Thoughts Before The Alarm Sounds

Those who have been following my blog know by now that I am not a bible-thumper. To me the “good book” has some very good parts; others, not so much. But in the United States, whether on the left, center or right of the political spectrum, a majority of people profess to be Christian. And considering the animosity that both fringes have toward each other I sometimes wonder, not whether they have read the entire Bible, because I am sure that most of them have not, but whether they have even read Genesis, the first book. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” (Genesis1:27-28) Now let me put that into perspective. Suppose that on the entire earth only one person was m...

     Some time ago I mentioned Ross Perot's “giant sucking sound” of jobs leaving the country in the wake of NAFTA (See February 16, 2011). As I stated, “If that sound is a whisper, today's sound of American jobs heading all over the globe is a space shuttle liftoff.” As of today that sucking sound has grown even louder.      According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics , the US unemployment rate for May was unchanged from the April figure: 9.1%. Private sector employment increased by 83,000; this is really a net loss because 125,000 new jobs are needed each month just to keep up with the increase in the number of individuals entering the labor force.      Also in May the number of long-term unemployed increased by 361,000. That number now stands at 6.2 million.      It is important to note that the BLS's definition of unemployment includes only job seekers who have looked for work at some time during the ...

     ...or starve the government beast – take your pick.      As with all such plans, Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis) “Roadmap For America's Future” contains numerous changes to our national priorities. Today I wish to write about the changes Ryan and the Republican Party would make to our income tax structure. I will discuss other facets of the Roadmap in upcoming days.      The Roadmap would not repeal our current personal income tax structure, but would set up a simplified system parallel to it. Taxpayers would be allowed to choose which system they wish to use.      Under the simplified system there would be only two tax brackets, 10% on the first $100K of taxable income for joint filers, and 25% on taxable income in excess of $100K. It would allow a generous standard deduction and personal allowance ($39K for a family of four). The only credit allowed would be a healthcare credit, which I will discuss at a ...

     I received an email purporting to quote Billy Graham's daughter, Anne Graham Lotz. According to the email Ms. Lotz was speaking at a “Superintendent of Schools Seminar.” When she was asked what she thought was leading to the decay of morality and self-respect in the young students today, she supposedly replied, “...when the Courts [decided] to take God (Lord's Prayer) and respect for our Country (Pledge of Allegiance To Our Flag), and took down the symbol of our Country (picture of George Washington) out of the Classroom".      An exhaustive search failed to find any evidence of Ms. Lotz having spoken at such a seminar, nor could I verify that she had ever made such a statement. The closest I could find took place on CBS's “The Early Show” on September 13, 2001. Interviewer Jane Clayson asked, "I've heard people say, those who are religious, those who are not, if God is good, how could God let this (the September 11 attack) happen? To that, ...

     As a result of the January 8 shooting in Tucson of Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford by Jared Lee Loughner, much heat and a ray of light has been generated. Name-calling began almost immediately, with the political left blaming the incident on the rhetoric of the right, and the right, correctly in my opinion, pleading innocence.      According to the left, the onus fell upon Sarah Palin and her “gunsight” icon, which targeted several Democratic Congressional Districts, including Rep. Gifford's. Much is made of the supposed “fact” that such rhetoric is becoming worse, with the result that the popular culture is becoming more violent.      A few examples from the past indicate that there is nothing new about repugnant speech against political opponents:      During the John Quincy Adams vs. Andrew Jackson presidential campaign, Jackson claimed that Adams used public money to buy “gambling devices.” As a ...

     President Obama's bipartisan commission on deficit reduction has released a draft of some of the things the full panel is considering. The final report is due December 1st, but members of the panel are not sure that they will be able to agree on provisions of the magnitude of those in the draft by that time. In any event, if Congress were to vote on the full proposal (which is doubtful), the vote would be non-binding.      The commission is apparently doing a good job, because there is plenty for everyone, regardless of ideology, to hate.      Liberals positively loathe the idea of cutting back on the (usually) annual COLA adjustment for Social Security recipients, raising the retirement age to 69 by the year 2075, and making a larger portion of Social Security benefits subject to Federal Income Tax. For example, the President of the AFL-CIO commented, "The chairmen of the deficit commission just told working Americans t...