Friday, February 28, 2014

BloggeRhythms

For Republicans, the health care tax is a gift that just keeps on giving.
 
Yesterday, according to Fox New’s Chris Stirewalt, Vice President Joe Biden related this message about ObamaCare to anxious Democrats gathered for the party’s winter meeting in Washington: “My central message to you is look: I think we should not apologize for a single thing.” Nothing? Not even a crashed Web site? Millions of cancelled policies? The “lie of the year” award? Skyrocketing premiums? Nope. On the contrary, Biden said Democrats should instead be heralding their accomplishments, chief among which is the health law that polls show dragging the party down in midterm elections and opening wide the door for Republicans to take over the Senate. “We are too shy,” Biden improbably said. “We are not talking about it enough, in my opinion.”
 
And that seems to be the major problem with the entire administration. Because while millions can’t find jobs as the economy shrinks, foreign policy has all but disappeared, dependency on foreign nations for oil remains for no reason other than politics and the nation’s worldwide standing continues to decline, the vice president sends a rah-rah message although his party's to blame for just about every negative thing that’s happened in the past seven years.
 
So, let him keep up his delusional ranting's because that’s the best way to insure his party's demise. Whereas the only way to repair the damage they’ve caused is to change direction, it will never happen because they don’t know how. Thus, their only forte is empty talk.
 
As far as the health care tax itself goes, Charles Krauthammer once again put it concisely on “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren,” saying:
 
“Here’s what’s happening. [ObamaCare is] hitting Democrats. It’s hitting Independents who are losing their insurance, losing their doctor. So, I think it’s this wide, broad effect. It’s like you are throwing darts at a board. It’s not that people are upset at a policy. If it hits you and your family, it’s going to hurt you. That’s why the bleeding is happening among Independents and also among Democrats.”
 
And that’s VP Biden’s real problem. Because he can rant and rave all he wants and talk till he faints. But too many people are being harmed in the real world because the tax is too poorly constructed and far too expensive to satisfy those needing the “affordable” health care that was promised. And what's worse, they're  now finding out that what they were sold was a total fabrication.
 
Then there was a far more subtle item, indicating what might be a very clear signal about Dem problems to come.
 
According to the Washington Examiner also via Chris Stirewalt;
 
“With his eyes on 2016, [Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.] next week …will begin putting meat on the bones of his campaign when he addresses  the Jack Kemp Foundation about economic policy [Monday]. There he is expected to talk about his jobs agenda and plan to give states a much broader spending role in fighting poverty…Google’s Washington HQ is hosting the event, giving the 42-year-old Rubio a little extra cache with the tech crowd.”
 
In this case, it’s not so much Rubio’s speech that's interesting because it’s just more of the same old rhetoric. But what caught my eye is who gave him the platform. Because Google’s a high-flying tech company full of bright, extremely successful, influential people that also happen to be on the young side. And if these are the one’s having enough interest to bring Rubio in, that bodes very well for Republican prospects among those really helping to shape the nation’s future and policies.
 
That’s it for today folks.
 
Adios

Thursday, February 27, 2014

BloggeRhythms

A major news story reports that yesterday  Arizona’s Governor, Jan Brewer, vetoed a controversial bill that would have allowed religious beliefs as a defense for denying service to gays and others.
 
After spending several days considering the bill, she decided “it had the potential to create more problems than it purports to solve. It could divide Arizona in ways we cannot even imagine and no one would ever want."
 
From my point of view, I never understood the controversy in the first place whereas, unless they had some kind of purposeful agenda, no rational people would patronize a place making them uncomfortable at all. There are thousands of other alternatives available.
 
I also don’t really understand why others preferences matter to people. As long as they mind their own business and leave me alone, I couldn’t care less if people made love to fire plugs, tree stumps or Martians. And in many cases, perhaps for a lot of bow-wows, same sex partnerships are the best they can do for themselves. From what I see, not  a lot of gay guys are going to make it with Maxim cover girls.
 
But then the whole subject got me to thinking about how large the gay population really is to make such an impact, so I looked it up and found in Wikipedia that:
 
“According to a Williams Institute review conducted in April 2011, approximately 3.8% of American adults identify themselves either as lesbian or gay (1.70%), bisexual (1.80%), or transgender (0.30%); which would correspond to approximately 9 million of adult Americans as of the 2010 Census. However, a measurable higher percentage acknowledge having same-sex attraction, or experience, without identifying as LGB. This makes it difficult to accurately record the demographics of LGBT people in the U.S. Though, studies from various nations, including the U.S., covering varying time periods and age groupings have produced a consistent range 1.20–5.60% of the adult population.”
 
Therefore, if you take the higher number, 5.6% of the population, that means that 94.4% of people have absolutely nothing to do with the subject at all, yet it makes national headlines and leads in much of the news. So, I guess in conclusion you can say that for a small group focused solely on self-interest, they make one hell of a lot of noise.
 
And then there was an update on Bill Clinton's wife.
 
“Politico reported this week that records from the Clinton White House held at the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Ark., are still being kept hidden from the public despite their processed status and the expiration more than a year ago of the legal reasoning for withholding the documents.
 
Politico reports that about 33,000 pages of documents have not been released, citing the National Archives, which runs the library.”
 
However, “In 2004, then-Sen. Hillary Clinton said that records at the Clinton Library would actually be available earlier than legally required. Clinton said the library would be about “openness” where people can “come and really study,” adding “everything’s going to be available.”
 
But now that she’s almost certainly running for president, the boss’s wife apparently has second thoughts about the record’s contents indicated by her strong desire to keep them secret. Which means that if old age doesn’t get her, perhaps her shady history will.
 
A short interview with Larry King provides more details. Here’s a link from Drudge: FLASHBACK- Hillary promised open library
 
That’s it for today folks.
 
Adios

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

BloggeRhythms

According to Fox News’ Chris Stirewalt, “President Obama claimed Tuesday that 4 million people have signed up for ObamaCare, part of the president's push to sign up as many people for coverage by the end of March. 
 
What you need to do is continue what you're doing and reach out with your teams in your respective cities, states, towns, counties because right now we only have a few weeks left," he told an organizing summit for Organizing for Action. "March 31st, that's the last call." 
 
After reading that, I did some quick homework on the costs, finding that Daniel Halper, of The Weekly Standard  wrote that “The latest estimate, is that Obamacare will cost $2.6 trillion dollars in its first real decade. The bill does not fully go into effect until 2014, therefore the estimate begins with that year.”
 
