FIRST SHOT!
The Sikh Temple Massacre
Before launching into the facts of the case, let's take a moment or two to remember that these vile individuals who do these sorts of evil acts are not common among us.
Just as the black teenage who killed a white couple in reprisal for the death of Trayvon Martin does not represent all black Americans; just as the white man who entered an Aurora Colorado theatre intent on killing as many as he could does not represent all white Americans; this new monster does not represent Americans in any way.
This is hatred to a degree that Americans are not usually confronted with. This is hatred more akin to the Fort Hood terrorist than to the Aurora Colorado killer. This was hatred of a race of people for no reason at all.
The killer who dressed like some comic book figure and literally tried to recreate a theatre massacre depicted in a film is insane - but not crazy. He may be insane, as such acts are insane, but he's not crazy. He was thoroughly influenced by Hollywood.
That killer was all too capable of putting together everything that it took to carry out his desire to inflict death on an unsuspected crowd. It was an insane act accomplished by someone who knew exactly what he was doing.
In the case of the Fort Hood terrorist attack, it was the actions of a religious zealot acting out his hatred for those his religion says are his enemy.
The monster, who was killed while in the process of taking the lives of so many American Sikhs is no different than a Muslim extremist who uses himself as a suicide bomber. His belief is hate, and hate has a way of stirring the weak minded into violence on others.
As sorry a situation as it is, we can thank God that these scumbags do not represent common Americans. The only represent those who make the news. That's all.
They are only a few minutes on television news, but a lifetime to their victims and their families. They are the scum of the world, and it's a damn shame we even report their names. They are the lowest of character, and though they are few in a nation of over 300 Million - they are an assault on us all.
For me, there are those times when I'd like to see Western Justice take a hand at dealing with them. I'm not ashamed to say that I'd like to see them suffer somehow, at least in the same agonizing way as the families of the victims will - slow over a long period of time.
I'd like to see them punished not only with incarceration but with a looming clock that ticks away the minutes until the day that they are marched to a hanging tree. Once there, I'd have hoods placed on their heads and let them wait a while to contemplate their deeds.
I'd like to see them wait there a long long time. Wait while a noose sits around their necks. Wait, minute after minute for hours, and prop them up if need be, then I'd like to see them hanged til dead.
Call me cruel for thinking the way I do right now! Call me hard as nails if you'd like, but sometimes it’s very personal!
Yes, these killers are making it personal to all of us.
Sure, we may not know anyone who was killed in Aurora Colorado, or in Tucson Arizona, or at this latest massacre in Wisconsin, but they are our neighbors. And yes, a lenient justice system will do nothing to prevent this from happening again.
These people kill without sense of guilt nor sense of sorrow. They don't kill like the Soldier or the Marine in combat. They kill like rabid animals - savages that need to be put down.
Police identify this latest killer as an Army veteran, and his motive has not been identified. No surprise really!
Suspect bought his gun recently, and a former Army buddy says Wade Michael Page, 40, talked about a supposed "racial holy war." Insane as that sounds, I'm betting that he was ripe for some no good jerkweed to influence.
His family says it is "devastated," in prayer for victims.
Before launching into the facts of the case, let's take a moment or two to remember that these vile individuals who do these sorts of evil acts are not common among us.
Just as the black teenage who killed a white couple in reprisal for the death of Trayvon Martin does not represent all black Americans; just as the white man who entered an Aurora Colorado theatre intent on killing as many as he could does not represent all white Americans; this new monster does not represent Americans in any way.
This is hatred to a degree that Americans are not usually confronted with. This is hatred more akin to the Fort Hood terrorist than to the Aurora Colorado killer. This was hatred of a race of people for no reason at all.
The killer who dressed like some comic book figure and literally tried to recreate a theatre massacre depicted in a film is insane - but not crazy. He may be insane, as such acts are insane, but he's not crazy. He was thoroughly influenced by Hollywood.
That killer was all too capable of putting together everything that it took to carry out his desire to inflict death on an unsuspected crowd. It was an insane act accomplished by someone who knew exactly what he was doing.
In the case of the Fort Hood terrorist attack, it was the actions of a religious zealot acting out his hatred for those his religion says are his enemy.
The monster, who was killed while in the process of taking the lives of so many American Sikhs is no different than a Muslim extremist who uses himself as a suicide bomber. His belief is hate, and hate has a way of stirring the weak minded into violence on others.
