Hamas' Gaza Faces Bleak Times - New York Times
Bleak times is what terrorists have created for themselves in Gaza. While the plight of ordinary citizens is lamentable, the world should do nothing that recognizes or strengthens the Hamas terrorists. After all, Hamas has offered the world nothing but violence and senseless, yet purposeful from their view, killing of civilians.
June 30, 2007
American Thinker: Manmade Global Warming: The Real Assault on Reason
American Thinker: Manmade Global Warming: The Real Assault on Reason
This is worth reading if you fear that the current public inoculation of Global Warming 'group think' by Gore et al may be dangerous to reason.
This is worth reading if you fear that the current public inoculation of Global Warming 'group think' by Gore et al may be dangerous to reason.
Immigration Bill Failure
NumbersUSA Senate Immigration Overhaul Fails
I agree that the failure of the immigration bill in the Senate is a good thing (it was much too complex to have ever been implemented), but the problem remains to be fixed. If the flow of illegal aliens across the borders, particularly the southern border, is not halted (the estimate is that nearly 1/2 million come annually) we have accomplished little in terms of the big picture. The pressure must remain to secure the borders, but does anyone think that the Bush administration or the Democrat leadership in the Congress will do anything to accomplish that now that their 'comprehensive' attempt failed? What they should do if they are really listening is insist that the present laws are followed and provide the necessary resources to do so.
What I think we'll see is many cities and towns enact laws to make it tough for illegals to be there and for employers to hire them. This will lead to court challenges, but the likely results will be that the Feds have jurisdiction, not the locals, and the Feds are not funded or equipped to deal with thousands of illegals that locals might choose to turn over to them.
What needs to happen now is for serious funding, yes, maybe more fences, to keep out illegals. Dealing with those already here is a problem that I don't see any practical solution to at this time. Do you?
Nevertheless, here's one relatively simple proposal
I agree that the failure of the immigration bill in the Senate is a good thing (it was much too complex to have ever been implemented), but the problem remains to be fixed. If the flow of illegal aliens across the borders, particularly the southern border, is not halted (the estimate is that nearly 1/2 million come annually) we have accomplished little in terms of the big picture. The pressure must remain to secure the borders, but does anyone think that the Bush administration or the Democrat leadership in the Congress will do anything to accomplish that now that their 'comprehensive' attempt failed? What they should do if they are really listening is insist that the present laws are followed and provide the necessary resources to do so.
What I think we'll see is many cities and towns enact laws to make it tough for illegals to be there and for employers to hire them. This will lead to court challenges, but the likely results will be that the Feds have jurisdiction, not the locals, and the Feds are not funded or equipped to deal with thousands of illegals that locals might choose to turn over to them.
What needs to happen now is for serious funding, yes, maybe more fences, to keep out illegals. Dealing with those already here is a problem that I don't see any practical solution to at this time. Do you?
Nevertheless, here's one relatively simple proposal
Moyers Whining
This Moyers video is nothing more than another voice in the rising chorus to counter the success of conservative radio and TV during the past decade as the liberals seek government intervention to constrain station ownership, control free speech and otherwise silence their critics. It's patently obvious they have failed in the marketplace to compete effectively with the new voices.
June 28, 2007
American Thinker: Nothing Short of Victory
American Thinker: Nothing Short of Victory
This is a bit long for today's soundbite generation, but read what an enlisted soldier serving in Iraq has to say about the war on terror and radical Islam. I'm so very appreciative that we have people of his caliber serving on the front lines in this war. He has thought through why he does what he does and has reached the right conclusion. God bless him.
His ending paragraph:
This is a bit long for today's soundbite generation, but read what an enlisted soldier serving in Iraq has to say about the war on terror and radical Islam. I'm so very appreciative that we have people of his caliber serving on the front lines in this war. He has thought through why he does what he does and has reached the right conclusion. God bless him.
His ending paragraph:
If anything, our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan are an attempt to push back against America's enemies and the looming darkness that threatens us. As Americans, we live in a paradise, and it is thoughtless of us to think that our freedoms exist simply because evil will never encroach upon them. We have had to secure our freedoms for over 230 years against virtually constant assaults, and will forever have to defend it against all enemies. America is truly worth fighting for. Anything short of victory in Iraq will jeopardize our freedoms and our future, and in light of all the past sacrifices made in our nation's history to preserve freedom and the future, that we cannot allow. Nothing short of victory should be acceptable.
