Friday, August 24, 2012

Barker's Newsbites: Friday, August 24, 2012


I am expanding my musical horizons!

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11 comments:

William R. Barker said...

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/08/23/romney-reiterates-he-would-replace-bernanke/

Mitt Romney said Thursday that he would replace Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, dismissing the advice of a top adviser who suggested this week that the chairman should be considered for a third term.

(*STANDING OVATION*)

* INDEED... ROMNEY SHOULD IMMEDIATELY FIRE THIS UNNAMED "TOP ADVISOR!"

On Tuesday, Glenn Hubbard, a top economic adviser to Mr. Romney, told Reuters TV that Mr. Bernanke should “get every consideration” to stay on at the Federal Reserve, calling the chairman a “model technocrat” and saying that he deserves a pat on the back.

* JEEZUS...

* HUBBARD HAS GOT TO GO!

Mr. Romney said he appreciates the counsel of Mr. Hubbard and others but reiterated his plans to replace Mr. Bernanke. He declined to say whether Mr. Hubbard, whom he called a wonderful economic adviser, might be a candidate for the job.

(*SNORT*)

* IF HUBBARD SUPPORTS THAT INCOMPETENT BERNANKE... (*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)... THAN HOW IN GOD'S NAME COULD ANYONE THINK HE'S FIT TO REPLACE BERNANKE...?!?!

August 24, 2012 at 9:32 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-23/u-s-incomes-feel-more-in-recovery-sentier-says.html

American incomes declined more in the three-year "expansion" that started in June 2009 than during the longest recession since the Great Depression, according an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by Sentier Research LLC.

(*SNORT*) (*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

Median household income fell 4.8% on an inflation- adjusted basis since the recession ended in June 2009, more than the 2.6% drop during the 18-month contraction, the research firm’s Gordon Green and John Coder wrote in a report today.

* AND FOLKS... (*SIGH*)... THESE FIGURES ACTUALLY LOWBALL THE DECLINE IN SPENDING POWER - THE DROP IN LIVING STANDARDS - SINCE THEY'RE BASED UPON DELIBERATELY FAULTY (LOWBALLED) INFLATION FIGURES!

Household income is 7.2% below the December 2007 level, the former Census Bureau economic statisticians wrote.

(*PURSED LIPS*)

“Almost every group is worse off than it was three years ago, and some groups had very large declines in income,” Green, who previously directed work on the Census Bureau’s income and poverty statistics program, said in a phone interview today. “We’re in an unprecedented period of economic stagnation.”

* DID OR DID NOT THE DEMOCRATS CONTROL BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS IN 2007... 2008... 2009... 2010...

* THOUGH REPUBLICANS HAVE CONTROLLED THE HOUSE SINCE JANUARY 2011, HAVE NOT THE DEMOCRATS CONTROLLED THE SENATE...???

* HAS BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA NOT BEEN PRESIDENT SINCE JANUARY OF 2009 - ALMOST FOUR YEARS...?!?!

While gains in hourly earnings and average hours worked per week may have had “a minor mitigating effect” on income declines, they couldn’t offset a jobless rate that hasn’t fallen below 8% since February 2009 and a record duration of unemployment, according to the Annapolis, Maryland-based firm.

* O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A!

The average duration of unemployment increased to a record 41 weeks in November and remains at 39 weeks, Labor Department data show.

Almost 5.2 million Americans have been out of work for at least six months.

* U-6 UNEMPLOYMENT IS 15%. (THAT'S F*I*F*T*E*E*N PERCENT...!!!)

“Median annual household income declined significantly for both family and non-family households,” Green and Coder wrote. “Real median annual household income declined more significantly for younger households.”

* THAT'S RIGHT, KIDS...!!!

(*SNICKER*)

Incomes for all age groups below 65 years fell, while older Americans saw increases.

(*SNORT*) (*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

August 24, 2012 at 9:47 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obamas-budget-add-44-trillion-debt-next-four-years_650614.html

It's been 1,212 since Senate Democrats brought a budget to the Senate floor.

By the end of this year, the federal debt is expected to be $16.2 trillion...

It's been 1,212 since Senate Democrats brought a budget to the Senate floor.

By the end of this year, the federal debt is expected to be $16.2 trillion, which is $6.2 trillion more than when President Obama first came into office four years ago.

It's been 1,212 since Senate Democrats brought a budget to the Senate floor.

Moreover, new analysis by the Republican side of the Senate Budget Committee finds that, over the next 4 years, if Barack Obama remains president and his budget is enacted, $4.4 trillion will be added to the federal debt.

