December's Atlantic Magazine features an extensive article tying The Great Bubble to a popular brand of American Christianity: The Prosperity Gospel. Written by Hannah Rosin, it is thoughtful, and well worth the time invested in the read.
OldSouth has always always believed that culture shapes economy; and that behind culture stands theology, even if it's the anti-theology of atheism. OldSouth also thinks that heresy is no laughing matter, that it destroys lives and cultures.
Rosin refers to Jackson Lears, author of Something for Nothing. This paragraph states the problem succinctly:
...Jackson Lears describes two starkly different manifestations of the American dream, each intertwined with religious faith. The traditional Protestant hero is a self-made man. He is disciplined and hardworking, and believes that his “success comes through careful cultivation of (implicitly Protestant) virtues in cooperation with a Providential plan.” The hero of the second American narrative is a kind of gambling man—a “speculative confidence man,” Lears calls him, who prefers “risky ventures in real estate,” and a more “fluid, mobile democracy.” The self-made man imagines a coherent universe where earthly rewards match merits. The confidence man lives in a culture of chance, with “grace as a kind of spiritual luck, a free gift from God.” The Gilded Age launched the myth of the self-made man, as the Rockefellers and other powerful men in the pews connected their wealth to their own virtue. In these boom-and-crash years, the more reckless alter ego dominates.
The 'second American narrative' is soooo seductive, and has become ubiquitous in American church life. Like the original serpent, the message is often subtle: God loves you better than that pagan down the street. Step out on faith, and He'll be there to catch you! They purposefully ignore the entire Wisdom tradition of the Old Testament, the very tradition that gave birth to Christianity. Some of the purveyors of the heresy even blatantly connect donations to their ministry to the rewards of earthly wealth for the faithful donor.
It's a far cry from that crucial moment of history when that certain rabbi from Nazareth sweat blood and prayed, 'Not my will, but thine, be done.'
Culture forms economy. Our view of God and mankind form culture.
Let's be careful out there. That same rabbi also issued warnings about wolves among the flock, and wheat and tares, and trees that bear good and bad fruit...
Friday, January 8, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
The Woman Who Would Succeed Ted Kennedy
Ann Coulter refreshes our memory of one of the worst miscarriages of justice in American history.
And she reminds us that one of its worst actors was Martha Coakley, the Democrat nominee for the seat left vacant by the demise of Ted Kennedy. The tale is long and chilling, and worth considering.
Gerald Amirault had been imprisoned for fifteen years for crimes that never occurred. Martha Coakley, as a district attorney, had every reason to know this was the case, and yet lobbied against his clemency petition in order to make her feminist prosecutorial 'bones'.
The man languished in prison for three years more.
Imagine this woman in the Senate...
And she reminds us that one of its worst actors was Martha Coakley, the Democrat nominee for the seat left vacant by the demise of Ted Kennedy. The tale is long and chilling, and worth considering.
Gerald Amirault had been imprisoned for fifteen years for crimes that never occurred. Martha Coakley, as a district attorney, had every reason to know this was the case, and yet lobbied against his clemency petition in order to make her feminist prosecutorial 'bones'.
The man languished in prison for three years more.
Imagine this woman in the Senate...
Frozen Gore: Art As Theatre In Fairbanks
'Frozen Gore' has returned for a second year, thanks to two businessmen in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Yes, the Inventor Of The Internet, who believes the earth's core to be millions of degrees hot; who managed to give the impression that he had graduated both the law and divinity schools of Vanderbilt University(when he has, in reality, not); the Presidential candidate who brought us the 'hanging chad'; who darkly warned us of the disappearance of the polar bear(whose population is actually growing handily, thank-you); Bill Clinton's apologist and lap-dog; the Guru of Copenhagen; the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize; and the inspiration for the tens of thousands of 'Gore-Free Tennessee' signs that blanketed his home state in the fall of 2000--this very Al Gore has once again been memorialized in a large ice sculpture.
This year's sculpture features an avant-garde 'live-theatre' element: When the owners hook the exhaust of their pickup truck to the sculpture, AlGore blows smoke! Sort of a realistic touch, don't-cha-know!
Now, 'scuse me, the snow's about to begin here in Tennessee, in the coldest winter since the late 1970's. Need to put on some more hot cider, and check the pot of chili.
Don't think this is what AlGore exactly predicted for 2010...
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
The True Unsung Hero
Thomas Friedman of the New York Times reminds us of the true unsung hero of the Christmas Day attempted terror attack: the terrorist's father, who warned US intelligence in detail that his son had been snared by the jihadists, and represented a threat to the civilized worlds.
Think on that one for a moment! Think about how we love our kids, advocate for them, wish to see them always prosper and never come to harm.
What if it were my son, for instance, that decided that the KKK and Aryan Nation held the 'secret to life', and that he felt obligated to target blacks, Jews and Catholics for violent elimination from society? Even after a comfortable, even privileged background and education? Would I have the cojones to call the FBI and let them know? I hope so.
I would also hope that the FBI would have the common sense to listen and make certain the word got out before someone was harmed, beginning with my son. That's where things broke down, on our end, our people, our intelligence service, our law enforcement, our White House living in denial that there really are dangerous followers of The Prophet out there, too busy feeding the banksters to notice.
But, another general breakdown has taken place in the parts of the world where Islam prevails:
Finding people with the courage to confront that breakdown — the one identified by the father, the one that lures young Muslims away from the mainstream into a willingness to commit suicide against innocent civilians as part of some jihadist power fantasy — is what matters most right now.
Yes, we need to fix our intelligence. Yes, we absolutely must live up to our own ideals, as President Obama is trying to do in banning torture and closing Guantánamo Bay. We can’t let this “war on terrorism” consume us. We can’t let our country become just The United States of Fighting Terrorism and nothing more. We are the people of July 4th — not Sept. 11th.
But even if we do all that, no laws or walls we put up will ever be sufficient to protect us unless the Arab and Muslim societies from whence these suicide bombers emerge erect political, religious and moral restraints as well — starting by shaming suicide bombers and naming their actions “murder,” not “martyrdom.”
Finally, finally, someone from MSM/ObamaLand is saying what the rest of us have been saying for a long, long time: There is a big problem out there in IslamWorld, and until they put their house in order, this thing will not end peacefully.
Finally.
Think on that one for a moment! Think about how we love our kids, advocate for them, wish to see them always prosper and never come to harm.
What if it were my son, for instance, that decided that the KKK and Aryan Nation held the 'secret to life', and that he felt obligated to target blacks, Jews and Catholics for violent elimination from society? Even after a comfortable, even privileged background and education? Would I have the cojones to call the FBI and let them know? I hope so.
I would also hope that the FBI would have the common sense to listen and make certain the word got out before someone was harmed, beginning with my son. That's where things broke down, on our end, our people, our intelligence service, our law enforcement, our White House living in denial that there really are dangerous followers of The Prophet out there, too busy feeding the banksters to notice.
But, another general breakdown has taken place in the parts of the world where Islam prevails:
Finding people with the courage to confront that breakdown — the one identified by the father, the one that lures young Muslims away from the mainstream into a willingness to commit suicide against innocent civilians as part of some jihadist power fantasy — is what matters most right now.
Yes, we need to fix our intelligence. Yes, we absolutely must live up to our own ideals, as President Obama is trying to do in banning torture and closing Guantánamo Bay. We can’t let this “war on terrorism” consume us. We can’t let our country become just The United States of Fighting Terrorism and nothing more. We are the people of July 4th — not Sept. 11th.
But even if we do all that, no laws or walls we put up will ever be sufficient to protect us unless the Arab and Muslim societies from whence these suicide bombers emerge erect political, religious and moral restraints as well — starting by shaming suicide bombers and naming their actions “murder,” not “martyrdom.”
