Archive for April, 2010

Mark Watson

Two of the three branches of government for this country continue to plot against the third.

Since the Supreme Court’s January 2010 Citizens United decision, members of Congress and the president have assailed the third, co-equal branch, of America’s government.

First Amendment? Uh, what's that one do?

Congressman John Yarmuth, a two-term Democrat from Kentucky, said in a radio interview on April 16 that he will be introducing a congressional resolution condemning the Supreme Court for rendering its opinion.

Citizens United restored free speech unto corporations and unions, which were threatened by criminal and civil penalties under the discredited McCain-Feingold law.

Ironically, Yarmuth is a former publisher of LEO, an alternative and free publication of Louisville. One would like to expect a former publisher to be in favor of free speech.

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Bob Maistros

Seems that Herman Cain, my fellow North Star contributor, the no-nonsense, straight-talking former owner of Godfather’s Pizza and a popular radio talk-show host, tantalized the throng at last week’s Southern Republican Leadership Conference by hinting, “There may also be a dark-horse candidate you don’t know,” as he strode off stage.

That's the ticket!

And I have since watched two non-denial denials about a potential presidential candidacy from his lips.

Well, if Herman can do it, so can I.  I want you all to know that I have no plans to run for President in 2012.  Yet if a dark-horse (yeah, “dark” like a black hole) Maistros candidacy should somehow arise, my platform should be fairly clear to those who follow my posts: Read the rest of this entry »

Dan Calabrese

Now that a federal judge has struck down the 1952 federal law establishing a National Day of Prayer, Christians are presented with a golden opportunity – to shrug their shoulders and say, “Who cares?”

That’s probably not what most “Christian leaders” will do, but it’s what all should.

Dear Government, please bless my godly petition

The Christian community has become far too fixated, especially during the era of instant mass media, on seeking government endorsement and approval of everything we hold dear.  That, as Solomon would have said, is meaningless – a chasing after the wind. And we waste our time and twist ourselves like pretzels in the pursuit of it.

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Kelly Anderson Wright

In further proof that the newly formed “Tea Party of Nevada” is a sham organization designed to re-elect Reid, the Tea Party Express has officially endorsed Republican state lawmaker Sharron Angle, not TPN’s candidate, Jon Scott Ashjian.

The shirt says it all.

The Tea Party Express, the largest legitimate Tea Party organization in the nation, promised Angle that her Senate race to retire four-time Sen. Harry Reid (D) in Nevada would be its “top priority” among 2010 primaries, much as they supported now-Senator Scott Brown’s election in Massachusetts.

In an endorsement released Thursday morning, Tea Party Express’ Joe Wierzbicki said, “[We] will invest the resources necessary for Sharron Angle to win the Republican primary [in Nevada to defeat Harry Reid] through an aggressive independent expenditure campaign.”

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Jamie Weinstein

Florida Governor Charlie Crist has denied it, but my bet is he is going to drop out of the Republican primary and run as an independent for U.S. Senate. It has been  suggested that by vetoing a Republican-backed education bill this week, Crist may be laying the groundwork to appeal to Democrats, independents and moderate Republicans if he decides to make the dramatic move.

Only good-tasting tuna get to be senators.

And make the move he likely will. Crist wants to be Florida’s next senator and there is almost no way he can defeat former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio in the Republican primary.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. When race began, Crist was a popular governor and Rubio was unknown to most of the state.

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David Karki

Looking at the current political scene, I can’t help but feel like we’re in a car going at Indy racing speed with a cliff looming just ahead. And the driver not only denies the cliff exists, but honestly – and delusionally – thinks that he can mash the gas pedal to the floor in perpetuity without ever suffering the inevitable consequences. Or, worse yet, fully means to destroy the vehicle and kill its occupants in the process. Whatever the case, his intent is irrelevant – your survival is at stake.

Fun!

As a passenger who knows that to do nothing is to fly off the cliff to your doom, and that changing the driver’s behavior is a hopeless cause, you’re left with two choices. One is to use force on the driver, hoping that you can reach the brakes before either plunging off the precipice or otherwise fatally crashing as the two of you struggle for control of the car.

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Dan Calabrese

People sometimes forget that we have three branches of government rather than just two – and the perpetrators of ObamaCare would certainly like to forget this – but we got an indication today that ObamaCare hasn’t won a final victory yet, because the third branch hasn’t yet weighed in.

Are you serious? Are you serious?

Don’t take my word for it. Take the word of a Supreme Court Justice, and not just any Justice. It’s Stephen Breyer, who was appointed by Bill Clinton and has been one of the Court’s consistent liberal Justices. As the attorney general of nearly half the states gear up to challenge the constitutionality of the law socializing medicine in this country, Breyer indicated today in testimony before a House subcommittee that he believes the Court not only will, but should, hear their arguments:

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Bruce Fisher

If you’re feeling blessed as the stock market rises again, go buy the book No One Would Listen by Harry Markopolos, the guy who blew the whistle on Bernard Madoff’s $50 billion Ponzi scheme. It’s about how a math nerd figured out that the magical Wall Street process of money spawning money

'I tried to warn them this many times...'

was a fraud that some of the cleverest people in the world agreed not to disturb, mainly because too many of the clever were in on the scam—but also because underpaid, under-trained regulators were simply too stupid to catch it.

The Madoff case was the largest of its kind in history. Thousands of investors in Europe and in the U.S. were completely wiped out. Had it not been for the housing-finance bubble, though, the genuine heroism of Harry Markopolos and a few of his friends would not have mattered. It is a scary story, and it’s extremely well told.

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Bob Maistros

See Peter.  See Peter work hard in high school.  See Peter finish near the top of his class.  See Peter go to college.  See Peter study very hard.  See Peter work at an entry-level job during the day and go to graduate school at night to get a better job someday.  See Peter study late into the night.  Peter works very hard!

One for you, one for me.

See Paul.  See Paul not do his homework.  See Paul go out and party with his girlfriend Paula instead.  See Paula cry and tell Peter they have to get married.  (You can ask your sex ed teacher why.)  See Paul get a union job at the local auto plant.  See Paul stand around a lot at work because of union rules.  See Paul go out to the bar with his buddies every night after work and watch sports and girls dancing.  Can you say “bad life choices?”

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Brett Noel

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Large version for newspaper publication.

Grayscale version for newspaper publication.