Tag Archives: economy

George Stephanopoulos Parrots Democratic Talking Points on New GOP Pledge: They’re ‘Repealing Health Care’

Posted on September 23, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Comments Off on George Stephanopoulos Parrots Democratic Talking Points on New GOP Pledge: They’re ‘Repealing Health Care’

Good Morning America’s George Stephanopoulos on Thursday offered up Democratic talking points as he discussed a new set of Republican promises, should the GOP win Congress. The skeptical host interviewed Representative Paul Ryan and repeated, “You heard the President. He said this is the exact same agenda as Republicans had before he came to office. How is it different?” In a tease for the segment, he spun, ” Republicans unveil their plan for America: Cutting taxes and repealing health care .” It may seem like a small distinction but Republicans oppose the new law, not the concept of Americans having health care. Stephanopoulos repeatedly grilled the GOP Congressman: “…The two central items in the agenda, are extending the tax cuts passed under President Bush. Repealing the health care law by President Obama. Those are going to cost at least $4 trillion over the next ten years. And your- your pledge doesn’t spell out anything close to paying for that $4 trillion.” He followed up by pressing, “But, you say a path to balance. But, you do concede that you do not have a plan to balance the budget. And you don’t pay for the tax cuts that you are extending?” Yet, when Stephanopoulos interviewed Barack Obama for 16 minutes on September 9 , he included several softball questions, such as this empathetic example on the minister who threatened to burn a Koran on 9/11: “I wonder what this must feel like from behind your desk. You’re President of the United States. You have to deal with the fallout. And here’s a pastor who’s got 30 followers in his church. Does it make you feel helpless or angry?” A transcript of the September 23 segment, which aired at 7:06am EDT, follows: GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Let’s turn now to one of the architects of the Republican agenda, Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, a ranking Republican on the House budget committee. Good morning, Congressman. REP. PAUL RYAN: Hey, good morning, George. STEPHANOPOULOS: You heard the President. He said this is the exact same agenda as Republicans had before he came to office. How is it different? RYAN: Well, first of all, cutting spending, creating jobs and putting the policy of economic growth in place, and cleaning up the way Congress works is not only standing in stark contrast to this Congress and this President. But, actually, George, it stands a bit in stark contrast to way Republicans conducted ourselves a decade ago. We need to own up to the fact that when we were in the majority, we spent too much money. We lost our way. We have got to get that back. We are not here offering a plan to reinvent America. We are trying to reclaim our country by rededicating ourselves to the timeless principles that made us exceptional. These are the basic building blocks to get us on the right track. The first steps to get this country on the right track. STEPHANOPOULOS: Yet, Congressman, the two central items in the agenda, are extending the tax cuts passed under President Bush. Repealing the health care law by President Obama. Those are going to cost at least $4 trillion over the next ten years. And your- your pledge doesn’t spell out anything close to paying for that $4 trillion. RYAN: We’d put 1.3 trillion in cuts right there as well. But the President is also proposing $3 trillion of those $3.7 trillion in tax cuts be extended. So, it’s not as if the President and the Democrats aren’t saying extend some of them. We’re saying- STEPHANOPOULOS: But, how are you going to pay for the $4 trillion, if you’re going to reduce the spending? RYAN: Well, I brought a budget to the floor that reduced $4.8 trillion in spending, which