I Believe

This Week’s Theme: Unenforceable Ideals This week, we explore three unenforceable ideals—situations where two conflicting truths can’t coexist. First, we draw parallels between Prohibition and illegal immigration, highlighting the government’s struggle to control the demand for goods and services. Second, we examine the logical inconsistency of supporting stricter climate change regulations while...

Should we deport illegal immigrants en masse? What options do we have? Situation On November 21, 2024, Dara Lind, a Senior Fellow at the American Immigration Council , wrote a fantastic piece published in the New York Times titled, What ‘Mass Deportation’ Actually Means . Ms. Lind superbly outlines the legal and logistical challenges of such a venture. She states: “Deporting one million people a y...

If we are going to have meaningful discussions, we need to realize that there are legitimate points on both sides of issues. I advocate for dissenting points of view in operational and leadership matters. Dissent drives innovation. Even when we disagree with a position, failing to present it drives groupthink. Groupthink stifles growth. Discussions about military governance and leadership have to...

I believe in America— Conceived in liberty, Born at war, Founded on the promise that we are all created equal. Endowed by our Creator with the gifts of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. We pledged to each other Our lives, Our fortunes, Our honor. From the beginning, the Almighty declared, “In the sweat of your face, you shall eat bread.” By the work of our hands, we shape the means To w...

Did the American Founding Fathers support the Electoral College? Days at elk camp are long. We rise in the wee hours of the morning and hike with headlamps through the mountains in the dark to be where we think elk will be at first light. At the end of the day, we wait where we think the elk will be at last light and hike out with headlamps. We meet at camp at night to share our experiences, food,...

What does it mean to vote? You voted for me to go to war in Iraq A little more than ten years ago, I had a conversation with a woman who strongly opposed the war in Iraq. By then, the war was hugely unpopular. Iraq wasn’t a threat to American sovereignty. They didn’t have weapons of mass destruction ready to rain down on our allies. They maybe didn’t need a new form of government and certainly did...

Here we are, celebrating our second anniversary. One hundred and four weeks in a row. Hooray for us! I believe in the institution of the American democratic republic and its foundational ideals of individual liberty and personal responsibility. I aim to strengthen the American philosophy that the Almighty grants us all freedom of choice. Freedom of choice is the opportunity to struggle and overcom...

A one-size-fits-all approach to both small businesses and large corporations isn’t appropriate. We need to legislate livable wage requirements for large corporations and give small businesses that pay livable wages tax incentives. The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits In September 1970, the New York Times published an article by Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman t...

This didn’t push to the podcast hosts; reaccomplishing. — I am against socialism. If we oppose socialism, we must champion individualism. Supporting individualism means we have a duty to enable every individual to succeed. Milton Friedman (our subject of the last two weeks) wasn’t the only renowned economist of the 20th century whose ideas continue to influence US economic policy. Friedman was inf...

I am against socialism. If we oppose socialism, we must champion individualism. Supporting individualism means we have a duty to enable every individual to succeed. Milton Friedman (our subject of the last two weeks) wasn’t the only renowned economist of the 20th century whose ideas continue to influence US economic policy. Friedman was influential, no doubt. From the 1980s to the early 2000s, his...

Supporting low wages inherently means relying on social programs. Milton Friedman, the famous Nobel laureate economist, presented a dichotomy. He argued that government solutions don’t solve problems and often make them worse, yet he also recommended government solutions to address poverty. Last week, we explored the first of two questions about this dichotomy. We determined that higher wages don’...

This week, we explore a pivotal economic question inspired by Milton Friedman. Do higher wages cause inflation, or are they a tool for economic stability? It's important to remember that supporting low wages inherently means supporting social programs. So, should we raise wages for the lowest earners, or should we allow the bureaucracy to manage the funds? If we choose to raise wages, does this le...

