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Funny things happen when the government borrows trillions and transfers a rising chunk of it to individuals: GDP goes up and so does the dependence on government borrowing. Frequent contributor B.C. submitted a fascinating and deeply disturbing chart which depicts government transfers skyrocketing to 22% of personal consumption and 20% of personal income. That means that one out of every five dollars in personal income now comes from the Federal government. Note that this is fully triple the 7% rate at the end of the great postwar Bull market (1967). Also note that the percentage of income has leaped from...

The U.S. dollar continued to tumble against most Asian currencies Thursday, prompting a wave of foreign-exchange intervention by central banks in South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines and Thailand seeking to limit damage to their export industries. Traders said the dollar selloff is unlikely to fade soon, given the prospect for a long period of low U.S. interest rates to support a sluggish U.S. economy and increasing signs central banks in Asia will begin tightening monetary policies in the months ahead. Surprisingly strong employment data in Australia bolstered speculation the Reserve Bank of Australia — which Tuesday became the first among...

Never has an administration who had more firepower at their disposal, been set to so totally fail in the next six to eight weeks. It is nearly a foregone conclusion. It is nearly unavoidable. And it defies all logic given the sizable majority the administration has in both houses of Congress. Since I was the first pundit to predict Obama's presidency (Dec 2006) it behooves me to tell you the course I believe the next few weeks will take and effectively halt the radical transformation that the left appeared unstoppable with only months ago. 1. Health Care's long and painful...

Here is video from Turkey of how NOT to implode a building! The building used to house a Flour Factory, and when the planned implosion took place, instead of collapsing, the building rolled over onto its side and ended up upside down on its roof right up against an apartment building. Sky News reports there were no casualties. . . . . . (Watch Video)

Democrats have big majorities in both houses of Congress, but cracks are emerging — both legislatively and politically — that threaten to pit liberals and centrists against each other. Where President Bush was able to enforce tight discipline on the Republican Conference while his political advisers exercised an iron grip on the national party, President Obama and his advisers have been less able to do so. That, political watchers say, is not unusual, especially for a Democratic president. “The Democrats have always been herding cats,” said Rhodes Cook, an independent political analyst. “They’ve always been considered to be the more...

The GOP's top Internet official is leaving the Republican National Committee. Arguably the most respected technocrat in the Republican Party, Cyrus Krohn is just the latest in a string of officials to resign from the RNC; last week, the RNC's finance director quit. But because GOP Chairman Michael Steele made leveraging the Internet to attract voters to the Republican Party a top priority ina tech summit two weeks ago, Krohn's departure comes as an especially heavy blow -- not just to the RNC, but to the conservative blogosphere. A veteran of Microsoft and Yahoo, Krohn joined the RNC in July...

The Obama campaign has decided to heave out three newspapers from its plane for the final days of its blitz across battleground states -- and all three endorsed Sen. John McCain for president! The NY POST, WASHINGTON TIMES and DALLAS MORNING NEWS have all been told to move out by Sunday to make room for network bigwigs -- and possibly for the inclusion of reporters from two black magazines, ESSENCE and JET, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned. Despite pleas from top editors of the three newspapers that have covered the campaign for months at extraordinary cost, the Obama campaign says...

Is Credit Default Swap Litigation the Next Big Thing? Robin Sparkman 10-03-2008 It seems that hardly a day goes by anymore without someone predicting with utmost confidence that boom times for litigators are just over the horizon. Thursday's prognostication, courtesy of a media lunch hosted Wednesday by Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker: It's going to be all about the credit swaps. Robert Claassen, chair of the firm's derivatives group, and Keith Miller, chair of the credit crisis group, told reporters that the banking industry's implosion means that banks with a piece of the $43 trillion market in these unregulated instruments...

Amie Parnes reports from Lebanon, VA: Obama poked fun of McCain and Palin's new "change" mantra. "You can put lipstick on a pig," he said as the crowd cheered. "It's still a pig." "You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change. It's still gonna stink." "We've had enough of the same old thing." The crowd apparently took the "lipstick" line as a reference to Palin, who described the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull in a single word: "lipstick."

Obama: "Lipstick on a pig, still a pig."

A national Associated TV/Zogby International telephone poll of 1,011 likely voters conducted July 31-Aug. 1 finds Republican Sen. John McCain taking a razor-thin 42%-41% lead over Democrat Sen. Barack Obama in the race for the U.S. presidency. The margin between the candidates is statistically insignificant, but demonstrates a notable turn-around from the Reuters/Zogby poll of July 7-9 that showed Obama ahead, 46%-36% in a four-way match-up that included Libertarian candidate Bob Barr of Georgia and liberal independent candidate Ralph Nader. McCain made significant gains at Obama’s expense among some of what had been Obama’s strongest demographic groups. For example: McCain...

