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Saturday 29 June 2013

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time for CHANGE ...item 1.. Déjà Vu in Gaza? -- This calls to mind the words of Mark Twain: (Nov 28, 2012 / 14 Kislev 5773) ...item 2.. Cobblers, Crisps and Crumbles (Nov 29th, 2012) ...

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time for CHANGE ...item 1.. Déjà Vu in Gaza? -- This calls to mind the words of Mark Twain: (Nov 28, 2012 / 14 Kislev 5773) ...item 2.. Cobblers, Crisps and Crumbles (Nov 29th, 2012) ... man united transfer news today now
Image by marsmet546 We do not have the option of passively standing by. Israel is in real danger and we need everyone on board. The verse (2-Kings 3:27) implies that if our enemies show great devotion and self-sacrifice for their cause, that obligates us to do the same. For the purpose of education and activism, here are four key points to know: . ........*****All images are copyrighted by their respective authors ........ . ............................................................................................................................................................................................ . .....item 1).... Déjà Vu in Gaza? ... www.aish.com/jw/mo ... HOME ISRAEL MEDIA OBJECTIVITY Déjà Vu in Gaza? Four key take-aways from Operation Pillar of Defense. . .............................. img code photo ... Déjà Vu in Gaza? media.aish.com/images/DejaVuInGaza230x150-EN.jpg .............................. . by Rabbi Shraga Simmons Nov 28, 2012 / 14 Kislev 5773 www.aish.com/jw/mo/Deja-Vu-in-Gaza.html It's all so eerily familiar. A war that began a few weeks after Barack Obama's presidential election. Gazans had been raining hundreds of Qassam rockets onto southern Israeli towns, along with long-range missiles supplied by the mad mullahs of Iran. With just 15 seconds to run into a shelter before impact, the rockets sowed panic in streets and schools. The danger reached ludicrous proportions and it was time to stop playing Islamic Roulette. Four years ago, Israel launched "Operation Cast lead" to stop the rockets from Gaza. Now here we are again, this time with Operation Pillar of Defense (Amud Anan). Little has changed. On the heels of a U.S. presidential election, nearly 500 rockets have struck Israel from Gaza. One million Israelis are living in bomb shelters and Iranian-made Fajir missiles have put Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and 50 percent of Israel's population within striking range. Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system has successfully intercepted another 250 rockets. Yet the system is not fool-proof; dozens of Israelis have been injured and three civilians were killed when a Hamas rocket hit their home in the town of Kiryat Malachi. Europeans fear their own capitals may one day be the target. For now, people of good will are backing Israel's right to self-defense. The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution in support of Israel, and the U.S. State Department – with a historically Arabist bent – was unequivocal: "The onus is on Hamas to stop its rocket attacks." Even traditionally hostile Europeans – perhaps fearing that their own capitals may one day be similarly targeted – are affirming "Israel's right to live without fear of attack." For its part, Israel has decimated over 100 rocket production and launching facilities in Gaza. As well, Israel eliminated arch-terrorist Ahmed Jabari, the commander-in-chief of Hamas terror activity who directed a decade of rockets, bombings, and the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit. Where all this will end is a terrifying unknown. The Middle East is far more volatile than it was four years ago: Syria is immersed in a bloody civil war; Hizbollah positions have been strengthened in Lebanon; Egypt is now run by the Muslim Brotherhood; anti-government riots have erupted in Jordan; and Iran is four years closer to possessing an atomic bomb. . ----- What can we do? ... 1. Stay informed, and redouble efforts to assist Israel's PR effort. ... 2. Strengthen our commitment to Jewish values. ... 3. Pray for the welfare of Israeli soldiers and all of Israel's citizens. . We do not have the option of passively standing by. Israel is in real danger and we need everyone on board. The verse (2-Kings 3:27) implies that if our enemies show great devotion and self-sacrifice for their cause, that obligates us to do the same. For the purpose of education and activism, here are four key points to know: . . ..... (1) CNN reporter shills as a mouthpiece for jihadist terror. For media monitors, CNN has long been the gargoyle in an already-ugly media crowd. In a variety of ways – whether it's CNN founder Ted Turner labeling Israeli defensive actions "terror"; or CNN's Senior Editor of Mideast Affairs, Octavia Nasr, expressing her sadness over the passing of a Hezbollah terror leader; or Palestinian spokeswoman Diana Buttu asserting unchallenged on CNN that Qassam rockets (with their 7,000 metal ball bearings and 20 pounds of TNT) contain "no explosive warhead" – CNN too often seems on the cusp of pro-Palestinian activism. This time around, CNN seems headed down the same path. A video report by Zain Verjee, the London-based anchor of CNN's World Report, sounds like she'd be more comfortable on Hamas TV, as she discards all semblance of objectivity and assumes the role of disdainful challenger. Note specifically: .. 