when...the New York City district that gave us Geraldine Ferraro and Anthony TheWeiner votes 54-46 to elect a moderately conservative GOP candidate.
The district, artfully gerrymandered for perpetual Democrat control, includes portions of both Brooklyn and Queens. In Brooklyn , it wasn't even close, 67/33, although there were many fewer votes at stake there. In Queens, Bob Turner lost by 51/48, (1472 vote margin as of this morning), but to even come that close on what has been a Democrat planation since 1923 was historic. All those Queens voters helped put him over the top. They gotta be passing the antacids around the morning staff meetings in the White House, and in MizNancy and MissahHarry's offices over on Capitol Hill. That's a lot of New York votes gone in 2012, and the GOP and Conservative Parties of New York now smell blood in the water. Who knows, maybe they retire a bunch of the machine Democrats all at once next year.
Turner is a native of the district, has lived there his entire life, a successful businessman, who has created significant wealth and a lot of jobs in his years. Just the kind of guy Obama and company love to hate. He's no Tea Party person, no wild-eyed guy wearing a George Washington costume at a rally. He's a sober adult, unlike the previous occupant of that district's seat.
Congrats to Mr. Turner, and to the folks in NY 09. As OS repeats, we need sober grownups who can do math and speak plain English in the years ahead. It's not going to be easy, even with the grownups in charge.
A view from Tim Stanley, across the pond. You know you're deep in ka-ka when a normally small event like this pops up on the world's radar.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
In Normal Times, A Democrat President Would Be Campaigning In NY 09 Today...
...but these are not normal times.
Anthony TheWeiner was a stalwart warrior of the Left, and of all things Obama. His (polite cough) very public downfall would not normally deter a President like Obama from sending in his operatives, and making a last-minute public appearance on behalf of the Democrat standing for election.
It's like...well...they're pretending this by-election isn't taking place today. And Welprin, the Democrat candidate, is pretending Obama doesn't exist. Like the last thing he'd want is a visit from The Beloved Leader on the eve of the election. Not normal times.
Obama was in Ohio, getting a crowd of high-school students and teachers to chant 'Pass this bill! Pass this bill!' Only MSNBC, all-Obama-all-the-time, even bothered to carry the event live. CNN was discussing fashion trends. This morning, his staff was blustering 'It's all or nothing!', and by the afternoon the view was, 'Well, if they want to pass it piecemeal, he'll sign the portions they send his way.'
Not normal times, not at all. NY 09 may well fall into GOP hands tonight. OS will be interested to see if the White House even makes mention of the occurrence in the morning.
Anthony TheWeiner was a stalwart warrior of the Left, and of all things Obama. His (polite cough) very public downfall would not normally deter a President like Obama from sending in his operatives, and making a last-minute public appearance on behalf of the Democrat standing for election.
It's like...well...they're pretending this by-election isn't taking place today. And Welprin, the Democrat candidate, is pretending Obama doesn't exist. Like the last thing he'd want is a visit from The Beloved Leader on the eve of the election. Not normal times.
Obama was in Ohio, getting a crowd of high-school students and teachers to chant 'Pass this bill! Pass this bill!' Only MSNBC, all-Obama-all-the-time, even bothered to carry the event live. CNN was discussing fashion trends. This morning, his staff was blustering 'It's all or nothing!', and by the afternoon the view was, 'Well, if they want to pass it piecemeal, he'll sign the portions they send his way.'
Not normal times, not at all. NY 09 may well fall into GOP hands tonight. OS will be interested to see if the White House even makes mention of the occurrence in the morning.
James Kwak On Why Social Security Is Not A Ponzi Scheme
Kwak is a bright man, and this is (on the whole) a reasoned discussion.
OS lost his temper in the comments. Ignore that bit, at least the temper part.
Worth reading and considering, especially with the rise of the Rick Perry phenomenon.
OS lost his temper in the comments. Ignore that bit, at least the temper part.
