Bizarre Glimpse of McCain

John McCain was speaking to supporters--I glimpsed before changing the channel--and a woman in his audience cried out,
"Why aren't the media in Chicago going after Ayers [a former terrorist, friend of Obama's]? Why do they have to go after LITTLE CHILDREN AND THEIR PREGNANCIES????"

As everyone clapped and applauded, I caught a look in the eyes of John McCain, such as: What have I wrought? I think he was realizing he should have charged more for his soul.

Stormy Times

I'm so preoccupied with the election and the economy that I barely noticed when the doctor who invented statins and another-- who had an amazing ability to imagine himself as a microbe-- received big awards. I hardly care that someone replicated the big bang and others worried about creating black holes. I'm paying attention to the financial meltdowns, as big brokerage houses and insurance companies topple into bankruptcy, threatening a rippling financial collapse.

There may be no solutions. Cascading bank failures may be an economic hurricane Ike, where you can see it coming but can't deflect it and can only pick up the pieces. But unlike with a hurricane, you can't chart that the problem will dissipate. The scariest thing is that money can just go poof.

But now everyone thinks this hurricane could have been prevented with better regulation. Even the deregulators are denouncing deregulation. McCain spent most of the 90s working for deregulation to produce more growth and infinite prosperity. Now he who doesn't understand economics (get real, who does?) is going to reform it all or as his running mate says, give it a complete overhaul--through 9/11 hearings!

Obama says "We know what went wrong" and need to get busy fixing it. That will be great if he can stabilize the housing market, which all experts say needs to happen before markets can stabilize. I'll tell you a secret about the housing market: It's largely a demographic phenomenon.

I'm sure measures can and will be taken. Perhaps greed will briefly go out of style. But what puzzles me is the basic question, Why why why are people--especially politicians--surprised when the economy contracts? One economic fact we know is that capitalism is subject to business cycles and things can't just go up up up all the time. This has been known since Joseph told Pharoah to put something away for the seven lean years.

Why do Republican administrations run up debt and deficits in times of prosperity so we're even worse off in stormy times? Oh well, just batten down your personal hatches, my friends.

Mom Saves the World

We've woken up in the middle of a movie, with an attractive star resembling Mariska Hagerty except cuter!

First act: In the middle of cooking mooseburger breakfast and general family swirlaround (including chaste loving kiss from Rock Hunter husband), phone rings. It's Candidate Oldenpoohead, looking for a running mate. Mom will be V.P.! Yay! No school today!

Second act: Mom overcomes wicked reporters including old enemy who has been stalking her since PTA days. He is thwarted on CNN when Mom makes glorious oration at convention. Colorful campaign montages show campaign stumping where all American women adopting neo-Schlafly hairdos. And then--at Inauguration Ball-- Oldenpoohead has chest pains and dies! Mom takes oath of office with demurely downcast expression while Rock Hunter holds giant Bible. All Americans go down on their knees for different reasons.

Third act: Crises erupt. Mom sends each child to lead military operations to subdue Russia and China, et cetera. Mom will fly Air Force One herself to thwart Osama. Wicked reporter accompanies her on plane, is now on the team! That afternoon, Mom flies home and saves the economy by issuing every family a gun and teaching them to field dress moose. Self-reliance! Home schooling! Mom reverses Roe v. Wade by executive order, and all teenagers instantly agree to abstinence!!

Final Scene: Family is cooking mooseburgers in White House residence many babies toddlng around and being born. Mom hands spatula to Bristol because chaste loving first dude swoops Mom up and carries her off to bedroom. Final scene shows formerly wicked reporters reporting that Mom is happily carrying a spina bifada baby; they agree on Press the Face that the world is better off for unplanned pregnancies. And oh thank God all former terrorists have now become Christian Republicans.

THE END
(no kidding)

My Density

Reader, you may remember I thought about getting a little job. As often happens in the course of thinking about such a thing, I ended up finding one: Coordinator of Children's Ministry at St Swithin's, around the corner.

Remember all that fuss last year about retirement? So, unbelievably, I'm doing it all again: the lists, the rosters, the
calendars, the teacher training, the safe church workshops, hiring child-care for the church nursery. Plus there is a pre-school and a Hebrew school to be liaised with. Denny used to have a joke with me based on the caretaker in "The Shining." He'd say, "You're the Director, Pru, you've always been the Director...."

I'm actually enjoying it. I had forgotten how interesting it is to organize things and do God's work on staff. I had forgotten that certain pride one feels in work. But it's like riding a bicycle (you don't forget how); and I hit the ground pedaling!

The other news is that my sister and her husband also found jobs, together, at the FDIC, which means they'll be traveling to different cities with bank failures. They want me to take care of their dog, a little cairn terrier, who supposedly will arrive this weekend.

So here I am with my Sunday School job and my soon-to-be dog, Plus ca change....