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Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Bureau of Labor Stats Still Misleading

Relying on Bureau of Labor Statistics is helpful ONLY if those stats accurately reflect the actual employment situation. 
This unemployment charade has gone on long enough, and Trump can easily rectify the situation by simultaneously publicizing both the misleading U-3 unemployment figure (which, for self-serving political reasons, all administrations have heretofore touted) AND the more accurate U-6 figure. 
March'17 seasonably adjusted unemployment figures: 4.7% (U-3) and 9.2% (U-6).
Since transparency, accuracy and integrity in federal reporting should be the goal of any administration, I say let Trump start publicizing BOTH the U-3 and U-6 figures. Doing anything less is unhelpful and purposely evasive.

Obamacare Disaster vs Obamacare Lite vs Constitution

OMG. The inane, politically-driven onslaught on Ryancare/Trumpcare has begun.
OMB notes that 14 million will lose health care coverage next year. But, what the Left isn't saying is that those 14M will CHOOSE--that's CHOOSE--not to be insured. They won't be illegally mandated to buy an insurance policy they don't want. And what the hell is wrong with exercising that level of personal freedom?
That said, my thought: since Ryancare will provide tax incentives to enable folks to purchase health insurance of their choice (far less oppressive than Obamacare, but no less unconstitutional), those tax incentives should be withheld or otherwise denied if those persons don't use those tax credits to purchase health care insurance.
The nice things about Ryancare are 1) affordable deductibles,2) no more grossly unconstitutional mandate to purchase (which will really upset our Progressive Chief Justice Roberts and his Leftist pals on the Hill), 3) a budgetary savings of over $300B over 10 years, and, of course, 4) REAL affordable health care each purchaser can tailor to his/her health care needs and individual budgets.
Eventually, of course, and being one of those annoying constitutional originalists, I would dearly love to see health care returned in its entirety to the States where it constitutionally belongs. Get health care out of DC and out of the pockets of DC lobbyists.

"Wiretapping" or "Monitoring"

Given the "confusion", deliberate or otherwise, over Trump's tweet regarding Trump Tower's being "wiretapped", this earlier post bears repeating.
This cuts right to the marrow of Trump's claim that Obama listened into his conversations at Trump Tower or elsewhere.
Recently, Judge Napolitano beautifully explained that on the strength alone of a phonecall, a President can direct the NSA to "monitor" conversations of any US Citizen, presidential candidate or otherwise. No FISA warrant needed.
But this also means that President Trump can order NSA to divulge to him any and all transcripts of his conversations which may have been ordered by Obama, an Obama order which would have been blatantly lawless and unconstitutional. Let's hope Trump has those transcripts.
Though there is a deliberate Liberal attempt to confuse the public by asserting that wiretaps can be condoned only with a FISA court warrant, what the Libs AREN'T telling the public is that "wiretapping" and "monitoring" are two different activities. Wiretapping requires a FISA warrant, but NSA monitoring does not. And the brighter ones among the political class know this. Trump may have used the term "wiretapping" in an effort to encompass both "wiretapping" and "monitoring", an excusable literary "offense".
The more I read about the burgeoning Obamagate, the more certain I am that heads could roll. And if proof is forthcoming--which could be very easily produced-- that Obama did, in fact, order the "monitoring" (not "wiretapping") of Trump's campaign conversations, this could blow this thing wide open. And none too soon, as I see it.
Of course, snarky lib stooge Shep Smith of FOX (yes, FOX) is piling on Trump for his tweet's use of the term "wiretapping" vs "monitoring". He's also denigrating Kellyanne and Sean Spicer for drawing a distinction between the two terms.Very unhelpful.
Let the games begin! Public beheadings are so very entertaining.
Finally, let's just hope Trump's claim of being wiretapped and/or monitored isn't found to be without foundation. Not good for the President's credibility. We shall see....