Reason

No, I don't mean reason as in what's reasonable - though that has much to do with the topic of this post. Rather, I mean the reason for this blog; the reason I post in the first place.

I feel this is important. (Sidebar: a college professor, who taught quantitative courses, urged his students not to say "I feel," but rather, "I believe." In my professional writing, I adhere to that. After all, I'm a quantitative guy, an obsessive researcher and analyst, and in that world, I don't lead with my feelings, but with the numbers and facts, and what's behind them. However, in this instance, my foundation for the importance of explaining this blog is a function of my feelings. So there you have it.)

I feel this is important, because I sense that - especially of late - what I post here has been called into question. It may offend some people's sensitivities. It may lead them to believe that I'm an insensitive, uncaring, far-right cad, someone who hates women, children and puppies.

First, anyone who knows me knows that I love puppies more than I love most people. Puppies, after all, give love unconditionally, make us laugh daily, and generally reduce our blood pressure, an important consideration for a hypertensive Type-A male like me.

Second - and this is vitally important - I love my people fiercely. Family, friends, my inner circle ... it doesn't matter. Opinions may differ, but to me, blood is thicker than that. Bonds are thicker than that. It saddens me that this isn't always the case, with everyone. Would that it were. I believe (not feel) the world would be a better place if it were so.

First, then, let me explain some of my posts over the past month (a month during which I was more active on this blog than is usual, due to the circumstances unfolding during that month, and my thoughts about them). Then, I'll explain the existence of this blog to begin with, and its evolution. Finally, I'll leave some hints about posts to follow.

Let's get to it. The simple, plain fact is that much of what I've posted over the last month has had to do with the nomination, "advice and consent" (a concept totally abandoned by the Senate in this instance), and ultimate confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

I won't detail my thoughts (and feelings) about this process beyond what I've already said, and what I will say in some upcoming posts, other than to say this:

• I am not anti-woman. Any woman close to me should know that. I cherish women, and while I can't understand what some women have experienced, I can, and do, empathize.
• I am not predisposed to disbelieve women. Just yesterday, I read one woman's account - a woman whom I know - of a situation where she was nearly taken advantage of in a way not of her choosing. My immediate inclination was to believe her account, her version of events, without questioning whether her accounting of it was accurate or truthful. At the same time, I deal in facts (a by-product of my life experience as an economist, a financial analyst, and a guy who several lawyers have said should have been a lawyer). So it's my nature to seek the facts, the truth; to analyze, to question. It doesn't make me a bad person, nor a bad parent, which has been insinuated (albeit not directed toward me specifically, but rather in a more passive-aggressive way). It makes me someone who prefers the truth over speculation, the facts over opinions.
• I am not some far-right neo-con. That label is in and of itself intended as slander, aligning those on the right with Nazis in a thinly-veiled way. First, when you think about it, Hitler's Nazi party wasn't far-right, it was far-left. Second, there is nothing "neo" about someone who has been conservative for 35 years. And third, as I'll explain in an upcoming post, I'm anything but far-right.
• Finally, I will say that I'm as entitled to my opinions as the next guy (or gal). They're born of nearly six decades of experience, which have spanned the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, Kent State, the SDS and Abby Hoffman, the Reagan Revolution, considerable economic upheaval, and the present state of affairs. I remember where I was when I learned of the assassinations of JFK, Martin Luther King, and RFK. I remember my reaction. (For those who don't know of those events, Google is your friend, but please read multiple sources to gain a broad perspective.) The bottom line is this: you're entitled to your opinions, but so am I. In a civil society, both should be allowed to exist, and both should be accorded equal validity. We all have a voice. I would never try to silence yours. Don't try to silence mine, through shame or through shouting or through any other means.

Okay, enough on that. Now, on to why this blog exists, and how it's evolved.

The genesis of The Economic Curmudgeon was in the late 2000s. The name for this blog came from the fact that, as an economist, I'd been bearish on the economy since about 1998, through the mid-2000s, even though the economy was roaring through the early years of this millennium.

Why was I bearish? Simple: I saw the housing crash coming, and I knew the Fed was increasingly engaging in artificially propping up an economy that couldn't stand on its own.

As the 2008 election loomed, my posts increasingly leaned toward the political, as I saw an emerging bright star of a Presidential candidate who gave a pretty speech, but was nearly totally devoid of the requisite experience to lead this country.

In the ensuing years, as the demands of my career ebbed and flowed, I posted either more or less. In recent years, I've resurrected this blog, and have posted more.

