10 Reasons for Dropping Consumer Confidence

Spengler/Goldman lays out 10.

10) There is no recovery at all in Europe. European growth ground to a halt during the fourth quarter and German busines confidence unexpectedly fell in February.

9) China won’t collapse, but government efforts to stop overheatingby raising reserve requirements make clear that the world’s second-largest economy can’t be the locomotive for world growth.

8. Greece and its prospective rescuers in the European Community are at loggerheads over conditions for EC help

...then there's the massive switch in Bank assets from commercial loans to Treasuries, and a few more not-very-goodies.

Why Drug Companies Need Profits

Look no further than the NYTimes (linked here by Legal Insurrection.)

$700 MILLION at risk. If the drug works, Roche makes a lot of money.

If it does not, they'll kiss that $700MM buh-bye.

Of interest only if you or a loved one has melanoma, by the way...

Feingold The Liar

Kevin shows us the real Feingold, who happens to be a committed Lefty ideologue.

He calls that tendency 'maverick.' Your mileage may vary.

Bishop of Green Bay Raises Questions About Alinskyites

Happy to see this happen.

Two interfaith groups will meet Wednesday to talk about concerns about their associations raised by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay.

Those would be "ESTHER" and "JOSHUA."

...the Green Bay diocese has signaled concern about Catholics associating with the interfaith groups because of their ties to state and national organizations that take stances the church thinks run counter to its teachings.

Bishop David Ricken has asked the Catholic members of ESTHER and JOSHUA to meet with him March 24 to discuss their membership in the groups, and he’s asked the interfaith groups to sever ties to their state organization, a move that caught members by surprise. Catholic churches make up half of the corporate membership of ESTHER and JOSHUA.

We've mentioned that these groups are Alinskyites, affiliates of the Industrial Areas Foundation.

There is nothing, whatsoever, 'Catholic' about IAF.

Thanks, Bp. Ricken!!

HT: FoxPolitics

Other Than That, Porkulus Is Just Dandy!!

A couple of meaningful quotes about the Porkulus 'energy-saving' program, and a few items the local paper didn't mention at all.

"In short, the nation has not, to date, realized the potential economic benefits of the $5 billion in Recovery Act funds allocated to the Weatherization Program," Inspector General Gregory H. Friedman wrote. "The job creation impact of what was considered to be one of the department's most 'shovel ready' projects has not materialized."

Also, low-income residents "have not enjoyed the significant reductions in energy consumption and improved living conditions promised as part of the massive Recovery Act weatherization effort," Friedman wrote.

No jobs, no results.

Oh, wait. There ARE results: national debt.

UPDATE: Stuff that the JS article didn't mention: (HT: Just One Minute)

The Recovery Act required that recipients of weatherization funds pay laborers at least the prevailing wage as determined under the Davis-Bacon Act. This requirement was not previously applicable to weatherization activities, and as such, grantees lacked information on which to base wage rates. In response, the Department asked the Department of Labor (Labor) to provide necessary wage determinations for each of the geographical areas expected to receive weatherization funds. Labor then began to conduct wage surveys across the country to determine the appropriate wage for weatherization work.

That meant an 8-month delay on projects for most of the country.

Nothing like a little Big Labor screeching to obtain no jobs and no results.

Surprise! Public Employees' Bennies Are Better!

Nothing shocking here.

But there is a serious warning.

The report, called "The Imbalance Between Public and Private Pensions in Wisconsin," comes on the heels of a decision last month by State of Wisconsin Investment Board trustees to borrow the equivalent of 4% of the pension fund's biggest chunk of assets and use it to more than double its position in Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, or TIPS. The action was widely seen by investment professionals as a bet on inflation that was driven by the retirement system's need to have a 7.8% average annual rate of return over the long-term in order to meet its obligations to retired public workers.

Umnnhhh.....what if that 'bet' doesn't pay out?

The combox following the article has all the usual blather about 'high-minded' people who took Gummint jobs to help the poor, and downtrodden, and yadayadayada, and how they're just scraping by, using candles for lighting and burning old newspapers for warmth because they earn nothing--absolutely nothing-- from their Gummint jobs.

And how they have to take 8 days' unpaid leave (that's THREE percent, folks).

Yup. Saw a gent yesterday who is a journeyman tool-and-die maker. Hasn't had work for 11 months.

So much for anecdotes.

