Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Government at Work - allocating water
Government seems NEVER to consider or investigate "unintended consequences".
I wonder who's brother-in-law benefitted from this decision...
I wonder who's brother-in-law benefitted from this decision...
Brian Moench reports on the Salt Lake Tribune website:
"Seriously though, the only Utah residents who need to be concerned are those who breathe. Apparently Mulroy figures that if Utah can't have gambling we can at least enjoy casino-like air quality.
The SNWA pumping project will result in likely irreversible loss of critical native vegetation covering a desert expanse equal in size to the state of Vermont. Where water diversion projects like this have been done before in California and other parts of the world, the result has been exactly what was predicted: more dust, more pollution and more disease."
Government at Work - "Highway" Funds
NOT coming soon to a highway or bridge near you.
Instead it goes to...
Instead it goes to...
Senator Tom Coburn's government website:
"released a report on $78 billion from the Highway Trust Fund not being spent on bridges or roads. 'Out of Gas: Congress Raids the Highway Trust Fund for Pet Projects While Bridges and Roads Crumble' includes an analysis of a newly published GAO study the two Senators requested to determine how Congress is spending Highway Trust Fund receipts.
GAO auditors found that over the last five years, $78 billion in Highway Trust Fund receipts have been obligated for “purposes other than construction and maintenance of highways and bridges” such as bike paths, pedestrian walkways and facilities, “scenic beautification” and landscaping projects, and road-kill prevention projects.
Included in Highway Trust Fund Spending:
* Over $2 billion on 5,547 bike paths and pedestrian walkways, including $878,000 for a pedestrian and bicycle bridge for a Minnesota town of 847. An additional $2 million in federal stimulus funds for a bike lane along a deteriorating road in Pennsylvania, where exasperated local officials say the road is so bad they may be forced to drive on the bike path instead.
* $850 million for 2,772 “scenic beautification” and landscaping projects around the country;
And there's much, much more..."
The Sun Says: Labour’s lost it
When I read this editorial column, I can't help noticing that the U.K. is rejecting the exact same policies that our current government is trying to implement.
I can't imagine that they will work here either...
I can't imagine that they will work here either...
In the U.K., The Sun anticipates and hopes for the future:
"We are still a great people and, put to the test, will respond to the challenges we face.
The Sun believes - and prays - that the Conservative leadership can put the great back into Great Britain."
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
"The secrets of Obama's rhetoric"
I, for one, believe in the fable of the "Pied Piper", even as this one applies to so-called adults.
Here's the equivalent of a short course on manipulative speech...
Here's the equivalent of a short course on manipulative speech...
PRE-LINK TEXT Rich Lowry writes in the New York Post:
"Everyone marvels at President Obama's rhetorical prowess. But don't be overly bedazzled. With these 13 easy steps, you, too, can give a Barack Obama speech."
The Urge to Purge Solves Nothing
For conservatives, here's an well-written (IMHO) article discussing several political and philosophical points...
At PajamasMedia.com, Adam Graham writes about history and political extremists and then closes with this:
"It is far more healthy to view government with suspicion than to assume each action innocuous. There’s nothing more traditionally American than distrusting the government. If our Founders had not distrusted the government, they would have welcomed the taxed British East India tea (because it was actually less expensive than what they paid for tea at the time) and not tossed the tea into Boston Harbor. However, the Founders understood the issue was not the price of the tea, but the ability of the British government to tax the colonies without representation. Similarly, the concerns of anti-federalists about the federal government overstepping its bounds led to the passage of the Bill of Rights.
Those who fear this administration undermining our republic are not rabble to be thrown under the bus. Rather, they are part of a healthy political ecosystem. This doesn’t mean they’re always right or that their skepticism can’t go too far, but it does mean their voices should not be shushed to comfort the political establishment.
World history chronicles how great civilizations lost their freedom because of a lack of vigilance against government encroachment. In the history of mankind, there is no record of a people losing their liberty because not enough of them trusted their government."
Meanwhile - in California - "Catching Up to Mexico"
This cannot bode well for the future of California...
Alex Alexiev writes at NationalReview.com:
"For a closer glimpse of what’s in store for California, look at the Los Angeles Unified School District, the largest in California and the second largest in the country. Of its roughly 700,000 students, almost three-quarters are Hispanic, 8.9 percent are white, and 11.2 percent are black. More than half of the Latino students (about 300,000) are “English learners” and, depending on whether you believe the district or independent scholars, anywhere between a third and a half drop out of high school, following significant attrition in middle school. A recent study by UC Santa Barbara’s California Dropout Research Project estimates that high-school dropouts in 2007 alone will cost the state $24.2 billion in future economic losses.
Even those who graduate aren’t necessarily headed to success. According to one study, 69 percent of Latino high-school graduates 'do not meet college requirements or satisfy prerequisites for most jobs that pay a living wage.' It is difficult to see how the majority-Hispanic labor force of the future can provide the skills that the sophisticated Los Angeles economy demands. Already studies show that as many as 700,000 Los Angeles Latinos and some 65 percent of the city’s illegal immigrants work in L.A.’s huge underground economy.
The unhappy picture in Los Angeles is replicated to one degree or another across much of California and is taking a huge toll on the state’s economic competitiveness and long-term prospects."
Monday, September 28, 2009
"Obama and ‘Redistributive Change’"
The premise of this article seems to be on the mark.
It's the only way to explain the ruthlessness and speed by which changes are being attempted...
It's the only way to explain the ruthlessness and speed by which changes are being attempted...
In his opinion column describing the true goals, Victor Davis Hanson gas this to say about the president:
"The president believes that a select group of affluent, highly educated technocrats — cosmopolitan, noble-minded, and properly progressive — supported by a phalanx of whiz-kids fresh out of blue-chip universities with little or no experience in the marketplace, can direct our lives far better than we can ourselves. By “better” I do not mean in a fashion that, measured by disinterested criteria, makes us necessarily wealthier, happier, more productive, or freer."
"To Hell with the Political Class"
My sentiments exactly.
This writer is a chiropractor so I suspect she knows a thing or two about backbones...
This writer is a chiropractor so I suspect she knows a thing or two about backbones...
Writing about politicians, Melissa Clouthier comes to this conclusion:
"The people, at long last, rise. The political class needs guidance, to put it mildly. Basically, things have been good enough and people have been busy enough that they stopped holding those entrusted with the keys to the law and treasury accountable. That time is over. All politicians, both Republicans and Democrats, would like the grassroots people to just go away. It seems evident that these folks are just getting warmed up.
Call them the mob, terrorists, haters, un-American, disloyal, treasonous, immoral, racist, and deranged. They’re not going away. They are Americans. They deserve better than what they’re getting from the ruling class.
Tonight, a friend tweeted this timely quote: 'It is the responsibility of the patriot to protect his country from its government.' — Thomas Paine
The government needs to relearn its place."
Europe’s Dark Hour - by Stephen Brown
This has a bad ring to it...
At FrontPageMagazine, Stephen Brown writes:
"Forty years after the death of the “last lion,” Great Britain is producing men of straw rather than of Churchillian iron."
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Iran Admits to Another Nuclear Facility - WSJ.com
It should be clear that the success of rogue leaders is related to the rest of the world's willingness to "talk".
"Actions speak louder than words" is the operative wisdom here...
