Many people today are worried, justifiably, about major devastating events that could seriously alter our way of life. Yet, intertwined with those legitimate fears are vehicles that may or may not be legitimate, which do little more than stoke fear or evoke a collective sense of worry, unsubstantiated by the facts. It goes without saying [...]
Over the years I have heard many arguments for and against the idea of providing any kind of an inheritance for one’s children. There was the egalitarian argument that framed the issue as one of democratic virtue, rejecting the idea of accumulating any wealth for the sake of the next generation. Better that your children [...]
Ever since the industrial revolution and the mass migration of Americans from rural areas to cities, there have been periodic fledgling back-to-the-land movements. Each of these trends was a reaction to the low wages and exploitation of factory workers. Nostalgia for “simpler times” and the desire for more self-determination inspired many to move back to [...]
We have often heard the quotation, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” The correct quote reads, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” This quote comes from the Inaugural address of Franklin D Roosevelt in 1932. Right after the infamous stock market crash of 1929, which led to the Great [...]
So, you finally did the responsible thing: you executed a Last Will and Testament. If you consulted with an attorney, you probably got a Durable Power of Attorney for Financial Decisions and a Durable Power of Attorney for Medical Decisions, too. Good for you. But you’re not done yet. You see, estate planning is kind [...]
One can hardly turn on the radio or the TV without hearing the melodrama being played out in Washington DC around the Federal Budget. Well, I guess it is not so mellow. There are no simple answers, there are no immediate cures. As is true in any question in life, there are two sides to [...]
Hypermiling is the way to drive now. I drive the “family car” which is an SUV and more than once I have been told that there is nothing you can do to get more gas mileage out of those things, alas! But believe me when I say this: I got another 93 miles out of my gas [...]
A citation and 93 days in jail. That’s what planting veggies in your front yard could get you, at least in Oak Park, Michigan. Ridiculous, you say? Hardly; it’s a reality, and it’s happening to Julie Bass. Julie and her family live in an average neighborhood in an average home in Oak Park, and a [...]
HEAR YE! HEAR YE! READ ALL ABOUT IT! This what one used to hear on the corners back when the newsboys wanted to tell people that something spectacular was happening in the world. In the past 30 days, we should have heard this call about two different events. One was the Standard & Poor downgrade [...]
“From Mount Hor the children of Israel set out on the Red Sea road, to bypass the land of Edom. But with their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or [...]
“Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil” (Matthew 6:34). We have all heard the adage, “One day at a time”. As we noted in the last article, Jesus himself gives us this rule of life. In the middle of the Sermon on the Mount (the [...]
The Grace and Peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you! We have often heard this admonition, “Take it one day at a time.” This is frequently assumed to be from the 12 Step Spirituality; however, it was straight from the mouth of Jesus on the Sermon on the Mount: [...]
The season of Easter baskets and pastel blue and pink and green eggs is upon us, although many of us still have these in the behind-the-scenes preparation stage. We have turned our face toward Jerusalem and the way is not so rosy. Not yet. Not until after Good Friday and Holy Saturday. But who knew [...]
What does “Total Commitment,” mean? Well, the synonyms for “commitment” are: promise, pledge, binder, obligation, dedication, and loyalty. There is an old story about the Chicken and the Pig who were walking along the road. They saw a sign for Perkins Restaurant showing an ad for ham and eggs. The Chicken said to the Pig, [...]
“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” We are all aware of these famous words of John F. Kennedy at in his inaugural speech in 1961. Maybe it is time to revisit that statement. Today, we see civil unrest as has [...]
There was good news in the Minneapolis paper, the StarTribune on Wednesday, February 16, 2011. The headline read Americans are working to pare their debt and rebuild their savings. The sub-headline was “Credit card debt is down 15 percent from mid 2008, the savings rate has tripled.” Embedded in the article by Neil Irwin of [...]
When I look out my kitchen window, I see seven girls dressed in plain black and white with just a touch of red on their bonnets. They chatter all day long and love to sunbathe. They pick at each other, they eat non-stop and don’t gain weight. These girls are industrious if querulous farmhands. They [...]
My job in the economy of our family is to plug the holes of unnecessary spending in order to stretch my husband’s income as far as possible. It’s a challenging position, but one that has become a bit easier since the advent of the “economic downturn” of recent years. Yes, that’s right, I did write easier, [...]
