President-elect Obama apparently believes that the crisis brought on by the collapse of the housing bubble will require defaulting on the national debt. The New York Times reported today that Obama believes that “changes in Social Security and Medicare will be central to efforts to bring federal spending in line.”
While Medicare is projected to face shortfalls because of the incredible inefficiency of the U.S. health care system, the Congressional Budget Office projects that Social Security will be fully funded until 2049 from its own stream of tax revenues and the U.S. bonds it holds.
If Mr. Obama plans to cut Social Security in the near future, then this effectively amounts to a default on the bonds held by the trust fund which were purchased with workers’ Social Security taxes. If the budget situation is so dire that it is necessary to default on the government debt, then surely we should be considering defaulting on the bonds held by Robert Rubin, Peter Peterson, and other wealthy bankers, not just the bonds that were bought to pay Social Security benefits for the country’s workers.
Month: January 2009
This isn’t a national championship—it’s a big-money waltz
Bill James urges his colleagues to boycott the BCS. An excerpt from a piece that really requires you to read it all:
It is inherent in the nature of sports to seek a clear resolution of the competition. You have two football conferences, two basketball conferences, two baseball leagues—you want to know who the best team really is. That doesn’t come from anywhere; it’s integral to the sport. It’s like a movie; either the boy gets the girl, or he doesn’t. Either the cop catches the killer, or he doesn’t. Either the hero wins the battle, or he dies on the battlefield. That’s just the way it is, whether it’s Shakespeare or schlock. Leaving the situation unresolved is unpopular because it’s unnatural.
Another Story with an Unhappy Ending (At Least This Chapter)
Janaury 7th
Today is the birthday
… of William Peter Blatty, author of The Exorcist. He’s 81.
… of Paul Revere Dick, 71. He and Mark Lindsay formed Paul Revere & The Raiders in 1960. They recorded “Louie Louie” in the same studio as The Kingsmen in Portland, Oregon in 1963. (The song was written in 1955.) The Kingsmen won that battle, but The Raiders went on to record five top 10 hits, including the number one, “Indian Reservation,” which sold six million copies.
… of Kenneth Clark Loggins. He’s 61.
… of David Stephen Caruso, 53.
… of Katherine Anne Couric. University of Virigina grad Katie Couric is 52.
… of Nicholas Kim Coppola. The Oscar-winner, known better as Nicolas Cage, is 45.
Best line of the week, so far
“BCS commissioners propose two-team playoff.”
Sportspickle.com via Sideline Chatter
You hear voices in the night and its Joe Buck and Troy Aikman
Among the top-10 signs you’re watching too much football, from CBS’s David Letterman:
• “Only fresh air you’ve had this month is opening door for pizza guy.
• “You refer to orange juice as ‘FedEx orange juice.’
• “You schedule an appointment to talk to your doctor about Andy Reid’s cholesterol.
• “Three words: Norv Turner tattoo.”
As Title Game Approaches, What About Utah?
But in an open letter to the 72 members of the media who choose the Associated Press No. 1, the Washington Post’s John Feinstein makes a strong case for them to place undefeated Utah at the top of their ballot.
“The reason to vote for Utah is simple: This is the one and only way you can stand up to the BCS bullies — the university presidents, commissioners, athletic directors and the TV networks who enable them — and, to renew a catch phrase, just say no,” Feinstein argues. “Say no to this horrible, hypocritical, feed-the-big-boys system. Say no to the idea that fair competition doesn’t matter. Say no to all the hype surrounding the power conferences and power teams. To co-opt yet another catch phrase, say yes to change.”
Amusing, Amazing and Sad Story about a 6-Year-Old
Va. 6-Year-Old Takes Family Car After Missing Bus
Thanks to Jill for the link.
Desperation
Car dealers ARE getting desperate. Today the mail brought a first class envelope from a local Jeep-Chrysler dealer addressed to the guy who used to live my house.
I bought the house 10 years ago!
That’s REALLY working the Rolodex.
Does BCS violate anti-trust laws?
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah’s attorney general is investigating the Bowl Championship Series for a possible violation of federal antitrust laws after an undefeated Utes team was left out of the national title game for the second time in five years.
Attorney General Mark Shurtleff contends the BCS unfairly puts schools like Utah, which is a member of a conference without an automatic bid to the lucrative bowl games, at a competitive and financial disadvantage.
