Saturday, June 30, 2007
The Media - Reporting on the Polls
Most of this story is about current polls; however, the author notices that some polls get more attention than others.
I'm not surprised...
I'm not surprised...
Nathan Tabor writes at Townhall.com:
"When the President's approval rating sinks, the American news media display all the signs of obsession, repeating the statistic over and over again. Yet, when public opinion of Congress takes a downturn, we barely hear one word from the big three network news anchors.
It's time for media pundits to recognize the fact that, as far as politics is concerned, Pennsylvania Avenue should be a two-way street. It's high time that the Speaker of the House is held accountable for Congress' actions—or inactions. Speaker Pelosi should be held to the same standard as the man who occupies the White House. And I'd hazard a guess that, if Gallup polled Americans on that point, the vast majority would agree."
Michael Moore - A "Sicko" review
I don't agree with everything in this article; however, his review seems right on...
According to Scott Holleran at BoxOfficeMojo.com:
"Key assertions are false. For example, when Moore blasts Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs)—a term created by a leftist college professor, which Moore does not disclose—using the Nixon administration's HMO Act, he conceals that the bill's primary sponsor was a liberal Democrat: Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts. That's right: the leftist intellectuals railing against HMOs are the bastards who created them—by force, requiring that American businesses include HMOs in employee health coverage.
You'd never know that from Sicko, which also fails to mention that every world leader from King Hussein to Boris Yeltsin sought medical treatment in the world's most productive nation with the best quality health care: the United States of America."
Three Cheers for Us
Americans were obviously paying attention; and acting...
Rich Lowry writes in the N.Y. Post:
"BEWARE of an aroused citizenry. It's an admonition that should be ingrained in the brain of any run-of-the-mill politician, let alone someone who has ascended to the United States Senate.
But from the Olympian heights of the world's greatest deliberative body, it is often forgotten. So senators got a reminder in the humiliating defeat of a 'comprehensive' immigration bill that had the support of the president of the United States, a bipartisan group of senators with the blessing of the leaders of their caucuses and the support of the editorial boards of the country's most important newspapers."
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Politicians - Sen. George Voinovich
This exchange doesn't give me any confidence at all...
I found it at WorldNetDaily.com:
"The conversation began with a question from Hannity about whether the senator supported the Fairness Doctrine, currently a hot topic among Voinovich's colleagues.
"Fairness Doctrine – I'm all for it, whatever it is," he said. "I think everyone should be open to show the other side. That's what you do every night on Fox. That's great!"
When Hannity reminded Voinovich that the Fairness Doctrine would establish government regulatory bureaucracies to enforce this balance, Voinovich quickly retreated.
Voinovich also asserted efforts in the Senate earlier in the day were successful at amending the immigration bill to require illegal aliens to return to their nation of origin before getting on a path for a green card. When Hannity pointed out the measure failed in a 53-45 vote, Voinovich seemed stunned."
The Iraq War - for better or for worse?
I know it doesn't change anything, but it does provide some perspective...
This is from an editorial in Investors Business Daily:
"In other words, by any meaningful metric employed, the U.S. is winning this war. But it will never be reported that way.
This is nothing new. Go back to Vietnam. Remember the 'five o'clock follies,' when the press routinely ridiculed Pentagon casualty reports? The Vietnam syndrome continues to this day.
Only now it's the media misreporting the numbers. Just weeks into the war in 2003, we started hearing the now-oft-repeated canard that Iraq was worse off with the U.S. than with Saddam. This is so plainly wrong that it must be called what it is: a lie.
And yet, it's repeated to this day. Here again, the numbers tell the tale. In his 24 years as Iraq's Stalinist supreme leader, Saddam Hussein killed at least 2 million people. That averages out to about 6,944 a month for the better part of three decades.
Most responsible estimates show that, at most, 60,000 or so civilians have been killed since the war started, about 1,200 a month."
Michael Moore - A counterpoint
Funny how some information gets "missed", isn't it?...
Helen Evans is the director of Nurses for Reform, a pan-European network of nurses dedicated to consumer-oriented reform of European health-care systems. She wrote recently in the Chicago Tribune:
"Michael Moore's denunciation of America's health-care system is about to hit the silver screen. In the film's trailer, a desk attendant at a British hospital smiles while explaining that in Britain's National Health Service, 'everything is free.' But for free hospital care, Britons pay an awfully high price.
Just ask the nearly 1 million British patients on waiting lists for treatment. Or the 200,000 Britons currently waiting merely to get on NHS waiting lists. Mr. Moore must have missed those folks."
The Media - Reporting on "ethics"
About the New York Times' and their "ethicist"...
The New York Post's Ian Bishop reported:
"WASHINGTON - A newspaper in Washington state announced yesterday it was dumping the 'The Ethicist' column of New York Times writer Randy Cohen after he was fingered for forking over campaign cash to the liberal MoveOn.org."
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Politics - Behind the scenes
For what it's worth, I found the answers interesting...
From an HumanEvents.com interview with Jeb Hensarling (Tex.):
"Conservatives are right angry around the country. They’re not real happy with the President and not terribly happy with Congress, and things seem to be kind of floating in a lot of different directions. What’s the Republican Study Committee trying to do to get things back on track?"
Monday, June 25, 2007
Health Care - Voting with your feet
Castro went to Spain for medical treatment.
I also wonder where Michael Moore would go.
"The Stiletto" probably has it right...
I also wonder where Michael Moore would go.
"The Stiletto" probably has it right...
I found this on a blog by The Stiletto:
"An inconvenient truth that “Sicko” will not tell you: Canadians who have the financial means to pay out-of-pocket for American-style healthcare, prefer to come here rather than be subjected to health-threatening waits for specialists who are all-too-often recruited from second-tier medical schools in third-world countries. For instance, The Mayo Clinic (which has branches in Rochester, MN, Jacksonville, FL, and Scottsdale/Phoenix, AZ) serves an international clientele."
Polls - Economy getting worse?
Go figure.
I guess the price of gas is the only thing most people care about.
And Paris Hilton, of course. (Sorry, I couldn't resist)...
I guess the price of gas is the only thing most people care about.
And Paris Hilton, of course. (Sorry, I couldn't resist)...
Donald Lambro writes at TownHall.com:
"WASHINGTON -- Seventy percent of Americans now say the economy is getting worse, a belief contradicted by a growing workforce, increased wages and household wealth, and a stock-market rally that has boosted worker-retirement investments."
Lawyers - Patriotic? - Not!
These guys might need a good lawyer themselves...
In the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, David M. Brown reports:
"At the May 15 seminar, Lawrence Lebowitz, Cohen & Grigsby's vice president of marketing, told the audience: 'The goal here of course is to meet the requirements, number one, but also do so as inexpensively as possible, keeping in mind our goal and our goal is clearly not to find a qualified and interested U.S. worker.'
'In a sense that sounds funny, but it's what we're trying to do here,' Lebowitz said."
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Michael Moore - A Capitalist in Socialist clothing?
