Mike Jensen

Why Even “Common Sense” Gun Control Must Be Stopped

I love the way progressives use the term, “common sense” whenever they’re talking about their political agenda. Barack Obama uses the term in reference to gun control, immigration reform, deficit reduction, and anything else he might be talking about at the time.

Something “Original” (You’ll Get the Pun in a Minute) about the Second Amendment

For the past several weeks, I have been looking for something original to say about the gun control debate. It has been beyond frustrating to watch the progressives yet again attempt to strip the American public of our right to self-defense. The problem is, everybody else is talking about this, too, including a whole bunch of people who are far more skilled than I at communicating their views on this issue.

God Works in Mysterious Ways

If you’ve perused the articles I’ve written for Canada Free Press (CFP), you’ll find that I rarely write about religious issues. I’m always a bit uncomfortable about mixing politics with religion. To begin with, I happen to believe in the separation of church and state (and yes, I know that phrase originated in a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802, not in the Constitution). I wouldn’t want my religious views—such as they are—imposed on another through legislation or regulation any more than I would want another’s religious views imposed on me.

Smart Mormons

During the 2012 presidential campaign, that awesomely deep well of perpetual wisdom, Alec Baldwin, proclaimed that if Barack Obama were not black, his vote total would have been 20 percent higher.

The God Complex

I think I have the Progressive/Socialist/Communist movement figured out, and the answer is God. Surprised? Read on.

A Problem Solving Approach to Global Warming, Part II

A few weeks ago I wrote a column for the Canada Free Press in which I tried to approach the global warming issue from a logical, problem-solving standpoint. I teach logic and problem solving at the university level, and I thought it would be interesting to see if I could take a hot political topic like global warming and apply basic problem-solving logic to it.

A Problem Solving Approach to Global Warming

Because I can't make a living writing for the Canada Free Press (go figure), I also teach logic and argumentation courses for several community colleges. This is a lot of fun, especially around election time when I make students look for logical fallacies in political ads. Talk about creating a new generation of cynics--students come into my class believing in the American system of government, and leave it ready to secede from the Union!

A Lesson from Star Trek

Okay, to begin with, I’m not a “Trekkie.” If you are a Trekkie, good for you. Keep practicing your Klingon, but not until you read this piece. If you’re not a Trekkie, don’t stop reading, assuming I’m going to waste your time arguing which of the Star Ship Enterprise captains would be a better president than Barack Obama (answer: ALL of them).

“Eurozone unemployment stuck at record 11.4%”  How Unexpected!

One of the big news stories from the Associated Press today ran with the headline quoted above. This development, of course, is shocking to liberals in the media, academia, and politics.

‘Adopt an American’

To My Canadian Friends, I rarely get the chance to listen to talk radio, as I’m working during the day. Yes, despite the Obama economy, I have a job. I’m an independent contractor. And despite what Barack Obama said in Roanoke, Virginia, recently (to business owners: “If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that”), I did build my business.

Coddling

In a recent Op-Ed piece for the New York Times, Warren Buffett, the second-wealthiest man in America with an estimated net worth of $45 billion, argued that his 2010 tax bill of just under $7 million was embarrassingly low and should have been far higher.

A Tale of Two Recessions

Pundits have taken to calling the 2008 financial meltdown the "Great Recession," hinting at the idea that this was the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s and 40s. This is a clever name. Not only does it have a nice ring to it; it also provides cover for the current resident of the White House, as it allows him to blame the anemic recovery/ongoing recession on the terrible economic situation he "inherited."

My Fall Reading List

Whenever I hear someone say, “I belong to a reading group, and just recently we read and discussed [insert obscure book title here]…” I picture a group of effete people sitting around in plush armchairs in front of a roaring fire, pipes in their mouths and patches on the elbows of their smoking jackets, saying things like, “Oh yes, the symbolic abstraction of the personification of the protagonist is emblematic of the author’s objectivist motif.”

Pity the Control Freaks

I write a lot about liberty in this column. I’m for it, by the way. I like liberty, and I’m proud of the United States and Canada (my birth country and my adopted country) for being at the forefront of a struggle for liberty that has led to 90 nations today being considered “free,” “mostly free,” or “moderately free” by the Heritage Foundation / Wall Street Journal combined report, “Index of Economic Freedom.”

The Beauty of State Competition

I’ve been thinking about the concept of state vs. federal government power this week. I have gained a new appreciation for this concept of late. I’m reading a book by Judge Andrew Napolitano titled, The Constitution in Exile. Napolitano notes that the federal government is granted only eighteen specific powers in the U.S. Constitution. These include such things as imposing taxes, borrowing money, and establishing a post office.

The Media Exposed…Again

The first presidential race that I remember growing up is the 1980 race between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter. I was more interested in other things at the time, but my parents talked about it incessantly. They felt that Carter was possibly the worst president of the 20th Century, and they desperately hoped that Ronald Reagan would win the election and bring true leadership back to America.

Looking for the Pill in the Twinkie

The United States and Canada are both facing what many experts call an obesity “epidemic.” Of course, in our current sensationalist media environment, just about everything can be considered an epidemic, from Swine Flu to foreclosures to Tea Party membership.

English for Insane People

I am by training an English professor. Being an English professor is not a popular job, as evidenced by the number of bullet holes I regularly find in my home’s all-natural artificial log siding.

A Free and Fair Canada

I’m proud of the fact that Canada is a country known for freedom and fairness. In fact, the Heritage Foundation’s recently released 2011 Index of Economic Freedom ranks Canada sixth in the world in economic freedom, behind only Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and Switzerland.

Christmas Food from a Former Friend

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. And I don’t say that just because once again my wife barely survived the annual “Day After Thanksgiving, 4:00 a.m., Grab A Gift and Get the Hell Out Before You’re Trampled to Death” shopping extravaganza.