Sunday, December 30, 2007

Indiana GA prayer service scheduled

Indiana Family Institute (Dr. James Dobson) is planning a prayer service January 9th at the Indiana State House.

From the IFI blog:

Please join us for a brief prayer service
for the Indiana General Assembly at Christ's Church on the Circle in downtown
Indianapolis on Wednesday, January 9, at 6 p.m.

This will be the third time we've gathered with legislators and members of
our Board of Directors along with IFI prayer network members and other friends
of the Institute.

Read more ►

More than 22,600 New Jobs Coming to Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS -- More than 150 companies from across the state, the country and around the world committed to create more than 22,600 new jobs in the Hoosier state this year, breaking the state's previous job commitment record set just a year ago.

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250,000 teachers quit

Class room discipline in the once civil British Isles has prompted 250,000 teachers to seek work elsewhere. Some say lax immigration policy is to blame.

Such statistics pose problems for liberals who advocate open-border immigration as humane while seeking more funding for government schools.

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Saturday, December 29, 2007

The power of greasy chicken

Supposing you have a formula — a secret recipe — for great tasting chicken.

The problem is your recipe requires your chicken be deep fried in vats of shortening (or grease). The process saturates the meat making it unbelievably messy.

Try to eat a leg and the grease rolls down your arm. Take a bite into a thigh and hot shortening squirts at the guy across the table; maybe across the room. One meal requires a dozens of napkins.

How do you market greasy chicken?

Colonel Sanders turned the negative to a positive. Rather than boasting of greasy chicken he claimed his product was "finger lickin' good."

A mistake marketers often make is what I call "overselling by silence." That is, marketers often don't alert prospective buyers to the product's flaws. (It's akin to overselling by overstating.) By ignoring negatives marketers often miss opportunities to turn negatives into positives.

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Friday, December 28, 2007

Technology Company to Nearly Triple Its Columbus Workforce

INDIANAPOLIS (Dec. 28, 2007) – Executives from software developer LHP Inc. joined Governor Mitch Daniels here today to announce the company’s plans to grow its Columbus operations, creating more than 320 new high-tech jobs by 2011.

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Thursday, December 27, 2007

Kroger is launching a Perishable Donations Partnership

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – December 27th – Kroger is launching a Perishable Donations Partnership (PDP) as a company-wide project to increase thenumber of stores that donate safe, perishable food to America’s SecondHarvest food banks across the country.

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Benefits vs. costs of govt activism (revisited)

Another unsatisfying effort from the C-J this morning (the link goes to a related article; I can't find today's update on their website) on the costs and benefits of government activism...

My blog entry on this is too to post here, but here's the link, followed by a summary of my conclusion...

Let's look at the numbers presented in the article-- sadly, just the benefits-- and then try to match it to the relevant costs....

OK, now to the unanswered and unquestioned costs of this government spending-- and its impact on Louisville and Kentucky....

From the details presented, it's difficult to tell whether (or how) Louisville and Kentucky got a good return on their "investment". At the least, it should be explained how $1,850 in costs per person is beneficial to Louisvillians when they only receive $71 in benefits per person.

And of course, all of this misses the crucial constitutional, philosophical and practical issues of "federalism"-- why is the federal government involved in financing "economic development projects across Kentucky" or "new sewers in Shively"?

In any case, as I wrote yesterday, one would hope that the media would do a better job in objectively and comprehensively covering the costs and benefits of government. Although it's difficult to answer such a question, it's at least interesting to consider when such failures are a function of ignorance, laziness, or a statist bias that prefers not to talk about the costs of government.

Coulter blows up Huckabee (again)

He presents a target-rich environment-- so she obliges...

Apparently he responded to her column last week-- not a good idea when you have a weak hand to play...

Excerpts from today's effort at TownHall.com...

Huckabee is a "compassionate conservative" only in the sense that calling him a conservative is being compassionate.

Huckabee opposes school choice, earning him the coveted endorsement of the National Education Association of New Hampshire, which is like the sheriff being endorsed by the local whorehouse.

He is, however, in favor of school choice for kids in Mexico: They have the choice of going to school there or here. Huckabee promoted giving in-state tuition in Arkansas to illegal immigrants from Mexico -- but not to U.S. citizens from Ohio. "I don't believe you punish the children," he said, "for the crime and sins of the parents."

Since when is not offering someone lavish taxpayer-funded benefits a form of punishment? That's almost as crazy as a governor pardoning a known sex offender so he can go out and rape and kill.

PETA gets away with murder...of animals?!

An email from TownHall.com made me aware of PETAKillsAnimals.com...

From PETA's interactions with the Virginia state government...

Our damning documents come courtesy of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), which requires “humane societies” to annually report their euthanasia rates. PETA filed the required “Animal Record” reports from 1998 to 2005. These records show that during those years, PETA killed over 14,400 dogs, cats, and other shelter pets at its Norfolk headquarters.

PETA’s solution to what could generously be termed an ongoing “credibility problem” is brilliant in its simplicity: Just ignore the law.

PETA is no longer complying with VDACS’ legal reporting requirement.

If you're interested in the details, the website continues by documenting the delay tactics used by PETA to avoid reporting. The homepage reports on a variety of other, related stories...

The economic lessons of Bethlehem

Six years after it was written, Rockwell's classic...

At the heart of the Christmas story rests some important lessons concerning free enterprise, government, and the role of wealth in society.

Let’s begin with one of the most famous phrases: "There’s no room at the inn." This phrase is often invoked as if it were a cruel and heartless dismissal of the tired travelers Joseph and Mary. Many renditions of the story conjure up images of the couple going from inn to inn only to have the owner barking at them to go away and slamming the door.

In fact, the inns were full to overflowing in the entire Holy Land because of the Roman emperor’s decree that everyone be counted and taxed. Inns are private businesses, and customers are their lifeblood. There would have been no reason to turn away this man of aristocratic lineage and his beautiful, expecting bride.

In any case, the second chapter of St. Luke doesn’t say that they were continually rejected at place after place. It tells of the charity of a single inn owner, perhaps the first person they encountered, who, after all, was a businessman. His inn was full, but he offered them what he had: the stable. There is no mention that the innkeeper charged the couple even one copper coin, though given his rights as a property owner, he certainly could have.

