BOB CONFER'S COLUMNS FROM THE NEW AMERICAN

BOB CONFER's OPINION COLUMNS FROM
THE NEW AMERICAN

Bob Confer's has a regularly-appearing column at the website of the New American magazine, at www.thenewamerican.com with some also appearing in the print edition which is distributed bi-weekly. The New American is the official magazine of the John Birch Society.

These columns, national and international in scale, follow the same approach Bob takes with with newspaper columns and they fit nicely with the Society's mission of "Less Government, More Responsibility, and - With God's Help - a Better World."

More information about the Society can be found at www.jbs.org

Columns will be posted on this website a week after they have appeared online, so be sure to check back on a regular basis. If you would like to send feedback regarding any of these columns please send an e-mail to bobconfer@juno.com

You can return to this website's homepage by clicking here: www.bobconfer.net

#	COLUMN TITLE & HYPERLINK	DATE	SUBJECT MATTER
32	OBAMA IS NOT AN INSOURCER	23 Jan 2012	President Obama has been taking credit for recent moves by manufacturers to bring some operations back to the US. I discuss their operations as an anomaly, for Obama is more to blame for outsourcing than he is responsible for insourcing
31	THE PAYROLL TAX CUT: WHY STOP AT $40?	27 Dec 2011	I debunk the $40 aspect of Obama's payroll tax cut and then expound on not stopping at $40.
30	NLRB PUSHES UNIONS' DESTRUCTIVE AGENDA	20 Sept 2011	Unions have long been destructive to private companies. So, why would the government - through the NLRB - mandate free advertising for unions by all employers engaged in interstate trade?
29	THE EPA AND THE COMMON DEFENSE	10 Aug 2011	This column discusses the unconstitutionality of the EPA and looks at the one area where they do have constitutional responsibility (protecting us from invasive species) and how they've failed miserably at it
28	DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SETS SIGHTS ON FARMERS' AND STATES' RIGHTS	18 July 2011	The Department of Transportation has a plan to force all farmers to have commercial drivers licenses. Bad enough. Even worse is the language of the law which would designate farming as interstate commerce. Note: This column generated tons of coverage on the internet and on-air (including WLVL and WDAY) and in political circles. The DOT cancelled it shortly after the end of the public comment period
27	ENTITLEMENTS: A DECLARATION OF DEPENDENCE	11 July 2011	Last week's Fourth of July revelers were somewhat hypocritical...based on how Americans love Social Security and Medicare, they should have been celebrating dependence, not independence
26	AMTRAK: THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAIN WRECK	07 June 2011	Amtrak -- government's foray into commuter rail - has been a fiscal nightmare, losing hundreds of millions per year...foretelling a future of the same in high speed rail
25	OSAMA BIN LADEN WON, EVEN IN DEATH	03 May 2011	The supposed death of Osama bin Laden afforded him yet another victory in many against the American people
24	OBAMA AND NOBEL PRIZE REMORSE	22 Mar 2011	After taking us into war against Libyan forces, Obama has done yet another thing to prove he is no different than his predecessor, something the Nobel selection committee was hoping for when having selected him for the Peace Prize
23	HERE COMES THE RECESSION	14 Mar 2011	Looking at the economy from an objectivist standpoint - rather than economic theory - I note that a new recession will be upon us this year
22	THE MORAL PROPAGANDA FOR US INTERVENTION IN LIBYA	07 Mar 2011	The federal government would have us believe that intervening in the affairs of Libya is something we are morally obligated to do. We are not
21	WHERE IS THE GM "BONUS" FOR TAXPAYERS?	21 Feb 2011	General Motors recently announced that it will be distributing $4,000 bonuses to its workers. That healthy dose of government propaganda ignores one thing: GM still owes the taxpayers billions
20	THE CLASS ACT IS NO CLASS ACT	14 Feb 2011	The CLASS Act is a portion of Obamacare that offers long-term care "insurance" to enrollees. It is anything but insurance and it will certainly harm America's fiscal health
