...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)

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Prepare for the Worst
  Economics piece by Offsite (11/7/09)

The immense government bailout to boost the economy will result in a repeat of the Great Depression, says Ron Paul, Republican congressman of Texas and one-time candidate for president.

Ford Taurus Production Halted for One Week
  Unions piece by Offsite (11/7/09)

DETROIT—A labor dispute at an auto parts supplier in India has forced Ford Motor Co to shut production of its new Taurus full-size sedan one week due to a transmission component shortage, a spokesman said on Friday.

Stopping the next amnesty is not enough
  Immigration piece by Offsite (11/7/09)

If you think a congressional amnesty for 15 million illegal aliens is a bad idea, think about a stealth amnesty for 50 million. That’s what we’ve got now even without any new legislation from the 111th Congress.

Junk-science huckster
  Global Warming piece by Offsite (11/7/09)

House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming Chairman Ed Markey, D-Mass., was outraged that a renegade freelance lobbyist had sent a dozen phony letters to members of Congress, urging them to vote against cap-and-trade legislation.

Responding to modern Marxism
  The Republic piece by Offsite (11/7/09)

The first unmistakable tremors were recorded on April 15. The earth shook again throughout the month of August, when politicians returned home to face their constituents. Those brave souls who dared to hold a town hall meeting were met with enthusiastic questions about cap-and-trade, about the stimulus, about health care and about what appears to be a mad rush to socialism.

Monday, November 2, 2009

20 Year Old Girl Dies From Being Run Over By Father
   Islam piece by Malcolm T. Hedges (11/2/09)

‘Westernized’ Daughter Run Over By Iraqi Father Dies - Police say Faleh Almalechi ran over his 20-year-old daughter, Noor Faleh Almaleki.

Opera 10.01 Much Improved!
   Internet piece by Malcolm T. Hedges (11/2/09)

The 10.01 release of Opera seems to fix a host of issues experienced in 10.00.

Matt Barber’s First Book - The Right Hook: From The Ring To The Culture War
   Reading piece by Press Release: Matt Barber (11/2/09)

“The Right Hook” delivers a knockout already and it’s not even on store shelves yet…“ - The Right Hook: From The Ring To The Culture War is a selection of Matt Barber’s greatest hits: incisive and deeply thoughtful culture war commentaries he’s penned over the past few years(1). And, as an added bonus, the book also recounts the fascinating series of events that launched Matt as one of America’s rising conservative stars after he got dismissed from a fortune 100 company for simply writing a letter to the editor for a conservative publication.

The Founders Had a Tipping Point
   The Republic piece by Jayme Evans (11/2/09)

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. - That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, - That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security” - The Declaration of Independence

The Moral Argument For God
   Religion piece by Frederick Meekins (11/2/09)

The early 21st century stands as a period of profound moral confusion.  On the one hand, mothers and doctors are permitted to crack open the skulls and suck out the brains of nearly-born babies with government sanction under the banner of partial birth abortion.  Should these very same people hike into the woods and crack open a bald eagle egg, they could face serious prison time.

Democrat Leader Convicted of Fraud
   Crime piece by Jim Kouri (11/2/09)

In yet another case of political misconduct in New Jersey, a federal jury convicted former Bergen County Democratic Organization chairman Joseph Ferriero of conspiracy and mail fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud Bergenfield of the honest services of its borough attorney Dennis Oury, according to a report obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police’s Fraud & White Collar Crime Committee.

Sanctity of Criminals’ Lives
   Progressivism piece by Thomas E. Brewton (11/2/09)

Some groups like the ACLU, who advocate abolition of the death penalty for murder or rape, enthusiastically endorse murder by abortion.

