Sunday Funny

Thanks RR.

Daily Presidential Tracking Poll

Appears the post debate "bounce" is beginning to show up.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows Mitt Romney attracting support from 49% of voters nationwide, while President Obama earns the vote from 47%. Two percent (2%) prefer some other candidate, and two percent (2%) are undecided. These results are based upon nightly interviews and reported on a three-day rolling average basis. As a result, only about two-thirds of the interviews for today’s update were conducted after the presidential debate. Sunday morning’s update will be the first national polling based entirely upon post-debate interviews.

And this: Romney Surges Ahead in Colorado, Florida, Ohio, and Virginia

REPORT: Obama Camp Threatens NAACP Official

It's the Chicago way don'tcha know.

The Illinois political director of President Barack Obama’s campaign allegedly threatened a Chicago NAACP official because he did not support Obama’s reelection campaign.David Lowery, the president of the South Suburban Branch of the NAACP, alleged to CBS Chicago that Louis Raymond, the Obama official, threatened him during a phone call because Lowery did not support Obama. Lowery felt Obama did not adequately address the concerns and issues of the black community.

“You know what? I know everything about you,” Raymond allegedly said, according Lowery. “We’ve been watching you, and since you don’t support Obama, we’ll deal with you.

Lowery filed a report with local police “in case something happens.”

 

Gore Blames Denver's Altitude for Obama's Debate Performance

BWAAAAAHAHAHAHA.

Al Gore blames Obama's debate performance on Denver altitude.  

The money quote: "Obama arrived in Denver at 2pm today. Just a few hours before the debate started. Romney did his debate prep in Denver. When you go to 5000 feet and you only have a few hours to adjust, I don't know."

And to think this nimrod was within an eyelash of the Presidency.

Thursday Funny

The First Debate

What Romney did to Obama tonight.

Romney was like a surgeon with a scalpel. He was crisp, clear, concise and Presidential with his responses cutting Obama up piece by piece.  

Obama was visibly uncomfortable, shaky, uniformed, hesitant, rambling, verbose and amateurish. All debate he looked like a cat that had gotten ahold of a sour mouse.

FBI still not been granted permission to visit Benghazi consulate

Is there any doubt that the Obama administration has told the Lybian govt. to stall as long as possible?

FBI agents have still not been granted permission to visit the consulate building where the American ambassador to Libya was killed, three weeks after the attack by militants in the eastern city of Benghazi.

An FBI team was dispatched to Libya within days of the attack, in which three other Americans died. But they have been forced to remain in Tripoli as American and Libyan officials argue over the terms under which the two sides will co-operate in the investigation.

The consulate building itself and the accommodation annexe which also came under attack have been left largely unsecured.

Photo of the Day

Obama Increased Foreign Aid 80%; Spent 76% More on Foreign Aid Than Border Security

Glaring example of Obama's "wealth distribution".

From fiscal 2008 to fiscal 2011, according to the U.S. Treasury, the federal government increased spending on foreign aid by 80 percent and, in fiscal 2011, spent 76 percent more on foreign aid than it did securing the borders of the United States. In fiscal 2008, the government spent a total of $11.427 billion in international assistance programs, according to the Monthly Treasury Statement. In fiscal 2011, according to the statement, it spent $20.599 billion—an increase of $9.172 billion, or 80 percent, from 2008.

MASSIVE DECLINE IN DEMOCRAT VOTER REGISTRATION IN 8 SWING STATES

No more ACORN, tighter anti-fraud regs, disenchanted liberal electorate, all of the above?

Democratic drop in Ohio voter registrations mirrors a nationwide trend. In fact, Democratic voter registration in 8 swing states outnumbers Republican decline by a 10-to-1 ratio.

FOX News reported:

“Don’t boo, vote,” President Obama often says in his stump speech whenever crowds boo a Romney plan.

The off-hand call to vote may be by design. It comes amid a precipitous decline in Democratic voter registration in key swing states — nowhere more apparent than in Ohio.

Voter registration in the Buckeye State is down by 490,000 people from four years ago. Of that reduction, 44 percent is in Cleveland and surrounding Cuyahoga County, where Democrats outnumber Republicans more than two to one."

Poll Shows GOP With Enthusiasm Advantage

This fact will be very difficult to reflect in the polls.

Republicans hold a substantial enthusiasm edge over Democrats as President Obama and Mitt Romney prepare to face off in their first head-to-head debate on Wednesday in Denver. According to a new USA Today/Gallup poll, 64 percent of Republicans say they are more enthusiastic than usual about voting, while 48 percent of Democrats say the same.

Sunday Funny

Thanks RR.

Union Contract: Teachers Can Be Caught In School Drunk Five Times Before Being Fired

The school board approved this???

Forget zero tolerance. Bay City Public School teachers for years could be caught repeatedly under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol without being fired.

Teachers in possession or under the influence of illegal drugs could be caught three times before they lost their job, and they got five strikes if they were drunk on school grounds before being fired. A school district official said the language in the union contract that protects teachers for those instances "was incorporated into the teacher Master Agreement in 1997."

Those protections also were included in the Bay City Education Association teacher’s contract that was agreed to in January in section 16.1300 "Controlled Substances" on page 92. That contract expired June 30 and negotiations on a new contract are ongoing.

Obama, Netanyahu speak by phone

President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone Friday, according to the White House. "The two leaders discussed a range of security issues, and the President reaffirmed his and our country’s unshakeable commitment to Israel’s security," the White house said in a statement.

Food-stamp enrollment hits record 46.7M in June

Obamination.

