Here's what I thought you'd like to hear about today:

1. We Don't Need to Worry About Zarqawi, says Fisk
2. The Economy is Thriving, but No One Cares. Why?
3. If Demand is Up, and Supply is Down, Why Are Profits Up?
4. If prices are up, and demand is up, what would happen to supply if prices were forced down by politicians

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We Don't Need to Worry About Zarqawi, says Fisk

Listen to this attempt by one of my favorite lunatics on the left, Robert Fisk on the ABC (Australian) attempt to explain why Bush is the enemy not the terrorists. Thanks to the ABC for the archive, and a pointer on the Corner on National Review to the transcript.

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We help them by attacking them. We are the evil ones, they are the victims. Thank you for making that clear, Mr. Fisk.

The Economy is Thriving, but No One Cares. Why?

It's one of the most amazing things about the current state of public opinion today that the economy is doing so well, yet every Democrat in the nation says that people are suffering under the Bush economic policies today. Here's Tim Graham in the Corner on National Review Online, commenting on the Media Research Center's analysis of news stories on the economy.

Inflicting Gas Pains [Tim Graham]

Why do Americans feel uneasy about the state of the economy? Easy. In the last three weeks, only four news stories on ABC, CBS, or NBC mentioned the low unemployment rate, 4.7 percent. And after the government reported strong economic growth on April 28, almost five percent in the first quarter, ABC and NBC each aired one story, while the "CBS Evening News" has yet to mention that good news.

By contrast, in the the last three weeks, these three networks have aired an amazing 183 news stories on the price of gas. They come larded with fist-shaking regular folks, one pawning her wedding ring for a fill-up, and another complaining, "$3.41. They should start handing out knives to cut your arm and leg off."

It seems the media can't help but find bad news in the most recent economic reports. Look at today, Friday May 5. Unemployment is a low 4.7%. 138,000 new jobs were created in April. How does NPR spin the story? Headline: "Job Growth Fails to Yield Wage Increases". Listen to this outragious spin of the good news as bad:

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Let's unspin that quote from the Economic Policy Institute spokesman Jared Bernstein who refers to the economy as, "Murder on the Orient Express". Nice. Rising benefits are bad? Profits soaring through the roof. Wages behind inflation. Soaring inflation (at 4%). Include benefits, and worker pay actually exceeded inflation. What does the Economic Policy Institute actually say on their web site? It's not quite as bad as Mr. Bernstein makes it out to be.

Today's report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that employment growth fell off of its recent pace, as payrolls expanded by only 138,000 last month, well below analysts' expectations. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.7%, but wage growth accelerated, up 3.8% over the past year, the fastest annual rate since August 2001.

Except for the "well below analysts expectations", that's all good news. Who are those analysts, and why were they so silent before claiming that the results didn't meet their sacred "expectations"? The report sounds awfully good to me, whether you are a wage earner or a wage payer. The employers are paying their existing people more as their productivity increases (4.8% GDP growth exceeds the 3.8% wage growth), which means they need to hire fewer people to meet their growth targets. Why are they reporting this as bad news? Perhaps because they got their quote from a think tank who's number one issue is the "Living Wage", a concept that advocates paying workers higher than market rates in order for some people to feel good about themselves. Mr. Bernstein is a socialist economist, an oxymoron if I ever heard one.

If Demand is Up, and Supply is Down, Why Are Profits Up?

Perhaps one of the reasons that the news is so bad, and so misleading about gas prices, is that the news media is so terribly ignorant of basic economic reality. In last Sunday's Meet the Press, Kim Priestap on Wizbang noticed Tim Russert's idiocy. Also on the show was CNBC's Jim Cramer and NBC energy analyst Daniel Yergin, who try to educate Tim and his audience. That is followed by lunacy from Senator Dick Durbin, who feels that profits are evil.

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Sounds like we have a case for windfall profits on Katie Couric's job as the CBS Evening News anchor. No blood for Katie! And what would be the outcome if they taxed her windfall income at - oh say - 90%? Do you think we would have more perky smiles on CBS or fewer? It's sounding better all the time. But please don't tax away the incentive to find more sources of energy.

If prices are up, and demand is up, what would happen to supply if prices were forced down by politicians?

It's not a difficult question for most intelligent people. If the market equilibrium of supply, demand, and price is manipulated by forcing down price, as the politicians are advocating, what will the natural result be? Supply would decrease, since the incentive to explore, refine, and sell would go away. The new CEO of Exxon/Mobil, Rex Tillerson, was on the Today show earlier this week to talk to Matt Lauer on the subject. Thank's to Expose the Left for the video. I think Matt did a great job, at least towards the end of the interview, which is what I will play. He read some letters and let the executive answer them.

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Does anyone else remember the last time there was a windfall profits tax in the 1970's? Gas lines. People couldn't travel. Commerce was restricted, and the economy took decades to recover. Let's hope people will move on to more important topics. Maybe some crazy Kennedy will get in a car wreck or something. We can only hope. Or just wait a few hours. From Wizbang today we read:

Patrick Kennedy is going to enter rehab for his addiction to prescription pain killers...

Remember any other celeberties with prescription drug problems, and the way the media covered them?

Rush Limbaugh was vilified by the prosecutor in Florida and by the media for his addiction to prescription pain medications. His doctor's office was raided for his medical records, some of which ended up on the internet. Will Rep. Kennedy get the same nasty treatment?

Update: According to the Boston Herald, Kennedy was seen drinking that evening at the Hawk& Dove, a popular Capitol Hill bar. If you were there and saw Kennedy drop us a line - especially if you snapped a picture of the Congressman imbibing in spirits...

I love a good story, and nothing beats a Kennedy car crash for good stories. As James Taranto says on today's Best of the Web:

PJK is 38, a year older than his father was when he drove Mary Jo Kopechne to her grave. Since then, Massachusetts voters have returned the elder Kennedy to the Senate six times. If the weird hypnotic power the Kennedys wield against Massachusetts voters extends south to Rhode Island, Patrick Kennedy may have a long political career ahead of him.