Common Sense Junction
Headlines


 
Common Sense Junction
Periodical Blog Headlines

  1. Brown skinned alive on Lateline

    → Andrew Bolt | 6 Feb 2012 | 2:37 pm MST

    Emma Alberici makes a fool of Greens leader Bob Brown as he tries…

  2. Not as assimillated as we once fondly assumed

    → Andrew Bolt | 6 Feb 2012 | 1:45 pm MST

    Another dangerous tension imported, along with a certain attitude to our authorities:

  3. Life wasn’t meant to be this dangerous

    → Andrew Bolt | 6 Feb 2012 | 1:12 pm MST

    Gerard Henderson on one of the great blunders in “refugee” policy - committed…

  4. Pick another excuse

    → Andrew Bolt | 6 Feb 2012 | 12:50 pm MST

    The Left is desperately looking for anything that might back up Bob Brown’s excuse that

  5. The independents do not threaten Rudd

    → Andrew Bolt | 6 Feb 2012 | 12:40 pm MST

    I don’t think Labor need fear the independents should it replace Gillard with Rudd. I seriously doubt these independents would surrender their influence by triggering…

  6. Slipper would be shamed by a wig

    → Andrew Bolt | 6 Feb 2012 | 12:24 pm MST

    I am not opposed to restoring traditions and rituals which add gravity to important functions, and remind the office bearer that his power is only…

  7. Brown now denies what he once said: that Gillard broke her word

    → Andrew Bolt | 6 Feb 2012 | 11:48 am MST

    Was Bob Brown deceiving us then about the deceiving Julia Gillard, or his he deceiving us now? On January 11, Greens leader Brown…

  8. Catholic Church Sees Light on Obamacare; Will Not Comply

    → Bizblogger | 6 Feb 2012 | 7:16 am MST

    On the eve of the jamming through of Obamacare a couple of years ago, the Catholic Church discounted parishoner objections about the government mandating abortion and contraception and backed the law anyway as a way to "help the poor." Now that the law does indeed force all Catholic hospitals and charities to allow abortion and contraception or be shut down, the Church has seen the light and is opposing these measures strongly.

    Yesterday the Catholic Bishops clearly said that they will absolutely not abide by the regulations and are rightly decrying Obamacare as a trampling of the right to freedom of religion. For the Church, this step is nothing less than extraordinary. It is typically a very liberal institution and apolitical. While sometimes naive, the Catholic Church is doing the right thing - finally. Unfortunately, Obama will likely ignore the Church and force compliance or risk being shut down entirely.

    A sad but expected turn when the government controls the entire health care industry. But at least Catholics - even the very liberal ones - are now getting annoyed.


  9. Albrecht: Who is an Aborigine?

    → Andrew Bolt | 6 Feb 2012 | 6:21 am MST

    Paul Albrecht AM in his new book asks an interesting question on which I make no comment: When I began my…

  10. They want Australia without the Australians?

    → Andrew Bolt | 6 Feb 2012 | 6:05 am MST

    They are mad, of course. Leave it to our multiculturalists - or, more accurately, cultural separatists - and we will soon share nothing but an…

  11. The curious reappearance of Paul Connor on the ABC

    → Andrew Bolt | 6 Feb 2012 | 6:04 am MST



  12. Obama Loves Failed Housing Speculators Too

    → Bizblogger | 3 Feb 2012 | 2:19 pm MST

    Everyone knows that Obama loves failing companies, especially in the auto and "green energy" sectors. He loves to waste taxpayer dollars on them. Now it appears that his third round of housing bailouts will include speculators as well. From Bankstocks.com:

    Did you notice this little detail in the expansion of the HAMP loan modification program the Treasury Department announced last week?:

    . . . Treasury will expand eligibility to include properties that are currently occupied by a tenant as well as vacant properties which the borrower intends to rent. This will provide critical relief to both homeowners that live in their homes and those who rent their homes, while further stabilizing communities from the blight of vacant and foreclosed properties. Single family homes are an important source of affordable rental housing, and foreclosure of investor-owned homes has disproportionate negative effects on low- and moderate-income renters. [Emph. added]

    Seriously? So now the federal government proposes to provide relief not just to owner-occupiers, but to investors whose gambles have gone bad, too? As a taxpayer, why should their problems be any of my business? They took a risk—and they lost. These are the same people, remember, who helped provide the last few blasts of air into the housing bubble. And many of them, to even qualify for a residential mortgage, surely committed fraud in the application process. And they’re getting some of my money? That makes no sense.

    Obama doesn't care - it's not his money anyway.


  13. Questions About Afghanistan

    → Bizblogger | 2 Feb 2012 | 7:22 am MST

    Obama has recently announced that US troops will end combat in mid 2013 and then end their advisory role in Afghanistan in 2014. I have a problem with this. I don't get why the commander in chief would announce his intentions to the enemy beforehand. Continually we see this - others have done this as well. I would think if this is a serious war worth fighting for, that we would at least conceal our intentions from our enemies. Other questions I have are:

    1. Why are we leaving?
    2. Did we meet our objectives?
    3. What were our objectives exactly?
    4. Why did Obama triple our troops in Afghanistan over the past three years?
    5. What has been accomplished by tripling our troop levels in Afghanistan?
    6. What will happen once we leave?
    7. What happens if the Taliban come back to power?

    I realize the military have to keep some secrets and the public can't know everything. But I just thought, since Obama is already telling the Taliban what our time horizon is, that he probably doesn't care what he tells them.

    I do believe that if the current president were someone with the initials GWB, that the media would hold him more accountable. But it is amazing how one man's surge was scrutinized to the molecule, while another man's surge wasn't even analyzed. Obama's surge wasn't even called a surge - the increase in troop levels were all but ignored.

    I'm all for bringing home our troops who have been there long enough, and have done everything that has been asked of them. But can we get some answers from our Commander in Chief also?


  14. Romney Takes Florida, But Race Not Over

    → Bizblogger | 1 Feb 2012 | 6:42 am MST

    I don't think anyone was surprised at the result, and honestly, with all the polling, it's hard to get caught off-guard anymore. Some might be tempted to say the race is just a formality now. It's getting closer to this, but I don't think it's over yet, and it's fine that it continues. Here's my key points from Florida and going forward:

    1. The "stars" aligned for Romney in Florida and this helped him. By stars, I mean the GOP elite stars - like Marco Rubio, Rick Scott, among others, threw their support behind Romney.

    2. Voter turnout was about 15% less than it was in 2008 in Florida, and in 2008 the GOP had one of the most unexciting candidates ever that year. I hope this isn't a harbinger for turnout in 2012. The tea party was a huge force which drove the GOP to win almost 2/3 of the seats in 2010. Where is the tea party today? Will they sit on the sidelines because none of their candidates are in the race (although each individually, probably does have some tea party support)

    3. Gingrich lost a big chunk of the women's vote. I continue to believe this will be a problem for Newt, but maybe not as large as it was in Florida as time might heal these scars a bit.

    4. Gingrich ran negative in Florida. I think he'll learn from this mistake. He's at his best in attacking Obama. When he attacks Romney for making money at Bain, firing people at Bain, or owning a mutual fund, that's just silly nonsense.

    5. Romney benefitted from a couple of more aggressive debates. Hopefully, he has also learned that standing back and having the race handed to him is not a good strategy.

    6. Don't count out the other two - Santorum and Paul. This is a long race. Even if they don't have a chance, it's good to keep them in the race to keep Romney on the right.

    7. Many democrats are salivating and giggling at the in-fighting between Republicans, thinking it works to their benefit. I disagree. The only reason it might help Obama is that it distracts people from the horrendously poor job the President is doing.

    8. No matter which Republican takes it, I see that person as infinitely better than Obama, although as Ron Paul has mentioned, that's a pretty low hurdle.


  15. Obama's Father Had Several Wives

    → Bizblogger | 31 Jan 2012 | 4:30 am MST

    There have been lots of articles about Romney's faith, and in particular, about the fact that Mormons used to have more than one wife. These articles typically mention Mitt Romney's great-grandfather, who, born, in 1846, eventually had five wives. But enough talk about people born pre-civil war, when slavery was also legal. Let's talk about things that happened during the past 50 years, shall we?

    How many wives did Barack Obama's father have? Well, we know he fathered 8 children from four different women, but he only married three times, as he died from a drunk driving accident before his fourth marriage. Why is it that so few news outlets give Obama a pass here? Barack Obama's cousin might have the answer:


    You have to remember that his father was an African and in Africa, polygamy is part of life.

    Ok - there you have it.


  16. Newt's Attack on Romney for Owning a Fund Which Owns Fannie

    → Bizblogger | 30 Jan 2012 | 4:04 am MST

    This one is strange. But I have to give credit to Newt for trying this gimmick. He's attacking Romney for having a mutual fund which owns some Fannie and Freddie.

    Whether or not Romney knew about it is a moot point. These are government-backed bonds which half of America own. By the same token, one could attack Romney for owning a house whereby Fannie eventually purchased his mortgage. Maybe some people will believe that this is equivalent to consulting or lobbying for them, and I have no doubt that Obama will piggy-back on Newt's attack against Romney.

    I think in recent days that the GOP establishment has come out of the woodwork to gang up on Gingrich (which is similar to what happened to Romney in 2008). I don't like these games. But at the same time, I really have to wonder what on earth Gingrich is thinking when he attacks Romney for something like this. Doesn't make sense.


