The Joy of Teaching in Iraq

Inside Higher Ed . "So, what’s it like for an American educator to work with Iraqi college students in the classroom? Well, to be honest, they had me at "hello." From the first moments of my first class, I knew there was something different about these students, something special. "....
"Now, what’s so special about these Iraqi students? Let me give you a list:....

Liberals Give 'Til It Hurts (You)

Ann Coulter  "Liberals never tire of discussing their own generosity, particularly when demanding that the government take your money by force to fund shiftless government employees overseeing counterproductive government programs."....
"This week, we'll take a peek at the charitable giving of these champions of the poor."

http://townhall.com/cartoons/MichaelRamirez/

The ACLU's Unholy War on Catholic Hospitals

Michelle Malkin  "On Wednesday, the ACLU sent a letter to federal health officials urging the government to force Catholic hospitals in the U.S. to perform abortions in violation of their core moral commitment to protecting the lives of the unborn. They're counting on sympathetic Obama rationing czar Donald Berwick ...to dictate which religious principles hospital operators can and cannot follow.
The ACLU reiterated its call for a federal probe -- read: fishing expedition -- of Catholic hospitals nationwide that refuse to provide "emergency" contraception and abortions to women."

Catholic Hospitals Fight to Stay Pro-life "According to the Washington Post, the latest letter from the ACLU followed up a complaint in July from the group “asking for a federal investigation of similar problems at Catholic hospitals across the country, including refusals to provide emergency contraception to rape victims or perform abortions on women having miscarriages.”"

GROUND ZERO MOSQUE; THE SECOND WAVE OF THE 911 ATTACKS

Atlas Shrugs  "IF radical Rauf is speaking on his propaganda tour in your town, neighborhood or university, let us know. We'll be there to expose him and tell the truth. "

How Did All That Happen?

Victor Davis Hanson  "There are a number of improbables, anomalies, paradoxes, ironies, absurdities — call them what you wish – on the national scene that simply defy reason. We usually fault an ignorant media as culpable for creating narratives that have no basis in fact and yet are rarely questioned. Here are some of the glaring examples and you decide how the unlikely became the gospel."....
Lurking somewhere behind all these improbables is a rather small Western elite that is enormously influential in the media, government, the arts, universities, and Hollywood. And what it would like to believe, often simply must be believed — and so it usually is.

Not So Fast with the “1962” Allusions

Commentary  "The Iran-Venezuela situation of today is more complex; as it unfolds, its features will increasingly diverge from the profile of the 1962 crisis. Today’s impending crisis involves much more of Latin America. We should address it on its own terms. I don’t wish for a Kennedy-esque approach from President Obama. I’m apprehensive about what he would be prepared to trade away in missile negotiations with Iran."
J. E. Dyer

Is Israel assassinating Iran nuclear scientists?

Haaretz  "The Telegraph also quoted Israeli officials as privately acknowledging the new U.S. administration is unlikely to sanction an air attack on Iran's nuclear installations and that President Barack Obama's offer to extend a hand of peace to Tehran puts any direct military action beyond reach for now.
"As such, the reported goal of Israel's covert campaign is to delay or interrupt the Iranian research program, without engaging in a direct confrontation that could lead to a wider war."

Iran's nuclear arms drive delayed. Iran: Mossad killed Iranian official "DEBKAfile's intelligence sources note that the current Israeli intelligence timeline for a nuclear-armed Iran was previously 2011. Yaalon did not go into the reasons for the delay, but our sources mention two:

1. His estimate represented the first official Israel evaluation of the scale of the destruction and havoc the Stuxnet malworm has wrought to Iran's most secret nuclear weaponization facilities. Up until now, only the nuclear reactor at Bushehr and the uranium enrichment plant at Natanz had been admitted to have been affected by the invasive virus.
2. The second factor seriously slowing progress is the tightening ring of sanctions which are keeping Iran from receiving the materials, replacement parts and new electronic and technical systems needed to bring its clandestine military nuclear program to fruition

What would America do without Israel to protect her?

The Top Three Tea Party Questions

American Thinker  "If you are a part of the Tea Party movement, you might sometimes wonder, "What can I do?" Well, you can memorize, or print out and carry in your pocket, these three questions:

1. Which article of the Constitution gives government the authority to do this?
2. How does this help reduce the deficit and balance the budget?
3. Why does this have to be mandatory and not voluntary?

"It matters not what the topic may be; these three questions are fundamental. Include them in every political conversation you have with your family, friends, neighbors, and especially with your elected representatives. Tea Party activists nationwide can lead the effort to make sure politicians will not step out of their offices without credible answers to these questions, on any issue whatsoever."

President Obama and Michael Vick

Thomas Lifson  "Obama did not call up the owners of, say, the Texas Rangers to congratulate them for giving Josh Hamilton a second chance. Hamilton led that team to its first World Series appearance in its history. But Hamilton made some bad choices in life, and had his early MLB career derailed by drug and alcohol addiction. The Rangers took a chance on him and it paid off: He was brilliant at the plate in the 2010 American League playoffs, to the point that the New York Yankees wouldn't even pitch to him in the ALCS. Where was President Obama's call to Nolan Ryan, congratulating him for giving Hamilton a second chance?"
Hmmmm.

Rush Limbaugh on "the Obama Curse": Rush observes that every time Obama calls some team before a game, that team loses.
I'm just sayin'.

How one of the world’s top educational performers turned around

Boston.com  "Finland is one of the few nations that have accomplished both a high quality of learning and equity in learning at the same time. The best school systems are the most equitable — students do well regardless of their socio-economic background. Finally, Finland should interest US educators because Finns have employed very distinct ideas and policies in reforming education, many the exact opposite of what’s being tried in the United States."  Hat tip to Neal Boortz

Obama Will Make You Pay More at the Pump

Heritage  "In 2008, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) “blasted” the president for rising gas prices on his (and her) watch. In July 2008, ABC News asked the president what was his “short term advice for Americans about gas prices?” repeating a nearly identical question asked at a February 2008 press conference. In April 2008, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said gas prices were “the number one issue facing America today.”
"You get the point. Yet, at the end of President Bush’s presidency, gas prices were 9% lower than when he took office (adjusted for inflation). So where have these outspoken critics been since Bush left office?"....
"All of this news would be less frightening if the White House were focusing on potential ways to lower energy prices. Instead, President Obama is admittedly fixated with raising them."