Phil Ramone: Interview With Broadcast Studio Supervisor For The 2010 Grammys, Part One (Video)
Phil Ramone: Interview With Broadcast Studio Supervisor For The 2010 Grammys, Part Two (Video)
Phil Ramone: Interview With Broadcast Studio Supervisor For The 2010 Grammys, Part Three (Video)
Phil Ramone: Interview With Broadcast Audio Supervisor For The 2010 Grammys, Part Four (Video)
Musique. Interview Who’s who : Phil Ramone
Catch A Fire – Phil Ramone
Billy Joel: Inducts Phil Ramone into Songwriters Hall of Fame 2010
Billy Joel – Just the way you are
National Arts Awards 2008: Phil Ramone
Legends – Phil Ramone
Phil Ramone “Music Production Long Version” (Web 72)
Sitting With Phil Ramone Jan 2011 Interview
Phil Ramone at U Mass Lowell, November 14th, 2008 (Part 1)
Phil Ramone at U Mass Lowell, November 14th, 2008 (Part 2)
Phil Ramone talks about 10cc’s influence on Just the WayYou Are
Phil Ramone’s Road Recovery Master Class
Who is Phil Ramone?
Phil Ramone Biography
The Salvation Army Phil Ramone Orchestra for Children
A former violin prodigy and expert engineer, he worked with Dylan, Sinatra, McCartney, Bennett, Charles, Streisand, Simon, Joel and Bacharach and spent more than 50 years in the business.
Phil Ramone, the instinctive music producer whose mixing mastery for Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Paul Simon and Billy Joel helped fashion some of the most sumptuous and top-selling albums of his era, has died. He was 72.
The 14-time Grammy winner and 33-time nominee once dubbed “The Pope of Pop” was hospitalized in late February with an aortic aneurysm in New York and died Saturday morning at New York Presbyterian Hospital, according to Ramone’s son Matt.
A native of South Africa who at age 10 performed as a violinist for Queen Elizabeth II, Ramone spent years working as a songwriter, engineer and acoustics expert in New York before charting a path that would make him a trusted studio partner in the eyes (and ears) of the industry’s biggest stars.
Among the albums on which he worked were Streisand’s 1967 live A Happening in Central Park; Paul & Linda McCartney’s Ram (1971), sandwiched between the Beatles and Wings eras; Dylan’s aching Blood on the Tracks (1975); Simon’s pop classic Still Crazy After All These Years (1975); Joel’s critical and commercial breakthrough The Stranger (1977); Sinatra’s last-gasp Duets (1993), a model of technical wizardry; and Charles’ final album, the mega-selling Genius Loves Company (2004).
Ramone served as a songwriter in New York’s famed Brill Building music factory and worked early on with Quincy Jones, Tom Dowd, Creed Taylor, JerryLeiber & Mike Stoller and BurtBacharach & Hal David, among others. In 1959, he launched the A&R Recording studios on Seventh Avenue in New York, where Blood on the Tracks and so many other classics were recorded.
Asked to describe his philosophy as a producer, Ramone told Sound on Soundmagazine in 2005: “I served a long time as an engineer and watched many famous producers work, and I decided on the personality that came most easily to me, which is the more relaxed; to give artists encouragement when needed.
“Players are like prodigies, thoroughbreds,” he added. “You have to handle them with care.”
Born on Jan. 5, 1941, Ramone at age 3 began studying the piano and violin, and he attended the Juilliard School in New York as a teenager. Although he was an accomplished performer and composer, he was attracted to the technical side of music and became a wizard working with the dials.
In 1964, Ramone engineered the classic bossa nova album Getz/Gilberto, from American saxophonist Stan Getz and Brazilian guitarist Joao Gilberto. It would become one of the biggest-selling jazz albums of all time and earn him his first Grammy, for best engineered recording. It also won the album of the year Grammy.
Later in the decade, he worked with folk superstars Peter, Paul and Mary, then won another Grammy in 1969 as co-producer of the original Broadway cast album of Promises, Promises, with music and lyrics by Bacharach and David.
Ramone’s career reached another level in 1975 when he produced Simon’s Still Crazy After All These Years — which featured the No. 1 single “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” and won Ramone a Grammy for album of the year — and Blood on the Tracks.
About the Dylan album, Ramone said: “It turned out to be the best four days of what Bob Dylan does, which is he wanders from song to song, sometimes coming back to the first one. Other than changing the roll of tape, you just had to let it all happen.”
In 1977, he produced Kenny Loggins’ Celebrate Me Home, Phoebe Snow’s Never Letting Go and Joel’s The Stranger, which kicked off a seven-album, decade-long relationship with the Long Island-raised singer-songwriter. He and Joel were “both lunatics,” he once said.
For the screeching tires on “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” from The Stranger, Ramone recorded bassist Doug Stegmeyer’s Corvette peeling out, taping a microphone to the tailpipe. He also added a bit of echo to Joel’s whistling throughout the album.
“There’s nothing like the challenge of devising and reproducing an effect you’re looking for,” Ramone wrote in his 2007 book, Making Records: The Scenes Behind the Music. “Sometimes that chase is more exciting than the catch.”
Ramone won the record of the year Grammy for Joel’s “Just the Way You Are” from the album (after removing a “cha-cha-cha” background from the song), captured album of the year for the follow-up 52nd Street and was named producer of the year in 1980 after guiding the rock-infused Glass Houses, which featured Joel’s first chart-topping single, “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me.”
On Oct. 1, 1982, 52nd Street became the first commercially released compact disc, and Ramone later received a Technical Grammy for his lifetime of innovative contributions to the industry.
In 1993, Ramone produced Duets, a comeback album for Sinatra. The legendary singer never sang in the same studio with his duet partners, who included Streisand, Natalie Cole, Aretha Franklin, Tony Bennett, Bono and Kenny G. Ramone used an EDNet fiber-optic system to record the artists in different locations in real time.
The first of two Sinatra Duets albums sold more than 3 million copies in the U.S. and made it to No. 2 on the Billboard albums chart.
For Genius Loves Company, Ramone and fellow producer John Burk provided a clean, retro setting for the pop classics sung by Charles with James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Elton John, Norah Jones and others. The album, recorded over a period of nine months and released in August 2004 — two months after Charles’ death — earned triple-platinum status, made it to No. 1 and raked in eight Grammys.
“If Ray is looking upon us now, he’s just made his career last another 50 years,” Ramone said as he accepted the Grammy for Album of the Year.
Ramone also produced Bennett’s Duets II, the 2011 release famous for the crooner’s collaboration with Amy Winehouse. With that album, Bennett became the oldest living artist to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
Other Ramone-produced albums include Lesley Gore’s I’ll Cry If I Want To (1963), Julian Lennon’s debut Valotte (1984), the Broadway cast album for Passion (1994), Liza Minnelli’s live Liza’s Back (2002), Rod Stewart’s It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook (2002) and recent works from George Michael, Dionne Warwick and Glee star Matthew Morrison.
Ramone recorded Streisand and Kris Kristofferson live during filming for A Star Is Born (1976) and co-wrote “Imagination,” sung by Laura Branigan in Flashdance (1983), good for another Grammy. He also contributed to the films Midnight Cowboy (1969), Ghostbusters (1984) and Beyond the Sea (2004), with Kevin Spacey acting and singing as Bobby Darin.
Ramone also recorded Marilyn Monroe’s boozy rendition of “Happy Birthday to You” sung to President John F. Kennedy in 1962 and received an Emmy in 1973 for his work as an audio designer on the NBC special Liza With a Z.
In a Recording Academy statement confirming his passing, the Grammy organization also credited Ramone as “a pioneer of audio technological developments — creating new innovations for the compact disc and surround sound technologies.”
In an interview with Music Radar in November, Ramone credited his ability to seize upon spontaneity as one reason he became such a prolific hitmaker.
“You have to be able to run as fast as the artist, capture the magic early on,” he said. “After a few takes, people start intellectualizing what they’re doing, and it loses something. What’s special happens right away — so you have to be ready for it.”
In addition to his son Matt, Ramone is survived by wife Karen and sons BJ and Simon.
Phil Ramone, Famed Record Producer of Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Tony Bennett, Dies
Exclusive UPDATE: Billy Joel says:
“I always thought of Phil Ramone as the most talented guy in my band. He was the guy that no one ever ever saw onstage.
He was with me as long as any of the musicians I ever played with – longer than most. So much of my music was shaped by him and brought to fruition by him.
I have lost a dear friend – and my greatest mentor.The music world lost a giant today.”
Earlier: Heartbreaking: my friend, the friend of so many in the music business, has died at age 72. Phil had been in a New York hospital for the last few weeks, recovering from an aortic aneurysm. It’s just tragic. Phil produced the great music by Paul Simon, Billy Joel, and Tony Bennett– all of whom had been keeping in touch with Phil’s family constantly over the last few weeks.
Phil had 14 Grammy awards– and not enough frankly. Just in the last two years he’d produced Tony Bennett’s “Duets II” and “Viva Duets,” as well as Paul Simon’s critically acclaimed “So Beautiful, So What” and was finishing up a new album with George Michael.
To say Phil was a musical genius, a gentleman, the sweetest and nicest guy–it’s all not enough. For years he’s been producing the annual Songwriters Hall of Fame show and it’s been such a great experience. This past winter, right before he became ill, Phil was honored by the Salvation Army for all of work in the last few years. He was so proud of organizing their kids’ orchestra. He was beaming when they played at the Marriott Marquis that night. And he was so thrilled that Aretha Franklin came to honor him as well.
All I can think of this afternoon is Phil in the studio recording the “Duets II” album in the summer of 2011. I came into see him, and it he was drenched in sweat. It was at least 100 degrees outside, and Aretha had asked that the air conditioning be turned off while she and Tony Bennett recorded “How Do You Keep the Music Playing.” Phil was wearing a light blue dress shirt, and all of it was wet by degrees. I said, “Phil are you all right?” He looked at me with that big smile. “Do ya see what’s going on in there?” he pointed to Aretha and Tony on other side of the glass. “I’m great. Hot. But great.”
Phil Ramone, Famed Record Producer of Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Tony Bennett, Dies
Phil Ramone, Famed Record Producer of Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Tony Bennett, Dies
<!– –>03/30/13 12:00pm Roger Friedman 1
Exclusive UPDATE: Billy Joel says:
“I always thought of Phil Ramone as the most talented guy in my band. He was the guy that no one ever ever saw onstage.
He was with me as long as any of the musicians I ever played with – longer than most. So much of my music was shaped by him and brought to fruition by him.
I have lost a dear friend – and my greatest mentor.The music world lost a giant today.”
Earlier: Heartbreaking: my friend, the friend of so many in the music business, has died at age 72. Phil had been in a New York hospital for the last few weeks, recovering from an aortic aneurysm. It’s just tragic. Phil produced the great music by Paul Simon, Billy Joel, and Tony Bennett– all of whom had been keeping in touch with Phil’s family constantly over the last few weeks.
Phil had 14 Grammy awards– and not enough frankly. Just in the last two years he’d produced Tony Bennett’s “Duets II” and “Viva Duets,” as well as Paul Simon’s critically acclaimed “So Beautiful, So What” and was finishing up a new album with George Michael.
To say Phil was a musical genius, a gentleman, the sweetest and nicest guy–it’s all not enough. For years he’s been producing the annual Songwriters Hall of Fame show and it’s been such a great experience. This past winter, right before he became ill, Phil was honored by the Salvation Army for all of work in the last few years. He was so proud of organizing their kids’ orchestra. He was beaming when they played at the Marriott Marquis that night. And he was so thrilled that Aretha Franklin came to honor him as well.
All I can think of this afternoon is Phil in the studio recording the “Duets II” album in the summer of 2011. I came into see him, and it he was drenched in sweat. It was at least 100 degrees outside, and Aretha had asked that the air conditioning be turned off while she and Tony Bennett recorded “How Do You Keep the Music Playing.” Phil was wearing a light blue dress shirt, and all of it was wet by degrees. I said, “Phil are you all right?” He looked at me with that big smile. “Do ya see what’s going on in there?” he pointed to Aretha and Tony on other side of the glass. “I’m great. Hot. But great.”
Phil’s Grammys:
2006 Producer, Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, Tony Bennett Duets: An American Classic
2005 Producer, Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, Tony Bennett The Art of Romance
2004 Producer, Album of the Year, Ray Charles Genius Loves Company
2004 Producer, Best Surround Sound Album, Ray Charles Genius Loves Company
2004 Technical Grammy, for contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field.
2002 Producer – Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Playin’ With My Friends: Bennett Sings The Blues
1994 Producer – Best Musical Show Album, Passion
1983 Composer – Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television Flashdance
1980 Producer of the Year – Non-Classical
1979 Producer, Album of the Year, 52nd Street
1978 Producer, Record of the Year, Just The Way You Are
1975 Producer, Album of the Year, Still Crazy After All These Years
1969 Producer, Best Musical Show Album, Promises, Promises
1964 Engineer, Best Engineered Recording (non- classical) Getz/Gilberto
Phil Ramone
Philip “Phil” Ramone (January 5, 1941 – March 30, 2013) was an South African–born American recording engineer, record producer, violinist, and composer,[1] who, in 1958, co-founded A & R Recording, Inc., a recording studio at 112 West 48th Street, New York — above what then was Manny’s Music. The success of that studio grew into several studios and a record producing company. He was described by Billboard as “legendary”,[2] and the BBC as a “CD pioneer”.[3]
Early life
Ramone was born in South Africa and grew up in Brooklyn. As a child in South Africa, Ramone was a musical prodigy, beginning to play the violin at age three and performing for Elizabeth II at age ten.[4] In the late 1940s he trained as a classical violinist at The Juilliard School, where one of his classmates was Phil Woods. Ramone opened his own recording studio before he was 20.[5] He became a naturalized citizen of the U.S.A. on December 14, 1953.[6]
Professional career
A & R Recording
In 1959, Ramone established an independent recording studio A & R Recording (the initials were derived from the last initials of Ramone and his then-business partner Jack Arnold). Later the partnership consisted of Brooks Arthur owning half and Ramone, Don Frey, and Arthur Downs Ward (1922–2002) owning the other half.[7]
In the studio he quickly gained a reputation as a sound engineer and music producer, in particular for his use of innovative technology. Among those whose music he has produced are Clay Aiken, Burt Bacharach, The Band, Bono, Laura Branigan, Ray Charles, Karen Carpenter, Chicago, Peter Cincotti, Natalie Cole, Bob Dylan, Sheena Easton, Melissa Errico, Gloria Estefan, Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Elton John, Quincy Jones, Patricia Kaas, B. B. King, Julian Lennon, Shelby Lynne, Madonna, Barry Manilow, Richard Marx, Paul McCartney, George Michael, Liza Minnelli, Anne Murray, Olivia Newton-John, Sinéad O’Connor, Fito Páez, Luciano Pavarotti, Peter Paul and Mary, Andre Previn, Diane Schuur, Carly Simon, Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra, Rod Stewart, James Taylor, The Guess Who, Dionne Warwick and Stevie Wonder. He is also credited with recording Marilyn Monroe’s intoxicated version of “Happy Birthday to You” to President John F. Kennedy.[1]
His early work in producing and engineering was with jazz artists, working on John Coltrane records and acting as engineer for the landmark Getz/Gilberto album in 1964, for which he won his first Grammy. He transitioned during the 1960s to working with folk-rock, pop-rock, and R&B acts such as Peter, Paul, and Mary, James Taylor, Aretha Franklin, and Bob Dylan, first primarily as an engineer, and later as a producer. He won his first production Grammy for his work on 1975’s Still Crazy After All These Years by Paul Simon. His breakthrough album became Billy Joel’s 1977 album The Stranger and began a fruitful collaboration that would lead to Ramone producing a string of hit Joel albums throughout the rest of the 1970s and 1980s. In 1993, he produced Duets, Frank Sinatra’s comeback album, a commercial hit that peaked at #2 on the Billboard Album Chart. During the rest of the 1990s, Ramone moved from production work to his primary role as an industry executive, serving as chairman of The Recording Academy, though he would still be involved in some studio work including several Broadway cast recordings, as well as helping produce, with Quincy Jones, the televised A Tribute to Brian Wilson in 2001.[8]
Technical innovations
October 1, 2012, marked the thirtieth anniversary of the world’s first commercially marketed compact disc. On that date in 1982, A & R Recording released a digital compact disc version of Billy Joel’s 52nd Street in Japan, alongside Sony’s CD player CDP-101.[9]
Ramone introduced optical surround sound for movies.[10] His book, Making Records: The Scenes Behind the Music, written with Chuck Granata, was released on October 9, 2007. Also in October 2007, Ramone produced a limited engagement performance of Richard Vetere’s Be My Love: The Mario Lanza Story.[11] The play was directed by Charles Messina and co-produced by Sonny Grosso. It premiered at The Tilles Center in Greenvale, New York[12]
Other professional activities
In addition to producing music, Ramone has numerous concert, film, Broadway and television productions to his credit that include “A Star is Born”, “August Rush”, “Beyond the Sea”, “Flashdance”, “Ghostbusters”, “Midnight Cowboy”, “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”, “Passion”, “Seussical”, “Simon and Garfunkel: The Concert In Central Park”, Songwriters Hall of Fame Awards, “The Score”, VH1/BBC “Party at the Palace: Queen’s Jubilee Concert”, and “The Good Thief”.[13]
Most recent work
On July 8, 2008, Columbia records released The Stranger 30th Anniversary, which features interviews with Ramone. This box set includes a remastered version of the 1977 Billy Joel album, The Stranger by Ramone.[14] The following summer, Ramone produced Gershwin Across America, a tribute album to the music of George and Ira Gershwin. The album features Jewel, Jason Mraz, Darius Rucker, and Paul Simon among others.[15] In 2011, Ramone worked with George Michael, during his 2011 Symphonica Tour.[1]
Personal life
Ramone was married to Karen Ichiuji-Ramone, with whom he had three sons.[10]
Death
Ramone died on March 30, 2013, in a Manhattan hospital after being admitted for surgery.[16][17] His family did not immediately release details.[5]
Awards
Ramone was nominated for 33 Grammy awards, winning 14 including a Technical Grammy Award in 2005 for a lifetime of innovative contributions to the recording industry.[18][19]
1965 – Best Engineered Recording (non classical), for Getz/Gilberto
1970 – Best Musical Show Album for producing Promises, Promises
1976 – Album of the Year for producing Still Crazy After All These Years
1979 – Record of the Year for producing “Just the Way You Are”
1980 – Album of the Year for producing 52nd Street
1981 – Producer of the Year (non classical)
1984 – Best Album Of Original Score Written For A Motion Picture Or A Television Special, for Flashdance
1995 – Best Musical Show Album for producing Passion
2003 – Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, for producing “Playin’ With My Friends: Bennett Sings The Blues”
2005 – Album of the Year and Best Surround Sound Album for producing Genius Loves Company
2006 – Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for producing The Art of Romance
2007 – Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for producing Duets: An American Classic
2012 – Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for producing Duets II
He also won an Emmy Award in 1973 as sound mixer for “Duke Ellington…We Love You Madly”, a tribute to Duke Ellington broadcast on CBS.[3]
Ramone was awarded honorary degrees by Five Towns College, Berklee College of Music, and Skidmore College. He was a member of Berklee’s Board of Trustees. He was also awarded a Fellowship by the Audio Engineering Society in 2007.[20]
References
^ abc “Biography: Phil Ramone”. philramone.com. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ Barnes, Mike (March 30, 2013). “Legendary Producer Phil Ramone Dies at Age 72”. Billboard. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ ab “US music producer and CD pioneer Phil Ramone dies”. BBC News. March 30, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ “Legendary Music Producer Phil Ramone Dies at 72”. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ ab “Phil Ramone, pioneering music producer and engineer, dies aged 72”. guardian.co.uk. March 30, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Petition No. 625266, Admission No. 7198731
^ Eskow, Gary (June 1, 2005). “Classic Tracks: Janis Ian’s “At Seventeen””. Mix. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ Ruhlmann, William. “Phil Ramone”. Allmusic.com. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
^ “Sony History: A Great Invention 100 Years On”. Sony. Archived from the original on August 2, 2008. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
^ ab Barker, Andrew (March 30, 2013). “Phil Ramone, Pioneering Music Engineer and Producer, Dies at 72”. Variety. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ “Phil Ramone Project”. Frost School of Music. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ “Richard Vetere Collection”. Stony Brook University Special Collections & University Archives. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ “Phil Ramone: About”. philramone.com. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ “Billy Joel The Stranger: 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Review”. BBC Music. July 14, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ Mergner, Lee (August 25, 2010). “All-star lineup performs Gershwin across America at Hollywood Bowl”. Jazz Times. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ Martinez, Michael (March 30, 2013). “Music producer and innovator Phil Ramone dead at age 72”. CNN. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ “Legendary record producer Phil Ramone in ‘critical care'”. NME. March 1, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ “Past winners search”. Grammy.com. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ “Technical GRAMMY award”. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
^ “AES Historical Web Store: Oral History Project: Phil Ramone (101)”. Audio Engineering Society. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
The traditional definition of marriage as a union between a man and woman held by a majority of Americans is being challenged by a growing minority who want to expand the definition of marriage by including gay or same-sex couples.
In November 2008 California voters approved the Proposition 8 ballot initiative, which amended the state constitution and states that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” Subsequently, the United States District Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals have found Proposition 8’s ban on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional.
On March 26, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in the case of Hollingsworth v. Perry (formerly Perry v. Schwarzenegger, initially, and then Perry v. Brown) regarding the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8.
Below are some of the highlights of the justices’ questions and remarks:
Associate Justice Antonin Scalia
“When did it become unconstitutional to exclude homosexual couples from marriage? 1791? 1868, when the 14th Amendment was adopted?”
Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor
“Outside of the marriage context, can you think of any other rational basis, reason, for a state using sexual orientation as a factor in denying homosexuals benefits or imposing burdens on them? Is there any other rational decision-making that the government could make? Denying them a job, not granting them benefits of some sort, any other decision?”
Associate Justice Elena Kagan
“Suppose a state said that, Because we think that the focus of marriage really should be on procreation, we are not going to give marriage licenses anymore to any couple where both people are over the age of 55. Would that be constitutional?”
Associate Justice Samuel Alito
“You want us to step in and render a decision based on an assessment of the effects of this institution which is newer than cellphones or the Internet? I mean we — we are not — we do not have the ability to see the future.”
Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy
“There’s substance to the point that sociological information is new. We have five years of information to weigh against 2,000 years of history or more.”
Chief Justice John Roberts
“I’m not sure that it’s right to view this as excluding a particular group. When the institution of marriage developed historically, people didn’t get around and say, ‘Let’s have this institution, but let’s keep out homosexuals.’ The institution developed to serve purposes that, by their nature, didn’t include homosexual couples.”
The Supreme Court’s decision in the case is expected in June.
Raymond Thomas Pronk is host of the Pronk Pops Show on KDUX web radio from 3-5 p.m. Fridays and author of the companion blog http://www.pronkpops.wordpress.com/
Audio Excerpts of High Court Gay Marriage Case
Supreme Court Proposition 8 Case Arguments Cast Doubt On Gay Marriage Ban
Supreme Court Hears Prop. 8 Case (Full Audio)
Gay marriage was heard before the Supreme Court, which heard arguments on the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8, that defined marriage between one man and one woman. The proposition was approved by California’s voters in the 2008 General Election, but struck down later by the district court.
The basic history of how the case came to the court:
Hollingsworth v. Perry (formerly Perry v. Schwarzenegger, initially, and then Perry v. Brown) is a case currently before the United States Supreme Court, on appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. There, a three judge appellate panel held that California’s Proposition 8, a 2008 ballot initiative that amended the state constitution to allow only opposite-sex couples to marry, was unconstitutional. Lawsuits challenging Proposition 8 were filed in state and federal courts nearly immediately after the initiative’s passage. In Strauss v. Horton (2009), the California Supreme Court ruled that Proposition 8 was a valid enactment under California law. However, in August 2010, Judge Vaughn Walker of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that Proposition 8 violated the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The judgment was stayed pending appeal. On February 7, 2012, a divided three judge panel of the Ninth Circuit upheld the decision of the district court, though it did so on much narrower grounds than the District Court did. On June 5, 2012, the Ninth Circuit denied a request for a rehearing en banc. The proponents of Proposition 8 appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court on July 31, 2012. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case by granting a writ of certiorari on December 7, 2012. Oral arguments were heard on March 26, 2013.
