The American "education" machine is broken!





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

Thursday, March 26, 2009

“Earth Hour” Symbolizes the Renunciation of Industrial Civilization
   GreeenIsm piece by AynRandInstitute: Keith Lockitch (3/26/09)

On Saturday, March 28, cities around the world will turn off their lights to observe “Earth Hour.“ Iconic landmarks from the Sydney Opera House to Manhattan’s skyscrapers will be darkened to encourage reduced energy use and signal a commitment to fighting climate change.

Take a Deep Breath and Step Back
   Economics piece by FreeCongressFoundation: E. Ralph Hostetter (3/26/09)

What America needs today is a recess. Issues are moving across the political stage so rapidly that little time is available to analyze and debate them properly. Dollars are discussed in figures of trillions. Constant repetition makes that range sound like the dollars are only in billions - if anyone remembers such a minor monetary term.

AFP Arizona Releases Poll Results:  Likely Voters Oppose Tax Increases
   Taxes piece by Press Release: Tom Jenney (3/26/09)

Respondents Reject Deficit-Reducing Options, Support Constitutional Spending Limit - PHOENIX - Likely voters in Phoenix and Glendale rejected sales and income tax increases by large majorities, in poll results released today by the Arizona chapter of Americans for Prosperity (AFP Arizona), a taxpayer watchdog group committed to fiscal responsibility and limited government.

Violence Against Border Patrol Continues
   National Security piece by Jim Kouri (3/26/09)

A Border Patrol agent patrolling the US-Mexican border in San Ysidro was brutally attacked by a group of four male assailants illegally entering the U.S. As the agent responded to the suspected illegal aliens, they ran towards Mexico to elude apprehension.

Gigantic school, gigantic budget, gigantic mess
   EdukShun piece by GoldwaterInstitute: Matthew Ladner (3/26/09)

The New York Times printed a must read article on Arizona State University and its President, Michael Crow.

How to significantly worsen and lengthen Arizona’s recession
   Government piece by GoldwaterInstitute: Byron Schlomach (3/26/09)

Senate Republicans recently announced their intention to balance the state budget without increasing taxes, as suggested by the governor. That will require significant reductions in spending.

States Could Lose Billions in Taxes to Stimulus
   Government piece by Offsite (3/26/09)

RALEIGH, N.C.—President Barack Obama told the nation’s governors in February that the states’ $229 billion share of the federal stimulus package “will ensure that you don’t need to make cuts to essential services that Americans rely on now more than ever.“

Washington Post to Offer New Buyouts
   MSM piece by Offsite (3/26/09)

NEW YORK (Reuters)—Washington Post Co. plans to offer a new round of buyouts in 2009 to employees at its namesake, money-losing newspaper, according to a memo obtained by Reuters on Thursday.

‘Civil War in Oakland?‘
   Disorder piece by David Tatosian (3/26/09)

After reading ‘Oakland’s Civil War-The People vs. The Police’,(1) regarding the murder of four white Oakland police officers by a black criminal, one gets the distinct impression that the author, Davey D, feels the murders are somewhat justified.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Palin Slams ‘Bogus’ Ethics Complaints
   Demercrats piece by Offsite (3/25/09)

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is striking back against a flurry of ethics complaints filed against her, calling them “bogus harassments.“

The Campaign To Bankrupt The Palin Family
   Demercrats piece by Offsite (3/25/09)

From just September till now, Sarah Palin has accumulated a personal dept of over $500,000 in legal fees defending herself against fake/false/frivolous ethics charges. That’s Five Hundred Thousand Dollars.

States’ rebellion begins to rumble
   Big Brother piece by Offsite (3/25/09)

Our Colonial ancestors petitioned and pleaded with King George III to get his boot off their necks. He ignored their pleas, and in 1776, they rightfully declared unilateral independence and went to war. Today it’s the same story except Congress is the one usurping the rights of the people and the states, making King George’s actions look mild in comparison. Our constitutional ignorance - perhaps contempt, coupled with the fact that we’ve become a nation of wimps, sissies and supplicants - has made us easy prey for Washington’s tyrannical forces. But that might be changing a bit. There are rumblings of a long overdue re-emergence of Americans’ characteristic spirit of rebellion.

Wyoming: Don’t mess with U.S. Constitution
   Big Brother piece by Offsite (3/25/09)

The state of Wyoming has adopted a resolution to inform Washington bureaucrats and bureaucracies of its opposition to any plans to hold a Constitutional Convention that would recommend changes or alterations to the nation’s founding document.

‘Can cops demand to take your photo?‘
   Police State piece by Offsite (3/25/09)

Two years ago, a Pennsylvania man was thrown in jail for 160 days for refusing to allow police to take his picture.

Of Sheep and Sheepdogs: Book On Combat Revised
   Society piece by Jim Kouri (3/25/09)

One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once told Lt. Colonel Dave Grossman: “Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident.“

Teen Suicide Brings Wrong Call for Regulation
   Nanny State piece by Warner Todd Huston (3/25/09)

No one wants to see a beautiful 18-year-old girl commit suicide. No one wants to make any worse the pain that surviving family members feel. No one wants to make light of the situation that causes a child or young person to chose suicide, either. But high emotion makes for bad laws and this is no exception.

