Free Republic

The entire concept of winning the PR war against big government Socialism comes down to the concept of what is popularly called a meme. Just like genes, memes are capable of self-replicating, mutating and responding to targeted pressure. Memes also evolve by means of natural selection via the processes of mutation, variation, and competition. In short, strong memes can reproduce from mind to mind, will weak memes become extinct. The Democrats are very effective at using the meme idea. With most media from newspapers to magazines to cable news leaning left of center to hard left, the media of transmission...

Reporting from Decorah, Iowa— In the clearest expression yet of his 2012 reelection strategy, President Obama said he would send a jobs package to Congress next month, ask lawmakers to pass it, and campaign against them if they refused. Obama made the declaration in a town-hall-style meeting in Iowa on Monday night. He is facing criticism for not advancing a bold strategy to bolster job growth and his reelection prospects. "I'll be putting forward a very specific plan to boost the economy, to create jobs and to control the deficit," Obama said on the first day of his three-day Midwest...

Moody's Analytics on Monday lowered its outlook for growth in the U.S. economy this year and next, saying it sees "significantly weaker" prospects for the economy than just a month ago as the country struggles to avoid another recession. The report ...cites the recent political wrangling over the U.S. debt ceiling and the revived debt crisis in Europe as leading factors in the bleaker economic picture. "The odds of a renewed recession over the next 12 months, already one in three, will increase if stock prices continue to fall

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Examiners at the Securities and Exchange Commission are checking to ensure that Standard & Poor's followed all of its policies leading up to its downgrade of long-term U.S. debt, according to people familiar with the matter. Compliance, Inspections and Examinations is part of its new authority under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street overhaul law. Among other things, the law gives the SEC the power to continuously monitor credit-rating agencies and conduct annual inspections at each firm.

chicagotribune.com Generation Vexed: Young Americans rein in their dreams Amid so much economic uncertainty, many are rethinking career plans, putting off marriage and avoiding the stock market like the plague. By Tiffany Hsu and Shan Li August 14, 2011 Alicia Thomas, 20, had it all planned out: career at a nonprofit, married by 24, mortgage by 26. Then financial markets went on a wild roller-coaster ride, portending that high unemployment and the stalled economy won't be rebounding any time soon. "I don't want to invest in something I can't afford, given the economy breaking down," said Thomas, who is majoring...

Chicago, August 11, 2011 – This week U.S. Senator Dick Durbin held a press conference with members of the mainstream media to talk about the downgrade crisis. But the Senator’s scripted storyline veered off-course when a conservative reporter – me – showed up to ask an embarrassing question. Namely, “Senator, you’ve blamed the tea party…but do you bear any responsibility for this downgrade crisis?” What, you didn’t hear about this incident in the media? For those of you that need more proof that journalism is dead, read on. … I went to Durbin’s press conference to set the record straight....

Some Democratic members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, tasked with identifying $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, have become the subject of criticism, but their appointments were only finalized Thursday. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, and Reps. James Clyburn of South Carolina and Xavier Becerra of California are already being targeted for circumstances that could compromise their abilities to negotiate. Becerra, for example, wasted no time before using his appointment as a fundraising tool for his own campaign.

Rep. Xavier Becerra — or, to be more precise, lobbyists working on his behalf — wasted no time Thursday capitalizing on the California congressman’s appointment to the congressional super committee. A little over two hours after Becerra was named to the powerful panel, Investment Company Institute’s Jim Hart sent out an email encouraging attendance for the trade group’s upcoming $1,500 per person fundraiser based on Becerra’s new found status as one of the elite 12. “We will host an event for Congressman Xavier Becerra, not only Vice Chairman of the Democratic Caucus but also who has just been named to...

WASHINGTON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Here is a look at some of the top donors to election campaigns for the 12 members of the U.S. Congress named to a deficit-fighting "super committee." Known as the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, the panel is expected to be the most heavily lobbied body in Washington ahead of its Nov. 23 deadline for making recommendations on $1.5 trillion in additional budget savings. Unless specified, donations below combine members' campaign committees and leadership PACs (political action committees). Data is from www.opensecrets.org. SENATE DEMOCRATS Patty Murray of Washington state * Software giant Microsoft Corp...

