Tuesday, July 31, 2012
"Pontiac Turnaround Stories: City Versus Schools"
I guess it's pretty obvious by now that elected school boards see only money as the cure and just can't restrain themselves.
On the other hand, an outsider running the city gets much different results...
On the other hand, an outsider running the city gets much different results...
Jack Spencer writes about it at MichiganCapitolConfidential. He begins:
"Both the Pontiac School District and the city of Pontiac are operating with deficits, but the city is climbing out of the hole while the school district suffers.
Why? Because the schools are operating with the same officials at the helm trying to implement a deficit elimination plan while the city recovers thanks to a strong emergency manager."
Andrew Tisch: Let's Ban the Word 'Trillion' - WSJ.com
This headline caught my eye.
I think the premise is exactly right.
How we label things has a substantial bearing on how we think of things...
I think the premise is exactly right.
How we label things has a substantial bearing on how we think of things...
Andrew H. Tisch explains his point in the Wall Street Journal, beginning with:
"Pop quiz: What's bigger—$15.8 trillion, or $15,772,177,351,447?
Of course, rounding off, they're about the same. But don't we all think that the first number seems so much smaller and more manageable than the second?
The first number incorporates a tidy unit of measurement called a 'trillion.' We can get our heads around the word 'trillion,' and so we think we understand what we're looking at. In this case, it is the size of our national debt.
The thing is, it should be really hard to ever get our heads around a 'trillion.' Very few of us have ever seen a trillion of anything with our own eyes. Maybe a trillion grains of sand, but not a trillion trees or a trillion stars."
U.S. Senate Candidate Dan Bondingo
I would vote for this guy.
Hopefully, the citizens of Maryland feel the same way...
Hopefully, the citizens of Maryland feel the same way...
Monday, July 30, 2012
"Satellite study of Asian mountains show that glaciers are NOT melting..."
One by one, these supposed indicators of global warming are proving to be inaccurate.
Here's another one.
Of course, you won't see our biased media report this with the same fervor as when the opposite was claimed...
Rob Waugh reports on it on the U.K.'s Daily Mail website:
"The glaciers in the Karakoram Range between northern Pakistan and western China have actually grown, rather than shrinking. Unlike most mountain glaciers, the Karakoram glaciers, which account for 3 percent of the total ice-covered area in the world, excluding Greenland and Antarctica, are not shrinking. A team of French glaciologists has recently confirmed that these glaciers on average have remained stable or may have even grown slightly in recent years."
Olympic Ideals Don't Match Reality - WSJ.com
Politics is everywhere, and apparently always has been.
The Olympics are no exception...
The Olympics are no exception...
Andrew Roberts explains in the Wall Street Journal. He begins:
"The 2012 Olympiad, which opens in London on Friday, will doubtless witness another astonishing exhibition of sporting endurance and excellence. It will also see yet another outburst of utter drivel from its organizers about what the Games themselves can achieve for the human spirit. Enjoy the former by all means; abjure the latter at all costs."
Politics - Carefully Orchestrated for Sure
So, do you still think ANYTHING in politics is really spontaneous?...
At GatewayPundit.com, Jim Hoft elaborates on this con job:
"Busted… Team O Plants 3 'Surprised' Veterans at Out-of-the-Way Diner to Speak With Obama – Then Releases Their Bios"
Sunday, July 29, 2012
2012-07-29 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, July 28, 2012
"Roll-your-own cigarette operations to be snuffed out"
Jobs go away, tax revenues go away, license fees go away, and a black market most likely begins.
So is this really smart?...
Beth Karuschak recently had this story in the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
"A tiny amendment buried in the federal transportation bill to be signed today by President Barack Obama will put operators of roll-your-own cigarette operations in Las Vegas and nationwide out of business at midnight."
"The Mr Big making a mockery out of the so-called immigration crackdown"
Sue Reid, Figen Gunes and Faruk Zabci recently posted this in the U.K. Daily Mail. Their story begins with:
"Standing on a patch of grass 46 miles across the Channel from the White Cliffs of Dover, a man in a designer jacket emblazoned with the words ‘No Fear’ is making a laughing stock of our Government’s promises to stop illegal immigration into Britain. He calls himself ‘Fahruddin’ and is the Mr Big of a multi-million-pound people-trafficking operation that every year smuggles 5,000 migrants from all over the world into Britain from northern France. "
Friday, July 27, 2012
"George Zimmerman Lynching Further Unravels"
I think George Zimmerman is being treated poorly in order to promote some agenda, racist or otherwise.
He certainly is NOT being treated as innocent until PROVEN guilty...
At PJmedia.com, Bob Owens continues to follow the case, finding things that others aren't willing to even look at:
"ABC’s Matt Gutman, the reporter who ran the video apparently leaked by Serino, appeared to confirm Serino as the leaker in a tweet — then deleted the tweet and denied his confirmation was a confirmation at all. Gutman himself now seems to have been pulled from the story and has been sent overseas by ABC News, as Serino was confirmed to have been transferred to street patrol even as the department publicly claims his transfer is not a demotion. All actual physical evidence, medical evidence, and eyewitness statements suggest that Zimmerman’s account of the significant events of that night can be corroborated, and that an overzealous investigator and politically minded prosecutor have manufactured a second-degree murder case that never should have been filed."
