County News Online Blogs

Townhall Finance... New Marriage, New Family Finances: What’s Fair , by Carrie Schwab Pomerantz
Dear Carrie: I’m about to get married for the second time. I have two kids, 8 and 10, and my fiancee has two teenagers. Everyone gets along well, but my husband-to-be is a lot wealthier than I, and his kids have been raised with very different financial expectations. It’s not that I necessarily expect him to now pay for everything for my kids, but at the same time, I don’t want them to feel like they get less because they’re less worthy. What’s fair in a situation like this?.... read more

Townhall... 2012: A Year of Media Savagery , by Brent Bozell
For those Republican presidential candidates who eventually conclude there is no path to the nomination, there is consolation in the notion that they won’t be the ones to face the brutal onslaught being prepared for the GOP king-of-the-mountain by team Obama and its army of “objective” media allies.This time around, the Obama machine cannot run on the fairy dust of hope and change. It cannot suggest after four years of dreadful executive-branch.... read more

Townhall... Gullible Americans , by Walter E. Williams
Dec 28, 2011 - National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Deborah Hersman has called for states to mandate a total ban on cellphone usage while driving. She has also encouraged electronics manufacturers -- via recommendations to the CTIA-The Wireless Association and the Consumer Electronics Association -- to develop features that “disable the functions of portable electronic devices within reach of the driver when a vehicle is in motion".... read more

Will & Guy’s New Years Humor... Warning - Women’s Body Parts Move
Open letter from Ms Peggy Legg - This is an explanation to those friends and family who have experienced mysterious switches of their body parts. This effect is especially noticeable in January. You may have read of the scare story about the man whose kidneys were stolen while he was passed out. Well, read on. While the kidney story was an urban myth, my story is true - it occurs to me practically... read more

Townhall... The Year in Obama Scandals -- and Scandal Deniers, by Michelle Malkin
Dec 28, 2011 - With 2011 drawing to a close, it is time to account. As an early-and-often chronicler of Chicago-on-the-Potomac, I am amazed at the stubborn and clingy persistence of President Barack Obama’s snowblowers in the media. See no scandal, hear no scandal, speak no scandal. Dartmouth College professor Brendan Nyhan asserted in May -- while Operation Fast and Furious subpoenas... read more

The American Thinker... Herman Cain: A Final Word, By Lloyd Marcus
I would not blame Herman Cain if he said, Lloyd, I know you mean well, brother. However, the relentless vitriolic media attacks against me have finally subsided since I dropped out of the presidential race. My family and I are finally having some peace. So why on earth would you bring up my name again? Well, in a nutshell, I just did not like the way the whole “Cain thing” went down. Also, we live in a fast-paced news cycle... read more

Townhall Finance... Who Really Created the Declaration of Independence, by Mark Baisley
December 20, 2011 - On December 25, we will celebrate the birth of the Declaration’s Creator. Thomas Jefferson described writing the first draft of the Declaration of Independence as streaming thought from quill to papyrus in a single sitting. Not all of his original prose survived the committee edits leading up to the Fourth of July signing. Some of his wording was shamefully omitted; some much improved. But the quintessence of Jefferson’s missive was beautifully crafted by the council as.... read more

Verities & Balderdash... Five short Holiday Season ditties, Edited by Bob Robinson
December 21, 2011 - An “apple” for the teacher... On the last day of school before the Christmas break, the children brought gifts for their teacher. The supermarket manager’s daughter brought the teacher a beautiful basket of assorted fruit. The florist’s son brought the teacher a bouquet of flowers. The candy-store owner’s daughter gave the teacher a huge, pretty box of assorted candy. Then the liquor-store owner’s son brought up a big... read more

Townhall... Christmas Cheer, by Jackie Gingrich Cushman
Dec 22, 2011 - Christmas memories fill our Christmas tree. It stands in our living room, filled with white lights and ornaments. Our ornaments reflect the life of our family: varied and interesting, some old, some new, some precious and some common. Some of the ornaments are from my childhood. Every Christmas, my parents used to give my sister Kathy and me an ornament. Our tree includes a flying angel, a Mrs... read more

Redstate... Coburn Details $7 Billion in Waste from 100 Dumb Projects, Posted by Daniel Horowitz
Wednesday, December 21st - At some point we will need to go beyond merely cutting waste, fraud, and abuse. We will eventually have to wind down the welfare state and close government departments and agencies. However, there is no reason we shouldn’t demand an immediate bipartisan effort to eliminate programs that are just plain dumb, even according to Democrat socialist ideology. Nobody has been more assiduous and instrumental in identifying silly government projects than... read more

