I have been watching futbol since Paolo Rossi's romp in the sands of Spain during the 1982 World Cup. My next door neighbors were from Italy and it was exciting to see the passion behind a game that was foreign to most Americans.
Team USA has been slowly making progress ever since.
The dramatic 2-0 blanking of Spain in the semifinals has been cited as a critical moment in the team's history. Can they possibly beat Brazil tomorrow in South Africa?
I hope to some day attend a World Cup myself. Futbol is not America's game, but it is mine all the same.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Back In Black
I took a vacation from this blog. No compelling reason other than that my Dell computer died and I got busy at work.
These things happen. A lot of things happen in life.
I am back in the blogosphere for the nobodies that don't care judging by my site meter. That being said, no one reads anymore and if you don't believe me you should check out the incredible shrinking content and rising price of the New York Times.
These things happen. A lot of things happen in life.
I am back in the blogosphere for the nobodies that don't care judging by my site meter. That being said, no one reads anymore and if you don't believe me you should check out the incredible shrinking content and rising price of the New York Times.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
There Is No Free Lunch
No matter where you look these days, we are paying for financial follies. All of those home equity loans, grandiose debt to income ratios, monster salaried CEOs, leveraged credit cards, and get rich schemes came with a cost. It's time to pay up people.
It really doesn't matter who should foot the bill when you start talking about an economic crater of this size and magnitude. When it is all said and done, we will be talking trillions of dollars vanishing from balance sheets.
We are all poorer these days.
I wonder if integrity will make a comeback. It has been out of fashion for some time. The modern society is most interested in instant gratification.
What will our new future look like? It may be a long time before we can tell.
The idea that we can pay this tab quickly and move on is ridiculous. You can already sense the public's fatigue to the situation. It isn't going anywhere anytime soon. We don't have to like it, but there is always a cost, a rub, etcetera, and this time is no different.
It really doesn't matter who should foot the bill when you start talking about an economic crater of this size and magnitude. When it is all said and done, we will be talking trillions of dollars vanishing from balance sheets.
We are all poorer these days.
I wonder if integrity will make a comeback. It has been out of fashion for some time. The modern society is most interested in instant gratification.
What will our new future look like? It may be a long time before we can tell.
The idea that we can pay this tab quickly and move on is ridiculous. You can already sense the public's fatigue to the situation. It isn't going anywhere anytime soon. We don't have to like it, but there is always a cost, a rub, etcetera, and this time is no different.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Main Street vs. Wall Street
Who do you think is going to come out the winner in this one?
Wall Street roared back from the doldrums today with a near 500 point gain of the DOW post Timothy Geithner unveiling the latest, and greatest, banking bailout plan. Too bad businesses don't pass down gains to consumers.
I don't see consumer spending, wage growth, or job gains returning anytime soon.
Stocks probably touched their low while the market hovered around 6,500 earlier this year. Have Joe and Jane Doe touched bottom yet?
I doubt it. Everyone will have to pay for the many years of loose credit and over spending. We won't get a bailout.
That I can guarantee you.
Wall Street roared back from the doldrums today with a near 500 point gain of the DOW post Timothy Geithner unveiling the latest, and greatest, banking bailout plan. Too bad businesses don't pass down gains to consumers.
I don't see consumer spending, wage growth, or job gains returning anytime soon.
Stocks probably touched their low while the market hovered around 6,500 earlier this year. Have Joe and Jane Doe touched bottom yet?
I doubt it. Everyone will have to pay for the many years of loose credit and over spending. We won't get a bailout.
That I can guarantee you.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Globalist
I had the unique experience to attend two lectures by world renknowned journalists, Thomas L. Friedman and Fareed Zakaria, yesterday in Portland.
There was a common theme to their respective perspectives.
That is that we are in a new age that is defined by globalism and that the United States of America is no longer the only game in town. Try telling that to your average American who believes in manifest destiny and "This land is your land ... from sea to shining sea."
