Wednesday, November 28, 2012
The horror, a white might win Jesse Jackson’s congressional seat
Via Daily Timewaster
The scramble is on to fill the congressional seat that Jesse Jackson, Jr. had to abandon due to mental illness. And, according to Politico, the black establishment is fearful that the seat might fall into the hands — not of a Republican; there’s no way — but a white.
The concern is that former Rep. Debbie Halvorson, a white Democrat and veteran of suburban Chicago politics, will win the Democratic primary in Illinois’ Second District because the black vote will split among multiple black candidates. Halvorson was trounced by Jackson in this year’s primary. Despite carrying the suburbs, she won only about 30 percent of the total vote. Thus, the black establishment actually has little to fear unless, say, three credible black candidates enter the race. I suspect that, this being Chicago, the establishment will make sure it doesn’t happen.
The scramble is on to fill the congressional seat that Jesse Jackson, Jr. had to abandon due to mental illness. And, according to Politico, the black establishment is fearful that the seat might fall into the hands — not of a Republican; there’s no way — but a white.
The concern is that former Rep. Debbie Halvorson, a white Democrat and veteran of suburban Chicago politics, will win the Democratic primary in Illinois’ Second District because the black vote will split among multiple black candidates. Halvorson was trounced by Jackson in this year’s primary. Despite carrying the suburbs, she won only about 30 percent of the total vote. Thus, the black establishment actually has little to fear unless, say, three credible black candidates enter the race. I suspect that, this being Chicago, the establishment will make sure it doesn’t happen.
More @ Power Line
Guns, Drugs anyone?
Most interesting, except for the price.:)
VERBATIM
There is a secret online gun store that will literally sell anyone anything.
To access it, you have to use powerful encrypting software.
And you will have to pay in bitcoins.
They will ship your firearm to you in pieces unlikely to draw the attention of the Post Office.
And you will get to do time in a federal prison if the government catches you.
Want drugs too? Same thing with illegal chemical mood enhancers.
The internet is either an amazing resource, or in this case, a great medium for a government sting operation.
To access it, you have to use powerful encrypting software.
And you will have to pay in bitcoins.
They will ship your firearm to you in pieces unlikely to draw the attention of the Post Office.
And you will get to do time in a federal prison if the government catches you.
Want drugs too? Same thing with illegal chemical mood enhancers.
The internet is either an amazing resource, or in this case, a great medium for a government sting operation.
Democrats Stole the Election
The electoral fraud evidence is accumulating to the point where I must conclude that the November election was stolen by the Democrats. In the months leading up to the election, report after report surfaced highlighting significant erosion of support for President Obama.
Personal observation uncovered that no one, other than die-hard Democrats, who voted for Obama in 2008 was proud of that vote and most questioned whether they would vote for him again. On election night as results trickled in, with strange voting anomalies surfacing, the margin of victory, particularly in the swing states, did not pass the “smell test.” Electoral fraud can occur at any stage in the process, but there are three main types: 1) debasing voter rolls with deceased, illegal, and fictitious voter registrations; 2) preventing eligible voters from voting by disenfranchisement, rendering unable to actually vote or duplicative votes, or instituting rules or tests that voters (particularly military absentee voters) are unable to comply; and 3) altering the results by interfering with the voting process or the counting of votes, or manipulating the means of voting through tampering with machines or altering results. There are numerous examples of each of these fraudulent activities taking place before, during, or after the November election.
Nationwide it is estimated that there are 24 million ineligible voter registrations, including 1.8 million dead people listed as voters. The National Voter Registration Act includes provisions to ensure accurate and current voter registration rolls, but has never been enforced, despite known problems in many states. Dead people remain on the rolls, duplicates are not checked, and many registrations are suspect. There have been 400 cases of voter registration fraud prosecuted (ACORN under its many aliases) and 491 cases of absentee ballot abuse. The Columbus Dispatch estimated that more than 20% of registered Ohio voters aren’t eligible: in two counties there were 109 registered for every 100 eligible voters; and in 31 counties over 90% of eligible voters registered which is 20% higher than national average. Unless voter rolls are rigorously scrubbed each year, natural attrition will gradually erode the accuracy and dependability of the voter rolls.
