Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Barker's Newsbites: Tuesday, May 24, 2011


Well, Good Mornin'...!!!

Happy Birthday, Fred...!!!

Love you!

DAD
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12 comments:

William R. Barker said...

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Plan-in-works-for-500foot-apf-3915594428.html?x=0&.v=3

A developer is rolling out plans to build a 500-foot viewing wheel on the Las Vegas Strip that would be higher than the London Eye and give visitors an unparalleled view of Sin City.

* NOW THAT'S MY AMERICA! (JUST SAYIN'...)

* SEE FOLKS... IT'S NOT ALL BAD NEWS! (*WINK*)

May 24, 2011 at 7:49 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304066504576341211971664684.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

* YET... IT IS MOSTLY BAD NEWS... (*SIGH*)

[W]ith prices on the rise and unemployment still high, the U.S. economy again seems to be entering stagflation.

April's producer price index for finished goods, which excludes services and falling home prices, rose 6.8%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that intermediate goods prices for April were rising at a 9.4% annual clip. Meanwhile the official nationwide unemployment rate is mired close to 9%...

* WAIT FOR IT... WAIT FOR IT...

...without counting a large backlog of discouraged workers who are no longer officially in the labor force.

(*SIGH*)

Although many forces buffet the U.S. economy, the near-zero interest rate policy of the Federal Reserve is the prime contributor to the current bout with stagflation.

(*NOD*)

The stagflation of the 1970s was brought on by unduly easy U.S. monetary policy in conjunction with attempts to "talk" the dollar down, leading to massive outflows of hot money that destabilized the monetary systems of America's trading partners. Although today's stagflation is not identical, the similarities are striking.

May 24, 2011 at 7:59 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303654804576341790401786326.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsTop

A GOP plan (Ryan's Roadmap; The Ryan Plan) to overhaul Medicare faces its first vote in the Senate this week, presenting a test of just how risky Republicans view one of the party's signature proposals.

Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), who is running for re-election next year in a heavily Democratic state, on Monday became the second Republican to announce opposition to the Medicare plan, joining Sen. Susan Collins of Maine.

* CHANCES ARE, THESE TWO BOZOS OPPOSE RYAN'S PLAN FOR THE WRONG REASONS - MEANING THEY PROBABLY THINK IT GOES "TOO FAR." IN TRUTH... THE PLAN DOESN'T GO NEARLY FAR ENOUGH!

Also announcing his opposition to the budget, which Senate Democrats plan to bring to a vote on Wednesday or Thursday, was Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a conservative who said the GOP budget did not balance the budget quickly enough.

(*WINK*) AS I WAS SAYING... (*SMILE*)

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has said he would vote for the House budget but not lean on GOP colleagues to join him...

(*SMIRK*)

One GOP alternative from Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), would make deeper spending cuts and balance the budget faster than the House budget, but without specifying Medicare changes as broad as Mr. Ryan's. That difference, a GOP leadership aide said, could attract support from Republicans wary of Mr. Ryan's Medicare plan.

* SOUNDS GOOD. TELL ME MORE!

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), who faces a conservative primary challenge next year, has voiced opposition without saying what she would do when it comes to a vote.

(*SNORT*)

In an op-ed article in Politico, Mr. Brown said he opposed the proposal because he worried it would shift too much financial burden onto elderly beneficiaries. "Our country is on an unsustainable fiscal path," Mr. Brown wrote. "But I do not think it requires us to change Medicare as we know it. We can work inside of Medicare to make it work."

(*ROLLING MY EYES*) WHAT AN ASSHOLE. SURELY EVEN IF HE'S THIS STUPID - CAN'T FOLLOW THE MATH - SOMEONE ON HIS STAFF CAN EXPLAIN THE NUMBERS TO HIM.

May 24, 2011 at 11:16 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304520804576341830309447822.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_AboveLEFTTop

One of the immutable laws of modern American politics is that no candidate who wants to win the Iowa Presidential caucuses can afford to oppose subsidies for ethanol. So it's notable - make that downright amazing - that former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty launched his campaign for the Republican Presidential nomination Monday by including a challenge to King Corn.

