Monday, November 19, 2012

Barker's Newsbites: Tuesday, November 20, 2012


Ya know, folks, you all really should listen to Rush Limbaugh whenever possible.

Rush usually echoes me... only instead of reaching maybe a dozen folks a day he reaches millions.

Frankly... it's too bad he doesn't reach tens of millions. (Hell... too bad millions of tens of millions of people don't read Usually Right!)

Today Rush is basically declaring war on the GOP.

(Oh... this is nothing new, of course... Rush has been an anti-Establishment-GOP Republican all along. Indeed, he was a key backer of the Gingrich forces "back in the day.")

But today... and over the past few weeks... as I see (well... hear) it, more and more "name" conservative personalities seem to be of the opinion that it's time to "declare war" on the RINOs and fight for the very soul of the GOP in "take no prisoners" fashion.

At least I hope and pray that's what is about to happen.

We'll see...

7 comments:

William R. Barker said...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_WALL_STREET_OPEN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-11-19-09-34-21

The stock market is starting the holiday week with a big gain.

Just after the opening bell on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average is up 102 points at 12,690. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 12 at 1,372. And the Nasdaq composite index is up 32 to 2,885.

European markets are sharply higher.

Financial analysts say it's because of optimism that leaders in the United States will reach a deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff, a package of tax increases and government spending cuts set to take effect Jan. 1.

* FOLKS... YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY MEAN BY "DEAL," RIGHT....???

(*SIGH*) (*TEARS WELLING UP*)

* THEY MEAN THAT THE SMART MONEY IS BETTING THAT THE CAN WILL BE KICKED DOWN THE ROAD AGAIN AND BEYOND THE EXISTING OPEN SPIGOT OF EXISTING FED POLICY (DUMPING $40 BILLION A MONTH INTO TREASURIES) WE'LL BE GETTING MORE "STIMULUS" SPENDING (COURTESY OF MORE DEBT) AND PERHAPS MORE BAILOUTS.

(*SHRUG*)

U.S. investors are also encouraged by corporate earnings reports. Lowe's says its third-quarter profit surged 76%. That's after a strong report from Home Depot last week. Tyson Foods also beat Wall Street expectations.

* YEAH...??? AND WHERE ARE THESE SURGING PROFITS COMING FROM? COST CUTTING... MEANING DOWNSIZING...? INCREASING PRICES SO THAT CONSUMERS SPEND MORE TO GET THE SAME AMOUNT AND QUALITY OF "STUFF" AT A HIGHER PRICE? ARE THESE REAL EARNINGS OR PHANTOM EARNINGS... MEANING BASED UPON SMOKE AND MIRRORS TAX CODE GAMESMANSHIP... WRITE-OFFS... STUFF LIKE THAT? BACK TO SALES... WHAT EXACTLY IS BEING SOLD AND WHY...?

* FOLKS... I HATE TO BE THE WET BLANKET... BUT WE ALL KNOW THE ECONOMY ISN'T GETTING BETTER. AND IT ISN'T GONNA GET BETTER. WE'RE IN FOR MORE DOUBLING DOWN ON BAD GOVERNMENT POLICIES.

* IN ANY CASE... LET'S SEE IF THIS RALLY LASTS EVEN AS LONG AS THE WHOLE DAY TODAY...

William R. Barker said...

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/treasury-secretary-geithner-lift-debt-limit-infinity

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Friday that Congress should stop placing legal limits on the amount of money the government can borrow and effectively lift the debt limit to infinity.

* WHAT DID I TELL YOU IN TODAY'S FIRST NEWSBITE, FOLKS...?

(*SHRUG*) (*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

On Bloomberg TV, “Political Capital” host Al Hunt asked Geithner if he believes “we ought to just eliminate the debt ceiling.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Geithner said.

“You do? Will you propose that?” Hunt asked.

“Well, this is something only Congress can solve,” Geithner said. “Congress put it on itself. We've had 100 years of experience with it, and I think only once - last summer - did people decide to use it to threaten default on the American credit for the first time in history as a tool for political advantage.

* FOLKS... REALITY IS WHAT THREATENS DEFAULT. AGAIN... WE BORROW 43-CENTS OF EVERY DOLLAR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SPENDS ON GENERAL OPERATING EXPENSES. WE CAN'T COME NEAR... NOT NEAR... TO COVERING OPERATING EXPENSES - HOW CAN WE EVER HOPE TO PAY OFF OUR DEBTS? IF IT DOESN'T MATTER... IF THE NATIONAL DEBT DOESN'T MATTER... WHY ISN'T EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US RECEIVING A CHECK FOR A MILLION DOLLARS EVERY SINGLE YEAR...? OR AT LEAST $100,000... OR $50,000... OR... (WELL... YOU GET THE IDEA...)

