Back and gathering my thoughts

I have been swamped and travelling a lot, so here is my attempt to get caught up on some of what I have missed. Normally, I just click on an article and post it, but I want to get a lot of stuff in and try something new. I am even looking at transfering this blog to its own site. Anyone want to help?

http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/oct/06/the-roots-of-the-mortgage-scandal/
How did the United States get to the stage where politicians decided it was necessary to scare the taxpayers into forking over $700 billion to purchase assets the private sector wouldn't touch? So far neither Democrats nor Republicans have shown interest in examining a major factor in the mortgage lending mess - federal government policies which, taken together with pressure from left-wing activist groups, eroded credit requirements to make mortgages available to people who could not possibly pay them back, including some who were illegally in the United States.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/04/AR2008100402109.html
"I don't understand why that would not be a viable option," he said.

Urbina is scheduled to hold a hearing Tuesday that will examine whether he has the power to order the release of at least five of the Uighurs. Their attorneys have filed court papers asking Urbina to also consider releasing 12 other Uighurs who remain in custody.

Mayor says firefighters deserve less pay because they can 'sleep'

Idiots exist all over, and this is proof! I know where the city can save some money...

The Neshoba Democrat | Mayor says firefighters deserve less pay because they can 'sleep': "'If you give the police department $2,000, the fire department should get it,' she said.

When Waddell said that on-duty firefighters could sleep from 9 o'clock to 5 or 6 o'clock in the morning if they didn't get called out and still get paid, Jackson fired back that police officers 'ride around during that time and burn gas.'"

Euro Falls the Most in 8 Years

Bloomberg.com: Worldwide: "The euro fell the most in almost eight years against the dollar as traders pared bets the European Central Bank will raise interest rates as the economy slows.

The euro is poised for its biggest weekly loss since January 2005 after ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet yesterday said economic growth will be ``particularly weak'' through the third quarter. An index that tracks the dollar against the currencies of six U.S. trading partners touched the highest since February. Crude oil fell to a three-month low.

``This is the beginning of a new chapter for the dollar as Trichet and other central banks are paying more attention to the downside risk to growth,'' said Dustin Reid, a senior currency strategist at ABN Amro Bank NV in Chicago. ``The decline of oil prices is a significant driver behind this dollar rally because it enables other central banks to turn their eyes away from inflation and focus on growth.''"

How General Petraeus Saved the U.S. Economy

While I am naturally suspicious of USNews, This is an excellent analysis! Not sure what happened over there that they are printing honest, non-biased reports, but I am happy to see it.

Thank the Lord and President Bush for giving us General Petraeus!

How General Petraeus Saved the U.S. Economy - Capital Commerce (usnews.com): "With oil prices continuing to plunge—and they may have a lot further to go—I've started wondering about this "what if" scenario: Where would oil prices be today had we abandoned Iraq to civil war and al Qaeda? What if President Bush had announced on Jan. 10, 2007, that instead of surging U.S. troops under the command of General Patraeus, he was ordering their withdrawal? Imagine if Iraq had descended in complete chaos and terror and genocide. Somalia or Rwanda on the Tigris and Euphrates, I guess.

Right now, Iraq is pumping out some 2.4 million barrels of petroleum a day. (That's about what the country was producing before the war and double the level of production at its post-liberation low point.) But given tight global oil markets, what would the price of oil be—and what would the state of the U.S. economy be—with perhaps all of those 2.4 million barrels off the market? Actually, we don't have to imagine very hard at all. Hurricane Katrina took about 2.4 million barrels off the market (because of refining shutdown and a halt to foreign oil deliveries), and oil prices spiked. And then layer on top of all that a possible regional war. Saudi Arabia and Iran might well have intervened on the side of the Sunni and Shiite. Wouldn't we all be screaming about $200-a-barrel oil—or maybe twice that?"

Why Isn’t Anyone Linking The Rise In Unemployment To The Rise In Minimum Wage?

Nothing to add to this. Just read it.

Why Isn’t Anyone Linking The Rise In Unemployment To The Rise In Minimum Wage? - Say Anything: "Why Isn’t Anyone Linking The Rise In Unemployment To The Rise In Minimum Wage?
By Rob on August 4, 2008 at 06:20 am

Neal Boortz:

Why in the world isn’t anyone connecting the increase in the jobless rate last month to the increase in the minimum wage? At the beginning of the last month the minimum wage went up by 70 cents. When employers are forced to pay people more than they are worth .. they get kicked to the curb. Trust me, I know. I was fired once because the minimum wage went up and I was the last person hired.

