The American "education" machine is broken!





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

Thursday, November 10, 2011

What We Have Here is a Failure to Negotiate
   Congress piece by Alan Caruba (11/10/11)

In the movie, “Cool Hand Luke” the warden of a prison camp utters the now famous line, “What we have here is a failure to communicate.“ The decision of the Democratic members of the Congressional Super Committee to refuse further discussion of revenue issues is a failure to negotiate.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Friendless in the Middle East
   Middle East piece by Daniel Pipes (11/9/11)

The Arab upheavals of 2011 have inspired wildly inconsistent Western responses. How, for example, can one justify abiding the suppression of dissidents in Bahrain while celebrating dissidents in Egypt? Or protect Libyan rebels from government attacks but not their Syrian counterparts? Oppose Islamists taking over in Yemen but not in Tunisia?

Saturday, November 5, 2011

‘Will Newt Gingrich Win the Republican Nomination?‘
   Election 2012 piece by Selwyn Duke (11/5/11)

If slow and steady really does win the race, Newt Gingrich could well end up being the Republican nominee for president.

Palestine - UNESCO Rebuffs PLO Huffs and Puffs
   Middle East piece by David Singer (11/5/11)

The PLO application(1) seeking admission of Palestine to the UN has been dealt a serious blow - after 86 of its 193 members failed to support a mirror application for Palestine to join UNESCO.

This is how ice ages begin
   Global Cooling piece by Guest: Robert W. Felix (11/5/11)

Record snowfall in the spring, record snowfall in the autumn, skiing on the 4th of July(1), and glaciers growing in the Rockies.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Imagine. No Religion, too.
   Progressivism piece by Guest: Michael R. Shannon (11/4/11)

There’s a woman who lives near me with a personalized license plate that proclaims she’s a WICCAN. If her idea of theology is a penetrating discussion with a pecan tree and she wants to proclaim her lasting commitment to cellulose; that’s her right. Even though the sentiment appears on a plate issued by the Commonwealth.

Pausing On A Note Of Triumph
   Veterans piece by Guest: Kendall Wingrove (11/4/11)

When Norman Corwin died recently at the age of 101, his name was unfamiliar to many Americans.  That’s a shame.  More people should become acquainted with the works of this prolific and thought-provoking writer. His words are as relevant today as they were seven decades ago.

‘Who Votes for Democracy?‘
   Democracy piece by Robert R. Owens (11/4/11)

Democracy! Democracy! Democracy! This is the mantra that we hear from Tahrir Square(1) to Yemen(2) from Belarus(3) to Wall Street protestors(4) are on the march around the world demanding Democracy!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Casey Anthony and Dr. Conrad Murray
   Law piece by Guest: Peggy Morris (11/2/11)

Some news stories have legs. They continue on and on. This week, news bulletins released the names of the jurors who acquitted Casey Anthony of murdering her 2-year-old daughter.  Earlier this fall, Dr. Phil’s program and People magazine focused public attention on the Anthony’s - parents and daughter.

We Need Safe Food, Not New Regulations
   Food piece by Dennis T. Avery (11/2/11)

Churchville, VA - Deirdre Schlunegger, the head of an organization named “STOP Food borne Illness,” warned recently on the Huffington Post website that the government won’t have enough money next year to implement the new safety inspections authorized by the Food Safety Modernization Act. That act was signed into law by President Obama last January, but the federal budget cuts demanded by Republicans may now prevent the food protection agencies from carrying it out.

The Tax Plan that’s Better than Cain’s, Perry’s or Gingrich’s
   Taxes piece by Selwyn Duke (11/2/11)

Bold tax reform is front and center this campaign season.  First Herman Cain made waves and poll headway with his 9-9-9 tax plan, which involves national 9-percent taxes on personal and corporate income and a 9-percent national sales tax.  Now Rick Perry has followed suit with a 20-percent flat-tax plan, and Newt Gingrich has gone 5 better, with a 15-percent flat proposal.  And these ideas certainly haven’t fallen flat: tax reform is immensely popular among the Republican base.