The rules have changed. All markets are global. It is not relevant whether we want to recognize this our not, but we will fall behind as a nation if we fail to do so.
We need to recognize the challenge before this and get serious about electing politicians who will pursue progressive policy moving forward. There is no more time left to squander the future. The world is "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" and we are in "The Post American World."
There was a common theme to their respective perspectives.
That is that we are in a new age that is defined by globalism and that the United States of America is no longer the only game in town. Try telling that to your average American who believes in manifest destiny and "This land is your land ... from sea to shining sea."
The rules have changed. All markets are global. It is not relevant whether we want to recognize this our not, but we will fall behind as a nation if we fail to do so.
We need to recognize the challenge before this and get serious about electing politicians who will pursue progressive policy moving forward. There is no more time left to squander the future. The world is "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" and we are in "The Post American World."
Sunday, March 1, 2009
At What Cost
As President Obama seeks to bring fiscal responsibility back to the White House, one is left wondering the future our nation will have.
The pols of recent past sacraficed the future to satisfy the demands of lobbyists. They mortgaged the nation's long term security at the whim of their own present day interests. We, the people, are left holding the bill.
Everything is in question. The economy, education, geopolitics, health care, energy policy, social security, national infrastructure, and on, and on, and on.
There are many to blame.
Partisan politics has blocked most attempts to pass tangible legislation over the past three decades. The American public has been too interested in our own selfish wants and needs at the sacrafice to the common good. Real leaders, to often, have been nowhere to be found.
America was caught flat footed after the fall of communism and the Soviet empire only to lose respect among many of our global bretheren in responding to WMDs in Iraq post 9/11. The health care system is bloated beyond repair. The education of our children continues to lag behind our competitors. Bridges fall down, roads stretch to nowhere as mass transit lays idle in the 21st century and only now do we get serious about global warming and our energy future.
Enough is enough. It is time to get real.
The pols of recent past sacraficed the future to satisfy the demands of lobbyists. They mortgaged the nation's long term security at the whim of their own present day interests. We, the people, are left holding the bill.
Everything is in question. The economy, education, geopolitics, health care, energy policy, social security, national infrastructure, and on, and on, and on.
There are many to blame.
Partisan politics has blocked most attempts to pass tangible legislation over the past three decades. The American public has been too interested in our own selfish wants and needs at the sacrafice to the common good. Real leaders, to often, have been nowhere to be found.
America was caught flat footed after the fall of communism and the Soviet empire only to lose respect among many of our global bretheren in responding to WMDs in Iraq post 9/11. The health care system is bloated beyond repair. The education of our children continues to lag behind our competitors. Bridges fall down, roads stretch to nowhere as mass transit lays idle in the 21st century and only now do we get serious about global warming and our energy future.
Enough is enough. It is time to get real.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Financial Follies
Every day is a new day, except in the financial crisis where the news keeps getting worse, the problem continues to spread, and the culprits are many and not the few.
It is obvious that many, if not the majority, of national banks are insolvent. The only question is when this will be recognized by the government. The charade is coming to an end.
There was no tangible regulation. Underwriting standards were nonexistent. Cost of capital was too cheap. Highly leveraged institutions became the norm. Borrowers were happy to use their home as an ATM.
"Everybody plays the fool sometime; There's no exception to the rule." - Aaron Neville
Yet, the average citizen is still in the dark about financial affairs. It is really a surprise that businessmen would choose the "free lunch"?
"There's a sucker born every minute." - PT Barnum
It is obvious that many, if not the majority, of national banks are insolvent. The only question is when this will be recognized by the government. The charade is coming to an end.
There was no tangible regulation. Underwriting standards were nonexistent. Cost of capital was too cheap. Highly leveraged institutions became the norm. Borrowers were happy to use their home as an ATM.
"Everybody plays the fool sometime; There's no exception to the rule." - Aaron Neville
Yet, the average citizen is still in the dark about financial affairs. It is really a surprise that businessmen would choose the "free lunch"?
"There's a sucker born every minute." - PT Barnum
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