On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by John Hawkins to discuss Obama’s love of his own voice, the evolution of the Conservative blogosphere and ask if the days of independent blogging have passed.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

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The Slow, Painful Coming Death Of The Independent, Conservative Blogosphere
The Slow, Painful Coming Death Of The Independent, Conservative Blogosphere Part 2
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The University of Minnesota project, which received $2.8 million in federal stimulus funds and $800,000 in local matching funds, was highlighted by FFM in an October 2009 Accountability Alert. In their application for stimulus funding, the University of Minnesota made the bold claim that it will “close the Digital Divide in four Twin Cities poverty zones.” Eleven computer labs in Minneapolis and St. Paul intended for use by “underserved populations” were upgraded and expanded.

The project description states, “the University of Minnesota is uniquely qualified to carry out this project. The Urban Research and Outreach/Engagement Center, Office for Business and Community Development, and Extension Services have decades of combined experience in public engagement, broadband and Internet training, and development of computer curricula for public audiences.”

The KSTP-TV investigation, however, showed that the targeted underserved populations are more underserved than ever with fewer people using the computer labs after the infusion of millions of federal taxpayer dollars than before, according to reports filed with the federal government.

After checking all eleven computer labs, KSTP-TV found “erratic hours, difficult-to-find locations and even closed and locked labs when the doors were supposed to be open to the public.”

In the fall of 2009, The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota, via a Minnesota Data Practices Act request, sought a copy of the State of Minnesota’s “wish list” of broadband projects. These projects were recommended to receive funding under the federal broadband stimulus program administered by the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). At that time, Minnesota officials declined FFM’s request to review the proposals and the state’s recommendations, citing state law.

Minnesota was one of a handful of states that refused to make its list of broadband stimulus project recommendations public in advance of funding decisions being handed down by the federal government.  This decision prompted local and national criticism.  The state list of recommendations was not released to FFM until April 2011.  The Broadband Access Project at the University of Minnesota was one of only two projects recommended by then Minnesota Department of Commerce Commissioner Glenn Wilson in the sustainable broadband adoption and public computing center categories.

“This is a matter of transparency in government, plain and simple,” Annette Meeks, CEO of the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota, said at the time. “We were told that the record-setting stimulus spending would be accompanied by record-setting transparency.  Numerous other states have released their recommendations.  It’s not too late to do the right thing and open up the books in Minnesota.”

Ultimately, it’s a case of taxpayers, as well as the intended recipients of the project, being “under-served” by another federal broadband stimulus program.  In October 2009 FFM also flagged a $70 million broadband stimulus proposal in Lake County that subsequently became one of the most controversial in the country.

Tips or comments?  Contact Tom Steward, Freedom Foundation of Minnesota.

At the nomination hearing this past Tuesday, Sen. Shelby provided a critical analysis of Diamond’s economic philosophy.

“In short, Dr. Diamond is an old-fashioned, big government Keynesian. Many of us believe that this is not the economic philosophy the Fed should be embracing at this point in our economic history. Our economy is already suffering from excessive government debt and misguided regulation.  Our financial regulators should be trying to take steps to strengthen our markets, rather than replace them with new layers of government.”

Shelby noted Diamond’s support of the President’s $800 billion stimulus package and his call for additional fiscal stimulus.  He also referenced a paper written by Diamond and former CBO Director Peter Orszag that argued for higher taxes.   “The policy preferences of Fed nominees matter,” Shelby observed.

Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, a former bond trader and veteran of the financial services community, is no fan of the Fed’s monetary policy, which he feels is over accommodating.  He raised some serious concerns about the likelihood of rising inflation and the result that would have on the Fed’s forthcoming exit strategy from its monetary policy.

“The obvious response from the market to rising inflation expectations is higher interest rates, higher bond yields. In the face therefore of higher bond yields, I fear that the Fed could find itself in a situation where it also has to exit by selling bonds, and I worry that the process of exit would lead to much higher interest rates from the combination of these phenomena.”

Diamond provided a rather general response (a common feature of these proceedings) highlighting the range of instruments available to the Fed:

“The Fed has multiple tools. The interest paid on excess reserves can play a critical role in adjusting the way the exit strategy is executed so that we don’t get a rapid burst of lending and inflation.  I think the combination of tools available will permit a smooth exit.”

QE2, an unconventional and extremely risky tool, was not just a response by the Fed to a sluggish economy; it was a testament to the President’s failed stimulus policies.  How the Fed will handle its monetary gamble will require great vigilance and good fortune.  By judiciously examining his economic philosophy, Republican Senators are keen in determining how Diamond will influence the Fed’s role in future financial crises.

