County News Online Blogs

Townhall... Putting Children First, By Linda Chavez
6/3/2011 - For the first time in history, less than half of Americans now live in married-couple households. The new finding by the Census Bureau reflects the most profound change in the nature of American society ever to have occurred, yet practically no one talks about it. Only 48 percent of American households are made up of married couples. These numbers reflect a sea change in living arrangements. In 1950, married... read more

Columbus Dispatch Editorial, Build it Right
Ohio Senate shouldn’t weaken efforts to reform public contracting - Friday, June 3, 2011 - Of all issues confronting Ohio Senate members in the state budget bill, one decision should have been easy: keeping Gov. John Kasich’s provision to eliminate absurd and antiquated rules for public construction projects that waste time and taxpaysers’ money. The budget proposal passed by the Ohio House of Representatives left Kasich’s construction-reform proposals intact, and would... read more

Townhall... Education and Its Discontents, by Paul Greenberg
6/2/2011 - Dear Fellow Fan, It was wholly a pleasure to hear from another fan of that endangered species on American campuses, liberal education. It seems the more bureaucratic types in American education, whether they’ve burrowed into administration or become tenured members of the faculty, are busy transforming our universities into trade schools in every way but the name. Recommended Reading: “Mission Lost/ California’s state university system offers everything... read more

Toledo Blade Editorial... Victory tour
6/3/11 - Candidate Barack Obama visited the Toledo area frequently. President Obama makes his first trip here today to laud his administration’s success in helping to pull Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors back from the brink of collapse. He’s entitled to gloat, a little. Mr. Obama’s predecessor, President George W. Bush, initiated the federal bailouts of Chrysler and GM. When the $17 billion in loans Mr. Bush provided the automakers proved insufficient to avert disaster, the... read more

Romney’s Primary Path, By Dick Morris
Published on TheHill.com on May 31, 2011 - With the visceral negativism of politics today, candidates must advance masked by the shadows of their opponents. For example, Obama could achieve credibility and strength in 2007-08 only when attention focused on Hillary. When the spotlight shifted to him in April and May of 2008, he nearly lost the nomination amid the Rev. Jeremiah Wright... read more

Townhall Finance... Boneheaded Stimulus Never Works, By Larry Kudlow
With a flamboyant downgrade of the outlook for economic growth, jobs, and profits, Wednesday’s 280 point Dow plunge to launch the so-called June stock swoon is a warning shot across the bow. The Dow tanked alongside a batch of dismal economic data. The ISM manufacturing index, ADP employment, Case-Shiller home prices, and consumer confidence are all pointing to 2 percent growth or less, rather than... read more

Townhall Finance... Tea Partiers Unite! Nothing to Lose but Election, Savings, Job... By John Ransom
You’ve rallied, you’ve worked, you’ve organized. You’ve made progress, you’ve made waves, you’ve made enemies. You’ve won some campaigns and you’ve lost some. Politically, you’ve grown up quite a bit over the last few years. And here’s the kicker: Between now and 2012 you have an historic opportunity to get America back on the right track on education, on spending, on taxes and much more. Almost uniquely in the history of our country, you, the grassroots- the ordinary... read more

Townhall... Gates Turns Off the Lights, By Frank Gaffney
6/1/2011 - I have been in Washington now for nearly forty years and, in all that time, I can’t recall seeing anything quite like Robert Gates’ ongoing farewell to arms. In a series of speeches over the past few days - at Notre Dame, at the American Enterprise Institute and at the Naval Academy - the outgoing Secretary of Defense has sounded a series of warnings that the ship of state, or at least the carrier battle group that protects it, is headed for the rocks. That is surely so. But... read more

Redstate... “Official Time” or Unofficial Scam? Your tax dollars are being used for union business.
Posted by LaborUnionReport - Thursday, June 2nd - One would think that, when union members pay union dues, the money would pay for the time their union representatives spend representing them on the job. Well, that’s not always the case. Both, in the private sector and the public sector, it is not unheard of for an employer to agree to pay for the union representatives’ time spent in talking with members to drum up investigate grievances and meet with management. In the... read more

Townhall... Why College is Not For Everyone, By Katie Kieffer
Peter Thiel is rocking the boat of higher education. The libertarian entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and co-founder of PayPal is sending liberal college administrators into a tizzy with his latest push to encourage young innovators to ditch college for two years and pursue entrepreneurship. Last week, Thiel awarded 20 young people with “20 Under 20” Thiel Fellowships: $100,000 and two years of mentorship to develop... read more

Human Events... What Must We Defend? by Patrick J. Buchanan
05/31/2011 - “We need to be honest with the president, with the Congress, with the American people” about the consequences of cutting the defense budget, said Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in his valedictory policy address to the American Enterprise Institute. “(A) smaller military, no matter how superb, will be able to go fewer places and do fewer things.” Gates seeks to ignite a debate the country... read more

Townhall... Oceans, Hope and D-Day, By Jackie Gingrich Cushman
6/2/2011 - Like many Americans, we packed up after the last day of school and headed out of town for a Memorial Day vacation. We spent the weekend at the beach, where our schedule was dictated not by the clock but by the sun, tides and weather. Reading, romping in the surf, playing tennis and walking the dog on the beach were our major activities this past weekend. Without outside appointments or commitments, it was easy to lose track of time, day and date... read more

Townhall Finance... Obama’s Nuclear Option on Economy, By John Ransom
In the latest surprise regarding the economy, Wednesday’s job report from ADP showed that private employers added only 38,000 jobs in May. Surprise! Economist expected private companies to add about 175,000 jobs for the month. The report is the next in a series of disappointments on the economic front. Home sales have continued to lag, GDP has been revised sharply downward, and inflation has taken a larger bite out of corporate and family budgets... read more

Huffington Post... An Evangelical Social Gospel? By Tim Suttle
05/28/11 - Evangelical Christians are committed to something called the gospel. It’s central to everything we do. The word gospel itself means “good news,” and this good news is all about how Jesus came into this dark and broken world to make a way back to God. Over the past few centuries the evangelical version of the gospel has changed and is now something quite different... read more

foxnews... Does Your Dog Watch Too Much TV? By Jennifer Quasha
Published June 01, 2011 - We’ve all done it. We’ve turned on the TV and made it into the electronic babysitter. Everyone seemed happy but who knows? No, I’m not talking about my kids, I’m talking about television for my dog. And that has led me to the following question: So is watching too much TV going to rot your dog’s brain? We know television can hinder... read more

truthout... The Truth About the American Economy, Robert Reich
Wednesday 1 June 2011 - The U.S. economy continues to stagnate. It’s growing at the rate of 1.8 percent, which is barely growing at all. Consumer spending is down. Home prices are down. Jobs and wages are going nowhere. It’s vital that we understand the truth about the American economy. How did we go from the Great Depression to 30 years of Great Prosperity? And from there, to 30 years of stagnant incomes and widening inequality, culminating in the Great Recession? And from the... read more

Columbus Dispatch... Op-Ed: Merit pay should stay in budget, By Terry Ryan
For as long as anyone can remember, in Ohio as in the rest of America, a public-school teacher’s effectiveness and performance in the classroom have had little to no impact on decisions about whether she is retained by her district or laid off, how she is compensated or assigned to a district’s schools or how her professional development is crafted. Instead, these critical decisions are made on the basis of quality-blind state policies, like the notorious “last-in, first-out” mandate governing... read more

Townhall... GOP Condemns Democrats’ ‘Breathtaking’ Refusal to Produce Budget
By Byron York - “Let’s see it,” a frustrated Sen. Jeff Sessions said on the Senate floor recently. “Let’s bring it forward.” By “it,” Sessions meant a Democratic proposal for a 2012 federal budget. In recent days, Sessions, the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, has been asking, pushing, pleading, cajoling and begging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to put forward a Democratic plan. So far, Reid... read more

Townhall... Crying Rape, By Mike Adams
People often assume that self-described liberals are more supportive of due process than self-described conservatives. That certainly isn’t the case when we talk about the illiberal bureaucrats who run the United States Department of Education. The notion that an adult charged with a felony should be put on trial using the same standard of evidence used for someone who has been issued a parking... read more

Townhall Finance... Chu Pimps Your Budget at the Pump, By Bob Beauprez
Memorial Day normally kicks off the summer vacation and heavy driving season, but with gas prices at the pump more than twice as expensive as they were two years ago, American families are being forced to stay close to home and pull back on normal family expenses. The cost to fill up the tank is consuming 40% more of the family budget than it did last summer. According to AAA, 17 cents of every consumer dollar is spent at the pump, up from 12 cents one year ago... read more

Townhall... Enough with Liberal Name Calling, By Carrie Lukas
In January, the assassination attempt on Representative Gabrielle Giffords by a mentally ill assailant became an occasion for media elites to preen about the need for more civil political discourse. Somehow, the liberals fashioned a connection between Rush Limbaugh’s radio show and Jared Loughner, despite the complete lack of any evidence that Loughner had ever listened to conservative radio or was anything other than an apolitical madman... read more

Who’s Left on the Right, By Dick Morris
Published on TheHill.com on May 24, 2011 - On arriving at the Democratic Convention of 1960, reporters asked Adlai Stevenson who would emerge as the nominee. “The last survivor,” he answered. Perhaps the 2012 Republican nomination will be determined by the same criterion. With the departures of John Thune, Mike Pence, Mike Huckabee, Haley Barbour, Donald Trump and, now, Mitch Daniels, we have constantly to revise our scenarios of the likely outcome... read more

