2006-12-15
Trading on Tragedy
It seems as though the first reaction of many people on both sides of the political fence to the news of Senator Tim Johnson’s (D-SD) sudden illness was, “How will this affect the balance of power in the Senate? Oh, and I hope he’s alright.” The mainstream media ghouls injected the question of Democratic control into [...]
Comments (0) Filed under: Vox Populi — Joe Mariani @ 6:09 am | 0 views2006-12-12
Grading the Iraq Study Group’s Report
The only conclusion a reasonable person can draw upon reading the report released by the much-touted Iraq Study Group is, “what a colossal waste of time.” The last event that failed so miserably to live up to its own hype was Samuel L. Jackson’s dismal failure, “Snakes on a Plane” (during which I openly rooted [...]
Comments (0) Filed under: Vox Populi — Joe Mariani @ 5:29 am | 0 views2006-12-05
An Influx of Immigrants 2: America
How is America doing in terms of demographics? Our fertility rate is hovering at just below replacement level, averaging 2.09 children over the lifetime of each American woman. Of all industrialised nations, including Russia, Japan and Australia, we are the only country in which the current population has a future. Even China’s fertility rate is [...]
Comments (2) Filed under: Vox Populi — Joe Mariani @ 5:36 am | 0 views2006-11-28
An Influx of Immigrants 1: Europe
In order for a population to sustain itself, its fertility rate must remain above a certain average number of children per female – about 2.1, to make up for accidents and other sources of mortality. That has little to do with total population, which can be supplemented by outsiders, but means a great deal to a group [...]
Comments (1) Filed under: Vox Populi — Joe Mariani @ 5:07 am | 1 views2006-11-20
Did the Democrats ‘Hamas’ Themselves?
In January 2006, the Palestinians handed power to the Hamas party in their first free election, to the surprise of everyone… including the Hamas party. Not so surprising, however, was the discovery that the terrorist group whose entire “platform” consisted of “kill the Jews and destroy Israel” had no idea how to deal with the [...]
Comments (0) Filed under: Current Events, Vox Populi — Joe Mariani @ 5:12 am | 0 views2006-11-12
Islamists Rising
As the dust of the 2006 election settles, it’s clear who the real winners are. Our enemies pay far more attention to our politics than most of our citizens, and know just how to manipulate our media to achieve maximum impact. Think it’s a coincidence that October was constantly referred to as, “the bloodiest month [...]
Comments (4) Filed under: Vox Populi — Joe Mariani @ 7:11 am | 0 views2006-11-07
Last-Minute Election Prediction
A week ago, I would have predicted that the Republicans would lose 20 to 25 House seats and 5 or 6 Senate seats, giving the House to the Democrats and putting retention of the Senate at 50-50. Now, I think they will only lose a few Senate seats, retaining control by a slim margin, and even stand [...]
Comments (2) Filed under: Vox Populi — Joe Mariani @ 6:42 am | 0 views2006-11-02
Did You Vote in ‘06?
A win for the Democrats in the 2006 election would be a loss for not just the Republicans, but Americans in general. If you’re one of those who think Democratic control of Congress will only last for two years — and that the Republicans will rediscover their Conservative roots while “wandering in the wilderness” — [...]
Comments (2) Filed under: Vox Populi — Joe Mariani @ 5:13 am | 0 views2006-10-27
Iraq, the War, and the Kitchen Sink
As many times as those who support the struggle in Iraq have tried to explain its place in the context of the larger War on Terror, reason and facts have failed to make an impression on Liberals. Unfortunately, as many of us have found, one cannot hope to convince using logic people whose worldview is [...]
Comments (0) Filed under: Vox Populi — Joe Mariani @ 4:12 am | 0 views2006-10-23
The Battle for the Battle for Iraq
With an election looming, the anti-war Democrats and the mainstream media have gone into overdrive in their attempts to undermine support for the fight in Iraq. They lied about the conclusions drawn by all of America’s intelligence services. They continue to emphasise the deaths of American soldiers while ignoring all they’ve done. They talk about splitting [...]