As sorry a situation as it is, we can thank God that these scumbags do not represent common Americans. The only represent those who make the news. That's all.
They are only a few minutes on television news, but a lifetime to their victims and their families. They are the scum of the world, and it's a damn shame we even report their names. They are the lowest of character, and though they are few in a nation of over 300 Million - they are an assault on us all.
For me, there are those times when I'd like to see Western Justice take a hand at dealing with them. I'm not ashamed to say that I'd like to see them suffer somehow, at least in the same agonizing way as the families of the victims will - slow over a long period of time.
I'd like to see them punished not only with incarceration but with a looming clock that ticks away the minutes until the day that they are marched to a hanging tree. Once there, I'd have hoods placed on their heads and let them wait a while to contemplate their deeds.
I'd like to see them wait there a long long time. Wait while a noose sits around their necks. Wait, minute after minute for hours, and prop them up if need be, then I'd like to see them hanged til dead.
Call me cruel for thinking the way I do right now! Call me hard as nails if you'd like, but sometimes it’s very personal!
Yes, these killers are making it personal to all of us.
Sure, we may not know anyone who was killed in Aurora Colorado, or in Tucson Arizona, or at this latest massacre in Wisconsin, but they are our neighbors. And yes, a lenient justice system will do nothing to prevent this from happening again.
These people kill without sense of guilt nor sense of sorrow. They don't kill like the Soldier or the Marine in combat. They kill like rabid animals - savages that need to be put down.
Police identify this latest killer as an Army veteran, and his motive has not been identified. No surprise really!
Suspect bought his gun recently, and a former Army buddy says Wade Michael Page, 40, talked about a supposed "racial holy war." Insane as that sounds, I'm betting that he was ripe for some no good jerkweed to influence.
His family says it is "devastated," in prayer for victims.
Why does all of this sound so familiar these days?
A report out of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, said that an Army veteran who neighbors say played in a far-right punk band was the lone shooter in the rampage at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin that killed six people and wounded four.
Wade Michael Page, 40, was shot to death by police responding to the Sunday morning attack in the Milwaukee suburb of Oak Creek, the community's chief of police told reporters.
Bernard Zapor, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives special agent in the investigation, said Monday that the 9mm semi-automatic handgun with multiple ammunition magazines used by the attacker had been legally purchased.
Wade Michael Page bought the gun on July 28 at the Shooters Shop in West Allis, Wisconsin, and picked it up two days later, according to a law enforcement official. The suspect bought ammunition there and used the shop's range at some point, said the official.
The gunman shot people inside and outside the Sikh house of worship, including a police officer, Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards said. Another police officer with a rifle then shot the gunman, who died at the scene.
While authorities said Wade Michael Page was the only gunman, they also had been looking for another man spotted at the crime scene Sunday who left before anyone could identify him.
On Monday, the FBI's Paul Bresson said the man being sought had been "located, interviewed and cleared." Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards said authorities were still in contact with that person.
According to Edwards and the FBI, authorities have received tips that Page might have links to the white supremacist movement, but nothing had been confirmed. "I don't want to use that term (white supremacist) until we want to put it out there for sure," Edwards said Monday night. "That's not something I can take back."
Two neighbors of Page identified him in photos that showed him playing in the far-right punk band "End Apathy," and the nephew of the slain president of the Sikh temple said the attacker had a 9/11 tattoo on his arm.
Teresa Carlson, the FBI special agent in charge of the investigation of Sunday's shooting, said no motive for the attack has been established. The FBI was looking into whether it was domestic terrorism, which is the use of violence for political or social gain, Carlson said.
"We are looking at ties to white supremacist groups," Carlson told a news conference, adding there was no active investigation of Page prior to Sunday's attack.
According to a man who described himself as an old Army buddy of Page's, the attacker talked about "racial holy war" when they served together in the 1990s. Christopher Robillard of Oregon, who said he lost contact with Page more than a decade ago, added that when Page would rant, "it would be about mostly any non-white person."
"He didn't seem like the type of person to go out and hurt people," Robillard said. "He would talk about it all the time, but it was more like he was waiting for the revolution to start."
Page, born on Veterans Day in 1971, joined the Army in 1992 and left the service in 1998, according to Army spokesman George Wright. His service was marked by "patterns of misconduct," though he received an honorable discharge, according to a Pentagon official.
