Archive for December, 2008
Don’t "leave it to the other guy"
Glenn Sacks emailed to a href=”http://fathersandfamiliesblog.org/?p=1038″let me know about a lawsuit/a being filed by Fathers and Families, to stop new Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines:br /br /blockquoteFathers and Families has filed suit in Federal District Court in Boston to stop the scheduled January 1 implementation of new Child Support Guidelines. The suit seeks a temporary injunction halting the use of the new guidelines until a full hearing can be held. It will be heard before Judge D.P. Woodlock on Monday, January 5 at 10 AM in courtroom 1…..br /br /The new guidelines will cause almost all child support orders to increase substantially — when all factors are considered, middle-class recipients will enjoy a standard of living almost double that of payers who earn about the same amount. In some cases, child support orders will triple, even in cases in which the payer is poor and the child is economically comfortable because the custodial parent earns over $100,000. And in high income cases, the child support order for one child could be nearly $50,000.br /br //blockquotebr /br /Massachusetts is already an expensive place to live; if these new guidelines are passed, it will be harder, mainly for the divorced men in that state. a href=”http://fathersandfamiliesblog.org/?p=1038″Go take a look here /aand see what you can do to help. As Dr. Ned Holstein, the executive director of Fathers and Families says, “If you ‘leave it to the other guy,’ it won’t happen.”
Gaza Comes to America
Hate demonstrations against Israel are taking place across the country. (Important: counter-demonstrations being organized by the Lipstick Haganah)
Big Trouble For the Grey Lady
If I were the New York Times, I would be very afraid of Vicki Iseman's lawsuit.
New Year’s resolutions made easy
Why try too hard on your New Year’s resolutions when you can take the easy way out? David Harsanyi on a href=”http://www.denverpost.com/harsanyi/ci_11338836″his New Year’s resolution: /abr /br /blockquoteMeanwhile, I’ll be making only one, completely horrifying resolution this year. Not only do I plan to regularly eat cheap, salt-infested, cheese- drenched meat products, but I also plan on washing them down with various brands of needlessly sugary beverages./blockquotebr /br /That sounds good, and in my own contrarian way, I understand. However, I rarely do New Year’s resolutions. If I have a goal, I break it down into small doable segments and work on one of them every once in a while until I finish what I want to accomplish. This year, I do think my resolution will be to do something about this damn Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) that I got from computer overuse. Darn you people on the Internet, you are so interesting, I keep clicking on to see what you say. I need to stop but it has gotten to be a habit and I am paying for it with a left arm that I can barely lift over my head. So my goal? Physical therapy in 2009. Good times.br /br /What about you, do you have a resolution? If so, what is it it and how will or won’t you achieve it?
A Toast to Old Media’s — and Old Medea’s — Defeat in Iraq
My 2002 email to anti-war activist Medea Benjamin — and how it looks after a successful 2008.
Celebrating New Year’s the Right Way
False camaraderie with drunken strangers can't beat a quiet evening with the ones you love.
The Gaza War: Is It Really So Hard to Understand?
It's no different than Pearl Harbor or September 11. When you are attacked, you fight back. (Also, Phyllis Chesler on Israel's Morality vs. Hamas's Morality)
Resolved: 2009 Will Be a Better Year for the GOP
New Year's resolutions for the era of "Hope and Change."
In the Line of Fire in Sderot
What is it like to live under threat of attack any moment? I went to see for myself.
Reid Balks at Blagojevich Senate Choice
The disgraced Illinois governor's master stroke now puts the ball squarely in the majority leader's court.
The Rebirth of the Stalin Cult
Guess who Russians just voted their third most popular historic figure ...
Sleepless in Ashkelon as Missiles Fall
Sderot is no longer alone. The number of Israeli cities under attack grows longer by the hour.
Caroline Kennedy Is No Sarah Palin
Gov. Palin worked for everything she has; she never waited around to be crowned.
New Year’s Resolutions for our Political Elites
Some pithy promises our politicians might want to make for 2009.
Israel Targets Terror Labs Funded by U.S. Islamic Group
The labs were made possible by millions from a Saudi-financed charity in ... Ohio.
Spain’s ‘Jewish Problem’
Anti-Semitism is on the rise — but how many Spaniards have actually ever met a Jew?
The Seven Biggest Political Blunders of 2008
From Spitzer to Edwards to Blagojevich, there were barely enough dunce caps to go around.
Neo-Neocon: a href=”http://neoneocon.com/2008/12/29/milgram-revisited/”The Milgram experiments revisited./a
The Battle of Gaza and the Real War
Israel's operation against Hamas can only be understood as part of a broader whole: the war against the terror masters in Tehran. (Also, Ron Radosh: The Essential Articles on the War Against Hamas, Phyllis Chesler: Internet Forces Watching Israel's Back, and Roger L. Simon: Gaza: The Definitive Statement)
Is the health care gravy train on the way?
I was reading a comment by Steve Forbes in span style=”font-style:italic;”Forbes/span magazine today about health care and just had a few thoughts. If you have read this blog regularly, you will know that I am typically against universal health care. As is to be expected, Forbes says in a comment entitled, span style=”font-style:italic;”Sickening,/span that the Obama administration will make a hard-left push in health care, probably by signing a series of bills rather than trying to nationalize all at once. br /br /He states that the Democrats will push a big reform bill that ostensibly deals with the 47 million uninsured Americans and that contains the following features:br /br /blockquoteEveryone must have health insurance, in the same way that most states mandate that all drivers have car insurance.br /br /Private companies can write policies for people in this government pool, but they will have to meet numerous government mandates on what their policies must provide, as well as restrictions on what they can charge for premiums. In fact, the Obama Administration may mandate so-called community rating, in which everyone, regardless of age or condition, pays the same price for insurance. To mollify private insurers the feds will offer reinsurance above certain levels of liability./blockquote br /br /At first, I balked at this plan (and it is not certain, of course, that this is the direction the Obama administration will take), but then I thought about it. Guess who pays for this mandated health care? Younger and/or healthier people.br /br /That ain’t me. The plan won’t work unless the young and healthy subsidize those of us who have health problems and are older. With a heart attack, an ICD and in my forties, I’m going to be sitting pretty. I am already in the system. And now the younger, healthier people will be forced to contribute to pay for my battery changes, heart check-ups and other medical problems. Sounds good to me. br /br /And it’s not like the young liberal types are opposed to the idea of expanded health care. After all, those who are young activists a href=”http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1107/7042.html”are on Facebook /aand other sites clamoring for forced government health care. In addition, 68% of 18-24 year-olds a href=”http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/04/exit.polls/”voted for Obama /aas did 69% of the 25-29 year-olds (sorry to the 31-32% who did not–I sure don’t want you subsidizing me). What these liberals don’t realize is, they will most likely be the ones paying my way–but oh, well. As the saying goes, “Be careful what you wish for, you may receive it.”
Fighting Terror, Fighting Tyranny, Fighting Evil
We are obliged to combat tyrants, like it or not. For they will always feel obliged to attack us.
Another Senior Iranian Military Official Defects
The second high-profile defection in two years has taken place. PJM is the first to tell the story in English.
Will Things Get Better for Conservatives in 2009?
The surprises of 2008 show the perils of political predictions.
Let’s Put the ‘Reality’ Back in Reality TV
How about a domestic version of Survivor, in which contestants are dropped off in Detroit and challenged to make a living?
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