The US ranks 29 among the community of nations insofar as it relates to the academic performance of the nation's public school students. This showing is down from America's academic performance 4 years ago. Even as the US spends far more on average than most every other country on earth our public students continue to rank far behind much of Europe, Canada and East Asia.

Ranking:

1. Finland
2. Hong Kong
3. Canada
4. Taiwan
5. Japan
6. Estonia
7. New Zealand
8. Australia
9. Netherlands
10. Liechtenstein
11. S. Korea
12. Slovenia
13. Germany
14. United Kingdom
15. Czech Republic
16. Switzerland
17. Macao-China
18. Austria
19. Belgium
20. Ireland
21. Hungary
22. Sweden
23. Poland
24. Denmark
25. France
26. Croatia
27. Iceland
28. Latvia
29. United States
30. Spain
31. Slovak Republic
32. Lithuania
33. Norway
34. Luxembourg
35. Russian Federation
36. Italy
37. Portugal
38. Greece
39. Israel
40. Chile
41. Serbia
42. Bulgaria
43. Uruguay
44. Turkey
45. Jordan
46. Thailand
47. Romania
48. Montenegro
49. Mexico
50. Indonesia
51. Argentina
52. Brazil
53. Colombia
54. Tunisia
55. Azerbaijan
56. Qatar
57. Kyrgyzstan

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-FINN080229-sort.html?s=1&ps=false&a=up

Yet, what are our esteemed political leaders telling us? They tell us that our system works, that its the best in the world and so on and so forth. This of course is a lie, indeed not only is America's public school system not working, but we are continuing to fall further and further behind. As the emerging economies of China and India continue to move forward, US students will find themselves less and less capable of competing on the world market. If this trend continues it won't be long before American children aren't qualified to do much more than clean up after their foreign supervisors. This trend should come as a surprise to no one, such studies have regularly demonstrated the continued failings of our monolithic, state-centric, monopolistic educational system.

Those who suggest alternatives, such as school choice, vouchers, charter schools and home schooling are often chided with derision by those who apparently have no problem with America's 29 ranking (i.e., the American Left, Teacher's Unions and Statists). Here America these opponents of choice are staking steps to outlaw homeschooling (as in California) and derail choice initiatives (as in Utah), meanwhile in the world's best performing nation (Finland) state-centric No Child Left Behind style mandate are non-existant. Indeed, students don't even enter the classroom until age 7 and when they do, politicians don't flood the classroom with billions to pay for unnecessary technological destractions, they focus on academics.

In several of the planet's top performers like Belgium and Hong Kong school choice is the norm, where school funds follow the child and parents are free to send their children to a state school, private secular school or a parachial school and the results are pretty obvious. Yet here in America we cling to our philosophy of a command style approach to academics, with our children as the victims.

Are there people out their so blind with a lust for power and influence that they will do anything to maintain that power, even at the expense of a nation.

Witness Obamanomics. Senator Barack Obama plans to raise taxes by as much as 25% on all those with incomes exceeding 250,000.00 per year. This figure includes most small business owners who employ approximately 70% of all Americans. These same small business owners are responsible for 80% of all teh new jobs being created in Amnerica today.

What will happen to these small business men and women once Obama's success averse tax policies are implemented. What will happen to those working for small businesses when their employers are forced to absorb an additional 25% business expense?

When will America awaken to the reality that Obama simply isn't prepared to be president? If his tax policies don't cripple this nation economically, his do nothing, don't drill, oppose nuclear, oppose energy alternatives and tax the oil companies policy on energy will ensure the permanent ruination of these United States of America.

We often hear about bias in the news media. While any truly objective person cannot escape the reality of this leftist bias in the media. We are frequently told that such bias is purely a figment of a right wing imagination. In realty it is simply a figment of the truth.

Earlier this summer, for example, Senator John McCain made his seventh visit to Iraq with nary a word from the major news networks. Is it because the story of the war in Iraq is unimportant, perhaps its less important because the level of violence has decreased so significantly. Or perhaps it is because John McCain is a Republican and as the GOP standard bearer in the November election the mass media will endeavor to pay as little attention to the senator as possible, in their ongoing effort to anoint Barack Obama as president, just as they ignored Hillary Clinton during the primary season. How else do we explain the phenomenon that is Barack Obama who less than 4 years ago was an obscure state legislator now on the cusp of the presidency. The mere suggestion is laughable, yet scary when one considers Obama's backward views on everything from the economy to foreign affairs.

If there were any doubt of the bias in favor of Senator Obama witness the spectacle that is Obama's upcoming trip to Iraq. The planned visit, Obama's first in years, has been catapulted into the media spotlight, so much so in fact that all three night time news anchors (Williams with NBC, Couric with CBS and Gibson with ABC) will be traveling with America's presumptive favorite son. Meanwhile, who even remembers McCain's visit. Such disproportionality in the media is nothing new but it does beg the question: why does the media even bothers to maintain the charade of impartiality?

Link:
http://www.mercurynews.com/nationworld/ci_9906023

For the second time this week the terrorist haven and Islamic Republic of Iran has test fired a new round of ballistic missiles capable of striking Israel. This veiled threat towards the west shouldn't be seen as anything more than saber rattling by a nation that has developed a technology that was used in war over 60 years ago. Perhaps this is something we should look upon with awe.

Exactly how is it that a nation like Iran with so much wealth and resources has taken so long to do something so simplistic in terms of technological prowess. This should not lead us to believe that Iran is only a mere 60 years behind the times. After all Iran is probably about 1200 years behind the time.

The last thing this country or any country needs is war with Iran, such a conflict with Iran would make the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan look like Granada. And to what end? If this nation and the rest of the western world would finally embrace energy alternatives as they certainly should, particularly hydrogen, nuclear, clean coal, natural gas, etc...Such a strategy would deprive these radicals of the only leverage they have and ever could have on the freedom loving world.

Iran's saber rattling poses no genuine threat to Israel, while Iran tinkers with another 60 year old technology (i.e., nuclear weaponry), Israel has sufficient capabilities to thoroughly defend itself, perhaps dealing a crushing blow. The mullahs of Tehran may be radical, but they aren't so foolish as to risk suicide and any such conflict with Israel would certainly be an act of suicide.

Links:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/07/10/missile.iran/index.html

Here's a question for anyone who is a citizen of the United Kingdom? Whats the highest law in the land? The answer is: It depends. In Britain, the nation's top judge, Justice Lord Phillips, asserted recently that Islamic Sharia law should be used in a variety of capacities insofar as it relates to Britain's Muslim subjects.

'It is possible in this country for those who are entering into a contractual agreement to agree that the agreement shall be governed by a law other than English law.'
-Justice Phillips

Herein lies the danger of nation's without a written constitution. We have already seen other nations (e.g., Canada) make exceptions for Islamic communities. Exceptions which do not apply to the larger population. Imagine if a Christian couple wanted a marriage or business contract to be based on the Bible, rather that the nation's applicable laws, or a Jew using the Torah or Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, etc...using their respective parochial systems rather than a universal code of justice. To what do certain individuals (i.e., Muslims) deserve such exceptionalism and where does it end.

Link:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1031611/Sharia-law-SHOULD-used-Britain-says-UKs-judge.html

Rarely in law enforcement do police have the opportunity to stop a murder or rape in progress. Its an extremely poor argument when we tell people to 'get raped, get assaulted, get robbed or better still get murdered. The police will come by soon to take pictures and complete a crime report, maybe even find the perpetrator,' meanwhile the victim is no less traumatized, if not dead.