Youngstown
Vindicator... Dems
aren’t cowed
by GOP
Ohio Republican officials are learning Democrats can be pushed only so
far. Elected Democrats on the state level could qualify for membership
on the endangered species list. But when Democrats want to be, they can
be feisty as African wild dogs. Republicans hold every elected
executive office in the state, and control the Ohio House and Senate.
Also, six of the seven Ohio Supreme Court justices are Republicans.
Earlier this year, Republicans passed Senate Bill 5, which restricts
collective... read
more
|
Townhall...
Speaking
For the
Voiceless, By Kathryn Lopez
Oct 28, 2011 - “For a renewed respect for human life, from conception
to natural death ...” Seared in my memory is the sound of Kobi Cudjoe,
gasping for air, as he read that prayer. He was one of the petition
readers at the special mass held on Oct. 23 at St. Matthew’s Cathedral
in Washington, D.C., “Honoring the Gifts of Persons with Special
Needs.” From his wheelchair, he could only be heard as pleading for all
those whose lives may be undervalued by a society that sees their
disabilities... read
more
|
Townhall... Tax
Ethics For
Smarties, By Katie Kieffer
I have tax reform guidelines, and they’re not for dummies. My
guidelines are for smart people who think rationally. Irrational folks
like Warren Buffet may need to eat a bag of Halloween candy before
they’re alert enough to understand my conception of ethical taxation.
Tax reform is one of the hottest topics in the news. Americans are
feverishly debating tax proposals like Cain’s “999” plan, Perry’s... read
more
|
Townhall...
Death
to Tenure,
By Mike Adams
Julio Pino is a genocidal anti-Semite who uses his university email
account to boast of sodomizing the mothers of his political opponents.
But he has the protection of tenure. And he also has the protection of
a cowardly administration, which fails to sufficiently condemn the
behavior of a man who is probably too effeminate to act on his threats
of violence and intimidation. Pino, the unhinged Kent State University
history professor, recently shouted “Death to Israel” during a speech...
read
more
|
Columbus
Dispatch... Sunshine
is
best
Judge right to order charter-school company to account for tax dollars
- Of course, taxpayers and the charter schools that hire operating
companies such as White Hat Management Co. should be able to see
records of how such companies spend public money and run public
schools. A recent ruling by Franklin County Common Pleas Judge John F.
Bender underlined the point. Akron-based White Hat operates more than
30 charter schools in Ohio, under contracts with the governing... read
more
|
Townhall Finance... Rick
Perry:
Flat Tax is “Tax Cut for Everyone”, By Larry
Kudlow
GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry, who unveiled his 20 percent flat
tax Tuesday, said his economic plan will “lower taxes across the board”
and pull back every regulation that has been implemented since the 2008
financial crisis. He also dismissed criticism that it would raise taxes
on the middle class. “This is a tax cut for everyone in this country.
Those who want to pick this apart, those that want to play class... read
more
|
Akron
Beacon Journal... Desperate
homeowners
October 27, 2011 - The number of homeowners who owe more on their home
loans than the houses are worth is estimated to be more than 10
million. Typically, the borrowers are stuck with high interest rates,
unable to refinance at current low rates. They are no more likely, in a
weak market, to sell their properties to pay off “underwater”
mortgages. Many face an unpleasant choice: To keep paying down the
mortgage or to default. The mortgage dilemma is a considerable drag on
the housing... read
more
|
Townhall
Finance... Obama
Creates College Bailout, By Peter Schiff
Coming to the aid of the higher education industry that had begun to
show some concerns that students may no longer be able to afford
skyrocketing tuition rates, President Obama today announced a plan that
will ensure students are able to commit to higher levels of federally
backed student loans. By limiting student obligations to repay, and by
passing more of the repayment burden onto taxpayers, colleges and
universities will be able to continue to raise tuitions at a rate that
outpaces nearly... read
more
|
Townhall... Blame
the Sexual
Revolution, Not Men, By Mona Charen
Kate Bolick stares out at the world from the cover of The Atlantic
magazine. She’s wearing a black lace evening dress. “What, Me Marry?”
asks the headline. She isn’t smiling. In fact, she isn’t smiling in any
of the photos that accompany her several thousand-word essay on
singleness, marriage and the changing nature of dating and mating in
America today. Bolick, 38, is groping toward accepting the idea that...
read
more
|
Townhall... Profits
Are for
People, By Walter E. Williams
The Occupy Wall Street demonstrators are demanding “people before
profits” -- as if profit motivation were the source of mankind’s
troubles -- when it’s often the absence of profit motivation that’s the
true villain.
First, let’s get both the definition and magnitude of profits out of
the way. Profits represent the residual claim earned by entrepreneurs.
They’re what are left after other production costs -- such as... read
more
|
Columbus
Dispatch... Double
trouble
Two primaries would add cost, create confusion in Ohio - For Ohio to
hold two primary elections in 2012 is just asking for problems and
throwing away money that the state and county governments can’t spare.
