Uh, Tim, are those numbers backwards??

Yep, Tim's got the numbers switched. Most Americans do NOT like where we're headed - who ARE these 28%? Relatives of oil company barons?

Bushworld: Reality doesn't apply.

"Bush shrugged off a recent Pentagon-contracted report which concluded the Army was overextended and the United States cannot sustain the pace of troop deployments to Iraq long enough to break the back of the insurgency there.

The president predicted victory in Iraq and said, "Our commanders will have the troops necessary to do that."

tim, as we on the blog learn all the time....preview, preview, preview...but we love ya!

Maybe this has something to do with those numbers:

GDP growth at weakest in three years

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060127/bs_nm/economy_gdp_dc

By Glenn Somerville

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. economic growth slowed sharply in the fourth quarter to the weakest pace in three years as consumers spent less robustly, growth in home building eased and businesses were less eager to boost investments, a government report on Friday showed.

Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity within U.S. borders, advanced at a surprisingly weak 1.1 percent annual rate in the October-December period -- little more than a quarter of the third quarter's 4.1 percent rate and the weakest for any three months since 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2002...

Consumer spending, which fuels two-thirds of national economic activity, slowed to a 1.1 percent rate of growth, sharply below the third-quarter rate and the weakest since a 1 percent gain in second quarter of 2001. Spending on costly durable goods, which include cars and other items intended to last three years or more, plunged at a 17.5 percent rate.

That was the steepest drop in durables spending in nearly 19 years, since a 23.2 percent fall in the first quarter of 1987...

But some other analysts noted some of the negative influences -- like the hurricane impact -- could be temporary.

"Some of the recent data we have been getting is decidedly more upbeat," said Robert Sinche, a global currency strategist with Bank of America in New York. "The market looks at this as interesting history, likely to be revised up in future months."

* * *

Unless another world crisis makes the cost of oil shoot up? We can't do anything about hurricanes and tsunamis, but Bush heating up the conflict in the Middle East and cutting ties with our partners in South America for purely domestic political gain can and will destroy our American way of life.

Where in the Republican Energy bill is there anything that will get us away from dependence on foreign oil?

* * *

There also were signs of increased pressure on prices in the fourth quarter. The price index for consumer spending rose at a 2.6 percent rate in the fourth compared with the third quarter's 3.7 percent. However, the core PCE index, which strips out volatile food and energy costs, picked up to a 2.2 percent rate of increase from 1.4 percent in the third quarter....

* * *

Why would one strip out volatile food and energy costs? That is were those working on a minimum wage or those outsourced and underemployed spend most of their disposable income.

Thanks folks. =)

Tim

The State of the Union is CRITICAL!!!

TODAY, WE MUST SAVE AMERICA

We have just two days to save American Democracy - TODAY and MONDAY.

Through a stunning set of events, John Kerry and Ted Kennedy will lead a filibuster of Sam Alito on Monday.

Senate offices will be closed this weekend, so TODAY WE MUST CALL EVERY DEMOCRATIC SENATOR TO DEMAND SUPPORT FOR THE FILIBUSTER. And we must call them all again MONDAY.

http://democrats.com/alito-48

If we lose the cloture vote on Monday at 4:30 p.m., the Senate will vote at 11 a.m. on Tuesday to put Sam Alito on the Supreme Court with Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and John Roberts - where they will vote in lockstep to ensure that the extremist agenda of the radical right is never blocked by any Court.

And what is that agenda? It is no longer a mystery: allowing a President to start illegal wars, murder civilians and journalists, destroy cities, torture prisoners, lock away citizens at home, and wiretap every email and call in the world. Having the Supreme Court choose Presidents, not the voters. Letting corporations crush their workers and poison the planet. And, of course, outlawing all abortions, even at the cost of women's lives.

John Kerry decided to lead a filibuster because he cares passionately about American democracy - and because he was inspired by the hundreds of thousands of emails and calls from progressive activists like you.

Many Democratic Senators urged Kerry not to lead a filibuster because they were afraid to stand and fight.

But Kerry is not a coward. He said, "Judge Alito's confirmation would be an ideological coup on the Supreme Court. The president has every right to nominate Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. It's our right and our responsibility to oppose him vigorously."