* WE... SHALL... SEE...

August 24, 2012 at 9:59 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-shootings-chicago-violence-august-23-august-24-violence-gunfire-20120823,0,49779.story

Nineteen people were shot across [Chicago's] South and West sides from Thursday evening through early Friday morning -- 13 of them wounded over a 30-minute period, authorities say.

* AND TEN WERE SHOT IN FRONT OF NEW YORK'S EMPIRE STATE BUILDING THIS MORNING... THING IS... WHAT HAPPENED IN CHICAGO FITS A TREND... THE EMPIRE STATE SHOOTING... DOESN'T.

(*SHRUG*)

The overnight shootings peaked between 9:15 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. That's when eight people, many of them teens, were shot at 79th Street and Essex Avenue about 9:30 p.m.

* AND YET... DO YOU REALLY THINK THIS WILL BE A NATIONAL STORY?

(*SMIRK*)

August 24, 2012 at 10:15 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/barack-obama-asks-eurozone-to-keep-greece-in-until-after-election-day-8076852.html

The Obama administration will pressure European governments not to let Greece fall out of the eurozone before November's Presidential elections, British Government sources have suggested.

* "SUGGESTED...???"

* HEY... MY STANDARDS REMAIN THE SAME REGARDLESS OF WHOSE OX GETS GORED - AND WHOSE DOESN'T.

(*SHRUG*)

Representatives from the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission are due to arrive in Athens next month to assess Greece's reform efforts.

They are expected to report in time for an 8 October meeting of eurozone finance ministers which will decide on whether to disburse Greece's next €31bn aid tranche, promised under the terms of the bailout for the country.

American officials are understood to be worried that if they decide Greece has not done enough to meet its deficit targets and withhold the money, it would automatically trigger Greece's exit from the eurozone weeks before the Presidential election on 6 November.

* AGAIN... NOT THRILLED WITH THE "ARE UNDERSTOOD TO BE" NONSENSE.

They are urging eurozone Governments to hold off from taking any drastic action before then – fearing that the resulting market destabilisation could damage President Obama's re-election prospects.

* THIS "THEY"... CAN "THEY" BE MORE CLEARLY IDENTIFIED?

* HERE'S THE THING, THOUGH, FOLKS... IT'S NOT AS IF THIS REPORT IS CLEARLY AN ATTACK ON OBAMA. HERE... KEEP READING!

European leaders are thought to be sympathetic to the lobbying fearing that, under pressure from his party lin Congress, Mitt Romney would be a more isolationist president than Mr Obama.

(*SHRUG*)

* SEE WHAT I MEAN?

The President discussed the eurozone crisis with David Cameron during a conference call on Wednesday and both welcomed statements by the European Central Bank that it was "standing firmly behind the euro".

* AND THIS DOES INDEED SUPPORT THE THRUST OF THE STORY.

* FOLKS... GREECE *BEING* A MEMBER OF THE EUROZONE IS THE PROBLEM!

* FOLKS... MY GUESS... YES, OBAMA IS PRESSURING THE EUROPEANS TO CONTINUE BAILING OUT GREECE FOR PARTISAN REASONS... HOWEVER... I'M GUESSING HE ALSO SINCERELY FAVORS BAILOUTS WITHOUT END... DEBT PILED UPON DEBT PILED UPON DEBT...

(*SHRUG*)

* EITHER WAY... IT'S A FRIGGIN' ONGOING DISASTER!

August 24, 2012 at 10:27 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/314851/reid-s-glass-house-betsy-woodruff

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) quipped, “Most Americans don’t have the benefit of Swiss bank accounts or tax shelters in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda.”

* TRUE!

Some of the preposterously wealthy Americans who do use such schemes include:

(*DRUM ROLL*)

Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and John Kerry (D-MA).

(*SMIRK*)

* FOLKS... LISTEN... IN ALL SERIOUSNESS... YEAH, REID AND THE DEMS ARE HYPOCRITES OF THE FIRST ORDER, BUT MOVING BEYOND "GOTCHYA"... THE PROBLEM IS THE TAX CODE - NOT THE FOLKS USING IT.

(*SHRUG*)

August 24, 2012 at 11:06 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/314867/romney-s-wind-change-iowa-katrina-trinko

If there’s anyone in Iowa who doesn’t know Mitt Romney’s position on the question of wind-power subsidies, it’s not for a lack of effort by the Obama campaign.

