Random Thoughts

  • rumble in philly
  • Was that a debate or wrestling match? The current ABC link to the debate says “Clinton vs. Obama, Rumble in Philadelphia.” Since I was on-call last night, I was only able to see a piece of it yesterday. Today, I saw the whole thing and I’m nauseated. Was this debate hosted by People Magazine? We spent more time talking about flag pins, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Bosnia, and bitterness than talking about the economy, Iraq, global warming, job creation, or torture. ABC should fold up their tent and go to 24 hour reality TV. Extremely disappointing.
  • I am continuing to look at the math but I still can’t figure out how Senator Hillary Clinton can win. Her only chance, is to gain 70% to 80% of the remaining superdelegates.
  • The latest corporate super-merger is between Delta and Northwest airlines. I suspect, as with other mergers, this isn’t good news for consumers. Service will continue to plummet while prices will increase.
  • On one hand we have the political administration and these “corporate business shows” telling us that the prime mortgage debacle is limited. We’ve also been told that it only affects a few companies. On the other hand, we read that Bear Stearns has gone belly up. Today, Merrill Lynch announced that it lost $6.5 billion in the last quarter (That’s billion with a “B”). This means that over the last three quarters, Merrill Lynch has lost more than $30 billion. Even more, Merrill Lynch announced that it will cut 2,900 jobs. This is in addition to the 1,000 jobs they announced cuts for earlier this year.
  • The Pope was in town! It is nice to see the Pope visit America but I am struck by the way he addressed the sexual abuse by priests. Pope Benedict XVI was extremely involved in some of the sex abuse cases when he was a mere Cardinal. He acknowledged no personal role in the game of checkers that the Catholic church played with these abusive priests. Today, he spoke of healing and reconciliation. I just hope and pray that the Catholic church has really turned over a new leaf. They need to compensate victims. They need to oust suspected priests. They need to be honest with the public and the parishioners. These acts will go along way towards healing and reconciliation.