Sunday, August 31, 2008
Tale of the Tape: Sarah Palin vs. Barack Obama
If this were boxing, we would evaluate it with honesty.
So, here it is; so how will YOU evaluate it...
So, here it is; so how will YOU evaluate it...
This is posted by Jeff Emanuel at RedState.com:
"Tale of the Tape: Sarah Palin vs. Barack Obama"
Barack Obama - Come Clean
I understand the aggressive defence tactic.
What I don't understand is what are they so worried about?...
What I don't understand is what are they so worried about?...
John Fund reports in the Wall Street Journal:
"'They're terrified of people poking around Obama's life,' one reporter told Gabriel Sherman at the New Republic. 'The whole Obama narrative is built around the narrative that Obama and [campaign strategist] David Axelrod built, and, like all stories, it's not entirely true.' The stakes are high. If the full story of Mr. Obama's relationship with Rev. Jeremiah Wright had been revealed before the Iowa caucus, he wouldn't have won.
Aides claim Mr. Obama 'has taken voluntary transparency steps' that allow 'his constituents, the media and his political opponents to fully examine him.' In reality, anyone questioning the approved story line is liable to be ignored, misled or even bullied. This isn't what reporters expected when Mr. Obama began campaigning for a 'new politics' that would bring honesty and openness to government."
Information Age - WSJ.com
Here's an interesting article about our perceptions of privacy and the reality of today's real world...
This is from L. Gordon Crovitz in the Wall Street Journal:
"We seem to be following the advice of Scott McNealy, chairman of Sun Microsystems, who in 1999 said, "You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it." And the observation by Oracle CEO Larry Ellison: 'The privacy you're concerned about is largely an illusion. All you have to give up is your illusions, not any of your privacy.'
These comments could be dismissed as technology executives trying to minimize complaints about technology. But whatever we say about how much we value privacy, a close look at our actual behavior suggests we have gotten over it. A recent study by AOL of privacy in Britain found that 84% of people said they would not disclose details about their income online, but in fact 89% of them willingly did."
Saturday, August 30, 2008
"The Peacock and Barack Obama"
Bill O'Reilly, like all of those talk show hosts, is far from perfect; and their split screens of the same people screaming their "company line" at each other has caused me to stop watching.
On the other hand, I sometimes come across their written word and this is one that I'm willing to post about.
In addition, the many comments make for interesting reading...
On the other hand, I sometimes come across their written word and this is one that I'm willing to post about.
In addition, the many comments make for interesting reading...
After this lead-in, Bill O'Reilly makes some fun of them:
"DENVER -- With much of the nation sampling TV coverage of the Democratic Convention, things are getting a bit dicey for NBC News. For months that organization has tilted heavily toward promoting Barack Obama for president, thereby violating traditional journalistic tenets.
According to a recent study by the Media Research Center, 'NBC Nightly News' has the most lopsided pro-Obama coverage among national TV news operations. The MRC found that pro-Obama reports outnumber anti-Obama reports by 10 to one on "NBC Nightly News" -- an amazing statistic.
With that in mind, let's take a look at how NBC News might look sometime soon."
Governor Palin - by Mark Steyn
This posting looks to be a spontaneous evaluation that seems likely to be as accurate as any that will surely be forthcoming.
I think he "nails" it...
I think he "nails" it...
At the NationalReview.com, Mark Steyn writes:
"First, Governor Palin is not merely, as Jay describes her, 'all-American', but hyper-American. What other country in the developed world produces beauty queens who hunt caribou and serve up a terrific moose stew? As an immigrant, I'm not saying I came to the United States purely to meet chicks like that, but it was certainly high on my list of priorities. And for the gun-totin' Miss Wasilla then to go on to become Governor while having five kids makes it an even more uniquely American story. Next to her resume, a guy who's done nothing but serve in the phony-baloney job of 'community organizer' and write multiple autobiographies looks like just another creepily self-absorbed lifelong member of the full-time political class that infests every advanced democracy."
New Orleans and their levees
This seems to be another case of failing to acknowledge historical information...
The Associated Press's Cain Burdeau reports:
"Signs are emerging that history is repeating itself in the Big Easy, still healing from Katrina: People have forgotten a lesson from four decades ago and believe once again that the federal government is constructing a levee system they can prosper behind.
In a yearlong review of levee work here, The Associated Press has tracked a pattern of public misperception, political jockeying and legal fighting, along with economic and engineering miscalculations since Katrina, that threaten to make New Orleans the scene of another devastating flood.
Dozens of interviews with engineers, historians, policymakers and flood zone residents confirmed many have not learned from public policy mistakes made after Hurricane Betsy in 1965, which set the stage for Katrina; many mistakes are being repeated."
Joe Biden - Exaggerations
As Mr. Rove states, politicians are inclined to stretch the truth.
My disappointment is with the news media which continues NOT to fact check.
I don't care whether it's by design, or sloppiness; the news media is not doing the job a "free press" should be doing...
My disappointment is with the news media which continues NOT to fact check.
I don't care whether it's by design, or sloppiness; the news media is not doing the job a "free press" should be doing...
At WeeklyStandard.com, Karl Rove begins his article with:
"THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION exposed the central defect of Senator Barack Obama's candidacy: the absence of compelling evidence he is up to the job of president. The exposé comes courtesy of a bad habit of his running mate, Senator Joe Biden. When in doubt, Mr. Biden exaggerates. And in the past week, he did a lot.
Voters expect candidates to embellish, but only so much. Go beyond acceptable stretching and a candidate may squander his most precious political possession: credibility. Mr. Obama may be on this perilous path."
Friday, August 29, 2008
The Media - protecting Obama's past
More of the same from the biased media...
Here's part of what Investors Business Daily thinks about it:
"It's plain the media are protecting Obama from his radical past, insulating him from the kind of scrutiny voters need to make an informed choice in November. He got the same pass from the press running for the Senate. In fact, Obama in his latest autobiography said he couldn't believe his 'good fortune.'"
Politicians - U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski
Does this guy have an attitude, or what?
I think this guy represents the kind of politician that we DON'T need...
I think this guy represents the kind of politician that we DON'T need...
I found this at CBSnews.com. It begins:
"This tale begins in the small town of Nanticoke, Penn., population 9,500, where hometown Rep. Paul Kanjorski got more than $3 million federal tax dollars to build the "Kanjorski Center," an office building to attract business and help the local economy.
'I'm used to getting a great deal of money for my district,' Kanjorski said.
But things haven't quite gone according to plan. The Kanjorski Center's main tenant moved out in 2005, and the building's been empty ever since."
The Media - at the NLGJA Convention
Diversity is good.
Hatred and contempt are not.
The writer thinks this convention had more of the latter...
Hatred and contempt are not.
The writer thinks this convention had more of the latter...
According to Brian Fitzpatrick at CultureAndMediaInstitute.org:
"The news media loudly proclaimed its support for the homosexual activist agenda at the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association convention in Washington, D.C."
Thursday, August 28, 2008
The Media - in Bucks County, PA
So what DOES this say?
How about that the media is biased even at the local county level...
How about that the media is biased even at the local county level...