would have more than compensated for these tax cuts. The point is, George, raising taxes on successful, small businesses, which these tax increases would hit 50 percent of all small business income, 70 percent of our jobs come from small businesses. It is not a good idea in this economy, to raise these kind of taxes. Even some of the President’s own economic advisers are suggesting, we should not have tax increases occur in January. What- The problem we have right now is jobs, George. We need the economy growing. We need job creations. Taxing capital gains, taxing dividends taxing small businesses will hurt us from creating jobs. Mark Zandi, Peter Orszag. Even some of the President’s own advisors are suggesting that. So, we’re saying, not only keep taxes low, but focus on spending. Cut spending. Control spending. Get the budget on the path to balance. We will begin with that. STEPHANOPOULOS: But, you say a path to balance. But, you do concede that you do not have a plan to balance the budget. And you don’t pay for the tax cuts that you are extending? RYAN: Well, we can pay for the tax cuts. I have provided budgets that do that in the past. STEPHANOPOULOS: But, the rest of the Republicans aren’t signing on to it? RYAN: No. That’s the road map which is quite different. What I’m saying is we have a plan to get this country back on track. We want to cut and control spending. The deficit is such a mess right now. It’s going to take time to balance the budget. But, what is the current government doing? Their making it worse. The President has added a budget that doubles our debt in five years. And triples it in ten years. We want to go in a different direction. So, we don’t want to balance the budget by raising taxes. We want to balance a budget by controlling spending. ‘Cause, after all, that’s the real source of our problem. STEPHANOPOULOS: You also talk about cleaning up Congress. You’re taking some heat, some surprising heat from conservatives. Erick Erickson of RedState.com says- hits you were not taking on earmarks, for not banning earmarks. He says “The lack of an earmarks ban is terrible. Cutting off the gateway drug to big government is important.” Your response? RYAN: I agree. We’ve already banned earmarks. That’s already in the Republican platform. STEPHANOPOULOS: Only for your conference. Not for the House overall. RYAN: Republicans- We’ve going to continue this earmarks ban. We’ve already done the earmark ban. So, it’s something we’ve already initiated it in our own volition within our own conference. It’s something we’re intending on continuing. That’s why it’s not new pledge. STEPHANOPOULOS: So, you’ve got the pledge. What will you pledge to pass in the first year, if Republicans take control of the house? RYAN: Right. So, this is something we could pass tomorrow. This is a governing agenda that we’re saying if we got in control of Congress tomorrow, here’s what we would do. And there’s dozens of pieces of legislation here we’re talking about. First of all, the health care bill, we think is a disaster. It’s making the deficit worse. That’s according to the President’s actuary. It’s making health care go up. We would replace this health care law with consumer-directed health care that actually gets affordable health care to everybody, regardless of preexisting condition. STEPHANOPOULOS: So, that is number one. Okay, Congressman- RYAN: We would cut spending, right away. There’s lots of things we would do. We would rescind TARP. We would rescind unspent stimulus. We would do a federal hiring freeze. That can get you 1.3 trillion in spending cuts. And we would prevent these massive tax increases from hitting our economy January 1st so that we can keep job creation going. We’re trying to remove uncertainty so the economy can grow. There’s a big uncertainty problem. Businesses aren’t hiring because of all this government uncertainty. We want to address that. STEPHANOPOULOS: Big agenda for January 1st. Thank you very much, Congressman.

