Hooray! GDP Up 1.5%

By William Teach July 27, 2012 – 8:41 am

The numbers for the 2nd quarter GDP are out, and some are celebrating, since some expected 1.3% (some expected 1.5%, though), and got 1.5%. Um, a clue for those celebrating: 1.5% sucks.

(Bloomberg) The U.S. economy expanded at a slower pace in the second quarter as a softening job market prompted Americans to curb spending.

Gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced, rose at a 1.5 percent annual rate after a revised 2 percent gain in the prior quarter, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a 1.4 percent increase. Household purchases, which account for about 70 percent of the world’s largest economy, grew at the slowest pace in a year.

Apparently, the Obama plan “worked”.

Drew M: “Clearly these numbers have been taken out of context.”

Ed Morrissey: “Expectations must have been pretty low for a 1.5% GDP to spark optimism.”

Strangely, 2011 4th was revised up from 3.0% to 4.1%, which is a strange jump, however, that makes the 2012 slowdown look even worse than it is. Which is pretty bad.

However, don’t forget, the private sector is doing fine

Read: Hooray! GDP Up 1.5% »

Posted in Economy | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

Boehner Dares Obama To Make Gun Control Recommendations

By William Teach July 27, 2012 – 8:07 am

A double shot from the Washington Post this morning, which says that House leaders open to gun law debate

….The comments echoed the sentiments of lawmakers and the president’s own aides, who said this week that Obama is unlikely to push for new gun legislation because of strong opposition in Congress.

But House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) told reporters Thursday that he would welcome new proposals from the president and agreed that it would be appropriate to review current gun laws.

“If the president has proposals on other ways that we can address criminals owning guns, I’ll be happy to look at them,” Boehner said.

He goes on to say

“I think that what’s appropriate at this point is to look at laws that we already have on the books and to make sure that they’re working as they were intended to work and are they being enforced the way they were intended to be enforced,” Boehner said. “And that’d be the most logical step forward at this point.”

And later

“I don’t know. I’m not the expert on this,” Boehner said. “But if the president’s got ideas, I’d be happy to look at them.”

It’s pretty clear that in Washington Speak Speaker Boehner is daring (NMP) Obama to make policy recommendations, rather than just nebulous talking points exhorting others to do the actual work. Nancy Pelosi said she wouldn’t push for any hearings or legislation. Harry Reid, in charge of the Democrat led Senate, stated that the Senate was just too darned busy (not passing budgets) to consider taking up gun control. So, there you go, Obama: make some policy recommendations. Show that leadership! I triple dog dare you.

House leaders, and Republicans, would be open to a gun law debate, because it would put Democrats in a bad position of lying about their support for the 2nd Amendment or telling the truth, namely that they want the populace unarmed.

Read: Boehner Dares Obama To Make Gun Control Recommendations »

Posted in 2nd Amendment, Barry Obama, Current Affairs, Democrats | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

Liberal World: “You Didn’t Build That” And “It Worked” Are “Ambiguous”

By William Teach July 27, 2012 – 7:41 am

It’s rather cute how the media continues to prostitute itself for Team Obama. Deluded and absurd would also be words we could use. Oh, look, here’s the Washington Post’s Aaron Blake:

Context be damned: Obama’s ‘It worked’ quote should work for Republicans

Context is dead. Long live context.

For the second time in two weeks, Mitt Romney’s campaign has an out-of-context quote it can use to bludgeon President Obama. First it was “You didn’t build that,” and now it’s two ill-fated words that Obama spoke at a fundraiser Monday: “It worked.”

As with “You didn’t build that,” the Romney campaign’s attacks on “It worked” will be criticized for being out-of-context, lowest-common-denominator politics. And as with “You didn’t build that,” “It worked” is going to … well … work.

Here’s why.

There’s a lot of controversy these days about campaign tactics and what crosses the line. Obama’s team has been crying foul for two weeks now that “You didn’t build that” has been taken badly out of context by Republicans.

The problem is, the gray area is just too gray. Fact-checkers are great (especially our Glenn Kessler), but as long as either side has an argument to justify its attacks, the history of politics dictates that it’s all fair game. (snip)

In all of these cases, we’re dealing with a somewhat ambiguous quote.

