Blog Smith is inspired by the myth of Hephaestus in the creation of blacksmith-like, forged materials: ideas. This blog analyzes topics that interest me: IT, politics, technology, history, education, music, and the history of religions.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Economic Report
The economy has some interesting results based on the latest government figures. The economy's faster-than-expected growth at the end of last year, fueled by companies boosting output to keep stockpiles up, is likely to weaken as consumers keep a lid on spending. Still, economists expect growth to slow this year as companies finish restocking inventories and as government stimulus efforts fade. Many estimate the nation's gross domestic product will grow 2.5 percent to 3 percent in the current quarter and about 2.5 percent or less for the full year. That won't be fast enough to significantly reduce the unemployment rate, now 10 percent. Most analysts expect the rate to keep rising for several months and remain close to 10 percent through the end of the year. And for all of last year, workers' compensation rose by the smallest amount on records going back more than a quarter-century. Friday's report is the first of the government's three estimates of gross domestic product and is likely to be revised. The government initially estimated third quarter growth was 3.5 percent, which was later revised down to 2.2 percent. The next estimate will be released Feb. 26. The report provided an upbeat end to an otherwise dismal year: The nation's economy declined 2.4 percent in 2009, the largest drop since 1946. That's the first annual decline since 1991.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Jo Behari of Home Jane
Home Jane is a team of professional tradeswomen with the skills needed to solve home repair issues.
Hannity & Palin Watch Close-Up View of Justice Alito’s ‘Not True’ Moment
Another clip of the "Not True" mouthing:
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Rep. Chris Smith: 'We Need to Pray' for Abortion 'Obsessed' Obama
Rep. Chris Smith (R.-N.J.), co-chairman of the House Pro-Life Caucus, stated at Friday’s 37th annual March for Life that Americans need to pray for Obama because he is “obsessed” with promoting abortion.
Smith remarked: “I think we need to pray. We need to fast. We need to pray for Obama. He is so obsessed with promoting abortion. All of his picks for secretary, under-secretary, assistant-secretary--all the gate-keepers in government--are now litmus-tested pro-abortionists, many of whom come right out of the abortion-rights movement. And these movement abortionists are trying to use everything when we know it, or sometimes when we don’t know it, behind the scenes, to promote this agenda. So this is an aggressive pro-abortion administration.”
“Clinton was awful," Smith continued. It’s even worse under President Obama. So the hard work, the re-doubling of our efforts, the educational efforts. Obviously, the 40 Days for Life, and all the other great ministries that are out on the front line saving women who are at great peril and risk. The post-abortive work that is done so magnificently by this movement needs to accelerate.”
“All of that combined, you know, this is the greatest human rights struggle on earth, and I think everyone needs to realize that we need to do even more,” Smith stated.
Smith (R-N.J.) also said that the Senate's including abortion funding in its version of the health care bill helped kill the legislation.
“Without a doubt,” said Smith. “Congressman Bart Stupak [D-Mich.] and the pro-life Democrats on the House side were absolutely resolute and courageous in saying they would not vote for any health care that did not have pro-life safeguards in it, and certainly something that wouldn’t have pro-abortion language in it, and the Senate bill was riddled with pro-abortion expansions, more funding -- and so, frankly, that is why it is now dead.”
The Stupak amendment, which is part of the House health care legislation, would prohibit the federal government from allocating taxpayer money to pay for any part of any health insurance plan that covers abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is in danger.
Smith cautioned pro-life Americans, however, to not ease up in the fight against federal funding of health plans that cover abortion.
“I am very concerned, though, that President Obama and the Democratic leadership will find some way to resurrect the abortion-funding push,” Smith said. “Right now, effective beginning of our fiscal year, the District of Columbia is now paying for abortions-on-demand because President Obama, the abortion president, forced that into the appropriations bill.”
“So they have not given up, nor have we,” he said. “But I think we should not have a false sense of security about where this administration is going.”
