Archive for the ‘Government Links’ Category
State of the Economy – July 2010 Unemployment
State of the Economy – GDP
BEA (Bureau of Economic Analysis) released new GDP numbers on July 30, 2010.
Growth by Quarter
2009 Q4 +5.0%
2010 Q1 +3.7%
2010 Q2 +2.4%
So much for Recovery Summer! That trend is NOT the Democrats friend.
234 Years ago – A great experiment was begun
As colonial subjects of King George III, our founding fathers were tired of taxation without representation. In fact, they were pretty much fed up with the idea that they were subject to an unelected ruler whose only claim to rule was one of family linage.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
They would go on to write a constitution unique in the history of human time on earth. It would be the culmination of the studied history of governments and personal freedom. It started with the Greek city-states, through the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. The common thread was the writings of philosophers. It was Adam Smith meets John Locke codified into a working document. Our founding fathers, like Sir Issac Newton, stood on the shoulders of giants. Have we made mistakes along the way? A few – but darn few when compared to any other form of government and other historical governments. So Mr. President, quit apologizing!
Never in the history of the world has one nation conquered so much territory, and only asked for a small piece of land upon which to bury their fallen.
So celebrate the independence of the US on this day. Remember that freedom is not free. Also remember those who are still struggling for their own independence.
Yes he did!
At about 10 minutes into the 17 minute speech, President Obama raises alternative energy. You can watch the speech here or read the transcript here. From the transcript:
I assembled a team of our nation’s best scientists and engineers to tackle this challenge — a team led by Dr. Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and our nation’s Secretary of Energy. Scientists at our national labs and experts from academia and other oil companies have also provided ideas and advice.
Watch what Dr. Feynman says about the Nobel Prize and similar awards. Few academics have actually fixed a problem. It is engineers that apply science to solve real world problems. We do need R&D but scientists are not the best at fixing problems.
Posted in Cap and Trade, Economy, From Other Members, Government Lies, Government Links, Video's | 1 Comment »
YOU CUT
YouCut – a first-of-its-kind project – is designed to defeat the permissive culture of runaway spending in Congress. It allows you to vote, both online and on your cell phone, on spending cuts that you want to see the House enact. Vote on this page today for your priorities and together we can begin to change Washington’s culture of spending into a culture of savings.
http://republicanwhip.house.gov/YouCut/
Where is the GOP health care plan?
In spite of what the Obama administration says, it has been available on line for months! What is the purpose of the Thursday meeting? It sure can’t be about fixing health care. With 60 Senators and control of the House, the administration could not cram-down its view of health care. This meeting has to be all about politics. Want proof? It is being televised as opposed to months of being written behind closed doors by and with special interest groups. The Obama eleven page plan is even more expensive than the original Senate bill since all the “special” deals are now expanded to everyone. But maybe this is just an exit strategy.
High Dues
Watch the whole clip to learn the fiscal problems of N. Carolina. But at 3:10, Gov. Bev Perdue explains why $106,000 dues to the National Governors Association (NGA) is worthwhile. $106,000 should put fiber into the governors office with a very nice sound / video room so she could have the “opportunity to learn from other governors and hear from some of the smartest people in the world” without spending $106,000 each year. (Full broadcast) The NGA and its sister organization, NGA Center for Best Practices, seems to be a combination lobbyist and think tank organization.
The GOP Health Care Plan
The GOP posted their health care plan several days ago. Most likely it has already been available to the public longer than the Democrat plan will be made available before the vote.
They even got the CBO to run the numbers.
This evening, CBO released a preliminary analysis of a substitute amendment to H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, proposed by Representative John Boehner, the Republican Leader in the House of Representatives. CBO and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimate that the amendment would reduce federal deficits by $68 billion over the 2010-2019 period; it would also slightly reduce federal budget deficits in the following decade, relative to those projected under current law, with a total effect during that decade that is in a broad range between zero and one-quarter percent of gross domestic product.
Too bad they didn’t do this five years ago when they controlled the US Congress. The only way to reduce costs without rationing is to have more competition.
Oct 2009 Unemployment 10.2%
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 190,000 non-farm jobs lost to push the unemployment rate to 10.2%! This administrations management philosophy of
“Never let a serious crisis go to waste”
will go down in history as being below dumb. Even below stupid. They seem to have as their primary objective to show that Captain Smith of the Titanic was a management genius compared to their management style.
What is worse, the trend seems to be accelerating in the wrong direction (from Innocent Bystanders – read his text and follow the links about the Stimulus.) Also read Calculated Risk – Comparison of recessions (opens in new window).
Registered Voters
County map here
Registered county voters here as PDF files by district or by state.
Registered voters for these nine counties – 8 counties around Clay county.
The results are surprising and interesting. Osceola is the most Republican and Palo Alto is the most Democrat. But in both counties, the minority party and non-aligned (assuming NP are independents), are sufficient to be competitive. Elections are won by only about 20% of the voters that are willing to switch parties of registration and true independents.