Wednesday, November 18, 2009
By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer
[Article from CNSNews.com, links added by CNSNews.com staff]

(CNSNews.com) – The 86^thcongressional district of Rhode Island received $10.2 million in federal economic stimulus funds to save 57.9 jobs, according to Recovery.gov. In neighboring Connecticut, the state’s 42^nd congressional district did not receive any stimulus money yet 25 jobs were still saved or created.

The problem with these federal financial data, however, is that Rhode Island has just two congressional districts, not 86, and Connecticut has just five U.S. House seats, not 42. Also, the Web site states that $6.4 billion in stimulus money went to 440 congressional districts that do not exist, according to an analysis first reported by Watchdog.org, a division of the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity.

The watchdog’s analysis showed that the money invested in the non-existent congressional districts saved or created 30,000 jobs, based on the government data currently available to the public.

Recovery.gov is the Obama administration’s Web site designed to track the funds dispersed through the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Concerning the non-existent congressional districts and other data on Recovery.org, the Obama administration responded on Tuesday that it was a matter of kinks in the system and that all stimulus funds are traceable and documented.

“These are not non-existent congressional districts, these are improperly identified congressional districts,” Ed Pound, spokesman for the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, told CNSNews.com Tuesday. “It’s human error. People filling out these forms might not know their district.”

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Measure would audit the Fed’s monetary policies such as interest rates

[Article from MarketWatch.com]

bumpersticker from: http://www.cafepress.com/+are_you_better_off_now,392044147

A key congressional panel on Thursday approved legislation introduced by the Texas congressman that – for the first time in the central bank’s 95-year-history — would require government audits of Federal Reserve monetary policy, as well as how much the central bank has lent and will lend to specific banks.

Fed Chief Ben Bernanke and other key members of the Obama administration, including Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, had vigorously opposed the move.

The measure was approved by the House Financial Services Committee as it considered broad bank regulatory reform legislation, and included a package of other measures weakening the Fed’s power and capping how much it can lend or guarantee.

The committee is now poised to pass the entire bill and has scheduled its final vote on the legislation for December 1.

AM Report: Ron Paul vs. the Fed The News Hub panel discusses Ron Paul's Opinion piece in today's Journal, which argues for a more transparent Federal Reserve.

[Continue reading and view video here...]

Today may have been the 404th  anniversary of Guy Fawkes’ Gunpowder Plot, guarding the gunpowder that was to be used for blowing up British Parliament.  But we Americans can give it a new twist in stirring things up!  No explosives needed.

If you’re a liberty-loving American Patriot, please visit http://www.thisnovember5th.com/ .  You can contribute to Debra Medina (Gubernatorial candidate, TX),  Rand Paul (US Senate, KY), Adam Kokesh (State Rep. Dist. 3 candidate, NM),  Peter Schiff (US Senate, CT), just to name a few.

You can also donate to these other liberty-loving, socially-responsible and fiscally conservative candidates such as David Smith, TX CD 2 and Joe Petronis, TX CD 10, by visiting their respective campaign websites.

Happy trails, folks, and support your favorite candidate!!    :-)

Source: Peter Schiff

While all the talk at present is about economic corners turned and markets charging ahead, no one is paying much notice to an American economy deteriorating before our eyes. These myopic commentators seem to be simply moving past the now almost-universally held conclusion that before the crash of 2008, our economy was on an unsustainable course. If these imbalances had been corrected, then perhaps I too would be joining in the euphoria. But evidence abounds that we have not veered at all from that dangerous path.

The primary factor that enables our government to peddle economic snake oil is the dollar’s unique role as the world’s reserve currency, and our creditors’ willingness to preserve its status.

Last week, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that consumer spending as a percentage of U.S. GDP has risen to 71%, a post-World War II record. This level is notably higher than other wealthy industrialized countries, and vastly higher than the levels sustained by China and other emerging economies. At the same time, our industrial output is contracting, our trade deficit is expanding once again (after contracting earlier in the year), and our savings rate is plummeting (after an early year surge).

The data confirms that government stimuli are worsening the structural imbalances underlying our economy. The recent ‘rebound’ in GDP is not resulting from increased economic output, but merely from the fact that we are borrowing more than ever. That is precisely how we got ourselves into this mess. An economy cannot grow indefinitely by borrowing more than it produces. Not only is such a course untenable, but the added debt ensures a deeper recession when the bills come due.

This soon-to-be-called depression will not end until the pendulum of consumer spending habits swings violently in the other direction. This will be a jarring change, but it is the splash of cold water that we need to return our economy to viability. I believe that consumer spending as a share of GDP will need to temporarily contract to roughly 50% of GDP, before eventually moving toward its historic mean of 65%. Such a move would indicate a restoration of our personal savings, a decline in borrowing and trade deficits, and an increased industrial output. That would be a real recovery. Read the rest of this entry »

In addition to the Empower Texans’ recommendations of the Texas State Constitutional Amendments, here is another analysis by The House Research Organization, a non-partisan source of impartial information on legislation and issues considered by the Texas Legislature. The HRO is an independent administrative department of the Texas House of Representatives. It is governed by a broadly representative steering committee of 15 House members elected by the House membership to set policy for the organization, approve its budget, and ensure that its reports are objective.

The HRO’s analysis has a bit more background and gives pros and cons of each amendment as well as actual text of the amendments, so that you may make informed decisions when you vote.

You can early vote between Monday, October 19th and Friday, October 30th.  Early voting will be held:

(Mon) October 19 – (Fri) October 23      8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
(Sat) October 24                                  7:00 AM – 7:00 PM
(Sun) October 25                                 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM
(Mon) October 26 – (Fri) October 30     7:00 AM – 7:00 PM

Locate your early voting location here.  However, please note that on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, 2009, you may only vote at your specific precinct location, (Harris County resident only on immediately preceding link).

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Robert Kiyosaki, best known for his Rich Dad, Poor Dad series of motivational books, laughingly responded to the question, “Would you say Obama is running the country like a rich dad or a poor dad?”

Kiyosaki: “Obama?! The guys that run the country, I write about this in my book Conspiracy of the Rich, the people that run the country are Goldman Sachs – Cmon Gimme a break – and the guys that control Goldman Sachs. It is run by the international banking cartels of the world. The Federal Reserve bank is not a bank, it’s owned by the richest European and… some Saudi money in the world and the Federal Reserve bank is the one that caused this crisis.”

The topic of this interview was primarily to discuss investment in gold and silver in light of the recent news that oil-trading countries were allegedly meeting in secret to discuss trading oil in a currency other than the U.S. dollar.

Jump to 2:06 to see the exchange.

Robert Toru Kiyosaki (born April 8, 1947) is an investor, businessman, self-help author, motivational speaker and inventor. Kiyosaki is best known for his Rich Dad, Poor Dad series of motivational books and other material. He has written 15 books which have combined sales of over 26 million copies.