By Kyle Roberts This is part two of a two-part series. Read Part 1 here. There are two fundamental reasons why this system has so much power: The parties are intimately connected with government operation of elections—from filling vacancies, to making appointments, to placing candidates on the ballot, and controlling the choices … [Read more...]
Breaking Free From the Two-Party System, Part 1: The Extent of the Damage
November 25, 2010 by 3 Comments
By Kyle Roberts To preserve our freedom, the U.S. legal code must separate political parties from government, and citizens must learn to consider more than the Democratic and Republican parties. Republics throughout history have always been dominated by self-serving parties whose goals are adverse to the rights and combined interests of the … [Read more...]
America’s New Grand Strategy, Part 2: New Thinking
November 24, 2010 by Leave a Comment
By Oliver DeMille This is Part 2 of a 2-part series. Read Part One Here. Problems with Grand “Tactics” Generals lose when they fail to learn the lessons of past wars; generals also lose when they attempt to fight new wars with old strategies. This adage applies even more to statesmen. To put this in context, each time a new grand … [Read more...]
America’s New Grand Strategy, Part 1: Internationalism and Beyond
November 23, 2010 by 1 Comment
By Oliver DeMille The United States is currently experiencing a Grand Strategy Crisis — and the most powerful nation in the world since the Roman Empire better get it right. Such a crisis typically comes along once a generation, when the nation drops its old grand strategy and selects a new one. Unfortunately, this significant change, … [Read more...]
Something New in the Middle East?
November 22, 2010 by 1 Comment
By Oliver DeMille For decades the Middle East has posed many challenges to American presidents. It seems every U.S. president wants to make history by helping negotiate a lasting peace in this difficult region. Few people feel a lot of optimism about this, however. Palestinians argue that they are a people under siege, a nation under … [Read more...]
Sunday Poem: Everything Changes by Bertolt Brecht
November 21, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Explore the Sunday Poem archives here. Everything Changes Bertolt Brecht Everything changes. You can make A fresh start with your final breath. But what has happened has happened. And the water You once poured into the wine cannot be Drained off again. What has happened has happened. The water You once poured into the wine cannot … [Read more...]
The Tough Get Going
November 19, 2010 by Leave a Comment
By Orrin Woodward My favorite quote, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” As a fourth grader, I had a teacher that became my first mentor. Franz Luoma taught me that I was responsible for developing the talent inside of me. He saw a young kid with too much energy and channeled that energy into productive uses. Mr. Luoma … [Read more...]
When the Sun Comes Up
November 18, 2010 by 1 Comment
By Chris Brady On the wall of my garage I have posted a photo of a lion. It contains the message of how a lion awakes in the morning and begins hunting for a gazelle. It also shows a distant gazelle and states how it must be ready to run to escape the lion. The message is that when the sun comes up, lion or gazelle, each must awake ready to … [Read more...]
Arguments of Degrees
November 17, 2010 by Leave a Comment
By Dave Wilson A while back I wrote about how the things we’re told we shouldn’t talk about — religion and politics — are precisely some of the most important things we can talk about. Sitting with someone of a different mind about either subject, but who is respectful and can express herself well, is a very pleasant experience. The … [Read more...]
The Power of Meditation
November 16, 2010 by 2 Comments
By Steve D'Annunzio Although it tends to be highly underrated and often misunderstood, meditation is one of the most powerful tools available to man to transcend the mind and to prevent and ease suffering in the world. When you are meditating you are being and doing so much more than is obvious to the uninitiated. Meditation accesses a state … [Read more...]
