This Friday the “official” jobs report for June will be released. The one released today, the ADP National Employment Report estimates only 13,000 jobs were added in June. If that is even close to the Labor Department’s report, then this could be a very rough 4th of July weekend for the Obama administration.
Score a win for Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA). The Associated Press is reporting that the Democrats have agreed to drop $19 billion in “fees” from the finance reform bill making its way through the Capitol this week.
Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) continues to flex his muscles. In a letter to Representative Barney Frank (D-MA), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), head of the Senate banking committee, Brown said he will not vote for finance reform in its current form.
For over 2 months people have been scratching their heads. Within days of the massive Gulf Oil Spill multiple countries offered equipment and know how to help with the clean up. For no apparent reason President Obama and the bureaucrats running the cleanup operation have politely refused.
Sometimes being President of the United States can be unfair. Often the resident of the Oval Office gets credit he doesn’t deserve. For example the plaque Apollo 11 planted on the moon in 1969 had Richard Nixon’s name on it and not Kennedy or Johnson who were the driving forces behind NASA.
The national malaise continues. The Consumer Confidence Index dropped nearly 10 points in June from the revised 62.7 in May to 52.9 in June. The Conference Board, a private research group that conducts the survey, feels anything below 90 is bearish.
Harry Reid knows how to count to 60. That is the number of votes he will need to pass the ambitious finance reform bill working its way through congress this week. With the death of Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) of one his most reliable votes is gone. This could be a short term problem since a replacement can be appointed by West Virginia’s Gov. Joe Manchin.
The opening day of the hearing for the Elena Kagan nomination to the Supreme Court was so boring the highlight was Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) getting caught on camera nodding off. You can see the video HERE. Sadly this will likely be the most interesting day of the hearing.
Recently a series of major newspapers and internet stories have highlighted a growing problem for major cities. These stories are coming from incredibly diverse sources such as the Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Bay View and NPR. Middle-class African-Americans have given up on crime and lousy schools and are heading to the suburbs.
It took a massive oil spill to make me remember how much I miss Bill Clinton. Watching President Obama being what some would generously call “cool” while other less enamored with “The One” would say he is making George W. Bush’s handling of Karina look like a precision operation, has made me wistful.