Can the news around here get any worse?

So many articles, so much news, so little time; here are the more interesting links from my weekend perusal:

1) According to this HuffPo report, the poverty rate has jumped along with the number of families in shelters. Hmm, it looks like Obamanomics is working to perfection. Soon we will all be much poorer and Democrats will come to the rescue with even more government social engineering and fiscal interventions. Happy days.


2) Randall Hoven over at American Thinker soberly summarizes the extent of debt and future fiscal liability that our country faces.

3) For some weird reason Obama gear is not selling as much as it used to. How strange.

4) Obama has installed another Keynesian hack, Austan Goolsbee, to pull levers and plan great big plans to “fix” our economy--at our expense, of course. God help us. Goolsbee has already started to create a narrative of low expectations by announcing that unemployment will stay high for a long time. Thanks a lot, dude. We have already figured that out by simply taking a gander at your economic policy to see that you are creating a train wreck. Goolsbee said this:

"This recession is the deepest in our lifetimes, the deepest since 1929…more than 8 million people lost their jobs. It's going to take a significant push on our part -- and time -- before that comes down…I don't anticipate it coming down right away."

Mr. Goolsbee, there is no doubt that this past recession was severe but we are no longer in a recession. The economy is in a slow lull caused by the anticipation of higher taxes, regulations, de-leveraging, and federal debt. It is obvious from the above quote that you will “push” for more government planning to solve a problem created by government. Please stop helping before it's too late.

Political arguments couched as economic arguments

Congress continues to write checks on our behalf

The House (mostly Democrats) just passed a $26 billion "emergency" bill to attempt to save their butts from political ruin in November:

Summoned back from summer break, the House on Tuesday pushed through an emergency $26 billion jobs bill to protect 300,000 teachers, police and others from election-year layoffs. President Barack Obama was to sign the measure by day's end.

Lawmakers streamed back to Washington for a one-day session as Democrats declared a need to act before children return to classrooms minus teachers laid off because of budgetary crises in states that have been hard-hit by the recession.

Republicans saw it differently, calling the bill a giveaway to teachers' unions and an example of wasteful Washington spending that voters will punish the Democrats for in this fall's elections. The legislation was approved mainly along party lines by a vote of 247-161.

The aid for the states is to be paid for mostly by closing a tax loophole used by multinational corporations and by reducing food stamp benefits for the poor.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the bill was being immediately sent to the White House so Obama could sign it into law. Obama, joined by teachers at a Rose Garden ceremony earlier in the day, said, "We can't stand by and do nothing while pink slips are given to the men and women who educate our children or keep our communities safe."

Uh-huh. So, what happens next? What if the economy doesn't improve over the next year? Then what? More "emergency" bills signed for the benefit of the public service unions while those of us without union cards get stuck with the bill? Jeez.

BTW, this is yet another example of the failure of the "stimulus" package. It has done little to get our economy rolling again. I swear that we are all better off when congress is away on vacation where they can do little damage to the public finances.

Greece is the start of the avalanche

This is a great video by Freedomain Radio. Here are some salient points:

1) 20-30% of the Greek population works for the government.

2) Many Greek government workers can retire with a pension in their 40's!

3) Greek government workers work for 12 months but get paid for 14!

4) Greece was able to join the E.U. only by hiding its debt through swap agreements.

5) Greek taxpayers pay 44% (employees pay 16% and employers pay 28%) of salary for social security!

6) You will notice in this video that protestors have a penchant for red flags and Marxist inspired signs.

7) The ending comments on inflation, debt, and statism are spot on.

Assorted links and news

1) We keep hearing that our government wants "affordable" housing yet it continues to attempt to prop up housing prices by using money it doesn't have. What a waste. Let prices fall already. The sooner they do, the sooner the economy bounces back. Instead, we have the Obama regime trying to reverse a waterfall.

2) Fidel Castro endorses Obamacare. Great minds think alike.

