1. Welcome to Ezine 100 2. Noting an Anniversary 1. Welcome to Ezine 100 Welcome to Ezine 100. I appreciate you being part of my audience. My intention with this effort over the past two years (four years overall) has been not simply to report what is politically, but ... << MORE >>

1. Cause and Effect Applied to Politics 2. Thoughts from "The Blind Side" Part 4 1. Cause and Effect Applied to Politics One of the prime lessons I’ve learned from the success masters like Brian Tracy is the law of cause and effect, sometimes also called the law of ... << MORE >>

1. The Mud Will Fly Like a Blizzard This Time 2. Thoughts From "The Blind Side" Part 3 1. The Mud Will Fly Like a Blizzard This Time Are you upset by negative ads and campaigning? Well, you literally ain’t seen nothin’ yet. What you will see in the ... << MORE >>

Here is, in my opinion, one more example of how we no longer look at the wars we fight as do-it-yourself projects.

Instead of using a draft to find and train the language and medical specialists we need among our own population, we make deals ... << MORE >>

The NY Times has an even handed analysis of the events leading to the GOP success in the US Senate Election in Massachusetts. That election saw GOP candidate Scott Brown defeat Democratic candidate Martha Coakley. The role of Tea Party movement ... << MORE >>

The election results for the US Senate election in Massachusetts and the victory by Scott Brown is a political explosion. I have a couple of articles to post about it. One thing's for sure. You may on paper outnumber your opponents' supports by a large number. But if only 10% of your side shows up ... << MORE >>

1. A Word to the Paranoid Watching the early stages of the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake may offer some lessons for the paranoid among us. In my time on the radio and in various speaking engagements I have frequently encountered Americans who believe their government is planning to ... << MORE >>

One of my Ezine subscribers, Max Skidmore, sent me an excellent commentary on my last Ezine. Max rightly points out Independents come from all kinds of poltical persuasions and are Independents for a large variety of reasons. Here are Max's comments. Hi Larry, Interesting blog, as usual. Here are ... << MORE >>

I especially like this quote from the article, as well as the stats about Republicans, Democrats and Independents. "Ron Vaughn, who provides health insurance to his 60 employees at Argonaut Wine and Liquor near the state Capitol, said: “I’m a middle-of-the-road kind of guy. I want the Democrats out ... << MORE >>

We have had so much snow here in Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa that this piece is very appropriate. I had seen it before. I'm glad someone sent it to me again. There is no author specified. DIARY OF A SNOW SHOVELER December 8 - 6:00 PM It started ... << MORE >>

Excellent commentary on recent events surrounding the thwarted Christmas Day bombing and the world of intelligence and espionage. We are ill served by both politicians and the general public who are ignorant of the realities of those world. Consider this excerpt from the article. "Yet over the past two ... << MORE >>

David Brooks has written an article sure to infuriate both those opposed to and for the Tea Party movement. The commentary takes a long time to read due to the volume. I thought comments number 22 and 41 were intriguing. No matter where you stand on the issue of ... << MORE >>

1. Independents Are Not Alone, They Are Growing 2. Thoughts from the Blind Side 1. Independents Are Not Alone, They Are Growing Funny how your links to one activity lead you to another. One of the periodic emails I get had an announcement its editor was moving to a position with a bi-partisan foundation. I checked out the link to the foundation and discovered this excellent essay on the growth of Independent voters among the electorate. The article by Linda Killian is entitled The Radical Middle. Killian cites poll results saying most of these voters are fiscally conservative and socially progressive. And, as I say in my book, (which I started writing in earnest 4 years ago) one party seems to offer you fiscal conservatism and the other offers social progressivism. This is why neither party offers everything this group wants and its voters must therefore choose between the lesser of two evils. So, if you are upset with both the Democrats and the Republicans, you are not alone. The problem is, how do you create a party featuring both fiscal conservatism and social progressivism? Take a look at the article and the Foundation web site here. http://bipartisanpolicy.org/news/idea-gallery/2009/11/23/radical-middle 2. Thoughts from "The Blind Side" Military people describe a situation where they are outnumbered by their enemies as a "target rich environment". Similarly, now that I have both read the book and seen the movie, The Blind Side, I have found such a target rich offering of metaphors regarding the countless political and social issues we face today—and what to do about them—I scarcely know where to begin. Let me offer this to those who have no interest in sports up front. Sports offer the opportunity to explain a complex situation by describing how a real life situation someone does not know of or understand is like a situation from a sport. From that description of something someone does know and understand can come knowledge and understanding of the unknown. So, if you don’t like sports, then I ask your indulgence. I hope to give you some new means to communicate. In summary, the story line is as follows. The book/movie describe << MORE >>

One of our guests today on Car Concerns (thanks to the efforts of Executve Vice President Marc Cannon of Autonation) was Lori Ann LaRocco. Ms. LaRocco is a producer for CNBC's Squawk Box. She has written a book called Thriving in the New Economy. The book is a compilation ... << MORE >>

May I say (with tongue in cheek) that Seth must be slipping. He's written something with clarity. Too much of our political and business dialogue is focused on who to fear and who ... << MORE >>

The NY Times has an in depth article about the Alabama Congressman who recently switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party. Here's a question to ponder. How many elected officials would switch ... << MORE >>

The Best Goal Setting Exercise Ever Personal Finance vs. Governmental Finance—Taxation The Best Goal Setting Exercise Ever I shared this exercise at the beginning of 2009, but it’s worth repeating because (as advertised) this is the best goal setting exercise I’ve ever done. Try it for yourself. Get at ... << MORE >>

While doing my end of year clean up I came across this essay by Krugman. (You may see several more of these from me in the next few days.) Krugman's essay describes well a point I have been making here for some time. What happens when the political party ... << MORE >>

Here is a report of a consultant being brought back into the government with an "ethics waiver" to investigate why the alleged Christmas Day Al Qaeda bomber did not get put on a watch list or no fly list and was allowed to get on the flight. To me, ... << MORE >>

Here is the exercise. It's called Two Pieces of Paper and an Envelope, for reasons you will see. Get at least two 8x10 pieces of paper and a legal size envelope. Find someone who can help you do this exercise by watching a watch for you and telling you ... << MORE >>