It’s remarkable, then, to think that when the Word was made flesh with the birth of Jesus, it was through the intercessory work of a private businessman. Without his assistance, the story would have been very different indeed. People complain about the "commercialization" of Christmas, but clearly commerce was there from the beginning, playing an essential and laudable role.

And yet we don’t even know the innkeeper’s name. In two thousand years of celebrating Christmas, tributes today to the owner of the inn are absent. Such is the fate of the merchant throughout all history: doing well, doing good, and forgotten for his service to humanity.

Clearly, if there was a room shortage, it was an unusual event and brought about through some sort of market distortion. After all, if there had been frequent shortages of rooms in Bethlehem, entrepreneurs would have noticed that there were profits to be made by addressing this systematic problem, and built more inns.

It was because of a government decree that Mary and Joseph, and so many others like them, were traveling in the first place. They had to be uprooted for fear of the emperor’s census workers and tax collectors. And consider the costs of slogging all the way "from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David," not to speak of the opportunity costs Joseph endured having to leave his own business. Thus we have another lesson: government’s use of coercive dictates distorts the market.

Moving on in the story, we come to Three Kings, also called Wise Men. Talk about a historical anomaly for both to go together! Most Kings behaved like the Roman Emperor's local enforcer, Herod. Not only did he order people to leave their homes and foot the bill for travel so that they could be taxed. Herod was also a liar: he told the Wise Men that he wanted to find Jesus so that he could "come and adore Him." In fact, Herod wanted to kill Him. Hence, another lesson: you can’t trust a political hack to tell the truth.

Once having found the Holy Family, what gifts did the Wise Men bring? Not soup and sandwiches, but "gold, frankincense, and myrrh." These were the most rare items obtainable in that world in those times, and they must have commanded a very high market price.

Far from rejecting them as extravagant, the Holy Family accepted them as gifts worthy of the Divine Messiah. Neither is there a record that suggests that the Holy Family paid any capital gains tax on them, though such gifts vastly increased their net wealth. Hence, another lesson: there is nothing immoral about wealth; wealth is something to be valued, owned privately, given and exchanged.

When the Wise Men and the Holy Family got word of Herod’s plans to kill the newborn Son of God, did they submit? Not at all. The Wise Men, being wise, snubbed Herod and "went back another way" – taking their lives in their hands (Herod conducted a furious search for them later). As for Mary and Joseph, an angel advised Joseph to "take the child and his mother, and fly into Egypt." In short, they resisted. Lesson number four: the angels are on the side of those who resist government.

In the Gospel narratives, the role of private enterprise, and the evil of government power, only begin there. Jesus used commercial examples in his parables (e.g., laborers in the vineyard, the parable of the talents) and made it clear that he had come to save even such reviled sinners as tax collectors.

And just as His birth was facilitated by the owner of an "inn," the same Greek word "kataluma" is employed to describe the location of the Last Supper before Jesus was crucified by the government. Thus, private enterprise was there from birth, through life, and to death, providing a refuge of safety and productivity, just as it has in ours.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Central planning ignores the free market reality

When will they learn?

The curmudgeonesk city planners who are determined to revitalize Columbus' downtown fail to recognize what is obvious to the rest of us: Downtown moved to the suburbs.

Common sense has never played a role in central planners. No wonder, considering they have your tax dollars at their disposal.

The ramblings of Richard Florida, for example, have been heeded by the cultural architects who drive city planning in Columbus. The notion is that attracting the "Creative Class" (a term for gay professionals) will boost a community's economy.

Normal people can see through the spoof. We're no more impressed than with the clothes-free goddess Eos plopped in the midst of Fifth St. greeting visitors to Columbus and, not coincidentally, the Cummins World Headquarters.

San Francisco, long the epicenter of the "creative class," proves their folly: According to the Wall Street Journal, "San Francisco [had] a whopping domestic outflow of 10%...." The time frame compared 2006 to 2000.

In other words, folks are abandoning the hub of the creative class.

So when will they learn?

Turn to the Liberty Tree News for a hint.

Frank Jerome has an article in the upcoming edition in which he wonders why the city can afford a new parking garage catacorner from Cummins World Headquarters. Cummins couldn't afford it, he notes. Apparently taxpayers will flip the bill.

The sum of it all is that central planning seldom works — except for the power brokers who could benefit from a new parking garage. And hotel.

Two architectural marvels — the Commons Mall and the majestic Post Office — both have dates with the wrecking ball. (Apparently the goddess is annoyed with the 18-wheelers rumbling in and out of the Bulk Mail Unit's parking lot; also across the street from Cummins.) And both were central to central planning of the not-too-distant past.

The city fathers (and mums) labeled their current wreck-and-build-(slash)-tax-and-spend efforts "Vision 2020" or "2020Vision" or something akin to the year 2020. Those of us with 20/20 vision can see it all too clearly: The epi-center of the effort to revitalize downtown Columbus with gay bars, nekid godesses and mall-with-a-street-down-the-middle is the squashy Cummins World Headquarters.

It's a point lost on the pointy-headed ones; those who know all too well what's best for the rest of us (financed with tax dollars, of course). What they fail to realize is that downtown is as vital as it ever was. It just moved to the suburbs. There you will find Walmart and the new Coldstones Creamery that opened Saturday without central planning or tax dollars.

It's an odd thing that Columbus, the world's most celebrated architectural community, ignores the two fundamentals of architectural planning: First, form follows function (note the 18-wheelers trying to maneuver in the grandiose Post Office parking lot) and wait until the grass is worn to build sidewalks.

While the central planners at city hall continue to fund the downtown revitalization project, the free market is luring real people to Walmart and all their tax-funded projects won't change that.

There is a reason why fast-food, motels and mattress shops are building along Jonathan Moore Parkway and not Third and Washington.

When will they learn? Apparently never.

My guess is that — 100 years from now when commerce is done online — some curmudgeon city planners will be plotting a Vision 2120 strategy to revitalize Walmart.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Benefits of the population explosion

A few years ago I began work on my second book titled, The Late Great United States. Eventually I had to stop, realizing I didn't actually believe much of what I was writing. However, there a few snippets worth retrieving. The following is one example.

Consider this: The world population in 1 AD was about 200 million. By 1000 AD it had grown by less than forty percent to 275 million. In 1750 the population had grown another 154 percent to 700 million. That’s when it happened.

