Economic Truth

With Liberty and Justice For All

July 13, 2009

Between July 1st and 7th, a signficant amount of media coverage locally (north central Wisconsin in general and Wausau in particular) and some in the state of Wisconsin and nationally was on the T.E.A. (Taxed Enough Already) party movement and a number of events held to focus our nation's attention on the need to do three things:

Reduce taxes

Reduce the size and scope of the Federal and state government and their expenditures

Preserve the free market economic system

Unfortunately, much of that attention in Wausau came as the result of the decision by American Legion Post 10 to withdraw from its scheduled participation in the annual 4th of July event in downtown Wausau. Legion officials sent out a letter to the membership explaining the reasons for their decision, and the Post's actions became the subject of newspaper stories and editorials in the Wausau Daily Herald for several days before and after the T.E.A. party event, phone calls to and heated exchanges and commentary on local talk radio (WSAU's 55 Feedback program with host Pat Snyder), and a general concern (at least among some of the parties involved) that the issue was not covered in a way that was accurate by the traditional media.

It is against this background that I (as Executive Editor of economictruth.org) have made a decision to offer all of the parties involved in this matter the opportunity to be treated in the way you want to treated--fairly and completely!

Send me (by fax or e-mail--no phone calls please, as I want you to have a written record of what you said) a copy of the questions you would like to have been asked about the situation and your answers to those questions. With deference only to language content (a matter on which I will not yield or compromise) and clarity (using bracketed comments, not commentary, as needed), the story will be told in your words, not someone else's. The fax number and my e-mail address can be found here .

On the commentary front, we have added a new commentator to our growing list. Mark Cegielski, a businessman from Junction City, Wisconsin, has agreed to write a series of commentaries on the cap and trade legislation presently under consideration by the United States Senate. His first commentary can be found here. Doug Palmer's weekly thoughts are focused on the "brilliance" (or lack thereof?) of the proposed light bulb standards in this same cap and trade legislation. His latest "pondering" can be found here.

On the news front, the work on the on-line economics textbook is going much slower (have you ever watched grass grow?) than anticipated. I have perused over 9000 page of material in order to write an accurate, concise, and complete economics "primer", and the task (it is my first book) is proving more daunting that expected. In the process, I am developing a voluminous list of free articles and books for those who want to know more about economics. Keep watching for more information in the weeks to come.

I am also working on developing economics-related audio and video content for the Web site as well as preparing for speaking engagements on July 16th in Wisconsin Rapids at their inaugural T.E.A. party (at The Greek Chalet , located at 3310 8th Street South from 6:00-8:00 p.m.) and on July 20th at the Rose Garden in Wausau (at the health care forum featuring Bobby Schindler, brother of Terri Schiavo) and August 29th and 30th in Wausau. Stay tuned for reports on this week's as well as these and other upcoming events.

Personally, I am also finishing preparations on three on-line college courses (in Biblical economics, church administration, and elementary doctrines) I hope to be teaching this fall at Acts Ministry University, a new on-line Christian university headquartered in Springfield, Missouri. As with all start-ups (both secular and Christian), there is a great deal to be done before the final product becomes "open to the public". If you want to know more about Acts Ministry University, visit the ministry's Web site here.

If everthing goes according to plan, I will be attending the University's roll-out at ActsFest on August 7th-9th and hopefully becoming ordained through Acts Ministry. For those so inclined, please pray for me. I need all the divine help and financial resources God can supply.

Until next time, be blessed.