Tuesday, March 31, 2009
The Media - The New York "Slimes"
I've posted about the bias of the New York Times many times.
I wonder if those people that want to equalize radio talk would risk also equalizing news reporting...
I wonder if those people that want to equalize radio talk would risk also equalizing news reporting...
Michael P. Tremoglie writes about this in the Philadelphia Bulletin:
"'New York Times' Spiked Obama Donor Story"
Security For The Border
Seems logical to me...
This is part of an Investors Business Daily editorial:
"Homeland Safety: Terrorists and other criminals crossing into America are at least as threatening as our economic woes. If we can spend a trillion on stimulus, we shouldn't skimp on fixing the border."
Barack Obama - and his father
This might be one time I agree that children shouldn't listen to their parents...
I found this at Investors Business Daily:
"Writing in a 1965 scholarly paper, Obama's late father slammed the administration of then-President Jomo Kenyatta for moving the Third World country away from socialism toward capitalism. He chafed at the idea of relying on private investors — who earn "dividends" on their venture capital — to develop the country's fledgling economy.
'What is more important is to find means by which we can redistribute our economic gains to the benefit of all,' said the senior Obama, a Harvard-educated economist. 'This is the government's obligation.' The 'means' he had in mind were confiscatory taxes on a scale that redefines the term 'progressive taxation.'
'Theoretically,' he wrote, 'there is nothing that can stop the government from taxing 100% of income so long as the people get benefits from the government commensurate with their income which is taxed.'"
Florida Gov’t Cancels Tea Party Fearing ‘Too Many Attendees’
The truths in this article should give all American citizens a chilly sense of foreboding as to where our governments are heading...
Warner Todd Huston writes at PubliusForum.com:
"For their whole lives peace-loving, work-a-day Americans have taken for granted that there exists the freedom to assemble completely unaware that those rights have been eliminated by stealth regulation by governments all across the land.
And now the folks in Cape Coral, Florida have learned their lesson.
Americans do not have the rights they always thought they did. There is no right to protest government. There is no right to assemble. The people have no rights at all to voice their displeasure. Shut up people. Go home. Nothing to see here. Go quietly back to your IPods and DVDs. Big daddy government will take care of you. The Obemmessiah will decide what’s best for you. Don’t worry your little heads. Oh, and thank you for your payments on April 15th."
Barack Obama - Before and After
This is called a Web Ad.
It is produced and placed on YouTube.
Then, it is publicized so that many will watch it...
It is produced and placed on YouTube.
Then, it is publicized so that many will watch it...
Barack Obama - About that sunshine!
Good questions!
Considering the track record of politicians rarely honoring their campaign promises, I find it remarkable that we fall into the same trap everytime.
I guess that means we are either incredibly optimistic or incredibly stupid...
Considering the track record of politicians rarely honoring their campaign promises, I find it remarkable that we fall into the same trap everytime.
I guess that means we are either incredibly optimistic or incredibly stupid...
At Politico.com, Josh Gerstein writes:
"The White House initially said that the 16-member Presidential Economic Recovery Advisory Board, headed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, would meet 'every few weeks.' Last month, a spokesperson told POLITICO the group would meet monthly. More recently, the White House said the high-powered board, set up to address what Obama has called the worst economic emergency since the Great Depression, would gather only about four times a year, with the next session due in 'late spring.'
But comments from board members and Obama himself indicate that some members of the panel are meeting, in smaller gatherings that have not been announced or opened to the public. And that raises the question of whether an administration that prides itself on openness and transparency is in fact finding it more convenient to conduct public business in private.
Now, the administration finds itself in a Catch-22: It does not want to say that the president’s economic panel, announced amid much fanfare, is not meeting during the worst economic crisis in generations. But if it is meeting, where’s the announcement, the agenda, the minutes? In short, where’s the sunshine?"
In the U.K. - Immigration
I think the Immigration Minister has it right...
This is part of an article on the BBCnews website:
"An amnesty for illegal immigrants would be a 'well intended road to hell', says immigration minister Phil Woolas.
He was asked about London mayor Boris Johnson's suggestion that long term illegal immigrants should be able to 'earn' the right to stay.
But Mr Woolas told MPs on the home affairs committee it would increase the "pull factor" for illegal immigrants."
Pacific Decadal Oscillation - ?????
I'm sure you know all about it.
The theory that humans are causing global warming is getting shakier by the day.
Here's an argument that many "so-called" facts and measurements are, at best, cloudy...
The theory that humans are causing global warming is getting shakier by the day.
Here's an argument that many "so-called" facts and measurements are, at best, cloudy...
Ronald Bailey explains at Reason.com:
"What they found is that clouds control warming (and cooling for that matter) rather than the reverse. It is generally agreed that a doubling of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by itself would boost global temperatures by about 1 degree Fahrenheit. But the climate models all find that this increase in temperature sets off a positive feedback loop in which the atmosphere holds more water vapor which boosts temperatures further. According to the IPCC's latest report, this process could increase global average temperatures by between 2 and 11 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100.
Obviously, it makes a big difference if the temperature falls in the lower or higher end of that range. Spencer's recent research suggests that clouds are not a positive feedback, but actually operate to moderate temperature increases. If he is right, those results imply that future warming will be only about 1 degree Fahrenheit by the end of this century."
Monday, March 30, 2009
Guantánamo - Great idea, Heh?
The closing of Guantanomo was a campaign promise to garner the votes of a selected group of people, and now is likely to come back to haunt (and kill) some of us.
I don't think the new administration has thought this through...
I don't think the new administration has thought this through...
In the N.Y. Times (Asia-Pacific), Carlotta Gall reports:
"The Taliban fighters said the Afghan Taliban delegation was led by Mullah Abdullah Zakir, a commander from Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan, whose real name is reported to be Abdullah Ghulam Rasoul.
A front-line commander during the Taliban government, Mullah Zakir was captured in 2001 in northern Afghanistan and was detained at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, until his release in 2007, Afghan Taliban members contacted by telephone said.
The Pakistani fighters described Mullah Zakir as an impressive speaker and a trainer, and one said he was particularly energetic in working to unite the different Taliban groups."
"Man caused disasters"
I bet you recognized that term instantly. [sarcasm OFF].
I think it's sad how we've evolved into not calling things what they truly are.
It's just a very obvious trick.
You can't be accused of being weak on fighting terror if nothing is labeled terror anymore...
I think it's sad how we've evolved into not calling things what they truly are.
It's just a very obvious trick.
You can't be accused of being weak on fighting terror if nothing is labeled terror anymore...
This is part of a Washington Times editorial
"The euphemism, used in her first testimony to Congress, was noted by a reporter for Der Spiegel, the German magazine, which asked her whether Islamist terrorism still poses a threat to the United States. 'Of course it does,' she answered. 'I presume there is always a threat from terrorism. In my speech, although I did not use the word 'terrorism,' I referred to 'man-caused' disasters. That is perhaps only a nuance, but it demonstrates that we want to move away from the politics of fear toward a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur.'"
The United Nations - a changing story
I wonder which number was published in the majority of the media outlets...
Joshua Rhett Miller reports at FoxNews.com:
"And, for the first time in the event's three-year existence, the New York headquarters of the United Nations will also go dark, a move officials say will save $102, a figure that fluctuated wildly from its whopping initial estimate of $81,000 when requested from U.N. officials. After the story appeared on FOXNews.com, a spokeswoman called back to say their estimate was incorrect and the savings was $24,000, but then called back a third time to say it was really $102.