Finally, finally, someone from MSM/ObamaLand is saying what the rest of us have been saying for a long, long time: There is a big problem out there in IslamWorld, and until they put their house in order, this thing will not end peacefully.
Finally.
The Not-Ugly American
A charming short essay by British author Geoff Dyer about the gap between the reputation of Americans as seen by many in the UK, and the reality he encounters.
With so many of us living with one foot in each place via business and family, this is a good read:
The first thing I ever heard about Americans was that they all carried guns. Then, when I came across people who’d had direct contact with this ferocious-sounding tribe, I learned that they were actually rather friendly. At university, friends who had traveled in the United States came back with more detailed stories, not just of the friendliness of Americans but also of their hospitality (which, in our quaint English way, was translated into something close to gullibility). When I finally got to America myself, I found that not only were the natives friendly and hospitable, they were also incredibly polite. No one tells you this about Americans, but once you notice it, it becomes one of their defining characteristics, especially when they’re abroad.
The entire piece here. Enjoy.
And, ya'll come back and see us, ya heah?
With so many of us living with one foot in each place via business and family, this is a good read:
The first thing I ever heard about Americans was that they all carried guns. Then, when I came across people who’d had direct contact with this ferocious-sounding tribe, I learned that they were actually rather friendly. At university, friends who had traveled in the United States came back with more detailed stories, not just of the friendliness of Americans but also of their hospitality (which, in our quaint English way, was translated into something close to gullibility). When I finally got to America myself, I found that not only were the natives friendly and hospitable, they were also incredibly polite. No one tells you this about Americans, but once you notice it, it becomes one of their defining characteristics, especially when they’re abroad.
The entire piece here. Enjoy.
And, ya'll come back and see us, ya heah?
We're Making Progress! Dodd And Dorgan Hit The Road
News this morning that Chris Dodd Democrat of Connecticut, and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota announced this morning that they will not seek re-election.
Reality is settling in on the Senators who followed Himself over the cliff. The voters back home are not amused.
Chris Dodd, especially, would be facing questions about why he took a sweetheart deal from Countrywide Mortgage, one of the most notorious of the subprime operators. The Wall Street Journal covered his 'disclosure' of the deal last February, in which reporters were allowed to view, but not copy or carry away any portion of, what he purported to be the documents attached to the sweetheart loan.
'Heck, we'd all love the kind of courtesy that would have saved Mr. Dodd $75,000 over the life of the two loans he refinanced to the tune of $800,000, according to an analysis by Portfolio magazine. The savings came from rock-bottom interest rates and a free "float-down" -- the right to borrow at a lower rate if interest rates fall before you've closed on the loan.'
The shame of it all is that the questions won't be coming from a federal prosecutor--Prez HopeyChangey's Justice Department has his back on that problem, so long as he votes the party line until retirement.
As for Senator Dorgan--well, North Dakota is a huge piece of real estate with not many people. And the people that do live there are a hearty, self reliant lot. On a state-wide level, they avoided many of the sins of the past twenty/thirty years, and have come through the Great Recession relatively intact, with oil drilling now underway in many parts of the state. The good Senator would have great trouble justifying his support of the banksters and an administration that would love nothing more than to shutter the entire oil industry. Look for a Republican to replace him.
And, speaking of Republicans to replace someone in the Senate, there is still time to send a few shekels in the direction of Scott Brown, the GOP candidate who appears to be closing on the presumed Democrat heir to Chappaquiddick Teddy's seat.
If Brown wins, Prez HopeyChangey loses his sixtieth vote for the health-care monstrosity, and cap-and-trade, and the next round of bail-outs, and the next stimulus, and the confirmation of Helicopter Ben, etc. etc... Senator Brown could be a game changer, at least until the Dems finish suborning GOP Senator Snowe of Maine.
Even if he comes close, Teddy's heir will have to be looking over her shoulder at an electorate that could easily turn on her. Every little bit helps!
The Republican National Committee has been, let us say, lukewarm in its participation and support of Mr. Brown. His win or very strong showing could help encourage a housecleaning in that corrupt organization, as well.
