Thursday, June 30, 2011
"Achievement Gap in San Jose Schools ‘Frightening’
It is what it is.
Wanna bet the solution will be "we need more money"?...
Wanna bet the solution will be "we need more money"?...
Tim Ryan reported this at San Francisco CBSlocal:
"'74 percent of white non-Hispanic San Jose students score as proficient, while only 29 percent of Hispanics score at that same high level,' said Weis."
Meanwhile - in Martha's Vineyard
Good, bad, or indifferent, bloggers are having an impact...
John Swaine wrote about this one in the U.K. Daily Telegraph:
"But the start of high season in Martha's Vineyard has this year been rocked by the unwelcome airing of what some residents admit is the island's guilty secret.
An anonymous blogger on the tiny resort, off the coast of Massachusetts, has launched a website naming local firms that he alleges employ illegal immigrants."
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
"The Netherlands to Abandon Multiculturalism"
The Netherlands has apparently woken up.
This is a TOTAL reversal of previous policies.
Unfortunately, this story isn't getting any coverage in the American media.
I guess that would be "politically incorrect".
Let's hope this awakening spreads far and wide...
This is a TOTAL reversal of previous policies.
Unfortunately, this story isn't getting any coverage in the American media.
I guess that would be "politically incorrect".
Let's hope this awakening spreads far and wide...
Soeren Kern has the story at Hudson-ny.org:
"A new integration bill (covering letter and 15-page action plan), which Dutch Interior Minister Piet Hein Donner presented to parliament on June 16, reads: 'The government shares the social dissatisfaction over the multicultural society model and plans to shift priority to the values of the Dutch people. In the new integration system, the values of the Dutch society play a central role. With this change, the government steps away from the model of a multicultural society.'
The letter continues: 'A more obligatory integration is justified because the government also demands that from its own citizens. It is necessary because otherwise the society gradually grows apart and eventually no one feels at home anymore in the Netherlands. The integration will not be tailored to different groups.'
The new integration policy will place more demands on immigrants. For example, immigrants will be required to learn the Dutch language, and the government will take a tougher approach to immigrants to ignore Dutch values or disobey Dutch law.
The government will also stop offering special subsidies for Muslim immigrants because, according to Donner, 'it is not the government's job to integrate immigrants.'"
Meanwhile - In Connecticut - 77 Higher Taxes
It sounds bad.
We'll have to wait and see how it works out...
We'll have to wait and see how it works out...
This is from the Yankee Institute website:
"HARTFORD – According to a new tally by the Yankee Institute, the State of Connecticut will impose at least 77 separate tax increases over 24 categories as part of the changes recently made by the General Assembly."
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
"Greenpeace and the IPCC: time, surely, for a Climate Masada?"
Even after all the exposes', falsified records, unsubstantiated claims and predictions, this issue is still out there...
James Delingpole recently scorched the world of global warming advocates:
"The Man Made Global Warming industry is a crock, a scam on an epic scale, fed by the world’s biggest outbreak of mass hysteria, stoked by politicians dying for an excuse to impose more tax and regulation on us while being seen to “care” about an issue of pressing urgency, fuelled by the shrill lies and tear-jerking propaganda of activists possessed of no understanding of the real world other than a chippy instinctive hatred of capitalism, given a veneer of scientific respectability by post-normal scientists who believe their job is to behave like politicians rather than dispassionate seekers-after-truth, cheered on by rent-seeking businesses, financed by the EU, the UN and the charitable foundations of the guilt-ridden rich, and promoted at every turn by schoolteachers, college lecturers, organic muesli packets, Walkers crisps, the BBC, CNBC, Al Gore, the Prince Of Wales, David Suzuki, the British Antarctic Survey, Barack Obama, David Cameron and Knut – the late, dyslexic-challenging, baby polar bear, formerly of Berlin Zoo.
And you really don’t need to be a contrarian or an out-there conspiracy theorist or a hard-core libertarian or a rampant free-market capitalist or a dyed in the wool conservative to think this way any more. This is reality. This is how it is. This is where all the overwhelming evidence points."
UK aid cash helped African dictator buy himself a $30m jet
This is one of those things that everyone seems to know is a waste of money, yet, governments keep wasting it anyway.
And by the way, don't forget, it's the taxpayers (our) money...
And by the way, don't forget, it's the taxpayers (our) money...
Ian Drury writes about this one in the U.K. Daily Mail:
"British aid money was used by an African dictator to buy a £30million jet, it emerged last night.
Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni bought the top-of-the-range Gulfstream G550 private plane in the same year ministers gave his poverty- ravaged country £70million.
During the same period Uganda also received around £57million from the UK through the European Union."
Monday, June 27, 2011
"Electric cars may not be so green after all..."
