Friday, October 26, 2007

Real statistics are to liberals what garlic is to vampires.

The kids over at Iowa liberal have thrown down a challenge of significant dimensions. I was discussing economic statistics. The libs didn’t like the good news, as of course they don’t.

The Dept. of Treasury Bureau of Labor Statistics information is a good place to start. The BLS shows the level of
employment rising every year of the Bush Presidency. Unemployment has continuously declined since 2003, and has stabilized in the sustainable range of 4.5-5 percent. Real disposable income has steadily increased following the 2003 tax cuts and the resulting “Bush” expansion. Per capita income has steadily grown throughout the Bush expansion. Home ownership peaked in 2004 and has remained at or near record levels since. The liberals surely don’t claim that stock prices have ever been higher than this year or have remained growing for as long as the last five or six years?

All of that against the backdrop of the corporate scandals of the 90s, the tanking stock market, the energy crises of 99-00, the Clinton recession of 2001( W‘s first quarter as President), 9.11, the two worst hurricanes in American history and now the worst wild fire in American history. Maybe the liberals think those events did not occur. After all, there’s a little 9.11 Truther in every liberal heart.

Do liberals accept statistics, probably not. Their response is the very convenient claim that Republicans just make up those optimistic and positive economic numbers. The “real” numbers are always something different, usually created by a liberal academic or social organization, much like liberals claim to have won elections based on “exit” polls, not on the real results. The liberal mind can always find a counter-intutive dark lining in every silver cloud. Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

The closest lis get to real numbers is the cherry picked poor month or some minute regression in any aspect of economic performance where a basis for complaint may exist. Just remember, when you see that D after a candidate's name it stands for despair, and not just deception, division and defeat.

Whew, now I feel like a very poor man’s Van Helsing.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

"The liberals surely don’t claim that stock prices have ever been higher than this year or have remained growing for as long as the last five or six years?"

Ted--Shares prices and to a lesser extent dividends over the past 5-6 years tanked when denominated in euros or gold!

While true the employment numbers are good, most are low wage jobs with little or no benefits like health care.

For the GOP to brag about the market and jobs brings to mind how the Soviets reported the grand successes of their recent 5 year plan.

The road to victory is to first tell ourselves the truth.

Just no wonder I almost always get a big laugh telling folks we need a National Shrink in the White House!

Anonymous said...

Folks like Anonymous are the reason the GOP is headed for a wipe out in 2008 and beyond.

The party doesn't want to listen to reason from folks like me who really understand how the economy and the markets reallY work. The GOP should be listening carefully, and supporting, someone like me who from scratch built a stock portfolio good enough to enable me to live on stock dividends.

Just love it when Republicans who can't afford health insurance slam Clinton over health insurance proposals. The most lavish Democrat proprosal doesn't hold a financial candle to the 2 trillion we've dropped so far with no end in sight in Iraq and Afghanistan with nothing to show for the money!

Duh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Mark Long Dong Klein is so fucking smart, just ask him.

Quack Attack '08!!!!

Anonymous said...

It shows a lack of courage and conviction.... and ignorance when a neo-con comes on here and not only can't debate issues but also can't state a name besides anonymous. Shame on you.

Anonymous said...

Gotta agree with Dr. Klein on this topic. Refreshing honesty for an R. I think his thinking explains the surprising number of R's I've run into who are shaking their heads about the current state and priorities of the party and its record over the last 7 years.

Sporer. It's not that D's or anyone else is denying the numbers you cite. It's the numbers you are not saying, or don't care about, some of which Dr. Klein is talking about. Heck, even W himself has expressed concern about the growing income gap. Not surprisingly, he's not able to connect the dots between his priorities and those trendlines. But at least he's willing to acknowledge some of the inconvenient facts.

Anonymous said...

BTW, what's up with all the nasty and vile commentary as of late? Seems to be a problem on more than one konservative blog. For civil discussion and more respectful disagreement one has to go to the blogs of the immoral and secular liberals.

Anonymous said...

Re Anonymous' comment Mark Long Dong Klein is so fucking smart, just ask him" Hillary and I are the only men in the race!

Started campaigning yesterday in New Hampshire where the base is just as disheartened, if not more so, than Iowa's. Spent Saturday on the main street meeting and greeting the folks of a rock ribbed Republican town. All I heard was how tough the economy is for the average person. As usual got the big knowing smile when I say "What we need is a National Shrink is the White House!"

I response to again not being invited to address the Republican faithful at the most recent Iowa GOP dinner event posted this in today's Des Moines Register.

"The top hopefuls funded, or hoping to be funded, by the borrow and spend Wall Streeters financing today's profession political class don't want someone getting in the spotlight who really follows and believes in Republican principles.

