From Rasmussen:

Republican Pat Toomey continues to hold a modest advantage over Democrat Joe Sestak in the race to replace Arlen Specter as U.S. senator from Pennsylvania.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Pennsylvania shows Toomey attracting 45% of the vote, while Sestak earns 39%…

There are 11% undecided, so its still anyone’s race – but it is clear that Democrats are on rocky electoral ground that someone as conservative as Toomey can be leading in a moderately blue State like Pennsylvania. Just another indicator that in 2010, one would rather be a Republican when running for office.

From Gordon T. Long via Tyler Durden over at Zero Hedge:

As horrific as the gulf environmental catastrophe is, an even more intractable and cataclysmic disaster may be looming. The yet unknowable costs associated with clean-up, litigation and compensation damages due to arguably the world’s worst environmental tragedy, may be in the process of triggering a credit event by British Petroleum (BP) that will be equally devastating to global over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives…

From what I gather, BP is a large corporation with a lot of fingers in a lot of economic pies. As BP’s exposure has grown while the Gulf oil spill has unfolded, money people have started to aggressively reposition themselves away from BP – this creates a risk of what can best be described as a financial heart attack: BP and associates wind up without sufficient funding to carry on, the whole thing collapses and takes down who in heck knows what.

Not a pretty picture – but, also, not at all unexpected by me. BP really screwed up and does have to pay, but I’ve figured for a while now that BP simply can’t pay the full cost of what the Gulf spill will require. While we might think of BP as an oil-company cash machine with unlimited resources (well, “we” don’t think that – but Obama and his Democrats sure do), the fact of the matter is that BP is finite and even if they have revenues in the tens of billions, they have costs only a bit less than that…and now a huge charge has been added at a time when oil prices are flat or down.

Is there a way out? No. No politician will argue that BP should be let off the hook. There is no way for BP to really make everything good. BP will fail in some way, shape or form – and then we’ll all find out just how exposed the financial system is to a BP collapse.

…They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable–and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace– but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! – Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775

What to do when your State is bankrupt and Democrats in the legislature refuse to own up to this fact – from the Associated Press:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday ordered about 200,000 state workers to be paid the federal minimum wage this month because the state Legislature has not passed a budget.

Department of Personnel Administration Director Debbie Endsley sent the order in a letter to the state controller, who refused a similar order two years ago and may try to do the same thing this time. Most state employees will be paid the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour for the July pay period…

California has no money – the bottom is truly out of the tub in that State, and yet the Democrats refuse to make the deep and permanent cuts to spending necessary to just put the fiscal house in order, let alone set the stage for an economic revival.

California is the richest State in the nation – having one of the best educated populations of the 50 States, and vast, little used natural resources…but unbroken Democrat governance in the legislature and RINOism in the governor’s mansion (Schwarzenegger bears a large measure of responsibility for the mess, too – but at least he’s finally awake to what is happening) have managed to destroy California.

What happened to California is what Obama wants to have happen to the whole country – keep that in mind as we go through 2010 and 2012.

James Pethokoukis over at Reuters has the best short description I’ve seen of our economic plight in light of the CBO numbers showing that our debt burden is rapidly becoming unbearable. He also points out that growth is the only way out and suggests a couple ideas (cutting taxes on business and capital flow) which are excellent, but also don’t fully cover our peril, nor provide what is needed to get out of this economic morass.

Our problem is debt – there is too much of it. Too much private debt, too much government debt. The cruel fact of the matter is that even under the best of circumstances and with the best of intentions, we may not be able to pay it all off – at least not in the current time frames for the debt. But if we are to manage this debt of ours then our only hope is to so rapidly grow American wealth that our debt burden becomes first manageable, and then discharged. Even with good luck, its going to be a little while before growth starts to kick in – so, step one is to stop piling up new debt.

That is the hardest thing for almost all liberals and even some conservatives to swallow. Liberals because they are still living in a fantasy world where the government can create economic growth by spending borrowed and/or printed money. It can’t. It is not possible. It never worked – the Great Depression was not cured by New Deal spending, but made longer and deeper because of it. We must balance our budget over the next few years – and, yes, that will be very painful.

The initial economic dislocation of a 25% reduction in government spending (which is the amount we’ll have to cut to even start getting things under control) would be severe. But it would also be relatively short-lived. And the good effects would start almost immediately – first by taking us out of the class of nations at risk of sovereign default (and thus making us a genuine safe haven for foreign capital), secondly by freeing up funds for investment which would have been quite pointlessly expended in buying US government debt.

Those funds so freed up will have to be used wisely. So, we also have to make some sort of action to prohibit State and local government from issuing new debt. No point in freeing up money only to see it wasted on government all the same. We need that freed up money for the initiation and expansion of wealth-creating private enterprise. To encourage this use, we should issue a moratorium on taxes for any new or expanded business which makes things, mines materials or grows food. For such companies already in existence and not able or willing to expand, a significant reduction in business taxes. Remember, we will borrow about $1.5 trillion this year – imagine if even 50% of that were used next year to start up factories, open up mines or create new farms.