(*STANDING OVATION*)

"The truth about federal energy subsidies, including federal subsidies for ethanol, is that they have to be phased out," Mr. Pawlenty told a crowd in Des Moines. "We simply can't afford them anymore."

* AND BEYOND MONEY... (*PAUSE*)... CORN-BASED ETHANOL IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL AS WELL AS SOCIAL DISASTER - HURTING THE ENVIRONMENT IN A NUMBER OF WAYS WHILE RISING THE COST OF BASIC FOOD.

This marks a change for Mr. Pawlenty, who over two terms leading Iowa's northern neighbor first fought farmers on subsidies but later supported their push for a 20% ethanol mandate for gasoline.

(*NOD*)

But in refusing to stick to the script for candidates looking to harvest votes in February's Iowa caucuses, Mr. Pawlenty has passed an early test of fortitude. By opposing ethanol despite the political risks, Mr. Pawlenty will also gain credibility to tackle other energy subsidies that drain the federal fisc to little good effect.

(*ENTHUSIASTIC NOD*)

May 24, 2011 at 11:17 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304520804576341782242746932.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_AboveLEFTTop

* TOUCHED UPON THIS YESTERDAY...

Yesterday the Supreme Court ordered California to release 46,000 convicted criminals—people who society has decided, through a fair and impartial judicial system, are dangerous or deserve to be punished. Justice Antonin Scalia, in a powerful dissent, calls it "perhaps the most radical injunction issued by a court in our Nation's history."

* SEAL TEAM SIX... CALLING SEAL TEAM SIX... FIVE TARGETS IDENTIFIED... PERMISSION TO USE LEATHAL FORCE GRANTED...

n Brown v. Plata, a 5-4 Court majority ruled that "overcrowding" in California prisons had led to inadequate health-care services and therefore violated the Eighth Amendment rights of prisoners, upholding a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

(*ROLLING MY EYES*)

The class of inmates who sued the state alleged no specific harms, merely that their conditions of incarceration were "systemic" and had the potential to be unconstitutional.

* FOLKS... OUR NATION IS BEING DESTROYED FROM WITHIN...

Justice Scalia's dissent, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, best dismantles what he calls "a judicial travesty" and an "outrageous result." Justice Scalia notes that the Justices are now decreeing how the political branches of government must be run, disregarding the Constitution's core Article III checks on judicial authority. The courts are neither qualified nor empowered to be policy makers and "long-term administrators of complex social institutions" such as schools or prisons, he writes.

* AND OF COURSE HE'S RIGHT!

May 24, 2011 at 11:17 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/pack-of-teens-trash-dunkin-donuts-20110523-lgf

It's like a flash mob gone bad.

* UM... I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION FLASH MOBS ALWAYS WENT BAD. (THUS "MOBS.")

Security footage from a Manhattan Dunkin' Donuts shows a group of youths climbing on counters, throwing chairs and throwing tables in a violent attack on workers.

* AH... A GROUP OF "YOUTHS." YOU KNOW... LIKE BEAVER AND WALLY... LIKE RICHIE CUNNINGHAM AND POTSY...

(*SMIRK*)

It happened at the Dunkin' Donuts on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village. A $2,000 hot chocolate machine was reportedly destroyed in the attack.

* FOLKS... GREENWICH VILLAGE AIN'T THE GHETTO. IT'S A TOURIST AREA AS WELL AS A COMMUNITY.

* FOLKS... WATCH THE VIDEO EMBEDDED WITHIN THE STORY. OR... CHECK OUT THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO:

* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gepcFBZsQ4

* NOPE. DON'T SEE THE BEAVER. DON'T SEE POTSY OR RALPH THE MOUTH. (*SMIRK*)

Similar attacks have targeted other stores in the neighborhood in the previous weeks.

Some businesses and even residents recently have complained about violence in the area. Most of the business owners didn't want to give their names for fear of retribution.