More @ CFP
3 more votes and the UN takes control of your child
Dear HSLDA Members and Friends,
Yesterday afternoon, the Senate took a preliminary vote on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The vote was on a “Motion to Proceed” which means that the Senate gave permission to begin debate regarding the treaty. As is often the case, this was a preliminary vote which tells us a great deal about the vote for final passage.
The vote was 61 to 36 to proceed to debate. Three senators did not vote. The good news is that the Senate hasn’t proceeded to the next step—ending debate and voting on whether to ratify the treaty.
Every Vote Counts
Every Democratic senator voted for the treaty—Blumenthal (D-CT) was absent and not voting.
The Republicans supplied several “Yes” votes for the Obama administration on giving the UN some authority over America’s policies for disabled adults and children. The seven GOP senators supporting Obama’s UN push were: Ayotte (R-NH), Barrasso (R-WY), Brown (R-MA), Collins (R-ME), Lugar (R-IA), McCain (R-AZ), and Snowe (R-ME).
Senator Hatch (R-UT) also voted to proceed to debate, but we were just notified literally minutes ago that Hatch will vote against ratification of the CRPD. Barrasso was a huge disappointment because of his supposedly conservative stance on issues, but his defection has been known for some time.
A good surprise was that Senator Moran (R-KS) voted against the CRPD on this preliminary matter. Roberts (R-KS) and Kirk (R-IL) were absent.
I urge you all to send an email of thanks to the Republicans who voted against the CRPD. If your senator is a Republican, he or she voted against the CRPD unless mentioned specifically above. You can use the U.S. Senate’s webpage to email your senators.
Price to Pay
I urge you to call all of the other senators yet again and urge them to change their minds and support the principle that Americans should make the law for America. While it is unlikely that Democrats will change their minds, they need to know that there is a price to pay for attacking American parents and giving away American self-government. Answering phone calls for a few more days is a small price to pay for their decision to vote for the UN position. You can find your senators’ phone numbers by typing in your ZIP code here.
Senator Reid has not yet filed the motion needed to take this bill to the next vote which will be for cloture to end debate. Thus, there will be two more votes before the treaty can be ratified. We do not know the timetable yet. It could happen this week; it could be pushed later.
We absolutely have to keep the pressure on the Senate.
But it is very important that you all send emails of thanks to the 36 senators who stood against the UN. The opposition will be urging their people to pour on the calls to these 36 hoping to move just three. If we can keep at least 34, the treaty will be defeated.
Shore up the good guys with emails. Call the others to account with phone calls. Try calling their local offices for a change of pace.
Narrow Margin
The other side needs to change three votes to win. We need to keep up our defense of freedom because no one else will.
Thanks so much. You are making a difference. As you call, our federal relations team and Congressional Action Program families are lobbying face to face on Capitol Hill. The Senate leadership promised that this treaty would be ratified by July 26, 2012. Your calls are the reason we are still in the fight.
For Liberty,
Michael P. Farris, Esq., LL.M.
Founder and Chairman, HSLDA
Walter Williams: Parting Company
VERBATIM
For decades, it has been obvious that there are irreconcilable
differences between Americans who want to control the lives of others
and those who wish to be left alone. Which is the more peaceful
solution: Americans using the brute force of government to beat
liberty-minded people into submission or simply parting company? In a
marriage, where vows are ignored and broken, divorce is the most
peaceful solution. Similarly, our constitutional and human rights have
been increasingly violated by a government instituted to protect them.
Americans who support constitutional abrogation have no intention of
mending their ways.