And also, Chris Conover, a Forbes contributor reported that, “The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office recently reported that Obamacare will shrink the economy by the equivalent of 2.5 million full-time (FTE) workers—roughly tripling its earlier estimate of job losses.”
 
Looking at the $2.6 trillion dollars to be spent, compounded by the millions of lost jobs, I calculated the 4 million sign-ups as a percentage of the population to find that the monstrous cost of the coverage applies to only .0126% of the population. However, in one way or another, 313,000,000 others who evidently have no interest in the program have had their coverage questioned or disrupted. And if that isn’t the result of unbridled lunacy in governance, I don’t know what is.
 
Nonetheless, the administration and its representatives keep going straight ahead, totally ignoring or completely distorting broken promises made and refusing to accept responsibility for their massive failures.
 
In that regard, here’s another example from the Stirewalt column today:
 
That was then - “Well, I think success looks like at least seven million people having signed up by the end of March 2014.”—Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to NBC News, Sept. 2013. 
 
This is now - “First of all, seven million was not the administration. That was a CBO, Congressional Budget Office, prediction when the bill was first signed. I'm not sure where they even got their numbers.” – Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to Huffington Post Tuesday.
 
But, the health care tax isn’t the only item this morning showing the administration’s dismissive attitude toward laws, regulations or procedures that disturb them, as follows.
 
Fox News reports that “In a scenario reminiscent of the furor over Arizona’s tough illegal immigration law in 2010, the state’s legislature has passed a bill protecting business owners who refuse to provide services for same-sex nuptials.”
 
Then, commenting on the bill, a Drudge article relates that, “Attorney General Eric Holder, though, has a solution if Brewer does opt to sign the law: selective enforcement. Holder told state attorneys general that they should not work to uphold laws they find objectionable.”
 
So, here we have the holder (no pun intended) of the highest position in law in the administration openly admitting that he believes laws should be selectively chosen, with enforcement dependent only on personal belief and individual agreement.
 
And that attitude certainly goes a long way to explaining how the entire administration’s run. Because it’s obvious now that all the unilateral changes made by the incumbent to the implementation of his health care tax fit right in with a philosophy that believes that laws, up to and including the Constitution, simply don’t apply to them at all.
 
That’s it for today folks.
 
Adios

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

BloggeRhythms

According to Bloomberg on-line about two minutes ago, oil was selling for $101.60 a barrel. Likely because of concerns about unrest in Venezuela. That amounts to an increase of about eleven dollars a barrel in the past three or four weeks. Gas prices are climbing daily at the pump.
 
I mention this because today, in Chris Stirewalt’s column in Fox News on-line: “President Obama told governors at a White House meeting Monday he expects to decide on the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada in the next couple of months, two Republican governors told Fox News. The timing of the decision could be crucial for embattled red-state Democrats looking for a way to show that they can get results from a president who constantly touts his ability to circumnavigate Congress.”
 
So, here we have a person watching the nation’s economy stagnate, the job market shrink, social services needs increase to the highest levels in history, yet playing political games with the cost of a key component of business and leisure expense. The blatant misuse of power is beyond belief.
 
At the same time, Stirewalt also reports that, “Republicans renewed their fight against ObamaCare on Monday in response to a new report in which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services concludes that 11 million small business employees will see their premiums rise under the law. 
 
The report… says the higher rates are partly due to the health law’s requirement that premiums can no longer be based on a person’s age. That has sent premiums higher for younger workers, and lower for older ones. The report found that 65 percent of small businesses would see a spike in insurance premiums and about 35 percent of small businesses would see lower rates for plans covering six million people, The Wall Street Journal reported.”
 
Nonetheless, there are indications that many of even the most ardent supporters on the left are reaching the realization of just how disastrous the health care tax is. To the extent that growing numbers of blind followers, ordinarily supportive of any and all things this administration does, are now backing away from the issue, as follows.
 
According to thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch, via Drudge, “The Obama administration is short of star power as it begins its last public relations blitz for ObamaCare.
 
President Obama’s celebrity supporters are not in the forefront as they were during the star-studded campaign-style videos that hogged the airwaves in 2008.”
 
The short article contains some interesting information on the subject, so I’ve included a link:  FADE- Hollywood A-Listers Distance Themselves from Obamacare
 
That’s it for today folks.
 
Adios 

Monday, February 24, 2014

BloggeRhythms

Two interesting items today, both from Chris Stirewalt’s column on Fox News on-line.
 
In Minneapolis in September 2009, the incumbent said,.”Look at what the Mayo Clinic is able to do. It’s got the best quality and the lowest cost of just about any system in the country. So what we want to do is we want to help the whole country learn from what Mayo is doing… That will save everybody money.”
 
Today, however, now that the health care tax’s actually been implemented,  “The top-ranked hospital cited by President Barack Obama as a national model for health care reform accepts only one kind of insurance plan under the new Obamacare exchanges. The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, a top 4-ranked U.S. hospital that performs 250 surgeries per day, only accepts Blue Cross Blue Shield silver plans under the new Obamacare exchanges. No other Obamacare exchange plans are accepted.”
 
At the same time, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says there is “absolutely no evidence” that ObamaCare will cause a loss of jobs.”
 
But the truth is that, “Sebelius personally approved cuts in government reimbursements for home health care, cuts that will reduce nearly 500,000 health care sector jobs according to independent analysts. What’s more, the people hurt most by the home health care assistance cuts are women, who make up the majority of home health care aides.”
 
Sibelius isn’t alone, though, when it comes to boldfaced fabrications, the stock and trade of the whole administration. National Security Adviser Susan Rice told NBC's “Meet the Press” moderator David Gregory on Sunday, regarding Benghazi that. “The information I provided … was what we had at the moment.”
 
And although, that story line’s been disproven for many months now, and even acknowledged by the White House, for some unknown reason this woman still insists on making a public farce of herself.
 
But it isn’t only Americans that now see right through the flaws, deception and evidences of total ineptitude of those supposedly heading the nation.
 
An item on Breitbart via Drudge notes that, “On February 22nd, former world chess champion and political activist Garry Kasparov intimated that if Barack Obama had been president instead of Ronald Reagan, the Soviet Union would still exist.
Kasparov was born in the Soviet Union in 1963. 
 
He is a renowned chess player, a human rights defender, and an outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Lenin. 
 
On February 22nd he tweeted: "I've said it before, but if Barack Obama had been president instead of Ronald Reagan, I'd still be a Soviet Citizen." 
 
