Rick Moran, at 1 pm, blogging at his own website:
It must be a sad life living as a right wing nutcase. The entire world is against you — the media, the government, liberals, the New York Yankees (I have it on good authority that the Yankees manipulate coverage of ESPN so that they are always the lead story.)
Now, we can add to that enemies list the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS vomited forth the latest jobs numbers today and despite the fact that the number of unemployed and underemployed Americans remained the same from August, the “official” unemployment rate dropped from 8.1% to 7.8%.
***All of these paranoids have made a classic error in logic; they have put the cart before the horse by adopting an assumption — cooked books — without any evidence that would buttress and undergird that assumption. Instead, they have substituted an outcome — large decrease in unemployment rate — to “prove” the assumption is correct.
Yes, but they “know in their gut” that the numbers are cooked. “I wouldn’t put it past Obama” is another bit of fancy that passes for “evidence.” I am perfectly willing to believe that the numbers are cooked — just as soon as someone shows me how it was done. Or even how it could be done. The BLS publishes reams and reams of data along with the numbers. Show me where the data is falsified. Show me where their computations are goofy. Show me where there is the slightest whiff of collusion between the BLS and the Obama White House. Show me one tiny piece of evidence that your paranoia is justified.
Rick Moran, blogging at the most poorly named website on the planet, the American Thinker, letting the “paranoids” update his post:
As usual with this number, the real unemployment data is hidden away inside the BLS report. We’ll update this blog as deeper analysis becomes available.
Update from Thomas Lifson:
Jack Welch is tweeting what many are thinking: that “these Chicago guys” are fudging the numbers. In the short run, there is probably no way to determine if there has been corruption of the BLS data.If this is a top-down effort to manage the data, then if next month’s data goes below the level when Obama took office, that would fuel a powerful media narrative that we’re back ont he way up. The old “stay the course” argument.
Bruce Johnson adds:
Thin Air is on Obama’s Side. So many events originate in the thin atmosphere that seems to miraculously benefit Mr. Obama.
This September employment data counters the debate performance and eviscerates much of Romney’s argument.
Ta da! Magically, after the poor debate performance, we get the largest leap in home survey jobs in nearly 30 years. The employment rate drops to 7.8%.
Now the “no President has ever won reelection with unemployment over 8%” rule is out the window. Additionally, this short circuits all the small business and jobs points made by Romney on Wednesday night.What wonderful timing.
If I were Rick, I don’t know if I’d be more pissed or embarrassed. Don’t worry about Rick or his integrity, though. He’ll shake this off, as cognitive dissonance is his biggest strength.
Plus, I’m sure he can whip up a “DEMOCRATS ARE WORSE” post to ease his conscience.
dmbeaster
Cut and paste the “we are doomed” language to rebut the next troll drive by – “even right wingers are saying…”
Maude
If the Repubs don’t like something, they make something up.
I haven’t heard Obama say anything, he can let this play out.
piratedan
funny how those three new GOP sponsored polls just now magically show a Romney lead in VA, NC and Fla…. but I’m sure that’s just a coinkydink
JPL
Well, the Braves are getting screwed over by the umps also so there is that.
eemom
No apostraphe.
GregB
@piratedan:
Polls are very important now you know. BLS, not so much compared to 2 days ago when they said unemployment was at 8.2%.
Wiesman
Please remove the goddamned apostrophe in the title or my OCD will keep me awake all night.
red dog
Metrosexual Doug J has been spewing his verbiage at us for 3 days. Thanks for joining us again John. Your brevity is great. We do not enjoy a political Stephen A. Smith.
Corner Stone
This is one of the all time great photos on Yahoo! News.
It’s of Jack Welch and I hope they never rotate it out.
Jackie
ranchandsyrup
it must be weird to root against people getting jobs.
JPL
A tale of two Rick’s what?
The Braves might not have won but they shoulda had the chance…blah!
Hill Dweller
Republicans believe this stuff because they know their party would do it in a heartbeat.
