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July 4, 2010
“The Orator, with his Flood of Words….”
It’s been a long time since I debated John Kerry’s Liberal Party at Yale. (We, the Conservative Party, whopped ‘em good.) Even longer since I debated in high school. Having listened to and analyzed President Obama’s speech on immigration, I’m more convinced than ever that Obama is a one-trick pony, an increasingly unsuccessful one.
The war in Afghanistan is in trouble, and the Talban might snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Therefore, Obama gives a speech. The American economy is in trouble and high unemployment persists. Obama gives a speech. Spewing oil in the Gulf is unchecked. Obama gives a speech. Drugs and criminals are running across the border into Arizona. Obama gives a speech. You get the idea.
When he gives a speech, he sounds like he is addressing the subject at hand. But that is only an illusion, an illusion that even his former supporters are beginning to recognize for what it is. Continue reading “The Orator, with his Flood of Words….”
June 16, 2010
By Alan Caruba
President Obama is one of the most articulate we have had in that office. His ability to deliver a speech or a short talk such as his first from the Oval Office Tuesday evening is impressive. He knows how to deliver an address.
What he doesn’t know or doesn’t care about is the difference between the truth and a lie.
His fifteen-minute address was the piling on of one lie after another regarding America’s use of energy and its needs for the future. Continue reading Obama Asks America to Commit Suicide
May 14, 2010
Posted by seamus in: Accountability, Advice, African-American, Commentary, Comments & Discussion, Communications, Congress, Creative Writing, Current Events, Democracy, Democrat, Economics, Entertainment, Freedom, Governance, Homeland Security, Inspiration & Motivation, Islam, Journalism, Life Experiences, Minorities, Morality, Motivation, Opinion, Personal Experiences, Politics, Republican, Social Aspects, Social Classes, Social Issues, Terrorism, The Economy, The Media, The Pundit's Corner, World Issues
 Amazing how many high government officals (including the Attorney General), political pundits, politicians, school officials and religious leaders comment so harshly on the immigration law in Arizona and publicly admit they haven’t read the ten page document.
The document basically states that when being stopped for a traffic violation or questioned concerning a crime that [...]
May 14, 2010
Posted by seamus in: Accountability, Advice, Attitude, Business, Cap and Trade, Commentary, Communications, Congress, Creative Writing, Current Events, Democrat, Economics, Entertainment, Finance, Freedom, General Topics, Geopolitical Events, Governance, Homeland Security, Humor, Journalism, Life Experiences, Lifestyle, Literature, Minorities, Morality, Motivation, Opinion, Personal Experiences, Politics, Recovery, Republican, Satire, Self-Help, Social Aspects, Social Issues, Sociology, Terrorism, The Economy, The Media, The Pundit's Corner, Women's Rights, Working Women, World Issues
Pick Your Reason 10. I voted Democrat because I believe oil companies’ profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene but the government taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% isn’t.
9. I voted Democrat because I believe the government will do a better job of spending the [...]
May 4, 2010
By Alan Caruba
In the movie, “Cool Hand Luke”, the warden of the prison camp explains his harsh treatment saying, “What we have here is a failure to communicate.”
I was thinking of that in the wake of the BP oil rig disaster because, it has long seemed to me that the oil industry has failed to communicate its story to Americans. Instead, it has slunk around with its tail between its legs frequently apologizing for playing an absolutely essential role in the success of the nation.
In his new book, “Power Hungry: The Myths of ‘Green’ Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future”, my friend Robert Bryce says, “Amidst all the rhetoric about the evils of oil, the evils of OPEC, the claims that we are ‘addicted’ to oil, that oil fosters terrorism, that we can ‘win the oil endgame’, or that oil is killing the planet, the simple unavoidable truth is that using oil makes us rich. In fact, if oil didn’t exist, we’d have to invent it.”
The formula is simplicity itself. “As oil consumption increases, so does prosperity. In the countries where oil demand is more than 12 barrels per capita per year, gross domestic production (GDP) is at least two times as high as those where oil demand is six barrels or lower.” Continue reading Big Oil: A Failure to Communicate
April 21, 2010
I sat next to my father in the counselor’s office at west mesa high school embarrassed and staring at my feet.
“This is Joe’s last chance Mr. Pahn-cee.” The counselor said, mispronouncing our last name as everyone had done our whole lives. I had been named after St. Joseph the Worker; patron saint of laborers who’s feast day it was on May 1st, the day I was born.,. When I got to the first grade, the nuns renamed me because we already had a Jose in class, Jose Hernandez. By virtue of the alphabet, I became Joe Ponce.
“Your son has failed his second year of algebra and is lacking full credits in English and Science because of unexcused absences. At this rate, he will not graduate with his class.” he continued. I could feel my father looking at me. “We believe that he is a good candidate for a new non-traditional program recently started at APS. That’s what Mr. Nuzzo is here to talk to you about.”
The counselor gestured toward the older man sitting in the corner of his traditionally spartan, traditionally institutional office. He looked a little like my father. Slightly graying hair combed back, black frame glasses and a simple collared shirt and slacks. A pen in his pocket, just like my dad.
