Congress debates the morbid future of the American auto industry. Obama confers with McCain. Economic ministers from the G-20 meeting try to translate conflicting theories. The Packers slaughter the Bears.
Oh, what a world of misery and mystery. But isn't it interesting? So much to review and analyze, towards better understanding of the past and present to prepare for future changes.
And the times they are a ch-ch-ch-changing. Who would have thought just a month ago that conservative Corgi dog George Will would be upbraided on national television by a NY Times columnist? OK, the columnist just won the Nobel Prize in Economics. But it's still fun to watch Will drum his fingers:
YouTube - Krugman schools Will
It's good to get one's facts straight if one is to progress. Towards this end, I can heartily recommend The Washington Note for regular reading. It's a blog hosted by foreign policy wonk Steve Clemons, a former staffer for Republican apostate Senator Chuck Hagel (that must make him center-center). You can depend on terrific reviews, opinions, interviews, and videoconferences. In the latest piece, Steve includes an abridged interview by Bill Moyers with the great Andrew Bacevich.
Bacevich is a thinker's thinker and more than a bit of an iconoclast:
Andrew Bacevich - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
He's bipartisan in his denunciations of foreign policy mishaps, military bloat and our culture's spectacle. His glum view of Bush's Iraq War preceded the death of his son there. The coming Great Transformation will take a lot of understanding and getting used to; having Bacevich help interpret it all is somewhat comforting. Take a few minutes to soak in his thoughts:
Andrew Bacevich Comments on Self-Damaging Wars, the Absence of Strategy, and Dangerous Leadership - The Washington Note
Well, we need to clear our heads a bit after that slough of sobering sophistry. So here's Billy Eckstine and his band, performing his 1946 hit, Lonesome Lover Blues. Eckstine was notable for his mellow baritone voice, his use of the valve trombone and leading a crack band of outstanding musicians, including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Frank Wess, Fats Navarro and more. Two minutes of sublimity:
YouTube - Billy Eckstine Sings Lonesome Lover Blues
Wow.
And now for our Quote of the Day:
“Unsustainable situations usually go on longer than most economists think possible. But they always end, and when they do, it's often painful.” -- Professor Paul Krugman
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