My observations and sentiments exactly...
At WorldNetDaily.com, Star Parker discusses Michael Moore:
"Is he a social commentator? A man who lives to reform?
No, this is an entrepreneur from the far political left with a business model that is serving him very well – the usual left-wing Hollywood con artist who talks socialism and gets rich off capitalism.
Moore's films are to social commentary what pornography is to human relations.
Find vulnerabilities and hot buttons, stimulate, provoke, exploit and sell tickets."
Politicians - About that new energy bill
Here's one person's opinion.
I tend to agree...
I tend to agree...
At GOPlubius.com:
"Yesterday the Senate, led by Harry Reid (D-NV) passed an anti-energy bill called Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007, that they say is geared towards reducing domestic dependence on foreign oil. The bill however, does not such thing and will have as its main effect, an increase in prices on consumables. Specifically, food, gasoline, automobiles and plastics. The drastic increase in demand for petroleum by developing nations, such as China and India along with the current burdensome restrictions on building new refineries, is the cause for the increase in gasoline prices. It is the simple and natural supply and demand curve of the market.
This bill does nothing to help bring to market affordable energy."
In Our Schools - What the children learn
I prefer education to entertainment, so I'm unequivocally "with dad" on this one...
At StarPulse.com, Jim Fitzgerald of the Associated Press writes:
"PEEKSKILL, N.Y. (AP) - He doesn't want to be an ogre about it, but the father of a fifth-grader thinks teachers are wasting time when they show movies in class - and if the film is a bootleg, he says, 'That's a really terrible lesson.'
Tim Trewhella, 46, said his 10-year-old daughter reported that her class watched the animated movie 'Shrek the Third' on Tuesday and recognized it as the fairy-tale hit still showing in theaters."
In Our Courts - "What's in a word?"
It's not this case in particular, it's just an indication of what can happen in today's courtrooms...
I found this at WorldNetDaily.com:
"Wendy Murphy, of the New England School of Law in Boston, said the ban could be powerful.
"It's very difficult to explain why jurors feel the way they do," she said. "The point is, language is so passively absorbed they don't even know it."
She said banning the word "rape" is unprecedented and said such a restriction on witnesses "impugns their candor, their credibility."
"Jurors will go back to their room and say, 'She didn't feel it was harmful. After all, she called it sex,'" Murphy told the newspaper. "It's like saying to a robbery victim, 'You can’t say you were robbed, because that's a legal judgment. You can only say you gave your stuff to the defendant.' That's absurd."
Thursday, June 21, 2007
The Media - Bias showing through
Here's another subtle item that the Washington Post got caught on.
Most items like this go unnoticed.
Sadly, it's just another perfect example of the neverending flow of agenda based biased reporting that includes the wording of headlines, the placement of stories, where stories are "split" to be continued on another page, the inclusion of political party affiliation, whether people are shown smiling or not, photo-shopping of pictures, failure to identify sources, and on and on and on.
The bias pervades everything that is printed, published, or shown on television, and in movies. "Documentaries" are one-sided, sound bites are taken out of context, and the use of adjectives and adverbs is abused to accomplish their end.
[Rant over]...
Most items like this go unnoticed.
Sadly, it's just another perfect example of the neverending flow of agenda based biased reporting that includes the wording of headlines, the placement of stories, where stories are "split" to be continued on another page, the inclusion of political party affiliation, whether people are shown smiling or not, photo-shopping of pictures, failure to identify sources, and on and on and on.
The bias pervades everything that is printed, published, or shown on television, and in movies. "Documentaries" are one-sided, sound bites are taken out of context, and the use of adjectives and adverbs is abused to accomplish their end.
[Rant over]...
At NewsBusters.org, Ken Shepherd has a recent example:
"The next paragraph began: 'Coburn, whose Web site says he is a doctor specializing in family medicine, obstetrics and allergies . . . .' The Web site attribution of such an easily confirmed fact seems intended to cast doubt on the senator's medical credentials. Would you report, 'Sen. Barack Obama's Web site says he attended Harvard Law School?'"
Politicians - Jacques Chirac
Too many of them are cut from the same cloth...
Susan Bell reported at Scotsman.com News:
"Long-standing rumours that the former French president Jacques Chirac holds a secret multi-million-euro bank account in Japan appear to have been confirmed by files seized from the home of a senior spy.
Papers seized by two investigating magistrates from General Philippe Rondot, a former head of the DGSE, France's intelligence service, show Mr Chirac opened an account in the mid-1990s at Tokyo Sowa Bank, credited with the equivalent of �30 million. It is not known where the money came from, nor whether it is connected to various kick-back scandals to which Mr Chirac's name has been linked over the past decade.
Last year, Mr Chirac 'categorically denied' having a bank account in Japan.
The seized documents have been described by the magistrates as 'explosive' and are believed to contain copies of the former president's bank statements."
Politicians - Selling our assets
Is there anything that a politician WON'T sell?...
I found this article by Henry Lamb at WorldNetDaily.com:
"What's going on here? Why are government officials so eager to sell off our infrastructure? Because it's a win-win deal for everyone – except the people who pay taxes and use the highways. Governments get a pot full of cash up front, and the 'public-private' partnerships get a long-term cash cow. The taxpayers and highway users get ______ – well, you fill in the blank."
Politicians - and their poll numbers
Gee! I guess I'm not the only dissatisfied "customer"...
Frank Newport, editor in chief of the Gallup Poll, reports:
"Just 14% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in Congress.
This 14% Congressional confidence rating is the all-time low for this measure, which Gallup initiated in 1973. The previous low point for Congress was 18% at several points in the period of time 1991 to 1994."
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
The Media - Writers Guidelines
This is how it's done.
Next time you read a news article, or any article for that matter, think about the "words"...
Next time you read a news article, or any article for that matter, think about the "words"...
At LifeSite.net, Elizabeth O'Brien discusses them:
"The New York Daily News (NYDN), the sixth largest newspaper in the United States, uses a set of writer guidelines that promote abortion through their choice of language.
The NYDN writing requirements promote an anti-life mindset by instructing writers to avoid certain words when dealing with the abortion issue. The words 'pro-life' and 'pro-lifers', for example, must be replaced with 'abortion foes', 'abortion opponents' or in the case of constricted title space, 'abort foes'.
The pro-abortion bias is even more evident in the fact that NYDN writers may only include the positive terms 'pro-life' and 'pro-lifers' in direct quotations."
The Kennedys
Apparently, power and influence was not enough (this time)...
At Time.com, Jeff Israely has this story:
"The most controversial 'marriage that never was' in recent U.S. political history is back. Sources tell TIME that the Vatican has reversed the annulment of Joseph P. Kennedy II's marriage to Sheila Rauch. The annulment had been granted in secrecy by the Catholic Church after the couple's 1991 no-fault civil divorce. Rauch found out about the de-sanctification of their marriage only in 1996, after Kennedy had been wedded to his former Congressional aide, Beth Kelly, for three years."
