The Fed Monopoly

This picture speaks for itself.

Obama Sunday Schooled

Remember Obama went to Ireland and tried to give Catholics and Protestants there a lecture on how religious schools cause division?

It didn't go unchallenged.  Watch this video as president Obama doesn't just gets schooled, he gets called a war criminal.

Saturday Learning Series - Six Sigma (Part 9)

A make-up post for missing a Saturday Learning Series installment last week, and continuing from this morning, the MIT lecture series on Six Sigma covers the simulation of variability.

A new message - Restoring trust in government

That has to be the message that the Republican party must adapt for 2014, 2016 and perhaps beyond.

The Democrat party is the party of big government.  The Republican party is supposed to have been the party of limited government. They haven't been entirely successful at that message, and worse still at explaining why limited government is in the best interest of people of all creeds and ethnicities.  They have failed to fully capitalize on the notion that the party of big government has become the party of Big Brother.

Just trust me and you'll be okay, alright? Uh, I think I'll pass on that.

The flaws of big intrusive government are staring America in the face.  Heck, they are slapping America in the face. Big government invites fascism but people just aren't getting it.  

Still if the message is not getting through we have two things we can change - the messenger or the message. Since there is no Ronald Reagan on the horizon who can cut through the morass of biased liberal media, and take the case to the American people in a straightforward and engaging manner.  What's worse, is that conservatives can't even agree on who the messenger should be.  That leaves the message.  And the message needs a face lift.

We conservatives can all agree that government is an out of control behemoth.  But how we take that message to 'centrist' voters can be done far more effectively by simply tweaking how we say it.  And now is an extremely opportune time to do it. With the scandals tripping over each other for headlines - IRS favoritism, NSA telephone and email eavesdropping on everyone, the deaths and cover up of government ineptitude in Benghazi and the Fast and Furious debacles, and the government's snooping and potential persecution of news agencies and individuals - there is no better time to plant the seeds of a new message.

The message needed is simple.

We must restore America's trust in government.

That's pretty simple.  It appeals (or should) across party lines.  It doesn't say we need to reduce the size of government, but it does not preclude it. It acknowledges that mistakes have been made but does not need to affix blame.  It's forward looking and has a ring to it that hints of change (and hope). It implies that bipartisanship is needed but does not mandate it.

The same points could be made for other messages, certainly, but it allows a lot of flexibility while not being so vague as hope and change as to not address any specific problem.  Conservatives know restoring trust in government means that bureaucratic departments must be answerable to a watchdog and ultimately the

American people. Liberals on the other hand would be grateful for the transparency that Obama promised but has steadfastly avoided.

As a political point, the message is simple, memorable and not even something Obama could argue against except by saying there is no need to restore trust in government I/we are already trustworthy.  Really? That's a head-in-the-sand response and not one likely to carry any weight with most voters but particularly younger voters who seem to have a libertarian bent to their liberalism or conservatism.  Further on the political front it makes a great foil to Hillary Clinton and where "what does it matter" defense of the administration's bungling and cover-up on the September 11th Benghazi attack.

Carpe Diem GOP, carpe diem.

Christianity vs Science is the wrong question

ABC news reporter Dan Harris asks the question Can Christianity and Science co-exist.  It's an easy question to answer: Yes.  There is no Biblical or theological dictate against the rocket science, or chemistry for example. True there have been in history periods where those trying to discover the truths behind physics for example, were persecuted. Galileo comes to mind.  On the other hand one of the most brilliant scientific minds in history Sir Isaac Newton, was deeply religious.

Of course science and Christianity can co-exist. Despite the fact that their are zealots on both sides of the supposed divide.  But that's not really the question Dan asks in this video.  He's asking if Christianity and evolution theory can co-exist.

That's a trickier question but even there, it seems that some sort of convergence is possible.

Saturday Learning Series - Six Sigma (Part 8)

Last week I was not available to put up a Saturday Learning Series post - rectifying that this week with 2 posts to make up for it, this one and one later this afternoon.  Well into MIT's lecture series on Six Sigma, the continuation in this installment looking at lean engineering basics.