Heard Around The Maypole

This is the tenth anniversary of the Shrubbery prancing around the carrier flight deck so he could proclaim “Mission Accomplished”. This meant he didn’t have any interest in the deaths of thousands of US service members in his war of choice after that point. He chose this date to open his one-book library to the public to begin his agitprop campaign to make everyone forget about all of the things he screwed up, including the economy.

Republicans blocked background checks for all weapons purchases, but now Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, and Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne want to pass a bill that would limit Federal ammunition purchases. They apparently believe that the Federal government is violating people’s Second Amendment rights by buying up all the ammunition.

Well, I could be wrong, but I would guess that the ammunition manufacturers have something to do with the shortage, as is not hiring the people they need to meet the demand, which keeps the prices high. The government once manufactured its own ammunition, but Congress privatized the operation.

The Fed Open Market Committee released its minutes today and decided to continue doing what it has been doing for months – supporting the stock and bond markets by buying stuff. The only new bit is a passing reference that ‘fiscal policy’ isn’t helping the economy grow. What they really meant that all of this Federal budget cutting is holding down growth, or “Contractionary Policy Is Contractionary” as Duncan keeps saying. The IMF has also figured this out. Their problem is that Congress is controlled by people who benefit from the deflation, so the Congresscritters aren’t going to change.