Monday, January 31, 2011
Patient care at risk under NHS reforms, experts warn
The Brits have the NHS, nationalized health care, and, apparently, it's costs are skyrocketing.
And guess what, they're starting to worry about reduced services.
Sounds familiar, doesn't it...
And guess what, they're starting to worry about reduced services.
Sounds familiar, doesn't it...
Martin Beckford writes about the issues in the U.K. Daily Telegraph:
"In one of the most strongly-worded briefings, the Royal College of Surgeons said GP commissioners are likely to avoid buying expensive, but necessary, operations such as hip replacements and hernia surgery in order to save money.
'Short-term apparent economies are likely to cost the public purse more in the long term,' it said. It also said that 'standards of patient care may be compromised' unless it is made clear that 'the lowest price' should not drive decisions."
"White Flight"
NationalJournal.com - White Flight - Saturday, January 8, 2011: "By any standard, white voters’ rejection of Democrats in November’s elections was daunting and even historic."
I don't know if it's a "black vs. white" issue, but I'm not surprised that it is happening.
I'm inclined to think it has mostly to do with philosophy and policy...
I don't know if it's a "black vs. white" issue, but I'm not surprised that it is happening.
I'm inclined to think it has mostly to do with philosophy and policy...
Ronald Brownstein writes about it at NationJournal.com. He beginsAUTHOR POST-LINK TEXT:
"By any standard, white voters’ rejection of Democrats in November’s elections was daunting and even historic."
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Birth Certificate Legislation
I find it interesting that "birthers" are constantly disparaged for what they want proven.
If they are so "wrong" why are we seeing stuff like this.
Perhaps, there really is some "dirty little secret" after all...
If they are so "wrong" why are we seeing stuff like this.
Perhaps, there really is some "dirty little secret" after all...
kevindujan01 writes about this at HillBuzz.org:
"Five states working on legislation to require long form birth certificate for candidate to be on presidential ballot in 2012"
"Domestic use of aerial drones by law enforcement likely to prompt privacy debate"
I guess skylights and sunroofs will have to stay closed if you want to maintain privacy...
Peter Finn reports about it at WashingtonPost.com:
"The drone technology that has revolutionized warfare in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan is entering the national airspace: Unmanned aircraft are patrolling the border with Mexico, searching for missing persons over difficult terrain, flying into hurricanes to collect weather data, photographing traffic accident scenes and tracking the spread of forest fires."
Saturday, January 29, 2011
"HHS grants 500 new healthcare waivers"
This doesn't seem right.
Doesn't it tell us something about Obamacare?...
Doesn't it tell us something about Obamacare?...
Jason Millman reports on it at TheHill.com:
"The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is granting temporary waivers to organizations that would not be able to meet the reform law’s new requirement for annual coverage limits.
As of last week, HHS had granted waivers to 222 organizations covering 1.5 million individuals. Though the number of groups receiving waivers has now more than tripled, the number of individuals covered by the waivers increased just 600,000 to 2.1 million."
Friday, January 28, 2011
"Can The Post regain its legacy of excellence?"
I've learned to never say never.
That being said, I say it's not going to happen anytime soon, if at all...
That being said, I say it's not going to happen anytime soon, if at all...
Andrew Alexander offers his opinion as he departs the Washington Post:
"For so many, The Post has a reputation for journalistic excellence. Will it endure?
I've pondered that question while crafting this column, my last as ombudsman. So, too, have many of the tens of thousands who e-mailed or called during my two-year term as the readers' representative. A dominant theme has been that The Post's journalistic quality has declined. It's a view I share."
Thursday, January 27, 2011
"Surveillance state 'more intrusive than ever'"
It's seems clear that privacy is a thing of the past...
Tom Whitehead writes about it in the U.K. Daily Telegraph:
"Britain is heading towards becoming a surveillance state of unmanned spy drones, GPS tracking of employees and profiling through social networking sites, the information watchdog has warned."
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
The Media - Not exactly reporting ALL the news
The recent Arizona shooting is by all means more horrific than this; however, the Arizona shooting hadn't yet taken place when this was NOT reported by the mainstream media.
To me, it's just another indication that only "certain" news gets reported; and, it no longer takes much intelligence to understand why that is...
To me, it's just another indication that only "certain" news gets reported; and, it no longer takes much intelligence to understand why that is...
Jack Cashill has the this story at AmericanThinker.com:
"In September 2010 Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon was scheduled to speak at Penn Valley Community College in Kansas City.
At some point, wearing black clothes and a bullet-proof vest, 22 year-old Casey Brezik bolted out of a classroom, knife in hand, and slashed the throat of a dean. As he would later admit, he confused the dean with Nixon.