Earth Hour — 8:30 to 9:30 p.m in every time zone on the planet — promises to be 'the largest demonstration of public concern about climate change ever attempted,' U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said earlier this month.
But critics say the U.N.'s participation in the event is a 'self-serving,' thinly guised 'gimmick' to sway public opinion ahead of the U.N.-led conference in Copenhagen in December at which world leaders will seek to approve a new global warming treaty.
'It's like a lot of what the U.N. does — it's a gimmick, it's empty, it's shallow and it's not going to lead to anything,' said Thomas Kilgannon, president of Freedom Alliance, a Virginia-based nonprofit organization founded by Oliver North."
AIG Bonuses Renew Call for Congress to Read Bills - CBS News
I hope this gets publicized to every corner of the country.
It should be a referendum voted on by the taxpayers in the next election...
It should be a referendum voted on by the taxpayers in the next election...
At CBSnews.com, Declan McCullagh reorts:
"The Read the Bills Act is as simple to describe as it will be difficult for Babka and his allies to enact. A draft they've prepared says that each bill must be read aloud before a quorum in the Senate and House of Representatives; that each legislator voting 'aye' must file an affidavit saying they're familiar with the contents; and that laws that don't meet these requirements can be challenged in court.
The only hitch is that no members of the House or Senate have been willing to sponsor this legislation, which would, after all, curb their own power and result in additional duties."
Massachusetts's Health-Care Program - WSJ.com
If you watched the Republican Presidential debates last year, you probably heard Mitt Romney extol the virtues of the Massachusetts Health Care System "he" implemented.
This article seems to convey that it's not working out so well.
Hopefully, our politicians will use it as a "cautionary tale" as they consider a similar program on a National scale...
This article seems to convey that it's not working out so well.
Hopefully, our politicians will use it as a "cautionary tale" as they consider a similar program on a National scale...
The Wall Street Journal describes it's downhill slide:
"In Massachusetts's latest crisis, Governor Deval Patrick and his Democratic colleagues are starting to move down the path that government health plans always follow when spending collides with reality -- i.e., price controls. As costs continue to rise, the inevitable results are coverage restrictions and waiting periods. It was only a matter of time.
They're trying to manage the huge costs of the subsidized middle-class insurance program that is gradually swallowing the state budget. The program provides low- or no-cost coverage to about 165,000 residents, or three-fifths of the newly insured, and is budgeted at $880 million for 2010, a 7.3% single-year increase that is likely to be optimistic. The state's overall costs on health programs have increased by 42% (!) since 2006.
Like gamblers doubling down on their losses, Democrats have already hiked the fines for people who don't obtain insurance under the 'individual mandate,' already increased business penalties, taxed insurers and hospitals, raised premiums, and pumped up the state tobacco levy. That's still not enough money."
The Taxin' Illini - WSJ.com
Gee. Isn't Barack Obama from Illinois?...
This is part of a Wall Street Journal editorial:
"As if Illinois voters didn't have enough to be angry about, this week their new Governor announced plans to raise state income taxes by 50%. Pat Quinn, the man who replaced Rod Blagojevich, is proposing to raise the personal income tax rate to 4.5% from 3% and the business tax to 7.2% from 4.8%. At least Blago's outrages were entertaining.
Mr. Quinn ran as Mr. Blagojevich's Lieutenant Governor on a platform of no new taxes. But now he defends his huge tax increase by saying this will only hit those who have the 'ability to pay.' Of course, employers and the wealthy also have the ability to leave -- which they have been doing. In the last decade 736,000 more Americans have left Illinois than have entered, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
Over the last six years, Illinois has ranked 45th out of 50 states in job creation, according to the American Legislative Exchange Council. In 2008, 175,000 jobs vanished -- a medium-sized city of lost jobs. Mr. Quinn's tax increase will mean 50% higher taxes for nearly every small business, subchapter S company and corporation in the state.
This is a state that does almost everything wrong economically."
Barack Obama - Jimmy Carter?
"The Emperor has no clothes"?...
I wonder, could Michael Wolff be right:
"The true secret of the power of language is in quickness. Barack Obama can’t keep up. He evidently needs too much preparation. And then there’s the organization. He’s undoubtedly got too many people debating what he should say. That’s the other secret of language: You’ve got to just go for it. Can’t think too much about it. It’s like hitting the ball. And then there’s knowing who you want to be—which is different than knowing who you are. You’re on the stage. You’re acting. You’ve got to make yourself believable, cleverly make yourself up as you go along.
This guy is leaden and this show is in trouble."
Government at Work - in Minneapolis, MN
Red light cameras are/have been implemented in a lot of municipalities.
I'm sure their installation is accompanied by a fair amount of costs.
This ruling seems to indicate that no one (governments) did the due diligence to test the constitutionality.
Of course, citizens money is apparently wasted...
I'm sure their installation is accompanied by a fair amount of costs.
This ruling seems to indicate that no one (governments) did the due diligence to test the constitutionality.
Of course, citizens money is apparently wasted...
This is reported at theNewspaper.com:
"The Minnesota Supreme Court delivers a unanimous decision striking down the legality of red light cameras."
Slippery Ships That Float on Air: Scientific American
Are our environmental priorities messed up?
If this is true, perhaps they are...
If this is true, perhaps they are...
I found this in an article by Steven Ashley At ScientificAmerican.com:
""Just the 40 or so ships that dock at the port of Los Angeles at Long Beach each day," Winkler says, 'release six times as much sulfur and nitrogen oxides than are emitted daily by all the land transport in the entire state of California.'"
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Politicians - Rahm Emanuel's profitable stint
It's quite damning now how so many politicians have so many links to some many of the mortgage entities that are causing so many to have financial palpitations.
Here's another one...
Here's another one...
Bob Secter and Andrew Zajac report in the Chicago Tribune:
"Before its portfolio of bad loans helped trigger the current housing crisis, mortgage giant Freddie Mac was the focus of a major accounting scandal that led to a management shake-up, huge fines and scalding condemnation of passive directors by a top federal regulator.
One of those allegedly asleep-at-the-switch board members was Chicago's Rahm Emanuel—now chief of staff to President Barack Obama—who made at least $320,000 for a 14-month stint at Freddie Mac that required little effort.
As gatekeeper to Obama, Emanuel now plays a critical role in addressing the nation's mortgage woes and fulfilling the administration's pledge to impose responsibility on the financial world.
Emanuel's Freddie Mac involvement has been a prominent point on his political résumé, and his healthy payday from the firm has been no secret either. What is less known, however, is how little he apparently did for his money and how he benefited from the kind of cozy ties between Washington and Wall Street that have fueled the nation's current economic mess."
"The U.S. Is Coming to Resemble an Emerging-Market Nation"
That's NOT a compliment!
This writer seems to have more than enough experience to be taken credibly.
He doesn't like what he is seeing...
This writer seems to have more than enough experience to be taken credibly.
He doesn't like what he is seeing...
In the Washington Post, Desmond Lachman writes this and much more:
"But instead of facing our problems we extol the resilience of the U.S. economy, praise the most productive workers in the world, and go on and on about America's inherent ability to extricate itself from any crisis. And we ignore our proclivity as a nation to spend, year in year out, more than we produce, to put off dealing with long-term problems, and to engage in grandiose long-term programs that as a nation we can ill afford.