3) If you haven't heard the latest from Venezuela, liberal icon and Code Pink fave, Hugo Chavez arrested Guillermo Zuloaga, president of Globovision Television, the only remaining television station on public airwaves critical of Hugo Chavez. Also arrested was lawmaker Wilmer Azuaje for being a critic of the Chavez regime.

The Fannie Mae monster needs to burn more cash

OK, hang on to your hat's, dear friends. The vacuum cleaner known as Fannie Mae is about to swallow gobs of taxpayer dollars again---$15 billion worth of it:

Fannie Mae needs another $15.3 billion in federal assistance, bringing its total to more than $75 billion. And worse, the mortgage finance company warned that its losses will continue this year.

The rescue of District-based Fannie Mae and sister company Freddie Mac is turning out to be one of the most expensive after-effects of the financial meltdown. The new request means the total bill for the duo will top $126 billion.

And the pain isn't over. Fannie warned Friday that it will need even more money from the Treasury, as unemployment remains high and millions of Americans lose their homes through foreclosure.

Fannie Mae reported Friday that it lost $74.4 billion, or $13.11 a share, last year, including $2.5 billion in dividends paid to the government. That compares with a loss of $59.8 billion, or $24.04 a share, a year earlier.

Fannie Mae, which was seized by federal regulators in September 2008, has racked up losses totaling $136.8 billion over the past three years.

The WaPo article fails to mention that Fannie Mae debt is NOT added to the federal budget. So it is essentially "off the books." Anyone that is following the financial crisis in Greece knows how dangerous and dishonest it is to have massive government debt hidden away from public view.

BTW, remember how Barney Frank defended Fannie Mae? Now, he wants to eliminate Fannie and Freddie. Incredible.

Cut federal spending?

What are the odds that Democrats would actually adopt Republican Senator Tom Coburn's amendment? I won't be holding my breath:

The Senate is debating a $1.9 trillion increase in the nation's debt limit that would lift Treasury's legal borrowing ceiling to $14.3 trillion. After a $290 billion debt-limit raise last month, this giant new increase is intended to get Democrats past November's election without another reminder to voters of how much debt their spending is piling up.

Mr. Coburn has a better idea: Cut spending to a level that would allow the government to stay beneath the current debt ceiling for a few more months. President Obama promised in his campaign to eliminate "unnecessary redundancy" in government, so Mr. Coburn is calling for at least $20 billion in spending cuts on programs that are duplicated across federal agencies. That's about 4% of nondefense discretionary spending, and Mr. Coburn's amendment identifies at least 640 programs that could be consolidated.

A few examples: A 2009 Government Accountability Office report found 69 early education programs, administered by nine different agencies. A 2003 GAO report found 44 job training programs, also administered by nine agencies. The Department of Education runs 14 separate programs for foreign study exchanges. Taxpayers spend more than $300 million annually on at least nine Agriculture Department programs to develop biofuels. Too bad we can't pay for all this with wood chips.

Progressive Utopia: Detroit

Coming to a city near you.

You can kiss $2.3 Billion bye-bye!

I’m surprised that this didn't get more coverage. Tax dollars just wasted away. Sigh.

Pelosi is open to a Value Added Tax

Don’t you worry dear citizen, there are more taxes on the way! Hang tight because the next 12-14 months are going to be a real rocking good time.

More Bailouts?!

I couldn't believe this when I read it: Obama open to newspaper bailout bill. I have a headache.

Size Does Matter

The Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation's new video presents real-world data and research showing that the burden of government spending is far too high – not only in the United States (where the Bush-Obama policies have increased the federal budget by more than 100 percent), but also in other nations where government budgets sometimes consume more than one-half of an economy's output.

"We're from the government, and we are here to help."

I need a good laugh right now.

Forced to become an expatriate. Now where to go?

Since our government seems driven to devalue the American dollar while continuing to implement massive wealth distribution schemes, some of us may sadly have to live out our retirement abroad where our dollars may have more purchasing power. Here are some lovely places for about $500 a month.

