Bailouts

AP's Crutsinger Celebrates April Budget Surplus, But Ignores Its Cause: Economy-Sapping Tax Increases
By Tom Blumer | May 16, 2015 | 9:52 AM EDT

On Tuesday, Associated Press reporter Martin Crutsinger celebrated the federal government's large April budget surplus, caused by "a flood of tax payments (which) pushed government receipts to an all-time high." He didn't mention that the tax payments were higher largely because of tax increases passed in 2013. It certainly didn't occur because of an improving economy — because it's not meaningfully improving.

Crutsinger also noted that the April 2015 result of $156.7 billion "was the largest surplus since April 2008," without telling us that the previous surplus was achieved despite (better argument: "because of") the Bush 43 tax cuts.

For Once, AP Is Somewhat Skeptical of Dems' Over-the-Top Claims About the Economy
By Tom Blumer | January 30, 2015 | 9:30 PM EST

Even Charles Babington at the Associated Press, for once not the completely beholden Administration's Press, seemed to be having a hard time buying what Democrats at a meeting in Philadelphia were selling. Unfortunately, he decided to let Joe Biden's direct contradiction of his party's congressional delegation's sunnyside-up stance on the economy go unreported.

In a video carried at the Weekly Standard, Biden said, "To state the obvious, the past six years have been really, really hard for this country, And they've been really tough for our party. Just ask [former DCCC chair] Steve [Israel]. They've been really tough for our party. And together we made some really, really tough decisions -- decisions that weren't at all popular, hard to explain." Despite how "really, really hard" it has all been, the party is attempting an "in your face" at those who want to claim that it has been that way because of the Obama administration's economic policies. Excerpts from Babington's AP report follow the jump (bolds and numbered tags are mine):

Pass the Smelling Salts: AP Uses the Term 'Radical Left' in Covering Greek Elections
By Tom Blumer | January 23, 2015 | 6:51 PM EST

In a report on the upcoming Greek elections, an unbylined Friday afternoon Associated Press report dusted off words seldom seen in their dispatches, using the term "radical left" twice and the word "radical" separately once for good measure.

The almost never seen terms — virtually invisible in decades of descriptions of longtime radical leftists like Fidel Castro, the late Hugo Chavez or lefty legends like the late Che Guevera — appeared in describing the party and policies of Greece's Syriza party and its leader, Alexis Tsipras. Syriza and Tsipras appear to have winning momentum going into Sunday's balloting. Excerpts follow the jump (bolds are mine throughout this post):

'Today' Show Only Network News Program to Mention Tea Party on Anniversary
By Julia A. Seymour | February 28, 2014 | 1:31 PM EST

The limited government, anti-bailout Tea Party movement party turned five years old on Feb. 27. They marked the occasion with an event in Washington, D.C. including speakers Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn. Sen. Rand Paul, R- Ky., and Sen.Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

But after the five years of the media painting tea partiers as “wingnuts” and “racist” time and again, ABC, CBS and NBC went virtually silent on the matter that day.

Santelli Recalls February 2009: Bailout ‘Dissension was Born,’ ‘I Blew a Gasket’
By Julia A. Seymour | February 19, 2014 | 11:23 AM EST

CNBC’s Rick Santelli recalled the five-year anniversary of the stimulus, housing bailout and blowing “a gasket” during “Squawk on the Street” today.

“On Feb. 19 I blew a gasket. But basically, what was born at that point was the voice of dissension. How do we know that? Many of course still remember the IRS issues. President said maybe there wasn’t a smidgen of, of, of negativity there or news there or anything inappropriate there,” Santelli explained. “But it seems like, if you look back, it was February of 2009 where all of that started if you look at some of the IRS records. But dissension was born!” (Video Below)

Santelli: Five Years after His Rant Launched Tea Party
By Julia A. Seymour | February 19, 2014 | 6:32 AM EST

Five years ago, CNBC’s Rick Santelli reacted to the possibility of a mortgage bailout with frustration on live television. Quickly, his speech on the trading floor became known as the “rant heard round the world.”

Santelli, an on-air editor who reports live from the Chicago Board of Trade, is frequently interviewed during “Squawk Box” and “Squawk on the Street.” It was during one of those morning discussions on Feb. 19, 2009, that Santelli let loose on a potential bailout of homeowners arguing that “the government is promoting bad behavior” and proposing that capitalists gather in Chicago for a “Tea Party.”

Press Nearly Mum As VW Displaces GM As World's Number Two Automaker
By Tom Blumer | January 31, 2014 | 4:58 PM EST

In yet another negative milestone for the bailouts that supposedly saved the U.S. auto industry — already a hard-to-handle claim given that Chrysler, one of the two beneficiaries, is now 100% owned by an Italian company — Volkswagen has surpassed General Motors as the world's number two automaker behind Toyota.

The reporting on this development has been quite sparse. It's not news at the Associated Press's national site, even though AP mentions VW in a report on Super Bowl ad and social media strategies. At USA Today, James R. Healey's could easily have inserted the news into his story today on the 65th anniversary of the VW Beetle's first arrival here, and didn't. What follows is an excerpt from Expatica, one of the few publications to note the shakeup in the auto industry hierarchy:

Candy Crowley: ‘Why Would I Become a Republican' If I'm Unemployed or on Minimum Wage?
By Noel Sheppard | January 5, 2014 | 10:08 AM EST

On CNN’s State of the Union Sunday, host Candy Crowley asked a question of Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wisc.) that should offend people on both sides of the aisle.

“If I am an unemployed American…or if I am a minimum wage worker…why would I become a Republican?” (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Greenspan: ‘Government Intervention Has Been So Horrendous' Businesses Can’t Plan For Future
By Noel Sheppard | December 8, 2013 | 11:42 AM EST

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan made some rather ominous economic observations Sunday.

Appearing on CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS, Greenspan said, “[T]he level of uncertainty about the very long-term future is far greater than at any time I particularly remember.” He blamed it on “government intervention [that] has been so horrendous that businesses cannot basically decide what to do about the future” (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Libtalker Malloy: GOP Wants 'Jews to Kill Everybody in the Middle East' to 'Bring Jesus Back'
By Noel Sheppard | October 2, 2013 | 11:13 AM EDT

Just when you think liberal radio host Mike Malloy can't say anything crazier than he already has, out comes another gem.

On Monday as the President and his Party were refusing to compromise with House Republicans thereby setting the wheels in motion for a government shutdown, Malloy called the GOP "religious psychopaths" who "want women to get cancer," "girls to get sexually transmitted diseases," and "Jews to kill everybody in the Middle East" in order to "bring Jesus back!" (video follows with transcript courtesy Radio EQ):

Brit Hume: People Think Republicans to Blame for Shutdowns Because Media Keep Telling Them That
By Noel Sheppard | September 30, 2013 | 6:55 PM EDT

"One reason people think Republicans are to blame for government shutdowns is that so much of the media keep telling them that that's the case."

So marvelously stated Brit Hume on Fox News's Special Report Monday (video follows with transcript and absolutely no need for additional commentary):

Financial Markets Aren't Buying Media's Government Shutdown Hysteria
By Noel Sheppard | September 30, 2013 | 5:31 PM EDT

If you listened to Obama-loving media members in recent weeks, the end of the world happens midnight Monday if Republicans don't agree to immediately fund the government.

Yet with a shutdown only hours away now, the financial markets clearly don't seem to be at all concerned that what is happening in Washington will have much of an impact on the economy.