Tuesday, January 02, 2007
A New Year - New Musings
It's 2007, and we have a new WSJ format. It's narrower, but fortunately, still mostly familiar, though it may take a period of adjustment. On the whole, I found it acceptable, and certainly easier to handle on the train, which should make me considerably less undesireable as a seat neighbor. So I will not be switching to the Times, of that you can be 100% sure.
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The world has survived the elimination of Saddam, and the violence in Iraq continues unabated but also no worse. Once his government fell, I always assumed that Saddam became a red herring, his capture, trial and execution being mainly window dressing. Of course, it's a good thing for the world that he has paid for his crimes, though those opposing capital punishment quite understandably take the position that lifelong incarceration in Iraq is punishment enough for anything. What we have now, of course is continuing Sunni-Shiite conflict, with the Kurds being mainly fortunate, non-involved bystanders. In power, Saddam successfully avoided this conflict in the only way possible for the minority Sunni's - by repressing and torturing everyone else. Since the majority is now in command, those tactics should not be necessary, except that the Sunni's refuse to accept their minority fate, and the Shiites hate them anyway. So this continues to be a situation without easy solution, and the imminent surge in our troop strength doesn't really get at the problem, I'm afraid. For a possible way out, consult my earlier post concerning Steve Forbes' suggestions, also championed by Hillary Clinton, of all people.
With respect to Saddam, my guess is, as General Patton would have said, he has been consigned to the Nether Regions.
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President Ford was buried today, and if they exist, surely he has arrived at the Pearly Gates by now. No one would confuse him with being the most brilliant of Presidents, though his press is certainly better now than it was when he was in charge. Even his decision to pardon Richard Nixon, then much derided, is now seen as being his best moment by the media, blessed with the perspective of history. The "Whip Inflation Now" campaign also made him seem a bit light at the time, an image played up on Saturday Night Live by the overrated Chevy Chase, and of course by the liberal media. Funny how the media hates active Republicans but reveres them in death (Goldwater, Reagan, Ford).
My lasting memory of Ford was of his first TV speech as President, right after Nixon left town. It was like a breath of fresh air came over the country, to hear a man who would do his best (however limited), honestly and without rancor.
The other thing many forget was how close he actually came to being re-elected, despite Jimmy Carter's 30 point lead coming out of the conventions. That was an incredible achievement - one would have thought that the party of a resigned President would have had no chance at all.
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Tonight's top ten list of esoterica: Favorite singers (Female)
1. Sarah Vaughn - The Divine One
2. Billy Holiday - Legendary Stylist and Musica Genius
3. Ella Fitzgerald - First Lady of Song
4. Aretha Franklin - First Lady of Soul
5. Julie Andrews - The original Eliza Doolittle; Mary Poppins and Maria in the movies
6. Janis Joplin - Blues Charisma
7. Diana Ross - Forget Dreamgirls - She was the Diva of Motown
8. Natalie Cole - Inherited Dad's talent
9. Patsy Cline - Queen of Country
10.Judy Garland - Talent and charisma
Honorable Mention: Edie Gorme, Helen Merrill, Martha Reeves, Linda Ronstadt, Keely Smith, Dione Warwick, Dinah Washington, Mary Wells
Dishonorable Mention: Ethel Merman, Barbra Streisand
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Last night's Boise State OT win over Oklahoma had to be the most entertaining college football game I have ever seen. There may have been better played games, but never one that was more fun to watch.
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On 12/26, I bought 100 shares of ADM for the taxable account at 31.25. On 12/28, I closed out the year selling 400 more shares of CNRD out of the taxable account for 6.20 (originally paid 1.95 in October of 2004).
Time for the periodic disclaimer: Investment transactions and comments appear in the blog merely for the electronic record and the interest of whatever casual readers should stumble upon them. Neither redwavemusings nor its author are brokers, broker-dealers, or investment advisors. Securities and trades mentioned here may not be suitable for anyone else (or even for me).
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The world has survived the elimination of Saddam, and the violence in Iraq continues unabated but also no worse. Once his government fell, I always assumed that Saddam became a red herring, his capture, trial and execution being mainly window dressing. Of course, it's a good thing for the world that he has paid for his crimes, though those opposing capital punishment quite understandably take the position that lifelong incarceration in Iraq is punishment enough for anything. What we have now, of course is continuing Sunni-Shiite conflict, with the Kurds being mainly fortunate, non-involved bystanders. In power, Saddam successfully avoided this conflict in the only way possible for the minority Sunni's - by repressing and torturing everyone else. Since the majority is now in command, those tactics should not be necessary, except that the Sunni's refuse to accept their minority fate, and the Shiites hate them anyway. So this continues to be a situation without easy solution, and the imminent surge in our troop strength doesn't really get at the problem, I'm afraid. For a possible way out, consult my earlier post concerning Steve Forbes' suggestions, also championed by Hillary Clinton, of all people.
With respect to Saddam, my guess is, as General Patton would have said, he has been consigned to the Nether Regions.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
President Ford was buried today, and if they exist, surely he has arrived at the Pearly Gates by now. No one would confuse him with being the most brilliant of Presidents, though his press is certainly better now than it was when he was in charge. Even his decision to pardon Richard Nixon, then much derided, is now seen as being his best moment by the media, blessed with the perspective of history. The "Whip Inflation Now" campaign also made him seem a bit light at the time, an image played up on Saturday Night Live by the overrated Chevy Chase, and of course by the liberal media. Funny how the media hates active Republicans but reveres them in death (Goldwater, Reagan, Ford).
My lasting memory of Ford was of his first TV speech as President, right after Nixon left town. It was like a breath of fresh air came over the country, to hear a man who would do his best (however limited), honestly and without rancor.
The other thing many forget was how close he actually came to being re-elected, despite Jimmy Carter's 30 point lead coming out of the conventions. That was an incredible achievement - one would have thought that the party of a resigned President would have had no chance at all.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tonight's top ten list of esoterica: Favorite singers (Female)
1. Sarah Vaughn - The Divine One
2. Billy Holiday - Legendary Stylist and Musica Genius
3. Ella Fitzgerald - First Lady of Song
4. Aretha Franklin - First Lady of Soul
5. Julie Andrews - The original Eliza Doolittle; Mary Poppins and Maria in the movies
6. Janis Joplin - Blues Charisma
7. Diana Ross - Forget Dreamgirls - She was the Diva of Motown
8. Natalie Cole - Inherited Dad's talent
9. Patsy Cline - Queen of Country
10.Judy Garland - Talent and charisma
Honorable Mention: Edie Gorme, Helen Merrill, Martha Reeves, Linda Ronstadt, Keely Smith, Dione Warwick, Dinah Washington, Mary Wells
Dishonorable Mention: Ethel Merman, Barbra Streisand
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last night's Boise State OT win over Oklahoma had to be the most entertaining college football game I have ever seen. There may have been better played games, but never one that was more fun to watch.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On 12/26, I bought 100 shares of ADM for the taxable account at 31.25. On 12/28, I closed out the year selling 400 more shares of CNRD out of the taxable account for 6.20 (originally paid 1.95 in October of 2004).
Time for the periodic disclaimer: Investment transactions and comments appear in the blog merely for the electronic record and the interest of whatever casual readers should stumble upon them. Neither redwavemusings nor its author are brokers, broker-dealers, or investment advisors. Securities and trades mentioned here may not be suitable for anyone else (or even for me).
