Bizblogger

Warming Over; Ice Age Worries Again?

2012-01-29T10:06:00.003-05:00

Always fascinating to look at scientific charts about the earth's climate. As expected, there has been no warming in 15 years and many scientists are more concerned about a new mini-ice age coming.

Theo Epstein Snubbed GW Bush in 2007

2012-01-27T10:02:00.002-05:00

Everyone in Boston, especially the media, and even Cory Schneider, Vancouver's back-up goalie (formerly BC guy) have come out and slammed Tim Thomas for not meeting with Obama. Schneider's quote was pretty funny, and he seems to be comparing Obama with the Pope (I suspect that Schneider might have majored in either political science or religion). His quote was:

I'm not that religious but if I had the chance to meet the Pope, it'd be pretty cool... I don't believe in everything the Catholic church does, but I'd still show up to the Vatican and say Hi to the Pope.

Anyway, Howie Carr points out that in 2007 Theo Epstein snubbed George W. Bush when the Red Sox won the World Series and the rest of the team visited the White House. Did anyone report it? Did anyone care? Or is the simple answer that there is a double standard for democrats and republicans? My guess is Cory didn't care back in 2007.

Romney Advisor: We Won't Repeal Obamacare

2012-01-26T08:34:00.002-05:00

Maybe this is why Norm Coleman lost to Al Franken a few years ago in the Minnesota Senate Race. He said yesterday that Obamacare will not be repealed, but only tweaked.

It's also why people are skeptical of Romney. If Obamacare is here to stay, Romney should say that and let GOP voters decide if that's what they want in a candidate. If not, maybe he needs to shake up his Republican establishment team.

No Wonder Buffett's Secretary Pays So Much in Taxes...

2012-01-25T17:20:00.004-05:00

Forbes speculates that based on her tax rates, Warren Buffett's secretary Debbie Bosanek makes between $200K and $500K per year.

Without more details, it's hard to know exactly what she is paid. But this would make sense - she is doing well but is hardly in the billionaire's club, where she could shield her income in tax-free trusts like her boss.

Again, if Warren, Obama and other big rich liberals are so disappointed, they are more than welcome to write checks to the U.S. Treasury every year...

What Were Newt's Ethics Violations Anyway?

2012-01-25T11:45:00.002-05:00

One thing I hear a lot is Newt Gingrich and "ethics violations," although I had no idea specifically what the investigations were all about. Byron York has a very good piece that walks us through the history of the matter and it's pretty clear that this whole issue is frankly an absurd non-issue.

In short, when he was teaching in Georgia during the 90s, he taught a class called "Renewing American Civilization," which was funded in part by a non-profit (tax exempt) organization. For several years, Newt's Democrat opponents investigated whether the class was political and therefore, should not be funded by a tax-exempt organization. Newt settled the matter by paying a fine. The IRS later concluded there was no wrongdoing.

Romney can criticize Newt for a bunch of things, but this one is absurd.

Obama vs. Reagan Economy

2012-01-25T08:37:00.002-05:00

The WSJ has an excellent summary of Obama's state of the union - it was an empty, false campaign speech.

Normally a President at the start of his fourth year would be running on his record, accentuating the legislation he's passed. Mr. Obama can't do that with any specificity because the economic recovery has been so weak and the legislation he has passed is so unpopular. So last night he took credit for the shale gas revolution he had nothing to do with and proposed new policies to "spread the wealth around," as he famously told Joe the Plumber in 2008 before he took the words back. We thought he meant it then, and now he's admitting it.

...The President inherited a deep recession, but in political terms that should have been a blessing. History shows that the deeper the recession, the sharper the recovery, and Mr. Obama was poised to take credit for the economy's natural recuperative powers. Instead, we've had the weakest recovery since the Great Depression and stubbornly high joblessness.
The nearby chart compares rates of quarterly growth during the Reagan and Obama economic recoveries. The comparison is apt because both recoveries followed deep recessions in which the jobless rate reached more than 10%. Once the Reagan recovery got cooking, in 1983, growth stayed above 5% for 18 months and never fell below 3.3% for 13 consecutive quarters.

In the Obama recovery, growth has never exceeded 4% in any quarter and fell off markedly in mid-2010 through the third quarter of 2011. For the first nine months of 2011, growth averaged less than 1.2%. The economy finally picked up again in the fourth quarter, but still at a rate that is subpar for a recovery that long ago should have become robust and durable.
The Pelosi Congress also passed ObamaCare, Dodd-Frank, cash for clunkers, the housing tax credit, and much more. The only Obama priority it didn't pass was cap-and-trade, which was killed by Senate Democrats.

Mr. Obama's regulators also currently have some 149 major rules underway, which are those that cost more than $100 million. The 112th Congress hasn't been able to kill a single major rule. The most it has been able to do is extend the Bush tax rates—which helped the economy by avoiding a tax shock—and slow the rate of increase in federal spending. This President has been "obstructed" less than anyone since LBJ.

Obstruction? Hardly. Big-time failure? Yup.

Apple Quarterly Profit: $13 Billion

2012-01-24T16:32:00.003-05:00

After Apple's record net income of $13 billion for Q1, which I believe is the largest quarterly profit by any company in history, I can't help but wonder where all the calls are for a "windfall profits" tax, the way they do with oil companies?

How Much Do Obama and Clintons Pay in Taxes?

2012-01-24T10:17:00.002-05:00

I wouldn't expect the media to ever focus on this, so I'll bring it up:

Obama paid 23% tax rate last year. Romney's will be 15%. Of course Obama gets more in salary (taxed at a higher rate) and Romney has more investment income (lower rate) and more charitable contributions. As a side note, Obama's charitable contributions were pretty miserly - practically nil before he decided to run for president. (Again, don't expect the media to make any comparisons with Romney here).

The Clinton's from 1992 to 1999 paid a 19.8% tax rate. I don't ever remember anyone asking, and I don't remember anyone caring. Seems to be an issue now that Romney is running.

Tim Thomas Snubs Obama; Fed Gov't "Out of Control"

2012-01-23T20:19:00.004-05:00

The Boston Bruins were at the White House today celebrating their Stanley Cup victory. Everyone except MVP goalie Tim Thomas. Thomas protested Obama due to the out-of-control federal government. From his Facebook page, via Hotair:

“I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People.

This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government.

Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL.

This is the only public statement I will be making on this topic. TT”

Ok, so it's not about parties, but come on - which party is more responsible for threatening the rights, liberties and property of the people? This was his attempt at being non-partisan to his liberal fans. Coming from a Stanley Cup MVP, this is quite a statement.

Can Gingrich Beat Obama?

2012-01-23T04:20:00.002-05:00

While I have held the view for some time that almost any Republican nominated would have no problem beating Barack Obama in 2012 (in a two-man race), I do have some doubts about Newt Gingrich. Here are my reasons for doubting him:

1. His rants against capitalism and free markets may have helped him against Romney during this past week, but against Obama, they would be neutralized. What is the difference between the two of them on this issue? What helped him this week would likely be used against him against Obama.

2. It's pretty hard for Newt to play the Washington outsider. After all, his whole life has been about Washington politics: he was in the House for twenty years or so, and even when he left, he worked as a lobbyist, or a quasi-lobbyist, or a consultant, or whatever, designed to help companies deal with Washington.

3. While Newt is a great debater, I would offer caution to those who believe he would run circles around the President. I do agree that whether it be Newt, Romney, or Paul, all three could school Obama pretty easily, but how many debates will Obama actually agree to? Two maybe? And within these debates, who usually moderates them? Ummm....95% of the time, they are people who want Obama to win. So while Newt is a good talker, I am not so sure he will come off as well in a debate with Obama.

4. Lastly, and possibly most importantly... will women vote for Newt? I have no idea whether the allegations his ex-wife made are true or false. He said she said. But right now, the story is out there, and even if only a minority of people believe it to be true, this could be quite damaging. I personally believe that the fact that he has been married three times means he won't get a lot of women support. One could easily argue, didn't Bill Clinton womanize? And this didn't hurt him. Ok. Right, although maybe it would have in 2000...but it's also different, and the media holds the two parties to different standards.

I have my doubts about Newt, but before we get too carried away, let's see what happens in Florida.

Gingrich Win Embarrasses Media

2012-01-23T04:04:00.002-05:00

A lot of people were surprised that Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina primary on Saturday. I was too. Especially given that the media released an interview with his second wife just the day before talking about his alleged desire for an "open marriage." But looking back at this, it is obvious that of course this helped him. As the media pounded him on his personal life (of course it may be true, but it's still just an allegation), most people see this as the powerful media, once again, trying to influence the elections, and trying to damage and even ruin certain candidates.

I agree with Glenn Beck on this one. The win was all about ABM - Anybody But the Media! And South Carolinians wanted to show they would not only not be swayed by the media, but if anything, they would rise up against it.

Schools Rejecting Michelle O's Healthy Lunch Options

2012-01-21T07:30:00.003-05:00

It was supposed to be utopia. Michelle Obama encouraged schools to roll out a healthy menu that she wouldn't be caught dead eating and when they roll it out, everyone will eat it and magically become healthier. Unfortunately, something happened on the way to Veggieville in LA and other cities - the kids just reacted by throwing the lunches in the trash en masse. Who would have guessed that central planning by a nanny state doesn't work?

