Sunday, November 22, 2009

The Global Carbon Footprint Scam

  GreeenIsm item by Alan Caruba (11/22/09)

I never cease to marvel at the environmental alarmists who create one “crisis” after another using wretchedly bad “science” to support their scams. On Tuesday, November 24, the Global Footprint Network is going to “release new data on the Ecological Footprint of 100 nations and humanity as a whole, and the current ledgers are sobering.”

We Don’t Like to Stock That, It Sells Too Well

  Socialism item by Michael R. Shannon (11/22/09)

I imagine the Postmaster General grinds his teeth when he thinks about how much easier his life would be, if he had a monopoly like the “public” schools. If customers were forced to buy the equivalent postage before they were allowed to ship FEDEX or UPS his competition worries would be over.

Civilian Trials Provide Soapboxes for Terrorists

  Terrorism item by J. D. Longstreet (11/22/09)

So now we are going to try the terrorists in civilian federal trials in New York City, just blocks away from the site of the former World Trade Center Twin Towers, where 3,000 innocents were murdered. Can you possible see how this move by the Obama Regime makes the US appear weak, indecisive, and just plain DUMB to our enemies?

DDT: The Silent Killer…Only When It Was Gone

  JunkScience item by Kevin Roeten (11/22/09)

Because mosquitoes were almost nonexistent with the use of DDT in places like Africa, elimination of DDT brought mosquitoes back - in force. The 1972 ban of DDT in the U.S. did not help matters at all. Now, many less effective and more costly methods are used - netting, other chemicals, you name it. But from the “Malaria Clock” listed in the following paragraphs, one gets an idea of exactly how many deaths have occured, especially from malaria.

Proposed Healthcare Reform Keeps Hospital Doors Closed

  Health Care item by Thomas D. Segel (11/22/09)

Harlingen, Texas, November 2009:  If we are to believe the nightly news reports, half of our population is eagerly awaiting the Obama Administration’s healthcare reform bill to bring about lower prices, faster service and medical care to everyone.  That mantra may be a soothing promise to some of those who are currently uninsured, but to the citizens of San Benito, Texas it means they still do not even have a hospital to provide current of future treatment.

Communist China, 1995--- the dawn of capitalism

  Economics item by Steve Selengut (11/22/09)

The Hong Kong based guide talked about the free enterprise zones, building projects, golf courses, and roads with a chest full of pride and visible excitement. Capitalism was everywhere along the tour route, and judging from the advertisements on billboards and posters, the world was coming to China!But although the government was embracing “for-profit” business for the first time, the train-ride out of the country evidenced the abject poverty of what would become a willing and able workforce. Another communist built wall was falling; another socialist society was moving closer to “The Force”.

‘Where did the “Silent Majority” go???’

  Politics item by J. D. Longstreet (11/22/09)

During the decade of the seventies the “Silent Majority” was often spoken of in the press. Prominent politicians, including the President, openly sought their support.

Palin, Conservatism, And The Disconnected GOP

  Republicrats item by Christopher G. Adamo (11/22/09)

For nearly two decades now, and particularly in the wake of the 2000 presidential election debacle, Democrats have been pursuing a diabolically simple political strategy. In short, they moved hard-left, knowing how reflexively the “mainstream” Republican response would be to follow them. But of course the GOP would pathetically claim that, by doing so to a lesser degree than the Democrats, it would somehow retain the mantle of “conservatism.”

Deer Issue Catches Liberalism In Headlights

  Progressivism item by Frederick Meekins (11/22/09)

Early in American history, one was pretty much free to do as one saw fit on one’s property so long as it was moral especially if one lived in a rural area where one’s actions were not likely to encroach upon the sensibilities of one’s neighbors.  However, now it seems the landholdings of the United States in general and private property in specific are for everyone else to decide what to do with except the one to which it is titled.

It’s Never Too Early to be Too Late

  Political Correctness item by Robert R. Owens (11/22/09)

If no one has told you this yet let me be the first, as you get older time goes faster.  If you’re under thirty you’re thinking, “This old coot has finally gone off his rocker!  Everyone knows an hour is an hour.  So how can time go faster as you get older?” If you’re between thirty and forty you’re thinking, “Who’s got time to think about time and who cares?  I’ve got to go to work!” If you’re between forty and sixty you’re thinking “He might have something there” as you day-dream about those endless summers when you were in High School.  If you’re over sixty you’re hoping time doesn’t end before you finish reading this paragraph.

Discover(ing) Stupidity

  Business item by J. J. Jackson (11/22/09)

A couple months ago my wife and I received notice from Discover Card that they were canceling our joint credit card.  The reason was basically the same as so many other Americans have heard themselves from such companies; we simply were not using it enough.  Why it was that we were not using it was of no concern to Discover.  But had they asked they would have learned that their card was simply not being used because it did not give us any incentive to use it.  With a bank issued debit and credit card and several other credit cards with equal or better interest rates and far superior rewards programs, Discover was low man on the totem pole and looked certain to remain there.

