by Jed Lewison

Sun Oct 31, 2010 at 05:00:03 AM PDT

[Such a good reminder, we're going to run it once every day until the election. Susan]

Questions:

1. What was the average monthly private sector job growth in 2008, the final year of the Bush presidency, and what has it been so far in 2010?

2. What was the Federal deficit for the last fiscal year of the Bush presidency, and what was it for the first full fiscal year of the Obama presidency?

3. What was the stock market at on the last day of the Bush presidency? What is it at today?

4. Which party's candidate for speaker will campaign this weekend with a Nazi reenactor who dressed up in a SS uniform?

Answers:

1. In 2008, we lost an average of 317,250 private sector jobs per month. In 2010, we have gained an average of 95,888 private sector jobs per month. (Source) That's a difference of nearly five million jobs between Bush's last year in office and President Obama's second year.

2. In FY2009, which began on September 1, 2008 and represents the Bush Administration's final budget, the budget deficit was $1.416 trillion. In FY2010, the first budget of the Obama Administration, the budget deficit was $1.291 trillion, a decline of $125 billion. (Source) Yes, that means President Obama has cut the deficit -- there's a long way to go, but we're in better shape now than we were under Bush and the GOP.

3. On Bush's final day in office, the Dow, NASDAQ, and S&P 500 closed at 7,949, 1,440, and 805, respectively. Today, as of 10:15AM Pacific, they are at 11,108, 2,512, and 1,183. That means since President Obama took office, the Dow, NASDAQ, and S&P 500 have increased 40%, 74%, and 47%, respectively.

4. The Republican Party, whose candidate for speaker, John Boehner, will campaign with Nazi re-enactor Rich Iott this weekend. If you need an explanation why this is offensive, you are a lost cause.

The moral of the story is this: if you vote Republican, I hope you enjoy Election Day -- because you're not going to like what comes next.

If you think you understand what the tea party is about, you owe it to yourself to watch this. It's a little long, about 20 minutes but it shows just how much the tea party is lying.
If you have trouble believing any of this, it's too late for you. The comments reported have been fact checked by factcheck.org, a totally non partisan organization that even the Republicans use.

Watch this then decide how you can justify a vote for any tea party candidate.

By the way, you'll never hear or see this on Fox or the Major News Channels as all they are concerned about is sensationalism and profits...otherwise why so much coverage of candidates like Palin and O'Donnell and Angle who aren't qualified to hold dog catcher jobs.

Independents and moderate Republicans,
Open you minds for 20 minutes. It will affect your next 2 years...or longer!

Just watch it, then explain it, if you can!
Thanx to DW at bigbrassblog.com

From C&L:

All this anger and frustration at the state of the country is supposedly resulting in this huge anti-incumbent fervor, but do the tea baggers REALLY think that the Republican Party wants to fix what's broken in DC? Surely, you jest.

In anticipation of major GOP gains in next week’s elections, House Republican leaders have put together a list of experienced Washington hands to help fill top staff positions for the surge of newly elected outsiders.

Leading the effort are Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio), Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) and the National Republican Congressional Committee.

The leaders have put together a list of about 75 to 80 potential chiefs of staff, including current and former Capitol Hill staffers and lobbyists who have been recommended or have inquired about working for an incoming Member, according to several Republicans familiar with the document.

“There will be a lot of new, energetic Republicans coming to town — some of whom will have staff, others who will begin to assemble their teams,” Cantor spokesman Brad Dayspring said in an e-mail. “There’s a lot of important work to get done right out of the gate, so it’s important that newly elected Republicans have access to experienced, competent staff so that they can hit the ground running.”

One former GOP staffer said leadership has been actively, but informally, seeking individuals to fill the chief of staff positions for new Members from tough districts. The goal is to help the freshmen navigate Washington and to guide them through future election cycles.

“Every election cycle, the NRCC offers to assist our new members by providing a résumé file of qualified staffers,” NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain said in an e-mail.

Several Republican lobbyists said it is important for GOP leadership to assist incoming lawmakers with filling senior-level staff positions, especially for those who could face tough re-election races in 2012.

“You want to be sure that the newbies, when they hit town, do not necessarily bring their campaign staff to run their Congressional offices, because in some cases they are totally ill-equipped,” one veteran Republican lobbyist said. “Winning an election is one thing, running a Congressional operation is another. A lot of these folks are really, really new to politics.”

Besides being completely incoherent in their politics--wanting to have government out of Medicare, supporting tax cuts for the very wealthiest, adding billions of dollars to the deficit and yet, clutching pearls over the deficit, supporting the party that actually grew the size of the government while decrying the size of the government--tea bagging supporters of these upstart candidates think they're bringing in new thinking and new way of doing business in Washington DC.

Suckers.

Those entrenched, establishment Repubicans will put their entrenched, establishment lobbyists and staffers in the offices of any tea bagger who quixotically wins a seat. And those staffers, don't kid yourself, will make sure that nothing changes.