The story never left Kansas City. It is not hard to understand why. Knives lack the political sex appeal of guns, and even Keith Olbermann would have had a hard time turning Brezik into a Tea Partier.
Indeed, Brezik seems to have inhaled just about every noxious vapor in the left-wing miasma: environmental extremism, radical Islam, anti-capitalism, anti-Zionism and Christophobia, among others."
Elections have Consequences - in Virginia
The issues surrounding illegal immigration just keep getting more and more interesting...
Diane Mecado recently posted this at FoxNews.com:
"As Virginia moves to ban illegal immigrants from enrolling in colleges, one local lawmaker is proposing a bill at the state level that would require schools to report the tally of illegal immigrant students to the state secretary of education."
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
The State Against Blacks - WSJ.com
I'm thinking "no doubt about it". Perhaps, you will agree.
I just wish there were more people willing to tell it like it is...
I just wish there were more people willing to tell it like it is...
Jason L. Riley recently wrote about it in the Wall Street Journal, extracting some information from Walter E. Williams' recent autobiography and an interview:
"During Reconstruction and up until the 1940s, 75% to 85% of black children lived in two-parent families. Today, more than 70% of black children are born to single women. 'The welfare state has done to black Americans what slavery couldn't do, what Jim Crow couldn't do, what the harshest racism couldn't do,' Mr. Williams says. 'And that is to destroy the black family.'"
"George Will rejects SOTU ‘pep rally’..."
I with George Will on this issue...
Jeff Poor writes about it at DailyCaller.com:
"On ABC’s “This Week with Christiane Amanpour” Sunday, Washington Post columnist George Will was soundly dismissive of the event, likening it to a 'pep rally.'
'A, they’re overrated — the next morning, the country is still a complex continental country with muscular interests in politics as its own momentum,' Will said. 'Between Jefferson and Woodrow Wilson, no one delivered this in person. They sent the report to Congress in writing. But, now we’ve turned this into this panorama. In which an interminable speech, every president, regardless of party — tries to stroke every erogenous zone in the electorate and it becomes a political pep rally, to use the phrase of Chief Justice [John] Roberts last year.'"
Monday, January 24, 2011
High Tech in War - Gorgon Stare
Camera and drone technology just keeps getting better and better...
Ellen Nakashima and Craig Whitlock have the story at WashingtonPost.com:
"The system, made up of nine video cameras mounted on a remotely piloted aircraft, can transmit live images to soldiers on the ground or to analysts tracking enemy movements. It can send up to 65 different images to different users; by contrast, Air Force drones today shoot video from a single camera over a 'soda straw' area the size of a building or two.
With the new tool, analysts will no longer have to guess where to point the camera, said Maj. Gen. James O. Poss, the Air Force's assistant deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. 'Gorgon Stare will be looking at a whole city, so there will be no way for the adversary to know what we're looking at, and we can see everything.'"
"Is Palin Done? They Wish"
For those who don't know history, the "silent majority" in America wields the ultimate power.
Like Mother Nature, the "silent majority" can make or break anything.
If one can get their attention and support, anything is possible...
Like Mother Nature, the "silent majority" can make or break anything.
If one can get their attention and support, anything is possible...
Mike Metroulas offers this and more at BigJournalism.com:
"Sarah Palin’s detractors in the media are certainly prone to wishful thinking concerning the Cuda’s potential as the Republican nominee in 2012. Since Palin’s statement on the Tucson tragedy, some have written her off as a serious contender for the Republican nomination. Doyle McManus states in the LA Times that:
…she’s not going to be her party’s presidential nominee.
I disagree, Mr. McManus. As of now, if she wants it, it is hers. Of course, that may change, but a Palin run for the nomination would unleash a grassroots fury of support unseen on the right for a Republican presidential nominee in recent memory, and her detractors know it. Why else would much of the mainstream media be scrambling so often to convince independents that Palin isn’t viable? Plus, many of these people just do not like Palin and what she stands for, which is a pragmatic, principled view of government and fierce American individualism. Mainstream media types generally prefer theorizing about complex strategies and solutions to problems that were most likely created by over-theorizing in the first place. It’s how they were trained in academia and sometimes they just can’t help it. However, life isn’t complicated, and Sarah Palin knows it."
Sunday, January 23, 2011
"The Israeli Way of War"
Articles like this provide much more than the usual sound bite news clips we are abused with, and, unfortunately, have become accepting of.
Our "main stream" media is so influenced by the "herd mentality" of both their peers and the public that they probably can't even conceive of writing in depth like this...
Our "main stream" media is so influenced by the "herd mentality" of both their peers and the public that they probably can't even conceive of writing in depth like this...
