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Why do some conservatives consider it a badge of honor to be as uninformed as your average tree stump? Preznit Poster Boy once bragged that he never reads newspapers - probably because there was no second grader to help him read The Pet Goat as a warm up. The Big Dick consistently thinks it’s important to get only one side of any story - the one he’s already decided he’s on. You name the branch of the administration and chances are you’ll find someone who wouldn’t recognize a book if you slammed their fingers in one. Now, SCOTUS justice Clarence “Who Has Put Pubic Hair on My Coke” Thomas has come out foursquare in favor of vacuousness.

Stumping for his new autobiography, My Grandfather’s Son, Clancy brags that he hasn’t asked a question in two years and 142 cases. The last one came on Feb. 26, 2006 in a unanimous death penalty case.

“One thing I’ve demonstrated often in 16 years is you can do this job without asking a single question,” he told the Federalist Society. Instead of an intelligent interrogatory, he prefers to lean back in his comfy leather chair, stare at the ceiling, and occasionally share a laugh or two with Justice Stephen Breyer or Anthony Kennedy, his neighbors on the bench. Paraphrasing an old “know it all” Rumsfeld adage, Clancy seems to know all the knowns, unknowns, and potential knowns or unknowns without asking a single question. He’s a regular frickin’ Nostradumbass, he is.

Incurious Clarence says it’s not that he’s against questions, he just doesn’t ask them. “If I think a question will help me decide a case, then I’ll ask that question. Otherwise, it’s not worth asking because it detracts from my job,” he told CSPAN last year. Clarence, here’s a tip dude. If you went two years and 142 cases and didn’t think of a single question, you’re either dead, full of the milk of Bushonian hubris, or clueless.

I don’t expect much from Clarence, I really don’t. At the risk of being accused of conducting another high-tech lynching, I thought Clarence was dumb as a box of rocks when he wiggled onto the court and he’s only confirmed my suspicions since then. The fact that he happens to be African American has zero to do with it. I’d think a white person with as little intellectual curiosity as him would be just as useful a doorstop. Look at the whitest guys around, Daddy and Baby Doc Bush, for stunningly detailed proof.

Along with all the other actions that have eroded our democracy, attitudes like Clarence’s and Shrub’s are a big part of what put us there. To me, it’s one thing to be smart but ideologically opposed - like John Roberts. It’s another to be smart and dangerously evil - like the Big Dick. It’s quite another if you’re simply too stupid to know just how stupid you are - a category topped by Shrub and Clancy. This is one of those times I just want to scream in rage.

“HEY, YOU! STARING AT THE CEILING! Wake up, participate, and STOP CRIBBING FROM ANTONIN SCALIA’S NOTES!”

Hillary Clinton is running for the exits with her latest political strategy of attacking the new and improved Teflon Don Obama. Barack Obama will gain no ground on attacking the American version of the Iron Lady Prime Minister Thatcher that is Hillary Clinton. In the political cook book of Presidential politics there are way too many cooks in the kitchen and in that respect to0 many people in both campaigns tossing everything they have into the pot. When the original recipe called for boiling some water, adding plans to change America, debate plans, and simmer and allow public opinion to decide. Clinton and Obama are adding one too many Emeril-eske Bam’s (No offense Emeril) to this recipe! The end result is that the political dogs may sleep well with a full belly, the rest of us will be reaching for the Pepto Bismol or Alka Seltzer.

What you get with all of those unnecessary Emeril-eske Bam’s (Sorry Emeril) is fodder for the McCain political machine to pick up and run with come the general election. Just a note of interest, Karl Rove is in fact a political donor to the John McCain for President campaign. Don’t kid yourself, if a woman or a black man wins the nomination for President that the Republican war machine with its tap on hundreds of millions of corporate dollars will not pull any punches to get their man elected to the White House. When both of these Democrats are making Healthcare, Education, ending the war in Iraq and Energy consumption the base of their platform then that is the call to arms for Republican big business donors. That is the Republican pocket book in the nutshell. Do not pass Go, do not collect $2oo Billion dollars.

