Saturday, April 6, 2013

Weekend Newsbites: Sat. & Sun., April 6 & 7, 2013


Fifty years ago today... the Billboard #1 single!

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7 comments:

William R. Barker said...

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/04/05/BOOMTOWN-2-Taxpayers-Have-Spent-15-Trillion-On-The-War-on-Poverty

Since President Lyndon Baines Johnson declared “war on poverty,” U.S. taxpayers have spent $15 trillion on so-called anti-poverty programs — a figure slightly less than the national debt.

Sean Hannity, Government Accountability Institute President Peter Schweizer, and Breitbart News Executive Chairman Stephen K. Bannon explored the explosive growth of the Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in a one-hour Fox News special tonight titled “Boomtown 2: The Business of Food Stamps.”

In 1969, just 2.8 million Americans received food stamps.

Today, over 47 million Americans are on food stamps.

* THE U.S. POPULATION IN 1969 WAS 202 MILLION.

* THE U.S. POPULATION IS PRESENTLY 314 MILLION.

* DO... THE... PERCENTAGE... MATH...

(*SIGH*)

The Fox News special explained that one contributing factor to the massive expansion of the food stamp program is the crony capitalism that has cropped up around the anti-poverty program.

Soda makers, for example, bag an estimated $4 billion a year in taxpayer money through the food stamp program.

* ONE... MORE... TIME....

Soda makers, for example, bag an estimated $4 billion a year in taxpayer money through the food stamp program.

In Florida, State Senator Ronda Storms (R-Valrico) introduced a bill last year that would keep taxpayer-funded SNAP benefits from being spent on non-essential items like sodas, candy, chips, ice cream, and other junk foods. State Representative John Wood (R-Winter Haven) said Storms’ provision was a step in the right direction.

* SO... BRING THE MATTER UP TO A VOTE! BETTER YET... HAVE WASHINGTON BAN SODA AND JUNK FOOD PURCHASES FINANCED THROUGH SNAP!

“Boomtown 2” also discussed how companies that administer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards profit when the welfare rolls swell. Since 2004, for example, JP Morgan, which donated $808,799 to Barack Obama in 2008, has made at least $560,492,596 running EBT programs for 18 states.

* I'M SURE J.P. MORGAN ALSO DONATED TO REPUBLICANS... PROBABLY TO ROMNEY MORESO THAN OBAMA IN 2012 (WHICH WOULD EXPLAIN WHY THE AUTHOR USES THE 2008 FIGURE...) STILL... THE POINT IS VALID. LOTS OF STICKY FINGERS INVOLVED!

Despite the $15 trillion U.S. taxpayers have spent since the war on poverty’s inception, poverty in America is largely unchanged. This week, figures from the U.S. Census Bureau revealed that nearly 50 million Americans live below the federal poverty line.

* FOLKS... THROUGHOUT MOST OF THE WORLD... THE AMERICAN POVERTY LINE - AND AMERICAN POVERTY LIFESTYLE - WOULD BE ENVIABLE. STILL... COMPARING OURSELVES TO OURSELVES... THE POINT IS THAT LBJ'S "WAR ON POVERTY" HAS BEEN A COMPLETE AND UTTER FAILURE AND HAS IF ANYTHING MADE THINGS WORSE SINCE THE JUMP IN ILLEGITIMACY DATES BACK TO THE GREAT SOCIETY PROGRAMS!

April 6, 2013 at 1:16 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-caterpillar-mining-layoffsbre9340s1-20130405,0,5883159.story

Caterpillar Inc said on Friday it was laying off 460 workers at a U.S. plant that makes mining equipment.

* FOUR-HUNDRED AND SIXTY WORKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES... FUCKED.

The layoffs will affect about 11% of the workforce at the Decatur, Illinois, factory and reflect softening demand from the global mining industry, which is cutting back on capital investment because of a retreat in commodity prices.

* BULLSHIT! RETREATING COMMODITY PRICES ARE A GOOD THING; ALL WE NEED TO DO IS STRENGTHEN TARIFF BARRIERS TO FOREIGN MINING IMPORTS.