The suspect did have a criminal record, Edwards said. A background check showed Page had separate convictions for DUI in Colorado in 1999 and for criminal mischief in Texas in 1994.
A federal law enforcement official said that investigators interviewed a former girlfriend of Page. The woman said the pair had recently broken up, and she told investigators she had no indication Page planned such an attack. She provided the names of friends and associates of Page, the official said.
The six victims of Sunday's attack were identified by police as five men -- Sita Singh, 41; Ranjit Singh, 49; Satwant Singh Kaleka, 65; Prakash Singh, 39, and Suveg Singh, 84 -- and one woman, 41-year-old Paramjit Kaur.
Two other Sikh victims remained hospitalized in critical condition, while a third was treated and released, Edwards said.
Prayer vigils were held Monday night in the Milwaukee metropolitan area, with another scheduled for Tuesday evening.
The wounded police officer, identified as 51-year-old Lt. Brian Murphy, also was in critical condition, the police chief said. Edwards said that Murphy has a "promising," but long, recovery ahead. The officer suffered 9 gunshot wounds.
Explaining Sikhism One of the dead, Prakash Singh, was a priest who recently immigrated to the United States with his wife and two young children, said Justice Singh Khalsa, a temple member since the 1990s.
Relatives of Kaleka, the president of the temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, said that he was killed fighting the attacker.
"From what we understand, he basically fought to the very end and suffered gunshot wounds while trying to take down the gunman," said Kanwardeep Singh Kaleka, his nephew.
Kaleka said those inside the gurdwara, or Sikh house of worship, described the attacker as a bald white man, dressed in a white T-shirt and black pants and with the 9/11 tattoo on one arm, which "implies to me that there's some level of hate crime there."
While officials try to piece together what prompted the man to go on his shooting spree, America's Sikh community struggled to come to grips with the brutal attack.
A Sikh human rights group said it would give a $10,000 reward to Murphy, the police officer wounded in the attack.
"Our government must take urgent steps to educate the country about the Sikh population and help put an end to these horrific and deadly acts of violence," said a statement by the group, Sikhs for Justice.
Kaleka was horrified to have such violence occur at his place of worship, especially so soon after the 12 killings at a screening of the Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colorado.
"You're talking about Aurora one minute, and the next minute it's you and your family," Kaleka said.
Sunday's attack occurred about 10:30 a.m., when temple members were reading scriptures and cooking food in preparation for the main Sunday service and community lunch. The temple has more than 350 members.
According to witnesses, the gunman started shooting in the parking lot, killing at least one person. He then entered the temple and continued firing, they said. Police spent Sunday night searching the shooter's home in nearby Cudahy, a short distance from the temple.
Political leaders at the national, state and local level offered condolences for the killings and declared solidarity with the Sikh community.
The United States is home to about 700,000 Sikhs, nearly all of Indian origin, according to the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund. The men are easily identifiable by their beards and turbans, a tradition that's lasted for 500 years.
Because of their customary beards and turbans, Sikh men are often confused with Muslims, and they have been the targets of hate crimes since the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
Ignorance has no bounds. It leads some to hate the innocent. It might even lead to a horrible act like this.
SECOND SHOT!
It's really a Obama-Era-Tax-Increase!
House Votes to Extend Tax Cuts for All Through 2013
First Republicans voted down a House Democrat plan to hike taxes, then they passed a bill to extend the tax cuts to everyone for one more year.
Democrats have lost a bid in the Republican-controlled House to increase taxes on everyone including high-income earners and on people who inherit million dollar-plus estates.
The Democratic plan, backed by President Barack Obama, was defeated by Republicans who insisted that a full package of Bush-era tax cuts be renewed when they expire at the end of the year.
Understand the jargon here. "Bush-era tax cuts" were tax cuts for everyone. They were put in place to help Americans have more money in their pockets to stimulate the economy. It worked.
Now the Democrats say they want to end the "Bush-era-tax cuts." In reality that means the Democrats want to have an "Obama-era-tax increase." That's the term that the Democrats do not want to use. No way, no how!
To Democrats, if it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck - call it anything else but a duck!
Obama-era-tax increase!
The U.S. House of Representatives voted to extend the Bush-era tax cuts through 2013 for all income levels, defying a veto threat from President Barack Obama.
The 256-171 vote, mostly along party lines, continues a stalemate on tax policy that lawmakers say will last beyond the Nov. 6 election.
Nineteen Democrats voted for the Republican bill, and one Republican was opposed. As usual, the measure won’t advance in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
"The choice Republicans have made is to pass this bill, work toward comprehensive tax reform and create jobs," said Representative Dave Camp, a Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. "Now is not the time to dig the hole we’re in any deeper."
Obama and congressional Democrats want to let the tax cuts expire, and each side is accusing the other of holding the country hostage to get its way.
A Recession Is Not The Time To Raise Taxes!
What Obama and the Democrats aren't saying is that by letting the Bush-era-tax-cuts expire - Everyone gets a tax increase! Everyone, not just the top earners.
If Congress doesn’t act by the end of the year, tax rates for income, capital gains, dividends and estates will increase for all taxpayers.
The top income tax rate would increase to 39.6 percent from 35 percent, and the top rate on capital gains would rise to 23.8 percent from 15 percent.
The tax increase is part of the $607 Billion so-called fiscal cliff of automatic spending cuts and revenue changes in 2013 that the Congressional Budget Office says would probably cause a recession if left unchanged.
Very Familiar Themes!
In the House debate, lawmakers reprised familiar themes about the potential effects of higher taxes.
Republicans said the Democratic proposal would hurt the economy with a disproportionate effect on business owners who pay taxes on their profits through their individual returns.
“The choice is clear: you either want growth or you want more taxes,” said Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House majority leader. “You either want to endow the folks who earn the money with the right to keep that money and grow this economy, or you want to tax those people more and let Washington decide how it’s going to allocate that money.”
Democrats said high-income households can afford to pay more to help reduce the federal budget deficit. Over ten years, the Democrats’ plan would generate at least $900 billion more money for the government.
Spending Money
Most of the Republican plan’s benefits would go to millionaires, including rock stars and business executives, said Representative Steve Cohen, a Tennessee Democrat.
“They can afford to pay it,” Cohen said. “They’re not spending their money. We need Americans who spend their money to stimulate the economy.”
The Democrats backing the Republican plan included Larry Kissell of North Carolina, Bill Owens of New York, Gerry Connolly of Virginia and Jim Costa of California. The lone Republican to vote against his party’s plan was Timothy Johnson of Illinois.
Democrats tried to draw attention to the Republicans’ decision not to extend refundable tax credits created in the 2009 economic stimulus law that benefit college students and low-income families. That may include some low-income military families, Democrats said.
Class Warfare On Those Who Create The Jobs!
Representative Sander Levin of Michigan, the top Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, said, "This debate is not about tax reform. It’s about whether or not we protect the very wealthy at all costs."
Republicans said Congress needs to keep the estate tax from increasing. The Senate bill wouldn’t address the estate tax, a decision Democrats in that chamber made because of divisions within their party.
If Congress doesn’t act, the per-person tax exemption for estates would drop to $1 million in 2013 from this year’s $5.12 million, and the top rate would increase to 55 percent from 35 percent.
“We do not need the politics of envy and divisiveness,” said Representative Blake Farenthold, a Texas Republican. “We need tax reform and this puts us on the path to do it.”
Why Aren't The Republicans In The House Doing Anything?
Lately, I've heard this over and over again. And yes, over and over again I remind folks that Republicans in control of the House of Representatives means that they are only in control of HALF of Congress. The other half, which is the Senate, is controlled by Democrats.
Since taking over the House of Representatives, the Republicans in the House have send no less than 30 Bills on to the other half of Congress - the Senate - for passage. There they die!
Since the Senate is controlled by Democrats who have absolutely no desire to give the Republicans a chance at fixing the economy or see them succeed in power - they scuttle each and every bill that comes to the Senate.
Thanks to Harry Reid and the other Democrats in the Senate, they are determined to ensure that the Republican House is an ineffective body of legislatures. That's all well and good if you're a Democrat and don't want them to do anything.
But hey, don't call them a "Do Nothing Congress" if you won't let them do anything!
By doing what the Democrats are doing, the Democrats in the Senate see themselves as hurting the Republicans when in fact the only people they are hurting is the American people.
THIRD SHOT!
Texas Rep. Ted Poe : Obama Immigration Policy Endangering Public Safety
The Obama administration’s policy of not deporting illegal immigrants arrested for criminal activity “is not working for public safety in the United States,” Texas Rep. Ted Poe tells Newsmax in an exclusive interview.