"Actions speak louder than words" is the operative wisdom here...
The Wall Street Journal offers their opinion:
"Meantime, the U.S. and its allies dream. Mr. Obama used his global forum this week not to rally the world to stop today's nuclear rogues but to offer lovely visions of disarmament in some distant future. In the bitter decades of the Cold War, we learned the hard way that the only countries that abide by disarmament treaties are those that want to be disarmed. It's becoming increasingly, and dangerously, obvious that Mr. Obama wasn't paying attention."
"Americans Now View Congress As Least Respected Job"
Small Business Owners - 92; Members of Congress - 25
That's quite a telling statistic...
That's quite a telling statistic...
Those numbers are fom a Rasmussen Reports survey:
"Rasmussen Reports periodically asks adults their views of nine major professions. In both June and February, corporate chief executive officers rated at the very bottom, no surprise really given the country’s economic straits. Members of Congress in both surveys came in next to last - but not any more."
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Barack Obama - and his 'Safe Schools' Czar
Fox News gets criticized a lot by some people; however, if they didn't report on stuff like this. who would?
Think whatever you want, but I think the old media is letting Americans down...
Think whatever you want, but I think the old media is letting Americans down...
Maxim Lott has this and more at FoxNews.com:
"President Obama's 'safe schools czar' is a former schoolteacher who has advocated promoting homosexuality in schools, written about his past drug abuse, expressed his contempt for religion and detailed an incident in which he did not report an underage student who told him he was having sex with older men.
Conservatives are up in arms about the appointment of Kevin Jennings, Obama's director of the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, saying he is too radical for the job.
Jennings was appointed to the position largely because of his longtime record of working to end bullying and discrimination in schools. In 1990, as a teacher in Massachusetts, he founded the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), which now has over 40 chapters at schools nationwide. He has also published six books on gay rights and education, including one that describes his own experiences as a closeted gay student."
Friday, September 25, 2009
Murtha’s Airport for No One - WSJ.com
I've read quite a few stories about this airport (and even posted some).
Several TV stations have runs "specials" highlighing the airport's lack of use.
So what's really going on here?...
Several TV stations have runs "specials" highlighing the airport's lack of use.
So what's really going on here?...
The Wall Street Journal reports:
"Republicans had their Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska, and now Democrats seem intent on wrapping themselves firmly around Congressman Jack Murtha's Airport for No One in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. So much for changing the culture of spending in Washington.
Last week 53 Senators—including 51 Democrats—voted down an amendment by Republican Jim DeMint of South Carolina to stop spending federal funds on the airport that Mr. Murtha built with more than $150 million in federal subsidies and earmarks over the last two decades."
Thursday, September 24, 2009
In Our Schools - schools may lower grade-point requirement for graduation
The schools are changing.
I don't think it's for the better...
I don't think it's for the better...
On the Seattle Times website, Linda Shaw tells us about it:
"Seattle Public Schools may do away with a nearly decade-old requirement that all students earn a C average to graduate, and an even-older policy that athletes maintain a C average to play on school teams.
If the School Board approves recommendations endorsed by Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson, as well as most district high-school principals and counselors, a D average will be good enough to earn a high-school diploma. Student athletes would need to pass five of six classes with D grades or better.
District officials understand there are concerns about relaxing standards at a time when everyone from President Obama on down is pushing for higher expectations for U.S. students.
And when surveyed by the district last year, a majority of Seattle parents and students preferred to keep the C-average requirement."
Meanwhile - in Fantasyland - Wind Power
I'm all for alternative energy sources; BUT, they have to pass the test of common sense.
Read this article and then try to convince yourself that this idea has any chance of becoming reality.
Of course, if you're a governor, you probably won't see what I see...
Read this article and then try to convince yourself that this idea has any chance of becoming reality.
Of course, if you're a governor, you probably won't see what I see...
This is part of a Republican American website article:
"The E-126 also is a NIMBYs nightmare. Now under development in Europe, the E-126 stands an imposing 650 feet — the tallest building in New England, Boston's John Hancock Tower, is 790 — and has three, 413-foot blades. Each E-126 goes for $15.5 million, installed, and comes with an engineered base that is 100 feet across and 13 feet thick to keep the wind from blowing the tower over. Because of the E-126's immensity, the world's largest crawler-type crane is required to assemble it.
Last week, the New England Governors' Conference raised green fantasy to new heights with the release of its Renewable Energy Blueprint, which said the region 'has a significant quantity of untapped renewable resources, on the order of over 10,000 MW combined of on-shore and off-shore wind power potential.' Neither the report nor the news articles about it bothered to do the math. At 7 MW, New England would need 1,429 E-126s to tap that potential. Though the turbines likely would be clustered in 'farms,' that's an average of 238 per state, or more than one for each town in Connecticut. The cost would be $221 billion that the states don't have, though they might get a bulk-purchase discount of a billion or two."
"Whatever happened to the work ethic?"
I think this is worthwhile to read.
I don't know whether it's generational or what; however, some portion of American society has lost, or is unaware, of the behaviors that rocketed America from nothing to the greatest country in the world in a mere 200 years.
History lessons might serve many of us very well...
I don't know whether it's generational or what; however, some portion of American society has lost, or is unaware, of the behaviors that rocketed America from nothing to the greatest country in the world in a mere 200 years.
History lessons might serve many of us very well...
These quoted paragraphs from Steven Malanga's article at DallasNews.com are just a teaser. He writes much more:
"Nowhere did the fusing of capitalism and the virtues that made up the work ethic find a fuller expression than in America, where Puritan pioneers founded settlements animated by a Calvinist dedication to work.
One result was a remarkable society in which, as Tocqueville would observe, all 'honest callings are honorable' and in which 'the notion of labor is therefore presented to the mind on every side as the necessary, natural and honest condition of human existence.'
Unlike in Europe, where aristocrats and gentry often scorned labor, in the United States, 'a wealthy man thinks that he owes it to public opinion to devote his leisure to some kind of industrial or commercial pursuit, or to public business. He would think himself in bad repute if he employed his life solely in living.'
This thick and complex work ethic, so essential to the success of the early, struggling American settlements, became part of the country's civic fabric. It found its most succinct expression in the writings of Benjamin Franklin, whose well-known maxims, now considered quaintly old-fashioned, recommended to citizens of the new country a worldview that promoted work and the pursuit of wealth."
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Fact or Fiction?
After you read this, you guess will be as good as mine...
Brad Friedman headlines this on his blog:
"Exclusive: Upcoming Cover Story on Edmonds 'Outs' Video-taped, 'Blackmailed' Dem Congresswoman; Alleges State Dept. Mole at NYTimes; MUCH MORE..."
"Acorn: Creature of the CRA"
The Community Reinvestment Act.
Sounds beneficial, doesn't it? Well, it's not!
It is likely to have been the root cause of our current horrible economy.
It is very clear that citizens should be very vigilant when government steps in to be helpful.
Things that sound good most likely have some immediate benefit to politicians; and a disastrous effect on those who have to live with it in the future...
Sounds beneficial, doesn't it? Well, it's not!
It is likely to have been the root cause of our current horrible economy.
It is very clear that citizens should be very vigilant when government steps in to be helpful.
Things that sound good most likely have some immediate benefit to politicians; and a disastrous effect on those who have to live with it in the future...
