Defiant Weiner won't resign, seeks 'treatment'

Hang in there Wiener!

A defiant Rep. Anthony Weiner will not resign and will instead seek treatment even as a the top leaders of the Democratic Party abandoned him en masse Saturday after it was revealed that he had communicated online with a 17-year-old Delaware girl.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the party’s top campaign chiefs — Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) — all called on Weiner to resign in statements released within minutes of each other.

But Weiner has ignored those calls and announced Saturday afternoon that he’s seeking “professional treatment.”

We at OP predicted he was toast 3days ago.

Saturday Funny

Headline of the Week

Gotta love The Post.

Democratic Senator: Environmental Protection Agency Out of Control

West Virginia helped put him into office, now they're paying the price.

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, the former governor of coal-producing West Virginia, is blasting the Obama administration for using the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate coal-fueled power plants out of business.

On Thursday, American Electric Power company announced that to comply with a series of EPA regulations, it will close five coal-fired plants -- three in West Virginia and one each in Ohio and Virginia -- at a net cost of 600 jobs.

American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states.

"We have worked for months to develop a compliance plan that will mitigate the impact of these rules for our customers and preserve jobs, but because of the unrealistic compliance timelines in the EPA proposals, we will have to prematurely shut down nearly 25 percent of our current coal-fueled generating capacity, cut hundreds of good power plant jobs, and invest billions of dollars in capital to retire, retrofit and replace coal-fueled power plants," said AEP Chairman and CEO Michael G. Morris.

"The sudden increase in electricity rates and impacts on state economies will be significant at a time when people and states are still struggling,” he added.

Weekly U.S. jobless claims rise to 427,000

And the beat "unexpectedly" goes on...

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. applications for unemployment compensation increased by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 427,000 in the week ended June 4, according to the Labor Department. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected new requests to decline to 419,000. Initial claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 426,000 from an originally reported 422,000. The average of new claims over the past four weeks, meanwhile, dipped 2,750 to 424,000.

Quote of the Day

Free Republic is hot today

"A wedding where a Jew is marrying a Muslim, officiated by an impeached President...What could go wrong?"

Thanks to SERKIT at FR.

Top Democrat calls on Anthony Weiner to resign

He's GONE.

Rep. Allyson Schwartz, a leading official at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, called for the New York Democrat to resign on Wednesday after a picture of a man’s genitals — purportedly a Weiner self-portrait — began circulating on the Internet. Contacted by POLITICO, a Weiner spokesman neither confirmed nor denied that the picture was of Weiner.

“Having the respect of your constituents is fundamental for a member of Congress. In light of Anthony Weiner’s offensive behavior online, he should resign,” the Pennsylvania congresswoman, who serves as chairwoman of recruiting and candidate services for the DCCC, told POLITICO.

E-mail of the Week

Luke AFB is west of Phoenix and is rapidly being surrounded by civilization that complains about the noise from the base and its planes, forgetting that it was there long before they were. A certain lieutenant colonel at Luke AFB deserves a big pat on the back. Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near Luke AFB wrote the local paper complaining about a group of F-16s that disturbed his/her day at the mall.

When that individual read the response from a Luke AFB officer, it must have stung quite a bit.

The complaint:

'Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base:

Whom do we thank for the morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 A.M, a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyns early bird special?

Any response would be appreciated.

The response:

Regarding 'A wake-up call from Luke's jets' On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m. , a perfectly timed four- ship fly by of F-16s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the grave of Capt. Jeremy Fresques. Capt Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day.

At 9 a. m. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and friend. Based on the letter writer's recount of the fly by, and because of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the President of the United States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they have endured..

A four-ship fly by is a display of respect the Air Force gives to those who give their lives in defense of freedom. We are professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects.

The letter writer asks, 'Whom do we thank for the morning air show'? The 56th Fighter Wing will make the call for you, and forward your thanks to the widow and parents of Capt Fresques, and thank them for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable formation of their lives.

Only 2 defining forces have ever offered to die for you....Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

Lt. Col. Grant L. Rosensteel, Jr.

USAF

PS: The wonderful and ever vigilant folks at Free Republic have some additional info on this letter.

First it is about 6 years old. It's legit but the author was a Lt. Col Scott Pleus not Grant L. Rosensteel, Jr. and the last line was somehow added to the original by who knows who.

The complainant wrote a mea culpa back after discovering his indignation was heartily misplaced.

Nonetheless, this was a brilliantly written and moving letter that illustrates how us conservatives (sometimes) and liberals (most of the time)are so involved in our own little petty life annoyances that we fail to truly realize the monumental sacrifices that those unseen and unamed hero's are making for us each and every day.

Wednesday Funny

Obama's rating on economy hits new low: poll

People are finally getting fed up.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Americans' disapproval of how President Barack Obama is handling the economy and its growing budget deficit has reached new highs amid broad frustration over the slow pace of economic recovery, according to a Washington Post-ABC New poll released on Tuesday.

The ratings boost Obama received after the killing of Osama bin Laden has dissipated with his job approval rating back to 47 percent. Forty-nine percent disapprove of his performance.

Fifty-nine percent, a new high, gave Obama negative marks for his handling of the economy, up from 55 percent a month earlier.

Obama's approval rating on the deficit issue hit a new low of 33 percent, down 6 points since April.

Quote of the Day

"Palin has read American history. The media must have only read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s famous poem—which is no more the definitive account of Revere’s famous ride than Oliver Stone’s JFK is the true story of the Kennedy assassination."

