Republic Rules - The U.S.A. is a great representative republic.

With the government meddling more than ever before in our economic system… taking equity positions in banks, propping up auto manufacturers, etc… it’s no wonder the stock market is gyrating wildly. Stock prices are determined when investors put their money where their mouths are, essentially “voting” on what they believe the value of a […]

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For decades on end, Americans were known throughout the world as hard-working, self-sufficient, independent, creative people. Our ability to “get the job done” in the face of adversity was renown. We were recognized as being fair and generous and open to a wide range of ideas. We were proud of that reputation.
And, […]

Read the rest of The Perversion of Pride

Without even knowing all the science behind it, most of us know the common sense of “cause and effect”… of probable outcomes from certain actions.  If I drive a car with my eyes closed, I’ll probably run into something.  If I ignore the “low oil” light in my car dashboard, the engine will eventually seize […]

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One of the big topics this year, as almost every election year, is “getting out the vote”… the big push to “help” people register to vote and then “help” them vote.  Without getting into the TRUE motives (not the stated motives) of organizations engaged in this type of activity, it is my opinion that such […]

Read the rest of Disenfranchisement

Often, we’re unconsciously aware of a problem well before it rises to conscious recognition.  Even then, most people are very tolerant.  We recognize the problem as such but are not motivated to do anything about it at first… we allow the problem to grow until it reaches a higher pain threshold… and THEN they do […]

Read the rest of Confidence

While fingers are pointing in all directions to lay blame for the current financial calamity, and there’s plenty of blame to go around, it seems that most people agree — at least tacitly –  on the root fo the problem.  Getting some to say it out loud is difficult, however, since saying it DIRECTLY seems […]

Read the rest of Root of the Problem

I’ve contended before that LESS government is BETTER government… and I stand by that.  I point at the current financial situation as an example of where Congress intruded in the market process, imposed requirements to loan money to those who otherwise couldn’t qualify, and the market… playing by these “new rules” (which were artificial and […]

Read the rest of Congress Caused This Financial Crisis

With the conventions of both major political parties going on, there is a lot of media coverage and talk about what government should and should not be doing for “us”.  Like moths to a light, these events have attracted a wide range of groups staging protests.
One of the wonderful RIGHTS we have in the U.S. […]

Read the rest of Protesting Idiots

Like many, I have been watching the Olympics.  I truly enjoy some of the categories and, while others are not my favorites, it is even fun to watch “the best” in those sports.  It difficult to imagine the time and effort expended to achieve the level of perfection displayed by all the athletes.
Some of the […]

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Before making my main point, let me acknowledge that the economy is not going great guns.  There are certainly some problems, the most significant (in my opinion) is all the fallout from the subprime housing market fiasco.
An aside:  The subprime mess could have been avoided and was fueled by both greed and politics from the […]

Read the rest of How Bad IS The Economy?