Monday, July 24, 2006
Election 2008 - Rich Lowry on Newt Gingrich
Gingrich is not perfect, but he looks likely to be on many "short lists"...
At the National Review Online, Rich Lowry discusses Newt Gingrich:
"The old conventional wisdom about Gingrich was that we wouldn’t have him to kick around anymore. The new conventional wisdom is that he’s back, and he’s doing the kicking. Ousted by his own party after its losses in the 1998 midterm elections, Gingrich has reestablished himself as a party leader through sheer intellectual energy. He has had something intelligent to say about literally every issue of the hour, from health care to Katrina to the war on terror. 'He has helped himself immensely — he’s all over the place,' says former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie."
Barack Obama - the bamboozler
Facts are facts. Spin is spin.
Who is really the long term supporter of the black population?...
Who is really the long term supporter of the black population?...
At WorldNetDaily, Kevin McCullough looks at the facts vs. the perception that has been created over a very long time:
"By contrast, it was the Republican Party that fought for the freedoms of blacks in Congress following the conclusion of the Civil War. State chapters of the Republican Party were started by blacks in most Southern states. The first black members of Congress, some of whom had been former slaves only months previous, were all Republican. Under Republican initiatives between 1875 and 1893, blacks had full and equal rights in every way."
Middle East - Opinion by Victor Davis Hanson
Mr. Hanson calls it a strange war...
Victor Davis Hanson on Israel on National Review Online:
"Sum up the declarations of Hezbollah’s leaders, Syrian diplomats, Iranian nuts, West Bank terrorists, and Arab commentators — and this latest Middle East war seems one of the strangest in a long history of strange conflicts. For example, have we ever witnessed a conflict in which one of the belligerents — Iran — that shipped thousands of rockets into Lebanon, and promises that it will soon destroy Israel, vehemently denies that its own missile technicians are on the ground in the Bekka Valley. Wouldn’t it wish to brag of such solidarity?
Or why, after boasting of the new targets that his lethal missiles will hit in Israel, does Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah (“We are ready for it — war, war on every level”) now harp that Israel is hitting too deep into Lebanon? Don’t enemies expect one another to hit deep? Isn’t that what “war on every level” is all about?""
From Radio Blogger
I like reading transcripts, and I like Mark Steyn's opinions.
This radio interview is pretty interesting...
This radio interview is pretty interesting...
Among many transcripts, Radio Blogger has this recent one between Hugh Hewitt and Mark Steyn:
HH: I begin, as I do every single Thursday that he's available, with columnist to the world, Mark Steyn. Mark Steyn, your assessment of the war against Israel, a week into it?
MS: Well, I think the interesting feature so far, really, is the poodles that didn't yap, to pacify Sherlock Holmes. Normally, by this stage, the public rhetoric of the Europeans and the Arabs would be ferocious. And instead, I think both of them have been very circumspect in public. And certainly, the ones I've talked to in private are in fact, in a strange way, and possibly unprecedented, at least in the last thirty years, they're rooting for Israel. Amazing."
The Big Dig
In Boston, a local columnist criticises the project all the way back to it's roots...
Jeff Jacoby writes for the Boston Globe:
"But it wasn't exactly a secret that the project was a bloated catastrophe, vastly over-budget and marred by leaks, delays, and falling debris. For years news stories, outside audits, and leaked internal memos had been documenting a shocking history of failures and errors. Just a few weeks earlier, six employees of Aggregate Industries, the Big Dig's largest vendor of concrete, had been arrested for allegedly falsifying records to disguise the poor quality of the concrete supplied."
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Clintons - Carnival puts bite on Hillary's brother
Do certain behaviors just run in certain families?...
In the Washington Times, Jim McElhatton reports:
"A bankruptcy trustee for a carnival company whose owners received a pardon from President Clinton is seeking to garnish the bank accounts of Mr. Clinton's brother-in-law to recoup more than $100,000 in loans.
Anthony D. Rodham, one of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's two brothers, got the loans from United Shows of America Inc. after its owners obtained the presidential pardon in March 2000 over the objections of the Justice Department."
ACLU - Doesn’t Want English Signs
So, what might be wrong with this picture?...
I saw this at NewsMax.com:
"ACLU Doesn’t Want English Signs"
In Our Schools - Black academic achievement lacking
Causal or coincidental - that is the question...
Walter Williams writes his opinion in the Washington Times:
"Where black education is the very worst, often the city mayor is black, the city council is black-dominated and often the school superintendent is black, as well as most of the principals and teachers. And Democrats have run the cities for decades. I'm not saying there's a causal connection, just that one would be hard put to chalk up the rotten education to racial discrimination."