The world’s inhabitants began to multiply exponentially. By 1900 there were 1.6 billion people and that grew to 6.1 billion in the year 2000. Of those, 800 million were added to our planet between 1990 and 2000. The ten-year growth alone was more than the entire world population of 1750.

I find it significant that the beginning of the population explosion preceded the industrial revolution of the 1800s. There is a direct correlation. The more people on the planet, the more advanced we become. The parallel is undeniable.

So how does the increase in population drive the updraft in technology? The answer is simple. Not only are there more people; there are more smart people. When the population doubles, the number of intelligent people also doubles.

In 2005 there were 128 million geniuses (people with IQs in the top 2 percentile.) That’s the equivalent of 64 percent of the entire world population in 1 AD. We live in a world of geniuses. (The rest of us are along for the ride.)

The population explosion produced a swell of intelligence that, in turn, engendered technological advances. The knowledge explosion was predicted by Daniel as one of two characteristics that would signal the era of the latter day Antiochus. “Many shall run to and fro,” he wrote “and knowledge shall be increased.”
Eric Schansberg's well researched article on eugenics is an excellent resource.
Read it here ►

Ten Days Before Iowa (a la Night Before Christmas)

By Ernest Istook

Note: The Iowa Caucuses will occur only ten days after Christmas. So, with apologies to "The Night Before Christmas" by Clement Moore":

'Twas ten days before Iowa, as they sought the White House.
Every pollster was stirring, even polling each mouse;
The airwaves were filled with the candidates’ flairs,
In hopes nomination soon would be theirs.

The voters were nestled all snug in their beds,
While politics-free visions danced in their heads.
Iowa was due first, New Hampshire on tap
But for now they just wanted a Christmas Eve nap,

When there on the TV arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
The Internet was humming; talk radio was brash.
Mainstream media was spewing its usual trash.

I ignored for the moment the new-fallen snow
Since campaign advertising was a flashier show.
Then what to my tired eyes and ears did appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight candidates sincere.

All chasing the driver, so mired in the muck
I knew in a moment they were hounding the lame duck.
More eager than buzzards the candidates they came,
Pursued by reporters who called them by name:
"Now, Clinton! Now, Thompson!
Now, Obama and Huckabee!
On, Giuliani! On, Edwards! On McCain! And on Romney!”
To the top of the polls, then the bottom they’d fall!
Now bash away! Bash away! Bash away all!

Dumb questions were asked at a hurricane pace,
To be met with one-liners, and attacks face-to-face.
So up to the house-top the wild mob they flew,
With the sleigh full of promises, and whispering campaigns, too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The comebacks and charges, till I’d had quite enough.
As I reached out my hand to turn off the sound,
Down the chimney the whole circus came with a bound.

They were all dressed in mud, from each head to each foot,
Reputations were tarnished with ashes and soot;
Old slogans and charges each flung in attacks
And they looked like some peddlers or maybe some hacks.

Their eyes—oh, how beady! Yet their dimples how merry!
Their cheeks were like roses; their smiles, they were scary.
They smelled like new plastic; they were made up with flair.
And one of them boasted four-hundred-dollar hair.

The stump of a lead one watched fall from his grip,
Another wore a halo, which started to slip.
One looked like a lawyer, as played on the telly.
One shook when she laughed, and denied she was smelly.

Two were movie star handsome, like they came off a shelf.
One was white-haired and somber, a non-jolly old elf.
The other kept saying he’d bring change to all
And each claimed that we should just ignore Ron Paul.

They spoke endless words, and they spun in their work:
Promised to fill every stocking; denied being a jerk.
Many voters decided that they’d just hold their nose
As to who’d get the nod. Then up the chimney all rose.
They sprang to private jets, ignoring Al Gore’s epistle.
They flew off to New Hampshire, showing toughness and gristle.
But I heard them exclaim, ere they flew out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all, please vote right!"

Ernest Istook is a former U.S. Congressman from Oklahoma, now a Distinguished Fellow at The Heritage Foundation and a talk show host. Reprinted from Redstate.com

Friday, December 21, 2007

The Gospel of Paul

The title of Kimberly Strassel's recent WSJ piece on Ron Paul...

Ron Paul is no compassionate conservative. His supporters love him for it.

If there's been a phenomenon in this Republican presidential race, it's been the strength of a fiery doctor from Texas and his message of limited government. As the GOP front-runners address crowds of dispirited primary voters, Mr. Paul has been tearing across the country, leaving a trail of passionate devotees in his wake...

Mr. Paul isn't going to be president. He trails in national polls, in no small part because his lack of a proactive foreign policy makes him an unserious candidate in today's terror world. But his success still holds lessons for the leading Republican candidates, as well as those pundits falling for the argument that the future of the GOP rests in a "heroic conservatism" that embraces big government. Mr. Paul shows that the way to many Republican voters' hearts is still through a spirited belief in lower taxes and smaller government, with more state and individual rights...

In contrast, we have President Bush and much of the Republican representation in Congress...

"Compassionate conservatism" was a smart move on George W. Bush's part, maybe even necessary to win. The GOP was dogged by a reputation as the heartless party, amplified by the 1995 government shutdown and the clunky Dole campaign. And it had learned from the success of welfare reform that message matters. Many Republican voters believed Mr. Bush's "compassionate conservatism" was just that: a way of selling conservative reforms. Tax cuts would help the working poor. Vouchers would help minority kids. Charities would fare better getting people off drugs than government bureaucrats. Mr. Bush got his tax cuts, but voters found out too late that he was no small-government believer....

Strassel's wrap-up...

If Mr. Paul has shown anything, it's that many conservative voters continue to doubt there's anything "heroic" or "compassionate" in a ballooning government that sucks up their dollars to aid a dysfunctional state. When Mr. Paul gracefully exits this race, his followers will be looking for an alternative to take up that cause. Any takers?

tidbits on politics from Harpers

The Harpers Index is a limited but interesting monthly pile of data. From December's list...

On contributions to 2008 presidential campaigns:
-from the oil & gas industries: $1,727,000

-from the education industry: $6,406,000

-rank of Ron Paul among Republican candidates receiving the most money from U.S. service members: #1

Other stuff:
-% of Democrats who think Hillary is proposing to withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq within a year: 76%

Romney misses op on vouchers

From Carrie Lukas in the Heartland Institute's School Reform News (a longer version appeared in National Review Online)...

