February 16, 2012

A VERY interesting comment by an Ohio Republican about Religion and Politics...

I think he might be considered far to the left of many of the so-called lefty's today. I bet he would not have been caught at any of the prayer breakfasts.

February 15, 2012

Tebow comparisons not fair to Jeremy Lin; he's much better story...

I suppose it was inevitable that some people would compare Jeremy Lin to Tim Tebow. This is partly because every sports story these days must be compared to Tebow, as well as every non-sports story, and retroactively, every previous sports story. But it is also because Linsanity has temporarily replaced Tebowmania as the can-you-believe-that story that your mother who doesn't watch sports might bring up in casual conversation. And because Lin appeals to an unusual demographic for an NBA player (Asian-Americans) just as Tebow appeals to an unusual demographic for an NFL player (evangelical Christians).

The problem is that as stories go, Jeremy Lin makes Tim Tebow seem as interesting as a rain delay. Lin is a much better story because he is a much bigger long shot and is playing much better than Tebow did. He is an undrafted Asian-American guard from Harvard who is playing as well as almost anybody in the NBA. How unlikely is this? Unbelievably so.

Tebow was a five-star recruit who chose Florida over Alabama, LSU, Michigan, USC, and not Harvard. Gators fans clamored for him to start his entire freshman year even though senior Chris Leak was leading the team to a national title. Tebow won another national title two years later.

Tebow also won something called the Heisman Trophy. Perhaps you've heard of it. As a senior at Harvard, Lin lost the Ivy League Player of the Year award to Ryan Wittman of Cornell.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/michael_rosenberg/02/14/lin.tebow/index.html#ixzz1mSY8KFOf

December 13, 2011

Al-Qaeda Claims U.S. Mass Transportation Infrastructure Must Drastically Improve Before Any Terroris

WASHINGTON—In a 30-minute video released Thursday, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri criticized the mass transportation infrastructure of the United States, claiming significant repairs and upgrades would need to be implemented before the militant group would consider destroying any roads, bridges, or railways with terrorist attacks.

Reading from a prepared statement, al-Zawahiri blasted the U.S. government for its lack of foresight and admonished its leaders for failing to provide Americans with efficient and reliable modes of public transport to reduce traffic congestion, lower carbon emissions, improve air quality, and supply suitable targets for terrorists.

"The al-Qaeda network is fully prepared to continue the jihad against the American infidels by launching deadly attacks, but your outdated and rusting transportation infrastructure needs to be completely overhauled for those strikes even to be noticed," al-Zawahiri said. "We want to turn your bridges into rubble, but if we claimed credit for making them collapse, nobody would ever believe us."

"We'd really just be doing you a favor because then you'd actually have to rebuild them," al-Zawahiri added.

Read more: http://www.theonion.com/articles/alqaeda-claims-us-mass-transportation-infrastructu,21008/

December 7, 2011

Van Hollen: In budget balancing, we must preserve Medicaid

Congress is engaged in an ongoing debate on proposals to reduce the deficit. There is no question we need get our fiscal house in order and put our nation on the path to long-term fiscal stability — the question is how.

First, we must ensure that we do no harm to our still fragile economy — anything that would put American jobs at risk is unacceptable. Second, we must find a balanced approach that does not put undue burdens on our seniors and most vulnerable or slash critical investments in education, infrastructure and innovation. Unfortunately, many of the deficit reduction proposals being debated would do just the opposite —battering our economy, killing jobs and essential investments and, at the same time, shredding the social safety net.

One area where that is starkly clear is with the Medicaid program, the state and federally funded health care plan for people struggling near the poverty line. The Republican budget that passed the House of Representatives would impose steadily larger cuts in federal funding to state Medicaid programs — a 5 percent cut in 2013 and a cut approaching 33 percent by the 10th year. Maryland's Medicaid program would lose billions of federal dollars if those cuts were enacted. This plan would not just cut Medicaid but would fundamentally alter its very structure, turning it into a no-strings-attached "block grant" program. This approach would give governors a blank check for pet initiatives and a license to cut support for seniors and low-income kids.

Walking away from the federal commitment to Medicaid doesn't solve the problem; it just passes health care costs down to states. Because almost every state, including Maryland, is required by law to balance its budget every year, it means cuts in services and more financial strains for already suffering families, cuts in provider payments, lost jobs in the health care sector, and dampened business activity as the consequences of lost jobs and unmet health care needs ripple through the economy.

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-medicaid-20110725,0,1063569.story