...It's time for Americans to moveoff their duffs and demand better government...^sm



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

Friday, November 20, 2009

We Don’t Like to Stock That, It Sells Too Well
  Socialism piece by Guest: Michael R. Shannon (11/20/09)

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.

D.C. sued for blocking vote on marriage
  Police State piece by Offsite (11/20/09)

A lawsuit has been filed in Washington, D.C., challenging a decision by the city’s Board of Elections and Ethics not to allow citizens to vote on the definition of marriage, as had been proposed by an initiative.

‘Hacked e-mails reveal global-warming fraud?‘
  Global Warming piece by Offsite (11/20/09)

Top climate scientists discuss hiding contrary data, marginalizing dissenters - Officials at a key global warming research center in the United Kingdom have authenticated a series of e-mails and other documents apparently taken from their computer system by a hacker, but they cannot explain what scientists in internal exchanges meant by references to a “trick” that would “hide the decline” of global temperatures nor by instructions to delete contrary data.

Civilian Trials Provide Soapboxes for Terrorists
  Terrorism piece by J. D. Longstreet (11/20/09)

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
  Junk Science piece by Kevin Roeten (11/20/09)

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.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Chavez’s Next Target: El Salvador
   Socialism piece by Offsite (11/12/09)

Twenty-first century socialism may have stumbled in Honduras but it is being tried again in El Salvador. - Fidel Castro learned a lot from Chilean President Salvador Allende’s failed power grab in 1973. And he used the lessons of that bitter defeat to coach Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez to dictatorship under the guise of democracy more than 25 years later.

Competition, innovation key to supply Arizona’s future energy needs
   Energy piece by GoldwaterInstitute: Nick Dranias (11/12/09)

Arizona’s consumption of electrical power has been growing at about three times the rate of the United States’ as a whole. Unless we open the market to let more suppliers in, Arizonans will be at risk of electricity shortages, spiraling prices and miss out on the benefits of innovation in renewable energy spurred by competition for their business. That’s why the Goldwater Institute recommends restructuring Arizona’s electricity markets for competition.

Net neutrality regulation violates First Amendment
   Big Brother piece by GoldwaterInstitute: Nick Dranias (11/12/09)

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 piece by Warner Todd Huston (11/12/09)

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 piece by Christopher Adamo (11/12/09)

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.

A 69% Capital Gains Tax Hike . . .
   Taxes piece by Offsite (11/12/09)

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.

. . . And a Buried Tort Bomb
   Health Care piece by Offsite (11/12/09)

A stealth provision that would undermine state damage caps.  - In his September address to Congress, President Obama made a nod to bipartisanship by acknowledging that excessive litigation “may be” contributing to rising health costs, and he proposed state “demonstration projects” to test medical tort reform. This wasn’t much of a concession, but it apparently was still too much for House Democrats, who are using their bill to subvert reform that is already on the books in many states.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

IEA Oil Forecast Is Bunk
   Energy piece by Offsite (11/11/09)

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.

Stocks Will Rise, Causing Fed Hike
   Economics piece by Offsite (11/11/09)

Market guru and Wharton professor Jeremy Siegel says strong economic growth will keep pushing stocks higher and lead the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in the first half of next year.

CDC anti-abstinence sex report debunked by insiders
   Progressivism piece by Offsite (11/11/09)

Two members of a Centers for Disease Control team that evaluated studies of sex education programs have raised alarms, reporting that the data actually conflicts with the agency’s stated conclusion that comprehensive programs such as those emphasizing “safe sex” over abstinence are working.

Sheriff to Marines: Your service is not over!
   Military piece by Offsite (11/11/09)

A Colorado sheriff whose deliberate non-compliance with the politically correct attitude of his county over previous Christmas seasons has made headlines today honored the U.S. Marine Corps on its 234th birthday, and said his comments apply equally to members of other military services, to be recognized on Veterans Day this week.

Winning Battles, Losing Wars
   War piece by Alan Caruba (11/11/09)

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.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Enemy Among Us
   National Security piece by Geoff Metcalf (11/10/09)

“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 piece by Warner Todd Huston (11/10/09)

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

A high price for health reform
   Economics piece by Offsite (11/10/09)

The House passage of health-care reform Saturday night should be a moment of celebration. In a country as wealthy as America, no one should have to go without medical care. As in other developed nations, everyone should have access to doctors, to medicine, to preventive services. The House bill would take America a giant step closer to that goal.