Redstate... Stopping SOPA, Posted by Erick Erickson
Thursday, December 22nd - I love Marsha Blackburn. She is a delightful lady and a solidly conservative member of Congress. And I am pledging right now that I will do everything in my power to defeat her in her 2012 re-election bid. I wonder if the left feels that way about Debbie Wasserman Schultz? Both Marsha Blackburn and Debbie Wasserman Schults, the head of the Democratic National Committee and a Congresswoman from Florida, are cosponsors of the Stop Online Piracy Act... read more

Townhall... 2012: An Upheaval of Monumental Proportions, by Armstrong Williams
Dec 22, 2011 - It’s that time of year. Time to take stock of 2011, and prepare to ring in a much-welcomed 2012. For millions of Americans, the New Year can’t come soon enough, leaving behind a miserable era of leadership: by this Congress, this president, our college sports coaches, some doctors (see: M. Jackson), financial leaders -- the list seems endless. But first, let’s get some early sports predictions out of the way... read more

Verities & Balderdash... Three Messages from us Old Folks, Edited by Bob Robinson
Think twice before messing with an oldster - An old prospector shuffled into the town of El Indio, Texas leading a tired old mule. The old man headed straight for the only saloon in town to clear his parched throat. He walked up to the saloon and tied his old mule to the hitch rail. As he stood there, brushing some of the dust from his face and clothes, a young gunslinger stepped out of the saloon with a gun in one hand and... read more

Townhall Finance... Holder Tosses Race Card, by Bob Beauprez
Eric Holder doesn’t have a good answer for his involvement in the Fast and Furious scandal, but he has come up with an explanation for why he is the target of so much criticism. It’s because he’s black, which he says is also why Barack Obama gets criticized, too. Holder says he’s a convenient two-fer for Obama critics. People identify him with the President because “you know, the fact that we’re both African American.” He also says those people who take exception with him or with... read more

Townhall Finance... As Christmas Approaches, Last Minute Shoppers Can Score Big, by Jean Chatzky
You have three days or so to get your holiday shopping wrapped up, and if you’re feeling like you haven’t even gotten off the starting block, you’re not alone. Lucky for procrastinators, there are some great deals out there -- and stores are catering to your schedule in these last few moments before Christmas. Here’s what you should know before you open your wallet - It’s time... read more

Redstate... Lack of Principle Got Them In This Mess. Principle Gets Them Out.
Posted by Erick Erickson - Thursday, December 22nd - The payroll tax holiday has become a mess for Republicans. I am beginning to believe raw sewage has greater political acumen than the Republican leadership in Washington. At least raw sewage can pick the path of least resistance when flowing through the bowels of Washington, D.C. Not so the Republicans. They have gotten themselves into this mess for... read more

Townhall Finance... Unemployment Insurance is an Expensive Free Lunch, by Chris Edwards
Extending the extra unemployment insurance benefits would be bad for the federal budget and bad for the economy, and there is a better long-term solution for unemployment than the current UI system. With respect to the budget, the proposed benefits would mean about $50 billion of red ink next year, adding to the huge burden of debt we are imposing on young people. There is no free lunch in subsidy programs: Someone will have to pay the bills... read more

Townhall Finance... Obama Preoccupied with Occupiers, by John Ransom
Saying that there is little difference between George Bush and Barack Obama, the Occupy Anything, Everything movement staked ground in front of President Obama’s Iowa campaign headquarters, promising that they will commit acts of civil disobedience for the Iowa caucuses in order to protest Obama’s military and business policies. “We ask that number one they cut the U.S. military budget in half and number two he [Obama] dismantle the U.S. military empire,” Occupier Jessica Reznicek... read more

Townhall... Obamacare Abominations, by John Stossel
Dec 21, 2011 - President Obama says his health care “reform” will be good for business. Business has learned the truth. Three successful businessmen explained to me how Obamacare is a reason that unemployment stays high. Its length and complexity make businessmen wary of expanding. Mike Whalen, CEO of Heart of America Group, which runs hotels and restaurants, said that when he asked his company’s... read more