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George Stephanopoulos Parrots Democratic Talking Points on New GOP Pledge: They’re ‘Repealing Health Care’

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AP-GfK Poll Report Concentrates on Voters’ Emotions, Avoids Dem-Unfriendly Findings

Posted on September 23, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Comments Off on AP-GfK Poll Report Concentrates on Voters’ Emotions, Avoids Dem-Unfriendly Findings

So what’s more important: The fact that independents are as “upset” as Republicans, or that Americans’ disapproval of how President Obama is handling the economy is at an all-time high? Here’s another priority-related question: Is it more important that “independents and Republicans were half as likely as Democrats to be inspired and less prone to be hopeful, excited and proud,” or that Republicans are now more trusted than Democrats in handling the economy, representing a 10-point swing (from -5% to +5%) in just three months? If you’re the Associated Press’s Alan Fram and Jennifer Agiesta reporting on your own poll — an AP-GfK poll found in full at this link (click on “September 8th – September 13th 2010 – AP-GfK Poll Topline” when you get there) — you would apparently say that the first alternatives in each question are more important, even though terms like “upset,” hopeful,” excited,” and “proud” are subjective, and the items that trigger these emotions will vary widely among survey respondents. Why, if I didn’t know better (I think I do), I’d say that Agiesta and Fram filtered out the worst of the bad news for Democrats in favor of the touchy-feely stuff. Here are several paragraphs from the AP pair’s report : AP-GfK Poll: Independents as upset as Republicans More bad news for Democrats clinging to control of Congress: Independent voters are nearly as grumpy as Republicans about politics this year. In an Associated Press-GfK Poll this month, 58 percent of independents and 60 percent of Republicans said politics is making them angry, compared with 31 percent of Democrats who said so. About 7 in 10 independents and Republicans were disgusted, compared with 4 in 10 Democrats, and independents and Republicans were likelier than Democrats to be disappointed, depressed and frustrated. As for positive emotions, independents and Republicans were half as likely as Democrats to be inspired and less prone to be hopeful, excited and proud. The figures are the latest cautionary note for Democrats, who face a Nov. 2 Election Day in which the sluggish economy and President Barack Obama’s tepid popularity give Republicans a strong chance to capture control of the House and perhaps the Senate. They also help explain why independents, who can be pivotal in many congressional races, prefer their GOP candidate over the Democrat by 52 percent to 36 percent – which grows to 62 percent to 29 percent among independents considered likeliest to vote. Well, I guess we should give the two reporters credit for finally getting to something substantive at the end of the fourth paragraph — by which time a number of readers will have tired of the focus on emotions. Now let’s look at some of the meat Fram and Agiesta chose to ignore. By a margin of 58-42, respondents disapproved of how President Obama is handling the economy: As you can see, that’s up from a virtual tie just six months ago. By that same 58-42 margin, respondents disapproved of the president’s handling of unemployment, an 18-point swing from six months ago: Perhaps most damning, the majority of those polled who say that Obama “understands the problems of ordinary Americans” is the narrowest ever, and miles lower than it was at the beginning of the year: My guess, based on the timing presented as to when the question has been asked, is that AP-GfK was hoping for a better September result than they got. After inexplicably narrowing in August, respondents’ net unfavorable impression of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is 23 points: This would seem to explain why congressional candidates are running away from her . Voters should remember that ” Dems Deserve No Distance ” from Pelosi, Obama, or Harry Reid if they are up for reelection and voted for one of the following: the failed stimulus plan, cap and trade, or ObamaCare. Finally, Republicans have gained the upper hand in respondents’ trust on handling the economy for the first time since Obama has been president: Each one of the five findings I presented is far more important than the deep dive the poll took into nebulous emotions. Readers will surely find several others that would also qualify as more important if they go to the complete poll. Tellingly in my view, the poll presents no prior information on respondents’ emotions other than for “happy.” I believe that the September poll was the first time most emotion-related questions were asked — which is further evidence that the AP and GfK were looking for any kind of polling “news” that would give them an excuse for not delivering the data readers have a right to expect. Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com .