“That’s a lot of people who are committing crimes that were in our custody – they were unlawfully in the United States,” the Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee said. “They should have been deported originally.
“They were not, and now American people are suffering the consequences, because more crime is being committed by those people who should have been deported.”
Poe, a former judge, was referring to a report the Judiciary Committee issued on Tuesday saying that illegal immigrants released through the Obama administration’s Secure Communities program went on to commit more crimes – including charges of 19 murders, 3 attempted murders and 142 sex crimes.
Overall, the nearly 47,000 illegal immigrants the administration was notified of but did not deport between 2008 and 2011 had a recidivism rate of 16 percent, said the committee’s analysis, conducted with the Congressional Research Service.
They were among the nearly 160,000 immigrants, many of whom were here legally, who came under Secure Communities during the three-year period but who were not eligible for deportation or who the administration decided to release. Those immigrants went on to be charged in nearly 60,000 more crimes, according to the report.
Secure Communities identifies immigrants who run afoul of the law and who the administration decides it wants to deport. Hundreds of thousands have been deported under the program, but 159,286 did not undergo such proceedings during the period under review, the report said.
“That’s about 26,000 crimes committed by people that should have been deported the first time that they were seized by ICE,” Poe said, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “It’s not working, because the proof is in the statistics that crimes are still being committed by those people who are in custody illegally in the United States.
“They’re not deported because some administration bureaucrat gives them a pass,” Poe said.
Meanwhile, Poe has proposed the Preserving American Privacy Act, which would prevent federal, state and local authorities from using drone aircraft to spy on Americans without a warrant. The bill, with 23 co-sponsors, is in the Judiciary Committee.
Similar legislation was proposed in the Senate by Kentucky Republican Rand Paul last month.
The Federal Aviation Administration has estimated that as many as 30,000 drones could be flying over American airspace by 2020, said Poe, who also sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
“It’s important that we make sure that the Fourth Amendment’s constitutional protection of search and seizure and right of privacy are upheld by the government and not infringed upon by government or other citizens on Americans. And we need to do this now.
“Where a warrant’s required to go into someone’s house, a warrant would be required for the use of a drone,” Poe explained. “There are numerous exceptions that law enforcement may use under current law. And, of course, it only applies to surveillance.”
“This legislation will present guidelines to prevent unlawful invasion of privacy by other citizens or by other organizations that are not government law-enforcement agencies.”
Regulating such sophisticated technology should be done by Congress, not the FAA. “Those regulations are somewhat nebulous,” Poe said.
“Congress should make those decisions to make sure that it requires the basic constitutional protection that you cannot infringe on someone’s privacy, such as their backyard, without their consent.”
“It shouldn’t be the bureaucrats deciding where drones are used and not used,” Poe added. “Congress should make that decision in efforts to protect the American people.”
FOURTH SHOT!
Jobless Ranks Rose in 90% of the Cities in America in June
Unemployment rates rose in nearly 90 percent of large U.S. cities in June, partly because many young people graduated from school with no job prospects.
Many of the cities with significant increases in their rates have large universities, where students have begun searching for jobs in recent months. Unlike the national figures, the metro unemployment data isn't seasonally adjusted for such changes.
The Labor Department says unemployment rates rose in 332 large metro areas. They fell in 29 and were unchanged in 11. That's worse than in May, when rates rose in 255 cities.
Nationwide, the unemployment rate was 8.2 percent in June for the second straight month. Employers added only 80,000 jobs, the third straight month of weak gains. The government will issue July's jobs report on Friday.
With this news, comes the news that states like North Dakota have unemployment at an all time low because the oil boom is creating more jobs than there are workers.
In states like North Dakota and Texas, skilled craftsmen are being looked at before College grads. I guess, it goes back to the whole concept that college kids with degrees are not always hired over skilled labor when there is work to be done.
FIFTH SHOT!
CNN Gets Clobbered Again in Ratings Fight
CNN reached another new low last month as the network saw its July ratings down by double digits across the board, TVNewser.com reported.
Compared to July 2011, the network is 20 percent down in total viewers and 23 percent in the key 25-54 demographic. Prime-time numbers sank 23 percent in total Viewers and 26 percent in the 25-54 demographic, TVNewser.com reported.