Having watched one clip after another it has been already decided by the main stream media that Hillary Clinton is done. I was not shocked to see it on many of the networks at how they all posed Senator Clinton in a negative light. MSNBC and Chris Matthews pretty much made toast of Senator Clinton. Keith Olberman continued the bashing relentlessly. With her message at most of her campaign stops more or less telling voters that Barack Obama is not the second coming of JFK or Jesus Christ and in doing so she lost some appeal to moderate voters. Attacking the issues is fine and good politics, attacking your opponent on the fact that he is a better public speaker comes off shallow and resentful. “The sky will open up, the celestial choir will begin to sing”… not getting it Hillary, not buying it. That was the MSNBC spin.

On February 26th, MSNBC is hosting the debate in Ohio with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. This is the Iron Chef debate where one of them is in the cook off of their life and the other has the latest Teflon pan set that pretty much tosses the sticky stuff out of the pan and at the opposing Chef. Hopefully, the viewers and voters will get to see a real debate on the issues and not another damn love fest.

What would ultimately be best for the Democrat Party is that both candidates of course debate their plans but stipulate the differences with their own plans and what Senator John McCain does not have to offer? Sell that and the Democrat political base will not be lost in the food fight of who can bake a better damn Health Care roast! Now that is a Papamoka Bam! (Sorry Emeril)

Papamoka

Originally posted at Papamoka Straight Talk

Feel free to link to this post or borrow it.

Was the single dullest, excruciatingly boring excuse for a move that I have ever sat through. I can’t believe they raised money to make the movie, that the actors consented, half way through the shooting, to continue with the project or that the director didn’t burn the thing once the editing had proven to produce the most slow moving movie ever made. This movie is crap! The ghost of Jesse James should haunt Brad Pitt for the rest of his life.

That is all.

Those F&%^$#!%$# Democrats If they hate America so much, why don’t they just leave???

We had such a nice cozy arrangement between the federal government and the telecommunications industry. The telecom companies were enabling our intelligence agencies to spy on Americans — anybody, any time they felt like it. And in return, we promised the telecom companies they wouldn’t be sued over civil liberties or the Bill of Rights or whatever it is those whiny liberals are always wailing about.

And now, the House of Representatives has shown us — once again — whose side they’re on. They’ve allowed the Protect America Act to expire. The telecom companies are no longer immune from lawsuits triggered by their spying activities. And because of this, they might be less willing to help the government spy on American citizens.

The spoiled drug-addled fratboy President of the United States has been begging, pleading and stamping his foot, trying to get Congress to provide retroactive immunity for the telecom companies so they can’t get sued by every whiner that comes along. These Congressional Democrats had better hurry up and bend over for Dumbya — and you know they will; they always do — before the terrorists attack.

If the telecom industry doesn’t have retroactive immunity from lawsuits, what dire circumstances can we expect? Well, for openers:

This means Osama bin Laden and Hillary Clinton can talk on the phone with no fear whatsoever. There’ll be nothing to deter them. They can talk about their plan to bring America to her knees, and we won’t even know about it until it’s too late. That smoking gun will turn out to be a giant mushroom cloud!

Barack Obama is probably sending a triumphant e-mail right now to Vladimir Putin and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (with a copy to Hugo Chavez). “Yes!!! It worked. Those stool pigeons in Congress fell for our propaganda, hook line and sinker. Now we can hatch our evil plans and get all of our codes and signals worked out. And then — BWAAAHAAHAAHAAHAA!!!!! Praise Allah!”

Courtesy of your party of morals. Again. Jeez, people. This ain’t monopoly. Pssst! That whole get out of jail free card thing — it’s not real.

