Gramm is riding the real straight-talk express here. 
Every once in awhile, we need to be slapped in the face and kicked in the nuts just to prove that we still have some resolve left. Every day, we see hysterical, Chicken Little exhortations from t…

Kini on July 11, 2008 at 4:16 PM

Is it saints’ preserve us or… Lord almighty, preserve us from the Saint!

Phil made a really stooooopid statement and he knows it! This should not be the message of a conservative to the American people. EVER! A real conservative should be challenging government to get out of the way and quit wreaking havoc on the economy which is what is currently going on! Blaming the American people is always a bad idea and McAmnesty is going to get his ass kicked because that is what he’s about…except that is what Obama is also about…so this should be a really depressing election with nobody there to really represent us rubes out here in America!

sabbott on July 11, 2008 at 7:42 AM

what he said

right2bright on July 11, 2008 at 12:38 PM

sorry, but any statistical study that is off by 10% on a the very base number of that study?? HUH?

Its like the silly studys about how many sexual partners men and women have had, their very results show that the methodology is invalid, because they are impossible.

Or the Global Warming hype based on false numbers (poorly placed ground stations that are then renormed to take out errors, but they use other poorly placed stations to do the renorming on the heat island affect).

On your Dow Jones analogy… the Dow Jones covers all stocks on the Dow Jones average… not all stocks, just as the S&P500 covers all stocks on the S&P list… they do not portray themselves as covering all stocks.

This “study” however does portray itself as the National Unemployment average figure.

And just like the inflation figures, I believe they are inherently flawed and under reporting what is actualy going on.

Thanks for the links. I’ll ponder and return…

I know and speak fluent Mandarine, and I have access to internal regions of China (local newspaper versions).

Needless to say, it is better to pray (or whatever means) that they can maintain the current (stable) structure.

The idea that I would not look at your evidence is insulting, and somthing I would expect from Not2bright….

Romeo13 on July 10, 2008 at 10:56 PM

Look, I already educated you on what these stats mean. Different stat tables use different data bases to establish trends.
With your scenario, all of the data is out of date, since the only true census is taken every 10 years.
The rest are projections.
So they established, like I had pointed out to you, a group of stats that they compile to establish trends. These are used to compare from quarter to quarter (in some cases) and year to year in others.
That is like saying (and I repeat again) that the Dow Jones is not accurate because it doesn’t have all of the stocks represented.
They are TRENDS, because the mechanics of accurate statistical reporting of each individual class would be to difficult, and because they have developed statistical models that accurately project the information needed. It is the consistency of the model that is important.
You can pick them apart…but the dummies on Wall Street, and the dummies who run fortune 500 companies, and the dummies who make investment decisions for international companies, use these facts and figures…next time we will send them to you, so you can correct them.
Do you actually think that they use purposely distorted figures to invest in?
Here have at it.
and more

And finally this where I would start if I were you.
The abstracts will explain what I just through explaining.
Your welcome…

cs89 on July 10, 2008 at 11:21 PM

Yep, your correct, mistyped while trying to multitask…

And Baca, thanks for the link… 1,380,082 active duty military in 2007… still leaves about 35 million unaccounted for adults.

US Prison population looks like 2.2 million in 2007….

So now we’re only missing about 33 million…. still well over 10% of the entire US population seems to be missing.

“The trouble for McCain, he has relied on and praised his long-time friend’s expertise.”

How in the world was Obama able to make a clean break with all of those troublesome long-time friends he relied on and praised?

Of course, they’re talking about a very restricted class: people with a stable source of income and a good credit rating who bought a house some years ago at a sensible price, and who now have a reasonable amount of equity in it. Lord knows there’s only a few of us like that.

I regularly wander through the local Wal-Mart (yes, I shop at the Evil Empire; it gives me more money to spend on imported beer) and the local warehouse-type grocery store (where poor people like me shop) and look at the amount of discretionary spending that’s going on. Makes it hard to tell there’s a recession.

My fear is government will intervene bailing out bad banking and personal decisions with the money from those of us living within our means. I and many people I know have more personal assets than ever but I also know younger people mortgaged to the point of bankruptcy. Its’ not my problem and I should not have to pay for their living ab ove their means niether should I have to pay for the housing speculators buying more and higher priced houses that got caught when the prices started down.
Auto companies will offer products consumers will buy or the market will correct them. The 5 year no interest loans were not a good deal for them either. Luring people to over extent themselves now at the expense of future sales is not a good business model.
Much of the current unrest lies with the prices of energy and this can be laid almost entirely at the feet of the Democrat party and their environmental terrorist bosses.