Cut Loose at Fifty: Chapter Seven - The Calm Before the Storm
   Asia piece by Guest: Chris Clancy (11/2/11)

I arrived in Wuhan in the first week of July 2005. The FAO met me and brought me to the place which would be my home for the next year. It was in a hotel on the campus.

Goodbye Tony
   Sports piece by Aaron Goldstein (11/2/11)

Only hours after the St. Louis Cardinals’ improbable comeback in Game 6 of the World Series in which they stood on the precipice of elimination not once, but twice, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that “barring an eleventh hour change of heart” Tony La Russa would return to manage the Cardinals in 2012 for a 17th season. (1) Later that day, the Cardinals defeated the Texas Rangers 6-2 to win a National League record 11th World Series title. Seventy-two hours later, that eleventh hour had arrived. After 33 years of managing in the big leagues, La Russa has announced his retirement. (2)

Sunday, October 30, 2011

The Bane of Political Parties
   Political Parties piece by Thomas D. Segel (10/30/11)

Harlingen, Texas, October 30, 2011:  When it comes to viewing the workings of political parties my reaction has always been to see them as a destructive force, which impedes good governance.  These views have been fostered over the many years I have witnessed both the Democrat and Republican Party move their political agendas foreword, quite often to the determent of the American public.

The True Killers of School Spirit: Notre Dame and the Whining Irish
   Society piece by Guest: Paul A. Ibbetson (10/30/11)

There are times in life when it must seem that one just cannot get a break. The city of Chapman, Kansas, and its school district must very well feel that way today. This small Kansas school was devastated by a tornado back in 2008. Despite the overwhelming destruction to the school wrought by the massive tornado, students and officials alike rallied behind school chants of the “fighting Irish!” depicted by their fighting leprechaun, and worked to rebuild their beloved school and future. Three years later their long hard rebuilding project was complete, and it appeared that at long last, the sun was about to shine again on a town and school that refused to die in the face of hard times. Then, even before the “new smell” was gone from the school, a second more devastating storm returned to Chapman, Kansas. This time it was not a tornado but the powerhouse college of Notre Dame. It cast its own dark shadow on the little Kansas town. Ironically the major college, as had the tornado of 2008, was determined to strip the school of its identity and morale once again.

Those Who Read the Past Write the Future
   History piece by Robert R. Owens (10/30/11)

Unfortunately most of what we are taught in History survey classes in American schools consists of simplistic formulas.  Formulas designed to persuade those forced to attend the government controlled education mills that they should ride the same ideological hobby horses as whoever currently has the power to select textbooks and prescribe curricula.  Whether it was the rabidly pro-American imperial History of yesteryear that pushed lines such as, “We never started a war and never lost one,” and “We turned a raw wilderness into a civilized nation.” or, if it is the rabidly anti-American propaganda of today spouting lines such as, “America was founded by deists who used serial genocide and economic fascism to steal a nation, pollute the earth, and poison the sea” neither are correct. Both versions are merely two sides of an extremely myopic view which does not seek to discover nor promote the truth but instead seek to mold the next generation into what they think will be foot soldiers in their own crusade.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

It Took Too Long to Get A Herman Cain
   Election 2012 piece by Dennis T. Avery (10/25/11)

CHURCHVILLE, VA - Black conservative Lloyd Marcus wrote recently that, when he thinks of Herman Cain, he envisions him fleeing a white slave owner, backed by black overseers, and a pack of howling dogs - all trying to bring Herman down. (“Herman Cain: runaway slave,” www-dot-LloydMarcus-dot-com; October 20.) 

Obama’s Misplaced Mideast Optimism
   Middle East piece by Daniel Pipes (10/25/11)

Confidently commenting on the execution of Libya’s long-time dictator, Barack Obama stated that “the death of Mu’ammar al-Qaddafi showed that our role in protecting the Libyan people, and helping them break free from a tyrant, was the right thing to do.“ About his own decision to pull all U.S. troops from Iraq in two months’ time, Obama asserted that “In Iraq, we’ve succeeded in our strategy to end the war.“ He then drew triumphalist conclusions from these developments, bragging that they show “The tide of war(1) is receding” and “we’ve renewed American leadership(2) in the world.“

Friday, October 21, 2011

Even Today There Is No Room At The Inn
   Depression/Recession piece by Thomas D. Segel (10/21/11)

All we have to understand that night so many years ago are the biblical renditions of our Christian story.  When they arrived in Bethlehem, there was no room at the inn.  That tale of being filled to capacity is replayed time and time again as the helpless, homeless and hungry of America seek any relief they can find.

