Is America a Bad Place to Work? Recently I encountered a study by an organization called Oxfam Research. That study: Where Hard Work Doesn’t Pay Off. As defined in Wikipedia, Oxfam was founded in 1942 as a confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations, centered in Oxford England. focusing on alleviating global poverty and led by Oxfam International. There is an American affiliate. I thought the study would be worthy of a deep dive. As the proverbial “big dog,” we can expect operations to take off after us. It did not take long to discern the orientation of this 39-page study – attacking America. After lauding the American economy by size, the authors made this statement, “Despite a powerful economy, one that largely drives the global economy forward, the United States does little to share revenue with workers and does even less to ensure workers are safe and protected while on the job. These are political choices, not inevitabilities.” The introduction then launches into a tirade against the United States seemingly written by the… Read More

There are certain emotions that will either eat you alive or cause a boomerang effect on you from the actions you take. There has been a hatred manifested throughout this country that is eating at our core and will cause repercussions that may severely affect all of us for a long, long time. A local prosecutor charged the former President of the United States and eighteen others with a RICO statute violation. Most people are confused why a local prosecutor has jurisdiction to make these charges regarding a statewide election. She insisted on two things: a mug shot and bail. Her actions may make her a heroine to the Left, but they brought our democracy to a new low. Did she ask herself whether mug shots were really necessary? Did they not know what “the guy” and others charged looked like? Doesn’t the entire world know what “the guy” looks like? Did she think “the guy” was going to go on the lam? Before we go further, let’s dispel the inane and childish slogan that is currently en vogue with Trump haters – “No one is above the law.” Yes, some are. There have always been people above the law since we have had laws. A mob can enter a… Read More

Note: My column last week was intended to show the implausibility of the argument Mr. Biden makes that he was not involved in the business of his son. In fact, anyone who does not believe that Joe Biden was the focal point of the money scheme must also believe in the Tooth Fairy and Loch Ness Monster. While packing for our recent trip to London, I went to our unread bookshelf – the place where we track acquired but not yet read books. I spotted The Intimidation Game written by Kimberly Strassel. Since we will be seeing Ms. Strassel in September as she releases a new book, I thought it a suitable time to read this one. Given that it is a public policy book from 2016, I thought it might be dated. It is completely relevant to today. The concept of the book is that the Left is using various means to suppress free speech and using the government as the means to do so. A substantial portion of the book deals with the three-plus year attack on the formation of perfectly legal entities that would be used to organize people to express their rights of free speech against their government and its elected representatives. This… Read More

I have been taken aback with the chorus of my fellow Republicans who have questioned the word of President Joe Biden regarding his involvement in his son’s business dealings. Mr. Biden was obviously busy with other matters, as you can only expect from a man of his stature. So why would we question his involvement? Why would any committed American question Biden standing by his son? We are a society based on the strength and support of family. Just because people no longer believe marriage is important; children are borne out of wedlock in record numbers; and 25% of Americans have not been married by the age of 40, why would anyone question Biden’s commitment to family? The fact that the political party Biden leads supports the policies that create these conditions should not be interpreted that Mr. Biden would endorse any of these policies in his personal life. On the other hand, as Harold Meyerson at the American Prospect stated in his July 25, 2023, column “Biden is the only one there who’s pro-choice, pro-sick leave, pro-affordable childcare, pro-tuition-free community college.” We could include a few other free things Biden is… Read More

Walter Williams sadly left us in December 2020. Like his very close friend, Thomas Sowell, he was an economist who would have had a Nobel Prize were it not for the prejudice against black conservatives. Both were/are brilliant teachers who educated us through their writing. Walter Williams authored twelve books, all worthy of your time. In 2011, he published Race and Economics: How Much Can Be Blamed on Discrimination? Williams wrote in this book on a topic that I thought I knew well until he enlightened me. As a Professor of Economics at George Mason University, Mr. Williams was first and foremost an educator. He had the gift of communicating complex matters in understandable terms. Professor Williams addressed the issue of American slaves learning skills. He writes about how slaves were often taught skills such as carpentry, blacksmithing, and farming by their masters. He tells detailed stories of individuals who learned these trades. He does not minimize the fact they were slaves, but he points out how some were able to improve their existence. They were obviously capable individuals and not how they were often portrayed as unintelligent beings… Read More

The Left has gone after members of the U.S. Supreme Court on drummed up ethics charges. Whether the Justices have violated any ethics rules (which they have all denied in specificity as to their filings and their actions) is in the eye of the beholder. What we want to explore is how people in public office make significant income from book sale advances and then book sales. The issue recently exploded because of an Associated Press (AP) story that focused on the left leaning Justice Sonia Sotomayor. The big issue regarding Justice Sotomayor was how she milked sales through her speeches. Instead of receiving speaking fees at her favorite “nonprofit” or university, the speech sponsor would buy hundreds of her books to be distributed to the guests at the events. The left-of-center press actually picked up this story. The conflict’s focus delineated by the AP is that Sotomayor used her Supreme Court staff to arrange the sales. The AP pointed out that this use of staff is illegal (unethical) for people in Congress or the Executive Branch. What the AP does not point out is that Congressional members just kick this function to their campaign committees.… Read More

We have been searching for a place to focus our charitable efforts. For more than 30 years, most of our giving went to our synagogue. Sadly, we were compelled to leave after two left-wing Rabbis were more interested in being community organizers than teaching the Torah. We have been giving to Prager U, StandWithUs, The Red Cross, and Veterans’ groups, but the Beautiful Wife wanted a new focus. She identified a locally based charity with whom she felt comfortable focusing her efforts. They would be lucky to have her. She was previously given the Young Leadership Award for the Jewish Federation’s Women’s Division; is a past president of both NAWBO-LA (National Assn. of Women Business Owners, Los Angeles) and the Organization of Women Executives (OWE). She can sell ice to an Eskimo. She would be a real addition to any charity. Additionally, charities need three things: donors, doers, and door openers. She fits all three. She was doing the ceremonial dance with the charity when we were invited to their annual gala with a hefty price tag. Because of the orientation of many groups today, I wanted to do a deep dive into their activities before we… Read More

For my entire life, I have loved this nation and had complete confidence that we will always overcome obstacles and strive to do better. After all, our founders structured a nation that provides that platform. The 2024 election that we are potentially facing is both demoralizing and has me questioning our sanity. Let me start by saying we are still six months from the counting of the first votes. All these polls you see are hogwash. Who cares? National polls at this point mean nothing except to the radio and TV talking heads who cannot focus on more important matters. Yet, there is a discussion about an election next November between Trump and Biden, and I cannot think of anything much more depressing. We haven’t learned from the past eight years this is poison for our country?

If you watched Fox News anchor Bret Baier’s two-day interview with of Trump, you have to wonder why anyone supports this person — especially when there are so many qualified candidates committed to carry forth the policies so loved from his time as president. They will do it without all this noise. It is not just the clear-cut narcissism and… Read More