Ranchers may be getting worried.  The Cattlemen’s Association has asked the government to “’define ‘meat’ as a product ‘derived from animals.’” (“Faux Sure!” by Clive Thompson, Wired, Jan. 2019, pg. 26.) Apparently, they feel threatened by growth in the “fake”

“Tax the rich.” The chant gets louder as the liberal left begins to flex its muscles  Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) cites history as evidence the rich could pay more taxes.  She reminds us at one point in our history the tax rate was as high as 70%. I’m no economics major, as

Though it occurred many years ago, I’ll never forget the day when, as a teacher, I walked into the woman’s lounge at school and found a rape victim, a young student, collapsed on a couch, her taffy colored hair cascading over a blue, velvet cushion.  With her pupils thrown far ba

Let me assure doubters that mud at the bottom of a pond is as dark and deep as any to be found in a lake.  By mud, I’m talking about power games as they are played from rural Alabama or New York. Near the end of my final term as a county commissioner in a midsize city, I became pri

There’s a university professor in Canada who is teaching an introductory journalism course, unique because it focuses on Donald Trump’s ability to keep the media and everyone else off-balance.  (“From Tocqueville to Trump,” by Joel Stein, Vanity Fair, Feb. 2019, pgs. 36-37.)�

I don’t care what you think of me.  I like money.  I’m not talking about quantity. I’m talking about money as a form of payment. The financial industry is coaxing consumers to move to a cashless society.  All I have to do is allow someone to stick a computer chip at the end o

Not long ago, a company where I’d done business for many years rejected the password to my account. Frustrated, I sent  an email, asking if there was trouble on the site. There was none.  They confirmed my password by return message.   Frankly, I was stunned.  I wasn’t aware t

Recently, I sat down to tea with a longtime acquaintance.  She wanted to talk about her broker.  He’d earned money for her over the years, but she resented his fees each time she bought or sold a stock.  She also wanted to reduce her taxes.  To that end, she’d made an appointm

I opened my ACLUmagazine, recently, to read a young woman’s statement:  “I realized that I didn’t want to work within the system anymore.  I wanted to help reform it.” (Activists in Conservative Country,” by Tim Murphy, ACLUmagazine, Winter 2019, pg. .) I understood her wo

Trump has always been a president untroubled by his contradictions. When the stock market is up, he takes his bow center stage.  When it’s down, he blames Jerome Powell, his appointment as Chair of the Federal Reserve Board.  Conventional wisdom discounts either position.  “…