It is not just that the Democratic Party is now going to have to defend a massive, 3000 page bill for FOUR YEARS before it even goes into full effect. When even Howard Dean sees that as a disaster for the Democratic Party, you know that it is. It is not just that the Democratic Party has shown complete contempt for the American people by pushing through this massive new Federal program and bureaucracy after the American people voted it down (in Virginia--which has passed a state law against it, New Jersey and Massachusetts). It is not just that the Democratic Party has now signalled it is firmly on the LEFT FORK of the road, and that no "moderates" need apply. It is not just the incredible arrogance of this health care vote, which Obama and the Democrats made clear they were going to push through no matter what--no matter what rules stood in their way or how many people were against it in the country. It is all of those things, and a lot more.
There are no "moderates" left in the Democratic Party. Oh, there may be a few people left who CALL themselves "moderates", but the party has set itself squarely on the far left. Every Democratic Party member of the Senate voted for this bill, and none can hide by now voting against the "Reconciliation Bill" still to be voted on in the Senate. The Senate health care bill is now LAW, and it does not even matter whether the Democrats succeed in continuing to tinker with it for POLITICAL reasons The few Democrats in the House who voted against the bill have NO influence in their party. Unless they switch parties, they are going down with the ship. Indeed, you can't trust any of them unless they do switch parties. Any such Democrats have no principles, after this smack down by their party. You could pretty much bet that, if their votes had been NEEDED, they would have voted for tis bill. It was obvious, at the end, that this bill was going to pass, and therefore some Democrats had "permission" to register a FALSE vote against the bill--which is what you should assume every Democrat vote against the bill was unless that Democrat switches parties.
That is the ultimate problem for the Democratic Party. It may be misled by the mainstream media, who believe that the Big Government far left represents the majority of Americans, but the Democratic Party is doomed once the people perceive it to represent only the far left. Nope. It does not matter if the mainstream media orchestrates a "bump" in the polls for the Democrats--based on the media "game theory" of politics: that "everyone loves a winner". The problem is that the Democratic Party is now "all in" (poker term) on the left, and will arrogantly make that clear from now on. In fact, this health care vote almost FORCES Democrats to push similar Big Government "solutions" to EVERYTHING (their inclination, in any event). This vote--including any "bump" in the polls---is merely going to fuel the ARROGANCE on the left that it can ignore the HICKS who oppose them and continue to push through their far left agenda--ignoring any "rules" in their way and that the American people (mainly HICKS, remember) do not want that agenda.
Yes, the Whig Party was a 19th Century American political party that disappeared. But the real ancestor of the modern Democrats--in philosophy--was the original "Federalist" Party--especially the "high Federalists" led by Alexander Hamilton. That party, too, disappeared, because it was totally out of step with the American people.
Yes, the "high Federalists" pushed an "historic vote" too. That was the vote on a NATIONAL BANK. You say tat you do not see a national bank now in existence? Clever you, although Ron Paul would suggest that the Federal Reserve is WORSE, and the modern Democratic Party wants to give the Federal Reserve the powers of a national bank. You will note that the Federal Reserve, and the whole Federal Government, did NOT stop either the Great Depression or this latest severe recession. I digress (sort of). The "high Federalists" rode that obsession with a "national bank", and with a powerful Federal Government, right into the grave made just for failed political parties. "Historic" does NOT mean either "good" or "successful". The mainstream media is likely to convince Democrats otherwise, to the extent this vote alone does not kill off the Democratic Party, and Democrats are likely to arrogantly push their leftist agenda to the end--their end. We have an "historic" President, and an "historic" vote. We will thus have an "historic" demise of a party, although the Federalists paved the way.
Yes, Thomas Jefferson, the founder of the Republican Party, quickly took advantage of a public who distrusted Big Government to doom the Federalists. George Washington and John Adams--the first two Presidents of the United States--were "Federalists" (at least nominally). In fact, John Adams was accused--falsely--of being a "royalist" wanting either the return to Britain and kings or to remake the American system in the British image. Alexander Hamilton and the "high Federalists" so discredited the Federalists in the public mind that John Quincy Adams--the son of John Adams--was elected President AS A REPUBLICAN. The American people have NEVER liked the idea of an all powerful Federal Government, and they still don't. Jefferson, of course, professed to like the idea of a violent revolution every 20 years just to keep the government from getting arrogant. (One may doubt whether Jefferson really meant it, although he said it in all seriousness and wrongly supported the French Revolution long past the time its failure was obvious, but it would probably have been enough to get Jefferson "suspended" from Newsvine--putting me in good company.) Yes, the "Federalists" are the ones who first showed that leftists do not really believe in free speech by putting into Law the "historic" Alien and Sedition Acts.
As stated, Alexander Hamilton--the great villain of early American politics--was the real intellectual ancestor of the present Democratic Party. He wanted the all powerful Federal Government--preferably with himself as king or power behind the king. You will remember that Hamilton--having already mainly failed in his machinations to become the effective ruler of America--was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr. Since both Hamilton and Burr plotted to become king, this was one of those happy events in history where the American people could not lose. It sort of makes you wish for the return of dueling. Imagine a duel at high noon between Nancy "Total Failure" Pelosi and Harry "Dirty Oil" Reid! CENSORED. Yes the follow up to this riff has been CENSORED by the Newsvine (MSNBC) "Code of Honor" self-censorship board (me). In future, you will probably be able to find the uncensored material on my Google blog. But this time I think it is obvious enough to leave for the reader as an exercise. Aaron Burr, by the way, TIED Jefferson, in the electoral college, for President of the United States. Only a few principled Federalists saved the country then in the 'historic" vote in the House of Representatives. Too bad there were not enough such Democrats in this "historic" health care vote.
Obama, Pelsoi and Reid are leading the Democratic Party off of a Cliff. That is no problem. Most Americans, including me, are going to have no sympathy for them. But will the COUNTRY survive (in recognizable form)? That is the worrisome question.
Democrats R.I.P. USA R.I.P.?
Monday, March 22, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Obama, Pelosi and Health Care: Deficit Scams--Seven Deadly Sins (CBO Bean Eaters Pass Gas)
"WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congressional budget scorekeepers say a Medicare fix that Democrats included in earlier versions of their health care bill would push it into the red.
The Congressional Budget Office said Friday that rolling back a programmed cut in Medicare fees to doctors would cost $208 billion over 10 years. If added back to the health care overhaul bill, it would wipe out all the deficit reduction, leaving the legislation $59 billion in the red."
The above is from the leftist Associated Press, as even some leftist "journalists" find it hard to swallow the FRAUD involved in the Pelosi PROPAGANDA that the CBO report on the health care bill was "good news". Fox News, of course, was one of the disgraceful entities repeating that fraud as fact, even while putting on some commentators debunking the idea. Other mainstream media outlets, of course, did not even point out Pelosi's (and Obama's) fraud at all.