This is from an article by Steven Malanga at FrontPageMag.com:
"Acorn found its way into the mortgage business through the Community Reinvestment Act, the 1977 legislation that community groups have used as a cudgel to force lenders to lower their mortgage underwriting standards in order to make more loans in low-income communities. Often the groups, after making protests under CRA, were then rewarded by banks with contracts to act as mortgage counselors in low-income areas in return for dropping their protests against the banks. In one particularly lucrative deal, 14 major banks eager to put CRA protests behind them in 1993 signed an agreement to have Acorn administer a $55 million, 11-city lending program. It was precisely such agreements that helped turn Acorn from a network of small local groups into a national player. And Acorn hasn't been alone. A U.S. senate subcommittee once estimated that CRA-related deals between banks and community groups have pumped nearly $10 billion into the nonprofit sector."
ACORN - "Sowing the seeds of destruction"
This article may be all you need to know about ACORN...
Ginger Adams Otis and Tim Perone report in the New York Post:
"ACORN's shady tactics made headlines last week. But their shocking radicalism is nothing new."
Government Medicine vs. the Elderly - WSJ.com
Who or what are we to believe about this?...
Rupert Darwall writes in the Wa;; Street Journal:
"Rarely has the Atlantic seemed as wide as when America's health-care debate provoked a near unanimous response from British politicians boasting of the superiority of their country's National Health Service. Prime Minister Gordon Brown used Twitter to tell the world that the NHS can mean the difference between life and death. His wife added, 'we love the NHS.' Opposition leader David Cameron tweeted back that his plans to outspend Labour showed the Conservatives were more committed to the NHS than Labour.
This outbreak of NHS jingoism was brought to an abrupt halt by the Patients Association, an independent charity. In a report, the association presented a catalogue of end-of-life cases that demonstrated, in its words, 'a consistent pattern of shocking standards of care.' It provided details of what it described as 'appalling treatment,' which could be found across the NHS.
A few days later, a group of senior doctors and health-care experts wrote to a national newspaper expressing their concern about the Liverpool Care Pathway, a palliative program being rolled out across the NHS involving the withdrawal of fluids and nourishment for patients thought to be dying. Noting that in 2007-08, 16.5% of deaths in the U.K. came after 'terminal sedation,' their letter concluded with the chilling observation that experienced doctors know that sometimes 'when all but essential drugs are stopped, 'dying' patients get better' if they are allowed to."
In Our World - Fake video footage
I've been aware of this for quite a while now.
Back in the day, images and videos were altered for fun.
Today, they are often manipulated to deceive and further agendas.
It certainly makes staying accurately informed more difficult.
That old saying "Believe half of what you see, and none of what you hear" may need to be revised...
Back in the day, images and videos were altered for fun.
Today, they are often manipulated to deceive and further agendas.
It certainly makes staying accurately informed more difficult.
That old saying "Believe half of what you see, and none of what you hear" may need to be revised...
The Times of India website has this and more:
"Fake video footage can dramatically alter people's perceptions of events, even convincing them to testify to a non-event, says a new
study.
Kimberley Wade, psychology professor from Warwick University (WU), led an experiment to see whether such faux footage could induce people to accuse another of doing something they never did.
Wade found nearly 50% of those shown fake footage of something they witnessed first hand were prepared to believe the video version rather than what they actually saw.
'Our research shows that if a fake footage is extremely compelling, it can induce people to testify about something they never witnessed, said Wade.
'As a result, almost anyone can create convincing yet fake images or video footage,' which Wade attributes to 'rapid advances in digital-manipulation technology over the previous decade'."
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Judge Rakoff Rejects Bank of America and SEC’s Arguments - WSJ.com
I think this judge has it exactly right.
Hopefully, he has seniority and job security...
Hopefully, he has seniority and job security...
This is from a Wall Street Journal opinion column
"Judge Rakoff was having none of it. In a 12-page opinion, he tore into the SEC for ignoring its own guidelines and penalizing shareholders rather than the individuals who supposedly acted improperly. The settlement 'does not comport with the most elementary notions of justice and morality, in that it proposes that the shareholders who were the victims of the Bank's alleged misconduct now pay the penalty for that misconduct.' As for the SEC's argument that this shareholder punishment will result in better management, the judge called it 'absurd.'
The judge also had little sympathy for the SEC's argument that it would be too difficult to pursue executives, since they had been guided by lawyers. 'If that is the case, why are the penalties not then sought from the lawyers? And why, in any event, does that justify imposing penalties on the victims of the lie, shareholders?' he asked.
He also had harsh words for BofA, which has recently filed court papers claiming its proxy statement was neither false nor misleading. 'If the Bank is innocent of lying to its shareholders, why is it prepared to pay $33 million of its shareholders' money as a penalty for lying to them?'"
In Our World - Miss Venezuela
"Goldengirl" (1979) - A neo-Nazi Doctor tries to make a superwoman of his daughter who has been specially fed, exercised & conditioned since she was a child to run in the Olympics.
And now we have...
And now we have...
Hannah Strange reports at the U.K. TimesOnLine website:
"It is a temple of beauty where 20 women have spent a gruelling six months on a programme of diets, weigh-ins, personal trainers, catwalk classes and lessons in dance and elocution. Welcome to the Miss Venezuela villa.
Inside the mirrored walls — and ceilings — of this salmon-pink monument to kitsch, the competitors in this week’s national final are honed to the image of perfection envisioned by Osmel Sousa, the president of the Miss Venezuela Organisation and self-proclaimed 'specialist in the female figure'.
The girls are examined on arrival by Mr Sousa and his team and given a list of flaws to address — often with the help of cosmetic surgery, one of the country’s largest industries. "
"Carbon Dioxide irrelevant in climate debate says MIT Scientist"
Another hole in Al Gore's diminishing scare attempt...
At Examiner.com, Dianna Cotter points us to this one:
"In a study sure to ruffle the feathers of the Global Warming cabal, Professor Richard Lindzen of MIT has published a paper which proves that IPCC models are overstating by 6 times, the relevance of CO2 in Earth’s Atmosphere. Dr. Lindzen has found that heat is radiated out in to space at a far higher rate than any modeling system to date can account for.
Editorial: The science is in. the scare is out. Recent papers and data give a complete picture of why the UN is wrong.
The pdf file located at the link above from the Science and Public Policy Institute has absolutely, convincingly, and irrefutably proven the theory of Anthropogenic Global Warming to be completely false.
Professor Richard Lindzen of MIT’s peer reviewed work states 'we now know that the effect of CO2 on temperature is small, we know why it is small, and we know that it is having very little effect on the climate.'"
The Media - "Corruption and the Two Party System"
Mr. Obama's admitted relationships are quite controversial at best.
That they were (and still are) ignored by the media is cause for concern.
Fortunately, alternative information sources are rising to the occasion, and doing the job the old media won't do...
That they were (and still are) ignored by the media is cause for concern.
Fortunately, alternative information sources are rising to the occasion, and doing the job the old media won't do...
On the Accuracy in Media website, Cliff Kincaid equates it to a coverup by the media:
"What drives President Barack Obama to want to seize control of the health care and energy sectors of the U.S. economy? Obama was trained as a Marxist from his days as a young boy in Hawaii when his grandfather picked Communist Party USA member Frank Marshall Davis as his mentor. In college, as Obama tells the story, he picked his "friends" carefully, in order to avoid being perceived as a sell-out, and those friends included the 'Marxist professors.' Later, in Chicago, he would become a political associate of another Marxist professor, Bill Ayers of the University of Illinois. Does anybody see a pattern here?
