March 12, 2010

When Congress Cheats on Its Rules

When Congress Cheats on Its Rules
 
by John Armor 
 
We are apparently at crunch point on the efforts of President Obama, Speaker Pelosi in the House, and Majority Leader Reid in the Senate to pass by whatever means necessary the “health reform” bill. In the national debate, however, no one has asked whether the Supreme Court has [...]

March 11, 2010

Is there something wrong with this picture?

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 [...]

March 8, 2010

FLATTEN GOVERNMENT

Don’t forget the [...]

February 19, 2010

Can Washington Meet the Demand to Cut Spending?

Can Washington Meet the Demand to Cut Spending?
Americans have reached a consensus. What’s lacking is trust.

 

President Obama’s decision to appoint Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson to his bipartisan commission on government spending is politically shrewd and, in terms of policy, potentially helpful.

It is shrewd in that he is doing what he has been urged to [...]

February 12, 2010

The Off-Center President

The Off-Center President
Obama says he’d settle for a single term—and seems to mean it.

 

There is, I think, an amazing political fact right now that is hiding in plain sight and is rich with implications. It was there in President Obama’s Jan. 25, pre-State of the Union interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, who was pressing him [...]

February 9, 2010

Question Time Isn’t the Answer

Question Time Isn’t the Answer
In the age of terror, America needs sober, bipartisan leadership.

 

There’s renewed interest in Question Time, or rather in the idea of trying to import in some fashion the British parliamentary institution whereby the prime minister appears each Wednesday in the House of Commons in order to take questions and debate. The [...]

February 3, 2010

The National Madhouse

The National Madhouse

By Alan Caruba

If you think that you are going mad, based on the statements out of the White House and Congress, let me assure you that you are sane, but those in charge of governing the nation appear to have lost their wits.

The Democrat’s third-ranking House leader, Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), during an [...]

February 1, 2010

“I am not an ideologue”

“I am not an ideologue.”
 
by John Armor
 
Last week, I wrote about 11 factually false statements in President Obama’s State of the Union address. Normally, one should not repeat the same subject next week. But, did you see the appearance of Obama before the Republicans meeting in Baltimore? I know that a few hundred of you [...]

January 30, 2010

All Obama, All the Time

All Obama, All the Time

By Alan Caruba

We are back to the Obama administration’s original theory of governance, “All Obama, all the time.” Having basked on the spotlight during his rather long State of the Union Speech, Obama addressed the Baltimore conference of Republican members of Congress with yet another familiar excuse, it’s all George W. [...]

January 29, 2010

Fix corporations to fix campaign finance

Corporations behave irresponsibly because rigged elections prevent shareholders from supervising their investment. Until corporations fix their own elections, they shouldn’t meddle in others. [...]

January 29, 2010

The Obama Contradiction

The Obama Contradiction
Washington is sick and broken—and it can solve all our problems.

 

When you watch a president give a State of the Union Address on television, you’re always watching three people: the president at the podium, and the vice president and House speaker on the rise behind him. As a TV shot it’s awkward. The [...]

January 28, 2010

Sex, Lies, and the State of Union

Sex, Lies, and the State of Union
 
by John Armor 
 
I’m just a semi-retired lawyer, living on a gravel road in the Blue Ridge Mountains. But I am also an avid consumer of news in all forms. This is a test. I read none of today’s analyses of the State of the Union speech. Here are the [...]

January 28, 2010

Was Obama too inexperienced?

In the early days of Obama’s run for President a lot of people said he had no experience. Remember all those people who said this guy had just been a Senator for a couple years and did he really have the experience to walk into the ring and govern and be the leader of the [...]

January 28, 2010

A Nation of Squatters--Poverty comes to the Suburbs

When I wrote my last novel Rocket Man about a man struggling to keep his home, I emphasized the chaos of the American Dream and threw everything but the kitchen sink at my poor main character. Now this fictional character seems to have moved down the pike into the mainstream of suburban America. A bank [...]

January 28, 2010

And, Now, for Some Good News!

And, Now, for Some Good News!

By Alan Caruba

After the State of the Union speech and the instant analyses on television and the punditry that follows on newspaper’s editorial pages and, of course, on news/opinion websites and countless blogs and forums, the tendency is likely to dwell on how it portends more of the same bad [...]

January 24, 2010

The Bill Comes Due for Socialism in America

The Bill Comes Due for Socialism in America

By Alan Caruba

“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.” — Margaret Thatcher, former British Prime Minister

It began as a beautiful cruise to a land of “hope and change”, but it has become a nightmare in which the ship of state is [...]