Verities & Balderdash... A Pin Drop, Ford & your PC, By Bob Robinson
For those of you who have been waiting with baited breath for the return of Verities & Balderdash… well… a few of you have mentioned them… well… actually, one person did… a long time ago… so here we go again. The first is one more “thank you” to those who serve us… if you tend to be touchy about our foreign relations, I suggest you skip Pin Drop. If you tend to be touchy about your PC... read more

Townhall... Democrats Can’t Win 2012 With a Health-Care Attack, By Donald Lambro
WASHINGTON - If the Democrats are counting on making a come back in the 2012 elections by demagoguing the Republican Medicare reforms, they’d better think again. The No. 1 political issue for the remainder of this year and most likely in 2012 will be the lackluster, persistently high unemployment, Obama economy that Republicans will nail to the Democrats hide from Maine to California... read more

Townhall... Soft-on-Crime Cycle Repeats, By Debra J. Saunders
The good news: Last year, California’s homicide rate dropped to its lowest level since 1966. Violent crimes were down from the year before. The bad news: Federal judges and California lawmakers juggling to run a state government despite a huge budget deficit are making decisions that threaten to dismantle a system that has made California a safer place to live. If they get their way, today’s state prison... read more

Townhall Finance... Dems: Greed is Good as a Tax Credit, By John Ransom
The Democrats’ predilection for “stimulating” the economy with tax credits that redistribute wealth, instead of tax cuts that preserve wealth, has created conditions of rampant fraud amongst government agencies including the IRS, government sponsored corporations, like General Motors (aka Government Motors), and individual tax filers according to several recent reports from the federal government and government watchdog groups. And a new report may indicate that... read more

Foxnews... Obama 2012 Win a Sure Thing? By Bernard Goldberg
May 27, 2011 - For all of my conservative friends who think that Barack Obama will never be re-elected if the economy is still in the doldrums next year, I have three words for you: Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR was re-elected in 1936 and the economy was in a very bad way -- far, far worse than it is today or likely to be in November 2012. That’s the good news for President Obama. The bad news is that FDR is the only president in the last 75 years to be re-elected when the economy was... read more

STOP Deliberately Misleading Americans on Energy, By John Fleming
Washington D.C. – Congressman John Fleming, M.D. released the following statement responding to deceptive claims by Senator Durbin (D-Il) that the United States only has 2% of the world’s oil reserves. This is on top of claims by President Obama and the Interior Department that oil production in the Gulf of Mexico is at an all time high, an assertion refuted by his own administration’s data. “Once again Democrats would rather deliberately mislead Americans on the state of our... read more

Townhall... Time for GOP To Implement Full-Frontal Budget Assault, By David Limbaugh
My advice for the GOP: No more Mr. Nice Guy. No more putting the pretense of civility above the best interests of the nation. Democrats are playing cynical games with our national debt crisis, and it’s time they were called out on them -- directly, volubly and repeatedly. Senate Democrats haven?t passed their own budget plan in more than two years, despite having strong control of that body. Meanwhile, the... read more

Daily Events... Fridays with Erick Erickson - Party of No
05.27.11 - Back in 2009 and 2010, the chattering class labeled the Republican Party “unserious.” It was the Party of No. It had no plans to fix the healthcare crisis. It had no plans to fix the economic crisis. It had nothing. The chattering class held firm in the conviction that voters would reject the Republican Party because it was unserious and lacked any sort of plan. But the GOP did have... read more

Townhall... People of, by and for the government? By Paul Jacob
Are Colorado citizens unconstitutionally infringing on the right of state government to hike up taxes and spend as legislators choose? That’s what a lawsuit filed last week in federal court alleges. The plaintiffs are a thoroughly bipartisan collection of 34 sitting legislators, former legislators, former U.S. congressmen, school board officials, local politicians and other assorted bigwigs of the state’s political class. Their complaint in Kerr v. Colorado states, “An effective legislative... read more

Townhall... Mmm, a Prescription for Kool Aid, By Bill Tatro
Has America really drunk all the Kool-Aid? Or, has denial set in so deeply that if people were transported back in time to the Titanic and were told to get into the lifeboats, disaster dead ahead, they would probably respond with “Oh no, not me, I have a state room, I can’t give that up.” Or, “Tomorrow night, we’re dining with the Captain; we don’t wan to miss that.” Reality has a way of being pushed to the back burner when our comforts and needs are challenged. Just recently, a national... read more

truthout... Remembering the Quiet, Unsung Heroes of America, by William J. Astore, Truthout
Monday 30 May 2011 - This Memorial Day, let’s remember and learn from our heroes who are gone from us. For me, my heroes are my parents, both of whom grew up in single-parent families during the Great Depression. Let’s start with my Mom. Our concept of “hero” today often works against moms; our culture tends to glorify our troops and other people of action: police, firefighters, and other risk-takers who help others. But to me my Mom was a hero. As a young woman... read more

Daily Events... Sarah Palin’s documentary “The Undefeated” By John Hayward
The news this week was filled with reports that Sarah Palin contracted filmmaker Stephen Bannon to produce a big-budget documentary about her years as the governor of Alaska, called The Undefeated. The level of buzz is remarkable, considering that hardly anyone has seen the rough cut. The Undefeated has the feel of a campaign video, and is widely seen as a sign that Palin might be inching closer to a... read more

CAGW Names Sebelius Porker of the Month
5/20/11 - (Washington, D.C.) – Today, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius its May Porker of the Month for the consistently murky process by which HHS grants or denies waivers from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Sec. Sebelius received the dubious honor in the wake... read more

Townhall... The Die Is Cast, By Jonah Goldberg
Alea iacta est. That’s what Julius Caesar proclaimed as he crossed the Rubicon river in 49 B.C. It means “the die is cast.” By crossing the Rubicon with his army, against Roman law, Caesar guaranteed a head-on conflict with the overconfident Roman ruler Pompey. Outnumbered, Caesar was presented with the choice: win or die. The recent special election in the 26th congressional district of New York was a political Rubicon. The Democrat, Kathy Hochul, ran against... read more

Reason... General Motors Will Never Repay Taxpayers, By Shikha Dalmia
Obama’s spin on GM’s latest profit report is pure baloney - May 24, 2011 - The Obama administration, and its media backers, have seized upon news that General Motors made a $3.2 billion profit in the first quarter of 2011 as proof positive that its auto bailout is a success. President Obama is so buoyed that he is reportedly planning to make the bailout a major part of his reelection campaign. But by this standard, Charlie Sheen’s comedy tour ought to be declared a smash hit. Sheen’s... read more

Townhall... Obama Economy Worse Than 1970s, By Floyd and Mary Beth Brown
The worst economic conditions in recent memory were during the Jimmy Carter era of stagflation. Stagflation was a term coined in the 1970s to describe high unemployment with high inflation. Stagflation is back. Translation: America’s middle class is getting poorer; a record number of middle class workers are out of work. If you are lucky enough to have a job, your wages aren’t going up, but you are facing higher prices for everything. “Recent data suggests that the current economic... read more

Townhall... Apocalypse Now or Never, By Rich Galen
The prediction that the world would end last Saturday was the biggest bust since Geraldo opened Al Capone’s vault or Lenin’s Tomb (or whatever it was) and found it empty. For those who took Saturday off as a personal day, there is this preacher in - where? - California named Harold Camping who has made something of a career out of predicting the end of the world. His most recent prediction was that... read more

Human Events... Obama Skirts Rule of Law to Reward Pals, Punish Enemies
by Michael Barone - 05/26/2011 - Question: What do the following have in common? Eckert Cold Storage Co., Kerly Homes of Yuma, Classic Party Rentals, West Coast Turf Inc., Ellenbecker Investment Group Inc., Only in San Francisco, Hotel Nikko, International Pacific Halibut Commission, City of Puyallup, Local 485 Health and Welfare Fund, Chicago Plastering Institute Health & Welfare Fund, Blue... read more

Townhall... Someone to Remember on Memorial Day, by John Ransom
This Memorial Day weekend there will be thousands of parades, picnics and remembrance events for those who died fighting for the United States. There will also be sales and bargains for those that choose to spend the holiday traveling or shopping. Like all holidays, Memorial Day is sometimes at risk of losing its meaning in our commercial society, as shoppers and travelers forget about the sacrifices all of our troops and their families make. So here’s a gentle reminder while we all... read more

Townhall... Memorial Day 2011, By Oliver North
QUANTICO NATIONAL CEMETERY -- When I was a kid, we called May 30 “Decoration Day.” It was an occasion for Boy Scouts to be up before dawn and report, in uniform, to the American Legion hall. There, Cub Scouts would be paired with older Boy Scouts, organized into detachments of a dozen or so and issued bags of small American flags. The groups then “deployed” in station wagons and pickup trucks to local cemeteries and churchyards, where we placed Old Glory... read more

Townhall... Memorial Day Thanks and Devotion, By Jackie Gingrich Cushman
Flip through the local paper, and you’ll see that Memorial Day notices appear as sales headlines and attention-grabbers. Memorial Day Sale and Pre-Memorial Day. Pretty soon we’ll see post-Memorial Day sale advertisements. Similarly, television and radio are full of Memorial Day advertisements. I’ve even received a few Memorial Day Sale notices by e-mail during the time I’ve spent writing this column. Sales and BBQ are the two things that many people think about when... read more

FoxNews... On Memorial Day -- Keep the Memory of Those Who Died In Your Name Alive
By Judge Patrick Dugan - May 27, 2011 - For most of my life, I was like most people: I knew what Memorial Day stood for, but I didn’t really stop to think about what it truly meant. That changed after I went to Iraq in 2004 as a civil-affairs soldier with the Army Reserves. When you serve with people who don’t come home, Memorial Day means something different. Memorial Day is not about politics. Whatever your feelings about current or former wars, remember this: All military... read more