Electric cars are NOT yet ready for prime time.
Current versions are NOT cost effective, and will NOT save the environment. Charging their batteries requires electricity produced by burning the very same fossil fuels that we'd like to reduce our dependency on.
As they are now, they are just "feel good" items...
Current versions are NOT cost effective, and will NOT save the environment. Charging their batteries requires electricity produced by burning the very same fossil fuels that we'd like to reduce our dependency on.
As they are now, they are just "feel good" items...
Ben Webster writes about one aspect of them at theAustralian.com:
"ELECTRIC cars could produce higher emissions over their lifetimes than petrol equivalents because of the energy consumed in making their batteries, a study has found.
An electric car owner would have to drive at least 129,000km before producing a net saving in CO2. Many electric cars will not travel that far in their lifetime because they typically have a range of less than 145km on a single charge and are unsuitable for long trips. Even those driven 160,000km would save only about a tonne of CO2 over their lifetimes.
The British study, which is the first analysis of the full lifetime emissions of electric cars covering manufacturing, driving and disposal, undermines the case for tackling climate change by the rapid introduction of electric cars."
"Scores of protected golden eagles dying after colliding with wind turbines"
Every method of energy production has drawbacks.
This particular one must really annoy environmentalists.
I wonder if this is reported anywhere in the U.S.?...
This particular one must really annoy environmentalists.
I wonder if this is reported anywhere in the U.S.?...
PRE-LINK TEXT David Gardner has this story at the U.K.'s Daily Mail website:
"The death count along the ridgelines of the Bay Area’s Altamount Pass Wind Resource Area has averaged 67 a year for three decades."
Sunday, June 26, 2011
2011-06-26 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Government looks to past, free enterprise to future
As the writer says, "...no amount of government spending is going to restore the old status quo"...
Michael Barone writes about the economy at WashingtonExaminer.com. Here are some selected paragraphs:
"With the benefit of hindsight, it seems that our leaders, in both the Bush and the Obama administrations, responded to crises and challenges all too often with measures that attempted to revive the old pre-financial crisis economy rather than with policies that would allow a new economy to grow.
...
Trying to put everyone back in the position they once thought they were in simply won't work. But it does sound attractive politically. People can remember what life was like in the past.
We don't, however, know what it will be like in the future. Republicans want less government spending and more leeway for entrepreneurs to create new businesses and jobs. No one knows what innovative products and services will emerge.
That's the beauty of free enterprise, but it also makes it a hard sell politically. Unless voters have figured out no amount of government spending is going to restore the old status quo."
Friday, June 24, 2011
"WIKILEAKS: U.S. Fought To Lower Minimum Wage In Haiti So Hanes And Levis Would Stay Cheap"
Is it any wonder that governments are antagonistic toward the WikiLeaks people?...
Robert Johnson recently called attention to this at BusinessInsider.com:
"A Wikileaks post published on The Nation shows that the Obama Administration fought to keep Haitian wages at 31 cents an hour."
Thursday, June 23, 2011
"Sheriff Frees “Low-Level” Illegal Alien Criminals"
If you don't like the law, deliberately ignore it?
What kind of message does that send?...
What kind of message does that send?...
Judicial Watch posts about conditions in San Francisco:
"Last month Hennessey, California’s longest-serving sheriff, announced that he would ignore federal detainer orders on illegal immigrants arrested for low-level crimes such as shoplifting, disorderly conduct or public drunkenness. Under Secure Communities, arrestees identified as undocumented are held by local jails until Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials transfer them.
But the arrangement violates San Francisco’s longtime sanctuary law, which forbids public employees and police from asking anyone about their immigration status. The famously liberal city by the bay also offers illegal aliens official government identification cards and all sorts of taxpayer-financed public benefits."
"ICE Has Released More Than 8,000 Criminal Illegal Aliens Into U.S. Since 2009"
Possibly living somewhere near you...
Penny Starr reports at CNSnews.com:
"The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which is responsible for enforcing U.S. immigration laws inside the country, has released more than 8,000 illegal aliens convicted of crimes onto the streets of the United States since fiscal 2009, according to ICE data released by House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith (R.-Texas)."
The American Spectator : The Electric Albatross
The REAL story about electric cars is now coming out...
Eric Peters writes about it at AmericanSpectator.com:
"Cut through the farrago of Happy Talk and the real-world boondoggle's still the same. The range of the latest electric cars is said to be better. But it is always couched in the ubiquitous marketing con, 'up to.' And under ideal conditions.
Your actual mileage will vary.