“Governor Romney wants to end the tax credits for wind energy,” Obama said last week at a campaign event in Iowa. “Wind energy creates 7,000 jobs in Iowa — 7,000 jobs. Governor Romney said these new sources of energy are ‘imaginary.’ Congressman Ryan said they’re a ‘fad.’ Those 7,000 jobs aren‘t a fad; they’re our future.”

* BULLSHIT.

The Obama campaign clearly views the wind-energy subsidy — a 2.2-cent tax credit, enacted in 1992 and set to expire in December, for each kilowatt-hour of electricity generated — as a winning issue and an essential part of keeping Iowa blue this cycle.

* EVERYTHING IS ABOUT BRIBERY WITH THESE FRIGGIN' PEOPLE...

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

Experts are divided as to how much Romney’s position will hurt him.

* KUDOS TO ROMNEY FOR STANDING UP FOR WHAT'S RIGHT!

Timothy Hagle, a political-science professor at the University of Iowa, downplays the importance of the credit. “It’s not like ethanol,” he says. “That’s what some people think, including perhaps the Obama campaign.” Iowa may be second in the nation in wind-energy production, but the industry “doesn’t affect the same large number of Iowans that the ethanol stuff did,” Hagle explains.

However, Iowa Democratic strategist Greg Hauenstein says Romney’s position is “not playing well.” He points to the fact that prominent Iowa Republicans such as Senator Chuck Grassley and Governor Terry Branstad have publicly announced their disagreement with Romney on wind-energy policy.

* GRASSLEY AND BRANSTAD ARE SUBVERTING THE NATIONAL INTEREST TO THEIR OWN PAROCHIAL SHORT TERM POLITICAL INTERESTS.

Branstad told Radio Iowa that Romney “needs to be educated on how important this is.”

* I'D SUGGEST BRANSTAD DEVELOP SOME CHARACTER.

At an early-August town hall, Grassley said, “I’m the author of the wind-energy tax credit of 1992, and there were people from outside the state [who] came into Iowa and issued a press release that the Republican candidate for president was opposed to wind energy, and I felt it was just like a knife in my back, as the author of the bill, without even being consulted about it.”

* ENOUGH WITH USING THE TAX CODE FOR SOCIAL ENGINEERING! THE LOOPHOLES AND "TAX CREDITS" ARE THE PROBLEM - NOT THE SOLUTION!

David Yepsen, a former Des Moines Register reporter and the current director of the state’s bipartisan Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, thinks that while opposition to the wind subsidy alone might not damage Romney, the issue could feed into a larger narrative about Mitt Romney and rural America. Wind energy, he says, is an issue that can matter to voters “psychologically.”

* IT'S THE SUBSIDY, STUPID! ROMNEY HAS NOTHING AGAINST WIND POWER AS LONG AS IT'S NOT SUBSIDIZED! WHEN, WHERE, AND IF WIND POWER MAKES ECONOMIC SENSE PEOPLE LIKE ROMNEY AND MYSELF WILL SUPPORT IT!

“There are some issues that convey to voters in rural America that you understand their problems,” Yepsen says, mentioning the farm bill and ethanol subsidies as other examples. “What these convey to people is that you sort of get it, that you understand the problems in rural America, the need for economic growth and diversity.”

* THE FARM BILL IS CORPORATE WELFARE WRIT LARGE! ETHANOL SUBSIDIES HARM THE ECONOMY AND HARM THE ENVIRONMENT!

August 24, 2012 at 12:17 PM
William R. Barker said...

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

http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?ID=282258

* HEY... IT'S THE JERUSALEM POST... YOU THE READER MUST DECIDE WHAT TO MAKE OF THIS... BUT THE EDITORIAL'S AUTHOR IS THE FORMER ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO EGYPT.

(*PURSED LIPS*)

While the world persists in looking for signs of pragmatism in the Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsy is quietly taking over all the power bases in the country.

Having gotten rid of the army old guard, he replaced them with his own men – officers belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood or known sympathizers.

Then he turned his attention to the media, replacing 50 editors working for the government’s extensive and influential press empire – including Al- Ahram, Al-Akhbar, Al-Gomhuria.

He is now busy appointing new governors to the 27 regions of the country.

Hosni Mubarak used to choose retired generals he could depend on for these sensitive posts; Morsy is hand picking party faithful.

At the same time upper echelons in government ministries and economic and cultural organizations are methodically being replaced. The Muslim Brotherhood is fast assuming total control.

For many observers, the deployment of army units is Sinai is more about proclaiming Egyptian sovereignty in the face of Israel than actually fighting Islamic terrorism.

(*SHRUG*)

Drafting the new constitution is their next objective.