"Skip, you can't do a headline like that. You know that the CBO people are not bean EATERS, but bean COUNTERS." Do I? They might as well be bean eaters, since they are not ALLOWED (by Congress) to actually count the beans, and since the mainstream media follows Pelosi's lead and blasts headlines about the FRAUD of ignoring the CBO footnotes, caveats, and assumptions Let us review the SCAMS of the health care bill (which should, all alone, cause no Democrat to be elected to any office in this country for at least 10 years--at least none not affirmatively exposing these scams):
Scam no. 1 (biggest of all): It is absurd to suggest that we are "paying for" this health care bill--even if the CBO numbers were not a fraud--when we have a 12 TRILLION dollar debt, INCREASING at a deficit of 1.6 TRILLION dollars per year. Doubt me? Assume that you ran up a credit card deficit of 1 million dollars, which you can't afford, and are running a monthly deficit (expenses over revenue) of $10,000. Then you go to your accountant (a moonlighting CBO guy used to this kind of fraud) and ask whether you can afford a second yacht--can "pay for" it. But you tell the accountant that he is NOT ALLOWED to consider the interest on the debt you already owe, or that you are running a deficit every month. You tell the accountant that he is only allowed to consider the assumptions you give to him, and one of those assumptions is that you are getting a second job "earning" $250,000 a year which will "pay for" the yacht. The accountant wants to ask how lyou intend to pay for the yacht you have, and all of our other expenses--maybe suggest that this new job will not bring in as much revenue as you "project" because the economy will not do as well as you think--but the accountant is NOT ALLOWED to bring up those things (except maybe mildly, in footnotes or something). Thus, the accountant gives you the "conclusion" you have guaranteed he would have to give: "Yes, based on the assumptions in the "bill" you gave me, you CAN afford that second yacht." Now people have gone to JAIL (Enron?) for frauds less obvious than this, which is not a bad idea for Pelosi. But politicians think that they will not only avoid jail, but get reelected. It is up to US to make sure they are wrong.
Scam no. 2: The costs of this health care bill--the "benefits"--mainly do not begin for FOUR YEARS. But the revenues--to the extent they are rel--start right away (in the main, except for other scams referred to below). Let us go back to our poor bean counter again--our CBO account. We tell him that he MUST, in his calculations, consider that we will be renting out the second yacht we are buying for 4 years, without any extra expenses (see AP quote above as to fraud in this), but that I will then be OBLIGATED for the full cost of the yacht, including major ongoing expense. The accountant is again NOT ALLOWED to suggest that you NEED that "rent money" to pay for your OTHER YACHT, and your ongoing deficit. The accountant MUST assume that you "save" that "rent money". Then the accounted must consider a ten year period comparing apples and oranges--comparing 10 years of revenue (assumed to be ongoing) with 6 years of "benefits" (when you actually get to use the yacht). What if you needed the yacht for your HEALTH, and the uncertainty of whether than second yacht may really help you may kill you. Too bad. It will be FOUR YEARS before you even know what you are buying--much less get to use it. That is what the Democrats are doing to us. To GAME the CBO, they have postponed the "benefits" of this health care legislation for FOUR YEARS, but the TAXES are going into effect immediately (10 years of revenue the CBO is required to compare to 6 years of expenses). This is, again, FRAUD. It further guarantees a four year nightmare, as 1/5 of our economy is left in uncertain turmoil for four years. Further, the immediate new TAXES will hurt the economy, and hiring, just when we are trying to come out of this deep recession. Disaster. And the CBO has been FORCED to "sign off" on this They should sue for defamation.
Scam no. 3: See the AP "lead" quoted at the beginning. Way back in the Clinton Administration (a DEMOCRAT administration), the Medicare formula for reimbursement of doctors was scheduled to change. Yes, this was a CUT in Medicare, designed to help "save" Medicare. The CBO duly "scored" this bill to raise so much money in the future. The future is NOW. However, letting that CUT in Medicare go into effect, as that previous CBO was FORCED to assume would happen, will CUT reimbursement to doctors for care of the elderly by as much as 22%. Cardiologists and oncologists have already said tthat the elderly will NOT GET CARE if this goes into effect. Democrats have PROMISED (a former BRIBE to get support for the health care bill from the AMA) to "fix" this threat to the care of the elderly by again adjusting the formula back so that doctors do not suffer this 22% cut. This was part of the health care bill, where it clearly belongs--more than the government takeover of student loans and more student aid. Indeed, $500,000 in "savings" in Medicare is still included in the health care bill, despite the fact that those "savings" are NEEDED to cover the 200-3000 billion in extra deficit Medicare is going to suffer because of this "fix". That $00 billion--if real--in "savings" is NOT a "necessary" part of the health care bill. It is more properly a part of a MEDICARE bill--having nothing to do with health insurance. However, Pelosi and Obama NEEDED the fictional "saving" to "pay for" the bill, and so they instructed the CBO to ignore the doctor "fix". However, the doctor "fix" is still going to happen. FRAUD again, as the CBO is again GAMED. This time the CBO is TELLING YOU (see AP story) that they have been GAMED, but Pelosi and Obama are counting on the mainstream media to ignore the fraud.
Go back to our hypothetical. You tell your accountant--who supposedly is going to tell you whether you can afford a second yacht--that you need repairs on the first yacht. But you expect to SAVE more than those repairs by stopping scams people are using to skim money off of the operating budget of the yacht into their pocket. The accountant tells you: "Fine, but you realize that if you use the "savings" on the first yacht to pay for the needed repairs, then you can't afford the second yacht--even under these ridiculous conditions you are placing on me." Well, this does not bother YOU (Pelosi and Obama). You merely tell the accountant (CBO): "Fine. Don't consider the repairs I need for the first yacht. That is entirely a separate matter. But do consider the "savings" on the first yacht. You must assume that those savings "pay for" my second yacht, whether I need them for the first yacht or not.
Scam no. 4: What about that $500 billion dollars in Medicare "savings'" needed to cover the rising cost of Medicare, including that "doctor fix"? Will the "savings" really happen? Go back again to that CUT in doctor reimbursement, previously ""scored" by the CBO. We KNOW that is NOT going to happen. If Obama and the Congress could "save" all of that money from Medicare, why have they not already done so? Democrats--including Obama, before he was President--have controlled Congress since 2007. If all we had to do was wave a magic wand and "save" all of this money from Medicare, why have we not already done it? And part of that "saving" is a CUT in Medicare Advantage--a cut so disadvantageous to senior citizens--raising the costs fro those on the Medicare Advantage program or maybe doing away with the program entirely--that FLORIDA received an exemption (bribe) from those cuts in the Senate bill. Now we KNOW Democrats intend to eventually KILL OFF senior citizens by denying care to those who use too many medical resources. However, do the politicians really have the will to follow through on the CUTS in Medicare? And as for "fraud, waste and abuse", I have heard about saving money by eliminating that all of my adult life. The next time it happens will be the FIRST. Now Obama may well CLAIM to accomplish such "savings", as he has claimed to "save/create" jobs, but past experience tells you that real "savings" are not going to happen.
