Thoughts Before The Alarm Sounds

      If you have been following my blog, you know that I am not very happy with President Obama's approach to solving the country's problems. But at least his activities are grounded in reality – I do not believe they are based on a disbelief of modern science. I cannot say the same about any of his Republican rivals, and that has me concerned.      The recent hurricane has people asking the question: Was Irene a result of global warming? And the answer has two parts: (1) No one knows, and (2) That's the wrong question. It is impossible for anyone to say whether a particular phenomenon is a result of global warming; hurricanes have been around since long before global warming began.      The proper question is: Should we expect more such catastrophic phenomena as a result of global warming? And the answer is: Absolutely, including not only hurricanes, but also extremes of temperature, droughts, floods and tornados. ...

      An article in this morning's newspaper is headlined “Mennonite college drops U.S. anthem.” The article goes on to state that Goshen college in Indiana is dropping the national anthem in favor of “America The Beautiful.”      The school had never played “The Star Spangled Banner” before sporting events until last year, saying the image of bombs bursting in air was too violent for a college whose motto is “Healing the World, Peace by Peace.” At that time the college opted for an instrumental version of the song, with a review after one year.      The year is up, the “Star Spangled Banner” is out and “America, The Beautiful” is in at Goshen.      Of course, this decision is not very popular with many people, who consider it unpatriotic.      But I don't understand why this is so. Regardless of the song played primarily at sporting events, I still love my country; I see no re...

     I recently attended the 65th reunion of my high school class. It was a simple affair – it consisted of a buffet lunch, looking at old pictures, and drifting around the room greeting people we had not seen for many years.      But we didn't need a special program. It was surprising how quickly and clearly memories of long forgotten events came flashing back upon hearing a key word or two. Most were good memories, although there were occasional recalls of events that perhaps would have been better left in the hidden section of the mind. I do not think anyone deliberately mentioned any forgettable event – they arose as a byproduct of some more pleasant discussion.      In some cases it was not even necessary to say anything to bring back a memory. I was introduced to one lady who turned out to be a flame which was extinguished at graduation. (I almost said an old flame, but with post-youths such as I am, I hesitate to use...

     I live in a retirement community, which has, as a part of its facilities, a Healthcare Center for those elderly people who need 24/7 nursing care. As such, the Center is subject to state standards of operation.      Government inspectors come in, sometimes without warning, to assure that the required standards are being met. Such a drop-in occasion occurred on a recent Saturday morning.      Because no such center is perfect, our center received some deficiency tags; it is my understanding that the average inspection turns up an average of eight such tags. Here are a few of the deficiencies for which our Center got tagged: The inspectors were at our premises for four days. During that time they spotted three flies in the building. A tag was issued for a pest control deficiency. One patient arrived at the facility on Friday afternoon, the day before the inspector showed up at 9:00 am. The patient brought with her a sm...

     Not officially, of course, but the recent actions of the Great Comproloser certainly mirror those of his “loyal opposition.” In spite of Dick Cheney's remark that “deficits don't matter,” the Republican strategy for insuring that Obama is a one term president consists of carping about, what else? The deficit. (Cheney would probably not be conservative enough to run for office as a Republican in 2011.) And it might work, but Obama should know better than to join them.      But the problem is not the deficit, it's jobs, jobs, jobs.      On August 5, 2011, Standard and Poors lowered the Federal Credit Rating from AAA to AA+, a rating that most businesses would love to have. Expectations were that the government would have to pay a higher rate of interest in order to borrow money through T-bills, Treasury Bonds, etc. One week later, August 12, interest rates on government securities were at an all time low. Lenders still c...

     … if you are the United States of America. At least that's some many members of Congress seem to think. That's what the recent Debt Ceiling debacle was all about.      The U.S. does not borrow money to pay current expenses – it borrows money to pay items for which it is already obligated. If Congress wants to cut expenses, it should do so by curtailing spending through the budget process - not by refusing to pay bond-holders, government contractors and Social Security recipients, any more than an individual should just refuse to pay his mortgage or utilities.      The standoff was not a matter of the two sides being unable to reach an agreement; the idea that there was a disagreement was invalid from the start. It was similar to the case of a firefighter who lights fires because he likes to extinguish them.      Columnist Donald Kaul has come up with a good analogy:      The com...

      Our Congressional economic experts have finally agreed on a compromise that will enable them to raise the government's debt ceiling. That's good news, right?       Well, yes and no. Yes, because the nation will be able to keep its promises to creditors, and no, because they have just guaranteed that the longest recession since WWII will continue.      The agreement cuts government spending by more than $2 trillion over the next decade. The exact targets of the slashing ax are yet to be established, but supposedly all expenses are on the table.      If Congress cannot agree on the exact items to be cut by the end of 2011, spending cuts of $1.2 trillion across much of the federal budget, including the Pentagon, domestic agency budgets and farm subsidies, will be triggered . Many federal benefits programs, however, would not be hit by this contingency, including Social Security, Medicaid, vete...