June 25, 2007
Court allows issue ads near elections - Yahoo! News
Court allows issue ads near elections - Yahoo! News
Three cheers for the Supreme Court! The McCain-Feingold campaign finance law has always infringed on free speech and this ruling takes a chunk out of a bad law. Political speech should not be inhibited before an election. Special interest groups should be free to air their views at any time.
Three cheers for the Supreme Court! The McCain-Feingold campaign finance law has always infringed on free speech and this ruling takes a chunk out of a bad law. Political speech should not be inhibited before an election. Special interest groups should be free to air their views at any time.
June 24, 2007
The People’s Tenor Pits the Sniffles Against the Sniffs - New York Times
The People’s Tenor Pits the Sniffles Against the Sniffs - New York Times
Someone sent Paul Potts YouTube Aria, Nessun Dorma by Puccini, to me last week and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Read the column in the Times (above) for an insightful analysis of the phenomenon and controversy surrounding it. I thoroughly enjoyed Potts' performance.
Granted, I'm no opera buff although I've attended 3-4 operas in my lifetime. (The first was in Vienna when Carol and I were travel-camping around Europe while I was in the Army. We attended the Volksopera standing and leaning against brass rails in the back the whole time at a cost of 12 cents each!) But I truly enjoyed Potts.
Someone sent Paul Potts YouTube Aria, Nessun Dorma by Puccini, to me last week and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Read the column in the Times (above) for an insightful analysis of the phenomenon and controversy surrounding it. I thoroughly enjoyed Potts' performance.
Granted, I'm no opera buff although I've attended 3-4 operas in my lifetime. (The first was in Vienna when Carol and I were travel-camping around Europe while I was in the Army. We attended the Volksopera standing and leaning against brass rails in the back the whole time at a cost of 12 cents each!) But I truly enjoyed Potts.
And it created another link in my mind because Puccini
lived and wrote in Lucca, Italy where Carol and I and our friends, the Mattesons, stayed for a week a couple of years ago while Carol and Gayle attended language school.
lived and wrote in Lucca, Italy where Carol and I and our friends, the Mattesons, stayed for a week a couple of years ago while Carol and Gayle attended language school.International language | Addison Independent
International language | Addison Independent
My grandson, Estlin, is touring China and performing with the VYO for the next two weeks. He stayed here last night and I dropped him at the airport at 5:00 am. He's really excited to be going and it will be a trip of a lifetime. Click above to read the story about the four young people from Addison County who will be among the 100 travelers.
Many of the orchestra members have been and will be blogging the trip here at http://www.youngwritersproject.org/vyo.
My grandson, Estlin, is touring China and performing with the VYO for the next two weeks. He stayed here last night and I dropped him at the airport at 5:00 am. He's really excited to be going and it will be a trip of a lifetime. Click above to read the story about the four young people from Addison County who will be among the 100 travelers.
Many of the orchestra members have been and will be blogging the trip here at http://www.youngwritersproject.org/vyo.
June 22, 2007
Virtual Memory Low Message
I often get this message when running several programs. Here's one of the best explanations I've seen and what to do about the problem. I've blogged it so I can always have the link. My problem is associated with only a tiny bit of free space remaining on my hard drive. I've purchased a new PC from Dell that should arrive in a couple of weeks. I have included 4 gigs of RAM, so I expect it will be a long time before I see that message again on the new machine!
ABC News: OPINION: Gingrich Blasts Immigration Bill
ABC News: OPINION: Gingrich Blasts Immigration Bill
This opinion piece by Rick Tyler, Newt Gingrich's PR guy, is well worth the read to understand the uproar about the immigration bill now in the Senate. After listening and watching the talking heads and giving this some serious thought, I think the immigration bill, based on what I know of it, is severely flawed and should not become law. Bush, McCain and others supporting it are wrong on this issue. Here's Newt's recent ad arguing against the Senate bill supported by McCain, Kennedy, et al.
