Hurry up and leave, Winter
"Spring will be a little late this year." Perhaps not physically, for it’s only a few weeks hence. But that moody song title had only the emotions in mind. And never mind the sprouting of the daffodils.
The song’s lyrics are as blue as blue can be, and today who among us isn’t? (Excepting liberal Democrats, of course, who are still Oba-mesmerized.) Gosh, when have we had so many negative things coming at us during an otherwise anticipatory time of year?
God-awful deficit spending by our government for everything you can think of, more banks failing, the stock market still way down, unemployment soaring. And as a J.P. Morgan analyst noted recently, “Our best case (for stocks in 2009) is a bad recession. Our worst case is a really bad recession.”
And then here come my daily newspapers to provide further aggravation.
First was Fredericksburg’s daily, dissing my beloved Aquia Harbour. We were headlined as an area leader in home foreclosures and stressed sales--a cheap shot. Yes, we were up there in the totals, if you ignore as the paper did that Aquia Harbour has many more residences than the other truly troubled communities mentioned. So naturally, when I get upset I fire off a hot letter to the editor, and I did.
But only days later, the Washington Post hits me again. It’s killing its Book World, a major reason why I take the Sunday edition. Not that I’m a book worm, mind you. Rather it’s because I like to read about them. Book World, R.I.P.
Columnist George Will captured my bad feelings about how Congress is stimulating us to hell and gone, writing, “Sensible people are queasy about throwing trillions of dollars at barely understood problems on the basis of untested theories.” Precisely. Queasy fits my mood.
To wit: A plain-talking Texan I have long admired for his skill and common sense, former Congressman Dick Armey, recently claimed that “politics is silly, inane.” I couldn’t agree more, especially when I hear of bids for some of the government’s bailout money--can you believe it?-- by car rental companies. Next: Dog groomers?
Frankly, if it’s all a little too much for me, it must be way too much for folks not yet old enough to qualify for membership in my typically happy, run-out-the-clock retiree cohort.
I don’t have a job to depend on or risk losing. My pension is safe and my home and good car are paid off. My lovely wife and I just celebrated our 53rd wedding anniversary, together, thank you very much.
Yes, but it’s sad to realize that things beyond our comfy little sphere are so bad. I can try to ignore the situation and thank my lucky stars for getting through my earning and family-growing years without any major setbacks like wars affecting me or mine.
But I do worry that today’s wild throwing of borrowed money at our national woes will greatly burden my grandchildren and their kids with much higher taxes. John McCain calls it generational theft. Precisely.
What might others call the mess we’re in? How about “Supine ‘09.” No, that’s not mean enough. With the Democrats firmly in control, it will be something like “2009--Dawn of Recovery from the Bush Depression.” Remember, you read it here first.
“The failed Bush presidency” is already the accepted wisdom, at least outside Texas.
Politicians are paid to pin labels, I suppose, and to make wacky ideas sound reasonable. It brings to mind Al Gore’s recent appearance in Washington to continue his preaching about the coming Armageddon, our warming planet--which by the way is not.
But just watch. Any green initiatives he succeeds in subjecting us to (and hang the cost) will be acclaimed a huge success. CO2 levels--harmless but considered dangerous by global alarmists--will likely drop, but not because we did things like banning plastic bags. Rather, the worldwide economic recession-depression will have done the trick.
Meantime it seems we’ll soon get another stimulus check. How to spend it to benefit fellow Americans? Friend Walt Kreutzer forwards me a recommendation: Keep the money in America by spending it at yard sales, going to a baseball game, or buying prostitutes, beer and domestic wine or tattoos, since those are the only businesses still in the U.S.
It can’t be that bad, but it’s looking like we can’t avoid another Slough of Despond. Look it up.
The song’s lyrics are as blue as blue can be, and today who among us isn’t? (Excepting liberal Democrats, of course, who are still Oba-mesmerized.) Gosh, when have we had so many negative things coming at us during an otherwise anticipatory time of year?
God-awful deficit spending by our government for everything you can think of, more banks failing, the stock market still way down, unemployment soaring. And as a J.P. Morgan analyst noted recently, “Our best case (for stocks in 2009) is a bad recession. Our worst case is a really bad recession.”
And then here come my daily newspapers to provide further aggravation.
First was Fredericksburg’s daily, dissing my beloved Aquia Harbour. We were headlined as an area leader in home foreclosures and stressed sales--a cheap shot. Yes, we were up there in the totals, if you ignore as the paper did that Aquia Harbour has many more residences than the other truly troubled communities mentioned. So naturally, when I get upset I fire off a hot letter to the editor, and I did.
But only days later, the Washington Post hits me again. It’s killing its Book World, a major reason why I take the Sunday edition. Not that I’m a book worm, mind you. Rather it’s because I like to read about them. Book World, R.I.P.
Columnist George Will captured my bad feelings about how Congress is stimulating us to hell and gone, writing, “Sensible people are queasy about throwing trillions of dollars at barely understood problems on the basis of untested theories.” Precisely. Queasy fits my mood.
To wit: A plain-talking Texan I have long admired for his skill and common sense, former Congressman Dick Armey, recently claimed that “politics is silly, inane.” I couldn’t agree more, especially when I hear of bids for some of the government’s bailout money--can you believe it?-- by car rental companies. Next: Dog groomers?
Frankly, if it’s all a little too much for me, it must be way too much for folks not yet old enough to qualify for membership in my typically happy, run-out-the-clock retiree cohort.
I don’t have a job to depend on or risk losing. My pension is safe and my home and good car are paid off. My lovely wife and I just celebrated our 53rd wedding anniversary, together, thank you very much.
Yes, but it’s sad to realize that things beyond our comfy little sphere are so bad. I can try to ignore the situation and thank my lucky stars for getting through my earning and family-growing years without any major setbacks like wars affecting me or mine.
But I do worry that today’s wild throwing of borrowed money at our national woes will greatly burden my grandchildren and their kids with much higher taxes. John McCain calls it generational theft. Precisely.
What might others call the mess we’re in? How about “Supine ‘09.” No, that’s not mean enough. With the Democrats firmly in control, it will be something like “2009--Dawn of Recovery from the Bush Depression.” Remember, you read it here first.
“The failed Bush presidency” is already the accepted wisdom, at least outside Texas.
Politicians are paid to pin labels, I suppose, and to make wacky ideas sound reasonable. It brings to mind Al Gore’s recent appearance in Washington to continue his preaching about the coming Armageddon, our warming planet--which by the way is not.
But just watch. Any green initiatives he succeeds in subjecting us to (and hang the cost) will be acclaimed a huge success. CO2 levels--harmless but considered dangerous by global alarmists--will likely drop, but not because we did things like banning plastic bags. Rather, the worldwide economic recession-depression will have done the trick.
Meantime it seems we’ll soon get another stimulus check. How to spend it to benefit fellow Americans? Friend Walt Kreutzer forwards me a recommendation: Keep the money in America by spending it at yard sales, going to a baseball game, or buying prostitutes, beer and domestic wine or tattoos, since those are the only businesses still in the U.S.
It can’t be that bad, but it’s looking like we can’t avoid another Slough of Despond. Look it up.
posted by Ben Blankenship at
9:29 AM