Consider the Nissan Leaf. On a full charge, Nissan touts a 100-mile range. It doesn't tout what the range will fall to when it's 16 degrees outside and the capacity of the Leaf's battery declines by 'up to' 20-30 percent, which it will as all batteries do when it is very cold out. Now add the additional load on the battery to power things like the heater/fan -- and the lights, which you will probably need when it's dark outside."
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
"The Absurdity of Unions"
We all know that for every winner, there are losers.
In this case, it's is sure to be the American taxpayer...
In this case, it's is sure to be the American taxpayer...
Raki Shah writes about it at BusinessInsider.com:
"As the walls of the post office are crumbling down, the unions have extracted more and more for themselves. They point to a “'in-win' by their recent negotiation which yielded guaranteed raises for the next seven years and forbids any layoffs. Win win ?"
"NRC chief in hot seat over work to delay Yucca Mountain site"
It sure seems like this guy is NOT right for this job...
Dina Cappiello and Matthew Daly tell us about it at the Reno Gazette-Journal website:
"In the two years that Gregory Jaczko has led the nation's independent nuclear agency, his actions to delay, hide and kill work on a disputed dump for high-level radioactive waste have been called 'bizarre,' 'unorthodox' and 'illegal.'
These harsh critiques haven't come just from politicians who have strong views in favor of the Yucca Mountain waste site in Nevada. They've come from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's own scientists and a former agency chairman."
NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko
Political appointees are often controversial.
This one seems to have been and remains over the top...
This one seems to have been and remains over the top...
Robert Zubrin offers his opinion at NationalReview.com:
"On April 20, 2005, two men appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works for hearings relating to their appointments as members of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). One of, them, Peter Lyon, presented credentials including three patents, 160 technical publications, and three decades of experience working at Los Alamos National Lab. The other, Gregory Jaczko, had no patents, no publications, and no technical work experience whatsoever.
The contrast in qualifications between Jaczko and Lyon, or between Jaczko and any other person who might reasonably be suggested for NRC membership, was, and remains, comical."
Politicians - Senator Marco Rubio
If you have 15 minutes, it would be well spent meeting Marco Rubio...
His first Senate speech is posted at The Right Scoop website with this introduction:
"This speech is classic Marco Rubio. He gets to the heart of the message, to what America means and why we must do everything to protect America, for the sake of us and for the world. He also challenges his colleagues on both sides of the aisle to not put their careers over what’s good for America.
Great speech! Welcome aboard Senator Rubio!"
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
The Media - George Stephanopoulos and the KKK
Abraham Lincoln was a Republican.
Republicans have always been the party for civil rights, while the KKK was Democrat.
Somehow, our media has continued to distort those facts so that very few know the true facts...
Republicans have always been the party for civil rights, while the KKK was Democrat.
Somehow, our media has continued to distort those facts so that very few know the true facts...
Michael Zak, in a book, and also in this post on his blog tries to publicize that truth:
"Now is the time to speak some Truth to Power. The Ku Klux Klan was established by the Democratic Party. Yes, the Ku Klux Klan murdered thousands of Republicans -- African-American and white -- in the years following the Civil War. Yes, the Republican Party and a Republican President, Ulysses Grant, destroyed the KKK with their Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871.
Stephanopoulos was wrong to claim that the Klan changed from being Democrat 'very quickly.' How did the Ku Klux Klan re-emerge in the 20th century? For that, the Democratic Party is to blame."
"DOJ Pressured City of Dayton to Lower Testing Standards for Police Recruits to Accommodate Minority Candidates"
Lowering standards cannot serve us well...
Judicial Watch has this on their website:
"Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has uncovered hundreds of documents from the City of Dayton, Ohio, showing that Department of Justice (DOJ) officials pressured the Dayton Police Department to lower testing standards because not enough African American candidates passed the written exam. On May 25, Judicial Watch also filed a lawsuit against the DOJ to obtain additional records related to the Dayton program after the DOJ failed to respond to a Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 11-971))."
"Geithner and Goldman, Thick as Thieves"
This looks like a severe case of taxpayer's money being abused...
Robert Scheer recently reported at theNation.com:
"What was Timothy Geithner thinking back in 2008 when, as president of the New York Fed, he decided to give Goldman Sachs a $30 billion interest-free loan as part of an $80 billion secret float to favored banks? The sordid details of that program were finally made public this week in response to a court order for a Freedom of Information Act release, thanks to a Bloomberg News lawsuit. Sorry, my bad: It wasn’t an interest-free loan; make that .01 percent that Goldman paid to borrow taxpayer money when ordinary folks who missed a few credit card payments in order to finance their mortgages were being slapped with interest rates of more than 25 percent."
The Media - CNN's Jeffrey Toobin
This CNN guy often comes off as "holier than thou".
Here's a reminder that he has his skeletons, too...
Here's a reminder that he has his skeletons, too...