January 23, 2010

Observing the Obvious

Observing the Obvious

By Alan Caruba

For the past two years, it has been obvious to a lot of conservatives and independents that we have a President whose elevator doesn’t go to the top floor. This is a seriously flawed person.

Anyone in law enforcement will tell you that there are few people, including serial killers, who “look” [...]

January 19, 2010

Deadly Earth, Deadly Humans

Deadly Earth, Deadly Humans

By Alan Caruba

The earthquake in Haiti is a perfect example of the arrogance of environmentalists who are always running around crying “Save the Earth” or making claims that any or all forms of life are going extinct.

For three decades we have listened to these charlatans claim that the Earth was heating up [...]

January 9, 2010

Getting Control of Congress, Permanently

Getting Control of Congress, Permanently
 
by John Armor 
 
We are now experiencing a disconnect between national political leaders and the citizenry. Public support for congressional actions is low and falling, as are the president’s numbers. Public opposition to the health care bill, now passed in different forms in the House and Senate, is at 59% and rising.

In [...]

January 8, 2010

The Risk of Catastrophic Victory

The Risk of Catastrophic Victory
Obama is in the midst of one. Can the GOP avert one of their own?

 

Passage of the health-care bill will be, for the administration, a catastrophic victory. If it is voted through in time for the State of the Union Address, as President Obama hopes, half the chamber will rise to [...]

January 1, 2010

New Rules for Air Travel

New Rules for Air Travel

By Alan Caruba

The simple fact of the matter is that the only reason the Christmas Delta flight was not blown out of the sky with a powerful explosive was that the detonator didn’t work. Does it strike anyone as ironic that, according to government officials, the “answer” to airline safety is [...]

January 1, 2010

Look Ahead With Stoicism – and Optimism

Look Ahead With Stoicism—and Optimism
While so many of our institutions have failed, we can repair them. The first step is to take personal responsibility.

The accomplished and sophisticated attorney was asked what attitude he was bringing to the new year. “Stoicism and mindless optimism,” he laughed, which sounded just about right. He meant it, he said, [...]

December 28, 2009

The Bigger They Are…

The Bigger They Are…

By Alan Caruba

The phrase, “The bigger they are, the harder they fall” comes from the world of boxing, but it applies increasingly to government.

Americans have seen that the bigger the government grows, the less able it is to respond to both the major needs of Americans, like national security, and the immediate [...]

December 26, 2009

‘He Just Does What He Thinks Is Right’

‘He Just Does What He Thinks Is Right’

Cannon to the left of him, cannon to the right of him, cannon in front of him volley and thunder. That’s our president’s position on the political battlefield now, taking it from all sides. And the odd thing, the unique thing in terms of modern political history, is [...]

December 22, 2009

Even Paranoids Have Real Enemies

Even Paranoids Have Real Enemies

By Alan Caruba

The little-known American poet, Delmore Schwartz, is remembered best for having once said, “Even paranoids have real enemies.” The year ahead, 2010, is going to be a harvest of fears for those as paranoid as myself.

Happily, I stopped worrying about “global warming” years ago, having figured out what lots [...]

December 20, 2009

Demography Decides Everything

Demography Decides Everything

By Alan Caruba

When I listen to politicians arguing the merits of some piece of legislation, I am usually 99% sure they have no idea how demography-—population—-will affect the outcome of their grand schemes.

This is particularly true of advocates of fixed and often flawed ideas about the environment. Most “save the Earth” true believers [...]

December 18, 2009

Questions, Questions, Questions

Questions, Questions, Questions

By Alan Caruba

I am frequently asked how I come up with something new to write about every day, but in fact I write about the same things, the Constitution, energy issues, the global warming fraud, education, immigration, et cetera. There is, however, always something new to address within these and other ongoing topics.

As [...]

December 17, 2009

Why You’re Broke

Why You’re Broke

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” [...]

December 13, 2009

December 15 is Bill of Rights Day

December 15 is Bill of Rights Day

By Alan Caruba

December 15 is Bill of Rights day, a national holiday that was signed into law by Franklin Delano Roosevelt on that day in 1941. For those who know their history, that was just a week after the attack on Pearl Harbor that brought the United States into [...]

December 8, 2009

Reading What Isn’t There

Reading What Isn’t There
 
by John Armor 
 
As an avid follower of and writer on political and legal subjects for almost fifty years, I’ve gotten on many mailing lists from all parts of the political spectrum. This week I received the “2009 Scorecard on Campaign Reform” from an outfit named North Carolina Voters for Clean Elections. Sounds [...]

