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One reads and hears with increasing disbelief and anger that we don't know the motive or motives of Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army major who fired over 100 shots at his fellow American soldiers in order to murder and maim as many as possible. Hasan ended up allegedly murdering 13 people, but government and Army spokesmen and the mainstream media claim they just can't figure out why he did this. They are, however, certain that it was not an act of terrorism. Sunday's New York Times "Week in Review" article about Nidal Hasan was titled "When Soldiers Snap." The gist...

(English-language translation) No one can question that the past few weeks have been very difficult for the Puerto Rican people. The government's decision to dramatically cut the public payroll to relieve the deficit that accumulated during the past years has had a direct and indirect impact on most Puerto Ricans. It involves a painful decision, so much to whoever makes it as to whoever is affected by it. The natural and anticipated reaction is to have raised, as it did, public expressions of protest. Finally, a call to a general strike tomorrow seems to have united a variety of labor,...

When the poet Matthew Arnold wrote of faith's "melancholy, long, withdrawing roar," the thought was that scientific inquiry had forever undermined claims to certitude. In hindsight we see Arnold was only half right. In place of Genesis we now have scientism—the idea that science alone can speak truth about man and his world. In contrast to the majority of scientists whose wondrous discoveries seem to inspire humility, today's advocates of scientism can be every bit as dogmatic as the William Jennings Bryans of yesteryear. We saw an example a week ago, when the New York Times reported that many scientists...

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If Detroit had been savaged by a hurricane and submerged by a ravenous flood, we'd know a lot more about it. If drought and carelessness had spread brush fires across the city, we'd see it on the evening news every night. Earthquake, tornadoes, you name it — if natural disaster had devastated the city that was once the living proof of American prosperity, the rest of the country might take notice.

I've been thinking a lot recently about the disparate gap in reasoning between the mainstream academic elites and the rest of America. Why is it that liberalism is so often an outgrowth of scholarly people? The most prominent colleges in America---the ivy league schools---are often the most liberal environments, and produce the writers, artists and politicians who are often the most liberal. Why is this so?

The Constitution of Honduras contains 379 articles, all which can be reformed or removed except for seven of them. These seven articles are known in Spanish as “articulos petreos”, meaning that they cannot be altered or reformed in any way; they define the form of government, the national territory, and the extent and limit of presidential terms. So, 372 or 98.15% of the articles in the Constitution of Honduras can be legally reformed. So then, why did Mr. Manuel Zelaya so desperately insist on summoning a National Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution? The answer is simple; he wanted...

(English-language translation) How future events develop in Honduras rests on Roberto Micheletti's and Manuel Zelaya's prudence and sense, and their first task is to ensure that the deposed President's surprise return does not become the reason for any type of violence, as several governments, the Organization of American States (OAS), and the European Union have unanimously requested. However, there is the possibility that things get out of control. Therefore, Brazilian President Lula asked Zelaya yesterday not to take actions that may provide a pretext for government forces to intervene, and not to put the Brazilian Embassy installations in harm's way....

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President Obama is right: This nation shouldn't allow tens of millions of its citizens to be left without health care. Those Americans suffer physically and financially, and the country is diminished because of it. He is also right that it is time for our leaders to act. As the economic downturn leaves more and more people without health insurance, the well-being of thousands of families is eroding week to week. The president made that case persuasively in his address to Congress and the nation Wednesday. It was high time that he stepped in. After a fractious August, during which both...

Flying home from London, where the subject of formal debate on the 70th anniversary of World War II had been whether Winston Churchill was a liability or asset to the Free World, one arrives in the middle of a far more acrimonious national debate right here in the United States. -snip- We seem not only to disagree with each other more than ever, but to have come almost to detest one another. Politically, culturally, racially, we seem ever ready to go for each others' throats.

Eight years have passed since the thousands of you Innocents of September left us. How easy time passes, how fast. This season we will be reminded of you as the retrospectives once again remind us of that 11th day of September 2001 through your visages. I didn’t know any of you, but yet I know who you were. I can imagine your lives as they were ongoing, up until those last moments when they were taken away by strangers. You were Mothers and Fathers…Sons and Daughters…Husbands and Wives…Friends of others…Who miss you still and still don’t understand how you could...

