The ever-droll Jesse provides us with a chart detailing each state's output as a percentage of the national GDP.
California represents 13.2% of our GDP.
Add in Illinois, Florida, New York, and New Jersey, and(if OS is punching in the numbers correctly), that's 34.6% of the GDP located in some very troubled states.
But, not to fear. President Obama assures us the worst is past.
OS begs to differ, whilst remaining civil. He does not wish to be argumentative.
He just wishes that the People In Charge believed in the veracity of simple math.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Elizabeth Warren For President--No Teleprompter Required
One of the happier events of the past couple of years has been the emergence of Elizabeth Warren from the shadowlands of academia into a public role as the official TARP whistleblower.
She is very, very smart. She is plain-spoken, explains big complex problems in an understandable fashion. She uses language to communicate and illuminate, not to evade and confuse.
In other words, she does not engage in double-talk, like Zimbabwe Ben, TurboTax Timmy, President Teleprompter, Miss Nancy and Mr. Harry.
Like the rest of us, she is exasperated with what has happened, and what continues to happen. You can tell by her demeanor, she doesn't suffer fools gladly. She's not running for anybody's office. She acts like someone who would rather go home, pet her cat, tend her garden, supervise her grad students, and otherwise be left the hell alone.
OS salutes her, and wonders if she couldn't be kidnapped and installed as head of Treasury, or the Fed, or President for a few years. If the Senate had fired ZB's scurvy behonkus, we could've hired Elizabeth, you know....
Today, her office issued an extensive report on the coming crunch for the community banks due to the commercial real estate deflation.
She made an appearance this afternoon on Fox Business, shared below. It's a lively and funny conversation, especially toward the end. She concludes with the thought, 'If you want to gamble, use your own money, and if you go down, just make sure you don't splash on the rest of us.'
OS hopes you take the time to enjoy this. Warren really is on her game here.
She is very, very smart. She is plain-spoken, explains big complex problems in an understandable fashion. She uses language to communicate and illuminate, not to evade and confuse.
In other words, she does not engage in double-talk, like Zimbabwe Ben, TurboTax Timmy, President Teleprompter, Miss Nancy and Mr. Harry.
Like the rest of us, she is exasperated with what has happened, and what continues to happen. You can tell by her demeanor, she doesn't suffer fools gladly. She's not running for anybody's office. She acts like someone who would rather go home, pet her cat, tend her garden, supervise her grad students, and otherwise be left the hell alone.
OS salutes her, and wonders if she couldn't be kidnapped and installed as head of Treasury, or the Fed, or President for a few years. If the Senate had fired ZB's scurvy behonkus, we could've hired Elizabeth, you know....
Today, her office issued an extensive report on the coming crunch for the community banks due to the commercial real estate deflation.
She made an appearance this afternoon on Fox Business, shared below. It's a lively and funny conversation, especially toward the end. She concludes with the thought, 'If you want to gamble, use your own money, and if you go down, just make sure you don't splash on the rest of us.'
OS hopes you take the time to enjoy this. Warren really is on her game here.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
September 11, 2001 From The Air
The BBC features a slideshow of recently released photos of the 9/11 attack in New York City, taken by a police photographer in an NYPD helicopter. They are riveting.
OS promises not to rant, honest. He is working hard to be civil, and dispense with mean-spirited diatribes. It's an effort.
Viewing these pictures, it is not surprising to know that the City of New York and its citizens are not eager for one of the ringleaders of this horror to be brought back to the city for a civilian trail.
Where he can stage a show trial, in full view of the world's anti-American press.
The jurors and their families become targets of Al-Qaeda. As does the city. Again.
OS does not understand how a government can be so totally out-of-touch, literally deaf to its citizenry, in a representative democracy. And it's not just the present administration, either. The Bush White House was notorious for this behavior as well.
Here's hoping someone views these, and re-thinks the decision.
Betcha a jury in central Pennsylvania or Virginia would be willing to serve. Try him first at the Federal level, and then let the state go after him on separate charges. Journalists hate Motel 6's and meals at Denny's. They'll lose interest, and the citizens will be safer with them gone.
OS promises not to rant, honest. He is working hard to be civil, and dispense with mean-spirited diatribes. It's an effort.
