President Obama claimed a $787 billion Keynesian spending bill would keep the joblessness rate at 8 percent or below, so it’s no surprise that the White House is feeling defensive now that the unemployment rate is 10 percent. The supposedly non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has jumped to the defense of the Administration, estimating that Obama’s so-called stimulus actually generated beween 600,000 and 1.6 million jobs. How can that be, you may ask, when the number of jobs has fallen by more than 3 million? The CBO neatly sidesteps that real-world concern by moving the goalposts, using a slightly more sophisticated version of Obama’s “jobs created or saved” alchemy. The CBO simply estimates how many jobs there are now compared to a make-believe baseline of how many jobs there would be “without the law.” Needless to say, this means there is no objective benchmark. The unemployment rate could jump to 15 percent and total job losses could reach 10 million, but CBO would continue to say, for all intents and purposes, that the results from their Keynesian model are more important than any real-world numbers. This is the fiscal-policy version of the Wizard of Oz, and we’re supposed to ignore reality just as Dorothy and friends were supposed to ignore the man behind the curtain. A previous post included a video explaining why Keynesian economics was theoretically flawed. This video specifically debunks Obama’s $787 billion faux stimulus, notwithstanding CBO’s make-believe numbers.

Congress wants the White House staff director involved in the now-infamous “gatecrasher” dinner to explain what happened. She won’t, because President Obama is invoking executive privilege. While there’s a decent claim for executive privilege here, Barack Obama’s hypocrisy is nothing short of stunning.

Most people have heard about the Virginia couple who apparently crashed the White House official dinner for the prime minister of India on Nov. 24. (It’s called an “official dinner” instead of a “state dinner” because the prime minister is not India’s head of state.) Congress has launched a probe and is demanding answers as to how uninvited people could end up shaking hands with the president of the United States and posing for photos with the VP and chief of staff.

One person Congress wants to speak with is Desiree Rogers, the White House Social Secretary. For dinners in previous administrations, the White House Social Office posted staffers at the entrance with a list of the invited guests to make sure fiascos like this can’t happen. Rogers, who holds her job because she’s an old buddy of First Lady Michelle Obama, evidently didn’t care enough to take this simple precaution.

But Congress won’t get the chance to ask Rogers, because President Obama is invoking executive privilege. That’s the legal doctrine for the president and certain executive-branch officials around him to refuse to testify in court or before Congress.

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Prohibition, touted as “The Noble Experiment” in its time, criminalized the manufacturing, transportation, and sale of alcohol.  While the law did many things, there was one thing it could not accomplish.  It could not stop Americans from drinking.  As our country approaches the 76^th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition, it’s time to look back and see how it impacts policymaking today.

Some wish for America to try a new prohibition – with Internet poker the target of misguided efforts.  Laws like the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) have made Americans less free in their own homes, but have not stopped Americans from playing poker.  Like Prohibition, however, the policies of this prohibition are fundamentally flawed and pose a threat to safety.

Prohibition advocates of the early twentieth century sought to eliminate what they believed to be a negative attribute of society.  However, regardless of one’s view on alcohol consumption or Internet poker, it is undeniable that Americans will seek out ways to continue proscribed activities. It is unrealistic to expect otherwise.  As a nation founded on liberty, it’s in our DNA.

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Today, in 1933, Prohibition was finally repealed:

Tip your waitresses or bartenders even more today. Happy Repeal Day!

So you’ve found the right candidate for the job.  He’s got a long history of exemplary service, familiarity with the subject matter that the position is responsible for, and would be an excellent addition to your office.  There’s only one problem, he’s a Republican.

Sadly this isn’t a hypothetical, it actually occurred in a federal agency that was created to provide advice on fair and proper election procedures.  The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) was created by Congress in 2002.  The EAC’s purpose was to distribute grants and provide states advice on election practices.  It took six years for partisanship to rear its ugly head and result in unfair discrimination against a job applicant.

In 2008 the EAC found itself in need of a General Counsel.  An eminently qualified attorney applied for the position and was in fact selected for the office.  Two EAC Commissioners then started looking into the candidate’s politics, and found that he was a Republican.  These Commissioners then refused to approve his appointment.  It’s pretty clear that Gracia Hillman was one of the Commissioners at fault.  Gracia Hillman continues to serve on the EAC.

With certain narrow exceptions, the federal government has a merit hiring system which requires applicants be judged solely on their qualifications not their political preferences.  The Commissioners who chose to disregard this practice did so to engage in overtly partisan politics.

