News

New-home sales plunge 33% to record low in May

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Story from CBS Marketwatch. (H/T ECM)

Excerpt:

Sales of new single-family homes plunged 33% in May to a record-low level after a federal subsidy for home buyers expired, according to data released Wednesday by the Commerce Department.

Sales dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 300,000, the lowest since records began in 1963. April’s sales pace was revised down to 446,000 compared with the 504,000 originally reported. March’s sales were also revised lower.

The results were much worse than expected, and economists had expected a 20% decline to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 405,000.

[…]Sales fell sharply in all four regions, with sales down more than 50% in the West.

The median sales price in May was $200,900, down 9.6% from a year earlier and the lowest since December 2003.

[…]Housing data in May have been dismal. Housing starts fell 10%, building permits fell 5.9%, mortgage applications dropped, and the home builders’ index fell by five points. The only bright spot was mortgage rates, which stayed very low.

Obama’s solution to this problem was government spending in the form of an $8000 federal tax credit “stimulus” for people who bought homes between February and April. How did that government-run top-down Keynesian stimulus solution work out?

Excerpt:

The tax credit likely pulled many sales forward into the first four months of the year. Sales increased a cumulative 29% between February and April. But once the credit expired, sales collapsed in May.

I guess maybe they were hoping to “prime the pump” which of course doesn’t work any more than “cash for clunkers” works.

News

What does Barack Obama really think about the definition of marriage?

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Here is Obama talking about his view of marriage in front of Christians:

And here he is in front of his real constituents, the gay rights lobby:

In the video, he says that his administration is trying to dismantle the Defense of Marriage Act.

What is the Defense of Marriage Act, you ask?

Excerpt:

The Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage in federal law as follows:

In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word “marriage” means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word “spouse” refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.

The Defense of Marriage Act also affirms the power of each state to make its own decision as to whether it will accept or reject same-sex marriages created in other jurisdictions. It was enacted pursuant to the power granted to Congress in the second sentence of Article IV, Section 1. The Full Faith and Credit Statute was amended to include this provision:

No State, territory, or possession of the United States, or Indian tribe, shall be required to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State, territory, possession, or tribe respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage under the laws of such other State, territory, possession, or tribe, or a right or claim arising from such relationship.

So what does Obama really support? Does he support DOMA? Or is he trying to repeal DOMA?

Obama is actually trying to REPEAL DOMA. He doesn’t believe that the word “marriage” means a union between one man and one woman as husband and wife. He doesn’t believe that the word “spouse” refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife. He just says that to get votes. He actually believes the opposite. And when he gets into office, he acts on what he really believes.

Do you like religious liberty? Obama’s ENDA bill, which he mentioned in the video, will put an end to your religious liberty. Even more than his “hate crimes” bill already did. And he’s the most pro-abortion President, too. If you care about foreign policy, he’s the worst President ever on foreign policy. If you care about fiscal policy, he’s the worst President ever on fiscal policy. He’s the worst President ever, no matter what you care about.

Oh wait… he’s good at playing golf. So there’s that.

Videos

MUST-SEE: Police arrest Christians for distributing the gospel in Dearborn

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I first spotted this story at Hot Air.

Here’s the video:

And read the account by Christian apologist Nabeel Qureshi of Acts 17 Apologetics:

Yes, you heard it here first, folks. David and I, along with Negeen and Paul Rezkalla, were arrested and spent last night in jail. It is a long story which we will elaborate in full detail when we can, and we will post footage when the police give us back our cameras.

But to take the edge off your curiosity, here are some basics: Paul, David, Negeen, and I went to the festival to see and comment on the situation. Thankfully, we recorded every second of our activity at the festival. At one point, we came across a festival volunteer who seemed to take issue with us simply being at the festival. We could tell he had a problem with us, and so we asked “What are we doing wrong?” He said “Put the camera and microphone down, and I’ll tell you.” (By the way, there was more to this conversation, but when you see the footage, I think you’ll see I’m being fair in my summary.) So I obliged, handing the microphone to David and asking him to not record the man. I then approached him and said “No camera, no mic, tell me what we’re doing wrong”, he said “Get away from me!” (or something to that effect). Again, I obliged, and walked away.

About 20 minutes later, to shouts and cheers of “Allahu Akbar!” we were all being led away from the festival in handcuffs. From the brief description we were given by the police of why we were being arrested, it sounds like the festival volunteer said we surrounded him and didn’t give him an opportunity to leave, thereby “breaching the peace.” This is as blatantly false as an accusation can get.

Last year, security lied about us and we got kicked out of the festival. We had it all on tape, so we were able to vindicate ourselves. This year, a volunteer lied about us, and we got thrown into jail. But when we get our footage back, we’ll be able to vindicate ourselves again.

From Jihad Watch, we get Christian scholar David Wood’s report:

Muslims threatened to kill Nabeel and me if we showed up again at Arab Fest in Dearborn, so we went there yesterday. They didn’t kill us. Instead, police arrested us and we got to spend a night in jail (along with two others who were video recording us). Interesting city. I feel a documentary coming on. Title: “Welcome to Dearborn.”

More pictures here.

More eyewitness reports here.

More videos from Acts 17 apologetics.

Details on the planned lawsuit here.