A former congressional aide offered this ominous assessment following the House of Representatives' passage of "health care reform." Warning to the Senate: President Obama and his party face political catastrophe if you fail to do your part so that the President can sign a bill!

Nonsense.

The political risks of success are much, much higher. Taxes would go up -- and not just on "the rich." And since "the rich" provide jobs, they would hire fewer people, spend less on their businesses, and take fewer risks. Costs would explode beyond government estimates -- which conveniently limit the estimated price tag to...]]> Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:00:00 -0800 "He sounds like President Bush," I said to myself.

President Barack Obama somberly spoke at the memorial service for the 13 killed during the Fort Hood shooting rampage. The President movingly praised the valor and selflessness of those who gave their lives, as well as that of those who enlist to help protect the country.

Many enlistees, the President pointed out, joined after 9/11, willing to fight an unconventional war against an unconventional enemy who kills and then hides among civilians. These enlistees joined knowing that this is an enemy from whom we have no expectation of a signed surrender. They joined knowing that much of the "international community"...]]> Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:00:00 -0700 We've now established that Rush Limbaugh cannot own an NFL team given his "unacceptable" (read: conservative) political comments. What about sports figures, executives and commentators who offer their left-leaning political thoughts?

Many of us turn to the sports pages before the news section. For just a moment, we can put aside worries about the economy, Iraq, Afghanistan, ObamaCare, the "peril" of "global warming," government bailouts and the feds' borrowing and spending.

In sports, we want to read or hear about who ran the fastest, scored the most points, defeated the opponent. In sports, there is an oasis -- until anti-GOP, anti-Bush, anti-conservative comments slap...]]> Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:00:00 -0700 Why lie?

A businessman forming a group to purchase a minority interest in the National Football League's St. Louis Rams approached popular conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh. Would Limbaugh be interested? Yes, said Limbaugh, but he warned there would be a firestorm of protests. The man was assured that this had been thought through. Not to worry.

Au contraire.

"Responsible" cable news outlets CNN and MSNBC "reported" that Limbaugh once spoke positively about both slavery and the assassination of Martin Luther King. What???!!! "News anchors" such as CNN's Rick Sanchez even "quoted" Limbaugh speaking positively about slavery. That alleged quote and...]]> Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:00:00 -0700 The Democratic-controlled Congress reached another hurdle in achieving health care "reform." The Senate Finance Committee passed a version, 14-9, with one Republican vote. At last, "bipartisanship"!

It requires people to get health insurance, expands Medicaid, provides tax credits to help low- and middle-income people buying coverage, creates "health insurance exchanges" for individuals and small businesses, and requires employers who don't offer coverage to help pay for employees' government-subsidized coverage.

The price?

No one really knows -- and few really care. The only certainty is that whatever Congress says it will cost will fall woefully short of the real...]]> Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:00:00 -0700 Hollywood and the traditional media seem determined to flaunt their cluelessness.

Director Roman Polanski pleaded guilty, in 1977, to one count of unlawful sex with a minor -- a girl 13 years old. Normal people call this rape. After a photography session with the girl, the 43-year-old Polanski gave her drugs and alcohol. The victim told a grand jury she repeatedly told him to "keep away," but Polanski forced her to have sex -- orally, anally and vaginally.

Authorities charged Polanski with six felony counts -- furnishing a controlled substance to a minor, committing a lewd or lascivious act on a child, unlawful sexual intercourse, rape by use of drugs, perversion and sodomy...]]> Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:00:00 -0700 Close your eyes, and pretend it's still the George W. Bush administration.

In Afghanistan, more American service members died in August than in any month since the war began. His top military commander says that without more troops, we run the risk of losing the war. Iran admits operating a second previously undisclosed nuclear facility. Unemployment stands at 9.7 percent, with consumer confidence lower last month after a brief uptick. An important domestic initiative -- one he campaigned on -- faces a likely make-or-break month in Congress.

What does the President do? He flies to Copenhagen to personally lobby the International Olympic Committee to bring the Olympics to...]]> Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:00:00 -0700 Dear Madame Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi,

I apologized to President Obama for my "you lie" outburst during his recent speech. The President immediately accepted my apology. Yet you and nearly all members of your party in the House of Representatives demanded that I make yet another apology from the floor of the House. I refused and then received an admonishment by resolution -- passed almost completely down party lines.