Liberal Bar and Liberal Approach to Judicial Nominations, A Clever Partnership
   Judicial Activism piece by FreeCongressFoundation: Marion Edwyn Harrison (3/25/09)

Sometimes something happens on March 17 which is neither green nor Gaelic.  Saint Patrick’s Day 2009 is in that category.  The President of the American Bar Association (“ABA”) announced that the Barack H. Obama Administration has requested the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary to evaluate nominees for the Federal Judiciary.  The Dwight D. Eisenhower Administration instituted the process: The ABA Committee would rate a nominee and report that rating to the Attorney General.  The White House and Department of Justice then would weigh, and largely rely upon, that rating in the President’s final decision whether to nominate the individual.  Little did one in 1953 - 1961 prophesy the extent to which ABA and the Committee over the years would move to the left.

Today is “National Medal of Honor” Day
   Government piece by J. D. Longstreet (3/25/09)

Did you know that today, March 25th, is Medal of Honor Day?  I’ll beg you didn’t.  It is only two years old.  Yes March 25th was set aside just two years ago to honor those who have earned the Congressional medal of Honor the highest honor the United States can bestow on a member of the US Armed Forces.

Demography and Economy: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
   Society piece by Guest: Gordon E. Finley (3/25/09)

The release on March 18, 2009, of preliminary childbirth data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) for 2007 has yielded mixed news – some good but most providing troubling insight into potentially crippling problems for American society and the American economy.  These data suggest that 2007 was a very bad year, indeed.  While most media focused on the teen pregnancy data, they missed the bigger picture.  Here is the bigger picture.

We Need A “Born Again” GOP
   Republicrats piece by Thomas D. Segel (3/25/09)

Harlingen, Texas, March 24, 2009:  The telephone rang again the other night.  It was a caller from the Republican National Committee seeking a donation.  My response was, “I don’t think I am a Republican any longer, because none of you even know what the GOP really believes.“

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

My Response To MIAC Report
   Police State piece by Guest: Chuck Baldwin (3/24/09)

By now, readers should be familiar with the Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC) report dated 02/20/09 and titled, “MIAC Strategic Report: The Modern Militia Movement.“ In this dreadfully malicious and slanderous “law enforcement sensitive” secret police report, Governor Jeremiah (Jay) Nixon; John Britt, Director of the Missouri Department of Public Safety; James Keathley, Colonel, Missouri State Highway Patrol; and Van Godsey, Director of MIAC categorize certain citizens as being potential violence-prone “militia members.“ I would venture to guess that more than 75% of the entire population of the United States would fit the MIAC’s broad definition of someone who would fall into the aforementioned category.

Why Students Flee the Humanities
   EdukShun piece by Offsite (3/24/09)

On February 25, 2009, an article by Patricia Cohen appeared in the New York Times:  “In Tough Times, the Humanities Must Justify Their Worth.“ Its thesis was a familiar one: an economic downturn will lead to a decline in the number of college majors in the humanities because in hard times enrollments shift toward majors with direct vocational utility. The article could have been written 25 or 50 years ago - the phenomenon it talks about is well known.

‘Why Doesn’t Communism Have as Bad a Name as Nazism?‘
   Progressivism piece by Offsite (3/24/09)

Why is it that when people want to describe particularly evil individuals or regimes, they use the terms “Nazi” or “Fascist” but almost never “Communist?“

Palestinians Who Helped Create Israel
   Middle East piece by Daniel Pipes (3/24/09)

Palestinians have so loudly and for so long (nearly a century) rejected Zionism that the Mufti Amin al-Husseini, Yasir Arafat, and Hamas may appear to command unanimous Palestinian support.

Monday, March 23, 2009

The Wind Power Boondoggle
   GreeenIsm piece by Malcolm T. Hedges (3/23/09)

For once I must agree with the Green Whackos, wind power and wind farms are useless boondoggles and seriously detrimental to the aesthetics of the landscape.

Support for Nuclear Energy Inches Up to New High
   Energy piece by Offsite (3/23/09)

PRINCETON, NJ—A majority of Americans have been supportive of the use of nuclear energy in the United States in recent years, but this year’s Gallup Environment Poll finds new high levels of support, with 59% favoring its use, including 27% who strongly favor it.

We’ve legalized theft in America
   Government piece by Offsite (3/23/09)

It says something about the dismal state of affairs in our country today by what outrages folks.

America, brace for inflation
   Economics piece by Offsite (3/23/09)

In its attempt to bolster the U.S economy, the Federal Reserve has left no doubt in my mind that we are in a modern day depression - one that will be addressed by a massive expansion of the Fed balance sheet by trillions of dollars.

The credit card mess
   Economics piece by Offsite (3/23/09)

You may have noticed that credit cards cost more. Higher interest rates - as high as 29 percent - higher minimum payments and new fees, coupled with credit limit reductions, have closed small businesses and added heartburn to already stressed consumers. What’s going on here?

Tax hike akin to ‘blaming the victim’
   Government piece by GoldwaterInstitute: Grover Norquist (3/23/09)

It is well documented that government spending in Arizona has grown more rapidly than the population and inflation for quite some time.