Think about all the scams and shady behavior during Republican administrations. Hell, Reagan was cutting deals with the Iranians when he wasn’t even the f’n President. They’ll do anything to gain and keep power.
All their conspiracy theories are nothing but projection.
SatanicPanic
Enjoying reading the comments. Like the defense guy who is whining about losing his job. Too bad so sad you government moocher.
Higgs Boson's Mate
Unemployment below 8%? Looks like conservatism has been failed again.
Or something like that.Suffern Ace
@ranchandsyrup: Think of some non-flamethrower like Brooks or a whatever he is Friedman whenever someone gets a job. Since we’ve abandoned that Protestant work ethic that made us great, every job we get is somewhat sinful.
LanceThruster
@Hill Dweller:
Rove/Goebbels standard playbook.
magurakurin
@Wiesman:
A Tale of Two Rick’s
Isn’t that a Twilight Zone episode that’s a lot like the Star Trek with the Evil Mr. Spock? There are two universes and in one Ilsa gets on the plane with Victor, but in the other Rick shoots Victor and Major Strausser and then Rick, Louis, Sam and Ilsa get on a plane for Rio and the rest is a low grade porno flick. That was an awesome episode.
JPL
@LanceThruster: The same person who changed the numbers has Obama’s real birth certificate.
Felinious Wench
Wingnut relatives in a froth. I told them to show me some evidence, and then said “Actually, it’s OK. I love that Mitt adopted some of our policies in the debate! I hope it’s a sign he’s coming back to our side now.”
They’re now having fits. They’re so cute.
raven
@JPL: No shit, I dvr’d it and just watched the last 3. Fuckers want to bitch about replacement officials. shit
dr. bloor
I went through most of that wondering why I never knew that the “Ghostbusters” guy had a political/economic blog. Who is this anyway, and why should I know who he is?
Petorado
Well it’s about time the Obama guys fixed the unemployment numbers, since I have it on good authority that pro-Republican and pro-Romney business types were cooking up unemeployment and shipping jobs overseas these past four years just to make Obama look bad. Et tu Brute.
(This made-up conspiracy stuff is waaay to easy)
Linda Featheringill
@Corner Stone:
Jack Welch:
One of the advantages of my being poor and unsuccessful and not photogenic is that when I reach that stage and make a fool of myself, only a few people will see it. And hopefully those few will love me anyway.
Soonergrunt
@eemom: Actually, it’s spelled ‘apostrophe’.
ranchandsyrup
@Or something like that.Suffern Ace: the only morally acceptable jobs are a sneeze guard cleaner at the applebees salad bar or an immigrant cab driver? bummer.
Soonergrunt
@ranchandsyrup: Not for them.
Violet
@ranchandsyrup: Don’t forget hole digger.
Baud
@Felinious Wench:
Perfect response. Two thumbs up.
techno
For all the damage that Neutron Jack Welch caused the real economy of the United States of America, I would be lying low if I were him. He left behind thousands of victims who had the skills to be hired by GE in the first place. Many of them are still angry as hell for what that predator did to their lives. Many would go past the guillotine for Neutron Jack—straight to crucifixions.
Shut up and go away Jack before everyone starts remembering your crimes.
ranchandsyrup
@Soonergrunt: true enough and inartfully put by me but does not compute. Tribalism sucks. Ah, the mot juste!
redshirt
@magurakurin: Shoot us both Rick’s!
Also:
LOL! Still an awesome movie.
Baud
God loves Obama.
I stand with God.
Spaghetti Lee
You see, Obama has adopted the devious, underhanded tactic of having an economic policy that works, thus making the economy better and not allowing us to defeat him! If he was playing fair he’d use the same policy that George Bush used, but no! Typical librul.
Jamie
well, If Obama has been fudging the data numbers, He isn’t very good at it. His life would be a lot easier if the unemployment rate was under 7.
Turgidson
Reminds me of the ACA ruling. The nutjobs were rubbing their hands together, cackling with glee, just certain that the activists on the court would give Obama the smackdown he so deserved. Then one of their own, Roberts, swung it the other way.