And they're still angry?
Is this "tongue-in-cheek" or the truth?...
At the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Bill McClellan writes:
"I came into the newsroom Friday morning and expected to see a lot of long faces. We liberals had taken such a whipping on Thursday that the Friday paper was filled with bad news. I'm sure our night staff worked hard to slant things, but sometimes things go so badly that even the valiant efforts of the left-leaning Main Stream Media aren't enough to hide the truth."
Opinion Articles - Israel acts according to a ready script
There are many opinions about Israel's actions.
Here is one of them...
Here is one of them...
Jonathan Cook writes for the Daily Star:
"The aim of Israeli policymakers is not too difficult to divine either. They want their American paymaster dragged deeper into the mire of the Middle East as a junior partner rather than as an honest broker, giving Israel cover while it carves up yet more Palestinian land for annexation, puts further pressure on the Palestinians to leave their homeland, and destabilizes its regional enemies so that they are powerless to offer protest or resistance."
John Kerry - Lawsuit dropped
Funny how things turn out when politics are involved.
Or, should I have said certain "politicians"?...
Or, should I have said certain "politicians"?...
For the Associated Press, Maryclaire Dale reports:
"Vietnam veterans drop suit over 2004 anti-Kerry film"
"Filmmaker Carlton Sherwood says the outcome shows the suits were frivolous complaints filed by Kerry operatives to try to block the film's release in the final weeks of the presidential race.
'We've always believed that Kerry controlled these lawsuits,' Sherwood said Monday. He said the suits were dropped as depositions got under way. 'We also felt we were getting a tad too close to the truth about Kerry.'"
John Murtha - Johnstown, PA
I've seen this argument before, and we need to hear it more often.
This article is from John Murtha's hometown newspaper...
This article is from John Murtha's hometown newspaper...
Pedro O. Vega writes in the Tribune Democrat, Johnstown, PA:
"If the United States withdraws from Iraq as we did from Somalia, our enemies will know that all they have to do is wait us out and bleed us before we fold and they prevail.
Murtha should explain to us in detail his solutions to these dilemmas. He should tell us his plans to deal with the regional and global consequences of a unilateral withdrawal from Iraq.
Murtha should tell us how he will apply to the current conflict the lessons we learned from our withdrawal from Somalia because, so far, he has told us nothing besides his “we must redeploy” mantra.
In the absence of concrete details, I respectfully question Murtha’s leadership on the issue of the war in Iraq and his understanding of the consequences that such a retreat would have upon our national security."
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Is Oregon changing?
Hmmm! Is something happening here...
From Nigel Jaquiss at Willamette Week Online:
"Over the past three decades, the number of registered Democrats in the state has not only failed to keep pace with population growth, it has actually declined in absolute terms. According to the secretary of state's election statistics, there were 794,218 Oregon Democrats in 1976; as of this past May, there were 760,066.
Thirty years ago, 56 percent of registered Oregon voters were Democrats; today, that number is less than 39 percent."
And this quote:
'Republicans vote more because they are typically better educated and more affluent,' says Bill Lunch, chairman of the political science department at Oregon State University."
Tax Cuts - Not in Gov. Corzine's New Jersey
The sales tax increased from 6% to 7%.
And there's more....
And there's more....
From the Phila. Inquirer, Jennifer Moroz tells about it:
"If you run a business in an Urban Enterprise Zone, where only half the sales tax is charged, you will now pay the full sales tax when making purchases and have to wait for a rebate from the state.
The cigarette tax will rise 17.5 cents Saturday to about $2.58 a pack, and snuff tobacco will be taxed on weight, not price.
Corporations will pay a new income tax even as another state corporate tax expired.
As of Saturday, people who buy cars that cost at least $45,000 or get less than 19 miles per gallon will pay a tax equal to 1 percent of the purchase or lease price.
Also as of Saturday, a 6 percent tax will be charged on fur clothing.
Effective immediately is an increase of the rental-car tax from $2 to $5 per day.
What about state colleges and universities?
Corzine proposed cutting state higher-education spending by $300 million. The final budget cut it by $200 million, which is likely to mean tuition increases."
The President's Weekly Radio Address
Brief and to the point
In case you missed it, here is...
In case you missed it, here is...
