Let's stop the mythology of "we don't want to save shareholders at the expense of the public".
That is one of the great lies and when you hear someone say it - cringe.
Just about 60% of ALL Americans own shares of stock, one way or another. Either directly, or through stock mutual funds, company retirement plans, etc.
And this number goes UP every year, not down. Despite the market tremors of the last decade.
So, please, even if you don't understand that the bailout is not rescuing firms for the sake of paying off executives, it most certainly is not benefiting some "shareholder" class in opposition to the "rest of us".
Monday, September 29, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
The beauty of September Baseball ... on seeing greatness
I'm a Mets fan. By definition that means I'm a masochist. (not so much as being a Jets fan, but that's another story).
And once again, the Muts, as my dad called them for so many years with that unique NY combination of affection and resignation, are making what should have been a runaway, high drama.
But you know what? This is why baseball is the greatest game.
Have you noticed the parallel with the presidential election?
It seems to go on forever, tracking the seasons.
Changing daily.
Is it the Brewers? The Phillies? The Mets? Can anyone stop the seeming inevitability of the Cubs finally breaking the REAL curse? (I never considered the Red Sox cursed because they were so good all the time. Try being a Cubs fan for a 100 years or so).
But it is the joy of the ride, the excitement of watching the changing fortunes day to day.
And we have seen real greatness in the last few weeks.
With all his problems, who can argue that Ryan Howard is the Most Valuable Player in the national league? As great as Albert Pujols is, has anyone, anytime, any year, ever come up with SO many clutch hits? The guy is a machine when it counts.
How can you have 150 RBI's and strike out 200 times in a season? Perhaps David Wright ought to study tapes of Ryan's approach.
But every once in a while, once a decade or so, you see something for the ages in baseball.
And we saw it today.
Coming into this season, Johan Santana was known as a great pitcher with one HUGE fault. He just never finished games. In fact, last year, pitching a one hit shutout, he asked out of a game b/c he was tired.
But this year, and today, he has simply been transcendent.
After throwing a career high 125 pitches, he came back today on 3 days rest, and against one of the best hitting teams in the National League, and one whose sole mission seems to be to torment Mets fans (see last years final weekend) spun a 3 hit, complete game shutout in what can only be called one of the great, clutch pitching performances of all time.
Whatever happens for the rest of his career, Santana is now locked into that rarest of NY Pantheons - the do no wrongers. The Messiers, the Jeters, the Reeds, the Seavers, the Namaths...
Welcome to NY Johan, glad to meet ya!
And once again, the Muts, as my dad called them for so many years with that unique NY combination of affection and resignation, are making what should have been a runaway, high drama.
But you know what? This is why baseball is the greatest game.
Have you noticed the parallel with the presidential election?
It seems to go on forever, tracking the seasons.
Changing daily.
Is it the Brewers? The Phillies? The Mets? Can anyone stop the seeming inevitability of the Cubs finally breaking the REAL curse? (I never considered the Red Sox cursed because they were so good all the time. Try being a Cubs fan for a 100 years or so).
But it is the joy of the ride, the excitement of watching the changing fortunes day to day.
And we have seen real greatness in the last few weeks.
With all his problems, who can argue that Ryan Howard is the Most Valuable Player in the national league? As great as Albert Pujols is, has anyone, anytime, any year, ever come up with SO many clutch hits? The guy is a machine when it counts.
How can you have 150 RBI's and strike out 200 times in a season? Perhaps David Wright ought to study tapes of Ryan's approach.
But every once in a while, once a decade or so, you see something for the ages in baseball.
And we saw it today.
Coming into this season, Johan Santana was known as a great pitcher with one HUGE fault. He just never finished games. In fact, last year, pitching a one hit shutout, he asked out of a game b/c he was tired.
But this year, and today, he has simply been transcendent.
After throwing a career high 125 pitches, he came back today on 3 days rest, and against one of the best hitting teams in the National League, and one whose sole mission seems to be to torment Mets fans (see last years final weekend) spun a 3 hit, complete game shutout in what can only be called one of the great, clutch pitching performances of all time.
Whatever happens for the rest of his career, Santana is now locked into that rarest of NY Pantheons - the do no wrongers. The Messiers, the Jeters, the Reeds, the Seavers, the Namaths...
Welcome to NY Johan, glad to meet ya!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Have we lost our standing in the world?
I won't express opinion about the tonight's debate with the exception of one point that Obama tried to make near the end in referring to his father.
I have had this argument with people over and over again over the last five to ten years about the US supposed loss of standing internationally.
I am lucky enough to have travelled fairly extensively during my life. Over most of Europe, South East Asia (Vietnam), India, Pakistan, China (Hong Kong and mainland) as well as quite extensively in the Middle East. In fact, I lived in Italy for 2 years when I was young.
The simple fact of the matter is that the US has been resented and reviled in certain places around the world since WWII.
There has been resentment of our ascendancy as a world power. Some of you may not realize that before World War II, America was not a world power, or at least we didn't know we were.
It was still the end of the colonial empires of France and Britain, which is one of the reasons we are in Iraq, and why we went right from WWII into Korea and Vietnam (former French colonies).
But even in the days immediately after 9/11, in my travels in Pakistan, for example, the visceral hatred of our freedoms, and lifestyle was quite literally palpable. They loved our business, and wanted to keep it going, but they hated us.
But here's the direct point. Obama discussed his father's desire to come to the US to study.
So, I did a search on the number of foreign students in United States schools.
Since World War II, this number has been increasing inexorably with only a slight downturn as a result of the new visa restrictions after 9/11.
So, here is the raw number. Since 1955, about the time that Obama's father was pining to come to the US, the number of foreign students in US Universities has increased 1525%.
Even more interesting, is that Senator Obama and my alma mater, Columbia, now has the second highest number of foreign students after USC, numbering almost 6000.
There are now, as of 2007, according to the Institute for International Education (who provided all these numbers) more than 575,000 foreign students at American Universities.
You read that right. 583,000 foreign students. In 1960, when I believe Obama's father came here, the number was somewhere in the range of 30,000.
So, by that measure, the measure that Obama used, clearly he is wrong.
But it is not just that.
During the 1970's when the sheen of the Marshall plan and the rebuilding of Europe had finished, resentment set in with the former colonial powers. We saw anti American governments all over, from Canada, to most of Western Europe. Think of the stereotype of the anti American French.
Canada now speaks for itself. But in Europe, in the last three elections in the region, Italy, Germany, and France, significantly more PRO AMERICAN governments have been elected.
Silvio Berlusconi in Italy, Angela Merkl in Germany and Nicolas Sarkozy in France are all pro American leaders elected in their countries most recent elections.
What has happened is a radicalization of the Muslim world. And a corresponding demonstration of long held anti western views. But rather than their previous focus on the colonial powers, who were now neutered, the focus turned to us. It was for this reason that most of the middle east became satellites of the former Soviet Union. Bernard Lewis of Princeton has been discussing this for 25 years plus. But this antagonism has always been there, as evidenced by the Arab world siding with the Nazis in the Second World War.
Clearly, this idea of lost standing is simply not supported by any real evidence other than soft ideas of perceived attitudes. Of course, what is also happening in Europe is a rapidly expanding Muslim community. (within a few decades probably a majority in France) so this is reflected in surveys.
But once again, facts speak louder than "feelings".
Friday, September 26, 2008
$6.6 Billion down the tubes....
OK, that is a little exaggeration. But in the omnibus spending bill that passed the House and Senate yesterday - which went unnoticed amid the uproar over bailout (which of course isn't a bailout) there were 2300 earmark grants totalling $6.6. Billion dollars.
Kudos to John McCain for denouncing them several years ago, and receiving no earmark funds. Kudos to Barack Obama for following McCain's lead and reccomending a moratorium on earmarks for one year to allow a "study" of them. Senator Obama also received none.
Further Kudos to House Minority Leader Republican John Boehner, who among the party leadership was the only one to NOT seek any earmarks.
As might be expected the leadership of both parties, and in particular the appropriations committees were the greediest pigs at the trough.
In the Senate, Chairman of the Appropriations Committee Democrat Robert Byrd, and Ranking Member (Sr. Republican) Thad Cochran received $225 and $227 million each for their states.
In the House, Chairman Democrat David Obay and Ranking member, Republican Jerry Lewis (can you believe it?!! lol!!) received $52 and $78 Million.
Among the leadership, Senate Majority Leader and SPeaker Nancy Pelosi, the Dems, received $103 million and $44 million.
Senate Minority leader Republican Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was a relative pauper at $18 million (see above for House Minority Leader Boehner).
What of the infamous Ted Stevens? The Republican from Alaska is the Ranking member of the Defense Subcommittee, traditionally the worst offender of this practice and as to be expected, he snorted all the way to the slop to the tune ofr $239 million, which was offset by Committee Chairman, Democrat Daniel Inouye who received $222 million.
