Bullshit Artists

Exposing the Absurdity of Washington’s Anti-Sequester Hysteria

"To save America from the supposedly 'savage' and 'draconian' budget cuts caused by sequestration, President Obama has instead asked Congress to approve an alternative fiscal package containing additional tax increases. So why is the sequester so bad? Does it slash the budget by 50 percent? Does it shut down departments, programs, and agencies? Well, the Congressional Budget Office today released its annual Budget and Economic Outlook, and Tables 1-1 and 1-5 allow us to see the 'brutal' impact of the sequester. As you can see from this chart, the sequester will 'cut' spending so much that the budget will grow by 'only' $2.4 trillion over the next 10 years." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingExposing the Absurdity of Washington’s Anti-Sequester Hysteria

Bernanke Is Blind As A Bat

"Following the stock market crash of 1929, there was a short period of calm before the government and Fed would deliver a Great Depression. During that short period of calm, the establishment and authorities did their best to assure everyone that things were ok. I don't doubt that they even believed what they were saying. Here are some examples of what was said during the calm period." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBernanke Is Blind As A Bat

Who Says You Can Kill Americans, Mr. President?

"Presidents had never before, to our knowledge, targeted specific Americans for military strikes. There are no court decisions that tell us if he is acting lawfully. Mr. Obama tells us not to worry, though, because his lawyers say it is fine, because experts guide the decisions and because his advisers have set up a careful process to help him decide whom he should kill. He must think we should be relieved. Oddly, under current law, Congress and the courts are involved when presidents eavesdrop on Americans, detain them or harshly interrogate them — but not when they kill them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWho Says You Can Kill Americans, Mr. President?

Electricity prices for German households have increased 61% since 2000 – renewables blamed

"Real German electricity prices for households have increased 61% since 2000. One quarter of household costs now stems directly from renewable energy. Also, the increase is *not* because of increasing production costs (which have actually slightly declined since 1978). The increase is due to dramatically increasing taxes, most noticeably from the Renewable Energy Act (EEG). In 2013 the EEG will increase 50% to 6.28 euro-cent (5.28 cents plus 19% VAT). In June 2011, Chancellor Angela Merkel famously promised to keep EEG prices stable, but this promise has now clearly been broken. The German household will pay 24% of its electricity bill to renewables." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingElectricity prices for German households have increased 61% since 2000 – renewables blamed

Obama turns ‘austerity inauguration’ into a dash for corporate cash

"What a lot has changed in four years. As Obama prepares to revel in his second inauguration, on Monday, there is no ceiling on what an individual can give, corporations and lobby groups are very welcome and the presidential inaugural committee has been going on a fundraising binge as though there was no tomorrow. On surface appearance, the inauguration is a sober and scaled-down affair compared with 2009. But don’t be fooled by the outward semblance of austerity. In fact, says the government transparency watchdog, the Sunlight Foundation, this year’s inauguration has been turned into an orgy of cash generation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama turns ‘austerity inauguration’ into a dash for corporate cash

Lawsuit Accuses Fired Utah Trooper of Falsifying D.U.I. Arrests

"Corporal Steed was named trooper of the year by her superiors in 2007, her career seemingly heading toward the inevitable promotions. Ms. Steed made a career of pulling over drivers who she claimed were driving drunk or under the influence. There was only one problem. Some of the drivers Ms. Steed arrested had not been drinking, or at least not enough to be reasonably impaired, according to the lawsuit, brought by a group of Utah lawyers on behalf of two plaintiffs. In several cases, those who were arrested did not drink alcohol, said Robert Sykes, one of the lawyers who filed the complaint." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLawsuit Accuses Fired Utah Trooper of Falsifying D.U.I. Arrests

Jack Lew — From K Street to Wall Street to Treasury

"Obama has spent years denigrating revolving-door lobbyists and 'fat cats' from Wall Street, yet he has populated his administration with them. By all accounts, Jack Lew is a serious, smart hard worker. But his resume is everything Barack Obama ran against." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJack Lew — From K Street to Wall Street to Treasury

Orlando is the cat’s whiskers of stock picking

"The Observer's panel of stock-picking professionals has been undone in our 2012 investment challenge by a ginger feline called Orlando. While the professionals used their decades of investment knowledge and traditional stock-picking methods, the cat selected stocks by throwing his favourite toy mouse on a grid of numbers allocated to different companies. The challenge raised the question of whether the professionals, with their decades of knowledge, could outperform novice students of finance – or whether a random selection of stocks chosen by Orlando could perform just as well as experienced investors." Continue reading →

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A new cheating scandal: Aspiring teachers hiring ringers

"Interesting story in the AJC today on a cheating scandal involving hired ringers taking the teacher qualification exam for candidates in Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. The ringers used faked IDs to sit for the Praxis exam, administered by the Educational Testing Service. Praxis exams are required by 40 states and territories to measure the academic achievement and proficiency of newly minted teachers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA new cheating scandal: Aspiring teachers hiring ringers