Cupid Shoots An Arrow!

The jobs are coming.

Looks like we're off to a "good" start for the fuhrer. The January jobs report comes out with a gain of 227,000 jobs for the month. The unemployment rate ticks up to 4.8%. It shows a sign of Americans interested in finding a long term job. It's a small increase in employment.

The first job report under Fuhrer Donald J. Trump. The Labor Department conducted this job report when Barack Obama was still the president.

"Trump is inheriting an economy on its way to full employment, but there is still more work to do," says Elise Gould, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute.

CNN reports that the underemployment rate which says that people who are unemployed plus the part-time workers rose to 9.4%.

And like how they did Obama, I will do the same for the fuhrer. Conservatives ignore the facts once again for political gains. They will likely credit Trump for the jobs number.

Now that Obama's out of office, how many of these conservatives are going to spread misinformation about 95 million Americans not working?

The Cold Shoulder!

The transition.

Thank you President Barack Obama.

I will miss you and your family. I hope the best for you, Vice President Joe Biden, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden. I hope that you guys will stay active in the public sector.

I hope you guys are the vocal opposition towards the Republicans and the incoming fuhrer Donald J. Trump. I hope you motivate Democrats to fight for the people and not big interest. I hope that Republicans prove to the American people once again that conservatism will not work without liberalism as a balance.

I want the Republican Party, Trump and vice fuhrer Mike Pence to fail. I do want the country to fail.

Because this notion to rationalize Trump, Pence, conservatives and the junk food media's rationing of this White extremist movement they called the alt-right is senseless. It's pathetic and disgusting.

I want it to fail. I want more chaos!

Because I believe Trump will be overwhelmed with issues. The stress will get to him and Pence.

They will age 5 times faster with the enormous amount of pressure to do "what's right".

Thanks to Trump and the Republicans, partisanship has now became more toxic than ever.

Even the jobs report for the month of December will be polarized by notions of the false equivalency of  95.4 million not working. Now if 95 million people aren't working there's got to be a good reason to why.

But obviously in the minds of white extremists, Black people are having children out of wedlock and living on the government and blaming WHITE folks for their problems.

The idiots can't figure out that there are 1/3 of the population not working for the reasons given.

1. DEAD
2. BORN
3. IN PRISON
4. IN PRIMARY SCHOOL
5. IN MIDDLE SCHOOL
6. IN HIGH SCHOOL
7. IN COLLEGE NOT LOOKING
8. VOLUNTEER
9. DISABLED 
10. STAY AT HOME PARENT
11. RETIRED
12. QUIT ON THEIR OWN
13. NOT HIRING QUALIFIED
14. NOT HIRING TOO QUALIFIED
15. FIRED FROM THE JOB

Okay, the unemployment rate is the signs of a stable economy. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.7%. The employment in December was a net of 156,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate ticked up from a nine year low as more people are entering the job market which speculators see as a sign of confidence.

We will continue to engage in the job market. When Trump takes the helm, we will follow the unemployment rate.

The jobs are here and the Republicans won't give Obama the credit for it. Once Trump take the helm, he will find some way to blame Obama for the mess he creates or the take the credit for the successes that Obama did.

Candy Corn!

Victory lap. 

As we enter the final weeks of the U.S. presidential election, the September's job report release makes strives. The month gave us 156,000 jobs. It also ticked the unemployment rate to 5 percent. It's starting to cool off again.

Once again, the jobs report becomes a partisan event. The conservatives will always deny the economy is improving. They will calculate the half truths about the 95 million Americans aren't working.

Americans are losing their homes to the wildfires, tornadoes, floods, and the looming Hurricane Matthew. Gun violence is the number one threat in the United States. Service jobs are stressing the working class. Wage theft and lots of Americans being overworked is an issue that conservatives ignore.

The reasons to why conservatives ignore the real reasons for 95 million people not working.

1. BIRTH

2. DEATH

3. RETIREMENT

4. FIRED OUT THE CANNON (LAID OFF/FIRED FROM JOB)

5. QUITTING A JOB FOR A NEW JOB

6. UNDER 16 (NOT OF WORKING AGE)

7. STAY AT HOME PARENT

8. DISABLED

9. COLLEGE STUDENT STUDYING 

10. IN THE IRON COLLEGE (PRISON)

Okay, if you're seriously believing that 95 million people aren't working (just because), then you're a Donald Trump and Mike Pence supporter. If you choose to not factor the obvious reasons as mentioned above, you're obviously a listener of agitators like that old fart Rush Limbaugh, Sean "Softball" Hannity and readers of that internet creeper Matt Drudge.

Yes, people are searching for the "right" job. There are plenty of jobs out there. Some are willing and some are giving up. It's a part of real world.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected employers to add 175,000 jobs last month.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said the economy needs to create less than 100,000 jobs a month to keep up with population growth.Average monthly job gains have been about 180,000 this year, which Yellen has described as “unsustainable.”

The unemployment rate ticked up a tenth of a percentage point to 5.0 percent last month, though the increase was driven by Americans rejoining the labor force.

Friday’s employment report will be the last before the Fed’s Nov. 1-2 policy meeting. Investors see almost no chance of a rate increase at that meeting given how close it is to the Nov. 8 presidential election.

Yellen said last month that the Fed will likely raise rates once this year, but prices on fed funds futures suggest just above even odds the hike will come at the Fed’s last policy meeting for the year in December.

Hourly wages for private sector workers rose 2.6 percent in September from the same month a year earlier, in line with economists’ expectations. The annual growth rate has shown signs of accelerating over the last year although it remains slower than before the 2007-2009 recession.

Three Fed policymakers voted for a hike last month when the Fed kept rates steady. However, Friday’s data could boost the case of Fed policymakers who have vocally defended a go-slow approach to rate increases.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has accused the Fed of playing politics by holding rates low, a charge Yellen and other Fed policymakers have denied.

Trump has also made reversing job losses at U.S. factories a central campaign promise. Manufacturing employment fell by 13,000 jobs in September and the sector has shed jobs in three of the last five months.

At the same time, the job market on balance continues to firm, even if at a slower pace, which could be an asset for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton who has argued that President Barack Obama, also a Democrat, has helped the economy.

