August Job #'s = "O"

The net jobs figures were released today and they are bad…very, very bad.  The US economy produced zero net new jobs in the month of August.  That’s “0” with a capital “Z”.  This is the first time since 1945 that the economy has produced zero net new jobs. 

Economists had hoped for an increase of 80,000 to 90,000 net new jobs; a sign that the economy was growing but still less than the 120,000 net jobs needed each month to move the unemployment number.  Unemployment stands at 9.1% with real unemployment hovering in the mid teens.

The Consumer Confidence Index dropped an additional 14.7% in August fueled for the most part by the voters’ lack of confidence that the government is capable of righting the ship.

The President is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress next week where he is expected to lay out his plans to jump start the economy and create jobs.  His plan had better be a good one.  The economy and his Presidency are riding on it.

Obama Caves Again!

This is stupid!

Another episode of the comedy that is Washington politics played out yesterday; and the nation is all the worse for it.

The President respectfully informed Speaker John Boehner that he would like to address a joint session of Congress on September 7, 2011 for the purpose of discussing the country’s economic crises and offering his plan to create jobs.  In an unprecedented refusal, the Speaker politely declined the President’s request and suggested that he address the Congress the following day; September 8.  What followed were a series of accusations and excuses that sounded very much like a grade school food fight.

The real issue was the scheduled Republican Presidential Debate that is to be held on September 7.  The President thought he could use the power of the presidency to Bigfoot the debate.  The Speaker was having none of it.

In the end the President backed down…again.  The President will address the joint session of Congress on September 8 and go head to head with the NFL’s season opener featuring the Packers and the Saints.

Either the President was arrogant enough to believe that Boehner would acquiesce to the power of the Presidency or naïve enough to believe that the Speaker’s intransigence would have somehow weakened over the summer recess.  Either way, the President made a serious error in judgment and came out looking weak.and defeated for it. 

The President has been hyping this address for weeks.  He was going to present his big plan to put people back to work.  His base was encouraging him to “think big and be bold.”  Instead he starts off with a thud rather than a bang saying: “no problem, we’ll just push it back a day and compete with the NFL.”

The Republicans do not respect this President.  More importantly, they do not fear him.  They will give him nothing.  Why this President continues to act as if the Republican tiger will someday change its stripes is mind boggling.

So what should he have done?

First of all he should have known that the Republicans were not going to allow him to give his address on the same day and at the same time their candidates were to be showcased on national television.  He could have picked another day.  We have been waiting almost three years for him to present a major jobs initiative…what’s another few days.  But he chose to attempt a cheap political trick and came out looking bad.  Why pick a fight that you know you can’t win?

But now that he has stepped into this mess he should not back down.  He should make his speech from the Oval Office or better still, the steps at the foot of the capital.  He should give his address at exactly the same time as the Republican debate.  With the capitol rotunda as a backdrop he should address the American people saying something like: “I believe that our nation is in crises.  I had asked Speaker Boehner to be allowed to address the people and their elected representatives about my plans to  jump start the economy and put people back to work.  However, the Speaker and my opponents have chosen to put party and politics ahead of country and have refused my request.  Therefore I am speaking to you tonight from outside the capitol building.”  Then he should put forth a mammoth jobs plan to repair our infrastructure and schools paid for by repealing the Bush tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires and closing the loopholes that allow big corporations to pay zero dollars in taxes.  The optics of the President of the United States having been refused entry into the people’s capitol, standing outside fighting for the things he believes in…the things that people sent him to Washington to accomplish…would send a powerful message, invigorate his base and rally disillusioned independents.   

Would such a massive proposal ever pass in Congress…of course not?  These people cannot even agree on a time and place for a speech.  So what has the President got to lose?  At least he could campaign on his efforts and point out once again that his opponents put party and ideology first.  He would certainly have a readymade commercial to make his point.

The President needs to take the obstructionist tactics of his opponents and use them as a tool to bury them.  Fighting power with power is the only thing Washington understands.   But almost three years into his term this President has yet to demonstrate the ability or the willingness to punch back.

The Republicans do not respect nor fear this President.  He has no one to blame but himself.           

        

Obama Caves Again!

This is stupid!

Another episode of the comedy that is Washington politics played out yesterday; and the nation is all the worse for it.

The President respectfully informed Speaker John Boehner that he would like to address a joint session of Congress on September 7, 2011 for the purpose of addressing the country’s economic crises and offering his plan to create jobs.  In an unprecedented refusal, the Speaker politely declined the President’s request and suggested that he address the Congress the following day; September 8.  What followed were a series of accusations and excuses that sounded very much like a grade school food fight.

