and California National Guard forces that were deployed to the border in September, 2010, under President's Obama's Southwest Border Augmentation Plan, will have 30 days to complete a total draw down of forces."

Give more military assistance to Pakistan: Powell to US

How can someone with such hard core military experience be so unbelievably naive?

Washington : With the world's most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden still elusive, the Obama administration must give Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani adequate mobility or intelligence capability he needs to win the war against terror, former US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said.

Powell, who recently met Kayani at his home, said the Pakistani Army chief was facing a tough task in the war against terror along the Pak-Afghan border.

"He's got a tough problem. This is the most difficult terrain imaginable. And he has troops, but he doesn't have the kind of mobility or intelligence capability that he needs," Powell said.

Etheridge can't overcome Ellmers' lead in recount

You folks remember this jerk.

Republican Renee Ellmers has unseated veteran Congressman Bob Etheridge, according to unofficial results of a recount in the tight race.

Etheridge, a seven-term Democrat, picked up six votes on Ellmers after voting results from 10 counties were tabulated a second time, but it was nowhere near enough to overcome her 1,489-vote lead following the Nov. 2 election.

Senate Democrats vent anger with Barack Obama

A classic illustration of co-dependence.

Senate Democrats – including typically mild-mannered Bill Nelson of Florida – lit into President Barack Obama during an unusually tense air-clearing caucus session on Thursday, senators and staffers told POLITICO.

Nelson told colleagues Obama’s unpopularity has become a serious liability for Democrats in his state and blamed the president for creating a toxic political environment for Democrats nationwide, according to two Democrats familiar with his remarks.

“It was a raucous caucus,” said one Democratic senator, who spoke on condition of anonymity because closed-door sessions are not supposed to be discussed with outsiders.

TSA Chief admits full body screening is invasive, but says it's necessary anyway

I don't know what all the hullaballoo is about, we've had these for at least 50 years.

At a hearing Wednesday on Capitol Hill, TSA chief John Pistole defended the airport screening procedures and said they were necessary in, "the face of a persistent and evolving terrorist threat,"

Thursday Funny

Virginia High School Allows Cheating Students to Retake Tests

Liberal/Progressive thinking on parade...

(CNSNews.com) – A Fairfax County high school last month told teachers to let cheating students retake tests so they wouldn’t receive zeros, the Washington Post reported.

In a Nov. 5 e-mail to teachers, West Potomac High School Principal Cliff Hardison said cheating should "result in a disciplinary consequence separate from an academic consequence."

This is the same Fairfax County high school that asked teachers to mostly banish F's from report cards, the newspaper said.

According to the Washington Post, Hardison – responding to complaints from parents and teachers – later reverted to the old policy of giving zeroes to cheaters, at the same time giving teachers the option of offering retakes.

Wednesday Funny

Pelosi elected Democrat House minority leader

Good news for Republicans.

Democrat Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco was elected the party’s Minority Leader for the House session that begins in January in a closed caucus meeting that took several hours. Pelosi moves to the Minority Leader position after having been elected the first woman Speaker of the House in 2006, and presiding over the biggest turnover in House seats since 1947.

If I have to explain why, you shouldn't be reading this blog.

U.S. housing starts fall 11.7% in October

More terrific news from Obamaville.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Construction of new U.S. homes sank 11.7% to an annualized rate of 519,000 in October, the lowest level in 18 months, but permits rose slightly, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. The last time starts were that low was in April 2009. In addition, housing starts in September were revised down to 588,000 from an original reading of 600,000.

Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected housing starts in October to drop to an annual rate of 600,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis. Permits for new construction, viewed as a more accurate gauge of home building, rose 0.5% in October to an annualized rate of 547,000. Permits were also revised slightly higher in the prior month.

Rangel Guilty of 11 House Ethics Violations

This will result in nothing more than a tersely worded letter of reprimand. Or, in other words, an exercise "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

Other bloggers can analyze it better than I so I leave the blog roundup to StoptheACLU.

