Veteran's Day marks the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I - the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918 - 90 years ago today.
World War I was supposed to be the war to end all wars.
Whenever the United States has a political race [like the one we just went through], any contenders who have been in the armed services - especially those having war experience - bring it up.
Can you imagine a time when we had peace for so long that there were no politicians with wartime experience? Would that be good or bad?
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Other people have tried to imagine this:
"More than an end to war, we want an end to the beginning of all wars - yes, an end to this brutal, inhuman and thoroughly impractical method of settling the differences between governments." - President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945)
"I have seen enough of one war never to wish to see another." - Thomas Jefferson
"It is well that war is so terrible - otherwise we would grow too fond of it." - Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
DJIA = Zero?
Watching the American stock market drift further and further down brings up and interesting question: What happens if a major market indicator - for example the Dow Jones Industrial Average - drops down to zero?
Would that mean that buyers would offer to take stock for free? That owners/sellers would offer to give away stock they own for free? That the companies in the index would now be worth nothing?
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We recently purchased a food stock that had dropped sufficiently low to get our attention; we had been following it for a long time and people have to eat. But why are the sellers selling? The company is still a good one. Some market pundits have suggested that sellers are panicking. The only reason I can come up with is the sellers owe money - such as a mortgage payment - and have to sell stock to pay their bills
Would that mean that buyers would offer to take stock for free? That owners/sellers would offer to give away stock they own for free? That the companies in the index would now be worth nothing?
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We recently purchased a food stock that had dropped sufficiently low to get our attention; we had been following it for a long time and people have to eat. But why are the sellers selling? The company is still a good one. Some market pundits have suggested that sellers are panicking. The only reason I can come up with is the sellers owe money - such as a mortgage payment - and have to sell stock to pay their bills
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Extra! Extra!
A newspaper anomaly sprang up again this week when Senator Barack Obama won the presidential race. People all over the world snatched up all the major newspapers they could find with headlines declaring Obama's victory.
A line of people looking for Wednesday's New York Times formed around their building. The NYTs printed more copies. Within hours the election edition appeared on eBay with a $200 price.
Why, when newspaper publishers across the United States are downsizing or even closing due to the lack of readers, does the public demand a solid print copy of the news when there is a major headline?
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"Were it left to me to decide whether we should have government without newspapers, or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." - Thomas Jefferson, 1787
“Newspapers cannot be defined by the second word -- paper. They’ve got to be defined by the first word -- news.” - New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberg, Jr.
“Here is the living disproof of the old adage that nothing is as dead as yesterday’s newspaper...This is what really happened, reported by a free press to a free people. It is the raw material of history; it is the story of our own times.” - Henry Steel Commager, historian, 1951
Quotes located at www.wan-press.org - The World Association of Newspapers
A line of people looking for Wednesday's New York Times formed around their building. The NYTs printed more copies. Within hours the election edition appeared on eBay with a $200 price.
Why, when newspaper publishers across the United States are downsizing or even closing due to the lack of readers, does the public demand a solid print copy of the news when there is a major headline?
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"Were it left to me to decide whether we should have government without newspapers, or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." - Thomas Jefferson, 1787
“Newspapers cannot be defined by the second word -- paper. They’ve got to be defined by the first word -- news.” - New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberg, Jr.
“Here is the living disproof of the old adage that nothing is as dead as yesterday’s newspaper...This is what really happened, reported by a free press to a free people. It is the raw material of history; it is the story of our own times.” - Henry Steel Commager, historian, 1951
Quotes located at www.wan-press.org - The World Association of Newspapers
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Baby's Friend in Washington?
Now that Barack Obama has won the White House, his family is ready to look for a family dog, but they haven’t decided on a breed.
It just so happens that last week I finished a book borrowed from the library, A Rare Breed of Love by Jana Kohl, a book about her dog Baby who was a rescue from a puppy mill.
Since adopting Baby, Kohl has made it her mission to enact legislation that would control puppy mills. As part of that undertaking, Kohl and her little three-legged survivor have traveled around the United States meeting with legislators, asking for their support. The book has many pictures of Baby posing with politicians, judges, actors, and anyone else who might help.
