Saturday Morning Open Thread

Gone to the beach. Talk amongst yourselves.

The Road to Omaha Starts Today

Happy Friday. I have been doing the lawyer thing all day, so that's why there hasn't been any blogging.

Today is the first day of the NCAA Baseball Playoffs, which ends in the College World Series. My Gamecocks play tonight at 7:00PM, so that's where I'll be.

Go Gamecocks!

True Detective Meets Family Circus...and Dazed and Confused

How did I miss this? I appreciate Doug Ross for bringing this to my attention.

In other True Dectective funny stuff, I came across this as well.

And scene.

The Economy Contracted In First Quarter of 2014

Negative 1.0%

But according to CNN, it's not a big deal because...snow occurred this winter. And as we all know, snow has never, ever happened before in winter. It was a freak occurrence this time.

But according to CNN, we're totally poised for growth, y'all. Nothing like a negative GDP number to show how poised we are for growth, right?

They Got Off Easy If You Ask Me

The Columbia parents who starved, beat, and tortured their own four-year-old son to death were sentenced to life in prison today.

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2014/05/28/3472668/prosecutor-dss-ignored-many-pleas.html?sp=/99/205/&ihp=1#storylink=cpy

This kind of evil should merit the death penalty.

"America's Foremost Public Intellectual": You Can't Talk About Slavery and Ignore the NBA

"You can’t really talk about (slavery) reparations and ignore the modern day wealthy Americans who own teams made up predominantly of black men and profit from their bodies and labor."

That's a quote from "America's foremost public intellectual". Apparently, she has a show on MSNBC. Seriously.

Just so I'm clear, being in the NBA is still voluntary right? People aren't being forced to play basketball against their will, are they? And the players are still being paid, right? Last time I checked NBA players were being paid several million dollars a year, on average.

So how is that like slavery? I mean, this Harris-Perry lady is "America's foremost public intellectual", so I must be missing something, right?

I'm always happy to have an intelligent conversation about race relations, slavery's repercussions through history, and the case for reparations. But this kind of stupidity just makes everyone dumber for having listened to it.

Douglas MacArthur in 1930

I'm most of the way through American Caesar, which is a biography on Douglas MacArthur. (Most of the way means that I've now gotten to the point where he has re-taken the Philippines. Anyway, it's an interesting read.

For instance, I had no idea how old MacArthur was. He was born in 1880. Yeah, that made him sixty years old when WWII broke out in 1940. Sixty.

 This is Douglas MacArthur in 1930, between the wars - before he was a household name.

He's 50 in this picture.

What's also interesting is the reaction I get from some people when I tell them I'm reading about MacArthur. He's still somewhat polarizing. Yes, he was arrogant, conceited, and flamboyant, but he was also an amazingly capable officer. His tactics/strategy very likely saved many lives, when compared to the Allied Operations in France and Italy, especially Italy.

White House Mistakenly Exposes CIA Chief in Afghanistan

When Obama said he was planning on having "the most transparent administration ever", I don't think this is what he meant.

But hey, it's just Afghanistan. I'm sure that the top CIA officer there won't be in danger. My favorite line in the piece is "It is unclear whether the disclosure will force the CIA to pull the officer out of Afghanistan." OF COURSE the station chief will have to be pulled out. He/she just made the kidnap/kill list of every bad guy in the area.

I'm sure as soon as Obama reads about this in the Washington Post he's going to be angrier than anyone else.

Anheuser-Busch Lobbies Against the "Stone Bill"

Big business once again attempts to use the levers of government to stifle competition.

Anheuser-Busch has begun a heavy push against the so-called Stone Bill, writing a letter to state senators and urging them to strike down the amendment aimed at creating more jobs and expanding the state’s craft beer industry.

This is why I'm always saying that there's a big difference between being in favor of big business and being in favor of free markets. Big business invariably attempts to use government to stifle the free market.

Once again, this is why a smaller government (one that interferes less in the free market) is better than a government that tries to manage the free market.

Medicaid Is Costing States More Money Than Expected - Also Medicare Doesn't Really Work Anyway

Gee, who could have possibly predicted that a government program would be more expensive than originally forecast?

Before President Obama's law expanded Medicaid eligibility, millions of people who were already entitled to its safety-net coverage were not enrolled. Those same people are now signing up in unexpectedly high numbers, partly because of publicity about getting insured under the law.

For states red or blue, the catch is that they must use more of their own money to cover this particular group.

