The American "education" machine is broken!





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

Monday, April 26, 2010

Old RNC vs. New GOP - Upholding the Constitution
   Republicrats piece by JB Williams (4/26/10)

The battle lines for the future of America’s conservative party have been drawn, though not all that clearly yet. It is the old RNC and their loyal guard, against the new GOP made up of constitutionally conservative activists across the country, currently moving into power precinct-by-precinct via operations like National Precinct Alliance (NPA).(1)

Does Equality Mean We Are All The Same
   Progressivism piece by Robert R. Owens (4/26/10)

In the Declaration of Independence a new thing entered the world, a country founded upon the idea of equality.  The Old World consisted of societies built upon hereditary class and entrenched privilege.  Beginning with words that still burn within the breast of Patriots, this great document proclaims two types of equality.

The Future of the Tea Party
   TEA Parties piece by Kevin Price (4/26/10)

There is a debate when it comes to the future of the Tea Party movement. There are arguments raging over whether the Tea Party matters, will matter in the future, or be a mere footnote in US history. It is our tendency to get caught up in the moments of time. Right now, it seems like the Tea Party movement could be a major player in the policy debate for years to come. For that to happen, several issues will need to be addressed.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

An Initial Review Of Expression Engine 2
   Software piece by Editor (4/25/10)

Yesterday I upgraded to Expression Engine 2 Non-Commercial and installed a copy today strictly for examination purposes.

Green Jobs or Shale Gas? The Numbers Talk
   GreeenIsm piece by Guest: Dennis T. Avery (4/25/10)

CHURCHVILLE, VA -  The shale gas industry’s boom is creating 100,000 jobs in Pennsylvania during 2010, according to Penn State University. Only a few of these new jobs are on drill rigs; many of those jobs go to highly-skilled oil patch veterans from out of state. But the gas industry’s expansion has created jobs by the tens of thousands in steel production, construction, and services.

‘Public schoolers: How’s that indoctrination workin’ out?‘
   EdukShun piece by Offsite (4/25/10)

I recently did something I haven’t done in decades: I re-read the Laura Ingalls Wilder series (the Little House books). The contrast between the schools of Laura’s time (late 1800s) and the schools of today is staggering. Utterly incomprehensible.

Defining the left-right divide
   Supreme Court piece by Offsite (4/25/10)

Now that President Obama is getting ready to make his second Supreme Court nomination, the usual banter is taking place about the court and judicial philosophy.

McCain 2.0 now on sale
   Republicrats piece by Offsite (4/25/10)

The real John McCain has been kidnapped and an impostor is running against J. D. Hayworth in the Arizona U.S. Senate primary.

The Real Definition of Sedition That Liberals Don’t Want You To Know
   Progressivism piece by J.J. Jackson (4/25/10)

Watch out all you who dare to speak up against our government in Washington as those at the reins of power are snatching up every last bit of control they can! You are the dangerous ones. Worse yet you are committing a crime in the eyes of leftists like Joe Klein. That’s right folks your talk is dangerous and borders on sedition which people like Klein are all too eager to warn is a felony and that you could be hauled off to jail for engaging in.

Cap-and-Trade Treason
   ClimateGate piece by Alan Caruba (4/25/10)

If you thought that the way the Obama administration and its cohort of Democrats in Congress rammed through the takeover of the nation’s healthcare system was appalling, prepare to watch the same process applied to Cap-and-Trade. Your government no longer represents you, the voter, the citizen.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

‘When Warriors Cry, Who Listens?‘
   Veterans piece by Thomas D. Segel (4/24/10)

Harlingen, Texas, April 24, 2010:  They have been crying out seeking help for decades and America has turned its back on these special warriors.  We knew there were problems not long after the first fireballs lit up the skies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but we did nothing.  We, the nation of great global compassion for those who suffer through every manmade and natural disaster, have had little to no feeling for our own warriors who were exposed to atomic radiation.

Fiduciary Responsibility and Judgment vs. Caveat Emptor
   Investments piece by Thomas E. Brewton (4/24/10)

Right or wrong, the charges against Goldman Sachs highlight divergent standards of banking.

