Answering Hillary’s Question: Why It Matters

By way of background, Mrs. Clinton testified before a Foreign Relations Committee hearing of the United States Senate last week. There is an interesting web article out there – posted by The Blaze – listing what are touted as the “top 5 responses” to the rhetorical question posed by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about the murder of Ambassador Chris Stephens and 3 other Americans in Benghazi...Read More

Election 2012: America Passes the Tipping Point

I have heard a number of folks today expressing astonishment and dismay about the outcome of Tuesday’s presidential election. Astonishment because we have, over the last 4 years, experienced the least effective and most destructive presidential term since the Jimmy Carter days of gas rationing and American hostages in Iran. Dismay because there is no reason to expect that the next 4 years will alter course; we...Read More

Obama Acceptance Speech is a Lesson in Irony, Propoganda and Disingenuousness

President Obama’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention was a study in irony and disingenuousness. Propoganda at it’s finest, including glittering generalizations and soaring prose. Perhaps the most striking example of ironic disingenuousness was his complaint about the role that money plays to influence public policy and legislation. The President said: “If you turn away now, if you buy...Read More

Follow-Up: Why Do People Continue to Back Losers?

I have struggled for quite some time with the question of why people continue to support obviously poor performers – whether in sports or politics (http://sensiblethought.com/2011/backing-losers-why-do-otherwise-rational-people-continue-to-ascribe-to-irrational-positions). This week presented me with more evidence that IQ is at least one factor.  I was going through the TSA checkpoint yesterday on my way out...Read More

How Dumb is the American Public?

A couple of years ago, I was a DoD employee leading a team of engineers and supply chain professionals working to restore the war-torn economies of the Middle East. I travelled one week to Kadahar, in southern Afghanistan, to meet with local Afghan government officials, and I was asked by contractor who was supporting my team at that time to look up a friend of hers while I was KAF (Kandahar Air Field). “Mary...Read More