What's Beter In The News: For People Who Want Honesty And Choices, Not Deception And Orders

  What's Better With The French President? Israel gave French President Hollande a hero's welcome when he arrived in Tel Aviv. This is an indication that Israel believes France is going to stand strong on not selling out the world by a toothless nuclear agreement with Iran. The Obama administration is pushing such a deal. Why? Besides the fact that Obama is pro-Muslim, he also has an unfounded belief in the ability of discussions, negotiations, treaties, and the United Nations to keep peace.
  What's Better With Islamic Martyrdom? What's better is that the Pakistani
Government is insisting that its soldiers are martyrs when they are killed fighting terrorists. This is contrary to what the leader of Pakistan's islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, contends. This has opened a debate in Pakistan about what is martyrdom. Any discussion that is rational and honest will only weaken Islamofascism.
  What's Better In Understanding The 2008 Financial Meltdown? This has emerged after the government's huge shakedown of J.P. Morgan: The settlement began its long process when Justice Department officials discovered that in 2006 J.P. Morgan executives had decided at a meeting to continue selling dubious, now notorious, mortgage securities in spite of warnings that should have stopped them (of course, hindsight is always
perfect). Most of these mortgages would never have been made by banks if the banks were not under extreme pressure by the federal government to make them. The government wanted everyone to be a homeowner. The ability of home buyers to pay their mortgages was not even a consideration.  In fact,the government insanely said those considerations were indications of discrimination. The feds demanded financial recklessness by the banks, the banks kowtowed and adopted the same corruption and recklessness in making, for a while, huge commissions selling these soon-to-be almost worthless mortgages in bundles called mortgage securities.Then people discovered they couldn't pay their mortgages, and the house of cards fell.
Peter Nickerson, Philosophy Major, William and Mary, Class of '68.

What's Better In The News: For People Who Want Honesty and Choices Not Deception And Orders

What's Better With Books? A new book, "Magnificent Delusions," by Hussan Haqqani backs up a common belief among thinking people that the treasure chest of intelligence found at Osama bin Laden's home in Abbottabad, Pakistan proved that the Pakistani government knew that Osama was living in Abbottabad. Since the Navy Seals found this information and bagged it for U.S. intelligence, it should mean that Obama knows it, though Obama is very adept at saying he wasn't in the loop for things that go wrong. If Obama does know about it, then he hasn't told the American people about it. Besides being generally pro-Muslim, there is probably another reason for it: He didn't want Americans demanding reprisals against the Pakistani government for hiding Osama. That concern has validity for the U.S. does not want to completely alienate all of the Pakistani. We still have deep friendships with officers we have trained and trained with. These are probably proving invaluable to us, and we see that the military is reacting negatively and strongly to Islamofascist dictates that Pakistani army soldiers killed fighting terrorists are not engaged in jihad and therefore not automatically going to heaven and enjoying the company of virgins and other deeply spiritual events. It seems an insult to the intelligence and maturity of We, the People if Obama decided he could not tell us about the Pakistani sheltering Osama for fear we would demand drastic reprisals. If Obama can be nuanced, there's no reason we can't be too.
  What's Better With Ethanol? That there isn't going to be more we have to put into our vehicles, at least for now. The Enviromental Protection Agency (EPA) is finally lowering the federal dicktat about how much Ethanol has to be put into America's gas tank. Technically, it is only negation of an increase in Ethanol which was about to happen. The increase was going to be 16 percent, but that increase has been halted, and the standard of 10% of the fuel put into your gas tanks being Ethanol remains. This is a small victory over the Levanthian. The EPA is responding - a little- to the realization that raising corn for Ethanol puts more CO2 into the air than simply not using Ethanol. However, Ethanol has been getting federal subsidies for 35 years, and industries have grown up on those subsidies. These organizations and the people they buy are not going to give up ethanol use and more importantly, ethanol subsidies easily.
Peter Nickerson, Philosopher, William and Mary, Class of '68
  

