Yo, Chip! Yo, J.H.! Here's the Deal...

I'm presently reading "Coming Apart: The State of White America," by Charles Murray.

It's a terrifying read.

I'm only up to page 216, but let me assure you both... things are far worse than you realize.

You both need to read this book.

Indeed, all of my regulars here at Usually Right should avail themselves of the link provided above and order the book right now!

(Yes... this means you, M.S.; you too C.V.!)

I know that I have a tendency to piss off even my good friends with my... er... "know it all" attitude.

Tough. 

It's not that I'm necessarily smarter than my readers...

(I'm certainly not in the same IQ league with M.S. or M.D. - and note the only "JD" connected with my name is the bottle of "Gentleman Jack" on my bar!)

...but one thing I have over my smarter, more professionally successful friends is that I read more news and social science non-fiction than anyone I can think of. 

And... (and here's the biggie)... in addition to all this reading, recall that all this reading is being done within the context of my formal education - literally years spent studying history, political science, and international relations.

(In other words, folks... my ability to "connect the dots" is not based upon just intelligence or just following the news or just reading the works of authors such as Charles Murray... it's based upon a lifetime's exposure to - and study of - key facts and data which provide me the raw material out of which to make some sense out of what the heck is happening!)

So... bottom line... you wanna disagree with me when I provide analysis of where this country is heading... don't just spout off - fight facts with facts; reason with reason.

In short... up your game with regard to what you're reading, people!

You guys do understand that what you see as newsbites and stand-alone posts here at Usually Right represents but a sliver of the information I'm soaking up daily - right...?

Again... just to be clear... there are plenty of smarter guys and gals than me - and I'm talking about "knowledgeable" (learned) in the topics this blog concentrates upon dealing with. Thing is... most of these guys and gals are professors at major universities.

There are also plenty of guys and gals with far superior "real world" professional experience than I. But how's Ben Bernanke's "expertise" working out for the good ol' U.S.A.? How'bout Harry Reid's "experience?"

You folks get my point...

I know the gloom and doom can get tiring at times... but if you get depressed... just think of how I feel!

Anyway... rant off.

Chip... J.H.... sorry if I came off as "short" or "overly aggressive" during our email exchanges of earlier today - that was not my intention.

Again... (and I'm being as honest and forthright as it's possible to be)... this Murray book has me shaken up.