Are People Free in a Social Welfare State? by Alexandra Hopkins In the summer of 2016, my husband Kim and I vacationed in three cities in northern Europe. In addition to catching a break, we wanted to learn about life in a social welfare state. We wanted a bit of real-life experience with the “Nordic Read more about Are People Free in a Social Welfare State?[…]
By Alexandra Hopkins Jan. 18, 2022 The employees of our electrical contracting company share in our profits and do quite well for themselves. But we didn’t set out to compensate our employees better than most of our competition. We did so as an act of desperation, a last-ditch effort to avoid bankruptcy. In 1979, my Read more about Is It Possible to Profit by Sharing the Wealth?[…]
Suppose I gave you, say, $100 for every man, woman or child that you agree to kill? Not interested? OK, how about if nobody would ever know? Maybe you have a magic wishing well in your backyard and every time you whisper down the well, “Kill them,” someone you don’t know, somewhere in the US, Read more about Kill People, Make Money![…]
Gun and Money Twenty years ago, Osama bin Laden, the leader of a small extremist group called “al Qaeda,” had a dream. He wanted to establish a caliphate — an Islamic state governed by strict Islamic law — across the Muslim world. But how could the leader of a small band of fewer than 100 Read more about How the U.S. Paid $6.4 Trillion to Help Make Osama bin Laden’s Dream Come True[…]
Sorry to say, but the U.S. is not a democracy anymore. You may be thinking, Kim, who the heck are you to make such a dastardly accusation about this great country of ours?! OK, you have a point there. I’m no political smarty-pants expert, and if you want a second opinion about this ‘not a Read more about Is Our Government Still A Democracy?[…]
My wife and I have a cat named Lizzie. She follows us around the house, jumps on our laps, and, in general, takes every opportunity to gain our attention and affection. On the other hand, should I run into Lizzie in a narrow hallway, she’ll look frantic and dash off, apparently terrified that I’m turning Read more about Is My Cat Liberal or Conservative?[…]
Help! Aboard the USS Republican. We’re floundering in stormy seas – Captain Trump seems to have gone senile, crazy or both. We found a stowaway family below deck and he wants to throw them overboard. Captain has ordered all crew members to cease regular maintenance activities and ship is falling apart and starting to take Read more about Message Found In A Bottl[…]
I was once a member of a cult. I’m not talking about a cult following, where people are way into something, like the cult of surfing or the cult of bodybuilding. I never traveled around the country to see Grateful Dead concerts or attend Sci-fi conventions dressed in costume. I don’t mean that kind of Read more about Ever Wonder What It’s Like To Be In A Cult?[…]
Donald Trump’s campaign slogan was “Make America Great Again!” And just to hammer it home yet one more time, he repeated it as the final words of his inaugural address. The slogan implies two things: 1) America is not great now, and 2) America was great at some earlier time. So when, exactly, was America Read more about Found! The Exact Year America Was the GREATEST![…]
It’s been a week since our country voted for Donald Trump to be our next president. I’m still trying to wrap my head around that fact. I have conflicting feelings about the election and about our country’s future under a Trump presidency. I’m outraged that this man will be our next president, but as an Read more about Shocked and Appalled – What Trump Has Taught Me About Patriotism[…]