tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18634150314494894872024-03-04T22:23:49.852-08:00The Hill Country ViewNuggets from the Hill Country: Observations and reflections on perennial issues and contemporary topics.RCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-48495411253916602732017-04-11T15:27:00.000-07:002017-04-12T17:51:19.000-07:00Self-Driving Vehicles? Have You Really Thought About It?
I have long held the opinion that our society has become narcissistic and delusional. The driverless car movement has convinced me of that proposition. Those who insist that driverless cars are a good idea, have forgotten the one thing that always accompanies technology like this - hubris. Mankind's ridiculous belief that humans are capable of circumventing the laws of physics and mastering all RCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-64004675295806710722016-06-23T15:14:00.000-07:002016-06-23T15:14:21.919-07:00
Why do I like Donald Trump? Don't get me wrong. Of all the people who have been in the current presidential race, he is not my favorite. And it's not like I am a Republican. I disavowed that party many years ago. I would have to describe myself as either an independent (which means nothing) or a libertarian (which seems wonderful until you realize that its logical end game would be - must be RCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-25141311029320348572016-06-23T14:00:00.002-07:002016-06-24T05:04:03.897-07:00"No You Can't See My Emails!"
Very telling about the morality of Hillary Clinton, is her own admission that she didn't want “any risk of [her] personal [emails] being accessible.” Yet, she had no qualms about conducting official State Department business on the same personal email server. After withholding 55,000 "personal" emails from the ones turned over to the Inspector General, Clinton said, “No one wants their RCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-12082437292893932582016-06-23T12:54:00.000-07:002016-06-23T13:18:21.286-07:00We Have Become a Police State (But You already Knew That)
Exerpted from the Laissez Faire Today newsletter:
The hallmark of a police state is when citizens are stopped arbitrarily and told to show their “papers.” In a free society, citizens aren’t required to identify themselves to the police if they aren’t actively engaging in a crime. It’s none of the police officer’s business.
But oh, how the seasons change.
“On Monday,” the Wall Street RCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-30423186373597086122016-06-23T12:53:00.000-07:002016-06-23T14:05:20.042-07:00The House of Representatives Seems to be Just "Playing House"
The sit-in going on in the congressional chambers points out just how incompetent our legislators are! Sit-ins and demonstrations are tactics used by those outside of government to petition those inside the government. The fact that members of The House are resorting to those same tactics reveals just how impotent they are!
How about doing your job - discuss, debate, engage, and legislate RCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-56825403169218231302016-03-29T08:47:00.000-07:002016-03-30T09:02:51.674-07:00Diction, Spelling, and Semantics -- Why Do They Matter?
When
people post in online forums or in comments on blogs or at Facebook, they fail
to realize that when their postings are replete with misspellings, errors in
diction, and semantic inconsistencies, they are broadcasting their ignorance. This makes their viewpoint (regardless of how
brilliant and compelling) subject to being immediately discredited and
dismissed as the ramblings of an RCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-13797426702707778092011-01-12T11:43:00.001-08:002011-01-12T11:43:30.997-08:00Blogging to ResumeBlogging will resume at this site soon. Stay tuned...RCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-88207506436826927402009-12-09T10:15:00.000-08:002009-12-09T10:25:11.176-08:00Quote of the Day"Pundits talk about 'populist rage' as a way to trivialize the anger and fear coursing through the middle class. But they have it wrong. Families understand with crystalline clarity that the rules they have played by are not the same rules that govern Wall Street." -- Elizabeth Warren, the Leo Gottlieb Professor of Law at Harvard and the Chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel.The quote is RCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-9941903655762833172009-11-01T20:31:00.000-08:002009-11-02T08:29:25.426-08:00Who Wins?A chain-email proclaiming that Obama has created a program to give welfare recipients free cell phones and up to 70 free minutes per month hit my inbox this evening. Whenever something which arrives by email seems unbelievable, it's best to check it out at snopes.com [http://www.snopes.com/politics/taxes/cellphone.asp]. Whereas there is some truth to the free phone claim, the email deliberatelyRCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-59428881435480452102009-08-28T14:59:00.000-07:002009-09-02T19:29:10.927-07:00If We Knew the Truth, The Economy Would Collapse!There is an interesting battle taking place between the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (The Fed), and a New York District Court judge. Bloomberg LP (which owns the Bloomberg Financial News Service) has filed a lawsuit against The Fed under provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. This lawsuit, if successful, would require The Fed to release documents that contain the names of the banks RCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-50192777798181475182009-05-11T16:44:00.000-07:002009-05-15T08:09:52.179-07:00This Would Be Funny Except That...It Hurts So Much!It is becoming painfully obvious that, as I suggested in a previous post, there is a double standard in place which forces the hard-working citizens of this country to pay their taxes so that the wealthy scofflaws and indiscreet bureaucrats don't have to pay theirs. Wall street tycoons can continue to get their high salaries and huge bonuses, and live high on the hog, by being RCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-22186774343061762722009-04-27T09:23:00.000-07:002009-04-27T09:28:07.595-07:00Quote of the Day“I don’t think that Tim Geithner was motivated by anything other than concern to get the financial system working again. But I think that mindsets can be shaped by people you associate with, and you come to think that what’s good for Wall Street is good for America . . . [This] led to a bailout that was designed to try to get a lot of money to Wall Street, to share the largesse with other market RCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-45008580570107647212009-04-24T15:22:00.000-07:002009-04-24T15:40:57.212-07:00Quote of the Day"Capitalism without bankruptcy is like Christianity without hell." -- Elizabeth Warren, chair