Newt, Ex-Wives and Obama

2012-01-19T12:21:00.004-05:00

It is getting interesting indeed. After Newt dominated the last debate, his ratings have skyrocketed and is now actually ahead of Romney in the latest Rasmussen poll. To ABC, this is apparently the perfect time to unleash its "Newt is morally bankrupt, according to his ex-wife" story.

I think the story will probably have its desired effect of taking down Newt - just the latest in the media's desire to destroy every GOP candidate, one by one. The interesting thing is that this seems to be the most successful tactic for Obama. I know that Obama himself is not releasing the story, but isn't it a bit interesting that his supporters (media, unions, etc.) have helped him in this arena more than once. Take for example his Senate race in Chicago. Obama was losing to his primary opponent by a huge margin just prior to the election. Then his opponent's sealed divorce records mysteriously come out and Obama wins the nomination. Then he goes up against GOP candidate Jack Ryan and the same exact thing happens. And now Newt. Obama must be thanking Allah for divorces.

Obama's Food Stamp Boom

2012-01-19T08:50:00.004-05:00

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. The WSJ highlights the massive boom in food stamp participation under Obama. This is due not only to the recession, but also new programs pushed by Pelosi and Obama designed to get people onto the system.

Who says Obama is not achieving his goals of growing the Democrat base for years to come?

Anyone Know Anything About Obama's Career?

2012-01-19T08:35:00.003-05:00

Just thinking about this as Romney gets dragged through the mud for having a successful career at Bain. We also know about Newt's jobs as a consultant after he left Congress, and I've just read something about how he "had big plans to become college president" when he was just a lowly professor. Imagine that! I guy with ambition and now he wants to run for President.

Anyway, this got me to thinking. Do we know anything about Obama's pre-governmental career? Strikes me as odd that a couple of presidential contenders are getting slammed on a daily basis for what they did outside of office. Why hasn't Obama been equally criticized? And in fact, what do we really know about this supposedly "transparent" president (his words). I submit that we know very little, except that he worked for groups like ACORN, who helped inner city voters vote lots of times.

Is there a reason that we don't know more about Obama's career? Has the mainstream media avoided covering it for some reason? Maybe he really did nothing very substantial, and that's why? My guess is that many of his organizations are/were pretty activist, and he may not have accomplished much. My best guess is also that what he did accomplish may have been pretty unflattering to most people. Lastly, since the MSM wants him to win, it is likely they will not delve into the President's past unless it makes him look good. And since they haven't delved, what does that tell us?

Anyone else find it interesting that the media refuse to cover anything about Obama's previous work experience while almost every Republican candidate is under the microscope?

What About Obama's Tax Returns?

2012-01-18T04:02:00.002-05:00

I have no doubts that the media will make a big deal out of Romney's tax returns. First of all, he's been very successful and has made a good deal of money, so likely he will be slammed by the media. Additionally, because his overall income rate, consisting of mostly dividends and interest, is likely to be closer to 15%, so my guess is that the media will discriminate against him here as well.

But will the media look into depth into Barack Obama's Tax Returns as well - most notably charitable giving, where Obama gave almost nothing for many years. Only when he thought he might run for President did he start giving close to the American average. I doubt we'll hear much about this though.

Sean Bielat is Running

2012-01-17T04:58:00.002-05:00

I don't think it's been officially announced, but it looks like Sean Bielat will be running for Congress in Massachusetts to replace the retiring Barney Frank. Whether it will be easier or harder this time around is debatable. He doesn't have to face a multi-decade incumbent, but my guess is that multi-decade incumbents are on the chopping block in 2012 and maybe Frank feared losing and that's why he retired. At any rate, it looks like Bielat might be running against a Kennedy - Joseph III. Not sure of Kennedy's qualifications per se, except he has a strong name for office in Massachusetts. Also, I do not know much about what Kennedy stands for, but if he is anything similar to his uncles and great uncles, it will likely be a contest between big government policies and free market policies from Bielat.

Truth Behind Ron Paul's NH Supporters

2012-01-11T18:52:00.002-05:00

From Rush Limbaugh, who was reading some Rasmussen poll numbers.

But Ron Paul, the majority of people that voted him were not Republican. And in another poll, the percentage of Ron Paul voters who say they will vote for the Republican nominee is... like 80% of Tea Party voters in New Hampshire said no matter who the Republican nominee is they're voting for it. The Ron Paul number is 40%. Now, as I say, I've gotta double confirm. It's ostensibly Rasmussen and we're double-checking this, but what I know so far, or what I've been told is that Ron Paul supporters, 40% say they would vote for the Republican nominee, 23% said they'd vote for Obama, and 31% of Ron Paul voters said they would vote third party. So the Ron Paul voters cannot be counted on, and most of Huntsman's voters and most of Paul's voters were Democrats who walked into the New Hampshire primary, picked up a Republican ballot, also according to this polling data.

So, 54% of Ron Paul supporters would rather have Obama or a third party than vote GOP. And we're supposed to believe he has significant conservative support?

Newt Panicking

2012-01-11T04:27:00.003-05:00

What has happened to Newt Gingrich over the past three weeks? After a number of impressive debates where Gingrich proved to be a formidable force with some interesting ideas, he seems to have lost it very quickly. I think if he just maintained a steady hand and prepared himself for the long marathon, he would have been fine. Unfortunately his strategy has gone awry. The latest attacks on Romney's time at Bain Capital are working against Newt. Every time he gives Romney an opportunity to talk about how successful he was at Bain, and how much of a leader he was, that's a gift to Romney. (I hope Obama takes the same path).

Newt had one bad week in Iowa as three or four different Republicans chose to attack him as he had gained new front-runner status. And I believe what people brought up was legitimate - what was his relationship with Fannie and Freddie? But instead of defending himself vigorously, he is now choosing to attack Romney for his private equity career. Is he serious? There are lots of issues to criticize Romney for, but Bain Capital isn't one of them.

Romney founded Bain, and then invested in companies, some on the verge of bankruptcy, and others not. Some companies had to be restructured, and others needed funding to grow. Anyone who knows anything about business understands this is how it works. At the end of the day, Romney grew Bain into a respectable company, hired lots of people, and provided his investors with great investment returns. In short, he did a great job.

But Gingrich saw an opening to attack Romney, and noticed that the media was only to willing to join in on the fun, but now Gingrich is looking more like an out-of-touch democrat. I am now wondering myself what Gingrich really stands for and if he really understands business. Is he the guy who will say anything to be elected? Now I hear about Gingrich backers releasing a new film about Romney, and after reading about it, it sounds like they take a lot of his quotes mid-sentence, and they cherry-pick a couple of deals gone bad, while not mentioning good ones. This smells of desperation to me.

I don't see this race being over, but it might be for Gingrich. If he continues with this Obama-like nonsense for much longer, he will be done.

Iowa and NH Down - And it's Already Over??

2012-01-10T21:35:00.003-05:00

After two somewhat liberal states voted in primaries, with up to an estimated 50% of votes coming from Democrats in New Hampshire, the media is telling us it's already over. Maybe it is - maybe Romney is already the chosen candidate.

But my problem is - why do the first two states that are not even close to a representative GOP sample - get an unfair proportional share of deciding who the GOP candidate is? This is why we always end up with the Doles, the McCains and the like. Yes, Reagan was the GOP candidate back in 1980, which I believe is the last time a conservative candidate was selected. It was also a very different and much more conservative New Hampshire back then.

So it goes. We are only two states in and already, the conservative choices for the nomination seem to be out of contention. I know the GOP establishment is generally much more liberal than the GOP electorate, so they love having Iowa and New Hampshire up first. But until this problem gets fixed, I believe that the GOP will continue picking the least attractive and most liberal candidate. I'm not intending to bash Romney - he has a lot of good qualities, but there's a reason why he can't get more than a 1/3 of the GOP vote.

Obamanomics Invades the Fed

2012-01-10T08:48:00.003-05:00

To date, I've generally thought Ben Bernanke has done an admirable job in trying to keep the economy from regressing in the face of disastrous Obamanomics policies. But now, as the WSJ explains, the Fed is made up more of Obama's believers, and they seem to be more and more another appendage of the Obama administration, putting its independence at stake.

This extraordinary political intrusion came in the form of a 26-page paper that the Fed sent to Capitol Hill last Wednesday, without invitation, graciously offering what Chairman Ben Bernanke called a "framework" for "thinking about certain issues and tradeoffs." He was underselling his document. The paper is a clear attempt to provide intellectual cover for politicians to spend more taxpayer money to support housing prices.

In case there was any doubt on this point, New York Fed President William Dudley put them to rest Friday when he called specifically for bridge loans for jobless borrowers, more government-assisted refinancings, a new program for principal reductions for underwater borrowers, and floated the possibility of getting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into the rental housing business. Your average HUD secretary wouldn't dare go this far.
...The Fed also suggests having Fan and Fred weaken their standards for loan modifications and expand an existing refinancing program to include private-insurance-backed mortgages participate. But weak lending standards is part of what created the subprime mortgage mess. No wonder the mortgage bankers, the homebuilders and the rest of the housing lobby greeted the Fed's white paper with enthusiasm. They'd love to see Fannie and Freddie more politically and economically entrenched so reformers can't slowly reduce their market dominance.
...Beyond the policy errors, the larger issue is the political independence of the Fed itself. Its Board of Governors is now dominated by Obama appointees who share the interventionist designs of their colleagues in the White House. Mr. Dudley is a White House and Treasury man. Mr. Bernanke may feel surrounded, but we'd have thought he'd have more respect for the integrity of his institution.

