Repubs will say "I told you so."

WASHINGTON – U.S. retail sales jumped 1 percent in January, reversing a six-month declining trend and defying economists' expectations by posting the biggest increase in 14 months.

But higher gasoline prices and sales, and buyers snapping up other items on post-holiday discounts appeared to aid last month's results. Analysts cautioned that the relief is unlikely to last.

But you know the Right wing talking points won't go into the reasons, they'll only repeat the headline.

The House stimulus bill contained a provision designed to protect federal whistleblowers. Currently, those protections are shockingly weak. According to the Project On Government Oversight, whistleblowers who are fired or demoted can file a complaint with a government board -- but over the last eight years, that board has ruled in favor of whistleblowers only twice in 55 cases.
More to the point, the protections were designed to encourage federal workers to point out cases where taxpayer money is subject to waste, fraud, or abuse -- a legitimate concern when Congress spends $800 billion, and one that centrists and Republicans have been particularly exercised about.
Yesterday, 20 members of the House, from both parties, yesterday sent a letter to House negotiators urging them to ensure that the protections remained.
But, according to a person following the bill closely, Collins used today's conference committee to drastically water down the measure, citing national security concerns as the reason for her opposition. In the end, the protections were so weakened that House negotiators balked, and the result was that the entire amendment was removed.

Disgusting! Were I Obama I wouldn't sign this Bill. Send it back to congress and have them put it back the way it was. As a matter of fact screw the original sugar coated olive branch tax cuts it and make this thing strictly a JOBS bill. Period. One big change. Don't borrow the money, we'll have to pay it back with interest, to China or whoever buys the debt. Screw that, we circumvent the Fed, and print the money ourselves. Our own currency not the Federal Reserve. (Which is neither Federal nor a Reserve) We make an $800 billion dollar investment in ourselves. And by ourselves I mean those of us who work for a living. The money should go for job creation, new technology, health care, education, infrastructure spending has been replaced with tax cuts that will mainly benefit the well to do. It was originally a 67% reinvestment spending and 33% tax cuts. And IMHO 33% is ridiculously high. The military is still fighting an illegal war, 10's of thousands of troops giving their lives for "democracy" - Job loss by the millions and auto manufactures as well as other businesses struggling to survive. We've played the tax cut card for nearly 30 years now. They do nothing to help the economy! Tax cuts only pad the pockets of those who least need the padding. The middle class folks that live pay check to pay check are the ones who keep an economy rolling. They buy the stuff that's for sale, they don't put their money in off shore bank accounts. I'm not going to reiterate the many reasons tax cuts won't work to stimulate the economy now because I've already covered that in previous posts.

Lets look at some of the things that have been stripped from the bill:

Family planning money stripped. Apparently the Repubs like poor people to have lots and lots of babies. I guess it gives them fodder for cannons, talk show host topics ( the fornicating welfare recipients are ruining this country), and campaign issues. ( if the poor prevent pregnancy they won't need abortions and there goes our single issue divisiveness)

Education spending and aid to state and local governments. Unless we invest in education our country is doomed to be nothing but a labor pool for those countries who do.

The Buy American provision was deeply cut. This would have ensured that American materials like Steel and wood would be used in the construction projects.

They removed the provision that would make it impossible for businesses to hire workers from outside the U.S.

$15000 tax credit for any home buyer, not just the 1st time buyer. Different than a tax cut, this scrapped portion of the bill would have given an give incentive to potential home buyers. It would have helped the frozen credit situation as well. Which in turn would have put money back into this sagging economy.

These are just a few of the compromises that lessen the effectiveness of this bill. In this revised version I don't see anyway that it going to work. Damn spineless Dems in the Senate. It must be the Stockholm syndrome or the battered wife syndrome or some kind of syndrome that causes them to kiss the ass of the Repubs. Either that or my Dad's conspiracy theory is correct. The power's that be allow the Dems to take the reins of the procedural public government every so often . . just to give the appearance of a 2 party system.

This just in:
AP – WASHINGTON – Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire abruptly withdrew his nomination as commerce secretary Thursday, the third Cabinet-level pick scuttled. The move left President Barack Obama without a full team to lead the government. He cited "irresolvable conflicts" with Obama's handling of the economic stimulus and 2010 census

And the beat goes on. How many times will Obama's attempts to appease come back and bite him in the ass? He just got suckered by Senator Gregg. Remember that Gregg came to Obama and offered up his name for commerce secretary. Even though he loudly voiced his opposition to Obama as president. Even though he voted to abolish the commerce department. Now the Obama administration is beginning to look like the Gang that couldn't shoot straight. If I may borrow a word from the Democratic nominee acceptance speech . . ."ENOUGH!" It's time for our president to sink or swim by his core values. I believe that he received the lion share of American votes because he campaigned on that feeling. That feeling that we've been sold a bill of goods. From the transfer of wealth from the middle class to the upper 1%, to allowing oil companies to write our nations energy policies, to the raping of our civil liberties. Enough! We need a government that represents the people and not the special interests. So, please President Obama, enough with the Gandhi lets see some Genghis Khan.

On a closing note: Those who voted for Obama are overwhelmingly calling for investigations into the abuses of the past administration. I mean call after call on the Progressive radio stations and blog after blog in the blogosphere. Those who feel that we've got too much on our plate due to the economy to begin prosecutions are out numbered. Those in favor of prosecutions list several reasons to proceed with the investigations. One of my favorites is that after WWII the United States managed to pay billions to help rebuild Europe with the Marshall Plan and still found the time to help prosecute war criminals at the Nuremberg trials.

No, I'm not going to let this go. We've got people doing time for smoking a joint while mass murder goes unpunished. Under their watch: Elections were stolen, torture was authorized as an acceptable method of interrogation, and they used my tax dollars to line the pockets of "war for profit" industries like Haliburton and Blackwater, used terror tactics to convince congress to give away billions to Wall street, and worst of all . . . in my name as an American . . .unleashed bombs and the military that killed men, women and children who did nothing to me or my country. Helping to create more terrorists than they've captured or killed. We're talking over a million dead innocents. So yes, I have a vested interest in seeing the many wrongs committed by these evil men brought to light. The least, I mean the very least I can do is write in this blog my reasons why I feel these bastards should be held accountable.

DaG Out