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) had an opportunity to help deliver a victory at the ballot box in Utah in November, when voters decided whether to repeal the state’s universal school voucher program....

[Statewide] Vouchers have a poor track record at the ballot box....

Romney was uniquely positioned to lend a helping hand: His popularity in a state where more than 60 percent of citizens share his religion is obvious. While on the campaign trail, Romney has stated he supports school choice and vouchers. Skeptics might note that as governor, vouchers were not a priority for Romney.

The Utah initiative gave Romney the opportunity to prove his bona fides as a strong school voucher supporter at a critical time. By urging his supporters to give this program a chance, he could ensure that more parents control where their kids go to school and help Utah become a national model for universal school choice.

Hey, maybe Romney should have received the NEA's endorsement instead of Huckabee!

Mike Huckabee and Kenneth Copeland

From World...

POLITICS: Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee is sticking by his "dear friend," charismatic TV "prosperity gospel" preacher Kenneth Copeland of suburban Fort Worth. Copeland, who will turn 72 this week, has supported Huckabee, and Huckabee was a guest on Copeland's five-day TV special last week. A former Baptist pastor and two-term Arkansas governor, Huckabee told Time that Copeland operated his ministry with the utmost integrity "as far as I know." Copeland and his wife, Gloria, are leaders of one of six prominent television ministries asked by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, to provide information on their finances to the Senate Finance Committee by December 6.

And Mike has questions about Mitt Romney's religious beliefs?

Thursday, December 20, 2007

The (New/Tax) War Between the States

And this time, the South (and the West) are winning...

From the WSJ, an op-ed piece by Arthur Laffer (of Laffer Curve fame) and Stephen Moore (from Club for Growth)...

A record eight million Americans moved from one state to another last year. Where is everyone going, and why? The answer has little to do with climate: California has arguably the nicest climate of any state in the nation -- yet in this decade more Americans have left the Golden State than entered it.

Migration patterns instead reveal which states have the most dynamic and desirable economies, and which are "has-been" states. The winners in this contest for the most valuable resource on the globe -- human capital -- are generally the states with the lowest tax, spending and regulatory burdens. The biggest losers are almost all congregated in the Northeast and Midwest. Liberals contend that tax rates, regulations, forced union laws and runaway government spending don't matter when it comes to creating jobs, high incomes and a higher quality of life. People tell us otherwise by voting with their feet.

Liberals generally claim to embrace logic, reason, and evidence. One would hope they'd do the same here...

The American Legislative Exchange Council has just released a study we've done that presents a 2007 Economic Competitiveness Rating of the 50 states, based on 16 economic policy variables, including taxes, regulation, right to work, the legal system, educational freedom and government debt. Over the past decade, the 10 states with the highest taxes and spending, and the most intrusive regulations, have half the population and job growth, and one-third slower growth in incomes, than the 10 most economically free states....

Of all the policy variables we examined, two stand out as perhaps the most important in attracting jobs and capital. The first is the income tax rate. States with the highest income tax rates -- California and New York, for example -- are significantly outperformed by the nine states with no income tax, such as Texas and Florida. As a study from the Atlanta Federal Reserve Board put it: "Relative marginal tax rates have a statistically significant negative relationship with relative state growth."

The other factor for attracting jobs and capital is right-to-work laws. States that permit workers to be compelled to join unions have much lower rates of employment growth than states that don't. Many companies say they will not even consider locating a factory in a state that does not have a right-to-work law.

Our study also finds that states with antigrowth tax and spending policies don't just lose people. Noncompetitive states like New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois and New Jersey are plagued by falling housing values, a shrinking tax base, business outmigration, capital flight and high unemployment rates, and less money for schools, roads and aging infrastructure. These factors of decline hurt the poor the most.

Liberals often claim that their policies help the working poor and those in the middle class. That's rarely the case, in practice-- as evidenced (again) here...

Finally, Laffer and Moore's punchlines...

Auto and other manufacturing jobs are still being created in America -- but in Alabama, North Carolina and even Mississippi. It has to be infuriating to Northeasterners to learn that people and businesses are "trading up" by moving out of their region to the likes of Georgia and Alabama. But they are.

The states losing population are in effect suffering from a slow-motion version of the economic sclerosis that paralyzed much of Europe in the 1980s and '90s, particularly France and Germany with their massive welfare systems. At least the European socialist nations are finally starting to change their taxing and spending ways to win back jobs.

No such luck in this country. Five of the states near the bottom of our competitiveness ratings -- Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey and Wisconsin -- have enacted major tax increases in the last two years. Maryland and Michigan just raised business and income taxes on upper-income earners, while arguing that raising the cost of doing business will attract more businesses. More likely it will induce companies to stay away, and people to move out.

Democrats as slow and hypocritical tax-cutters

What an odd combo...

The Democratic House voted to reduce income taxes on some in the middle- and upper-middle income classes-- by freezing the growth of the Alternative Minimum Tax. (GOOD) But they did it so slowly that it messes up the IRS timetable for producing its forms. (BAD) And it did so by dismissing its campaign promises to observe "paygo" rules-- matching tax cuts with tax increases elsewhere. (UGLY...sort of)

Click here for a newspaper article and a WSJ editorial along with my commentary...

Okie Attorney General Bans Christmas. Seriously.

From Erick Erickson of Redstate.com

Drew Edmondson is the out of control Oklahoma Attorney General. Recently he rounded up conservative activists and threw them in jail for circulating petitions to get conservatives on the ballot.

Now, however, Drew Edmondson has done something even nuttier. He has issued an advisory opinion from the Attorney General's Office directing universities in Oklahoma to refrain from using the word "Christmas."

Mark Tapscott with the Washington Examiner has the details. Mark notes, "Edmondson's issued an advisory opinion to officials at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford advising them that the word "Christmas" should not be spoken by any employee of the state school, not written in any official holiday decorations."

Attorney General Edmondson can be reached at 405-521-3921. Call and wish him a Merry Christmas and ask why he banned the word.

http://www.redstate.com/stories/state_politics/okie_attorney_general_bans_christmas_seriously

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Monday, December 17, 2007

Hoosier Eugenics: A Horrible Centennial

I posted an essay on eugenics on SchansBlog.com.

I'm really proud of it. The history is very interesting; the philosophical and religious links are provocative; and the contemporary applications are important and wide-ranging.


