Tagged: Society

Men on the margins.

If I were some powerful super villain whose goal it was to kill off America, to render it impotent and meaningless on the world stage, one of things I would do is marginalize men.

Selling out to good intentions.

In about 1983, when I was a first-time general manager of a radio station in Oklahoma City, I decided to do something nice for the employees.

Our problems are ours to solve.

It was Albert Einstein that said, “When the solution is simple, God is answering.” It was Warren Buffet who said, “The business schools reward difficult complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective.” I offer these two quotes on simplicity to make a point. Our country’s founding principles and its founding documents are elegant in their straightforward simplicity. The founders believed that if individual liberty could be allowed to flourish, a...

Making the right call on Polanski should be a no-brainer.

A warning to  readers. This post discusses a very serious sexual assault. Discretion is advised. One of these days I’m going to quit being shocked at the hypocrisy of our liberal elites. Maybe. Or maybe not. Because what we are seeing and hearing with respect to the recent arrest of Roman Polanski is truly astonishing. If you’ve missed it, here’s the story. Roman Polanski is a well-known and very successful film producer and director. Chinatown,...

Forget about health care costs. What about college?

If you just had a child graduate high school and are now 11 weeks away from the start of college, turn off the radio. You’re not going to like this. I was recently given a tour of the brand new facilities at a major university. I’m not going to say which one because you die-hard alums that flock your Christmas trees the same color as your alma mater’s  football jerseys will bombard me with your...

Graduates: Be selfish and serve mankind.

It’s graduation season and that means commencement addresses. Recently President Obama spoke at the commencements of Arizona State University and the University of Notre Dame. All across the country, distinguished alumni and other major and minor luminaries are speaking to the Class of 2009. A common theme in commencement addresses is that graduates, armed with degrees that frequently cost more than all but the very nicest homes, must leave college and go forth to serve...

A Stronger America: Part 2 – Up with fathers.

This is the second of a five-part series on the things that I would do today in order to be assured of a stronger, freer, more prosperous America 20 years from now. Last week we discussed a radical federal income tax overhaul. This week we’ll revisit a topic we’ve discussed on previous occasions and I beg your forgiveness. But this is important and it can’t be left out of any plan to improve our nation....

In a “New Era of Responsibility”, Dad should come home.

On the White House website (www.whitehouse.gov) you can read, listen to or watch President Obama’s inaugural address. In the slug to the post, it says, “President Obama delivered his Inaugural Address, calling for a new era of responsibility.” (Click here to listen to the excerpt.) I’m a big believer in personal responsibility. Personal responsibility is the ultimate expression of freedom. In the 18th century, when large numbers of ordinary citizens were first given freehold tenure...

Obama’s chance at lasting change.

As we speak this morning (Fri, Jan 16, 2008, 7:53 a.m.), in just 4,987 minutes we will have a new president. And not just any new president. As we have been reminded almost constantly since late in the evening of Nov. 4, we will have the first African-American president. It is a signal moment in American history. On Nov. 6, just after the election, I spoke in this space on one very significant aspect of...

Be careful giving up freedom to quell your fears.

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.” – C. S. Lewis Here’s a simple civics lesson. Take a piece of paper and draw a horizontal line. Mark the ends of the line and label one end “No Government” and on the other end, label it “Maximum Government.” Above the Minimum Government label write the words, “chaos” and “freedom” and above the Maximum Government label...

He earned it.

The first presidential election of which I have any recollection was the 1960 Kennedy election. I was six going on seven years old. In those days I was living in Amarillo, Texas and my dad and I used to go watch minor league baseball. In Kennedy’s first year in office, the 1961 Amarillo Gold Sox were affiliated with the New York Yankees and played in Potter County Stadium. That 1961 team featured future Yankees pitcher...