Bird Brains

Chickens and geese have more brains that we have given them credit for and more than some members of Congress who care little for the less fortunate.  This from Nicholas Kristof--
"The nobility of geese was most on display at execution time.  My job as an 11-year-old when we beheaded the geese was to capture a bird and take it to the chopping block as my dad wielded the ax. So I would rush at the terrified flock and randomly grab an unlucky goose.  The bird in my arms would honk in terror and try to escape, and the other geese would cower in the corner of the barn.
       Then one goose would emerge from the flock and walk tremulously toward me, terrified but unwilling to abandon its mate.  It would waddle after me toward the chopping block, trying to honk comfort to its mate."  NYT Oct. 20, 2013

Drug Prices

My sense of moral outrage is being sorely tested.  While Congress is obsessed with the size of the Federal budget, the drug companies are stealing us blind.  Drug company lobbyists spend more than the defense industry. And what do they get for their money? Plenty!  Lawmakers have forbidden Medicare from negotiating drug prices.  The ”US Patient Centered  Outcomes Research Institute is not allowed to consider cost-effectiveness comparisons in its recommendations.” NYT October 13, 2013.  Importing drugs from other countries is prohibited even though they are much, much cheaper.

Democracy Shutdown

So you think you live in a democracy of majority rule.  Wrong!  You are ruled by a radical minority of ideologues who not interested in consequences.  The NYT and NPR estimate that if the Senate bill were brought to the floor of the House, it would pass with a combination of Republican and Democratic votes.  But the leadership fears for their jobs and will not bring it to a vote.

Osama bin Laden

May 2, 2011, the US killed Osama bin Laden, President Obama's top priority. The US has a tendency to believe that one leader is responsible and if he can be killed, the terrorist threats would be eliminated.  Instead bin Laden's assassination created  even more hatred and zeal in terrorists groups and now there are dozens all around the world.  

Minimum Wage

Your hamburgers are too cheap.  Workers in fast-food restaurants are not paid a living wage.  The minimum wage should be increased to at least $10.  Opponents say that a higher minimum wage will result in higher priced burgers, etc.  Well, isn't that the point? 

Repo Man

Money market mutual funds, which many regard as safe investments, lend cash to banks, brokerage firms and asset managers for one day at a time.  The next day by mutual consent, the loans are turned over.  The "repo market" is a huge $4.6 trillion.  Everything is cool until it's not.  Using short term borrowing to cover long term investments such as mortgages is inherently vulnerable to changes in expectations.  If one party becomes nervous and does not renew, the market collapses as it did for Lehman and Bear Sterns five years ago.
Sorry, but markets are not automatic and wonderful.

(For background see NYT, Sept. 13, 2013.

Syria

I think Thomas Freidman has it right.
"Many Americans also understood that when it came to our record in the Arab/Muslim world since 9/11, we were 0 for 3. Afghanistan seems headed for failure; whatever happens in Iraq, it was overpaid for; and Libya saw a tyrant replaced by tribal wars. I also think a lot of people look at the rebels in Syria and hear too few people who sound like Nelson Mandela — that is, people fighting for the right to be equal citizens, not just for the triumph of their sect or Shariah."