Today we heard a sermon on Ephesians 6: 5-9, the text about how Christian slaves and masters should act toward each other and the proper attitudes they should have.  The sermon (and my wife) prompted me to write here on the application of that text to relations in a capitalist-market society.  First, the direct and […]

Last Friday’s GDP number was horrible–a contraction of -0.7%; the revision down from an initial estimate of -0.2%.  This is in stark contrast to the Obama administration crowing over 3rd qtr 2014 GDP #s, which were over 5%–so we were told that the corner had finally been turned.  The administration and its defenders are quick […]

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC) declared his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination this morning. This brings the number of “declared” candidates to nine and we are still awaiting official announcements from Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Bobby Jindal, John Kasich, Chris Christie, and Ronald Reagan’s re-animated corpse (campaign slogan–“Dead Right” or “Still More Charismatic Than […]

The Republicans, like locusts, descend onto the land, in search of the syrupy nectar that might sustain them–two parts money and one part polling numbers. Still months away from Iowa, both Rick Santorum (PA) and George Pataki (NY) have announced their candidacies for the GOP nomination. More (Walker, Christie, Kasich, Bush, Jindal, Carson) are poised […]

Sports fans and Stadium Projects Sports fans, listen up.  I am a very big fan of many sports, including that all-time draw, cross country and track (OK, maybe not).  But here is something I cannot abide, because it is simply unfair and inefficient to boot.  I am talking about the rash of new or proposed […]

Another potential scandal has erupted (it was already boiling beneath the surface) in the soccer world.  At first glance you would think this has nothing to do with politics.  And you would be wrong.  It appears that for many years now—no surprise—the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Football Association, the world governing body for soccer—has been […]

There is another new book out on the alleged problem of inequality.  This one is by Anthony Atkinson, a British scholar who wrote Inequality: What Can Be Done?  The book was just released so I haven’t had the chance to read it yet, but Richard Epstein, a legal and economic scholar with New York University […]

https://youtu.be/rW6A6u0EgLc “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” spills from the speakers and dribbles into your soul, at least if you have one. The jazz classic, from 1931, was the first to use “swing” in the title and predated the “swing” era of music by a solid three years. The song […]

In a world of tremendous challenges and threats, Mr. Obama has a curious way of selecting priorities.  Iran wants a Nuke, Mr. Obama  says let them get very close but not have it for 10 years.  ISIS expands, and Mr. Obama talks.  In the U.S., job growth still significantly lags what is needed to lead […]

It is probably part of my flesh that still needs serious work (Prov 24:17), but I have to publicly confess I get a thrill of “Justice!” when I see those that are profiting from political power get their comeuppance.  Crony capitalism is perhaps, like beauty, in the eye of the beholder.  But at its simplest, […]