Townhall... Memorial Day 2011, By Rich Galen
“Because of your selfless acts, we stand in the capitals of those who would do our citizens harm.” Col. Michael Ceroli, Ft. Bragg, NC - We went to Arlington National Cemetery to attend the annual Memorial Day observance. The entrance to Arlington National Cemetery is directly across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial. These two historical, mystical, sites are connected by the Memorial Bridge. At the entrance to the Cemetery there is a sign which asks visitors... read more

Thoughts from the Editor, and the Internet... A Memorial Day Tribute
On this Memorial Day, my thoughts turn to my natural father, Capt. William A. Baldwin, who lost his life in service to our country, my adopted father, Lt. Col. John H. Robinson, who served our country faithfully throughout his entire career, and 1st Lt. James Neely, an Aggie buddy who lost is life in Viet Nam. I will remember them with gratitude. And I wish to thank my lifelong... read more

Townhall... Louis Zamperini and Memorial Day, By Cal Thomas
Perhaps you’ve heard of him, perhaps not. Louis Zamperini has had fame, lost it and seen it restored more than once. That happens when you are 94 years old and must be re-introduced to succeeding generations.
Zamperini was a juvenile delinquent, then an Olympic distance runner who competed in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany (he met Adolf Hitler and his chief propagandist... read more

Redstate... The Fight of the Century, Posted by Erick Erickson
Wednesday, May 25th - Much of the rhetoric coming out of Washington today is, not surprisingly, related to medicare and the impact it had on the special election in New York. I am of the opinion that it did not have as much impact as other issues, but there is no denying it had some impact. It just wasn’t, despite left-wing spin, the foundation of the GOP’s disaster. But, coming out of Washington today, the GOP is wringing its hands saying the public just doesn’t understand... read more

Foxnews... Searching for the GOP’s Mr. Perfect, By Andrea Tantaros
May 25, 2011 - The Republican Party is in search of what seems to be the perfect candidate to challenge President Barack Obama in 2012. After a poor showing at the polls with 2008 nominee John McCain, the GOP is determined to do better—and rightfully so. Driven by disgust over where Obama’s policies are taking the country, and anxiety over a thin field (a notion that is being stoked by the mainstream media) Republicans are getting restless, but are they mistaken in their quest... read more

Townhall... There’s Something About Marriage, by David Harsanyi
When an actress -- no, an artist -- the caliber of Cameron Diaz weighs in on the future of social institutions, America has an obligation to listen. And listen we did. In a widely discussed interview with Maxim magazine, Diaz offered America a peek at her body, her relationship with Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez (which, needless to say, is “awesome”) and her views on the future of matrimony. Does she think marriage is a dying institution? “I do,” she explained. “I think we have... read more

Townhall... Memo to Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Media -- There Are No Illegitimate Kids, Just Illegitimate Parents, By Michael Reagan - My adoptive parents told me I was “chosen,” but the kids at school told me I was a “bastard.” The recent headlines about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s infidelities and the son he fathered out of wedlock have stirred many old memories and emotions. I was four years old when I learned I was adopted. It was just before my sister Maureen’s eighth birthday. I told her, “I know... read more

Townhall Finance... Sucker: Free Properties Aren’t Cheap, By Kathy Fettke
Bank of America has announced it will give away as many as 150 vacant and abandoned properties in the Chicago metro area. This is part of a new effort to help the city clean up neighborhoods littered with vandalized, vacant homes. But before you run out and grab some free houses, think about it first. There’s probably a reason the bank can’t sell them. Vacant homes are often enjoyed by vagrants, drug addicts... read more

Redstate... Conservatives Stand to Lose Big in 2012, Posted by Erick Erickson
Tuesday, May 24th - Editor's Note: Regarding who we need to win in Ohio, Erickson says: "Two words: Josh Mandel" - After the historic gains made by conservatives — not just Republicans — in 2010, the conservative movement stands to slide back and lose in 2012. I’m not talking about the race to the White House. I’m talking about the United States Senate. At a time when Senate Republicans refuse to lead and Mitch McConnell is doing his best to marginalize the solid... read more

Redstate... The GOP Loss In New York Was About New York, Not Paul Ryan, Posted by Erick Erickson
Tuesday, May 24th - Republicans suck in New York. Period. End of Story. The GOP lost the special election in NY-26 and the media and Democrats are heralding it as proof that the GOP is getting punished for wanting to reform medicare. Back when the GOP lost the 2009 special election in New York featuring Dede Scozzafava, et al, the Democrats heralded the GOP defeat as proof that Republican opposition to Obamacare and being the “Party of No” was a clear sign that... read more

Redstate... Tim Pawlenty comes out against farm subsidies. In Iowa. Posted by Moe Lane
Monday, May 23rd - In his official speech kicking off his campaign: I’m here today to tell Iowans the truth, too. America is facing a crushing debt crisis the likes of which we’ve never seen before. We need to cut spending, and we need to cut it…big time. The hard truth is that there are no longer any sacred programs. The truth about federal energy subsidies, including federal subsidies for ethanol, is that they have to be phased out. We need to do it gradually. We need... read more

Human Events... The Tornado Year... Struggling to understand an awful tragedy
by John Hayward - 05/24/2011 - CNN has an oddly phrased sub-head for today’s story about the unusual number of killer tornadoes we’ve seen this year: The tornado that killed 117 people in Missouri this week puts the U.S. on track for a record-breaking year, despite improved forecasting and warning systems. “Despite?” Why would “improved forecasting and warning systems” reduce the number of tornadoes... read more

Townhall... The Miseducation of America, By Armstrong Williams
Back in the ‘good ole days’ (which usually tend to have occurred exactly one hundred years before the phrase is uttered), doing business in America was simple. Entrepreneurs completed deals using only back of the envelope calculations and a firm handshake. They didn’t need any of those Wall Street wizards with their fancy forecasting and analysis methods. Big Government wasn’t looking over... read more

Townhall... 5 Reasons We Need To Reform Medicare Right Now, By John Hawkins
Are we going to reform Medicare before 2012? No, unfortunately the Democrats have decided that using Medicare as an election issue is more important than actually doing the right thing for the country. So, they’re going to lie and tell every senior in America that the GOP is going to take their Medicare away. Then the mainstream media will echo their charges without pointing out that the Ryan plan won’t affect “anyone now 55 or older.” Their strategy may even work and if so... read more

Obama’s War on Israel, By Dick Morris & Eileen McGann
Published on DickMorris.com on May 23, 2011 - No American Jew who values the existence of the nation of Israel can kid himself any longer. President Obama is against the Jewish state. His speech on Thursday overtly embraces the position of the Palestinians and is designed to force Israel to surrender to their domination. How else are we to interpret a demand that Israel return to its 1967 borders and that this be the starting point for further negotiations? The 1967 borders... read more

Townhall.com’s Washington Beat, By Katie Pavlich
May 24, 2011 - ISRAEL ON THE FRONT LINES - It’s been a rough week for the Middle East peace process as President Obama has called for Israel to retreat back to it’s 1967 borders. Obama suggested the bold move in a major Middle East policy speech Thursday and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately rejected the idea in a written statement, in the Oval Office after a long meeting with Obama Friday and again in a speech given to a joint meeting... read more

Townhall... Porkulus: Cash for Tax Cheats, By Michelle Malkin
When President Obama signed the trillion-dollar stimulus law in 2009, he proclaimed that he was “keeping the American dream alive in our time.” The stimulator-in-chief failed to mention that billions would be spent keeping American tax scammers afloat on our dime. At a congressional hearing on Tuesday, federal auditors reported on the latest porkulus spending gone wild. According to a new General Accounting... read more

Townhall... Betraying Israel, By Cal Thomas
With friends like President Obama, who needs enemies? If you’re Israel, you already have quite enough of those. On May 14, 2011, the State of Israel observed the 63rd anniversary of its independence. But if the proposals made by President Obama in his State Department speech are implemented, that observance could be its last. It is difficult to say if the president is self-deluded... read more

Foxnews... On Arab-Israeli Conflict Obama Manages to Infuriate Almost Everyone
By Judith Miller - Published May 20, 2011 - President Obama’s second Middle Eastern speech on Thursday was very different in tone and substance from his first in Cairo back in 2009. His first “new beginnings” speech was defensive, an effort to repair longstanding mistrust between the Arab Muslims and America. Now with the killing of Usama bin Laden behind him, Obama could gloat that Al Qaeda had failed. But on the democracy front, he was largely responding to... read more

Townhall... Blame Taxes, not “Big Oil”, By Andrew Moylan
Politics often mimics theater. And – displaying elements of drama, intrigue, and a fair bit of fantasy – this month’s elaborate production by Senate Democrats to frame oil companies as the reason for high gas prices merits a Tony nomination.
Beyond entertainment, the push to single out U.S. oil and gas firms for additional tax burdens holds little value. In fact, if the Senate were to pass the kind of proposal it voted on this week, the Congressional Research Service... read more

Townhall Finance... A Peak Underneath, By Bill Tatro
When Walmart and Target both recently announced improvements to their top-line (revenues), the mainstream media was quick to point out how the consumer was back. After all, weren’t we seeing the same thing across all consumer sectors? In addition, as usual, the same companies were beating the analyst’s expectations for bottom-line (net income.) Never mind that expectations are usually dumbed down, so to beat the number is almost always guaranteed... read more

