Posts Tagged ‘United States’
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 […]
Sand and stone – NEW YEAR’S
There is a story about two merchants in ancient Persia, Mussah and Nagib. They were traveling together in a caravan and one evening set up camp near a river’s edge. Nagib accidentally fell into the river and Mussah, without hesitation, jumped in and saved his friend. Nagib immediately had his servant carve on the face […]
Finding your way home – CHRISTMAS
Several years ago, I wanted to find more trails for mountain biking near our cabin because they are scarce in Targhee National Forest. I remembered seeing game trails while riding the few available trails and decided to ride game trails and also cross-country to connect trails, creating longer bike trails. But doing this would require […]
Is FDR’s New Deal the answer?
Did President Franklin Roosevelt and his “New Deal” shorten the recovery from the Great Depression? Was government intervention in the economy helpful or hurtful or both? Some economists suggest the government manipulated market forces too much and actually prolonged the recovery. President Roosevelt put into effect his recovery plan immediately after his inauguration in 1933, […]
What are blue laws?
The Founding Fathers built our nation with a religious foundation. I believe they wanted religion in government; but did they want government in religion? Let us look at the ‘blue’ laws, created by well-meaning people to enforce moral standards, including keeping Sunday as a day of worship and rest. Most blue laws were passed before […]
God bless America
Is the day coming when we must say “In nothing we trust,” or “So help me nothing,” or “Nothing bless America?” Educators in Woodbury, Vermont cowered to such demands and make students who want to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to do so away from the classroom, so no one can hear the word God. […]
What really happened November 4th?
What really happened on November 4th? Whom did we elect as President? Did we elect a liberal, leftist, socialist President; a gun control President or a welfare President? Maybe we elected an African-American President, a hyphenated President that Theodore Roosevelt expressed displeasure with in a speech in 1915 saying, “There is no room in this […]
The fraud of socialism
Leicester University in England recently ranked Denmark as the happiest country. What is their secret? By their own admission they are a socialist, welfare state providing everything for everyone from birth to death. And they freely, almost proudly admit they pay for it with the highest income taxes in the world. Were we wrong to […]
Socialism or democracy – we choose
Who should pay taxes and how much of their income should they pay in taxes? What is fair? Should everyone pay the same percentage of their income in taxes, or should the percentage increase as their income increases? If everyone paid the same percentage of their income in taxes, the more you earned the more […]
Edward Bushell and the power of juries
Can a citizen exert power over the government? Can a citizen be protected from government enacting bad law? Can a citizen do anything about bad law? Does the jury represent the citizen, the government, the court, or do they represent the Constitution of the United States of America? Does the jury answer to the court […]
Sarah Palin and the feminist movement?
The feminist movement must be rejoicing. After four decades of advocating equality for women, we are witnessing the real possibility of a female Vice-President of the United States. The National Organization for Women (NOW) should be congratulated for the doors they opened for women, the doors opened to equality. Their advocacy for women’s rights started […]
Is military desertion courageous?
Jeremy Hinzman is the most recent military deserter losing his legal battle to stay in Canada. I read his story while visiting our son and daughter-in-law at Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville, NC; home of the Army Special Forces, the Green Beret. There I met men and women who have clarity of thought, a code of […]
The United States – the world’s provider and protector
We consider ourselves a giving, caring country. But how do we compare to other “rich” nations in our willingness to provide foreign aid? The Paris-based Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is a thirty-nation organization that works with countries to develop “open market economies, democratic pluralism, and respect for human rights.” In 2003, OECD […]
We need to return to a citizen government
Our Founding Fathers believed serving as President or in Congress was a duty to country, a sacrifice for country, a calling. They did not anticipate Congress becoming a career choice with members subservient to the power of the incumbency and the money it attracts. Rather, the Founding Fathers intended a weak federal government, subservient to much […]
The power of advertising prescription medications
Traditionally, pharmaceutical advertising has focused on advertisements in medical journals and sending representatives to meet with individual physicians. During the last ten years, their advertising has increased over four-fold and they have also added direct to consumer advertising (DTCA). According to Emergency Medical Abstracts, only the United States and New Zealand allow DTCA. Is there […]
Remembering Pfc. Joseph Dwyer
Our country has a large group of people who hope we never go to war. No, they are not the people disparaging our military; rather, they are our military personnel. Our military is full of reluctant warriors who understand better than anyone the travesty of war. They know the price to be paid; but, unlike […]
“The right of the people to keep and bear arms”
The Second Amendment reads, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” As most of us now know, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled that the Second Amendment right of an individual to “keep […]
“We hold these truths to be self-evident” – July 4th
The birth of a nation, the realization of a dream, an eloquently simple statement: “We hold these truths to be self-evident.” During June and July 1776, the Continental Congress was debating the future of the Colonies. King George III continued his abuse of the Colonies with over a year of armed conflicts between the British […]
Civility in presidential politics
Will civility ever return to presidential campaigns? Is it reasonable to hope for respectful debating? Or, are we obliged to accept the mudslinging as a given in politics? What would our founding fathers think if they were to witness one of today’s presidential campaigns? Would they be impressed or would they be embarrassed? Can we […]
Use as intended and die
Imagine selling a product that kills the consumer if they use it as intended. Then imagine convincing our government to allow it to remain legal. It is a one of a kind product, legal and if used appropriately, lethal. It is cigarettes. We have other products available to us that would kill us if we […]