GossipRex.com had this story some time ago:
"Greenfield, now 36, was in her 20s when she fell for Toobin, now 49, even though he was wed to Amy McIntosh, the Harvard sweetheart had married in 1986 and who gave him two children.
Jeff and Casey saw each other off and on over the years, says one source. She was married to someone else for two years. After her divorce, she started seeing Jeff again. He said he was going to leave his wife for her. But, by then, Casey had begun to distrust him. She suspected he had several other mistresses.
In 2008, when Greenfield became pregnant, and when she told Toobin the news, he offered her money if shed have an abortion, says a source. He also allegedly offered to pay for her to have another child later via a sperm donor."
Monday, June 20, 2011
‘The Undefeated’ Review: ‘By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them’
Could this film really overturn the media assassination of Sarah Palin?...
Lisa Mei Norton gives her unequivocal opinion at BigHollywood.com:
"This is a must-see film that 'Palinistas' will absolutely love and will allow Palin skeptics to see what the media has so successfully isolated — hidden in plain sight. I dare you to go see it."
Sunday, June 19, 2011
2011-06-19 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, June 18, 2011
"Palin Emails: Trig's Baby Shower Gifts
Sarah Palin's emails have apparently NOT given the media the negatives they desired. On the contrary, there is stuff like this...
UFFDA posted this email series at BarbaricThoughts.com:
"March 2008: Talking about throwing baby showers and donating the gifts to young Army wives and possibly a crisis pregnancy center."
Driving Tips to Save Gas - Popular Mechanics
Ethanol is made from corn, which is part of our food supply.
Ethanol production needs huge amounts of water.
Ethanol is NOT as efficient as gasoline.
America has oil and gas that we don't/won't drill for.
Go figure!...
Ethanol production needs huge amounts of water.
Ethanol is NOT as efficient as gasoline.
America has oil and gas that we don't/won't drill for.
Go figure!...
Mike Allen has this as #6 in his post at PopularMechanics.com:
"Avoid Ethanol When Possible - Gasoline that has been cut with 10 or 15 percent ethanol, called E10 or E15, is an mpg killer. Why? Gasoline stores more energy than ethanol (119,000 Btu per gallon vs 80,000). So it takes more ethanol than gasoline to go the same distance."
Friday, June 17, 2011
"Julia Shearson tells how a weekend trip to Canada became 5-year fight for rights"
This is an amazing tale.
We can only hope, something similar never happens to us...
We can only hope, something similar never happens to us...
John Caniglia tells it on the Cleveland.com blog:
"Julia Shearson felt only release as she crossed the border into Canada on that January day in 2006. She was off on a quick, whimsical road trip with her 4-year-old daughter, Dalal, a weekend break from a frenzied fall running a Muslim civil-rights organization in Cleveland.
Mother and daughter visited the children's museum in London, Ontario, walked the beach at Long Point and sipped milkshakes in Port Stanley.
On the way back home on a Sunday night, crossing at Buffalo, her serenity was shattered on the U.S. side of the Peace Bridge."
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Politics - in Detroit
Wow! If you're going to ask, I guess you should ask BIG...
Robert Snell recently reported about it in the Detroit News:
"'Woo-hoo,' Clark says after counting the $2,000 on Feb. 20, 2008. 'You helped me out, man.'
The money was a reward for Clark's work getting the Synagro contract on the City Council agenda and for helping rally community support, according to the FBI.
The 40-year-old Farmington Hills resident also wanted $10,000 a month and a percentage of the Synagro contract that would have paid the civil servant $40 million a year, according to testimony this week from FBI Special Agent Michael Lubisco, a case agent with the bureau's public corruption unit."
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
"The Undefeated: What the new Sarah Palin documentary gets right, and wrong, about her politics"
If nothing else, this movie appears to make clear how the media tried (still tries) to marginalize Sarah Palin.
Would it really be so bad for an outsider to go into Washington, D.C. and turn it upside down?
After all, the same old, same old, just isn't working...
Would it really be so bad for an outsider to go into Washington, D.C. and turn it upside down?
After all, the same old, same old, just isn't working...
David Weigel writes about it at Slate.com:
"The bulk of the movie–stuff he was told to cut down, but didn't–is a biography of Sarah Palin before her BlackBerry rang with John McCain on the line, asking her to be his running mate. If Palin's critics learned this stuff, Bannon just knows they'll change their minds about her.
Bannon has shown his movie to friends in the movie business—"Greenwich Village progressives," he says. 'And to a man they did not know she took on the Republican Party this hard in Alaska. They did not know she took on Big Oil in Alaska. A lot of them do not like her, do not agree with her politics, but they have a grudging admiration.'"
"New Strunk Filing in New York Supreme Court"
I admit to being a Class A skeptic, and than can cut both ways.