At the 1787 constitutional convention, a proposal was made to allow the federal government to suppress a seceding state. James Madison, the acknowledged father of our Constitution, rejected it, saying: "A Union of the States containing such an ingredient seemed to provide for its own destruction. The use of force against a State would look more like a declaration of war than an infliction of punishment and would probably be considered by the party attacked as a dissolution of all previous compacts by which it might be bound."
On March 2, 1861, after seven states had seceded and two days before Abraham Lincoln's inauguration, Sen. James R. Doolittle of Wisconsin proposed a constitutional amendment that said, "No State or any part thereof, heretofore admitted or hereafter admitted into the Union, shall have the power to withdraw from the jurisdiction of the United States."
Several months earlier, Reps. Daniel E. Sickles of New York, Thomas B. Florence of Pennsylvania and Otis S. Ferry of Connecticut proposed a constitutional amendment to prohibit secession. Here's my no-brainer question: Would there have been any point to offering these amendments if secession were already unconstitutional?
On the eve of the War of 1861, even unionist politicians saw secession as a right of states. Rep. Jacob M. Kunkel of Maryland said, "Any attempt to preserve the Union between the States of this Confederacy by force would be impractical, and destructive of republican liberty."
The Northern Democratic and Republican parties favored allowing the South to secede in peace. Just about every major Northern newspaper editorialized in favor of the South's right to secede. New York Tribune (Feb. 5, 1860): "If tyranny and despotism justified the Revolution of 1776, then we do not see why it would not justify the secession of Five Millions of Southrons from the Federal Union in 1861." Detroit Free Press (Feb. 19, 1861): "An attempt to subjugate the seceded States, even if successful, could produce nothing but evil -- evil unmitigated in character and appalling in content." The New York Times (March 21, 1861): "There is growing sentiment throughout the North in favor of letting the Gulf States go."
There's more evidence seen at the time our Constitution was ratified. The ratification documents of Virginia, New York and Rhode Island explicitly said that they held the right to resume powers delegated, should the federal government become abusive of those powers. The Constitution would have never been ratified if states thought that they could not maintain their sovereignty.
The War of 1861 settled the issue of secession through brute force that cost 600,000 American lives. Americans celebrate Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, but H.L. Mencken correctly evaluated the speech, "It is poetry, not logic; beauty, not sense." Lincoln said that the soldiers sacrificed their lives "to the cause of self-determination -- that government of the people, by the people, for the people should not perish from the earth." Mencken says: "It is difficult to imagine anything more untrue. The Union soldiers in the battle actually fought against self-determination; it was the Confederates who fought for the right of people to govern themselves."
---
Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. To find out more about Walter E. Williams and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2012 CREATORS.COM
Hotel room lock hack may have been used in Texas burglaries
Via Cousin Bill
September brought a series of mysterious break-ins to the Hyatt House
Galleria in Houston, Texas. In the latest, a 66-year-old woman's laptop
was stolen from her room, and the lock's records showed that no key, be
it the woman's, the maid's, or a duplicate, had been used.
Police told NBC News that they arrested Matthew Allen Cook on Oct. 31, after the stolen laptop showed up at a pawn shop and employees identified the suspect. But police said that they are leaving the issue of how he entered the rooms to the prosecution.
The strange circumstance of a locked door being opened without a key would be a mystery worthy of Sherlock Holmes, if not for one thing: The lock was one with a well-known security exploit made public by a hacker earlier this year.
The lock in question is from Onity, a major supplier of electronic and keycard locks for hotels like the Hyatt. Cody Brocious, a software engineer at Mozilla and hobbyist hacker, demonstrated a vulnerability in many of their locks in July, afterwards showing a refined technique onstage at the Black Hat hacker conference. Andy Greenberg at Forbes reports that the method used in the recent break-ins is more than suggestive of the hack.
Police told NBC News that they arrested Matthew Allen Cook on Oct. 31, after the stolen laptop showed up at a pawn shop and employees identified the suspect. But police said that they are leaving the issue of how he entered the rooms to the prosecution.
