Author Archives: PEB
Romney declares ‘Middle-Income’ is between $200,000 and $250,000 per year?
Well, according to the Associated Press (AP), Republican Tea Party (GOTP) presidential footnote Willard Mitt Romney’s promising to reduce taxes on middle-income Americans, you know, the people who make somewhere between “$200,000 to $250,000 a year”.
Willard made his newest “I’m so out of touch” gaffe during an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
Of course, for the rest of us, including the Census Bureau “middle-income” is nowhere close to where Romney thinks it is, as the Census Bureau reports median household income — the midpoint for the nation — as just over $50,000. For those of you who are regular viewers of FOX News, “median household” would be “middle-income” America,
Once more Romney proves he’s not just “out of touch” but he’s not ready for prime time. He’s not ready on foreign affairs and he’s clearly not ready on the economy, in spite of what his so-called “business experience” might be.
Robertson pushes man to become Muslim so he can beat his wife?
Right wing lunatic televangelist Pat Robertson’s at it again, proving he’s quite a few words short of a Bible verse; this time, Pat’s focused his indignation on wives who fail to “properly obey” their husbands.
Earlier this week, during a broadcast of Robertson’s television show “The 700 Club,” he answered a question from a viewer named Michael about how to repair his marriage to a woman who “has no respect for me as the head of the house.”
Rev Pat’s response?
“Well, you could become a Muslim and you could beat her,” he declared while co-host Terry Meeuwsen giggled.
But wait, there’s more.
“I don’t think we condone wife-beating these days but something has got to be done to make her learn to submit to authority,” Pat said.
So, let me get this straight, “we don’t condone wife-beating these days” means in Robertson’s world it used to be condoned?
But, since Christian scripture doesn’t allow for divorce, Rev Robertson urged the man to “move to Saudi Arabia,” where, ostensibly, beating the woman would be permissible.
Even with all his past out bursts Robertson remains someone Republican Tea Party (GOTP) Willard Mitt Romney likes to appear with him at campaign events, and so far there’s been no word from the Romney campaign to distance himself from the minister of wacko; why? Well, Willard needs the right-wing evangelical vote to even remain competitive, but he’s selling his political soul for votes he’s likely to already get anyway.
Private Sector is Doing Fine – 14 Sep 12 Edition
“The private sector is doing fine” ~ President Obama
“I think he’s really defining what it means to be out of touch with reality.” ~ Willard Mitt Romney
Since the above exchange between the President and Willard the following indicators the private sector is indeed “doing fine”:
In the 2nd Quarter the following earnings were reported by the private sector:
Yahoo reported $1.08 billion
Facebook reported $1.2 billion
EBay reported $3.4 billion
Macy’s reported $6.12 billion
Travelers reported $6.36 billion
McDonald’s reported $6.92 billion
Morgan Stanley reported $7 billion
Best Buy reported $10.55 billion
Amazon.com reported $12.8 billion
Google reported $12.21 billion
United Parcel Service (UPS) reported $13.4 billion
Coca-Cola reported $13.09 billion
Intel reported $13.5 billion
Dell reported $14.5 billion
Pfizer reported $15.1 billion
Johnson & Johnson reported $16.5 billion
Microsoft reported $18.06 billion
Citigroup reported $18.4 billion
Procter & Gamble reported $20.2 billion
Bank of America reported $22.2 billion
IBM reported $25.8 billion
Verizon reported $28.6 billion
AT&T reported $31.6 billion
Hewlett-Packard reported third quarter earnings of $29.7 billion
Following are fourth quarter earnings:
News Corp. reported $8.4 billion
Cisco reported $11.7 billion
The private sector added 163,000 jobs in July, according to the ADP report. Analysts had been expecting an increase of 120,000.
The Labor Department reports nonfarm payrolls rose by 96,000 in August from July, less than the 125,000 expected. The unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 8.1% from 8.3.
The Conference Board’s gauge of consumer confidence rose to 65.9 in July from 62.7 in June, better than the 61.5 economists expected.
The manufacturing sector in the U.S. Midwest expanded at a slightly swifter pace in July than it did the month before. The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago’s PMI gauge came in at 53.7, higher than expectations of 52.5 and a reading of 52.9 in June.
Home prices in 20 major U.S. metropolitan areas climbed 2.2% in May from the month before on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, according the S&P/Case-Shiller report. That came in stronger than the 1.5% gain economists expected.
Sales of existing homes rose 2.3% in July from June to an annualized rate of 4.47 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors.
U.S. pending home sales rose 2.4% in July from June, topping the 1% expected and hitting the highest level since April 2010. Sales were up 12.4% from a year ago.
U.S. housing starts jumped 6.9% in June from May to a 760,000-unit rate, topping estimates of a 745,000-unit rate and marking the highest rate since October 2008.
Sales of new single-family homes rose 3.6% in July from June to an annualized rate of 372,000 units. Analysts were expecting an annualized rate of 365,000 units.
The Commerce Department reported that building permits rose 6.8% to a rate of 812,000, the highest level in four years.