There are SO many questions about Obama, that I think even the mildest of skeptics must wonder what is going on.
Now, there may be McCain issues that could explain why there was/is no political will to pursue certain things...
There are SO many questions about Obama, that I think even the mildest of skeptics must wonder what is going on.
Now, there may be McCain issues that could explain why there was/is no political will to pursue certain things...
This website, ObamaReleaseYourRecords keeps up with the latest in the attempts to find out:
"Snippets:
33. Defendant McCain maliciously concealed his own birth in the Republic Panama (see Exhibit 5) that makes him not eligible for POTUS along with BHO II, as part of the scheme to defraud Plaintiff along with those similarly situated; and
34. That notwithstanding the fact that Defendant McCain is the son of an active U.S. Military Officer he was born on foreign soil not U.S. soil or territory and concealed that fact by stating he was born in Panama Canal Zone.
35. As to the facts that apply to the complaint against Republican Candidate Defendants' John Sidney McCain III and MCCAIN VICTORY 2008; MCCAIN-PALIN VICTORY 2008 agents fundraising committees that show Defendant McCain Plaintiff's Combined Affidavit in Response to Candidate Defendants Page 12 of 25 knew he had been born in Colon Republic of Panama not Panama Canal Zone;"
"The US Economy Visualized in 10 Horrifying Economic Charts"
There's not even one that can be construed to be a plus...
Ken Cauley recently posted them on his website. And he asks:
"Take a good look at these graphs and allow the information to sink in. Use common sense to determine how this has and will continue to impact your life and build a strategy on how you plan to get active in protecting yourself against the seemingly inevitable economic brink wall."
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Government at Work - A not so bright idea
2012 is coming fast...
"Ontario Tories promise to force manual labour on inmates if they win election"
Interesting concept.
I wonder how it will play out...
I wonder how it will play out...
Maria Babbage has the story in the Canadian Press:
"Opposition Leader Tim Hudak is making a bold play for votes ahead of the Oct. 6 election by vowing to make thousands of provincial inmates work for their perks if he becomes Ontario's next premier.
In what's being billed as a Canadian first, inmates in Ontario prisons would be forced to perform 40 hours of manual labour a week — such as raking leaves and cutting grass — to earn rewards like coffee and gym time, he said.
'Prisoners can watch TV, they can play cards, they can play poker at the same time we do — after a good day's work,' Hudak said."
Monday, June 13, 2011
"President Obama’s phony accounting on the auto industry bailout"
Our president has a lot to say, and it doesn't always prove to be accurate.
Gifted wordsmith's don't necessarily lie, but they sure can make you hear what they want you to hear, while ignoring what's NOT being said...
Gifted wordsmith's don't necessarily lie, but they sure can make you hear what they want you to hear, while ignoring what's NOT being said...
Glenn Kessler reports on his fact checking at WashingtonPost.com:
"We take no view on whether the administration’s efforts on behalf of the automobile industry were a good or bad thing; that’s a matter for the editorial pages and eventually the historians. But we are interested in the facts the president cited to make his case.
What we found is one of the most misleading collections of assertions we have seen in a short presidential speech. Virtually every claim by the president regarding the auto industry needs an asterisk, just like the fine print in that too-good-to-be-true car loan.
Let’s look at the claims in the order in which the president said them."
"Ohio restaurant referenced by Obama is closing"
More often than not (it seems), a person or business mentioned by the president either comes upon bad times, or was improperly used as an example in the first place...
This Associated Press story was at Cleveland.com:
"He told The Blade newspaper of Toledo on Wednesday that auto industry cutbacks also hurt.
Lawrence says he used to deliver up to $300 in food per week to Chrysler Group LLC's Jeep plant in Toledo, but now that's down to about $100 worth."
It's ALL about re-election
I'm sure it's always been this way; but, never so obvious.
Elected officials are only concerned with one thing, and we delude ourselves that they have the good of their constituents at heart...
Elected officials are only concerned with one thing, and we delude ourselves that they have the good of their constituents at heart...
At Townhall.com, Steve McCann writes about a couple of them:
"President Obama has become the personification of political expediency and cynicism as his ego and vanity allow him to say or do anything in order to win re-election irrespective of the short or long-term well-being of the American people.
He is not alone. In Germany they too have a leader who feels no compunction in doing whatever it takes to win re-election regardless of the impact on the country's economy and future."
Sunday, June 12, 2011
2011-06-12 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, June 11, 2011
"Name Change for Obama Found in British Columbia?"
If you like conspiracy theories, this is definitely for you.
This is a one hour interview full of twists, turns, entanglements and relationships that make you want to think that no one could make it up...