And that’s not a tenable strategy.”

* NO... IT'S CONTINUING TO SPEND SPEND $1 FOR EVERY 67-CENTS COLLECTED IN REVENUE WHICH IS NOT A TENABLE STRATEGY.

* FOLKS... THE FACT THAT GEITHNER SAYS THIS STUFF FOR PUBLIC ATTRIBUTION TELLS YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HOW TOTALLY FUCKED WE ARE!

Hunt then asked: “Is now the time to eliminate it?”

“It would have been time a long time ago to eliminate it,” Geithner said. “The sooner the better.”

* YOU GUYS UNDERSTAND THAT HUNT IS TALKING ABOUT ELIMINATING LIMITS TO DEBT... NOT LIMITING DEBT... CERTAINLY NOT REPAYING DEBT...

(*SIGH*)

In August 2011, President Barack Obama and Congress agreed to lift the legal debt limit by another $2.4 trillion - allowing the government to borrow up to $16.394 trillion. However, as of the close of business on Thursday, the Treasury had only $154.3 billion of that $2.4 trillion in new borrowing authority left. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said last week that the Senate stands ready to increase the debt limit by another $2.4 trillion.

* FOLKS... AGAIN... WHAT WAS I SAYING IN MY COMMENTARY WITHIN TODAY'S NEWSBITE #1.

(*SHRUG*)

William R. Barker said...

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-orlando-health-layoffs-20121116,0,7763193.story

For the first time in its nearly 100-year history, Orlando Health is reducing its workforce by up to 400 positions starting immediately, hospital officials announced this morning.

* HMM... WHATCHYA THINK... LOWES... HOME DEPOT... TYSON FOODS... WITH ALL THOSE GREAT PROFIT NUMBERS (SEE NEWSBITE #1) NO DOUBT THEY'RE LOOKING TO ADD NEW EMPLOYEES... RIGHT...???

(*SMIRK*)

* FOLKS... AGAIN... YA GOTTA CONNECT THE FUCKING DOTS...!!!

The first wave of employees affected by the "labor expense reduction" portion of the initiative received their notices Friday, said Lewis. The next wave of downsizing will happen after the first of the year.

(*SARCASTIC CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)

"Health-care reform mandates and changes in reimbursement structures for Medicare and Medicaid are forcing health-care organizations throughout the U.S. to confront new challenges," said Sherrie Sitarik, president and CEO of Orlando Health. "We must find better ways to deliver enhanced value to patients and lower the overall cost of care."

* CHARGING MORE... GIVING LESS... IS THAT WHAT'S MEANT BY "LOWERING THE OVERALL COST OF CARE?" I'M PRETTY SURE IT DOES.

Such cost-cutting measures are happening across the country.

On Wednesday Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina announced it would cut 950 jobs by June.

Last month, Louisiana State University announced it would cut more than $150 million from its hospital system, and 1,495 positions across its seven hospitals.

William R. Barker said...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ALABAMA_TORNADOES_DEMOLITION_DELAY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-11-19-05-46-59

CORDOVA, Ala. (AP) -- Main Street in this old mill town looks about the same as it did the day after tornadoes killed about 250 people across Alabama a year and a half ago: Battered red bricks and broken glass litter the pavement, and the buildings still standing are rickety and roofless.

* HEY... WASN'T... er... PRESIDENT OBAMA... er... PRESIDENT... er... A YEAR AND A HALF AGO - AND TODAY...?

* HEY... ANYONE RECALL SEEING/READING/HEARING ANYTHING ABOUT THIS PRIOR TO THIS NEWSBITE? A 60 MINUTES EXPOSE PERHAPS? GOOD MORNING AMERICA? THE TODAY SHOW? THE DAILY SHOW...???

The entire one-block downtown, still deemed unsafe, remains sealed off by a chain-link fence.

City officials blame the Federal Emergency Management Agency, saying the money to demolish skeletons of the old buildings is mired in miles of red tape.

* LUCKILY PRESIDENT OBAMA PROMISED TO SLASH RED TAPE FOR NY/NJ AFTER HURRICANE SANDY! (HEY... MANY TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE STILL WITHOUT POWER AS OF TODAY...?)

When one request for photos or historical documentation is met, FEMA makes another, the mayor and others in this town of 2,100 say.

* WHAT'S THAT OLD LINE... "WE'RE FROM THE GOVERNMENT AND WE'RE HERE TO HELP YOU..."?

On April 27, 2011, dozens of tornadoes ripped across the southeast, spawned by freakish weather. Hundreds were killed and thousands of homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed, causing more than $1 billion in damage. ... Cordova's downtown stands out as an eerie reminder of the destruction.

FEMA officials say they're only doing their job in Cordova, documenting damaged buildings and covering all the details before providing money to tear them down.

* UH-HUH...