Redstate... The Truth about the New Detainee Policy, Posted by Rep. Justin Amash
Saturday, December 17th - On Thursday, Congress gave the President sweeping new power to detain American citizens indefinitely, without charge or trial. A provision in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) empowers the President to detain anyone who “substantially supported” groups he determines are “associated forces” of terrorists. The provision at issue, sec. 1021, was tucked into an 1800-page conference report that was shuttled through Congress in a matter of days.... read more

Townhall Finance... 9 Things to Say Goodbye To, Including Privacy and Free Speech, by Mike Shedlock
December 20, 2011 - Editor’s note: Long but worthy of your time, this column expands on an email that you’ve likely seen in your mailbox over the last couple of years... Changes are coming. Many things we know and love will soon be gone, just as happened to the 8-track player, the buggy whip, and MS DOS. Unfortunately, we are also losing some things we cannot afford to. In an article written about a year ago, Rense says Changes Are Coming - Things We’ll Be Saying Goodbye To.... read more

Redstate... The Candidates, Posted by Erick Erickson
Tuesday, December 20th - I will not be endorsing any time soon. I have made clear my reasons here (see link below). I am, however, continually surprised that anyone in the GOP thinks Mitt Romney is a really viable candidate. Should he be the nominee, the American public will be treated to interviews and commercials with every person ever fired or laid off because of Bain Capital, an organization from which MItt Romney still draws money.... read more

The National Review... The Bulb Is Saved, By Henry Payne
December 16, 2011 - The lights are still on. In a shrewd political move at the end of the Washington fiscal year, House Republicans inserted language in the annual, omnibus Appropriations Bill funding the U.S. government that blocks federal energy standards banning the traditional, incandescent light bulb. Thomas Edison can stop spinning in his grave and the American people can cheer a victory for consumer choice. The bulb ban was a dark symbol of the Obama administration’s zealous... read more

Redstate... Insanity, Posted by Erick Erickson
Monday, December 19th - The Republican Party has gone insane. For the better part of the last three years the Republican Party has exercised itself into a frenzy over the need to repeal Obamacare. For the two years leading up to November of 2010, mostly middle aged working white people took to the streets in sizes rivaling a NASCAR race to protest the socialization of the American health care system. The individual mandate and TARP draw the ire of scores of primary voters. And our two... read more

Human Events... A Democrat Reaches Across the Aisle on Medicare, by Michael Barone
12/19/2011 - It’s highly unusual in a presidential debate for two Republican candidates -- the two leading in current national polls -- to heap praise on a liberal Democratic senator. But in the Fox News debate in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday night, both Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney had very good words to say for Oregon’s Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden. The subject was the Medicare reform plan put forward in a Wall Street... read more

Verities & Balderdash... The Changing Political Landscape, Edited by Bob Robinson
According to the email that has been floating around the Internet for the past few years, this is a real letter sent by an employer to his employees. Read it, then see below for some links I found. This is just another right-wing conservative email that may have some truth in it... or it may not. So why add it to my expanding list of “right wing” commentaries that I’ve chosen to include in a Verities & Balderdash format? This... read more

Cleveland Plain Dealer... Internet censorship? Congress has an app for that: Kevin O’Brien
Saying that Christopher Dodd and the Motion Picture Association of America are a match made in heaven is the kind of thing that would give even heaven a bad name. But you get the idea. Dodd acted like a senator for 30 years and got away with it, along the way inflicting on Americans no small number of awful ideas. His senatorial going-away present to us was Dodd-Frank, formally known as the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a massive compliance nightmare that... read more

Cleveland Plain Dealer... Mandel says Brown a career politician
Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel says U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown has been seeking public office since Nixon’s administration - In a gushing interview on radio’s Rick Amato Show — guest-hosted by conservative Howard Kooligan — Republican Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel made disparaging remarks about U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Democrat he hopes to unseat next year. Some of those remarks have already gone through the Truth-O-Meter and we won’t rehash them here, but a... read more

Human Events... Nancy Pelosi, Down and Dirty, by Michelle Malkin
12/16/2011 - As a rueful Queen Elizabeth once said of a particularly rough year for the royal family, 2011 is “not a year on which” Queen Nancy Pelosi “shall look back with undiluted pleasure.” The former House Speaker relinquished her crown -- er, gavel -- in January. It’s been an epic downhill ski crash ever since. Most recently, Pelosi faced questions from liberal “60 Minutes” and conservative investigative author... read more