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Rudy Giuliani loves to prove people wrong. He's trying to do it again in Florida. Polls show the former New York mayor, last year's national front-runner, trailing badly in the state where he has bet almost everything in his pursuit of the Republican presidential nomination. If he wins on Tuesday, he will have earned the biggest, brashest "I told you so" of his political career. Lose, and Giuliani may be uttering his final words of the campaign. "Wednesday morning, we'll make a decision," he told reporters between campaign appearances. "In the past, I've done the impossible...

Pope Benedict Encourages "Child-Poor" Europe to Open up to Life Called attention to the demographic implosion in Europe By John-Henry Westen MARIAZELL, Austria, September 10, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In his homily delivered Saturday at Mariazell during a Mass to mark the 850th anniversary of the Marian shrine's founding, Pope Benedict XVI called attention to the demographic implosion in Europe for a second time on his pastoral visit to Austria.  "Europe has become child-poor: we want everything for ourselves, and place little trust in the future," he told the assembled crowd. On Friday, Benedict addressed political leaders in the nation pointing...

Rebuilding Military Requires Sacrifices But Can Be Done, Experts Say By Monisha Bansal CNSNews.com Staff Writer June 27, 2007 (CNSNews.com) - Asserting that the U.S. military is "stretched thin," policy experts debated Tuesday whether the country can afford to rebuild the military to necessary levels and how it should be done. "We should spend whatever it takes to make sure we're secure, but by doing it in a very candid way," Robert Hormats, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International, said at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. "Funding the military in the next decade is going to be very...

/begin my translation [Outside Column] Europe's Credit Bubble More Dangerous Than China's If a private equity fund collapses, investors could lose part of their wealth, but if Europe's credit bubble implodes, it could completely wipe out many funds and banks in a blink Wolfgang Munchau, Columnist at Financial Times posted at 2007.06.08 14:29 / revised at 2007.06.09 04:39 Currently, there are two bubbles in the world. One is the bubble of China's stock market, and the other is Europe's credit bubble. Most people talk about the China's bubble, but in reality, the Europe's bubble is far more dangerous. The...

Some Giuliani Reaction Via E-Mail [Rich Lowry] A sampling of the email reaction. I wonder if Rudy even realizes what he’s doing to his candidacy? —Hi Rich. Giuliani's comments are the kind of talk that is going to ensure that the Democrats win the White House. He's talking about people ignoring their core beliefs. I have respect for him and think he's a great speaker, but as a Christian conservative (ironically, from Iowa) I can honestly tell you that I will not vote for him. Period. And I don't care if it does allow Hillary the presidency… —As an up...

When Rudolph Giuliani announced his entry into the race for president, we noted that there were reasons to find his candidacy both compelling and problematic. In the latter category fell, above all, his denial that unborn children have a right to life. Even on that issue, however, we held out hope that Giuliani would try to meet pro-life conservatives halfway. He had already come around on partial-birth abortion, even if he had not come up with a good explanation for his shift. He had said that he favors “strict constructionist” judges, who attempt to determine what the law is rather...

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani ventured to conservative South Carolina yesterday hoping to talk about terrorism and the economy, but instead got hit at every stop with another topic - abortion. A day after the former mayor said he supports public funding of abortion - sparking a firestorm among conservatives - local media here forced him to elaborate on the issue at events intended to underscore new endorsements. And although Giuliani, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, did not waiver from his central belief that abortion is a woman's right, he responded with some of his most...

If you listened closely this week, you might have heard Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign crack. Like the hard smack of a pebble against a car windshield, Rudy’s reiteration of his support for public funding of abortion put a knick in his veneer that will keep snapping, crackling, and popping in all directions if there isn’t some serious repair work done, but quick. First of all, let’s get something straight. I’m a Rudy fan. I like the smile and the strut and the machismo, and all that they portend for both my constant entertainment and consistent protection under a Giuliani administration....

LAS VEGAS --From Stardust to just dust. The Las Vegas Strip's first mass-market casino-hotel was imploded early Tuesday in a hail of fireworks to make way for Boyd Gaming Corp.'s $4.4 billion megaresort Echelon. Hundreds of people partied beneath tents and on makeshift patios before Boyd chairman Bill Boyd's four grandsons pushed a plunger to detonate the former Stardust casino. The blast generated a massive dust cloud that chased the revelers into cars, buses and nearby casinos.