Monday, June 18, 2007
War against Prosperity
Just what we need, another war.
Especially this kind...
Especially this kind...
At TownHall.com, Larry Kudlow warns:
"Ironically, all this is happening while low-tax Reaganomics is spreading worldwide. Hence, this would be the exact wrong moment for U.S. politicians to raise taxes and impair American economic competitiveness."
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Politicians - Teddy Kennedy
"Trust Teddy Kennedy"? - not in my wildest dreams...
At WorldNetDaily.com, William J. Federer has some historical notes, as well as a reminder of what certain polticians said at the time:
"The New York Times, Oct. 28, 2003, stated: "Nearly one Mexican in five regularly gets money from relatives employed in the United States, making Mexico the largest repository of such remittances in the world, according to a poll sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank."
Whereas typical American workers spend most of their earnings in America, helping the U.S. economy, immigrant workers send most of their earnings back to their home countries.
The Associated Press, Sept. 24, 2003, quoted Mexican President Vicente Fox saying: "Remittances are our biggest source of foreign income, bigger than oil, tourism or foreign investment. ... The 20 million Mexicans in the United States generate a gross product that is slightly higher than the ... billion(s) generated by Mexicans in Mexico.""
Friday, June 15, 2007
Politicians - the Clintons
You can read it, and then you can decide...
John Solomon reports at MSNBC.com:
"The documents reviewed by The Washington Post provide the most complete accounting of how the Clintons accrued $5 million to $25 million in wealth -- nearly all since leaving the White House -- through investments in foreign companies, oil giants and drugmakers without their input or knowledge and without public disclosure."
Meanwhile - in Russia
Including "non-beverage alcohol such as cleaning agents, colognes and medical tinctures"...
I found this at HealthDay.com:
"Alcohol abuse now causes nearly half of all deaths of Russia's younger men, a new study finds.
In total, 43 percent of deaths among men ages 25 to 54 are linked to problem drinking, according to a study in this week's issue of The Lancet medical journal."
The Media - L.A. Times corrects itself
Unfortunately, the correction doesn't get the same venue as the original story...
Dave Pierre exposes it at NewsBusters.org:
"Wow. In other words, a central fact of the June 7 article, that Cardinal Mahony himself is being directly charged in this lawsuit for failing to protect parishioners from a pedophile, is completely false!"
Eminent Domain - Pushback
This clearly seems right to me...
In the New York Times, Kareem Fahim reports:
"'The New Jersey Constitution does not permit government redevelopment of private property solely because the property is not used in an optimal manner,' Justice Zazzali."
"Planned Parenthood"
What's in a name, you say?
Here's a seemingly innocuous named organization...
Here's a seemingly innocuous named organization...
LaToya Cain writes at Concerned Women for America:
"'Planned Parenthood appears to flout the law and help statutory rapists cover up their crime and then has the gall to claim to be ‘protecting’ the right to privacy,' said Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America (CWA). 'Clearly it’s not the girls they are concerned about but fear of exposure of their own misdeeds. Once again Planned Parenthood promotes ‘abortion rights’ to mean the rights of the abortionist, not the patient.'
Recent exposure of Planned Parenthood’s lies and cover-ups helps shatter the myth of Planned Parenthood as a respectable organization. It’s a deception that has prevailed since its founding. The racist intentions of Margaret Sanger, Planned Parenthood’s founder, were also covered up by the same emotional rhetoric used today — 'better health' and 'family planning.'"
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Politicians - Fred Thompson
If he becomes a candidate, you can be sure his past will be front page news.
It might be interesting to compare it to what was said "back then"...
It might be interesting to compare it to what was said "back then"...
I found this old quote in an article by David Brody at www.cbn.com:
"'It's difficult to see the real drive he has, because his style doesn't seem to be one of great ambition,' says Thompson's ex-wife, Sarah Lindsey Thompson. 'But it's there. It's always been there.'"
London Bridge is Falling Down?
Apparently so, if the core of this article is true...
At www.Macleans.ca, Martin Newland's commentary includes these quotes:
"England leads Europe in illiteracy, obesity, divorce, drug use, crime and STDs. Bloody hell"
"...consider the following statistics which, most will agree, point instead to a fractured society, to impending economic decay and the total collapse of the postwar values system:"
"Profiles in Bias"
Some people are working hard to keep track of the media's bias...
You can see all you want right here:
Politics - It's everywhere
Even at Trader Joe's...
Chip Johnson reports at SFGate.com:
"Folks living in Oakland's Lakeshore and Rockridge neighborhoods have made it loud and clear that they want Trader Joe's to open its grocery stores in their areas. You'd think the city's Planning Commission would bow to the will of the people.
Not quite. Two planning commissioners tried to hold up the approval of liquor licenses at Trader Joe's stores scheduled to open on Lakeshore and College avenues.
The move last week by Commissioners Michael Lighty and Doug Boxer (the son of U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer) had nothing to do with whether alcohol sold at the stores could end up in the hands of minors, one argument used in a failed attempt to block Trader Joe's in Berkeley.
They wanted the popular specialty market chain to agree to allow a Northern California grocery store workers' union to ask employees of the new stores whether they would want to vote to join the union."
Summer Camp in New York State - followup
I posted an article about this on May 14, 2007.
This is the latest.
Now, which "spinner" do we believe?...
This is the latest.
Now, which "spinner" do we believe?...
At Fox News, Michael Y. Park writes:
"It's a place called Islamberg, a closed and seemingly quiet community at the foot of the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York, about three hours north of Manhattan.
It's also a compound shrouded in local rumors, mystery — and fear — sitting near the huge reservoir system that provides New York City with most of its drinking water."
Immigration - A Raid in Oregon
"...finds hundreds of illegal workers".
This should have us all thinking...
This should have us all thinking...
From Portland, Oregon, the AP's William McCall reports this:
"According to an affidavit filed by Maximillian Trimm, a special agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, only 48 of nearly 600 employees at the Fresh Del Monte Produce fruit and vegetable processing plant had valid Social Security numbers."
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Political Correctness
I have this labeled as a "must read"...
At FamilySecurityMatters.org, Philip Atkinson explains:
"Political Correctness (PC) is the communal tyranny that erupted in the 1980s. It was a spontaneous declaration that particular ideas, expressions and behavior, which were then legal, should be forbidden by law, and people who transgressed should be punished. It started with a few voices but grew in popularity until it became unwritten and written law within the community. With those who were publicly declared as being not politically correct becoming the object of persecution by the mob.
The Odious Nature Of Political Correctness
To attempt to point out the odious nature of Political Correctness is to restate the crucial importance of plain speaking, freedom of choice and freedom of speech; these are the community's safe-guards against the imposition of tyranny, indeed their absence is tyranny. This is why any such restrictions on expression such as those invoked by the laws of libel, slander and public decency, are grave matters to be decided by common law methodology; not by the dictates of the mob.""