President Bush's Radio Address to the Nation for July 15
Here are some quotes:
"This good news is no accident. It is the result of the hard work of the American people, and pro-growth economic policies in Washington, D.C. Since 2001, we have cut taxes for everyone who pays income taxes, reduced the marriage penalty, doubled the child tax credit, and put the death tax on the road to extinction. We cut tax rates paid by most small businesses and further encouraged expansion by cutting taxes on dividends and capital gains.
Together these tax cuts have left nearly $1.1 trillion in the hands of American small business owners, workers, and families. And you have used this money to help spur an economic resurgence that has produced 18 straight quarters of growth.
Some in Washington think the choice is between cutting taxes and cutting the deficit. This week's numbers show that this is a false choice. The economic growth fueled by tax relief has helped send tax revenues soaring. When the economy grows, businesses grow with it, people earn more money, and they pay taxes on this new income.
In 2005, tax revenues posted the largest increase in 24 years, and they're projected to rise again this year."
Monday, July 10, 2006
Global Warming - and more
I would put this in the "must read" category.
It discusses cost vs benefits as the basis for prioritizing world issues...
It discusses cost vs benefits as the basis for prioritizing world issues...
Kimberly A. Strasselt writes for the Wall Street Opinion Journal:
"Yet the experience left Mr. Lomborg with a taste for challenging conventional wisdom. In 2004, he invited eight of the world's top economists--including four Nobel Laureates--to Copenhagen, where they were asked to evaluate the world's problems, think of the costs and efficiencies attached to solving each, and then produce a prioritized list of those most deserving of money. The well-publicized results (and let it be said here that Mr. Lomborg is no slouch when it comes to promoting himself and his work) were stunning. While the economists were from varying political stripes, they largely agreed. The numbers were just so compelling: $1 spent preventing HIV/AIDS would result in about $40 of social benefits, so the economists put it at the top of the list (followed by malnutrition, free trade and malaria). In contrast, $1 spent to abate global warming would result in only about two cents to 25 cents worth of good; so that project dropped to the bottom."
Global Warming - Gore's movie disputed again
How can former VP Gore be SO sure, when SO many think differently?...
This comes from the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works:
"Gore’s film also cites a review of scientific literature by the journal Science which claimed 100% consensus on global warming, but Lindzen pointed out the study was flat out incorrect.
“…A study in the journal Science by the social scientist Nancy Oreskes claimed that a search of the ISI Web of Knowledge Database for the years 1993 to 2003 under the key words 'global climate change' produced 928 articles, all of whose abstracts supported what she referred to as the consensus view. A British social scientist, Benny Peiser, checked her procedure and found that only 913 of the 928 articles had abstracts at all, and that only 13 of the remaining 913 explicitly endorsed the so-called consensus view. Several actually opposed it.”- Lindzen wrote in an op-ed in the June 26, 2006 Wall Street Journal.
Roy Spencer, principal research scientist for the University of Alabama in Huntsville, wrote an open letter to Gore criticizing his presentation of climate science in the film:
“…Temperature measurements in the arctic suggest that it was just as warm there in the 1930's...before most greenhouse gas emissions. Don't you ever wonder whether sea ice concentrations back then were low, too?”- Roy Spencer wrote in a May 25, 2006 column.
Former University of Winnipeg climatology professor Dr. Tim Ball reacted to Gore’s claim that there has been a sharp drop-off in the thickness of the Arctic ice cap since 1970.
'The survey that Gore cites was a single transect across one part of the Arctic basin in the month of October during the 1960s when we were in the middle of the cooling period. The 1990 runs were done in the warmer month of September, using a wholly different technology,” –Tim Ball said, according to the Canadian Free Press."
Global Warming - or Cooling
We can't miss what's being reported currently; however, history shows this pendulum swings both ways.
And the media is quick to exploit every swing...
And the media is quick to exploit every swing...
Here's a long article on global warming at the Business and Media Institute:
"The Business & Media Institute (BMI) conducted an extensive analysis of print media's climate change coverage back to the late 1800s.
It found that many publications now claiming the world is on the brink of a global warming disaster said the same about an impending ice age -- just 30 years ago. Several major ones have reported on three or even four different climate shifts since 1895."
Global Warming - Al Gore's Scare
More on the Global Warming scare...
At Human Events Online, William Rusher comments on Al Gore's claims:
"The truth is that the Earth's temperature is always changing to some extent, up or down. Within historic memory, the canals of Venice froze solid during the medieval Little Ice Age, and Greenland was verdant enough, during a warm spell, to earn its (currently) wildly inappropriate name. Over longer geological periods, the Arctic has sported palm trees (no polar bears then!) and the latitude of Connecticut was under a mile-thick layer of ice. Just now, according to Dr. Singer, we are seeing a warming trend of about one-tenth of a degree centigrade per decade, or roughly a degree per century.
