Latest Analysis, Commentary and Opinion*
(The title of each article is linked to the complete article)

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Aligning Your Money and Your Values
   Money piece by David John Marotta (5/5/11)

MAROTTA ON MONEY - A common temptation is to judge our well-being not by what we have but by how much we have compared to others. Families at today’s poverty level live as well as the upper middle class did a few decades ago. Nevertheless, they still feel deprived. Luxuries ultimately disappoint us as we become accustomed to a higher standard of living. An indulgent purchase loses its luster, and the satisfaction it brings is fleeting.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Ten Thousand Commandments
   Government piece by Offsite (5/3/11)

An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State - The federal government primarily funds its programs in three ways. The first is to raise taxes to pay for new programs. The second is to borrow money to pay for them (with a promise to pay back that borrowed money, with interest, from taxes collected in the future). No matter how controversial government spending programs can be, taxpayers can always see how much programs cost by looking at the federal budget, and Congress can be held accountable for programs that are controversial. While not perfect, such accountability is a fundamental, necessary condition for controlling government.

Trump is Entertaining, But He’s Just An Opening Act
   Election 2012 piece by Doug Edelman (5/3/11)

Donald Trump is nothing if he’s not a showman!  The man knows how to get attention.  He’s a self-promoter and loves the spotlight, and he’s certainly garnered a lot of that limelight of late!

The Fall of Canada’s Liberal Party
   Progressivism piece by Aaron Goldstein (5/3/11)

What a watershed election in Canada. Wow!!! Have things changed in my home and native land.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Minimum Wage Hurts Starter Jobs
   Money piece by David John Marotta (5/2/11)

MAROTTA ON MONEY - Economists claim that minimum wage laws deprive less skilled workers of jobs, fail to reduce poverty and negatively affect a country’s wages and earning. In contrast, advocates of the minimum wage argue that employers can absorb higher minimum wages through higher productivity, lower recruiting and training costs, decreased absenteeism and increased worker morale. They argue that very little job loss or increased unemployment is associated with minimum wage increases.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

The CFL Fraud
   GreeenIsm piece by Offsite (5/1/11)

A compact fluorescent light (CFL) on the ceiling burst and started a fire in a home in Hornell, N.Y. December 23, 2010.  “Those are the lights everybody’s been telling us to use,“ said Joe Gerych, Steuben County Fire Inspector.

‘A Government of Laws, and Not of Men’: The Electoral College
   Electoral College piece by Guest: Nancy Salvato (5/1/11)

In Federalist 51, James Madison writes, “In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.”

Carbon and carbon dioxide: Clearing up the confusion
   ClimateGate piece by Guest: Paul Driessen (5/1/11)

Let’s restore common sense to our public policy debates on energy and climate - We are constantly bombarded with information – much of it inaccurate, misleading, even deliberately so.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Scaring Mothers and All Others - The BPA File, Part Four
   Junk Science piece by Alan Caruba (4/27/11)

In a revealing article in the April issue of The Atlantic(1), “Beyond BPA: Could ‘BPA-Free’ Products Be Just as Unsafe?“ the effort to scare American consumers and others around the world comes full circle. In essence, the people and organizations behind campaigns to ban bisphenol-A (BPA) and anything made from plastic exist to frighten everyone about everything.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Understanding Post-Mubarak Egypt
   Middle East piece by Daniel Pipes (4/26/11)

As Egypt lurches into a new era, a look at its complexities and subtleties helps to understand the country’s likely course. Some thoughts on key issues:

Monday, April 25, 2011

New Debt Ceiling Proposal: LOWER It And Provide More Honest Accounting
   National Debt piece by Press Release: Deborah Hamilton (4/25/11)

Philadelphia, PA - Let Freedom Ring, a nonpartisan public policy organization, is asking for honest accounting in regards to America ’s debt ceiling debate. LFR President Colin Hanna announces a new website(1) proposing a fresh solution to this impending crisis: LowerTheDebtCeiling-dot-com.  The site includes a petition to Congress to reform the way the nation’s debt is calculated and to disclose unfunded obligations not currently subject to disclosure.

IMF bombshell: Age of America nears end
   NewWorldOrder piece by Offsite (4/25/11)

BOSTON (MarketWatch) - The International Monetary Fund has just dropped a bombshell, and nobody noticed.

Monday, April 18, 2011

The Stupid Index
   Money piece by Guest: Tom Barrett (4/18/11)

About a year ago a friend called me asking what technical indicator he should use to trade gold. I told him he should not even consider trading gold – he should simply buy it and hold it.

Sarah Palin: From Toast of the Town to Plain Toast
   Politics piece by Carey Roberts (4/18/11)

With every passing week, the prospect of Sarah Palin’s presidential bid grows dimmer… and Michelle Bachman’s star shines ever brighter. Absent a major scandal, it’s highly unusual for a major political figure to witness a ratings nosedive on a scale that Sarah Palin has experienced over the past year.

The US should follow Europe’s lead
   Global Cooling piece by Guest: Paul Driessen (4/18/11)

Look at what Europe doing now, to address its energy, economic and employment woes - President Obama and environmentalists often say America should follow Europe’s lead on energy, climate and economic matters.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

The Flat, The Fair and the Fool’s Tax
   Taxes piece by Thomas D. Segel (4/17/11)

Harlingen, Texas, April 16, 2011:  This is the time of year when tax talk abounds.  When I asked why our national leaders were not addressing the topic of a Flat Tax, email jammed my mailbox, multiple comments were tagged to those publications that printed my commentary and I even triggered some actual tax talk conversations.  Most of the messages I received were from people who supported the Fair Tax over the Flat Tax.  There were even a few writers who remained advocates of the current income tax system, or as I call it, the Fool’s Tax.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Contracts Are Made to Be Broken
   Politicians piece by Guest: Michael R. Shannon (4/16/11)

Conservatives and Tea party voters now know the discount rate on Boehner–led Republican promises is in the neighborhood of 62 percent. This means if Speaker Boehner promises to cut $100 billion from an Obama spending spree while running for office in November, you are going to get no more than $38 billion when he’s actually in power in April.

Rep. Paul Ryan Isn’t The Savior We Need
   Federal Budget piece by J.J. Jackson (4/16/11)

Unquiver your arrows all you GOP partisans and blind Republican loyalists!  For I am here for you to take shots at.  I am painting a big, red bulls-eye on myself for you to attack because I am here to tell you something you do not want to hear; the truth.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Palestine Recognized - United Nations Delegitimized
   Middle East piece by David Singer (4/15/11)

Any decision by the United Nations General Assembly to recognize a Palestinian State next September could signal the beginning of the end for the United Nations as a credible organization pledged to uphold the rule of international law in dealings with - and between - member states.

Ambitious Turkey
   Middle East piece by Daniel Pipes (4/15/11)

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu(1) grandiloquently proclaimed a few days ago that, “If the world is on fire, Turkey is the firefighter. Turkey is assuming the leading role for stability in the Middle East.“

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

It Isn’t About The Uniform
   Sports piece by Aaron Goldstein (4/13/11)

The 2011 Major League Baseball season began on a dark note when news broke of a San Francisco Giants fan being beaten within an inch of his life in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium following the Opening Day game on March 31st. (1) Nearly two weeks after the incident Bryan Stow, a 42-year old paramedic and divorced father of two, remains in critical condition in a medically induced coma. Stow appears to have sustained permanent brain damage. Meanwhile, his assailants remain at large.

Why I Oppose the War in Libya
   War piece by Steve Farrell (4/13/11)

From the moment of the first notification of U.S. missiles being fired on Libya, I’ve been opposed to this war. I have my reasons.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Soul Surfer: A Thought-Provoking Film for the Whole Family
   Society piece by Guest: Korpi,Wright (4/12/11)

Kauai, 2003. A 14-foot tiger shark bursts through the waves and tears off 13-year-old Bethany Hamilton’s left arm. She loses 60 percent of her blood, and faces the end of her pro surfing dreams. Three months later, the unstoppable young teen is surfing competitively again.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Nuclear Fears and Facts
   Energy piece by Guest: Paul Driessen (4/11/11)

Fukushima’s lessons for America’s already safe nuclear plants - The ground hadn’t stopped shaking. Tsunami waters had not receded. And yet coverage of this awful natural disaster – a scene of almost unfathomable devastation and death – was already giving way to single-minded focus on radiation exposure and meltdowns.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Brain Areas Differ According to Politics
   Society piece by Offsite (4/10/11)

(AFP) - Everyone knows that liberals and conservatives butt heads when it comes to world views, but scientists have now shown that their brains are actually built differently.

Only Recession Can Curb US Dependency on Foreign Oil
   Energy piece by Offsite (4/10/11)

President Barack Obama may want to curb the country’s dependency on foreign oil, but his plans to do so are not only ill-fated but are also nothing new - and in reality, only a recession can do the trick, says economist and author Jeffrey Rubin.

Virginia Tech’s Teflon President
   Bird-Brain Flu piece by Guest: Michael R. Shannon (4/10/11)

Last week Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell missed a golden opportunity to re-establish accountability in higher education. The US Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid levied the maximum allowable fine for Virginia Tech’s failure to issue a timely warning to students before the Tech shooter took an additional 30 lives in Norris Hall.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

The Climate War Should be Declared Over
   ClimateGate piece by Offsite (4/6/11)

Whether you know it or not the industrialized world is at war, a climate war. The industrialized world didn’t ask for it, it has being forced upon us. The fossil fuel burning world is being attacked by factions that want to extract the wealth of the prosperous nations to pay for a remaking of the world and “save it” from the industrialized nations crime of releasing carbon dioxide into the air.

More About Inflation
   Inflation/Deflation piece by Thomas E. Brewton (4/6/11)

Inflation that affects the entire economy originates with government action.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Don’t Blame Business For Our Inflation
   Inflation/Deflation piece by Thomas E. Brewton (4/4/11)

Politicians will always falsely blame inflation on businessmen’s “greed.“  But only government deficit spending using fiat money can create inflation.