Flood Damage Relief

After natural disasters like Nemo (Sandy), compassion for the unfortunate brings out piles of Federal dollars."Americans spend too much energy and capital on emergency relief and recovery after disasters have already struck, and not nearly enough on anticipating and mitigating trouble" as does the Dutch who have a multi-year plan to put flood-prone areas into public space. (NYT Feb 17)  The Dutch project is called Room for the River.  Yes, it needs room for it will eventually flatten human attempts to to put flimsy building in its way. My compassion is running out for the relatively wealthy who build and rebuild to enjoy the view of the ocean. 

Banks Rule

The big banks are at it again doing the same thing that brought us the fiscal crisis and great pain for the average person.  But, big banks and their executives are immune from punishment for their folly.  The New York Federal Reserve Bank has ruled that Bank of America can't be sued for fraud in the sale of mortgage backed securities that led to a $7 billion loss for A.I.G. and the need for public bailout  Why is Obama failing to hold big banks accountable?? (NYT Feb 17)

Sequestration

Hang on Obama, don't let the radicals wear you down.

Popular Student Majors

What do the following have in common?
Human biology
Finance
Supply chain management
Advertising
Kinesiology
These are the most popular majors for seniors at Michigan State University.  No common pattern emerges for me.

Drug Wars

"Projected annual Mexican drug cartels stand to  lose from pot legalization in Colorado and Washington: $1,400,000,000."  Harper's Index, Febr. 2013.
Over 500 murders were committed in Chicago last lear, many drug war related.
When will we give up our irrational and ineffective prohibitions against drugs and turn attention  to reducing demand via clinics, etc?

Let The Blood Flow

Hang on Obama, don't let the radicals wear you down.  If a 15 % cut across the board is the price for reducing the bloated military, so be it.

Afghanistan

What have we achieved in Afghanistan?  The biggest business in Kabul is extravagant weddings of the elite.  Each week planeloads of US dollars leave Kabul for Europe.  The poor of the country will hardly notice if we leave.