Let's cheer for these folks who on the day we were looking to buy mortgages from suffering Americans, simply gave out, without a vote, 10% of the cost of the bailout...
Kudos to John McCain for denouncing them several years ago, and receiving no earmark funds. Kudos to Barack Obama for following McCain's lead and reccomending a moratorium on earmarks for one year to allow a "study" of them. Senator Obama also received none.
Further Kudos to House Minority Leader Republican John Boehner, who among the party leadership was the only one to NOT seek any earmarks.
As might be expected the leadership of both parties, and in particular the appropriations committees were the greediest pigs at the trough.
In the Senate, Chairman of the Appropriations Committee Democrat Robert Byrd, and Ranking Member (Sr. Republican) Thad Cochran received $225 and $227 million each for their states.
In the House, Chairman Democrat David Obay and Ranking member, Republican Jerry Lewis (can you believe it?!! lol!!) received $52 and $78 Million.
Among the leadership, Senate Majority Leader and SPeaker Nancy Pelosi, the Dems, received $103 million and $44 million.
Senate Minority leader Republican Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was a relative pauper at $18 million (see above for House Minority Leader Boehner).
What of the infamous Ted Stevens? The Republican from Alaska is the Ranking member of the Defense Subcommittee, traditionally the worst offender of this practice and as to be expected, he snorted all the way to the slop to the tune ofr $239 million, which was offset by Committee Chairman, Democrat Daniel Inouye who received $222 million.
Let's cheer for these folks who on the day we were looking to buy mortgages from suffering Americans, simply gave out, without a vote, 10% of the cost of the bailout...
Thursday, September 25, 2008
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, as preached by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Antisemitism, welcomed and cheered.
By Anne Bayefsky
Tuesday, September 23, 2008 will go down in history as the day the United Nations General Assembly provided a platform for a head of state to spew unadulterated, vile anti-Semitism ‹ and the assembled nations of the world clapped.
The United Nations has become the largest global purveyor of anti-Semitism in the world today. In the full knowledge that the president of Iran denies the Holocaust and advocates the destruction of the U.N. member state of Israel, the U.N. invited him to mount the dais and gave him a megaphone.
Dictators have pontificated at the General Assembly before. Terrorists like Yasser Arafat have come and gone. But in the halls of an organization founded on the ashes of the victims of the Holocaust, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad¹s effort to promote another Holocaust from center stage stands alone.
While the United States and Israel left their ambassadorial seats empty, here is the Jew-hatred greeted by enthusiasm at today¹s U.N.:
The dignity, integrity and rights of the European and American people are being played with by a small but deceitful number of people called Zionists. Although they are miniscule minority, they have been dominating an important portion of the financial and monetary centers as well as the
political decision-making centers of some European countries and the U.S. in
a deceitful, complex and furtive manner. It is deeply disastrous to witness that some presidential or premiere nominees in some big countries have to visit these people, take part in their gatherings, swear their allegiance and commitment to their interests in order to attain financial or media support...
This means that the great people of America and various nations of Europe need to obey the demands and wishes of a small number of acquisitive and invasive people. These nations are spending their dignity and resources on the crimes and occupations and the threats of the Zionist network against they will...
Today, the Zionist regime is on a definite slope to collapse, and there is no way for it to get out of the cesspool created by itself and its supporters.
Antisemitism often masquerades as anti-Zionism a denial of the right to self-determination only for Jews. At least Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did us the service of making the undeniable connection between the two. Disputing the legitimacy of the state of Israel, he said:
In Palestine, 60 years of carnage and invasion is still ongoing at the hands of some criminal and occupying Zionists. They have forged a regime through collecting people from various parts of the world and bringing them to other people's land by displacing, detaining and killing the true owners of that land. The Security Council cannot do anything and sometimes, under
pressure from few bullying powers, even paves the way for supporting these Zionist murderers.
In its entire history, the United Nations General Assembly has never adopted a resolution dedicated to denouncing and combating the scourge of antisemitism in all its forms. Now we know why. Less than half of U.N. members are fully free democracies and among them there is no consensus that discrimination and demonization of Jews and the Jewish state is wrong.
On the contrary, at the U.N. vicious antisemitism is met by a round of applause.
‹ Anne Bayefsky is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and at Touro College. She is also editor of www.EyeontheUN.org..
By Anne Bayefsky
Tuesday, September 23, 2008 will go down in history as the day the United Nations General Assembly provided a platform for a head of state to spew unadulterated, vile anti-Semitism ‹ and the assembled nations of the world clapped.
The United Nations has become the largest global purveyor of anti-Semitism in the world today. In the full knowledge that the president of Iran denies the Holocaust and advocates the destruction of the U.N. member state of Israel, the U.N. invited him to mount the dais and gave him a megaphone.
Dictators have pontificated at the General Assembly before. Terrorists like Yasser Arafat have come and gone. But in the halls of an organization founded on the ashes of the victims of the Holocaust, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad¹s effort to promote another Holocaust from center stage stands alone.
While the United States and Israel left their ambassadorial seats empty, here is the Jew-hatred greeted by enthusiasm at today¹s U.N.:
The dignity, integrity and rights of the European and American people are being played with by a small but deceitful number of people called Zionists. Although they are miniscule minority, they have been dominating an important portion of the financial and monetary centers as well as the
political decision-making centers of some European countries and the U.S. in
a deceitful, complex and furtive manner. It is deeply disastrous to witness that some presidential or premiere nominees in some big countries have to visit these people, take part in their gatherings, swear their allegiance and commitment to their interests in order to attain financial or media support...
This means that the great people of America and various nations of Europe need to obey the demands and wishes of a small number of acquisitive and invasive people. These nations are spending their dignity and resources on the crimes and occupations and the threats of the Zionist network against they will...
Today, the Zionist regime is on a definite slope to collapse, and there is no way for it to get out of the cesspool created by itself and its supporters.
Antisemitism often masquerades as anti-Zionism a denial of the right to self-determination only for Jews. At least Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did us the service of making the undeniable connection between the two. Disputing the legitimacy of the state of Israel, he said:
In Palestine, 60 years of carnage and invasion is still ongoing at the hands of some criminal and occupying Zionists. They have forged a regime through collecting people from various parts of the world and bringing them to other people's land by displacing, detaining and killing the true owners of that land. The Security Council cannot do anything and sometimes, under
pressure from few bullying powers, even paves the way for supporting these Zionist murderers.
In its entire history, the United Nations General Assembly has never adopted a resolution dedicated to denouncing and combating the scourge of antisemitism in all its forms. Now we know why. Less than half of U.N. members are fully free democracies and among them there is no consensus that discrimination and demonization of Jews and the Jewish state is wrong.
On the contrary, at the U.N. vicious antisemitism is met by a round of applause.
‹ Anne Bayefsky is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and at Touro College. She is also editor of www.EyeontheUN.org..
Monday, September 22, 2008
Who's Giving Ahmadinejad a Dinner?
Did you hear the one about the little Hitler being given a celebratory dinner in NY, when he comes to speak at the UN?
And where is this dinner taking place?
At the NY Hyatt.
Why is this significant?
Hmm, let me count the ways. Might it be a coincidence that the only hotel that would hold such an odious event happens to be owned by Barack Obama's campaign finance director's family?
Penny Pritzker is Obama's Finance director and her father founded the Hyatt chain. She is chair of Classic Residence by Hyatt, as well as CEO of their non hotel real estate development company.
Funny, but this is the same person whose family paid $450 MILLION dollars only 7 years ago as a settlement to regulators because a bank that she served as Chairman of went belly up, because why?
SUBPRIME Mortgages!!!!!
Hey, but Barack is different right? That's why he has this woman, worth an estimated $3 Billion dollars as his campaign finance director.
After all, who better to secure those $2 online donations.
Oh wait, he stopped that. I guess he needs her for the $30,000 minimum contribution he now requires for his events.
Just another in his raft of bad folks surrounding this guy (and I didn't even mention her involvement in the corrupt Chicago political machine or the fact that she owns Trans Union. You know the credit agency that has done more to encourage identity theft than all but the other 2 agencies, and which finally required Congressional action to reel in their abuses!!!).
Wake up people!
And where is this dinner taking place?
At the NY Hyatt.
Why is this significant?
Hmm, let me count the ways. Might it be a coincidence that the only hotel that would hold such an odious event happens to be owned by Barack Obama's campaign finance director's family?
Penny Pritzker is Obama's Finance director and her father founded the Hyatt chain. She is chair of Classic Residence by Hyatt, as well as CEO of their non hotel real estate development company.
Funny, but this is the same person whose family paid $450 MILLION dollars only 7 years ago as a settlement to regulators because a bank that she served as Chairman of went belly up, because why?
SUBPRIME Mortgages!!!!!
