They are alive under ground in Chile. They may be there until Christmas. While the rest of us complain about crowded subway cars, highway congestion and the world being financial mess thirty three miners are trapped over 20,000 feet below ground just trying to survive. Continue reading The Men in the Hole in the Ground
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August 30, 2010
Posted by Minnette Coleman in: Commentary, Current Events, Environmental Issues, Faith, Family, Uncategorized
 2 comments August 29, 2010
Our Schools, Dumb and Dumber By Alan Caruba As the nation’s children return to elementary and secondary schools, it is increasingly essential that their parents and communities coast to coast realize how poorly served they are and how their learning environment is increasingly tainted by a socialist agenda. Our nation’s schools have long been factories of boredom, centers of academic incompetence. High school graduation rates have been in a fairly steady decline. At its peak in 1969, the rate was 77 percent. By 2007 it was 68.8 percent. In mid-August, The Wall Street Journal reported that “New data show that fewer than 25% of 2010 graduates who took the ACT college-entrance exam possessed the academic skills necessary to pass entry-level courses, despite modest gains in college-readiness among U.S. high school students in the last few years.” Continue reading Our Schools, Dumb and Dumber August 27, 2010
Posted by Alan Caruba in: Commentary, Current Events, Foreign Affairs, Opinion, World Issues
Leave a comment How I Learned to Love the Bomb By Alan Caruba As a child in the 1950s, I learned how to “duck and cover” in order to protect myself from an atomic bomb explosion. Little did I know that the instruction should have been “Kiss your asterisk goodbye.” The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, when the Soviets wanted to put nuclear-tipped long range missiles there, led to a confrontation between President John F. Kennedy and Nikita Krushchev that had both sides changing their underwear after it was over. What do the United States, Great Britain, France, Russia, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea in common? They all have nuclear weapons and, of course, Iran has been working toward that goal and is now very close to achieving it. Continue reading How I Learned to Love the Bomb August 25, 2010
Posted by Alan Caruba in: Advice, Commentary, Current Events, Education, Family, Internet, Lifestyle, Opinion
Leave a comment School Daze, Plugged In and Zoned Out By Alan Caruba The older you get the faster time seems to speed by. One minute you’re talking about the Baby Boom generation, 1946 to 1964, and the next it’s Generation X, 1965-1983. If the Boomers thought the world owed them a living, the Gen X’rs were all about “relationships” and the “environment.” Before you knew it, it was the Generation Y, often referred to as the Millennials, 1984-2002, that everyone was talking about and trying to sell crap to. The oldest of these are age 26 and the youngest age 8. Most young people think the world exists for them, but Generation Y has more reason to believe this than their parents and grandparents. Continue reading School Daze, Plugged In and Zoned Out August 24, 2010
Posted by Carla René in: Accountability, Advice, African-American, Attitude, Biography & Memoir, Book Marketing Online, Book Review, Books, Business, Business Management, Cancer, Cap and Trade, Children, China, Climate Change, Commentary, Comments & Discussion, Communications, Communism, Community, Computers, Congress, Contributor's Audio/Video, Creative Writing, Current Events, Democracy, Democrat, Diet, Economic Crisis, Economics, Education, Energy, Entertainment, Environment, Environmental Issues, Faith, Family, Fiction, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Relations, Freedom, Freelance Author, General Topics, Geopolitical Events, Global Warming, Governance, Habit Change, Health & Fitness, Healthcare, Heroes, History, Homeland Security, Humor, Inspiration & Motivation, Internet, Internet Advice, Interview, Islam, Journalism, Latino & Hispanic, Legal, Life Experiences, Lifestyle, Literature, Marketing, Marriage, Medical, Men's Issues, Mental Health, Mexico, Military, Minorities, Morality, Motivation, Music, Native American, Nature/Wildlife, Non-Fiction, Nutrition, Opinion, Personal Experiences, Philosophical Genres, Poetry, Politics, Publishing, Question of the Day, Recovery, Relationships, Religion, Republican, Rhyme, Satire, Self-Help, Sex, Short Stories, Social Aspects, Social Classes, Social Issues, Sociology, Spirituality, Sports, Technology, Television, Terrorism, The Economy, The Media, The Pundit's Corner, The Writer's Corner, Travel, Uncategorized, Website Instructions, Weight loss, Wellness, Women's Perspective, Women's Rights, Working Women, Workplace, World Issues, Writing Essentials