Based on what we have seen at some of the town hall meetings, there are some Americans who don't want to see the U.S. go down the Marxist road. This is the time for the media to tell the truth about Obama and his agenda."
Monday, September 21, 2009
"A Short Walk Down Memory Hole Lane"
Recently, the banners and posters of big-government protesters were labeled as mean and nasty by many in the soon-to-be-extinct media.
This blogger reminds them (in pictures) of some protest signs from the past...
This blogger reminds them (in pictures) of some protest signs from the past...
You can see them at Ringo's Pictures:
"Union Labor Head as Czar of All U. S. Industries? – INCREDIBLE !"
Here's one of those stories the American media won't publish...
Jerry McConnell writes at CanadaFreePress.com:
"Is there anyone out there who needs any more proof that the usurper that sits illegally in the President’s chair in the Oval Office of the White House is, bit by bit, piece by piece, and day by day, in the process of totally destroying the democratic republic that once was the United States?
With 80 percent of the communications network of this country shut down, for all intents and purposes, regarding reports on anything that is not popular with that usurper, you might say that they are in his back pocket. And for him, the usurper that is, if and when he reaches his goal of making America a pawn of the corrupt and dangerous United Nations he won’t have to declare the names of the totalitarian state run news and broadcast services as they will already be in place.
ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, MSNBC are all completely in the bag for the socialist/communist, liberal Democrats, as directed by their Commissar of Finance, George Soros. B. Hussein Obama will be the Grand Ruler of all World territories, but only in a figurehead role just as he is today here in the United States, where he is assigned to bring the country to its knees and place it in subservience to the United Nations."
"'Junk science' expert sounds alarm on insurance study"
Agenda driven studies and polls are the latest ways to manipulate public opinion.
And, unfortunately, it works!
Used car salesman are starting to look like saints...
And, unfortunately, it works!
Used car salesman are starting to look like saints...
Amanda Carpenter writes about "junk science" on the Washington Times website:
"'They are trying to create these factoids that they can beat opponents over the head with,' Mr. Milloy said. 'They interviewed 9,000 people between 1988 and 1994 and asked, 'Do you have health insurance?' and if you die at some point in the future, they assume your death was caused by the fact you didn’t have insurance during that time you were interviewed.'
'That kind of stuff is classic junk science,' Mr. Milloy added."
"Obama, not courts, should interpret law"
See if this headline and subtext catches your interest...
Aaron Klein has this quote in his article at WND.com:
"'Beliefs and commitments' of nation's leader should supersede judges"
The Lisbon Treaty. - WSJ.com
The IS a BIG deal.
European bureaucrats are trying to gain control of significant portions of what is now the local countries' government functions.
That basically means that people who are distant from the circumstances would be making decisions, and that the citizens will lose much of their electoral ability to decide who truly represents them.
Let's hope the Irish put the hammer down on this once again...
European bureaucrats are trying to gain control of significant portions of what is now the local countries' government functions.
That basically means that people who are distant from the circumstances would be making decisions, and that the citizens will lose much of their electoral ability to decide who truly represents them.
Let's hope the Irish put the hammer down on this once again...
In the Wall Street Journal, Brian M. Carney writes about the Irish role in the upcoming Lisbon Treaty referendum:
"In three weeks' time, Ireland will, for a moment, hold the fate of Europe in its hands. Through a quirk of Irish constitutional procedure, on Oct. 2 the Republic of Ireland will be the only European Union nation to hold a referendum on a treaty to revamp how the EU, home to half a billion people, does business. The Lisbon Treaty, therefore, will stand or fall on the votes of perhaps one and a half million Irishmen and women."
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Barack Obama - While We Were Looking The Other Way
I bet you missed this. I know I did.
Then again, what old media organization could we count on to report it?...
Then again, what old media organization could we count on to report it?...
was posted by Erin at RightSoup.comThis:
"Some unprecedented news today, folks. Never in the history of the United Nations has a U.S. President taken the chairmanship of the powerful UN Security Council. Perhaps it is because of what could arguably be a Constitutional prohibition against doing so. To wit: Section 9 of the Constitution says:"
"Why Did Holder’s Justice Department Dismiss the Black Panther Case?"
You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the answer.
It's not very pretty...
It's not very pretty...
Jennifer Rubin writes at PajamasMedia.com:
"The notion that civil rights laws apply to all citizens, and are not on the books merely to protect minority groups or to pursue white racists, is an anathema to the liberal civil rights establishment and their sympathetic partners in the Justice Department.
Another attorney familiar with the inner workings of the Civil Rights Division agrees with this take. He observes that Department staff “openly and proudly advocate for a different standard” depending on the race of the alleged civil rights violator. He contends that this view extends now up to the attorney general and to staff attorneys who 'say it openly at the Justice Department when the topic of ‘reverse’ discrimination comes up.'"
Nice shot, Eh?
Saturday, September 19, 2009
The Media - afraid of ACORN?
Glenn Beck has been calling them the "fringe" media.
I assume he means they are long gone from the mainstream views of Americans.
Their losses of viewership and readership are well documented, as are their reductions in staff.
They truly seem to be cutting off their respective noses to spite their faces...
I assume he means they are long gone from the mainstream views of Americans.
Their losses of viewership and readership are well documented, as are their reductions in staff.
They truly seem to be cutting off their respective noses to spite their faces...
Floyd and Mary Beth Brown describe the media at eastvalleytribune.com:
""Their first tactic is to simply ignore a story. In most cases, it works. But when it comes to questions regarding ACORN, it hasn't worked because Glenn Beck and some other courageous journalists have refused to let the story die.
When ignoring the story doesn't work, the next recourse is to distort or spin the news in order to regain control over the story. This didn't work either."
"
Golden Eagles
Wow! Can American eagles do this?...
Friday, September 18, 2009
75 Democrats Don’t Vote to Defund Acorn - WSJ.com
I guess U.S. Rep. Barney Frank isn't "man" enough to vote on some things.
I'm sorry, but that is just too obvious for me to resist...
I'm sorry, but that is just too obvious for me to resist...
The Wall Street Journal gives their opinion on the recent ACORN defunding vote:
"One of Acorn's leading Congressional enablers has been Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts. Last year Mr. Frank appeared in a promotional video for "Acorn's Grassroots Democracy Campaign," and this year he led the effort to repeal a year-old legal provision barring groups from receiving housing subsidies while under indictment for voter fraud. This he called "a violation of the basic principles of due process." Mr. Frank was absent yesterday when the House voted to defund Acorn, although he had been on the House floor for another vote just half an hour earlier."
Separating 'He Lied' From The 'Elides'
No matter what you label it, most of us know what it really is...
Charles Krauthammer uses a word I had to look up in his Investors Business Daily column. He also includes:
"Separating 'He Lied' From The 'Elides'
You lie? No. Barack Obama doesn't lie. He's too subtle for that. He . . . well, you judge.
Herewith three examples within a single speech — the now-famous Obama-Wilson "you lie" address to Congress on health care — of Obama's relationship with truth:"
Windmills Are Killing Our Birds - WSJ.com
This is NOT equal treatment under the law, is it?...