Worth reading and considering, especially with the rise of the Rick Perry phenomenon.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Listening To The Names, Ten Years Later
OS hardly knows where to begin. How to put in words this scene, hearing the names of the murdered intoned by the survivors, many of them young teenaged children who lost parents while in infancy? How to describe the tears of the family members touching the names of their loved ones engraved around the fountain, taking pencil rubbings of those names--something tangible to take home with them, a tiny piece of what had been stolen from them by vicious evil people half a world away? How to describe the pain and pride in the voices of those who read the names, adding their own memorials?
Well, of course, words fail-at least any words this poor schlub could compose.
But, blessedly, that Moment of Grace arrived, that moment of clarity when the heavens opened, and comforting insight arrived.
Just after Mayor Bloomberg spoke, Yo-Yo Ma played a movement from one of the Bach Cello Suites. Time stood still, as he both played and listened in that strange state of transport that sometimes occurs when the performer himself seems to disappear. It was just Bach, a tiny moment of the music of the spheres, picking up where words fall to impotent silence.
And the insight arrived: The dead-end religion and cultures that produced the monsters that committed these murders are incapable of producing a Bach, or a Yo-Yo Ma, or a cello. They can't create anything resembling a culture worth preserving, and they are actively about the job of destroying what little they do have. Even the archeology that preserves what we know of their history is an invention of the West. They can burn the world down around them, but they can't create anything. They don't look forward, because they can't. They can only refight wars of centuries ago, and bathe the world in blood.
So, here we are, ten years later. As Bonhoeffer noted in Christmas 1942, ten years is a long time:
As time is the most valuable thing that we have, because it is the most irrevocable, the thought of any lost time troubles us when we look back. Time lost is time in which we have failed to live a full human life, gain experience, learn, create, enjoy and suffer...These last years have certainly not been like that Our losses have been great and immeasurable, but time has not been lost.
The names continue to be read. The music continues to play, Bach on the cello and violin, guitar, Amazing Grace on the flute (talk about something Islam can never produce!), James Taylor singing 'You Can Close Your Eyes', Paul Simon singing 'Sound of Silence', string quartets, and memorials continue to be read at a beautiful memorial, raised from the ashes of unspeakably evil acts. The West can do this. Islam can't, because it won't, because it can't, because it won't.
It is a blessing that the SEALs did send Osama bin Laden to his reward, in the manner they did, that the Navy had the privilege of firing the shots that dispatched him. Justice served provides comfort to the bereaved, and puts the world on notice that we can are patient, and people like him will never escape.
So, what now?
If we'll step back and look, we see the world of Islam burning itself down, from Algeria to Pakistan and beyond. It's tempting to say, 'Good. Serves 'em right, let 'em burn.', but there's a bigger thought to express in that direction: You are free to burn yourselves down, we won't stand in your way. When you've had enough, you may with to consider the twin gifts of the West, those being Christianity and the Enlightenment. In the meantime, the only part of the world you get to burn down is yours. Look us up when you've had enough.
OS has a personal list of ThingsToDo in honor of this tenth anniversary, some of which he has began to undertake.
He's playing golf with his friends, and will do a lot more of that, because he wants to build friendships for the next decades.
He's making sure his kids knows he's outrageously proud of them. Because he is.
He's making sure the Sainted Mrs. OS knows she's loved and honored. Because she is the very best person he has ever known.
He's going to continue to encourage young women to pursue their educations and lives, because Islam hates and degrades women, and Christ loves and dignifies them.
He's going to create in his own voice, because it's the one God gave him.
And, today, especially in honor of the day, he's going to do two specific things:
1. He's going to play music, especially the music of Bach, because the fundamentalist monsters of Islam hate music.
2. He's preparing pork roast for dinner, because he knows that would piss off Osama Bin Laden.
God bless us every one, and God bless and preserve the United States of America.
Well, of course, words fail-at least any words this poor schlub could compose.
But, blessedly, that Moment of Grace arrived, that moment of clarity when the heavens opened, and comforting insight arrived.