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AP-GfK Poll Report Concentrates on Voters’ Emotions, Avoids Dem-Unfriendly Findings

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CBS: Americans ‘Angry’ Over Bad Economy, ‘Taking It Out On’ Obama

Posted on September 21, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

At the top of Tuesday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith proclaimed: “Angry Americans. A new report declares the recession officially over. But many of us are not feeling it. Even taking on the President himself.” Later, he seemed to portray the President as a victim: “…a lot of Americans are still suffering its [the recession’s] effects, and are taking it out on President Obama.” In a report that followed, correspondent Bill Plante noted how “numbers may be going in the right direction” but touted “frustrated” Obama supporters speaking out at a Monday CNBC town hall. In between clips of those voters, Plante sympathetically remarked: “On the defensive, the President responded by outlining some of his administration’s accomplishments, but admitted that things aren’t where they need to be.” He concluded the report: “So the reality is that improving statistics aren’t very convincing to voters who are worried about jobs, and that is the reality the President and his party face going into the November elections.” Introducing a brief report on the stock market reaction, co-host Maggie Rodriguez looked for a silver lining: “The average American may be skeptical about an economic recovery, but the reaction on Wall Street to the end of the recession shows that investors are optimistic.” Business and economics correspondent Rebecca Jarvis declared: “…yesterday, stocks responded positively to the news that it is now behind us. The Dow ended higher by 145 points, putting it on track for the best September in 71 years.” Smith later interviewed Obama economic advisor and new head of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Elizabeth Warren. He lobbed softballs to her, starting with: “…you’ve spent a good time of your professional career studying the middle class, and quite frankly, worrying about the middle class. As we get this kind of news that we got yesterday that the recession was over, so many people in the middle class are saying, ‘it doesn’t feel like it at my house.’ When do you think it might feel like it at our house?” A headline on screen read: “Anger Over the Economy; Despite Recession’s End, Americans Frustrated.” Smith fretted over Warren not being able to enforce enough new regulations on business: “Can these industries really be regulated? But regulated in a way that – I mean, there will be so much pressure from them for you to do as little as possible. This will be a giant tug-of-war in the days going forward, to see who really does get control.” Warren replied that her job was “to start pushing back,” adding “I intend to do it as hard as I can.” Only at the end of the interview did Smith touch on Warren’s controversial nomination process: “By charging you with creating this agency, is this the best compromise possible? Because a lot of people wanted you to head the agency, and they said, ‘well, you’re not confirmable.'” Smith did not challenge Warren on whether her backdoor appointment broke the administration’s promises of transparency. Here is a full transcript of the September 21 segment: 7:00AM ET TEASE: HARRY SMITH: Angry Americans. A new report declares the recession officially over. But many of us are not feeling it. Even taking on the President himself. UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I’m one of your middle-class Americans, and quite frankly, I’m exhausted. I’m exhausted of defending you, defending your administration. SMITH: We’ll talk live with one of President Obama’s closest economic advisers. 7:02AM ET SEGMENT: SMITH: Now to the economy. A new report says the ‘great recession’ is over. According to a nonprofit research group, the recession began in December of 2007, and ended in June of 2009. But a lot of Americans are still suffering its effects, and are taking it out on President Obama. Senior White House correspondent Bill Plante has more. Good morning, Bill. BILL PLANTE: Good morning, Harry. The numbers may be going in the right direction, but if there was any doubt that most of America doesn’t yet feel things improving, listen to what a frustrated voter had to say to President Obama at a CNBC town hall meeting. [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Fed Up; Voters Confront Obama On Struggling Economy] UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I’m one of your middle-class Americans, and quite frankly, I’m exhausted. I’m exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantle of change that I voted for, and deeply disappointed with where we are right now. I have been told that I voted for a man who said he was going to change things in a meaningful way for the middle class. I’m one of those people, and I’m waiting, sir. I’m waiting. I don’t feel it yet. PLANTE: On the defensive, the President responded by outlining some of his administration’s accomplishments, but admitted that things aren’t where they need to be. BARACK OBAMA: As I said before, times are tough for everybody right now. So, I understand your frustration. But what I am saying is, is that we’re moving in the right direction. PLANTE: But the President knows that the only real answer is providing jobs. And that saying the recovery takes time doesn’t play well with voters. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: And what I’m really hoping to hear from you is several concrete steps that you’re going to take, moving forward, that will be able to re-ignite my generation. Re-ignite the youth who are beset by student loans. And I really want to know, is the American dream dead for me? OBAMA: Absolutely not. PLANTE: But that disillusionment is echoed on main street, on both sides of the aisle. UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN B: I’ve been disappointed. Unbelievably disappointed. UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Yeah, in what? WOMAN B: From both sides. I feel like nothing changes. And so there’s no point, really. Everything will stay the same. No matter what I do, I could for or against and it’ll stay exactly the same. PLANTE: So the reality is that improving statistics aren’t very convincing to voters who are worried about jobs, and that is the reality the President and his party face going into the November elections. Harry. MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: I’ll take it here. Bill Plante, thank you very much. SMITH: Alright, Maggie. RODRIGUEZ: Thanks, Harry. The average American may be skeptical about an economic recovery, but the reaction on Wall Street to the end of the recession shows that investors are optimistic. Let’s go to CBS News business and economics correspondent Rebecca Jarvis, she’s at the New York Stock Exchange this morning. Good morning, Rebecca. REBECCA JARVIS: Good morning, Maggie. And we all know how much the ‘great recession’ battered down stocks. Well, yesterday, stocks responded positively to the news that it is now behind us. The Dow ended higher by 145 points, putting it on track for the best September in 71 years. But still, as we all know, the struggles on main street, they do persist, and we’re seeing that in the issues that the ‘great recession’ raised for all of us. It wiped out 7.3 million American jobs. 21% Of our net worth was wiped out between December of 2007, and June of 2009, the official end of the recession. And economists believe it will take significant amounts of time just to regain the pre-recession levels on the employment front. In fact, some economists believe it will take as long as 2013 just to get back to normal employment levels in this country. Another key in all of this is housing prices, and Wall Street will be watching a bunch of data this week on that. Maggie. RODRIGUEZ: Alright, Rebecca Jarvis at the stock exchange. Thank you, Rebecca. Back over to Harry. SMITH: Alright, Maggie. Joining us from Washington with more on how the White House plans to turn the economy around is the new head of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Elizabeth Warren. Good morning. ELIZABETH WARREN: Good morning. SMITH: Let me ask you, before we get to the particulars of your job and the creation of this agency, I just want to ask you a philosophical question. Because you’ve spent a good time of your professional career studying the middle class, and quite frankly, worrying about the middle class. As we get this kind of news that we got yesterday that the recession was over, so many people in the middle class are saying, ‘it doesn’t feel like it at my house.’ When do you think it might feel like it at our house? [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Anger Over the Economy; Despite Recession’s End, Americans Frustrated] WARREN: Well, we have to remember that we have a problem in the middle class that didn’t just start in the fall of 2008. We have a problem that’s been under way for 30 years, of squeezing, chipping, hitting on the middle class. Flat wages, rising core expenses, families reached a point where they really couldn’t save, they turned to credit, and the credit industry has drained billions of dollars out of their pockets. So, it’s a – it’s going to take time to rebuild the middle class. I mean that – that really is part of the problem here. We’re starting now with this new credit, Consumer Credit Bureau, and that’s going to be one piece of it. I hope it’s going to patch a big hole in the bottom of the economic boat. But there’s still work to be done in a lot of areas. On wages, on housing, on student loans, on retirement security. It’s not just one thing that went wrong, and it’s not just one thing that’s going to fix it. SMITH: Can these industries really be regulated? But regulated in a way that – I mean, there will be so much pressure from them for you to do as little as possible. This will be a giant tug-of-war in the days going forward, to see who really does get control. WARREN: You know, I’m not a Washington person. I never really wanted a job here. I had this idea for this agency, and thought, that’s it, you know, other people will take care of it. The President asked me to come here, and to start to work immediately. Not to worry about titles, not to go through all that business, but to start to work to set up this agency, to start pushing back. And that’s exactly what I intend to do. And I intend to do it as hard as I can. SMITH: By charging you with creating this agency, is this the best compromise possible? Because a lot of people wanted you to head the agency, and they said, ‘well, you’re not confirmable.’ WARREN: You know, I don’t know the politics. But I don’t see this as a compromise at all. There was one option, and that was to go the confirmation route, and I’m told that would take about a year, during which I couldn’t do any work on the agency. And this is the part that amazes me, I wouldn’t be allowed to talk about it. Or, I could not have that title, and I could get to work right now. And so, I said to the President, I want to go to work right now. I don’t care what you call me. Let me go to work and let me try to help. And when I’m no longer any help, I’ll leave. SMITH: Elizabeth Warren, thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us this morning. WARREN: Thank you. SMITH: Do appreciate it. RODRIGUEZ: So important to point out that the organization that deemed the recession officially over also was very careful to say, it may be over, but the economy is not recovering. That was a ‘by the way’ that’s important, as Americans are realizing. SMITH: A slow recovery. Yeah, right. RODRIGUEZ: A slow recovery and we could still dip into another recession. Which we all hope won’t happen.

