Go Phils!

I hate to look to secular causes for hope, since I know true hope comes only from the Lord. But man, if the Phils can win the big one, anything is possible.

Buy-Buy-Buy!

You may hate me, but it ain't no lie, baby. Buy! Buy! Buy!

If there is anything I have learned in my investing studies so far, now is probably the best opportunity to buy American equities that will ever exist in my lifetime. I just wish I had started learning about investing, and socking away my cash, about a year earlier than I did. Now is the time to up your 401k payments, now is the time to fully fund your Roth IRA!

And the real estate market looks ripe for the buying too...

The Plunge

As you can see, I have taken the crazy plunge into... AdSense! With the loving support of my wife, I'm going to see if I can generate a little revenue from this publication. I'm planning to keep up the frequency of posting and maybe open an Amazon shop. Please consider clicking on the Ads if they offer something worthwhile and let me know if they offer offensive or inappropriate items. I'll eliminate the Ads if needed, but I'm hoping to learn how AdSense works and filter the content as needed.

Oh yeah, I've also taken the plunge into fatherhood again, too. I'm taking more plunges than the stock market.

I'm not very good at the subdued announcement.

H...I...J...Y!

I just noticed in my Men's blogroll that I had only reached the tenth letter of the alphabet, fortunately I have just added Yeoman Farmer to remedy that situation. I think he may be my hero: farmer, small businessman, author, and blogger. I guess one out of four is a good start.

I'm an Editorial

I find it highly ironic that I am thrilled to be listed as an editorial review of Passport. I usually detest editors as highly biased and overly educated but here I am, unpaid, among their ranks. As to bias, I swear to serve the Truth which is a bias in only the most reductionist sense of the word. I freely admit to the over-education which modern society has deemed necessary to get a J.O.B. At least I hope to break that shackle soon with my entrepreneurial ventures into actually learning how the world really is. Until that glorious day, I shall revel in small accomplishments.

This Way Seems Compatable with His Way

Book review of The Warren Buffett Way

As I have been exploring economics from a variety of perspectives, it seemed only natural to read a book about one of the greatest investors of our time. I was pleasantly surprised by this book to learn that investing well was a rational and intelligent process and not just random chance.

Obviously, there are those who dispute that statement but I believe that the weight of Mr. Buffett's success is a powerful argument against them. I also believe that his value investing strategy is highly compatible with the Christian life. As his recent buying spree proves, value investing helps out companies, and consequently keeps thousands of people employed, when they are down and it punishes investors that artificially raise stock prices by selling companies that get too expensive. This process of buying at undervalued points and selling at overvalued points moderates the growth of a company, consequently reducing instability and maintaining a rational environment for the securities market. Given the recent market plummet, I'd rather let billionaires keep the market afloat than my tax dollars.

Network Marketing and Subsidiarity

As I embark on this brave network marketing journey, I encounter repeated arguments against it but very few arguments in favor of it. I want to write some of my thoughts on these issues, both arguments in favor of network marketing and responses to some common arguments.

My first argument in favor of network marketing is that it meets the principle of subsidiarity as I understand it. The bulk of profits goes to the people who do the bulk of the work, people at the lowest level. There is a tremendous culture of support of those at the lowest level since each person up the chain depends upon the success of the newbies. There is a small contingent of people "at the top" and they can be a problem if the compensation package is not structured properly, just like Enron or Fannie Mae. I particularly appreciate the minimal overhead, such as the lack of a gigantic marketing group that generates "buzz" by flooding the media with pictures of scantily-clad women and/or celebrities getting paid millions of dollars to pretend they use the product in question. Paid endorsements just give more money to rich people. I much prefer an organization that lets normal people work for a normal profit.

Why I want small government

I really don't want this to become a political blog. So I will do my darndest to keep to economics which is the topic that makes me interested in the current financial hullabaloo. Here is a great article from 10 years ago that describes exactly how we got into this subprime fiasco. In short, when you lower the requirements to get a mortgage, you get more bad loans. I think it is atrocious that the government forced this situation through well-intended legislation. Lenders have every right to discriminate against people with poor credit scores.

