One from the Sketchbook

I was talking with a young artist about what could be done with crosshatching.  I had my large sketchbook with me so I quickly scribbled an eye for her to see what it would look like.

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Socialism-Pro or Con?

There has been a great deal of talk about socialism from the Republicans in congress to the corner of Ashley River Road and Magwood Drive.  However, there seems to be a lot of confusion about the word and what socialism is.  Socialism in the broadest sense of the term is the underpinning for what communism used to be.  I say used to be because this has changed greatly since China changed their policy towards capitalistic economic models.  In fact, even in China today, you have to pay for your healthcare.  There are only a couple of countries that have fully socialized medicine. more »

In Search of Balance (From West Of)

Considering the ongoing economic debacle, Bernie Madoff’s $50 billion dollar Ponzi scheme, and now Stanford’s financial loss (swindle?) of at least eight billion dollars, I think it is safe to say there are some mechanisms that have become unbalanced lately.  The reason I am so concerned about balancing acts is that I often try to find them in my own life; I am, after all, a fiscally conservative yet a socially liberal person. more »

The Woods are Dark and Deep (from West Of)

I, like a few million other people, am unemployed.  Unlike many of them, I have an advantage.  I am not talking about the fact that I have no dependents, and I am in good health, though both of these things are great advantages.  What I am talking about is the fact that I have a great deal of interests and things to keep me busy, that distract me from the fact that I don’t have a job.  Not only writing this column and for my website, but also research on a couple of different projects, keeping the mind busy is the best way to stave off any sort of ill effects of unemployment. more »

Spending vs. Tax Cuts-A Guaranteed Stimulant for a Headache!

Zero Republicans voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in the House of Representatives.  No one is willing to lay odds on how many Republicans will vote for the Senate version, though a number of them are expected to.  This seems to be the standard method of operation for Congress, the House are more knee-jerk and volatile while the Senate is more deliberative.  The question is, who is right?  I haven’t had time to get all the way through the 300+ pages of the bill as put forth by the House yet, and I know it will be changed by the Senate, but what will help the economy more, spending or tax cuts? more »

A Look at Health Care

Health care in this country is a touchy subject.  People want access, but don’t want to pay too much.  The threat of socialism is raised and the debate on who should be responsible for providing health care, the individual, business or the government, is nothing but a spinning top of claims and counter-claims.  But I think we can agree on a few givens.  Americans pay more for their health care than anyone else in the world, yet we do not have the best system.  There are currently between 45 and 47 million people without insurance and this number is likely to climb as the unemployment rate continues to rise.  I would like to look at a number of issues and make a few suggestions as to what could be done to help out the health care landscape here in America.  There are two aspects of health care, the insurance aspect, and the health care services.  While these often become intertwined, I will try to speak of them separately. more »

Alternative Energy-Part 2. Transportation

In part one of this article, I looked at a number of technologies that might replace coal.  In this one, I want to look at the technologies and fuels that could replace oil.  The majority of oil is used in transportation, cars, trucks, airlines, shipping, though a small portion is used for home heating.  The latter will fall under the replacing of coal, though, if we can change all the vehicles now using oil-based fuels, those people using oil for their heating will be a very small percentage of our present national oil use.  Once again, considering that we will have to be phasing in new technologies, we will have to consider both short and long term solutions. more »

Alternative Energy, Part 1. Replacing Coal.

There are two kinds of energy that we need to find alternatives for: transportation-gas and diesel, and those sources from which we derive electricity, namely coal and nuclear.  I plan to look at a number of viable replacements for these two needed sources of energy, what they offer and their shortfalls.

First, though there is something I need to discuss to get it out of the way.  There has been much tooting of the horn by the coal industry of the clean coal technology.  First, it isn’t really clean (though it does create fewer pollutants than normal coal burning plants).  In addition, it takes a tremendous amount of processing to get the coal to the “clean” stage.  Lastly, and most importantly, though, we need to leave coal behind simply because the mining of it has gotten to such a point that the landscape is being ruined because it is cost effective for the mining companies.  Regulations were relaxed when Bush the Younger first took office, but he has also recently done so again, now that he is getting ready to leave.  Mining companies are simply grinding up mountains from the top down, pushing everything that isn’t coal into the valleys that surround them.  Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia are slowly being turned into the eastern plains, and would continue to be so if it were left up to the mining companies.  Strip mining is the most cost effective method of mining, which is why the coal companies like it so much, but it is also the most destructive to the landscape and environment.  Simply look at any of the satellite photos that you can find from Google or Live Search in West Virginia, and you will find huge swaths of excavated earth. more »

A New Entrepreneurial Opportunity

Capitalism and the free market simply couldn’t work without entrepreneurs, those people who look around, find an opportunity and take advantage of it.  Whether it is a service or a product, if it is something that other markets or the public at large needs or wants, the chances are good that individual will succeed.  There is a new opportunity out there today, that could leads to tens of millions of income in the first few years and I am waiting to see if anyone takes advantage of it.  What is the opportunity, you might ask?  Simple, piracy. more »