Imperial Republics Fall
   Foreign Policy piece by Robert R. Owens (10/21/11)

Historians spend their life looking backwards.  Futurists spend their life looking forward.  My goal has been to blend the two disciplines into one seamless endeavor.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Kiss the European Union Goodbye
   EU piece by Alan Caruba (10/19/11)

In Paris on October 15th, a group of finance ministers and central bankers known as the G20, representing major nations, gave the European Union until October 23red to find an answer to the financial crisises that are tearing apart the EU and its monetary structure.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Mighty Macs Movie - Teamwork Works
   Entertainment piece by Guest: Rusty Wright (10/18/11)

My wife tolerates basketball.  Barely. - At my alma mater, basketball is religion.  So sometimes she’s a hoops widow. 

Romney Hasn’t Earned the GOP Nomination
   Election 2012 piece by Aaron Goldstein (10/18/11)

Notwithstanding the fact that not a single ballot has been cast in any of the Republican primaries there seems to be a concerted effort by the liberal media to bestow the GOP nomination upon former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Tapping natural resources to address Maryland’s economic problems
   Energy piece by Guest: Bishop Harry Jackson (10/16/11)

We should develop previously unavailable energy resources to generate jobs, revenues - Maryland’s 7.2% unemployment rate is below the national average, but still too high. Budget shortfalls next year could reach $700 million or more, the Maryland Budget and Tax Policy Institute warns. Many of our cities and counties likewise face mounting debt.

Immigration, Migration, Politics and Policies
   Immigration piece by Alan Caruba (10/16/11)

When early humans got the hang of walking upright, the first thing many did was to walk out of Africa and, eventually, to all parts of the Earth from Asia to Europe, to North and South America, proliferating into different races.

Cash Transactions Banned by Louisiana
   Big Brother piece by Offsite (10/16/11)

This summer, the State Legislature and Governor of Louisiana passed a law that bans individuals and businesses from transacting in cash if they are considered a “secondhand dealer”.  House Bill 195 of the 2011 Regular Session (Act 389) broadly defines a secondhand dealer to include   “... Anyone, other than a non-profit entity, who buys, sells, trades in or otherwise acquires or disposes of junk or used or secondhand property more frequently than once per month from any other person, other than a non-profit entity, shall be deemed as being in the business of a secondhand dealer. ” The law then states that “A secondhand dealer shall not enter into any cash transactions in payment for the purchase of junk or used or secondhand property.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

We Already Have A National Sales Tax
   Taxes piece by J.J. Jackson (10/15/11)

Lots of foolish people rail against the idea of a national retail sales tax.  You know, like the FairTax. - But why?  We already have a national sales tax.  It is called the corporate income tax.  The reason the corporate income tax is the same as a national sales tax is that everything you buy has the fallout of this tax lumped into it.  The only difference is that the amount of this current “sales tax” which you pay with every purchase is hidden and shows up nowhere on your bill when you go to the grocery store or shop for clothes or buy yourself a new refrigerator.

The Qwikster Joins the Dead
   Business piece by Guest: Michael R. Shannon (10/15/11)

I’ve been wondering how many of the Occupy Wall Street squatters are actually enraged Netflix subscribers or retirees with Netflix stock in the 401K?

Thursday, October 13, 2011

PhotoZoom Pro 4:  A dream program for enlarging images and photos
   Software piece by Malcolm T. Hedges (10/13/11)

Enlarging an image or photo is a very difficult task.  PhotoZoom Pro 3.1 did an excellent job, but version 4.1 is more powerful and improved.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

They’re Baaaaaacccckkk: Race Riots in America
   Disorder piece by Guest: Colin Flaherty (10/12/11)

When I told my friends I was working on a magazine article, then a book, about a tsunami of racial violence in America over the last two years, they said, “I haven’t heard about that.“