Robert Bryce reports in the Wall Street Journal:
"On Aug. 13, ExxonMobil pleaded guilty in federal court to killing 85 birds that had come into contact with crude oil or other pollutants in uncovered tanks or waste-water facilities on its properties. The birds were protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which dates back to 1918. The company agreed to pay $600,000 in fines and fees.
ExxonMobil is hardly alone in running afoul of this law. Over the past two decades, federal officials have brought hundreds of similar cases against energy companies. In July, for example, the Oregon-based electric utility PacifiCorp paid $1.4 million in fines and restitution for killing 232 eagles in Wyoming over the past two years. The birds were electrocuted by poorly-designed power lines.
Yet there is one group of energy producers that are not being prosecuted for killing birds: wind-power companies. And wind-powered turbines are killing a vast number of birds every year.
A July 2008 study of the wind farm at Altamont Pass, Calif., estimated that its turbines kill an average of 80 golden eagles per year. The study, funded by the Alameda County Community Development Agency, also estimated that about 10,000 birds—nearly all protected by the migratory bird act—are being whacked every year at Altamont."
Thursday, September 17, 2009
"Change" - apparently not on this issue
The more things "change", the more things stay the same...
Mary Katharine Ham posts at theWeeklyStandard blog:
"New Things That Are Racist in Obama's Post-Racial Society Update"
To All Innocent Fifth Columnists - by Ayn Rand
It's fascinating to me how some things stand the test of time and are never deemed out-of-date.
It is heartening to me that some people can recall and retrieve historical, meaningful commentary so the rest of us can learn from it...
It is heartening to me that some people can recall and retrieve historical, meaningful commentary so the rest of us can learn from it...
I found this posted at Fare.Tunes.org:
"Note: To All Fifth Columnists is an open letter written by Ayn Rand around the beginning of 1941, when she was encouraging conservative intellectuals to form a national organization advocating individualism. She desired for the letter be issued by such an organization."
The letter follows.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
"A 'Sting'-ing Indictment of Media Hypocrisy"
The media's bias toward liberal views and enterprises is stunning.
You might think that after NOT covering presidential candidate John Edwards' affair and likely illegitimate child, they would change their ways. Not So!
FYI; This was written before the fourth video expose'...
You might think that after NOT covering presidential candidate John Edwards' affair and likely illegitimate child, they would change their ways. Not So!
FYI; This was written before the fourth video expose'...
At townhall.com, Michelle Malkin begins with this and then reminds the media about some of their history:
"Undercover journalism is only acceptable when it fits a liberal agenda. That is the message from 'professional' reporters and left-wing activists outraged about three successful video stings targeting President Obama's old friends at the left-wing tax-subsidized outfit ACORN."
Barack Obama - and his eligibility issue
Here's another one of those "stories" on this subject...
This was posted by John Charlton on the Post & Email blog:
"New Hampshire State Representative, Lawrence M. Rappaport payed a visit to Mr. William Gardner, the NH Secretary of State, on Thursday, Sept. 10th.
His stunning request: an investigation of Barack Hussein Obama’s presence on the NH 2008 Ballot.
Gardner’s stunning response: an investigation will commence."
Barack Obama - and his eligibility issue
This is either the best conspiracy theory ever contrived or the truth.
I wish I knew.
There's an awful lot of smoke for there to be no fire.
Hopefully, we'll all know soon...
I wish I knew.
There's an awful lot of smoke for there to be no fire.
Hopefully, we'll all know soon...
Bob Unruh has this and more at wnd.com:
"'The DNC drafted, signed and notarized TWO slightly different versions of their Official Certification of Nomination documents, not one,' he wrote. 'One of those documents had complete legal language, and one of them was missing the text concerning the constitutional eligibility of Barack Hussein Obama.
'The version which is absent any certification of constitutional standing for the office of president is the version that was filed with every state in the country, and the one used by the DNC to elect Barack Obama president,' he wrote.
WND contacted the Democratic National Committee multiple times over three days to request an explanation of the two images, including whether one might be a forgery. A spokeswoman in the press office confirmed, 'We are aware of it,' but declined to elaborate.
Likewise, WND contacted the office of Pelosi, but got no response over several days. And the White House declined to respond to multiple e-mails asking for a comment."
Barack Obama - and his eligibility issue
The scenario is laid out here...
At CanadaFreePress.com, JB Williams has some really plausible stuff:
"A political national committee, the Chair of the Party convention, the Secretary of the Party, Party offices in each of fifty states, and maybe many – many more, have knowingly and wantonly defrauded the American election system and more than 300 million American citizens.
They plotted and planned an act of evil, unlawful, treacherous fraud in a blind quest for unbridled political power, and they hoped that you would never catch it. They almost got away with it too…
They snuck it past fifty state election commissions, congress, the US Supreme Court and Justice Department, the Federal Elections Commission and countless members of the Electoral College nationwide. Not a single member of the, as Limbaugh says, 'drive-by media' caught it either, or if they did, they decided to become complicit for their own political reasons.
But as is always the case with liars, cheats and thieves, they slip up – make a silly mistake – overplay their hand – leave evidence lying around that they had forgotten about. And as with all chronic liars, they eventually get caught in their own web of lies.
Then, one day, someone stumbles into that evidence, and the house of cards comes crashing down around them. It’s almost poetic…"
Barack Obama - and his eligibility issue
As unlikely as this may seem, this is REAL stuff.
The blog, Citizens Against Pro-Obama Media Bias has links to several videos concerning the pending court case regarding the legitimacy of Barack Obama to be President.
Each link has the links to the others; but, I've also duplicated the links here:
Rundown of Taitz hearing
barry’s motion to dismiss
Orly Taitz post-court interview - Part 1
Orly Taitz post-court interview - Part 2
Orly Taitz post-court interview - Part 3
Orly Taitz post-court interview - Part 4
Complete list of birth certificate posts/videos/lawsuits
If you have the time to get into this, you might agree that it's pretty wild stuff.
Worse, the media is avoiding it as if they are double-blindfolded with their hands tied behind their collective backs. Figuratively, that may be the case.
The blog, Citizens Against Pro-Obama Media Bias has links to several videos concerning the pending court case regarding the legitimacy of Barack Obama to be President.
Each link has the links to the others; but, I've also duplicated the links here:
Rundown of Taitz hearing
barry’s motion to dismiss
Orly Taitz post-court interview - Part 1
Orly Taitz post-court interview - Part 2
Orly Taitz post-court interview - Part 3
Orly Taitz post-court interview - Part 4
Complete list of birth certificate posts/videos/lawsuits
If you have the time to get into this, you might agree that it's pretty wild stuff.
Worse, the media is avoiding it as if they are double-blindfolded with their hands tied behind their collective backs. Figuratively, that may be the case.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
10 More "You Lie" Moments On Health Care
There certainly isn't much honesty about what's really in the health bill...
At Townhall.com, John Hawkins explains what the 10 are and asks:
"At the end of the day, there's only one question you need to ask yourself to decide whether you should support health care reform: Do you trust Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Barack Obama and the army of bureaucrats in DC enough to allow them to make life altering medical decisions for you and your children? If not, then it's time to stand up, speak out, and take action before this bill is passed and irrevocably changes our country. "
Income Gap Shrinks
My opinion is that this is a bad thing.
