BloggeRhythms 7/31/2013

To be frank, sitting here reading about the Blabber-in-Chief's daily infomercials is a major league bore. Watching paint dry ranks about the same in interest, excitement or worth. However, if nobody does it, the horrendous disinformation and pure distortions he continually presents would go by unnoticed, which I believe is not only very wrong but keeps me trying to find and present the actual facts wherever I can.

In today’s case, I found an article on Drudge, from Investor's Business Daily site, Investors.com, titled: “Obama Calls Income Gap 'Wrong' — After Widening It”

Last week in a speech in Illinois, the incumbent addressed income disparity, stating: “This growing inequality is morally wrong, [and]undermines the very essence of America." He then used that premise as a lead in to his plans to push for more federal spending and taxes on the "rich" in coming budget battles.

However, what he didn’t mention is that, according to the article, “income inequality has grown faster on his watch than any time in the past two decades, at least.”

To support that claim, “research by University of California economist Emmanuel Saez shows that since the Obama recovery started in June 2009, the average income of the top 1% grew 11.2% in real terms through 2011, while the “bottom 99%, in contrast, saw their incomes shrink by 0.4%.”

What that means is that 121% of the gains in real income during the incumbent’s “recovery” have gone to the top 1%.

In comparison, “the top 1% captured 65% of income gains during the Bush expansion of 2002-07, and 45% of the gains under Clinton's expansion in the 1990s.” The Census Bureau's official measure of income inequality, the Gini index, showed similar results and that, "During the Bush years, the index was flat overall, finishing in 2008 exactly where it started in 2001.

However, “[Income inequality's] gone up each year since Obama has been president and now stands at all-time highs.”

But the really incredibly despicable part is that the article goes on to say that: “Despite this record, Obama's answer is simply to increase the dose of the very same treatments — more government spending, more taxes, more intrusions into the marketplace in the name of "shared prosperity" — that hobbled the recovery and produced the very misery he now claims he can fix.”

Reading the data got me to thinking and doing some additional research because, although I’ve mentioned similar evidence of either total economic ignorance or purposeful plans to destroy capitalism, I wanted to see what other evidence I could find.

That led me to an article in The New York Times, saying that:there are “reports that President Obama is reviving an old proposal to lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 28 percent (and 25 percent for manufacturers). Obama's push to lower the corporate tax rate to 28 percent comes less than a year after he raised the top individual income tax rate, paid by many small businesses, to 39.6 percent.”

Reading about a 39.6% tax rate caused me to check the United States Census Bureau, under the United States Department of Commerce which shows that  “About three quarters of all U.S. business firms have no payroll. Most are self-employed persons operating unincorporated businesses, and may or may not be the owner's principal source of income. Because non-employers account for only about 3.4 percent of business receipts, they are not included in most business statistics, for example, most reports from the Economic Census.”

 

Since that last number, 3.4%, sounded quite low to me, and also knowing that small business is the backbone of our economy, I looked further and found an article headed, “They Are Murdering Small Business- The Percentage Of Self-Employed Americans” by Michael Snyder, on Alex Jones’ infowars.com, which says:

 

“In a previous article, I detailed how the number of new businesses (and the number of jobs those businesses create) has been steadily declining.  In particular, this decline has accelerated dramatically under the Obama administration.  According to an analysis of U.S. Department of Labor data performed by economist Tim Kane, the following is how the decline in the number of startup jobs per 1000 Americans breaks down by presidential administration.”

Bush Sr.: 11.3

Clinton: 11.2

Bush Jr.: 10.8

Obama: 7.8

Mr. Snyder explains the details this way: “At the federal level, high taxes and higher uncertainty about taxes are undoubtedly inhibiting entrepreneurship, but to what degree is unknown. The dominant factor may be new regulations on labor. The passage of the Affordable Care Act is creating a sweeping alteration of the regulatory environment that directly changes how employers engage their workforces, and it will be some time until those changes are understood by employers or scholars.”

He then goes on to note that: “Separately, there has been a federal crackdown since 2009 by the Internal Revenue Service on U.S. employers that hire U.S. workers as independent contractors rather than employees, raising the question of mandatory benefits. New firms tend to use part-time and contract staffing rather than full-time employees during the startup stage. According to Labor Department data, the typical American today only takes home 70 percent of compensation as pay, while the rest is absorbed by the spiraling cost of benefits (e.g., health insurance).”

So, after digesting all of the above, once again the actual facts show clearly that there’s either complete ignorance in this administration about how our economy really runs, or a specific intention to undermine and destroy it. Which is why I believe there’s little doubt that either way the nation cannot move again toward prosperity until, one way or another, the incumbent and his cronies' have been replaced entirely by others who truly wish to do it.

That's it for today folks.

Adios

BloggeRhythms 7/30/2013

Every once in a while, a headline makes me stop and laugh out loud. And today’s one of those times.

 

Perry Chiaramonte of Fox News.com wrote an article titled: “America’s energy boom is putting a scare into Saudi Arabia.”

 

The story says that “According to the Wall Street Journal, Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal warned in a letter to Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi and others that the U.S. boom of shale oil and gas will reduce its thirst for Saudi crude oil.”

 

The letter noted that while shale gas poses ‘”no danger on Saudi economy at the present time, the danger of this matter in the ‘not-so-distant future,’ especially that America and some Asian countries made big discoveries in shale gas extraction which will affect the oil industry around the world in general and Saudi Arabia in particular."

 

Now, this prince is supposedly worth an estimated $20 billion and is worried his nation's near total reliance on oil revenues could leave it vulnerable when demand drops due to other nations' domestic production.

 

In the meantime, though, a newly published report from OPEC showed that the group's export revenue hit a record high of $1.26 trillion in 2012. 

 

So, here we have these guys out in the desert with absolutely no capabilities or skills whatsoever, that have been ripping off the rest of the world for years simply because their tents are located above huge deposits of oil. And now they’re worried because it won't be long before their biggest customers have developed resources of their own. 

 

As for myself, though, I just can’t feel sorry in the slightest for people who’s only accomplishment in life is the same as one’s who’ve never done more than buy a winning lottery ticket. And if they’ve done nothing to enhance or improve themselves, choosing instead to amass huge fortunes by gouging others, I just can’t wait until any kind of foreign oil isn’t needed at all, here or anywhere else on the planet.

 

But then, despite the benefits to our nation that has even the Saudi Arabian’s worried about our becoming oil independent, Captain Blabberry, had this to say over the weekend.

