This economy is a Croc

If there is to be a silver lining in the disaster that is our--the world's--economic crisis, it is the coming demise of Crocs. Those hideous, neon colored foam shoes that everyone from nurses, to musicians, to gardeners, to former Presidents wore.

Finally. Perhaps some respectability will return to the casual cloths wearing American.

Barack Obama: Change you can believe in (and fear)

This is a comment in response to the Op-Ed piece by Maureen Dowd titled, "The First Shrink."

"April 05, 2009 3:15 pm

I am a student of history. Professionally. I have written 15 books in six languages, and have studied it all my life. I think there is something monumentally large afoot, and I do not believe it is just a banking crisis, or a mortgage crisis, or a credit crisis. Yes these exist, but they are merely single facets on a very large gemstone that is only now coming into sharper focus.

Something of historic proportions is happening. I can sense it because I know how it feels, smells, what it looks like, and how people react to it. Yes, a perfect storm may be brewing, but there is something happening within our country that has been evolving for about ten - fifteen years. The pace has dramatically quickened in the past two.

We demand and then codify into law the requirement that our banks make massive loans to people we know they can never pay back. Why?

We learn that the Federal Reserve, which has little or no real oversight by anyone, has 'loaned' two trillion dollars (that is $2,000,000,000,000) over the past few months, but will not tell us to whom, or why, or disclose the terms. That is our money. Yours and mine. And that is three times the $700B we all argued about so strenuously just this past September. Who has this money? Why do they have it? Why are the terms unavailable to us? Who asked for it? Who authorized it? I thought this was a government of 'we the people', who loaned our powers to our elected leaders. Apparently not.

We have spent two or more decades intentionally de-industrializing our economy. Why?

We have intentionally dumbed down our schools, ignored our history, and we no longer teach our founding documents, showing why we are exceptional and why we are worth preserving. Students by and large cannot write, think critically, read, or articulate. Parents are not revolting, teachers are not picketing, and school boards continue to back mediocrity. Why?
We have now established the precedent of protesting every close election (now violently in California over a proposition that is so 'controversial' that it wants marriage to remain between one man and one woman!). Did you ever think such a thing possible just a decade ago? We have corrupted our sacred political process by allowing unelected judges to write laws that radically change our way of life, and then allow mainstream Marxist groups like ACORN and others to turn our voting system into a banana republic. To what purpose?

Now our mortgage industry is collapsing, housing prices are in free fall, major industries are failing, our banking system is on the verge of collapse, Social Security is nearly bankrupt, as is Medicare and our entire government, and our education system is worse than a joke. (I teach college and know precisely what I am talking about.) The list is staggering in its length, breadth, and depth. It is potentially 1929 x ten. And we are at war with an enemy we cannot name for fear of offending people of the same religion, an enemy who cannot wait to slit the throats of your children if they have the opportunity to do so.
Now we have elected President a man no one knows anything about, who has never run so much as a Dairy Queen, let alone a town as big as Wasilla , Alaska . All of his associations and alliances are with real radicals in their chosen fields of employment, and everything we learn about him, drip by drip, is unsettling, if not downright scary. Surely you have heard him speak about his idea to create and fund a 'mandatory civilian defense force' stronger than our military for use inside our borders. No? Oh, of course. The media would never play that for you over and over, and then demand he explain it. Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter and $150,000 wardrobe is more important to the media.
Mr. Obama's winning platform can be boiled down to one word: change. Why?

I have never been so afraid for my country and for my children as I am now! This man campaigned on bringing people together, something he has never, ever done in his professional life. In my assessment, Obama will divide us along philosophical lines, push us apart, and then try to realign the pieces into a new and different power structure. Change is indeed coming. And when it comes, you will never see the same nation again.

And that is only the beginning."

Tom Woods, Professor, Missouri

Monies: the secret word for colleges and universities

"If you are a student of means or ability, or both, there has never been a better year [to apply]" Robert A. Sevier, enrollment consultant to colleges, NY Times.

