Obama Economic Recovery: Commerce Department Revises Down 2014 First Qtr. GDP to -1.0%

And you thought 0.1% GDP was bad …

On Thursday the Commerce Department adjusted down the first quarter GDP, Gross domestic product, to – 1.0% for the first three months of 2014. The agency had initially last month estimated GDP grew at a 0.1% rate in the first quarter. Oops, missed it by that much. How’s that Obamanomics working out for you America?  A recession is defined as a period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity are reduced, generally identified by a fall in GDP in two successive quarters. However, because job wages have remained stagnant, if you have one, while food prices are up, gas prices are up and energy prices are up, most Americans feel that we are still in a recession.

The recovery that wasn’t. Of course the Obama folks are quick to point to the harsh winter weather for the downturn. Hmm, what happened to global warming? But what happened in the first quarter of 2014 … how about Obamacare enrollment?

The United States GDP shrank at an annual rate of 1.0 percent in the first quarter of 2014, according to the second estimate released by the Commerce Department. It is the worst performance in three years and comes lower than a preliminary estimated 0.1 percent expansion, due to a sharper fall in private inventory investment and a bigger trade deficit.

The downturn in the percent change in real GDP primarily reflected a downturn in exports, a larger decrease in private inventory investment, and downturns in nonresidential fixed investment and in state and local government spending that were partly offset by an upturn in federal government spending.

The price index for gross domestic purchases, which measures prices paid by U.S. residents, increased 1.3 percent in the first quarter, 0.1 percentage point less than in the advance estimate; this index increased 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter. Excluding food and energy prices, the price index for gross domestic purchases increased 1.3 percent in the first quarter, compared with an increase of 1.8 percent in the fourth.

WH Mouthpiece Jay Carney Cannot Answer a Simple Yes-or-No Question as to Whether Barack Obama Has Confidence in VA Sec. Shinseki in Wake of VA Scandal

VA-GATE: REALLY JAY … YES OR NO, IT IS AS SIMPLE AS THAT!!!

White House press secretary Jay Carney was asked several times today by multiple reporters if President Barack Obama had confidence in embattled Veterans Affairs Secretary Gen. Eric Shinseki. It was a simple yes or no question that Carney could not and did not answer. In the video below, ABC News reporter John Karl asked Carney a very simple yes-or-no question: “Does the president have confidence in General Shinseki?” The response from Carney turned into a reading of ‘War and Peace’. Carney went on to SAY, “The president believes and is confident that Secretary Shinseki has served this nation admirably, heroically as a soldier, as a general and that he has accomplished some very important things as secretary of Veterans Affairs, and I listed them, but they include extending education benefits, reducing veterans homelessness, and reducing the size of the backlog for disability claims while expanding vastly the number of veterans who can make a claim.” Um, Carney has the audacity, even after the release of the Department of Veterans Affairs inspector general’s office report that substantiated recent claims of inappropriate scheduling practices and secret waiting lists. REALLY?

How can the VA problem be a top priority of Obama and his mouthpiece cannot answer a yes or no question about confidence in the head of Veteran Affairs? It is all about politics with Obama. Note to this WH because America is and has grown weary of its games … if you can’t say you support someone … ask them to resign.

The Blaze:

“A very simple yes-or-no question: Does the president have confidence in General Shinseki?” ABC News reporter John Karl asked Carney.

Carney said Obama is confident that Shinseki has served the country well.

“The president believes and is confident that Secretary Shinseki has served this nation admirably, heroically as a soldier, as a general and that he has accomplished some very important things as secretary of Veterans Affairs, and I listed them, but they include extending education benefits, reducing veterans homelessness, and reducing the size of the backlog for disability claims while expanding vastly the number of veterans who can make a claim,” Carney said.

Karl followed: “Does the president right now have confidence in Secretary Shinseki, yes or no? Very simple yes-or-no question. He told us last week he did have confidence — does he have confidence now?

Carney said, “What I would point you to is what the president said on Secretary Shinseki. I’m not going to improve upon his words on this regard. He talked about accountability. I understand the wordplay, but I think what is more important.”

Karl shot back, “It’s not wordplay. It’s a very simple question. Does he have confidence in Secretary Shinseki?”

Carney stressed that fixing the VA’s problem was the top priority.

“On the issue you’re referring to when it comes to the revelations that have come to light about Phoenix and other veterans health centers, the president was deeply troubled by what we saw in the interim report from the inspector general and he awaits the preliminary report from Secretary Shinseki on the internal audit that the secretary is conducting with the assistance of roughly 200 individuals,” Carney said.

Department of VA Inspector General Report Confirms Allegations that VA Health Clinics Cooked the Books Delaying Treatment to VETS an Average of 155 Days

VA SCANDAL … It is as bad as first thought and this is only the tip of the iceberg of a systemic issue throughout the Veterans Administration.

The WAPO is reporting that the allegations against the VA have been substantiated by a recent independent report from the Department of Veterans Affairs inspector general’s office. The report focused mainly on the Phoenix clinic, where recent allegations of records manipulation came to public knowledge and scrutiny. However, the problem is not just in Phoenix, it is every where. The inappropriate scheduling practices are systemic throughout the Veterans Health Administration. Even with bi-partisan calls for VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to resign, he has not done so yet. However, this is only a matter of time. First thought weeks and then maybe days, the VA scandal has become so bad and wide-spread, that calls from all sides that it may be hours.

Department of Veteran Affairs IG report (pdf.)

