Jimmy Hoffa Declares War on the Tea Party

Jimmy Hoffa, Jr., head of the Teamsters Union, rallied his troops for President Obama at a Labor Day rally in Detroit:

We got to keep an eye on the battle that we face: The war on workers. And you see it everywhere, it is the Tea Party. And you know, there is only one way to beat and win that war. The one thing about working people is we like a good fight. And you know what? They've got a war, they got a war with us and there's only going to be one winner. It's going to be the workers of Michigan, and America. We're going to win that war.

President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. And President Obama, we want one thing: jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. That's what we're going to tell him.

When he's sees what what we're doing here, he will be inspired. But he needs help. And you know what, everybody here's got a vote. If we go back, and keep the eye on the prize. Let's take these sons of bitches out and give America back to an America where we belong.

Hoffa clamored for jobs not to save health care reform, it should be noted. And it's also noteworthy that the Democrats are increasingly not running against the "evil Republican Party" but against the "evil Tea Party."

About the Teamsters and sons of bitches, it takes one to know one.

Debunking Myths About Capitalism, the New Deal, Entrepreneurship, Equal Pay, Immigration, Sweatshops

Some provocative thinking from academia, courtesy of LearnLiberty.org:


Capitalism is anti-business and pro-consumer


Neither the New Deal nor World War II ended the Great Depression


Governments print money, entrepreneurs make money


Women earn less because they have less career ambition


Immigration is good


Sweatshops bring higher wages to the third world

Fox Poll Hypes Perry and Romney, Downgrades Palin and Bachmann

Fox News has a poll out of GOP voters interviewed August 29-31. In the big Republican field, most of the candidates are struggling for relevancy.

Support for Republican Candidate	Among Announced Candidates	Among All Candidates	Pickup from Unannounced Candidates	Too Extreme to Seriously Consider
Rick Perry	29	26	3	14
Mitt Romney	22	18	4	4
Sarah Palin	-	8	-	12
Ron Paul	8	7	1	10
Michele Bachmann	8	4	4	18
Rudy Giuliani	-	4	-	-
Herman Cain	6	4	2	3
Mike Huckabee	-	4	-	-
Newt Gingrich	3	3	0	5
Rick Santorum	4	3	1	3
Chris Christie	-	2	-	-
Jon Huntsman	1	1	0	2
Gary Johnson	0	1	-1	-
Buddy Roemer	1	1	0	-

Bad news for Rick Perry: He's in first place but many people consider him too extreme. That will happen when you call the Federal Reserve Chairman appointed by your own political mentor "treasonous."

Bad news for Mitt Romney: This poll confirms Gallup that he is now in second place. But, that takes the pressure off and puts it on Perry going into the first of the fall debates this Wednesday.

Bad news for Michele Bachmann: She would lose up to half her support if Sarah Palin entered the race. And she's in danger of slipping behind Ron Paul, despite her Iowa straw poll win over him in August.

Good news for Sarah Palin: She would come into the race in third position, should she decide to stop running by not running and officially enter the race. Also, people now consider Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, and Ron Paul (if they know who he is) more extreme. That helps position Sarah Palin for a political future in 2016 or 2020.

Bad news for Sarah Palin: Fox News asked if Sarah Palin should enter the race and 74% of respondents said no. Sarah's response over the weekend at a Tea Party event in Iowa was characteristically dismissive:

"Polls? Nah... they're for strippers and cross country skiers."

Too bad Fox didn't ask people if Rick Perry or Mitt Romney or any of the other candidates should get out of the race. But the point of this poll was to marginalize Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann by painting one as too late and the other as too extreme.

Want a Job? Move to North Dakota

As of July 2011, 12.9% of Nevada workers are unemployed. Only 3.3% are unemployed in North Dakota, a rate that is below normal levels. The best way to find a job in this economy may be to move to North Dakota.

Rick Perry made much of his job creation skills in his recent entry to the Presidential race. That may be, but the 8.4% unemployment rate in Texas is not that much less than the 9.1% rate for the U.S. as a whole. Twenty-six states (including the states of seven of his Republican rivals) can show better numbers.

Candidate	State	Rate
Gary Johnson	New Mexico	6.7
Michelle Bachmann	Minnesota	7.2
Jon Huntsman	Utah	7.5
Mitt Romney	Massachusetts	7.6
Buddy Roemer	Louisiana	7.6
Sarah Palin	Alaska	7.7
Rick Santorum	Pennsylvania	7.8
Ron Paul	Texas	8.4
Rick Perry	Texas	8.4
Herman Cain	Georgia	10.1
New Gingrich	Georgia	10.1
Thad McCotter	Michigan	10.9
Fred Karger	California	12.0

The biggest probem is that the state of California is dragging the country down, and is taking the Mountain West with it. The South is another problem region, with southern states littering the bottom of the unemployment list.