Last week, the legislature hastily drew up a plan for two primaries
because the recently adopted map of Ohio congressional districts is in
limbo. Either it will be the subject of a ballot referendum threatened
by Ohio Democrats, or the parties will come to some sort of agreement
on new... read
more
|
Akron
Beacon Journal... Primary
task
October 24, 2011 - Ohio Democrats are moving ahead with a petition
drive to put congressional districts just drawn by Republicans on the
ballot in November of next year. Few doubt the party can gather
sufficient signatures by Dec. 26, which would put the districts on hold
until the state’s voters decide their fate. As Democrats gathered
signatures, Republicans responded by postponing primaries for U.S.
House races and the presidential race to June, allowing time for new
districts to be drawn... read
more
|
Human Events... EPA
to Regulate
Dirt, by Jarrett Stepman
10/26/2011 - House members of the Energy and Commerce Committee
bickered about the definition of dust in a hearing about a Republican
bill to stop overreaching Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
regulations. Democrats at the hearing on the Farm Dust Regulation Act
of 2011, sponsored by Rep. Kristi Noem (R.-S.D.), fired a number of
vicious shots at the the bill, calling it merely a red
herring.
They... read
more
|
Columbus
Dispatch... People
are
scared; why won’t their lawmakers listen? By
Joe Hallett
Hello! Hello ... hello ... hello! HELLOOO! Why won’t you hear us? We’re
agonizing out here. What will it take to make you change things? Look
at the polls, for heaven’s sake. For 93 straight months — nearly eight
years — we have said that the country is on the wrong track. Almost 75
percent of Americans said that again late last month in a New York
Times-CBS News poll. A recent CNN-Opinion Research poll showed that 72
percent of us are angry about the way things are going in...
read
more
|
Cleveland
Plain Dealer... Drawing
the line on Democrat griping, By Brent Larkin
Saturday, October 22, 2011 - You’ve gotta hand it to Ohio’s Democratic
leaders: Their relentless attacks on the state’s new congressional
boundaries have succeeded in exposing some world-class hypocrites.
Themselves. Last year, Democrats had a chance to take politics out of
drawing new congressional boundaries and replace it with a plan that
reeked of fairness. Republican members of the legislature supported it.
Most daily newspapers and good government groups strongly... read
more
|
Townhall... Mission
Accomplished?
By Ken Connor
After nearly a decade of deployments, surges, and setbacks, after
thousands of lives lost and over one trillion in taxpayers dollars
spent, President Obama has announced that – in keeping with the
timetable originally established by President Bush – all U.S. troops
will withdraw from Iraq by the end of the year. At a time when the
economy is at the forefront of America’s attention and concerns about
an over-stretched... read
more
|
Cleveland
Plain Dealer... Vote
‘no’ on
Issue 2 to repeal Senate Bill 5, By
Harriet Applegate
In its endorsement of Issue 2 last
Sunday, The
Plain Dealer repeats in drumbeat fashion that the status quo is
unsustainable, referring directly to its assertion that the unions have
too much power, and indirectly to the budget shortfall. There are two
problems with this: First, the assertion that unions currently have too
much power is not borne out by the evidence; second, there is no
relationship between the budget problem and the collective bargaining
process. And, incidentally... read
more
|
| Cleveland
Plain Dealer... Vote
for Issue 2 so public administrators can make staffing choices based on
need,
By Matt Dolan - On Nov. 8, Ohioans will go to the polls to vote on
Issue 2, a referendum petition to decide whether the collective
bargaining reforms contained in Senate Bill 5 will become Ohio law. A
“yes” vote means the reforms will become law, while a “no” vote will
maintain the status quo. Collective bargaining in this case is most
appropriately defined as the ability of nonexempt public employees --
those whose compensation, benefits and pensions are paid for by... read
more
|
Human Events... What
Is It We
Wish to Conserve? by Patrick J. Buchanan
A conservative’s task in society is “to preserve a particular people,
living in a particular place during a particular time.” Jack
Hunter, in a review of this writer’s new book, Suicide of a Superpower:
Will America Survive to 2025? thus summarizes Russell Kirk’s view of
the duty of the conservative to his country. Kirk, the traditionalist,
though not so famous as some of his contemporaries at National... read
more
|
Townhall...
The
Decline of
American History in Public Schools, by Daniel
Doherty
A few weeks ago, several friends and I braved the impending rainstorm
and went to the National Book Festival on the Washington Mall. The
purpose of attending -- besides the obvious reason of wanting to stand
in the company of Hollywood actors, renowned historians and poet
laureates -- was to hear David McCullough speak. As one of the nation’s
most prolific writers, and author of numerous biographies including
John Adams and Truman -- David McCullough is also one of only a handful...
read
more
|
Townhall
Finance... Medisnare
Meet Obamasnare, By John Ransom
For two years the federal government under Obama has shipped “enhanced”
Medicaid reimbursements to states as high $2.68 for every dollar the
state paid in to the healthcare entitlement program designed to help
the poor. But, as was laid out in the bailout plan, “enhanced”
reimbursements ended in July of this year leaving state budgets worse
off then before. Stimulus dollars consequently have expanded Medicaid
and the states’ financial commitment to it and then left state
budgets... read
more
|
Townhall... Has
Our “System”
Failed, Or Has Our President, By Austin Hill
“The system has failed.” Have you heard this comment lately? Does it
express how you feel about America? This one sentence, vague as it is,
nonetheless captures a common sentiment about the current condition of
the United States. With the “occupy” protesters disrupting civic life
around the country and President Obama publicly bonding with them,
we’re seeing that magical phrase – “the system has... read
more
|
Akron
Beacon Journal... Jungleland
Perhaps now state lawmakers will act. For years, they have talked about
establishing rules for the ownership of exotic animals. Yet efforts
have fizzled. Ohio has remained one of a dozen or so states with
virtually no regulation, and thus vulnerable to what happened on
Tuesday, a man near Zanesville unleashing 56 dangerous animals and then
committing suicide. Lions, tigers, bears, leopards, wolves, monkeys and
a baboon roamed the nearby hills. The local sheriff’s office...