The Fed sure is becoming more generous with our money.

Romney Getting Slammed for Being Successful?

2012-01-10T06:05:00.002-05:00

I don't get it. Bain Capital is one of the premier global private equity shops, and considered to be one of the most successful. Everything can be debated and since Bain is a privately held company, I don't have the figures. That said, most people in the industry consider Bain to be a well-managed company, a highly profitable company, and a highly desirable company to work for for most graduates.

What I'm surprised about are the attacks he's been getting from people like Gingrich and Santorum. Santorum doesn't think that being a leader of a company like Bain make him well-suited to be President of the US. Gingrich argues over job creation. Ok it's true, private equity guys, are sometimes dealing with over-levered or problem-companies, so sometimes they have to cut. At the same time, they realize that they can only maximize their value by growing it, so this is absolutely essential. I'm wondering if people understand this.

I for one, believe that while real work experience might not be required of a President, but I do I do believe it matters - and it matters a lot. Why? Because most people work! And if you're a CEO or a founder of a company, for that company to be successful, you need to be able to relate to working people. One only has to look at the long line of people trying to get a job at Bain to realize that they must be doing something right!

I'm not sure that Gingrich or Santorum brings much in terms of real work experience to the table. I respect their opinions, but I'm surprised at these attacks on his business career. Frankly, I'd expect this from someone like Barack Obama, who never worked a nine-to-five-job in his life.

Richard Cordray Has Absolutely Zero Authority

2012-01-05T17:19:00.002-05:00

Perhaps Obama should have noticed this small provision in the Dodd-Frank bill before he made a "recess appointment" of Cordray even though the Senate is not in recess.

But clear beyond the slightest doubt is the language of the statute (itself unconstitutional on any number of grounds not relevant here). As my colleague Mark Calabria wrote yesterday, “authorities under the Act remain with the Treasury Secretary until the Director is ‘confirmed by the Senate.’” A recess appointment, even if it were constitutional, is not a Senate confirmation. There is simply no wiggle room in that language that gives Cordray any authority, as litigation will soon make plain.

Bummer.

Obama's Austerity Plan: Pentagon Cuts Only

2012-01-05T08:27:00.001-05:00

Obama never liked a spending cut he despised...that is, except when it comes to the military. He seems to be all too willing to slash American military might but little else.

When Obama Criticizes Congress, Remember This

2012-01-05T04:24:00.005-05:00

In recent months, Obama realizes that his policies have not gone well (to say it politely). The economy is horrible despite the President's embrace of "credit card" economics, where he just ratchets up the debt every year. He knows that with the economy in a disastrous state, he has to resort to blame as his only hope of being re-elected. And he hopes that maybe, just maybe, Americans will buy his argument and re-elect him for another four years. It's doubtful that Americans will trust Obama again, and he has seemingly lost all credibility with most in the country, but if he wants to be re-elected, he knows he has to come up with a grand plan.

How exactly will he do this? His first step is to BLAME CONGRESS! As everyone knows, the Congress is made up of two branches, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The democratic party controlled both branches of congress during Obama's first two years, and as well as the two years prior to Obama's presidency - and they controlled both branches in pretty dominant fashion, some would say super-majorities. Only during the past eleven months has the democratic party lost control of the House, while they still retain the Senate. To be honest, Congress is an easy target and I agree that Congress has been a disaster not only over the past three years, but also over the past five years. And who has held the power during this time frame?

DEMOCRATS! DEMOCRATS! DEMOCRATS!

The pure math is this: the democratic party has been in control for 83.3% of the time since Obama has been president, and 90% of the time over the past 5 years. Even Obama himself was a member of Congress three years ago!

So when he criticizes Congress, and he calls them a "do-nothing congress" remember who's been in power over the past three years and five years.

Constitutional Crisis: Obama Declares War on Congress...Again

2012-01-04T16:33:00.003-05:00

It's funny how the checks and balances are the most important thing in the world when Democrats are in the minority and how destroying the delicate balance would be tantamount to creating a constitutional crisis.

Now that Obama's in charge, circumventing and ignoring Congress' rules are just par for the course. His recess appointment of Richard Cordray as czar of the Financial Destruction Agency should bring outrage among the GOP and they should cut off all funds to the agency immediately, or perhaps call in Cordray to testify every day for the next year. To hell with Al Qaeda and the Taliban, this is apparently the war that Obama wants.

Will Obama Break Rules Again and Appoint CFPB Czar?

2012-01-04T09:17:00.003-05:00

Liberals are urging Obama to break the rules again by ignoring precedent and appointing Richard Cordray as the new Elizabeth Warren - the head financial bureaucrat, to destroy the financial industry. Why would anyone think Obama won't break the rules? He did so when he passed Obamacare through the budget reconciliation process rather than face a filibuster, he ignored federal judge rulings on drilling and Obamacare, and the list goes on and on.

The question is - what will the GOP do if he so flagrantly violates the rules?

Iowa Analysis

2012-01-04T04:25:00.003-05:00

If you're like me, then you probably believe most of the post Iowa caucus analysis is pure crap. (CNN, called Obama the big winner..... no surprises there, and that is why they are running dead last in the cable ratings). I tuned into Fox for a little while, and the commentators spent about 80% of the time talking about Santorum. They made a couple of interesting comments about Mitt Romney, saying "TECHNICALLY he won... I guess," and "the REAL winner was Rick Santorum." OK - I get what they're saying - Santorum had a pretty good showing. But still, Romney did accumulate more votes than Santorum, and interestingly, he hardly even spent any time in Iowa. Santorum on the other hand, spent just about the entire past 4 months visiting every town in Iowa. I suppose he's gotten some recognition, but i still sense a pretty big anti-Romney bias out there.

To me it's interesting. Romney, being the supposed front-runner, has withstood the attacks from day one. Others have come and gone - whether it was Bachmann, Perry, Cain, Gingrich, and now maybe Santorum. Some on Fox said Romney benefited from all the negative attacks on Gingrich. This is probably true, but at the same time, Romney has been the subject of attacks from the beginning, and he's the only one to have stayed the course.

By the way, I believe the race if far from over. More debates are on the way, and Gingrich and Paul are excellent debaters, and very intelligent, and Santorum will likely get some more questions his way. Additionally, this year, there are fewer winner take all states, so the race could drag on for some time.

My point is that Romney should be given an ounce of credit this time.

Iowa Caucuses: Do They Matter?

2012-01-03T22:15:00.002-05:00

Based on roughly half of the votes being counted in the Iowa Caucuses, it appears that Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney will be in the first and second positions with Paul in a close third. Regardless, does it really matter? After all, Iowa has a population of approximately 3 million people. Let's assume conservatively that only 2 million are voting age. Only about 100,000 votes are expected in the caucuses, which means that 1/2 of a percent of the voting population will decide the fate of the GOP candidate. It doesn't take much to skew the results with a few thousand votes (and some might be Democrats as well). So why is the media in such a frenzy? The same thing will be true of New Hampshire. If someone wins both Iowa and NH, the media will declare that person the winner, which I think is absurd.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T15:01:00.003-05:00

Let's hope that 2012 brings the removal of the most destructive president in the last century, along with Harry Reid as Senate Majority Leader...

Obama Asks to Increase the Debt Ceiling by Another $1.2 Trillion

2011-12-29T10:48:00.003-05:00

Remember when Obama increased the debt ceiling by $1 trillion back in August? Well, that didn't last long did it? Obama again wants his credit increased on the nation's credit card, this time by $1.2 trillion, to carry him through the election of 2012. Wanna guess why? And guess what? If an agreement is made until the end of 2012, and Obama were to win another, term, his credit card addictions will not end. In fact they will continue until the bitter end (2016) of what could be America's most bitter, darkest time in its history. I hope it doesn't come to this, and it doesn't have to. Here's what should be done:

Republicans come out with a simple plan, saying we want a balanced budget amendment, and saying we need to begin this process of balancing the budget THIS YEAR (oh i know it is controversial that we might actually see a cut in expenses). And it needn't be an enormous cut this year, but it needs to be a cut nonetheless of day $100 billion this year ($25 billion/quarter), and this needs to be followed by $200 billion next year. I don't want to hear anything about 15 year plans, which only exists inside Obama's community organizing brain. We need real time frames and real accountability. Most Americans will agree.

All Republican need to do is say the magic words: Balanced Budget Amendment, and stick with it, and make sure they begin to make cuts this year. Anything different, and Republicans will risk losing credibility with Americans, and they could also risk that Obama continues dictating to our country for another four years. Americans like a guy with backbone and they will support Republicans if they hold firm.

Media Aim at Re-electing Obama

2011-12-29T09:58:00.003-05:00

Ok, this is going to be nothing new to most people, but I predict that over the next 11 months, the media's outpouring of love for Obama will intensify, while they will also attempt to cover up and/or help the president in embarrassing situations that do not show the president in a good light. Is this anything new? No, but it is an election year, and after three pretty record-breaking horrible years, the media knows that without their help, Obama doesn't have a chance. I will give you a few example of how the media has helped Obama look good, and where they have helped cover up potentially embarrassing situations during the past few days alone. First, here's what the main stream media reported this week:

1. Obama and his family released 4 sea turtles into the ocean.
2. Obama was photographed with American troops
3. Obama took his wife out for dinner
4. Obama was photographed with family friend Marty Nesbitt
5. Obama was photographed with baby
6. Michelle Obama was photographed with baby

Now, here's what the main stream media would have reported if Obama were Republican:

1. Obama golfed again, and he would have been asked how he feels golfing, being that 100,000 Americans are still at war in Afghanistan.
2. Not only did Obama golf again, but he golfed with a buddy who was jailed earlier in the year for soliciting prostitution.
3. Obama was not photographed driving a golf cart as that would be as bad as when John Kerry were photographed wind-surfing.
4. The $4 million cost of the trip, or $3500 would certainly have been mentioned if he were Republican. Romney's fictitious $10,000 wager was talked about for days by the media (or less than 3 days at Obama's resort).
5. Michelle Obama's $2000 dress wasn't mentioned
6. The media would have cornered Obama, asking him if he felt guilty that while he added another $1.5 trillion in debt this year, he was taking yet another lavish vacation.