Leave a comment Begun back sometime in 2001, this book was originally a fluke of an idea… [...] August 22, 2010
Posted by Alan Caruba in: Accountability, Commentary, Current Events, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Relations, Governance, Homeland Security, Latino & Hispanic, Legal, Mexico, Minorities, Opinion
Leave a comment Mexico, Bloody Mexico By Alan Caruba It is increasingly obvious that the Obama administration is more interested in protecting Mexicans than Americans. Case in point; Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has eleven suspects accused of murdering law enforcement officers in his maximum security county jail in downtown Phoenix. As reported in the August 18 Washington Post, “Justice Department officials in Washington have issued a rare threat to sue (Arpaio) if he does not cooperate with their investigation of whether he discriminates against Hispanics.” “The standoff comes just weeks after the Justice Department sued Arizona and Gov. Jan Brewer because of the state’s new immigration law,” the Post noted. The latest word from Americans for Legal Immigration is that twenty-two States now have lawmakers developing versions of Arizona’s illegal immigration crackdown bill SB 1070. So nearly half the States are aligning themselves with Arizona. Why? Continue reading Mexico, Bloody Mexico August 20, 2010
Posted by Alan Caruba in: Accountability, Commentary, Congress, Current Events, Economic Crisis, Finance, Opinion, Politics, Recovery
One comment We’re Broke. Now What? By Alan Caruba “Let’s get real. The U.S. is bankrupt. Neither spending more nor taxing less will help the country pay its bills.” So said Laurence Kotlikoff, a professor of economics at Boston University, in a commentary on Bloomberg.com, August 10. His solution was to “radically simplify its tax, health-care, retirement and financial systems, each of which is a complete mess.” Unmentioned is the fact that it has taken since 1913 when the income tax was introduced to reach this point. Social security and Medicare are “social justice” programs which, like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were created to protect people against themselves, encouraging dependency on the federal government instead of expecting personal responsibility. They have managed to drain the national treasury. Continue reading We’re Broke. Now What? August 19, 2010
Posted by Michael Crumling in: Accountability, Commentary, Current Events, Governance, Heroes, Morality, Non-Fiction, Opinion, Politics, Sports, The Pundit's Corner
Leave a comment Roger Clemons is charged with lying to a room full of liars. Charlie Rangel lied about his taxes. Barney Frank lied about Fannie and Freddie. Bart Stupak lied about his health care vote. And who can forget Senator Larry “wide stance” Craig. The list could go on for pages. A majority of Congress speaks [...] August 19, 2010
Posted by Michael Crumling in: Accountability, Commentary, Current Events, Faith, Freedom, Governance, Homeland Security, Islam, Morality, Non-Fiction, Opinion, Politics, Religion, Terrorism, World Issues
5 comments I watched with interest, a news story about people angry and suing because of a cross beside the road which honors the memory of a fallen police officer, killed in service to his community. They allege that because the police department insignia is affixed to the cross, it represents the government promotion of religion. The cross also has the officers’ name affixed. It might just represent who the man was in his life. He served his community as a police officer. Perhaps he was a Christian. One thing we do know for certain is that he is dead. He died serving the rest of us. It is hardly an example of establishment of religion. The separation of church and state is hardly relevant. It is no different than what you might see in Arlington National Cemetery, which one may note is on government property. There may be a dozen reasonable people who would be offended by this display. Continue reading A Mosque Grows in Mahattan August 18, 2010
Posted by scottqmarcus in: Children, Current Events, Diet, Health & Fitness, Healthcare, Lifestyle, Medical, Nutrition, Weight loss, Wellness
2 comments The study suggested that we not only need to encourage healthy eating habits for young children, but also need to set a good example by refraining from making negative comments about people who are overweight. Children of course, are mirrors of us and they pick up our attitude, which results in bullying behavior. In effect, we indirectly teach our children to bully. However, there is a bigger picture. We need to remember that each and every person has habits about which he or she is not proud. The difference is that if over-eating is the habit, it cannot be hidden. It is on display for all to view. [...] August 18, 2010