Just after Mayor Bloomberg spoke, Yo-Yo Ma played a movement from one of the Bach Cello Suites. Time stood still, as he both played and listened in that strange state of transport that sometimes occurs when the performer himself seems to disappear. It was just Bach, a tiny moment of the music of the spheres, picking up where words fall to impotent silence.
And the insight arrived: The dead-end religion and cultures that produced the monsters that committed these murders are incapable of producing a Bach, or a Yo-Yo Ma, or a cello. They can't create anything resembling a culture worth preserving, and they are actively about the job of destroying what little they do have. Even the archeology that preserves what we know of their history is an invention of the West. They can burn the world down around them, but they can't create anything. They don't look forward, because they can't. They can only refight wars of centuries ago, and bathe the world in blood.
So, here we are, ten years later. As Bonhoeffer noted in Christmas 1942, ten years is a long time:
As time is the most valuable thing that we have, because it is the most irrevocable, the thought of any lost time troubles us when we look back. Time lost is time in which we have failed to live a full human life, gain experience, learn, create, enjoy and suffer...These last years have certainly not been like that Our losses have been great and immeasurable, but time has not been lost.
The names continue to be read. The music continues to play, Bach on the cello and violin, guitar, Amazing Grace on the flute (talk about something Islam can never produce!), James Taylor singing 'You Can Close Your Eyes', Paul Simon singing 'Sound of Silence', string quartets, and memorials continue to be read at a beautiful memorial, raised from the ashes of unspeakably evil acts. The West can do this. Islam can't, because it won't, because it can't, because it won't.
It is a blessing that the SEALs did send Osama bin Laden to his reward, in the manner they did, that the Navy had the privilege of firing the shots that dispatched him. Justice served provides comfort to the bereaved, and puts the world on notice that we can are patient, and people like him will never escape.
So, what now?
If we'll step back and look, we see the world of Islam burning itself down, from Algeria to Pakistan and beyond. It's tempting to say, 'Good. Serves 'em right, let 'em burn.', but there's a bigger thought to express in that direction: You are free to burn yourselves down, we won't stand in your way. When you've had enough, you may with to consider the twin gifts of the West, those being Christianity and the Enlightenment. In the meantime, the only part of the world you get to burn down is yours. Look us up when you've had enough.
OS has a personal list of ThingsToDo in honor of this tenth anniversary, some of which he has began to undertake.
He's playing golf with his friends, and will do a lot more of that, because he wants to build friendships for the next decades.
He's making sure his kids knows he's outrageously proud of them. Because he is.
He's making sure the Sainted Mrs. OS knows she's loved and honored. Because she is the very best person he has ever known.
He's going to continue to encourage young women to pursue their educations and lives, because Islam hates and degrades women, and Christ loves and dignifies them.
He's going to create in his own voice, because it's the one God gave him.
And, today, especially in honor of the day, he's going to do two specific things:
1. He's going to play music, especially the music of Bach, because the fundamentalist monsters of Islam hate music.
2. He's preparing pork roast for dinner, because he knows that would piss off Osama Bin Laden.
God bless us every one, and God bless and preserve the United States of America.
Friday, September 9, 2011
While The World Chatters About Obama And Greece, Israel's Credit Rating Goes UP
It's too good not to mention on a Friday.
The news is full of Greece's meltdown--how'd you like to have to borrow money at 80% interest for one year, just to keep the lights on?
Lots of chatter about Himself, including this bit from Doug Mataconis, who is no fire-breathing conservative.
The mosques in Syria will conclude services in a few minutes, and the bloodshed will pick up where it left off last Friday after prayers and wing-nut sermons, and more mothers will bury more of their children on Sunday. Nothing new here.
Libya is now being divided up amongst its various tribal warlords, including some very interesting-looking jihadist types. Are we surprised? Egypt is choatic, no news here. Gold is spiking, as is silver, but OS has decided to get out of the way of all the oncoming freight trains proceeding through the tunnel in his direction.
