tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13410244428234717492011-12-05T17:18:53.402-08:00News & Views on Long Island, New York, and the NationRaymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.comBlogger1841100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-3968142017002282012011-12-05T17:18:00.000-08:002011-12-05T17:18:53.427-08:00

by Ralph R. Reiland December 5, 2011 It's not like the old days in China when the top guys in the Communist Party at least pretended to be pro-equality. Back then, "poor peasants" were encouraged to denounce and kill "rich peasants" for the crime of being too productive, too individualistic or insufficiently enthusiastic about self-sacrifice. Today in Australia, there's a mansion overlooking

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-68852437342019199612011-10-24T05:23:00.000-07:002011-10-24T05:23:18.031-07:00

by Ralph R. ReilandOctober 24, 2011 You knew it was coming. First they came for the cigarettes, then Hank Williams Jr. got knocked off Monday Night Football for being politically incorrect, and now they’re coming for the butter. Denmark, on October 1, put a $1.29 per pound tax on all foods that hit 2.3 percent in saturated fats. That’s on top of a 25 percent surcharge imposed last year by

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-78266922947233265682011-10-18T06:16:00.000-07:002011-10-18T06:16:08.397-07:00

by Steve Levy Over the past eight years, I have made the tough decisions effectuating over a hundred million dollars in recurring savings that helped bring about eight consecutive years without a general fund tax increase. We saved millions by putting our health plan out to competitive bid, civilianizing the police department, replacing highly paid officers with lower paid sheriffs on the

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-63501846372758758762011-07-29T13:20:00.000-07:002011-07-29T13:20:56.023-07:00

by Ralph R. ReilandJuly 29, 2011 In her essay "For the New Intellectual," Ayn Rand warned that the United States would go bankrupt -- financially and morally -- if we allowed intellectuals and political leaders to define commercial pursuits as inferior to noncommercial pursuits, if we permitted the productive and the creators of wealth to be defined as looters, and if we refused to see the

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-44302400039979874962011-04-11T05:58:00.000-07:002011-04-11T05:58:30.481-07:00

by Ralph R. Reiland It’s not hard to see how we’re bankrupting ourselves. Not even a rich country can make it through this level of incompetence and corruption. Locally, I drive home from work here in Pittsburgh listening to people calling the talk shows to complain about how the reduced bus schedules aren’t getting them to work on time. The bus system is running critically in the red in spite

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-8555404230517220552011-02-01T17:08:00.000-08:002011-02-01T17:08:40.910-08:00

  by Raymond J. Keating February 1, 2011 When will the adults come home and clean up the mess left by Nassau County's political children? Are any responsible adults left in and around Nassau government? … Read the entire article in the New York Post.  

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by Ralph R. Reiland January 17, 2011 “Bad things happen, and we must guard against simple explanations in the aftermath,” said President Obama in his recent remarks at the memorial service in Tucson. “For the truth is that none of us can know exactly what triggered this vicious attack,” Obama continued. “None of us can know with any certainty what might have stopped those shots from being fired

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by John LeBoutillierJanuary 4, 2011 • By the end of the year, the unemployment rate will still be unacceptably too high – in the 8 - 8.5% range. And that will turn the country even more sour about the economy, the future and the 2012 elections. 

 • Articles will appear asking this question: Has any incumbent president ever been re-elected with unemployment north of 7% or 8%?

 • While

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-66917951876027975432010-12-10T13:30:00.000-08:002010-12-10T13:34:56.272-08:00

by Raymond J. Keating December 10, 2010 If you need proof that being wealthy does not mean that you necessarily understand economics and public policy, consider a letter to President Barack Obama signed by a group of rich folks urging him to hike their taxes… Read the entire article at The Daily Caller.

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-80003473517897130992010-11-19T05:23:00.000-08:002010-11-19T05:23:42.625-08:00

by Ralph R. Reiland November 19, 2010 Inflated self-esteem can be decidedly counterproductive. American students, for example, took first place in self-judged mathematical ability in a comparative study of eight countries, but last place in actual mathematical competency. Korean students, in contrast, ranked themselves last in self-judged mathematical skills and took first place in actual

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by Ralph R. Reiland November 15, 2010 Especially after bad days, liberals like to go to columnists like Maureen Dowd at the New York Times for some reassurance that everything’s fine with liberalism and it’s just the rest of us who are a bad mix of weird, greedy, ethnocentric, dumb and scary. Like a lighthouse in a storm, Dowd unfailingly guides lost-at-sea liberals back to the safe port of

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-59921529805932514152010-10-31T18:22:00.000-07:002010-10-31T18:22:22.692-07:00

by Ralph R. ReilandMonday, November 1, 2010 Here’s a thought regarding tomorrow’s voting, from Samuel Adams (1722-1803), a leader in the movements that became the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and the governor of Massachusetts from 1793 to 1797. “If ever a time should come,” wrote Adams, “when vain and aspiring men shall possess the

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by John LeBoutillierNovember 1, 2010 My Final Prediction: Tuesday will be an historic Election Day as the Republican Party – fueled by the Tea Party movement – will win back over 50 seats in the House and up to 8 seats in the US Senate. The crucial Independent Voter – the key swing voter who always determines winners and losers – has swung away from Obama and back to the Right in 2010. That,

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-27482224103678462642010-09-22T20:05:00.000-07:002010-09-22T20:08:46.030-07:00

