12/17/07 Conservatively Speaking
Leaders of the mostly female antiwar group Code Pink say they won’t support Hillary Clinton for president and are targeting Democrats in Congress who have failed to heed the organization’s call for an end to the Iraq war. ■ Failed liberal radio network Air America host Randi Rhodes unleashed a torrent of what’s being called “liberal racism” and accused Oprah Winfrey of “acting” when she stumped for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama calling her “unbelievably white” and that she had turning up her blackness for politics. ■ The Des Moines Register endorsed John McCain, and after intense pressure, Hillary Clinton. ■ Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman, an independent who was the Democrats’ 2000 vice presidential nominee, and then tossed under the bus by the Democrats has endorsed John McCain. . ■ Conservative jurist Judge Robert Bork endorsed Governor Mitt Romney for President of the United States Saturday. ■ Why opponents do not exploit the dead-eyed reptilian-like crocodilian Hillary Clinton cackle remains a mystery to me.
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ifty-six percent say they lack faith in the pronouncements of the radically liberal website MoveOn.org and 64% of those profess no confidence whatsoever according to a Rasmussen Poll. Conversely 14% say they have a great deal of confidence in MoveOn.org pontifications. The survey was done before the cretinism of the website’s New York Time’s subsidized “Betray Us” ad against U. S. Army General Petraeus. It is unlikely much would change since MoveOn.org devotees are a lemming-like lot lock stepping along on the far left flank of the otherwise rational society.
Giuliani trails in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and now Florida according to Rasmussen polling that has had the best record of predicting national political races since 2000. Saturday The Boston Globe has endorsed John McCain and Barrack Obama.
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or the first time since the 1960s, Israel’s intelligence community has raised the prospect that the West (Read USA) could abandon its support of a Jewish state. Some in Europe and the U. S. think Israel has become the focus of Iran and other Muslim states in what could result in a nuclear war in the Middle East. “The idea is based on the view in the West that a Jewish state is no longer desirable and Jews should become a minority in a much larger entity,” an Israeli official said. “It’s an idea that is spreading within the European elite and discussed in the United States as well.” Reports say the Israeli cabinet was briefed on the matter last week.
The penny has finally dropped in Jerusalem. After years of waiting for the US-led “international community” to deal with Iran’s nuclear aspirations, a senior Israeli official has finally spoken out against the way President George W. Bush’s addressed the threat. Barak said the US government had not done what was necessary for building an international coalition and a broad consensus capable of twisting Iran’s arm on its nuclear plans. Israeli Defense Forces commander has, for the first time, directly spoke about an independent attack on Iran.
Former CIA Deputy Director McClaughlin heaped scorn on the recent U. S. National Intelligence Estimate last week that said Iran ended its nuclear weapons program in 2003 saying its was full of flaws and errors.
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audi king Abdullah has invited Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to be the first Islamic Republic president to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca, which begins on Dec. 18. It will be their second public appearance together in two weeks. Their first was at the GCC summit in Doha, where they arrived hand in hand. Widening the speculation that a U. S. – Iranian deal has been brokered by Saudi Arabia the U. S. military has concluded that fewer Iranian operatives and weapons were detected in Iraq over the last two months and that has reduced attacks and casualties. That and the recent NIE Report seemed to “trigger” a U. S. pivot away from an attack on Iran but the deal is long in the making. This raises grave concerns in Israel that it will be pushed under the bus and left to a Islamic holocaust.
One hundred and four years ago today, December 17, 1903, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first successful flight in history of a self-propelled, heavier-than-air aircraft. Orville piloted the 12 horsepower, gasoline-powered, propeller-driven biplane, which stayed aloft for 12 seconds and covered 120 feet on its inaugural flight.
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apan has decided to build its own advanced fighter after giving up on buying the U. S. built F-22. Japan says the F-35 variant is not suitable for its needs to oppose new Chinese and Russian Su-30 based warplanes nor do the Eurofighter and Rafle make the cut either. Japan’s F-3 fighter will use a lot of licensed U. S. technology. It already builds jet engines on U. S. license. Japan, like many other countries, fears the threat of growing U. S. isolationism and what the 2008 presidential election will mean to Japan’s security.
Israel has displaced Britain as the fourth largest exporter of weapons on the world market. Israel exported over $4 billion worth of weapons this year. The U.S. is biggest customer for Israeli military gear, accounting for nearly 20 percent of Israeli exports.
