LEE RODGERS
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April 29 --

POLITICS AS PARODY ...
HOW UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS LIE ...
FLYING FUNERAL FOR THE SPACE PROGRAM

It is a measure of how shallow and superficial the body politic has become that our media are actually discussing whether the "cool" factor should dictate our presidential choice. In a sane society, anyone who even raised such a phony issue would be an immediate laughingstock or assumed to be demented.
     Of course, such nonsense is hardly unexpected in a nation so mentally deficient that millions of young people think Jon Stewart and other comedians are actually delivering "news."

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James Robbins of The Washington Times explains how the Obamunists cook the numbers on employment to tell you that what you know to be true ... is wrong ...
     "The credibility gap is widening between what the Obama administration says about the jobs picture and what Americans sense is the grim reality. Despite the official line that things are getting better, the employment situation is growing progressively worse.
     "You would never know this from the headlines. The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial unemployment claims for the previous week had fallen by 1,000. This was the sixth reported decline in the last eight weeks. The overall impression is that the situation is improving, slowly but surely.
     "Over that same period, however, the actual number of new jobless per week has increased by almost 40,000. The Obama administration is managing perceptions by revising the weekly numbers upward after the fact. Every week for at least the last eight weeks, the initial jobless number has been raised after it was released, sometimes significantly. So while the combined initial figures over that period show a 13,000 new jobless decline, this is only because 49,000 jobless were not included in the initial reports.
     "Revising upward after the fact allows the White House to generate favorable headlines even as joblessness increases. By shifting the previous week’s total above the new jobless number, it appears that claims are falling when they actually are increasing."

Of COURSE they're lying! You knew it all along, didn't you?

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Obama's campaign is a reminder of the ancient jest, "Who are you going to believe? Me -- or your lying eyes?"

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"What do you do at Fox?" -- Kim Kardashian to Roger Ailes at the White House Correspondents Association annual dinner last night. (Mr. Ailes is President of Fox News)

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The disconnected (from reality) media seem to be treating the flyovers of Washington and New York by the space shuttle, piggy-backing on a 747, as some sort of celebratory triumph. How they can treat a ride to our last space vehicle's final resting place as a happy event is incredible.
     One of the great triumphs of American ingenuity and engineering is now history and the program that spawned this proud achievement has dwindled to insignificance.
     We have become the Indianapolis Colts of space exploration and if we fail to make a better "draft choice" in November, we're likely to remain in that sorry position.

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Among pollster Scott Rasmussen's observations from last week's survey of public opinion ...
    Take the auto bailouts. They’ve been unpopular since day one, and they’re still unpopular. The majority of Americans nationwide still believes General Motors should have gone through the regular bankruptcy process instead of the federal government taking over in exchange for bailout money.
     For some, government is the answer to economic inequality in this country, but for most voters, it’s not. Only 22% believe society would become fairer if there was more government regulation.
     Americans believe that executives at most major companies are paid too much, but few think the government should regulate CEO compensation. However, there is an exception: Nearly half support continued government regulation of executive compensation at companies that were bailed out.
     The Obama administration is challenging Arizona’s crackdown on illegal immigration which is intended in part to make the government do its job. Yet most voters nationwide agree with the Arizona law’s most controversial provision, automatic immigration checks of those stopped by police for traffic violations.
     Just 23% of voters say increased government spending helps the economy.
     Most Americans believe it’s better for students to work and attend school for a longer period of time rather than graduate in four years with loads of student debt.

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As the polls roll out from here to Election Day, always keep in mind that presidential candidates are elected on a state-by-state electoral vote basis. Win a state by one vote or a million, it matters not. The winner gets all the electoral votes of that state, with a couple of exceptions -- Maine and Nebraska -- which apportion them.

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The Orange County Register gives voice to a serious demographer regarding the sickness of California ...
     "Joel Kotkin, an old-time liberal, sees troubling trends. 'Basically, if you don't own a piece of Facebook or Google, and you haven't robbed a bank and don't have rich parents, then your chances of being able to buy a house or raise a family in the Bay Area or in most of coastal California is pretty weak,' he said in a recent Wall Street Journal interview. 'The new regime wants to destroy the essential reason why people move to California in order to protect their own lifestyles.' He says the state is run for the benefit of the very rich, the very poor and public employees."