Brothers and Salafis make up an absolute majority in the Constituent Assembly.

Liberal and secular forces are boycotting its sessions, and the Supreme Constitutional Court is examining a request to have it dissolved since it does not conform to the constitution because of its overly Islamic composition; a decision is expected in September.

The assembly, however, is not waiting. According to various leaks it is putting the final touch to a constitution where all laws have to conform to the Shari’a and special committees will supervise the media and forbid any criticism of Islam and of the Prophet.

(*PURSED LIPS*)

In the wings is the creation of a Committee of Islamic Sages supervising the law-making process and in effect voiding of substance the parliament elected by the people, though it is not clear yet if, when and how it will work. What is clear is that a parliament made of flesh and blood individuals is against the very nature of the Shari’a, where all laws are based on the Koran and the hadiths. This is a far cry from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

(*NOD*)

* TO BE CONTINUED...

August 24, 2012 at 1:20 PM
William R. Barker said...

* CONCLUDING...

Morsy has been careful to speak about creating “a civil society”; it is now obvious that what he meant was a society not ruled by the army, and not a secular society.

[H]e had promised to appoint a woman and a Copt as vice presidents, but chose Mohamed Maki, a Sunni known for his sympathy for the Brotherhood and incidentally or not the brother of the new minister of justice, Prof. Ahmed Maki, known for his independent stands and opposition to Mubarak, but who had carefully concealed his support for the Brothers.

It is worth stressing that the Brotherhood is still operating under conditions of utmost secrecy, as it had been doing during the decades of persecution. How it is getting its funds, who are its members and how they are recruited is not known, nor is its decision-taking process. The movement has no legal existence since Gamal Abdel Nasser officially disbanded it in 1954.

That state of affairs was not changed while the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces ruled the country...

Some of the non-governmental media are vocal in their criticism of Morsy, though it can be costly: Private television station Al- Pharaein – “the Pharaohs” – was shut down after it called to get rid of Morsy; its owner, Tawfik Okasha, well known for his hostility to the Brothers (and to Israel) and who called for a massive demonstration this Friday, was put under house arrest, as was the editor of the daily Al-Dostour that had criticized the president. The editors of two other dailies – Al-Fajer and Saut el-Umma – were questioned. Other papers such as Al-Akhbar stopped publishing opinion pieces from their regular collaborators known for their opposition to the Brothers; well-known publicists left their page blank in a gesture of solidarity for their colleagues.

Morsy knows that his takeover will strengthen the opposition. He has not forgotten that he barely mustered 25% of the votes in the first round of the presidential election – down from the nearly 50% who voted for his party’s candidates in the parliamentary elections. He also knows that the people are no longer afraid to take to the streets to protest – and that it is now said that a new dictatorship is replacing the old – the only difference being that the new ruler has a beard...

However, for now he is devoting all his energy to his fight with the judiciary, long known for its independent stands.

The Supreme Constitutional Court is being asked to rule the Brotherhood Movement illegal, and therefore to proclaim that the Liberty and Justice party it created – and which won 50% of the seats in the parliament – is illegal as well, and therefore to invalidate the election of Morsy, candidate of a movement and a party that are both illegal.

Morsy sent his new justice minister to browbeat the court, but the judges refused to back down.

The president is now working to limit the prerogatives of the court in the new constitution and will start “retiring” senior justices appointed by Mubarak.

Friday’s demonstration will be the first real test for the Brotherhood. It is taking no chances and security forces will be deployed around its institutions throughout the country.

August 24, 2012 at 1:20 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444812704577607790585187560.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_AboveLEFTTop

The Obama Administration has based its global security strategy around the United Nations, and these days that faith isn't turning out too well.

Russia and China have blocked any "collective security" action in Syria...

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

...and now U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has decided to lend his prestige (such as it is) to Iran.

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*) (*PURSED LIPS*)

Despite public requests from the U.S. and what press reports say was a personal plea from Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr. Ban has decided to attend a summit next week of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran.

The U.N. chief will "convey the clear concerns and expectations of the international community" on Iran's nuclear program, its terrorism, human rights and Syria, according to a U.N. spokesman.

(*SNORT*)

* HE COULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT PUBLICLY ON THE FLOOR OF THE UN BUILDING...?!?!

* HE COULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT PRIVATELY VIA SUMMONING THE IRANIAN EMBASSADOR TO THE U.N. TO HIS OFFICE...?!?!