  17. What I’ve been doing

    → Noblesse Oblige | 29 Jan 2012 | 3:54 pm MST

    I spent much of the past two weeks ripping all of my CD”s back into ITunes again & then nuking the old copies. The old format was a lossy 128 kbps .wav file, and the new format is a lossless … Continue reading →

  18. Warming Over; Ice Age Worries Again?

    → Bizblogger | 29 Jan 2012 | 8:08 am MST

    Always fascinating to look at scientific charts about the earth's climate. As expected, there has been no warming in 15 years and many scientists are more concerned about a new mini-ice age coming.


  19. Things I like this week

    → Noblesse Oblige | 28 Jan 2012 | 9:03 am MST

    Someone wise once said something to the effect that 90 percent of x was shit, but that 10 percent was pure gold – and that if you wanted the gold you had to wade through the shit. The goal with … Continue reading →

  20. Theo Epstein Snubbed GW Bush in 2007

    → Bizblogger | 27 Jan 2012 | 8:27 am MST

    Everyone in Boston, especially the media, and even Cory Schneider, Vancouver's back-up goalie (formerly BC guy) have come out and slammed Tim Thomas for not meeting with Obama. Schneider's quote was pretty funny, and he seems to be comparing Obama with the Pope (I suspect that Schneider might have majored in either political science or religion). His quote was:


    I'm not that religious but if I had the chance to meet the Pope, it'd be pretty cool... I don't believe in everything the Catholic church does, but I'd still show up to the Vatican and say Hi to the Pope.

    Anyway, Howie Carr points out that in 2007 Theo Epstein snubbed George W. Bush when the Red Sox won the World Series and the rest of the team visited the White House. Did anyone report it? Did anyone care? Or is the simple answer that there is a double standard for democrats and republicans? My guess is Cory didn't care back in 2007.


  21. Romney Advisor: We Won't Repeal Obamacare

    → Bizblogger | 26 Jan 2012 | 6:36 am MST

    Maybe this is why Norm Coleman lost to Al Franken a few years ago in the Minnesota Senate Race. He said yesterday that Obamacare will not be repealed, but only tweaked.

    It's also why people are skeptical of Romney. If Obamacare is here to stay, Romney should say that and let GOP voters decide if that's what they want in a candidate. If not, maybe he needs to shake up his Republican establishment team.


  22. No Wonder Buffett's Secretary Pays So Much in Taxes...

    → Bizblogger | 25 Jan 2012 | 3:24 pm MST

    Forbes speculates that based on her tax rates, Warren Buffett's secretary Debbie Bosanek makes between $200K and $500K per year.

    Without more details, it's hard to know exactly what she is paid. But this would make sense - she is doing well but is hardly in the billionaire's club, where she could shield her income in tax-free trusts like her boss.

    Again, if Warren, Obama and other big rich liberals are so disappointed, they are more than welcome to write checks to the U.S. Treasury every year...


  23. Myth of the Mini Ice Age – YouTube

    → Noblesse Oblige | 4 Jan 2012 | 6:12 am MST

    One of the golden oldies of science denial is the “impending ice age” myth. As usual, the climate denial noise machine distorts what an actual scientist says about his research — That there is no prediction of any ice age. … Continue reading →

  24. Ron Paul – the Polypundit Populist reprinted

    → Noblesse Oblige | 27 Dec 2011 | 6:39 am MST

    Since Ron Paul is in the news again with yet another run for president, it’s time for a reprint of my post from last time he was unsuccessfully running – this was my opinion back in 2007 when I was … Continue reading →

  25. Merry Christmas

    → Noblesse Oblige | 25 Dec 2011 | 6:03 am MST

    Merry Christmas one and all! A present for science fans:

  26. People Are Strange – Live from Daryl’s House – YouTube

    → Noblesse Oblige | 21 Dec 2011 | 7:58 am MST

    Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger along with Daryl Hall and his band get down on People Are Strange. See more at: http://www.livefromdarylshouse.com/index.php Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, Daryl Hall, Guitar: T-Bone Wolk, Bass: Eliot Lewis, Drums: Kenny Arnoff via People Are Strange … Continue reading →

  27. God, I’m brilliant!

    → James Delingpole | 17 Dec 2011 | 4:34 am MST

    Like my esteemed colleague Dan Hannan, I have a pathological aversion to posting up videos of myself on my blogs. In this case, however, I feel I must make an exception. It’s not often you get to appear on Uncommon Knowledge being interviewed by the mighty Peter Robinson. (Our subjects: Climategate; Watermelons; the imminent collapse [...]