Higher income people buy high priced (high profit) items and also pay more taxes.
Government should be very cautious about taking steps that hurt the business side of America...
Higher income people buy high priced (high profit) items and also pay more taxes.
Government should be very cautious about taking steps that hurt the business side of America...
Bob Davis and Robert Frank report in the Wall Street Journal:
"In 2007, the top 1% of U.S. families accounted for 23.5% of all personal income in the U.S., according to economists Emmanuel Saez of the University of California at Berkeley and Thomas Piketty of the Paris School of Economics. That was a level not seen since the Roaring Twenties.
The top 1%'s share appears to be falling fast. Mr. Saez and other economists expect income going to the top 1% of taxpayers — currently, those with about $400,000 a year — will drop to somewhere between 15% and 19% of all income by 2010. "
Barack Obama - "Listening to a Liar: Part II"
This man is not likely to write before thinking.
After graduating magna cum laude from Harvard University (1958), Thomas Sowell went on to receive his master's in economics from Columbia University (1959) and a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago (1968)...
After graduating magna cum laude from Harvard University (1958), Thomas Sowell went on to receive his master's in economics from Columbia University (1959) and a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago (1968)...
At Townhall.com, Thomas Sowell writes about the president:
"Obama can deny it in words but what matters are deeds-- and no one's words have been more repeatedly the direct opposite of his deeds-- whether talking about how his election campaign would be financed, how he would not rush legislation through Congress, or how his administration was not going to go after CIA agents for their past efforts to extract information from captured terrorists. "
ObamaCare’s Crippling Deficits - WSJ.com
No amount of lipstick can make this pretty...
Martin Feldstein explains in the Wall Street Journal:
"The deficits projected for the next decade and beyond are unprecedented. According to an assessment released in March by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the president's budget implies that deficits will average 5.2% of GDP over the next decade and will be 5.5% of GDP in 2019. Without the president's proposals, the budget office forecasts a 2019 deficit of only 2% of GDP.
The CBO's deficit projections are based on the optimistic assumptions that the economy will grow at a healthy 3% pace with no recessions during the next decade; that there will be no new spending programs after this year's budget; and that the rising national debt will increase the rate of interest on government bonds by less than 1%. More realistic assumptions would imply a 2019 deficit of more than 8% of GDP and a government debt of more than 100% of GDP.
Such enormous deficits would crowd out productivity-enhancing investments in new equipment and software as the government borrows funds otherwise available to private investors. The result would be slower economic growth and a lower standard of living."
Monday, September 14, 2009
At the 9/12 Protest
The is about crowd count, but notice the comments on the protest signs.
They are quite clever AND very appropriate...
They are quite clever AND very appropriate...
This is from Mark Hemingway at National Review Online:
"As a journalist who wears his cynicism like a badge of honor, to say that today's tea party protest wildly exceeded my expectations would be an understatement. I've yet to see a reliable estimate of the crowd size and the cops seemed bound and determined to keep any photographers away from any high vantage points, but I'd be shocked if it wasn't well into six figures. I've heard crowd-size estimates ranging from 350,000 to 1.5 million — the latter seems overly optimistic, but even the former figure would still be incredibly impressive."
Power Line - Sycophancy Has Its Rewards
The laws have often been put aside for those in favor; but, lately it's not even done quietly.
It's done right out in the open in front of our faces...
It's done right out in the open in front of our faces...
John Hinderaker has an interesting story on the PowerLine blog. He begins:
"The U.S. Attorney's action in dismissing the case against Sullivan was so extraordinary that it prompted this stinging rebuke by United States Magistrate Judge Robert Collings, who presided over the case:
When the case was called, the Court expressed its concern that a dismissal would result in persons in similar situations being treated unequally before the law. The Court noted that persons charged with the same offense on the Cape Cod National Seashore were routinely given violation notices, and if they did not agree to forfeit collateral, were prosecuted by the United States Attorney. In short, the Court explained that there was no apparent reason for treating Mr. Sullivan differently from other persons charged with the same offense. In fact, there were other persons who were required to appear on the September 2nd docket who were charged with the same offense and were being prosecuted. ..."
The Media - "Press Accuracy Rating Hits Two Decade Low"
The "public" has this exactly right.
Media outlets are biased and sloppy; and they are paying the price for that.
Their readership, viewership, and advertising are all decreasing...
Media outlets are biased and sloppy; and they are paying the price for that.
Their readership, viewership, and advertising are all decreasing...
This is from the Pew Research Center website:
"The public’s assessment of the accuracy of news stories is now at its lowest level in more than two decades of Pew Research surveys, and Americans’ views of media bias and independence now match previous lows.
Just 29% of Americans say that news organizations generally get the facts straight, while 63% say that news stories are often inaccurate. In the initial survey in this series about the news media’s performance in 1985, 55% said news stories were accurate while 34% said they were inaccurate."
The Deficits Are Coming! - WSJ.com
More fuel for the "vote them all out" scenario...
This is a part of John Fund's interview of David Walker in the Wall Street Journal:
"Mr. Walker's own speeches are vivid and clear. 'We have four deficits: a budget deficit, a savings deficit, a value-of-the-dollar deficit and a leadership deficit,' he tells one group. 'We are treating the symptoms of those deficits, but not the disease.'
Mr. Walker identifies the disease as having a basic cause: 'Washington is totally out of touch and out of control,' he sighs. 'There is political courage there, but there is far more political careerism and people dodging real solutions.' He identifies entrenched incumbency as a real obstacle to change. 'Members of Congress ensure they have gerrymandered seats where they pick the voters rather than the voters picking them and then they pass out money to special interests who then make sure they have so much money that no one can easily challenge them,' he laments. He believes gerrymandering should be curbed and term limits imposed if for no other reason than to inject some new blood into the system. On campaign finance, he supports a narrow constitutional amendment that would bar congressional candidates from accepting contributions from people who can't vote for them: 'If people can't vote in a district not their own, should we allow them to spend unlimited money on behalf of someone across the country?'"
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Somebody is lying about healthcare for illegals
Did the president lie, or did Congressman Joe Wilson lie?
And does the New York Times lie?...
And does the New York Times lie?...
John Gizzi has the answer at HumanEvents.com:
"“Mr. Obama didn’t lie,” the New York Times editorialized on Friday (September 11), 'The bills before Congress declare illegal immigrants to be inelligibile for subsidized benefits. It is impossible to imagine any final bill doing otherwise..'
After reviewing the CRS study and the vote on two House committees that defeated the Republican amendments to H.R. 3200, we respectfully disagree
So here’s the 'reality check' the New York Times wanted. We say the Times is wrong and Wilson is right."
The Coming Reset in State Government - WSJ.com
This means we citizens are in trouble,
We pay for every mistake, every short-sighted decision, and every politically expedient law that our elected officials pass.
It's time to vote ALL of them out. If we lose a few good ones, so be it. It will still be worth it...
We pay for every mistake, every short-sighted decision, and every politically expedient law that our elected officials pass.
It's time to vote ALL of them out. If we lose a few good ones, so be it. It will still be worth it...
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels writes in the Wall Street Journal:
"State government finances are a wreck. The drop in tax receipts is the worst in a half century. Fewer than 10 states ended the last fiscal year with significant reserves, and three-fourths have deficits exceeding 10% of their budgets. Only an emergency infusion of printed federal funny money is keeping most state boats afloat right now.