This is a one hour interview full of twists, turns, entanglements and relationships that make you want to think that no one could make it up...
It's posted on the DrKatesView blog. Put your selt belt on:
"On June 3, Steven Pidgeon gave a terrific interview on Trunews, discussing new and important information contained in his book, The Obama Error. This is worth listening to the entire hour discussion. Some important tidbits:
Pidgeon found at the Consulate in British Columbia, just over the US-Canada border, a record of a name change from 'Barak Mounir Ubayd' to 'Barack Hussein Obama' in 1982.
Believes Obama was educated at Patrice Lumbuma University in Moscow, echoing Pastor Manning’s research;
Mentions Nazi, Stalinist-Marxist, and fascist as descriptors of Obama
Predicts Obama will throw the NWO under the bus as the Caliph."
"School reprimands seven-year-old boys for playing 'army game'"
More "nanny state" supervision in the U.K.
By now, their list of what kids "can" do is probably pretty short...
By now, their list of what kids "can" do is probably pretty short...
Murray Wardrop writes about it in the Daily Telegraph:
"Teachers broke up the imaginary classroom shoot-out and contacted the youngsters’ parents, warning them that such behaviour would not be tolerated.
The school, which caters for around 180 pupils aged four to seven, said the gun gestures were 'unacceptable' and were not permitted at school.
However, parents have described the reaction as 'outrageous', while family groups warned that 'wrapping children in cotton wool' damages their upbringing."
Friday, June 10, 2011
"Minerals Mined on Federal Land Spared Taxes..."
Our elected officials/politicians have created so many cases of specialized favoritism for so many things that it's hard to imagine it ever getting back to normal...
William Lajeunesse recently reported on some of it, particularly the mining industry, at FoxNews.com:
"'They don't pay a dime, not a penny for the gold and uranium they remove from public lands,' says Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense. 'Virtually every other country in world charges a royalty on hard rock minerals. It is absurd that we don't do this.'
Both mining and oil companies pay corporate taxes, and both get generous write-offs in the tax code.
But mining companies get two huge subsidies oil companies do not: leases and royalties."
Thursday, June 09, 2011
"Report: Over a third of students entering college need remedial help"
Something is seriously wrong here.
Lots of money and well-intended teachers are getting terrible results...
Lots of money and well-intended teachers are getting terrible results...
In her Chicago Sun-Times article, Kara Spak reports this and more:
"As many as one-third of students entering higher education need to take some sort of remedial or developmental course, a class in the basics of reading, English or math covering material they should have learned in high school, according to a recent report by the Alliance for Excellent Education, a Washington, D.C.-based policy group. While most four-year private and public universities offer remediation, the bulk of remedial work is done by community colleges, whose doors are open to anyone with a high school diploma or GED.
'It’s like a track meet where you have [students] run another lap to get to the start line instead of moving toward the finish line,' said Bob Wise, Alliance president.
By a number of indicators, hundreds of thousands of high school students are graduating unprepared for the rigors of college. Nationally, in 2010, only 24 percent of ACT-tested high school graduates were deemed college ready in all four subjects tested — English, math, reading and science. In Illinois, only 23 percent met those benchmarks."
The Media - reporting the gaffes
Everyone knows that all politicians make mistakes.
Obviously, the more they speak, the more likely they'll slip up.
My beef is that our American media goes out of their way to exploit some gaffes, while they ignore others.
This video tries to even the score...
Obviously, the more they speak, the more likely they'll slip up.
My beef is that our American media goes out of their way to exploit some gaffes, while they ignore others.
This video tries to even the score...
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
"Expert: Obama doc is 'proof' – of fraud"
This looks pretty convincing.
See what you think...
See what you think...
Jerome R. Corsi shows and tells and WND.com:
"Paul Irey, a retired professional typographer with 50 years experience in his business, says an analysis of the typefaces used in the Barack Obama's long-form birth certificate that the White House released on April 27 reveals it absolutely to be a forgery.
'My analysis proves beyond a doubt that it would be impossible for the different letters that appear in the Obama birth certificate to have been typed by one typewriter,' Irey told WND.
'Typewriters in 1961 could not change the size and shape of a letter on the fly like that,' he said. 'This document is definitely a forgery.'"
"The dirty trick that launched Anthony Weiner's career"
I bet you won't hear much about this...
Steve Kornacki reports on some history at Salon.com:
"A career that could end with a dumb online picture scandal was launched with race-baiting"
The Media - Bill Nye 'The Science Guy'
Be careful what you believe about what you hear in the media world.
"Experts" present non-facts in a very accomplished manner.
Unfortunately, they aren't necessarily correct...
"Experts" present non-facts in a very accomplished manner.
Unfortunately, they aren't necessarily correct...
