Don’t Wait

If a goal is important to you, don't wait to get started. Don't wait for the right time. The right time is as soon as possible. When people take on a project that they love, they always wish that they had started sooner.

Don't wait until you have the right resources. Start with what's available to you today, even if it seems inadequate. Working with limited resources will inspire you to be skillful and creative.

Don't wait until you have more training. The best training is what happens when you work passionately and diligently toward an objective.

Don't wait until you're finished with school. Don't wait until you move to the city. Don't wait until the kids grow up. Don't wait until you retire. All of those things will happen, and when they do, you'll get busy with other things. At some point, you need to resolve to move forward, or you'll always be dreaming of the future.

Most importantly, don't wait until you "have more time." That's a convenient illusion. You'll never have more time than you do right now. 24-hour days are not going to get any longer, and as you age and take on greater responsibility, your ability to use those hours will become more limited.

Act now, today, this week, this year. If you want something to happen, find a way to work it into your schedule, and get yourself moving. No excuses.

Weekend Wish

It’s time to toss your troubles into the bin. Don’t trash your weekend with garbage thinking. Keep a litter bag nearby in case any rubbish crosses your mind. Refuse to let waste drag you down in the dumps.

The Independent Power Of Words

Words have their own power. Their meaning can stray from the intentions of an author or speaker. If you have been misunderstood, clarify your message.

Late-Term Abortion

Late-term abortion is not an elective procedure to terminate a healthy pregnancy. Late-term abortion is an emergency procedure used to treat miscarriages and other catastrophic pregnancy events where the fetus is not viable and the health of the mother is in grave danger. Banning such procedures puts women’s lives at risk. People who do not understand those risks should not be involved in the decision making process.

Debt Ceiling Showdown

Congress is not going to increase the debt ceiling without concessions. That ship has sailed. Wall Street and the Chamber of Commerce can yell until they’re blue in the face. The party of chaos doesn’t care.

McTurtle smells blood in the water. He had to, or he wouldn’t have aligned himself with Charlie McCarthy. Together, they’re betting that Biden will cave to their whims, or the default will damage Biden more than it hurts Republicans.

Biden’s approval rating is pathetic. Astonishingly, he trails trump on a number of them. I don’t believe that the polls are accurate (the Wisconsin supreme court race was supposed to be a dead heat, but the Progressive won handily) but it’s troubling to see Joe so poorly regarded when compared to the most dangerous politician in our nation’s history.

On the other hand, Biden caving is a nonstarter. The McCarthy plan would hurt veterans, working families, air traffic controllers, and it would gut much of the progress that Biden made in his first two years.

Biden is left with two miserable choices: cave to the McCarthy mob or pull a rabbit out of his hat. There’s some talk that he could justify executive action under the Fourteenth Amendment, but that seems like the kind of theoretical parlor game that a Democrat wouldn’t have the chutzpah to pull off, and it would probably be struck down by the corrupt Clarence Thomas court.

Yes, I am concerned. If the US defaults, it will trigger a global financial catastrophe. Runs on banks will accelerate, millions of Americans will lose their jobs, and the US dollar will no longer be the most valued currency on the planet. We have three weeks to sort it out.

The Economics of Classical Performance

Opera is all about the fat lady. Ballet is all about the skinny girl. Economists call this specialization.

The Rise Of Authoritarianism

When I look at the United States today, I don’t see a country that’s drifting closer to autocracy. I see a country that is speeding toward fascism at 120 miles per hour.

Does that sound like hyperbole? Is it alarmist? Consider the following.

In every jurisdiction where authoritarians have unchecked power, such as partisan trifectas or legislative supermajorities, they are enshrining authoritarianism into law.

- Laws that make it more difficult to vote.

- Laws that ban books and accurate accounts of history.

- Laws that promote voter intimidation as a civic service.

- Laws that flood the nation with firearms.

- Laws that perpetuate minority rule by partisan gerrymandering.

- Laws that prevent citizens from accessing critically vital healthcare.

- Laws that dehumanize vulnerable populations.

- Laws that threaten doctors with felony charges.

- Laws that take away rights from citizens based not on what they do but on who they are.

Here is the critical question. Do you see any signs that such actions are slowing down, any at all? Or is this behavior becoming more prevalent, more brazen, and more extreme?

Why is this happening? It’s happening because resistance to authoritarianism has thus far been slow and disorganized.

There is no national law or standard to protect voting rights.

There is no national law or standard to protect women’s rights.

There is no national law or standard to protect the rights of the LGBTQ population.

There is no national law or standard to keep the most powerful weapons away from the most irresponsible and dangerous people.

There is no national law or standard against domestic terrorism.

American democracy has been inflicted with gaping wounds, and when we treat those wounds at all, we’re covering them with bandaids. The system is not going to be able to handle attacks of this magnitude for much longer.

Me and Ted

True story: I receive a lot of fundraising texts and emails from Democratic politicians. I have contributed to candidates in past elections, and the party loves to come back to ask for more money.

One day, a Republican fundraising organization must have accessed the wrong list, because I received a text message from “Ted Cruz.”

Ted (we’re on a first name basis now that we’re texting) was expressing his typical outrage over some bad thing that the Democrats were doing. “They have to be stopped!” the senator insisted. “Make a contribution.”

Normally, I delete these fundraising messages immediately, but I decided to have a little fun.

I sent a three-word response, quoting a nickname coined by certain former president: “Lying Ted Cruz!”

I have never received another fundraising request from Republicans.