Author: Patrick

Short Bio: I started blogging about politics in 2006, as a populist, skeptical left of center type, with a blog called simply, "The Populist."I suspect, but cannot prove; that my blog might have been hacked by some evil neoconservatives. I cannot prove that at all and also too, around the same time. Hackers from China where attacking wordpress blogs. I believe either the Neocons or the Chinese got my site. I don't know honestly know which.Either way, by 2007, I began to see that I really did not fit within the Democrat Party and liberal circles and after my blog was hacked; I created a blog called "Political Byline" and I kept writing; first as a Centrist and then as a Conservative PopulistFor my long bio, see the "About Me" section on this blog.

Pro-gun advocates denounce Ted Nugent’s rant

As you all know, Ted Nugent stepped into it and I mean badly.

Well, it seems that a pro-gun blog has something to say about it. This comes via Bearing Arms:

Nugent’s appeal to authority—”my dad killed nazis & saved Jews in WWII”—doesn’t excuse what he posted last night, and he’s frankly seems too cowardly to address all the rational and factually correct criticism of the image he chose to use.

Quite a few people of the pro-gun people that I’ve spoken with today are simply done with Nugent. They’re tired of feeling that they have to defend his half-baked rhetoric and simple-minded outbursts. Many people are calling for him to resign from the NRA Board and for him to have his membership stripped from him.

While I think forcing him out of the NRA entirely is a bit much, I do think he owes the world a sincere apology. If he can’t find that sincerity in his heart, then he has no business being on the board of an inclusive organization such as the National Rifle Association.

I think Ted Nugent will not be saying anything else anytime soon.

 

 

Ted Nugent steps in it, deep

Hoo Boy! Ted Nugent has stepped into it and I mean deep too…

The Story:

Yesterday on Facebook, celebrity Second Amendment fan Ted Nugent posted photos of a dozen gun control supporters, all of them Jews, as indicated by the little Israeli flags over their faces. The headline: “So who is really behind gun control?” The captions on some of the photos mention additional offenses, such as “ISRAEL FIRSTER” (Alan Dershowitz), “gave Russian Jew immigrants your tax money” (Frank Lautenberg), “served in Israel’s army during Gulf War” (Rahm Emanuel), and “Nanny State troublemaker and 911 Israeli agent” (Michael Bloomberg). According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the grid of 12 anti-gun Jews “was apparently not created by Nugent, but has appeared in the past on anti-Semitic web sites” (such as this one)  Source: Ted Nugent Claims Wildly Anti-Semitic Array of Gun-Hating Jews Was Misconstrued – Hit & Run : Reason.com

His posting? This:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And his reply to those who did not like the posting?

Just when you hope that mankind couldnt possibly get any dumber or more dishonest, superFreaks rise to the occasion. What sort of racist prejudiced POS could possibly not know that Jews for guncontrol are nazis in disguise? “NEVER AGAIN!” Anyone? Anyone?? RUFKM! The founder of Jews For the Preservation of Firearms Ownership called me his 2nd Amendment/Freedom hero. The NEVER AGAIN battlecry was universally embraced by all good people who will make sure another Holocaust never happens again. Freaks have plummeted to whole new low. Plummet on punks. Plummet on. Meanwhile I adjust my yamika at my barmitzva playing my kosher guitar. My dad killed nazis & saved Jews in WWII. Eat me. (source)

“The Nuge” as he is often called, is about to learn a hard lesson in what happens to one who dares to mention “The race of people who shall not be mentioned.” Good thing he is at the stage of his career that he is at; because if he were just starting out, he would be officially done, toast, finished.

I suspect before too long, Nugent will offer some sort of groveling apology to the masses for this little incident. I feel for him though, I have been there and it sucks when they do attack. I think he will ride it out; but there will be hell to pay. This is not a good way to promote a career though, not at all.

Others: Right Wing Watch, Mother Jones, addictinginfo.org, TIME, Bearing Arms, Politicus USA, Hit & Run, Mediaite and twitchy.com

Interesting reading: The DNC, Hillary and Barnie

This is some very interesting reading about the dog fight between Hillary and Bernie.