Human Events... Adult Baby Syndrome, by Michelle Malkin
05/20/2011 - Welcome to the land of the freeloaders and the home of the depraved. No image captures America’s regressive ethos better than that of 30-year-old Stanley Thornton Jr., self-proclaimed “Adult Baby.” Profiled on a recent National Geographic reality television show, Thornton claims to suffer from a bizarre infantilism that leads him to wear diapers, lounge around in an oversized crib... read more

Townhall... Moralizing Against McDonald’s, by Steve Chapman
Now that Osama bin Laden is dead, we can turn our attention to another remorseless enemy who for years has sown death and destruction among blameless innocents. I refer, of course, to Ronald McDonald. The McDonald’s mascot may qualify as one of the more annoying characters on the planet. But to his credit, he doesn’t compound his unappealing personality by bossing you around. In that respect, he is... read more

FoxNews... Time to Fight Back Against Political Bullies Blocking Immigration Reform
By Juan Williams - Published May 17, 2011 - Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) has it right on immigration reform. President Obama has it only half right. They agree it is time to flip the script on congressional opponents of legislation to modernize the nation’s failed immigration system. The current system amounts to a mindless set of laws that makes it next to impossible to get the world’s brightest and most talented people into the country, and punishes employers and hardworking... read more

Reason... Marine Survives Two Tours in Iraq, SWAT Kills Him, Tim Cavanaugh
May 16, 2011 - “Please send me an ambulance and you can ask more questions later, please!” Guerena tells the dispatcher that her husband had returned home about 6:30 a.m. after work and was sleeping. Prompted by the dispatcher, Guerena says her husband was shot in the stomach and hands. The dispatcher asks Guerena to put her cheek next to her husband’s nose and mouth to see if he’s breathing, but she replies in Spanish that her husband is face- down... read more

Townhall... ABC’s Partial-Birth Hero, by Brent Bozell
As far as I’m concerned, there’s a circle in Hell reserved for late-term abortionists. But this is the Obama era, so Hollywood makes TV shows casting them as heroic figures. Such is the state of our popular culture. On the May 12 episode of ABC’s “Private Practice,” Dr. Addison Montgomery (played by actress Kate Walsh, a real-life Planned Parenthood activist) spewed the strongest pro-abortion -- “pro-choice” -- rhetoric as she performed a partial-birth abortion on a woman who... read more

Daily Events... The Essence of Fidelity, By John Hayward
The news this week is dominated by two cases of sexual impropriety involving famous and powerful men. There are many differences between Arnold Schwarzenegger and ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, not least of which is the difference between the former’s consensual affair, and the charges of sexual assault filed against the latter. One notable similarity is that both are married, and each has... read more

Townhall... Complying With ObamaCare Costs Small Businesses...Jobs
By Renee Ellmers - As I spend time with constituents and small business owners during National Small Business Week, I’m dismayed to hear about the daunting challenge that lies ahead for many of these entrepreneurs who desperately want to hire more employees, but aren’t confident enough in the economy to do so. Yesterday, I held a small business listening forum in Clayton, North Carolina, and was told that... read more

Redstate... Oil Company Profits Are the Solution, Not the Problem
From an unrepentant free-market capitalist. Posted by Steve Maley - Wednesday, May 18th - Left to its own devices, the oil industry is its own worst enemy. Relatively low barriers to entry have made the industry freely competitive. The reward goes to the quickest and the most efficient companies; just like in a Gold Rush, we remember the big winners and quickly forget the also-rans. Since the days of Colonel Drake, Patillo Higgins and Dad Joiner, twas ever thus. The consumer... read more

Townhall... Blackmailing Taxpayers, By Cal Thomas
One of Dictionary.com’s definitions of blackmail is “to extort money from (a person) by use of threats.” Substitute “taxpayers” for “person” and you have what the White House and congressional Democrats are doing with the debt ceiling. In case you weren’t paying attention (and too few are) the United States officially reached the debt ceiling on Monday. Treasury Secretary Tim (“I forgot to pay my taxes”) Geithner informed Congress of difficult decisions he was forced to make to keep... read more

Akron Beacon Journal... Coverage pool
Health benefits represent big slice of school and government costs. The Senate has good reason to revisit proposal to require pooling - Published on Wednesday, May 18, 2011 - Ohio’s 612 school districts make schools a prime target in the search for efficiencies and savings during budget crises. Few aspects of school budgets generate as much concern as the rapid growth in health-care costs. Not surprisingly, health-care benefits for school employees once again are... read more

Townhall... California Bill Respects Authority of Parents, By Marybeth Hicks
I have to confess my initial reaction to the headline was to roll my eyes in contempt for yet another government entity that I assumed was trying to legislate good parenting. After all, it’s a trend that has gained traction of late. Some states are mandating the content of school lunches. Others have laws about how old kids must be to baby-sit. All states now have rules about bicycle helmets and federal... read more

Human Events... Why Scott Walker Drives Liberals Crazy, by John Hayward
05/20/2011 - When Scott Walker arrived in the Wisconsin governor’s mansion, he found that every window had a commanding view of the state’s enormous budget gap. Wisconsin was $3.3 billion in the hole. Governments usually try to fill such holes by finding a shovel and a big pile of taxpayer money, but Wisconsin’s economy was already buried under job-killing taxes and regulations... read more

Townhall... She Turned Him into a Newt, By John Ransom
The biggest problem with Newt Gingrich has always been that he’s Newt Gingrich. And, as the Monty Python joke goes, he hasn’t gotten better yet. He‘s the Republican ying to Bill Clinton’s Democrat yang. Both have the massive egos and the big intellects. The combination tricked them into the conclusion that most problems have sophisticated solutions that only their minds could bring to bear. When Newt gave us a negative appraisal of the Ryan budget by tossing off “I don’t think... read more

Townhall.com’s Washington Beat, Katie Pavlich
May 17, 2011 - In this edition of the Washington Beat, we bring you fire breathing, pitchfork carrying GOP presidential candidates. GINGRICH ANNOUNCES PRESIDENTIAL RUN, FALLS SHORTLY AFTER - He finally did it. Newt Gingrich officially announced he is running for President last week and by the weekend, his campaign was basically over after Gingrich nearly committed political suicide by calling Rep. Paul Ryan’s Path to Prosperity, which reforms Medicare, “right-wing social... read more

Townhall... Obama Turns His Sights to Israel. God Help Her. By David Harsanyi
Word is that President Obama will deliver a comprehensive speech on the Middle East any day now. And as you know, there’s nothing -- and I mean nothing -- Americans want to talk about more during a prolonged economic downturn than Palestinian statehood. Hey, the White House might not be able to sign a budget, but it’s going to fix 2,000 years of strife halfway around the globe. You just watch. According to a Bloomberg report, Obama will urge Israel to halt West Bank... read more

Townhall... Waive Me, by Michelle Malkin
Hear that? It’s the escalating cry of American employers and workers trying to hold on to their health care benefits in the age of stifling Obama health insurance mandates: Gangway! Gangway! Save me! Waive me! Obamacare refugees first began beating down the exit doors in October 2010. As I’ve documented since last fall, waiver-mania started with McDonald’s and Jack in the Box; spread... read more

Daily Events… Boots on the ground, well, sort of, By Audrey Hudson
“Boots on the ground”-that’s what President Barack Obama says is protecting our southern border-20,000 border patrol agents, 40,000 boots on the ground. He said it last week during a speech in El Paso, Tex., and a new investigation by HUMAN EVENTS concurs. Well, the boots on the ground part anyway, because Border Patrol agents have to abandon their vehicles at makeshift Normandy-style fences... read more

Cleveland Plain Dealer... Gun-toting foolishness: editorial
Monday, May 16, 2011 - No need to ask an Ohio House Republican why his or her forehead is brush-burned: It’s from kowtowing, yet again, to the insatiable handgun lobby, which wants to allow guns in bars. In a 56-40 vote, mostly cast on party lines, the Republican-led House last week agreed that concealed-carry permits entitle holders to carry their weapons into “any premises . . . that have been issued a D liquor permit.” That, the Legislative Service Commission... read more

The Columbus Dispatch... Editorial: A rock and a hard place
Health-care overhaul, Medicaid rule spell trouble for state budget - Sunday, May 15, 2011 - A proposed federal Medicaid rule would put states between a rock and a hard place, even more than they already are, and illustrates one of the unintended consequences of the federal health-care overhaul. States, trapped between huge budget shortfalls and ever-growing Medicaid rolls, need to freeze or lower the rates paid to Medicaid providers if they are to balance their budgets... read more

The Columbus Dispatch... Suburban voters likely in dark about redistributive taxation
By Thomas Suddes - Sunday, May 15, 2011 - When house prices rebound, as someday they will, voters in suburban Ohio - as in, “taxpaying” voters - may be primed for a full-scale tax revolt, based on school-finance rumbles. Here’s why: State taxes are “redistributive.” When you pay Ohio’s gasoline tax (28 cents a gallon) at a Sunoco pump, your money doesn’t necessary fill any potholes in the street that leads to the service station. Same goes with Ohio’s income... read more

Townhall... Lose Money in Real Estate Today, by Kathy Fettke
Real estate professionals often preach about all the ways you can make money buying property. Rarely are we told about how we can lose money. I’m a real estate professional, and I’m here to set the record straight. Here are ten sure-fire ways to lose money: 1. Not Understanding the Deal - Never put money into something you don’t understand. Get advice from a professional who does. My attorney is... read more

