THE WORLD ECONOMY IS BROKEN. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

There are major signs that the world economy is grinding to a halt in a way that may echo a worldwide Wiemar Republic moment. For those not versed in history, the Wiemar Republic collapsed under the weight of brutal hyperinflation caused by the same tactics our leaders are doing today. That's right, the same crap that helped fuel two World Wars and a Great Depression is stomping us under their heel again. And some out there are all for it; those that have been deluded, the gullible and, of course, those that want it to happen. Make no doubt, there is some sort of contingency plan for when all of this goes belly up and the end result is another round of a Hitler-like populist that will rise from somewhere and enslave the lot of us. That is what always happens in history, it will happen again and we will be the DUMBEST idiots in the universe if we let it happen again.

We could fix everything easily, as I have discussed in previous posts. But our leaders don't want their gravy train ended and have given band aid remedies to a missing limb. We are hemorrhaging badly and the GOP and their followers are like lemmings over a cliff. Don't believe me? Ask yourself, which side of the aisle is constantly bitching about how high taxes are? If you said democrat, you're an idiot. Here the rub: according to every piece of data out there, the rich pay near nothing in taxes and corporations not only pay nothing, they get billions back in tax rebates. Here's a list:

General Electric
U.S. Profits: $10,460,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$4,737,000,000

PG&E Corp.
U.S. Profits: $4,855,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$1,027,000,000

Verizon Communications
U.S. Profits: $32,518,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$951,000,000

Wells Fargo
U.S. Profits: $49,370,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$681,000,000

American Electric Power
U.S. Profits: $5,899,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$545,000,000

Pepco Holdings
U.S. Profits: $882,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$508,000,000

Computer Sciences
U.S. Profits: $1,666,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$305,000,000

CenterPoint Energy
U.S. Profits: $1,931,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$284,000,000

NiSource
U.S. Profits: $1,385,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$227,000,000

Duke Energy
U.S. Profits: $5,475,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$216,000,000

Boeing
U.S. Profits: $9,735,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$178,000,000

NextEra Energy
U.S. Profits: $6,403,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$139,000,000

Consolidated Edison
U.S. Profits: $4,263,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$127,000,000

Paccar
U.S. Profits: $365,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$112,000,000

Integrys Energy Group
U.S. Profits: $818,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$92,000,000

Wisconsin Energy
U.S. Profits: $1,725,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$85,000,000

DuPont
U.S. Profits: $2,124,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$72,000,000

Baxter International
U.S. Profits: $926,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$66,000,000

Tenet Healthcare
U.S. Profits: $415,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$48,000,000

Ryder System
U.S. Profits: $627,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$46,000,000

El Paso
U.S. Profits: $4,105,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$41,000,000

Honeywell International
U.S. Profits: $4,903,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$34,000,000

CMS Energy
U.S. Profits: $1,292,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$29,000,000

Con-­way
U.S. Profits: $286,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$26,000,000

Navistar International
U.S. Profits: $896,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$18,000,000

DTE Energy
U.S. Profits: $2,551,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$17,000,000

Interpublic Group
U.S. Profits: $571,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$15,000,000

Mattel
U.S. Profits: $1,020,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$9,000,000

Corning
U.S. Profits: $1,977,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$4,000,000

FedEx
U.S. Profits: $4,247,000,000
Taxes Paid: $37,000,000 (a rate of less than 1%)

Total
U.S. Profits: $163,691,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$10,602,000,000

That's right, not one of the above companies paid that so called 35% tax rate that exists only in GOP Congressland, although to be fair, Obama and some democrats also complain that the corporate tax rate is too high as well. Only Fed Ex paid any tax at all and it was a measly less than one percent of their profit. And we wonder why we are broke.

Because of offshore accounts, no tax is paid on most of a multi-national corporation's earnings. If you or I tried that, we'd go to jail. They get praised and sit at the right hand of power. The ultra wealthy have echoed this practice and have hoarded an estimated $30 trillion in stolen funds, with some guesses as high as $300 trillion. Imagine if that money wasn't being stolen from the taxpayers and being used to better all of our lives, not just a chosen few.

However this level of greed is unsustainable and we face two frightening realities: either we will see a total collapse of government and anarchy for the foreseeable future or the rise of a world despot that will usher in a new level of control. Either way it sucks.

The income tax needs to be abolished at this point and a new way of funding government used because this nonsense will bankrupt us any day now. Our tax code is byzantine in method. Our IRS goes after those that cannot defend themselves (like me) and bleed them dry while the powerful go unchecked.

The world is now in recession as seen from the website Investment Watch.

http://investmentwatchblog.com/global-economic-collapse-in-process-billionaires-continue-to-dump-u-s-stocks-traders-are-betting-against-u-s-economy-hedge-funds-preparing-for-market-sell-off-and-they-start-betting-against-curr/

With the disappointing initial GDP releases for Q42012 from Europe out, the “world” as defined by 41 OECD countries across the globe, has plunged into recession. We define “recession” through two alternative definitions for our comparison, either the presence of a single negative quarter-on-quarter growth or the more traditional two consecutive negative quarterly growths. Whichever way you look at it, the number of countries in expansion plunged dramatically between 3Q2013 and 4Q2012.

Now this is a diffusion index, with each country receiving equal weightings, and so it appears that 60% seems to be a viable threshold for the definition of “global recession” using the single-quarter definition (black) and 70% is probably the appropriate threshold for the 2-quarter definition (blue).

With many investors getting out of the stock market, a currency war, rising gas prices and plunging consumer confidence, things look bleak. Considering that many places are in a depression like the US, Greece, Italy and Spain (as confirmed again by reading the actual numbers and not government propaganda), the fact that the rest of the world is back in recession is troubling. Austerity measures are making things worse and that's all the GOP wants to do is cut our way to prosperity, which is impossible. We need to spend more where it is necessary and cut worthless crap like a good portion of the military budget. Yes, people will became unemployed and the numbers will rise past what you can hide but sometimes that is a necessity to get where you are going. Sacrifice has to come from all, not just the few you don't like.

