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Politics, Video

Speaking at the National Press Club regarding their 2014 midterm defeat, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) admitted what Republicans have argued for years — Democrats should never have passed ObamaCare. Schumer, who sounded more like a Republican Tuesday morning, said Democrats did not have a mandate to pass the deeply unpopular law and made a mistake when they put the economy on the back-burner for the law.

“Unfortunately, Democrats blew the opportunity the American people gave them,” Schumer said. “We took their mandate and put all our focus on the wrong problem — health care reform.”

But not so fast. Schumer, who never read the bill and is responding after-the-fact, said he still believes in ObamaCare, but he now thinks Democrats suffered politically by not first tackling the recession. Taking over one-sixth of the economy, he said, “wasn’t the change we were hired to make” in 2008.

After passing the stimulus, Democrats should have continued to propose middle-class oriented programs and built on the partial success of the stimulus. But unfortunately, Democrats blew the opportunity the American people gave them. We took their mandate and put all of our focus on the wrong problem — health care reform. The plight of uninsured Americans and the hardships caused by unfair insurance company practices certainly needed to be addressed, but it wasn’t the change we were hired to make.

Americans were crying out for the end to the recession, for better wages and more jobs, not changes in health care. This makes sense, considering 85% of all Americans got their health care either the government, Medicare, Medicaid, or their employer. And if health care costs were going up, it really did not affect them. The former care act was aimed at the 36 million Americans who were not covered. It has been reported that only a third of the uninsured are even registered to vote. In 2010 only about 40% of those registered voting. Even if the uninsured kept with the rate, which they likely did not, it would still only be talking about only 5% of the electorate. To aim a huge change in mandate at such a small percentage of the electorate made no political sense. So when Democrats focused on health care, the average middle-class person thought the Democrats are not paying enough attention to me.

Speaking at the National Press Club Sen.

US

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The Ferguson riots that broke out in the wake of the grand jury decision’s not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for the shooting of Michael Brown have taken a huge financial and emotional toll on a weary community.

More than a dozen buildings were set on fire overnight, with at least 61 people arrested and facing various charges, including arson, burglary and unlawful assembly.

“What I’ve seen tonight is worse than the worst night we had in August,” St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said, while speaking at an early-morning news conference. “The fabric of the community has been torn apart tonight.”

The Ferguson grand jury decided Monday night not to indict Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting of Michael Brown, 18, on August 8, 2014, moments after Brown committed a strong-arm robbery with another young man. The grand jury testimony and forensic evidence overwhelmingly supported the officer’s story, but that didn’t stop so-called “protestors” and opportunists from rioting.

Numerous fires still burned into the morning, and two police cars were completed melted in the street. Businesses were left destroyed and emptied due to looting from the protestors, who turned increasingly violent as the night went on. By midnight, PPD confirmed over a hundred shots had been fired, which put the police at extreme risk.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson said officers showed “great courage” in patrolling the city, but at least 18 people were treated at hospitals for various injuries.

“Our community has to take some responsibility for what happened tonight,” Johnson said. “We have done something here that is going to impact our community for a long time.”

Belmar said his main goal was the preservation of life, but was visibly disappointed by the violence and looting that followed Monday’s announcement. He said that he and others now wondered if certain areas of the town could recover. He also stressed that the police were not ill-prepared for the situation, but placed an extreme emphasis on defensive riot control.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon waited to give the order for additional National Guardsmen to enter the city this morning, which the governor hoped will provide additional security if protests continue Tuesday night. A large number of troops were later seen marching in file and wearing riot gear.

“We’re expecting it to flare up again, especially when it gets dark,” said the Rev. Dusty Thompson, of Ferguson Church of the Nazarene. “There’s definitely some trepidation for tonight, but we are just praying that peace will be pursued and that our community will come together.”

Store owners were shocked that the rioting was so widespread, and even many of those who boarded up their storefronts returned this morning to find the wood had been set on fire.

“I’m the only one that didn’t burn,” said Dan McMullen, who has owned an insurance company in the Ferguson area for 20 years. “The buildings to the right and left of me burned down. The beauty shop to the left of me is totally flat. It’s a 60-year old building made out of concrete and metal.”

“I never thought they would burn the place down.”