There is nothing we can do about this, and no reason why we should try -- let alone spend hundreds of billions of dollars trifling with titanic forces we can't even comprehend."
Global Warming - Scientists respond to Gore's warnings
Gore's movie has certainly stimulated the discussion...
In the Canada Free Press, Tom Harris reports on some scientist's global warming thoughts:
"Carter does not pull his punches about Gore's activism, 'The man is an embarrassment to US science and its many fine practitioners, a lot of whom know (but feel unable to state publicly) that his propaganda crusade is mostly based on junk science.'
In April sixty of the world's leading experts in the field asked Prime Minister Harper to order a thorough public review of the science of climate change, something that has never happened in Canada. Considering what's at stake - either the end of civilization, if you believe Gore, or a waste of billions of dollars, if you believe his opponents - it seems like a reasonable request."
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Politics - In Minnesota
Well, good for the Governor of Minnesota...
A statement from the Governor of Minnesota:
"The following is a statement from Governor Tim Pawlenty regarding the full-page ad in today’s Star Tribune from the “Growth & Justice” think tank calling for a $2 billion per year tax increase."
Media - and Canada's Prime Minister
Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, has made some news conference changes...
Kevin Libin reports for Canada's Western Standard:
"Is their campaign working? That's debatable. Harper laughs when he talks of how much easier the gallery has made his life. 'I'm free to pick my interviews when and where I want to have them,' he says. 'The great irony is, the result is precisely the opposite of what these doing it claim to be seeking. They say if I don't do it their way, I'll somehow gain more control over my media relations. Well, I've got more control now.' It's a hard point to argue. Meanwhile, the polls have been nothing but kind to Harper, the latest being a Decima survey released on June 1, showing his Conservative government with 38 per cent support, way ahead of the Liberals at 29 and the NDP at 21."
Iraqi oil production at 2.5 mln bbl/day
Overall, this seems like good news...
For Reuters-AlertNet, Joel Rothstein reports:
"June 25 (Reuters) - Iraq's new oil minister offered an optimistic forecast for the country's oil industry on Sunday, saying daily production has reached 2.5 million barrels a day and that Iraq hoped to rival top oil exporter Saudi Arabia within a decade."
"Iraq expects its daily oil production to reach 2.6 million to 2.7 million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of the year, rising to about 4 million bpd by 2010, and 6 million bpd by 2012, Hussain al-Shahristani said in an interview on CNN's 'Late Edition.'"
John Kerry - Still at war?
I guess this won't ever go away.
That is, unless he really releases his "complete" military records...
That is, unless he really releases his "complete" military records...
At TownHall.com, Emmett Tyrrell discusses John Kerry and the Swift Vets:
"'These men will not be intimidated. The SwiftVets are three hundred strong. They include Kerry's entire chain of command while in Vietnam, the vast majority of officers who served with him, the attending physician to his alleged wounds, and his longest serving crew member. They have raised legitimate questions.' This Swiftie concludes that the questions can be answered if Sen. Kerry allows 'a release of his military record by the execution of the Form 180, permitting the media to look closely at the truth behind Kerry's fiction.' The fact that Kerry has not allowed these records to be opened to the general media is suspicious, no? The fact that he continues to make his military record an issue is still more evidence that a delusional man can be a funny man."
Monday, July 03, 2006
The 4th of July - Ithaca, N.Y. style
I thought Independence Day was to celebrate the beginning of this great country.
Apparently, in some places, it's an opportunity to bash America and it's President...
Apparently, in some places, it's an opportunity to bash America and it's President...
Mark Finkelstein discusses his home-town's opinion page:
"Readers of these columns might have noticed that I occasionally include at the foot the fact that I live in 'the liberal haven of Ithaca, NY.' To give you a flavor for what I'm talking about, consider the today's op-ed page in my hometown daily, the Ithaca Journal. The Journal is a Gannett newspaper. That's the chain [lead by USA Today] that, as I've documented, chose as a news editor someone who believes calling VP Cheney 'Satan' makes for the best commencement speech ever."
Politics - Civility "haves" and "have nots"
Sometimes, conclusions become easier when you review certain events...
At RealClearPolitics.com, Seth Swirsky makes some civility comparisons:
"But the Democrats aren't able to put politics aside. They're too angry with President Bush for everything from winning the election in 2000 to having the gall to monitor terrorists' phone conversations. Even after the president shared credit with the Democrats on the reduction of crime and the lowering of welfare rolls and teenage pregnancies, the Democrats - in keeping with their 'if it's bad for America, it's good for Democrats' theme - applauded enthusiastically only when Bush mentioned the failure of social security reform. Class versus crass.