Shurtleff said Tuesday that his office is still in the initial stages of reviewing the Sherman Antitrust Act to see if a lawsuit can be filed. To succeed in a lawsuit, Shurtleff would have to prove a conspiracy exists that creates a monopoly.
Epiphany
Today is the Epiphany, one of the three major Christian celebrations along with Christmas and Easter. The Epiphany is celebrated by most Christians on January 6 to commemorate the presentation of the infant Jesus to the Magi or three wise men.
The celebration of the Epiphany began in the Eastern Church and included Christ’s birth. However, by the 4th century, the various calendar reforms had moved the birth of Christ to December 25, and the church in Rome began celebrating January 6 as Epiphany.
Epiphany is derived from the Greek epiphaneia and means manifestation or to appear. In a religious context, the term describes the appearance of a divine being in a visible or revelatory manifestation.
In Latin America, today is Día de los Santos Reyes, the day to exchange Christmas presents to coincide with the arrival of the three gift-bearing kings or wisemen.
Fra Angelico and Filippo Lippi
The Adoration of the Magi, c. 1445
Samuel H. Kress Collection
National Gallery of Art
Today is the wedding anniversary
… of George and Martha Washington, married on this date in 1759.
… of George and Barbara Bush, married on this date in 1945.
George and Martha had no children (she had two surviving children from her previous marriage).
Alas, George and Barbara did have children.
New Mexico
… was admitted to the Union as the 47th state on this date in 1912.
Oh crap, I feel about 100 years old
Yes, that’s Patty Duke reprising the Lane cousins.
The Blu-Ray Problem
James Surowiecki takes a look at The Blu-Ray Problem. He begins:
With the Consumer Electronics Show starting this Wednesday in Vegas, we’re seeing another raft of predictions of the inevitable demise of Blu-Ray, Sony’s high-definition video disk technology. The most common prediction is that Blu-Ray is doomed because it will soon be eclipsed by streaming video and downloadable movies.
Surowiecki disagrees, “Blu-Ray’s real problem, it seems to me, is much simpler: it’s too expensive.”
He makes a good case.
Photo Contest
The Toilet Bowl Cleaner You Can Drink
When your toilet’s got rings and lime scale stains and you’ve got no cleaning gear on hand, grab a can of Coke out of the fridge.
According to wikiHow, you can pour Coke into a dirty toilet and the carbonic, citric, and phosphoric acids in it will break down stains, especially if you can leave it overnight to do the work.
New Mexico Favorite Books
“Clear some space on your bookshelf as six of our state’s best authors name the New Mexico books that have influenced them. At the top of the list: A collection of moving environmental essays, a novel with a conscience, a historical diary, and three Southwestern classics.”
Big Ten’s play not worthy of BCS
“There are a lot of little things that go on in there,” Paterno said following the loss. “I think in all fairness without, again, being a crybaby, I think in all fairness when you play Southern Cal, they’re home and they practice where they normally practice. It’s a lot easier for them to get ready.”
If the traveling parameters are too much for the conference, then perhaps the Big Ten should pull out of the BCS altogether and commit its conference champion to the Motor City Bowl.
I say the BCS should be like European futbol — realign after each season and throw out next year’s automatic bid for the conference that performs worst. Out with the Big East, in with the Mountain West. Out with the Big 10, in with the WAC.
• The Big Ten is winless in six Rose Bowls this decade, losing by almost a two-to-one margin in those defeats — 219-121.
• It’s now lost its last five BCS games by more than a two-to-one margin — 198-97.
• The Big Ten’s BCS record of 4-10 this decade is the second-worst winning percentage of the six major conferences.
Anybody think Ohio State is going to improve upon that against Texas tonight?
Ouch
Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) — General Motors Corp.’s 2008 U.S. sales plunged to a 49-year low, dragged down by a 31 percent plunge in December as demand was ravaged by the recession and concern that the biggest domestic automaker might collapse.
Toyota Motor Corp.’s U.S. deliveries plummeted 37 percent last month, while Honda Motor Co. slipped 35 percent, Ford Motor Co. fell 32 percent and Nissan Motor Co. was down 31 percent, pointing toward the industry’s worst annual volume since 1992.