Hey, but Barack is different right? That's why he has this woman, worth an estimated $3 Billion dollars as his campaign finance director.
After all, who better to secure those $2 online donations.
Oh wait, he stopped that. I guess he needs her for the $30,000 minimum contribution he now requires for his events.
Just another in his raft of bad folks surrounding this guy (and I didn't even mention her involvement in the corrupt Chicago political machine or the fact that she owns Trans Union. You know the credit agency that has done more to encourage identity theft than all but the other 2 agencies, and which finally required Congressional action to reel in their abuses!!!).
Wake up people!
"I don't trust Americans to ever do the right thing. They're just too fucking stupid".
So said Bill Maher on his show this Friday.
And don't think Americans don't understand that this is the way the left feels.
Until the left understands that they actually have to live with those that they think are too stupid, they will continue to lose national elections.
And we will all suffer.
We need a healthy, vibrant, and RESPONSIBLE democratic party.
And don't think Americans don't understand that this is the way the left feels.
Until the left understands that they actually have to live with those that they think are too stupid, they will continue to lose national elections.
And we will all suffer.
We need a healthy, vibrant, and RESPONSIBLE democratic party.
Friday, September 19, 2008
The 2d Amendment
Those of you who read my stuff carefully, know that I was very distressed when the Supreme Court overruled US. v Miller recently.
But even more distressing to me was Obama's support for the Court's decision. ( more about that in a future post)
Why do these seeming academic issues matter?
Well, the particular case at issue, dealt with the gun control laws in Washington D.C.
For those who have never been there, DC is a truly dichotomous place. Perhaps more so than any other American city.
There is the capital district. Clean, beautiful, practically crime free.
Then there is the rest of the non government part of the city. Crime ridden, and one of the murder capitols of the US.
D.C. is run by a combination of the city government, and since it is not part of a State, the Congress.
As a result of the Supreme Court decision, the House has just passed one of the most aggressively pro gun laws in memory.
If this passes the Senate, it would now be legal to walk down the street with an AK-47!!
Gun registration regulations have been eliminated.
In fact, in the original bill, the semi automatic weapons would have been allowed to be carried with expanded magazines!!! Luckily the sponsors were embarrassed into taking that part out.
But the bill passed with full bipartisan support.
Thankfully, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California has vowed to block the Senate version of the bill. We can only hope she succeeds.
But even more distressing to me was Obama's support for the Court's decision. ( more about that in a future post)
Why do these seeming academic issues matter?
Well, the particular case at issue, dealt with the gun control laws in Washington D.C.
For those who have never been there, DC is a truly dichotomous place. Perhaps more so than any other American city.
There is the capital district. Clean, beautiful, practically crime free.
Then there is the rest of the non government part of the city. Crime ridden, and one of the murder capitols of the US.
D.C. is run by a combination of the city government, and since it is not part of a State, the Congress.
As a result of the Supreme Court decision, the House has just passed one of the most aggressively pro gun laws in memory.
If this passes the Senate, it would now be legal to walk down the street with an AK-47!!
Gun registration regulations have been eliminated.
In fact, in the original bill, the semi automatic weapons would have been allowed to be carried with expanded magazines!!! Luckily the sponsors were embarrassed into taking that part out.
But the bill passed with full bipartisan support.
Thankfully, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California has vowed to block the Senate version of the bill. We can only hope she succeeds.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
It's really gone too far....
I spend a lot of time asking people to treat each other civilly. Avoid the name calling.
Disagree with someone, that's fine, but don't personalize it, or trivialize their opinions.
We've all seen it in the last few weeks with the Sarah Palin discussion.
Now, I am fascinated by this. First, because it is the Republicans that are supposed to be the ones who do this.
But more, because who really cares about the Vice President?
I mean, come on folks, I bet you can't name half the Vice Presidents in YOUR lifetime, let alone of all the Presidents.
Quick, who was Ford's Veep? Who was Johnson's?
Who was Nixon's? (shame on you if you don't get that).
Let alone Lincoln's, or FDR's (and no, I don't mean Harry Truman).
But today the name calling sank to a new low.
Listen, I don't believe in virtually anything that Sarah Palin does. But hell, she keeps getting elected, there must be something going on.
But today, Maureen Dowd, the ultraliberal op ed columnist for the NY Times, wrote a column which was so sneering, so smug and superior, that my newspaper was actually dripping the sarcasm as I picked it up off the driveway this morning.
She spent and entire column making fun of the people of Alaska, and those who shop at WalMart, or hunt, or live in remote towns.
She insulted Palin's hometown in a most sneering way.
It was so childish, so nasty, as to make me wonder how the hell it got into print.
But it also made it clear, why, when I travel around the country, people despise New Yorkers.
You could literally see Dowd looking down her nose at the rest of the country. In fact, I heard she had to go in for chiropractic on her neck she was so cramped up after the down the nose sneer!
Why can't we just say "she is pro life. I'm not. I'm pro choice, therefore I won't vote for her" or whatever your reasons.
Lighten up folks.
btw, FDR's 2 term veep was John Garner who famously said the Office wasn't wortha bucket of warm piss. His second veep was Henry Wallace. Lincoln's was Hannibal Hamlin. A bunch of big names, huh?
Nixon's? Spiro Agnew. Ford's? Nelson Rockefeller, former governor of NY.
Johnson? Well that was the trick question. NONE. During his first term, he served without a VEEP!!! Hubert Humphrey took over during his second, or his first elected term.
All a bunch of big names who went on to big things, huh?
How about this one. Besides Bush, Sr., who was the last VP to be elected President?
Nixon, but only after losing to Kennedy, and seeing Johnson in office for 6 years.
Out of the 44 men who have served as Vice President, only 14 have become President, and 8 of those were from assassination and death.
Hell, John C. Calhoun RESIGNED the Vice Presidency to become a Senator!!
So, lighten up. Let's get back to civil discussion of the issues!
Disagree with someone, that's fine, but don't personalize it, or trivialize their opinions.
We've all seen it in the last few weeks with the Sarah Palin discussion.
Now, I am fascinated by this. First, because it is the Republicans that are supposed to be the ones who do this.
But more, because who really cares about the Vice President?
I mean, come on folks, I bet you can't name half the Vice Presidents in YOUR lifetime, let alone of all the Presidents.
Quick, who was Ford's Veep? Who was Johnson's?
Who was Nixon's? (shame on you if you don't get that).
Let alone Lincoln's, or FDR's (and no, I don't mean Harry Truman).
But today the name calling sank to a new low.
Listen, I don't believe in virtually anything that Sarah Palin does. But hell, she keeps getting elected, there must be something going on.
But today, Maureen Dowd, the ultraliberal op ed columnist for the NY Times, wrote a column which was so sneering, so smug and superior, that my newspaper was actually dripping the sarcasm as I picked it up off the driveway this morning.
She spent and entire column making fun of the people of Alaska, and those who shop at WalMart, or hunt, or live in remote towns.
She insulted Palin's hometown in a most sneering way.
It was so childish, so nasty, as to make me wonder how the hell it got into print.
But it also made it clear, why, when I travel around the country, people despise New Yorkers.
You could literally see Dowd looking down her nose at the rest of the country. In fact, I heard she had to go in for chiropractic on her neck she was so cramped up after the down the nose sneer!
Why can't we just say "she is pro life. I'm not. I'm pro choice, therefore I won't vote for her" or whatever your reasons.
Lighten up folks.
btw, FDR's 2 term veep was John Garner who famously said the Office wasn't wortha bucket of warm piss. His second veep was Henry Wallace. Lincoln's was Hannibal Hamlin. A bunch of big names, huh?
Nixon's? Spiro Agnew. Ford's? Nelson Rockefeller, former governor of NY.
Johnson? Well that was the trick question. NONE. During his first term, he served without a VEEP!!! Hubert Humphrey took over during his second, or his first elected term.
All a bunch of big names who went on to big things, huh?
How about this one. Besides Bush, Sr., who was the last VP to be elected President?
Nixon, but only after losing to Kennedy, and seeing Johnson in office for 6 years.
Out of the 44 men who have served as Vice President, only 14 have become President, and 8 of those were from assassination and death.
Hell, John C. Calhoun RESIGNED the Vice Presidency to become a Senator!!
So, lighten up. Let's get back to civil discussion of the issues!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
The New Chevrolet Volt
GM introduced today the New Chevrolet Volt that I discussed the other day. Here it is:
A Voice of Reason...
Op-Ed Columnist
Keep It in Vegas (Please note: My emphasis added in the text of the column)
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: September 16, 2008
Watching some financial stocks just get wiped out in recent months, I often hear a voice in the back of my head, and it is the same voice as one of those dealers in Las Vegas who coolly tells you as he sweeps up your chips after you've busted in blackjack: "Thank you for playing, ladies and gentlemen."