Note: The views expressed in this article are the author’s and do not reflect the position of the Heritage Foundation.

Recovery_Summer_Report_2010_

In announcing the start of the “Recovery Summer” on June 17, 2010, the White House described Recovery Summer as a “surge in Recovery Act infrastructure projects that will be underway across the country in the coming months – and the jobs they’ll create well into the fall and through the end of the year.” Vice President Biden pledged that “this bold investment in the future will stimulate short-term and long-term American jobs….The upcoming summer of projects is the next step on the road to recovery.”

But did “Recovery Summer” show that Democrats’ trillion-dollar stimulus plan is really working as the White House continues to insist?  Unfortunately for American workers, the answer remains a disappointing “no.”

The data in this report shows that as “Recovery Summer” ends today:

(1) The unemployment rate is far higher than Administration officials predicted it would be if their stimulus plan passed;

(2) Unemployment rates in 14 States where the President or Vice President touted “Recovery Summer” in speeches have increased by an average of 1.4 percentage points since stimulus passed;

(3) A total of 49 out of 50 States have lost jobs since Democrats’ February 2009 stimulus;

(4) Instead of the current official unemployment rate of 9.6%, the unemployment rate would be 11% if it included all the “uncounted unemployed” — American workers who have simply given up looking for work or didn’t even bother to try to enter the labor market;

(5) Instead of creating 3.7 million jobs as promised, through August 2010 2.5 million more jobs have been lost since Democrats’ stimulus.  The private sector has shed nearly 2.4 million jobs, including over 1.5 million jobs lost in construction and manufacturing alone;

(6) The economy is now over 7 million jobs short of what Democrats promised in January 2009 if their stimulus bill passed; and

(7) The staggering 66% combined rise in debt and unemployment during President Obama’s term has created an enormous “Obama Misery Index.”

ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Highway Infrastructure Investment Grant: Urbanized Areas over 200K Population

Award Amount: $1,320,000

Reported Jobs: 4.66

We produced a short video asking the question: Does the upscale suburb of Evanston really need the hard-earned tax dollars of people from other states across the union in order to (re)build her local roads?

The city of Evanston should write thank you notes to the legislatures of each of the other 57 states, thanking them for the new road.

Most voters think the country would be better off if most members of Congress were not re-elected, according to a new poll

Company accused of defrauding the government by filing bogus receipts, double billing for the same services and charging government agencies for strippers and prostitutes; A prostitute in Afghanistan was put on the payroll under the “Morale Welfare Recreation” category and the company billed the prostitute’s plane tickets and salary to the government, according to the accusation

The government paid more than $284 million on recruitment, retention and relocation bonuses to federal employees in 2008

California county to spend federal stimulus funds to pay students to make mini- documentaries about professionals whose work the youths find inspiring

A $500,000 federal stimulus grant will pay a consultant to design a promotional campaign to encourage more recycling in Dayton, Ohio

Montana town spends federal stimulus funds to renovate a pavilion used for receptions, craft fairs, dances and class reunions

Federal funds pay to research impact of “fair trade” on flowers from Ecuador and tea produced in South Africa

The Postal Service lost $297 million in the first quarter of the year, marking the Postal Service’s eighth consecutive unprofitable quarter

Taxpayers billed $1,000 per week for booze and other “in-flight services” for the Speaker of the House that “read like a dream order for a wild frat party”

Hundreds of convicted criminals may have been hired by the U.S. Census Bureau

California wine trail will be getting signs, a new map and an iPhone application thanks to a $98,500 federal stimulus grant given to the Monterey County Growers and Vintners Association

Federal stimulus funds supporting Napa Valley Wine Train, despite local opposition

The federal government “likely overspent by millions” when it negotiated a no bid contract for the $54 million Wine Train stimulus project

The pork bell curve: Boston College has more than doubled what it spends on lobbying and, according to the college’s spokesman, “our earmarks have increased since we started paying [the lobbyists] more.”

The Wine Institute receives $7 million grant to promote wine in foreign countries; Raisin Administrative Committee receives $3 million and the California Walnut Commission pulls in $4.5 million

Bad publicity leads martini & wine bar to withdraw from contract for $25,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant Recovery stimulus funding

A year after the city claimed it needed a billion dollars from the federal government for subway safety upgrades, the District of Columbia spends federal stimulus funds intended for transportation projects to replace garage escalators