* IN ANY CASE... I'M SURE OVER-REGULATION HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS SITUATION AS WELL!

Caterpillar, which had already implemented temporary layoffs and line shutdowns as well as a shortened work week in Decatur, said the permanent layoffs were needed to "bring production in line with demand."

April 6, 2013 at 1:27 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2013/04/2013471341732178.html

* NOTICE THE SOURCE, FOLKS - AL JEZERRA. I JUST VERIFIED THE REPORTING. IT'S ALL OVER THE FOREIGN PRESS. AS OF THIS POSTING NOTHING IN THE MAINSTREAM AMERICAN MEDIA (IF THERE IS IT'S NOT COMING UP IN THE FIRST PAGE OF GOOGLE RESULTS.) WHAT'S THAT TELL YA, FOLKS...?

The United States has decided to delay a long-planned missile test scheduled for next week out of California "to avoid any misperception or miscalculation", given tensions with North Korea, a senior U.S. defense official has said.

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

The unusual precaution by the U.S. follows a barrage of hostile rhetoric from North Korea - including the threat of open war - that has created jitters in South Korea's financial markets.

* PRECAUTION" MY ASS. IT'S OBAMA SHOWING WEAKNESS.

The U.S. official said the test had been unconnected to "anything related to North Korea"...

* AND YET...

"This is the logical, prudent and responsible course of action to take," the official said on Saturday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

(*SNORT*)

* OH... BTW... THIS ANONYMOUS "U.S. OFFICIAL" SAID...

...another test launch could be expected next month.

* OR NOT!

(*RUEFUL CHUCKLE*)

April 7, 2013 at 10:02 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://news.sky.com/story/1074978/afghanistan-taliban-kill-six-americans

Taliban militants have killed six Americans, including a young female diplomat, in the deadliest day in Afghanistan for the U.S. in eight months.

(*PURSED LIPS*)

The Illinois woman is the first American diplomat to die on the job since last year's attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.

* YES... IT'S BEEN... er... OVER FIVE MONTHS NOW SINCE THE LAST AMERICAN DIPLOMAT WAS MURDERED... WHAT AN... er... "ACHIEVEMENT...???"

Another American civilian was killed in a separate insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said in a statement.

In a statement, Secretary of State John Kerry paid tribute to Anne Smedinghoff, a 25-year-old foreign service officer with the US State Department, who was killed in the "despicable attack" in the province of Zabul.

* I GUESS OF THE SEVEN AMERICANS KILLED, ONLY THE "DIPLOMAT" DESERVES A "TRIBUTE" BY NAME.

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

Kerry said: "She tragically gave her young life working to give young Afghans the opportunity to have a better future."

* NO. HER YOUNG LIFE WAS TAKEN FROM HER BECAUSE SHE WAS SENT TO AFGHANISTAN BY HER GOVERNMENT. SHE WAS A U.S. DIPLOMAT - NOT A VOLUNTEER WITH THE PEACE CORP OR DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS. BARACK OBAMA HAS HER BLOOD ON HIS HANDS - JUST AS HE HAS EVERY U.S. CASUALTY'S BLOOD ON HIS HANDS. SAME GOES FOR BUSH. SAME GOES FOR THE VARIOUS MEMBERS OF CONGRESS WHO HAVE ALLOWED THIS DEBACLE TO CONTINUE LONG PAST IT'S EXPERATION DATE!

"We also honour the U.S. troops and Department of Defense civilian who lost their lives, and the Afghan civilians who were killed today as they worked to improve the nation they love," Mr. Kerry added.

* NICE. NO NAMES MENTIONED. OH, WELL... I GUESS THE GRUNTS ARE VIEWED AS INTERCHANGEABLE.

