Public frustration seems to be boiling over as the November 2nd election approaches.  Is there a candidate anywhere in the country that is addressing the issues that are drowning America in red ink and more debt?  My new column cites a number of examples where both Republicans and Democrats have missed the boat on what...Read More

  T  hursday, October 7th, 2010 Linville, North Carolina IS THE WHOLE COUNTRY GOING TO HELL IN A HAND BASKET? And I thought voters were distrustful, angry and confrontational, a few years back when I held public office.  My favorite author, Charles Dickens, would have said, “Hey Brown, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”Â  (Actually, I’m...Read More

In several columns, I have written about the Black Swan theory.    In ancient literature, a black swan was a proverbial phrase for something extremely rare or nonexistent.  How to assess risk is a key problem along the Gulf when it comes to figure the odds of oil spills and hurricanes. Professor Nassim Taleb has a...Read More

Senator Jim Webb from Virginia was a combat Marine in Viet Nam, and has written nine books.  The Atlantic Magazine named him one of the world’s 27 “Brave Thinkers,” and he has a strong commitment to protecting America’s security interests.  He expressed the same concern over the massive spending in the Middle East with so...Read More

Charlie Cook is the political insider’s guru in Washington, D.C.  The Cook Political Report is a must read for all who traverse Capitol Hill, and Charlie has become one of the most respected political observers in the country.  He happens to be from Shreveport, and our mothers played bridge together for many years.   Charlie and...Read More