The US economy is dying as even the government's cooked numbers say we shrank by .1% last quarter, a number that is most likely much higher. This is with QE infinity and non existant interest rates in effect which are doing nothing as the only way to actually stimulate the economy is put lots of people to work for a good pay. We have gone the other way.

There are plenty of signs that the derivative bubble may be about to burst and when it does, the world economy will explode with it. All bubbles burst. When this one goes, as it has over a quadrillion in loss exposure, it will wipe out all currencies and lead to rampant hyperinflation and societal collapse. After that, who knows. Stop being a part of this and demand our politicians to start acting like adults and FIX the problem. Or, be a Tea Party member deciding that riding manatees is more important than animal rights. That is a real issue in Florida. We are so screwed.

NORTH KOREA, THE POPE, THE WORLD ECONOMY AND OTHER THINGS CIRCLING THE DRAIN

You've got to give to North Korea and Kim Jung Un, when they screw up they do it Gangnum Style. Just after an ill advised nuke test this past week, a North Korean diplomat had this to say during a disarmament meeting at the UN:

"As the saying goes, a new-born puppy knows no fear of a tiger. South Korea's erratic behavior would only herald its final destruction," North Korean diplomat Jon Yong Ryong retorted.

Iran would be proud as it sounds a lot like something they would issue against Israel. Not surprisingly, the reaction was belligerent at best. South Korea threatened military action if they so much as even thought North Korea was going to strike and UN delegates called it one of the most shocking signs of aggression in decades by a rouge nation against a UN member. For a country that is starving and falling apart, blindly lashing out at people that can literally kill you in the blink of an eye is not the wisest maneuver. This region is destabilizing quick. Imagine what the Middle East will be like if we let Iran get nukes.

China is allegedly moving troops and heavy armor to the coastline, perhaps for a war game, perhaps for an attack on Japan over the disputed islands that are strategic for control purposes only. Japan is on high alert over both the Chinese aggression over territory and the North Korean nonsense. This is one of the reasons why everything right now is so fragile.

The Pope's resignation is starting to look more and more suspicious. While the ITCCS claim is still unverifiable, another group working with them has confirmed that they were indeed seeking an arrest warrant against the Pope for crimes against humanity. This is from the Telegraph, a UK paper.

The Centre for Constitutional Rights, a New York-based non-profit legal group, requested an ICC inquiry on behalf of the Survivors Network, arguing that the global church has maintained a "long-standing and pervasive system of sexual violence" despite promises to swiftly oust predators.

The Vatican said it had no immediate comment on the complaint.

The complaint names Pope Benedict XVI, partly in his former role as leader of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which in 2001 explicitly gained responsibility for overseeing abuse cases; Cardinal William Levada, who now leads that office; Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican secretary of state under Pope John Paul II; and Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who now holds that post.

Lawyers for the victims say rape, sexual violence and torture are considered a crime against humanity as described in the international treaty that spells out the court's mandate. The complaint also accuses Vatican officials of creating policies that perpetuated the damage, constituting an attack against a civilian population.

Barbara Blaine, president of the US-based Survivors Network of those Abused by priests, said going to the court was a last resort.

Now once again, like the ITCCS, they had no real power to arrest anyone and even filing the complaint was unlikely to bring about action as the International Criminal Court has received over 9000 requests since 2002 and no investigation has ever been brought against a world leader, let alone the Pope. The Vatican is, of course, vigorously fighting the charges. Regardless, it does seem likely that the Pope may have been given the heave ho as Papal Infallibility would be destroyed if this ever did go to court and with it, part of Christianity. This story is not going away any time soon.

Adam Lanza's motive was revealed this week was really didn't matter as he WAS INSANE. His motive is irrelevant. By the way, supposedly he was influenced by the Norway shooter who he wanted to beat his death toll. He could just as easily focused his lunacy on Martha Stewart who told him to do bad things when he watched the show while masturbating into a jar of peanut butter. The guy was a raving loon. We don't really need more than that.

While all this is occurring, the economic news is getting bleaker and bleaker. Sales are WAY down, WalMart had it's worst quarter in a decade, big box stores are closing left and right and even Internet sales are down. Meanwhile, gas is rising by the hour, Republicans still want to give us even less because Europe is doing so well right now with the same plan, and people are getting paid less and less.

The world economy contracted for the second straight quarter meaning, by the very definition of the word, we are now in an a official world recession. I know technically, this country has been in a mild depression for years but the rest of the world is now sinking right with us and Europe. A currency war has started with Japan and the US seeing who can outprint the other. Don't forget that this country entered into QE infinity last year and have been printing money in a doomed effort to bring down unemployment and to stimulate the economy. This week in a future column,  I will show the numbers for many major companies and how much they paid in taxes. It's not even zero as we gave all of them back billions in tax rebates while collecting nothing. And we wonder why we are broke.

Many are seeing the gold and silver market being artificially held in check which I already explained in a previous post (they use the derivative market to offset gains or loses for precious metals that don't exist except on paper). Sooner or later, these markets may explode for anyone holding physical gold as the paper contracts won't be worth anything when the fraud gets revealed to the public.

The world's economy hangs on a thread and no one cares. We are doing the exact some crap that got us into the mess in the first place and have done absolutely nothing to correct it. Bad things may happen so. Be prepared.

DOUCHEBAG OF THE WEEK: OSCAR PISTORIUS

The old adage of "the higher you rise, the bigger you fall," comes to mind with the murder charges being filed against Oscar Pistorius, the South African Olympic runner, nicknamed Blade Runner. Let's see those runner ups.

1)LAPD- Chris Dorner finally reached the end of his rope this week when he was cornered in a cabin in Big Bear, California and shot himself before the flames did. Dorner wasn't as well prepared as I would have thought and basically trapped himself. Why did he not have an escape plan from Big Bear after torching his car? Why stay in an area swarming with cops? We will probably never know. What is a bigger question is why the LAPD was recorded by news media as saying "burn that motherfucker down," while in a fire fight with Dorner, and then after the cabin actually burns down, deny that was ever a possibility? Tear gas was blamed initially, meaning it was Waco all over again. You'd think over the last few decades someone would have invented a tear gas that doesn't explode and cause fires. It has also come out that the judge who upheld Dorner's firing is one corrupt bastard with LAPD ties. I still find it odd that he was fired for this while others who do far worse get a slap on the wrist.

