July 8th, 2011 → 6:39 am
“If it were done, when ’tis done, then ’twere well it were done quickly.” – Macbeth
Analogizing raising the debt ceiling to committing murder is probably not the best way to go here, but the underlying sentiment is still accurate. We need to raise the debt ceiling, so just get it done already, and quickly! My favorite media comment on this came from NPR the other day, where Jim Kessler said: “You can cheat on your spouse and maybe your marriage will survive, but your marriage will never be the same again. And you can default on your debts as a nation and your country will survive. But the way your country is viewed will never be the same again.”
Filed under: Blog & Economics/Money
July 7th, 2011 → 6:57 am
“Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod.” – King Henry V
A former student of mine from the Economics Department at UMSL has been unemployed for over a year. But he kept trying, kept himself busy, kept up his contacts with his former professors at UMSL, and yesterday he got a job! And a good job too, at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. I was really happy to put in a good word for him at the Fed and now I feel so proud of him for getting the job! Like I felt when another former student of mine got a top job with the Hillary Clinton campaign (when that was still a viable campaign), and when a couple of my former students got into excellent Ph.D. programs around the country. One of the best things about my day job is the personal satisfaction I get seeing my little kiddos do so well. 🙂
Filed under: Blog & Self/My Life
July 5th, 2011 → 7:57 am
“My fault is past. But, O, what form of prayer
Can serve my turn? ‘Forgive me my foul murder’?
That cannot be; since I am still possess’d
Of those effects for which I did the murder,
My crown, mine own ambition and my queen.
May one be pardon’d and retain the offence?” – Hamlet
I’ve been listening to the radio show This American Life since it began in 1995. With the podcast now, I believe I have never missed an episode. Before the podcast I used to schedule my weekly house cleaning around the time the show aired so I could listen to it while I dusted and swept. Anyhow, this week they are re-playing my favorite episode of all time, Act V, about a production of Hamlet put on in a high-security prison. A show that contemplates murder, acted out by murderers. It makes me well up in tears every time.
Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art
July 4th, 2011 → 7:11 am
“Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead!” – Julius Caesar
I’ve been rather negative in this blog so far, on politicians, the economy, people. So I decided it was about time to show a little positivity! America does a lot of things wrong – and god knows I’ll continue commenting on them in future blog posts – but in truth, it does even more right. Happy 4th of July everyone! Whoop Whoop!
July 3rd, 2011 → 7:48 am
“Foolery…does walk about the orb like the sun; it shines everywhere.” – Twelfth Night
I have no particularly pertinent quote for the day, so I thought I’d just add one that seems to apply all the time! To politicians, to colleagues, to friends, to family members, to myself. Ah, the foolish things we do, every day…
Filed under: Blog & Economics/Money & Other & Politics/Politicians & Self/My Life & Stupid/Evil People
July 2nd, 2011 → 7:11 am
“Reputation is an idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit, and lost without deserving” – Othello
I feel this describes what happened to DSK and to his accuser. At first, DSK was evil and she was pure as snow, now he isn’t evil and she’s a blackguard. Both “reputations” have to be simplistic. Personally, I think he did it. As my mom always said, judge a man by how he’s treated women before you. And how many hotel maids go to work every day looking for sex? C’mon. But still, there could be nuance and that’s what the media (and society?) doesn’t seem to quite understand.
July 1st, 2011 → 6:54 am
“Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.” – Sonnet XCIV
The Greek debt needs to be restructured already. I know the Europeans want to avoid that and implement a debt rollover instead, but that’s just drawing out the inevitable digging up and throwing out of the festering lilies. Here’s hoping Christine Lagarde is able to take a dispassionate, well-rounded view of the situation in her new role as head of the IMF. (By the way, Congratulations on the new job Christine!)
Filed under: Blog & Economics/Money
June 30th, 2011 → 6:44 am
“In a false quarrel there is no true valor.” – Much Ado About Nothing
The Republicans and Democrats in Congress are posturing over raising the debt ceiling, when they both know it has to be done. It’s a false quarrel and I’m sick of all their political posturing. Get over it, compromise, and raise the debt ceiling already!!
Filed under: Blog & Politics/Politicians
June 29th, 2011 → 2:48 am
“O sleep, O gentle sleep,
Nature’s soft nurse, how have I frighted thee,
That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down,
And steep my senses in forgetfulness?” – King Henry IV, Part II
I went to bed only three hours ago, yet I can’t seem to sleep. I woke up initially to go to the bathroom, but the ache in my hip when I stepped on it in the dark reminded me all over again that I still can’t walk and made me mad. And now the madness has only grown – towards the man in line who tried to cut in front me, towards the service agent who hung up on me on the phone, towards that cute little dog who pooped in my yard again…don’t these people/animals know that I’m a pathetic little gimp high on Vicodin and I need to get some sleep already or I may just explode?!
Filed under: Blog & Self/My Life
June 28th, 2011 → 6:53 am
“Oh, I have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial.” – Othello
Rod Blagojevich was convicted on 17 of 20 counts in his retrial yesterday. They say he was “stunned.” I imagine he is still more concerned with himself and with his reputation, than with what he did (or didn’t do for) the state of Illinois. Uch.
Filed under: Blog & Politics/Politicians & Stupid/Evil People