A singular characteristic of an emerging market heading for deep trouble is a seemingly suicidal tendency to become overly indebted to foreign creditors. That tendency underlay the spectacular collapse of the Thai, Indonesian and Korean currencies in 1997. It also led Russia to default on its debt in 1998 and plunged Argentina into its economic depression in 2001. Yet we too seem to have little difficulty becoming increasingly indebted to the tune of a few hundred billion dollars a year. To make matters worse, we do so to countries like China, Russia and an assortment of Middle Eastern oil producers -- none of which is particularly well disposed to us."
Politicians - Detroit's ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick
If you need an example of what's wrong in America, just read and digest the items in this news article.
If it wasn't actually true, it would be laughable...
If it wasn't actually true, it would be laughable...
M.L. Elrick and Joe Swickard report on WZZM 13 Online's website:
"Kilpatrick agreed to pay Detroit $1 million over the next five years when he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice charges stemming from the text message scandal. His job as a salesman for a subsidiary of Compuware pays him $10,000 a month.
Schwartz wrote that Kilpatrick's monthly expenses -- including $2,700 for rent and $900 to lease a new Cadillac Escalade -- total $9,994, leaving him only $6.
'I don't think he was ordered to live a more modest lifestyle,' Schwartz said. 'Is it better Mr. Kilpatrick drives a beat-up Yugo?'"
Hillary Clinton - asks ‘Who painted it?’
The new administration is fumbling the etiquette in their foreign affairs contacts.
This appears to be another occurrence...
This appears to be another occurrence...
This is from the Catholic News Agency website:
"Msgr. Monroy took Mrs. Clinton to the famous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which had been previously lowered from its usual altar for the occasion.
After observing it for a while, Mrs. Clinton asked 'who painted it?' to which Msgr. Monroy responded'“God!'"
Countrywide Used Mortgage Deals to Buy Influence, Block Reforms
I've actually been reading the full report.
It's very enlightening as to how money and favors are offered in exchange for "something".
It's probably not anything we aren't aware of; however, the scope and clarity of purpose is a clear indictment of the political world.
It's not pretty; and, certainly not ethical...
It's very enlightening as to how money and favors are offered in exchange for "something".
It's probably not anything we aren't aware of; however, the scope and clarity of purpose is a clear indictment of the political world.
It's not pretty; and, certainly not ethical...
This is from U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa's report on Countrywide Mortgage:
“This investigation finds that Countrywide embarked in a determined and calculated effort to buy influence – employees openly weighed the political influence of targeted officials when deciding what perks to offer,” said Issa. “Countrywide VIPs in positions of key responsibility didn’t innocently stumble into loans with reduced rates and waived fees – they were recruited into the program personally by high-ranking company officials including former CEO Angelo Mozilo.”
“VIPs weren’t just offered good service. Company policies were thrown in the trash in a rush to offer preferential treatment to VIPs such as Senator Kent Conrad and Senator Chris Dodd. Those who were supposed to oversee the lending practices and relationship between Countrywide and Fannie Mae were actually in bed with them.”
"Having ACORN help with the census"
The last line seems to say it all (transparently)...
On the U.K. Telegraph blogsite, Stephanie Gutmann writes:
"My big question is why the bureau needs help recruiting workers anyway. I've been a census worker. It's a very pleasant job. The hours are flexible; pay is relatively high; the weeks of training -- in which one basically lolls around in a classroom pretending to listen to lectures about, say, making eye contact -- are 'on the clock.' The census never seems to have had any trouble advertising vacancies, and a bureau spokesman recently told Fox News that the 'bureau [has already] received an overwhelming number of qualified applicants -- more than 1 million -- for the 140,000 census taker jobs needed to complete the first phase of the effort.'
My second question is why this group with clear political motives (verging on 'undisguised authoritarian socialism' as Sol Stern put it) and such a controversial style has been let anywhere near the US Census. The obsessive subject around the census is the problem of getting 'an accurate count.' The temptation to skew the numbers in one way or another are enormous and the methods used notoriously imprecise and vulnerable to fraud.
Hmmm...could President Obama be rewarding a former employer -- and a friend who helped him get elected?"
Obama and Your Electric Bill - HUMAN EVENTS
I think this article leaves something out.
We have to keep in mind that other costs of producing energy will not be on hold during this time...
We have to keep in mind that other costs of producing energy will not be on hold during this time...
Ernest Istook writes at HumanEvents.com:
"Put another way, Furman estimates the cap-and-trade scheme will cost, on average, $250 billion annually. That estimate must be taken seriously because Furman is deputy director of Obama’s National Economic Council.
So what does this mean to everyday Americans? Let’s put those numbers into context.
Total electricity sales (business and residential combined) run about $343 billion a year (according to 2007 Department of Energy figures). Throw in our other energy expenses -- gasoline, natural gas, etc. -- and the U.S. Department of Energy estimates our total energy spending at 'over $500 billion.'
So Obama’s $250-billion a year energy tax could approach a 50% increase in what you, as a consumer, pay for energy, since all costs are passed along to consumers. Yet the Obama budget audaciously claims that it will “reduce utility bills”
According to the White Fence Index, the average home utility bill is $297 per month, which is about $3,600 per year. So a 50% increase would be $1,800 per year under the Obama proposal."
The Navy Has a Top-Secret Vessel It Wants to Put on Display - WSJ.com
When you read these stories about top-secret things in the past, you can only wonder what might be going on right now...
In the Wall Street Journal, Barry Newman writes about some history:
"Anybody want some top-secret seagoing vessels? The Navy has a pair it doesn't need anymore. It has been trying to give them away since 2006, and they're headed for the scrap yard if somebody doesn't speak up soon.
One is called Sea Shadow. It's big, black and looks like a cross between a Stealth fighter and a Batmobile. It was made to escape detection on the open sea. The other is known as the Hughes (as in Howard Hughes) Mining Barge. It looks like a floating field house, with an arching roof and a door that is 76 feet wide and 72 feet high. Sea Shadow berths inside the barge, which keeps it safely hidden from spy satellites.
The barge, by the way, is the only fully submersible dry dock ever built, making it very handy -- as it was 35 years ago -- for trying to raise a sunken nuclear-armed Soviet submarine."
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Barney just keeps on costing us - BostonHerald.com
As the writer says, some people see him differently.
As with all of us, they are entitled to their opinion, no matter how questionable it is.
I hope that's not too wishy-washy...
As with all of us, they are entitled to their opinion, no matter how questionable it is.
I hope that's not too wishy-washy...
At BostonHerald.com, Michael Graham writes about U.S. Rep. Barney Frank:
"Frank began his career opposing Reaganomics, an opposition that stubbornly resisted 25 years of nearly constant economic growth. In the 1990s, Frank sat on the Banking Committee regulating Fannie Mae, even as his then-partner, Herb Moses, worked as a Fannie exec.
Is it a coincidence that Frank has been a die-hard advocate for expanding Freddie/Fannie at any cost?"
"Election fraud focus of bill"
This is interesting.
I know they don't expect it to pass; however, now that the idea is out there, it may eventually have it's day...
I know they don't expect it to pass; however, now that the idea is out there, it may eventually have it's day...
Carlton Fletcher reports about the Georgia Legislature in the Albany Herald:
"Rep. Ed Rynders, R-Leesburg, is lead sponsor of legislation designed to keep people who are not registered voters in the state from participating in voter registration drives in Georgia.
The legislation, HB 225, is co-sponsored by Jay Roberts, R-Ocilla; Jeff May, R-Monroe; Edward Lindsey, R-Atlanta, and Tom Rice, R-Norcross.
