Articles written by Michael Greaney

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About me - Michael Greaney

Mr. Greaney, a Certified Public Accountant, is CESJ's Secretary, volunteer Director of Research, and a member of the executive committee. He has audited profit and non-profit organizations throughout the world, with the American Red Cross, Georgetown University

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Arts & Humanities > Meaning of Life Finding the meaning of life: 1 of 88
The meaning of life is self-evident: to become more fully human, that is, conform yourself as completely as possible to human nature, with what it means to be human. Having said that, however, the "meaning of the meaning" is as open to as many interpretations and opinions as there are human beings. The approach of Aristot... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Political Issues Are we [Americans] collectively dumb as a nation?: 1 of 50
America - all countries on the face of the earth, in point of fact - are afflicted with a "collective dumbness" that, to people operating within traditional concepts of society, expresses itself in wrong (or, more accurately, inappropriate) behavior. Behavior that is appropriate from a strictly individual point of view is fr... More..
Arts & Humanities > Writing Tips Getting over writer's block: 3 of 133
Some Roman or other wrote that writer's itch is an incurable disease. The problem is that the symptoms can be very painful. The most serious of these symptoms is known as "writer's block." Writer's block is a general inability to do anything than stare at an empty sheet of paper and throw sharpened pencils at the ceiling, ... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Politics in the Middle & Near East Should Jerusalem be split between the Israelis and Palestinians?: 1 of 32
The Israeli/Palestinian conflict, religious differences aside, is rooted in a mistaken notion held by many people in the modern world. A preponderant number of people have the fixed idea that a thing can only have one owner, whether a private individual or the State. This has, in part, accounted for the rise and acceptance ... More..
Arts & Humanities > Philosophical Concepts Is the concept of freedom overrated?: 1 of 25
The concept of freedom can only properly be understood within the overall framework of rights and duties, especially natural rights, such as life, liberty ("freedom"), and access to the means of acquiring and possessing property. Without this essential understanding, the exercise of any right - especially liberty - can and w... More..
Society & Lifestyle > Society & Lifestyle (Other) Are homeless shelters the answer to the homelessness issue: 3 of 61
Homeless shelters to the homeless are like whiskey to an alcoholic. They may help someone get through one more day, but they do nothing to address the root causes of homelessness. In a very real sense, by enabling the homeless - making life "easier" - shelters make the problem worse by removing the most immediate incentive ... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Politics in Latin America The future of Socialism in Latin America: 1 of 18
After the fall of communism and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the final years of the 20th century, capitalist pundits loudly proclaimed the "victory" of capitalism. From the presidency of Ronald Reagan to the pontificate of Pope John Paul II and his issuance of the encyclical "Centesimus Annus" on the 100th annivers... More..
Personal Finance > Smart Spending Are savings from coupons worth the trouble of collecting them?: 1 of 18
Every so often a "woman's magazine" (that frequently have more interesting and better-written articles than "men's magazines") will run a story on "How I Feed My Family on Thirty Cents a Week" or some such thing, all through intensive "couponing." A recent "human interest" segment on a local news television program featured ... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Political & Economic Theory Could a single global currency work?: 1 of 17
The idea of a single global currency is not only feasible in our day and age, it has been effectively implemented a number of times in the past. Any numismatist - "coin collector" - can rattle off examples of currencies that functioned as global media of exchange without batting an eye. The Athenian "owls" (Drachma) eithe... More..
Society & Lifestyle > Mythology & Folklore Is the Loch Ness Monster real?: 3 of 47
The only safe way to debate the existence of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Loch Ness Monster is to hedge your bets. Of these, there is actual evidence only for the last-named (and that is considered problematical by many authorities), but the intensity, seriousness, and fervor with which the beliefs are held rival t... More..