Gannett 2Q profit falls by 36 percent

I don't believe the paper's decline is because of any perceived liberal bias, dittoheads. Fewer readers get their information from print because there are so many free and instant sources -- including this web site. 1. Local delivery audiences are dying off -- literally; and 2. local advertisers don't understand how to market to an audience that's obviously shifting to online sources. Consider that a typical newspaper reporting staff today is comprised of two-thirds online content producers.

That's telling. And it lends a lot of credence to the Craigslist argument in the comment section of this story; my baby boomer mother uses it.

And partly because...it's the economy, stupid.

This is an awkward time for traditional media, but I assure you that "liberal bias" is nothing more than a branding campaign aimed at the feeble-minded.

To fix the nation's problems, circle the wagons

When we see what has become of our nation and the impending crisis that faces it, we the people should take action and not wait around for the next election cycle.

Problem
The economy, the war, forced taxpayer charity, immigration issues, diminishing standard of living and inaccessible health care in this country are all related to the ineptitude of congress, who acts as agency for corporate and foreign interests instead of its constituents.

Solution
A temporary national charter mandating the legislature, executive and judicial to implement and support the following measures immediately:

• Recall all diplomatic personnel, armed forces and materiel to US soil and ports
• Withdraw from world financial complex
  
• Eliminate Homeland Security
  
• Secure all borders and waters
  
• Place a moratorium on all all foreign trade and aid
• Eliminate national income tax
• Redesign transportation infrastructure to support universal electrified rail
• Replace coal and petroleum derived energy with wind, solar, hydro and nuclear
  

Interesting comments regarding FEMA buyouts

In 1794, Congress appropriated $15,000 for relief of French refugees. James Madison stood on the floor of the House to object, saying, "I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents." James Madison, you'll recall, is the acknowledged father of the Constitution, and he couldn't find constitutional authority for spending "on the objects of benevolence."

Your congressman might say, "Madison was all wrong; after all, there's the 'general welfare' clause." Here's what Madison had to say about that: "With respect to the two words "general welfare," I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators." Thomas Jefferson echoed similar sentiments saying, "Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but only those specifically enumerated."

Walter Williams, http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/williams111302.asp

I'm all for giving. Giving is the duty of private citizens, both individually and collectively via charitable organizations. The federal government has no authority to take money from taxpayers for the purpose of giving it to the needy. Charity is a personal, voluntary act of love toward our fellow man. Don't confuse charity with taxation, a compulsory act under duress.

When the government takes over, the whole transaction becomes less personal and more clinical. Giving gives way to taking. Gifts give way to entitlements.

Any of you who believe charitable giving is the duty of government should ask yourselves (and James Madison) if you're living in the wrong country.

Politics is a useful smoke screen

Narrow-minded partisan hacks look pretty silly calling each other names, while extolling the virtues of politicians who facilitated the sale of our country to China and the Mideast at bargain-bin rates. Because of these petty distractions, people still hope, sadly, that the outcome of the presidential election will make a difference.

And before long, they may also feel silly.

The power base is comprised of banks, insurance companies and investment houses who derive immense benefit from war, open borders, free trade and skimming your paycheck -- and they care not about national boundaries. It's laughable that they watch the money flowing into the Mideast and China, yet they sit in their protective bubbles and engage in ignorant online debates about which idiot will be most useful, as US President, to the quality of their individual lives.

The FEMA flooded home buyout program is forced charity

Under what authority can the government buy flooded private properties? James Madison said it doesn't exist, referring to "objects of benevolence", which is a compulsory levy, usually assessed by kings, with no other authority than the claim of prerogative. When the government is in the business of charity, like funding and administering buyouts of private homes, it becomes taxation without representation, which you're compelled to hand over, as if a king had demanded it.

My fear is that we're moving fast toward a nation where lazy, ignorant clods comprize the majority, who elect criminals to lead.

Identity theft solutions, not blame

My 17-year-old son, a multi-generation US citizen, was approached recently by a foreign national living in the US illegally, who solicited his identity for the sum of $5,000 to help him bring members of his family to the US and work under assumed identities. Fortunately, he declined the offer. But others will accept. Far more citizens will have their identities compromised.

There's great value in the identity trade, which has become a commodity industry, and there's a reason for it. And while the political class watches you all bicker about who's fault it is, your fellow citizens are getting soaked by the financial complex and raked over the coals.

The solution is to make compliance the new path of least resistance -- a financial no-brainer -- by causing great expense to the individuals reaping the benefits of cheap labor, who promise the cheapest possible labor force. You'll know who they are because they speak loudest for immigrants' rights.

One of the extremely few true responsibilities of the government is to guard against foreign invasion, but a nation rife with ignorance will never demand it.