5 mos. too late.

Good to see that Bush is finally "twisting in the wind."

Jonathan

sniff

sniff

Hey, what's that burning smell?

Did some idiot just grab the third rail?

BZZZZZZXZXXXT!

Lying to send the nation to War. To me, that sounds impeachable. It would seem that the citizenry may have caught on. I always remember the first Kerry debate, and how embarrassed I would have been to be a Bush supporter. I think a lot of people who supported Bush because he was a Republican started paying attention to what was going on. Now, all they see is wacko ChristianNuts running the country while Bush holds fake town meetings and takes vacations. Day by day, it is becoming clear that the country is just drifting while Bush chops cedar.

Bush, "I have political capital and intend to spend it."

Apparently, Shrub has about as much fiscal reponsibility with his political capital as he does with the budget. All that "capital" blown on a dying woman and a suicide run to destroy the New Deal. Moron.

Only one comment...

WORST PRESIDENT EVER!!!

Maybe we've reached that turning point on Iraq where continuing good news on the Iraqi political front translates into bad news for Bush because it begs the question: when are we getting our kids out of there? Add to that our bestest friend the UK beginning to draw down troops and it sure looks like it's time to withdraw. When we don't, it just raises more uncomfortable questions; why can't we leave? It's not safe. Why not? Insurgents. Where's the Iraqi Army? Not ready yet? Why not - after two years! etc. etc.

This blog among others screamed about all of the corruption in this administration. The info was/ is out there and the SCLM gave and continue to give a collective Mulligan to GWB and his sycophants.

Now its harvest season and the crop is rotten to the core. Where are all the great things his political capital bought him. All we see is nepotism to the gills and more and more unseasonsed, unprincipled, and inexperienced people get positions that effect our lives. Condi is in China posing with figure skaters while the Chinese govt, passes a bill to invade Taiwan. I now officially dub this admin the Photo-Op administration.

It pains me that we point the finger at all of these "socialist, fascist, dictatorship," governments and we are slipping more into the morass we decry.

How the fcuk can we sit by and let these bastages continue to dismantle our country, our Constitution, and our world standing? How could 59 million people be that stupid?

Folks like muck and others continue to support this admin with all they have despite the unravelling of the fiber this country is built upon. Its all centered around GWB. If it is dark, lumpy, and stinks like all get out, guess what, that steaming hunk of organic material really is a piece of sh**. Oh, but then again, scientific theories have no place in this administration either. My bad. I would support the Scientologists way of thinking but Jeb beat me to it...

Sleep well America... We are now the penultimate Polish joke of the world.

Brian, sorry, no. 5 fucking years to damned late.

Where's muckdog?

the public doesn’t buy the happy talk on the economy

Well, the economy is going pretty good. If we see 200K new jobs one month, we want to see 100K the next month. The number does bounce around a bunch month to month, but a nice average around 150K is perfect.

But what lurks ahead if we see runaway job growth is higher interest rates. The Fed won't allow that to go on for too long.

Many think the Fed is trying to burst the housing bubble. I don't know, but all the recent speculation by folks can't have a happy ending. Seems like the chatter here at the Fun Factory is all the "investment properties" folks own. So I can't blame the Fed if they're at least trying to end the housing speculation mania. But the monetary base is still expanding, so it doesn't look like the Fed is pulling away the punch bowl or anything that dramatic. (Yet.)

If you're looking at wage growth, don't forget to include the increases in health care costs (a benefit) companies are absorbing. I doubt the total of wages+benefits would exceed CPI by much, and the CPI is only 3%.

45% job approval,43% Iraq approval,41% economy approval,35% SocialSecurity approval,50% Liar on Iraq. Yes, trolls, lets hear from you. Why don't you give us the view from the minority standpoint..

These numbers mean some of the 60 million lap dogs don't like Karl Rove's "Kool Aid" when it effects their pockets. I wonder when some of the trolls on this blog will stop drinking Rove's Kool Aid.