2)British Airways- Usually it's some drunken passenger that causes problems, but recently it was flight crew that got drunk and rowdy. During a flight, the first class crew started popping champagne and groping each other. For the people who paid $7500 for a seat, they were understandably pissed as they tried to sleep and had a raucous party going on instead. After a supervisor shut down their booze drinking, they continued to fall all over themselves, and other passengers, while behaving, and I quote, "like spoiled brats." Wow. Last month, an off duty BA pilot was suspended for a second time for molesting a female passenger. Shouldn't he have been fired?

3)NYPD- Yes, the other coast has their share of problems too as a NYPD officer who brutally raped a schoolteacher has been found not guilty, despite eyewitness testimony, DNA and a host of other forensic evidence. WTF? Apparently, NY law says that anal and oral rape are not actually rape but "sexual assault," and the officer was over charged leading to a not guilty verdict on those charges. Must be nice to be behind South Dakota and Kentucky in rape laws. Luckily, he was convicted of sexual assault and rape for two other attacks for which he has received 75 years. Good. I hate rapists and especially rapist cops. Hope he likes prison.

4)CNN- Usually, it's Fox News with some absolutely stupid story that defies logic. This week, it's CNN with the dumbest news caster ever. While interviewing Bill Nye about the approaching asteroid that will pass very close to the planet, and may have been responsible for the meteor strike in Russia yesterday, CNN news anchor, Deb Feyeric asked whether the approaching meteor may have been a result of global warming. Are you kidding me? I expect that kind of question from Gretchen Carlson or Steve Doucey not CNN. Bill Nye was understandable stunned by such a stupid question which he of course he responded, "No."

5)ITCCS- If you've never heard of this group until this week, join the crowd. This European based organization is fighting against child porn and molestation by Church and State individuals, a noble cause. However, this week, they took credit for the Pope resignation by saying they were about to arrest the him for crimes against humanity. This story took off across the Internet with many seeing it as fact. However, when looking into it, I find they have no actual power for any arrest, other than a citizen's one, which really doesn't exist except in some lunatics head. If you try to arrest someone, chances are good you yourself will get charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment and a host of other charges. This story is bull and is being used to take credit for something they had no actual input in. Kind of like terrorists who do the same thing. And people, just cause you read it on the Internet, doesn't make it true.

6)North Korea- This week saw them fire off their third nuke test and world wide condemnation. This is what nuclear proliferating accomplishes for all those that say "what's the worst that could happen if Iran gets nukes?" If you think raving loons getting hold of nukes are a good idea and also rally for complete gun control, you are one deranged lunatic yourself. The world is a dangerous place and this kind of activity could lead to the extinction of mankind. Iran cannot be allowed to get nuclear weapons even if we have to go to war to do it. The alternative, as seen in North Korea, is a nuclear war.

7)China- Speaking of war, China is moving troops and tanks to coastal regions, sparking concern that they are readying themselves for an attack on Japan over those idiotic disputed islands. Japan is already on high alert because of the North Korea flare up and have hinted that a pre-emptive strike is possible to protect themselves. This could also be causing part of the troop build up in China as well. This is shaping up to be a very bad year.

8)Marco Rubio- Making the rebuttal speech of Bobby Jindal look classy in retrospect, Rubio did real harm to his chances for higher office by appearing after the Obama State of the Union address as a sweaty, pasty monkey who couldn't go five minutes without a drink of water. It didn't help that everything he said was GOP boilerplate nonsense that the voters rejected soundly last election. They haven't changed a bit which is too bad because the rest of the country has.

9)Republicans- Again playing politics, the nominations for  Chuck Hegel has been held up for Secretary of Defense as idiots like Lindsey Graham play politics instead of actually doing his fucking job. Comments on gay rights and Israel have come back to haunt him even though he apologized for the first from fifteen years ago and the latter was only a slight against Israel if you make it that way. They are still grandstanding on the sequester, the budget, and any other nitpicky thing they can. Christ, I hate the GOP.

10)Democrats- Yes, even the democrats get a slam this week as we have several states or individuals who are desperately trying to prove every gun owner out there that they really are coming for your guns. Obama ended his speech on a populist note of demanding a vote on gun control, some of which is good (Background checks for all), and not so good (banning "assault" rifles). Dianne Fienstein is still trying to get her "let's make 90% of guns illegal for law abiding citizens" bill to a vote. The most frightening and dangerous was the democratic Missouri politicians who are trying to pass a bill that would make owning certain guns illegal and subject to confiscation or arrest. Good luck with that. I hope you have a good supply of body bags when your cops come to get those guns because the words "armed insurrection" come to mind. This kind of crap plays right into the GOP hands and gives them a serious wedge issue for the next election and beyond. Stop pandering already and fix what needs to be fixed, like ending the drug war, rather than going after law abiding citizens.

11)Oscar Pistorius- The famed athlete, known as Blade Runner, as he has no legs is no being charged with the murder of his model girlfriend. This has bi-op picture written all over it. Man beats odds to get to the Olympics and blows it all by shooting his girlfriend. Recent reports say he shot her four times through a bathroom door, meaning the poor girl had no idea what was even coming. Local police have reported going to the residence several times for domestic issues, which is hardly a surprise. It makes me happy that my girlfriend and I hardly ever fight and certainly have never had the police arrive. I also know she would never shoot me through the bathroom door. What a way to through away a career. So congratulation Oscar you are indeed douchebag of the week.