Michael J. Totten describes it in detail on his PajamasMedia.com posting:
"The Israeli Way of War"
Saturday, January 22, 2011
The vending machine that checks you out
Some things are difficult to believe...
Ralph Jennings reports at GoodGearGuide.com:
"Government-funded researchers in Taiwan have developed a vending machine that recommends purchases based on people's faces, one of the inventors said on Friday.
The machine, designed by the Institute for Information Industry in Taipei, builds a profile after checking characteristics such as complexion and hair color, said researcher Tsai Chi-hang. Those clues help the machine guess a shopper's gender, approximate age and other things that might be helpful in promoting a suitable product."
"It's About More Than Money"
When we really think about, the premise in this article is pretty darn right...
Michael Barone recently wrote this and more at NationalReview.com:
"Why don’t voters care more?
One reason is that economic statistics can miss important things that affect people’s lives. After adjusting for inflation, wages may not have risen much since 1973, but that’s partly because the tax code encourages increased compensation in the form of benefits, including health insurance. And it’s partly because the Consumer Price Index overstated the effect of inflation in the 1970s, making 1973 wages look higher than they should in 'real dollars.'
Another reason is that inflation indexes can’t fully account for product improvement and technological progress. I bought my first electronic calculator in 1970 for $110. Today you can buy the same gadget for $1.99 at your local drugstore. The consumer electronics widely available today at declining prices simply didn’t exist in the 1980s."
In addition, as George Mason University economist Tyler Cowen writes in The American Interest, “The inequality of personal well-being is sharply down over the past hundred years and perhaps over the past 20 years, as well.” Bill Gates may have a bigger house than you do, but you have about the same access to good food, to medical care, and even to the Internet as he does.
Friday, January 21, 2011
High Drama, Low Comedy in Illinois Tax Follies"
Here's an interesting article about life in the Illinois world of politics. There are several interesting sub-stories here; however, the inclusion of Joe Biden and Sarah Palin personas seems unnecessary...
Rick Moran discusses Illinois politics at PajamasMedia.com:
"A 67% increase in personal income taxes and a whopping increase in business tax rates were rammed through by a lame duck legislature in typical entertaining fashion."
Thursday, January 20, 2011
"New European Union school calendar omits Christian holidays"
Wow! Can you spell "indoctrination"?
Can you smell it here?...
Can you smell it here?...
The Catholic News Agency website reports this:
"A 2011-2012 school calendar published by the European Union has omitted Christian holidays, while continuing to note important Jewish and Muslim celebrations.
The European Union has printed three million copies of the calendar which will be distributed free-of-charge to students who request them."
So, who really is disrespectful these days?
Things like this (see picture) are NOT helpful.
Just imagine if this behavior was flipped the another way...
Just imagine if this behavior was flipped the another way...
This was posted by Bridget at HillBuzz.com:
"NAACP disrespects George Washington at MLK rally in South Carolina"
"Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie can’t find Obama’s birth certificate (also not exactly sure where Governor’s Mansion is)"
Here are some more "birth certificate" theories.
You can see what you think of them...
Update: From the NY Daily News...
You can see what you think of them...
The HillBuzz blog always has interesting perspectives (and yes, I know who they are). Here, kevindujan01 post some opinion about Mr. Obama's birth cerificate issues:
"This always bears repeating, but the reason Obama won’t produce his original birth certificate is because there is SOMETHING written on it that’s embarrassing to him. That SOMETHING more likely than not destroys the narrative that he’s been telling for many years…the narrative he created to get him where he is today."
Update: From the NY Daily News...
Michael Sheridan has this:
"Record of President Obama's birth in 1961 is 'in the archives': Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie"
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
"Food stamp surge in Illinois"
This is not a pretty statistic...
Francine Knowles reports for the Chicago Sun-Times:
"Even as the economy grew and the unemployment rate began to shrink, the number of Illinois households getting food stamps hit record levels in December, showing no signs of an economic recovery, and area food pantries say they’ve continued to see more people asking for help.
There were 857,282 households enrolled last month in what is now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly called food stamps. That was up 12.7 percent from a year earlier, according to figures provided to the Chicago Sun-Times by the Illinois Department of Human Services."
"Gas Prices Under President Obama..."
Everyone knows about this (except the media).
Apparently, the media's desire to report higher gas prices is related to who is President.
Oh yeah, and the current President is preventing oil drilling in the U.S...
Apparently, the media's desire to report higher gas prices is related to who is President.
Oh yeah, and the current President is preventing oil drilling in the U.S...
Conn Carroll has some graphs at Heritage.org:
"But as two time Super Bowl winning coach Bill Parcells says, 'You are what your record says you are.' And the facts are these: during the first two years under President Barack Obama, gas prices have risen 55%. You can compare that to the 5% drop in gas prices during the first two years of President Bush’s term or the 2% drop under the first two years of President Clinton’s term."