The debate reaction was similar to the run-up to the ACA ruling. They just knew that the end of Obama’s presidency was sealed. Until suddenly it wasn’t. And they can’t explain why other than to say crazy shit and look like the asses they are.
And I laugh.
Violet
Third Rick.
eemom
@Soonergrunt:
tooshay
raven
An INFIELD FLY is a fair fly ball (not including a line drive nor an attempted bunt) which can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort, when first and second, or first, second and third bases are occupied, before two are out. The pitcher, catcher and any outfielder who stations himself in the infield on the play shall be considered infielders for the purpose of this rule. When it seems apparent that a batted ball will be an Infield Fly, the umpire shall immediately declare Infield Fly for the benefit of the runners. If the ball is near the baselines, the umpire shall declare Infield Fly, if Fair. The ball is alive and runners may advance at the risk of the ball being caught, or retouch and advance after the ball is touched, the same as on any fly ball. If the hit becomes a foul ball, it is treated the same as any foul. If a declared Infield Fly is allowed to fall untouched to the ground, and bounces foul before passing first or third base, it is a foul ball. If a declared Infield Fly falls untouched to the ground outside the baseline, and bounces fair before passing first or third base, it is an Infield Fly.
Sarah, Proud and Tall
Goddammit, Cole. Do I have to go in and change that apostrophe myself?
PeakVT
@Sarah, Proud and Tall: Yes. He’s gone back to doing useful things IRL, like drinking.
MikeJ
@Sarah, Proud and Tall: Please do.
Baud
@raven:
Uncle Ebeneezer
@dr. bloor: Shorter Rick Moran: Honey, I shrunk the unemployment statistics.
jeffreyw
Rick has a place. It is Rick’s place. Rick has another place, also, too. This second place is Rick’s place as well. This is a tale of those two places. A Tale of Two Rick’s.
Sarah, Proud and Tall
@ Cole
@MikeJ:
@eemom:
@PeakVT:
FTFY
Davis X. Machina
@Baud: But it cannot both be and not-be an infield fly, not at the same time.
wenchacha
@Corner Stone: Aaauughhh!
MikeJ
@Davis X. Machina:
Well *I* didn’t observe it.
Baud
@Davis X. Machina:
You still believe in the principle of non-contradiction in the Age of Romney?
cathyx
Actually, if John means “A Tale of Two Rick’s Problems(or whatever)” then it would need the apostrophe.
Or something like that.Suffern Ace
@Corner Stone: Christ. It’s like Vader’s mask has been removed.
tBone
@dr. bloor:
He used to post here and would tag every comment with “Cordially, Rick.”
It was every bit as annoying as it sounds.
redshirt
@Sarah, Proud and Tall: What if John had the apostrophe in the title on purpose? Like, to signify the insipidity of Mr. Moran? Artists choice!
PeakVT
@Sarah, Proud and Tall: TYVM.
raven
@MikeJ: You will unless you live under a rock with Spatula.
Odie Hugh Manatee
@raven:
I thought it was a cow chip.
Andrew
As someone said tonight in a Facebook posting reply, “(The Right) wouldn’t be making up this non-story if they were really confident in Mitt’s ‘win’ and felt fabulous about the next debate…”
Davis X. Machina
Romney’s pioneering one-valued logic.
All positions in all truth-tables are filled with “W”, for ‘Whatevs’.
Bruce S
The worst I’ve seen of this was some moron at CNBC confronting the Labor Secretary on camera with…uh…an unhinged tweet from bitter old crank Jack Welch about “the Chicago guys” somehow corrupting the BLS. A fucking “tweet!” As though that had some gravity beyond Jack Welch’s creeping dementia. It would have been embarrassing if the CNBC idiot was capable of embarrassment. No such luck. CNBC is the worst piece of shit on the cable planet outside of the FOX pathology.
raven
@Odie Hugh Manatee: How you doin?
digitals3rf
What’s the over/under on Limbaugh on-air weeping and pants-shitting and/or bloody fistfights/anal rape breaking out at GOP headquarters/Adelson/Koch enterprises on Nov. 7? Because while I would like to see the sane candidate reelected and the House flipping, what really fills my perverted liberal imagination with glee is pure agony of the oligarchs as they realize their billions were wasted and may have actually helped the Soshulist enemy. Can such a breakdown really happen? Help me out here people. Support the vision or bring me back down to Earf.
