Arkady's Thoughts

Another undercover sting job from James O'Keefe, the guy who infiltrated ACORN, this time catching a NPR executive admitting some rather harsh truths on tape.   Although much of what Ron Schiller said is not a big surprise given what we already know about NPR I wanted to mention a particular segment as it is indicative of the cultural and societal divide that exists in this country and then focus on the faulty logic behind it. I recommend you watch the whole thing, but at around the 3 minute mark one sees what I believe is the core of the problem.  Schiller states unequivocally that the problem with this country is the lack of intellectuals and the dominance of the stupid gun-toting American.   His belief is that our problems stem from the fact that the intellectual elite is shrinking and the stupid middle class is growing.  Of course we want as many intelligent people as possible, the problem is that Schiller's view of intelligence is confined to...

Although not the first of it's kind, it is apparently the most likely to succeed.  Fox News reports something that makes me very excited and very hopeful over a remarkable opportunity that not only allows the States to flex their 10th Amendment rights, but literally pioneer a movement that could usher in stability and competition in the world!  In Utah considers return to gold, silver coins : The Utah House was to vote as early as Thursday on legislation that would recognize gold and silver coins issued by the federal government as legal currency in the state. The coins would not replace the current paper currency but would be used and accepted voluntarily as an alternative. The bill cleared a state legislative committee on Wednesday, the first of 11 similar bills in statehouses across the country to do so. If the bill clears the House, it would have to pass the Senate before the governor could sign it into law.  Critics of the gold standard say it limits countries...

Wisconsin is still in the news as public unions continue to battle Governor Walker and other states are considering reducing union power.  Plenty of people voiced their opinions, emotions have run high (typical) and positions have been entrenched.  What has not been discussed or at least not reliably are actual facts.  Specifically, what are we talking about in terms of numbers. Many have correctly pointed out that Governor Walker is now going purely after union power given the fact that Wisconsin teachers already agreed to benefit cuts in the form of increased contributions.  The question really should be phrased in the following manner:  How much exactly are they sacrificing and what have collective bargaining rights given Wisconsin teachers up to this point? When discussing compensation, total compensation is the number that needs to be examined.  This includes both health insurance and retirement contributions.   ...

Do you want to know how the Rs and the Ds voted on the latest round of spending?  Interested in seeing the amendments offered and how each representative scored?  Now you can and the results are amusing to say the least. The house passed HR1 (2011 funding) with over 60 Billion in spending cuts, but Heritage took a look at strictly the amendments that dealt with straight up discretionary spending cuts.  Unfortunately this bill is dead on arrival in the Senate hence spawning renewed talks of a Government shutdown.  Still, it is illuminating to investigate how the new fiscal conservative House has done so far. You can find the convenient table on the Heritage post:   After action Report .  The report tracks every put spending cut amendment that was offered in the latest budget proposal and then produces a final tally based on these amendments.  A score of 100% suggests that an individual supported every spending amendment, a score of 0%...

In a world that is progressively getting crazier by each day and the facade that is the American "recovery" peels away news like this no longer surprises, but instills a lot of hostility. Wall Street Journal reports that the Obama administration is seeking to strike a "mortgage deal".  More specifically, Obama in his infinite wisdom will now mandate banks (most of which are technically insolvent) to pay out 20 Billion dollars to underwater mortgages.  So good news for those individuals whose mortgages are now less than the actual value of the home, a gift is coming! Terms of the administration's proposal include a commitment from mortgage servicers to reduce the loan balances of troubled borrowers who owe more than their homes are worth, people familiar with the matter said. The cost of those writedowns won't be borne by investors who purchased mortgage-backed securities, these people said. If a unified settlement can be reached, some state attorneys g...

Spotty news emerging from Libya is painting a horrific picture of poor, downtrodden Libyans getting absolutely massacred by powerful forces loyal to dictator Muammar al-Gadaffi.  One news source is citing that over 100 are dead with some Libyan doctors suggesting that Gadaffi brought our sniper units to shoot down individuals. What is especially interesting, according to SkyNet news some forces of the Libyan army have flat out defected and joined the protesters.  As I understand it Libya is a fractured country in the sense that most of the power of the Socialist forces loyal to Gadaffi are concentrated within cities, but the outskirts are home to traditional anti-Gadaffi powers - yet the following suggests that Libya may be on the brink of a civil war. Earlier, members of a Libyan army unit told Benghazi residents they have defected and "liberated" the city from pro-Gaddafi forces. Speaking from the city, a local man named Benali, told Sky News that members of the Lib...

With all the unrest in the Middle East some have not realized that an equally important battle is happening in Madison, Wisconsin where the newly elected Governor has attempted to surpass Chris Christie and go directly for the jugular.  Walker and the GOP controlled State legislature are seeking to significantly curtail the power of the teacher unions and that has evoked unimaginable responses from both the teachers and the Democrat legislators opposing the proposal.  The proposal itself is rather modest : The state Senate and Assembly are expected to vote as soon as Thursday on Gov. Scott Walker's plan to end collective bargaining for all state, county and local workers except for police, firefighters and the State Patrol. Walker's plan would make workers pay half the costs of their pensions and at least 12.6 percent of their health care premiums. State employees' costs would go up by an average of 8 percent. The changes would save the state $30 million by June 30 and ...