five
days of our contributors' insights and opinions
|
THE
WAR FOR CIVILIZATION
Will
History Repeat?
Comparing George Bush with Abraham Lincoln...
[John Campbell] 6/25/04 | An
incumbent Republican President is running for re-election for a second term.
The nation is at war. The war began during the incumbent's first term. This Republican
president believes that fully prosecuting this war to complete victory and the
replacement
of the enemy's government is the right thing to do. | But
the war is not going as smoothly as the public expected. The casualties are higher
than many thought. The war is taking longer than conventional wisdom would have
predicted and
patience amongst the populace is being strained... [more]
JURISIMPRUDENCE
Separating
Church, State and Litigation Subsidies
What's
behind all the suits...
[Gary M. Galles] 6/25/04 | Despite
the outpouring of discussion following the Supreme Court’s
refusal to rule on the Constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance,
there still seems to be at least one question left unasked. Why is
all this litigation about “church and state” issues taking
place now? | There
seems to be a three-part answer, involving the interpretation of
the 14th Amendment, the expanding scope of government activities,
and the 1976 Civil Rights Attorney’s Fees Awards Act... [more]
CULTURE
POLITICK
Ronald
Reagan’s Education Legacy
The education President…
[Lance T. Izumi] 6/25/04 | While
Ronald Reagan's foreign policy changed the face of the world, it shouldn’t
be forgotten that his leadership also dramatically changed the face of issues
at home. Top among those was education. | In
1983, the Reagan administration released the groundbreaking report “A
Nation at Risk.” Using a wealth of statistical data, the report demonstrated
in detail the failings of America’s education system and the impact of
those failings on the country’s children. The report recommended greater
emphasis on basic subjects such as math and English, more rigorous and measurable
standards, higher expectations for student performance and conduct, lengthening
the school year, and improving teacher quality through, for example, increasing
standards for teacher training programs. It’s no coincidence that the
report’s recommendations form the basis for much of today’s agenda
for education reform... [more]
ON
FRIDAY
The
Lesson of Noah's Ark
Condemnation
and redemption...
[Michael Levine] 6/25/04 | “If
we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally
astound ourselves.” -–Thomas Alva Edison | We
think we know Noah’s story pretty well, don’t we?
Very old, very righteous man is simply minding his own business,
when he gets singled out to save not only himself and his immediate
family, but also the future of all humanity. Plus, he must collect
and harbor a representative sampling of the world’s birds
and beasts and bugs before a forthcoming deluge the Almighty
One plans to unleash that will blanket the entire planet and
wipe out each and every inhabitant who dwells upon it. Whew!...
[more]
JURISIMPRUDENCE
First
O.J., Now Scott Peterson
Once again, defense lawyers are running rings around feeble prosecutors...
[Doug Gamble] 6/24/04 | Is
there a California prosecutor who can win a high- profile murder case? Nine years
after a botched prosecution helped O.J. Simpson get away with murder in a sensational
trial that gripped the nation, the same result is on track in a similarly notorious
case. | My
reading of the Scott Peterson murder trial in Redwood City is that the prosecution
is blowing it. If it's true that most jury members make up their minds about
a defendant during opening statements, then the trial is already over, and Peterson,
accused of murdering wife Laci and their unborn child, is going to walk... [more]
THE
CAMPAIGN
Those
Unbelievable Poll Numbers!
A political agenda in the media…
[Hugh Hewitt] 6/24/04 | Here's
the Harris
Poll from late last week, full of good news for the president, including
a 10-point lead over Kerry in likely voters. Unlike the discredited Los
Angeles Times poll showing Kerry with a 7-point lead, the reputable Harris
survey got very little ink. | The
most interesting data from the survey is the comparison between the president's
approval rating – 50 percent – in June of his re-election year,
and the approval ratings of other presidents in the June of their re-election
years... [more]
FABULOUS
BUDGET
Gasoline & Diesel
Price Protection Program
A New Approach to Consumer Control of Fuel Prices…
[Thomas J. Langan] 6/24/04 | In
January 2004, the average retail price of regular unleaded gasoline in California
was $1.67/gallon, and diesel fuel was $1.68/gallon. Gasoline now averages $2.25/gallon,
and diesel is $2.20. Those higher fuel prices cost California consumers an
additional $31 million each day for the same fuel they purchased in January. | Too
bad consumers couldn't have locked in January-type prices for a few months
or more; too bad they couldn't have bought insurance against higher prices
for a few months or more. Consumers are constantly exposed to higher fuel prices,
and have little recourse except to complain to politicians -- who themselves
are mostly clueless about higher fuel prices. Accordingly, they excoriate oil
companies, demand release of strategic petroleum reserves, or debate energy
bills ad nauseam. So because OPEC and terrorists have driven the price of oil
up 40% in six months, the American people just have to sit back and take it,
right? NOT SO! | A
way to protect against higher gasoline and diesel prices has existed for more
than 25 years. The solution is a Gasoline & Diesel Price Protection Program,
and all that's needed is a champion to help bring the Program to average consumers...
[more]
THE
WAR FOR CIVILIZATION
'Walking
Back the Cat' On Chalabi
Who's to blame for the damage done?...
NEW
TODAY [Daniel Pipes] 6/23/04 | The
Iranian government learned recently that American intelligence has deciphered
its codes and can read its mail. This is a blow to American interests, for it
means losing the ability to access the enemy's confidential communications, with
all the
advantages that offers.| Who
is to blame for this
development? | Ahmad
Chalabi — the Iraqi politician whom I have known,worked with, supported
and admired since 1991 — has for the past month sat in the hot seat, accused
by unnamed intelligence officials of informing the Iranian regime that its codes
had been cracked. | Mr.
Chalabi denies the accusation... [more]
THE
CAMPAIGN
Global
Warming And The Kerry Meltdown
The candidate and greenhouse gases…
NEW
TODAY [Chuck DeVore] 6/23/04 | It’s
June, five months to go to the November election. | Jobs
are blossoming, rendering Senator John Kerry’s
comments to the contrary an increasingly
irrelevant rant. | The
terrorists are acting like terrorists, reminding
everyone (except the Germans, Spaniards,
and half of the Democrat Party), that this
war is global and that Kerry-inspired retreat
from Iraq is tantamount to defeat. | And
Senator John McCain has embraced President
Bush, graphically splitting asunder the silly
musings of a press corps being spoon fed “McCain
for VP” rumors by the Kerry for President
camp. | What’s
left for Kerry to run on? Increase the minimum
wage?... [more]
THE
WAR FOR CIVILIZATION
The
Big Lie Campaign
Liberal media wages its own version of the truth...
[David Horowitz] 6/22/04 | As
wars go, the conflict in Iraq was (and is) as good as it gets. A three week
military campaign with minimal casualties, 25 million people liberated from
one of the most sadistic tyrants of modern times, the establishment of a military
and intelligence base in the heart of the terrorist world. What well-meaning
person could oppose this? In fact there is none. It was one thing to worry
about the war before the fact, as Brent Scowcroft and others did, that a military
conflict could lead to eruptions in the Muslim world and a conflagration out
of control. This was opposition based on honorable intentions, which events
have effectively answered. | But
the current opposition to the war after the fact has no such justification
in real world events... [more]
MEANWHILE
IN SACRAMENTO...
Going
for Broke on Minimum Wage
Another
inflationary burden for employers...
[Ray
Haynes] 6/22/04 | The
economic recovery in America has begun, if
you believe the Labor reports and most of the
economists. It has also started in California,
if you look at the increased revenues coming
into the state and some other indicators. It
hasn’t recovered so strongly, though,
that it can withstand continued efforts by
the Democrats in this state to shove the economy
back into the ditch... [more]
CULTURE
POLITICK
Corruption
Junction
The UN is a failed institution...
[Gordon Cucullu] 6/22/04 | The
United Nations may indeed be the answer, as some like John Kerry and Ted Kennedy
insist it is. But only if the question is ‘what is the most morally corrupt
international organization in the world?’ Without argument the UN has
degenerated into what esteemed journalist Claudia Rosett refers to as an institution
mired in corruption, secrecy, venality and total lack of accountability. | That
degree of ethical collapse might still be repairable, but only if the UN admits
its errors. To date there are no signs of institutional remorse. In fact, the
organization flouts its criminal actions in the face of the world, then wraps
itself in sanctimonious platitudes in order to retain power. Given such an
attitude there are few options left to the US other than to demand complete,
top down reform of the UN... [more]
THE
WAR FOR CIVILIZATION
The
War Against Jihadists
The Senator addresses a symposium on “Iraq's Future and the War on Terrorism”...
[Senator Joe Lieberman] 6/21/04 | I
want to discuss the war we are waging against Islamic terrorists in Iraq and
around the world, and to argue that it is fundamentally a war of ideas and a
war of values, a war of conflicting visions of humans and history, of faith and
country. The war on terrorism we are fighting goes to the very heart of America's
national purpose and national security. Our core principles of freedom and opportunity
are at stake...
[more]
TWO
CENTS
Muzzling
Reality About 'Muzzling Abortion'
Washington Post misses reality... again...
[Chris Field] 6/21/04 | Last
week the Washington Post ran an editorial titled "Muzzling Abortion." As
is not uncommon on the Post's editorial page, the piece had a liberal
slant that skipped right over reality. So, in order to help the Post realize
its mistakes, here are portions of the editorial interspersed with snippets
of what they missed... [more]
THE
WAR FOR CIVILIZATION
The
Achievement in Afghanistan
The speech that mainstream media ignored...
[President Hamid Karzai] 6/21/04 | I
thank you and the people of this great country for your generosity and commitment
to our people. You have supported us with your resources, with your leadership
in the world community and, most importantly, with the precious lives of your
soldiers. | With
your support, Afghanistan has accomplished a number of significant achievements.
We have begun to rebuild our schools. Over 5 million children, boys and girls,
attend schools across Afghanistan. We have also commenced to develop health
centers to provide basic services to our people, especially to our women and
children, who have suffered the most during the decades of war and turmoil.
We have embarked upon the reconstruction of our roads to encourage traders
and businessmen to transport products to markets... [more]
CAPITOL
REPORT
Hot
Pension Potato
McClintock goes after Davis union giveaways...
[John Campbell] 6/21/04 | During
the Davis administration, one of the many handouts from the Davis Democrats
to their union boss friends was one that gave to 3200 other state workers the
same extremely generous pension plan that police officers receive. These workers
are supposedly "public safety officers" but they include such job
classifications as milk testers and billboard inspectors. (You probably didn't
even know that your tax dollars were paying for such positions, did you?)...
[more]
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