"TX woman jailed for warning motorists about speed trap"
That being said I'm firmly on the side of Natalie Plummer.
THEY have the right to enforce the law; and, citizens have the right to warn.
If she was warning about a pothole or accident ahead, would it be the same?...
Howard Portnoy recently posted about about it at HotAir.com:
"ABC affiliate KTRK in Houston reports that Natalie Plummer was arrested and jailed for alerting drivers to the presence of a speed trap. Plummer was on her bike heading home from grocery shopping when she saw police pulling over alleged speeders. So she scribbled ;Speed Trap!; on a grocery bag and stood at the side of the road holding up her makeshift sign. Soon after, one of the uniformed denizens of the trap drove up and slapped on the bracelets."
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Review & Outlook: The Tort Bar Burns On - WSJ.com
If you dislike or are looking to dislike lawyers, this one's for you...
The article requires a login, BUT, most of the Wall Street Journal Article is at DVDtalk.com:
"A case study in modern robbery: Targeting the red plastic gas can. Like 19th century marauders, the trial bar attacks any business it thinks will cough up money in its raids. The latest victims are the people who make those red plastic gasoline cans. Until recently, Blitz USA—the nation's No. 1 consumer gasoline-can producer, based in Miami, Oklahoma—was doing fine. It's a commoditized, low-margin business, but it's steady. Sales normally pick up when hurricane season begins and people start storing fuel for back-up generators and the like."
"The Ninth Circuit Frosts the Lawyers in a Juvenile Cereal Lawsuit"
It sure is nice to see a court ruling that actually makes sense...
At PJmedia.com, Hans A. von Spakovsky recently wrote about this court ruling:
"Dennis v. Kellogg Company exemplifies the type of wasteful class action lawsuits that are continually being filed against American businesses in what amounts to legally sanctioned extortion. No wonder we have the most expensive and wasteful tort system in the industrialized world. It imposes huge and unnecessary costs on the entrepreneurs both large and small (not to mention their shareholders) who are the backbone of our economy."
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
"'Dark Knight Rises' Review: Nolan Slaps Obama With a Masterpiece"
As a result, I suspect that only a few of those who attend a showing of "Batman" will see what this writer sees.
I think this is worthwhile to read about what you might miss...
At Breitbart.com, John Nolte gives his opinion of the latest "Batman":
"Surpassing the extraordinary hype and expectations surrounding the conclusion to his epic trilogy seemed impossible, and yet somehow Nolan achieved just that. The fact that I'm even debating whether or not "Rises" surpasses its perfect predecessor speaks volumes. Without giving anything away -- without telling you if it's tragic or happy or bitter or sweet -- let me just say that the final few minutes of 'Rises' represent one of the most intensely satisfying movie moments of my life.
And beyond filmmaking skills that will surely place him among the all-time greats, what kind of crystal ball does Nolan have access to that gives him the prescient power to begin a project years ago that upon delivery would be as timely and relevant as the latest refresh of the Drudge Report? "Rises" is about many things, but it is mostly about a rousing defense of an America under siege by a demagogue disguising his nihilistic rage and thirst for revenge and power as a noble quest for equality.
Sound familiar?"
The American media is clearly "in the tank".
And BOTH political parties are guilty.
The links below go to postings by two people who know it, and their source, of all places is a New York Times article...
And then...
And BOTH political parties are guilty.
The links below go to postings by two people who know it, and their source, of all places is a New York Times article...
First, at WND.com, is Joseph Farah, who has multiple media credentials:
"What this shocking story reveals is that even I – one of the kingpins of the new media and a refugee from the state-controlled spin machine – underestimated the utter and total corruption of the euphemistically called “mainstream press.”
It shows that most – not some – members of the print media establishment with access to the White House submit their copy to government officials for review, “correction” and approval before it reaches the American people!"
And then...
There's Ellen Ratner, a White House correspondent and more, who posts:
"Now, sadly, we have the White House and political campaigns cleaning up quotes before reporters are even allowed to publish their stories.
Peters’ article details what is really happening. Politicians are granting news outlets access only if they are allowed to first edit and approve their own statements."
"Who are the Rapists?"
Right or wrong?
Perhaps there is some infinite wisdom here, or maybe a fine point of law; however, I don't see how the bad guys can be favored over the victim...
Update!!!...
Perhaps there is some infinite wisdom here, or maybe a fine point of law; however, I don't see how the bad guys can be favored over the victim...
Dr. Jack Wheeler sees something wrong and speaks out:
"The outcry supporting Savannah and condemning Judge McDonald has become deafening. A petition to the Kentucky District Court demanding the contempt charges be dropped has, as of today (7/23) received over 53,000 signatures.
Yet in all this outcry, in all the hundreds of news stories about Savannah defying this contemptible judge and outing her rapists - not one story says who the rapists are. Every news outlet in America is obeying Judge McDonald's order.
Well, not TTP. Dee McDonald can go perform an act of carnal knowledge upon herself.