Posted by Alan Caruba in: Cap and Trade, Climate Change, Commentary, Current Events, Opinion
Leave a comment Why it’s Too Darn Hot By Alan Caruba Having written for a decade that the Earth has been cooling, it was rather disconcerting to receive a news release from Accuweather reporting that “The year 2010 is on track to become the hottest year on record since modern record keeping began, according to climate researchers at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).” It turns out there is an explanation for the unusual levels of heat from Russia to Pakistan to Japan. It is a meteorological phenomenon called “blocking events” and they are related to the jet stream. Continue reading Why it’s Too Darn Hot August 17, 2010
It’s the latest catch phrase, well, in this case word. I have heard it used on commercials and last night on a television show. The single female summed up the blind date with the handsome but strange man as “Really?” It’s one of those words that explains a lot and the person you are saying it too usually gets it. I have started mentally using it for things that annoy me, rub me the wrong way or are just plain, well, ridiculous. Here’s a list of a few, and trust me the list will keep on growing, Continue reading Really? August 15, 2010
Posted by Carla René in: Attitude, Commentary, Comments & Discussion, Creative Writing, Current Events, Entertainment, Fiction, General Topics, History, Humor, Life Experiences, Lifestyle, Personal Experiences, The Writer's Corner, Uncategorized
Leave a comment  I had a killer audition today.
At 11:00 a.m., I called Nathan and told him I wasn’t there yet–that I would be a little late. He assured me it would be okay. But I felt like crap about it. I met him at a huge warehouse that used to be a local department store, with its windows blackened. His was the only vehicle in the parking lot, which made me a little nervous, but never-the-less, I went in anyway. I began by filling out some paperwork, and then we talked for probably an hour. He was happy to share his concept with me. Continue reading Tales from the CriBt. August 14, 2010
She spoke very little English when she entered the office of job placement at the community college. Her son had proudly told her of a job offer that would make him feel important. A full time position with a nice company and a starting salary that was the start of a new life. He could move out and get his own place. She didn’t want him to leave, but not because she loved him and would miss him. She didn’t want him to go and mess up her good thing. Continue reading The Wrong American Dream August 13, 2010
Posted by Ben Cerruti in: Commentary, Current Events, Homeland Security, Islam, Opinion, Religion, Terrorism
Leave a comment Why are our leaders ‘Islamic’ ignorant? By Ben Cerruti The present brouhaha over the proposed construction of a Mosque near ground zero provides reason to view many of our leaders as ignorant, especially those in New York and Washington. They obviously are not knowledgeable with the tenets of the Quran that comprise more of an ideology such as Marxism, Fascism or Capitalism, than a religion. Cloaked in the cover of a religion, Islamism is being treated as just another spiritual entity. In fact it is a socio-political movement whose purpose is to convert society to its conformed totalitarian way of life. A reasonable progression of facts in this regard follow: Continue reading Why are our leaders ‘Islamic’ ignorant? August 12, 2010
Posted by Alan Caruba in: Accountability, Commentary, Current Events, Economic Crisis, Finance, Governance, Opinion, Politics
Leave a comment Short Memories, Bad Politics, Big Debt By Alan Caruba “We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work…we have just as much unemployment as when we started…and an enormous debt to boot!” It was a decade of disaster and the man who spoke these words was Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Secretary of the Treasury. The date was May 9, 1939. By then the Roosevelt administration had been in office eight years and Morgenthau was addressing his fellow Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee. In Congress and in the White House today our nation’s leaders are repeating the same errors as their predecessors in the midst of the Great Depression. Continue reading Short Memories, Bad Politics, Big Debt August 8, 2010
