The American "education" machine is broken!





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

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Speech-protecting student president restored
   EdukShun piece by Offsite (11/17/09)

An attempt to remove the student body president of a California college from office has collapsed because student government officials failed to follow state law in targeting the elected leader when he refused to censor the free speech rights of a pro-life organization on campus.

Monday, November 16, 2009

‘So we’re tea bag extremists, eh?‘
   The Republic piece by Offsite (11/16/09)

In order to persuade some House Democrats who were undecided about voting for the health-care deform legislation, or H.R. 3962, last week, President Obama resorted to ‘name-calling’ of those opposed to the legislation.

Fallacy of recovery
   Economics piece by Offsite (11/16/09)

A one-time skeptic of fiscal stimulus, [German chancellor] Ms Merkel plans what amounts to a third stimulus package worth about € 7 billion ($10.4 billion), starting on January 1st. - The Economist, Oct. 31, 2009 - The mainstream media is full of reports of economic recovery and an end to the recession of 2008, even though the Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research has not yet spoken its official word on the matter. The significant rise in the stock markets and a single advance GDP report has been enough to convince nearly every economist and financial analyst that the worst is past, that 10.2 percent unemployment is a lagging indicator, and that the primary concern at hand is now too much monetary and fiscal stimulus leading to inflation.

The Empire State and Eminent Domain
   Big Brother piece by Offsite (11/16/09)

In September, Dan Goldstein received a letter from New York State informing him and his wife that the government was about to seize their Brooklyn apartment “In furtherance of the Atlantic Yards Arena and Redevelopment Project.“ The building would be razed as part of a 22-acre, $4.9 billion sports-complex project.

It Takes The Village: A Review of AMC’s The Prisoner
   Entertainment piece by Aaron Goldstein (11/16/09)

Shortly after the death of actor Patrick McGoohan last January, his widow was asked about the remake of her departed husband’s best known work The Prisoner.  Joan Drummond revealed that he had been approached to participate in the new series but declined to have any involvement.

It’s Never Too Early to be Too Late
   Political Correctness piece by Robert R. Owens (11/16/09)

If no one has told you this yet let me be the first, as you get older time goes faster.  If you’re under thirty you’re thinking, “This old coot has finally gone off his rocker!  Everyone knows an hour is an hour.  So how can time go faster as you get older?“  If you’re between thirty and forty you’re thinking, “Who’s got time to think about time and who cares?  I’ve got to go to work!“  If you’re between forty and sixty you’re thinking “He might have something there” as you day-dream about those endless summers when you were in High School.  If you’re over sixty you’re hoping time doesn’t end before you finish reading this paragraph.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Discover(ing) Stupidity
   Business piece by J.J. Jackson (11/15/09)

A couple months ago my wife and I received notice from Discover Card that they were canceling our joint credit card.  The reason was basically the same as so many other Americans have heard themselves from such companies; we simply were not using it enough.  Why it was that we were not using it was of no concern to Discover.  But had they asked they would have learned that their card was simply not being used because it did not give us any incentive to use it.  With a bank issued debit and credit card and several other credit cards with equal or better interest rates and far superior rewards programs, Discover was low man on the totem pole and looked certain to remain there.

‘By the sweat of ... someone else’s brow?‘
   Welfare State piece by Offsite (11/15/09)

In the most recent issue of my favorite magazine (dedicated to independence, self-sufficiency and rural living), I was stunned to come across the following letter:  “My husband and I want to purchase some land to start an organic vegetable and fruit farm, and maybe raise chickens and sheep. We have found several good prospects. The problem is money. I’ve tried going on the computer to find grants for starting to make my dream a reality. But everyone wants money just to give me books and list how to get a grant. How do you do it? Our home is not worth much (we are living in a fifth-wheel travel trailer in an RV park). Any advice on what to do would be very helpful. I have been reading books on organic farming, and I think we could make a real living at it.“

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Congress: Read the Constitution!
   Congress piece by Offsite (11/14/09)

Speculation about Roland Burris’ double-digit IQ followed him to the U.S. Senate, where he opened his mouth and removed all doubt. When a reporter asked him to identify the specific constitutional language that authorized the federal government to mandate individual health insurance, he stumbled a bit, and then said it is that part that says “... health, welfare and defense of the country.“ The word “health” is not in the Constitution.

State tries to deny homeschoolers vaccinations
   Big Brother piece by Offsite (11/14/09)

Officials in an least one state have tried to deny children who are homeschooled access to the limited supplies of vaccine for the H1N1 flu, which federal officials warn already has affected some 22 million Americans.

The George W. Bush Institute: Free Markets, Small Government… Since When
   Politics piece by Warner Todd Huston (11/14/09)

Get ready because I am going to slap George W. Bush around a little bit. Now, don’t get me wrong, it isn’t like I hated him. After all I voted for him twice. There was a lot that Bush did that I supported, mostly on the security and war fronts. But, I really stood against his domestic agenda almost completely. I was against no child’s behind left alone—er, I mean no child left behind—I was against the bailouts and against the drug benefit for seniors program. I disagreed with his “compassionate conservatism” narrative because it really was just an excuse for a little less big government than what the Democrats full-blown socialism would have been. About the only thing he wanted to do that I supported, the privatization of Social Security, he never pushed hard enough to implement.

Friday, November 13, 2009

‘No Global Warming - What Next?‘
   GreeenIsm piece by FreeCongressFoundation: E. Ralph Hostetter (11/13/09)

Global temperatures ceased rising in 1989 and have declined since then, according to an NASA study of satellite temperature data over the last decade.

Huge China Crash Coming
   Economics piece by Offsite (11/13/09)

To the growing number of China bears, add Kynikos hedge fund manager Jim Chanos, who is reportedly shorting the entire Chinese economy.