The strange circumstance of a locked door being opened without a key would be a mystery worthy of Sherlock Holmes, if not for one thing: The lock was one with a well-known security exploit made public by a hacker earlier this year.
The lock in question is from Onity, a major supplier of electronic and keycard locks for hotels like the Hyatt. Cody Brocious, a software engineer at Mozilla and hobbyist hacker, demonstrated a vulnerability in many of their locks in July, afterwards showing a refined technique onstage at the Black Hat hacker conference. Andy Greenberg at Forbes reports that the method used in the recent break-ins is more than suggestive of the hack.
More @ NBC
1954
Via Catherine Catty
Nurse. Evacuation of wounded from Dien Bien Phu.
Army cameraman Elian Zhyugon with released prisoners of war in Hanoi.
When Work Is Punished: The Tragedy Of America's Welfare State
Via Don
Exactly two years ago, some of the more politically biased progressive media outlets (who are quite adept at creating and taking down their own strawmen arguments, if not quite as adept at using an abacus, let alone a calculator) took offense at our article "In Entitlement America, The Head Of A Household Of Four Making Minimum Wage Has More Disposable Income Than A Family Making $60,000 A Year." In it we merely explained what has become the painful reality in America: for increasingly more it is now more lucrative - in the form of actual disposable income - to sit, do nothing, and collect various welfare entitlements, than to work.
This is graphically, and very painfully confirmed, in the.........chart from Gary Alexander, Secretary of Public Welfare, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (a state best known for its broke capital Harrisburg). As quantitied, and explained by Alexander, "the single mom is better off earnings gross income of $29,000 with $57,327 in net income & benefits than to earn gross income of $69,000 with net income and benefits of $57,045."
Exactly two years ago, some of the more politically biased progressive media outlets (who are quite adept at creating and taking down their own strawmen arguments, if not quite as adept at using an abacus, let alone a calculator) took offense at our article "In Entitlement America, The Head Of A Household Of Four Making Minimum Wage Has More Disposable Income Than A Family Making $60,000 A Year." In it we merely explained what has become the painful reality in America: for increasingly more it is now more lucrative - in the form of actual disposable income - to sit, do nothing, and collect various welfare entitlements, than to work.
This is graphically, and very painfully confirmed, in the.........chart from Gary Alexander, Secretary of Public Welfare, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (a state best known for its broke capital Harrisburg). As quantitied, and explained by Alexander, "the single mom is better off earnings gross income of $29,000 with $57,327 in net income & benefits than to earn gross income of $69,000 with net income and benefits of $57,045."
More @ Zero Hedge
Pew Poll: 6 in 10 Young Americans Want More Government
“If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain.”
If conservatives wish to have any success in winning elections in the future, they must start reaching out to young Americans–and they must start now.
A Pew Research study released today brought to light some scary figures about young people that conservatives must confront, especially since the youth vote was the deciding factor in key swing states. Here they are:
- 44 percent of young voters identify themselves with the Democratic Party, whereas only 26 percent identify with the Republican Party and 30 percent as Independent.
- 33 percent of young voters identify their political views as liberal, whereas only 26 percent identify their political views as conservative.
- 53 percent of young voters approve of President Obama’s healthcare law.
- Young voters under 30 represented 19 percent of the voter turnout population in 2012, compared to 18 percent in 2008–meaning it’s growing.
But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. While 33 percent of young voters support liberal political views, and 26 percent conservative, this leaves the remaining 44 percent. These are the students that haven’t made up their minds and are looking for answers–they can’t, and shouldn’t, be ignored. Conservatives should be on campuses exposing the lies and distortions that the left has duped them into believing. To name a few:
More @ Action AM
Mystery: Virginia gun violence falls as gun sales soar
Mystery? Mystery? Not to anyone with a brain.
Gun-related violent crime in Virginia has dropped steadily over the past six years as the sale of firearms has soared to a new record, according to an analysis of state crime data with state records of gun sales.Correlation isn’t causation, of course, but what’s interesting about this research is how thoroughly it blows out the traditional causal argument of gun-control advocates. How thoroughly?