Senate Leader Deals Blow to President on Arms Treaty

Another of Obama's misguided signature priorities appears to be in deep doo doo.

President Obama’s hopes of ratifying a new arms control treaty with Russia this year appeared to unravel on Tuesday as a Senate Republican leader moved to block a vote in what could be a devastating blow to the president’s most tangible foreign policy achievement.

Mr. Obama had declared ratification of the New Start treaty his “top priority” in foreign affairs for the lame-duck session of Congress that opened this week. But the chances of winning the two-thirds vote required for passage of the treaty appeared to collapse with the announcement by Jon Kyl of Arizona, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate and the party’s point man on the issue, that the Senate should not vote on it this year.

“When Majority Leader Harry Reid asked me if I thought the treaty could be considered in the lame-duck session, I replied I did not think so given the combination of other work Congress must do and the complex and unresolved issues related to Start and modernization,” Mr. Kyl said in a statement. The senator added that he would continue to negotiate with administration officials for a possible vote next year.

The Color of Murder

Considering the dropout rate and the percentage of children born out of wedlock in the first two groups, this is absolutely no surprise.

Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter victims are most frequently Black (67.0%) or Hispanic (28.1%). White victims account for (3.2%) of all Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter victims while Asian/Pacific Islanders account for (1.8%) of all Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter victims.

The Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter arrest population is similarly distributed. Black arrestees (53.8%) and Hispanic arrestees (36.4%) account for the majority of Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter arrestees while White arrestees (7.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.2%) arrestees account for the remaining portions of the Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter arrest population.

Shooting victims are most frequently Black (73.8%) or Hispanic (22.1 %). White victims account for an additional (2.6%) of all Shooting victims while Asian/Pacific Islanders victims account for (1.2%) of all Shooting Victims.

The Shooting arrest population is similarly distributed. Black arrestees (70.9%) and Hispanic arrestees (25.8%) account for the majority of Shooting arrest population. White arrestees (2.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%) account for the remaining portion of the Shooting arrest population.

NY Times columnist Confirms Palin comments on Death Panels Accurate

When you consistently devalue life for decades as the Democrats have done, this is simply inevitable:

A New York Times Columnist, Paul Krugman, touched the third rail of Obamacare Sunday, while on ABC's 'This Week' when he made a statement confirming the need for 'death panels' as a means of containing health care costs (see video). Krugman is not the first person who has advocated the use of 'death panels' and yet liberals excoriated Sarah Palin for pointing out that the Obamacare bill contains what many on the left have said needed to be done.

During the discussion, which was about the Deficit Commission's recent recommendations on cutting expenses, Krugman made his statement in response to when discussion would take place concerning the commission's recommendations. He stated, 'Some years down the pike, we're going to get the real solution, which is going to be a combination of death panels and sale's taxes. Its going to be the; we're actually going to take Medicare under control and we're going to have to get some additional revenue from a VAT.'

Krugman's statement was not the first time he has suggested the use of death panels as a cost saver. He made a similar statement on 'This Week' earlier this year and the panel received his statement with laughing in affirmation that death panels would save money. The interesting thing is that he went on to say that economists that he talked to agreed that death panels would have a 'major cost saving.'

New York state manufacturing plunges: NY Fed

Double dip anyone?

New York state manufacturing unexpectedly plunged in November, the first contraction since July 2009 when the US economy exited recession, official data showed Monday.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported its manufacturing activity index dropped to minus 11.1 points in November, from a positive 15.7 points in the previous month.

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey index is considered a bellwether of the manufacturing sector which has been a key strength in the economic recovery.

Tensions flare with reporters

Freakin lightweight.

YOKOHAMA, Japan – The scene after President Obama’s meeting with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard showed just how long of a trip his nine-day Asia excursion has been – for all involved.

A reporter thanked Obama at the end of he and Gillard's remarks. Obama, who scolded White House reporters on Friday for their coverage of his trip, was informed that it was a member of the Australian press who delivered the thanks. "I knew it must have been an Australian because my folks never say thank you," Obama replied

With that, the White House press pool, in unison, gave him some sing-songy gratitude. “Thank you, Mr. President...” they said, with a tinge of sarcasm.

