I really cannot compete with the many recent and excellent TMV posts on this subject. I particularly enjoyed Walter Brasch’s post from yesterday confirming that anyone can guiltlessly embrace the many versions of this ancient holiday to which many cultures, religions, and people have contributed. I appreciate all the religious and secular aspects of Christmas. I feel sorry for those who wish to define it narrowly and exclude all its hopes, excitement, fun, kitsch, mirth and merriment that do...

For several years now, Greece has been presenting on a global stage, a never-ending “Waiting For Godot” comic-tragedy in which there is constant worldwide audience participation despite a complete lack of plot, or any ideas on how to end this story. A Greek default on its international debts may not bring down the global financial system, but it regularly paralyzes governments, bondholders, and stock markets around the world. There are just over 11 million people living in Greece. Their government...

Republican Presidential Candidate Herman Cain is currently fighting off three questionable claims of sexual harassment that allegedly occurred between 10 and 20 years ago. Two of the claims were reported as settled quietly and one was never disclosed until recently and after most applicable time limits on filing lawsuits have run out. From the viewpoint of this writer (TMV’s alleged misogynist as some past commentators have wrongly implied) all I can say is “so what?” Mr. Cain has never been...

That Huffington Post headline was the lead for one of its many celebrity stories that I noticed this morning. I admit to perusing HuffPo a few times a week to give balance to my daily readings of various Internet news blogs. One savvy woman creatively used the free content from many talented writers to make herself a multi-millionaire – beyond what she had achieved through her earlier divorce proceedings. I only wish TMV’s Joe Gandelman didn’t have to do other work to pay his family’s living...

WE DIDN’T LEARN ANYTHING FROM PRIOR REPUBLICAN POLICIES BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T GO FAR ENOUGH Perhaps Republicans have been correct in asserting that the eight years of President George W. Bush didn’t go far enough in enacting conservative policies. The current Republican presidential candidates argue that the nation must take all their proposals to their logical conclusions in order for them to properly work. No more half measures, we should go all the way to the policy extremes advocated...

A progressive Democrat and a conservative Republican were walking together one day on the sidewalk alongside a busy downtown street. They were arguing about various public policies, what to do about the growing number of unemployed Americans, and whether President Obama was partially or fully to blame for the current economy. Then they stopped and observed the following: An unemployed man was standing in the middle of the sidewalk asking for work. His months of endless Internet applications, job...

SCHEDULE AN OVAL OFFICE ADDRESS AND IGNORE CONGRESS President Obama should ignore Congress and make an Oval Office Speech directly to the nation at a time when there are no major television conflicts. What’s so important about a speech before a joint session of Congress when the majority of its members probably don’t want to listen to him anyway? The President and his advisors should look over the scheduled professional and college sports calendars, popular television programming, and pending...

As I promised TMV readers earlier today, I would feature other bloggers from around the Internet while I am suffering from “writer’s block.” Another reason for reprinting or quoting other writers is that they have written succinctly what I may have already thought and started to write into a TMV post that was abandoned. Alternatively, even if I do not fully agree with them, they have presented such good arguments that they deserve to be featured in a blog dedicated to the moderate, intelligent,...

There is an excellent business/economics blog that has a “big-picture” outlook. It’s called “Jesse’s Café Américain.” (JCA) The author has numerous interests and he is a professional trader in stocks, bonds, gold, and silver. However he is not beholden to the corrupt status quo of global capitalism. He posts at least daily and he writes in a very objective, knowledgeable, succinct and clear manner. I strongly recommend that TMV readers save JCA’s address: http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/ JCA...

As I promised TMV readers (to the possible chagrin of TMV editors) this is another authorized reprint of someone else’s excellent work who writes on the blog “Of Two Minds.” I have reprinted other opinions written by Mr. Smith in prior posts at TMV. Mr. Smith admitted recently that he’s taking a hiatus from writing – also due to burnout and other pressing business. Luckily for me, he has included some of the ideas I have been writing about for the past 2 years in TMV plus several new...

I haven’t posted on TMV for a while due to various personal and business factors. I’ve sort of burnt out my brain with the overall inanity of our public discourse. However I still read Internet blogs of many other writers. A friend from Cleveland, OH sent me an email recently and I thought it was rather humorous and sad at the same time. I have reprinted it below (including extra comments from others) since it’s probably now in the public domain having been emailed around the Internet...

The recently passed and signed legislation – increasing the debt limit and outlining various complex procedures for future spending reductions – severely limits the federal government’s ability to initiate new spending programs, raise taxes, or take any active role in the economy. The Federal Reserve is also constrained in its ability to address high unemployment because all of its prior monetary expansion programs have not worked as hoped. LIMITED OPTIONS Most progressives, liberals, Democrats...

The long-awaited and controversial legislation raising the U.S. debt limit in two stages and providing for certain immediate and future spending reductions is also unconstitutional in part. This bill was passed on August 1st (Monday) by the U.S. House of Representatives. It will likely be approved by the U.S. Senate and signed by the President on Tuesday, August 2nd – just before a Federal “default” deadline at midnight. This compromise legislation has been vociferously criticized by many...

The federal fiscal year runs from October 1st through September 30th. The current fiscal year 2010-2011 was a product of congressional compromise four months ago that was passed with Tea Party support. Congress already approved federal borrowing that would exceed the current debt limit. There are only two months left before this fiscal year ends and another fiscal year begins for which there is no budget in place. Debating all federal spending and taxing policies should be part of the annual budget...

INTRODUCTION Charles Hugh Smith put up another two-part analysis on his website “Of Two Minds” (http://www.oftwominds.com/blog.html) concerning why U.S. Small businesses are not hiring and will likely not be hiring in the future. The phrase “structural unemployment” is sometimes used in misleading ways in many opinion pieces around the Media. Some writers use “structural” as in there are too many workers not trained for the jobs available, or that technology has replaced them in great...

Our political and economic systems are de-legitimizing themselves before our very eyes through massive fraud, manipulation, and pervasive governmental intervention on behalf of a small number of citizens and corporations. These current public policies intend to prop up bankrupt corporate entities, bloated bureaucracies, and endless narcissistic speculation on a global scale. These observations are shared by a number of savvy and prescient bloggers outside the mainstream Media, Internet and propaganda...

Three years ago on June 22nd, American comedian, social critic, actor and author George Carlin died at the age of 71 from heart failure at a Santa Monica, CA hospital. He had a wickedly twisted yet objective take on life, politics, religion, and the English language. He understood the darker side of human nature and was always ready to explain life to his audiences from his uniquely critical perspective. Carlin’s humor fell under 3 areas: observational humor, social commentary, and the peculiarities...

A very smart and respected co-blogger on TMV (who happens to live a modest drive from me in Arizona) recently broached the subject of the former Alaska Governor and 2008 Republican Vice-Presidential Candidate. I agree that she’s great at self-promotion . She’s a very successful self-made entrepreneur because she fully understands America’s 24/7 info-entertainment news Media. She knows how to play the mainstream U.S. Press that is clueless on how to value news items in the context of the...

Recent political developments in Washington DC indicate that our elected officials are having very strong second thoughts about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) created in the incredibly weak Dodd-Frank banking reform legislation passed in 2010. Republicans are completely against the new agency’s very existence. President Obama shows no interest in appointing Professor Elizabeth Warren as its new chief even though she has championed the reform measure for several years. He also...

I continue my new series of quoting from and linking to various Internet sites that I consider thoughtful and worth reading. As with TMV, these sites honestly attempt to be informative, moderate, and overall non-ideological. Dave Cohen of Pittsburgh, PA posted today on his blog “The Decline of the Empire” (www.declineoftheempire.com) the following analysis: Politics Is Irrelevant To America’s Fate Like a rat leaving a sinking ship, Barack Obama’s economic adviser Austan Goolsbee...

I have so far refrained from commenting on the sex and political scandals involving current U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner of New York and former U.S. Senator John Edwards of North Carolina. Some TMV readers might complain that this is an obvious oversight by an allegedly left-leaning blogger overlooking two Democrats. This partisan charge is far from the truth as I have enjoyed many a good sex scandal regardless of the perpetrator’s political views. Besides I never discussed the Republican...

The nation’s economy is stagnant and many think it may tank again. The official high unemployment masks the even higher “unofficial” one most Americans see. The President appears to be out-of-touch with reality and continues to act as a tool of Wall Street. There is low voter approval for the Incumbent and most Democratic policies. With all this news, Republicans should be making plans to take over Washington DC in January 2013. Instead, they are wallowing in self-pity that their...

I wrote a TMV post on 4/22/11 “Who Needs an Education Anymore” wherein I questioned the value of a college education in the 21st Century. Many other people have been thinking along the same lines for even longer, and in greater depth and clarity. An excellent post on this topic was published today by long-time blogger Charles Hugh Smith on his very informative and thought-provoking blog “Of Two Minds.” Below are some selections and TMV readers can follow this link (http://www.oftwominds.com/blog.html)...

Why are there so many poor, unemployed, uneducated and socially dysfunctional people in the U.S. – once the undisputed wealthiest and most advanced nation on earth? The U.S. has a huge number of demoralized, disengaged, and disheartened people. The recent economic news is nothing to celebrate when it may indicate a deeper economic and political crisis to come. On an average or median per capita basis, the U.S. might still rank in the top 10 for income and wealth among developed nations. However,...

Senator Robert F. Kennedy died on this date in 1968 at the age of 42. He was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles the night before. He had just won the California Primary for the Democratic Nomination for President. Coming just two months after the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., this date probably marks the end of true “liberalism” in the United States. In retrospect, the deaths of these two men had a profound impact on our nation’s history. It is an...