In 2009, 43.6 million people were counted as poor in the United States. The poverty rate — i.e., the percent of the population considered poor under the official definition — was reported at 14.3% in 2009. That is one out of every seven persons in the U.S. being counted as poor. (I wonder how those […]
Poverty is a terrible thing and, in many cases, avoidable and unnecessary. Especially in the United States. What puts & keeps people in poverty? Without going into a huge discussion, I think the causes can be grouped into two, broad categories: environmental circumstances and personal choices. (By “environmental”, I do not mean ecological; rather, I’m […]
I like George Clooney… sometimes. I liked his character on ER. His movies have been hit-n-miss, though, and there’s not much difference between a lot of the characters he plays. What I mean is, the characters may be different, but his acting range is… narrow. Still, he seems like an intelligent and affable guy. Perhaps […]
Who is “The Man,” anyway? I don’t know if the term is really used that much, anymore. But, my understanding was that it usually referred to groups & individuals of authority — those in power and influence. It could be the government, some big corporation, “the Law” (i.e., cops, courts, the legal system in general). […]
The following is a real letter, authenticated by Snopes, that began circulating online about Aug./Sep. 2009. (I’ve added the pics.) Mr. Guthrie, a senior partner at a law firm in Charlotte, NC, voices what a lot of us are feeling…. ===== “Dear Ms. Pelosi: I write to you out of utter disdain! You are as […]
Consider this a “bookend” post, following up on some of the sentiments from my series on Jews and Liberalism — particularly the “Jewish Freedom and the Free Market” post of the other day. It comes primarily from the final ‘Parting Thoughts’ chapter of economist John R. Lott, Jr.’s book Freedomnomics: Why the Free Market Works […]
Over the past several weeks, I have intermittently been posting and commenting on excerpts from a book I happened upon at the library — Why Jews Should NOT Be Liberals (2001, rev. 2006) by Larry F. Sternberg. Sternberg examines the “doctrines”, programs, & policies of modern liberalism (in American politics) and compares them with the […]
In today’s excerpt from Why Jews Should NOT Be Liberals (2001, rev. 2006), Larry Sternberg returns to the issue of free market capitalism, its benefits, and what part a good Jew should play in the system…. Most observers of American politics would agree that between the two competing political doctrines of liberalism and conservatism, when […]
We knew it was inevitable, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has dusted off the DISCLOSE Act for a vote. But first, let me review for a moment…. Unless you’re a new reader/visitor, you probably remember that I wrote about this Act back in June/July. (Here, here, here.) DISCLOSE is a terrible piece of […]
In the preceding post, some of the final comments by Larry Sternberg were about the potential loss of certain civil liberties under the Patriot Act. In that vein, I just had to post this additional bit I also read recently. It’s by another Jew, writer/journalist/commentator Bernard Goldberg, who was remarking on this point in regards […]
