Phil Hardwick

I did it. Two weeks ago this longtime Windows(PC) user bought a MacBook . One of the most difficult things so far is discovering that some of my favorite software is not available in a Mac application, or that it is not easy to make it work properly on a Mac. Nevertheless, I am forging ahead and at this point I believe the pros are going to outweigh the cons. The experience has me looking at new software and evaluating the software that I currently use. Then yesterday someone asked me, “What technology do you use?” My immediate reaction was to say, “What technology do I NOT use?” If I had the time and money, I’d be attending the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week . I love innovation and technology. Anyway, as a result of the above, I will be posting five days of blogs beginning Monday, January 4, on the subject of which technologies I use, more specifically which software and hardware that I use regularly. You’ll learn such things as my favorite word processor,

They don't mix, you say? Consider Article 6, section 8 of the North Carolina Constitution which reads, “The following persons shall be disqualified for office: First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God.” Six other states - Arkansas, Maryland, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas - have clauses in their Constitutions requiring that officeholders, according to an article in the Asheville Citizen-Times. The article discusses the case of a person recently elected to the City Council in that city. He chose to affirm, rather than swear, his oath of office. Cecil Bouthwell has received plenty of national attention, especially from bloggers who say that atheists should not be allowed to hold office. Now for the pop quiz. What is the wording the the oath of office for members of the legislature as stated by the Mississippi Constitution? Scroll down for answer ----- SECTION 40. Members of the legislature, before entering upon the discharge of their duties,

Howard Dean , M.D., the former Democratic National Committee chairman and former Governor of Vermont, made that statement this morning (12-17-2009) on MSNBC’s Morning Joe . Dean is taking flak for his “kill the bill” comments about the current version of the Senate’s health care bill. After listening to Dean for the past few days, I am beginning to believe that he is one of the few people who really care about health care reform instead of the politics of health care reform. Here’s are a few links that provide further enlightenment and elucidation: Huffington Post – Howard Dean Debates Health Care With Mary Landrieu, Chris Matthews ; NY Daily News – Howard Dean Flashback ; AP – Dean Urges Defeat of Health Care Bill .

That question should be easily answered after reading this column that I wrote for the Mississippi Business Journal. ***** This is a tale of two dollars. One stayed at home. One went to another town. Once upon a time there were two dollars. They each lived with their owners in the small town of Make Believe in rural Mississippi. Make Believe was a nice little town. There was a Main Street that had lots of little shops that sold special items and arts and crafts and catered to people who drove through town. There was also a grocery store. There was even a doctor in Make Believe. It was a nice little town that was enjoyed by all its residents, none of whom wanted it to change. This story of the first dollar is easy to tell. Its owner placed it snugly in her purse and drove 45 minutes to a nearby, larger town with a shopping mall. The owner stayed all day at the mall and spent the entire dollar on things bought in stores owned by big corporations in faraway states. Part of the first littl

The secret to escaping poverty is no secret at all, according to  Ron Haskins and Isabel Sawhill in their new book Creating an Oportunity Society .   Those who finish high school, work full time and marry before having children are virtually guaranteed a place in the middle class. Only about 2 percent of this group ends up in poverty.  They say that there are three things that the government could do to reduce poverty.  (1)   Improve public education : Expand pre-school programs, implement national achievement standards and establish more "paternalistic" charter schools. Provide low-income and minority pupils with better college-prep services. (2)   Encourage work : Enlarge the size and scope of the Child Tax Credit, increase child-care funding and bolster job-training programs. Building on the successful Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and experiment with "EITC-type wage supplements" for workers who either don't have children or don't have custody of thei

The lack of citizen participation in government at all levels has been lamented many times. Often, elected officials will merely announce that they welcome comments and ideas about new inititives - and they usually mean it. However, citizens who submit ideas never realy know if their ideas were considered or even received. They certainly do not know what ideas other citizens might have submitted. Perhaps technology can improve the situation. An example can be found in Seattle, Washington, where the new mayor is using the Internet to ask for advice from citizens. It's called Ideas for Seattle , a Web site where citizens can contribute new ideas for the future of the city and vote on ideas submitted by other citizens. Check it out at www.ideasforseattle.org .