Good point, and we can actually go back further than just this year. Many states have minimum wages set higher than the federal minimum wage, so the hike in the federal minimum has had a different impact depending on what the state was at already. But here in North Dakota we went from $5.25/hour in 2007 to $6.55/hour now in July. That’s a hike of $1.30/hour in a little over a year.

Anyone who has ever had to budget for payroll knows that is a significant increase in expense. For a 40 hour/week employee it’s roughly $208/month in additional payroll. If you spread that out over four or five em"

$40Mln Wasted On Empty Iraq Prison

Most construction sites have tons of waste and fraud. This is a construction effort in a combat zone where the locals were stealing the materials for their damaged homes and the contractors needed to put guards on his materials from the workers. Not a pretty sight.

I guess the solution is to not try to help the locals? We should just import "hard-working" Mexicans to finish all these projects since the locals are not very reliable?

We have to spend money to fix things and make friends. I hate to say that I understand, but I do. Too bad that the Liberals who are so tolerant of most crime, can't stand to see it when it is done under the close watch of a Moderate Republican.

The St. Petersburg Times - World - $40Mln Wasted On Empty Iraq Prison: "In the flatlands north of Baghdad sits a prison with no prisoners. It holds something else: a chronicle of U.S. government waste, misguided planning and construction shortcuts costing $40 million and stretching back to the American overseers who replaced Saddam Hussein.

“It’s a bit of a monument in the desert right now because it’s not going to be used as a prison,” said Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, whose office was due to release a report on Monday detailing the litany of problems at the vacant detention center in Khan Bani Saad.

The pages also add another narrative to the wider probes into the billions lost so far on scrubbed or substandard projects in Iraq and one of the main contractors accused of failing to deliver, the Parsons construction group of Pasadena, California."

Irony: Evil Inflation Causing Ohio Women to Starve

This is just too funny! NPR and the Left Media (is there another kind? ) are worried about these poor women who can't find a job since they have never worked and could not even get through high school. Now, their welfare checks aren't keeping up with inflation and they might have to eat less. And lose a hundred pounds or so. Poor girls.

Rusty's take on it is wonderful! Enjoy!

The Jawa Report: Irony: Evil Inflation Causing Ohio Women to Starve: "Though probably not any time soon. Via NPR

A generation ago, the livelihood of Gloria Nunez's family was built on cars.

Her father worked...

And apparently he was the last to do so.

Nunez's van broke down last fall. Now, her 19-year-old daughter has no reliable transportation out of their subsidized housing complex in Fostoria, 40 miles south of Toledo, to look for a job.

I bet the van wanted to die!

Nunez, 40, has never worked and has no high school degree...

...Even if she could, she says it's particularly hard to imagine how she'll keep it. She says she needs someone to give her a lift just to get to an interview. And with gas prices so high, she's not sure she could afford to pay someone to drive her to work every day."

The dollar’s slide: 1/3 down and falling faster

I saw this linked in another blog's comments and decided to post it here. It is not a big article and does not draw any conclusions, it allows us to think about the facts and decide for our selves. That is certainly different from most papers who want to tell us what to think about something.

FT Alphaville » Blog Archive » The dollar’s slide: 1/3 down and falling faster: "We’ve posted this before - but as the ailing US currency drops through $1.47 against the euro and $2.10 against sterling, it merits a second (and updated) airing.

The chart comes from Sempra Metals, who make a couple of additional points:

* The US dollar has now lost more than a third of its value (-35%) against a basket of major currencies since Feb 2002.
* The decline is accelerating. The USD has shed -12.5% of its value in the last year, -3.5% in the last month, and -1.5% in the last week alone."

Bush Blasts the Do-Nothing Democrats As Oil Hits New High

GWPundit finds the political goods again. Not that finding criminal or corrupt behavior among a group of political thugs like the Democrats is very difficult.

I want my ANWR oil!

Gateway Pundit: Bush Blasts the Do-Nothing Democrats As Oil Hits New High: "Oil prices have nearly tripled under the Pelosi-Reid Congress in less than two years. (Crude Oil Price History)

But, the Do-nothing Democratic Congress continue to stand against developing domestic energy reserves and repeating their false canard about the 68 million acres already available to drilling.

One leading democrat, impeached judge and Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Miramar), even admitted that Democrats have 'no answer' to the skyrocketing gas prices and said Americans need to get used to paying $5 to $6 a gallon for their gas.

Well Republicans feels differently...
President Bush blasted the Democratic Congress today for refusing to act on the gas crisis facing Americans."

Cash-strapped convention panel cancels media event

Interesting that the only hope for a balanced budget in the US future is a Party that can't even balance it's own budget. Well, they could, IF they could raise taxes! Because raising taxes is the only way to get more money. Send armed thugs from the IRS to take the money from the job creating class!