That's what happens when bubbles burst. You feel wiped out, and the coolness with which the dealers — in this case the markets — sweep away all your chips is unnerving. It's easy to over-react, and it is important that we don't. Now is the time for coolly sorting out what markets can do best and what governments need to do better.
Let's understand what happened here. Wall Street — the financial industry — became a bubble in recent years thanks to an excess of liquidity and the oldest bubble maker in history: greed. Some of the smartest people forgot one of the oldest rules of investing: There is no such thing as a risk-free return. When you reach too far for yield, sooner or later you get burned.
In the '90s, the no-lose, risk-free, high-yield return was supposed to be dot-com stocks. This decade's version are subprime mortgages and financial stocks. Just like the dot-comers in the 1990s, the financial stocks got inflated to ridiculous levels and salaries for Wall Street executives reached ridiculous heights. You are now watching live and in color that bubble burst: "Thank you for playing, Lehman Brothers." That's really sad for a 158-year-old company.
The market is now consolidating this industry, with the strong eating the weak, which will impose its own fiscal discipline. Good. Maybe then more of our next generation of math geniuses will think about going into engineering the next great global industry — energy technology — rather than engineering derivatives.
But we also need to understand the uniqueness of this bubble in order to identify where smart government needs to step in. One reason this financial bubble got so big is now well known: you and your neighbor went out and got subprime mortgages, which enabled many more people to become homeowners — a real blessing. Your local finance company or bank, which extended those mortgages, later resold them to an aggregator who put them into big packages with thousands of other subprime mortgages. Then those loan packages were chopped up and sold in small pieces as corporate bonds to all kinds of institutions, who were reaching for extra yield. Your subprime mortgage payments went to pay the interest on those bonds.
But as the housing market collapsed, and people couldn't cover their mortgages or sell their houses, the bonds lost value and, therefore, the banks that held them lost capital, and the whole pyramid started to crumble. This infected the entire housing market, so banks no longer knew the value of their mortgage-backed assets. The result? They stopped lending. Hence, the current credit crunch. This credit crunch is what makes this crisis so lethal. We can't tolerate a prolonged situation where banks won't lend to good companies.
That's why Congress needs to create another Resolution Trust Corporation like we used to get out of the savings-and-loan crisis of the 1980s. As then, so now, we need a government agency to buy the toxic mortgages off the banks' balance sheets, hold them and sell them in an orderly way later. That would prevent a fire sale of homes and mortgages now and restore confidence to banks so they start lending again.
In the long run, though, regulators need to find ways to limit the amount of leverage investment banks or insurance companies can take on at any one time, because given how intertwined they all are in today's global economy, one bank blowing up can now take down many.
"We are at the end of an era — the end of 'leave it to the markets' and of the great cop-out that less government is always better government," argues David Rothkopf, a former Commerce Department official in the Clinton administration and author of a book about the world's financial leaders who brought about this crisis: "Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They Are Making." "I think, however, it is important to stress the difference between smart government and simply more government.
"We do not need a regulatory 'surge' on Wall Street," he added. "We need a complete rethinking of how we make global financial markets more transparent and how we ensure that the risks within those markets — .many of which are new and many of which are not well understood even by the experts — are managed and monitored properly."
In sum, government's job is to police that fine line between the necessary risk-taking that drives an innovation economy and crazy gambling with other people's savings in ways that threaten us all. We need to make sure that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas — and doesn't come to Main Street. We need to get back to investing in our future and not just betting on it.
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: September 16, 2008
Watching some financial stocks just get wiped out in recent months, I often hear a voice in the back of my head, and it is the same voice as one of those dealers in Las Vegas who coolly tells you as he sweeps up your chips after you've busted in blackjack: "Thank you for playing, ladies and gentlemen."
That's what happens when bubbles burst. You feel wiped out, and the coolness with which the dealers — in this case the markets — sweep away all your chips is unnerving. It's easy to over-react, and it is important that we don't. Now is the time for coolly sorting out what markets can do best and what governments need to do better.
Let's understand what happened here. Wall Street — the financial industry — became a bubble in recent years thanks to an excess of liquidity and the oldest bubble maker in history: greed. Some of the smartest people forgot one of the oldest rules of investing: There is no such thing as a risk-free return. When you reach too far for yield, sooner or later you get burned.
In the '90s, the no-lose, risk-free, high-yield return was supposed to be dot-com stocks. This decade's version are subprime mortgages and financial stocks. Just like the dot-comers in the 1990s, the financial stocks got inflated to ridiculous levels and salaries for Wall Street executives reached ridiculous heights. You are now watching live and in color that bubble burst: "Thank you for playing, Lehman Brothers." That's really sad for a 158-year-old company.
The market is now consolidating this industry, with the strong eating the weak, which will impose its own fiscal discipline. Good. Maybe then more of our next generation of math geniuses will think about going into engineering the next great global industry — energy technology — rather than engineering derivatives.
But we also need to understand the uniqueness of this bubble in order to identify where smart government needs to step in. One reason this financial bubble got so big is now well known: you and your neighbor went out and got subprime mortgages, which enabled many more people to become homeowners — a real blessing. Your local finance company or bank, which extended those mortgages, later resold them to an aggregator who put them into big packages with thousands of other subprime mortgages. Then those loan packages were chopped up and sold in small pieces as corporate bonds to all kinds of institutions, who were reaching for extra yield. Your subprime mortgage payments went to pay the interest on those bonds.
But as the housing market collapsed, and people couldn't cover their mortgages or sell their houses, the bonds lost value and, therefore, the banks that held them lost capital, and the whole pyramid started to crumble. This infected the entire housing market, so banks no longer knew the value of their mortgage-backed assets. The result? They stopped lending. Hence, the current credit crunch. This credit crunch is what makes this crisis so lethal. We can't tolerate a prolonged situation where banks won't lend to good companies.
That's why Congress needs to create another Resolution Trust Corporation like we used to get out of the savings-and-loan crisis of the 1980s. As then, so now, we need a government agency to buy the toxic mortgages off the banks' balance sheets, hold them and sell them in an orderly way later. That would prevent a fire sale of homes and mortgages now and restore confidence to banks so they start lending again.
In the long run, though, regulators need to find ways to limit the amount of leverage investment banks or insurance companies can take on at any one time, because given how intertwined they all are in today's global economy, one bank blowing up can now take down many.
"We are at the end of an era — the end of 'leave it to the markets' and of the great cop-out that less government is always better government," argues David Rothkopf, a former Commerce Department official in the Clinton administration and author of a book about the world's financial leaders who brought about this crisis: "Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They Are Making." "I think, however, it is important to stress the difference between smart government and simply more government.
"We do not need a regulatory 'surge' on Wall Street," he added. "We need a complete rethinking of how we make global financial markets more transparent and how we ensure that the risks within those markets — .many of which are new and many of which are not well understood even by the experts — are managed and monitored properly."
In sum, government's job is to police that fine line between the necessary risk-taking that drives an innovation economy and crazy gambling with other people's savings in ways that threaten us all. We need to make sure that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas — and doesn't come to Main Street. We need to get back to investing in our future and not just betting on it.
Monday, September 15, 2008
There are simply no words...
No words are necessary:
Payback time at the UN
Michael Freund - Sep 10, 2008
The Jerusalem Post
The war in Lebanon may have ended two years ago, but that hasn't stopped
the UN from exploiting the conflict to besmirch Israel. In a move that
harks back to the bad old days of UN hypocrisy and double standards vis-
à -vis the Jewish state, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon is reportedly set
to demand that Israel reimburse Lebanon and Syria for damage caused
during the war against Hizbullah.
Yes, you read that correctly. The UN wants Israel to pay for having the
gall to defend itself. According to the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, Ban has
prepared a report that he will present to the upcoming General Assembly
in New York. Based on calculations made by the World Bank, he will insist
that Israel cough up approximately $1 billion in "compensation" for
material and environmental harm to Lebanese society and infrastructure.
In addition, Ban will purportedly highlight the bombing of the Jiyeh
power plant 30 kilometers south of Beirut in mid-July 2006. As a result
of the attack, thousands of barrels of oil are said to have spilled into
the Mediteranean, polluting parts of the Lebanese and Syrian coastlines
and causing ecological damage to marine life.
The report is a sequel, of sorts, to one issued last fall by Ban, in
which he called on Israel "to take the necessary actions toward assuming
responsibility for prompt and adequate compensation to the government of
Lebanon." Since Israel rightly ignored that preposterous request, Ban has
now apparently decided to turn up the heat in the hopes of pressing
Jerusalem to pay.
Even for a body with such a long and remarkable record of anti-Israel
hyperbole, the UN has outdone itself this time. Ban's insistence that
Israel pay the aggressors for damage done during a war they provoked is
both morally obscene and intellectually obtuse.
