This is a topic that is not too difficult to figure out.  If ten people pay $50 in taxes, the revenue is equal to $500.  If twenty people pay $30, the revenue is equal to $600.  When taxes are lowered, people have more money to spend and invest, so the economy grows.  When this happens,… [Read More]

Everyone has heard at this point that America needs an energy policy that is comprehensive and can break our dependence on foreign oil.  I completely agree with this idea, but I think that the current energy legislation really won’t do much more than cost everyone a lot of money and reduce business income in an… [Read More]

I believe that it is pretty much in evidence that the majority of Mexican immigrants into the U.S. simply want access to the opportunities and advantages afforded by our economic system.  The vast majority really don’t cause any problems and certainly contribute to our economy.  The problem is with the illegality of their entry into… [Read More]

Social security, medicare, and medicaid are good, valuable programs but should be organized, funded, administered and overseen principally at the state level, not by the federal government.  This would almost certainly significantly improve the quality and responsiveness of the programs, but also allow for a more flexible, modifiable approach that molds the programs to more… [Read More]

It certainly seems at this point that our congress has lost sight of the simple fact that it is our congress.  The legislative process was designed by the people who drafted and ratified the constitution as a means of better serving the people of the United States, not as a vehicle for perpetual re-election or… [Read More]

Though things may seem dismal and the idea of America as a land of opportunity may seem like a distant memory, nothing could be further from the truth.  For all of the young people taking the time to read this site (and perhaps those not so young), remember that while you may be subjected to… [Read More]

  Dear Mr. President, As you are certainly aware, race relations in the United States have deteriorated significantly in recent years.  Much of this has to do with highly-publicized shootings of African American citizens or equally highly-publicized deaths of African American suspects in custody or during arrest.  While this is certainly a topic of great… [Read More]

Much has been written about the disastrous consequences of running a huge deficit and printing money to “pay” for it.  The Federal Reserve Bank has far too much power in manipulating the money supply and interest rates and often attempts to fix problems with artificial measures.  This generally accomplishes nothing and only creates bigger problems. … [Read More]

The president’s healthcare legislation will do nothing to improve healthcare delivery or affordability in this country.  The exchange concept is fraught with administrative costs and inefficiencies and will create an unworkable leviathan where the best system in the world–by far–currently exists.  I would urge you to read the Council of Economic Advisors report that led… [Read More]

IN OUR OWN BEST INTEREST (07/2014) Recent events in Ukraine which, without question, have their origin in President Vladimir Putin’s Russia, have caused shock and disbelief throughout the world.  No apology or demonstration of remorse has been forthcoming from the dictatorial regime, and none can be expected.  This is a leader who is in total… [Read More]

  SO ENDETH THE ACQUISITION OF KNOWLEDGE (written 06/2014, published Marietta Times) An era in Marietta, Ohio is coming to a close as The Barking Dog bookstore closes its doors this summer.  While there are any number of sources of literature on the internet, there is no literary experience as broadening as browsing in a… [Read More]

The sequential rearrangement corollary to the time dilation postulate of general relativity as regards the occurrence of untoward events. (originally written 05/2014) We all know that while time and the duration of events is relative to the observer, time, the duration of events and the sequence of events is really relative to the observer.  Especially… [Read More]

Vladimir Putin’s recent invasion of the Crimean peninsula and the March 8 move into Kherson Oblast to establish control of land access into Crimea bring back unpleasant memories.  The obvious threat of extension of this latest Russian military incursion from Crimea into Eastern Ukraine is undeniable.  Having served the entirety of my Marine Corps career… [Read More]

The great Prussian military strategist Carl von Clausewitz once famously remarked that “War is the continuation of Politik by other means.”  We now stand at a point in our history when it might be better to consider that war is, in reality, the course of action that is pursued when diplomacy fails.  War, in my… [Read More]

It is with deep regret that I am currently witnessing the ongoing policy debate with regard to Syria and the use of force by the United States as an answer to a recent chemical weapons attack on the Syrian people.  There are a number of points that have not been elucidated by the president, congressional… [Read More]

The evenings have begun to grow cooler now, as the arrival of fall is imminent.  The false optimism once associated with the much-touted “Arab Spring” in the Middle East has given way to more realistic appraisals as the true nature of various “freedom fighters” is becoming abundantly apparent.  Who are the good guys and who… [Read More]