A REVIEW OF THE STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS AND THE GOP RESPONSE

Yes it's that time of the year for the State of the Union Address, otherwise known as the sham political speech containing platitudes that will never materialize into reality. This is not just something Obama invented but has been with us as long as I have been alive. I never watch the speech as I find the whole thing stupid and prefer to read the whole address later. The left will prattle on about their vision for the future which will in no way actually look anything like they will actually accomplish. The right will bitch about everything and make sure nothing gets accomplished. Ahhhh, democracy in a world filled with idiots is sure something ain't it? Let's see what was said by all sides

Obama, in the first few paragraphs talked about the "recovery" in the country, a recovery that isn't really happening. He touted the creation of six million jobs, almost all of which are low paying, no benefit ones that don't help anyone to get out of the mess we are in. So far, this speech is everything I expected. Here's some excerpts from the speech:

Tonight, thanks to the grit and determination of the American people, there is much progress to report. After a decade of grinding war, our brave men and women in uniform are coming home. After years of grueling recession, our businesses have created over six million new jobs. We buy more American cars than we have in five years, and less foreign oil than we have in twenty. Our housing market is healing, our stock market is rebounding, and consumers, patients, and homeowners enjoy stronger protections than ever before. 

Our housing market is not much better than four years ago with few buying houses to live in rather than flip. The old wars are ending but new ones are just a heartbeat away. We are buying more cars and our addiction to foreign oil is lower. The stock market is rebounding only due to market interference and not genuine recovery. Homeowners are still getting screwed on a daily basis so that statement is an outright lie.
   

Together, we have cleared away the rubble of crisis, and can say with renewed confidence that the state of our union is stronger.

 

Yeah right.

       

But we gather here knowing that there are millions of Americans whose hard work and dedication have not yet been rewarded. Our economy is adding jobs – but too many people still can’t find full-time employment. Corporate profits have rocketed to all-time highs – but for more than a decade, wages and incomes have barely budged.       

 

It's been forty years not ten, dumbass. That's a lot more than a decade.

 

It is our generation’s task, then, to reignite the true engine of America’s economic growth – a rising, thriving middle class.

 

Which is all but gone now.

 

On Medicare, I’m prepared to enact reforms that will achieve the same amount of health care savings by the beginning of the next decade as the reforms proposed by the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles commission. Already, the Affordable Care Act is helping to slow the growth of health care costs. The reforms I’m proposing go even further. We’ll reduce taxpayer subsidies to prescription drug companies and ask more from the wealthiest seniors. We’ll bring down costs by changing the way our government pays for Medicare, because our medical bills shouldn’t be based on the number of tests ordered or days spent in the hospital – they should be based on the quality of care that our seniors receive. And I am open to additional reforms from both parties, so long as they don’t violate the guarantee of a secure retirement. Our government shouldn’t make promises we cannot keep – but we must keep the promises we’ve already made.

 

I'm all for this except for raising the eligibility age as this will further destabilize the program by eliminating healthier, younger seniors from the risk pool and thereby raising rates.

 

After years of talking about it, we are finally poised to control our own energy future. We produce more oil at home than we have in 15 years. We have doubled the distance our cars will go on a gallon of gas, and the amount of renewable energy we generate from sources like wind and solar – with tens of thousands of good, American jobs to show for it. We produce more natural gas than ever before – and nearly everyone’s energy bill is lower because of it. And over the last four years, our emissions of the dangerous carbon pollution that threatens our planet have actually fallen.

I am all for renewable energy which we should be spending a lot more on development. The main reason we have more natural gas is because of fracking which may be dangerous in it's own right.

 

But for the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change. Yes, it’s true that no single event makes a trend. But the fact is, the 12 hottest years on record have all come in the last 15. Heat waves, droughts, wildfires, and floods – all are now more frequent and intense. We can choose to believe that Superstorm Sandy, and the most severe drought in decades, and the worst wildfires some states have ever seen were all just a freak coincidence. Or we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science – and act before it’s too late.

 

According to people like George Will and other other climate change deniers, the last decade has not been the warmest on record so we can't even decide when numbers are correct. "Are you sure that's a seven and not some upside down four?" asks every climate change denier idiot. There is no doubt the world is getting warmer at this point and any person who is saying otherwise is really no better than the fools who deny the Holocaust or the Moon landing.

Tonight, I propose a “Fix-It-First” program to put people to work as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs, like the nearly 70,000 structurally deficient bridges across the country. And to make sure taxpayers don’t shoulder the whole burden, I’m also proposing a Partnership to Rebuild America that attracts private capital to upgrade what our businesses need most: modern ports to move our goods; modern pipelines to withstand a storm; modern schools worthy of our children. Let’s prove that there is no better place to do business than the United States of America. And let’s start right away.

 

There are HOW MANY BRIDGES READY TO COLLAPSE? Holy crap! Do you know why we haven't fixed any of this yet, by the way? Because the Tea Party morons don't want to spend money "we don't have" to fix anything but would rather pay down the debt first. Incredible. Obama has tried to get money for these programs but the GOP, and particularly the Tea Party, want no part of it. If another bridge goes down remember that next time you vote.

 

Part of our rebuilding must also involve our housing sector. Today, our housing market is finally healing from the collapse of 2007. Home prices are rising at the fastest pace in six years, home purchases are up nearly 50 percent, and construction is expanding again.

 

This is an outright lie. Home prices are rising slightly, in some markets like DC, but are still in freefall in places like Detroit and Las Vegas. Purchases are up because no money loans are back which the rich are using to buy houses to flip or rent. Sooner, rather than later, this will have the same ripple effect as 2008. A crash appears to be imminent if this kind of stuff is still going on.

Real reform means establishing a responsible pathway to earned citizenship – a path that includes passing a background check, paying taxes and a meaningful penalty, learning English, and going to the back of the line behind the folks trying to come here legally.

 

And real reform means fixing the legal immigration system to cut waiting periods, reduce bureaucracy, and attract the highly-skilled entrepreneurs and engineers that will help create jobs and grow our economy.

 

In other words, an immigration plan that has no real hope of success as the GOP will gut anything meaningful from it. They like the idea of people with PHD's staying, the rest can starve as far as they are concerned.

But we can’t stop there. We know our economy is stronger when our wives, mothers, and daughters can live their lives free from discrimination in the workplace, and free from the fear of domestic violence. Today, the Senate passed the Violence Against Women Act that Joe Biden originally wrote almost 20 years ago. I urge the House to do the same. And I ask this Congress to declare that women should earn a living equal to their efforts, and finally pass the Paycheck Fairness Act this year.