Iran has rejected no fewer than six U.N. Security Council resolutions against its nuclear program, four of which included sanctions. Iran has lied repeatedly to U.N. nuclear inspectors, and it is defying most of the world again as it assists Syrian dictator Bashar Assad in murdering his own people.

What Mr. Ban's visit will do is let Tehran show that it isn't nearly as isolated as President Obama claims it is.

(*NOD*)

Not only can Iran host a meeting of some 120 countries despite U.N. sanctions, but the head of the U.N. itself is willing to show up and pay his public respects to the clerical regime.

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*) (*SNORT*)

The bigger embarrassment here is to a U.S. President who has spent three years trying to engage Iran, then isolate it and engage it at the same time through the U.N., only to have the head of the U.N. give him the back of his hand.

(*SIGH*) (*NOD*)

Mr. Obama said his diplomacy would enhance U.S. influence and create a safer, more stable Middle East. Instead, the region is more dangerous and may be sliding into another war because no one trusts U.S. resolve.

* HARD TO DENY.

(*SHRUG*)

August 24, 2012 at 1:36 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444812704577607421541441692.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_AboveLEFTTop

Economist George Stigler described the process of "regulatory capture," in which government agencies end up serving the industries they are supposed to regulate.

This week lobbyists for money-market mutual funds provided still more evidence that Stigler deserved his Nobel.

At the Securities and Exchange Commission, three of the five commissioners blocked a critical reform to help prevent a taxpayer bailout like the one the industry received in 2008.

(*PURSED LIPS*)

Money funds are often seen as competitors to bank accounts and now hold $1.6 trillion in assets.

SEC rules have long allowed money-fund operators to employ an accounting fiction that makes their funds appear safer than they are. Instead of share prices that fluctuate, like other kinds of securities, money funds are allowed to report to customers a fixed net asset value (NAV) of $1 per share — even if that's not exactly true.

As long as the value of a fund's underlying assets doesn't stray too far from that magical figure, fund sponsors can present a picture of stability to customers.

* A FALSE PICTURE...

But during times of crisis, as in 2008, investors are reminded how different money funds are from insured deposits. When one fund "broke the buck" — its asset value fell below $1 per share — it triggered an institutional run on all money funds. The Treasury responded by slapping a taxpayer guarantee on the whole industry.

* ANOTHER HUGE TREASURY BLUNDER... (AT BEST A "BLUNDER;" AT WORST A DELIBERATE MOVE TO BAIL OUT FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES ON "WALL STREET" VIA PUTTING AMERICAN TAXPAYERS AT RISK!)

SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro has been trying to eliminate this systemic risk by taking away the accounting fiction that was created when previous generations of lobbyists captured the SEC. She made the sensible case that money-fund prices should float like the securities they are.

* EXACTLY!

But industry lobbyists are still holding hostages. Commissioners Luis Aguilar, Dan Gallagher and Troy Paredes refused to support reform, so taxpayers can expect someday a replay of 2008.

* CONGRESS SHOULD OVERRULE THE FULL COMMISSION AND DIRECTLY LEGISLATE REFORM.

True to the Stigler thesis, the debate has focused on how to maintain the current money-fund business model while preventing customers from leaving in a crisis. The SEC goal should be to craft rules so that when customers leave a fund, it is a problem for fund managers, not taxpayers.

* YES!

The industry shrewdly lobbied Beltway conservatives, who bought the line that this was a defense against costly regulation, even though regulation more or less created the money-fund industry.

* I WANT NAMES!

Free-market think tanks have been taken for a ride, some of them all too willingly.

* NAMES...!!!

The big winners include dodgy European banks, which can continue to attract U.S. money funds chasing higher yields knowing the American taxpayer continues to offer an implicit guarantee.

* JEEZUS FRIGGIN' CHRIST...

(*GNASHING MY TEETH*)

The industry shouldn't celebrate too much, though, because regulation may now be imposed by the new Financial Stability Oversight Council. Federal Reserve and Treasury officials want to do something, and their preference will probably be more supervision and capital positions that will raise costs that the industry can pass along to consumers.

(*SNORT*) (*SIGH*)

By protecting the $1 fixed NAV, free-marketeers may have guaranteed more of the Dodd-Frank-style regulation they claim to abhor.

* NOT "FREE-MARKETEERS;" "FAUX FREE-MARKETEERS!"

The losers include the efficiency and fairness of the U.S. economy, as another financial industry gets government to guarantee its business model. Congratulations.

* AMMO... GUNS... AMMO... GUNS...

(*WALKING AWAY MUTTERING TO MYSELF*)

August 24, 2012 at 2:11 PM

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