Back to our hypothetical case. The accountant asks you: "If you can really save all of that money on the first yacht, why have you not already done it?" You say: "It is in the bill. You have to assume I will do it". Accountant ant: "What bill?" Oops! I left the hypothetical. Accountant: You told me more than a decade ago that you were going to cut ongoing costs for your first yacht, but you are telling me today that you have to revise that to save the first yacht, even though I am not allowed to consider that cost in "scoring" whether you can afford a second yacht. Are you sure it is okay for me to make these unreasonable assumptions?" You (Pelosi/Obama): "You are just a bean eather--oops, bean counter--and it is not for you to reason why. You juts do what I tell you, and assume what I tell you to assume. If it is in the bill--oops again--you are REQUIRED to believe that I can wave a magic wand and make it happen."
Scam no. 5: What about all of the extra Federal employees and expenses in OTHER parts of the government caused by this incredible new bureaucracy and 3000 page bill? What about extra IRS expense to enforce the mandatory insurance/fines procedure? Won't this bill cause all kinds of extra expenses not directly part oft he bill? YES. The CBO says that will occur, in another one of those footnotes. Now the CBO says--optimistically--that this will ony be a matter of tens of billions of dollars instead of hundreds of billions of dollars, but it remains part of the FRAUD here. This bill is going to bloat the entire Federal Government beyond all measuring--once it goes into full effect. I tire of the hypothetical, and will therefore leave it as an exercise for the reader to extend these last scams to the hypothetical.
Scam no. 6: Will the extra taxes really raise as much revenue as projected? Well, new taxes almost never do, when you take into account the REDUCED revenue from the damage done to the economy. The CBO--another footnote-says that its projections assume no new "downturn". Yet, the taxes in this bill will make such a downturn more likely. My brother, the accountant, says this health care bill will make a depression CERTAIN. I am not a wild and woolly bean eater, and therefore I would not go that far. I will merely say that economic disaster is the likely result of this bill,for many reasons.
Scam no. 7: You want to know how worthless the Democrats--and Republicans before them--have made the CBO? I can tell ou how to GAME every CBO "score", without even being creative. Just put in every spending bill an outrageous new tax, to take effect FIVE YEARS FROM NOW. Think how "good" a score Pelosi could have gotten by simply putting a 90% income tax in the bill on everyone making over $250,000, to "take effect" 5 years from now. You know, and I know--as Pelosi knows--that such a tax would never take effect. But the hapless bean eaters of the CBO would have to "score" it as if they believed the law would be actually put into effect (and as if such a tax would not DESTROY the economy). You see how easy it is to GAME the CBO "score". You say that Pelosi and Congress would never commit that kind of fraud? Read the above again. They DID--in fact in this very manner. Remember that tax on Cadillac health care plans, where unions got a special exemption? Well, in one version of the bill--why should I know what will be in the final version when members of Congress have no idea even as they vote--that "Cadillac tax" would not happen until 2016. Yet, Congress was perfectly willing to have the CBO "socre" such a ridiculous provision, as if it were ever going to raise any revenue.
Democrats have done a lot. They have DESTROYED any procedural rules of Congress. NO future Congress, if this bill gets pushed through and maybe even if it does not, is going to worry about the filibuster rule--or any other rule of Congress. There are simply no longer gong to be any rules. Bills will be routinely "deemed" passed, and every other deceptive rule change will be fair game. There will be--maybe already are--NO RULES. It is just a matter of how much DECEPTION you can get away with. And the CBO is now officially USELESS. With tis bill, Democrats have shown--without even much "sugar coating"--that the CBO "score" is merely a game to be played with phony numbers and assumptions.
For the WAY they are trying to pass this bill, every participating Democrat should be barred from public office for ten years. It is up to us to see that happens. The bill itself, unfortunately, may ensure that THIS COUNTRY will not last another ten years--in recognizable form
P.S. No, the list of scams does not end with 7. I never even got into the BRIBES and PAYOFFS, except in passing. But you get the idea. If you don't get the picture by now, nothing I can say is going to mean anything to you. You are brain dead. .
The Congressional Budget Office said Friday that rolling back a programmed cut in Medicare fees to doctors would cost $208 billion over 10 years. If added back to the health care overhaul bill, it would wipe out all the deficit reduction, leaving the legislation $59 billion in the red."
The above is from the leftist Associated Press, as even some leftist "journalists" find it hard to swallow the FRAUD involved in the Pelosi PROPAGANDA that the CBO report on the health care bill was "good news". Fox News, of course, was one of the disgraceful entities repeating that fraud as fact, even while putting on some commentators debunking the idea. Other mainstream media outlets, of course, did not even point out Pelosi's (and Obama's) fraud at all.
"Skip, you can't do a headline like that. You know that the CBO people are not bean EATERS, but bean COUNTERS." Do I? They might as well be bean eaters, since they are not ALLOWED (by Congress) to actually count the beans, and since the mainstream media follows Pelosi's lead and blasts headlines about the FRAUD of ignoring the CBO footnotes, caveats, and assumptions Let us review the SCAMS of the health care bill (which should, all alone, cause no Democrat to be elected to any office in this country for at least 10 years--at least none not affirmatively exposing these scams):
Scam no. 1 (biggest of all): It is absurd to suggest that we are "paying for" this health care bill--even if the CBO numbers were not a fraud--when we have a 12 TRILLION dollar debt, INCREASING at a deficit of 1.6 TRILLION dollars per year. Doubt me? Assume that you ran up a credit card deficit of 1 million dollars, which you can't afford, and are running a monthly deficit (expenses over revenue) of $10,000. Then you go to your accountant (a moonlighting CBO guy used to this kind of fraud) and ask whether you can afford a second yacht--can "pay for" it. But you tell the accountant that he is NOT ALLOWED to consider the interest on the debt you already owe, or that you are running a deficit every month. You tell the accountant that he is only allowed to consider the assumptions you give to him, and one of those assumptions is that you are getting a second job "earning" $250,000 a year which will "pay for" the yacht. The accountant wants to ask how lyou intend to pay for the yacht you have, and all of our other expenses--maybe suggest that this new job will not bring in as much revenue as you "project" because the economy will not do as well as you think--but the accountant is NOT ALLOWED to bring up those things (except maybe mildly, in footnotes or something). Thus, the accountant gives you the "conclusion" you have guaranteed he would have to give: "Yes, based on the assumptions in the "bill" you gave me, you CAN afford that second yacht." Now people have gone to JAIL (Enron?) for frauds less obvious than this, which is not a bad idea for Pelosi. But politicians think that they will not only avoid jail, but get reelected. It is up to US to make sure they are wrong.