I hoped the longer version would find a home at a larger newspaper, but there haven't been any takers yet-- not surprising given its length (1800 words). The longer version as well as a shorter version was released to newspapers state-wide today.


Enjoy! eric

Activist 'banned for life' from criticizing homosexuality

A lifetime ban on public criticism of homosexuality was upheld against a Catholic activist in Canada by his province's superior court.

Bill Whatcott was fined 17,500 Canadian dollars by the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission in a complaint by four homosexuals who charged he "injured" their "feelings" and "self respect" in pamphlets denouncing the "gay lifestyle" as immoral and dangerous, Lifesite News reported. — WorldNetDaily.com

[source]

Read more on the serious health risks associated with the gay life style here ►

Mom threatened with jail for teaching kids at home

A homeschooling mom in Utah has been ordered by a judge to enroll her children in a public school district within 24 hours, and have them in class tomorrow, all because of a paperwork glitch that very well could be the fault of the district.

The mother, Denise Mafi, told WND that she already has enrolled her children in the district, under the threat from Judge Scott Johansen, who serves in the juvenile division of the state's 7th Judicial District, that he would order her children taken away from her. — WorldNetDaily.com

[source]

Saturday, December 15, 2007

100 most influential conservatives

Here's a list of the 100 most influential American conservatives as assessed by Britain's Daily Telegraph. (Note Rudi is number one.)




Here's a link to the 100 most influential liberals.





Romney, Huckabee, religion, politics and voting...

When do the religious beliefs of a political candidate matter? (Cross-posted at SchansBlog.com-- with comments.)

Or to be more specific:
1.) At what point do those beliefs become fodder for other candidates?
2.) At what point should those beliefs matter to voters?

In the past week, there has been much analysis and some gnashing of teeth about Romney's "Kennedy-like" speech on his religious beliefs and its connection to politics, Huckabee's awkward comments on Mormonism, and a common (misguided) understanding of "separation of church and state".

My answers to the questions above:
1.) Rarely if ever. Candidates should speak to the implications of those beliefs-- through particular policy positions. At best, it's bad form.
2.) Quite a bit-- although the extent to which this should occur falls along a spectrum.

Three thoughts here:
-If religious beliefs explicitly connect to policy positions, then the underlying religious beliefs are quite relevant. For example, people were concerned (improperly, I think) that the theology and eschatology of Reagan and Bush would influence policy toward Israel and nuclear war.

-One's policy positions are connected to one's values-- overtly religious or subtly religious, pseudo-religious, or otherwise. So, to say that one can ignore religious beliefs is at least somewhat incoherent.

-At some level, it matters in that religious beliefs can connect to general competence. For example, what if a candidate was a Scientologist? Or what if they have strange super-natural beliefs about horoscopes or the "luckiness" of the number 13? I would find it difficult, with good reason, to vote for someone like that!

unions "less important than we think"?

From Morton Marcus (hat tip: News-Tribune)...

I think he means that unions cause less damage than is commonly thought. Assuming competitive markets, the flip side of that is that they don't yield as much benefit as their proponents believe either. (This is similar to policies like the minimum wage: if the wage floor increases wages significantly above equilibrium, it will yield benefits and costs for the affected population; if not, it won't!)

Uncle Uriah Marcus visited us on Thanksgiving. It took over a week to recover. He blames "the @#%$# unions" for most of our state's woes. Uncle Uriah asserts "them big unions scares businesses away from Indiannie."

A sample of his views:

High property taxes: It's the teachers' union fault because they keep pushing up their earnings and reducing their responsibility.

Well, it does contribute somewhat. We know that 1/4 of the recent 24% increase in property taxes connects to increased local spending-- and much of that is on schools, and some part of that is connected to that interest group. States with prevailing wage laws have it worse-- unions support laws that reduce their competition, increase their effective wages, and increase taxes.

From there, Marcus points to a litany of other (at most) minor issues-- before pointing to the political impact of public sector unions.

Government: Union members vote as they are told to, as a block, and thus can destroy or make any candidate in any election, anywhere in the state.

Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration. But beyond that, there is some/much truth to the claim: it is politically risky to run counter to the desires of a potent special interest group! Depending on the state/region-- and especially within local politics where fire and police interests are so strong-- this can be anything from a modest to an overwhelming issue.

What do unions bring with them? One thing is a questionable certainty: union members earn more than their non-unionized comrades. In 2006, the premium earned by union members was 30 percent over those not in unions. But that may not be comparing comparable jobs.

It may be that the specific industry is more important than the presence or absence of unions in determining wages. For a fair comparison, we'd have to have data for union and non-union workers doing the same jobs, in the same places. Rather than unions scaring businesses from Indiana, may be the firms already here which pay high wages discourage new entrants.

It should be noted that Marcus is careful here with data that are often abused.

What's the bottom line?

Unions-- as labor market cartels-- are good for those who supply labor (workers) in those markets. But as with other cartels-- especially when they have a legislative agenda to benefit themselves at the expense of others-- there are significant social/economic costs for consumers, taxpayers, and other workers. In particular, at the end of the day, unions are pro-union not pro-worker per se.

Are unions a primary explanation for economic growth or its absence? No. But how can artificially higher wages and taxes be a good thing for an economy? The larger issue is that pro-union legislation is typically correlated with other policies which are harmful to an economy. (I'll blog on this, based on a recent WSJ article, shortly.)


Democrats, PAYGO, and "fiscal conservatism"

An op-ed in Monday's WSJ...

The Paygo Farce

Democrats admit it was all a big confidence game.
"Democrats are committed to ending years of irresponsible budget policies that have produced historic deficits. Instead of compiling trillions of dollars of debt onto our children and grandchildren, we will restore pay-as-you-go budget discipline."--Speaker Nancy Pelosi, December 12, 2006

Well, as Emily Litella, the half-witted Gilda Radner character on Saturday Night Live, would have put it: "Never mind." Last week Congressional Democrats formally renounced their ballyhooed budget pledge to offset any new tax cuts with other tax increases or spending cuts. We're delighted to see this false promise go, but there's a larger lesson in this failure for the tax and spending battles of 2008.

Senate Democrats gave up on "paygo," as it's called, when they realized they lacked the votes to offset the $50.6 billion cost of protecting more than 20 million middle-class taxpayers from getting whacked by the Alternative Minimum Tax this year. They've spent the year floating all kinds of tax increases to make up the difference. But in the end they passed an AMT relief bill without a penny to pay for it. Paygo is now pay gone.

