InsideCatholic columnist and friend Al Lagan of CAMC sent me a few observations about our current budget situation. I thought I’d share them here: Government deficit spending has accelerated dramatically in recent years. Both fiscal and monetary policy have used access to the debt markets as the main engine of efforts to revive economic growth. … Read more
No, I’m not a musician doing an accoustic set. Instead I’m a guy who has had to do some serious budget downsizing, which included dropping my cell phone when the contract ended. I’ve been without it for almost two weeks now, and I still have phantom phone syndrome. I’m not just a cell phone user, … Read more
Imagine Jeffery Immelt, Steve Jobs, or Richard Branson issuing an edict that asks their legion of employees to submit ideas for cost cutting. Let’s say they receive thousands of suggestions and then open the suggestions to their peers for voting. Then the creator of the winning idea gets a photo-op with the CEO. And yet, … Read more
In the “laughing to keep from crying” category, today’s xkcd comic takes a tongue-in-cheek look at ways we might find for making the oil spill more exciting. Only it’s not as “tongue-in-cheek” as one might expect (or want): The Gulf is drowning in oil; a “titanic” solution is needed. Enter director James Cameron. As the government … Read more
The Jesuit CEO of UCA News says that the Catholic understanding of transbustantiation is no longer tenable in our “post-Newtonian world of quantum physics.” Physicist Stephen Barr begs to differ: [O]ne can explain the doctrine of transubstantiation and distinguish it from other beliefs about the Eucharist without any use of the Aristotelian apparatus. I don’t … Read more
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is becoming quite a political star, and for good reason: He’s facing down a terrible state financial crisis and he’s doing it with courage and principle. Happily, some in the mainstream press are noticing: Christie is tackling the nation’s worst state deficit — $10.7 billion of a $29.3 billion budget. … Read more
Slate.com’s Timothy Noah offers a fascinating piece on why they think Pelosi will have a very hard time getting enough votes to pass the Senate version of the health care bill. However, in the process, Noah trots out a claim I can’t reconcile with reality: Why not resolve the dispute by putting the Stupak amendment … Read more
Sad news for those in journalism and publishing: Abandoning some of the best known names in trade publishing, the Nielsen Company said Thursday that it would shut down Editor & Publisher and Kirkus Reviews, and sell a stable of other publications, including Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter, to a newly formed media company…. For generations, … Read more