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CBS: Americans ‘Angry’ Over Bad Economy, ‘Taking It Out On’ Obama

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Y Kids Just Don’t Dig The Cars !

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Generation Y Giving Cars a Pass- –Selling cars to young adults under 30 is proving to be a real challenge for automakers. Unlike their elders, Generation Yers own fewer cars and don’t drive much. They’re likely to see autos as a source of pollution, not as a sex or status symbol. Motorists aged 21 to 30 now account for 14% of miles driven, down from 21% in 1995. They’re more apt to ride mass transit to work and use car sharing services — pioneered by Zipcar — for longer trips. And car sharing choices are expanding, with car rental firms moving into the market, making it convenient for young folks to rent with hourly rates and easy insurance. Connect by Hertz, for example, is rolling out its car sharing services in the New York metropolitan area, with plans to eventually expand them to around 40 college campuses nationwide. more at LINK – – – http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/1523/generation-y-gi… added by: remanns

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President Obama confronted by disappointed Americans

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

It was billed as “Investing In America,” a live televised conversation between President Obama and American workers, students, business people and retirees on the state of the economy, a kind of Wall Street to Main Street reality check. But it sounded like a therapy session for disillusioned Obama supporters. “I’m exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantle of change that I voted for,” said the first questioner, an African-American woman who identified herself as a chief financial officer, a mother and a military veteran. “I’ve been told that I voted for a man who was going to change things in a meaningful way for the middle class, and I’m waiting, sir, I’m waiting. I still don’t feel it yet.” added by: maasanova

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Matthews Scolds Obama: ‘Stop Saying Cutting Taxes Is Giving People Money – It’s Their Money!’

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

A truly shocking thing happened on Monday’s “Hardball”: Chris Matthews, the man who once proudly boasted about getting a thrill up his leg when Barack Obama speaks, actually scolded the President on national television. Maybe even more surprising, the MSNBCer told the object of his affection, “Stop saying that giving people tax cuts is giving people money. It`s their money!” The unashamed liberal host continued, “A tax cut is when the government doesn`t take our money. It`s an important distinction” (video follows with transcript and commentary): CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: I have one small tweak to make to what the president said today — he should stop saying that giving people tax cuts is giving people money. It`s their money! A tax cut is when the government doesn`t take our money. It`s an important distinction. He talked today, for example, about people getting a check from the government in the form of a tax cut. That`s not the way it works. If tax rates are kept lower, it`s a matter of the check going to the government being smaller. Again, it`s an important distinction. Wouldn’t it be nice if others on the Left along with their media minions understood this basic principle? After all, the way Democrats and press members have been talking about extending the Bush tax cuts lately, it’s as if we all work for the government and any money it deigns to give us we should be thankful for. That an unapologetic liberal like Matthews not only gets this but is also willing to say it on national television makes you wonder why all so-called journalists don’t agree. Errr – maybe not.