The world is so busy chattering about the turmoil, that they will barely notice this nugget of good news. The logical question is, of course, 'What are the Israelis doing right that we aren't?' it's a dangerous question, but it is the logical question.
The weather is lovely. The migration of mourning doves from points north has begun, and OS is cheerily leaving them cracked corn in abundance, to welcome them back. There is a very nice roosting area on an abandoned farm property behind OS's house, and ponds, and gravel roads for craw.
OS played a fun round with an old friend at an unfamiliar course yesterday. Luckily, his order of new golf balls was in his mailbox when he returned home. It's the weekend. OS has time, Mrs. OS, a few things to get done, and an immense sense of gratitude for his life. He will be looking for Israeli bond funds during the day, though.
International credit rating agency Standard & Poor's announced on Friday that it has raised Israel's credit rating from A to A+. The company said that the decision reflects the government's responsible economic policy. Company officials said they do not believe the national budget will explode despite the mass social justice protests demanding reformed economic policies. Standard & Poor's is the same company which, in August, lowered the credit rating of the United States.
The news is full of Greece's meltdown--how'd you like to have to borrow money at 80% interest for one year, just to keep the lights on?
Lots of chatter about Himself, including this bit from Doug Mataconis, who is no fire-breathing conservative.
The mosques in Syria will conclude services in a few minutes, and the bloodshed will pick up where it left off last Friday after prayers and wing-nut sermons, and more mothers will bury more of their children on Sunday. Nothing new here.
Libya is now being divided up amongst its various tribal warlords, including some very interesting-looking jihadist types. Are we surprised? Egypt is choatic, no news here. Gold is spiking, as is silver, but OS has decided to get out of the way of all the oncoming freight trains proceeding through the tunnel in his direction.
The world is so busy chattering about the turmoil, that they will barely notice this nugget of good news. The logical question is, of course, 'What are the Israelis doing right that we aren't?' it's a dangerous question, but it is the logical question.
The weather is lovely. The migration of mourning doves from points north has begun, and OS is cheerily leaving them cracked corn in abundance, to welcome them back. There is a very nice roosting area on an abandoned farm property behind OS's house, and ponds, and gravel roads for craw.
OS played a fun round with an old friend at an unfamiliar course yesterday. Luckily, his order of new golf balls was in his mailbox when he returned home. It's the weekend. OS has time, Mrs. OS, a few things to get done, and an immense sense of gratitude for his life. He will be looking for Israeli bond funds during the day, though.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Barack Obama, Winner Of The Nobel Peace Prize, On The Subject Of Civility In Public Discourse
Really, ya'll, he spoke these words a few months ago:
"At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized, at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do," the President said at the time, "it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds," he said.
Not a peep in the wake of Hoffa's hectoring of the crowd, telling them to '...take these sons-of-bitches out!', referring to members of the Tea Party.
OS concludes the rules must change when it gets to be election season, at least for Obama.
"At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized, at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do," the President said at the time, "it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds," he said.
Not a peep in the wake of Hoffa's hectoring of the crowd, telling them to '...take these sons-of-bitches out!', referring to members of the Tea Party.
OS concludes the rules must change when it gets to be election season, at least for Obama.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Yes, Indeed, Mr. Hoffa Said Those Ugly, Menacing Words
Video's here, if you must see it, yet again.
Mr. Hoffa did say:
"We got to keep an eye on the battle that we face: The war on workers. And you see it everywhere, it is the Tea Party. And you know, there is only one way to beat and win that war. The one thing about working people is we like a good fight. And you know what? They've got a war, they got a war with us and there's only going to be one winner. It's going to be the workers of Michigan, and America. We're going to win that war," Jimmy Hoffa said to a heavily union crowd.
"President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. Let's take these son of bitches out and give America back to an America where we belong," Hoffa added.
Given the loooong relationship between the Teamsters and elements of the Cosa Nostra, these are pretty chilling words, the kind used by people like Gambino, Gotti, Luciano, and company.
