Thursday, September 20, 2012

Barker's Newsbites: Thursday, September 20, 2012


First, folks... a little Farm Rap!

 Ha! Ya thought I was kidding...?!?! Nope... what else would you call it other than "farm rap?"

 (*GRIN*)

 So... what do you think? I like it!

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6 comments:

William R. Barker said...

Why are we spending so much money on college?

* BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT HAS POURED RESOURCES (MISALLOCATED RESOURCES) INTO LOANS AND GRANTS THUS GIVING COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES THE ABILITY TO RAISE TUITIONS, FEES, AND HOUSING COSTS TO SOAK UP EVERY AVAILABLE RED CENT OUT THERE. DUH!

And why are we so unhappy about it?

* BECAUSE WE PAY MORE FOR LESS. ALSO, BECAUSE MUCH OF THE "EDUCATION"... ISN'T.

We all seem to agree that a college education is wonderful...

* NO. NOT ALL OF US! NOT ME!

Maybe it’s time to ask a question that seems almost sacrilegious: is all this investment in college education really worth it?

The answer, I fear, is that it’s not.

(*SARCASTIC CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*) JOIN THE CLUB!

For an increasing number of kids, the extra time and money spent pursuing a college diploma will leave them worse off than they were before they set foot on campus.

* YEP! DUH!

More than half of all recent graduates are unemployed or in jobs that do not require a degree, and the amount of student-loan debt carried by households has more than quintupled since 1999. These graduates were told that a diploma was all they needed to succeed, but it won’t even get them out of the spare bedroom at Mom and Dad’s. For many, the most tangible result of their four years is the loan payments, which now average hundreds of dollars a month on loan balances in the tens of thousands.

* OH... AND ABOUT THOSE JOBS THAT "REQUIRE" A DEGREE... (*PAUSE*)... HOW MANY REALLY DO IN TERMS OF YOU NEED THE SPECIFIC TRAINING/EDUCATION YOU RECEIVED IN SCHOOL IN ORDER TO PERFORM THE DUTIES OF A POSITION AT THE FIRST STEP OF THE CAREER LADDER?

* IN OTHER WORDS, FOLKS... THESE "REQUIREMENTS"... MAINLY ARTIFICIAL. CERTAINLY THIS IS THE CASE FOR MOST LIBERAL ARTS UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE HOLDERS.

* ANYWAY, FOLKS... I URGE YOU TO READ THIS ESSAY.

September 20, 2012 at 10:48 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/05/26/number-of-the-week-half-of-u-s-lives-in-household-getting-benefits/?KEYWORDS=number+of+the+week

* FOLKS... THIS IS FROM MAY 2012:

Forty-nine percent (49.1% actually) of the population lives in a household where at least one member received some type of government benefit in the first quarter of 2011.

The 49.1% of the population in a household that gets benefits is up from 30% in the early 1980s and 44.4% as recently as the third quarter of 2008.

* FROM 44.4% AT THE END OF THE AGE OF BUSH/PELOSI/REID TO 49.1% IN THE ERA OF OBAMA/BOEHNER/REID.

(*PURSED LIPS*)

As of early 2011, 15% of people lived in a household that received food stamps, 26% had someone enrolled in Medicaid and 2% had a member receiving unemployment benefits.

* DON'T LET THE LOW UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FIGURE FOOL YOU; IT'S LIKELY DUE NOT TO "EMPLOYMENT" BUT RATHER TO FAMILY MEMBERS WHO HAVE NEVER BEEN EMPLOYED OR WHO HAVE HAD THE PAST BREADWINNER MAX OUT ON UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS AND THEREFORE NO LONGER SHOW UP ON THE ROLLS OF U3 UNEMPLOYMENT.

The Census data show that 16% of the population lives in a household where at least one member receives Social Security and 15% receive or live with someone who gets Medicare. There is likely a lot of overlap, since Social Security and Medicare tend to go hand in hand, but those percentages also are likely to increase as the Baby Boom generation ages.

* NOW SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE AREN'T WELFARE. BUT FOR PURPOSES OF LOOKING AT "THE BIG PICTURE" THEY REPRESENT MASSIVE OUTFLOWS OF FEDERAL REVENUE. REMEMBER, FOLKS... THERE ARE NO SAVINGS... THERE'S NO "LOCK BOX"... ALL PAST SOCIAL SECURITY/MEDICARE "CONTRIBUTIONS" HAVE BEEN STOLEN AND SPENT BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. RIGHT NOW THE SYTEM IS ALREADY UNDERWATER (UPSIDE DOWN - SENDING OUT MORE THAN IT TAKES IN) AND HAS BEEN FOR THE PAST COUPLE YEARS. AND IT'S GONNA GET STEADILY WORSE.

* FOLKS... THERE'S A REASON THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA IS FOCUSED ON ROMNEY'S REMARKS AND NOT THE POLICY REALITIES BEHIND THEM.

With increased government spending comes the need to pay for it...

* YESSS...

* The more people who receive benefits, the harder it’s going to be to make cuts...