Great news! If you can afford to go to college or university, go! If you can't afford to go without assistance, well, lets see how many spots are open after we fill them with everyone richer than you.

What the hell? The only reason I was able to go to my alma mater is because my hard work in high school got me a scholarship, and because there was no way my mom was going to be able to help me much.

According to this article, if I were to try to go to school now, I'd be over looked in favor of the person who can whip out his check book and cover tuition in full.

Education, no matter if it is high school or higher ed, should not be a business. The purpose of education is to prepare you to work in the real world, where businesses rule, money is king, and the bottom line is God.

I second many of the comments made in response to this article: There has to be some kind of education reform. This society already marginalizes the poor and underclass. Higher education is damn near the only way to over come these limitations, and it is already cost prohibitive to go, and just getting more so as time goes on.

The world in numbers

You wanna see something creepy? Guy came to my job to help out with some repairs (damn broken heater), and we got to talking about the number of people who use the internet in a given day.

It's hard to say what I'm more freaked out by, the global population, the growing debt, the carbon dioxide output, or the number of people who spend their time in front of some sort of electronic device (TV, computer, cell phone, etc.) vs. the number of new books published.

What did you find most interesting/creepy?

Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses... SIKE!

I'm having a problem. No existential crisis or anything like that, but a problem nonetheless.

The economic crisis that is the USA right now, is causing a disruption to upper middle class White folks lives. I take it back: for them, this might be an existential crisis.

As with any economic upheaval, the poor and disenfranchised are the first and often hardest hit. These also happen to be, in most cases, people of color.

Every winter, public libraries see an increase in homeless patrons. This year however, the "problem" is exacerbated by our devastated economy. Homeless men, women, teens, and young adults (20's), and families. The mentally and physically handicapped, not to mention the sick, the smelly, and dirty.

All sharing a public space with Entitled Americans.

Some of my coworkers feel we must "control" the problem, that these individuals should be removed from inside the library. Patrons complain that their tax dollars were not meant to run "another shelter" (never mind we have ONE shelter in SLC).

Never mind the ONE shelter in SLC kicks residents out during the day time. Never mind it is cold and snowy outside. Never mind that the library has chairs, internet access, bathrooms, and a fireplace to relax by. These people, these homeless are a threat to Privileged America, and God forbid we should be reminded of that privilege.

Perhaps it is because I was once in the same shoes as the disenfranchised patrons of public libraries that I feel empathy and understanding for their tough position. Or perhaps it is my complete and total fear of hearing those final words, "When I was hungry you did not feed me; when I was naked you did not cloth me. When I was imprisoned you did not come to see me; when I was ill you did not come to minister to me," and not having a answer.

Unless they are breaking the rules, for God's sake, leave those people, and yes, they are people before they are anything else, alone.

Kids these days

Seriously, what is up with kids these days?

I look at people in my own generation and those coming after, and all I see are a bunch of privileged, egotistical, self-righteous, elitist, demanding, lazy (need I continue?)...babies!

According to this New York Times article, kids are "panicked, uncertain, and grossed out that their parents can no longer afford to buy them everything their little hearts desire."

Seriously, I think I'm going to be sick.

I grew up on the phrase, "you want to eat don't you? You want to keep a roof over your head don't you?" I grew up with the knowledge that sacrifices must be made for survival and future prosperity.

And no, not having iPods, new phones, designer clothes, the latest and greatest gaming systems, personal accessories, cars, and $100 allowances to just get good grades and not bug mommy and daddy aren't sacrifices.

These are what (White) upper middle class America calls a sacrifice.

No wonder the USA is falling behind the rest of the developed world in every measurable sense— technology, education, innovation, sciences, etc.

If we can't understand that there are more important things than these stale and worthless materialistic items, perhaps we deserve our fate.

I'm going to go practice my Chinese now. At this rate, "made in China" will mean "made in Chinese territory, formerly, the USA."