Surely, it gave a thrill to the crowd. And, oddly, it may have given a thrill to those who identify themselves with the 'sons-of-bitches' Mr. Hoffa wishes to 'take out.' The 'See-I-Told-You-So' thrill, the 'Let's-Make-Sure-We're-Packing-From-Now-On' thrill.
Old South, as horrified as he is by those words, and as scared as he is by what those words mean, really urges his readers, and everyone in general, to take a deep breath. Calm down. These are challenging times, and adrenalin does not help one think.
Hoffa is an idiot, a goon. Obama is a desperate man to stand on the podium with Hoffa at all, much less to not immediately take the high road and repudiate those words and the man who spoke them. Immediately, on the spot. He could have simply walked off and left when Hoffa staged his rant, which would have been the most effective course of action. But he didn't. And that was a tragic moment for him, and for the country.
But, still, everybody. Calm down, be thoughtful. Someone out there may think it would somehow be heroic to do violent things to union members, especially to Teamsters, to somehow 'get back' at Hoffa. It isn't. A face floats in OS's mind just now, a Teamster who is the gentlest soul for miles around, whose kindness forever contributed to OS's family. Other union members, in other unions, come to mind--good good people, who do not share Hoffa's view of the world. They don't deserve to get killed or injured in political violence.
In the movies, and on TV, we view fictionalized violence every day, knowing that the rounds fired are blanks, the blood is fake, it's all edited later, and after the scene is film, everyone gets up and goes home at the end of the day.
Real violence is not like that. It scars victims and aggressors both. People die, and leave shattered families behind. Gunshot wounds maim body and soul for life.
Calm down, everybody. Don't take Hoffa's bait, don't play in his sandbox. And, when you decide about who should be in office next, think about that poor politician who so desperately wishes to hold on to power that he will countenance even a Jimmy Hoffa's poisonous calls to violence. These kind of people, we don't need in office, at any level, from the county courthouse to the White House.
Calm down, and think about how to face what lies ahead for us all.
Mr. Hoffa did say:
"We got to keep an eye on the battle that we face: The war on workers. And you see it everywhere, it is the Tea Party. And you know, there is only one way to beat and win that war. The one thing about working people is we like a good fight. And you know what? They've got a war, they got a war with us and there's only going to be one winner. It's going to be the workers of Michigan, and America. We're going to win that war," Jimmy Hoffa said to a heavily union crowd.
"President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. Let's take these son of bitches out and give America back to an America where we belong," Hoffa added.
Given the loooong relationship between the Teamsters and elements of the Cosa Nostra, these are pretty chilling words, the kind used by people like Gambino, Gotti, Luciano, and company.
Surely, it gave a thrill to the crowd. And, oddly, it may have given a thrill to those who identify themselves with the 'sons-of-bitches' Mr. Hoffa wishes to 'take out.' The 'See-I-Told-You-So' thrill, the 'Let's-Make-Sure-We're-Packing-From-Now-On' thrill.
Old South, as horrified as he is by those words, and as scared as he is by what those words mean, really urges his readers, and everyone in general, to take a deep breath. Calm down. These are challenging times, and adrenalin does not help one think.
Hoffa is an idiot, a goon. Obama is a desperate man to stand on the podium with Hoffa at all, much less to not immediately take the high road and repudiate those words and the man who spoke them. Immediately, on the spot. He could have simply walked off and left when Hoffa staged his rant, which would have been the most effective course of action. But he didn't. And that was a tragic moment for him, and for the country.
But, still, everybody. Calm down, be thoughtful. Someone out there may think it would somehow be heroic to do violent things to union members, especially to Teamsters, to somehow 'get back' at Hoffa. It isn't. A face floats in OS's mind just now, a Teamster who is the gentlest soul for miles around, whose kindness forever contributed to OS's family. Other union members, in other unions, come to mind--good good people, who do not share Hoffa's view of the world. They don't deserve to get killed or injured in political violence.
In the movies, and on TV, we view fictionalized violence every day, knowing that the rounds fired are blanks, the blood is fake, it's all edited later, and after the scene is film, everyone gets up and goes home at the end of the day.