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Dr. Anna Chacko

Dr. Chacko spent six years at Lahey Clinic in the Boston suburb of Burlington. When she was fired from there, security had to forcibly carry her out all while Dr. Chacko screamed

Kiss my big Indian Ass

(Dr. Chacko is of Indian descent)

After Lahey Clinic,  Dr. Chacko spent about a year at the Boston University until she was removed after complaints of sexual harrassment to the human resources department.

From there, Dr. Chacko moved to St. James Hospital in Butte, Mt. as head of radiology in July of 2007.  Dr. Chacko replaced the three radiologists there. The three radiologists, Drs. William Driscoll, Jesse Cole, and Dennis Wright, had a combined 70 years of service to St. James. Prior to her arrival, St. James CEO, James Kiser, often referred to the radiology department as its “savior” because its consistent seven figure bottom line profitability almost single handedly kept the entire hospital profitable.  Dr. Chacko left St. James fifteen months later in October of 2009, and she took all the new radiologists with her. In the interim, no less than four lawsuits were filed in which she was mentioned prominently. The radiology department, once the savior, was now deep in the red. In fact, the hospital was on the verge of collapse and they were about to default on lease payments for millions of dollars worth of radiology equipment that Dr. Chacko herself ordered.

Despite this, Dr. Chacko was able to land a plumb job as head of radiology at the Pittsbugh VA and started there in October of 2008.

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It never ceases to amaze me how differently the Old Media treats Republican presidents compared to how they treat Democrat Presidents during times of unemployment reporting. Today, in the vaunted era of Obama, the unemployment numbers for November 2009 have come out and it shows some of the highest unemployment numbers since the Great Depression. Despite that the Old Media seems to be playing this as a sign of optimism. Such optimism was decidedly not in the cards when that same Old Media was reporting rates during Bush’s years, however.

Let’s take two reports from The New York Times for example. One from September 7, 2002 in Bush’s first term and one from December 4, 2009, early in the Obama presidency.

In 2002, The New York Times reported Bush’s 5.7 percent unemployment rate, noting that it was a drop from 5.9 percent, with the following headline: Unemployment Fell in August, But Drop Is Called Insignificant.

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The Service Employees International Union has demonstrated a history of blatant “pay-to-play” political tactics. And “pay-to-play” is probably why the SEIU has been at the forefront of promoting ObamaCare, with a “robust” public option.

In 2002, the union spent well over $1 million and worked tirelessly getting Rod Blagojevich elected governor of Illinois.  Shortly after he was sworn in, he signed an executive order, allowing SEIU to unionize 20,000 state health care employees.  It was the first such move by any governor on SEIU’s behalf.  Dozens of campaign contributions from the SEIU to Blogojevich are compiled in a list posted on shopfloor.org, a blog maintained by the National Association of Manufacturers.

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A little known corollary of Copernican law tells us that, like the Earth, Big Media is also not, in fact, the center of the Universe. Just because the ‘journalists’ willfully choose to ignore ClimateGate–the proverbial tree falling in the enviro’s beloved rainforest–doesn’t mean the public and the political class aren’t paying attention. Of course, other than Barbara Boxer calling for criminal investigations into the hacked/leaked e-mails, it is mostly the political classes in other countries paying attention.  (If Boxer’s fantasy comes to pass and there are criminal charges pressed, how, pray tell, will Big Media report on it, since their readers presumably know nothing about the scandal.)

Fortunately, with the internet, we are no longer captive of Big Media for our news. The government-owned Canadian Broadcast Corporation, of all things, has been covering the controversy extensively. In this clip, noted commentator Rex Murphy lowers to guns to deck level on the scandal. It should be noted that Murphy is a former man of the left, having served in the leadership of the Liberal Party in Newfoundland.

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Pelican Institute reporter Steve Beatty has a new story demonstrating that hundreds of jobs allegedly “saved or created” in Louisiana may be incorrect or exaggerated:

The issue of phantom Congressional districts listed in the national stimulus database recently created a stir. But the tally of Louisiana jobs allegedly created or saved by President Obama’s signature domestic policy program raises more serious questions about this database.

A review of the self-reported information may inspire a chuckle or a sneer, particularly when less-than-savvy recipients of federal money don’t know what Congressional district they’re in, or that the state only has seven such districts. That unsophisticated approach made headlines when money was listed as being spent in various districts that just didn’t exist. In the end, though, those reports are likely to be modified and will land in the appropriate district.