And…one of those posing with Baby is Senator Barack Obama.
I hope that he remembers the few minutes he took to meet with this little dog when his family is choosing their companion.
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“If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.” – attributed to Harry Truman (1884-1972)
“I love a dog. He does nothing for political reasons.” – Will Rogers (1879-1935)
It just so happens that last week I finished a book borrowed from the library, A Rare Breed of Love by Jana Kohl, a book about her dog Baby who was a rescue from a puppy mill.
Since adopting Baby, Kohl has made it her mission to enact legislation that would control puppy mills. As part of that undertaking, Kohl and her little three-legged survivor have traveled around the United States meeting with legislators, asking for their support. The book has many pictures of Baby posing with politicians, judges, actors, and anyone else who might help.
And…one of those posing with Baby is Senator Barack Obama.
I hope that he remembers the few minutes he took to meet with this little dog when his family is choosing their companion.
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“If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.” – attributed to Harry Truman (1884-1972)
“I love a dog. He does nothing for political reasons.” – Will Rogers (1879-1935)
Friday, November 7, 2008
Improved MPG - Guaranteed
I have come up with a sure-fire way for many Hillsborough residents to save money and to increase the miles-per-gallon they get with their current vehicles.
There is a local habit that I have observed repeatedly. Homeowners arrive home, stop at the end of their usually 40-foot driveways, get out of their still-running cars, retrieve the mail from their roadside mailboxes, get back into the still-running cars, sift through the mail while sitting in their still- running cars, and put the car in gear and drive the remaining 25 or 35 feet to their garage where they finally turn off the car.
Now, my radical idea is to drive up the entire length of the driveway. Yes, I am talking about the entire 40 feet. Maybe even into the garage. Then park the car and turn it off. Walk back the entire length of the driveway to the mailbox, get the mail, and walk the entire length of the driveway back to the house.
Voila! Gas saved! Plus the health benefits of the walk up-and-down the driveway and less exhaust fumes.
And if your driveway is longer, even more health benefits and less exhaust fumes.
There is a local habit that I have observed repeatedly. Homeowners arrive home, stop at the end of their usually 40-foot driveways, get out of their still-running cars, retrieve the mail from their roadside mailboxes, get back into the still-running cars, sift through the mail while sitting in their still- running cars, and put the car in gear and drive the remaining 25 or 35 feet to their garage where they finally turn off the car.
Now, my radical idea is to drive up the entire length of the driveway. Yes, I am talking about the entire 40 feet. Maybe even into the garage. Then park the car and turn it off. Walk back the entire length of the driveway to the mailbox, get the mail, and walk the entire length of the driveway back to the house.
Voila! Gas saved! Plus the health benefits of the walk up-and-down the driveway and less exhaust fumes.
And if your driveway is longer, even more health benefits and less exhaust fumes.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
The "Just Say No" Mortgage
Everyone is acting as though the mortgage mess is something new, something recent, but I personally know that it was decades in the making.
About 20 years ago, when we were house-hunting, we had a pair of mortgage brokers come to our home to review all our finances and assist us with our mortgage application.
We sat down at the dining room table covered with our bills, savings passbooks, checkbooks, income statements, and any other thing that a company offering to lend us mortgage money might like to see.
They opened their attaché cases and pulled out stacks of forms and a pair of calculators. After about an hour they came up with their recommendation.
They proposed that we go for a “no doc” [no documentation for those of you who haven’t been through this agony] loan, tell the mortgage company that we earned $94,000 annually, and – swish –there was an easy loan.
We weren’t happy.
First, they were asking us to lie about our income on forms that were ultimately legal papers; with a “no doc” the mortgage company wouldn’t see our income. If our lies were discovered the mortgage company could call the loan, that is, they could declare that the entire loan amount was due immediately.
Second, there was no reason to lie. We were putting about 60% down on the house and had more than enough income to justify the mortgage we needed.
