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

Sunday, May 31, 2009

The Economy Is Toast
   Economics piece by Malcolm T. Hedges (5/31/09)

Our Federal Government is bankrupt. Very few folks remain to pay taxes and those numbers dwindle as each day passes.

Suspect arrested in connection with slaying of abortion provider George Tiller
   Culture Wars piece by Offsite (5/31/09)

WICHITA - A suspect in this morning’s fatal shooting of George Tiller is in custody in Johnson County.

China Finds Its Children’s Products Unsafe
   Health piece by Offsite (5/31/09)

(AFP) - Nearly half of the clothing and a third of the furniture made for children in China’s top manufacturing province is unsafe, with many products containing harmful chemicals, state media said.

Abortionist Tiller shot, killed in church
   Culture Wars piece by Offsite (5/31/09)

Late-term abortionist George Tiller was shot and killed this morning as he walked into his Wichita, Kan., church to attend Sunday services.

HR 450 Enumerated Powers Act
   Congress piece by Guest: David Lamon (5/31/09)

This should be the theme of the Tea Parties taking place across the country and every other event taking place by “we the people”.  It is up to us to force this issue and I ask you to consider helping get this done.  With this one bill a lot of what we are seeing happening to our country today can be eliminated if adhered to.  It should be the litmus test for anyone aspiring to be elected to the House or Senate.  They should be asked if they will support this and if not find someone else that will.  As most of you know the constitution has been stepped on and ignored by both Democrats and Republicans for some time now and this must be stopped if we are to have any chance of remaining a free country.  This act would also put restrictions on international treaties such as the Law of the Sea Treaty that some on both sides of isle support that would surrender our sovereignty to the United Nations.

Contact Lens Procedure Cures Blindness
   Health piece by Offsite (5/31/09)

A breakthrough procedure using ordinary contact lenses and a patient’s own stem cells promises to cure corneal blindness, according to Australian researchers at the University of New South Wales.

Obama Kills Bond Markets with GM Union Deal
   Economics piece by Offsite (5/31/09)

A former Bush administration official says the Obama administration is like “an irresponsible third-world regime, skirting the law and handing economic prizes to political cronies.“

Entitled to be sick, fat and self-destructive
   Progressivism piece by Offsite (5/31/09)

Want to know what troubles our American health care system?  Consider the thoughts of psychiatrist and Nazi death camp survivor Viktor Frankl.

The wealth of ‘useful idiots’
   Economics piece by Offsite (5/31/09)

I remember 30 years ago as a senior in high school being at the Detroit Public Library struggling to read a reference copy of Adam Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations.“ While I didn’t understand much of Smith’s opus, I learned a valuable lesson in perseverance. I didn’t give up and got a good grade in my economics class.

Stupefying America
   EdukShun piece by Alan Caruba (5/31/09)

If you have a suspicion that many of your fellow Americans are too stupid to trust with the great affairs of this nation, you might just be right, but you might not know why.

New Zealand may go bust over Global Warming
   Global Warming piece by Guest: Dennis T. Avery (5/31/09)

CHURCHVILLE, VA - No country in the world would risk as much for “global warming” as New Zealand if it goes ahead with the cap-and-trade energy taxation installed by Helen Clarke’s now-departed Labour Government.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

EXCLUSIVE: Career lawyers overruled on voting case
   ObamaNation piece by Offsite (5/30/09)

Justice Department political appointees overruled career lawyers and ended a civil complaint accusing three members of the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense of wielding a nightstick and intimidating voters at a Philadelphia polling place last Election Day, according to documents and interviews.

Friday, May 29, 2009

Gross: Debt Onslaught Boosting Bond Yields
   Economics piece by Offsite (5/29/09)

Superstar bond fund manager Bill Gross says the raft of debt being issued by the U.S. Treasury is pushing bond yields higher.

‘Obama Expanding his Criminal Enterprise?‘
   ObamaNation piece by Sher Zieve (5/29/09)

Although the prevention of online Cyber-attacks has - in the past - been handled by DHS, Supreme Leader Obama has decided he will instill yet another office and individual to monitor the Internet.  The new “Cyber Tsar” will also monitor the Internet for content, the US Stock Exchange, private business computer networks, the US Energy grid and other entities as so ordered by Obama.  The Internet will soon be under Obama’s control - both usage and content - and I predict it will look like China’s censored version very soon.  The reason?  We-the-people’s elected officials have not done - and still aren’t doing - anything to stop this Stalinist-resurrection. 

When politics rules medicine
   Health Care piece by Offsite (5/29/09)

WASHINGTON - As the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress move to provide government-controlled health care on a national level, similar experiments in some states suggest medical care can take a backseat to politics and bureaucratic red tape - resulting in even urgent, life-saving treatments being denied while so-called “preventive services” get priority.

UPDATE: Deadline set in banned Bible study case
   Police State piece by Offsite (5/29/09)

Code enforcement officials in San Diego who banned a pastor and his wife from holding Bible studies in their home or face fines have taken less than 24 hours to respond to a demand letter from a legal team representing the couple in what could be a major First Amendment dispute.