Israel's actions in Lebanon did not occur in a vacuum, and it requires a
highly active imagination to overlook this basic fact.
If the Lebanese authorities allow their sovereign territory to be used as
a launching pad for attacks, as they did in the summer of 2006, they bear
responsibility for what ensues, including any damage caused as a result
of Israel 's actions taken in self-defense.
You don't need to be a moral philosopher or international legal scholar
to figure that one out.
Ban's error is that he focuses entirely on the consequences of an action
while completely ignoring its context, as though the reason for a
particular situation has no bearing on the nature of the outcome. This is
patently absurd, and would be akin to the UN demanding that the US and
its allies who invaded Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks
reimburse Osama bin Laden and the Taliban for destroying the caves in
which they hid.
Make no mistake. The UN's attempt to compel Israel to pay for bombing
Lebanon has nothing to do with justice and everything to do with a
political agenda, one that paints Israel as the unreasonable assailant
rather than the innocent victim. It is nothing less than a shameful
attempt to rewrite history, and it should not be allowed to stand.
BUT IF Ban nonetheless insists on pressing forward with the issue of
compensation, I say: Bring it on. Let's have a real debate over the
matter. We can start by working out compensation for the thousands of
rockets, mortar shells and other projectiles that were fired at Israel
from Lebanese territory during the war.
Let's add to that the loss in income from the drop in tourism, the
calling up of reserve units and the displacement of thousands of families
throughout northern Israel . Then there is the pain and suffering
inflicted on soldiers and civilians who were wounded and killed, as well
as the mental and psychological trauma endured by countless Israelis
throughout the 33 days of conflict.
Why shouldn't Syria, Lebanon and Iran be made to pay for their
sponsorship of Hizbullah and the damage it wrought? And while we're on
the subject of liability, the UN might wish to consult its lawyers. After
all, UNIFIL troops in southern Lebanon have lethargically presided over
repeated Hizbullah arms buildups while doing little to stop them, despite
the requirements of UN Security Council resolutions. Their hands aren't
entirely clean when it comes to preventing the outbreak of conflict.
You can't have it both ways, Ban. You can't invoke principles of fairness
and equity and then demand that Israel be made to pay while ignoring the
other side's culpability.
As the late US Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan once pointed out, "Everyone
is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts."
Not even the secretary-general of the United Nations.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
An automobile revolution... or the next Studebaker?
This photo is the CONCEPT VOLT, NOT the one to be revealed this week.
This week General Motors unveils the much hyped, much anticipated Chevrolet Volt. It is GM’s first real electric car (Yes I know about the EV 1 – this is different).
Unlike the hybrids we see from other companies, and even the Honda Insight, what makes the Volt different is this: GM, is, for all intents and purposes, betting its’ entire future on the Volt.
What makes the Volt different technically?
A few things. First, it is known as a series hybrid. What that means is that the engine that drives the driveshaft is exclusively electric.
In the popular hybrid cars, the electric motor is used to supplement the gas engine. Principally by powering the car during stop and go periods, or periods of maximum inefficiency of the internal combustion engine. The traditional engine is used during highway driving and also to generate additional power to recharge the batteries.
In the Volt, the gas engine is used exclusively to generate reserve power for the batteries. The Volt will also be able to be plugged in.
So what’s the problem? Well it starts with the design. The car that was seen at the auto shows, and ballyhood by GM is not the one that will be hitting the showrooms. That car was cutting edge. Almost like the new Cadillacs with oversize wheels. It was futuristic and, frankly, hot. Particularly compared to GM’s vanilla offerings up and down the line.
The new one looks like another Saturn, or a really nice Malibu. So, will it sell?
Next is the battery technology. The Volt uses lithium ion batteries. The same kind of batteries that are used in your laptop. And as you know from those applications, their storage capacity is not great.
All other hybrids on the road use nickel metal hydride batteries. These are heavier, but have passed the actual test of being road worthy with the Prius being in it’s 10th year of production.
What is most interesting here is a company the size of GM betting their future on this technology and this car. They have projected sales of 60,000 vehicles a year.
Critics say it will never sell more than a few thousand.
If it works, it will be the auto revolution we’ve been waiting for…
Friday, September 12, 2008
The truth of Obama's Legislative Record
I have spent much of the last week trying desperately to find bills that Obama has actually authored. That was a difficult task.
For those of you who might not know. CO sponsorship of a bill in the Congress means nothing.
Congressmen and Senators slap their names on hundreds of bills a year as co sponsor. It indicates no time or legislative effort.
So here's the real deal.
In his years in the Senate, according to the Congressional Quarterly and factcheck Obama has had 2. That's right TWO bills that he was the chief sponsor of passed and signed into law.
Here is the overwhelming list:
* S. 2125, A bill to promote relief, security, and democracy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
* S. 3757, A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 950 Missouri Avenue in East St. Louis, Illinois, as the "Katherine Dunham Post Office Building."
Now, before you swoon at the incredible accomplishments of the man who would be king, remember, he has spent most of his time in the Senate running for President so clearly he has not had time to actually do anything.
For those of you who might not know. CO sponsorship of a bill in the Congress means nothing.
Congressmen and Senators slap their names on hundreds of bills a year as co sponsor. It indicates no time or legislative effort.
So here's the real deal.
In his years in the Senate, according to the Congressional Quarterly and factcheck Obama has had 2. That's right TWO bills that he was the chief sponsor of passed and signed into law.
Here is the overwhelming list:
* S. 2125, A bill to promote relief, security, and democracy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
* S. 3757, A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 950 Missouri Avenue in East St. Louis, Illinois, as the "Katherine Dunham Post Office Building."
Now, before you swoon at the incredible accomplishments of the man who would be king, remember, he has spent most of his time in the Senate running for President so clearly he has not had time to actually do anything.
WHO took all that money from Freddie and Fannie!!!!????
In light of the public bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the New York Times published a story this week using statistics derived from the Center for Responsive Politics a non partisan research organization.
And guess what. As Gomer Pyle would say "Soorprize, soorprize, soorprize!!".
Since 1998 our friend Barack Obama has taken more money from the PAC's representing these two companies and their employees than ANY Senator other than Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee (it's typical for the chairman of a relevant committee to be the largest recipient. Conflict of interest be damned.)
But check those dates.
The Research went back to 1998 and was looking for anyone. Barack has only been in the Senate since 2005!!!
He has taken more than $120,000 from these groups.
Yup, small internet contributions. That's all!!!
And guess what. As Gomer Pyle would say "Soorprize, soorprize, soorprize!!".
Since 1998 our friend Barack Obama has taken more money from the PAC's representing these two companies and their employees than ANY Senator other than Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee (it's typical for the chairman of a relevant committee to be the largest recipient. Conflict of interest be damned.)
But check those dates.
The Research went back to 1998 and was looking for anyone. Barack has only been in the Senate since 2005!!!
He has taken more than $120,000 from these groups.
Yup, small internet contributions. That's all!!!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
New York mourns once more...
In the moments after midnight here in NY, the two blazing spotlights have been lit sending their blue beams heavenward, marking the 7th anniversary of the tragedy of 9/11/01.
I haven't discussed this much here, but some personal reflections.
First, I think if you interviewed NY'ers, those that spend time in the area, the emotions of those day would still be right on the surface.
It is still a common discussion among us to talk about where we were that day and what we were doing.
But that discussion would be followed almost immediately by incredulous expressions about the cost of housing in the area.
Battery Park City, where I lived until just before the attacks, has multiplied like a rabbit in heat and the rents and prices in the area around the Trade Center have risen faster than anywhere in the city.
And to another positive. The foundation for the freedom tower and some of the other new buildings to go up there were laid some time ago. But just last week, the first beam for the Freedom Tower was laid. The goal is to have the tower completed by the tenth anniversary of the attacks.
To NY'ers, that would be amazing. Particularly to those of us alive before the Twin Towers were built.
I remember discussions about building the world's tallest buildings almost from my first memories. And watching the towers be built, seemingly for my entire youth. They were such iconic parts of the city it seemed as if they had always been there.
During my days there, I often spent afternoons walking through the mall (there was a full shopping mall underneath the Towers) with my infant daughter.
During morning rush hour, the mall was perhaps the most crowded spot in the city with all of the New Jersey Commuters coming out of the PATH station, and the subway riders exiting at the the terminus of their lines to make their way to Wall St. and the World Financial Center.
It is why I was shocked when I began to hear the numbers of killed and injured. I can't ever know the numbers, but there must have been over 100,000 people at all times during rush hour in the immediate vicinity of the towers, in addition to the employees in the buildings themselves.
I had moved out a short time before the attacks, and if you look at the picture I have posted here, you can see my apartment building. If you see the two towers with the green conical roofs, and then the much shorter one in the middle, my building was immediately to the left. So you can imagine my reaction to the attacks.
