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Car Nation

February 4, 2012

ould we exist without the automobile? The question pops into my head every time I stop at the pump, but there is reason for doubting the possibility. One of every ten jobs in the country is manufacturing cars or supplying the manufacturers. Add in the dealers, the repair shops, gas production and distribution and a [...]

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Have A Party

March 19, 2011

Why the Tea Party? Why the absence of civility, what my mother called good manners? It is the inevitable result of our devotion to various boneheaded ideologies. It makes no difference what the ideology is. It’s time we recovered from this childhood disease of devotion to ideologies. The incompetence of our politicians for the past [...]

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Madness

October 11, 2010

Have you ever been angry? Surely you have experienced it at least once. Would you consider that time of anger the optimal time for making consequential decisions? The two definitions of mad often get so close to each other that they actually become entangled. There may be occasions when that serves a purpose but probably [...]

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Know Nothings

August 30, 2010

Simon Johnson last week wrote a piece for the New York Times. His contention is that the fiscal conservatives, Republicans, Blue Dog Democrats and others, cannot, in his words, be taken seriously. I share that sentiment. I also share his fear that they will define the debate. Fiscal Austerity and America’s Future By Simon Johnson [...]

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What Hath BP Wrought?

May 24, 2010

They call it an accident. Either my dictionary is seriously out of date, or they have redefined the word. Despite the attempts to control the flow of information, more keeps leaking out. My apologies for the puns but, in such a dire situation, humor eases the anxiety somewhat. Dire? Yes. First, the leakage was only [...]

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Can We Cut A Few Strings?

March 22, 2010

It happens to everyone. My personal life and other commitments have intruded upon the time I have had to devote to this blog for the past few weeks. There has been an almost constant string of matters hitting me at an accelerated pace. There have been funerals and visiting friends in the hospital. That is [...]

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Heaven And Hell

October 28, 2009

I‘m back from Scotland. The country was heaven. The arrangements left much to be desired. On the Thursday prior to departing on my trip I spoke on the phone with one of the ladies at the agency. I was told that they would be mailing me a cell phone, a GPS and a booklet listing [...]

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Punishing Ourselves

July 28, 2009

Few aspects of our society need more correction than the corrections system. For anyone unfamiliar with how I spend some of my recreational time, I do volunteer work in prisons with those suffering from mental illness. After a decade of such involvement I flatter myself that I have a better understanding of what goes on [...]

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