ICYMI: Fetuses on Facebook, ‘The Spending Is Nuts,’ the Volt and dollar struggle mightily, and…an infield triple?
Your (rapidly becoming weekly) rundown of articles, essays, graphs, etc. from the past several days that are worth a read:
- A long (almost 8,500 words) but captivating and detailed account of the mission that ended with the killing of Osama bin Laden.
- Facebook adds a new option for listing family members on your profile: Your “expected child” still in the womb.
- A squirrel-themed video called “The Spending Is Nuts” won the $100,000 first prize in Power Line’s competition for the creative project that “most effectively and creatively dramatize[s] the significance of the federal debt crisis.”
- The Economist’s man in Atlanta, a D.C. native named Jon Fasman, writes that living here has been a “happy surprise.”
- The head of the Technology Association of Georgia writes that, while “our prowess in technology is still, unfortunately, one of Georgia’s best kept secrets” and that the state still lacks “a plan…to attract and build investment firms” and bring much needed venture capital here.
- One of the founders of Christians for a Sustainable Economy argues, “we don’t need to protect the programs [for the poor]. We need to protect the poor. Indeed, sometimes we need to protect the poor from the programs.”
- The heavily subsidized Chevy Volt is still not selling.
- The dollar is approaching a record low against the yen, as well as most other major currencies, and that’s a bad thing.
- Months after Syria’s Bashar Assad starting killing his own people, the U.N. Security Council finally got past the objections of the BRICs — you know, the countries that are supposedly going to replace America as responsible world leaders — to condemn Damascus. (Although this condemnation does not even rise to the level of furrowed-browness that comes with a resolution.) Assad responded by killing more Syrians.
- And, on the lighter side (unless you’re an Oakland A’s fan): A Seattle Mariner hits an infield triple. No, that’s not a typo.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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64 comments Add your comment
MarkV
August 4th, 2011
10:58 pm
Linda @10:41 pm: Yes, they are. but some people have a problem with the understanding part.
And you are one of them. You acted insulted when I called some of yur statements stupid, accusing me of calling YOU stupid, which was false. But then, when I referred to the posts from one person here whom you openly here called sweetheart and praised his comments, you played stupid, as if you did not understand whom I was referring to. I state openly here that you are a hypocrite, scolding people here and asking them to clean their posts, while praising one whose posts are filled with hateful insults of the elected president of this country. ( Lil’ Barry Bailout (Revised Downward), August 4th, 20117:21 pm: Idiot Messiah, er, Obozo, I mean, the big-eared retard.)
buck@gon
August 4th, 2011
11:04 pm
Kyle,
You don’t have to be defensive about your blog.
But what is going on with Jay’s blog and here tonight is to me, unprecedented. First, we have women posting, at least openly declared by their e-names (it’s “Aquagirl” on Jay’s). Second, we have two guys (one would think) basically harassing them in the same way on the same night. I’m not the most frequent blogger here, but I’m curious about it, and somewhat surprised–well, I shouldn’t be too surprised. Men are pigs, especially when they allow their little boys to run their minds.
I’m disappointed in a way.
In my view, liberals often resort to name-calling just to end a conversation to their emotional satisfaction, with phrases like, “kow-towing to the rich bankers,” or labeling someone, “those Republicans and their Wall Street buddies,” as if philosophically that is some perjorative or truth.
The whole bit about name-calling regarding something as personal as gender or race (let’s consider that too) is just wrong, always and everywhere.
buck@gon
August 4th, 2011
11:07 pm
Linda,
As far as awards go, sorry, those for newspapers and for university performance only go to doctrinaire liberals. Kyle is clearly not eligible, as he is conservative. In these circles conservatives are called, “those people.”
Hillbilly D
August 4th, 2011
11:47 pm
a D.C. native named Jon Fasman, writes that living here has been a “happy surprise.”
Bless his elitist little heart.
Alice
August 4th, 2011
11:56 pm
I should think after living in the cess pool known as D.C. any place would be a happy surprise. Yes, bless his little heart. Just what we need, another condescending d-bag who wants to “grace” us with his presence. I didn’t even click on that link. Why should anyone care what Jon Fasman thinks?
ByteMe
August 5th, 2011
5:00 am
Kyle @ 1:50 (I know, I know… I’m late!
):
This from an article posted just today:
“On Thursday, Japan’s government intervened in markets to weaken the yen against the dollar to support exporters. Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said authorities acted to protect the economic recovery following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.”