* FOLKS... WE'RE FUCKED.

September 20, 2012 at 1:13 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://blog.heritage.org/2012/09/20/morning-bell-obama-doesnt-just-gut-welfare-reform-he-turns-it-upside-down/?roi=echo3-13174438067-9745969-3177215a3ee2006cbbe774488f1db5bb&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell

The controversy over the Obama Administration’s gutting of welfare reform continues to grow. Two new government reports show the move’s illegality and effects on taxpayers. And the House of Representatives is set to vote today to approve or disapprove Health and Human Services’ (HHS) rewriting of the 1996 law.

Yesterday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a new report saying that in the years since the Clinton-era reform added work requirements to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, five states inquired about waivers of TANF requirements.

The report confirms that since welfare reform was enacted, HHS has never before suggested that it had any authority to waive the work requirements.

Waiver requests were turned down, in fact.

In specific instances in 2005 and 2007, the response from HHS was clear: “HHS stated that all applicable programmatic requirements apply to a family that is provided TANF-funded cash assistance, and the Department does not have authority to waive any of the provisions.”

* BUT ASIDE FROM THE BLATANT ILLEGALITY OF THE ADMINISTRATION'S ACTIONS...

A new estimate by the CBO says that the Obama Administration’s move will actually increase the deficit by $60 million over the next 10 years.

Why?

Because states have been paying penalties if they aren’t meeting the work requirements — and under the Administration’s rewriting of the law, those penalties are gone.

* DID YOU KNOW THIS, FOLKS...?

* AND IF THE PENALTIES ARE GONE...

So is the revenue to the federal government.

(*NOD*)

But the Administration’s gutting of welfare reform not only costs taxpayers; it also harms those welfare reform was designed to help. By jettisoning the law’s goal of reducing dependency, the new policy will increase welfare caseloads and leave more people stuck in poverty.

Time spent on welfare never looks good on a job resume.

Welfare dependence erodes work habits and job skills and reduces contacts with other employed persons that can lead to future job opportunities. Unnecessary enrollment in welfare therefore undermines an individual’s long-term earnings potential and increases the prospects for future poverty.

Workfare separates those who truly need help from those who do not.

Faced with a simple requirement to prepare or search for work, many people simply choose not to enter the welfare rolls in the first place.

* AND...

Those already on welfare, faced with a requirement to search or prepare for work, leave welfare much more quickly.

Having a work requirement tied to welfare benefits is good for recipients and good for taxpayers.

As Rector’s new report shows, stronger, not weaker, work requirements are needed[!] But the Obama Administration is moving in the opposition direction[!]

Under the new welfare performance measures devised by the Administration, the old pre-reform welfare program with rapidly rising caseloads would be judged a rousing success, while welfare reform itself — with rapid declines in the caseload — would be judged a failure.

As Rector states, “The Obama Administration is not just gutting welfare reform; it is turning it on its head.”

Falsehoods continue to circulate on this topic, but the facts are starting to break through.

After speaking with Heritage’s Rector, The Washington Post’s “fact check” columnist took a second look at former President Bill Clinton’s recent speech and gave him two “Pinocchios” for misleading people about the TANF work requirements.

Heritage just held a fact check panel of its own this week, featuring Rector, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), The Daily Caller’s Mickey Kaus, and Kay Hymowitz of the Manhattan Institute. Watch the video http://www.heritage.org/events/2012/09/welfare-reform

September 20, 2012 at 2:54 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/09/20/study-only-15-percent-of-democrats-believe-economic-news-is-bad/

With just 47 days before the general election and Mitt Romney attempting to pivot the focus of the election back on the state of the economy, citizens with Democratic leanings are actually doing an about-face on the economy compared to their Republican counterparts, according to a recent study from the Pew Research Center.

* FOLKS... SIT DOWN FOR THIS ONE...

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

New data found that just 15% of Democrats believe that recent economic news is mostly poor...

* IGNORANCE? MENTAL ILLNESS...? SERIOUSLY, FOLKS... IF 85% OF DEMOCRATS BELIEVE THIS IS A GOOD ECONOMY...

(*JUST THROWING MY HANDS IN THE AIR*)

...a percentage that took a significant drop from the 31% of Democrats polled last month who did think that economic news was mostly bad.

* SO LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT: EVEN LAST MONTH 69% OF THE DEMS WERE UNDER THE (FALSE) IMPRESSION THAT THE ECONOMIC NEWS WASN'T MOSTLY BAD...?!?!

* FOLKS... THE ONLY THING I CAN THINK OF... (*PAUSE*)... MSNBC WATCHERS...???

Sixty percent of Republicans find that most of the economic news is bad.

* MEANING 40% OF REPUBLICANS ARE... MENTALLY RETARDED...???

* SERIOUSLY, FOLKS... WHO THE HELL ARE THEY POLLING...???

Among independents, the percentage is 36%.

* SO... er... 64% OF "INDEPENDENTS" DON'T RECOGNIZE REALITY WHEN IT SMACKS THEM IN THE FACE EITHER...?