CBO:  ObamaCare will Cover Only 2% of US Citizens
   Health Care piece by Sher Zieve (11/2/09)

You may have missed it, as the Obama State-run media sycophants have worked feverishly to suppress it.  One of a handful of media outlets that did publish anything on it (AP) devoted only one paragraph to this extremely important piece of news.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

‘What’s the Real Cost of Global Warming Taxes?‘
   Global Warming piece by Guest: Dennis T. Avery (11/1/09)

CHURCHVILLE, VA - The leftish Brookings Institution and the U. S. Chamber of Commerce basically agree that the energy taxes in the House Waxman-Markey bill could total $9 trillion over ten years. As an economist, I look at these forecasts and wonder “How can we possibly know?“

Make The RINOs Choose Sides
   Republicrats piece by J.J. Jackson (11/1/09)

The Republican Party has been infested with RINOs - Republicans In Name Only - for more years than most can count.  No one can remember when the first RINO appeared but we know what has happened since that first appearance and seen the decay that they have brought to the party.  Year after year these RINOs stand for reelection around this great country telling us how only by being RINOs do they stand a chance of winning that reelection bid and keep their seat from falling into the hands of far, far worse sorts.  They tell conservatives as conservatives they far are too fringe and claim that conservatives need the RINO to get a seat at the bargaining table.  Year after year RINOs among the voting populace parrot these same claims in support of their “moderate” candidate of choice.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Getting ready for the Islamic bomb
   Middle East piece by Offsite (10/31/09)

The White House believes there is an Islamic bomb in your future. Associated Press reported Tuesday that the Obama administration is “quietly laying the groundwork for long-range strategy that could be used to contain a nuclear-equipped Iran and deter its leaders from using atomic weapons.“ Granted this could be routine contingency planning, but it’s believable that President Obama is pursuing an acquiescent policy given his foundering efforts to dissuade Iran from developing a nuclear capability.

Food Prices Will Soar
   Food piece by Offsite (10/31/09)

British financial journalist Ambrose Evans-Pritchard says that food will never be so cheap again, and biofuels are to blame.

Every Day is Groundhog Day in the Middle East
   Middle East piece by Alan Caruba (10/31/09)

In the movie, “Groundhog Day”, the main character wakes up day after day, trapped in the same events, desperately looking for a way out of that living nightmare. It’s a very good metaphor for the Middle East.

The VA - More Good Care and Bumbling Bureaucracy
   Veterans piece by Thomas D. Segel (10/31/09)

Harlingen, Texas, October 31, 2009:  The ink had not even dried on our latest commentary about VA care and operations before another flood of email from across the country hit our computer. Veterans had a lot more to say.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Premiums to Skyrocket Under Obamacare
   Health Care piece by Offsite (10/30/09)

Skyrocketing insurance premiums will slam millions of consumers next year because of “indirect taxes” contained in both the House and Senate versions of healthcare reform, according to various medical and insurance industry experts.

From Hallow to Hollow, The Scariest of Figures
   Economics piece by FreeCongressFoundation: Marion Edwyn Harrison (10/30/09)

In Queen’s English All Hallows Eve, in American English Halloween, is almost upon us.  Hallow is the older English word for soul.  Thus, we have the Eve of All Hallows Day, Americanized and “modernized” into Halloween.  The noun hallow is only one letter off the noun hollow, which can mean empty or devoid of substance.  Are the stimulus spooks about to scare us upon this occasion?  Will future generations be snared as “the hollow men[?]” Read on.  The unprecedented spending of taxpayers’ money by the incumbent Administration and 111th Congress is sufficient to spook anybody.

Panel should not treat solar firms as utilities
   Energy piece by GoldwaterInstitute: Clint Bolick (10/30/09)

Many aspects of environmental and energy policy divide the authors of this column. But we join together to urge the Arizona Corporation Commission not to squelch an innovative approach to solar energy that benefits private and public entities alike.

Federal stimulus money makes state budget deficit worse
   Government piece by GoldwaterInstitute: Tom Patterson (10/30/09)

State Rep. Kyrsten Sinema recently rebuked U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl in the pages of the East Valley Tribune for recommending that “stimulus” funding be terminated. The federal government, by spending $308 million on infrastructure in Arizona, is providing a “much needed economic boost” to the state, she claimed.

Europe’s Disastrous Climate Policy - a Lesson for Congress
   GreeenIsm piece by Press Release: Richard Morrison (10/30/09)

Washington, D.C., October 29, 2009 - The Competitive Enterprise Institute today cheered the publication of a new report that could help save the United States from an expensive, damaging new system of global warming regulation. The report, published by the British think tank TaxPayers’ Alliance, details the failure of Europe’s “Emissions Trading Scheme,“ which was meant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the continent. Congress is now considering its own version of the EU’s scheme, known as a cap and trade system of emission control.

