12 November, 2008 at 12:38 am (General)
Tags: economics, Politics, robert reich
First, understand that the main problem right now is not the supply of credit. Yes, Wall Street is paralyzed at the moment because the bursting of the housing and other asset bubbles means that lenders are fearful that creditors won't repay loans. But even if credit were flowing, those loans wouldn't save jobs. Businesses want to borrow now only to remain solvent and keep their creditors at bay. If they fail to do so, and creditors push them into reorganization under bankruptcy, they'll cut their payrolls, to be sure. But they're already cutting their payrolls. It's far from clear they'd cut more jobs under bankruptcy reorganization than they're already cutting under pressure to avoid bankruptcy and remain solvent.
This means bailing out Wall Street or the auto industry or the insurance industry or the housing industry may at most help satisfy creditors for a time and put off the day of reckoning, but industry bailouts won't reverse the downward cycle of job losses.
The real problem is on the demand side of the economy.
via Robert Reich’s Blog: The Mini Depression and the Maximum-Strength Remedy
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23 October, 2008 at 6:02 pm (General)
4 Comments
26 September, 2008 at 1:24 pm (General)
Tags: friends, giving
2 Comments
5 August, 2008 at 11:47 pm (General)
I’m a big fan of Frank’s books. I think he has a tremendous amount of wisdom to offer. I’ve often wondered how he got started on his simple church/home church journey.
I need wonder no more: WHY I LEFT THE INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH
To put all four reasons into a sentence: I had been captured by a higher vision. I envisioned the church to be something far beyond what I had experienced in my thirteen years of traditional Christianity. And that vision sent me on a 20-year odyssey.
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1 August, 2008 at 9:15 pm (General)
Tags: b5media, blogging, Writing
Been quiet here lately. It’s just been that kind of summer. Yesterday saw Kerri and I say farewell to Marriage Actually, the last b5media blog on which either of us were writing. It’s been a fun time. Hard to believe it’s been nearly 2-1/2 years since I first sold them on the idea of a blog about Baldness.
Let’s see… as a sensitive, post-modern kind of guy, it seems I should be appropriately retrospective in this moment. So, what did I learn?
- Getting paid to write is fun.
- There is a difference between being into something and being able to write regularly about it.
- Virtual business relationships are here to stay, but there is still something missing from face-to-face and even voice interaction.
- I met a number of cool and interesting folks.
There. That seems appropriate.
I wish b5media and its bloggers all the success in the world. Perhaps the future will bring me back their way again sometime.
Meanwhile, I wonder how else I can get paid to write…
2 Comments
14 July, 2008 at 10:25 pm (General)
Tags: blogs, comics, movies
All I can say is “Amen!” to today’s comic from Jessica Hagy over at Indexed entitled Why did he do that?. Too many of today’s blockbusters are less about story and more about (1) special effects; (2) “star power” names; and increasingly (3) “star power” soundtracks, all with little consideration to whether or not any of the three actually serve the story. AI was the first one I recall thinking this about. Oh, there are exceptions. But they are just that: exceptions.
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26 June, 2008 at 4:49 pm (General)
Tags: euro 2008, soccer, spain, turkey
I know they’re out, but wow! You can’t ask for more drama and entertainment. Three come-from-behind wins, only to be undone in the semifinals by a come-from-behind Germany. And that against was is practically the second choise side considering all of their injuries and suspensions!
Runner-up: Spain, and not just because they sent Italy packing, but that’s a major bonus.
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24 June, 2008 at 8:42 pm (General)
My friend forwarded this article from House2House, and the section at the end just knocked me out:
The Christians in the West have been able to eliminate Christ and His direct presence in their midst. I have a feeling sometimes that the whole Christianity in the West could be going for years before they discover that Jesus has not been with them for a long time. He has gone somewhere else. He is not with them anymore.
The personal message I got from Bro. Yun is that of Jesus asleep in the boat. …people think, “Okay, we can row it ourselves now. Thank you very much.” And Jesus goes to sleep in the boat. Great storms arise. They have to wake Jesus up before it is too late to calm the storm.
That’s it. I think Jesus is in my life, but largely he’s asleep. I’ve told him I can row from here, so he’s gone off to catch a nap and let me do as I wish.
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20 June, 2008 at 7:25 pm (General)
It seems like it’s been ages since I could say that honestly. Certainly there have been good moments and good days, but there have been few weeks that I could say were satisfying as a whole. A few of the highlights:
- Father’s Day breakfast with my parents, and who doesn’t like breakfast?
- 90 minutes of soccer later that day… and then I got to watch some Euro 2008. (Turkey are the comeback kids, no?)
- Good weather, meant I could ride to work a couple times.
- While work is still seriously busy, we made good headway on a number of fronts. I think we’re all pretty proud of ourselves and rightly so!
- On Wednesday the D&D campaign continued. Not only did all the regulars make it, but Tom was there to boot! Good times were had by all.
- Speaking of Tom, Thursday brought more games, more good conversation, and a bit of late night music, too. It’s always nice when Tom makes it into town. He’s good people.
- Samantha has her dance recital tomorrow. I can’t believe this is her fourth year! The time has just flown. And a special thanks to Dara for her willingness to watch the boys that night.
A good week indeed…
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16 June, 2008 at 11:14 pm (General)
Tags: friends, games, musings, soccer
Monday evening after Fathers Day, and here’s what’s on my mind:
- “Boil ‘em, Mash ‘em, Stick ‘em in a stew“
- I love having the guitars out and available. It’s so nice to just pick one up and play for a few minutes… even if my timing isn’t always great.
- The boys were sick over the weekend. It was about time they picked one of my holiday weekends; normally Kerri gets to celebrate with illness.
- Did you see the Turkey - Czech match! WOW!!! Amazing! One more example of why I love soccer.
- I cannot wait until work slows down a little. (It will eventually slow down a little, right?)
- An extra big breakfast… even a relatively early one… is unwise before a soccer game. My omelette sat like a lump during my entire game on Sunday… which we still managed to win. W00t!
- Wednesday’s role playing session looks like it might be a packed house: The regular crew will be there plus potentially two more, Don Juan and Tomas! I’m very excited. Who’s gonna help me with the monsters?
- Speaking of Tomas, I get to see him for three or perhaps four days in a row while he’s on furlough. I hope his ladies are having a grand time, and I’m glad he’s coming to the little-D for a few.
- Have you ever played Save Dr. Lucky from Cheap Ass Games? Good stuff. I can’t wait to Kill Dr. Lucky.
- I’m no longer a night owl, so I must now be off to bed.
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