Comments (0) Filed under: Vox Populi — Joe Mariani @ 4:39 am | 0 views2006-10-18
Statecraft and Stagecraft
Less than a week after North Korea tested its first nuclear weapon, the fifteen members of the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed a resolution invoking sanctions against the regime of Kim Jong-Il. Finally, the UN has “done something” to prevent him from building another one, right? In fact, nothing could be further from the [...]
Comments (0) Filed under: Vox Populi — Joe Mariani @ 4:14 am | 0 views2006-10-12
Can We Get Serious About the 2006 Elections?
North Korea conducted what appears to be a successful nuclear weapons test, and Kim Jong Il has threatened to fire off a nuclear missile — though it’s not clear he has that capability — if the US doesn’t accede to his demand for one-on-one talks.
Iran is on the verge of building its own nuclear weapon, [...]
2006-10-05
Don’t Fall for the Faux Foley Fury
In today’s topsy-turvy world, perhaps the strangest thing is to see Democrats blasting Republicans for NOT gay-bashing. What is the world coming to?
Inexplicably, House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) is under attack for not preventing former Representative Mark Foley (R-FL) from contacting male pages. The Left are in their glory over this “scandal,” throwing accusations of [...]
2006-10-02
The NIE L-I-E
In April 2006, the annual “Patterns of Global Terrorism” National Intelligence Estimate report was released to Congressional leaders. Both Democrats and Republicans had access to its findings, although — because it contains classified information like operatives’ names and methods — the report was not made available to the public.
Yet while the Right wages war on [...]
2006-09-25
United Nations: Mend It or End It
The US taxpayers fund more than twenty percent of the annual budget of the United Nations. We house them in New York City, on some of the most valuable real estate in the world. We constantly defer to them on matters of international importance, even at the risk of our own security. Why do we [...]
Comments (3) Filed under: Vox Populi — Joe Mariani @ 4:00 am | 0 views2006-09-18
Take No More Prisoners
The only value captured terrorists hold is in the information they can provide — information which has prevented terrorist attacks and led to the capture of still more terrorists. Information gained from Abu Zubadayah, for instance, led to the capture of Ramzi bin al-Shib, which in turn led to the capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, [...]
Comments (1) Filed under: Vox Populi — Joe Mariani @ 3:45 am | 0 views2006-09-08
Five Years Ago
Five years ago, I thought America was invulnerable, and — to be honest — a bit boring. I saw terrorism as something that happened to other people, on the other side of the world. All politicians seemed alike to me. I could not have cared less who held what office.
Five years ago, the biggest problem [...]
2006-09-04
A ‘Big-Picture’ Look at the 2006 Elections
Mid-term elections have become more “nationalised” due to partisan politics, to the point where a person just awoken from a coma might think President Bush is running for office in 2006. The old adage “all politics are local” has been cast aside, as the Democrats work to take back power by any means necessary. The [...]
Comments (6) Filed under: Vox Populi — Joe Mariani @ 6:43 am | 0 views2006-08-28
When ‘Plan B’ Becomes Plan A
The FDA recently approved making a drug called “Plan B” available over the counter, with no prescription necessary. A woman who takes it up to three days after intercourse can substantially reduce her chance to become pregnant. Thanks to Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Patty Murray (D-WA), who strong-armed the agency by blocking the nominations [...]
Comments (4) Filed under: Vox Populi — Joe Mariani @ 3:29 am | 0 views2006-08-23
Is Karr ‘Gaming’ the System?
It doesn’t take much to cast doubt on the story John Mark Karr has been telling. Although he claims to have killed six year old JonBenet Ramsey in her Colorado home in 1996, his tale doesn’t hold water. The confession makes no sense — none of the evidence points to him in any way. His [...]
Comments (0) Filed under: Vox Populi — Joe Mariani @ 4:03 am | 0 views