Van Jones’ sins are well known at this point: He called conservatives a vulgar name, to the cheers of his radical audience. He accused white people of deliberately polluting black neighborhoods and he signed on to a movement that accused the US government of being behind the 9-11 attacks, or that at least it knew of them in advance. And, most significantly, he is/was an avowed communist. But what were the “inside baseball” reasons to hire him?

It's no surprise that the right-wing nuts are going after Van Jones, the Bay Area activist who is now Obama's green-jobs advisor. The loonies have picked up on the fact that Jones was one of 100 people (along with Daniel Ellsberg and Paul Hawken) who signed a letter raising questions about the government response to the 9/11 attacks. It's actually not that radical a letter; Indybay has posted it here. But what amazes me is how quickly people who aren't typically considered wackos have bought into this -- take, for example, the former wife of the mayor of San Francisco,...

Dear Mr. President, Tomorrow we will mark the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which claimed the lives of 1,400 Louisianians and nearly killed a great American city. We will miss having you in our midst. We know you don't lack passion for our community and its recovery. Though you haven't been here as president, as a senator you visited five times after Katrina. We remember well the fervor of your speech at Tulane University on your last visit, a year and a half ago. "I promise you that when I'm in the White House, I will commit myself every day...

The United States is poised to dump a critical missile-defense agreement with two of its most dependable NATO allies. The Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza reported yesterday that the Obama administration is going to scrap the "third site" anti-missile system scheduled to be deployed in Poland and the Czech Republic. Missile interceptors in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic were scheduled to be deployed by 2013. Now the plan appears to have been shot down.

The 270 victims who died in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 more than two decades ago included 189 Americans, among them dozens of college students and military personnel heading home for the holidays. Former Libyan intelligence agent Abdel Baset al-Megrahi was convicted of the terrorist act in 2001 and sentenced to 27 years in a Scottish prison. That's where this monster should have ended his days.

Lockerbie: To Scottish authorities, the release of Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, serving a life sentence for planning the Pan Am jet bombing that killed 270, is a "humanitarian" act. But to any civilized person, it's an outrage.Scottish justice officials and Britain's government should be deeply ashamed. Not only have they let an unrepentant killer go, but also they have advertised the weakness and stupidity of Western European governments when it comes to terrorism. On returning to Libya, al-Megrahi was given "a hero's welcome as thousands greeted him at the airport waving flags and posters," Britain's Telegraph reported. So much for Libya...

The latest rumor wending its way around the Interwebs – and it’s a doozy – has Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin ditching Anchorage for the suburbs of the Rhode Island. According to the Anchorage Daily News, Palin would fund the move to blue state America “with $7 million from her book and a contract with FOX. And, oh yes, she’s never running for office again.” Silly, right? After all, just a month ago, Palin was using Twitter to wax poetic on the enduring beauties of her home state: I’m “tasting a nibble of AK’s bounty,knowing AKns are never bored;so much...

Are physician-owned medical groups a silver bullet for health care reform, a bad idea from yet another special interest group, or just one component of a larger reform package? It depends who you talk to. Amidst the cries for a public plan, no public plan, co-ops, community hospitals, physician-owned hospitals and medical groups have been warming the bench. Major industry groups haven’t been in favor of physician-owned medicine, but their attacks have been mostly unsuccessful. A compromise earlier this year with the White House and Senate Finance Committee to reduce hospital reimbursement by $155 billion over 10 years was backed...

OVER THE PAST 12 months, California has lost 759,000 private industry jobs — a 6.0 percent decline. Local governments lost 27,600 jobs, a drop of 1.5 percent over the same period. But it's a different story at the state level, where there has been an increase of 3.600 workers. While some state services have increasing needs during a recession, one has to wonder how the state can justify increasing the size of its overall workforce in the face of a severe and unsolved budget crisis. Economist Brian Wesbury with First Trust Advisors said it is amazing that California can hire...

