Monthly Archives: May 2010

A Dangerous Friend

Posted on May 31, 2010 by Jim Wheeler

Real rage is pretty rare.  If you have witnessed it you won’t forget it. I don’t even remember what set him off, this friend and fellow worker of mine.  He had a stressful job.  It was in quality-assurance, a job … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreign Policy / War, Nuclear weapons | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Taxing On Your Heart

Posted on May 30, 2010 by Jim Wheeler

On May 25, 2010, the Center for Science in the Public Interest released its annual XTREME EATING AWARDS.  At the top of the calorie chart was The Cheesecake Factory’s Pasta Carbonara at 2,500 calories and 85 grams of saturated fat.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Health, Taxes | 8 Comments

Private Pay Shrinks As Gov’t Payouts Rise

Posted on May 25, 2010 by Jim Wheeler

As the stock market plunges, the Gulf oil seeps, Korea steams and the E.U. recriminates, comes the above timely headline from this article in USA Today.  It has a distinctly Grecian ring to it.  The ratio is historic.  One economist calls … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Fiscal Policy, Government size | Leave a comment

Living In Debt – A Song of Immorality

Posted on May 24, 2010 by Jim Wheeler

The whole world is floundering in debt.  Greece barely has its nostrils above water and the U.S. markets plunged 4% in one day because of worries that the rest of Europe may follow.  Meanwhile, large numbers of Americans are underwater … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Ethics / Morality, Fiscal Policy, Government size, Philosophy, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

LOOK MOM, I SHRUNK THE GOVERNMENT!

Posted on May 22, 2010 by Jim Wheeler

Welcome to Gadfly Economics.  (Warning – I am not a real economist.) Having wandered through the blogosphere now for a little over a month I now believe I have identified our basic economic problem.  Government, mainly federal, spends too much.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Federal Government, Fiscal Policy, Foreign Policy / War, Government size, Politics | 5 Comments

Mere Humans

Posted on May 16, 2010 by Jim Wheeler

(This article is being submitted for publication in the Joplin Globe.) Mr. Riley T. Jay in Sunday’s (5/16/2010) Globe guest editorial takes issue with the reality of the whole “global-warming notion.”  He states that modern society has a “. . … Continue reading →

Posted in Darwin, Religion, Science / Engineering | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Some Assembly Required

Posted on May 15, 2010 by Jim Wheeler

For my 6-year-old grandson’s birthday we bought him a basketball hoop.  Kiefer is naturally coordinated and we thought it would be practically a necessity to get him one.  A trip to our large, 24-hour-sell-everything-retail-store revealed half a dozen different models … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Humor, Marketing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Everett Dirksen, Redux

Posted on May 9, 2010 by Jim Wheeler

A Congressman and Senator from Illinois for over three decades, Everett Dirksen occasionally tried, in the largely-unsuccessful GOP tradition, to hold down government spending.  During debate on a contentious spending bill he is said to have quipped (oozing sarcasm from … Continue reading →

Posted in Federal Government, Fiscal Policy, Government size | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Beware of Greeks Bearing . . . Bonds!

Posted on May 6, 2010 by Jim Wheeler

For update of 5/10/2010, see next-to-last para. Greece is in a world of financial hurt that is affecting the world economy.  How it got there is turning into a teachable moment.  ABC News last night (5/5/2010) characterized their plight as … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethics / Morality, Fiscal Policy, Foreign Policy / War | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

If Animals Evolve, Can Thinking?

Posted on May 4, 2010 by Jim Wheeler

Attention: Texas School Board.  Evolution is real. An article in USA Today (5/4/2010, p. 4D), “Mosquitoes inherit tolerance to DEET” reports that, “When female mosquitoes known to be DEET-insensitive were bred with males whose sensitivity wasn’t known, the proportion of … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Politics, Religion, Science / Engineering, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment