Lost Jobs

I'm not big on reposting the works of others, but this was just too good not to quote.
According to author James Pethokoukis on AEI Ideas, here are some job facts you won't find Washington or the mainstream media talking about.

"
1. Over 69 percent of the jobs created in Q2 2013 and over 57 percent of all the jobs created in the first half of 2013 were created in the three lowest wage sub-sectors of the economy, Retail Trade, Administrative and Waste Services, and Leisure and Hospitality, that otherwise account for an aggregate of only 33 percent of all private sector jobs.

2. These jobs, in the aggregate, pay an average of only $15.80 per hour, compared with the other two-thirds of private sector jobs, which pay $27.16 per hour. Relative to unemployment benefits and other assistance, jobs at $15.80 per hour put less than $3.00/hour more in the pockets of a newly working consumer.

3. About half of the jobs created during the first half of 2013, and a large majority of the jobs created in Q2 2013, appear to have been part-time jobsthat offer employees as little as one hour of work per week, and up to 35 hours of work.

4. After falling from a recession high of 9.2 million to a post-recession low of 7.6 million at the end of Q1 2013, the number of people saying they are working part time because they can’t find full time work (part time for economic reasons) crept back up to 8.2 million, double pre-recession levels.
5. Nearly 100 percent of the decline in the U-3 unemployment rate has been the result of there being fewer workers in the labor force as a percentage of the employable population. If the Labor Force Participation Rate had not fallen from October 2009, when unemployment hit its Great Recession peak of 10 percent, unemployment would today still be around 10 percent. Moreover, if the LFPR were held constant from its highest pre-recession level of 66.40 percent in January 2007 (when unemployment was 4.6 percent), the U-3 unemployment rate would be nearly 12 percent today.  "

http://www.aei-ideas.org/2013/07/5-horrible-job-stats-obama-failed-to-mention-during-his-knox-college-speech/

As you can see in #1, the jobs created are McJobs. Not the machining, production, steel work, construction or financial jobs. Ones that used to pay a decent wage are being replaced with part time, low wage jobs. Funny that the mainstream keeps talking about the lower unemployment rates but not the fact that there are far fewer people actually working, millions more on food stamps, and the jobs that were created are at a much lower wage.
I can tell you from experience, jobs in my industry are paying 30-40% less IF you can get one. They laid off the older, higher paid workers and hired at a much lower wage or outsourced the products to other countries.
THIS administration is all about lies, deflection and cover up.
I was asked the question, "Do you think we can turn it around?".  I fear that would be wishful thinking. The elite have built their power base and the jobs are permanently lost.

Stay safe, prep and vote this bunch of UnAmerican liars out of office.

Off to the Gun Show!

The monthly Crossroads of the West is in town this week. The crowds flock to browse, shop and cart off loads of goodies. For me it's not so much the merchandise that is at the show, rather the crowd watching. Toddlers in strollers, pregnant moms, grandma and grandpa, old, young, doctors, lawyers, construction workers, the young couples, all there to find something.
Last time I was in line for bulk ammo, two elderly ladies were in line behind me and they struck up a conversation. They chatted about the particular firearms they owned and which were their favorites. We chatted about reloading, ammo types, politics (yes they were conservative) and the times in general. (Did I mention this was a pretty long line?)
I don't know what the crowds will be like in the heat of the summer, but I expect it won't deter everyone. We'll see what goodies they have....Off to the show.
Stay safe, point the muzzle downrange and prep.

Helen Thomas-Passing of a Legend

I found it odd that Helen Thomas passing at age 92 didn't make the "Trending Now" list. Now don't count me as a Helen Thomas fan for her politics or soothing vocal manner. However, the lady had guts, determination and tenacity. In her later years, sitting front and center with the White House Press Corp, she would ask some off the wall questions and occasionally get away with addressing the elephant in the room. She continued to hold that seat until the end. I think she did that to stay mentally alive. 

It was her anti-sematic rants and pro-Palestinian stance that cause the most grief for all.  She was not one for forgiveness.  Though I am skeptical, I pray that she found redemption. 

Stay safe, keep off the radar and for Heaven's sake...don't shoot at Drones.

