Bob Jensen's Tidbits

Philosophers don't observe; they sit in their armchairs, lost in thought. That traditional view is changing.
Kwame Anthony Appiah, The New York Times, December 9, 2007 --- Click Here

As of January 1, every baby born in Maine will be eligible for a $500 savings nest egg, provided by a foundation founded by the late Harold Alfond, founder of the Dexter Shoe Company, the Associated Press reported. Parents will be encouraged to add their own funds to the $500 to be deposited by the foundation. If the children are not able to use the money for college, the $500 plus interest will be returned to the foundation.
Inside Higher Ed, December 12, 2007 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/12/12/qt

Iraqi oil exceeds pre-war output
Iraqi oil production is above the levels seen before the US-led invasion of the country in 2003, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The IEA said Iraqi crude production is now running at 2.3 million barrels per day, compared with 1.9 million barrels at the start of this year. It puts the rise down to the improving security situation in Iraq, especially in the north of the country.
BBC News, December 14, 2007 --- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7144774.stm

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lashed out at Republicans on Thursday, saying they want the Iraq war to drag on and are ignoring the public's priorities. "They like this war. They want this war to continue," Pelosi, D- Calif., told reporters. She expressed frustration over Republicans' ability to force majority Democrats to yield ground on taxes, spending, energy, war spending and other matters. "We thought that they shared the view of so many people in our country that we needed a new direction in Iraq," Pelosi said at her weekly news conference in the Capitol. "But the Republicans have made it very clear that this is not just George Bush's war. This is the war of the Republicans in Congress."
Breitbart, December 13, 2007 --- http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8TGOEMG0&show_article=1
Jensen Comment
Nancy Pelosi wants to grab defeat out of the jaws of victory. But she's right. John McCain liked the Viet Nam war so much he wishes he could've spent the rest of his life in the Hanoi Hilton. Mitt Romney prays every day for eternal war because he likes it so much. December 14 was a day without one reportable act of violence according to ABC News. Nancy Pelosi is fearful that any more such days might hurt her partisan efforts to win a huge Democratic majority in Congress. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi signify partisan politics at its worst! Do they really prefer defeat and continued violence in Iraq to defeat in Congress? The fact of the matter is that the U.S. military is still needed in Iraq to prevent a resurgence of al Qaeda.

Fighting between the US and Iraqi government-backed Awakening movements and al Qaeda in Iraq spiked over the weekend. At least four high profile engagements and bombings occurred in Baghdad, Anbar, Ninewa, and Diyala provinces. The largest clash occurred on Sunday in the eastern region of Diyala province in the villages of Nai and Safit. Al Qaeda in Iraq fighters attacked the villages but the local tribes fought back, Twenty-two al Qaeda fighters and seventeen tribesmen were killed in the battle, KUNA reported. Al Qaeda in Iraq is attempting to recroups in eastern Diyala after being ejected from much of central Baghdad province during operations this summer and fall. To the west in Anbar province, al Qaeda fighters attacked an Awakening checkpoint in the city of Barwana near Haditha. Four terrorists were killed in the clash.
The Long War Journal, December 17, 2007 --- http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/12/the_awakening_al_qae.php

Al-Qaida's No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri warned of "traitors" among insurgents in Iraq and called on Iraqi Sunni Arab tribes to purge those who help the Americans in a new videotape posted Monday on the Web. Al-Zawahri's comments were aimed at undermining so-called "awakening councils" — the groups of Iraqi Sunni tribesmen that the U.S. military has backed to help fight al-Qaida in Iraq and its allies. Some Sunni insurgent groups have fought alongside American forces, and the U.S. military has touted the councils as a major factor in reducing violence in war-torn regions like Iraq's Anbar province.
Lee Keith, Associated Press via Yahoo News, December 17, 2007 --- http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071217/ap_on_re_mi_ea/al_qaida_video

Two children have made an appearance on Hamas Television's children's show called "Liberate" to exhort a liberation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and to promise to "wipe out" Zionists. The new video captured from Hamas Television is being made available by the Middle East Media Research Institute, which monitors and publicizes media reports throughout the Middle East. MEMRI also has a web page that is devoted to Al-Aqsa television clips.
"Children promise to 'wipe out' Zionists," WorldNetDaily, December 13, 2007 --- http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59177
Jensen Comment
Terrorists are engaging in a very successful media effort to win the hears and minds of young people --- http://www.stopterroristmedia.org/
This is where the fight is being waged successfully 24/7 for 365 days each and every year.

How to avoid losing your million dollar house to foreclosure.
There are bad ideas to address the mortgage meltdown, and then there are ideas so awful that they even have Democrats rebelling against their powerful House chairmen. Such is the case with the mortgage bankruptcy bill passed yesterday by John Conyers's House Judiciary Committee. We warned in October about this legislation, which would allow bankruptcy judges to treat mortgage debt the same as credit-card debt. It sounds like a great idea to troubled borrowers, because judges could then reduce the amount that a borrower owes on a mortgage -- while letting the owner keep the property. It's less great for future home buyers, who can imagine how much fun it will be when markets logically respond by setting mortgage interest rates closer to those on credit-card debt. Mortgage debt has always been treated differently -- i.e., the bank will take your house if you don't pay the agreed-upon tab -- precisely to encourage lower rates on a less risky investment.
"Of Victims and Mortgages," The Wall Street Journal, December 13, 2007; Page A22 --- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119750384248325153.html

Question
What do income tax rates and some state university tuition rates have in common?
Hint: The traditional cash cow is getting milked more heavily.

"Yale U. Puts Complete Courses Online," by Josh Fischman, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 12, 2007 --- http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/2604/yale-u-puts-complete-courses-online?at

Question What do income tax rates and some state university tuition rates have in common? Hint: The traditional cash cow is getting milked more heavily.

"Yale U. Puts Complete Courses Online," by Josh Fischman, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 12, 2007 --- http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/2604/yale-u-puts-complete-courses-online?at

Question
What do income tax rates and some state university tuition rates have in common?
Hint: The traditional cash cow is getting milked more heavily.