Halloween: The real end of summer
   Society piece by John David Powell (10/30/09)

Labor Day, by an act of Congress, is the official end of summer.  Our kitchen calendar says summer ends September 21.  But all of us kids know Halloween is the real end of summer.

‘In From the Cold - Finally?‘
   Politics piece by FreeCongressFoundation: E. Ralph Hostetter (10/30/09)

A major shift in American politics apparently has occurred, perhaps marking the greatest change from liberalism to conservatism since the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.  Some 16 Gallup polls conducted from January to September 2009 show 40 % of U.S. citizens now describe their political ideology as conservative, a shift from 2005 to 2008, when moderates weighed in as nearly even with conservatives.  Today’s figures show conservatives at 40 %, moderates at 36 % and liberals at 20 %.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Poll: 61% of voters in Arizona approve Arpaio’s job approach
   Law piece by Offsite (10/28/09)

Arizona voters like Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s approach to his job and disagree with the federal government’s immigration-related decisions with the sheriff, according to an Arizona State University and Channel 8 (KAET) poll released Tuesday night. The poll indicates a 61 percent job-approval rating for Arpaio, while 34 percent of voters disapproved, according to a telephone survey of 652 registered voters around the state.

This time it is not business as usual…
   Elections piece by Guest: Carolyn Hileman (10/28/09)

Just a note to those politicians still out there who even bother to wonder what the American people think. This election and every single one after will not be business as usual anymore…. Just because the republican or democrat party backs you as a candidate, it does not mean by a long shot that the people will. We have been watching and we don’t like what we have been seeing and we plan to fix that. You see, we happen to know that there are qualified people living among us who can and will do a better job of listening to the people and doing their will. As a matter of fact, right now being the chosen one from any party could be your downfall.

Constitutionality of health overhaul questioned
   Health Care piece by Offsite (10/28/09)

On top of all the other obstacles facing President Obama in his quest to pass health reform is this one: Does the U.S. Constitution allow the government to require uninsured Americans to buy medical insurance or impose a tax penalty if they refuse?

‘A Trans-Atlantic Track, Grasping Virginia to France?‘
   Transportation piece by FreeCongressFoundation: Marion Edwyn Harrison (10/28/09)

The Free Congress Foundation (“FCF”) Center for Public Transportation is active in myriad ways, to a limited extent reflected on the FCF website(1).  A word of possibly quixotic comment might be interesting, maybe amusing, about the latest fate of an heretofore American and American-owned rail line.

Freaked Out Over SuperFreakonomics
   Global Warming piece by Offsite (10/28/09)

Suppose for a minute - which is about 59 seconds too long, but that’s for another column - that global warming poses an imminent threat to the survival of our species. Suppose, too, that the best solution involves a helium balloon, several miles of garden hose and a harmless stream of sulfur dioxide being pumped into the upper atmosphere, all at a cost of a single F-22 fighter jet.

Washington’s Suicide Mission
   Economics piece by Offsite (10/28/09)

Members of the Obama administration have taken turns deploring the billions of dollars in year-end bonuses the finance industry is getting ready to hand out. Never mentioned is what they think firms should do with the money. Give it back to their customers? Spend it on office decorations?

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

I And Many Others Don’t Feel So Lonely Anymore
   Progressivism piece by Malcolm T. Hedges (10/27/09)

Over time a lot of folks have opined the the Marxist Progressive Socialist movement is a “cult or religion”, seldom has a recognized observant columnist chimed in to support the position.

FACT CHECK: Profits for Health Insurance Companies Far From Fat
   Health Care piece by Warner Todd Huston (10/27/09)

The Associated Press posted an interesting piece(1) revealing that the health insurance industry is far from the image that Democrats and other leftists want to present. Insurance companies are so often presented as rapacious, fat-cats ripping off all their customers and growing fat on profits. But the AP finds that reality does not quite fit the left-wing image.

Government Intimidation Destroys a Free Society
   Police State piece by Tom DeWeese (10/27/09)

For years I have been issuing warnings about the growing government surveillance state. REAL ID and E-Verify have been sold as weapons necessary to stop illegal immigration and the threat of terrorism. Now, Congress says it has improved those weapons by creating the PASS Act.