Introduction

As we head into a USA election year, I am feeling overwhelmed by the shouting and slogans which seem to substitute for thought.

This blog is my response.

I hope to have a reasoned and civilized dialogue with any who care to join in and are willing to accept that it is possible to disagree without being disagreeable. Ronald Reagan understood this well.

I intend to skewer hypocrisy and intellectual dishonesty. Living in the Washington DC area makes picking targets hard - there are so many.

I am a self described Liberal. But Liberal, using the 19th century definition, means that I believe in freedom but not license, the smallest possible government (more later on this subject) and social tolerance.

I also believe in a strong defense (Theodore Roosevelt had something when he said: "speak softly and carry a big stick") while attending to Dwight Eisenhower's warning about the military-industrial complex. Another description of my politics might be Goldwater Republican: strong defense, balanced budget, socially tolerant.

I have training as a scientist and as an economist. I am a business finance and general business consultant. I am a sceptic but not a cynic. I am totally curious and, when I was a kid, really wanted to know everything that could be known. Unfortunately I was born 200 years too late for that.

Remember that we are entitled to our own opinions but we are not entitled to our own "facts".

Let us begin...