Townhall Finance... Do We Need Big Government? by Michael Tanner
As Congress nears approval on a series of 2011 appropriations bills (only three months late, a near-record for recent history), Rep. Sander Levin (D., Mich.) told Fox News that he was encouraged by progress on the bills because “we’re dealing with the lives of people. Those appropriation bills relate to the daily lives of people in middle class of America, and that’s really what this is all about.” Yet, if that is true, and so many Americans have become dependent on the decisions of federal... read more

Townhall Finance... Economics Reporter from New York Times Has Accidental Encounter with Reality, Learns Nothing, by Daniel J. Mitchell - Earlier this year, I wrote about how the person Obama put in charge of Medicare made some very interesting observations about prices, competition, and markets, but then drew exactly the wrong conclusion about what was needed to solve the third-party payer problem in health care. We now have another example of someone producing very good information and then failing to learn the obvious lesson. Catherine Rampell of the New York Times wrote about... read more

Townhall Finance... The 10th Amendment Solution, by Mark Baisley
Among the many thoughtful details that the founders bequeathed to the rest of us is the purposeful naming of our nation; The United States of America. A single moniker like “America” would have neglected the composure of independence and cooperative defiance necessary to earn the crucial signatures on the Declaration and, soon afterward, the Articles of Confederation wherein the new country’s name was made... read more

Townhall Finance... New Report - Hurricanes, Global Warming Not Linked, by John Ransom
One of the of the most popularized predicted effects of global warming from the models given us by the climate change clowns, increased hurricane and tropical storm activity, has recently been shown to be without merit according to the science and operations officer of the National Hurricane Center, Dr. Chris Landsea. In a work published in late November and carefully labeled an “opinion” piece on the site for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration- which is quick to distance... read more

Townhall Finance... Real-World Evidence Showing that Unemployment Insurance Benefits Increase Unemployment - by Daniel J. Mitchell - Editor: A Must Read - I’ve written before about the perverse impact of the unemployment insurance program, and I’ve even cited how left-wing economists such as Paul Krugman and Larry Summers admit that you get more joblessness when you pay people for not working. I’ve even shared a very good cartoon making the same point. And who can forget Nancy Pelosi’s mindless comments about unemployment benefits being a great way to... read more

Human Events... Obama, Romney Change Tacks in Week of Political Risks, by Michael Barone
12/12/2011 - It was a week of risk-taking in the 2012 presidential race. Barack Obama, his job approval languishing in the low 40s, delivered a much heralded speech in Osawatomie, Kan., framing the choice between the parties in class-warfare terms. That’s a risky strategy. Democrats haven’t won a presidential election on class warfare since 1948, when Obama’s mother and Newt Gingrich were 5 years old. Al Gore, in... read more

Redstate... When Did the EPA Jump the Shark? Posted by Steve Maley
A cautionary tale about bureaucracy and mission creep. Saturday, December 10th - Iron Eyes Cody cried at the sight of polluted waters and skies in a famous public service announcement, first aired in 1971. Old Iron Eyes may have been a faux-Indian, but his message resonated with people. The Crying Indian PSA was one of the most successful ever. It resonated because it was true. In the early ’70s, the environment was a mess. Urban skies were noticeably tinged in sepia/grey. Rivers and... read more

Redstate... Implementing An International IRS In The Name Of Robin Hood, Posted by LaborUnionReport
“Never let a good crisis go to waste.” — Rahm Emanuel - Sunday, December 11th - When good people blindly fall prey to the sinister machinations of the institutional left, America will be lost. Today, under the guise of making the rich “pay their fair share(!),” there is a global movement for worldwide taxation that is being pushed by the likes of George Soros, Al Gore, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, European Socialists, as well as union bosses (and just about every other Marxist group you can... read more

Human Events... Occupy Movement Attempts to Shut Down Ports, by John Hayward
Union leadership less than thrilled - 12/12/2011 - Today is a big day for the Occupy movement, as it attempts to reproduce the “success” of Occupy Oakland at shutting down the Port of Oakland in November. This time they’re trying to shut down almost every major port on the West Coast, including another run at Oakland, as CNN reports: Protesters affiliated with the nationwide “Occupy” movement hope to shut... read more

Redstate... North America’s Energy Bounty, By the Numbers Debunking The Big Energy Lie™, by Steve Maley
Friday, December 9th - On Tuesday, the Institute for Energy Research issued its North American Energy Inventory (.pdf link), a report which documents the government’s own estimates of oil, natural gas and coal resources for the U.S., Canada and Mexico. (The IER is a non-profit, non-partisan 501(c)3 organization that is dedicated to advancing America’s supply using free market principles.) In a nutshell, North America contains a vast bounty of energy sources in the form of oil, natural gas and... read more