I found this post by Steven at BucksRight.com:
"If you were a writer for Calkins Media’s Bucks County Courier-Times, you would head straight for a partisan 'Patrick Murphy Watch Party and Phone Bank' organized through Barack Obama’s official web site at the home of a 'Proud, Loud, and Excited Volunteer' for the Obama campaign. Then you’d obscure the fact that your quotes were gathered at a partisan event for volunteers. Of course, that doesn’t warrant a mention."
Barack Obama - Hiding stuff?
After publishing the previous post, I came across this.
It's pretty ugly when people try to drown out free speech instead of debating or disproving what is being said...
It's pretty ugly when people try to drown out free speech instead of debating or disproving what is being said...
Here, National Review editors describe what's going on:
"While the Obama coronation proceeds apace in Denver, it is in Chicago that Americans are getting a disturbing demonstration of his thuggish methods of stifling criticism."
Barack Obama - & William Ayers
This relationship is really serious stuff!
What else do you need to know?
"If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, looks like a duck"...
What else do you need to know?
"If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, looks like a duck"...
The Editors at National Review Online ask:
"Have you ever been a friend or business associate of a terrorist? Not someone who, to your shock and horror, turned out secretly to have bombed government buildings. No, the question is whether you’ve ever befriended an unreconstructed radical whose past was well known to you when you entered his orbit and walked through doors he opened for you. Have you been chummy with an unapologetic terrorist who, years after you’d known and worked closely with him, was still telling the New York Times he regretted only failing to carry out more attacks — and that America still “makes me want to puke”?
Barack Obama has."
Fire in the Night - by John M. Murtagh
Sometimes, items in the news seem surreal and far way.
Sometimes, they really hit (at) home...
Sometimes, they really hit (at) home...
Here's a posting by John M. Murtagh that may help you understand that feeling:
"Early on the morning of February 21, as my family slept, three gasoline-filled firebombs exploded at our home on the northern tip of Manhattan, two at the front door and the third tucked neatly under the gas tank of the family car."
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Uranium - from seawater
It seems to me that there are numerous abundant sources of energy in the world besides oil.
So, who or what is preventing their use; and WHY?...
So, who or what is preventing their use; and WHY?...
This is posted by BW at NextBigFuture.com:
"We can withdraw 16 000 tonne/yr of uranium from seawater continuously for hundreds of millions of years. This is enough to produce 16 000 GWe or 480 quadrillion BTU per year, which is 6 times the world’s present electricity usage, and almost the world’s present total energy consumption."
Illegal Immigration - Fear grips immigrants after Miss. plant raid
If you are legal, you have nothing to worry about.
It's as simple as that...
It's as simple as that...
From the ASssociated Press ay Myway.com, HolBrook Mohr reports:
"Nearly 600 immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally were detained,..."
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Barack Obama - Born in the U.S.A.?
This story/non-story has been hanging around for a while now.
It's NOT being reported by any major media; but, that obviously doesn't make it untrue.
Here's the latest...
It's NOT being reported by any major media; but, that obviously doesn't make it untrue.
Here's the latest...
At Zwire.com, the Times-Herald's Keith Phucas has this:
"PHILADELPHIA - A Lafayette Hill attorney filed a lawsuit in federal court Thursday challenging Sen. Barack Obama's claim to United States citizenship. The action seeks to remove the Democratic candidate from the November ballot.
To be eligible to serve as U.S. president, a person must be born in this country. According to Obama's birth certificate, which his campaign posted on its Internet site in June to quell rumors that he is foreign born, the Illinois senator was born in Hawaii on Aug. 6, 1961.
On Thursday, Philip Berg filed a temporary restraining order in federal court to bar Obama from running for president, claiming the Democratic candidate was actually born in Africa.
'We really don't believe he was born in Hawaii,' Berg said. 'We think he was born in Kenya.'"
The Media - Images of War
On this subject, as distasteful as it is, I can see the point that the New York Times is making.
Unfortunately, I can't see, how the Times can justify NOT also publishing the items that Mr. Hinderaker lists.
In our world of bias and intolerance for conflicting opinions, I find the PowerLine blog to be more than reasonable.
Advantage: Hinderaker...
Unfortunately, I can't see, how the Times can justify NOT also publishing the items that Mr. Hinderaker lists.
In our world of bias and intolerance for conflicting opinions, I find the PowerLine blog to be more than reasonable.
Advantage: Hinderaker...
This posting, by John Hinderaker lists several categories that are never published, and asks for fairness:
"So, if we're going to have a debate about when it is necessary to show graphic images of violence so that Americans can be better informed about the consequences of government policies, by all means let's go at it. But let's not pretend that the only time the issue arises is when a newspaper wants to publish photos of dead and dying soldiers for the purpose of turning public opinion against a military conflict."
Monday, August 25, 2008
The Media - Scooped again
If you think we are getting good, timely, and accurate information from our "mainstream" media outlets, I have a bridge to sell you.
If they would replace the time they spend promoting their own agenda and causes, with honest and investigatory reporting, they may possibly return to the status they once held.
I would suggest that each media entity have a "hypocrisy" bureau, entirely devoted to exposing those that practice that behavior [currently] with impunity...
If they would replace the time they spend promoting their own agenda and causes, with honest and investigatory reporting, they may possibly return to the status they once held.
I would suggest that each media entity have a "hypocrisy" bureau, entirely devoted to exposing those that practice that behavior [currently] with impunity...
P.J. Gladnick posts this at NewsBusters.com:
"In yet another example of why more and more people are turning to the Web for their news, the DBKP blog has just uncovered information that the John Edwards campaign has been refunding campaign contributions even before billionaire Warren Buffett suggested that Edwards could be hit with a class action lawsuit. And can you guess which of the two of Edwards' Americas got the majority of the refunds?"
Mess in Mindanao - WSJ.com
I have to wonder what's going on here.
Caving in to violent terrorists never worked in the schoolyard, so how could anyone expect it to work here?...
Caving in to violent terrorists never worked in the schoolyard, so how could anyone expect it to work here?...
The Wall Street Journal describes what's going on:
"In Southeast Asia's battle against terrorism, a flub in one country can have repercussions around the region. That's the danger in the Philippines, where Manila's strategy of negotiating with terrorists has come a cropper.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front is a violent group that claims large swathes of the southern island of Mindanao as its Muslim homeland. Late last month, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced a peace agreement that promised autonomy. But the deal started falling apart when the Supreme Court blocked it in the face of a legal challenge. The rebels responded by hacking or shooting 37 people to death and forcing 44,000 more to flee their homes."
Barack Obama - and the Economy
I think it's time to get serious in our thinking about higher taxes.
They ARE NOT conducive to economic expansion.
They ARE LIKELY to create circumstances that require even MORE taxes.
Did the entire country miss the results of the Reagan and Bush tax cuts?
It sure seems like it...
They ARE NOT conducive to economic expansion.
They ARE LIKELY to create circumstances that require even MORE taxes.
Did the entire country miss the results of the Reagan and Bush tax cuts?
It sure seems like it...
I found this opinion at SeekingAlpha.com:
"When it comes to assessing the implications of John McCain's and Barack Obama's tax plans, the vast majority seem to side with Bank Credit Analyst managing editor Martin Barnes: 'There are attempts to make the Obama-McCain difference big; but they are not that big, really.'
