Category: Opinion

Cultural, political, and philosophical ideas

Opinion

Beautiful Paris

As a two time visitor to Paris, France I came to feel that the greatness of the city lay in it’s people and their love of freedom. The magnificent cathedrals, castles, and museums were a manifestation of the people and their spirit. Norte Dame may have suffered fire today, but it will rise from the ashes and exemplify the triumph of the spirit. Paris was a major site of the great debate over the meaning of life in the Catholic Church centuries ago. Before there was a renaissance this debate between future Saints like Thomas Aquinas, Francis of Assisi, and Bonaventure was over the question of why we exist. The result was a generally accepted belief that we live to enjoy this life, and not suffer as we wait for a better existence after death (see the book “Aristotle’s Children by Richard E. Rubinstein for more information). Paris and Norte Dame represent the ideas that human love, creativity, and freedom are to be cherished as we strive to be worthy of our creator.

Opinion

Guarding the economy

Today it seems that the creep of politics and greater corruption is targeting the Fed, stock markets, and potentially the world economy. Citizens must press our representatives to defend the truth and our institutions. Political hacks, and alternative reality types cannot be allowed on the Federal Reserve Board, and tax breaks should not continue to be used to pump up stock values. We must demand honesty, expertise, and truth from our officials and leaders.

Opinion, Words to ponder

What is the Attorney General’s job?

Is the Attorney General of the United States supposed to uphold our laws through the use of facts, or is he supposed to protect his boss the president? The President is the head of the executive branch or our government, and the Department of Justice is a part of the executive branch. Traditionally Attorneys General have been the lawyer for the citizens and constitution of the United States. Under Donald Trump there has been a clear push to change the office into a subordinate tool of the President to do whatever he or she feels needs to legally be done. The result is that the law would mean whatever the President says it means. This would put the president above the law, and make our republic more of a dictatorship. Is this what we want?

Opinion, Self improvement

The Stock Market keeps climbing

We are all happy that our economy continues to be strong. People are finding jobs, careers, funding retirements, and hopefully enjoying life. Many have claimed a recession is coming, but fortunately we are not in one. Analysts are concerned that more individual investors have pulled out of equities than put funds into them, and wonder if the market can continue to climb. Many of us look at what is going on and say that markets cannot continue an upward trend with so much apparent political and economic chaos. We all should remember that markets reflect more than Main Street or the typical person’s views. I have heard (and believe) that we should; stay positive, maintain a diverse portfolio, avoid debt, and keep a liquid emergency fund.

Opinion

Time for Taxes

It is time for President Trump to reveal his tax returns for the last several years. Presidential candidates have been sharing this data for over 40 years without having to be forced to do so. Trump has suffered from many accusations of being bought by both foreign entities, and committing crimes for money. He has not directly addressed the issues, but has put up a lot of excuses and misinformation. America continues to be a great country in large part because our systems adhere to the truth more than other societies. It is time for more facts and truth when it comes to president #45.

Opinion

What is the Republican health care plan?

The 45th president has raised the issue of destroying the Affordable Healthcare Act (ACA) also known as Obamacare. For the last decade Republicans have talked about repealing and replacing Obamacare, but they have never shared their plan for replacing Obamacare. The repeal part of their plan has been attempted numerous times and was barely defeated most recently. It is frightening that a major political party would be reckless enough to take away healthcare rights (from those with pre-existing conditions) without any plan to protect those citizens. American must focus on issues that impact the majority and demand respect in the 2020 elections.

Opinion

Still waiting for the Mueller report

William Barr has received the Mueller report which is about what happened during the 2016 US elections. William Barr has written a conclusion about the Mueller Report; everyone else is still waiting to find out what the report says. We will hopefully find out the details very soon, but we cannot take seriously pronouncements of innocence when all that we know from the US Department of Justice is a summary written by a man who said he did not believe there should have been an investigation of the president in the first place. There is so much to do and enjoy in our great country. Let’s stay focused on enjoying the blessings of liberty while focused on maintaining them.

Opinion

When was the last time…

When was the last time an American President made repeated personal attacks on a dead American hero or politician? I can’t think of any examples. Why do a large number of people calling themselves Republicans approve of this behavior? Everyone should be concerned when our institutions do not take a stand against abhorrent or criminal behavior. Our republic needs the stability provided by high expectations and accountability for the public behaviors of our leaders and citizens. We cannot allow decency to disappear from the public square, and we must hold those who attack it accountable.

Opinion

Spring is in the air

As we go into this Spring it is nice to savor the season and it’s familiarity. As we experience climate change on our planet it is hard to believe others, but I hope you can trust your own senses and memory. Do there seem to be more more warmer days than you remember? Do natural disasters seem more powerful and/or numerous? Does the road along the coast seem tenuous or have a new bypass? We should all look forward to a brighter future for our posterity, but be active and educate yourself to help make it happen.