Akron Beacon Journal... Polar Express heals all hurts
December 12, 2011 - One train car on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad’s Polar Express holiday train Friday night was filled with parents and their medically fragile children and siblings who love them. Families who, quite literally, don’t know what’s coming around the next bend. A second train car was occupied by children worried about military parents stationed in harm’s way. Families who, quite literally, don’t know what’s coming around the next bend. On this night, however.... read more

Townhall... MTV, Both Sleazy and Sour, by Brent Bozell
Dec 10, 2011 - Once upon a time, women were considered the “fairer sex,” the “better half.” Stewardesses were talented and beautiful. Wives were softer and gentler. Men fought for their honor. Feminism crushed all of that. It is a testimony to their movement that in today’s post-feminist entertainment media, part of what makes television so corrosive and sour is just how piggish the women have become. The latest study from the Parents Television Council drives this concept... read more

Townhall Finance... Biggest Problems In the World Make Money, by Jeff Carter
Successful businesses solve problems. That’s how they earn a profit. They create value by solving the problem and people pay them for their service. Too many people think profit is a bad thing, but it’s actually a necessary part of the whole process. Just like you can never make “too much money”, a business can never have too much profit. This whole application of “fairness” to things like salaries and profits is messy and qualitative. Sometimes people tell me they are fresh out of ideas... read more

Human Events... Holder Threatened With Impeachment, Contempt in Fast and Furious Probe
by Audrey Hudson - 12/08/2011 - Attorney General Eric Holder admitted on Thursday that e-mails from his computer were withheld from a congressional investigation into Operation Fast and Furious, angering lawmakers who threatened the nation’s top cop with impeachment and contempt charges. “These are materials we have not and will not produce,” Holder testified during the combative day-long hearing before the House Judiciary Committee... read more

Daily Events... Fridays with Erick Erickson: Gingrich
It really is amazing to see Newt Gingrich’s come back. I had written him off for dead before the summer, as did most other political observers. But he has come back largely on his debating skills. I’d pay big money to see him debate Barack Obama. It appears I won’t have to pay anything; it just might happen. Gingrich is going to come under withering attacks in the next few weeks. Like Herman Cain, women will start coming forward. Unlike Cain, others will come forward who say Gingrich... read more

Townhall... Eat-Your-Spinach Public Policy, by John C. Goodman
Dec 10, 2011 - Democrats seem to have more “street smarts” than Republicans when it comes to grass roots politics. In 1983, both parties agreed to cut Social Security benefits by raising the retirement age and adopting other reforms. How did they explain that change to voters in the next election? Republicans typically told voters they had to “pare back the program to something we could afford.” Democrats typically said they had “saved Social Security.” We are seeing a repeat of that exercise... read more

Human Events... Holder, Blago, Richardson: Triangle of Sleaze, by Michelle Malkin
12/09/2011 - It was a rough week for the corruptocracy. White House officials better ho-ho-hold on tight because the sleigh ride isn’t going to get any smoother. On Wednesday, disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, D-Ill., received a 14-year prison sentence for scheming to sell President Barack Obama’s Senate office, along with several other pay-for-play schemes. Blago played the distressed daddy for the federal... read more

Townhall Finance... A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Ransom
We’ve already established that no one will go to jail over $40 billion turfing of the brokerage firm MF Global, one of history’s largest bankruptcies. MF Global died by the hand of the former Jon Corzine, the former golden boy at Goldman Sachs, the former Senator, the former Governor, the former Obama guru with a master’s degree from the University of Chicago; the sage with the Sixties beard wrapped in a custom-made Burberry suit and tie. Like a lot of stories these days, Chicago works its way in... read more

Townhall Finance... Eric Holder Impeached is a Good First Start, by John Ransom
Republicans have alleged, if not from the first, then at least for a long time, that operation Fast and Furious was a callous attempt by progressives in the plutocracy that we now call America at creating an artificial gun crisis so that the plutocracy could abridge citizens’ 2nd Amendment rights. I mean further than they’ve already abridged them. Now even liberals are getting the memo- or at least email evidence- that it’s true. CBSNews has reported that new documents show that officials... read more