Politicians - They should read this poll
These are pretty ugly numbers...
According to Rasmussen Reports:
"Fifty-six percent (56%) of Americans believe that most members of Congress are willing to sell their vote for either cash or a campaign contribution. That view is held by 60% of Republicans, 49% of Democrats, and 59% of those not affiliated with either major party. From a generational perspective, those over 65 are a bit more trusting than younger adults, but even 41% of the nation’s senior citizens believe most Congressman are willing to sell their vote.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that just 16% believe most Congressional votes are not for sale."
Immigration - How about this?
I can't think of of better way of saying it...
Somehow, David Frum got this opinion published in the Los Angeles Times:
"The next effort to fix the broken system must accomplish four things: Stop new illegal immigrants from entering the country. Induce existing illegals to return home. Reorient immigration policy to favor those who make a net economic contribution to the U.S. over those who do not. And bow to the will of the 70% of Americans who feel that current immigration levels are too high"
Immigration - Some Numbers
These numbers translate to our tax money; so it should be a big deal to us...
Alan Caruba writes for Family Security Matters:
"Here’s one of those statistics that sums up everything you need to know about America’s immigration crisis. The May 14 edition of US News & World Report had a small item noting that, 'Mexico has lost more people to migration to the United States than to death since 2000.'
'An average of 577,000 people moved to the United States annually during the 2000-2005 period, while 495,000 people died in Mexico.' The U.S. agency providing this data estimates that about 11 million Mexicans are living, legally or not, in the United States.
This is not about disliking Mexicans. Many have come here legally, become citizens, and have risen in our society to contribute in business, academics, and government. This is about saving America from a wholesale and entirely illegal invasion, and its consequences."
15-Year-Old Byrnes Outsmarts NASA
First, you just have to like this story on it's own merit.
Second, you really have to wonder about what's going on with this Global Warming thing?...
Second, you really have to wonder about what's going on with this Global Warming thing?...
Noel Sheppard caught it at NewsBusters.org:
"The photos of these temperature stations are not just a few of many; they are the first few dozen that have been visited. About 80% of the temperature stations that have been visited and photographed have serious quality problems. This brings up some more questions: How many tenths of a degree will temperatures rise when the thermometer is near the hot exhaust of an AC unit? Or how about when it is located above gravel or near a paved road or driveway? How many tenths of a degree will the temperature rise when the thermometer is above pavement and surrounded by buildings (no wind)? And in one case, as documented by the photograph below, how many tenths of a degree will the temperature rise when the caretaker of the facility burns trash in a metal barrel just 5 feet away from the temperature station?"
Nine years for Vail eco-terrorist
Good!...
Steve Lipsher reports in the Denver Post:
"Chelsea Gerlach, 30, joined the radical-environmental movement as a teenager.
Chelsea Gerlach, who joined the radical-environmental movement as a teenager, was sentenced today in Oregon to nine years in prison for her prominent role in torching a Vail ski lodge in 1998 and five other so-called 'eco-terror' attacks.
Gerlach, 30, pleaded guilty to conspiracy, destruction of an energy facility and 23 counts of arson after being identified by an informant as a major player in a six-year reign of attacks on government, business and research facilities.
As a member of a small clandestine group that called itself 'The Family,' Gerlach and others helped cell leader Bill Rodgers in October 1998 haul fuel up Vail ski area. There, under the cloak of darkness, he torched the stately Two Elk Lodge and several other buildings and lifts, causing an estimated $24 million in damage."
No "Fair" Trade
I think we believe in free enterprise; so, why is free trade so difficult?...
At TownHall.com, John Stossel writes:
"'Fair trade' is code for protectionism disguised as retaliation against other countries that may or may not practice protectionism, and it's a bad sign when even Republicans talk about 'fair' rather than 'free' trade.
We should practice free trade no matter what others do. Why? Because freedom is good in itself. If foreign governments want to hurt their citizens, it's no reason for ours to hurt us."
Fact checking by celebrities? Not!
Over the years, I've noticed that Bono's prevailing theme is to demand that countries spend their taxpayers money for what I agree are good causes.
At the same time he does everything he can to avoid being a taxpayer...
At the same time he does everything he can to avoid being a taxpayer...
At TorontoSun.com, Licia Corbella exposes Bono:
"But Bono -- who flies around the world urging western democracies to use taxpayer dollars to forgive Third World debt on the one hand and then moves his business from Ireland to avoid paying taxes on the other -- is singing from the wrong song-sheet when it comes to slamming Canada and its commitment to helping Africa.
Firstly, Harper emphatically denied he blocked any deal and pointed out that Canada is the only G8 country on track to meet its commitments to Africa made in Gleneagles, Scotland two years ago.
In fact, Canada is ahead of schedule to meet its commitment."
In Our World - Spitters
Baseball players beware!...
According to the Daily Telegraph in Australia:
"Police Minister Judy Spence said a successful 10-week trial ran in 11 police cells last year of the single-use, disposable spit nets which were similar to the garb worn by bee keepers.
From today, the trial has been extended to eight major watch-houses for one year.
'Under the guidelines of the trial, the spit nets will only be used on offenders who spit at police or have a history of spitting at police,' Ms Spence told state parliament."
Monday, June 11, 2007
Politics - and our courts
I'd like to hear an unbiased law professor explain this disparity to an idealistic, questioning, class of bright students...
In the New Media Journal, by Frank Salvato:
"The inequity of these two sentences, the egomaniacal piety of the investigations, both aggressive and apathetic, demonstrates that the legal system in the United States of America – and especially the US Justice Department – has been politicized to the point of corruption.
In an atmosphere where judicial veracity and the integrity of the prosecutorial process have been compromised, no justice can be found."
The Media - and fact-checking
Apparently, bloggers can do what the news media cannot (or will not).
It kind of tell us something, doesn't it?...
It kind of tell us something, doesn't it?...
Seattle Times staff reporter David Bowermaster reports:
"Jesse MacBeth stoked opposition to the Iraq war in 2006 when he spoke out about atrocities he committed as a U.S. Army Ranger serving as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
MacBeth, 23, of Tacoma, claimed to have killed more than 200 people, many at close range, some as they prayed in a mosque. He spoke at an anti-war rally in Tacoma and appeared in a 20-minute anti-war video that circulated widely on the Internet.
Trouble is, none of MacBeth's claims was true. He made it through only six weeks of Army basic training, was never a Ranger and never set foot in Iraq.
Conservative bloggers exposed MacBeth's lies in May 2006, destroying his credibility and embarrassing the Seattle company that produced the video about his exploits."
In Our Courts - 'family values' banned
This court case seems stranger than fiction...
Bob Unruh reports at WorldNetDaily.com:
"A Christian organization fighting on behalf of religious and speech rights is going to the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge an appellate court decision that found municipal employers could censor words such as "marriage" and "family values" because they are hate speech and could scare workers.
At the same time, those municipal officials for the city of Oakland, Calif., were allowing employees to exchange epithets such as the N-word, the appeal said.