The total number of firearms purchased in Virginia increased 73 percent from 2006 to 2011. When state population increases are factored in, gun purchases per 100,000 Virginians rose 63 percent.
But the total number of gun-related violent crimes fell 24 percent over that period, and when adjusted for population, gun-related offenses dropped more than 27 percent, from 79 crimes per 100,000 in 2006 to 57 crimes in 2011.
The numbers appear to contradict a long-running popular narrative that more guns cause more violent crime, said Virginia Commonwealth University professor Thomas R. Baker, who compared Virginia crime data for those years with gun-dealer sales estimates obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Thomas R. Baker, the professor who did this research for the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
More @ Hot Air
CRPD Update and Urgent Action Items
Yesterday the U.S. Senate voted 61-36 to take up discussion of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). For a full discussion of this treaty and its dangers, visit our CRPD page here.
We expected the treaty to be taken up, as it was. We also had reason to expect that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV) would file for cloture at 5:00 p.m. That would likely put an end time on the discussion leading to an actual vote on treaty ratification as early as this weekend.
Thanks, I believe, to the efforts of concerned and active Americans just like you, the cloture filing was pushed back, then ultimately failed to take place yesterday at all. If we are correct in our assessment, this is very good news; we believe it signals that Senator Reid does not yet have the votes he needs to pass this treaty, as he had expected to!
This is exciting news, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Here is what we must do now if we are to reach victory over this treaty and preserve parental rights for all Americans, including those whose children have special needs:
Urgent Action Items
Please find the list here and call or email their offices expressing your thanks for their courageous stand for American self-government and parental rights.
2. Call you Senators (again?) and urge them to vote “No” on CRPD. Proponents of the treaty are calling as well; our voice must be louder.
Find a script you can use here. You might also email them or call their district office in addition to their D.C. office.
The following senators are especially important targets. Please be sure they hear from you right away:
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX): 202-224-5922
Sen. Lamar Alexander (TN): 202-224-4944
Sen. Dean Heller (NV): 202-224-6244
Sen. Mike Johanns (NE): 202-224-4224
Sen. Jerry Moran (KS): 202-224-6521
Sen. Thad Cochran (MS): 202-224-5054
Sen. Joe Manchin (WV): 202-224-3954
3. Spread the word. Whether you pass this email along, speak out against #CRPD on Twitter, or post a comment on your Facebook page (or join the discussion on ours), please get the word out to as many concerned Americans as you can.
From 2:15 until almost 7:00 yesterday, the Senate focused on nothing but this treaty. Yet the only part of the whole thing that made the news is the fact that Bob Dole is in the hospital. The media will not cover this. We have to cover it ourselves, letting our friends know that instead of avoiding the fiscal cliff their senators have been trying to take parental rights away from parents of children with disabilities.
Thank you for standing strong and making your voices heard. Now we need to turn up the volume.
Sincerely,
Michael Ramey
Director of Communications & Research
Now you can buy a jar of Glenn Beck’s ‘urine’ with an Obama figurine inside
Beck created “Obama in Pee Pee” in response to a Boston artist who made a controversial painting of President Obama being crucified.
On his radio show Tuesday, Beck said that he didn’t like the painting because of the whole Obama-as-Jesus subtext, but that he supported the artist’s right under the First Amendment to create and display it.
“Art is in the eye of the beholder, and this guy has a right to do this. I think it’s offensive. I don’t think it’s close to reality, but whatever floats your boat. I support his right to do exactly that. I agree with him that people who are upset should not trump his right to be able to do it and be able to hang it wherever he wants — as long as it’s wanted there,” Beck said.
More @ The Daily Caller
Merry Christmas!
Via Peter
Twas the month before Christmas When all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying Nor taking a stand.
Why the PC Police had taken away The reason for Christmas - no one could say.
The children were told by their schools not to sing
About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.