read
more
|
Columbus
Dispatch... Stay
in
bounds
School districts that go too far in pushing levies face pushback -
Anyone who has a child in a school district with a tax levy on the
ballot knows the drill: They’re going to hear about the levy from their
child’s school and from the district, repeatedly, until Election Day.
They’ll get email messages reminding them of the levy’s existence on
the ballot, the importance of voting and the ease of obtaining an
absentee ballot. They’re likely to get information about programs and
material things... read
more
|
Townhall... How
Do We Care for
the Elderly? by Linda Chavez
Last week, the Obama administration dropped one of the signature
provisions of its healthcare plan. The CLASS Act (Community Living
Assistance Services) was intended to provide affordable insurance for
long-term care to individuals who, because of infirmity or age, could
no longer care for themselves. But the reality that not enough healthy
Americans would sign up to make it self-supporting finally doomed the
program... read
more
|
Redstate...
Thin
Skin,
by Erick Erickson
Thursday, October 20th - It finally hit me tonight why I think Mitt
Romney would have a real problem in the general election. He is Barack
Obama. No, not really. But yeah, there is something there. They are
both robotically good on the campaign trail. But throw them off guard,
get them off balance, and they turn a bit nasty. We are all intimately
familiar with Barack Obama lashing out. During a closed door meeting
with Republicans he tells them “I won.” When John McCain stands...
read
more
|
Cleveland
Plain Dealer... ‘Yes’
to all three questions on Ohio’s statewide ballot,
by
Kevin O’Brien
Less than three weeks to go, Ohio. Issue 2 - After a long spring and
summer spent fighting over who should control local governments,
Ohioans will have a result. Senate Bill 5, now on the ballot as Issue
2, gives Ohio taxpayers the opportunity to re-establish control over
local government spending. It sets right the relationship between the
people and their employees, after 28 years of unions having an
unwarranted upper hand... read
more
|
Death
by Bureaucracy,
by Newt Gingrich
Earlier this month, a panel appointed by the Department of Health and
Human Services made a recommendation so detached from the good of
individual patients it could only have come from government
bureaucrats. They recommended eliminating screening for the most common
cancer among males nationwide. The United States Preventative Services
Task Force (USPSTF) is composed... read
more
|
Columbus
Dispatch... Reconsider
Threat of referendum on redistricting ought to lead to compromise - A
ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court leaves legislators with little
practical choice: They must find a way to agree on a reasonable set of
congressional-district boundaries or they’ll leave the state in a
political limbo, with congressional representation in doubt. Doing so
will require the will to compromise and put the public interest ahead
of politics. The court ruled Friday that House Bill 319, the newly
passed law to implement the... read
more
|
Cleveland
Plain Dealer... A
vote
for simple, consistent election rules
It’s OK if voters are undecided at this stage in a campaign. But three
weeks from Election Day, with early balloting under way, they shouldn’t
be confused about how to vote. And in Cuyahoga County, many are. A long
tug of war in Columbus over election rules has resulted in changes
affecting early voting this fall. In addition, because of an agreement
with the Justice Department, all Cuyahoga County voters are, for the
first time, getting a bilingual ballot. That’s a lot of change and
uncertainty. Here... read
more
|
Townhall... Pitting
Us Against
Each Other, By Walter E. Williams
Oct 19, 2011 - President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party have led
increasingly successful efforts to pit Americans against one another
through the politics of hate and envy. Attacking CEO salaries, the
president -- last year during his Midwest tour -- said, “I do think at
a certain point you’ve made enough money.” Let’s look at CEO salaries,
but before doing so, let’s look at other salary disparities between
those... read
more
|
Cleveland
Plain Dealer... Ohio’s
redistricting dustup, By The Plain Dealer
Editorial Board
Sunday, October 16, 2011 - An Ohio Supreme Court ruling late Friday
consigned Ohio’s 16 new congressional districts to limbo, setting the
stage for what’s likely to be widespread electoral confusion in the
2012 elections. Mulish partisanship in the General Assembly got Ohio
into this mess. Only mature leadership in Columbus -- never plentiful
-- can get Ohio out of it. Redistricting was necessary because Ohio in
2012 has the right to elect only 16 U.S. House members, not the current
18... read
more
|
Cleveland
Plain Dealer... Cleveland
teachers must agree to concessions
A dangerous game of chicken is being played out in the Cleveland public
schools that could hurt both the city and its schoolchildren. Schools
CEO Eric Gordon wants to keep almost 300 recalled teachers on the
payroll so important school reform efforts can stay on track. To do
that, he needs modest concessions from the Cleveland Teachers Union. So
far, the union hasn’t budged, even though it previously agreed to a
partial step-pay freeze and other concessions. Those... read
more
|
Daily Events... Wednesdays
with
Audrey Hudson