Barron's Jim McTague begs to differ. 'The vast majority... is wrong.'"
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Barack Obama - the Gaffe Machine
I am of the opinion that a significant portion of our citizenry doesn't even know a "gaffe" when they hear one.
As long as it "sounds" good, it "must" be right; and, that it where the problem lies...
As long as it "sounds" good, it "must" be right; and, that it where the problem lies...
On the PowerLine Blog, John Hinderaker posts this and more:
"Barack Obama without a teleprompter is an accident waiting to happen. Sometimes he reveals his ignorance of history, sometimes he stumbles incoherently, and sometimes he blurts out what he really believes."
Meanwhile - in Doncaster, U.K.
To me, it now seems politically incorrect to honor veterans; and, politically incorrect to deny gay's anything.
To me, there should be room for both.
Unfortunately, the proliferation of this politcal correctness sends the message that the minority opinion is the "right" opinion...
To me, there should be room for both.
Unfortunately, the proliferation of this politcal correctness sends the message that the minority opinion is the "right" opinion...
I found this on the U.K. Telegraph website:
"About 3,000 former and current servicemen and women who served in wars ranging from World War Two to Afghanistan proudly marched through Doncaster town centre last August on the town's inaugural Veterans' Day.
But this year the local Royal British Legion branch claims it has been shunned by the council, and told the event could not be staged because of a 'lack of amenities.'
Yet Doncaster staged its first gay pride parade last Sunday, and a few weeks before hosted a civic parade in which dignitaries, community workers and the public took part."
Saturday, August 23, 2008
About those Chinese gymnasts
The International Olympic Committee is much like the United Nations.
In spite of the facts, certain countries are just about untouchable...
In spite of the facts, certain countries are just about untouchable...
Sally Jenkins discusses the issue in the Washington Post:
"The hope is that the officials who govern Olympic competition will conduct a straightforward investigation, but regrettably, such a thing seems to be beyond their scope and spine at this point. Who are you going to believe, the Chinese government, or the Chinese government? The authorities at the Beijing Games have considered the question, and for the moment have decided to believe the Chinese government."
Friday, August 22, 2008
Barack Obama - and his associations
Politicians all seem to have "interesting" friends and relationships.
Mr. Obama is clearly no different.
Here, we have to consider that this may be an advertisement for the new book.
Regardless, we're likely to hear much more stuff like this...
Mr. Obama is clearly no different.
Here, we have to consider that this may be an advertisement for the new book.
Regardless, we're likely to hear much more stuff like this...
This is from David Freddoso in the New York Post:
"These and the other Obama-backed bills helped make millionaires of Rezko and other slum developers at taxpayers' expense. The developers - including his former law boss and an adviser to his current campaign - reciprocated, together giving and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for Obama's campaigns.
To sum up: Obama got them subsidies to build. He secured them a steady income of government rent subsidies. He arranged special tax credits and abatements for them. He backed measures that increased demand for their services, and helped them legally circumvent local laws."
Barack Obama - according to FactCheck.org
I've read an awful lot about this and frankly don't know who to trust, or what the truth is.
For what it's worth, some conservatives label FactCheck.org as a left-leaning, Obama supporting website. I just don't know...
For what it's worth, some conservatives label FactCheck.org as a left-leaning, Obama supporting website. I just don't know...
This, and more, is on the FactCheck.org website:
"Recently FactCheck representatives got a chance to spend some time with the birth certificate, and we can attest to the fact that it is real and three-dimensional and resides at the Obama headquarters in Chicago. We can assure readers that the certificate does bear a raised seal, and that it's stamped on the back by Hawaii state registrar Alvin T. Onaka (who uses a signature stamp rather than signing individual birth certificates). We even brought home a few photographs."
Global Warming - now brainwashing
That's what it sounds like to me...
I found this at Investors Business Daily:
"But that's putting it mildly. If we were looser with our words, we'd say the 148,000-member American Psychological Association plans to condition the public so that, in the words of Douglas Vakoch, clinical psychologist at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, today's "increased environmental concern" won't 'become just another fashionable trend.'"
Never Re-elect!
It is often said that the best solution is the simplest solution.
This website supports a very simple solution, and the postings are very much to the point...
This website supports a very simple solution, and the postings are very much to the point...
You may decide to agree after visiting TenureCorrupts.com, where they say:
"NEVER REELECT YOUR CONGRESSMAN!
This site maintains that it is bad for our country if any politician holds any seat too long."
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Barack Obama - Money rolls in
If this is true, what in the world can we make of it?
What is it with this guy?...
What is it with this guy?...
This is part of what's posted at PrimeTime Politics website:
"Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs has been doing some very important digging into questionable donations to the Obama campaign: "
Barack Obama - Is something fishy here?
I don't profess to know the truth about Barack Obama; however, considering his relative short time time in politics, he certainly seems to have more than his share of controversial relationships and items from his past that are "unavailable"...
At the American Thinker, Rick Moran reports:
"This is getting curiouser and curiouser...
Records detailing the workings of a 1990's charitable group working to better education in the city of Chicago that are housed at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) are being shielded from the prying eyes of reporters. The significance of these records is that the foundation in question was run by none other than Barack Obama. And the foundation was formed by none other than William Ayers, the radical Weather Underground terrorist who Obama has referred to as 'just a neighbor.'
Stanley Kurtz of the National Review has tried to access records of The Annenberg Challenge on Excellence in Education and met with a stone wall. This despite the fact that the records are supposedly open to the public:"
"Obama's Radical Roots And Rules"
Here's more on candidate Obama...
I found this at the beginning of an article in Investors Business Daily:
"The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's choice of the word 'change' as his campaign's central slogan is not the product of focus-group studies, or the brainstorming sessions of his political consultants.
One of Obama's main inspirations was a man dedicated to revolutionary change that he was convinced 'must be preceded by a passive, affirmative, nonchallenging attitude toward change among the mass of our people. They must feel so frustrated, so defeated, so lost, so futureless in the prevailing system that they are willing to let go of the past and change the future.'
Sen. Obama was trained by Chicago's Industrial Areas Foundation, founded in 1940 by the radical organizer Saul Alinsky. In the 1980s, Obama spent years as director of the Developing Communities Project, which operated using Alinsky's strategies, and was involved with two other Alinsky-oriented entities, Acorn and Project Vote."
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Politicians - U.S. Rep John Murtha
We live in a great country.
And I guess it's especially great if you have Mr. Murtha working the money for you...
And I guess it's especially great if you have Mr. Murtha working the money for you...
At Harpers.org, Ken Silverstein and Sebastian Jones describe him and more:
"Murtha basically runs a racket. He helps win taxpayer money for companies that support his campaigns and hire lobbyists he approves of–often his former staffers and in at least one case blood kin. Companies that set up shop in his district do better yet, even if they only set up a smaller satellite office, thereby allowing Murtha to pose as a champion of his constituents as opposed to his political cronies. 'There’s been no report of Mr. Murtha’s profiting personally,' the New York Times has written. 'But the Murtha operation–which has become a model for other entrepreneurial lawmakers–is a gross example of quid pro quo Washington.'
