Classes start on Monday at Hubbard State University. Hubbard, which has been a quiet, peaceful town during the summer, is now teaming with activity as 7,000 students return for the fall semester. The football team has been back for two weeks but after two-a-day workouts they are kept too busy and are too tired to stir up any commotion. The Hubbard State Football team is NCAA division II; just good enough to provide great entertainment and just obscure enough that it’s participants don’t have big heads or outlandish egos. Hubbard State is a place where the term “student athlete” actually means something.

Preceding the main invasion of students, some 2,000 freshmen arrived in Hubbard last Wednesday for Hubbard State’s new student orientation where they learn about campus facilities, are admonished about excessive drinking, and are required to hear a lecture about the difference between consensual sex and rape. Mostly 18 years old and finally free from the constraints of their parents, they are ecstatic about their independence. Long time Hubbard residents snicker to themselves as they see the freshmen wandering the streets in “packs” with their newfound friends. Dressed to the hilt, thanks to a clothing budget provided by Mom and Dad, they look like little Hollywood celebrities as they “troll” for the eye of that cute freshman guy or girl that they might meet at any moment. They have new laptops, school hasn’t started and it’s time to party!

On the other side of campus, in the science building, is Marcus Harnack’s chemistry professor who begins his twentieth year at Hubbard State. Still passionate about Chemistry, he enjoys his work. Like the springtime brings new flowers and life to the fields, each fall brings new students and a new life to the University. As the years pass he gets older and his hairline recedes further but the students never grow old; they come in every fall, eternally 18 years old with the enthusiasm and optimism that is the gift of youth. It is refreshing and he feels blessed to be part of it.

The Chemistry Professor has a job to do. His primary mission is to impart knowledge. He does so by carefully preparing his lectures and by being available to his students outside of class when they come to him with questions. He treats them with respect, but knows that the dissemination of knowledge is a two-way street. His job is to prepare and deliver his lectures. Their job is to read the textbook and study. Unfortunately for many freshmen, this isn’t something they have contemplated; there are too many other fun things to do while at the University.

On the first day of class he asks them a question. “What would you be doing if you were not in College?” They reply that they would be working in a retail store, construction, or at the paper mill in their hometown. “So you would be working 40 hours a week? Is that correct?” he says. They answer in the affirmative. He then goes on to guarantee that if they will work a 40-hour week in college, they will be successful. He asks them to “work” in their academic pursuits 8 hours a day, five days a week, with evenings and weekends off. The 40 hours must be spent either in class or in study time. He explains that if they would get up at 7 a.m., eat breakfast, and either attend class or study from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with an hour off for lunch, they would have every evening off to socialize. They would also have their weekends free. He knows that this will work. He also knows that they won’t take his advice.

Young people are nocturnal, like hamsters. Unless they force themselves to the contrary they will sleep during the day and come alive at night. They have studying on their priority list, but it is usually way down at the bottom of the list. A typical Tuesday goes something like this.

11:00 a.m. Awaken with back pain from sleeping on top of psychology textbook
12:01 p.m. Eat lunch in the cafeteria
1:00 p.m. Attend Chemistry Class
2:00 p.m. Go to the snack shop at the student center to hang around with friends
4:30 p.m. Back to the dorm to see if anything is going on
6:00 p.m. Eat dinner in the cafeteria
7:30 p.m. Go downtown with friends to check on that fake ID you’ve ordered
11:00 p.m. Back to the dorm to listen to rock music and cram for tomorrow’s exam
2:30 a.m. Fall asleep holding that boring economics textbook

Of course, Wednesday the student has four classes for which he/she is woefully prepared. After a few weeks of irresponsible use of time, the first exams are held. The results are disastrous. Mom and Dad won’t be happy. For a nanosecond they will remember the Chemistry Professor’s recommendation on how to structure their time for academic success…for about a nanosecond. Then they will be distracted when Lenny down the hall wants to play ping-pong. Lenny is a great guy. Any time during the night or day Lenny is hanging around the dorm and wants to do something. Problem is, with his 0.81 first semester grade point average, Lenny isn’t coming back next semester.