The Fed lifted its benchmark overnight interest rate at the end of last year for the first time in nearly a decade, but has held it steady so far this year amid concerns over persistently low inflation.

The Good News Overshadowed By The Bad!

The tragic shooting in Dallas may end President Barack Obama's trip to the European Union for a NATO summit. The president is clearly upset over the lost of lives in another mass shooting.

All the good news of the June job numbers were scrubbed by the ongoing blame game of mass shootings.

The June jobs report say that 287,000 jobs were added just a few weeks before Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton take their crowns as the party's nominees.

The unemployment rate has risen to 4.9%. It happens when more unemployed Americans go back into the workforce looking for a stable job.

The May jobs report was a disappointment. It gave the markets some major worry. The United Kingdom's divorce from the EU has also cast instability across the world markets.

The economy is making strives.

Again, you will have your critics. They will continue to push this false narrative that 94 million American aren't working and the usual the economy is in free fall.

Let me be clear. Here's the things that contribute to people not working.

Stay at home parents
Just quit their jobs
Retired workers
Those in prison
Under 16
In college or high school
Dead
Born

Discrediting the facts for their partisan agenda.

Junebugs!

Unemployment rate down but it's not good news to the cynical agitators.

The unemployment rate dropped to 4.7 perecent. The job market is looking healthy but...there's a catch. The Department of Labor said that 38,000 jobs were added for the month of May.

Criticism is being passed around yet again. This shows the weakest job growth in five years.

The unemployment rate being down is positive, but it comes with a price. People are dropping out the labor force after deciding to give up on their search for a job. The labor force participation rate fell 0.2 percent in May to 62.6 percent, erasing some of the gains that it had made.

That means in other words, over 30 million people have given up on looking for a job.

The Huffington Post reports that figure badly missed the expected increase of about 160,000 jobs.

Already Donald Trump seized on the report in his usual fashion.

Terrible jobs report just reported. Only 38,000 jobs added. Bombshell!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2016

The economic jobs report affects the stock market. It will probably take a hit.

Conservative agitators will seize upon the report as an example of their word vomit of lies and deception. The lie of 94 million people not working will be played again.

The Verizon strike also played a role in the dismal job market.

The Verizon employee strike was on for six weeks. The workers were demanding better pay and working conditions. That caused a negative impact on the job gains.

CNN reports that health care, hotels and government jobs were the only jobs added in May.

Mining, oil and gas jobs fell.

The weak May jobs report may very well take the rate hike off the table.

Janet Yellen was tempted to raise the interest rate but now it's going to be held back due to the unemployment numbers.

May Day, May Day!

President Barack Obama at a local bookstore celebrating small business day.

The monthly jobs reports were released this morning and it shows an outlook that may pose a risk for the economy. The April jobs report shows that the U.S. Department of Labor added 160,000 were added.

That was the smallest gain since September and below the first-quarter average job growth of 200,000.

Employers added 19,000 fewer jobs in February and March than previously reported. While the unemployment rate held at 5.0 percent that was because people dropped out of the labor force.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls rising 202,000 last month and the jobless rate unchanged at 5 percent.

The stepdown in job growth could raise concerns that the weakness in overall economic activity was spilling over to the labor market. Economic growth slowed sharply in the first quarter this year.

The most unproductive leaders of the Congress, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY). The Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader both voice concern about Obama's policies and their standard-bearer Donald Trump.

Average hourly earnings were a bright spot in the employment report, rising eight cents or 0.3 percent last month. That took the year-on-year increase to 2.5 percent from 2.3 percent in March, still below the 3.0 percent advance that economists say is needed for inflation to rise to the Fed’s 2.0 percent target.

The U.S. central bank last month offered a fairly upbeat assessment of the labor market, saying that conditions had “improved further.”

The Fed raised its benchmark overnight interest rate in December for the first time in nearly a decade. Fed officials have forecast two more rate hikes for this year.

Market-based measures of Fed policy expectations have virtually priced out an interest rate increase at the Fed’s June 14-15 meeting, according to CME Group’s FedWatch. They see a less than 50 percent probability of rate hikes in September and November, with a 59 percent chance at the December meeting.

The labor force participation rate, or the share of working-age Americans who are employed or at least looking for a job, fell 0.2 percentage point to 62.8 percent. It had increased 0.6 percentage point since dipping to 62.4 percent in September.

The labor force fell by 362,000 as people dropped out in April.

The vast private services sector dominated employment gains in April. Manufacturing added 4,000 jobs last month after shedding 29,000 in March, the biggest loss for the sector since December 2009.

Donald Trump in Charleston, WV stroking his gift from the coal industry.

There were further job losses in mining as the energy sector adjusts to weak profits from a recent prolonged plunge in oil prices. Mining payrolls fell 8,000 last month. Mining employment has decreased by 191,000 jobs since peaking in September 2014, with 75 percent of the losses in support activities.

Gains in construction employment slowed sharply, with the sector adding 1,000 jobs in April, after home building showing some signs of fatigue last month.

Retail payrolls fell 3,100 after hefty gains in the first quarter, despite sluggish sales.

This shatters the constant streak over added jobs over 200,000.

As usual the conservatives will complain about the job numbers. The conservatives will say that the president and the Labor Department are fudging the numbers.

They will say that 94 million Americans aren't working. They will complain that the annual payroll rates being stalled by government regulations.

All the while, ignoring the lackluster activities of the Republican controlled Congress. The Congress so far the most unproductive in American history. It's about to shatter the record of the 113th Congress, the least productive since Republicans and Democrats shared control.

Holiday Cookies!

The final year begins in January.

The final jobs report for the year comes out and it seems like President Barack Obama is smiling all the way. The unemployment rate remains unchanged but it did net over 211,000 jobs.

U.S. job growth increased solidly in November in a show of the economy's resilience, which most likely paves the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this month for the first time in nearly a decade.

Nonfarm payrolls increased 211,000 last month, the Labor Department said on Friday. September and October data was revised to show 35,000 more jobs than previously reported.

The unemployment rate held at a 7-1/2-year low of 5 percent, even as people returned to the labor force in a sign of confidence in the jobs market. The jobless rate is in a range many Fed officials see as consistent with full employment and has dropped seven-tenths of a percentage point this year.

Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen may raise the federal interest rate. She believe the government is healthy enough for the interest rate to increase to at least 4%.

Yellen said the economy needs to create just under 100,000 jobs a month to keep up with growth in the working age population.

The Fed's policy-setting committee will meet on Dec. 15-16. Market-based measures of Fed policy expectations assign a probability of 79.1 percent to the central bank's raising interest rates at that meeting, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch site.

The dollar extended gains against a basket of currencies, while prices for U.S. government bonds fell. U.S. stock futures extended gains.

The second month of strong job gains should allay fears the economy has hit a soft patch, after reports showing tepid consumer spending in October and a slowdown in services industry growth in November. Manufacturing contracted in November for the first time in three years.

Though wage growth slowed last month, economists say that was mostly payback for October's outsized gains, which were driven by a calendar quirk. Anecdotal evidence, as well as data on labor-related costs, suggest that tightening job market conditions are starting to put upward pressure on wages.

Average hourly earnings increased four cents, or 0.2 percent from 0.4 percent in October. That lowered the year-on-year reading to 2.3 percent from 2.5 percent in October. The average workweek, however, dipped to 34.5 hours from 34.6.

Other labor market measures that Fed officials are eyeing as they consider lifting the benchmark overnight interest rate from near zero were mixed.

The labor force participation rate, or the share of working-age Americans who are employed or at least looking for a job, rose to 62.5 percent from a near 38-year low of 62.4 percent.

But a broad measure of joblessness that includes people who want to work but have given up searching and those working part-time because they cannot find full-time employment rose one-tenth of a percentage point to 9.9 percent.

Employment gains in November were broad-based, though manufacturing shed 1,000 positions and mining lost 11,000 jobs.

Manufacturing has been crippled by a strong dollar, efforts by businesses to reduce bloated inventory and spending cuts by energy companies scaling back well drilling and exploration in response to sharply lower oil prices.

House Speaker Paul Ryan's (R-WI) first months as House Speaker have been so far "fair" to say at least.

Mining employment has declined by 123,000 since reaching a peak in December 2014. Three quarters of the job losses over this period have been in support activities for mining.

Oilfield services provider Schlumberger (SLB.N) this week announced another round of job cuts in addition to 20,000 layoffs already reported this year. The company said it expected the slowdown in drilling activity to continue in 2016.

Construction payrolls increased 46,000 last month. With 163,000 jobs added, the services sector accounted for the bulk of the increase in employment last month. Retail jobs rose 30,700 and transportation and warehousing employment rebounded after two straight months of declines.

Professional services added 27,000 jobs and government payrolls increased 14,000 last month.

Of course, the conservative agitators will not accept this good news. They keep repeating the debunked talking points that over 94.6 million people are unemployed.

And I will continue to tell you that 1/3 of the U.S. population is either in the iron college, attending high school or college, disabled, retired or dead.

Republicans have not passed any legislation to create jobs. They've shown the world that they're incapable of governing. They won power to just showboat their ignorant agenda.

Newsflash: We have mass shootings in the United States. People are dying because of gun violence everyday. Over 245,000 people have been killed by firearms. We have a large generation of retiring people. We are going through a baby boom. We are having more people quit their jobs in search of better jobs. We have people in college, high school, and vocational school. We have people on disability.

GITMO Could Finally Close!

The country's tightest controlled lockup. ADX Florence is a federal time out that harbors the most dangerous criminals the world deem an international threat to society. The GITMO detainees may end up here. Same with El Chapo.

A tiny peninsula of Cuba is under U.S. jurisdiction. Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is a U.S. Air and Naval base located in southeastern corner of Cuba.

That military base is under intense controversy. The base is home to a handful of foreign terrorists held at the naval prison.

In President Barack Obama's first term he issued an executive order to have detainees held in federal time out. The Republicans and spineless Democrats in Congress bitched and bemoaned about the danger these detainees posed and stopped in its tracks.

Less than 120 men are located at this federal lock up. The U.N. and many nations condemn this as a unlawful detainment of innocents.

Many of the detainees were planners for the September 11, 2001 attacks. Some are members of the Taliban and Iraq's insurgency.

Well there's talk that if GITMO closes the detainees may head to Florence, CO for federal time out.

Florence is the Supermax federal time out. It's the nation's most toughest iron college. It's considered the Alcatraz of the Rockies. This place holds most notorious criminals and terrorists the government deem too much of burden in public.

Congress will have to change the law before the inmates can be housed in a federal time out.

We'll see how this goes! After all, the inept Republican Congress fears man. They can't allow the families the opportunities to see justice. T

Cold Turkey!

Jobs report tells of modest growth but still rose because of government shutdown.

Jobs report out and even though there were a decent number of jobs, the government shutdown really screwed up a lot of progress. The unemployment rate ticks up to 7.3%.

The Department of Labor released the numbers and it was 204,000 added for the month of October.

CNBC reports that a net 204,000 new jobs created for the month, though the unemployment rate rose to 7.3 percent and households reported a huge drop in employment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. A separate measure that includes the underemployed and those who have quit looking also moved higher, from 13.6 percent to 13.8 percent.

The numbers easily topped economist expectations of 120,000 new nonfarm payroll jobs for the month, though it matched estimates for a slight increase in the headline jobless rate.

The data gave markets a brief jolt. Interest rates surged, with the 10-year Treasury climbing 0.13 percentage points to 2.73 percent, the highest since mid-September. The stock market plugged forward though, notching modest gains in early trading.

Leisure and hospitality led the way in job creation with 53,000 new positions, 29,000 of which came from bars and restaurants. Professional and technical services added 21,000 while manufacturing contributed 19,000, according to the establishment survey of businesses.
Federal employment dropped by just 12,000.

Though the jobs creation number jumped, there was a mixed bag of news. The civilian labor force tumbled by 720,000 and the labor force participation rate fell to its lowest since March 1978.

The worst legislative body, ever! 

Most startlingly, the household survey actually saw employment fall by 735,000 for the month.

"While the furloughed government workers technically should be counted as employed in the nonfarm payroll count as part of the establishment survey, at the same time they are counted as temporarily unemployed in the household survey," said Kathy Bostjancic, director of macroeconomic analysis at The Conference Board. "The negative impact from the partial government shutdown on the nonfarm payroll employment count doesn't seem to have affected the private sector at all."