Smith went on to say that the Obama administration is implementing a sweeping pro-abortion agenda.
“They’re also empowering pro-abortion, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and giving them not millions, but billions of dollars at home and abroad to promote the abortion agenda,” Smith stated. “They have kind of deputized all of these NGOs in Africa, Latin America, and in the United States through Planned Parenthood and these other organizations to promote and expand abortions.”
Smith added, “Let’s not forget one group: Planned Parenthood alone does 305,000 abortions every year in the United States, well over a million globally. They’re getting money in massive amounts to promote this killing agenda. So we’ve had good news. But we’re still in this, and we have to be very sober about what lies ahead.”
Smith added “We want no complicity whatsoever,” Smith said. “(A)nd most Americans, according to the polls, want no complicity as well with killing babies and wounding mothers. We know beyond any reasonable doubt now that the women who procure abortions suffer emotionally, mentally, psychologically, spiritually. We know that subsequent children born to women who have aborted suffer anywhere from a third to almost plus-90 percent prematurity for their subsequent children.”
“The leading cause of mental and motor retardation in this country -- and anywhere else as well -- is prematurity and low birth weight,” said Smith. “Why do we want to expand disability when it is in that instance preventable?”
Smith added that the more the government subsidizes abortion, the more abortion increases.
“We need to realize that, when you pay for it, you get more of it,” said Smith. “Even the Guttmacher Institute has found that when we pay for abortions -- and they’ve done studies on this -- you get 25 percent or more abortions because the government is facilitating and providing the ways and means to enable that abortion. Money does play a factor.”
“So when you take out the money,” he said, “you’re in a much greater position to say, ‘Wait a minute, we not only will not subsidize it, but there’s a reason why: Because it destroys babies, and because it wounds mothers.’”
At the March for Life, Smith addressed tens of thousands of Americans, urging them to resist the Obama administration’s pro-abortion agenda.
“President Obama, is it really so hard to understand that abortion is violence against children, a pernicious form of child abuse, falsely marketed as choice, a human right, health care and safe?” Smith said. “Abortion isn’t health care. There is nothing whatsoever benign, healing or nurturing about abortion.”
The March for Life on Jan. 22 is an annual pro-life rally held in Washington, D.C., since 1974 to remember and protest the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, which legalized elective abortion across the United States
A transcript of the exchange between CNSNews.com and Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) follows below:
CNSNews.com: "The Senate health care bill which allowed tax money to go to health care plans which cover abortion is essentially dead according to Democratic leaders. Do you think the abortion language played a factor in the bill’s demise?”
Smith: “Without a doubt. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and the pro-life Democrats on the House side were absolutely resolute and courageous in saying they would not vote for any health care that did not have pro-life safeguards in it, and certainly something that would not have pro-abortion language in it, and the Senate bill was riddled with pro-abortion expansions, more funding, and so frankly, that is why it is now dead.
"I'm very concerned, though, that President Obama and the Democratic leadership will find someway to resurrect the abortion funding. Right now, effective beginning of our fiscal year, the District of Columbia is now paying for abortions on demand because President Obama, the abortion president, forced that into the appropriations bill. So they have not given up, nor have we. But I think we should not have a false sense of security about where this administration is going.
“They’re also empowering pro-abortion, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and giving them not millions, but billions of dollars at home and abroad to promote the abortion agenda. They have kind of deputized all of these NGOs in Africa, Latin America , and in the United States through Planned Parenthood and these other organizations to promote and expand abortions.
“Let’s not forget one group: Planned Parenthood alone does 305,000 abortions every year in the United States, well over a million globally. They’re getting money in massive amounts to promote this killing agenda. So we’ve had good news, but we’re still in this, and we have to be very sober about what lies ahead.”
CNSNews.com: “All right. So you mentioned that pro-life Americans should not become complacent for the pro-life cause. What should pro-life Americans continue to do in order to keep the pro-life cause?”