They just switch over to the pigman Limbaugh's oxycontin, smooth.

Maybe folks are upset about rising energy prices. When you listen to the news these days, the commentators are making it sound like the sky is falling because gasoline is up 50 cents from last year.

I think folks just cut their spending in other areas to compensate. Maybe one less Starbucks mocha a week. Or they cancelled HBO. Or they changed from everyday newspaper delivery to weekends only. Something like that.

I heard some of my neighbors complain about $450/month energy bills. I'm like DAMN! No wonder they hate President Bush. They kept their thermostats at 72 degrees during the winter. Sheez.

This is what the media wants us to focus on. The tragedy is that these are not the real issues, Except for Iraq the devalued dollar and the huge deficits are the real issues. These issues aren't on the "kool aid drinkers" radar.

When asked what's possible the question is how much are you willing to spend. Aside the lies about WMD, no one would have supported Bush's war if they had been told the price was $400billion, 3 thousand dead and 25 thousand badly wounded. For the war to be a success it would have to have been successful completed for what the nation was willing to spend which wasn't very much given all the mumbling and talk of Iraq paying for it. As analogy, say a software company told you they could do a project for $1million and it wound up costing you $10million, would you call this a success? If the US spends $500billion, four thousand dead and fifty thousand badly wounded, will the war have been a success?

I'll bet Wolfie will fire the World Bank chief economist who said today that the US has 6 to 9 months to get control of its huge budget deficit, or we risk a massive currency crisis. I think I will start converting my savings to Euro very soon.

roamer,

Where did you find the World Bank chief economist prediction?

Gee, smooth, have you even seen a chart of the US Dollar this year?

Iraq insurgency seems to be waning a bit, and their days are numbered at this point.

The annual deficit is a joke, and Congress needs to adopt a pay as you go budget, instead of deficit spending. Greenspan has been urging Congress to get the deficit under control every trip to the Hill. They seem uninterested at this point.

I think I will start converting my savings to Euro very soon.

Roamer, some here were interested in doing that in early January. Check out the dollar chart at the link I gave above. Hasn't turned out that well for those who made that decision. Not sure anybody should be switching currencies when the Fed is raising rates here, and the Euro countries have double-digit unemployment and will probably have to figure out some way to stimulate their economies; heck, Germany's unemployment is at their highest rate since the 1930's! But, everyone has to make their own decisions. Good luck.

Even Bloomberg is reporting watered down analysis of the “intentionally devalued” dollar. State Street investors are not very optimistic about the impact of the devalued dollar. The huge deficit is also intentional. Treasury revenues belong to the public. The deficit reflects how special interest is taking the public for a ride while half of the public is tranquilized.

The number does bounce around a bunch month to month, but a nice average around 150K is perfect.

Well, no. The break-even number (job growth vs. working age population growth) is nowhere near that low.

It's 150K, Matt. If job growth comes in over 200K month after month, the Fed will raise interest rates, and that creates the possibility that they cause a recession. Perhaps you missed 2000-2002.

Be careful what you wish for.

notice how mucktroll conveniently shifts the tone of his muck away from the obvious problems his War President and the Administration have with the 100% GOP controlled economy of this country....only 41% approve, and wait a month until those folks choke their monthly "splurge" money on $2.50 gas. Then mucktroll can roll out some other BS statistics to obsfucate the clear rejection of his party and their Boss. Muck=denial.

In November 2004, Stephen Roach, the chief economist at investment banking giant Morgan Stanley, predicted the U.S. has no better than a 10% chance of avoiding economic``armageddon.'' Roach sees a 30% chance of a slump soon and a 60% chance that``we'll muddle through for a while and delay the eventual armageddon.'' The chance we'll get through OK: one in 10. Maybe.

Roach's argument is that U.S.'s record trade deficit means the dollar will keep falling. To keep foreigners buying T-bills and prevent a resulting rise in inflation, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan will be forced to raise interest rates further and faster than he wants.