You know, there are lots of folks who are arguing for South Carolina to expand Medicaid because it's "free money" from the federal government. As seems to now be the case, South Carolina's Medicaid expenses are going to be going up anyway.

This also doesn't address the more important fact that Medicaid doesn't actually improve medical outcomes for people relative to being uninsured.

Ultimately, the authors concluded that, “This randomized, controlled study showed that Medicaid coverage generated no significant improvements in measured health outcomes in the first two years, but it did increase use of health services, raise rates of diabetes detection and management, lower rates of depression, and reduce financial strain.”

So, the study suggests that expanding Medicaid is one way of reducing financial pressure on low-income groups, but it’s costly and does not improve their health.

Another interesting finding was that though medical spending increased among Medicaid enrollees due to more prescription drug usage and doctors’ visits, the study “did not find significant changes in visits to the emergency department or hospital admissions.” This undercuts another favorite talking point of liberals, which is that expanding insurance actually saves money by reducing costly emergency room visits.

But hey, for some people, the only way to improve a failing government program is to enlarge it.

Memorial Day Weekend 2014

Probably not much blogging this weekend. I'll be out in the real world - not on the computer. Have a good weekend, but stop to reflect and remember the solemn occasion we are marking.

I Guess They Didn't See the Sign

Three men wearing hoodies entered the restaurant through the back doors with pistols, and forced several staff members to lie on the floor.

I guess they just missed the gun-free zone signs on the North Carolina restaurant because they came in the back door. If only the robbers would have come through the front door, the no-guns sign would have stopped them cold.

In Your Face, UVA!

Better luck next time. Washington & Lee University checks in as the most selective college in the Old Dominion, with an 18% acceptance rate.

As Usual, Obama is "Madder than hell" About the VA Scandal

So what?

Apparently, he's "madder than hell" about this scandal. Whatever happened to "no drama Obama" by the way? I haven't seen that guy in a long time.

Ever notice how Obama is always mad as a hornet about some scandal that eventually disappears down the memory hole? When the IRS targeting of tea party groups came to light, he was angry about that, too. Until he decided not to be. The failed rollout of his signature domestic policy? Yeah, he was angry about that also. You know, the convenient thing about being angry or "mad as hell" is that you don't have to say that you're sorry. Being mad shifts the blame to someone else - the people you are mad at. It's obviously not your fault - it's the fault of your anger's target.

Scandal Crisis Management from Obama.

Step 1: When confronted with a scandal, show outrage. Demand accountability and punishment.

Step 2: Initiate investigation. During the investigation, no comments are made about the scandal, so as not to prejudice the ongoing investigation.

Step 3: After awhile, respond to all questions about the scandal as "old news".

Crisis solved. Seriously though, has he ever gotten to the bottom of anything that he's madder than hell about? The buck stops nowhere.

If you didn't know any better, it's almost like Obama isn't really participating in his administration, but he's just a detached observer, who comes in after the fact and gets upset that everything is being messed up. Charles Krauthammer made this same point.

“He acts as if––it was the same with the IRS, eavesdropping on the AP, and all the other scandals, the Obamacare launch––he stumbled upon the presidency and discovered all this horrible stuff is happening. He’s in charge of these departments. At some point, you’ve gotta ask, ‘Where has he been, and where is the competence, the elementary competence, he promised when he ran in 2008?’”

OUT: I have competence in governing.
IN: I'm mad as hell about incompetence I had nothing to do with and just found out about in the newspaper.

Best Parents in the World Open Thread

I've been busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kickin' contest, so no blog for you today. In the meantime, here's this:

Happy Tuesday.

Washington Post Runs Stupid Opinion on Smart Guns

The Washington Post wants you to buy this. Too bad it sucks. But hey, it's got a little American flag on the slide.

The common sense people are obviously not running the show at The Washington Post.

How do I know this? The leftists who run the opinion page decided to run an opinion from the lead designer of the top Smart Gun designer touting how great his product is. It might as well be a commercial.

If you haven't heard about this new smart-gun, it has an internal computer that pairs with a special watch you wear to ensure that the gun will not fire unless in close proximity to the watch. Oh, and you enter a little code on the watch if you actually want to shoot the gun.

What's not to like, unless you're a Luddite, right?

Wrong. Let's look at a few facts that don't appear in the WaPo's column infomercial. 

