I was reading about the United Nations this morning in an article published in Foreign Affairs 82, no. 5 (Council on Foreign Relations, September-October 2003): 67-80. I’m training to think critically. Lots here to consider… Shashi Tharoor writes, “The United … Continue reading
Hypocrisy is Proportional to Organizational Size
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Congress Can Redefine Reality
Murphy v. IRS. In August 2006, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled the IRS is not part of the United States. “Insofar Congress has waived sovereign immunity with respect to suits for tax refunds under 28 … Continue reading
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Robert Kennedy GNP Speech at University of Kansas
Robert F. Kennedy, at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, March 18, 1968: Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national product … … Continue reading
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Paying for Uninsured Health Care Costs
Here is the answer Ron Paul should have given 2 nights ago at the Republican debate, when asked about the hypothetical well-to-do 30-year old person who chooses to be uninsured, and then develops a chronic illness and needs care. One … Continue reading
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Jobs Bill Alternate Wisdom
Let’s do the numbers. Obama’s job bill costs $475,000,000,000.00 dollars. The plan claims to create (or save) 2.5M jobs. First off, notice the “or save” part of the claim. That’s the same rhetoric used with the first stimulus, however the … Continue reading
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Advantage of Inflation Is Monetary Manipulation
I’ve been wandering the web, finding resources about macro economics. I have always thought inflation is bad. After all, who wants prices to rise? So I looked on Wikipedia. What I found confirmed developing discontent. “Inflation’s effects on an economy are various … Continue reading
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I Am Not Taxed Enough – by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet
Warren Buffet and Bill Gates have been making noises about wanting higher tax rates. In a recent BBC interview Bill Gates said, “Well, the United States has a huge budget deficit, so taxes are going to have to go up. … Continue reading
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Word Twisting – Words Without Meaning
I’ve noticed word twisting this election season in ways that steal meaning from communication between two people. To a person who values words that have meaning and content rather than emotional effervescence, this trend is offensive. I wonder if the … Continue reading
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Bucket Polls – Betting Against America
Obama leads all the foreign opinion poles of who should be President, by rather large margins. IMHO, this is pretty much prima facia evidence that Obama’s policies are best for everybody else except America. Let me explain. This is analogous … Continue reading
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Gift Giving Economies vs. Capitalism
We’ve changed in the last 20 years. When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, it was because he saw his richer brother nation and wanted to take what they had and use it for himself. The world responded with horror and we … Continue reading
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Fairness and Equality and the Common Good
What is fair and equal? There are the four choices. We need to pick one of these. Realize our Constitution doesn’t dabble with concepts of fairness, and speaks only in terms of equality. Skipping the questionable dialectic discussion equating fairness … Continue reading
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Loss of Private Goods
I recently had a chance to read Economics: A Very Short Introduction, by Partha Dasgupta, published in 2007. Page 52-54 is a passage teaching the definition of private goods, public non-exclusable goods, and externalities, and then applying these terms as … Continue reading
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Anymore, We Don’t Value Our Citizens First
Anymore, it seems public figures and politicians are tripping over each other to highlight the need to care for illegal immigrants, or refugees of foreign wars, displaced individuals around the globe, or nearly anybody except “Joe Plumber,” citizen of the … Continue reading
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Trump is Wrong about Apple
I may want to help. It may be good to help. But I don’t want to be forced to help. In the case of Apple v. FBI, the business efficiency favored by Donald Trump is not agreeable to me. As … Continue reading
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Winning and Losing the Non-Election
Well, Donald Trump got spanked over the weekend when a lot of presidential voting delegates who do not like him were put into position. Regardless of what the various state citizens value or who they would vote for in a … Continue reading
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Left Leaning Media: Get Off Your High Horse
Over the weekend, Dan Rather stood up for journalistic integrity, demanding that what Trump says must be called a “lie”. This, after the WSJ Editor-in-Chief Gerard Baker said (paraphrasing), “Let’s distinguish between false facts and calling someone a liar; one … Continue reading
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Alternative Facts – Reverse Obligation
Issues and arguments entwined with consistency and facts can be productive. Everybody today is screaming for facts and truth, and accusing each other of alternate facts. If you ask for this from others, then it would be appropriate for you … Continue reading
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Was that Insurance, Policy, Coverage, or Payment ?
Real story. October 2017. Samuel lives in Florida. He was laid off from his job, but was capable enough to start his own consulting business. That’s what he’s supposed to do in America. Strike out on his own, and make … Continue reading
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A New Deal for Globalization
I came across “A New Deal for Globalization” by Kenneth Scheve and Matthew J. Slaughter (Foreign Affairs, Vol 86, Issue 4, July/August 2007). From the 3rd year of Bush’s presidency, it’s a bit technically dated and ripe with political overtones, … Continue reading
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Same is Unfair
Giving the same sized government Covid-19 rent reimbursement to Louisville renters and New York renters is “unfair”, so says Kenneth Romero. He claims giving the same amount to everybody is a “cycle of unfairness.” IMHO, if you’re living in New … Continue reading
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