The George W. Bush Institute: Free Markets, Small Government… Since When

  Politics item by Warner Todd Huston (11/22/09)

Get ready because I am going to slap George W. Bush around a little bit. Now, don’t get me wrong, it isn’t like I hated him. After all I voted for him twice. There was a lot that Bush did that I supported, mostly on the security and war fronts. But, I really stood against his domestic agenda almost completely. I was against no child’s behind left alone—er, I mean no child left behind—I was against the bailouts and against the drug benefit for seniors program. I disagreed with his “compassionate conservatism” narrative because it really was just an excuse for a little less big government than what the Democrats full-blown socialism would have been. About the only thing he wanted to do that I supported, the privatization of Social Security, he never pushed hard enough to implement.

‘No Global Warming - What Next?’

  GreeenIsm item by E. Ralph Hostetter (11/22/09)

Global temperatures ceased rising in 1989 and have declined since then, according to an NASA study of satellite temperature data over the last decade.

Friday, November 13, 2009

IEA Oil Forecast Is Bunk

  Energy item by OffSite (11/13/09)

Demand for energy will increase by 40 percent between now and 2030, yet an insider at the International Energy Association (IEA) warns that there just isn’t enough oil in the world to supply that need.

A 69% Capital Gains Tax Hike . . .

  Taxes item by OffSite (11/13/09)

Our job is to read bad legislation so you don’t have to, and on that score we may demand combat pay for plowing our way through the House health-care bill that passed on Saturday. This thing has economic booby traps everywhere, such as favors for the tort bar (see below) and the largest capital gains tax increase in at least a half-century.

Net neutrality regulation violates First Amendment

  Big Brother item by Nick Dranias (11/13/09)

The Federal Communications Commission wants to force network service providers - the companies that own and operate the wires, routers and computers that keep the Internet humming - to transmit streaming audio, video and anything else on terms the FCC deems “neutral” regardless of how much bandwidth the data consumes. Network providers say the regulation will eliminate their ability to manage network traffic and effectively clog up the Internet. They argue that such “net neutrality” will deter and destroy private sector investment in the Internet.

Gov. Crist DID Flip Flop on Stimulus Support

  Politics item by Warner Todd Huston (11/13/09)

On November 5 on CNN, Florida Governor Charlie Crist(1) told Wolf Blitzer that he didn’t back the $787 billion Obama stimulus bill. Crist has since said that it isn’t a flip flop when he says he supported the stimulus “in concept” but didn’t support the specific bill.

Lessons Learned From New York District 23

  Elections item by Christopher G. Adamo (11/13/09)

Is it possible for Republicans to make significant political headway in the 2010 mid-term elections, and thereby put the brakes on the Obama/Reid/Pelosi program of dismantling the greatness of America? Even a cursory examination of last week’s off-year elections in Virginia and New Jersey render a resounding “yes.” However, the special congressional election in New York district 23 adds the sobering reminder that the GOP can certainly blow this opportunity if it resorts to its past pathetic pattern of dithering and posturing.

Winning Battles, Losing Wars

  War item by Alan Caruba (11/13/09)

My late Father was too young to serve in World War One and too old to serve in World War Two, but he sent two sons to serve in the U.S. Army, one during the Korean conflict in Tokyo’s command headquarters and myself during early 1960s peacetime at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Enemy Among Us

  National Security item by Geoff Metcalf (11/13/09)

“Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom.” --Alexis de Tocqueville - American’s tragic flaw is our unbridled fairness. That inherent fairness has been corrupted by the cancer of political correctness to the point we put our selves at risk rather than create even the perception of prejudice.

Rep. Joe Wilson on Healthcare and Afghanistan

  Republicrats item by Warner Todd Huston (11/13/09)

Does Joe Wilson or any of his colleagues on the Hill care about the Constitution?

The Health Care Bill Americans Don’t Want

  Health Care item by J. D. Longstreet (11/13/09)

The US House of Representatives passed a Health Care Bill over the weekend that will never see the light of day.  Yes, it will go to the US Senate—and that is as far as the House bill will go.  The Senate Health Care bill will be a different animal, entirely.

Who Changed the Change

  The Republic item by Robert R. Owens (11/13/09)

The Framers moved beyond a loose Confederation of States creating the greatest experiment in freedom the world has ever known.  They birthed a nation conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal unleashing the creative power and energy of humanity in a way never before known and never since equaled. They launched a government of the people, by the people and for the people.

Abuse Industry Teaches Women to Fear Men, Teaches Men to Fear Women

  Domestic Violence item by Carey Roberts (11/13/09)

Recently I attended a domestic violence conference hosted by a church in my community. “The Church’s Role in Addressing Domestic Violence in the Faith Community,” the glossy brochure explained.

Extreme Activists take the reins at EPA

  GreeenIsm item by Dennis T. Avery, Alex Avery (11/13/09)

The Environmental Protection Agency, in a George Orwellian move, has just announced that it has suddenly decided to put the herbicide atrazine through yet another regulatory wringer, despite having just completed a comprehensive, multi-year regulatory review of the safety of atrazine begun in 1994. Only three months ago the EPA announced that after reviewing hundreds of scientific studies, atrazine “is not likely to cause cancer in humans” and does not affect the reproductive development of frogs and other amphibians. Atrazine has been used safely for more than 50 years in the U.S. and has been upheld as safe by the World Health Organization and the governments of Canada, France, the UK and others.