The study, released on Sept. 11, could show Obama making gains on the economy, which has been what Romney ultimately has wanted to make the election about to this point...

* FOLKS... WE'VE GOTTA BELIEVE THIS POLL IS DEEPLY FLAWED. (*SHRUG*) EITHER THAT OR THINGS ARE MUCH, MUCH WORSE THAN EVEN I THOUGHT...

(*SHRUG*)

Despite Romney’s efforts to turn the attention back to the economy following the backlash from the “47 percent” video, the data found that some Americans were actually beginning to feel better about the outlook of the economy. The percentage of people who feel that most of what they hear about the economy is bad dropped six percentage points in a month...

* AH...! AND THERE WE HAVE IT, FOLKS! THESE IDIOTS ARE BEING INFLUENCED BY THE DNC/MSM! AS I'VE TOLD YOU ALL ALONG, THE GLOVES ARE OFF THIS YEAR. THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA IS LITTLE MORE THAN AN ARM OF THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE AND THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN.

* FOLKS... I HOPE YOU'RE PASSING ON INDIVIDUAL NEWSBITES AND RECOMMENDING MY SITE.

* FOLKS... BEYOND THE MSM... YOU SAW THE REACTION OF MUCH OF THE SO-CALLED "CONSERVATIVE" MEDIA TO ROMNEY MAKING A BIT OF AN OVERSTATEMENT... BUT AN OVERSTATEMENT BUILT UPON A REASONABLE PREMISE THAT IS BORNE UP BY THE NUMBERS AND BY COMMON SENSE.

* FOLKS... IF YOU WANT YOUR KIDS TO HAVE EVEN A SHOT... WAKE UP... GET ACTIVE... DO MORE THAN JUST READ THESE NEWSBITES AND STAND-ALONES!

September 20, 2012 at 6:45 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/kaine-i-would-be-open-proposal-have-some-minimum-tax-level-everyone_652779.html

Virginia Senate candidate Tim Kaine, a Democrat, said that he's open to having a "minimum tax level for everyone."

* GOOD FOR HIM! (AT LEAST AS FAR AS UNSPECIFIED SOUND BITES GO; IS HE TALKING FEDERAL INCOME TAX OR TAXES IN GENERAL... BECAUSE EVERYONE PAYS AT LEAST SALES TAX OCCASIONALLY.)

* UNFORTUNATELY... THE ARTICLE DOESN'T SHINE A LIGHT UPON WHAT KAINE IS SPECIFICALLY PROPOSING.

* ME? I'VE ALWAYS BEEN CLEAR; EVERYONE MAKING AN INCOME NEEDS TO PAY HIS OR HER FAIR SHARE - EVEN IF THAT FAIR SHARE IS ONLY 1% OR 2% OR 3%.

(*SHRUG*)

September 20, 2012 at 7:20 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/ig-white-house-made-it-impossible-pursue-lead-fast-and-furious-probe

The White House’s refusal to release communications related to the Fast and Furious gun-walking program and the refusal of a White House official to be interviewed about the matter “made it impossible” for the inspector general (IG) of the Justice Department to “pursue that aspect of the case,” the IG, Michael Horowitz, testified.

* THE ARTICLE INCLUDES PERTINENT VIDEO/AUDIO FOOTAGE CONFIRMING THIS.

(*SHRUG*)

At the hearing of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee on Thursday, Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX) asked Horowitz, “Do you think the White House’s refusal to share these documents limited the scope of your investigation? Would this committee be well served in pursuing an investigation into that avenue?”

Horowitz answered, “As we noted in the report, we did not get internal communications from the White House and Mr. O’Reilly’s unwillingness to speak to us made it impossible for us to pursue that aspect of the case. Certainly we sought to pursue every lead we could. From our standpoint, it was a lead we wanted to follow.”

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

Mr. O’Reilly is Kevin O’Reilly and when Fast and Furious was in operation he was a member of President Barack Obama’s National Security Staff.

(*SIGH*)

Bill Newell was the ATF Special Agent in Charge for the Phoenix, Ariz., office that was running Operation Fast and Furious.

(*PURSED LIPS*)

Operation Fast and Furious was run by the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives), which is overseen by the Department of Justice, headed by Attorney General Eric Holder. The program, which ran from the fall of 2009 to mid-December 2010, allowed guns to “walk” into the hands of Mexican drug cartels through straw purchasers.

More than 2,000 firearms, largely AK-47s and 5.7 caliber pistols, were sold and allowed to walk. The ATF recovered only about 100 of the 2,000-plus weapons. In January 2010, a straw purchaser, Jaime Avila – well known to the ATF - bought three AK-47s at a Phoenix-area gun store. Two of those weapons were later found at the murder scene of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry on Dec. 14, 2010.

* FOLKS... THIS COUNTRY IS SO ON THE KNIFE-EDGE OF DICTATORSHIP IN ALL BUT NAME...

September 20, 2012 at 7:32 PM

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