Jackson Jr. an FBI informant? For years?
6 comments December 16th, 2008
Wow! THIS puts an interesting slant on certain matters.
Archive for December 16th, 2008
Keith Olbermann ranks the 25 Most Financially Corrupt Politicians
1 comment December 16th, 2008
Two videos:
Gallup says Blagogate hasn’t hurt Obama much
1 comment December 16th, 2008
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Most Americans don’t think Barack Obama or his staff have done anything illegal or unethical in connection with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s allegedly corrupt activities, according to the latest GALLUP POLL.
Moreover, 68 percent of poll respondents say they’re confident that Obama will be a good president.
Gosh! Don’t these fools realize that Obama (pictured above showing off on a pool table)Â is a foreign-born Muslim terrorist who hangs around with guys like Bill Ayers and Jeremiah Wright?
If inflation is bad news, then deflation is good news, right? Well, not necessarily
4 comments December 16th, 2008
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When I awakened this morning to news that consumer prices declined last month at a record rate, I had mixed feelings.
Lower prices sound good to me, I thought, but I also suspected that something was wrong. The idea that good economic news would pop up out of the blue just didn’t seem to fit with the current national mood.
Then I read THIS PIECE, which includes this passage:
“Falling prices for goods and services might sound like a good thing for consumers, but a continued downward spiral can wreak economic havoc. During deflationary periods, companies earning less react by slowing production and cutting jobs, which causes consumers to scale back spending even more. The pattern is hard to stop because it feeds on itself.”
OK! So now I’m going to insist on paying extra for everything I buy just so I can help prevent the economy from slipping farther down the tubes.
POSTSCRIPT: I knew Jerry Ford’s WIN buttons would work sooner or later. Remember THEM?
Obama chooses chief of Chicago — yes, Chicago — schools for secretary of education
2 comments December 16th, 2008
 
When word got out yesterday that Barack Obama had selected Chicago Schools Chief Arne Duncan (above) as his secretary of education, one of our regular Applesauce commenters expressed wonderment that the job would go to “the leader of the failed Chicago school system.”
Apparently, this critic knows nothing about Duncan. So, let’s bring him up to speed.
The Wall Street Journal SAYS Duncan ”has introduced some education reforms popular with conservatives without alienating teachers unions” and “has improved student achievement, graduation rates and college-going rates in the nation’s third-largest school system, which was called the worst in the nation by former Education Secretary William Bennett in the late 1980s.”
The Washington Post REPORTS that Margaret Spellings, the Bush administration’s education secretary, considers Duncan “a really good school leader” and says this of him: “I do think he’s a reform-oriented school leader who has been a supporter of No Child Left Behind and accountability concepts and teacher quality. He’s a kindred spirit.”
The Post adds: “Duncan is embraced by the teachers unions, who have been concerned about high-stakes testing and worry about merit pay being tied to test scores, as well as reformers, who favor charter schools and tougher standards.”
The Chicago Tribune SAYS Duncan has “maintained a positive story line for the troubled [Chicago] district” and ”has gained a reputation as a reformer who isn’t afraid to rankle the teachers union or punish underperforming schools.”
But, of course, if you react to all things Obama from a knee-jerk anti-Chicago perspective, you’ll automatically dismiss the choice of Duncan.
UPDATE: Here’s the TEXT of Obama’s remarks this morning on the Duncan nomination.
UPDATE II: Here’s another interesting ENDORSEMENT of Duncan.