Food-stamp enrollment climbed to a record 46.7 million people in June, a steadily rising statistic that reflects the trouble millions of Americans have had finding work and paying the bills.

The numbers released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed a slight increase from enrollment in May, which was about 46.5 million. And they reflect a marked increase from the time when President Obama took office, when enrollment was at roughly 32 million.

Durable goods drop worst since recession

I hope the American people begin paying attention.

(Reuters) - New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods in August fell by the most in 3-1/2 years, pointing to a sharp slowdown in factory activity even as a gauge of planned business spending rebounded.

The Commerce Department said on Thursday durable goods orders dived 13.2 percent, the largest drop since January 2009, when the economy was in the throes of a recession. Orders for July were revised down to show a 3.3 percent increase instead of the previously reported 4.1 percent gain.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected orders for durable goods -- items from toasters to aircraft that are meant to last at least three years -- to fall 5 percent.

And then there's this: Final Q2 GDP Disaster: 1.25% Growth Comes Below Lowest Estimate

Household income down 8.2 percent since Obama took office, study shows

Just another Obama negative that the Lamestream Media chooses to ignore.

Median household incomes have fallen 8.2 percent since President Obama took office and continue to drop despite the official end of the recession, a new study shows. Data compiled by Sentier Research found that since the economic recovery technically began in June 2009, median household income has dropped 5.7 percent. As of August, that median income was $50,678 -- also down 1.1 percent from the month prior. And since Obama took office in January 2009, the median income has fallen 8.2 percent, from $55,198 to its present figure.

"The August decline in real median annual household income is indicative of a struggling economy," Sentier said in its report. "Even though we are technically in an economic recovery, real median annual household income is having a difficult time maintaining its present level, much less 'recovering.'"

Less Than Expected 31,000 New Homes Sold In August

Every single economic indicator that turns out lousy is "unexpected", WHY?

The August new single-family house sales number: 373,000 on an annualized basis, it missed expectations of a rise to 380,000, and was down from a revised 374,000. This is only the second miss in 2012, and confirms that all talk of a housing recovery is misguided, and merely represents one particular segment of the housing market.

Obama to urge UN to confront roots of Muslim rage

Idiot, the very definition of Islam is hatred of liberty, freedom, democracy, equality, Christians, Jews and everything else that is at the core of our great nation. The definitive source of the "rage" is who we are.

NEW YORK (AP) — Campaign politics shadowing every word, President Barack Obama on Tuesday will challenge the world to confront the root causes of rage exploding across the Muslim world, calling it a defining choice "between the forces that would drive us apart and the hopes we hold in common."

Obama will step before the United Nations General Assembly and declare that the United States will not shrink from its role in troubled, transitioning nations despite the killing of four Americans in Libya, including U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens, and more than 50 people total in violence linked at least in part to an anti-Muslim film.

Monday Funny

Republican poll analysis: Romney winning with middle-class families

Bottom line, Obama can't win the election with a middle class vote deficit of these proportions.

In our latest POLITICO-George Washington University Battleground Poll with middle-class families,which comprise about 54 percent of the total American electorate and usually split in their vote behavior between Republicans and Democrats, Romney holds a 14-point advantage (55 percent to 41 percent).

Middle-class families are more inclined to believe the country is on the wrong track (34 percent right direction, 62 percent wrong track), are more likely to hold an unfavorable view of Obama (48 percent favorable, 51 percent unfavorable), and hold a more favorable view of Romney (51 percent favorable, 44 percent unfavorable) and Paul Ryan (46 percent favorable, 35 percent unfavorable) than the overall electorate. These middle-class families also hold a majority disapproval rating on the job Obama is doing as president (45 percent approve, 54 percent disapprove), and turn even more negative toward Obama on specific areas; the economy 56 percent disapprove; spending 61 percent disapprove; taxes, 53 percent disapprove; Medicare 48 percent disapprove; and even foreign policy 50 percent disapprove.

Media Put 18,000 in Not-Quite-Full 5,000-Seat Arena for Obama in Wisconsin

And the media wonders why we don't trust them.

President Barack Obama is having trouble drawing large crowds on the campaign trail. At the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, his campaign was forced to move his acceptance speech from the 74,000-seat Bank of America Stadium to the 20,000 Time Warner Cable Arena, citing weather as the excuse. But the media are always eager to help--for example, putting 18,000 people inside a 5,000-seat arena at an Obama event in Milwaukee on Saturday.

Sunday Funny

Thanks RR.

Report: More than 200 coal-fired generators slated for shutdown

Expect your electic bills to go up....way, way up.

Within the next three to five years, more than 200 coal-fired electric generating units will be shut down across 25 states due to EPA regulations and factors including cheap natural gas, according to a new report by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE).

“This is further evidence that EPA is waging a war on coal, and a war on affordable electricity prices and jobs. EPA continues to ignore the damage that its new regulations are causing to the U.S. economy and to states that depend on coal for jobs and affordable electricity,” said Mike Duncan, president and CEO of ACCCE, in a statement.

However, ACCCE notes that EPA policies may have played a role more than 4,800 megawatts of announced closures not included on in their report which would bring total shutdowns to 241 coal generator in 30 states — more than 36,000 MW of electric generation or 11 percent of the U.S. coal fleet.

Graphic of the Day

Median income in Ohio hits 27-year low

The fact that this states electoral votes are even close to being up for grabs is truely scary.

Ohio households were poorer last year than they’ve been in more than 25 years, and the number of people living in poverty is higher than it’s been in more than 30 years, according to a census report released yesterday.