The special election in Massachusetts is January 19.
Reality is settling in on the Senators who followed Himself over the cliff. The voters back home are not amused.
Chris Dodd, especially, would be facing questions about why he took a sweetheart deal from Countrywide Mortgage, one of the most notorious of the subprime operators. The Wall Street Journal covered his 'disclosure' of the deal last February, in which reporters were allowed to view, but not copy or carry away any portion of, what he purported to be the documents attached to the sweetheart loan.
'Heck, we'd all love the kind of courtesy that would have saved Mr. Dodd $75,000 over the life of the two loans he refinanced to the tune of $800,000, according to an analysis by Portfolio magazine. The savings came from rock-bottom interest rates and a free "float-down" -- the right to borrow at a lower rate if interest rates fall before you've closed on the loan.'
The shame of it all is that the questions won't be coming from a federal prosecutor--Prez HopeyChangey's Justice Department has his back on that problem, so long as he votes the party line until retirement.
As for Senator Dorgan--well, North Dakota is a huge piece of real estate with not many people. And the people that do live there are a hearty, self reliant lot. On a state-wide level, they avoided many of the sins of the past twenty/thirty years, and have come through the Great Recession relatively intact, with oil drilling now underway in many parts of the state. The good Senator would have great trouble justifying his support of the banksters and an administration that would love nothing more than to shutter the entire oil industry. Look for a Republican to replace him.
And, speaking of Republicans to replace someone in the Senate, there is still time to send a few shekels in the direction of Scott Brown, the GOP candidate who appears to be closing on the presumed Democrat heir to Chappaquiddick Teddy's seat.
If Brown wins, Prez HopeyChangey loses his sixtieth vote for the health-care monstrosity, and cap-and-trade, and the next round of bail-outs, and the next stimulus, and the confirmation of Helicopter Ben, etc. etc... Senator Brown could be a game changer, at least until the Dems finish suborning GOP Senator Snowe of Maine.
Even if he comes close, Teddy's heir will have to be looking over her shoulder at an electorate that could easily turn on her. Every little bit helps!
The Republican National Committee has been, let us say, lukewarm in its participation and support of Mr. Brown. His win or very strong showing could help encourage a housecleaning in that corrupt organization, as well.
The special election in Massachusetts is January 19.
A Modest, But Effective Idea--Move Your Money To Your Community Bank
This movement seems to be gaining legs, as one way families and small businesses can push back against the banksters.
More on this later, but here's the video promoting the idea.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
If Ten Percent is Good Enough For Jesus...
An inspired 2:50 from Ray Stevens, comic poet laureate of country music.
The scary bit is--he first released this song in the early 1990's!
Enjoy.
Splurge. Borrow. Repeat. And Consider The Source
God bless Mish Shedlock, he always has something good to share.
This editorial from the January 3 Chicago Tribune is especially sobering.
It addresses the Illinois voter bluntly:
You're a deadbeat, an astonishing $4.9 billion overdue in paying your bills. You owe much of that for services that were provided many months ago by people who, day in and day out, care for your ailing, handicapped and often helpless fellow citizens.
You're also -- sorry to be blunt -- inept. You repeatedly spend more than you earn and borrow to fill the gap. This year you'll outspend your income by some $12 billion.
In the process you've embraced debts that could plague your descendants after you're dead and gone. Examples: You've bizarrely promised your workers some $80 billion more in pension payouts than you can afford. What's more, you've promised them additional billions that you don't have for their health care after they retire.
And that's just the opening bits!
But, as we watch this drama unfold in Illinois, once the envy of the world, as it experiences the slow-motion car wreck of a state headed toward bankruptcy, it is a moment to reflect:
Where do The People In Charge hail from?
Who sat in the Illinois Senate a few years ago and helped hasten the day the state now faces?
Why did we turn governance of this country over to the people who created this disaster in Illinois?
What were we, collectively, thinking?
What should we, collectively, do next?