I find myself on the side of the argument that the borders must be controlled by all means possible. It's wrong that 12+ million illegals are here and a very sad commentary about our government's inability and unwillingness to control the borders for the past two decades, particularly the border with Mexico. I have driven along parts of that desert wasteland and understand the enormous difficulty in closing it to illegals. Nevertheless, it must be done before any action is taken to provide 'amnesty' for those who are here illegally.
Rather than some omnibus, take-care-of-everything-bill now, let's have a 2 step process. Step 1: Close the borders ASAP to keep more illegals out (we'll never keep them all out); Step 2: deal with the illegals already here after the border is secured by a real fence or some other means to keep them out, perhaps not by deporting them, but by NEVER granting them legal status, unless they return to their home country and apply from there for legal immigrant entry, for work or permanent residency. That's a difficult task, but if our laws are to mean anything, we should not allow them legal status without rigorous requirements. They should have no path to citizenship or permanent without gaining legal status. Amnesty is a failed solution and will only encourage more illegals to come as was the case after 1986.
This opinion piece by Rick Tyler, Newt Gingrich's PR guy, is well worth the read to understand the uproar about the immigration bill now in the Senate. After listening and watching the talking heads and giving this some serious thought, I think the immigration bill, based on what I know of it, is severely flawed and should not become law. Bush, McCain and others supporting it are wrong on this issue. Here's Newt's recent ad arguing against the Senate bill supported by McCain, Kennedy, et al.
I find myself on the side of the argument that the borders must be controlled by all means possible. It's wrong that 12+ million illegals are here and a very sad commentary about our government's inability and unwillingness to control the borders for the past two decades, particularly the border with Mexico. I have driven along parts of that desert wasteland and understand the enormous difficulty in closing it to illegals. Nevertheless, it must be done before any action is taken to provide 'amnesty' for those who are here illegally.
Rather than some omnibus, take-care-of-everything-bill now, let's have a 2 step process. Step 1: Close the borders ASAP to keep more illegals out (we'll never keep them all out); Step 2: deal with the illegals already here after the border is secured by a real fence or some other means to keep them out, perhaps not by deporting them, but by NEVER granting them legal status, unless they return to their home country and apply from there for legal immigrant entry, for work or permanent residency. That's a difficult task, but if our laws are to mean anything, we should not allow them legal status without rigorous requirements. They should have no path to citizenship or permanent without gaining legal status. Amnesty is a failed solution and will only encourage more illegals to come as was the case after 1986.
Verizon's fiber-optic payoff | CNET News.com
Verizon's fiber-optic payoff | CNET News.com
This column indicates that Verizon has a clear winner in its decision to deploy fiber to the home, FIOS, signing up its millionth customer for broadband Internet access along with 500,000 TV customers. Ivan Seidenberg's team made the right technical decision, although it was originally derided by Wall Street as too costly and the stock took a corresponding hit. Wall Street was wrong and Verizon was right in the territories it targeted for deployment.
This column indicates that Verizon has a clear winner in its decision to deploy fiber to the home, FIOS, signing up its millionth customer for broadband Internet access along with 500,000 TV customers. Ivan Seidenberg's team made the right technical decision, although it was originally derided by Wall Street as too costly and the stock took a corresponding hit. Wall Street was wrong and Verizon was right in the territories it targeted for deployment.
June 21, 2007
Hamas Conquest of Gaza Disturbs Arab World With Echoes of Recent Splits and Alliances - New York Times
Hamas Conquest of Gaza Disturbs Arab World With Echoes of Recent Splits and Alliances - New York Times
This snapshot analysis of the present state of affairs following the Hamas victory in Gaza is worth reading. However, readers should be disturbed by the fact that the author is soft on terror groups calling them 'political Islam' rather than radical Islamic terrorists and giving them equal billing and legitimacy. This is a dangerous position for a journalist and a Western publisher to take. This strained attempt at 'objectivity' likely provides comfort to terrorist groups.
People may not be happy with Arab governments, but giving radical Islamist terror groups this spotlight shows the Times once again as soft on terror.
Another column in the Times by Cohen from the International Herald Tribune blames Israel for the Hamas mess in Gaza. What nonsense! The West is not to blame for terrorists, pure and simple.