This is a rambling of the events in the debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in Austin Texas. Please forgive any spelling errors and grammar. This is a play by play of the event that starts about roughly fifteen minutes into it. In this report there are some infrences from my own memory of the broadcast. This is the second time that I have tried this so let me know what you think…

ECONOMY

Obama: We don’t need an economist to tell the American people that our economy is busted and people are struggling. Our economy must be a priority of the next President. Cutting tax breaks for companies that outsource American jobs, giving a middle class tax break. Seniors making less than $50,000 should not have to pay any taxes. How do we get it done with the dominance of special interest?

Hillary: End the tax code loopholes. The wealthy have had their special interest President for the last eight years, it’s time for you. I want a trade prosecutor. Foreclosure crisis needs a 90 day moratorium. Freeze interest rates for five years. Clean green jobs with a $5 billion dollar investment. Infrastructure rebuilt creating thousands of jobs. Ending the war on scientist from Bush. Fund the future of an innovation nation.

A question on Immigration and stopping the raids on illegal immigrants

Hillary: All for stopping the raids, against the reality of parents taken away and children coming home to nothing. Failure of the immigration system is the problem. Cracking down on employers of illegalls. Fed help for border towns and cities to deal with the burdens on the system.
Obama: Immigration is a political football. Tone down the rhetoric and hate crimes against Hispanics. Border security and cracking down on employers. Policy change to fix the immigration system but the back of the line is where illegal immigrants must go. Years of delays have made the problem worse. Fines and higher fees for immigrating legally have become exorbitant and do not make sense. Improve our relationship with Mexico to ensure jobs in Mexico. Bush has no outreach to immigration policy.

BORDER FENCE
Finish it or kill it?
Hillary: We both voted for it. There is a smart way and a dumb way on border security and Bush just does not get it. There are places where a a physical barriers works and does not. Bush does not listen to the people on the borders. Technology innovation is the way to go. There are limited places where a fence will work like cutting through the middle of one of the colleges in Texas.

Obama: Agrees with Hillary. Bush is not good at listening to the people most affected by the border problem. Better border patrol and deal with the problem. Deporting 12 million people is not the answer. 12 million people are living in the shadows. Reform of immigration is important. Fight for the Dream Act which does not penalize the children of illegal immigrants born here from and eductation.

SPANISH LANGUAGE

This was a question on the English language only issue where as 120 million people will be of Hispanic decent in the next ten years…

Hillary: Learning another language is important. I do not speak another language. We have a common language but she is against a common language? Against English only in hospitals, court rooms and public places in government.

Obama: Everyone needs to learn English. All children should be learning a second language. It’s an opportunity to learn and communicate across language barriers.

OPPONENT SPEECHES vs. SOLUTIONS

The question was posed and stated in the terms of “Where’s the Beef” of Wendy’s hamburger fame. Texas logo “All hat and no cattle”.

Hillary: I have a lot in common with Obama and we both have run vigorous campaigns. We have differences and 35 years of experience. No accomplishments from Obama where actions speak louder than just words.

Obama: I provided tax reform, ethics reform, transparency in government, veterans meals paid for at Walter Reid. On getting real comments from Clinton camp. Voters are not delusional and every major newspaper in Texas has endorsed me. Let’s focus on the solutions and end the bickering. This isn’t just about policy as much as it is about inspiring people. Beyond racial and religion differences. I’m running for the people and not for more of the same.

PLAGIRISM

Obama: Governor Deval Patrick is a national chairman of my campaign. Speaking to the people is something I have done for two years. Deval Patrick gave me the lines and said that I should use them. This is silly season. Some of my speeches are pretty good. $4000 credit for college, change the tax code, end the war in Iraq. Let’s not tear each other down but lift up the people.

Hillary: Your own words? Lifting words? (Crowd booed) Elequent health care with 15 million people left out. We need a moratorium of foreclosure.

Obama interupts with: That will not work with entrenched opposition.

Hillary: I did healthcare when it was not popular.

Obama: My medical plan is not as good but politics has changed that. Cutting cost and prevention, bureaucracy, stats on plans and blah blah blah on specifics. Leaving 15 million out is simply not true. I credit Senator Clinton on her work in health care but the closed doors discussion ended her efforts. We need to change the politics of health care or we will be both here in four years discussing it no matter who is elected.

COMMANDER IN CHIEF

Hillary: Demands more time on healthcare. Obama Plan mandates fines and penalties against parents that do not inure children.

Obama: The mandate is on you. What works in Massachusetts has the poorest 20% fined for not having healthcare.

Hillary: Health care is important and the people have this as the number on issue. Your plan fines parents for not having healthcare for children.

Obama: My plan is affordable and parents that do not provide it are not being responsible parents.

COMMANDER IN CHIEF

Hillary: I’ve been to 80 countries fighting for woman’s rights. We face change in Cuba’s leadership. I support Kosovo and I’m more prepared on day one.

Obama: I would not be running for President if I could not be commander in chief. I will act against those that would harm America. Military needs to be prepared and armed to do the job. Bush has had poor planning. Using the military wisely. I did not vote for the war in Iraq. Our military is over stretched. We have to many eggs in the basket of Musharif and that is wrong.

RUNNING AGAINST MCCAIN
IS IRAQ BETTER BEFORE THE SURGE

Hillary: Iraq government needs to make changes. Their purpose is not fulfilled. Iraq government has failed to move. I will withdraw troops in sixty days. I will not give a blank check for the Iraq War. Our military is stretched to thin. Bring our troops home and Iraq owns their future.

Obama: Fort Hood troops pushed AlQuida out of Baghdad. McCain was wrong first and still wrong. $3.7 billion a week in the Iraq war. Iran is the biggest benefactor of this war. We need veteran care after service. Homeless veterans? $12 billion a month spent in Iraq with McCain saying he will keep us there for 100 years. McCain embraces George Bush with more of the same politics.

PORK BARREL SPENDING

Obama asked about $90 million in ear marks

Obama: Not true. The funds were for Google for government where all bids and awards are listed. More disclosure and transparency. I’m out in the open of government spending.

Hillary was asked about her $393 million in ear marks

Hillary: Obama supported the Bush tax cuts. Bush deficit is $400 billion this year. I’m for back to fiscal responsibility. Expire the tax cuts for the rich. Middle class tax cuts, ending the Bush no bid contracts. I’ve just published my new economic blue print.

SUPER DELGATES VS VOTERS WISHES

Hillary: We will win!

Obama: Primaries and Caucuses count. It’s the will of the voters. We need to have the government listening to them. There is a brick wall of government that can not be overcome. We need to knock down those barriers of government. We face a higher purpose and want our government back.

MOMENT AND TEST OF CRISIS

Obama: My trajectory of life. My single mom raising me alone with my grandparent from age two. Mistakes of course as a young man. But I’ve worked to bring people together and the American people just deserve better.

Hillary: I’ve lived crisis in my life. People already know that. They ask me how do I do it? With prayer and more. I have been through nothing compared to what America is facing. Kicks she has taken, faith and upbringing gets her up in the morning. I’m honored to be with Barack Obama. This election is about the American people. (huge applause)

That was the end of the debate. Who actually had one up on the other is not up to me to decide. I’m sure you can catch a CNN rebroadcast somewhere.

I apologize for all the typo’s and grammar errors. I was working from notes watching the debate. The full transcript is in the CNN picture link above. I’ll be curious myself how accurate I was.

Papamoka

Originally posted at Papamoka Straight Talk

Feel free to link to this post…

Three cheers for the IRS! As hated as they are, sometimes they end up doing the jobs of our government “regulators,” using the term loosely.

The IRS has ruled that FedEx is no longer entitled to receive hundreds of millions of dollars worth of welfare payments. These handouts were being given by FedEx workers to their bosses.

