Thursday Open Thread [7.3.14]

Thursday Open Thread [7.3.14]

8 Comments
The U.S. economy added 288,000 jobs in June, surprising some economists who only expected 215k. The economy has now added more than 200,000 jobs a month for five straight months, the best stretch since January 2000. The unemployment rate also dropped to 6.1%, the lowest it's been since September 2008.
Also encouraging: Job gains for April and May were revised up by a total 29,000. April's increase was revised to 304,000 from 282,000 and May's to 224,000 from 217,000. April's total marks the first time monthly job gains topped 300,000 since January 2012. Payroll additions have averaged 272,000 the past three months and 231,000 for the year, vs. 194,000 in 2013. Bob Baur, chief global economist of Principal Global Investors, says accelerating job growth is feeding into a virtuous cycle, in which stronger payroll gains lead to higher consumer spending and further employment advances.
Wednesday Open Thread [7.2.14]

Wednesday Open Thread [7.2.14]

4 Comments
Sorry for being absent the last two days. Came down with what I think is walking pneumonia. Boy does that knock you on your ass. So today here is some poll numbers: LOUISIANA--SENATOR--Public Policy Polling: Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) 47, Bill Cassidy (R) 47. That is the polling on a stand alone runoff race between Landrieu and Cassidy. Remember, Louisiana law is, shall we say, strange. They hold an open all party primary on the general election date in November, and if no candidate gets over 50%, then the top two finishers compete in a December runoff. The polling on the November open primary is as follows: Landrieu leads with 44%, followed by Cassidy at 27%, Rob Maness (R) at 8%, and Paul Hollis (R) at 5%. MICHIGAN--GOVERNOR--Public Policy Polling: Gov. Rick Snyder (R) 40, Mark Schauer (D) 40. This is a big improvement for Schauer, since he was down 10 points in April and by four points in December.

Friday Open Thread [6.27.14]

11 Comments
Even Fox News is now laughing at Michelle Bachmann. For those who cannot bear to watch Fox News or hear Bachmann's voice (I am with you... nails on a chalkboard), here is some quotes from Think Progress:
During an interview with Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), Cavuto belittled the effort as "an enormous waste of effort" and "a political football," suggesting that President George W. Bush used similar executive authority. The segment devolved into a shouting match, with Cavuto laughing off Bachmann's indignation about Obama's use of executive powers. "It just seems to me like an enormous waste of effort," Cavuto said, at first gently, trying to chide Bachmann and her Tea Party Republican colleagues in Congress to do something, you know, governance-related for the American people. "It just seems to me there's so much wrong here, this finger-pointing—'We're gonna drag your ass to court, we're gonna do this'— just do something, you hear what I'm saying?" Bachmann: This is what we should do now. What we should do now is defund the executive branch when we have the option—I just ran across the street because we're voting on funding for the executive branch all summer long. Cut it. Make it hurt. Because if they don't have money, they don't have power... Cavuto: Think about what you're saying. Defund the executive branch? Congresswoman! If Democrats had said to you, 'We're going to defund President Bush,' you would laugh them out, and so you should have… I think the Democrats are in their right mind to laugh you out now. Defund them?! [shakes head] ...Oh man oh man oh man oh man. Rome's burning and you're filing!
Defunding? Is Michelle Bachmann aware that the President of the United States has to sign anything that the unified Congress (the House and the Senate) passes before it takes affect as law?