Former Newsday columnist and current Dolan Media Company columnist Ray Keating has published his first novel – Warrior Monk: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel.Warrior Monk revolves around a former CIA assassin, Stephen Grant, who has lived a far different, relatively quiet life as a parish pastor in recent years. However, a shooting at his church, an historic papal proposal, and threats to the Pope’s

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-57854042196708054342010-09-17T09:16:00.000-07:002010-09-17T09:18:21.734-07:00

by Ralph R. ReilandSeptember 17, 2010My first recommendation is very basic. Don’t cut. As Woody Allen stated, “Eighty percent of success is just showing up.”And it’s best to show up on time. Remember the old Tibetan proverb: “Man who comes to work early and leaves late ends up with tallest stack of Sichuan rupees.”But then the Chinese collectivists came barging in and disincentivized early

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by Ralph R. ReilandSeptember 15, 2010It took only a few seconds recently to see how candidate Obama got the idea that we have a propensity in Pennsylvania to "cling to guns and religion." I was in the lobby of the Jefferson Regional Medical Center in the outskirts of Pittsburgh leafing through a stack of magazines on the reading table. There was one copy each of Woman's Day and House Beautiful,

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by John LeBoutillierSeptember 13, 2010This year’s elections are going to be a smash success for the GOP – and for conservatives and for traditional small-government, lower-tax conservatism – and especially for the Tea Party movement. Emphasis should be placed on the word “movement” because the Tea Party is not a political party. At least not yet.It is not the 1992 Reform Party of Ross Perot with

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-60869723421966551542010-08-05T12:49:00.000-07:002010-08-05T12:50:40.298-07:00

by Ralph R. ReilandAugust 5, 2010I don’t write a self-help column, or about household hints, but here’s a warning about how I flew out the bathtub a few days ago.It started with eczema, some dry and itchy skin on three fingers. The doctor prescribed an ointment and said to switch to a high-moisturizing soap.The first thing I noticed, and I’m not a clumsy person (I’ve never fallen down the steps,

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-90192997276920544622010-08-04T10:17:00.000-07:002010-08-04T10:18:54.948-07:00

by Raymond J. KeatingAugust 4, 2010Apparently, it’s not easy figuring out how to spend other people’s money in New York, as state lawmakers passed a budget more than four months late on Tuesday night. Central to this year’s tardiness was wrangling over a bill to provide the State University of New York and City University of New York with greater autonomy from Albany’s dysfunctional politics. But

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-25489166068322890502010-07-23T11:27:00.000-07:002010-07-23T11:28:16.026-07:00

by Ralph R. ReilandJuly 23, 2010“As I tell my kids, dessert is not a right,” declared Michelle Obama recently, promoting her anti-obesity agenda while addressing the annual NAACP convention.I’d say the same thing about pizza deliveries in a war zone. There’s no right to have a pizza delivered in a neighborhood where drivers have to worry about dodging bullets in order to get to the front door.The

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by Ralph R. ReilandJuly 16, 2010How quickly the magic and arrogance has turned into mismanagement and excuses.Cinching his party’s nomination on the night of June 3, 2008, a pumped up Barack Obama concluded his triumphal St. Paul, Minn., speech by declaring, “I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we

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May 13, 2010Raymond J. Keating had an opinion piece in Wednesday’s New York Post titled “A NY School-Budget Revolt?” The piece starts out:New Jerseyans voted down a record number of public-school-district budgets last month. New Yorkers will have a chance to do the same on May 18 -- and should…Read more here.

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-22808264265230554642010-05-03T15:29:00.000-07:002010-05-03T15:31:00.283-07:00

by Ralph R. ReilandMay 3, 2010The Pulitzers for top-notch journalism aren’t what they used to be.Here’s the way Pulitzer winner Eugene Robinson, an associate editor and columnist for the Washington Post, recently described the Tea Parties: “The overhyped Tea Party phenomenon is more about symbolism and screaming than anything else. A ‘movement’ that encompasses gun nuts, tax protesters, devotees

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-13701168103176808432010-04-15T15:01:00.000-07:002010-04-15T15:03:56.181-07:00

April 15, 2010Raymond J. Keating had an opinion piece in Thursday’s New York Post titled “Who’s Got the Right Stuff? A Look at GOP Gov Candidates.” The piece starts out:Who's the real Republican in the GOP gubernatorial race? After all, the party's best hope to regain the governor's mansion is with a candidate voters see as willing to clean up the state's budget and economic mess…Read more here.

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-53185841881738015632010-04-13T06:45:00.000-07:002010-04-13T06:47:50.067-07:00

April 13, 2010Raymond J. Keating had an opinion piece in the Sunday New York Post titled “NY school spending doesn’t add up.” The piece starts out:During the state budget crisis, lawmakers moan that there’s simply nothing that can be cut. Yet during the fat times, the budget increased at rates far greater than inflation. Begging the question — why does it cost so much more to run New York than it

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-9309150788717737462010-04-07T07:50:00.000-07:002010-04-07T07:52:05.981-07:00

by John LeBoutillierApril 7, 2010Since the health care bill passed the Congress and was signed into law – two weeks ago – the President has simultaneously tried to win back independents (changing his position on off-shore oil drilling) and then lurching back to the Left with his (feel-good for the Left) decision to limit the potential use of nuclear weapons. But the real story is Obama’s approval