Here’s how the scam worked: 13,000 FedEx employees were reclassified as “independent contractors.” The IRS ruled that this classification was incorrect, and that FedEx illegally “saved” $319 million in taxes in 2002. The IRS is still auditing FedEx for 2004 through 2006.

The Teamsters Union — who’s been pushing this case — thinks FedEx could ultimately owe the IRS a billion dollars.

Companies save a fortune when they redefine their employees as “independent contractors.” A company doesn’t have to pay workers’ compensation, unemployment or disability taxes, Social Security or Medicare taxes to an independent contractor. Independent contractors also aren’t subject to minimum wage laws and they have no government guarantee of a safe work environment.

It must have seemed like the best of both worlds for FedEx bosses: they could keep their workers straitjacketed with a million company regulations, and then wiggle out of paying their fair share of taxes by calling them “independent contractors.” Fun’s over, Assholes.

If you want to decide whether these FedEx workers are employees or independent contractors, take the “DUUHH” test: they use FedEx equipment, they wear FedEx uniforms and they work under strict FedEx rules. Independent contractors???

The push to select Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential candidate continues to build as Obama won his 11th straight primary victory, winning 65% of the votes cast by Americans abroad in what was billed the “global primary.” As the candidates move towwards the Ohio and Texas primaries, Clinton campaign officials, including ex-President and potential future First Husband Bill Clinton, admit that if Hillary can’t win at least one of those states her campaign may well be over.

It’s no secret here that I am an Obama supporter. It’s his message that has energized me, in no small part because his message is so similar to the one I laid out when I began political blogging in 2005. Long before I even knew about Barack Obama I began writing about a different kind of politics- one where the power lay with the people and not with big corporations and special interest donors; one where politicians worked for the good of the citizens and not for the good of their benefactors or personal spoils; and one where government policies were crafted on sound principals of the greater good and executed with efficiency and common sense. Of course these weren’t new concepts when I wrote them and they’re not new concepts today, but when was the last time a serious politician not only espoused the rhetoric of political change but had the moxie to actually make it happen, to make it a central theme of a presidential campaign in such a visible and believable way? Not since Thomas Jefferson has a president offered such a stark choice for voters in determining what path their country will take. Jefferson’s grand change for American politics happened when he busted down the door of the new American aristocratic ruling class and delivered our government into the hands of the common man. Prior to Jefferson, political kingmaking and policy crafting was the exclusive domain of the upper classes, and the common man was thought too ignorant and/or too incapable of having a hand in political affairs. Jefferson abhored that idea, found it too similar to the monarch system of government this country fought so hard to divest itself of. Jefferson brought the common man into politics, and thus brought a bit more democracy in to this Democratic Republic of ours.

Of course, over 200 years later, Jefferson’s political revolution has paled, and too often seems little more than a charicature of itself today. Substitute today’s lobbyists and corporations for yesteryears well-bred and high-born, and the government we have been languishing under isn’t so different from where we began. We still have all the trappings of a democratic government-people vote after all- but none of the benefits of a government that truly governs for the betterment of its people. And the reason is simple- the average person still thinks that voting is enough, that personal involvement beyond casting a ballot is a waste of time, and our politicians and government reinforce this perception at every turn.

But Americans can see clearly now the failure that occurs when government is left to run amok, led for generations by self-serving ideologues, and finally handed over to a man-child whose best trick is to break the china and shove the shards under someone else’s carpet with a smirk on his face. We see that decades of citizen inattention and corporate dominance has created a wave of disastrous proportions coming on all fronts- a debilitating economic crisis, shattered health care and ineffective education programs, false security ploys that do little more than waste money,  a splintered and wounded defense capability- the broken bits are littered everywhere. Americans can see that change is needed. In Barack Obama, Americans are seeing that change is possible.

