Comments from a reader: I am “rude” to telephone solicitors and any sales/religion person that comes to my home uninvited. “Don’t call back”, “Get off my property”. I am the victim. I hear others excuse the rudeness of solicitors: “Well … Continue reading
The Obamacare debacle disproves one truism, and upholds another. Truism # 1: ‘Ignorance is bliss.’ So we’re told. Supporters of Obamacare benefited from the ignorance of millions who either went along with it, or tolerated it. ‘Well, that Obama guy … Continue reading
One of my favorite sayings (I don’t know the author) is, ‘If you subsidize something, you’ll get more of it.’ I’ll expand the saying to a wider realm than economics: ‘If you excuse something, you’ll see more of it.’ Excuses, … Continue reading
The spanking article I wrote raised a lot of issues. Many of the comments were ones I predicted in the article. For example, ‘I spanked my child and he turned out all right; how dare you challenge spanking?’ Or, ‘How … Continue reading
A reader writes: A new study was just released that concludes that spanking your child is tied to aggression down the line. With all of the concerns about bullying and if a child becomes violent when they grow up, the … Continue reading
Bloomberg News: The Obama administration promised a ‘tech surge’ to fix its online health-insurance market, in a blog post that said the website ‘has not lived up to the expectations of the American people.’ ‘Our team is bringing in some … Continue reading
‘Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me.’ True or false? False, according to what now passes for psychiatric expertise. One prominent media psychiatrist (Dr. Keith Ablow of Fox News) even goes so far as … Continue reading
By any objective definition, the budget ‘deal’ that ended the government shutdown was no deal at all. A deal implies concessions by both sides. The basic battle was over Obamacare funding. Obama said the law will be funded 100 percent, … Continue reading
Are envy/jealousy an indication of insecurity? Yes, but not necessarily in the way you might think. At the core, a resentful or envious person has the belief, ‘You can have this but I can’t. And that’s not fair.’ Such a … Continue reading
What is psychological visibility, and how can one nurture it? A reader writes: It deeply affected me to read your recent article on ten tips for well-adjusted children, wherein you stated the goal of childhood is to come out feeling … Continue reading
From a reader: ‘I read your recent Life’s a Beach on ‘Manners—Why Bother?’ with great interest. Why do you think some people acquire manners, while others don’t? Even little things, like returning phone calls or emails, or remembering what someone … Continue reading
Dear Dr Hurd: You have written about Social Security a number of times so I am viewing you as a reliable sounding board on the topic. I have spent some time digging around and using SSA stats and a few … Continue reading