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
"Maine gov tells NAACP to 'kiss my butt'"
This took more than a little conviction...
Jennifer Epstein reports at Politico.com:
"Maine’s governor on Friday told a major African American organization to 'kiss my butt' after the group complained he wasn’t taking part in Martin Luther King Day events next week.
Paul LePage, a newly elected Republican, is facing criticism from the NAACP for turning down invitations to events marking the MLK holiday on Monday."
"Judicial Watch Sues HHS to Obtain Obamacare Waiver Documents"
This looks a bit fishy.
It will be interesting to see how or why these waivers came about...
It will be interesting to see how or why these waivers came about...
Tom Fitton recently reported at BigGovernment.com:
"According to an official estimate by the Obama Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), at least 222 companies and unions have received waivers from Obamacare so far. Yet, as this number continues to soar, HHS refuses to explain to the American people how decisions are being made regarding which organizations receive a waiver and which do not.
One certainly cannot find any explanation in the Obamacare law itself. The Obama administration did not anticipate (despite repeated warnings) how much chaos would be created by the requirements of their massive healthcare overhaul. And so they have been forced to resort to a slapdash and politicized approach where officials at HHS are reviewing requests on a case-by-case basis with no set standards in place."
Monday, January 17, 2011
Elections have consequences - in Virginia
This is sure to be controversial...
This is from the Associated Press' Zinie Chen Sampson posted at DailyCaller.com:
"Virginia legislators will consider whether to bar illegal immigrants from enrolling in state’s public colleges and universities.
Del. Christopher Peace’s bill would amend state law to explicitly prohibit people who are in the United States illegally from being admitted to Virginia’s public two-year or four-year institutions.
Several previous attempts to pass similar legislation in Virginia haven’t succeeded."
Elections have consequences - in Texas
In many states, new legislatures are thinking about new laws and dealing with residual problems...
Jim Forsyth reported this at WOAI.com:
"'Legislation to protect private property rights and address eminent domain issues, and legislation to abolish 'sanctuary cities' in Texas,' are the governor's two emergencies, as read by the clerk of the Senate immediately after Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst gaveled the 82nd Legislative session to order."
Sunday, January 16, 2011
"Is John Boehner the Real Deal?"
Well, I hope he is...
Richard Pollock writes about him at Pajamas Media.com:
"Not to make too much of it, but Boehner is a political figure who has eluded celebrity status in this town where celebrity is craved. Instead, Boehner is a virtual unknown face to the American people. His biggest claims to fame have to do with his tan and his ability to cry. In fact, Boehner took out the handkerchief twice on Wednesday to wipe away tears before he received the gavel.
But mostly, Boehner is most comfortable working behind the scenes without fanfare. He’s a doer — he held the Republicans together during the last two years. In public, he is not a sweet talker. It was revealing that his acceptance speech was a bit halting, not polished like his counterpart on the opposite side of Pennsylvania Avenue, President Barack Obama."
Government at Work - Handling rubbish in the U.K.
This is NOT pretty at all.
It's my idea that governments should be taking care of this stuff BEFORE they venture into, and go into debt for, things that really don't matter...
It's my idea that governments should be taking care of this stuff BEFORE they venture into, and go into debt for, things that really don't matter...
Martin Beckford, Louise Gray and Christopher Hope report on it in the U.K. Daily Telegraph:
"Gardens, driveways and streets in many parts of Britain are full of overflowing bin bags, paper, bottles and plastic, research by The Daily Telegraph has found.
In some areas the situation has got so bad that councils have suggested residents take their own rubbish to the tip.
Experts fear the situation will be even worse next year as local authorities, which in half of the country have already reduced bin rounds to once a fortnight, are forced by budget cuts to limit services further."
Saturday, January 15, 2011
"Hillary Clinton’s Dangerous Bout Of Moral Equivalency"
It's hard to believe that politicians are not up-to-date as to current events.
That being said, here's some commentary to ponder...
That being said, here's some commentary to ponder...
Joseph Klein writes about it at NewsRealBlog.com:
"This is nothing new for the Obama administration, which makes a habit of trying to make dysfunctional societies feel better by highlighting our faults and engaging in a game of moral equivalency. However, Clinton took this game to a whole new, disgraceful level.
Twisting the truth about the alleged Arizona murderer, Jared Loughner, Clinton characterized him as an 'extremist' influenced by 'the crazy voices that sometimes get on the TV.' There is no evidence for her to make such a connection. In fact, the evidence adduced so far shows that Loughner is simply a nutjob. The voices he hears are all in his head. Nevertheless, Clinton used the tragic shooting to tell her Abu Dhabi audience that we are on the same level as they are when it comes to the threat from extremists lurking in our respective societies."
