Opinion Forum

“Profiling” Is Not a Dirty Word

November 25th, 2010

We tip-toe around it because we have allowed politically correct labels to make it seem to be so.

I recently wrote here about constitutional limitations on the new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) strip and grope procedures. They subject us to the sorts of governmental control the Constitution was intended to prevent and violate Fourth Amendment prohibitions in ways highly up close and personal. Some illumination, albeit indirect, is shed by the Supreme Court’s 1968 decision in Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968), the essence of which is that a search of one’s person must be reasonable and no more intrusive or degrading than the circumstances mandate. Searches shocking to ordinary human sensibilities fail to meet that test.

Confidence Matters in Business

November 24th, 2010

By Dr. Jim Taylor

I define confidence as: “How strongly you believe in your capabilities to learn new skills, perform at a certain level, attain a goal, or achieve your own definition of success. Confidence is the most important psychological contributor to performance in the business world because you may have all of the ability in the world to accomplish a goal, but if you don’t believe you have that ability, you won’t use that ability to its fullest extent in pursuit of success.

Also, confidence impacts every other psychological contributor to performance in business. If you’re confident, you’re going to be motivated, relaxed, focused, and have mostly positive emotions. In contrast, if you lack confidence, you will likely feel unmotivated, stressed, distracted, and experiencing mostly negative emotions.

Confidence is a Skill

The Fed, the QE, and the Ben Bernank

November 23rd, 2010

By Tom Carter

Thanks to Rob at Wind Rose Hotel for finding a great explanation of how the Federal Reserve works, what the Quantitative Easing is, and how the Ben Bernank fits into everything.

After watching the video everyone will finally understand what’s going on. Well, maybe everyone except economists — they’re still trying to figure out how the Humpty Dumpty can be put back together with a huge infusion of tax dollars.

Assassination of a President

November 22nd, 2010

By Tom Carter

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated 47 years ago on November 22, 1963. He was shot to death in a place called Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. Everyone who is old enough remembers that terrible day.

I was a very young soldier. Our commander called us together and told us that the President had been shot and that he was dead. There was a stunned silence. We didn’t know what to think because it was literally an unthinkable tragedy. As young as we were, we knew that American presidents in the modern era aren’t shot down in the streets. It just doesn’t happen.

Real Public Education Reform Starts at Home

November 22nd, 2010

By Dr. Jim Taylor

To his credit, Davis Guggenheim’s new documentary Waiting for Superman has generated real buzz far outside the usual sphere of policy wonks, professional educators, and concerned parents. Unfortunately, to his fault, his film is also a biased, revisionist, and propagandist take on what really ails public education in America, rife with self-serving anecdotes, cherry picking of data, pulling emotional heart strings, and outright distortion of the facts. For example, Mr. Guggenheim makes charter schools the answer to our public education woes despite the fact that only about 17% outperform traditional public schools and only accommodate 3% of the student population. He also makes teachers’ unions the bêtes noires and the fall guys (and gals) for the myriad of problems that have afflicted public education for decades.