Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Taxpayer cash for clunker ideas
   GreeenIsm piece by Guest: Paul Driessen (8/25/09)

First cars, next power plants. Wasting natural resources to promote eco ideologies. - It’s finally been euthanized (or so they say). But in the minds of politicians and rent-seekers, the cash-for-clunkers program was so successful that it deserved billions in taxpayer money.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Hitachi Releases 2-TB, 7,200-rpm Enterprise-Class Drives
   Computers piece by Offsite (8/24/09)

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies on Tuesday unveiled the industry’s first 2-TB hard drive with a spindle speed of 7,200 rpm, and aimed it squarely at enterprise applications requiring both performance and capacity.

The “New” American Economic Reality
   Economics piece by Malcolm T. Hedges (8/24/09)

As the American economy shifted from manufacturing it became more and more dependent on construction, consumption, credit and service.

Expect 200 More Bank Failures
   Economics piece by Offsite (8/24/09)

A prominent banking analyst said Sunday that 150 to 200 more U.S. banks will fail in the current banking crisis, and the industry’s payments to keep the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp afloat could eat up 25 percent of pretax income in 2010.

The FDIC is broke
   Economics piece by Offsite (8/24/09)

The two hallmarks of the Great Depression were unemployment and bank failures. While the same economists who denied there was a recession for the first nine months of the economic contraction are now insisting that it is over and the recovery has begun, I am extremely dubious. Since the crisis became apparent, I believed that 2009 would be the equivalent of 1930, that being the year that everyone expected recovery to be waiting around the corner. But while there are some statistical green shoots, there are also numerous signs that the perceived recovery is illusory, and in fact, the economic situation is more dire now than it was 79 years ago.

‘United States: ‘Too big to fail’?‘
   Economics piece by Offsite (8/24/09)

AIG, the largest insurance company in the world has been bailed out by taxpayers three times. Although it was “too big to fail,“ it failed. General Motors, also “too big to fail,“ went into bankruptcy. The great Merrill Lynch brokerage went belly up, but was saved by the taxpayers and given to Bank of America by the Bush administration. In turn, Bank of America had to be bailed out by taxpayers. Citibank has been bailed out more than once, as have other banks that were “too big to fail.“

Sunday, August 23, 2009

NHS staff paid overtime when off sick
   Unions piece by Offsite (8/23/09)

More than one million NHS staff are paid well above their basic salary when they are ill under a contract which guarantees them a far better deal than those working in the private sector.

Family told by NHS: Alzheimer’s is not a ‘health condition’
   Health Care piece by Offsite (8/23/09)

A family has won £130,000 from an NHS trust after it refused to pay for their mother’s care fees, claiming her Alzheimer’s was not a health issue. - NHS Worcestershire ruled that Judith Roe, 74, did not qualify for NHS funding because her condition was a “social” rather than “health” problem, even though she was so ill she could not make a cup of tea and regularly left the stove on.

‘ Health Care Reform or Welfare Program—- Who Pays the Bill?‘
   Welfare State piece by Guest: Steve Selengut (8/23/09)

The White House has released another of its health care reform clarification emails—- there will be more. It seems strange to me that the focus is on insurance coverage rather than on the spiraling costs of health care itself.

No COLA Adjustment For Social Security Next Year
   Social Security piece by Malcolm T. Hedges (8/23/09)

And maybe the next year as well. However, Medicare fees will increase slightly, so many will be getting smaller checks.

America’s Empire of Trust
   General piece by Alan Caruba (8/23/09)

Though most Americans are unaware of it, the rest of the world is taking an active interest in the sometimes heated debate we are having regarding the alleged healthcare “reform” that is, in fact, yet another effort to push the nation further into the same socialist tentacles that have been embraced elsewhere.

Britain Donating Millions for Biotech Crops
   GreeenIsm piece by Guest: Dennis T. Avery (8/23/09)

CHURCHVILLE, VA - Britain has pledged more than US$150 million over the next five years to support high-tech food crops for the world’s poorest countries - primarily through genetic engineering.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Public Option May Not Survive
   Politics piece by Offsite (8/22/09)

Just one day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared that a healthcare reform bill could never make it out of the House without a public option, fellow Democrat and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said it might be impossible to pass a bill that contains a public option.

Hamas Attack in Gaza Shows Jihadi Infighting
   Middle East piece by Offsite (8/22/09)

How far will terrorists go to cloak themselves in legitimacy? Last week’s action in the Gaza Strip, now governed by the terrorist network Hamas, is a good example.