The Labor Department reported producer prices climbed 0.3% in July from June, the fastest pace in five months. Analysts expected an increase of 0.2%. Excluding the food and energy components, prices were up 0.4%, also more than the 0.2% increase forecast.
Retail sales climbed 0.8% in July from June, the largest increase since February and a bigger gain than the 0.3% economists expected.
The consumer sentiment reading of the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey showed consumer sentiment increased to 73.6 in early August from July’s final reading of 72.3. The August preliminary reading topped forecasts for an increase to 72.4 and marked the highest level since May.
U.S. retail sales rose 0.9% in August from July, more than the 0.7% expected and the largest rise since February. Excluding the auto segment, sales were up 0.8%, topping estimates of 0.6%.
The broad S&P 500 struck its highest level since May 2008 on 21 Aug 12, while the Dow is sitting less than 60 points beneath its highest point since the end of 2007. Meanwhile, oil futures are jumping 1.5% as the U.S. dollar sinks to its lowest level since early July.
The Markit Flash U.S. Manufacturing PMI rose to 51.9 in August from 51.4 in July, the first monthly increase in five months. Readings over 50 point to expansion while readings below 50 indicate contraction.
Orders for long-lasting U.S. goods rose 4.2% in July from June, blowing past estimates of a 2.4% increase. Excluding the transportation segment, orders were down 0.4%, missing estimates of a 0.5% gain.
A second reading on U.S. gross domestic product showed the economy expanded at an annualized rate of 1.7% in the second quarter, in line with economists’ estimates and faster than an initial estimate of 1.5%.
The S&P/Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas shows home prices rose 2.3% in June from May on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, a bigger gain than the 1.6% expected. Prices were up 0.5% from the same period a year earlier in the first increase since September 2010.
Personal spending rose 0.4% in July from June, as expected, to the highest level since February. Personal income rose 0.3%, also as expected.
A final reading on consumer sentiment for the month of August checked in at 74.3, higher than a preliminary reading of 73.6, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan.
The Institute for Supply Management’s gauge of service-sector activity rose to 53.7 in August, the highest level since May, from 52.6 in July; the index was expected to fall slightly to 52.5.
A preliminary reading on consumer sentiment for the month of September came in at 79.2, up from 74.3 in August and higher than the 74 expected, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan.
Stock Market was 8077.56 on 19 Jan 09 and 13,593.37 on 14 Sep 12
New claims for unemployment benefits fell to 365,000 from an upwardly revised 377,000 the week prior. Claims were expected to fall to 370,000 from an initially reported 374,000.
Who’s out of touch Mitt?
Maybe Al-Qaeda “Gave Up” Bin Laden To Make Obama “Look Good”?
Right wing talk radio buffoon Rush “Rusty” Hudson Limbaugh III has decided there’s a reason for why President Obama was able to order Navy Seals into Pakistan to kill Osama Bin Laden; he was able to get Bin Laden, because as Rusty puts it, “What if Ayman al-Zawahiri and other Al Qaeda leaders gave up Osama bin Laden for the express purpose of making Obama look good?”
Limbaugh claims his theory has legitimacy because Bin Laden was no longer a key player in Al Qaeda when he was killed, and that the group wanted Obama to remain in power so that it could have a better chance of seeing Israel destroyed, since the president is supposedly so hostile towards Israel.
“Do you think that militant Islamists will be as hopeful of getting rid of Israel with a Republican president or with a Democrat president?” he asked his listeners.
Once again Rusty’s trying to play on the conservative talking point that the President’s somehow weakened Israel, never mind all evidence to the contrary, such as providing Israel with 55 bunker-buster 5,000 pound bombs putting it in the perfect position to take out Iran’s buried nuclear facilities; or that while under the Bush administration aid to Israel steadily declined to $2,424,000,000 and that under President Obama aid to Israel’s on the rise once again with $2,550,000,000 given in 2009 and $2,770,000,000 given in 2010 with continued increase expected through FY 12.
Limbaugh’s proven once again that he’s not only a dolt, but the king of the dolts, making comments which are so far off the norm that only his obtuse audience would believe them. It’s another sign of just how desperate the right is and, that like their candidate, they’re willing to throw everything out there no matter how wild or untrue in an effort to defeat the President. As I said, Limbaugh’s a dolt.
Allen West Blames President Obama For Libya Attack?
Republican Tea Party (GOTP) Congressman Allen West (aka Walter E. Kurtz), the former Army officer forced to “retire” after discharging his side arm next to the head of a prisoner he’d just told he was going to kill, has jumped into the fray over attacks on U.S. diplomatic posts in Libya and Egypt blaming President Obama.
Mobs rioting in Egypt and Libya, allegedly outraged by an anti-Islam film promoted by Quran-burning preacher Terry Jones fired rocket-propelled grenades in Libya at the U.S. Consulate, killing four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
Kurtz (West), who’s fighting for his Congressional seat in a tight race against Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy, is doubling down saying it was the Obama administration’s support for the Arab Spring uprisings that encouraged the attacks by “intolerant, barbaric, radical Muslims.”
