What's Better And Worse With Ecosytem Management, Banning The Use Of "Allah," The Warthog, And More

    The U.S. Forestry Service controls 61,500 square miles of forests. This is an area larger than Connecticut. At the same time, the forestry service has abandoned its philosophy of "multiple use management" to "ecosytem management." Ecosytem management is hostile to human beings,and against logging and roads. As a result dead timber has accumulated to such a depth on the forest floor that fires are so intense they are almost like bombs. They kill trees, burn in their tops, and spread so rapidly that animals have no chance of fleeing. Even the animals fighting the fires - homo sapiens- are sometimes killed. Since the unions and the torpid bureaucracy are so entrenched, the concept of "charter forests" like "charter schools" is being looked at.
    It is reported that 60 percent of the almost three million Christians in Malaysia use the word "Allah" to refer to God. As you would expect, the hateful Islamofascists are intolerant to this useage. The Sultan of Selangor has issued an edict prohibiting the Christians from using that word. Father Lawrence Andrew in the Malaysian city of Selangor has replied that the Roman Catholics would continue using the A-word for their God. Now the good Father is being investigated by the police for breaking the Malaysian
Sedition Act. Those cops should be investigated for corruption and harassment, and Islam should be reformed to eliminate the hate and homocide toward the "infidels."
     The A-10 Thunderbolt ll better known as the Warthog because it had a short, stubby look to it may be retired due to budget decreases. The Warthog is unquestionably the best defense for protecting advancing troops. The United States must do a better job of protecting her troops both on the battlefield and after. Depriving them of their best defense in battle when they are advancing is intolerable. It's unique forte is the cannon in the stubby nose of the plane. It can fire 4,000 rounds per minute and is highly effective on tanks. It's speed makes it much better than a heliocopter. The Air Force which has no troops on the ground in battle save its special operators want to retire the Warthog and put the money into developing the F-35 which will be the most advanced jet fighter in the world. With Putin and Communist China flexing their muscles, we need to bulk up too. We support you calling your congresspeople and pushing them to save both the Warthog and the development of the F-35.
    Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) is filing suit to make Congress live by the ObamaCare they poxed upon us. They have weaseled their way out of it to other healthcare. This government hypocrisy has to stop, and we applaud Senator Johnson's efforts to block the rat hole. They voted for it: They have to live with it too.
    These commentaries are based upon news items found in the Wall Street Journal, America's most trustworthy, national newspaper.
    Peter Nickerson, neither a Republican nor a Democrat but an Evidentist.

What's Better Or Worse In The News About Pot's Effects, Too Expensive Dollar Stores, And Changing Iraqi Over-Kill

    Much has been in the news about the dangers of marijuana with even our Dear Leader saying pot is less dangerous than alcohol. Dr. Mitchell Rosenthal, the founder of Phoenix House, has just said that the most important fact about marijuana is its destruction of brain structures that deal with memory and reasoning. This is called the "working memory" because it includes remembering phone numbers and solutions to everyday problems. It keeps you from having to constantly reinvent the wheel. This negative marijuana-induced effect was discovered only last month at Northwestern University.
    People are not going to Family Dollar as much because they can't afford the bottom-tier department store. The only thing that is lower is run by charities, primarily churches, such as food pantries and free thrift stores. Is this the next step under Obama for the poor?Although there is a rising economic tide, the tide is not lifting lower-income boats. The poor are plainly under stress from poor job growth, wages that are not rising, bigger payroll taxes, and shrinking government programs such as food stamps.
    The better news is that the U.S. military is apparently asking itself "What then?" after forces brutually demolish buildings and kill innocents. What happens then is that the killing and destruction only attracts more young men who are eager to fight the crusader-infidels. Realizing that this is no way to win World War IV - the war against the Islamofascists- the U.S. is now asking the Iraqis to give up large military sweeps and the huge use of force that cause indiscriminate killings and tears apart buildings (thus destroying more of the Iraqi economy and standard of living). The U.S. military is slowly giving up the way of the tank and embracing the way of the Seal. It is emphasizing to the Iraqis targeted raids and specific counter-insurgency offenses to keep the killing and structural destruction highly specific.
    These commentaries are based upon news found in the Wall Street Journal, America's most trustworthy national newspaper.
    Peter Nickerson. Neither a Republican nor a Democrat but an Evidentist.

What's Better And Worse In The News About Hezbollah Advanced Missiles, 10 Minute Doctor Visits, And Homosexual Marriage Ban.

Hezbollah seems to be sneaking advanced guided missiles into Lebanon from Syria. These systems would be a giant step forward in comparison to the 100,000 "dumb" rockets and missiles already in Lebanon thanks to the Hezbollah. Israel struck five times at these missile system destined to Lebanon in 2013. Israeli pilots have devised a way to loft their bombs into Syria without their jets going into Syria. At this time, Israel is hoping Hezbollah, the Iranians, and al-Qaeda simply kill each other off.
    What's worse is that under ObamaCare you are only going to be authorized ten minutes in your visit to your doctor. Obamacare is also cutting what is paid to the doctor, plus cutting the number of tests a doctor can order. So everyone is going to be miserable: the patients, doctors, family members, and the health industry. The evidence, world-wide and for all times (with the exception of tiny Israel which has been at war with the Arabs since 1947) says that socialism is misery for all except for a privileged few. Dr. Marc Siegel, a practicing physician and contributor for Fox News, rightly says that doctors and hospitals should have been provided for the needy, not ObamaCare for all but a privileged few including Obama's family and the U.S. senators and representatives who hypocritically oped themselves out of ObamaCare.
    For better news, we have a district judge ruling that Oklahoma's ban on same-sex marriages deprived individuals of the equal protection clause of the Constitution's 14 th Amendment. In the past month, the New Mexico Supreme Court legalized homosexual marriages, and in Utah a federal judge eliminated that state's ban on same-sex marriage.
    These commentaries are based on news found in the Wall Street Journal, America's most trustworthy national newspaper.
    Peter Nickerson. Neither a Republican nor a Democrat but an Evidentist.

What's Better Or Worse In The News With Sexual Assaults In The Military, Concussions In The NFL, And Furniture Throwing In South Africa

  The number of military sexual assault reports in the fiscal year ending last September was more than 5,000. This compares -unfavorably- with 3,375 the year before. We have supported Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's (D.-New York) efforts to legislate that independent prosecutors should decide whether to bring to court sexual assault cases rather than leaving the decision to military commanders where the decision is more apt to be a political one rather than a professional one.
    The NFL's $764 million concussion settlement was halted temporarily because a judge refused to approve the deal. She feared the amount might not be enough to cover all the victims. The money will go to all retired NFL football players who present evidence of severe intellectual impairment. Both parties will share information with a special master the judge has appointed to ensure there is adequate funding before the settlement goes forward.
    What's better in Hillbrow, South Africa is that the years- old custom of throwing furniture, appliances, and anything else that comes to mind out the window during New Year's Eve is ending.
Hillbrow used to be a white enclave, but when segregation ended, whites moved to gated and fenced  areas to live. Hillbrow was then occupied by blacks, many of whom didn't pay rent. It is such a poor area that some apartments are lived in during the day by one set of renters and at night by another set. Are we looking at the future? Last year, a person was hurt by a small refrigerator being thrown out an up-stairs apartment, and the police decided to be on the streets this New Year's Eve. There were no reports of furniture being hurtled out of windows though police did get bottles thrown at their vehicles. One observer remarked that the rent is so high, people can't afford to chuck their furniture out the window. Couldn't it be that people are simply getting a little more mature and less self-absorbed?
    These commentaries are based upon news from the Wall Street Journal, America's most trustworthy national newspaper.
    Peter Nickerson. Neither a Republican nor a Democrat but an Evidentist.

What's Worse Or Better In The News With Birding, Mexico's Economy, And Social Secuity Benefit Judges

    Increasingly, birdwatchers are using apps on their iphones, sometimes with portable speakers, that have recorded bird calls to try to get birds to call back and come closer. Pishing -calling birds by mouth- has long been an accepted practice by birders. However, pishing is a skill while turning on your apps is difficult only for technophobes. Now the woods could be resonating with the songs of smart phones. Birders are encountering people who are using their birdsong apps very loudly and incessantly. Words are flying between the two parties. The National Park Service forbids the use of bird apps on its lands. Evidence of the apps causing any problems for the birds themselves is sketchy. A Princeton University ornithologist did find that the spirited wren simply ignored after a while an app that generated wren calls.
  We became admirers of Mexican president Enrique Nieto when recommended more freedom and competition into Mexico's economy. Now we learn that over two million jobs have been introduced since 2010. Some believe Mexico's flood of illegal immigrants to the U.S. may soon cease. With Obama, one wonders if there will be a reverse flow into Mexico, and if the Mexican government would be world-class hypocrites by trying to stop the immigration.
   There are 1,500 administrative law judges who make the final decision on appealed social security disability benefits in America. These judges have just had their "complete individual independence" provision yanked by Social Security officials. The provision now reads "subject to the supervision and management of social security officials." This is an immense power grab by the Social Security bureaucrats over these formerly independent judges.
    Social Security Disability has around seven million recipients and is projected to run out of money from its trust fund in 2016. That means it will be sooner than that. This could result in reduced payments. Last year, 53 percent of the applicants were approved. Yet dozens of judges awarded benefits to 90 percent of applicants.
    These commentaries are based upon news from the Wall Street Journal, America's most trustworthy national newspaper.
    Peter Nickerson. Neither a Republican nor a Democrat but an Evidentist.
We didn't serve in Vietnam so this is our fight for America plus it is an excellent means to keep up on and analyze the news. 