This snapshot analysis of the present state of affairs following the Hamas victory in Gaza is worth reading. However, readers should be disturbed by the fact that the author is soft on terror groups calling them 'political Islam' rather than radical Islamic terrorists and giving them equal billing and legitimacy. This is a dangerous position for a journalist and a Western publisher to take. This strained attempt at 'objectivity' likely provides comfort to terrorist groups.
People may not be happy with Arab governments, but giving radical Islamist terror groups this spotlight shows the Times once again as soft on terror.
Another column in the Times by Cohen from the International Herald Tribune blames Israel for the Hamas mess in Gaza. What nonsense! The West is not to blame for terrorists, pure and simple.
"Wolfensohn (former President of World Bank), no dreamer, said: "I can only tell you that the Israeli closing of the Gaza borders was made with less consideration of the impact than needed. Aside from the military analysis, you have to consider the impact on a society, because social dislocation leads to anger and violence."
After a year in the job, marginalized, he slipped away. "The view on the American and Israeli side was that you could not trust the Palestinians, and the result was not to build more economic activity, but to build more barriers," Wolfensohn said. "And I personally did not think that was the way forward."
Nor do I. "Gaza first" imploded because Gaza was cut off. Intra-Palestinian mayhem ensued. Hamas has terrorist elements. But it remains more a Palestinian national than a global jihadist movement. There are members of Hamas with whom dialogue is possible. To make peace you have to get the enemy to the table."
You cannot make peace with terrorists!
June 19, 2007
Telecom: Back From The Dead
Telecom: Back From The Dead
A not very apt headline, but an interesting and informative article in Business Week about the bounce in the telecom industry created by the meteoric rise in video traffic, now at 1/3 of the total, on the Internet. Worth a read to see how Web 2.o and video have conspired to drive things ahead.
Think about the traffic bandwidth required when HD video matures on the net!
A not very apt headline, but an interesting and informative article in Business Week about the bounce in the telecom industry created by the meteoric rise in video traffic, now at 1/3 of the total, on the Internet. Worth a read to see how Web 2.o and video have conspired to drive things ahead.
Think about the traffic bandwidth required when HD video matures on the net!
June 18, 2007
Long Reviled, Merit Pay Gains Among Teachers - New York Times
Long Reviled, Merit Pay Gains Among Teachers - New York Times
The principle of merit pay for teachers is one I support. Although the idea seems to be gaining momentum in several places, I doubt that Vermont will be one of those places in the near future.
What the Times report doesn't state explicitly is whether the money for merit pay is carved out of the existing compensation pool for teachers or whether its an add-on to school budgets. I get the impression that its an adder, at least in the initial phases.
Vermont can ill afford higher school budgets, but I'd favor 'earmarking' some dollars that could be saved by school district consolidation to be targeted at a merit pay pool, as long as the criteria and the rules were well thought out.
The NEA seems to view merit pay as "inappropriate," probably because it's a threat to low-performing teachers who might leave the profession, thus reducing the dues received. Perhaps the union should consider a sliding scale dues structure whereby teachers making more, pay more. I wonder if the unions remained revenue neutral from dues, would they support merit pay? Why is it a benefit to the union or the profession to support continuously low-performing teachers? It's certainly not good for our children.
The principle of merit pay for teachers is one I support. Although the idea seems to be gaining momentum in several places, I doubt that Vermont will be one of those places in the near future.
What the Times report doesn't state explicitly is whether the money for merit pay is carved out of the existing compensation pool for teachers or whether its an add-on to school budgets. I get the impression that its an adder, at least in the initial phases.
Vermont can ill afford higher school budgets, but I'd favor 'earmarking' some dollars that could be saved by school district consolidation to be targeted at a merit pay pool, as long as the criteria and the rules were well thought out.
The NEA seems to view merit pay as "inappropriate," probably because it's a threat to low-performing teachers who might leave the profession, thus reducing the dues received. Perhaps the union should consider a sliding scale dues structure whereby teachers making more, pay more. I wonder if the unions remained revenue neutral from dues, would they support merit pay? Why is it a benefit to the union or the profession to support continuously low-performing teachers? It's certainly not good for our children.