“My name is Don Nuzzo,” he said extending his hand “from Freedom High. I’d like to talk to you, but first I’d like to ask your son something. Why do you want to come to Freedom High?”
“I’m not sure that I do.” I mumbled. My father made an angry noise. Continue reading Your Mother and Me
April 7, 2010
Posted by Muhammad Cohen in: Accountability, Cap and Trade, Commentary, Communications, Congress, Current Events, Democrat, Healthcare, Marketing, Medical, Republican, Travel
Republicans were for healthcare insurance mandates before they were against them – and the Obama White House missed it. [...]
March 26, 2010
Obama is following the exact same agenda of the former USSR. There is no doubt that he is a die hard Marxist! His disregard and contempt for the US constitution and The Bill of rights shows his true face and intentions. He is a blatant liar! A fifth column, And a dire threat to all freedom loving people.
Think of all of the thousands of freedom loving people that fought and died defending their country against communism. Think also of our brave soldiers who fought and died fighting the same ENEMY. I copied the following from the Jerusalem Post:(This article can be shared.)
Thursday Mar 25, 2010
Center Field: My soviet seder from hell
Posted by Gil Troy
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Twenty-five years ago, in April 1985, I had the seder from hell in the world’s largest prison – the Soviet Union. My friend Danny and I landed just before Passover in Novosibersk, emboldened after meeting in Moscow with the legendary Yuli Kusharovsky, a man the KGB secret police targeted for teaching Hebrew. Seeing his and his fellow “refuseniks’” courage, watching them carve out meaningful Jewish lives amid great oppression, made us confident we would complete our mission to make seder with Jewish professors fired because they applied to emigrate to Israel. Alas, we were wrong. Continue reading Obama The Anti-Christ
March 23, 2010
Yesterday, my daughter bounced off the bus, grinning. She ran to grab the dog and smother him with kisses, then looked up and said,
“Oh, hi, Mom. Guess what? I had the best day. We did math.”
What???
My elder daughter has ADD (yes, a label, but one that helped us learn how to understand her better) and has always had a paralyzing fear of math. She used to burst into tears at the word. Anything to do with math was overwhelming. I was never a mathematician by any stretch of the imagination. I never really cared how well she did in it, so long as she was trying. But to see her so torn up was horrible. It started in kindergarten/primary and continues today, now that she is twelve years old. She and I have spent hours together, working out the little figures, fitting them where they should go, with me constantly hoping to see the light of discovery brighten her eyes. And, usually, by the end of our session, she’s laughing. I’m exhausted, granted, but she’s happy. However, by the time she gets to her class the next day, she has forgotten everything and is miserable again. Continue reading Math CAN be fun!
March 11, 2010
Posted by Kaye in: Accountability, Attitude, Children, Commentary, Economic Crisis, Education, Family, Governance, Habit Change, Homeland Security, Legal, Opinion, Politics, Social Issues, The Economy
Today, like every weekday, I got in my car, after work, and head for home listening to NPR. I’ve been thinking about this for some time now and today, after hearing a piece on NPR about Kansas City, Missouri’s school board approving a plan to close 26 schools in one district and Cleveland, Ohio’s school board approving a plan to close or move 16 schools, I had to give voice to my thought which is, Our country is broken and bleeding. We are loosing our safety, loosing our jobs, our homes, our way of life and even our schools. Not only can’t we house and feed our children we can’t educate them either. I’m at a loss. I’m lost because I can’t see a fix.
This week, here in South Carolina, a Columbia city council member who has held office representing the same district (The City of Columbia’s District 2) for 27 years, resigned after pleading guilty to federal tax evasion. According to reports, the man failed to pay more than $25,000 in federal income taxes in 2004. Before this revelation we learned that two convicted felons were trying to run for mayor of the city of Columbia and we have a governor that was hiking the Appalachian Trail in Argentina. Continue reading s it just me or, is there something wrong with this picture?
February 26, 2010
From the PA web site: Question: How does my book end up in Walden books or at Barnes and Noble.com?
Answer:Ever noticed that bar code on a book’s cover? It contains a lot of hidden information. Most of all, it tells the bookstore cash register the book’s ISBN and who its publisher is. The International Standard Book Number is like the book’s fingerprint. It is issued by the publisher who, in turn, had the number issued to them by ISBN headquarters in Florida. Without an ISBN, a book gets nowhere. With it, it is recognized worldwide: it indicates title, author and publisher, even the retail price. Clearly, each ISBN is unique.
As soon as we contract a book, we issue an ISBN. At that point, we submit the book to our wholesalers and wholesalers, such as Baker&Taylor, Brodart, etc., who process it in their computer systems that have direct connections to bookstore computer systems nationwide. That is how a book becomes available through all American bookstores from sea to shining sea. (So far, there is no evidence that this was done.)