Scam no. 2: The costs of this health care bill--the "benefits"--mainly do not begin for FOUR YEARS. But the revenues--to the extent they are rel--start right away (in the main, except for other scams referred to below). Let us go back to our poor bean counter again--our CBO account. We tell him that he MUST, in his calculations, consider that we will be renting out the second yacht we are buying for 4 years, without any extra expenses (see AP quote above as to fraud in this), but that I will then be OBLIGATED for the full cost of the yacht, including major ongoing expense. The accountant is again NOT ALLOWED to suggest that you NEED that "rent money" to pay for your OTHER YACHT, and your ongoing deficit. The accountant MUST assume that you "save" that "rent money". Then the accounted must consider a ten year period comparing apples and oranges--comparing 10 years of revenue (assumed to be ongoing) with 6 years of "benefits" (when you actually get to use the yacht). What if you needed the yacht for your HEALTH, and the uncertainty of whether than second yacht may really help you may kill you. Too bad. It will be FOUR YEARS before you even know what you are buying--much less get to use it. That is what the Democrats are doing to us. To GAME the CBO, they have postponed the "benefits" of this health care legislation for FOUR YEARS, but the TAXES are going into effect immediately (10 years of revenue the CBO is required to compare to 6 years of expenses). This is, again, FRAUD. It further guarantees a four year nightmare, as 1/5 of our economy is left in uncertain turmoil for four years. Further, the immediate new TAXES will hurt the economy, and hiring, just when we are trying to come out of this deep recession. Disaster. And the CBO has been FORCED to "sign off" on this They should sue for defamation.
Scam no. 3: See the AP "lead" quoted at the beginning. Way back in the Clinton Administration (a DEMOCRAT administration), the Medicare formula for reimbursement of doctors was scheduled to change. Yes, this was a CUT in Medicare, designed to help "save" Medicare. The CBO duly "scored" this bill to raise so much money in the future. The future is NOW. However, letting that CUT in Medicare go into effect, as that previous CBO was FORCED to assume would happen, will CUT reimbursement to doctors for care of the elderly by as much as 22%. Cardiologists and oncologists have already said tthat the elderly will NOT GET CARE if this goes into effect. Democrats have PROMISED (a former BRIBE to get support for the health care bill from the AMA) to "fix" this threat to the care of the elderly by again adjusting the formula back so that doctors do not suffer this 22% cut. This was part of the health care bill, where it clearly belongs--more than the government takeover of student loans and more student aid. Indeed, $500,000 in "savings" in Medicare is still included in the health care bill, despite the fact that those "savings" are NEEDED to cover the 200-3000 billion in extra deficit Medicare is going to suffer because of this "fix". That $00 billion--if real--in "savings" is NOT a "necessary" part of the health care bill. It is more properly a part of a MEDICARE bill--having nothing to do with health insurance. However, Pelosi and Obama NEEDED the fictional "saving" to "pay for" the bill, and so they instructed the CBO to ignore the doctor "fix". However, the doctor "fix" is still going to happen. FRAUD again, as the CBO is again GAMED. This time the CBO is TELLING YOU (see AP story) that they have been GAMED, but Pelosi and Obama are counting on the mainstream media to ignore the fraud.
Go back to our hypothetical. You tell your accountant--who supposedly is going to tell you whether you can afford a second yacht--that you need repairs on the first yacht. But you expect to SAVE more than those repairs by stopping scams people are using to skim money off of the operating budget of the yacht into their pocket. The accountant tells you: "Fine, but you realize that if you use the "savings" on the first yacht to pay for the needed repairs, then you can't afford the second yacht--even under these ridiculous conditions you are placing on me." Well, this does not bother YOU (Pelosi and Obama). You merely tell the accountant (CBO): "Fine. Don't consider the repairs I need for the first yacht. That is entirely a separate matter. But do consider the "savings" on the first yacht. You must assume that those savings "pay for" my second yacht, whether I need them for the first yacht or not.
Scam no. 4: What about that $500 billion dollars in Medicare "savings'" needed to cover the rising cost of Medicare, including that "doctor fix"? Will the "savings" really happen? Go back again to that CUT in doctor reimbursement, previously ""scored" by the CBO. We KNOW that is NOT going to happen. If Obama and the Congress could "save" all of that money from Medicare, why have they not already done so? Democrats--including Obama, before he was President--have controlled Congress since 2007. If all we had to do was wave a magic wand and "save" all of this money from Medicare, why have we not already done it? And part of that "saving" is a CUT in Medicare Advantage--a cut so disadvantageous to senior citizens--raising the costs fro those on the Medicare Advantage program or maybe doing away with the program entirely--that FLORIDA received an exemption (bribe) from those cuts in the Senate bill. Now we KNOW Democrats intend to eventually KILL OFF senior citizens by denying care to those who use too many medical resources. However, do the politicians really have the will to follow through on the CUTS in Medicare? And as for "fraud, waste and abuse", I have heard about saving money by eliminating that all of my adult life. The next time it happens will be the FIRST. Now Obama may well CLAIM to accomplish such "savings", as he has claimed to "save/create" jobs, but past experience tells you that real "savings" are not going to happen.
Back to our hypothetical case. The accountant asks you: "If you can really save all of that money on the first yacht, why have you not already done it?" You say: "It is in the bill. You have to assume I will do it". Accountant ant: "What bill?" Oops! I left the hypothetical. Accountant: You told me more than a decade ago that you were going to cut ongoing costs for your first yacht, but you are telling me today that you have to revise that to save the first yacht, even though I am not allowed to consider that cost in "scoring" whether you can afford a second yacht. Are you sure it is okay for me to make these unreasonable assumptions?" You (Pelosi/Obama): "You are just a bean eather--oops, bean counter--and it is not for you to reason why. You juts do what I tell you, and assume what I tell you to assume. If it is in the bill--oops again--you are REQUIRED to believe that I can wave a magic wand and make it happen."
Scam no. 5: What about all of the extra Federal employees and expenses in OTHER parts of the government caused by this incredible new bureaucracy and 3000 page bill? What about extra IRS expense to enforce the mandatory insurance/fines procedure? Won't this bill cause all kinds of extra expenses not directly part oft he bill? YES. The CBO says that will occur, in another one of those footnotes. Now the CBO says--optimistically--that this will ony be a matter of tens of billions of dollars instead of hundreds of billions of dollars, but it remains part of the FRAUD here. This bill is going to bloat the entire Federal Government beyond all measuring--once it goes into full effect. I tire of the hypothetical, and will therefore leave it as an exercise for the reader to extend these last scams to the hypothetical.
Scam no. 6: Will the extra taxes really raise as much revenue as projected? Well, new taxes almost never do, when you take into account the REDUCED revenue from the damage done to the economy. The CBO--another footnote-says that its projections assume no new "downturn". Yet, the taxes in this bill will make such a downturn more likely. My brother, the accountant, says this health care bill will make a depression CERTAIN. I am not a wild and woolly bean eater, and therefore I would not go that far. I will merely say that economic disaster is the likely result of this bill,for many reasons.
Scam no. 7: You want to know how worthless the Democrats--and Republicans before them--have made the CBO? I can tell ou how to GAME every CBO "score", without even being creative. Just put in every spending bill an outrageous new tax, to take effect FIVE YEARS FROM NOW. Think how "good" a score Pelosi could have gotten by simply putting a 90% income tax in the bill on everyone making over $250,000, to "take effect" 5 years from now. You know, and I know--as Pelosi knows--that such a tax would never take effect. But the hapless bean eaters of the CBO would have to "score" it as if they believed the law would be actually put into effect (and as if such a tax would not DESTROY the economy). You see how easy it is to GAME the CBO "score". You say that Pelosi and Congress would never commit that kind of fraud? Read the above again. They DID--in fact in this very manner. Remember that tax on Cadillac health care plans, where unions got a special exemption? Well, in one version of the bill--why should I know what will be in the final version when members of Congress have no idea even as they vote--that "Cadillac tax" would not happen until 2016. Yet, Congress was perfectly willing to have the CBO "socre" such a ridiculous provision, as if it were ever going to raise any revenue.