"This project involves demolition of multiple historically significant structures and requires that FEMA consider all pertinent environmental and historic preservation laws before funding the project," the agency said in response to questions from The Associated Press.

* UMM-HMM...

Yet the process has been baffling not just for local residents but to the head of historic preservation for the state, Elizabeth Brown. "I think FEMA needs to give their people in the field more latitude," said Brown, preservation officer for the Alabama Historical Commission. "It seems things have to keep going back up the chain."

* IN ENGLISH: "FEMA IS FULL OF SHIT." SO SAYS THE PRESERVATION OFFICER FOR THE ACTUAL ALABAMA HISTORICAL COMMISSION.

No other Alabama city has had the same problem since the twisters, Brown said. While it took about a year to approve the demolition of the high school in the northwest Alabama town of Phil Campbell because of historical considerations, Cordova is in a league of its own, she said. "I can't blame them for being frustrated with FEMA," she said.

William R. Barker said...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324595904578123593211825394.html

U.S. companies are scaling back investment plans at the fastest pace since the recession, signaling more trouble for the economic recovery.

Half of the nation's 40 biggest publicly traded corporate spenders have announced plans to curtail capital expenditures this year or next, according to a review by The Wall Street Journal of securities filings and conference calls.

Nationwide, business investment in equipment and software - a measure of economic vitality in the corporate sector - stalled in the third quarter for the first time since early 2009.

Corporate investment in new buildings has declined.

At the same time, exports are slowing or falling to such critical markets as China and the euro zone as the global economy downshifts, creating another drag on firms' expansion plans.

Should the White House and Congress strike a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff, the economy could get a boost.

* FOLKS... (*SIGH*)... AGAIN... REFER TO NEWSBITE #1. (HELL.. REFER BACK TO EVERYTHING I'VE BEEN TELLING YOU ALL ALONG!) THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT ARTIFICIALLY BOOSTING THE ECONOMY VIA DOUBLING DOWN ON THE FAILED AND HARMFUL OBAMA POLICIES WHICH HAVE PROVED TO BE SO DISASTROUS. THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT ADDING DEBT, DEBT, AND MORE DEBT... WITH NO END IN SIGHT... WITH TIM "THE TAX CHEAT" GEITHNER YELLING "FULL SPEED AHEAD!"

William R. Barker said...

http://dailycaller.com/2012/11/18/homeland-security-promotes-welfare-to-new-immigrants-in-government-welcome-materials/

Ask not what you can do for your country, but what your new country can do for you.

“Welcome to USA.gov,” a website maintained by the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), bills itself as the “primary gateway for new immigrants to find basic information on how to settle in the United States” - featuring a prominent section for new immigrants about how to access government benefits.

(*SARCASTIC CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)

“Depending on your immigration status, length of time in the United States, and income, you may be eligible for some federal benefit programs,” the Web page reads.

(*SARCASTIC STANDING OVATION*)

“Government assistance programs can be critically important to the well-being of some immigrants and their families."

(*BANGING MY HEAD ON THE DESK... AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN*)

The DHS page offers links to government websites that explain how to access benefits including food stamps, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, Medicare, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the “official website with information on all available federal benefit programs,” with a nonworking link to Benefits.gov.WelcometoUSA.gov also boasts to immigrants that “[f]ree public education for children is one reason many immigrants come to the United States.”

* FREE... (*GUFFAW*)

* FOLKS... DO ANY OF YOU STILL DOUBT ME WHEN I INSIST THAT THESE POLICIES ARE DELIBERATE TACTICS IN THE LEFT'S BATTLE TO "FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE" AMERICA...?

William R. Barker said...

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2012/11/19/report-media-coverage-of-obama-turned-more-favorable

Media coverage of President Barack Obama was largely positive in the final week of the presidential campaign, while coverage of Mitt Romney was mostly negative, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism.

* NOTHING NEW. NOTHING "SHOCKING." JUST SAME OL', SAME OL'.

* AND YET... HOW MANY MEDIA FIGURES DENY THE REALITY THAT IS PROVEN TIME AFTER TIME AFTER TIME...?

(*SIGH*)

From October 29 to November 5, positive stories about Obama in mainstream media outlets outnumbered negative ones by 10 percentage points, with 29 percent positive, and 19 negative. On the other hand, negative stories about the GOP nominee Mitt Romney outweighed positive stories by 17 points, with 33 percent negative compared to 16 positive.

(*PURSED LIPS*)

The report, which analyzed 660 stories from 59 media outlets, also notes the positive media coverage of Obama was higher in the final week than it had been in previous weeks. The tone of coverage about Romney stayed roughly the same.

* HA! HA! HA! GOTTA LUV THAT LAST PART! TRANSLATION: ROMNEY GOT BAD COVERAGE FROM BEGINNING TO END!