Most governors I've talked to are so busy bailing that they haven't checked the long-range forecast. What the radar tells me is that we ain't seen nothin' yet. What we are being hit by isn't a tropical storm that will come and go, with sunshine soon to follow. It's much more likely that we're facing a near permanent reduction in state tax revenues that will require us to reduce the size and scope of our state governments. And the time to prepare for this new reality is already at hand.
The coming state government reset will be particularly wrenching after the happy binge that preceded this recession. During the last decade, states increased their spending by an average of 6% per year, gusting to 8% during 2007-08. Much of the government institutions built up in those years will now have to be dismantled."
Saturday, September 12, 2009
"John Stossel Jumps To Fox Cable"
It was only a matter of time (and probably contract obligations)...
From Jay Henderson at News-Political.com:
"Another libertarian-leaning journalist, John Stossel, is joining the Fox News – Fox Business cable lineup.
Fox news release follows..."
President Obama Fudges Truth on Medicare - WSJ.com
"The truth is out there", but it's not coming from the mouths of our politicians...
This is from a Wall Street Journal opinion column:
"But Mr. Obama told seniors not to pay attention to 'those scary stories about how your benefits will be cut, especially since some of the folks who are spreading these tall tales have fought against Medicare in the past and just this year supported a budget that would essentially have turned Medicare into a privatized voucher program.'
This is a partisan swipe at one of the best GOP ideas to rationalize the federal budget, despite Mr. Obama's accusations that his opponents want to do 'nothing.' This reform would get Medicare out of the business of spending one out of five U.S. health dollars, and instead give the money directly to seniors to buy insurance to encourage them to be more conscious of cost and value within a limited budget. Democrats would rather have seniors dance to decisions made by his unelected 'commission of doctors and medical experts.'
Mr. Obama also called for 'civility' in debate even as he calls the arguments of his critics 'lies.' So in the spirit of civility, we won't accuse the President of lying about Medicare. We'll just say his claims bear little relation to anything true."
BigGovernment.com
This new website is one of the hottest sites on the Internet.
Currently, they have everything about the recent ACORN stories.
Sites like this continue to expose the national media for what it is.
Kudos to them! I think it's a big deal...
Currently, they have everything about the recent ACORN stories.
Sites like this continue to expose the national media for what it is.
Kudos to them! I think it's a big deal...
BigGovernment.com
Politicians - Sen. John Kerry
Flip-Flop. No shame here.
It's exactly what we've come to expect from this guy...
It's exactly what we've come to expect from this guy...
The Wall Street Journal reports:
"John Kerry, the former junior Senator from Massachusetts, was back in Boston Wednesday, urging the state legislature to change the law governing U.S. Senate vacancies."
Friday, September 11, 2009
9/11 - Betraying our dead
From what I see and hear, I think he's right...
In today's New York Post, Ralph Peters ends his writing with this:
"We have betrayed the memory of our dead. In doing so, we betrayed ourselves and our country. Our troops continue to fight -- when they're allowed to do so -- but our politicians have surrendered.
Are we willing to let the terrorists win"
"Free-range children"
This article conveys thoughts similar to mine.
Our current fear-based society is over-hyped by a media that exploits every piece of bad news.
We must use due diligence to determine the FACTS, and NOT be afraid of every little thing...
Our current fear-based society is over-hyped by a media that exploits every piece of bad news.
We must use due diligence to determine the FACTS, and NOT be afraid of every little thing...
Lenore Skenazy writes in the Tribune newspapers:
"Nationally, according to U.S. Department of Justice figures, we are back to the crime rate of 1970. In the '70s and '80s, the crime rate rose.
It peaked around 1993 and has been going down ever since, dramatically. So if you played outside any time in the '70s or '80s, your kids are actually safer than you were.
How come it feels just the opposite? When our parents were raising us, they were watching 'Dallas' and 'Dynasty.' The biggest crime was big hair. Today's parents are watching 'Law & Order' and 'CSI,' shows overflowing with predators, rapists and maggots. TV has gotten so gross and so graphic, 'I don't think there's a single episode of 'Law & Order' that could even have been shown before 1981,' says TV historian Robert Thompson.
Those scary shows -- coupled with cable stations running off to Aruba or Portugal every time a white girl disappears -- make us feel as if kids are being abducted 24/7. But the truth is: If, for some strange reason, you actually WANTED your child to be abducted by a stranger, do you know how long you would have to keep her outside, unattended, for this to be statistically likely to happen?
Guess.
Now guess again."
Infant-mortality myths
Back in the day, some people would "say" anything to get their way.
Now, the new improved version is to manipulate and/or misrepresent statistics, which most of us have no way of checking out...
Now, the new improved version is to manipulate and/or misrepresent statistics, which most of us have no way of checking out...
Michael Arnold Glueckand Robert J. Cihak write at OCRegister.com:
"Statistics, even at their best, don't tell a whole story. A variety of people employ medical statistics dubiously to push pet causes.
A perfect example: infant mortality statistics. The officially reported U.S. infant mortality rate has been indisputably high compared with similarly industrialized countries since at least the 1920s.
That fact has led to public health officials in the U.S. to conclude the rates are "caused" by poorly distributed health care resources and can be "solved" with a socialized, government-run health care system.
However, there's a basic problem with the numbers: Different countries count differently.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) definition, all babies showing any signs of life - such as muscle activity, a gasp for breath or a heartbeat - should be counted as a live birth. The U.S. strictly follows this definition. But many other countries do not."
Thursday, September 10, 2009
"Obama and the Media: Trouble in Paradise"
I'm not surprised.
From my point of view, the media got snookered just as badly as the voters...
From my point of view, the media got snookered just as badly as the voters...
At Pajamas Media.com, Jennifer Rubin writes about the media and their president:
"In addition, Obama’s public standing has hit the skids. His polling trends are all one way and his aura of political ascendancy is crumbling. Polling data has come to occupy an ever-increasing share of political coverage and this presidency is no exception. The mainstream press, which made a fetish — incorrectly it seems — over his high standing, is now equally engaged with the new survey data. And it is hard to escape the conclusion that the numbers impact the coverage, tempering the enthusiasm for a president who can no longer be advertised, even by the most sympathetic members of the press, as the dreamiest ever.
Now we shouldn’t get carried away with the mainstream media’s newly found independence. The coverage of this administration is less hostile than anything George W. Bush received. The mainstream media trumpets many of the White House’s themes (e.g., the Republicans are obstructionist) and still ignores or minimizes bad news (Where’s coverage of the Black Panther case? Why no outrage over White House efforts to pressure the military over troop levels in Afghanistan?). But the fawning is less frequent and the criticism greater than in the early days of the new administration. Certainly the White House’s irritation has increased as its relationship with the no-longer-so-entranced media frays."
Politicians - Different rules and hypocrisy
Sadly, politicians doing this like this doesn't surprise me.
What I (we) have to careful of is that the sheer volume of their bad behavior doesn't wear us down and make us complacent...
What I (we) have to careful of is that the sheer volume of their bad behavior doesn't wear us down and make us complacent...