How To Rid Government Corruption!

It’s not easy being Green

On Friday, the Obama administration declared that carbon dioxide (including five other industrial gases) was a grave danger to human health and a threat to the environment. The regulatory agency that will be in charge of crafting environmental regulation will be the Environmental Protection Agency. However, I surmise that it will probably be Congress that creates some sort of all encompassing environmental legislation. This is the moment that environmental groups were waiting for and it is for them a major step into crafting a "green" economy. This is huge. This ruling means that everything that you consume or purchase will essentially become more expensive--EVERYTHING. Congratulations, my dear taxpayers, our nation is now off to a new economic experiment that will never pay off and will bring grimaces of pain when citizens have to settle the bill.

By the way, the "green" experiment of ethanol hasn't worked out well at all yet our government will continue to subsidize it till someone notices the huge money pit that it is. Despite the fact that ethanol plants are closing all over the country, our government wants to mandate even more ethanol use. Of course, this means that the taxpayer remains on the hook to benefit ethanol producers and the states that have them.

The Burden of The Tax Code

Big State Government Now Wants Your T.V.

You see we need to save energy because too much energy usage makes the power plants burn more fossil fuels which we know pollutes the earth and causes Global Warming. If we don't stop Global Warming, we will find ourselves underwater or starving or destroyed by killer weather just like that realistic movie, "The Day After Tomorrow." So, your T.V. needs to be regulated. It's for the greater good.

California state regulators, who have limited automobile emissions and required large utilities to increase use of renewable energy, now are taking aim at a ubiquitous household item - the television.

Consumer demand for bigger, flatter and fancier TVs has dramatically increased the amount of energy needed to watch the tube, officials say. The California Energy Commission says a 42-inch plasma television uses more energy than a large refrigerator...

To reduce the electrical draw from TVs, the commission has proposed the nation's first mandatory energy limits on televisions - limits that many large LCD and plasma TVs on the market do not meet.

"We want to get rid of energy-guzzling televisions," said Adam Gottlieb, spokesman for the state energy commission.

The proposed rules would take effect from 2011 to 2013, eventually cutting the use of power by 50 percent.

How long before this idea goes federal?

Less of a "Live Free Or Die" State Soon.

"New Hampshire is one step closer to having a mandatory seat belt law."

TSA harrassing Ron Paul supporter

A message from Campaign For Liberty about the above video:

Dear Friend of Liberty,

Campaign for Liberty’s very own Steve Bierfeldt has become an unexpected Internet sensation -- and the latest target of over-reaching federal government agents.

You see, Steve was detained by Airport Police and TSA officials shortly after the Campaign for Liberty regional conference in St. Louis.

The officials rudely berated and harassed Steve for 30 minutes in a secluded room at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. Fortunately, Steve was able to record nearly all of the interrogation with his cell phone.

Steve’s alleged “crime”? Carrying $4,700 in checks and cash from Campaign for Liberty, along with various other materials from our conference.

The local and Federal agents harassed Steve. They were belligerent, cursing and using insulting language. They threatened to turn Steve over to the DEA and the FBI, all the while refusing to inform him of his legal rights or explain how cash and checks threatened airplane or airport security.

Throughout the interrogation, Steve remained polite but resolute and declined to answer the invasive questions without an adequate explanation from these federal and local agents as to why they needed to be answered. Without telling Steve what law he was accused of breaking, they continued their harassment.

Although they grew increasingly frustrated that he remained committed to exercising his rights, intervention from another officer eventually led the police to reluctantly release Steve.

Last Wednesday, Steve appeared on Judge Napolitano’s Freedom Watch to discuss the flagrant violation of his rights and to promote the importance of each of us defending our civil liberties...

Steve’s ordeal is a reminder to all patriots that liberty is constantly under fire, and we must remain vigilant and prepared to stand up for our rights.