Regarding the July 24 editorial "Focus on the Fed": What a sad day for a newspaper with a storied reputation for exposing waste, fraud and abuse in government, to oppose the Federal Reserve Sunshine Act, legislation that would simply increase transparency at the Federal Reserve. The Fed has expanded its balance sheet by more than $1 trillion in taxpayer dollars in response to the financial crisis. Who received this money? Is it being used primarily to help ordinary Americans or just the wealthy and well-connected? What conflicts of interest exist between members of the Fed and Wall Street bankers? This...

Almost no one in politics or the media will admit it in public, but the GOP lost the Presidency in 2008 by alienating the moral conservative base that the elites loathe. Many stayed home or voted third party, rejecting a nominee who was in fundamental aspects a liberal Democrat. That is why Barry Sotero — a radical socialist with Islamic roots posing as a Christian, groomed for years by Marxist revolutionaries, who hides essential documents of his birth, education and career, who campaigned with illegal funding from overseas interests, who as far as 300 million Americans can honestly tell, was...

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The Louisiana Association of Educators must think Louisianians will fall for anything. Nothing else explains the whoppers told by the teachers' union in calling for the firing of state education Superintendent Paul Pastorek. The union said Mr. Pastorek has not produced positive results in public education and suggested that he's an obstacle to meaningful education reform. That's pretty rich from the folks who for years opposed reforms because they threatened the union's influence on personnel matters and other school decisions.

White House visit validates scandal-plagued Philippine president Somebody at the National Security Council dropped the ball. On Thursday, President Obama is welcoming Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to the White House for his presidency's first visit by a Southeast Asian leader. The choice of Mrs. Arroyo for this honor was a mistake because Mr. Obama is being used to give political cover for the Philippine president's troubles back home. Mrs. Arroyo's domestic political position is precarious. A poll released June 8 by the Pulse Asia polling firm pegged Mrs. Arroyo's public approval at only 26 percent. Street demonstrations against her...

I respond to the July 13 letter, " 'Equality for all' is a different story," from Scott Smith. I happily stopped saying the Pledge of Allegiance in the sixth grade. I first rebelled against white authority in 1957. I mouthed the words to keep the old white lady happy, because a black student had no power then, as now. I graduated in the same high-school class as the president of Time Warner. He had family that supported him going to college and law school. My family was a single woman with three kids. I went to Vietnam. According to Smith,...

The most impressive and most promising Republican who spoke Monday night was John Guedry. He all but announced he was running against Rep. Dina Titus (D) and, even though a newcomer on the campaign stage, was savvy enough to downplay the biggest knock against him in his brief remarks; noting that while he's a banker, he's a community banker, not a Wall Street banker. GOP gubernatorial candidates Joe Heck and Mike Montandon also spoke. Montandon seems to have a slight edge right now among the party faithful, but Heck, a doctor by trade, rolled out a new campaign slogan: “I'm...

In diplomacy, messages are often not direct or straightforward. Sometimes lessons from one theatre have relevance for another. The belligerence of North Korean dictator Kim Jong II over the past few weeks is a sobering reminder of how things can go wrong if a paramount power decides to speak softly without waving a big stick. On May 25, Pyongyang tested a nuclear device. A North Korean ship is currently on the high seas, apparently carrying an illegal cargo of missiles and other weaponry to Burma. On July 4, Independence Day in the United States, Mr Kim has promised to fire...

Hawaii Editorials - Starbulletin.com POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jun 15, 2009 EYE-ROLLING Suspicion about Obama's birth certifiably unjustified The wackiness doesn't quit easily. WorldNetDaily, an online right-wing news site that insists President Barack Obama was born in a foreign country, has raised $75,000 to buy space on billboards to ask, "Where's the birth certificate?" To their credit, Lamar Advertising, CBS Outdoor and Clear Channel Outdoor have all refused to sell space to perpetuate such lunacy. (For the record: Obama's Hawaii Department of Health birth certificate shows he was born Aug. 4, 1961, in Honolulu.) Meanwhile, Rush Limbaugh asks, "What do...

Teenagers are better than Congress because. . . 1. Teens can be forced to take care of their own dirty laundry. 2. When caught in a lie, teens will admit it. 3. No one forces us to give teens more money to waste. 4. Most teens are smart enough to read something before they sign it. 5. Teens do not cuss as much when they think nobody else is listening. 6. It's easier to find out who teens are talking to on their cell phones. 7. When we get tired of hearing it, teens can be sent to their rooms....