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Joy Behar Trashes Christine O’Donnell: ‘A Witch Who Doesn’t Masturbate’

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Comedian Joy Behar seemed to enjoy herself as she muckraked through exotic comments made by Republican Delaware U.S. Senate nominee Christine O’Donnell over a decade ago, refusing to leave them out of a serious discussion about O’Donnell’s candidacy. She even threw Sarah Palin into the mix. O’Donnell, in a 1999 appearance on Bill Maher’s “Politically Incorrect,” said that she “dabbled into witchcraft” in high school but never joined a coven. Behar lambasted O’Donnell, calling her “crazy” and wondering why she was running for office. “I think it shows you how crazy the girl is, doesn’t it?” Behar asked incredulously. “How many crazy people do we have to have in office?” Behar labeled O’Donnell as a “witch who doesn’t masturbate.” Meanwhile, the show’s token conservative Elisabeth Hasselbeck countered that if O’Donnell is under the gun for such comments, then President Obama should have been scrutinized more closely over his pastor of 20 years, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Even veteran liberal journalist and ‘View’ co-host Barbara Walters dismissed the notion of serious discussion of O’Donnell’s comments from 10 or 20 years ago, and argued that her current views on social issues should be scrutinized. Yet Behar couldn’t let the “witch” comment go, suddenly taking a conservative stance on Satan worship. “Dabbling is not an acceptable word, when you’re into witchcraft and Satanism,” the liberal show host preached. When Hasselbeck replied to one criticism that O’Donnell is “unique,” Behar quipped “Unique or eunuch?” Walters soon closed the debate, saying that “whether 20 years ago [O’Donnell] did this or she did that – I mean, it makes for juicy headlines, but it really is unimportant.” It still wasn’t enough for Behar, who wanted to throw Sarah Palin in with the dubious comments. “But you know, isn’t it interesting that Sarah Palin backs her up, and one of the reasons she got elected is because Sarah did those robo-calls to make sure that she got elected,” Behar seriously pointed out. “And if I recall, wasn’t Sarah exorcised in Alaska by a preacher one time? She believes in exorcism. These two are into it together. Talk about a coven. This is a coven!” Hasselbeck dismissed the absurdity of Behar’s logic. “Welcome to the politics of someone backing someone else. It’s certainly not a coven. It’s radical to say something like that.” A partial transcript of the segment, which aired on September 20 at 11:06 a.m. EDT, is as follows: BARBARA WALTERS: Republican Delaware Senate nominee Christine O’Donnell – her past came back to haunt her over the weekend, and she defended herself against comments she made back in 1999 on Bill Maher’s old show called “Politically Correct.” (Video Clip) CHRISTINE O’DONNELL: (On “Politically Incorrect”) I dabbled into witchcraft. I never joined a coven. One of my first dates with a witch was on a Satanic altar, and I didn’t know it. O’DONNELL: (Recently) I was in high school. How many of you didn’t hang out with questionable folks in high school? But no, there’s been no witchcraft since. If there was, Karl Rove would be a supporter now. (End Video Clip) (…) SHERRI SHEPHERD: But I think – you know, in this respect, because she says she’s a conservative Christian, and the basis for being a Christian is you might have a former life – you let that go, and you don’t do it anymore. (…) ELISABETH HASSELBECK: Do you think it’s valid to then question this? Do you think this is even a valid thing to look at, that Bill’s throwing out here on his show? JOY BEHAR: I think it shows you how crazy the girl is, doesn’t it? How many crazy people do we have to have in office? HASSELBECK: Well let’s start with this. In fairness, Joy, if we’re going to investigate past religious affiliations or dabbles or high school trips here and there, why then wasn’t Billy-boy over here so interested in where President Obama was for 20 years at Rev. Wright’s church, so much so that – (Crosstalk) SHEPHERD: Nobody let that go with him. HASSELBECK: They absolutely brushed it under the rug. In fairness, in fairness – if they’re going to dig into this, they should then open that up too. BEHAR: Well here’s a girl who says that, you know, she didn’t masturbate – she doesn’t believe in masturbating, either. And she wants to make public policy about other people’s sex lives. She’s a witch who doesn’t masturbate, who has never had premarital sex. Why is she running for office? HASSELBECK: Why do you call her a girl, but anyone who’s powerful a woman? You can’t just toss her off as a girl – BEHAR: You can call me a girl anytime you want, honey. HASSELBECK: No, that’s not right. BEHAR: I love being called a girl. SHEPHERD: But are you saying that anything that anybody does back in high school should be held against them as an adult? What did you do in high school, Joy, that you might not want to talk about? HASSELBECK: What about 20 years in a row? What about 20 years listening to a man who hates this country?  (…) BEHAR: Dabbling is not an acceptable word, when you’re into witchcraft and Satanism. HASSELBECK: She wasn’t into it. She went on a date with a guy who was at an altar. BEHAR: She said she had – she did a Satanic ritual at an altar. HASSELBECK: What about 20 years straight, calling someone your mentor, who then goes on to produce hatemongering across the country. 20 years, he’s – (…) WALTERS: When you discuss past positions – and she’s a very conservative candidate, she’s a Tea Party candidate –  the fact that she’s now a candidate – were something that’s surprising. Okay, so we’re giving special attention. She has other views, I think, that she’s – SHEPHERD: Against masturbation – HASSELBECK: She’s unique. WALTERS: She doesn’t think that – BEHAR: Unique, or eunuch? WALTERS: Let me finish, okay? She doesn’t think that using condoms – that using condoms could combat AIDS. She has other points of view, and a conservative point of view – I think those are the things, if you want to discuss them, you discuss them. This has to be thought of in future voting and whatever her philosophy is. (Crosstalk) But whether 20 years ago she did this or she did that – I mean, it makes for juicy headlines, but it really is unimportant. BEHAR: But you know, isn’t it interesting that Sarah Palin backs her up, and one of the reasons she got elected is because Sarah did those robo-calls to make sure that she got elected. And if I recall, wasn’t Sarah exorcised in Alaska by a preacher one time. She believes in exorcism. These two are into it together. HASSELBECK: Does she currently believe in exorcism? BEHAR: Talk about a coven. This is a coven! HASSELBECK: You know what, though? Joy, welcome to the politics of someone backing someone else. It’s certainly not a coven. It’s radical to say something like that.