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-77936066655053901142010-03-24T15:44:00.000-07:002010-03-24T15:46:33.045-07:00

by Ralph R. ReilandMarch 24, 2010What became quickly obvious while watching President Obama’s recent interview about health care reform with Bret Baier on FOX is that we failed to get straight answers about the proposed reforms to the every end -- and this after a year of health care being the No. 1 priority at the Obama White House.On something even as elementary as making the exact legislation

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-65103639352186505202010-03-24T15:43:00.000-07:002010-03-24T15:44:44.152-07:00

by John LeBoutillierMarch 24, 2010Is the passage of the so-called health care reform really a huge political victory for President Obama and the liberal Democrats? Or is it actually the beginning of their political obituary?Here is what will answer these questions: 

1) Underlying everything is the economy, the so-called recovery and the jobs issue. Simply stated: if the economy improves and

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-82059166953892762432010-03-18T10:02:00.000-07:002010-03-18T10:04:08.645-07:00

by Ralph R. ReilandMarch 18, 2010It’s not difficult to understand the fall of Obama --- the largest presidential drop in Gallup’s approval ratings in half a century. Just start with Obama’s overly-cocky notion that he’s exceptional and America isn’t.Asked by a Financial Times reporter last April if he believed in American exceptionalism, Obama replied, Harvard-style: “I believe in American

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-43506661362336770722010-03-15T06:06:00.000-07:002010-03-15T06:08:13.378-07:00

March 15, 2010Raymond J. Keating had an opinion piece in the Sunday New York Post titled “How to cut $9 billion.” The piece starts out:When it comes to budget problems, the story never changes in New York.While revenues are rolling in during good economic times, elected officials spend like drunken sailors. When the economy falters, well, they still spend like drunken sailors.Assorted tax

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-91199931983118622932010-03-10T13:24:00.000-08:002010-03-10T13:28:12.074-08:00

by Raymond J. KeatingMarch 10, 2010When it comes to serious candidates for U.S. Senate races this year, New York Republicans resemble zoned-out high school students from the movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”Who can forget the scene? Ben Stein as an economics teacher asking if “anyone, anyone” knew anything about the Smoot-Hawley tariff act or the Laffer Curve? The students respond with vacant

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-80507302248107597432010-03-09T11:56:00.000-08:002010-03-09T11:58:12.597-08:00

by Ralph R. ReilandMarch 9, 2010“The majority of Americans say the government poses an immediate threat to individual rights and freedoms,” stated CNN, summarizing the results of a recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll.“Fifty-six percent of people questioned say they think the federal government's become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-26721530467395327392010-03-05T09:57:00.000-08:002010-03-05T09:58:31.826-08:00

by John LeBoutillierMarch 5, 2010The March 3 announcement from President Obama that he is making the final push for his signature health care bill has enormous political, economic and medical ramifications. 

1) It means that Obama will indeed use the Nuclear Option—a Senate Rules change that will be seen by the American people as “changing the rules in the middle of the game.”2) This will drive

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-68543223594281647732010-03-02T11:53:00.000-08:002010-03-02T11:55:12.303-08:00

by Ralph R. ReilandMarch 2, 2010The hype is always better than the real thing.Boston’s Big Dig sounded like a half-decent project in the beginning. Approved in 1982 with a price tag $2.6 billion, it was completed, however, more or less, in 2005 at a price of $22 billion.“More or less” because concrete panels loosened and crashed from the ceiling of a connector tunnel in 2006, the first full year

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by Ralph R. ReilandFebruary 24, 2010Paul Krugman, a top columnist and liberal opinion-maker at The New York Times, sounded last week like he was tied to the tracks and saw a train coming around the bend. “We’re doomed,” he cried. “Oh. My. God.” The melodramatic periods after each of the aforementioned words are Krugman’s punctuation, conveying a picture of himself in a disastrous and rapid

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-64424725423682516042010-02-10T13:28:00.000-08:002010-02-10T13:30:19.298-08:00

by John LeBoutillierFebruary 10, 2010Sarah Palin is enormously popular. And she is also enormously unpopular—even among many on the Right.Sarah Palin is a good watch on TV.She is also erratic. And slightly hyper. And full of contradictions.Sarah Palin is good-looking to many men. And she is “a bit loopy” to many other men—and women, too. 

Sarah Palin is a leader of many conservatives. But to

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-63236468956602065522010-02-02T05:50:00.000-08:002010-02-02T05:51:48.373-08:00

by John LeBoutillierFebruary 2, 2010Although it is way, way too early to even begin to think of 2012, it is possible that President Obama will not choose to run again in 2012.

In fact, there is a 30% chance of this.Why?

Because he already has planted the seed of possibility that he will simply walk away and not risk a humiliating defeat.Three times in recent interviews he has raised the

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-42707601931039690022010-02-01T06:01:00.000-08:002010-02-01T06:04:02.720-08:00

February 1, 2010Raymond J. Keating has an opinion piece in the New York Post titled “NY’s Obese Schools.” The piece starts out:Is Gov. Paterson out to destroy public education in New York? You might think so from "the sky is falling" reaction to his proposed 2010-11 budget, which would cut state aid to public schools by 4.9 percent, or a little over $1 billion. In reality, New York's schools are

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-3520264752534005582010-01-27T13:35:00.000-08:002010-01-27T13:37:45.177-08:00

January 27, 2010Americans for Tax Reform offered the following suggestions to get the federal budget under control:With tonight’s State of the Union speech, and as the U.S. Senate continues to deliberate on amendments to the bill to raise the Federal debt ceiling yet again, here’s a quick look at a few prudent reforms that would help bring our fiscal house in order without burdening taxpayers. 1.