'Bottom line: The whole idea behind this legislation is to prevent voter fraud in Georgia,' the District 152 representative said Monday. 'It’s designed to keep people outside the state from coming in and affecting elections here. Frankly, I think we all heard about such activity during the last election cycle.'
'The idea is to take a proactive approach in addressing an issue that became a concern during the (2008) election. Look, you didn’t hear about hanging chads in Georgia in 2000, but the state took a proactive approach and went to touch-screen voting machines.'
Rynders is not optimistic that the legislation will make it out of committee — its 3-3 vote among party lines in a Governmental Affairs subcommittee has dampened the bill’s chances — but he says it’s a measure that could make a splash if ever considered by the full Legislature. "
"Desert Secret Cracked: Ancient Hunting Techniques Revealed"
Just in case you didn't know this, you now have no excuse...
At IsraelNationalNews.com, Baruch Gordon has an answer for this:
"How did humans living in the third millennium BCE manage to find sufficient quantities of meat in the arid desert regions? A new study of the "desert kites" that are spread across the expanses of Israel's Negev and Arava desert region, carried out by researchers from the University of Haifa, unearths the answer to this riddle."
Friday, March 27, 2009
The problem lies here - C-Span shows all
The producers of this video say, "Shocking Video Unearthed Democrats in their own words Covering up the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Scam that caused our Economic Crisis"...
Meanwhile - in U.K. schools
And how about the parents?...
According the Graeme Paton in the U.K. Telegraph:
"State schools are being forced to prioritise 'social misfits' at the expense of the majority of pupils, according to a former academy head teacher."
Children aged eight enlisted as council snoopers
This is uncomfortable.
I can't say there's anything wrong with children reporting criminal wrongdoing; however, being actively recruited to report petty offences doesn't work for me...
I can't say there's anything wrong with children reporting criminal wrongdoing; however, being actively recruited to report petty offences doesn't work for me...
This is from an article by Martin Beckford, Sarah Graham and Betsy Mead in the U.K. Telegraph:
"One in six councils contacted by the Telegraph said they had signed up teams of 'environment volunteers' who are being encouraged to photograph or video neighbours guilty of dog fouling, littering or 'bin crimes'.
The "covert human intelligence sources", as some local authorities describe them, are also being asked to pass on the names of neighbours they believe to be responsible, or take down their number-plates.
Ealing Council in West London said: 'There are hundreds of Junior Streetwatchers, aged 8-10 years old, who are trained to identify and report enviro-crime issues such as graffiti and fly-tipping.'
Harlow Council in Essex said: 'We currently have 25 Street Scene Champions who work with the council. They are all aged between 11 to 14... '"
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Bankruptcy judge rules contracts can be voided
I've read that this is a big deal.
It seems somewhat interesting in that contracts can be dissolved.
That could mean that governments could spend into bankruptcy to get rid of burdonsome obligations.
I'm sure the lawyers will have a lot to say about that...
It seems somewhat interesting in that contracts can be dissolved.
That could mean that governments could spend into bankruptcy to get rid of burdonsome obligations.
I'm sure the lawyers will have a lot to say about that...
Pamela A. MacLean reports at Law.com:
"In the first ruling of its kind, a bankruptcy judge held the city of Vallejo, Calif. has the authority to void its existing union contracts in its effort to reorganize, holding public workers do not enjoy the same protections Congress gave union workers at private companies."
"Has a ‘Katrina Moment’ Arrived?" - NYTimes.com
This writer is no friend of Republicans.
Regardless of his sentiments, he seems rightfully worried (maybe even embarassed?) about Barack Obama and his administration...
Regardless of his sentiments, he seems rightfully worried (maybe even embarassed?) about Barack Obama and his administration...
In the New York Times, Frank Rich worries:
"Another compelling question connects all of the above: why has there been so little transparency and so much evasiveness so far? The answer, I fear, is that too many of the administration’s officials are too marinated in the insiders’ culture to police it, reform it or own up to their own past complicity with it."
Meanwhile - in the U.K. - Politically exposed?
This article may give you a disconcerting thought; or more...
At The Spectator in the U.K., Fraser Nelson asks:
"Why are our state-owned banks asking customers about their political affiliations?"
Judge orders homeschoolers into public district classrooms
I don't like this. See what you think.
Of course, there's a bit of a twist...
Of course, there's a bit of a twist...
At WorldNetDaily.com, Bob Unruh reports:
"A North Carolina judge has ordered three children to attend public schools this fall because the homeschooling their mother has provided over the last four years needs to be 'challenged.'
The children, however, have tested above their grade levels – by as much as two years.
The decision is raising eyebrows among homeschooling families, and one friend of the mother has launched a website to publicize the issue."
Supergun
A mile is a pretty long distance.
Do you think you can see that far?...
Do you think you can see that far?...
In the U.K. DailyMail, Christopher Leake writes aout it:
"The supergun that kills from a mile - and the camouflaged crackshots using it against the Taliban"
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Meanwhile - in Great Britain - A rant worth listening to
British politicians are actually fun to watch.
It's certainly different than the American way...
It's certainly different than the American way...
And, by the way, this was one of the comments,
"A shame that the useless BBC won't be broadcasting this, well said!"
Holman Jenkins - The Real AIG Disgrace
I think this bonus outrage is a smokescreen.
The media is hyping the outrage, while incompetently or willingly ignoring that our politicians are complicit...
The media is hyping the outrage, while incompetently or willingly ignoring that our politicians are complicit...
In the Wall Street Journal, Holman W. Jenkins Jr writes about some things we're not hearing elsewhere:
"Tim Geithner is rightly on the hot seat for saying he didn't know about the bonuses until just weeks ago -- because he should have quelled this furor before it ever got started. Instead he played dumb and climbed aboard the outrage bandwagon -- and let Mr. Obama do the same.
There is not a shred of justice in the hysteria that followed. As AIG chief Ed Liddy explained on the Hill last week, the people receiving retention bonuses were not the same people who launched AIG's unhedged housing bets that brought the company down. Those people were gone. Their pay is already being clawed back.
Those who remained had been asked a year ago to stay and work themselves out of a job. In accepting the terms offered to them, they committed no offense (say, failing to pay taxes)."
Obama Administration Gaffes
These gaffes are kind of fun.
Unfortunately, it looks like some other gaffes may cost us dearly...
Unfortunately, it looks like some other gaffes may cost us dearly...
Toby Harnden posts on his U.K. Telegraph blog:
"Top 10 gaffes by Barack Obama and Joe Biden"
The Media - the New York Times
What is it with the New York Times?
Everything they report on has either a direct or slightly veiled dig at someone who doesn't fit in their liberal world...
Everything they report on has either a direct or slightly veiled dig at someone who doesn't fit in their liberal world...
William McGurn editorializes in the Wall Street Journal:
"'[I]n a departure from her predecessor,' gushed the Times, 'Mrs. Obama has also begun promoting bills that support her husband's policy priorities.' It repeated the point later in the piece.
Only one problem: It's not true. To mention just two, Mrs. Bush took a lead role in the reauthorization fights for No Child Left Behind and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Her advocacy included holding coffees in the residence with key legislators, working with Cabinet members, and promoting these policies in high-profile speeches in places from Africa to the National Press Club. It's just flat-out wrong to suggest otherwise, and the Times owes Mrs. Bush an apology.
Alas, as bad as the slights are, the compliments can be worse. In another recent article on Mrs. Obama, the Associated Press did include a paragraph about Mrs. Bush's work on Burma, Africa and so on. That paragraph was introduced by this sentence: 'Even Laura Bush, widely viewed as a traditional first lady, broadened the role.'