Ethanol driving up food prices, refusal to increase domestic petroleum production increasing gas, heating fuel, and petro chemical products almost exclusively Democrat caused problems going back to Bill Clinton vetoing drilling in ANWR and perpetuated through the years following by a Democrat refusal to allow any increased domestic production.

If we drill here, drill now we keep more money at home increase jobs and revenue, lower the price of fuel and decrease our trade deficit thus putting value back into the dollar. It can be done but it takes one political party getting out of the way.

dhunter on July 10, 2008 at 10:35 PM

.
dhunter, good post. My only quibble is that we likely will not lower the price of fuel, as domestic production costs more than foreign (though reduced crude transport offsets most of this), but at least our trade deficit will be decreased.

US exports are at record highs due to the week dollar and in fact, it’s one of the few bright spots right now. The balance is right around the average for the last 2 years

The trade imbalance is dismal, and it cannot be fixed. The amount of imports measured as a percentage of GDP actually exceeds our total manufacturing output by 5% of the GDP. That’s unbelievable. Even if we exported every single item made in the US, we would still have a trade deficit.

But in an initial statement published by Politico and then, seemingly, removed from its site, a McCain campaign aide actually stood by Gramm’s remarks, saying the interview as a whole was merely meant as a preview of the Senator’s economic agenda.

Thanks above link, Ed’s update.

1. Gramm outlined a great economic agenda.
2. The reporter @ interview, Patrice, made a soundbite occur, assuring her promotion @ Washington Times and nationally as a verbal PC ripper–she slashed the agenda for a soundbite to abort it.
3. This will be McCain’s economic agenda if McCain has the guts to be President and stand by good policy vs. PC insanity.

McCain was noted by the Jerusalem Post for his quiet reserve that maintains absolute vigilance for his family’s secure privacy. That same sense of honor will work out this tiff that the press created to burn his agenda. Quit feeding the flames if you like the outline Gramm provided. Gramm has taken his public beating, so quit pouring salt in wounds he didn’t deserve getting had the fight been fair instead of on the MSM field of dishonor.

Don’t kill the messenger who brings news of hope because he’s struck and strikes back. Who the hell is Patrice–put the screws on HER!

Eject the PC!

Emphasize Gramm’s Economic Plan!

A great symphonic conductor is known to jealously guard his maestro image. McCain’s POTUS image, admitted or not by himself, is “compassionate conservative” and he may as well wear his badge of honor with integrity. Great conductors not only have an egotistical reputation, but an absolute appreciation for great talent. They also get over spiffs with a blink of the eye in favor for the magnificent performance. Give McCain and Gramm some elbow room and quit prodding for PC kneejerks. Enough. Let this spiff flow naturally under the bridge, and quit promoting either of the personalities be thrown under a bus providing fodder for Obamarx.

Read the entire transcript and focus on Gramm’s program. Nowhere in Gramm’s program will you find disregard for the unfortunate in our country or our world. Now cipher the interview from the biased reporter’s objective. Jab anyone enough times and expect a blow in return–that’s fair play. PC rules dictate Marxism by pussifying your brain and mushing your guts from consuming smooth talk boob tube acceptability requirements. Tunnel vision is deadly today.

I mean, all it would take would be a couple links to reputable sources. Not exactly back-breaking work.
I’m especially intrigued by how the govt. is cooking to inflation rate and unemployment figures. Just one or two links explaining that would be wonderful.

If voiceofreason has exited the thread, I can give you a link. Here is a chart of reported vs real unemployment (1), with a brief description of issues involved (2). Also, here is a chart of reported vs real CPI (3). The way inflation is calculated was changed in the early 1980′s. Using the earlier, more accurate, method, the CPI is now over 10%, which matches the reality that most people see with their own eyes. Here is a brief explanation. (4) More detailed info is by subscription only

1) shadowstats.com/imgs/sgs-emp.gif
2) shadowstats.com/article/54
3) shadowstats.com/imgs/sgs-cpi.gif
4) shadowstats.com/article/56

Man, I hate election years. No good choices.

He is throwing the wrong people under the bus, he should be throwing Bush under the bus and going after the 72 percent of people who would agree with that move.

Quit bitching and work harder.