"To allow the lower court's ruling to stand exposes every public employee to outright censorship by a municipal employer for merely mentioning words such as the 'natural family,' 'marriage,' 'and 'family values,' issues which are at the forefront of national debate," said the appeal prepared by the Pro-Family Law Center."
Politicians - U.S. Rep. Don Young
It's just another chapter in a neverending story...
David D. Kirkpatrick writing in the New York Times:
"The $10 million earmark would help extend Coconut Road.
The road, a stretch of pavement near Fort Myers, Fla., that touches five golf clubs on its way to the Gulf of Mexico, is the target of a $10 million earmark that appeared mysteriously in a 2006 transportation bill written by Representative Don Young, Republican of Alaska.
Mr. Young, who last year steered more than $200 million to a so-called bridge to nowhere reaching 80 people on Gravina Island, Alaska, has no constituents in Florida.
It is no secret that campaign contributions sometimes lead to lucrative official favors. Rarely, though, are the tradeoffs quite as obvious as in the twisted case of Coconut Road."
Homeland security?
Apparently, it's not exactly up to snuff...
Audrey Hudson writes in the Washington Times:
"A newly released inspector general report backs eyewitness accounts of suspicious behavior by 13 Middle Eastern men on a Northwest Airlines flight in 2004 and reveals several missteps by government officials, including failure to file an incident report until a month after the matter became public.
According to the Homeland Security report, the 'suspicious passengers', 12 Syrians and their Lebanese-born promoter, were traveling on Flight 327 from Detroit to Los Angeles on expired visas. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services extended the visas one week after the June 29, 2004, incident.
The report also says that a background check in the FBI's National Crime Information Center database, which was performed June 18 as part of a visa-extension application, produced 'positive hits' for past criminal records or suspicious behavior for eight of the 12 Syrians, who were traveling in the U.S. as a musical group.
In addition, the band's promoter was listed in a separate FBI database on case investigations for acting suspiciously aboard a flight months earlier. He was detained a third time in September on a return trip to the U.S. from Istanbul, the details of which were redacted."
The Clintons - Clinton "planned to divorce Hillary"
I doubt this would surprise anyone.
It is "interesting", though, that it's from an overseas news source...
It is "interesting", though, that it's from an overseas news source...
In the U.K.'s Daily Mail, William Lowther reported:
"Bill Clinton was ready to divorce Hillary to be with one of his lovers, according to a book out next month.
The marriage crisis is said to have ended with his wife talking him out of the move, telling a friend 'there are worse things than infidelity'.
The story is among a string of revelations in two books detailing Mrs Clinton's rise to the U.S. Senate and her push for the presidency."
Politicians - the Clintons
The company they keep. Birds of the same feather?...
Dick Morris and Eileen McGann wrote in the New York Post:
"As The New York Times reported on Sunday, InfoUSA compiled and sold lists of elderly men and women who would be likely to respond to unscrupulous scams. The company advertised lists such as: 'Elderly Opportunity Seekers' - 3.3 million older people 'looking for ways to make money 'Suffering Seniors' - 4.7 million people with cancer or Alzheimer's disease; 'Oldies but Goodies' - 500,000 gamblers over age 55. It described one list: 'These people are gullible. They want to believe that their luck can change.'
Internal e-mails show that InfoUSA employees were aware that they were selling this data to firms under investigation for fraud - but kept on selling the information, even as the scammers used the lists to bilk millions from the elderly.
Last week, Hillary Clinton sought and obtained an extension of time to file her financial-disclosure statement for the presidential race. This will tell us more than her Senate statements - she's required to list not just the sources of Bill's income but exactly how much they paid him. While Sen. Clinton offered no reason for the postponement, we can't help suspecting that she hopes to conceal InfoUSA's payments to her husband while the company is under fire."
Global Warming - What about these facts?
Apparently, as history tells us, the Earth has been warm before.
Unfortunately, in spite of the facts, we're being prompted to blame ourselves and change our behaviors...
Unfortunately, in spite of the facts, we're being prompted to blame ourselves and change our behaviors...
Emeritus Professor Reid A. Bryson, "at age 86, he’s still hard at it every day, delving into the science some say he invented":
"Little Ice Age? That’s what chased the Vikings out of Greenland after they’d farmed there for a few hundred years during the Mediaeval Warm Period, an earlier run of a few centuries when the planet was very likely warmer than it is now, without any help from industrial activity in making it that way. What’s called “proxy evidence”—assorted clues extrapolated from marine sediment cores, pollen specimens, and tree-ring data—helps reconstruct the climate in those times before instrumental temperature records existed.
We ask about that evidence, but Bryson says it’s second-tier stuff. “Don’t talk about proxies,” he says. “We have written evidence, eyeball evidence. When Eric the Red went to Greenland, how did he get there? It’s all written down.”
Bryson describes the navigational instructions provided for Norse mariners making their way from Europe to their settlements in Greenland. The place was named for a reason: The Norse farmed there from the 10th century to the 13th, a somewhat longer period than the United States has existed. But around 1200 the mariners’ instructions changed in a big way. Ice became a major navigational reference. Today, old Viking farmsteads are covered by glaciers.
Bryson mentions the retreat of Alpine glaciers, common grist for current headlines. “What do they find when the ice sheets retreat, in the Alps?”
We recall the two-year-old report saying a mature forest and agricultural water-management structures had been discovered emerging from the ice, seeing sunlight for the first time in thousands of years. Bryson interrupts excitedly.
“A silver mine! The guys had stacked up their tools because they were going to be back the next spring to mine more silver, only the snow never went,” he says. “There used to be less ice than now. It’s just getting back to normal.”"
The Journal Editorial Report - June 10, 2007
This links to a transcript of their Sunday show.
It's often informative, so I like to read it when I remember to...
It's often informative, so I like to read it when I remember to...
Paul Gigot is the moderator:
"This week on "The Journal Editorial Report," President Bush meets with Vladimir Putin in Germany, amid talk of a new cold war, as Bush chastises Russia for its crackdown on democracy and Putin threatens the U.S. over its missile shield plans. Can the two patch things up? And cover your ears--an appeals court strikes down the FCC's rules on decency. Is your summer TV about to get a whole lot raunchier? Our panel debates after these headlines."
Friday, June 08, 2007
Tires, Environmentalists, and ABC
So, who wanted them placed in the ocean?
Perhaps, this should teach us to be careful before we implement "solutions"...
Perhaps, this should teach us to be careful before we implement "solutions"...
At Business and Media, Jeff Poor lets us know:
"Up to two million tires are at the bottom of the ocean floor off the coast of Florida. They damage reefs, wash up on the beach and create a hazard for beachgoers. How did they get there? Don’t ask ABC News.
With the power of government and the green movement of the 1970s, the process was set into motion to build artificial reefs from used tires. All ABC could say was that 'someone' had gotten the idea going"
The Media - Pay for Performance
"In accordance with their usual standards?"