Democrats have done a lot. They have DESTROYED any procedural rules of Congress. NO future Congress, if this bill gets pushed through and maybe even if it does not, is going to worry about the filibuster rule--or any other rule of Congress. There are simply no longer gong to be any rules. Bills will be routinely "deemed" passed, and every other deceptive rule change will be fair game. There will be--maybe already are--NO RULES. It is just a matter of how much DECEPTION you can get away with. And the CBO is now officially USELESS. With tis bill, Democrats have shown--without even much "sugar coating"--that the CBO "score" is merely a game to be played with phony numbers and assumptions.
For the WAY they are trying to pass this bill, every participating Democrat should be barred from public office for ten years. It is up to us to see that happens. The bill itself, unfortunately, may ensure that THIS COUNTRY will not last another ten years--in recognizable form
P.S. No, the list of scams does not end with 7. I never even got into the BRIBES and PAYOFFS, except in passing. But you get the idea. If you don't get the picture by now, nothing I can say is going to mean anything to you. You are brain dead. .
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Amid signs that the labor market is approaching a trough but remains frail, the consumer sentiment index declined to 72.5 in March from 73.6 in February. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had been expecting the sentiment index to hit 74 in March.
Consumer sentiment is "meandering," wrote Ian Pollick, economics strategist with TD Securities, in a research note. "
The above quote is from MarketWatch about yet another piece of bad economic news on Friday. See my previous article (skip33666 search of "Users") to fully understand the reference to the "frail" labor market "at the bottom of the trough". Even though not as dishonest as the despicable AP (see previous article again), MarketWatch IS a mainstream media/Wall Street site that does not totally give the "news" right down the middle. If you read my articles, you know that the labor market reached a--not necessarily "the"--"bottom of the trough" months ago. For those months--in some ways, such as the unemployment rate, all of the way back to July--the labor market has NOT IMPROVED. For the past three to four months, it can be said that aspects of the labor market have DETERIORATED. Jobless claims---the measure of layoffs--have INCREASED over the past 3 to 4 months. The four week average is higher now than it has been in four months.
Note again that economists (the Stupidest People on Earth) got consumer sentiment wrong again. No, they were not way off (for economists), but they "predicted" IMPROVEMENT, when consumer confidence actually FELL (got worse). Now all of this may be pretty much within the "margin of error", but somehow economists almost never get it right. Yet, these are the people that central planners (leftist Democrats who believe in Big Government) depend upon to know enough about the economy to do better than the free market. That is a ridiculous position, which is why the faith of leftist Democrats in government central planning is absurd--both in theory and in practice.
Finally, note that consumers in general are smarter than the AP, and rest of the mainstream media--admittedly a LOW bar. Consumers are perfectly aware that things are NOT IMPROVING, and that the Obama "stimulus" has FAILED. One of the most astounding numbers I have ever seen is the poll number about the percentage of Americans who believe that the Obama "stimulus" has actually created jobs (net): 6^ (or was it as high as 8%) of Americans believe that the Obama "stimulus" has "created" (net) jobs. As I have previously said, I think you can get a bigger percentage than that who believe that CHILD PORN should be legal. And the poll was commissioned by leftist/mainstream media organizations.
Americans have rightly concluded that we have BANKRUPTED the country for NOTHING. Yes, we may not be getting significantly worse, but neither are we getting significantly better. And in trying to use the Federal Government to MAKE things get better (if you want to be that generous to what is really a political "slush fund"), we have made it almost impossible for us to have a sustained recovery.
Meanwhile, President Obama fiddles (with health care). As I have stated: "Obama fiddles--with health care--while America burns." The reference, of course, is to Roman emperor Nero. And the health care bill for which Obama, Reid and Pelosi are engagin in/have engaged in bribery, extortion, blackmail and intimidation, will not even go into full effect for FOUR YEARS. Even if the 2700 page bill were a good idea, and it is not, we may not SURVIVE (as a healthy economy) for four years.
Consumer sentiment is "meandering," wrote Ian Pollick, economics strategist with TD Securities, in a research note. "
The above quote is from MarketWatch about yet another piece of bad economic news on Friday. See my previous article (skip33666 search of "Users") to fully understand the reference to the "frail" labor market "at the bottom of the trough". Even though not as dishonest as the despicable AP (see previous article again), MarketWatch IS a mainstream media/Wall Street site that does not totally give the "news" right down the middle. If you read my articles, you know that the labor market reached a--not necessarily "the"--"bottom of the trough" months ago. For those months--in some ways, such as the unemployment rate, all of the way back to July--the labor market has NOT IMPROVED. For the past three to four months, it can be said that aspects of the labor market have DETERIORATED. Jobless claims---the measure of layoffs--have INCREASED over the past 3 to 4 months. The four week average is higher now than it has been in four months.
Note again that economists (the Stupidest People on Earth) got consumer sentiment wrong again. No, they were not way off (for economists), but they "predicted" IMPROVEMENT, when consumer confidence actually FELL (got worse). Now all of this may be pretty much within the "margin of error", but somehow economists almost never get it right. Yet, these are the people that central planners (leftist Democrats who believe in Big Government) depend upon to know enough about the economy to do better than the free market. That is a ridiculous position, which is why the faith of leftist Democrats in government central planning is absurd--both in theory and in practice.
Finally, note that consumers in general are smarter than the AP, and rest of the mainstream media--admittedly a LOW bar. Consumers are perfectly aware that things are NOT IMPROVING, and that the Obama "stimulus" has FAILED. One of the most astounding numbers I have ever seen is the poll number about the percentage of Americans who believe that the Obama "stimulus" has actually created jobs (net): 6^ (or was it as high as 8%) of Americans believe that the Obama "stimulus" has "created" (net) jobs. As I have previously said, I think you can get a bigger percentage than that who believe that CHILD PORN should be legal. And the poll was commissioned by leftist/mainstream media organizations.
Americans have rightly concluded that we have BANKRUPTED the country for NOTHING. Yes, we may not be getting significantly worse, but neither are we getting significantly better. And in trying to use the Federal Government to MAKE things get better (if you want to be that generous to what is really a political "slush fund"), we have made it almost impossible for us to have a sustained recovery.
Meanwhile, President Obama fiddles (with health care). As I have stated: "Obama fiddles--with health care--while America burns." The reference, of course, is to Roman emperor Nero. And the health care bill for which Obama, Reid and Pelosi are engagin in/have engaged in bribery, extortion, blackmail and intimidation, will not even go into full effect for FOUR YEARS. Even if the 2700 page bill were a good idea, and it is not, we may not SURVIVE (as a healthy economy) for four years.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
"WASHINGTON – The number of newly laid-off workers requesting unemployment benefits slipped last week, the latest sign the employment picture is slowly brightening."