C-ya...

We should stress that this is the right decision for the economy and the federal budget. The AMT was never supposed to hit the middle class, and it only does so now because the Democrats who designed it failed to index it for inflation and raised AMT rates under Bill Clinton in 1993....

Politicians aren't typically good about seeing the long-term consequences of their actions, indexing things to inflation, and so on.

But paygo shouldn't be allowed to expire without everyone kicking sand on its grave. That's because it has been nothing but a confidence game from the very start. Paygo doesn't apply to domestic discretionary spending, and it doesn't restrain spending increases under current law in entitlements like Medicare and Medicaid. Its main goals are to make tax cutting all but impossible, while letting Democrats pretend to favor "fiscal discipline," a la Ms. Pelosi's boast above.

Boom!

In fact, the paygo farce has been unfolding all year. Since the day they took the gavel, Democrats have been using gimmick after gimmick to evade it. The Schip bill for health care, for example, includes a spending "cliff" that disguises its actual cost. It assumes spending would rise to $14 billion in 2012, but then pretends the costs would fall to less than half that level in 2013--which just so happens to fall outside the five-year budget scoring window. Some $60 billion in spending over the next 10 years were hidden through this ploy.

Gimmicks? Congress? Fiscal conservatives?

Then there is the House farm bill awaiting action in the Senate. That spending marathon includes between $5 billion and $10 billion in fictitious paygo savings by shifting the date of farm aid payments from one year to another. If a Fortune 500 CEO did that sort of thing, he'd be indicted.

Maybe that's why they like Social Security too. In addition to being a brutal "investment" for the working poor, it's actuarially unsound.

House Democrats realize how humiliating this all is, so they're still vowing to make paygo work. Especially embarrassed are the so-called Blue Dog Democrats for whom "fiscal discipline" is a coat of political protection. John Tanner of Tennessee is so upset he says the Senate paygo abdication "is bordering on criminal," and about 30 Blue Dogs are threatening to vote against AMT repeal without offsetting tax increases. They'd have more credibility if they also opposed the various fiscal gimmicks in the Schip and farm bills, not to mention the 2008 Congressional budget outline that exceeded President Bush's budget request by $22 billion....

Blah, blah, blah...It'll be interesting to see how the "Blue Dogs" spin this.

The larger relevance of this episode concerns the 2008 campaign. Hillary Clinton in particular has made paygo a major campaign theme because it makes her sound like a fiscal conservative while helping to justify tax increases. But, lo, guess who was missing on Thursday when the Senate voted 88-5 to ignore paygo on the AMT? None other than the candidate herself, along with Chris Dodd, Joe Biden and Barack Obama. To quote another Saturday Night Live character, "How convenient."

Good stuff...


an irony of biblical proportions

From FoxNews.com, excerpting a longer story from the London Times...

Chinese Factory Set to Become World's Largest Bible Producer

The only authorized Christian publisher in China is celebrating a milestone on Saturday as the 50 millionth Bible rolls off the presses, according to a report in the Times of London.

Demand for the Bible is soaring in officially-atheist China, at a time when meteoric economic growth is testing the country's allegiance to Communist doctrine, the Times of London reports. Now, the demand in China for Bibles is such that Amity Printing, a joint venture between Chinese Christian charity and the United Bible Societies, a Protestant organization, can barely keep pace.

Early next year it will move into a new, much larger factory on the edge of the eastern city of Nanjing to become the world's single-biggest producer of Bibles.

"This platform has been built as a blessing to the nation. It will print Bibles for China for as long as it takes to do it," said New Zealander Peter Dean, of the United Bible Societies.

In careful adherence to China's laws that prohibit evangelizing, the Bible is not on sale in mainstream Chinese bookshops but through a distribution system managed by the official church, such as stalls set up for people attending morning service, according to the Times of London report.

Additional details in the article from the Times-- on the numbers, the rampant growth of Christianity presumably among younger people in China (and the implications for one's eschatological views), and the religious baggage of the "Cultural Revolution"...

Of the 50 million Bibles Amity has printed, 41 million were for the faithful in Chinese and eight minority languages. The rest have been for export to Russia and Africa. Sales surged from 505,000 in 1988 to a high of 6.5 million in 2005. Output last year was 3.5 million and is expected to rise in 2007.

One of Mr Dean’s bestsellers is a pocket Bible, a version not suitable for the older generation to read and which may indicate a rapid expansion in the number of new, younger believers. He cited a surge in demand during the Sars crisis in 2003, but refrained from commenting. The enterprise has clearly flourished through its discretion and careful adherence to China’s laws that prohibit evangelising...

A country where the Communist ideology has lost much credibility is seeing an upsurge in conversions to Christianity. Li Baiguang, a prominent lawyer and Christian activist who was received by President Bush at the White House last year, said: “Rising wealth means that more and more people have been able to meet their material needs, the need for food and clothing.

“Then they are finding that they need to satisfy their spiritual needs, to look for happiness for the soul. In addition, they are seeing a breakdown in the moral order as money takes over. Thus, more and more people are turning to Christianity.”

In the ultra-leftist Cultural Revolution between 1966 and 1976, Bibles were burnt as tomes of superstition. Much has altered since the 1980s when government policy required tourists and visitors not to bring in Bibles “in excess of personal use”. Many faithful took to smuggling the book into China to meet demand....

It is such a sensitive issue that Chinese officials denied rumours recently that China would ban international athletes from bringing in Bibles to the Olympics in Beijing next August. However, the official Olympic website states: “Each traveller is recommended to take no more than one Bible into China.”

Drew Carey on govt vs. private provision of roads

From ReasonTV.com, Drew Carey on Gridlock: Hell on Wheels...
(please excuse Drew's "french" at the end)

An earlier post of mine on the potential privatization of roads...

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Feds donate $300,000 of your tax dollars to Columbus church

Don't get me wrong. The good folks at North Christian Church have given much to our community — and for that we are grateful.

But...

"Non-profit" just took on a new meaning.

A news release sent by Sen. Evan Bayh says the federal government plans to dole out $300,000 for repairs to the Columbus church.

North Christian Church is no historical monument. It was constructed in 1964.

It's a part of the The National Parks Service's Save America’s Treasures give-away grants.