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-18455171110550696012010-01-27T13:33:00.000-08:002010-01-27T13:38:02.855-08:00

January 27, 2010Americans for Tax Reform offered the following analysis of President Obama’s proposed freeze in certain budget areas:The political media is awash in news that President Obama will propose a freeze in non-defense, non-security discretionary spending over the next three years. This will reduce the spending baseline by $250 billion over the next decade. A few thoughts:
 1. One

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-54991890631942482692010-01-25T10:05:00.000-08:002010-01-25T10:07:18.638-08:00

by Ralph R. ReilandJanuary 25, 2010I didn’t know that trucks were racist.Here’s the exchange between MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann and Newsweek’s Howard Fineman on election night as they watched the Massachusetts vote come in and saw Republican Scott Brown taking an early lead.Bringing up what he said was “not necessarily pretty,” Olbermann stated that Republicans took seats in the House from Democrats

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-14813201570452017382010-01-24T10:29:00.000-08:002010-01-24T10:32:10.840-08:00

January 23-24, 2010Raymond J. Keating has an opinion piece in the New York Post titled “A NY GOP Surprise.” The piece starts out:What about Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, a Democrat, running for governor as a Republican? Hey, stranger things have happened in politics -- like Scott Brown's winning the late Ted Kennedy's Senate seat in Tuesday's historic upset…Read more here.

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-31221186439652608032010-01-19T10:09:00.000-08:002010-01-19T10:11:08.574-08:00

by John LeBoutillierJanuary 19, 2010Tonight, the GOP and the Tea Party will elect conservative Republican Scott Brown by four points over yet another stupid, dumb, out-of-touch, ignorant Democrat—Curt Schilling, a Yankee fan?—to fill John F. and Teddy Kennedy’s Senate seat, which had been in the hands of the Kennedy’s since 1952.

Ironically, tomorrow—Wednesday January 20—is the first anniversary

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-84673807381803998472010-01-07T13:35:00.000-08:002010-01-07T13:37:13.631-08:00

by Steve Levy and Thomas SpotaJanuary 7, 2010Lawmakers and editorial writers collectively hailed last year’s rollback of the Rockefeller Drug Laws. These laws were originally enacted as a reaction to the devastation of our communities by relentless drug addiction, which often led to violent criminal conduct by drug lords and their criminal organizations. While there was merit to ending the more

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-72238653869958252232010-01-06T13:01:00.000-08:002010-01-06T13:02:58.374-08:00

by Robert R. McMillanSince last Fall, I have given some 17 Power Point presentations dealing with health care and the uninsured to organizations across Long Island. Never have I seen as much confusion and fear coming from such a broad cross-section of audiences. It is no wonder, with both House and Senate bills more than 2,000 pages.While health care reform has passed both bodies of the

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-64554310029692586642010-01-04T06:51:00.000-08:002010-01-04T06:52:49.266-08:00

by Raymond J. KeatingJanuary 4, 2010It’s amusing to here elected officials proclaim that they are going to make government efficient. Or, that they are going to run government like a private business.In reality, government and private business are two very different things. Private businesses have owners. That means incentives exist to control costs, and boost efficiency. Serve the customer well,

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-54799603656393515812010-01-04T06:50:00.000-08:002010-01-04T06:51:06.780-08:00

by Ralph R. ReilandJanuary 4, 2010So Umar Farouk Abdullmutallab got within an inch of having several hundred airline passengers fall from the sky over Detroit on Christmas day, thanks to the ongoing holes in government-run security.The bureaucrats, some eight years after the attacks of 9/11, still can’t seem to come up with a program to connect the obvious dots.We’ve also recently discovered that

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-45389620281783276922009-12-28T10:00:00.000-08:002009-12-28T10:02:08.019-08:00

by Ralph R. ReilandDecember 28, 2009As I’m writing this, they’re in a panic in Congress, voting in the wee hours, bribing reluctant senators with millions in slush funds for their respective states, all to ram through a health reform bill that few if any of the lawmakers have even read, let alone intellectually reflected upon or debated.They’ve already lost the public. In the most recent NBC News

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-34933429952957040642009-12-21T12:59:00.000-08:002009-12-21T13:00:54.625-08:00

by Ralph R. ReilandDecember 21, 2009This is a tough time of year for eco-friendly global planners. In Copenhagen, they tried to put together a deal to save the world's forests while we rode around with millions of Christmas trees tied to our car roofs.Among the ruses that came out of Copenhagen, they called on rich countries to pay poor countries to not cut down their trees. In other tree news,

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-18166624089655234682009-12-16T05:52:00.000-08:002009-12-16T05:54:34.871-08:00

by Ralph R. ReilandDecember 16, 2009Our dreadful destiny was that we were either going to starve to death or be buried by advancing glaciers in a new Ice Age.The alleged villain was global cooling, coming faster than anyone had predicted. It wouldn’t be all that long before polar bears would be rummaging through the aisles of Macy’s in Manhattan.That was the dire warning by Newsweek’s science