A greater concern is the 475 jobs listed as created or saved in Louisiana, even though the related projects aren’t started. And the 171 jobs chalked up when small raises were given to Head Start workers. And the over 100 low-paying work-study jobs on college campuses that count just as much as, say, a full-time architect for a major building program. Other entries indicate what could be an under-reporting of jobs.

These are just some examples of questionable figures in the statewide data analyzed by The Pelican Institute for Public Policy.

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By all accounts, future job growth is going to be sluggish at best and we can expect double digit unemployment at least through next year.  The Democrats’ response is a $300 billion jobs program.  Many Republicans would rather rely on the private sector to fuel the recovery and job growth.  So what’s better, Government Force or Market Forces?

The use of the phrase Government Force is based on the nature of government programs.  The vast majority of the people would prefer to pay little or no taxes.  They are literally forced by government to pay those taxes.  As it relates to a jobs bill, the Democrats will tax one set of people or businesses (taxpayers) and/or borrow money (a delayed tax) and then transfer a portion of those collected/borrowed funds to other people or businesses.  In that manner, the Democrats believe they have created a job – or in today’s vernacular, saved a job.  But have they?

In the process of taxing some and transferring to others, the government force has taken money away from a business/taxpayer in California and perhaps given it to someone in Alabama.  That means the business in California cannot hire someone (or save a job) with the money transferred to Alabama – a type of zero sum game.  Actually, it is worse than a zero sum game because government always manages to waste money in the transfer and so Alabama is never helped so much as California is hurt.

Put another way, in an effort to fill Alabama’s bucket, the government forces the emptying of California’s bucket through tax and spend transfers.  Perhaps that is why Churchill famously said “We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.”

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Reading this account of discussions at the “U.S. Federal Trade Commission workshop on the future of journalism in the Internet age,” it appears “legacy media” might just slash and burn the First Amendment, shredding it to pieces on their journey to statist organ status.

In their desperation to stay alive, as newspapers and other legacy channels of distribution collapse, surviving publishers will maneuver themselves for prime suckling positions on the public teat. The keepers of the teat appear willing to enable the feast.

Federal and state officials this year have explored how the government might play a role in helping ease the financial travails of news organizations. Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D., Md.) this spring proposed a bill that would allow newspapers to operate as tax-exempt institutions. [MORE - WSJ]

“Public” money comes with a labyrinth of exponentially multiplying political strings attached. Just ask GM, AIG, and BofA.

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As President Obama concludes his first jobs summit, almost a year into his presidency, the nature of the guest list hints at a deliberate initiative that’s been underway for over 15 years – and it’s not one of the obvious presumptions that most would make.  Notice that of the list of leaders invited, the majority are labor union leaders, leaders of businesses with government contracts, or leaders of businesses that operate on partial public funding.  There is a common element across most of the businesses represented:  in one capacity or another, even if they are private sector businesses, most on the list benefit from some form of public money.

There is a legal precedent over 15 years old that is the pervasive push behind such a premise, one that was the product of ACORN and labor union coalitions.  And judging by Change to Win / SEIU’s Anna Burger’s plan for today’s jobs summit, it’s evident that this precedent is in play as we speak.

It’s no coincidence that in the wake of America’s economic crisis, some lawmakers have been pushing for infusions of public funds into the private sector.  No, we’re not just talking bank and insurance company bailouts. We’re talking about tax credit and incentive programs, health care reform proposals, green jobs programs, energy efficiency initiatives,  and even real estate development companies.  As the conservative accusations of socialism have begun to sink in with progressive leaders -especially with union leaders, who are especially sensitive to being perceived as public spenders – the language has been changing.  Adam Smith’s “Invisible Hand” doesn’t sound so scary when it’s wrapped in the glove of words like “co-ops” and “public-private partnerships” and “national service”, which are now quickly being mainstreamed into the rhetoric.

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Think big. Gigantic. This is the latest from Charles Shumer, the Democrat from New York:

When he found out that Adidas was planning to outsource manufacturing of NBA jerseys he “called on the league to terminate its contract with the German-based sportswear giant unless it halts plans to transfer production of game-day jerseys from an upstate New York facility to Thailand.”

Great idea! Let’s make sure that we force companies to produce stuff at the highest possible cost in the name of some lame “buy and make American” nonsensical theory. I am sure that forcing Adidas to give up on the possibility to reduce its production costs will do wonders for this economy.

