Category: culture
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Income vs Consumption
I found it fascinating to read You Are What You Spend to see how different the economic picture is depending on the way we measure economic position. . . . renewed attention is being given to the gap between the haves and have-nots in America. Most of this debate, however, is focused on the wrong…
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Money – It’s Not Just for Rich People
I have read a number of books on personal finance over the years because good money management is a key to happiness – it’s hard to really be happy when facing an endless mountain of debt. When I read Money – It’s Not Just for Rich People from Janine Bolon at SmartCents there were few…
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Requirements for Voting
After I wrote about the value of caucuses I found an interesting opinion on lowering the voting age. We should hasten the enfranchisement of this generation, born between 1980 and 1995, by lowering the voting age to 16. . . 16-year-olds who want to start voting should be able to obtain an “early voting permit”…
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Polls Are Open
If you are registered and you haven’t yet – do. If you have already – encourage others to vote as well.
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Confusing Parties and Family Values
I have long thought it rather incongruous that the party of the "values voter" (the GOP) was offering all the candidates with horrendous personal histories related to family values while the party favored by those who seem intent on eliminating any traditional definition of family offered candidates with relatively clean personal lives in the family…
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Promote Job Creation
Bob Herbert and I often differ in our views but I really like what he said about economic stimulus as is being discussed in D.C. There is no question that some kind of stimulus package geared to the needs of ordinary Americans is in order. But that won’t begin to solve the fundamental problem. Good…
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Conspiracy of Confusion
Diet is about as far from my normal topics as I can imagine. Part of the reason for this is that I generally follow the world’s simplest diet: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” (Michael Pollan January 28, 2007) I have followed that basic idea for years without knowing anything about Michael Pollan or…
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The Electability Trap
In what is probably the best non-partisan political commentary I’ve read recently, Ron Klain at Campaign Stops (a New York Times blog) writes about the dangers of choosing a candidate based on electability. Whether you are looking for the person you think would be the best president or the person with whom you agree on…
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Case for Absitnence
I was surprised as I read this Op-Ed piece in the New York Times by Caitlin Flanagan. I doubt it was her intent, but I found a very strong argument in favor of abstinence as the preferred attitude toward extra-marital sex. She argues that there is a double standard related to the burdens of teenage…
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Politics and Marriage
I was invited to share my views on political issues relating to marriage and was pointed to DefendMarriage.org as a reference point. I think the issues relating to marriage and the politics surrounding marriage (gay rights and abortion rights are listed in the invitation and states rights are a part of the political discussion as…