I have no issues at all with Obama taking a vacation. I have no issues with his playing golf or spending time with his family. But my point is that when a Republican, like GW Bush, played golf, he was slammed by the media, meanwhile it is not mentioned for Obama, or he is praised for having some downtime with friends.

My other point is the spin. The media will help Obama in anyway they can over the next year, and they're just beginning. Keep a close eye out. It's there. I can't see it helping much, but they will try.

Payroll Tax Eliminated for Those Earning $110K

2011-12-24T10:15:00.003-05:00

The TaxProf points out a little known provision as part of Congress' brilliant 2-month payroll tax cut extension. In it, there is this little "recapture tax" nugget, which says that anyone making over $110,100 will have to pay an extra 2% income tax on that amount over $110,100 during the period for which they get the "benefit" of the payroll tax extension.

So...let's forget about that whole $250K amount (Obama's definition of millionaires and billionaires). The new amount where Americans get screwed is just $110K.

Thanks Boehner - hell of a job!!

Obama EPA's "Historic, Great Victory"

2011-12-22T08:39:00.002-05:00

When Obama said that under his energy agenda, electricity prices would "necessarily skyrocket" and that coal power plants would face bankruptcy, he wasn't kidding. Yesterday, his EPA took a huge step in that direction. From the WSJ:

The so-called utility rule requires power plants to install "maximum achievable control technology" to reduce mercury emissions and other trace gases. But the true goal of the rule's 1,117 pages is to harm coal-fired power plants and force large parts of the fleet—the U.S. power system workhorse—to shut down in the name of climate change. The EPA figures the rule will cost $9.6 billion, which is a gross, deliberate underestimate.

In return Ms. Jackson says the public will get billions of dollars of health benefits like less asthma if not a cure for cancer. Those credulous enough to believe her should understand that the total benefits of mercury reduction amount to all of $6 million. That's total present value, not benefits per year—oh, and that's an -illion with an "m," which is not normally how things work out in President Obama's Washington.
The rest of the purported benefits—to be precise, 99.99%—come by double-counting pollution reductions like soot that the EPA regulates through separate programs and therefore most will happen anyway.

Is this how Obama is sticking up for the "middle class?"

Why is the Media Passing on Corzine-Obama Connection?

2011-12-21T04:57:00.003-05:00

When Enron was indicted for fraud, the media was quick to make the Texas connection between Ken Lay and George W. Bush. They repeated this endlessly over years as they sought to tie the two guys together. According to Dick Cheney, George W. Bush never really liked Ken Lay and wouldn't give him the time of day, while the elder Bush had some ties, but wouldn't call them close friends. Anyway, I digress:

When it comes to Obama's personal connections, the media clams up. The media has refused to go into detail about the close relations between Obama and Blagojevich. They have refused to talk about Obama and another Chicago jail bird, Rezco. They have refused to connect the dots between Bill Ayers and Barack Obama.

And now, just when the media is going GA GA over the OCCUPY WALL STREET protests, and they are slamming Wall Street bankers every day. And in the middle of all this, a Wall St. firm, MF Global, run by Obama buddy Jon Corzine, goes BANKRUPT! Not only that, but his firm sequestered clients cash, which is illegal.

Sound like a juicy story? The president is best buds with a Wall Street firm who not only goes bankrupt, but stole clients' cash, right in the middle of the Occupy Wall Street Protests. To me it sound like it could be the story of the decade. But, if it sounds like a juicy story to you, then you're wrong. This story has all but been ignored by the media.

Why is the media refusing to report anything about Corzine-Obama?

Condi for VP? Hope Not

2011-12-20T04:37:00.004-05:00

I'm not sure who will be the GOP nominee, but whoever it is, I do hope that the Washington Times (which I respect as a publication) is wrong, that Condi Rice could be the VP choice. If you've read Dick Cheney's autobiography, you'll understand why. If you haven't, then I'll sum it up: I just don't see her as a true conservative. My belief is that GW Bush had a pretty good first term, followed by a pretty bad second term, and that a good part of the reason for the stark difference is that he followed Condi's advice a lot more often in his second term. (whereas he followed Cheney's advice more in his first term).

The risk of selecting someone because they are a different gender might be greatest with Mitt Romney, as he did select Kerry Healey as Lt Governor when he was Governor of Massachusetts. Now I don't know anything about her politics at all, so I am stereotyping a little, but I'd guess that she fits the mold as "moderate Northeast Republican" which I'm not entirely comfortable about.

To me, I think someone like a Jim Demint would be the perfect VP candidate. As none of the GOP hopefuls really satisfies the Tea Party Nation, he would at least satisfy this growing part of the GOP, who largely is responsible for their landslide victories in 2010.

Many continue to suggest that Charlie Rubio would be the best, but I'd say the people who say this say it for two main reasons: 1. he is Latino (and thus he is "ground-breaking" in many people's eyes, and 2. he is from Florida, which sometimes is a swing state. I can't argue with these two facts, except that I don't think number 1 is very important. Additionally, I'd point out that his resume is very incomplete at this stage, after only 1 year as Senator. I like some of the things I hear about Rubio, but frankly, I don't know where he stands on lots of things.

On the other hand, there are no doubts where Jim Demint stands on most issues, and if he is selected, the GOP can avoid the potentially impending disaster of having a 3rd party candidate to deal with.

Demint Slams Congress for 2012 Spending

2011-12-19T10:38:00.003-05:00

Jim Demint describes what's been happening in Congress this year. It's happened a number of times already:

1. Republicans submit a bill to reduce spending
2. Democrats submit a bill to increase spending
3. Democrats threaten to shut government down if Republicans don't increase spending
4. Republicans give in

This just happened again, and Demint explains 2012 spending will be above 2011 by $21 billion dollars. Everyone just signed the 1000 page monstrosity so they could go on their Christmas vacations.

Demint puts a lot of the blame on Republicans for not being strong. Sure - it's the dems who are threatening to shut the government down, and the media will report it as the Republicans fault. But Republicans need to be strong, and they're not.

I will continue to blame McConnell and Boehner for this. They are the leaders and the ones who let this happen. I agree with Demint when he says:

We, as elected politicians, must do what we say. Our country is rapidly approaching dire consequences and Republicans must be willing to do everything possible to save this country.

Wish Demint would run for President. While he has great ideas in the Senate, he seems powerless to get anything done since he's not in charge.

National Review's Love of Romney and Huntsman Absurd

2011-12-17T15:03:00.004-05:00

I still read certain writers at the National Review, but I believe that the group of editors have changed over the last few years from strong conservatives to pragmatic Republicans (which I believe is why the Republican brand has been tarnished over the past decade to begin with). As Andy McCarthy of NR points out, the Editorial against Newt Gingrich was over the top and totally unbalanced. In it, they highlighted Gingrich's weaknesses but none of his strengths (including his defeating HillaryCare and balancing the budget). They side with the GOP who kicked Gingrich out of his leadership position but fail to mention that his replacements were anything but disciplined from an ethical or spending perspective.

So who do the NR editors prefer? Romney and Huntsman - those bastions of conservative discipline (chuckle). Huntsman is a joke and would be about the same or worse than John McCain - he used to say he really liked Obama until he realized Americans think he's a disaster. While Romney is probably better, he too has his faults which the NR editors neglect. The times seem to be changin' at the NR when they say that Romney and Huntsman are the two most qualified to be president.

Obama Still Promising to Prevent 100,000+ New Jobs

2011-12-17T13:37:00.002-05:00

Despite passage of a bill to continue the payroll tax reduction and begin the Keystone pipeline, expected to create 100,000-200,000 jobs, Obama still seems to be indicating he will veto it.

More proof that Obama couldn't care less about jobs, the economy or the country. He needs to win an election to complete his revolution and he can't afford to upset the environmental wackos.

Light Bulb Saved!

2011-12-16T10:48:00.003-05:00

Just as I was preparing to buy case loads of 100-watt incandescent lightbulbs, GOP leaders in Congress attached an override of the lightbulb ban to the spending bill that Obama is expected to sign.

Obama: Unemployment May Drop to 8% By Election

2011-12-10T20:05:00.002-05:00

Obama says that there is a good chance the unemployment rate may drop to 8% in time for the election next year. And based on his Labor Department's continual arbitrary reduction in the U.S. labor force (those actively working or looking for jobs), he might well get there. After all, we would be at 11.5% unemployment if they didn't toy with the labor force number, but instead we magically have an 8.6% figure - which of course, is a fraud.

Oops! Merchants Now Paying Price of Debit Fee Limits

2011-12-08T08:42:00.002-05:00

As part of the Dodd-Frank bill, the government in its infinite wisdom to help merchants and therefore consumers by lowering debit card swipe fees, have done the exact opposite on smaller transactions. You see, merchants used to get discounts for smaller transactions, but with the new limits, banks have eliminated those discounts, which mean a big price increase for them - and therefore the consumer.

Many business owners who sell low-priced goods like coffee and candy bars now are paying higher rates—not lower—when their customers use debit cards for transactions that are less than roughly $10.

That is because credit-card companies used to give merchants discounts on debit-card fees they pay on small transactions. But the Dodd-Frank Act placed an overall cap on the fees, and the banking industry has responded by eliminating the discounts.
Merchants now are trying to offset their higher rates by raising prices, encouraging customers to pay in cash or dropping card payments altogether.

Wow - who would have guessed that government intervention once again screws everything up? (Besides every Republican member of Congress and most of the American public, I mean.)

The Fraudulent Unemployment Rate

2011-12-02T09:02:00.002-05:00

If you wonder how the unemployment rate dropped dramatically to 8.6% despite only adding 125,000 jobs last month, you're not alone.

The truth is that the Obama Administration has been reducing the labor pool numbers for two years now in what is an obvious effort to give the appearance of a jobs recovery. Most media outlets will not report it, Americans won't pick up on it and Obama will pretend that his prescriptions are working well. However, the reduction in the labor force is completely arbitrary based on what the Administration supposedly believes is a reduction for whatever reason. If they had not done this, the true unemployment rate would be a not-so-rosy 11.5% (with underemployment still much higher in the 16-17% range).

Once again, Obama is trying to fool the electorate in advance of next year's election. Will it work?

Colin Powell: Tea Party at Fault for Divisiveness

2011-11-27T14:03:00.002-05:00

Colin Powell always displays his true colors on Sunday talk shows. Today he says that it's all those millions of responsible Americans who want the country to live within its means that are responsible for the country's divisiveness.

Nope, not Obama's desire to destroy the economy or demonize everyone who disagrees with his radicalism. To Powell, all those who disagree with Obama are at fault. It's time for Powell to announce what he's always been - a big government liberal.

Bush Cancels Swiss Speech on Threats of Arrest

2011-11-27T11:29:00.002-05:00

Former President Bush has cancelled his planned speech in Switzerland due to threats of his arrest from Leftist groups.

It's interesting that they don't care about politicians (Chavez, Castro, Ahmedinijahd) who commit what they view as torture or criminality unless it's an American or Israeli politician.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T10:47:00.003-05:00

As a reminder of Thanksgiving each year, Rush Limbaugh reminds us of the true story of Thanksgiving. In it, the Pilgrims experiment with socialism did not work, so they tried a market economy instead. The Democrats should pay attention...

"The experience that we had in this common course and condition,'" Bradford wrote. "'The experience that we had in this common course and condition tried sundry years...that by taking away property, and bringing community into a common wealth, would make them happy and flourishing -- as if they were wiser than God,' Bradford wrote." This was his way of saying, it didn't work, we thought we were smarter than everybody, everybody was gonna share equally, nobody was gonna have anything more than anything else, it was gonna be hunky-dory, kumbaya. Except it doesn't work. Because of half of them didn't work, maybe more. They depended on the others to do all the work. There was no incentive.

"'For this community [so far as it was] was found to breed much confusion and discontent, and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort. For young men that were most able and fit for labor and service did repine that they should spend their time and strength to work for other men's wives and children without any recompense,'" without being paid for it, "'that was thought injustice.'" They figured it out real quick. Half the community is not working -- living off the other half, that is. Resentment built. Why should you work for other people when you can't work for yourself? that's what he was saying. So the Pilgrims found that people could not be expected to do their best work without incentive. So what did Bradford's community try next? They unharnessed the power of good old free enterprise by invoking the under-girding capitalistic principle of private property.

"Every family was assigned its own plot of land to work and permitted to market its own crops and products. And what was the result? 'This had very good success,' wrote Bradford, 'for it made all hands industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been.' ... Is it possible that supply-side economics could have existed before the 1980s? Yes," it did. "Now, this is where it gets really good, folks, if you're laboring under the misconception that I was, as I was taught in school. So they set up trading posts and exchanged goods with the Indians." This is what happened. After everybody had their own plot of land and were allowed to market it and develop it as they saw fit and got to keep what they produced, bounty, plenty resulted.

CBO Downgrades Obama Stimulus Effects

2011-11-24T07:41:00.002-05:00

Not a good review, even from the normally pliant CBO. From IBD:

So in other words, the CBO now says it's possible that the stimulus had virtually no meaningful effect on growth and employment despite its massive price tag.

All this comes after the CBO increased that price tag to $825 billion from its initial $787 billion — a 5% hike.
Adding insult to injury, the new report also says the stimulus will hurt economic growth in the long run because of "the resulting increase in government debt." Each dollar of additional debt, it reports, "crowds out about a third of a dollar's worth of private domestic capital."

In our view, even the CBO's downgraded estimates are too high, because they're still based entirely on Keynesian economic models that simply assume extra government spending results in added economic growth.

Frankly, the GDP was likely barely improved from the increased spending because of the crowding out effect in the private sector. All it did was reduce future GDP growth and add $1 trillion to our debt.

Supercommittee "Success" Would Have Been Failure Anyway

2011-11-21T07:07:00.002-05:00

Oh no, the Supercommittee "failed." The whole goal of the committee was absurd. Under the CBO baseline, thanks to Obama's increased spending over the past three years, was projected to be approximately $50 trillion in spending over the next decade, with an additional $9 trillion in debt.

The committee was arguing about how to narrow the deficit by $1.2 trillion. So even if it were ALL spending cuts, which the Democrats adamantly refused, that would have reduced spending from $50 trillion to $48.8 trillion over the next decade. And that was a bridge too far for them. But the GOP said they would reduce spending by only half to $49.4 trillion and increase revenue by the other $600 billion. That was still too much for the Dems.

Frankly, a successful outcome would have been a sham anyway.

Obama's Uncle In Court In Mass

2011-11-18T04:12:00.001-05:00

He's not contesting the fact that he was drunk-driving, or the fact that his blood alcohol level was .14, or the fact that he almost smashed into a police car. He's contesting the fact that the officer stopped him in the first place.

What is he insinuating?

Et Tu, Toomey?

2011-11-17T07:14:00.002-05:00

I'm not convinced I should believe this story, but it appears that even Pat Toomey, a conservative member of Obama's 2nd Super Committee (he ignored his first one) is now acquiescing to raising taxes on wealthy Americans through the back door.

Toomey is apparently pushing a plan designed to raise taxes by eliminating or capping deductions in favor of reducing tax rates. The desired result, according to sources, is to raise taxes on wealthier Americans and reduce them further on lower class Americans. Unfortunately it appears that even the GOP is agreeing with Obama that we have a revenue problem and not simply a runaway spending problem. If so, it's extremely unfortunate. (And certainly won't help the housing situation either as owning homes will not be advantageous.)

Oh, and if the Super Committee is successful, it will merely increase the debt from $15 trillion today to $23 trillion in 10 years rather than CBO's estimate of $24.2 trillion. And that is if they are "successful."

President Golfs Again - This Time with Convict-Friend

2011-11-15T13:32:00.002-05:00

Ok - big deal - the President golfed again - yes - we're getting used to that. Some might say - hey, what's the big deal? He's having some down time. I don't mind the leisure time at all (even if it is a lot of down time). My beef with the President's golfing is that the media treated the previous administration with such contempt every time he golfed, on the few occasions he played. Eventually he simply quit the game. Sure it was his decision, and he said he did it out of respect for the troops fighting overseas. My beef is that those troops are still overseas, and we have a President golfing again, and he's breaking records for frequency. But the media are non-existent, or simply don't care. Double standard? Those are the facts. You decide.

Yesterday, the President golfed with a long time friend who was busted a few months ago for soliciting prostitution.

My guess is that if this were GW Bush, that this would be on every front page of every newspaper worldwide. My expectation with Obama is that it is completely ignored (again).

Obama Making Friends Again: This Time China

2011-11-15T12:50:00.002-05:00

Chinese officials don't like the fact that Obama is blaming the US's economic woes on their country. I'd say this to them: stand in line!

For the first two years of his Presidency, Obama blamed the previous administration on average, about 14 times per speech for the poor economy. I'd say it's lessened slightly over the past year - maybe down to about 7-9 times per speech now. Recently he blamed Europe, Japan, and the Middle East for America's problems. He's also been blaming Wall Street and banks for his woes. Then he blamed the Tea Party for a while. Over the past month or two, he seems to be blaming Congress for not doing enough, even though he's the president.

Always plenty of blame to go around! This might be the one thing that Obama seems to be good at.

The Corn Ethanol Disaster

2011-11-12T17:51:00.002-05:00

In case anyone thinks that the clean ethanol experiment was a success, this is an instructive read. I think it's time to phase out corn ethanol altogether.

Stryker to Cut 1,000 Employees in Face of Obamacare Taxes

2011-11-11T16:59:00.002-05:00

As expected, Obamacare fees are starting to translate into job losses at medical companies to offset new taxes.

Stryker, the Kalamazoo-based maker of artificial hips and knees, will cut 5% of its global workforce by the end of next year to reduce costs in the face of new fees on device makers required by the U.S. health care law.

Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.

