This Just In ...

Recommended Reading (01/09/11)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on Jan. 9, 2011

Recommended reading

Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend (You will note that on occasion, I do not endorse the opinions of the author and may point that out. Despite my disagreements, I still feel the piece is worth a read).


White Flight

"The new data show that white voters not only strongly preferred Republican House and Senate candidates but also registered deep disappointment with President Obama’s performance, hostility toward the cornerstones of the current Democratic agenda, and widespread skepticism about the expansive role for Washington embedded in the party’s priorities. On each of those questions, minority voters expressed almost exactly the opposite view from whites."


Two Californias

"The last three weeks I have traveled about, taking the pulse of the more forgotten areas of central California. I wanted to witness, even if superficially, what is happening to a state that has the highest sales and income taxes, the most lavish entitlements, the near-worst public schools (based on federal test scores), and the largest number of illegal aliens in the nation, along with an overregulated private sector, a stagnant and shrinking manufacturing base, and an elite environmental ethos that restricts commerce and productivity without curbing consumption."


Are we still the home of the brave?

“Sadly, this risk-averse/avoid-pain mindset is overtaking America. Anything that entails risk is to be avoided and, when possible, banned.”


The ten most under-reported stories of 2010

"You won’t see the stories below in the pages of the NYT or on the screens of NBC. You won’t hear them discussed at the water cooler. They’re the stories that show without any doubt the cards held by those who wish to enslave the masses to the god of government. A theocracy, to be sure, but one that holds up the state above all else. These stories are what progressives are trying desperately to erase from the annals of history, an effort that the new penny press, new media, refuses to allow."


Top Ten Political Lies of 2010

“Here, in no particular order, are the top 10 political lies of 2010.

1. Ninety-five percent of 'working families' received a tax cut.”


While teachers are laid off, fortunes spent on….

“Teachers have been getting laid off right and left in Florida's Broward School District. Despite all the taxes, the money just isn't there to pay them. This gives an idea of where it went.”


MTV abortion special: Happy for the kill

"Now we get to 'No Easy Decision,' which follows one of the teen moms from '16 and Pregnant.' Markai finds out eight months after having her daughter that she is pregnant again and decides this time to abort.

Announcing the special, Entertainment Weekly wrote, 'MTV sources say the documentary will tackle all sides of the issue. ...'

So I expected the pro-life position to be fairly represented alongside the pro-abortion position - by educating on the documented harm of abortion to women, describing fetal development at the age of the baby being aborted and offering a counseling session at a pregnancy care center as well as an abortion clinic. I was resigned that Markai would move ahead with her abortion but thought her decision would be fully informed.

None of this came to pass.