1. The Armatix is chambered in .22LR. That's it. That's the only option. When I first saw that, I thought it had to be a mistake. No one in their right mind would regularly use a handgun chambered in .22LR for self-defense. It's not a viable self-defense round for about a dozen reasons, chief of which is that rimfire ammo is not as reliable as centerfire ammo. So right there, that's a bad start. You're basically taking the smallest possible caliber out there, and arming yourself with it. If you're ever attacked by an animal smaller than a Pomeranian, you'll be fine.

So why is it only chambered for .22LR? The technology used in the pistol is so fragile that chambering anything more a low-recoiling .22LR would shake the gun’s electronic brains apart in short order.

2. It has a 10% Failure Rate. But hey, let's assume that your rimfire .22 ammo never fails. And let's assume that you're such a great shot you're going to hit the bad guy's heart or brain every time. How about this Aratix wireless pairing thing? How often does that fail? Oh, nothing to be concerned about folks, per Armatix, it only fails about 10% of the time. Doing some quick math, in a 10-round magazine that's....oh yeah, once every magazine! So basically 100% of the time that you go through your magazine, you'll have a pairing failure that results in the gun not firing. Where do I sign up for this wonder weapon?

Still want one? 

3. Price. Well, this is the best part. It's expensive. The gun sells for $1,399.00. Oh, and did you want the gun to actually fire, too? Well, you'll need to by the little watch, as well. Did I mention the watch isn't included in that price and sells for $399? So we're at a grant total of $1,800, which is also the price of three Glocks. Let me repeat that. YOU COULD HAVE THREE GLOCKS AND EXTRA AMMO FOR THIS PRICE. Three Glocks. Plus ammo. Are you kidding me?

Ok, so we can rule out anyone who wants this gun for actual, legitimate self-defense, and anyone who doesn't have money to burn. But to be fair, that's not the only market of gun-buyers out there. What about folks who just like to target shoot, and don't care about self-defense or money? Would this be a good pistol for the responsible, competitive target shooter?

No. Because target shooters buy really expensive target pistols with match-grade barrels, and all other kind of bells and whistles that make the gun extremely accurate - which this little Armatix doesn't have.

So, we'e basically got a gun that has no market. There is literally no one out there in the universe of gun-buyers who would be drawn to this gun. However, we do have a political market for this gun. You know, politics, where the rules of common-sense land don't apply?

If you hear any politician advocating for this gun, ask them what their security detail uses. If it's good enough for their constituents, it should be good enough for them, right?

Animal Rights Group Paid Witness To Lie At Trial - Loses Big TIme

$15.75 million will buy a lot of peanuts

Hey y'all: don't pay your witnesses to make things up. That's bad. How bad?

For starters, once it comes to light you'll lose the case. But it doesn't end there. The person you wrongfully sued will like be upset. How upset? Well, the'll probably sue you.

A settlement reached between animal rights groups and the producers of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus serves as a cautionary tale about the consequences of making an allegation in federal court that you have trouble backing up.

The Humane Society of the United States and other animal-rights groups have paid Feld Entertainment a combined $15.75 million to settle allegations by the company that the groups and their lawyers bribed a former circus employee to make up allegations that Feld abused Asian elephants in its circus.

So to recap: The Humane Society lost the original case and had to pay Ringling Bros. attorneys' fees for just that case. Then, Ringling Bros. sued The Humane Society for the whole "paying the witness to lie" thing, which just cost The Humane Society and some other related animal rights groups a total of $15.75 million.

Next time someone from PETA or The Humane Society asks you for money, you can just tell them No thanks bro, I've already given some money to Ringling Bros.

Pat Conroy's Letters Purchased by USC

Happy Saturday. Time for coffee.

In southern author news, Pat Conroy's letters, manuscripts, and journals are now art of USC's collection.

“I’m just terrified that there is something in there from my misspent youth that is going to come up,” he said. “I don’t know what’s in there. I collected everything.”

I hope something interesting is in there. Following the rules is boring.

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2014/05/16/3451537/uscs-new-pat-conroy-collection.html?sp=/99/205/&ihp=1#storylink=cpy

Friday Open Thread - Go Clean Your Room Edition

Happy Friday!

Thirty years ago, President Reagan told a South Carolina boy to clean up his room.

Charleston Woman Threatened to "Shoot Everyone" Over Stale Cinnamon Bun

What does she think this is, Pulp Fiction?

A customer at a Mount Pleasant restaurant threatened to "shoot everyone" after arguing over a stale cinnamon bun she was served, a witness said...Witnesses told police that three women were ahead of them in line when one of them began yelling at an employee that the Cinnabon cinnamon bun she was served was not fresh. The witness said the employee yelled back at the customer that there was only one left.

