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

Friday, August 21, 2009

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.

Swine Flu Vaccine Lethal Link Revealed In Leaked Letters
   Health piece by Offsite (8/20/09)

The silence is almost deafening in the American press when it comes to publishing information about the potentially lethal link between swine flu vaccine and Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a dread nerve disorder. While other parts of the world are not much better informed, information about the link reached the public in the United Kingdom in mid-August - but only after two letters were leaked to the Daily Mail. The letters were addressed to 600 senior British neurologists. One was from the UK’s Health Protection Agency and the other from the Association of British Neurologists.

Expect Many More Bank Failures Ahead
   Economics piece by Offsite (8/20/09)

The number of banks that had non-performing assets equal to at least 5 percent or more of their assets - considered a critical threshold - more than doubled in the year through June, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Chromium Is The Key To A Healthy Cardiovascular System
   Health piece by Offsite (8/20/09)

...Few if any scientific researchers of the last 100 years were more accredited and experienced researchers regarding cardiovascular health than the late Dr. Henry Alfred Schroeder, M.D., a long time Dartmouth University professor.

Senior Executive Service Needs Overhaul, Outside Study Finds
   Government piece by Offsite (8/20/09)

The Senior Executive Service is broken, mired in tired bureaucratic traditions and fails to attract top talent from outside government, according to a lengthy review of the government’s elite managers by two outside organizations.

Dollar Will Lose Reserve Status
   Economics piece by Offsite (8/20/09)

A new report from bond giant Pimco predicts the dollar’s days as the world’s reserve currency are numbered.

Afghanistan Elections to Move Forward In Spite of Terror Threats
   Elections piece by Jim Kouri (8/20/09)

When Afghans go to the polls to cast their votes on Thursday, August 20, they’ll see Afghans providing their own security, not US or NATO forces, according to Sergeant Michael Carden of the American Forces Press Service.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Editorial: Bing, Google or Yahoo?
   Internet piece by Editor (8/19/09)

Looking for information or politically correct filtered pap?  As of today Bing “seems” to be slightly ahead of the curve.

‘Will Federal Elections Happen In November 2010?‘
   Elections piece by Malcolm T. Hedges (8/19/09)

Another question: “If allowed will those elections be honest?“

U.S. Could Become Banana Republic
   Economics piece by Offsite (8/19/09)

Warren Buffett says the growing mountain of U.S. debt could turn the country into a banana republic.

The Fannie Mae health system
   Health Care piece by Offsite (8/19/09)

President Obama’s “public option” health care plan has been temporarily shelved – or, at least, that’s what his spokespeople would have us believe. Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of health and human services, said on Aug. 16 that a public option wasn’t an “essential option” in revamping the health care system. Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., is now pushing a new idea: the insurance co-op. “A co-op has some appeal because it is a nonprofit alternative,“ Conrad says. “At the same time, not government run or government controlled.“

Debt, Legal Problems Plague Obama-Touted Healthcare Reforms in Mass., Tenn.
   Health Care piece by Offsite (8/19/09)

If you’re curious what life would be like under Obamacare, experts suggest that you consider reforms instituted in Massachusetts and Tennessee that have left Massachusetts residents deeply dissatisfied and threatened to bankrupt the Volunteer State.

Hyperinflation Risk High, Stocks Will Crater
   Economics piece by Offsite (8/19/09)

Euro-Pacific Capital President Peter Schiff that the U.S. could see double-digit inflation within the next two to three years, and potential Zimbabwe style hyperinflation within the next five to 10 years, “depending on how the government reacts to high inflation.“

Palestine - Pressure and Purges Panic Jordan
   Middle East piece by Offsite (8/19/09)

Jordan’s King Abdullah is fast beginning to realise the serious ramifications threatening the continued rule of the Hashemite family dynasty in Jordan resulting from the failure of negotiations over the last 16 years to create a new Arab state between Jordan and Israel - “the two state solution”.

Entrapped in the Labyrinth: An Interview with Harvey Silverglate
   Big Brother piece by Bernard Chapin (8/19/09)

Longtime lawyer and writer Harvey Silverglate is the author of Three Felonies a Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent. Previously, he co-authored, The Shadow University: The Betrayal of Liberty on America’s Campuses which is one of the most important works ever written concerning political correctness. He is the co-founder of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and also an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute. Over the course of his career, Mr. Silverglate has had extensive experience both as a practicing attorney, a commentator on political and social issues, and as an occasional teacher.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Politics And The Military
   War piece by Malcolm T. Hedges (8/18/09)

According to legend politicians and the military are not connected. BS!

Counterterrorism in Obama’s Washington
   National Security piece by Daniel Pipes (8/18/09)

Barack Obama’s assistant for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, John O. Brennan, conveniently outlined the administration’s present and future policy mistakes in a speech on August 6, “A New Approach for Safeguarding Americans.“(1)

Monday, August 17, 2009

The Demercrat HealthCare ‘Takeover’ Scheme
   Health Care piece by Malcolm T. Hedges (8/17/09)

Most all of the problems with our present Health Care/Medical Insurance system have been created by the Government and great globs of bureaucrats “administering” the mess.

Inclusionary Zoning Excludes Freedom
   Socialism piece by AynRandInstitute: Michael Berliner (8/17/09)

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 17, 2009 - A new inclusionary zoning law went into effect in Washington, D.C., earlier this month. It requires housing developments with ten or more units to set aside 8 to 10 percent of their units for low and moderate income residents - in effect, partial rent control.

‘Reader’s Digest’ Files for Bankruptcy
   Economics piece by Offsite (8/17/09)

The venerable and iconic “Reader’s Digest” magazine has announced that it will be undergoing a voluntary pre-packaged Chapter 11 filing in U.S. bankruptcy court, according to a report in Foliomag-dot-com.

Recent U.S. Diplomacy Emboldens Rogue Regimes
   National Security piece by Offsite (8/17/09)

The Florida Everglades are reeling from an explosion in the number of deadly Burmese pythons. By some estimates, there may be as many as 140,000 of them slithering around in a place they don’t belong. These particular snakes are believed to have gotten their start in the Everglades through the well-intentioned, but ill-considered, action of a few Americans who thought they were doing the humane thing by turning their pet pythons loose in the swampy wilderness.

Political Metaphors Guide Hit Movie ‘District 9’
   Entertainment piece by Offsite (8/17/09)

A movie with a first-time director and relatively unknown cast used a creative marketing campaign to snag the No. 1 spot at the box office this weekend.