- Yaaaaay…..I think. I’m honestly not sure how to react to news that the federal government ran a deficit of nearly $1.3 trillion in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 and that total is 125 billion below last year -- the worst on record since World War II. Do I feel better because we’re not as far into the red (magenta as opposed to maroon) as last year, or do I feel horrible because we’re still rocking a 13-figure deficit for a fiscal year? Honestly, at this point we may as well stop keeping track of the number because is absurdly and comically high to the extent that no one has any actual concept of what $1.3 trillion looks like anyhow. Just say that if Bill Gates and Warren Buffett can’t team up to pay off your debt, it’s too large. But thanks to the Congressional Budget Office, which released these sobering figures Thursday and helped to prepare us for the now anti-climatic moment later this month when the Treasury Department delivers the official deficit numbers. So why the (marginally) good news about a smaller deficit? Apparently, the gap narrowed slightly because tax receipts were higher and spending lower than last year. The largest contributor to that trend was a $53 billion rise in corporate tax revenue, a 39 percent climb from 2009. Large corporations are making more money (and still paying workers precious little) thanks to improved economic conditions and more generous rules for writing off business expenses. The Federal Reserve also made some smart moves investing in the housing market and other areas of the economy, which paid off to the tune of a $42 billion increase, or 121 percent, over 2009. And in a truly shocking occurrence, overall government spending fell. While you process that jaw-dropper, couple that with the fact that payments to mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac declined and the controversial Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) just ended. While these are marginal good news at best, simply having good news is a nice change. So let’s gloss over the fact that overall spending rose at a faster pace -- 9 percent -- than it has in a while due to increase benefits for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security and various provisions in the 2009 Recovery Act and just enjoy our rare dose of positivity………
- Funny how people aren’t necessarily in favor of something until it benefits them directly. For example, New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi didn’t - to the best of our knowledge - have a strong take on instant replay up to now, at least not strong enough to speak out about it. That miraculously changed after Wednesday's ALDS opener between the Yankees and Minnesota Twins in which umpires blew a call that could have cost the Yankees the game, but ultimately amounted to nothing at all. The umpires ruled Yankees right fielder Greg Golson trapped a sinking liner hit by Minnesota’s Delmon Young with two outs in the ninth inning of Wednesday's 6-4 Yankees victory, even though the millions watching the game at home could clearly see, even before replay, that Golson caught the ball. Unfortunately, right-field ump Chris Guccione ruled the ball had hit the ground, and after confeering with his colleagues, the ruling stood. That give Twins slugger Jim Thome the opportunity to come to the plate as the potential tying run. In this case, Thome made an out and the Yankees won the game, but that didn’t stop Girardi from speaking about it. "I couldn't really see it but I go by the reaction of the players and they usually tell you a lot," Girardi said. "[Golson] said he caught it, so I asked the umpires to convene. After they come back with that decision there's really not much I can do, but I appreciate them getting together because it might be a call that's overturned," Girardi explained before saying that he is in favor of increased inclusion of replay in baseball - as long as it doesn't make the games longer than they already are. "As long as it doesn't slow the games down," Girardi said before Thursday night's Game 2. Ironically, a blown call also occurred when the same two teams met an ALDS matchup last year, when left-field ump Phil Cuzzi ruled Joe Mauer's Game 2 drive in the 11th inning of a tie game a foul ball, even though replays showed the ball was at least six inches fair. "Could they have reviewed that play as quick as they talked about it? Probably," Girardi said. "It takes the same amount of time. To me, that's the great thing about technology. They can slow everything down. And there's different things you can do. You could have an umpire right in front of a TV. They could do that. So it could actually speed up the game.” Not that the Yankees need any help in a series they now lead 2-0, but Girardi is at least partially right on this one and baseball needs to remove its head from its backside on the issue of replay……..
- It’s Dora v. Nickelodeon and this one could get ugly. Turns out that anti-immigration groups aren’t the only ones who can cause a stink over a seemingly harmless children’s show. Caitlin Sanchez, the 14-year-old actress who had voiced Dora the Explorer on the hit show since 2007, wants to scrap with the network over claims that she and her parents were pressured into signing overly complex contract, and that she was underpaid for her work. The family has filed a lawsuit against Nickelodeon laying out its case and demanding reparations in the form of financial compensation. Nickelodeon responded with a written statement that reads: “The claims being made are baseless. Unfortunately, Caitlin’s voice changed and she was no longer able to portray the Dora character, as happened with the actress who originated the role. Caitlin’s contract was extensively negotiated through her agent and in compliance with her union. She was well-compensated for her work and for personal appearances. We have enjoyed working with Caitlin on Dora the Explorer these past three years, and we did in fact offer her a contract for other work with us.” Wait….this might not be a case of overly complex contractual language or underpayment, but rather age discrimination. What, Dora is never going to grow up? How’s about expanding your narrow mind a bit and allowing Dora to grow past the age of 8, Nickelodeon? As for the Sanchez family……not to be cynical, but it doesn’t sound completely outside of reason that the network might come to you, tell you that your lovely daughter is growing up and thus her voice is changing so as to no longer fit the Dora character and you getting all bent, going full-on stage parent and suing them out of vengeance. In other words, I think both sides could be off base here and this is one lawsuit where there is no one deserving a tally in the legal win column…….