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ast Asian states, among them Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong are global leaders in education rankings while spending far less in term of adjusted purchasing power dollar per student than the USA and Europe. Taiwan led the list in math skills followed by Finland, Hong Kong and South Korea; of the top ten countries five are from the Far East. South Korea came in first on reading scores with Finland second followed by Hong Kong and Canada. In Science Finland leads followed by Hong Kong, Canada, Taiwan, Estonia and Japan. Sadly education lags in the United States (despite far greater per pupil spending) and in much of Western Europe. Britain and France achieved only average results. Canada and New Zealand scored impressively in all three categories.
Most importantly, contrary to what Teachers’ Unions and their political flatterers claim, money is not the most important indicator. Critics say the U. S. is “not serious about education”; consumed by “political correctness” and peripheral things like self esteem. The findings come amid an education report by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) showing that many East Asian states and regions have vaulted ahead of far richer countries including the United States. Regardless of the reasons the fact is America’s public education system is a shambles and failing.
Bill Shaheen’s head bounced down the steps of Hillary Clinton’s campaign office Thursday. Shaheen , a national co-chairman for the Clinton campaign, had said Wednesday that Obama should be asked if he’d ever sold drugs having already admitted he has been a drug user. Obama came unglued and Hillary conducted the political execution predictably claiming she knew nothing about it.
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oger Stone, in his StoneZone, says “Huck is Hucked.” His primary reasons are he believes Dick Morris is the brain behind Huckabee, and hiring Ed Rollins who was cashiered from Bob Dole’s 1996 campaign for racist remarks will lead to inevitable clashes putting the former Arkansas governor between two enormous egos. Regardless Huckabee’s mercurial rise with scant dollars and less organization has been remarkable. He came from the dugout to elbow the big boys off of the base path and without steroids either. Whether Huckabee’s decision to openly employ one of the GOP’s most liberal consultants will skyrocket him or stall him remains to be seen – but you can bet there will be fireworks.
Back bencher Ron Paul has raised some money lately and is launching what he hopes will be his second internet fund raising boom day. Bizarrely when asked about his $4 million web based fund raising day and plans for another Paul said he has money now but isn’t sure what to do with it. I believe him.
Norco, Ca. is called Horsetown USA so when Bob’s Big Boy stuck its pudgy red and yellow mascot out front of its new restaurant the horse apples hit the fan. Locals rallied at a planning commission hearing (that’s California speak for Politburo) raging that the little rotund talisman didn’t fit the local horsey image and not even agreement that it wear a cowboy hat could get past the assembled Buick grill sized belt buckles. A posse assembled, and if peace isn’t made at a January 9th hearing, beer bottles could fly. Apparently there’s not a hell-of-a-lot-to-do in Norco.
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wenty of the 29 military charities that say they are aiding veterans manage their resources poorly, paying high overhead costs and direct-mail fundraising fees and, in some cases, providing their leaders with six-figure salaries says a study by American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP) published Thursday in the Washington Post. Twelve are listed as “failing” including: Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation, the AMVETS National Service Foundation, Help Hospitalized Veterans and the Freedom Alliance – all collected hundreds of millions in the past fiscal year giving out relatively little. The philanthropy institute gave F’s to 12 of the 29 military charities reviewed and D’s to eight.
For some reason the Washington Post article does not list the five that were awarded A-pluses including: Armed Services YMCA of the USA (A-): Fisher House Foundation (A+); Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund (A+) and National Military Families Association (A).
The caveat is you have to learn more. On the web at http://www.charitywatch.org/ but you have to buy a sample Charitable Rating Guide for $3 or join for $40 a year to continually be kept up to date. AIP rates many charities and you must read the criteria carefully and make your best judgment. In addition to fund raising cost ratios the criteria section list salaries topped by the CEO of Memorial Sloan-Kettering at $3,016,138; Boy Scouts of America’s CEO at $1,076,626, and American Cancer Society at $974,819 although a high CEO salary does not immediately disqualify a charity for its effectiveness.
Faced with what his staff now estimates as a $14 billion budget hole, or 12% of the overall budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has decided to seek across-the-board cuts to state operations. He will declare a fiscal emergency empowering fast action for cuts. California’s 2008-2009 budget proposes to spend a record $111 billion of which one-in-eight dollars will have to be borrowed or cut. 68% of voters support cutting spending 10% and 65% oppose increasing taxes to cover the gap according to a PPI survey.