Can beer and the NFL unite America? What a ridiculous question. Team Colors and Community Ties Recently, I was in my local grocery store early on a Saturday morning, wearing a Kansas City Chiefs hoody, though I now live in the Mountain West region. It’s August, but many mornings are cool year-round when you live at 6200 feet elevation. For those of you unfamiliar with the Chiefs, they are a profes...

This week, we consider whether CEOs should take a big bonus even if they don’t intend to pay one to their employees. We’ll explore perspectives from two seemingly opposed philosophers to guide our thoughts. First, Ayn Rand, a staunch advocate of libertarian principles who champions individual rights and achievements. And then John Rawls, whose commitment to justice, equality, and fairness challeng...

There’s another side to the wages debate we didn’t examine last week. We outlined we can’t support policies that allow some businesses to pay unsustainable wages while simultaneously opposing social programs designed to mitigate the consequences of low incomes. But it’s a complex dilemma, and that statement only captures part of the muddle. Let’s consider another aspect. If businesses don't increa...

Last week, we discussed the inherent limitations of social welfare programs and their effects on American families. But we overlooked some essential philosophy: the principle of non-contradiction, which guides our understanding of truth and reality. The principle is simple. You can’t ‘be’ and ‘not be’ at the same time. Said another way, you can’t stand on both the beach and a mountaintop at the sa...

In principle, we should be against Social Welfare programs. And maybe ‘against’ isn’t the right word. It's not that we're ‘against’ social programs. We can’t love our country and not love our countrymen. So, we’re not against Americans who need social programs. We're not against the social programs themselves, even though we acknowledge their inefficiencies, because they still manage to help our f...

We can debate whether we call ourselves a democracy, a republic , or a democratic republic. We can debate Social Security , wages , housing programs , small business taxes , our energy grid , border security , and whether to support military programs . But we can’t debate that the foundational premise of America is individual liberty. From liberty comes personal responsibility. And if you have a r...

Last week, we introduced Project 2025's first stated goal: "Restore the family as the centerpiece of American life and protect our children." This week, we'll expand on that thought. How could we improve the well-being of the American family while promoting interwoven, overlapping communities? Presidential Perspectives on Homeownership: A Pillar of American Values The conservative fourth President...

Do national leaders have a duty to enhance the welfare of citizens? Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BC) was a Roman statesman, orator, lawyer, and philosopher widely regarded as one of the Roman Republic’s greatest orators and writers. During the late Roman Republic , extreme wealth disparity tore the social fabric of Rome. Conquests brought immense wealth, but only to a few elite families. This wea...

Last week, the US Supreme Court addressed the issue of presidential immunity during official acts, and many people were very upset about it. Many hysterically claimed the court weighed in favor of conservatives and ruled the court gave the president unchecked power. Media sources said it was a “ Blueprint for Dictatorship .” Should we charge every president with a crime when they leave office? Dur...

Universal Basic Income pilot studies prove the concept works, and advocates say we should support it. Is Universal Basic Income a silver bullet solution to societal issues or a band-aid on deep wounds? What is Universal Basic Income? Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a financial policy proposal under consideration by many municipalities across America. Under UBI, the people of a municipality, acting...

Last week, I found myself in the middle of a discussion centered on Presidential obligation and authority. The subject was the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the semiautomatic firearms bump stock ban on the grounds that the Trump administration had overstepped its authority. One passionate advocate emphasized that the executive had a responsibility to protect the greater good, while others s...

It’s not uncommon in my social circle to discuss Constitutional matters. Many of us swore oaths to the Constitution and remain committed to that ideal. I recently had a friend posit that we should repeal the 12th Amendment. It’s a fascinating topic… The 1800 Election On February 17, 1801 , following a protracted and contentious 1800 election, the US House of Representatives of the 6th Congress res...

This is week 2 of considering…can I register an agricultural product on the blockchain without paying a dedicated blockchain team to help? We are now in the second week of our capability demonstration to register hops on the blockchain. Last week, we conceptualized how to integrate agriculture and blockchain operations, considered the advantages and disadvantages of different blockchain platforms,...