The government's birth-death model, which estimates jobs created and lost through recently opened and closed businesses, added 126,000 to the total.

The numbers were expected to be noisy due in large part to the government shutdown and generally speaking have been on a modest downward trajectory lately.

Numbers from previous months saw upward revisions. August's total jumped from 193,000 to 238,000, while September's disappointing 148,000 got pushed up to 163,000, pushing the 12-month average up to 190,000.

Softening in the data had tempered expectations for a change in Federal Reserve monetary policy. The central bank had been indicating earlier in the year that it might start pulling back on its $85 billion a month in bond purchases, but three meetings have gone by since taper talk began in May, with no changes.

This week, two teams of Fed economists presented papers suggesting that the unemployment rate probably should drop to 6 percent or 5.5 percent before increasing interest rates. The Fed's short-term target rate has remained near zero since the financial crisis.

"Oddly enough, those on Wall Street will be disappointed as tapering talk will again resurface, thus squashing any idea of a would-be Gatsby rally today," said Todd Schoenberger, managing partner at LandColt Capital.

Slight Work!

Before he travels to Massachusetts, the president was handed some bad news. Edward Snowden eludes authorities, the jobs report, and his job approval. All of this happens before he celebrates his 52nd birthday. 

Today, job numbers of the month of July provided a modest amount of jobs. Not enough to move the needle further down but enough to be satisfactory.

The U.S. Labor Department report that the month of July had hiring jobs at 162,000. 

This will drop the unemployment number to 7.4%.

In order to get a stronger economy, the U.S. job market must produce over 200,000 jobs a month in order to provide a better outlook of our economy.

Also with weak hiring in the service industry it assures that the greedy continue to punish the workers. With the healthcare law going into effect, many industries are forcing labor cuts. The cuts on labor start with dropping part time workers to less than 30 hours of work. Then it forces the worker to find secondary jobs to accommodate to paying off debt, bills and loans.

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and Congressman John Boehner (R-Ohio). These two are high ranking leaders of the House of Representatives. Boehner is the current Speaker of The House. He replaced Pelosi as the speaker in 2011. During his tenure, the 112th and 113th Congress has been ranked on the worst in history.

Congress is off for its summer recess, leaving behind a mountain of legislation that may be scrapped by the time of the U.S. Midterm elections. The president's agenda includes gun control, immigration reform, and a jobs package. Not to mention the raising of our debt ceiling and fiscal budget for the next session.

We're in a sequester and the federal agencies are cutting back due to the ineptness of lawmakers.

Congress overall job approval is at 14%.

President Barack Obama's job approval is at 43%.

CNBC's Jeff Cox reports this bit of news as another "so-so" moment in job growth.

[Where as the] broader gauge of unemployment that includes the underemployed and those who have quit looking for work also fell, from 14.3 percent in June to 14 percent in July: This hasn't move the needle for a steady pace in job growth.

"Today's jobs data is terrifying for Main Street," said Todd M. Schoenberger, managing partner at LandColt Capital in New York. "Despite the proactive actions from the Fed and stimulus help from Capitol Hill, the labor market remains stuck in quicksand. For Wall Street, however, this is terrific news."

Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) and Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada) have often clashed over legislation and the president's nominees. McConnell is the current Minority Leader of the Senate. Reid is the current Majority Leader. McConnell is an embattled politico. He has to face an onslaught of opposition from the Democrats and members of the Tea Party who are willing to force a Republican primary against him. The Senate has passed immigration reform but killed off a background check law for firearms.

Most of the job creation came on the low end—in the retail trade and hospitality industry of bartenders and wait staff, with respective gains of 47,000 and 38,000.

Professional and business services also added 36,000.

Previous months' job creation numbers were revised lower, bucking a trend in which the counts mainly have been taken up.

The BLS now puts May job growth at 176,000 from the previously reported 195,000, while June's figure fell to 188,000 from 195,000.

At the same time, long-term unemployment rose, with the average duration of joblessness now at 36.6 weeks.

And wage growth fell: After rising 10 cents an hour last month, average wages fell 2 cents to $23.98 an hour, while the average work week decreased by 0.1 hours to 34.4 hours.

The jobs number is a critical metric for Federal Reserve decision-making.

The U.S. central bank has pegged a 6.5 percent unemployment rank for one of two benchmarks that will signal it's time to start normalizing interest rates.

However, a steady move lower also would push the Fed toward pulling back on the $85 billion a month bond-buying program known as quantitative easing.

"The self-sustaining trend in employment growth is likely strong enough to allow the Federal Reserve to begin tapering its quantitative easing by the end of the year," said Kathy Bostjancic, director of macroeconomic analysis at The Conference Board.

Prospects of a QE tapering helped send markets into a selling frenzy in late May, but that has abated and stock market indexes have reached new highs as investors became convinced that a rate increase is still a long way off.

In addition to a falling jobless rate, the Fed is looking for inflation to increase to 2.5 percent.

Obama: The American People Deserve A Vote!

The State of The Union.

President Barack Obama delivers his State of The Union address.

It tackles his second term agenda. The agenda covers issues that focus on the middle class. The president lays the groundwork for new proposals to get America working again. He also announced a plan to help young children maintain an education and opportunities to enter college or the job force without hurdles.

The president also acknowledge the issue with minimum wage. He urges Congress to raise the wage amount to $9.00 an hour.

The president tackled immigration reform.

The president tackled gun control.

The president acknowledges voting rights.

The president acknowledges climate change.

The president tackled bipartisanship and urged Congress to pass his job's bill that he presented last year.

The president acknowledge the shooting tragedies that happen to make the news.

The excerpts include:

“A growing economy that creates good, middle-class jobs – that must be the North Star that guides our efforts,” Obama will say. “Every day, we should ask ourselves three questions as a nation: How do we attract more jobs to our shores? How do we equip our people with the skills needed to do those jobs? And how do we make sure that hard work leads to a decent living?”

“Tonight, I’ll lay out additional proposals that are fully paid for and fully consistent with the budget framework both parties agreed to just 18 months ago,” he will say. “Let me repeat – nothing I’m proposing tonight should increase our deficit by a single dime. It’s not a bigger government we need, but a smarter government that sets priorities and invests in broad-based growth.”