As the freshmen are eternally 18 years old, the Chemistry Professor realizes that they are also eternally unwise and irresponsible in their time-use decisions. “Why do they never learn?” he asks himself. The answer to his question lies in the premise itself; they are eighteen. Unlike he, they weren’t around last year to observe the mistakes of the previous class of freshmen. They are part of the vast eternal round of humanity, doomed to learn life’s lessons the way all of us must…by ourselves.

Dave, Hubbard’s resident renaissance man (See Episode 5), usually stays pretty much to himself, except for Tuesday evenings when folks gather in his garage to discuss politics, business, religion, or UFO’s. Last weekend was an exception and a surprise.

On Friday afternoon Dave showed up at the Lake Shady campground and reserved two camping sites. Russ, the campground manager, couldn’t believe his eyes when Dave walked through the door. “I didn’t know you were a camper,” said Russ. “Just this weekend.” said Dave. “I’ve got some buddies coming around and I want to take good care of them.” As Friday afternoon progressed, Russ noticed Dave pull in with two personal watercraft on a dual trailer. Next he returned with a 16 foot fishing boat, full of inner tubes, water skis, towropes, coolers, tents, and everything else a camper would be expected to have.

Russ watched as the ageing Dave struggled with the trailer hitches, lights, safety chains, and other paraphernalia. He pitched three tents, using a taut line hitch to secure the corners of each tent in case of high winds. He tied the knots quickly, never pausing for a second. Russ was impressed with his efficiency. During the process Dave paused once to stretch the kinks out of his back and winced once or twice when a bee crawled up his shirtsleeve and stung him on the elbow. Around 5:00 pm a fifteen-passenger van entered the campground, full of kids from the Hubbard orphanage. The kids were of both genders and appeared to be between the ages of 13 and 17. The bus stopped, the kids got out with blankets and pillows, and the driver sped away. It was quite a sight, Dave with 12 teenagers!

Dave explained which tent was the girls’ tent and which one was for the boys. “And I don’t want any finagling going on once it gets dark.” he said. “And the small tent is mine,” said Dave. “I don’t want you in there, period. Now let’s get over to the beach, it’s getting late and we have to get those personal watercraft off the water an hour before sunset.” The next hour and a half he instructed the older kids on the proper use of the speedy but potentially dangerous personal watercraft. In anticipation for this weekend everyone 16 years old and older had taken the DNR exam and had received their operator’s permit. The younger ones rode on the back with Dave. “Don’t jump boat wakes and no hotdoggin”, said Dave.

By 7 pm they were back at the campsite and Dave was cooking the burgers and brats. Generous helpings of potato salad, chips, and baked beans were available, although Dave pointed out the hazards of eating too many baked beans when sharing a tent with others. As it got dark they sat around a roaring campfire, talking about stuff that was important to them; the new school year, people they liked and didn’t like, and their plans for the future. Some were talkers and others were not. Dave particularly observed the non-talkers, trying to figure them out. The youngest boy that Dave had nicknamed “bugger”, never said a word.

Saturday was spent fishing, boating, water skiing, tubing, swimming, and anything that can be done with a boat and personal watercraft. Dave had to pull out the personal watercraft and fill them up at the gas station, a mere $58.00. As he filled up the tanks Dave could be seen muttering to himself, “Doggone it, I hate funding those terrorists. Why can’t we get this energy independence thing taken care of?” Saturday afternoon went well. Dave was mainly concerned about safety. He didn’t want to return any of those kids to the orphanage in worse shape than when they came. By the end of the day everyone was pretty tired, even “Bugger”, who had started to talk a bit more and interact with the others. The campfire was great, the crickets were loud and the stars were out in full force. Dave showed them how to find the North Star.