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Eugene Rivers in the liberal Boston Globe takes on an aspect of the Trayvon Martin killing that most blacks avoid ...
     "What if Martin’s assailant had been black? What if this incident had been just another 'routine' Denzel-smoked-Rahim black-on-black homicide? How might black leadership’s response have been different?
     "Consider the facts: According to a US Department of Justice 2007 report, blacks, who are only 12 percent of the population, accounted for 49 percent of all homicide victims in 2005.
     "Even more astounding than the rates of violence is the race of the perpetrators: Blacks commit 93 percent of the murders of other blacks. These striking data reveal that not only is the black community under violent attack, but the onslaught is coming from within our own community."

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Jim Eason caught another one; a media moron suggesting that some people should adopt an aspirin "regimenT."  The appropriate word, of course, is regimen. A regimen is a systematic plan for maintaining one's health. A regiment is a military unit.

Jim also contributes this ...
  My dog sleeps about 20 hours a day
  He has his food prepared for him; he can eat whenever he wants; and it's FREE.
  He visits his doctor once a year for a checkup, and anytime during the year if necessary.
  This, too, is FREE, and nothing is required of him.
  He lives - FREE - in a nice neighborhood in a house much larger than he needs, with his choice of luxurious places to sleep.
  He is not required to do any upkeep,
     and if he makes a mess, someone else cleans it up.
  He is living like a King, with no expenses whatever.
  All of his costs are paid by others who must EARN a living every day.
Suddenly it hit me:
     I think my dog is a member of Congress!

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Our dog Calvin undergoes surgery Wednesday for a torn ligament (ACL, which will sound familiar to football fans) in a rear leg. Meantime, he's effectively limited to limping around on three legs. He still finds comfort in using my ankle as a pillow when he sleeps. And so do I.

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I have been asked by some of the hundreds who've joined our regular cruises over the past fifteen-plus years to take a sampling of opinion about doing a cruise around Japan. They are typically ten to twelve days, sailing from either Tokyo or Kobe with prices starting at about $1,500, plus airfare.  Likely date would be late summer or early autumn. If there's any interest, e-mail me at RADIORODGERS1@YAHOO.COM.
     Susan lived in Japan for a year as a youngster and has some command of the language. Many Japanese, while taking for granted their own ability to learn other languages, are surprised when Westerners speak Japanese.
     While I've spent considerable time there, my own Japanese is pretty much limited to "Arigatou gozaimasu" (thank you) and "Ohayo" (good morning). Oh -- and sake.
     My bows in greeting are awkward, but obviously sincere.
      I also have a Japanese name that will be useful for when I eventually put on a couple of hundred additional pounds and pursue a career as a sumo wrestler. My friend Mrs. Onishi, who worked for an American executive at the Minolta camera offices in Nara, told me that many sumo take their names from prominent geographical features. Thus she teasingly awarded me the name Wakakusayama for Mt. Wakakusa, a small mountain in that beautiful city where tame deer stroll about, even obeying the traffic lights.
     I wear the name proudly when in Japan.
     The most beautiful modern city in Japan is Hiroshima. There is, however, no "old town." That disappeared suddenly in a certain event that took place in 1945.
     Once after being interviewed on local TV there, I asked the young lady reporter where she'd learned her English. "Fresno State," she proudly replied, "Go Bulldogs!"
     For many years my talk-show was occasionally punctuated by three young Japanese women chanting, "Uncle Lee kicks butt!" It was recorded at the very place where the A-bomb exploded and destroyed the city. Two of the three are city government employees, the third a comic book artist of some renown. Comics are very popular in Japan, even with adults. They all learned English in night classes taught by volunteer U.S. Marines from a nearby military base. They did, however, as one laughingly pointed out, "Teach us the dirty words first."

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Jay Leno --
     "The first case of mad cow disease since 2006 was discovered right here in the United States. The good news, since the cow is in California, instead of putting the cow down, they are going to enroll him in anger management classes."

Lee Rodgers"...and now, if you'll excuse me..."
radiorodgers1@yahoo.com