When adjusted for inflation, the 2010 annual median household income in Ohio of $46,093 was down by $543 from the previous year, and down 15.3 percent from the peak of $54,395 in 2000, according to the census’s Current Population Survey, which was released yesterday.

Ohio’s level of poverty — 15.3 percent — was worse than the nation’s, which was at 15.1 percent. Ohio’s level jumped 2 percentage points from 2009; it has never been this high since those records were first kept in 1980.

The 15.3 percent translates into 1.74 million Ohio residents living below the poverty line last year, which means a family of four making less than $22,300 a year. About 639,000 Ohioans younger than 18 were in poverty, and 244,000 children younger than 5 were.

Weekly Jobless Claims Still High Amid Wobbly Economy

Forward???

The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week, unwinding some of the weather-related spike during the previous week, but the underlying tone of the report pointed to some weakening in the labor market.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 382,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The prior week's figure was revised up to show 3,000 more applications than previously reported. Claims the prior week had been pushed up by Tropical Storm Isaac.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims falling to 375,000 last week. A Labor Department official said there were no special factors influencing the report, adding that only claims data for New Mexico had been estimated.

The four-week moving average for new claims, a better measure of labor market trends, rose 2,000 to 377,750 - the highest level since June. It was the fifth consecutive weekly increase in the measure.

76 upward revisions in 77 weeks. It's the only way they can show a decrease in claims from one week to the next.

Number of able-bodied adults on food stamps doubled after Obama suspended work requirement

Bottom line....Dependency = Democrat voters.

Obama administration officials have insisted that their decision to grant states waivers to redefine work requirements for welfare recipients would not “gut” the landmark 1996 welfare reform law. But a new report from the Congressional Research Service obtained by the Washington Examiner suggests that the administration’s suspension of a separate welfare work requirement has already helped explode the number of able-bodied Americans on food stamps.

In addition to the broader work requirement that has become a contentious issue in the presidential race, the 1996 welfare reform law included a separate rule encouraging able-bodied adults without dependents to work by limiting the amount of time they could receive food stamps. President Obama suspended that rule when he signed his economic stimulus legislation into law, and the number of these adults on food stamps doubled, from 1.9 million in 2008 to 3.9 million in 2010, according to the CRS report, issued in the form of a memo to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va.

“This report once again confirms that President Obama has severely gutted the welfare work requirements that Americans have overwhelmingly supported since President Clinton signed them into law,” Cantor said in an emailed statement. “It’s time to reinstate these common-sense measures, and focus on creating job growth for those in need.”

Graphic of the Day Part Deux

Graphic of the Day

No demonstration before attack on US Consulate, source says

Was the Obama Administration unabashedly lying to the American people about the cause of the attack solely due to political expedience.........Nah.

An intelligence source on the ground in Libya told Fox News that there was no demonstration outside the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi prior to last week's attack -- challenging the Obama administration's claims that the assault grew out of a "spontaneous" protest against an anti-Islam film.

The intelligence source said no protests were happening before the attackers struck at about 9:35 p.m. local time last Tuesday. The account backs up claims by a purported Libyan security guard who told McClatchy Newspapers late last week that the area was quiet before the attack.

"There wasn't a single ant outside," the unnamed guard, who was being treated in a hospital, said in the interview.

CBS: Obama Leads in Our D+13 Poll

CBS has raised oublatant liberal bias to an art form.

Anyone following the presidential campaign through the prism of media polls is doing themselves a serious disservice. Virtually every one uses a polling sample that is so heavily-skewed towards Democrats that it distorts the actual state of the campaign. Of course, that is a feature, not a bug of the polls. The polls are specifically designed to drive a narrative that Obama is surging and Romney is struggling. Increasingly, though, the polls are having to go to ridiculous efforts to support this meme. Friday's CBS/New York Times poll, for example, uses a D+13 sample of registered voters. This is absurd. In 2008, an historic election wave for Democrats, the electorate was D+7.

In 2004, when George W. Bush won reelection, the electorate was evenly split. In other words, D+0. Repeat after me; the Democrat share of the electorate is not going to double this year. Given the well-noted enthusiasm edge for Republicans this year, the electorate is going to be far closer to the 2004 model than 2008. Any poll trying to replicate the 2008 is going to artificially inflate Obama's support.

Sunday Funny

Thanks RR.

Official: No Marines in Libya at time of Benghazi attack

We are truely being governed by amateurs.

No U.S. Marines were in Libya when protesters stormed a diplomatic mission in the eastern city of Benghazi and killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans late Tuesday, a senior Obama administration official said Saturday.

The official’s comments contradict earlier reports of a small Marine presence at State Department facilities in the North African nation.

The U.S. diplomatic compound breached Tuesday by Libyan protesters in Benghazi had a relatively light security posture compared to diplomatic facilities in other conflict zones. Marines are guarding diplomatic facilities in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen, Defense Press Secretary George Little told reporters Thursday.

Libyan Official Confirms Benghazi Assault a Pre-Planned Militant Attack Timed for 9-11

Remember it's the media and the Obama administration that's spewing the anti Muslim movie motivation meme. The facts do NOT support this. But then again when has the truth ever gotten in the way of an expedient leftist narrative.

The attack that killed four Americans in Libya, including the U.S. ambassador, was an organized two-part operation by heavily armed militants that included a precisely timed raid on a supposedly secret safe house just as Libyan and U.S. security forces were arriving to rescue evacuated consulate staff, a senior Libyan security official said on Thursday.