Townhall Finance... Mr. President has a Little Stick, by Bob Beauprez
U.S. officials have confirmed that Iran has recovered an American top secret RQ-170 drone. The drone reportedly went down near Kashmar in northeastern Iran about 120 miles from the Afghanistan border after U.S. remote pilots “lost control” of the unmanned state-of-the-art vehicle. Contrary to early Iranian claims that they had shot down the drone, televised images show the vehicle to be essentially intact... read more

Townhall... Free To Die? by Walter E. Williams
Dec 07, 2011 - Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman, in his New York Times column titled “Free to Die” (9/15/2011), pointed out that back in 1980, his late fellow Nobel laureate Milton Friedman lent his voice to the nation’s shift to the political right in his famous 10-part TV series, “Free To Choose.” Nowadays, Krugman says, “’free to choose’ has become ‘free to die.’” He was referring to a GOP presidential debate in which Rep. Ron Paul was asked what should be done if a 30-year-old man... read more

Redstate... The Most Important Fight For Conservatives in America, Posted by Erick Erickson
Thursday, December 8th - Forget the Presidential race. We can get back to it another day. This is the most important fight for the conservative movement in America right now and it happens next week. Well, it was going to happen in January. But conservatives started gaining momentum. Naturally, Mitch McConnell had to go try to pull the rug out from under conservatives. Far be it for fresh ideas to enter into the hallowed corridors of Senate Republican power. I’m talking about the Senate... read more

Townhall... Riding in the Desert: Child Sexual Exploitation, Drug Running, Human Smuggling and Violence, by Katie Pavlich - Dec 07, 2011 - Pinal County, Ariz.-This week I was privileged to participate in a ride along with the Arizona Pinal County Sheriff’s Office and got a first hand look at what deputies are dealing with on a daily basis. Although we didn’t get into any major cartel chases during my time with them, the education I received about a number of border issues was eye opening. I started off the day.... read more

Townhall... A Planned Parenthood Christmas, by Steven Aden
Dec 07, 2011 - All the superfluous language about “women’s reproductive health” aside, Planned Parenthood is in the business of death. They’ve built an empire by performing abortions to the tune of 300,000 a year (currently), by filling their coffers with taxpayer monies, and by securing an ever-ready defense from leftist politicians. And what better time to celebrate death, blood money, and political cronyism than Christmas? At least that seems to be the view of Planned Parenthood Gulf... read more

Redstate... The Regulatory Climate is Affecting More Than Business, Posted by Ben Howe
Wednesday, December 7th - The chorus of CEOs and business leaders saying that regulation is choking business and growth had a new addition yesterday: CEO Clarence Otis, Jr. of Darden Restaurants, Orlando, Florida’s only Fortune 500 company and the parent company of Olive Garden, Red Lobster and LongHorn Steakhouse. This is interesting to me for a handful of reasons. The first is that a quick look at campaign donations from Otis shows that he has historically been a... read more

Daily Events... Being with - not for - Newt, Mondays with Tony Lee
Yesterday, Tiger Woods won a golf tournament (albeit his own tourney with a condensed field, but, hey, a win is a win) for the first time in just over two years. Almost everyone has been rightfully disgusted with Tiger’s behavior off the golf course (and sometimes, even his pathetic behavior on the golf course). But nobody can doubt Tiger’s golf skills or how badly the sport needs a competitive Tiger. Very few... read more

Townhall Finance... Disasters Keep Hitting Clean Energy Scam, By Amy Oliver Cooke and Michael Sandoval
It’s hard to keep up with all the disasters plaguing “clean” technology. We’ve highlighted some of them in previous columns, but now find ourselves overwhelmed with bad news for the green-at-any-cost crowd. So periodically we’ll provide a “renewable roundup,” reading and deconstructing the latest developments so you don’t have to. Running on Empty: Electric Cars - Fisker Automotive, maker of luxury electric/hybrid vehicles, got a $529 million taxpayer guaranteed loan courtesy... read more

Columbus Dispatch... Pondering pensions
Next head of Retirement Study Council will face some very tough issues - Reform of Ohio’s public pensions is proceeding slowly; legislation proposing needed fixes to make the funds more fiscally sound has waited for more than two years, while changing economic and budget conditions have further affected the problem. Lawmakers in June called for an independent review of proposed changes. That was supposed to be complete by the end of the year but is just beginning, with a consultant... read more

Human Events... Newt Keeps Pitching the America of His Imagination, By Michael Barone
12/05/2011 - Here are a couple of things to keep in mind about Newt Gingrich, as he leads in polls for the Republican presidential nomination nationally and in Iowa and South Carolina, and may be threatening Mitt Romney’s lead in New Hampshire. One is that he is an autodidact. A second is that he has incredible perseverance. Autodidact is a fancy word for someone who is self-taught. Gingrich calls... read more