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

* AS TO "IMPROVING THE NATION THEY LOVED..." ISN'T AMERICA THE NATION THEY LOVE...??? WHAT IS KERRY BABBLING ABOUT...?!?! FOLKS... IN CASE IT DIDN'T REGISTER... KERRY JUST ANNOUNCED THAT AFGHANISTAN WAS THE NATION THESE PEOPLE "LOVED"... THAT THEY "LOVED" ENOUGH TO WILLINGLY SACRIFICE THEIR LIVES "IMPROVING" HER. THIS IS INSANE. FOR OUR TROOPS... AND FOR OUR DIPLOMATIC CORP... AFGHANISTAN IS A MISSION. THE FACT THAT KERRY DELIBERATELY CONFUSES THIS ISSUE TELLS YOU ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT KERRY.

* OH... AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST... NOTE THAT ONCE AGAIN IT'S THE FOREIGN PRESS WHICH IS FIRST OUT WITH REPORTING "BAD NEWS" FOR THE ADMINISTRATION... FOR AMERICA...

April 7, 2013 at 10:48 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22058455

* AGAIN, FOLKS... THE FOREIGN PRESS... IN THIS CASE THE BBC...

Up to 12 civilians - 10 children and two women - are reported to have been killed in a NATO air strike in eastern Afghanistan.

(*SIGH*)

A further six women are believed to have been injured in the incident in Shigal district, Kunar province.

* GEEZUS...

Villagers and officials told the BBC that the casualties were inside their homes when they died.

* FOLKS... WE'VE ALL GOT BLOOD ON OUR HANDS.

NATO confirmed that "fire support" was used in Shigal but said it did not have any reports of civilian deaths.

A local official said eight Taliban insurgents had also died in the air strike on Saturday, which is reported to have caused the roofs of several houses in three villages to collapse. He said the strikes were called in to support a major operation by U.S. and Afghan government forces targeting senior Taliban commanders and a local weapons cache.

* EIGHTEEN "COLLATERAL DAMAGE" CASUALITIES... EIGHT TALIBAN...

* BTW, FOLKS, YOU DO REALIZE THAT THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION HAS BEEN "TREATING" WITH THE TALIBAN - AND AL QAIDA - ALL ALONG, RIGHT? ONE DAY WE'RE KILLING 'EM... THE NEXT WE'RE NEGOTIATING WITH 'EM... THE NEXT WE'RE MAKING DEALS WITH 'EM... JUST LIKE THE FUCKING SCUM EUROPEANS USED TO IN THE IMPERIAL ERA.

In February last year, at least 10 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed in a Nato air strike in the same area.

In February this year, President Karzai ordered a complete ban on Afghan security forces calling in air strikes in residential areas.

* AND, YET...

"The air support was called in by coalition forces - not Afghans - and was used to engage insurgent forces in areas away from structures, according to our reporting."

April 7, 2013 at 10:59 AM
William R. Barker said...

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

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324600704578401072211527646.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_AboveLEFTTop

New Yorkers have been treated this week to almost daily political perp walks, as a parade of office-holders have been rung up for bribery and other crimes. The big news here is that they were caught.

The bigger scandal in the Empire State continues to be what the politicians do that's legal.

* FOLKS... PLEASE PAY ATTENTION... THIS IS THE KIND OF SHIT THAT "FLYS BELOW THE RADAR" FOR THE AVERAGE AMERICAN BECAUSE THE AVERAGE AMERICAN RELIES UPON THE MSM WHICH IS MORE INTERESTED IN WHAT HILLARY CLINTON'S NEWEST HAIR STYLE PORTENDS FOR A POSSIBLE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL RUN!

* NOPE... NOT KIDDING... GOOGLE "HILLARY CLINTON + HAIR STYLE"

Witness Governor Andrew Cuomo's $1.75 billion raid of the state's workers compensation fund to finance more spending.

* ONE... MORE... TIME...

Witness Governor Andrew Cuomo's $1.75 billion raid of the state's workers compensation fund to finance more spending.

(*PURSED LIPS*)

This year's budget expropriates $500 million from the State Insurance Fund for a "transformative capital" program — details still to come — and $1.25 billion to cover general fund expenses through 2016. Tapping off-balance sheet accounts is an old budget trick, but Mr. Cuomo has added some creative twists.

