Well, here we are, one week after the re-election of President Barack Obama. From almost the beginning of the 2012 Presidential race, Republicans, Tea Partiers, and conservatives of all stripes were confidently told by the likes of Karl Rove and Dick Morris that we had the weakest President since Jimmy Carter, and almost any Republican […]
Liberals do not grasp the distinction between Ronald Reagan and (either) George Bush. This blind spot creates a massive confusion and hazard to their ambitions. Obama defeated neither the Reagan Narrative nor Team Reagan. Team Bush appropriated, and then marginalized, both. Obama beat Team Bush, not Team Reagan. The implications are huge. There was a […]
As the electoral dust settles and Republicans discuss what went wrong and how to improve their appeal, the analysis on the Left has been focusing on how the American electorate is changing – to the benefit of Democrats. It’s a narrative that the Obama campaign has capitalized on through its target marketing efforts, if not explicitly […]
‘Practical Wisdom’ is a book by Barry Schwartz and Kenneth Sharpe that seeks to find out what is missing in modern American life when it comes to ethical, responsible leadership. They lean heavily on Aristotle who used the phrases we are sure all of you have heard lately: Phronesis which means ‘practical wisdom’ which helps us […]
Are central bankers about to embrace the real world? The events at most central banking conclaves are a total, excruciating, bore. The recent gathering of the Federal Reserve’s tribes at Jackson Hole, however, produced an elegant, compelling, presentation by rising star central banker Andy Haldane. Finally, a youth in the banquet hall declaring that the […]
Amendment 18 to the US Constitution was ratified in 1919: liquor was prohibited in the United States. In 1933, only 14 years later, Amendment 18 was repealed by the 21st amendment to the US Constitution. Why? Because of the violence? Because of the cost to society? Because of the death? Fast forward to 2012. Almost […]
There are three bonds on the ballot this election for residents of Huntersville: One called Street Bonds for $17,850,000; one called Public Improvement Bonds for $7,150,000; and one called Parks and Recreation Bonds for $5,000,000. That is a total of $30 million in bonds. Click Here to link to the full description. Spending money on […]
I came across a post a while ago from Dr. Michael Bitzer’s NC-Politics blog, which dealt with the contentious issue of “Sorting Our Polarized Politics.” In light of this week’s rather raucous Presidential debate, I thought it was a pertinent topic for the start of early voting in this year’s State and Federal elections and […]
Planners. You don’t elect them. You likely don’t even know them. They sit at desks in your city and county government buildings. They sit on bureaucratic boards you didn’t elect and you don’t see. Higher up in the echelons are the unelected planners and enforcers in Washington. They are appointed for their political ideology, which […]
In the iconic movie Goldfinger the villain, Auric Goldfinger, pursues a nefarious scheme, code-named “Operation Grand Slam,” to contaminate America’s gold horde at Fort Knox, thereby leveraging the value of his own, uncontaminated, holdings. Bond: Yes, well, I’ve worked out a few statistics of my own. 15 billion dollars in gold bullion weighs 10,500 tons. […]