19	THE NEXT STEP TOWARD THE NORTH AMERICAN UNION	07 Feb 2011	President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper have agreed to start the process for a common security and economic perimeter for the US and Canada, something certain to strip sovereignty.
18	MYTH: UNCLE SAM IS THE STORK THAT DELIVERS JOBS	01 Feb 2011	Too many people believe that it's the government's responsibility to create jobs. That's no different than believing it's the stork's responsibility to create babies
17	THE FLUORIDE DEBACLE	24 Jan 2011	The federal government has admitted that it has put too much fluoride into our drinking water supplies. I make the case not for a cutback, but a total elimination of the substance.
16	GOVERNMENT AND ITS CULTURE OF DEATH	17 Jan 2011	The government and media have been intent on painting the American people as a violent sort since the Loughner shooting spree. That's the kettle calling the pot black: It's the government that has a culture of death
15	LOUGHNER'S ATTACK: ASSASSINATION OF A NATION'S CHARACTER	11 Jan 2011	Jared Loughner's shooting spree was damaging to America's character...it caused the Left to use it for political gain, painting the Right as enemies of our nation
14	POVERTY CREATED BY AND FOR BIG GOVERNMENT	20 Sept 2010	The nation was shook up by reports that poverty was on the rise in 2009. It's fear like that which caused LBJ to introduce his War on Poverty which had the result of creating more poverty
13	BIG BROTHER'S EYE IN THE SKY	01 Sept 2010	Various governments around the world are using aerial imagery technology to spy on their citizens and tax them more. In the US, this is an assault on our Fourth Amendment rights
12	UNEMPLOYMENT AND ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION	12 July 2010	Unemployment remains a major problem in the US, as does illegal immigration. I discuss how they are related
11	UNDER-REPORTING UNEMPLOYMENT	05 July 2010	The federal government continues to grossly underestimate the unemployment level in the US. I discuss the how and why
10	THE ETHANOL FIASCO	04 Jan 2010	This column looks at the damage that the government has put on consumers in its misguided effort to go green with corn-based ethanol
9	DOBBS BROUGHT DOWN BY HIS OPPONENTS	13 Nov 2009	CNN's Lou Dobbs surprisingly resigned earlier in the week. No one knows why for sure, but all the evidence points to the continued stress levied by those who don't admire his views against illegal immigration
8	THE US DOLLAR: A WORTHLESS PIECE OF PAPER	08 Oct 2009	This column addresses the dollar's continuous and stunning decline and just how bad things have become (and will be)
7	THE GREAT LIE ABOUT ECONOMIC RECOVERY	15 Sept 2009	Washington, Wall Street, and economists everywhere have been telling us that the recession is over and recovery is on its way. I debunk that lie
6	THE NEED FOR LETTERS OF MARQUE AND REPRISAL	11 Sept 2009	Five months after the hostage crisis surrounding the Maersk Alabama, commercial fleets are still unprepared to handle piracy. They could be prepared, though, if Congress recognized a relatively unknown part of the Constitution
5	BUYING AMERICAN	04 Sept 2009	This column calls for consumers to make a more concerted effort to Buy American, something that would truly stimulate our economy
4	OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO THE ECONOMY	11 Aug 2009	Many people are clamoring for government intervention in the marketplace. They fail to see that the responsibility for righting the economy's ship belongs in our hands
3	CASH FOR CLUNKERS IS A FAILURE	04 Aug 2009	The government's Cash For Clunkers program has been cited as a huge win for the economy. I make the case that it is not and that it will only hurt the economy. Note: This column was the centerpiece of an episode of the Bob Ney Show on the AM dial and it was quoted in Chinese newspapers
2	THE RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENSE SHOULD KNOW NO BORDERS	27 July 2009	The US Senate recently turned down a bill by John Thune which would have allowed national reciprocity of pistol permits, whereby legal gun owners could have carried their guns state to state
1	THE FOURTH AMENDMENT'S SHOCKING DEVELOPMENT	20 July 2009	Niagara Falls, NY judge Sara Sheldon Sperraza ruled that the police department was justified in using a Taser to extract a suspect's DNA. I believe she has erred in her ruling that it was not unconstitutional.

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