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-50797669118042531602009-12-14T06:25:00.000-08:002009-12-14T06:30:10.356-08:00

December 14, 2009Raymond J. Keating has another opinion piece in the New York Post titled “Nassau’s Earthquake.” The piece starts out:Ten years ago, an earthquake shook Long Island politics: Republicans lost control of the Nassau County Legislature. Two years later, Democrat Tom Suozzi won the county executive seat. Last month, another political earthquake swept the GOP back into power --

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-10627750075170003652009-12-11T05:56:00.000-08:002009-12-11T05:58:34.757-08:00

December 11, 2009Raymond J. Keating has an opinion piece in today’s New York Post titled “New York’s Job-Killing Climate.” The piece starts out:IT'S no secret what drives innovation, economic growth and job creation forward: It's entrepreneurs and investors taking risks and starting up, investing in and building businesses.New York policymakers often talk a good game about all this -- but over

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-77521356465455537962009-12-10T06:10:00.000-08:002009-12-10T06:13:44.361-08:00

by John LeBoutillierDecember 10, 2009The latest Gallup Survey showing President Obama’s approval rating at 47% is indicative of something: once the media-induced honeymoon ended, it has been a steady decline for this rookie, in-over-his-head executive neophyte.Just look at the graph from pollster.com - a compilation of dozens of polls - of his approval/disapproval ratings during the year since

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-30184685000989970392009-12-08T07:03:00.000-08:002009-12-08T07:10:36.993-08:00

by Raymond J. KeatingDecember 8, 2009The best education is a well-rounded one. That is, educating mind, body and soul.For many institutions of higher education – even a hefty number still affiliated in some way to church bodies – the soul part of that equation has been lost. Indeed, colleges and universities that still help in educating the soul are rare treasures in the early twenty-first

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-23878789349357316242009-11-23T05:35:00.000-08:002009-11-23T05:37:16.856-08:00

by Ralph R. ReilandNovember 23, 2009You can’t say we weren’t warned ahead of time about Obama’s globalist and controlling tendencies.As candidate Obama explained in a campaign speech in Portland on May 18, 2008, it would be tough for him to get together with the world’s leaders and establish international controls on human behavior if we continue to carry on with our individualistic hankerings to

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-73456925434009288512009-11-18T12:57:00.000-08:002009-11-18T13:00:47.867-08:00

by Raymond J. KeatingNovember 18, 2009A dramatic political shift occurred in Nassau County on Election Day. Democrats have suffered, while Republicans have regained power.The full extent of that change is still being calculated at the Nassau County Board of Elections, with the final outcomes still to be determined in the races for county executive, county comptroller, and the 14th county

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-24317521959043087912009-11-12T13:20:00.000-08:002009-11-12T13:22:25.858-08:00

by John LeBoutillierNovember 12, 2009It has not been reported—yet—but look for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to follow President Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lead and go to any length—even to alter Senate rules—to pass the health care reform bill with the public option included.This will happen because the Democrats—led by President Obama—feel they absolutely must pass this bill with the

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-83045179474653438972009-11-09T11:22:00.000-08:002009-11-09T11:24:22.220-08:00

by Raymond J. KeatingNovember 9, 2009Over the weekend, the U.S. House of Representatives voted by a margin of 220-215 to pass a big government health care scheme.In noting what’s wrong with this piece of legislation – which The Wall Street Journal editorial page accurately labeled “The Worst Bill Ever” – it’s hard to figure out where to start. It raises taxes, for example, on personal income,

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-64815464271125265232009-11-04T10:11:00.000-08:002009-11-04T10:13:01.842-08:00

by Raymond J. KeatingNovember 4, 2009Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi (D) ranks as one of the slickest and most ambitious politicians around. Nassau County was, no doubt, to be a mere stepping-stone to much bigger things.But on the day after what everyone – perhaps with the exception of Republican challenger Edward Mangano and his family – expected to be a relatively easy reelection for Suozzi,

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-81560137504402544412009-11-03T07:12:00.000-08:002009-11-03T07:13:59.073-08:00

by John LeBoutillierNovember 3, 2009There are three crucial races on Tuesday in this year’s off-off-year elections.The GOP and/or conservative movement will win all three—in a rejection of Obama-nomics, massive government debt and deficit spending, and the Lurch to the Left in Washington: 

1) Virginia: This race is over. The GOP re-captures the governor’s office. Obama has been in there for

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-60119276529967449162009-11-02T06:52:00.000-08:002009-11-02T06:54:41.231-08:00

by Raymond J. KeatingNovember 2, 2009Remember when Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi (D) promised that he would serve only two terms. Well, so much for that. He’s running for a third term tomorrow against Republican County Legislator Edward Mangano and Conservative Party candidate Steve Hansen.Barring a major upset, Suozzi looks like he is going to be reelected on November 3. And he’s going to

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-77921588460159955962009-10-27T14:23:00.000-07:002009-10-27T14:25:37.935-07:00

by Ralph R. ReilandOctober 27, 2009I saw two stories last week that had diametrically opposed messages.The first was pro-life in the broadest sense of the word, a breakthrough against cancer via a new tumor-targeted genetic medicine, Rexin-G, that produced clinical remissions in late-stage cases of three chemotherapy-resistant, otherwise intractable cancers --- prostate cancer, metastatic

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-76563789391048398682009-10-21T09:39:00.000-07:002009-10-21T09:41:52.693-07:00

by John LeBoutillierOctober 21, 2009President Obama and the entire country are struggling over Afghanistan. No one can decide exactly just what our mission is, or should be. 