McMullen also added that he and others in the neighborhood fear the violence will continue — or perhaps even escalate — Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, both the Brown family and Officer Darren Wilson responded to the grand jury decision, with the Brown family holding a press conference Tuesday and slamming the members of the grand jury, the police, and St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch.

“We said from the very beginning that the decision of this grand jury was going to be the direct reflection of the presentation of the evidence by the prosecutor’s office,” said attorney Anthony Gray, who suggested McCulloch presented some testimony, including from witnesses who did not see the shooting, to discredit the process.

However, the grand jury testimony and forensic evidence in the case, which was available to all media outlets for scrutiny, shows Brown clearly as the aggressor. The Brown family attorneys, Mr. Daryl Parks and Mr. Benjamin Crump, had long argued that Dorian Johnson’s testimony should be given the same weight as other eyewitnesses.

When confronted with the forensic evidence, which did not support a “hands up don’t shoot” narrative, eyewitnesses initially in agreement with Johnson changed their story or admitted they hadn’t actually witnessed the crime. As for Mr. Johnson, himself, according to the grand jury testimony, he was directly involved in the assault of Officer Darren Wilson.

Brown “has his arms out with attitude,” while “The cop just stood there,” one witness to the shooting that capped the noon-time confrontation testified. “Dang if that kid didn’t start running right at the cop like a football player. Head down.”

Wilson’s lawyers issued a statement praising the decision and saying the officer, who has remained out of the public eye since the shooting, is grateful to his supporters.

“Law enforcement personnel must frequently make split-second and difficult decisions,” the lawyers wrote. “Officer Wilson followed his training and followed the law.”

The Ferguson riots that broke out in

Politics

obamacare_jonathan_gruber

ObamaCare architect Jonathan Gruber, the MIT professor caught on video calling the American people stupid multiple times, will testify before the House Oversight Committee next month. Gruber agreed to testify on the lack of transparency surrounding the Affordable Care Act, better known as ObamaCare.

In a letter to Gruber, who made millions of dollars advising both state and federal governments on health care, Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) asked him and Marilyn Tavenner, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service administrator, to appear and answer questions on repeated transparency failures and outright deceptions involving the passage of the law.

The hearing is scheduled to be held on Dec. 9 at 9:30 AM ET.

“From the outset, the health law has been the poster child for this administration’s broken transparency promises,” Issa said in a written statement. Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz will soon take over as chairman of the powerful committee, but not before Issa gets one last chance to expose deceptions reagrding the law.

“Jonathan Gruber, one of ObamaCare’s chief architects, publicly lauded the ‘lack of transparency’ that was necessary to pass the law and credited ‘the stupidity of the American voter’ that allowed the administration to mislead the public,” Issa said. He added, “CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner testified before our Committee that the administration met its goals by enrolling 7.3 million individuals; however, we now know that wasn’t the case.”

Issa says the numbers provided by CMS were deceptive and that he wants both Gruber and Tavenner to explain themselves.

Even though Democrats, including President Obama and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, have attempted to downplay Gruber’s role in crafting the law, a simple examination of White House logs show he visited 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. more than a dozen times and was paid $400,000 for his work on the project.

ObamaCare architect Jonathan Gruber, the MIT professor

Economy

Business and Economy

The Commerce Department on Tuesday raised its GDP growth estimate from the 3.5 percent annual pace reported last month to 3.9 percent. The change largely reflected upward revisions to business and consumer spending, as well as inventory restocking.

However, the Conference Board’s gauge of consumer confidence fell to 88.7 in November, down from 94.1 the month prior. The reading, which came under Wall Street expectations for 96, was discouragingly measured during what is supposed to be a robust holiday season. With consumer spending accounting for more than two-thirds of GDP growth, results cast doubt on the staying power of U.S. economic growth.

“Consumers were somewhat less positive about current business conditions and the present state of the job market; moreover, their optimism in the short-term outlook in both areas has waned,” Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, said in a statement.

According to the Commerce Department, consumer spending actually grew at a 2.2 percent pace instead of the previously reported 1.8 percent rate, a rather conflicting trend. And that’s not the only conflicting piece of data in the report. The department’s own report released in early November found the U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly ballooned in September, which was a widening fueled by a plummeting in U.S. exports that sent them to a five-month low.

Yet, even though the data was revised downward, it wasn’t hit nearly as hard as economists widely expected. Export growth was only lowered to a 4.9 percent rate from the previously reported 7.8 percent rate, while imports were actually revised up. That left a trade deficit that contributed 0.78 percentage point to GDP growth instead of the previously reported 1.32 percentage points.