Real violence is not like that. It scars victims and aggressors both. People die, and leave shattered families behind. Gunshot wounds maim body and soul for life.
Calm down, everybody. Don't take Hoffa's bait, don't play in his sandbox. And, when you decide about who should be in office next, think about that poor politician who so desperately wishes to hold on to power that he will countenance even a Jimmy Hoffa's poisonous calls to violence. These kind of people, we don't need in office, at any level, from the county courthouse to the White House.
Calm down, and think about how to face what lies ahead for us all.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Perhaps THIS Is One Reason Gibson Guitars Was Raided?
By armed agents? To seize rosewood? Not meth, not guns. Rosewood and guitars.
The link contains the official statement from Gibson.
Doug Ross, who provides this statement to us, also notes:
As an aside, Gibson is a non-unionized shop while its competitors are largely unionized.
And Gibson's CEO is a Republican donor while his competitors -- who import the exact same wood without complaint from the government -- are Democrat contributors.
But I'm sure those are all just coincidences.
Before the twilight falls upon us, let us shed as much light as we can.
The link contains the official statement from Gibson.
Doug Ross, who provides this statement to us, also notes:
As an aside, Gibson is a non-unionized shop while its competitors are largely unionized.
And Gibson's CEO is a Republican donor while his competitors -- who import the exact same wood without complaint from the government -- are Democrat contributors.
But I'm sure those are all just coincidences.
Before the twilight falls upon us, let us shed as much light as we can.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
The CIA/MI6 And Colonel Gadaffi: Ifn' Yew Lize Down Wif Dawgs, You Gits Fleas
John LeCarre's secret of success is that he simply relates rather more polite versions of the idiocies that are carried out in our names.
(The release of the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing seemed unexplicable at the time. Now, the event is, well, perhaps, plausible and understandable. The governments of the US and the UK left the families of the victims hung out to dry. After all, the reasoning might go, that thing occurred in 1988, you know. How bad can the loss of a child to a terrorist murderer still hurt after all those years, and we have bigger fish to fry, and...)
From the BeeBeeCee, ever the bearer of glad tidings:
US and UK spy agencies built close ties with their Libyan counterparts during the so-called War on Terror, according to documents discovered at the office of Col Gaddafi's former spy chief.
The papers suggest the CIA abducted several suspected militants from 2002 to 2004 and handed them to Tripoli.
The UK's MI6 also apparently gave the Gaddafi regime details of dissidents.
The documents, found by Human Rights Watch workers, have not been seen by the BBC or independently verified.
But, wait, there's more, and more to come!
The papers outline the rendition of several suspects, including one that Human Rights Watch has identified as Abdel Hakim Belhaj, known in the documents as Abdullah al-Sadiq, who is now the military commander of the anti-Gaddafi forces in Tripoli.
The Americans snatched him in South East Asia before flying him to Tripoli in 2004, the documents claim.
Mr Belhaj, who was involved in an Islamist group attempting to overthrow Col Gaddafi in the early 2000s, had told the Associated Press news agency earlier this week that he had been rendered by the Americans, but held no grudge.
Riiight.
What could possibly go wrong?
(The release of the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing seemed unexplicable at the time. Now, the event is, well, perhaps, plausible and understandable. The governments of the US and the UK left the families of the victims hung out to dry. After all, the reasoning might go, that thing occurred in 1988, you know. How bad can the loss of a child to a terrorist murderer still hurt after all those years, and we have bigger fish to fry, and...)
From the BeeBeeCee, ever the bearer of glad tidings:
US and UK spy agencies built close ties with their Libyan counterparts during the so-called War on Terror, according to documents discovered at the office of Col Gaddafi's former spy chief.
The papers suggest the CIA abducted several suspected militants from 2002 to 2004 and handed them to Tripoli.
The UK's MI6 also apparently gave the Gaddafi regime details of dissidents.
The documents, found by Human Rights Watch workers, have not been seen by the BBC or independently verified.
