Government
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July 28, 2018
Apple, Elegant Design, and Legislation
Originally published 9/20/2013 · republished 2018
Originally published 9/20/2013 as “Apple, Elegant Design, and the Affordable Care Act” There is an inspiring and exciting, at least to folks like me, Marco…
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July 18, 2016
Carrying the Mail (9/29/2010)
Originally published 9/29/2010 · republished 2016
My maternal grandfather, Oscar Shelley, a rural mail carrier for 33 years, 1927 to 1960, wore out a new Chevrolet every two years on Route…
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August 15, 2016
Christian Walls and Bridges (February 22, 2016)
Originally published February 22, 2016
“The attractive nuisance doctrine applies to the law of torts in the United States. It states that a landowner may be held liable for injuries to…
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July 12, 2016
City Sidewalk Management and Bicycle Crashes
Sunday afternoon about four o’clock I took a pretty bad crash when the front wheel of my recumbent bike went into the open space under…
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July 29, 2018
I Liked and Like Ike
Published first a few years ago in an earlier blog. Dwight David (Ike) Eisenhower was the president of my youth, age 10 to 18 approximately,…
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July 28, 2018
Excessive Presidential Power Not to Our Advantage
Originally published May 20, 2013 · republished 2018
This was originally posted May 20, 2013 under a different title in response to the worshipful attitude many citizens seemed to have toward President Obama.…
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July 1, 2016
FDR and Granny’s Outhouse (12/22/2014)
Originally published 12/22/2014 · republished 2016
My grandparents, Oscar and Ezalee, Hobart and Bessie, were born in 1895, 1895, 1897, and 1898 respectively. Their children, three sisters in the first case…
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December 9, 2024
Federal Government Power
The fundamental issue that divides “conservatives” from “liberals” in the United States is size of the federal government. The pure conservative believes that it should…
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August 7, 2016
Feral Cats, Hardwood Floors, Guns, or Butter (6/12/2011)
Originally published 6/12/2011 · republished 2016
The classic “guns or butter” dilemma concerning use of federal tax revenues (and borrowed money) suggests a choice between spending on national defense or welfare.…
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October 1, 2016
Government Dairy Products, Inc. (11/7/2010)
Originally published 11/7/2010 · republished 2016
One of the things I remember about grammar school days (1950’s) was how good a slice of white bread smeared with butter tasted in the…
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July 27, 2018
Harry Truman, Humble Public Servant
If you are of my general age, you are going to love “Harry Truman’s Excellent Adventure” by Matthew Algeo. If you are a lot younger…
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August 6, 2017
Irrational Government Meddling: Stop It!
There are at least five good reasons government should not meddle in the affairs of private free enterprise.
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June 25, 2016
KRM’s (Key Result Measures) and Improvement Plan for the USA (Revised 5/15/2015 Post)
Originally published 5/15/2015 · republished 2016
We are heavily entangled with, both supporting and depending on, two very large entities that we hope and pray are too large to fail. Unfortunately,…
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July 2, 2016
Living in an Imperfect World
An updated 5/21/2011 post. In a perfect world, there wouldn’t be any need for government spending on either national defense or social benefits. Nations would…
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June 17, 2016
Math Matters…In Federal Financial Strategies
(Based on an 8/21/2011 post – Edited and data updated to 2015 in this post) August 21, 2011, I wrote a post making some fun…
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June 16, 2016
National Debt a Moral Issue
Some folks like the idea of a smaller and less intrusive government, lots of dynamic and competitive private business activity, and individual citizens making choices…
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August 7, 2016
No Satisfaction? (1/4/2013)
Originally published 1/4/2013 · republished 2016
I thought of the Rolling Stones song in connection with my probably developing reputation as a permanent malcontent, never happy with the way things are,…
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August 7, 2016
Quality, System Dynamics, Romney, Trump, and Clinton
Originally published 8/25/2012 · republished 2016
Originally Posted 8/25/2012 – Additional Introduction Added 8/7/2016) Below is a post I did during the last presidential campaign explaining why I supported Mr. Romney…
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July 10, 2016
Saving Congress…and Ourselves (12/21/2014)
Originally published 12/21/2014 · republished 2016
Be careful with the following sentence about the original intent of our founders. It is the longest I have ever written. I’m dividing it up…
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July 10, 2016
Sewage, Social Security, and Slush Funds (4/8/2015; Updated 7/10/2016)
Originally published 4/8/2015 · republished 2016
In an ongoing controversy, the City of Columbia, SC, is being sued for misappropriation of water and sewer revenues. The accusation is that diversion of…
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December 19, 2016
Skeptical of Government?
The December 4th Charleston SC Post and Courier included a rather lengthy story, by David Slade (Facebook), describing mismanagement of state employee pension funds over…
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July 5, 2016
Socialism Not All or Always Bad (11/2/2009)
Originally published 11/2/2009 · republished 2016
A much higher degree of socialism than we have in The United States works well under certain circumstances. It seems to have worked among at…
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October 11, 2016
The Birth and Failure of “Obamacare”
The post below was written during the negotiations leading up to the March, 2010, passage of the Affordable Care Act. Passage of the proposed legislation,…
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June 24, 2016
Troops or Teachers (Updated: Originally Posted 11/30/2012)
Originally published 11/30/2012 · republished 2016
Facebook is an excellent tool for, among other things, propagation of preposterous propositions. Just a few days ago I saw one of those little memes…
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November 18, 2016
Unhappy? Follow Leonard Pitts’ Recommendations
I seldom agree with Leonard Pitts, but today he has a good suggestion. He is very upset about the election of Donald Trump and lists…
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August 22, 2023
Vital Signs
Having been facing some medical issues for the past couple of years, I am very familiar with the declaration, “I’m going to check your vitals.”…
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October 5, 2024
Vital Signs Updated
Two years ago I posted what I considered Vital Signs for the long term economic health of the US. It focused on total outgo vs.…
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June 16, 2016
War On Poverty in America Lost
Poverty is a problem in America. I’ve seen it in volunteer work and in the faces of people on the streets. With Home Works of…
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February 20, 2025
When Nothing Matters, Everything Matters
A fundamental problem facing the United States of America is that our federal government is irresponsibly spending about ten trillion dollars per year…
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October 23, 2016
You Didn’t Create That Job!
A NYT lead editorial, The Myth of Job Creation, published during the 2012 presidential campaigns, tried to make the case that both Governor Romney and President Obama erred…
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