Wanis el-Sharef, eastern Libya's deputy interior minister, said the attacks Tuesday night were suspected to have been timed to mark the 9/11 anniversary and that the militants used civilians protesting an anti-Islam film as cover for their action. Infiltrators within the security forces may have tipped off militants to the safe house location, he said.

The Honeymoon is Over

So much for the "convention bounce".

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows Mitt Romney attracting support from 48% of voters nationwide, while President Obama earns 45% of the vote. Two percent (2%) prefer some other candidate, and five percent (5%) are undecided. See daily tracking history.

The recent numbers may have been impacted by a number of factors. Clearly, one is the fading of the president’s convention bounce. Last week, Scott Rasmussen anticipated this fade by noting that the conventions would have no lasting impact on the race.

Big Jump in Unemployment Claims

When will Obama start to blame Romney?

(Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rose more than expected last week, with several states reporting an increase related to Tropical Storm Isaac. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 382,000, the highest in two months, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The prior week's figure was revised UP to show 2,000 more applications than previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 370,000 last week.

75 upward revisions in 76 weeks. Does anyone honestly believe that's not intentional?

Household income drops for 4th straight year

Who wants 4 more years of this?

The income of the typical American household fell last year for the fourth consecutive year, the longest sustained period of decline since the early 2000s. Americans are now poorer than they were in 1999 after taking into account how inflation erodes the value of the dollar.

Median household income fell after adjusting for inflation to $50,100 in 2011, down 1.5% from a year earlier.

The Census Bureau's annual income report is considered a key indicator of the economic health of the nation and its middle class. Median income is the true middle point of American households — half made more, half made less in 2011.

OBAMA REPEATS HILLARY'S FALSE NARRATIVE ON DEATH OF AMBASSADOR

Monkey see, monkey do.

Obama made a brief statement this morning about the death of American Ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three other Americans at our Libyan consulate on yesterday. Obama's prepared remarks reflected virtually word for word an earlier statement made by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Despite a CBS News report to the contrary, Obama claimed that the Libyan security forces "fought back against the attackers." He also claimed that Libyan civilians attempted to aid Ambassador Stevens by transporting him to the hospital...

Photographic images told a different story of the crowd's conduct, however. Rather than aiding Ambassador Stevens, the crowd appeared to be dragging him through the streets. One image showed a member of the crowd carrying an unidentified man that appears to be Ambassador Stevens on his shoulders like a hunting trophy.

GM Should Shut Down Volt Production Until Car Makes A Profit

Unlike the Federal government, the Free Market demands you make a profit or you don't have a business.

Reuters reports that General Motors "is still losing as much as $49,000 on each Volt it builds." This is no shocker, but it should be an alarm to voters who think this president deserves another term. A little more than two weeks ago, the Obama administration released rules mandating a near-doubling of gas mileage standards for cars sold in the U.S. The mandate will not be met at no expense. The industry can't magically build fleets that average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 without steep cost increases just because politicians and bureaucrats demand that it does.

Falling for Fourth Year, U.S. Slips to World's Seventh Most Competitive

Another dubious Obama milestone.

Just 60 days before the U.S. presidential election, a report released on Wednesday shows the U.S. once again has slipped among its peers on the list of the world’s most competitive nations.

The U.S. has fallen for the fourth straight year, by two spots, to the seventh most competitive country, according to The Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013 by the World Economic Forum.

It is now led by Switzerland, Singapore, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany.

“In addition to the burgeoning macroeconomic vulnerabilities, some aspects of the country’s institutional environment continue to raise concern among business leaders, particularly the low public trust in politicians and a perceived lack of government efficiency,” the World Economic Forum said in the report.

BTW we were first in 2008.

Sunday Funny

Thanks RR.

Unemployment Drops to 5.1 Percent—For Government Workers; Lowest Among All Industries

The ultimate leftist Utopia would be every man, women and child on the government payroll. You know, kinda like the  USSR back in the day.

(CNSNews.com) - There was good news for American workers in August—if government was their employer.

The unemployment rate for government wage and salaries workers dropped from 5.7 percent in July to 5.1 percent in August. At the same time, the number of government wage and salary workers counted as unemployed dropped by 123,000 people from 1,182,000 in July to 1,059,000 in August.

The overall national unemployment rate was 8.1 percent in August.

Four years of LIES

Short video illustrating just a few of Obama's biggest whoppers HERE.

Definately worth a watch!

Pathetic 96K Jobs Added In August

Headlines:

Manufacturing employment down in August (-15,000).

Total nonfarm payroll employment for June was revised from +64,000 to +45,000, and the change for July was revised from +163,000 to +141,000. 368,000 dropped out of workforce (quit looking).

Labor force participation rate drops again, lowest in 30 years (63.5%)

More gruesome details HERE.

DNC County Chairman: Christians Want Jewish People to Die

Mark Alan Siegel, Palm Beach County Democrat Chairman. This crazy bedbug has NOT been fired but, rather, given a leave of absence untill this blows over. VIDEO HERE.

Thursday Funny

Registered and Likely voter fundamentals point to big Election night for Republicans

This combined with a large disparity in "voter enthusiasm" could spell real trouble for the Democrats.

For the first time in the history of it asking the question, Gallup polling company has found that more registered voters favor the Republicans than the Democrats. Although the difference is just 44/43, this represents an 11 point drop in favorability for the “Democrat brand” since 2008. It is the Democrats worst pre convention rating since 1992.

Moreover, in the years since Barack Obama took office the Party identification of registered voters has shown a steep drop for the Democrats. At their highest level the Democrats surpassed Republicans by an eye popping 53/34. Now Gallup’s survey of those claiming to be “registered voters” shows that gap has all been wiped away. Counting “leaners” it is now just 44/43 in favor of the Democrats.