0:57 – "How do these air strikes bring peace and quiet?" .. 2:00 – "Fifteen children are wounded – these aren't targeted operations!" .. 3:46 – "Aren't you making an already bad situation worse?" The good news is that Israel has a superb spokesman in Mark Regev, a native of Australia who displays remarkable articulation and composure in the face of these CNN taunts. Keep your eye on CNN and in the meantime, click here to complain about Verjee's horribly biased video report. . . ..... (2) Beyond rockets and planes, this is a Social Media war. The days are over when terrorists disseminate their hatred via a spooky video cassette sent to Al Jazeera. Today, you can simply "follow" Hamas missile squads on Twitter's @alqassambrigade, or surf www.qassam.ps where you even have the option of selecting your favorite color scheme. More nefariously, Palestinian rocket-launching teams now use Google Earth to select their civilian targets. Israel has traditionally been behind the curve when it comes to public diplomacy – the infamous "hasbara." In trying to influence world opinion, the government's standard mode has been a cacophony of competing – and sometimes contradictory – messages from various spokespeople in the Government Press Office, IDF, Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry. This time it's different. Israel is prepared, quick, concise and – believe it or not – "media savvy." The Ministry of Public Diplomacy is coordinating an aggressive campaign under the banner, "Israel Under Fire." . ..................................... img code photo ... WHAT WOULD YOU DO ? media.aish.com/images/Deja-social.jpg ..................................... . The IDF has issued a series of successful viral campaigns, such as a Facebook graphic which depicts the Statue of Liberty and other international landmarks being swamped by missiles. The message: "What would you do?" After killing terror chieftain Jabari, the IDF immediately posted a YouTube video of the targeted strike. It has been viewed 4 million times, sending an important message to three different audiences: . ... A warning to militants in Gaza: "We can get you anywhere, anytime." ... An appeasing message to the Israeli public: "We will not remain helpless in the face of repeated rocket attacks." ... A reassurance to those concerned with collateral damage: "We can strike with utmost precision." . This is a genuine Social Media War. On the heels of the Jabari strike, IDF tweeted a direct warning to his Hamas comrades; Hamas then tweeted back its own threat: . ...................................... img code photo ... Tweet ... IDF - 14 Nov 12 ..... Alqassam Brigades - 14 Nov 12 media.aish.com/images/Deja-tweet.jpg ...................................... . Get involved. Follow the Israel Defense Forces at: Website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr. And most importantly: Share! . . ..... (3) Bias in the New York Times – what else is new? The New York Times has dark stains going all the way back to the Holocaust, when its gross under-reporting of events crippled efforts to generate public support for helping to save millions of Jews. Now in Gaza, the Times is playing loose with the facts. A Times editorial insists that Hamas "has mostly adhered to an informal cease-fire with Israel after the war there in the winter of 2008-09." Would someone please explain how that jives with the fact that Hamas launched 650 rocket attacks in 2011 and nearly 1,000 this year alone? Meanwhile, Times' correspondents Fares Akram and Isabel Kershner profess to be doubtful of events, saying that the Israeli military operation is "in response to what Israel called repeated rocket attacks." In the eyes of the Times, the launching of hundreds of rockets from Gaza is not a fact, but rather "what Israel called repeated rocket attacks." . The Times is also uncertain about the nature of Hamas, saying it is "regarded by Israel as a terrorist group sworn to Israel's destruction." . According to the Times, only Israel regards Hamas as a terrorist group. Why does the Times ignore that Hamas is also listed as a terrorist group by the European Union, United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and United Kingdom? As for the assertion that Hamas is "regarded by Israel as … sworn to Israel's destruction," is the Times somehow unaware of the Hamas Charter which cites the destruction of Israel as its primary objective? Does the Times not believe Hamas foreign minister Mahmoud Zahar when he declares: "Nobody among our sons and grandsons will accept Israel as a legal state... Israel is a foreign body. Not in this generation, not in the next generation, will we accept it here"? So far, we've at least been spared the fairy tales from the rocket barrage of four years ago when the Times published the Hamas claim that "We did not intentionally target civilians. We were targeting military bases, but the primitive weapons make mistakes." This calls to mind the words of Mark Twain: While there are laws to protect freedom of the press, there are unfortunately none to protect people from the press. . . ..... (4) The Pallywood industry of false claims. When it comes to civilians casualties, no one plays it like they do in Gaza. Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic notes how Hamas "prevents the burial, or even preparation of the bodies for burial, until the bodies are used as props in the Palestinian Passion Play. Once, in Khan Younis [Gaza], I actually saw gunmen unwrap a shrouded body, carry it a hundred yards and position it atop a pile of rubble – and then wait a half-hour until photographers showed. It was one of the more horrible things I've seen in my life. And it's typical of Hamas." Hamas has taken the initiative in promoting fake casualties. On Twitter, @AlqassamBrigade uploaded the photo of a "Palestinian child wounded in an Israeli air strike." Astute media monitors noted that in truth, the photo is of a child injured last month in the Syrian civil war. Meanwhile, AFP/Getty issued a photo of a Palestinian man picking up a doll lying on shattered glass. Was this scene genuine? It's possible. But with such a rare confluence of elements – the man's hand a split second from the pristine doll perfectly positioned in the rubble – logic rejects the likelihood that the photojournalist "just happened" to be down on the floor in perfect position at the precise moment. It's simply too good to be true. In a classic case of "fauxtography," BBC and others posted footage of a "badly injured" man being carried away to safety by five other men. Thirty seconds later the man is shown – miraculously – walking around, healthy as a lark. (See the clips here, and watch till 2:42.) In the meantime, Hamas has been desperately fabricating achievements: falsely claiming to have hit Israel's parliament in Jerusalem, to have struck down an Israeli drone, and to have killed several soldiers in a jeep. Click here to receive Aish.com's free weekly email. To be sure, as Hamas registers more losses in the military confrontation and thus becomes more desperate to win the media war, we can expect more attempts to orchestrate events. As Professor Richard Landes has predicted: . Whether by Israeli accident or Hamas engineering, expect a spectacular civilian massacre in the coming days, followed by an orgy of Pallywood photography, amplified by a compliant Western media, and even greater fury in the streets of the Muslim and Western world. It's in the Hamas playbook. . Four years ago, the U.N. school in Jabalya, Gaza provided fodder for an alleged massacre (later disproven). This time, expect Hamas to hang on just long enough to score those coveted PR points. After all, events in Gaza appear to be happening all over again. . . . . ............................................................................................................................................................................................. . .....item 2).... ORTHODOX UNION ... www.ou.org/life/food/recipes ... Enhancing Jewish Life Cobblers, Crisps and Crumbles By Eileen Goltz | Nov 29th, 2012 | www.ou.org/life/food/recipes/cobblers-crisps-crumbles-eil... Please note: Eileen Goltz is a freelance kosher food writer. The Orthodox Union makes no endorsements or representations regarding kashrut certification of various products/vendors referred to in her articles, blog or web site. There are lots of rivalries in the Torah. We have Moses/Pharaoh ("Let my people go"), Jacob/Esau ("Brother, can you spare a bowl of lentils?") and especially at this time of year with Chanukah and that whole Macabees/Greeks brouhaha. But I say, nah–that's child's play compared to what goes on in my kitchen when the cobbler comes up against the crisp and then winner faces off against anything chocolate. These fruit-based desserts are truly American in origin. Just to be clear, a cobbler is a deep-dish fruit dessert with a thick top crust (typically a biscuit dough). . ................................. img code photo ... Crisps and crumbles www.ou.org/life/files/iStock_000014396651XSmall-297x300.jpg ................................ . Crisps and crumbles are pretty much the same as a cobbler, only with a crumb topping. The combination for the topping is based on personal preference. You can mix and mingle shortening, flour, nuts, bread crumbs, cookie crumbs, graham cracker crumbs, or even crushed up breakfast cereal. And FYI–the crumble is just the English Isle's version of a crisp. As for which one of the following recipes is served after a plate full of latkes (potato pancakes), that's up to you. Hopefully, you have just enough time to whip one up before they finish a no-holds-barred game of dreidel (spinning tops). And if you need to substitute an apple for a pear for a peach, it's all good. . . ----- PICK-AND-MIX A CRISP (dairy or pareve) Servings: 6 – 8 Ingredients: ... 5 cups apples, pears, peaches, or apricots, peeled and sliced; or frozen unsweetened peach slices (don't drain the frozen fruit if using it) ... 