 

The House is currently holding up the VAW Act for partisan reasons, causing Eric Cantor a headache as women are calling his office non stop to complain. Good.

 

We know our economy is stronger when we reward an honest day’s work with honest wages. But today, a full-time worker making the minimum wage earns $14,500 a year. Even with the tax relief we’ve put in place, a family with two kids that earns the minimum wage still lives below the poverty line. That’s wrong. That’s why, since the last time this Congress raised the minimum wage, nineteen states have chosen to bump theirs even higher.

 

Tonight, let’s declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty, and raise the federal minimum wage to $9.00 an hour. This single step would raise the incomes of millions of working families. It could mean the difference between groceries or the food bank; rent or eviction; scraping by or finally getting ahead. For businesses across the country, it would mean customers with more money in their pockets. In fact, working folks shouldn’t have to wait year after year for the minimum wage to go up while CEO pay has never been higher. So here’s an idea that Governor Romney and I actually agreed on last year: let’s tie the minimum wage to the cost of living, so that it finally becomes a wage you can live on.

 

If we actually tie the rate to the cost of living, the minimum wage would be at least $12 an hour not nine but it's a step in the right direction. And contrary to everyone out there who has no idea how economics work, yes less people may be hired initially, but as more people have more money, they spend more which creates jobs, not tax breaks. In the end we all win, except for the uber rich who may make a token bit less. Boo Hoo.

It has been two months since Newtown. I know this is not the first time this country has debated how to reduce gun violence. But this time is different. Overwhelming majorities of Americans – Americans who believe in the 2nd Amendment – have come together around commonsense reform – like background checks that will make it harder for criminals to get their hands on a gun. Senators of both parties are working together on tough new laws to prevent anyone from buying guns for resale to criminals. Police chiefs are asking our help to get weapons of war and massive ammunition magazines off our streets, because they are tired of being outgunned.

 

Other than the last statement, I agree with him for the most part. So not a bad speech but not earth shattering either. So how did the GOP do? Think what would happen if the Titanic hit the Hindenburg which cartwheeled into the World Trade Center. It was that bad.

Last time it was Bobby Jindal coming across as an Indian Howdy Doody and sank any hope for higher office for a while. Now comes Marco Rubio and the Gulp heard around the world. My God, I haven't seen someone sweat so bad on camera since the Nixon/ Kennedy debate. Was the air conditioning off? Rubio sweated hard, constantly smacked his dry lips and even had to lunge off camera briefly for some water which made Polar Springs very happy. It was a dreadful looking performance. What about his speech, you ask? Just as bad if not worse. Here it is for your viewing:

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/transcript-marco-rubios-state-union-response/story?id=18484413

 

Here are some parts of the speech:

 

Presidents in both parties – from John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan – have known that our free enterprise economy is the source of our middle class prosperity.

 

But President Obama? He believes it's the cause of our problems. That the economic downturn happened because our government didn't tax enough, spend enough and control enough. And, therefore, as you heard tonight, his solution to virtually every problem we face is for Washington to tax more, borrow more and spend more.

This idea – that our problems were caused by a government that was too small – it's just not true. In fact, a major cause of our recent downturn was a housing crisis created by reckless government policies.

None of that is true. The crisis was not caused by Fannie and Freddie, but by banks repackaging sub prime loans and passing them off as AAA rated. That is what killed us. The GOP says otherwise, against all the facts as usual. Obama's plan is actually one that could work, while the Republicans seem determined to follow Europe into the abyss with austerity measures that we know do not work.

For example, Obamacare was supposed to help middle class Americans afford health insurance. But now, some people are losing the health insurance they were happy with. And because Obamacare created expensive requirements for companies with more than 50 employees, now many of these businesses aren't hiring. Not only that; they're being forced to lay people off and switch from full-time employees to part-time workers.

Obamacare is deeply flawed but only in that it didn't go far enough. If it had been done like it had here in MA, things would much better. By the way, my health care premium did not go up one penny this year. How many out there can say that? And as for the layoffs, companies have been moving people to part time, as it's cheaper, for more than a decade now and are using Obamacare as the scapegoat.

One of the best ways to encourage growth is through our energy industry. Of course solar and wind energy should be a part of our energy portfolio. But God also blessed America with abundant coal, oil and natural gas. Instead of wasting more taxpayer money on so-called "clean energy" companies like Solyndra, let's open up more federal lands for safe and responsible exploration. And let's reform our energy regulations so that they're reasonable and based on common sense. If we can grow our energy industry, it will make us energy independent, it will create middle class jobs and it will help bring manufacturing back from places like China.

Yeah because every company ever always succeeds, doesn't it Marco? No one ever goes bankrupt? It is not a waste to invest in new ideas, some of which will fail. We've been doing since the beginning of time and it's called progress. Grow up.

And we agree with the President that we should lower our corporate tax rate, which is one of the highest in the world, so that companies will start bringing their money and their jobs back here from overseas.

Yeah because 0 isn't low enough apparently.

Every dollar our government borrows is money that isn't being invested to create jobs. And the uncertainty created by the debt is one reason why many businesses aren't hiring.

The President loves to blame the debt on President Bush. But President Obama created more debt in four years than his predecessor did in eight.

The real cause of our debt is that our government has been spending 1 trillion dollars more than it takes in every year. That's why we need a balanced budget amendment.

More GOP nonsense, none of which is true. And a balanced budget amendment would bankrupt this country, idiot. The USA is not a business or a home. Stop treating it like those.

Republicans have offered a detailed and credible plan that helps save Medicare without hurting today's retirees. Instead of playing politics with Medicare, when is the President going to offer his plan to save it? Tonight would have been a good time for him to do it.

Excuse me while I laugh hysterically at that. The Paul Ryan Plan for Medicare would destroy it and was voted for by every single member of the House and most of the Senate who are also Republican. Oh and it was hated by everyone who actually read it.