For their prime-time stars, the numbers are just as bad. Erin Burnett’s 7 pm show is down 21 percent compared the slot’s former occupier John King.
Ultra-liberal Piers Morgan’s show sunk 18 percent and 24 percent among the 25-54 demographic.
Anderson Cooper’s 10 pm show saw a whopping 34 percent drop in total viewers compared to last July and 36 percent among 25-54 year-olds. His 8 pm “AC 360” show, however, saw a 6 percent uptick among 25-54 year-olds.
Just this week, CNN found itself on the defense again after it played a song called “Stupid Girls” ahead of a segment about Sarah Palin visiting a Texas Chick-fil-A restaurant. The beleaguered network later said the use of the song was unintentional and not meant as a commentary on the former Republican vice presidential candidate.
The new ratings plunge is consistent with CNN’s steep ratings slide of late. Its president, Jim Walton, who presided over the once-dominant cable-news business as it lost viewers to Fox News, will resign after almost a decade in the job, saying the network needs “new thinking.”
CNN’s prime-time viewership has dropped 8 percent to 627,000 on average this season through mid-May, compared with a year earlier, according to Nielsen.
CNN now ranks far behind Fox News, which drew an average prime-time viewership of 1.85 Million viewers in the same period.
Supposedly, in recent years, CNN has tried to find a formula that connected with viewers. But imagine for a moment how silly that sounds?
There isn't some magic formula out there that gets viewers to watch what you have to offer. There isn't some advertising gimmick, or celeb, or news personality that you need to hire to get folks to watch your news.
There is not some big secret as to why no one is watching CNN, NBC, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and NPR. Their liberal bias stops most Americans from tuning in. It's just that simple.
Americans want the obvious: Be fair, be balance, don't preach, report the news without an agenda, and please don't tell us how to think.
If you still don't get it, then here's a formula for you:
- Cut out the bias, forgo your liberal credentials for the sake of your network,
- deliver the news straight with no left leanings,
- note your wording and realize that Americans can tell that you're steering a story,
- remember that it's not only what you're saying - but how you say it,
- trust the American people to be smarter than you think we are,
- and allow us the courtesy of thinking for ourselves.
SIXTH SHOT!
Democratic Report Blasts For-Profit Colleges
Did you ever read a news story and instantly realized that the subject was a no brainer? Well, a Senate Democrat report that came out on July 30th said that, "For-profit colleges put revenues above education, and charge students high tuition and loan rates that could leave them in debt for years."
OK, first off, I have to admit to not knowing that there were "Not-For-profit colleges"! I assumed that all colleges and universities worked off the idea of making a profit.
The Senate Democrat report states that "while students are aggressively recruited, they drop out in high numbers without the degree or certificate initially sought."
The report found that 54 percent of students enrolled in 2008-2009 left without a degree or certificate by mid-2010. When two-year associate degree programs were studied, 63 percent left without a degree.
The staff report was issued by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
The report said veterans were among those vulnerable to the tactics by for-profit schools, since these colleges receive the largest share of military educational benefit programs. Eight of the top 10 recipients of GI bill money since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks went to for-profit education companies.
The report said reaching an enrollment quota was found to be the highest priority for recruiters. Publicly traded companies operating these schools had an average profit margin of 19.7 percent. They paid an average of $7.3 million in 2009 to top executives, while the five highest paid leaders of large public universities averaged $1 million and leaders at non-profit colleges averaged $3 million.
Students at for-profit schools faced tuition for bachelor's programs that averaged 20 percent more than for similar programs at flagship public universities. Associated degree programs averaged four times the cost of similar programs at comparable community colleges, and certificate programs averaged four-and-a-half times the cost at comparable community colleges.
"Recruiting materials indicate that at some for-profit colleges, admission representatives were trained to locate and push on the pain in students' lives," the report said.
Once the students were enrolled, 96 percent needed student loans, according to Department of Education information. Fifty-seven percent of bachelor's degree students who graduated from a for-profit college owed $30,000 or more, compared to 25 percent of those earning degrees in the private, nonprofit sector and 12 percent from public colleges.
"Because many students who attend for-profit colleges are unable to get financing through private lending companies, many participate in institutional loan programs operated by for-profit education companies," the report said.
In 2009, seven large for-profit education companies offered institutional loans with interest rates ranging from 11.2 percent to 18 percent. During the same period, the Stafford federal loan rate was 5.6 percent.