Sunday Funny

Administration: Mrs. Obama was powerful in India

Quote from the article:

For that, Mrs. Obama won glowing praise Saturday from administration officials who said the events she did on her own in India were among the most successful of President Barack Obama's 10-day, four-country tour of Asia.

I can't disagree with that.

Obama May Face Left-Wing Primary

You can bet on it.

Democrats do not forgive defeat very easily. In the week after his "shellacking" in the midterm elections, Democratic approval of Obama's performance as president dropped from 88 percent to 81 percent in the Zogby Poll, bringing his overall approval down to 43 percent. When a president starts to shed members of his own party, a vicious cycle has set in which can lead to a primary challenge.

Not from Hillary. At least not yet. She is far too cautious and intertwined with the administration to be the first to move against Obama. Just as Bobby Kennedy needed a Eugene McCarthy to test the waters for a primary challenge to Lyndon Johnson in 1968, so Hillary Clinton will look to others to try out Obama's vulnerability to a liberal challenge. As with Kennedy, if it works, she'll probably jump in. If it doesn't, she'll stay on as secretary of state.

There are three possible contenders who might enter Democratic primaries against Obama: Russ Feingold, Dennis Kucinich and Jerry Brown.

Friday Funny + Article

The Incredible Shrinking President

Obama bid to pick Iraq leader spurned

Just another example of repercussions of the Obama policy of negotiating from a position of decreased power and prestige.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, one of America's closest allies in the country, has rebuffed the personal request of President Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to relinquish his post as Iraqis form a new government in Baghdad.

Iraqi leaders announced Thursday a new government in which Mr. Talabani remains president, Nouri al-Maliki remains prime minister and Iyad Allawi's Iraqiya party, which won the most votes in March's election, controls the speakership of Parliament and the presidency of the National Security Council.

Mr. al-Maliki and his top rival Mr. Allawi sat next to each other in the parliament chamber in an apparent sign of unity after a contentious, eight-month political fight over the formation of the government, the Associated Press reported. But that didn't last long, as he later joined a walkout of the Iraqiya members in protest.

Veterans Day 2010

God bless those that have served for they are truely the best among us.

Obama...All Hat, No Cattle

Just goes to show you what a community organizer can and cannot accomplish.

SEOUL, South Korea — For President Obama, the last-minute failure to seal a trade deal with South Korea that would expand American exports of automobiles and beef is an embarrassing setback that deprives him of a foreign policy trophy and demonstrates how the midterm elections may have weakened his position abroad.

Mr. Obama has made free trade a central theme of his 10-day mission to Asia. From Seoul to Washington, business leaders, foreign policy analysts and diplomats were convinced that the president would wrap up the accord during a meeting with President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea on Thursday. Instead, the two leaders emerged empty-handed, arriving at their joint news conference to say that they had instructed their negotiators to keep at it a little while longer.

Bam AWOL on Vets Day

Perverted loyalties...

Not that Obama doesn't appreciate the sacrifices of veterans. He absolutely does. Just ask the Indonesians.

He was in Jakarta for their Heroes Day this week to honor their veterans "who have sacrificed on behalf of this great country."

"This great country," of course, being Indonesia.

"When my stepfather was a boy, he watched his own father and older brother leave home to fight and die in the struggle for Indonesian independence," Obama told the audience.

And the White House wonders why so many people think there is something foreign about this guy.

Clyburn knocks Hoyer's tactics as Democrats' leadership race intensifies

Democrat infighting, get the popcorn.

The leadership race between Reps. James Clyburn and Steny Hoyer took a sharp turn Tuesday when Clyburn criticized his opponent’s tactics and said they were making other Democrats uncomfortable.

