Why couldn't we come up with a graphic that shows a euro fallout storm headed to the US and plot its progress across the Atlantic, at least?
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Numbers in triangles on plastic
Am I the only one who has trouble reading the numbers in the triangles on most plastic containers we buy today? Why not make it easier to read so we can know how to dispose of them without doing a tombstone rubbing to read them?
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Megan Ellison and Annapurna Pictures Tackle Hollywood - NYTimes.com
On a continuum one end of which is entertainment and on the other end is hard news, there does not seem to be a lot of interest by new investors in the latter, does there?
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Homeowners Need Help - NYTimes.com
I have an increasingly big problem accepting any idea that would aid homeowners who - for a variety of reasons, most often related to ego - bought a house they really did not need for much more money than they could afford. We should not have to bail out people in that situation. It should cost them for some time to accept the need to leave a more expensive home and move to where they really ought to have been in the first place.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Contact Us - Rasmussen Reports™
Another unsolicited survey call this morning, now from this outfit. I punched 3 for put us on your do not call list, and I called them as well asking for a confirming return call to insure we are on that list. It's offensive that they offer no electronic option to contact them. Must be a lot of people complaining as I am.
[Rasmussen called back to say that they would doublecheck that our number had been removed.]
"american survey foundation" - Bing
I just got an automated survey call from an outfit calling itself "American Survey Foundation" saying they wanted me to answer questions relating to the 2012 election. I hung up. It's curious to me that nothing pops in a web search for that name. I am not surprised not to find a listing for them; I am surprised that no one else has posted a comment or observation like this one.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Austerity Is the Wrong Idea - NYTimes.com
I wonder why we don't hear - "Those who can, spend!"? No one should spend beyond their means (imagine!), but millions of Americans can spend without exceding their means. Why are we not encouraging them to do so? Why force it all through government? It ought to be a multipronged (at least two - private and government) to get more money into the job-supporting economy, I think.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Fewer Youths to Be Deported in New Policy - NYTimes.com
Illegal is illegal. Change the law, not its application. If we cannot change the law, it is the way it is.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Federal Policy Resulting in Wave of Deportations Draws Protests - NYTimes.com
I continue to believe that the core of this entire issues is a quesiton of law and law violation. Obey the law coming into the US, and obey it here. If you break the law, you suffer the consequences. It rankles me to hear "illegals" used so often as though it was a description of someone's height.If people are here illegally, they have broken the law, and should suffere the consequences.
We ought to focus on what the law should be and what the consequences should be. But law "breakers"get prosecuted here, regardless of their background.
We ought to focus on what the law should be and what the consequences should be. But law "breakers"get prosecuted here, regardless of their background.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
A Recess Destination With Bipartisan Support - Israel and the West Bank - NYTimes.com
It is embarrassing to see all of this attention paid to Israel when there are so many other countries in the world that deserve the time and attention of these our elected representatives. Israel is no more or less important than all of the others.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Stop Coddling the Super-Rich - NYTimes.com
So let's start this by having all of those rich people tell us how they are spenidng what they earn on spurring the economy. Perhaps we have already identifed someone who will start that process?
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Alabama Law Criminalizes Samaritans, Bishops Say - NYTimes.com
I have spent a career dedicated to human rights, but I cannot convince myself that we should treat people who violate some laws diferently than others. If people come to the US in violation of a law, they should be arrested and treated fairly under our laws. Why should some who break laws be treated differently than others? I have never seen a convincing answer to that question.
Deal Would Bring Inspections of Overseas Drug Suppliers - NYTimes.com
If I were the President, I'd be touting advances like this a lot more. Americans need to hear that the "government" is at work and doing good things.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Where Will Economic Growth Come From? - NYTimes.com
It seems to me as a non-economist that growth is going to come when people and organizations (i.e., mostly businesses and governments) spend more by way of purchasing and/or investing.
Governments everywhere claim to be out of resources for them to do this, and the will to borrow seems to have evaporated, for better or worse.
So put that group aside for the moment.
Then take organizations. Sure, there are non-profits and others who could spend more of their money either giving it away or buying stuff to give to others, or at least investing it in a way that adds to growth.
But it's the two remaining groups - businesses and individuals - that offer the greatest opportunity.
There is no point beating up businesses to hire people just to reduce unemployment if they do not need them. But businesses do have a fiduciary and moral obligation to support the economic health of the markets they serve.
So why shouldn't they start buying more things that they can give to people unable to afford them. The buying of the goods and services means that those vendors/providers wind up doing better, mayeb even hiring more people with enough of this. The company does better because the economy improves. And, lest anyone forget it, the people who really need help with basic necessities get some help beyond whatever governments provide.
That idea has not receive a lot of attention.
This one has received none.
Why not start asking rich people - people with more money than anyone with a conscious might say they need - to do the same. They could start simply buying things in their local markets that other people need and cannot afford. Local food. Local products. Local services.
Just give these things to the people who need them and don't expect a tax deduction.
So what if you wind up with a net worth of 3 million USD instead of 3.5 million as a result?
Imagine what the 500,000 could do for the economy and some wonderful fellow citizens.
Governments everywhere claim to be out of resources for them to do this, and the will to borrow seems to have evaporated, for better or worse.
So put that group aside for the moment.
Then take organizations. Sure, there are non-profits and others who could spend more of their money either giving it away or buying stuff to give to others, or at least investing it in a way that adds to growth.
But it's the two remaining groups - businesses and individuals - that offer the greatest opportunity.
There is no point beating up businesses to hire people just to reduce unemployment if they do not need them. But businesses do have a fiduciary and moral obligation to support the economic health of the markets they serve.
So why shouldn't they start buying more things that they can give to people unable to afford them. The buying of the goods and services means that those vendors/providers wind up doing better, mayeb even hiring more people with enough of this. The company does better because the economy improves. And, lest anyone forget it, the people who really need help with basic necessities get some help beyond whatever governments provide.
That idea has not receive a lot of attention.
This one has received none.
Why not start asking rich people - people with more money than anyone with a conscious might say they need - to do the same. They could start simply buying things in their local markets that other people need and cannot afford. Local food. Local products. Local services.
Just give these things to the people who need them and don't expect a tax deduction.
So what if you wind up with a net worth of 3 million USD instead of 3.5 million as a result?
Imagine what the 500,000 could do for the economy and some wonderful fellow citizens.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Sunday, August 07, 2011
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
What a global food crisis looks like: Oxfam's food prices map | Oxfam International
Imagine connecting a newspaper - not just a link, but an institution - to each of these countries and their food stories.
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
Off Media Radar, Famine Garners Few Donations - NYTimes.com
What if we could all set up our start or home pages - whatever we look at first and most - to telll us of a pressing need in the world every day and the chance to simply program it so that entering an amount and one click would make it happen? In other words, something that would treat every charitable cause the same way?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
