Sloths, not Sloth

I've always had a special place in my heart for Sloths.  As a boy, I loved looking at pictures of what giant prehistoric sloths might have looked like.  I also have a great appreciation for both napping and scratching, so current sloths remain high on my list.  If you can't appreciate Sloths, then you haven't seen this video.  Take it from me and take a nap.  Yep, sloth it up!

23 May 2010

Selling Out Main Street... Again

The Merkley-Levin Ammendment did not get a vote this week as part of the financial reform debate in the US Senate.  This piece of legislation would have been one of the chief ways to protect the nation and its citizens from the outlandish banking practices that we have lately seen from Wall Street.  It failed due to a Senate that is still largely bought-and-paid-for by commercial banks, although the numbers that voted for the ammendment were not insignificant.  Perhaps this means that the tide may one day actually turn?!?  Sadly, a big part of the reason that the ammendment failed to pass was not only the lack of enthusiusum for it from the Obama White House, but its outright opposition.

Anyone who thinks that President Obama is a liberal should have the ventilator removed and be allowed to die; They are obviously brain dead already!

21 May 2010

USA: A Lost Decade?

Paul Krugman discusses the possibility of America slipping into a so-called "Lost Decade" that the Japanese faced in the 1990s... and from which they have never fully escaped.

21 May 2010

Cute Animal Sneezes

The title says it all.

And happy Mother's Day!

9 May 2010

Polish History via Tragedy

Josh Marshall posted the following at Talking Points Memo earlier this evening.  Like him, I didn't know this, which I find strange.  It seems that this info would have -- should have! -- popped up on my radar at some point.  Anywho, quoted here in full.

You have read about the tragic plane crash which killed a swath of the highest ranking leadership of the Polish Republic, including the incumbent president, Lech Kaczynski. Here's a small part of that story I just read about.

If you're familiar with the history of World War II, you probably know that somewhat like General Charles de Gaulle's Free French Forces, there was a Polish government-in-exile operating in London during the war. Indeed, the 'Government of the Republic of Poland in exile' had much more continuity with the pre-war Polish government and functioned much more like a government than the entity set up by General de Gaulle.

What I did not know is that the Polish government-in-exile continued in existence in London until 1990, with an unbroken succession of presidents and prime ministers-in-exile going back to 1939. And according to wikipedia, until the end, it maintained regular cabinet meetings every two weeks at its headquarters in London.

The last president was Ryszard Kaczorowski, born in 1919. In 1990, under his leadership, the government-in-exile dissolved itself and handed over various insignia and symbols of government (in addition to some pre-war government archives) to the new post-Communist government under President Lech Walesa. Relatedly, the new Polish government recognized the legitimacy of the London-based government. So that among other things Kaczorowski received a state pension like any other former president.

Kaczorowski, now 90 years old, was one of the 96 killed in the jet crash near Smolensk.

As always, check out TPM for this and other great news.

11 April 2010

Democratic Party Soul

Ryan Grim and Arthur Delaney of The Huffington Post have written a great article on the search for the soul of Democratic Party and the power struggle for control of its destiny.

8 April 2010

DINKs Again!

My wife and I are DINKs again.  That this is the case is because I'm finally upholding my end of things, having found a job.  This was a 16-month search for work, one that was almost-always frustrating and sometimes soul-bending.  It was also confusing and a learning experience.

After going through my search, I have great empathy for those in a similar plight.  In this economy, the odds are stacked against you and everything reminds you of this time and time again.  I had three things in my favor, three things that kept me sane.

• I had the steadfast support of family and friends, anchored by my ever-loving, always-understanding wife.  I cannot begin to tell you what a salve this support is to a weary soul, one suffering from the thousand little cuts that constantly hearing "no" inflicts.  Thank you.
• I had planned for this experience financially.  While I hadn't expected my joblessness to last as long as it did, my foresight allowed me to sleep at night in a way that I know many others cannot.  Years of financial planning and prudent stewardship kept my wife and I safe and whole in terms of our finances.  Combine this planning with our normal, low-key way of living and our time of hardship was mostly anything-but.  I thank my parents for instilling this discipline in me.
• Finally, I was able to remain objective about my circumstances.  I knew the statistics that the media trumpeted day-after-day and, while they were certainly daunting at times, I understood that this was a mountain that I was facing.  More importantly, I understood that it was a mountain not of my own making.  This knowledge allowed me to never hear "no" as an indictment of who and what I am.  And I can tell you, the tug of human nature is for... no, no, no, No, No, No, NO, NO, NO!... to do just that.  What doesn't kill me makes me stronger.  It really is true in a job hunt.

I start work on Monday and I'm looking forward to it.  I have hope that the job will prove interesting and I believe the company to be a good one, both in product and in corporate citizenship.  We shall see.  Regardless, I will be financially productive again through work.  That is most welcome.

8 April 2010