Obama's Got a Big Problem in Virginia

2011-11-11T11:06:00.002-05:00

Kimberley Strassel has a good post on the election results in Virginia this week. In short, the GOP now controls the governorship, Senate and House for only the second time since the Civil War. More importantly, Democrats ran as far from Obama as they could get. This, despite the fact that Northern Virginia has grown wealthy on the backs of a massive federal government. Now, it takes one unpopular president to accomplish that feat but Obama achieved it.

Democrat US Senate candidate Tim Kaine must be more than a little worried right now, as I've already seen commercials showing his praise for Obamacare and Obamanomics when he was chairman of the DNC.

Obama Votes "Present" on Keystone XL Pipeline

2011-11-11T08:25:00.002-05:00

The next time Obama says he is "laser-focused" on jobs, remember that he is refusing to allow the Keystone XL pipeline project to go forward due to pressure from his environmental wacko friends. As the WSJ notes:

President Obama used to be fond of "shovel-ready projects." He's also demanding that Congress pass his jobs bill immediately because 9% unemployment is a crisis, and, by the way, he's for making the U.S. less reliant on energy from tyrants. So how about putting 20,000 Americans to work on a North American energy project that's as shovel-ready as they come? Sorry, Mr. Obama is voting present.
The $7 billion project is TransCanada's Keystone XL, a 1,700-mile underground pipeline that would deliver 830,000 barrels of heavy crude oil a day from Alberta to refineries in Oklahoma and Texas. TransCanada filed an application to build the pipeline in September 2008 with the State Department, which must approve it because the pipeline would cross the 49th parallel. In April 2010 and again this August, State produced multivolume environmental impact statements that concluded the pipeline would have "no significant impacts" on the environment.

If people haven't noticed already, Obama doesn't give a damn about jobs. He cares about one thing - his re-election. He must assume he needs to rev up his wacko base to have a chance at winning.

Fatal Shooting At Occupy Oakland

2011-11-11T08:11:00.002-05:00

I guess this is how "community organizing" works. Obama's favorite vagabond group, the "Occupy" movement, has had another death at its camps - this one a fatal shooting in Oakland. Apparently the shooting took place in an area directly adjacent to the Occupy group, where drug use is prevalent.

And liberal newspapers still like to claim that Americans at large support this violent, anarchist, drug and defecation movement (aka "community organizing").

SEC Brags About "Record Results"

2011-11-10T07:02:00.003-05:00

The SEC posted this news release bragging about its "Record Results" over the past year. Everyone knows that the SEC considers itself to be the enforcer of financial markets, but does anyone else find it a bit odd that they issue a press release emphasizing their record results by the number of prosecutions it brings? Only in Obamaville does this seem appropriate.

“We continue to build an unmatched record of holding wrongdoers accountable and returning money to harmed investors,” said SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro. “I am proud of our Enforcement Division’s many talented professionals and their efforts that resulted in a broad array of significant enforcement actions, including those related to the financial crisis and its aftermath.”

The press release just seems strange. It also forgot to mention that they've also dramatically increased staff and costs to operate and now have 103 employees who make $225,000 or more at the agency. Not bad for government work...

Time to Narrow the Republican Candidates

2011-11-10T06:33:00.002-05:00

Ok. Another debate with 8 different candidates. A debate with so many people limits the time each person can speak and limits the depth of the conversation. I say it's time to limit the debate to 4 or 5. In my opinion, it's now time that for Huntsman, Santorum, and Bachmann to be relegated to the second tier. It's possible the even Governor Perry doesn't make the first cut.

The would leave Romney, Cain, Gingrich and Paul to duke it out. I would welcome this.

Cain Accuser Krashaar Filed Similar Complaint at Next Job

2011-11-09T16:23:00.002-05:00

From ABC News, that bastion of right wing extremism:

Karen Kraushaar, who settled a sexual harassment complaint against Republican presidential frontrunner Herman Cain in 1999, filed a different complaint at her next job four years later, accusing a manager of sending out a sexually suggestive email and asking to be allowed to work at home after a car accident.

Kraushaar was injured in a car accident at an intersection in late 2002. After the accident, Kraushaar asked to be allowed to work from home. She filed the complaint when her repeated requests to work at home were denied, according to a former supervisor. The former supervisor told ABC News that Kraushaar wanted a "large payout" of tens of thousands of dollars, a year-long fellowship at Harvard, a raise and the reinstatement of sick leave.

Hmm. This woman's history speaks for itself, I think.

Obama's New Christmas Tree Tax

2011-11-08T21:26:00.004-05:00

Is there anything that Obama and his Democrat buddies won't tax? He just imposed a new 15 cent tax on the sale of Christmas trees.

Hey, at least his Muslim base should be happy.

*Update*
That was a quick reversal on the tax. But the entire episode was absurd: tax Christmas trees in order for the federal government to hire a PR firm to promote and market Christmas trees. Why does the federal government need to do this again and who was stupid enough to even propose it?

Why is Obama Loaning $730MM to a Russian Steel Company?

2011-11-08T13:14:00.003-05:00

Unbelievable. I can see lowering taxes for companies that choose to manufacture in the US, both American companies and foreign - that makes sense. But simply handing them a loan? Guess that's what happens when you have a President that doesn't understand business.

People have been asking where the trillion + of stimulus has gone....

Cain Accuser Short on Credibility

2011-11-08T10:57:00.002-05:00

Media outlets (well, at least those outside the US) have learned a bit more about Sharon Bialek and there certainly is quite a bit of a shady past, from two personal bankruptcies to harassing former lovers to pay child loans to not holding a job in two years. Frankly, the one I'm most interested in is how she was fired from the National Restaurant Association after only six months. For those who understand the hiring and firing practices of these non-profit associations, it is nearly impossible to be fired. Should be interesting to find out why.

Jindal Wins Landslide Victory in Louisiana but Media Yawns

2011-11-08T05:32:00.004-05:00

Bobby Jindal won an election two weeks ago for Governor of Louisiana but you wouldn't know it, as the media has all but ignored the results. (Republicans won all seven elections). Even more glaring is that he won by 48% to his nearest challenger! Even more remarkable is that Jindal is only the fourth Republican governor in his state in the last 125 years.

All of this leaves me scratching my head - as I have seen hardly any coverage of this huge victory. It's possible that it was expected and so the media doesn't care but I have a feeling if an Indian-American Democrat had won a landslide election in a huge Republican state, like say, Texas, then we'd be hearing a lot more about what the election means for 2012. I suspect if the media were to mention his win, then they'd have to speculate on what this means for Obama next year, which is something they don't really want to talk about.

By the way, Republicans (and Democrats) should take note: Jindal cut the budget by 25% and still achieved this victory.

Politico Attacks On Cain - By The Numbers

2011-11-07T13:14:00.001-05:00

This from Legal Insurrection:

Days as of 8 p.m. Eastern today since Politico broke the story - 7
Politico news stories about or mentioning “Herman Cain“: 138
Politico news stories about or mentioning “sexual harassment“: 91
Politico news stories about or mentioning “sexual harassment” not involving Herman Cain: 0
Politico news stories showing what Herman Cain actually did: 0
Politico news stories showing specifically what Herman Cain was accused of: 0
Percentage drop in Herman Cain favorability rating as reported by Politico: 9
Politico news stories about or mentioning “Solyndra“: 9
Politico news stories about or mentioning “Fast and Furious“: 3
Politico news stories about or mentioning “unemployment“: 17
Politico news stories about or mentioning “recession“: 14
Politico’s credibility self-destruction: Priceless

These Financial Services "Fat Cats" Make Too Much Money

2011-11-05T09:01:00.004-04:00

If an executive at a financial institution creates value for shareholders, there is a good argument that he should be paid big money. But when federal government employees with all sorts of perks and benefits (including guaranteed pensions that private workers only dream about) make a lot of money at the sole expense of American taxpayers, that is something else (and never mentioned by Obama). These are the true "fat cats." From Biggovernment.com:

The CFPB responded on August 4, 2011. The SF-50s revealed CFPB workers being hired at salaries twice the maximum ordinarily allowed under guidelines published each year by the Office of Personnel Management. A dozen new hires take home more than $225,000 a year, and a student intern is currently being paid $42,036 “through completion of education & study” as a communications trainee.

The CFTC responded on September 12, 2011, but blocked out most of the information on the 26 forms provided. The documents, however, reveal that the agency has instituted a cash award bonus system, and during the first six months of 2011, the agency doled out from $400 to $5,000 in bonus income to employees already earning $225,000 or more per year.
The Federal Reserve, responding on August 25, 2011, denied using SF-50s, despite an apparent statutory requirement to do so. It also refused a subsequent request for “Transcripts of Service,” which the agency said it used instead of SF-50s.
The OCC responded on August 22, 2011. The SF-50s indicated that 85 workers earn $225,000 or more per year. The employee names, as well as the legal authority under which the pay raises were issued, were blotted out.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury, responding on August 25, 2011, indicated that two employees earn more than $225,000, but withheld their names.
The SEC responded on October 3, 2011, reporting that 103 workers earn $225,000 or more per year.

Cain Accuser Sees No Value in Coming Public

2011-11-04T16:52:00.002-04:00

OK, after a week of the attempted sabotage of Herman Cain, we now know that there are anonymous sources for anonymous details about something that happened or was suggested or interpreted 20 years ago while Cain was the CEO of the National Restaurant Association. And the woman making the allegations was paid severance when she later left the association. Despite efforts to make it appear there was a massive scandal, her lawyer now says she sees no value in coming forward.