Even Laura Bush. In that gratuitous 'even,' the curtain is pulled back on the small-mindedness of an entire class.
Michelle Obama is an accomplished professional and the loving mother of two beautiful girls. In the coming years, she will make her own contributions to a more hopeful America. As she does, is it too much to ask our national press corps to find a way to give Mrs. Obama full credit for these achievements without denying Mrs. Bush the credit she deserves for hers?"
Bank Affirmative Action - Where it all began
The producers of this video say, "EVIDENCE FOUND!!! Clinton administration's "BANK AFFIRMATIVE ACTION" They forced banks to make BAD LOANS and ACORN and Obama's tie to all of it!!!"...
The Real AIG Outrage - WSJ.com
Some people refer to this as the David Copperfield tactic.
Make us look here, so as not to notice what's going on over there...
Make us look here, so as not to notice what's going on over there...
The Wall Street Journal isn't fooled:
"President Obama joined yesterday in the clamor of outrage at AIG for paying some $165 million in contractually obligated employee bonuses. He and the rest of the political class thus neatly deflected attention from the larger outrage, which is the five-month Beltway cover-up over who benefited most from the AIG bailout.
Taxpayers have already put up $173 billion, or more than a thousand times the amount of those bonuses, to fund the government's AIG 'rescue.' This federal takeover, never approved by AIG shareholders, uses the firm as a conduit to bail out other institutions. After months of government stonewalling, on Sunday night AIG officially acknowledged where most of the taxpayer funds have been going.
Since September 16, AIG has sent $120 billion in cash, collateral and other payouts to banks, municipal governments and other derivative counterparties around the world. This includes at least $20 billion to European banks. The list also includes American charity cases like Goldman Sachs, which received at least $13 billion. This comes after months of claims by Goldman that all of its AIG bets were adequately hedged and that it needed no 'bailout.' Why take $13 billion then? This needless cover-up is one reason Americans are getting angrier as they wonder if Washington is lying to them about these bailouts"
Another Arab lie: "martyr" Mohammed al-Dura exposed as hoax
Apparently, we should not react too quickly to stories from the Arab world.
Our media should learn that, too, and be doubly cautious about spreading falsehoods...
Our media should learn that, too, and be doubly cautious about spreading falsehoods...
Paul Kujawsky explains why at Examiner.com:
"There is an important fact in the Arab war against Israel which is underappreciated: To put it bluntly, the Arabs lie much more than the Israelis. Whether or not this is the religiously-sanctioned technique 'taqqiya,' or a natural consequence of the lack of democracy in the Arab world is not an issue for today. The point is that the Arab side exaggerates and prevaricates as an integral part of its strategy against the Jewish state.
It’s a harsh fact. It’s an unfortunate fact. It’s a regrettable fact. But since it’s a fact, we have to face up to it."
Politicians - Getting value for OUR money
Regardless of party or family name, this seems a little too much for me...
The Associated Press's Steve LeBlanc in the Asheville, NC, Citizen-Times:
"BOSTON (AP) -- More than one out of every five dollars of the $126 million Massachusetts is receiving in earmarks from a $410 billion federal spending package is going to help preserve the legacy of the Kennedys."
High Tech - 'pain beam' weapons
Clearly, science fiction writers were on to something...
At NewScientist.com, David Hambling discusses something new:
"The research arm of the US Department of Justice is working on two portable non-lethal weapons that inflict pain from a distance using beams of laser light or microwaves, with the intention of putting them into the hands of police to subdue suspects.
The two devices under development by the civilian National Institute of Justice both build on knowledge gained from the Pentagon's controversial Active Denial System (ADS) - first demonstrated in public last year, which uses a 2-metre beam of short microwaves to heat up the outer layer of a person's skin and cause pain."
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Gov. Sanford: Why We Don't Want 'Stimulus' - WSJ.com
I think the governor makes his point well.
I can't imagine that the federal government could know more about a state, city, town, township, or school district's financial needs more than the "locals" do...
I can't imagine that the federal government could know more about a state, city, town, township, or school district's financial needs more than the "locals" do...
South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford explains his position in the Wall Street Journal:
"If we're going to spend money we don't have at the federal level, it becomes all the more important that our state balance sheet is in good order -- particularly if this is a protracted downturn. But many people do not realize that the stimulus money runs out in 24 months -- at which point South Carolina will be forced to find a new source of funding to sustain the new level of spending, or to make sharp cuts. Sure, I could kick the can down the road; in two years, I'll be safely out of office. But it would be irresponsible.
If South Carolina could use stimulus money to pay down debt, in two years we will be able to spend, cut taxes or invest even if the federal government can no longer provide more money -- not a remote possibility."
"Hezbollah chief defiant on Israel"
Peace in the Middle East looks pretty unlikely.
Of course, he did seem to present the solution...
Of course, he did seem to present the solution...
The BBC reports:
"The leader of Lebanon's Islamist Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, has said his group will never recognise Israel's right to exist.
He was responding to a US suggestion that both Hezbollah and the Palestinian faction Hamas should recognise Israel before expecting any US engagement.
"We reject the American conditions," he said. "As long as Hezbollah exists, it will never recognise Israel.""
Welcome to Detroit
That's Detroit as in Michigan. It's in the U.S.A.!...
Tim Jones tells us about it in the Chicago Tribune:
"Detroit, which has lost half its population in the past 50 years, is deceptively large, covering 139 square miles. Manhattan, San Francisco and Boston could, as a group, fit inside the city's boundaries. There is no major grocery chain in the city, and only two movie theaters. Much of the neighborhood economy revolves around rib joints, hot dog stands and liquor stores. The candidates travel around this sprawling city, some invoking the nostalgic era of Big Three dominance and vowing that Detroit can be great again.
Groups of them attend nearly unworkable faux debate forums about how they will solve the city's troubles, with responses to last no more than 60 seconds. Given the complexity of problems that defy sound-bite answers, their proposed solutions range from the predictable to the wacky:"
American Thinker: Are you smarter than me?
"Fabulous tales". but no evidence...
Alicia Cohen offers this at AmericanThinker.com:
"If you surf the Internet, you've seen the ads for IQ tests which claim: Barack Obama's IQ is (the numbers vary from 135-171); Joe Biden's is 150; Hillary Clinton's is 155 and so on. Naturally, Republicans are rated much lower and a fake article on the presidents' IQ once claimed that George Bush's IQ was the lowest of all. The ad goes on to ask-Are you smarter than...? Well, I am and I can prove it unlike all these so-called claims of how smart our newly elected president is.
There may be substance to these judgments of Barack Obama's intelligence, but read carefully and you'll learn that these assumptions are made on evidence that does not exist."
"Does Obama Know What He Is Doing?"
I'm sure many of us are also wondering that.
Historically, bad situations like economies recover on their own.
It's my belief that politicians are so desperate for accomplishments that they try to add their two cents to every aspect of our lives, hoping to eventually take the credit for those things that turn our right.
I see their behavior as a never-ending "rain dance", i.e. activities that precede a likely outcome...
Historically, bad situations like economies recover on their own.
It's my belief that politicians are so desperate for accomplishments that they try to add their two cents to every aspect of our lives, hoping to eventually take the credit for those things that turn our right.
I see their behavior as a never-ending "rain dance", i.e. activities that precede a likely outcome...