2 to 4 tablespoons sugar ... 1/2 cup regular rolled oats ... 1/2 cup packed brown sugar ... 1/4 cup flour ... 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ginger or cinnamon (your choice) ... 1/4 cup butter or margarine ... 1/4 cup chopped nuts or coconut or a mixture of both Directions: Preheat oven to 375. Place your fruit of choice in ungreased 2-quart square baking dish. Sprinkle the sugar over the top and mix to combine. In a bowl combine the oats, brown sugar, flour and nutmeg, ginger, or cinnamon. Cut in butter or margarine until the mixture is combined and crumbly. Then add nuts and/or coconut and mix to combine. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until fruit is tender but not mushy and topping is golden brown and bubbly. Options for Pick-and-Mix: Make a double batch of the crunchy oatmeal topping mixture and store the extra in a freezer bag. Seal, label and freeze it for up to 1 month. Blueberry Crisp: For filling, mix 1/4 cup sugar with 3 tablespoons flour. Toss with 5 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened blueberries. Cherry Crisp: For filling, mix 1/2 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons flour with 5 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened pitted tart red cherries. Rhubarb Crisp: For filling, mix 3/4 cup sugar with 3 tablespoons flour. Add 5 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened sliced rhubarb. Modified and submitted by Rene Onella of San Francisco, CA. Original source unknown. . . ----- BLUEBERRY CORNMEAL COBBLER (dairy or pareve) Servings: 12 Directions: ... 4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (don't thaw if using frozen) ... 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar ... 1 tablespoon quick-cooking tapioca ... 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel ... 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ... 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg . >> Topping: . ... 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened, divided ... 1 cup powdered sugar ... 1 egg ... 1 cup flour ... 1/2 cup cornmeal ... 2 teaspoons baking powder ... 1/2 teaspoon baking soda ... 1/2 teaspoon salt ... 3/4 cup buttermilk or non-dairy substitute ... 2 tablespoons maple syrup (use the real stuff) Directions: Preheat oven to 375. Grease an 11 X7 baking dish and set it aside. In a large bowl, combine the blueberries, sugar, tapioca, lemon peel, cinnamon and nutmeg. Let stand for 15 minutes. Pour into the prepared pan. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup butter or margarine and powdered sugar. Add the egg and mix to combine. Add the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt to the creamed mixture alternately with the buttermilk or non-dairy substitute, mixing just until combined. Spoon the batter over berry mixture. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. In a small saucepan, melt remaining butter or margarine over low heat. Remove from the heat; stir in the syrup. Brush over corn bread. Broil 4-6 inches from the heat for 1-2 minutes or until bubbly. Serve warm. Modified from a recipe from Judy Watson of Tipton, IN; Taste of Home, 2012. . . ----- PEAR AND CRANBERRY COBBLER (dairy or pareve) Servings: 8 – 10 Ingredients: >> Filling: ... 2 pounds firm Bartlett pears, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch wedges ... 1 2/3 cups fresh cranberries (6 ounces) ... 1 cup sugar ... 2 (1- by 3-inch) strips orange zest, finely chopped ... 1/4 cup red wine ... 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice ... 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine, cut into bits . >> Biscuit topping: . ... 1 1/2 cups flour ... 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder ... rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt ... 1 cup heavy cream or non-dairy substitute, divided ... 1 teaspoon sugar Directions: Preheat oven to 425. Grease a 9X13 baking dish and set it aside. In a bowl combine the pears, cranberries, sugar, orange zest, red wine and allspice. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and dot the top with the butter or margarine. Cover dish tightly with foil and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until cranberries burst and pears are just tender, 15 to 20 minutes more. While filling is cooking, make biscuits: Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, then add 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons cream or non-dairy substitute and stir just until a dough forms. Gather dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly floured surface (dough will feel dense and heavy). Gently knead dough 6 times, then pat out into an 8-inch round (about 1/3-inch thick). Cut out as many rounds as possible with lightly floured cutter, transferring to a sheet of wax paper. Gather scraps and pat out once more, then cut out more rounds. You will have about 16 rounds. Carefully but quickly, top hot fruit with biscuits, arranging in 1 layer. Brush biscuits with remaining tablespoon cream or non-dairy substitute and sprinkle with sugar. Continue to bake cobbler until biscuits are puffed and golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool 15 minutes before serving. Epicurious, November 2011, from a recipe by Shelley Wiseman. . . ----- SWEET POTATO COBBLER (dairy or pareve) Ingredients: >> Filling: ... 