So, I guess what today’s items illustrate is that loyal believers like Sebelius and Rice stay with the ship right till the very end, supporting the captain unequivocally. But then, even if they decided to abandon him and go overboard, they couldn’t. Because thanks to global cooling, water all over the planet’s frozen, likely maiming or killing them both on contact. 
 
That’s it for today folks. 
 
Adios

Sunday, February 23, 2014

BloggeRhythms

Not very much new in the news at all. However, for some reason or other, Drudge posted a story by Brian Burnes in the The Kansas City Star about AlGore.
 
On Saturday the former vice president spoke in Kansas City, citing why in his view, many more recent examples show how heavy use of fossil fuels is contributing to extreme weather events and trends.
 
Now, ordinarily, I’d perhaps have scanned the article and forgotten about it immediately as just another hustle for bucks by the con man. But the details got my attention, as follows:
 
According to Mr. Burnes, “Gore filled a Westin Crown Center ballroom with a 90-minute presentation, using photos and videos to illustrate a litany of floods, wildfires, torrential rains, droughts, dust storms, rising sea levels and increasing world temperatures.”
 
So, what that means is, aside from rising temperatures (which by the way, hasn’t happened for the past seventeen years according to RSS, Remote Sensing Systems,) according to Gore, fossil fuels are responsible for temperature warming and cooling, droughts, floods, dust storms, wild fires and torrential rains. In other words, whatever the weather does, good, bad or indifferent, fossil fuels are the cause. And that’s a pretty good position to take because, no matter what happens weather-wise, Gore can’t lose.
 
He then cited “the possibility of how flooding in Pakistan could destabilize that country, a nuclear power, and the possible effect that continuing drought in California might have on the world’s food supply.
 
Think about that,” he said. “The Dust Bowl is coming back, quickly, unless we act.”
 
I then read the comments following the article, one of which was from Phil Parker, Morning Show Host, KFYR Radio at KFYR Radio who wrote, “Given Al Gore's record for predictions, if I were in Kansas, I think I'd start building an ark,” which sums it up perfectly.
 
That’s it for today folks.
 
Adios

Saturday, February 22, 2014

BloggeRhythms

While the FCC has suspended its attempts to invade the sanctity of American newsrooms on the guise of “studying” what information is "critical" for Americans to have, the original idea fit perfectly into the administration’s tactics of power abuse.
 
It can be seen every day how much the administration’s strategy resembles that of Chicago’s political machine, seeking control in a wide range of aspects of life from the economy to employment, wages, national and social security, foreign relations, education, the environment, the military and most blatantly, usurping the nation’s entire health care system.
 
However, while these gains in power have been significant, aided by a fawning, supportive media, trends in news and information delivery are threatened by uncontrollable, popular renegades, such as Fox whose ratings indicate significantly larger viewership than left-leaning competitors. So then, what can the administration do about that?
 
One answer is to infiltrate sources of potentially damaging information, thereby stifling them from the inside, using “study” as the premise for applying pressure and likely, eventually censorship. And, even more frightening, utilizing closely tied allies to accomplish the mission.
 
Which brings us to today’s revelation from Mike Ciandella’s blog on cnsnews.com, as follows:
 
“The controversial "Critical Information Needs" study has George Soros' fingerprints all over it.”
 
Apparently, “Soros' gave more than $52 million to media organizations from 2000-2010. Two schools were working with FCC on the project, according to Byron York of The Washington Examiner. The University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Communication and Democracy, were tasked by the FCC with coming up with criteria for what information is "critical" for Americans to have. The schools involved have strong ties to liberal billionaire George Soros' Open Society Foundations and have gotten more than $1.8 million from it since 2000.”
 
If not suspended, “The FCC study would have covered newspapers, websites, radio and television, according to The Washington Post.”
 
So, like everything else concerning this administration, what’s seen on the surface rarely has anything to do with the façade presented. If you really want to learn the factual truth, ignore the rhetoric and follow the money.
 
That's it for today folks.
 
Adios

Friday, February 21, 2014

BloggeRhythms

There’s nothing much better than a self-appointed demigod being exposed as a hypocritical fraud. A major example can be see, for instance, when a supposed champion of the underprivileged plays golf at swank resorts between daily speeches excoriating the rich and successful.
 
And now we have another one in the City of New York.
 
Three days ago, according to the Associated Press via Fox News on-line, newly elected mayor, Bill de Blasio, “released his "Vision Zero" traffic safety plan which aims to eliminate all traffic fatalities. The plan proposed reducing the citywide speed limit to 25 mph, detailing more NYPD officers to enforce speeding violations and toughening penalties for speeding drivers.”
 
On Tuesday, he told reporters at a press conference that, "We hope that every time someone reads one of your stories, they're also asking themselves the question, are they handling their vehicle as responsibly as they could? 
 
The likelihood of a fatal crash and this statistic is very powerful. The likelihood of a fatal crash drops significantly for speeds below 30 mph. If we get those speeds down, it will be the difference between losing a life and saving a life."
 
And then yesterday, only two days later, “De Blasio was in the front passenger seat of the lead SUV of a two-vehicle caravan that was captured on video speeding, running through a pair of stop signs and not signaling when changing lanes. The footage, which aired on WCBS-TV, was taken as de Blasio returned to City Hall after a news conference in Queens.”
 
When asked, “The mayor's press office deferred to the police department for particulars of the incident because a member of the NYPD was behind the wheel of de Blasio's SUV.”
 
Some of the details include the following:
 
“The two bulky, black vehicles did not stop at two stop signs in the neighborhood. Later, the CBS camera — which was in a car that followed the mayor's motorcade — showed de Blasio going 40 mph in an area where the speed limit was 30 mph, and then nearly 60 mph in a 45 mph zone.
 
The SUVs were also shown changing lanes without using their directional signals. The total number of violations witnessed by the news crew would yield a suspended license, according to the CBS report.”
 
Consequently, here we have a typical Liberal who knows for certain what’s best for all. So much so that when given the chance he’ll impose his purported beliefs on everyone else. Yet, when it comes to himself, he’s above it all and does precisely what he likes, regardless. 
 
But at least the rest of the nation’s safe where today's subject’s is involved. Because, since golf carts simply can’t go that fast it likely won’t occur to the incumbent to reduce the vehicle speeds on the roads.
 
That’s it for today folks.
 
Adios

Thursday, February 20, 2014

BloggeRhythms

Yesterday oil closed at $102.85 per barrel. That’s an increase of more than $10.00 per barrel in the last couple of weeks. So, to give the price rise some perspective, here’s the result of some research I just did.
 