A growing economy that creates good, middle-class jobs – that must be the North Star that guides our efforts. Every day, we should ask ourselves three questions as a nation: How do we attract more jobs to our shores? How do we equip our people with the skills needed to do those jobs? And how do we make sure that hard work leads to a decent living?”

“Tonight, I’ll lay out additional proposals that are fully paid for and fully consistent with the budget framework both parties agreed to just 18 months ago. Let me repeat – nothing I’m proposing tonight should increase our deficit by a single dime. It’s not a bigger government we need, but a smarter government that sets priorities and invests in broad-based growth.”

You can listen to the full State of The Union Address.

Groundhog's Day!

Unemployment figures for January are released and yet the picture stays the same. The jobs report released today stated that 157,000 jobs were added during the month of January and yet our unemployment number still rose to 7.9%.

This is the first time since the reelection, unemployment numbers rose. Still impressive that the country added jobs but yet those who dropped out of the workforce and the seasonal layoffs from retail didn't contribute to the climb in unemployment.

President Barack Obama and the Congress are now debating over the sequester. The sequester will have some major impact on defense and domestic spending. The president signals a fight with Congressional Republicans over spending cuts to safety nets.

The president is going to be more aggressive against Republicans. The figures shows that nonfarm payrolls rose 157,000 for the first month of 2013 while the unemployment rate edged higher to 7.9 percent, news unlikely to alter the Federal Reserve's monetary policy or instill confidence that the recovery is gaining steam.

Economists were looking for 160,000 net new jobs created with the unemployment rate holding steady at 7.8 percent.

The ho-hum jobs numbers for January were accompanied by substantial revisions higher for previous months, according to the report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

November's numbers rose from the originally reported 161,000 to 247,000, while December was pushed upward to 196,000 from 155,000.

"The gains we've received on the January jobs report are the start of positive readings for the foreseeable future," said Todd Schoenberger, managing partner at LandColt Capital. "The first quarter has historically delivered surprises to the upside anyway, so expect January revisions and February-March readings to be significantly positive."

Retail led the way in January with 33,000 new jobs, while construction rose 28,000.

For the first time in nearly two years, the average duration of unemployment made a significant move lower.

That number fell to 35.3 weeks, its lowest since January 2011.

However, a separate unemployment measure that also takes into account those who have quit looking for jobs as well as those working part-time for economic reasons remained unchanged at 14.4 percent.

Though some recent economic reports, particularly in housing, show an economy on the mend, gains in jobs have been hard to come by.

Average job creation for 2012 was around 151,000, considered near the benchmark for the unemployment rate to stabilize but not fall.

Most significantly, Federal Reserve monetary policy is now tied directly to the jobless rate. The U.S. central bank has said it will not alter its zero interest rate policy until the jobless rate falls to 6.5 percent and inflation eclipses 2.5 percent.

As the month begins, we're looking forward to the spring hiring season. Many Americans are looking optimistic about the future and the stock market has seen it's biggest gains post recession.

And while conservative agitators continue to whine off about the president's "failures" and openly rooting for an economic collapse, the rest of us are looking forward.

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis Out!

That was a surprise. The Secretary of Labor is going to need a replacement, the first Latina woman to serve this cabinet is resigning.

Under her leadership, Secretary Hilda Solis managed to pull unemployment from 10.9% to 7.8% as it currently stands. Her leadership lead to President Barack Obama bringing over 5.3 million jobs.

Conservatives were hammering on her over the unemployment numbers because they believe that she fixed the numbers to make the president look good. But so far, more Americans feel comfortable about the economy. Although it's still a long way to go, but the nation can return the right path to pre-recession rates.

Hilda Lucia Solis (/sɵˈliːs/; born October 20, 1957) is the 25th United States Secretary of Labor, serving in the Obama administration. She is a member of the Democratic Party and served in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2009, representing the 31st and 32nd congressional districts of California that include East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley.

Solis was raised in La Puente, California, by immigrant parents from Nicaragua and Mexico. She gained degrees from the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) and the University of Southern California (USC) and worked for two federal agencies in Washington, D.C. Returning to her native state, she was elected to the Rio Hondo Community College Board of Trustees in 1985, the California State Assembly in 1992, and the California State Senate in 1994. She was the first Hispanic woman to serve in the State Senate, and was reelected there in 1998. Solis sought to pass environmental justice legislation. She was the first female recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 2000.

President-elect Barack Obama announced his intention to nominate Solis as the next U.S. Secretary of Labor. She took office after being confirmed by the United States Senate in February 2009, becoming the first Hispanic woman to serve in the U.S. Cabinet.

In a message to colleagues Wednesday, Solis said she made the decision after discussing it with family and close friends.

President Barack Obama address nation about monthly jobs report. Secretary of Treasury Tim Geithner and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis are resigning from the Obama Administration. Chief of Staff Jack Lew will replace Geithner if confirmed.

One of the highest-ranking Hispanics in Obama's administration, Solis has won praise from labor unions for aggressive enforcement of wage and hour laws and job safety regulations. But business groups have criticized her as not taking a more cooperative approach.

President Barack Obama calls Solis "a tireless champion for working families."

Separately, the White House says that Attorney General Eric Holder, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki will remain in their posts.

The White House confirmed the development in a statement:

Over her long career in public service - as an advocate for environmental justice in California, state legislator, member of Congress and Secretary of Labor - Hilda Solis has been a tireless champion for working families. Over the last four years, Secretary Solis has been a critical member of my economic team as we have worked to recover from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression and strengthen the economy for the middle class. Her efforts have helped train workers for the jobs of the future, protect workers' health and safety and put millions of Americans back to work. I am grateful to Secretary Solis for her steadfast commitment and service not only to the Administration, but on behalf of the American people. I wish her all the best in her future endeavors.

We here at Journal de la Reyna wish Ms. Solis the very best in her endeavors!

Right Direction!

Unemployment for November is out and it's certainly going to drive the narrative in favor of President Barack Obama. Since winning reelection, the president is enjoying a honeymoon period in which his job approval ratings are actually improving among key groups.