* ...FOR FEAR OF RETRIBUTION... (*SIGH*)

One store owner told Fox 5's Lisa Evers that some kids did something similar at his business about a week earlier than the incident at Dunkin' Donuts.

He said, "It's not safe around her."

* YA KNOW WHAT YOU DO?! YOU ARM YOURSELF. IF A BUNCH OF "YOUTHS" STARTS RAMPAGING - DESTROYING YOUR PROPERTY, STEALING YOUR PROPERTY - YOU START SHOOTING IN ORDER TO PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR PROPERTY.

May 24, 2011 at 1:04 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/white-house-dedicates-new-position-to-deal-with-unfavorable-online-media_b36292

The White House has named Jesse Lee to a new position within its communications department titled Director of Progressive Media & Online Response.

According to The Huffington Post, Lee will essentially be responsible for building up Obama’s online presence as he prepares for his re-election bid, and squashing any negative stories.

* HOLD IT! HOLD IT! THIS SOUNDS LIKE A STRICTLY POLITICAL POSITION - NOT A POSITION THAT THE TAXPAYERS SHOULD BE FUNDING.

According to The Huffington Post: "Rapid response has usually been outsourced to the Democratic National Committee (DNC), if not done on an ad-hoc basis by administration officials."

* FOLKS... HOW CAN THIS BE LEGAL...???

May 24, 2011 at 1:05 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/05/president_obama_has_no_idea_wh.html

* THE HEADLINE...

President Obama Has No Idea What Year It Is

* THE REASON FOR THE HEADLINE...

This is how President Obama signed the guestbook at Westminster Abbey earlier today, where he got a tour from the Very Reverend Dr. John Hall and laid a wreath on the Grave of the Unknown Warrior.

It is a great privilege to commemorate our common heritage, and common sacrifice.

Barack Obama
24 May 2008

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

* SERIOUSLY, FOLKS... IMAGINE IF IT HAD BEEN DUBYA... OR SARAH PALIN... OR EVEN THAT HALF-WIT MCCAIN...

May 24, 2011 at 3:13 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/267919/sessions-will-block-recess-andrew-stiles

Senate Democrats have made it perfectly clear that they feel no obligation to produce a 2012 budget resolution.

* SERIOUSLY! SEE: http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/budget/162167-conrad-says-there-will-be-a-senate-budget-eventually

Never mind that the law requires it.

(*SNORT*)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid thinks it would be “foolish” for Democrats to put forward a budget at this point.

* AGAIN, FOLKS - SEE: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/20/news/la-pn-harry-reid-budget-20110520

The [democrat-controlled] Senate has now gone more than 750 days without passing a budget.

* FOLKS... YA CAN'T MAKE THIS SHIT UP...!!!

Reid has called for a series of votes this week on a number of Republican budget proposals - from Rep. Paul Ryan and Sens. Pat Toomey and Rand Paul - none of which will pass, in a naked attempt to secure a partisan advantage for Democrats.

(*SIGH*)

Harry Reid...is content to finish out the week with series of “show votes” before packing it in for the week-long Memorial Day recess.

Sen. Jeff Session (R-AL), ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee, has a message for Reid: Not so fast.

(*CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*

[W]ill his Republican colleagues stand with him?

Sessions told reporters he didn’t know how many other members would vote against a cloture motion to adjourn.

No budget. No vacation.

We shall see.

May 24, 2011 at 5:17 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304520804576343460156383524.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

Chrysler Group LLC repaid $7.6 billion in U.S. and Canadian government loans in a refinancing...

* YOU MEAN THEY PAID OFF THEIR MASTERCARD BILL WITH THEIR VISA CARD...?

(*SNORT*)

As part of the refinancing, Fiat increased its stake in Chrysler to 46%...

* SO LET'S SEE... CHRYSLER IS NOW OWNED BY THE ITALIANS AND THE UNIONS. GREAT. JUST SUPER!

Chrysler now expects to save between $300 million and $350 million annually under the new loan structure.