  28. Climategate: Obama’s boot boys strike back

    → James Delingpole | 17 Dec 2011 | 4:30 am MST

    When I first read that the police had paid a nocturnal visit to the blogger Tallbloke to confiscate his computers I thought at first it was a non-story. Jolly annoying and inconvenient for Tallbloke, obviously, but nothing too sinister. Tallbloke was one of the first people contacted when mystery whistleblower FOIA 2011 leaked the Climategate [...]

  29. Last Night’s Moon

    → Noblesse Oblige | 11 Dec 2011 | 5:10 am MST

    This is a bit fuzzy because it’s manually focused through a wispy tracery of thin branches 250 feet or so away from the camera.

  30. Sage advice

    → James Delingpole | 7 Dec 2011 | 4:55 pm MST

    To the Manor Reborn (BBC1, Thursday) is undoubtedly one of the most brilliant programmes in the history of television. But then I’m biased for the Rat is in it, and what a splendid, handsome and talented young fellow he has turned out to be. If you looked very carefully about halfway through episode one, you’ll [...]

  31. Good news! Sea levels aren’t rising dangerously

    → James Delingpole | 7 Dec 2011 | 4:51 pm MST

    This week’s Spectator cover star Nils-Axel Mörner brings some good news to a world otherwise mired in misery: sea levels are not rising dangerously – and haven’t been for at least 300 years. To many readers this may come as a surprise. After all, are not rising sea levels – caused, we are given to [...]

  32. Maybe we’d be better off if David Cameron had gone to Harrow

    → James Delingpole | 7 Dec 2011 | 4:49 pm MST

    “Cameron is no Churchill” writes Iain Martin this morning, winning the prize for the year’s bitchiest understatement. And I like this line even better: But asking what Mr Cameron really thinks on the subject of Europe misses the point: what he really thinks is that he wants to remain Prime Minister for the next six or [...]

  33. Climategate 2.0: junk science 101 with Michael Mann

    → James Delingpole | 7 Dec 2011 | 4:48 pm MST

    At last, I’ve arrived. Michael Mann, inventor of the Hockey Stick, has written to the Wall Street Journal branding me a “denier” and a “contrarian” and “silly.” These are badges of honour I shall wear with pride. The letter is interesting for lots of reasons, not least its grotesque hypocrisy. “In recent years”, he writes, “attacks on [...]

  34. Jeremy Clarkson’s critics should be taken out and shot

    → James Delingpole | 2 Dec 2011 | 2:13 am MST

    Jeremy Clarkson got into tremendous trouble last night for suggesting on BBC’s The One Show that the public sector “workers” who took part in yesterday’s strike should be shot. This is silly. It should be patently obvious to anyone who is familiar with his style or has seen one of his programmes – ie: everyone in [...]

  35. Climategate 2.0

    → James Delingpole | 29 Nov 2011 | 1:20 am MST

    Last week, 5,000 files of private email correspondence among several of the world’s top climate scientists were anonymously leaked onto the Internet. Like the first “climategate” leak of 2009, the latest release shows top scientists in the field fudging data, conspiring to bully and silence opponents, and displaying far less certainty about the reliability of [...]

  36. Post Modern Me

    → Noblesse Oblige | 28 Nov 2011 | 6:13 am MST

    According to my results in the Pew survey talked about in the video below I fall into the “Post Modern” category of political typology. I owe how I got here to a strange progression of revelations over the past few … Continue reading →

  37. Thanksgiving Waste

    → Noblesse Oblige | 27 Nov 2011 | 3:29 pm MST

    It’s day four and we are almost turkeyed out. The Kids took two glad tubs of [Dinosauria Saurischia  Therapoda Paraves Avilae Aves *] turkey away, and we’ve made plates and sandwiches from the two birds we cooked for the last three days … Continue reading →

  38. R. Crumb – The Complete Record Cover Collection

    → Noblesse Oblige | 27 Nov 2011 | 2:08 pm MST

    Fans of music and the underground era genius of Robert Crumb may well love the new R. Crumb: The Complete Record Cover Collection book that brings together more than 450 four-color illustrations of the man’s album cover artwork. It started … Continue reading →

  39. Climategate 2.0: Lawson squishes Huhne

    → James Delingpole | 26 Nov 2011 | 5:28 am MST

    Have you noticed that whenever our beloved Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne speaks his lips never move, only his butt cheeks? It was the same again on BBC Question Time last night. “But Huhne, this is just arrant nonsense,” you kept wanting to scream at the TV. “And either you know it’s nonsense [...]

  40. Climategate 2.0: the not nice and clueless Phil Jones

    → James Delingpole | 25 Nov 2011 | 12:40 am MST

    Ever since Climategate whenever the UEA’s Phil Jones has appeared on television or been interviewed, he has always come over like a particularly gloomy bloodhound who has just been denied his Bonio. Obviously one can understand this. a) it can’t be fun when your once lavishly funded, globally respected science department is suddenly associated with [...]



-- Finis --