… Ford’s annual U.S. sales sagged to a 47-year low, while GM’s total of 2.98 million was the least since 1959, according to trade publication Automotive News.
Update: Wow, Chrysler sales off 53%. We won’t be seeing those Dodge truck ads much longer — because we won’t be seeing Dodge trucks much longer.
Oh, and an old complaint with me. Why can’t the coverage of these statistics be more meaningful? How about a three or better yet five-year running average to compare sales against. Any one year or month can be an anomaly.
Works for me
The end of the holidays, cold weather and economic gloom will make today one of the most stressful days of the year for returning to work.
But experts have come up with an unlikely remedy – throwing a tantrum.
…‘When stress threatens to overwhelm you, try a short sustained burst of shouting, or alternatively, go somewhere quiet, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to help calm you down.’
I’m taking the tantrum remedy.
Oh, wait, I’m retired. I don’t have to return to work today. I don’t have to do anything today.
There are heroes, and then there are super heroes
Originally posted here three years ago:
Mack, official oldest grandchild of NewMexiKen, watched much of the Rose Bowl with his mother Wednesday night. Here’s the story as told by his mother, Jill:
The honorary marshal came onto the field, before the game, to flip the coin. I saw that it was Sandra Day O’Connor.
I said, “Oh, Mack, that is one of my heroes.”
“Why?”
I referenced conversations we’ve had in the past, “You know how we’ve talked about how, for thousands of years, men got to be in charge of everything and women didn’t get to do lots of things?” (Mack has a fairly solid background knowledge in this stuff, at least for a five-year-old boy.)
“Yes, like how they couldn’t vote or have a house or do lots of jobs?”
“Right. Well one job they didn’t get to do was be a judge. A judge gets to decide the laws for all the people to follow. It’s a really important job. Well, that lady was the first woman who got to be a judge. So she is one of Mommy’s heroes.” (Not strictly accurate, I know.)
Mack looked at me for a minute, then said, “Then she is one of my heroes, too.”
My heart melted. I put my arms out for a hug, so proud of my brilliant, sensitive child.
He continued, “Yes. Also Batman.”
60 Years Ago Today!
President Harry S. Truman in his State of the Union Address:
We must spare no effort to raise the general level of health in this country. In a nation as rich as ours, it is a shocking fact that tens of millions lack adequate medical care. We are short of doctors, hospitals, nurses. We must remedy these shortages. Moreover, we need–and we must have without further delay–a system of prepaid medical insurance which will enable every American to afford good medical care.
On the 12th Day of Christmas
Though advertisers and merchants would have us believe that the Christmas season begins at Thanksgiving (or possibly Halloween, or even Labor Day), liturgically it begins on Christmas Eve and extends until Twelfth Night, the eve of the Epiphany.
The Twelve Days of Christmas are Christmas through January 5th. Tonight is Twelfth night.
January 5th
Robert Duvall was born in San Diego 78 years ago today. Duvall won the best actor Oscar for his portrayal of Mac Sledge in Tender Mercies in 1983. Among other characters he has portrayed are Boo Radley, Frank Burns, Tom Hagen, Lt. Col. William ‘Bill’ Kilgore, Bull Meechum and the unforgettable Augustus McCrae.
Walter F. Mondale is 81.
Umberto Eco is 77 today.
Eco had never written any fiction, but the idea intrigued him, so he told the publisher that he would work on something. He got the idea of a murder mystery set in the Middle Ages, and he wrote about a Franciscan friar who stumbles upon a series of interrelated deaths in the Italian abbey he is visiting. He filled the book with the history of the 14th century, as well as philosophy and theology. He also used every trick he’d ever learned from studying detective novels and spy movies to create his protagonist, William of Baskerville.
When Eco finished the novel, titled The Name of the Rose, he thought that his publishers were being way too optimistic when they ordered 30,000 copies to be printed. But when it came out in 1980, The Name of the Rose sold 2 million copies.
Charlie Rose is 67 today.
Diane Keaton was born in Los Angeles 63 years ago today. Keaton won the best actress Oscar for her portrayal of Annie Hall in 1977. She has had three other Oscar nominations. She has never married but has adopted two children. Her real name is Diane Hall; she changed to Keaton, her mother’s maiden name, because there was already a Diane Hall in the Actor’s Guild.
Marilyn Manson is 40.
January Jones is 31 today.