Friday, January 14, 2011
"A Smarter Response to the State of the Union Address"
I agree with this idea...
Bryan Pick rfecently posted at theNextRight.com:
"After the election, I saw several Republicans discussing who should deliver the SOTU response speech.
No one should.
First, any speech is bound to suffer by comparison to a speech before a joint session of Congress, with the Supreme Court in attendance."
"UK border force sorry for 'no drug search' e-mail"
Perhaps it was a Christmas present to drug smugglers...
The Associated Press reported this in the Miami Herald:
"Britain's border agency apologized Wednesday for an e-mail that was sent to customs officers at London's Heathrow Airport advising them not to search potential drug smugglers over the busy holiday season.
The agency said the message, which reportedly asked airport staff not to 'actively seek to identify any passenger with internal concealments' in the three days up to Christmas, should never have been sent."
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Politicians - Ex-U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski
Politicians will say anything, regardless of what THEY have previously said or done.
It's despicable...
It's despicable...
Mark Hemngway writes about this occurrence at WashingtonExaminer.com:
"Ex-Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., pens an op-ed in the New York Times today about the proper political response to this weekend's tragedy. I wholeheartedly support the former Congressman (Kanjorski lost his seat in November) when he argues that, following this weekend's shooting, Congressman need to remain open and accessible to the public. However, Kanjorski is rather hypocritical when he climbs up on his soapbox:"
"Bandits in Cop Cars; But Napolitano Isn’t Listening"
It's hard to understand the federal government's apparent failure to work with Arizona's law enforcement community...
Susan Jones recently wrote about it at CNSnews.com:
"Paul Babeu, the sheriff of Pinal County, Arizona, says give him half an hour, and he could tell President Obama how to secure the U.S. border with Mexico -- if only the president and other administration officials would listen to him.
Babeu joked that he must be on the White House 'do not call' list, even though he’s the president of the Sheriff’s Association for the State of Arizona."
Politics - in Texas
Whichever way the wind blows?...
Terrence Stutz recently reported on the Dallas Morning News website:
"Two Democrats' defections give Republicans supermajority in Texas House"
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
About that political "rhetoric"
This was a comment to the story about Sarah Palin's video concerning the Tuscon, Arizona shooting...
The video is here: Politico.com, included in a story by Jennifer Epstein:
"This poster is identified as 'Poverty in Obama's A...' Member Since: Sep. 15, 2010 Party: Independent
#24
Jan. 12, 2011 - 7:47 AM EST
The president sets the tone of a nation and is responsible for every word he utters at any time. There is no “reset button”. This “president” lets careless words escape over and over again. It becomes defenseless when it is clear pattern of division as we have seen with this president and his party. Obama and his despicable, vile and reprehensible party are directly responsible for the state of affairs in America today. The Democrats have been whipping up hatred and division in this nation and it’s been intentional.
NO EXCUSES, OBAMA.
Obama: "Bring it on"
Obama to His Followers: “Get in Their Faces!”
Obama: “I’m angry. I don’t want to quell anger. I think people are right to be angry!
Obama to His Mercenary Army: “Hit Back at Fellow Americans Twice As Hard”
Obama: "Get ready for hand-to-hand combat with your fellow Americans"
“We Democrats should take Republican Gov. Scott, put him up against the wall, “and shoot him” - Democrat Hate Hero, Representative Paul Kanorski
“I am going to strangle all Republicans who don’t agree with me politically”
– 5 Time Draft Dodger Biden
Michelle Malkin is “a big bloody mashed-up bag of meat with lipstick on it.”- Left Wing Hate Hero -Olbermann
“Somebody’s going to jam a gun into Limbaugh’s head and he’s going to explode like a giant blimp.” - Left Wing Hate Hero And Agitator for Murder - Matthews
Obama:“We talk to these folks… so I know which Americans should be assaulted (whose ass to kick).“
Obama: “It’s time to Fight for it.”
Obama: “Punish your enemies.”
Obama: “All those who oppose me or my party, must ride in the back of the bus.”
Obama: “I’m itching for a fight.”
Obama: "the Cambridge Police acted Stupidly"
Obama: “damn Americans who cling bitterly to their 2nd amendment rights"
“I hope all Americans who dare to criticize our great Marxist heroes
die of screaming anal cancer! - Democrat Left Wing Nut Hero, Icon and Hate Monger – Penn
I’d like to see Sarah Palin’s young minor daughter get raped and “knocked up” – Democrat Party Hero, Activist and Vile Bomb Thrower - Letterman
…“Hope & Change” was nothing more than Obama and the Democrat Left Wing Nut Party’s Psychotic and Bigoted “Hate and Rage”…."