Hispanics and non-married women are shifting to strongly Democrat and the president is relishing in the benefits of higher turnout among these groups. This news of the November jobs report offers the president a stronger hand in the debt ceiling and fiscal cliff/tax increase debate.

Unemployment for December went to 7.7% after the Department of Labor counted over 146,000 jobs were added. Although the damages from last month's Hurricane Sandy knocked the numbers down, it's a modest and yet better outlook for the future of the United States.

Now of course, the Republicans and conservative media will spin these issues into another talking point about how the country is "so screwed up" under the president's leadership. This argument is not appealing to a core group of Americans the Republicans once bragged about. Independents are slightly favoring the president right now and the Republicans are going to take the blame if they fail at compromising over the sequester (fiscal cliff) and debt ceiling talks.

Also this bit of news also comes one month after the national elections. President Barack Obama trounced perennial loser Mitt Romney. The president was certified the winner of the election by carrying a majority of districts and winning the popular vote.

An alternative measure of unemployment, which counts those who have given up looking for jobs as well as those working part-time for economic reasons, also edged lower to 14.4 percent.

Economists had been expecting a gain of 93,000 in nonfarm payrolls and a steadying of the unemployment rate at 7.9 percent, though estimates varied widely.

Deutsche Bank's Joseph LaVorgna, for instance, forecast a gain of just 25,000 positions, due in large part to residual effects from Superstorm Sandy.

Market reserach firm TrimTabs, conversely, projected 202,000 new jobs, though it expected the government's count to be lower.

Previous month's employment gains also were lowered through revisions.

The Labor Department's initial report for October showed a gain of 171,000 jobs, but now is listed at 138,000. The September gain of 148,000 was taken down to 132,000.

Much of the November gains came in retail, which added 53,000, while professional services grew 43,000.

Growth!

Four days.

The unemployment for the month of October comes out! The last week of the election and unemployment by the day of the election will be 7.9%.

It looks quite impressive for President Barack Obama. He managed to bring forth over 5.6 million jobs under his first year as president. October landed 170,000 jobs. Not bad at all!

Although nothing will satisfy the Republican critics, President Barack Obama delivered his promise to bring jobs to the American people.

CNBC reports that economists had been expecting the report to show a net of 125,000 new jobs and a steadying of the unemployment rate at 7.8 percent. Nomura Securities predicted the rate would fall to 7.7 percent, but most expected no change.

Most of the job creation came in the services sector, with a gain of 150,000, while government employment rolls saw a collective decrease of 13,000, according to the report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"The labor market continued to improve in October, generating 171,000 new jobs, providing a needed boost to recovering consumer sentiment and bolstering optimism for the upcoming holiday season," said Ken Goldstein, economist at The Conference Board.

Markets reacted positively to the report, with stock market futures indicating a broadly positive open on Wall Street.

A broader measure of unemployment that includes discouraged workers and those employed part-time who would rather work full-time ticked lower to 14.6 percent.


But unemployment for blacks showed the highest increase in the survey, surging to 14.3 percent from 13.4 percent.

Also, the average duration of unemployment climbed to a 2012 high of 40.2 weeks.

Mitt Romney will continue his final push to win the important state of Ohio. He will be here with Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin), Ann Romney, Kid Rock, state and federal lawmakers, Frank Luntz, and surprise guests (likely Mark Levin, Sean Hannity or Bill Cunningham).

President Barack Obama will be in Ohio also with Vice President Joe Biden, First Lady Michelle Obama, Bruce Springsteen, Jay-Z and others in the final days.

The election is November 6, 2012.

Beat the lines and tactics by the conservative media!

VOTE EARLY

VOTE NOW

Put Barack Obama back into the White House.

Bounce!

Good news for president means anger for the conservatives and Mitt Romney.

This week leads into the jobs report, with unemployment for the month of September. It ticks down to 7.8%.

Oh, the conservatives are going to cry foul about this one!

They're caught in disbelief that the economy is improving and the policies by the president has helped the country. The Republican governors of Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Wisconsin can brag about their state's putting things together but devoid themselves of crediting the federal level for allowing this to happen. And even though these fools are still going to push this narrative that the president didn't create jobs, those in the media will dismiss this as political desperation.

The Associated Press reports that unemployment has ticked down.

U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent last month, dropping below 8 percent for the first time in nearly four years. The rate fell because more people found work, a trend that could impact the presidential election.

The Labor Department says employers added 114,000 jobs in September. The economy also created 86,000 more jobs in July and August than first estimated. Wages rose in September and more people started looking for work.

One last chance to win the narrative. 

The revisions show employers added 146,000 jobs per month from July through September, up from 67,000 in the previous three months. The unemployment rate fell from 8.1 percent in August, matching its level in January 2009 when President Barack Obama took office.

The decline could help Obama, who is coming off a disappointing debate against Mitt Romney.

Before you go through the books, we know that millions of Americans are still trying to find work. But so far, the spending has increased and companies are hiring for season work.

The seasonal work means people will obtain dollars in their pockets meaning the companies in retail and industrial are expecting heavy demand. That will be quite helpful to President Barack Obama against Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

Republicans are still trying to sabotage the economy to hurt the president. But this argument of unemployment being at 8% or higher for the long haul during Obama's term ends.

The barrage of political ads will continue all the way to November. And don't except these ads to change anytime soon.

This comes as no surprise that mainstream media isn't really mentioning the jobs report. I've watched CBS The Morning and the host Charlie Rose, Norah O'Donnell and Gayle King covered the final hour avoiding the mention of the job numbers. They were talking about celebrity stories.

This also deflates the great night Mitt Romney had on Wednesday when he brought his Fox News talking points to the debate. Mitt Romney came under attack this week from angry Sesame Street supporters after he declared that he loves character Big Bird but will still cut funding to PBS (by severing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting).

After November 6, 2012, say if President Barack Obama wins the election. We'll look back at the key players to why Mitt Romney lost this election. I entitled this "The Reason For The Loss!" Each chronicles the key players of the election and those who made President Barack Obama win.

If Mitt Romney should win the presidency, we'll look back at why President Barack Obama was defeated and look forward to the next chapter in the presidency. We'll focus on how Mitt Romney could win the support of an angry electorate who felt that Obama's race contributed to his lost!