Don't mess with people's cinnamon buns, y'all.

You're All Conservatives Now

Dan Henninger had a good piece in the WSJ about the current intolerance on college campuses today.

Berkeley's [former chancellor] Mr. Birgeneau is famous as an ardent defender of minority students, the LGBT community and undocumented illegal immigrants. What could possibly be wrong with this guy speaking at Haverford??? Haverfordians were upset that in 2011 the Berkeley police used "force" against Occupy protesters in Sproul Plaza. They said Mr. Birgeneau could speak at Haverford if he agreed to nine conditions, including his support for reparations for the victims of Berkeley's violence.

In a letter, Mr. Birgeneau replied, "As a longtime civil rights activist and firm supporter of nonviolence, I do not respond to untruthful, violent verbal attacks."

Smith president Kathleen McCartney felt obliged to assert that she is "committed to leading a college where differing views can be heard and debated with respect." And Haverford's president, Daniel Weiss, wrote to the students that their demands "read more like a jury issuing a verdict than as an invitation to a discussion or a request for shared learning."

Mr. Birgeneau, Ms. McCartney, Mr. Weiss and indeed many others in American academe must wonder what is happening to their world this chilled spring.

Here's the short explanation: You're all conservatives now.

I guess students today feel like they have to protest something.

h/t Brad W.

Gear for Guys: Filson's Sportsman Bag

If you're like me, you have stuff that you need to take places. Whether it's going shooting for the day, going to the mountains for a weekend, or just throwing all your kids' stuff into a bag for a trip to the zoo, you need a bag.

You need a bag that can hold all your stuff and keep it organized. You need a bag that isn't going to rip, tear, or give out. Personally, I hate wimpy zippers, so one of my requirements is a bag with zippers that don't suck. Oh, and if the bag could have a little style, that might be nice, right?

So what kind of bag fits this description? Answer and review below the jump.

100 Skills Everyone Should Know

REAL SKILLS: How many do you have?

Only 500 Days Until "Climate Chaos"

To continue on the whole global warming topic today, I guess I should cancel the awesome party I was planning on throwing 501 days from now.

There is no week without a phone call or a visit between John and myself, and we have on the agenda many items, many issues – Iran, because negotiations are resuming today; the question of Syria, and we shall meet next Thursday in London together; Ukraine as well; and very important issues, issue of climate change, climate chaos. And we have – as I said, we have 500 days to avoid climate chaos. And I know that President Obama and John Kerry himself are committed on this subject and I’m sure that with them, with a lot of other friends, we shall be able to reach success on this very important matter.

The thing this French guy needs to learn from psychics and horoscopes is to keep your predictions vague. Being specific never works out. You need to say things that can't be distinctly proven wrong.

500 days seems kind of specific.

My favorite part of the piece is that the only commentary in the piece is "France is scheduled to host the "21st Conference of the Parties on Climate Change" in December 2015, about 565 days from now".

Seems like they should just cancel that whole shin-dig, amirite?

No Hurricanes for SC This Year?

Hurricane Irene Via NASA

According to scientists at Coastal Carolina University, we won't have any hurricanes hit the Palmetto State this summer.

But wait! I was told that global warming would increase hurricane activity. How can this be?

US Economy Contracted In First Quarter of 2014

They have a term for a contracting economy, I believe.

Incorporating the new data, J.P. Morgan ChaseJPM +0.13% on Tuesday estimated GDP contracted at a 0.8% rate in the first quarter. Macroeconomic Advisers put the contraction at 0.7%. Barclays Capital predicted a 0.6% decline. Pierpont Securities estimated output fell at a 0.4% rate. Action Economics estimated a 0.2% decline.

Unless the economy really gets going, we have a very good chance of two consecutive quarters of negative GDP.

Judge Manning Rules That Attorney General Must Stop Grand Jury Investigation

First things first: here's a link to the the actual order from Judge Manning.

After reading the order, it seems like the most important line is:

"Despite multiple requests, the Attorney General has failed to offer or present to the Court any evidence or allegations which are criminal in nature. Therefore, the Court is left only with uncontroverted allegations of ethics violations propounded by a citizen's letter."

There seems to be some serious disagreement about the factual basis of whether there is a crime here. Just from reading the text of this order, it's clear that Judge Manning doesn't see any "evidence or allegations which are criminal in nature". That seems to be the foundation of the rest of his ruling.