With that quote you need to read the entire article.

Chronic unemployment worse than Great Depression

When the MSM starts noticing how really bad things are, look out.

There is an unfortunate adage for the unemployed: The longer folks are out of a job, the longer it takes them to find a new one.

CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy reports that the chronically unemployed face the hardest road back to recovery, and that while the jobs picture may be improving statistically on a national level, it is not for them. …

About 6.2 million Americans, 45.1 percent of all unemployed workers in this country, have been jobless for more than six months – a higher percentage than during the Great Depression.

New Woman Comes Forward Claiming Cache of Intimate Photos and Communications

Ruh Roh...

A new woman has come forward with what she claims are photographs, chats, and emails with Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY). These appear to undermine severely Rep. Weiner’s explanations that he was the victim of a “prank” or a “hack.”

The detailed new information suggests that the Brooklyn- and Queens-based representative and the young woman in question were involved in an online, consensual relationship involving the mutual exchange of intimate photographs.

BigGovernment.com and BigJournalism.com were approached regarding this information more than a week prior to the separate, independent event of Friday, May 27, 2011, when a link to the now-infamous “gray underwear” photograph appeared publicly on Rep. Weiner’s Twitter feed.

We will be updating BigGovernment.com and BigJournalism.com throughout the day with photographs, timelines, and other clarifying details. However, we will not be releasing all of the material because some of it is of an extreme, graphic nature.

UPDATE:Weiner's Presser...I'm bad, bad, bad, bad, and sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, but NOT quitting.

He said his wife deserves better, doesn't the country?

Fox Palin interview

Even the often beligerant Chris Wallace termed the interview "BOFFO" Having watched it I would concur.

Transcript HERE.

JPM Lowers Q2 GDP For Second Time In A Week, Warns Of A "Severe Downgrade"

When this does transpire the MSM will still maintain that it was "unexpected".

When we revised down our estimate of Q2 GDP growth last week to 2.5% we noted that the risks to this quarter were still to the downside. Given the hard activity data we've received since then -- particularly the auto sales and construction report -- it looks like those downside risks are being realized, and we are lowering our Q2 projection to 2.0%.

Even with this revision we'd assess the risks as still a little to the downside. Most of our downward revision in Q2 is located in consumer spending, where we think growth this quarter is tracking close to 1.5%. If our new estimate for Q2 is realized, GDP growth relative to a year-ago would be only 2.4%, implying almost no closing of the output gap over the past year -- an abysmal performance given that the output gap is arguably greater than 5% of potential GDP, or less arguably, that there are still almost 14 million unemployed workers.

James Arness Dies at 88

A large man in more ways than one. A very sad day indeed.

James Arness, who burnished the legend of America’s epic West as Marshal Matt Dillon, the laconic peacemaker of Dodge City on “Gunsmoke,” one of the longest-running dramatic series in television history, died on Friday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 88.

A family spokeswoman, Ginny Fazer, confirmed the death. Mr. Arness was terribly shy and had almost no training as an actor. A wartime leg wound made it painful for him to mount a horse. But he became the best-known tin star of his era, portraying the towering, weathered marshal for 20 years, from 1955 to 1975. He also made some 50 films and television movies, mostly westerns, in a career that stretched across five decades.

Job growth slows to 54,000 in May, rate up to 9.1%

The only people who weren't expecting this were the government economist's

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Job growth decelerated sharply in May, the Labor Department said Friday. Total nonfarm payrolls increased by 54,000, much lower than the 125,000 gain expected by Wall Street economists.

This is the smallest increase in nonfarm payroll since September. The unemployment rate ticked higher 9.1% in May from 9.0% in the previous month. Economists forecast the unemployment rate to fall to 8.9%. Average hourly earnings increased 6 cents, or 0.3% to $22.98. Economists had been expecting a 0.2% gain. Earnings are up a slim 1.8% in the past year. The average workweek was steady at 34.4 hours.

Mom's Wrath

NEW YORK– The mother of Gennette Cordova, the college student who received a lewd photo from Rep. Anthony Weiner via Twitter, is infuriated by how the politician is handling the issue, and says its a huge distraction for her daughter who is taking finals at the time.

“I’m really upset. I feel like he’s a person of power and influence, who can make a statement and make all this go away,” Carol Mizuguchi said.

Only days after Weiner claimed that his Twitter was hacked and that the photo was sent as a prank, he stated yesterday that he “can’t say with certitude” that the photo was not him.

Jobs Outlook Tanks as do Stocks

More Obamanomics on parade.

NEW YORK, June 1 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks skidded on Wednesday as more weak economic data cemented fears the U.S. recovery was running out of steam and prompted Wall Street firms to slash forecasts ahead of the closely watched payrolls report on Friday.

Goldman Sachs and several other big financial institutions cut estimates for non-farm payrolls growth in May after ADP Employer Services reported much lower-than-expected growth in private payrolls last month.

US home prices slump as crisis deepens

Looks like another "Recovery Summer".

WASHINGTON — US home prices have sunk below levels seen during the "Great Recession," according to data revealed Tuesday, sparking renewed pessimism about a key pillar of the spluttering economic recovery.

Unless you are selling a house in Washington or buying one in Minnesota there is little cause to celebrate the state of the US housing sector.

Despite ultra-low borrowing rates, experts say a steady flow of repossessed homes onto the market, tighter bank lending rules and high unemployment have kept prices at rock bottom.