There are also many independent bookstores, including thousands of Christian bookstores. By looking into the book’s ISBN, they know how to order fast by ordering a book directly from the publisher or through their wholesaler (as most stores do). Finally, there is this fast-growing number of Internet bookstores, such as Barnes and Noble.com, Chapters.ca and many others. Some order directly from the publisher, others through a wholesaler. Continue reading Publish America Scam or Not? To Trust or Not To Trust?
December 17, 2009
By Alan Caruba
While it is incontestably true that a lot of people took out mortgage loans they could not afford to replay, it is just as true that they were encouraged to do so because banks were required by federal law to make these bad loans. Bankers even gave them an acronym, “Ninja” loans as in “No Income, No Job, No Assets.”
The result was the government created “housing bubble” that was coupled with the Federal Reserves’ policy of keeping interest rates so low that many were tempted to borrow beyond their means. When the financial crisis struck, these loans were called “toxic assets” requiring billions in taxpayer money to bail out the same banks forced to make them. Mortgage loan companies were not so fortunate.
Consistent with that government inspired economic disaster, however, has been the many ways federal and state governments have found to tax Americans directly and indirectly. A new book, “Bankrupting Joe the Taxpayer”, by D.J. Golio ($24.95/$16.95, Authorhouse, hard and softcover) reveals how taxation and irrational government spending has reached the present point and offers suggestions how to correct it.
A classic example of hidden taxes can be found in your telephone bill. This month mine was $63.00, but $14.00 of it was taxes, so my actual cost was less than $50. This occurs again every time I fill up my gas tank or pay my utility bill. For example, in 2007 the estimated take by states alone in gasoline taxes exceeded $50 billion. Continue reading Why You’re Broke
December 2, 2009
Posted by Alan Caruba in: Accountability, Commentary, Current Events, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Relations, Governance, Homeland Security, Islam, Military, Opinion, Politics
By Alan Caruba
As I listened to the President address the nation from West Point, I was reminded of how well he can deliver a speech. It’s like watching a slight-of-hand magician. You marvel at his dexterity, but you know he’s still skillfully fooling you.
The speech, given in the Eisenhower auditorium at West Point, reminded me of President Eisenhower, the former general who led allied forces to victory in Europe in World War Two, the man called back to serve his nation, and a man who was hard on the ears when it came to delivering a speech. It made him more human. We forgave him his blunt manner. After all, he had spent his whole adult life in the U.S. Army, taking and giving orders.
Similarly President Bush never seemed all that comfortable giving a set speech, but you knew he meant what he said. You knew he hated the evil of al Qaeda and the Taliban. You knew he despised Saddam Hussein and other enemies of America, of freedom, and human dignity. He was not smooth, not articulate, but he was genuine.
Barack Hussein Obama never spent a day in uniform and something in the area of two years out of six of his first term in the Senate before being launched on the nation as its savior, its messiah. I always found the references to spiritual powers jarring though, like most, amusing in their over-reach. Obama did nothing to discourage the image.
His West Point speech was primarily political. The military elements revealed a get-in and get-out strategy in what has already been a long engagement of the U.S. military in the Middle East. It was filled with talk of NATO partners, Afghani partners, and Pakistani partners, but it also told the enemy that, if they were just patient enough, the U.S. would leave. Continue reading The Open-Ended War
November 8, 2009
Nancy Counts on Corruption
by John Armor
Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has regularly accused the Republicans in the House of displaying “a culture of corruption.” Yet the critical vote to get the House version of the health bill out of the House, demonstrates that Speaker Pelosi not only likes corruption, she counts on it. Remember her middle name because it figures in the proof.
On 7 November at 11:15 pm House bill 3962 passed by a vote of 220-215. Votes in favor of that bill included the following: Norm Dicks (D-Wash), Jane Harman (D-Cal), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), Alan Mollohan (D-WVa). Jim Moran (D-Va), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Laura Richardson (D-Cal) and Peter Visclosky (D-Ind). If just three had voted against the bill, or had not been in the House to vote for it, the bill would almost certainly have failed.
Why that curious comment about not being in the House? A staffer for the House Ethics Committee put an internal document on a home computer with file sharing capacities. As a result, the complete list of Members of Congress under ethics investigations escaped into the press. These yes votes on the health bill were provided by Members who might have been expelled, had their possible ethics violations had been promptly and adequately examined, decided and acted upon. Continue reading Nancy Counts on Corruption
October 27, 2009
On the eve of the World Series, a life lesson from baseball history. [...]
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The Town Hall Revolt, One Year Later
Giving back through journalism
Giving back through journalism
by Tyree Harris
When people think of giving back to the community, they think sandwich lines, clean-up service, and financial charity.
Though all of these are great and important, there is no better way to give back to your community than with the very talents you are practicing for your career.
Give back with what you do best.
I spent my first week of summer at the Oregon State University campus being journalistically revived by 24 bright-eyed, teenaged writers. For the past three years, I’ve dedicated June 19th through the 27th to the High School Journalism Institute, a joint effort between the Oregonian and Oregon State to promote newsroom diversity. It is, without question, the most cultural journalistic experience possible in Oregon — students in the program are all from underrepresented backgrounds. Continue reading Giving back through journalism