"And, "the labor market is still very iffy," added Boockvar of an early report from the U.S. Labor Department, which reported the count of Americans filing first-time jobless claims declined for a second week, while the four-week moving average of claims increased to 475,500."
For more than six years now, I have done more than any other person to DOCUMENT the utter dishonesty and "journalistic" crimes of the despicable Associated Press--pointing out that you should SHUN "news" outlets, such as AOL and Yahoo "News", who use the despicable AP as the source of most of their featured stories. While I have done this pretty much in obscurity, I have done it IN DETAIL--citing dishonest AP story after dishonest AP story. And the AP keeps giving me more examples--worse examples--of how the AP is NOT a "news" organization, but a propaganda organization. See the two quotes above.
The first quote is from the AP story Thursday morning on last week's jobless claims numbers--the number of new unemployment claims of people who have lost their jobs recently and are filing a new unemployment claim because of that newly lost job. Notice how the AP LEAD (for it was the "lead") paragraph) violates every "journalistic" principle. It contains almost no FACTS, but merely propaganda (AP opinion). Contrast that with the more neutral second quote from MarketWatch (still a mainstream media source, but a financial site that has to be more accurate if they are to have ANY credibility in the financial community). The Marketwatch quote--of about equal length and also representing essentially the lead/summary as to this subject) is both more "neutral" (accurate) AND contains some actual FACTS.
What are the facts (some of which you would get LATER in the AP story, after the propaganda)? Jobless claims essentially STAYED THE SAME--declining 6,000 to 462,000, That is a meaningless "drop"--not a "sign" of anything except a continuing weak labor market (as stated by Market Watch). . That is because a change of 6,000 (in either direction) is within the MARGIN OF ERROR for this number. Indeed, the weekly number is always REVISED the nest week--sometimes more than 5,000.
More significantly, Marketwatch correctly noted that the four week "moving average" INCREASED to 475,000 (near the four month high). Since the weekly number is so volatile--bouncing up and down--the four week average is looked upon as the more reliable "trend" number. Indeed, the 5,000 "drop" in the one week number represented the WRONG "trend". Not only did the four week average go UP, but but last week's number dropped 29,000. For you mathematically challenged, 29,000 is more than 6,000. In other words, the "improvement" DECELERATED to only one fifth of the previous week. Now the dishonest, despicable AP knows about this, because it has previously used the "average" as the better indication of the "trend" when the weekly number has gone up, but the average has declined (the opposite of this week's situation). It gets worse fir the dishonest hypocrites of the AP.
The numbers show that the labor market has DETERIORATED (not "strengthened") in the past four months. And this is NOT a matter of "opinion", but objective fact. Three to four months ago, the weekly number fell to 435,000 or so. Even the four week average fell to near 440,000. Notice how the numbers have WORSENED since then. The four week average has INCREASED by some 35,000--meaning 35,000 extra people losing their jobs EACH WEEK.
How can all of this be so? Easy. The INCREASES in unemployment claims have dominated the decreases, even though the weekly numbers have bounced around. For example, take the last four weeks. The numbers are about as follows: INCREASE of 33,000; INCREASE of 22,000 (making 55,000 extra lost jobs in two weeks); 29,000 DECREASE; and now a 5,000 DECREASE. You can see how the increases have exceeded the decreases, meaning that the four week average INCREASED.
The AP says that this is the "latest sign that the employment picture is slowly brightening". That is objectively FALSE. It is a LIE--as despicable LIE. This week's number actually could be said to show that the employment picture is slowly GETTING WORSE. However, the deterioration is small enough, and uneven enough--even though it has continued for abut 4 months as to the jobless claims number--that it is probably more accurate to say that this number shows that the employment picture is NOT IMPROVING (at all).
Or, as MarketWatch put it, this week's jobless claims number shows that the labor market continues "weak"--with NO current "sign" of "brightening"
.
Q.E.D.: The despicable AP is composed of dishonest hypocrites/propagandists rather than "journalists".
"And, "the labor market is still very iffy," added Boockvar of an early report from the U.S. Labor Department, which reported the count of Americans filing first-time jobless claims declined for a second week, while the four-week moving average of claims increased to 475,500."
For more than six years now, I have done more than any other person to DOCUMENT the utter dishonesty and "journalistic" crimes of the despicable Associated Press--pointing out that you should SHUN "news" outlets, such as AOL and Yahoo "News", who use the despicable AP as the source of most of their featured stories. While I have done this pretty much in obscurity, I have done it IN DETAIL--citing dishonest AP story after dishonest AP story. And the AP keeps giving me more examples--worse examples--of how the AP is NOT a "news" organization, but a propaganda organization. See the two quotes above.
The first quote is from the AP story Thursday morning on last week's jobless claims numbers--the number of new unemployment claims of people who have lost their jobs recently and are filing a new unemployment claim because of that newly lost job. Notice how the AP LEAD (for it was the "lead") paragraph) violates every "journalistic" principle. It contains almost no FACTS, but merely propaganda (AP opinion). Contrast that with the more neutral second quote from MarketWatch (still a mainstream media source, but a financial site that has to be more accurate if they are to have ANY credibility in the financial community). The Marketwatch quote--of about equal length and also representing essentially the lead/summary as to this subject) is both more "neutral" (accurate) AND contains some actual FACTS.
What are the facts (some of which you would get LATER in the AP story, after the propaganda)? Jobless claims essentially STAYED THE SAME--declining 6,000 to 462,000, That is a meaningless "drop"--not a "sign" of anything except a continuing weak labor market (as stated by Market Watch). . That is because a change of 6,000 (in either direction) is within the MARGIN OF ERROR for this number. Indeed, the weekly number is always REVISED the nest week--sometimes more than 5,000.
More significantly, Marketwatch correctly noted that the four week "moving average" INCREASED to 475,000 (near the four month high). Since the weekly number is so volatile--bouncing up and down--the four week average is looked upon as the more reliable "trend" number. Indeed, the 5,000 "drop" in the one week number represented the WRONG "trend". Not only did the four week average go UP, but but last week's number dropped 29,000. For you mathematically challenged, 29,000 is more than 6,000. In other words, the "improvement" DECELERATED to only one fifth of the previous week. Now the dishonest, despicable AP knows about this, because it has previously used the "average" as the better indication of the "trend" when the weekly number has gone up, but the average has declined (the opposite of this week's situation). It gets worse fir the dishonest hypocrites of the AP.
The numbers show that the labor market has DETERIORATED (not "strengthened") in the past four months. And this is NOT a matter of "opinion", but objective fact. Three to four months ago, the weekly number fell to 435,000 or so. Even the four week average fell to near 440,000. Notice how the numbers have WORSENED since then. The four week average has INCREASED by some 35,000--meaning 35,000 extra people losing their jobs EACH WEEK.