Noel Sheppard at NewsBusters.org caught this one:
"Bill Nye "The Science Guy" was on Fox News's "America's News Headquarters" Saturday trying to make the case that despite it being "very difficult to mathematically connect" this year's tornado activity to global warming, 'Tornadoes are almost certainly a consequence.'
When host Uma Pemmaraju asked a seemingly simple question, 'Are other countries seeing the same type of activity, the intensity of these tornadoes picking up in those regions as well,' 'The Science Guy' first seemed completely stumped, and then gave a rather absurd answer (video follows with transcript and commentary):"
"You could have heard a pin drop"
Wind farms: Britain is 'running out of wind' - Telegraph
Wind power is clearly a feel good idea.
Keeping in mind it's significant startup costs, I'm not seeing any stories about any significant impact or long term success.
Now, the sun's activities seem to be getting in the way...
Keeping in mind it's significant startup costs, I'm not seeing any stories about any significant impact or long term success.
Now, the sun's activities seem to be getting in the way...
Tim Ross reports about it in the U.K. Daily Telegraph:
"Meteorologists have found that the position of the jet stream has been influenced by the lower levels of activity on the Sun. This decline in sun-spot activity is expected to continue for the next 40 years, with potentially serious consequences for the viability of wind farms.
Professor Mike Lockwood, from Reading University, said: “Changes in the jet stream will change the pattern of winds that we get in the UK. That, of course, is a problem for wind power."
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
"America's Third War: Is the U.S. Arming Mexican Cartels?"
Ugh! This is not good...
William La Jeunesse tells the story at FoxNews.com:
"You can't buy this stuff at a U.S. gun store. So where do the cartels get it? According to leaked diplomatic cables, there are three sources."
The Media - in Hollywood
I think a lot of people have always been aware of this; however, to hear it expressed so clearly by so many is very revealing...
Paul Bond writes about it at HollywoodReporter.com:
"TV Executives Admit in Taped Interviews That Hollywood Pushes a Liberal Agenda (Exclusive Video)"
The Media - and "unexpectedly"
Well, it's just more of the same from the American media.
I know they're not "state run"; however, it's hard not to think it...
I know they're not "state run"; however, it's hard not to think it...
Michael Barone discusses it at WashingtonExaminer.com:
"As Instapundit reader Gordon Stewart, quoted by Reynolds on May 17, put it, 'How many times in a row can something happen unexpectedly before the experts start to, you know, expect it? At some point, shouldn't they be required to state the foundation for their expectations?'
One answer is that many in the mainstream media have been cheerleading for Barack Obama. They and he both naturally hope for a strong economic recovery. After all, Obama can't keep blaming the economic doldrums on George W. Bush forever."
Monday, June 06, 2011
"Gutting it out" - Paul Jacob
I'm inclined to agree with this.
The attempts to artificially create a good economy don't seem to be working.
Plus, the debt obligations are surely counter-productive...
The attempts to artificially create a good economy don't seem to be working.
Plus, the debt obligations are surely counter-productive...
Paul Jacob includes this in his article at Townhall.com:
"What we’re talking about here — 'gutting it out' — could, alternatively, be called 'freedom.' Left to our own devices, without government bailouts and jobs programs and subsidies and assorted fine-tuning, we Americans can still dream and build and innovate and grow, getting better each year at producing the goods and services that we each need to live our lives and pursue our own happiness.
Can’t we?
And how much more painful could it possibly be for us were Uncle Sam not to borrow trillions more dollars? After all, we’ll have to pay back with interest those loans used to 'create jobs' that don’t seem to actually get created. Or, if created, prove unsustainable. Should we have expected that borrowing money to hire people for non-productive, make-work jobs would lead ineluctably to spectacular economic success?"
"Sarah Palin's tour a rolling menace"
Politico.com is a political news and opinion website.
I think they would like us to believe they are impartial. Did you notice the title?
This article is about a private citizen's bus trip and the media's insane, frenzied attempts to keep up with it. Sarah Palin seems to have won.
With that in mind, read this article and decide for yourself...
I think they would like us to believe they are impartial. Did you notice the title?
This article is about a private citizen's bus trip and the media's insane, frenzied attempts to keep up with it. Sarah Palin seems to have won.
With that in mind, read this article and decide for yourself...
Kasie Hunt's article about Sarah Palin as posted on Politico.com includes this:
"The reporters who are speeding, tailgating, cutting off other cars, blasting through roundabouts and passing on the right in an effort to keep up, say they have no other choice since they never know what Palin’s up to or where she’s headed — and aides typically won’t tell them anything. Once they’re on the road, they’re filing urgent updates by phone and figuring out unorthodox bathroom breaks, like the reporter who pulled over to relieve himself on the side of the highway going from Gettysburg, Pa., to Philadelphia — drawing notice from both Palin aides and the rest of the trailing press."