We don't have to raise taxes to avoid the President's devastating cuts to our military. Republicans have passed a plan that replaces these cuts with responsible spending reforms.

A plan with austerity measures only. These guys know they did lose the last election right?

The GOP has not changed their message one iota. This dinosaur of a party has little life in it and is only be kept alive at all by old, white fuckwads who should just die already and get it over with it. You're literally killing the rest of us.

So there it is. I know Paul Rand gave the Tea Party response, which is odd as Rubio is a Tea Party member as well. Anyway, I do not care what the man had to say as it will just be more of the same crap that Rubio vomited forth, an action I am surprised didn't actually happen. We are headed for a cliff and these guys are the only ones who stand between us and it. God help us all.

THE POPE, THE LAPD, THE GRAMMY'S AND OTHER THINGS THAT SUCK

Last night the Grammy's aired which had some great moments (the Bob Marley Tribute, Clarkson and Underwood with solid performances, and The Black Keys with Dr. John), dull moments (some of the telecast was dreadful) and the just awful (LL Cool J was a terrible host, some of the bands performing were just as bad). The worst moment was the ending which, instead of some star studded spectacular with great people gathered, was LL Cool J desperately trying to recapture his youth by signing very poorly to songs nobody has ever heard of. Really, you couldn't do Mama's Gonna Knock You Out? By the way, much like Timberlake, your new stuff sucks. Also, at your age, it's real hard to pull off the cool rapper image without looking like someone's dad boogieing down to music from the eighties. And he licked his lips a record 28 times during the telecast which makes me think he is part lizard. Some critics really liked it, meaning that A.O. Scott must be busy in other venues as well because that performances SUCKED. It was embarrassing. Half the people out there at the end belong to the AARP, and I have feeling, nobody knew who most of them were.

Then came this news today that Pope Joey Ratz, aka Benedict 17th, was stepping down due to "health reasons." I put that in quotes because I find it ironic that the documentary, Mea Maxima Culpa, just aired, which proved that the current Pope knew much more about the pedo scandals than he had previously admitted as he was the guy in charge of all allegations. All charges world wide landed on his desk only. Interviews given since then have shown a man denying any allegations that he had foreknowledge of these scandals, which is odd as he WAS THE FUCKING GUY IN CHARGE! So much for papal infallibility and for that reason alone, he may have been instructed to leave. At least they didn't kill him like some popes.

According to the prophecies of St. Malachi, the next pope will take the name Peter 2, a name not used since the first pope. It will also start the end of the world as this is the final pope on the list, at least according to Malachi. There is some debate as to whether the last entry is even from St. Malachi and, while his prophecies over the centuries have all come true, there is the distinct possibility that all of them were self fulfilling as every pope elected would know about the list before hand and could make sure the prophecy fit them before taking office. We all know that for the most part, prophecies never come true. We all witnessed the Mayan one eat it just a few months back.

Talk of who the successor is already in the air including a Hispanic or Black pope which is not out of the questions as those are the only areas where Christianity is growing. In Ireland, which once had a 96% Catholicism rate and huge Church attendance has dropped dramatically and Church attendance is down to 4% capacity in many places. That is a free fall, almost all of it fallout from the pedo scandals that ripped through Europe recently. Much like the US, Europe watched their faith fall apart and now most are left with nothing. Way to go Vatican. If the next Pope can't make any headway in updating the clergy, they will not be around much longer and St. Malachi may be right about this being the final pope.

The LAPD shot up another truck wounding the white driver who in no way, shape or form, looked like alleged cop killed Chris Dorner nor was the truck he was driving the right make or color. The other incident yesterday, which contained two Hispanic women not Asian as had been reported, shows that the cops sprayed ammo everywhere, including nearby houses and trees. This reminds me of the NYC case where cops fired wildly into a crowd of people injuring eight. Crack shots these guys aren't which makes me nervous as many are ex-military.

Recently I read Dorner's manifesto which paints a very different picture from what the LAPD is telling us. His work is intelligent, thoughtful and not deranged. I've read many manifestos from many psychos and trust me, a lot of them go off the rails in the first sentence. This was not the case. He describes a culture of racism within the ranks where blacks hate the Hispanics and whites, Hispanics hate the blacks, whites hate everyone, the lesbians hate men and the Asians try not to get involved. Sounds like everywhere. He also spells out corruption charges and seems to be telling the truth. Because of this fact, the LAPD has decided to reopen the case but I expect them not to find out anything they will be telling the public anytime soon. An independent investigation is needed and stat. I, and apparently many others, don't trust the LAPD or police in general. Dorner is coming across as a hero while the LAPD is looking worse by the minute.

It has also turned out that the officer he accused of assault has a history of brutality charges including one by an elderly woman. She sounds like a peach. There is currently a 1 million dollar award for his capture but, from all looks, they intend to kill this guy on sight. He so far has led them on a false trail to San Diego and Big Bear and I am shocked he hasn't struck again. That will probably change at any minute as this guy appears to have every right to be pissed at the people who destroyed his life. He recently called the police captain to taunt him about the death of his daughter. That is some cold shit. This guy is going to strike again, which for once, civilians don't have to worry. If you are a cop though, you better sleep in your bullet proof vest.

DOUCHEBAG OF THE WEEK: CLIMATE CHANGE DENIERS

Another stellar week for the traditional losers on this posting with a few new wrinkles to make it interesting. Let's see those runner ups,

1)Bill O'Reilly- It's bad enough that this blowhard has two best selling books about historical figures (Lincoln and Kennedy), but to label them non fiction is a stretch at best. His earliest one, Killing Lincoln, is being made into a movie that I am sure will rival Spielberg's in all areas (insert heavy sarcasm here). His Kennedy book is a travesty of a novel ignoring facts that don't fit his theory and making stuff up that does, like insisting that Oswald was a crack shot in the military. Unfortunately for O'Reilly, the statements by his fellow soldiers and scores in shooting exercises paint a very different picture of a below average individual. And how does O'Reilly back up his "facts?" He doesn't. But this dick ate ate crow this week when he asked sleepy house liberal Bob Becker why NBC hadn't done any stories about the drone program. He must have missed all the stories on both NBC and MSNBC that broke the story about Obama's questionable memo concerning the drone program. Bill O'Reilly is the worst fact checker since Dick Morris and Karl Rove.

