…g goes, those who “know the least know it the loudest.” And those who know nothing at all do so with unfounded personal attacks and hostility, to fill the void where rational thinking and logic might have been. Because so many of my clients and other well-meaning individuals use my website to communicate with me, I chose to remove the comment feature. Unfortunately, the good comments from many thoughtful readers (certainly in the majority) also di… Continue reading
…care, as the inevitable cuts and downturn in quality of doctor’s services come? The real question here is: Why is anyone surprised by the Obamacare train wreck? Nothing valuable is free. Heart transplants and cancer treatments are not like candy, to be given away and distributed by unaccountable hacks attempting to do the impossible. A majority of Americans chose to take a gamble with the most important commodity in society. They won’t like the r… Continue reading
…and there are, for all practical purposes, no individual rights at all. To compare protestors in Hong Kong and China with the ranting, unbathed and intellectually/willfully uninformed brats of Occupy Wall Street is as unjust as it is inaccurate. The two could not be further apart. There are legitimate things to protest in the United States. Our economic system is moving towards a fascist-like collection of state-run enterprises like they have in C… Continue reading
…t of eyebrow-raising ads. The ads, which all live on the DoYouGotInsurance.com website, are a collaboration between Colorado Consumer Health Initiative and ProgressNow Colorado Education, and reference the famous “Got Milk?” ads. In one ad — called “Let’s Get Physical” — characters named “Susie” and “Nate” are described as “hot to trot.” Susie gives a thumbs up while holding a pack of birth control pills. “OMG, he’s hot!” the ad reads. “Let’s hope… Continue reading
…property owner has the right of due process. [Source: legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com] At the time the U.S. Constitution was drafted and passed, the concept of “the public good” was held within the context and confines of a limited government. The sole purpose of the federal government, according to the Constitution, was to protect individual lives and property from the initiation of force. In the protection of individual (including proper… Continue reading
…ction with oneself or with one’s situation; self-righteously complacent.” [freedictionary.com] “An often unjustified feeling of being pleased with oneself or with one’s situation or achievements (the sense of smugness that can come with too many easy victories)” [Merriam-Webster] “Excessively self-satisfied or complacent.” [Dictionary.com] Some synonyms of smugness: aloofness, audacity, haughtiness, pretentiousness, arrogance, conceit [Thesaurus.c… Continue reading
…red the team’s name “disparaging to Native Americans.” [sources: cbssports.com and washingtonpost.com 7/8/15] Who gets to decide what is, or is not, “disparaging” to all Native Americans? I know for a fact that not all gay people wholeheartedly agree with everything the leaders of the organized gay and lesbian movements pronounce. I also know for a fact that not all black persons wholeheartedly agree with everything (or even anything) the leaders… Continue reading
…dom will be gone. Refer back to some of my columns when or if that ever happens, and maybe then you’ll better understand what I’m saying. Oops, I forgot … You won’t be able to read them. Be sure to “friend” 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 Twitt… Continue reading
…ssue. How do we justify placing the onus of proof on the accused, once any complaint is filed? It’s naive to assume that anyone filing a complaint is automatically and always honest. Furthermore, placing the burden of proof on the accused certainly creates incentives for false filers to abuse the system. How reasonable and fair is that, including for innocent individuals who might benefit from a rational system less capable of being abused? This l… Continue reading
…’s perfectly fine for people to believe whatever they wish to believe. For example, one is free to believe in life after death. But we do not pass laws involving the activities of people in that “life” after death. That would be absurd. Others believe in reincarnation. But we don’t pass laws referring to actions that you allegedly took against me, or I against you, when we each inhabited different bodies in different “lives.” That would be insanit… Continue reading
…to reply, “These are criminals. Why are you so concerned that they live in comfort?” Neither side addresses the real issue: Why are so many Americans prisoners in the first place? It’s beyond outrageous that more than half of people in federal prisons are incarcerated for reasons of drug use, abuse or drug trade. These are victimless crimes. It’s true that drug addicts victimize themselves. But government does not exist to protect us from ourselve… Continue reading
…ide their homes and to let non-residents carry them as well. [Sources: msn.com, foxnews.com 7/27/14] The basic dispute over gun control is: Do individuals have a right to self-protection, or not? Phrased that way, most people will reply, “Yes, of course.” But when asked if they support gun control or bans, the number hovers around 50 percent. (As one example, see cnn.com Dec. 2013) Why the contradiction? First of all, unless you’re an anarchist, y… Continue reading