This editorial from the January 3 Chicago Tribune is especially sobering.
It addresses the Illinois voter bluntly:
You're a deadbeat, an astonishing $4.9 billion overdue in paying your bills. You owe much of that for services that were provided many months ago by people who, day in and day out, care for your ailing, handicapped and often helpless fellow citizens.
You're also -- sorry to be blunt -- inept. You repeatedly spend more than you earn and borrow to fill the gap. This year you'll outspend your income by some $12 billion.
In the process you've embraced debts that could plague your descendants after you're dead and gone. Examples: You've bizarrely promised your workers some $80 billion more in pension payouts than you can afford. What's more, you've promised them additional billions that you don't have for their health care after they retire.
And that's just the opening bits!
But, as we watch this drama unfold in Illinois, once the envy of the world, as it experiences the slow-motion car wreck of a state headed toward bankruptcy, it is a moment to reflect:
Where do The People In Charge hail from?
Who sat in the Illinois Senate a few years ago and helped hasten the day the state now faces?
Why did we turn governance of this country over to the people who created this disaster in Illinois?
What were we, collectively, thinking?
What should we, collectively, do next?
Saturday, January 2, 2010
OldSouth's 2010 List
It's a disease, I know. A exercise in narcissistic self-indulgence. A harmless diversion as well, since sitting here in my armchair, I control almost none of the events listed below. But, having read Karl Denninger's retrospective of his 2009 predictions, and he admitted scoring only 56%, I figure, 'What the hey, anybody can try this!'
So, Here we go, for 2010:
1. We had 140 bank failures in 2009, mostly small fry. We'll have 200 in 2010, and some of the 'bigger fish' will be among them. Some will not be the classical Friday afternoon raid scenario, as it will be difficult to find anyone able to take over these sick elephants. A lot of TARP money will be lost next year.
2. FDIC will have to admit it's insolvent, that insurance fees from the banks that behaved won't be enough to rescue their drunken cousins. Treasury and/or Fed will have to kick in a bunch more money, and there will be a major stink.
3. Ford will be making cars and money, GM will be making cars and losing money, and Chrysler will no longer be with us. Ford will make most of its money where it always has, on the F-150 pickup truck, because working America has to use a pickup truck to get its work done, and there is a real attrition of F-150's. You know, a real market, not the one Himself and Miss Nancy dream of.
4. There have been two Democrats, Tennessee Blue-Dogs, who have announced they will not run next fall, in addition to an Alabama Democrat who has switched parties. (He won't be back, because he'll be trounced by a black conservative in the spring primary.) I predict another 10 Democrat House members will head for the hills rather than face a furious electorate. GOP and Independents will pick up a total of 25 House seats. Miss Nancy will have a real problem on her hands.
5. There will be a massive market correction by June 2010, and the Administration and Fed will desperately try to pump it up again, to maintain the illusion that all is well. It won't work, it will be transparent this time, and it will really piss the voters off. We will end 2010 with Dow 7700, S&P 700. Pension funds will bleed, and local governments will go through convulsions, long overdue.
6. There will be the exposure of at least one more major financial scandal the magnitude of Madoff. Someone, somewhere, will expose a specific money trail from Washington to Wall Street and back again, with specific people attached. That someone will go through hell as the machinery of government is turned against him, but in the end heads will roll. Don't know if anyone will go to jail like Bernie did.
7. Sadly, sometime this year, we will have some major loss-of-life terrorist attack in either the US or UK, or both. Obama and company are both unwilling and unable to look reality in the eye. We will recover, but it will be tragic. I hope to Heaven I am utterly wrong on this one.
8. There will be a major assassination attempt staged by the Islamists, in India, Pakistan, the Emirates or Saudi Arabia. It may succeed. I hope I am wrong on this one as well.
9. Labour will be routed in the UK general election, but not before Gordon Brown attempts to impose some sort of 'state of emergency' to prevent the election from going forward. The UK electorate will finally tire of an unelected PM and unelectable government killing their country off. We can hope.