In addition to the high loan rates and debt, students leaving private colleges hard a difficult time finding jobs.
The report cited a national study by an education center that found 23 percent of students who attended for-profit schools in 2008-09 were unemployed and seeking work.
So besides the difference in high interest rates for their loans, what are some of the other differences not talked about in the Democrat report?
Well, today’s students have more choices when it comes to planning their education.
From looking at the distance to the school, the classroom learning environment, the attitudes of the faculty, the agenda of the school itself, full-time versus part-time programs, for-profit or non-profit schools have a lot of differences.
For-profit colleges and universities continue to saturate the higher education market mostly because they cut to the heart of the subject matter. They cut time, and if one has the desire to work full time - they seem more accommodating to work around a working student's schedule.
Deciding on for-profit versus non-profit colleges has become increasingly important.
Non-profit schools include state universities and community colleges, which receive a significant portion of their funding from the government. Many private universities are also non-profit institutions.
For-profit schools, however, are subsidiaries of a private company. In addition to educating students, the company’s owner or shareholders expect it to make money.
One example: with more than 455,000 enrolled students and more than 200 locations, the University of Phoenix is the country’s largest private university. Other popular for-profit schools include DeVry University, Kaplan University, and American Public University, to name a few.
Overall, these schools account for about 8 percent of the college student population, which is expected to double by 2015, reports the Chronicle of Higher Education.
For-profit schools with accreditation are considered legitimate, although some have drawn criticism for what some call pushy recruiting practices and questionable degree programs. Students considering a for-profit school should research the program curriculum and its cost.
Ask the school for statistics on job placement after graduation, and always make sure the program fits your needs and personal agenda.
If you have years to spend attending classes, and want to shell out more and more money on raising tuition fees, then a standard college education is something that you might want to look into.
But on the other hand, if you know what you want, are serious about obtaining your degree, and want to cut to the chase and get your degree in what can be half the time, then you may want to look into for-profit educational sources.
Just as a side note, when I decided to go back to school after leaving the Marine Corps, I went to a community college and held a "full load" class schedule while working 60 plus hours a week at a full time job in Security.
I spent two and half years chasing a degree that I could have gotten in half the time at a for-profit school.
For me, I think for-profit schools are geared toward the serious working student. But of course, the Democrat report probably doesn't address that aspect.
SEVENTH SHOT!
Navy Developing 5,600-mph Bullet To Shoot Down Missiles
Never underestimate the Navy!
Besides the Navy's worry about an increasing Chinese Naval expansionist presence in the South China Sea threatening the Philippines and others, Iran's increasing threat in the Gulf, and of course pirates off the Horn of Africa, the U.S. Navy is always busy trying to develop new weapons.
One is an electrically fired, GPS-guided, 5,600-mph bullet that can shoot down missiles fired and approaching one of their warship.
The hypersonic bullet would be used with a cutting-edge cannon known as the Electromagnetic Rail Gun, but the Navy’s Office of Naval Research also wants this guided bullet to be compatible with current naval ship's guns.
The push is part of a program called Hyper Velocity Projectile, in which the Navy is trying to bolster its warships’ capabilities to shoot down missiles and fire munitions at miles-away enemies.
The Navy wants the new 5,600-mph bullets to be 24 inches long and weigh around 20 to 30 pounds and reach more than 30 miles. That's right, 30 miles!
The bullets that will be used by rail guns are expected to reach even 200 miles. Imagine that!
The Navy has spent $240 Million, not half the amount squandered on the bankrupt "green tech" Obama friendly company Solyndra, while trying to develop rail guns. And yes, it works!
Even though this new technology will be able to save the lives of thousands of sailors and Navy ships worth Billions of dollars, the development effort is facing increasing Congressional opposition from Democrats wanting to cut the Defence budget.
The Navy estimates rail guns could be mounted on our warships as early as the 2020s - only 7 years away. Like developing new Kevlar vests for ground troops, if our Navy can figure out how to save lives of our troops by taking out incoming missiles - then let's do it!
LAST SHOT!
FOX News Across America: Granny Stops 5 In Shop Robbery In California
This is a great video of 5 black youths who go on a robbery spree - not expecting a gun toting Granny to kick butt and take names!
http://video.foxnews.com/v/1768422788001/
Story by Tom Correa