However, the problem is not just Shinseki and is not the only one that needs to go. There are many within the VA who probably needs to be tried criminally. No one does not think that Gen. Shinseki is not a patriot and we thank him for his tremendous military service to the United States; however, that does not make him a concomitant administrator and for that he needs to be replaced.  However Barack Obama continues to stand behind Shinseki as no one in the Obama Administration is ever held accountable for scandals and incompetence.

An independent report from the Department of Veterans Affairs inspector general’s office substantiates recent allegations that VA health clinics used inappropriate scheduling practices that concealed treatment delays — lasting an average of 115 days in a sampling of patients — and boosted performance measures that help determine whether bonuses are deserved.

The report said 1,700 veterans using a Phoenix VA hospital were kept on unofficial wait lists, adding that “these veterans were and continue to be at risk of being forgotten or lost in Phoenix HCS’s convoluted scheduling process.”

Official VA data showed that 226 patients in a sampling from the Phoenix clinic had waited just 24 days on average for their first primary care appointments. But the inspector general’s office determined that those veterans had actually waited an average of 115 days.

The unofficial wait lists may represent the “secret” list that whistleblowers claim the Phoenix clinic used to cover up treatment delays, according to the report.

HA, HA, HA … Megyn Kelly Roasts Joe Scarborough as He Shills his Book ‘The Right Path’ … Have Fun with Your ‘Four Viewers’

ALL FOUR VIEWERS, HA,HA,HA … COME ON MEGYN, YOU KNOW THEY HAVE NINE.

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, co-host of ‘The Morning Joe,’ appeared on ‘The Kelly File’ with Megyn Kelly to promote his new book, “The Right Path,” or so he thought. There was some political discussion of his book; however, it pretty much turned into a fun-filled roast of Joe Scarborough. As Megyn Kelly ended the interview with Joe she said, “If you want to see more of Joe you can join his four views tomorrow morning … make it five. OUCH!!! Prompting Scarborough to say, “You sure are having a good time here. You really are.” However, this was all done in fun, nothing mean spirited.

As Scarborough tried to steer the conversation back towards politics, Kelly couldn’t resist continuing the roast. Even when she plugged his book, she made sure to note how Fox News has “so many viewers,” insinuating he came to the right place to promote it.

Then she went after his show’s ratings.

“Thanks for being here,” Kelly began. “You want to see more of Joe, you can join his four viewers and see it tomorrow morning… No, just kidding.”

Click on pic to watch VIDEO from Mediaite: Image via Screen Grab

Mediaite:

An MSNBC host appeared on Fox News tonight. No, you’re not reading this from a parallel universe where dogs walk humans, that actually happened. Joe Scarborough appeared on Megyn Kelly‘s show to plug his new book, and the interview quickly turned into a roast where Kelly got in a few barbs at Scarborough’s expense.

Scarborough complimented Kelly on his set, at which point she shot back, “There’s still a blond woman on the set interrupting you at every turn.” And, referencing one of Scarborough’s worst moments, she warned, “If you snap your fingers at me, you’d have eight fingers instead of ten.”

Former VP Dick Cheney Says Barack Obama Is a “Very, Very Weak President, Maybe the Weakest Certainly of My Lifetime … We’ve Got a Problem with Weakness, and It’s Centered Right in the White House.”

Former Vice President Dick Cheney blasted Barack Obama following his less than stellar speech at West Point.

Last night former VP Dick Cheney went on Hannity and blasted Barack Obama for the weak president he is following Obama’s questionable foreign policy speech at West Point. When asked by Sean Hannity whether America was in decline Cheney responded by saying, “I think the perception around the world is increasingly negative. But, I think the main focus in on our president. He’s very, very weak, maybe the weakest certainly in my lifetime.”

Former Vice President Dick Cheney blasted President Obama as the weakest president of his lifetime on Wednesday, following the president’s speech defending his foreign policy approach at the West Point commencement ceremony.

“He is a very, very weak president,” Cheney said in an interview with Fox News. “Maybe the weakest — certainly in my lifetime.”

Cheney went on to say that during a recent trip to the Middle East, allies he had “dealt with all the way back to Desert Storm” expressed alarm at the president’s handling of foreign policy.

“They all are absolutely convinced that the American capacity to lead and influence in that part of the world has been dramatically reduced by this president,” Cheney said. “We’ve got a problem with weakness, and it’s centered right in the White House.”

VIDEO Hat Tip – The Gateway Pundit

According to a recent FOX News poll, more voters think the United States is weaker since Barack Obama became president. About 52% of voters think the country is weaker and less powerful today than it was six years ago.  That’s three times the 17 percent who say the country is stronger and more powerful.

More Weakness from Obama – Obama Weak Foreign Policy President:

Foreign policy has become a drag on Obama’s second term, with 60 percent of Americans disapproving of the president’s actions in the sphere of international diplomacy. Peter Lavelle, host of the CrossTalk program on the RT network, attributes the slump to a combination of factors.

“Obama is a very weak foreign policy president. It’s obvious he lacks interest and knowledge of global affairs. In fact, he has delegated his foreign affairs portfolio to a small number of amateurs: Samantha Powers, Susan Rice and Ben Rhodes. They and others have grossly and badly served this president,” Lavelle told RIA Novosti.

A recent Associated Press-GfK poll found that a majority of Americans disapprove of Obama’s handling of the Ukraine situation (57 percent) and his interactions with Russia (54 percent).

According to another poll conducted by CBS News and released Wednesday, 43 percent of Americans believe the United States’ image in the world has worsened since Obama took office, an increase from 2009, when 60 percent said the country’s image had improved.