Now Big Brother can track you on the highway

You know those common place cameras on the highway? The one's that look like highway webcams? Well now Big Brother has implemented a new set of tools to track millions of drivers. It's called Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR). They can mount them under freeway underpasses, on cop cars, at intersections and they work day and night. With their infrared cameras, they digest and report thousands of cars per hour and feed it to massive databases. The database knows here you were and when. It may not seem like much, but coupled with the Feds collecting all your calls, emails and soon to be texts and tweets. (They may be doing that too but we have no confirmation).
So now on the way to the grocery, you are tracked by your cell, your license plate, facial recognition, your credit card, in-store security feeds and every time you used the internet. Makes you want to run from the grid.... Well, you can run but you can't hide, unless you are of a certain protected religious class. Then they just can't seem to find you. Hmmm
Stay safe, stockpile food and smile. (The facial recognition systems can't read you then)

Okay, just one more thing...

I thought I had vented for the day until I read multiple articles about a cow falling through the roof in Brazil, sadly killing a man and just missing his wife. Now that might be a great topic for Saturday Night Live, but really...main stream media? With all the topics they could have researched and reported on, a COW?
And then one that had some traction was the many ways you can get across the border from Mexico. One of my favorites comes courtesy of Homeland Security....

You have to give them an A for effort.

Tell me there aren't more important things our government should be working on..

Harry Reid - Court Jester

Have you ever watched the clips of Harry Reid reading from a script on the Senate floor? Ever notice that he is the only one there? The place is totally empty when he does his scripted rants. I mean even the janitor is gone. You know WHY? In my humble (ha) opinion, he doesn't want to have the inevitable laughter in the background. I mean really, who could listen to his BS and not break out in a belly laugh?
Now he is demanding that the Republicans go along with their union picks for the NLRB or HE will institute a rules change to allow for majority vote to approve them. (The so called nuclear option) This is the same rules change that he and the other Dems warned against when the Republicans held the Senate. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, he seems to think it is alright to change these rules.
Now I really don't understand why this "rule" is not a law. Most everything else is codified, including when the Prez is supposed to present a budget. Why wouldn't this be a law, not a rule????
Either way, Harry is such a joke, he will go down in history as the court jester of the Senate. If it wasn't so serious, I would be laughing.
Be safe, be prepared and don't call me with your Verizon cell phone. (The NSA is listening)

They used to call them "Rabble Rousers"

I ask myself why would the Zimmerman case be such a media circus. In true character, "myself" had a few answers. (Okay, so I am talking to myself again...and answering)
There are some that have used this tragic situation to make an even more tragic drama out of it. This case is not all that different from hundreds of similar events across the country, but it did come at a time that certain partisan forces needed distraction or diversion to keep the general public from focusing on their administration and it's failures.
Also, black "leaders" like Al Sharpton have leveraged media circuses in the past to keep his name out there and get sweetheart deals like his news commentator job. There is big money in ginning up the crowd and he is usually available for all those televised moments.
Obummer obviously weighed in on the topic March of 2012 with his now famous quote about how if he had a son, he would look just like Trayvon. Gee, better than the beer summit!
Now that a jury of his peers carefully reviewed the facts and the media decided what the verdict "should be", he was found not guilty.
Not to let a good tragedy die, Al Sharpton is back trying to ride this train all the way to the end of the tracks.
Today he stated:

"The acquittal of George Zimmerman is a slap in the face to the American people but it is only the first round in the pursuit of justice. We intend to ask the Department of Justice to move forward as they did in the Rodney King case and we will closely monitor the civil case against Mr. Zimmerman. I will convene an emergency call with preachers tonight to discuss next steps and I intend to head to Florida in the next few days."

- the Rev. Al Sharpton
Back in the day, people that did this were called "rabble rousers".

rabble-rouser

noun

a person who stirs up the passions or prejudices of the public, usually for his or her own interests; demagogue. (1)

Origin:
1835–45

Though I fully support the First Amendment, there are some like Sharpton that abuse the power of the press. Al, if you really are a clergy member, you are turning your back on all the things that Jesus tried to teach us. Maybe you should take the time to read the Bible. (Especially that part on FORGIVENESS)

Prepare for the worst, stay safe and get involved.

(1) Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013

Janet Napolitano steps down....finally

Another one of Obummer's hand picked staff steps down. Janet's tenure was rocked with non-stop screw ups and bad policy. It is rumored that both Janet and Eric Holder studied at the same school of idiotic policy. To begin with, her selection was totally insane. She had zero experience in military or law enforcement. Both are critical to ensure coordination and efficient utilization of the assets she was charged with. Secondly, her politics kept getting in the way of doing the job she swore to do. When Arizona sheriff's would call ICE to pick up prisoners found in the US illegally, they were told to refuse that service. Janet turned thousands of prisoners housed in federal custody loose on the public with no notice. Local law enforcement was stunned at that stunt. Guess they wanted to get them signed up by ACORN as quick as possible for those 2014 mid term elections.
My real concern is the way she will be replaced. Harry Reid has already threatened to change the rules of the Senate (the nuclear option) and run her replacement through with the union bosses in a simple majority. Gee, maybe he will appoint Van Jones or Bill Ayres. What would be better than to have a radical revolutionary have access to all of our national secrets and in charge of our security?
Too bad Eric Holder won't be stepping down, after all, Obummer needs him in that position to cover his butt with all his illegal actions. He knows he won't get investigated like a neutral justice department should be doing.
Well, get prepared, stay safe and get off the radar.