So, do you believe the reporting of CNN?...
So, do you believe the reporting of CNN?...
In the New York Post, Leonard Greene writes this:
"'Of course I had to pay certain people to get the story,' Koinange says, according to the e-mail.
'But everything was done in agreement with CNN and in accordance with their usual standards. But you do not get such a story without bribing . . . You have to have financial resources. But at the end, it was worth it. CNN has its story and I have my 'fame.' '"
And throw away the key
What kind of a person is this?...
Gene Johnson of the Associated Press, reports in the Dakotas' Herald News Daily:
"Police: Man drowned child for insurance"
And that's just the latest.
Immigration - Dwight D. Eisenhower
Holy Cow!...
In the Christian Science Monitor, John Dillin has this:
"One day in 1954, Border Patrol agent Walt Edwards picked up a newspaper in Big Spring, Texas, and saw some startling news. The government was launching an all-out drive to oust illegal aliens from the United States.
The orders came straight from the top, where the new president, Dwight Eisenhower, had put a former West Point classmate, Gen. Joseph Swing, in charge of immigration enforcement.
General Swing's fast-moving campaign soon secured America's borders - an accomplishment no other president has since equaled. Illegal migration had dropped 95 percent by the late 1950s."
Politicians - And their earmarks
Apparently, this earmark thing is not going to go away.
It's just going to get handled behind the scenes and out of the public's eye...
It's just going to get handled behind the scenes and out of the public's eye...
The House of Representaive's Minority Leader, John Boehner writes about the latest:
"After repeatedly promising the 'most honest' and 'most open' Congress in history, Democratic leaders have moved to make the earmark process entirely secret.
It started in January when the House quickly adopted rules that have prevented lawmakers from challenging an earmark as long as the bill to which it's attached contains a list of earmarks – even if the list is inaccurate and doesn't list the earmark at issue. The rules were supposed to ensure all earmarks receive appropriate scrutiny and opportunity for debate but have instead made it nearly impossible to challenge wasteful spending. In fact, in February the majority used this loophole to certify a massive spending bill as “earmark free,” despite the fact that it contained hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarks.
Now a new directive by the Democratic chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., will keep spending bills “earmark free” initially but allow Democrats to air-drop all earmarks into conference reports without any scrutiny. As The Associated Press reported, 'Rather than including specific pet projects, grants and contracts in legislation as it is being written,' the order will 'keep the bills free of such earmarks until it is too late for critics to effectively challenge them.'"
Meanwhile, in Albania
The American president is coming!
Obviously, their history books have it right...
Obviously, their history books have it right...
For the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, Besar Likmeta reports on the preparations:
"Albania's capital, Tirana, is decked out in the stars and stripes of the American flag in preparation for the long-awaited visit of the US President George Bush, whom most Albanians consider their greatest friend in the world.
The countdown for the June 10 visit has long started, with the government scrambling hard to complete the tight security measures needed to protect the "leader of the free world".
What was once the pre-eminent symbol of half-a-century of communist rule, the pyramid-shaped mausoleum of the former dictator Enver Hoxha, now an international cultural centre, has been hung with massive Albanian and American flags, a gigantic poster of the US President and an illuminated welcome sign.
The city's opera house and national library in the centre also sport outsized American and Albanian flags. By the end of the week, every major building and landmark in the city will be dressed likewise in symbols and slogans proclaiming the friendship between the two countries. So will the main highways through which the presidential motorcade is expected to pass."
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Immigration - Ants
I like analogies. I really like this one...
John F. Allen writes at CollinsReport.net:
"Ants are good at finding the shortest path from a food source to their nest. Illegal aliens are just as skilled at meeting their goals. Like ants, they will go to a food/job source until it no longer serves their needs.
Both ants and illegal invaders bring unsanitary conditions that threaten civil societies. Both can seemly hone in on their targets without using visual cues. They transmit information about a “find” to others in their nests.
Both are capable of adapting to changes in their environment, and changing their ways of life to fit new circumstances. Illegal invaders from subtropical climates can be found in Minnesota laying sod and shoveling snow. Ants will adapt and find a new short path to what they want if an existing path is some how blocked. When faced with a wall, illegal invaders will find a way around it.
Ants will use a form of communication to maintain a path to what they want; they mark their trail. When a way through our border is discovered by an illegal invader word of this new path spreads back to others, always, all the time. Neither ants nor illegal invaders are deterred once they find a weakness in an obstacle keeping them away from their goals."
Politicians - It is SO obvious
And most of us just don't see it...
At SmallGovTimes.com, Steve Adcock asks:
"Suppose you were sitting at home one evening and watched a commercial that tries to prove the company behind it has your best interests at heart, cares about your future and only wants to ensure your own happiness. Would you believe it?
Probably not. Ordinarily, most people would respond with something along the lines of 'Yeah right, they only want my money.' And truthfully, that is most likely the case. Corporations are in business, after all, for money and nothing but money. Money is the lifeblood of any corporation.
But, tomorrow night you decide to attend a political rally for your favorite presidential candidate. You slap on your nicest sport coat and high-tail it to the event and listen to the politician talk about 'securing' your social security, or providing health care for every American, or raising the minimum wage. You wave your fists in the air in approval and join the crowd in applauding the candidate's tender-hearted policies and warm-blooded demeanor.
That politician, after all, has your best interests at heart, right? They care about your future and only want to ensure your own happiness. Is that not correct? Politicians rarely lie, after all, and most of them eat at McDonalds every evening to conserve their measly savings."
Global Terrorism IS Real
I'm not sure very many are listening but this article does seem to make some good points...
At the New Media Journal, Dr. Walid Phares begins with:
"The announcement by U.S. authorities of the arrest of three men and the search for another man, all implicated (allegedly by legal perspective) in a plot to kill thousands of people in and around the JFK International Airport leaves us with at least seven quick lessons. Certainly, the court process and the defense tactics will provide us with further information to evaluate.
However, here are analytical points to be made, some of which could be seen as very basic."
Politicians - U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski
I wonder whether they are poorer as a result?
How do you spell corruption?
"P-O-L-I-T-I-C-I-A-N" works for me...
How do you spell corruption?
"P-O-L-I-T-I-C-I-A-N" works for me...
Dave Janoski reports in the Hazleton, PA Standard-Speaker:
"U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, D-11, touted Cornerstone Technologies LLC as a way to spin anthracite into lightweight carbon fibers, building a high-tech future from northeastern Pennsylvania’s coal-mining past.
But eight years after it was launched by Kanjorski’s relatives, the firm has collapsed into bankruptcy, leaving behind bad debt, embittered former employees and lingering ethics questions about $10 million in federal contracts Kanjorski helped secure for Cornerstone. The company’s vision of producing advanced materials for the Navy never left the drawing board.
University researchers and government officials who worked with Cornerstone say its core idea — using jets of high-pressure water to pulverize coal and other materials into minute particles — was sound. But some say the company’s leadership — a quartet of Kanjorski nephews for the most part — was ill-suited and ill-prepared for the rigors of scientific research.