So, here is what we - as a nation - should do.The President calls into the Oval Office the Joint Chiefs, the Head of National Intelligence and the Director of Central Intelligence, the SecDef and Generals Petraeus and

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-77204598393480279942009-10-15T06:15:00.000-07:002009-10-15T06:17:01.894-07:00

by Raymond J. KeatingOctober 15, 2009If you’re counting votes, then U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-Harlem) ranks among the most successful politicians in the nation. He gained his seat in Congress in 1970 with 87 percent of the vote. Since then, he has garnered less than 90 percent of the vote in general elections only twice – 88% in 2002 and 89% in 2008.And of course, Rangel is the chairman of the

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-77135795745201896342009-10-15T06:13:00.000-07:002009-10-15T06:14:56.528-07:00

by Raymond J. KeatingOctober 15, 2009During the 2008 presidential election, all I kept hearing from supporters and shills for Barack Obama was how smart the guy was.At nearly nine months in office, well, you could fool me.There’s a great deal to point to in terms of raising questions about the smarts of Obama and his administration. For example, there was the government stimulus package, whereby

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-24965099632184623182009-10-08T09:16:00.000-07:002009-10-08T09:17:54.921-07:00

by John LeBoutillierOctober 8, 2009President Obama had a bad end of last week. The jobs report indicated that Obama’s stimulus plan—so far—hasn’t done squat. We haven’t even bottomed out yet. The nation’s economy is still ill—and shedding jobs—and now the talk is about extending unemployment insurance after the end of the year. Hardly material to generate consumer confidence.But the real capper

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-37640121312968952462009-10-05T10:42:00.000-07:002009-10-05T10:46:01.621-07:00

Interview by Raymond J. KeatingOctober 5, 2009New York State Assemblyman Michael J. Fitzpatrick (R, I, C – Smithtown) has proposed (and plans to reintroduce) legislation that would start the long overdue process of reeling in the lavish pension benefits that New York elected officials and their political appointees receive. Fitzgerald recently did an interview with the Long Island Sentinel on the

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-71827112034744163482009-10-02T09:56:00.000-07:002009-10-02T09:57:19.260-07:00

Dear Editor:Newsday’s cover story on September 20 titled “Crime on LI” is an example of how County Executive Steve Levy and his Democratic colleagues in the Legislature are playing Russian roulette with the safety of Suffolk Residents. As illustrated in the article, there has been a rise in violent crimes in Suffolk County including murder, robbery, and home invasions. What's troublesome is

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-88420887534080949562009-09-29T03:11:00.000-07:002009-09-29T03:13:12.374-07:00

by Ralph R. ReilandSeptember 29, 2009I thought we were supposed to think that Sarah Palin was nuts for bringing up "death panels."Now a few weeks later the cover of Newsweek has a giant plug on it, unplugged, accompanied by a super-sized headline: "The Case for Killing Granny: Curbing Excessive End-Of-Life Care Is Good for America." The article is by Evan Thomas, a Newsweek editor-at-large.Right

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-56406305584550967022009-09-24T05:07:00.000-07:002009-09-24T05:08:40.584-07:00

by Raymond J. KeatingSeptember 24, 2009Body language became a really big political issue in the media this week. After news hit over the weekend that President Barack Obama, through various political channels, let New York Governor David Paterson know that it was time to go, Obama arrived in New York. How potentially awkward.So, the media kept a close eye on how the two interacted on Monday in

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-71752044032338477912009-09-22T11:49:00.000-07:002009-09-22T11:51:51.155-07:00

by Ralph R. ReilandSeptember 22, 2009On the morning after, there wasn’t much surprise in the lobby of our D.C. hotel about the coverage in the New York Times about the previous day’s Taxpayer March on Washington, a massive rally that Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, the third-ranking Republican leader in the House of Representatives, described as “the largest gathering of conservatives in American

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-41022570186195947882009-09-17T06:23:00.000-07:002009-09-17T06:24:30.572-07:00

by Raymond J. KeatingSeptember 17, 2009When it comes to being a police officer, Long Island is a land flowing with milk and honey. Specifically, it’s the land of big bucks for cops.A report in the September 16 Newsday lays out the latest tally, and taxpayers should be outraged.The newspaper noted that seven out of eight police officers on Long Island earned more than $100,000 last year in salary,

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-71943689873275845352009-09-17T06:21:00.000-07:002009-09-17T06:23:18.820-07:00

by Jerry BowyerSeptember 17, 2009Perhaps no controversy in recent years illustrates more clearly the dismal state of American civics education than the controversy pertaining to Barack Obama’s birthplace. People who are woefully ignorant of Article 4, Section 1 of the Constitution of the United States again are locked in mortal combat with people who are woefully ignorant of Article 2, Section 1

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-60333386393888584642009-09-15T11:44:00.000-07:002009-09-15T11:45:22.725-07:00

by Ralph R. ReilandSeptember 15, 2009You can't grasp the full craziness of Van Jones, Obama's now-resigned "green jobs czar" (actual job title: "Special Advisor on Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation for the White House Council on Environmental Quality") unless you watch his speeches on YouTube.In a nutshell, along with his anti-capitalism, Marxism, and anti-white racism, Jones' big idea is