Did Holder use the Justice Dept to spur on race demonstrations?

If it wasn't already bad enough, we are now hearing that Holder used a little know branch of the JD to encourage and organize race based demonstrations against George Zimmerman. Witnesses stated that they received help and support from the JD's branch that was originally developed to quell riots and race based demonstrations. I thought it was strange that this particular incident that was deemed self-defense by the police was propelled into the forefront so quickly and seemingly driven by the Prez himself. Statements like, "...if I had a son, he would look just like Trayvon" only confirm that he used the power of the administration to gin up the race card and further divert public attention from things like Benghazi and the numerous scandals that are rocking his administration.
Now with his push to get union leaders appointed to the NLRB with a rule change (the nuclear option) it is apparent that Obummer is willing to fold, bend and mutilate the Constitution for any political gain.
I fear we are well beyond recovering a government "OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE".
Prepare, stay safe and pray.

Do we all have amnesia???

It amazes me that we Americans seem to have such a short attention span and often forget what happened just a few months ago. Maybe it is caused by the overload of information spewed by mainstream media. They want us to focus on the next big thing rather than what is important and often unresolved.
Remember a few events that may have slipped from memory...

• 9/11 - We hear the phrase often but have you stopped to think through the events before, during and following that terrible disaster.
• Bengazi - Did you get your questions answered by the administration? Frankly, I didn't. But you would think that it was resolved by listening to mainstream media.
• Fast and Furious? Only one of the scandals from the IN-Justice Department.
• State Department prostitution revelations.
• IRS abuses
• Drones used in the US
• NSA spying on us
• etc, etc, etc.

There are so many events that we can't even list them all. Meanwhile the "revisionist" historians are re-writing the events in history so that our children will never really understand the real truth.
Where are we going America?
Be safe, be prepared, use your God given rights.

A few more guns return to shelves

This week, I stopped in a few local guns stores to check out the inventory. I am seeing some of the more popular handguns showing up at the stores. AR's are still in short supply, but the factories are catching up with the hording crowds. An interesting statement was made recently on a gun enthusiast show stating that though Ruger's sales had been through the roof, it was about 85% first time gun purchasers. The implication was that if the general public fulfills their need for a firearm, the sales would drop dramatically. Now there was no comparison to prior year sales but one could surmise that if the hording stops, Ruger will cut back it's overtime.
The gun show vendors are still able to provide bulk ammo and the prices are starting to come down some. YEAH! However, I still find the reloading components challenging to find at reasonable prices. This entire exercise caused the prices of guns and ammo to skyrocket. Are we safer? Hell no.
Just an example of the change. A popular .22 mag semi-auto sold for $299 mid last year. The lowest I have found it is now over $500. Most of the stores that do have a few are pricing over $600. Come ON, its a .22mag!  Not something that Dirty Harry would have been caught dead with.
We can only thank our legislators and the main stream media for creating a crisis out of a tragedy.
Hmmm. Where are they on abortion? A rather striking ad I saw this week showed a football stadium empty. The title was " abortions killed enough people this month to fill this stadium".  Similar statements could be made for smoking. But where are our country's leaders? Off arguing over whether to enforce our laws or not. Didn't think that was optional.....

More later, be safe, be prepared, pray.

A jaunt up Schnebly Hill Road

Some friends and I took the UTVs down Schnebly Hill Rd to Sedona to get a view many will never see. Though there are a boat load of Pink Jeep Tours that make part of the trip, it isn't the same as flying down the trail with the spectacular views on each side. There are zillions of trails in Arizona and this one is easily accessible from both Sedona and I-17. Though we saw a few brave soul take their street vehicles down the road, I can only presume they were "rentals".  A lot of good sized rocks to take out the underside of a normal vehicle make it ridiculous to take a normal car down. It is a testament to man's stupidity. You can put signs up, supply warnings and yet... the idiots will ignore them. And we wonder why all those warning labels are useless.

Sedona Red Rock from Schnebly Hill