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2012 the nation imported 4,271,000 barrels per day from OPEC alone. A rough calculation adds up to 1,111,460,000 for the year.
 
For 2013, the only numbers available so far show the following number of barrels per month, also only from OPEC.
 
January            119,342,000
February          186,629,000
March               115,104,000
April                 113,393,000
May                  125,395,000
June                 114,753,000
July                  117,595,000
August             120,909,000
September       117,616,000
October,          105,745,000
November       105,856,000
 
If my arithmetic’s right, that adds up to 1,342,337,000 barrels imported for only 11 months of the year.
 
Now, if oil were simply to drop back to $90.00 per barrel or so, where it was last week, that would result in almost a trillion dollars and a half to be spent on other things like rent, food, clothing, entertainment, etc. instead of foreign fuel.
 
However, this administration is so enmeshed in pandering to its base of extremists, it won’t even apply the simplest common sense and relax drilling restrictions here, or permit the Keystone pipeline to ease price pressure via competition.
 
But instead, the incumbent flies to warm climes at taxpayer’s expense to play golf while his wife wears $12,000 dresses to parties. And maybe that’s why the acronym ought to be changed in his case from POTUS to PUTT ASS.
 
That’s it for today folks.
 
Adios

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

BloggeRhythms

Raymond Siller, longtime head writer on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," wrote an article published by Breitbart  on-line in which he claims that late night comics protect Obama.
 
What’s most interesting about the piece is that a seasoned professional with insider knowledge presents valid information about how the comics and networks think and also dissects trends in the voting public.
 
Mr. Siller opines that, “It isn’t that they’ve abstained from attacking Democrats. Bill Clinton got savaged during his eight-year run and we can expect torrential yuks if and when Hillary declares. But they’re tongue-tied when it comes to roughing up the present POTUS.
 
The only plausible explanation for their timidity is a fear of being labeled racist. That’s unfortunate. What rankles some Obama critics isn’t the color of his skin. It’s the thinness. Fox News and Rush Limbaugh get under it.”
 
And then Mr. Siller points out an aberration in executive thinking because, “The networks salivate for the precious 18 - 49 age viewer but weirdly ignore the political demo. Gallup’s numbers show that 38 percent of Americans identify as conservatives, 23 percent as liberals, and 34 percent as moderates. In other words, 72 percent of Americans aren’t liberal. Yet network news anchors list to the left.”
 
The statistics involved demonstrate something I often mention, which is the significant trend toward a network like Fox, that bucks the tide of leftist propaganda in its reportage, as noted in the column as follows.
 
“In 1996, TV executive Roger Ailes saw an opening and created the wildly successful Fox News Channel. In January’s cable news ratings, FNC came out on top with its shows taking the top 14 spots in total viewers. CNN had its third worst ratings month in its history. CNN lost 39 percent of its total primetime audience from the same month in 2013 and 35 percent of its primetime audience in the 25 -  54 age demo.
 
The CNN and MSNBC talking heads are reliable Obama hackolytes whose ratings tank because they’re in the tank for Obama. They just can’t help themselves. Ideology trumps business acumen.”
 
And that’s the key point of it all. Because just like the New York Times’ rapidly declining readership shows, TV audiences are more than fed up with reporting biases. Especially where news is filtered or altered for ideological purposes. 
 
However, no matter how hard networks might try to influence viewers by protecting favorites while smearing foes, the public’s grown too knowledgeable and too large to deceive as has been done in the past. And what the statistics indicate clearly is that quite soon, biased networks will be talking only to a small band of zealots and themselves.  
  
That’s it for today folks.
 
Adios

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

BloggeRhythms

While the incumbent’s in California playing golf, after pressing for another billion dollars to combat the climate change farce, Drudge posted an interesting article from the dailycaller.com, as follows:
 
“Food stamp redemption at military grocery stores, or commissaries, has nearly doubled since the beginning of the “Great Recession,” topping out at $103.6 million in fiscal 2013, from $31.1 million in 2008.
 
From FY 2009 to FY 2010 the level of spending jumped from $52.9 million to $72.8 million; from FY 2010 to FY 2011 the amount of SNAP benefits redeemed increased from $72.8 million to $87.8 million; from FY 2011 to FY 2012 it increased from $87.8 million to $98.8 million; and from FY 2012 to FY 2013 from $98.8 million to $103.6 million.”
 
So, what this indicates is that by pandering, fawning and kicking-back billions to the special interest groups that fund him, the incumbent's literally taking food out of the mouths of those in the military who willingly risk their lives to protect the nation and its inhabitants. Because, evidently, they need supplemental assistance for mere sustenance. And that’s why the the headline caught my eye, because I doubt any politician could get lower than that.
 
At the same time, according to Fox News on-line, The Wall Street Journal reported that, “An Iranian hack of the Navy's largest unclassified computer network reportedly took more than four months to resolve, raising concern among some lawmakers about security gaps exposed by the attack.”
 
The newspaper cited current and former U.S. officials who said the cyberattack targeted the Navy Marine Corps Internet, which is used by the Navy Department to host websites, store nonsensitive information, and handle voice, video, and data communications. 
 
The quoted official said that the Iranians were able to conduct surveillance and compromise communications over the unclassified computer networks of the Navy and Marine Corps. However, another senior official told the Journal that no e-mail accounts were hacked and no data was stolen. There is also no evidence that Iran was able to penetrate classified U.S. computer networks. 
 
The cyberattack is one of the one of the most serious infiltrations of government computer systems by the Iranians. The Journal reported that U.S. defense officials were surprised at the skill of the hackers, who were able to enter the network through a security gap in a public-facing website.” 
 
The reason this display of Iranian technical capability is so important can be seen in another aspect happening simultaneously.    
 
Pepe Escobar, of Asia Times on-line writes a column headed, The Roving Eye.
 
In one titled, “Iran's real 'nuclear' revolution,” Mr. Escobar reports that, “The nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) are back this Tuesday in Vienna. The stakes couldn't be higher. It will be a long and winding road. Hidden agendas on both sides badly want the talks to fail - and will spare no effort towards that goal.”
 
Therefore, Mr. Escobar’s conclusion was, “Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei could be interpreted as a stony realist, when he said that the talks will go nowhere.”
 
 
So, here we have an enemy nation demonstrating it’s technical sophistication on one hand, while continuing it’s nuclear capability on the other, seemingly having no intention of heeding any guidelines now, or later, imposed. And at the same time, the U.S. administration apparently ignores cold, hard, facts, playing instead to political supporters comprising its base.
 