December 5, 2009

Job Summits Do Not Create Jobs

Job Summits Do Not Create Jobs

By Alan Caruba

It has taken less than a year for most Americans to conclude that the Obama White House is all about appearances. The “Job Summit” is a classic example. Just how does one hold such a conference without inviting representatives of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to participate?

Most administrations [...]

December 2, 2009

The Open-Ended War

The Open-Ended War

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, [...]

November 17, 2009

How I Saved Or Created 4,730,400,003 Jobs

 

How I Saved Or Created 4,730,400,003 Jobs

 

November 17, 2009

China Will Surprise Obama

China Will Surprise Obama

By Alan Caruba

President Obama loves to travel. He cannot wait to descend the steps from Airforce One to the sounds of welcoming bands, honor guards, and awaiting dignitaries. On his whirlwind November 13-19 trip to Asia, however, he is likely to be sternly lectured behind closed doors from Tokyo to Beijing and [...]

November 15, 2009

A Man-Made Financial Disaster

A Man-Made Financial Disaster

By Alan Caruba

You will recall that, shortly before the end of the 2008 political campaign, the White House announced a threat to the entire financial system and called on Congress to enact emergency spending powers. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 was enacted on October 3, 2008.

Just eighteen days earlier an [...]

November 12, 2009

Just the Facts, Mr. President

Just the Facts, Mr. President
Approach Afghanistan with sheer, blunt logic and a clear plan.

The president has been taking time thinking about Afghanistan. I cannot see why this is bad. If he’s really thinking, he’s not dithering—thought can be harder than action, weighing plans as hard as choosing and executing one. A question of such consequence [...]

October 27, 2009

The Pursuit of Happiness–the public option should be for everyone

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. So  if we are to take these words at their core and apply them to the year 2009 then we [...]

October 27, 2009

How to be a Jerk

How to be a Jerk

By Alan Caruba

Let us begin with a fact that whole legions of global warming alarmists cannot wish away or hide from public view. The Earth has been cooling since 1998 and it is getting demonstrably cooler almost everywhere in the world. The cooling will continue for decades.

So it follows that the [...]

October 23, 2009

It’s His Rubble Now

It’s His Rubble Now
And the American people want him to fix it.

At a certain point, a president must own a presidency. For George W. Bush that point came eight months in, when 9/11 happened. From that point on, the presidency—all his decisions, all the credit and blame for them—was his. The American people didn’t hold [...]

October 16, 2009

There Is No New Frontier

There Is No New Frontier
We are a nation fully settled by government. The terrain ahead is both crowded and costly.

Here are pertinent observations from two accomplished political veterans at a forum Tuesday night at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. The question, from David Gergen, was what advice the panelists, former Reagan advisor Ken [...]

October 14, 2009

Americans Dont want Rush in their livingrooms–NFL Rejects his bid

So Rush Limbaugh is down for the count. No NFL team for him to hang his hat on. Seems the NFL wants nothing to do with him or his views. They repudiated the Limbaugh world hook line and sinker. Which of course for Rush is something he will make much of and increase ratings, but, [...]

October 14, 2009

Global Warming? The “Deniers” are my Heroes

Global Warming? The “Deniers” are my Heroes
By Alan Caruba

It has been nearly three decades since I first wrote that “global warming” was a hoax and I have had to repeat myself countless times since then. Along the way I met many of the so-called “deniers” and dissenters. I had correspondence with others. We all knew [...]

October 12, 2009

Mr. President, Please Do NOTHING

Mr. President, Please Do NOTHING
By Alan Caruba

I had a strange epiphany the other day. If I were to write a letter to President Obama, it would say, “Please do nothing.”

It seems to me that Obama’s forte is to do nothing much of the time. Well, not “nothing.” He is giving speeches, but those incessant, self-referencing [...]

October 12, 2009

The Swine Who Live to Scare You

The Swine Who Live to Scare You
By Alan Caruba

For a very long time I have made my living as a business and science writer. That profession tends to make one fond of facts. It’s the reason my blog’s URL is “facts not fantasy” and why I call it “Warning Signs.”

It is the reason I [...]

September 29, 2009

When Did Energy Become the Enemy?

When Did Energy Become the Enemy?
By Alan Caruba

One of the most curious and, frankly, frightening aspects of environmentalism is its hatred of the use of energy. One can draw a straight line between the Carter administration that imposed a windfall tax on the U.S. oil industry and the present Obama administration that is all for [...]

September 28, 2009

All Obama, All the Time

All Obama, All the Time
By Alan Caruba

You know things are amiss when a British newspaper takes President Obama to task in an editorial titled, “Too much Obama.”

America and the rest of the world have had nine months of President Obama and all the flaws that were hidden by campaign rhetoric and coverage are now on [...]

