Sarah Palin Blames Obama Indecision For Russian Invasion Of Ukraine When She Should Be Blaming Bush

Sarah Palin thinks she's making "I told you so" news, quoted here criticizing Obama in October 2008 when it was already clear George Bush was never going to do anything to stop Russia in Georgia:

"After the Russian army invaded the nation of Georgia, Senator Obama's reaction was one of indecision and moral equivalence – the kind of response that would only encourage Russia's Putin to invade Ukraine next," she said in Reno, Nevada on October 21, 2008.

George W. Bush did nothing but talk at the time when Russia invaded and occupied South Ossetia in August 2008, which did more to encourage Russia to invade Ukraine next than anything Senators Obama or McCain might have said or not said at the time or now:

"Bullying and intimidation are not acceptable ways to conduct foreign policy in the 21st century."

"Russia has invaded a sovereign neighbouring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people."

"Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century."

Six years later Russia remains in South Ossetia and America has had to accept it, just like it will have to accept the occupation of Ukraine. America looks stupid and weak when it doesn't back up its words with actions. George Bush made us look stupid then, and Obama is doing it now.  

Scholar Who Sniffed Out The Libor Scandal Now Smells Manipulation In $20 Trillion Gold Market

Bloomberg reports here:

Unusual trading patterns around 3 p.m. in London, when the so-called afternoon fix is set on a private conference call between five of the biggest gold dealers, are a sign of collusive behavior and should be investigated, New York University’s Stern School of Business Professor Rosa Abrantes-Metz and Albert Metz, a managing director at Moody’s Investors Service, wrote in a draft research paper. “The structure of the benchmark is certainly conducive to collusion and manipulation, and the empirical data are consistent with price artificiality,” they say in the report, which hasn’t yet been submitted for publication. “It is likely that co-operation between participants may be occurring.” ... Abrantes-Metz advises the European Union and the International Organization of Securities Commissions on financial benchmarks. Her 2008 paper “Libor Manipulation?” helped uncover the rigging of the London interbank offered rate, which has led financial firms including Barclays Plc (BARC) and UBS AG to be fined about $6 billion in total. She is a paid expert witness to lawyers, providing economic analysis for litigation. [Albert] Metz heads credit policy research at ratings company Moody’s.

Bank Failure Friday: Vantage Point Bank, Horsham, Pennsylvania

Vantage Point Bank, Horsham, Pennsylvania, failed today, the fifth bank failure in 2014, costing the FDIC $8.5 million.

Bank Failure Friday: Millennium Bank, National Association, Sterling, Virginia

Millennium Bank, National Association, Sterling, Virginia, failed today, the fourth bank failure of 2014, costing the FDIC $7.7 million.

S&P500 New High Today At 1859.45

Polar Vortex Slams Northern Tier Of States With Well Below Zero Temps

Janet Yellen Is Not Certain That "Too Big To Fail" Has Ended

Quoted here:

“I'm not positive that we can declare with confidence,” she said, “that ‘too big to fail’ has ended until it's tested in some way.”

Just peachy.

Gasoline Has Been Above Obama's 2008 Crisis Prices For The Last Three Years

Average annual gas prices April 25, 2008 to present

Gasoline at $3.60/gallon was a crisis to Barack Obama in 2008 (here, April 25th in Indy), but the average annual price nationwide at the time was about $3.20/gallon. Now it's $3.50/gallon and has been for three years.

Pathetic Obama GDP: Not A Single Year Above 2.8%, Worst Performance Ever

Despite today's 25% revision down of Q4 2013 GDP from 3.2% to 2.4%, 2013 GDP remains unchanged at 1.9% in the report.

If the final estimate for Q4 confirms today's number a month from now, it's entirely possible the 2013 total will be revised down as well.

But even so, Obama's record remains the worst in the post-war just as it is: an average annual report of just 1.24%.

Truly pathetic. 

Huge Revision DOWN To Q4 2013 GDP, 25%, From 3.2% To 2.4% In Second Estimate

From bea.gov here:

Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States -- increased at an annual rate of 2.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013 (that is, from the third quarter to the fourth quarter), according to the "second" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.  In the third quarter, real GDP increased 4.1 percent. The GDP estimate released today is based on more complete source data than were available for the "advance" estimate issued last month.  In the advance estimate, the increase in real GDP was 3.2 percent. With this second estimate for the fourth quarter, an increase in personal consumption expenditures (PCE) was smaller than previously estimated . . ..