Therefore, what today’s items illustrate is that when leaders are political hacks having no governing skills whatsoever, the nation not only deteriorates internally but becomes exposed to foreign threats that could easily be stopped were a real, knowledgeable, forceful effort made.
 
That’s if for today folks.
 
Adios

Monday, February 17, 2014

BloggeRhythms

Secretary of State, John Kerry, has had an exceptionally dull and pointless career as a hanger-on kind of  politician who’s never really done anything much. Although he’s done quite well as a gigolo, finding and marrying wealthy women.
 
He’s of interest today due to an article on Fox News quoting words of his about climate change that are absolutely correct, with one minor adjustment.
 
Yesterday in a speech in an Indonesian shopping mall, he said, “We should not allow a tiny minority of shoddy scientists and science and extreme ideologues to compete with scientific facts. Nor should we allow any room for those who think that the costs associated with doing the right thing outweigh the benefits."
 
Then he went on, "The science is unequivocal, and those who refuse to believe it are simply burying their heads in the sand. We don't have time for a meeting anywhere of the Flat Earth Society."
 
Now, as stated, he’s absolutely right except that he’s on the wrong side of the argument as usual. Because, there’s no hard evidence of climate change, except to political lobbyists supported by leftist extremists. 
 
Consequently, if you really want to see evidence of a tiny minority of  scientists and science and extreme ideologues, look at those pushing the climate change farce. 
 
And as far as Secretary Kerry himself is concerned, when he gets back home to Boston he’s going to need two shovels. One to clear the four foot deep snow piled in front of his house, and the other to remove the tons of BS that come out of his mouth.
 
That’s it for today folks.
 
Adios

Sunday, February 16, 2014

BloggeRhythms

Several items today, all from Fox News on-line, illustrate clearly how farces like climate change are used as political tools, despite their having no real validity.
 
On Friday, visiting drought-stricken California the incumbent said a so-called “climate resilience fund” will be included in his proposed fiscal 2015 budget. He says the $1 billion, taxpayer-funded program is to help communities across the country prepare for the effects of climate change.
 
He also said, “his administration will work with technology innovators and “launch new challenges” under its Climate Data Initiative.
 
On the other hand, two Republican challengers to incumbent California Gov. Jerry Brown say that the state's government failed to properly prepare for what they call a foreseeable drought crisis. 
 
The drought emergency Brown declared last month has added to the pressure on the Democratic governor to address longstanding problems with the state's water storage and delivery systems
 
Democrats and environmentalists have often resisted building reservoirs and expanding the state's storage capacity, instead favoring water conservation.
 
So, here we have another billion dollars of taxpayer's money going to be wasted again on issues that either don’t really exist. Such as “climate change” which hasn’t occurred for the past seventeen years and to bail out a California governor who cow-towed to constituents and never fixed an obvious problem that could have been solved years ago by simply digging a reservoir. 
 
And once again, Charles Krauthammer, summed up the situation quite nicely.
 
Explaining this year’s weather events, such as the drought in California and the major snowfall on the East Coast, he said, “That's not climate change. It's called winter and it happens every year.”
 
He continued, “It's happened every year for a long time and to me it's just plain cynicism to seize upon any event and then to use it as an example of a theory which is not a way to prove it and this billion dollars, this attenuation fund it is going to be exactly like the money that was spent on green energy. The White House’s theory behind climate change will instead be used as a “slush fund for crony capitalism” to favor specific individuals and companies.”
 
Now, while Mr. Krauthammer made his point clearly, succinctly and accurately, as usual, I mention this subject very frequently myself. And the reason I do isn’t just to point out the fraud in the subject of climate change. I keep banging away at the issue because some of the money being continually stolen by politicians comes out of my pocket too.
 
That’s it for today folks.
 
Adios

Saturday, February 15, 2014

BloggeRhythms

I rarely watch Neil Cavuto on Fox. And when I do, he seems more interested in trying to display his wit with barbs, puns and plays on words than he is in the news or his guests. In fact, he most often seems to be playing to his studio crew for laughs like bored comedians do.
 
I mention him because, before switching channels last night, I heard him tell a Republican pundit, whose name I didn’t catch, that he thought the Republicans would regret their permitting a clean budget bill to go through without a fight because it would come back to bite them next November at the polls. Cavuto further said to mark yesterday’s date, whereas that marked the point where the Republicans lost the coming election.
 
However, when expressing his opinion, Cavuto neglected to mention why the Republicans, and especially Speaker Boehner, decided to let the budget bill pass unencumbered.
 
Last time around, although absolutely correct in stalling the budget to the extent that they shut the government down, the Republicans were blamed for the outcome. And that’s because the vast majority of voters were likely unaware of the facts and thereby reacted to Democrat propaganda.
 
So, this time their approach is to let the budget slide, whereas there's only nine months to November. And although Speaker Boehner mentioned only the health care tax as a campaign target, there’s still Benghazi, the IRS, Keystone pipeline, off-shore drilling, global cooling, Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel among the world-wide errors and myriad incompetently handled issues this administration has been totally wrong about.
 
Therefore, although Mr. Cavuto marked his calendar, I marked mine as well. And if the Republicans win both houses next fall, as they’re expected to do, perhaps he’ll leave his show and try a stand-up routine because his crew will follow and always give him the applause he seeks.
 
And, mentioning clowns, there’s this item from cnsnews.com about another one, as follows:
 
“Biden was addressing the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference in Cambridge, Md. on Friday when he discussed why he feels positive about America and the upcoming mid-term elections.”
 
Here’s what he said. “It always surprises me when we don’t have the degree of optimism that we should about the state of the nation. And in spite of who’s president, in spite of who’s in the Congress, the American people are so much stronger, so much more resilient, so much more capable, that even the ridiculous policies of our friends on the right cannot keep them from moving forward.”
 
Now, in leading up to his swipe at Republicans, whether he meant to or not, he denigrated the incumbent and all the Dems' in Congress because they hold the majority. And the people’s “resiliency” he’s talking about shows their capability to overcome the legislation Biden’s own party keeps enacting by itself.
 
So, what he’s really saying, whether he knows it or not, is that the American people are so strong and capable, they’re even able to overcome  him and his cohorts who are diligently trying their damnedest every day to do them all in.
 
That’s it for today folks.
 
Adios

Friday, February 14, 2014

BloggeRhythms

Doyle Rice of USA Today via Drudge writes that, “Snow is on the ground in 49 out of the 50 states — only the Sunshine State of Florida is completely snow-free, according to a map produced Thursday morning by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (This doesn't mean that those 49 states are snow-covered, of course, only that some part of each state has snow.)”
 