The incipient implosion of Islam -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Let me start you off with a brief, exciting story about a jailbreak in Iran that beats anything Hollywood will do this year. And it's all true! Read about it here. Now, that was just a quick peek at the human drama and divine power you never hear about – despite the millions of noisy words pouring out of the media on Iraq, Iran and the Islamic menace. Last February, Joel C. Rosenberg gave us another astonishing glimpse into the real Muslim world: Last week I took my wife and kids to see the...

Hollow Military 2.0By Gary J. SchmittAEI.org | November 6, 2006 The defense budget has grown appreciably since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But too little of the increase has gone to purchase new equipment or to increase the size of the Army and the Marine Corps. The result has been a “hollow buildup” that makes it increasingly difficult for the U.S. military to carry out its part of America’s national security strategy.Unprecedented. In August 2006, General Peter Schoomaker, the Army chief of staff, refused to submit an Army budget proposal for fiscal year (FY) 2008 to Secretary of Defense...

Just announced on the FNC.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., weighed in on the Sen. John Kerry firestorm with a comment on his VolPac.org blog. Frist, infuriated by Kerry's comments, suggested the junior senator from Massachusetts may have dealt a blow to his own party by reminding Americans of the destructive beliefs of liberal leaders in that party. Writes Frist: "Yesterday afternoon, Senator Kerry got up in front of the cameras and angrily made "crystal clear, as crystal clear as I know, I apologize to no one for my criticism of the President." Of course, no one ever asked him to apologize to President...

There’s no fight like an old fight. And this week’s emotional exchanges between President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry were nothing if not old. Kerry screwed up what he called a “botched joke” about Bush’s brainpower when it comes to Iraq; Bush pounced by challenging his ex-rival’s commitment to the troops. Memo to Bush and Kerry: neither of you are on the ballot next week. And while it may be satisfying to rehash the last election, you both run the risk of looking totally out of touch. The risks for President Bush are greater than they are for...

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean defended U.S. Sen. John Kerry on Wednesday, dismissing as "bloopers" remarks Kerry made that were construed by some to be insulting to American troops. "Kerry made a blooper. Bloopers happen," the former Vermont governor told reporters. On Monday, Kerry told a group of students that people unable to succeed in the U.S. educational system would likely "get stuck in Iraq." The White House has called on Kerry to apologize for the statement, and Kerry has faced fallout elsewhere, too. A Democratic congressional candidate in Iowa canceled a campaign event with him, and Kerry himself...

A few Democratic candidates joined Republicans today in pressing John Kerry to apologize for a comment critics said appeared disrespectful of U.S. troops as several Kerry campaign appearances were canceled. "Whatever the intent, Senator Kerry was wrong to say what he said," said Democratic Rep. Harold Ford Jr., running for Senate in Tennessee. "Sen. Kerry's remarks were poorly worded and just plain stupid," said Montana Senate President Jon Tester, a Democrat trying to unseat GOP Sen. Conrad Burns. "He owes our troops and their families an apology." "I'm sorry he did what he did. But I think the issue ......

A few Democratic candidates joined Republicans Wednesday in pressing John Kerry to apologize for a comment critics said appeared disrespectful of U.S. troops as several Kerry campaign appearances were canceled. "Whatever the intent, Senator Kerry was wrong to say what he said," said Democratic Rep. Harold Ford Jr., running for Senate in Tennessee. "Sen. Kerry's remarks were poorly worded and just plain stupid," said Montana Senate President Jon Tester, a Democrat trying to unseat GOP Sen. Conrad Burns. "He owes our troops and their families an apology." "I'm sorry he did what he did. But I think the issue ....

Sen. John Kerry has canceled plans to campaign for several fellow Democrats after controversy over his comments to college students about getting "stuck in Iraq." President Bush's 2004 presidential rival -- who explained Tuesday that his comments were a "botched joke" targeting Bush -- will not appear with Pennsylvania Democrat and U.S. Senate candidate Bob Casey on Wednesday night in Philadelphia, as originally planned, a Democratic official said. "I would be surprised if you see him welcomed out there anywhere," the official said, "and certainly not in a race that is meaningful." Strategists at both the Democratic House and Senate...

Sheldon's new book, blasting "elites" and "phonies" in Dem Party who were too cheap to help start Air America Believe it or not, I am not trying to offend anyone with my posts. ... many criticisms have been directed at me for the “problems” that Air America has had during its “birth pangs.” Almost 5 years ago I started the Air America project and invested over $3 Million on the start of a liberal radio network. In fact, Arianna invited me to her house in November, 2002 to present some of my ideas with a group of Hollywood elites trying...