Third, a “no doc” loan had an interest rate ¼% higher than a documented one. One little thing they neglected to mention.
And one other consideration: did we want to do business with brokers who were proposing – nay, recommending - that we lie?
We “just said no”, sent them on their way, and had no problem getting a mortgage at a good rate which was paid off long ago.
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mortgage: Word History:
"The great jurist Sir Edward Coke, who lived from 1552 to 1634, has explained why the term mortgage comes from the Old French words mort, “dead,” and gage, “pledge.” It seemed to him that it had to do with the doubtfulness of whether or not the mortgagor will pay the debt." - American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000).
About 20 years ago, when we were house-hunting, we had a pair of mortgage brokers come to our home to review all our finances and assist us with our mortgage application.
We sat down at the dining room table covered with our bills, savings passbooks, checkbooks, income statements, and any other thing that a company offering to lend us mortgage money might like to see.
They opened their attaché cases and pulled out stacks of forms and a pair of calculators. After about an hour they came up with their recommendation.
They proposed that we go for a “no doc” [no documentation for those of you who haven’t been through this agony] loan, tell the mortgage company that we earned $94,000 annually, and – swish –there was an easy loan.
We weren’t happy.
First, they were asking us to lie about our income on forms that were ultimately legal papers; with a “no doc” the mortgage company wouldn’t see our income. If our lies were discovered the mortgage company could call the loan, that is, they could declare that the entire loan amount was due immediately.
Second, there was no reason to lie. We were putting about 60% down on the house and had more than enough income to justify the mortgage we needed.
Third, a “no doc” loan had an interest rate ¼% higher than a documented one. One little thing they neglected to mention.
And one other consideration: did we want to do business with brokers who were proposing – nay, recommending - that we lie?
We “just said no”, sent them on their way, and had no problem getting a mortgage at a good rate which was paid off long ago.
##
mortgage: Word History:
"The great jurist Sir Edward Coke, who lived from 1552 to 1634, has explained why the term mortgage comes from the Old French words mort, “dead,” and gage, “pledge.” It seemed to him that it had to do with the doubtfulness of whether or not the mortgagor will pay the debt." - American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000).
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Congrats
Congratulations to President-elect Barack Obama.
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For the last few months I was afraid for America as I watched the McCain-Palin ticket open the Pandora's Box that released racism, religious prejudice, taunts and cutting comments about education, condemnation of the importance of a free press in a democracy, and the idea that anyone who didn't support the Republican ticket was anti-American.
Despite Senator McCain's gracious concession speech last night, trying to stuff these hateful, divisive, and un-American opinions back into the box is not easily done. All you have to do is read today's nasty and negative comments about Obama's win and consider the mindset of those who are so bent on wishing him ill that they hope that their own United States will not prosper under his administration.
Good luck to President-elect Obama and the United States of America.
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One of my earliest memories of Presidential politics involves what was supposed to be be a scary comment about Catholic candidate John F. Kennedy in (I think) 1960: If Kennedy won the Pope would run America. Today I mentioned that memory to someone who is Catholic and she nodded; she could remember believing that a Catholic would never be president.
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For the last few months I was afraid for America as I watched the McCain-Palin ticket open the Pandora's Box that released racism, religious prejudice, taunts and cutting comments about education, condemnation of the importance of a free press in a democracy, and the idea that anyone who didn't support the Republican ticket was anti-American.
Despite Senator McCain's gracious concession speech last night, trying to stuff these hateful, divisive, and un-American opinions back into the box is not easily done. All you have to do is read today's nasty and negative comments about Obama's win and consider the mindset of those who are so bent on wishing him ill that they hope that their own United States will not prosper under his administration.
Good luck to President-elect Obama and the United States of America.
##
One of my earliest memories of Presidential politics involves what was supposed to be be a scary comment about Catholic candidate John F. Kennedy in (I think) 1960: If Kennedy won the Pope would run America. Today I mentioned that memory to someone who is Catholic and she nodded; she could remember believing that a Catholic would never be president.
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