Don't want to move to North Dakota? You can pick almost any state on the Great Plains and improve your odds of employment. Well, maybe not Texas, but only West Texas is really on the plains.

Below is the complete list of unemployment rates by State:

Rank	State	Rate
1	North Dakota	3.3
2	Nebraska	4.1
3	South Dakota	4.7
4	New Hampshire	5.2
5	Oklahoma	5.5
6	Vermont	5.7
7	Wyoming	5.8
8	Iowa	6.0
9	Hawaii	6.1
9	Virginia	6.1
11	Kansas	6.5
12	New Mexico	6.7
13	Maryland	7.2
13	Minnesota	7.2
15	Utah	7.5
16	Louisiana	7.6
16	Massachusetts	7.6
18	Alaska	7.7
18	Maine	7.7
18	Montana	7.7
21	Pennsylvania	7.8
21	Wisconsin	7.8
23	New York	8.0
24	Delaware	8.1
24	West Virginia	8.1
26	Arkansas	8.2
27	Texas	8.4
28	Colorado	8.5
28	Indiana	8.5
30	Missouri	8.7
31	Ohio	9.0
32	Connecticut	9.1
33	Washington	9.3
34	Arizona	9.4
34	Idaho	9.4
36	Illinois	9.5
36	Kentucky	9.5
36	New Jersey	9.5
36	Oregon	9.5
40	Tennessee	9.8
41	Alabama	10.0
42	Georgia	10.1
42	North Carolina	10.1
44	Mississippi	10.4
45	Florida	10.7
46	District of Columbia	10.8
46	Rhode Island	10.8
48	Michigan	10.9
48	South Carolina	10.9
50	California	12.0
51	Nevada	12.9

Has the 3 Year Limit Expired on Sarah Palin's Celebrity Expired?

Sarah Palin is scheduled to give a big speech tomorrow in Indianola, Iowa. Will she or won't she announce for President her fans want to know.

The Iron Law of Stardom says that stardom can last only 3 years. You can be a celebrity for life, but your stardom can only burn for 3 years. Then it burns out and the world moves on.

It was exactly 3 years ago that Sarah Palin made her national debut at the Republican Convention in Dayton, Ohio for the announcement of her nomination for Vice President.

Rick Perry Gallups to Front of Republican Pack

Gallup has a new poll out showing Rick Perry leading the rest of the Republican field by double digits in the race for the 2012 Presidential nomination.

And where did that big lead come from? My theory: A third came directly off support for Mitt Romney. Another third came from Tim Pawlenty and Newt Gingrich. The final third from other candidates and undecideds.

Candidate	Support	Change from June
Rick Perry	29%	+29%
Ron Paul	13%	+5%
Michele Bachmann	10%	+3%
Mitt Romney	17%	-10%
Tim Pawlenty	-	-6%
Herman Cain	4%	-6%
Newt Gingrich	4%	-5%
Rick Santorum	3%	-3%
Jon Huntsman	1%	-1%
Other	2%	-3%
No Preference	17%	-4%

The other gainers since June were Ron Paul and Michele Bachman, who I think both pulled Tea Party support away from Herman Cain. Cain peaked in June. Bachmann may have peaked in July. Romney may also have peaked, but is still in second place.

September will be make or break for Rick Perry. He is untested in the Presidential debates and there are three scheduled for September, one at the Reagan library in California and two in Florida.

Sarah Palin has also indicated she will make a decision on whether or not to make her unofficial campaign for President official by the end of September. So if Rick Perry falters on the debate stage, there is a maverick chomping at the bit and raring to join the race.

Herman Cain, We Need to Talk about Your Growth Plan

Herman Cain has an economic recovery plan, a vision for economic growth.

Herman, help me with the political math. You've got a 9% national sales tax (ugh) coupled with a 9% payroll/income tax with no or very limited deductions (ugh). Businesses pay another 9% on the wages they pay workers (if I read between the lines correctly). So that's a combined 18% on wages, and you thinks you're going to eliminate the double taxation of dividends and zero out capital gains taxes?

That's just Phase I. In Phase II you want to replace the payroll/income tax for individuals and businesses with a national sales tax of unspecified rate at an unspecified time in the future. And you can't do any of this without a Congress to support it.

After reading your complicated multi-phase plan, that line at the beginning about how "policy uncertainty is killing the economy" just kills me. To vote for you, I am going to need to take a tax accountant and a ouija board with me into the voting booth.