It gives me no pleasure to be in the company of the majority justices in the Supreme Court’s New Haven firefighters decision, Ricci v. DeStefano, (particularly that of Justice Thomas, who only days earlier was the sole justice to support the right of high school administrators to strip search teenage girls in search of pharmaceuticals, […]

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The New York Times has it’s knickers in a knot because the Vatican is going to do an “investigation” of the convents in the US.
Such visitations are fairly routine: The Vatican just finished one on the seminaries, and is scheduled to do one on a church group whose founder was found to be swinging both […]

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Continued trouble in the housing market in the form of falling home prices has the federal government considering expanding its mortgage aid programs to include homeowners that are further underwater than is currently acceptable under federal guidelines. Currently, its Making Home Affordable Program serves people who have a loan-to-value ratio of up to 105 percent. […]

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Do you like the idea of a bank that works for you, one that can create specialized financial products that suit your needs? Well your president says ‘fugetaboutit’! Under Obama’s newly proposed Federal Consumer Protection Agency, banks will no longer be in business to meet meet your individual needs, they will be under strict control […]

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Unless the California legislature finds a way to balance the state’s budget today (July 1st) everyone who receives money from the state, state employees, contractors, welfare recipients, etc., will receive IOUs in their pay envelopes instead of money. Why? Because the California Constitution requires (demands) a balanced budget every year.
Why the state budget got out […]

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Ah yes, it’s tick season again, and my husband Lolo is busy removing the nasty creatures from our watch dogs.
For the dogs, the ticks are mainly a nuisance: but in some areas of the world, the risk of Lyme disease makes mothers hysterical if they find a tick on their kid.
The big question is if […]

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Most people believe that happy employees are more productive, treat each other better and give better customer service.  That’s not true.
When human resource departments push employee satisfaction initiatives at work, too often they encourage the most selfish, negative and hostile employees to harass, bully and abuse coworkers and supervisors.
Of course, I’m not encouraging companies to […]

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As the editor of a blog for authors and their readers, I have been posting an extended series at PODBRAM (Print On Demand Book Reviews & More) called The Kindle Report. This is a review of Joshua Tallent’s how-to book for uploading a book or manuscript into the Kindle format.
Let’s just jump right into the […]

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One way to shut down a website is to send repeated requests for information to a site, which overwhelms the computer server.
Often this is due to some big blogger (e.g. Drudge) linking to a site.
But more commonly it is due to a virus that automatically sends out the request over and over again, and although […]

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In this era of reduced real estate expectations and tighter lending it’s nice to know that taxpayers, via the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), will be helping folks buy luxury condos deep in the heart of Jersey City, New Jersey. With a mere 3.5 percent down “qualified buyers”* can use loans supplied by FHA backed lenders […]

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(London, UK) The renowned British Cellist, Tony Woollard, will be in Concert for Autism when he participates in the popular Woodford Festival 2009. Woollard has performed around the world. The autism fundraiser is in aid of the British autism charity, the UK Autism Foundation.
The concert is scheduled to be held under the banner of the […]

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The public is rarely surprised when another Hollywood celebrity dies of what is suspected to be an overdose or reaction to drug abuse.
Is the abuse because celebrities have those around them who help them get drugs (what is called “co-enablers”)?
Is it because wealth enables them to do whatever they want, without anyone saying “no, wait […]

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Beware the righteous, for they are righteous when they are right, and they are righteous when they are wrong; they navigate by a missionary compass, and when it loses its North, they steer with conviction toward the South, unknowing.
The Book of Adler 5:15
On June 4, Max Blumenthal and Joseph Dana released on the Internet, via […]

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[This is part II of the series. Part I is available here]
One of the important principles suggested for the National ID Card scheme in the previous part is to de link data from the ID device. For this purpose the data required to be associated with a person is divided into three categories. (or more as required). […]

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It was a pleasant surprise to know that the Government of India thought it fit to pick a professional like Mr Nandan Nilekani and appoint him for one of the important projects such as the National ID Card  (NIDC) Project. Our good wishes to Mr Nandan for a successful stint in this new role.
It may […]

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I wasn’t too surprised to see headlines in our local Manila paper that Michael Jackson had died.
Heck, sometimes the headline announces that x number of people passed the nurses’ examination this year, and usually under the headline is a photo of our lovely President.
But his headline is larger than usual, with a long story of […]

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White House Photos, Lawrence Jackson. The President discusses Iran during his opening remarks at the Press Conference at the White House, June 23, 2009.