The full case:
Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Gay Marriage
THE LATEST NEWS : Same-sex marriage ‘too new’ for court?
5 Gay Marriage Issues Before Supreme Court
Glenn Beck on Gay Marriage: “I Don’t Care”
Audio » Mark Levin – Supreme Court On California’s Proposition 8
Gay Marriage ban overturned: Judge Napolitano weighs in on Prop 8 appeal
Rush on Prop 8 ruling: This is Tyranny!
Media hypes Prop 8, ignores real issues
08/04/10 – Prop 8 Overturned – Rob Reiner, Ted Olson & David Boise Celebrate Outside Courthouse
Proposition 8 – Overturned by California Supreme Court?! – 05-23-09
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REVIEW: The Roku 3 Blows Away The Apple TV
By Steve Kovach | Business Insider – 2 hours 33 minutes ago
There’s no shortage of devices with so-called smart TV functions.
You have the Apple TV that connects to your iTunes content. The Boxee that lets you record network TV on a virtual online DVR. TV makers like Samsung and LG have streaming apps built directly into their web-connected TV sets. And so on.
But at their core, none of these devices revolutionize television the way many are hoping Apple will if it ever launches its rumored television set. Most of these gadgets, the current Apple TV box included, function largely the same. You get access to the standard library of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, plus the option to buy and rent movies and TV shows.
That’s about it.
What’s most important in today’s streaming devices is the interface, an interface that lets you find what you want to watch as quickly as possibly and jump in. You also need plenty of good content to enjoy.
The newest box from Roku, the Roku 3, achieves both these things better than any other device I’ve used, making the $99.99 streaming box the best you can buy today.
New LookThe Roku 3 interface is a complete overhaul of the last one, and it’s so good I’m going to have trouble going back to my clunky Apple TV.
Unlike the Apple TV which can make you click through as many as four or five menus before you’re able to jump into the thing you want to watch, every detail in the Roku 3’s user interface is designed to minimize your effort.
Scrolling vertically lets you cycle through apps or menu options in an infinite loop so there’s no need to navigate back to the top of a list. (If you’ve used Apple TV’s menus before, you know this can be a pain.) Scrolling horizontally lets you dive deeper into your selection, meaning you can launch the app you want or get more information on a specific piece of content. These are tiny details, but they feel so natural that the interface almost disappears. I haven’t seen anyone pull that off on the television screen yet.
But the best feature by a longshot is search, which lets you look up content by actor, director, title, etc. and provides you with a list of all streaming sources you can watch the video on. For example, a search for “South Park” gives you the option to stream the show on Netflix, Hulu, or purchase individual episodes.
There’s no clicking through endless menus and search options. There’s no hoping what you want to watch is on Hulu or Netflix or Amazon or whatever else before you search that individual app. You just search for the stuff you want and the Roku finds it for you wherever it lives. It’s such an essential and simple feature that I’m shocked it’s not standard on all streaming devices by now.
Content SelectionBecause Roku is open to third-party developers, you have a much larger content selection than you get on Apple TV. The Roku has all the standard stuff Apple TV has like Netflix, Hulu, and sports services like MLB.tv. But you also get a lot of stuff the Apple TV doesn’t have yet like HBO GO, Amazon Instant, Spotify, and Pandora.
Plus there are several casual games like Angry Birds and other streaming video apps to choose from in Roku’s virtual store.
If you want to buy or rent videos, there’s Vudu, a virtual store with a selection about as good as Apple’s. You can stream purchased videos directly to your Roku and they remain tied to your account so you can access them whenever you want. It also has several shows available the day after the air, which can come in handy for those who no longer subscribe to cable.
That was my biggest problem with the Roku 3. Over the years I’ve purchased a ton of movies and TV shows through iTunes, meaning I’m already locked into Apple’s system. The Roku 3 is so good I regret doing that. If you’re like me, you’ll have to repurchase a lot of your favorite content through Vudu if you decide to switch to the Roku.
Yes, Apple TV is slowly letting more apps onto its platform. Hulu Plus finally got the green light last year. HBO GO is reportedly coming soon and you can now use AirPlay to beam videos from the the iPhone or iPad version to your Apple TV. And there’s increased talk that Apple will open Apple TV to third-party developers soon, meaning even more content could be on the way.
But as it stands now, Roku simply offers you more content options for the same price as the Apple TV.
The HardwareThe Roku 3 does have a few hardware advances worth mentioning, especially when it comes to the remote control. In fact, the remote is probably the biggest hardware innovation the Roku 3 offers: a headphone jack on the side that automatically mutes your TV and pumps the audio to your headphones instead.
It’s perfect if you want to watch TV in bed without disturbing your partner. It’s perfect if you only have one TV and want to share the living room with someone who’d rather be reading instead of listening to some gory “Game of Thrones” battle. Like the user interface, the headphone jack is a simple detail that was perfectly executed and solves a common annoyance on our TVs that no one has really tried to tackle before. If you’ve ever had to compete for the sound waves in your living room, you know what I’m talking about.
The remote also has built-in motion controls for gaming, sort of like the remote on the Wii video game console. But I found it’s not as accurate as the remote on the Wii. When playing Angry Birds Space, for example, the cursor didn’t always match up perfectly to where I pointed the remote, so I had to keep resetting the position to match what I was seeing on the screen. It was a minor annoyance, but definitely worth noting in case you think the Roku would make a good gaming machine.
Other than the remote, there’s not much different with the Roku 3. It looks very similar to the last version, a small squarish device that can fit in the palm of your hand. But it does has a faster processor so apps and games run slightly smoother than before. It also has a dual-band WiFi chip for faster wireless speeds, but you’ll need a special router to take advantage of that. (I think you’re better off plugging the Ethernet cable directly into the Roku if you can.)
Finally, there’s a USB port so you can plug in an external hard drive or thumb drive and play video files that you’ve made yourself or downloaded from somewhere else.
The new hardware features are nice, but there’s no need to upgrade from the second-generation Roku unless you really, really want that new remote with the headphone jack. All those great software features I mentioned? You’ll get them in a software update soon if you haven’t already.
If you don’t have a Roku, the hardware upgrades are definitely more versatile than what you get with the Apple TV.
ConclusionAs I said in the intro, no streaming box can offer you some sort of revolution in web-based video watching. But the Roku is the best at working with what is out there already. You get access to more streaming services and content than the Apple TV has, plus an incredible interface that helps you find what you want better than anything else out there.
It’s that good.
Unless you already have a lot of content purchased through iTunes, the Roku 3 is the best choice.
inBloom launches with Gates/Carnegie funds to unify e-learning services
Summary: Despite the recent explosion in ed tech applications and services, adoption and use of data remains a significant challenge. InBloom’s new platform just may change that.
By Christopher Dawson for ZDNet Education
As recently as a couple years ago, the biggest problem schools faced with implementing technology tools for students and teachers was the lack of research-based, pedagogically sound, applications. There was plenty of software, some of it good, not much of it great, and very little of it really cranking out usable data for teachers and other stakeholders. The recent explosion of investment in ed tech has yielded some really valuable applications, though, and the challenges have shifted to adoption and ease of use of disparate software and services.
inBloom, which launched this week, is hoping to change that. I had the chance to talk with Iwan Streichenberger, CEO of inBloom, Inc., and couldn’t help but be impressed with both the current platform and the future vision of the non-profit. inBloom offers a set of technologies and services, most notably robust APIs, that allow single sign-on and aggregation of data from many web-based educational tools and provide a basis for companies to develop new solutions for schools, teachers, parents, and students that are interoperable without needing to conform to arbitrary standards or conventions. As the company put it in their press release,
The inBloom data integration and content search services enrich learning applications by connecting them to systems and information that currently live in a variety of different places and formats, while helping to reduce costs for states and districts. This comprehensive view into each student’s history can help those involved in education…act quickly to help each student succeed. It also helps educators locate standards-aligned instructional resources from multiple providers and match them with their students’ needs…
Additionally, the inBloom framework enables technology providers to develop and deploy products without having to build custom connections to each state and district data source. This means more developers will have the opportunity to create new and powerful applications to benefit students, with lower implementation costs and faster time-to-market.
For example, an SIS provider could build a custom dashboard with student data from any application connected to inBloom. 22 such providers have already signed on to connect their applications to inBloom and 9 states are involved in piloting the service. The real goal, though, goes back to the ed tech holy grail of “an IEP for everyone” (my words – inBloom calls it “[integration of] student data and learning applications to support sustainable, cost-effective personalized learning”). If teachers can’t easily access data generated by learning applications and stored in SIS/LMS platforms and then quickly find and provide appropriate resources for students based on these data, then we aren’t leveraging the tools in which we’re investing. Kids are just taking tests on the web and playing computer games at that point and, with 30+ kids in a class, there’s no real hope of differentiated instruction.
Although the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation have funded a wide range of educational initiatives, this one (which received initial philanthropic funding from the two organizations) strikes me as one of the most potentially transformative. Nobody benefits if the current unprecedented levels of investor interest in ed tech becomes a bubble that funded lots of applications from which teachers and students derive limited benefit. But if inBloom can harness these applications to develop a meaningful, well-rounded ecosystem, then the potential for ed tech to achieve much of what it has promised in the last 20 years (with only moderate success) increases significantly. It doesn’t hurt that companies with great ideas and great products will be able to tap into a ready market, either, eager to adopt strong applications from a unified ecosystem.
There will be more announcements and demonstrations from inBloom at SxSWEdu at the beginning of March where we’ll be able to see the system in action.
Over the past 18 months, a massive $100 million public-school database spearheaded by the $36.4 billion-strong Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been in the making that freely shares student information with private companies.
The system has been in operation for several months and already contains millions of K-12 students’ personal identification ‒ ranging from name, address, Social Security number, attendance, test scores, homework completion, career goals, learning disabilities, and even hobbies and attitudes about school.
Claiming that the national database will enhance education, the main funder of the project, the Gates Foundation, entered the joint venture with the Carnegie Corporation of New York and school officials from a number of states. After Rupert Murdoch’s Amplify Education (a division of News Corp) spent more than a year developing the system’s infrastructure, the Gates Foundation delivered it to inBloom ‒ a nonprofit corporation recently established to run the database.
School officials and private companies doing business with districts might have plenty to be happy about with this information-sharing system, but ParentalRights.org President Michael P. Farris says parents have plenty to worry about when it comes to inBloom’s national database.
“The greatest immediate threat to children is the threat to their privacy,” Farris told WND in an exclusive interview. “The Supreme Court has recognized a sphere of privacy within the family, but this project would take personal information about each child, apart from any considerations of parental consent, and put it into a database being managed and monitored solely by the government agencies and private corporations that use it.”
And with globalists like Bill Gates (the world’s second richest man with a net worth of $61 billion) and big government joining hands in the project, could children’s information be abused for ulterior motives?
“I cannot speak to Mr. Gates’ personal motivations, [but] the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been connected with human rights organizations that promote the internationalist mindset, and this project clearly fits with that agenda,” Farris explained. “The Convention on the Rights of the Child committee has repeatedly browbeat nations to create a national database just like this that will allow the government to track children, purportedly to make sure their human rights are being protected ‒ different declared purpose, same kind of system, same invasion of privacy for government purposes.”
Michael Farris
When contacted for comment about the benefits and potential dangers of the database, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation did not respond.
Breach of privacy?
Holding the legal right to control student information, local education officials reportedly have the authority under federal law to share database files with private companies ‒ such as Gates’ Microsoft ‒ that sell educational products and services so that they can mine the info to create new tailored products.
But Farris believes the digital information distribution system violates the constitutional rights of parents to protect their children.
“We believe parents have the fundamental right to direct the upbringing, education and care of their children,” asserts Farris, who was named one of the “Top 100 Faces in Education of the 20th Century” by Education Week. “Historically, the Supreme Court has supported that right. That means parents are the primary guardians of a child’s privacy.”
He notes the hypocrisy of many globalist billionaires (such as Gates, whose 11-, 14- and 17-year-old children enjoy the extra security of private schools and for their own protection, have had to wait until the age of 13 to get a cell phone).
“This is just one more example of the elite internationalist double standard,” contends Farris, who also is the founder and chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). “They are perfectly content to share your child’s personal information, while keeping their own children in private schools or under private tutors.”
Farris, who is also the founding president and current chancellor of Patrick Henry College, sees corporate leaders as using those of lesser means to benefit their own interests.
“They protect their own privacy at any cost, but you need to surrender yours for the good of their ideal society,” Farris adds. “Ultimately, it doesn’t seem so ideal for the rest of us.”
Farris insists that schools giving in to the corporate interests of billionaires, such as Gates and Murdoch, is a major breach of parental rights.
“Now the government is sharing private student information with other organizations without parental consent,” Farris points out. “We believe that infringes a child’s right to privacy, and it infringes the parents’ right to be the first line of defense for that child.”
Many parents concur and feel uneasy with school administrators having full control over their children’s files, especially with states and school districts having full discretion over whether student records are entered into the database.
“Once this information gets out there, it’s going to be abused,” parent Jason France told Reuters in Louisiana, which, along with New York, is slated to input virtually all student records statewide. “There’s no doubt in my mind.”
Illinois, Massachusetts, Colorado, Georgia, Delaware, Kentucky and North Carolina have pledged to contribute student records from various school districts.
Because federal officials claim that the national database does not violate privacy laws, the Department of Education maintains that no parental consent is needed by schools to share student records with any “school official” with a “legitimate educational interest” ‒ which includes school-contracted private companies.
Gates’ real take on security
Being in the business of contributing to educational technologies for decades, 57-year-old Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has much vested interest in education, and in years past, he has had much to say about the privacy of electronic information.
“Trustworthy Computing is the highest priority for all the work we are doing,” Gates stated a decade ago in a famous company-wide memo at Microsoft. “We must lead the industry to a whole new level of Trustworthiness in computing.”
And by “trustworthy,” Gates was referring to not letting people’s information get into the wrong hands.
“Users should be in control of how their data is used,” explained Gates ‒ who believes that his customers’ information should not be freely distributed, but does not hold that view when it comes to parents and the records of their children.
“Policies for information use should be clear to the user. Users should be in control … it should be easy for users to specify appropriate use of their information …”
In fact, when it comes to protecting and courting customers, Gates has spared no cost.
“So now, when we face a choice between adding features and resolving security issues, we need to choose security,” states the memo from Gates, whose $150 million, 66,000-square-foot home on Lake Washington has a 2,500-square-foot gym, a 1,000 square-foot living room and a 60-foot swimming pool complete with an underwater music system. “Our products should emphasize security right out of the box, and we must constantly refine and improve that security as threats evolve.”
Bill Gates’ home on Lake Washington, near Seattle
Despite his endorsement of the school database, Gates ‒ who gave up first place in global net worth to Mexico’s Carlos Slim Helu ($69 billion) after giving away $28 billion through his foundation ‒ is a strong backer of International Data Privacy Day, which has this to say about protecting people’s information:
“In this networked world, in which we are thoroughly digitized, with our identities, locations, actions, purchases, associations, movements, and histories stored as so many bits and bytes, we have to ask – who is collecting all of this data – what are they doing with it – with whom are they sharing it? Most of all, individuals are asking ‘How can I protect my information from being misused?’ These are reasonable questions to ask – we should all want to know the answers.”
Officials of the annual event proclaim endorsement of the very principles that Gates’ new public school database evidently tramples.
“Data Privacy Day promotes awareness about the many ways personal information is collected, stored, used, and shared, and education about privacy practices that will enable individuals to protect their personal information,” the events’ organizers declare.
Student security not a priority
Even though the facilitator of the public school database promises that it will keep a tight rein on students’ information, a closer look into inBloom’s privacy policy shows another stance.
“[inBloom] cannot guarantee the security of the information stored … or that the information will not be intercepted when it is being transmitted,” the company’s documentation states.
Unlike most software and Internet users, parents have little recourse when it comes to protecting their children’s information on the database. Voicing their concerns with state officials via written protests, parents of public schoolers from Louisiana and New York are up-in-arms. Even the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) in Massachusetts, as well as attorneys in New York, are following suit.
But according to Farris, public education is just fanning the flames of parental fears that “Big Brother” is tightening its grip on the masses by treating the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) as a “living and breathing document” to undermine its original intent.
“We know the Department of Education quietly modified their understanding of FERPA law in the last two years to allow for a system like this,” Farris argues. “Homeschool Legal Defense Association, of which I am chairman, filed a letter with the Department opposing their intended changes, but like all such letters in this particular instance, our input was ignored.”
And has Bill Gates’ personal information been as freely accessible as he would public schoolers’ to be? Not exactly.
Just earlier this month, the now part-timer from Microsoft (since 2008) has been made the latest victim of celebrity data exposure, with his Social Security number, birthdate, credit card number and full credit report being posted online. No comment has been made whether Gates believes the dissemination of his SSN is a breach of privacy, but his heavy involvement in the school database indicates that sharing such information of public school students isn’t a breach.
And just how important is privacy to Gates?
In 1994, when he married Melinda in a private ceremony on the Hawaiian island of Lanai, he bought out every unoccupied room of all nearby hotels and booked every helicopter in the surrounding area to ensure privacy from photographers.
Reports also indicate that First Lady Michelle Obama was also a recent victim of having her SSN and credit report posted online. She and a couple dozen celebrities were impersonated by hackers who entered some of their basic personal information into a website ‒ the same type of information (of students) school officials are entering into their system by the millions.
President Barack Obama recently expressed his concern over electronic information being exploited by others, and when it comes to info being dispersed about his wife, he is dispatching U.S. authorities to investigate.
“We should not be surprised that if we’ve got hackers that want to dig in and have a lot of resources, that they can access this information,” Obama told ABC News. “Again, not sure how accurate but … you’ve got websites out there that tell people’s credit card info. That’s how sophisticated they are.”
And to make it easy for companies to tap in, inBloom has made its service free, but is likely to begin charging for its use by 2015.
Opening the Gates agenda?
Much concern has been expressed over the years regarding the driving force behind Gates and his organizations, which have demonstrated unflagging support of many leftist causes.
Just last week, the richest man in America lamented that Obama’s powers are too restricted.
“Some days, I wish we had a system like the U.K. where, you know, the party in power could do a lot and you know, you’d see how it went and then fine, you could un-elect them,” Gates proclaimed at a Politico event when asked about Obama’s performance as president, according to the Daily Caller.
In a speech just over a week ago at the Global Grand Challenges Summit put on by the Royal Academy of Engineering, Gates said capitalism “means male baldness research gets more funding than malaria,” , according to Wired Magazine.
Since the inception of the Gates Foundation in 1994, the same year Gates spent $30.8 million at an auction for a collection of Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester writings, he has been a staunch supporter of population control through vaccines and other methods.
And at the exclusive Technology, Entertainment and Design 2010 Conference in Long Beach, Calif., Gates presented this population-control formula: P (people) x S (services per persons) x E (average energy per service) x C (average CO2 emitted per unit of energy) = CO2 (total CO2 emitted by population per year).
In his speech titled “Innovating to Zero!” he talked about keeping the world population from peaking at an estimated 9.3 billion.
“First we got population,” Gates explained. “The world today has 6.8 billion people. That’s headed up to about 9 billion. Now if we do a really great job on new vaccines, health care, reproductive health services, we could lower that by perhaps 10 or 15 percent.”
Even though Gates suggested at the invitation-only event that using vaccines is one means to reduce world population, his foundation focuses media attention on other goals, such as eradicating measles and polio.
But the foundation’s extreme measures taken to administer the shots to undeveloped nations are often underreported.
In 2011, few people knew about partners of the Gates foundation forcing 131 Malawian children against their religious convictions to receive measles vaccinations at gunpoint as part of achieving the goal of vaccinating every child on earth, as reported by Natural News.
Gates, an ex-Boy Scout, is also an advocate of homosexual behavior, stating at last week’s Politico event that the youth organization should “absolutely” lift its ban on “gay” members when asked his opinion.
The new school database is not moving forward without legal resistance.
“It’s a lot of smoke and mirrors,” contended Electronic Privacy Law Center Administrative Counsel Khaliah Barnes in a statement to the Daily News. “What happens if a company using the data is compromised? What happens if the company goes out of business? We don’t know the answers.”
The issue over the database is being brought to the forefront as a major civil rights issue.
“Turning massive amounts of personal data about public school students to a private corporation without any public input is profoundly disturbing and irresponsible,” New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna told the Daily News.
The NYCLU is castigating New York State officials for denying parents the choice to opt out of the controversial program and for failing to warn parents of its implementation.
To counter Gates’ school database project, ParentalRights.org urges Americans to sign a petition supporting the Parental Rights Amendment, which will codify the fundamental right of parents in the U.S. Constitution to direct the upbringing, education and care of their children.
Department Of Homeland Security Set To Purchase 1.6 Billion Rounds Of Ammunition
Is Obama Looking to Create a Civilian National Security Force?
Militarization of Police: Peace Officers to Storm Troopers | Big Brother Watch
Pentagon provides military grade weapons to local police
‘A militarization of US police’
DHS Doles Out Fed Cash to Deploy Military LRADs in U.S. Cities
DHS Gets Mine Resistant Tanks to Go with Billions of Bullets
DHS-HSI Homeland Security Investigations El Paso SRT MRAP Armored Vehicle
SRT (Special Response Team) on WGN TV
BREAKING: DHS 2013 Buys Armored Vehicles & Tanks ..2700 of them
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY buys 2700 armored vehicles? Some say it’s a USMC contract. DHS buys BILLIONS of rounds of ammunition in the last 8yrs?. D.H.S. buying U.S. Military vehicles and equipment for use on Americans; there is no other excuse. D.H.S. is not for defense of America, we the people, and/or Constitution ..that is what the Armed Forces are supposed to be for. Billions of rounds of ammunition and all that military equipment is staged across America in about every neighborhood. NORTHCOM has stated that part of it’s mission is to prepare for “Martial Law” ..and has staged equipment from tanks to riot gear throughout America; according to the Commander of NORTHCOM that is being replaced shortly.
America : DHS purchasing Drones, Tanks, Rifles and Ammo for War inside the U.S.
2700 Armored Vehicles Purchased for Police Departments by DHS
Michael Savage – Obama DHS Purchases 2,700 Light-Armored Tanks
Forbes: Time For A National Conversation On DHS Massive Ammo Buy
Fox News Confirms Alex Jones DHS Ammo Purchases Story
NJ Congressman: DHS must explain ammunition and armored vehicle purchases
Homeland Security Buys 1.6 BILLION Rounds of Ammunition…
DHS Refuses to Answer Congress on 1.6 Billion Bullet Purchase
Levin Wants Answers On DHS Ammo Purchase But Not Obama Identity Document Fraud
War on US Citizens Planned – Part 1 of 2
War on US Citizens Planned – Part 2 of 2
Homeland Security buys 450 Million Rounds of Ammo
Breaking News USA police department Surveillance Drones Spying on civilians end times news 3-24-13
DHS Preparing For Civil War In The US?
Background Articles and Videos
Once again DHS orders hundreds of millions of rounds of ammo
Joint Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicle Program (Part 1 of 2)
Joint Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicle Program (Part 2 of 2)
DHS Won’t Answer Congress On Billion Bullet Purchase
Bullet Buys: Fifteen members of Congress have written a letter to the Department of Homeland Security demanding to know why the federal agency is buying so many rounds of ammunition. We’d like to know too.
Freshman California Republican Doug LaMalfa and 14 of his House colleagues, who signed on to his March 5 letter, are asking the Department of Homeland Security to explain why it is buying 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition of various calibers. They aren’t happy with explanations provided so far in the press by lower-level officials, answers meant to debunk “unfounded” concerns.
Peggy Dixon, spokeswoman for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Ga., told the Associated Press that the training center and others like it run by the Homeland Security Department use as many as 15 million rounds every year, mostly on shooting ranges and in training exercises.
The massive purchases are said to be spread out over five years and due simply to the best practice of saving money by buying in bulk what comes down to five rounds of ammo for every man, woman and child on the U.S. That’s a lot of practice and training.
A good portion of the 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition are being purchased by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal government’s second-largest criminal investigative agency. Yes that’s the same ICE that is releasing detained criminal illegal aliens onto our streets because of sequestration cuts.