Murtha’s porkbarreling has been covered extensively here in the past. Consider now another instance of the Murtha rules: the case of Argon ST and its subsidiary, Coherent Systems International."
Oil - Can we learn something here?
Brazil has a different idea...
I found this by the Associated Press in the International Herald Tribune:
"Brazil's state-run oil company is planning to bring 63 new oil rigs into operation at newly discovered offshore fields and other sites by 2018."
The oil drilling debate
There's no quick way out of our oil problem; and that has been known for a LONG time.
Our politicians have clearly dropped the ball on this; and, apparently are content to continue with more of the same...
Our politicians have clearly dropped the ball on this; and, apparently are content to continue with more of the same...
At money.CNN.com, Jon Birger states this opinion:
"It is government's job to think long term, which is exactly why Congress should allow more offshore oil exploration. I've already written in this space about the absurd moratorium on oil-shale production. As far as offshore drilling goes, what's most frustrating is we can't even have an informed debate.
There may be very little undiscovered oil in the outer continental shelf (OCS), or there may be a multiple oil fields the size of Tupi - the monster field that Petrobras discovered off the coast of Rio de Janeiro in 2006. We just don't know how much oil is out there because oil companies have no incentive to do the costly seismic surveys required to find out.
'The fact is that much of the data we have about potential resources in prospective OCS areas is very limited - the equivalent of a few snapshots the size of postage stamps - because it's based on technology that is more than 25 years old,' Chevron CEO David O'Reilly said last year. 'When we consider the development of domestic oil and gas resources in the OCS, we've created a kind of Gordian knot in the policy arena. We've become paralyzed in a debate confined by fixed positions and fuzzy data.'"
Cyber Warfare - Problematic?
This looks like it could be trouble.
I wonder if our government is paying attention...
I wonder if our government is paying attention...
At Heritage.org, James Jay Carafano, Ph.D. discusses it:
"Cyberwar is like real war, a competition of action and reaction between two thinking, determined enemies. Technology, which evolves every day, is the 'wild card' that keeps changing the nature of the battlefield. Like war on an escalator, there is no standing still. Thus, there is no quick fix or 'silver bullet' solution that will make America safe. What is called for is dynamic, informed national leadership in the public and private sector that understands how to compete in the cyber-strategic environment."
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
And then, the "skunk" truck arrived
Innovation is a fascinating subject. Wouldn't you say?...
In the Australian Herald-Sun, Joseph Krauss reports:
"THE Palestinian protesters massed at the fence expected tear gas and rubber bullets; what they got instead was a putrid yellow wind, Israel's newest weapon against West Bank demonstrators."
The EMP Threat - WSJ.com
If you need something to worry about, this seems like the perfect scenario...
The Wall Street Journal describes it:
"An EMP attack occurs when a nuclear bomb explodes high in the Earth's atmosphere. The electromagnetic pulse generated by the blast destroys all the electronics in its line of sight. For a bomb detonated over the Midwest, that includes most of the continental U.S. Few, if any, people die in the blast. It's what comes next that has the potential to be catastrophic. Since an EMP surge wipes out electronics, virtually every aspect of modern American life would come to a standstill."
Monday, August 18, 2008
Backyard Oil
Free from foreign oil and financial independence at the same time.
Perhaps you'd like one in YOUR backyard...
Perhaps you'd like one in YOUR backyard...
In the Wall Street Journal, Elizabeth Ames Jones describes the Barrett Shale formation in Texas:
"What I've seen is that while Congress balks at drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska out of fear of disturbing a few caribou, we've moved ahead to safely tap into an energy reserve located underneath suburban homes. And there is no better example of how Texas gets the balance right between energy and the environment than the development of the Barnett Shale."
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Meanwhile - In Germany
I guess you're never too old to be astonished by something.
See if you can come to terms with this?...
See if you can come to terms with this?...
At AllAmericanBlogger.com, Duane Lester tells us about John Dewey:
"John Dewey, considered the father of modern education, was a fan of the early Soviet Union’s eduactional system. In a December 5, 1928 issue of the New Republic, Dewey wrote of “the marvelous development of progressive educational ideas and practices under the fostering care of the Bolshevist government.”
Dewey is also quoted as saying, 'Children who know how to think for themselves spoil the harmony of the collective society which is coming where everyone is interdependent.'
In 1932, Dewey wrote 'Individualism Old and New', where he stated, 'We are in for some kind of socialism, call it by whatever name we please, and no matter what it will be called when it is realized.' According to Wikipedia, Dewey opined:
…that fixing the problem with culture is one in the same with that of liberating the individual; by abolishing culture driven by private pecuniary gain and reaffirming the importance of community and industrial cooperative control, Dewey argues that the individual will be harmonized with his communities and liberated to achieve true progress.
Two years later, Dewey was named Honorary Life President of the National Education Association (NEA). Today, the NEA is the largest labor union in the United States. It is also one of homeschooling’s biggest enemies."
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Junk Mail - How bad is it?
Any excuse to get rid of junk mail works for me. It does seem like a waste of resources; but, it must work. Otherwise, companies wouldn't send it.
As for saving the environment, I'm not sure. After reading the article AND the comments, I'm still not sure...
As for saving the environment, I'm not sure. After reading the article AND the comments, I'm still not sure...
Dan Shapley writes at theDailyGreen.com:
"A report by the group ForestEthics estimates that destroying forests to make paper for junk mail releases as much greenhouse gas pollution as 9 million cars.
Another way to look at it: Junk mail produces as much pollution as seven U.S. states combined, or as much as heating 13 million homes each winter.
While the estimates may or may not be accurate, the point is indisputable: Junk mail is a waste. (To most people, it's an annoying part of the trip to the mailbox, anyway.)"
Friday, August 15, 2008
Health News - Pill that halts Alzheimer's
This certainly sounds promising...
Jenny Hope reports for the U.K. Daily Mail:
"A new drug halts the devastating progress of Alzheimer’s disease, say British scientists.
It is said to be more than twice as effective as current treatments."
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Extracurricular Politics - WSJ.com
Lobbying and contributing to causes is legal.
Having said that, there's a smell about this that I don't like...
Having said that, there's a smell about this that I don't like...
The Wall Street Journal enlightens us:
"In the 2007-08 fiscal year, not surprisingly, the NEA spent $2.3 million -- on top of $1 million spent the previous fiscal year -- fighting a school voucher referendum in Utah.
But other expenditures reveal this national NEA cash -- which is separate from PAC contributions that must adhere to federal campaign-finance laws -- as a fund for various and sundry left-wing political causes. Mr. Antonucci reports that during the current fiscal year the NEA sent the Hawaii State Teachers Association $20,000 to conduct polling on a state constitutional convention. It sent the Massachusetts Teachers Association $60,000 to oppose a state income-tax repeal. And it sent the Florida Education Association $200,000 to oppose property-tax cuts in the Sunshine State."
Election Fraud and Illegal Immigrants
This makes it sound like American elections are a joke.
I guess I could ask why politicians are willing to let this continue, but, I figure we already know the answer to that...
I guess I could ask why politicians are willing to let this continue, but, I figure we already know the answer to that...
