Round Up

The news out of New Orleans seems to get worse and worse. The city is under water and it seems as if things will get worse before they get better. Morale is very low, looting is ramped, and the clean up will take weeks, if not months. I’m sure 1,000, or even 400, years ago or so, we would just abandon the city and move on to another location. I’m sure though that we will clean up the mess, get rid of all the water, and hopefully build a bigger and better levy for next time, because there will be a next time. I encourage everyone also to look at the pictures on the NYTimes web site, they are extremely humbling. And once again, my thoughts and prayers go out to those in the devastated areas.

The bad news just keeps piling up. This story will probably be, some what understandably, underreported here in the US, but at least 600 have died in Iraq.

Is the economy getting stronger? The figures lead you to believe that it is a bit better, but that would be the wrong assumption. If anything the rich are getting richer. Take these figures, last year the economy added 2.2 million jobs, but 1 million people fell into poverty. I’d hardly say that the economy is getting stronger, if anything it’s not working. (Also, why do we say “the economy added” and things like that? The economy isn’t a thing, it’s a huge mix of different things. The economy can’t actually do anything, no matter what any economist will tell you. The economy is a bunch of things put together... it isn’t a ‘being’ or ‘thing’.)

And a fun story about the newest Brazilian wonder kid, the 21 year old Robinho who now plays for Real Madrid. His first game was one of wonder... depending on what Spanish press you read. And why read about him? Well it might be some fun cocktail party discussion or joking. As I’m sure we are starting to figure out here, VFLOAB is all about cocktail party fodder.