Posted by Alan Caruba in: Commentary, Current Events, Lifestyle, Marriage, Opinion, Relationships, Social Issues
2 comments There’s Nothing Gay about Being Gay By Alan Caruba There are two topics I generally try to avoid discussing. Number one on the list is homosexuality. Number two is most things having to do with religion, although it is impossible to ignore it in a world where a militant Islam is causing so much conflict. I would avoid examining gay “marriage” if I could, but the gay and lesbian community will not let me. With seven decades of life under my belt, I have had plenty of time to learn about homosexuality, know homosexuals, and to have arrived at some conclusions about it. My basic conclusion is that homosexuality is hard-wired into an individual at birth. It is not, in my opinion, a lifestyle option one learns about and decides to choose. Those who discover their homosexuality, early or late, know well that it positions them outside the acceptance of our society and those worldwide. As such, it is a cause of much abuse and, to varying degrees, self-hatred. Continue reading There’s Nothing Gay about Being Gay August 7, 2010
Posted by Alan Caruba in: Accountability, Commentary, Current Events, Foreign Affairs, History, Homeland Security, Military, Opinion, World Issues
Leave a comment Hiroshima 1945, Hiroshima 2010 This is Hiroshima today. By Alan Caruba It was sixty-five years ago, August 6, 1945, and the anticipation of the end of the war in the Pacific swept across America when the news that an atomic bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. Surely they would surrender, but there was no response from the Emperor or Japanese high command. A second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki six days later. And still we waited! Finally, on August 15, Japan announced its acceptance of an unconditional surrender. That avoided what military experts of the time estimated would be casualties in the hundreds of thousands if the U.S. had been forced to invade. By May of 1945 the allies had defeated Nazi Germany and secured its surrender. What followed was the division of Europe as the Soviet Union seized control of its Eastern bloc nations. They would remain under its oppression until it finally collapsed in 1991. Continue reading Hiroshima 1945, Hiroshima 2010 August 7, 2010
Posted by Congressman Billybob in: Commentary, Current Events, Governance, Opinion, Politics
Leave a comment Krauthammer: Dead Wrong on the 14th August 4, 2010
Posted by Minnette Coleman in: Commentary, Current Events, Foreign Relations, Freedom, Religion
14 comments The events of what we will always refer to as 9/11 still haunt New York City. I know people who died that day, I know people who survived that day. And I also know what it means to be told no you can’t come here because of the color of your skin or your religious beliefs. While many are saying we don’t need a mosque at Ground Zero and the Greek Orthodox church that collapsed under the World Trade Center buildings can not get funded to be rebuilt I cannot say I believe in what this country stands for and deny a religion the right to build where it pleases. Continue reading Inclusion- A Mosque at Ground Zero August 4, 2010
Posted by Alan Caruba in: Accountability, Commentary, Community, Current Events, Family, Heroes, Opinion, Terrorism
One comment Saying No! to a Ground Zero Mosque By Alan Caruba In the August 3rd edition of The Wall Street Journal, in the Greater New York section, the lead article was “9/11 Memorial Pledged as Part of Mosque Plan.” There already is a 9/11 memorial. It is called Ground Zero and will be incorporated into whatever structure that eventually gets built on the site. If one continued to read the story, however, you had to jump to page A21 where side-by-side with the mosque story was one titled, “Verdict in JFK Bomb Plot”, subtitled “Jury Finds Two Guilty in Conspiracy Charges for Plan to Ignite Fuel Tanks.” Continue reading Saying No! to a Ground Zero Mosque July 31, 2010
Judge Bolton: An F for The Arizona Decision – Rewrite It July 31, 2010
Posted by georgepolley in: Book Review, Books, Current Events, Freedom, Morality, Social Issues, The Writer's Corner