Now it's your turn, Madame Speaker. I invite you and others in your party to apologize publicly to former President George W. Bush for vicious, personal and frequently race-based attacks.

"Bush is an incompetent leader," you said of the...]]> Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:00:00 -0700 Jimmy Carter strikes again!

The former President is not content having left office with high inflation, high interest rates and high unemployment. Nor is he content with having signed into law the Community Reinvestment Act -- strengthened by President Bill Clinton -- which played a major roll in the eventual housing market meltdown. Nor is he content with having cut the legs from under the Shah of Iran, which led to the establishment of the Islamic theocracy in Iran -- a state that pursues a nuclear weapon, funds the terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah, and continues to undermine the fledgling democracy of Iraq. Nor is he content -- as ex-President -- with writing a book in which...]]> Wed, 09 Sep 2009 22:00:00 -0700 The scenario usually plays out this way.

A white person says something about a nonwhite person -- a statement perceived as racially insensitive, purportedly reinforcing a stereotype, or otherwise considered racist.

"Black leaders" or members of the "civil rights community" pitch a fit and make demands. Off with his head! The offender apologizes, denies that the comment reflects how he "truly feels," agrees to take racial sensitivity courses, grovels and then often ends up losing his job anyway.

Recognizing and accepting that sometimes people say silly, stupid, illogical or disagreeable things won't do. Writing someone off as wrongheaded isn't enough. He or she must...]]> Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:00:00 -0700 "Now I'm truly scared."

A friend wrote this after she watched Fox News' Glenn Beck's series on the "alarming number of far-left radicals the President is surrounded by" -- referring to some of the President's special advisers and "czars." President Barack Obama, my friend tells me, is "a true left-winger."

So, now she knows.

She didn't know after the President signed the $800 billion so-called "stimulus program." She didn't know after government takeovers/bailouts of banks, insurance companies and auto companies.

She didn't know after Obama campaigned in favor of protectionism by promising to unilaterally change free trade agreements, such as NAFTA, or after...]]> Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:00:00 -0700 Assisting the needy in health care is a "moral imperative" -- not a constitutional right. The two are as different as a squirt gun and an Uzi.

If something is not permitted under our Constitution, the federal government simply cannot do it. Period. The Founding Fathers vigorously debated the role of the federal government and defined it in Article I, Section 8 -- spelling out the specific duties and obligations of the federal government. Most notably, this included providing a military for national security, coining money, establishing rules for immigration and citizenship, establishing rules for bankruptcy, setting up a postal system, establishing trademark and copyright rules,...]]> Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:00:00 -0700 "We spend more on health care than most other countries." "We need to bring costs down."

To address these complaints, enter ObamaCare -- which may or may not include a "public option" or a taxpayer-assisted "co-op" to keep insurance companies "honest." But do countries with government-run health care succeed in retaining high quality while "bringing costs down"?

What about England?

Civitas, a nonpartisan British think tank, recently scolded the British National Health Service (NHS) for "putting the patient last." Why? Civitas blames the government-run health care system's monolithic nature, lack of competition, and the burdensome and wasteful regulation, redundancy,...]]> Wed, 12 Aug 2009 22:00:00 -0700 "For the first time in a long time," said one "Hispanic" man in the street interviewed on cable television, "I feel really proud." Others in the "Hispanic community" rejoiced as Sonia Sotomayor became the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., in her statement at the beginning of Sotomayor's confirmation hearings, said: "Your nomination I view with a great sense of personal pride. You are indeed a very special woman. You have   overcome adversity and disadvantages (emphasis added)." Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said, "Judge Sotomayor, you have overcome many obstacles (emphasis added) in your life that...]]> Wed, 05 Aug 2009 22:00:00 -0700 President Obama teaches us to address "race-based" disputes by seating the parties involved -- along with Vice President Joe Biden -- at his table over mugs of beer. We hereby offer candidates for 10 long-overdue presidential "Race Beer Summits":

10) Rep. Diane Watson, D-Calif., and Ward Connerly.

Prominent black businessman Connerly led California's successful grass-roots effort to repeal race- and gender-based preferences. Then-state Sen. Watson, a black woman and staunch affirmative action supporter, attacked Connerly: "He's married to a white woman. He wants to be white. He wants a colorless society. He has no ethnic pride. He doesn't want to be black."