Next postings may include:

Rush Limbaugh declared that he hopes the president fails! - I Hope [Limbaugh] Retires!

Mitt Romney stated he promised to bring forth 12 millions jobs, but one includes cutting federal funding to PBS which could cost thousands of employees their jobs. - Mitt Romney: Birdbrain Politician!

The Drudge Report splashes controversial stories about the president to dog whistle White supremacists. - Drudge Blowing The Whistle Straight Outta Anal!

Sean Hannity obsesses with President Barack Obama by constantly name dropping him or his political allies. The controversial agitator is desperate and he's launching videos with racial themes now! - Give It Up Sean Hannity!

Crash Course!

                           

  +96,000

    8.1% 

    FED SET TO PUMP 

    368,000 DROPPED OUT OF WORKFORCE

Ok, the conservatives are going to cry foul. 

The job reports are out and now we're seeing a modest improvement. The Labor Department has reported that 96,000 jobs were created in the month of August dropping the job rate to 8.1% 

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Conservatives will think the books are being cooked to help President Barack Obama win reelection. The progressives will say that jobs are here and the president is delivering. The only thing standing in their way is Republican obstruction.

Republicans and Democrats will debate over the remaining term trying to pass an extension of the national debt, another jobs bill and making tougher decisions to keep the economy rolling.

Now as for the Drudge Report's siren, it's a trademark of a juicy story sponsored by the conservative agitator. He rang the alarm signaling the conservatives that there's something big or something deceptive about this one!

President Barack Obama is an embattled president. He just finished his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. He acknowledged that the path to the future isn't solved in four years. 

Mitt Romney is the weakest nominee for president.

The Republican has crafted himself as a successful business executive (not a former governor and perennial candidate for higher office). He leads in the national polls as the best one to handle the economy. But his poll numbers are sliding downward.

He maintain his stance as a effective problem solver and yet he hasn't put forth policies that could match or better the embattled president. He has been practicing for the national debates where he could use a backdrop of failed policies or controversies such as the job report to hammer the president.

Congress is at is worst. The Republican-led House of Representatives hasn't achieved much of their goals. They've pass the infamous Paul Ryan Austerity Bill only to be stopped by the Democratic-led Senate. The President's job package is passed by the Senate but halted by the House. Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) is the vice presidential nominee of the Mitt Romney ticket. He's a longtime fixture in Washington, DC. He hasn't really produced much until his rise in late 2010. 

Congress job approval is at a record low of 10% according to Gallup.

President Barack Obama is right now feeling a convention bounce which could tip him over the watermark of over 50% in the coming days. But it will decrease very soon. The issues of high gasoline prices, still unemployment is over 8%, the debt is over $16 trillion and the war in Afghanistan are dragging him and Congress down.

Mitt Romney wanted to be a Washington insider for most of his political life. He's failed. His only bright side to the issues that the world is facing, is the fact that Romney is a new face to Washington.

Even though he's long been out of office, Romney thinks he could be the best one! 

President Barack Obama urges patience. The country is on the right path. The constant obstruction from his political rivals stalled progress and the American public should know this.

If it wasn't for the third rail, I guess he would be more effective.

Update: Republican nominee Mitt Romney stated that the unemployment drop in simple fashion. 'If Last Night Was The Party, This Morning Is The Hangover'.

The White House released a statement saying that there's sign of modest growth in our economy.

Blunder!

                     
The July jobs report is out. And right off the bat, the political analysis of this is not good. The unemployment rate is now at 8.3%. The country added 169,000 jobs in the previous month. Not bad, not good either. There were a high claim of unemployment applications during that month and many Americans are still searching or giving up on the job market.

Republicans can rejoice. The talking point reverts back to the economy and jobs.

Mitt Romney had a horrible month. Overseas was a huge fumble especially in the United Kingdom and Middle East. Over in the United States the talk of tax returns and hidden millions in foreign nations is really starting to make Americans question his judgement.

President Barack Obama will celebrate his birthday this weekend. His job disapproval will match his age of 51. According to the Gallup Poll, the president's job approval is 45% - 48%. It will tick up in the coming days due to the economy, the sharp rise in fuel prices and of course his actions here and abroad.

Congress has really "done nothing". The Republican controlled House of Representatives has voted down the Democrats plan to bring tax cuts to the middle class. The Republicans argue that if you can't give the millionaires the tax breaks, we're not going to support this law. The U.S. Senate managed to pass it with a slim majority. How come the House is stalling on progress?

President Barack Obama, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) are looked upon as a bunch of hyperpartisans who are willing to screw up the country for political gamesmanship.

From the right: House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California).

Congress Republicans have move further to the right on issues. The moderate Republicans are exiting faster than the moderate Democrats. They're fed up with the conservative wing of the party stalling progress.

Cracks in the stalemate. Some Republicans are tearing up the "Tax Pledge" by conservative activist Grover Norquist. The Republicans are slowly warming up to the notion of abandoning tax breaks to the high end earners.

This jobs report is political football for the cable news and talk radio circuit. Of course, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck will say the usual "end of days" nonsense that gives Republicans assurance they'll prevail in the 2012 U.S. Elections.

This jobs report will allow Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz, Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow and Alan Colmes to defend the president by saying that "see there's jobs" and the usual upbeat nonsense that gives Democrats hope that they'll prevail in the elections as well.

The jobs report makes a point to how our economy succeeds or fails.

The Republicans believe that the country is going down a dangerous path to economic failure because of the president's policies and they want to fix the problems. They want to pass domestic austerity cuts for lower class citizens, create bigger defense budgets for the military, roll back regulations for companies that pollute our nation, repeal legislation that protects unions, civil groups and minorities.

The Democrats believe that the country is slowly rebounding. They claim that the dangerous path the Republicans are taking is basically waiting to the last minute to get things done. They want to pass regulations on corporations that ship funds overseas while laying off employees, establish a safety net for struggling families, keep firearms out of the hands of terrorists and the mentally insane, and give rights to civil groups such as allowing LGBT to marry and undocumented workers get an opportunity to become citizens.

