Yearly Archives: 2009

Archive of posts published in the specified Year

Delayed is not Denied

Oct. 17, 2009

Congressional supporters of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac accepted extraordinary moretgage risks in order to facilitate the American dream of home ownership. Did they succeed? With the drop in home values many American home owners saw their home equity drop

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Micah Halpern on Iran and Nukes

Oct. 15, 2009

The local federation hosted Micah Halpern this evening at the Cox Theatre.  He is an authority on Iran and their nuclear effort. A few random yet relevant points. There are 3,000 FBI agents. None of them have passed the test

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First Do No Harm

Oct. 15, 2009

Peter Linneman, Real estate Professor at the Wharton School wrote a thoughtful look at the aftermath of the real estate bust “The Storm is Over, the Wreckage Remains”  – read the entire article here. a few notable excerpts: Unfortunately, the

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An Ignorant Celebrity Culture

Oct. 11, 2009

In 1996 the late Marge Schott, owner of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team, was blasted for anti-Semitic remarks.  She said that Hitler started out OK  “but went too far”.  Commenting on the unimportance and excessive indignation the media gave this

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More Home Owners; Less Home ownership

Oct. 09, 2009

“Social engineering may aim to create stronger citizens, but it usually ends up producing weaker people.” Tim Cavanaugh in the October 2009 edition of Reason in an article entitled “The Ownership Society”. Tim explains how federal programs aiming to increase

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The Source of Anti Americanism in the Middle East

Oct. 08, 2009

“Of course the Palestinian problem does play some role in the Middle Eastern anti-Americanism. It does so in some places more than others, however- in Jordon, for example, with its very large Palestinian population, where the “street” is far more

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The Seeds of our Next Crisis

Oct. 06, 2009

One of the most intriguing concepts of economics is the concept of “moral hazard.”  It is a corollary to a more obvious principle that everything has a cost. An understanding of it is critical for those whose world view is

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Bailout Backlash

Oct. 05, 2009

It was easy to predict that the Cash for Clunkers would only drive up sales very temporarily as the expense of future sales.  Recent results have verified the sharp dropoff in auto sales when the program ended. It was also

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Four Phases of Bigotry

Oct. 03, 2009

“..a dislike can be based on seeing and then judging, but real anti-Semitism– and all other forms of genuine bigotry- is based on first judging and then seeing.” “If indeed, one is confronted with a case of bigotry, four phases

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A PSA for Over Paid Celebrities

Oct. 02, 2009
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A Sleeping Liquidity Monster

Oct. 02, 2009

There are a few indisputable changes in our economy. Credit is tightening. Generally this is good because  lending standards, whether to individuals to buy homes, or to real estate developers or other businesses, were way too lax.  Marginal businesses will

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Netanyahu and Churchill

Oct. 01, 2009

As Churchill advocated taking Hitler at his written and spoken word,  Benjamin Netanyahu insists that Muslim radicals must be taken at their word. Benjamin or ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu’s speech at the UN General Assembly contained a moral clarity that belies a

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Terrorism Requires a New Legal Framework

Sep. 27, 2009

The debate over the enhanced interrogation techniques is almost Orwellian.  It is torture? Of course it is.  So is listening to any number of talking head simplistic moralizers from either end of the spectrum.  It is torture and the difference

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New and Old Elites

Sep. 26, 2009

“In the modern capitalist world, in which the historical extremes of poverty have been widely overcome, the most acute moral issues relate to recognition of accomplishment and superiority- treatment not of the poor but of the excellent and gifted people

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Netanyahu at UN (part 1)

Sep. 24, 2009
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Netanyahu at UN (Part 2)

Sep. 24, 2009
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Netanyahu at UN (Part 3)

Sep. 24, 2009
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Netanyahu at UN (part 4)

Sep. 24, 2009
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Racists, Bigots and Culturalists

Sep. 23, 2009

I was listening to Neal Boortz while on the treadmill the other day and the talkmaster was answering a caller’s question about the difference between racism and bigotry. Racism is belief in the superiority of once race over another.  A

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Patronizing Twitterers

Sep. 23, 2009

I am a recovering twitternizer. Twitternize is a word I made up; it is a combination of the words Twitter and patronize. To twitternize is to play to your Twitter audience by either posting an entry you think the Twitter

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