Living below our means

Young people (and old people) need to learn to live BELOW their means. We certainly need to live within our means, but what if our means get reduced? What then? Even if we have a Cadillac income, we need to have a Chevrolet lifestyle. That way, if our income is reduced to a Chevrolet level, we are all right - and not stuck with all those build-in payments for Cadillacs that we now cannot afford and cannot easily get rid of.

Come on, gridlock!

Here's hoping for gridlock in Washington. If neither party can act, then neither party can hurt us, which has pretty much been the status quo in recent years.

Respect for those in authority

There is a proper decorum toward "the powers that be" that must be observed. The congressman who shouted out during President Obama's speech definitely was out of line. Are we to bring the business of the country to a screeching halt because our congress degenerates into a shouting match? Was that the conduct of Joseph and Daniel, even toward absolute heathen monarchs who were grossly further from what we would consider good government than Mr. Obama ever thought about being? Have Republican presidents never been guilty of not telling the truth in speeches to Congress, and would Republicans defend a Democrat who shouted out in that manner during a similar speech by a Republican President? It was a travesty, and I was embarrassed for the country.

One decade at a time

A decade is a pretty healthy chunk of a person's life today. Most of us will see less than ten of them. It was "just the other day," wasn't it, that we were worrying about Y2K? Oops, it was exactly ten years ago. That is almost 18% of my life.