Sunday morning Dave fixed pancakes for the kids, but it was almost time to go. They silently helped him break camp and rig the equipment for transport back to Dave’s place, but Dave would spend most of the afternoon hauling the stuff out and putting it away in his garage. About 10 a.m. they took a brief hike through the woods, their boots snapping sticks along the trail. They heard the occasional scamper of varmints along the way, along with the songs of the birds. It was peaceful.

At eleven the mini-van showed up, along with its uninspired driver. The doors opened and the kids piled in, except for “Bugger”. Dave looked around and spotted him behind the van, out of sight from the others. As he walked to the back of the vehicle, Bugger came up to him with tears in his eyes and hugged Dave. As Dave put his arms around Bugger, the child said in a tearful voice, “I wish you were my Dad.” Dave cried too.

On July 26, 2006 the City Council of Chicago approved by a vote of 35 – 14 an ordinance requiring higher wages for workers in “big-box” stores.  The ordinance would require stores of at least 90,000 square feet operated by companies with $1billion or more a year in sales to pay employees a minimum of $10 an hour and $3 in fringe benefits by 2010.  Mayor Dailey has threatened a veto of the legislation, which must occur no later than September 13, 2006.  A veto override will require 34 votes, meaning that Daley needs to change the minds of only two Aldermen to thwart the legislation.

The proposed Chicago “Big Box” legislation is just the latest of several attempts to stop the expansion of Wal-Mart in large cities.  In October, 1999 California Legislators tried unsuccessfully to pass a law banning all new construction of big box retailers over 100,000 square feet in the state.  A Maryland law that would have required Wal-Mart to spend more on employee health care was overturned by a Federal Judge last July.   The court ruled that Wal-Mart was being singled out to pay health care costs that other competitors did not have to pay.  It also ruled that it was not proper to make Wal-Mart track and allocate benefits for its Maryland employees in a different way than it does in all other states.

One might expect that legislators from California, the District of Columbia and New Jersey would oppose Wal-Mart, but would hope for more in the fine city of Chicago.  Chicago has historically supported businesses and the jobs and prosperity that accompany them.  Furthermore, Chicago has a history of adopting essentially a “free market” economic philosophy.  New York City has suffered continual and substantial housing shortages due to the passage of rent control legislation.  Chicago never instituted rent controls and has predictably avoided housing shortages.  This latest move by Chicago aldermen to prevent big box stores in the city goes counter to the economic freedom and lack of political interference that has made Chicago one of the world’s most viable and thriving cities.

Politics is almost always the antithesis of sound economics and Chicago’s “Big Box” legislation is no exception.  Big unions such as the United Food and Commercial Workers Union can get out the vote on Election Day and they have threatened Chicago’s Aldermen to punish Wal-Mart, Target, and Lowe’s.  They claim that the Big Box stores have low wages, poor benefits and bad working conditions.  Of course, if the wages, benefits, and working conditions were that bad, none of the Big Box stores would be able to find employees, but common sense reasoning has been lost in the stench of bad Chicago politics.

Mayor Daley is threatening a veto and has told Chicago’s citizens that, in the absence of the property taxes paid by the big box stores, Chicago’s already strapped homeowners will have to bear the difference in terms of higher property taxes.  Daley also needs to emphasize that Chicago’s poor neighborhoods desperately need the additional jobs that can be provided by the Wal-Mart’s, Target’s, and Lowe’s of the world.  It should also be noted that residents of Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods are paying much higher prices now than they would be if they had a Wal-Mart in their neighborhood.  Studies have shown that a typical poor urban family can save over $2,000 a year by shopping at Wal-Mart.  There is no government program that adds even close to that amount of purchasing power to the income of a poor family.

The effect of Chicago’s pending Big Box legislation has already been felt in the windy city.  Target is now putting on hold its plan to construct a Super Target on the north side of Chicago.  Lowe’s and Wal-Mart have also halted their plans for retail outlets in the city.  This economist strongly urges Mayor Daley to veto Chicago’s Big Box legislation on or before September 13th.  Moreover, Chicago’s aldermen should re-educate themselves about the practical benefits that the Big Box stores can bring to their city and it’s citizens.  It is not too late for them to reinstate the fine city of Chicago as a bastion of free-market activity and progress.