 

According to another Fox News.com article: “President Obama’s questionable claim that the Keystone XL oil pipeline would create just 2,100 jobs is running into some fact-check scrutiny, with The Washington Post saying the president “shouldn’t pick and choose how he cites job-creation numbers.”

 

Apparently, he downplayed the economic impact of the proposed Canada-to-Texas pipeline in a New York Times interview, saying the project would create roughly 2,000 construction jobs and maybe 100 additional jobs after that -- calling it a "blip relative to the need." 

 

He then, “challenged reporters to "confirm" his own projection, which is what Fox News did. In an interview with Michigan Republican Representative. Fred Upton, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Upton told told FoxNews.com. the following:

 

“A president disparaging private-sector jobs while backstage at a jobs rally is beyond belief. The president’s own State Department reported that Keystone would support upwards of 40,000 jobs. In this economy, any source of private job creation should be welcomed with open arms. After nearly five years and 15,500 pages of review, there is no reason to delay these jobs another day. Republicans, Democrats, leading unions, and job creators all agree, it’s time to start building.” 

 

So, while just about anyone who can grasp the simplest, most basic facts about how beneficial domestic oil production is to the nation, and even the Saudi's see the handwriting on the wall, the incumbent still protects his lobbying friends. And in that way, coupled with anti-growth, anti-capitalism and antiquated policies supporting economic redistribution, we get talk, and talk, and talk, and talk forever…but never, ever a word of the truth.

 

That's’ it for today folks.

 

Adios 

BloggeRhythms 7/29/2013

Came across an article on Fox News.com from Associated Press, titled: “Four in five in US face near-poverty, no work”

 

The article began: “Four out of 5 U.S. adults struggle with joblessness, near-poverty or reliance on welfare for at least parts of their lives, a sign of deteriorating economic security and an elusive American dream.

 

Survey data exclusive to The Associated Press points to an increasingly globalized U.S. economy, the widening gap between rich and poor, and the loss of good-paying manufacturing jobs as reasons for the trend.”

 

And then came this, “The findings come as President Obama tries to renew his administration's emphasis on the economy, saying in recent speeches that his highest priority is to "rebuild ladders of opportunity" and reverse income inequality.”

 

Reading that paragraph caused me to think back some years ago. At that time, I was responsible for marketing, and primarily sales, at the nation’s largest financial provider of its type in a specialized segment of the equipment leasing and finance business.

 

While there were many reasons for our success, one of the most important was that we built and retained what we called an entrepreneurial spirit among our employees. The majority were relatively young for our industry, ambitious, creative, quick to learn, willing to work diligently toward their goals and maintained highly competitive spirits. In return, the rewards they earned, both financial and personal, for their success made the results well worth any and all the effort they extended.

 

Our business was publically owned and as it mushroomed in size, we drew the attention of one of the nations largest telecommunications entities, who decided it wanted to buy us, and did.

 

I bring this up today, because that situation presented one of the clearest pictures of “cultural” differences in organizational, philosophical, and managerial practice and implementation that I could ever imagine.

 

While these folks thought they were creative, aggressive, open-minded and rapid growth oriented, they were so mired in bureaucratic procedures, duplication of effort and fearful of anything not fitting their reams of manualized procedures, they needed permission and ten authorizing signatures to change a light bulb. 

 

Yet, from their perspective, and having no comparative input or experience to draw on, they were not only totally unable to see their own roadblocks, their self-created hurdles were perfectly acceptable to them. Trying to get them to grasp the immediacy required in job performance was like trying to teach a dinosaur to run in the Kentucky Derby.

 

There are countless examples I could offer, but I hope by now I've gotten my point across, which brings me back to today’s subject. 

 

Because here we have the incumbent who’s purposefully stifled the nation’s economic growth, placed insurmountable barriers to business success and expansion, made every effort to stem entrepreneurial endeavors and thrives on over-regulation and government intervention. Yet in his hourly speech says he wants to, "rebuild ladders of opportunity" and reverse income inequality.”

 

However, with someone like that in office, there’s simply no hope for any kind of economic success or real improvement. And it isn’t even necessarily a matter of purposefully trying to kill the American spirit or desire for growth and achievement. Because just like those running a corporate goliath that long ago turned into a lumbering, lethargic institutional block of immovable granite, the incumbent hasn't the skills, experience or insights to realize that the nation’s greatest financial and emplyment problems were created by himself.

 

That's it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 7/28/2013

Today's the dullest news day I can recall for a very long time. Certainly in the years I’ve been writing these entries.

One of my hot button issues did get some mention this morning though, on Fox News, whereas it seems that horrendous fighting broke out in Egypt yesterday. As I watched some clips of folks in a square somewhere throwing rocks at each other, the crawler said experts expect unrest in the nation to get far worse. 

 

I then turned to my wife and said, gas is going to go to nine or ten dollars a gallon simply because the talker-in-chief has lost control of an ”ally” that we bribe with $1.6 billion or so each year. But, apparently, even all those bucks aren’t enough to gain the respect of Egyptian leaders on any side who couldn’t care less about a motor-mouth who’s never backed up a word he’s uttered with deeds and never will. In fact, the only one’s he’s harmed are those living here in the U.S. with an agenda aimed at undoing two hundred years of economic, individual and national success.

And that leads into an item I found on Fox News.com, headlined “Young Republican leaders see need for substantive changes,” from the Associated Press.

 

The article focused on the makeup of the Republican party changing age-wise, with an influx of much younger members than in the past. And that, the writer says, while not dramatically changing core goals and objectives, should soften some of the very hard lines taken on many social issues in the past, making the party more attractive to a wider range of voters.

 

It’s further pointed out that even the candidates themselves will likely be younger this time around, and “of several potential GOP candidates, only Texas Gov. Rick Perry, 63, is older than 50.” 

 

The Democrats' leading hopefuls, however, are Vice President Joe Biden, 70, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, 65.

 

And, as I read that last line, I had to stop and think about the next campaign itself and wonder how it could be that a Democrat could be elected to anything at all after the last five years and what’s been done to the nation as a whole. Because it would seem to me that anyone who wasn’t a Democrat and could walk and chew gum at the same time should win in a record-setting landslide. 

But, then, let’s consider those who haven’t been harmed by socialistic trends, such as the growing handout and welfare rolls, or the few unions left with funds in their coffers, and government employees doing whatever it is that those folks do. Among groups like these, there will likely still be Democrat support because their livelihood depends on continuation of the handouts.