Wow - seems like a smoking gun story to me. Bill Clinton has to be laughing right now at this nonsense.

Top Corzine Contributor and Ally In Charge of MF Global Investigation

2011-11-03T18:53:00.002-04:00

Nothing to see here. Just because Gary Gensler has known and been friends with Jon Corzine for years and personally contributed $10,000 to Corzine's campaign doesn't mean anything. I'm sure he'll be an objective investigator as he heads up the Corzine / MF Global investigation...

Corzine's MF Global Another Madoff Fraud?

2011-11-01T14:43:00.002-04:00

It appears that MF Global, run by top Democrat Jon Corzine, has been fraudulently using customer funds to help fund the company's massive losses. If this is indeed true, Corzine should receive the same treatment that Bernie Madoff received.

Corzine's MF Global Loses Big on Europe; Files For Bankruptcy

2011-10-31T22:13:00.002-04:00

Jon Corzine, former Democrat NJ governor and U.S. Senator, joined MF Global 18 months ago and began making big risky bets on European sovereign debt. MF Global is now bankrupt.

IBD: Clinton Ordered Banks in '98 to Ease Credit Standards

2011-10-31T20:50:00.003-04:00

According to the Investors Business Daily, it was indeed the Clinton administration who threatened banks if they did not lower their lending standards to accommodate minorities and other low income people.

Rewind to 1994. That year, the federal government declared war on an enemy — the racist lender — who officials claimed was to blame for differences in homeownership rate, and launched what would prove the costliest social crusade in U.S. history.

At President Clinton's direction, no fewer than 10 federal agencies issued a chilling ultimatum to banks and mortgage lenders to ease credit for lower-income minorities or face investigations for lending discrimination and suffer the related adverse publicity. They also were threatened with denial of access to the all-important secondary mortgage market and stiff fines, along with other penalties.

Mortgages and Student Loans: Two Massive Redistribution Efforts

2011-10-27T13:24:00.002-04:00

Obama has recently announced two huge new efforts to redistribute income. First, taxpayers will be picking up the student loan tabs for all those that can't pay them back. (And frankly, why in the world would any student want to pay them back? Just drag them out past twenty years and you're off the hook and putting the taxpayers on the hook.)

The second plan, as financial industry analyst Tom Brown explains, is to force lenders who own mortgage backed securities to accept lower rates on their securities even if the loan-to-values on the loans are way north of 100%. That's right - all mortgage holders are going to be screwed.

In the long term, meanwhile, this crazy auto-refi scheme will surely drive capital out of the mortgage market. The government’s essentially rigging the system in order to transfer wealth from lenders to borrowers. Wouldn’t that give you pause? The credit markets have already seen what this White House did to Chrysler’s secured creditors during the auto bailout, remember, and must understand it’s willing to give mortgage investors the same sort of treatment. Who’d blame them for demanding higher returns?

So, with millions of layoffs in the financial industry because of new regulations, there will likely be more now because they are going to have to cut costs further from more revenue losses. (That's right - don't get too excited about today's stock market rally.)

As for Obama, he's trying to buy votes with taxpayer dollars, which is his usual template. Worse, he is not even bothering to seek Congressional approval for any of this. He's simply using dictatorial fiat.

Muslims Complain About Christian Symbols at Catholic University

2011-10-26T14:01:00.001-04:00

Muslim students are complaining that Catholic University has too many Christian symbols where they pray and it makes them uncomfortable.

How dare they have Christian symbols at a Catholic school!!

Obama's Favorite Group Behind Occupy Wall Street Movement

2011-10-26T12:15:00.001-04:00

Not a surprise that ACORN, Obama's favorite community agitator group, is behind the OWS movement (if you want to call it that).

Given that all of the leaflets coming from those events promote socialism and outright communism, it's not a surprise that ACORN is involved.

Obama Admin. Wastes $70,000 in Taxpayer Money On His Own Books

2011-10-26T07:36:00.001-04:00

Talk about waste. Obama's State Department has spent over $70,000 on Obama's own books to make sure their embassies around the world are fully stocked on "Dreams of My Fathers" and "Audacity of Hope."

Obama: The Junior High School Candidate

2011-10-26T05:39:00.005-04:00

When I think of Obama I think of my Junior High School Election. One girl in my class campaigned on "more field trips, longer lunches, longer recesses, fewer classes." After the assembly ended, my math teacher ripped her - "That's GARBAGE! You can't promise that junk!" Everybody knew he was right. Fortunately our class was smart enough to know what she was promising was pure rubbish and we didn't vote her in. Hopefully the American electorate will also see though Obama's similar phony promises.

Obama is using the same kind of campaign promises to win. Unfortunately for us - he can do what he wants - even if it means the equivalent of longer recesses or fewer study hours for students. I'll highlight 2 things Obama talked about yesterday:

1. New student loan modification. This caps the amount a student will have to pay back annually at 10% of income. Originally this law was supposed to go into effect in 2 years but Obama's no idiot - he needs the student vote next year, so he announced it yesterday. A cap is already in place at 15%, but only 1.2% of students currently opt for this program. So who cares? Maybe another half percent will go for this program, but really, it's irrelevant. For Obama - it's a talking point - so he can say he actually did something for students and we'll continue to hear about it for the next 12 months and 1 week. But will it help? Nope.

2. New jobs for military. obama announced something to get 8000 new jobs for military veterans. Ok - what about the other 500,000? And what about the millions of other Americans out of work? Again it's something that might help 1% of the total military veterans out of work. Of course what will get people employed is a stronger economy, but under Obama's inane policies, that's not going to happen. But again, it's another "goodie" that Obama is promising to people and it gives him a talking point that he will brag about for the next 53 weeks.

More garbage in. Garbage out. When are we going to get a real president?

Occupiers in London Go Home at Night

2011-10-26T03:53:00.003-04:00

I guess the rough-it and tough-it image of these protestors was completely inaccurate. While socialism has it's good point, when it comes down to it, the benefits of capitalism are pretty nice - especially at night when it's cold! Thermal images in front of St. Paul's Cathedral in London showed only about 10% of tents present are actually being occupied at night. I guess these demonstrators stand for protesting when it's convenient, but of course, you can't expect them to stay in a tent when they have a warm bed at home, a shower, a bathroom, heating.

I mean - c'mon. Socialism is the absolute best system - except all the rest.

Obama: I've Done a Lot!

2011-10-25T12:23:00.002-04:00

Obama has been campaigning with Hollywood this week. Nothing too interesting. Met with all the Hollywood types, asking them for money, and guess what: for only $35,800, you too can actually talk with the President. What a man of the people!

As he met with Will Smith, Magic Johnson, Hilary Duff he complained:

'Sometimes I think people forget how much has gotten done,'

Translation: Look how much I did! And nobody appreciates it!

In a year's time, hopefully we, as the electorate can help Obama spend 100% of his time with the celebrity types.

Will Obama's Legacy Include Spread of Sharia Law?

2011-10-24T03:44:00.003-04:00

What will Obama be remembered for 50 or 100 years from now? Increased spending and a poor economy are no-brainers. But I think there is a good chance that Obama's support for the overthrow of Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya will be remembered, and currently all three are moving toward more radical sharia law. See here, here, and here.

Was this Obama's plan? Or is this another Obama-failure?

Steve Jobs Told Obama: "You're Headed For a One-Term Presidency"

2011-10-21T08:10:00.003-04:00

To me, it's not surprising that Jobs supported Obama, as we know he was a staunch Democrat. Still by 2010, Jobs thought that Obama was too anti-business, which is why he predicted he would be a one-termer.

According to Walter Isaacson (via Huffington Post):

...Jobs was not that impressed by Obama, later telling Isaacson that his focus on the reasons that things can't get done "infuriates" him.

This certainly sounds like the Obama we all know - he prefers to blame someone rather than come up with a solution himself.

I hope Jobs' prediction is correct.

Fisker Automotive: The Latest Solyndra

2011-10-21T07:29:00.002-04:00

Another example of crony capitalism. Fisker Automotive, a company that has strong Obama ties, received a $529 million taxpayer loan to build hybrid cars in the U.S. The company instead outsourced all of its production to Finland.

Even if the company isn't a total fraud like Solyndra, why in the world should we taxpayers be funding a risky venture based in Finland when we're racking up $1,500,000,000,000.00 in additional debt each year?

Boston Occupiers Starting to Complain

2011-10-20T10:24:00.002-04:00

In an amazingly ironic twist of fate, the occupiers in Boston are getting a dose of their own medicine. Evidently occupiers are now beginning to complain about the truly homeless people who have begun to bother them. According to the Boston Herald:

Demonstrator Andrew Warner, 36, said homeless people are hijacking tents, getting drunk, “passing out” and stealing.“It’s turning into us against them,” Warner said. “They come in here and they’re looking at it as a way of getting a free meal and a place to crash, which is totally fine, but they don’t bring anything to the table at all. It gets really frustrating.”

Hmm. I thought they'd like people who don't bring anything to the table. Ironic isn't it? Additionally there were other reports:

...some homeless people have been hoarding free items, including donated coats... “They’re getting more than they need and trading it off. What we noticed is all the new jackets are disappearing quickly.”

Wow - imagine that. They are giving away free items and people are taking more than they should, even though they haven't earned it. I think this demonstator may have just shown why socialism/communism doesn't work. But isn't that exactly what they're demonstrating in favor of?

Welcome to the real world guys.