It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say
December 25th is just a ' Holiday'.
Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!
CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-Pod
Something was changing, something quite odd!
Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.
As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.
At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears
You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.
Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty
Are words that were used to intimidate me.
Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!
At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.
And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace
The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season, stopped before it started.
So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'
Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.
Choose your words carefully, choose what you say
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holiday!
Twas the month before Christmas When all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying Nor taking a stand.
Why the PC Police had taken away The reason for Christmas - no one could say.
The children were told by their schools not to sing
About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.
It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say
December 25th is just a ' Holiday'.
Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!
CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-Pod
Something was changing, something quite odd!
Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.
As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.
At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears
You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.
Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty
Are words that were used to intimidate me.
Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!
At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.
And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace
The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season, stopped before it started.
So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'
Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.
Choose your words carefully, choose what you say
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holiday!
NC: PLEDGE to mentor a new hunter and get a FREE hat and bumper sticker!
PLEDGE to mentor a new hunter in 2012 and receive a FREE Hunting Matters!™ hat and bumper sticker provided by the Hunting Heritage Program!
THE PLEDGE
"I hereby pledge to mentor a new hunter (youth or adult) on his or her first hunting trip between August 1 and December 31, 2012 as my contribution to preserving our hunting heritage in North Carolina.” (New hunter is defined as not having hunted in the past).WHY
The majority of all hunters began hunting because someone (a hunting mentor) took the time to introduce them to the activity. Reflect back on the person who introduced you to hunting. If hunting really matters to you, become a hunting mentor and share the tradition. There is no better way to say thanks to the person that mentored you!HOW
Participating mentors will need to complete an on-line campaign registration form. The mentor will receive a FREE hat and bumper sticker by PLEDGING to mentor a new hunter (youth or adult) on his or her first hunting trip between August 1 and December 31, 2012 (see Registration Requirements above).FOLLOW-UP EVALUATION
Note: Registered mentors will be expected to complete a post-campaign survey in early 2013 to help the NCWRC better understand hunter recruitment and retention in North Carolina and as a means of evaluating Hats On.
More @ NC Wildlife
Cox and Archer: Why $16 Trillion Only Hints at the True U.S. Debt
Hiding the government's liabilities from the public makes it seem that we can tax our way out of mounting deficits. We can't.
A decade and a half ago, both of us served on President Clinton's Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform, the forerunner to President Obama's recent National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. In 1994 we predicted that, unless something was done to control runaway entitlement spending, Medicare and Social Security would eventually go bankrupt or confront severe benefit cuts.
Eighteen years later, nothing has been done. Why? The usual reason is that entitlement reform is the third rail of American politics. That explanation presupposes voter demand for entitlements at any cost, even if it means bankrupting the nation.
A better explanation is that the full extent of the problem has remained hidden from policy makers and the public because of less than transparent government financial statements. How else could responsible officials claim that Medicare and Social Security have the resources they need to fulfill their commitments for years to come?
As Washington wrestles with the roughly $600 billion "fiscal cliff" and the 2013 budget, the far greater fiscal challenge of the U.S. government's unfunded pension and health-care liabilities remains offstage. The truly important figures would appear on the federal balance sheet—if the government prepared an accurate one.
But it hasn't. For years, the government has gotten by without having to produce the kind of financial statements that are required of most significant for-profit and nonprofit enterprises. The U.S. Treasury "balance sheet" does list liabilities such as Treasury debt issued to the public, federal employee pensions, and post-retirement health benefits. But it does not include the unfunded liabilities of Medicare, Social Security and other outsized and very real obligations.
As a result, fiscal policy discussions generally focus on current-year budget deficits, the accumulated national debt, and the relationships between these two items and gross domestic product. We most often hear about the alarming $15.96 trillion national debt (more than 100% of GDP), and the 2012 budget deficit of $1.1 trillion (6.97% of GDP). As dangerous as those numbers are, they do not begin to tell the story of the federal government's true liabilities.
More @ WSJ