Townhall... Education Freedom is Civil Rights Issue of Today, By Star Parker
Criminal charges against one single black mother and conviction of another for sending their children to schools in districts in which they are not residents provide yet more indications of deep seated problems festering in our country. Moreover, it makes you wonder about how long it is going to take for blacks to wake up to their real problems and who and what holds up black progress. In one case... read more

Dayton Daily News... Editorials: Extra elections do nothing to help voters
Monday, May 16, 2011 - The bipolar course of American politics during the last few years has shown even the most thickheaded denier that elections matter. A lot. If Barack Obama hadn’t been elected in 2008 — along with big Democratic congressional majorities — universal health care coverage would not have happened, period. If John Kasich had not been elected in 2010 with a general Republican tide, collective-bargaining changes and more wouldn’t have happened, period... read more

Akron Beacon Journal... Gusher of vouchers
Sunday, May 15, 2011 - Are private schools ready for what the Statehouse proposes? The Statehouse is not disappointing school-choice advocates who long have clamored for a massive expansion of Ohio’s scholarship programs. Stinging criticism may yet put the brakes on the House’s bid to remove restrictions on for-profit operators of charter schools. But it hardly is slowing the drive to alter dramatically the landscape for options. The extent — and the haste — of the... read more

Redstate... Tell the White House We’re Running on Empty, Posted by Chairman Reince Priebus
Monday, May 16th - The summer of 2010 was supposed to be the Summer of Recovery. That’s what President Obama told us. It wasn’t and now nearly a year later, unemployment remains unacceptably high. With gas prices at nearly $4.00 a gallon and on the rise, the forecast for the summer of 2011 isn’t looking much better. America is $14 trillion in debt. We’re running trillion dollar deficits which President Obama says are necessary to dig us out of the recession. The problem is Hope... read more

Townhall... Profiles in Tolerance, By Mike Adams
Last month, I was standing at the podium getting ready to give a lecture when I noticed a young woman had her laptop computer out. I was amused when I saw that the outside of her computer was adorned with a bumper sticker that said “TOLERANCE” in big white letters. I ignored her plea for tolerance as I demanded that she put her computer up during the lecture. I simply don’t “tolerate” students who pretend... read more

Daily Events... Plentiful Fuel, by John Stossel
05/18/2011 - I just learned I’m going to save money! My apartment building in New York will switch from heating oil to cleaner natural gas. Gas is much cheaper than oil now because energy companies found ways to get more of it out of the ground. Even more astounding is that by using this technique, America won’t run out of natural gas for 100 years or more! Time to break out the Champagne? Not so fast, say... read more

The Big Winner: Romney, By Dick Morris & Eileen McGann
Published on DickMorris.com on May 16, 2011 - Now that two of the top three candidates for the Republican nomination have pulled out of the race, the big winner is the one candidate left standing: Mitt Romney. The polling before Huckabee and Trump pulled out was -- in my survey -- Romney-22, Huckabee-20, Trump-15, Gingrich-11, Palin-9, Bachmann-6, Pawlenty-3, and Daniels-2. Now, Romney will inherit a large proportion of the votes left on the table by Huckabee’s and Trump’s... read more

Guest opinion Chicago Tribune... The budget debate we all deserve, By Paul Ryan
May 16, 2011 - Despite Washington coming to grips with the fact that the debt threat is real, policymakers still are not having the debate Americans deserve. The talk is too often restricted to “shared sacrifice.” This sets up a debate where we are really just arguing over whom to hurt and how best to manage the decline of our nation. It is a framework that accepts permanently higher taxes and bureaucratically determined access to health care as givens. A better name... read more

Redstate... The Left’s Outrage Over Teaching Free-Enterprise in Universities
Posted by LaborUnionReport - Saturday, May 14th - For the last few years, America has been slowly awakened to the level of Marxism taught in American classrooms. From the of taking public school students to Cuba and the NEA’s recommendation of Saul Alinsky to the most recent revelation of the University of Missouri’s “Introduction to Labor Studies” taught by two Marxists who, in addition to allegedly giving a Communist organizer two hours of class time to recruit, also... read more

Townhall... Obama’s Hypocritical Rhetoric on Immigration Reform, By Michael Barone
Barack Obama’s immigration speech in El Paso May 10 was an exercise in electioneering and hypocrisy. Hypocrisy because while Obama complained about “politicians” blocking comprehensive immigration bills, he was one of them himself. In 2007, when such a bill was backed by a lame duck Republican president and had bipartisan backing from Senate heavyweights Edward Kennedy and Jon Kyl... read more

Human Events... ‘We’re Open for Business Now’--Ohio Gov. John Kasich
by John Gizzi - 05/16/2011 - Anyone who interviewed John Kasich during his days in the U.S. House (1982-2000), and especially as House Budget Committee chairman (1994-2000), will recall that asking the Ohioan about budgets or spending brought forth a very lengthy answer. Along with explaining the numbers and spelling out their long-term impact, Rep. Kasich would spice his... read more

Redstate... Huckabee Is Out. The Down and Dirty on Who It Helps and Hurts.
Posted by Erick Erickson - Saturday, May 14th - The down and dirty analysis of who it helps: Tim Pawlenty. He becomes the evangelical governor in the race. Herman Cain. He remains the Huckabee of 2012. Sarah Palin. She and Huckabee would largely be fighting for the same crowd. Who it hurts: All of us. Some of you won’t agree, but I think Huckabee would force the other candidates to bring their A game on message and rhetoric. Just for that alone, I wanted him in the race... read more

Daily Events... A Nation of Immigrants, John Hayward
“We define ourselves as a nation of immigrants,” said President Obama in his El Paso speech on immigration Tuesday. This is the most tedious talking point dragged out by the amnesty crowd. We are not a “nation of immigrants.” The current population of the United States is 307 million people. Of that number, about 40 million are legal immigrants, and perhaps 12 million are illegal aliens. That makes about 13% of our population naturalized citizens. Include the illegals and you... read more

Truthout... Actually, “the Rich” Don’t “Create Jobs,” We Do, by Dave Johnson
Saturday 14 May 2011 - You hear it again and again, variation after variation on a core message: if you tax rich people it kills jobs. You hear about “job-killing tax hikes,” or that “taxing the rich hurts jobs,” “taxes kill jobs,” “taxes take money out of the economy, “if you tax the rich they won’t be able to provide jobs.” ... on and on it goes. So do we really depend on “the rich” to “create” jobs? Or do jobs get created when they fill a need?... read more

Human Events... The Mobility of Capital, by John Hayward
How about a gutsy call on the NLRB, Mr. President? 05/11/2011 - South Carolina governor Nikki Haley held a press conference with business leaders and Republican lawmakers today, where they demanded President Obama address the National Labor Relations Board’s attempt to drag Boeing kicking and screaming out of right-to-work South Carolina, back to the unions of Washington State... read more

Townhall... The Feds, The Economy, Your State And Your School Board, By Austin Hill
The wisdom of the American people is prevailing in some of the most unlikely places. Unfortunately, the local public school board is typically not one of those places. As the federal government goes deficit-crazy and state governments continue to feel the recession’s impact, some good things are actually starting to develop. Fiscally conservative ideals are emerging in states as diverse as Wisconsin... read more

Townhall... Bin Laden’s Death Doesn’t Vindicate Torture, By Jeff Jacoby
When US Representative Steve King learned that Osama bin Laden had been killed by US troops in Pakistan, he couldn’t resist a little crowing about the efficacy of torture. “Wonder what President Obama thinks of water boarding now?” the Iowa Republican tweeted on May 2. It was an outrageous remark, but King wasn’t going out on a limb. A parade of others, mostly Republicans, have joined him in claiming that the death of bin Laden had vindicated the use of waterboarding... read more

Townhall Finance... Myths About Oil and Gas, By Bob Beauprez
As voters around the country wince at rising gas prices, panicked Democrats, in a rush to cover the failure of their all-or-nothing bet on the alternative energy industry have started singing a familiar tune – blame the oil and gas industry. Instead of facing the reality of his owned failed policies, President Obama is calling for an end to the “tax giveaways” he claims amount to $4 billion in “subsidies” to the energy industry. This tactic isn’t surprising given the effect that rising gas prices... read more

Townhall... Pulling the Plug on Obamacare, by Matt Barber
Obamacare is like turnip greens: bitter and hard to swallow, but Mommy made you choke them down anyway. The difference is that turnip greens are constitutional (though perhaps they shouldn’t be). They’re also likely to extend your life rather than cut it short. As demonstrated by the 2010 Election Day massacre, the government takeover of health care, the euphemistically tagged “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” infuriated voters as Democrats cooked it up and... read more

Townhall... Minimum Wage’s Discriminatory Effects, by Walter E. Williams
As if more proof were needed about the minimum wage’s devastating effects, yet another study has reached the same conclusion. Last week, two labor economists, Professors William Even (Miami University of Ohio) and David Macpherson (Trinity University), released a study for the Washington, D.C.-based Employment Policies Institute titled “Unequal Harm: Racial Disparities in the Employment Consequences... read more

Daily Events... They care that you care (about the price of gasoline)
by Audrey Hudson - Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill are scrambling this week to show their constituents back home that they care, that you care, about the price of gasoline. The consensus isn’t even close. House Republicans are making a big splash passing two bills today to reverse President’s Obama’s crackdown on oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon... read more