Nonetheless, since for the rest of the nation’s electorate, the candidates themselves have to be considered carefully, what have the Dem's really got? One’s a broken down old boob who rarely knows where he is and can’t remember most of what he tries to talk about. There are cumquats with higher IQ’s than his.

The other’s accomplished zip, zero, nada in her life and would be unemployed if she wasn’t the bosses' wife. A little focus on her former life, from Arkansas, to Whitewater, to Fort Marcy park to the raid on Benghazi will quickly prove the total emptiness of her suit 

Which means, if these two has been's and never was'es can't be easily beaten, Republican politico's ought to look for other businesses, whereas they'd surely be colossally worthless at the one they're in.

So, instead of these young Republicans going off on social tangents and worrying about watering down personal issues that have actually very little to do with getting the nation to run like it should, they’d be far better off in righting the economy, closing down or curbing intruding agencies, such as the EPA, IRS and NSA, and getting the government out of the health care business once and for all. 

 

And if they can do that, the next election, and many to follow, will take care of themselves. Because folks would happily vote for them in overwhelming numbers.

That’s it for today folks.

Adios

BloggeRhythms 7/27/2013

One of the most valuable lessons of life is grasping the fact that, as the old adage says, actions speak louder than words. I’ve found that to be so consistently true that I rarely, if ever, rely on what anyone tells me. Instead, I wait until I’ve gained sufficient experience with others to let what actually transpires speak for itself. 

 

I bring this up today because the blabberer-in-chief from the White House is now making another round of speeches to tout how wonderful his administration is, while the real-world results indicate the absolute and total reverse.

 

Just this morning he called all the “scandals” surrounding his administration fabrications, claiming that there’re nothing but stories dreamed up by his political opposition. Yet, at the same time over 1,000 special operations veterans signed a document demanding Congress hold the White House accountable for the disastrous mishandling of the Benghazi attack.

 

And then there’s the House committee steadily making progress in its attempt to establish that the IRS did indeed target political foes in the last two elections.

 

Add to that the Fast and Furious gun-running scheme and illegal tapping of reporters phones as further examples of issues that are absolutely not fabricated in any way, and you realize that the only one distorting, bending or evading the truth is the incumbent himself.

 

But, however, what made me think of today’s theme, the process of letting actual performance speak for itself rather than believing what others tell you, arose from an article by Eliana Johnson’s In The Corner on National Review Online, regarding Obamacare, as follows:

 

“In order to ensure Americans understand how to access the benefits available to them when many provisions of the Affordable Care Act go online October 1, the Obama administration announced last month that it is setting up a call center that will be accessible to Americans 24 hours a day. 

 

One branch of that call center will be located in California’s Contra Costa County, where, reportedly, 7,000 people applied for the 204 jobs. According to the Contra Costa Times, however, “about half the jobs are part-time, with no health benefits — a stinging disappointment to workers and local politicians who believed the positions would be full-time.” The county supervisor, Karen Mitchoff, called the hiring process “a comedy of errors” and said she “never dreamed [the jobs] would be part-time.”

 

So, here we have the administration itself apparently deciding they’re better off economically employing part-timers, thereby avoiding the costs of providing health insurance.

 

And what’s even worse is, if the government concludes their own health care plan's too costly, that means it’s got to be a financial disaster for anyone else who has to use it. Which goes to prove my original point. Because no matter what folks say or promise, it really doesn’t matter very much. It’s only what actually happens that always counts.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 7/26/2013

Just put gas in my car. Paid $4.07 gallon. Last week, paid $3.70 Week before that, $3.50. Five years ago $2.00 or so. Same gas, same stations, same gas tank, same vehicle. So, why the increases? Because of worries about a war in the Middle-East. 

 

Well, I don’t live in the Middle-East, never did, never will. In fact, I couldn’t find it with a Sherpa guide, trained hunting dogs, a detailed map and a zillion watt flashlight. What’s more, I don’t even want to try. And yet, since all the clowns over there hate each other, and always will, I just got ripped off at the pump for the umpteenth time. And there’s something really, really wrong with that. Especially since we’ve got just as much oil as they do, but they're allowed to drill and we’re not. 

 

So, my ongoing question’s still the same. When are citizens going to wake up, get angry enough, and revolt against the monumental fraud in the White House? Our environment hasn’t changed an iota regarding quality, and it won’t, because it can’t since pollutant reduction has no real effect. Yet, we’re not only still getting buried in BS, we’re sitting by while our hard-earned cash goes to camel feed,  burro whips and canvas tents in a desert somewhere. 

 

And although I apologize for the outburst above, since it wasn’t my intent to mention a we’ll-worn subject again, but I simply had to get the rage off my chest. Because enough’s enough, and being robbed blind by a phony scammer’s really hard to take sitting down and keeping quiet, which is why I’ll keep on writing about it, hoping others will do the same on paper. Or better yet, in concert and out loud.   

 

In the meantime though, there’s not much other interesting news but I found an item on Real Clear Politics via Drudge about the incumbent’s celebrating Ramadan at the white House. And here’s what he said: 

 

“Throughout our history, Islam has contributed to the character of our country, and Muslim-Americans, and their good works, have helped to build our nation - and we've seen the results. We've seen those results in generations of Muslim immigrants - farmers and factory workers, helping to lay the railroads and build our cities," President Obama said at a dinner celebrating Ramadan on Thursday at the White House. This is the fifth such dinner that President Obama has hosted.” 

 

Now, I’d never given the subject much thought, but figured that if these folks deserved a day with the incumbent, I’d look up the details because I’ve always liked to learn. 

 

In searching the web, using the incumbent’s words, Muslim-Americans. looking for people of note in our history, here’s what I found. 

 

One’s an Egyptian-American Muslim scientist, Farouk El-Baz who served as the Supervisor of Lunar Science Planning for NASA’s Apollo Program. 

 

Then according to Emily L. Hauser, in her column, In My Head, there are six others, one of whom performed his heroics in Iraq. 

 

So, all told, there are seven notable Muslim-Americans throughout our history, which gave me a different perspective on the White House event. Because I don’t think with all of our economic problems a party like that was needed at all. It could have been accomplished much less expensively, by putting the guests in an SUV and taking them to McDonalds for a family special.  

 

For those who are interested, here’s a link to; American heroes. Emily L. Hauser - In My Head

 

That’s it for today folks 

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 7/25/2013

The New York City mayoralty race is of really little interest to me, even though Manhattan’s my home town. In recent years it’s changed so much for the worse, I ignore it almost completely.