The liberal-leaning Washington Post, often noted as reflecting U.S. policy, editorialized Sunday that U.S. President Barack Obama’s demand that Israel stop all building for Jews in Judea and Samaria may leave him without Israel as an ally and without Arab support. The daily traditionally has taken a harsh view of Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria.

It’s not surprising that Democrats in Congress could not resist adding a “Buy American” provision to the fiscal stimulus bill earlier this year. It might seem sensible (or at least politically useful) to ensure that taxpayer dollars would be used exclusively to support American jobs. But as states and municipalities start spending stimulus money, the idea is starting to look as counterproductive as it should have looked from the beginning. It is sparking conflict with American allies and, rather than supporting employment at home, the “Buy American” effort could ultimately cost American jobs. Foreign and domestic companies that employ hundreds...

To liberals, those of us with origins in Spanish-speaking cultures are a voting block or interest group. They aren't interested in celebrating our real diversity, only in mobilizing political power to support their policies. The bigger the group, the bigger the clout, so create an imaginary identity like "Hispanic" or "Latina" with no cultural roots or authenticity. Case in point: Ruth Marcus published an article the other day entitled Souter with a Salsa Beat that goes to the heart of liberals' racial profiling and stereotyping.

If you’ve seen the cover of my New York Times #1 best-selling book, you know I have…”complicated” feelings about the state of California. I could easily write this and 100 other columns about San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. This guy’s almost too much to believe. Then there’s Hollywood. It’s filled with plenty of talented actors, but too often those same actors get confused with the characters they play and start spouting off about things they know nothing about. But lately, the problem on the Left Coast goes way beyond one city or citizen—the whole state’s a big, steaming mess, and...

On Tuesday, April 28, Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck announced his plans to challenge Colorado’s freshman Democrat senator. Buck, who has long been rumored to be entering the race, telegraphed his punches on April 23, when he registered the Web site promoting his candidacy — www.buckforcolorado.com. Before facing Bennet, however, Buck may have to win a Republican primary. Other possible GOP contenders include Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier and former 7th Congressional District Rep. Bob Beauprez, both of whom have expressed interest in the race. Buck did not return an interview request from The Colorado Statesman, but it’s possible...

Feeling bruised and abused this morning? Well, you can't say you didn't see it coming. The polls have been saying for weeks that voters were going to do just what they did on Tuesday: Conclusively reject your slate on the ballot, Propositions 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D and 1E.

If you don't live under a rock (and frankly a rock wouldn't be a bad place to live under these days), you've no doubt heard that Obama has fired CEOs, picked board members, altered bankruptcy proceedings, and has refused to allow banks to repay their loans without ridiculous conditions being imposed. He is also moving toward regulating the pay of executives even if their companies didn't take bailout money. You might have heard how Obama has bullied and threatened hedge funds that demanded that their legal rights as secured Chrysler debtholders be recognized and respected as their money is given...

Imagine how you would react if Gordon Brown opened and closed his election rallies by bursting into a song called Bring Me My Machine Gun, swaying and jigging to the hypnotic chorus of this menacing ditty. And how would you feel if the Prime Minister were alleged to be taking campaign money from Colonel Gaddafi; faced 783 counts of fraud, racketeering, tax evasion and corruption which somehow never came to court; and had been acquitted of rape while his fearsome supporters mobbed the courthouse? Then ponder how you would despair if, despite all these things, Mr Brown's party was...

I was outside the Bank of England during the G20 protest, not far from where passer-by Ian Tomlinson died after being assaulted by a police officer. The police presence was as excessive as it was provocative. The Metropolitan Police’s Territorial Support Group (TSG) are the aggressive offspring of the disgraced Special Patrol Group of the Eighties. When policing events, they are issued with ‘Nato’ helmets, flame-retardant overalls, stab vests, gloves, balaclavas and boots. All carry the standard batons, pepper spray and cuffs. Yet let’s try to remember the last full-on riot in Britain that resulted from a political rally –...

Addressing leaders of oppressive regimes in his inaugural speech, President Barack Obama said the United States "will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist." Whether that is imminent in Cuba remains to be seen. But Cuban President Raul Castro's statement that his regime is "willing to discuss everything, human rights, freedom of the press, political prisoners, everything" with the Obama administration is an opening both sides should explore. It is the first time the regime has signaled such a willingness, and long-time Cuba observers called it one of the most conciliatory statements Mr. Castro or his...

As we approach the Summit of the Americas, our hemisphere faces a clear choice: We can overcome our shared challenges with a sense of common purpose, or we can stay mired in the old debates of the past. For the sake of all our people, we must choose the future. Too often, the United States has not pursued and sustained engagement with our neighbors. We have been too easily distracted by other priorities and have failed to see that our own progress is tied directly to progress throughout the Americas. My administration is committed to renewing and sustaining a broader...

Mayor Ray Nagin is disturbingly vague about a Hawaiian vacation for his family that was bankrolled by a company owned by a city contractor. When the trip came to light at the end of March, he said he didn't know who paid for it. Then he said the tropical getaway was a Christmas gift from his friend and then-technology chief Greg Meffert. Although, he said, it could have been paid for by a private company, but definitely not one that had a contract with the city. Now New Orleanians know otherwise. In a sworn deposition made public this week by...

Before you call out the men in the white coats, and have me measured for a straight jacket, let’s explore a few ideas and hopefully a few possible cures. Democrats have installed many rules and social programs that have not only enabled illegal aliens, but actually encourage them to move to America. The continuance of the status quo will soon swamp our already ailing economy. Starting with the “anchor babies” (children born to illegal aliens who become citizens merely by being born here), the drain to federal, state, and private industry are massive to say the least. Hospitals are failing...

In November 2008, I wrote a column asking why, when I cite statistics from the Census Bureau, the U.S. Department of Labor or the California Department of Education that prove that immigration adds dramatically to overpopulation, depresses American workers’ wages or adds disproportionately to classroom size, some readers label me a racist. Others, even more vehement, call me a hate monger. Why throw stones at me? After all, I wondered out loud, my sources are beyond reproach. No one challenges their methodology. My purpose over the two decades that I’ve brought immigration facts into the greater light of day is...

Incredible speech from British member of Parliament Daniel Hannan video 3:28 I wish we had politicians who would speak this forthrightly.

Barack Obama provides a study in contrasts. He is personally measured, but his agenda is radical. Although his top personnel are largely centrist, his objectives are standard leftist issue. If his program succeeds, the U.S. will look a lot more like Europe, with far more of life controlled by the central government. Rather like American Uncle Sam meets French Sun King. One of the most important goals of the Obama program is to strengthen labor unions. Explained the president: "I do not view the labor movement as part of the problem. To me, it's part of the solution." Of course...

would rather be part of the Church our Holy Father has envisioned – smaller in number, but more faithful. CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) - I hear this cry from so many other faithful souls, growing louder and more urgent with each passing day, and it is time to be heard. I am simply a laywoman, a cradle Catholic now raising her own family in the Church, watching the truths of the faith I love being diluted into unrecognizable, ineffective, politically expedient pep talks, in order that confused or errant Catholics might feel better about their “choices” and still be accepted...

For the United States to borrow the US$2 trillion a year that it wants, a poor country like Turkey cannot borrow the $30 billion a year that it needs - unless, that is, the United States borrows it first and re-lends it to Turkey. When President Barack Obama respectfully suggests that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan might like to jump, Erdogan will ask, "How long should I remain in the air?" Turkey requires a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at which the US has the biggest vote. News that an IMF loan might be delayed sent Turkey's...

“I’m Tired� Robert A. Hall I’ll be 63 soon. Except for one semester in college when jobs were scarce, and a six-month period when I was between jobs, but job-hunting every day, I’ve worked, hard, since I was 18. Despite some health challenges, I still put in 50-hour weeks, and haven’t called in sick in seven or eight years. I make a good salary, but I didn’t inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, there’s no retirement in sight, and I’m tired. Very tired. I’m tired of being told that...