Leave a comment Kenneth Ring, PhD and Ghassan Abdullah, editors: Letters from Palestine: Palestinians Speak Out about Their Lives, Their Country, and the Power of Nonviolence. Paperback, $26.95. Wheatmark, Tucson, Arizona, 2010. Website: www.wheatmark.com. For Palestinians, 1948 was a catastrophe. When Israel was born, between 700,000 and 800,000 Palestinians were expelled from their ancestral homes, farms, villages and towns and became permanent refugees. For them this murderous ethnic cleansing was their Holocaust. Sixty-two years later, it continues. For those who live in what was Palestine, the experience is one of contempt, persecution and eradication. The following quote from professor and peace activist David Shulman’s book Dark Hope is a description of what it is like on the ground. “What we are fighting in the South Hebron Hills is pure, rarefied, unadulterated, uncontainable human evil. Nothing but malice drives this campaign to uproot” people from their homes. … “They led peaceful, if somewhat impoverished lives, until the settlers came. Since then, there has been no peace. They are tormented, terrified, incredulous, as am I. What black greed, what unwitting hatred, has turned Israeli Jews into the torturers of the innocent?” The stories in Letters from Palestine are by people who live this reality on a daily basis. Some are refugees who cannot return. Most live in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. In reading their stories, two things are clear: no human being should have to endure what they have endured, on a daily basis, for sixty-two years. It is immoral to allow it to continue. Continue reading A Powerful Testimony to Courage and a Call to Action: a book review July 31, 2010
Posted by Alan Caruba in: Business, Commentary, Current Events, Economics, Governance, Opinion
Leave a comment To Hell with Free Trade By Alan Caruba It’s funny how bits of knowledge stick in your head. Literally a half century ago, while taking a history class at the University of Miami, a professor said, “Nothing happens in the world until someone sells something to someone else.” The study of history can help one understand the present and frequently help predict the future. The world has experienced astonishing change in the last century thanks to trains, planes, automobiles, radio and television, and, of course, computers and the Internet. It is natural for each new generation to accept such technological innovations as having always existed, but even automobiles are a relatively new mass produced invention. A hundred years ago in 1910, there were only 8,000 cars in the entire nation and only 144 miles of paved road. Americans tend to think that we have always been the dominant economic power, but that did not begin to occur until after World War II destroyed much of Europe, Japan and other competitors. They have rebuilt and, along with the rise of China and India, they are major competitors. Continue reading To Hell with Free Trade July 26, 2010
If you are reading this post there you are not poverty stricken. You have a way to get to the world wide web even if it means going to the library or sitting at a neighbor’s computer. Maybe you grew up poor and worked your way out of a bad situation. Maybe you cry poor whenever someone asks you for help. You may regret living from paycheck to paycheck, you may eat meat only once a week, go to the movies only once a year. Your cable may be turned off and you dropped your cell phone and can’t afford to get a new one until it’s time to renew the contract. We know what it is to have expensive taste with little money but trust me, right now, we don’t know poverty. Continue reading We Don’t Know Poverty July 24, 2010
Posted by Alan Caruba in: Climate Change, Commentary, Current Events, Global Warming, Opinion
Leave a comment The Union of Concerned Propagandists By Alan Caruba On July 11, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) announced that it had launched “a national advertising campaign as part of a broader effort to showcase the dedication and personal histories of scientists studying climate change.” I know quite a few climatologists and meteorologists and the ones I know have been courageously refuting the global warming fraud for years, even decades. Beyond them, thousands of comparable scientists have signed petitions and statements to the effect that global warming was and is a hoax. The UCS campaign, however, is “an effort to educate the public about the work scientists undertaken in their efforts to document and understand human-caused global warming.” Excuse me, but there isn’t any human-caused global warming. There isn’t any global warming insofar as the Earth has been cooling for the past decade. The UCA is part of a broad pushback against the November 2009 revelations that have since become known as “Climategate.” Thousands of leaked emails among a tiny band of rogue scientists, primarily from the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit (CRU) and Penn State University ripped away their curtain of respectability. July 24, 2010
Posted by Congressman Billybob in: Accountability, Commentary, Current Events, Democrat, Finance, Global Warming, Opinion, Politics, The Economy