The real issue was the scheduled Republican Presidential Debate that is to be held on September 7.  The President thought he could use the power of the presidency to Bigfoot the debate.  The Speaker was having none of it.

In the end the President backed down…again.  The President will address the joint session of Congress on September 8 and go head to head with the NFL’s season opener featuring the Packers and the Saints.

Either the President was arrogant enough to feel that Boehner would acquiesce to the power of the Presidency or naïve enough to believe that the Speaker’s intransigence would have somehow weakened over the summer recess.  Either way, the President made a serious error in judgment and came out looking weak and defeated for it. 

The President has been hyping this address for weeks.  He was going to present his big plan to put people back to work.  His base was encouraging him to “think big and be bold.”  In the end he ends up saying: “no problem, we’ll just push it back a day and compete with the NFL.”

The Republicans do not respect this President.  More importantly, they do not fear him.  They will give him nothing.  Why this President continues to act as if the Republican tiger will someday change its stripes is mind boggling.

So what should he have done?

First of all he should have known that the Republicans were not going to allow him to give his address on the same day and at the same time their candidates were to be showcased on national television.  He could have picked another day.  We have been waiting for him to present a major jobs initiative for almost three years…what’s another few days.  But he chose to attempt a cheap political trick and came out looking bad.  Why pick a fight that you know you can’t win.

But now that he stepped into this mess he should not back down.  He should make his speech from the Oval Office or better still, the steps at the foot of the capital.  He should give address at exactly the same time as the Republican debate.  With the capitol rotunda as a backdrop he should address the American people saying something like: “I believe that our nation is in crises.  I had asked Speaker Boehner to be allowed to address the people and their elected representatives about my plans to  jump start the economy and put people back to work.  However, the Speaker and my opponents have chosen to put party and politics ahead of country and have refused my request.  Therefore I am speaking to you tonight from outside the capitol building.”  Then he should put forth a mammoth jobs plan to repair our infrastructure and schools paid for by repealing the Bush tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires and closing the loopholes that allow big corporations to pay zero dollars in taxes.  The optics of the President of the United States having been refused entry into the people’s capitol, standing outside fighting for the things he believes in…the things that people sent him to Washington to accomplish…would send a powerful message, invigorate his base and rally disillusioned independents.   

Would such a massive proposal ever pass in Congress…of course not?  These people cannot even agree on a time and place for a speech.  So what has the President got to lose?  At least he could campaign on his efforts and point out once again that his opponents put party and ideology first.  He would certainly have the readymade commercial to make his point.

The President needs to take the obstructionist tactics of his opponents and use them as a tool to bury them.  Fighting power with power is the only thing Washington understands.   But almost three years into his term this President has yet to demonstrate the ability or the willingness to punch back.

The Republicans do not respect nor fear this President.  He has no one to blame but himself.           

        

Flushing Money Down The Drain

According to the Associated Press; The Commission on Wartime Contracting, an independent panel investigating wartime spending, will release a report today on their findings regarding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.   

The report will say that as much as $60 billion dollars has been lost to waste and fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade.  The loss stems from lax oversight of contractors, poor planning and payoffs to war lords and insurgents.

That says it all.

   

Cantor Bargaining With Disaster Victims' Lives

FEMA is broke.  After providing disaster aid to wildfire victims in the southwest, tornado victims in the Midwest, earthquake damage in the northeast and now a hurricane along the eastern shore; the disaster relief agency is running out of funds.  The Associated Press reports that FEMA has provided over $130 billion in disaster aid over the past two decades; $110 billion of which was provided as emergency funding in addition to the annual budget.  FEMA officials report that there will be a shortfall of $5 billion for the upcoming budget year; and that is before accounting for Irene.  There is $800 million left in the till.  More money is needed. 

Eric Cantor and his Republican cronies are willing to provide additional emergency funds…but only if offsetting spending cuts are found elsewhere.  Defense is sacrosanct and tax increases need not apply.

This should come as no surprise.  After all it was Cantor and the Tea Party conservatives that held unemployment compensation (i.e. food, clothing and shelter) for the needy as a hostage bargaining chip to get tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires.

We have to wonder if Cantor and his buddies would be as steadfast in their conservative beliefs if a Republican President were occupying the White House.  We have to wonder if Cantor and his buddies would be as steadfast in their conservative beliefs if Irene had devastated Manhattan and Wall Street; home to the power and money brokers who fuel Cantor’s Republican Party.  History tells us the answer is “No”.

