Friday, December 9, 2011

Halligan Nomination Debacle Exemplifies America’s Precarious Crossroads

  Judical Activism item by Christopher G. Adamo (12/9/11)

Finally, Senate Republicans have achieved a political and moral victory. Caitlin Halligan, a far-left judicial activist and Obama nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia was soundly rejected in a fifty-four to forty-five Senate vote on Tuesday. Though liberalism continues to ravage the nation, at least one extra-constitutional militant will not be spearheading the movement by exceeding and abusing the authority vested in the court system.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Imagine. No Religion, too.

  Progressivism item by Michael R. Shannon (11/5/11)

There’s a woman who lives near me with a personalized license plate that proclaims she’s a WICCAN. If her idea of theology is a penetrating discussion with a pecan tree and she wants to proclaim her lasting commitment to cellulose; that’s her right. Even though the sentiment appears on a plate issued by the Commonwealth.

The Tax Plan that’s Better than Cain’s, Perry’s or Gingrich’s

  Taxes item by Selwyn Duke (11/5/11)

Bold tax reform is front and center this campaign season.  First Herman Cain made waves and poll headway with his 9-9-9 tax plan, which involves national 9-percent taxes on personal and corporate income and a 9-percent national sales tax.  Now Rick Perry has followed suit with a 20-percent flat-tax plan, and Newt Gingrich has gone 5 better, with a 15-percent flat proposal.  And these ideas certainly haven’t fallen flat: tax reform is immensely popular among the Republican base.

Those Who Read the Past Write the Future

  History item by Robert R. Owens (11/5/11)

Unfortunately most of what we are taught in History survey classes in American schools consists of simplistic formulas.  Formulas designed to persuade those forced to attend the government controlled education mills that they should ride the same ideological hobby horses as whoever currently has the power to select textbooks and prescribe curricula.  Whether it was the rabidly pro-American imperial History of yesteryear that pushed lines such as, “We never started a war and never lost one,” and “We turned a raw wilderness into a civilized nation.” or, if it is the rabidly anti-American propaganda of today spouting lines such as, “America was founded by deists who used serial genocide and economic fascism to steal a nation, pollute the earth, and poison the sea” neither are correct. Both versions are merely two sides of an extremely myopic view which does not seek to discover nor promote the truth but instead seek to mold the next generation into what they think will be foot soldiers in their own crusade.

We Need Safe Food, Not New Regulations

  Food item by Dennis T. Avery (11/5/11)

Churchville, VA - Deirdre Schlunegger, the head of an organization named “STOP Food borne Illness,” warned recently on the Huffington Post website that the government won’t have enough money next year to implement the new safety inspections authorized by the Food Safety Modernization Act. That act was signed into law by President Obama last January, but the federal budget cuts demanded by Republicans may now prevent the food protection agencies from carrying it out.

The Bane of Political Parties

  Political Parties item by Thomas D. Segel (11/5/11)

Harlingen, Texas, October 2011:  When it comes to viewing the workings of political parties my reaction has always been to see them as a destructive force, which impedes good governance.  These views have been fostered over the many years I have witnessed both the Democrat and Republican Party move their political agendas foreword, quite often to the determent of the American public.

Kiss the European Union Goodbye

  EU item by Alan Caruba (11/5/11)

In Paris on October 15th, a group of finance ministers and central bankers known as the G20, representing major nations, gave the European Union until October 23red to find an answer to the financial crisises that are tearing apart the EU and its monetary structure.

Obama’s Misplaced Mideast Optimism

  Middle East item by Daniel Pipes (11/5/11)

Confidently commenting on the execution of Libya’s long-time dictator, Barack Obama stated that “the death of Mu’ammar al-Qaddafi showed that our role in protecting the Libyan people, and helping them break free from a tyrant, was the right thing to do.” About his own decision to pull all U.S. troops from Iraq in two months’ time, Obama asserted that “In Iraq, we’ve succeeded in our strategy to end the war.” He then drew triumphalist conclusions from these developments, bragging that they show “The tide of war(1) is receding” and “we’ve renewed American leadership(2) in the world.”

Imperial Republics Fall

  Foreign Policy item by Robert R. Owens (11/5/11)

Historians spend their life looking backwards.  Futurists spend their life looking forward.  My goal has been to blend the two disciplines into one seamless endeavor.

Tapping natural resources to address Maryland’s economic problems

  Energy item by Bishop Harry Jackson (11/5/11)

We should develop previously unavailable energy resources to generate jobs, revenues - Maryland’s 7.2% unemployment rate is below the national average, but still too high. Budget shortfalls next year could reach $700 million or more, the Maryland Budget and Tax Policy Institute warns. Many of our cities and counties likewise face mounting debt.

Immigration, Migration, Politics and Policies

  Immigration item by Alan Caruba (11/5/11)

When early humans got the hang of walking upright, the first thing many did was to walk out of Africa and, eventually, to all parts of the Earth from Asia to Europe, to North and South America, proliferating into different races.

Monday, October 17, 2011

We Already Have A National Sales Tax

  Taxes item by J. J. Jackson (10/17/11)

Lots of foolish people rail against the idea of a national retail sales tax.  You know, like the FairTax. - But why?  We already have a national sales tax.  It is called the corporate income tax.  The reason the corporate income tax is the same as a national sales tax is that everything you buy has the fallout of this tax lumped into it.  The only difference is that the amount of this current “sales tax” which you pay with every purchase is hidden and shows up nowhere on your bill when you go to the grocery store or shop for clothes or buy yourself a new refrigerator.

