Bloomberg:

U.S. Industrial Production Rose 1.1% in May; Plant-Use at 77.8%

June 16 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. industrial production increased 1.1 percent in May, the most in almost six years...

The rise in production at the nation's factories, mines and utilities last month followed a 0.8 percent increase in April, the Fed said in Washington. The proportion of industrial capacity in use rose to 77.8 percent, the highest since May 2001, from 77.1 percent.

Industrial production is up 6.3 percent from May of last year, the biggest 12-month increase since a 7 percent gain in the year ended May 1998. With inventories at record lows relative to sales, production and employment are likely to keep growing and give the economy a boost, economists said.

``Accelerated business investment and the rebound in manufacturing is the big story in 2004,'' said Tim Rogers, chief economist at Briefing.com, a Boston-based forecasting firm, before the report. ``Consumers carried the economy at the start of the recovery and businesses are the drivers right now.''

Manufacturing employment last month rose the most in almost six years, the latest Labor Department statistics showed, as sales improved and businesses tried to speed assembly lines to keep up with demand.

Economists had expected a 0.8 percent increase in industrial production, according to the median of 69 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. The May rise was the largest since a 2 percent increase in August 1998, when production surged after the return of striking General Motors Corp. workers.

Okay. Let's think about that: The only recent period when manufacturing grew by a greater percentage was when it artificially and suddenly following the resolution of a strike at one of the nation's biggest manufacturers.

...

Work at factories, which accounts for almost 90 percent of industrial production, rose 0.9 percent last month, the most since February, after rising 0.7 percent in April. Production of electronics increased 5.1 percent and was 31.6 percent higher than in May 2003.

...

Businesses in April had enough goods in stock to satisfy 1.3 months' worth of sales at their current pace, matching the March figure as the lowest on record, a Commerce Department report showed yesterday.

...

A rebound in manufacturing, and the hiring it inspires, is likely to boost economic growth, economists said. The economy is projected to expand 4.6 percent this year, the most since 1984, according to the median estimate of a separate Bloomberg News survey this month.

I apologize, but manufacturing simply cannot keep up with demand. The price of cowbells has skyrocketed to unheard-of levels, putting them out of the price range of this humble blog.

Until this boom in manufacturing subsides, the best I can offer is the Robot from Lost in Space:

Posted by: Ace at 09:17 AM | Comments (4)
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Only five, Dan? Why so stingy?

Why not eight?

Why not sixty-three thousand?

Be bold.

Courage, Dan. Courage.

In related shocking news, Paul Krugman just gave a very positive review to John Kerry's economic plan, calling it "the blockbuster joyride of the summer."

In other related news, Dan Rather has agreed to pose nude with Robert Reich, letting it "all hang out" as they "work on the engines of classic roadsters and sportscars." The coffee-table book will be titled Naked Partisans.

Posted by: Ace at 08:59 AM | Comments (3)
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Well, Clinton's Secretary of Labor Robert "This isn't necessarily a baguette" Reich just posed nude for a calendar. I hear that other liberals will be joining in this so-called "Erotic Initiative" to titilate swing voters.

Top Ten Other Forays of Democrats Into Tasteful Erotica

10. Janet Reno's combination erotic newsletter-slash-trap-shooter's bible

9. An audio book of all the dirty parts from Tropic of Cancer, as seductively read by Susan Estrich

8. The Illustrated Guide to Erotic Body-Painting, by the editors of Penthouse Magazine (with an introduction by Paul Krugman)

7. Foggy Bottoms: The Sensual Anal Erotica of Madeleine Albright

6. Joycelyn Elders makes a surprise cameo on Sesame Street and joins Elmo and Snuffaluffagus to sing pro-masturbation song, Ain't Nothing Borin' About a Little Exlporin'

5. Chris Lehane applies for a job as Erotic Advice Columnist for Salon magazine; fails to get the job due to his difficulty in defining and explaining the term "vaginal sex"

4. Michael Moore and The Playboy Advisor team up to present a "sexy" video exploring "all facets" of male sexuality, tentatively titled Dude, Where's My Prostate?

3. Four words: Live! Nude! Paul Begala!

2. Old Dennis Kucinich campaign schtick: I'd like a to meet a vibrant, attractive woman whom I can court, marry, and then grow old with
New Dennis Kucinich campaign schtick: I'll settle for someone with at least twenty teeth and 8-12 toes

...and the Number One Upcoming Foray of Democrats into Erotica...