Viewing these pictures, it is not surprising to know that the City of New York and its citizens are not eager for one of the ringleaders of this horror to be brought back to the city for a civilian trail.
Where he can stage a show trial, in full view of the world's anti-American press.
The jurors and their families become targets of Al-Qaeda. As does the city. Again.
OS does not understand how a government can be so totally out-of-touch, literally deaf to its citizenry, in a representative democracy. And it's not just the present administration, either. The Bush White House was notorious for this behavior as well.
Here's hoping someone views these, and re-thinks the decision.
Betcha a jury in central Pennsylvania or Virginia would be willing to serve. Try him first at the Federal level, and then let the state go after him on separate charges. Journalists hate Motel 6's and meals at Denny's. They'll lose interest, and the citizens will be safer with them gone.
A Worthy Addition To The List On The Right
Roy Agee is a brilliant musician who has been saddled with severe obesity much of his life.
He finally decided to do something about it, and his blog Stop Eating Out is an inspiring journal.
OS urges you to visit him often.
He finally decided to do something about it, and his blog Stop Eating Out is an inspiring journal.
OS urges you to visit him often.
And Meanwhile, Back In Iran
The Iranians hope for change.
Paging Mr. Obama...
Paging Mrs. Clinton...
Anyone out there?....
(crickets chirping)
Paging Mr. Obama...
Paging Mrs. Clinton...
Anyone out there?....
(crickets chirping)
A Modest Proposal For The Winter Olympic Games
It seems Vancouver has no snow, temps well above freezing, and no prospect of snow.
Not a good thing.
What to do?
Invite AlGore to serve as Master of Ceremonies.
The blizzards follow him.
Planet Gore, tongue-in-cheek, tracks the Gore Effect, which is a bit uncanny. The great Copenhagen conference of December 2009 featured a blizzard. AlGore was scheduled to preach to a Congressional committee this week about the dangers of global warming.
Postponed, due to two feet of snow and ice.
Maybe, there is a God, and He has a wry sense of humor.
Not a good thing.
What to do?
Invite AlGore to serve as Master of Ceremonies.
The blizzards follow him.
Planet Gore, tongue-in-cheek, tracks the Gore Effect, which is a bit uncanny. The great Copenhagen conference of December 2009 featured a blizzard. AlGore was scheduled to preach to a Congressional committee this week about the dangers of global warming.
Postponed, due to two feet of snow and ice.
Maybe, there is a God, and He has a wry sense of humor.
The Foreclosure Next Door
OS lives in a small county, and news travels. Which is a good thing.
Some good friends in the neighborhood now face a quandry, here in the Great Recession. OS attempts below to tell their tale. Suggestions welcomed from around the world, and he'll pass them on.
*******
This family has lived in one small house for almost twenty years, and it has been a blessed place to live, work, and raise the kids. When we moved in, it was a wreck, as were we, but that story's for another time.
Over time, very slowly, we've maintained the place, and improved it. Faithfully paid the mortgage to the bank down the road. The end is in sight on the mortgage, and we're paying ahead.
And we've quietly fought the problem of the house next door. The occupant is not the owner, but an old gent who served as a surrogate uncle to both kids, and his contribution was substantial. He's a real character, an eccentric, and a defacto member of family. Age and macular degeneration are taking their toll upon him. This is where he lives, and has, for most of the past twenty years.
The owner is not a bad person, but not particularly competent at life. It fell to the old gent, years ago, to essentially pick up where her absent parents left off when she was orphaned. Some important stuff didn't happen in the process, but he did the best he could.
Over time, the house next door, with which our house shares a long driveway, has become ever shabbier, as has the pasture and the ancient horse that hangs out there. Were codes to inspect, the house would be condemned, and it is not salvageable. I could tell tales, but again, another time.
Another neighbor mentioned in passing that he thought the house was in foreclosure. I called our local attorney, who knows where all bodies are buried, and in a brief letter received yesterday, he confirmed that indeed, the house is in foreclosure.
So, my call went back to him, to get more details, and the process of thinking through what happens next begins.
Someday, we will need to sell our house and property. The value of this little well-loved house, sitting on nine lovely acres of our beloved Middle Tennessee, has just taken a real hit. And life has just become a bit more complex.
*****
OS will keep you posted on their progress.
This may be a good way to track this phenomenon, and put a human face on it.