Jonathan Lasher, the Social Security Administration’s assistant inspector general for external relations, explained the purchase of 174,000 hollow-point bullets by saying they were for the Social Security inspector general’s office, which has about 295 agents who investigate Social Security fraud and other crimes.
When they say they’re cracking down on waste, fraud and abuse, they apparently mean it.
However, as former Marine Richard Mason told reporters with WHPTV News in Pennsylvania recently, hollow-point bullets (which make up the majority of the DHS purchases) are not used for training because they are more expensive than standard firing range rounds .
“We never trained with hollow points, we didn’t even see hollow points my entire 4-1/2 years in the Marine Corps,” Mason said.
LaMalfa offers one theory that’s less sinister than some: The federal government is simply trying to corner the market on ammo and restrict what’s available to the American people as part of its gun control efforts.
1.6 Billion Rounds Of Ammo For Homeland Security? It’s Time For A National Conversation
Ralph Benko, Contributor
The Denver Post, on February 15th, ran an Associated Press article entitled Homeland Security aims to buy 1.6b rounds of ammo, so far to little notice. It confirmed that the Department of Homeland Security has issued an open purchase order for 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition. As reported elsewhere, some of this purchase order is for hollow-point rounds, forbidden by international law for use in war, along with a frightening amount specialized for snipers. Also reported elsewhere, at the height of the Iraq War the Army was expending less than 6 million rounds a month. Therefore 1.6 billion rounds would be enough to sustain a hot war for 20+ years. In America.
Add to this perplexing outré purchase of ammo, DHS now is showing off its acquisition of heavily armored personnel carriers, repatriated from the Iraqi and Afghani theaters of operation. As observed by “paramilblogger” Ken Jorgustin last September:
[T]he Department of Homeland Security is apparently taking delivery (apparently through the Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico VA, via the manufacturer – Navistar Defense LLC) of an undetermined number of the recently retrofitted 2,717 ‘Mine Resistant Protected’ MaxxPro MRAP vehicles for service on the streets of the United States.”
These MRAP’s ARE BEING SEEN ON U.S. STREETS all across America by verified observers with photos, videos, and descriptions.”
Regardless of the exact number of MRAP’s being delivered to DHS (and evidently some to POLICE via DHS, as has been observed), why would they need such over-the-top vehicles on U.S. streets to withstand IEDs, mine blasts, and 50 caliber hits to bullet-proof glass? In a war zone… yes, definitely. Let’s protect our men and women. On the streets of America… ?”
…
“They all have gun ports… Gun Ports? In the theater of war, yes. On the streets of America…?
Seriously, why would DHS need such a vehicle on our streets?”
Why indeed? It is utterly inconceivable that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is planning a coup d’etat against President Obama, and the Congress, to install herself as Supreme Ruler of the United States of America. There, however, are real signs that the Department bureaucrats are running amok. About 20 years ago this columnist worked, for two years, in the U.S. Department of Energy’s general counsel’s office in its procurement and finance division. And is wise to the ways. The answer to “why would DHS need such a vehicle?” almost certainly is this: it’s a cool toy and these (reportedly) million dollar toys are being recycled, without much of a impact on the DHS budget. So… why not?
Why, indeed, should the federal government not be deploying armored personnel carriers and stockpiling enough ammo for a 20-year war in the homeland? Because it’s wrong in every way. President Obama has an opportunity, now, to live up to some of his rhetoric by helping the federal government set a noble example in a matter very close to his heart (and that of his Progressive base), one not inimical to the Bill of Rights: gun control. The federal government can (for a nice change) begin practicing what it preaches by controlling itself.
Remember the Sequester? The president is claiming its budget cuts will inconvenience travelers by squeezing essential services provided by the (opulently armed and stylishly uniformed) DHS. Quality ammunition is not cheap. (Of course, news reports that DHS is about to spend $50 million on new uniforms suggests a certain cavalier attitude toward government frugality.)
Spending money this way is beyond absurd well into perverse. According to the AP story a DHS spokesperson justifies this acquisition to “help the government get a low price for a big purchase.” Peggy Dixon, spokeswoman for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center: “The training center and others like it run by the Homeland Security Department use as many as 15 million rounds every year, mostly on shooting ranges and in training exercises.”
At 15 million rounds (which, in itself, is pretty extraordinary and sounds more like fun target-shooting-at-taxpayer-expense than a sensible training exercise) … that’s a stockpile that would last DHS over a century. To claim that it’s to “get a low price” for a ridiculously wasteful amount is an argument that could only fool a career civil servant.
Meanwhile, Senator Diane Feinstein, with the support of President Obama, is attempting to ban 100 capacity magazine clips. Doing a little apples-to-oranges comparison, here, 1.6 billion rounds is … 16 million times more objectionable.
Mr. Obama has a long history of disdain toward gun ownership. According to Prof. John Lott, in Debacle, a book he co-authored with iconic conservative strategist Grover Norquist,
“When I was first introduced to Obama (when both worked at the University of Chicago Law School, where Lott was famous for his analysis of firearms possession), he said, ‘Oh, you’re the gun guy.’
I responded: ‘Yes, I guess so.’
’I don’t believe that people should own guns,’ Obama replied.
I then replied that it might be fun to have lunch and talk about that statement some time.
He simply grimaced and turned away. …
Unlike other liberal academics who usually enjoyed discussing opposing ideas, Obama showed disdain.”
Mr. Obama? Where’s the disdain now? Cancelling, or at minimum, drastically scaling back — by 90% or even 99%, the DHS order for ammo, and its receipt and deployment of armored personnel carriers, would be a “fourfer.”
The federal government would set an example of restraint in the matter of weaponry.
It would reduce the deficit without squeezing essential services.
It would do both in a way that was palatable to liberals and conservatives, slightly depolarizing America.
It would somewhat defuse, by the government making itself less armed-to-the-teeth, the anxiety of those who mistrust the benevolence of the federales.
If Obama doesn’t show any leadership on this matter it’s an opportunity for Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, to summon Secretary Napolitano over for a little national conversation. Madame Secretary? Buying 1.6 billion rounds of ammo and deploying armored personnel carriers runs contrary, in every way, to what “homeland security” really means. Discuss.
DHS Explains Plans To Buy 1.6B Rounds Of Ammo: We’re Buying in Bulk to ‘Significantly Lower Costs’
By Gregory Gwyn-Williams, Jr.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has responded to a letter dated November 13, 2012 from Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) regarding the agency’s ammunition purchases.
Sen. Coburn published the response on the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs website yesterday, April 1, 2013.
The response, dated February 4, 2013, says that DHS buys ammunition in bulk to “significantly lower costs.”
“DHS routinely establishes strategic sourcing contracts that combine the requirements of all its Components for commonly purchased goods and services such as ammunition, computer equipment and information technology services. These strategic sourcing contracts help leverage the purchasing power of DHS to efficiently procure equipment and supplies at significantly lower costs.”
While it has been previously reported that DHS has solicited the purchase of 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition over the next four to five years, the government agency shows only 263,733,362 rounds in its current inventory.
But, DHS estimates it will spend $37,263,698 on ammunition in FY 2013.
Last year, DHS spent $36,535,910, a decrease from 2011’s ammunition expense of $38,237,305.
Also, over the last three years the number of rounds purchased by DHS has declined.
In 2010, the agency purchased 148,314,825 rounds. In 2011, 108,664,054 rounds were purchased; and in 2012, 103,178,200 rounds.
In response to how the ammunition will be used by DHS, the various component agencies answered specific to their usage:
CBP (Customs & Border Protection) said that “70 percent of CBP ammunition is used for quarterly qualifications.”
ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) says it “allocates 1,000 rounds of ammunition per firearm per year for quarterly qualifications and training.”
TSA (Transportation Security Administration) says “35 percent of TSA ammunition is allocated for operational use (qualifications and duty carry).”
Blood & Gore – Al Gore Directly Profits from Carbon Tax
Carbon Tax vs. Cap and Trade
“Time has come” for a carbon tax on the need for a national carbon tax
By Al Gore
“Taxes are always a regrettable necessity, but some are less regrettable than others. A tax that strengthens energy security and cuts pollution, while minimising the damage done to employment and investment, is one of the least regrettable of all.”
“Yet a carbon tax, which has all those characteristics, is struggling to find support from the US administration or in Congress. It deserves much wider enthusiasm.”
“One of the few uncontroversial conclusions of economics is that it is better to tax “bads” than “goods”. Wages and profits are desirable objectives, and governments have no good excuse for obstructing them. They are taxed largely for reasons of convenience, at the cost of disincentives to wage-earning and profitmaking that are a drag on the economy.”
“Energy consumption, on the other hand, is not an objective for anyone. Indeed, the negative externalities of energy use, including local pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, mean that, other things being equal, an economy that burns less fuel is better off.”
“That insight lies behind support from across the political spectrum for a tax linked to the carbon content of fossil fuels, generating revenue that could be recycled through cuts in other taxes. Four leading Democrats in Congress this month proposed such a tax, and asked for suggestions for how it could be implemented. On the Republican side, a carbon tax has been backed by several prominent figures, most notably Greg Mankiw of Harvard, a former economic adviser to George W. Bush and Mitt Romney.”
“Carbon taxes have their drawbacks, it is true, but their problems are mostly fixable. They are regressive, but that could be offset by changes to other taxes. They can create difficulties for energy-intensive sectors, but those could be eased with targeted reliefs.”
“The claim made this week by more than 85 Republican members of Congress that carbon taxes would “kill millions more jobs” has no evidence to support it.”
“While the adjustment to higher energy costs would have some negative impact, it would be offset by the benefits of cuts in other taxes. Curbing consumption would also improve energy security, making the economy less vulnerable to commodity price shocks. President Barack Obama on Friday set out an energy agenda including reduced oil imports, greater use of natural gas and increased energy efficiency. A carbon tax would help meet all of those goals.”
“The prospect that extra revenues will be needed to stabilise the public finances in the long term suggests that some taxes are likely to rise, and a carbon tax would be one of the least painful ways to do it. Shifting the tax burden off incomes and on to carbon would be a good idea at any time. Right now, the case is overwhelming.”
Blizzards, 60mph gales and panic buying: 36 hours of snow chaos on the way
HEAVY snow is expected over the next 36 hours as Britain shivers on the coldest March weekend for 50 years.
Up to 16ins will fall over high ground with several inches likely across much of the UK, the Met Office said last night.
Over 1,000 schools were shut and transport was disrupted as any hopes of spring were dashed by yet another onslaught of snow and flooding today as temperatures fell as low as -12C (10F).
Emergency services saw an early surge in weather-related call-outs as some parts of the country were hit by blizzard conditions. Government agencies issued a string of warnings urging the public to take care on the roads.
The South-west, which will escape the worst of the winter blast, faces flooding with up to 100mm of rain – almost two months’ worth – over the next 24 hours as yesterday’s heavy rain continues.
In total The Environment Agency issued 12 flood warnings tonight across the country and 81 less serious flood alerts.
In east Cornwall emergency services were searching for a missing woman her partially property collapsed during heavy rainfall overnight.
It is believed the severe weather triggered a landslide, and while a dozen residents were evacuated Susan Norman has not been accounted for.
Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service said they believed the woman in her 60s is still in the building.
Further north, snow blanketed many parts with up to eight inches expected to hit the worst affected areas of north west England, north Wales and south west Scotland.
Higher areas could even see up to 16 inches, while bitterly cold gale-force winds create blizzard-like conditions and plunge temperatures down to well below freezing.
Over 1,500 homes in Cumbria had to cope without power and road closure was preveting access to some communites to carry out repair work.
Energy firm Electricity North West said they were considering using helicopters to transport engineers to conduct repairs around Cumbria.
Elsewhere, more than 28,000 homes and businesses in Northern Ireland were left freezing and without power today after snow, sleet and storm force winds hit the province.
Thousands of gritters were on standby last night as councils prepared for the “worst winter onslaught” of the year.
“A Christmas Story” is a 1983 Christmas comedy film based on the short stories and semi-fictional anecdotes of author Jean Shepherd. The film centers on 9 year old “Ralphie” Parker, who only wants one thing for Christmas; a Red Ryder BB Gun.
Jean Shepherd: A Christmas Story WOR Radio 1974 1/5
Jean Shepherd: A Christmas Story WOR Radio 1974 2/5
Jean Shepherd: A Christmas Story WOR Radio 1974 4/5
Jean Shepherd: A Christmas Story WOR Radio 1974 3/5
Jean Shepherd: A Christmas Story WOR Radio 1974 5/5
Jean Shepherd – The Great American Fourth of July – PART 1
Jean Shepherd – The Great American Fourth of July – PART 2
Jean Shepherd – The Great American Fourth of July – PART 3
Jean Shepherd – The Great American Fourth of July – PART 4
Jean Shepherd – The Great American Fourth of July – PART 5
Jean Shepherd – The Great American Fourth of July – PART 6
Jean Shepherd – Route 22
Jean Shepherd – “Call-In Radio”
Jean Shepherd’s Parody of Lawrence Welk
Jean Shepherd’s America – Chicago (White Sox)
Phantom Of The Open Hearth (Complete) Jean Shepherd
Jean Shepherd on Beer
Jean Shepherd Cafe Incident WOR Radio NY
Jean Shepherd WOR Radio “Train Traffic Jam”
Jean Shepherd Plane Lands Part 1 of 2
Jean Shepherd Plane Lands Part 2 of 2
Jean Shepherd WOR Radio The Perfect Crime
Jean Shepherd Uncle Carl’s Essex
Jean Shepherd WOR Radio Stoned MG
Jean Shepherd The General
Jean Shepherd WOR Radio Air Corps Flight
Jean Shepherd WOR Radio Japanese Balloon Bombs
Jean Shepherd WOR Radio Ice Cream War
Jean Shepherd WOR Radio Troop Train Ernie
Jean Shepherd Cafe Incident WOR Radio NY
Jean Shepherd New York Worlds Fair Part 1 of 2
Jean Shepherd New York Worlds Fair Part 2 of 2
Jean Shepherd Ham Radio Part 1 of 2
Jean Shepherd WOR Radio describes getting his Class A Ticket. Part 1 1-7-64
Jean Shepherd was an American Radio and TV personality, writer and actor who was often referred to by the nickname “Shep”. He did a 45 minute nightly live radio show on WOR in New York for over twenty years. With a career that spanned decades, Shepherd is perhaps best-known to modern audiences for narrating the film A Christmas Story (1983), which he co-wrote, based on his own semi-autobiographical stories. As a kid he worked briefly as a mail carrier at a Indiana steel mill and earned his Amateur Ham radio license when he was 14. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. In 2005, Shep was posthumously inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame.
Part 1: Jean Shepherd’s “I Libertine” Literary Hoax
Part 2: Jean Shepherd’s “I Libertine” Literary Hoax
Jean Shepherd
Jean Parker Shepherd (July 26, 1921 – October 16, 1999) was an American raconteur, radio and TV personality, writer and actor who was often referred to by the nickname Shep.[1]
With a career that spanned decades, Shepherd is best known to modern audiences[2] for the film A Christmas Story (1983), which he narrated and co-scripted, based on his own semi-autobiographical stories.
Early life
Born on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, Shepherd was raised in Hammond, Indiana, where he graduated from Hammond High School in 1939.[2] The movie A Christmas Story is based on his days growing up in Hammond’s southeast side neighborhood of Hessville. As a youth he worked briefly as a mail carrier in a steel mill and earned his Amateur Radio license, sometimes claiming he got it at 16, other times saying he was even younger. Shepherd was a lifelong White Sox fan.
During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps.[2] Shepherd then had an extensive career in a variety of media.
Career
Radio career
Shepherd began his broadcast radio career on WSAI in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1948. From 1951 to 1953 he had a late-night broadcast on KYW in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after which he returned to Cincinnati for a show on WLW. After a stint on television (see below), he returned to radio. “Shep,” as he was known, settled in at WOR radio New York City, New York on an overnight slot in 1956, where he delighted his fans[3] by telling stories, reading poetry (especially the works of Robert W. Service), and organizing comedic listener stunts. The most famous[4] of the last involved creating a hoax about a non-existent book, I, Libertine, by the equally non-existent 18th century author “Frederick R. Ewing”, in 1956. During a discussion on how easy it was to manipulate the best seller lists, which at that time were based not only on sales but demand, Shepherd suggested that his listeners visit bookstores and ask for a copy of I, Libertine which led to booksellers attempting to purchase the book from their distributors. Fans of the show eventually took it further, planting references to the book and author so widely that demand for the book led to it being listed on The New York Times Best Seller list.[citation needed] Shepherd, Theodore Sturgeon and Betty Ballantine later wrote the actual book, with a cover painted by illustrator Frank Kelly Freas, published by Ballantine Books.[5] Among his close friends in the late 1950s were Shel Silverstein and Herb Gardner. With them and actress Lois Nettleton, Shepherd performed in the revue he created, Look, Charlie. Later he was married to Nettleton for about six years.[6]
When he was about to be released by WOR in 1956 for not being commercial, he did a commercial for Sweetheart Soap, not a sponsor, and was immediately fired. His listeners besieged WOR with complaints, and when Sweetheart offered to sponsor him he was reinstated. Eventually, he attracted more sponsors than he wanted—the commercials interrupted the flow of his monologues. Ex WOR engineer, Frank Cernese, adds: The commercials of that era were on “ETs”—phonograph records about 14” in diameter. Three large turntables were available to play them in sequence. However, Shepherd liked the engineer to look at him and listen when he told his stories. That left little time to load the turntables and cue the appropriate cuts. That’s when he started complaining about “too many commercials”!.[citation needed] He broadcast until he left WOR in 1977. His subsequent radio work consisted of only short segments on several other stations including crosstown WCBS. His final radio gig was the Sunday night radio show “Shepherd’s Pie” on WBAI-FM in the mid-1990s, which consisted of his reading his stories uncut, uninterrupted and unabridged. The show was one of WBAI’s most popular of the period.
In later life he publicly dismissed his days as a radio raconteur as unimportant, focusing more on his writing and movie work. This distressed his legions of fans who fondly remembered nights with Shepherd on WOR.[citation needed] He once made such comments during an appearance on the Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder. This contrasts with his frequent criticisms of television during his radio programs.
In addition to his stories, his shows also contained, among other things, humorous anecdotes and general commentaries about the human condition, observations about life in New York, accounts of vacations in Maine and travels throughout the world. Among the most striking of his programs was his account of his participation in the March on Washington in August 1963, during which Dr. Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech, and the program that aired on November 25, 1963—the day of President Kennedy’s burial. However, his most scintillating programs remain his oftimes prophetic, bitingly humorous commentaries about ordinary life in America.
Throughout his radio career, he performed entirely without scripts. His friend and WOR colleague Barry Farber marveled at how he could talk so long with very little written down.[citation needed] Yet during a radio interview, Shepherd once claimed that some shows took several weeks to prepare. On most of his Fourth of July broadcasts, however, he would read one of his most enduring and popular short stories, “Ludlow Kissel and the Dago Bomb that Struck Back,” about a neighborhood drunk and his disastrous fireworks escapades. In the 1960s and 1970s, his WOR show ran from 11:15 pm to midnight, later changed to 10:15 pm to 11 pm, so his “Ludlow Kissel” reading was coincidentally timed to many New Jersey and New York local town fireworks displays, which would traditionally reach their climax at 10 pm. It was possible, on one of those July 4 nights, to park one’s car on a hilltop and watch several different pyrotechnic displays, accompanied by Shepherd’s masterful storytelling.
Print
Jean Shepherd posed as Frederick R. Ewing on the back cover of Ballantine’s I, Libertine (1956).
Shepherd wrote a series of humorous short stories about growing up in northwest Indiana and its steel towns, many of which were first told by him on his programs and then published in Playboy. The stories were later assembled into books titled In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, Wanda Hickey’s Night of Golden Memories: and Other Disasters, The Ferrari in the Bedroom, and A Fistful of Fig Newtons. Some of those situations were incorporated into his movies and television fictional stories. He also wrote a column for the early Village Voice, a column for Car and Driver, numerous individual articles for diverse publications, including Mad Magazine (“The Night People vs. Creeping Meatballism”, March/April 1957), and introductions for books such as The America of George Ade, American Snapshots, and the 1970 reprint of the 1929 Johnson Smith Catalogue.[7][8]
When Eugene B. Bergmann’s Excelsior, You Fathead! The Art and Enigma of Jean Shepherd was published in 2005, Publishers Weekly reviewed:
This prismatic portrait affirms Shepherd’s position as one of the 20th century’s great humorists. Railing against conformity, he forged a unique personal bond with his loyal listeners, who participated in his legendary literary prank by asking bookstores for the nonexistent novel I, Libertine (when publisher Ian Ballantine had Shepherd, author Theodore Sturgeon, and illustrator Frank Kelly Freas make the fake real, PW called it “the hoax that became a book”). Storyteller Shepherd’s grand theme was life itself… Novelist Bergmann (Rio Amazonas) interviewed 32 people who knew Shepherd or were influenced by him and listened to hundreds of broadcast tapes, inserting transcripts of Shepherd’s own words into a “biographical framework” of exhaustive research.[9]
Television and films
Early in his career, Shepherd had a television program in Cincinnati called Rear Bumper.[2] He claimed that he was recommended to replace the resigning Steve Allen on NBC’s Tonight Show. Shepherd was reportedly brought to New York City by NBC executives to prepare for the position, but they were contractually bound to first offer it to Jack Paar. The network was certain Paar would hold out for a role in prime time, but he accepted the late-night assignment. However, he did not assume the position permanently until Shepherd and Ernie Kovacs had co-hosted the show.
In 1960 he did a weekly television show on WOR in New York, but it did not last long. Between 1971 and 1994, Shepherd became a screenwriter of note, writing and producing numerous works for both television and cinema. He was the writer and narrator of the show Jean Shepherd’s America, produced by Boston Public Television station WGBH in which he told his famous narratives, visited unusual locales, and interviewed local people of interest. He used a somewhat similar format for the New Jersey Network TV show Shepherd’s Pie. On many of the Public TV shows he wrote, directed and edited entire shows.[citation needed]
He also wrote and narrated many works, the most famous being the feature film A Christmas Story, which is now considered a holiday classic. In the film, Shepherd provides the voice of the adult Ralph Parker. He also has a cameo role playing a man in line at the department store waiting for Santa Claus. Much to Ralphie’s chagrin, he points out to him that the end of the line is much further away.
Ten years later, Shepherd and director Bob Clark returned to the same working-class Cleveland neighborhood to film a sequel, It Runs In The Family (later known as My Summer Story) released by MGM in 1994, with an entirely different cast from the previous film. The PBS series American Playhouse aired a series of television movies based on Shepherd stories, also featuring the Parker family. These included Ollie Hopnoodle’s Haven of Bliss, The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Cosnowski, The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters,[10] and The Phantom of the Open Hearth.[11]
Live performances and recordings
On Saturday nights for several years, Shepherd broadcast his WOR radio program live from the Limelight Cafe in New York City’s Greenwich Village, and he also performed at many colleges nationwide. His live shows were a perennial favorite[citation needed] at Rutgers to wildly enthusiastic standing room only crowds, and Fairleigh Dickinson Universities (he often referred to the latter as “Fairly Ridiculous University” on his WOR show). He performed at Princeton University annually for 30 years, until 1996. He performed before sold-out audiences at Carnegie Hall and Town Hall. He was also emcee for several important jazz concerts in the late 1950s. Shepherd improvised spoken word narration for the title track on jazz musician Charles Mingus’s 1957 album The Clown. Eight record albums of live and studio performances of Shepherd were released between 1955 and 1975. In 1994, Shepherd recorded the opening narration and the voice of the Audio-Animatronics “Father” character for the updated Carousel of Progress attraction at Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom, still heard today.
Music
On some of his broadcasts he played parts of recordings of such novelty songs as “The Bear Missed the Train” (a parody of the Yiddish ballad “Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen”) and “The Sheik of Araby”. Sometimes Shepherd would accompany the recordings by playing the Jew’s harp, nose flute, or kazoo, and occasionally even by thumping his knuckles on his head.
The theme song of his show was “The Bahn Frei Polka” by Eduard Strauss. The particular version he used was a 1958 recording by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops.
Ham radio
Shepherd held the ham radio call signs W9QWN (2907 Cleveland St., Hammond, Ind.) and later K2ORS (New York). A 1938 W9QWN QSL card shows him signing the name (handle) “Shep”. This is also confirmed from an early log book. He was very active on ham radio until his death. He is listed in the 1962 Amateur Radio Callbook as K2ORS, 1307 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y.
