Monthly Archives: March 2012

The Final Frontier?

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Jim Wheeler

I am indebted to Indiana Jen for reminding us of the one-hundredth anniversary of Robert Falcon Scott‘s fatal expedition to the South Pole. Scott’s poignant last written words were found frozen beneath his arm eight months after his demise. There appears … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Science / Engineering | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

China Redux?

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Jim Wheeler

A major meme driving conservatives’ disparagement, nay hatred, of Obamacare, is that it is a socialistic approach to medicine, something that is ruining “the greatest healthcare system in the world” by turning competitive businesses (the medical industrial complex) into a … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Medical Contract

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Jim Wheeler

I read a George Will column on the Supreme Court’s review of the ACA in this morning’s Joplin Globe that prompted me to submit a letter to the editor. With apologies to those readers who have endured my essays on … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare | Tagged , , , , | 24 Comments

Little Things Mean A Lot

Posted on March 24, 2012 by Jim Wheeler

In reading my morning Joplin Globe my eye was caught by two seemingly unrelated articles, subjects I later realized had a certain aspect of human nature in common. Most readers will recall that Joplin Missouri was hit by a record-breaking EF-5 tornado … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Mitt and Me, a Jazz Age Comparison

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Jim Wheeler

I’ve been thinking about money lately. Well, that’s not quite right.  Said more accurately, about the wealthy. There’s been a a lot of talk of course about the 1% versus the 99% and the growing income gulf between the haves … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Sorry Jean Luc, We’re Stuck At Warp One!

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Jim Wheeler

I have had a lifelong interest in science and reading in general. As a youth, thanks to Andrew Carnegie and public libraries, I devoured all the science-related material I could find. It may have begun with Tom Swift, I can’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Science / Engineering | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

The Isle of Freedom

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Jim Wheeler

About 160 years ago, even as the Industrial Revolution was getting underway, a monumental and historic economic catastrophe occurred across the sea in Ireland. Like a slow motion train wreck, predictable and terrible in its effects, failure finally came to … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Penmanship and the Dodo

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Jim Wheeler

Valuing diversity of opinion, I’m pleased to have among my regular blogging contacts a woman and an educator. Jennifer Carey is both those things and I liked her recent blog post offering the InfoGraphic, “A Few Grammar Mistakes That Can … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Education | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Three Yards And A Cloud Of Dust

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Jim Wheeler

What I’ve always liked about David Gergen is his clarity of thinking, something that also leads to clarity of writing.  He is always rational and it’s clear that he strives to be as non-partisan as possible, characteristics that  have made … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Said The Tortoise to the Hare

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Jim Wheeler

Who says old dogs can’t learn new tricks? Last fall I got tired of listing to my iPod playlist while working out at the Y and learned to download pod-casts to listen to. My favorites include Car Talk, Garrison Keillor, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments