Brian Gongol thinks the things that make America great are making money and having fun -- or, as the Founders put it, "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

The Brian Gongol Show is a weekly conversation about ways to make the future better and how to make it happen faster. Get weekly updates from the show delivered to you by e-mail, read Brian's book, or follow his personal website for more information about making money and having fun.

Hurricane Hugo continues to batter Venezuela: Hugo Chavez has been granted dictatorial powers to run his country, which is another reminder that American influence in Latin America is slipping, and that needs to be fixed.

People often reveal what they like and don't like based on what they buy or what they don't. That perhaps should be a sign for "The Nation", a very left-wing magazine that's on a fundraising drive because people haven't subscribed in sufficient numbers and the publication is losing money. It's easy for some folks to take themselves too seriously, believing they have to be serious (and even angry) all the time. Yet magazines like "Rolling Stone," "Esquire," and "Vanity Fair" all successfully mix serious and entertaining content in every issue...and make money in the process. Here's a hint, dear Nation: If your only selling point is "Expressing your outrage",

In another case of "revealed preferences," a California legislator wants to ban conventional light bulbs. What a looney idea.

If pandemic flu comes, the CDC will announce the severity just like hurricanes: With "Category 1" through "Category 5".

If you plan to imbibe and then fly, know your limits...or else you might accidentally hijack an airplane, like the Russian man who says he doesn't remember threatening to blow up an airliner if they didn't take him to Cairo.

And one more thing before we go: The Governor wants to spend $25 million to subsidize the biofuels industry. Why shouldn't we use that money for cancer research instead?

What's the best route to economic development? Better schools, not bribes. That's the efficient route to economic growth, as we've said for some time. In other news confirming some of our long-held suspicions, global trade is good for us, even if Iowans are inexplicably "pessimistic" about the future.

Inducement prizes are gaining clout as the National Research Council embraces them as a means to improving science and technology. We should definitely consider using them to reduce energy consumption without a lot of pain.

Dear Baby Boomers: Please save more. At least a third of people ages 45 to 54 are outrageously far behind the savings curve. That's going to put a lot of pressure on younger workers to pay for things like Medicare -- which is within five years of going out of control.

Get Brian's book, Ten Big Answers You Won't Get from a Politician. It's just what the title promises: Ten answers to big questions facing society, including whether government should regulate what's on TV, what we should do about terrorism, and whether cities and counties should merge to save money. Order the book today!

Take a look at the show archives for everything we've talked about since starting the show in 2003!