Archive for 2009
Who decides right and wrong?
Recently, my wife and I went to Mexico with some friends who have a timeshare in Los Cabos, arriving the day the community started celebrating its annual Fiesta. It was much like our state fair, with carnival rides, food areas, and booths with items for sale. But, one “attraction” was decidedly different. Each evening they […]
Can one person make a difference?
A nation with over 300 million citizens, over 10 million illegal aliens, 1 President, 100 United States Senators, and 435 United States Representatives. Can one person make a difference? No. Not anymore. That time has long since past. But, what if? What if one person could not look the other way? What if one person saw […]
Can we tax our way out of irresponsible debt?
Congress believes irresponsible debt and spending is needed to rectify the problems created by irresponsible debt and spending. Further, it believes raising taxes to pay for its irresponsible debt will actually stimulate spending. My father was raised on a farm in eastern Nebraska, sheltered from this unique congressional economic theory. He lived through the […]
Responsibility and self-respect
George Bernard Shaw said, “Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.” Are we willing to abandon self-respect for a handout? Are we willing to surrender risk and reward for indentured servitude to the government? Are we willing to exchange freedom and opportunity for a welfare state? We condemn the woman who recently […]
Is the United States an empire in demise?
George Bernard Shaw said, “We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.” What did our Founding Fathers want for this United States of America? Did they want complacency? Did they hope for mediocrity? Did they dream of dependency? Or, did they demand freedom and opportunity; freedom and opportunity at any price. What have […]
The herd immunity of gun ownership
Herd immunity describes what happens when immunizing part of a community provides protection for those in the community who are not immunized. This usually refers to infectious diseases that spread from person-to-person, like measles, mumps, and the like. This occurs because the more people in a community who are immunized, the less likely an unimmunized […]
“Make my day” gun laws
Guns are back in the news, or perhaps more correctly, still in the news, this time in Colorado. A 22-year-old man drove home with a blood alcohol of 0.26, three times the legal limit. He drove to the wrong house, beat on the front door hollering obscenities when he could not get in, went to […]
What should we ask Congress?
Last week President Obama reprimanded Wall Street CEOs’ for their outrageous salaries and spending, saying they must show “restraint and responsibility.” Should he have admonished Congress instead, because it puts Wall Street executives to shame with irresponsible spending? Moreover, Congress displays righteous indignation toward companies going on extravagant junkets and sponsoring lavish conferences, while it […]
“to provide for the…general welfare of the United States”
Our Founding Fathers fought the Revolutionary War to free us from a government that controlled our lives. They created the United States of America with a Constitution granting specific, limited powers to the government, guaranteeing that “We the people” controlled the government. So how does Congress regularly circumvent the Constitution, expanding their power without “We […]
Roosevelt or Reagan?
Our country’s leaders believe President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal ended the Great Depression and saved the economy. Are they right? Did his New Deal end the depression or even shorten it? Take a moment and consider the Roosevelt logic Congress is using with our current situation. They believe they can fix the economy if they […]
Israel or Palestine?
President Harry Truman said, “No two historians ever agree on what happened, and the damn thing is they both think they’re telling the truth.” Imagine tracing your ancestry back thousands of years to the land they were driven from, the land you are now asking to have returned to you. Imagine living on the land […]
California’s latest budget crisis
Experts projected California would have budget deficits of more than $35 billion, requiring massive budget cuts and tax increases. The Governor proposed $17 billion in program cuts and $8.3 billion in tax increases. Education programs faced over $2.7 billion in cuts with proposed additional cuts of $5.2 billion. In a recall petition, the governor was […]
You’re Beulah’s son, aren’t you?
Several years ago my wife and I were in Arrick’s Fly Shop in West Yellowstone, Montana. She was wearing a sweatshirt from the Bolder Boulder 10k Memorial Day Road Race, which my brother founded in Boulder, Colorado, in 1978. An older man working in the shop came over to my wife and asked about her sweatshirt saying […]