Dick Morris and Eileen McGann write at Townhall.com:
"But then came Obama's mortgage rescue plan, an equally flawed proposal. Clearly, Obama, liberal that he is, wants his rescue plan to work. He is anxious to bail out homeowners facing foreclosure. Those are his constituents, after all. But the mortgage rescue plan he has proposed will fall far short of the mark.
Incredibly, it excludes anyone who has lost their job and can't afford to make their payments, even if they were to spend 31 percent of their income trying to do so. If you can't come close to affording your mortgage, even if only because of a hopefully temporary loss of employment, forget about it. Obama is not going to help you.
Nor will he help you if your mortgage exceeds your home's value. One out of five mortgages now fall into this category. Obviously, the fall in property values occasioned by the depression will put more and more homeowners in this category. Certainly, a great many of those who need relief to keep their homes find that the amount of their loan exceeds the value of the underlying house and land. But they can expect no help from Obama's rescue plan.
Why would a liberal be so callous? Why would he leave so many out in the cold? Could it be that Obama simply lacks the competence to figure out how to help these folks? Could it be that he cannot devise a counter to his financial advisors who presumably wanted to exclude these folks?
And ... who induced these poor folks to buy homes they couldn't afford, anyway? It was the Clinton administration's Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros who urged Fannie Mae to spend 42 percent of its money buying mortgages for lower-income people and who suggested that they no longer require down payments. And it was his successor, Andrew Cuomo, who upped the ante to 50 percent of the Fannie portfolio. After Democrats inveigled people to buy homes they cannot afford, how can they justify passing a plan that excludes them from assistance?"
Peter Schiff - HE WAS RIGHT!
Just watch this!
Watch this guy get shouted down time and time again by the economic experts and talking heads we se on TV all the time.
It certainly should raise your skepticism about the next thing they "all" say...
Watch this guy get shouted down time and time again by the economic experts and talking heads we se on TV all the time.
It certainly should raise your skepticism about the next thing they "all" say...
Inventor designs 'tunable' eyeglasses
Are humans ingenious, or what?...
John Bingham reports in the U.K. Telegraph:
"A Briton has designed a pair of glasses which can be adjusted by the wearer without the need for an optician, in an invention which he hopes will help the world's poor."
Monday, March 23, 2009
Dodd lied about AIG bonuses- The New Haven Register
Hopefully, the citizens will remember when they next enter the voting booth...
A recent New Haven Register editorial begins with:
"We’re not going to mince words. Chris Dodd is a lying weasel. It is hard enough to swallow that the senator had no idea that he got preferential treatment on his home mortgages that saved him thousands of dollars. Or that, simply out of friendship, a wealthy New York man, who was later convicted in a huge stock swindle, picked up much of the cost of a condo Dodd bought in Washington; or that the stock swindler’s business partner out of a love of Ireland did the same for Dodd when the senator bought a waterfront house in Ireland.
Now, Dodd flat-out has lied about his role in legislation that is allowing employees of American International Group to receive $400 million in bonuses despite receiving $173 billion in taxpayer money to keep the failed financial giant alive."
"Obama’s Amateur Hour on 60 Minutes"
Live by the sword, die by the sword.
Live by your spoken words, die by your spoken words.
The more you say, the more you are responsible for saying.
In this world where everything is recorded, one must be very careful; maybe even quiet at times...
Live by your spoken words, die by your spoken words.
The more you say, the more you are responsible for saying.
In this world where everything is recorded, one must be very careful; maybe even quiet at times...
At PajamasMedia.com, John Hawkins explains why he writes this:
"Obama’s Amateur Hour on 60 Minutes
If you were looking for signs of straight talk, competence, or substance, there was precious little to be found."
Breathtakingly Bold Barack? - WSJ.com
The media's prolonged and obvious bias is what's breathtaking!...
In the Wall Street Journal, L. Brent Bozell III describes the media's continuing refusal to get off the bandwagon:
"Now that Obama's emphatic ultraliberalism is the elephant in the room, and liberals are cheering the reversal of everything Ronald Reagan tried to accomplish economically, the media still don't want to call it liberal. Instead, it's a pollster's list of positive adjectives: bold, ambitious, audacious, and even breathtaking."
Barack Obama - and his office of inter-governmental affairs
I thought the policy was no lobbyists.
This opinion column interprets this appointment as a policy statement.
I wonder what Lou Dobbs thinks of it...
This opinion column interprets this appointment as a policy statement.
I wonder what Lou Dobbs thinks of it...
I found this at DCexaminer.com website:
"One of the two is Ceclia Munoz, appointed to head the president’s executive office of inter-governmental affairs. Her lobbying job was as senior vice president of the National Council of La Raza. (La Raza’s translation is 'The Race.') La Raza favors amnesty for illegal immigrants, has filed numerous suits to keep state and local police from enforcing immigration law, supports giving drivers licenses to illegals, and wants to require states to offer in-state college tuition rates for illegals. Munoz herself has accused advocates of strict border enforcement of 'hatred' and of being 'xenophobic.'"
About those Hurricanes
I bet you've heard those reports that hurricanes, etc. are increasing because of global warming.
Seems like it's not so!...
Seems like it's not so!...
Ryan Maue provides more info at Florida State University:
Persuasion vs. Force by Mark Skousen
Here's an article that's pretty deep.
Too deep, in fact, to try to recap it in a few sentences...
Too deep, in fact, to try to recap it in a few sentences...
On his blog, Dr. Mark Skousen calls attention to a 1991 essay by Alfred North Whitehead:
"Sometimes a single book or even a short cogent essay can change an individual's entire outlook on life. For Christians, it is the New Testament. For radical socialists, Karl Marx' and Friedrich Engels' The Communist Manifesto is revolutionary. For libertarians, Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged is pivotal. For economists, Ludwig von Mises' Human Action can be mind-changing.
Recently I came across a little essay in a book called Adventures of Ideas, by Alfred North Whitehead, the British philosopher and Harvard professor. The essay, 'From Force to Persuasion,' had a profound effect upon me. Actually what caught my attention was a single passage on page 83. This one small excerpt in a 300-page book changed my entire political philosophy."
Sunday, March 22, 2009
"Obama is Dancing, But Who Calls the Tune?"
Singing, dancing, and selling.
And the sheep are buying and buying and buying...
And the sheep are buying and buying and buying...
At the New Media Journal website, Paul R. Hollrah writes:
"In referring to Obama’s budget and policies as the “Great Wealth Destruction,” Cramer had the temerity to speak truth to power. But truth is not what Obama and congressional Democrats are looking for. What they want is a frightened citizenry... a citizenry so frightened and traumatized that they will give Democrats carte blanche to impose the socialist paradise they have longed for since the days of FDR, and before."
Barack Obama - and his Intel Czar Dennis Blair
There seem to be an awful lot of these types being selected...
Mark Hosenball and Michael Isikoff report at NewsWeek.com:
"Add president Obama's national intelligence czar, Dennis Blair, to the list of embattled top-level appointees. Blair, a retired four-star Navy admiral who attended Oxford with Bill Clinton, courted controversy among pro-Israel and anti-China activists this month when he named Charles (Chas) Freeman, an outspoken former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, to chair the National Intelligence Council, a committee of the government's top intel analysts. After House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other pols complained to the White House, Freeman abruptly withdrew. Now both Republican and Democratic intel experts are raising questions about another Blair pick: John Deutch, a former CIA director once accused of major security lapses, who's been appointed to a temporary panel reviewing troubled, top-secret spy-satellite programs."