Passport to Truth

I am always flattered when someone asks for my opinion and I was particularly flattered to receive an autographed copy of Passport by Christopher Blunt at the CCL Convention.

Christopher Blunt has written a novel demonstrating nearly the entirety of the Church's teachings on marriage and sexuality. I am stunned by how well everything hangs together without being forced. The plot involves fornication, abortion, contraception, personalism, NFP, annulments, and marital chastity. The story is gripping and believable with a main character, Stan, who appeals to me, a Simpsons-loving entrepreneur. Stan is also a Catholic like me, who takes the Truth for granted and needs to re-learn the Faith constantly.

As Stan re-learns the Faith, a variety of events occur in his life which succeed in being surprising while not being unexpected. Stan's life is not a common one, yet it appeals to the common man. His is a truly Catholic life, where small things can teach great lessons and where an average man is prepared for great gifts.

New content soon

Here is another good link which I have been reading while I get back into the saddle.

Out of Commission

Dear reader, I have been barely upright for the last two days so I apologize for the light posting until this sinus infection and/or nasal detoxification passes. I hope to write another post tonight but staring at the computer is not beneficial to my predicament.

Until then, give this blog a try.

Jack of All Trades

Your result for The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test...

The Harlequin

You are a mystery, a jack-of-all-trades. You have the king's ear, but also listen to murmurings of the common folk. You believe in the value of force and also literature. Truly you are the puzzlement of the age.

Take The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test at HelloQuizzy

Investigating Life

Here is an interesting article on nutrition from the Washington Post. It captures many of my concerns with current state of nutritional research. First and foremost is the lack of a starting point. After all, how do we know what the human body looks like when it has complete nutrition if we don't know what complete nutrition is? Secondly, research funding invariably causes biases. The government has its own biases just like corporations. And finally, though not mentioned in the article, how do you determine the amount of nutrients in our food when it is so affected by soil quality and farming practices?

Visitors Welcome

I am completely awed by my SiteMeter stats. This blog has had 4800 unique visits and just broke the 10,000 mark for page views. Dear reader, I hope you get a little joy from visiting here, if not some humor and wit.

Running for Life

And its not an election post!

A Baby's Breath is having a Run for Life on Sunday September 14. They have a great, Catholic crisis pregnancy center (with an amazingly competent director) and this is their main fundraiser for their Main Line office. Please support them if you are free and need a good 5K run or a simple one mile walk. The race marshals are especially courteous and well-trained!

Oh! And please support the businesses who support the unborn!

Linkfest

Some great links:

The pill is an environmental pollutant, so the Left is against them, right?

Catholic doctors, being Catholic!

Babies in Guyland

Here is an interesting take on the post-college, "I won't grow up" life. I'm glad Jen puts up with me. She just might have saved my life.

VP Pick

Since everyone is talking about the Vice Presidential pick, I thought I would give my two cents. I like the governor of Alaska as McCain's veep. All the other candidates pale-in comparison!

A Tastefully Simple Fundraiser

As part of my recent, low budget birthday extravaganza, I hosted a Tastefully Simple party as a fundraiser for the PNFPN. It was a blast. Elena Perri was a wonderful hostess and the food was delicious, especially the beer bread and the spinach dip. It was great to help someone else succeed with their business and I pray that her customer base may grow faster and deeper than mine.

From the horse's mouth

Here is a chance to listen to the founder of Planned Parenthood in her own words. She actually claimed that the Church has a celibate position when it said that marriage should produce children. Right, and contraception leads to parenthood. It is great to hear an interviewer, Mike Wallace, actually quote Church documents and construct a logical argument. It is just as amusing to hear flat denials from Mrs. Sanger when confronted with her own contradictions. I thought that Oprah was a good interviewer until I heard Mr. Wallace.