MAKING EXCUSES FOR THE VIOLENCE OF ISLAM

I believe Americans are being sandbagged.  I think we have been lulled into a false and dangerous sense of security by the lack of any terrorist attacks on American soil.  It's coming ... and we're not psychologically prepared.

Islam remains a violent religion.  There are still Islamic radicals out there who have the intent --- and the means --- to kill tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of innocent Americans.  We're going to sit transfixed in front of our radios and televisions at some time in the not-too-distant future watching the reports come in on another terrorist attack.  Perhaps this one will be chemical or biological, maybe even nuclear.  The liberation of Afghanistan and Iraq didn't suddenly turn Muslims into Quakers.  The extremists still want to kill ... and kill they will.

America isn't the only country having problems with the Islamic penchant for violence.  Norway seems to be having a bit of a problem with sexual assaults by Muslims.  Islamic crime is spreading throughout Scandinavia.  In Norway there have been quite a few rapes at the hands of Muslim men.  Well .. guess what?  It seems that those rapes might actually be the fault of the Norwegian women!  A social anthropology professor (what else?) is stating that Norwegian women must accept their share of the blame for these rapes because of how they dress.  The Muslim men just can't stand it, you see, when Norwegian women dress so provocatively.   

And so it goes.  A common thread.  America deserved to be attacked by Islamic men because we're just so evil, and Scandinavian women deserved to be raped by Islamic men because of the way they dress.  

Someone needs to put out some sort of a handbook the world can use to learn how to conduct itself so that Islamic men won't be so tempted to become violent.

THE HILDABEAST AND 2008

New York Senator Hillary Clinton is up for re-election to her Senate seat next year...November of 2006, to be exact. Naturally, she's going to run for president in 2008. But, she seems committed to winning re-election to the Senate first. So what about 2008?

She is going to pretend she's not running for president. She and her staff have decided to stop talking publicly about 2008, and instead focus on 2006. She's already got some $8.7 million in the bank. In fact, The Hildabeast has begun stirring up her leftist troops. She sent out an e-mail saying "So just as the right-wing attack machines have started gearing up to defeat me in 2006, we're sending a strong signal that we will be ready to fight back." How nice.

Speaking of right-wing, it's none other than Hillary Clinton that has been running to the right on just about every issue. Even on abortion, she's talking about reducing the number of abortions. On illegal aliens, she's taking a hard line there. But here's the real question:  It is a foregone conclusion that Hillary Clinton will run for president in 2008. Why then, will the people of New York (probably) re-elect her to a second term, knowing full well she won't be around to fulfill it?

Well ... we just answered that question, didn't we?  They're the "people of New York."

AIR AMERICA LOSING ALTITUDE

Just when it seemed things were turning around at the much-ballyhooed liberal talk radio network, Air America has hit the skids again. Even though it seems like it's been longer,  Al Franken and company have only been on the air a little over a year. In that time, we've had tales of stations being paid to run network programming, checks bouncing and people not getting paid. So what's new?

The ratings are terrible. Even their flagship radio station in New York, WLIB (really, those are the call letters...that's not made up) is in 24th place. San Francisco? Terrible. Los Angeles? Not so good there either. So why isn't the network doing any better than it is?

The radio business is just like any other. You have to be able to attract and hold an audience day after day, in order to sell commercials and make money (capitalism never was the left's strong suit.) The problem with the whole concept of 'liberal talk radio' is they think they have to be the counterweight to conservative talk radio. They think it's all about politics and ideology. It's not. When people turn on the radio, they have to be entertained with compelling content. If the show is not entertaining, people are not going to listen. It doesn't matter what the politics are....it has to be presented in an entertaining way.

Perhaps things will turn around for Air America...perhaps not. They sure haven't done much with all that free advertising they got in the media when they first went on the air.

For my part, I hope they turn it around.  I earnestly want Air America to succeed.  Two reasons:  First, they draw new listeners to the talk radio genre.  Second, they keep the government off our backs.  Mark my words; if Air America fails the leftists in Washington will immediately start beating the drums for more control on conservative talk radio.  Fairness doctrine, here we come.

RAISING THE RETIREMENT AGE

George Bush continues to push for Social Security reform, despite the erosion of support in Congress and amongst the public. Speaking in South Carolina yesterday, the president said "By 2034 the annual shortfall will be more than $300 billion and by the year 2041 the entire system will be bankrupt." Actually, the entire system is already bankrupt, but we'll play along for now.

He also continued to push for private accounts for younger workers, pointing out that they are comfortable investing in stocks and bonds, and should have no problem supporting the same for Social Security. Unfortunately between the misinformation of the Democrats, the AARP, the mainstream media and Rock The Vote, we don't seem to be getting anywhere. That's too bad. What then are some of the other proposals?