Politicians - "It's all about the children"
They've exhausted the tolerance (and maybe the resources) of the adult population for their spending orgies, so they've now turned to future generations, who currently have no say, to fund their addiction...
In California's Orange County Register, Mark Steyn writes:
"Just between you, me, and the old, the late middle-aged and the early middle-aged: Isn't it terrific to be able to stick it to the young? I mean, imagine how bad all this economic-type stuff would be if our kids and grandkids hadn't offered to pick up the tab.
Well, OK, they didn't exactly 'offer' but they did stand around behind Barack Obama at all those campaign rallies helping him look dynamic and telegenic and earnestly chanting hopey-hopey-changey-changey. And 'Yes, we can!'
Which is a pretty open-ended commitment.
Are you sure you young folks will be able to pay off this massive Mount Spendmore of multitrillion-dollar debts we've piled up on you?
'Yes, we can!'
We thought you'd say that! God bless the youth of America! We of the Greatest Generation, the Boomers and Generation X salute you, the plucky members of the Brokest Generation, the Gloomers and Generation Y, as in 'Why the hell did you old coots do this to us?'
Because, as politicians like to say, it's about 'the future of all our children.' And the future of all our children is that they'll be paying off the past of all their grandparents. At 12 percent of GDP, this year's deficit is the highest since the Second World War, and prioritizes not economic vitality but massive expansion of government. But hey, it's not our problem. As Lord Keynes observed, 'In the long run we're all dead.' Well, most of us will be. But not you youngsters, not for a while. So we've figured it out: You're the ultimate credit market, and the rest of us are all preapproved!"
National Health Care - Think Before You Decide!
This website takes issue with the concept of national (read socialized) health care.
They emphasize and support their point with opinions and headlines from around the world...
They emphasize and support their point with opinions and headlines from around the world...
At Liberty-Page.com, you will find:
"Background on problems caused by government intervention in the health care market.
PLEASE NOTE: THIS INCLUDES the UNITED STATES health care industry, which is HEAVILY regulated...with the usual results."
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Polticians - "They are worse than useless"
Mr. Goodwin says, "If we let them, we're dumber than they are".
My sentiments exactly...
My sentiments exactly...
Michael Goodwin writes about the recent Congressional hearing:
"Much of the government outrage over the bonuses pool of $165 million was phony anyway, canned up for a public now being taught that the private sector is evil and must be punished. The real outrage is that the bonuses represented a fraction of the $180 billion of public money pumped into AIG without any real oversight.
Predictably, most of Liddy's tormentors steered clear of that topic, lest they be forced to make a tough call on a complex issue."
Obama's $80 Billion Exaggeration - WSJ.com
$80 billion a year is a really big number.
Either someone didn't do much research, or else they have very little respect for taxpayer money...
Either someone didn't do much research, or else they have very little respect for taxpayer money...
Jerome Groopman and Pamela Hartsband report in the Wall Street Journal:
"Following his announcement, we spoke with fellow physicians at the Harvard teaching hospitals, where electronic medical records have been in use for years. All of us were dumbfounded, wondering how such dramatic claims of cost-saving and quality improvement could be true.
The basis for the president's proposal is a theoretical study published in 2005 by the RAND Corporation, funded by companies including Hewlett-Packard and Xerox that stand to financially benefit from such an electronic system. And, as the RAND policy analysts readily admit in their report, there was no compelling evidence at the time to support their theoretical claims. Moreover, in the four years since the report, considerable data have been obtained that undermine their claims. The RAND study and the Obama proposal it spawned appear to be an elegant exercise in wishful thinking."
Politicians - Bronx Rep. Eliot Engel
Another additon to the list of cheating politicians...
In the New York Post, Geoff Earle reports:
"Maryland officials have yanked a tax credit from Bronx Rep. Eliot Engel, who has avoided thousands in taxes on his nearly $1 million home there by improperly claiming it as his primary residence.
The officials told Engel he doesn't qualify for the homestead exemption, a tax credit only state residents can apply for, because he and his wife Patricia's primary residence is in The Bronx.
Last year, The Post reported that Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel was getting the homestead exemption in DC from 1995 to 2000 - even though his primary residence was in New York, where he had four rent-controlled apartments."
Loan Charity's High-Flying Guests Exposed - CBS News
Try to wrap your mind around this.
An educational non-profit charity has a $31 million dollar luxury jet.
What in the world is that all about?...
An educational non-profit charity has a $31 million dollar luxury jet.
What in the world is that all about?...
This is from Sharyl Attkisson at CBSnews.com:
"Educap is a multibillion-dollar student loan charity run by CEO Catherine Reynolds. As CBS News Investigative Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reported Monday night, Educap is under investigation by the IRS and Congress for alleged abuse of its tax-exempt status because it charges high interest on charitable student loans, and provides lavish perks with millions in compensation for Reynolds and her husband.
CBS News has obtained exclusive details of what may have been the biggest charity perk: use of Educap's $31 million luxury jet, which costs thousands of dollars an hour to operate.
Investigators say for five years, Reynolds jetted friends, family and luminaries to faraway and exotic destinations that sometimes had little to do with the charity's mission.
CBS News has learned that high-profile names on the Educap flight list include CIA Director Leon Panetta, former Sens. Tom Daschle and Ted Stevens, former FBI Director William Sessions and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley."
Friday, March 20, 2009
Barack Obama - and his administration
There are quite a few wondering just how competent the Obama Administration really is.
Hopefully, they'll get their act together before they inadvertently offend our enemies...
Hopefully, they'll get their act together before they inadvertently offend our enemies...
John Hinderaker posts this on the PowerLine Blog:
"This is absolutely unbelievable. You recall the embarrassment over the Obama administration's incompetent treatment of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown during his state visit to the U.S. The last link in that chain of ineptitude was Obama's parting gift to Brown, a box of 25 Hollywood CDs. Hey, when Sarkozy comes to town, maybe we can get him a Netflix subscription.
At the time, some wondered whether North American DVDs will even play in European machines. But that seemed too wacky to be true. As Mark Steyn says, 'at the back of my mind, I didn't quite believe that even the Obamateur Hour crowd at the White House could be that clueless.'
Only--oops--it turns out they could be:"
‘Working Families’ Offer Field Trip to AIG Executives’ Mansions
There's no way I can agree with this.
Maybe I could if they were visiting politician's house(s)...
Maybe I could if they were visiting politician's house(s)...
At CNSnews.com, Susan Jones reports:
""We're all mad at AIG," says the pro-union Connecticut Working Families Party. Tapping into some of that rage, the liberal group is sponsoring a "field trip" on Saturday to show working people from Hartford and Bridgeport how and where the AIG executives live. Some of the executives who received bonuses work in the company's Wilton, Conn., office."
Politicians - Sen Chris Dodd
More of the same? It sure looks like it might be...
The Wall Street Journal has this:
"Mr. Dodd is already under a cloud for receiving what a former loan officer claims was preferential treatment from Countrywide Financial on two mortgage refinancings -- in Connecticut and Washington -- in 2003. Countrywide was an aggressive lender to shaky borrowers and relied heavily on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy those mortgages in bulk. As a senior Member of the Senate Banking Committee, Mr. Dodd was one of Fannie's greatest promoters. Mr. Dodd promised last year to disclose mortgage documents to prove he got no special treatment, but so far all he's done is let a few hand-picked journalists take a quick peek before he put the papers back in storage.
Now enterprising Hartford Courant columnist Kevin Rennie has uncovered another suspicious real-estate investment"
Politicians - Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-W. Va.)
