I was watching CNN this morning when the new—and “very good“— jobs numbers (as Mark Zandi characterized them later on MSNBC) came out. Guess who CNN, the network that tries hard at times to be a watered down version of Fox “News,” had on to comment on the numbers? No, come on, guess.
Oh, I knew you couldn’t guess. It was, uh, Grover Norquist. I’ll spare you what Grover had to say (that is something you could guess), but the point is there was no one on the panel of guests to counter the nonsense he spouted. I guess all the good guys were busy congratulating those conspirators at the Bureau of Labor Statistics for another job well done making Obama look good.
In any case, the numbers for October signal a continuing improvement. There were 184,000 private sector jobs added—32 months of consecutive growth—which represents the largest gain in eight months (government jobs continue to decline, as 13,000 more were lost, split fairly evenly between federal and state). Because of the increased number of folks entering the job market (always a good sign), the unemployment rate rose to 7.9, from last month’s 7.8 (which, of course, the right-wing labeled a conspiracy).
What often gets lost in the Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly report are the revised numbers for the last two months:
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for August was revised from +142,000 to +192,000, and the change for September was revised from +114,000 to +148,000.
That revision represents 84,000 more jobs added over the previous two months than previously reported.
So, although there is still a lot of Republican economics to fix, things are, indisputably, getting better and better.
Before I go, let’s play the guessing game again. What would you guess Fox “News” was doing after these “very good” numbers came out at around 7:30 C.S.T.?
Oh, I know, this one was easy, given what Fox has been doing for the past three weeks:
You gotta hand it to those guys. They are not ashamed of what they do.
By the way, in case you can’t quite figure out what that graphic in the right hand corner says, here is a better look:
Obama is one bad cat. One cover up isn’t good enough for him, he has to have two, or, who knows, possibly more. Perhaps next week’s Fox graphic will be a trifecta of intrigue: “Cover-up of the Cover-up of the Cover-up.”
The Erstwhile Conservative: A Blog of Repentance 
Jane Reaction
/ November 2, 2012In case you may have missed this little tidbit, GOP voters actually believe in voodoo. This was originally on Alternet:
“A staggering 68 percent of registered Republican voters stated that they believe demonic possession is real. Meanwhile, only 48 percent of self-identified Republicans believe in another equally if not more scary natural phenomenon: climate change.
The poll was conducted by Public Policy Polling, touted by NPR as “one of the most prolific polling outfits in the country.”
So two thirds of the GOP voters have a perfect excuse to stay ignorant since nothing is their fault anyway. The preachers have taught them well.
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R. Duane Graham
/ November 2, 2012Gerry,
I’m not surprised a bit. I think about 40% or so of the Republican base comprises fundamentalists and evangelicals, most of whom believe in a personal devil. And many more Christian believers do too.
As an Pentecostal evangelical, I once attended a class on demon possession and how to get cast demons out of folks. This is not an unusual view, especially among Pentecostals. I once read a book by a woman who believed that things like forgetting where your car keys were, or whether you turned off the stove, were signs of a demonic spirit at work on your mind. I’m not kidding.
Along with such beliefs, naturally, goes a distrust of science, since science is “man’s knowledge,” which is nothing compared to the knowledge God “revealed” in “his Word.”
Scary stuff, when you consider how many folks with political power believe these things, including the “end times” nonsense from the book of Revelation.
Duane
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Jane Reaction
/ November 4, 2012We were lucky to have been in a Baptist congregation that put practicality on the same plane as adoration. My forebears were the Waldensians,the worlds oldest Christians.
I studied the Bible in depth as an adult, with some of the most illuminating leaders in
Texas. Never did I hear anything about demonic possession.
Pastors are failing at their simple mission to teach the Gospel of Salvation.
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R. Duane Graham
/ November 5, 2012Some Pentecostals are obsessed with demons and demonic spirits, as far as I’m concerned. And that aspect of it is what separates them from some of their conservative Christian brethren, as does speaking in tongues. I had a lot of arguments with people who didn’t believe in the so-called “gifts of the spirit,” which my church preached routinely.
You know, there was always something attractive about the “gospel,” that part of it that has a compassionate deity longing to save his creation, and willing to suffer greatly to do so. I admit that part still moves me, if only that were all there was to it. But it ain’t. And the rest that gets piled on top of it, not least the added weight of Republican political and economic philosophy, ruins it all for me.
Duane
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