Opinion Forum

Dr. Benjamin Carson – Two Inspiring Videos About our Next President?

May 3rd, 2013

Many things are possible between now and 2016. Will Dr. Carson become our next President? I hope so.

This post at Dancing Czars called to my attention an interview with Dr. Carson. It seemed that it might help to pull my spirits out of the pit where they had been trying to survive since last November so I watched.

It did.

Red Lines, Syria and Incompetence

April 30th, 2013

By Dan Miller

Well thought out red lines can be drawn, successfully. Ill conceived red lines can easily make a bad situation much worse. An article from Stratfor is republished following my initial comments.

My initial comments:

Great care needs to be taken to avoid drawing ill defined “red lines” which, if crossed, may result in solutions worse than the problem or in no significant action at all. The Obama Administration appears to have drawn its red line as to the use of chemical weapons in Syria with inadequate thought to the nature of any “something to be done if crossed” that would be viable militarily, economically, politically and with due regard to the probable consequences.

Sitting on the sidelines is not pleasant, particularly for a once mighty but now declining military power. Even when at our strongest, I doubt that we could have taken usefully successful action in the current circumstances.

The Good Guys are Losing. Why?

April 28th, 2013

By Dan Miller

Can’t we just wait for heroes to save us? That’s easy but won’t work.

A fascinating article titled The Good Guys are Not Coming to Save Us was posted on April 23rd at Free-Man’s Perspective. The first paragraph observes,

A lot of Americans know that the US government is out of control. Anyone who has cared enough to study the US Constitution even a little knows this. Still, very few of these people are taking any significant action, and largely because of one error: They are waiting for “the good guys” to show up and fix things.

The article provides much food for thought. Please read it. Continue reading »

Freedom Can Be Taken. When Inherited or Otherwise Given, Does It Last?

April 26th, 2013

By Dan Miller

If taken at great cost, it often lasts for quite a while. If inherited, not that long. If given, it is even more readily perishable.

The United States gained their freedom, by force and at great cost, from those who used military might to prevent them from having it. Even many in the United States who inherited their freedom seem to have forgot how and why those from whom they inherited took it and the costs they bore. Those “given” freedom should know by now that it does not long endure unless cherished and defended, by force if that is the only viable option. Do they realize it? Do they care?

This article did not begin as a pitch for the Rutherford Institute, but I received an e-mail this morning that seemed well worth excerpting here. Continue reading »

How Do We Humans Ever Make Good Decisions?

April 24th, 2013

By Dr. Jim Taylor

It’s a wonder that good decisions are ever made by the species known as Homo Sapiens. The reality is that the cards are stacked against us whenever we are faced with choices, especially when the decisions are of consequence. Think about all of the horrendously bad decisions that have been made in recent history and how obviously bad they look in our rear-view mirrors. The Iraq war, securitizing mortgages, Congress not voting for background checks on gun purchases, another season of The Bachelor, the list goes on. And bad decisions don’t just occur at the highest levels of government or business; rather, everyday folks can make appalling decisions as well, whether getting married to that particular person (50% of marriages end in divorce), wearing those low-cut jeans, buying a Hummer, or going into debt to remodel the kitchen.

The fact is that humans are behind the eight ball from the get-go when it comes to making decisions. Children are wholly ill-equipped for decision making. They lack knowledge, experience, and perspective. Children are myopic, impulsive, and easily persuaded. It doesn’t get much better during adolescence when teenagers are driven by raging hormones, underdeveloped self-identities, and peer and cultural pressure. Continue reading »

Libruls and Progressives vs. Liberals

April 20th, 2013

By Dan Miller

This is a very short post because Pat Condell said what I have tried to say. He said it better and here’s his video.

There is little I can add to this video, beyond (a) that it explains better than I had ever done why I use a word of (I think) my own confection, “librul,” rather than liberal, and (b) it might have mentioned the recent librul reactions to the recent “Boston Massacre.”

Boston Bombing Suspects: Grassroots Militants from Chechnya

April 19th, 2013

By Dan Miller

This is from Stratfor:

Summary

Timothy Albens (C) of the Massachusetts State Police and Boston Police
Commissioner Edward Davis (Center R) in Watertown, Mass., on April 19

The identities of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing — Chechen brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26 — appear tentatively to confirm several of Stratfor’s suspicions. From this profile, the simple nature of the attack, their efforts to rob a convenience store and their lack of an escape plan, we can at least say at this point in time that they were what we refer to as grassroots militants. Despite being amateurs, such militants clearly still pose a significant threat.

Continue reading »

China and North Korea: A Tangled Partnership

April 16th, 2013

By Dan Miller

Do we know what’s happening? Probably not. But historical context may help.

The following article from Stratfor, republished with permission, provides useful historical context for the current situations in Korea and its usual (apparent) ally, China. It spans many centuries.

The Chinese ruling powers are new. Kim Jong-un and his regency are also relatively new. Nevertheless, we probably have better insights into what’s happening at the top in China than we do into what’s happening at the top in North Korea, an informational black hole from which very little light escapes but into which much enters, to be filtered, refracted, reflected and often misunderstood when it gets there. There has been much speculation and I have certainly done at least my fair share.

What Me Worry?: Why Worrying Does More Harm Than Good

April 16th, 2013

By Dr. Jim Taylor

Worry is a natural part of the human condition. It has historically played a vital role in our survival and it helps us cope with many of the challenges we face today. At the same time, worry that is too intense, too frequent, and too unrelenting can definitely cut down on your happiness and enjoyment of life.

We all experience worry. We know that nagging feeling that something is wrong and the persistent anxiety that it produces. But what precisely is worry and why do we worry? Interestingly, thefreedictionary.com notes that “The ancestor of our word, Old English wyrgan, meant ‘to strangle.’ In the 16th century worry began to be used in the sense…‘to assault verbally,’ and in the 17th century the word took on the meaning ‘to bother, distress, or persecute.’ It was a small step from this meaning to the modern definitions ‘to cause to feel anxious or distressed’ and ‘to feel troubled or uneasy.’” Continue reading »

Happy Birthday, Kim Il-sung

April 13th, 2013

By Dan Miller

Well, sorta. Maybe it will be his last, but I wouldn’t count on it.

Kim Il-sung was born (it is written and may even be true) on April 15, 1912.

There are over 500 statues of Kim Il-sung in North Korea. The most prominent are at Kim Il-sung University, Kim Il-sung Stadium, Mansudae Hill, Kim Il-sung Bridge and the Immortal Statue of Kim Il-sung. Some statues have been reported to have been destroyed by explosions or damaged with graffiti by North Korean activists. Yeong Saeng (“eternal life”) monuments have been erected throughout the country, each dedicated to the departed “Eternal Leader”, at which citizens are expected to pay annual tribute on his official birthday or the commemoration of his death. It is also traditional that North Korean newlyweds, immediately after their wedding, go to the nearest statue of Kim Il-sung to lay flowers at his feet. Continue reading »

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