Pelosi Plan Moves U.S. to Bankruptcy
   Progressivism piece by Offsite (11/10/09)

The House healthcare bill could take America a step closer to bankruptcy, according to the editorial page editor of The Washington Post.

GOP still doesn’t get it
   Elections piece by Offsite (11/10/09)

A word of caution to the GOP and Republicans as a whole. If I were they, I wouldn’t be thumping my chest declaring, “we’re back,“ as is the case with some Republican politicians and commentators. Because in this essayist’s opinion, what took place in the elections of last week wasn’t as much about a return to conservatism as it was about people fed up at the way they were being treated.

The forced March to Mediocrity
   Socialism piece by Offsite (11/10/09)

It becomes increasingly clear that the pattern of American fiscal policy is being brought into consonance with the Karl Marx communist theory that through a division of the existing wealth, mankind will be brought to a universal standard of life - a degree of mediocrity to which the Communists and their fellow travelers seek to reduce the people of this great nation. Whether it be by accident or design, such policy, formulated with reckless indifference to the preservation of constitutional liberty and our free-enterprise economy, coupled with rapid centralization of power in the hands of a few, is leading us toward a communist state with as dreadful certainty as though the leaders of the Kremlin themselves were charting our course. - Gen. Douglas MacArthur, 1952

The Health Care Bill Americans Don’t Want
   Health Care piece by J. D. Longstreet (11/10/09)

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.

New Growth Opportunities on Facebook and Twitter
   Information piece by Guest: Nathan Tabor (11/10/09)

The paradigm of Internet communications has presented marketing, advertising and public relations professionals with a cost-effective tool that garners enormous exposure at minimal cost.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Recovery Will Lose Steam
   Economics piece by Offsite (11/9/09)

Nobel laureate economist Edmund Phelps says the economic recovery will weaken soon.

‘Why Force Poor and Rich to Mix?‘
   Social Engineering piece by Offsite (11/9/09)

Discriminating against human beings because of their race, ethnicity, or religion hurts. I can promise you this, because I have been hurt by this odious practice for my whole life.

Every Day Is Really Veterans Day
   Veterans piece by Thomas D. Segel (11/9/09)

Harlingen, Texas, November 8, 2009:  We have all read the various tributes to veterans, such as the one that starts out “It is the Veteran, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion.  That short paragraph goes on to say our freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom to assemble, freedom to have a fair trial and our freedom to vote as we choose were all preserved for us through the suffering and dedication of our military veterans.

Municipal Bonds Could Collapse
   Economics piece by Offsite (11/9/09)

In the mid-1990s, states and cities were retiring as much debt as they were incurring.

Anti-Money Laundering Efforts Improving
   Terrorism piece by Jim Kouri (11/9/09)

Since September 11, 2001, the United States has established tools to address the threat to the US financial system of money laundering and terrorist financing.

Who Changed the Change 11-9-09
   The Republic piece by Robert R. Owens (11/9/09)

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 piece by Carey Roberts (11/9/09)

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.

An Open Letter To Mr. Glenn Beck
   Politics piece by Guest: C.E. Cole (11/9/09)

First, I hope that your bout with appendicitis has ended with total restoration to good health and that the involuntary rest has re-energized you for the coming battles you need to keep fighting in unmasking the hypocrisy and nefarious deeds of the Obama Administration and their aiders and abettors in Congress.  In this regard, you have done yeoman’s work on your radio show and on your nightly TV show on the Fox News Channel.  Keep up the good work!  You are providing a badly needed service to our republic at a crucially important time in our history.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

U.S. troops’ continental insignia bears U.N. colors
   NAU/SPP piece by Offsite (11/8/09)

NEW YORK - Troops in the United States’ USNORTHCOM ranks appear to have adopted a shoulder patch showing a North American continental design, with an emphasis on United Nations colors, giving evidence of the strength of a plan to integrate North America.

Extreme Activists take the reins at EPA
   GreeenIsm piece by Guest: Dennis T. Avery, Alex Avery (11/8/09)

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.