Redstate...We Need Employment Benefits, Not Another Permanent Welfare Program
Force Democrats to pay unemployment reparations from their own coffers, Posted by Daniel Horowitz
Here we go again. After a full year of grandstanding against another extension of unemployment benefits, some Republicans are ready to cave. If you ever wondered why it is so hard to cut spending, and more importantly, to downsize government, look no further than the fight over extending unemployment benefits. Despite a year full of political parlance concerning budget austerity.... read more

Townhall Finance… Mind-Blowing TSA Stupidity and Political Correctness, by Daniel J. Mitchell
I’ve had some fun mocking the bureaucrats from the Transportation Security Administration, including stories such as: Confiscating a plastic hammer from a mentally retarded man, detaining a woman for carrying breast milk, hassling a woman for the unexplained red flag of having sequentially numbered checks, demanding that a handicapped 4-year old boy walk through a metal detector without his leg braces, putting an 8-year old cub scout on the no-fly list. Keep in mind that these are the geniuses who still fail... read more

“Moment Of Clarity” Downward Wisconsin by Tim Nerenz, Ph.D.
We used to make things here in Wisconsin. We made machine tools in Milwaukee, cars in Kenosha and ships in Sheboygan. We mined iron in the north and lead in the south. We made cheese, we made brats, we made beer, and we even made napkins to clean up what we spilled. And we made money. The original war on poverty was a private, mercenary affair. Men like Harnishfeger, Allis, Chalmers, Kohler, Kearney, Trecker, Modine, Case.... read more

Townhall Finance... Despite What You’ve Heard, Unemployment Rate Rising not Falling, by Mike Shedlock
In Unemployment Rate Dips to 8.6% as 487,000 Drop Out of Labor Force I presented some quick facts on the drop in the unemployment rate. In the last year, the civilian population rose by 1,726,000. Yet the labor force fell by 67,000. Those not in the labor force rose by 1,793,000. In November, those “Not in Labor Force” rose by a whopping 487,000. If you are not in the labor force, you are not counted as unemployed... read more

Townhall Finance… An Occupy Wall Street Rant, by Jeff Carter
I always was involved in athletics as a kid. One of the great things about sports is you learn how to fail. When I played baseball, I could catch anything tossed at me, but I struck out a lot. My all time little league average is well below the Mendoza Line. The great thing about sports is the immediate feedback you get when you screw up. A guy scores a basket on you, a guy gets by you. Even in team sports, there are relatively few places you can hide. The best athletes learn from that feedback... read more

Human Events... Tea Party Debt Commission Lockout Follow-Up, by John Hayward
As expected, it was all about politics - 11/18/2011 - Yesterday the Tea Party Debt Commission, a crowd-sourced deficit reduction panel hosted by FreedomWorks, ran into a bit of trouble. It was meant to run parallel to the bipartisan deficit “Super Committee” and thereby embarrass the heck out of them. Unfortunately, they were booted from the Russell Office Building of the Senate, on the grounds that security... read more

Redstate... Cain suspends his Presidential campaign, By Erick Erickson
Herman Cain has suspended his Presidential campaign. By suspending his campaign instead of quitting his campaign, Herman can still get federal matching funds in 2012. But the campaign is over. Even had it continued, it was over. I had thought and expected that Cain would continue until Iowa. He had enough money. Dropping out after losing in Iowa would have distracted from the present issues... read more

Canton Repository... Cookie-cutter federal aid programs don’t work
Gov. John Kasich should keep plugging away at his demand that states get more freedom to manage the federal funds they receive for Medicaid and worker training programs. Kasich made the point again during a panel discussion at the annual conference of the Republican Governors Association this week in Orlando, Fla. The Columbus Dispatch quoted him as saying, “We would cover more people at a lower price.” Whether all states could make that claim about the bottom line is... read more

Ohio.com... Targeted response
November 30, 2011 - Late in the tenure of Ted Strickland and his team, the state adjusted its rule for tracking down overpayments to welfare recipients. It did so to achieve consistency with federal regulations. The new rule called for recouping all overpayments going back 10 years — and beyond. In recent weeks, as the notices of overpayment first started appearing in mailboxes and complaints readily followed, the... read more

