Blog

Michael’s columns and notes, 2017–2022.

  1. 2022 Fund Manager Weekly Picks

    Fund Manager’s Week 1 Selections – Opening Balance $1,000
    4 min
  2. 2022 Michael Hlinka's Weekly Picks

    But before Week 1, here are the list of pre-season “investments” based on a $1,000 bankroll. You can adjust your wagers accordingly, depending on your comfort with these selections:
    16 min
  3. 2022 WESTGATE LAS VEGAS SUPER CONTEST

    Westgate Week 1 Selections – Opening Balance $1,000
    5 min
  4. The Persecution of a Lebanese-Canadian Woman

    You would think, given the intersectional ideology that seems to have gripped the imagination of North America’s chattering classes, that the persecution of a woman who happens to be of Lebanese descent would be a…
    2 min
  5. It Takes a Nuclear Family

    There is a particularly pernicious and stupid proverb that I hear repeated mindlessly and it drives me crazy: “It takes a village to raise a child.” What does that mean? It asserts that the key success factor for…
    2 min
  6. Here We Go Again…

    I am writing this blog-post on the morning of Saturday April 18th after learning that a stay-at-home order has been extended in Ontario until May 20th. At one time I was charitable and attributed the actions of all…
    4 min
  7. How to Prevent Tragic Incidents

    This past Sunday afternoon, Minneapolis police officers pulled over 20-year-old Duante Wright for a traffic violation. Body-cam video shows that he was taken from the car and one policeman was trying to handcuff him…
    2 min
  8. Value Expressive Free Enterprise

    United Airlines made an announcement that has caused a bit of a stir, and it’s hard to justify how this policy will make flying safer.
    2 min
  9. Great Politics, Great Economics

    US President Biden laid out plans to raise the US corporate tax rate from the current 21% to 28%. A roll back to the cuts from Donald Trump
    2 min
  10. Two Preventable Deaths: Zero Accountability

    Anyone who is apart of the 'system' and allows a convicted or suspected offender to commit additional crimes should face consequences.
    3 min
  11. He Said, She & She & She & She & She & She & She Said

    Houston Texans quarterback, Deshaun Watson, has seven different civil lawsuits accusing him of either sexual assault or harassment.
    2 min
  12. No Political Party for Old White Men

    It's unlikely that Joe Biden will be a two-term President. Vice-President Kamala Harris has the inside track to assume the role.
    2 min
  13. Show Trial: American Style

    In the 1970’s, some in the West used to mock the Soviet Union criminal justice system and their “Show Trials”. These had first occurred during the Joseph Stalin era. Specifically, those trials were designed to use the…
    2 min
  14. A New Model for Public Schools

    My four-year old son will likely be returning to school a few weeks from now. He will be attending a public school close to where we live. He wants to go back because he misses his friends, and this is something I…
    3 min
  15. The Fix Is In (Again)

    There is going to be a Presidential election approximately three months from now. It is a statement on the state of Western democracy that the best that the Republican Party can do is Donald Trump and the best that the…
    2 min
  16. The Restarting of History

    In 1989, American political scientist Francis Fukayama published a landmark essay, “The End of History”. The Soviet Union was in collapse and the United States was the undisputed single world Super Power. The Cold War…
    2 min
  17. The NFL Meets the CFA

    Bettors are looking back at the past six years where 4 out of 6 times the Steelers won 10 games or more. Only one problem: Markets )(or should be) forward-looking.
    5 min
  18. WEEKLY PICKS

    Each Friday I will be e-mailing out my selections, then posting them and the rationale behind them on this website. (If there are ever Thursday night selections, they will go out Wednesday.) You will find that there is…
    7 min
  19. 2020 WESTGATE LAS VEGAS SUPER CONTEST

    The Fund Manager has entered into the 2019 Westgate Las Vegas Super Contest. Each week, contestants will submit 5 games, against the spread.
    5 min
  20. Investment Fund

    This is a $40,000 NFL investing fund supported by Michael Hlinka. The only limitation is that all wagers MUST pertain to the National Football League.
    18 min
  21. "Investing" in the National Football League

    Approximately 10 years ago, I started to apply some of the principles I used with my equity portfolio to National Football League Games. At that time, I was writing for a weekly magazine, OUTREACH, that was marketed by…
    1 min
  22. NFL 2014 Season - By The Numbers

    What percent of the time does the Home Team win? What percent of NFL games are decided by 10 points or more? You could make a guess, either educated or not, or you could go back and see what happened last year, in the…
    2 min