"The left's political dirt ball"
Swift, indeed!
See if you can believe this bit of historical info.
I found it while reading opinions about media coverage of the recent Arizona shooting...
See if you can believe this bit of historical info.
I found it while reading opinions about media coverage of the recent Arizona shooting...
Patrick J. Buchanan begins his opinion column at WND.com with this:
"On Feb. 15, 1933, Giuseppe Zangara, delusional and a loner, fired his .32-caliber pistol at FDR in the Bayfront Park area of Miami.
Five feet tall, Zangara could not aim over the crowd. So, he stood on a folding chair and was piled on after the first of five shots. He wounded four people, including Mayor Anton Cermak of Chicago.
In two weeks, Zangara, who pleaded guilty, had been sentenced to 80 years. When Cermak died on March 6, Zangara was retried for murder and sentenced to the electric chair, where he died on March 20, 1933."
"Hawaii guv suddenly 'mum' on Obama birth 'certificate'"
Here's the latest from WorldNetDaily on the Obama birth certificate issue.
Some say there nothing to this issue, and then there's this...
Some say there nothing to this issue, and then there's this...
Jerome R. Corsi reports about it and reviews much more:
"Although Hawaii's newly elected Democrat governor, Neil Abercrombie, has recently given a flurry of high-profile media interviews condemning 'birthers' who question Barack Obama's constitutional eligibility to occupy the Oval Office, suddenly he is declining to answer a few hard questions."
Immigration - in Greece
Other countries have problems too...
Joanna Kakisis wites about it at Time.com:
"Ailing Greece Struggles with a Flood of Illegal Immigrants"
Politics - in Kansas
If you can't beat them, join them?...
Scott Rothschild recently reported in the Lawrence, Kansas Journal:
"Topeka — State Sen. Chris Steineger of Kansas City, Kan., on Friday left the Democratic Party to join Republicans, saying his fiscal beliefs were more in line with the GOP and that he could better serve his district by teaming up with the majority party.
"Most people tell me they want me to do what is best for the community, not a political party. By joining the Republican majority in the State Capitol, I am better able to deliver value and service to the people of Wyandotte County. Our voice in Topeka is stronger by being in the majority," said Steineger.
The decision gives Republicans a 32-8 advantage over Democrats in the Senate."
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
The Arizona Tragedy and the Politics of Blood Libel - WSJ.com
Basically, rhetoric is the art of using language, especially in public speaking, as a means to persuade; meaningless language with an exaggerated style intended to impress.
Most of us recognize rhetoric for what it is, and most of us do NOT overreact...
Most of us recognize rhetoric for what it is, and most of us do NOT overreact...
Glenn Harlan Reynolds writes about it in the Wall Street Journal and asks:
"Those who try to connect Sarah Palin and other political figures with whom they disagree to the shootings in Arizona use attacks on 'rhetoric' and a 'climate of hate' to obscure their own dishonesty in trying to imply responsibility where none exists. But the dishonesty remains.
To be clear, if you're using this event to criticize the 'rhetoric' of Mrs. Palin or others with whom you disagree, then you're either: (a) asserting a connection between the 'rhetoric' and the shooting, which based on evidence to date would be what we call a vicious lie; or (b) you're not, in which case you're just seizing on a tragedy to try to score unrelated political points, which is contemptible. Which is it?"
Politics - in Arizona
I guess this shows that the political ID of a state can changed abruptly under the right circumstances...
Molly Ball recently reported at Politico.com:
"Republicans won all eight 2010 statewide contests. Seven of them were not close. GOP gains in both houses of the state Legislature gave the party a two-thirds majority of both chambers. The new leader of the state Senate, Russell Pearce, is a firebrand conservative who has declared it a 'Tea Party Senate.'
'We're a one-pizza caucus,' Democratic state Sen.-elect Kyrsten Sinema said ruefully of her party's nine-member contingent in the 30-seat upper chamber. 'So the meetings are cheap.'"
Monday, January 10, 2011
Navy Sets World Record With Incredible Sci-Fi Weapon
Technology for warfare continues to advance...
PRE-LINK TEXT John R. Quain recently reported on this one at FoxNews.com:
"An electromagnetic railgun offers a velocity previously unattainable in a conventional weapon, speeds that are incredibly powerful on their own. In fact, since the projectile doesn't have any explosives itself, it relies upon that kinetic energy to do damage. And at 11 a.m. today, the Navy produced a 33-megajoule firing -- more than three times the previous record set by the Navy in 2008.