On that day, I was in my office in White Plains, and we had a clear view down to the inferno. CNBC plays continuously in brokerage offices, and their reporters were obviously right there. The CNBC anchor at the time, was the first to say it must have been a terrorist attack. As we stood there alternately looking out the window, and watching our sets, panic slowly took over us. Particularly as we stood in a tower that stuck out in the Westchester (the county north of the city) skyline only 15 or so miles from the Twin Towers.
When the United 93 went down in Shanksville I remember thinking, "They're getting them all. When will it stop? When will the last plane come down? Are we safe here?"
What are your memories of that day?
I haven't discussed this much here, but some personal reflections.
First, I think if you interviewed NY'ers, those that spend time in the area, the emotions of those day would still be right on the surface.
It is still a common discussion among us to talk about where we were that day and what we were doing.
But that discussion would be followed almost immediately by incredulous expressions about the cost of housing in the area.
Battery Park City, where I lived until just before the attacks, has multiplied like a rabbit in heat and the rents and prices in the area around the Trade Center have risen faster than anywhere in the city.
And to another positive. The foundation for the freedom tower and some of the other new buildings to go up there were laid some time ago. But just last week, the first beam for the Freedom Tower was laid. The goal is to have the tower completed by the tenth anniversary of the attacks.
To NY'ers, that would be amazing. Particularly to those of us alive before the Twin Towers were built.
I remember discussions about building the world's tallest buildings almost from my first memories. And watching the towers be built, seemingly for my entire youth. They were such iconic parts of the city it seemed as if they had always been there.
During my days there, I often spent afternoons walking through the mall (there was a full shopping mall underneath the Towers) with my infant daughter.
During morning rush hour, the mall was perhaps the most crowded spot in the city with all of the New Jersey Commuters coming out of the PATH station, and the subway riders exiting at the the terminus of their lines to make their way to Wall St. and the World Financial Center.
It is why I was shocked when I began to hear the numbers of killed and injured. I can't ever know the numbers, but there must have been over 100,000 people at all times during rush hour in the immediate vicinity of the towers, in addition to the employees in the buildings themselves.
I had moved out a short time before the attacks, and if you look at the picture I have posted here, you can see my apartment building. If you see the two towers with the green conical roofs, and then the much shorter one in the middle, my building was immediately to the left. So you can imagine my reaction to the attacks.
On that day, I was in my office in White Plains, and we had a clear view down to the inferno. CNBC plays continuously in brokerage offices, and their reporters were obviously right there. The CNBC anchor at the time, was the first to say it must have been a terrorist attack. As we stood there alternately looking out the window, and watching our sets, panic slowly took over us. Particularly as we stood in a tower that stuck out in the Westchester (the county north of the city) skyline only 15 or so miles from the Twin Towers.
When the United 93 went down in Shanksville I remember thinking, "They're getting them all. When will it stop? When will the last plane come down? Are we safe here?"
What are your memories of that day?
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
NYC Century
I had a wonderful opportunity to participate yesterday in one of those only in NY kind of activities.
Called the NY Century it is a bike ride sponsored by a group called Transportation Alternatives that promotes, obviously, alternative transportation in NY.
Those of you who have ever had the opportunity to visit NY, know that the city is so much more than Manhattan. But you also may know that NY's public transportation system is perhaps the most complete in the world. Not the best, but definitely the most complete.
The ride was a 15, 30, 60, 75 or 100 mile trek around the city. Yours truly of course, took the 100 mile ride.
We left at 6 am from Central Park, and 12 hours later, ended back in the same spot.
We rode the length of Manhattan over the Brooklyn Bridge (seeing the bridges at sunrise is something to experience!) and then followed the beautiful Brooklyn shore line out to the Brooklyn marshlands. Into Queens, and through several national parks, by the National Tennis Center and Shea Stadium, and then along the North Shore, the Long Island Sound.
Crossing the Triborough Bridge into the Bronx, we passed the stables along the Pelham Parkway and went into Van Cortlandt Park and then down Broadway back into Manhattan, for the final, glorious sprint back into the park from Harlem.
Besides the incredible diversity of the city, and it's neighborhoods, one couldn't help but be struck by the incredible population that makes up this city.
In every neighborhood we were cheered and greeted warmly, with small children throughout the city running out to slap high five, or just cheer us on.
Wearing my USA bike shirt, I must have heard "go USA" at least a dozen times during the day.
Returning to the Park just before dusk, I can say, aside from a very sore butt, I gained, yet again, an incredible appreciation for the wonder that is this city.
Attached to the post is a picture of the sunset in Central Park as the ride came to a conclusion.
Yes folks, that is the middle of Manhattan with that lake, and those trees. It may be called the ashpalt jungle, but it is so much more...
Called the NY Century it is a bike ride sponsored by a group called Transportation Alternatives that promotes, obviously, alternative transportation in NY.
Those of you who have ever had the opportunity to visit NY, know that the city is so much more than Manhattan. But you also may know that NY's public transportation system is perhaps the most complete in the world. Not the best, but definitely the most complete.
The ride was a 15, 30, 60, 75 or 100 mile trek around the city. Yours truly of course, took the 100 mile ride.
We left at 6 am from Central Park, and 12 hours later, ended back in the same spot.
We rode the length of Manhattan over the Brooklyn Bridge (seeing the bridges at sunrise is something to experience!) and then followed the beautiful Brooklyn shore line out to the Brooklyn marshlands. Into Queens, and through several national parks, by the National Tennis Center and Shea Stadium, and then along the North Shore, the Long Island Sound.
Crossing the Triborough Bridge into the Bronx, we passed the stables along the Pelham Parkway and went into Van Cortlandt Park and then down Broadway back into Manhattan, for the final, glorious sprint back into the park from Harlem.
Besides the incredible diversity of the city, and it's neighborhoods, one couldn't help but be struck by the incredible population that makes up this city.
In every neighborhood we were cheered and greeted warmly, with small children throughout the city running out to slap high five, or just cheer us on.
Wearing my USA bike shirt, I must have heard "go USA" at least a dozen times during the day.
Returning to the Park just before dusk, I can say, aside from a very sore butt, I gained, yet again, an incredible appreciation for the wonder that is this city.
Attached to the post is a picture of the sunset in Central Park as the ride came to a conclusion.
Yes folks, that is the middle of Manhattan with that lake, and those trees. It may be called the ashpalt jungle, but it is so much more...
Thursday, September 4, 2008
On the outside looking in...
Regardless of the outcome of the election, one of two important barriers will be broken in this election. It's been discussed ad infinitum at this point, but there will either be a female veep or an African American President.
Because most of you, my dear readers are so wonderfully fair minded, you probably won't understand this, but more than ever, I am convinced that there will never be a Jewish President.
Is it important? Well, it's not important to Jews that there could be one. What is important is why there won't be one.
Just recently we have seen it here on the blogs, but there is such incredible, entrenched anti-semitism in this country. And yes, dare I say, more than racism or sexism. What we saw here, and what has been here on this site before, was a repetition of the century old anti semitic screed of dual loyalty of Jews.
I saw it almost everyday on the baseball diamond. Being called names that even I couldn't imagine or create. Having all manner of objects thrown at me, threats made...
If you think back to all the many Jews who have served as cabinet members, Senators and Congressman, wouldn't it seem that there would have had to have been at least one, who could run for that office with a legitimate shot?
In fact, there has never really even been a viable candidate. Joe Lieberman, while a nice story, was never close to getting the nomination, and frankly, I'm convinced he was the tipping point for Al Gore's loss.
So, a great wrong will be righted this election year. But I wonder if I could ever say to my daughters "Even you could be President".
Because most of you, my dear readers are so wonderfully fair minded, you probably won't understand this, but more than ever, I am convinced that there will never be a Jewish President.
Is it important? Well, it's not important to Jews that there could be one. What is important is why there won't be one.
Just recently we have seen it here on the blogs, but there is such incredible, entrenched anti-semitism in this country. And yes, dare I say, more than racism or sexism. What we saw here, and what has been here on this site before, was a repetition of the century old anti semitic screed of dual loyalty of Jews.
I saw it almost everyday on the baseball diamond. Being called names that even I couldn't imagine or create. Having all manner of objects thrown at me, threats made...
If you think back to all the many Jews who have served as cabinet members, Senators and Congressman, wouldn't it seem that there would have had to have been at least one, who could run for that office with a legitimate shot?
In fact, there has never really even been a viable candidate. Joe Lieberman, while a nice story, was never close to getting the nomination, and frankly, I'm convinced he was the tipping point for Al Gore's loss.
So, a great wrong will be righted this election year. But I wonder if I could ever say to my daughters "Even you could be President".
