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Disappointment with tech reporter over Fiorina

While I am cynical about the media, I still expect reporters covering the presidential candidates to dig for facts and fairly report their findings, so when I read Jon Swartz’s critical USA Today piece on Carly Fiorina, I was disappointed.

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GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina has not shied away from questions concerning her firing at HP. Too bad Hillary Clinton has been unwilling to fess-up with her failure in Benghazi. (irritant.blogspot.com)

Disappointed primarily because Swartz was a Silicon Valley high tech reporter and I expected more from him. While he wrote that he “had a front-row press seat in the early 2000s, covering the corporate soap opera over Fiorina’s bid to merge HP with Compaq Computer Corp. in a $24 billion deal,” he revealed his business naïveté’ in his criticism of Fiorina’s record at HP.

Experienced business reporters and analysts know that layoffs are common during merger/acquisition actions and they often lead to sour grapes comments from those no longer required by the resulting company. And stockholders, too, often are displeased with what’s happening to their stock.

However, Swartz chose to cite the 30,000 resulting layoffs and the stockholder showdown as a negative qualification for the presidency; what you would expect from a less-experienced reporter. Continue reading →

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“Mistake” and “sloppy” becomes “careless”

The liberal Democrat water carriers are at it again; this time to defend Hillary Clinton.

Remember back in 2004 when it was revealed that Sandy Berger, President Bill Clinton’s national security advisor, had stolen classified documents from the National Archives? It was called “a mistake” and “sloppy.”

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Despite Sandy Berger’s theft of classified documents during the Bill Clinton era, Hillary hired him as an advisor during her 2008 campaign. (freerepublic.com)

Theft of Top Secret documents is a Federal crime that is supposed to carry extremely serious penalties, but the water carriers for the Clinton administration claimed “a mistake” in most instances is not a crime, and certainly being “sloppy” isn’t a crime.

Berger had stuffed documents critical of the Clinton administration’s approach to terrorism in his pants and socks and hid them under a construction trailer near the Archives, later to be retrieved. The theft was an attempt to keep the information from the 9/11 Commission and eventually the American public. He later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and was fined just $50,000. Continue reading →

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The French know the meaning of bravery and honor

France is often the butt of jokes, especially when it comes to their military, but they stepped up and did the right thing Monday at a time when America would have dropped the ball.

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The French wasted no time to present their highest honor for bravery to the three Americans and one Brit, shown here with French President Francois Hollande. (voanews)

Three courageous Americans and a Brit were honored in Paris yesterday as they were presented France’s highest honor for bravery for preventing a terrorist blood bath on a high speed train between Belgium and France.

None other than French President Francois Hollande presented Legion d’Honneur medals to Americans Spencer Stone, Alex Skartatos and Anthony Sadler and Briton Chris Norman at the Elysee Palace in Paris.

That was a far cry from the ordeal victims and families endured after the Nov. 5, 2009 shooting at Fort Hood. It took six years of letter-writing and even legislation to honor the 10 soldiers killed and 26 wounded with a Purple Heart, and Defense of Freedom Medals to two civilians, one who was killed and another wounded. Continue reading →

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kramerontheright is on point

On Monday morning I posted a piece, “Guess who will pay for student loan forgiveness,” for this blog. It had been on my “to do” list since Hillary Clinton began spouting her plan to write-off those loans to win votes.

I wrote how it was a bad idea when the Obama administration took over student loans in 2010, “and a disaster today.”

Lo and behold, that night I read how “President Obama Obama turned a relatively small, privately run, guaranteed student-loan program into a massive government-run disaster,” in Investor’s Business Daily entitled, “Obama’s $1.2 Trillion Student Loan Program Is Falling Apart.”

How nice it feels to be on point with a respected publication. Continue reading →

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Guess who will pay for student loan forgiveness?

Five years ago, I wrote a piece critical of the Obama administration’s takeover of the student loan program. It was a bad idea then, and a disaster today.

In a sweeping move to cut commercial banks out of the federal loan market, Congress voted to establish still another bureaucracy, ending the 45-year old bank-based program.… read more

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Michigan bows to “greens” and EPA

When I read the Wall Street Journal’s Aug. 2, commentary, “States Should Shun the EPA’s New Power Mandate,” a report on the Clean Power Plan, I was reminded of the years of letters to the editor and opinion pieces in my Michigan hometown newspaper, mostly by those opposing coal-generated energy. They had bought into the health and climate change scare tactics of environmentalists and the Obama administration.

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The much-maligned James De Young coal-fired power plant in Holland, Michigan. The NAACP called it an “environmental justice offender. (Mark Copier photo)

Even the NAACP got into the act, issuing a report three years ago that the James De Young coal-fired plant was an “environmental justice offender,” stating that it was “significantly harmful to low-income communities and communities of color.” Never mind that just 3.6 percent of the Holland, Michigan population is African-American and half of the population has incomes of $50,000 or more.

In 2012, a spokesman for Green America signaled the proposed EPA rules as “good news.” Citing questionable statistics that coal-fired plants were the cause of four out of the five leading causes of mortality in the U.S., he said the carbon emissions were responsible for billions of dollars in health care costs.

Advocates have said the move to renewable energy was going to create thousands of new Michigan jobs and reduce pollution “without significantly increasing energy prices.” Where have I heard this before? Continue reading →

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Did Hillary Clinton’s naivete’ unintentionally tip off Benghazi attackers?

“I’m certainly aware of the classification requirements and did not send classified material.” – Hillary Clinton

If Hillary Clinton neither sent nor received classified information, just how did she carry out the normal day to day business of a secretary of state?

Even her daily itinerary should have been classified. Friendly and unfriendly countries alike want to know who she’s meeting with and where.… read more

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Obama rebuffed again on appointment

I found it interesting to read the editorial, “Obama’s Lawless Labor Board,” in today’s Wall Street Journal.

First, because it points once again to the culture of corruption in the Obama administration. The editorial describes how a federal appeals court struck down a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling because its acting general counsel was in the job illegally.… read more

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Scott Walker’s comment on richest counties around Washington DC goes practically unnoticed

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Scott Walker’s comment on the wealth of counties around the nation’s capital hardly reported. (slate.com)

While making his point that Hillary Clinton believes she can grow the economy by growing Washington, Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker cited that six of the top ten wealthiest counties are around the nation’s capital. He was referring to the median income of those working in the nation’s capital.

It’s unfortunate the remark was meaningless to the average viewer, and we can thank our low information media for ignoring the statement. He’s made the point several times during his campaign; part of his plan to reduce the size of government. Continue reading →