2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes ... 1 quart water ... 3/4 cup corn syrup ... 1/2 cup packed brown sugar ... 1 teaspoon cinnamon ... 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice ... 1/4 teaspoon salt ... 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine ... 1 teaspoon vanilla . >> Biscuit dough: . ... 3 cups flour ... 4 teaspoons baking powder ... 3/4 teaspoon salt ... 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter or margarine, cut into 1/2-inch cubes ... 1 1/4 cups milk or non-dairy substitute Directions: Peel sweet potatoes, then halve lengthwise and slice crosswise 1/4-inch thick. Combine potatoes with remaining filling ingredients in a wide 4- to 5-quart pot and simmer, covered, until potatoes are almost tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer potatoes with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Boil remaining liquid, uncovered, until reduced to about 2 cups (it will become syrupy), 20 to 25 minutes. Make dough and bake cobbler: Preheat oven to 375. In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter or margarine until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in milk or non-dairy substitute with a fork until a dough forms. Gather dough into a ball, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead 7 or 8 times. Divide dough into 2 pieces, then form each into a disk. Roll out 1 disk with a floured rolling pin into a 14-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick) and fit into bottom and about halfway up the sides of Dutch oven, pressing against the sides to help it adhere. Roll out remaining dough into another 14-inch round, then trim to a 12-inch round with a paring knife, reserving trimmings. Spoon half of sweet potatoes evenly into dough-lined Dutch oven, then top with 1 layer dough trimmings, cutting and fitting trimmings to almost cover potatoes. Add remaining potatoes and pour syrup over potatoes. Cover potatoes with 12-inch dough round, pressing edges together to seal. Cut 3 steam vents in top with paring knife. Bake cobbler until top is golden, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool to warm before serving, about 30 minutes (dough will absorb most of syrup). Adapted from a Nathan Jean Whitaker Sanders recipe on epicurious.com. . . ----- MANGO CRISP (dairy) Servings: 8 Ingredients: ... 8 to 9 cups mangoes, sliced ... 1 teaspoon cinnamon ... 1 teaspoon nutmeg ... 1/3 cup butter ... 1 box pound cake mix ... 1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts ... whipped topping, whipped cream or ice cream Directions: Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl combine the mangoes, cinnamon and nutmeg then place them on the bottom of a 9X13 pan. Place the cake mix in a bowl and cut in the butter until it's crumbly. Add in the nuts and mix to combine. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit and then bake for 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and let set for 5 to 10 minutes before serving with whipped topping, whipped cream or ice cream. My files, source unknown. . . ----- RAISIN RHUBARB CRISP (dairy or pareve) Servings: 8 Ingredients: ... 5 cups sliced fresh or frozen rhubarb ... 2 tablespoons flour ... 1/2 cup raisins ... 1/2 cup golden raisins ... 3/4 to 1 cup brown sugar ... 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon ... 1/4 teaspoon salt ... 1/2 cup flour ... 1/3 cup quick-cooking oats ... 1/3 cup butter or margarine Directions: Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 9X9 baking pan and set it aside. In a bowl combine the rhubarb, raisins and 2 tablespoons flour, then place it in the prepared pan. Without cleaning out the bowl, add the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt; sprinkle it over the fruit. In the same bowl combine the oats, 1/2 cup flour and butter. Cut in the butter or margarine until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle this mixture over the top of the crisp. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes until the top is golden brown and bubbly. My files, source unknown. . Eileen Goltz is a freelance kosher food writer who was born and raised in the Chicago area. She graduated from Indiana University and the Cordon Bleu Cooking School in Paris. She lectures on various food-related topics across the U.S. and Canada and writes weekly columns for the Chicago Jewish News, kosher.com and the OU Shabbat Shalom Website. She is the author of the Perfectly Pareve Cookbook (Feldheim) and is a contributing writer for the Chicken Soup for the Soul Book Group, Chicago Sun Times, Detroit Free Press and Woman's World Magazine. You can visit Eileen's blog by clicking: Cuisine by Eileen. SHARE . . .............................................................................................................................................................................................. . .

