Future Brighter for Energy, Jobs

Two years ago, America was importing about two thirds of its oil. Today, it imports less than half. And by 2017, the US could be poised to pass Saudi Arabia and overtake Russia as the world's largest oil producer. So reports National Public Radio in New Boom Reshapes Oil World.

A Big Blow to Man-Made Climate Change Theory

Environmental extremists who prey on fears of a man-made climate change Armageddon have been busted ... by hard science published in Nature, the world's most prestigious scientific journal.  "New, convincing evidence," writes Lawrence Solomon, "indicates global warming is caused by cosmic rays and the sun -- not humans."

A Yale Student Defends Life

"Welcome to Yale, a university that values tolerance and diversity," writes sophomore Elizabeth Gray Henry in the Yale Daily News, adding, "Well, as long as you have the correct beliefs..."  Miss Henry does an outstanding job of defending her beliefs about abortion in the article and calls for an open, tolerant dialogue on both sides. Read the article.

Constituent defends 2012 'Calendar Girl'

It's always gratifying to see strong conservative women leaders supported, so hat's off to constituent Robert Murfitt, who heartily defends Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle against a verbal assault by a liberal in a letter to the editor of a Brighton NY newspaper. He begins with this, and refutes the liberal's complaints point by point.

Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle is a threat to the left and they have painted a large target on her back for defeat in 2012. This effort has been reenergized by the fact that she was recently added to the Claire Booth Luce 2012 Calendar of the most conservative women. After only seven months in office, she shares the other 11 months with the likes of Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter, Michele Bachmann and Monica Crowley. This drives the left crazy.

Haven't gotten your 2012 calendar yet? Order it here.

President's Deficit Plan: $1.5 Trillion in Taxes & Fees

"It's not just millionaires who'd pay more under President Barack Obama's latest plan to combat the deficit," reports the Associated Press. Airline passengers, for example, would see federal fees doubled to $10 per trip, tripled to $15 by 2017. And new mortgage applicants would pay an additional fee—averaging $15 per month for the life of the mortgage—for the care and feeding of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

One AP reader summed the plan up well: "So millionaires will be taxed, the rest of us will just pay fees."

Gardasil Mandate Blesses Sexual Freedom...for 9-Year-Olds!

"Let's not miss the point on why the Gardasil mandate is so outrageous," write Alyssa Cordova, the Luce Institute's Lecture Director. "HPV is not something caught from a casual encounter like the flue, measles, mumps or rubella. It's a sexually transmitted disease!"

Read the rest.

Lulli: A Student's Perspective on Obamacare

"Many young people celebrated with the president when he signed 'Obamacare' into law in 2010," writes high school student and Luce Institute intern Carolina Lulli, "unaware of the hovering short- and long-term consequences for college students."  As details of the law become better known, Carolina finds more for her peers to fear than cheer.

New US Oil, Gas Drilling = 1 Million New Jobs, $800 Billion New Revenue

A new study released this month is sure to fuel the debate over US domestic energy policy. The graphic-rich report shows the extent to which current US energy policies are cheating Americans of domestic oil and natural gas resources, as well as the jobs and government revenues that come with them. Key results of the study are:

Turner: Obama's Strategy of Silence on Obamacare

The president is trying to hide from his "signature achievement" in the hope that the revolt against the unpopular health care overhaul that swept conservatives into power across the country in November 2010 isn't repeated in 2012, writes Grace-Marie Turner.  If the law is left in place, the American people will get a shocking awakening in 2014 when...

KT McFarland: 9/11 Lesson-We Are Never Powerless

National security analyst K.T. McFarland recalls the many acts of selflessness she encountered as New Yorkers struggled to cope with the unfolding events of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. We are never powerless, she writes; everyone can do something.

In Remembrance:

Angry, Jobless 20-Somethings

The Atlantic magazine recently solicited readers' comments on the "one thing people didn't understand or appreciate about looking for work," and some of the responses were published in a four-part Labor Day special report: The Future of Work.

One article offers helpful insights from employers on navigating the job search process. Another article, What It's Like to Be Jobless in Your 20s, sparked so much response that the Atlantic this week published "a second round of the most passionate, indignant and poignant" comments from (or about) Millennials under the headline, The 'Mad As Hell' Millennial Generation. Some are truly heartbreaking; others just bitter rants.

To Improve Economy, Think Cellphones

Finally!  A short simple economics lesson even a liberal can understand from Herb Meyer at americanthinker.com.

Imagine that you have a new cell phone, and you ask me how to make a call. I tell you to punch in a phone number, then rub the phone against your leg and fling it against the wall. Did your call go through? No? Okay, I say, now try it again -- but this time fling your phone harder. Your call still didn't go through? Would you like to try it a third time? Or have you finally figured out that I have no idea what I'm talking about; that if you keep listening to me you're going to break your phone...