How can all of this be so? Easy. The INCREASES in unemployment claims have dominated the decreases, even though the weekly numbers have bounced around. For example, take the last four weeks. The numbers are about as follows: INCREASE of 33,000; INCREASE of 22,000 (making 55,000 extra lost jobs in two weeks); 29,000 DECREASE; and now a 5,000 DECREASE. You can see how the increases have exceeded the decreases, meaning that the four week average INCREASED.
The AP says that this is the "latest sign that the employment picture is slowly brightening". That is objectively FALSE. It is a LIE--as despicable LIE. This week's number actually could be said to show that the employment picture is slowly GETTING WORSE. However, the deterioration is small enough, and uneven enough--even though it has continued for abut 4 months as to the jobless claims number--that it is probably more accurate to say that this number shows that the employment picture is NOT IMPROVING (at all).
Or, as MarketWatch put it, this week's jobless claims number shows that the labor market continues "weak"--with NO current "sign" of "brightening"
.
Q.E.D.: The despicable AP is composed of dishonest hypocrites/propagandists rather than "journalists".
Deadline on Deadlines? Can the Country Survive Any More "End Games"? Can the Country Survive This Many "End Games"?
Yes, another headline Wednesday from the "Anti-American, Despicable Associated Press"--story and headline repeated again on Yahoo "News"--BOYCOTT YAHOO) said that Obama was "pushing toward the end game on health care".
Problem: Drudge (drudgereport.com) wnet back in time, and looked at when this kind of story first appeared. Drudge then did a TIMELINE of all of the times the Obama Administration and the mainstream media have said we are in the "end game" on health care, or said that there was a "deadline".
It turns out that this propaganda approach started last July 28 or so. And there were REPEATED stories about a new "deadline", or a new "end game", after that--MANY stories. Search Drudge for the Drudge "timeline".
Ridiculous, isn't it? How can these people (either the Democrats/Obama Administration or the mainstream media) keep ANY credibility after this kind of ridiculous propaganda> Well, they can't. They don't.
Now it is true that one of these times it MAY HAPPEN. The Health care bill may actually passed. Every threat, bribe and tactic is being used to make it happen. Still, it has been ridiculous.
What we need is a DEADLINE ON DEADLINES. Yes, if a deadline has not already been announced (March 18 is the last one announced), then there should be NO NEW DEADLINE. That really should have been true about last August.
Yogi Berra: It is not over until it is over." But it is past time for this farce to be OVER. See the previous article about what is happening while Obama's OBSESSION with health care is being pursued--pushing a bill whose main supposedly "beneficial" provisions will not even go into effect for FOUR YEARS.
Problem: Drudge (drudgereport.com) wnet back in time, and looked at when this kind of story first appeared. Drudge then did a TIMELINE of all of the times the Obama Administration and the mainstream media have said we are in the "end game" on health care, or said that there was a "deadline".
It turns out that this propaganda approach started last July 28 or so. And there were REPEATED stories about a new "deadline", or a new "end game", after that--MANY stories. Search Drudge for the Drudge "timeline".
Ridiculous, isn't it? How can these people (either the Democrats/Obama Administration or the mainstream media) keep ANY credibility after this kind of ridiculous propaganda> Well, they can't. They don't.
Now it is true that one of these times it MAY HAPPEN. The Health care bill may actually passed. Every threat, bribe and tactic is being used to make it happen. Still, it has been ridiculous.
What we need is a DEADLINE ON DEADLINES. Yes, if a deadline has not already been announced (March 18 is the last one announced), then there should be NO NEW DEADLINE. That really should have been true about last August.
Yogi Berra: It is not over until it is over." But it is past time for this farce to be OVER. See the previous article about what is happening while Obama's OBSESSION with health care is being pursued--pushing a bill whose main supposedly "beneficial" provisions will not even go into effect for FOUR YEARS.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Deficit Record in February and Foreclosures Increase (Again): Obama Fiddles (with Health Care) While America Burns
Yes, the February Federal DEFICIT set a new RECORD of 220 BILLION dollars--beating the record of last February.
The deficit remains out of control. At the same time, FORECLOSURES rose 5%. Foreclosures are also out of control. Yes, the DISHONEST AP put out a dishonest headline on the foreclosure data. That headline said this was the smallest INCREASE in four years.
Why is that headline dishonest? First, at some point the INCREASE in foreclosures has to slow down because so many houses have ALREADY been foreclosed. However, that does ot even appear to be what is really going on here. If you read the actual AP story, instead of the headline and lead paragraph, you will see that "analysts" believe that most of those borrowers under "evaluation" for one Federal (or lender) "program" or another will eventually end up in foreclosure. Those various loan "modification" and "grace" period programs are DELAYING foreclosures. Therefore, the lesser percentage increase is more disturbing than not--since the INCREASE occurred despite all of these government and private programs presently stopping foreclosures that would ordinarily have occurred. In other words, MANY more people are not current on their loans, but actual foreclosure has been delayed (while analysts still believe most of these homes WILL go into foreclosure as time goes on).
While this is happening, what is Obama doing? Oh, you know this one. This is my "summary": "Obama fiddles with health care while America burns." (reference is to Roman Emperor Nero). You will recall that--even if the terrible bill is passed--the health care bill will not go into full effect for FOUR YEARS. Even if you believe me incorrect on how bad the present proposed bill is, ask yourself where we will be in FOUR YEARS (especially with the added uncertainty the process of implementing the massive health care bill will bring to the economy).
The deficit remains out of control. At the same time, FORECLOSURES rose 5%. Foreclosures are also out of control. Yes, the DISHONEST AP put out a dishonest headline on the foreclosure data. That headline said this was the smallest INCREASE in four years.
Why is that headline dishonest? First, at some point the INCREASE in foreclosures has to slow down because so many houses have ALREADY been foreclosed. However, that does ot even appear to be what is really going on here. If you read the actual AP story, instead of the headline and lead paragraph, you will see that "analysts" believe that most of those borrowers under "evaluation" for one Federal (or lender) "program" or another will eventually end up in foreclosure. Those various loan "modification" and "grace" period programs are DELAYING foreclosures. Therefore, the lesser percentage increase is more disturbing than not--since the INCREASE occurred despite all of these government and private programs presently stopping foreclosures that would ordinarily have occurred. In other words, MANY more people are not current on their loans, but actual foreclosure has been delayed (while analysts still believe most of these homes WILL go into foreclosure as time goes on).
While this is happening, what is Obama doing? Oh, you know this one. This is my "summary": "Obama fiddles with health care while America burns." (reference is to Roman Emperor Nero). You will recall that--even if the terrible bill is passed--the health care bill will not go into full effect for FOUR YEARS. Even if you believe me incorrect on how bad the present proposed bill is, ask yourself where we will be in FOUR YEARS (especially with the added uncertainty the process of implementing the massive health care bill will bring to the economy).
Obama and Congress: Do Polls Show Obama Is Destroying Democrats in Congress (Guest Villains: Anti-American, Despicable AP and Yahoo)
"WASHINGTON – Americans have come to detest Congress ever more deeply as it nears the end of a nasty fight over health care. But more than half still back President Barack Obama, a bright spot for a Democratic Party counting on its leader to help stave off expected losses in elections this fall."