Redstate... More Residual Effects of Obama’s Anti-Oil Policies, by Daniel Horowitz
The depletion of our oil production is corroding the Alaska pipeline and widening the trade deficit. Wednesday, May 11th - Obama’s oil free utopia is precipitating yet more mayhem on our economy. Today, two major news stories concerning our lack of oil production highlight just how profoundly oil affects our economy. The first story concerns the Trans Alaska Pipeline. The pipeline employs 2,000 workers and delivers 11% of our domestically produced oil to the other... read more

Toledo Blade... Keep the game honest
Penn National Gaming feels unappreciated. All it wants to do is create good jobs in Toledo and elsewhere to help Ohio’s ailing economy, but Gov. John Kasich, other state officials, and the parent company of the Columbus Dispatch won’t let them. At least, that’s what the gambling company bets you’ll believe. Governor Kasich made clear during last year’s campaign that he thought Ohio got a raw deal from the constitutional amendment voters passed in 2009 giving Penn National... read more

wsj online... Ugly Modeling, By Veronique de Rugy
Will spending cuts ruin or improve America’s economy? In February, the Goldman Sachs economist Alec Phillips predicted on ABCNews.com that a Republican proposal in the House of Representatives to cut $61 billion from the federal budget in fiscal year 2011, would, if enacted, shave two full percentage points off America’s gross domestic product in the second and third quarters of this year. A few days later, The Washington Post described a new study by Mark Zandi, the... read more

Townhall... Right of passage, By Paul Jacob
It’s that time, again: Young people in tuxedos and fancy dresses (and stretch limos), celebrating their near-completion of a dozen years of compulsory schooling with one big dance as they prepare to enter the larger world. Thirty-three years ago, my wife went with me to our high school senior prom on our first official date. That day marks the jumping off point for a long and fruitful journey that has included... read more

Obama’s phony oil company tax, By Dick Morris & Eileen McGann
Published on DickMorris.com on May 12, 2011 - In a desperate effort to divert anger from his Administration over gas prices and to stop people from focusing on how his anti-drilling policies have caused us to be so vulnerable to these price fluctuations, President Obama is pushing anti-oil company rhetoric, demanding increases in oil company taxes. He is confident, in doing so, that... read more

Redstate... 5.1.11, Posted by Erick Erickson
Tuesday, May 10th - As many of you know, I’m a big fan of the Stoneridge Group and typically encourage candidates running for office to check them out. They do visually stunning mail and websites. They really are my favorite in the business. To honor the SEALs and what they did on May 1, 2011, Stoneridge designed the poster above. If you want a print, go here. All profits will go to the Navy SEAL Foundation... read more

Toledo Blade... Both sides of abortion issue rally in Columbus
Versions of ‘Heartbeat Bill’ competing - By Jim Provance - COLUMBUS -- Foes and advocates of abortion rights squared off Tuesday at the Ohio Statehouse as Republicans decide how far to push their renewed grip on political power. Competing bills to narrow the window during which a woman may have a legal abortion are moving in the House and Senate with opponents of the bills questioning their constitutionality and foes of abortion rights debating which stands a better... read more

Redstate... The Strategic Wisdom of Barack Obama
yet another gutsy call - Posted by streiff - Tuesday, May 10th - The killing of Osama bin Laden has been characterized by two distinct phases. In Phase I the White House simply could not tell us what happened during the raid and eventually just decided to stop talking about it. Phase II has been a demeaning and unseemly grubbling for credit on the part of the administration under the guise of Obama having made a “gutsy call.” Not only has the administration actively promoted this... read more

Akron Beacon Journal... Uncontrolled spending
The governor forgot one tool for improving government: An analysis of the state’s nearly $8 billion a year in tax breaks - Friday, May 13, 2011 - Will Republicans at the Statehouse listen to the Ohio Chamber of Commerce? Ordinarily, the answer would be a resounding yes. Yet in the matter of tax expenditures, neither Gov. John Kasich nor the Ohio House has followed the recommendation of the chamber, proposed in its recent report, Redesigning Ohio: Transforming... read more

Townhall... Bin Laden’s Half-Life, By Rich Galen
I watched the first 45 seconds of the scheduled debate among people who are pretending to be GOP candidates on the Fox News Channel last night. Bret Bair, the moderator, said the word “Fox” at least 15 times in those 45 seconds and I clicked over to an NCIS rerun. The BIG QUESTION in Your Nation’s Capital this week was: What will be the effect of whacking bin Laden on Obama’s re-election chances 550 days... read more

Human Events... Weak Dollars, Strong Oil, by John Hayward
05/09/2011 - Behold the power of the true global currency. Reuters reports that “oil rebounded by more than $4 on Monday,” a bounce analyst Carsten Fritsch of Commerzbank said was due to “a combination of the weaker dollar and bargain hunting,” as “some market participants consider the lower price levels after the sharp drop on Thursday a good buying opportunity.” An earlier report from Reuters noted... read more

Dayton Daily News... Editorial: New poverty numbers even worse than you might think
Tuesday, May 10, 2011 - For as long as poverty statistics have been kept, people have debated their value. What is real poverty? Should government benefits be counted in deciding whether people are in poverty? What is the point of having one poverty standard — X number of dollars per year for a family of a certain size — when we know that the cost of living differs from one place to another? The Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies participates in a project that... read more

Townhall... No National Curriculum, Thanks, by Bill Murchison
The good old American inclination to wave a magic wand and say to an urgent problem, “Begone!” is on display in the fast-emerging movement for a national K-12 curriculum. Ah, you didn’t know there was such a movement, far less that it was emerging. Here’s the lowdown. Various analysts representing mostly the education establishment are pressing for a so-called “common curriculum” -- one that would supposedly engage the minds of all American students, aligning their performance with... read more

Akron Beacon Journal... Invest in consolidation and collaboration among local governments
Wednesday, May 11, 2011 - Local governments absorbed heavy blows in the House budget bill. The revenue-sharing Local Government Fund was slashed, for starters. The House then eliminated by 2013 another revenue source for local governments, the estate tax. That wasn’t contemplated in John Kasich’s original budget plan. To make matter worse, the House stripped out the governor’s proposal to shift part of pension costs from public employers to employees... read more

Townhall Finance... Dave Says Make Him Earn It, By Dave Ramsey
Dear Dave, I recently received a beneficiary IRA when my mother passed away. I also received a small part of her estate. I’d like to share some of this with my 24-year-old son. He’s a good boy, but he’s pretty impulsive and not good with money. Do you have any suggestions? Kimberly - Dear Kimberly, I’m sorry to hear about your loss. It’s tough enough losing your mom without having to worry about a... read more

Redstate... John Boehner’s Line in the Sand, Posted by Erick Erickson
Tuesday, May 10th - Last night, Speaker John Boehner addressed the Economic Club of New York and drew a line in the sand in the debt ceiling fight. It was a monumental game changer for the GOP and puts them back on offense. Let me back up briefing and note that the Washington Post’s own left leaning editorial board came out swinging on Sunday against the Democrats’ opposition to the Republicans’ Medicare plans. Yes, *that* Washington Post. It is with that buttressing... read more

Redstate... Collective Money!? When Did Anybody’s Earnings Become the People’s Dollars?
Posted by Repair_Man_Jack - Monday, May 9th - “Big Oil certainly doesn’t need the collective money of taxpayers in this country,” said Senator Robert Menendez. “This is as good a time as any in terms of pain at the pump and in revenues needed for deficit reduction.” - (HT: New York Times) It seems that The Democrats have a strategy for addressing the higher gas prices that are killing American consumers. They intend to blame oil companies and saddle them with revenge taxes... read more

Fox News... Will We Soon Be Paying Taxes On Every Mile We Drive, Too? By Doug Heye
May 10, 2011 - When Republicans get together they talk a lot about how much Democrats love to find new and novel ways to raise taxes. This talk could almost risk becoming a worn-out cliché, except that when it comes to new ways to tax Americans, Democrats just can’t help themselves. Case in point: as if the money collected from income taxes, corporate taxes, excise taxes, death taxes, gas taxes and the like were not enough, the White House is now floating a new tax... read more

Townhall... The ‘Education’ Mantra, By Thomas Sowell
One of the sad and dangerous signs of our times is how many people are enthralled by words, without bothering to look at the realities behind those words. One of those words that many people seldom look behind is “education.” But education can cover anything from courses on nuclear physics to courses on baton twirling. Unfortunately, an increasing proportion of American education, whether... read more

Townhall... More Than We Paid For, By Rich Tucker
My grandparents had a sign on the wall: “Thank God we don’t get all the government we’re paying for.” How quaint, how very 1980s, that seems now. These days the biggest problem isn’t that we pay too much for government (although we do). It’s that we get so much more government than we’re willing to pay for. We then borrow the difference. How large is the problem? Last year “a record... read more

Townhall... Truth vs. Ideology, By Bill O’Reilly
Frustrating! That’s the appropriate word for what is happening in the wake of the Osama bin Laden raid. Besides the precision of the Navy SEALs, the big story to emerge from the action is that coerced interrogation gave the CIA vital information used to track bin Laden to his lair. Current CIA Chief Leon Panetta has confirmed that. Of course, that exposition is embarrassing to the left, including President Obama, Vice President Biden and Secretary of State Clinton, who are... read more

Redstate... Obama has Green Dreams of Car Taxes, Posted by Ben Howe
Friday, May 6th - As Tabitha Hale noted yesterday, there seems to be no shortage of ways that this administration and the Democrat party can think of to tax away every bit of our nation’s prosperity. But the “car tax” simply defies logic and begs the question, “What are they thinking?” Aside from their apparent love of taxation, what is the underlying reason this administration would want to levy more taxes on America’s driving? Environmentalism? Money... read more