Redstate... So, Whose House is it Anyway? Posted by Daniel Horowitz
Thursday, December 1st - Last year, the American people voted overwhelmingly for a Republican House of Representatives. Based upon their campaign pledges, the prevailing expectation of a “Republican House” was a body of revitalized Republicans who would not fund Obamacare and Dodd-Frank, downsize Freddie/Fannie, oppose appropriator-concocted omnibus bills, and fight for at least some of their priorities in the Ryan budget. A year later, the prevailing sentiment amongst the GOP... read more

Daily Events... Return of Self Interest, Thursdays with John Hayward
12.01.11 - On Wednesday, President Obama took another of his many, many taxpayer-funded 2012 campaign junkets to Pennsylvania, which he famously dismissed as a land full of small folk who “get bitter” and “cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them, or anti-immigrant sentiment, or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations” during his 2008 campaign... read more

Townhall Finance... Get Your iWhatever on Credit Here, by Bill Tatro
When I watched shoppers on Black Friday rioting over discount wash towels and then see hi-definition televisions being scooped up like bags of potato chips, I start to wonder. My thoughts turn to what would happen if true shortages started showing up. What would happen if people had to wait at midnight for their needs as opposed to their wants. During the roaring 20’s, advertising came into vogue. The consumer was convinced that their wants were actually their basic needs... read more

Human Events... Senate Republicans to Obama: Get Out of Keystone XL Pipeline’s Way
by Audrey Hudson - 12/01/2011 - Senate Republicans yesterday told President Obama to release his partisan stranglehold on the Keystone XL Pipeline project, and backed up their demands with new legislation to force quick action. “Unfortunately, it’s pretty apparent the President has decided to delay this past the election,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R.-Ky.), one of nearly 40 sponsors of a bill ordering Obama to act within 60 days. “If I were speculating about... read more

Redstate... The Horserace for December 1, 2011, Posted by Erick Erickson
Thursday, December 1st - We are a month away from the actual horserace, but it has been going on a while. I have said repeatedly that the race is Mitt Romney’s to lose. It looks like he just might lose it. The race is Romney’s to lose because the race has settled against his favor. The race has settled in “Not Romney’s” favor. The problem, though, is “Not Romney” is not on the ballot. Because the 75%... read more

Redstate... The College of Hypocritical Big Government Cardinals, Posted by Daniel Horowitz
Wednesday, November 30th - There is an old adage in Washington that describes the political system as consisting of three political parties; Democrats, Republicans, and Appropriators. The Appropriations Subcommittee chairmen, often referred to as the “College of Cardinals,” usually agree to concoct legislation that fuses the worst elements of the evil and stupid parties, resulting in something worse than a pure Democrat proposal. This is exactly what transpired with the... read more

Townhall Finance... Taunting Obama as Barney Fife, by John Ransom
Former GOP presidential aspirant, Governor Tim Pawlenty, on Wednesday took up my call from last week of the president as Mr. Chicken, calling Obama the “Barney Fife of presidents.” Hollywood actor Don Knotts was famous as the do-nothing deputy Barney Fife in the Andy Griffith Show. Fife, like Obama, was all mouth and no action; brave and boisterous until action was called for and then timid and fearful. Knotts also starred as the famously fearful Mr. Chicken- actually the character... read more

Human Events... Lessons of History? by Thomas Sowell
11/29/2011 - It used to be common for people to urge us to learn “the lessons of history.” But history gets much less attention these days and, if there are any lessons that we are offered, they are more likely to be the lessons from current polls or the lessons of political correctness. Even among those who still invoke the lessons of history, some read those lessons very differently from others... read more

Redstate... ‘The Most Volatile Republican Race in Decades’ Is Actually Well Settled
Posted by Erick Erickson - Tuesday, November 29th - “The race for the GOP nomination is well settled at this point. It is settled in ‘Not Romney’s’ favor. The reason the race is so volatile is that ‘Not Romney’ is not on the ballot” I keep hearing from the Washington Chattering Classes, Team Romney, and the White House that the race is over and Romney’s the nominee. To be fair, I think Romney will, at present, be the nominee. But as I’m starting to see stronger signs that he is not... read more

Townhall Finance... Fannie and Freddie - Building on the House of Cards, by Bob Beauprez
The collapse of the sub-prime mortgage loan market precipitated the current economic recession. Yet three years and $170 billion in taxpayer funded bailouts later, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) that owned or guaranteed the vast majority of those loans, remain virtually unchanged except that the giant is even bigger and more costly to maintain... read more

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