You said it, John Kerry!!!!

George Bush needs 60 votes to end the filibuster and confirm Alito. Bush can count on 52 Republican votes. We must make sure he doesn't get to 60.

There are 48 possible votes to sustain the filibuster. We are keeping a scorecard here:
http://democrats.com/alito-48

Three Democrats - Ben Nelson (NE), Tim Johnson (SD), and Robert Byrd (WV) - plan to vote for Alito.

Three Democrats have said publicly they oppose Alito, but also oppose a filibuster - Mary Landrieu (LA), Ken Salazar (CO), and Dianne Feinstein (CA).

We must give these six Democrats two choices: (1) change their position to support a Democratic filibuster, or (2) spend Monday away from the Senate - preferably at Walter Reed Hospital talking to soldiers who have been maimed for life by the criminal actions of George Bush.

We know how hard you have worked to stop Alito. The White House wants us to believe our efforts cannot succeed, but they are just trying to get us to stop trying.

WITH JOHN KERRY LEADING THE WAY, WE CAN WIN THIS BATTLE.

Let's win it for our children, and for generations to come!!!

According to CNN the PEW foundation has reported that party affiliation determines perceptions of this Economy. Republicans see a good economy, Democrats see a problematic economy.

The simple answer is that Republicans listen to FOX news, that distorts reality. My question is how and why do they have an FCC license to broadcast such misinformation and propoganda, that deceives and distorts reality, to the point that it affects how people will vote?

Why have our Democrats failed to address this problem. The Dems are more like GM and Ford. The handwriting is on the wall, but they will not do anything about it, until it is too late.

We must filabuster Alito, and let Frist do the nuclear option, to bring attention that we have lost our democracy to a corrupt corporteocracy that is becoming a fascist state. These issues need to be front and center in the media, which will never happen unless the Dems all the Republican bluff. Finally, I am concerned that we will lose in 2006, because Diebolt and the local Republican Secretary of States, will fix the elections the same way they fixed FL and Ohio.

Here again, the Dems are silent and allow our democracy to deteriorate. They need to shout louder and stand firm with an ethical position, filabuster Alito, and wake up Americans that fascism is at our doorstep.

When Bush puts out the garbage that the government is not suppose to care for the people, that the people are left to the churches, he is far from bibical; and apparently failed to read the Bible, because Joseph in the Book of Genesis, Verses 37 through 50, was chosen by the Pharaoh who was not the church or synagog; but was the leader of the government of Egypt to pull the people through the famine that hit Egypt at that time. The hungry people came to the government, not the churches or synagogs. This is important.

This Bush Administration is using Hitler tactics.

The political EXTREME autocratic-aristocratic conservative Right-Wing Christian Coalition cult does not follow the Holy Bible; but follows their own political autocratic/aristocratic conservative Right-Wing cultic views which works well for the use of the autocratic-aristocratic conservative EXTREME Right-Wing Hitler type Bush Administration.

When Bush puts out the garbage that the government is not suppose to care for the people, that the people are left to the churches, he is far from bibical; and apparently failed to read the Bible, because Joseph in the Book of Genesis, Verses 37 through 50, was chosen by the Pharaoh who was not the church or synagog; but was the leader of the government of Egypt to pull the people through the famine that hit Egypt at that time. The hungry people came to the government, not the churches or synagogs. This is important.

This Bush Administration is using Hitler tactics.

The political EXTREME autocratic-aristocratic conservative Right-Wing Christian Coalition cult does not follow the Holy Bible; but follows their own political autocratic/aristocratic conservative Right-Wing cultic views which works well for the use of the autocratic-aristocratic conservative EXTREME Right-Wing Hitler type Bush Administration.

Thank You Martha, Thank God someone else has seen the difference from a true Christian and one that draws nigh to God with their mouth but their Heart is far from him. Now if others will start reading or listening to their Bible tapes, we will once and for all establish the fact Republicans and, "so called Christians," are using that for political gain. I was so surprised myself when I read it in black and white in the King James Version of the New Testament.

Makes you want to send some emails to a few senators!!!! Solidarity is a word to think about right now....for The People.