Since Obama’s election Democrats have fallen 24 points in overall favorability but among Independents Democrats have slide from 47% to 35% and now stand 3 points below Republicans.

U.S. Manufacturing Activity Unexpectedly Falls in August

There's that word again.

U.S. manufacturing shrank at its sharpest clip in more than three years in August, the third month of contraction in a row, and firms hired the fewest workers since late 2009, a survey on Tuesday showed.

The Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity fell to 49.6 in August from 49.8 in July.

The reading fell shy of the 50.0 median estimate in a Reuters poll of economists. A reading below 50 indicates contraction in the sector.

Monday Funny

Household income is below recession levels, report says

Oh my what Obama has done for the middle class.

Household income is down sharply since the recession ended three years ago, according to a report released Thursday, providing another sign of the stubborn weakness of the economic recovery.

From June 2009 to June 2012, inflation-adjusted median household income fell 4.8 percent, to $50,964, according to a report by Sentier Research, a firm headed by two former Census Bureau officials.

DNC Erecting Creepy Giant Obama Sculpture

Forget the marble pillars, this time there will be a giant 16-foot sculpture of Obama made out of 15.5 tons of sand at the Democratic National Convention. Building a giant sand sculpture of a living leader might be considered a bit tacky with its worshipful implications, but building one during a hurricane in South Carolina is in particularly bad taste.

But if nothing else, at least Obama has found one “Shovel Ready Project”. And this isn’t even the creepiest giant Obama sand sculpture ever made. The winner of that particular competition is still Sudarsan Pattnaik with this nightmare made out of sand.

Looks like Al Jolson in Black face.

Obama's New Trademark

Best Decription of Mitt Romney's Acceptance Speech...SOLID

Full transcript HERE.

Jobless Claims Hold Flat; Spending Tops Income Gains

The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits was unchanged last week, pointing to a labor market that was treading water.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits were a seasonally adjusted 374,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The prior week's figure was revised up to show 2,000 more applications than previously reported.

The only reason they remained "flat" is due to the 73rd upward revision in 74 weeks.

Thursday Funny

New York Times Editor: Ann Romney 'Slipped The Knife' Into President Obama

Expect LOTS more of this.

TAMPA, Florida | To Republicans in the RNC convention hall last night, and surely to the majority of Americans watching at home, regardless of their politics, Ann Romney came across as a warm, kind and caring woman.

But the editors of the New York Times occupy a very different universe. In a nasty piece of work this morning, editorial page editor Andrew Rosenthal painted an ugly picture of Ann Romney. Using the most violent of metaphors, Rosenthal saw a woman who, of all things, had "slipped a knife into President Obama." More after the jump.

Rosenthal also managed to refer to mother-of-five Mrs. Romney as a "diva." Imagine the Times's outrage if a conservative ever dared to refer to First Lady Obama in such terms. Here's Rosenthal's reprehensible line:

"The genius of Mrs. Romney’s diva performance was the way she smiled so warmly as she delicately slipped the knife into President Obama."

Less religious states give less to charity: study

To hell with personal responsibility for ones bretheren, it's the governments job.

BOSTON -- A new study on the generosity of Americans suggests that states with the least religious residents are also the stingiest about giving money to charity.

The study released Monday by the Chronicle of Philanthropy found that residents in states where religious participation is higher than the rest of the nation, particularly in the South, gave the greatest percentage of their discretionary income to charity.

The Northeast, with lower religious participation, was the least generous to charities, with the six New England states filling the last six slots among the 50 states.

Sunday Funny

Thanks RR.

VIDEO: Heckler Spits in Face of Grandmotherly Romney Supporter in WI

Just another example of the tolerance on the left.

Once again we see an Obama/abortion supporter who cannot keep to a civil debate.

This time in Wisconsin where Appleton resident Mary Hogland, 83, tried to interrupt a small, private Romney event. When her outburst was vociferously opposed by the Romney supporters that were actually invited to the gathering, Hogland spat in the face of one of the elderly women present.

This gathering was part of a "Wisconsin Women for Mitt" bus tour event featuring Wis. State Senator Alberta Darling and Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch who recently beat a recall election mounted by the Badger State's government employee unions. Hogland interrupted the event questioning the Republican’s opposition to abortion and Planned Parenthood.

The small event, held in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, was by invite only, says Chris Hanson owner of the place where the event was held.

US Initial Jobless Claims Edge Up To 366,000, Higher Than Expected

73 "upward revisions" in the last 74 weeks. See the MO?

The number of Americans lining up for new jobless benefits rose slightly more than expected last week, the Labor Department said Thursday, suggesting little improvement in the labor market.

In the week ending Aug. 11, applications for unemployment insurance payments rose by 2,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised figure of 364,000 to 366,000. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims would climb to 365,000 last week.

The four-week moving average, which normally provides a better indication of the underlying trend in labor markets than the weekly number of jobless claims, decreased by 5,500 to 363,750 for first-time benefit applicants.

The number of people filing for benefits after an initial week of aid increased fell 31,000 to 3.31 million in the week ending Aug. 4. The continuing claims figure does not include the number of Americans receiving extended benefits under federal programs. The four-week moving average for the week ended Aug. 4 fell by 3,000 to 3.31 million.

Sen. Joseph Biden - Bearing false witness

I don't know who's a bigger liar, Biden or Obama.