Where were Cantor and the Republicans when George W. Bush was taking the country into two unfunded wars?  Where were Cantor and the Republicans when Bush was passing the unfunded prescription drug plan for seniors; the largest government welfare program since the depression?  They were praising Bush for his patriotism and his benevolence…balanced budget be damned.  Now they are singing a different tune.

Here’s a thought.  If you want to fund FEMA how about stopping the $46 trillion in tax subsidies that you give to outrageously profitable big oil companies.  Or how about cutting tax loopholes that allow billionaires to pay a smaller % in taxes than the secretaries who bring them coffee or the maids who clean their toilets.

Cantor is playing politics.  You give something to get something in return.  That’s how Washington works.  We get that.

But bargaining with the lives of people whose have lost everything is not just politics.  It’s just wrong.

       

Cheney Shines Harsh Light On Obama

The anticipated release of former Vice President Dick Cheney’s memoir “In My time” is generating a great deal of interest among both the media and the Washington elite.  Once again we are exposed to heated debates about Cheney’s place in history. 

Cheney’s supporters say he is a patriot who saw the horrors of 9/11 and vowed to do everything in his power to see that they never happened again.  His detractors view him as a war criminal who violated the terms of the Geneva Convention and lied us into a war costing trillions of dollars and tens of thousands of precious lives.  He has been referred to as “the most powerful Vice President in history” by some and the “the most dangerous person to ever hold high office” by others.  One thing is certain…Cheney is without question one of the most polarizing figures in our history.

While the debate over Cheney’s place in history rages on we are struck by the lack of media coverage of the Obama administration's continuation and expansion of many of the Bush/Cheney policies. 

Obama has continued Bush’s withdrawal plans in Iraq but he has tripled the troops in Afghanistan.  Guantanamo is still open and intelligence officers still tap the emails and phone calls of Americans without obtaining warrants.  We no longer kick down doors, grab high valued targets and drag them off to foreign countries to torture them.  Now we kick down the door and shoot them on sight.  Or we use predator drones to drop bombs on them from 30,000 feet killing scores of innocents in the process.

Bush/Cheney has been vilified by the left for attacking Iraq, a country that never attacked us.  But Obama increased the drone attacks tenfold, ordering bombings in Pakistan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.  We have not declared war on any of these countries and to the best of our knowledge not one of them has declared war on us.

Obama's base is furious; but the media seemingly gives him a pass.

We are not defending Dick Cheney.  On the contrary, count us among those that believe Cheney should be hauled off to The Hague.  But we wonder how history will view Obama given his continuation and even expansion of many of the Bush/Cheney policies.  Historians will no doubt have varying opinions.

One thing is certain; these policies do not work.  The current course has weakened our country economically, militarily and perhaps most important of all psychologically.  The swagger and can do attitude that made us the most prosperous and powerful country in the world is gone.  America is struggling to take care of itself.  Nation building and regime change lead us down a dangerous and costly path that we can ill afford to navigate. 

Obama's policies are not sustainable…and they are ruinous for the country.  The question is, are they that much different than Cheney's?           

The Comedic Relief Of Rick Perry

Comedian Rick Perry is has done it again.

Never one to let hypocrisy stand in the way of bombast, Perry has fired off another salvo at the federal government. 

The Associated Press reports that Perry “has asked the US Department of Homeland Security for $350 million to cover the cost he says that Texas has incurred incarcerating illegal immigrants in state prisons and county jails.  In a letter to Homeland Security Director, Janet Napolitano, Perry reiterated a claim he’s often leveled against the federal government: that it’s not doing enough to secure the border with Mexico and, as a result, has allowed illegal immigrants to enter the U.S. and use taxpayer-funded resources, including the prison system.” No doubt the illegal immigrants are appreciative of being “allowed” to reside in Perry’s prisons.

This is typical Perry; campaigning to reduce the size of the federal government while complaining that it doesn’t do enough.  This is the same Perry who talks tough about illegal immigrants but rejects building a wall along the Mexican border, supports discounted tuition rates for children of illegal immigrants and criticizes Arizona’s tough immigration crack down.  Perry is long on complaining but short on solutions.

Note to Governor Perry…why you don’t use some of the stimulus money that you received.  You know the $6.4 billion you took from Obama’s Recovery Act… that socialist welfare plan that you constantly criticize.  Use some of that money to offset the expenses Texas incurred to lock up illegal immigrants. 

Oh, that’s right… you can’t…you used that stimulus money to balance your budget.

The comedic relief of Rick Perry… he’s got a million of them.