Hasmonean Wall on Mount Zion
Israel Antiquities Authority
Press Office
Press Release
The Southern Wall of Jerusalem that Dates to the Time of the Hasmonean
Dynasty was Discovered on Mount Zion (9/3/08 )
An exciting discovery in Jerusalem constituting extraordinary remains of the wall of the city from the time of the Second Temple (second century BCE-70 CE) that was built by the Hasmonean kings and was destroyed during the Great Revolt, and also the remains of a city wall from the Byzantine period (324-640 CE) which was built on top of it, were uncovered in an extensive excavation that is currently underway on Mount Zion. The lines of these fortifications delineated Jerusalem from the south in periods when the ancient city had reached its largest size.
The new finds were presented today (Wednesday) at a press conference that was held on Mount Zion. The excavation has been in progress for the past year and a half, under the direction of archaeologist Yehiel Zelinger of the Israel Antiquities Authority, in cooperation with the Nature and Parks Authority and with financial support provided by the Ir David Foundation.
The project is being implemented as part of the master plan for the Jerusalem City Wall National Park, the purpose of which is to preserve the region around the Old City of Jerusalem as an open area for tourism. In the future the remains of the ancient city walls will be incorporated in a promenade that will encircle the southern side of Mount Zion and will continue along the northern bank of Gai Ben Hinnom and terminate in the City of David.
The lines of the wall that delineate Mount Zion from the west and the south were first discovered and excavated at the end of the nineteenth century (1894-1897) by the Palestine Exploration Fund, under the direction of the archaeologist Frederick Jones Bliss and his architect assistant, Archibald Dickie. The work methods they employed involved the excavation of shafts that were linked by subterranean tunnels which ran along the outer face of the city walls.
Over the years their shafts and tunnels have filled up with soil and a year and a half ago when archaeologists were asked to determine the location of the areas that were excavated one hundred years ago they were unsuccessful in doing so. By cross-referencing the plans of the old excavation with updated maps of the area from today archaeologist Yehiel Zelinger was able to locate the tunnel which the British expedition had dug. There remained in it "souvenirs" that were left behind by the early excavators in the form of one of the laborer's shoes, the top of a gas light which was used to illuminate the tunnels, as well as fragments of beer and wine bottles from 120 years ago.
According to Yehiel Zelinger, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, "Having located the two city walls on Mount Zion corroborates our theory regarding the expansion of the city toward the south during these two periods, when Jerusalem reached its largest size. In the Second Temple period the city, with the temple at its center, was a focal point for Jewish pilgrimage from all over the ancient world and in the Byzantine period it attracted Christian pilgrims who came in the footsteps of the story of the life and death of their messiah. The exposure of the Hasmonean city wall and the line of fortifications from the Byzantine period, which is dated 400 years later and is right on top of the former, prove that this is the most advantageous topographic location for the defense of the city. The artifacts indicate that in spite of the fact that the builders of the Byzantine wall were unaware of the existence of the wall from the time of the Second Temple they constructed their wall precisely along the same route". Zelinger adds, "The fact that after 2,100 years the remains of the first city wall were preserved to a height of three meters is amazing. This is one of the most beautiful and complete
sections of construction in the Hasmonean building style to be found in Jerusalem".
Additional Information and Details
The Byzantine Period City Wall
Christian pilgrims of the fifth and sixth centuries CE ascribe the line of the city wall's construction to the Empress Eudocia, the estranged wife of Emperor Theodosius II. According to the historical sources of this period, the city wall was erected because of a biblical verse that appears in the Book of Psalms (51:20), "Do good in thy favor unto Zion; Build Thou the walls of Jerusalem". In translating the Bible to Greek the word that meant "do good in thy favor" was translated with a word that greatly resembled the name of the empress. Eudocia therefore concluded that the reference was explicitly intended for her and that it was she who was destined to build the walls of Jerusalem. In the excavation a section of the city wall was uncovered that rises to a maximum height of 3.30 meters and is approximately 2.50 meters wide. The wall was built of stones that were specifically quarried and dressed for this purpose; however, one can also discern some of the stones in its construction were probably taken from nearby ancient fortifications.
The Fortifications of the Second Temple Period
South of the line of fortifications from the Byzantine period and at a depth of approximately 4 meters below the elevation of its base, a tower that is preserved to a height of 3.20 meters was exposed which dates to the time of the Hasmonean Dynasty (the Second Temple period). The tower was built on the bedrock which was straightened and made fairly level. It was constructed of large stones that are characterized by a dressed boss in their center, with no bonding material between them. The "header-stretcher" construction method used in building the tower is typical of the Hasmonean period. The tower was part of the line of the "First Wall" that is described by Josephus. Other sections of the "First Wall" were revealed at the base of the western wall of the Ottoman city wall, in David's Citadel and in other excavations that were conducted in the Jewish Quarter. The soil fill and the pottery sherds that abut the city wall prove that it was used until the time of the Great Revolt and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in the year 70 CE. Afterwards, the stones of the wall were taken for secondary use, probably in order to build "Aelia Capitolina", the Roman colony which the emperor Hadrian established on the ruins of Jerusalem in the year 131 CE.
Press Office
Press Release
The Southern Wall of Jerusalem that Dates to the Time of the Hasmonean
Dynasty was Discovered on Mount Zion (9/3/08 )
An exciting discovery in Jerusalem constituting extraordinary remains of the wall of the city from the time of the Second Temple (second century BCE-70 CE) that was built by the Hasmonean kings and was destroyed during the Great Revolt, and also the remains of a city wall from the Byzantine period (324-640 CE) which was built on top of it, were uncovered in an extensive excavation that is currently underway on Mount Zion. The lines of these fortifications delineated Jerusalem from the south in periods when the ancient city had reached its largest size.
The new finds were presented today (Wednesday) at a press conference that was held on Mount Zion. The excavation has been in progress for the past year and a half, under the direction of archaeologist Yehiel Zelinger of the Israel Antiquities Authority, in cooperation with the Nature and Parks Authority and with financial support provided by the Ir David Foundation.
The project is being implemented as part of the master plan for the Jerusalem City Wall National Park, the purpose of which is to preserve the region around the Old City of Jerusalem as an open area for tourism. In the future the remains of the ancient city walls will be incorporated in a promenade that will encircle the southern side of Mount Zion and will continue along the northern bank of Gai Ben Hinnom and terminate in the City of David.
The lines of the wall that delineate Mount Zion from the west and the south were first discovered and excavated at the end of the nineteenth century (1894-1897) by the Palestine Exploration Fund, under the direction of the archaeologist Frederick Jones Bliss and his architect assistant, Archibald Dickie. The work methods they employed involved the excavation of shafts that were linked by subterranean tunnels which ran along the outer face of the city walls.
Over the years their shafts and tunnels have filled up with soil and a year and a half ago when archaeologists were asked to determine the location of the areas that were excavated one hundred years ago they were unsuccessful in doing so. By cross-referencing the plans of the old excavation with updated maps of the area from today archaeologist Yehiel Zelinger was able to locate the tunnel which the British expedition had dug. There remained in it "souvenirs" that were left behind by the early excavators in the form of one of the laborer's shoes, the top of a gas light which was used to illuminate the tunnels, as well as fragments of beer and wine bottles from 120 years ago.
According to Yehiel Zelinger, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, "Having located the two city walls on Mount Zion corroborates our theory regarding the expansion of the city toward the south during these two periods, when Jerusalem reached its largest size. In the Second Temple period the city, with the temple at its center, was a focal point for Jewish pilgrimage from all over the ancient world and in the Byzantine period it attracted Christian pilgrims who came in the footsteps of the story of the life and death of their messiah. The exposure of the Hasmonean city wall and the line of fortifications from the Byzantine period, which is dated 400 years later and is right on top of the former, prove that this is the most advantageous topographic location for the defense of the city. The artifacts indicate that in spite of the fact that the builders of the Byzantine wall were unaware of the existence of the wall from the time of the Second Temple they constructed their wall precisely along the same route". Zelinger adds, "The fact that after 2,100 years the remains of the first city wall were preserved to a height of three meters is amazing. This is one of the most beautiful and complete
sections of construction in the Hasmonean building style to be found in Jerusalem".
Additional Information and Details
The Byzantine Period City Wall
Christian pilgrims of the fifth and sixth centuries CE ascribe the line of the city wall's construction to the Empress Eudocia, the estranged wife of Emperor Theodosius II. According to the historical sources of this period, the city wall was erected because of a biblical verse that appears in the Book of Psalms (51:20), "Do good in thy favor unto Zion; Build Thou the walls of Jerusalem". In translating the Bible to Greek the word that meant "do good in thy favor" was translated with a word that greatly resembled the name of the empress. Eudocia therefore concluded that the reference was explicitly intended for her and that it was she who was destined to build the walls of Jerusalem. In the excavation a section of the city wall was uncovered that rises to a maximum height of 3.30 meters and is approximately 2.50 meters wide. The wall was built of stones that were specifically quarried and dressed for this purpose; however, one can also discern some of the stones in its construction were probably taken from nearby ancient fortifications.