The rapists are... "
Update!!!...
Dylan Stableford reports on Yahoo News:
"Savannah Dietrich, the 17-year-old Kentucky girl who had been facing contempt of court charges after she tweeted the names of her juvenile attackers, will not be charged.
Late Monday, lawyers for Dietrich's attackers withdrew their motion to have her held in contempt, after the story about the possible charges sparked outrage online."
"Why President Obama Will Lose in a Landslide"
So, what do you think of this?...
On his blog, the "Godfather" makes his case pretty convincingly and says:
"Add it up. Is there one major group where Obama has gained since 2008? Will anyone in America wake up on election-day saying 'I didn’t vote for Obama 4 years ago, but he’s done such a fantastic job. I can’t wait to vote for him today'? Does anyone feel that a vote for Obama makes their job more secure? Forget the polls. My gut instincts as a Vegas oddsmaker and common sense small businessman tell me this will be a historic landslide and a world-class repudiation of Obama’s radical and risky socialist agenda. It’s Reagan-Carter all over again."
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
"The Netherlands to Abandon Multiculturalism"
Now, if only we were smart enough to see that same light...
Soeren Kern recently reported about it on the Gatestone Institute website:
"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.'"
"Most members of Congress keep their tax returns secret"
Unfortunately, elected officials have carefully created rules that "imply" transparency, but fall far short of "true" disclosure.
Even so, they seem always quick to criticize those that won't do exactly what they themselves won't do...
Kevin G. Hall and David Lightman report on the issue on the McClatchy Newspapers website:
"The two Democratic leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives are among hundreds of senators and representatives from both parties who refused to release their tax records. Just 17 out of the 535 members of Congress released their most recent tax forms or provided some similar documentation of their tax liabilities in response to requests from McClatchy over the last three months. Another 19 replied that they wouldn’t release the information, and the remainder never responded to the query."
"State won't release larger list of possible noncitizen voters"
If multiplied across all the states it's really disconcerting.
I don't want to say our elections are a farce, but they sure do leave a lot to be desired...
Steve Bousquet recently reported on it on the TampaBay.com website:
"Scott's elections agency is refusing numerous requests from voter advocacy groups and news outlets to release the list, months after the state released an initial list targeting 2,625 potential noncitizens. Many people on the first list turned out to be citizens. The larger list has the potential to cause a bigger political controversy than the smaller one. 'I want to be very careful,' said Scott's chief elections official, Secretary of State Ken Detzner. "It's individuals' names on there, and I want to make sure that people are treated respectfully. I want to be abundantly cautious about that." In an interview in his office, Detzner could not cite a law that makes the list exempt from disclosure. Rather than make the list public, Detzner says he will ask Attorney General Pam Bondi whether it is a public record under Florida law."
Politicians - the Brits Education Secretary Michael Gove
Mr. Gove doesn't appear to be beholden to anyone or anything except improving education.
This will be interesting to follow...
This will be interesting to follow...
Tim Montgomerie writes about him in the U.K. Daily Mail
"The teaching unions that have presided over the ‘All Must Have Prizes’ system will fight him tooth and nail. They want to protect their jobs-for-life regime where bad teachers are rarely sacked but are instead allowed to damage countless pupils’ life chances, year after year.
Gove is undeterred. He’s ready to close down a system where children who can’t manage their times tables are studying for exactly the same exams as those who are on track to study physics at Oxbridge. Meanwhile, the questions in exams have become preposterously silly.
In one science exam 16-year-olds were asked if they should look at the stars through a telescope or a microscope.
Another test asked: ‘What part of a rider’s body does a riding hat protect?’"
And in the same Daily Mail, Tim Shipman highlights the reasons behind Mr. Gove's plans:
"British pupils have slipped down international league tables in key subjects over the past decade.
The most authoritative comparison is the Programme for International Student Assessment carried out by the OECD. It is based on tests given to 15-year-olds in up to 65 countries.
When first carried out in 2000, the UK was ranked fourth in science, seventh in literacy and eighth in maths. The science ranking fell to 12th in 2003, 14th in 2006 and 16th in 2009.
In literacy the country sank to 11th in 2003, 17th in 2006 and 25th in 2009.
The most dramatic slump is in maths, where the ranking was 18th in 2003, 24th in 2006 and 28th in 2009."
Monday, July 23, 2012
"McCotter resigns from Congress after 'nightmarish month'"
Hopefully, his optimism plays out...
Vince Coglianese posted McCotter's farewell message at DailyCaller.com. It included this gem:
"True, as at other times in the life of our nation, we live in an Age of Extremes that prizes intensity over sanity; rhetoric over reality; and destruction over creation. But this too shall pass, thanks to the infinite, inspired wisdom of the sovereign people who, with God’s continued blessings, will again affirm for the generations American Exceptionalism."
I built this... the video
So, who really built what?
The answer is here...
The answer is here...
"Charles Krauthammer: Did the state make you great?"
The president's comment had to be directed to those that can't or won't think...
