|
nChrist
|
 |
« on: September 06, 2013, 03:53:32 PM » |
|
________________________________________
The Patriot Post Friday Digest 9-6-2013
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
________________________________________
Recovery Bummer
September 6, 2013
THE FOUNDATION
"This gave me occasion to observe, that when Men are employ'd they are best contented." --Benjamin Franklin
ECONOMY
Recovery Bummer
At first blush, today's jobs report once again seems to contain good news: 169,000 jobs added and unemployment dropping a tenth of a point to 7.3%, the lowest since December 2008. But beware what we call the "headline" numbers. The Leftmedia employes them to bolster the sorry record of their man in the White House.
Digging deeper, we find trouble quickly. July numbers were revised down from 162,000 to just 104,000, and June was revised down for the second time. The unemployment rate fell once again only because so many people are giving up looking for work -- 312,000, or nearly twice the number who found work -- and they aren't counted in the report. The labor participation rate fell to 63.2%, the lowest since Jimmy Carter's malaise days of August 1978. If labor participation remained at the same level it was in January 2009, the headline unemployment rate would be 10.8%. It would be 7.7% if participation was the same as just one year ago.
As for the U-6 fuller measure, Hot Air's Ed Morrissey observes1 that it "dropped from 14.0% to 13.7%, its lowest level in five years." But, he warns, "That has to do with the shrinking workforce, too. In order to be counted in U-6, workers have to be at least marginally attached to the labor force. That's defined as 'those who currently are neither working nor looking for work but indicate that they want and are available for a job and have looked for work sometime in the past 12 months.'"
Meanwhile, Barack Obama and his crack shot economic team promised that if we just passed the "stimulus" unemployment would be 5% by now.
NATIONAL SECURITY
Russian 'Reset' Needs a Reset
Barack Obama, attempting to drum up support for an ineffectual assault on Syria, joined the G20 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, this week, where he's considered little more than a nuisance and a source of endless jokes. Sort of like here. Obama launched his "reset" with Russia when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, attempting to use a clever prop, presented Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with a giant "reset" button, only to be told that the Russian word "Peregruzka" printed on the button didn't translate to "reset" but "overloaded."
And it's been all down hill since then.
Unlike George W. Bush, who clearly commanded the respect of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Obama appears wimpy -- and the former KGB agent has taken full advantage of his adversary's weakness. Indeed, Obama demonstrated to the world prior to his re-election his willingness to subordinate our national interests to those of Russia when he was caught on an open mike assuring then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, "After my election I'll have more flexibility2."
In regard to Syria, Putin said of Secretary of State John Kerry's congressional testimony that he "lies openly." Putin claims -- plausibly -- that al-Qaida and other Islamist insurgents were actually behind the chemical attacks, endeavoring to bait the U.S. into striking Syria, which will unify Islamists throughout the region. Putin is now threatening to provide Syria with missile defense capabilities if Obama proceeds with an attack.
Of course, the State Department dismissed Putin's charge, but could Russian intelligence in the region be credible in regard to the rising Islamist threat? Perhaps as credible as the specific intelligence Russia shared with us on the Boston bombers long before their murderous attack at the Boston Marathon -- warnings that the U.S. largely ignored.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
News From the Swamp: It's Budget Time Again
The federal government has once again reached its debt ceiling. And the new fiscal year is fast approaching, with Congress still miles away from a budget deal. Sound familiar? The only thing that seems to change in this merry-go-round is the size of the problem. The debt ceiling is set to max out at $16.7 trillion about the time that Fiscal 2014 begins in October, linking the debt ceiling hike with next year's budget.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) wants spending cuts to offset any hike in the debt limit, but Barack Obama and his sidekick, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, believe that Boehner and his fellow Republicans are merely playing games with America's full faith and credit. Newsflash: There isn't much faith in America's credit anymore. The real game being played here is with America's fiscal future, as Democrats seek unaccountable, unlimited funding for bloated and unsustainable entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security.
Boehner's call for spending offsets is not new. Presidents Reagan, Bush and Clinton all entered into budget agreements that included debt ceiling hikes. That is not Obama's style, though. Despite the recent modest budget-cutting success of the sequester, he's packed on $6 trillion in debt since taking office, and he hasn't the slightest interest in dialing it back. Instead, he insists that Washington's problem is not about spending but about revenue. And his NeoCom friends in Congress operate from the same assumption. Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA) wants a "balanced approach" to the budget, which generally means raising more taxes, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) still claims that asking "the wealthiest Americans to pay their faire share" will solve Washington's spending issues. In other words, things aren't looking up. Unless, of course, one means the debt.
CULTURE
Inspiration: A Good Deed Goes a Long Way
How about some good news? Several years ago, country singer Tim McGraw released a song titled "Live Like You Were Dying." McGraw offered both fun and thoughtful answers to the question many of us ponder: What would you do with your last days on earth? One woman in Auburn, Maine, answered that question with an act of kindness that will be remembered long after she's gone.
The woman went to a local Kmart and paid off 16 layaway orders that struggling families hadn't yet paid. "She paid off 16 layaways in cash, about $3,000," said store manager Joyce Beane. "Then she said, 'I'm not feeling well. I need to leave.'" The woman only explained that she was extremely ill and wanted to do something good before she died. "I wanted to cry," Beane added. "It was that powerful."
Rina Thibeau was one recipient of this gracious gift. She's a grandmother working nights as a janitor, and she also runs a charity called Christmas Smilez that gives to needy kids. The gifts she had on layaway at Kmart were for these kids, meaning the generosity of the "Layaway Angel" will go even further. Beane concluded, "It takes something like this to make you think, 'Oh, my word. If I were facing the end of my life, would I take time to reach out and help people?'" Only if you live like you were dying. |