Except, neither of Obama’s off-script quotes are ambiguous. In fact, when you read/hear the full quotes, they tend to be worse than the shortened versions.

In the case of “It worked,” as Dave Weigel notes, it’s perhaps even clearer that the words are being taken out of context.

You’ve seen the quote (“Just like we’ve tried their plan, we tried our plan. And it worked.”). What of the full quote?

“I’m also going to ask anybody making over $250,000 a year to go back to the tax rates they were paying under Bill Clinton, back when our economy created 23 million new jobs, the biggest budget surplus in history and everybody did well. Just like we’ve tried their plan, we tried our plan. And it worked.”

Yet, we’ve had 41 months of 8%+ unemployment, record numbers of people dropping out of the jobs market in despair….you know the whole depressing list. His plan was to pump more and more borrowed money into the economy, and try and get more and more money out of “the rich” to pump into the federal treasury. Because bureaucrats, political appointees, and elected officials, many whom have never worked in the private sector, never had to make a payroll, never had to expand a business, apparently know more about how the economy runs than the people who are out there making lots of money.

And, really, Obama shouldn’t be talking about “budget surpluses” when he has presided over 4 straight years of trillion dollar plus deficits. And few are doing well.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

Read: Liberal World: “You Didn’t Build That” And “It Worked” Are “Ambiguous” »

Posted in Barry Obama, Liberal World, Obamanuts | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

I Hope XXX Olympics Attendess Don’t Mind Stinky Bathrooms

By William Teach July 26, 2012 – 6:24 pm

Just to be clear, I’m getting a real kick out of typing “XXX Olympics”. Anyhow, as you would expect, the XXX Summer Olympic games are trying to be all sorts of “sustainable” and “green”. And here’s one of those measures

(UK Guardian) Equally pressing given the gargantuan amount of human waste that the Games will produce has been the need to sit down and think about how the park’s 362 toilet blocks work and how much water they will use. According to Stubbs, a variety of technologies old and new have been deployed to save water and honour London 2012’s long-term commitment to reduce the amount of potable water consumed.

He points to the Velodrome’s low-flow appliances and waterless urinals, and to the rainwater-harvesting apparatus installed in some venues. But perhaps the park’s biggest water-saving device is the new treatment plant that opened earlier this year, and which helps cut water use in the first place.

Sheesh. People can’t even sit down for a quiet poo without being inundated with healing the planet stuff. Of course, the waterless urinals are meant for pointers, not setters. They are also known for creating a huge stink, literally, especially if the piping isn’t installed correctly, and if copper is used. Cleaning chemicals have to be used very carefully, lest they damage the pipes. But, hey, I’m glad they are really pumped up about their stinky toilets.

I can’t wait till we start getting all the stories about backed up loo’s and horrendous stenches in the Olympics venues.

Read: I Hope XXX Olympics Attendess Don’t Mind Stinky Bathrooms »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 6 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach July 26, 2012 – 1:00 pm

…is an awesome Gaia compliant bike which could make the seas stop rising, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Daley Gator, with the anti-Obama picture of the day.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

“New” Obama Ad: “It’s a scary time to be a woman”

By William Teach July 26, 2012 – 12:41 pm

Apparently, “it’s a scary time to be a woman” because Romney might want to reduce the amounts of abortions because some people are irresponsible when having sex

The Washington Post’s Rachel Weiner calls this a new add, though I’ve seen it run a few times here in North Carolina. I even mentioned this in a tweet a few weeks back.

“I’ve never felt this way before, but it’s a scary time to be a woman,” says 30-something “Jenni.” “Mitt Romney is just so out of touch.”

A female narrator chimes in: “Romney opposes requiring insurance coverage for contraception and Romney supports overturning Roe vs. Wade. Romney backed a bill that outlawed all abortion, even in cases of rape and incest.”

I wonder if Jenni is related to Julia, who was able to have irresponsible sex paid for by other people?

Politifact rates the abortion claim as “Pants on Fire,” noting that Romney does support exceptions for rape and incest in abortion bans. He has endorsed a constitutional amendment that declares that life begins at conception, and fetuses must be protected accordingly. However, recent versions of that amendment allow for abortions in cases of rape or incest. Other “human life” legislation makes no such exceptions.