GIMME SOME OF THAT GOOD 'OLE OBAMA DOUBLESPEAK man united transfer news today now
Image by SS&SS **IN REALITY FOLKS, HE'S SPENDING YOU, ME, EVERY AMERICAN MAN WOMAN AND CHILD INTO A FREEFALL SPIN OF BANKRUPTCY, DEBT, AND SECOND OR THIRD WORLD STANDARDS OF LIVING AND HE'S DOING IT RAPIDLY** AND THE U.S. DEBT CLOCK KEEPS RUNNING www.usdebtclock.org/ FACT CHECK: In Barack Obama's State of the Union Address he mentioned the word invest or investments 11 times at a rough count and in fairness a couple of those keywords were used in relation to other countries investments. The rest of those mentions were talk of spending more tax payer money when out debt is at trillion already. In fairness again, he did mention once in relation to investments the words "paid for". With that said, contradicting headlines today show one specific portion of the SOTU speech to be completely intellectually dishonest. We are living with a legacy of deficit-spending that began almost a decade ago. And in the wake of the financial crisis, some of that was necessary to keep credit flowing, save jobs, and put money in people's pockets. But now that the worst of the recession is over, we have to confront the fact that our government spends more than it takes in. That is not sustainable. Every day, families sacrifice to live within their means. They deserve a government that does the same. Let us start with the fact that over the last two years Barack Obama and a Democratically controlled House of Representatives and Democratically controlled Senate has raised our national debt from approximately .6 trillion to trillion. Make no mistake, Bush started Tarp and signed the initial bailouts, so he should take his fair share of the blame when it comes to spending like a drunken sailor and rasing out national debt. The 2009 Budget is on Bush and the Democratically controlled House and Senate, the 2010 Budget and the 2011 Budget are all on Obama. Obama has expanded the problem with massive spending on more bailouts, a trillion dollar healthcare law, a stimulus program, earmarks and countless other spending when we were already debt ridden and did not and do not have the money to spend, so Obama borrowed more, spent more and this has continued and still is continuing. Yet he says he wants to invest more aka spend more while out of the other side of his mouth he proposes a "freeze annual domestic spending for the next five years." Obama said and I quote "we have to confront the fact that our government spends more than it takes in. That is not sustainable. Every day, families sacrifice to live within their means. They deserve a government that does the same." Has that not been the point conservatives have been making over the last two years as Obama, Pelosi and Reid merrily went on a spending spree using American taxpayers as their own personal credit cards or atm machines? Obama also claimed "worst of the recession is over." Then I see today's headlines: Outside D.C., a grim housing market originally titled "Home prices fall in nearly all major cities, heightening fears of double dip." In that Wapo piece we see the following information. - housing prices, compared year-over-year, have declined nationally for six consecutive months. -nine major cities have dipped to new lows, the report shows. They are Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami, Portland, Ore., Seattle and Tampa. -On a year-over-year basis,the 20-city price index fell 1.6 percent in November. The next headline is from the Hill, with even more disturbing news: CBO: Deficit widened to .5 trillion this year The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office made it official on Wednesday morning: America's free fall into debt is accelerating. The budget deficit is now estimated to have widened this year to .5 trillion, the CBO said. That compares to a budget deficit of .3 trillion for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. The increase in the deficit would bring it to 9.8 percent of gross domestic product, the CBO said, following deficits of 10 percent and 8.9 percent during the previous two years. The CBO notes those are the largest deficit levels since the end of World War II. The CBO's projections assume that current laws remain unchanged. If the nation continues on its current path, the CBO said, the total national debt will rise from 40 percent of GDP in 2008 to 70 percent by the end of 2011, reaching 77 percent of GDP by 2021. You can see a summary at the CBO's Director's blog and you can see the entire report from the CBO, with graphs and explanations at the Congressional Budget Office's website. It is not pretty and it belies Obama's words completely. The Associated Press has also done some fact checking on Obama's speech and where I chose one small portion to start with, Calvin Woodard from the AP, delves into other aspects and comments by Obama during his SOTU address. FACT CHECK: Obama and his imbalanced ledger That article deals with Obama's statements on healthcare savings, earmarks, medical malpractice reform, high speed rail transportation, the recommendations by the bipartisan Fiscal Commission, Social Security,and Iran. After quoting each of Obama's statements from the SOTU address, the AP goes on to provide the facts instead of the