...in case you didn't know!

PA's Pat Toomey has an extremism problem

From C&L:

Pat Toomey, one of the first wingnut candidates back in the 2004 election, once held a commanding lead in Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate race. It was so strong that it forced "Magic Bullet" Specter to leave the GOP and become a Democrat. Toomey is the ex-henchman for the Club For Growth, a Grover Norquist anti-tax groupie and a James Dobson favorite. Dobson hated the fact that Specter said he wasn't going to hold judicial nominees to a litmus test, so he stepped in to get rid of him. As the election closes in, Joe Sestak has crept up in the polls and now they appear to be almost even.

Toomey's hometown paper came out yesterday and said that he might actually have a little extremism problem after all. Well, there is this: "Pat Toomey says if elected he would end abortion and put doctors in jail".

The Morning Call:

Joe Sestak and fellow Democrats want to make Pat Toomey the fringe candidate by pointing out he voted with Rick Santorum, is being backed by Sarah Palin and once ran Club for Growth, a group that backs two of the nation's more colorful candidates, Rand Paul in Kentucky and Sharron Angle in Nevada.

Suddenly, it seems to be working.

What's unclear is whether it will last and what Toomey, a conservative Republican, can do about it, except highlight Sestak's liberal record and views as a Delaware County congressman.

At their first debate Wednesday night, Sestak showed that his endgame strategy is turning voters off to Toomey by linking him to polarizing figures like Palin or Christine O'Donnell in Delaware. He used their names a number of times in his answers. Toomey, after the debate, called it "silly."

But it's not silly if it's effective.

Larry Ceisler, a Democratic consultant in Philadelphia, suspects Democratic voters may be paying closer attention now. They may be disappointed in President Barack Obama, but they are afraid of the alternative after hearing about controversial Republicans such as O'Donnell, or Paul, or Angle.

"Toomey's challenge is he can get thrown in with the O'Donnells and the Palins or he can find a way to distinguish himself [in voters' minds]," Ceisler said. "If he loses this race, it'll be on the social, cultural issues."

Fresh poll numbers, including the Morning Call/Muhlenberg College Tracker, show the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race to be a virtual tie after months of Toomey enjoying a healthy lead.

Sestak is airing a television commercial that shows footage of Toomey saying he would support legislation to "ban abortion and I would suggest penalties for doctors who perform them." The ad also links him to Santorum, whom state voters turned out of office, and to Palin.

Democrats pounced Tuesday on a Facebook post written by Palin in which she credited candidates who oppose "cap and trade" legislation on industrial emissions. In it, Palin grouped Toomey with more polarizing figures like Paul and Angle. The Democrats branded the post an endorsement.

This race has tightened up because Americans are seeing more and more of the extremist positions many of the Tea Party candidates revel in. The debates in many if the states have generated national interest because so many of the Republicans are simply anti-working class and they can't hide that fact. Let's hope this trend continues.

Here's a few more of Toomey's Extreme Greatest Hits:

Pat Toomey thinks that the economic meltdown should have continued to the bitter end

You Know Who Dick Armey Thinks Is To Blame For The Tea Party? Pat Toomey, Naturally.

Pat Toomey Tells Ted Koppel He Wants To Phase In Private Accounts For Younger Americans To Replace Social Security

I wonder if Palin can see her house from PA? She certainly can't see West Virginia. Go Sestak!

Is it possible that someone running for office in this country, a 40 year old (virgin, she says), could actually be stupider than Sarah Palin? This moron makes you wonder at the intelligence of those who claim to be tea baggers. Are all you tea bigots as bright as O'Donnell?No wonder you support Republicans and hate yourselves.

I guess that explains a lot!

From FDL:

AMENDMENT 1
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, or petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The exchange came in a debate before an audience of legal scholars and law students at Widener University Law School, as O’Donnell criticized Democratic nominee Chris Coons’ position that teaching creationism in public school would violate the First Amendment by promoting religious doctrine.

Coons said private and parochial schools are free to teach creationism but that "religious doctrine doesn’t belong in our public schools."

"Where in the Constitution is the separation of church and state?" O’Donnell asked him.

When Coons responded that the First Amendment bars Congress from making laws respecting the establishment of religion, O’Donnell asked: "You’re telling me that’s in the First Amendment?"

Her comments, in a debate aired on radio station WDEL, generated a buzz in the audience.

Many of the students where dumbfounded that someone could be so incredibly stupid.

This is what happens during times when people who know nothing about economics (like Tea Bigots and Most Republicans) try to reduce a deficit by cutting spending. And our dear demented representative is for this approach rather than creating jobs.

Cutting taxes when people aren't making enough to make a difference doesn't help the middle class. Think about it for a minute.