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ighty-eight years ago 8 Chicago White Sox (later nicknamed the ‘black sox’) players were paid to throw the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. Now Major League Baseball players, including 7 Most Valuable Players, and 31 All-Stars have been caught using steroids and growth hormone to artificially improve their performance, sometimes triggering big bonus contract provisions, and further besmirching the MLB. Like the eight Black Sox the names of those now involved in this scandal will be forever added to the Hall of Shame with an asterisk beside any record. Laughably some players claim they only did it for the good of the game; to heal faster, or to support the fans.
Since World War II men who are self-described baseball fans has fallen from more than 62% to less than 45%. The fall off is particular steep among younger men. Fans from the 60s and before and those in their 60s now are sticking with the game and women are showing somewhat more interest.
Of course some are blaming the messenger for the message. But, some Hall of Fame voters are saying they will never vote to admit those who cheated now exposed as using steroids, human growth hormone or other performance enhancing substances. Since 1990 MLB revenues have tripled to $6 billion, and that is really what it is all about.
“I don’t want to wake up four years from now and discover that we still have more young black men in prison than in college.” — Barack Obama, rally in Harlem, Nov. 29. Only problem is there are at least four times more young black men in college than in prison.
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s World War II began Charles Richard Drew, M. D. discovered that if he separated the plasma (the liquid part of blood) from the whole blood (containing the red blood cells) and then refrigerated the two separately, he could combine them up to a week later for transfusion. Before that whole blood could only be stored for two days greatly limiting supply and availability. Furthermore, he insisted on ignoring the racial background of donors and transfusion receivers as was Army policy as World War II began. That meant that many soldiers no longer bled to death waiting for a same-race donor to contribute blood.
He developed and ran blood programs in Europe and the Pacific in WWII, and was the first Director of the National Blood Bank for the Red Cross. Ironically he was badly injured in a car crash in 1950 and was refused admittance to a nearby Burlington, North Carolina “whites only” hospital because he was black, and he bled to death.
47% are saying “yes” to California’s Proposition 93 to “reform” term limits by extending Legislators terms and 30% say “no.” 44% support allocating electoral votes to the winner in each Congressional District and 41% say keep the winner-take-all system.
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he twelve days of Christmas are the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany (January 6th), which is when the three wise men are believed to have arrived on the site of the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. It is NOT the twelve days before Christmas as some erroneously say. In bygone times it was custom to give a gift on Christmas and each of the days through January 6th but that practice has mostly disappeared.
The urban myth that the song of the12-days of Christmas is a secret catechism is false. It is true that between 1558 to 1829 Catholics were at least nominally prohibited by law to practice their faith either in public or private. But, the song itself first appeared around 1780 as a children’s memory game wherein a leader sang one verse and the children the next and so on and so forth. The Irish and Scots both had long oppressions and developed traditions of passing their history along from one generation to the next by memory, story telling and song.
The ever more irrational People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) want the famous horse drawn carriage rides in New York City’s CENTRAL PARK ended saying they constitute mistreatment of the horses.
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he good news is automobile advertising will continue at its $40 billion annual clip for the next four years. Newspapers’ share will shrivel 40 percent down to 10% from its present 14% share while internet ads will shoot up 27.5% to $5.3 billion. Television dollars will fall slightly; radio and magazines will flat line and direct marketing will slip nominally. Local advertising will be hardest hit as dealer are closed and consolidated and rely more on corporate efforts. Few car buyers have dealer or brand loyalty buying mostly on price.
“As bold as brass” dates to the late 1770s when an English Magistrate named Brass Crosby defied the rule that Parliament’s proceedings never be published for public knowledge, and releasing a pamphleteer who did and was himself imprisoned for “treason.” Public outcry grew so loud Brass was released becoming something of a hero and “as bold as brass” passed into common parlance meaning someone with the strength of their conviction regardless of consequence.
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ssociated Press reports that on December 23, 1914 - almost a century ago - a then young girl named Ethel Martin in Oberlin, Kansas, was mailed a Christmas card by her cousins in Alma, Nebraska. The post office finally delivered it this week. Unfortunately, Ms. Martin died while waiting for the card to arrive. When it absolutely, positively HAS to be there this century… call the United States Postal Service. USPS Labor union contracts will mean letter carriers will soon cost taxpayers $100,000 a year each.
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