Obama's Lowlights (10/31/11)

Wealth - The Washington, DC area has edged out Silicon Valley as the richest metropolitan area in the country. "Federal employees whose compensation averages more than $126,000 and the nation’s greatest concentration of lawyers helped Washington edge out San Jose as the wealthiest U.S. metropolitan area, Bloomberg reports. According to recent Census figures, typical household earnings in the DC area topped $84,523 last year. The national median income for 2010 was $50,046. Steve Jobs - In an authorized posthumous biography, Steve Jobs told President Obama he was "heading towards a one-term presidency." Jobs believed the U.S. was fostering an anti-business environment and an ineffective education system, putting America at a competitive disadvantage with China. TSA - The TSA is no longer responsible for just airport pat-downs. "Agents are hitting the interstates to fight terrorism with Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR)," Nashville’s WTVF-TV reports. American Jobs Act - President Obama's jobs bill has been dealt another setback by the Senate. Liberals fell 10 short of the 60 votes needed to advance a $35 billion portion of the bill. Two Democrats and one independent joined with all 47 Republicans in sustaining a bipartisan filibuster. Obama’s Approval Ratings – According to Gallup, Obama’s approval ratings for this past quarter (his 11th since being office), were the 2nd lowest all time. Only Jimmy Carter had a lower approval rating (Gallup has been conducting presidential approval numbers since Eisenhower was president). New Education Bill – The Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Act has been sent to the Senate for deliberation. The bill will eliminate the need for teacher accountability by removing mandatory evaluations. This bill is on the heels of a decision made by Obama and Education Secretary head, Arne Duncan, which waived student reading and math proficiency accountability provisions from No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Campaign Tour – This past week, Obama took his taxpayer funded campaign tour out west – to Las Vegas and California. In Las Vegas the President spoke about a new initiative he is pursuing to enable home owners to refinance their mortgages – even if they are already underwater. The President is looking for ways to circumvent Congress to approve new regulations on refinancing mortgages and student loan reform. Tunisia – The good news is that the nation held it first ever democratic “free” election. The bad news is that an exiled Islamic party won a majority of the seats. Time will tell if the new party will roll back the clock on woman’s rights and infringe on other progressive gains over archaic Islamic beliefs. Syria – The US Ambassador has left the country following death threats as the country continues to go through political unrest. Wikileaks – The organization has stopped releasing documents because a funding boycott has left the organization crippled. New York City – Violent crime has spiked by 154% because police are preoccupied with handling the Occupy Wall Street movement. In fact, OWS protests in NY have gotten so violent because protestors are fighting each other. My Book: Is America Dying? (Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble)