Archive for November 2nd, 2012

Digging into the 7.9% number …

November 2, 2012

The “Establishment Survey” of employers reported that 171,000 jobs were added in October.

The “Household Survey” … the basis of the unemployment rate calculation … reported that 410,000 jobs were added in October.

That’s on top of the 873,000 jobs reportedly added in September … when the Establishment Survey reported 114,000 jobs added.

So, the Household Survey says that 1,283,000 jobs were added in September and October.

The Establishment Survey says that employers added  255,000 jobs  in September and October.

The difference is roughly 1 million jobs … a big difference which, in many quarters, would be considered statistically significant.

For example, if the October Household Survey had claimed the same 171,000 as the Establishment Survey, the unemployment rate would’ve bumped to 8% … not 7.9%.

And, if the Household Survey had been in alignment with the Establishment Survey in both September and  October, then the unemployment rate would be about 8.5%.

Draw you own conclusions.

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Posted in BLS, Employment - Jobs, Unemployment | Leave a Comment »

7.9%

November 2, 2012

In October there were 171,000 new jobs added.

Most of the job creation came in the services sector, with a gain of 150,000.

The unemployment rate moved higher to 7.9 .

Economists had been expecting the report to show a net of 125,000 new jobs and a steadying of the unemployment rate at 7.8 percent.

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What Homa Files Predicted

Earlier this week, we posted Re: Friday’s big number … what to expect (if the BLS doesn’t hide-the-weinie).

We said …

“My bet: They’ll report on time that the unemployment rate clicked up to 7.9% …  it’s the best “managed” number …. let’s Obama crow that it’s under the magic 8% … and, let’s Romney point out that it’s going in the wrong direction.”

Bingo !

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23 and counting …

November 2, 2012

No, it’s not the number of consecutive weeks that the BLS has under-reported initial unemployment claims … it’s the number of taxpayer-funded green energy companies that have failed so far … another 27 are reported to have very short financial runways..

Would you invest in this venture capitalist’s next fund?

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Source

  1. Solyndra*: Received $535 million DOE loan and $25.1 million in California tax credit. Bankrupt: September 2011
  2. Abound Solar*: Received part of a $60 million grant under the Bush administration, and was awarded a $400 million loan under Obama in December of 2010. Abound was awarded a $9.2-million loan from the Export-Import Bank in July 2011. Bankrupt: June 2012
  3. Beacon Power*: Received more than $25 million in DOE grants and a DOE loan for $43 million. Bankrupt: October 2011
  4. A123 Systems*: Received $390 million, of which $249 million of it was a Recovery Act Grant. Filed for Bankruptcy October 16, 2012, and two companies are seeking to buy A123; Johnson Controls and the Chinese firm Wanxiang Group Corp.
  5. AES Eastern Energy/Energy Storage*: Received $17.1 million DOE conditional commitment on August 2, 2010. Bankrupt: December 31, 2011.
  6. Amonix*: Received $6 million in federal tax credits a $15.6 million grant from the DOE for research and development. Bankrupt: July 18, 2012.
  7. Azure Dynamics*: Received millions in stimulus funds and over $1.7 million in Michigan state tax credits. Bankrupt: March 27, 2012
  8. Babcock & Brown: Received $178 million in the largest federal (1603) stimulus wind grant in December 2009. Placed into voluntary liquidation: March 13, 2009
  9. Energy Conversion Devices Inc./Uni-Solar: Received a $13.3 million Stimulus tax credit. Bankrupt: February 2011.
  10. Ener1*: Received a $118.5 million DOE Stimulus grant. Bankrupt: January 26, 2011.
  11. Evergreen Solar, Inc.*: Received Stimulus funds, grants, tax-credits, low-interest loans and subsidies. Bankrupt: August 15, 2011
  12. Konarka Technologies Inc.: Received $20 million in grants from government agencies such as the DOE and the Pentagon. Bankrupt: June 4, 2012.
  13. ADDITION Range Fuels*: Range Fuels: $162.25 million in government commitments since 2007, of which $64 million came from a USDA Biofuel loan in 2010 alone, despite financial and technical difficulties, and opposition inside the USDA.
  14. Raser Technologies: Received $33 million Treasury Department Stimulus grant. Bankrupt: May 2, 2011.
  15. SpectraWatt*: Received $500,000 grant from the Renewable Energy Lab via the Stimulus. Bankrupt: August 23, 2011
  16. Stirling Energy Systems: Received $7 million from a federal renewable-energy grant and was eligible for nearly $10.5 million in manufacturing September 28, 2011.
  17. Thompson River Power LLC: Received $6.5 million in Stimulus funds from Section 1603. Bankrupt: July 2, 2012.
  18. Mountain Plaza, Inc. ($2 million)
  19. Olsen’s Crop Service and Olsen’s Mills Acquisition Company ($10 million);
  20. Nordic Windpower* ($16 million)
  21. Satcon ($3 million) As reported by the Heritage Foundation October 18, 2012, “A solar company that got a multi-million-dollar grant from the Department of Energy earlier this year announced Wednesday that it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, making it the second taxpayer-backed green energy company to file for bankruptcy this week.”
  22.  Willard and Kelsey Solar Group ($700,981) ($6 million); in our unconfirmed bankrupt list
  23. Cardinal Fastener & Specialty Co.: Received $480,000 through the Section 48C Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit Program. During Obama’s visit to Cardinal Fastener, he took a “green Recovery Act victory lap,” and touted it as means for “Made-In-America Jobs” for Ohio. Yet, just two weeks after the Obama visit, Cardinal laid off 12 percent of its staff, and in June 2011, Cardinal Fastener filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Lastly, in January 2012, Cardinal Fastener was acquired by Germany’s Wurth Group for just $3.9 Million.