9) The...]]> Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:00:00 -0700 Stop the presses (or the tweets)! Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's numbers are falling! Why not concern ourselves with that as 2012 nears. What about Obama's numbers right now? They are tanking -- big-time. A recent "news" article stated, "While the president remains personally popular ..."

Is he?

Certainly the Gallup Poll -- the go-to polls for most cable news shows -- put Obama's "favorability ratings" among "adults" fairly high. There is, however, another prominent and respected polling firm: the Rasmussen Reports.

Look at CNN, the organization that markets itself as real, nonpartisan news. In a recent three-month period, there were 26 instances in which...]]> Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:00:00 -0700 Henry Louis Gates Jr., director of Harvard University's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, retained a lawyer. Why? He claims cops in Cambridge, Mass., racially profiled him.

Here's what happened.

Gates, "one of the nation's pre-eminent African-American scholars," writes The Boston Globe, was arrested about 1 p.m. at his home near Harvard Square by Cambridge police investigating a possible break-in. "The incident," says the Globe, "raised concerns among some Harvard faculty that Gates was a victim of racial profiling."

"Friends of Gates," writes the Globe, "said he was already in his home when police arrived. He showed his driver's...]]> Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:00:00 -0700 The world's greatest entertainer died -- 19 years ago. His name is Sammy Davis Jr.

At Michael Jackson's memorial, Motown founder Berry Gordy called the late, incredibly talented Jackson "the greatest entertainer that ever lived." Someone once said that Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire's famous dance partner, did everything he did -- except backward and wearing high heels.
Well, Sammy Davis Jr. did everything Michael Jackson did -- and more, much more -- except during Jim Crow and with one eye.

Davis sang. He danced. He acted. He played piano, drums and trumpet. He did impressions of the popular celebrities of his time. Gifted with excellent timing, Davis wove comedy into...]]> Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:00:00 -0700 While the media stopped to cover Michael Jackson's death, several tremors rocked the foundation of something that actually affects us all -- Obamanomics.

First, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who supported the President over his Republican rival, criticized Obama's spending, saying "we can't pay for it all." Powell said: "I'm concerned at the number of programs that are being presented, the bills associated with these programs and the additional government that will be needed to execute them. ... One of the cautions that has to be given to the President -- and I've talked to some of his people about this -- is that you can't have so many things on the table that you can't...]]> Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:00:00 -0700 "President Barack Obama says that he can pay for his goal to provide health care insurance for every American without it. Why isn't that good enough for you?"

Elder: Yes, the President says that he can "pay for" his goal of providing health insurance for every American without it. Care to bet on that?

When government proposes a program, the ultimate price tag inevitably exceeds projections. In "Why Government Doesn't Work," libertarian Harry Browne wrote: "Most older people now find it harder to get adequate medical service. Naturally, the government points to the higher costs and shortages as proof that the elderly would be lost without Medicare -- and that government...]]> Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:00:00 -0700 Last week's article on why 45 million Americans go without health care insurance touched a nerve and generated many questions and assertions:

"You and your pesky statistics! Forty-five million Americans without health care is huge. And you wrote that 89 percent of the 85 percent of people with health insurance are satisfied. That means 25 percent of all Americans are unsatisfied!"

Elder: Those "pesky" statistics become especially pesky when misstated. I wrote that 45 million Americans have no health insurance, leaving 85 percent with health insurance -- but not without health care. ERs must treat the uninsured, including illegal residents....]]> Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:00:00 -0700 About 45 million Americans lack health care insurance. Or do they?

A pro-"universal health care" television host recently cited this widely accepted "fact." The number is bogus.

Here's the skinny.

Start with the math. We have 300 million Americans. Subtract the
45 million -- 15 percent of us -- with no health insurance. That leaves 255 million Americans, or 85 percent, with it.

And the insurance is lousy, right? Not according to a 2006 ABC News/Kaiser Family Foundation/USA Today survey. It found that 89 percent of Americans were satisfied with the quality of their (SET ITAL) own (END ITAL) health care.

Nearly half of the 45 million fall in the...]]> Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:00:00 -0700 Back when our military failed to find stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, The New York Times apologized to its readers.

Why?

Before the war, the paper wrote article after article -- relying on both government and non-government sources -- that assumed the presence of stockpiles. Three of its reporters even wrote a book called "Germs," in which they discussed Saddam Hussein's chemical and biological programs.