The government isn't going to pass legislation to keep the post office running until they get back after their six week vacation. When they go home to their respectable districts or states, your Representative or Senator will have a great time enjoying their vacations while you work harder. While they enjoy a round of golf, boating or an adulterous affair, you're trying to keep the lights on in your home, food in your refrigerator, and fuel in your vehicle.


The Republicans are stalling progress to defeat President Barack Obama. The Democrats can't let go of issues that are deem too controversial. The gridlock is still here and of course we the American people are fed up.

How can you get anything done if you have a bunch of partisans running the Congress or the White House?

I support the president on most issues, but if President Barack Obama has to go negative in order to secure his second term, then it defeats his "hope and change" mantra that he's been rallying his base on!

Mitt Romney is a perennial candidate that will say or do anything to escape the controversy that he puts his big mouth in. He's not the Republican Party's favorite son, but you better believe they are willing to take a moderate Republican over Barack Obama any day!

Stuck!

                      

Weak jobs report. For the month of June, unemployment is still above 8%. The United States is still struggling to bring jobs back. 


Not good news for President Barack Obama and the members of Congress.

We have a problem people!

Issues such as weak demand, the wildfires, Europe, and the stock market are factors.

The president can't make unemployment numbers go down! That's not going to happen overnight and it's not going to be a simple fix. He can lay out the groundwork and he still has one major obstacle to face.

Congress.

The real issue lies with the partisan gridlock with Congress. Before they went on their umpteenth recess vacation, all members of the House and Senate passed a student's loan bill and jobs bill. These bills were passed at the last minute, after the president urged speeder progress when passing it.

Unfortunately, when the president is having a good week, the reality of the jobs report brings him back to the  drag. Although jobs are added, the more hiring means the greater mass of employment. If the president could  he would wish a million jobs a month. But that can't happen.

Small businesses are being squeezed out of existence by name brand companies. The local coffee shop will be competing with Starbucks. The local deli is competing with Subway. The grocery store is competing with Kroger, Food Lion and Safeway. The local dress shop is competing with David's Bridal. The local doughnut shop is competing with Dunkin' Donuts. You rather travel to Wal-Mart, Target or Kohl's than drive downtown to the local businesses. You rather go to the open air town centers because its trendier than the mall.

Signs of a struggling economy. High vacancy rates at a mall.

Signs of a dying city. Foreclosed skyscrappers, homes and businesses.

Once again, the predecessor George W. Bush is a bad memory to the Republicans. They avoid him and his father George H.W. Bush every time. You hear Republicans and their conservative allies rally around Ronald Reagan, the only Republican they'll ever mention besides Abraham Lincoln.

Republicans are aware of the massive spending of Reagan and the Bushes. They don't care what they do! As long as they're Republicans, they are happy. But when a Democrat gets into office, the Republicans go holy bat shit with this notion that it's automatically the fault of the successor when things are getting worse before they gotten better.

See when the Democratic Party was in charge, things were done! Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada) and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-California) had led the House and Senate. They may of had some of their own members struggle on votes, but they had enough to pass laws. The Republicans painted them as the party of overreach and the Democrats couldn't figure out a message. Republicans managed to say that policies passed by Congress under the Democratic leadership were failing. And of course, people were soaking it up and even believing it.

White males are the most pessimistic voters this year around. President Barack Obama is struggling on winning this group of voters.

Former Massachusetts governor, perennial candidate for president, Mitt Romney has a lackluster campaign.

His campaign offers nothing inspiring. But you better believe that he's well funded and well messaged. As long as Romney can say that he knows how to fix the economy, people will lean towards him. Romney has no clear message to fixing the economy. He offers generic bumper sticker phrases and running on the "I am the only one who can beat Obama" crap. Some in his own party think he's not capable of taking on the president.

There's no signs of the Tea Party this year. The very people who voted out the Democratic majority are glum faced about the Republican leadership. They were hoping the Congress was going to get their act together and cut the spending. Alas that's not the case. Those freshmen Tea Party members of the Republican Party have turned their backs on the principles. They were promising to be that fiscally conservative member who can keep the president from spending the country into problematic countries like Greece.
       
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has been labeled a "crybaby" or milquetoast leader. The speaker allowed spending bills to pass, amid fierce opposition from his own members of his party. Even House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) has threatened to oust Boehner if he doesn't get his act together.


Another thing. We hear the Republicans say that our problems are similar to Greece and Spain. 


Not exactly. The problems that Greece is facing are the banks and austerity cuts. Those people who live and work in Greece are experience an unemployment rate at 18%. That's not good for anyone. They were asking for spending bailouts. Conservative leaders like the ones in France, Italy, United Kingdom, Belgium and Germany were urging nations struggling to cut domestic programs. That wasn't popular in Europe. 


They're facing an economic recession and it's affecting the United States.


The Republicans are rooting for the economy to fail. They want revenge on the Democrats after they hammered former president George W. Bush on his handling of the economy.


With leaders saying that their only goal is to see that the president serves one term, or an overpaid talk show host saying he "hopes [Obama] fails", it's pretty clear that they're celebrating failure over success.


Unemployment will stay around 7% - 9% for the next five years no matter what the president or congress does.

Another Ridiculous Culture War Distraction! Operation Fast & Furious Scandal

This issue has circulated through the conservative blogs and media for the last three months.

Operation Fast and Furious was a sting run by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) between 2009 and 2010 as part of Project Gunrunner in its investigations into illegal gun trafficking. The stated purpose of the operation was to permit otherwise-suspected straw purchasers to complete the weapon's purchase and transit to Mexico, in order to build a bigger case against Mexican criminal organizations suspected of being the ultimate buyer.

During the operation, the sale of at least 2,000 guns were facilitated by ATF knowing most would be trafficked to Mexico. By June 2011, the guns have been linked (through eTrace, ATF's electronic tracing program) to some 179 crime scenes in Mexico.

Of the 2,000 guns knowingly released by ATF agents, only 600 are reported as recovered by officials. The remaining 1,400 guns have not been recovered.

Congressman Darrell Issa (R-California) is heavily involved in the Operation Fast & Furious scandal. The Republicans and conservatives call for Attorney General Eric Holder to resign. Republicans once again have their asses wrapped around the American flag in defense of another "culture" war. Instead of worrying about what they were elected for, we see the Republicans wasting time, money and patience.