For a number of years, while married to Lois Nettleton, his address was 340 East 57th Street in New York City. His last residence in NYC was on West 10th Street in Greenwich Village, where he lived for many years. He is also credited as the voice for the ARRL’s tape series Tune In the World with Ham Radio. This series of tapes helped many young people become ham radio operators.
Marriages, children and death
Jean Shepherd was married four times. A brief first marriage, about which virtually nothing is known, has been confirmed by Shepherd’s son, Randall and by Shepherd’s third wife, Lois Nettleton.
Joan Laverne Warner: September 9, 1950 – 1957 (divorced)
Son: Randall Shepherd born 1951
Daughter: Adrien Shepherd born December 16, 1957.
Lois Nettleton: December 3, 1960 – 1967 (divorced)[12]
Leigh Brown: March 2, 1977 – July 16, 1998 (her death)
Shepherd spent his final years in relative seclusion on Sanibel Island, Florida, with his wife Leigh Brown. She was also his producer at WOR, and played many roles in his varied career. As Shepherd attained a rotund figure in his later years, Leigh would refer to him as “ma pamplemousse,” or, “my grapefruit.” He died on Sanibel Island in 1999 of “natural causes.”
Fact and fiction
It is unknown to what extent Shepherd’s radio and published stories were fact, fiction or a combination of the two. The childhood friends included in many of his stories were people he claimed to have invented, yet high school yearbooks confirm that many of them did exist. His father was a cashier at the Borden Milk Company. Shepherd always referred to him as “my old man.” During an interview on the Long John Nebel Show—an all-night radio program that ran on WOR starting at midnight—Shepherd once claimed that his real father was a cartoonist along the lines of Herblock, and that he inherited his skills at line drawings. This may well have not been true but Shepherd’s ink drawings do adorn some of his published writings, and a number of previously unknown ones were sold on eBay from his former wife Lois Nettleton’s collection after her death in 2008.
The 1930 Federal Census Record for Hammond, Indiana indicates that Jean’s father did work for a dairy company. His actual occupation reads “cashier.” The 1930 census record (which misspells the last name as “Shephard” when searching) lists the following family members: Jean Shepherd, age 30, head; Anna Shepherd, age 30, wife; Jean Shepherd, Jr, age 8, son; and Randall Shepherd, age 6, son. According to this record, Jean Sr, Anna, Jean Jr, and Randall were all born in Illinois. Jean, Sr’s parents were born in Kansas. Ann’s parents were born in Germany.
Jean Shepherd had two children, a son Randall and a daughter Adrien, but publicly denied this. Randall Shepherd describes his father as having frequently come home late or not at all. Randall had almost no contact with him after his parents’ divorce.[13]
Legacy
Shepherd’s life and multimedia career are examined in the 2005 book Excelsior, You Fathead! The Art and Enigma of Jean Shepherd by Eugene B. Bergmann (ISBN 0-55783-600-0).
Shepherd’s oral narrative style was a precursor to that used by Spalding Gray and Garrison Keillor. Marshall McLuhan in Understanding Media wrote that Shepherd “regards radio as a new medium for a new kind of novel that he writes nightly.” In the “Seinfeld Season 6” DVD set, commenting on the episode titled “The Gymnast” Jerry Seinfeld says “He really formed my entire comedic sensibility—I learned how to do comedy from Jean Shepherd.” Furthermore, the first name of Seinfeld’s third child is “Shepherd.” On January 23, 2012 the Paley Center for Media (formerly The Museum of Television and Radio) presented a tribute to Jean Shepherd. Jerry Seinfeld was interviewed for the hour and discussed how Shepherd and he had similar ways of humorously discussing minor incidents in life. He confirmed the importance of Shepherd on his career.
Shepherd was an influence on Bill Griffith’s Zippy comic strip, as Griffith noted in his strip for January 9, 2000. Griffith explained, “The inspiration—just plucking random memories from my childhood, as I’m wont to do in my Sunday strip (also a way to expand beyond Zippy)–and Shep was a big part of them”.[14]
In an interview with New York magazine, Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen says that the eponymous figure from his solo album The Nightfly was based on Jean Shepherd.
Though he primarily spent his radio career playing music, New York Top 40 DJ legend Dan Ingram has acknowledged Shepherd’s style as an influence.
An article he wrote for the March–April 1957 issue of MAD magazine, “The Night People vs Creeping Meatballism”, described the differences between what he considered to be “day people” (conformists) and “night people” (non-conformists). In the opening credits of John Cassavetes’ 1959 film Shadows the credits read “Presented by Jean Shepherd’s Night People”.
In 2005, Shepherd was posthumously inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame.
The Community Center in Hammond, Indiana is named after him.
Watch
Jean Shepherd in Clinton, New Jersey, in 1977.
Jean Shepherd in Boston’s Fenway Park discussing his childhood vis-a-vis baseball, October 14, 1969
Listen to
Jean Shepherd’s radio shows from the 50s, 60s and 70s at archive.org
Stan Freberg The Federal Budget Review – Part 1 of 3
Stan Freberg’s Federal Budget Revue was a 1982 PBS television special lampooning the federal budget of the United States Of America – a staggering 600 billion dollars.
Cast includes Sterling Holloway, Ray Bradbury, Donna Freberg and David Ogden Stiers
Stan Freberg’s Federal Budget Revue – Part 2 of 3
Stan Freberg’s Federal Budget Revue – Part 3 of 3
Background Articles and Videos
The Calypso Singer Banana Boat Song Stan Freberg animation Paul
Stan Freberg Presents The United States of America pt 1&2
Stan Freberg Presents The United States of America pt 3,4&5
Stan Freberg Presents The United States of America pt 7,8&9
Stan Freberg Presents The United States of America pt 10&11
Stan Freberg bitches about the Vietnam war
Stan Freberg on Beany & Cecil
BERT NEWTON Interviews JUNE FORAY & STAN FREBERG
The Stan Freberg Show – All About Werewolves
Stan Freberg
Stanley Victor “Stan” Freberg (born August 7, 1926) is an American author, recording artist, animation voice actor, comedian, radio personality, puppeteer and advertising creative director, whose career began in 1944. He is still active in the industry in his mid-80s, nearly 70 years after entering it.
Personal life
Born in Pasadena, California, Freberg is the son of a Baptist minister.[1] His work reflects both his gentle sensitivity (despite his liberal use of biting satire and parody) and his refusal to accept alcohol and tobacco manufacturers as sponsors—an impediment to his radio career when he took over for Jack Benny on CBS radio. As Freberg explained to Rusty Pipes:
After I replaced Jack Benny in 1957, they were unable to sell me with spot announcements in the show. That would mean that every three minutes I’d have to drop a commercial in. So I said, “Forget it. I want to be sponsored by one person”, like Benny was, by American Tobacco or State Farm Insurance, except that I wouldn’t let them sell me to American Tobacco. I refused to let them sell me to any cigarette company.[2]
Stan Freberg’s first wife, Donna, died in 2000. He has two children from that marriage, Donna Jean and Donavan. He married Betty Hunter in 2001, and she adopted the personal and family names Hunter Freberg.
Animation
Freberg was employed as a voice actor in animation shortly after graduating from Alhambra High School. He began at Warner Brothers in 1944 by getting on a bus and asking the driver to let him off “in Hollywood.” As he describes in his autobiography, It Only Hurts When I Laugh, he did this, getting off the bus and finding a sign that said “talent agency.” He walked in, and the agents there arranged for him to audition for Warner Brothers cartoons where he was promptly hired.[3]
His first cartoon voice work was in a Warner Brothers cartoon called For He’s a Jolly Good Fala, which was recorded but never filmed (due to the death of Fala’s owner, President Franklin D. Roosevelt), followed by Roughly Squeaking (1946) as Bertie; and in 1947, he was heard in It’s a Grand Old Nag (Charlie Horse), produced and directed by Bob Clampett for Republic Pictures; The Goofy Gophers (Tosh), and One Meat Brawl (Grover Groundhog and Walter Winchell). He often found himself paired with Mel Blanc while at Warner Bros., where the two men performed such pairs as the mice Hubie and Bertie and Spike the Bulldog and Chester the Terrier.[4] He was the voice of Pete Puma in the 1952 cartoon Rabbit’s Kin, in which he did an impression of an early Frank Fontaine characterization (which later became Fontaine’s “Crazy Guggenheim” character).
Freberg is often credited with voicing the character of Junyer Bear in Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears (1944), but that was actor Kent Rogers. After Rogers was killed during World War II, Freberg assumed the role of Junyer Bear in Chuck Jones’ Looney Tunes cartoon What’s Brewin’, Bruin? (1948), featuring Jones’ version of The Three Bears. He also succeeded Rogers as the voice of Beaky Buzzard.
Freberg was heard in many Warner Brothers cartoons, but his only screen credit on one was Three Little Bops (1957). His work as a voice actor for Walt Disney Productions included the role of Beaver in Lady and the Tramp (1955) and did voice work in Susie the Little Blue Coupe and Lambert the Sheepish Lion. Freberg also provided the voice of Sam, the orange cat paired with Sylvester in the Academy Award-nominated short Mouse and Garden (1960). He voiced Cage E. Coyote, the father of Wile E. Coyote, in the 2000 short Little Go Beep.
Films
Freberg was cast to sing the part of the Jabberwock in the song “Beware the Jabberwock” for Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, with the Rhythmaires and Daws Butler. Written by Don Raye and Gene de Paul, the song was a musical rendering of the poem “Jabberwocky” from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass. The song was not included in the final film but a demo recording was included in the 2004 and 2010 DVD releases of the movie.
Freberg made his movie debut as an on-screen actor in the comedy Callaway Went Thataway (1951), a satirical spoof on the marketing of Western stars (apparently inspired by the TV success of Hopalong Cassidy). Freberg costarred with Mala Powers in Geraldine (1953) as sobbing singer Billy Weber, enabling him to reprise his satire on vocalist Johnnie Ray (see below). In 1963’s mega-comedy It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Freberg appeared in a non-speaking part as the Deputy Sheriff and also voiced as a dispatcher.
Contrary to popular belief George Lucas called upon Freberg, not Mel Blanc, to audition for the voice of the character C-3PO for the 1977 film Star Wars. After he and many others auditioned for the part Freberg suggested that Lucas use mime actor Anthony Daniels’ own voice.[5]
Capitol Records
Early releases
Freberg began making satirical recordings for Capitol Records, beginning with the February 10, 1951, release of “John and Marsha” (in both 45-rpm and 78-rpm formats), a soap opera parody that consisted of the title characters (both played by Freberg) repeating each other’s names, and “Ragtime Dan”.[6][7] In a 1954 follow-up, he used pedal steel guitarist Speedy West to satirize the 1953 Ferlin Husky country hit, “A Dear John Letter”, as “A Dear John and Marsha Letter” (Capitol 2677). A seasonal recording, “The Night Before Christmas/Nuttin’ for Christmas”, made in 1955, still remains a cult classic.
With Daws Butler and June Foray, he produced his 1951 Dragnet parody, “St. George and the Dragonet”, a #1 hit for four weeks in October 1953.[8] Also with June Foray, he recorded “The Quest for Bridey Hammerschlaugen”, a spoof of The Search for Bridey Murphy by Morey Bernstein, a 1956 book on hypnotic regression to a past life. On “Little Blue Riding Hood”, the record’s B-side, the title character is arrested for smuggling goodies. After “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” (1951), he followed with more popular musical satires, including “Sh-Boom” (1954), “The Yellow Rose of Texas” (1955)[7] and “The Great Pretender” (1956). He spoofed Elvis Presley in 1956 with his own version of Elvis’ first gold record, “Heartbreak Hotel”, in which the echo effect goes out of control. In Freberg’s spoof, Elvis rips his jeans during his performance, a problem the real Elvis had with jumpsuits when performing in the early 1970s – by that time he was grossly overweight.
Another hit to get the Freberg treatment was Johnnie Ray’s weepy “Cry”, which Freberg rendered as “Try (‘You too can be unhappy… if you try’)”, exaggerating Ray’s histrionic vocal style.[9] Ray was furious until he realized the success of Freberg’s 1952 parody was helping sales and airplay of his own record.[10]
“Banana Boat Song” and “The Great Pretender”
Freberg’s “Banana Boat (Day-O)” (1957) satirized Harry Belafonte’s popular recording of “Banana Boat Song.” In Freberg’s version, the lead singer is forced to run down the hall and close the door after him to muffle the sound of his “Day-O!” because the beatnik bongo drummer (voiced by Peter Leeds) complains, “It’s too shrill, man. It’s too piercing!” When he gets to the lyric about “A beautiful buncha ripe banana/Hide the deadly black tarantula,” the drummer protests, “I don’t dig spiders, man!”[11]
He also used the beatnik musician theme in a parody of “The Great Pretender,” the hit by The Platters—who, like Ray and Belafonte (see both above) and Welk (see below), were not pleased. At that time, when it was still hoped that musical standards might be preserved, it was quite permissible to ridicule the ludicrous, as Freberg had obviously thought when he parodied Presley. The pianist in Freberg’s parody is an Erroll Garner and George Shearing devotee who rebels against playing a single-chord accompaniment. He retorts, “I’m not playing that ‘plink-plink-plink jazz’!” But Freberg is adamant about the pianist’s sticking to The Platters’ style: “You play that ‘plink-plink-plink jazz’, or you don’t get paid tonight!” The pianist relents—sort of.[12] The pianist even quotes the first six notes from Shearing’s classic piece “Lullaby of Birdland,” before getting back to playing “Great Pretender.” The parody was itself partly parodied when Mitchel Torok recorded “All Over Again, Again” for Columbia Records in mid-March 1959 but billed it as “The Great Pretender,” as a spoof on the recent Sun Records recordings of Johnny Cash. Cash had only recently been signed to Columbia. The annoying pianist on the Freberg record was replaced by an equally annoying banjo player and a showboating guitarist on the Columbia release, a song written by Torok’s wife who was then billed as “R. Redd” (Ramona Redd).
Freberg’s musical parodies were a byproduct of his collaborations with Billy May, a veteran big band musician and jazz arranger, and his Capitol Records producer, Ken Nelson. Two weeks after Johnny Mathis’ “Wonderful! Wonderful!” fell off the Billboard Top 100, “Wun’erful, Wun’erful! (Sides uh-one & uh-two)”, Freberg’s 1957 spoof of TV “champagne music” master Lawrence Welk, debuted. To replicate Welk’s sound, May and some of Hollywood’s finest studio musicians and vocalists worked to clone Welk’s live on-air style, carefully incorporating bad notes and mistimed cues. Billy Liebert, a first-rate accordionist, copied Welk’s accordion playing. In the parody, the orchestra is overwhelmed by the malfunctioning bubble machine and eventually floats out to sea. Welk denied he had ever said “Wunnerful, Wunnerful!”,[citation needed] though it became the title of Welk’s autobiography (Prentice Hall, 1971).
Political satire
Freberg also tackled political issues of the day. On his radio show, an extended sketch paralleled the Cold War brinkmanship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union by portraying an ever-escalating public relations battle between the El Sodom and the Rancho Gomorrah, two casinos in the city of Los Voraces (Spanish for “The Greedy Ones”—a thinly disguised Las Vegas). The sketch ends with the ultimate tourist attraction, the Hydrogen Bomb, which turns Los Voraces into a vast, barren wasteland. Network pressure forced Freberg to remove the reference to the hydrogen bomb and had the two cities being destroyed by an earthquake instead.[3] The version of “Incident at Los Voraces,” released later on Capitol Records, contains the original ending.[13]
Freberg had poked fun at McCarthyism in passing in “Little Blue Riding Hood” with the line, “Only the color has been changed to prevent an investigation.” Later he blatantly parodied Senator Joseph McCarthy with “Point of Order” (taken from his frequent objection), about which Capitol’s legal department was very nervous. Freberg describes being called in for a chat about this and being asked whether he ever belonged to any “disloyal” group. “Well,” he replied, “I have been for many years a card-carrying member of… “—the executive went pale—”… the Mickey Mouse Fan Club.” “Dammit, Freberg,” the executive angrily retorted, “this isn’t a game.” A watered-down version of the parody was eventually aired, and Freberg never found himself “in front of a committee.”
Controversy
On two occasions, Capitol refused to release Freberg’s creations.[14] “That’s Right, Arthur” was a barbed parody of controversial 1950s radio/TV personality Arthur Godfrey, who expected his stable of performers—known as “little Godfreys”—to endlessly toady to him. The dialogue included Freberg’s “Godfrey” monologue, punctuated by Daws Butler imitating Godfrey announcer Tony Marvin, repeatedly interjecting, “That’s right, Arthur!” between Godfrey’s comments.[15] Capitol feared Godfrey might take legal action and sent a tape of the sketch to his legal department for permission, which was denied. Capitol also rejected the equally acerbic “Most of the Town”, a spoof of Ed Sullivan, under the same circumstances. Both recordings eventually surfaced on a box-set Freberg retrospective issued by Rhino Records.
Freberg continued to skewer the advertising industry after the demise of his show, producing and recording “Green Chri$tma$” in 1958, a scathing indictment of the over-commercialization of the holiday, in which Butler soberly hoped instead that we’d remember “whose birthday we’re celebrating.” Released originally on 45-rpm discs, the satire ended abruptly with a rendition of “Jingle Bells” punctuated by cash register sounds when reissued by Capitol on LP and CD. The original version was somewhat longer, but Capitol did not reissue the full recording. Freberg also revisited the “Dragnet” theme, with “Yulenet,” also known as “Christmas Dragnet,” in which the strait-laced detective convinces a character named “Grudge” that Santa Claus really exists (and Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and the Easter Bunny, but Grudge still hadn’t made up his mind yet about Toledo). Butler does several voices on that record.
Oregon! Oregon!
In 1958, the Oregon Centennial Commission, under the sponsorship of Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Company, hired Freberg to create a musical to celebrate Oregon’s one-hundredth birthday.[16][17] The result was Oregon! Oregon! A Centennial Fable in Three Acts. Recorded at Capitol in Hollywood, it was released during the Oregon Centennial in 1959 as a 12″ vinyl LP album. Side one featured two versions of an introduction by Freberg (billed as “Stan Freberg, Matinee Idol”), with the second version including a few words from the president of Blitz-Weinhard Co. This was followed by the show itself, which runs for 21 minutes. Side two includes separate individual versions of each of the featured songs, including several variations on the title piece, Oregon! Oregon!
Fifty years later, as Oregon approaches its Sesquicentennial, an updated version was prepared by Freberg and the Portland band Pink Martini as part of a signature series of performances throughout the state.[16][17] Pink Martini toured the state and perform four regional performances in the northern, southern and central areas of Oregon in August and September 2009. This was made possible by a grant from the Kinsman Foundation for a $40,000 launch of Pink Martini’s Oregon! Oregon! 2009 with Freberg.
1960s and since
Freberg in an early 60s publicity photo
In 1960, in light of the payola scandal, Freberg made a two-sided single entitled “Old Payola Roll Blues,” which had a corrupt recording studio promoter (Jesse White)[18] who gets a teenager who cannot sing to record a song called “High School OO OO,” as well as the flip side, “I Was on My Way to High School.” The promoter then tries to bribe a disc jockey at a jazz station to play the song on the air, which he flatly refuses, suspecting that the promoter was never in the music business in the first place. Afterward, a song in the big band style heralds the end of rock and roll and a resurgence of swing and jazz. Freberg’s record was on the Hot 100 only the week of Leap Day 1960, at #99, about three and half months after Tommy Facenda’s multi-versioned “High School U.S.A.” peaked at #28. Alan Freed, whose career fell prey to charges of payola, was reported to have laughed at Freberg’s interpretation of the scandal.
Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America, Volume One: The Early Years (1961) combined dialogue and song in a musical theater format. The original album musical, released on Capitol, parodies the history of the United States from 1492 until the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783. In it, Freberg parodied both large and small aspects of history. For instance, in the Colonial era, it was common to use the long s, which resembles a lowercase f, in the middle of words; thus, as Ben Franklin is reading the Declaration of Independence, he questions the passage, “Life, liberty, and the purfuit of happineff?!?” Most of that particular sketch is a satire of McCarthyism. For example, Franklin remarks, “You…sign a harmless petition, and forget all about it. Ten years later, you get hauled up before a committee.”
The album also featured the following exchange, where Freberg’s Christopher Columbus is “discovered on beach here” by a Native American played by Marvin Miller. Skeptical of the Natives’ diet of corn and “other organically grown vegetables,” Columbus wants to open “America’s first Italian restaurant” and needs to cash a check to get started:
Native: “You out of luck, today. Banks closed.” Columbus: [archly, knowing what the response will be] “Oh? Why?” Native: “Columbus Day!” Columbus: [pregnant pause] “We going out on that joke?” Native: “No, we do reprise of song. That help …” Columbus and Native together: “But not much, no!”
Stan Freberg Presents The United States of America, Volume Two was planned for release during America’s Bicentennial in 1976, but did not emerge until 1996.[19]
Freberg’s early parodies revealed his obvious love of jazz. His portrayals of jazz musicians were usually stereotypical “beatnik” types, but jazz was always portrayed as preferable to pop, calypso, and particularly the then-new form of music, rock and roll. He whopped doo-wop in his version of “Sh-Boom” and lampooned Elvis Presley with an echo/reverb rendition of “Heartbreak Hotel”. The United States of America includes a sketch involving the musicians in the painting The Spirit of ’76. The terribly hip fife player (“Bix”, played by Freberg) and the younger drummer (played by Walter Tetley) argue with the older, impossibly square drummer (“Doodle,” also voiced by Freberg) over how Yankee Doodle should be performed.
Radio
Theater for the ear: Freberg strikes a pose, 1962
The popularity of Freberg’s recordings landed him his own program, the situation comedy That’s Rich. Freberg portrayed bumbling but cynical Richard E. Wilk, a resident of Hope Springs, where he worked for B.B. Hackett’s Consolidated Paper Products Company. Freberg suggested the addition of dream sequences, which made it possible for him to perform his more popular Capitol Records satires before a live studio audience. The CBS series aired from January 8 to September 23, 1954.
The Stan Freberg Show was a 1957 replacement for Jack Benny on CBS radio. The satirical show, which featured elaborate production, included most of the team he used on his Capitol recordings, including June Foray, Peter Leeds, and Daws Butler. Billy May arranged and conducted the music. The Jud Conlon Singers, who had also appeared on Freberg recordings, were regulars, as was singer Peggy Taylor, who had participated in his “Wun’erful, Wun’erful!” record. The show was produced by Pete Barnum.
The show failed to attract a sponsor after Freberg decided he did not want to be associated with the tobacco companies that had sponsored Benny. In lieu of actual commercials, Freberg mocked advertising by touting such products as “Puffed Grass” (“It’s good for Bossie, it’s good for me and you!”), “Food” (“Put some food in your tummy-tum-tum!”), and himself (“Stan Freberg—the foaming comedian! Bobba-bobba-bom-bom-bom”), a parody of the well-known Ajax cleanser commercial.
The lack of sponsorship was not the only issue. Freberg frequently complained of radio network interference. Another sketch from the CBS show, “Elderly Man River,” anticipated the political correctness movement by decades. Daws Butler plays “Mr. Tweedly,” a representative of a fictional citizens’ radio review board, who constantly interrupts Freberg with a loud buzzer as Freberg attempts to sing “Old Man River.” Tweedly objects first to the word “old,” “which some of our more elderly citizens find distasteful.” As a result, the song’s lyrics are progressively and painfully distorted as Freberg struggles to turn the classic song into a form that Tweedly will find acceptable “to the tiny tots” listening at home: “He don’t, er, doesn’t plant ‘taters, er, potatoes… he doesn’t plant cotton, er, cotting… and them-these-those that plants them are soon forgotting,” a lyric of which Freberg is particularly proud. Even when the censor finds Freberg’s machinations acceptable, the constant interruption ultimately brings the song to a grinding halt (just before Freberg would have had to edit the line “You gets a little drunk and you lands in jail”), saying, “Take your finger off the button, Mr. Tweedly—we know when we’re licked,” furnishing the moral and the punch line of the sketch at once. But all of these factors forced the cancellation of the show after a run of only 15 episodes.
