U.S. Economy and Stock Markets, February 2017
Real U.S. Per capita GDP in chained 2009 dollars (blue curve) and its percent change year over year (maroon curve). The thick green line is a linear fit of the … Read More
Category: Political Issues
Ideas about the role of government in society, its relationship to citizens, and about how much power the government should be given.
Federal Expenditure and Revenue Realities
Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Brady’s controversial plan for “border adjustment” taxes are being fiercely opposed. Wikimedia Commons / Office of Congressman Kevin … Read More
The U.S. Interactions With Other Nations
United Nations Headquarters in New York City Wikimedia Commons / Neptuul Very little divides American citizens more than questions about how the U.S. should interact with other nations. This has always … Read More
The Basic Values Needed for Our Politics
Five of the most important Western ethical thinkers. From top, left to right; bottom, left to right: Socrates (Wikimedia Commons / Eric Gaba (Sting)); Aristotle (Wikimedia Commons / Eric Gaba … Read More
Values, Reality, and Politics
The Death of Socrates, by Jaques-Louis David (1787) Wikimedia Commons / Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Wolfe Fund, 1931 Let it be stipulated the two major American political philosophies, more or less … Read More
The Trump Era Begins
President Donald J. Trump delivering his inaugural address, January 20, 2017 Screenshot of ABC News broadcast Uncompromising. That was the major tone of Donald Trump’s inaugural address on the west … Read More
Do American Progressives Have Historical Amnesia?
The signing of the U.S. Constitution, one of the latest fruits of the Age of Enlightenment Current Location: East Stairway, House of Representatives Wing, U.S. Capitol Wikimedia Commons / Howard Chandler … Read More
U.S. Detente With Russia?
Secretary of State Designate Rex Tillerson, then ExxonMobil CEO, with President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation on April 16, 2012 Wikimedia Commons / premier.gov.ru The Democratic Party has found … Read More
Will Progressives’ Expectation of Fascism Be Frustrated?
Trump’s nominees for Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson (Wikimedia Commons / Office of the President-elect), and for the Attorney General, Jeff Sessions (Wikimedia Commons / U.S. Senate) American progressives are … Read More
Obama’s Seizure of Legislative Power
President Obama negotiating with congressional leaders in November 2012 during the fiscal cliff debate Wikimedia Commons / Voice of America This is a story about how the Democratic Party became … Read More
Can Americans See Only the Yin and Not the Yang?
The Yin and Yang of our ideological realities (c) Can Stock Photo / arkela Light and Dark. Good and Evil. What you are For and What you are Against. Yang and … Read More
The Federal Government’s Projected Bankruptcy
Which Way Can We go! (c) Can Stock Photo / svanhorn There is no doubt about it! Unless the federal government drastically reduces mandatory entitlement expenditures in the near future, … Read More
The Progressives’ War On the Separation of Powers
Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu, 18 January 1689-10 February 1755 Wikimedia Commons / Currently at the Palace of Versailles In my last two posts, I … Read More
The Dodd-Frank Act: A Giant Stride Along the Road To Serfdom
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) Wikimedia Commons / United States Congress, Wikimedia Commons / United States Congress In my last post, I wrote of how federal … Read More
How a Democracy Evolves Into Fascism
The Robert F. Kennedy Building in 2006, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Justice. DOJ’s Operation Choke Point is an important case study in how democracies can evolve toward … Read More
Dirigisme No Longer Works. What Replaces It?
Line of shoppers in front of a Polish shop in the 1980s. A common sight in Warsaw pact countries ruled by communism. Wikimedia Commons Actually, dirigisme as a way of … Read More
Trump’s Antidote to the Progressive Infection
The first three progressive presidents: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson Photo Credits: Wikimedia Commons / Pach Brothers , Wikimedia Commons / George Grantham Bain , and Wikimedia Commons / Harris … Read More
Get Ready For the Real Revolution!
President-Elect Donald Trump conversing with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office, November 10, 2016 Wikimedia Commons / Pete Souza The shell-shocked mass media and progressive pundits still are having … Read More
Obama Has Not Produced An Economic Recovery
Plot of annual Real U.S. GDP per capita growth in percent averaged over ten year periods The Gallup Organization Despite all the parroting by much of the media, Obama has … Read More
European Dirigisme Continues to Unravel
Italy’s Beppe Grillo, head of the Italian Five-Star Movement in 2012 Wikimedia Commons / Niccolò Caranti Last Sunday’s Italian constitutional referendum marks yet another step in the slow unraveling of … Read More
The Progressives’ Sisyphean Labors
Sisyphus and his rock Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Titian(1490-1576), Prado Museum Sisyphus is a figure from out of ancient Greek mythology, the founder and king of the city Ephyra, … Read More
A Nervous Face-off Against Chinese Imperialism
Naval vessel of the the People’s Liberation Army Navy. Center for Security Policy In the United States over the past eight years, China has found its perfect enemy, more concerned … Read More
Delusions of Progressives and Other Dirigistes
“For now we see through a glass darkly . . .”, Holy Bible, King James Version, 1 Corinthians 13:12 Flickr.com / David Singleton As history has shown us over and … Read More
How Flexible Are Progressive Minds?
The Thinker by Auguste Rodin. This is what we must all do if we are to survive as a free nation! Wikimedia Commons / Andrew Horne The reactions by … Read More
Progressives Doubling Down
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) campaigning for Hillary Clinton, October 2016. Warren is one of the leading forces in the Democratic Party. Wikimedia Commons / Tim Pierce Elizabeth Warren, one of … Read More
Progressives’ Hypocrisy Is Showing
Anti-Trump riot in Portland, Oregon following President-elect Trump’s election Screenshot from a CNN broadcast To this very day, progressives are not just demonstrating to protest Donald Trump’s election, but rioting and … Read More
The Analysis of Reality
A supernova about to blow: Wolf-Rayet star WR 124, 15,000 light years from Earth Wikimedia Commons / NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Following last Tuesday’s elections, the recriminations and accusations are … Read More
Turning of the Tide of Dirigisme?
Karl Marx (5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883): Is his time finally finished? Wikimedia Commons / John Jabez Edwin Mayall The administration of President Barack Obama may have marked the high-water mark … Read More
President Trump Faces a Divided People
Donald Trump giving his victory speech early this morning YouTube / RT.com Donald J. Trump’s victory yesterday to become the President-elect of the United States is a fitting surprise for … Read More
Reality Is Wagging Its Finger At Us!
Reality to us: Oh, No, No! Don’t Go There! (c) Can Stock Photo / ngaga35 Usually when we do not recognize some aspect of the nature of Reality, Reality reminds … Read More