Transition August, 2013
Hello “Patriot64″ readers and fans. We will finally be transitioning to the site application of simply www.patriot64.com. It has been under construction for a while and should be ready for full release in the next few weeks. Don’t worry, when it goes on-line you will automatically be redirected from the old blog site which will remain active as an archive. We ask that you register and bookmark the new site also for your convenience. Thanks for being part of the discussion and we hope you enjoy "patriot64.com". Remember, “truth and reason first”… Spread the word…
Feel free to have look around the new site: http://www.patriot64.com/
Independence...
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7-4-1776
IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.-----
“We the People”
"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."Categories
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What folks are saying…
- Jeffrey A. Coulter on Living the numbers…
- Mark Poirier on “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7)
- Eugene Bolton on “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7)
- Fred Comella "Patriot64" on June 6, 1944…
- Jeffrey A. Coulter on Indifference on a Presidential scale…
My Links
- Abundant Life Assembly of God My Church 10
- AK's and Cupcakes Some things just go together… 10
- Conservative Chronicle Conservative writing… 8
- Country Babies USA For the finest Americana Crafts… 10
- Gold Star Moms Honor those whose children have honored us… 10
- Imprimis Education not indoctrination… 9
- Mark Levin The Great One… 9
- NASCAR The latest from the speedway… 10
- Paul Ryan Must listen to this! 7
- Rush Limbaugh Talent on loan from God… 9
- Sean Hannity A great American… 9
- The Blaze News and opinion… 10
- The Cary D. Conover Daily Published by Cary D Conover – 228 news spotters today 10
- The Good News Today “The” Christian Newspaper of record… 10
- The Heritage Foundation Leadership for America 9
- The Providence Journal My local read… 8
- Wounded Warrior Project Help those who fight in our stead… 10
Special Mention
- Country Babies USA For the finest Americana Crafts… 10
Category Archives: Unemployment
Living the numbers…
Richard Clark, owner of Supreme Janitorial Services in Jacksonville was speaking on one of the weekend news programs Saturday, and described his company as the “proverbial poster child” for the impending disaster that is “Obamacare”. A typical small business owner about to be pummeled by the mandates, taxes and fines of the “Affordable” Care Act, was very candid about not being able to hire full-time workers because of the staggering costs associated with the President’s signature law. He went on to say the recent implementation “delay” was nothing more than a political stunt, fueling the uncertainty which any economist worth his paycheck would tell you is kryptonite to small business.
I watched that segment while digesting some of the jobs and growth data which came out at the end of the week, and I was struck by a couple of ironies. The unemployment rate remains a reflection of how the numbers are calculated, persistent “underemployment”, and a critically high youth unemployment number of about 16 percent. Moreover, those same numbers continue to drive the market as the “Fed stimulus” lives or dies by any fluctuation. Make no mistake, our economy is a shadow of its former being, sputtering on fumes in the tank of ideological foolishness. The notion that it is somehow showing “resilience” is unrealistic and a fools play to be sure. Repeal “Obamacare” now, and unchain our nations free market economy so “We the People” may have real recovery! This classroom experiment has failed…
The Definition of Success…
Looking at some fresh numbers today, and as always I’m a little confused by the “Lame Stream Media” portrayal of our current economic posture. For starters, nearly 23 million households and 48 million individuals partake of the “Snap” (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). Now these numbers in and of themselves expose the Obama Administration’s claims of any “recovery” for what they are, carefully contrived deception (with the help of a complicit media), designed to instill a false sense of progress. I also looked at some video from the past week and heard even a few “Conservative” economists characterizing 175,000 jobs created as a “moderate” pace. Now putting aside the fact that number will likely be revised down in the coming week, the reality is that about 200,000 is more traditionally “moderate” in terms of job creation, with 300,000 a sign of true momentum. I’m simply having a hard time understanding why we continue to revise reality for the sake of this Administrations’ efforts.
The hard truth is our economy remains a shell of its former being. Housing numbers are driven by unsustainable Fed rates propped up by monopoly money, with the DJIA hanging precariously on Bernanke’s every syllable. Companies large and small continue to hire part-time to offset the impending cost of Obamacare and crippling regulation. The class warfare gap has never been wider with more and more people receiving some form of government assistance. Local governments are literally going bankrupt, an unthinkable occurrence one never would have imagined in this country. And most regrettable, our focus is now compromised by the myriad of scandals plaguing President Obama’s second term. This is always what happens when we substitute flawed ideology in place of “truth and reason”.