The DIAPER Act really needs no introduction, it would do just that,
provide diapers. To babies. For free. Sponsored by Rep. Rosa DeLauro
(D.-Conn.), the Diaper Investment and Aid to Promote Economic Recovery
Act (DIAPER Act) directs the federal government to distribute free
diapers for moms who put their kids in day care centers to “relieve
some of the stress on families facing hardship in this economy... read
more
|
Columbus
Dispatch... State
Issue 2
A yes vote will restore control of government budgets to taxpayers - As
outlined in an August editorial, The Dispatch would have preferred a
compromise on collective-bargaining issues that would have taken State
Issue 2 off the ballot and revised Senate Bill 5. That didn’t happen,
but because several of the provisions of Senate Bill 5 are essential to
the fiscal health of state and local governments in Ohio, The Dispatch
recommends a yes vote on State Issue 2... read
more
|
Toledo
Blade... Nuclear
watchdog
needed
Nearly a decade ago, the original reactor head at the Davis-Besse
nuclear power plant in Oak Harbor nearly ruptured. The U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission’s slow response to that potentially disastrous
incident caused it great embarrassment on Capitol Hill. So it’s
reassuring that the commission is taking extra oversight precautions
for the installation of the third — and, it’s to be hoped, final —
reactor head at the FirstEnergy Corp. plant. The NRC has assigned
inspectors to... read
more
|
Townhall... When
Fighting Cancer
Is Folly, By Steve Chapman
Whenever I have a medical appointment, my wife inquires, “What did the
doctor say?” I always give the same answer: “She said I’m going to
die.” Not because I have some fatal illness, but because life is a
terminal condition. Americans might keep that fact in mind in
considering the recent news made by the U.S. Preventive Services Task
Force. It recently recommended against routine screening of... read
more
|
Columbus
Dispatch... State
Issue
1
Voters should reject measure to allow older judges to run - Voters
should vote no on State Issue 1, a constitutional amendment to raise
the age limit for judges. This change would be unnecessary and risky.
Issue 1 would increase the maximum age for assuming elected or
appointed judicial office to 75, from the current 70. This means judges
could serve out their six-year terms into their 80s. Ohio’s current
judicial age limit has served the state well, and Ohio prosecutors
credit it for improving... read
more
|
Akron
Beacon Journal... False
uncertainty
What ails the economy? The consensus of economists cites the lack of
demand. Consumer spending accounts for roughly two-thirds of economic
activity, yet consumers currently are spending at a clip significantly
below their rate before the harsh recession. Many are paying off debts
and rebuilding their savings. Add the weak housing market, and you have
the path to anemic growth and high unemployment. Interestingly, many
Republicans, running for president... read
more
|
Townhall...
Reagan Resoluteness,
Too -- Not Simply Reagan Recovery
By Jackie Gingrich Cushman - “It’s the economy stupid” is the infamous
mantra conceived by political consultant James Carville that
underscored the main issue driving the 1992 presidential race. A few
months later, Bill Clinton replaced George H.W. Bush (41) as president,
and it was the focus on the economy that got him there. Today, with
lingering high unemployment (hovering at 9 percent with 25 million... read
more
|
Youngstown
Vindicator... Defeat
of Obama’s jobs bill opens door to new strategy
Thu, October 13, 2011 - You’ve got to hand it to the Re- publicans,
nothing, not even the economic well-being of the nation, will divert
them from their goal of rendering Democratic President Barack Obama a
one-termer. A year ago, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.,
grabbed headlines when he publicly declared that defeating Obama in
2012 would be the GOP’s top priority in the new Congress. His message
was clear: Republicans would not support any Democratic economic...
read
more
|
Columbus
Dispatch... Many
questions
Proposed expansion of school vouchers needs far more review, debate -
Ohio’s EdChoice school-voucher program has been a godsend for thousands
of children whose public schools perform poorly, but whose parents
can’t afford to send them to private schools. State-funded tuition
vouchers give them the choice that wealthier families already have and
that children in better school districts don’t need. The Dispatch fully
supports vouchers in principle and as the program currently... read
more
|
Human Events... Costs
of the
Occupiers, by Michelle Malkin
10/14/2011 - The trash generated by the “Occupy Wall Street” protests
keeps piling up. So do the bills. Liberal media outlets claim the
anarchic, anti-capitalist movement is more popular than the tea party.
But wait until Americans across the country get a full picture of the
costs of the aimless occupiers. In New York City, government officials
estimate the month-long siege of Zuccotti Park has now... read
more
|
Townhall
Finance... California
Settlement Changes Game for Internet Sales Tax,
By Cliff
Ennico
Thanks to a new law in California, the days of selling online without
having to pay sales tax are numbered. Since 2008, a number of states
have attempted to impose their sales taxes on Internet commerce, most
of which involves sales across state (and often national) boundaries.
