Saturday, December 31, 2011

Resolving to endeavor to persevere...

I've noticed for some time now that the period between New Years Days doesn't seem to be near as long as it used to seem. I read somewhere the reason is that the older we get to be, the less a year amounts to as a percentage of our lives. When we are 10 years old, a year represents a 10th of our lives, but when we are 50, it only represents a 50th of it. I've reached the point where a year represents even a significantly smaller portion than that.

I'm not really complaining. I still manage to fit quite a bit into a year. In 2011, I took Susan on a cruise to Mexico for our 35th anniversary. I promised to go back and get her for our 40th.

We survived a pretty nasty ice storm:

I managed to meet on of my favorite Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson:


I got to watch some really exciting baseball:


And basketball:

We were able to attend several plays and musicals:

And even squeezed in a field trip or two:

I was able to get my first book published:

And kept the family off of motorcycles, for the most part:

Susan was elected Hagerstown Town Court Judge for the third time:

And we started building someone a new house, something that hasn't happened for a couple of years.

All in all, 2011 was a pretty good year, but I thought I better make a couple of resolutions for 2012. I know it's going to go by quicker than last year, so I'm going to try to spend a little more time on what's important, and a little less time on what isn't.

I'm definitely going to spend more time with my grandchildren, as long as they will put up with me.

I'm going to drink more water and less pop.

I'm still going to write and campaign, trying to convince people who will listen that more freedom and less government is more desirable than less freedom and more government. But I'm not going to let people who don't want to believe that upset me quite as much.

Because I don't have as much time as I used to have.

And I'm going to try to remember where I left Susan.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

The work force...

I heard Michael Cloud, one of my favorite libertarian speakers, say one time that if you can get people to ask the wrong question, it doesn't matter what the answer is.

Yesterday, I read a story in a local paper in which Phil Pflum, one of our State Representatives, suggested a question concerning the "Right to work" legislation that will likely be discussed in the upcoming session of the Indiana General Assembly. Pflum's suggestion: "Are we better off with or without unions? That's what you have to ask yourself."

I don't have a problem with people asking themselves that question. I do wonder why the legislature should be asking itself that question.

Certainly everybody has the right to work. An employer and an employee, or an employer and a group of employees should be free to forge any type of agreement that they feel is beneficial to them. Whether or not that agreement requires, allows, or prohibits union membership should be entirely up to them. If they can't reach an agreement, employees have the right to seek other employers, just as employers have the right to seek other employees.

As long as neither party is threatening or using force, the government shouldn't be involved, or even asking a question.

Especially, considering if it does get involved, it will be the one threatening or using force.

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Sunday, December 11, 2011

I can tell you this...

I haven't paid much attention to the GOP presidential candidate debates. I've always thought for the most part you can tell more about a person from their actions than you can from their words. My Dad told me once that an honest man doesn't need to tell you that he's honest.

I've kind of adopted that as part of my philosophy. I'm a little leery whenever somebody feels the need to start telling me how hard they work, or how smart they are, or how religious they are.

I did happen to watch this clip from one of the debates the other day:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5PnKfH7UJI





I met Ron Paul in Atlanta in 2004. I knew before I met him how much character he has. You can tell by his actions.

The same way you can tell about the other guys.