‘World Emerging From Slump, but Can It Last?‘
   Economics piece by Offsite (8/22/09)

WASHINGTON - Turnabouts in European and Asian economies, along with recent gains in the U.S., are raising hopes that that the worldwide recession is drawing to a close. That’s not to say the coast is clear.

Companies Quietly Buying Back Own Bonds
   Economics piece by Offsite (8/22/09)

U.S. corporations are quietly buying back their bonds on the open market for prices well below the sums investors paid them, taking advantage of depressed prices to save millions of dollars in interest and debt-repayment costs.

Feds Trying to Reflate Bubble
   Economics piece by Offsite (8/22/09)

The idea that the credit crisis caught everyone by surprise is a convenient one. It’s also an idea that Bert Dohmen doesn’t buy.

Flight from Cash Driving Stocks
   Economics piece by Offsite (8/22/09)

Morgan Stanley strategists say the flight from cash is steadily overtaking the economic recovery story as the main driver of higher asset prices.

University to student: Take down website!
   EdukShun piece by Offsite (8/22/09)

The University of California at Los Angeles has ordered a former student to take down a website that criticizes the school, raising objections from a rights organization.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Editorial: Some Left-wing Pansy Wimp Has Declared AZ Dangerous Because Real People Have Guns!
   Crime piece by Editor (8/21/09)

To be sure, where he lives only criminals are allowed to carry guns.  The individuals carrying guns around the recent Obama “Road show” event in Phoenix broke no laws and were just visiting the event.

Statism (Communism/Fascism/Socialism) -vs- Representative Republic
   Government piece by Malcolm T. Hedges (8/21/09)

The current political climate in the USA is artificially tilting toward embracing “Statism”.

California Unemployment Hits Record 11.9 Percent
   Economics piece by Offsite (8/21/09)

SAN FRANCISCO—California’s unemployment rate climbed to 11.9 percent in July, the highest number in modern record-keeping.

Unemployment Dips in 17 States, Rises in 26
   Economics piece by Offsite (8/21/09)

WASHINGTON -(AP)- The unemployment rate fell in 17 states and the District of Columbia last month, a positive sign even as the pain of joblessness remains widespread.

State and Local Governments Hiring Again
   Government piece by Offsite (8/21/09)

CHICAGO -(Reuters)- While businesses across the United States slash jobs, state and local governments have actually increased employment slightly since the economic recession began in December 2007, according to a report released on Thursday.

Not Over the Rainbow but IN it
   Religion piece by Rev. Miles (8/21/09)

Oakley, California 8/21/09 Wrapping itself in the rainbow flag, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) yesterday voted in a measure to allow practicing homosexuals and those with same sex partners to be ordained as Lutheran priests.

Leftist journalist a spy for Stalin
   National Security piece by Offsite (8/21/09)

Highly classified Soviet intelligence documents have recently proved that American writer I.F. Stone, an intellectual icon of the American political left, lived a secret, parallel life as a paid agent of the Soviet KGB and its predecessor, the NKVD. Unfortunately, many of Stone’s devotees have been unable to face this ugly truth and continue to depict him as a hero. Certainly that is true of D.D. Guttenplan, London correspondent for The Nation and author of the book “American Radical: The Life and Times of I.F. Stone.“ Other commentators may not promote Stone’s cause so openly, but many of them are - perhaps unwittingly - putting forth flawed arguments in his defense.

The Death Book for Veterans
   Health Care piece by Offsite (8/21/09)

Ex-soldiers don’t need to be told they’re a burden to society - If President Obama wants to better understand why America’s discomfort with end-of-life discussions threatens to derail his health-care reform, he might begin with his own Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). He will quickly discover how government bureaucrats are greasing the slippery slope that can start with cost containment but quickly become a systematic denial of care.

Dollar Reserve System Falling Apart
   Economics piece by Offsite (8/21/09)

BANGKOK—A new global reserve system is needed after the global financial crisis exposed the U.S. dollar-based system as flawed and risky, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said on Friday.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Mideast missile mishap goes relatively unnoticed
   Middle East piece by Offsite (8/20/09)

An Israeli author and Middle East expert cannot understand why the American news media completely ignored a recent failed missile test in the Middle East that should have made huge headlines in the United States.

‘Loser pay’ setup might discourage ACLU
   Law piece by Offsite (8/20/09)

One of the most conservative members of the U.S. Senate believes that a system in which the loser pays in civil suits would go a long way to dissuade organizations like the ACLU from intimidating Christians and conservative groups.