Cash-strapped convention panel cancels media event: "The host committee for the Democratic National Convention faces a possible shortfall of $15 million, complicating logistics for the August event and forcing it to abruptly postpone a media walkthrough of the site scheduled for next week.

The committee announced Friday that it had delayed the session for the news media and hoped to reschedule at a later date. 'Postponing the event allows us to work through outstanding issues and ensure a successful event when media do arrive in Denver,' said Theodore LeCompte, the DNCC's director of media logistics.

Hundreds of representatives from television, radio and newspaper organizations were planning to attend the event Thursday at the Pepsi Center, where Democrats will gather Aug. 25-28 to nominate their presidential and vice presidential candidates.

The Democratic National Committee has asked the cash-strapped panel to raise $40.6 million by Monday to finance the event. Last month, the committee said it had just $25 million in cash.

Last week, business leaders demanded more details about convention plans, saying they need to know what events and schedules the city and organizers are planning so they can make their own plans. Convention officials promised more details will be announced in coming weeks."

This isn't Mr. Roger's neighborhood, kids

Working with terrorists is in line with the the goals of UNICEF? Is that what the UN is saying in this? Help the terrorists to build more training camps for children to learn to kill and slaughter?

I start to despise the UN more every time they do something stupid like this! Where are the people with brains to help them out?

This isn't Mr. Roger's neighborhood, kids: "The United Nations Children's Fund has announced an agreement with an organization linked by the U.S. government to al-Qaida and the Taliban to work to improve services to children in Saudi Arabia.

The announcement from UNICEF this week confirmed a new memorandum of understanding with the International Islamic Relief Organization 'to strengthen cooperation and support for children's rights, health, equality and protection in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other countries.'

The U.S. Treasury Department, however, identifies the IIRO as a group with one leader who 'provided donor funds directly to al-Qaida and is identified as a major fundraiser for the Abu Sayyaf (ASG) and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) (terror organizations).'

A leader, Adb Al Hamid Sulaimian Al-Mujil, often directs funds be transferred to the IIRO organizations blamed by the government for terrorism, including training al-Qaida operatives, in the Philippines and Indonesia, the report said.

'The partnership with IIROSA is in-line with UNICEF's policy that encourages the exchange of expertise and experiences regionally and internationally; and to collaborate and join forces as part of the Millennium Development Goals,' said Ayman Abu Laban, who is the UNICEF representative for the region."

They call it a scheme

This is a horrible idea! Only a Commie could enjoy this moronic grab for power. No wonder the Dems on this side of the Pond are drooling to see if the Proles will accept it without open rebellion.

Something... and Half of Something: They call it a scheme: "Every adult should be forced to use a ‘carbon ration card’ when they pay for petrol, airline tickets or household energy, MPs say.The influential Environmental Audit Committee says a personal carbon trading scheme is the best and fairest way of cutting Britain’s CO2 emissions without penalising the poor.

Under the scheme, everyone would be given an annual carbon allowance to use when buying oil, gas, electricity and flights.

Anyone who exceeds their entitlement would have to buy top-up credits from individuals who haven’t used up their allowance. The amount paid would be driven by market forces and the deal done through a specialist company........"

Biased Media: Economy Is Affecting the Horses

Follow the link to see what the answer is. I know I got it wrong! I am strong enough to admit a tiny mistake.

Gateway Pundit: Biased Media: Economy Is Affecting the Horses: "HERE'S TODAY'S MEDIA BIAS QUIZ...
Guess which of these statements made the mainstream media headlines:

A.) US April tax receipts hit all-time record

B.) Record low unemployment rate offers new challenges to military recruiters

C.) Inflation is down to 3.0% from 4.1% in 2007

D.) Horses Abandoned Over Bad Economy

Although, each of these statements is true, the correct answer is: "

Recession, recession, where's the recession?

Mr Elder knows how to make things easy to understand about the economy.

Recession, recession, where's the recession?: "'It's a recession,' said former President Harry Truman, 'when your neighbor loses his job; it's a depression when you lose yours.'

For people facing home foreclosure, job loss or the struggle of paying high gas prices, the definition of a recession seems immaterial and insignificant. True.

But during an election year, the media's constant use or expectation of 'recession' does matter. Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic Party's likely nominee, already considers the U.S. economy 'in a recession.'

So are we – at least as economists commonly define the term?

No – not even close.

A recent typical news wire story, however, goes like this: '(George W.) Bush's news conference … appeared to be a pre-emptive measure of sorts, as it came a day before the release of statistics on the nation's gross domestic product for January through March. The common definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of declining GDP, and many expect Wednesday's report to provide the first official confirmation of a slide.'"