Unprecedented 26 Million Underemployed

2011-10-20T09:42:00.000-04:00

A record 26 million Americans are now underemployed, thanks to Obamanomics and the destructive power of Democrat-led policies.

Steve Wynn: Democrats Bankrupting the U.S.

2011-10-20T07:53:00.003-04:00

Steve Wynn is rare for a CEO - he is willing to put himself in the crosshairs in a highly regulated environment, where government retribution could be very possible. Nevertheless, he is speaking plainly about the business environment in this country caused by Democrats:

I cannot predict what healthcare costs are going to be, what regulatory load they are going to heap on us, what new taxes or other burdens this insatiable governmental appetite for money from the citizens will take us to.

Now, that is simply a statement of fact. It isn't a partisan political pitch.

It's simply a statement of fact from a businessman who has supported probably more Democrats than Republicans. But I say right now that the Democratic agenda of spend and bribe the public has bankrupt this country, and until it stops, the citizens of this country are in for more hard times.

It's hard to argue with him.

Reid: Private Sector Fine; We Need More Government Jobs

2011-10-19T14:00:00.002-04:00

It's hard to believe the Democrat leader of the Senate could be so idiotic, but it's true.

"It's very clear that private-sector jobs have been doing just fine; it's the public-sector jobs where we've lost huge numbers, and that's what this legislation is all about," Reid said on the Senate floor.

So this unemployment business is all in your minds. Let's spend more!!

Will Obama Ever Pass a Budget?

2011-10-19T09:04:00.002-04:00

Investors Business Daily points out that it is now 900 days and counting. 900 DAYS! Almost 3 years since Obama last signed a budget. Keep in mind that the Senate is still controlled by Democrats....although IBD says you can't put all the blame on Senate Dems...

Obama's hardly been any better. His latest budget was so outrageously irresponsible that the entire Senate, including every single Democrat, voted against it.

Is it any wonder the spending is going off the rails when these guys don't even want a budget?

Obama Celebrates 7 Month Anniversary

2011-10-18T08:44:00.002-04:00

Well, this half true. It is now 7 months since Obama started military operations towards Libya. He was also half right when he said "this will take days. Not weeks." So it's been about 212 days since he began.

If this had been GW Bush, do you think the media would have kept their "code of silence" regarding this war? My guess is that we will keep "not hearing" about it all through 2012 as well.

Bove is Right About Government Destruction

2011-10-18T08:33:00.002-04:00

Dick Bove of Rochedale Securities rightly blasts the government for its absurd and extremely damaging assault on the American financial industry.

"The last three AGs in New York—Eric Schneiderman, Andrew Cuomo, and Eliot Spitzer—have made their primary goal attacking the financial industry. Drug dealers are safer in that town than bankers are. Does the attorney general of Texas attack the oil industry? Does the AG of California try to put Hollywood out of business? Cars in Detroit? No, they're not that stupid. Now they're suing Bank of New York (BK), with the result that they're pulling jobs out of New York as fast as it can. Goldman (GS) is moving to New Jersey and Utah. Citigroup (C) is going anywhere it can find outside New York. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is the only bank putting jobs in the U.S. and everyone flips out because Jamie says he's not sure we're taking the right approach to fixing the system? People are electing people who want to fire their neighbors. It just doesn't compute for me."

When the topic turns to Bank of America (BAC) and the $5 debit charge controversy, his dander goes right back up again. "Dick Durbin gets up on the floor of the U.S. Senate and encourages a run on Bank of America? How can a U.S. senator say that we should bankrupt the biggest bank in the U.S? Has he lost his mind?"

Senators are not new to destroying financial companies. Dem. Chuck Schumer caused a run on Indybanc a few years ago, which effectively destroyed the bank in a day. Durbin and Obama want to one-up Schumer and take down the biggest bank in the country and perhaps the entire industry.

Are Lefty Protests Backfiring on Obama?

2011-10-17T09:55:00.003-04:00

While Obama probably didn't create the current wave of protests occurring around the world, he certainly appears to be fanning the flames a little. These protests seem to have no real meaning or cause, but the one commonality is that many of these guys appear to be against the top slice of American society - call it the top 1%. Now who's idea was it to demonize the top 1% since the day he ran for presidency back in 2008? Obama's demonization of the top 1% of Americans has been the top agenda for Obama since day 1.

Oddly enough, the Rassmussen approval ratings for the President appear to be dropping now that the protests are kicking into gear....yet another plan that hasn't come together.

Free Trade Deals FINALLY Clear Congress

2011-10-12T22:47:00.002-04:00

After sitting in limbo for five years being opposed by Obama and the Democrats, Congress (including many Democrats) have finally found religion and decided that these deals will actually help our economy. They passed the Columbia, South Korea and Panama free trade bills today.

After two years of opposition, the White House now "strongly supports" them. I wonder if Obama will say he supported them all along...

Paula Deen: Michelle Obama Ate More than Any Guest

2011-10-11T13:40:00.000-04:00

Paula Deen once had Michelle Obama on her show. While Paula said that she loved Michelle, she also said that she ate more than any other guest that Deen has ever had. Finally, she said that Michelle loves fried food and her favorite food is hot wings.

Very interesting but not surprising. Michelle can eat whatever she wants, but believes she should be allowed to regulate what everyone else eats.

Ridiculous Severance Payments at B of A

2011-10-11T09:40:00.002-04:00

I completely agree with Tom Brown about the $11 million in severance payments to Sallie Krawcheck and Joe Price. Why pay departing executives so much?

Obama Disapproval Rating Approaches 60%

2011-10-08T08:12:00.003-04:00

Rasmussen says it's at a total disapproval rating of 57% and strong disapprovals would be most of those, still standing firm at 43%.

No doubt Obama will try all sorts of short term spending gimmicks over the next year to change this. I don't think it will change though.

Friday Night White House Solyndra Email Dump

2011-10-07T18:30:00.003-04:00

As is typical in Washington, Friday night is when you release scandalous information. Tonight, the White House released a bunch of new emails that, according to FoxNews, show that behind the scenes lobbying in the Obama White House was much greater than they originally acknowledged.

Here, ABC News says that an Obama fundraiser was pushing hard from the inside.

Harry Reid Nuke Option: Eliminate Senate Minority Rights

2011-10-06T21:54:00.002-04:00

I'm not sure I fully understand all of the procedural goings-on here, but it's apparent that Harry Reid made a major parliamentary power grab today by eliminating the rights of the minority party to offer amendments to a bill unless he approves.

If this were the GOP controlled Senate who tried this under Bush, it would almost certainly be described as a fascist takeover. But frankly, I don't care. Change the Senate rules - it's a virtual lock that the GOP will take over the Senate in next year and I have no problem locking the Democrats out of the entire conversation of lawmaking.

Suskind: Obama Ignores Own Economists; Has Own Economic View

2011-10-04T20:13:00.002-04:00

An excerpt from Ron Suskind's book on Obama is startling, but not too surprising.

[Summers and Romer] were concerned by something the president had said in a morning briefing: that he thought the high unemployment was due to productivity gains in the economy. Summers and Romer were startled. “What was driving unemployment was clearly deficient aggregate demand,” Romer said. “We wondered where this could have been coming from. We both tried to convince him otherwise. He wouldn’t budge.” Summers had been focused intently on how to spur demand, and on what might drive a meaningful recovery…. [W]ithout a rise in demand, in Summers’s view, nothing else would work…. But productivity?… If Obama felt that 10 percent unemployment was the product of sound, productivity-driven decisions by American business, then short-term government measures to spur hiring were not only futile but unwise. The two economists strained their memory… had they said something he’d misconstrued?… After a month, frustration turned to resignation. “The president seems to have developed his own view,” Romer said.

In Obama's mind, productivity and innovation are bad for employment and the economy. Then again, we're 3 years into the Obamanomics experiment - and the results are speaking for themselves.

Sen. Durbin Encourages Run on B of A

2011-10-04T13:15:00.002-04:00

If you think that people are exaggerating when they say Democrats want to destroy the top financial institutions in the country, just listen to Democrat Sen. Dick Durbin. Durbin went to the Senate floor to encourage customers to leave Bank of America because they are raising fees to offset the costs of the Durbin Amendment.

It's sad that Democrats believe it's their job to select winners and losers in the private sector.

Germany Slams Obama, Geithner Plan for Europe

2011-09-27T17:43:00.003-04:00

Germany's Wolfgang Schauble on the White House plan for Europe:

"I don't understand how anyone in the European Commission can have such a stupid idea. The result would be to endanger the AAA sovereign debt ratings of other member states. It makes no sense," he said.

What, they don't want the same result as Southeast Asia after Geithner's "solution" in 1998? It only set their economies back by about a decade.

GM Now Going After China Subsidies For Electric Cars Too

2011-09-27T12:44:00.002-04:00

Despite receiving huge U.S. government cash to produce electric cars that nobody wants, GM is now heading to China with its hat in hand to get another $19,300 subsidy per car produced. The catch? It has to give up its technology to China's SAIC Motors and produce the vehicles in China.

Let's see if GM can turn a profit on electric even with these additional subsidies...

EPA So Active It Wants 230,000 More Administrative Jobs

2011-09-27T07:48:00.003-04:00

The EPA is so intent on creating a massive amount of regulation that they have requested an additional 230,000 taxpayer jobs.

I think this is how Obama calculates his "saved or created" jobs - he ignores the 1.3 million jobs that will be lost in private industry due to the regulations and counts the new government jobs.