FreeMediaOnline.org,  Free Media Online Blog,  GovoritAmerika.us, Commentary by Ted Lipien, June 26, 2009, San Francisco – Ronald Reagan’s strong response to the imposition of martial law  against the independent Solidarity trade union in Poland in 1981 was distinctly different […]

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As the mother of two adopted boys, I am for adoption, but now we are seeing couples like Sarah JessicaParker andMatthew Broderick “renting” a womb to obtain their newest child.
What’s wrong with this picture? After all, they give money, and a woman is paid a lot of money to carry their (genetically related) baby to […]

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In his new book, Redeeming the Rainbow: A Christian response to the “gay” agenda, author Scott Lively repeats his claim that the rise of Nazi Germany was animated principally by homosexuals. In his first book, The Pink Swastika, Lively chronicles a long line of people who he claims influenced National Socialism and were gay. However, […]

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Imagine the scandal.
A well known war leader’s body was taken from a cemetery on Federal land, and his skull used as an object of ridicule by the enemy. The family is requesting their return, but the bones are owned by a group that includes some of the most influential people in the land, so their […]

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I haven’t seen the HBO series on the Tudors yet (HBO Asia is a year behind the US), but I find it interesting that the story is being revived and retold for today’s audience.
The story of Henry and his six wives is one that has held the fascination of people for hundreds of years. Is […]

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Numerous articles, including Sandy Maple’s on parentdish.com, “Teen Insult Web Site Shut Down,” have reported that online free speech has bowed to the pressure of community values.  A web site, “People’s Dirt,” has been pulled out of cyberspace by Go Daddy, the internet host, in an effort to stop online harassment, cyber bullying and abuse.  […]

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(London, UK) British parliamentarians have commended the hard work of the UK Autism Foundation who are campaigning non-stop on behalf of the poor, particularly during the credit crunch and the recession.
CDA Events Management Services recently organised a successful fundraiser for the UK Autism Foundation called ‘Scope for Hope.’ The autism charity dinner was held at […]

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There is a lot of headlines being written on Iraq.
But there are a few facts “below the fold” that you might want to keep in mind if you are watching CNN correspondents who seem clueless to what is going on. (Here in the Philippines, we only have CNN and the BBC for our news).
Last night […]

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All Indian Nations have a story of the conquest. For many Western Tribes, like the Apache and the Sioux, the story includes tenacious resistance to European advances and a bitter defeat. For some Eastern tribes, like those historically known, controversially, as the Five Civilized Tribes - the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole - […]

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In his recent ABC news opinion column, “Want to Stop Bullies?” Lee Dye cites new studies that claim that:

Girls are more likely than boys to intervene to stop bullying than boys are.
Girls intervene more because they’re expected to by their parents, best friends and favorite teachers.
Popular males are more likely to pick on weaker boys, […]

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Here in the Philippines, there are always demonstrations, usually by the leftists, but if things get bad enough, the opposition always reminds the government about the “People Power” revolution that overthrew Marcos.
At that time, thugs associated with Marcos assassinated exiled politician Ninoy Acquino who had just returned to Manila to run against Marcos in the […]

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I was happy to find that David Letterman has joined the woman hating bigots such as Rush Limbaugh and Gordon Liddy in the NOW Hall of Shame.
Comedians in search of a laugh should really know better than to snicker about men having sex with teenage girls (or young women) less than half their age. […]

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As reported in separate stories by Yadira Betances and Margo Sullivan in the New Hampshire Eagle Tribune, some middle schools are effectively implementing anti-bullying programs.  There are some differences in the programs to stop bullies, but both have the seven elements crucial to success.

1. The programs specify what acceptable and not acceptable behavior is
General statements […]

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The New York Times reports that a majority of New Yorkers do not favor Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s serving another term, despite Blumenthal’s success last October in getting the New York City Council to “extend” term limits so that he and council members could all serve third terms.
Term limits were imposed in New York City through […]

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