Photo, above: Bedford Falls, NY, in Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life."  See Bedford, Pa, Salena Zito, Hour 3..

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW

Co-host: Steve Moore, Heritage Foundation, sitting in for Larry Kudlow, The Kudlow Report, CNBC; and Cumulus Media radio

Hour One

Tuesday   28 January    2014 / Hour 1, Block A: Steve Moore, Heritage. Phil Izzo The rise in the University of Michigan measure of US consumer confidence in December, to a new 7-year high of 93.8 from 88.8 in November (consensus 89.5, CE 94.0), suggests that the recent strong performance of retail sales will continue in December.

Admittedly, 3 points of the 5 point rise was due to December’s normal seasonal effects (the University of Michigan measure is not seasonally adjusted). Nonetheless, our seasonally adjusted index rose by 2 points also to a 7-year high. Both the current conditions and expectations indices rose. Confidence is clearly being boosted by record high equity prices, the breakneck pace of job growth and the plunge in gasoline prices.

At face value, this survey is consistent with annualised real consumption growth accelerating from 2.2% in the third quarter to around 5.0% in the fourth. We currently think that 3.0% is more plausible, but it is clear in which direction the risks lie.

Finally, the rises in the one- and five-year ahead measures of inflation expectations (both to 2.9% from 2.8% and 2.6% respectively) will ease fears that lower gasoline prices are weighing on inflation expectations. As such, when it comes to thinking about when to raise rates, the Fed will place more weight on the stronger economic outlook than the weaker near-term inflation picture.

Tuesday   28 January    2014 / Hour 1, Block B:   continued

Tuesday   28 January    2014 / Hour 1, Block C: Peter Berkowitz, Hoover. Read more: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/12/16/lessons_for_obama_in_a_still_relevant_1964_text_124960.html#ixzz3M5Dn9tkH

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Tuesday   28 January    2014 / Hour 1, Block D: Steve Moore, Heritage Here's How People Reacted to Jeb Bush's 2016 Announcement, in 36 Tweets

It did not take much time before Twitter ignited in debate and conversation over former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s pre-announcement announcement about his bid for the White House.

Hour Two

Tuesday   28 January    2014 / Hour 2, Block A:  Steve Cohen, NYU, Princeton. http://blogs.wsj.com/briefly/2014/12/16/5-reasons-for-investor-to-care-about-russias-market-turmoil/

http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/12/12/new-russia-sanctions-from-departing-congress-gazprom-energy-defense/  Russia’s Foreign Ministry lashed out at the bill on Friday, calling it “overtly confrontational.”.

Tuesday   28 January    2014 / Hour 2, Block B: continued.

Tuesday   28 January    2014 / Hour 2, Block C:  continued. video of a supply train into Latvia with lots of heavy US equipment and evidence of ammunition supplies.  Still photos grabbed from video attached, http://youtu.be/LE45k6NtVqQ.

Tuesday   28 January    2014 / Hour 2, Block D: continued. http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/humble-memorials-stalins-victims-moscow?int-cid=mod-latest On Wednesday afternoon, a group of Russia’s leading architects and graphic designers gathered with civic activists, historians, and journalists for an improvised party at the offices of Memorial, Russia’s leading human-rights organization. Memorial, whose main cause is the commemoration of victims of the Soviet Union’s Communist regime, has long been under pressure from Putin’s government, but this crowd of about twenty people was cheerfully celebrating an improbable joint achievement.

Hour Three

Tuesday   28 January    2014 / Hour 3, Block A: Salena Zito, PTR. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/12/14/hardworking_small-town_american_exceptionalism_124955.html>

Hardworking, Small-town American Exceptionalism BEDFORD, Pa. - Michael Corle's exhausting work ethic, coupled with devotion to family and heritage, unites the edgy energy of the young with the values and traditions of rural ancestors. We can mention this today: wow: Toomey, Portman and Johnson were major targets.  The only target not here is Kirk. 

Tuesday   28 January    2014 / Hour 3, Block B:  Gregory Meyer, FT.US stripper well operators eye closures amid low oil price Gregory Meyer in New York  http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/f72c4c2c-8340-11e4-b017-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=published_links%2Frss%2Fcompanies%2Ffeed%2F%2Fproduct&siteedition=intl#axzz3LtcCyIXL

 

Tuesday   28 January    2014 / Hour 3, Block C: Bill Roggio, FDD. Pakistani Taliban assault military high school in Peshawar

December 16, 2014 By BILL ROGGIOMore than 100 high school students are said to have been killed as Taliban fighters fanned out and killed everyone in their path. Read more:  http://www.longwarjournal.org/#ixzz3M4eelCZj http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/16/us-pakistan-school-idUSKBN0JU0...  

Tuesday   28 January    2014 / Hour 3, Block D: Bob Zimmerman, BehindtheBlack.com. ZimmermanNASA Science News for Dec. 16, 2014 NASA's Mars Curiosity rover has measured a tenfold spike in methane, an organic chemical, in the atmosphere around it and detected other organic molecules in a rock-powder sample collected by the robotic laboratory’s drill. FULL STORY: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/16dec_methanespike/

Hour Four

Tuesday   28 January    2014 / Hour 4, Block A: Mary Anastasia O'Grady. THE AMERICAS By Mary Anastasia O'Grady In Haiti, Government Is Where You Go to Get Rich

Tuesday   28 January    2014 / Hour 4, Block B: continued

Tuesday   28 January    2014 / Hour 4, Block C: Joshua Green, Bloomberg Politics. Joshua Green

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/features/2014-12-11/jeb-bush-has-a-mitt-romney-problem

Tuesday   28 January    2014 / Hour 4, Block D:  Brooks Barnes, NYT.