Monday, January 25, 2010

The Marine in Seat 8C

I was flying from Palm Springs to San Francisco. I sat down in seat 9B. As I watched passengers embark, I noticed a young guy wearing a baseball cap backwards. There was something unusual about his movement. He sat in 8C. I noticed that a large part of his neck was red and that there was what seemed to be a large scare going under his cap. I thought he must have been in a fire. Ouch……

During the flight, I noticed he had his head down. I peeked between the seats. There was a book on his lap and his eyes were open but he wasn’t reading. Something was going on. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Nick in 04:34:51 | Permalink | No Comments »

Thursday, November 12, 2009

The Death Penalty v. Abortion

A segment of Americans support abortion and are against the death penalty.

How could one justify such a position?  A position where one is against executing individuals who have done exceedingly evil things and have been convicted in the U.S. legal system and yet supports the killing innocent, very young individuals (fetuses) when the mother wants this.  One can’t have seen an ultrasound of a fetus in the second or third trimester of development, with a straight face, and claim that the fetus isn’t a very young living being.

Supporting the death penalty and abortion OR being against the death penalty and abortion are at least consistent positions.

Posted by Nick in 03:02:10 | Permalink | No Comments »

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Top 10 Most Important Citizen Actions

Abraham Lincoln  in his famous   Gettysbuerg Address talked about a democracy as a government  “of, by and for” the people.  This assumed that   the “people” meaning American  citizens were involved.

Unfortunately, most Americans aren’t involved in our democracy.  Too many of us  believe that the responsibilities of a citizen  are to  vote, serve on a jury when summoned and   occasionally  volunteer. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Nick in 01:43:11 | Permalink | No Comments »

Sunday, November 1, 2009

American Express v. Medicare (a.k.a. The Private Sector v. Bureaucracy

You’ve heard about government bureaucracies. You probably also know that many city, state, and federal government agencies are outsourcing many services to the private sector to save cost.

And you’ve no doubt encountered a government bureaucracy from time to time - whether it be the Department of Motor Vehicles, the court system, the IRS, and on and on. So most of us appreciate that most public-sector agencies are slow to provide service, provide mediocre service, are difficult to get hold of, and so on. But just in case you don’t or you need a reminder of how inefficient government is, this blog entry will highlight examples. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Nick in 01:13:01 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Friday, October 30, 2009

“The Pursuit of Happiness, Liberty, and Life”

Sound backwards? The founding fathers would think so. They knew that America’s priorities had to be “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” and in that order as stated in the Constitution. They understood that if the country isn’t safe or is at war (“life), then we couldn’t be truly free (“liberty”). And they understood that if we aren’t free, then we can “pursue our happiness”.

Unfortunately, we have our priorities backwards and it shows. Too many of us care more about our pursuits of happiness, than we do about ensuring the country is strong and thus free.

We spend more time getting on Do Not Call lists than we do communicating with our elected officials. We teach our children how to prove that two triangles are congruent but don’t teach them how to be good citizens. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Nick in 18:31:52 | Permalink | No Comments »

Sunday, June 14, 2009

How To Appreciate

Most of us have things or individuals we appreciate.  It could be a job, one’s eyes, a friend, where one lives or a place in the woods where one finds solitude.

I remember someone telling me that they hoped I appreciated how fortunate I was to be healthy.  I also remembering then asking myself, well how should I appreciate that fact?  Do I say “I’m fortunate to have good health” a few times a day?  Do I write that fact in a Gratitude Journal?

After thinking about this for years, I’ve finally realized that:  the way one appreciates something is to take care of it. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Nick in 02:25:59 | Permalink | No Comments »

Monday, May 11, 2009

Waterboarding and a Civilized Society

Many Americans believe the interrogation technique called “water-boarding” is torture.  And they say that civilized societies don’t torture because harsh interrogation isn’t one of the values of a civilized society.

Whether water-boarding is torture really isn’t the issue.  It is to some and it isn’t to others.  But the statement by those who oppose water-boarding and other aggressive interrogation techniques, that civilized nations don’t do these things is  absolutely wrong.

The fact is civilized societies do whatever they need to do to survive - even when those “things” are “things” the society wouldn’t normally do.  Most societies don’t go around killing others but they do when they are attacked and their survival is at stake. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Nick in 04:17:15 | Permalink | No Comments »

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Mumbai Slaughter and Walmart Stampede- Fingerpointing in the Wrong Direction

The next time you wonder why many of our problems persist, remember the headlines in the aftermath of the recent Mumbai slaughter and Walmart stampede.

In Mumbai the capital of India, Islamic terrorists slaughtered 200 individuals.  The attacks were designed to kill 5,000 mostly “whites” and were indiscriminate - many women and children were killed. The Taj Majal was heavily damaged. The post slaughter headline: Indians Blame Government and Police. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Nick in 16:07:01 | Permalink | No Comments »

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Bulletin - There Are No Human Rights!

We keep hearing about our “rights”.  A right to own a house.  A right to go to college.  A right to get married.  A right to affordable health care.  A right to drive.  A right to own a gun. A right to have a job. A right not to “hurt” when you are being put to death.  And now some in Congress want the NFL to make more of their games available for free - ah yes, the right to watch the sport of your choice.

News flash! There are no basic human rights! Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Nick in 20:32:57 | Permalink | No Comments »

Monday, October 13, 2008

“America Last!”

No bailout, stimulus package, G7 edict, regulation or interest rate cut will get us out of our current economic situation until we fix the underlying problem. What is it?

“Blacks First”, “Republicans First”, “Gays First”, “Unions First”, “Hispanics First”, “Democrats First”, “Trial Lawyers First”, “Public Accountants First” and on and on with “America Last”.

We put our “special interests” above the interests of the country.   Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Nick in 03:14:35 | Permalink | No Comments »