'It was just like the Three Stooges meet anthracite,' said Penn State fuel-sciences professor Harold Schobert, who worked on a federal contract with the firm. 'These guys didn’t know how to order chemicals. They didn’t understand even the most fundamental aspects of how to conduct experiments.'"
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Politicians - Nancy Pelosi & family
Go ahead.
Try to convince me that politicians aren't corrupt.
Oh, and be prepared to stay a while...
Try to convince me that politicians aren't corrupt.
Oh, and be prepared to stay a while
At NewsMax.com, Ronald Kessler finds Nancy Pelosi's son on InfoUSA's payroll, and reminds us of what they are accused of:
"The Iowa attorney general's office, in an investigation that began in 2005, found that InfoUSA sold consumer data to telemarketing criminals who used it to steal money from elderly Americans, sometimes wiping out their life savings.
InfoUSA advertised call lists with titles like 'Elderly Opportunity Seekers' or 'Suffering Seniors,' a compilation of names and phone numbers of people with cancer or Alzheimer's disease. 'Oldies but Goodies' was a list of 500,000 gamblers over age 55."
June 6, 1944 - D-Day
This day in history:
From the Enclopedia Brittanica, "On June 6, 1944, a date known ever since as D-Day, a mighty armada crossed a narrow strip of sea from England to Normandy, France, and cracked the Nazi grip on western Europe."
On June 6, 1984, President Ronald Reagan remembered the day...
From the Enclopedia Brittanica, "On June 6, 1944, a date known ever since as D-Day, a mighty armada crossed a narrow strip of sea from England to Normandy, France, and cracked the Nazi grip on western Europe."
On June 6, 1984, President Ronald Reagan remembered the day...
In his speech re-posted at RealClearPolitics.com, President Reagan began:
"We're here to mark that day in history when the Allied armies joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty. For four long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, millions cried out for liberation. Europe was enslaved, and the world prayed for its rescue. Here, in Normandy, the rescue began. Here, the Allies stood and fought against tyranny, in a giant undertaking unparalleled in human history.
We stand on a lonely, windswept point on the northern shore of France. The air is soft, but forty years ago at this moment, the air was dense with smoke and the cries of men, and the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire and the roar of cannon. At dawn, on the morning of the 6th of June, 1944, 225 Rangers jumped off the British landing craft and ran to the bottom of these cliffs. Their mission was one of the most difficult and daring of the invasion: to climb these sheer and desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns. The Allies had been told that some of the mightiest of these guns were here, and they would be trained on the beaches to stop the Allied advance.
The Rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers at the edge of the cliffs, shooting down at them with machine guns and throwing grenades. And the American Rangers began to climb. They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs and began to pull themselves up. When one Ranger fell, another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a Ranger would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, shot back, and held their footing. Soon, one by one, the Rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back the continent of Europe. Two hundred and twenty-five came here. After two days of fighting, only ninety could still bear arms."
There's more.
The Saddam - al Qaida connection
I guess it's clear by now that the media won't report anything that conflicts with their agenda.
As a result, this kind of information will rarely, if ever, become part of the public's awareness.
It's sad...
As a result, this kind of information will rarely, if ever, become part of the public's awareness.
It's sad...
WorldNetDaily's website identifies the links, by name:
"It has been denied, downplayed, overlooked, forgotten, disregarded and omitted from the public record.
But a thorough review of open-source material demonstrates conclusive and widespread cooperation between former members of Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime and terrorists from the Iraqi al-Qaida network.
Dozens of former Saddam Hussein loyalists captured by U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq were found to be working with al-Qaida or linked to their operations.
Politicians - Fred Thompson
Like I said previously, "This could get interesting.", and, based on what I'm seeing, I'm hoping it does...
I found this opinion at the National Ledger. I couldn't determine the author.
"Ain’t American politics fun! Lefties hate him for being too right and Righties hate him for being, well, too right…as opposed to their recent record of being all wrong.
I’ve pointed out for some time now that no man (or woman) in their right mind would ever seek national public office today. Only self-absorbed career thieves determined to cash-in on the get-rich-quick scheme of modern politics would endure the hate-mongering cesspool of American politics. Anyone not looking to cash-in, can easily live without the stench of modern politics.
I pointed out early on, that the first sign that Fred Thompson might be the right man at the right time was the fact that only Fred Thompson was smart enough not to want the most thankless job in the world, or want to endure the most scum-filled election process in order to win it.
The second sign that he might be the right guy with the right stuff is the undeniable fact that he scares the Lenin right out of modern secular globalists on both sides of today’s political aisle."
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
This book could give you the chills
So, is this true or book selling...
At NewsMax.com, Phil Brennan has a Q&A with Paul Williams about his new book:
"NewsMax: Does al-Qaida have nuclear weapons?
Williams: They definitely have nukes. There's no doubt about it. There's positive proof. As I wrote in my book, in the first three months of Operation Enduring Freedom — the Gulf War — our troops found in a cave outside of Khandahar in Afghanistan a canister filled with Uranium 238 [the basic ingredient for a nuclear bomb] and in Turnak Farms [where at one time 1,800 members of al-Qaida lived and worked] they found jars and jars and jars of yellow cake [pure uranium, dried].
The most alarming thing of all involved a Pakistani operative who was driving over the Allenby Bridge between Jordan and Israel in a shabby Volkswagen mini-bus. The Israelis stopped him and in the back of the Volkswagen was a plutonium implosion device, the most sophisticated of all nuclear weapons. According to the Mossad people I spoke to, it was in excess of 10 kilotons.
It could have taken out all of Israel in the blink of an eye. If one of these babies went off with 10 kilotons, first of all you'd have the conventional explosion, which if it occurred at the site of 9/11, would take out all of lower Manhattan."
High Tech - Robo-Snipers
I know if you do this in your house and kill someone, it is labeled premeditated murder.
That makes we wonder how this will play out.
And try to imagine the U.S. trying to use it...
That makes we wonder how this will play out.
And try to imagine the U.S. trying to use it...
Lewis Page reports in the U.K.'s Register:
"The integrated robo-sniper network has reportedly been dubbed 'See-Shoot' by the IDF, suggesting that asking questions isn't on the priority list.
'Nobody has any business approaching our border fence,' an unnamed Israeli official told Opall-Rome. 'It's well-understood that this area is off-limits...'"
Alcohol related vehicle deaths
49 - every single day
343 - each and every week
1,495 - every month of the year
I wonder what causes us to become outraged by some death rates and statistics, while other numerically staggering ones seemingly have become "acceptable".
Hint - Did I ever mention my general disrespect for the media?...
343 - each and every week
1,495 - every month of the year
I wonder what causes us to become outraged by some death rates and statistics, while other numerically staggering ones seemingly have become "acceptable".
Hint - Did I ever mention my general disrespect for the media?...