States try to tax e-commerce in a number of ways, but the approach
that’s gotten the most publicity is the so-called “Amazon tax” adopted
by New York, Rhode Island, Illinois, North Carolina and a couple...
read
more
|
The
Cleveland Plain Dealer... Rose-colored
lenses on teachers, By Sharon Broussard
Wednesday, October 12, 2011 - Last year, the documentary “Waiting for
Superman” came to Cleveland with tales of public schools so out of
control that youngsters were desperately trying to win a lottery to
attend elite charter schools. When some of those bright-eyed public
school students were rejected because of space limitations, sniffles
could be heard among the movie patrons at the Cedar Lee Theater. Last
week at the Capitol Theatre on West 65th Street, fans of “Waiting... read
more
|
Townhall... Pampered
Protesters,
By Michael Reagan
Oct 12, 2011 - The hordes of so-called “protesters” now polluting the
streets of several U.S. cities, including New York, are sending
confused messages about their grievances. The unemployed among them
complain that the jobs available to them are beneath them. I guess that
cancels out the old concept of starting in the mailroom and advancing
step-by-step to the boardroom. It used to be the norm that one started
at... read
more
|
Verities & Balderdash... No
Frills Airline, By Bob Robinson
How many of you remember the Carol Burnett Show? Raise your hands. I
thought so… there’s still a bunch of us out there. I look back on the
days of early television variety shows and sitcoms with a sense of
longing. They were funny, non-political and “G” rated. The whole family
could actually sit down and enjoy an hour or two of television without
a parent’s face getting red when a child would ask, “daddy... read
more
|
Akron
Beacon Journal... To
test, or
not to test?
As health-care consumers, most of us heed the counsel of medical
professionals, who long have advised regular screenings to catch
prostate or breast cancers in the early stages, when treatment is
effective and the odds of recovery are better. What, then, when a
federal task force, based on an independent review of large clinical
trials, advises against routine testing for prostate cancer? Among
other conclusions, the review found no benefit to the blood test for
prostate... read
more
|
Townhall
Finance... $58-an-Hour
UAW Workers Kill $16K Ford Bonus as Stingy, By
John Ransom
As the UAW rank-and-file continues to vote on the contract offer
hammered out between management and UAW honchos, the Detroit Free Press
reports that at least one local has rejected the offer, even though it
includes a $6,000 cash bonus, a $3,700 profit sharing bonus and at
least another $1,500 cash for each of the four years on the contract
for a total of $15,700 on top of wages and benefits. A similar contract
offer with Government Motors (GM) contained a $5,000 bonus and an... read
more
|
Townhall... Supermom
is Stressed
Out! By Rebecca Hagelin
Culture Challenge of the Week: Supermom - Several years ago, my friend
Kim fit the profile of a young “supermom” perfectly. You know, the one
who looks like a million dollars, has time for the gym and weekly manis
and pedis, volunteers as soccer team-mom for her daughter, and is a
top-producer for her company. While other moms struggled in the
back-to-school frenzy to find washable Crayola... read
more
|
Columbus
Dispatch... Good
step,
Evaluating teacher effectiveness will benefit students
As part of the federal government’s Race to the Top program, thousands
of Ohio teachers recently received report cards unlike any before: a
rating of how effective they were last school year, based on how much
academic progress their students made. It’s a small step toward a big
goal: knowing which teachers are the most and least effective at
helping students learn, so that schools can keep and reward the best
teachers, help the middling improve and get the weakest out of the
classroom... read
more
|
Townhall
Finance... Nothing
is
Free, By Jeff Carter
This is an abbreviation that everyone should get familiar with. One of
the student cafeteria’s (Pierce) at the University of Chicago is
nicknamed TANSTAAFL - It stands for T-There
A-Aint
N-No... read
more
|
Townhall... Obama’s
Teachable
Truthiness Moment, By Michelle Malkin
President Obama blames Republicans for the collapse of his latest
government jobs bill. But in the end, he has only his tall tale-telling
tongue to blame. After hyping the TARP, Obamacare, Stimulus I and
EduJobs spending behemoths as economic saviors, Obama just couldn’t
help overselling his half-trillion-dollar American Jobs Act. The
teachable moment of “truthiness” for this taxpayer-subsidized scam came
last... read
more
|
Redstate...
The
Bloomberg-Washington Post Debate, Posted by
Erick Erickson
Tuesday, October 11th - The Bloomberg-Washington Post debate was
necessary in the same way a child dying or a puppy being run over are
necessary in the chaotic misery of the orbit around the center of the
galaxy we slowly endure. All remind us that life isn’t fair, there are
terrible tragedies, and sometimes bad things happen to us. But we have
endured. And if you haven’t thrown up on your television due to the
unsteady camera or the tediously horrible questions, you will be no
worse for... read
more
|
Columbus
Dispatch... Mandate
balance
Only the Constitution could force Congress to deal with nation’s debt -
A Friday report from the Congressional Budget Office says that the
federal deficit for the fiscal year just completed is $1.3 trillion.