In 1972 Sen. Joseph Biden, the Democrat nominee for vice President, lost his wife and young daughter in a car accident. Losing your family in an auto accident is a gut wrenching tragedy, to be sure. No one underestimates that and no ever blamed Mrs. Biden for the accident.

Right up there with despicable things one human can do to another, is falsely accusing the innocent of a crime. “Bearing false witness” is even in the 10 commandments, but Mr. Biden’s feigned Catholicism doesn’t let that stop him.

Last night CBS Inside Edition reports, “In a striking moment in December 2007, he opened his heart to University of Iowa students. “Let me tell you a little story. My wife and three kids were Christmas shopping for a Christmas tree, a tractor trailer, a guy who allegedly, and I never pursued it, drank his lunch instead of eating his lunch, broadsided my family, killed my wife instantly, killed my daughter instantly, and hospitalized my two sons.”

 Out on the stump recently and for years, Biden has repeated this charge. Lately, he has tried to soften it with the thought that he doesn’t know if the semi truck driver was drunk...., “ I never pursued it”. He didn’t follow the case about the death of his wife and child? Give me a break.

The court certainly did. The driver was never charged and was cleared of any wrong doing. Mrs. Biden, driving a station wagon full of kids and a Christmas tree pulled into the truck’s path. The driver, also a victim, had not been drinking and for the years before his death his reputation suffered with the false charge that Biden put out in the public for sympathy and political gain.

He will use his dead family and an innocent fellow American for his own personal profit. Don’t be surprised when he uses the rest of us.

Tuesday Funny

50% Now View Paul Ryan Favorably; 43% Say He Was Right Choice

I'm one of those in the 50%.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 50% of Likely U.S. Voters now have a favorable opinion of Ryan, while 32% view him unfavorably. This includes 29% with a Very Favorable view of Romney’s vice presidential pick and 13% with a Very Unfavorable one. Only 13% are now unfamiliar with Ryan, and five percent (5%) are not sure about him.

Photoshop of the Day

Sunday Funny

Thanks RR.

IT'S RYAN

Excellent choice.

Rasmussen Iowa President: Romney 46%, Obama 44%

The presidential race in the battleground state of Iowa remains a near tie.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Iowa Voters finds Mitt Romney with 46% support to President Obama’s 44%. Five percent (5%) prefer another candidate in the race, and six percent (6%) are undecided...

The survey of 500 Likely Voters in Iowa was conducted on August 8, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence...

If Iowa goes Romney, he'll win.

Democrats Drop 300,000 Registered Voters in Florida; Republicans Gain

Not to mention the disparity in "voter intensity".

Some 300,000 registered Democrats have vanished in the key swing state of Florida since the 2008 elections, new official figures show.

Fewer than 4.6 million will be able to vote in the state's Democratic primaries next week. That's down from 4.9 million who were eligible in 2008 when a bright young candidate called Barack Obama was carrying the party flag.

Now, after nearly four years of Obama in the White House, enthusiasm for the party has waned in the battleground state with the big electoral prize, even as the state's population continues to rise.

160 U.S. Counties Have More Registered To Vote Than Actual Live, Eligible Voters!

A non-partisan group (Houston-based True the Vote) has found 160 different counties coast-to-coast who's registered voters actually outnumber all eligible voters- and can somebody please tell me how a county (in Illinois, what a shock) could have over 500% of their eligibles registered?

And it's not just one isolated incident... it's 160: yet that's merely what was uncovered when somebody actually rolled-up their sleeves and had a real look at the problem we all know is there.

We also know who are operating under the assumption that voter fraud helps them politically, thus Team Obama's selective enforcement of immigration laws and refusal to assist states wishing to rectify their voter registration lists, all while in complete and utter (public) denial voter fraud even exists (they won't admit it and support it- so they refuse to acknowledge it and support it).

Quote of the week

As a very astute movie audience member stated on the Colorado carnage...

Let’s face it, there are a few Fruit Loops out their that are going to kill regardless of the means, bombs, guns, gas whatever. You’re not going to stop this kind of thing unless you completely control ever single member of society.

With liberty and freedom comes a certain degree of risk. Personally I’ll take that risk, thank you.

Amonix: Another Obama-Subsidized Solar Company Fails

Yet another example of the Obama White House's failed attempt to pick winners and losers and doing so by gambling with our our tax dollars, this time to the tune of $6 million in tax credits and $15.6 in grant money from the U.S. Department of Energy.

This company, Amonix, is only 14 months old.

How in the world did it qualify for that kind of tax dollar windfall without any kind of track record?

Evergreen Solar
SpectraWatt Solyndra (received $535 million)
Beacon Power (received $43 million)
AES’ subsidiary Eastern Energy
Nevada Geothermal (received $98.5 million)
SunPower (received $1.5 billion)
First Solar (received $3 billion)
Babcock & Brown (an Australian company which received $178 million)
Ener1 (subsidiary EnerDel received $118.5 million)
Amonix (received 5.9 million)
The National Renewable Energy Lab
Fisker Automotive
Abound Solar (received $400 million)
A123 Systems (received $279 million)Willard &


Kelsey Solar Group (received $6 million)

That’s 16 of Obama's gems that are  failing or have filed for bankruptcy.

U.S. Retail Sector Now at Worst Level Since Summer 2009

As retail goes, so goes the economy.

The retail sector reports that sales for June, for stores open at least one year, gained an anemic 0.1%, the slowest rise since August 2009.

This was the third month in a row of significant weakness in the retail sector!

When compared to the 6.7% rise in sales in the same period last year for the retail sector, this 0.1% rise in retail sales from last month reveals how weak consumer spending in this supposed economic recovery is. Remember, dear reader: 70% of gross domestic product (GDP) is composed of consumer spending.