Obama Regime Doubles Down On Using IRS To Silence Political Opponents

Kimberley Strassel for The Wall Street Journal, here:

Democrats are instead fully vested now in using the IRS to shut down criticism by outside groups of ObamaCare, overspending or (ironically) the IRS targeting. Even liberal groups are howling about the White House's use of the IRS to silence political speech, and the House on Wednesday passed a bill to delay the regulations. The White House's response? A veto threat.

Monica Lewinsky Said In 2004 That Bill Clinton Completely Desecrated Her Character

Quoted here:

"Instead, he talked about it as though I had laid it all out there for the taking. I was the buffet and he just couldn't resist the dessert," she was quoted as saying. "That's not how it was. This was a mutual relationship, mutual on all levels, right from the way it started and all the way through. ... I don't accept that he had to completely desecrate my character."

Ten years later that's exactly what he did, so that now she's just a verb to a black female popstar.

No one gets Rosa Parksed last time I checked, except for Republicans on Barack Obama's bus.

S&P500 Makes New High Of 1854

Rush Hits A Homor To Open The Show: Gay Bar Can Refuse To Serve Conservative Legislators, But Christians Must Bake Cakes For Queers

The gay bar ban on conservative legislators is in the news here.

A Colorado judge ruled last December that a baker cannot refuse to provide service for religious reasons for a gay wedding reception. Story here.

One law for me, but another for thee.

Obama's Red Diaper Doper Babies Attack Atherton, California, 94027, America's Richest Zipcode

Story here.

Obama Regime Admits Late Last Friday Afternoon That ObamaCare Will Increase Costs For Most Small Employers On Top Of 90% Increase Since 2009

WaPo here:

Nearly two-thirds of small businesses that currently offer health insurance to their workers will pay more for coverage as a result of new rules in the health care law, as will millions of small-business employees and their family members, according to new estimates released by the Obama administration. ... roughly 11 million of the 17 million individuals who have health care plans through a small employer will see their premiums increase as a result of the new rules on insurers in the law, while 6 million people will enjoy lower premiums. If accurate, it would continue a steady climb in insurance costs for many small businesses. Ninety-six percent of small businesses say their premiums have increased in the past five years, with the average monthly insurance cost soaring from $590 per employee in 2009 to $1,121 in 2014, according to poll released earlier this month by the National Small Business Administration.

Who do you love?

Google Finance Doesn't Show The S&P500 Breaking Above The January High Today

Idiot Republican Hagel Does Obama's Bidding: To Retire Our Deadliest Close Air Support A-10 Warthog

What's next, the B-2 and its 19 megatons of nuclear payloads? The Minuteman Missile? 

Video of the craft in action here, capable of killing tanks by sneaking up at 100 feet of altitude and flying in formation at 20,000 feet. The sucker is built around a 30mm cannon which burps rounds 11 inches long by the thousands, rounds so fast you'll freak.

There's nothing like it, and the traitors running our country want to get rid of it.

Story here:

To pay for the programs and the new engine, the Air Force will shrink the size of its tactical air squadrons and completely eliminate its A-10 attack airplane fleet, to save $3.5 billion over five years, Hagel said. The move would let the Air Force concentrate its resources on the F-35 made by Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT)

Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire isn't going down without a fight, here (this source incorrectly says she represents Arizona, the dopes):

Ayotte’s office said this: “It is not accurate to say the A-10 is a single mission aircraft. For example, the A-10 conducts close air support (CAS), forward air controller-airborne (FAC-A), combat search and rescue (CSAR), and strike coordination and reconnaissance (SCAR) missions.”

Sentiment Survey Finds Americans Like Community Banks Much More Than Big Banks

The story with video interview is here.

The top commenter on the story points to nickel and dime fees by big banks as the single most important reason why Americans switch to community banks from big banks.

The survey finds customers of big banks twice as likely to say they get gouged by fees.