10. Obama will do nothing about Iran's nukes. The Israelis will.
11. Tiger Woods will re-emerge after his divorce deal is inked. He'll play some European tour events, accompanied by Steve his caddy, his manager, and one person tasked with the job of keeping little Tiger's pants on, tucking him alone into his bed at night. He'll play the Open at St. Andrews, will be booed by the gallery, and will miss the cut by a wide margin. He will then begin to rehab for a 2011 comeback, but the old magic will definitely be gone, even if his golf comes back. Expect the fist pump to go away.
12. Again, I hope I'm wrong, but there will be violence at the polls in some locations in November 2010. Feelings will be running very, very high. I'll be voting early.
Good wishes to all, and God preserve the United States of America.
So, Here we go, for 2010:
1. We had 140 bank failures in 2009, mostly small fry. We'll have 200 in 2010, and some of the 'bigger fish' will be among them. Some will not be the classical Friday afternoon raid scenario, as it will be difficult to find anyone able to take over these sick elephants. A lot of TARP money will be lost next year.
2. FDIC will have to admit it's insolvent, that insurance fees from the banks that behaved won't be enough to rescue their drunken cousins. Treasury and/or Fed will have to kick in a bunch more money, and there will be a major stink.
3. Ford will be making cars and money, GM will be making cars and losing money, and Chrysler will no longer be with us. Ford will make most of its money where it always has, on the F-150 pickup truck, because working America has to use a pickup truck to get its work done, and there is a real attrition of F-150's. You know, a real market, not the one Himself and Miss Nancy dream of.
4. There have been two Democrats, Tennessee Blue-Dogs, who have announced they will not run next fall, in addition to an Alabama Democrat who has switched parties. (He won't be back, because he'll be trounced by a black conservative in the spring primary.) I predict another 10 Democrat House members will head for the hills rather than face a furious electorate. GOP and Independents will pick up a total of 25 House seats. Miss Nancy will have a real problem on her hands.
5. There will be a massive market correction by June 2010, and the Administration and Fed will desperately try to pump it up again, to maintain the illusion that all is well. It won't work, it will be transparent this time, and it will really piss the voters off. We will end 2010 with Dow 7700, S&P 700. Pension funds will bleed, and local governments will go through convulsions, long overdue.
6. There will be the exposure of at least one more major financial scandal the magnitude of Madoff. Someone, somewhere, will expose a specific money trail from Washington to Wall Street and back again, with specific people attached. That someone will go through hell as the machinery of government is turned against him, but in the end heads will roll. Don't know if anyone will go to jail like Bernie did.
7. Sadly, sometime this year, we will have some major loss-of-life terrorist attack in either the US or UK, or both. Obama and company are both unwilling and unable to look reality in the eye. We will recover, but it will be tragic. I hope to Heaven I am utterly wrong on this one.
8. There will be a major assassination attempt staged by the Islamists, in India, Pakistan, the Emirates or Saudi Arabia. It may succeed. I hope I am wrong on this one as well.
9. Labour will be routed in the UK general election, but not before Gordon Brown attempts to impose some sort of 'state of emergency' to prevent the election from going forward. The UK electorate will finally tire of an unelected PM and unelectable government killing their country off. We can hope.
10. Obama will do nothing about Iran's nukes. The Israelis will.
11. Tiger Woods will re-emerge after his divorce deal is inked. He'll play some European tour events, accompanied by Steve his caddy, his manager, and one person tasked with the job of keeping little Tiger's pants on, tucking him alone into his bed at night. He'll play the Open at St. Andrews, will be booed by the gallery, and will miss the cut by a wide margin. He will then begin to rehab for a 2011 comeback, but the old magic will definitely be gone, even if his golf comes back. Expect the fist pump to go away.
12. Again, I hope I'm wrong, but there will be violence at the polls in some locations in November 2010. Feelings will be running very, very high. I'll be voting early.
Good wishes to all, and God preserve the United States of America.
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