This is from Jim Kouri's article at MensNewsDaily.com:
"'There is no reliable method to determine the number of non-citizens registered or actually voting because most laws to ensure that only citizens vote are ignored, are inadequate, or are systematically undermined by government officials. Those who ignore the implications of non-citizen registration and voting either are willfully blind to the problem or may actually favor this form of illegal voting,' said Spakovsky, an expert on the subject of illegal aliens and immigration law, during an interview on Fox News Channel.
As far as felons, US Attorneys are required to notify state election officials of federal felony convictions, but the information is not always easy for election officials to interpret or complete, according to New Jersey GOP strategist Janice Martin.
'Americans would be shocked to discover that hundreds of thousands of general election voters are illegal aliens, green-card immigrants, and criminals who’ve murdered, raped and robbed US citizens. And guess which political party benefits the most from their votes? The one that’s pushing for amnesty and a bag full of free goodies,' said Martin"
Barack Obama - Citizen or not?
As I said before, this sounds like a big deal.
And as I said before, I recall many similar big deals going up in smoke with no consequences...
And as I said before, I recall many similar big deals going up in smoke with no consequences...
Here's Steve Miller's analysis in the Canadian Free Press:
"Barack Obama is not legally a US natural-born citizen according to the law on the books at the time of his birth; a law that was in effect between December 24, 1952 and November 13, 1986, when the law was changed."
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Al-Qaida and Elections
Let's hope they sit this election out...
In the Sacramento Bee, Bruce Riedel wonders:
"The Elections Are Coming. Is Al-Qaida?"
The British are Coming - Conservative Ones
Apparently, the pendulum swings both ways in Great Britain, too...
At Campus Report Online, Jeff Waldmann reports:
"With the British Conservative Party poised for a thunderous victory in the next general election, the future appears bright for increased cooperation between the United States and Great Britain in the War on Terror, according to a July 29 Heritage Foundation panel."
In the Middle East
There's nothing like a little espionage and mystery to enliven one's day.
When you play with these big boys, somebody always gets hurt...
When you play with these big boys, somebody always gets hurt...
P. David Hornik has this at Front Page Magazine's website:
"Britain’s Sunday Times reports that Brig.-Gen. Muhammad Suleiman, the key aide to Syrian president Bashar Assad who was assassinated last August 2, had been the one supplying Hezbollah with Russian-made SA-8 anti-aircraft missiles that threatened Israel’s air supremacy over Lebanon.
The Times cites the London-based Saudi paper Al-Sharq al-Awsat as saying Suleiman was 'senior even to the defense minister' and 'knew everything.' He had been Bashar Assad’s personal mentor since 1994, and after becoming prime minister in 2000 Assad appointed Suleiman as his operations officer with responsibility for protecting the regime.
The Times notes that Suleiman 'was killed by a single shot to the head as he sat in the garden of his summer house near the northern port city of Tartus. Nobody heard the shot, which appears to have been fired from a speedboat by a sniper, possibly equipped with a silencer.'
In other words, a highly sophisticated job that seems to point to Israel. Right after the assassination, though, with speculations swirling as to who was responsible, and some even saying it was an inside job by Assad himself because Suleiman knew too much about Assad’s involvement in the killing of Rafik Hariri and other Lebanese figures, it was thought that Israel wasn’t a likely suspect because of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s push for Syrian-Israeli peace talks."
"Correcting the Misconceptions about Iraq"
This posting reviews "common questions about Iraq". It seems quite honest and informative, and provides links to support what is stated.
I think it is worthwhile reading...
I think it is worthwhile reading...
Tom Ordeman, Jr. writes at FamilySecurityMatters.com. He begins:
"More than five years after the commencement of the Iraq War, the decision to invade remains a hot political issue. Unfortunately, pundits on both sides of the issue continue to discuss the history and background of the invasion in varying degrees of ignorance. The Iraq War is the defining political issue of our day, impacting American foreign and domestic policies, economic and social concerns, and affecting nearly all Americans in one way or another.
As the presidential election inches closer and closer, the presumptive nominees continue to circulate rhetoric on either side of the issue."
Israel and Iran
There are many sides to this issue; and many opinions...
Bernard Avishai and Reza Aslan publish theirs in the Washington Post:
"An Israeli Strike on Iran, a Plan That Just Doesn't Fly"
"Enviromania" - WSJ.com
This seems like a reasonable determination to me...
Daniel Henninger gives his opinion in the Wall Street Journal:
"An environmentalist with two feet on the planet is someone who admits that fixing what economists call 'externalities,' such as air pollution or climate effects, requires a balance between those goals and protecting the productive economy.
An enviromaniac is the sort of person who would say: 'Breaking our oil addiction . . . will take nothing less than a complete transformation of our economy.' The complete transformation of our economy?
So said Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in his major energy statement this Monday. "
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Meet Fred Baron
Well, he's apparently a friend and supporter of John Edwards; and, he's made his money as a trial lawyer, too.
That's all I'm going to say...
That's all I'm going to say...
At Law.com, Zach Lowe discusses some of his past and present:
"Baron, a trial lawyer who became one of the kings of asbestos litigation, has admitted paying Rielle Hunter and former Edwards campaign staffer Andrew Young's relocation expenses when they moved out of North Carolina and into million-dollar homes in California in the last two years.
The payments may amount to as much as $15,000 per month, some news outlets reported.
Baron's admissions and Edwards' acknowledgment of the affair came after the two-time presidential hopeful --and 2004 Democratic vice-presidential candidate -- spent months denying reports of marital infidelity published in the National Enquirer."
John Edwards - Scorched
There's nothing wishy-washy here...
This Republican-American editorial begins with:
"By now, just about everyone has heard former Sen. John Edwards' non-apology apology for his affair with a former campaign aide. It turns out that despite his repeated, emphatic denials, he's a bigger hypocrite than even we imagined. But in gaining entry to that growing, bipartisan fraternity of immoral politicos, he exhibited especially despicable behavior for which he and his enabling wife, Elizabeth, must be condemned."
The Media - Americans do know
This is somewhat heartening.
I've always wondered whether Americans in general have noticed this bias.
Apparently, they have; and, they consider it a pretty big problem.
Gee, I wonder if that has anything to do with falling circulation numbers? Duh!...
I've always wondered whether Americans in general have noticed this bias.
Apparently, they have; and, they consider it a pretty big problem.
Gee, I wonder if that has anything to do with falling circulation numbers? Duh!...
This is from a recent survey by Rasmussen Reports:
"Voters overwhelmingly believe that politicians will 'break the rules to help people who give them a lot of money,' but most say there’s a bigger problem in politics today—media bias.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 55% believe media bias is more of a problem than big campaign contributions."
The War in Iraq Is Over. What Next? - WSJ.com
I guess this explains the lack of Iraq news.
It's almost all good...
It's almost all good...
In the Wall Street Journal, Bing West reports the latest and his experiences:
"The war I witnessed for more than five years in Iraq is over. In July, there were five American fatalities in Iraq, the lowest since the war began in March 2003. In Mosul recently, I chatted with shopkeepers on the same corner where last January a Humvee was blown apart in front of me. In the Baghdad district of Ghazilia -- where last January snipers controlled streets awash in human waste -- I saw clean streets and soccer games. In Basra, the local British colonel was dining at a restaurant in the center of the bustling city.