Animals Feel Impact of Recession - Little Known Philanthropy Assists Woman and Her Pets
   Society piece by Guest: Cathy Taibbi (5/29/09)

AGN-TCL Newswire (5/29/09). Lawrenceville, Georgia. When my boss came to me moments after I’d settled at my desk, I knew with a sinking feeling in my stomach that a fourth round of layoffs was underway—and this time I was one of the unlucky ones. I gathered my things and stoically listened to the reassurances that it had nothing to do with my performance (the company was in serious trouble) and that I had one last paycheck coming my way.

Feds to Decide What Can be Sold at Your Garage Sale
   Big Brother piece by Warner Todd Huston (5/29/09)

With the first days of Summer a long standing American tradition emerges anew from yards and garages all across the country. Once again this season we will see the venerable American garage sale bloom everywhere. Homeowners will be seen busily setting up folding tables or bringing picnic tables from back yards to load them up with used clothes, toys, collectibles, and items of all sorts. Couples will once again cruise the neighborhood looking to those bargains. It’s as American as Baseball, and the rest.

Too Big To Fail - Too Small To Save
   Government piece by Thomas D. Segel (5/29/09)

Harlingen, Texas, May 27, 2009: We watched and did little as the Washington political elite drained our national treasury and gave billions upon billions of our tax dollars to Wall Street tycoons, gurus who mismanaged the housing market, insurance giants and the auto industry.  We shrugged as we heard all about these corporations that were “too big to fail” and grimaced a little as the hard earned money we sent to Washington was squandered on conference luxuries, bonuses and other corporate vanities.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

The British Pound Is Back in Vogue
   Economics piece by Offsite (5/28/09)

I know, it’s hard to believe, but the British pound is coming back to life.

Bond Market Reclaims Paramount Role
   Economics piece by Offsite (5/28/09)

“They’re back,“ a Wall Street Journal editorial proclaims.

Speculators Betting on Dollar Plunge
   Economics piece by Offsite (5/28/09)

Things aren’t looking too rosy for the dollar. Many experts say the currency’s recent drop is just a prelude of things to come.

Global Warming Still Hot Button
   Global Warming piece by FreeCongressFoundation: E. Ralph Hostetter (5/28/09)

Nationwide limits on global warming pollutants received a boost on Thursday, May 21, with the passage by the House Energy and Commerce Committee of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), Representative Henry Waxman’s sweeping bill containing nearly 1,000 pages. It’s a matter of conjecture whether those voting on the measure actually read it.

Unhealthy Interference—and Math
   Big Brother piece by GoldwaterInstitute: Byron Schlomach (5/28/09)

Over the past nine months, government intervention in the economy has spread like a wildfire. From federally mandated executive compensation rules for companies and job roles that had nothing to do with the financial meltdown, to the ouster of General Motors (GM) CEO Rick Wagoner at the behest of the White House, to forcing banks to take and keep Troubled Asset Relief Program money, Washington’s tentacles are reaching into the minutiae of private business dealings like never before. Setting aside the long-term philosophical questions this raises about the role of government in society, one short-term question is whether or not it will aid recovery. I do not believe it will.

Hope and Mirrors: Stimulus ‘Saved’ Cops To Be Fired Anyway
   ObamaNation piece by Warner Todd Huston (5/28/09)

On March 6, Obama’s mouthpiece, Robert Gibbs, happily told the nation that the Obama “stimulus” plan had saved the jobs of 25 Cops(1) in Columbus, Ohio. This was an example, Gibbs trumpeted, of how Obama’s supposed stimulus package was “working” to set the country to rights. President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder even took a road trip to Columbus to proudly see these “saved” cops being sworn in as police officers.

This Chick Does Flicks: Terminator Salvation
   Entertainment piece by Ann "Babe" Huggett (5/28/09)

Directed by Joseph “McG” McGinty Nichol and starring gritty, post apocalyptic warriors, Christian Bale and Sam Worthington, Terminator Salvation, is a fine way to start off Summer 2009’s rollercoaster of action films. Now right from the start I thought that The Terminator was scary and amazing.  Then along came the even more satisfying and hair raising Terminator 2: Judgment Day followed by the somewhat forgettable Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.  However, Terminator Salvation opens up a whole new dystopic Terminator future world of man-munching special effects determined to obliterate human kind.

Palestine - Jordan Jittery But Not To Worry
   Middle East piece by Offsite (5/28/09)

King Abdullah of Jordan has obviously got a bad attack of the jitters as Israeli politicians now focus their attention on Jordan returning to re-occupy the heavily Arab populated areas of the West Bank - as Jordan had done so successfully before between 1948-1967.

Cheney, Limbaugh, And The Liberal Paper Tiger
   Republicrats piece by Christopher Adamo (5/28/09)

If the Republican Party does intend to incorporate the ideologies promoted last week by former Secretary of State Colin Powell it should first change its mascot from an elephant to a horse, specifically of the Trojan variety. Despite the seemingly impressive credentials that Powell proudly touted in defense of his “Republican” authenticity, his singular purpose has been to find the most advantageous strategic position from which to undermine the conservative agenda. And that place is within the Republican Party.

‘Sonia Sotomayor: Supreme Misandrist?‘
   Supreme Court piece by Carey Roberts (5/28/09)

Does this remark make you want to head for the hills?

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Editorial: The Value Added Tax(VAT) And Reality
   Taxes piece by Editor (5/27/09)

I lived in Holland (The Netherlands) for some 4 years in the 1969-1973 time frame.  The VAT then was 12% and worked its way up to 16% before I left.