- I hate yard sales because there’s nothing more depressing than sifting through other people’s junk, seeing senior citizens drive around from neighborhood to neighborhood to scour the yard sale circuit and having old ladies haggle with the person putting on the sale about whether the chipped Betty Boop lamp is worth $1.25 or $1.75 or how much to pay for the used, slightly broken Transformers toy from 10 years ago is in good enough condition to justify the $3.00 asking price. However, when someone is selling historical, ancient junk and holding an auction, that changes the equation. Auctions are garage sales for the rich and arrogant, so you know I’m down. After all, who’s more of an elitist than me? So I love the fact that a detailed and well-preserved Roman parade helmet, tricked out with complete with fine facial features on its face mask, tight curly hair, and a griffin-topped cap, was up for auction Thursday at Christie's auction house in London. And just as you would expect, an obscenely rich person who probably already has their needed stash of luxury cars and vacation homes plunked down $3.6 million for the artifact, more than 10 times its estimated amount. The auction house expected the helmet to go for about $316,000 to $475,000 and although the buyer was not immediately known, the Tullie House Museum in Carlisle, near where the helmet was found in May by a loser trolling around with a metal detector, had been campaigning for donations to purchase the helmet as the centerpiece for a new Roman gallery. The helmet, known as the Crosby Garrett helmet for the village where it was found, about 45 miles south of the Scottish border, was cited by Christie’s as an "extraordinary example of Roman metalwork at its zenith" that dates to the late 1st to 2nd century A.D. "The Crosby Garrett helmet sets itself apart by virtue of its beauty, workmanship, and completeness, particularly the face mask, which was found virtually intact," Christie's said in a statement. "In addition, the remarkable Phrygian-style peak surmounted by its elaborate bronze griffin crest appears unprecedented." All kidding aside, the helmet is fairly impressive. It is comprised of two sections: the tall pointed helmet and the face mask, topped off by openwork eyes, incised eyelashes on the upper and lower lids, herringbone eyebrows, and pierced nostrils. The high sale price of the helmet indicates just how rare it is, as it’s one of only three that have been discovered in Britain complete with face masks, according to Christie's. It also proves once again that rich people with too much money to spend will buy damn near anything if they think it will set them apart from their rich, snooty friends……….
- Who’s down for some genetically modified, pest-resistant corn? Before you answer that, you may want to know just what sort of benefits genetically engineered corn provides. For example, such crops can provide a halo effect — offering protection from insects to nearby corn plants that have not been engineered to kill bugs. According to research published Thursday, Bt corn - named because it is engineered to produce insecticidal proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis - has blown right past the European corn borer, a frequent farm pest in the United States. The study, published in the journal Science, found that since its introduction in 1996, Bt corn has saved farmers in Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska $6.9 billion in reduced yield losses over 14 years. What makes the findings noteworthy is that half of that economic benefit more than half of that financial benefit came from non-Bt corn acres. Farmers saw the benefit of insect-fighting benefits from Bt corn because there were fewer borers around to feast on the fields in surrounding fields of normal corn. “That was surprising to see," said University of Minnesota entomologist William Hutchison, lead author of the study. "Only about 35% of corn acres are non-Bt, but two-thirds of the economic benefit occurs there." This is easily the most profound evidence so far of the effectiveness of Bt corn and in an field where finding useable evidence on a larger scale is difficult, the study’s impact is maximized. Plus, who among us hasn’t grown tired of the European corn borer since its arrival in the U.S. in 1917? These parasitic jerks lay eggs on the undersides of corn leaves, their larvae hatch and eat the leaves and then bore into stalks and ears of corn. Nutrients and moisture can’t flow through the stalks, kernels are destroyed by munching moths and the farmer suffers because of it. The borer costs the farm industry about $1 billion in estimated losses each year, Iowa State University researchers have reported. Solutions for the problem have been few, far between and ineffective over the years - until Bt corn came on the scene. Hutchison and his team reviewed more than 50 years of reports on the pest's larvae and moths to measure changes in the insect's population sizes over time and then contrasted that data with annual U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics on corn yield, price and areas planted. What they found was that Bt corn, simply speaking, is the shizz-nitz when it comes to shutting down the European corn borer. If nothing else, this study should alleviate fears about planting Bt and non-Bt corn near one another and reduce headaches for many farmers……..
No comments:
Post a Comment