Reflections of An Uncommon Common Man

  David Bushnell is known as the father of the submarine. He invented the first ever submarine called the Turtle. The Turtle was unsuccessfully used in attempts to sink the flagship of British Admiral Richard Howe and other British ships during the American Revolution. The plan was to attach a torpedo which was an explosive charge to the ships hull. Not until the Civil War would a submarine called the CSS Hunley be successful in sinking a warship in battle. In January 1778 Bushnell came up with a plan that he hoped would ultimately sink the British Navy ships that were anchored in Philadelphia. The British Army had slipped by Washington's army in September 1777 and captured the colonial capital of Philadelphia. Bushnell filled fifty kegs with 100 pounds of gunpowder and designed them to explode on contact with a ships hull. He even hoped that these "Infernels" as the British came to call them would set off a chain reaction because the British ships were anchored so clo

  Last night I was listening to two lengthy interviews of author Stephen Kotkin on his two volume biography of Joseph Stalin. Although the interviews were long I was intrigued by the authors views on Stalin and it was very informative. After the 2nd Russian revolution in October 1917, in which the Bolsheviks, or Communists, under Lenin came to power a civil war broke out in 1918. This was between the communist and anti-communist forces in Russia. This war would last from 1918 until 1920 and the communist Red Army would win. Once the civil war was ended a compromise was reached with Russia's farmers. Lenin would end capitalism in the cities. In the cities the state would take ownership of the factories and control the means of production in true communist fashion. The farmers, however; would be allowed to continue the free market system on their farms. They would be allowed to keep them and sell their crops for profit. This system worked and soon restored Russia's agricultura

  On this Fathers Day I would like to remind you how valuable fathers are to America. I am speaking to everyone, regardless of race or class because this message is universal. But if we want to understand the value of fathers a good place to start is with the destruction of the Black family in America.The problem is not White cops. You have more chance of being struck by lightning than to be killed by a White cop. A Black person has a vastly greater chance of dying, being injured, or mugged at the hands of a Black man in America. Black women are more likely to be raped by a Black man than a White man. A White person stands a greater chance to be mugged, killed or injured by a Black man than by a White man. Blacks comprise almost 13% of the population but are responsible for 50% of the crime. No, the White man and White cops are not their problem. Fatherless homes are their problem and fatherless homes are beginning to be all of our problem. As you know I am not an Obama fan but his

People crushed by laws, have no hope but to evade power. If the laws are their enemies, they will be enemies to the law; and those who have the most to hope and nothing to lose will always be dangerous. Edmund Burke   The power of the individual is what makes America exceptional. Adam Smith said, "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest" Some misconstrue self interest as selfishness. Adam Smith goes on to say that benevolence comes from the butcher, brewer, and baker after they prosper from their self interest. In my view their benevolence works for the benefit of others when it is on their terms and not forced on them by the government. The individual is in a better position to determine how they spend their money rather than a bunch of crooked politicians striving to satisfy their own selfish and political interests. Or the interests of groups like Planned

     I do not consider myself to be an expert on the economy but as a student of history I think I am smarter than the average bear. History has shown us that our system of free market capitalism is vastly better than socialism. It has allowed Americans to enjoy unparalleled prosperity. I laugh when I hear Obama and the Democrats try to take credit for Trumps booming economy right now. Biden is pushing this line in his campaign speeches and I have several Democrat friends that make this argument. Democrats say that the economy was trending toward a boom under Obama and basically Trump just gave things a nudge. This argument is ridiculous for a variety of reasons. Obama's economy was anemic for the full eight years he was in office. He had a record number of quarters where economic growth was 2% or lower and it never got above 3%. Trump has consistently averaged in the 3% to 4% range and it could go higher. The unemployment numbers under Trump has dropped lower than 4%, which