In the Washington Post, Charles Krauthammer answers the question intelligently:
"... the most formative, most important influence on the individual is not government. It is civil society, those elements of the collectivity that lie outside government: family, neighborhood, church, Rotary club, PTA, the voluntary associations that Tocqueville understood to be the genius of America and source of its energy and freedom. Moreover, the greatest threat to a robust, autonomous civil society is the ever-growing Leviathan state and those like Obama who see it as the ultimate expression of the collective."
Sunday, July 22, 2012
2012-07-22 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Food Stamp Fiasco - WSJ.com
The Journal has this title exactly right...
This is a part of a recent Wall Street Journal:
"Yes, $770 billion on a single program.
And you wonder why the U.S. had its credit-rating downgraded? When the food stamp program began in the 1970s, it was designed to help about 1 of 50 Americans who were in severe financial distress. But thanks to eligibility changes first by President George W. Bush as part of the 2002 farm bill and then by President Obama in the 2008 stimulus, food stamps are becoming the latest middle-class entitlement.
A record 44.7 million people received food stamps in fiscal 2011, up from 28.2 million as recently as 2008. The cost has more than doubled in that same period, to $78 billion, and is on track to account for 78% of farm bill spending over the next decade. One in seven Americans now qualifies."
"Dentist Joyce Trail 'stole £1.4million from NHS..."
I wonder whether this behavior is a symptom of government run healthcare or human dishonesty?
I guess it's some of both.
Then again, does government manage anything well?...
I guess it's some of both.
Then again, does government manage anything well?...
Sophie Borland reported this in the U.K. Daily Mail:
"A dentist conned the NHS out of £1.4million with thousands of false claims – including fitting false teeth on patients who were actually dead, a court heard. Joyce Trail filed more than 7,000 invoices for work she had never done and used the money to travel around the world. In fact the 50-year-old had not even met most of the patients and many were dead, it was claimed."
Friday, July 20, 2012
"NYT/CBS Poll: Romney Takes the Lead, Brutal Internals for Obama"
The answers are often manipulated by the wording of the questions.
People deliberately misrepresent their feelings.
And, of course, any opinion can change in a heartbeat...
At DailyCaller.com, Guy Benson thinks this poll looks bad for the president:
"The top line is only 47 percent for Romney compared to 46 percent for Obama, but that's among registered -- not likely -- voters with a D/R/I sample breakdown of 33/26/41 (D+6.5). Here are the basics, then it's all downhill from there for The One:"
CPA Australia presents An Audience with Neil Armstrong
A carrier based fighter pilot in the Korean war, a test pilot, once landed a four-engine B-29 with only one engine working, and a moon landing, and humble.
I am almost at a loss for words...
I am almost at a loss for words...
At CPAaustralia.com Alex Haley interviews a most remarkable man:
"In this four part series, the first man to walk on the moon, gives a personal commentary on Apollo 11's historic lunar landing, his thoughts on leadership, and taking risks to innovate for the future."
Thursday, July 19, 2012
The Media - and their political donations
I don't know if this is right or wrong; however, I do know that the media is quick to report campaign contributions of certain others...
Alex Pappas identifies some of them at DailyCaller.com:
"Employees of news outlets including the New York Times and the Huffington Post have donated money to President Obama’s re-election campaign, according to records reviewed by The Daily Caller."
"The Most Pathogenic Media in History"
At AmericanThinker.com, James Lewis shares what he knows:
"We have the most pathogenic media in history -- they create social divisions, ethnic hostilities, massive deliberate misunderstandings of the real causes of economic despair, and political 'solutions' from the very people who created those problems in the first place. Our media are the worst plague virus in history because they spread falsehoods and block the truth. No society can solve problems if the media lie as a daily habit. Perverse and dysfunctional media can destroy working societies -- Joseph Goebbels' handiwork being a prime example."
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
"Are tummy bugs the secret to a long life?"
We've all heard "you are what you eat". Now we hear this...
Fiona MaxRae writes about this on The U.K. Daily Mail website:
"Researchers have linked the trillions of ‘friendly bacteria’ that live in the gut to the health of men and women aged 60-plus following a landmark study. With the food eaten affecting the types of bugs that thrive, the study suggests something as simple as eating a varied diet rich in fruit and vegetables could help ward off a host of ills from frailty to memory loss."
"6 charts that show the Welfare State run amok"
Few, if any, elected officials can see past the next election.
That, and the associated pandering for campaign money and votes, has created quite a mess...
That, and the associated pandering for campaign money and votes, has created quite a mess...
James Pethokoukis posts them on the American Enterprise Institute website:
"The original purpose of Medicaid was to provide improved healthcare access for poor people, while not turning the safety net into a trap. Under President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, Medicaid will be greatly exapnded beyond what Congress originally intended.
In fact, as these charts show, it has already expanded beyond what Congress surely originally envisioned and, in the process, has created a terrible fiscal problem for the United States."
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
The Man Who Rescued the German Economy - WSJ.com
Regardless of party name, there ARE policies that been PROVEN to work.
So, if America is paying attention, here's yet another historical example of what works...