The Middle East is in turmoil once again as Israel bombs Lebanon to eliminate the threat of Hisbulla on its border.  This is a classic “catch 22.”  On the one hand, Israel cannot tolerate Hisbulla’s rockets threatening its territory.  On the other hand, no amount of destruction in Lebanon will bring Hisbulla to its knees.  The end result of this war will be some sort of negotiated settlement with Hisbulla still a threat and Israel purchasing some temporary peace.  That peace will be short lived because the recent destruction in Lebanon has irritated Lebanese Shias, more of who will now be willing to engage in a lifelong jihad against Israel and the United States, which they consider a proxy for Israel.

If you’re a Muslim extremist, it’s a great world!  American consumers finance oil revenues for Iran with $3.00 a gallon gasoline, which limits consumer spending in the United States, weakening the U.S. economy.  Meanwhile, Iran uses its share of $3.00 per gallon American money to manufacture and send rockets to Hisbulla in Lebanon, which fires the rockets into Israel, which prompts retaliation by Israel, which increases the numbers of Muslim extremists, and on and on.

Meanwhile, Bush and Blair are asking for some sort of international peacekeeping force in Lebanon.  Coming soon will be proposals for the American taxpayer to subsidize the Lebanese government, supposedly so that they can rid their country of Hisbulla.  The problem is that many Lebanese support Hisbulla, which will use the new “peace” window to rebuild their arsenal.  Hurt already by high gas prices the average American family will now be paying to fund Hisbulla in Lebanon.  Other countries, including the Europeans, the Russians and the Chinese will continue to refuse to help us in the war on Terrorism.

Some analysts have labeled this mess the beginning of World War III.  That is an overstatement, but there are actions that the United States can take to put an end to this perpetual insanity without sacrificing our taxpayers or our economy.  I propose that the United States of America should do the following:

1.    Become oil independent as soon as possible.  See my article “Time to Get Serious About Energy” to explain how this can be done.
2.    Put Israel and South Korea on notice that taxpayers of the United States of America will not come to their aid if Iran or North Korea attacks them.  Their defense and security is their matter and should be conducted by them without our direction or judgment.  To make sure they understand that they are solely responsible for their own defense, all economic aid to both Israel and South Korea should be eliminated.
3.    Give no aid whatsoever to any country that sponsors terrorism or threatens other countries.  This includes Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, and North Korea.
4.    Put North Korea, Iran, and other problematic countries on notice that the United States will give ultimatums from time to time, Congressionally approved, that, if ignored, will result in strategic air strikes with conventional weapons on their leaders and/or facilities whenever and wherever we wish, without input from the United Nations and with no regard to civilian casualties.
5.    Get out of Iraq as soon as possible.  If necessary build a base there to conduct strategic air strikes when advantageous.
6.    Make it clear to Saudi Arabia that if a major terrorist attack occurs in the United States, we will demand that they sell us oil for $10 a barrel until the economic cost of the terrorist act has been reimbursed.  If they refuse to sell us the oil for $10 a barrel we will conventionally destroy their ability to export oil, effectively cutting off all income to the kingdom.  If the attack in the United States is severe enough, the Al Saud clan (the royal family) may also be targeted.  Maybe that will give the Saudis some incentive to reign in radical Islamists that prosper in their country and wreak havoc throughout the world.

It is time to take the gloves off and give American taxpayers a break.  World War I, World War II, and the recent horror in the Balkans are proof positive that the Europeans have never exhibited the foresight or courage to stand up to dictators and despots, nor will they ever do so.  Neither will the South Koreans stand up to the idiot Kim Jung Il, despite the fact that their country will be the first to suffer when he finally gets enough power to destroy them.  Only the good old United States and its economy and taxpayers will do what is necessary.  Fine, let’s do what is necessary, but let it no longer include inserting our troops into countries where they are neither welcomed nor appreciated.  From now on we should carry the big stick, and when necessary for the good of humanity, deliver our blows from the air above.