Mr. Rice adds: “Although this map doesn't show it, there is snow in Hawaii, where webcams are showing snow on the high peaks of the mountain volcanoes of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea”
 
After reading the preceding, there was this one by Brian Hughes, White House Correspondent, The Washington Examiner via Fox News on-line.
 
President Obama on Friday will travel to California to announce new executive actions to combat the state's drought and will attribute the growing frequency of such conditions to climate change.
 
Obama will announce the expediting of $100 million in assistance for livestock producers, $60 million in food-bank funding for families affected by the drought and another $15 million for areas nationwide most severely harmed by dry conditions.”
 
Now, obviously, there’s plenty of money involved in all of the issues the Incumbent supports, which is perhaps why they gain his endorsement even though the facts prove them continually wrong. However, many costly things are part of his life style, as reported by Michael W. Chapman in his cnsnews blog, as follows:”  
 
“The blue and black designer dress that first lady Michelle Obama wore to Tuesday’s state dinner for the French president reportedly cost between $10,000 and $12,000, according to news media, which is more than the median annual household income worldwide of $9,733, and greater than the median income for households in at least 87 countries, according to data from Gallup.”
 
So, here we have a crystal clear example of how a socialist agenda really works for its leaders. Their goal is redistribution of all the wealth of others, but not a cent of theirs.
 
That's it for today folks.
 
Adios

Thursday, February 13, 2014

BloggeRhythms

As amazing at it seems, the Republicans may have finally figured out how politics works. House Speaker, John Boehner, pushed for and won the passing of a new debt limit bill with no strings attached.
 
What the speaker has now figured out is that even though his party was absolutely correct in trying to curtail unbridled Democrat spending last time the issue came up, by rightfully shutting the government down, the press took him to task, painting Republicans as self-serving miscreants. 
 
So this time, as Robert Costa of the Washington Post  reports: “Boehner argued that now is not the time to get drawn into weeks of dramatic headlines and fiscal battles with President Obama. “We’re not going to make ourselves the story,” he said. He spoke about the need for the party to not get mired in damaging endeavors.
 
Boehner’s delivery was crisp; his decision was final.”
 
What this means, then, is the only real issue in contention this coming November is the incumbent’s health care tax. And the way that ill-conceived, patch and glued abomination is heading, Republicans should easily wind up winning both houses of Congress.
 
In the meantime, though, another story today exposes the Dem’s for the humongous, hypocritical frauds that they truly are. 
 
Fox News on-line reports that, “Democrats who oppose the Keystone XL pipeline have thousands of dollars invested in direct competitors to the company looking to build the pipeline, public records show.
 
A recent environmental assessment by the State Department was seen as a step toward the pipeline’s approval, but Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., remains opposed to its construction.
 
“In my view, there is now enough evidence to conclude that construction of this pipeline is not in America’s long-term interest,” Kaine said in a statement on the review.”
 
But here’s the real truth of the matter: “The freshman Democrat has between $15,000 and $50,000 invested in Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, according to his most recent financial disclosure. Kinder Morgan is looking to build a pipeline that would directly compete with Keystone.”
 
Which brings me to a conclusion I’ve reached before. Because although I’ve written a lot of fiction in the books I create, I couldn’t make this stuff up regardless of how hard I tried. But the difference between politicos and myself is that the stories in my novels are supposed to be made up.
 
That’s it for today folks.
 
Adios

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

BloggeRhythms

Recent trends subtly indicate significant displeasure with Democrats in general, and the incumbent in particular, boding extremely well for Republicans next November. Two more negative Dem warning signs arose today.
 
Fox News on-line reports that “A moderate Republican city councilman has been elected mayor of San Diego in a special election made necessary with the resignation last year of Democrat Bob Filner, who stepped down amid a torrent of sexual harassment allegations.
 
San Diego becomes the nation's largest city with a Republican mayor, and Kevin Faulconer will be the only Republican to lead a major city in California, where Democrats hold all statewide offices.”
 
But, what’s most important is that in this Democrat bastion, “The two-term councilman and former public relations executive led Democratic Councilman David Alvarez by 54.5 percent to 45.5 percent.”
 
And that’s a huge reversal whereas, “Faulconer's win comes as the nation's eighth-largest city turns more Democratic. President Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney by 25 percentage points among city voters, and Democrats enjoy a 13-point advantage over Republicans among registered city voters.”
 
And then a second article points out what's likely the cause of the Dem voter revolt.. Because even the most ardent incumbent supporters are now getting fed up with constantly having to defend his illogical, unmanageable, poorly conceived legislation.
 
On Tuesday, Fox News contributor and USA Today columnist Kirsten Powers said on 'Special Report with Bret Baier' she’s tired of defending ObamaCare.”
 
Her taking that stance is quite a change from her usual course, were she ordinarily deems any and all liberal ideas to be perfect, even when they make no sense whatsoever. So much so that when she appears on screen, I change channels or make sure the TV sound is off.
 
But in this case, “Powers added that although she supported ObamaCare, the president’s rollout of the law isn’t working. And, “People who have supported this law, who support universal health care, are constantly being put in a position where they have to defend the president, who has really incompetently put this together, rolled it out.” 
 
So, as noted today and in the past, regardless of the hype, smokescreens and grandiose diversions foisted on the public, its always the “little things” that count. Therefore, adding up all the places this administration has to put fingers where the dike is leaking, when the negative flood comes there simply won’t be enough pails left to bail them out. 
 
That’s it for today folks
 
Adios

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

BloggeRhythms

While the incumbent's reputed to be a consummate politician, it seems that that quality doesn't help much when it comes to executive decision-making capability as POTUS. Consequently, it seems Republicans are gaining significantly in spite of their own shortcomings. 
 
Over the past few months in particular, as the incumbent’s health care tax implodes, he’s taken to executive action to defer major disasters  where possible, regardless of legality. In many cases though, the law’s so invasive and insidious, there are simply too many holes to plug. One of which surfaced today. 
 
Since firms employing 50 to 99 people are now required to cover healthcare costs, Fox New's Chris Stirewalt asks: “How will the feds know what employers were thinking when hiring and firing?" 
 
Stirewalt answers: “Simple. Firms will be required to certify to the IRS – under penalty of perjury – that ObamaCare was not a motivating factor in their staffing decisions. To avoid ObamaCare costs you must swear that you are not trying to avoid ObamaCare costs. You can duck the law, but only if you promise not to say so.”
 