Meanwhile, a news story in Monday’s Dispatch said that the
congressional supercommittee charged with cutting $1.2 trillion from
the nation’s red ink over the next decade is deadlocked. Even if the
panel overcomes its paralysis to trim spending by that much, it will
take 10 years to realize the... read
more
|
Townhall... Government
the Job
Killer, By John Stossel
President Obama says government will have to build the nation out of
the economic trough. “We’re the country that built the intercontinental
railroad,” Obama says. “So how can we now sit back and let China build
the best railroads?” Ironic that he mentions the Chinese. Progressives
used to complain that to build the railroad, bosses abused Chinese
workers -- called them “coolies” and treated them badly. Now this is
big... read
more
|
Daily
Events... Mondays
with
Tony Lee
10.10.11 - In a recent New Hampshire poll, Mitt Romney leads with 38
percent of the vote. Surprisingly, Herman Cain is in second with 20
percent, despite having done very little retail politicking. Which
brings us to the question: Can Herman Cain actually be the anti-Romney
and win the nomination? Or will Cain just help Romney split the
conservative anti-Romney vote and enable Romney to win the nomination?
There is much to like about Cain. He’s refreshingly honest...
read
more
|
Townhall...
The
left, the race
card, and Herman Cain, By Jeff Jacoby
THE DAY AFTER Herman Cain’s dazzling victory in the Florida straw poll,
I commented to a Republican neighbor -- and where I live, there aren’t
many of those -- that with Cain as a GOP rock star, liberals who have
been so ready to smear President Obama’s critics as racist would have
to come up with a new shtick. What was I thinking? Racial McCarthyism
has been a staple of left-wing political rhetoric for years, but it
went into overdrive with the rise of Barack Obama. Former... read
more
|
Townhall... Selfish
Disobedience,
By Katie Kieffer
When a majority of progressive slugs call for thievery, I believe that
a minority of “selfish” job creators may exercise Thoreau-style civil
disobedience. The Occupy Wall Street protestors setting up camp in
Manhattan’s Financial District are not exercising civil disobedience.
Rather, they are rousing hatred against an unprotected minority: The
rich. Henry David Thoreau is an American pioneer of civil
disobedience... read
more
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Townhall...
Occupied
America,
By Paul Jacob
“Rush Limbaugh’s Occupy Wall St. Rant Proves The Protesters Are
Winning,” claims Politicususa.com, a blog boasting “Real Liberal
Politics — No Corporate Money. No Masters.” On Friday, Limbaugh had
called the Occupy Wall Street protests “laughable.” Moreover, and
exactly mirroring accusations on the left regarding the Tea Party and
the GOP, he charged that the protests were “not spontaneous,” a mere
front for Democrats and the Obama re-election campaign. Specifically...
read
more
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American
Thinker... Has
Harry
Reid presented the GOP with the means to overturn Obamacare?
By Jerry Shenk - October 7, 2011 - Following cloture, on Thursday,
October 6, the US senate was poised to cast a pro forma vote
on
final passage of a China currency bill when Senate Republicans
attempted to use the rules of the Senate to attach a post-cloture
amendment. The Republican amendment would have required a vote on
President Obama’s jobs bill, forcing Democrats to vote on the plan the
president has been insisting Congress pass and blaming Republicans for
blocking it... read
more
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Human Events... The
Miracle of
iCapitalism, by Michelle Malkin
10/07/2011 - Here is your high-resolution teachable moment of the week:
anti-capitalist, anti-corporate extremists of “Occupy Wall Street”
mourning Apple Inc. founder Steve Jobs without a trace of irony. While
the Kamp Alinsky Kids ditch school to moan about their massive student
debt, parade around in zombie costumes and whine about evil
corporations over poached Wi-Fi connections, it’s the doers... read
more
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Toledo
Blade... Choosing
sides
This week, the Senate Banking Committee approved Richard Cordray’s
nomination to head the newly created federal Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau. The party-line vote -- 12 Democrats for the
nomination, 10 Republicans opposed -- sets up a battle on the Senate
floor that has nothing to do with the former Ohio Attorney General’s
qualifications and everything to do with protecting financial
institutions from needed oversight. Congress created the consumer
bureau after... read
more
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Youngstown
Vindicator... Enjoy
Issue 2 while you can
Sat, October 8, 2011 - COLUMBUS - Are you tired yet of the public
debate over state Issue 2? Have you grown weary of the commercials from
both sides, touting the alleged benefits or alleged negative impacts of
the controversial collective-bargaining law? Do you yearn for a kinder,
gentler political environment, where different sections of the
political spectrum come together to present their viewpoints and cheer
for America, even when they lose? Take comfort, because the good people
at... read
more
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Human Events... This
Is What a
Mob Looks Like, by Ann Coulter
10/05/2011 - I am not the first to note the vast differences between
the Wall Street protesters and the tea partiers. To name three: The tea
partiers have jobs, showers and a point. No one knows what the Wall
Street protesters want -- as is typical of mobs. They say they want
Obama re-elected, but claim to hate “Wall Street.” You know, the same
Wall Street that gave its largest campaign donation in history... read
more
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Columbus
Dispatch... Oil-and-gas
drilling
foes perpetuate myths, by Thomas E. Stewart
I applaud Gov. John Kasich for his dedicated pursuit of a
forward-thinking, job-creating, comprehensive energy policy for the
state of Ohio, which was firmly cemented at the recent Ohio Governor’s
21st Century Energy & Economic Summit. This unprecedented event
brought together experts in energy, economics, education and the
environment from around the state and nation to engage in dialogue and
debate about how robust and responsible energy development could be the
key to Ohio’s... read
more
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Akron
Beacon Journal... Precision
strike
What did Osama bin Laden think about the drone attacks against leading
al-Qaida operatives? As David Ignatius of the Washington Post reported
in August, bin Laden viewed the unmanned plane as “the only weapon
that’s hurting us.” On Friday, American intelligence struck again, a
drone venturing into Yemen and killing Anwar al-Awlaki, the
American-born cleric who headed the al-Qaida outpost there. Bin Laden
died in May in a raid conducted by American special forces.