Leave a comment Corruption Is Good, In the Right Hands July 20, 2010
Posted by Ben Cerruti in: Accountability, Business, Commentary, Current Events, Economics, Opinion, Politics, The Writer's Corner
Leave a comment Redistribution of Income We have been witnesses to a continuing use of class warfare by those in government, abetted by the media and an assortment of special interest groups and individuals. In this essay we will consider the methods they use to establish the terms relating to redistribution of income. Utilizing effective divisive tactics they initially obfuscate their intentions by using the term “wealth” in place of “income” when proposing material changes in the income tax code. Taxing income derived from accumulated wealth does not alter that wealth. They next establish three main category of classes; rich, middle class and poor. If one were to pay close attention, he or she would find that they rather conveniently alter the dividing lines to suit the subject for which they are advocates. Continue reading Redistribution of Income July 19, 2010
Posted by Michael Crumling in: Commentary, Current Events, Foreign Affairs, Freedom, Heroes, History, Personal Experiences
2 comments I had worked a long day, but just did not feel like going home right away. I drove myself into a Perkins parking lot and found many booths and tables, but what caught my attention was the coffee counter. A collection of old goats and craggy faced talking-heads was manning it. The coffee was the same there, but I bet that the conversation was not. I was not disappointed. There was the solution to the debt & deficit, the local zoning committee, and attempts for gambling at off-track betting locations; all manner of discussion was heard. A sandwich and half a pot of coffee later, the conversation became heated. The conversation had wandered to World War II. A later arrival was of the opinion that the US had lost the war. He said that the world tricked us into rebuilding them, and protecting them, but that we had tricked them, making them our puppets. There was much debate and spicy language. The old goats had awakened. The “hippie” as he was now called, was a rather young man. He spoke in broad statements at how evil the American system has been. But when he said that Harry Truman was a war criminal for dropping the bomb, and should have been hanged, I came unglued. I had listened to the entire debate trading very few barbs. I had been polite. At this point, I no longer was. Continue reading Of Coffee and Consequence July 19, 2010
Posted by Alan Caruba in: Commentary, Current Events, Foreign Affairs, Governance, Opinion, Politics
Leave a comment U.S. Looks Weak as Iran Flips Off the World By Alan Caruba For months now, Mortimer B. Zuckerman, the owner and editor-in-chief of U.S. News & World Report, has been writing increasingly desperate pleas for the Obama administration to do something about the greatest threat to peace in the Middle East and the world, Iran. “When Barack Obama became president, Iran had perhaps several thousand centrifuges enriching uranium. Now it may have thousands more,” wrote Zuckerman in the August edition. “What’s at stake here is too menacing for the world to delude itself that Iran will somehow change course. It won’t.” It must be very frustrating to be a multi-millionaire media mogul and yet unable to do much about an impending disaster other than warn about it. My sense is that it falls on deaf ears at the White House. Anyone as dense as Obama should not be allowed to be Commander-in-Chief, but he is and, worse for America and all other nations, he likely has no idea of the dangers involved in reducing the nation’s military capabilities at a time when Iran is closing in on becoming a nuclear threat to the Middle East and beyond. Continue reading U.S. Looks Weak as Iran Flips Off the World July 17, 2010
Posted by Congressman Billybob in: Commentary, Congress, Current Events, Democracy, Opinion, Politics, The Writer's Corner
Leave a comment The Missing Bone Hunters of Politics July 15, 2010
Posted by Alan Caruba in: Commentary, Current Events, General Topics, Journalism, Marketing, Opinion, The Media
