About Me

In writing the "About Me" portion of this blog I thought about the purpose of the blog - namely, preventing the growth of Socialism & stopping the Death Of Democracy in the American Republic & returning her to the "liberty to abundance" stage of our history. One word descriptions of people's philosophies or purposes are quite often inadequate. I feel that I am "liberal" meaning that I am broad minded, independent, generous, hospitable, & magnanimous. Under these terms "liberal" is a perfectly good word that has been corrupted over the years to mean the person is a left-winger or as Mark Levin more accurately wrote in his book "Liberty & Tyranny" a "statist" - someone looking for government or state control of society. I am certainly not that & have dedicated the blog to fighting this. I believe that I find what I am when I consider whether or not I am a "conservative" & specifically when I ask what is it that I am trying to conserve? It is the libertarian principles that America was founded upon & originally followed. That is the Return To Excellence that this blog is named for & is all about.

Monday, December 26, 2016

New Year's Message - 2017

Thanks to a great new 2016 subscriber to RTE for sending this message that I present as a New Year's message.  If it can't make you smile I don't know what can. 
 
Happy 2017.
 

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Silent Night

click on photo to enlarge
 
Click here to hear Placido Domingo sing Silent Night accompanied by a piano, a cello, & a children choir.
 
Reference Post: The Christmas Scale
 

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Stock Market Quiz

Here is a stock market quiz regarding the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closing above 19,000.   I think most people will be surprised @ the result of the quiz – including the many investors in the readership.
 
Stock Market Quiz:
 
The table below shows the dates of each of the nineteen 1,000 point incremental milestones reached by the DJIA, starting with 1,000 in November 1972 through 19,000 last month.  
 
What is the real (inflation adjusted) compound annual rate of return from November 1972 to November 2016 for the DJIA given a compound annual inflation rate of 4.04% during this time?  Do not consider broker fees, dividends, taxes, timing regarding the payment of taxes, or slippage between the expected price of a trade & the price @ which the trade is actually executed.
 
I will post all correct answers or alternatively will send the solution privately to anyone who requests it if no one figures it out.
 
click on graphic to enlarge
 

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Holiday Season Cyber Crime Message From The FBI

Thanks to the Borough of Somerville for sending the timely subject message.  It provides several red flags & reveals common schemes to be aware of that cyber criminals use to steal money & personal information.  If you are unsuspecting you will find the message very educational.  For others it will be a good reminder of things to look out for. 
 
Since reading the FBI message I have noticed reports of malicious software disguised as legitimate apps for Android smartphones & tablets that have gained control of over one million Google accounts (out of 1.4 billion) – specifically the Trojan-horse software Gooligan & its predecessor Ghost Push.
 
I sent all of the above information to the best computer expert I regularly work with who offered the following advice – "follow the Google recommendations, download only from official app store, and don't rely on outdated versions of operating systems."
 
Hope the information herein is useful.