But when the stockpiles failed to appear, the paper felt used, manipulated by the "devious" Bush administration. It promised its readers greater skepticism, more scrutiny, and no more at-face-value acceptance of assertions by the Bush...]]> Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:00:00 -0700 How on earth did this happen?

General Motors, the 100-year-old car company that once employed more than 500,000 workers and had a 50 percent market share, just crumbled into bankruptcy. The government now runs it.

In the mid-'70s, I attended law school in Michigan. Even back then, foreign automakers -- especially the Japanese -- steadily shaved off market share from the once-mighty Big Three: GM, Chrysler and Ford.

This foreign encroachment into the auto industry scared the socks off executives of domestic appliance-makers. Manufacturers of dishwashers, refrigerators and stoves scrambled into all-hands-on-deck mode.

They vowed to make better stuff, with...]]> Wed, 27 May 2009 22:00:00 -0700 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the CIA "misled" her about waterboarding.

What difference does it make, in the grand scheme of things, whether Pelosi is telling the truth? Maybe the CIA did; maybe the CIA did not. So what? Well, it makes a great deal of difference -- and not only because if true, the CIA didn't just "mislead" Pelosi but also committed a crime.

People like Pelosi, who once supported waterboarding -- just like the folks who once supported the war -- now attempt to rewrite history.

The country turned against former President George W. Bush and Republicans because of the war in Iraq. Yes, many Americans reversed their previous support of the war because...]]> Wed, 13 May 2009 22:00:00 -0700 "Republicans, act more like Democrats!"

Actually, former Secretary of State Colin Powell put it somewhat differently when he offered his prescription to extricate the GOP from its "deep trouble."

Powell insists that Republicans must accept that the country has changed. "Americans do want to pay taxes for services," he said. "Americans are looking for more government in their life, not less." In other words, Republicans simply need to surrender to President Obama and the Democrats' outrageous and radical push/pull for more government in, well, everything.

Or, as former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean snappily puts it, "I think we've had quite enough...]]> Wed, 06 May 2009 22:00:00 -0700 "I am absolutely convinced (banning waterboarding) was the right thing to do," said President Obama at a recent press conference, "not because there might not have been information that was yielded by these various detainees who were subjected to this treatment, but because we could have gotten this information in other ways (emphasis added), in ways that were consistent with our values, in ways that were consistent with who we are."

Once upon a time, critics of the Bush administration's alleged used of "torture" often argue that it simply does not work. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, for example, once said, "Experts agree that you do not obtain reliable intelligence through...]]> Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:00:00 -0700 Has it really been 100 days?

Aided by an eagerly compliant Democratic-controlled Congress, a sycophantic media, and a bunch of squishy Republicans, President Obama has taken the country on a radical, mind-boggling leap into collectivism.

Obama -- to use one of his favorite expressions -- doubled down, no, tripled and quadrupled down on Bush's "stimulus" and "rescue" packages, spending trillions of dollars to "bail out" financial institutions, too-big-to-fail businesses, and even deficit-running states. Obama promises to use taxpayer money to rescue "responsible homeowners" -- whatever that means -- from foreclosure, thus artificially propping up prices that shut out renters...]]> Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:00:00 -0700 Did you know that only racists turned out for the recent nationwide "tea parties"?!

"Let's be very honest about what this is about," actress/comedian Janeane Garofalo said on Keith Olbermann's MSNBC show. "It's not about bashing Democrats. It's not about taxes. They have no idea what the Boston Tea Party was about. They don't know their history at all. This is about hating a black man in the White House. This is racism straight up. That is nothing but a bunch of tea-bagging rednecks."

Oh.

A few days after Garofalo's analysis of why many Americans took to the streets in protest of the Obama administration's borrowing, spending and upcoming tax hikes, I sat in the...]]> Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:00:00 -0700 The New Deal, launched almost 80 years ago, represented a giant leap toward collectivism. But only in the last few weeks, as a result of President Barack Obama's New Deal Reloaded, have some 20 states rediscovered the Constitution and the 10th Amendment.

    Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution sets forth the limited duties and obligations of the federal government. The Founding Fathers designed a federal government that focuses primarily on national security, the rules of naturalization and a handful of other matters. And the Ninth and 10th amendments to the Constitution leave all other rights and powers to the people and to the states,...]]> Wed, 08 Apr 2009 22:00:00 -0700 Did the traditional media, in full praise over Obama's "successful" European tour, note that he failed to secure anything of substance? After all, getting more buy-in from the Europeans for the war in Afghanistan was the President's most important objective. And our allies agreed to send 5,000 more personnel to Afghanistan. But wait. The promised deployment consists of police and trainers to be sent on a temporary basis and kept out of harm's way. The United States, Canada and Great Britain, therefore, continue the heavy lifting. And since 9/11, most NATO countries spend less on defense as percentages of their GDPs than before.

Didn't the president...]]> Wed, 01 Apr 2009 22:00:00 -0700 "Prime Minister," MEP Hannan said, "I see you've already mastered the essential craft of the European politician, namely the ability to say one thing in this chamber and a very different thing to your home electorate. You've spoken here about free trade, and amen to that. Who would have guessed, listening to you just now, that you were the author of the phrase 'British jobs for British workers' and that you have subsidized, where you have not nationalized outright, swathes of our economy, including the car industry and many of the banks? Perhaps you would have more moral authority in this house if your actions matched your words. Perhaps you would have more legitimacy in the...]]> Wed, 25 Mar 2009 22:00:00 -0700 For that matter, imagine if a President McCain mistook a White House window for a door; his secretary of Treasury had not paid taxes; he granted two dozen waivers to his no-lobbyists-in-government rule; and he had promised bipartisanship but got only three across-the-aisle votes for his "stimulus" package.

Imagine if President McCain, after promising a "clean break" from his predecessor, retained "extraordinary rendition," the FISA program, the option of wiretapping without warrants, and the option of using "enhanced interrogation techniques"; he promised to close Gitmo, then said it would take as long as a year, but then our European allies refused to take...]]> Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:00:00 -0700 He plans to change the role of government in virtually every aspect of society -- from education to health care to job creation to research and development to fighting "climate change" -- all of which call for drastically higher taxes and spending.

Since the President took office, the Dow Jones industrial average has plummeted, and unemployment keeps rising. Yet one of his top economic advisers recently said, "The fundamentals (of the economy) are sound" -- an assessment that drew sharp criticism during the campaign, when the economic picture looked better.

The President expects his plans to "create or save" millions of jobs. But by saying...]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:00:00 -0700 "It's not easy for me," said Letterman, "because I'm thoughtful."

The New York Times recently printed a piece about David Axelrod, the Chicago newspaperman turned political consultant turned senior adviser to President Barack Obama. According to the Times, "The recent back-and-forth with Rush Limbaugh ... was explicitly authorized by Mr. Axelrod, who told aides that it was not a moment to sit quietly after Mr. Limbaugh said he hoped that Mr. Obama would 'fail.'" Newsweek's Jonathan Alter wrote, "Republicans hope to break the new president's momentum -- make him 'fail,' as de facto GOP chairman Rush Limbaugh urged."

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette...]]> Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:00:00 -0800 As the tax-and-spend policies of the Obama administration extend and deepen the recession, the new administration's strategy to deal with the fallout becomes clearer and clearer.

Blame Rush Limbaugh.

The Democrats, according to Politico.com, took a poll and discovered that Limbaugh polled higher "negatives" than those of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and radical "reform educator" William Ayers. Given the departure of their reliable piñatas -- former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney -- Democrats believe they've found a new Darth Vader.

Blame Rush Limbaugh.

In the waning, pre-TARP...]]> Wed, 25 Feb 2009 22:00:00 -0800 But when the applause died down, the President took out a scattergun and attempted to hit everything in sight. He confidently asserted his and our intention to overcome the current economic downturn and march toward an even brighter future.

How? Government/taxpayers will spend our way to the summit.

He/Congress/we will "invest" in health care and education; "save or create" 3.5 million jobs; "cure cancer within our lifetime"; provide assistance to the states; "save our planet from the ravages of climate change"; save banks and other financial institutions while holding "accountable those responsible" for their problems; increase the size of...]]> Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:00:00 -0800 Averaging 27.4 points and 13.5 rebounds per game in your 14-year pro career, you helped lead the Lakers to the NBA finals eight times and played in 11 NBA All-Star games -- all while carrying yourself, on and off the court, with class and dignity. At one time, you had the record for the most points scored in a game, 71. And you also held the record for most points in a playoff game, 61. (See YouTube: "NBA 1962 Finals Game 5 -- Elgin Baylor 61 Points.")