For the first time in 15 trips across the country, I didn't hear one shot or a single blast from a roadside bomb. In Anbar Province, scene of the fiercest fighting during the war, the tribal sheiks insisted to Barack Obama on his recent visit that the U.S. Marines had to stay because they were the most trusted force."
Water Car Test - Popular Mechanics
Don't believe any hype; and don't get your hopes up...
Popular Mechanic's Mike Allen tells us why:
"The entire concept of running your car on water is based on bad science. The idea is to use electricity from the car's alternator to electrolyze water into HHO, a mixture of pure hydrogen and oxygen. This mix is fed into the intake air, where it is burned along with gasoline, thereby increasing your fuel economy anywhere from 15 to 100 percent—depending on which Web site you're visiting. Believe the hype, and those 1 to 2 liters of HHO streamed into the engine will double the fuel economy, clean the engine out, and maybe even grow hair. Plenty of these budget sites even claim their devices are efficient enough for a version that would run a car entirely on water—no gasoline at all.
If this sounds like it's too good to be true, it is."
Bruce Ivins Wasn't the Anthrax Culprit - WSJ.com
This guy seems to know what he's writing about, and it doesn't match the government's story.
That could easily give one pause to think that maybe the government just wants this to go away, rather than admit that someone out there knows what's going on, i.e. how to weaponize powdered anthrax.
Pretty creepy...
That could easily give one pause to think that maybe the government just wants this to go away, rather than admit that someone out there knows what's going on, i.e. how to weaponize powdered anthrax.
Pretty creepy...
Here's part of Richard Spertzel's recent Wall Street Journal article:
"Information released by the FBI over the past seven years indicates a product of exceptional quality. The product contained essentially pure spores. The particle size was 1.5 to 3 microns in diameter. There are several methods used to produce anthrax that small. But most of them require milling the spores to a size small enough that it can be inhaled into the lower reaches of the lungs. In this case, however, the anthrax spores were not milled.
What's more, they were also tailored to make them potentially more dangerous. According to a FBI news release from November 2001, the particles were coated by a 'product not seen previously to be used in this fashion before.' Apparently, the spores were coated with a polyglass which tightly bound hydrophilic silica to each particle. That's what was briefed (according to one of my former weapons inspectors at the United Nations Special Commission) by the FBI to the German Foreign Ministry at the time.
Another FBI leak indicated that each particle was given a weak electric charge, thereby causing the particles to repel each other at the molecular level. This made it easier for the spores to float in the air, and increased their retention in the lungs.
In short, the potential lethality of anthrax in this case far exceeds that of any powdered product found in the now extinct U.S. Biological Warfare Program. In meetings held on the cleanup of the anthrax spores in Washington, the product was described by an official at the Department of Homeland Security as 'according to the Russian recipes' -- apparently referring to the use of the weak electric charge."
Organic Food - Nothing to gain?
This seems to defy conventional wisdom and common sense.
It's really hard to know what to believe, isn't it?...
It's really hard to know what to believe, isn't it?...
This is posted at ScienceDaily.com:
"Many people pay more than a third more for organic food in the belief that it has more nutritional content than food grown with pesticides and chemicals.
But the research by Dr Susanne Bügel and colleagues from the Department of Human Nutrition, University of Copenhagen, shows there is no clear evidence to back this up."
Monday, August 11, 2008
In Our Schools - Changing the Math
My generation seems to handle math pretty well.
Since then, the teaching of math has been changed and "improved" a zillion times.
Can you see what I see?...
Since then, the teaching of math has been changed and "improved" a zillion times.
Can you see what I see?...
In the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Laura Diamond reports:
"Georgia parents were outraged after thousands of students failed statewide math exams in May.
Now with the start of a new school year, parents fear for their children as the state expands the new math curriculum to high schools.
Fayette County parent Wendy Ashabranner worries how her son will handle this new math when he starts at Fayette County High on Monday. He was among the 38 percent of the state's eighth-graders who failed the state's new, redesigned math exam, which was based on harder material.
While parents and teachers expected some students to struggle with the new math, they were shocked by the high failure rates.
'It's a trust factor, and I'm very leery of trusting the state,' she said. 'I know they're hoping these new standards will work, but what if it backfires? It's our kids who will pay the price. Why are they using our kids as guinea pigs?'"
The Media - NOT covering the "news"
Here's a media person's opinion of how the media handled the John Edward's issue.
I can agree with some, but not all, of it. After all, he is a media person, and therefore, in my opinion, prejudiced in some way so as not to alienate himself from his profession.
To me, he is clearly a moderator; NOT an investigative reporter...
I can agree with some, but not all, of it. After all, he is a media person, and therefore, in my opinion, prejudiced in some way so as not to alienate himself from his profession.
To me, he is clearly a moderator; NOT an investigative reporter...
Howard Kurtz writes in the Washington Post:
"The whispered allegations about John Edwards were an open secret that was debated in every newsroom and reported by almost none.
The story of Edwards's affair with a former campaign aide became so widely known -- what a Slate blogger called 'undernews' -- that by last week there seemed little point in the mainstream media gatekeepers' keeping it isolated outside their moat. And yet, even as some national news organizations tried halfheartedly to confirm the tawdry tale, they ignored it in public -- wary of the National Enquirer, of Edwards's dismissal of 'tabloid trash,' of wading once again into the swamp of sexual scandal without definitive proof.
By early last week, journalists were in the awkward position of refusing to report on explosive allegations that were almost certain to knock the former North Carolina senator out of the Democratic convention. They were in a box of their own making, one that came to feel airtight and uncomfortable."
"Massive US Naval Armada Heads for Iran"
This certainly sounds ominous.
Or maybe it's just another day in the volatile Middle East...
Or maybe it's just another day in the volatile Middle East...
At LiveLeak.com, Timothy Alexander offers this and a lot more detail if you click "More":
"The build up of naval forces in the Gulf will be one of the largest multi-national naval armadas since the First and Second Gulf Wars. The intent is to create a US/EU naval blockade (which is an Act of War under international law) around Iran (with supporting air and land elements) to prevent the shipment of benzene and certain other refined oil products headed to Iranian ports. Iran has limited domestic oil refining capacity and imports 40% of its benzene. Cutting off benzene and other key products would cripple the Iranian economy. The neo-cons are counting on such a blockade launching a war with Iran."
Declarations - WSJ.com
Peggy Noonan has been around since the Reagan years.
Sometimes, I can agree with her, and sometimes I don't.
In this article, she discusses the current state of the Presidential campaign and some nuances she's noticed.
It's interesting reading...
Sometimes, I can agree with her, and sometimes I don't.
In this article, she discusses the current state of the Presidential campaign and some nuances she's noticed.
It's interesting reading...
Here's part of Peggy Noonan column in the Wall Street Journal:
"There's a thing that's out there and it's big, and latent, and somehow always taken into account and always ignored, and political professionals always assume they understand it. It has been called many things the past 50 years, 'the silent center,' 'the silent majority,' 'the coalition,' 'the base.' The idea of it has evolved as its composition has evolved, but the fact that it's big, and relatively silent, and somehow always latent, maintains. And watching that McCain event—vroom vroom—one got the sense it is perhaps beginning to pay attention to the campaign. I see it as the old America, and if and when it reasserts itself, the campaign will shift indeed, and in ways you can even see from 10,000 feet."
