Something To Think About Archive

Science fiction novelist and futurist Arthur C. Clarke wrote that “…any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

We hope that the U.S. isn’t headed down the French road of a fiscal death spiral as both our countries face the unsustainable rising costs of borrowing money to maintain our bloated entitlement programs and various government handouts. France, with its recent civil unrest over threatened spending cuts as it tries to establish some fiscal order, is a lesson for Congress and the White House that eventually the largesse chickens come home to roost. And no country can tax it’s way to solvency.

Journalist Maria Hinojosa tells us to “Be curious of the things that are different.”

Aesop said: “He that is discontented in one place will seldom be content in another.”

Mick Jagger claims that “It’s alright to let yourself go as long as you can let yourself back.”

According to Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, “Enthusiasm spells the difference between mediocrity and accomplishment.”

Aristotle thought that “He who is to be a good ruler must have first been ruled.”

For the first time in Gallup’s polling history since 2010, positive views of socialism crossed the 40% threshold. Fortunately, Small Business and Free Enterprise still hold solid majorities. The Democratic Socialists of America explicitly say their objective goes beyond regulating capitalism. It favors collective ownership of important economic sectors and describes democratic socialism as an alternative to capitalism. Its constitution calls for “popular control of resources and production” and economic planning. However, the farther an economy moves toward comprehensive government ownership and central allocation and away from free market forces, serious problems with productivity, shortages, innovation and resource allocation become the norm.

It’s been said that “The trouble with life in the fast lane is that you get to the other in an awful hurry.”

It was Napoleon who said: “The best way to keep your word is not to give it.”

It’s been said that “Ideas are a dime a dozen. The person who puts them to use is priceless.”

According to author and inventor Roger von Oech, “New ideas are not born in a conforming environment.”

We hope that President Trump doesn’t throw Taiwan under the Chinese bus just for the better trade deal that President Xi hinted at during his recent state visit. The administration needs to keep in mind that past promises by China to buy more American exports, like soybeans, have not been lived up to and in fact have fallen short by nearly half of promised purchases. And even if they were to do as promised, is it worth the cost of a free and democratic Taiwan? Trump needs to remember the promises made about Hong Kong maintaining its independence under Chinese rule. Two giant pandas do not make China a reliable partner.

French statesman Georges Clemenceau said: “War is a series of catastrophes that results in a victory.”

19^th Century Italian politician Camillo Benso claimed that “The man who trusts men will make fewer mistakes than he who distrusts them.”

Novelist Margaret Deland believed that “Nobody who is somebody looks down on anybody.”

Business leader Lee Iacocca said: “I guess if I had to say only one thing about management, it would be that the key is decisiveness.”

According to columnist Herb Caen, “The only thing wrong with immortality is that it tends to go on forever.”

It’s interesting and not a little troublesome to watch the opposing national parties merge at the extremes: Progressive Mayor Mamdani and J.D. Vance are both critical of Free Markets and the globalization that saw unsurpassed U.S. economic growth. And both think that the government should own or control certain commercial enterprises. Right-wing Steve Bannon, for better or worse, sides with AOC and Bernie Sanders wanting to ban data centers essential to AI. President Trump, who at one-time argued against Mitt Romney’s ideas for immigration controls, agrees with DSA Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed that we should end the filibuster, the guardrail against one-party rule. It’s upside-down world in America today.

Tennis champion Arthur Ashe said: “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.