Now what, Mr. President…
Pelosi: “We have to pass the health care bill so that you can find out what is in it”. Do you all remember that shameful moment in American politics when a sitting member of Congress embarrassed herself and her Democratic colleagues with that revelation? Well it turns out that her party did ram that bill through, (The “Affordable” Care Act), and there is apparently little about it that’s “affordable”. In fact, long-time Washington player Senator Max Baucus likens the coming implementation of some of the main components of the new health care law to a “train wreck”.
From the fight over who exactly is to pay for the so-called exchanges from state to state, to the plethora of tax increases associated with the law, and as doctors are walking out of meetings in protest of what they say is a lack of discernible forethought in terms of the implementation of the five-year roll-out plan, “Obamacare” looks to be just as Baucus suggested, a “train wreck”.
For those of us who predicted this very nightmare scenario, there is some vindication in the knowledge that when you allow a government bureaucracy to be involved in what should be left to the private sector to hash out, it will always go badly. Regrettably however, there will also and always be victims of ill-conceived and unrealistic legislation like this.
Not sure where we go from here on out, but the road ahead looks bumpy to be sure, and will no doubt be far more costly than Candidate/President Barack Obama was ready to admit when he sold us this bill of goods.
It’s the labor force stupid…
Listening to the “lame Stream Media” hype the latest jobs numbers would be laughable if weren’t so damn irresponsible. Well as I always say, let’s look at “the numbers within the numbers”.
CNS did a very good job hashing it all out so we can see the very real and troubling disparities plaguing our economy and labor force. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough respectable journalists willing to put aside their “Obama-love” for just a minute and report the truth. And so that task falls to those of us willing to embrace the facts, and they are pretty much these:
– the number of Americans designated as “not in the labor force” in February was 89,304,000, a record high, up from 89,008,000 in January, according to the Department of Labor. This means that the number of Americans not in the labor force increased 296,000 between January and February, (and there goes your jobs added last month…)
– The fact is that the labor participation rate in our country remains at a record low 63.5%. Just to put that into perspective, when Barack Obama took office, the labor participation rate was 65.7%.
– The U6 unemployment rate, which measures those who are unemployed and underemployed, is 14.3%.
– The jobs that are being added to our economy are part-time, rather than full-time jobs. According to the Household Survey, the number of full-time jobs declined by 77,000 from 115,918, to 115,841 while the number of part-time workers rose from 27,467, to 27,569, or 102,000 jobs.
– The number of Americans out of work for more than 27 weeks rose in February by 89,000, going from 4.7 million to 4.8 million.
Now don’t take my word for it, and save your ridiculous rhetoric. Get off your behinds and do the numbers yourselves. I know it’s easy to simply attack the messenger and believe the lie, but what good does that do our kids???
This message brought to you by someone who actually gets it…
Source – http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf
The Dow and a few notes…
The Dow closed at its highest level ever today, and true to form my in-box exploded with praise for Obama and company. Well far be it from me not to dampen the little Lefty illusion with a soaking dose of reality. Ultimately, (and as usual), a quick lesson is necessary in that the stock market is not the economy and vice versa. They are very different entities with very different points of reference and influence. I’m no financial advisor however, so I won’t attempt further instruction. That said, let’s look at some numbers.
When we examine this “paper tiger” economy the President is touting as a success, we see a sputtering engine, beleaguered by inexperience and ineptitude at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and struggling for the fuel only a confident free market can provide. The last time the stock market was close to these numbers, the United States economy was in a far different place. It was 2007 and a gallon of gas was around $2.50. Americans were making about $6000.00 a year more, and there were around seven million folks unemployed compared to thirteen million today. There are twice as many people on food stamps today than in 07, our debt was nine trillion and consumer confidence was at 99 percent as opposed to 69 percent today. Additionally, much of our so-called economic growth in the last five years, has come bolstered by the Fed printing capital and restraining interest rates at dangerously low levels.
Bottom line is, don’t break out the champagne just yet. The stock market will correct, and the effects of this administrations failed college application will continue to contract an already weakened and hollow economy. Regrettably, the worst is still ahead of us…
Late Note: The Socialist South American dictator, arguably responsible for the deaths of many in the Venezuelan opposition, as well as the theft of billions in civilian property, is dead. I’m sure Joe Kennedy and Sean Penn are grieving this very minute.
Note 2: According to the answering service, White House tours have been cancelled due to “sequestration”. The President of the United States is throwing a tantrum. Childish, unnecessary, and inexcusable.
Note 3: In acknowledgement of the recent movement by college students/campuses around the country to divest in fossil fuel companies, will all students please turn in all electronic equipment manufactured and operated by way of fossil fuels immediately. Better yet, you may send all Apple notebooks, iPads and iPhone 5’s to my business address. Thank you.
Wake up kids, before it’s too late!!!
“Skin in the game”…
Dr. Benjamin Carson is the kind of man we should be sending to Washington. If not for the fact he is a doctor (a pediatric brain surgeon no less), and we are in such short supply of doctors because of Obamacare, I would start a petition today to draft him for a political run. Why do I say this, you ask?
I caught just a bit of his remarks at the recent National Prayer Breakfast where he lectured and President on healthcare and then schooled him on tax reform. This man has two things which are clearly in short supply in Congress these days, character and common sense. His basic premise on taxes (as described in his book, “America the Beautiful”), is a “flat tax” for all, very much like a “religious tithe”, would dramatically simplify the tax code and solve most of Washington’s spending vs. revenue issues. It would also go a long way to rooting out the political evil which now presides over our finances. Simply put, an across the board percentage of one single and mutually agreed upon “denomination” would be applied to every working American (and collecting one). Obviously, if you have some “skin in the game”, you are naturally more inclined to be concerned with how “your” money gets spent. Moreover, the incentive to better ones fiscal position, is reinforced by the notion that you are treated no differently than any other tax payer. The flip side of that coin of course, is that you should expect no different accommodation.
The videos and web page below are about as sensible an approach as I have heard in some time. There is no dark political objective, and no prevalent ideology with the exception of that which is our cultural, and undeniable national origin. I must agree, a “flat tax” would be the single best solution to our financial troubles to come along in over eighty years, and would return our nation to its Constitutional foundations. Politicians take note, “We the People” are gonna get this message eventually. Unfortunately, the rest of what Dr. Carson has to say is only for those who love and appreciate their country.
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/economy-a-budget/282211-dr-ben-carsons-tithing-wisdom
http://video.foxnews.com/v/2161630388001/does-the-bible-endorse-a-flat-tax
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4fkBb3_E_g
The next four years…
Let me preface my analysis of President Obama’s Inauguration speech by acknowledging the symbolism of the day, as well as the great sacrifice made by so many to ensure it’s continuance. It is wholly and appropriately representative of The United States.
Now moving ahead of all the pomp and pageantry, one must accept the President’s speech as one of, if not the most partisan and ideological in the history of the event. Mr. Obama’s lofty and often pointed rhetoric finally revealed the entire man to those who were actually listening. And as many in the crowd booed the presence of Paul Ryan and other Republicans, it was painfully obvious #44’s policies of division and class warfare have taken firm root, setting the tone for an epic battle over the soul of this great country.
Now free of the burden of future elections, the POTUS skillfully avoided the critical issues of the day and instead presented himself as the conquering champion of a new civil rights movement. Apparently stale in his eyes, is the individual and entrepreneurial spirit of a free people whose successes (and failures) have built our great nation, and which are now trumped by a glorified mediocrity, and conditionally if not legislatively induced acceptance of “the new norm”. To listen carefully was to hear the ideologically passionate and even resentful dream of a man who has very different ideas about America than those of the Founders. One could even pick out the connection to (Martin Luther King Day), as the President’s voice became “elevated” at times, into something more fitting of the pulpit, a habit which has come easily to the man who rarely deviates from the teleprompter. Ironically, and despite Progressive attempts to portray MLK as a Socialist Icon, Barack Obama would have had little in common with the late Dr. King.
All in all the speech seemed more appropriate for a “State of the Union” address. Nevertheless, it was carefully framed on all sides by American Flags, parades and plenty of red, white and blue eye candy. There were even moments of prayer and reflection, slipped in to appease/confuse those wondering how a man supposedly so consumed with the “equality” of human kind, could place his hand on two Christian Bibles and deny that same equality to an unborn child.
Make no mistake my fellow Americans, the four years ahead are perilous ones. Our economy teeters on the brink of disaster, held hostage by mathematical realities such as a $5000.00 drop in the median household income, and unemployment numbers the same as when this President took office. Regrettably, the campaign issues which drove him to victory at the polls are but distant memories. Our President’s focus for his second term appears now to be strictly ideological and broad-based in terms of those social issues he believes will move the nation away from its historical foundations, and secure his legacy as the Liberal Progressive President who finally made it happen
1-20-13, The Inauguration of Apathy…
Whether you agree with him or not, Barack Obama will be sworn in as President of The United States for a second term. The backdrop of this inauguration however, will be one of uncertainty and disillusionment to be sure.