 

Nonetheless, it’s just about impossible to not know about the coming election whereas it attracts so much press and air time. And that leads into a quick comment for today. Because if the Republicans, or even another Democrat, can’t overcome a weasly pervert who needs major long-term mental therapy they really have to rethink their political philosophies and platforms completely.

 

And if his obvious derangement is preferable to what his opposition has to offer, there really has to be something significantly wrong with what that opposition puts forth. Because if somebody like this guy who’s been scraped off the bottom of some barrel, is preferable in any way shape or form to them, it clearly illustrates that even the lowest life-forms and most repulsive deviates are more politically attractive than they are. And it can't get more pathetic than that.

 

Moving on to another subject, the last few day's business news has focused on quarterly results, and especially earnings, of many of the nation’s top-rated public corporations.

 

In that regard, I’m not an analyst, market-maker or investor beyond any securities I might own for my own account. Therefore, my opinions are based solely on my own experience as someone marketing financial services to business operations.

 

The most popular services I've ever offered by far, have been equipment leasing and financing alternatives, providing needed equipment immediately while permitting pay-back in the future. Terms usually range from twelve months to as long as ten years, depending on the type of equipment involved.

 

I mention this today because when assessing the creditworthiness of potential customers, it’s essential to determine not only a businesses’ present financial condition, but also accurately estimate likelihoods for future paybacks made over time.

 

When projecting future financial condition, its not only imperative to analyze current profitability, but also to learn how all income was earned. Because increasing income doesn’t necessarily mean business growth or development. There are other ways for gaining profit, which is key for today’s subject.

 

While it seems to me that many of the businesses now reporting results are showing better than expected bottom lines, many are obtaining those improvements from increases in operating efficiencies, streamlining systems and ever-improving budgeting management. But they’re not necessarily increasing sales significantly or demonstrating extraordinary top-line growth. 

 

I believe that to be extremely important because, sooner or later, there’s only so much businesses can do to increase efficiency. Which means that unless additional revenues are derived from sales, or other forms of income exist, businesses stagnate, forcing many to shrink, merge or close.

 

So, I’m not by any means suggesting that there’s any kind of major reversal ahead for any particular businesses or the economy in general. I’m only recommending that before accepting what may be seen as, or promoted, as indications of growth or improvement, do some homework to find out what the truth really is. Because if you don't, there may be some very unwelcome surprises down the road.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 7/24/2013

One of the first, and critically important, things drilled into me by management when I first started selling equipment financing was determining who the actual owners were of businesses seeking our services. And, what was always to be avoided was any entity run by personnel who weren’t principals, or otherwise not having some kind of significant equity in the enterprise.

 

Business ownership, or other forms of equity, were significant because, in times of trouble those not facing financial loss or exposure had far less to lose than those who did. One's with perhaps nothing more than their jobs at risk, were obviously more likely to desert a sinking ship than those whose personal security might be severely reduced or even entirely lost.

 

Additionally, financial-decision making and operation was far more prudent and efficient among owners than employees in almost every case because “other people’s money” is always far easier to spend than one’s own.

 

I bring this up today because two more glaring examples were disclosed today, showing how financially frivolous, irresponsible and outright uncaring about taxpayer’s money this administration actually is.

 

According to Les Christie of KITV, Idaho Falls, ID via Drudge: ”Borrowers who received help through the government's main foreclosure prevention program are re-defaulting on their mortgages at alarming rates, a federal watchdog said in a report released Wednesday.”.

 

A Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) began four years ago. Since then, nearly 1.2 million mortgage modifications have been completed. To date 306,000 borrowers have re-defaulted on their loans and more than 88,000 are now at risk according to the Special Inspector General for the program’s quarterly report to Congress.

 

It was additionally found that “the longer a homeowner stays in the HAMP modification program, the more likely they are to default. Those who have been in the program since 2009, are re-defaulting at a rate of 46%.” 

 

Originally launched by the Treasury Department at the height of the foreclosure crisis, it aimed to help as many as 4 million borrowers avoid foreclosure by making their payments more affordable through reduced interest rates, extended loan terms or, in some cases, reduced mortgage principals. 

 

What’s more: “As of April 30, taxpayers have lost some $815 million on the permanent mortgage modifications that have re-defaulted, the inspector general reported. As part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, Treasury allocated $19.1 billion to the HAMP program. So far, it has spent $4.4 billion.”

 

And even worse: “Nevertheless, the government has extended the program for another two years, until the end of 2015.”

 

So, here we have an administration that doesn’t care about how much of other people’s money it blindly tosses away for political purposes, either due to outright stupidity or total disregard for proven results. Because its now repeating the same horrendous mistakes as in Project Acorn, another of the incumbent’s inane giveaways stemming from the Housing and Community Development Act of 1977 that many claim is an underlying cause of the real estate losses that spurred the recession we have yet to fully recover from.

 

Add to that some input from Jamie Dupree of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s ajc.com also via Drudge which says that “four different officials inside the tax agency who "work" in Washington, at IRS headquarters, but actually live in Dallas, Minneapolis and Atlanta.”

 

Mr. Dupree points out that these four people “fly to and from Washington, D.C. by plane, and bill the taxpayer for that travel - and it is not a temporary situation, but has been going on for years.”

 

There’s specific information about the costs these people run up, as well as much other data about the staggering waste of the public’s funds, so I’ve included a link to the text which is well worth reading: IRS execs ran up 'extremely high travel expenses' -- commuting to DC by plane

 

So, in conclusion, it’s been proven to me many times in my business career that other people’s money is far easier to spend then one’s own which is pretty obvious. But even business people with no investment tend to be fairly careful because most would prefer to keep their jobs. 

 

Politicians, however, aren’t even really employed and don’t have “managers” or “owners” to whom they report that can discharge them at any moment in time. So, it makes perfect sense to me that they couldn’t care less about what happens to other people’s money, especially if it gets them the votes they need for election.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 7/23/2013

A few days ago, I mentioned a Democrat who’s name I forget, who said that enough time’s gone by so Republicans should forget about the IRS scandal and move on to something else. The Dem’s point was that it really doesn't matter if laws were broken or not, its only politics and appearance in the eyes of the public that count.

 

In the meanwhile, though, Republican persistence in the IRS case is slowly but surely uncovering facts that indeed will prove that illegal tactics were used to suppress and defuse opposition to the incumbent and his reelection. Had Republicans, however, quit in their efforts to date, the entire scandal would have soon been forgotten and a perhaps stolen election swept under the table. 