"June 4, 1914 Dedication of Arlington Monument"
A little dose of history is always worthwhile.
I bet you didn't know this...
I bet you didn't know this...
Calvin E. Johnson Jr. includes this in his post about it on the CanadaFreePress website:
"Did you know there are 245,000 service men and women, including their families, buried at Arlington?"
Sunday, June 05, 2011
2011-06-05 - Words of Wisdom
Friday, June 03, 2011
The Gates Farewell Warning - WSJ.com
This article is about spending for defense.
Inside the article are some statistics, comparisons and a graph that are quite revealing...
Inside the article are some statistics, comparisons and a graph that are quite revealing...
It's all on the Wall Street Journal website:
"The American entitlement state was born with the New Deal, got fat with the Great Society of the 1960s and hit another growth spurt in the first two years of the Obama era. The big three entitlements—Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, plus other retirement and disability expenses—accounted for 4.9% of GDP by 1970, eclipsed defense spending in 1976 and stood at 9.8% as of last year. Under current projections, entitlements will eat up 10.8% of GDP by 2020, while defense spending goes down to 2.7%. On current trends, those entitlements will consume all tax revenues by 2052, estimates Mackenzie Eaglen of the Heritage Foundation."
Thursday, June 02, 2011
"Burglar who claimed jail sentence infringed his children's human rights is freed"
This does give me pause; however, I think it's a wrong decision.
Surely, there are other child care options.
What do military personnel, etc. do?...
Surely, there are other child care options.
What do military personnel, etc. do?...
This is from the U.K. Daily Mail website:
"A burglar was let out of jail yesterday because locking him up breached his family’s human rights.
In a staggering judgment, the Appeal Court ruled that the rights of Wayne Bishop’s five children were more important than those of his victims or the interests of justice."
MN voters back voter-ID amendment 76/18
This doesn't seem right.
The citizens overwhelmingly (76%) favor it.
It passes in both the state house and senate.
And the governor VETOS it!...
The citizens overwhelmingly (76%) favor it.
It passes in both the state house and senate.
And the governor VETOS it!...
Ed Morrissey posts about it at HotAir.com:
" Governor Mark Dayton vetoed the voter ID bill saying it lacked 'broad legislative bipartisan' support.
According to our exclusive new SurveyUSA poll, 76% of Minnesotans say they’d vote in favor of voter ID. Only 18% oppose the idea."
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
"Criminal complaint charges Obama birth record 'forged'"
You can decide for yourself, but I think the claims here are pretty convincing...
Jerome R. Corsi continues the story at WorldNetDaily.com:
"Vogt's criminal complaint asserts: 'I have irrefutably proven that the Certificate of Live Birth that President Obama presented to the world on April 27, 2011, is a fraudulently created document put together using the Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator programs, and the creation of this forgery of a public document constitutes a class B felony in Hawaii and multiple violations under U.S. Code section Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 47, Sec.1028, and therefore an impeachable offense.'
When the Obama birth certificate 'forgery' comes to the public's attention, Vogt continues, 'It will surpass the all previous scandals including the Watergate scandal of the Nixon administration.'"
Politicians - U.S. Rep. Barney Frank
Cronyism or nepotism? Either way, it's usually obvious and true.
Many (most) elected officials don't even attempt to avoid the appearance of impropriety.
They seem to even have a set of "rules" for defending it...
Many (most) elected officials don't even attempt to avoid the appearance of impropriety.
They seem to even have a set of "rules" for defending it...
PRE-LINK TEXT Michelle Malkin gives her view at Townhall.com:
"If you want to watch a corruptocrat start sputtering like Porky Pig with allergies, confront him with three simple words: conflict of interest. Asked this week about his role in securing an ex-lover's highly coveted job at government mortgage giant Fannie Mae, Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Barney Frank retorted:
'Aba-dee aba-dee aba-dee aba-dee.'
Or that's what it sounded like, anyway."
"Pay up Obama: President made to cough up C-charge for 'The Beast'"
If you follow the U.K. websites and news sites, you soon conclude that the Brits seem to have a law or tax for everything.
I guess that's where they get their "nanny state" label...
I guess that's where they get their "nanny state" label...
Peter Dominiczak reported on this one on the London Evening Standard website:
"Barack Obama has been ordered to pay the congestion charge for his security vehicle 'The Beast', Boris Johnson revealed today.
The Mayor told the Standard each car in the President's motorcade will be billed for £10 - including the bomb-proof Cadillac. Mr Johnson also said he had a discussion with Mr Obama about the US embassy's refusal to pay £5.3 million in C-charge fines."
