Inequality is the result of political forces as much as of economic ones. In a modern economy government sets and enforces the rules of the game—what is fair competition, and what actions are deemed anticompetitive and illegal, who gets what in the event of bankruptcy, when a debtor can’t pay all that he owes, what are fraudulent practices and forbidden. Government also gives away resources (both openly and less transparently) and, through taxes and social expenditures, modifies the distribution of income that emerges from the market, shaped as it is by technology and politics. The Price of Inequality: How Today’s … Continue reading Inequality…

I guess it is officially Spring now as all the country yard flowers and in full bloom. Now I know all you city slickers out there call my flowers as shown here weeds but you got to get over that idea. ;)  God just didn’t intend that only one variety of his creation was to appear on your front yard.  But I do have to admit that my wife gets on me from time to time about how our lawn seems to have everything but grass growing on it. Living in the country means putting up with all the critters … Continue reading Not Your City Slicker Lawn…

Come gather ’round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You’ll be drenched to the bone If your time to you is worth savin’ Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin’ Come writers and critics Who prophesize with your pen And keep your eyes wide The chance won’t come again And don’t speak too soon For the wheel’s still in spin And there’s no tellin’ who that it’s namin’ For the loser now will be later to win For … Continue reading The Times They Are A Changing….

We are a generation that is able to pick and choose the best ideas and aspects from many different groups and systems and embrace them in our own lives and thinking. And this has never been a possibility for any other generation in the history of humankind. This does make us a generally skeptical generation. We don’t just drink the Kool Aid. That doesn’t mean we lack commitment to a community, but it does mean millennial communities will look radically different than those of previous generations. This doesn’t mean millennials are against structure, but rather against structures that dictate how … Continue reading Millennials: Anti-Social, Selfish, & Afraid?

Home-grown bullies More than half of Americans believe incivility in our society is on the rise and expected to worsen in coming years, according to Weber Shandwick’s 2011 annual survey on incivility. The climate of unbridled rudeness is evident in politics, pop culture, music, media, big business, work, schools, and now, the internet – just about all aspects of our culture. And incivility breeds bullies. Among those surveyed, 65% believed overall incivility worsened with the recent financial crisis and recession. But, the seeds of incivility were sown in American history since before the Salem Witch Trials. American bullying is a … Continue reading Anatomy of a bully

Republican proposals, such as cutting food stamps and assuming the guilt of minorities and the mentally ill who are in jail, appeal to the rich, he said. “Those kind of things just exalt the higher class, which is the whites, and they draw a subtle, but very effective racial line throughout the South,” Carter said. SOURCE: Jimmy Carter: Southern White Men Turn To The GOP Because Of ‘Race’. I think that Jimmy Carter and I have something in common. As we have gotten older we speak our minds more than when we were younger. To me it is kind of … Continue reading Along Racial Lines….

“America is just like an insane asylum. There is not a soul in it will admit they are crazy.” – Will Rogers, 28 April 1935 This has got to be one of the best and maybe most accurate post by Will. We sure do have a lot of crazies in this country. Thank heavens I am not one of them.  ;) Continue reading Not A Soul Will Admit….

Here are five tech products we predict will go the way of the dodo in the next half-decade. SOURCE:  5 Tech Products That Will Be Dead in 5 Years | TIME.com. It is amazing how quickly things, especially electronic things, change in today’s world. I can remember all the fury about moving to digital transmissions for television signals. There were many opponents to it when it was happening. But, as is the case for much of this type of progress now that it has happened we wonder why we waited so long. I am convinced that eventually the same thing … Continue reading 5 Tech Products That Will Be Dead in 5 Years

  Let’s all try to do what He commands…. Continue reading Happy Easter….

“I have grave concerns that the CIA’s search may well have violated the separation-of-powers principles embodied in the United States Constitution, including the speech-and-debate clause,” Feinstein said. “Besides the constitutional implications, the CIA search may also have violated the Fourth Amendment, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act,” as well as an Executive Order barring the CIA from conducting domestic surveillance, she said. SOURCE: Top Lawmaker Accuses CIA of Illegally Snooping on Senate | TIME.com. Our constitution is assuredly the best country incorporation document in the world. The framers had an astounding amount of foresight when the generated it. But I … Continue reading CIA of Illegally Snooping on Senate…