Recession Was Worse Than Expected; Economy Improving

Not that you’ll hear anyone on the right giving credit to the newly-installed government, but economic indicators show that we plunged deeper than previously thought, and that we’re climbing back up.

The economy contracted much more slowly in the second quarter than during the previous nine months, signaling that the longest, deepest postwar recession may soon be ending.

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The Commerce Department report included comprehensive revisions of GDP data from 1929 through the first quarter of 2009. The revised numbers reveal that the economy deteriorated during 2008 much more than previously reported.

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“Conditions appear …

On Friday’s Radio Show…

• Fox Business correspondent Jeff Flock explains why the popular “cash for clunkers” program has hit a roadblock.

• The health care debate continues to rage on as House lawmakers approach their August recess. Alan examines the latest developments.

• It’s the Friday Night Free-For-All!…

Good Summer Beach Reading: The Health Care Bill

House Health Care Bill (July 15) – …

Could It Be? 58% Of Republicans Are Birthers

Think Progress reports on a Daily Kos poll that shows that 28% of the GOP doesn’t believe President Obama was born in the US, and 30% aren’t sure.

A whopping 58 percent of Republicans either think Barack Obama wasn’t born in the US (28 percent) or aren’t sure (30 percent). A mere 42 percent think he was.

That means a majority of Republicans polled either don’t know about — or don’t believe the seemingly incontrovertible evidence Obama’s camp has presented over and over and over that he was born in Hawaii in ’61.

As Glenn Thrush at …

Beer Summit: The Reactions

Here is Sgt. James Crowley’s news conference:

And here’s the statement released by Professor Gates on his website, “The Root”.

“An Accident of Time and Place “

I would like to applaud President Obama for bringing Sergeant Crowley, me and our families together. I would also like to thank the President for welcoming my father, Henry Louis Gates, Sr., who for most of his life has been a Republican! My dad turned 96 this past June, and the fact that he worked two jobs every day is the reason that my brother, Dr. Paul Gates, and I were able …

One More Republican Cheater

Tennessee State Senator Paul Stanley is resigning from his post after it was revealed he had an affair with a 22-year-old intern.

The Republican Senator wrote in his resignation letter, “Due to recent events, I have decided to focus my full attention on my family and resign my Senate seat effective August 10.”

The married 47-year-old father of two admitted to the affair after the intern’s boyfriend, Joel Watts, attempted to extort $10,000 from Stanley to prevent the release of damning photos.

Stanley, an evangelical Christian, was asked to fork over the money to stop the release …

Beer Summit: The Video

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On Thursday’s Radio Show…

• Obama’s Brewhaha: We’ll debate the impact of today’s Beer Summit at the White House.

• Florida State Sen. Carey Baker and State Rep. Scott Plakon defend their bill to prevent health care reform from affecting Floridians.

• Think you can survive the cut? It’s Sudden Death Radio!…

Dear Abby: Should I Take My Sister’s Porn Money For My Kids?

Dear Abby sides with the porn sister on this one.

DEAR ABBY: Two years ago my younger sister “Cilla” generously set up college funds for my three children. Each account has more than $25,000. My husband and I were stunned, but Cilla insisted she is making good money in the film industry and wanted to do this for my family.

Three months ago, she came to visit, and through a bizarre turn of events, I discovered that she makes her living starring in adult films. Now that I know how Cilla earns her living, I am no longer …

Beer Host Criticized For Not Inviting 911 Caller

Wendy Murphy, the lawyer for Lucia Whalen (right), who made the 911 call, says, “The one person whose actions have been exemplary will be at work tomorrow in Cambridge.  I don’t know – maybe it’s a guy thing.”  Michael Daly in the New York Daily News writes:

If the White House cannot extend to Whalen a last-minute invitation to the gathering, somebody should at least accord her the praise she is due.

Otherwise, the danger for all of us is that other people who see something will be reluctant to say something for fear of becoming embroiled in …

How Liberal Is Congress Willing To Be?

It seems as though the Blue Dogs are in charge, and that the liberal/progressive wing of the Democratic Party is losing interest in the health care plan.  We elect a liberal president, a Democratic House and Senate, and rather than move the country decidedly to the left, we have a bunch of Democrats who are allowing conservatives, be they Republican or Democratic, to call the shots.

Liberals, Hispanics and African-American members — Pelosi’s most loyal base of support — are feeling betrayed after House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) reached an agreement with four of seven …