I always wondered how much it would cost to get one's name on a building.
There seems to be an endless supply of these types...
There seems to be an endless supply of these types...
Paul Singer reports at CitizensForEthics.com:
"The West Virginia High Tech Consortium has provided more than $75,000 in free rent and administrative services to the Robert H. Mollohan Family Charitable Foundation, according to tax records, while receiving millions of dollars worth of earmarks from Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-W. Va.), who serves as the family foundation’s secretary.
The West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation is a nonprofit organization that Mollohan helped establish in the 1990s to bring high-tech jobs and training to his district in northern West Virginia. Mollohan has provided the WVHTC with millions of dollars of earmarks from his seat on the House Appropriations Committee. According to documents from an ongoing court case, Mollohan has been intimately involved in some of the organization’s major management decisions.
The Robert H. Mollohan foundation is a charity the family created in 2000 that provides small grants and internship opportunities to local students. It operates out of a building bearing Alan Mollohan’s name that is run by the WVHTC."
Thursday, March 19, 2009
"The science has, quite simply, gone awry"
Dear Mr. Al Gore: Apparently, the science is NOT settled!
Sooner or later, the media will have to cover this honestly.
It might be a good time to sell your stock in this charade...
Sooner or later, the media will have to cover this honestly.
It might be a good time to sell your stock in this charade...
Marc Morano has the latest at EPW.senate.gov:
"Fifty nine additional scientists from around the world have been added to the U.S. Senate Minority Report of dissenting scientists, pushing the total to over 700 skeptical international scientists – a dramatic increase from the original 650 scientists featured in the initial December 11, 2008 release. The 59 additional scientists added to the 255-page Senate Minority report since the initial release 13 ½ weeks ago represents an average of over four skeptical scientists a week. This updated report – which includes yet another former UN IPCC scientist – represents an additional 300 (and growing) scientists and climate researchers since the initial report’s release in December 2007.
The over 700 dissenting scientists are now more than 13 times the number of UN scientists (52) who authored the media-hyped IPCC 2007 Summary for Policymakers. The 59 additional scientists hail from all over the world, including Japan, Italy, UK, Czech Republic, Canada, Netherlands, the U.S. and many are affiliated with prestigious institutions including, NASA, U.S. Navy, U.S. Defense Department, Energy Department, U.S. Air Force, the Philosophical Society of Washington (the oldest scientific society in Washington), Princeton University, Tulane University, American University, Oregon State University, U.S. Naval Academy and EPA.
The explosion of skeptical scientific voices is accelerating unabated in 2009. A March 14, 2009 article in the Australian revealed that Japanese scientists are now at the forefront of rejecting man-made climate fears prompted by the UN IPCC."
Meanwhile - in Alexandria, VA
After reading this, two thoughts come to mind.
One is that there are often unintended consequences to an action.
And also that saying about "the devil you know vs. the devil you don't know"...
One is that there are often unintended consequences to an action.
And also that saying about "the devil you know vs. the devil you don't know"...
Allison Klein has the story in the Washington Post:
"To many in Old Town Alexandria, the sex shop that opened recently on King Street is nothing short of scandalous, a historical desecration just blocks from the boyhood home of Robert E. Lee.
But to Michael Zarlenga, it's justice."
Taxpayer Heroine - Forbes.com
When you read articles like this, you just want to bang your head on a wall.
Better yet, some politician's heads...
Better yet, some politician's heads...
At Forbes.com Steve Forbes discusses the tax code:
"Each year the Advocate must report on problem areas within the IRS that are in need of improvement. This year's submission--unusually blunt for a government agency--is a taxpayer's delight: 'The most serious problem facing taxpayers is the complexity of the Internal Revenue Code. The only meaningful way to reduce these burdens [of compliance] is to simplify the tax code enormously.'"
National Post vs. National Geographic
Once again, who are we to believe.
I have to agree that one sided reporting should always be suspect...
I have to agree that one sided reporting should always be suspect...
This is from an editorial in Canada's National Post:
"For instance, even though Alberta’s heavy oil deposits contain no tar, eco-crusaders love to refer to them as 'tar sands,' since tar sounds so much dirtier than oil. And it is almost impossible these days to read a news release or story about the sands without seeing their production referred to as 'dirty oil,' as though that were a statement of fact rather than opinion.
Where are the mentions of the parkland and grazing pastures that now occupy the land where early oil extraction mines once churned up the soil? The buffalo paddocks at Syncrude — the largest of the major oil sands projects — have a better than 99% success rate in live births of buffalo calves. That’s far better than the 70% rate among wild buffalo and perhaps the biggest reason why Northern Alberta’s once-dwindling herds have been able to slowly rebuild. By the early 1990s, they had been all but wiped out by disease."
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
AIG - Top Recipients
Do you smell something here?
It looks like nobody is pure; however, the top two DO stand out...
It looks like nobody is pure; however, the top two DO stand out...
This is posted at OpenSecrets.org:
"Top Recipients - Senate
Dodd, Chris $103,100
Obama, Barack $101,332
McCain, John $ 59,499
Clinton, Hillary $ 35,965"
Taqiyya - Islam's doctrines of deception
"So-called 'moderate' Muslims – or, more specifically, secularised Muslims – do not closely adhere to sharia, and therefore have little to dissemble about. On the other hand, 'radical' Muslims who closely observe sharia law, which splits the world into two perpetually warring halves, will always have a 'divinely sanctioned' right to deceive, until 'all chaos ceases, and all religion belongs to Allah' (Quran 8:39)."...
Raymond Ibrahim educates us at MEforum.com:
"According to the authoritative Arabic text, Al-Taqiyya Fi Al-Islam: 'Taqiyya [deception] is of fundamental importance in Islam. Practically every Islamic sect agrees to it and practices it. We can go so far as to say that the practice of taqiyya is mainstream in Islam, and that those few sects not practicing it diverge from the mainstream...Taqiyya is very prevalent in Islamic politics, especially in the modern era.'
The primary Quranic verse sanctioning deception with respect to non-Muslims states: 'Let believers not take for friends and allies infidels instead of believers. Whoever does this shall have no relationship left with Allah – unless you but guard yourselves against them, taking precautions.' (Quran 3:28; see also 2:173; 2:185; 4:29; 22:78; 40:28.)
Al-Tabari's (838-923 AD) Tafsir, or Quranic exegeses, is essentially a standard reference in the entire Muslim world. Regarding 3:28, he wrote: 'If you [Muslims] are under their [infidels'] authority, fearing for yourselves, behave loyally to them, with your tongue, while harbouring inner animosity for them... Allah has forbidden believers from being friendly or on intimate terms with the infidels in place of believers – except when infidels are above them [in authority]. In such a scenario, let them act friendly towards them.'
Regarding 3:28, the Islamic scholar Ibn Kathir (1301-1373) wrote: 'Whoever at any time or place fears their [infidels'] evil, may protect himself through outward show.'
As proof of this, he quotes Muhammad's companions. Abu Darda said: 'Let us smile to the face of some people while our hearts curse them.' Al-Hassan said: 'Doing taqiyya is acceptable till the day of judgment [in perpetuity]'.
Other prominent ulema, such as al- Qurtubi , al-Razi, and al-Arabi have extended taqiyya to cover deeds. Muslims can behave like infidels – from bowing down and worshipping idols and crosses to even exposing fellow Muslims'
weak spots
to the infidel enemy – anything short of actually killing a fellow Muslim"
