RUSH: ‘The first 12 months of the US recession saw the economy shrink more than twice as much as previously estimated, reflecting even bigger declines in consumer spending and housing, revised 
figures showed. The world’s largest economy contracted 1.9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2007 to the last three months of 2008. ‘The current downturn beginning in 2008 is more pronounced,’ Steven Landefeld, director of the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.’ This economy has shrunk twice as much as it did with George W. Bush in the trailing end of 2008, and this is a great example of what state-controlled media is. I just gave you the facts. I just told you the truth. Here is, from state-controlled Reuters: ‘US Economy Fares Better Than Expected In Latest Quarter.’ The recession is twice as bad, economic growth two times as bad. But the state-controlled media: ”US Economy Fares Better Than Expected In Latest Quarter’ — The US economy contracted at a slower-than-expected pace in the second quarter, government data showed on Friday, but a sharp drop in consumer spending fanned fears that recovery would be sluggish.’
So the recession’s over, right? We heard that this week from Newsweek and TIME, we heard it from Obama, and now we’re not growing, it’s contracting, it’s slower than expected. State-controlled AP: ‘GDP Contracts For 4th Straight Quarter,’ and then the GDP report subhead here: ‘GDP report is likely to show recession eased in 2Q. The economy sank at a pace of just 1% –‘ this is wonderful news. Wait, folks, get this! The economy sank at a pace of just 1% in the second quarter of the year according to a government report. It was a better than expected showing that provided the strongest signal yet the long recession is finally winding down. We got more people unemployed than the Great Depression, double-digit in some of these cities, and what’s the big news of the day? A beer summit outside at the White House. And why was there a beer summit? Because two guys with an attitude jumped all over a cop. And there was no apology, by the way. There was no changing of minds. There was just some discussion of the future.
Biden showed up. He was a surprise attendee. Biden was there for the free pretzels. They had peanuts and pretzels. Biden does not consume adult beverages, so he had a Buckler, nonalcoholic beer. Now, if you saw the picture, you saw Gates in his coat and tie and you saw Sergeant Crowley in his coat and tie, and you saw the president and vice president without their jackets. I don’t know if their ties were loosened or not. I’m just going to tell you, if I host something and it’s in Washington, and it’s late July, and it’s outside, when the guests arrive, ‘Take off the jackets, guys. We’re going to be outside. We’re not in the Oval Office, take off the jackets.’ Didn’t happen. Now, pretzels and peanuts were part of snack fare to go along with beer. Folks, it is a lousy, lousy image to present to America.
Oh, I forgot my teachable moment on State-Run Media. I just gave you the facts, and state-controlled Associated Press, state-controlled Reuters, ‘Wow, what great news. Why it got worse better than we expected. It didn’t get as bad as we thought, oh, man, recession’s over. We’re going to have a sluggish recovery, but wow,’ maybe the recovery will be twice as sluggish as it’s been in the past. So once again the economy is shrinking, the bottom line is the economy is getting worse, and you know it because you’re feeling it. But it’s said to be doing better than expected. That’s the kind of stuff that Pravda ran back in the days of the old Soviet Union. Pravda has spoken, state-controlled media has a spoken, all is well, we can thank the great leader. People are being told that what they are personally experiencing and seeing is not what they are personally experiencing and seeing. This is the definition of State-Run Media. What you see, what you experience, it isn’t true. What we tell you is true. Therefore this is not reporting. It is repeating the party line. People like F. Chuck Todd and his cohorts in state-controlled media will be pleased the economy is getting sicker and slower because they are all interested in advancing the party line.
Now, as far as the beer summit is concerned, the media was cordoned off approximately 45 feet away from the patio furniture where the beers were being quaffed. President and vice president appeared to be doing what they could to keep the mood light, wearing just shirt sleeves, appearing more relaxed than the professor and the cop who were in suits and more rigid. It was hot out there. How rude of the host not to tell these guests to take the jacket off. At any rate, the president and vice president spent much of the time that the press was out there snacking on the peanuts and pretzels on the table, which is food that makes you fat. It was already a bad idea to have beer cocktails, beer at dinnertime, then to throw in stuff that people are going to be taxed to pay for ’cause it makes them fat was another moment of hypocrisy and bad image making on the part of the President Obama and his handlers.
Caterpillar is cutting more jobs. From Peoria: ‘A union official says Caterpillar is laying off 75 employees at a central Illinois foundry and may close the plant for two months late this year if demand for its engines doesn’t improve. Rick Doty is president of United Auto Workers Local 974. He says the 75 workers at the foundry in Mapleton will be laid off Monday. The town is about 10 miles south of Peoria, where Caterpillar is based. Doty says the company also has tentative plans to close the foundry and idle its 525 remaining workers in November and December.’ That’s going to be a very sad Christmas shopping season. In fact, if we had a Republican president we’d already be getting stories on how rotten the Christmas shopping season is going to be.
‘Caterpillar has laid off more than 30,000 workers worldwide during the current recession.’ This story from state-controlled Associated Press, which couldn’t be bothered to mention that Obama cited Caterpillar as a sign, a company that supported his stimulus and they were going to rehire, start rehiring workers as soon as a responsible stimulus bill was signed, and we have also learned that the Caterpillar CEO was misled and misquoted. He was totally used by Obama. State-controlled AP can’t bring themselves to remind everybody that Caterpillar was the diamond in the rough. Caterpillar was the benchmark. Caterpillar, as soon as that stimulus was signed, they’re going to start hiring people back, and now they’ve laid off more than 30,000 workers worldwide during the current recession and Obama did sign what he called a responsible stimulus bill.