Kill the debt. Encourage genuine wealth creation. Eliminate all spending which does not directly provide defense, food, housing and health care – and even in those areas carefully scrub spending to eliminate as much overhead and waste as possible. It will hurt, but it will be over in a couple years.

Or, we can just continue on, spending our way in to complete oblivion and have a complete economic collapse – and this time without any ability to borrow money so instead of a voluntary spending cut of 25%, we’ll have a 50%+ spending cut forced upon us. It’ll also take us years longer to recover, the longer we delay taking the actions necessary for growth.

Its our choice – our window of opportunity is small and getting smaller. We might only have 6 months left to make a good start on this – we might, indeed, already be out of time. But while there still appears to be time, we should take action. This November gives we, the people, are chance to start the ball rolling.

We’ll see how it comes out.

UPDATE: Pending home sales plunge 30%, unemployment claims rise “unexpectedly“, Dow slides.

Chuck Muth of Nevada News and Views sends us a Stuck on Stupid Alert:

From the Department of You’ve Gotta Be Freaking Kidding Me:

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports this afternoon that in the middle of this Great Recession – with bankruptcies and foreclosures through the roof; with unemployment higher in Nevada than anywhere else in the free world; with an Energizer Bunny state budget deficit that seems to just keep growing and growing and growing; with public schools sucking and health care costs skyrocketing – some of our lame-brained legislators, led by our Nanny-Stater-in-Chief, Sen. Mike Schneider (D-Uranus), “agreed Tuesday to draw up a bill to require auto repair shops, smog stations and oil change businesses to check the air pressure in their customers’ tires.”

That’s right. As Rome burns, the Subcommittee on the Production and Use of Energy is contemplating a stupid bill mandating that Nevada businesses check your stinking tire pressure!

Because The One announced, once upon a time, that checking our tire pressure would be a major step in reducing our dependence on foreign oil. And what The One says must be obeyed!

The sheer insanity of this does boggle the mind – but it also is another perfect example of the liberal mindset. The mindless interference in personal lives. The onerous regulation of business. The action designed to make it seem like something is being done when nothing gets solved. Once again, we can’t get these clowns – local, State and federal – out of office soon enough

From Fox News:

It seems abundantly clear to me that the Panthers were let off simply because they were the Panthers. Remember, in the liberal world view, black people can never be racist because only people with “power” can be racist…no matter who obviously racist a non-white group is, a liberal will still never call them that.

We won’t be able to obtain justice in the United States while the Obama Administration is in office – they are incapable of providing it because they don’t know what it is.

Is Google taking things too far? Their expansion is getting disturbing.

Google has been using its dominant position in online search to muscle its way into other Internet businesses, ultimately limiting consumer choice, Consumer Watchdog said today in a report written for its new Inside Google Website.

The nonprofit, nonpartisan consumer group is sending the report to U.S. and European antitrust regulators.

[…]

The Inside Google study found that since adopting “Universal Search,” which favors Google’s properties with prominent listings in its results, traffic to Google’s sites has soared at the expense of competitors. The controversial search practice was launched in 2007.

“Google claims that its search is neutral,” said John M. Simpson, consumer advocate with the group. “This study shows that it’s not and demonstrates the damaging impact Google’s unfair practices have had on competitors.”

Consumer Watchdog will give the Inside Google study, “Traffic Report: How Google is Squeezing out Competitors and Muscling Into New Markets,” to U.S. Justice Department and European Commission antitrust officials.

The study of Internet traffic data for more than 100 popular websites since 2007 revealed Google’s dramatic gains. In the most comprehensive study of its kind to date, Inside Google obtained three years of Internet traffic data from the respected web metrics firm Experian Hitwise. The data allowed an analysis of Google’s business practices and performance that is unprecedented in scope.

What do you think?

Just love it:

I’m noticing an increasing willingness to not just be conservative, but to be in-your-face conservative.

And their latest tactic is to just shove so many things in to the bill that it might find a majority for passage:

…The plan is to create one bill that combines the unemployment benefits with an extension of a popular tax credit for people who buy new homes…

…The measure, which is the same as the one in the Senate bill, would provide up to 99 weekly unemployment checks averaging $335 to people whose 26 weeks of state-paid benefits have run out. The benefits would be available through the end of November, at a cost of $33.9 billion. There are no offsets in the bill, so the cost would add to the budget deficit…

Just pile it on, Democrats – there is a bottomless well of money and we’ll never have to pay back our national debt. Its not like there’s a cent which can be cut elsewhere, you know. Every bit of federal spending is crucial – cut a penny of it, and we’ll all died. What’s more important: our long term economic health, or getting you re-elected in November?

Just insane. And it will all have to be paid for – and it will be the poor and middle class footing the bill for this idiocy.