North Christian is no national park. Don't believe me? Try setting up a camper in its parking lot next Sunday or go fishing in the baptistery.

North Christian is no needy organization. The church is known locally as the "oil can." It's also well known for its wealthy members; many of whom could easily fork over $300,000. I suspect its membership role would reflect much of Bayh's contribution list from Columbus.

To date, no liberals are screaming about tax dollars being diverted from children who have no health insurance. Nor is anyone complaining about church-state issues.

Birth statistics for 2006 released Dec. 5, 2007

Births: Preliminary Data for 2006 from National Center for Health Statistics:

% of illigitimate births

Ethnicity

1990200420052006

All Races

28.0%35.8%36.9%

38.5%

Whites

16.9%24.5%25.3%

26.6%

Hispanics

36.7%46.4%48.0%

49.9%

Blacks

66.5%69.3%69.9%

70.7%

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Oprah's campaigning points to flaw in BCRA



It was supposed to prevent wealthy people from tipping the political scales in their favor. BCRA (Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act) capped the amount candidates for federal office can receive in donations.

Enter Oprah.

Her campaigning for hardline leftist Barack Obama could be valued in millions of dollars. Oprah's in-kind donation bipasses BCRA, violates its intended purpose, and underscores a basic principle: Government efforts to balance the scales seldom work.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,316223,00.html

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Daniels reform proposal and local spending

From Jeff Abbott, an adjunct scholar with the Indiana Policy Review Foundation-- in the Ft. Wayne Journal-Gazette (hat tip: Jeff/NA News-Tribune, although it's not on their website)...

Abbott makes an important point: changing the process, without changing the actors, the incentives, or the information is unlikely to result in markedly different (or better) outcomes.

Indiana has a petition-remonstrance process that allows local taxpayers a say in whether a proposed bond issue will be allowed to proceed. Less than one-half of such remonstrances, however, are won by protesting taxpayers. Gov. Mitch Daniels has proposed replacing this with a referendum process whereby voters would decide proposed school bond issues up or down. But will it be any better?

The answer depends on the data used in whatever process is adopted.

Both sides of a proposed bond issue typically play to emotions. The school boards piously proclaim “it’s for the kids” and that the future of the community rests upon the approval of the proposed project. The remonstrators might just as loudly proclaim that businesses will leave and many retirees, poor people and even middle-class residents will lose their homes to foreclosure because they won’t be able to pay the higher property taxes.

School bond issue campaigns in Indiana are always long on rhetoric and short on facts. What is needed is just the opposite. The referendum process as proposed by the governor may be just as doomed as the current petition-remonstrance process. That is because it doesn’t matter which process is used.

Substantial changes in data collecting, data analyzing and data dissemination need to occur. Data need to speak directly to the question: Can a particular community afford the school bond issue before it?

The criteria and guidelines used by the state and local school boards are inadequate to answer that question....

Three indexes have been constructed to help a community address those questions: 1) a school-district affordability index; 2) a community-affordability index; and 3) an individual and family affordability index. These indexes incorporate 54 possible quantitative measurements as criteria for determining affordability.

Without the use of such quantitative data, regardless of whether the governor’s reform is approved, Indiana school bond campaigns will continue to be long on rhetoric and short on facts-- to the detriment of Indiana citizens who must ultimately make decisions on school-construction issues.

The longer version-- a "white paper"-- is available here-- through the IPR's website.

educational spending and results in Clark County

A little bit of arithmetic...

There are about 11,000 public school students in the GCC district. (Another website said there were 10,000, but we'll go with the larger number.)

According to an article in the C-J this morning, the GCC public school budget is nearly $75 million.

At present, we're spending about $6,800 per public school student-- $170,000 for a classroom of 25 students.

GCC's ISTEP results are below-average for Indiana-- in reading and math, in every grade level.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

6 ways to love gays

by Kenn Gividen

1. Be honest: A lying tongue hates those it hurts... — Proverbs 26:28

An overwhelming body of scholarly research corroborates the reality that the gay lifestyle endangers lives. According to Dr. Robert S. Hogg, "In a major Canadian centre, life expectancy at age 20 years for gay and bisexual men is 8 to 20 years less than for all men. If the same pattern of mortality were to continue, we estimate that nearly half of gay and bisexual men currently aged 20 years will not reach their 65th birthday."


Still, we persist, answering their lies with truth, their hate with love and their ridicule with reason.

When we concede to the gay myth that their lifestyle is a healthy, wholesome alternative to heterosexuality, we are contributing to their demise.

Read scholarly research on the gay health risks here ►

2. Don't be a mental sponge

The truth is often hidden behind myths advanced by the mainstream media. How can we know the truth if all we hear is liberal lies?

3. Don't be lazy

All you need do is turn on the TV (or read the latest edition of the daily newspaper) to absorb the latest myths regarding homosexuality. Discovering the truth clouded by the liberal media takes effort.

4. Know the truth ...and the truth shall set you free. — John 8:32

The best antidote for lies is... the truth!

http://www.missionamerica.com/homosexual.php?articlenum=16

5. Don't be hateful

Frustration -- and the constant flow of myths perpetuated by militant gay extremists can be frustrating -- often turns to anger. While abhorring lies that destroy others is a valid response, hating those who perpetuate the lies will accomplish nothing.

6. Don't be intimidated

80 years after the DC Stephenson's KKK collapsed in a flury of self-distruction, hate groups continue to flourish. As the Klan hated those with differing skin color, militant gay organizations hate those with different opinions.

There are those within the homosexual community who live in denial of the serious health risk associated with their lifestyle. They hate those who tell the truth, returning love with vindictive accusations. Still, we persist, answering their lies with truth, their hate with love and their ridicule with reason.

Below are a few more links...

Does God hate homosexuals?
What is the gay agenda?
Resources that tell the truth
Research web sites
Exit counseling

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Wal-Mart is so Cheap!

They think they are doing troops a favor. They think they are acting "green." In my opinion...all they are doing is showing how cheap they really are!

Come on!!!

If you are going to give something Wal-Mart, then go back into your own sewing section and pull brand new cloth to make those lap blankets for our Wounded Warriors!!!