Raymond Zhong tells the story in a recent Wall Street Journal column:
"'Reform yourselves, and ye will grow out of your debt.' So goes Germany's unwritten mantra for the European crisis. Chancellor Angela Merkel is urging Greece, Spain, Italy and the rest to shape up their economies and pay down their obligations—and withholding German money until they do.
The Berlin road to economic righteousness is no mere sermonizing. Germany itself has gone down it and grown stronger. Gerhard Schröder, a Social Democrat, was German chancellor from 1998 to 2005, and during his second term his government lowered taxes, revamped unemployment benefits and streamlined labor laws. Mr. Schröder's shakedown of the welfare state—dubbed Agenda 2010 when it was launched in 2003—has been credited with insulating Germany against the debt mess that would later befall Southern Europe."
The Media - MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell
I think she is clearly "for" one side and "against" the other.
See if you agree...
The Weasel Zippers blog has the video. They label it:
"Must Watch: Romney Surrogate John Sununu Steamrolls MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell"
"DOJ Witness Can Fly to Washington, But Can’t Get Voter ID
And the media reporter couldn't see the ridiculousness of these circumstances.
How competent is that?
Plus, how do you get on a plane without photo-ID? Duh!...
J. Christian Adams posted about it at PJmedia.com:
"This is too much. The Justice Department actually called a witness in the Texas Voter ID trial today in Washington, D.C. The witness complained she couldn’t find the time to get her parents to drive her to get the free photo ID, but she obviously had time to fly to Washington, D.C., from Texas to testify at trial!"
Monday, July 16, 2012
"Security and Defense: Chemically Unstable"
In the Middle East, a lot of things happen.
Some of them clearly indicate very active spy and special operations activities...
Some of them clearly indicate very active spy and special operations activities...
In the Jerusalem Post, Yaakov Katz writes about this one:
"It was July 2007 and in Aleppo, Syria, the muezzins were just starting to issue the early-morning call for prayers. It was a different Syria at the time – Bashar Assad’s rule appeared stable and was not threatened by rebels. Barely anyone knew that not far from the city, Assad was building a nuclear reactor that would be destroyed a few months later in a lightning Israeli airstrike.
But then the city was rocked by an explosion. Looking out their windows, residents could see smoke rising from a military base located on the outskirts of the ancient city. The damage was isolated to a single building, one that very few people – even those who served in the base – knew the purpose of."
"White House, 'Washington Post' Coordinate Another Anti-Romney Attack"
They're getting more obvious, and getting caught at it.
It's not pretty...
This expose' comes from John Nolte at Breitbart.com:
"In politics, the media narrative is everything. The media narrative drives the national conversation, opinion, and, unfortunately, poll numbers. Thanks to bad economic news and a number of unforced errors, narrative-wise, Obama and his media pal have had a very bad June. Desperate to change the subject for Their Precious One, this week we saw the media attempt to rescue Obama by pushing the White House talking points about illegal immigration."
Barack Obama, Outsourcer-in-Chief
And did they remember to mention who flies our astronauts these days?...
"Antarctic ice shelves not melting at all, new field data show"
The number of these erroneous reports is growing almost daily...
At SPPIblog.com, Lewis Page is posting about this:
"According to a statement from the American Geophysical Union, announcing the new research: 'It turns out that past studies, which were based on computer models without any direct data for comparison or guidance, overestimate the water temperatures and extent of melting beneath the Fimbul Ice Shelf. This has led to the misconception, Hattermann said, that the ice shelf is losing mass at a faster rate than it is gaining mass, leading to an overall loss of mass. The team’s results show that water temperatures are far lower than computer models predicted …'"
Sunday, July 15, 2012
2012-07-15 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, July 14, 2012
"The 40 Best Quotes from Ronald Reagan"
Some of these quotes are probably part of the reason why...
John Hawkins posted them recently at Townhall.com. Here's just two:
"Government's first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives." "Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"
In Our World - Pigs for 'Emotional Support'
But, I just can't wait until a pet skunk is presented as necessary "emotional support"...
Elizabeth Harrington writes about it at CNSnews.com:
"Pot-bellied pigs must be granted passage on airplanes if they are used for 'emotional support' by their owners, states the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) draft manual on equity for the disabled in air travel."
Friday, July 13, 2012
"UFO Lying On The Bottom Of The Baltic Sea?"
Well, what do you think?...
Lee Rannals has the story and a picture at RedOrbit.com:
"Scientists went off on a deep-water dive to debunk some theories about the underwater object, but were left with more questions than they had answers. The divers found that the object was raised about 10 to 13 feet above the seabed, and curved in at the sides. 'First we thought this was only stone, but this is something else,' Ocean X team diver Peter Lindberg said in a press release."
"One More Dubious Story in the Obama Family Saga"
This one was actually written before said book was released.
Point is: Very little about Mr. Obama's past seems legitimate...