'It bursts radially, but it's hard to quantify,' said Roger Ellis, electromagnetic railgun program manager with the Office of Naval Research. To convey a sense of just how much damage, Ellis told FoxNews.com that the big guns on the deck of a warship are measured by their muzzle energy in megajoules. A single megajoule is roughly equivalent to a 1-ton car traveling at 100 mph. Multiple that by 33 and you get a picture of what would happen when such a weapon hits a target."
Politics - in Louisiana
There's a lot of this going on lately...
Michelle Millhollon recently reported at 2TheAdvocate.com:
"The Louisiana House swung Republican Friday with state Rep. Noble Ellington’s defection from the Democratic Party.
The move has both political and historical significance.
'For the first time since Reconstruction, Republicans have a majority in the House of Representatives,' said House Speaker Jim Tucker, R-Terrytown.
'I’m very happy about that,' he said.
Like legislatures across the nation, Louisiana’s Legislature is increasingly becoming Republican."
Sunday, January 09, 2011
2nd Amendment
Once again, it's off to the courthouse they must go.
For the gun rights people, it's one obstacle after another...
For the gun rights people, it's one obstacle after another...
At Daily Caller.com, Amanda Carey reports on the latest in Chicago:
"Just days after Chicago’s gun ban was ruled unconstitutional, the city council unanimously approved the Responsible Gun Ownership Ordinance. One of its provisions is that all Chicago residents must present a signed affidavit from a firearms instructor, saying the prospective gun owner completed a training and safety course that includes at least one hour of range time.
There’s just one problem. The city of Chicago bans gun ranges. The only ranges in the city are available to federal employees and police."
"...the biggest submarine ever built in Britain"
The Brits have a new submarine.
I think it's fair to assume that it has MORE capability than advertised...
I think it's fair to assume that it has MORE capability than advertised...
The U.K. Daily Mail recently reported on it:
"The submarine’s sonar and radar are so sensitive that she can detect ships a staggering 3,000 nautical miles away.
It means that if she was sitting in the English Channel she would know if a ship left New York's harbour. A true titan of the deep, the £1.2billion warship will be launched at Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria on Thursday."
Saturday, January 08, 2011
Lowest In At Least 13 Years
I rarely watch CNN.
I guess I'm not the only one who doesn't...
I guess I'm not the only one who doesn't...
Noel Sheppard recently reported at NewsBusters.org:
"According to TVByTheNumbers.com, the self-proclaimed most trusted name in news's prime time ratings this year are the lowest since at least 1997:
CNN’s woes worsened this year."
Friday, January 07, 2011
"Houston Police Use Secret Drones to Spy..."
Considering the number of security cameras deployed, this seems just to be an extension of that.
On the other hand, I wonder if citizens have a right to know how their money is being spent and how their privacy might be invaded.
Of course, you can form your own opinion...
On the other hand, I wonder if citizens have a right to know how their money is being spent and how their privacy might be invaded.
Of course, you can form your own opinion...
Thursday, January 06, 2011
"I'm not a hero, just doing my job"
I think you should meet Mike Jones...
Bing Videos has the video:
"GOP Makes Historic State Legislative Gains in 2010"
This is a big deal...
Tim Storey recently reported at RasmussenReports.com:
"Whether you call it a hurricane, a tsunami or a seismic shift, it was an historic election at the state level for the GOP. By adding over 720 legislative seats to their column in the past two years, Republicans easily cleared the 1994 expectations bar. In 1994, the last big wave election, they netted over 500 seats and the majority in 20 legislative bodies. There are now more Republican state legislators (3,941) than at any point since they held 4,001 seats after the 1928 election."
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
"Israeli Device to Detect Terrorists, Even If Unarmed"
This seems worth looking in to.
Do you think our government might be interested?...
Do you think our government might be interested?...
Maayana Miskin reported this on the IsraelNationalNews websire:
"Ehud Givon, CEO of WeCU Technologies, spoke to Britain's Live about the new machines his company is working on. WeCU has worked with top psychologists to create a system that detects the small, involuntary physical response a person will have to something they know.
The device measures a subject's heart rate, temperature, blood pressure, changes in breathing, and more. It begins taking readings immediately as a subject approaches, establishing a baseline' - then exposes the person to something that would elicit a reaction in someone involved in terrorism.
The phrase or image used to get a response is specially selected so as to not get the same response from someone who is anxious due to a fear of flying or some other, non-terror-related reason, Givon said."
"The naked truth about scanners"
Homeland Security seems to have some ugly issues...
Roger Simon recently reported at Politico.com:
"Janet Napolitano, the secretary of homeland security, was interviewed Sunday by CNN’s Candy Crowley, and Napolitano said nothing was going to change 'for the foreseeable future.'
'You know, we’re always looking to improve systems and so forth,' Napolitano said. 'But the new technology, the pat-downs, is just objectively safer for our traveling public.'
