Be pro-social
Most people agree that the Federal Government does a bad job representing the interests of most Americans. People think that politicians are either controlled by corporations, liberal elites, religious conservatives, special interest groups, or lobbying money. Let’s just agree that politicians don’t really try to make life better for Americans, but, today, let’s not try … Read more
The US vetoed a UN Security Council (“UNSC”) resolution today. Generally that is not a big deal, but the specifics of the vote are suspicious. I think that situations like this damage US credibility (and the UN’s credibility). And I think it is much more damaging than scandals like the Oil-for-food bribing. The draft resolution … Read more
North Korea has apparently successfully tested a nuclear device. Many things will be said about this event, but I would like to stress one of the most important lessons here – we caused this problem. For 50 years, we have had at least 30,000 American troops stationed a few miles from North Korea. This constant … Read more
An AP story tells us that “Benedict has made the defense of traditional family values a major goal of his papacy, speaking out often on the issue.” “Defending family values” is such a common phrase that it is now cliche; however, we should stop using this term because it distorts what is really happening. In … Read more
MSNBC.com reports that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld doesn’t understand why the families of soldiers that unexpectedly had their one-year Iraq deployment extended by four months are upset with him. In an interview during his flight to Fairbanks, Rumsfeld said he saw no reason for the soldiers or their families to be angry with him. … Read more
CNN reports that a lawsuit over a lottery ticket has settled out of court. On one side is the family of Kevin Donovan who claimed to have purchased every “Hold ‘em Poker” scratch off lottery ticket in the store and then accidentally threw the winning $1 million ticket in the trash at the store. Donovan … Read more
Since this is just a blog, I have permission to throw some ideas out there without doing thorough research! The Chicago Sun-Times reports that a local drug dealer has been charged with drug-induced homicide for sealing heroin cut with fentanyl to a Depute Police Chief’s son who died after he used the drugs. A number … Read more
An AP wire release tells us that the FDA finally approved Plan B for over the counter sales. I am glad the government finally approved Plan B for over the counter sales, but that is not the major point I want to make. The media tries very hard to present information in a neutral way. … Read more
Rana Foroohar writes in Newsweek that CEO pay is fair principally because it has risen at the same rate as the market capitalization of large companies. (Market capitalization is the stock price per share times the number of shares of the company that exist. It is a very rough guide to how large the company … Read more
Jack Shafer explains how the US Government estimated that there are 800,000 people being traffic across international borders each year. The Government Accountability Office says that the numbers are suspect and probably too high. I have two ideas that I have been kicking around to fix issues like this. First, I think government should be … Read more