 

And now, today, I saw in  an article by Alexander Bolton, of The Hill  on-line via Drudge, stating that “Republicans have been riding a wave of political momentum on the healthcare issue since the beginning of the month, when the Obama administration announced it would delay the requirement for employers with 50 or more workers to provide health coverage.”

 

Mr. Bolton further reports that, “Emboldened House Republicans voted last week to delay the employer mandate as well as the law’s requirement that individuals buy coverage. The bills split Democrats as nearly two dozen voted for both measures.”

 

But then, in spite of the Republican’s gains, the writer states that “Some Republicans, including [John] McCain, however, fear the party may be in danger of overreaching.”

 

Mr. Bolton explains that McCain’s concerns likely stem from a government shutdown in 1995, wherein Republicans took most of the public blame, ultimately  creating momentum for former President Bill Clinton’s 1996 reelection. Which brings me to my point for today.

 

As mentioned quite often previously, I’m always shocked and astounded, although I surely know better, when politicians primary concerns are the public’s perception of them and their appearance to the extent that issues themselves matter quite little, regardless of how important they are.

 

So here we have a United States Senator, John McCain, former presidential candidate, suggesting that what’s likely the worst tax ever imposed on the population simply be accepted because opposition might be construed incorrectly, costing his party votes.

 

And what’s worst of all is that the taxpaying public has nowhere to turn in a situation like this, because there's no one to represent then honestly or sincerely. While the majority party couldn’t care less about the incumbent turning the nation into a socialist quagmire, the supposed opposition fears standing its ground will be misunderstood so would prefer to acquiesce. 

 

And that leaves taxpayers caught in the middle between supposedly two different sides. But no matter which side the opponents claim to support, that really means nothing when push comes to shove. Because politicians of any stripe represent no one except themselves.     

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythm3 7/22/2013

As often as I write about today’s subject, I’m still amazed that after five long years the incumbent still thinks that the nation’s ills he caused can be solved by words. Or, more likely, he spouts the words as cover, fully aware of the damage he’s done with no real intent to apply the obvious cures.

 

According to Fox News on-line: “The White House says [a] Wednesday speech at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., will be the first of many speeches on the economy Obama intends to deliver over the next several weeks ahead of key budget deadlines in the fall.”

 

The problems, however, have absolutely nothing to do with the worthless hot air he continually spews. They're the result anyone with an ounce of business sense would expect to result from attempts to break the back of free enterprise, over-taxation, excessive government intervention, coupled with massive movements toward socialism.

 

Thanks to the new health care tax, businesses are moving toward temporary help, employee swapping and 30 hour work-weeks. Union protections and unfunded future pension obligations are causing major defaults in the public sector, the largest and latest being Detroit. Environmentalists pressing for legislation and regulation based on totally incorrect assumptions and faulty data are further stemming commercial growth or prohibiting it altogether. Taxation's being used as a tool toward socialism, penalizing earners while growing handout recipients to more than 50% of the population.

 

Although the preceding are only a few examples of how the nation’s economic condition’s been purposely damaged severely, each of the issues cited has caused significant problems on their own. However, when the individual negative effects are taken together it can be clearly seen why economic growth’s been severely curtailed, and to offset the revenue growth, the nation’s debt is now approach $17 trillion, soon to be raised once more.

 

A further, quite simple illustration, of how purposeful though wrong-headed legislation negatively effects the economy while stifling growth can be seen in  some data found this morning from CNBC via Drudge, as follows: 

 

The national average price for regular unleaded gasoline was $3.67 a gallon on Friday.

 

AAA says that's 23 cents more expensive than the same time last year but still below the all-time daily high of $4.11 a gallon on July 17, 2008.

 

The association says retail gas prices are likely to rise more in the coming weeks. Unscheduled refinery shutdowns or hurricanes on the U.S. Gulf Coast could also add to price increases.

 

Now, if everyone using a vehicle for any purpose at all, be it business pleasure or anything else, is now paying more for a basic, plentiful commodity, that money can’t be spent on anything else. Consequently, fuel providers at any level do well, and all other purveyors earn less.

 

But that problem shouldn’t exist in our economy at all. Because we have more than enough oil to meet our every need from now to just about eternity, except, due to the incumbent’s anti-fossil fuel position we can’t access it in the quantities we need. 

 

And then, even as ridiculous as prohibiting utilization of our own resources may be, there’s still a slightly more expensive but viable alternative. We could simply open the Keystone pipeline and buy oil next door, from Canada. But that too, is taboo because environmental lobbyists prevent us from helping ourselves economically.

 

Consequently, as each of our current economic problems are analyzed, in almost every case, there are simple fixes that can be quickly and easily applied. So, the issues the incumbent plans to drone on about in the coming weeks aren’t really the root of the nation’s economic woes at all. But if he truly wants to easily stem the nation’s fiscal woes, all he really needs is a mirror to see the cause.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 6/21/2013

Perhaps part of the problems plaguing the nation stem from the fact that most in the media have never held private sector jobs in commerce or trades. Consequently, as members of the fourth estate, their perspective is limited whereas they simply don’t understand, nor can they envision, how businesses or the economy in general, are supposed to work. 

 

Three unrelated articles today, all found on Drudge, demonstrate quite clearly the obvious flaws when political ideology and/or social theory outweigh common business sense or the simplest premises of economics. Yet, until the problems caused horrendous fiscal damage, the “media” ignored them totally.

 

However, whether the media wants to accept any role in abetting false theory to take the hold its gained, the following three examples  provide clear proof of the flaws in socialistic ideology.

 

According to Bob Unruh WND on-line: “In a survey by a top research firm, six in 10 physicians said it is likely many doctors will retire earlier than planned in the next one to three years.

 

The same percentage say the practice of medicine is in jeopardy as medical experts lose control of their clinics and compensation with the implementation of the Affordable Health Care for America Act, or Obamacare.” 

 

The article’s quite a good one, so here’s a link: Doctors planning exit 

 

Next, Todd Spangler of the Detroit Free Press Washington Staff, points out how unfunded debt’s a problem threatening cities all over the nation.  

 

According to Mr. Spangler, Detroit’s problem is some $3.5 billion in unfunded debt on benefits owed to current and future retirees. yet while the amount was enough to force the city’s bankruptcy, “From Baltimore to Los Angeles, and many points in between, municipalities are increasingly confronted with how to pay for these massive promises. The Pew Center for the States, in Washington, estimated states’ public pension plans across the U.S. were underfunded by a whopping $1.4 trillion in 2010.” 

