Vote Properly!

Dale Franks at Questions and Observations has an excellent observation about the recent Brexit vote's causes and effects at Vote Properly, You Virulent Racist. Here's what I consider the money quote.

"By the way, free trade doesn’t require agreements and treaties. It just requires that government not interfere with trade. If there’s a treaty involved, you can be virtually certain that some industry is being protected."

Amen, brotha!

Baby, Please Don't Go!

It's difficult to say anything pithy yet about the Brexit earthquake that struck yesterday. I may post about it later when the dust begins to settle. I will say that it will be a loooonnnnng process and will fill the news for a couple of years.

The one thing I wanted to mention is how unexpected it was to the average American adult. I'll use my wife as an example. She is the definition of a low-information voter. (I love you, honey!)

As is my wont, yesterday morning I had CNBC on the iphone and television and it was full of the Brexit news. My wife watches the occasional evening news a few times a week and that's the limit of interest. Her comment? "What's all this about?"

I suspect the vast majority of Americans said the same thing. The earth moved and they didn't even notice.

Just a Touch

In  my long, long hiatus, I've kept a jaundiced eye on the global warming question. I occasionally note that the long-term trend of global temperatures does not show a current warming trend out of line with the historic record. This image, which I took from Power Line , tells an interesting story all on its own.

For instance, I knew about the Medieval Warming Period and the Little Ice Age but I was unaware of the Minoan Warm Period. All of these occurred within recorded history.

I find it quite interesting. (It may work best to click on the image so that it expands. If it's still tough to read, then please take the link to Power Line where I got it.)

Why So Quiet?

This entry will be brief. I can tell from this site's tracking tools that I still get an occasional viewer. Considering that I haven't made an entry since November of 2013, I find that remarkable and to those who still come, thanks for checking out my musings.

So, why no entries for so long?

1. I'm an avid cyclist and I had a couple of bad accidents that took me off my legs for a while. I'm back, mostly.
2. I have two beautiful daughters and the older one (along with her husband) has blessed me with a grandson.
3. My job has taken me off on long projects with a lot of travel. Since my last post I've worked in Tacoma, Chicago, Shreveport, Montgomery AL, Kansas City, Montreal, and western Nebraska

Over two years ago, the conversations were mostly about digging out of the great recession. Now the hot topics include the 2016 elections in the U.S.

One of the things I'll be commenting on soon is the continued evolution of the world's oil markets. The development of fracking and horizontal drilling has truly revolutionized production and has almost made the United States energy independent. 

But that's just a conversational place marker. I'll be returning with what I hope are some interesting things. It may be hard to believe - and sometimes it's hard for me to believe it - but I do have readers. God bless you.

I'll be back.