Years after your pro career, in 1986, you became general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers, under the ownership of the parsimonious Donald Sterling. Your team floundered under your 22-year tenure, as your...]]> Wed, 11 Feb 2009 22:00:00 -0800 What, no Rush Limbaugh?

Obama even took a question from a "reporter" for the hyper-liberal Web site The Huffington Post. And, unlike Bush, the Obama administration preselected the reporters to be called upon and notified them in advance. Why did the others even bother showing up? If Bush pulled something like this, they'd call it "the discredited doctrine of pre-emption."

We offer seven questions left on the cutting room floor:

1) Mr. President, tonight you criticized those who argue that FDR's policies failed. I'd like to read a passage from the diary of Henry Morgenthau, FDR's Treasury secretary: "We have tried...]]> Wed, 04 Feb 2009 22:00:00 -0800 Reisman: That is a view held by a large school of economists, perhaps the majority school, for the last 60 years or so. That's the Keynesian school, but there are other economists, like the Austrian school, which holds a very different position. In their view, an essential requirement to a sound economy is balanced budgets with small government. We want government limited to protecting life and property. The government should be attacking terrorists, providing police protection against common criminals, and that should be essentially it, and the people in an environment free from terror will proceed to provide for themselves economically. That has been the basic philosophy on...]]> Wed, 28 Jan 2009 22:00:00 -0800 During the Bush administration, we saw many "Big Stories" of "Bad Actions." Let's liken these stories to crimes. If Bush committed no crime, they reported an infraction. If he committed an infraction, they reported a misdemeanor. If he committed a misdemeanor, they reported a felony. If he committed a felony, they reported a capital offense. With Obama, the media reverse the procedure. Any future capital offense will get reported as a regular felony, a felony as a misdemeanor and so forth.

Obama's inauguration showed the double standard on full display. The final tally for all the expenses won't be out for a few months, but clearly the cost of Obama's...]]> Wed, 21 Jan 2009 22:00:00 -0800 Candidate Obama claimed George W. Bush "shredded" the Constitution. But as president-elect, Obama nominated former Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder to serve as attorney general. Holder, in a 2002 CNN interview, agreed with the Bush administration's position that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to terrorist detainees! "One of the things we clearly want to do with these prisoners," said Holder, "is to have an ability to interrogate them and find out what their future plans might be, where other cells are located. ... It seems to me that given the way in which they have conducted themselves, however, that they are not, in fact, people entitled to the protection of the...]]> Wed, 14 Jan 2009 22:00:00 -0800 His "crime"? For most of these historians, Bush led the country into an "unnecessary war."

Return to the bad old days immediately following Sept. 11, 2001, when terror attacks killed 3,000 on American soil. Eighty to 90 percent of Americans expected another attack -- on American soil -- within six months to a year. Critics called Bush asleep at the wheel, that he failed to "connect the dots." Never mind that the 9/11 Commission said that former President Bill Clinton blew several opportunities to kill or capture Osama bin Laden.

Let us recall Saddam Hussein, the "Butcher of Baghdad."

Under President Clinton, Congress voted...]]> Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:00:00 -0800 But why the "disproportionate" response by Israel? Reportedly, more than 600 Palestinians have been killed, some civilians. Set aside for the moment that Hamas' charter specifically calls for the "obliteration" of the state of Israel. And set aside the fact that the Palestinian "militants" fight in heavily populated areas, assuring, indeed encouraging (for PR purposes) civilian casualties.

We turn our attention to the "stolen" allegation.

Israel lies in the ancient Fertile Crescent's southwest corner, with some of the oldest archeological evidence of primitive towns and agriculture. Historians and archeologists believe the Hebrews probably...]]> Wed, 31 Dec 2008 22:00:00 -0800 The article insults a) Obama, by virtually ignoring his effectiveness as a candidate, b) whites, by accusing them of voting for Obama merely to assuage their own guilt, and c) Sidney Poitier, the brilliant, groundbreaking actor, for ascribing his success to whites who find him safe and non-threatening.

The article produced virtually no outcry.

Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh then aired a song parody --set to the music of "Puff the Magic Dragon" -- called "Barack the Magic Negro." Referring to the L.A. Times article, an Al Sharpton-like "singer" called Obama inauthentically black. Why, complained the singer, should white folks vote...]]>