Honesty in Politics Isn't it time that we in the US demanded honesty in politics? Oh, I'm not talking about honest politicians, that would be too much to ask. No, I'm talking about honesty in the political process. Let's face it. Politics has long since devolved to the point that it bears little connection to anything like governance, statesmanship, reason or principle. Let's treat it as what it is: A spectator sport.

Once upon a time, people in this country argued about the "My country, right or wrong" attitude. Now we have "My party, right or wrong." Every night, the players and cheerleaders are trotted onto the screen to push the team strategy. They all say the same thing, because the coaches already gave them the play. Without any consideration for reason or facts, they run the play they were given for no other reason than the fact that it's the play they were given.

What's the primary function of a politician? To get reelected. What's the secondary function? To get other party members reelected. Go, team, go!

The teams already have mascots. Why not give them uniforms, too? Then we could collect statistics and trading cards. We could even devise some sort of arena event that combines all the best features of lacrosse, water polo, and rollerball. Think of the revenues the tickets would bring in. We could have an annual draft, as the majors scour the farm teams of local politics for new stars.

Talk to the fans. Ask Joe Street why he supports a particular piece of legislation and he won't be able to tell you. At best, he'll parrot the team cheer. Press him to explain, and he'll eventually fall back on disparaging the other team as evil, power-hungry, sociopaths. That's a laugh. It's the pots versus the kettles, folks, and they'll sacrifice principle for votes every time.

Go, team, go!

The Economics of the Free Lunch Counter Why is everyone always so amazed when well-defined, clearly-understood, and completely immutable laws continue to function? If you let go of your laptop from shoulder height, are you surprised when it drops to the ground? It does, you know. Because gravity works.

Why do most people invest in the stock market? To get money. (Not make money, mind you, but get money. Making money is a completely different concept that involves labor and mental effort.) It's called speculation. That's another word for gambling. Everyone's out there looking for the big score, the magic IPO, the ground-floor deal that will let them retire without having to actually earn the money with which to do so.

For some reason, we just can't let go of the notion that there really is such a thing as a free lunch. Thermodynamics be damned, I want my something-for-nothing.

When the bulls were in town, no one cared how a stock was valuated, only that it keep going up. We created a demand for higher and higher stock valuations and didn't care that they were based on thin air, pipe dreams, and smiles.

But now, when the bears come around, we scream and cry that we've been cheated. Let's face it, folks. It's the immutable laws of economics at work. We created a demand for artificially-high stock prices and people moved in to supply them. Were we conned? Sure. But you can't con an honest person. A con requires the willing participation of the mark. The mark has to believe in something for nothing, or the con won't work.

We ignored the fact that these silly run-ups were completely disconnected from any rational concept of "value." We were perfectly willing to pretend that the stock of companies that couldn't possibly be making a profit, and probably never would, were actually worth something. We didn't care to take the time to worry about whether the company's business plan made sense. Hell, half the time we didn't even bother to find out what the company did for a living. We threw money at it because a friend of a friend saw an article somewhere that said it was going to go up. (Pssst! Joey's Pride in the eighth to win.) We were getting our free lunch, at last!

Well, I've got some surprising news for you: Gravity works.

Welcome to Thinking Out Loud. Right about now, you're probably thinking "Just what the world needs: Another blog." Well, I'm not going to take the time to disabuse you of that notion, because there are so many assumptions layered into it that unraveling them would be a full-time occupation and I already have several of those (see www.jasonkchapman.com/bio.html). Let's just leave it at this: It's my Web site. If I want to waste space musing about what I'd do if I were suddenly elected God-emperor of the Universe, it's my prerogative.