So how about a geography/history question this week?
What California city was reduced to ruins following a strong earthquake and disastrous fire in 1906?
Update: Robin knew the answer last Sunday: it’s San Francisco.
Just in case you thought I was fatally enamored with the Democrats as a function of previous posts, I caught this on the net and thought I’d share it with you:
Click on the cartoon to enlarge it if you’re as visually challenged as I am. The cartoon certainly points out some issues the Democrats need to address in the not-too-distant future if they expect to have any chance of retaining any level of authority in 2016. One could make the statement, love ’em or hate ’em, at least the Republicans stand for something, and you’re clear on what that something is. Could anyone say the same about the Democrats? I think that’s why, over the past 60 years, potentially with the exception of the Johnson Administration, the Republicans have been in charge in Washington. Brother Bill was nearly hounded out of office because of something totally unrelated to a national issue. Why? According to Bob Woodward’s take on it, New Gingrich told Hillary Clinton they did it “Because they Could”. I think that speaks volumes, don’t you?
So it’s time for the blue gang to figure out what they stand for and do something! Standing up to a bully may get you a black eye, but you only have to do it a couple of times before the bully backs down. So how about some black eyes for Democrats?
There’s a great line in the 1988 movie “Stand and Deliver”, spoken by an actor named Rif Hutton whose character’s name was Dr. Pearson from the Educational Testing Service. He and Andy Garcia (in a small but effective role) are called in to the high school where Jaime Escalante teaches because his Latino kids did ‘too well’ on the AP Calculus Exam. When teacher Escalante accuses the two of racism for their review of the results, Andy explodes with “Nobody has the right to call me a racist”. However, Dr. Pearson calmly explains that there are two kinds of discrimination:
Singling out an individual or group because of their race and Not Singling out an individual or group because of their race
Since I am an incurable optimist, I take these words to heart, and apply them to the situation with our current President, Barak Hussein Obama.
Even ten years ago, the likelihood of someone with that name being elected president would have made a great routine on Saturday Night Live. Driving home one summer night from the Atlanta airport in 1988, I listened on the radio to Reverend Jesse Jackson’s speech at that Democratic Convention. I was enthralled and saddened at the same time, as Reverend Jackson is a superb speaker. Unfortunately, he and we both knew he could never be elected president because he was “too black”. In 2008, I watched the tears roll down his face that night in Grant Park in Chicago when Obama was sharing his victory speech with the assembled, ecstatic throng. I wondered then: are those tears of joy for Barack, or tears of sadness for his own missed opportunity?
So in the midst of the Democratic convention, I want to share my optimism on the State of the Union with Respect to Race. My thesis is: yes, indeed, racism is alive & well in this country. But the fact that the electoral map in 2012 will look nearly identical to the map in 2004 when John Kerry was the candidate is actually somewhat heartening. Why? It gets back to the quote from Dr. Pearson. Obama would undoubtedly agree that no one has shielded him from criticism because he’s black. Last week’s Republican convention was rife with venom for the sitting president, but it was because of his performance, not his race. By the way, I say the electoral map looks nearly identical: the difference will likely be a win for Obama in Ohio and potentially Florida.
So rather than criticizing or making fun of Clint Eastwood, we should thank him for doing what he did with his empty chair. We’ve come a long way, babies!
Here’s a link to the New York Times blog called the 538. The 538 refers to the number of total electoral votes a candidate is eligible to get in the presidential election.
http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/
Based on these numbers, Obama’s potential for winning has actually increased at the conclusion of the Republican convention. With many thanks to Congressman Akin, Clint Eastwood and Paul Ryan (for his frequent factual lapses), we can move on to next week’s Democratic Convention. I have a few comments about that as well, but I’ll save them for another post.
But this past week brought to mind the final joust scene in A Knight’s Tale. Remember this?
So, to reiterate: Mittens,
You Have Been Weighed,
You Have Been Measured,
And You Absolutely
Have been Found Wanting.
Welcome to the New World.
God Save You,
If It Is Right That He Should Do So.
Well, we’ve had two previous questions: one from sports and one from economic history. Let’s turn to Literature, shall we?
Here’s the question:
If 221B Baker Street is to Sherlock Holmes, 9 Bywater Street, Chelsea is to whom?
Here’s a hint: I’ve recently read two books about this character, one of which has been made into a BBC TV series and a recent movie nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture, and the other another subsequent BBC series with the same individual playing this character. If you’ve got it, tell me who played the character in the BBC series and who played the character in his only Oscar-nominated role after a lifetime of achievement? Here’s another hint: Sid Vicious came alive!
Got it?
If so, that’s my movie recommendation of the week – the remake or the original – take your pick! They’re both available thru Netflix!
It wasn’t Jeb apparently ad-libbing one of the few mentions of his “he who shall remain unnamed” brother G.W., it wasn’t the crazy Clint Eastwood speech with the empty chair and the too-familiar insult to the sitting President of the United States. The entirety of the convention was suggesting that Barry O isn’t up to the job, and therefore should be replaced with Mittens.