2)Barack Obama- Proving once again he is nothing more than Bush in blackface, a memo was leaked this week that explains why the President has the power to literally kill anyone he wants. Yes, it is intended for those that join terrorist groups that fight against the country and in some instances I support it, like the assassination of al-Awlaki. However, both the left and right are up in arms about this and with good reason. In the memo the words "imminent threat" appear, but clarification of that term later state that if the government even thinks you are about to commit a dangerous act, with zero proof, they can still act. There are no checks and balances and gives the President enormous power. And while I doubt that Obama will misuse this against the people, he could, as could any future president. What is the qualifications for being labeled a terrorist? Could the cyber group Anonymous fall into this category? What about Occupy Wall St.? Even the Tea Party? Where does it stop?

3)Fox and Friends- Again proving they are easily the stupidest morning show on the planet, and I am including "Sun Up with Kim Jun Un and Comrades," "Cuba Libra with Dane Castro," and, of course "The Today Show with Kathie Lee and Hoda Kotbe," Fox and Friends hit a new low this week. In a segment, two of the three stooges, Douchey and The Bimbo, were discussing solar power with Fox Business news advisor, Shibani Joshi. As expected, the two house retards were ridiculing Obama's "failed" solar policy, when the questions was raised over why Germany has a booming solar infrastructure. The response from Joshi was jaw dropping.

"They're a smaller country, and they've got lots of sun. Right? They've got a lot more sun than we do. The problem is it's a cloudy day and it's raining, you're not gonna have it. Sure, California might get sun now and then, but here on the East Coast, it's just not going to work."

Really? That is your response? It's also not true. Other than the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, the rest of the country gets more sun than Germany. This stupid bitch apparently hasn't been to Arizona or Florida ever in her life which, as we all know, has been plunged into eternal darkness since the 15th century. Right? It must be because I heard it on Fox News. Solar power is the way of the future and these assholes are determined to never let us get off of oil.

4)Venezuela- In a story I guarantee won't be heard about anywhere on TV and perhaps in a small paragraph on page A13 in major newspapers, Venezuela devalued their currency today, sending off panic buying throughout the country as prices are expected to rise as a result. It is also the first domino in a currency war being fought throughout the world, especially in the US and Japan. This could lead to major instability in the markets which are already looking rattled. Word is top investors are selling stock nine times more than their regular counterparts, including Buffet, Paulson and Soros, and some large put options are being levied against the Dow falling at least 5% over the next sixty days. You have been warned so if you own stock be careful.

5)The Post Office- The Post Master General has decided on his own to end Saturday delivery. I hate this plan as the main reason the Post Office is in trouble is due to the fact they have to prefund 75 years worth of pension and health care costs, which is bankrupting them. The Republicans want to kill the post office, the military and even schools and privatize everything as it will be "cheaper and more effective," which past experience says neither is true. Things will be much more expensive and even more poorly run as profits takes precedent over everything else. Privatization is a road to hell. I am hoping the Democrats figure out a way to save Saturday mail which is more important than you think as this will kill many jobs and further destabilize our mail delivery. This madness has to stop or else we will be a third world nation soon.

6)LAPD- This week a disgruntled former cop killed three people after they may or may not have screwed him over for some reason like he was black, as the accused shooter Chris Dorner alleges, or more likely, fired over snitching on a fellow police officer for police brutality. The story sounded fishy from day one and I for one believe Dorner, as the person who was beaten repeats the same story as Dorner, as does the victim's father. Three witnesses say differently, but without knowing who or what they said, there is possibility they didn't see what they said they saw, either through coercion or mistake. What is not in question is these trigger happy morons keep shooting at cars that do not belong to Dorner. Two officers in question fired multiple rounds into a truck that was the wrong color, wrong make and, instead of a large black man driving, there were two small Asian women. Unbelievable as these two idiots are still in uniform and not fired for almost killing two innocent people. Dorner, on the other hand, was fired for making a false report against a police officer. So reporting a case of brutality will get you fired but firing wildly at a car that looks nothing like the one you are looking for doesn't? Right. Dorner's life was ruined by this and he is pissed. Not a good time to be in the LAPD.

7)Lindsay Lohan- Lohan had another bad week as her Long Island home is being foreclosed on and she has moved back in with her Mom because she can't afford rent. That is a long fall baby. As the IRS has frozen her accounts due to lack of payment and acting roles all but gone, she is really screwed. It is too bad because, once upon a time, she had it all. Now she is back home, broke and lonely. I almost feel bad. Almost.

8)Justin Beiber- I watched the Beib on SNL last night and let me tell you, Lindsay Lohan was better when she hosted last and that was no great shakes. His music has an appeal to the tweens and at least he wasn't using autotune but when his music is the highlight of the show, you know you've stepped into the ninth circle of hell. SNL is always hit or miss but this last night's episode was painful.

9)House Republicans-In 1994, Congress passed the Violence against Women Act. Since then, domestic violence against women has fallen fifty percent. It is up for renewal now and should be an easy pass right? Nope, not since he have the Puritan House who refuses to even bring it up for a vote. Eric Cantor has since received 127,000 calls to his office telling him what a dick he is resulting in him going to the House floor and declaring he supports ending violence against women but, not by passing a law, or anything. Words, mere words.

10)Mother Nature-We got walloped here this week as a blizzard, Nemo, dumped more than two feet of snow on the Northeast. Governors shut down the roads in CT and MA, calling many to label them "fascists" and this was "the road to martial law." They did it dumbasses to keep morons, like you, off the streets which were impassable by 4 PM Friday. This isn't fascism. It's common sense.