Corporate America is turning into the biggest bunch of green weenies I have ever seen.

http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/fiction/2007/12/reuse_recycle_rewelcome.html

Ron Paul on the View

This is great stuff...follow the link and read how Ron Paul got his two co-hostesses all tied up in knots:

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/justin-mccarthy/2007/12/04/joy-whoopi-grill-ron-paul-over-abortion

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

December edition is in news stands

The Liberty Tree News December edition is now available in news stands throughout southcentral Indiana.

View the pdf version here:

http://www.angelfire.com/indie/aaahome/LTN_0712_final2.pdf

White suburbanite riot?

Bet you've never seen this before...

A huge crowd of white suburbanites chasing Black Panthers out of their neighborhood. Bits of this encounter were shown on national news networks, but the link below contains raw footage; about ten minutes long.

The Panthers were protesting the death of a (alleged) home-invading robber. White folk apparently had enough.

http://www.breitbart.tv/html/8973.html

Monday, December 3, 2007

Wave Of Illegals Turns Into Tsunami

"A new study suggests that the wave of illegal aliens is having a more serious impact — particularly on welfare spending — than commonly believed. Is anyone in Washington listening?" — IBD Editorial

The hypocrisy of the liberal mindset is appalling.

Barry Wright underscored that reality in the December edition of Liberty Tree News where he skillfully draws the tragic comparison between open-armed attitude toward illegal aliens and cold-hearted rejection of innocent babies.

Likewise, the op-ed in the conservative Investors Business Daily caught my attention. Liberals are whining (understatement?) about the health insurance crisis. Meanwhile, they advocate open borders (boarders?) and amnesty for millions of uninsured illegal aliens.

"Of America’s 39 million immigrants, representing 12.6% of our total population, at least 12 million are illegal. Most, but not all, come from Mexico and Central America. What exactly do the numbers mean? Well, for one thing, they mean we’re importing a lot of poverty—and it’s skewing the debate over key public policy issues."

Read the entire op-ed here:
http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=281232471584382

The Danger of Pluralism

Chuck Colson recently spoke of the dangers involved in holding a pluralistic worldview. He was speaking those who hold the position that all paths lead to God.

The danger?

Look at Islam for example. Here we have a religion who worships a god that has no tolerance for teddy bears. Teddy bears cannot be named after their premier prophet, yet it is okay to place a crucifix in a jar of urine and call it art. They claim that their god and the Judeo-Christian God are one in the same.

Christians need to start speaking out against this very loudly and boldly, otherwise the politically-correct types of the atheistic and romantic persuasion are going to take America back to the pre-dawn days of France. You know, the time where religion was considered evil and created a vacuum and lead that country into the bloody days of the French Revolution.

Why do I equate this to civil war you ask? It is very simple. If one religion is labeled as murderous, intolerant, and evil, and then all religions are then looked upon as worshipping the same god, then all religions are going to be looked upon as being murderous, intolerant, and evil. The net result will be an attempt to link Christianity with violence and terrorism.

Some would say that Christianity has a checkered past regarding the Crusades, 30 Years War, etc. I argue that those who fought and killed in the name of Christ were not true Christians. In those cases, there is a clear pattern of self-serving pride and a lust for power that those rulers exhibited. No, they were not Christians, but were merely tyrants...despots. True Christians live in accordance to God's laws - love Him, love your neighbor. Does this mean Christians must display pacifistic tendencies all the time? No. Part of loving our neighbor includes defending them when they are attacked.

I digress though. This notion of multicultural tolerance being pounded into the heads of publicly schooled children is the result of a nation worshipping at the feet of the god of "felt needs." This worldview demands that everybody accepts everybody else so as to build up their self esteem. This includes not differentiating on the issue of religion. Otherwise a difference of opinion might hurt somebody's feelings.

Here is my theological interpretation of that thought - TTTHHHHPPPHHHTT!

Christians, stand up for your faith and deliever the truth in love while holding your ground firmly. Do not give in to the politically correct sissies who attempt to make themselves gods by creating their utopia here on earth.

It just ain't gonna happen.



Barry Wright

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Electric Car Attacks Gasoline Pump


On November 26th David Eads was making a left turn when the electric car he was driving spotted a gasoline pump. When the car was within range of the pump the car’s accelerator became stuck causing the drive to lose control ramming into and destroying the gas pump. Fortunately, the drive was not hurt although the car gave its own life in the battle to stop global warming.

Iowa Black & Brown Forum

Talk about fired up...

I watched bits of the Democratic debate sponsored by black and brown people last night.

Themes were:

• Free health care insurance -- never mind that health care won't be available
• Minimum wage $9.50 -- never mind that jobs won't be available
• Soak rich folks with taxes -- never mind that taxing innovators will rob the nation of jobs

• Joe Biden said he opposed those who pit blacks and browns against each other (apparently feeling guilty about pitting Anita Hill against Clarence Thomas).


John Edwards said some CEOs make more money in 10 minutes than those in the audience make in a year.

I got out my calculator.

The median income for black households was just under $32,000 (2005 or 2006).

$32,000 every ten minutes is $1,536,000 per 8-hour work day; $7,680,000 5-day work week; $399,360,000 per year.

The highest paid CEO in the nation was Yahoo's Terry Semel who earned $230.6 million. Most of that ($229,952,000) was in stock gains.

• Edwards also suggested there were more illegal Irish immigrants than Hispanic. If I remember correctly (I could be wrong) he used sixty percent as the number of Irish illegally in this country.

Let's figure.

A - The population of Ireland is 4,109,086.
B - CNN says there are 7 million illegal immigrants in the USA.
C - Therefore, the number of illegal Irish immigrants living in America, 4.2 million, exceeds the entire population of Ireland.

• These people may actually control the White House and Congress in the very near future.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/12/01/democrats-debate-at-the-i_n_74960.html

• And what about the lead question that challenged the inequity that compared black to white incarceration?

According to the Dept of Justice...

1 of 31.80 black males is incarcerated in a federal or state prison (3.15 percent)

1 of 80.39 Hispanic males is incarcerated in a federal or state prison (1.24 percent)

1 of 212.31 white males is incarcerated in a federal or state prison (0.47 percent)

Black males are 6.7 times more likely to be incarcerated in a federal or state prison than white males. (3.15 ÷ 0.47 = 6.7) [source]

Not mentioned is the universality of black and white crime rates. American statistics align with those of other nations in Europe, South America and Africa.

Blacks commit more violent crimes that whites who commit more crimes that East Asians who commit more crimes that Ashkenazi Jews.

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