“Americans need to question whether the deaths of these innocent patriots could have been avoided,” West claimed in a statement. “The Obama Administration touted the Arab Spring as an awakening of freedom, which we now see is a nightmare of Islamism.” West then repeated the already debunked lie that U.S. Embassy officials in Cairo “apologized” for the inflammatory film.
“President Obama’s policy of appeasement towards the Islamic world has manifested itself into a specter of unconscionable hatred,” West said, declaring the current events ranked with the Iranian hostage crisis, in which 52 Americans were held for 444 days in Tehran, starting in late 1979.
“President Obama has clearly surpassed former President Jimmy Carter and his actions during the Iranian Embassy crisis, as the weakest and most ineffective person to ever occupy the White House,” he said, of course failing to mention how under the President’s watch Osama bin Laden was killed along with scores of other top Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders – the ones the Bush Administration seemed either unable or unwilling to find.
West is soon to be a foot note in political history as a one term congressman who’s outlandish claims have included that the Democratic Caucus in Congress was filled with communists. He’s trying to score points out of desperation, and his latest crazed comments are proving once more how in the end, just as he was unfit to wear his country’s uniform any longer, he’s unfit to serve in the United States Congress.
Reasons Why I Can’t Vote for Romney – 12 September Edition
The ever expanding list of reasons as to why I can’t vote for Willard Mitt Romney because he:
12 Sep 12 – Lied about the President’s response to attacks on U.S. diplomats and embassies in Libya and Egypt.
31 Aug 12 – Continues to lie about President Obama’s record, spokes person said the campaign wouldn’t be influenced by fact checking – meaning they’ll lie about whatever and whenever they choose.
Lied during his acceptance speech about President Obama saying he went on an apology tour after being inaugurated, cut $716 billion dollars from Medicare, raised taxes on the middle class and had thrown Israel under the bus.
Allowed VP pick Paul Ryan to give a speech full of lies.
Allowed Clint Eastwood to stand up on stage at age 82 and make a fool out of himself turning a Hollywood icon into the Court Jester.
20 Aug 12 – Lied about President Obama ending welfare to work.
12 Jul 12 – Lied to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) about his role at Bain Capital; possibly committed a felony.
12 Jul 12 – Lied about when he left Bain Capital
16 Jun 12 – Said he’d do opposite of everything President Obama’s done for Israel
14 Jun 12 – Said it was OK to fire public sector employees
12 Jun 12 – Claimed he wanted to serve in Vietnam although granted multiple deferments
09 Jun12 – Thinks we have too many teachers, fire fighters and police officers
05 Jun 12 –Confirmed earlier confirmation there’s a village missing him
30 May 12 –Has morons on his team –misspells America on campaign iPhone app
29 May 12 – Chose to chum around with Trump
18 May 12 –Confirmed there’s a village missing him
11 May 12 –Joked about bullying a fellow student in high school
09 May 12 – Lied about saving the auto industry
19 Apr 12 – Refused to release Tax Returns and lied about John Kerry
17 Apr 12 – Failed to denounce Ted Nugent
14 Apr 12 – Thought “struggling” in college wass divesting some of your stock portfolio
11 Apr 12 – Willard didn’t know what the Lilly Ledbetter Act was
29 Mar 12 – Told a “humorous” story about firing people
29 mar 12 – Accepted campaign money from Pink Slime producer
28 Mar 12 – Supported Scott Walker
27 Mar 12 – Thought the Soviet Union’s still our number one threat
19 Mar 12 – Said he’d push back against “evil” teachers unions
23 Feb 12 – Lied about requiring Massachusetts’ non-profit hospitals to provide emergency contraception
10 Feb 12 –Claimed only Americans place hand over heart to show how much we love our country
01 Feb 12 – Said he “Doesn’t Worry About the Poor“
27 Jan 12 – Failed to Report Interest Earned in His Off Shore Accounts
27 Jan 12 – Lied about his Fannie and Freddie investments being in a blind trust
18 Jan 12 – Stashed Millions in Offshore Accounts
17 Jan 12 – Said $362,000 in Speaking Fees is ‘Not Very Much’?
11 Jan 12 – Believes class warfare is about envy
09 Jan 12 – Vetoed contraception bill for rape victims as governor
09 Jan 12 – Claimed he “likes to fire people”
05 Jan 12 – He released tax plan, steal from the poor and give to the rich
04 Jan 12 – Said Big Bird would get the boot
13 Dec 11 – Bet Perry $10k during a debate
28 Nov 11 – Constantly flip-flops
23 Nov 11 – Said false ad’s ok
14 Nov 11 – Said he’d prepare for war with Iran
08 Oct 11 – Lied to cadets at the Citadel
22 Sep 11 – Claimed to be middle class
06 Sep 11 – He released economic plan favors the rich over everyone else
11 Aug 11 – Said “corporations are people”
05 Aug 11 – Pledged himself to evangelical group
01 Aug 11 – Opposed deal on debt ceiling
06 Jul 11 – Lied about the economy
The Liberty Tree 