Check it out:

One of the objections to Bernie Sanders’s candidacy that I keep reading on social media is that “he’s not even a Democrat.” People who say this appear to believe that it’s vitally important to be loyal to the institution of the Democratic Party as the last and only bulwark against the rising tide of insanity… – Source: Why the Dems Need Bernie More Than Bernie Needs the Dems | The Mahablog

This might be why the world economy is in the pooper

As I just wrote, the world economy is in the dumper.

Well, this here might be why; via HotAir.com:

Looks like the 2015Q4 GDP results told a broader story than some credited. The Associated Press called the results from today’s Bureau of Labor Statistics report “a sharp deceleration from recent months” (later removing “sharp” from that description), paralleling the sharper deceleration of production. The US economy added only 151,000 jobs, a miss on expectations and barely enough to tread water on population expansion:

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 151,000 in January, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.9 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in several industries, led by retail trade, food services and drinking places, health care, and manufacturing. Employment declined in private educational services, transportation and warehousing, and mining.

Numerous news services heralded the a drop in U-3 rate of unemployment to 4.9%, but the number of people not in the workforce also rose by 360,000 people from last month (table A-16). That follows an increase of 284,000 the previous month. Those not in the labor force who want a job increased by 461,000, and that follows an increase of 379,000 in the previous month. The latter measure had been falling in 2015, but has reversed itself by 840,000 in two months — both in the 0.7%-growth-rate Q4. [see update above]

Needless to say, this leaves the workforce participation rates near their historic lows:

After accounting for the annual adjustments to the population controls, the civilian labor force and total employment, as measured by the household survey, were little changed in January. The labor force participation rate, at 62.7 percent, was little changed. The employment-population ratio (59.6 percent) changed little over the month but was up by 0.3 percentage point since October.

The U-3 rate dipped down to 4.9%, but that appears to be a rounding issue more than a significant shift. The broader U-6 rate remained at 9.9%, where it has been for three straight months after briefly dipping down to 9.8% in October. For comparison, October was the first time since May 2008 that U-6 scored under double digits, and the U-3 rate in May 2008 was 5.4% while the workforce participation rates were 66.1% and 62.5%, respectively.

My apologies to the gang at HotAir.com for quoting the crap out of their article. But, this is warranted. There’s more:

Update (Steve Eggleston): I have a couple quick points. First, on the “not in labor force” front, it is a seasonal phenomenon related to year-end retirements, and in the case of January, the implementation of new population controls. While the 360,000 additional people not in the workforce compared to December (on a not-seasonally-adjusted basis) is a larger add than the last couple years, it is actually lower than the average December-to-January change since 2000.

The future isn’t very bright. The January Challenger report released yesterday noted that announced job cuts surged to 75,114, the highest monthly total since July 2015 and the highest January total since 2009. The report also noted that there were 8,362 announced hiring plans last month, the 2nd-lowest January total going back to 2011.

Donald Trump might be a bit too populist for some and might be seen as a loose cannon by many. However, there is one thing that he is absolutely right about and that is that we are not on a good path as a Nation and because of that, we are dragging the World economy down with us. Something has to change and there are many disagreements about what is to change and how it is to change. However, the one clear fact that I believe everyone can and will agree on is that the path that we have been on, in this Country, for these may years, dating back to the beginning of the George W. Bush Administration and maybe even the Bill Clinton Administration; cannot continue. Otherwise, the United States of America is going to find itself in a very bad place.

Here is hoping that there are people elected that can figure this out and make the needed changes, without causing many innocent people to suffer as a result.

Oh, Wonderful: World economy trapped in ‘death spiral’ says Citigroup

Oh joy… 🙄

The global economy seems trapped in a “death spiral” that could lead to further weakness in oil prices, recession and a serious equity bear market, Citi strategists have warned.Some analysts — including those at Citi — have turned bearish on the world economy this year, following an equity rout in January and weaker economic data out of China and the U.S.”The world appears to be trapped in a circular reference death spiral,” Citi strategists led by Jonathan Stubbs said in a report on Thursday.”Stronger U.S. dollar, weaker oil/commodity prices, weaker world trade/petrodollar liquidity, weaker EM (and global growth)… and repeat. Ad infinitum, this would lead to Oilmageddon, a ‘significant and synchronize – Source: Citi: World economy trapped in ‘death spiral’

Makes you want to go right out and spend a bunch of money, doesn’t it? 🙄