At AmericanThinker.com, Jack Cashill makes us aware of this one:
"As a case in point, the Weekly Standard's Andrew Ferguson has had to do some serious reevaluating of the man after reading David Maraniss's soon-to-be released book, Barack Obama: The Story. Writes Ferguson ruefully, "The writer who would later use the power of his life story to become a plausible public man was making it up, to an alarming extent." What Ferguson found particularly "dispiriting" was that the moments most likely to be "invented" were the most critical ones, the book's racially-charged epiphanies, "those periodic aha! moments that carry the book and bring its author closer to self-discovery." Although I have not yet seen the Maraniss book, I suspect there is one such story that he may have missed. Ferguson certainly did not discuss it, and that is Obama's alleged meeting with his half-brother Mark Ndesandjo in Kenya more than twenty years ago. Although I wrote about this in some detail last year, it deserves revisiting given the renewed interest in Obama's many fictions."
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Government Motors
Matthew Boyle reports on it at DailyCaller.com:
"The Treasury Department’s actions during the auto bailout caused 20,000 non-union workers from Delphi to lose most of their pensions. Delphi, a GM company, is one of the largest automotive parts manufacturers in the world. Its workers lost their pensions when the government bailed out GM. While those non-union Delphi workers lost nearly their entire pensions, United Auto Workers union members’ pensions were topped off and made whole."
"4 Pinocchios for Obama’s newest anti-Romney ad"
This particular one was over the top.
Sadly, those that saw it aren't likely to know what's reported here...
Glenn Kessler does fact checking for the Washington Post. This is his evaluation of a recent Obama campaign ad:
"The Pinocchio Test The Obama campaign fails to make its case. On just about every level, this ad is misleading, unfair and untrue, from the use of “corporate raider” to its examples of alleged outsourcing. Simply repeating the same debunked claims won’t make them any more correct."
Meanwhile - in the U.K. - "Children go back to basics in maths"
The U.K. Telegraph's Graeme Paton recently reported this:
"A draft mathematics curriculum suggests that five and six year-olds will be expected to count up to 100, recognise basic fractions and memorise the results of simple sums by the end of the first year of compulsory education. In the second year, they will be required to know the two, five and 10 times tables, add and subtract two-digit numbers in their head and begin to use graphs."
That's reported by Laura Clark in the U.K. Daily Mail:
"Thousands of teachers go back to school to learn basic maths and grammar so they can deliver tough new lessons"
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
"Canada Building Pipelines to Sell Oil to China"
First of all, it's Canada's oil and they want to sell it.
I guess we prefer to buy it from our Middle East enemies...
At Breitbart.com, John Sexton reports, in cluding this from a New York Times article:
"While Joe Oliver, Canada’s minister of natural resources, said in an interview that the United States would remain Canada’s 'most important customer,' billions of barrels of oil that would have been refined and used in the United States are now poised to head elsewhere. Expansion of Canada’s fast-growing oil-sands industry will be restricted by the lack of pipeline capacity before the decade’s end, he said, which 'adds to the urgency of building them so that the resources will not be stranded.' Three new pipeline network proposals — two that call for heading west and the other east — have been put forward. "
"Piercing the Cone of Silence"
Nick Chase writes about it at AmericanThinker.com. Here's part of his latest:
"If you have been reading my articles, along with the articles by Thomas Lifson and Monte Kuligowski and others, you know by now that the Obama long-form 'birth certificate' is forged. You also know that you put your own reputation for credibility at risk if you try to show others the evidence you've seen. The cone of silence suppressing the truth has been so powerful that you will automatically be guilty by association with the "lunatic fringe" should you even dare to bring up the topic. It is impossible to open the mind of somebody trapped by this cone of silence; that person's mind is made up -- facts and evidence are irrelevant, case closed. But you know the truth -- if others won't listen, that's their problem. Don't make it yours, and you will sleep well at night. My wife says I've become obsessed with the topic. She's right. I am obsessed partly because there have been very, very few instances in my life where I know I'm right on a subject (because it's within my area of expertise) and most of the rest of the world is wrong -- but this is one of those times. My sense of self-worth compels me to prove it, even in the face of nasty appellations being hurled at me. I am also obsessed because we have here a real-life mystery -- a bold scam, but also a scam that is tenuous because it relies on the silence of the media for its perpetuation (and the media can be fickle). What is it, exactly, on the genuine long-form birth certificate that is so politically inconvenient that the public is not allowed to see it?"
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Government at Work - on Windmills in Michigan
Try this one, and wonder if this could happen near you...
Jack Spenser posted this at MichiganCapitolConfidential.com:
"In February, Lake Township voters struck down a zoning ordinance that would allow wind turbines to operate near their homes by better than a 61 percent to 39 percent margin. Yet, there's a good chance township residents will have to live next to the turbines anyway. On May 21, the Lake Township board began a process to transfer about 4,000 acres to a neighboring township (Chandler), which has zoning that allows wind turbines. There is no way Lake Township voters could stop the transfer if the township officials go through with the process because of the way a Public Act is being used to facilitate the process. The timetable for doing the transfer could be accomplished within less than two months. 'We said 'no' when we voted on it,' said Tony Kanyak, a Lake Township farmer. 'It was turned down by the voters. Now a select few are doing it anyway. It's a dictatorship. Right is right, and wrong is wrong, and this is wrong.'"
"The Bell Tolls for the Government Unions"
That being said, as more of the public becomes aware of the money trail, union support is sure to diminish...