In 1966, he recorded an album, Freberg Underground, in a format similar to his radio show, using the same cast and orchestra. He called it “pay radio,” in a parallel to the phrase pay TV (the nickname at the time for subscription-based cable and broadcast television) “…because you have to go into the record store and buy it.” This album is notable for giving Dr. Edward Teller the Father of the Year award for being “father of the hydrogen bomb” (“Use it in good health!”); for a combined satire of the Batman television series and the 1966 California Governor’s race between Edmund G. “Pat” Brown and Ronald Reagan; and probably most famous for a bit in which, through the magic of sound effects, Freberg drained Lake Michigan and refilled it with hot chocolate and a mountain of whipped cream while a giant maraschino cherry was dropped like a bomb by the Royal Canadian Air Force to the cheers of 25,000 extras viewing from the shoreline.[20] Freberg concluded with, “Let’s see them do that on television!” That bit became a commercial for advertising on radio.
Television
Beginning in 1949, Freberg and frequent collaborator Daws Butler provided voices and were the puppeteers for Bob Clampett’s puppet series, Time for Beany, a triple Emmy Award winner (1950, 1951, 1953). Broadcast nationwide from KTLA in Los Angeles, the pioneering children’s TV show garnered considerable acclaim. Among its fans was Albert Einstein, who once reportedly interrupted a high-level conference by announcing, “You will have to excuse me, gentlemen. It is time for Beany.”[3]
Freberg made television guest appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and other TV variety shows, usually with Orville the Moon Man, his puppet from outer space. He reached through the bottom of Orville’s flying saucer to control the puppet’s movements and turned away from the camera when he delivered Orville’s lines. Freberg had his own ABC special, Stan Freberg Presents the Chun King Chow Mein Hour: Salute to the Chinese New Year (February 4, 1962), but he garnered more laughs when he was a guest on late night talk shows.
A piece from Stan’s show was used frequently on Offshore Radio in the UK in the 60’s: “You may not find us on your TV”. Other on-screen television roles included The Monkees (1966) and The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1967). In 1996, he portrayed the continuing character of Mr. Parkin on Roseanne, and both Freberg and his son had roles in the short-lived Weird Al Show in 1997.
Advertising
When Freberg introduced satire to the field of advertising, he revolutionized the industry, influencing staid ad agencies to imitate Freberg by injecting humor into their previously dead-serious commercials. Freberg’s long list of successful ad campaigns includes:
Butternut coffee: A six-minute musical, “Omaha!”,[21] which actually found success outside advertising as a musical production in the city of Omaha.
Contadina tomato paste: “Who put eight great tomatoes in that little bitty can?”
Jeno’s pizza rolls: A parody of the Lark cigarettes commercial that used the William Tell Overture and a pick-up truck with a sign in the bed saying “Show us your Lark pack”, here ending with a confrontation between a cigarette smoker, portrayed by Barney Phillips (supposedly representing the Lark commercial’s announcer) and Clayton Moore as the Lone Ranger over the use of the music. Jay Silverheels also appears as Tonto, filling his possibles bag with pizza rolls, after asking “Have a Pizza Roll, kemo sabe?”.[22] It was regarded as one of the most brilliantly conceived and executed TV ads of the period; after one showing on The Tonight Show, Johnny Carson remarked that it was the first commercial he had ever seen to receive spontaneous applause from the studio audience.
Jeno’s pizza, in a parody of Scope mouthwash commercials. “You know why nobody likes your parties, Mary? You have bad pizza—bad pizza!”
Sunsweet pitted prunes: Depicted as the “food of the future” in a futuristic setting, until science fiction icon Ray Bradbury, a friend of Freberg’s (shown on a wall-to-wall television screen reminiscent of Fahrenheit 451) butts in: “I never mentioned prunes in any of my stories.” “You didn’t?” “No, never. I’m sorry to be so candid.” “No, they’re not candied,” (rim shot).[23] Bradbury reportedly refused to consider doing a commercial until Freberg told him, “I’m calling it Brave New Prune,” prompting Bradbury to ask, “When do we start?”
Another Sunsweet commercial features Ronald Long as a picky eater: “They’re still rather badly wrinkled, you know,” and ends with the famous line, “Today, the pits; tomorrow, the wrinkles. Sunsweet marches on!”
Heinz Great American soups: Ann Miller is a housewife who turns her kitchen into a gigantic production number, singing such lyrics as “Let’s face the chicken gumbo and dance!” After watching his wife’s flashy tap dancing, her husband, played by veteran character actor Dave Willock, asks, “Why do you always have to make such a big production out of everything?” At the time (1970), this was the most expensive commercial ever made—so expensive, in fact, that there was little money left over to buy air time for it.[citation needed]
Jacobsen Mowers: Sheep slowly munch on a front lawn. On camera reporter/announcer (voice of William Woodson): “Jacobsen mowers. Faster… than sheep!”
Encyclopædia Britannica: The boy in these commercials is Freberg’s son Donavan. Freberg talks to him from off screen.
Chun King Chinese Food: Magazine ad, featuring a lineup of nine smiling Chinese men and one frowning Caucasian man, all dressed in scrub suits and white lab coats, with the caption, “Nine out of ten doctors recommend Chun King Chow Mein!” The frowning Caucasian doctor is Freberg.
Today, these advertisements are considered classics by many critics. Though Bob & Ray had pioneered intentionally comic advertisements (stemming from a hugely successful campaign for Piels beer), Stan Freberg is usually credited as being the first person to introduce humor into television advertising with memorable campaigns. Freberg felt a truly funny commercial would cause consumers to request a product, as was the case with his elaborate ad campaign that prompted stores to stock Salada tea. The owner of Jeno’s Pizza Rolls had to pay off a bet over the success of a Freberg ad campaign by pulling Freberg in a rickshaw on Hollywood’s La Cienega Boulevard. Freberg won 21 Clio awards for his commercials.[24] Many of those spots were included in the Freberg four-CD box set Tip of the Freberg.
Later work
Hunter and Stan Freberg at the San Diego ComicCon 2009
Following his success in comedy records and television, Freberg was often invited to appear as a featured guest at various events. Each time has been memorable, such as his skit at the 1979 Science Fiction Awards, again playing straight man to Orville in his UFO. He innocently asks why there is a hole in the end of the spacecraft, only to be told, “That’s where the swamp gas comes out.”
Freberg was the narrator for The Wuzzles, a Disney cartoon series that aired on CBS’s Saturday morning schedule during the 1985–1986 season.
In his autobiography, It Only Hurts When I Laugh, Freberg recounts much of his life and early career, including his encounters with such show business legends as Milton Berle, Frank Sinatra and Ed Sullivan, and the struggles he endured to get his material on the air.
Freberg had brief sketches on KNX (AM) radio in the early 1990s, beginning each with “Freberg here!” In one sketch Freberg mentioned that the band played “Inhale to the Chief” at Bill Clinton’s inauguration.
Freberg voiced guest stars in Garfield and Friends.
Freberg was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1995. From 1995 until October 6, 2006, Freberg hosted When Radio Was, a syndicated anthology of vintage radio shows. The release of the 1996 Rhino CD The United States of America Volume 1 (the Early Years) and Volume 2 (the Middle Years) suggests a possible third volume. This set includes some parts written but cut because they would not fit on a record album.
Freberg appeared on “Weird Al” Yankovic’s The Weird Al Show, playing both the J.B. Toppersmith character and the voice of the puppet Papa Boolie. Yankovic has many times acknowledged Freberg as his greatest influence.[25] Freberg is among the commentators in the special features on the multiple-volume DVD sets of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection and narrates the documentary “Irreverent Imagination” on Volume 1.
Freberg was the announcer for the boat race in the movie version of Stuart Little, and in 2008 he guest starred as Sherlock Holmes in two episodes of The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd.[26]
Since 2008, Freberg has been doing the voices of numerous characters, including Doctor Whipple and Fluffykins on The Garfield Show.
In popular culture
In 1961’s The Parent Trap, the characters during the animated opening title sequence refer to each other as “John” and “Marsha”.
In 2007, comedian the great Luke Ski recorded a ten-minute homage called MC Freberg, a parody illustrating what a Freberg-type satire of rap music would have sounded like. Originally recorded for The FuMP, the track also appears on Ski’s album BACONspiracy.
On the fourth season premiere of the TV series Mad Men, Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) and Joey Baird (Matt Long) repeatedly call each other “John” and “Marsha”.
Freberg’s Dragnet parodies are generally credited with the popularizing the catch phrase “Just the facts, ma’am”, which Jack Webb’s character never actually said on the show.
Warner Brothers cartoons (in which Freberg appeared, uncredited, as a voice artist) often had cameo appearances by couples named “John” and “Marsha”. In one case, the woman was an alien, making the couple “John” and “Martian”.
^ “Show 18 – Blowin’ in the Wind: Pop discovers folk music. [Part 1] : UNT Digital Library”. Pop Chronicles. Digital.library.unt.edu. May 25, 1969. http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19768/m1/. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
^ “The Stan Freberg Show: Episodes One Through Seven”. The Official Website of Daws Butler. Joe Bevilacqua and Lorie Kellogg. July 2003. http://www.dawsbutler.com/Freberg1.htm. Retrieved February 8, 2009.
^ ab “Oregon! Oregon! A Centennial Fable in Three Acts“. Wolverine Antique Music Society. http://www.shellac.org/radio/oregon.html. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
^ “REELRADIO Golden Gift – ButterNut Coffee Presents Omaha Starring Stan Freberg”. Reelradio.com. http://www.reelradio.com/gifts/omaha.html. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
^ “2006 Los Angeles Area Governors Award Honor to Television Pioneer Stan Freberg”. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. June 22, 2006. http://emmys.tv/media/releases/2006/rel_laarea_gov.php. Retrieved February 8, 2009.
How to Simplify Taxes and Grow our Economy — Saving the American Dream
Further Reforms to Modernize Social Security — Saving the American Dream
Real Insurance: Security When You Most Need It — Saving the American Dream
Opening up Health Care Options for All Americans — Saving the American Dream
Limiting Government …and Cutting What It Can’t Do Well — Saving the American Dream
Saving the American Dream: The Fiscal Cliff and Beyond
By Alison Acosta Fraser, William W. Beach and Stuart M. Butler, Ph.D. December 11, 2012
Abstract: Unless Congress and the President act promptly and wisely, sequestration under the Budget Control Act (BCA) will undermine military readiness, and the nearly $500 billion tax increase starting on January 1, 2013, will greatly harm an already weak economy. However, this fiscal cliff can be avoided. The key to avoiding this and future fiscal calamities is reform of the mandatory spending programs, from welfare to Social Security, that currently drive federal deficits. The Heritage Foundation’s Saving the American Dream plan would rein in spending immediately, restructure the major entitlement programs to bring entitlement spending under control over the long term, and strengthen the core foundations of these programs.
Since the Heritage Foundation’s Saving the American Dream plan[1] was first published in April 2011, there has been almost no substantive progress on spending control. The only plausible exception was the flawed Budget Control Act (BCA), a product of a contentious debt limit debate. The complete failure of the resultant bipartisan “supercommittee” to reach agreement was a sad reflection on a Congress that is divided and unwilling to pass the legislation necessary to rein in spending.
As a result, the nation is facing the looming sequester, which will further undermine the defense budget, jeopardizing one of the federal government’s core constitutional responsibilities. Yet it would leave entitlement programs virtually untouched, even though they are the largest driver of spending today and in the future. Meanwhile, the prospect of a huge tax increase in January has had a deleterious effect on the economy for many months, although the effect is only a small portion of the harm the economy will incur if the tax increase ultimately takes effect. America seriously needs a true way forward.
The Heritage plan reflects the need to rein in spending immediately and to rethink major programs. Spending on the open-ended Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid entitlements must be brought under control, and the core foundations of these programs should be strengthened.
The following principles guide the policy solutions in Saving the American Dream:
Total spending must be brought under control to balance the budget without raising taxes, ultimately holding revenues at their historical share of gross domestic product (GDP).
Entitlement programs should, unlike today, actually guarantee seniors economic security in retirement and be recast as real and sustainable insurance programs focused on those who truly need them.
Other spending must be curbed, and the federal government must be restricted to its proper functions.
Defense, as a core constitutional function of the federal government, should be fully funded and efficiently delivered.
The tax system should be structurally reformed to foster growth by eliminating tax distortions of private economic decisions, especially decisions on savings and investment, and to make the system simpler and more transparent.
Priorities for Congress and the President
Fiscal year (FY) 2012 closed on September 30 with the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimating spending of $3.5 trillion and a deficit of $1.1 trillion.[2] Debt held by the public was $11.3 trillion (73 percent of GDP). According to the CBO, debt will explode to 199 percent of GDP by 2037, driven by growth in spending that will reach 36 percent of GDP.[3]
The main drivers of spending and debt increases are incontrovertibly the major entitlement programs: Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. However, the slow economy with its high unemployment rate, which remains stuck at around 8 percent, also adds to deficits and debt through two channels: mandatory spending for those workers who are most affected by the slow economy (e.g., unemployment compensation) and below-average tax revenues.
It is clear that the top priorities for Congress and the President should be controlling spending, especially entitlement reform, and setting an economic growth agenda through tax reform. After averting the fiscal cliff, Congress and the President should immediately turn their attention to these pressing issues.
As noted, entitlements are the fastest-growing programs. Even if all other spending was eliminated, these programs would still cause large and unsustainable deficits in the future. Their growth is automatic, with autopilot spending increases built in and no serious budgetary constraints. The top priority must be to restructure entitlements and put a brake on their spending levels while strengthening and preserving them for future generations.
A number of robust proposals for health care reforms already exist, both in Congress and in the policy community.[4] Congress and the President should take advantage of this policy momentum and focus on reforming Medicaid and especially Medicare. However, changes in Social Security should follow quickly, and the rules that govern these programs in general should be more consistent. For example, increases in the normal eligibility age should proceed simultaneously for both Social Security and Medicare.
Specific steps for Congress and the President include the following:
The President should submit a budget by the 2013 tax deadline deadline that outlines strong, sweeping changes in entitlement programs that will reduce spending over the 10-year budget window and significantly improve the long-term trajectory of these programs.
The President’s budget should lay out specific goals for a pro-growth, revenue-neutral tax reform plan.
Congress and the President should include reforms in entitlement programs and further reductions in other spending areas, including the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), in exchange for any increases in the debt limit. These should reflect lessons learned from the 2011 Budget Control Act, such as avoiding high-stakes mechanisms like sequestration that are designed to fail.
Congress should pass a joint budget resolution by the April 15, 2013, deadline that includes reconciliation instructions for entitlement and tax reform.
The budget resolution should also require reforms of other spending programs to bring spending below the BCA levels for 2014 and beyond.
Health Care
If only one issue is thoroughly addressed in 2013, it should be the federal role in health care, the biggest driver of spending. The flawed Obamacare law only adds to the problem. Instead of expanding the government’s role, health care should follow a true patient-centered, market-based model, including reforms in Medicare, Medicaid, and the tax treatment of health insurance.
Medicare. Medicare’s finances must be brought under control. As a first step, the age of eligibility should be raised gradually from 65 to 68 and then indexed to life expectancy. Premiums for Parts B and D should also gradually increase, thus expanding the current policy for Medicare of adjusting the level of taxpayer subsidies to income, with the most affluent seniors receiving much smaller (or in some cases no) taxpayer subsidies for their health coverage. These steps, among others,[5] should occur immediately because they are easily achieved and less controversial and should be part of new debt-limit legislation.
Within five years of these initial changes, patients should also be transitioned to a defined-contribution or premium-support model that would be adjusted for income. Expanding competition in Medicare would restrain federal spending, slow health care costs, and promote greater innovation in the delivery of care.[6]
Medicaid. Federal spending on Medicaid should be put on a budget subject to regular congressional review to bring greater fiscal certainty and stability to the process. Federal Medicaid spending would follow antipoverty spending caps by reverting to the 2007 spending levels when the economy approaches full employment (e.g., the unemployment rate dips below 6 percent) and be adjusted for medical inflation thereafter.
In lieu of traditional Medicaid, able-bodied individuals and families should receive direct federal assistance in the form of tax credits or direct assistance to enable them to buy private insurance coverage of their choice. For the disabled and frail elderly, Medicaid would remain a joint federal–state safety net program, but states would have additional flexibility to adopt more patient-centered models.
Reform of the Tax Treatment of Health Insurance. As a part of tax reform (see below), the employee tax break for employer-sponsored coverage would be converted to a non-refundable tax credit that individuals and families could use to purchase the health plan of their choice.
These larger reforms are best achieved through normal legislative order. This could include the legitimate use of reconciliation as part of a comprehensive budget plan. In any case, Congress should pass a concurrent budget resolution for FY 2014.
Social Security
Social Security needs to be reformed. It is running permanent cash-flow deficits and has severe programmatic flaws.[7]
First, Social Security’s eligibility age should gradually be increased in tandem with Medicare’s eligibility age. For both, this change is straightforward and could be included in an initial, small reform package. Next, Social Security should return to its original purpose of guaranteeing that all Americans are protected from poverty in retirement. As part of this insurance protection, benefits would evolve to an understandable, predictable flat benefit that is well above the poverty level. With Social Security functioning as an insurance program, moderate-income retirees would receive a smaller check, while affluent seniors would receive no check unless their financial circumstances change.
To encourage people to stay in the workforce longer, those who work beyond full retirement age would receive a higher level of after-tax income until they do retire.
Tax reform would support Social Security reforms by significantly increasing personal savings that seniors can take into retirement, and there would be no limit on the amount of these tax-deferred savings. Thus, more retirement income would be possible than under the current system. Social Security would become a safety valve against economic reversals and a floor for income after the statutory retirement age.
Other Spending
Defense cuts are already reducing military readiness, thus endangering the security of the United States. The defense portion of the BCA cuts is dangerously flawed and must be reversed. In Saving the American Dream, the sequester for defense spending (including the 2013 cuts) is eliminated, and the higher spending is more than offset with reforms in other spending and entitlements. Defense spending is brought slowly up to and held at 4 percent of GDP. Non-defense discretionary spending is set for 2013 at the BCA sequester level and then reduced to 2 percent of GDP, after which it is indexed to inflation.
Spending in 2014 and beyond should include reforms in long-standing but growing and expensive programs such as farm subsidies and transportation. A program of privatization, including federal asset sales, could begin as early as 2015. Anti-poverty spending should be rolled back and capped when the economy approaches full employment and then consolidated into fewer programs that reflect strong incentives for work and marriage.
Revenue
Tax Reform. The economy remains plagued by the uncertainty of expiring tax policy and an unwieldy and inefficient tax code. Beyond preventing Taxmageddon by extending all current tax policy and delaying the Obamacare tax increases before January 1, 2013, Congress should pass broad substantive tax reform consistent with the New Flat Tax in Saving the American Dream. Tax reform should focus on promoting economic growth by reducing both tax rates and tax distortions while maintaining revenue and distributional neutrality. It should also simplify the tax system and improve its transparency so that taxpayers can better understand the influence of tax policy as well as the true cost of government.[8]
The broad direction for tax reform already in play, especially the bipartisan push for lower corporate income tax rates, is fully consistent with the New Flat Tax. Congress will likely find the goal of lower corporate tax rates quickly running up against the consequent need to lower tax rates for non-corporate businesses. This occurs naturally under the New Flat Tax, which taxes all businesses at a single rate on their domestic net cash flow at the entity level. Likewise, the growing support for a territorial tax system—under which U.S. businesses are taxed solely on their domestic income—is also fully consistent with the New Flat Tax, which levies tax solely on domestic income.
Under the New Flat Tax, the individual income tax and the payroll tax are rolled into one system with the same tax rate that is imposed on business income. Nearly all other federal levies are repealed, leaving a simple system for both individuals and businesses. Under the New Flat Tax as it applies to individuals, only income used for consumption is taxed, thus eliminating the existing tax bias against saving. In addition, all distorting credits, exemptions, and deductions are eliminated, leaving only two credits and three deductions.
The first credit is the above-mentioned tax credit for health insurance. This tax credit is less distortive of economic decisions than current law is, but it remains a clear subsidy for the purchase of health insurance. It is necessary because the current-law tax bias favoring health insurance is so powerful and so entrenched that simply eliminating the tax advantage is impracticable.
The second credit carried over from current law is the earned income credit (EIC). The EIC needs reform in its own right, but it is also the largest income-support component of the overall federal anti-poverty program and one of its most effective elements. Changes in the EIC should then be considered part of the proposed budget for anti-poverty programs.
The three deductions are as follows:
The deduction for charitable expense, which is retained because this tax system taxes the individual on what he or she spends. Charitable contributions benefit the receiving organization and thus should be deductible for the recipient.
A deduction for higher education, which recognizes that education expenses are a form of saving and investing simultaneously, which in every other instance is excluded from tax under the New Flat Tax.
An optional home mortgage deduction with the proviso that if the homeowner chooses a mortgage with deductible interest, then the lender must, as under current law, continue to pay tax on interest income earned. Alternatively, the home owner may choose to forgo the deduction, in which case the lender earns tax-free interest income and can thus charge a lower mortgage interest rate.
The New Flat Tax, the tax reform plan, is implemented effective January 1, 2014.
Addressing the Fiscal Cliff
Table 1 addresses each element of the fiscal cliff and the proposed steps that Congress should take on each of them.
—Alison Acosta Fraser is Director of the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies, William W. Beach is Director of the Center for Data Analysis and Lazof Family Fellow in Economics, and Stuart M. Butler, PhD, is Director of the Center for Policy Innovation at The Heritage Foundation.
The editors are grateful to the team leaders who worked with policy experts throughout The Heritage Foundation to develop this report: J. D. Foster, Ph.D., Norman B. Ture Senior Fellow in the Economics of Fiscal Policy; Rea S. Hederman, Jr., Assistant Director and Research Fellow in the Center for Data Analysis; David C. John, Senior Research Fellow in Retirement Security and Financial Institutions; Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D., Senior Fellow in the Center for Policy Innovation; Nina Owcharenko, Director of the Center for Health Policy Studies; and Drew Gonshorowski, Policy Analyst in the Center for Data Analysis.
This plan was developed as part of the Solutions Initiative and funded by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. The Peterson Foundation convened organizations with a variety of perspectives to develop plans addressing our nation’s fiscal challenges. The American Action Forum, Bipartisan Policy Center, Center for American Progress, Economic Policy Institute, and The Heritage Foundation, each received grants. All organizations had discretion and independence to develop their own goals and propose comprehensive solutions. The Peterson Foundation’s involvement with this project does not represent endorsement of any plan.
2,000 criminal illegal aliens released from prison.
Judge Jeanine Pirro reports on the Obama administrations releasing of 2,000 illegal invaders.
Goodlatte Talks ICE’s Release of Detainees on Lou Dobbs Tonight
Congressman Bob Goodlatte, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, appeared on “Lou Dobbs Tonight” on Fox Business to discuss ICE’s release of detainees. An internal U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) document obtained by the House Judiciary Committee reveals that the agency planned to release thousands of criminal aliens onto the streets to reduce the agency’s costs in light of sequestration. As of February 15, 2013, the document shows that ICE had roughly 31,000 illegal immigrants and criminal aliens in detention — already below the 34,000 mandated by Congress — and planned to reduce that number to less than 26,000 by March 31, 2013. According to sources, roughly 2,000 criminal aliens may have already been released so far.
Border Battle – Startling Info On Release Of Illegal Aliens Across U.S. –
Limbaugh Rips Release Of Immigrants (Audio)
Illegal Immigrants Released from Detention Centers…
Inside Tacoma’s Northwest Detention Center
Fox News Says Sequester Will Lead To Murder By Freed Immigrants
Geraldo Calls Release Of Immigrants A ‘Spiteful Move’ By Obama: He’s Throwing A ‘Tantrum’
Operation Cross Check: 3,100 arrests
Federal spending cuts underway
Democrats: Term “Illegal Immigrants” OFFENSIVE – Use Out of Status/ New Americans/Undocumented
Rick Perry Slams McCain, Romney At CPAC, Says They Aren’t Conservative
“…”The popular media narrative is that this country has shifted away from conservative ideals, as evidenced by the last two presidential elections. That’s what they think. That’s what say. That might be true if Republicans had actually nominated conservative candidates in 2008 and 2012,” Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas) said in his address at CPAC this afternoon.
Perry also slammed President Obama for undocumented illegal immigration being released from detention centers due to sequestration cuts.
