Teach Your Kids About Business

Johnny Money Online Game

When my friend Ben asked my daughter what I do all day, she just shrugged her shoulders and said something like, “He plays on the computer and talks on the phone.”

It was funny, and of course, she was right. That is pretty much what I do.

But on a more serious note, most kids don’t really know what goes into operating a business. And that’s where the Johnny Money game comes in.

The NFIB released the game to help parents and educators teach kids about starting and operating a business. A typical game can be easily played from start to end in about 30 – 45 minutes.

Check out the game here: http://www.nfib.com/page/YEFJohnnyMoney.html
And the press release that will give you some more background here: http://www.nfib.com/object/IO_38451.html

Oil Prices Have Tripled in the Last Two Years. But Relax, OPEC Has A Plan…

You’ll have to pardon my skepticism, but when I heard that OPEC said that the reason gas prices were going up is because of biofuels; I had to laugh.

All we have to do, according to OPEC, is eliminate their competition, and then they’ll just lower oil prices for us. Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?

I mean, listening to OPEC about how to solve high gas prices is a bit like putting the wolf in charge of sheep security – dontcha think?

Talk about pushing your luck. Fortunately, the World BioFuels Industry has addressed these OPEC lies with an open letter published last week in the Financial Times. You can see the letter here at www.goodfuels.org/opec.

A New Use for My Weeds

So, they say you can make ethanol out of Switchgrass.

An interesting article written by DarkPalmer (http://darkpalmer.wordpress.com/2008/07/03/the-case-for-ethanol/) debunks a lot of the one-sided information coming to us from CNN and all the other mass media outlets.

I’m starting to think that if CNN says it, it must be bullshit.

Anyway, read the article, then sign the petition to get more attention on the positive aspects of ethanol.

Here’s a link to the petition: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/declare-july-4th-energy-independence-day
Here’s a link to the organization running it: http://www.drivingethanol.org/.

Now, if they could just figure out a way to use the Dandelions in my yard to make ethanol!

A Perfect Online Business Idea

Need an online business you can start at night while you hang on to your “day job”? Check out www.Ning.com. This company developed a social networking site that you can use for little or no cost.

The basic system is free and includes all the functionality you’ll need to run your network. If you want to run your own advertising on the site and get your own URL (which you’ll need to do), then you’ll pay a small monthly fee.

Even with the fee, though, you should be able to make a profit with the site within a month or so. You just have to use your evenings to build traffic and get people to join your network.

Get more information on Ning at their website: www.ning.com.

Irrationality Causes The Right To Miss The Point

Conservative blogger JournalJim has a point on his blog (http://www.journaljim.com/?p=4). We don’t really know what caused the Tomato Salmonella outbreak last month. And that’s the problem.

Jim correctly points out that depending on one’s issue du jour, the outbreak may have been caused by global warming, or George Bush’s castration efforts at the FDA. Maybe it’s one, the other or both!

Who cares? We need to get to the bottom of this and fast. People are dying, and what’s the response from the right?

They make jokes.

This irrational defense of this failed administration disregards any facts about the consequences of allowing our government to ignore these very real threats to our survival. We need the FDA to be properly funded AND MANAGED.

You Really CAN Make This Stuff Up

They say the news is so weird, so absurd, that you just can’t make it up. But every day, the intrepid reporters at The Onion (www.theonion.com) do just that. As anyone who has seen the inside of a Newsroom can tell you, most news stories are best enjoyed with a grain of salt.

Maybe it should come with onions.

This left-wing commentary on everything from the media to sports to the Presidential election is funny, and sometimes a little uncomfortable when it hits a little too close to home.

Be sure to check out their special section on the 2008 Presidential Election: http://www.theonion.com/content/whitehousewar