Stephen Dinan reports in the Washington Times:
"A month after they voted to punish some corporate executives for taking hefty bonus payouts, members of the House of Representatives quietly gave their own staffers a new potential bonus by making even their top-earning aides eligible for taxpayer dollars to repay their student loans."
Politicians - Sen. Harry Reid
Here's his home-state newspaper's opinion.
Maybe the media isn't all bad after all...
Maybe the media isn't all bad after all...
Sherman Frederick writes in the Las vegas Review Journal:
"This newspaper traces its roots to before Las Vegas was Las Vegas.
We've seen cattle ranches give way to railroads. We chronicled the construction of Hoover Dam. We reported on the first day of legalized gambling. The first hospital. The first school. The first church. We survived the mob, Howard Hughes, the Great Depression, several recessions, two world wars, dozens of news competitors and any number of two-bit politicians who couldn't stand scrutiny, much less criticism.
We're still here doing what we do for the people of Las Vegas and Nevada. So, let me assure you, if we weathered all of that, we can damn sure outlast the bully threats of Sen. Harry Reid."
Politicians - L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
I equate "heavy sleeper" with "the dog ate my homework."
I expect those in positions of authority to be above reproach.
Today's society doesn't seem to agree until they get caught...
I expect those in positions of authority to be above reproach.
Today's society doesn't seem to agree until they get caught...
Joel Grover and Matt Goldberg report for NBClosAngeles.com:
"The mayor told NBC4's Joel Grover that he was unable to hear the sprinklers because he's a heavy sleeper.
'The sprinklers are so loud in your back yard, you can hear them from the street. How could you or your household staff not have heard them?' Grover said.
'I sleep very heavily and I couldn't hear it,' said Villaraigosa... "
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Government at Work - Distributing the money
$15 million goes to where?...
Associated Press Writers Eileen Sullivan and Matt Apuzzo write about it:
"Tester, who said he pressed the Obama administration to get money for Montana projects, said border crossings in his state had been unfairly ignored.
'The northern border tends to be forgotten, and it shouldn't be,' Tester told the Great Falls Tribune after announcing $77 million for Montana posts in the stimulus.
Whitetail, Mont., an unincorporated town with a population of 71, saw only about $63,000 in freight cross its border last year. County unemployment is an enviable 4 percent. "
"Liberal journalist shocked teacher unions shield incompetence"
I've always had a strong belief that certain groups in our society are insulated from and clueless as to what's going on in real life.
I'm not talking about self-checkout at the grocery store or pumping one's own gas.
I'm talking about their blind acceptance of idealistic cliches' that precludes their working toward changes that could really be effective.
In the computer world, the analogy is "garbage in; garbage out"...
I'm not talking about self-checkout at the grocery store or pumping one's own gas.
I'm talking about their blind acceptance of idealistic cliches' that precludes their working toward changes that could really be effective.
In the computer world, the analogy is "garbage in; garbage out"...
Michael Barone discusses the issue at WashingtonExaminer.com:
"But the elites never spend much time on ground level seeing how the public employee unions actually deliver—or don’t deliver—the services they’re so proud of. And on the rare occasions when they do, when they actually see how public sector institutions operate and how they affect ordinary people and the poor, they are horrified.
Case in point: Steven Brill’s New Yorker article on 'The Rubber Room,' an account of the thousands of New York City public school teachers who are paid, in the high five figures or even six figures, to show up at windowless offices and not teach at all. Brill, longtime proprietor of the American Lawyer, has spent most of his life at the top levels of American society, superintending some very interesting reporting but, when it comes to opinion, doing little more than mouthing liberal clichés. He’s used to dealing with very smart and able people. I suspect that for years he’s accepted, without thinking about it much one way or the other, the belief that if governments spend more money on public services, ordinary people and the poor will be helped.
Brill is clearly shocked and appalled at what he sees in the Rubber Rooms in New York. His accounts of the maladjusted and utterly incompetent teachers he finds there are vivid and terrific reporting; his accounts of the rationalization of teacher union officials for this appalling system make clear, despite his clear and graceful prose, that he is enraged by what this system costs taxpayers and, even more, by what it denies children who are most in need of help. As Mickey Kaus puts it in his Twitter-length link to Brill’s article: 'Everyone hates the teachers’ unions now.'"
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Unions - Public support at all-time low
That's what the recent Gallup Poll indicates...
Byron York reports this and more at WashingtonExaminer.com:
"This Labor Day brings word of a new Gallup poll showing that American public support for labor unions has taken a sharp dive in the last year and is at its lowest point since Gallup began polling in 1936.
In response to the question, 'Do you approve or disapprove of labor unions?' just 48 percent of respondents said they approve, while 45 percent said they disapprove. That's a steep fall from August 2008, when the numbers were 59 percent approve, 31 percent disapprove, and it's the first time approval of unions has ever fallen below 50 percent."
Meanwhile - On the High Seas
Try to imagine getting involved with both the Russians and the Israeli Mossad at the same time.
It's quite interesting reading...
It's quite interesting reading...
Mark Franchetti in Moscow and Uzi Mahnaimi in Tel Aviv write about the latest:
"A CARGO ship that vanished in the Channel was carrying arms to Iran and was being tracked by Mossad, the Israeli security service, according to sources in both Russia and Israel.
The Arctic Sea, officially carrying a cargo of timber worth £1.3m, disappeared en route from Finland to Algeria on July 24. It was recovered off west Africa on August 17 when eight alleged hijackers were arrested. The Kremlin has consistently denied that the vessel was carrying a secret cargo. It claims the ship was hijacked by criminals who demanded a £1m ransom.
The official version was challenged by sources in Tel Aviv and Moscow who claimed the ship had been loaded with S-300 missiles, Russia’s most advanced anti-aircraft weapon, while undergoing repairs in the Russian port of Kaliningrad. "
Monday, September 07, 2009
Corporate Taxes Are Being Cut
Unfortunately, it's in the Czech Republic, Sweden, Canada, and South KoreaT...
This is from an Investors Business Daily editorial:
"Four more developed nations have cut their corporate tax rates this year. Yet the U.S. sticks with second-highest corporate rate among OECD nations. This puts us at a competitive disadvantage.
Only Japan, at 39.54%, has a higher corporate rate than the U.S., which at 39.1% is a bit lower than last year but still far higher than the average (26.29%) of the 30 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development nations."
Politicians - U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel
Keep in mind that Rep. Rangel is the chairman of the committee that oversees taxes.
Is that unbelievable, or what?...
Is that unbelievable, or what?...
At CQpolitics.com, Richard Rubin reports:
"House Ways and Means Chairman Charles B. Rangel , already beset by a series of ethics investigations, has disclosed more than $500,000 in previously unreported assets.
Among the new items on Rangel’s amended 2007 financial disclosure report were an account at the Congressional Federal Credit Union worth at least $250,000, an investment account with at least $250,000, land in southern New Jersey and stock in PepsiCo and fast food conglomerate Yum! Brands. None of those investments appeared on the original report, which was filled out by hand and filed in May 2008.
According to the original report, Rangel’s net worth was between $516,015 and $1,316,000, while the amended report showed his net worth, as of Dec. 31, 2007, roughly double that amount — at least $1,028,024 and as much as $2,495,000.
Rangel also revised his disclosed investment income from 2007. The original report showed he had received between $6,511 and $17,900, but the new report shows between $45,423 and $134,700. "