The image above shows a corpulent former Russian President Boris Yeltsin bedecked in toga and driving the “young farm girl” and “young factory fellow” from a famous Soviet monument like horses before his chariot. The caption reads: “Corruption: An impediment to progress.” Will Russia fall as Rome did, it seems to ask? Yeltsin was justly criticized during his reign for personal and systemic corruption but in fairness we must ask: Was it any difference before or since in Russia? Is Russia making any economic progress now? As this article will show, the answer is a resounding “nyet!” On May 24,...

Four days after the killing of top terrorist Abu Musab al Zarqawi brought the U.S. its most stunning military success of the Iraq war, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee is calling for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to be fired because the military effort is failing. "I don't think we're succeeding militarily," Rep. Jane Harman told "Fox News Sunday." "Continuing the same course, you know, is not getting us anywhere," she insisted. "What would help with doubters - and there are doubters in both parties all over the country - [would be] if the president decided that Rumsfeld...

An empty watchtower overlooks a deserted road lined with rusting vehicle parts. The only traffic is a pregnant bitch and a mule and cart. This is Gaza's economic lifeline, the Karni crossing into Israel, which is supposed to handle 1,300 containers of merchandise and food per day in order to sustain 1.3 million people.But nothing is entering or leaving Gaza, and now the funds to purchase what is available there are also drying up, bringing the dire situation of its people to a new and febrile crisis.

They'll be serving champagne cocktails and scrambled eggs at the Petroleum Club, offering a 40th-floor view when the Landmark Tower implodes Saturday morning and removes a deteriorating eyesore from the Fort Worth skyline. Courtyard by Marriott, itself a rehabilitated downtown building near the Landmark, has been renting rooms with a view to people -- mainly curious North Texans -- who want a firsthand glimpse of this footnote to urban history on Houston Street between Sixth and Seventh. One hotel guest is an implosion enthusiast who's traveling from Arizona to watch the tallest Texas structure ever demolished. Courtyard guests have booked...

Team Arnold lost his Big Four measures -- Propositions 74 through 77 -- on the California ballot Tuesday because this band of political hired guns deserved to lose. They ran a cynical campaign. After Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's big recall-election win in 2003 and his successful fight in 2004 against some well-funded ballot measures -- like the two Big Casino measures and a three-strikes makeover that rode high in the polls until he opposed it -- the team figured he could sell anything to the California voter. So they didn't do a careful job of lining up initiatives with curb appeal...

SNIP..... While the Democrats and their base now think that finally the elected Democrats have stood up on their hind legs and they're showing some guts and they're showing some backbone, they're now happy. Are they not? The base is happy, and this is another thing that's difficult to comprehend. Unless you realize these people are whacked-out. They are happy over nothing. They are happy over rhetoric. They think shutting down the Senate has changed the momentum. They're as out of touch with what's happening in this country as they are out of touch with the war and the whole...

/begin my translationSankei, "N. Korea to Provide Nuclear Warhead Info to a Mid-East Country" Tokyo, Yonhap News 2005/09/15N. Korean military is dead set against 6-party talks, and is still passing to a friendly Mid-East country (technical) information on (miniaturized) nuclear warhead for ballistic missiles, according to a report by Sankei Shimbun (of Japan,) dispatched from Beijing on Sept. 15 (2005.) Sankei quoted an intelligence source, which said that, for more than a year, a senior figure of N. Korean military has been passing data on their implosion device of nuclear warhead to a military attache at the embassy of the Mid-East country in Pyongyang.  The source claimed, "N. Korea would not (ordinarily) share...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A Superior Court judge on Thursday kicked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's redistricting measure off the special election ballot, ruling that supporters violated California's constitution by using two versions of the initiative in the qualifying process. "The differences are not simply typographical errors," Judge Gail Ohanesian said. "They're not merely about the format of the measure. They are not simply technical. Instead they go to the substantive terms of the measure." The proposal, Proposition 77, is one of three initiatives that the Republican governor is supporting in the Nov. 8 special election. It would take the power to draw...

Sometimes The BRAC Process Gets It WrongDr. Daniel Goure, The Lexington Institute6/27/2005 Over the past 12 years there have been five Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC) commissions leading to the elimination of some bases and other military facilities. The process for determining which facilities to close or realign is relatively straightforward. The Department of Defense (DoD) proposes a list of bases that is reviewed by an independent commission that passes the final set of names to Congress which must vote to accept or reject the list as a whole. In general, if a facility is on the Pentagon’s initial list...

