Monday Night News Roundup
- Barack Obama had some surprisingly harsh (no that’s not right, how about firm) words for the auto industry. Chrysler and GM need to get their acts together. GM CEO Rick Wagoner was asked to step down. Chrysler was asked to form a merger with Fiat. On one hand, I’m a little disappointed that the auto industry gets treated differently than the financial industry. On the other hand, though, it does appear that Barack Obama is looking after our money, which is a good thing.
- It has been recently discovered that the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation decided to switch a lot of their money from the relatively safe industry of bonds to the relatively risky industry of stocks just before the market collapsed. Remember, these are supposed to be the super smart guys who are entrusted with our money.
- August 1, 1966, Charles Whitman took a high-powered rifle to the top of the University of Texas at Austin’s administrative building. From the 28th-floor observation deck, he used a high-powered rifle to kill 10 people and wound 32 others (he killed three people on the way to the top of the tower). For reasons that are unclear, the Texas State legislature is considering a measure that will allow guns on college campuses. Seriously, why?
- It appears that there’s a trend that banks are walking away from foreclosed properties. With property values decreasing, the cost of legal fees and the maintenance of the property, some banks are simply walking away.
- Over the last six to 12 months, I’ve read a lot of Paul Krugman‘s writing. Krugman, a Nobel prize-winning economist, has the ability to simplify complex issues. In today’s New York Times column, he calls out European countries, saying that one of the problems that made the Great Depression so protracted was that the world’s largest economies did not work together to fix the problem. Today, we are more connected than ever. The United States has stepped up and poured trillions of dollars not only into our economy but also into the world economy. European countries have not stepped up to the plate. The G-20 summit is coming up. This puts Barack Obama in the odd position of trying to coax European leaders into doing the “right thing.” As I recall, a recent president tried to coax European leaders and that did not work out so well. I hope that Barack Obama can do a better job.
- Now we’re being asked to avoid pistachios. Because of concerns about salmonella contamination, Sutton Farms, the nation’s second-largest pistachio processor, is voluntarily recalling over 1,000,000 pounds of nuts. I would desperately love for my government to work. I would like to be able to go to the grocery store and buy something that is not going to kill me. Is it possible that we can obtain this lofty goal?
- Representative Paul Ryan (Republican from Wisconsin) admitted today that the Republican alternative budget would increase the deficit by as much as $1.8 trillion. So, it would increase the deficit and have almost no long-term benefit… sign me up for that.
- The Center for American Progress has produced a White Paper entitled “Sustainable Security in Afghanistan.” This is clearly worth the read.
- Glenn Greenwald has a series of logical statements that he calls Mysteries of Logical Reasoning. For example, anyone who advocates habeas corpus for accused terrorists or who opposes torture harbors sympathy for Islamic extremism and for indiscriminate violence against civilians. (Glenn is getting an award independent journalism… Congratulations Glenn!!)
- If you like basketball (and I love it), this weekend was basketball heaven. Go Tar Heels!
Every now and then, it seems that I work. I go to meetings. I blog and I sleep. Well, yesterday there just wasn’t enough hours in the day. So, there was no blogging yesterday. There really wasn’t much sleeping either. Anyway, after some sleep, I hope that I can do some blogging.