The above is from the propaganda merchants at the "Anti-American, Despicable Associated Press" (complete official name). The headline on both the story and on the equally despicable Yahoo News was: "Obama More Popular Than Obama". Yes, except for the AP propaganda, that means the headline could (should?) have been: "Congress More Unpopular Than Obama." Let me list just a few of the ways this story was pure propaganda, and why you should BOYCOTT Yahoo for using nothing but AP stories--with an occasional OTHER left wing source thrown in):
1. The premise of the above quoted propaganda paragraph is transparently ridiculous. Obama is not again on the ballot until 2012. Even assuming that the despicable AP were right about Obama's "popularity", the ONLY people up for election in 2010 are those in Congress (or in the states). Just HOW, AP, can you "spin" it as "good news" that Obama is DESTROYING the Democrats in Congress--meaning their election chances--in the pursuit of his own agenda?
2. The actual NUMBERS--the "news", except it is not real "news", but manufactured "news"--are not even mentioned in the above "lead" paragraph. Well, no surprise. The despicable "journalists" of the AP are not journalists at all, but propagandists. The number for Congress is an abysmal 22%, and DEMOCRATS CONTROL CONGRESS. The "more than half" for Obama IS A LIE. How can I say that? Well, if you take into account the margin of error, it could be LESS THAN HALF. In other words, the despicable AP is LYING about the accuracy of the poll. The number for Obama is really right at half. If you take into account the EXPECTED "margin of error", his real "approval" could well be UNDER 50%. Then consider that other reputable polls show that Obama's approval rating--epecially his JOB approval rating--is BELOW 50% by a LOT. Rasmussen--a perfectly respectable pollster--has Obama's approval rating at 43%. Is it a LIE to quote one poll--in a misleading way--without quoting other polls saying a different thing? Of course it is. If you are a REAL "news" organization, your duty is to consider ALL sources of information, and not just the poll you like (or paid for).
3. Obama POLICIES are not "popular". Thus the question a REAL "news" organization would ask is WHY Democrats in Congress are willing to let Obama act in such a way as to DOOM them, while propping up (to a degree) Obama's own popularity.
4. Polls are pretty much meaningless, except for showing--to a degree--a trend. That is, if almost ALL polls are showing movement in one direction--which is what has happened with the "popularity" of both Congress and the President over the past 6 months--you can pretty much assume that SOMETHING is happening. When you combine that with recent election results, you KNOW that something is happening--such as with the Scott Brown victory in Massachusetts. This would be true even if polls were HONEST. They are not these days--at least not all of them. As stated, you only have to look at the way the AP has "spun" this poll. Is the pol ll of "likely voters"? Does the poll measure how STRONGLY voters on one side feel, as compared to the other? These things are all generally ignored in the way polls are now REPORTED. That is because polls are now just another instrument of PROPAGANDA--especially in the hands of a propaganda outfit like the AP, helped by the despicable Yahoo News.
I could go on, but you get the picture.
I am serious about Yahoo News. You should BOYCOTT Yahoo. I only use it the way I used to use AOL: as a way to quickly see the leftist "talking points" for the day. Yahoo "News" consistently uses ONLY left wing, mainstream media sources--generally the despicable AP. No, you do not HAVE to do it that way. Drudge (drudgereport.com), for example, uses MULTIPLE sources--left and right. Yes, Drudge is biased in its HEADLINES, but--like Yahoo, except Drudge rarely will originate a story---is mainly a conduit for others. And those "others" include BOTH left and right wing sources, however biased Drudge may be in the headlines.
The above is from the propaganda merchants at the "Anti-American, Despicable Associated Press" (complete official name). The headline on both the story and on the equally despicable Yahoo News was: "Obama More Popular Than Obama". Yes, except for the AP propaganda, that means the headline could (should?) have been: "Congress More Unpopular Than Obama." Let me list just a few of the ways this story was pure propaganda, and why you should BOYCOTT Yahoo for using nothing but AP stories--with an occasional OTHER left wing source thrown in):
1. The premise of the above quoted propaganda paragraph is transparently ridiculous. Obama is not again on the ballot until 2012. Even assuming that the despicable AP were right about Obama's "popularity", the ONLY people up for election in 2010 are those in Congress (or in the states). Just HOW, AP, can you "spin" it as "good news" that Obama is DESTROYING the Democrats in Congress--meaning their election chances--in the pursuit of his own agenda?
2. The actual NUMBERS--the "news", except it is not real "news", but manufactured "news"--are not even mentioned in the above "lead" paragraph. Well, no surprise. The despicable "journalists" of the AP are not journalists at all, but propagandists. The number for Congress is an abysmal 22%, and DEMOCRATS CONTROL CONGRESS. The "more than half" for Obama IS A LIE. How can I say that? Well, if you take into account the margin of error, it could be LESS THAN HALF. In other words, the despicable AP is LYING about the accuracy of the poll. The number for Obama is really right at half. If you take into account the EXPECTED "margin of error", his real "approval" could well be UNDER 50%. Then consider that other reputable polls show that Obama's approval rating--epecially his JOB approval rating--is BELOW 50% by a LOT. Rasmussen--a perfectly respectable pollster--has Obama's approval rating at 43%. Is it a LIE to quote one poll--in a misleading way--without quoting other polls saying a different thing? Of course it is. If you are a REAL "news" organization, your duty is to consider ALL sources of information, and not just the poll you like (or paid for).
3. Obama POLICIES are not "popular". Thus the question a REAL "news" organization would ask is WHY Democrats in Congress are willing to let Obama act in such a way as to DOOM them, while propping up (to a degree) Obama's own popularity.
4. Polls are pretty much meaningless, except for showing--to a degree--a trend. That is, if almost ALL polls are showing movement in one direction--which is what has happened with the "popularity" of both Congress and the President over the past 6 months--you can pretty much assume that SOMETHING is happening. When you combine that with recent election results, you KNOW that something is happening--such as with the Scott Brown victory in Massachusetts. This would be true even if polls were HONEST. They are not these days--at least not all of them. As stated, you only have to look at the way the AP has "spun" this poll. Is the pol ll of "likely voters"? Does the poll measure how STRONGLY voters on one side feel, as compared to the other? These things are all generally ignored in the way polls are now REPORTED. That is because polls are now just another instrument of PROPAGANDA--especially in the hands of a propaganda outfit like the AP, helped by the despicable Yahoo News.
I could go on, but you get the picture.
I am serious about Yahoo News. You should BOYCOTT Yahoo. I only use it the way I used to use AOL: as a way to quickly see the leftist "talking points" for the day. Yahoo "News" consistently uses ONLY left wing, mainstream media sources--generally the despicable AP. No, you do not HAVE to do it that way. Drudge (drudgereport.com), for example, uses MULTIPLE sources--left and right. Yes, Drudge is biased in its HEADLINES, but--like Yahoo, except Drudge rarely will originate a story---is mainly a conduit for others. And those "others" include BOTH left and right wing sources, however biased Drudge may be in the headlines.
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