My concern – above everything that’s been said or written thus far – about Mittens is that he isn’t strong enough to stand up to the American Tealiban Party, any more than George W. Bush was strong enough to stand up to the neocons until well into his second term. Mittens’ foreign policy rhetoric is all neocon; his economics, as I’ve previously written, are all in the orbit of the nutso Ayn Rand devotees. Seems to me most of us got past Ayn Rand after the 9th grade, didn’t we? So once again, we see a party full of TaliMen and clueless white middle-aged women supporting policies that are inherently bad for them, and for the rest of us as well.
So let’s work on returning the current administration back into the White House, and help him and his find a way to continue to improve our country. Go Barry!
Here’s a link to an article in today’s MarketWatch:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/qe3-and-the-looming-currency-war-2012-08-29-11103146
It’s an instructive article, reminding me of the effect of QE2 in 2010 that shook up the Chinese and suggested to them we were attempting to devalue the dollar to benefit American exports to the detriment of Chinese exports. Bernanke insisted the dollar’s weakness was a byproduct, not the intent of the Fed policy. But frankly, improvement in American exports was the net effect. Here’s a graph of American exports, in particular to China, over the past couple of years:
The article suggests another Quantitative Easing this time around would put the biggest burden on Chile, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. However, it’s highly unlikely any of those relatively friendly countries would complain to the World Trade Organization about it. China, on the other hand, would most assuredly complain, as suggested in My Post of August 12th. They took a big hit last time, along with Brazil, Japan and the Euro. Brazil has taken steps to defend its currency, Japan has bigger problems to solve and the Euro is in such trouble, we are the least of their worries. But interestingly enough, Australia’s economy is already being affected by the glut of steel manufactured in China. Australia is a big exporter of iron ore, and the double whammy of less demand from China, along with our dilution of the dollar, will indeed affect their economy.
This article was written today at 11:02 am, EDT. However, another article, written at 7:31 am, EDT seems skeptical:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bernanke-might-not-take-the-plunge-2012-08-29?dist=countdown
The title of this one is: “Bernanke might not take the plunge”, indicating the Fed will wait for the September 7th jobs report to act.
So once again, we see the Fed hint at an easing, the stock market goes up, they fail to act, the stock market goes down. Remind you of Charlie Brown and Lucy with the football? Or how about this little ditty from one of my favorite guys, Eddie Izzard, the cross-dressing Brit?
The relevant part starts at about the halfway point, but it’s all pretty funny.
Got this from tonight’s final episode of The Newsroom. They listed all the attributes of the American Tea Party, and as the list appears on the screen it hits you: the same list would be written to describe the beliefs of Al Qaeda and its ilk. Will McAvoy named an ilk: the Taliban. that’s the group of GUYS (never saw a lady Taliban) that did their best to kill my son and his close associates. So with me it’s personal.
Here’s the list – see if you agree:
Xenophobic (big word: means afraid of strangers – like illegal immigrants)
Ignores the facts (yes, indeed Paul Ryan!)
Impedes Progress (Republican majority in Congress?)
Claims it works for America, but hates Americans (particularly poor/Hispanic/Black or Female Americans)
Is Ruled by tribal mentality (if you aren’t with us you’re against us) and
Tries to Control Women’s Bodies (refer to the pictures that accompany this post)
So I have a new name for the American Tea Party. They tried to harken back to the Boston Tea Party and proto Americans protesting taxation without representation. What does it mean to not have a say in laws that greatly affect your life? Ask Russians, Chinese, Citizens of Myannmar and – if the Tea Party had its way – 51% of the population of the United States. Yes, that’s right: its women. Congressman Akin blabbed the pseudoscience they believe. Those men. Just like the Taliban.
So the new name for the “T” party? Oh, surely you’ve got it by now? The American Tealiban Party. How about some selective drone strikes on their asses?
Check out this article from the Chinese on-line news source Caixin. It is amazingly consistent with my post about what will happen if enough people have committed emotional Hari Kari and elect Mittens:
http://english.caixin.com/2012-08-20/100426182.html
Today is movie recommendation day. Anyone find “Seconds” to watch last week? I sure didn’t, not on Cable, not on Netflix – must be really obscure. You have to buy it from Amazon, and I have a pathological aversion to buying what I can rent at a fraction of the cost.
So this week I’m actually recommending a BBC TV series that you can stream with Netflix. It’s called Survivors, and actually Sister Sharyn recommended it. It was a two year run for this program, based on the notion that an outbreak of a deadly flu virus wipes out 90% of the world’s population. What happens next is sometimes depressing, sometimes predictable, but the bottom line is: disaster brings out the best and the worst in people. It’s a good series – 12 total episodes, and worth watching if you have 12 hours to devote. And since I am now RETIRED, I could devote that time to it. Check it out~