Banter

Hey kids!

So, Matt O is back from China, Alissa just got back from Thailand, and I just opened a fortune cookie that says "You will gain admiration from your pears." I wanna see some blog posts and pictures about all this Asian goodness (sans the cookie, that is. Me and my pears are already sweet.)

In other news, I really dug Frank Rich's NYTimes column this Sunday, as I usually do. Check it out if you're into the whole politics thing. I also dug this really solid magazine article about the current Stock Market freak-out and the Feds' bailing out of Bear Stearns. (It also has a sweet pic of Greenspan, who looks like he’s gettin’ down to some BeeGee’s jams.) The article gives some interesting background on the unregulated 'shadow banking system' that has caused all the hub-bub this past year or so. After the housing bubble burst, this seems to be why the aftershocks have been so serious. Serious enough for the Feds to bail out a private firm for the first time since, well, I think since the Great Depression. I certainly don't advocate a socialist approach to market regulations, but I certainly DO think the invisible hand needs some wise guidance from better public policy. That invisible hand is kinda like a really dumb golden retriever. It'll keep eating more and more until it makes itself sick. The govt's job, in some aspects is to best limit that kind of harmful consumption. That sort of regulation for capitalism is one of the better New Deal legacies to come out of FDR’s first 100 days.

But, speaking of consumption, I'm gonna grab a beer. Bri just got home, so I’m gonna hang out with that wonderful lady and see how her day went. In reverence to ya’ll, in your absences, I'll pour a little ale out for all you homies. Much love! - Rog