George Rebane

A correspondent brought my attention to an excellent article (‘On the Urgency of Restructuring Bank and Mortgage Debt, and of Abandoning Toxic Asset Purchases’) by John Hussman of Hussman Funds about what’s not going on in Washington but should be.  Hussman’s bottom line is that “(t)here is far too little debate about alternative responses to this crisis.”  This dissertation is worth wading through to get an understanding of what could and should be but isn’t in the national debate on fashioning an effective response to the current financial crisis which by no means is over. 

The Wearin' of the Tea – Today I dutifully pinned a ‘plain old vanilla’ Lipton tea bag under the Old Glory pin on my lapel, and wore it to the Rotary's Student Speech Contest luncheon this noon at the Nevada City Elks Club – it’ll be on there through Tax Day.  The only response that I got was someone informing me ‘did you know you have a teabag stuck on your lapel?’  Perhaps everyone else already knew about the National Tea Party demonstrations scheduled at the country’s state houses for 15 April 2009.  Jo Ann and I are planning on being on the bus from Broad Street to Sacramento that morning, clutching our hand-made signs.  We’ve never been to a demonstration in our lives, and the way this one was publicized by the county’s Republicans, it doesn’t look promising – their email announcement has the wrong phone number with no follow-up correction.  Maybe the other counties are doing better, but I suspect it just goes to show you that conservatives are no good at putting together a big hoot n’ holler on some sidewalk.  The liberals can do one of those in a second, even with their brain tied up behind their back.  [update] The correct number to call for making your bus reservation is 530-265-9478.

“… Skype coming to the iPhone marks the beginning of the end of the phone as we know it. And I feel fine–even if Apple and AT&T don't.”  writes David Coursey in PC World.  Big changes for the better are on the way for cell phones, read more here.