The Doylet Line's "Yahara Station" Alternative

In the continuing saga of 'how to flush $800 MILLION down the toilet,' we find that an alternative stop in Madison has been discussed.

The "Yahara Station" idea would move the Doylet Line's Madison stop from the airport (~5 miles from the Capitol) to the area of 1st St. at Washington.

WELL!!

THAT'S a real improvement.

Last night I clocked the distance from the "Yahara Station" to the Capitol.

It's only 1.8 miles.

Think Ricky Pimentel of the JS would hoof it that far? Or Jagler of the BizTimes? Or the lobbyists?

Oh, by the way: the Capitol is several MILES from the real business center of Madison, which is actually in the Middleton area--further from both Yahara AND the airport.

Obama Reads Eggster, Wants SocSec Tax Hike

That didn't take long.

Eggster demonstrated that Social Security will run out of money, and Obama proposes a tax hike to fix it.

A tax hike on those earning more than $109K, which, IIRC, is LESS than $250K.

This "Doctor" Used Frankenstein as a Role Model

You've heard about the Philly "doctor" who displays aborted babies like mounted game-trophies.

There's more to that story, including an appearance by Arlen Specter, the disgraceful twit who's about to lose a Senate seat.

Read it all here, and (part two) here.

Orwell Textbook Passage Averted in NC

Maybe you should look at the "civics and ecomonics" texts your darlings are studying.

A proposed North Carolina school textbook that described Roe v. Wade as a ruling against government oppression of rights has been altered following opposition from Catholics and other pro-life advocates.

...The proposed text had asserted that Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that mandated permissive abortion laws nationwide, was an example of the Supreme Court upholding rights “against oppressive government.”

Actually, it was an example of SCOTUS manufacturing 'rights' directly contradicting the Natural Law. Further, as a great thinker proposed, "No one has a 'right' to do wrong."

HT: Apostasy

Planned Barrenhood Milwaukee: Caught on Tape

Gee, I'm shocked.

Sykes mentioned this video. Clearly a criminal kinda problem with Wisconsin reporting laws, statutory rape and all that stuff.

S'pose Joanne Huelsman, a Board member and ex-Leggie, knows about that? Edie Brengel Radtke? Pat Van Alyea? Jackie Boynton? Jane Delzer?

And who's that "Priest" on page 6 of the PPWI Annual Report?

AIG: Another Killer Zombie Arises Again

Umnnnhhh....so far, it's just sorta-kinda speculative.

So far.

It appears that AIG - the company we have bailed out (thus far) to the tune of some $100 billion plus, in fact, isn't done. It appears they may have written credit protection on Greece. If this allegation by the German equivalent to The New York Times is true Americans are going to be asked to pay billions of dollars - or more likely, hundreds of billions (since Greece is almost certainly not the only place - try Spain, Portugal, Ireland, etc) to bail out a bunch of FOREIGN NATIONS.

Well, what we know for SURE is that we'd bail them out 100% if they were named GoldmanSachs, or Chase, or Citi, or Bank of America.

If TurboTimmy and his henchmen think the US taxpayer will sit still for bailing out half of Europe, though, they're wrong.

And we're not done with the GoldmanSachs/Chase/Citi discussion, either, Timmy-boy.

More on Socialism from the Obama Admin

Yes, the Obama gang finally showed their (all-red) color with ObamaCare V3.0.

And there's more.

A new Treasury proposal:

[ ] seeks to mandate Foreclosure Abatements and Mortgage mods. These (and other related) policies that have shown themselves to be ineffective, and ultimately, counter-productive.

Barry Ritholtz (studiously non-partisan kinda guy), comments:

One of the most disappointing policy initiatives of the Administration to date has been the expensive and ineffective attempts to fight foreclosures at all costs.

The net impact of this is to artificially prop up home prices and reduce the number of real estate transactions. In the high foreclosures regions (California, South Florida, Arizona, Las Vegas), the foreclosure process have driven prices down to the point where buyers have materialized and sales numbers are improving significantly. The uptick in real estate transactions benefits durable good sales, increases mortgage volume, and positively impacts other real estate related activities.

As wrenching and unpleasant a process as foreclosures may be, the net impact of artificially high real estate prices is even more problematic. It punishes savers and first time home buyers (think Newlyweds).

One of the side effects NOT mentioned by Ritholtz is this: if property values remain high (artificially or otherwise), local Gummint TAX revenues are artificially supported, too.

Beyond that, banks are not forced to write down/off the assets, which (we all know) is merely a game. You might want to avoid buying bank stocks...