Davis X. Machina
@Bruce S: In a way, CNBC is worse than Fox, because Fox doesn’t even pretend.
If the Big Bad Wolf doesn’t dress up like Grandmother, Riding Hood is out of there like a shot.
Uncle Ebeneezer
@MikeJ: I’m either shocked, or I just don’t understand…;)
geg6
@Davis X. Machina:
Man, you just said exactly what I was going to say. Well, maybe using different (and probably too many) words, but the same thing nonetheless.
I’m + 3 Reislings, so that’s my excuse.
Bruce S
@Davis X. Machina:
I tend to agree. Plus, they are mostly just stupid people – if they are “journalists” as regards Wall Street, 13 year old girls peeing their pants at Beatles concerts were “music critics.”
John Cole
I am on the bottle and you can ram your fucking apostrophe up your ass.
Sarah, Proud and Tall
@redshirt:
It is possible. He can always change it back.
ETA: Or he could just not give a shit. I think he might go with that.
Davis X. Machina
@geg6: That version of the observation isn’t original with me…or cable TV. A buddy made it with reference to Barron’s and Investors’ Business Daily years ago, when some bit of Reaganite utter nonsense was being flogged by the more respectable paper.
RossF
Reading this post from Morgantown, WV. Makes the experience that much more cool. Finally made it to Cole country for a weekend.
maya
Jack Welch@jack_welch Jeff@GE glow 115,000 employees stat.
jack@jack_welch
Spatula
@raven:
Raven, you sly shy dawg…you LIKE me. ;D
Spatula
Why doesn’t Obama or a minion simply say: “Hey Wingnuts! Where was your enthusiasm for conspiracy theories when Dubya was hiding 9/11-related incompetence and inventing WMD’s?”
The national Dems still mostly play softball while the GOP is playing Rollerball To the Death.
Capt. Seaweed
@digitals3rf:
No sorry, that kind of optimism ended at about 10:00pm Wednesday night when everybody who was litterally dripping with overconfidence that the Dems could take back the House ran out of popcorn jokes. Now, most everybody is too afraid to talk about that, and I get the impression that even the atheists are praying to keep the Senate and for Oman’s re-elect. Funny how 90 minutes can change everything. People seem to be quietly milling about searching for stray kernels of good news. There really has been a lot of that the past few days.
digitals3rf
@Spatula: Oh, there’s plenty of that going on, but where it actually counts: the online peanut galleries where folks actually pay attention and get persuaded by their peers. The impact of social media is an old, tired and airy-fairy subject I grant you, but it’s one of the big reasons all that UNLIMITED!!! CORPORATE!!! CASH!!!! just isn’t magically paving the road for that Perma-Confederate Majority.
@Capt. Seaweed: It’s going to be the next few weeks which determine whether the House flips. Not impossible but so many things will either boost or depress turnout. Certainly Ohio so far gives an encouraging picture: http://www.examiner.com/article/in-tipping-point-ohio-early-voting-turnout-2012-up-big-time-over-2008
notoriousJRT
@Corner Stone:
He looks shockingly like a Gringott’s goblin…
redshirt
@Sarah, Proud and Tall: LOL. An apostrophe seems like such a small thing. Surely, it would be fairly easy to shove it up ones ass.
handy
@John Cole:
Attaboy!