* THE ITALIAN/UNION-OWNED CHRYSLER...

(*SMILE*)

The U.S. Treasury still owns a 6.6% stake in Chrysler while the Canadian government owns 1.7%. A United Auto Workers heath trust owns a 45.7% stake, just behind Fiat.

* SO LET'S SEE... 46% PLUS 6.6% PLUS 1.7% PLUS 45.7% EQUALS... (*PAUSE*)... SOMETHING SHORT OF AMERICAN CAPITALISM. SO MUCH FOR REGULAR AMERICANS OWNING CHRYSLER... (*SIGH*)

May 24, 2011 at 5:18 PM
William R. Barker said...

* TWO-PARTER... (Part 1 of 2)

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/267898/dependency-and-votes-thomas-sowell

* BY DR. THOMAS SOWELL

Those who regard government “entitlement” programs as sacrosanct, and regard those who want to cut them back as calloused or cruel, picture a world very different from the world of reality.

To listen to some of the defenders of entitlement programs - which are at the heart of the present financial crisis - you might think that anything the government fails to provide is something that people will be deprived of. In other words, if you cut spending on school lunches, children will go hungry. If you fail to subsidize housing, people will be homeless. If you fail to subsidize prescription drugs, old people will have to eat dog food in order to be able to afford their meds.

This is the vision promoted by many politicians and by much of the media.

But, in the world of reality, it is not even true for most people who are living below the official poverty line.

Most Americans living below the official poverty line own a car or truck - and government entitlement programs seldom provide cars and trucks.

Most people living below the official poverty line also have air conditioning, color television, and a microwave oven - and these too are not usually handed out by government entitlement programs.

Cell phones and other electronic devices are by no means unheard of in low-income neighborhoods, where children would supposedly go hungry if there were no school-lunch programs. (In reality, low-income people are overweight more often than other Americans.)

As for housing and homelessness, housing prices are higher and homelessness is a bigger problem in places where there has been massive government intervention, such as in liberal bastions New York City and San Francisco.

As for the elderly, 80% are homeowners whose monthly housing costs are less than $400, including property taxes, utilities, and maintenance.

The desperately poor elderly conjured up in political and media rhetoric are - in the world of reality - the wealthiest segment of the American population. The average wealth of older households is nearly three times the wealth of households headed by people in the 35-44 year-old bracket, and more than 15 times the wealth of households headed by someone under 35 years of age.

If the wealthiest segment of the population cannot pay their own medical bills, who can? The country as a whole is not any richer because the government pays our medical bills with money that it takes from us.

* THIS BEARS REPEATING:

The country as a whole is not any richer because the government pays our medical bills with money that it takes from us.

* ONE MORE TIME:

The country as a whole is not any richer because the government pays our medical bills with money that it takes from us.

* To be continued...

May 24, 2011 at 6:52 PM
William R. Barker said...

* CONTINUING... (Part 2 of 2)

What about the truly poor in whatever age brackets?

First of all, even in low-income and high-crime neighborhoods, people are not stealing bread to feed their children. The fraction of the people in such neighborhoods who commit most of the crimes are far more likely to steal luxury products that they can either use or sell to get money to support their parasitic lifestyle. As for the rest of the poor, Prof. Walter Williams of George Mason University long ago showed that you could give the poor enough money to lift them all above the official poverty line for a fraction of what it costs to support a massive welfare-state bureaucracy.

We have all heard the old saying about how giving a man a fish feeds him for a day, while teaching him to fish feeds him for a lifetime. Independence makes for a healthier society, but dependency is what gets votes for politicians. [Their] goal is not to keep the poor from starving but to create dependency - because dependency translates into votes for politicians who play Santa Claus. The poor have been used as human shields behind which the expanding welfare state has advanced.

For politicians, giving a man a fish every day of his life is the way to keep getting his vote. “Entitlement” is just a fancy word for dependency.

As for the scary stories politicians tell, in order to keep the entitlement programs going, as long as we keep buying it, they will keep selling it.

May 24, 2011 at 6:52 PM

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