So let’s say that Obama wins the democratic nomination, wins the general election, and in January 2009 he is sworn in as the next president of the United States. Let’s say that he wins the election by a comfortable margin and has what would be considered widespread support among American voters. Let’s say that he rides into the White House with his banner of CHANGE waving in the wind, right under the American flag. What happens then?

Time for the reality check folks, because no matter how much I support Barack Obama and no matter how much I agree with his premise of change coming from the people of this country, from involving them and listening to them and acting to make their lives work a little bit better each day, I know in my heart of heart that the first two years of an Obama presidency will look a lot like they do now. In fact, aside from my hope that President Obama would put a quick and decisive end to the Iraq quagmire, I don’t expect much in the way of real-world political change from Washington D.C. until 2011 at the earliest.

The reason for this is pretty simple, but is probably missed by a huge number of voters. Because despite eight years of contrary actions, our president does not legally have brute power to do as he sees fit whenever he sees fit. Only in extreme circumstances (like in a government run by ideologues and selfish power brokers- or in a dictatorship) does a man like George W. Bush manage to reinvent the powers of the presidency and have his minions fall into lock step behind him. In normal, LAWFUL, administrations, the real power of government lies in the legislature, and the president is just the person who sets the tone, and guides the direction of government as the people see fit.

Obama is setting the tone now. The tone is change. The tone is getting corporations out of government and getting real people back inside. The tone is an end to wasteful spending and harmful policies. The tone is an end of cronyism and outsourcing and payback politics. And the people are responding to this new tone in politics. We want to trust our leaders again. We want to know that our hard earned dollars aren’t making the rich richer while we struggle to make ends meet. We want to have a say in how our taxes are used. And we want to reclaim our reputation in the world.

But even though this election could bring us new leadership in the legislature too, the attention and energy is all focused on who will be the next president. If the next president ends up being John Mccain or Hillary Clinton then the congressional seats up for grabs won’t really matter. Neither of those candidates have real plans to try to change the system of governing. They are both so entrenched in the status quo that they can’t even see why it has become so rotten. But if Obama wins the presidency, those who sit on Capitol Hill will be the conduit or the barrier to real change. And as few voters are considering the reality of the situation, a President Obama will be facing the same corrupted politicians, the same moneyed lobbyists, the same pay-to-play political culture for at least two more years.

Serious political watchers understand this, and critics of all things democratic are probably chomping at the bit for an Obama presidency, built on the mantra of change, that will likely produce little real change in the business of politics for at least two years. I can imagine the pundits now, ready to tear apart the concept of real political change by claiming that the campaign rhetoric was nothing but chump chat if Washington continues on as usual, as it is likely to do. But in looking ahead to this particular future, one can only hope that both the voters and a President Obama will use the first two years to plant the seeds of change, nurture them with care, and help them sprout into full fledged flowers of reality when the 2011 mid-terms come around.

As President, I expect Obama to immediately work to end the Iraq war and begin to repair this nations damaged reputation in the world. I would expect Obama to rescind the most vile parts of the Bush years- ending officially sanctioned torture, ending the most divisive aspects of partisanship, ending political policies that are shaped on evangelical, end-times philosophies. But I would also expect Obama to continue speaking about the things that have propelled him to the lead in this primary campaing. I expect him to continue to implore the people to seek power in government by ousting those who cling to the status quo of our dirty politics. I would expect a President Obama to issue a call for a legislature filled with people who believe that the politics of today are over, that a new day in America can only come when the Congresspeople and Senators finally discard the power-partisan politics, the high money campaigns or else get discarded themselves.

Change can come, it really can. But electing Barack Obama as our next president is just the first step towards change. We can’t just give the man the job and expect he can single-handidly change the corrupt culture in DC. We have to take the next step for him. We have to give him a legislature that will embrace a new day in American politics. We need to give him people who will fight for their constituents instead of their corporate donors. We need to elect a congress and senate who also embraces the power of change through people.

People may not be seeing this yet. Right now, the euphoria surrounds the possibility of a people’s president. And that’s all well and good. After all, we have to start somewhere, and electing a person who actually believes that change is possible, necessary, and achievable through the involvement of real people is a great place to start.

Just remember that Obama alone won’t be enough. We need to take the next step. It’d be nice to think that the steps would happen together, that not only would we elect a president commited to really fixing the worst parts of government but that we’d elect legislators who see things that way too. But in this I am realistic.

Barack Obama is just one man with a shared vision of a better America, a different America. We need him to be the next president if we ever want to move in a new direction. But we also must recognize that in order for him to succeed, in order for us all to succeed in changing the way our country works, we need to fill the halls of Congress with people who also will work for change. We don’t have these people there now. We won’t have enough of them there in 2009. But we have time to find them- people of all political stripes who care more about really helping America and Americans than they do about buttressing their resumes and bank accounts-and we have to elect them. Because with a president committed to changing the American government AND a congress that actually listens to the people, this country can once again be a leader in solving our own and the worlds problems without making things worse than when they started.

(cross posted on Common Sense)

Just how many revised economic forecasts does it take to finally conclude that the U.S. is in a recession? Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan likes to up his odds we’re heading into a recession by approximately 20 percentage points every quarter. Current Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke seems to prefer a different approach. His modus operandi is to lower GDP a few tenths of a percent with each revised outlook.

As an outside observer, this measured slide towards using the “R” word feels like being in my car at a red stoplight with my favorite backseat driver seated beside me. As we wait for the lights to change (because we know they will), my trusted traffic manager sits there predicting the seconds until the opposing green light will turn yellow…never getting it quite right…but jubilant each time he announces…after the fact…that “The light just turned yellow”. This process continues until our red light turns green and we can proceed to the next intersection…to start all over again.

While I realize my analogy isn’t an actual equivalent, the frustrations are much the same. Yes, predicting the twists and turns of the economy isn’t an exact science…but I do find our willingness to grant these prognosticators a free pass each time they err to be a rather absurd practice. The fact that the nation holds its breath each time a new report is scheduled for release merely supports my contention.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday lowered its projection for economic growth this year, citing damage from the double blows of a housing slump and credit crunch. It said it also expects higher unemployment and inflation.

Under its new economic forecast, the Fed said that it now believes the gross domestic product will grow between 1.3 percent and 2 percent this year. That’s lower than a previous Fed forecast for growth, which at that time was estimated to be between 1.8 percent and 2.5 percent.

With economic growth slowing, the Fed projected that the national jobless rate will rise to between 5.2 percent to 5.3 percent this year. That is higher than the central bank’s old forecast for the rate to climb to as high as 4.9 percent. Last year, the unemployment rate averaged 4.6 percent.

And, with energy prices marching upward, the Fed also raised its projection for inflation. The Fed now expects inflation to be between 2.1 percent and 2.4 percent this year. That’s higher than its old forecast for inflation, which was estimated to come in at around 1.8 percent to 2.1 percent.

The Fed said its revised forecasts reflected a number of factors including “a further intensification of the housing market correction, tighter credit conditions …. ongoing turmoil in financial markets and higher oil prices.”

In truth, I suspect that the average American has just as good a sense of where the economy is headed as those who get paid to inform us. If the last number in our checkbook is negative, we conclude we have a problem. Why wouldn’t the same math hold true for our national economy?

No, we allow our political leaders to sell us on the notion that a tax rebate of $300.00 to $1,200.00 is all that matters and all that is needed to jump start the economy…even as they continue to predict further economic contraction. Excuse me, but isn’t that on par with each of us taking a cash advance on an already debt heavy credit card and thinking we’re suddenly in the black?

Look, I understand the notion of spending an economy out of a downturn. However, the rest of that equation posits that the increased spending will result in new jobs, greater investment and productivity, and increasing revenues for the individual, the corporation, and the government.