 

And then, there’s the state of Illinois which  while having seen an explosion in the number of people receiving food stamps, is an example of the huge pitfalls existent when dealing with bureaucracies. 

 

Benjamin Yount, of the Illinois Watchdog reports that “Illinois’ error rate, from either overspending on food stamps or not spending enough, is 1.74 percent, according to Januari Smith, a spokeswoman for the state’s Department of Human Services.” 

 

However, even that relatively small percentage has a significant fiscal effect, because a 98.3 percent accuracy rate results in $52 million of the $3 billion program being misspent. 

 

Just over 2 million people, 16 percent of the population, are enrolled in the federally managed SNAP. Washington D.C,. sent Illinois $3 billion for last year. 

 

So, here we have government edict and/or involvement, costing billions while looking for more ways to fiscally intrude on the public’s lives. And while I understand clearly what politicians do, because other folks money is the major key to their existence, the media’s position confuses me completely. 

 

I cannot understand for the life of me, what the media gains from hiding the facts about the damage wrought by socialistic ideology or how they’ll benefit, intellectually or otherwise, when the nation’s no longer able to function economically. 

 

That’s it for today folks. 

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 7/20/2013

I haven’t commented on the Florida shooting case for several reasons. First and foremost, since I wasn't present when it happened, I have no idea whatsoever where the truth lies. However, not having an inkling themselves, I think its amazing that so many others are absolutely certain they do.

 

There’s also been such huge media coverage of the case that I can’t see the purpose of adding my thoughts, and thus had no intent at all of bringing it up myself. But then this morning, I read on the New York Times website via Drudge that the incumbent decided to comment on the subject on Friday, as follows: “Reading an unusually personal, handwritten statement, Mr. Obama summed up his views with a single line: “Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.”

 

And it was that comment that set me to typing, because I recalled glimpsing a photo on the web a few days ago, supposedly a recent photo of the shooting victim, Trayvon Martin, which I‘ve placed below.

 

 

And if it is indeed Martin in that photograph, I have to assume that the incumbent leads some kind of double life, which I now find very confusing.

 

Because, now I’m not sure which photo’s present an accurate image of POTUS. Are they the one’s in the suits and ties in all the photo op’s, behind podiums, entering and exiting Air Force One, or anywhere else there’s a camera? Or, is it the one above from the web?

 

So, for now I guess I’ll have to do some serious research to find the truth. But if it turns out that the above photo’s accurate, and that’s what the incumbent looked like thirty-five years ago, his doctors must be truly amazing. Because, even though I pay very little attention to pic’s of the incumbent at all, since all the tattoos were removed with no visible scars remaining whatsoever, that's very, very impressive to me.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 7/19/2013

I often mention the travesty in D.C. calling itself an administration and the harm inflicted by their politicizing issues rather than employing even the most basic common sense. But yesterday was one, that even for them, was incredible regarding the magnitude of their wrongheadedness and stubborn denials of proven facts and truths.  

 

Item one concerns an article by George Russell on Fox News.com headed: "Billions spent in Obama climate plan may be virtually useless, study suggests.”

 

The text begins with: “As President Obama last month launched a sweeping new national program to combat "climate change," including tens of billions of dollars in likely new subsidies for solar and wind power and bio-energy, a separate, groundbreaking study by the National Research Council has warned that those kinds of subsidies are virtually useless at quelling greenhouse gases.”

  

Looking at subsidies and other incentives embedded in U.S. federal tax law after the past several years of climate change initiatives, the study concluded that “they  have done little or nothing so far to cut U.S. contributions to global carbon emissions, and are unlikely to do much more before 2035, the project's research horizon.”

 

Costing $2 million, the study was the first of its kind, conducted by a “12-member National Academy of Sciences panel of economists, energy experts, environmentalists, tax specialists and climate scientists backed by consultants wielding powerful computerized economic models and a sizeable number of staff.”

 

The study’s conclusion was, “their combined impact is less than 1 percent of total U.S. emissions over the next 25 years, and are a lousy bargain to boot, with very little, if any, GHG reductions  achieved at substantial cost with these provisions." Additionally, "Current tax expenditures and subsidies are a poor tool for reducing greenhouse gases and achieving climate-change objectives. [Producing only] small reductions in GHG emissions and are costly per unit of emissions reduction."

 

Although the full cost was something the study was unable to make entirely clear, “It estimated that the federal government had spent some $48 billion in just the past two years on "tax expenditures" -meaning subsidies, credits, and other incentives -- related to the energy sector, and also noted that few were specifically enacted to reduce greenhouse gases.”

 

Then, after the preceding disclosure of the waste of taxpayer’s billions, the Department of Energy told the Associated Press: "A landmark federal study on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, shows no evidence that chemicals from the natural gas drilling process moved up to contaminate drinking water aquifers at a western Pennsylvania drilling site."

 

According to geologist Richard Hammack, “After a year of monitoring, the researchers found that the chemical-laced fluids used to free gas trapped deep below the surface stayed thousands of feet below the shallower areas that supply drinking water.”

 

So, here’s another case of the incumbent’s pandering to environmentalists, although there’s absolutely no validity to their claims whatsoever. But as usual, its cronyism that counts far overriding facts and scientific proofs.

 

And now, although today’s entry's is already quite long, as mentioned at the start, yesterday was a very bad day for the incumbent so there’s more to go.

 

Dems on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee were very upset by Inspector General J. Russell George and his finding that the IRS was targeting conservative groups. In fact, they were so disturbed that yesterday in a hearing they came unglued, lost their cool and turned him into a “punching bag.” George responded by calling the treatment “unprecedented.” 

 

While there’s considerable detail to the confrontation, and certainly a cause for Dem panic, I think Peggy Noonan put it best in her column in  The Wall Street Journal on-line.

 

Here’s what she wrote: “That is a bombshell—such a big one that it managed to emerge in spite of an unfocused, frequently off-point congressional hearing in which some members seemed to have accidentally woken up in the middle of a committee room, some seemed unaware of the implications of what their investigators had uncovered, one pretended that the investigation should end if IRS workers couldn't say the president had personally called and told them to harass his foes, and one seemed to be holding a filibuster on Pakistan. 

 

Still, what landed was a bombshell. And Democrats know it. Which is why they are so desperate to make the investigation go away. They know, as Republicans do, that the chief counsel of the IRS is one of only two Obama political appointees in the entire agency.”

