An Interesting Thought...

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims, may be the most oppressive. Those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. - C.S. Lewis, 1952

It Debases Us

It's been a while since I posted something . I definitely have wanted to.

Here is something to think about. This is what Cheney, Hayden, Mukasey, and the rest of their ilk did to us as an nation...and WE let them do it.

There is only one thing that we know about torture that works for certain: torture debases us. It doesn't just debase its victims or those who perpetrate it. It debases all of us in whose name it is conducted. It debases us to others in the world - who lose respect for our values and grow to hate our society. But just as importantly, it debases us to ourselves. It debases our self-respect and our respect for the institutions that make us civilized human beings.

The Banks Still Hold Us Hostage.

I was listening to NPR's Morining Edition on the way into work today, and they had a very telling and very scary piece from Adam Davidson and David Blumberg about a research paper from Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist for Deutsche Bank.

It's a one-page research note from an economist at Deutsche Bank, and it outlines in the clearest terms the kind of solution many bankers are looking for. The basic message: We should forget trying to get a good deal for taxpayers because even trying will hurt.

"Ultimately, the taxpayer will be on the hook one way or another, either through greatly diminished job prospects and/or significantly higher taxes down the line," the document says.

In other words, the paper says, if the government tries to save taxpayers money, many people will lose their jobs and the whole economy will suffer.

The research note offers a solution any banker would love: The government should "estimate the highest price it can pay for the various toxic assets on financial institution balance sheets," then pay that price to buy them.

"What??? You can't be serious?" I choked. I was not the only one to be incredulous.

Another economist, Simon Johnson, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management, wrote about this note on his blog.

"This is a robbery note!" Johnson says. "It's saying, 'Guys, either you'll have 20 percent unemployment or national debt will go up to these dangerous levels, unless you buy toxic assets — not for what they're worth, not for what the market price is, as much as you can pay.' "

Johnson says his "first reaction was: 'It's a spoof.' My second reaction was: 'Oh my God.' "

So that's what the banks are doing. They're waiting around for us to take EVERYTHING off their plate so they can go on their merry way collecting their multi-million dollar bonuses, their golden parachutes intact. We'll have to mortgage our asses our children's asses and grandchildren's asses in order to save theirs. They're going to get their wish though.

LaVorgna is finally coming out and saying something that every other bank and lots of government people have avoided saying. They've been suggesting there's some magical recipe with which the government bails out the banks, the banks do better and the taxpayers end up making money. Everyone wins. But the research note states outright what many economists have been warning: That probably can't happen. Someone is going to lose.

LaVorgna is saying he knows exactly who's going lose: you.

Click here to read the full article.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog - Trailer

Thanks to my good buddy Xabbott for tipping me off to this Comic Book, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Romantic Comedy , Classical Tragedy, Low Budget, Musical. It's absolutely hilarious, but really a quality piece of work.

Click here to watch Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog in it's entirety, courtesy of Hulu.
Written and directed by Joss Whedon, and starring Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, and Felicia Day.

Happy Birthday Clare!

Courtesy of John Denver.

I'm sorry it's a little late getting to you. I had to figure out ho to post it correctly.

I love you so much.

The Number Ten

In honor of Mine and Clare's Tenth Anniversary, here are a few interesting facts I've learned about the auspiciousness of the number.

The number ten is the start of a whole new order of numbers and the culmination of the numbers that come before it. Hebrew and Greek numerics will show that the letters were given values from one to ten, then increasing in tens to 100 then increasing by 100's and so on. For Pythagoras, 10 was the symbol of the universe and it also expressed the whole of human knowledge.

Numbering by tens is built in to our very anatomy, count up on your fingers and when they are all used, make a mark on a piece of paper and start from your first finger again. Soon you will have a number of marks, each representing 'two hands' worth. Thus in ancient times as in modern times ten is the start of a whole new order of numbers and the culmination of the numbers that come before it.

Wherever ten is found this completeness of order is also seen. Ten implies completeness of order, nothing lacking and nothing over. It signifies that the cycle is complete and that everything is in its proper order. Thus ten represents the perfection of divine order.

The meaning of number ten deals with returning to our center, coming full circle. Ten holds a vibration of unity, as well as fresh starts.

If the number One symbolizes the beginning (& it does), then we can say that the number Ten represents the outcome, result, or achievement of that first step or beginning.

The most profound message number Ten hails is “whatever we sew, we shall now reap.” In other words, “what comes around goes around. ”

Ten also represents fulfillment, attainment, and completion. These attributes are obtained by observing the Ten containing all the elementary numbers from 1 to 9. As such, Ten is a vessel holding all the jumbled up potential found in the language of numbers.

Ten is also a bit slippery because reduced - it turns back to number One - hence, again - a full circle, coming to the beginning - finding unity (all is one, one is all).

The number ten is regarded as the most perfect of numbers, because it contains the Unit that did it all, and the zero, symbol of the matter and the Chaos, of which all came out; it then includes in its figure the created and the non-created, the beginning and the end, the power and the force, the life and the nothing.

Clare, we're reached a universal milestone together, and I eagerly look forward to the next ten years with you and that next milestone as our marriage grows ten times stronger and ten times more wonderful (if that is even possible.)

Ten Years

If you asked Nat he would tell you that directions are not my strong point. It's not that I can't follow, or give decent directions, but I've lived in this city for 9 years, and I only know my way around half of it - the half I live in. Nat on the other hand knows this city like the back of his hand. He's got an inner compass like nobody I've ever met. Of course this is not surprising coming from someone who enjoys studying maps as much as he enjoys speciality beer. Anyone who knows Nat at all, knows that he appreciates three things more than anything; history, beer and cartography.

It makes Nat crazy that I don't know my way around. He says he worries for me. For my birthday I wanted a netbook, and he wanted to buy me a GPS navigator. It was then I realized that I never worry about getting lost. I never worry because Nat is always just a phone call away. It happens all the time. I get lost, I call him, and he gets me back on track. Who needs a GPS navigator?

How long have I taken this for granted?

Nat and I celebrated our 10th anniversary about a week ago. Ten years of marriage has taught me one thing for sure. It's taught me that I am the lucky one.

I adore you, Nat.