Check back from time to time. OS will try to label these 'foreclosure next door'.
Some good friends in the neighborhood now face a quandry, here in the Great Recession. OS attempts below to tell their tale. Suggestions welcomed from around the world, and he'll pass them on.
*******
This family has lived in one small house for almost twenty years, and it has been a blessed place to live, work, and raise the kids. When we moved in, it was a wreck, as were we, but that story's for another time.
Over time, very slowly, we've maintained the place, and improved it. Faithfully paid the mortgage to the bank down the road. The end is in sight on the mortgage, and we're paying ahead.
And we've quietly fought the problem of the house next door. The occupant is not the owner, but an old gent who served as a surrogate uncle to both kids, and his contribution was substantial. He's a real character, an eccentric, and a defacto member of family. Age and macular degeneration are taking their toll upon him. This is where he lives, and has, for most of the past twenty years.
The owner is not a bad person, but not particularly competent at life. It fell to the old gent, years ago, to essentially pick up where her absent parents left off when she was orphaned. Some important stuff didn't happen in the process, but he did the best he could.
Over time, the house next door, with which our house shares a long driveway, has become ever shabbier, as has the pasture and the ancient horse that hangs out there. Were codes to inspect, the house would be condemned, and it is not salvageable. I could tell tales, but again, another time.
Another neighbor mentioned in passing that he thought the house was in foreclosure. I called our local attorney, who knows where all bodies are buried, and in a brief letter received yesterday, he confirmed that indeed, the house is in foreclosure.
So, my call went back to him, to get more details, and the process of thinking through what happens next begins.
Someday, we will need to sell our house and property. The value of this little well-loved house, sitting on nine lovely acres of our beloved Middle Tennessee, has just taken a real hit. And life has just become a bit more complex.
*****
OS will keep you posted on their progress.
This may be a good way to track this phenomenon, and put a human face on it.
Check back from time to time. OS will try to label these 'foreclosure next door'.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Holding Our Own In The Great Conversation
Pastor Peters is one of a lonely breed, pastoring a Lutheran congregation in Tennessee.
This state is wall-to-wall Baptists of some description: Southern Baptists, Free-Will Baptists, Missionary Baptists, Bible Baptists, Independent Baptists, Regular Baptists, Seventh-Day Baptists, Cooperative Fellowship Baptists, on it goes. Then there are all the groups that somewhere along the way used to be Baptists...
In the flood of 'I'm-right-by-golly-and-you're-a-heathen' verbiage that floods us all, Pastor Peters is a calm and wisome conservative voice, who keeps his sense of humor in this complicated age.
His February 9 post contains some real wisdom, and OS shares it, not the least to remind himself to calm down a bit...
I believe that we can engage and hold our own in the great conversation with those around us. I believe that we are called to apologia -- to the great defense of Christian truth and faith not by condemnation but by raising up the Gospel and speaking it clearly and plainly. I believe that the Church need not be embarrassed by or apologize for our way of worship, for the painful truth of the Law, for the comforting words of the Gospel, for historicity of the Scriptures and its accounts of what actually took place, and for the exclusive path of redemption that is inclusive for all people, everywhere, who will hear and believe.
It's tempting to always try to win arguments, when maybe what we need to be doing is winning hearts.
How to engage in apologia?
Hmm...OS must retreat to his corner and think this one over.
This state is wall-to-wall Baptists of some description: Southern Baptists, Free-Will Baptists, Missionary Baptists, Bible Baptists, Independent Baptists, Regular Baptists, Seventh-Day Baptists, Cooperative Fellowship Baptists, on it goes. Then there are all the groups that somewhere along the way used to be Baptists...
In the flood of 'I'm-right-by-golly-and-you're-a-heathen' verbiage that floods us all, Pastor Peters is a calm and wisome conservative voice, who keeps his sense of humor in this complicated age.
His February 9 post contains some real wisdom, and OS shares it, not the least to remind himself to calm down a bit...
I believe that we can engage and hold our own in the great conversation with those around us. I believe that we are called to apologia -- to the great defense of Christian truth and faith not by condemnation but by raising up the Gospel and speaking it clearly and plainly. I believe that the Church need not be embarrassed by or apologize for our way of worship, for the painful truth of the Law, for the comforting words of the Gospel, for historicity of the Scriptures and its accounts of what actually took place, and for the exclusive path of redemption that is inclusive for all people, everywhere, who will hear and believe.
