A good financial planner worth his or her salt will tell you two things. Always have a financial reserve equal to six, eight or even twelve months in case of an unforeseen emergency. Unforeseen emergencies can include but are not limited to the sudden death of an income producing family member, a sudden change in employment ie. lost job or even the results of a natural disaster. That same planner will also tell you to always be careful when it comes to biting off more than you can financially (debt) chew. When self sufficiency is out of the question, there's always option 2.

From time to time we may all encounter a little “craftiness". Defined as “deception”, it also lends itself to “astuteness” as in “intelligence manifested by being astute (as in business dealings.)” But an additional meaning shines brightly and continues to magnify the Republican controlled North Carolina General Assembly. That word is “chicanery.” “Chicanery” digs deeper and is truly the hallmark of current affairs. Defined as “verbal deception or trickery, especially in legal quibbling; dishonest or sharp practice”, it also means “the use of sly or evasive language, reasoning, etc.

With certainty, North Carolina is in a battle. Not with an occupying force from another country but from within. And at present, “within” is winning. Yesterday was a remarkable day both in world affairs and finances. After citizens of the United Kingdom decided to detach themselves from the European Union (Brexit), reality began to set in. Where objectivity and intelligence took a backseat to ignorance. And while there are legitimate concerns for “independence”, a vote to secede was the end result. In the late 1980’s, I spent two weeks in England.

Increasingly in today’s America, facts are being replaced by self-interpretation. Facts certainly continue to have their place as long as they are “our” facts versus “the” facts. In regard to right wing politics, guns and the 2nd Amendment, facts are code for “our beliefs.” Years ago and in the course of a conversation, an acquaintance spoke about her husband. “He knows what he knows and that’s all he wants to know”, she said. In a previous post some time ago, this simpleton quote my have been used in regard to another issue. Today, it bears repeating.

The only unknown was the exact time and place this would commence.

A national group that says having the GOP incorporate the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) agenda into its platform is “the conservative thing to do” has apparently established a beachhead on Jones Street.