The comments are the first hint of criticism between Clyburn (S.C.) and Hoyer (Md.) as the two Democratic heavyweights vie for the No. 2 Democratic leadership spot in the next Congress. The contest was initiated after Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she wanted to keep her position as party leader despite the Democrats’ trouncing in the midterm elections.

Clyburn, currently the majority whip, said Majority Leader Hoyer’s strategy of releasing the names of his supporters is threatening a process that is historically “about respecting and honoring” fellow Democrats.

“This is not about playing the numbers game,” Clyburn told The Hill outside Washington’s Newseum when asked about his whip count . “This is about respecting and honoring the members of our caucus in such a way that they will be comfortable with the process.

“I don’t see how you maintain a comfort level for all of our members by rolling out these names. I don’t think it does the process any real good. I’ve never done it; I’m not going to do it.”

Interior Inspector General: White House skewed drilling-ban report

Hope, change, honesty, tranparency, bi-partisanship; Lies all lies.

The White House rewrote crucial sections of an Interior Department report to suggest an independent group of scientists and engineers supported a six-month ban on offshore oil drilling, the Interior inspector general says in a new report.

In the wee hours of the morning of May 27, a staff member to White House energy adviser Carol Browner sent two edited versions of the department report’s executive summary back to Interior. The language had been changed to insinuate the seven-member panel of outside experts – who reviewed a draft of various safety recommendations – endorsed the moratorium, according to the IG report obtained by POLITICO.

Fed Pushes U.S. Economy Into An Inflationary Death Spiral

This is honestly the first time in my life that I have been intensely worried about the financial future of this nation.

It seems the Fed has given up on the idea that the country can build a viable and stable economy through the conventional means. Instead, our central bank has resorted to once again growing GDP and increasing employment by the creation of asset. This is a dangerous game that no one, least of all the Fed, knows how to play.

We learned this past Wednesday that the FOMC decided to increase its purchases of longer-dated Treasuries by $600 billion within the next eight months. That means the Fed is on course to fund about 75% of our annual deficit! Such figures are the stock in trade of banana republics. While most of the rest of the world is fighting inflation and strengthening their currencies, we are doing everything in our power to end the dollar's status as the world's reserve.

Canada, China, India, Brazil, and Australia have all recently taken steps to raise interest rates and/or curtail bank lending. Compare that to the US, which has left interest rates at near-zero for almost two years. While other central bankers are tamping down expansionary rhetoric, Fed Chairman Bernanke is on record saying that he will do everything in his power to push up inflation (which he considers too low) and dilute the dollar. Foreign central banks and other investors may soon reconsider their plans to park cash in dollar-denominated assets. In fact, there has been a series of angry statements from top economic policymakers in Beijing, Berlin, Moscow, and Sao Paolo that show rising discontent with Washington.

Why Black Americans Didn’t Vote

Black Americans voted with their feet in the 2010 midterm elections: they stayed home in record numbers and were one of the biggest reasons Democrats lost a record number of seats. Nor should anyone be surprised why so many Blacks decided to sit this one out. Black American voters may be becoming increasingly disillusioned with government, disillusioned with President Obama and his promises of job creation, disillusioned with his promises of change. And so they stayed home, a statistic supported by a recent CBS News report that cites lower turnout in most minority segments of the U.S. population than in 2008, but especially within the Black community.

But why is this surprising? Consider: unemployment is greatest among African Americans, with the Bureau of Labor (BLS) statistics reporting in Table A-2, unemployment of 29% for Black American adults. It is interesting to note that this recent mid-term election also saw a downswing in the number of newly registered Black American voters/students voting for the first time. But, if you consider that BLS reported that for Black Americans between the ages of 16-19, the unemployment rate is a stunning 48%, this kind of disenchantment with an administration that promised so much, but delivered so little, should be expected.

Less appreciated and not yet fully understood is the growing African American small business community. These Black Americans, often women and highly educated, are a very entrepreneurial segment of the population that have been hurt by Obama’s anti-small business policies and the hostility to business that emanates from senior Democrats in Congress. Furthermore, legislation such as healthcare reform, financial reform and the small business jobs creation act, championed by the old guard of the Democrat party, actually placed additional cost and time burdens on minority businesses. The uncertainty surrounding the extension of the Bush tax credits also affects the African American business community as it becomes hard for these businesses to plan for future growth.

