A great debate so far. You watching? I’m tweeting it here.
The White House Said Unemployment Would Be 6-7 Percent By Now
So, today we learned that the unemployment rate ticked down to 9.0 percent, and that has Democrats acting like we’re now oh-so-lucky. Nancy Pelosi is even saying that had it not been for Obama’s stimulus, the unemployment rate would be 15 percent.
Besides the fact that she merely pulled a bigger number out of her ass to make 9 percent unemployment sound like an achievement, the fact of the matter is that the White House sold the stimulus on the assurance it would keep unemployment below 8 percent.
As you know, it didn’t. Unemployment peaked at 10.2 percent, and has remained well above Obama’s estimates. In fact, according to Obama’s calculations, the unemployment rate would have been between 6 and 7 percent by now.
This graph is particularly telling:
- Image courtesy of The New York Times
The unemployment rate was actually worse than White House projections had there been no stimulus at all.
That is far more telling than phony estimates from Nancy Pelosi when her objective is to not make Obama look like a total failure.
The New Top Three
Cain still on a roll, but I do think we are seeing Newt on the rise.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely GOP Primary voters shows Cain with 26% of the vote over former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s 23%. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich draws 14% support, with no other GOP contender reaching double-digits. Thirteen percent (13%) of GOP voters are undecided at this time. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
With Perry picking up only 8 percent in the poll, could it be he’s near through?
Wednesday Open Thread
Lots of stuff going on… Enjoy discussing it!
Big Fat Mike…
It looks like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade float..err.. I mean Michael Moore had his clock cleaned today.
Seems like the “champion of the little guy” — one of the-err..99-percenters had a bit of trouble when pressed about his $50 million dollars he was sitting on:
What I was wondering, what the hell were those #OWS protesters feeding him? I mean, a guy like that’s gotta eat…
And then I came up with this…
To the tune of “Big John“ by Jimmy Dean:
It all started one morning on the fifth of June.
the night that there was a big blue moon..
from that day on twasn’t a donut that was safe
from the mouth of a great big oversized waif named Mike..
Big Mike, Big Miiiike..Michael Moore..
Well, the donut shop was a big hangout but he
ate all the donuts and he let out a shout-
he said “Where’s more donuts?!” and the blow of his hand
sent another poor baker to the promised land, Big Mike…
Big Mike.. Big Miiiiike..Michael Moore!
Well all the donuts were gone-he grazed out of his range,
so he went to McDonald’s to watch the numbers change-
after 3 million burgers he let out a sigh-
“With a meal like that I can go for some pie”
Big Mike. Big Mike–Big Miiiike- Michael Moore..
Well all the food was gone, there wasn’t a lead-
everything was gone from fruit to seed,
so the townspeople said, “Everyone take heed-
let’s blow this town, cause there’s nothin left to feed Mike!”
Twas a voracious appetite that led Mike on,
to eatin’ everything from buildings to lawn,
and he ate and he ate til there wasn’t nothing left,
but this nine-story building at 5th & Calumet-Big Mike.
(Big Mike..Big Miiiike- Michael Moore).
Well, he started on the cornerstone and ate his way indoors-
he gobbled everything from the sinks to the floors-
but when he got to the trusses, the building collapsed–
and everybody knew they finally seen the last of Big Mike..
(Big Mike..Big Miiiike- Michael Moore)..
Well there’s not much left of that town today-
all the townspeople just moved away..
not much of that building, ‘cept a sign quite big- sayin’
“AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS BUILDING LIES A BIG FAT PIG–BIG MIKE”
(Big Mike–Big Miiiiike- Michael Moore)
Newt Gaining Ground
I hope this trend continues. As of right now, I’m mostly leaning towards Newt.
After his presidential campaign got off to a bumpy start, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says the campaign’s on solid footing, and it appears to be showing in the polls.
Just days after his May entry into the race, Gingrich took heat for referring to Rep. Paul Ryan’s Medicare overhaul plan as “right-wing social engineering.” Then there were the questions about at least one six-figure credit line at Tiffany’s.
In early June, most of Gingrich’s staff resigned. At the time, sources said staffers disagreed with Gingrich’s strategy of maximizing social media and debate performances instead of traditional campaigning. Of those who departed, Gingrich now says, “They were wrong, making assumptions that just were not right.”
Fox News polling may vindicate the plan. In July, when potential GOP primary voters were asked who they’d like to see as the nominee, 9 percent picked Gingrich. He has steadily crept to 12 percent in polling released just days ago. “Every week we do a little better,” Gingrich says.
Thoughts?
Sunday Afternoon Open Thread
Refresh your browsers, it’s time to talk about all things that interest you.
Because Legal Abortions Are So “Safe”
Yup.
Two employees of a Philadelphia abortion clinic where live, viable babies were allegedly killed and a patient died after being given on overdose of painkillers pleaded guilty on Thursday to murder.Guilty pleas to third-degree murder were entered by Adrienne Moton, 34, and Sherry West, 52, who both worked for Dr. Kermit Gosnell at what prosecutors have described as a decrepit and unsanitary clinic known as Women’s Medical Society in West Philadelphia.
Due to a court-issued gag order, attorneys declined to comment on reports that no plea agreement was reached in the case.
Sentencing was set for December 2 by Common Pleas Judge Benjamin Lerner. The maximum penalty for third-degree murder is 40 years in prison.
Seven more defendants face charges in the case, including Gosnell, who a grand jury in January said, “killed babies and endangered women. What we mean is that he regularly and illegally delivered live, viable babies in the third trimester of pregnancy — and then murdered these newborns by severing their spinal cords with scissors.”
Wow, This Is A Dumb Idea
As Obama acts more like a dictator every day, he’s looking for new ways to energize potential voters to save his 2012 prospects. His latest trick is a “student stimulus” of sorts.
But Obama is now seeking to use that new power to obtain a taxpayer-financed stimulus that Congress won’t approve. The idea is to cap student loan repayment rates at 10 percent of a debtor’s income that goes above the poverty line, and then limiting the life of a loan to 20 years.
Sounds awfully nice, doesn’t it? I would say awfully stupid. It doesn’t take an economics degree to figure out that this would essentially amount to taxpayer-funded college education. Here’s one example from the story.
If Suzy Creamcheese gets into George Washington University and borrows from the government the requisite $212,000 to obtain an undergraduate degree, her repayment schedule will be based on what she earns. If Suzy opts to heed the president’s call for public service, and takes a job as a city social worker earning $25,000, her payments would be limited to $1,411 a year after the $10,890 of poverty-level income is subtracted from her total exposure.
Twenty years at that rate would have taxpayers recoup only $28,220 of their $212,000 loan to Suzy.
This may well be an extreme example, but it hardly off base when it comes to demonstrating the flaw with this idea. For one thing, the snowball effect would make this worse. If students know that they’ll only end up paying a small portion of their education costs, they’re more likely to choose a school with tuition costs well above their means because they know they won’t have to foot the bill later. This does nothing to address reasons why education costs are so expensive, and will actually make them more expensive, as schools will figure out that free market rules no longer apply to them, they’ll jack up tuition rates even more.
This is a dumb idea by a dumb administration. A sad attempt to energize young voters on his behalf.
Open Thread Time
Once again, professional responsibilities have me tied up this evening. Talk amongst yourselves. Share the important stories of the day, etc. etc.
Blogs For Victory 
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