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Joy Behar Trashes Christine O’Donnell: ‘A Witch Who Doesn’t Masturbate’

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Most Economists Want All Tax Cuts Extended; CNN’s Roberts Sees Need to ‘Bump Up’ Govt’s ‘Revenue Stream’

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

A new CNN/Money survey of 31 top economists found a majority of them say the top priority — given the weak state of the economy — is for Congress to extend the Bush tax cuts for all income groups. But talking about this policy recommendation with CNN/Money’s Paul La Monica on Monday’s American Morning, co-anchor John Roberts rued the conundrum of needing to keep tax rates low for economic reasons — putting “more money in the pockets of people” — while at the same time, because of the “frightening” trillion-dollar deficits, “you’ve got to bump up your [the government’s] revenue stream.” Roberts fretted: You want to put more money in the pockets of people, particularly when you look at unemployment over 9 percent. But then at the same time you have these deficits that are running at an absolutely frightening rate of a trillion-plus dollars a year. So, you’ve got to bump up your revenue stream but at the same time you want to keep your money coming into the economy. So how do you reconcile that calculation? It seems not to have occurred to Roberts that the way to avoid either monstrous deficits or suffocating tax increases is to reduce government to a more affordable size. Looking at the details of CNN’s survey of economists, it’s understandable why they would want the tax cuts extended. Their average forecast is for unemployment to be just below 9% at the end of next year, a full fifteen months from now, with a quarter of those surveyed seeing the unemployment rate still at 9.5% or higher in December 2011. As for the consequences of letting the tax cuts expire, just today, the Heritage Foundation released a comprehensive study showing that the tax hikes envisioned by President Obama would lead to slower economic growth, lower family income, higher interest rates and a loss of an average of 600,000 private sector jobs each year from 2011 through 2020, or 6 million fewer jobs total. Liberals are already trying to frame the deficit debate as one of making sure government has the money it needs to pay for the vast expansion President Obama and congressional Democrats achieved over the past 19 months. A fair and balanced news media would put much of the onus on liberals to backtrack on their massive spending commitments before requiring the beleaguered private sector to kick in an even greater share. Here’s the exchange during the 8am ET hour of CNN’s American Morning, September 20: JOHN ROBERTS: Seventeen minutes now after the hour. We have 110 days until the Bush tax cuts are set to expire and the debate over whether to extend them has absolutely consumed Capitol Hill. The strongest impact will most certainly be felt in the bank accounts of millions of Americans. CANDY CROWLEY: Minding your business this morning, CNN/Money’s Paul La Monica. President Obama is suggesting that the tax cuts should expire only for the richest 3 percent of taxpayers but there are economist who say that may not be the best idea. [turns to La Monica] So, is it? PAUL LA MONICA: Yeah, we surveyed 31 leading economists and a majority, 18 of them, said that their top priority if they were a Washington policymaker would be to extend the tax cuts for everyone. ROBERTS: So in terms of extending the tax cuts and what that does for the economy, run the numbers for us. You have got an example here. LA MONICA: Yeah. You have a middle class family, $75,000, you know, two children, you would have about $2600 in higher taxes if the cuts are not extended. ROBERTS: So — for the average family that’s a lot of money, but particularly in these hard economic times, when you know you are worried about, ‘Am I going to keep my job,’ ‘Should I buy that,’ — to not to get hit with an extra bill of $2600, that’s substantial. LA MONICA: Definitely, that’s why I think there is such urgency in Washington to get something done. It does seems that the main issue is, obviously, just trying — whether or not to extend them for everyone or to exclude the wealthiest top percent of the country. I mean a lot of people both Democrats and Republicans think that extending it for the middle class is obviously the right thing that has to be done, particularly in these tough times. CROWLEY: You know those tax cuts are already in place, so I’m going to assume that keeping them doesn’t really change the job market, it simply — the argument is [if they expire] things will get worse for America. LA MONICA: Exactly. It’s similar to two years ago when the financial crisis was really first starting to take hold, a lot of things that Washington or you know, was hoping to do right now is preventing the economy from deteriorating any further. I mean we’ve had obviously hopes of a recovery earlier in the year that have started to fade this summer. And that’s worrying a lot of people on obviously, you know, in Washington and on Wall Street. ROBERTS: So when you look at the calculation, Paul, you’ve got your rock and you’ve got your hard place. The rock being you want more money coming in to the economy itself so you want to put more money in the pockets of people, particularly when you look at unemployment over 9 percent. But then at the same time you have these deficits that are running at an absolutely  frightening rate of a trillion-plus dollars a year. So, you’ve got to bump up your revenue stream but at the same time you want to keep your money coming into the economy. So how do you reconcile that calculation? LA MONICA: Yeah, that’s very difficult. It’s the classic short-term versus long-term solution right now that people are trying to weigh. What is more important? A lot of people that we have spoken to at CNN/Money say that really Washington has to do everything in their power to help the middle class extending these tax cuts is likely something that can do that even though it could add to the deficit in the short-term. The hope, and admittedly it is something that could bear out over time but you know, you don’t know for certain is that if the economy starts to finally pick up some steam and consumers spend more, primarily because maybe they aren’t getting this bigger tax hit, the deficit could help take care of itself, because a stronger economy leads to higher tax revenue from not just individuals but businesses over the long haul. CROWLEY: Paul, thanks so much for breaking it down. Appreciate it.

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Most Economists Want All Tax Cuts Extended; CNN’s Roberts Sees Need to ‘Bump Up’ Govt’s ‘Revenue Stream’

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New Dollar, Dollar Bill Ya-all?

Posted on September 19, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

The American dollar is in bad need of a makeover. Thanks to the Dollar ReDe$ign Project, we may now have some options. Organized by creative strategy consultant Richard Smith, the Dollar ReDe$ign Project is soliciting ideas for the dollar bill of the future. “Our great 'rival', the Euro, looks so spanky in comparison it seems the only clear way to revive this global recession is to rebrand and redesign,” the project notes on its website. Fisher started the project in with the intent of “trying to find a catalyst to restart our economy” he told Fox News. The recent competition is now closed, and voting ends on September 30. “This has touched people's hearts,” Fisher said, and “people feel the dollar touches their lives.” The leading vote-getter for this year's competition (pictured below) was submitted by British duo Dowling Duncan, which features a unique vertical design. http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/721294 added by: Nocturnus

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Bill Maher is back!

Posted on September 18, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Robert Reich was on Real Time with bill Maher, he talked about the economy and Bush Tax Cut, added by: BRAVATRAVELS

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