Smith: “I think we need to pray. We need to fast. We need to pray for Obama. He is so obsessed with promoting abortion. All of his picks for secretary, under-secretary, assistant-secretary -- all the gate-keepers in government -- are now litmus-tested pro-abortionists, many of whom come right out of the abortion-rights movement. And these movement abortionists are trying to use everything when we know it, or sometimes when we don’t know it, behind the scenes, to promote this agenda. So this is a—an aggressive pro-abortion administration.
"Clinton was awful. It’s even worse under President Obama. So the hard work, the re-doubling of our efforts, the educational efforts. Obviously, the 40 Days for Life and all the other great ministries that are out on the front line saving women who are at great peril and risk. The post-abortive work that is done so magnificently by this movement needs to accelerate. All of that combined, you know, this is the greatest human rights struggle on earth, and I think everyone needs to realize that we need to do even more.”
CNSNews.com: “So you led the charge with other House members for the Stupak amendment in the House bill. Why do you feel that it is important that federal funding of abortion not be any part of a health care bill?”
Smith: “Well, first of all, we want no complicity whatsoever, and most Americans, according to the polls, want no complicity as well with killing babies and wounding mothers. We know beyond any reasonable doubt now that the women who procure abortions suffer emotionally, mentally, psychologically, spiritually. We know that subsequent children born to women who have aborted suffer anywhere from a third to almost plus-90 percent prematurity for their subsequent children. The leading cause of mental and motor retardation in this country, and anywhere else as well, is prematurity and low birth weight. Why do we want to expand disability when it is in that instance preventable?
“So we need to realize that when you pay for it you get more of it. Even the Guttmacher Institute has found that when we pay for abortions—and they’ve done studies on this—you get 25 percent or more abortions because the government is facilitating and providing the ways and means to enable that abortion. Money does play a factor. So when you take out the money, you’re in a much greater position to say, “Wait a minute, we not only will not subsidize it, but there’s a reason why: Because it destroys babies, and because it wounds mothers.”
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Teenage Christian Apostate Begs Obama to Save Her Life and Her Family
15-year-old Egyptian girl Dina el-Gowhary, who converted from Islam to Christianity, has sent a plea to President Obama, complaining of mistreatment by the Egyptian Government and asking for his mediation. "Mr President Obama," she writes, "we are a minority in Egypt. We are treated very badly. You said that the Muslim minority in America are treated very well, so why are we not treated here likewise? We are imprisoned in our own home because Muslim clerics called for the murder of my father, and now the Government has set for us a new prison, we are imprisoned in our own country."
"Fear the Boom and Bust" by Econstories.tv
Econstories.tv is a place to learn about economics in a more contemporary manner.
In "Fear the Boom and Bust," John Maynard Keynes and F. A. Hayek, two of the great economists of the 20th century, come back to life to attend an economics conference on the economic crisis. Before the conference begins, and at the insistence of Lord Keynes, they go out for a night on the town and sing about why there's a "boom and bust" cycle in modern economies and good reason to fear it.
"Fear the Boom and Bust"
We’ve been going back and forth for a century
[Keynes] I want to steer markets,
[Hayek] I want them set free
There’s a boom and bust cycle and good reason to fear it
[Hayek] Blame low interest rates.
[Keynes] No… it’s the animal spirits
[Keynes Sings:]
John Maynard Keynes, wrote the book on modern macro
The man you need when the economy’s off track, [whoa]
Depression, recession now your question’s in session
Have a seat and I’ll school you in one simple lesson
BOOM, 1929 the big crash
We didn’t bounce back—economy’s in the trash
Persistent unemployment, the result of sticky wages
Waiting for recovery? Seriously? That’s outrageous!
I had a real plan any fool can understand
The advice, real simple—boost aggregate demand!
C, I, G, all together gets to Y
Make sure the total’s growing, watch the economy fly
We’ve been going back and forth for a century
[Keynes] I want to steer markets,
[Hayek] I want them set free
There’s a boom and bust cycle and good reason to fear it
[Hayek] Blame low interest rates.
