Three Cheers for Our Founding Fathers

For the vast majority of history, man engaged with his fellow man according to one overriding principle: might makes right. The politically strong—whether in terms of brawn, numbers, technology, or bank reserves—had absolutely no compunction when it came to plundering the politically weak. But then these groovy cats got together in Philadelphia in 1776 and …

Second Wednesday of the Month Politics: We Suck

Those familiar with this blog know that I’m not a fan of government. I worked for a municipality on Long Island for twenty-one years. The politicians and department heads I worked for, and the co-workers I worked with, were largely a disgrace. The biggest concern for the politicians was staying in power. For department heads? …

Second Wednesday of the Month Politics: How the Little Guy Can Out-Lobby the Rich

In the book How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, author Scott Adams makes the case that systems are better than goals. As Adams explains it, a goal ultimately relies on hope—the hope that said goal will be reached before one’s willpower fails. A system on the hand ultimately relies on habits—habits …