Author Archive

You have to see the new documentary The Cartel, by writer and reporter Bob Bowdon. The documentary explores the dismal state of affairs of the New Jersey public school system and Bowdon gave a snapshot of some of the scary facts he uncovered during his research in making this film at the May monthly YR meeting. You can learn more at the Web site. You can also purchase tickets to the premiere at the Hoboken International Film Festival on May 30. Don’t miss this film. It advances the education... Read More→

They cannot both be telling the truth. Today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at a press conference that the CIA lied to her about the enhanced interrogation techniques being used in 2002 and 2003 and that she was powerless to stop the program from going forward. The CIA responded that they do not mislead Congress. Any reasonable person could agree that either side has a reason to protect its interests to the fullest extent possible. However, if you watch video of Pelosi’s performance today,... Read More→

The Heritage Foundation’s Morning Bell took note of this interesting information today: [t]he Department of Labor reported that employers shed a net 539,000 jobs in the month of April, bringing the nation’s unemployment rate to 8.9%. The manufacturing sector lost 149,000 jobs, business services lost 122,000 jobs, and construction lost 110,000 jobs. All told, the private sector lost 611,000 jobs. So how was the total job loss only 539,000? Because one sector of the economy has proven impervious... Read More→

It should really come as no surprise, but New York State gets bagged in George Mason University’s Freedom in the 50 States index. Dead last in the ranking on fiscal policy, 44th on regulatory policy, 48th on personal freedom, and dead last for economic freedom. How did we get here? The study points out pretty succinctly: New York has the highest taxes in the country. Property, selective sales, individual income, and corporate income taxes are particularly high. Spending on social services... Read More→

From the Washington Times: The hold-out lenders charged that Mr. Obama, who had called them “speculators” and questioned their patriotism as well as blamed them for the bankruptcy, used undue political pressure, even though they were pursuing their legal rights in bankruptcy court, where the claims of such secured lenders normally prevail. “After a great deal of soul-searching and quite frankly agony, they concluded they just don’t have critical mass to withstand the enormous... Read More→

The Washington Post put up a neat little graphic that breaks down spending across federal departments for 2010. It’s a view from 20,000 feet, but there are some interesting things worth noting. The Defense budget is technically larger than last year, but when figured for inflation, our defense is actually taking a cut. During wartime that is a bad idea. But liberals are running the show. What did you think was going to happen? Other priority faults include the EPA, which is getting a 35 percent... Read More→

President Obama is playing fast and loose and acting less than honorably when dealing with the families of the victims of terrorist attacks. But don’t take my word for it. Read it from a much more informed source – Debra Burlingame, sister of American Airlines pilot Charles Burlingame, who died on September 11, 2001, in the attack on the Pentagon. Burlingame wrote a must-read bit in the Wall Street Journal this week about how the president misled her and other families who have pleaded... Read More→

There was a great piece in the Weekly Standard recently by Noemie Emery about Republican and conservative reactions to the defection of Arlen Specter and what it says about the GOP and those elements that make it up. I think my favorites takeaway was this: A movement exists to express and promote a coherent set of principles in the world of ideas and of values. A party…is something quite different: a gathering of diverse political forces around a large and loosely held set of interests and... Read More→

A recently released intelligence report unequivocally states that congressional leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, were briefed on “enhanced interrogation techniques” of terrorist detainees. Pelosi and her staffers have been working overtime to parse the language they have been using to explain what they knew and when they knew it regarding the interrogations. She was in fact one of the first Congressional members to be briefed on tactics in 2002, and she had little to say... Read More→

House Democrats struck funds from the war spending bill for closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay because they claim that the Obama administration has not provided a clear plan for actually closing it. They’re right. So far, all we’ve heard is the typical Obama rhetoric about what should be done, but not a single detail has been etched out about how he will actually do it. This is a pattern of his I spotted during the campaign season. It’s nice to see that some folks... Read More→