The economy has now expanded at a 4.6 percent rate in the second quarter, which on its surface, represents the two strongest back-to-back quarters of growth since the second half of 2003. However, when measured on the income side, an area of the economy that is showing little to no wage growth, the economy grew at its fastest pace since the first quarter of 2012.

Despite the positive news from latest Commerce Department report, consumers’ assessment of the labor market actually worsened. The “jobs hard to get” index rose to 29.2 percent from 29.0 percent the month before, while the “jobs plentiful” index fell to 16.0 percent from 16.5 percent.

Perhaps the best outlook globally speaking, is that the United States remains one of only a few bright spots in an increasingly weak global economy. Japan is in recession, again, and growth in the euro zone and China has slowing significantly.

Meanwhile, Gallup’s U.S. Economic Confidence Index dipped to -10 for the week ending Nov. 23. This is four points lower than the -6 found the previous week, and until October the index remained largely stable.

Conflicting economic news from the Commerce Department

Economy

home sales and home prices

(Photo: REUTERS)

Home prices in 20 major metropolitan areas were unchanged in September from August levels on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, falling short of expectations for a 0.2 percent increase. However, not all of the data were discouraging.

Prices rose 4.9 percent year-over-year, beating out economists’ expectations for a 4.6 percent increase, according to the S&P Case-Shiller home prices index. Further, U.S. single-family home prices showed a stronger-than-expected rise in September on a year-over-year basis, but indicated a deceleration from the prior month, a closely watched survey said on Tuesday.

Economists polled by Reuters forecast a 4.6 percent increase.

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, prices in the 20 cities rose 0.3 percent for the month, while the Reuters poll of economists had forecast an increase of 0.1 percent. Non-seasonally adjusted prices, however, were unchanged in the 20 cities on a monthly basis, also falling short.

“The overall trend in home price increases continues to slow down,” David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a statement. “With the economy looking better than a year ago, the housing outlook for 2015 is stable to slightly better.”

However, other economists are concerned that the price increases are moving hand-in-hand with the increase level of risk in the market year-over-year. AEI’s National Mortgage Risk Index for home purchase loans climbed almost 1 percentage point above the October 2013 level. A total of 220,000 loans were added in October, bringing the total number of loans included in the index to 4.78 million.

The gauge, which is the first-ever measure of how mortgage loans originated month-by-month would perform under severely stressed conditions, found loans to FTHBs (first time homebuyers) in October had a risk rating of 14.46 percent. That is roughly 3 points higher than the composite rating, an elevation of risk largely due to the concentration and lack of diversity of FHA loans.

A broader measure of national housing market activity that S&P/Case-Shiller is now releasing on a monthly basis rose at a slower pace year over year, coming in at 4.8 percent. The seasonally adjusted 10-city gauge rose 0.3 percent in September versus a 0.2 percent drop in August, while the non-adjusted 10-city index was unchanged for the month compared to a 0.2 percent rise in August.

Home prices in 20 major metropolitan areas

Politics, Video

In a November 24 edition of Hardball, MSNBC contributor Michelle Bernard used the tragic case in Ferguson as another reason for increasing government control.

Bernard called for the Justice Department to “get involved” in prosecuting Ferguson, Missouri, prior to the outcome of the grand jury proceedings before she even had a chance to hear and see the evidence.

The Ferguson grand jury decided Monday night not to indict Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting of Michael Brown, 18, on August 8, 2014, moments after Brown committed a strong-arm robbery with another young man.

Ferguson riots have broken out in the wake of the grand jury decision, as the widespread looting of businesses, destruction of property, assaults on police officers, and hundreds of gunshots engulfed the city throughout the night. There were 29 arrests made around Ferguson, according to police who gave a press conference Tuesday.

Following weeks of agitation, much of it from supposed leaders and irresponsible media outlets who give voice to people like Michelle Bernard, any futile call for peace failed to have an impact.

Bernard insisted that Brown was the latest “casualty” of a nationwide “war on black boys,” and blamed conservatives who favor “state’s rights” by suggesting that the ideology was simply an a mask for racists.