Chinese Go Wild on Credit Cards
   Economics piece by Offsite (11/13/09)

The conventional wisdom used to be that Americans are spenders while Chinese are savers.

Corzine Maybe New Bank of America Chief
   Economics piece by Offsite (11/13/09)

Soon-to-be former governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine - rejected by voters just last week - is already working his contacts in the Obama administration and may be named as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bank of America, reports Charlie Gasparino, on-air editor at CNBC.

U.S. Banks Nearly Socialist
   Socialism piece by Offsite (11/13/09)

Economist Henry Kaufman warns that the U.S. financial system is on the precipice of socialism, but can pull back with a few judicious steps by policymakers.

World Rushes to Prop Up U.S. Dollar
   Dollar piece by Offsite (11/13/09)

In efforts to prop up the ailing U.S. dollar, experts estimate that some of the largest emerging economies may have spent as much as $150 billion on currency intervention over the past two months, according to data from Brown Brothers Harriman.

Affordable Energy
   Energy piece by Guest: Paul Driessen (11/13/09)

The foundation of human rights and economic justice - Missouri Association for Social Welfare, 109th Annual Conference: Tools for Change – Awareness, Advocacy and Action, University of Missouri – St. Louis campus, J.C. Penney Building Friday, November 5, 10:45 – 11:45

Get Ready for a 60 Percent Top Tax Rate
   Taxes piece by Offsite (11/13/09)

Economists who have the Obama administration’s policymaking ear simply do not believe that higher marginal tax rates will retard economic growth, writes economist Irwin Stelzer.

A New Economic Crisis Looms
   Economics piece by Offsite (11/13/09)

CNBC commentator Charles Gasparino says another financial catastrophe is coming, thanks largely to President Obama’s flawed economic policy.

The Quality of Mercy - Soldiers of These United States
   Military piece by Rev Bresciani (11/13/09)

Almost everyone in America has been somehow affected by the recent events at the Ft Hood Army Base. The events were seemed particularly intense because only days later Americans honored those who served in Veterans Day observances around the nation.

N.Y. Congressional Race Not Over Yet
   Elections piece by Offsite (11/13/09)

The highly-publicized New York congressional race that had apparently been won by Democrat Bill Owens isn’t over yet—officially.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Chavez’s Next Target: El Salvador
   Socialism piece by Offsite (11/12/09)

Twenty-first century socialism may have stumbled in Honduras but it is being tried again in El Salvador. - Fidel Castro learned a lot from Chilean President Salvador Allende’s failed power grab in 1973. And he used the lessons of that bitter defeat to coach Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez to dictatorship under the guise of democracy more than 25 years later.

Competition, innovation key to supply Arizona’s future energy needs
   Energy piece by GoldwaterInstitute: Nick Dranias (11/12/09)

Arizona’s consumption of electrical power has been growing at about three times the rate of the United States’ as a whole. Unless we open the market to let more suppliers in, Arizonans will be at risk of electricity shortages, spiraling prices and miss out on the benefits of innovation in renewable energy spurred by competition for their business. That’s why the Goldwater Institute recommends restructuring Arizona’s electricity markets for competition.

Net neutrality regulation violates First Amendment
   Big Brother piece by GoldwaterInstitute: Nick Dranias (11/12/09)

The Federal Communications Commission wants to force network service providers - the companies that own and operate the wires, routers and computers that keep the Internet humming - to transmit streaming audio, video and anything else on terms the FCC deems “neutral” regardless of how much bandwidth the data consumes. Network providers say the regulation will eliminate their ability to manage network traffic and effectively clog up the Internet. They argue that such “net neutrality” will deter and destroy private sector investment in the Internet.

Gov. Crist DID Flip Flop on Stimulus Support
   Politics piece by Warner Todd Huston (11/12/09)

On November 5 on CNN, Florida Governor Charlie Crist(1) told Wolf Blitzer that he didn’t back the $787 billion Obama stimulus bill. Crist has since said that it isn’t a flip flop when he says he supported the stimulus “in concept” but didn’t support the specific bill.

Lessons Learned From New York District 23
   Elections piece by Christopher Adamo (11/12/09)

Is it possible for Republicans to make significant political headway in the 2010 mid-term elections, and thereby put the brakes on the Obama/Reid/Pelosi program of dismantling the greatness of America? Even a cursory examination of last week’s off-year elections in Virginia and New Jersey render a resounding “yes.“ However, the special congressional election in New York district 23 adds the sobering reminder that the GOP can certainly blow this opportunity if it resorts to its past pathetic pattern of dithering and posturing.

A 69% Capital Gains Tax Hike . . .
   Taxes piece by Offsite (11/12/09)

Our job is to read bad legislation so you don’t have to, and on that score we may demand combat pay for plowing our way through the House health-care bill that passed on Saturday. This thing has economic booby traps everywhere, such as favors for the tort bar (see below) and the largest capital gains tax increase in at least a half-century.

. . . And a Buried Tort Bomb
   Health Care piece by Offsite (11/12/09)

A stealth provision that would undermine state damage caps.  - In his September address to Congress, President Obama made a nod to bipartisanship by acknowledging that excessive litigation “may be” contributing to rising health costs, and he proposed state “demonstration projects” to test medical tort reform. This wasn’t much of a concession, but it apparently was still too much for House Democrats, who are using their bill to subvert reform that is already on the books in many states.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

IEA Oil Forecast Is Bunk
   Energy piece by Offsite (11/11/09)

Demand for energy will increase by 40 percent between now and 2030, yet an insider at the International Energy Association (IEA) warns that there just isn’t enough oil in the world to supply that need.