During the holidays we kept saying something was seriously wrong with the difference between what the Media was reporting, and what the actual companies involved in the economic transactions were saying.   The media were intentionally misleading the broader public by selling positive economic talking points from Progressive Think Tanks of various forms (see Klugman and crew).    The Legacy Media, in all its forms, was selling a line of B.S.   Now the proof.

WASHINGTON DC – The nation’s economy unexpectedly shrank by 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012, casting fresh doubt on the strength of the economy recovery.

The new estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) from the Commerce Department marks the first time the economy shrank since it was in the depths of the recession in mid-2009.

The dip came as a surprise to economists. Experts had believed the U.S. would post a modest economic gain of slightly over 1 percent, after logging a 3.1 percent increase in the third quarter. (link)

As we shared back in September the 3rd quarter GDP was a total farce, a fabricated set of completely false economic data points.   When people like Jack Welch were pointing it out the media were rabid in their attacks.   There was no actual “growth” in the 3rd quarter either, it was all just a guise to cover for the election of Dear Leader. (more…)

Too good not to share via iOTW

Progressive and intolerant Colin Powell has the whole gun debate figured out:  “why can’t we just test everybody” before they are allowed to own a firearm?

There’s those pesky “Bill of Rights” thingy’s again.   Maybe we could test before allowing voting rights.  Or, well,  maybe a stability test before free speech expression, or religious affiliation.

What’s that, those other rights can’t kill people?  Really?  Think about that.

And NO, driving is not a “right”, so testing is not an appropriate comparison.   And if you cannot see the slippery slope to ownership of ice-cream purchasing based in physical exam and BMI (Body Mass Index) then you really don’t connect dots that well. (more…)

Authored by Larry Correia, who is the New York Times bestselling author of the Monster Hunter International series, the Grimnoir Chronicles, and the thriller Dead Six.

I didn’t want to post about this, because frankly, it is exhausting. I’ve been having this exact same argument for my entire adult life. It is not an exaggeration when I say that I know pretty much exactly every single thing an anti-gun person can say. I’ve heard it over and over, the same old tired stuff, trotted out every single time there is a tragedy on the news that can be milked. Yet, I got sucked in, and I’ve spent the last few days arguing with people who either mean well but are uninformed about gun laws and how guns actually work (who I don’t mind at all), or the willfully ignorant (who I do mind), or the obnoxiously stupid who are completely incapable of any critical thinking deeper than a Facebook meme (them, I can’t stand).

Today’s blog post is going to be aimed at the first group. I am going to try to go through everything I’ve heard over the last few days, and try to break it down from my perspective. My goal tonight is to write something that my regular readers will be able to share with their friends who may not be as familiar with how mass shootings or gun control laws work. (more…)

Considering John O Brennan is nominated to head the CIA, Chuck Hagel is nominated to head the Department of Defense and John Kerry is nominated to be the next Secretary of State.   It may seem odd to align the Treasury Secretary pick with them.   Odd that is, until you remember:

Prior to his position as President Obama’s Chief of Staff, and prior to him being Obama’s Budget Director (comical considering Obama has never had a budget) Jack Lew served as State Department Director under Hillary Clinton.    It was Lew’s influence that shaped and positioned the failed Obama foreign policy toward the Middle East.   Specifically toward Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya during their upheavel, the Arab Spring.   How has that worked out for our interests ?

President Obama has presented his Chief of Staff, Jack Lew, as his nominee for Treasury Secretary.   Make no mistake, this is not a decision made with the economic interests of the United States in mind, this is a highly partisan decision made with the specific intent of finding methonds of spending that will work AROUND congress.

Senator Jeff Sessions is right when he calls Jack Lew a “liar”, but the issues with Lew are far larger than his intentional propensity to mislead:

As the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Lew has spent an inordinate amount of time honing one specific aspect of federal spending. (more…)

Pat Caddell is a Democrat. But he is an American first. As he eloquently states” the political class swears an oath to the constitution, not their party. They exist at the consent of the governed and something is about to explode… something…..

Ya’ know something, this author sees some kind of morbid ‘told-ya-so’ satisfaction in the constituent Democrats coming to the realization that President Obama lied to them.  It does not relay the similar satisfaction to us.  

Perhaps it’s because regardless of the guise, and those who believed it, the people impacted are all Americans – even those painfully now aware of themselves being hoodwinked by the snake oil salesman – there is no satisfaction there.

A guy or gal making $500 bucks a week is now faced with a paycheck $30 – $40 smaller.  That’s $150+ bucks a month less to keep food, a roof, or a modicum of lifestyle afloat.  There is nothing satisfactory in that reality…. not even close.  It sucks… and there ain’t a drop of “hope” or “change” in sight…  Painful, is what it is.   Sad, and painful.

(Washington Times) — Sometimes, watching a Democrat learn something is wonderful, like seeing the family dog finally sit and stay at your command.

With President Obama back in office and his life-saving “fiscal cliff” bill jammed through Congress, the new year has brought a surprising turn of events for his sycophantic supporters.

“What happened that my Social Security withholding’s in my paycheck just went up?” a poster wrote on the liberal site DemocraticUnderground.com. “My paycheck just went down by an amount that I don’t feel comfortable with. I guarantee this decrease is gonna’ hurt me more than the increase in income taxes will hurt those making over 400 grand. What happened?” (more…)

Makes sense when you think about the pending LGBT opposition to Chuck Hagel for Defense Secretary.   If Barney can reach the Senate, he can deflect opposition by providing President Obama “Gay Credibility” in the confirmation process.  The Gay and Lesbian community will shut up if Barney Frank supports Hagel. 

BOSTON — Gov. Deval L. Patrick said that retired U.S. Rep. Barney Frank is a gifted legislator and would make a great interim senator.

“He is definitely on the list,” Patrick told reporters Friday. “I think he would be a great interim senator.”

Patrick’s comments came at a Statehouse press conference after Frank, a Newton Democrat, told MSNBC that he wants the governor to appoint him as an interim replacement for U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry. President Barack Obama has nominated Kerry to be secretary of state.

Responding to a reporter’s question, Patrick said it would be logical to appoint Frank, partly because he knows the issues in Washington and could hit the ground running. (article)

Sadly hilarious, in a predictable way…. we are only four days into the new year and already it appears five of our ten predictions for 2013 will come to fruition....

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has privately told other Democrats, including President Obama, that if the administration used its constitutional and executive authority to continue paying its debts in the face of House Republican opposition, he would support the approach, according to a source familiar with Reid’s message to the president.

The simplest escape route out of the debt ceiling impasse is for the president to direct the Treasury to find a legal way to pay its debts. The Treasury then has a variety of options. One gaining particular attention relies on a law that allows the Treasury to mint a coin of unspecified value and deposit it with the Federal Reserve. Those funds could then be used legally to pay debts. (more…)

“You know we have ten years notice on this fiscal deadline. And you know when they decided to address it? Ten years, one hour, and thirty-six minutes is when they finally decided to come up with a bill. They bring the bill to the floor. Which, I never saw the bill. I’m not sure there was ever a bill printed. But, I was told it was somewhere online at 1:36 AM and we voted at 1:39 AM. This is no way to run a government.“

CONFIRMED – The Senate was forced to vote on New Years Day, at 2:00am, for the “Fiscal Cliff Bill” exactly THREE, count them, 3 minutes after receiving it.   That means they had exactly 1.16 seconds to read each of the 154 pork-loaded pages, and analyze the “budget score“.   (Bill pdf) (more…)