By Richard Boren      There is new research (review of it attached) which you may want to pass along to anyone who has been persuaded that (1) humans are causing the planet to warm, (2) this will have a disastrous effect, and (3) we should try to do something about it such as passing Cap and Trade legislation, installing subsidized wind and solar power plants... Read Full Story

  by Lance Thompson   Barack Obama rode to the presidency on a tidal wave of campaign enthusiasm, famously promising Hope and Change.  Instead, his administration has been governed by Fear and Loathing.   The arguments for Obama’s health care reform bill–ten pages shy of two thousand pages at last count–have all used fear.  Twenty million Americans are without health insurance, we are told, then 32 million, then 47 million.  If we don’t pa... Read Full Story

   by Lance Thompson   The Dow passed to the good side of 10,000 last week, and celebration was widespread because it was heralded as a sign of better times ahead.  As early as May 27, Treasury Secretary and Turbo Tax tyro Timothy Geithner said the US economy was in the early stages of recovery, and in late August announced “We are back from the brink.”  Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, the financial equivalent of the Magic 8 Ball, has been saying since March t... Read Full Story

By  Lance Thompson “You’re always the last to know your own reputation.”  I can’t be certain that I coined that phrase, but I am sure that it is an underlying principle of the universe, and even presidents are bound by its laws.   I first noticed the principle in Hollywood, where no matter how washed up a has-been some one is, no one will ever say it to his or her face.  One whose future is past is still welcomed, just not that warmly.  His cal... Read Full Story

  by Lance Thompson   A nation’s character, like that of an individual, is determined by many factors.  Among these are promises kept, principles upheld, ideals embodied and sacrifices made.  Under the Obama administration, our national character has suffered in all these categories, most recently in regard to the cancellation of the missile defense system our nation previously pledged to erect in Poland and Czechoslovakia.  The system was designed to guard agai... Read Full Story

  by  Lance Thompson   During President Obama’s health care speech to a joint session of Congress, the President’s claim that illegal aliens weren’t covered in the legislation met with incredulity from the few people present who read and understood the bill.  But Republican congressman Joe Wilson said out loud what the rest were thinking.  “You lie!”    Wilson’s honest reaction to a dishonest sales pitch was widely condem... Read Full Story

  by  Lance Thompson   I sympathize with any student forced to watch television at school.  Making any activity mandatory and stipulating that it take place at school is sure to wring every ounce of fun out of it.  On September 8th, President Obama will address all American students through the magic of television, and probably cure most of them of the habit.    The Department of Education, having utterly failed to raise academic standards despite annually ... Read Full Story

  By Lance Thompson The Obama administration announced that Attorney General Eric Holder will assign a special prosecutor to take the first step in bringing to trial CIA operatives who used extreme measures to interrogate terrorists. These extreme measures did not include torture, but merely threats and coercion which caused those interrogated to reveal details of planned terrorist attacks, and further permitted the United States to prevent them. Others have persuasively argued that pro... Read Full Story

  by  Lance Thompson    Basic political tactics dictate that bad news is released on a Friday, preferably before a big holiday weekend, when few people are paying attention. The current administration has had no shortage of bad news of late, but last Friday they announced that their previous ten-year estimate of the budget deficit (about $7 trillion) was too low. The revised deficit estimate for 2010-2019 is $9 trillion–two trillion dollars higher than before.  ... Read Full Story

  by Lance Thompson    The steady drop in President Obama’s approval ratings has been attributed to the recent acrimonious debate over health care reform. But I believe that debate is only a minor factor in Americans’ growing dissatisfaction with the president. The real source of Obama’s declining popularity is his character.     Every election of a non-incumbent is a matter of taking a chance. Political campaigns present candidates in the best possi... Read Full Story