Critics are saying that Obama must display "leadership." So far, he has failed to do so, they claim.

This is true enough. But what exactly is leadership?

People tend to blame bad business decisions on capitalism. For example, some business owners treat their employees poorly and would advance their own interests better by treating their employees well. Happy employees tend to lead to happy customers, which means more profit for all. People have a bad boss, and they blame the free market. "Government ought to step in where the free market fails," they say.

This is like blaming oxygen for the actions of criminals. "If we didn't have so much oxygen, criminals wouldn't be able to breathe, and there would be less crime."

It's just as ridiculous to blame capitalism for the actions of business owners. The “oxygen” of business is unhampered, unrestricted capitalism. Capitalism refers

We're told that the riots throughout the U.K. are the fault of people who cut social service programs. The implication is clear. To those who teach and rule us, in academia and government, these riots are justified. 

Dear Dr. Hurd: I am a counselor working in a public school setting. This is starting to become a source of great conflict for me because after months of reading and contemplation, I have reached the conclusion that the government shouldn’t even be involved in education (among other things…) in the first place. I will likely eventually leave my position and end up in private practice, but until then, I was wondering if you had any tips for helping me keep my sanity.

Putting aside for a minute the thuggish mentality exacerbated by unions, “services” provided by theft (taxation), and general incompetency – the biggest conflict I’m dealing with, as a mental health professional, is the fact that “public” anything blurs the boundary between individual vs. institutional responsibility.