So, here we have the government intruding into businesses’ managerial decision-making under penalty of law, literally forcing them to comply with intrusive regulations regardless of any true needs they may have regarding their own money management.  
 
And then there’s this one from MYFOXNY, regarding a similar abuse of power, as follows: “ A sign posted at a Falls Church, Va. location says ‘Holders of Black Card memberships will be required to pay a tax on these memberships Starting January 1, 2014 as required by the implementation of provisions of [ObamaCare]…This is not a change in your membership fee but rather a tax required by the government. The reason these accounts are forced to charge the new tax is because they include the option for members to tan at the clubs.  Obamacare has a tax on tanning salons.  It doesn't matter if the member uses or does not use the tanning facilities.”
 
Thus in this case, much like other mandatory taxes universally assessed, health club members must now pay for government targeted services whether they use them or not.
 
However, the reason the two preceding examples form the basis for today’s premise of Republican advantages gained is that, according to thedailycaller.com/2014
 
“Despite a tough month back home in New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie broke fundraising records in January as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, an aide told The Daily Caller.
 
“This January, with the help of Chairman Christie and all of our Republican Governors, the RGA raised $6 million,” RGA communications director Gail Gitcho said in a statement.
 
“That is more than twice as much that has ever been raised during the same month in RGA history, and twice as much that was raised in the last comparable cycle (2010) in the same month,” Gitcho said.
 
Therefore, although Christie’s mired in potential scandal and losing political ground himself, the Republican Governor’s Association he heads is still breaking fund-raising efforts. Which means that, in the eyes of contributors, a questionable Republican’s still more favorable than an incompetent, fabricating Democrat.
 
And although I’m surely aware that this is only a small example, my bet is it’s a clear indication of fed-up voters of all stripes all over the nation who are going to revolt at the polls in November..
 
That’s it for today folks.
 
Adios
 

Monday, February 10, 2014

BloggeRhythms

While there’s very little doubt that the incumbent’s health care tax is surely one of the worst legislative ideas ever created, one still has to wonder why the administration seemingly goes out of its way to make it even worse. Which raises the question question as to whether they’re simply incompetent in total, or purposefully aiming to perpetuate as much harm as they possibly can on the American people. 
 
Three separate items from Chris Stirewalt’s column on Fox News on-line today clearly illustrates the point, as follows:
 
“Accenture, the contractor hired to fix ongoing problems with the federal health exchange website, has been heavily criticized by some of its largest clients, including federal agencies, according to a published report. The Washington Post reports that the U.S. Postal Service Inspector General's Office recommended this past June that the agency consider terminating more than $200 million in contracts with Accenture. The recommendation cited an ‘absence of business ethics’ by the firm, including a 2011 settlement with the Justice Department to resolve allegations of ‘kickbacks’ and ‘bid-rigging’ in federal contracts. Accenture, which paid $63 million to resolve the claims, denied the allegations.” 
 
So, in this case an incompetent provider was replaced with one having significant problems as well. Also leading to the obvious question that if the company’s innocent of what’s been charged, why did they pay the claims involved?
 
Then, moving on, “Twenty-eight significant Obamacare regulations are still waiting for approval, according to a new study from the free-market American Action Forum (AAF), including five-month old rules surrounding the individual mandate. …The IRS itself may soon be struggling to get ready for its own…[ObamaCare] responsibilities in time. It’s already going to take the IRS 7.5 million hours to implement the individual mandate.”
 
In this case, we have a new tax that was sold by the incumbent as not only allowing satisfied customers to keep health care plans they like, but also reducing the costs of coverage as well. And now, its been established that not only was the promise a flat out lie, but implementation costs are going to go sky high as well.
 
But, if that isn’t enough, the Wall Street Journal “details why millions of lower-income Americans, too poor for ObamaCare subsidies and caught between mismatched state and Federal rules in states without expanded Medicaid programs are left without coverage.”
 
According to the paper, “Hospitals backed the health-care law because it promised to create new, paying customers. Instead, the failure to expand Medicaid coverage by some states not only adds fewer insured patients, it also eliminates the payments hospitals had long received to cover the cost of uninsured people they treat free.”
 
So, here we have the poorest of planning not only backfiring but creating a situation where everyone involved, insurance providers, hospitals or patients, all lose out. 
 
Consequently, in summing up today’s examples of total governmental incompetence, its inconceivable that the nation’s worst enemies could devise any more dire ways to harm huge segments of the population than is being done right now directly from the White House.
 
That’s it for today folks.
 
Adios

Sunday, February 9, 2014

BloggeRhythms

On Thursday, February 6, I posted the following: “Joel B. Pollak of Breitbart on-line reports that: “The New York Times announced Thursday that profits had fallen nearly 50% in the fourth quarter of 2013 compared to the same period a year before.”"
 
I then suggested that it seems that not only is this paper losing its audience, greatly growing numbers of people are becoming fed up with left-leaning media and their causes altogether.
 
And then today, the Times published an article by Porter Fox, titled The End Of Snow?  
      
Mr. Fox writes that, “Officials canceled two Olympic test events last February in Sochi after several days of temperatures above 60 degrees Fahrenheit and a lack of snowfall had left ski trails bare and brown in spots. That situation led the climatologist Daniel Scott, a professor of global change and tourism at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, to analyze potential venues for future Winter Games.”
 
As far as climatologist Scott’s concerned: “His thought was that with a rise in the average global temperature of more than 7 degrees Fahrenheit possible by 2100, there might not be that many snowy regions left in which to hold the Games. He concluded that of the 19 cities that have hosted the Winter Olympics, as few as 10 might be cold enough by midcentury to host them again. By 2100, that number shrinks to 6.”
 
So, here’s this guy, Scott, speculating about a 7 degree rise in temperatures over the next 86 years when forecasters with the most sophisticated equipment on earth don’t always know what the weather will be tomorrow. What’s more, overall climate hasn’t changed in 17 years at all.
 
Yet, the Times gives this guy a forum from which to spout pure speculation as if were unconditionally valid. And perhaps, that’s why their circulation’s falling faster than temperatures are. Because people are obviously tired of being constantly mislead.
 
But as far as Scott goes, if this guy really wants to find out what the trend in temperatures actually is, he ought to come to New York and open a window. And then maybe he’ll be able to type a valid report, just as soon as his fingers thaw out.
 
That’s it for today folks.
 
Adios

Saturday, February 8, 2014

BloggeRhythms

With each passing day, the administration’s  foreign policy incompetence grows more obvious. Especially regarding Iran. Because if the U.S. were to show some spine, that nation might actually decide to cease its nuclear weaponry ambitions. 