John Kerry Reportedly To Present "Downing Street Memo" To Congress June 5, 2005 7:36 a.m. EST Douglas Maher - All Headline News Staff Reporter Washington,D.C. (AHN)- After remaining almost silent since losing the 2004 election by thirty four electoral votes, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts is reportedly planning to to present Congress with The Downing Street Memo, reported last month by the London Times. The memo purports to include minutes from a July 2002 meeting with Tony Blair, in which Blair allegedly said that President Bush's administration "fixed" intelligence on Iraq in order to justify the Iraqi war. The Downing...

This is an article by a Democrat who actually "gets it". http://opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110006284 It's a good read. Love ya'll!

As President Bush prepares for his second term, Democrats in Washington and around the country are organizing for a year of confrontation and resistance, saying they are determined to block Bush's major initiatives and thereby deny him the mandate he has claimed from his reelection victory last November. The Democrats' mood and posture represent a contrast to that of four years ago, after Bush's disputed victory over Al Gore. Then, despite anger and bitterness over how the 2000 election ended, Democrats were tentative and initially open to Bush's calls for bipartisan cooperation. Today, despite Bush's clear win over Sen. John...

The self-centered, egotistical John Kerry obviously wanted to look his best for the debate. That is, after being told that his ship was sinking with the distaff set, Johnny thought he had better skuzzy himself up for the TV cameras. Unfortunately, the instant tan preparation the rich boy used gave him the burnt-orange look of an over-baked pumpkin pie. That's about how most things have been going for Kerry lately. George Bush campaigns before huge, happy crowds. Kerry speaks before "groups" who often look like they might have been paid to be there and resent the imposition. Can Kerry live...

Click on the source, fast forward 20 seconds (it's blank at the start, don't panic) and enjoy. Highlights: Pink ties reporter:"Can you see Kerry in the White House?" answer: "NO!" "She (THK) is not a lady." discouraged dems on the street

From Rasmussen Polling September 14, 2004--Twenty-seven percent (27%) of voters believe that the CBS Memos concerning President Bush's National Guard service are authentic. However a Rasmussen Reports survey also found that 38% believe the memos are forgeries.Among voters who are following the story very closely, 56% believe the memos are forgeries and 27% believe they are authentic. Overall, 38% of voters say they are following the story "very" closely and 34% say they are following it "somewhat" closely.Only 16% of voters think questions about President Bush's National Guard service are "very" important. That view is held by 27% of Democrats,...

Print Article         Close Window     Here We Go Some More By Published 9/13/2004 12:08:06 AM While CBS news anchor Dan Rather can say there is no internal investigation under way over the alleged forged documents used as the foundation for an investigation into President George W. Bush's National Guard service, you wouldn't have been able to tell from the 15 or so 60 Minutes and CBS News" staffers working away feverishly on Friday and Saturday to try to nail down their story. On Friday, according to CBS News sources, Rather spent the day on the phone and dealing...

"'We need someone on the plane who has a relationship with him and is an adult,' said a senior campaign official, who asked for anonymity to talk more freely about strategy. [emphasis added]

From Hugh Hewitt: I interviewed Matthew Dowd today (and that transcript will follow as well.). His key point: There are three signs of a collapsing campaign. First, the candidate who is falling like a rock challenges his opponent to weekly debates. Second, the candidate who is sinking shuffles his senior staff. Third, the candidate who is the walking dead says that the only poll that counts is the poll on election day. Dowd pointed out that Kerry has already scored two of the three. Heh. Yep, were seeing it happen right before our eyes. With 53% approval ratings this will...

You know your in trouble when....you have to defend your ads because they include the leader of the other party (what a friggin suck up this guy is......to what depths has this party fallen!) Daschle defends footage of Bush hug in campaign ad... DKKImplosion 101, um, well, seeing the implosionImplosion 101 Peeking Too SoonImplosion 101 Update - DrudgeImplosion 101

The fact is, even if Kerry was a Republican, these Swift boat guys would be hounding him. In a culture where "ABB" is now media shorthand for "Anyone But Bush", you would think the press would recognise these fellows for what they are: the ABK constituency. Meanwhile, "Bush hatred" - another losing hand the Democrats put too many chips on - has peaked, and any saggy nudists or trust-fund anarchists who succeed in pulling off some camera-worthy stunt in Manhattan this week will only be boosting the President....