Obama spin. Read the entire thing to see how Obama truly spoke out of both sides of his mouth on each topic listed above. I do not know what reality Barack Obama lives in, but it is not the same one that every day Americans live in, which is part of the reason the focus group came down so hard on him immediately after his speech. ==================================================================== ADDENDUM: (FOR YOU LIBERAL VIEWERS, something that is or has been added) **READ WHAT ONE ECONOMIST SAYS ARE THE REAL NUMBERS AND THE REAL STORY ** Neil Reynolds The scary actual U.S. government debt NEIL REYNOLDS OTTAWA— From Wednesday's Globe and Mail Economist Laurence Kotlikoff says U.S. government debt is not .5-trillion (U.S.), which is 60 per cent of current gross domestic product, as global investors and American taxpayers think, but rather 14-fold higher: 0-trillion – 840 per cent of current GDP. "Let's get real," Prof. Kotlikoff says. "The U.S. is bankrupt." Writing in the September issue of Finance and Development, a journal of the International Monetary Fund, Prof. Kotlikoff says the IMF itself has quietly confirmed that the U.S. is in terrible fiscal trouble – far worse than the Washington-based lender of last resort has previously acknowledged. "The U.S. fiscal gap is huge," the IMF asserted in a June report. "Closing the fiscal gap requires a permanent annual fiscal adjustment equal to about 14 per cent of U.S. GDP." This sum is equal to all current U.S. federal taxes combined. The consequences of the IMF's fiscal fix, a doubling of federal taxes in perpetuity, would be appalling – and possibly worse than appalling. Prof. Kotlikoff says: "The IMF is saying that, to close this fiscal gap [by taxation], would require an immediate and permanent doubling of our personal income taxes, our corporate taxes and all other federal taxes. "America's fiscal gap is enormous – so massive that closing it appears impossible without immediate and radical reforms to its health care, tax and Social Security systems – as well as military and other discretionary spending cuts." He cites earlier calculations by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that concluded that the United States would need to increase tax revenue by 12 percentage points of GDP to bring revenue into line with spending commitments. But the CBO calculations assumed that the growth of government programs (including Medicare) would be cut by one-third in the short term and by two-thirds in the long term. This assumption, Prof. Kotlikoff notes, is politically implausible – if not politically impossible. One way or another, the fiscal gap must be closed. If not, the country's spending will forever exceed its revenue growth, and no one's real debt can increase faster than his real income forever. Prof. Kotlikoff uses "fiscal gap," not the accumulation of deficits, to define public debt. The fiscal gap is the difference between a government's projected revenue (expressed in today's dollar value) and its projected spending (also expressed in today's dollar value). By this measure, the United States is in worse shape than Greece. Prof. Kotlikoff is a noted economist. He is a research associate at the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research. He is a former senior economist with then-president Ronald Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers. He has served as a consultant with governments around the world. He is the author (or co-author) of 14 books: Jimmy Stewart Is Dead (2010), his most recent book, explains his recommendations for reform. He says the U.S. cannot end its fiscal crisis by increasing taxes. He opposes further stimulus spending because it will simply increase the debt. But he does suggest reforms that would help – most of which would require a significant withering away of the state. He proposes that the government give every person an annual voucher for health care, provided that the total cost not exceed 10 per cent of GDP. (U.S. health care now consumes 16 per cent of GDP.) He suggests the replacement of all current federal taxes with a single consumption tax of 18 per cent. He calls for government-sponsored personal retirement accounts, with the government making contributions only for the poor, the unemployed and people with disabilities. Without drastic reform, Prof. Kotlikoff says, the only alternative would be a massive printing of money by the U.S. Treasury – and hyperinflation. As former president Bill Clinton once prematurely said, the era of big government is over. In the coming years, the U.S. will almost certainly be compelled to deconstruct its welfare state. Prof. Kotlikoff doesn't trust government accounting, or government regulation. The official vocabulary (deficit, debt, transfer payment, tax, borrowing), he says, is vulnerable to official manipulation and off-the-books deceit. He calls it "Enron accounting." He also calls it a lie. Here is an economist who speaks plainly, as the legendary straight-shooting film star Jimmy Stewart did for an earlier generation. But Prof. Kotlikoff's economic genre isn't the Western. It's the horror story – "and scarier," one reviewer of his book suggests, than Stephen King.

Saturday 29 June 2013

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