September 26, 2009

Liberals are Killing America

Liberals are Killing America

By Alan Caruba

It is not a new observation, but it is one that needs review and repeating every so often. Why do liberals always seem to get on the side of any issue concerning America’s future? Its sovereignty? Its financial security? Its defense?

I think this question is particularly timely given the public [...]

September 24, 2009

The U.S. Capitol and Islam’s Endless Jihad

The U.S. Capitol and Islam’s Endless Jihad
By Alan Caruba

On Monday, September 28, Jews around the world will celebrate Yom Kippur, fasting and seeking to begin the new lunar year with a clean slate. The holy day is traditionally celebrated after one has paid debts and sought forgiveness for any wrongs.

For the Israelis, in 1973, it [...]

September 24, 2009

Unbearable Arrogance

Unbearable Arrogance
By Alan Caruba

As the months pass by in the Obama administration, some traits are beginning to emerge that inform us in a general way what we’re up against.

To the astonishment of many, it is an administration filled with Marxists. The “Green Jobs” czar Van Jones was exposed as one and resigned. Now it has [...]

September 22, 2009

Julius and Julius (Caesar and Genachowski)

Julius and Julius (Caesar and Genachowski)

by John Armor

Two days ago we were sitting on the dock in Como, having a gellato, waiting for our ship to come in.  Not actually a ship, just a small commuter boat that connects the small communities on the shores of Lake Como in northern Italy.

It is a breathtakingly beautiful [...]

September 17, 2009

Obama: Wrong, Just Wrong

Obama: Wrong, Just Wrong
By Alan Caruba

What continues to astound me is how wrong the Obama administration is on so many issues. It is not unusual to disagree with some element of the White House agenda, no matter who is president, but I keep looking for something, anything, with which to agree.

This is the price Americans [...]

September 16, 2009

“Technically” We’re Out of a Recession

“Technically” We’re Out of a Recession
By Alan Caruba

I cannot tell you how relieved I was to hear Ben Bernake, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, announce that the United States is “technically” out of the recession. I spent much of the day waiting for my phone to ring with offers of work.

Chairman Bernake did add [...]

September 15, 2009

HOW MUCH DO WE TRUST GOVERNMENT?

The results of an interesting poll I recently [...]

September 13, 2009

The Fine Art of American Protest

The Fine Art of American Protest
By Alan Caruba

There have been many mass marches on Washington, D.C., so the locals know how to make plans to anticipate the congestion and the police are polite and skillful in the science of crowd control. They can afford to be polite because the crowds, no matter how large, are [...]

September 10, 2009

9/11 Eight Years Later and No Safer

9/11 Eight Years Later and No Safer

By Alan Caruba

Has it been eight years?

What I learned from 9/11 was that a lot of Americans have concluded that it was America’s fault we were attacked. That may sound screwy to people who correctly believe that al Qaeda planned, funded and provided the men who carried out the [...]

September 8, 2009

Old is not “Dead”

Old is not “Dead”
By Alan Caruba

The most troubling aspect of President Obama’s insistence on so-called healthcare reform is the way the proposed changes will harm the interests of those on Medicare or Medicaid, all 65 years and older.

In the interest of “reform” it is clear that healthcare for the elderly will be rationed in terms [...]

September 7, 2009

A Very American Distrust

A Very American Distrust
By Alan Caruba

Barack Obama has crashed headlong into a wall of distrust. If he had any understanding of American history he would know why, but his sole interest is himself and he proved that by writing not one, but two memoirs.

The men who waged the American Revolution and then met in secret [...]

September 6, 2009

The Afghanistan Quagmire

The Afghanistan Quagmire
By Alan Caruba

In November 2008, I wrote of Afghanistan, “Having lived through the long years of the war in Vietnam, I can tell you that Afghanistan looks and smells like Vietnam. It is the classic wrong war in the wrong place.”

I still think the U.S. should leave. I don’t like having to pack [...]

September 5, 2009

Here Comes the President. Hide the Kids!

Here Comes the President. Hide the Kids!

By Alan Caruba

So the President wants to get the school year off with a speech to all the kids from kindergarten to twelfth grade. Under normal circumstances, this would not arouse my comment although it must be said that I do not recall any previous president doing this.

I do [...]

September 4, 2009

Coruscating on Thin Ice

Coruscating on Thin Ice

The Obama Administration is young and out of touch

by Peggy Noonan

At a speech in Colorado someone asked if I was concerned about some of the appointees to the Obama administration. The questioner was referring obliquely to conservative dismay at Van Jones, special adviser for green jobs on the White House environmental council. [...]

