I'm late to the party that is Nellie McKay, but after hearing this song on A Prairie Home Companion yesterday, I invited myself in, parked my ass on the couch in the corner and don't plan on leaving anytime soon.
What is the What is a novelized account of Deng's life beginning with his early childhood in Southern Sudan, to his displacement as a Lost Boy, to his resettlement in the United States.
The story is a powerful one. Often horrible, sometimes funny, and always compelling. Knowing that the story was true sometimes left me in disbelief that some of the tragedies within its pages can happen in this world, and continue to happen.
Eggers is without a doubt a talented writer. The source material here only ramps up his talent.
"I cannot recall the last time I was this moved by a novel. What Is the What is that rare book that truly deserves the overused and scarcely warranted moniker of 'sprawling epic.' Told with humor, humanity, and bottomless compassion for his subject, one Valentino Achak Deng, Eggers shows us the hardships, disillusions, and hopes of the long-suffering people of southern Sudan. This is the story of one boy's astonishing capacity to endure atrocity after atrocity, and yet refuse to abandon decency, kindness, and hope for home and acceptance. It is impossible to read this book and not be humbled, enlightened, transformed. I believe I will never forget Valentino Achak Deng."
The news today is that an economic stimulus package designed by the House and approved the White House* will include tax rebates aimed at the poorest Americans. The reason for making sure that poor families receive these rebates is poor families are more likely to spend the money, putting it back into the economy in an effort to stave off recession. In an era where the American savings rate is near Depression-era levels, discouraging savings, especially among the poor, makes no sense to me.
This stimulant package reminds me of states' use of lottery games to fill their coffers. Lotteries are often called a tax on the poor, because the most common players of the game are those living below median income. The stimulant package reeks of the same ideas.
Giving them a tax rebate, because it will be likely be spent instead of saved is another method by which America's poor are forced to stay in their current conditions.
*The bill is unlikely to make it through the Senate in it's current state.
"Six months ago it was Iraq around the clock. Now it's all about the economy stupid"
Looks like I'm not alone in thinking that the looming (already here?) economy crisis has surpassed the Iraq war as the issue for the '08 Campaign.
The global origins of our current mess were actually laid out by none other than Ben Bernanke, in an influential speech he gave early in 2005, before he was named chairman of the Federal Reserve. Mr. Bernanke asked a good question: “Why is the United States, with the world’s largest economy, borrowing heavily on international capital markets — rather than lending, as would seem more natural?” -- Paul Krugman, New York Times, January 18, 2007.
I keep bringing this up because I think the current condition of America's economy is worse than anyone is willing to let on. I work for a large super-regional bank, and none of the stuff coming down from on high for 2008 indicates a problem. Trusting CEO's to speak the truth has never been a wise move though.
More smart analysis from Jon Tapin's blog.
An honest politician would tell the country the truth. The era of cheap oil, easy credit and spending more than you earn is over. America cannot exist with 70% of its economy based on consumers spending at the mall. We will actually have to rebuild our manufacturing base and that means we will have to rebuild our infrastructure. We can no longer be 16th in the world in Broadband Diffusion, 26th in the world in 12th grade science scores and pay our teachers like they were flipping hamburgers. This transition is going to be painful as people pay off their credit cards, reduce their silly spending for things they don’t need and become more resistant to the 5000 commercial messages a day they are bombarded with. I am reminded of John Kenneth Galbraith’s book, The Affluent Society
. Galbraith’s assertion that the perfection of modern advertising in creating desire for products we didn’t know we needed puts the modern American member of the middle class in the position of the gerbil on the tread wheel: running faster and faster, but making no progress in relation to his neighbors.
I'm glad I'm debt free with savings in the bank, but I wish I could convince more friends and family to do the same. The problems we're facing aren't going away. The stimulus package being batted around on The Hill is a stop-gap measure at best. This is the new America, folks.
As the primary and caucus season rolls on, I continue to evaluate the candidates. I'm no fool to believe that the next president will see every plank in their current platform come to fruition, so I'm trying to determine what my issue is. What the issue will be when I step into the booth in November, and who'll be the best candidate for advancing that issue.
Kentucky's primary date is so late in the year, that the each party's candidate we'll be more than likely already be cemented in place. For the time being I'm reading as much as I can about the major candidates from both parties. My gut reaction to the last eight years is to say I'll vote Democratic no matter the candidate, and while the Blue team seem largely a more sane group than the Red team, I'm trying to keep an open mind.
I can say that as sad as it may seem, the war is not a top issue for me anymore. What upsets me about the war are the lies and manipulations that took place leading up to the war. The key players in those tactics will vanish with the inauguration of whoever wins the election, hopefully. The Republican candidates mostly argue that we stay the course while the Democratic candidates each have slightly differing plans for withdrawal from Iraq. I could go either way, and would like to believe that whoever is eventually in charge of that decision will listen closely to expert voices before acting.
Many of the issues I feel strongly about are based on two sources: The Millennium Development Goals and the issues of poverty, politics, drugs and education that David Simon has chosen to address in his television show The Wire. These may seem like vastly different sources but are actually quite similar.
The Millennium Development Goals are:
- Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty
- Achieve universal primary education
- Promote Gender equality and empower women
- Reduce child mortality
- Improve maternal health
- Combat AIDS/HIV, malaria and other diseases
- Ensure environmental sustainability
- Develop a global partnership for development
In order to make an informed decision in November I'm constantly seeking evidence of the candidates' stance on these issues.