* THINK OF IT AS STEALING MONEY OUT OF YOUR KID'S PIGGY BANK... OR SAVINGS ACCOUNT... WITH NO IDEA HOW YOU'LL EVER PAY IT BACK.

During the 1980s and early '90s, Albany swiped $1.3 billion from the State Insurance Fund, which is supposed to be the insurer of last resort for small businesses that can't obtain affordable policies on the private market. The state issued the fund an IOU, which remains on the fund's balance sheet as an asset though realistically it's worth about as much as the Argentine peso.

* TO "HE WHOSE NAME DARE NOT BE MENTIONED": WHOSE FAULT IS IT THAT THIS CAN HAPPEN? GOVERNMENT ALLOWS IT!

* TO BE CONTINUED...

April 7, 2013 at 5:03 PM
William R. Barker said...

* CONCLUDING... (Part 2 of 2)

In 1983 Brooklyn's Methodist Hospital sued the state for seizing policyholders' premium money without due process or just compensation. New York's high court ruled in favor of the state, holding that the insurer was a state agency and not a mutual insurance pool. Therefore, the court reasoned, policyholders "have no property or contractual interest in the surplus of the Fund," and lawmakers could use the insurer as a piggybank.

Thanks a lot.

* YEP...

Due to a public backlash against the raids, Albany passed a law in 1996 forbidding the state from transferring money out of the insurance fund. But laws enacted by one legislature can be undone by another. And this year's budget authorizes the state "notwithstanding any law to the contrary" to transfer excess reserves out of the fund totalling $1.75 billion.

(*SMIRK*)

Note: These reserves are merely an accounting charade concocted by Albany. The state has hitherto required policyholders to pre-fund liabilities for "second injuries," which workers re-aggravate on the job. By eliminating this requirement, lawmakers have created a $1.75 billion reserve that they can now tap to finance their sundry desires. Mr. Cuomo calls this reform.

* THESE BASTARDS SHOULD BE STOOD UP AGAINST A WALL AND SHOT...

Lawmakers claim no-harm-no-foul since many employers prefer to pay second injury claims as they are filed rather than pre-fund the liabilities. But then why not return the "reserves" to policyholders or use them to reduce future premiums? Or let the insurer keep the cash for a rainy day, which may be more imminent than they expect.

* BECAUSE THEY EXPECT THAT IF AND WHEN THE SHIT HITS THE FAN, WASHINGTON WILL SIMPLY PRINT MORE MONEY AND BAIL THEM OUT.

(*SHRUG*)

* FOLKS... UNDERSTAND... IT ALWAYS COMES DOWN THAT THAT... TO THE BAILOUT MENTALITY AND BAILOUT REALITY. THE ONLY WAY TO "CHECK" THESE THIEVING POLITICIANS WOULD BE TO REMOVE THEM FROM POWER... AND YET THE SYSTEM IS MAINLY RIGGED AGAINST THA. THEREFORE... AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT WALLS...

Insurance advisory firm Assured Research warned earlier this year that a "tsunami of social and economic forces" including an uptick in medical inflation and claims could wipe out the State Insurance Fund. While the fund reports a $2.8 billion surplus, this too is an Albany accounting fiction. State law mandates that the insurer discount its liabilities at a rate of 5% rather than the more prudent 3.5% that other private and state insurers use.

* YEP... DIFFERENT MATH FOR "THEE" THAN "ME" WHEN "ME" IS THE GOVERNMENT.

According to Assured Research, the State Insurance Fund would be $6.9 billion in the red were it not recording the state's $1.3 billion IOU as an asset and undervaluing its liabilities.

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

Since the insurer is a state agency, taxpayers will ultimately be on the hook if it goes broke. Mr. Cuomo, who spearheaded the expansion of subprime lending as Bill Clinton's housing secretary, has ample experience fleeing the scene of a developing crisis. We'll see if he skips town again before the insurance bailout bill arrives.

* YEP... DON'T FORGET MR. CUOMO'S RESUME, FOLKS...

(*STILL JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

April 7, 2013 at 5:03 PM

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