If your taxes go down less than 1% (which is the average tax cut of NON TAXABLE INCOME for those making over $75,000 annually - and virtually nothing for those making less! - 1% of $100,000 is $1000 they get in addition to other tax sheltering advantages the middle and lower classes can't take advantage of because they JUST DON'T HAVE THE MONEY, while 1% of 25,000 is $250 or the amount you get. If you think that's fair, you are being brainwashed by the Republicans) what happens when local municipalities don't get Federal Funding to clear your roads of snow, fix potholes or provide other "socialist" services? They RAISE LOCAL TAXES to make up the difference. Your tax break is gone but proportionately those in the upper brackets lose significantly less because they can write off more than you. Yep! Those who make a few hundred thousand per year get an extra large tax break and the middle class gets stuck with the local bills for fixing roads etc....again.

TEA BIGOTS! WAKE UP! You are supporting the wealthy, not yourselves! And the Republicans love you for it. You want another 8 years of Bush corruption and Wall Street billionaires? Vote Republican. You'll get even more than what Bush/Cheney did to this country...or have you forgotten? Or are you just ignorant and crazy?

From Robert Reich:

Former Secretary of Labor; Professor at Berkeley; Author, 'Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future'

The Fed's New Bubble (Masquerading as a Jobs Program)

The latest jobs bill coming out of Washington isn't really a bill at all. It's the Fed's attempt to keep long-term interest rates low by pumping even more money into the economy ("quantitative easing" in Fed-speak).

The idea is to buy up lots of Treasury bills and other long-term debt to reduce long-term interest rates. It's assumed that low long-term rates will push more businesses to expand capacity and hire workers; push the dollar downward and make American exports more competitive and therefore generate more jobs; and allow more Americans to refinance their homes at low rates, thereby giving them more cash to spend and thereby stimulate more jobs.

Problem is, it won't work. Businesses won't expand capacity and jobs because there aren't enough consumers to buy additional goods and services.

The dollar's drop won't spur more exports. It will fuel more competitive devaluations by other nations determined not to lose export shares to the US and thereby drive up their own unemployment.

And middle-class and working-class Americans won't be able to refinance their homes at low rates because banks are now under strict lending standards. They won't lend to families whose overall incomes have dropped, whose debts have risen, or who owe more on their homes than the homes are worth -- that is, most families.

So where will the easy money go? Into another stock-market bubble.

It's already started. Stocks are up even though the rest of the economy is still down because of money is already so cheap. Bondholders (who can't get much of any return from their loans) are shifting their portfolios into stocks. Companies are buying back more shares of their own stock. And Wall Street is making more bets in the stock market with money it can borrow at almost zero percent interest.

When our elected representatives can't and won't come up with a real jobs program, the Fed feels pressed to come up with a fake one that blows another financial bubble. And we know what happens when financial bubbles get too big.

Nearly all (95%) of the companies listed here have given (much) more money to the Republicans and tea bigots than to the Democrats. These companies don't give one damn about local business or local people.
Why do they hate American Workers?
They want more Republicans in office so more Republicans can create more legislation to export more American jobs. The Republicans just defeated a bill that would have fined companies for outsourcing American jobs! But they want you to vote for them? So they can outsource more jobs?

And Toomey may be the worst of the lot!

And you still want to elect Republicans?

Click the link to see which companies are outsourcing jobs in our area.

From Mills River Progressive:

Job Tracker

Visiting the old stomping grounds a while back, I chanced to stop at a relatively new bar in town, "Harrison's Bar and Grille" in the Heights Plaza. While the Plaza has been mismanaged for quite a while by people who live out of state and don't really give a damn about this area, it was a pleasant surprise to see this new endeavor.
I was there a couple of weeks ago and had a very good dinner. The service was quite good and the waitresses were courteous, prompt and knowledgeable about the menu.
Prices were in line with what I'd expect and the selection of beer was very nice (except for the lite beer, which as everyone knows, isn't really beer!)
I missed the all you can eat crab legs Tuesday but intend to return.
If you're looking for a great place to eat, nice atmosphere, maybe watch a game or two on their screens or even show up on a Friday night to listen to an eclectic selection of music or try your part at karaoke (evidently Shake DJs there Friday nights...all you fans), Harrison's is a fine Bar and Grill to frequent.
Try it out. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed it enough to add their logo to the top of the page...no charge!
I heartily recommend Harrison's!

g

The photo has been extensively passed around today, and for good reason: it's a peak into the rarely-seen world of mechanically separated meat, or Advanced Meat Recovery (AMR).

Fooducate writes:

Someone figured out in the 1960s that meat processors can eek out a few more percent of profit from chickens, turkeys, pigs, and cows by scraping the bones 100% clean of meat. This is done by machines, not humans, by passing bones leftover after the initial cutting through a high pressure sieve. The paste you see in the picture above is the result.

Michael Kindt continues:

There's more: because it's crawling with bacteria, it will be washed with ammonia, soaked in it, actually. Then, because it tastes gross, it will be reflavored artificially. Then, because it is weirdly pink, it will be dyed with artificial color.

But, hey, at least it tastes good, right?

High five, America!