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Posted in 2012 Campaign, Green Energy, Obama Administration, Obama Scandles | Leave a Comment »

Controversary: Is the 5-second rule legit ?

November 2, 2012

First, the no-no warning from the  CBS affiliate in Atlanta …

Most people are familiar with the famed “five second rule,” which states that if dropped food is picked up off the floor within five seconds of contact, it is still safe to consume.

In fact, 65 percent of parents admitted to implementing the five second rule in their homes.

image

Though a popular belief, a new study has found that germs often win the race.

The study, co-funded by Clorox and conducted by researchers at San Diego State University, found that germs do in fact attach themselves to edible items within that amount of time.

Baby carrots were reportedly deposited on different surfaces, including a countertop, a kitchen sink, a table, and both a carpeted and tiled floor in the interest of testing the theory.

An additional carrot was kept clean, to serve as a constant.

Researchers found that germs affixed themselves to the carrots within five seconds of contact with different surfaces.

The countertop was found to be the dirtiest surface, with the carpeted and tiled floors following closely in second and third place.

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And, the counter story that says it’s ok for some foods …

We’ve all quoted the 3 or 5 second rule — if food falls on the floor, it’s ok if you retrieve it within 3 (some say 5) seconds!

In other words, all the yucky stuff on the floor/ground/sidewalk won’t have time to stick to our yummy stuff if we drop it.

But is it true?

Scientists investigated, and it seems for some foods, like cookies or processed ham, yes, it does work!

For other foods, like pasta, it’s a fail. The wetter the food, the bigger the risk.

Click to watch for yourself:

image

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We report, you decide.

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Posted in Health & Nutrition | Leave a Comment »

“Voter fraud is a felony” … but don’t remind folks!

November 2, 2012

Punch line: Weeks before what could be one of the closest presidential elections in U.S. history, Dems are claiming that fforts to mislead, intimidate or pressure voters are an increasingly prominent part of the political landscape

So are the Dems frivolous charges..

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Excerpted from Reuters’, “As U.S. election nears, efforts intensify to misinform, pressure voters”

Voter Fraud Billboard

“We’ve seen an uptick in deceptive and intimidating tactics designed to prevent eligible Americans from voting,” said Eric Marshall of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

Just a few of the unscrupulous tactics include:

 

  • BILLBOARDS IN WISCONSIN, OHIO: Democratic lawmakers and activists in Wisconsin and Ohio … are angry about several dozen billboard signs that have popped up in recent weeks, warning of stiff penalties for voter fraud. The billboards were put up in mostly black and low-income communities. “There is a concerted effort to keep specific groups from the polls,” said Camilo Villa, 24, who lives in the Cleveland area.
  • PRESSURE BY EMPLOYERS: Meanwhile, some employers have pressured workers to support certain candidates in the presidential race and other elections.Several companies have sent out letters urging their employees to vote for Romney. Others  have come under fire for sending a “voter information packet” to employees.  (Note:. SEIU and UAW strong-arming is apparently benign …)
  • THE ‘POLL CHALLENGERS’: Voting rights groups have raised concerns about volunteer “poll challengers” who will be out on Election Day to try to prevent what they see as possible voter fraud. Rights groups say the large numbers of monitors could be intimidating and discourage some people – particularly minorities – from voting.

Edit by JDC

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Ken’s Take:

(1) Grandma Homa always said: If you’re not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about …

(2) SEIU and UAW strong-arming is apparently benign …

(3) Club-wielding members of the New Black Panther Party are ok …)

(4) They forgot about requiring IDs to vote …

(5) It’s gonna be ugly …

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Posted in 2012 Campaign, Voter laws, Voter suppression | 1 Comment »

Which party has the better ground game? … and, a shocking finding re: robo-calls..

November 2, 2012

According to a recent Pew report

The Dem and Republican ground games are performing at rough parity with each other.

In the important battleground states, 13% have been contacted by Obama supporters

…  14% have been contacted by Romney supporters, and

…. 38% have been contacted by both.

Pew didn’t ask how many times?

If the Homa family experience is projectable, that answer is about 3 phone calls and 3 pieces of mail each day.

image

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The shocker

About those robo-calls …

Pew says that roughly 2 in 3 people don’t listen to robo-calls that they get

…  81% find them annoying, and

…. the robo-calls make 1 in 5 people angry.

image

My question: why do 1 in 3 people listen to the robo-calls.

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Posted in 2012 Campaign, Polls & Surveys | Leave a Comment »