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation:
"The preliminary figures also show that between 2005 and 2006: overall alcohol-related fatalities increased 2.4 percent from 17,525 to 17,941;"
Gas prices are higher because?
Oil prices are down by $10 per barrel; but, the cost of meeting environmental standards is driving the price of gasoline higher.
Is our media reporting this?...
Is our media reporting this?...
I found this at CNBC.com:
""Gasoline prices are up about 50 cents since March, with energy experts blaming this year's spike on planned maintenance and breakdowns at U.S. refineries struggling to meet tough environmental fuel regulations.
'Because oil prices today are at least $10 less expensive per barrel than when gasoline prices previously exceeded $3 a gallon, almost all of the price pressure on gasoline can now be attributed to America's continuing -- and increasing -- inability to supply enough refined gasoline to the marketplace,' AAA said in a statement earlier this month."
Media Myth: Gassing Up
It's a never-ending hot topic; and it fits very well into "bad news sells"...
At the end of a long article, Dan Gainor comes to this conclusion:
"Gas prices are cyclical. High demand, lack of new refineries, high regulation and higher taxes all contribute to rising prices. But that doesn’t excuse the hype and the seemingly endless stream of journalistic predictions. Gas prices had journalists chomping at the bit while they were going up and caring little when they came down.
Former 'CBS Evening News' anchor Bob Schieffer summed up much of what was wrong in the network reporting on high gas prices. In an Aug. 30, 2006, account, he managed to downplay the good news of declining prices and predict an ongoing problem. 'Whatever the short-term prospects for gas prices, though, over the long haul, it is clear the days of cheap gas are over,' he claimed.
After Schieffer’s comment, gas prices dropped every business day until mid-October."
Politicians - Ethics don't come easily
"Porker of the Month" - I like it!...
From the Investors Business Daily editorial page:
"Democrats promised in the last election to purify Washington. No more ethics problems. No more pork spending. With Democrats in the majority, Congress was going to be a shining example of all that is good.
Nearly a half year into their majority and the Democrats' promise has turned into nothing more than a landslide of investigations."
Politicians - and their promises
This article is about the Democrats; however, rest assured that I am not so gullible as to believe Republicans would be different.
I'm thinking term limits for a starter...
I'm thinking term limits for a starter...
From the Las Vegas Review-Journal in Harry Reid's home state of Nevada:
"'Rather than including specific pet projects, grants and contracts in legislation as it is being written, Democrats are following an order by the House Appropriations Committee chairman to keep the bills free of such earmarks until it is too late for critics to effectively challenge them.'
Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., now says those requests for billions of dollars to finance home-district dams, bridges and research contracts won't be added to spending measures till the fall, when House and Senate negotiators assemble final bills to send to the president. But that means few lawmakers will get a chance to oppose specific projects.
Rep. Obey insists he's taking the step 'reluctantly' because his Appropriations Committee hasn't had time to fully review the 36,000 earmark requests that have come flooding in -- despite all the Democrats' talk of 'reform.'
But predictably, watchdog groups who 'scrub' appropriations bills for questionable provisions are outraged."
Politicians - Jimmy Carter
This editorial group has little respect for ex-President Carter; and they have no trouble pointing out why that is...
The editorial staff of Investors Business Daily has this:
"In this exclusive 10-part series, IBD takes a hard look at Jimmy Carter’s administration and compares it to that of George W. Bush, which Carter has called the worst ever.
Installments will cover the economy, foreign policy, human rights, dealing with dictators, fighting Communism and the Democratic leadership in general during times of war."
Monday, June 04, 2007
In Our Courts - Plea Bargains
The legal system has changed...
In the New York Sun, Mark Steyn gives his take on it:
"Point one: I'm amazed at how few trials there are. The federal courthouse isn't one of these 19th century deals with pillars, it's a Mies van der Rohe office block built in the Sixties and I'm in a courtroom on the 12th floor. There are two other courtrooms on the same corridor and gazillions more on the floors above and no trials are going on in any of them but ours. If you want to get away from the media hubbub of the Black trial and find a quiet corner to snore the afternoon away, the best place to go is one of the other courtrooms. You could hunt buffalo on the vast empty plains of these courts. There are no trials taking place. Trial by jury, which is one of the most fundamental rights extending back through the U.S. Constitution to English Common Law and the Roman Empire and the Athenian Republic, is in terminal decline in this country."
Politicians - Fred Thompson
This sounds like it could get interesting...
In the Wall Street Opinion Journal, John Fund discusses Thompson's "non-campaign":
"He lacks the compelling story of Rudy Giuliani during 9/11. He isn't a war hero with a 24-year record in Congress like John McCain. He doesn't have the M.B.A. smoothness and business success of Mitt Romney. But what Fred Thompson demonstrated to an enthusiastic Virginia Republican Party dinner Saturday is that he has gravitas, a presence and the ability to make people comfortable. Most importantly, many at the dinner saw him as a conservative who doesn't alienate or cause angst with any element of the GOP coalition.
University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato says the failure of any of the current candidates to excite chunks of the Republican base has given Mr. Thompson an opening. Conservatives 'seem to look for reasons to like Thompson,' Mr. Sabato told the Roanoke Times.
They certainly got some from Mr. Thompson's Saturday speech. After slightly ragged tryouts before audiences in California and Connecticut, he hit his stride with a speech that mixed warnings about the state of the country with optimism that the American people can overcome the challenges facing them."
"Sicko"
I'm sure you'll hear about Michael Moore's latest "documentary".
A documentary is defined: "a film or TV program presenting the facts about a person or event".
I think Mr. Moore abuses that definition purposefully for personal gain.
He apparently ignores real facts that don't "work" for him.
For whatever reason, Mr. Moore seems to be a big-time "hate America" type; except for the money, of course...
A documentary is defined: "a film or TV program presenting the facts about a person or event".
I think Mr. Moore abuses that definition purposefully for personal gain.
He apparently ignores real facts that don't "work" for him.
For whatever reason, Mr. Moore seems to be a big-time "hate America" type; except for the money, of course...
The New York Post's Michael Tanner writes:
"While overly critical of U.S. health care, Moore overlooks the flaws of national health-care systems. He suggests, for example, that Canada's waiting lists are mere inconveniences, interviewing apparently healthy Canadians who claim they have no problem getting care. Yet nearly 800,000 Canadians aren't so lucky. The Canadian Supreme Court has pointed out that many Canadians waiting for treatment suffer chronic pain and, 'Patients die while on the waiting list.'
Similarly, Moore shows happy Britons who don't have to pay for their prescription drugs. But he didn't talk to any of the 850,000 Britons waiting for admission to National Health Service hospitals. Every year, shortages force the NHS to cancel as many as 50,000 operations. Roughly 40 percent of cancer patients never get to see an oncology specialist. Delays in getting treatment are often so long that nearly 20 percent of colon-cancer cases considered treatable when first diagnosed are incurable by the time treatment is finally offered. Perhaps Moore could have talked to some of these folks?"