The HuffPo/MSM "Mind". Yah, That's Repetitive

Yup. HT: RedState

Social Security Funds Hit the Rocks

Eggster digs around, deserves a medal.

While Social Security’s Office of the Chief Actuary has not released the final financial data of the “Trust Funds” for January 2010, the Treasury Department has released the basis for those numbers, the January 2010 Monthly Treasury Report, and it appears that the combined OASDI “Trust Funds” have finally gone into a 12-month primary (or cash) deficit for the first time since monthly records were kept in 1988, to an estimated tune of $98 million.

Pictures and everything over there.

(D) Shows Colors: Red./Yellow/Green

Becerra, who presumably took his Congressional oath, laughs out loud at the suggestion that the Pledeg of Allegiance be recited to open a meeting at an immigration rally/SEIU event.

HT: Gateway

Pithy Take on ObamaCare V 3.0: It's Socialism

From the Yankee:

[Because he's a] corrupt politician from a corrupt political machine, Obama's "solution" seems patterned on the protection racket you see in organized crime, squeezing companies and the American people dry as he tries to profit from a problem he and his political allies created.

And he goes the final yard, calling Obama's flogging of Anthem for what it really is:

His pedophile mentor Frank Marshal Davis was a radical communist. His neighbor, alleged book doctor, fellow board member and fundraiser Bill Ayers is a murderous Marxist who hoped to put tens of millions of Americans in concentration camps in the American southwest. His pastor and mentor of more than two decades is a racial separatist and socialist, as is another one of his Chicago allies, the lynching-advocate [alleged "Catholic" Fr.] Michael Pfleger.

So I'm not the least bit surprised to find that Barack Obama has announced a health care rationing solution on par with what you would expect from a petty tyrant like Castro or Chavez.

The color of his flag is red. No stars, no stripes.

You Noticed All the Gunfire?

Harry Reid channels 'SuperBowl Sunday Violence' theme.

"I met with some people while I was home dealing with domestic abuse. It has gotten out of hand," Reid said on the Senate floor. "Why? Men don't have jobs."

Reid said that the effects of joblessness on domestic violence were especially pronounced among men, because, Reid said, women tend to be less abusive.

"Women don't have jobs either, but women aren’t abusive, most of the time," he said.

"Men, when they're out of work, tend to become abusive," the majority leader added. "Our domestic crisis shelters in Nevada are jammed.”

Sure, Harry. Just yesterday there were 40 ambo runs down my street and the kids are making a small fortune recycling brass they pick up from neighborhood homes and yards.

Uh-huh.

Baldwin, Buchen, Berry, and Moore: Same Page?

Gadzooks!

Mark the date and preserve this post: Baldwin, Buchen, Berry, and Moore agree (more or less) on something. That is, that "tax breaks for hiring people" is kinda useless and stupid.

"If I'm a small business right now, I don't need a tax credit to hire people," said Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee). "What I need are customers. I need people to have money to spend."

Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Madison) said that while she's open to tax incentives, it can't be "the only strategy in a jobs bill." Meanwhile, even business associations say they don't expect to see much economic growth related to the job tax credits.

"I wouldn't hold my breath that it's going to solve the unemployment problem," says James Buchen, the chief lobbyist for the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce. He argues for across the board decreases in the corporate income tax to make American products more competitive overseas.

Todd Berry, president of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, said the lesson to be learned from the stimulus is that you need to get money into people's hands one way or another, either through tax cuts or unemployment benefits. But the $15 billion being discussed by the Senate is simply too small to make a difference in a $14 trillion national economy.

"I suspect this is more about saying 'We're doing something' than saying 'We're doing something that will have a real impact,' " he said.

Next thing you know, they'll be a Simon & Garfunkel song.

The Bloodiest Bill: ObamaCare V 3.0

No surprises here, but more reason to vigorously oppose.

A new health care bill proposed by President Obama Monday threatens to expand abortion even more drastically than the health care bills stymied in Congress over the past several months, says the National Right to Life Committee.

..."If all of the President's changes were made," said Johnson, "the resulting legislation would allow direct federal funding of abortion on demand through Community Health Centers, would institute federal subsidies for private health plans that cover abortion on demand (including some federally administered plans), and would authorize federal mandates that would require even non-subsidized private plans to cover elective abortion."

Let's see if USCC will mobilize. If they do, Ride to the Sound of the Guns!