Leave a comment Public Relations and the World By Alan Caruba PR Week publishes monthly editions in addition to its other news services and the July issue is devoted to “The most powerful people in PR.” All industries have their major players, so there is nothing surprising that public relations would also have its heavy hitters, but there are some interesting insights to be gleaned from the list of the twenty-five chosen. I have plied the magic arts and crafts of public relations since the 1970s when I gave up the notion of ever making a decent living as a journalist. Journalism offers tons of ego satisfaction, but the pay was bad back then and, by comparison with other professions, not much better today. The major players are, not surprisingly, the ones in charge of projecting and protecting a corporate “image”, otherwise known as perception. Number one on the list is Katie Cotton, the VP of worldwide corporate communications for Apple. She is teamed with Steve Jobs its cofounder and CEO because, together, they are the dynamic due of PR for a company that is testimony to American innovation and enterprise. It’s a very good choice. Continue reading Public Relations and the World July 10, 2010
Posted by Alan Caruba in: Accountability, Commentary, Current Events, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Relations, Governance, Journalism, Opinion, World Issues
One comment NASA’s Mission to the Muslims By Alan Caruba I felt like this back in the days when the Watergate scandal slowly, painfully unraveled, revealing the most appalling stupidity and criminality emanating from the Oval Office. From the night when the burglars were arrested in the Democrat Committee headquarters on June 17, 1972 to the day Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, Americans were forced to witness and endure something unthinkable. The news that NASA administrator, Charles Bolden, had been dispatched to the Middle East to fulfill what he said was its “foremost” mission, “to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science…and math and engineering” was so appallingly stupid that it defied any legitimate reason for NASA to exist. The other mission objectives Barack Obama charged Bolden with were to “re-inspire children to want to get into science and math” and to “expand our international relationships.” Continue reading NASA’s Mission to the Muslims July 10, 2010
Posted by Congressman Billybob in: Commentary, Current Events, Heroes, Opinion, The Media, The Writer's Corner
Leave a comment A Tale of Two Women “Important” events happened recently to two women. The relative attention paid and press coverage about the two tells a lot about where we are as a nation, and it isn’t good. The two women are Lindsay Lohan and Pam Murphy. July 6, 2010
Posted by Minnette Coleman in: African-American, Attitude, Business, Commentary, Current Events, Economics, Habit Change, Lifestyle, Marketing, Women's Perspective
7 comments My hair is not my shining glory. Saying that as a black woman conjures up a lot of feelings, jokes and anger. But not for me. Once a young friend chastised me for cutting my hair. She told me everyone was trying to grow some and here I destroying mine. My response was “It’s only hair and it will grow back”. It was something she didn’t understand because for ages black women have wanted the hair they claim God didn’t give them. I know why, I understand why but I think now is the time to get over it. It is time for a major hair change in this country. Continue reading The (Black) Hair Thing July 6, 2010
You may not be aware of this but shortly after 9/11 a movie was to be released called “Rats!”. It was about that yucky vermin taking over New York city. Someone brightly and bravely decided that the movie should not be shown for a long time. Didn’t matter though, NYC has a ton of rats. More rats than people. But some idiot somewhere in Albany decided to cut back on extermination efforts in the city. That movie, which I never saw, may soon become a reality. Continue reading Budget Cuts and Rats! July 5, 2010
Posted by Muhammad Cohen in: Business, Business Management, Current Events, Entertainment, Freedom
Leave a comment Singapore’s casino resorts are open, but there’s still plenty of work to be done. [...] July 4, 2010
Posted by Alan Caruba in: Commentary, Current Events, Democracy, Governance, Heroes, History, Opinion
6 comments God and Governance in the USA By Alan Caruba I confess I always look forward to July Fourth because it carries with it memories of my parents who proudly displayed the flag on every holiday and of the full day of celebration by my hometown that began with races in the morning by the various grades of school kids, baking and other contests, a circus and a concert in the afternoon and early evening, concluded with a grand display of fireworks at night. My parents were both first generation Americans and their parents understood what the American Dream was because they had lived it. They had endured hard times and good, and were fiercely patriotic. They would have been mystified and angered to hear the talk of the “separation of church and state” to justify thwarting the acknowledgement that God is at the very center of the nation’s creation. The Constitution does not speak of separation. It says that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” Continue reading God and Governance in the USA July 4, 2010