Besides, as George Mason University’s Don Boudreaux noted in a still unpublished letter to the editor of the New York Daily News yesterday:

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I’ll be the first to admit that anti-trust law is not my strong suit.  The myriad implications of cable giant Comcast’s proposed acquisition of NBC are complexities beyond the grasp of most mortals.  Legions of attorneys will put legions of children through college with the fees that this transaction will generate.  This is the kind of stimulus that will inject much-needed capital into the private country club sector of the economy.

But beyond the regulatory and legal minutia that technically govern this proposed deal, one obscenely crass, downright offensive action by Comcast’s CEO warrants the application of withering scrutiny to the merger.

A day, one single day, after the two media giants announced their deal, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts proudly weighed in to strongly support the Senate Democrats’ health care reform bill.

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Vice President Biden keeps recycling his unemployment speeches – except he keeps confusing suburbs of his hometown of Scranton:

1.  On October 19, he used Minooka:

My pop — my grandpop used to say — there was a suburb of Scranton called Minooka. He said, “When the guy in Minooka’s out of work, it’s an economic slowdown. When your brother- in-law’s out of work, it’s a recession. When you’re out of work, it’s a depression.”  Well, it’s a depression — it’s a depression for millions of Americans, through no fault of their own.

2.  On October 30, 2009, he used Dickson City (the correct spelling):

My grandpop used to have an expression. We’re from Scranton. He’d say — and I mean this literally. It wasn’t viewed as a joke. He said, “Joey, when the guy in Dixon City,” a small town above Scranton, “is out of work, it’s an economic slowdown. When you’re brother-in-law is out of work, it’s a recession. When you’re out of work, it’s a depression.” And it’s a depression for millions of American people.

3.  On December 3, 2009, at the White House jobs summit, he used Throop:

There used to be an expression, and I’m not joking, my grandfather always used it. He was from Scranton, Pennsylvania. He said, “When the guy from Throop is out of work, it’s an economic slowdown. When your brother-in-law is out of work, it’s a recession. When you’re out of work, it’s a depression.” And it is a depression for over 10 million Americans…

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Tons of news in the market today as we unpack the surprisingly good job numbers, the Senate holds placed on Ben Bernanke’s renomination, and the massive Comcast-NBC deal and what it says about the new realities for mass media. Today’s the 99th edition of Coffee and Markets, a daily podcast from The New Ledger on politics, policy and the marketplace with Francis Cianfrocca, brought to you by BigGovernment.com.

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You can subscribe to the podcast by following the links above, and if you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

On Bernanke: Vitter, DeMint, Corker, Bunning
FTC on Media Bailout
New Realities for Mass Media
The FTC’s Shallow Dive into Journalism’s Future
The Real Reason Comcast is Buying NBC
Mainstream Media’s Broken Business Model

Does the government’s power of eminent domain include seizing the rights to the wind that wafts over your property? That’s the controversial question swirling around an 8 megawatt wind farm proposed by the southern Minnesota city of New Ulm and opposed by several farmers in rural Lafayette Township who refuse to grant their “wind rights” to the city utility.

“This is merely an evolution of principles that have been evolving since the sovereign rights of eminent domain were determined to exist,” according to Hugh Nierengarten, New Ulm City Attorney.

“Eminent domain is basically like a nuclear bomb,” said Clete Goblirsch, a farmer who refuses to sign an easement. “The repercussions would be long lasting and widespread, not just for us, but for the wind industry.”

While public utilities have fairly broad powers to use government authority to force property owners to sell to meet their needs, the New Ulm plan involves an unprecedented move to expand eminent domain authority to include the seizure of air space on private property for power generation.

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One thing about “ClimateGate” nagging at the back of my mind is the absence of any discussion by ringleader Phil Jones (or others) of the remarkable, shocking discovery that Jones now claims he had that his precedessor destroyed the raw data in the 1980s.

That is the data that scientists have for years been seeking from Jones under the UK’s freedom of information law. Against numerous such requests he offered equally numerous excuses for refusing access culminating with the September 2009 claim – when it looked like he’d been cornered and had no excuses not to provide it to Prof. Ross McKitrick who met all of his long-stated qualifications – that in fact he’d lost it.

First, it does seem odd that Jones would so firmly and crisply articulate his many, very specific excuses for so many years about why he could not provide something that in fact they had, as he now tells it, lost. His refusals all clearly imply that a belief that he had it.

But where are the emails putting out the word, oh, snap, you guys aren’t gonna believe this?

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