Why, you ask? Well, around 2009 or 2010, I reluctantly established a Facebook presence. I initially did so because my daughter was off to college, and I realized that the best way to keep up with what was going on in her life was to join the legions with Facebook accounts. (Now, as she reminds me often, I post more than her.)

More recently, I've found that some of my Facebook friends don't like to read my political views on that forum. And that's okay, because I don't like to read theirs, either. I recognize Facebook for what it is. If you want to post some political meme, or a link to some political blog, with which I disagree, I can quickly scroll past it. If we're not all that close, and that kind of stuff is pretty much all you post, I can remain your Facebook friend, and simply unfollow you. And if you go way overboard, and we're not that close to begin with, I can, of course, unfriend you, but I consider that a last resort. (However, I've been unfriended for my views far more casually than that - something I consider sad; as I noted above, I'd like to think that friendships and relationships are stronger than political opinions.)

So, in light of having been cast to the Facebook waste-bin of unfriendedness, I decided to resurrect this blog, so that my friends who were inclined to disagree with me could simply scroll on, without clicking the link. (To do so otherwise is a form of self-torture, IMO.) Occasionally, I restrict my posts to economic or market topics, but I'm no longer in that world on a day-to-day basis, so those posts tend to be less frequent. Plus, there's less economic upheaval going on these days.

My reasons for resurrecting the blog were three-fold. First, I recognize that my Facebook friends no more want to read my political opinions than I want to read theirs. And apparently not everyone shares my ability to just scroll past that stuff, or read it and then shake my head, until I get to the things I want to see - how your family is doing, your baby and puppy pictures, and what you did on vacation.

So I bury my opinions in my blog. I am generally conservative. So if you're not ... don't. click. the. link. You likely won't agree with what you read. But it's okay, I'll still read your memes and posts, though I probably won't click on your links. Life's too short. Blood pressure meds are too expensive.

Second, the media these days is full of bulls***. Apparently no one conducts research anymore. Certainly, journalism is dead; it died with Tim Russert, God rest his soul. However, my forte is research. So I read the source documents, look for what's behind the numbers, and try to parse the truth from the feelings, and bring a little common sense and uncommon insight to what's happening day-to-day. I try to bring a perspective grounded in fact, something you may not find elsewhere. That may not be what you want, and that's okay.

And third, while I have nearly 500 Facebook friends, on any given day more than 200 people follow this blog, thanks in part to my Facebook friends sharing these posts with their friends. Such is the magic of social media. That's a pretty healthy following for a guy who does nothing outside of Facebook to promote his blog, does nothing to monetize it, and - for the time being - has no intention of doing so.

Several of my Facebook friends implored me to post links to the blog when I post, so that they don't have to visit it regularly when I don't post regularly, but they want to see what I have to say. I guess I'm flattered yet befuddled, but so be it. So I post the links for their benefit. Again, if you know you're predisposed to disagree with me, please don't click the link. While I'd like to think that, if you're of an open mind, you might find some food for thought, chances are I'm just going to piss you off. And that's not my intent. So just scroll a little further, and you'll undoubtedly find the baby and puppy pictures that we're all really on Facebook to see.

The bottom line is this: I'm not going to apologize for my views, any more than I'm going to ask you to apologize for yours. If I offend you, don't click the link. If you can't help yourself, unfollow me, or, if you must, unfriend me. I read your political stuff and I still remain connected to you. If you can't do the same, Facebook gives you an out, and I give you grace. But I won't be shamed because my views differ from yours. That's not democracy; in fact, it's quite the opposite.

Now, a hint of things to come (for those who do follow this blog). In the weeks between now and the mid-term elections, I plan several posts (I could have combined them into this one, but you'd be asleep by the time I was done):

1. Post-Apocalyptic Musings: my final (I hope) comments on the Kavanaugh confirmation process, his legacy, and the composition of the Supreme Court
2. The Evolution of a Curmudgeon: I've had several questions on how my views have evolved over time, and as a guy who voted for Jimmy Carter in his first election, and is now inclined to be a straight party-line voter - something I vowed I'd never be - this may be of interest (if not, don't click the link)
3. Truth: what it really means
4. The Danger of the Mid-Terms

I can't promise I won't sprinkle in something else in the interim, as events unfold. I can't promise that I'll find the time to cover all these topics between now and early November. But I'll try. So be forewarned, or stay tuned; it's your choice.