August 31, 2009

My Word

Whether it is in personal, or business matters, I have always tried to conduct myself where “My Word” matters.  If I say something – promise something – commit to something – I give “My Word” and try to follow through with my commitments.  I bothers me tremendously, when for one reason or another, I can’t [...]

August 30, 2009

A Russian Warns Americans Against a Communist Takeover

A Russian Warns Americans Against a Communist Takeover
By Alan Caruba

There is considerable irony involved when a Russian warns Americans against what is taking place before their eyes as President Obama seeks to transform and ultimately acquire dictatorial powers by a series of steps that are both bold and obvious.

In April, Stanislav Mishin’s post on his [...]

August 30, 2009

Obama’s Unconstitutional “Czars”

Obama’s Unconstitutional “Czars”
By Alan Caruba

Here’s a question that has been nagging me for months. Are Obama’s ever-growing number of “czars” constitutional? I am not a constitutional scholar, but I have read the document.

“Article II. Section 2. “He (the President) shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, [...]

August 27, 2009

Don’t Just Stand There. Panic!

Don’t Just Stand There. Panic!
By Alan Caruba

I am rather tired of having to panic every other day courtesy of the U.S. government. It started with seeing the former Secretary of the Treasury sweating profusely while demanding the Congress give him a blank check for $700 billion to bail out some financial institutions that probably should [...]

August 25, 2009

Welcome to Obama World

Welcome to Obama World
By Alan Caruba

There’s the Real World and then there is Obama World. They are like parallel universes that only look alike

You can tell them apart because the Real World is full of dangerous and demented people who think they are fulfilling Allah’s command to kill unbelievers or even believers with whom they [...]

August 25, 2009

Time to Resign, Mr. President

Time to Resign, Mr. President

By Alan Caruba

If you had purchased a stock in January of this year that had lost as much of its value as Barack Obama, you would be desperate to sell it by now. The problem is, the only buyers would be the mainstream media and their stock has been falling too.

I [...]

August 18, 2009

Political Correctness Gone Wrong # 1

Each post will be less than 700 words.
This is the first entry—an introduction.
There will be several more on this topic.
By Lloyd Lofthouse

During America’s Civil Rights era, laws were enacted with the intent to correct wrongs in America. I strongly agree that it [...]

August 18, 2009

Mandate of Heaven

Mandate of Heaven

by Lloyd Lofthouse

The Mandate of Heaven almost ended Communism in China after Mao’s death in 1976. The reason for that was because everyone in China suffered horribly. Thirty-seven million people died because of Mao’s Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution.

The [...]

August 17, 2009

Watch for the Signs

Watch for the Signs
By Alan Caruba

There are some lessons one learns from a life spent first as a journalist and then for many decades as a public relations professional. You cannot succeed in PR if you cannot spot the early signs that the media herd is heading in one direction or the other.

It was obvious [...]

August 14, 2009

Mr. Unpopular

Mr. Unpopular
By Alan Caruba

“I’m melting! I’m melting!” cried the Wicked Witch of the West after Dorothy threw a pail of water on her when her broom caught on fire.

I cannot seem to get this image out of my head as I watch Barack Obama’s polling numbers head south.

The August 13 numbers released by Rasmussen Reports [...]

August 13, 2009

The Obamacare Abomination

The Obamacare Abomination
By Alan Caruba

Not long ago I published a list of elements of the original Obamacare bill that upset a lot of people who accused me of publishing lies about it, but the original bill—now something in the area of five different versions that the Senate and House will consider on their return—was every [...]

August 11, 2009

Audacity of Barack Obama

 Audacity of Barack Obama

By Ben Cerruti

 

He says that he personally, as if a Congress wasn’t involved, will not allow any tax of a family making under $250,000 [...]

August 1, 2009

The Perfect Storm

The Perfect Storm
By Alan Caruba

The term, ‘”the perfect storm”, has come to mean how circumstances and bad judgments come together to create havoc and death.

I have begun to conclude that America is caught in a perfect storm. It didn’t occur overnight, but it has rapidly reached a point wherein the very life of the nation [...]

July 26, 2009

B.O. is an economic ignoramus or a devious Marxist

 

 B.O. is an economic ignoramus or a devious Marxist
By Ben Cerruti

 

July 26, 2009

First Brat: It’s ALL about Him

First Brat: It’s ALL about Him
By Alan Caruba

Ten minutes into the answer to the first question asked at President Obama’s latest press conference, I had a kind of epiphany. This guy should be called the First Brat.

He has all the attributes of a brat. He wants all the attention he can get. He doesn’t take [...]

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