Al-Awlaki... read
more
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Townhall... It’s
Going to Be a
Wild Ride, By Jackie Gingrich Cushman
I’m a little bit disappointed that Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey is
not running for the Republican nomination for president. He was sure to
inject another round of excitement into the campaign. After many in the
media concluding slightly more than a month ago that the race was more
than likely going to go to either former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt
Romney or current Governor of Texas Rick Perry, this... read
more
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Townhall...
How
to Create a Job,
By Renee Ellmers
Unemployment is the most important issue facing Americans today.
Millions are out of work and those that have jobs are increasingly
threatened with losing them. As with most things affecting whole
segments of society, the first reaction is who’s in charge, who
deserves the blame? In order to answer that question effectively, we
must first understand how jobs are created and the policies that can
either lead to greater growth or longer bread lines. The first step
involves... read
more
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Townhall...
Conservatives
Need
To Grow A Spine, By Douglas MacKinnon
I once had a conversation with a well-connected Democrat in Washington,
D.C., with regard to lack of advertising in conservative publications.
Without missing a beat, she said it was because “advertisers and
corporate America are petrified of the far left. The executives at
these companies fear that if they advertise in conservative outlets,
the far left will harass them, boycott them, threaten them, and picket
them forever until they give in to the thuggish behavior.” I then
pointed out... read
more
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Townhall... Obama
Scolds Nation:
You’ve Gotten Soft, By Larry Elder
“The way I think about it is, you know, this is, uh, you know, a great,
uh, great country that had gotten a little soft, and you know, we
didn’t have that same competitive edge that we needed over the last,
uh, couple of decades. We need to get back on track.” -- President
Barack Obama. The gall is breathtaking, even from a man who as a
presidential candidate said, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for...
read
more
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Akron
Beacon Journal... Reason
to protest
October 4, 2011 - The mystery is: Why didn’t something like the Occupy
Wall Street campaign begin much earlier than three weeks ago? Now the
idea has spread from its starting point in lower Manhattan, loosely
linked collections of demonstrators gathering outside the Federal
Reserve Bank in Chicago, near City Hall in Los Angeles, in Washington,
D.C., with plans in the works from Memphis to Minneapolis and
Baltimore. Those who have ventured among the demonstrators have found...
read
more
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Akron
Beacon Journal... Avoidance
behavior
Good news on the foreclosure crisis has been hard to come by the past
few years. With the number of foreclosures rising across Ohio and the
nation during the past decade, it has proved a continuing challenge to
put together policies and resources that can help thousands of
struggling families keep their homes. Especially disheartening, federal
programs that were projected to help millions of borrowers modify or
refinance loans have been largely insignificant in driving down
foreclosure rates. Worse... read
more
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The
World Reacts to
the Death of Steve Jobs, by Michael Santo
Thursday, October 06, 2011 - I was saddened by the news... my entire
career has involved the inovations that Jobs pioneered. The computer
graphics classes I teach wouldn’t exist without his accomplishments on
our behalf. I’ve heard often that Jobs is the Thomas Edison of my
generation. I agree. We shall miss him. Bob Robinson, Editor. From Hot
Hardware... In the wake of the death of tech luminary Steve... read
more
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Cleveland
Plain Dealer... Cultivating
an immigrant crop, By Joe Frolik
After the squash had been picked, Shawn Belt and his crew of Asian and
African refugees began to rip up the remains of the plants for
composting. But Belt noticed that his team members were first snipping
any last shoots and leaves. When he asked why, Belt learned they were
delicacies, headed for the dinner table. Chalk it up as another example
of education going both ways at The Refugee Response, a fledgling
Cleveland nonprofit. The group’s Refugee Empowerment Agriculture...
read
more
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Akron
Beacon Journal... States
of depression
The partisan battling over election laws in Ohio reached another
boiling point last week when opponents of a misguided bill pushed
through the Republican-led legislature gathered sufficient signatures
to put it on hold. If enough signatures are valid, House Bill 194 will
remain stalled until November 2012, voters having the final word. The
main objection raised by Democrats is that the bill would shorten the
time available for early in-person absentee voting, a helpful voting
method for President... read
more
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Townhall... Government
Makes Us
Poor, By John Stossel
Here’s my fantasy: Libertarians are elected to the presidency and to
majorities in Congress. What would happen next? Well, if libertarians
were “in charge,” you’d have more freedom and prosperity. Freedom
frightens some people. They say if no one is in charge there would be
chaos. That is intuitive, but think about a skating rink. Before rinks
were invented, if you proposed an amusement in which people strap... read
more
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Columbus
Dispatch... Harmful
influence
Health-care overhaul casting a pall over business decision-making -
President Barack Obama’s latest jobs plan ignores the obvious: That
part of the reason for the lack of investment and job growth in the
nation is the uncertainty and disincentives engendered by the
president’s own policies. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Act, the health-care overhaul that Obama pushed through Congress in the
face of widespread and persistent public opposition, requires all
employers with... read
more
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Cleveland
Plain Dealer... No
quick fix for No Child Left Behind
President Barack Obama correctly overturned a hopelessly optimistic
provision in No Child Left Behind, the bipartisan school reform law
signed by President George W. Bush in 2002, that could penalize
districts for failing to have 100 percent of students proficient in
math and reading by 2014. But Obama may not simply edit the measure to
suit himself. Congress has to have a say. According to NCLB, Obama and
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan have the authority to waive the 100
percent... read
more
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Townhall... Stop
Whining?