Posted by Congressman Billybob in: Accountability, Commentary, Current Events, Democrat, Governance, Homeland Security, Mexico, Opinion
One comment “The Orator, with his Flood of Words….” July 1, 2010
Posted by Michael Crumling in: Accountability, Commentary, Comments & Discussion, Congress, Current Events, Democracy, Education, Freedom, General Topics, Governance, History, Legal, Military, Non-Fiction, Opinion, Philosophical Genres, Politics, Social Issues, The Pundit's Corner
Leave a comment A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bears arms shall not be infringed.Twenty-seven little words packed with so much meaning, and causing so much debate. The recent McDonald v. Chicago decision seems to put to rest nearly fifty years of debate; especially when teamed with District of Columbia v. Heller. These two decisions hold that the Constitution of the United States extends the individual right to arms and that the Second Amendment is applicable to every city and state. Did they make the right decision? Continue reading Chicago loses, Americans win!July 1, 2010
Sometimes you just got to take the train. It’s inevitable. This morning there was an accident on the Henry Hudson Parkway, which meant every west side street and highway was backed up for hours. My commute to work on a bus would have been extended by at least 15 minutes. So train it was and once I actually got a seat I was reminded why I take the train as seldom as possible. Crazy people live on the subway train. Continue reading Subway Story: Two Crazies, No Waiting June 30, 2010
The New York Transit System, better known as the MTA, cut 36 bus lines and services over the weekend because of the usual money problems. I understand in a week or two they will propose a fare hike. Many will protest but few will do anything about it. These service cuts affect the working and non-working poor the most. It is just another kick for those who can’t get a break. Continue reading Who Suffers When Services are Cut June 27, 2010
Posted by Michael Crumling in: Accountability, Attitude, Commentary, Comments & Discussion, Current Events, Freedom, General Topics, Governance, History, Non-Fiction, Opinion, Philosophical Genres, Politics, Social Issues
4 comments When I was a boy my Pap would tell me that a good man should over-deliver and under-promise. Your word and your handshake were a contract. The good rules to live by were the “Golden Rule”, The Ten Commandments and the Constitution of the United States. Regardless of what you believe, these are a great foundation. I understood the golden rule from the time I was a small child. In my household, we tried really hard to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. I have a great deal of empathy as an adult, as a result of this early upbringing. The Ten Commandments were much clearer to me as I entered the middle years of school. As a small child, the concepts are difficult to grasp. With time and a little maturing, it is easy to understand the ethical implications. Don’t lie, murder, steal, cheat on your commitments, or desire to take private property. You should honor your parents and not worship self-indulgent or self-proclaimed “gods”. You should work only six days in the week. One day should be reserved for family members and also those who labor for you; to rest, family and thanks to your creator. I always had difficulty with the graven image issue, but none the less, these are good rules. The Constitution, its’ causes, its’ meaning, and the intent were difficult to grasp. The language was a bit nebulous from the perspective of a child, the need for it unclear. Continue reading Closing Pandoras Box June 26, 2010
Posted by Peggy Noonan in: Commentary, Current Events, Foreign Affairs, Journalism, Opinion, Terrorism, World Issues
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McChrystal Forces Us to Focus
IMITATION ISN’T ALWAYS FLATTERING:
A Snakebit President
America Goes Buggy Over Bed Bugs
America Goes Buggy Over Bed Bugs
By Alan Caruba
When The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and all other media in America begin to devote lots of space and time to the subject of bed bugs, you know America has a real pest problem.
Uniquely, I know a lot of pest control professionals because I have worked closely with the industry for a quarter century providing public relations services.
So let me say that I have the ANSWER to the nation’s plague of bed bugs.
It’s called PESTICIDES. Continue reading America Goes Buggy Over Bed Bugs