The Wall Street Journal has once again published an editorial that I agree with: Jeffrey Hart presents an overview of conservative thought in America: The Burke Habit - Prudence, skepticism and "unbought grace."

Let's go shopping for a Christmas tree! I don't care for the flocked ones. But I do like Christopher Radko's ornaments.

I have a lot to say on this subject, but I don't have the time to type it all in. In a nutshell, on the TV show, "The Apprentice", one of the teams lied to a Radio Shack clerk and purchased some items that the other team had reserved. The lying team won the competition. Donald Trump's toadies said that they "commended" the lying team for purchasing the items, which were critical to the task. Both Steve and I feel that the liars should have been fired, not rewarded. If I lied about anything at work, I'd expect to be fired. If I lied to a supplier, not only would I be fired, but I could be sued, and my company's competitors could sue my company.

Immigration, like all real problems, is an extremely complex and difficult subject. As a Libertarian, I believe that we should have open immigration, but that solution is really too simplistic. I also feel that proposing building a wall between the United States and Mexico is a political stunt and any perpetuators of that "solution" prove their lack of touch of reality every time they mention it.

I've been hearing about how good the economy is, but my personal economy doesn't seem to reflect the national statistics (food, electricity, water/sewage, gasoline, natural gas, house insurance, car insurance, clothing, auto repairs, medical expenses, medicine, travel, cable TV, phone, web hosting, books, CD's, DVD's are all much more expensive and my local taxes have increased, but my income hasn't changed in three years. Some things are better - federal income tax is down, electronic gadgets are cheaper, value of my house is up [but I'm not selling, so the only effect is that my property taxes have skyrocketed], my IRA is up. Crime is also up, education system continues to decline, air quality declines, local roads continue to remain un-repaired, libraries close earlier, public offices close earllier, and parks are not maintained). The Economic Policy Institute (a "leftist" think-tank) gives some ideas in their article - The boom that wasn't: The economy has little to show for $860 billion in tax cuts. I'd like to see what the "right" has to say, but I don't see any corresponding article in The Cato Institute or The Heritage Foundation.