How Do We Re-Industrialize America

  Economics item by Robert R. Owens (10/17/11)

Manufacturing in America peaked in 1979(1) when 19.5 million Americans actually produced durable goods.  In the last 30 years our manufacturing sector has declined by 40%(2) losing almost 8 million jobs.  Nearly 6 million jobs have been lost since 2000(3) and since the Great Recession began we have lost an average 89,000 manufacturing jobs every month(4) for the last two years.  Due to this dramatic constriction America has fallen below 12 million workers employed in manufacturing for the first time since 1946(5) and is now below levels not seen since 1941(6).  This dismal record portrays(7) the stunning decline of America as a manufacturing superpower.  And while a rise in productivity(8) has helped America maintain a prominent position in the world this has not resulted in manufacturing continuing to be an avenue for upward mobility for Americans.

Ignorance In Action

  Bird-Brain Flu item by Chris Clancy (10/17/11)

It’s not unusual for liberals to defend stimulus spending by saying that things would have been even worse without it. This is what is known as a counterfactual argument(1). To make matters worse they then go on to say that the real problem was that the stimulus spending was not big enough in the first place!

‘vWhat the frack is going on here?’

  Energy item by Paul Driessen (10/17/11)

Hydraulic fracturing opponents misrepresent facts to protect their ideologies and agendas - Hydraulic fracturing sends “huge volumes of toxic fluids” deep underground at high pressure, to fracture shale rock and release natural gas, Food and Water Watch claims. “Billions of gallons of toxic fluids” will “contaminate” groundwater and drinking water “for generations.” We need to “Ban Fracking Now.”

Friday, October 14, 2011

So you found an image or photo that’s too small…

  Software item by LB Neal (10/14/11)

Most image and photo editors off a rudimentary tool to increase size. However the result is typically a poor quality image.  To the rescue comes PhotoZoom.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Courageous Movie Portrays a Different Kind of Courage

  Society item by Meg Korpi, Rusty Wright (10/1/11)

Courageous begins as a fast-paced police drama with plenty of heart-pounding action, and a spine-tingling surprise within the first three minutes. Good-natured banter and comic mishaps had us laughing, but the movie quickly reveals an introspective side that portends more than levity and brave guys in uniforms chasing bad guys in do-rags.

‘Is Turkey Going Rogue?’

  Middle East item by Daniel Pipes (10/1/11)

In a Middle East wracked by coups d’etat and civil insurrections, the Republic of Turkey credibly offers itself as a model thanks to its impressive economic growth, democratic system, political control of the military, and secular order(1).

The CEO Who Got Fined For Hiring Too Many People

  Employment/Jobs item by OffSite (10/1/11)

Peter Schiff, the CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, testified before the House Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight, and Government Spending on September 13.  He was there to speak on the subject of job creation, but Schiff also knows a few things about how the government can destroy jobs.

Victory is sweet, but the war continues

  EPA item by Paul Driessen (10/1/11)

Millions of Americans recently celebrated the demise of the Environmental Protection Agency’s job-killing ground-level ozone regulations. While a toast was appropriate, we shouldn’t drink too much champagne just yet.

Strange Facts about America’s ‘Poor’

  Economics item by OffSite (10/1/11)

This morning, the Census Bureau announced that a record 46.2 million, or one in seven Americans, lived in poverty last year. Although the current recession greatly increased the number of poor persons, high levels of poverty predate it.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Al Gore and The Lakes of Molten Lava

  Global Warming item by Dennis T. Avery (9/24/11)

CHURCHVILLE, VA - Al Gore returns to your TV screen in a 24-hour telethon September 14. He will presumably warn us about the lakes of molten lava that Mother Nature will pour upon us unless we agree to starve in the dark.

Federal Fever

  The Republic item by Bruce Walker (9/24/11)

Most of the problems caused by politics and government in America today are caused by the federalization of government and by the unnatural elevation of the judiciary over the elected branches of government.  This surely does not mean that lousy folks and dirty crooks cannot win state and local elections and cannot create political machines.  What it does mean, however, is that Americans and their businesses can pull up and move to states that are friendlier or more honest.

Real Hope for a Change

  The Republic item by Robert R. Owens (9/24/11)

Hope and change were the magic words that swept a relatively unknown, inexperienced Barack Obama into the Oval Office. He campaigned as the one able to fix the Bush economy. Once in office he has protested that he didn’t know how bad the economy was even though that was what he had run his campaign on. He has spent the majority of his first term blaming everyone for everything. His signature accomplishments, the stimulus, Obamacare and the Dodd-Frank financial reform have done more to hurt than help. Serial vacations and weekly golf outings aside, President Obama has worked hard and has so far managed to turn a recession into the Great Recession. Now he offers the opening salvo of his 2012 campaign economic platform and the message is, “More of the same” with no solution in sight.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The Slow, Certain Death of the Global Warming Theory

  Global Cooling item by Alan Caruba (9/20/11)

I have been predicting the death of the global warming theory since late in the last decade when it became obvious that the Earth had entered into a cooling cycle. By 2009 the leak of thousands of emails between the “scientists” whose computer models the claims were based upon revealed they were in a state of panic regarding this obvious phenomenon.