 

And so the beat goes on, another day, another case, or two or three, of an accumulation of unqualified political patsies performing in positions miles over their heads. And basic logic says that things can only get worse for this administration and their Congressional supporters. Because no matter how much they talk, scream, prevaricate or attempt to cloud the truth, they simply can’t whereas they haven’t the talent, experience or smarts to plug the growing mass of holes they've dug all by themselves.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 7/18/2013

I’ve written several times lately about how government investigations are generally slow and tedious things. Thus, I think it's imperative that even the after the headlines start fading, the public gets bored and the media seeks fresher stories, the most important thing for the investigators is to not give up.

 

In that regard, yesterday afternoon, Elise Viebeck, of The Hill’s Healthwatch column via Drudge wrote that: “President Obama is threatening to veto Republican bills that would delay the healthcare reform law’s employer and individual mandates. 

 

The White House mounted a general defense of the Affordable Care Act in its statement, arguing the law will improve healthcare for millions of Americans.”

 

Ms. Viebeck then quoted a White House representative who stated: “Rather than attempting once again to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which the House has tried to do nearly 40 times, it's time for the Congress to stop fighting old political battles.”

 

So, it’s the White House’s position that even though this legislation is probably the worst ever devised in the nation’s history, the “political” issue is all that really matters. And since so much time’s gone by, Congress should simply give up and let the healthcare tax take effect, despite the likelihood that it will destroy medical care altogether. 

 

However, those still fighting the healthcare battle are absolutely correct, because it isn’t how much time’s gone by that counts, what's critical is overturning the entire new health care tax. And, as seen in the last few days, key elements of the tax are now being delayed because they simply don't work.

Another proof of the value of diligently staying the course arose in Representative Darrell Issa’s House oversight committee this morning, regarding the continuing probe into abuses by the IRS. 

According to Fox News on-line, accounts were given by, Carter Hull, a recently retired IRS tax law specialist. who was closely involved in screening conservative groups' applications for tax-exempt status. He claims that he, and others, were “taking his orders from above.” 

Committee Republicans also say that “Hull revealed to them that he tried to move forward with approving or denying applications, but [Lois] Lerner ruled that the applications should go through the chief counsel's office and Lerner's senior adviser. Hull further indicated it was the first time in a nearly 50-year career that he had to send applications to Lerner's senior adviser.”

 

So, here we have a major chink in the administration's armor regarding its denials of involvement in unfair and biased treatment of political opponents by using the IRS as a weapon to defuse their campaigning efforts. Which goes to vividly prove the point of how important it is to not give up, since now its likely more whistle-blowers will surface.

 

Along the same lines of abusing power and employing deceit, subterfuge, and dishonesty for political gain whereas it doesn't have the skills or support to succeed any other way, it’s reported that a third federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that “President Obama violated the Constitution last year when he made recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board.”

 

Applying constitutional history and reading up on the framers, the judges said it’s apparent the founding fathers intended for the president only to be able to use his recess appointment powers when the Senate was gone for a long period of time, not the brief breaks Congress regularly takes for holidays or weekends.

 

Therefore, as every day goes by it becomes more apparent that the current administration is unequivocally unqualified to properly handle the responsibilities of national leadership. Which is why everything they touch soon unravels, implodes or otherwise fails.

 

However, none of the self-caused leadership disasters should be a surprise, whereas it was known from the start by anyone paying a whit of attention, that the one at the top had no appropriate knowledge, skills or experience to draw on. And the position of president of the most successful nation on earth isn’t exactly the place to learn basic political science or business management 101.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 7/17/2013

An article titled "Does President Obama have a second-term strategy?" by Glenn Thrush of politico.com via Drudge this morning, contained the following few paragraphs which, to me, clearly illustrate why the nation's still in such poor condition.

 

Mr. Thrush wrote:

“Still, the politics of the current moment are anything but secondary.

 

Obama’s signature second-term objective, bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform, is in the hands of a divided House Republican caucus threatening to stall, slice and dice, and kill outright the painstakingly written Senate compromise bill produced by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

The outcome, Democrats say, could go a long way in defining Obama’s success over the next 3½ years.

“What do we do if it goes down?” asked one senior party official. “What other big thing is there to push?”

And it’s that last sentence that hits the nail on the head.

Because it isn’t even remotely government's job to “push” anything whatsoever. We live in a nation of free citizens, making their own decisions, who independently choose how to live their lives unencumbered by anyone else, anywhere, any time. And, as far as government goes, it’s there to keep the peace, guard the shores and see to the administrative chores and maintenance of public properties, such as streets and roads and bridges.

Furthermore, as we all have learned, especially under the current administration, the more that bands of inept bureaucrats get involved in citizens lives, the worse those lives become, as qualities decrease, obstacles arise and opportunity significantly shrinks. 

Therefore, if the Dem party wants some things to “push,” I suggest they get themselves carts, throw items in to hawk, go back home, find a vacant corner to sell from and leave the rest of us alone like the Founding Fathers originally intended.    

 

My second item today concerns something I suspected a while ago that I think might now be coming to pass.

At that time Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke, suggested he might be leaving his post to go back to the private sector, whereupon the incumbent immediately jumped in, trying to take credit for the job Bernanke had done, implying Ben wouldn’t be missed when he departed. 

While Bernanke made no issue of the incumbent’s slighting him, I remember writing that being discredited, humiliated and insulted after a job well done had to hurt. 

 

But more importantly, I suggested that Bernanke's certainly no dummy, extremely clever, far outweighing the incumbent in financial endeavors and therefore, would likely find some future way to retaliate. Although I certainly had no clue as to what that “gotcha” might be.  

 

And now we come to yesterday and Chairman Bernanke’s testimony before a Congressional committee.

During questioning Bernanke suggested that the Fed would likely continue pumping funds into the economy while keeping interest rates artificially low until the employment rolls reach satisfactory levels, which might take considerably more time. And since low borrowing rates permit securities traders to purchase very attractively, stock prices continue to rise giving a very false appearance to a still quite weak economy overall.

So, now we come to my point, which is that I suspect Ben might very well pull the plug on interest rates sooner than indicated in his testimony, causing a massive securities sell-off, thereby dampening the rest of the economy as well. 

 

And since, the incumbent likely doesn’t possess the financial acumen he touted, his administration will suffer the additional economic negativism the incumbent wrought on himself by slighting one of the very few excellent personnel choices he’s ever made.

