Lost At Sea Since October four men, none of whom were friends of mine, but each known well by friends of mine, committed suicide. Three were in the Navy, one was a Marine; three on active duty, the fourth retired less than 2 months. One made the news, Vice Admiral “Sterno” Stearney, commander of US […]

Good Government There’s an old adage that if something is “stupid but works, it’s not stupid.” There is, of course, a corollary, that if something is brilliant but doesn’t work, it’s not brilliant. This is particularly true with regard to government. The folks who cobbled together the Constitution understood this. In the Preamble, the goals […]

President Trump and Emperor Xi appear to arrived at an understanding: tariffs on Chinese goods will go no higher, and China agrees to purchase “substantial” amounts of grains, energy (presumably oil), industrial and other items from the US, as well as designating fentanyl a controlled substance. The two countries will continue to negotiate to address […]

The 116th Congress will sit on January 3rd 2019. Maybe we should consider what the new Congress needs to address. The prime responsibility of Congress, in practical terms, is to fund the government. Congress passes laws to direct – in general terms – what the executive branch does, and then provides the money to carry […]