You know you are truly on vacation when you are walking around with nothing in your pockets.

Americans are not known for their cuisine. French, Italian, Mexican or Chinese yes, but American no. But we did give the world one iconic dish that is more ubiquitous than even pizza. That is a hamburger and French fries. Not only are there McDonald’s and Burger Kings everywhere, but you can also go to the most remote place and find the meal on the menu. Assuredly, Americans are not the only ones eating this fabulous meal. It is best to add cheese, check first in other countries because they certainly don’t have American cheese.

At the excellent Qatar airport (and excellent airline), we were awaiting another flight. The country has created some controversy for treatment of its foreign workers building stadiums for the 2022 World Cup.

We encountered workers from all over the world at the airport, but not one was from Qatar. It was a virtual United Nations as we spoke to employees from far flung locales. Whether they were from Nepal, Bangladesh or Kenya, they all spoke English clearly. Only in the United States is it not a requirement to speak clear English to get… Read More

We are in the middle of the largest deception in my memory. Government at all levels, local, state, and federal, literally put millions of people out of work with an unnecessary “shelter in place” order, costing families in need thousands of dollars in lost income. The apologists for big government claimed it was for our health and protection. I don’t think so, but that is irrelevant at this point. Those who worked for the government did not lose one dime in income, but small businesses and their employees were pushed to the brink of bankruptcy.

Knowing that they tested the patience of the populace, the federal government stepped up with three “stimulus packages,” paid for with borrowed money, with (relatively) small portions of this money being paid out in payments to taxpayers. I say relatively small because the total of the payments to taxpayers was about $3,000.00 per taxpayer. That after losing nearly triple that in income from the shutdown, or, in some cases, losing all their income because their business closed down. Add to that the additional insult of continuing to have to pay the taxes, in many cases, in excess of the… Read More

Really? Climate refugees? Normally, it takes fleeing regimes that impose economic hardship, religious turmoil or political unrest to qualify a foreigner for refugee status in the United States. Incidentally, the policy has proven in the past to be a fairly tough standard to meet.

Now, global obsession with the weather has lead to the U.S. to consider adding a new breed of expatriates: climate refugees. And, of course, recognizing the allegedly poor or worsening conditions surrounding these victims of policy-making in their home countries – involving carbon emissions and sea-level rise – many in the U.S. think the new test is okay.

Previously, “refugee” was defined under the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) as a person outside the country of his or her nationality, “who is unable or unwilling to return to that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution based on his or her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.”

Under what Biden is now contemplating, however, the definition could include anyone. The amendment goes something like this: the (donor)… Read More

The saying is actually “Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics. “It was popularized in the United States by Mark Twain; the originator is in question. As you are aware the Democrats characterized almost everything President Trump said as a lie. The Washington Post stated there were 30,573 lies or misstatements during his term of office. Yet, times have changed, and we have a new president. How is he doing on the lying scale?

In their quest to defame President Trump, WAPO nitpicked everything he said. I read the list when it was mere 1,000 and I thought they were joking. Virtually none of the statements were of a serious public policy nature and many were repetitive. If you care to you can call them lies, but they were not damned lies. That is where we come to President Biden, who not only tells lies, but damned lies.

We are not talking about his claim of his wasteful bill mischaracterized as infrastructure generating 19 million new jobs. This falls under the third part of the saying – statistics. Even the MSM shot down that claim immediately because it was grossly foolish and inaccurate. Why Biden and his minions tried to foist this charade on us brings into… Read More

In The Republic, Plato described what he thought was the perfect society. In it, he believed that a society runs best when it is governed by the “philosopher king,” that is, someone with the knowledge necessary to address the problems of society, and the ability to operate the government. The rest of us are to follow, and society is in harmony when we just do what we’re told by this “all knowing” ruler. For thousands of years, brutal dictatorships have been justified by this philosophy of governance. Whether the rulers believed they had a “divine right” or were endowed with “special knowledge,” they believed they were put in charge of the government because of that special relationship with God or knowledge. They believed they had power because they were in the best position to exercise that power, and those of us who disagreed were dealt with harshly, because we were going against God’s will or accepted science.

During the Reformation period of Western Civilization, a doctrine arose in the legal and political firmament of the time called the “doctrine of lesser magistrates.” Simply stated, it… Read More

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” That is from the Declaration of Independence and along with the Constitution that has defined our rights for almost 250 years. In their efforts to avoid the word Socialism which is what they want, the Left has spoken of Rights we have that they wish to confer to us in their march toward Socialism in America.

Heath Care – The single most significant way the Socialists want to expand their brand is through health care. They have made clear they believe health care is a Right; not something the public can obtain toward their own benefit. They have worked for years placing restrictions on the private companies providing health insurance with Obamacare making it even more restrictive. They give their plans nice sounding names like Medicare for All or the Public Option – both of wish are attempts to crush private health insurance… Read More

While preparing for my vacation I went to the shelves where the unread books are kept. I dug through the books to pick out the ones that would be best suited for the trip. I came across the book Pale Rider by Laura Spinney which is about the Spanish Flu of 1918. I thought that this would be an excellent time to read this one as I could probably learn something about what we have been going through the last year. It took just 25 pages to become enlightened.

If you listen to our friends, the Democrats, they would have you believe that our current pandemic changed everything, and we should simply adapt to a “new normal” reality. That is their overarching argument for their two humongous spending bills and policy proposals – specifically HR1 which wants to nationalize our election laws – along with chucking the Senate filibuster. The other point they make is we should follow the science as Dr. Fauci makes his continued undefined explanations for further restrictions and more mask wearing.

Spinney uses the beginning of her book to recount the history of pandemics and influenzas. The story includes historical medical figures like Hippocrates and Galen. Running… Read More

I have taken a hard look at the proposal by President Biden to revitalize our national infrastructure. I am ready, willing and able to support the proposal. I just have a few questions.

You start with $115 billion for roads, highways and bridges. Please tell us the specific projects you are spending that money on and how you came to that figure. With 435 members of Congress plus the Transportation Department, we are certain you collected a list of targeted projects. We all know there are some bridges that need to be replaced. Please produce a list of where that money is being spent. That should be easy.

Then there is the $20 billion for highway safety. What does that mean and how is that being spent? We would like to know.

There is $85 billion for public transportation. Isn’t that the annual deficit of the New York and Washington subway systems? Have you read Joel Kotkin’s repeated analyses that the more we build mass transit the less Americans want to take it? Where exactly are we spending $85 billion? We are confident you have a complete list of where that money is going; would you please share that with us?

Another $80 billion for Amtrak and… Read More