“This president’s posture, it’d be laughable if he hadn’t taken it one step too far, dangerously releasing criminals onto our streets to make a political point,” Perry told the crowd at CPAC. “When you have a federally-sponsored jailbreak, and don’t get confused, that’s exactly what that is — when you’ve had a federally-sponsored jailbreak, you’ve crossed the line from politics of spin to politics as a craven form of cynicism.” …”
“…The Obama administration reversed itself Thursday, acknowledging to Congress that it had, in fact, released more than 2,000 illegal immigrants from immigration jails due to budget constraints during three weeks in February.
The director of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, John Morton, said his agency had released 2,228 illegal immigrants during that period for what he called “solely budgetary reasons.” The figure was significantly higher than the “few hundred” immigrants the Obama administration had publicly acknowledged were released under the budget-savings process. He testified during a hearing by a House appropriations subcommittee.
Morton told lawmakers Thursday that the decision to release the immigrants was not discussed in advance with political appointees, including those in the White House or Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. He said the pending automatic cuts known as sequestration was “driving in the background.”
“We were trying to live within the budget that Congress had provided us,” Morton told lawmakers. “This was not a White House call. I take full responsibility.”
The Associated Press, citing internal budget documents, reported exclusively on March 1 that the administration had released more than 2,000 illegal immigrants since Feb. 15 and planned to release 3,000 more in March due to looming budget cuts, but Napolitano said days later that the AP’s report was “not really accurate” and that the story had developed “its own mythology.”
“Several hundred are related to sequester, but it wasn’t thousands,” Napolitano said March 4 at a Politico-sponsored event.
On March 5, the House Judiciary Committee publicly released an internal ICE document that it said described the agency’s plans to release thousands of illegal immigrants before March 31. The document was among those reviewed by the AP for its story days earlier.
The immigrants who were released still eventually face deportation and are required to appear for upcoming court hearings. But they are no longer confined in immigration jails, where advocacy experts say they cost about $164 per day per person. Immigrants who are granted supervised release – with conditions that can include mandatory check-ins, home visits and GPS devices – cost the government from 30 cents to $14 a day, according to the National Immigration Forum, a group that advocates on behalf of immigrants.
Morton said Thursday that among the immigrants released were 10 people considered the highest level of offender. Morton said that although that category of offender can include people convicted of aggravated felonies, many of the people released were facing financial crimes. Four of the most serious offenders have been put back in detention. Other people released include immigrants who had faced multiple drunken driving offenses, misdemeanor crimes and traffic offenses, Morton said.
After the administration challenged the AP’s reporting, ICE said it didn’t know how many people had been released for budget reasons but would review its records.
Public Safety Commission discusses Border Security report and the Criminal Alien threat to Texas
During today’s Public Safety Commission (PSC) meeting, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Director Steven C. McCraw discussed the border security strategic assessment that was conducted by General Barry McCaffrey (Ret.) and Retired Major-General Robert Scales as a part of HB 4 from the 82nd Session.
The report highlighted the efforts that Texas has put in place in order to combat the threat from the Mexican cartels and commended Texas for being “the most aggressive and creative in confronting the threat.”
The report further determined that “criminality spawned in Mexico is spilling over to the U.S. and Texas is the tactical close combat zone and frontline of this conflict.”
The Commission also discussed the impact criminal aliens were having on communities in Texas. Director McCraw stated that criminal aliens were responsible for a significant amount of crime and constituted a serious threat.
As of September 15, 2011, 6,508 illegal aliens have been identified in Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) units. These 6,508 criminal aliens are responsible for 27,880 total crimes over their criminal careers.
Furthermore, from October 2008 through August 2011, Texas has identified a total of 88,080 unique criminal alien defendants in Texas. These defendants are responsible for 344,398 individual criminal charges over their criminal careers, including 2,245 homicides and 46,412 sexual assaults. Director McCraw provided a detailed breakdown of the violations committed by the 88,080 criminal aliens.
Breakdown of 15 of the 50 Criminal Justice Information Systems (CJIS) crime categories committed by the 88,080 criminal aliens
White Smoke As New Pope Elected – March 13 2013 – Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio is Pope Francis
Pope Francis announced at St. Peter’s Basilica
Pope Francis, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio Of Buenos Aires NEW POPE
First look at new Pope Francis – Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina as he greets adoring crowds
New Pope greets the World Francis I
Argentina’s Jorge Mario Bergoglio elected Pope Francis I
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio Now Pope Francis
Argentina’s Cardinal Bergoglio chooses name Pope Francis I
Newly Elected Pope Francis of Argentina – 2013 – Pope Jorge Mario Bergoglio – Francis of Assisi [HQ]
Pope Francis of Argentina Speaks to Vatican Crowd Italy – New Pope 2013 – Jorge Mario Bergoglio [HQ]
Conclave 2013: A Closer Look at Pope Francis
Pope Francis I: What does this mean for the Canadian Church? – Perspectives Conclave Special
Who is Pope Francis?
Stanley Hauerwas: Pope Francis’ Election Signals Solidarity With the Poor
Background Articles and Videos
The Shoes of the Fisherman – Trailer
In The Shoes of the Fisherman (Last Scene)
San Francisco de Asís 1972
Francesco (1989)
Francesco is a 1989 docu-drama relating in flashback St. Francis of Assisi’s evolution from rich man’s son to religious humanitarian and finally to full-fledged saint. The film was based on Herman Hesse’s Francis of Assisi, which director Liliana Cavani had previously filmed in 1966. It stars Mickey Rourke and Helena Bonham Carter.Greek composer, Vangelis, provided the musical score.
I don’t claim to have any copyright ownership over this.Just for entertainment purposes.
St Francis of Assisi – Mickey Rourke – Porziuncola
Rep Ryan: Budget Plan Balances Budget Withing 10 Years
Paul Ryan Announces 2014 Budget Proposal and Calls for No New Taxes
Background Articles and Videos
[EXCLUSIVE] President Obama WON’T Balance Budget ‘Just for the Sake of Balance’
Obama Declares Plan to Cut Deficit in Half
Dan Mitchell Discussing Dishonest Budget Numbers with John Stossel
Dan Mitchell Exposing DC’s Fake Spending-Cut Scam with Judge Napolitano
Dr. Coburn on Charlie Rose on US Debt Crisis, Leadership Deficit in Washington
Baseline Budgeting
Paul Ryan: The GOP Plan to Balance the Budget by 2023
The goal can be reached, with no new taxes, while increasing spending 3.4% annually instead of the current 5%.
By PAUL RYAN
America’s national debt is over $16 trillion. Yet Washington can’t figure out how to cut $85 billion—or just 2% of the federal budget—without resorting to arbitrary, across-the-board cuts. Clearly, the budget process is broken. In four of the past five years, the president has missed his budget deadline. Senate Democrats haven’t passed a budget in over 1,400 days. By refusing to tackle the drivers of the nation’s debt—or simply to write a budget—Washington lurches from crisis to crisis.
House Republicans have a plan to change course. On Tuesday, we’re introducing a budget that balances in 10 years—without raising taxes. How do we do it? We stop spending money the government doesn’t have. Historically, Americans have paid a little less than one-fifth of their income in taxes to the federal government each year. But the government has spent more.
So our budget matches spending with income. Under our proposal, the government spends no more than it collects in revenue—or 19.1% of gross domestic product each year. As a result, we’ll spend $4.6 trillion less over the next decade.
Our opponents will shout austerity, but let’s put this in perspective. On the current path, we’ll spend $46 trillion over the next 10 years. Under our proposal, we’ll spend $41 trillion. On the current path, spending will increase by 5% each year. Under our proposal, it will increase by 3.4%. Because the U.S. economy will grow faster than spending, the budget will balance by 2023, and debt held by the public will drop to just over half the size of the economy.
Yet the most important question isn’t how we balance the budget. It’s why. A budget is a means to an end, and the end isn’t a neat and tidy spreadsheet. It’s the well-being of all Americans. By giving families stability and protecting them from tax hikes, our budget will promote a healthier economy and help create jobs. Most important, our budget will reignite the American Dream, the idea that anyone can make it in this country.
The truth is, the nation’s debt is a sign of overreach. Government is trying to do too much, and when government does too much, it doesn’t do anything well. So a balanced budget is a reasonable goal, because it returns government to its proper limits and focus. By curbing government’s overreach, our budget will give families the space they need to thrive.
The other side will warn of a relapse into recession—just as they predicted economic disaster when the budget sequester hit. But a balanced budget will help the economy. Smaller deficits will keep interest rates low, which will help small businesses to expand and hire. It’s no surprise, then, that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office believes that legislation reducing the deficit as much as our budget does would boost gross national product by 1.7% in 2023.
We must take action now. Our budget will expand opportunity in major areas like energy. It will protect and strengthen key priorities like Medicare. It will encourage social mobility by retooling welfare. It will fix the broken tax code to create jobs and increase wages.
First, energy. America has the world’s largest natural-gas, oil and coal reserves—enough natural gas to meet the country’s needs for 90 years. Yet the administration is buying up land to prevent further development. Our budget opens these lands to development, so families will have affordable energy. It approves the Keystone XL pipeline, which will create 20,000 direct jobs—and 118,000 indirect jobs. Our budget puts the country on the path to North American energy independence.
Second, health care. Our budget repeals the president’s health-care law and replaces it with patient-centered reforms. It also protects and strengthens Medicare. I want Medicare to be there for my kids—just as it’s there for my mom today. But Medicare is going broke. Under our proposal, those in or near retirement will see no changes, and future beneficiaries will inherit a program they can count on. Starting in 2024, we’ll offer eligible seniors a range of insurance plans from which they can choose—including traditional Medicare—and help them pay the premiums.
The other side will demagogue this issue. But remember: Anyone who attacks our Medicare proposal without offering a credible alternative is complicit in the program’s demise.
Third, welfare reform. After the welfare reforms of 1996, child poverty fell by double digits. This budget extends those reforms to other federal aid programs. It gives states flexibility so they can tailor programs like Medicaid and food stamps to their people’s needs. It encourages states to get people off the welfare rolls and onto payrolls. We shouldn’t measure success by how much we spend. We should measure it by how many people we help. Those who protect the status quo must answer to the 46 million Americans living in poverty.
Fourth, tax reform. The current tax code is a Rubik’s cube that Americans spend six billion hours—and $160 billion—each year trying to solve. The U.S. corporate tax is the highest in the industrialized world. So our budget paves the way for comprehensive tax reform. It calls for Congress to simplify the code by closing loopholes and consolidating tax rates. Our goal is to have just two brackets: 10% and 25%. House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp has committed to pass a specific bill this year.
If we take these steps, the United States will once again become a haven of opportunity. The economy will grow, and the country will regain its strength. All we need is leadership. Washington owes the American people a balanced budget. It isn’t fair to take more from families so government can spend more.
A balanced budget isn’t unprecedented. President Bill Clinton worked with a Republican Congress to get it done. House Republicans’ last two budgets balanced, too—albeit at a later date. But a balanced budget is still a noteworthy achievement, considering the competition.
The recent debt-ceiling agreement forced Senate Democrats to write a budget this year, and we expect to see it this week. I hate to break the suspense, but their budget won’t balance—ever. Instead, it will raise taxes to pay for more spending. The president, meanwhile, is standing on the sidelines. He is expected to submit his budget in April—two months past his deadline.
We House Republicans have done our part. We’re offering a credible plan for all the country to see. We’re outlining how to solve the greatest problems facing America today. Now we invite the president and Senate Democrats to join in the effort.
— Mr. Ryan, a Republican, represents Wisconsin’s first congressional district and is chairman of the House Budget Committee.
At first look, the budget unveiled today by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul D. Ryan (R-WI) advances much-needed reforms and importantly accomplishes the crucial goal of balancing the budget within the decade, though this is partially on the coattails of Obama’s tax increases. Not a silver bullet, it is more of a stasis budget, rather than a bolder plan that builds on the reforms of previous years.
There are six things that each budget from the House, Senate, and President should accomplish. These are laid out in the Heritage plan, Saving the American Dream,which:
Balances the budget in less than 10 years, without raising taxes, and keeps the budget in balance thereafter;
Swiftly overhauls entitlement programs, including Social Security, to guarantee economic security to seniors while making the programs affordable;
Repeals Obamacare in its entirety;
Fully funds defense;
Rolls back discretionary spending; and
Rolls back recent tax increases with a sweeping, growth-oriented tax reform plan and caps taxes at the historical average of 18.5 percent.
Here’s how, at first blush, the Ryan plan measures up:
Gets to Balance. The Ryan budget achieves an important improvement over last year by balancing the budget within 10 years. The President’s budgets have never even attempted this, and given the Senate’s rusty skills in budget writing, it’s unlikely they would choose this course, either. The Ryan budget slows the growth of spending to about 3.4 percent per year, compared to roughly 5 percent today, with about $5 trillion less spending.
But, regrettably, Ryan’s budget also relies on Obama’s $618 billion fiscal cliff tax increase and Obamacare’s $1 trillion in tax hikes (more on this next) to get to balance. This means that tax levels rise almost immediately to 19.1 percent of GDP, well over the 18.5 percent benchmark. Balance is important, but so is the size of government. Without the tax increase, this budget would have had to have been more assertive in attacking spending and reforming entitlements to achieve and sustain balance.
And while the intent, we are told, is to stay in balance in the coming years and decades, regrettably, as the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has not updated its long-term model yet, there is no CBO scoring to say how or whether this happens.
Repeals Obamacare Spending, But Keeps the Taxes. The vital organs of Obamacare—the insurance exchange subsidies and Medicaid expansions—are scheduled to start next year. Ryan’s budget takes the correct and necessary step of repealing them. But, as noted above, perhaps the biggest shortcoming of this budget is that it keeps the tax increases associated with Obamacare. These tax hikes are the oxygen that fuels the fire of ever bigger spending. But the entire fire needs to be put out—all of Obamacare should be repealed, including its tax hikes.
Defense Funding Levels Mixed. Like last year, the Ryan budget protects defense from the eviscerating sequestration cuts. This is sound. As North Korea’s posturing shows, the world is not a safer place today. But the national defense budget has been squeezed by Obama’s reductions just when U.S. forces need replenishment and modernization. Ryan’s budget essentially adopts the defense spending caps in the Budget Control Act without sequestration. This is better than the President’s plainly inadequate funding for current and future needs, and certainly better than the sequester, but still less than what is required.
Entitlement Reforms; More Needed. Ryan continues to be a strong leader here, tackling Medicare’s abject failures head on. His signature solution of a premium support model for Medicare is the hallmark of his budget. Moving to a patient-centered model would free retirees from relying on the unstable and unsustainable government-run Medicare program and restrain costs through the competition rather than price-fixing. The sooner this transition is made, the better.
But the transition is too slow, as it once again exempts those over 55 from these changes to Medicare. Our spending problem is so severe that all Americans should be part of the solution. While this “grandfather” clause is understandable, most Americans this age will have more than a decade remaining in their working lives. We cannot continue to keep leaving one more year of the baby boomer generation out of the solution because Washington fails to act.
Though the budget takes the first step on by turning Medicaid into a block grant, more important is to move the mainstream Medicaid population into private insurance.
And discouragingly, like last year, there is no Social Security reform at all. This is especially disappointing, given the current discussions of commonsense, simple reforms like increasing the retirement age or moving to a more accurate measure of inflation like chained CPI.
Reduces Non-Defense Discretionary Spending. By extending the Budget Control Act spending caps for two years and keeping sequestration levels, the Ryan budget makes strong reductions to this spending. It also assumes some worthy and long overdue reforms, such as consolidating the federal government’s 49 job training programs, many of which are ineffective, and first steps at reining in farm subsidies.
Growth-Oriented Tax Reform. The Ryan budget lays out important principles for tax reform and rightly rejects closing tax preferences (“loopholes”) just to raise revenue. True tax reform is revenue neutral: Any revenue raised by eliminating tax preferences should be offset by lowering tax rates. The budget sets the same, pro-growth goals for fewer, lower rates and territoriality as last year.
Bottom Line: The Ryan budget delivers on its new promise this year—to balance the budget within the decade. Unfortunately, it does use higher taxes to help achieve this. It maintains Ryan’s signature reform to Medicare, which will go far toward reining in unaffordable entitlement spending.
Though more could be done along the lines of Saving the American Dream to advance bolder entitlement reforms and to throw off the yoke of Obama’s tax hikes, this budget takes first steps toward reining in spending and reforming entitlements. And if preliminary news reports are to believed, this plan is sure to be far superior to the Senate’s version now awaiting its finishing touches replete with still more tax increases, spending and looming deficits.
Saving the American Dream: The Fiscal Cliff and Beyond
By Alison Acosta Fraser, William W. Beach and Stuart M. Butler, Ph.D. December 11, 2012
Abstract: Unless Congress and the President act promptly and wisely, sequestration under the Budget Control Act (BCA) will undermine military readiness, and the nearly $500 billion tax increase starting on January 1, 2013, will greatly harm an already weak economy. However, this fiscal cliff can be avoided. The key to avoiding this and future fiscal calamities is reform of the mandatory spending programs, from welfare to Social Security, that currently drive federal deficits. The Heritage Foundation’s Saving the American Dream plan would rein in spending immediately, restructure the major entitlement programs to bring entitlement spending under control over the long term, and strengthen the core foundations of these programs.
Since the Heritage Foundation’s Saving the American Dream plan[1] was first published in April 2011, there has been almost no substantive progress on spending control. The only plausible exception was the flawed Budget Control Act (BCA), a product of a contentious debt limit debate. The complete failure of the resultant bipartisan “supercommittee” to reach agreement was a sad reflection on a Congress that is divided and unwilling to pass the legislation necessary to rein in spending.
As a result, the nation is facing the looming sequester, which will further undermine the defense budget, jeopardizing one of the federal government’s core constitutional responsibilities. Yet it would leave entitlement programs virtually untouched, even though they are the largest driver of spending today and in the future. Meanwhile, the prospect of a huge tax increase in January has had a deleterious effect on the economy for many months, although the effect is only a small portion of the harm the economy will incur if the tax increase ultimately takes effect. America seriously needs a true way forward.
The Heritage plan reflects the need to rein in spending immediately and to rethink major programs. Spending on the open-ended Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid entitlements must be brought under control, and the core foundations of these programs should be strengthened.
The following principles guide the policy solutions in Saving the American Dream:
Total spending must be brought under control to balance the budget without raising taxes, ultimately holding revenues at their historical share of gross domestic product (GDP).
Entitlement programs should, unlike today, actually guarantee seniors economic security in retirement and be recast as real and sustainable insurance programs focused on those who truly need them.
Other spending must be curbed, and the federal government must be restricted to its proper functions.
Defense, as a core constitutional function of the federal government, should be fully funded and efficiently delivered.
The tax system should be structurally reformed to foster growth by eliminating tax distortions of private economic decisions, especially decisions on savings and investment, and to make the system simpler and more transparent.
Priorities for Congress and the President
Fiscal year (FY) 2012 closed on September 30 with the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimating spending of $3.5 trillion and a deficit of $1.1 trillion.[2] Debt held by the public was $11.3 trillion (73 percent of GDP). According to the CBO, debt will explode to 199 percent of GDP by 2037, driven by growth in spending that will reach 36 percent of GDP.[3]
The main drivers of spending and debt increases are incontrovertibly the major entitlement programs: Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. However, the slow economy with its high unemployment rate, which remains stuck at around 8 percent, also adds to deficits and debt through two channels: mandatory spending for those workers who are most affected by the slow economy (e.g., unemployment compensation) and below-average tax revenues.
It is clear that the top priorities for Congress and the President should be controlling spending, especially entitlement reform, and setting an economic growth agenda through tax reform. After averting the fiscal cliff, Congress and the President should immediately turn their attention to these pressing issues.
As noted, entitlements are the fastest-growing programs. Even if all other spending was eliminated, these programs would still cause large and unsustainable deficits in the future. Their growth is automatic, with autopilot spending increases built in and no serious budgetary constraints. The top priority must be to restructure entitlements and put a brake on their spending levels while strengthening and preserving them for future generations.
A number of robust proposals for health care reforms already exist, both in Congress and in the policy community.[4] Congress and the President should take advantage of this policy momentum and focus on reforming Medicaid and especially Medicare. However, changes in Social Security should follow quickly, and the rules that govern these programs in general should be more consistent. For example, increases in the normal eligibility age should proceed simultaneously for both Social Security and Medicare.
Specific steps for Congress and the President include the following:
The President should submit a budget by the 2013 tax deadline deadline that outlines strong, sweeping changes in entitlement programs that will reduce spending over the 10-year budget window and significantly improve the long-term trajectory of these programs.
The President’s budget should lay out specific goals for a pro-growth, revenue-neutral tax reform plan.
Congress and the President should include reforms in entitlement programs and further reductions in other spending areas, including the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), in exchange for any increases in the debt limit. These should reflect lessons learned from the 2011 Budget Control Act, such as avoiding high-stakes mechanisms like sequestration that are designed to fail.
Congress should pass a joint budget resolution by the April 15, 2013, deadline that includes reconciliation instructions for entitlement and tax reform.
The budget resolution should also require reforms of other spending programs to bring spending below the BCA levels for 2014 and beyond.
Health Care
If only one issue is thoroughly addressed in 2013, it should be the federal role in health care, the biggest driver of spending. The flawed Obamacare law only adds to the problem. Instead of expanding the government’s role, health care should follow a true patient-centered, market-based model, including reforms in Medicare, Medicaid, and the tax treatment of health insurance.
Medicare. Medicare’s finances must be brought under control. As a first step, the age of eligibility should be raised gradually from 65 to 68 and then indexed to life expectancy. Premiums for Parts B and D should also gradually increase, thus expanding the current policy for Medicare of adjusting the level of taxpayer subsidies to income, with the most affluent seniors receiving much smaller (or in some cases no) taxpayer subsidies for their health coverage. These steps, among others,[5] should occur immediately because they are easily achieved and less controversial and should be part of new debt-limit legislation.
Within five years of these initial changes, patients should also be transitioned to a defined-contribution or premium-support model that would be adjusted for income. Expanding competition in Medicare would restrain federal spending, slow health care costs, and promote greater innovation in the delivery of care.[6]
Medicaid. Federal spending on Medicaid should be put on a budget subject to regular congressional review to bring greater fiscal certainty and stability to the process. Federal Medicaid spending would follow antipoverty spending caps by reverting to the 2007 spending levels when the economy approaches full employment (e.g., the unemployment rate dips below 6 percent) and be adjusted for medical inflation thereafter.
In lieu of traditional Medicaid, able-bodied individuals and families should receive direct federal assistance in the form of tax credits or direct assistance to enable them to buy private insurance coverage of their choice. For the disabled and frail elderly, Medicaid would remain a joint federal–state safety net program, but states would have additional flexibility to adopt more patient-centered models.
Reform of the Tax Treatment of Health Insurance. As a part of tax reform (see below), the employee tax break for employer-sponsored coverage would be converted to a non-refundable tax credit that individuals and families could use to purchase the health plan of their choice.
These larger reforms are best achieved through normal legislative order. This could include the legitimate use of reconciliation as part of a comprehensive budget plan. In any case, Congress should pass a concurrent budget resolution for FY 2014.
Social Security
Social Security needs to be reformed. It is running permanent cash-flow deficits and has severe programmatic flaws.[7]
First, Social Security’s eligibility age should gradually be increased in tandem with Medicare’s eligibility age. For both, this change is straightforward and could be included in an initial, small reform package. Next, Social Security should return to its original purpose of guaranteeing that all Americans are protected from poverty in retirement. As part of this insurance protection, benefits would evolve to an understandable, predictable flat benefit that is well above the poverty level. With Social Security functioning as an insurance program, moderate-income retirees would receive a smaller check, while affluent seniors would receive no check unless their financial circumstances change.
To encourage people to stay in the workforce longer, those who work beyond full retirement age would receive a higher level of after-tax income until they do retire.
Tax reform would support Social Security reforms by significantly increasing personal savings that seniors can take into retirement, and there would be no limit on the amount of these tax-deferred savings. Thus, more retirement income would be possible than under the current system. Social Security would become a safety valve against economic reversals and a floor for income after the statutory retirement age.
