Chief Justice Roberts: The First Nonjudgmental Chief Justice

…o legal grounds for doing this. We don’t care if Congress voted for it. It completely violates the Constitution.” This might be activism, but it’s good activism — and necessary at that. There’s no guarantee that any given majority opinion of the Supreme Court will be right. Prior to the abolition of slavery, the Supreme Court upheld slavery. It took a civil war and a constitutional amendment to get rid of slavery. Similarly, the Supreme Court has… Continue reading

Under Pressure: The Frantic Need to Keep Kids Busy (DE Wave)

…he children conflict (and to some degree they usually do), then one parent simply has to slow down and give the children the time they need, at least in the first five to ten years of their lives. Of course, financial climates fluctuate, and clients ask me how parents can cut back without having the child miss out on beloved hobbies, sports, etc. Part of encouraging a good intellectual and psychological atmosphere means a “quality over quantity” m… Continue reading

How to Be an Optimist AND a Realist

…onal conflicts which prevent enthusiastic enjoyment of life. One essential quality in such people, I have learned, is optimistic-realism. It is the presence of this quality in the few happy people I find—and its absence in the many unhappy people I encounter—which has convinced me of its importance. Optimistic-realism results in an unspoken sense that ‘important life goals can be achieved—including by me.’ There is also a sense of being ‘the cente… Continue reading

Are you an outlaw? Resort living takes a special kind of person

…y in the comparative isolation of the ‘off season.’ I took her remark as a compliment. Judging from the people I have met here, it takes a special kind of person to live happily, year ’round, in the relative seclusion of a resort. We ‘outlaws’ appear to have several traits in common, all of which seem to mesh well with the special requirements for being a resident. To me, the most obvious are, (1) self-sufficiency, and, (2) the ability to be happy… Continue reading

Parents: Don’t Delegate Your Kids’ Emotional & Intellectual Development

…he children conflict (and to some degree they usually do), then one parent simply has to slow down and give the children the time they need, at least in the first five to ten years of their lives. Of course, financial climates fluctuate, and clients ask me how parents can cut back without having the child miss out on beloved hobbies, sports, etc. Part of encouraging a good intellectual and psychological atmosphere means a “quality over quantity” m… Continue reading

End Corporate Welfare? Yes, But …

…fraud or things that obviously should be against the law; most regulations simply reflect the personal opinions of a regulator, or a particular political pressure group, on how a particular product or service should be delivered. Outside of fraud, these matters should be left entirely to the marketplace. All the “marketplace” means are people selling the products or services, and the people buying them. If polled and asked, “Should government regu… Continue reading

Is Too Much Happiness a Good Thing? (Part 1 of 2)

…to their happiness. OR, (version ‘B’), happy people tend to be relatively complacent, lazy. (This is the familiar ‘Fall of Rome syndrome.’) So maybe too much happiness is a bad thing? Dr. Hurd: I believe the ancient Greeks distinguished between short-range pleasure and long-range happiness. It’s not that short-range pleasure is always bad, but if long-range happiness is ignored in the pursuit of short-range pleasure, your life becomes a mess, mat… Continue reading

Lessons Still Not Learned from Wisconsin

…ake the observation that all the benefits and salaries that go to public employees come from the workers and business people in the private sector. These private sector people are the true bosses of the workers. This is a key moral point that undermines all of the arguments of the public unions, arguments based on entitlement and “rights.” I never heard anyone in the Republican Party admit this, nor take this as an opportunity to advocate privatiz… Continue reading

Liberalism to Its Ultimate Conclusion

…e and inadequate. We already know they’re free. Let’s pass a law requiring higher quality. Let’s do the same for airports, airlines and everything else society requires for its survival. Doctors should be more competent. Let’s pass a law requiring doctors to be more competent. That will eliminate the need for malpractice insurance — although that doesn’t really matter, because malpractice insurance won’t any longer cost anything (see above law). L… Continue reading

“Reforming” Government a Toxic Fantasy

…ese things more efficiently.” The fact is: Most of what government does is completely unjustified. Its functions are specified nowhere in the U.S. Constitution. A great deal of what even the American government does is initiate force against its own citizens, people who were otherwise and previously not coercing anybody to do anything. Originally, this started out as an attempt by government to “take care of” its people. This is why Social Securit… Continue reading

Entitled Americans Seek Santa Claus, Not Freedom

…ing that pie). The worse things become, the more the entitlement mentality simply runs into a brick wall of reality. There’s nothing about economic prosperity that makes the entitlement mentality inevitable. But once the government establishes something as a “right,” people tend not to question their entitlement to that “right” ever again. If automobiles were established as a legal right tomorrow, then twenty years from now you wouldn’t find a per… Continue reading

I Wish Republicans Were A Lot Meaner

…Republicans. Donald Trump did. Now it’s time for the rest of you to do the same.   See tons of brand new podcasts HERE! Follow Dr. Hurd on Facebook. Search under “Michael Hurd” (Rehoboth Beach DE). Get up-to-the-minute postings, recommended articles and links, and engage in back-and-forth discussion with Dr. Hurd on topics of interest. Also follow Dr. Hurd on Twitter at @MichaelJHurd1… Continue reading