Articles written by Ken Spitze

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About me - Ken Spitze

I spent most of my adult life in academia: I was a Professor in the Department of Biology and the University of Miami during the 1990s after completing my education at the University of Illinois. I also spent two years at the University of Oregon as a postdoc.

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Politics, News & Issues > Political & Economic Theory Understanding democracy: 1 of 73
The differentiation between "democracy" and "republic" is at best something whose time is long gone. In the past, I can imagine that there was some utility in distinguishing between these terms. This difference between countries that could be called either lay in whether the people acted directly to make laws, or the people e... More..
Personal Finance > Investing Basics How to invest small amounts of money: 3 of 23
Perhaps the best way to regularly invest small amounts of money in the stock market is to enroll in dividend reinvestment plans, often simply called DRIPs. These are programs administered by individual companies that allow investors with (usually) just one share of stock to allow all of their dividends to be automatically rei... More..
Politics, News & Issues > International Politics (Other) The growing power of women in politics: 4 of 25
On November 21, 1922, Rebecca Latimer Felton of Georgia became the first woman to serve in the United States Senate. She was appointed to fill out a term, and although she served just one day, she made history. On Election Day in 2008, Kay Hagan became the first woman to defeat an incumbent woman, Elizabeth Dole, when she won... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Presidential Elections 2008 Is it OK to vote in the other party's primary election?: 1 of 5
I believe that people should vote in the primary of the political party that most closely reflects their ideology. We have a two-party system here in the United States. Currently, and for some time now, the two major parties have been the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. There are clear and meaningful differences be... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Government & Policies Why the Electoral Vote is important to the US political system: 1 of 4
It is most certainly NOT important and should be abolished. We live in a democracy. The defining aspect of a democracy is the ideal of one person one vote: the person receiving the most support from the individual citizens is elected to hold office. However, the current President of the United States received fewer votes fro... More..
Personal Finance > Personal Finance (Other) How to pay off your credit card debt: 5 of 19
Credit cards are useful tools, but they can also cause serious problems. Their ease of use is both their greatest advantage and their greatest danger. In poor economic times, more and more people find themselves with mounting credit card debt. Most people know it is a bad thing, but often feel powerless to do anything about i... More..
Personal Finance > Investing (Other) Investing in Gold and Silver as opposed to other investments: 3 of 11
Gold and silver have long held the fascination of mankind. It has been used in jewelry and has adorned kings and rulers, both in life and in death. But these precious metals have also been a choice for accumulating and holding wealth.But what is the best investment for the future? Should you put your money in gold and silver ... More..
Personal Finance > Credit Cards Does transferring debt from one credit card to another save money?: 4 of 12
Credit card companies make their money from three sources. First, they charge a fee to the merchant every time a purchase is made. This fee is usually a percentage of the total amount charged, usually between 1% and 3%, and often a small per-transaction fee. Second, they make money by charging interest on balances that cardho... More..
Personal Finance > Managing Debt How to manage your debt: 15 of 33
Fundamentally, debt is caused by buying something that you think you need now, and paying for it later. For this, the debtor pays interest. So, is debt bad? Well, that is certainly a matter of opinion. Let's examine some types of debt and see what exactly are the costs and benefits.What if I wanted to buy a new sofa and don't... More..
Pets & Animals > Dog Breeds Which dog breed makes the best pet?: 29 of 58
When I was in the 9th grade, my parents finally allowed me to get a pet. I wanted a dog. However, my father wanted to decide what kind of dog to get, one that would be able to deal with being alone a lot. At that point, both of my parents were away at work all day and of course I was at school. He also wanted one that didn't ... More..