ABC News Admits 'Incorrectly' Linking Tea Party to Mass Murder in Colorado

So typical of the MSM.

Three hours after reporter Brian Ross attempted to connect a mass killing in Colorado to the Tea Party, ABC News admitted that the story on Good Morning America was "incorrect." The retraction was added to the top of an existing online article about the murders.

The story conceded, "An earlier ABC News broadcast report suggested that a Jim Holmes of a Colorado Tea Party organization might be the suspect, but that report was incorrect." Update: Ross has now admitted his error on live ABC coverage.

Jobless claims rise by 34k to 386k

At least it wasn't "unexpected".

(Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rebounded last week, returning to levels consistent with only modest job growth after a seasonal quirk caused a sharp drop the prior period.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 34,000 to a seasonally adjusted 386,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims had dropped by 24,000 in the prior week and a combined 36,000 over the previous two weeks.

America Heading Towards a Collapse Worse Than 2008 AND Europe!

The light bulb finally goes on...

According to CEO and Chief Global Strategist of Euro Pacific Capital Peter Schiff, the U.S. economy is heading for an economic crash that will make 2008 look like a walk in the park. Stimulus programs can delay this day of reckoning, but only for so long and only at the expense of making the eventual meltdown much, much worse.

Schiff, who famously warned investors about the housing and financial crisis in his 2007 book Crash Proof, says the Fed's palliative efforts during the housing meltdown have made the next crisis inevitable.

"We've got a much bigger collapse coming, and not just of the markets but of the economy," Schiff says in the attached clip. "It's like what you're seeing in Europe right now, only worse."

U.S. Economic Confidence Falls to Lowest Since January

Wonder who the first MSM imbecile to state that this was "unexpected" will be.

PRINCETON, NJ -- Gallup's U.S. Economic Confidence Index averaged -27 for the week ending July 15, down four points from -23 each of the prior two weeks. This extends a gradual decline in confidence that has been underway since late May, when the index was at a four-year best of -16. The index was nearly this low a month ago -- at -26 in mid-June -- and now stands at the lowest weekly average since late January of this year.

U.S. retail sales sink 0.5% in June

Another summer of recovery.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. retail sales fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in June to mark the third straight decline, the first time that's happened since midway through the last recession in 2008, according to the latest government data. Excluding autos, sales dropped 0.4%, the Commerce Department said Monday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast a 0.2% increase in overall retail sales and no change excluding autos.

Gasoline stations reported the biggest drop, down 1.8%, but almost every sector of the economy posted a decline. In the past 12 months, retail sales have risen 3.5%, but they fell in each month of the second quarter. Sales in May were unchanged at a 0.2% decline, while sales in April were revised down to a 0.5% drop from -0.2%.

Sunday Funny

Thanks RR.

Amid latest European bailout, warning signs in US debt figures

Liberal legacy.

While debt and deficits have fallen off Washington's radar screen a bit, in favor of debate over the federal health care law and other issues, U.S. finances remain alarmingly out of balance. And by some measures, it's worse than it is across the pond.

Consider this: Per capita debt in the United States is higher than in all -- or at least some, depending on how it's calculated -- the European nations that have accepted bailouts to date.

Based on official 2010 International Monetary Fund data released earlier this year, the U.S. debt per capita is $46,208.

Ireland: $41,906 Greece: $38,159 Portugal: $19,686 Spain: $18,162

Poll: Obamacare Ruling Makes Voters ‘Less Likely’ to Vote for Obama

Be sure to send John Roberts a thank you note.

The latest Quinnipiac poll shows that — by a 15-point margin — the Supreme Court’s Obamacare ruling makes voters less likely, rather than more likely, to cast their vote for President Obama. Twenty-seven percent of registered voters say that the ruling makes them “less likely” to vote for Obama, while only 12 percent say that it makes them “more likely” to do so. Only 9 percent of independents say that they are “more likely” to vote for Obama because of the ruling, compared to 27 percent who are “less likely.”

Graphic of the Day

Poll: 83% of doctors have considered quitting because of Obamacare

Eighty-three percent of American physicians have considered leaving their practices over President Barack Obama’s health care reform law, according to a survey released by the Doctor Patient Medical Association.

A perfect example of the law of unitended consequences.

The DPMA, a non-partisan association of doctors and patients, surveyed a random selection of 699 doctors nationwide. The survey found that the majority have thought about bailing out of their careers over the legislation, which was upheld last month by the Supreme Court.

Obama raises $71 million in June, trails Romney

Previews of coming attractions.

(CNN) – President Barack Obama's re-election campaign announced Monday that it, along with the Democratic National Committee, raised $71 million in June from more than 706,000 donors.

The amount lags far behind the $106 million Mitt Romney and the Republican National Committee raised last month, a number the campaign made official early Monday.

JUNE JOBS REPORT MISSES EXPECTATIONS, UNEMPLOYMENT 8.2%

"Unexpectedly" pathetic

U.S. payrolls expanded by just 80,000 net jobs in June keeping the unemployment rate flat at 8.2 percent, new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows.

The private sector only expanded by some 84,000 positions. Economists polled by Bloomberg had forecast a gain of 100,000 positions during the month, with private payrolls advancing 106,000.

The disappointing report, which follows several months of weak economic gains, has sent U.S. markets sharply lower.

Happy Independence Day!

Wages drop, only 5th time in 33 years

The damndess recovery I've ever seen.

Unemployment ebbs and flows, but one measure of the nation's economic health, average weekly wages, rarely dips.