Capt. Seaweed
@digitals3rf:
I would argue that the House flipping to Blue was a long shot at best, and it was going to take depressed and unenthusiastic Red voters staying home to make that happen. Just from my own personal observations and convos with known RW friends of mine I have had since the debate in the town where I live: they’re re-energized and not caring whether it’s truth or lies. Winning means everything. Fuck everything else.
maya
@Spatula:
Right. Obama is so incompetent he hired Romney to write his attack ads. For no pay. Ain’t that a 90mph softball in the GOP rollerball jockstrap.
Shalimar
@Andrew: Of course they would still be making up this non-story even if they were confident Romney is the all-time master debater. They throw shit against the wall non-stop. Why would they stop picking up shit just because some of it seems to be sticking?
Sarah, Proud and Tall
@redshirt:
But it might get lost up in there and I’m not going back to that emergency room again.
amk
@John Cole: Guess once a rethug, the traces still remain, despite the conversion.
Mike E
@Sarah, Proud and Tall: I’m not convinced your kerning is authentic. Please post a pic of your Selectric II ball or the 101st Chairborne will be dispatched!
@Spatula: It was ever thus, sadly.
Hill Dweller
@Capt. Seaweed: The wingnuts have been giddy since the debate, but this latest conspiracy theory is borne of desperation, because they know all their jobs talking points will ring hollow going forward.
Willard’s Big Bird stupidity seems to be the most resonate topic from the debate, which can’t thrill his campaign.
That said, the Obama campaign needs to continue reminding the voters of Willard’s mendacity and disdain for the average voter. Moreover, Obama has to have two good debates.
Judas Escargot, Acerbic Prophet of the Mighty Potato God
@Davis X. Machina:
More like ‘X’ (for Don’t Cares).
mai naem
@Corner Stone: Jack Welch used to come on Morning Ho once in a while and I always thought he looked like a turtle/tortoise. He looks like those wooden turtles people would put on their pcs in the eighties with his head looking like a bobblehead
.@Bruce S: That’s got to have been Joe Kernen. This is the guy who was pimping his 9-10 yr old daughter who had supposedly written a book about her teacher in school teaching her socialist/marxist/commie ideas. Seriously disgusting. Krugman was on with him a few months ago and all he could do was hassle Krugman about “how much gdp should go to government?” – just repeating it a gazillion times. Super disrespectful but they all kiss Welch’s ass when he comes in as a sub-host. CNBC sucks ass in the morning.
1badbaba3
@Spatula: Aw, c’mon, you can do better than that. After all, it is Mighty Mitt’s moment of triumph.
Vic- toe- ree Bitchez! ! ! !
Suck it Libs! ! !
Capt. Seaweed
@Hill Dweller:
Yeah I was in a local Midas Muffler this morning getting an estimate on new shocks. I have done some work for the owner over the years and we have a professionally friendly relationship. Politics never came up. So this morning I’m sitting in the waiting room and a lady friend of his comes by. I’m reading Sports Illustrated, not paying attention, and about 5 minutes later Full Wingnut breaks out: ZOMG!!! WASN’T THE DEBATE GREAT!!! MITT REALLY STUCK IT TO OBAMBI!! I THINK HE’S GONNA CRUSH THE URSURPER!!!one!! eleventy!!, and so forth like that. I would not have heard that two weeks ago, or even the beginning of the week.
There has been a change in WR attitude and we’d better recognize that. I don’t speak wingnut, but my other friends feel that FINALLY SOMEONE IS GOING TO KILL PBS!! and it fills them with hope. We see “Romney is going to fire Big Bird” as a talking point against Mitt. They see it as a reason to vote for him.
Kill Big Bird? Sooner the better. I’ll just never understand that.
Matt McIrvin
@Capt. Seaweed: The Sesame Street hate goes back all the way to the beginning of the show, and I don’t think it’s hard to understand.
Hint: Don’t look at the colorful Muppets, look at the colorful humans.
Polish the Guillotines
As an Oakland A’s fan, I can confirm this is 100% accurate.
Brantl
Is this guy the reason that so many teabaggers spell Moron as Moran?
denali
@John Cole,
John, is it time for an intervention? We who know and love you are concerned about all this rage about a simple apostrophe.