of the TARP Congressional Oversight Panel.Watch Part 1 and Part 2 of an incredibly revealing, interesting, and entertaining interview of Elizabeth Warren on The Daily Show.RCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-74096140185387287952009-04-24T13:31:00.000-07:002009-08-28T20:34:02.199-07:00"Spin" - A Double-Edged Sword (that only cuts one way) In the past twelve months, there have been many attempts by government officials and agencies to put just the right interpretation on events and actions such that we ignorant members of the populace will be properly influenced to hold "correct" opinions. From Paulson to Geithner to Bernanke, a common set of "rules of engagement" have been utilized to obfuscate by omission, and obscure by RCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-91228628688476750862009-03-06T14:22:00.000-08:002009-03-06T15:04:58.927-08:00Wall Street Bankers: Domestic Terrorists?Ever since 911 our sense of safety and security have been forever altered. Since then, like a cat in a roomful of rocking chairs, we have been looking for all of the ways that al Qaeda could wreak havoc on our cities, our citizens, and our lifestyle. Little did we expect our economy and perhaps even our way of life would face a far greater threat from sources within our own borders, within our RCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-32722108803743884942009-03-02T13:54:00.000-08:002009-05-15T08:25:44.943-07:00An Extraordinary NoticeWe live in Internet time and are inundated with information which comes at us from many sources at all hours of the day. So perhaps we can be excused for developing a "news bite" focus on the world.Yesterday's news is so passe. Our attention span is relegated to the current day, the current hour, the current minute. How can we be expected to maintain an awareness of something that happened RCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-88859301363999595262009-03-02T07:27:00.000-08:002009-03-02T07:43:54.823-08:00Is it as bad as all this?"The idea of letting AIG (AIG) go, or Citi go -- I mean, come on. Does anyone know what happens if we do that? We will simply shut down as an economy. There will be lockdowns and lockouts and mass closings and mass unemployment and no credit for cars or for schools or for homes. There will simply be an economy run by the state. That's what it is. That's all. Nothing else. Is that what we want? ItRCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-27987996598730914032009-02-28T03:33:00.000-08:002009-02-28T03:52:28.591-08:00Two More Bank Failures This WeekThe FDIC reports that two more banks failed this week - Security Savings Bank, Henderson, NV, and Heritage Community Bank, Glenwood, IL. That brings the total failures this year to 16. There were 25 bank failures in 2008. Looks like we are well on are way to surpassing that.Mistakes, scandals, and failures no longer signal catastrophe. The crucial thing is that they be made credible, and that theRCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-14656357985541042862009-02-27T11:56:00.000-08:002009-02-27T12:47:39.542-08:00Are You Feeling Disenfranchised?The economy continues to get worse. The headlines give little cause for optimism, let alone hope. Didn't President Obama get elected because his platform was one of reform and hope? Why, then, am I not able to conjure up any enthusiasm for his pledges and programs?There is a rumbling in grass-root America and it is growing ever louder. Many American are feeling disenchanted, dispirited, and RCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-43129584179808550512009-02-11T21:15:00.000-08:002009-02-11T21:22:10.455-08:00Quote of the Day"This too-big-to-fail problem has now become an even-bigger-to-fail problem as the current approach has lead weak banks to take over even weaker banks. Merging two zombie banks is like hav[ing] two drunks trying to help each other to stand up. " -- Nouriel Roubini in an article, It Is Time to Nationalize Insolvent Banking SystemsRCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-77634535178159779372009-02-07T14:55:00.000-08:002009-02-07T16:11:52.494-08:00Where Are We Headed?See if you can piece together the near-term future of the US economy based on the following recent headlines:Plastic Is Fantastic - Visa and Mastercard benefit from consumers' lack of liquid funds during the recession.Late Payments on Credit Cards Reach Record Levels - Growing signs of trouble in the credit card debt sector are documented in Fitch ratings’ latest monthly Credit Card Movers & RCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-5282057761927032952009-02-03T05:19:00.000-08:002009-02-04T05:37:42.115-08:00Double StandardIf you ever had any doubts about the popular claim that the US is not a democracy - rather more like an aristocracy - you have absolute proof this week. Two of Barack Obama's nominees for high-level administration positions have been caught cheating on their income taxes, and a third has withdrawn her name from consideration because she failed to pay employment taxes on household help. The two RCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-9028127192855063552009-01-30T07:42:00.000-08:002009-02-03T05:54:33.849-08:00A Sign of the TimesHeadlines seen since the first of the year:1/5/2009 Cigna to Cut 1,100 Jobs 1/6/2009 Alcoa to Cut 13,500 Jobs 1/6/2009 Logitech International will cut 500 of its non-manufacturing jobs and may reduce factory jobs as well1/9/2009 Union Pacific to Lay Off 2301/9/2009 Bloomberg: Employers in U.S. Cut 524,000 jobs in December1/9/2009 Boeing to Cut 4,500 Jobs1/9/2009 Schlumberger to cut 5,000 Houston RCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-49870280377512283492009-01-25T09:39:00.000-08:002009-02-27T13:17:13.566-08:00America's Stealth ProfessionThe United States of America, this very minute, has a large stable of professionals whose only job is to make America's dreams of a better future a reality. They have been entrusted with the future of national security, the protection of American liberties, the growth of America's lead in science and technology, the foundations of our heritage and our culture, and charged with restoring the RCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863415031449489487.post-28678895514516218232009-01-23T10:13:00.000-08:002009-01-25T14:30:35.981-08:00Amusing, Yet Painfully TrueFrom a post by blogger Barry Ritholtz this morning comes this interesting picture (click to enlarge).Today, as in the Gilded Age, we live in a world where a morality of personal responsibility rubs shoulders with a culture of greed and of flagrant social irresponsibility. Now as then, business has shed its collective responsibility for employees - just as government has for its citizens. -CharlesRCAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11222890605501585488noreply@blogger.com0