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-89951646514529200522009-09-11T09:48:00.000-07:002009-09-11T09:50:42.828-07:00

by Raymond J.KeatingSeptember 11, 2009In his latest Long Island Business News column, Raymond J. Keating looks at the latest polling trends for President Obama, Congress, Democrats and Republicans.Keating opens the column:Members of Congress are getting back to work – or at least what passes for work among politicians.Huge issues loom, of course, including proposed legislation seeking to overhaul

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-21393845876671167452009-09-10T08:50:00.000-07:002009-09-10T08:52:31.610-07:00

by George LeefSeptember 10, 2009George Leef, author of Free Choice for Workers, offers an off-the-cuff "history" lesson about the Continental Army's carbon footprint and the fishy propaganda of Thomas Paine. The scene: President Obama is about to give a speech at historic Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.President Obama: “Ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure for me to address you from one of

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-79174646316208050742009-09-08T06:56:00.000-07:002009-09-08T06:58:16.135-07:00

by Ralph R. ReilandSeptember 8, 2009President Obama's flip comments about surgeons maximizing their incomes through unnecessary foot amputations and needless tonsillectomies have produced a biting response from the American College of Surgeons, the largest organization of surgeons in the world.Obama explained how we can walk into a money-grubbing doctor's office with a sore throat and end up with

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-40512655719406115582009-09-04T07:16:00.000-07:002009-09-04T07:17:57.352-07:00

September 4, 2009In an commentary piece for the Albany Times-Union, John Faso, former minority leader of the state Assembly and the Republican candidate for governor in 2006, observes:Gov. David Paterson argues in his Aug. 26 Times Union opinion article that New York needs national health reform. He's correct that the cost of insurance is too high and that we need to reduce the ranks of the

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-35459856985752048372009-09-04T07:14:00.000-07:002009-09-04T07:16:05.512-07:00

September 4, 2009In a new column, George Leef, author of Free Choice for Workers: A History of the Right to Work Movement, observes:History is full of examples of conquests that seemed easy and tempting, but later turned out to be gigantic blunders. One of them was Napoleon’s decision to invade Spain in 1808 and put his elder brother Joseph on the throne. That was the first great miscalculation

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-25871415081477794862009-09-01T09:18:00.000-07:002009-09-01T09:19:40.883-07:00

by Ralph R. ReilandSeptember 1, 2009I guess we’re supposed to look at hospitals now and see nothing but gigantic butcher shops, filled with greedy doctors who are unnecessarily sawing off our feet and taking out our kids’ tonsils in order to pay their country club bills and add to their Mercedes collections.Here’s how President Barack Obama explained it in a recent press conference: “Right now,

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-79262980893681882192009-08-26T12:14:00.000-07:002009-08-26T12:16:23.510-07:00

by John LeBoutillierAugust 26, 2009As the President’s ratings tank, let us quickly examine why. 

His presidency is the Mirror Image of George W. Bush’s—only Obama has done in six months what it took Bush six years to accomplish. While keeping his base happy, he has alienated the center of the political spectrum and thus lost his ability to lead the country. 

Here is a general rule of American

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-71162260475613425362009-08-25T06:06:00.000-07:002009-08-25T06:07:29.223-07:00

by Raymond J. KeatingAugust 25, 2009Conservatives in all 50 states should take heart given the results of a Gallup poll released on August 14 regarding political philosophy. But just how enthused should conservatives get?The survey found that self-defined “conservatives” outnumber “liberals” in 47 states by statistically significant numbers, with the two groups statistically tied in Hawaii,

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-34480225103450754612009-08-24T09:00:00.000-07:002009-08-24T09:01:25.256-07:00

by Ralph R. ReilandAugust 17, 2009What we’re seeing with Obama’s plummeting poll numbers is a quick case of buyer’s remorse.More broadly, Gallup reports that conservatives now outnumber liberals in all 50 states, with more Americans self-identifying themselves as conservative than at any time in the past four years.Gallup surveys from January 2009, the month of Obama’s inauguration, through June

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-79169628860198392852009-08-17T13:23:00.000-07:002009-08-17T13:24:02.722-07:00

by Ralph R. ReilandAugust 17, 2009Like good and obedient informants for the government, we’re supposed to contact Obama’s snitch line to report anything “fishy” that’s being said about the administration’s flawed plan for health care reform.Bad information and rumors “often travel just below the surface via emails or though casual conversation,” said the message from the Obama White House. “Since

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-38694450528012110642009-08-14T05:48:00.000-07:002009-08-14T05:50:10.184-07:00

by Raymond J. KeatingAugust 14, 2009Wednesday morning (August 12) offered a rare moment of political clarity and common sense on Long Island.Congressman Peter King was addressing a breakfast gathering of the Advancement for Commerce, Industry & Technology at the Huntington Hilton. King is the lone Republican member of Congress from Long Island, and one of only three GOP House members from New

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-24125693888277699102009-08-12T12:12:00.000-07:002009-08-12T12:14:53.206-07:00

by Ralph R. ReilandAugust 12, 2009You’d think the central planners at the White House would go outside their small group of relatives for some top-notch expertise when they’re trying to revamp something as big and complex as one-sixth of the American economy.When Bill Clinton sought to radically overhaul American health care, he made the mistake of putting Hillary in charge.This time around,

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-59823006841499851982009-08-11T08:13:00.000-07:002009-08-11T08:14:22.526-07:00

by John LeBoutillierAugust 11, 2009What’s the first thing that needs to be known about Congressional Town Halls? They are taxpayer-funded gimmicks to justify franked (free) mailings to promote the event.Here’s the scoop: A representative is given a set amount of yearly franked (free) mailings to every home in his/her district. In my time in the House it was, I believe, six per year. 