I urge strong pro-life voters to consider another way to get what they want.

If Rowe v Wade were overturned tomorrow, it wouldn't make a difference. Overnight most states would pass emergency legislation, Iowa included, legalizaing abortion with the remainder not prosecuting physicians who continue to do them.

Going back to Republican principles like fiscal discipline, really fair foreign trade agreements, aggressive enforcement of the immigration laws, and a cautious foreign policy to avoid getting sucked into hopeless wars like Iraq and Viet Nams would restore the buying power of wages. In turn we'd see the return of stable, affordable family life so young pregnant couples in love could practically choose marriage over abortion.

You are wasting your votes listening to "pro-life" message, albeit sincere or insincere, by our top candidates."

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071028/NEWS09/710280340/-1/caucus

Anonymous said...

Ted, what about the statistic that shows that Shrub is the biggest spender since LBJ?

You forgot to mention that one.

Keep drinking the Party Kool-Aid.

Anonymous said...

The Reagan Dinner would have been so much better if Klein was able to speak. Cox and Long Dong Klein on the same stage.....that would have been awesome.

We need a hickory stick in the White House----Klein '08!!

Anonymous said...

If you're so fucking smart Klein, you would have known it's ROE v WADE. How can I trust you on abortion when you can't even spell the damned name right? I think the national quack needs to go back to English class.

Anonymous said...

JOHANN-Spell checkers were invented for people like me. Rather than get "Dan Quayled" better to admit to that weakness.

What my misspelling of Roe has to do with my opinion on abortion issues mystifies me.

My opinion overturning Roe wouldn't change anything predicated on New York's handling of abortion before Roe when it was supposedly illegal under state law. Abortion was freely available in private and public hospitals under the danger to the health of the mother justification determination by an "independent" doctor. Usually no problem finding a willing doctor to so certify falsely.

Also very easy back then to find physicians who abortions in their offices. They were only prosecuted by doing something really criminal like a New York City case I recall some 35-40 years ago.

A patient died during an office abortion procedure from an unanticipated reaction to the anesthetic cocktail*. While tragic, it was not malpractice. Instead of reporting the death, he dismembered the poor woman's body, hid it and fled the jurisdiction. The DA threw the book at him when finally caught. Following his prison, his medical license was restored.

*Systemic muscle relaxments which briefly paralyze muscles are often used with outpatient anesthetics. There is a very rare genetic defect, which cannot be tested for beforehand, causing a severe slowing of the drug's removal from the system leading to a potentially life threatening respiratory paralysis.

Happened to one of my patients many years ago during an inpatient electroshock treatment. After successfully resuscitating her, I immediately told the family, later the patient, and fully documented what happened in the medical record. My habit frankness and honesty is likely the reason I was never sued for malpractice.

Anonymous said...

Mcquisling,

The headline on the LBJ/W story was misleading. W has outdone even LBJ in spending. - And now W is all worried about fiscal discipline when D's are in power, even though D's are forced to abide by their pay as you go rules.

Anonymous said...

Mrs. RF had heard a Huckabee interview today and was pleasantly surprised by his intellect and tact. This type of commentary makes me agree with Desmoinesdem, who is convinced that Huckabee would be the strongest nominee your side could produce. In an election likely to be tilted D's way, he would surely be stronger than fake Romney, grandpa McCain, I-can-out-neocon-W Giuliani or big-yawn Thompson.

Anonymous said...

Agree with Mrs. RF assessment of Huckabee's personality. I'm in the race because Huckabee and the rest of the major candidates have no intention to restore genuine fiscal discipline or end our relentless, very expensive, and unsuccessful addiction to warmaking.

The real problem the Republicans face is not losing in 2008 but losing large numbers of former Democrats, like myself, who switched parties starting in the 1960s over the Democrats playing hardball racial politics at the expense of the middle class.

We're fed with the party's mad money borrow and spend policies, shoving "democracy" down the throats of unwilling countries at gunpoint, and behaving at the top levels of the party like it's a "Whites Only" exclusive country club.

Anonymous said...

Mark Klein will never be president.

Sorry Quackster...

Anonymous said...

check out this link about Huckabee's support for a rapist/killer as governor of Arkansas and the terrible consequences. http://www.arktimes.com/articles/articleviewer.aspx?ArticleID=154e1aad-fd18-4efd-8d80-b5dab8559419

Anonymous said...

http://www.arktimes.com/articles/articleviewer.aspx?ArticleID=154e1aad-fd18-4efd-8d80-b5dab8559419

Anonymous said...

can't seem to get the link to post. look in the Arkansas Gazette website under the case of Wayne Dumond update 9/1/2005

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