Pat Buchanan expresses his opinion at Townhall.com:
"When union leaders put piles of cash into political campaigns, and union bosses then sit down to bargain with the people they have just put into office, who represents the public? Is there not an inherent conflict of interest when unions literally purchase with campaign contributions the election of officials with whom they are to negotiate the new contracts for their members? There are other reasons public-employee unions are losing public support. The pay and benefits of federal employees are twice that of the average private-sector worker, while the pay and benefits of state employees are half again as high. And government workers enjoy a job security few private-sector workers ever know. Unionized government workers are seen by almost no one as victims. Yet their numbers are huge. Where there were twice as many Americans working in manufacturing as in government in 1960, today the reverse is true. We have 22 million workers in government and 11 million in manufacturing."
"Shale Play in Western Siberia is 80 Times Bigger than the Bakken"
Of course, having it be in Western Siberia, just makes we wonder a bit...
At OilPrice.com, James Burgess recently posted this:
"The Bakken shale is a huge expanse of oil-bearing rock that lies underneath Northern Dakota and Montana. Oil production in the Bakken has grown from just 60,000 barrels per day (BPD) five years ago, to 500,000 bpd now. It is predicted that the formation holds more than 24 billion barrels of oil, and that given enough rigs it could produce more than a million bpd by 2020 and continue that level of production for half a century. The Bakken shale play is one of the biggest in the US, but is absolutely dwarfed by a shale play in Russia. The Bazhenov is located in Western Siberia, and according to Oswals Clint, Sanford Bernstein’s lead international oil analyst, it 'covers 2.3 million square kilometers or 570 million acres, which is the size of Texas and the Gulf of Mexico combined;' an area 80 times bigger than the Bakken."
Monday, July 09, 2012
"Obama: 30 months of excusing bad jobs numbers"
Obviously, if nothing is CHANGING, the same description applies.
If this situation wasn't so bad, this would be more humorous...
If this situation wasn't so bad, this would be more humorous...
Byron York has the Romney campaign's pretty amazing compilation at WashingtonExaminer.com:
"Not long after the new figures were released, the White House sent out a statement from Alan Krueger, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. Facing a bleak situation yet again, Krueger said, 'It is important not to read too much into any one monthly report.' If that sounds familiar, it is because that is what the Obama White House has said during month after month of troubling economic reports. The White House has said it so often, in fact, that the Romney campaign has compiled a list of 30 — yes, 30 — examples, going back to November 2009, of the administration cautioning that Americans should not “read too much into” the latest bad economic news. Here, from the Romney campaign, is that list:"
"Olmert bombed Syria reactor despite US push for diplomacy"
At the time, the public is usually totally unaware...
In the Jerusalem Post, Herb Keinon writes about one of them that took place in 2007:
"Former prime minister Ehud Olmert decided in September 2007 to bomb the al-Kabir nuclear facility in Syria after then-president George W. Bush told him the US had opted for the diplomatic route and was trying to get the International Atomic Energy Agency to close the site, Elliott Abrams told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday. Asked about Wednesday’s Israeli State Comptroller’s Report chastising the government for a haphazard decision-making process, Abrams said Bush was provided with impeccable options, policy papers and intelligence. 'We took it all to the president – covert options, military options, diplomatic options – and he chose the wrong option,' said Abrams, who at the time was the deputy national security advisor in the White House. 'It is a mistake to believe that the process itself will provide you with the right answer.'"
The Media - "Washington Post' Refuses to Retract Provably False Bain Attack"
Those who pay attention know they are biased.
But this seems "in your face" and beyond the pale...
John Nolte jumps all over it at Breitbart.com:
"As we've already documented, on three occasions, Breitbart News has uncovered the Washington Post and the White House coordinating with one another to attack Mitt Romney and his supporters. The latest coordinated attack involves a major Washington Post piece published last Thursday and positioned to be a bombshell about Bain Capital outsourcing jobs under Romney's leadership. The timing of the Post hit was no accident either. It came the very next day after Team Obama launched an attack ad accusing Romney of outsourcing. The Washington Post's own fact-checker, Glenn Kessler, gave the Obama ad four Pinocchios, which is the highest dishonesty award he has, and over at AEI, respected economic reporter, James Pethokoukis, completely dismantled the Post's reporting."
Sunday, July 08, 2012
2012-07-08 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, July 07, 2012
"Is Hillary 'Mentally 'illary'?"
Each item on it's own seems mostly harmless; however, when you see them all listed in one place there's a different thought...
Jeannie DeAngelis presents an interesting compilation of stuff at AmericanThinker.com. She begins:
"Quite frankly, Hillary Clinton appears to be losing it. She is letting her hair down, literally and otherwise. Based on her behavior lately, the former first lady/current secretary of state is either trying to rehabilitate her stoic reputation, ecstatic that Bill's off supporting African farmers, or throwing caution to the wind and loosening up a bit. Over the years, Hillary has said and done some pretty crazy things."
"New Study from U.K. Think Tank Shows How Big Government Undermines Prosperity"
In spite of what is almost indisputable, the liberal left continues to see big government as the answer to all things financial...