By Thomas Sowell
If there was ever any doubt that the Democrats take the black vote for
granted, that doubt should have been put to rest when Barack Obama told
the Congressional Black Caucus, “Stop whining!” Have you ever before
heard either a Democratic or a Republican leader tell his party’s
strongest supporters, “Stop whining”? Blacks have a lot to complain
about, not just about this Democratic administration but... read
more
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Townhall
Finance... The
Solar Stimulus Rat,
Marita Noon
When
it comes to America’s energy policy, we are continuing our
headlong rush, like lemmings over a cliff, to self-extinction.
September 30 was the deadline by which the Department of Energy needed
to get the remaining billions in stimulus funds out the door.
Apparently, no one learned any lessons from the Solyndra scandal.
Shoveling $4.5 billion in stimulus funds to 4 solar projects is a big
issue being covered by the national media. In two little states, the
lemming analogy is still relevant... read
more
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Townhall...
A
Win for Elder
Advocacy, By Ken Connor
Last week, the MacArthur Foundation announced the winners of their
annual “Genius Grant” awards. Among the winners is Marie-Therese
Connolly, an attorney and activist who has been awarded $500,000 for
her work combating elder abuse in America. It is heartening to see that
an organization with the resources and prestige of the MacArthur
Foundation has taken note of Connolly’s important work. The silent
epidemic of elder abuse is an issue that has long motivated the work of
an... read
more
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Townhall... Discerning
Fact From
Fiction In The Tax Hike Debate, by Austin Hill
Just because you’ve excelled in your chosen career field doesn’t mean
that you have a clue about economics. And just because people claim
that they are being self-sacrificing, doesn’t necessarily make it so.
As President Obama struggles seeks support for his tax-and-spend “jobs
bill,” an intriguing chorus of supporters has emerged, intertwining
fact and fiction. Start with the “objective journalists... read
more
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Toledo
Blade... The
Price of Safety
A new state law that takes effect today aims to reduce acute
overcrowding in Ohio prisons by, among other things, assigning more
low-level and nonviolent offenders to community-based corrections
programs instead of locking them up. These goals are valid and vital.
But they will not be achieved if the state stiffs local and county
governments on adequate funding of such things as probation agencies
and diversion, intervention, and crime-prevention programs. When public
safety is at stake... read
more
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Akron
Beacon Journal... Premium
expense
Most workers who receive health coverage through their employers
probably could have predicted accurately the key findings of an annual
national survey of employer health benefits: Their wages have not risen
nearly as fast as their costs for medical care and insurance. The
Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research & Educational
Trust
reported last week that premiums for employer-sponsored coverage
climbed 9 percent, a sharper increase than in recent years, adding to
the... read
more
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Judicial Watch... State
Gets $5
Mil Bonus For Food Stamp Sign Up
In its quest to promote taxpayer-funded entitlement programs, the Obama
Administration has actually rewarded one state with a $5 million bonus
for its efficiency in adding food-stamp recipients to already bulging
rolls. It’s part of the administration’s campaign to eradicate “food
insecure households” by improving access and increasing participation
in the government’s Supplemental... read
more
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Daily Events... Obamacare goes to the Supremes,
By John Hayward
On Wednesday, the National Federation of Independent Business
petitioned the Supreme Court to review a decision from the 11th Circuit
Court of Appeals regarding ObamaCare. The Obama Justice
Department feels good about its general track record defending the law
in appeals courts, and has also filed a petition with the Supremes. The
Administration could have kept things bottled up in the 11th Circuit
for a while, but most observers agree it would go all the way to the
highest court... read
more
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Columbus
Dispatch... Taming
fear
Ohio prisons chief aims to give inmates a chance to do better - Ohio’s
new prisons chief is taking a common-sense approach to targeting gang
violence, an escalating problem that threatens inmate and staff safety
and could hamper an inventive reform plan. Instead of giving prisoners
a slap on the wrist — 15 days of punishment, then transfer to another
prison where they are soon out walking the yard and stirring up trouble
again — Gary C. Mohr is setting up tough “control prisons... read
more
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Townhall... Still
Looking for a
Candidate to Replace Obama, By Michael Barone
9/26/2011 - The spotlight was hottest on Rick Perry, the frontrunner in
national polls since he announced his candidacy in Charleston, S.C., on
Aug. 13, the same day that Michele Bachmann won the straw poll in Ames,
Iowa. Perry’s problem was not just that he punted on the tough question
of how to respond to a terrorist takeover of nuclear-armed Pakistan.
Even the smooth-talking Mitt Romney might have had... read
more
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