What's Better Or Worse With Tunnels Into China, Afghani Police, And Emergency Room Visits.

    Chinese police have discovered a 130 foot long tunnel with a railroad track between Hong Kong and Communist China. Baby formula to iphones crossed the border through the tunnel, thus giving the Chinese free, albeit illegal, trade.
    Obama claimed that putting people on Medicaid would save mucho dinero because these previously uninsured people would have a doctor and stop using the extremely expensive emergency rooms. Wrong again, dear leader. A study of 10,000 low income Oregon residents showed that those with Medicaid cards used emergency rooms 40 percent more than those people who had no insurance. Like much of what Obama claims, we see that that evidence doesn't support it.
    Cross your fingers, but the Afghan army as well as the local police are holding their own in Helmand province, a province rich in poppies and poppy processing centers, against the Taliban which wants to get in on the money flow. Helmand has always been difficult, and America has lost a total of 374 troops there but now has only a few soldiers in the current fight. The Taliban had massed to take over the Sangin district, but the government forces repulsed them during 2013. Some of the fighting was done solely by local police. It remains to see how 2014 will go, but it is far easier to hold a position than it is to take it. A tragic lesson learned in Vietnam as we lost and injured not only U.S. and allied soldiers and villagers but lost the support of the people themselves as we were here one day and gone the next. As soon as we left, the communist troops came in and tortured and killed any villagers suspected of cooperating with the U.S. and its allies.
    These commentaries are based upon news in the Wall Street Journal, America's most trustworthy national newspaper.
    Peter Nickerson. Neither a Republican nor a Democrat but an Evidentist. We didn't serve in Vietnam so this is our fight for America.

What's Worse And Better With Venezuelan Food Shortages, PTSD And Phobia Treatment, And Colorado's Marijuana

    Nicolas Maduro won the Venezuelan presidency with only a margin of
1.5 percent of the votes last April. Now his socialist party has emerged
from city council and mayor elections all around Venezuela with more socialists elected. Obviously the Venezuelans aren't learning that socialism is the problem with the economy. Inflation is 54% which is the most in the Americas. Maduro is disregarding property rights and arresting businesspeople on trumped up charges. He is following Lenin's socialist playbook. Maduro has seized 2,300 properties. There are food shortages, even in milk for babies. We agree with the prediction that Venezuela will be the America's Zimbabwe. Maduro has tasted blood. He will want more and will increase his terrorism on his own people.
    What's better is that researchers in the Netherlands have been able to rub out disturbing memories. This could portend a huge and breathtaking cure for PTSD and phobias. What happened was that the researchers told patients in words and pictures two disturbing stories. Immediately after that, the scientists used electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on the patients. After that, what the patients were able to remember of the stories was no more than what plain guessing would yield. Naturally, the researchers are looking for a less drastic means than ECT and are planning to use the propranolol, a drug that interferes with your memory, on fifty PTSD patients. This is a what's better that could be huge.
    The opening of marijuana shops on January 1 went smoothly in Colorado. There were already medical marijuana shops operating, and these stores simply put up new signs. The transition to legal marijuana shopping was orderly. Even though Colorado is breaking federal law, it is doubtful that Obama will arrest anyone as these people are his voters. It is appears that Americans are waiting for the accrual of evidence about the effects of Colorado's legalization of pot. Washington state will be legalizing marijuana later this year.
    These commentaries are based upon news from the Wall Street Journal, America's most trustworthy national newspaper.
    Peter Nickerson. Neither a Democrat nor a Republican, but an Evidentist. We didn't serve in Vietnam so this is our fight for America.

What's Better And Worse In The News For Navy Seals, Immigration, And Catching Medicare Fraud

    This item comes from reading  Patrick Robinson's book, "Honor and Betrayal." What's worse is that for the first time in reading Seal books, I found a Seal who betrayed his brothers. He was a Navy chief who was the assistant of the base commander and on the basis of all the evidence supporting the innocence of three accused Seals except for the charges of a Muslim madman, he demeaned, threatened, and humiliated the three Seals. Contrary to what the author seemed to think, we believe Obama was behind the perfidy because Obama is pro-Muslim.
    Finding something that's better about immigration has been a rare treat. What's better is that researchers have found that a young society has a much greater rate of entrepreneurship or coming up with new products or services and starting businesses. This burst of economic activity by young people keeps a nation's economy growing which benefits everyone. Since immigrants are usually younger people than the population of the nation they are entering, immigration should bring about new ideas and inventions, innovations and consequent prosperity to the host country.The authors do give examples but critical thinking makes us wonder, in general,  how many innovators are going to come from the mass of uneducated, backward people streaming across our borders from the Americas. Won't they be old before they catch up?
  A report from the Inspector General of Health And Human Services suggests that all doctors who bill Medicare more than $3 million a year be audited. When the Inspector General audited a sample of doctors billing over $3 million, he found a little more than half required action and there was a total of $39 million in Medicare overpayments. Obama is considering this suggestion to audit big Medicare chargers. While this is a positive development, it seems rather elementary to us.
    With the exception noted, our commentaries were based upon news from the Wall Street Journal, America's most trusted national newspaper.
    Peter Nickerson  Neither a Republican nor a Democrat, but an Evidentist. We didn't serve in Vietnam so this is our fight for America.
 