In a November 24 edition of Hardball,

US

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Ferguson protests just prior to the grand jury decision, which quickly turned violent. (Photo: REUTERS)

Ferguson riots have broken out in the wake of the grand jury decision, and PPD has now confirmed over a hundred shots have been fired, prompting police to move in with heavier weaponry and vehicles.

Initially, shots had been fired outside of the police department shortly after President Obama’s speech, as a “protestor” fired a gun in the air taunting police. Others attempted to turn over vehicles and successfully lobbed molotov cocktails at the officers.

There have been widespread looting of businesses, destruction of property, bricks thrown at officers, and police are attempting to respond in kind with tear gas. At least one police car is fully engulfed in flames. Police were searching for a white male with an American flag bandanna in connection with the car arsine.

The Ferguson grand jury decided Monday night not to indict Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting of Michael Brown, 18, on August 8, 2014, moments after Brown committed a strong-arm robbery with another young man.

Brown’s family immediately issued a statement following the announcement by St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch.

“We are profoundly disappointed that the killer of our child will not face the consequence of his actions,” the family’s statement said. “While we understand that many others share our pain, we ask that you channel your frustration in ways that will make a positive change. We need to work together to fix the system that allowed this to happen.”

Yet, following weeks of agitation, much of it from supposed leaders and irresponsible media outlets, any call for peace has failed to have an impact.

The McDonald’s in Ferguson once again became a target, just as it had over the summer in August. But police are concerned that “group of guns” has assembled by the Meineke at 402 S Florissant Road. In an effort to protect police and resist countering groups of people with force, the police pulled out of the surrounding block area.

A large group of looters also stormed the Family Dollar on W Florissant Road. The Ferguson Meat Market and Liqueur store was also looted after glass was smashed with a bat. Looters moved on to the store after giving up on the McDonald’s.

A police SWAT team was dispatched to respond to what was initially reported as a possible shooting at W Florissant and Hall. However, PPD can confirm that one person has now been shot, though their condition is unknown.

Ferguson riots have broken out in the

US

Ferguson_grand_jury_decision_Michael_Brown_Darren_Wilson

Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson, 28, right, shot and killed Michael Brown, 18, left, on a Ferguson, Mo. street following a scuffle on Aug. 9 as the teenager and his friend and co-conspirator were walking away from a convenience store robbery.

The Ferguson grand jury has decided not to indict Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting of Michael Brown, 18, on August 8, 2014.

St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch announced the decision during a press conference that began 8:17 PM central time Monday night. In his opening statement, he offered a sharp criticism of the early reports and social media accounts, describing them as offering “little to no evidence” in the case.

The 12-person grand jury — which was comprised of nine whites and three blacks — had been meeting in secret once a week for months, hearing evidence from a wide variety of witnesses as it decides whether Wilson’s should face charges that could range from involuntary manslaughter to murder.

“All testimony provided to the grand jury was also provided to the Department of Justice,” McCulloch said. “Eyewitness accounts must be compared and weighed against the physical evidence,” he added. “Some eyewitness accounts were inconsistent with the physical evidence and even previous statements made by those witnesses.”

He said the evidence suggested none of the early accounts depicting Officer Wilson murdering Brown in cold blood. Media reports focused on witnesses who said that Brown had his hands raised and was trying to surrender when Wilson approached with his gun and fired repeatedly, but the evidence demonstrated these accounts were false.

PPD has learned that six of the most compelling testimonies corroborating Wilson’s story were in fact black as earlier reports suggested. Further, many of those early witnesses came forward during the process and admitted they were never telling the truth, and some admitted they simply repeated what others either said or told them to say.

“Some witnesses admitted the they had not seen the shooting or only part of the shooting, or were simply repeating the stories they have heard,” he said. “Several witnesses described Mr. Brown’s movements as a full charge, with fists clenched.”

Brown’s family immediately issued a statement following McCulloch’s announcement.

“We are profoundly disappointed that the killer of our child will not face the consequence of his actions,” the family’s statement said. “While we understand that many others share our pain, we ask that you channel your frustration in ways that will make a positive change. We need to work together to fix the system that allowed this to happen.”

Ultimately, though he is aware that the decision my not be accepted by some, McCulloch offered a defense of the grand jury decision and said it must be made based on the “physical and scientific evidence.”

“The grand jury won’t tirelessly to examine and re-examined the witness testimony and physical evidence… These grand jurors poured their hearts and soul into this process,” McCulloch said. “The job of the grand jury is to separate fact from fiction.”