But Crowley decided to screen and pat down that assertion.
Citing an ABC report, Crowley said, 'There are some major airports who had a 70 percent failure rate at detecting guns, knives, bombs, that they got through in your tests…. So how good can it be when you have major airports with a 70 percent fail rate?'
Napolitano dismissed those results as old and questionable and said, 'Let’s set those aside.' One of the real successes of the machines and procedures, Napolitano said, is that they discourage terrorists from even trying to get on planes."
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Proposed Bill Would Outlaw Straight-Party Ticket Voting In Texas
Here's an interesting concept.
At face value, one would think it affects both parties equally.
So, why is one party opposed?...
At face value, one would think it affects both parties equally.
So, why is one party opposed?...
KTXS.com in Abilene, Texas, recently reported:
"A Republican legislator from San Antonio has proposed a bill that would outlaw straight party ticket voting in Texas."
Supreme Court Justice Steven Breyer
I'd like to think that Supreme Court Justices were smart and logical.
Apparently not...
Apparently not...
Betsy Newmark exposes this justice on her blog:
"Think about the foundation of what he is saying. If Madison included an amendment to appease the states, then we don't need to pay attention to what is in the actual amendment, but what Madison really thought before he compromised. Just follow that logic. The entire Constitution is the result of compromises among various groups at the Constitutional Convention."
Monday, January 03, 2011
Government at Work - on transparency
The Obama government was sold to us to be "most transparent".
It's clearly not true at the Dept. of Labor...
It's clearly not true at the Dept. of Labor...
Matthew Boyle writes about it at DailyCaller.com:
"The Office of Labor Management Statistics (OLMS) was supposed to release an annual report tracking labor unions and evidence of corruption in union leadership in January 2010 but still hasn’t released the document.
OLMS, which falls under the Department of Labor, has released no such tracking report since George W. Bush’s administration, something that has the conservative nonprofit organization Americans for Limited Government (ALG) up in arms. ALG filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the 2009 report, and OLMS denied the group’s request by saying it needed more time to complete the report."
Politicians - Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm
I would think the media would have exposed this as it was happening.
I'm just so gullible...
I'm just so gullible...
Tom Gantert recently reported at MichiganCapitolConfidential.com:
"In a recent interview, outgoing Gov. Jennifer Granholm said she had no idea that the job creation announcements over the course of her two terms had been contradicted by studies finding that just over 70 percent of the bragged-about jobs were never created. James Hohman, fiscal policy analyst for the Mackinac Center, was stunned when he learned that Granholm told the Michigan Information and Research Service that she hadn’t heard of any evidence contradicting the rosy job scenarios she had been promoting through the embattled Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
MIRS alluded to these studies in a question to the governor last week, asserting that only one-third of the jobs were ever created and asking her whether it would have been better to have been more 'up front' with this statistic in her monthly press releases."
Sunday, January 02, 2011
"Tale of the Tape: Obama vs. Palin"
And the winner is?
Actually, I think it's NO contest...
Actually, I think it's NO contest...
David B. Jenkins highlights the differences at PajamasMedia.com:
"At first glance, Mrs. Palin and President Obama have many things in common. They are both physically attractive, mid-40s young, and have attractive spouses and families to which they are openly devoted. Both have strong leadership qualities and are dynamic speakers, arguably the two best on the political scene in recent years. In addition, they share to some degree an outsider’s perspective on American politics, hailing as they do from the states most recently added to the union, the only states which are not part of the continental U.S. Scratch beneath their personable surfaces, though, and they represent polar opposite visions of what leadership in this country should look like."
"Is GM Using Inventory to Fudge Earnings?"
They probably are, as do others, and it's probably legal.
As with many rules and laws, there are loopholes if they are written poorly.
People are paid well to find and exploit those loopholes...
As with many rules and laws, there are loopholes if they are written poorly.
People are paid well to find and exploit those loopholes...
Mark Modica posts at the National Legal and Policy Center:
"General Motors records revenue when vehicles are shipped to dealerships. While GM has technically sold these vehicles to the dealerships, retail customers haven't yet purchased the vehicles. This stresses the dealerships as they are paying for vehicles that have not yet been sold. There are usually incentives (paid by GM) for dealerships to accept the inventory. Once shipped, the inventory is financed (in most part) by government owned Ally Financial. It is probable that in an effort to pad their earnings prior to their IPO, GM made sure they shipped as many vehicles to dealerships as possible and continues to do so going in to fourth quarter earnings. These revenue figures would not give an accurate picture of their sales strength, or more accurately, weakness. Just as concerning is the spin that GM executives put on the reasons for building inventories. Once again, this company does not seem to be honest with investors or the general public."
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Happy New Year!
Enjoy your day...
