All Blog Posts (2,364)

Up early after being up late after going to sleep too early from being tired. Time to switch to decaf. I got up to write down my thoughts about the current trends in our economy and what that means for the average person in terms of nutrition. My baby sis who is struggling to remain middle class and working hard to single parent said that her teeth have started cracking. OK so she likes to be skinny but how much is too much? Buy some vitamins , I said. They're expensive , she said. Not as…

It's a decision most people must make in their lives. Or perhaps it is a number of decisions. One such decision was announced yesterday, as one of the most recognizable figures in the world gave up his job. Pope Benedict XVI is resigning, a move not very often taken by a person who has been given a position for life. Presidents have said, “I do not…

There was a study completed within the last 2 years about the unemployed.  There is a deficit of 10.2 million jobs since 2007.  Several employer related factors contribute to the inability of unemployed workers to find jobs.  One reason is that some employers refuse to hire unemployed people.  In fact, the study produced a figure of 82% of employers who discriminate against the unemployed.  A second factor is background checks. …

The nation's postal service has been the messenger of America for over 200 years. But it doesn't write the messages, it just delivers them. Over the years the service has had to adjust to changing technologies. I suppose somebody in Washington had to send lay-off notices to all those pony express riders when it was safe to ship by stage coach and then by train. I don't remember any big backlash by the union and demand the pony riders be retained…

I just finished the book, “Silver Linings Playbook,” and plan to see the Academy Award nominated movie this evening. It is about mental health and a mid-30s aged patient who is trying to make a trip back to reality with little help from a highly dysfunctional family. The plot questions what reality really is. Is…

So, there is something nasty in the winning, winning or losing with a cause, a fix.

Point shaving, game fixing, nothing new, but the scale, now there is the rub, or rather the boot.

International Football, or soccer to us, may be dirty, very dirty. After an investigation by a international and national police organizations, 680 matches have been marked…

The Superbowl is probably more engrained into American culture than any day of the year. Records are set for TV viewers, bathroom flushes at half-time and bets placed on the action in casinos. People can remember where they were on the first one played and significant others after that. I saw my first one in…

Now is the winter of our discontent

Made glorious summer by this sun of York;

And all the clouds that lour'd upon our house

In the deep bosom of the ocean buried. (Richard the III, Act I, Scene I)

Has been found, Richard's head and body that is, buried in what is now a parking lot in the city of Leicester in the…

Time usually heals, if nothing else by space, the space between the event and now.

On February 1st, 2003, the space shuttle Columbia was torn apart upon reentry after completing its successful mission to the International Space Station. The crew failed to return home.

The idea of space travel was, is and will be a risky business much like…

If you pay attention to the major news outlets, you would think the economy is getting better (http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/02/01/unemployment-ticks-up-to-7-9-but-signs-of-strong-recovery/).  Most of the news organizations ignore the net job losses, workforce participation rates and most of all, the level of underemployment in the United States.  There are strong indicators that things are…

It comes every year, Feb 2nd, where the prognostication of a rodent can be taken as sign, a sign that winter will end, more or less.

It also comes as a theme of opportunity and renewal, such as, in Phil Conners; a moment in life to discover the poignancy and beauty of light, jazz piano playing and reciting 19th century French poetry. But then again, that was but…

It is just a number, a big one, but still a number. And yet, it means something else, means about $9 trillion in recovered wealth as the Dow Jones Industrial index has recovered to close at 14000, the first time since July, 2007.

So, do most Americans feel better than they did 5 years ago? Nope, most Americans are still challenged to do better. Then who are the beneficiaries of the recovery? Good question.

Most American corporations are, and the bigger the better.…