Until now. In the latest demonstration of the struggling economy that threatens President Obama's reelection, average weekly wages fell in 2011, one of only five declines since the category was created in 1978 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In a just-released review of employment in the nation's largest 322 counties, BLS found that weekly wages dropped over the year by 1.7 percent to $955 in the fourth quarter of 2011 from a high of $971 in the fourth quarter of 2010.

US manufacturing shrinks for first time in 2 years

We are all now Europeans.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. manufacturing shrank in June for the first time in nearly two years, a troubling sign that the economy is faltering.

The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, says its index of manufacturing activity fell to 49.7. That's down from 53.5 in May and the lowest reading since July 2009. Readings below 50 indicate contraction.

Stocks fell immediately after the report was released.

Over Half of All Obamacare Waivers Given to Union Members

If Obamacare is so wonderful why are all his closest allies exempted?

In what is fast becoming a weekly event, the Obama administration granted 200 more companies waivers from the Democrats' sweeping health care law in the Friday night news dump. That brings the number of companies receiving waivers to 1,372. (You can get a full list of the companies exempted here.)

Not surprisingly, it helps to be a Democratic ally when seeking a waiver. The Republican Policy Committee reports that over half of the workers that have been exempted so far belong to unions:

The plans newly approved for waivers cover more than 160,000 people, bringing to nearly 3.1 million the number of individuals in plans exempted from the health law’s requirements. Of the participants receiving waivers, more than half – over 1.55 million – are in union plans, raising questions of why such a disproportionate share of union members are receiving waivers from the law’s requirements. The percentage of participants receiving waivers that come from unions also continues to rise – the number was 48% in April, and 45% in March.

Sunday Funny

Thanks RR.

Health Care Mandate Upheld

The good news is we now have a template for winning the House, Senate and the Presidency..... the economy and repealing the monstrosity known as Obamacare . It's a one two punch that can take them all.

Chicago homicides rise an astonishing 38% in one year

A legacy left to us from "The Great Society" and exacerbated by several decades of corrupt Democrat control.

Mr. Emanuel listed safer streets among his top three priorities when he became mayor a year ago, but Chicago, the nation's third-largest city, is now testing that promise. Homicides are up by 38 percent from a year ago, and shootings have increased as well, even as killings have held steady or dropped in New York, Los Angeles and some other cities. As of June 17, 240 people had been killed here this year, mostly in shootings, 66 more deaths than occurred in the same period in 2011.

"That's somebody's husband, somebody's son, and they're dying right on our block," said Maya Hodari, who lives on a South Side street where two shootings have already taken place this year, one of them fatal and another as a toddler looked on. "It hurts."

The violence has left its largest scars in some of Chicago's most impoverished, struggling neighborhoods on the South and West Sides, places with views of the city's gleaming downtown skyline that feel worlds apart. Wealthier, whiter parts of the city have not been entirely immune - shootings were reported in the last few days along the city's Magnificent Mile shopping district and near the Lincoln Park Zoo - but a majority of the killings have been tied to Chicago's increasingly complicated gang warfare, police statistics suggest, and to the gritty neighborhoods where gangs have long thrived.

Antarctic ice shelves not melting at all, new field data show

Climate models, a euphemism for pack of damn lies.

Twenty-year-old models which have suggested serious ice loss in the eastern Antarctic have been compared with reality for the first time – and found to be wrong, so much so that it now appears that no ice is being lost at all. “Previous ocean models … have predicted temperatures and melt rates that are too high, suggesting a significant mass loss in this region that is actually not taking place,”

65 Outrageous Lies by President Obama

Not easy to sit through but worth it. Video HERE.

Obama orders feds not to cooperate with Arizona regarding reporting illegals

Reported by Rush Limbaugh.... On the heels of today's SCOTUS decision regarding Arizona's border protection law, Napalitano notified Arizona officials that the federal government/ICE/DHS has been ordered NOT to cooperate with AZ regarding the reporting of illegals stopped in AZ.

Unbelievable Obama. Blatant disregard for his oath of office.

U.S. Foreclosure Activity Increases 9 Percent in May

Yep, the private sector is doing just fine.

IRVINE, CA, Jun 14, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- RealtyTrac(R) ( www.realtytrac.com ), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report(TM) for May 2012, which shows foreclosure filings -- default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions -- were reported on 205,990 U.S. properties in May, an increase of 9 percent from April but still down 4 percent from May 2011. The report also shows one in every 639 U.S. housing units with a foreclosure filing during the month.

Sunday Funny

Thanks RR.

Quote of the Day

"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public."
 -H. L. Mencken.

Exodus: Wisconsin Government Workers Abandon Unions in Droves

And it's not just in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin membership in the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees - the state's second-largest public-sector union after the National Education Association, which represents teachers - fell to 28,745 in February from 62,818 in March 2011, according to a person who has viewed Afscme's figures. A spokesman for Afscme declined to comment. Much of that decline came from Afscme Council 24, which represents Wisconsin state workers, whose membership plunged by two-thirds to 7,100 from 22,300 last year.

A provision of the Walker law that eliminated automatic dues collection hurt union membership. When a public-sector contract expires the state now stops collecting dues from the affected workers' paychecks unless they say they want the dues taken out, said Peter Davis, general counsel of the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission. In many cases, Afscme dropped members from its rolls after it failed to get them to affirm they want dues collected, said a labor official familiar with Afscme's figures.

Obama Asks People Getting Married To Forgo Gifts, Ask Their Guests To Donate To His Campaign Instead

How's that for chutzpah!