Other Spending
Defense cuts are already reducing military readiness, thus endangering the security of the United States. The defense portion of the BCA cuts is dangerously flawed and must be reversed. In Saving the American Dream, the sequester for defense spending (including the 2013 cuts) is eliminated, and the higher spending is more than offset with reforms in other spending and entitlements. Defense spending is brought slowly up to and held at 4 percent of GDP. Non-defense discretionary spending is set for 2013 at the BCA sequester level and then reduced to 2 percent of GDP, after which it is indexed to inflation.
Spending in 2014 and beyond should include reforms in long-standing but growing and expensive programs such as farm subsidies and transportation. A program of privatization, including federal asset sales, could begin as early as 2015. Anti-poverty spending should be rolled back and capped when the economy approaches full employment and then consolidated into fewer programs that reflect strong incentives for work and marriage.
Revenue
Tax Reform. The economy remains plagued by the uncertainty of expiring tax policy and an unwieldy and inefficient tax code. Beyond preventing Taxmageddon by extending all current tax policy and delaying the Obamacare tax increases before January 1, 2013, Congress should pass broad substantive tax reform consistent with the New Flat Tax in Saving the American Dream. Tax reform should focus on promoting economic growth by reducing both tax rates and tax distortions while maintaining revenue and distributional neutrality. It should also simplify the tax system and improve its transparency so that taxpayers can better understand the influence of tax policy as well as the true cost of government.[8]
The broad direction for tax reform already in play, especially the bipartisan push for lower corporate income tax rates, is fully consistent with the New Flat Tax. Congress will likely find the goal of lower corporate tax rates quickly running up against the consequent need to lower tax rates for non-corporate businesses. This occurs naturally under the New Flat Tax, which taxes all businesses at a single rate on their domestic net cash flow at the entity level. Likewise, the growing support for a territorial tax system—under which U.S. businesses are taxed solely on their domestic income—is also fully consistent with the New Flat Tax, which levies tax solely on domestic income.
Under the New Flat Tax, the individual income tax and the payroll tax are rolled into one system with the same tax rate that is imposed on business income. Nearly all other federal levies are repealed, leaving a simple system for both individuals and businesses. Under the New Flat Tax as it applies to individuals, only income used for consumption is taxed, thus eliminating the existing tax bias against saving. In addition, all distorting credits, exemptions, and deductions are eliminated, leaving only two credits and three deductions.
The first credit is the above-mentioned tax credit for health insurance. This tax credit is less distortive of economic decisions than current law is, but it remains a clear subsidy for the purchase of health insurance. It is necessary because the current-law tax bias favoring health insurance is so powerful and so entrenched that simply eliminating the tax advantage is impracticable.
The second credit carried over from current law is the earned income credit (EIC). The EIC needs reform in its own right, but it is also the largest income-support component of the overall federal anti-poverty program and one of its most effective elements. Changes in the EIC should then be considered part of the proposed budget for anti-poverty programs.
The three deductions are as follows:
The deduction for charitable expense, which is retained because this tax system taxes the individual on what he or she spends. Charitable contributions benefit the receiving organization and thus should be deductible for the recipient.
A deduction for higher education, which recognizes that education expenses are a form of saving and investing simultaneously, which in every other instance is excluded from tax under the New Flat Tax.
An optional home mortgage deduction with the proviso that if the homeowner chooses a mortgage with deductible interest, then the lender must, as under current law, continue to pay tax on interest income earned. Alternatively, the home owner may choose to forgo the deduction, in which case the lender earns tax-free interest income and can thus charge a lower mortgage interest rate.
The New Flat Tax, the tax reform plan, is implemented effective January 1, 2014.
Addressing the Fiscal Cliff
Table 1 addresses each element of the fiscal cliff and the proposed steps that Congress should take on each of them.
—Alison Acosta Fraser is Director of the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies, William W. Beach is Director of the Center for Data Analysis and Lazof Family Fellow in Economics, and Stuart M. Butler, PhD, is Director of the Center for Policy Innovation at The Heritage Foundation.
The editors are grateful to the team leaders who worked with policy experts throughout The Heritage Foundation to develop this report: J. D. Foster, Ph.D., Norman B. Ture Senior Fellow in the Economics of Fiscal Policy; Rea S. Hederman, Jr., Assistant Director and Research Fellow in the Center for Data Analysis; David C. John, Senior Research Fellow in Retirement Security and Financial Institutions; Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D., Senior Fellow in the Center for Policy Innovation; Nina Owcharenko, Director of the Center for Health Policy Studies; and Drew Gonshorowski, Policy Analyst in the Center for Data Analysis.
This plan was developed as part of the Solutions Initiative and funded by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. The Peterson Foundation convened organizations with a variety of perspectives to develop plans addressing our nation’s fiscal challenges. The American Action Forum, Bipartisan Policy Center, Center for American Progress, Economic Policy Institute, and The Heritage Foundation, each received grants. All organizations had discretion and independence to develop their own goals and propose comprehensive solutions. The Peterson Foundation’s involvement with this project does not represent endorsement of any plan.
“If Mr. Paul wants to be taken seriously he needs to do more than pull political stunts that fire up impressionable libertarian kids in their college dorms.”
— Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaking on the Senate floor, quoting a Wall Street Journal editorial attacking Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.
I supported Senator Barry Goldwater for President in 1964 as a classical liberal or libertarian, as did Ronald Reagan.
Today I support Senator Rand Paul for President in 2016.
Senators McCain and Graham remind me of Governor Nelson Rockefeller, another progressive Republican.
Mike Huckabee: Thank you, Rand Paul
Rand Paul Fires Back At Filibuster Critics, Shocks Glenn Beck With Revelation
Shep Smith Offends John McCain W Interventionist Comment Grills Him Over Rand Paul
SA@TAC – What’s a ‘Neoconservative?’
SA@TAC – Ronald Reagan: Isolationist
SA@TAC – John McCain Supports Al-Qaeda
John McCain ATTACKS Rand Paul’s Filibuster
Laura Ingraham: Neoconservative view has clearly hurt the GOP (Rand Paul interview 3/08/13)
STAND WITH RAND
Rand Paul: Time To Bring Troops Home, Cut Foreign Aid, And Fix Entitlements – CNN 3/11/2013
“I Don’t Think We Should Go To War On ONE Person’s Authority” Rand Paul
What is classical liberalism?
Background Articles and Videos
Mind blowing speech by Robert Welch in 1958 predicting Insiders plans to destroy America
Mr. Conservative: Barry Goldwater at the 1964 Republican National Convention
State Against Blacks – Conservative Dr. Walter Williams
Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers: 2011
In 2011, 73.9 million American workers age 16 and over were paid at hourly rates, representing 59.1 percent of all wage and salary workers.1 Among those paid by the hour, 1.7 million earned exactly the prevailing Federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. About 2.2 million had wages below the minimum.2 Together, these 3.8 million workers with wages at or below the Federal minimum made up 5.2 percent of all hourly-paid workers. Tables 1 through 10 present data on a wide array of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics for hourly-paid workers earning at or below the Federal minimum wage. The following are some highlights from the 2011 data.
Minimum wage workers tend to be young. Although workers under age 25 represented only about one-fifth of hourly-paid workers, they made up about half of those paid the Federal minimum wage or less. Among employed teenagers paid by the hour, about 23 percent earned the minimum wage or less, compared with about 3 percent of workers age 25 and over. (See table 1 and table 7.)
About 6 percent of women paid hourly rates had wages at or below the prevailing Federal minimum, compared with about 4 percent of men. (See table 1.)
About 5 percent of White hourly-paid workers earned the Federal minimum wage or less, compared with about 6 percent of Blacks and about 3 percent of Asians. Among hourly-paid workers of Hispanic ethnicity, about 5 percent earned the minimum wage or less. (See table 1.)
Among hourly-paid workers age 16 and over, about 11 percent of those who had less than a high school diploma earned the Federal minimum wage or less, compared with about 5 percent of those who had a high school diploma (with no college) and about 2 percent of college graduates. (See table 6.)
Never-married workers, who tend to be young, were more likely than married workers to earn the Federal minimum wage or less (about 9 percent versus about 2 percent). (See table 8.)
Part-time workers (persons who usually work less than 35 hours per week) were more likely than full-time workers to be paid the Federal minimum wage or less (about 13 percent versus about 2 percent). (See table 1 and table 9.)
By major occupational group, the highest proportion of hourly-paid workers earning at or below the Federal minimum wage was in service occupations, at 13 percent. About 6 in 10 workers earning the minimum wage or less in 2011 were employed in service occupations, mostly in food preparation and serving related jobs. (See table 4.)
The industry with the highest proportion of workers with hourly wages at or below the Federal minimum wage was leisure and hospitality (22 percent). About one-half of all workers paid at or below the Federal minimum wage were employed in this industry, primarily in restaurants and other food services. For many of these workers, tips and commissions supplement the hourly wages received. (See table 5.)
The states with the highest proportions of hourly-paid workers earning at or below the Federal minimum wage were Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas (all between 8 and 10 percent). The states with the lowest percentage of workers earning at or below the Federal minimum wage were Oregon, California, Washington, and Alaska (all under 2 percent). It should be noted that some states have minimum wage laws establishing standards that exceed the Federal minimum wage. (See table 2 and table 3.)
The proportion of hourly-paid workers earning the prevailing Federal minimum wage or less declined from 6.0 percent in 2010 to 5.2 percent in 2011. This remains well below the figure of 13.4 percent in 1979, when data were first collected on a regular basis. (See table 10.)
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). These data on minimum wage earners are derived from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly nationwide survey of households. Data in this summary are 2011 annual averages.
1 Data are for wage and salary workers age 16 and over and refer to earnings on a person’s sole or principal job. Hourly earnings for hourly-paid workers do not include overtime pay, commissions, or tips received. All self-employed persons are excluded whether or not their businesses are incorporated.
2 The presence of a sizable number of workers with wages below the Federal minimum does not necessarily indicate violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, as there are exemptions to the minimum wage provisions of the law. The estimates of the numbers of minimum and subminimum wage workers presented in the accompanying tables pertain to workers paid at hourly rates; salaried and other non-hourly workers are excluded. As such, the actual number of workers with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum is undoubtedly understated. Research has shown that a relatively small number and share of salaried workers and others not paid by the hour have earnings that, when translated into hourly rates, are at or below the minimum wage. However, BLS does not routinely estimate hourly earnings for non-hourly workers because of data concerns that arise in producing these estimates.
Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers: 2011 (PDF)
Table 1. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage by selected characteristics, 2011 annual averages
Footnotes: (1) Estimates for the above race groups (White, Black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. (2) The distinction between full- and part-time workers is based on hours usually worked. These data will not sum to totals because full- or part-time status on the principal job is not identifiable for a small number of multiple jobholders. Full time is 35 hours or more per week; part time is less than 35 hours.
NOTE: Data exclude all self-employed persons whether or not their businesses are incorporated.
Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey
Series Id: LNS14000012
Seasonally Adjusted Series title: (Seas) Unemployment Rate – 16-19 yrs. Labor force status: Unemployment rate Type of data: Percent or rate Age: 16 to 19 years
Year
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Annual
1948
8.5
10.0
10.5
9.5
7.0
9.3
9.7
9.6
8.8
8.5
9.1
8.5
1949
10.0
10.6
11.9
13.2
13.4
13.8
14.3
15.0
14.6
15.8
14.0
15.4
1950
15.2
15.2
14.3
12.0
13.3
12.2
11.2
10.7
10.9
10.3
9.5
11.1
1951
8.5
8.1
8.3
7.9
6.7
8.3
8.7
8.2
8.3
7.7
9.5
7.6
1952
9.3
8.3
8.2
7.6
8.9
8.4
8.8
8.5
8.9
8.4
8.2
7.6
1953
6.9
6.7
6.7
7.1
6.4
6.9
7.3
7.4
7.3
9.7
8.6
11.8
1954
12.1
13.5
13.0
13.6
13.4
10.5
12.9
14.0
14.0
12.2
11.4
12.6
1955
11.7
11.3
11.0
10.7
10.9
10.8
10.4
11.5
11.3
11.0
11.7
11.0
1956
10.6
11.4
11.5
10.9
11.9
12.2
11.2
10.1
9.8
10.1
12.6
9.7
1957
11.6
10.5
11.2
11.1
11.4
11.7
11.8
11.5
11.0
10.9
13.4
13.1
1958
14.4
14.6
14.7
17.2
16.3
15.4
17.9
16.0
17.9
16.0
15.9
14.9
1959
14.0
12.9
13.6
15.0
14.3
13.9
14.5
16.1
14.9
15.8
15.1
15.3
1960
14.6
13.1
15.6
14.2
13.9
14.6
13.9
15.3
14.5
16.1
14.7
16.4
1961
17.1
17.4
17.1
16.4
15.8
16.6
17.3
17.1
18.0
16.9
16.0
15.3
1962
16.2
16.0
15.1
15.1
14.2
13.6
13.9
14.1
14.5
14.3
16.3
14.4
1963
15.8
17.7
17.1
16.8
18.7
17.2
18.1
16.1
17.4
17.1
17.7
16.3
1964
16.7
15.8
16.3
17.0
16.4
16.8
14.7
16.7
15.7
15.8
15.6
17.1
1965
16.8
16.7
15.8
16.2
14.8
15.3
14.5
13.9
14.7
14.5
13.0
13.3
1966
13.0
12.4
13.1
13.0
13.6
13.0
12.9
12.4
12.8
12.6
11.8
12.1
1967
11.9
12.9
11.6
12.1
12.8
12.9
13.0
13.4
12.9
13.7
13.8
13.0
1968
12.0
12.9
12.7
11.8
12.5
13.9
13.8
12.0
12.0
11.8
12.2
12.7
1969
12.0
11.9
12.3
12.0
12.4
12.2
12.8
12.2
12.6
12.6
11.6
11.8
1970
13.5
13.3
13.4
14.7
14.2
16.3
14.7
15.7
16.2
16.7
17.4
17.1
1971
16.8
16.3
16.9
16.3
16.8
17.7
17.7
16.8
16.7
16.9
16.9
16.9
1972
16.9
18.0
17.2
16.5
15.3
15.9
15.6
16.5
16.3
15.8
15.7
15.6
1973
13.7
15.3
14.3
15.5
14.9
13.8
14.3
14.0
14.7
14.4
15.0
14.6
1974
14.6
14.9
14.9
14.3
15.4
16.3
16.8
14.9
17.0
17.2
17.8
18.2
1975
19.5
19.4
19.9
19.9
20.4
20.9
20.7
20.7
19.5
19.8
19.0
19.8
1976
19.6
19.0
18.9
19.5
18.6
18.5
18.3
19.6
18.6
19.0
19.2
19.1
1977
18.9
18.4
18.6
18.0
17.8
18.8
17.5
17.4
18.0
17.2
17.2
15.5
1978
16.7
17.2
17.3
16.6
16.0
15.4
16.5
15.7
16.4
16.1
16.3
16.7
1979
16.1
16.1
15.9
16.3
16.1
15.7
15.6
16.5
16.5
16.5
15.9
16.2
1980
16.5
16.6
16.3
16.2
18.6
18.9
19.1
18.9
18.0
18.4
18.5
17.6
1981
19.1
19.3
19.2
18.8
19.1
19.8
18.6
18.8
19.7
20.3
21.3
21.1
1982
22.0
22.6
21.8
22.8
22.8
22.9
24.0
23.7
23.6
23.7
24.1
24.1
1983
23.1
22.8
23.5
23.4
22.8
24.0
22.8
22.9
21.7
21.4
20.2
19.9
1984
19.5
19.4
19.8
19.2
18.7
18.2
18.8
18.7
19.2
18.6
17.7
18.8
1985
18.8
18.3
18.2
17.5
18.5
18.5
20.2
17.9
17.9
20.0
18.3
19.1
1986
18.1
18.8
18.2
19.2
18.6
19.2
18.4
18.0
18.4
17.7
18.1
17.5
1987
17.7
18.0
17.9
17.3
17.4
16.5
15.8
15.9
16.2
17.3
16.6
16.0
1988
16.1
15.6
16.6
16.0
15.3
14.2
14.8
15.4
15.5
15.1
13.9
14.8
1989
16.4
15.0
13.9
14.6
14.8
15.7
14.2
14.6
15.2
15.0
15.5
15.3
1990
14.8
15.0
14.3
14.7
15.0
14.3
15.0
16.3
16.4
16.5
17.1
17.4
1991
18.6
17.4
18.3
17.8
18.8
18.5
19.4
18.9
18.8
19.1
19.0
20.3
1992
19.2
20.1
20.3
18.5
20.1
23.0
20.8
19.9
21.0
18.3
20.5
19.8
1993
19.9
19.7
19.7
19.5
19.8
19.9
18.4
18.4
18.2
18.7
18.5
17.9
1994
18.3
18.0
18.0
19.1
18.0
17.6
17.6
17.3
17.5
17.5
15.6
17.0
1995
16.5
17.4
16.1
17.5
17.5
17.1
18.2
17.3
17.6
17.4
17.5
18.0
1996
17.7
16.8
17.1
17.1
16.8
16.2
17.1
16.8
15.6
16.3
16.8
16.6
1997
16.8
17.1
16.4
15.9
16.0
16.8
17.1
16.1
16.1
15.1
14.8
14.0
1998
13.9
14.5
14.8
13.5
14.8
14.9
14.6
14.7
15.0
15.7
14.7
13.5
1999
15.2
13.9
14.2
14.2
13.3
13.9
13.4
13.3
14.8
13.8
13.9
13.4
2000
12.7
13.8
13.3
12.6
12.8
12.3
13.4
14.0
13.0
12.8
13.0
13.2
2001
13.8
13.7
13.8
13.9
13.4
14.2
14.4
15.6
15.2
16.0
15.9
17.0
2002
16.5
16.0
16.6
16.7
16.6
16.7
16.8
17.0
16.3
15.1
17.1
16.9
2003
17.2
17.2
17.8
17.7
17.9
19.0
18.2
16.6
17.6
17.2
15.7
16.2
2004
17.0
16.5
16.8
16.6
17.1
17.0
17.8
16.7
16.6
17.4
16.4
17.6
2005
16.2
17.5
17.1
17.8
17.8
16.3
16.1
16.1
15.5
16.1
17.0
14.9
2006
15.1
15.3
16.1
14.6
14.0
15.8
15.9
16.0
16.3
15.2
14.8
14.6
2007
14.8
14.9
14.9
15.9
15.9
16.3
15.3
15.9
15.9
15.4
16.2
16.8
2008
17.8
16.6
16.1
15.9
19.0
19.2
20.7
18.6
19.1
20.0
20.3
20.5
2009
20.7
22.2
22.2
22.2
23.4
24.7
24.3
25.0
25.9
27.1
26.9
26.6
2010
26.0
25.4
26.2
25.5
26.6
26.0
26.0
25.7
25.8
27.2
24.6
25.1
2011
25.5
24.0
24.4
24.7
24.0
24.7
24.9
25.2
24.4
24.1
23.9
22.9
2012
23.4
23.7
25.0
24.9
24.4
23.7
23.9
24.5
23.7
23.7
23.6
23.5
2013
23.4
25.1
Federal Minimum Wage Rates, 1955–2012
Value of the
minimum wage
Value of the
minimum wage
Value of the
minimum wage
Year
Current
dollars
Constant
(1996)
dollars1
Year
Current
dollars
Constant
(1996)
dollars1
Year
Current
dollars
Constant
(1996)
dollars1
1955
$0.75
$4.39
1983
3.35
5.28
2011
7.25
5.06
1956
1.00
5.77
1984
3.35
5.06
2012
7.25
4.97
1957
1.00
5.58
1985
3.35
4.88
1958
1.00
5.43
1986
3.35
4.80
1959
1.00
5.39
1987
3.35
4.63
1960
1.00
5.30
1988
3.35
4.44
1961
1.15
6.03
1989
3.35
4.24
1962
1.15
5.97
1990
3.80
4.56
1963
1.25
6.41
1991
4.25
4.90
1964
1.25
6.33
1992
4.25
4.75
1965
1.25
6.23
1993
4.25
4.61
1966
1.25
6.05
1994
4.25
4.50
1967
1.40
6.58
1995
4.25
4.38
1968
1.60
7.21
1996
4.75
4.75
1969
1.60
6.84
1997
5.15
5.03
1970
1.60
6.47
1998
5.15
4.96
1971
1.60
6.20
1999
5.15
4.85
1972
1.60
6.01
2000
5.15
4.69
1973
1.60
5.65
2001
5.15
4.56
1974
2.00
6.37
2002
5.15
4.49
1975
2.10
6.12
2003
5.15
4.39
1976
2.30
6.34
2004
5.15
4.28
1977
2.30
5.95
2005
5.15
4.14
1978
2.65
6.38
2006
5.15
4.04
1979
2.90
6.27
2007
5.85
4.41
1980
3.10
5.90
2008
6.55
4.77
1981
3.35
5.78
2009
7.25
5.30
1982
3.35
5.78
2010
7.25
5.22
1. Adjusted for inflation using the CPI-U (Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers).
History of Federal Minimum Wage Rates Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 1938 – 2009
The table of federal minimum wage rates under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 1938 – 2009 is also available in a PDF Version. In order to view and/or print PDF documents you must have a PDF viewer (e.g., Adobe Acrobat Reader v5 or later) available on your workstation.
Minimum hourly wage of workers in jobs first covered by
This publication is for general information and is not to be considered in the same light as official statements of position contained in the regulations.
For additional information, visit our Wage-Hour website: http://www.wagehour.dol.gov and/or call our Wage-Hour toll-free information and helpline, available 8am to 5pm in your time zone, 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243).
Huge Jobs Numbers, US Unemployment Lowest in 4 Years
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8 March 2013 Breaking News Mass economic protests Portugal & Spain – End Times News Update – 3-8-13
Employment Level
143,492,000
Data extracted on: March 8, 2013 (2:50:17 PM)
Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey
Series Id: LNS12000000 Seasonally Adjusted
Series title: (Seas) Employment Level
Labor force status: Employed Type of data: Number in thousands Age: 16 years and over
Year
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Annual
2000
136559(1)
136598
136701
137270
136630
136940
136531
136662
136893
137088
137322
137614
2001
137778
137612
137783
137299
137092
136873
137071
136241
136846
136392
136238
136047
2002
135701
136438
136177
136126
136539
136415
136413
136705
137302
137008
136521
136426
2003
137417(1)
137482
137434
137633
137544
137790
137474
137549
137609
137984
138424
138411
2004
138472(1)
138542
138453
138680
138852
139174
139556
139573
139487
139732
140231
140125
2005
140245(1)
140385
140654
141254
141609
141714
142026
142434
142401
142548
142499
142752
2006
143150(1)
143457
143741
143761
144089
144353
144202
144625
144815
145314
145534
145970
2007
146028(1)
146057
146320
145586
145903
146063
145905
145682
146244
145946
146595
146273
2008
146378(1)
146156
146086
146132
145908
145737
145532
145203
145076
144802
144100
143369
2009
142153(1)
141644
140721
140652
140250
140005
139898
139481
138810
138421
138665
138025
2010
138439(1)
138624
138767
139296
139255
139148
139167
139405
139388
139097
139046
139295
2011
139253(1)
139471
139643
139606
139681
139405
139509
139870
140164
140314
140771
140896
2012
141608(1)
142019
142020
141934
142302
142448
142250
142164
142974
143328
143277
143305
2013
143322(1)
143492
1 : Data affected by changes in population controls.
Civilian Labor Force Level
155,524,000
Series Id: LNS11000000
Seasonally Adjusted Series title: (Seas) Civilian Labor Force Level Labor force status: Civilian labor force Type of data: Number in thousands Age: 16 years and over
ear
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Annual
2000
142267(1)
142456
142434
142751
142388
142591
142278
142514
142518
142622
142962
143248
2001
143800
143701
143924
143569
143318
143357
143654
143284
143989
144086
144240
144305
2002
143883
144653
144481
144725
144938
144808
144803
145009
145552
145314
145041
145066
2003
145937(1)
146100
146022
146474
146500
147056
146485
146445
146530
146716
147000
146729
2004
146842(1)
146709
146944
146850
147065
147460
147692
147564
147415
147793
148162
148059
2005
148029(1)
148364
148391
148926
149261
149238
149432
149779
149954
150001
150065
150030
2006
150214(1)
150641
150813
150881
151069
151354
151377
151716
151662
152041
152406
152732
2007
153144(1)
152983
153051
152435
152670
153041
153054
152749
153414
153183
153835
153918
2008
154063(1)
153653
153908
153769
154303
154313
154469
154641
154570
154876
154639
154655
2009
154232(1)
154526
154142
154479
154742
154710
154505
154300
153815
153804
153887
153120
2010
153455(1)
153702
153960
154577
154110
153623
153709
154078
153966
153681
154140
153649
2011
153244(1)
153269
153358
153478
153552
153369
153325
153707
154074
154010
154096
153945
2012
154356(1)
154825
154707
154451
154998
155149
154995
154647
155056
155576
155319
155511
2013
155654(1)
155524
1 : Data affected by changes in population controls.
Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate
63.5%
Series Id: LNS11300000
Seasonally Adjusted Series title: (Seas) Labor Force Participation Rate Labor force status: Civilian labor force participation rate Type of data: Percent or rate Age: 16 years and over
Year
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Annual
2000
67.3
67.3
67.3
67.3
67.1
67.1
66.9
66.9
66.9
66.8
66.9
67.0
2001
67.2
67.1
67.2
66.9
66.7
66.7
66.8
66.5
66.8
66.7
66.7
66.7
2002
66.5
66.8
66.6
66.7
66.7
66.6
66.5
66.6
66.7
66.6
66.4
66.3
2003
66.4
66.4
66.3
66.4
66.4
66.5
66.2
66.1
66.1
66.1
66.1
65.9
2004
66.1
66.0
66.0
65.9
66.0
66.1
66.1
66.0
65.8
65.9
66.0
65.9
2005
65.8
65.9
65.9
66.1
66.1
66.1
66.1
66.2
66.1
66.1
66.0
66.0
2006
66.0
66.1
66.2
66.1
66.1
66.2
66.1
66.2
66.1
66.2
66.3
66.4
2007
66.4
66.3
66.2
65.9
66.0
66.0
66.0
65.8
66.0
65.8
66.0
66.0
2008
66.2
66.0
66.1
65.9
66.1
66.1
66.1
66.1
66.0
66.0
65.9
65.8
2009
65.7
65.8
65.6
65.7
65.7
65.7
65.5
65.4
65.1
65.0
65.0
64.6
2010
64.8
64.9
64.9
65.1
64.9
64.6
64.6
64.7
64.6
64.4
64.6
64.3
2011
64.2
64.2
64.2
64.2
64.2
64.0
64.0
64.1
64.2
64.1
64.1
64.0
2012
63.7
63.9
63.8
63.6
63.8
63.8
63.7
63.5
63.6
63.8
63.6
63.6
2013
63.6
63.5
Unemployment Level
12,032,000
12,
Series Id: LNS13000000
Seasonally Adjusted Series title: (Seas) Unemployment Level Labor force status: Unemployed Type of data: Number in thousands
Age: 16 years and over
Year
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Annual
2000
5708
5858
5733
5481
5758
5651
5747
5853
5625
5534
5639
5634
2001
6023
6089
6141
6271
6226
6484
6583
7042
7142
7694
8003
8258
2002
8182
8215
8304
8599
8399
8393
8390
8304
8251
8307
8520
8640
2003
8520
8618
8588
8842
8957
9266
9011
8896
8921
8732
8576
8317
2004
8370
8167
8491
8170
8212
8286
8136
7990
7927
8061
7932
7934
2005
7784
7980
7737
7672
7651
7524
7406
7345
7553
7453
7566
7279
2006
7064
7184
7072
7120
6980
7001
7175
7091
6847
6727
6872
6762
2007
7116
6927
6731
6850
6766
6979
7149
7067
7170
7237
7240
7645
2008
7685
7497
7822
7637
8395
8575
8937
9438
9494
10074
10538
11286
2009
12079
12881
13421
13826
14492
14705
14607
14819
15005
15382
15223
15095
2010
15016
15078
15192
15281
14856
14475
14542
14673
14577
14584
15094
14354
2011
13992
13798
13716
13872
13871
13964
13817
13837
13910
13696
13325
13049
2012
12748
12806
12686
12518
12695
12701
12745
12483
12082
12248
12042
12206
2013
12332
12032
Unemployment Rate U-3
7.7%
Series Id: LNS14000000
Seasonally Adjusted Series title: (Seas) Unemployment Rate Labor force status: Unemployment rate Type of data: Percent or rate Age: 16 years and over
Year
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Annual
2000
4.0
4.1
4.0
3.8
4.0
4.0
4.0
4.1
3.9
3.9
3.9
3.9
2001
4.2
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.3
4.5
4.6
4.9
5.0
5.3
5.5
5.7
2002
5.7
5.7
5.7
5.9
5.8
5.8
5.8
5.7
5.7
5.7
5.9
6.0
2003
5.8
5.9
5.9
6.0
6.1
6.3
6.2
6.1
6.1
6.0
5.8
5.7
2004
5.7
5.6
5.8
5.6
5.6
5.6
5.5
5.4
5.4
5.5
5.4
5.4
2005
5.3
5.4
5.2
5.2
5.1
5.0
5.0
4.9
5.0
5.0
5.0
4.9
2006
4.7
4.8
4.7
4.7
4.6
4.6
4.7
4.7
4.5
4.4
4.5
4.4
2007
4.6
4.5
4.4
4.5
4.4
4.6
4.7
4.6
4.7
4.7
4.7
5.0
2008
5.0
4.9
5.1
5.0
5.4
5.6
5.8
6.1
6.1
6.5
6.8
7.3
2009
7.8
8.3
8.7
9.0
9.4
9.5
9.5
9.6
9.8
10.0
9.9
9.9
2010
9.8
9.8
9.9
9.9
9.6
9.4
9.5
9.5
9.5
9.5
9.8
9.3
2011
9.1
9.0
8.9
9.0
9.0
9.1
9.0
9.0
9.0
8.9
8.6
8.5
2012
8.3
8.3
8.2
8.1
8.2
8.2
8.2
8.1
7.8
7.9
7.8
7.8
2013
7.9
7.7
Teenage Unemployment Rate
25.1%
Series Id: LNS14000012
Seasonally Adjusted Series title: (Seas) Unemployment Rate – 16-19 yrs. Labor force status: Unemployment rate Type of data: Percent or rate Age: 16 to 19 years
Year
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Annual
2000
12.7
13.8
13.3
12.6
12.8
12.3
13.4
14.0
13.0
12.8
13.0
13.2
2001
13.8
13.7
13.8
13.9
13.4
14.2
14.4
15.6
15.2
16.0
15.9
17.0
2002
16.5
16.0
16.6
16.7
16.6
16.7
16.8
17.0
16.3
15.1
17.1
16.9
2003
17.2
17.2
17.8
17.7
17.9
19.0
18.2
16.6
17.6
17.2
15.7
16.2
2004
17.0
16.5
16.8
16.6
17.1
17.0
17.8
16.7
16.6
17.4
16.4
17.6
2005
16.2
17.5
17.1
17.8
17.8
16.3
16.1
16.1
15.5
16.1
17.0
14.9
2006
15.1
15.3
16.1
14.6
14.0
15.8
15.9
16.0
16.3
15.2
14.8
14.6
2007
14.8
14.9
14.9
15.9
15.9
16.3
15.3
15.9
15.9
15.4
16.2
16.8
2008
17.8
16.6
16.1
15.9
19.0
19.2
20.7
18.6
19.1
20.0
20.3
20.5
2009
20.7
22.2
22.2
22.2
23.4
24.7
24.3
25.0
25.9
27.1
26.9
26.6
2010
26.0
25.4
26.2
25.5
26.6
26.0
26.0
25.7
25.8
27.2
24.6
25.1
2011
25.5
24.0
24.4
24.7
24.0
24.7
24.9
25.2
24.4
24.1
23.9
22.9
2012
23.4
23.7
25.0
24.9
24.4
23.7
23.9
24.5
23.7
23.7
23.6
23.5
2013
23.4
25.1
Total Unemployment Rate U-6
14.3
Series Id: LNS13327709 Seasonally Adjusted
Series title: (seas) Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of all civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers
Labor force status: Aggregated totals unemployed
Type of data: Percent or rate Age: 16 years and over
Percent/rates: Unemployed and mrg attached and pt for econ reas as percent of labor force plus marg attached
Year
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Annual
2000
7.1
7.2
7.1
6.9
7.1
7.0
7.0
7.1
7.0
6.8
7.1
6.9
2001
7.3
7.4
7.3
7.4
7.5
7.9
7.8
8.1
8.7
9.3
9.4
9.6
2002
9.5
9.5
9.4
9.7
9.5
9.5
9.6
9.6
9.6
9.6
9.7
9.8
2003
10.0
10.2
10.0
10.2
10.1
10.3
10.3
10.1
10.4
10.2
10.0
9.8
2004
9.9
9.7
10.0
9.6
9.6
9.5
9.5
9.4
9.4
9.7
9.4
9.2
2005
9.3
9.3
9.1
8.9
8.9
9.0
8.8
8.9
9.0
8.7
8.7
8.6
2006
8.4
8.4
8.2
8.1
8.2
8.4
8.5
8.4
8.0
8.2
8.1
7.9
2007
8.4
8.2
8.0
8.2
8.2
8.3
8.4
8.4
8.4
8.4
8.4
8.8
2008
9.2
9.0
9.1
9.2
9.7
10.1
10.5
10.8
11.0
11.8
12.6
13.6
2009
14.2
15.1
15.7
15.9
16.4
16.5
16.5
16.7
16.7
17.1
17.1
17.1
2010
16.7
17.0
17.0
17.1
16.6
16.5
16.5
16.5
16.8
16.7
16.9
16.6
2011
16.2
16.0
15.8
16.0
15.8
16.1
16.0
16.1
16.3
16.0
15.5
15.2
2012
15.1
15.0
14.5
14.5
14.8
14.8
14.9
14.7
14.7
14.5
14.4
14.4
2013
14.4
14.3
mployment Situation Summary
Transmission of material in this release is embargoed USDL-13-0389
until 8:30 a.m. (EST) Friday, March 8, 2013
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION — FEBRUARY 2013
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 236,000 in February, and the
unemployment rate edged down to 7.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. Employment increased in professional and business
services, construction, and health care.
Household Survey Data
The unemployment rate edged down to 7.7 percent in February but has shown
little movement, on net, since September 2012. The number of unemployed
persons, at 12.0 million, also edged lower in February. (See table A-1.)
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for whites (6.8 percent)
declined in February while the rates for adult men (7.1 percent), adult women
(7.0 percent), teenagers (25.1 percent), blacks (13.8 percent), and Hispanics
(9.6 percent) showed little or no change. The jobless rate for Asians was 6.1
percent (not seasonally adjusted), little changed from a year earlier. (See
tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
In February, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks
or more) was about unchanged at 4.8 million. These individuals accounted for
40.2 percent of the unemployed. (See table A-12.)
The employment-population ratio held at 58.6 percent in February. The civilian
labor force participation rate, at 63.5 percent, changed little. (See table A-1.)
The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons, at 8.0 million,
was essentially unchanged in February. These individuals were working part
time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to
find a full-time job. (See table A-8.)
In February, 2.6 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force,
the same as a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These
individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work,
and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not
counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks
preceding the survey. (See table A-16.)
Among the marginally attached, there were 885,000 discouraged workers in
February, down slightly from a year earlier. (These data are not seasonally
adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work
because they believe no jobs are available for them. The remaining 1.7
million persons marginally attached to the labor force in February had not
searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as
school attendance or family responsibilities. (See table A-16.)
Establishment Survey Data
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 236,000 in February, with
job gains in professional and business services, construction, and health
care. In the prior 3 months, employment had risen by an average of 195,000
per month. (See table B-1.)
Professional and business services added 73,000 jobs in February; employment
in the industry had changed little (+16,000) in January. In February,
employment in administrative and support services, which includes employment
services and services to buildings, rose by 44,000. Accounting and
bookkeeping services added 11,000 jobs, and growth continued in computer
systems design and in management and technical consulting services.
In February, employment in construction increased by 48,000. Since September,
construction employment has risen by 151,000. In February, job growth
occurred in specialty trade contractors, with this gain about equally split
between residential (+17,000) and nonresidential specialty trade contractors
(+15,000). Nonresidential building construction also added jobs (+6,000).
The health care industry continued to add jobs in February (+32,000). Within
health care, there was a job gain of 14,000 in ambulatory health care services,
which includes doctors’ offices and outpatient care centers. Employment also
increased over the month in nursing and residential care facilities (+9,000)
and hospitals (+9,000).
Employment in the information industry increased over the month (+20,000),
lifted by a large job gain in the motion picture and sound recording industry.
Employment continued to trend up in retail trade in February (+24,000). Retail
trade has added 252,000 jobs over the past 12 months. Employment also
continued to trend up over the month in food services and drinking places and
in wholesale trade. Employment in other major industries showed little change
over the month.
In February, the average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls
edged up by 0.1 hour to 34.5 hours. The manufacturing workweek rose by 0.2
hour to 40.9 hours, and factory overtime edged up by 0.1 hour to 3.4 hours.
The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private
nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.2 hour to 33.8 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)
Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose
by 4 cents to $23.82. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.1
percent. In February, average hourly earnings of private-sector production
and nonsupervisory employees increased by 5 cents to $20.04. (See tables B-3
and B-8.)
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for December was revised from
+196,000 to +219,000, and the change for January was revised from +157,000 to
+119,000.
____________
The Employment Situation for March is scheduled to be released on Friday,
April 5, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).
Employment Situation Summary Table A. Household data, seasonally adjusted
HOUSEHOLD DATA Summary table A. Household data, seasonally adjusted
[Numbers in thousands]
Category
Feb. 2012
Dec. 2012
Jan. 2013
Feb. 2013
Change from: Jan. 2013- Feb. 2013
Employment status
Civilian noninstitutional population
242,435
244,350
244,663
244,828
165
Civilian labor force
154,825
155,511
155,654
155,524
-130
Participation rate
63.9
63.6
63.6
63.5
-0.1
Employed
142,019
143,305
143,322
143,492
170
Employment-population ratio
58.6
58.6
58.6
58.6
0.0
Unemployed
12,806
12,206
12,332
12,032
-300
Unemployment rate
8.3
7.8
7.9
7.7
-0.2
Not in labor force
87,611
88,839
89,008
89,304
296
Unemployment rates
Total, 16 years and over
8.3
7.8
7.9
7.7
-0.2
Adult men (20 years and over)
7.7
7.2
7.3
7.1
-0.2
Adult women (20 years and over)
7.6
7.3
7.3
7.0
-0.3
Teenagers (16 to 19 years)
23.7
23.5
23.4
25.1
1.7
White
7.4
6.9
7.0
6.8
-0.2
Black or African American
14.1
14.0
13.8
13.8
0.0
Asian (not seasonally adjusted)
6.3
6.6
6.5
6.1
–
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
10.6
9.6
9.7
9.6
-0.1
Total, 25 years and over
6.9
6.5
6.5
6.3
-0.2
Less than a high school diploma
12.9
11.7
12.0
11.2
-0.8
High school graduates, no college
8.3
8.0
8.1
7.9
-0.2
Some college or associate degree
7.3
6.9
7.0
6.7
-0.3
Bachelor’s degree and higher
4.2
3.9
3.7
3.8
0.1
Reason for unemployment
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs
7,187
6,408
6,637
6,522
-115
Job leavers
1,035
983
981
956
-25
Reentrants
3,341
3,587
3,515
3,340
-175
New entrants
1,382
1,291
1,287
1,279
-8
Duration of unemployment
Less than 5 weeks
2,563
2,676
2,766
2,667
-99
5 to 14 weeks
2,817
2,838
3,028
2,782
-246
15 to 26 weeks
1,974
1,895
1,858
1,695
-163
27 weeks and over
5,392
4,766
4,708
4,797
89
Employed persons at work part time
Part time for economic reasons
8,127
7,918
7,973
7,988
15
Slack work or business conditions
5,440
4,928
5,126
5,136
10
Could only find part-time work
2,397
2,616
2,630
2,578
-52
Part time for noneconomic reasons
18,868
18,763
18,464
18,908
444
Persons not in the labor force (not seasonally adjusted)
Marginally attached to the labor force
2,608
2,614
2,443
2,588
–
Discouraged workers
1,006
1,068
804
885
–
– Over-the-month changes are not displayed for not seasonally adjusted data. NOTE: Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Detail for the seasonally adjusted data shown in this table will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
Employment Situation Summary Table B. Establishment data, seasonally adjusted
ESTABLISHMENT DATA Summary table B. Establishment data, seasonally adjusted
Footnotes (1) Includes other industries, not shown separately. (2) Data relate to production employees in mining and logging and manufacturing, construction employees in construction, and nonsupervisory employees in the service-providing industries. (3) The indexes of aggregate weekly hours are calculated by dividing the current month’s estimates of aggregate hours by the corresponding annual average aggregate hours. (4) The indexes of aggregate weekly payrolls are calculated by dividing the current month’s estimates of aggregate weekly payrolls by the corresponding annual average aggregate weekly payrolls. (5) Figures are the percent of industries with employment increasing plus one-half of the industries with unchanged employment, where 50 percent indicates an equal balance between industries with increasing and decreasing employment.
Sen. Rand Paul on America’s Newsroom w/ Megyn Kelly to discuss the Brennan Filibuster – 3/7/13
Rand Paul Fires Back At Filibuster Critics, Shocks Glenn Beck With Revelation
Michelle Malkin: Did Rand Paul’s Filibuster Refurbish The Republican Party’s Tarnished Brand? 3/7/13
Sen. Paul appears on CNN’s Newsroom with Dana Bash- 3/7/2013
#StandWithRand Rand Paul Filibuster Highlights
Rand Paul Interview: Rush Limbaugh (7 March 2013)
Drone Strikes: Where Are Obama’s Tears For Those Child Victims?
Yes, Lethal Drone Attacks on Americans Are Allowed, Says Atty General
“The Obama administration believes it could technically use military force to kill an American on U.S. soil in an “extraordinary circumstance” but has “no intention of doing so,” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a letter disclosed Tuesday.”*
It’s starting to happen. Attorney General Eric Holder says lethal drone attacks without due process on Americans while on American soil, are hypothetically legal. A surprising Republican Senator is standing against it. Do Republicans and Democrats make exceptions for their own “teams?” Cenk Uygur breaks it down.
Sean Hannity & Krauthammer Talk Excitement in GOP Grassroots on Rand Paul Filibuster & Spending Cuts
Drone Strikes on American Citizens, on US Soil. Sen. Rand Paul Talks with Sean Hannity
Reality Check: Sen. Rand Paul’s Talking Filibuster of John Brennan
Rand Paul blasted Obama for using drone strikes against American citizens
Rand Paul “Senators McCain & Graham Voted FOR Indefinite Detention Of Americans!”
What’s ‘Cooler’ Than Being ‘Cool’? Rand Paul’s Filibuster, According To Fox News’ The Five
Importing the War on Terror: Glenn Greenwald & Activist Trevor Timm on Domestic Drone Surveillance
Obama’s Chilling Secrecy, From Denying Drone Program’s Existence to Stonewalling on Legal Memos
Former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs revealed over the weekend he was initially instructed to deny the existence of the Obama administration’s targeted killing program overseas. Even though the administration has since backed down from that stance, it continues to stonewall members of Congress on releasing the Justice Department memos explaining the program’s legal rationale. Unanswered questions around the program have held up the confirmation of CIA nominee John Brennan. “For a program that is so far reaching and that has so many consequences — not just in the word, but for the rule of law — the Obama administration has an obligation to be far more transparent than they’ve been so far,” says Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union.
US drones killed almost five thousand people
Special court to approve of killing Americans with drones?
Obama’s Kill List, Drones, & Assassinating U.S. Citizens
Obama Cuts White House Tours Due to Sequester …(Tours Are Led by Volunteers)
Sequester Puts End to White House Tours
A New Way to Tour the White House
Olympus Has Fallen – Official Trailer (HD)
Obama’s Psychopathic Narcissism / Megalomania
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The Great Pretender
More sequester pain: White House cancels tours
By Stephen Dinan – The Washington Times
“…The White House announced Tuesday that it was canceling all public tours of the president’s home because of the sequester spending cuts.
“Due to staffing reductions resulting from sequestration, we regret to inform you that White House Tours will be canceled effective Saturday, March 9, 2013 until further notice. Unfortunately, we will not be able to reschedule affected tours,” the White House said in an email.
The notice comes as both the White House and Congress try to find cuts to their own budgets as part of $85 billion in cuts to the entire government.
As President Obama was returning from visiting wounded veterans at Walter Reed Medical Center, a reporter shouted a question about the decision to cancel the tours as Mr. Obama was walking from Marine One to the Oval Office.
He simply smiled and waved.
At the Capitol, staffers who use the building’s West Front entrance that looks out on the National Mall were told Tuesday that door would be closed as of next week in order to save money. …”
“… The White House has been struggling to highlight cutbacks at federal agencies now that the so-called sequester has hit. On Tuesday, it found one close to home.
Tours of the executive mansion will be canceled starting March 9, the White House announced, citing “staffing reductions resulting from sequestration.” The tours will not be rescheduled and the freeze will be in effect “until further notice.”
The cancellation will annoy plenty of tourists who tour the White House after securing their tickets well in advance through their elected representative’s office. It will also certainly annoy those congressional offices that must begin notifying disappointed constituents.
“We very much regret having to take this action, particularly during the popular spring touring season,” the White House said in a recorded message on the tour hotline.
Within hours of the announcement, Republicans began to criticize the decision as a stunt. One GOP congressman offered his own solution to the budget cutting at the White House. In an amendment to a bill to fund the government, Texas Rep. Louis Gohmert proposed that none of the money “may be used to transport the president to or from a golf course until public tours of the White House resume.”
The automatic budget cuts are a result of a deficit-reduction deal signed into law in 2011. Lawmakers and the White House agreed to the across-the-board cuts, hoping that the prospect of finding $85 billion in immediate savings would spark compromise on a broader deficit and debt-reduction deal. It did not.
In the lead-up to the budget cuts, which kicked in on Friday, the White House tried to pressure Republican lawmakers to reach a deal by highlighting the pain that would come from axing federal services. But its top spokespeople on the matter occasionally overstepped. …”
White House cancels tours over sequester cuts, as lawmakers call decision political
“…Sorry, Washington-bound spring-breakers. Your White House tours have been canceled.
The Obama administration announced Tuesday that it will cancel all tours starting this weekend, due to sequester cuts. The move prompted swift condemnation from Republican lawmakers, who described the decision as the latest attempt to make the sequester seem worse than it is.
“It’s politically motivated,” Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., told Fox News. “It seems childish — take my ball and go home.”
Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, declared in a statement that “the people have been banned from the people’s house.”
The announcement is the latest from the administration about the impact of the cuts that went into effect last Friday. Congressional staffers received a terse email saying White House tours would be canceled effective this Saturday.
The email cited “staffing reductions” from the sequester.
“Unfortunately, we will not be able to reschedule affected tours,” the notice said. “We very much regret having to take this action, particularly during the popular Spring touring season.”
White House tours, which are self-guided, are typically scheduled through members of Congress. Visitors can request a tour through their representative up to six months in advance.
Anyone arriving after Saturday, though, is in for a disappointment.
A recorded message on the White House visitor’s hotline Tuesday confirmed that the tours will soon be nixed until “further notice.”
A senior administration official later explained to Fox News that the cancellation arose from Secret Service staffing decisions. According to the Secret Service, officers normally assigned to the public tours are being reassigned to other posts. The Service says the move will reduce costs and “ultimately reduce the number of potential furloughs necessary by our agency.”
Cramer said if he were to give the administration the benefit of the doubt, he could see White House tours being on the list of nonessential items. He said he doesn’t think they’ll close the White House to the public forever.
Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, said the decision is just a bid to pressure Republican members to change course on the sequester — he said it would not be successful.
But Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, told Fox News this is another reason why both sides should figure out a compromise. She said the closure of White House tours will be “alarming” for children coming to D.C. for spring break.
The annual National Cherry Blossom Festival also attracts droves of tourists in late March and early April, though the White House can no longer be on their itinerary.
The administration has announced a raft of expected cutbacks in response to the sequester. The Defense Department, and other federal agencies, are planning to furlough thousands of workers to save money. Congress also announced that it would cut back on foreign travel.
–>03/30/13 12:00pm Roger Friedman 1
Phil Ramone, Famed Record Producer of Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Tony Bennett, Dies