The American Blog

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.

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 »

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.

1. A friend lost his wallet. He called MediCare to request a replacement Id. He automated voice response system told him his call would be handled by a human within 10 minutes. The woman who answered was pleasant and helpful. “You’ll have your new card in four to six weeks” she said. My friend then called American Express to get a replacement card. They answered quickly. The woman found his record and told him “You’ll have it tomorrow.” Read the rest of this entry »