Friday, April 23, 2010

‘What Has Happened To Trust?‘
   Government piece by Thomas D. Segel (4/23/10)

Harlingen, Texas, April 23, 2010:  We have all heard that almost 80% of the population no longer trusts our government.  Depending upon the group you are referring to, that could or perhaps could not be something newsworthy.

What’s Next for the Tea Party?  ‘EVANGELISM!‘
   TEA Parties piece by Doug Edelman (4/23/10)

So,  the Tea Party Movement is well over a year old, and we’ve had the 2009 and 2010 Tax Day Tea Parties.  Millions of conservatives and patriots have stopped privately growling at their TV news, and have started publicly expressing their views.  The “silent majority” is silent no more, and the grassroots have become a force to recon with.

Good Government Requires a Civic Minded Population
   EdukShun piece by Kevin Price (4/23/10)

Recently I was a speaker at the Young Conservatives of Texas annual convention in Austin, Texas and, as I waited for my opportunity to present, I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Rich Brake of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) discusse the status of America’s civic education. Brake eloquently reminded the audience that our country has a republican form of government. That means that we must have a population that understands individual responsibility and is capable of making sure the government stays within the limits so clearly stated in the Constitution. We are not a nation that is ruled by the mob, but by the law. The people must hold those who govern accountable to that law. So how are the American people doing?

Policing for Profit - The Abuse of Civil Asset Forfeiture
   Police State piece by Warner Todd Huston (4/23/10)

A group called the Institute for Justice(1) is doing yeoman’s work alerting everyone to the simply un-American powers that police agencies across the country have been afforded by an out-of-control government. Police agencies have been given ever increasing stormtrooper-like powers to steal your property and assets because they merely ‘suspect’ you might have gotten it by illegal means. All across the country, from your local Barney Fife’s all the way to your favorite G-Men, police agencies are stealing private property with no trial, no jury, even no actual charges filed in many cases.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Big Nature and Tiny Us
   Global Warming piece by Bruce Walker (4/22/10)

Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull Volcano has forced tens of thousands of airline flights in Europe and the North Atlantic to shut down.  The last time this volcano erupted, in 1821, it continued for two years.  No one knows when the eruption will stop this time.  This uncontrolled and unpredictable explosion of nature’s power steps across our puny civilizations with frightening ease.  Nineteen years ago, Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines coughed 20 Million tons of sulfur dioxide.  The Chicon eruption in Mexico nine years earlier perceptibly cooled the planet.  A few years before that, Mount St Helens, erupted in 1980 and threw gases and particles in the sky which were clearly visible for hundreds of miles.

‘Do Liberal Democrats Have a Clegg Up?‘
   Elections piece by Aaron Goldstein (4/22/10)

Although Sir Winston Churchill is undoubtedly Britain’s most quotable Prime Minister, it was Harold Wilson who came up with the most memorable quip.  Wilson, who led Labour Party governments as Prime Minister between 1964 and 1970 and again from 1974 to 1976, often said, “A week in politics is a long time.“

Jury clears SEAL in Iraq abuse case
   Military piece by Offsite (4/22/10)

BAGHDAD (AP)—A U.S. military jury cleared a Navy SEAL on Thursday of failing to prevent the beating of an Iraqi prisoner suspected of masterminding a 2004 attack that killed four American security contractors.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Court blasts city’s ban on sound of church bells
   Political Correctness piece by Offsite (4/21/10)

A federal judge in Arizona has struck down a Phoenix noise ordinance against sounds generated by religious worship - settling one part of a dispute that erupted when city officials convicted a bishop and sentenced him to a suspended jail sentence and several years of probation because someone complained about the ringing of his church bells.