We are living in a time of choices like we have never faced, and they are not necessarily ideological choices. Nevertheless, most Americans must now decide whether they will recognize and accept the factual evidence of our national “situation”, or whether they will choose to ignore that evidence, blame someone or something else, and hope the “situation” will correct itself. Here are some undeniable truths to consider though, if you have the intestinal fortitude…
Our overall economy has already morphed into an over-extended and dormant entity on life support, chugging along at what would normally be considered a pathetic pace. Stocks are up though they are critically overvalued paper, and lack the raw capital which once calmed a long term investor. Unemployment remains under-reported and elevated because of uncertainty over the rising costs associated with owning and running a business. Ideological taxes and benefit burdens threaten to blow up middle America, with a recent report from a former GAO Chief predicting Obamacare may very well collapse the entire economy. (Note: Most credible analysts who aren’t drinking the Obama Kool-Aid support that prediction.) And as a nation, we spend nearly twice what we take in, with our debt now growing beyond our realistic ability to pay it off of our great-grandchildren’s backs.
In full view of all of these facts many have simply chosen to dig in their partisan heals and spit into the proverbial fan. Politicians for life on both sides of the aisle have put us on a collision course with financial Armageddon, and there seems little “We the People” are prepared to do about it. Moreover, Chief Justice John Roberts will swear in a President tomorrow, who lacks both the life experience and historical grasp to lead us back onto the right avenue, a demagogue, drunk on perceived adoration, and who is content see this college experiment through to it’s inevitable conclusion, even if it means the United States emerges but a shell of its former glory.
Now some will call me a racist for my conclusions. Still others will call (me) the partisan, and I will undoubtedly argue against this foolishness to the bitter end. That said, what we are facing here is a mathematical certainty with unimaginable consequences, which can no longer be denied or framed as just some radical doomsday prediction. The hard numbers are now in plain sight. Make no mistake, I too am stunned at how quickly this country was lulled into a catatonic 1960’s mentality, unable to see reality or reason, blinded by rhetoric, and selfishly willing to deny their posterity.
So as I watch and listen to President Obama take the oath of office once more, and I hear him swear to uphold the Constitution of this nation once again, and then I listen some more as he will undoubtedly rehash much of the old “Hope and Change” diatribe, I will be considering my sons and our children’s America. Regrettably, my conclusions will be the same as they were in 2008. The President is not the problem. We are…
Little Rhody Reason…
RI DLT Director Fogarty
Rhode Island’s unemployment rate fell from 10.4 to 10.2 percent. So significant was this to the Chafee Administration, that Charles Fogarty from the Department of Labor and Training sprinted to the airwaves to tout this most momentous of occasions. After listening to Fogarty’s painful “right direction” diatribe, I did a little numbers juggling of my own.
At our present rate of recovery here in “Little Rhody”, we might be at the current national unemployment level by the year 2017. Moreover, the trending numbers, or “indicators” as they are sometimes called, do not take into consideration those who have simply dropped off the employment radar or moved away, nor do they account for small business friendliness and cost of living factors which are all “trending” badly to say the least…
Adding insult to “The Ocean States” already embarrassing economic injury, WPRO Radio Personality Dan York reminded his listeners yesterday, that if Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has his way and lowers the state sales tax to 4.5 percent, there won’t be enough retail money left in Rhode Island to pay for an order of “Chowda” and Clamcakes…
The Self Destruct Button…
The so-called “fiscal cliff” was nothing more than a response to the accountability gauntlet laid out by both the WH and Congress, intended to make “We the People” believe our representative government actually gave a rats you know what about our kids futures. In essence, a made up deadline that when reached, only triggers the cold and broken reality of gridlock politics in Washington.
Now the “debt ceiling”, well that’s a whole different ball game. So it was interesting to hear the POTUS going on about how Republicans somehow want to prevent the nation from paying its bills on his weekly radio broadcast. (No Sir, they want to keep those bills from growing beyond our “ability” to pay them). He even attempted to draw a comparison line to the government shut-down of 1995. In fairness, some of the political components may be the same. But the monetary dynamic is something very different, and unlike anything we have ever faced before. The numbers today are, for all intents and purposes, the end of the “green back” road for us. At nearly sixteen and one half trillion dollars in debt, The United States is not only broke Mr. President, it’s darn near bankrupt, and credit reporting agencies like Moody’s know it. Consequently, and in full view of this financial Tsunami, Mr. Obama’s approach in the weeks ahead will be to ask for yet another blank check, signed by the next generation, so he can burn off another boat load of borrowed money that we just don’t have, on a bunch of foolishness that just doesn’t work.
So as our economy remains on life support, with its full potential reined in by bureaucrats in Washington bent on ideological change, “We the People” are left to watch in utter confusion, as those sent to represent our best interest prepare to push the self-destruct button on our economy, as well as a better America for our children.