You may think a weak dollar is bad for the economy, but a weak dollar is only bad if that weakness is in relation to a product we need/want to import. Oil is falling faster than the dollar at this point, and that’s our big import that’s priced in dollars. By having the dollar fall, we make our imports more expensive and our exports less expensive to others, which bolsters our own manufacturing.
As weak dollar doesn’t make it more expensive to eat at McDonalds. But it can lead to inflation in items that we import. Big deal. Buy American.
But this situation won’t last, since the dollar is still stronger than a lot of other currencies in the minds of others. We need to take advantage of it while we can.
Junior Samples
August 5th, 2011
8:46 am
At first, I was salivating upon seeing the early prototype of the Volt. Then they watered it down, stylistically and functionally. Turned it into a gas-electric hybrid. Waiting to see what Ford does with the electric Focus.
MarkV
August 5th, 2011
9:47 am
buck@gon @10:54 pm: As I have stated before, you have absolutely no understanding of the exchange between me an Linda.
“…needling you were doing to Linda is inappropriate on blogs, in polite society, in work environments and conversation. It is plainly a version sexual harassment.” Are you trying to be funny?
Just to help you to understand, this is a political blog, and whatever is posted here, must be taken in the political context. I could not care less whom Linda considers a sweetheart. But when she writes a post here, calling a particular blogger her sweetheart because of his posts, and writes about running to her husband to tell him of the blogger’s latest “witticism,” it becomes a matter of her praising the substance of the posts of that particular blogger. It also becomes a legitimate subject of a comment, especially because of the hypocrisy involved. Linda in the past scolded people for nasty posts. In this thread she wrote “Name-calling is what has made Obama so popular.” And all the time she praises a blogger, whose CONSTANT theme (not only in this thread) is calling the elected president of this country “Idiot Messiah: Shovel ready liar” (August 4th, 20115:18 pm),” Obozo, I mean, the big-eared retard” August 4th, 2011 7:21 pm).
So spare me your outrage. My comments has had nothing to do with gender, race, or anything like that. It is you who has no clue.
Kyle Wingfield
August 5th, 2011
10:08 am
ByteMe @ 5 a.m.: As the Nobel laureate Robert Mundell says, the only closed economy is the world economy. There’s too much integration of our markets with those of other countries to think we can simply shift to “buy American.” That ship has sailed. Inflation in imports is a very big problem, not least because we import so many of the components of things we consider “made in the USA” or even “exports.”
That’s also, I would posit, a reason the current recovery has been so sluggish. Don’t get me wrong — I think that in the long run globalization is a rising tide rather than a race to the bottom. But even the most ardent free-trade fans have to acknowledge it causes a lot of disruption for a lot of people in the short run. And there was still a lot of that disruption being worked out when the financial crisis hit.
Kyle Wingfield
August 5th, 2011
10:08 am
MarkV, Linda, and buck@gon: It’s time to let this one go.
Nat Turner
August 5th, 2011
11:47 am
Thank you, Kyle. Lil’ Barry, buck@gon, and “Linda” all sound like the same person.
And MarkV, keep up the good work. You, Fletch, and Point have made some good rational points, and do not resort to bashing Obama. He is guilty, but not the only one fudging things up.
Hillbilly D
August 5th, 2011
12:07 pm
I don’t claim to be an expert on high finance but it seems to me the problem with the economy is decreased consumer demand. When I was growing up, my grandparents and parents used to tell me about the Great Depression and how they got through it. It was a life altering situation that they never forgot. I think something similar happened with the Great Meltdown. Many people had an epiphany about consumerism and realized they can live without a lot of the things that they thought they couldn’t. I think many people’s outlook has changed for the rest of their lives, just as happened during the Depression. I don’t look for consumer demand to ever get back to previous levels until a generation or two has passed and the lessons of the Meltdown have been forgotten, just as the lessons of the Depression were forgotten.
MarkV
August 5th, 2011
1:02 pm
Kyle,
I do not mind letting this one go. I prefer rational arguments to personal attacks anytime. However, I also reserve the right to call a statement stupid, when I think it is.
Also, if you are asked “TO STOMP THIS CRAP OUT OF THE BLOG” and “clean up your act,” I would suggest that you look at the filth thrown at the President in some of the posts.
Linda
August 5th, 2011
2:03 pm
Kyle@10:08 AM, I agree that it was “time to let this one go.” That’s why I let it go at 10:41 PM, last night.