Alan Caruba

What will Hillary Do?

There’s an old saying that, if you owe the bank $10,000, the bank owns you. If you owe the bank $10,000,000, you own the bank. Reportedly, Hillary Clinton’s campaign is in debt to the tune of $31 million dollars.

Going Nuts in Waziristan

Okay, so let’s pretend you were one of the sons of one of the wealthiest families in Saudi Arabia. You were guaranteed a good job. You had a couple of wives. The problem was that you just didn’t feel fulfilled. You weren’t a member of the royal family of Saud, so you could never be king. You probably would not become president of the family business no matter how hard you worked or prayed. So, there you are, stuck with a couple of million, a family, and a lot of time on your hands.

Greens Will Leave us Cold and Hungry

There is always a point in time when reality steps up to remind everyone that bad ideas come with a price to pay. The long history of environmental bad ideas are now beginning to cause food riots around the world with its campaign for biofuels and against the energy that powers great economies and feeds the world.

When Older is Better

Just how funny you thought John McCain was during his appearance on “Saturday Night Live” probably depends on how old you are. I thought he was very funny, but then I am only one year younger than he. To the presumably younger audience, being old or older often seems to be a handicap of sorts.

The Nightmare We Call Our Schools

A friend of mine recently wrote to me saying, “My wife is retiring in June after thirty years of teaching. A high school degree means nothing. No Child Left Behind is an even bigger joke. It is a scary situation that could lead us to third world status, but we are prepared for that since we already teach English as a second language.”

Marriage, California Style

Oh, those wacky California judges!

Extreme Planet Events

A massive earthquake hits China. A massive cyclone hits Myanmar. A tsunami in the Indian Ocean devastates parts of Indonesia. A category 5 hurricane hits New Orleans.

Bush Puts Alaskan Oil Out of Reach!

While President Bush is meeting with his Saudi masters to discuss oil prices, you can be sure that one of the things he will tell them is that he met their demand to insure that the potentially vast oil and natural gas reserves off the coast of Alaska, the realm of the polar bear, have now successfully been put off limits to any exploration, extraction, and delivery to the citizens of the United States.

When Candidates are Dangerously Wrong

Americans have painted themselves into the corner on energy and the two presumptive candidates for President are ready to finish off the nation with the worst possible “solutions.”

Obama and the Jewish Vote

Assuming that Sen. Obama is the Democrat nominee, it is going to be very interesting to watch the Jewish vote in the forthcoming national elections

Palestinians are Destroying Lebanon. Again!

The difficulties encountered by the nations of the Middle East to integrate the so-called Palestinians, a group of Arab refugees that did not exist when Israel came into existence, have their origins in the first attack on the new nation of Israel in 1948.

Living on the Edge of Destruction: Israel’s 60th Anniversary

“Trusting in the Rock of Israel we now place our signatures in witness to this proclamation, sitting as the Provisional State Council, on the soil of the homeland, in the city of Tel-Aviv, this day, Friday afternoon, the 5th of Iyar, 5708, the 14th of May, 1948.”

The Charisma Kid

If you Google “Obama” and “charisma”, you will find an ample number of links to newspapers and other outlets that reference Sen. Barack Obama’s charisma. To be candid, it’s lost on me, but I have been around long enough and read enough history to know that charisma is a two-edged sword for those who have it and those who are swayed by it.

The Race is Now About “Race”

It doesn’t matter how many times Sen. Barack Obama or any politician in America says that the national race for the presidency is not about race. It will be about race.

Forecasting Hurricanes. Not!

In late April, AccuWeather.com, led by Joe Bastardi, its chief meteorologist, issued a news release that was, to be kind, pure mush. The early warning forecast for 2008’s June to November hurricane season said that conditions like La Nina and a “continued warm water cycle in the Atlantic Basin” held forth the “chance for U.S. landfalling storms.”

Kick the Can

The expression is to “kick the can down the road” until a problem becomes someone else’s. In this case it’s the U.S. economy and arguing over whether to temporarily not charge a gas tax ignores the fact that several decades of Congress have failed to take those steps to insure we had gas at a reasonable price and enough of our national resources in play to not be under the thumb of other nations.

Just Saying NO

Don Young, (R-Alaska) ranking member of the Committee on Natural Resources sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to members of both parties of the House to remind them that, as energy prices rise steadily, “Congress is doing nothing to ease the pain at the pump.”

Ten Simple Truths About Oil

Having written about the energy industry and issues now for a long time, I hope I can be forgiven for being enraged by the comments by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) in response to President Bush’s press conference Tuesday morning. There is simply no way to describe them other than false.

Reverend Who?

Until Sen. Barack Obama began his run for the presidency who, other than some folks in Chicago, ever heard of Rev. Jeremiah Wright?

Useless “Leaders”

In a democracy you have to try to elect leaders who will not lie to you. Unfortunately, that eliminates most of the members of Congress and a succession of recent Presidents. I find it nothing less than astonishing that “everyone knows” that both Bill and Hillary Clinton are accomplished liars, but that she is actually running to be the next president.