Townhall.com’s Washington Beat, by Katie Pavlich
May 10, 2011 - OBAMA GIVES AMNESTY SPEECH... President Obama laid out his plan for “comprehensive immigration reform” this week in El Paso, Texas, saying “immigrants” are the way to expand the middle class, make America more competitive on a global level and said immigration reform is an economic imperative, which it is considering illegal immigration costs Arizona and California over $12 billion per year. Obama failed to distinguish the difference between... read more

Townhall... Democrats Announce New Assault On Small Business, by Lurita Doan
It’s déjà vu all over again. Democrats in congress have re-introduced a small business –jobs bill that has no hope of helping small business. Pandering to labor union interests, filled with Democrats’ flawed understanding of what creates private sector jobs, and crammed full of recycled regulations from the failed Waxman-Markey Energy bill, H.R. 870 is dangerous legislation that uses buzz words rather than sound... read more

Townhall... Hope in the Abortion Fight, By Kathryn Lopez
In New York City, 41 percent of babies are aborted. It’s even worse than that, actually. As the Chiaroscuro Foundation, a group that supports abortion alternatives, has pointed out: “Sixty percent of African-American pregnancies in New York City were aborted in 2009, the most recent year for which data is available. In a 10-year period beginning in 2000, more than 900,000 pregnancies in the city... read more

Cleveland Plain Dealer... What would Sherrod do? And Kevin and Josh? By Stephen Koff, The Plain Dealer
Friday, May 06, 2011 - WASHINGTON, D.C. -- After Sherrod Brown yesterday sent a letter to the White House saying that at least 50 Senate Democrats won’t accept a GOP budget with Medicare vouchers, the Republican Party responded with a question that essentially asked: OK, Mr. Liberal Democrat, where’s your plan for saving Medicare? It is a fair question. We put it to Brown. But we also thought it was fair to ask anyone else who has filed a statement of candidacy or... read more

Akron Beacon Journal... Descent into torture
Monday, May 09, 2011 - ‘Enhanced interrogation’ didn’t aid the search for Osama bin Laden in a decisive way. It diminished the country’s moral authority. Not long after word arrived about a Navy SEAL team slaying Osama bin Laden, the debate resumed about the use of ‘’enhanced interrogation,’’ or torture, during the presidency of George W. Bush. John Yoo, a former Justice Department official whose legal memos claimed room for torture in the fight against terrorism, saluted... read more

Townhall... Obama’s Scandalous War Against Domestic Oil, by David Limbaugh
Do you remember the terrible things the left was saying about President George W. Bush when gas prices soared under his watch? Yet President Obama, whose policies and actions are actually contributing to rocketing gas prices today, gets the usual mainstream media pass. Is it that the liberal media exempt Obama from accountability because they’re on his team in general? Is it because... read more

Human Events... How to Create a Job: It’s easy if you’re allowed to try, by John Hayward
05/10/2011 - There’s a lot of talk about the importance of “job creation” these days. How do you create a job? The easy answer is that you find someone willing to work, and pay them for their time. That’s not really “job creation,” though. It’s just a simple description of the mechanics of employment. A job is actually “created” by demand. If carpentry is needed, carpenters are hired. However, jobs only form... read more

Redstate... Wasserman Schultz: ‘We’ve really concentrated’ on oil production, by Steve Maley
The best time to plant an oak tree is ten years ago. The second best time is now. Friday, May 6th - There was an undeniable uptick in U.S. oil production in 2009 and 2010. But new DNC chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) tried to take credit for it: Like I said, domestic oil production is at its highest point in recent years. So we’ve actually really concentrated on that. Democrats patting themselves on the back for oil production increases? Ba. Lo. Ney... read more

Columbus Dispatch... Editorial: Well done
Kasich and House put Ohio on sustainable path after predecessors failed - Considering the budget nightmare facing Gov. John Kasich and the legislature, the measure passed by the House last week is a remarkable achievement. An $8 billion budget hole has been eliminated, and though the pain of cuts will felt throughout the state, Ohio will be on a sounder fiscal footing in two years when the next biennial budget is put together... read more

Townhall... Personal Liberty 101, By Mike Adams
“Destruction of the embryo in the mother’s womb is a violation of the right to live which God has bestowed upon this nascent life. To raise the question of whether we are here concerned already with a human being or not is merely to confuse the issue. The simple fact is that God certainly intended to create a human being and that this nascent human being has been deliberately deprived of its life. And that is nothing... read more

Townhall... Vanishing American Footprint, by Pat Buchanan
With his order to effect the execution of Osama bin Laden by Navy SEALs, 40 miles from Islamabad, without asking permission of the government, Barack Obama made a bold and courageous decision. Its success, and the accolades he has received, have given him a credibility as commander in chief that he never had before. The law professor, it turns out, is a gunslinger. Should the president now... read more

Redstate... Congress to Examine “Inappropriate” and “Devastating” Use of “Geronimo” Codename in bin Laden Mission, by Erick Erickson - Wednesday, May 4th - As if Congress had nothing more important to do, ABC News brings us word that Congress will hold hearings on the use of the code name Geronimo as a reference to Osama Bin Laden. “The hearing was scheduled well before the Osama bin Laden operation became news, but the concerns over the linking of the name of Geronimo, one of the greatest Native American heroes, with the most hated enemies... read more

Redstate... Some Thoughts on Inheritance, Posted by Academic Elephant
Thursday, May 5th - “Inheritance” is a neutral word–it can be bad and good depending on the circumstance. You don’t get to pick what you get any more than you can pick your parents. On the one hand, you have things like photo albums and trusts funds. On the other you have the lasting repercussions of bad behavior, the sins of the father if you will, that can reach down across generations. Most of us inherit a combination of the two from our predecessors, hopefully with more... read more

Townhall Finance... Are We Done in Afghanistan? By Larry Kudlow
In the aftermath of the killing of Osama bin Laden, I found myself agreeing with Charles Krauthammer that this was a global game-changer for American greatness. It was a gutsy and courageous decision by President Obama, brilliantly executed by the Navy SEALs and all the intelligence and support behind them.As Krauthammer put it, after the tough slogs in Iraq and Afghanistan, this amounts... read more

Human Events... Al-Qaeda: Yeah, He’s Toast, by John Hayward
Observing the formalities. 05/06/2011 - Al-Qaeda has made it official, releasing a statement that confirms the death of its leader, Osama Bin Hidin In His Bedroom For Five Years. The New York Post relays an excerpt from the statement, which is still being reviewed by terrorism experts for authenticity: “We in al-Qaeda organization pledge to Allah the almighty and ask for his help, support, and steadfastness... read more

Redstate... The Winter of Republican Discontent, by Erick Erickson
Wednesday, May 4th - Republicans are unhappy with the present crop of candidates for the White House. Over last weekend, while overshadowed by bigger news, Republicans gathered at an NRA event, a Heritage Foundation event, an AFP event, and a few other gatherings. Grassroots activists lamented together about the current crop. Certainly each candidate has their acolytes, but largely the field is uninspiring. Republicans are on the verge of a self-fulfilling prophecy that their... read more

Daily Events... Amazing Administration, By Adam Tragone
Well, well, well. This Administration never ceases to amaze when it comes to getting their stories straight. “We had multiple series of sources that provided information with regards to this situation…clearly some of it came from detainees [and] they used these enhanced interrogation techniques against some of those detainees.” That’s our outgoing Central Intelligence Agency chief Leon Panetta speaking to NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams regarding the information... read more

Townhall... Fed Up with the Fed? By Thomas Sowell
When people in Washington start creating fancy new phrases, instead of using plain English, you know they are doing something they don’t want us to understand. It was an act of war when we started bombing Libya. But the administration chose to call it “kinetic military action.” When the Federal Reserve System started creating hundreds of billions of dollars out of thin air, they called it “quantitative... read more

Human Events... Gasoline and Onions, by John Stossel
05/04/2011 - The speculators are ripping us off! “The skyrocketing price of gas and oil has nothing to do with the fundamentals of supply and demand, and has everything to do with Wall Street firms that are artificially jacking up the price of oil in the energy futures markets. ... (T)he same Wall Street speculators that caused the worst financial crisis since the 1930s through their greed, recklessness and illegal... read more

Foxnews... On Becoming My Mother, By Liz Peek
Published May 06, 2011 - A few days after my mother died, several years ago, a strange thing happened. I opened an old jewelry box and found a bracelet with her name – Judy – engraved on it. It was one of those tinny keepsakes you win at county fairs; I had never seen it before, and had no idea how it came to be in my possession. I am not especially spiritual, but it was crystal clear to me that my mother had sent a message. She wanted me to know that she was still close by... read more

Townhall... Americans Appreciate Bush, By Matt Towery
I’m a nonpartisan pollster, but I’m also a columnist with a strong Republican background. So let me be clear right from the start: I believe President Barack Obama and his national security team performed admirably in the near-flawless effort to capture and kill Osama bin Laden. It’s disingenuous and just plain silly for anyone to say otherwise just because the president is a Democrat or because they disagree with his other policies. The snuffing out of the world’s top terrorist demonstrated... read more

Townhall... My Miracle Mom, by Jackie Gingrich Cushman
I am blessed to have a mom who is special. She is a woman of will. More than simply headstrong and determined, she is indomitable -- someone who cannot become overcome or subdued. Spunky, determined, funny -- all these words describe Jackie Battley Gingrich. Her sparkling blue eyes, upturned mouth and constant activity belie her age. She is helpful, involved and active. She has shaped me... read more

Townhall... Culture Challenge of the Week: When Money Trumps Motherhood
by Rebecca Hagelin - “But Mom, I don’t wanna eat breakfast at school! Why can’t I stay home and eat?” wailed Kirsten, nine-years-old. She looked plaintively at her mom and waited for her to answer. Connie was miffed. I don’t need this, she thought. An engineer and mother of two, she had scaled back to part-time work when Kirsten was born. It was ideal---professional continuity, business networks, and limited hours... read more

Redstate... ‘Why does my gas cost $4.00 per gallon?’
by Steve Maley - Tuesday, May 3rd - Everybody is asking that question these days. The average nationwide price for all grades this week is $3.96/gallon; Californians are paying on average $4.26, the highest in the nation. Why does it cost so much, especially considering that the price was below $2.00/gallon just within the last couple of years? Nearly seventy percent of the price of a gallon of retail gasoline is the price of the crude oil it is refined from. Two graphs from the Energy Information... read more

Townhall... Why Rebuffing the Legal Attack on the National Day of Prayer Matters... Especially at a Time Like This, by Kevin Theriot - The timing of the National Day of Prayer with the events of this week couldn’t be more appropriate if one would have planned it that way. And recent court decisions rebuffing the ability of anti-religious groups to go to court to strike down the event also couldn’t come at a better time. First, it was the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2007 ruling in Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation that anti-religionists had no legal standing to challenge... read more

Townhall Finance... Obama’s Super-Secret Presidency, By John Ransom
Nothing displayed Barack Obama’s Achilles’ heel better than the presentation of his birth certificate last week. Geez. Was that so tough? I thought. It’s not possible to overstate the lengths to which O’s administration and campaign apparatus go in order to keep secrets from the press and the American people and themselves. In doing so, they have only succeeded in fooling the last on... read more

Townhall... 9/11 Became a Primer on Virtue and Values, by Marybeth Hicks
Like every other American, I remember with crystal clarity where I was and what I was doing the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. My children were off school for a teacher in-service day. I had taken the dog to the vet for an 8:30 a.m. appointment, leaving behind a pajama-clad assembly in the den watching “SpongeBob SquarePants.” My plan was to rally my troops for a morning of chores, then reward them... read more

Townhall... Politicization of the Fed a Dangerous Trend, By Star Parker
It might help getting our minds around what is so wrong in America today by thinking about the local police force. It’s not hard to understand that the job of the police is to protect lives and property. Suppose we decided to broaden their mandate. Suppose each municipality decided that the job of the police was not just protection but to make every community more fair and just and to improve the quality of life... read more

Townhall... Beating Back Our National Debt, By Mattie Corrao
After compelling the President to axe almost $80 billion from his desired spending levels for the fiscal year, House Republicans are once again faced with the prospect of negotiating with a recalcitrant President on the next spending battle: the approaching debt ceiling. In keeping with his inflated rhetoric on the threat of a government shutdown, President Obama is feigning exigency once again, claiming a “clean” debt limit vote is necessary to prevent government default and certain... read more

Townhall.com’s Washington Beat, May 3, 2011
THE DEVIL IS DEAD - Well folks, after nearly 10 years we finally got him. On Sunday night, Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan by an elite team of Navy SEALS. He was shot in the head and in the chest. Reports about the raid show he may have used one of his wives as a human shield during the special operation and firefight. If true, Townhall Political Editor Guy Benson summed it up perfectly: “Sick, selfish, misogynistic, and craven to the bitter end. Given the... read more

Redstate... Governor Kasich on Obama: Why doesn’t he do his job? By Tabitha Hale
Friday, April 29th - Opinion on Kasich’s Opinion... Ohio Governor John Kasich recently signed controversial Senate Bill 5, which restricted the much-abused collective bargaining power of public sector unions. The bill, similar to what passed in Wisconsin, inspired a similar level of vitriol from the unions and supporters. Obama jumped into the conversation earlier this week saying “public employees should... read more

Townhall... Slouching Towards Insolvency (The California Way), By Austin Hill
The U.S. Federal Government is on a collision course of debt and deficits. And California may be the best example yet of “the feds on steroids.” As state governments continue to feel the recession’s impact and are staring-down daunting fiscal challenges, the wisdom of the American people has been prevailing in some of the most unlikely places. In states as diverse as Wisconsin, Idaho, New Jersey... read more

Townhall... Is Government Protecting Us or Limiting Us? By Rich Tucker
Children learn a lot in school. Maybe more than we intend to teach them. CNN recently reported: “One Chicago public school is telling students they can either eat cafeteria food or ‘go hungry.’” No homemade lunches will be allowed without a medical excuse. The goal is to make certain children eat well. But that needs to be a parent’s job, not a school bureaucrat’s job. This school is teaching kids that they aren’t capable -- and that their parents aren’t capable -- of making... read more

Dick Morris... Danger: Tax Trigger Ahead, TheHill.com on May 4, 2011
A diabolical plot is being hatched between Senate Democrats, the White House and three Republican accomplices -- Tom Coburn (Okla.), Mike Crapo (Idaho) and Saxby Chambliss (Ga.). The concept is to enact an amendment to the debt-limit extension specifying certain targets for deficit reduction and then mandating automatic spending cuts AND tax increases to take effect if the goals are not met. This formula permits backdoor tax increases on which nobody votes and... read more

Daily Events... Social engineers face resistance, By John Hayward
The great obstacle facing social engineers is resistance. The re-distribution of wealth is an act of aggression against those who provide the wealth. The forced transition to a planned economy produces high unemployment, for the central State will never be as good at assigning jobs as a great body of free people, seeking each other out for mutual advantage. Movement to a virtuous regime of “alternative” energy... read more

Al Jazeera... Osama’s death ‘a good career move’? By Robert Grenier
May 2, 2011 - Al-Qaeda’s leader might appear to have died with a bang, but he had long since died with a whimper. For Osama bin Laden, violent death must have come as a blessing. It has given him, at least fleetingly, a seeming prominence that in fact had long since ebbed away, not only in the Muslim world, but even within al-Qaeda itself. To many in the US, for whom bin Laden’s demise is indeed... read more

Investors.com... Obama’s Other Hand
Posted 04/29/2011 - Regulation: While we were distracted by the president’s birth certificate show-and-tell, his EPA releases its guidelines for expanding federal power under the Clean Water Act. America’s economy and freedom are at stake. President Obama’s long-form birth certificate wasn’t the only thing released last Wednesday, but it was probably the least important. The Environmental Protection Agency also released its guidelines for expanding federal power over... read more

Townhall... Drug Control vs. Pain Control: A Crackdown on Opioid Prescriptions Will Hurt Patients, By Jacob Sullum - Last week, unveiling a plan to curtail “diversion” of opioid painkillers, Obama administration officials said they aim to “strike a balance between our desire to minimize abuse of prescription drugs and the need to ensure access for their legitimate use.” This balance will never be achieved because the two goals are fundamentally irreconcilable. Since pain cannot be verified... read more

Human Events... Government Creates Poverty
by John Stossel - 04/27/2011 - The U.S. government has “helped” no group more than it has “helped” the American Indians. It stuns me when President Obama appears before Indian groups and says things like, “Few have been ignored by Washington for as long as Native Americans.” Ignored? Are you kidding me? They should be so lucky. The government has made most Indian tribes wards of the state... read more

Townhall Finance... End the Federal Monopoly on Energy, By John Ransom
Let’s get to the truth about energy security. The biggest problem with our energy policy in this country isn’t the lack of direction by the federal government. Nor is it speculation. Sure loose money policies by the Fed have pushed prices up this year substantially. But that not our biggest problem either. No. Instead, it’s lack of free markets for energy. We lack free markets because the federal government gets involved in our energy decisions. The feds, in short, act as a kind of monopoly... read more

Akron Beacon Journal... Cavalry of expectations
What the governor didn’t say about Teach for America - Friday, Apr 29, 2011 - John Kasich signed legislation on Wednesday that would open Ohio classrooms to Teach For America teachers in the 2012-13 school year. There is no reason Ohio should not avail itself of the opportunity to place young and enthusiastic graduates in needy schools. The governor’s support for the program is by no means misplaced, but it is best not to get carried away and oversell it. ‘’The cavalry is coming... read more

Investors.com... Don’t Let Debt Limit Get In The Way Of The Party, By Mark Steyn
April 29, 2011 - The other day Paul O’Neill said that ... Oh, wait. I suppose I ought to explain who Paul O’Neill is. A decade ago, he was George W. Bush’s first Treasury secretary. I have no very clear memory of him except that he toured Africa with Bono and they were photographed in matching tribal dress looking like Col. Gadhafi’s Mini-Me twins at a Tripoli sleepover. Other than the dress-up fun, I’ve no idea... read more

Townhall... Carbon and Carbon Dioxide: Clearing Up the Confusion, By Paul Driessen
We are constantly bombarded with information – much of it inaccurate, misleading, even deliberately so. We are frequently told we must reduce carbon emissions, support “carbon disclosure” and invest in “carbon trusts” – to prevent catastrophic global warming, global climate change or global climate “disruption.” News stories, advocacy and lobbying activities, and corporate “ethics” promotions frequently use... read more

Toledo Blade Editorial... Fueling gas prices
Americans want to blame someone for gasoline prices that have hit $4 a gallon locally and in some parts of the country are even higher. There is plenty of blame to go around, but there are few real villains. At least one finger should be pointed at fickle consumers. Too often, drivers swear off gas-guzzling vehicles when the cost of crude oil soars, only to be tempted by size and horsepower when prices dip. High gas prices make it more expensive to fill up the family car or... read more

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