Meanwhile - in the United Kingdom
Don't break the bin rules?...
Steve Doughty reports in the U.K. Daily Mail:
"Householders who put too much rubbish in their bins face tougher punishments than shoplifters and drunken louts."
Sunday, August 10, 2008
An Editorial - from Steve
So here I sit; watching the Olympics.
And as I watch, I consider America's place in the world.
And I can't help but observe; that American teams are black, white, yellow, and of every ancestry that one can reasonably imagine.
And then I notice, the competition.
They are consistently, maybe 100%, from the country they were born in.
So now, I just ask; which is THE most accommodating country, the GREATEST country, on this planet called Earth?
I rest my case!...
And as I watch, I consider America's place in the world.
And I can't help but observe; that American teams are black, white, yellow, and of every ancestry that one can reasonably imagine.
And then I notice, the competition.
They are consistently, maybe 100%, from the country they were born in.
So now, I just ask; which is THE most accommodating country, the GREATEST country, on this planet called Earth?
I rest my case!...
Potomac Watch - WSJ.com
Republicans politicians who convey liberal ideas and often side with Democrats are labeled "bipartisan" by the liberal media.
Republicans politicians who convey liberal ideas and often side with Democrats are labeled "RINO's" by conservatives.
"RINO" is the acronym for "Republican In Name Only".
If you think about it, a "RINO" is a member of the team that CANNOT BE COUNTED ON to vote WITH the team. They're NOT the kind of teammate you would want to have...
Republicans politicians who convey liberal ideas and often side with Democrats are labeled "RINO's" by conservatives.
"RINO" is the acronym for "Republican In Name Only".
If you think about it, a "RINO" is a member of the team that CANNOT BE COUNTED ON to vote WITH the team. They're NOT the kind of teammate you would want to have...
The Wall Street Journal uses a recent example to explain the "RINO" effect:
"And so, last Friday, in stumbled Sens. Lindsey Graham, John Thune, Saxby Chambliss, Bob Corker and Johnny Isakson -- alongside five Senate Democrats. This "Gang of 10" announced a 'sweeping' and 'bipartisan' energy plan to break Washington's energy 'stalemate.' What they did was throw every vulnerable Democrat, and Mr. Obama, a life preserver.
That's because the plan is a Democratic giveaway."
Immigration - This sounds a bit scary
This is pretty unbelievable, in addition to being pretty ugly.
Maybe it's already in Anytown, U.S.A...
Maybe it's already in Anytown, U.S.A...
At CJonline.com, Mike Shields reports:
"An estimated 750 to 1,000 Somali refugees are living in Emporia, a magnet because of jobs at the Tyson Foods meatpacking plant. Many have latent tuberculosis."
Saturday, August 09, 2008
The Price of Oil
Here's an article about the recent run up in the price of oil.
It certainly sounds plausible.
Let's hope the headline turns out to be true...
It certainly sounds plausible.
Let's hope the headline turns out to be true...
Martin Vander Weyer writes in the U.K. TelegraphT:
"Actually the price of a barrel of crude has been falling: from a peak of $145 in early July, it came down to $117 and was trading yesterday at $120. That's almost a 20 per cent drop in little more than three weeks.
If the trend continues into September at anything like the same rate of descent, most of the inflationary spike of the past 12 months will miraculously have been sliced away."
Environmentalists - Keeping power from the people
Somebody has to say this...
At TownHall.com, Walter E. Williams does just that:
"For several decades, environmentalists have managed to get Congress to keep most of our oil resources off-limits to exploration and drilling. They've managed to have the Congress enact onerous regulations that have made refinery construction impossible. Similarly, they've used the courts and Congress to completely stymie the construction of nuclear power plants. As a result, energy prices are at historical highs and threaten our economy and national security."
Friday, August 08, 2008
Barack Obama - Faked 2002 Anti-War Speech for Ad?
If this is true, it's pretty sad...
At AmericanThinker.com, Rick Moran discusses this from Jerome Corsi's new book:
"But the fact is, an ad run by Obama during the primaries featuring a supposed snippet of his anti-war speech in Chicago in 2002 is probably faked. That's because no one can find any video of the speech anywhere. All that exists is a small snip of audio. "
Grease: Worth Its Weight in Gold? - Biodiesel Magazine
I always figured that Burger King had grease.
I never figured anyone would want to steal it...
I never figured anyone would want to steal it...
Kris Bevill reports at BioDieselMagazine.com:
"Mark Rosenzweig, owner of San Jose Tallow, was driving home through suburban San Jose, Calif., one mid-April day when he noticed a pumper truck pulling into a shopping center. He was immediately suspicious. Rosenzweig knew the only eatery in that center was a Burger King because he held the contract for grease removal. 'I followed him until he pulled into the Burger King where I watched him steal the grease,' he says.
Rosenzweig is no stranger to grease theft. 'It’s a common problem out here,' he says. He told Biodiesel Magazine that in one week during the month of June his workers came across four empty grease bins at various locations. 'Somebody’s still out there stealing,' he says and adds that the problem has only gotten worse as the wholesale price for grease has gone up. 'Ten years ago we couldn’t give this stuff away and we were charging to pick it up and now all of sudden people are stealing it. It’s gone full circle.'"
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Barack Obama - and his Red Mentor
I don't know how any American could be comfortable with this guy.
He just has too many past (maybe still current) "friends" that have un-American track records...
He just has too many past (maybe still current) "friends" that have un-American track records...
At FamilySecurityMatters.org, Cliff Kincaid calls atention to it:
"The influential Associated Press (AP) wire service has belatedly run a story about Barack Obama’s Marxist mentor without mentioning the smoking-gun evidence that the mentor, Frank Marshall Davis, was a Communist Party member. The dishonest story, which represents damage control for the Obama campaign, was written by AP writer Sudhin Thanawala.
AP is one of the largest news agencies and serves thousands of print and electronic media outlets.
Under the innocuous headline, 'Writer offered a young Barack Obama advice on life,' the story calls Davis, a member of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) when it faithfully echoed the Stalinist line, merely a 'left-leaning black journalist and poet' known for 'leftist politics' and someone who might be accused by some of having 'allegedly anti-American views.'
Davis was not a 'journalist' in any real sense of the term. He was a propagandist and racial agitator for the CPUSA. He was also a recruiter for the communist cause."
McDonald's - profits help support gay agenda?
For me, companies that have an influence on children should be neutral on societal issues.
After all, everyone seems to agree that tobacco companies advertising shouldn't be directed toward children.
Isn't this just about the same?
I guess we're supporting this behavior every time we eat at McDonalds...
After all, everyone seems to agree that tobacco companies advertising shouldn't be directed toward children.
Isn't this just about the same?
I guess we're supporting this behavior every time we eat at McDonalds...
WorldNetDaily.com covers the issue:
"The American Family Association asked McDonald's to remain neutral in the culture war. The company refused, "stating they will continue to support the gay agenda including same-sex marriage," the AFA said.
