Yesterday I saw my doppelganger at a local Omaha restaurant.
Except that it was a red-haired, 5'4" woman.
But still, her face shape was the same.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
What I've Learned (Or Think I've Learned)
Esquire magazine has a feature entitled "What I've Learned". In a bit of an homage, I offer my own "What I've Learned".
-Corporations are registered in Delaware; Ships are registered in Liberia.... Because the legal 'decks are stacked' in their favor. Class- action lawsuits used to be moved to the Deep South for trials until tort reform.
-The US version of capitalism, casino capitalism (A Yunus term) will go the same way as communism.
-There isn't a liberal mainstream media in the US. If you want liberal media covering the US, watch Aljazeera or a read a European paper about US policy.
-Chances are Indonesia is the most populous country you/I don't know anything about (4th most populous in the world according to Wikipedia).
-Mass murder is still taking place, not only in Darfur but also in The Congo. Estimates range from 3 Million to 5.4 Million dead since 1998 in The Congo alone.
-The US government needs to just tell young people they are 1) going to pay more taxes AND 2) get less. People are broke, government is broke. It is ironic that the West (generally rich) borrowed from the East (generally poor) to fund their consumption- entitlements, electronics, and oil.
-Nothing will improve until the culture improves first.
-Politics needs more technocrats. Just make the trains run on time, automate, promote an even playing field, and do more with less.
-Baseball will go the way of the dodo when Baby Boomers die.
-Clean Drinking Water is the most valuable natural resource, more than gold, more than platinum.
-I see two futures- one with cheap energy where the world is run by robots and there is massive unemployment or one where energy is almost non-existent and everyone is a subsistence farmer. :-)
-The entire system is stacked against the poor; from lending practices, credit access, advertising and marketing, nutritional offerings, war casualties, wage pressures, etc.
-The military and pornography drive the leading edge of many technologies. Makes you wonder whether everyone should be Luddites.
-There is an anti-intellectualism in the US now, symptomatic in Jay Leno's Jaywalking. Don't get me wrong, I laugh, but I also cry on the inside.
-The US exhibits signs of malignant narcissism. *Reference how quickly, when criticizing the US, someone says 1) "We saved your ass in two world wars", 2) America is the best, most selfless nation that has ever been conceived, and 3) if you don't like it, why don't you leave?.
-The world is moving away from monologue to dialogue- in church settings, media, politics, etc.
-In heaven, we will learn more about the "Butterfly effect" and how all our small decisions/sins cause chain events that lead to the huge structures of sin/oppression we live in.
-We (The West) export our sin's consequences and make others pay for it. In economic terms there are externalities in the economic order where we can enjoy our sin and make others suffer the effects (think global warming, sex trafficking, gluttony and starvation).
-"The system", political and economic, is designed not to be consistent, fair, or logical, but to protect industries and interests.
-Christians try to give meaning to otherwise senseless events. i.e. God gave me that parking space, God meant to take him/her early, etc.
-People are scrappy. In the midst of the recession, so many of my friends picked up contract work, part-time work, and temporary work. I'm impressed with their pluck.
-Some of the best parts of life are the smells of flowers like Lilacs, the beauty of flowers like Peonies, and listening to classical and choral music.
-When you lose your grandparents, some of your biggest irrational cheerleaders are gone.
-The Mission makes men cry like women cry at Beaches (hypothetical because I have not seen Beaches nor seen women cry during it; substitute Steel Magnolias, Titanic, etc. where appropriate).
-Corporations are registered in Delaware; Ships are registered in Liberia.... Because the legal 'decks are stacked' in their favor. Class- action lawsuits used to be moved to the Deep South for trials until tort reform.
-The US version of capitalism, casino capitalism (A Yunus term) will go the same way as communism.
-There isn't a liberal mainstream media in the US. If you want liberal media covering the US, watch Aljazeera or a read a European paper about US policy.
-Chances are Indonesia is the most populous country you/I don't know anything about (4th most populous in the world according to Wikipedia).
-Mass murder is still taking place, not only in Darfur but also in The Congo. Estimates range from 3 Million to 5.4 Million dead since 1998 in The Congo alone.
-The US government needs to just tell young people they are 1) going to pay more taxes AND 2) get less. People are broke, government is broke. It is ironic that the West (generally rich) borrowed from the East (generally poor) to fund their consumption- entitlements, electronics, and oil.
-Nothing will improve until the culture improves first.
-Politics needs more technocrats. Just make the trains run on time, automate, promote an even playing field, and do more with less.
-Baseball will go the way of the dodo when Baby Boomers die.
-Clean Drinking Water is the most valuable natural resource, more than gold, more than platinum.
-I see two futures- one with cheap energy where the world is run by robots and there is massive unemployment or one where energy is almost non-existent and everyone is a subsistence farmer. :-)
-The entire system is stacked against the poor; from lending practices, credit access, advertising and marketing, nutritional offerings, war casualties, wage pressures, etc.
-The military and pornography drive the leading edge of many technologies. Makes you wonder whether everyone should be Luddites.
-There is an anti-intellectualism in the US now, symptomatic in Jay Leno's Jaywalking. Don't get me wrong, I laugh, but I also cry on the inside.
-The US exhibits signs of malignant narcissism. *Reference how quickly, when criticizing the US, someone says 1) "We saved your ass in two world wars", 2) America is the best, most selfless nation that has ever been conceived, and 3) if you don't like it, why don't you leave?.
-The world is moving away from monologue to dialogue- in church settings, media, politics, etc.
-In heaven, we will learn more about the "Butterfly effect" and how all our small decisions/sins cause chain events that lead to the huge structures of sin/oppression we live in.
-We (The West) export our sin's consequences and make others pay for it. In economic terms there are externalities in the economic order where we can enjoy our sin and make others suffer the effects (think global warming, sex trafficking, gluttony and starvation).
-"The system", political and economic, is designed not to be consistent, fair, or logical, but to protect industries and interests.
-Christians try to give meaning to otherwise senseless events. i.e. God gave me that parking space, God meant to take him/her early, etc.
-People are scrappy. In the midst of the recession, so many of my friends picked up contract work, part-time work, and temporary work. I'm impressed with their pluck.
-Some of the best parts of life are the smells of flowers like Lilacs, the beauty of flowers like Peonies, and listening to classical and choral music.
-When you lose your grandparents, some of your biggest irrational cheerleaders are gone.
-The Mission makes men cry like women cry at Beaches (hypothetical because I have not seen Beaches nor seen women cry during it; substitute Steel Magnolias, Titanic, etc. where appropriate).
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