Sunday, March 19, 2023
In bed at 9:30, awake at 2:40, up at 3:10, unable to sleep with muddled thoughts, Tom, Caela, CPP, darting minnows, caged squirrel. 20℉ outside, wind WNW at 12, wind chill at 7℉, Winds up to 18 mph later, gusts up to 32 mph, wind chills from 5 to 30℉. Sunrise at 6:56, sunset at 7:02, 12+5.
FB post on Ron Brownstein article in The Atlantic: Four Quadrants: "This is fascinating if scary article, supporting the theory that "demographics is destiny." It gives us a fact- and data-based description of what democracy means in our country, or at least how democracy works in terms of power distribution. The key sentences are "Each party is pushing an economic agenda that collides with the immediate economic interests of a large portion of its voters. . . .Each of these seeming contradictions underscores how cultural affinity has displaced economic interest as the most powerful glue binding each side’s coalition." That is a more palatable way of saying how much Race has come to dominate party affiliation, with Republicans identified as the party of and for Whites and Democrats as the party of and for minorities. That this dichotomy breaks down among college-educated Whites doesn't negate its overall accuracy. American government and politics are intensely race-conscious and race-sensitive though rarely is this fact addressed honestly and candidly rather than through code words and dog whistles. As I read this article I was reminded of a somewhat similar article I read a while back about demographics and hyper-polarization in Israel. Neither article provided much hope for a more harmonious future in either country.
"Americans can rest assured that our banking system is safe." Joes Biden told us so. So why has just about every single Sunday morning political talk show led off with a discussion about whether "our banking system is safe." Lead-off guests have included Elizabeth Warren, Lloyd Blankfein, Gary Cohn, and others talking about the inadequacies of governmental oversight and the known risks that led to the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and the rescues (or not) of First Republic Bank in San Francisco and Credit Suisse in Zurich. Reasons for skepticism: (1) The failed/failing banks were/are all invested in "safe" assets, Treasury bonds, mortgage-backed securities, and other bonds. Most other banks hold similar "safe" assets. (2) Many banks are invested in much "less safe" assets like stocks, leveraged loans, and 'derivatives' (remember 2008?). (3) The Fed raised the Reserve requirement ratio in 2020 to zero, and it's still at zero. (4) US banks had unrealized losses of $520B in 2022 largely because of rising interest rates. If depositors start to want to get their money back to move it elsewhere, that can lead to a run on the banks, as happened to SVB. The headline in this afternoon's WaPo: "Two Swiss banking giants combine to quell growing global bank crisis. It all reinforces my belief that banking is a racket.
Watching NCAA Women's Tournament. Georgia v. Iowa, and remembering my youth when it was thought that women couldn't engage in 'real' athletics. They weren't competitive and didn't even know how to run properly. "Runs like a girl!" Brainwashing sustained the absence of opportunities for girls and women in competitive sports(and elsewhere) until Title IX in 1972. "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." Hooray for big government. I wish I had had even a fraction of the skill, poise, and competitiveness of these young women.
Putin visits Mariupol with Jesus' surrogate. There was something particularly telling about the video coverage of Vladimir Putin walking the streets of Mariupol with a Russian Orthodox priest sporting a knit hat with a Christian cross prominently displayed on its front. We should never forget the strong support of the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church for this war against the citizens of Ukraine, perhaps most evilly displayed in what the Russian Army did to Mariupol, a sizable industrial port city virtually destroyed by Russian heavy armaments, including schools, theaters, and hospitals. All with the visible support of the Russian Orthodox Church, claiming to be the people of God, Jesus's people. Lord, protect me from your followers.
Steve Kevil's Birthday is Tuesday. Geri spent the afternoon with him and Nikki in Chicago.. I think it's his 50th birthday and he's none too pleased about hitting this milestone.
No comments:
Post a Comment