What's Better In The News: For People Who Want Honesty and Choices Not Deception And Orders

What's Better With JFK and the Internet? What's better is that the Internet with its treasure trove of information is helping to show that President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was a conservative. He was for limited government through cutting taxes and was profoundly anti-communist. In 1963 his main objective as president was to get Congress to cut the marginal tax rates. This was done by law after his death and resulted in American enjoying years of strong economic growth. The Internet exposed the fact that both Ted Sorenson and Arthur Schlesinger, two of JFK's advisers, wrote books that - deliberately, it appears- reversed the dates of two of JFK's speeches to make it appear that he was moving to the left.
  Using a linked profile of an archives collector, this quote in 1947 from Representative John Kennedy was found: " The Allis-Chambers strike was a commie strike." Sounds like the remark of a visceral anti-communist. In addition, JFK was dedicated to removing the communist Premier Fidel Castro from power in Cuba, and his brother, Bobbie, called the CIA almost daily to ask what the CIA had done about it. Castro was so concerned about efforts toward his demise that he issued a statement that the leaders of foreign powers could be targeted by Cuba if they were trying to kill him.
  This commentary was based upon news from the Wall Street Journal, America's most trustworthy national newspaper. Peter Nickerson, Philosopher. Class of 1968, William and Mary, 352-359-0850

What's Better In The News: For People Who Want Honesty and Choices, Not Deception and Orders

What's Better For Books? A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit begun in 2005 to stop Google from copying books and thus allowing worldwide access to them, though the books will only be viewable in limited parts.
  What's Better With France? What's better is that the French showed courage when they exploded the silly agreement the Obama administration wanted with Iran over Iran's nuclear development. The agreement would have amounted to accepting unaccountable promises by Iran essentially to go slower on their nuclear programs. The deal died when the French Foreign Minister Laudent Fabius rightly called it a "sucker's deal."
  What's Better With ObamaCare? What's better is that the Wall Street Journal's editorial page has offered a better alternative which is a flat tax benefit for health insurance coverage for all Americans. This tax refund would give Americans the money to buy, as consumers, the kind of health insurance the particular individual or family wanted. For low income people and those with pre-existing medical conditions subsidies to their accounts would be necessary. Now such an idea needs to be worked into a bill with a sponsor.
  This commentary was based upon items found in the Wall Street Journal,
America's most trustworthy major newspaper. Peter Nickerson, Philosopher, College of William and Mary, Class of 1968. Trying to do the best with the little God gave me. 352-359-0850

What's Better In The News For People Who Want Honesty And Choices, Not Deception and Orders

What's Better With Drones? A drone killed the leader of the Pakistan Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud, in the North Pakistan tribal areas. His insurgents are closely related to Al Qaeda. This drone attack marked only the 23rd such attack in Pakistan this year. Drones are being used much more infrequently.  Drones are safer for Americans and can be launched much quicker than the Navy Seals and other special operators, but drones do kill innocents and destroy property. Special operators can sometimes bring out the wanted person alive along with all his intelligence records and minimize death of innocents and destruction of precious buildings. Drone kills make a lot of enemies, but even Navy Seals find some situations too dangerous for a raid.
What's Better With Ford Motors?
  India's Tata Motors has created a new car for first time car owners that costs as little as $2,000. But it's barely selling. The car was introduced as merely a step-up from a motorcycle or scooter. This was hardly exciting and not very respectful to potential buyers. Also, the car was tall, looked tippy, and had no premium features, such as chrome. Now Ford has stepped into the picture with a "Ka." This is not an automobile for New Englanders but for the same poor people all over the world whom Tata was targeting. The difference is that Ford is not only selling an inexpensive car but self-respect which is something that poor people particularly want. Ford is doing this by not advertising that its car is only a step above a motorcycle. Ford has build the Ka so that it is not tall and tippy looking but wide and low. The Ka has chrome and exudes a premium look. Its owners can feel proud of their first car and give their motorbike a rest. Let me say that Americans are proud that people all over the world are finally able to buy a car. America is all about freedom and prosperity for everyone. I know that message gets lost
all too frequently.
Peter Nickerson, Philosopher, William and Mary, Class Of 1968