If you assume there are no criminal allegations,  then I kind of see Judge Manning's point here. The Attorney General is the top prosecuting officer in South Carolina, and he can prosecute criminal actions on behalf of the state as he sees fit.

However, allegations of a legislator's ethics violations aren't necessarily a criminal action. That's not to say that an ethics violation is a good thing - it just may not be a crime. It's an ethics complaint, and the Supreme Court has ruled that Ethics Committees have the exclusive authority to hear alleged ethics violations.

I agree with the general idea that before the Attorney General should get involved, there has to be a crime, an indictment, or something more than simply an ethics complaint.

What is troubling to me is that this order seems to preclude the Attorney General from even investigating the matter until the Ethics Committee makes some sort of final disposition. Judge Manning notes that the Ethics Committee is required to refer allegations of criminal conduct to the Attorney General. It seems he's saying the law allows the Attorney General should get a crack at investigating the matter, but only after it's been referred out to him by the Ethics Committee.

To me, if Attorney General Wilson has something that he can charge Harrell with that isn't an ethics violation, he can do that, and this order won't preclude him from going forward.

Washington Monument Reopens to the Public

It's open again.

Huh. I didn't even know it was closed.

Saturday Open Thread

Happy Saturday. Maybe go down by the river and enjoy some nature, why dontcha?

The Bentley Continental DOES Kind of Look Like a Modern Ghia

Happy Friday.

I don't think it was Bentley's inspiration, and the new Bentley is more chunky, but the classic lines are there, all swoopy and such. The back end needs to angle downwards a little more, though.

It kind of looks like the Ghia on steroids.

Joe Biden to Speak at USC Commencement

And no one is making a big deal about it. Because it's not a big deal.

I guess that means that USC is more enlightened and tolerant than Rutgers.

“If you want to build a relationship and build a rapport, then you don’t talk about specific issues first,”

Says Senator Tim Scott, as he works to build relationships.

Clowney's Appearance on The Tonight Show

I knew Clowney would be on The Tonight Show last night, but I missed it. Luckily, Carmen Thomas brought the video link to my attention via Twitter, so hat-tip to her for that.

Link here.

Changing the Blog Look

If you've been a regular reader, you might have noticed that I've changed the blog look. It's kind of a "new paint job" to keep things fresh. I'm going for a little more modern, streamlined look, rather than the old green and wooden look.

Other than the paint job, everything else is all the same. All the links and inner-workings should be exactly like it used to be - it's basically just a new paint job.

Thoughts?

Why New York Taxis Are (Almost) Always Yellow

Amazing. I've never actually stopped to think about it. I bet the British probably scoff at our gaudy yellow taxis since they have those traditional black looking ones.

via Maggie's Farm

"95% of models overestimated actual temperatures"

According to a chart of actual satellite and surface temperature observations (reality) vs. what was predicted by ninety different climate models, 95 percent of models overestimated actual temperatures. 95%!

Nothing says Science™ like predicting stuff incorrectly over and over and over again. Hey, the science is settled! Don't look at our failed climate models!

Happy Birthday Bob Seger

Today is Bob Seger's birthday. He's 69 years old.

Top 5 Bob Seger Songs:

1. Night Moves
2. Turn the Page
3. Still the Same
4. Like a Rock
5. Against the Wind

And this gets Honorable Mention.

Hey World! Shape Up! You're Disappointing Obama!

In a recent poll of current US Presidents, the world's approval rating has drastically slipped given recent events. In fact, the poll results revealed that the current President expressed "disappointment" when asked about the rest of the world.

"The profile [of President Obama] that I published in the New Yorker was somebody that eerily, eerily seemed to be claiming himself--it was a sense of not giving up, but of deep frustration--that was the profile that I published in the New Yorker. Somebody frustrated and disappointed," said Remnick, who has proven to be deeply sympathetic to this president.

"And that's what's frustrating to me sometimes about Obama is that the world seems to disappoint him," he continued to laughter from others on the TV set. "Republicans disappoint him, Bashar al-Assad disappoints him, Putin as well. And the fighting spirit sometimes is lacking in the performative aspects of the presidency."

I can't say that I really feel bad for the President. You know, the world disappoints me constantly. The world disappoints everyone constantly. Part of becoming a grownup is realizing that it has always been ever so and then moving on with life anyway.

Huh...seems like he's frustrated with everyone who doesn't do exactly what he wants. What did he expect - that the whole world would just adore him and do whatever he said?

Grow up, Mr. President.