Politifact really rates the video as “pants on fire.” Team Obama must be pretty darned desperate to fire up their infanticide and free contraception base if they are actually mentioning the “a” word.

Read: “New” Obama Ad: “It’s a scary time to be a woman” »

Posted in Barry Obama, Elections | 5 Comments | Trackback URL

Business Owners Not Big Fans Of Obama

By William Teach July 26, 2012 – 9:47 am

Is it any wonder? Obama trots out his “you didn’t build that” quote and has been trying to saddle them with higher taxes, as well as being largely dismissive of the private sector economy (via The Lonely Conservative and Hot Air)

(Gallup) U.S. business owners’ approval of President Barack Obama fell in the second quarter of 2012 to 35%, essentially tying farmers and fishers for the lowest approval among major occupational groups. Overall, professional workers remain the most approving, at 52%. …

Obama’s job approval ratings by occupational group clearly relate to election preferences. Gallup previously found that Obama does best compared with likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney among voters who are professionals and service workers. Romney does best among voters who work in farming and fishing or construction, or are business owners.

In the overall average for the second quarter of 2012, 47% of working Americans approved of the job Obama is doing as president, and 47% disapproved. This is slightly improved from 45% approval and 48% disapproval in the first quarter.

On one hand, Obama is doing a tiny bit better overall, but, clearly it is not because of Obama doing anything himself (he didn’t build that), but having a stable Republican controlled House keeping the economy from falling off the cliff.

59% of business owners disapprove of Obama. In fact, out of 11 categories, Obama gets negative ratings in 8 of them.

Read: Business Owners Not Big Fans Of Obama »

Posted in Barry Obama, Economy | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

Democrat Senate Passes Tax Bill To Stick It To Job Creators

By William Teach July 26, 2012 – 8:42 am

Interestingly, if they really cared about the middle class, they’d call for a reduction in taxes on those making less than $200k individual/$250 joint

(Washington Post) The Senate on Wednesday narrowly approved a plan to preserve tax cuts for the middle class while letting them expire for the wealthy, a powerful if largely symbolic victory for Democrats who have been pushing to raise taxes on the rich for more than a decade.

The measure is dead on arrival in the Republican-controlled House, where leaders are preparing to vote next week on their own plan to extend the George W. Bush-era tax cuts for households at every income level through 2013.

The vote was symbolic, because all tax measures must originate in the House. But, the vote shows that Democrats are willing to raise taxes on small business owners in the middle of terrible economic conditions, an increase that is comparable to spit in a large bucket of federal spending.

Vice President Biden presided over the late-afternoon vote, though with only 99 senators present, there was never much chance that he would be called upon to break a tie. His appearance highlighted the importance of the issue for President Obama, who has made tax “fairness” a centerpiece of his reelection campaign against GOP challenger Mitt Romney.

If Team Obama really wanted tax fairness, they’d ask that the tax laws be changed so that 50% of US taxpayers would no longer be paying effectively a 0% tax rate.

This is all the typical class warfare from the Democrat Party, even as Obama attends numerous $30K+ fundraisers. Perhaps he should ask those rich folks to pay their fair share directly to the federal treasury rather than the Obama re-election fund.

Read: Democrat Senate Passes Tax Bill To Stick It To Job Creators »

Posted in Democrats, Taxation | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

Obama Brings Up Gun Control, Wants Others To Do The Work

By William Teach July 26, 2012 – 7:53 am

We’ve learned many things about (NMP) Obama during his 3 1/2 years in office: one of them is that he loves to make pronouncements about something needing to be done, but he’s rarely willing to do the hard work himself, instead, outsourcing the job to others, whether they want to or not. Obviously, doing the work would interfere with his campaign, vacation, and golf time, plus, it’s good to be the king and not have to lift a finger to actually lead. He does the same thing as he discusses gun control

(Politico) President Obama touched the sensitive issue of guns here on Wednesday, pivoting off last week’s Colorado movie theater shootings to call for a “consensus around violence reduction” in the country.

With the last public event of a four-day trip that started with a visit to the Aurora, Colo., hospital where almost two dozen victims were brought after the shootings, Obama said he supports measures to conduct background checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, fugitives and the mentally ill.