The contrast becomes even clearer when one expands the field to include the First Lady and she who would be queen, Theresa Heinz Kerry. Can anyone imagine the dignified Laura Bush telling a newsperson to 'shove it' or using the term 'scumbags' in a taped interview as Heinz Kerry did during the 2004 campaign? Class versus crass."
Librarians in politics
Some things are "over the top".
I agree that this is one of them...
I agree that this is one of them...
Michelle Malkin writes in the Washington Times:
"First lady Laura Bush, a former public school teacher and librarian in the Houston, Dallas and Austin school systems, is to address the American Library Association's (ALA) annual conference in New Orleans next week.
The first lady isn't planning to speak about anything political. The noncontroversial topic of her panel: 'School Libraries Work: Rebuilding for Learning' in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Nevertheless, her mere scheduled presence has moonbat activists within the ALA steaming. On a library e-mail list publicized on the SHUSH blog (www.SHUSH.ws) this week, ALA councilor-at-large Mark Rosenzweig's rant must be quoted at length to be believed:"
Casinos thank Katrina
Here's one of those "who would of thunk it?" outcomes.
Many people's pain has led to the casino's gain...
Many people's pain has led to the casino's gain...
At Forbes.com, Alan Sayre tells us about it:
"Flocks of gamblers have provided a revenue boost for Louisiana, which faced dire predictions of deep cuts in spending after the storms. Through the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, the state's take was $473.8 million, up sharply from $413.9 million a year ago.
That's despite the closure of three casinos since Katrina and Rita, and the exodus of many south Louisiana residents.
'The people who have come here to rebuild the city have a lot of money in their pockets and not a whole lot of entertainment options,' said industry analyst Nick Danna of Stern, Agee & Leach in New Orleans.
In May, gamblers left behind $220.2 million at the state's 16 casinos, a big jump from $199.5 million in May 2005. In April, gamblers lost $213.9 million, compared with $189.4 million lost in April 2005. The month before, casinos pulled in $239.1 million, compared with $198.6 million the previous March.
Most of the increase has been centered in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, which both saw big population shifts because of Katrina, and in Lake Charles, where an influx of workers repairing Rita damage has joined regular throngs from nearby Texas."
Gov't at Work - Crash flaw unfixed
Our government in action (OOPS!, I meant "inaction")...
Brian Kates reports in the NY Daily News:
"Nearly a decade after TWA Flight 800 went down off Long Island, killing all 230 people on board, the chief of the National Transportation Safety Board yesterday said industrywide fuel tank problems that caused the crash are 'largely unchanged.'
Acting NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker slammed the Federal Aviation Administration for 'moving much too slowly' to require explosion-prevention 'inerting' devices that have been on the board's Most Wanted list since shortly after the July 17, 1996, tragedy.
'Ten years after the TWA accident, fuel tank inerting systems are not in place in our airliners, and flammability exposure is largely unchanged,' Rosenker said, referring to devices that pump nitrogen into partially filled fuel tanks to reduce oxygen that can cause explosions.'"
Gov't at Work - $1.3 Billion to People Who Don't Farm
And I thought the days of the $500.00 hammer were gone.
Oh well...
Oh well...
At the Washington Post, Dan Morgan, Gilbert M. Gaul and Sarah Cohen discuss a questionable government program:
"EL CAMPO, Tex. -- Even though Donald R. Matthews put his sprawling new residence in the heart of rice country, he is no farmer. He is a 67-year-old asphalt contractor who wanted to build a dream house for his wife of 40 years.
Yet under a federal agriculture program approved by Congress, his 18-acre suburban lot receives about $1,300 in annual "direct payments," because years ago the land was used to grow rice.
Matthews is not alone. Nationwide, the federal government has paid at least $1.3 billion in subsidies for rice and other crops since 2000 to individuals who do no farming at all, according to an analysis of government records by The Washington Post.
Some of them collect hundreds of thousands of dollars without planting a seed. Mary Anna Hudson, 87, from the River Oaks neighborhood in Houston, has received $191,000 over the past decade. For Houston surgeon Jimmy Frank Howell, the total was $490,709.
'I don't agree with the government's policy,' said Matthews, who wanted to give the money back but was told it would just go to other landowners. 'They give all of this money to landowners who don't even farm, while real farmers can't afford to get started. It's wrong.'"