At Townhall.com, Daniel J. Mitchell is always trying to enlighten us financially:
"To help make the case, I’ve cited research from international bureaucracies such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and European Central Bank. And since most of those organizations lean to the left, these results should be particularly persuasive. I’ve also cited the work of academic scholars from all over the world, including the United States, Australia, and Sweden. The evidence is very persuasive that big government is associated with weaker economic performance. Now we have some new research from the United Kingdom. The Centre for Policy Studies has released a new study, authored by Ryan Bourne and Thomas Oechsle, examining the relationship between economic growth and the size of the public sector."
Friday, July 06, 2012
Obama's Green Jobs: What's In A Name?
In Our World - Persistence Pays Big Time
I wonder if metal detector sales are up?...
Jane Fryer tells the story on the U.K. Daily Mail website:
"... But best friends Reg Mead, 70, and Richard Miles, 49, are not among them. So for 30 years (yes, really) they have walked up and down, up and down, up and down — admiring the wonderful sea views, sweeping their state-of-the-art metal detectors in smooth arcs above the furrows, straining their ears for the smallest metallic bleep as they searched, and searched, for a cache of 2,000-year-old hidden treasure, once vaguely hinted at by a farmer’s daughter half-a-century ago."
Thursday, July 05, 2012
Politicians - Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley
Someone once warned me not to trip over the desk I was at while looking at the desk I wanted.
Perhaps, that's the case here; or, else it's just plain old corruption...
Gregg Easterbrook gives his opinion at theAtlantic.com:
"Meanwhile Maryland's governor is Martin O'Malley, constantly mentioned -- just ask him! -- as the Democratic Party's hope for the White House in 2016.
Yet in six years in office, O'Malley has done nothing to address his state's power-utility woes. Four days after an unusually strong 'derecho' thunderstorm struck the nation's capital area, Dominion Power, the utility for the Northern Virginia suburbs around Washington, D.C., had restored 67 percent of its outages. BG&E, the utility for Baltimore, had restored 61 percent. Together these two high-performing utilities had restored power to about 750,000 customers by the fourth day. The woeful Pepco, which serves Montgomery County and parts of D.C., had restored just 43 percent of its outages, bringing a mere 200,000 back online. Some 239,000 Pepco customers remained without power, and the utility was saying it would be until Friday night before power was back, and then only to 90 percent of outages. This is happening as a heat wave pushes daily temperatures close to 100 degrees.
Montgomery County, Maryland, is one of the nation's bluest and wealthiest counties; its perennially awful power service raises the question of whether liberals can make the trains run on time."
"All this for a damn flag"
So, what do you think of this...
Wednesday, July 04, 2012
2012-07-04 - Independence Day
Independence Day is the anniversary of the publication of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain in 1776...
Enjoy your freedoms.
Remember, not everyone has them...
Tuesday, July 03, 2012
In America it's hot, in the U.K. it's NOT!
The U.K. Daily Telegraph reports on their June weather:
"'Such monthly totals would not have been out of place in February,' the spokesman said. Daytime temperatures were typically 1.5-2.5 degrees Celsius below the long-term average in most parts of the country, and the Central England Temperature of 13.6C (56F) was 0.9 degree Celsius below the average for 1981-2010 - the lowest in June since 1991."
And the U.K. Daily Mail adds this and more to that story:
"The Environment Agency confirmed that the period from April to June had been the wettest since records began Wettest ever June was in 2007 according to Met Office but final count for this month has yet to be announced. 'Dullest' June since 1909. Doesn't look like the start of July will be much better as next week's forecast 'looks unsettled again with lots of wet weather around'"
Government at Work - $120 Million for 3 Jobs
Jarrett Skorup and Matthew Needham bring this to our attention:
"In September 2008, Mascoma pledged 70 jobs at the plant by the end of 2012. On Feb. 29 of this year, Mascoma reported to the MEDC that only three jobs had been created by the grant. The company has been given the full $20 million from the state."
Monday, July 02, 2012
Voter ID - Survey Says
This is the summary result of a recent Investors.com survey about Voter-ID:
"The message is loud and clear: Far from being racist or anti-immigrant, significant majorities of Americans across most demographic lines consider modern voter ID requirements to be a protection of this country's one-man-one-vote rule of the people, an assurance that the ineligible do not exercise a right to which they are not entitled."
"The Democrat Race Lie"
Of course, once again, the liberal media refuses to call most of this to the attention of the general public...
Bob Parks has a massive list at Black-and-Right.com. It's almost mind-boggling:
"This is the kind of BS spewed by Democrats on a daily basis, and unfortunately the media and other so-called watchdogs are so apparently ignorant of American history, Democrats continue to LIE through their teeth to their constituents, and via academia, to our kids. Despite the truth being out there for years, it’s probably not going to explode until some big shot news anchor gives us an 'explosive expose' bringing us all those facts first, so he/she can proudly receive a Pulitzer… While I have only scratched the surface of civil rights history, here’s an except from yet another list of historical bullet points that dispute Democrat claims of civil rights support. As you read through it, remember, Democrats claim they 'are unwavering in our support of equal opportunity for all Americans.'"