PrintDecember 3, 2010
The Baehr Essentials
There is a lot of early evidence to suggest that the big fire in Israel started in one location, and was caused by arson. Most of the Israeli dead were prison guards or trainees on a bus on their way to help move Palestinian prisoners from the path of the fire. Can you imagine a fire in Gaza, where Palestinian guards lost their lives trying to get Galid Shalit to safety?
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A Jewish bundler for Obama in 2008, rewarded with the ambassadorship to the UK, pays a visit to one of the most radical mosques in the country. The Alicia Silverstone movie has been updated: "Wealthy and Clueless". Of course, the State Department probably told him to do it.
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Jan Schakowsky honoree Helen Thomas is back at it, accusing the U.S. Government and American business of being overrun by Zionists. Has she received her invite yet for the upcoming J Street conference? Thomas and Schakowsky might sit next to this latest J- Street hire, the new head of J-Street U.
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An Austrian member of Parliament tees off on the Turkish ambassador. The Turks do get 2 points for help with the fire relief in Israel, but it is still a country run by Islamists, that has turned away from the West.
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50 years from now, this story may be regarded as a much bigger deal than the extension of tax cuts or unemployment insurance
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So far , it looks like the bipartisan ethanol lobby is winning. Regrettably, Mark Kirk appears to be on the wrong side on this one, along with many other members from Iowa and Illinois. Hmm. Even Al Gore now admits ethanol is a giant, and costly scam. Then again, if you like higher food prices and higher gas prices, with at best a very negligible impact on oil consumption, ethanol make sense.
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Megan McArdle suggests that the tax subsidy provided to employer provided health insurance, is the major factor explaining why U. S health care costs are so much higher than in other countries. Employees are far better off getting an extra dollar of untaxed health insurance coverage than an extra dollar of taxable salary (income and social security tax) . Employers are indifferent-they can deduct all the costs of salary or benefits either way. John McCain proposed ending this system in the 2008 campaign, and was hammered on it mercilessly by Barack Obama. In the health care reform act, a provision was included to address this issue beginning in 2018, but only slightly, due to union pushback (the one lobbying group this Administration ALWAYS listens to). .
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Does the GOP have a chance to shift the Hispanic vote? An important article by Jay Cost
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How photography is part and parcel of the biased coverage of the Middle East by the three main wire services.