What's Better In The News For People Who Want Honesty And Choices Not Deception And Orders

What's Better With ObamaCare? What's better is that it has come out that policy writers for ObamaCare were against Obama making the sales pitch - and lie- that Americans would be able to keep their insurance. They were over-ruled by Obama's political aides. At least, someone ostensibly in the Democratic Party wanted Obama to be honest to we, the people.
  What's Better With Governor Chris Christie? Two Republican politicians openly share about the same values, but one, Ken Cuccinelli of Virginia gets defeated while Chris Christie, in the solidly blue state of New Jersey, gets a very surprising 60 percent of the vote. What made the difference? The wimp factor. Gubernatorial candidate Cuccinnelli wilted at Terry McAuliff's attacks, failing to appreciate that McAuliff's hard barks were to hide his  own vulnerabilities such as supporting partial-birth abortions all the way to the time of natural birth. McAuliff was no way the "centrist" he claimed to be nor did Cuccinelli deserve the "extremist" label that McAuliff dogged him with. But for some reason, Cuccinelli, the Republican, behaved like a whipped dog and wouldn't get into the fight. Up in New Jersey, Christie, for the most part, fought back though he didn't appeal the court's decision not to allow the garden state to ban gay marriages. He also tried to keep the focus on being able to grow jobs better than his Democrat contender.  That is an assertion Independents all over America support by a wide margin. This will be the winning claim- as it is already widely accepted- for the Republican presidential nominee in 2016. With that promise and fact, he can beat Hysterical Hillary who will be demagoguing the Republicans' "War Against Women." I mean, really what difference does it make if we find out who withheld military assistance to the beleagured men at Benghazi? Maybe she or he will do it again somewhere else.
  What's Better With The Senate? It voted for laws forbidding discrimination against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders (LGBTs) at work. The GOP in the House is expected to sink this bill though. However, the Log Cabin Republicans (LGBTs) claim at least 87 House Republicans are sympathetic to the bill. Government employment should be based upon performance not sexual preferences and identities. However, private property businesses are morally free, though not legally free, to be biased. It's their property, not the public's.
This commentary was based on news found in the Wall Street Journal, America's most trustworthy national newspaper. Peter Nickerson, Philosopher, William and Mary, Class of 1968, 352-359-0850.

What's Better In The News For People Who Want Honesty and Choices Not Deception and Orders

What's Better With Ice-Cream: It is getting richer, with more complex tastes, less calories, but more expensive, of course. I am talking about gelato, first introduced by Hagen-Dazs in 1988 but proving to be a flop as presented. Gelato is the Italian version of ice-cream. It is made with milk rather than cream, thus having 30 to 40 percent less fat. But it is thicker and smoother and may cost up to 50 percent more than regular ice-cream. Hagen-Dazs has rolled out gelato again in early 2013 with a better advertising plan and 7 new flavors.
  What's Better With Barbie: A new violin playing Barbie is being introduced in Japan by Mattel in hopes that her violin will emphasize learning and performance and pass the scrutiny of Chinese tiger moms. To sweeten the deal, Violin Barbies cost only $13 in China while most international models go for around $30.
  What's Better For The GOP: It got a huge number of polled independent voters on the basis of being good for the economy. Remember this when I talk about Governor Chris Christie's re-election. This important fact was found in a mid-October Pew Research Poll amid all the negatives the GOP was getting for its little stunt in shutting down the royalty - I mean the federal government. The margin of independents who like how Republicans grow the economy was a king-size 46 to 30 percent.
  This information comes from the Wall Street Journal.