11)Climate Change Deniers- Ahh they were out in force again this week as everyone kept saying how can the Earth be getting warmed if we still have blizzards? This is common misconception among people who have no background in environmental sciences. I, on other other hand, do and while the storm cannot be blamed on global warming per say, it does demonstrate a trend that has been going on for years. The world is getting warmer, unless you listen to some like George Will, Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity, who keep using data that is always wrong and convince those that believe everything they hear from these idiots as gospel. There is too much to go into here and we will look into that in a future column but the oceans are warming, the planet is warming, Arctic ice is melting, Greenland is melting and parts of Antarctica is melting. Glaciers are disappearing faster than at any time in history. This is not trivial information but solid facts. The data is being subverted by those who want to, oil and gas companies, just like Big Tobacco did for years about the dangers of cigarettes and those that don't know any better are buying into it. We face a catastrophe soon and it is highly unlikely we will do anything about it before it is too late. And when it is, I hope you all remember the idiots that made it happen. So congratulations Climate Change Deniers, you are indeed douchebag of the week.

THE REAL UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS EXPLAINED, THE COMING CURRENCY WAR AND OTHER STORIES THE MSM IS IGNORING

When the jobs report came out right before the election, Republicans cried foul and screamed that the unemployment numbers were rigged. Unfortunately for them, they were NOT rigged the way the GOP said, in that Obama cannot rig the numbers as they stand. Only by changing the way we calculate the numbers, as both Reagan and Clinton did during their term, is this possible. If the GOP had gone after that aspect, they would have had a case. But by blaming Obama, as they do for everything, they became a laughing stock because the president cannot change the numbers without changing the way they are counted and he hasn't done that yet. The Republican party is always a day late to the party it seems.

However, if we look the real numbers, we see a much different number than the ones being touted by the media and government. On rare occasions, the media will report that the real unemployment number is around 15% and even that number is low, as they use the Clinton adjusted numbers but fail to incorporate the Reagan changes as well. If we get rid of all the Hollywood math (that is math that is totally subjective to the actual numbers at hand to screw people out of royalties), we find that the unemployment rate is 23% and has remained steady there for the past four years. This is the same way calculations were done during the Great Depression which we have now surpassed as the longest stretch of high unemployment ever in US history, if we use actual math.

The media and government reported that in January, 157,000 jobs were added which helped propel the stock market to over 14,000. However, this is a statistical lie that falls apart under greater scrutiny. If we take away seasonal jobs, the number decreased by 1,446,000 between December and January when all the holiday temp workers lost their job. Funny how that never made the news isn't it?

In 2007, 146 million people had jobs. Today it's 141.6 million. We keep hearing about this mysterious "recovery" that is right around the corner for the average person which has been vomited forth by the media since 2009. Anybody out there know a majority of people killing it at their job right now? Only one person I know in the last year found a great job that pays almost six figures and she was currently employed at the time. Every single person I know laid off over the last few years has found a job that pays around $20,000 a year from the $50-70,000 they used to make. Try to live off that money any see how far it gets you.

These numbers from the Bureau Of Labor Statistics show a steady fall in employment since 2006.
 

2006: 63.1

2007: 63.0

2008: 62.2

2009: 59.3

2010: 58.5

2011: 58.4

 

So, according to these numbers, compiled by our own government say that only 58% of the population is employed. That is terrible. Now some of the labor force left over are retired, disabled or imprisoned, but even eliminating that, the numbers still won't reach the 7.9% the media and government is telling us.

Here is the numbers for people not in the labor force, also from Labor Board.

 

2006: 77,387,000

2007: 78,743,000

2008: 79,501,000

2009: 81,659,000

2010: 83,941,000

2011: 86,001,000

The numbers are growing rapidly as you can see and again, 86 million people out of work does not add up to 7.9% unemployment but closer to the 23% sites like shadowstats.com and this blog have demonstrated.

And what about those that have jobs? Most are making terrible money as two thirds of this country now makes less than $41,000 a year and whopping forty percent of them make less than $20,000. This is unsustainable for a nation and will lead to very bad things down the road. 146 million people in this country are poor or low income. That's half the nation. And trust me, those making  the "enormous sum" of $41,000 may not be poor but they aren't having an easy time either. A rapidly dwindling number are making all the money and letting the rest of us starve.

All of this is leading to another crash, one that will make 2008 look like a small speed bump in the economy compared to what is going to occur. We have massive instability throughout Europe, a currency war is forming and Wall St seems to be selling huge sums of stock over the last few weeks, perhaps knowing that a crash is coming again.

First off, let's explore the currency wars being fought right now between Japan and the US. Japan's new government has adapted a grow at any cost mentality with ultra low interest rates and money printing. If it sounds familiar it is because it exactly the same thing going on here. These kinds of manipulations when attempted throughout history have failed every time and this will be no different. Instead of doing what Iceland did like arresting the bankers and politicians that caused the problems and changing the laws so that it can't happen again, the US, Europe and Asia slapped a band aid on and said "all fixed," ignoring the gaping wound gushing blood everywhere.

Economists are warning that a currency war between the dollar and the yen may echo the same Depression that followed in the 1930's when similar actions happened with the fall of the Weimar Republican and the World War that followed.

This and other factors are making Wall St very nervous. This week, some unnamed investor bet over $11 million dollars in put options that the economy will tank in the next 60 days. Another bought 100,000 in put options against the economy that expire in April. I will point out that this happened before in  the fall of 2010 when all signs pointed to disaster and then nothing. Some investors put over several billion dollars in put options for a crash that never occurred. It is entirely possible that those rumors were spread to trick fools into selling off stock and betting big on a crash that was never going to happen while the elites with inside information bet big the other way, that the market would rise, and made a killing instead. I have no proof of any of that but it is an interesting theory.


However, it is telling that corporations and rich people are selling stock right now like it's on fire. Sell orders have risen to nine time the buy options over the last few weeks. Plus, many recognized economists are saying that the debt bubble is about to burst and the after effects could be catastrophic in ways never see before.

Second terms for re-elected Presidents rarely go well. This could be Obama's cross to bear as the economy goes belly up because neither he nor anyone else with power in Washington wanted to fix anything and instead we have gone back to the very policies that got us into this mess in the first place. Gold may be your best investment as stock may plummet 5-20% in the coming weeks. Or it could be 2010 all over again, where nothing happens. I am not betting on the latter.