The president floated the idea of raising the retirement age, currently at 65 and soon to be 67. The president was asked about raising it to 70, and said that was on the table. People are living longer and working later in life, so that would reduce the benefits. Unfortunately, Bush also praised Lindsey Graham's proposal to raise the cap on Social Security taxes for high-income earners. It feels so good to screw those evil rich people, doesn't it?  Charge them more in taxes and make them wait longer to get their benefits.

It's unfortunate that people aren't getting through their thick, government-programmed skulls just what private accounts would mean for them. Right now, if the government maintains control of the system, they get to decide when you retire, they get to decide how much to pay you and they get to keep all the money when you die. With a private system, the money would be yours to do with as you please.

The left and the gimme generation have people right where they want them when it comes to Social Security. 

THE MONETARY WORTH OF YOUR COLLEGE DEGREE

Some of my listeners just can't stand it when I get into my "choices have consequences" mode.  So many people just don't want to believe that they are right where they are, economically, socially and in terms of their health, principally because of the cumulative effect of the choices that they have made in their lives. 

Some of the most important choices you will make involve education.  In the early years it's whether or not you're even going to go to school, and if you do go whether or not you're going to actually apply yourself.  Later on you will have to decide if you are going to continue to college ... and what your major will be.  CNN has published a survey showing starting salaries for college graduates with various four-year degrees.  At the top of the list you will find chemical engineering cashing in at  $54,000 a year.   Electrical, computer, mechanical, and aerospace engineering all pay over $50,000 a year to start.  At the bottom of the list we find liberal arts, and at the bottom of the liberal arts list we find ... what else but teaching.  Teaching comes in at $29, 733.    Here's some more of the list.

 Accounting (private): $44,564
 Management trainee: $35,811
 Teaching: $29,733
 Consulting: $49,781
 Sales: $37,130
 Accounting (public): $41,039
 Financial/Treasury analysis: $45,596
 Software design/development: $53,729
 Design/construction engineering: $47,058
 Registered nurse: $38,775

You will notice that you don't see History, English, Social Work or other such disciplines on that list.  If you make the choice to go after those majors, you are making a decision to limit your income potential pretty much throughout your life.

Now ... about the teachers.  Low salary, right?  Well what would you expect for a profession that fights accountability with its every breath?  Chemical engineer, accountant, Registered nurse ... all of these people must be accountable for what they do.  If they don't do their job well, it's off to the classified.  Teachers?  Can you spell tenure?  Can you spell NEA?  That would be the acronym for the National Education Association, the teacher's union.  Every year this union meets to discuss and implement new ways and ideas to make sure that teachers are not held accountable for their successes or failures in the classroom.  

A few more points to make about the teaching profession.  Studies have shown that generally speaking the college freshman who decide to pursue a degree in education come from the bottom of their entering class.  By this I mean that their SAT scores are at the bottom compared to the SAT scores for other entering freshmen.  Likewise, college graduates who opt for a master's degree in education generally score at the bottom of their class in the GRE, the Graduate Record Exam, the SAT-like test that goes a long way to deciding who does and who does not get into graduate school.  

Bottom line?  We have the bottom of the entering college freshman class .. and the bottom of the entering graduate school class out there teaching our children.  Then they gripe about low salaries.  They write comments on report cards like "Johnny are learning to read real good." and expect to be earning the big bucks.

Oh ... and don't forget that extended summer vacation.

READING ASSIGNMENTS

Ann Coulter is upset about the not-too-flattering picture of her on this week's Time Magazine. Perhaps a few visits to the Golden Corral are in order.

Are gas prices really that high? Nope..as a matter of fact, they're currently 34 percent below where they were in 1980. Could be worse, right? Kris Axtman of the Christian Science Monitor says there are other things that have surged much higher.

The alliance that controls Iraq's National Assembly says that Saddam Hussein should be executed. So much for cutting a deal with the insurgents.

Liberals love to quote their ultra-leftist hero, Noam Chomsky. Mark Bauerlein reviews a new book that rips apart the ramblings of the left's sacred cow.

So where exactly did the filibuster come from? You might be surprised....the 3/5ths vote required to end debate in the Senate wasn't some sort of pillar of the founding father's original vision. More from Philip Terzian.

How would you like to make $2,000 a day without any effort? Thomas Sowell says all you have to do is head for San Mateo, California....but there is a catch. Read on.

The American people are overwhelmingly opposed to granting licenses to illegal aliens. So why are politicians so brazenly defying the will of the people? That's a good question.

Politicians and interest groups hate private accounts because they would transfer power from the government to the individual. Doug Bandow makes the case for Social Security reform.

The John Bolton vote is about to take place in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on whether or not he should be the next ambassador to the United Nations. Frank Gaffney goes over his qualifications, and tells us why he should be confirmed.

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