Whether it is the disastrously foolish economic policies of the Obama administration, the frightening Big Brother infringements upon our privacy rights, or the endless stories of political corruption and abuse of power, it often seems as though the America of just a decade ago might as well be a nation on another planet. The problem is, unless sane and educated people (as in, with a depth of knowledge of history, NOT the effluent that passes for education in so many schools and colleges today) stand up and vocally point out that the inmates have taken over the asylum, things will only continue to get worse.

A few recent examples:

Obama claims progress has been made on the jobs front, with the most recent jobs report showing 162,000 new jobs created in July, and the official unemployment rate dropping another 2/10ths of a point. What was curiously absent from his self-adulation was any mention of the fact that the 162k number was below the 175k economists had expected, and far, far below the number of jobs needed to actually improve job growth and the economy. Diving deeper into the BLS (Bureau of labor Statistics) report, we find that, of the one million or so jobs created since January, only 220,000 were full-time, meaning an astounding 78% of all new jobs created this year have been part-time. It should also be noted that the small drop in the unemployment rate is, as has been the case since Obama took office, the fact that many Americans have simply given up hope of finding a job, and are no longer counted against the government’s official unemployment rate.

In related economic news, the city of Detroit recently became the largest American city to ever file for bankruptcy. Laughably, despite the fact that Detroit has been on a six-decade long run of exclusive rule by liberal Democrats, these same Democrats now claim the failure of Detroit stems from Republican policies. Though a wide majority of Americans remain opposed, many Democrats are now calling for a federal government bailout of Detroit. This would be disastrous for many reasons, not the least of which would be the fact that it would open wide the door for future bailouts. A dozen cities in California alone are already in (Stockton, San Bernardino) or near (Oakland, Fresno, San Jose, Compton, etc.) bankruptcy, as well as entire states, including California ($600+ billion), New York ($300 billion), Illinois ($270 billion) and others where bloated budgets and unfunded government employee pension liabilities make their financial outlook bleak. Tellingly, the vast majorities of these cities and states are run by Democrats, or have been until very recently (Michigan, New Jersey).

During the 2012 presidential campaign, a major recurring theme by Democrats was the alleged “War on Women” being (supposedly) waged by Republicans. The weak justification for this claim was GOP opposition to radical abortion-on-demand policies supported by Democrats, who insist that it is a woman’s “right” to kill her baby right up until it is born (and even after it is born for some Democrats, including Obama himself, in cases where the baby survived an abortion). However, Democrats seem unconcerned with how women are treated by men after they are born, provided they get equal pay. This is evident by how long it has taken Democrats to express even feigned outrage at NYC mayoral candidate and former Congressman Anthony Weiner, who has been busted yet again “sexting” pictures of his naked self to woman who are not his wife, as well as San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, who has been accused of by a growing number of women of repeated instances of sexual harassment.

Causing the Hypocrisy Meter to peg in the red, none other than Bill and Hillary Clinton are pressuring Weiner to step down, due mainly to the potential damage it could do to a Hillary 2016 presidential campaign. The Clintons are frustrated at Weiner’s refusal to quit the race; but, as he (correctly) points out, Bill Clinton never stepped down, and is still lionized by Democrats across the nation, despite his own history of sexual abuse that is far worse than the creepiness of Weiner’s actions; abuse which includes sexual harassment, assault, and even rape as charged by numerous women like Kathleen Willey, Juanita Broaddrick, and Paula Jones. These are accusations he initially denied but later explicitly (admitting to it) or implicitly (settling out of court to make accusers go away) confirmed. In the case of the rape of Broaddrick, Clinton callously said after raping her “You better put some ice on that.” Yes, I imagine the Clintons are not anxious to bring up this history of abuse by Bill, nor Hillary’s role in the character assassination of these women.

Coming on the heels of the revelation that the NSA is collecting the private communications data of every American and storing them in massive databases to be retrieved at will, now comes the revelation that a branch of the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) called the SOD, or Special Operations Division, is taking information from intelligence-gathering sources and funneling it to law enforcement authorities nationwide to build criminal cases against U.S. citizens. However, they are also being taught how to disguise, or erase, the source of the information, which keeps the defense from asking the right questions of prosecutors, in violation of the defendant’s right to a fair trial. According to numerous current and former agents as quoted by Reuters, the data is only about 60% accurate. We’ve already seen the lengths to which government agencies will use this information to harass and intimidate political opponents. Is it really that much of a stretch to think that government agents could selectively gather, or even create, data to be used to criminally prosecute a political opponent?

According to a recent survey of doctors, an astonishing 60% say it is likely that many doctors will be retiring within the next three years rather than deal with the bureaucratic nightmare that is ObamaCare. The study also finds that it is likely that the best and brightest students will choose fields other than medicine as a result of the burdens placed on doctors by the law. It also points out that, even as more and more people are being shoved into government health care plans (MediCare, Medicaid, and ObamaCare), more and more doctors are refusing to accept patients in those programs. More patients, less doctors…hmmmm, what do you think that will do to wait times and quality of care?

All news is not bad though…

A recent study by the Guttmacher Institute, of all places (it being the research arm of the nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood), reveals that teens are waiting longer to have sex for the first time (now at almost 18-years old), and a growing number of them are remaining abstinent. More than 50% of high school seniors, and more than 80% of 9th graders, have been abstinent for more than three months. This is a very positive trend considering that girls who start having sex in their early-to-mid teens are far more likely to get pregnant out of wedlock, and/or have an abortion. Though this means a declining client base for Planned Parenthood, which thrives by encouraging more abortions, it is certainly good news for the rest of us.

Though the nation is becoming more polarized politically, with conservative states becoming more conservative and liberal states becoming more liberal, it allows us to look at the results of these “laboratories of democracy” to see whose ideas are succeeding. While Democrat-run states like California, New York, and Illinois are plummeting towards bankruptcy, Republican-run states like Texas, North Dakota, Utah, and Idaho are thriving economically, creating far more jobs and economic opportunity despite the burdens placed on us all by Obama’s economic policies. That bodes well for the onset of a true economic recovery as soon as we can get a free-market defender in the White House.