Wednesday, September 24, 2008
How I Became Me
(2)
You Jews need to learn how to react less violently to criticism! You are a far-from-perfect people. Expect more of it.
The big news today is, of course, the economic uncertainty. My expertise in the matter is not impressive, but I can't resist a few comments, at least. I think we can all agree that there is a liquidity crisis at the moment. Paulsen wants us (taxpayers) to pony up 700 billion dollars to bail out the culprits. Capital Hill is balking, understandably. Meanwhile, McCain's credibility is suffering, since he was one of the most vocal de-regulators, and doesn't seem to have much of a clue concerning how the economy works. The tension at the moment seems to center around the need for speed. Do we give Paulsen et al a blank check immediately? Or, do we analyse the situation first, then proceed in a rational manner instituting various checks and balances to prevent further looting. And what about culpability? Should criminals be allowed to go free?
The delicious moment came today in the midst of all this when McCain announced that he was suspending his campaign in the National Interest! Seems he needed to get back to Washington to vote on something or other and did not have time to take part in the scheduled debate about foreign policy Friday night. Huh?! Obama was, of course, nonplussed. So were we all. WTF?!
I should mention before leaving this post tonight that my 'expertise,' such as it is, is derived mostly from a college class on Economics 101 which I took at a local community college back in about the mid-1980s. Kootch and I had sold the house and we both had a lot of cash. Kootch bought her apartment (where we now live). I, on the other hand was looking for a class on how to invest in the stock market. Little did I know at the time, but I did learn something about modern economic theory in that class.
I eventually spent most of my share of the money from the sale of our house, eventually investing about a thousand dollars in the stock market. I even borrowed another thousand from Kootch. I made a few hundred dollars as a 'day trader.' Kootch was not impressed. She wanted me to get a real job so that she did not have to work two jobs (K-Mart and Seven-eleven). I tried but failed. I became isolated. I became a loner. My left-brain social functions atrophied. My right brain, meanwhile, flowered in the new environment. I became internally well-balanced. My previous Acid experiences aided considerably in this transition, of course. I became me. But 'me' was a bit wierd. Kootch, of course, remained Kootch. She continued to work at K-Mart, eventually rising to the level of office manager. I, meanwhile, enjoyed programming my Apple computer. I got quite good at it and eventually produced a cryptographic text editor which I called, Word Salad. I sold two copies, one to the government (I think).
I eventually became the very interesting person I am today.
You Jews need to learn how to react less violently to criticism! You are a far-from-perfect people. Expect more of it.
The big news today is, of course, the economic uncertainty. My expertise in the matter is not impressive, but I can't resist a few comments, at least. I think we can all agree that there is a liquidity crisis at the moment. Paulsen wants us (taxpayers) to pony up 700 billion dollars to bail out the culprits. Capital Hill is balking, understandably. Meanwhile, McCain's credibility is suffering, since he was one of the most vocal de-regulators, and doesn't seem to have much of a clue concerning how the economy works. The tension at the moment seems to center around the need for speed. Do we give Paulsen et al a blank check immediately? Or, do we analyse the situation first, then proceed in a rational manner instituting various checks and balances to prevent further looting. And what about culpability? Should criminals be allowed to go free?
The delicious moment came today in the midst of all this when McCain announced that he was suspending his campaign in the National Interest! Seems he needed to get back to Washington to vote on something or other and did not have time to take part in the scheduled debate about foreign policy Friday night. Huh?! Obama was, of course, nonplussed. So were we all. WTF?!
I should mention before leaving this post tonight that my 'expertise,' such as it is, is derived mostly from a college class on Economics 101 which I took at a local community college back in about the mid-1980s. Kootch and I had sold the house and we both had a lot of cash. Kootch bought her apartment (where we now live). I, on the other hand was looking for a class on how to invest in the stock market. Little did I know at the time, but I did learn something about modern economic theory in that class.
I eventually spent most of my share of the money from the sale of our house, eventually investing about a thousand dollars in the stock market. I even borrowed another thousand from Kootch. I made a few hundred dollars as a 'day trader.' Kootch was not impressed. She wanted me to get a real job so that she did not have to work two jobs (K-Mart and Seven-eleven). I tried but failed. I became isolated. I became a loner. My left-brain social functions atrophied. My right brain, meanwhile, flowered in the new environment. I became internally well-balanced. My previous Acid experiences aided considerably in this transition, of course. I became me. But 'me' was a bit wierd. Kootch, of course, remained Kootch. She continued to work at K-Mart, eventually rising to the level of office manager. I, meanwhile, enjoyed programming my Apple computer. I got quite good at it and eventually produced a cryptographic text editor which I called, Word Salad. I sold two copies, one to the government (I think).
I eventually became the very interesting person I am today.