   

What's Better Or Worse With A Methodist Pastor, ObamaCare, And Poverty

    A Pennsylvania minister has been defrocked because he performed a legal, gay marriage in Massachusetts. Sex organs, not love, ruled.
  ObamaCare's employer mandate to provide insurance for full-time employees has encouraged the creation of part-time jobs. For most of 2013, the overwhelming majority of jobs added to the U.S. economy have been part-time jobs. Gallup has a payroll to population ratio which is the proportion of the Americans working full-time. In year 2013, this ratio has dropped 2% to 43.8% of the working population that holds only part-time jobs. Under Obama, we have shown you in previous posts that the poorest are getting poorer, and  people are living less long for the first time in American history. Now we are showing you that full-time jobs are decreasing under Obama. It is time to be looking for a president who will grow the economy and our health and happiness instead of wrecking them. We need a president who wants to take care of the poor and disabled but also is, unlike Obama, friendly toward business. Productivity in businesses is the only way to make money; Obama just prints it, worthless dollar after worthless dollar.
  The good news is that a recent Columbia University study has found that the existing benefits to the poor and the tax programs for the poor have reduced America's effective poverty rate by almost half- 40%- since 1967. The poverty rate has been reduced from 26% in 1967 to 16% in 2013. This is a huge accomplishment and should be recognized by all because all of us either profited from these programs that our taxes paid for or paid the taxes for them. Many did both. Job well done, Americans!
    These commentaries are based on news from the Wall Street Journal, the most trustworthy, national newspaper.
    Peter Nickerson. Not a Republican or a Democrat but an Evidentist.

What's Better And Worse In The News With American Income And German Pain

    First, the vegetables and then dessert. You heard here that the age span of Americans during the Obama administration has declined. That is, people are dieing sooner rather than longer for the first time in American history. Also under Obama the median income of the poorest twenty percent -the bottom quintile- of Americans has declined from $11,552 in 2008 which was the height of the recession to $11,490 in 2013. That's a loss of almost $500 in five years. This is just one more example of Obama being the cause of a situation that he publicly deplores and tries to blame someone else for. It is time for a change.
  How can pain be getting better in Germany? If you medicate it. German surgeons have long held the tradition that if they know you will be getting over the pain in a few days, they won't subscribe any pain medication for those few days. What's a few days of agony if they're not feeling it? This autocratic, inhuman practice is being challenged now with about 120 hospitals in Germany pledging to keep pain at a bearable level. Aren't they nice? Don't get hurt or have an operation in Germany. They're still nuts.
    These commentaries have been based upon news from the Wall Street Journal, American's most trustworthy national newspaper.
    Peter Nickerson. Not a Republican or a Democrat but an Evidentist.

What's Better With Apartments And Worse With Mali In the News

      Let's begin with the worse and finish with the better. This month France hopes to draw down 2,000 of its 3,000 troops in Mali. Cheick Aoussa, an Islamofascist commander of Ansar Dine militia in Mali calmly admitted to Wall Street reporters that he is waiting for the French to reduce their number of troops so he can begin fighting again. Asar Dine is a Islamic fundamentalist militia of the Tuareg tribe. Tuareg are desert dwellers in several countries. The Ansar Dine militia briefly ruled Mali until the French entered the country and defeated them. One of the problems with drawdowns is that they often leave the people who have worked with the entering country defenseless against the enemy. Not only is that morally wrong, but if the entering country goes back into that country, the people know it cannot be counted on to remain and they will not cooperate because they know the enemy will remain unless he is eliminated. It is a struggle of wills, and often the will to do evil is stronger than the one to do good.
  Tiny apartments, 200 to 300 square feet, are entering the market in mid-sized American cities such as Atlanta. These cubbyholes are ideal for people who have left their families to find and hold good jobs and return to their families on weekends. But for most people these apartments are desirable only because their rent is about half that of a full-sized apartment. The claustrophobia is perhaps ameliorated by the common areas that many of these apartment buildings have. These mini-apartments are in response to the lack of apartments in America due to the mortgage crisis putting so many people out of their homes. The good news is that people have apartments to rent at about half the price.
    These commentaries are based upon news from the Wall Street Journal, America's most trustworthy national newspaper.
    Peter Nickerson