The Ferguson grand jury has decided not

US

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US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel speaks about the Defense Department’s budget requests during a press conference at the Pentagon in Washington on February 24, 2014. AFP PHOTO / Saul LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel resigned as a result of increasing pressure from the Obama administration to cover for a string of botched international crises, PPD has confirmed.

Hagel, 68, met with President Obama at the White House at 11:00 A.M., shortly before the president announced he accepted his resignation. Obama praised Hagel as “an exemplary defense secretary” who has always “given it to me straight.”

However, a White House officials close to the situation said the rhetoric and the reality of the resignation don’t comport with each other.

“The president felt he had to fire someone. He fired the only Republican in his cabinet,” the source said. “Who is that going to piss off that he cares about?”

Hagel, a Republican, who took office on Feb. 27, 2013, is the first member of Obama’s team to step down following the historic midterm elections where Republicans took control over the Senate. The official said the president lost faith in Hagel when it became clear that the Islamic State offensive and beheadings were going to play a key role in the midterm elections.

A senior defense official said that Hagel had already submitted his resignation letter to President Obama Monday morning. They also said that the president willingly accepted it, but Hagel agreed to remain in office until his successor is confirmed by the Senate.

The official said both Hagel and Obama “determined that it was time for new leadership in the Pentagon,” adding that they had been discussing the matter over a period of several weeks. However, despite their attempt to make the announcement an expected one, the president is not expected to nominate a new Pentagon chief Monday, according to one official.

Hagel served in the Vietnam War and received two Purple Hearts before serving as senator from Nebraska. He became a vocal critic of U.S. involvement in Iraq, which is largely why Obama nominated him to succeed Leon Panetta as Defense Secretary in his second term.

Recent questions about Hagel’s future at the Pentagon were prompted in part by his decision to postpone a long-planned trip this month to Vietnam. Officials had previously misled reporters when they said he needed to remain in Washington for congressional consultations.

Just last week Hagel was asked about the speculation during an interview on the Charlie Rose show, and Rose asked whether he was concerned by the speculation.

“No. First of all, I serve at the pleasure of the president,” Hagel said. “I`m immensely grateful for the opportunity I’ve had the last two years to work every day for the country and for the men and women who serve this country. I don`t get up in the morning and worry about my job. It`s not unusual by the way, to change teams at different times.”

A top Republican, who hasn’t always been the closest ally of Hagel’s, still believes the president is making a scapegoat out of the wrong man.

“Secretary Chuck Hagel and I have had our differences over many years, but I have always considered him a friend, a patriot, and a dedicated public servant who has always put our country first and the needs of our men and women in uniform above his own,” Arizona Sen. John McCain said.

“Ultimately, the president needs to realize that the real source of his current failures on national security more often lay with his administration’s misguided policies and the role played by his White House in devising and implementing them,” McCain added. “That is the real change we need right now.”

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will officially resign

Politics, Video

Rudy Giuliani ripped Michael Eric Dyson Sunday morning when Dyson took offense to “America’s Mayor” citing the number of blacks killed by black-on-black murders.

“White police officers won’t be there if you weren’t killing each other 70 percent of the time,” Giuliani said. “We’re talking about the exception here.”

Dyson called comparing the killing of Michael Brown to the murders of blacks or other blacks a “false equivalency,” and said that the former Mayor’s attitude re-enforces the problems that blacks are facing.

“Can I say this, first of all, no black people who commit crimes against other black people go to jail [sic],” Dyson said. “Number two, they are not sworn by the police department as a agent of the state to uphold the law. So in both cases, that’s a false equivalency that the mayor has drawn, which is exacerbated tensions that are deeply imbedded in American culture.”

Rudy Giuliani shot back by noting that people such as Mr. Dyson are never around when blacks are killing other blacks, including little children. He again noted that it wasn’t a false equivalency and said police officers are simply patrolling areas of high crime.

“What about the poor black child that is killed by another black child? Why aren’t you protesting that?” Giuliani questioned. After claiming he protests these murders, without answering Rudy’s assertion he and others do nothing to stop them, Dyson responded with the typical race-baiting argument that cannot answer cold hard data.

“This is a defense mechanism of white supremacy at work in your mind, sir.”

Rudy Giuliani ripped Michael Eric Dyson Sunday

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