Consequently, when the preceding comes to pass I’ll pat myself on the back for noticing the obvious so early on in the game.

That's it for today folks.

Adios

BloggeRhythms 7/16/2013

Over the last few days, I’ve been meaning to mention an item from July 9, but kept getting sidetracked by other news. On that date, House Speaker, John Boehner, addressed the incumbent’s move to delay the employer mandate in his health care tax for at least a year. 

 

I found Speaker Boehner’s comments on his website just now, which were: “I’m glad the president recognized that his health care law is not good for our economy. Because of ObamaCare, millions of full-time workers can only find part-time work.  Health care costs are going through the roof. I think Senator Baucus had it right, this is a train wreck.  This is what happens when you ram through a gigantic bill that no one has ever read.

But just delaying the employer mandate, frankly, isn’t good enough.  Today we sent a letter to the president asking him to justify delaying the employer mandate while leaving in place the mandate on individuals and families.  Because if businesses can get relief from ObamaCare, the rest of America ought to be able to get relief as well.” 

Now, my guess about the speaker’s reaction is that he made a very big mistake.

I think that because although its quite clear that Democrats are by far the worst legislators, poorest leaders, and know absolutely nothing about international affairs, the economy, or anything having to do with business at all…they’re very adept at politics itself. 

Even Slick Willie knew that the U.S. runs on its economy, and without financial strength the nation would fall apart at the seams, just like its doing now. And that’s why he left Republican Alan Greenspan at the top of the Fed. Because so long as Greenspan kept the economy humming, Willie could do just about anything else he pleased, and nobody really cared about how bad he was at everything else. You can even ask Monica Lewinsky about that one.

So, now we have another example of Dem political thinking. Because I’m quite certain that by now even the densest of those dunces clearly understands what a disaster their health care tax is. Which is why the incumbent’s giving businesses a break, whereas he knows that implementation will force unemployment even further through the roof. And if that happens, they’ll lose the coming mid-term elections in the biggest landslide of all time.

However, since businesses have been given a reprieve but individuals have not, it still exposes Dem’s to huge losses at the polls. 

 

In a situation like that, I’d think the Republicans would take advantage of the opening now provided to them and campaign hard against the tax, educating the public to the fullest possible extent about the rising costs, invasions of privacy, ruination of the health care system, rationing services and reduction of private practitioners, just to cite a few huge holes in the abysmally flawed plan.

But what did the Republicans do instead?

Why, they decided to demand that individuals get a year’s relief too, which will give the Dem’s a free ride until the mid-terms elections are over and done, saving them from significant losses of seats. And to me, it just doesn’t get any dumber than that.

Now, just one last thought.

I hear and read disputes all the time about the health care tax and its costs. Dyed-in the-wool Dem Kool Ade drinkers generally claim that the plan's well thought out and that overall, due to efficiencies, regulations and skilled management, costs will stay the same or perhaps, even reduce.  

Those on the other side usually employ graphs and charts, formulae, data and specific evidence establishing that costs must inevitably rise.

However, my approach is much simpler than that .

According to the CBO’s May report there are currently 55 million "Uninsured Nonelderly People." So, my question is, how do you add these folks to the system at lower cost, when health care pricing for government coverage is already too low now? And the answer  is, of course, you simply cannot because its impossible financially, structurally, mathematically or by any other analytical measure you choose. 

That’s it for today folks.

Adios

BloggeRhythms 7/15/2013

The other day, I mentioned that except for continual travel, I couldn’t think of anything Hillary Clinton ever did as Secretary of State. In fact, other than her denying involvement in Benghazi, I don’t remember her name ever coming up regarding anything important whatsoever.

 

When I mentioned her last time, I wrote that I believed her travel schedule depended on where her husband Willie was headed. And once she knew the locations she picked the farthest place on the planet from those to visit, especially since she really had no agenda or goals and wouldn't be missed by anyone in the administration at all.

 

I bring her up again today because, according to Jim Snyder and Danielle Ivory of Bloomberg on line via Drudge: “In her four years as the top U.S. diplomat, Hillary Clinton kept a running total of countries visited, miles traveled and hours spent in transit on the State Department website.” 

 

Then they go on to note that: “Still untallied: The bill to taxpayers for her globe-trotting.”

 

They further report that: “Bloomberg News last year asked for the details of out-of-town trips for the heads of 57 major departments in fiscal 2011, a test of President Barack Obama’s pledge to run the most open government in history. As of July 12, about one-fifth of those surveyed hadn’t responded. The State Department is one of five Cabinet offices that have yet to fully comply with requests under the Freedom of Information Act to disclose the details and expenses of official travel more than a year after they were filed.” 

 

According to Thomas Blanton, director of the National Security Archive, a Washington-based open-information advocacy group: “These are exactly the kinds of records Cabinet offices should have at their fingertips. You should not even have to ask for these records. They should be online already.” 

 

However, although there’s no mention of the costs involved, an idea of their extent can be estimated from information listed on “Travels with the Secretary” a State Department website page, which says: “She visited 112 countries, traveled 956,733 miles and spent 2,084 hours -- or more than 86 days -- in flight, according to the department.”

 

Additionally, “In the year ended Sept. 30, 2011, the time period subject to the FOIA filing, Clinton visited 46 countries, including Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Oman, Qatar, Mexico and Haiti in January of that year.”

 

So, in conclusion, I guess the nation could have saved a huge fortune if instead of ignoring Hillary and her travel altogether, the administration had kept her in D.C. and demanded she and Willy get marriage counseling or divorce.

 

And speaking of things that can’t or don’t work, I found another item today on Drudge by David Lightman and William Douglas of McClatchy’s Washington Bureau.  

 

The article discusses the proposed immigration bill which like anything else done in the Capitol contains “Details, bureaucracy and pork.”

 

Among the items mentioned is a task force that would have 33 members, 19 from the southern border region, 14 from the north and one of their missions would be “a recommendation as to whether the DHS Task Force should continue to operate.”

 

Aside from that, “Once a border strategy is set, it must be submitted to eight congressional committees, as well as the comptroller general.”

 

So, it seems to me that, as usual, the immigration issue is going backward. Which, of course, is because the Democrats don’t want the border really secured and all those thankful future voters kept out of the booths. Because anyone seriously interested in fixing the problems would start building an impenetrable fence this afternoon.  

 

The article contains some other interesting facts and data, so here’s a link: Inside immigration bill- Details, bureaucracy and pork

 

That's it for today folks.

 

Adios