Headlines for Tuesday May 6, 2014

Today is Tuesday, May 06, 2014. On this day, back in 1937 the German airship Hindenburg caught on fire and burned. There were thirty-five fatalities including one ground crewman. This widely known disaster (along with the passenger airplane) ended the era of the airships for passenger travel. It also provided a the basis of a metaphor for something being a spectacular failure.

1. South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy will lead the House Select Committee on Benghazi. Not a bad choice. Gowdy has been known for his tough questioning of witnesses in front of his committee before. Rather than give a speech, he tends to...you know...ask questions. We'll see what he makes of this opportunity.

2. First it was Global Warming. Then it was Climate Change. Now it's Climate Disruption. Please adjust your lexicons accordingly. They can call it whatever they want, it's still silly.

3. Healthy SC man defrauds Veterans Administration by claiming he had combat wounds. They really ought to have a severe punishment for this kind of thing.

That's all I've got for you this morning. I'm heading to Florence.

SC Teen Arrested on NYC Subway on Gun Charges

A 19 year old kid from South Carolina fell asleep on a NYC subway with a 9mm handgun sticking out of his waistband. The piece also says the gun was "defaced" which I assume means the serial number was filed off. (Oh, and just as a kicker, he had marijuana on him.)

He was promptly arrested.

So, let's see how many laws that means he's broken.

1. CORRECTION: He's underage to possess purchase a handgun from a dealer anyway - you have to be 21.
2. He's in New York City, which has very strict gun laws.
3. He's on a New York City Subway, which probably is a "gun free zone" with even stricter laws than New York City generally.
4. The serial number is filed off, so that's a a violation of federal federal law.

Not even including the drugs, that's four pretty serious charges that he's looking at, probably the worst of which is the defaced serial number.

He'll be in jail for awhile, unless he gets some kind of break for being 19, and they consider him a juvenile.

GOP Candidate for Iowa Senate Seat Makes An Interesting Ad

Here's an ad from Joni Ernst, who is one of the GOP candidates for Iowa's Senate Seat. It's kind of in the same vein as all the Sarah Palin-esqe stuff. She cruises in on a motorcycle, and then...well, just watch.

Thoughts? It kind of reminds me of (now Sentator) Joe Manchin's campaign ad where he shot a hole in the Obamacare bill with a rifle.

I guess we'll see how this plays out with Iowa voters. How does it play out with you?

Ben Affleck Banned from Vegas Casino

Not for cheating, mind you - just for basically being too good at blackjack.

Hey - he is known for being tough.

Guess the Gun - Movie Edition

Happy Friday.

Ok, no more icky politics or boring graphs of economic stuff. Time for something fun. It's time to play "Guess the Gun" (Movie Edition)

This gun comes to us from Saving Private Ryan. It is seen here held by Edward Burns (Reiben) as the squad marches through France after D-Day:

Another closeup here:

Remember, no using Google! Answer below the jump.

Unemployment Rate in One Graph

Everyone is celebrating that the unemployment rate dropped today. Yay! I guess happy days are here again!

Not so much. Look at this chart.

The unemployment rate (the blue line) is at it's lowest rate Since September of 2008. That's good right?

The reason that the unemployment rate is at a 5 year low is because the amount of people looking for work (the labor force participation rate) is at a thirty year low. Thirty. Years. If you're not an economist, what this means is that if you're not "looking for work" you're not counted as "unemployed". Therefore, we're just not counting as many people as "unemployed" not because they have jobs, but because they don't have jobs and aren't looking for jobs.

The red line represents what the unemployment rate would actually be if we used the same numbers of people looking for jobs as we did in June 2009.

So you can dance the happy dance all you want because the unemployment rate went down, but you're kind of fooling yourself if you think it went down because the economy is heating up.

Remember, First Quarter GDP was 0.1%. That's almost no growth in the economy at all. Excuse me if I refrain from doing a happy dance just yet.

Sporting Clays Open Thread

I'll be breaking some clays this afternoon, so y'all will have to talk among yourselves. If you're good, I'll bring you some more content later tonight.

Possible topics for discussion:

1. MSNBC host doesn't know what Animal Farm is about. English teachers everywhere shake their collective heads.
2. 2.45 Million enrollees didn't pay their Obamacare premiums. Oh, you mean this insurance stuff costs money? Who knew?
3. Abortion Bill advances through SC Legislature. This will bring South Carolina almost into line with certain highly conservative, oppressive regimes that have a 14 week abortion cutoff.....like France.

As always, you can follow me on Christian Mingle.