So this is a taste of what it will be like when the American superpower starts shrinking. Enjoying it yet? After the humiliation of the United States losing its AAA credit rating; after watching the American stock market descend into chaos; after living for two years in a $15 trillion economy unable to grow beyond 2%, with unemployment rates rarely experienced in the U.S., Americans have their first whiff of inhabiting an empire in decline.

Key Republican on New Deficit Panel, Rep. Dave Camp, Won't Rule Out Tax Increases CNBC.com breaking headline

The only way President Barack Obama can solve the nation’s economic woes is to adopt “common-sense” Reaganomics, the policy’s architect Arthur Laffer claims in an exclusive Newsmax.TV interview. Laffer said the White House called him in the spring and asked him to speak to Obama’s former Council of Economic Advisors’ chairman Austen Goolsbee – and he had told him exactly the same thing. “Reaganomics would fix any economy that’s in the doldrums,” Laffer said. “It’s not a magic sauce, it’s common sense. “You’ve got to get rid of all federal taxes in the extreme and replace them with a low-rate...

Not surprisingly, the financial jihadists are promoting Shariah as the solution to America’s debt problems. We’ve seen this before. Back in 2008, in the wake of the subprime mortgage debacle and near-financial meltdown, the financial jihadists insisted that Shariah-compliant finance would have avoided the whole mess. Despite all this, we all know that unfortunately, the financial jihadists have plenty of useful idiots at their disposal in the Western financial services industry and the Western news media...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks fell sharply in early trading Wednesday, following the previous session's huge rally, as fears about Europe's ongoing debt crisis resurfaced. The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) dropped 325 points, or 2.9%. The index fell as much as 446 points, which exceeded the gain in Tuesday's massive advance. [SNIP] On Wednesday, shares of French bank Societe Generale, or SocGen, tumbled almost 20% on the Paris stock exchange amid speculation that France may be first to face a rating cut. [SNIP] The major indexes have been swinging between massive gains and losses during trading, and ending...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced Tuesday he's naming Sen. Patty Murray to co-chair a powerful "super committee" charged with finding more than $1 trillion in deficit cuts this fall. Murray will be joined by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Max Baucus, D-Mont., on the panel, which was established last week by hard-fought legislation to increase the national debt.

CORRECT: Municipal Bonds Weaken As S&P Announces Widespread Downgrades By Michael Aneiro Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The municipal bond market weakened Tuesday after Standard and Poor's downgraded more than 11,000 public finance issues to keep them in line with its newly lowered rating on federal government debt. S&P said it had lowered to double-A plus from triple-A the ratings on certain public finance debt issues linked to the federal government, matching the downgrade it applied to U.S. government debt last Friday. While the number of issues affected is large, it covers less than 1% of the estimated...

Europe may no longer be able to save itself. Too many countries have too much debt. Its economic growth — which helps countries service their debts — is too feeble. And nervous financial markets seem increasingly prone to dump the bonds of vulnerable countries. This is the real risk to the global and U.S. economic recoveries, far overshadowing Standard & Poor's downgrade of U.S. Treasury debt and Monday's sharp stock market decline. Europe represents about one-fifth of the world economy and buys about a quarter of American exports. While Europe's debt crisis was confined to a few small countries, they...

Gallup delivers two blasts at the Obama administration today for its handling of the economy. The first comes in its daily tracking poll, which reacted rather badly to Barack Obama’s speech from the White House yesterday. His approval rating dropped three points to its previous low of 40% after only one cycle of polling. Disapproval rose back to 50%, up two points from the day before. That sharp drop could amplify over the next couple of days, especially considering the beating Obama is taking across the political spectrum for his ill-considered rehash of an address. It’s possible that we will...

Stocks saw its biggest one-day gain since May 2010 Tuesday after a wild session as investors snapped up beaten-down stocks and following a Fed statement to keep interest rates near zero for at least two more years.

The godfather of the Tea Party Movement is CNBC Financial Editor Rick Santelli. The Tea Party Movement consist of Republicans, Democrats (smart ones), and Independents working together to create the narrative in American politics. Its orginal purpose was to pursue Rick Santelli mantra to stop wasteful government spending. Under Obama, the out-of-control spending is ruining America. It has gone over the cliff when Moody downgraded our credit rating. Hence, the Tea Party keeps Washington in check. Liberals and the GOP Establishment are unable to contain the The Tea Party Movement. The movement has spead to all corners of America. I...