But, wait, there's more, and more to come!
The papers outline the rendition of several suspects, including one that Human Rights Watch has identified as Abdel Hakim Belhaj, known in the documents as Abdullah al-Sadiq, who is now the military commander of the anti-Gaddafi forces in Tripoli.
The Americans snatched him in South East Asia before flying him to Tripoli in 2004, the documents claim.
Mr Belhaj, who was involved in an Islamist group attempting to overthrow Col Gaddafi in the early 2000s, had told the Associated Press news agency earlier this week that he had been rendered by the Americans, but held no grudge.
Riiight.
What could possibly go wrong?
Friday, September 2, 2011
Zero, Zilch, Nada, Jobs Created In August--Likely Jobs Lost--Please, No More Blather About 'Jobs Saved Or Gained'
It's September 1, 2011. Obama took office two years eight months ago, plus a few days.
It's his economy, not Bush's.
From the Bureau of Labor Statistics, today:
Nonfarm payroll employment was unchanged (0) in August, and the unemployment
rate held at 9.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
Employment in most major industries changed little over the month. Health
care continued to add jobs, and a decline in information employment reflected
a strike. Government employment continued to trend down, despite the return
of workers from a partial government shutdown in Minnesota.
Household Survey Data
The number of unemployed persons, at 14.0 million, was essentially unchanged
in August, and the unemployment rate held at 9.1 percent. The rate has shown
little change since April. (See table A-1.)
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (8.9
percent), adult women (8.0 percent), teenagers (25.4 percent), whites
(8.0 percent), blacks (16.7 percent), and Hispanics (11.3 percent) showed
little or no change in August. The jobless rate for Asians was 7.1 percent,
not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was
about unchanged at 6.0 million in August and accounted for 42.9 percent of the
unemployed. (See table A-12.)
The labor force rose to 153.6 million in August. Both the civilian labor force
participation rate, at 64.0 percent, and the employment-population ratio, at
58.2 percent, were little changed. (See table A-1.)
Oh, by the way, the final paragraph of the report shares this gem with us:
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for June was revised from
+46,000 to +20,000, and the change for July was revised from +117,000 to
+85,000.
20/46 is....43%. Thus that was a 57% miss on the estimate.
85/117 is...72%. Thus that was a 38% miss on the estimate.
There are people who went out and bought stocks based on those 'estimates'-- damn ya'll, there was euphoria in July!
November 2012 cannot arrive too quickly.
It's his economy, not Bush's.
From the Bureau of Labor Statistics, today:
Nonfarm payroll employment was unchanged (0) in August, and the unemployment
rate held at 9.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
Employment in most major industries changed little over the month. Health
care continued to add jobs, and a decline in information employment reflected
a strike. Government employment continued to trend down, despite the return
of workers from a partial government shutdown in Minnesota.
Household Survey Data
The number of unemployed persons, at 14.0 million, was essentially unchanged
in August, and the unemployment rate held at 9.1 percent. The rate has shown
little change since April. (See table A-1.)
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (8.9
percent), adult women (8.0 percent), teenagers (25.4 percent), whites
(8.0 percent), blacks (16.7 percent), and Hispanics (11.3 percent) showed
little or no change in August. The jobless rate for Asians was 7.1 percent,
not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was
about unchanged at 6.0 million in August and accounted for 42.9 percent of the
unemployed. (See table A-12.)
The labor force rose to 153.6 million in August. Both the civilian labor force
participation rate, at 64.0 percent, and the employment-population ratio, at
58.2 percent, were little changed. (See table A-1.)
Oh, by the way, the final paragraph of the report shares this gem with us:
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for June was revised from
+46,000 to +20,000, and the change for July was revised from +117,000 to
+85,000.
20/46 is....43%. Thus that was a 57% miss on the estimate.
85/117 is...72%. Thus that was a 38% miss on the estimate.
There are people who went out and bought stocks based on those 'estimates'-- damn ya'll, there was euphoria in July!
November 2012 cannot arrive too quickly.
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