It's tempting to always try to win arguments, when maybe what we need to be doing is winning hearts.
How to engage in apologia?
Hmm...OS must retreat to his corner and think this one over.
Connecting The Educational Dots
Here's an interesting chart from Doug Ross.
He correlates per-capita-pupil spending by state with standardized test results.
Unsurprisingly, Washington D.C. burns through more cash per pupil than anyone, and produces miserable results. New York and New Jersey fare pretty well.
But, look down the list. Several states, like Idaho, spend relatively little, and obtain impressive results.
Hmmm...
He correlates per-capita-pupil spending by state with standardized test results.
Unsurprisingly, Washington D.C. burns through more cash per pupil than anyone, and produces miserable results. New York and New Jersey fare pretty well.
But, look down the list. Several states, like Idaho, spend relatively little, and obtain impressive results.
Hmmm...
Monday, February 8, 2010
The Stimulus (Not Strictly) Comes Dancing To Chattanooga
This came across the transom this morning, from the Tennessee Arts Commission.
OS adds the bold print.
Grants Bring National Treasure to Chattanooga
CHATTANOOGA - - Ballet Tennessee’s efforts to bring high caliber dance to the community have been rewarded by two national level grants. National Endowment for the Arts Touring Grant was awarded by the Southern Arts Federation in partnership with Tennessee Arts Commission. A second grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was allocated by Allied Arts of Greater Chattanooga and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The grants enable Ballet Tennessee to host the historic and nationally esteemed ballet company, Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble, in a public performance at the Tivoli Theater, community dance classes for children, and master classes for intermediate through advanced dancers.
The announcement for the event is here, on the Ballet Tennessee site.
Kinda makes one feel all warm and fuzzy, knowing that, in 2035, someone's grandchild in Dubuque will be paying for this month's ballet in Chattanooga, since the money for the event was borrowed from the Chinese last year.
It is hard to forsee, given the kind of damage being done to the culture and economy by this sort of behavior, how that grandchild will be able to afford tickets for the ballet in 2035, or ballet lessons and shoes for the kids.
This is not good for the fine arts. Ballet dancers, orchestral musicians, coloratura sopranos, conductors, set designers, composers, librettists, etc must devote enormous amounts of time and energy over the years to do what they do so well. And they do valuable work for the culture. But they are not owed a career because of that investment of time and energy, especially not with money borrowed from a farmer's grandchild yet unborn.
The best way to support the arts is to return to sanity in the economy and governance of the country.
Please, take the arts off the dole.
This week's performance of Tosca should not add to the national debt.
OS adds the bold print.
Grants Bring National Treasure to Chattanooga
CHATTANOOGA - - Ballet Tennessee’s efforts to bring high caliber dance to the community have been rewarded by two national level grants. National Endowment for the Arts Touring Grant was awarded by the Southern Arts Federation in partnership with Tennessee Arts Commission. A second grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was allocated by Allied Arts of Greater Chattanooga and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The grants enable Ballet Tennessee to host the historic and nationally esteemed ballet company, Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble, in a public performance at the Tivoli Theater, community dance classes for children, and master classes for intermediate through advanced dancers.
The announcement for the event is here, on the Ballet Tennessee site.
Kinda makes one feel all warm and fuzzy, knowing that, in 2035, someone's grandchild in Dubuque will be paying for this month's ballet in Chattanooga, since the money for the event was borrowed from the Chinese last year.
It is hard to forsee, given the kind of damage being done to the culture and economy by this sort of behavior, how that grandchild will be able to afford tickets for the ballet in 2035, or ballet lessons and shoes for the kids.
This is not good for the fine arts. Ballet dancers, orchestral musicians, coloratura sopranos, conductors, set designers, composers, librettists, etc must devote enormous amounts of time and energy over the years to do what they do so well. And they do valuable work for the culture. But they are not owed a career because of that investment of time and energy, especially not with money borrowed from a farmer's grandchild yet unborn.
The best way to support the arts is to return to sanity in the economy and governance of the country.
Please, take the arts off the dole.
This week's performance of Tosca should not add to the national debt.
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