#1 Fast and Furious, the gun-walking operation in Mexico operated by the ATF, provides a good study in Civics and politics, from the tactic of gun-walking in another country, to the Congressional hearings, to the invocation of Executive privilege. What concerns you most about Fast and Furious and what has followed? Or if you are in a less serious mood, what is your favorite action movie of all time, in the genre of the Fast and Furious movies starring Vin Diesel et al?
#2 As in all presidential elections, the names of previous Presidents are thrown about as positive and negative examples of leadership, but the image presented not necessarily based on reality. For instance, the President that actually cut taxes, slashed regulation on business and stood up to Congress on pork barrel spending was Jimmy Carter. Ronald Reagan's most celebrated achievement was his role in the collapse of the Soviet Union. Ironically, the method he used was spending so much money on defense, tripling the national debt, that the Soviets spent themselves out of existence trying to keep up. Which prior president do you admire most and why?
#3 A friend recently sent out an email pointing out that the national murder rate has decreased significantly with the simultaneous increase in gun sales, in support of his position on 2nd amendment rights. I responded that the murder rate has decreased during the Obama presidency, another reason to re-elect the President. Statistics can be handy, if misleading. Do you pay attention to all the statistics presented on the news? Do you trust them at all? Do you ever fact-check them? Have you found any statistics that were misleading? If you don't trust statistics, what do you trust in making decisions about government officials and programs performance?
#4 What are the best qualities (be serious) in the presidential candidate that you do not support?
#5 What is your preferred flavor of home-made ice cream? Crank or electric? Recipe? If you don't like ice cream, what is your favorite summer treat?
#6 What question do you want answered this week?
Someone defined statistics as "The science of producing unreliable facts from reliable figures" (or something close to that). I like that definition. The numbers are usually accurate, but the interpretation of those numbers is sometimes way off.
ReplyDeleteI also like Strawberry Ice Cream, very much, the cranked homemade kind my father use to make (except he preferred peaches), with enormous frozen chunks of strawberry. OMG!
1. What's concern-making is that this usage of exec privilege, as ever, is touted as a model for future usage of exec privilege…which winds up stopping where?
ReplyDelete2. James K. Polk. Listen to the song of the same name by They Might Be Giants to learn more.
3. Numbers should always be crunched. Then sprinkled like wheat germ over a tasty hot cereal.
4. He certainly seems to provide for his family.
5. Peach, and by crank as long as I get to lick the rashers.
6. Asteroid mining: will franking be utilized in deep space as well as here in Alabama?