The Naked Communism of Earth Day
   GreeenIsm piece by Alan Caruba (4/21/10)

It is no accident that April 22, Earth Day, is also the birth date of Vladimir Lenin, an acolyte of Karl Marx, the lunatic who invented communism as an alternative to capitalism.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Junk Bonds Thrive for Now, But 2012 Disaster Looms
   Investments piece by Offsite (4/20/10)

Junk bond sales jumped to a record high last year, and some experts maintain the market represents a dangerous bubble.

Losing the Organic Debate
   GreeenIsm piece by Guest: Dennis T. Avery (4/20/10)

Churchville, VA - I lost a debate on organic food last week - to the city of New York.—Intelligence Squared, a philanthropic foundation, which brings Oxford-style debating to American issues, invited me to be part of a debate on whether the organic food movement is a scam. The invitation was a big deal, with the audio carried nationwide by National Public Radio and the TV shown repeatedly on Bloomberg TV.

Goldman Sach Crisis Sets Stage for Another Financial Collapse
   Investments piece by Offsite (4/20/10)

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s case against Goldman Sachs is weak, but the crisis has ominous implications and is a “death wish” for the financial system, says star bank analyst Dick Bove of Rochdale Securities.

‘Next bubble: $600 trillion?‘
   Economics piece by Offsite (4/20/10)

As interest rates begin to rise worldwide, losses in derivatives may end up bankrupting a wide range of institutions, including municipalities, state governments, major insurance companies, top investment houses, commercial banks and universities.

National Security Risk Posed by Climate Change Policy, New Report Finds
   GreeenIsm piece by Press Release: Christine Hall (4/20/10)

Department of Defense Urged to Review Climate Change Policies - Washington, D.C., April 20, 2010 - Climate change alarmists have tried marketing their “fix-it” solutions to the public in several ways. Their latest tactic? Convincing people on the center-right that climate change is a national security threat. It’s a plausible argument - but is it accurate? More importantly, don’t climate policies pose security risks of their own?

Taxes on Wealthy lead to Pain for All
   Taxes piece by Kevin Price (4/20/10)

“Soak the rich” is a favorite battle cry for politicians seeking reelection and advocates of social justice, but in the end, it creates injustice for all. This will clearly be seen as a consequence of the recent health care bill, as well as with the President’s ambitious efforts to dramatically increase the tax on capital gains.

America’s all-out spiritual battle, part 3
   Culture Wars piece by Guest: Marsha West (4/20/10)

WHAT DOES SATAN HAVE HIS CLAWS INTO NOW? - The enemy’s strategy is to nudge.  In the name of tolerance, diversity and unity we’ve been nudged into normalizing sodomy.  In some states, public school children are actually being taught how to become homosexual or bisexual.  They’re being taught that cross-dressing’s okay, too.  Society is being forced into accepting controversial sexual lifestyles to include same-sex “marriage.“ More and more “gender confused” individuals are opting for “sex reassignment surgery” which is doublespeak for what was once called a “sex-change operation.“ Mixed-up men and women have the surgery to change their genital organs from one gender to another.  Worse yet, some supposedly “gender confused” children are wondering if they should be surgically altered!  What’s next?

Doctors in the US Vowing to Quit Or Retire
   ObamaCare piece by J. D. Longstreet (4/20/10)

ObamaCare Driving Doctors out of Business! What if you went to school for 6 to 8 years to earn your medical degree?  Suppose you had HUGE student loans to pay off as well as set up a practice and purchase the necessary equipment you need as a doctor to treat your patients properly—and suppose you had to submit to more training practically every year of your career to stay abreast of new treatments, new equipment, and new federal and state laws pertaining to your practice of medicine.

Monday, April 19, 2010

When A Community Cares
   Society piece by Thomas D. Segel (4/19/10)

Harlingen, Texas, April 19, 2010:  The entire congregation watched as a young boy took us on a video tour of a room.  Quentin Hale was showing us the complete renovation of our church attic into a freshly painted, newly floored, carpeted and neatly arranged storage room. This was a volunteer effort.  It was Quentin’s Eagle Scout project that took almost 300 hours of personal service and labor performed for other people in his community.  It was also noteworthy that this project was unveiled on April 18th, the start of National Volunteer Week.