The Fortifications of the Second Temple Period
South of the line of fortifications from the Byzantine period and at a depth of approximately 4 meters below the elevation of its base, a tower that is preserved to a height of 3.20 meters was exposed which dates to the time of the Hasmonean Dynasty (the Second Temple period). The tower was built on the bedrock which was straightened and made fairly level. It was constructed of large stones that are characterized by a dressed boss in their center, with no bonding material between them. The "header-stretcher" construction method used in building the tower is typical of the Hasmonean period. The tower was part of the line of the "First Wall" that is described by Josephus. Other sections of the "First Wall" were revealed at the base of the western wall of the Ottoman city wall, in David's Citadel and in other excavations that were conducted in the Jewish Quarter. The soil fill and the pottery sherds that abut the city wall prove that it was used until the time of the Great Revolt and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in the year 70 CE. Afterwards, the stones of the wall were taken for secondary use, probably in order to build "Aelia Capitolina", the Roman colony which the emperor Hadrian established on the ruins of Jerusalem in the year 131 CE.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
So angry.... and Beware the internet
Two short posts here:
I have spent a lot of time criticizing Barack Obama recently. Not surprisingly, most of you don't really understand why.
But if you read my posts carefully you will see. Obama possesses an intellectual capacity that few do.
As such, I expect intellectual honesty from him. And that is what I have not seen.
I am not here to criticize again, but to explain certain things about how I present ideas.
For those of you who are parents of more than one child, you know that you have different levels of expectations for each of your kids.
It is much the same here. This is not to say that McCain is stupid. Not at all. Despite what all of you who are so anxious to criticize him want to say, you can't become a fighter pilot without a superior intellect.
But he is not on Obama's level. So what I find offensive with Obama is the way he manipulates most of you. His rhetoric is so finely tuned that it is usually difficult to parse.
And in his case, it is more difficult to discern simply because of his lack of record.
McCain's positions are obvious. Like any politician, even Obama, there is an evolution. That is natural. But with McCain, we can go back and see 20+ years of a voting record.
But here's the truth of the matter. On social policy I am an ultra, ultra liberal. Probably more liberal than anyone you know. You have seen this rarely, but as an example, on my discussion of handguns.
On foreign and economic policy, I am a conservative. And I HATE both of those terms.
But I believe in a balanced budget, low interest rate, strong dollar economy, and an activist foreign policy.
Some people argue that we shouldn't be the world's policeman.
I say they are right. We shouldn't be. We MUST be. We have a moral obligation to be.
Anyone having any experience with the holocaust who repeats what Jews the world over say in synagogue - "Never again" MUST believe this.
As such, I am constantly torn between the two parties.
At each election I have to make the proverbial deal with the devil to support a candidate.
But the anger this seems to generate from the people that blindly follow one side or the other simple baffles me. It is why I just can't listen to talk radio.
But for example, the reaction of Democrats to Joe Lieberman. Here was a man with an overwhelmingly liberal voting record. A loyal Democrat, who simply because of his stance on ONE issue, was viewed as a traitor to his party.
How silly.
Next, I use a warning. My friend [member classyginger] had a commenter on her blog who, among other racist and antisemitic statements, declared that Michael Chertoff, the Director of Homeland Security, had dual citizenship with Israel.
Ginger commented to the guy that he was so wrong about everything, correctly took him to task about his bigotry, but she "conceded" that he was right about Chertoff because she saw this on dozens of internet sites. (Ginger this is in NO WAY a criticism of you!!)
Even as I spoke over and over to her that it was not true, she explained that she had researched it and seen it everywhere on dozens of sites. I told her that that was exactly the problem.
Finally, she simply accepted what I said. That it was a lie, based on another lie about Chertoff's mother.
The point here, is that she is right that the LIE was referenced on dozens of web sites all over the internet.
But the truth was not. Why? Because anyone writing an accurate biography of Chertoff would not even think to deal with the question of his citizenship. For all practical purposes, no cabinet member (not by law, but by fact) could hold dual citizenship. It is simply not something any legitmate biographer would discuss.
Thus the myth, the lie, spreads, and the truth gets buried in cyberspace.
A perfect example of this would the so called "magic bullet" of the Kennedy assassination.
I'm sure if you did a search for that term, you would come up with literally hundreds of thousands of hits. All describing the impossibility of the bullet making the turns in mid air that these sites would have you believe the bullet would have had to make in order to hit Governor Connelly.
But the truth? You will be hard pressed to discover that actually, Governor Connelly was sitting below and to the left of Kennedy, and that the bullet followed an absolutely true trajectory, exactly as expected of a bullet. Probably nowhere would you see that he was sitting in an inboard jump seat.
The point here is that when using the internet to research PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE be careful. Vet your sources.
Do not repeat rumours without checking from a legitimate source.
And even then, what we have seen over the last two decades or so, as the pressure for instant news becomes more intense, these so called legitimate sites can frequently repeat lies.
I have spent a lot of time criticizing Barack Obama recently. Not surprisingly, most of you don't really understand why.
But if you read my posts carefully you will see. Obama possesses an intellectual capacity that few do.
As such, I expect intellectual honesty from him. And that is what I have not seen.
I am not here to criticize again, but to explain certain things about how I present ideas.
For those of you who are parents of more than one child, you know that you have different levels of expectations for each of your kids.
It is much the same here. This is not to say that McCain is stupid. Not at all. Despite what all of you who are so anxious to criticize him want to say, you can't become a fighter pilot without a superior intellect.
But he is not on Obama's level. So what I find offensive with Obama is the way he manipulates most of you. His rhetoric is so finely tuned that it is usually difficult to parse.
And in his case, it is more difficult to discern simply because of his lack of record.
McCain's positions are obvious. Like any politician, even Obama, there is an evolution. That is natural. But with McCain, we can go back and see 20+ years of a voting record.
But here's the truth of the matter. On social policy I am an ultra, ultra liberal. Probably more liberal than anyone you know. You have seen this rarely, but as an example, on my discussion of handguns.
On foreign and economic policy, I am a conservative. And I HATE both of those terms.
But I believe in a balanced budget, low interest rate, strong dollar economy, and an activist foreign policy.
Some people argue that we shouldn't be the world's policeman.
I say they are right. We shouldn't be. We MUST be. We have a moral obligation to be.
Anyone having any experience with the holocaust who repeats what Jews the world over say in synagogue - "Never again" MUST believe this.
As such, I am constantly torn between the two parties.
At each election I have to make the proverbial deal with the devil to support a candidate.
But the anger this seems to generate from the people that blindly follow one side or the other simple baffles me. It is why I just can't listen to talk radio.
But for example, the reaction of Democrats to Joe Lieberman. Here was a man with an overwhelmingly liberal voting record. A loyal Democrat, who simply because of his stance on ONE issue, was viewed as a traitor to his party.
How silly.
Next, I use a warning. My friend [member classyginger] had a commenter on her blog who, among other racist and antisemitic statements, declared that Michael Chertoff, the Director of Homeland Security, had dual citizenship with Israel.
Ginger commented to the guy that he was so wrong about everything, correctly took him to task about his bigotry, but she "conceded" that he was right about Chertoff because she saw this on dozens of internet sites. (Ginger this is in NO WAY a criticism of you!!)
Even as I spoke over and over to her that it was not true, she explained that she had researched it and seen it everywhere on dozens of sites. I told her that that was exactly the problem.
Finally, she simply accepted what I said. That it was a lie, based on another lie about Chertoff's mother.
The point here, is that she is right that the LIE was referenced on dozens of web sites all over the internet.
But the truth was not. Why? Because anyone writing an accurate biography of Chertoff would not even think to deal with the question of his citizenship. For all practical purposes, no cabinet member (not by law, but by fact) could hold dual citizenship. It is simply not something any legitmate biographer would discuss.
Thus the myth, the lie, spreads, and the truth gets buried in cyberspace.
A perfect example of this would the so called "magic bullet" of the Kennedy assassination.
I'm sure if you did a search for that term, you would come up with literally hundreds of thousands of hits. All describing the impossibility of the bullet making the turns in mid air that these sites would have you believe the bullet would have had to make in order to hit Governor Connelly.
But the truth? You will be hard pressed to discover that actually, Governor Connelly was sitting below and to the left of Kennedy, and that the bullet followed an absolutely true trajectory, exactly as expected of a bullet. Probably nowhere would you see that he was sitting in an inboard jump seat.
The point here is that when using the internet to research PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE be careful. Vet your sources.
Do not repeat rumours without checking from a legitimate source.
And even then, what we have seen over the last two decades or so, as the pressure for instant news becomes more intense, these so called legitimate sites can frequently repeat lies.
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