Roach alarming facts to support his argument are:

1.To finance its current account deficit with the rest of the world, he said, the U.S. has to import $2.6 billion in cash every working day
(That is an amazing 80 percent of the entire world's net savings).

2.Household debt is at record levels. Twenty years ago the total debt of U.S. households was equal to half the size of the economy. Today the figure is 85 percent. Nearly half of new mortgage borrowing is at flexible interest rates, leaving borrowers much more vulnerable to rate hikes.

If interest rates don't go up quickly, the dollar will tumble. If interest increse sharply, the economy will nose dive. Is this the same scenario we face with the Iraq invasion? We can't afford to stay and we can't afford to leave.

These failures prove the world is to complicated to elect someone president of the U.S. with only a heart beat and connections. The U.S. public will pay severe consequences for so many citizens allowing fox news and limbaugh to tell them how to think.

As the public suffers the numbers will go down.

Bushy & the Neo-Cons at the wardance seem to be in some trouble. The neo-cons will land on their feet, they always do, but the Bush Man may take some heat... Oh well, Iran is next, the bombing should take our minds off, the BUSH MAN...

What the muck is unemployment here in the US of A?
12%? 18%? What sound is made when one removes one's head from one's posterior?

Bush seems to be disinterested in almost everything but Social Security. Does the "lame duck" sound like it might be served a little early.

"Congress has barely debated the war in Iraq or its aftermath since it voted to authorize the use of force in October 2002. Now, the Bush administration is skipping the normal budget process to ask for an additional $82 billion to fund the American presence in Iraq. Among the big-ticket items, a $600 million embassy and some 14 "enduring" bases.[1] Those bases, and the absence of an exit strategy, will worsen, not improve the situation in Iraq."

"And, remember the last $87 billion Congress authorized for the war: a whopping $9 billion of it is missing because of corrupt contracting.[2] We must root out the corporate corruption that has undercut the rebuilding efforts and lost billions of taxpayers' money." Moveon.org.

Hey, idiot. When are you ending this War?

What seems like good news could really be bad news. The temporary dollar gains are driven by expectations of half point rate hikes. It looks like Greenspan and Bush are saying hell with the economy. "Damned if we do and damned if we don't". Another massive Bush failure!!!

"I think folks just cut their spending in other areas to compensate."--muckdog

Muck,

How is cutting spending elsewhere good for the economy? So you are saying that the public is spending the same amount, just more for gas and less for other things. While all those other companies are losing money, who benefits? The oil companies maybe? Mission accomplished indeed.

Lying to send the nation to War. To me, that sounds impeachable.

It's not a Democrat and it's not a blow job, so apparently it's not an impeachable offense to the Publicans. They get to make that call since they control the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of gevernment right now.

==========================

Where's muckdog?

Posted by Ron In Portland at April 6, 2005 02:46 PM

[snip]

Posted by muckdog at April 6, 2005 02:50 PM

Wow! Does he do other tricks for you too?

==========================

As far as the post topic goes, when has the Chimperor ever listened to any focus groups (that say things he doesn't want to hear)? He has no compassion for regular folks, no restraints holding him back, and no possibility of retribution for any actions he might take during his second term. He could go to 20% and he wouldn't care. His handlers, and any sane Publicans looking to stay in power, might have some concerns - but then they'd have to get past the filter and into the pResidential bubble. And even Bill Bennett won't place any bets on that happenning...

Unemployment here is 5.2%.

The U6 unemployment rate is the true indicator of the labor market. It measure those on UI, those fallen off UI and those who had to take part-time when they wanted full time. The last U6 I saw for January 2005 was 10.2%. Much more correct.

thank you roamer...muck assumes that because people are no longer eligible for unemployment and fall from those rolls they just disappear from the face of the earth. Either that or the unemployment fairy comes along and magically tells them to save 10% of their income (which is zero) to start saving for their retirement... tax free! ;~0