McDonald's spokesman Bill Whitman even told the Washington Post people, including Christians, who oppose homosexual marriage are motivated by 'hate.'
'The boycott is not about hiring homosexuals or how homosexual employees are treated. It is about McDonald's choosing to put the full resources of their corporation behind promoting the homosexual agenda,' AFA said."
U.S. official: Iraqis told me WMDs sent to Syria
What! Saddam had WMD's.
Go Figure...
Go Figure...
Ryan Mauro reports this at WorldNetDaily.com:
"A former American overseer of Iraqi prisons says several dozen inmates who were members of Saddam Hussein's military and intelligence forces boasted of helping transport weapons of mass destruction to Syria and Lebanon in the three months prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Don Bordenkircher – who served two years as national director of prison and jail operations in Iraq– told WND that about 40 prisoners he spoke with 'boasted of being involved in the transport of WMD warheads to Syria.'
A smaller number of prisoners, he said, claimed 'they knew the locations of the missile hulls buried in Iraq.'
Some of the inmates, Bordenkircher said, 'wanted to trade their information for a release from prison and were amenable to showing the locations.'
The prisoners were members of the Iraqi military or civilians assigned to the Iraqi military, often stationed at munitions facilities, according to Bordenkircher. He said he was told the WMDs were shipped by truck into Syria, and some ended up in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley."
From Gitmo to Miranda, With Love - WSJ.com
You would think there is a lesson to be learned from this...
Debra Burlingame discusses it in the Wall Street Journal:
"No doubt, it would have given the former detainee, who was released in 2005, immense satisfaction to know that his last earthly deed was referenced in Justice Antonin Scalia's dissenting opinion in Boumediene v. Bush. That's the recent Supreme Court decision that gave Guantanamo detainees the constitutional right to challenge, in habeas corpus proceedings, whether they were properly classified by the military as enemy combatants.
Abdullah Saleh Al-Ajmi, on the left, in a martyrdom video posted on an al Qaeda Web site.
Al-Ajmi, a 29-year-old Kuwaiti, blew himself up in one of several coordinated suicide attacks on Iraqi security forces in Mosul this year. Originally reported to have participated in an April attack that killed six Iraqi policemen, a recent martyrdom video published on a password-protected al Qaeda Web site indicates that Al-Ajmi carried out the March 23 attack on an Iraqi army compound in Mosul. In that attack, an armored truck loaded with an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 pounds of explosives rammed through a fortified gate, overturned vehicles in its path and exploded in the center of the compound. The huge blast ripped the façade off three apartment buildings being used as barracks, killing 13 soldiers from the 2nd Iraqi Army division and seriously wounding 42 others."
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Meanwhile - in the U.K.
Any dad will do?...
Patrick Wintour reports on paternity DNA testing in the U.K. Guardian:
"Nearly one in five paternity claims handled by the Child Support Agency end up showing the mother has deliberately or inadvertently misidentified the father, figures show.
Since DNA paternity testing figures began to be collected in 1998-99, 4,854 paternity claims have turned out to be false after DNA testing.
Under child support legislation it is a criminal offence to make a false statement or representation, and to provide false documents or information.
However, according to the CSA, there has not been a single prosecution of a woman for making a false claim."
Rasmussen Reports™ - Presidential Tracking Poll
Hmmmm...
Here's the latest from Rasmussen Reports:
"John McCain is now trusted more than Barack Obama on nine out of 14 electoral issues tracked by Rasmussen Reports. The latest national telephone surveys find that McCain has the biggest advantage on the war in Iraq, by a 51% to 39% margin.
Perhaps the most interesting finding of these polls is that McCain has expanded his leads on nearly every issue he had previously had the advantage on, while Obama’s leads have diminished over the past two weeks."
"Our Loyal Allies, the British"
This is a story that makes me wonder what game the British government is playing...
Deborah Haynes and Michael Evans reported in the U.K. TimesOnLine:
"A secret deal between Britain and the notorious al-Mahdi militia prevented British Forces from coming to the aid of their US and Iraqi allies for nearly a week during the battle for Basra this year, The Times has learnt.There's more here...
Four thousand British troops – including elements of the SAS and an entire mechanised brigade – watched from the sidelines for six days because of an “accommodation” with the Iranian-backed group, according to American and Iraqi officers who took part in the assault.
US Marines and soldiers had to be rushed in to fill the void, fighting bitter street battles and facing mortar fire, rockets and roadside bombs with their Iraqi counterparts."
Rick Moran discusses this issue at AmericanThinker.com. The comments to his article are quite interesting:
Rock Star Ted Nugent writes
When you get to his "should do" list, you may find yourself in agreement.
I did...
I did...
Ted Nugent writes at HumanEvents.com. He begins:
"Similar to communism, socialism, fascism, and religious voodooism, liberalism is a political cancer designed to control you, not liberate you. Liberalism is based upon the theory that government—and lots of it--knows better than you what is best for you. Liberals believe you are too stupid to make wise decisions for yourself.
The entrenched liberal paradigm is to grow and sustain Fedzilla, the amorphous blob that is gobbling up more and more of our tax dollars and in the process, becoming more and more unresponsive and unaccountable to its employers—you and me, the American taxpayer."
"The Case Against Barack Obama"
It's the title of a new book by David Freddoso.
It's about Barack Obama and the "Chicago Machine".
It's NOT flattering!...
It's about Barack Obama and the "Chicago Machine".
It's NOT flattering!...
At HumanEvents.com, Michelle Oddis interviews author David Freddoso:
"Michelle Oddis: Dave, you’re a reporter, not a columnist. You’ve worked very hard to dig into the Obama story. You've said that you started reporting on Barack Obama in 2004. After all this research, what do you think is the most important thing people should know about Sen. Obama?
David Freddoso: The main lesson is that Barack Obama’s record, throughout his career, demonstrates conclusively that he has never been a reformer, that this image of 'change and hope' that he projects is really a great lie. In fact there’s never been a single time in Senator Obama’s political career where he did something that was difficult and would cost him politically for the sake of needed reforms and change."
Exxon-Mobil - the real numbers
It's very popular to bash this company; however, a 47% tax rate just doesn't seem right for ANY business...
Mark J. Perry has the story on his blog:
"Further, note that Exxon's tax rate so far this year is 47%, based on earnings before tax (EBT) of $42.4b and income tax payments of $19.8b, up from last year's rate through the first half of 42.5%. Why doesn't that significant tax hike for Exxon get reported?"
Politicians - Always willing to help (themselves)
I said this before. I think Congress should NOT be in session during election years.
Some important stuff may be delayed; however, the self-serving garbage laws would be avoided...
Some important stuff may be delayed; however, the self-serving garbage laws would be avoided...
On the American Spectator website, Andrew Cline summarizes his article with:
"As America's economy reels, Congress ignores urgent matters such as dealing with high energy and food prices and instead passes resolutions apologizing for historical wrongs that ended before the average American (the median age is 36) was born. And as if designed to illustrate the blatant hypocrisy of Congress, that resolution was brought up solely to damage the electoral prospects of one of the people to whom the apology was directed.
Yes, Congress owes apologies, lots of them. But the American people will never get the meaningful ones. Congress isn't done screwing us just yet."