1. My Life: The Autobiography of Bill Clinton

Correction! Rubber Glove pointed out that I spelled "prostate" wrong.

Whoops!

Posted by: Ace at 08:48 AM | Comments (75)
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Her name is Michelle Malkin. Seems like she has a lot to say.

Thanks to Celluloid/Protein Wisdom (which is it, anyway?) for tipping me to this fresh new voice.

By the way, if you're linking me and I'm not linking you, let me know. I try to figure out who's linking me, but I'm starting to lose track.

Posted by: Ace at 02:25 PM | Comments (25)
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Well, Kaus poked good sarcastic fun at that embarassing little fart of a New York Times article on the "restless, relentless" John Kerry, but it seems he did miss the money quote:

Like a caged hamster, Senator John Kerry is restless on the road.

I think we can all agree that's what we're all looking for in a Commander in Chief. When our nation's security is on the line, we're all looking for someone who smells of wood-chips and rodent-urine.

Thanks to Andunie, who also provides a compilation of nicknames for John Kerry. He seems to have missed Senator Splunge and The Boston Fog Machine, however.

Posted by: Ace at 01:42 PM | Comments (6)
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Okay, Clinton Labor Secretary and 3rd-level gnome Robert Reich posed naked for a "Cambridge Notables" calender.

He da sexy. Ooh, jinkies, he da sexy.

He's a very, very hot man -- smokin' hot, the kind of man that gives even straight men like myself the dirty-kinky goosebumps o' love -- and I'm sure we're all quite satisfied that Bill Clinton did not appoint a certifiable maniac to his cabinet.

Update: I've been chewing this over. And I want to know: What the fuck?!?! What the fuck is up with our former Secretary of Labor,, and a very strange and homely looking midget, posing naked for a calendar? What the fuck?

Update: I mean seriously: What the fucking fuck?!!?

Update: Okay. Now stop jerking me around. I'm going to ask this one more fucking time: What the fucking fuck is fucking going on in the fucking world?!

Posted by: Ace at 01:08 PM | Comments (26)
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Apparently he's not appeased by the IRC's latest "clarification." I don't blame him.

Thanks to The Politburo Diktat, who I really need to add to my blogroll.

Posted by: Ace at 11:28 AM | Comments (5)
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She really does look like Tootsie.

Posted by: Ace at 10:36 AM | Comments (5)
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Michael Moore: "It's About Fuckin' Time!

Sorry, Michael. The classification only applies as to commercial labeling. Batter-dipped french fries have not entered the food pyramid.

Posted by: Ace at 10:14 AM | Comments (4)
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I covered this earlier, but this piece puts it into such dramatic terms that I have to hit it again:

Hiring Plans Near Boom Levels-- Survey

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. companies are gearing up to create jobs at rates not seen since the height of the 1990s boom, a survey released on Tuesday showed, adding to evidence that job growth will keep the U.S. economic recovery rolling.

...

Thirty percent of polled U.S. employers plan to add to their payrolls in the July to September period, the survey by Manpower Inc. showed. That is up from 20 percent a year earlier and 28 percent in the April to June period.

The survey hit its highest level of 35 percent in 2000, powered by the Internet-fueled boom.

The highest level was 35%. We're now at 30%.

That's not too shabby.

But it gets better:

Far fewer companies now plan to lay off employees, the survey showed, making the net year-over-year increase in employers planning to create jobs the largest in the history of the Manpower survey, which was started in 1976.

At some point, one hopes the rest of the media starts to take notice of all these "largest in history" achievements of the Bush Boom.

...

"It is at levels that were in place pre-recession," Manpower Chief Executive Jeffrey Joerres said in a telephone interview. "As more stability is occurring in demand, they (companies) look at their future saying, 'I am feeling good.' They have gotten off the fence to start hiring."

...

"If you look at the overall atmosphere, we still have geopolitical issues, we have an election year," Joerres said. "But companies are looking at their own business and saying, 'even with the noise I have to do something to expand my business."'

That's the actual headline of the piece, by the way. Finally, someone has used the "B" word (boom), even if caveated with the "near-" prefix.

And it gets better. That report comes from Reuters.

How the hell did they let this story sneak through?

Double-secret cowbell for the word "boom" finally slipping into a major-media headline:

Update! My sources tell me (my sources are dudes posting on Free Republic) that an Ipsos-Public poll shows the public increasing their evaluation of Bush's handling of the economy (page four).

Posted by: Ace at 09:54 AM | Comments (13)
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