Take the time to read the entire article, it's well worth it.

Sunday Funny

Blacks struggle with 72 percent unwed mothers rate

Unfreakinbelievable!

Seventy-two percent of black babies are born to unmarried mothers today, according to government statistics. This number is inseparable from the work of Carroll, an obstetrician who has dedicated her 40-year career to helping black women.

The black community's 72 percent rate eclipses that of most other groups: 17 percent of Asians, 29 percent of whites, 53 percent of Hispanics and 66 percent of Native Americans were born to unwed mothers in 2008, the most recent year for which government figures are available. The rate for the overall U.S. population was 41 percent.

KO KO'd

Well it's finally happened, the most blatantly biased jerk on cable was suspended for [get this] the "appearance" of journalistic bias. But what's even more surpring is it's not because of anything he said on the air.

Jobless claims surge to 457,000

And so the legend of Obamaville continues.

More than 450,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment insurance last week, a discouraging sign ahead of the government's highly anticipated monthly jobs report due Friday.

The number of first-time filers for unemployment benefits surged to 457,000 in the week ended Oct. 30, up 20,000 from the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The number was higher than economists' forecasts of 445,000, according to consensus estimates by Briefing.com, and it fell in a range that analysts say points to continued weakness in the job market.

What the Election Was Not About

Victor Davis Hanson's take on the elction and what it did and did not mean. Would have excerpted but it's ALL good. Read HERE.

Quote of the Day

Former state Sen. Eric Johnson, R-Savannah commenting on last nights rout:

"America coughed up Nancy Pelosi like a fur ball".

How Sweet It Is

Time to give it back.

Election Day Funny

Final Gallup enthusiasm gap: 19 points

One can only vote and keep our fingers crossed that this plays out.

Gallup released its final polling on voter enthusiasm today, and the bottom line is that it’s record-breaking for midterm elections. In fact, for Democrats and their leaners, it’s the second-best enthusiasm level in a midterm election Gallup has seen at 44%, only topped by 2006′s 53% and their nine-point lead over the GOP in that wave election. The bad news for Democrats? Well …. Americans’ enthusiasm about voting exceeds the recent midterm election high set four years ago, with 50% of Americans and 53% of registered voters saying they are more enthusiastic than usual about voting in 2010. …

The record level of overall enthusiasm is primarily the result of Republicans’ heightened excitement — 63% of Republicans (including Republican-leaning independents) say they are more enthusiastic than usual about voting. That not only greatly exceeds Democrats’ expressed enthusiasm this year, but also is substantially higher than what Gallup has measured for either party’s supporters on the eve of a midterm election. The high level of Republican enthusiasm has led to the largest gap in enthusiasm by party of any recent midterm elections, 19percentage points. The prior highs were nine points in favor of the Democrats in 2006, and nine points in favor of the Republicans in 1994.

Pic of the Day

Recent photos of a bewildered and deranged POTUS: Psycho prez?

Matthews: 2008 Obama Was "Inclusive," Current Obama Is "Elitist"

The "tingle up the leg" is gone. Video HERE.

September consumer spending weak while incomes dip

Well, at least it wasn't "unexpected".

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Americans slowed their spending in September to the weakest pace in three months and their incomes fell for the first time in 14 months.

Personal spending rose at an annual rate of 0.2 percent in September, the Commerce Department said Monday. That's below the 0.5 percent gains recorded in July and August.

Incomes fell 0.1 percent in September, following a 0.4 percent rise in August that had been pushed higher by the return of extended unemployment benefits.

The drop in incomes was the first decline since incomes fell 0.3 percent in July 2009. The August gain had been skewed by the reinstatement of an extended unemployment benefits program, which had temporarily lapsed in July after Republicans had blocked an extension.