[Keynes] No… it’s the animal spirits
You see it’s all about spending, hear the register cha-ching
Circular flow, the dough is everything
So if that flow is getting low, doesn’t matter the reason
We need more government spending, now it’s stimulus season
So forget about saving, get it straight out of your head
Like I said, in the long run—we’re all dead
Savings is destruction, that’s the paradox of thrift
Don’t keep money in your pocket, or that growth will never lift…
because…
Business is driven by the animal spirits
The bull and the bear, and there’s reason to fear its
Effects on capital investment, income and growth
That’s why the state should fill the gap with stimulus both…
The monetary and the fiscal, they’re equally correct
Public works, digging ditches, war has the same effect
Even a broken window helps the glass man have some wealth
The multiplier driving higher the economy’s health
And if the Central Bank’s interest rate policy tanks
A liquidity trap, that new money’s stuck in the banks!
Deficits could be the cure, you been looking for
Let the spending soar, now that you know the score
My General Theory’s made quite an impression
[a revolution] I transformed the econ profession
You know me, modesty, still I’m taking a bow
Say it loud, say it proud, we’re all Keynesians now
We’ve been goin’ back n forth for a century
[Keynes] I want to steer markets,
[Hayek] I want them set free
There’s a boom and bust cycle and good reason to fear it
[Keynes] I made my case, Freddie H
Listen up , Can you hear it?
Hayek sings:
I’ll begin in broad strokes, just like my friend Keynes
His theory conceals the mechanics of change,
That simple equation, too much aggregation
Ignores human action and motivation
And yet it continues as a justification
For bailouts and payoffs by pols with machinations
You provide them with cover to sell us a free lunch
Then all that we’re left with is debt, and a bunch
If you’re living high on that cheap credit hog
Don’t look for cure from the hair of the dog
Real savings come first if you want to invest
The market coordinates time with interest
Your focus on spending is pushing on thread
In the long run, my friend, it’s your theory that’s dead
So sorry there, buddy, if that sounds like invective
Prepared to get schooled in my Austrian perspective
We’ve been going back and forth for a century
[Keynes] I want to steer markets,
[Hayek] I want them set free
There’s a boom and bust cycle and good reason to fear it
[Hayek] Blame low interest rates.
[Keynes] No… it’s the animal spirits
The place you should study isn’t the bust
It’s the boom that should make you feel leery, that’s the thrust
Of my theory, the capital structure is key.
Malinvestments wreck the economy
The boom gets started with an expansion of credit
The Fed sets rates low, are you starting to get it?
That new money is confused for real loanable funds
But it’s just inflation that’s driving the ones
Who invest in new projects like housing construction
The boom plants the seeds for its future destruction
The savings aren’t real, consumption’s up too
And the grasping for resources reveals there’s too few
So the boom turns to bust as the interest rates rise
With the costs of production, price signals were lies
The boom was a binge that’s a matter of fact
Now its devalued capital that makes up the slack.
Whether it’s the late twenties or two thousand and five
Booming bad investments, seems like they’d thrive
You must save to invest, don’t use the printing press
Or a bust will surely follow, an economy depressed
Your so-called “stimulus” will make things even worse
It’s just more of the same, more incentives perversed
And that credit crunch ain’t a liquidity trap
Just a broke banking system, I’m done, that’s a wrap.
We’ve been goin’ back n forth for a century
[Keynes] I want to steer markets,
[Hayek] I want them set free
There’s a boom and bust cycle and good reason to fear it
[Hayek] Blame low interest rates.
[Keynes] No it’s the animal spirits
The lyrics are presented here for educational purposes alone; copyright remains in the hands of the lawful owners.
“The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist.”
John Maynard Keynes
The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money
“The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.”
F. A. Hayek
The Fatal Conceit
Econstories.tv is a project of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and the The Productioneers, LLC.
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