These are

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August 7-9, 2009The following letter was sent to Michael Steele, Republican National Committee Chairman, after a meeting of Conservative County chairmen in New York on August 7.August 7, 2009 Michael Steele, ChairmanRepublican National Committee310 First StreetWashington, D.C. 20003 Dear Chairman Steele,We would like to express our deep concern regarding the Republican nomination of New York

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by John LeBoutillierAugust 6, 2009August is here. Vacation time worldwide. Congress goes home. The President goes to Martha’s Vineyard, vacation playground of the Left. 

Where are we - as a country - politically? 

The Obama honeymoon is most definitely over. His poll numbers continue to deteriorate. His opposition has firmed up - but more disturbing for Team Obama are defectors from the Obama

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-89989943968841857432009-08-05T10:34:00.000-07:002009-08-05T10:36:18.841-07:00

by Raymond J. KeatingAugust 5, 2009Political life has gotten very easy for Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman. But Schneiderman’s relaxation serves as another sign of Long Island’s ever-expanding political mush.As a Republican, Schneiderman served as town supervisor in East Hampton from 2000 to 2003, and was elected to the second county legislative district seat in 2003. He is up for a

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by Robert BenneAugust 3, 2009Now that a decent interval has passed since the death and commemorations of Walter Cronkite, I would like to offer a contrary opinion of Cronkite’s work. Instead of praising him—“the most trusted man in America”—as the last in a line of unbiased, authoritative news readers and commentators, I view him as the first of those who claimed to be “objective” but rather

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by John LeBoutillierJuly 24, 2009President Obama’s diatribe against the Cambridge cops about the arrest of his “friend,” Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, contains perhaps more than the so-called mainstream media is reporting. 

In fact, Barack Obama had his own ongoing “problem” with the Cambridge police while he attended Harvard Law School. As first reported in March 2007 by the Somerville

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-90455040775309614652009-07-20T18:33:00.001-07:002009-07-20T18:33:58.917-07:00

by Ralph R. ReilandJuly 21, 2009President Obama got it right for a minute during his recent stop in Africa. “No business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20 percent off the top,” he told the Parliament of Ghana.Then he flew home to a U.S. economy that’s losing a half million jobs per month and started pushing for a new round of tax hikes and costly regulations on American

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July 20, 2009Forty years ago today, on July 30, 1969, Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. Three-and-a-half years after the Apollo 11 moon landing, astronauts left the moon, and we have not been back since, nor have humans been anywhere else in space outside of Earth’s orbit.Five pieces are well worth reading on this anniversary.• A Long Island Business News story by Claude Solnik titled “

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by John LeBoutillierJuly 15, 2009Obama is declining - his ratings on his handling of the economy are actually plummeting - and the honeymoon is rapidly coming to an end. Opposition to his policies is hardening, and he is in a race to pass as much of his agenda before Democrats in the House get cold feet in advance of he 2010 mid-term elections. 

Americans want progress. They expected some

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by John LeBoutillierJuly 9, 2009Do you want to know what was—and still is—unbelievably sad, incredibly wrong, and just plan un-American?

That at one time over 200,000 of our soldiers who had served in the Vietnam War and had come home were in prison—many for problems related either to PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), once called “combat fatigue,” or related addictions to drugs or alcohol.


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by Raymond J. KeatingJuly 7, 2009Long Island Congressman Peter King has created a bit of a splash by taking on Michael Jackson. Or, perhaps more specifically, King took on the media’s fawning over Jackson after his death at 50 years old.King’s You Tube video can be seen here.Jackson, obviously, was a talented performer. At the same time, it’s hard to make the case that he was some kind of

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by Raymond J. KeatingJuly 3, 2009OK, so this has not been – to say the very least – a great recent stretch for leading conservatives who were in the very early running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. U.S. Senator John Ensign of Nevada admitted to an extramarital affair.After South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford was lost to his staff and the people of the state for a while, the

Raymond J. Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803360812725657487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341024442823471749.post-88222316132913690142009-07-03T20:08:00.000-07:002009-07-03T20:09:43.563-07:00

by John LeBoutillierJuly 3, 2009It has just been announced - on a Friday afternoon of a holiday long weekend - that Sarah Palin is giving up her Alaskan governorship with a year and a half remaining in her term. 

What is going on here? 

Why is this happening? 

Who has ever heard of giving up a governorship mid-term to - allegedly - run for the 2012 GOP nomination, which is three-plus years

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by Raymond J. KeatingJuly 1, 2009Rick Lazio wants to be governor of New York. Should Republicans be excited that the former four-time congressman from Long Island is ready to jump in the race?Well, it depends on what Republicans might be looking for in their 2010 gubernatorial candidate. If a left-of-center, nondescript nominee is what they want, then Lazio would be their man. For good measure,

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