However, Iran not only expects to pursue becoming the major military force in its region, U.S. hands-off policy has emboldened the nation even further, as follows:

According to AP on-line via Drudge, “A senior Iranian naval commander says his country has sent several warships to the Atlantic Ocean, close to U.S. maritime borders for the first time.

Iranian officials said last month that the fleet consisted of a destroyer and a logistic helicopter carrier, which will be on a three-month mission.

Haddad says the fleet is approaching U.S. maritime borders for the first time. The Islamic Republic considers the move as a response to U.S. naval deployments near its own coastlines. The U.S. Navy's 5th fleet is based in nearby Bahrain.”

So, here we have this backward country whose only strength is its threat to harm its neighbors with nuclear weapons which is remindful of a movie made in 1959, The Mouse That Roared, starring Peter Sellers.

The plot, according to Wikipedia entails, “The tiny (three miles by five miles) European Duchy of Grand Fenwick, supposedly located in the Alps between Switzerland and France, proudly retains a pre-industrial economy, dependent almost entirely on making Pinot Grand Fenwick wine. However, an American winery makes a knockoff version, "Pinot Grand Enwick", putting the country on the verge of bankruptcy.

The prime minister decides that their only course of action is to declare war on the United States. Expecting a quick and total defeat (since their standing army is tiny and equipped with bows and arrows), the country confidently expects to rebuild itself through the generous largesse that the United States bestows on all its vanquished enemies (as it did for Germany through the Marshall Plan at the end of World War II).”

Now, except for the facts that Iran is considerably larger than Grand Fenwick, and its only product is oil not wine, the rest of the circumstances are pretty much the same.

However, the really incredible part of the whole scenario is that the movie was intended to be a farce. But while the administration's supposed to be realistic and serious, its sitting back watching while the same script plays out in real life. 

To see the details of the movie, here’s a link: Mouse_That_Roared

That’s it for today folks

Adios

Friday, February 7, 2014

BloggeRhythms

The incumbent and his administration prove time and again they know absolutely nothing about national governance. Whether the subject’s the economy, foreign affairs, education, employment, illegal immigration, taxation and certainly health care, they’ve failed worse than miserably in every aspect of decision-making.
 
However, when it comes to dirty politics, just like Chicago’s only forte, they’re consummate professionals, as evidenced by the following from Chris Stirewalt’s column on Fox News on-line:
 
“Now the administration is considering adding more years to [the existing individual health insurance policies] to avoid another wave of problems if rates on the exchange climb too high and people are left without an affordable coverage option. Health insurers are supposed to submit by May the rates they want to charge on the exchanges next year.”
 
So, what this clearly illustrates is that the administration realizes its health care tax can’t be successful as structured, and in fact, should probably be repealed in total. But, since it’s the incumbent's one and only gasp at remaining a legend in his own mind, a delay has value.
 
Because, the suspension will be for three years, which just happens to coincide with his departure from office. Which means he can then go off to a golf course in Hawaii, and blame the next guy who’ll be stuck with the problem, provided the tax isn’t repealed before then.
 
Then there’s one more small item from the same column, which says that, “AOL CEO Tim Armstrong during an appearance on CNBC Thursday revealed that Obamacare is costing the company $7.1 million. ‘Obamacare is an additional $7.1 million expense for us as a company,’ Armstrong said. ‘So we have to decide whether or not to pass that expense on to employees or whether to cut other benefits.’’
 
Consequently, in this case, one way or another AOL employees are going to lose $7.1 million in benefits, all because of the health care tax. Which means that employers all over the nation are facing the same problem and are likely to follow suit, costing workers everywhere.
 
But, as noted at the start today, none of this should be surprising when those running the nation have no knowledge, experience or understanding of how the economy actually works. But sadly, the way things are going for them, and as the polls are showing, this isn’t Chicago and they don’t understand national politics either, which is why they have to lie their way in.
 
That’s it for today folks.
 
Adios

Thursday, February 6, 2014

BloggeRhythms

Some interesting trends are continuing in development, illustrating that folks are quite fed up with liberal bias in the media.
 
While the incumbent tried to use Fox TV as an outlet for his evasion and double-talk, Joel B. Pollak of Breitbart on-line reports that: “The New York Times announced Thursday that profits had fallen nearly 50% in the fourth quarter of 2013 compared to the same period a year before.
 
Earnings per share dropped by roughly two-thirds, from $0.76 to $0.24. Total revenues were down 5.2% and advertising revenues were down 6.3%, with print advertising revenues falling by 7.0% and digital by 4.3% over 2013. The company added digital subscribers, up 19% in the fourth quarter of 2013 compared to same period in 2012, but its circulation revenues were down, too.”
 
So, it seems that with CNN and MSNBC also losing viewership in droves, many more people now realize the cause of their financial, health and physical safety problems. Which is why they’re seeking hard information, being fed up with media spin.
 
Then another example of governmental ineptitude cropped up today, as reported by Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer
 
“General Motors' fourth-quarter profit rose 2 percent from a year ago, but the company fell short of Wall Street expectations as it spent heavily to restructure outside the U.S."
 
Reading further, New Chief Financial Officer Chuck Stevens said Wall Street analysts "didn't comprehend that restructuring. Much of the restructuring costs were for employee severance expenses.”
 
Which means that after losing $10.5 billion of taxpayer’s money spent to bail the company out, under the guise of helping the economy and creating jobs, GM’s moving its manufacturing somewhere else while firing employees here at home.
 
Consequently, with the administration’s financial capability this inept, taxpayer's should feel fortunate that the national debt’s only $17 trillion.  
 
And then, Fox News on-line reports that: “The CBO report acknowledged that nearly 2.5 million workers could opt out of full-time jobs over the next decade, choosing instead to work part-time and receive health care from exchanges.”
 
However, here’s the part that’s incredible. “In a statement Tuesday, Jay Carney said: “as part of this new day in healthcare, Americans would no longer be trapped in a job just to provide coverage for their families, and would have the opportunity to pursue their dreams.”
 
The statement itself is so preposterous, it’s hard to believe a rational human being would utter it. Because not only is health care only one cost of life, what “dreams” are people on that end of the income spectrum going to pursue?
 
Or, is there some unknown government plan down the road to cover the costs of rent, food, clothing, transportation, utilities, entertainment, as well as other costs of living? Because, when unemployment insurance eventually runs out, day-to-day expenses keep right on going.
 
That’s it for today folks.
 
Adios