Unfortunately, this equation may no longer be valid…especially since the jobs are often created in other nations, the investments are frequently targeted for countries with cheap labor such that productivity is less relevant, and the only increased revenues find their way into the pockets of formerly impoverished third world individuals and the corporations and their CEO’s that benefit from the enhanced bottom line that ensues.

So what does the average American get? A stimulus package that provides a single check that won’t overcome the unfavorable wage-inflation ratios, the higher costs of fuel, the expanding credit card debt, the skyrocketing health care costs, and the ever shrinking job opportunities.

At the same time, some of our political leaders clamor for making the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans permanent and lowering the corporate tax rate from 35 to 25 percent. I don’t know about anyone else, but these refund checks remind me of the dynamics underlying “the world’s oldest profession”…the one where one party gets poked for a few bucks by the fat cat who realizes that money can buy him anything he wants.

In the end, getting the powers that be to speak the “R” word is an exercise in relabeling. After all, once the deed has been done and the hush money has been paid, does it really matter what we call an old fashioned screwing? I think not.

Cross-posted at Thought Theater

With the fading days of the Hillary Clinton campaign proven in the latest win in Wisconsin today by Barack Obama it is almost a given fact that Senator Clinton will not be our next President. This is the 9th state in a row to vote overwhelmingly for Obama and that is a hill that Hillary and crew can not overcome. She has lost the inspiration game of politics but that does not count her race for President completely out of the election process. Senator Clinton still controls her delegates to the convention that will decide the Democrat nominee for President.

Toss aside all the hype over the convention handing the nomination to the second place winner, aka Senator Clinton. That will never happen! Yes delegates can change affiliation at the convention but the likelihood of Senator Clinton stealing the convention at this point is slim to none.

All of the pre-election poll numbers to date have been full of bad numbers and the end result is that they were way off the mark and the end result in every single state. I’m chucking the polls into the composting bin and hope the bacteria can stomach them. Same thing goes for the main stream media and the run up for each state and then they look stunned like a deer in the headlights when the actual voting results come in. If Tim Russert says one more time that he did not see this coming in one more state I’m going to throw a brick at my television.

Watching the Obama speech from Houston, Texas was amazing on the eve of his Wisconsin win. Where people have said that he speaks in parables of hope without substance I would have to strongly disagree. Apparently, they have never seen or heard one of his speeches. He touched on Iraq, he touched on health care, he touched on education and he touched on jobs being outsourced and forever lost to Americans. Barack Obama doesn’t list out for you paragraph by paragraph what each of his issue plans are but tells you in concise words how we can change the future in just a few simple inspiring words. Any candidate that got up on the stage and said this is my plan for healthcare in America, page one… You would be bored off your rocker and look for the gun to shoot yourself with! If you think he doesn’t have anything to say then you have never truly heard him give a speech.

Watching the speech he gave today gave me a sense of hope for our nation. If he can inspire the up and coming generations to get involved with what our nation is all about then that in itself is an American miracle. Camelot revisited once more if you will. One of the mistakes that the Clinton campaign has made is attacking hope in the Obama message and then trying to steal the message of change. You can’t have it both ways. Bill Clinton’s political machine is busted and so is Hillary’s by association.

Looking at the voting numbers from state to state change is coming and McCain does not have a chance of getting the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. One of the numbers in Wisconsin surprised me that Obama at one point had more Democrat votes than all Republican votes combined. That margin of votes has held true state after state and McCain does not have the crossover potential that an Obama campaign would. If you include the Clinton number of Democrats voting it is more than three to one in favor of the Democrat candidate. This is just the primaries!

None of the big boys in the main stream media are betting on the general election but I am putting my neck out on the line that Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States of America and he will beat Senator John McCain by far. Then again in a mega landslide if he picks Hillary Clinton as his Vice President.

Papamoka

Originally posted at Papamoka Straight Talk

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