Criminals and fugitives tend not to care about the law. That’s why they’re “criminals” and “fugitives”.

“I – like most Americans – believe that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual the right to bear arms,” Obama said. “I think we recognize the traditions of gun ownership passed on from generation to generation, that hunting and shooting are part of a cherished national heritage.

Interesting that he leaves out gun ownership for protection.

“But I also believe that a lot of gun owners would agree that AK-47s belong in the hands of soldiers and not in the hands of crooks. They belong on the battlefield of war, not on the streets of our cities,” he added.

Some might disagree, like…..Senator and 2oo4 Democrat presidential nominee John Kerry, who seems to own a Chinese variant of an AK-47. Also, most people who own them legally do not go on shooting rampages like James Holmes did: they tend to be gang bangers and other criminals, who do not own them legally.

Perhaps he should also look towards his own administration which ran assault rifles down to Mexico, handing them over to criminals bent on using them for non-battlefield related purposes. Anyhow, here we go

Obama bemoaned the lack of political will to tackle gun issues, noting how congressional leaders have so far shown little interest in advancing new legislation following the Colorado shooting.

“When there’s an extraordinarily heartbreaking tragedy like the one we saw, there’s always an outcry immediately after for action,” Obama said. “There’s talk of new reforms. There’s talk of legislation. And too often those efforts are defeated by politics and by lobbying and eventually by the pull of our collective attention elsewhere. But what I said in the wake of Tucson is we’re going to stay on this persistently.”

Obama said he’d “continue to work with members of both parties and with religious groups and with civic organizations to arrive at a consensus around violence reduction.”

In other words, Obama will talk and talk and talk, but His Majesty expects Someone Else to do the hard work in submitting legislation for Him to sign. Of course, even his own party will ignore them, because gun control is a losing issue. Perhaps he should try giving this talk in his hometown of Chicago, where people are being gunned down by illegal guns because law abiding citizens aren’t allowed to legally carry guns to protect themselves.

It’ll also be interesting to see if he stays on this subject “persistently”, or if his attention is drawn elsewhere. I’m betting that you never hear about this subject again.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

Read: Obama Brings Up Gun Control, Wants Others To Do The Work »

Posted in 2nd Amendment, Barry Obama | 6 Comments | Trackback URL

The Dark Knight Rises – To See Or Not See?

By William Teach July 25, 2012 – 10:42 pm

Like many other movies, such as Prometheus, The Dark Knight Rises had a ton of hype around it, and was widely anticipated to be a summer blockbuster. Well, mission accomplished! But, how good is it, really? Over at Rotten Tomatoes, it gets very high marks, but one thing you seem to see a lot is “it was great, but I expected more.” And that’s the problem with a highly anticipated movie.

I’m not much of a fan of the first one, but really liked the second one. Like with the Michael Keaton Batman, it was the Joker taking over the movie, with Heath Ledger doing what Jack Nicholson did, albeit in a much darker, more deranged manner. It’s hard to meet those expectations, which is why I’ve held off in writing despite getting out around 5pm.

So, I’ll give it a B-. I’m torn on whether or not it is really an evening full price movie or just an afternoon matinee and save a few bucks movie, but, since it is, what, 5 hours long (well, 2:45), I’ll give it the “it’s worth seeing at night” endorsement.

The bad guy, Bane, was good, but can’t live up to the Joker. Really, almost no character could have. It was more drama than Batman kicking the crap out of everyone. And, unfortunately, Ann Hathaway was wasted. Not really “The Catwoman”, it was like she was thrown in as some eye candy, and they forget to make her eye candy, because her lines were kinda lame, and she really didn’t add much. She’s sorta bad, sorta there. Might have been more fun if they had used Harley Quinn instead. That said, it was still well worth the time and money.

There’s a nice little twist at the end that you should enjoy. Leave your expectations at home, and just enjoy.

BTW, not sure if the preview for Total Recall makes it worth seeing or not. The short TV commercial is booooooring. Somewhat better for longer theater trailer.

Read: The Dark Knight Rises – To See Or Not See? »

Posted in Film | Comments Off on The Dark Knight Rises – To See Or Not See? | Trackback URL
Pirate's Cove