I’m no economist, but I think it’s a fun game to play. So, I’m going to make a prediction: we are likely within 1,000 points of the market’s (Dow Jones Industrial Average) bottom. Now, the recent financial roller coaster isn’t anything to sneeze at: The Dow has fallen 39% in the past year The S&P […]
Powers of the President
Thinking about the upcoming election, I was trying to think about what the really important and powerful roles of the president actually are. I came up with my top three: Commander-in-Chief: Obviously, the power to command the United States troops is a significant role of the president, especially as we are at war in Iraq […]
One for the History Books
Will October 3, 2008 go down in the history books? Will this be the day our country was fundamentally changed? Yesterday was my day off, and I spent a lot of it listening to radio shows and watching news coverage of the bill passed by congress that will supposedly help out the economy. It will […]
Public Service Announcement: (Some of) Your Money is Safe
Since most people reading my blog are youth ministry folk, I’ll assume you have less than $100,000 in the bank. If you have money at a normal bank, you don’t need to worry about it. It is safe. The FDIC insures accounts up to $100,000 dollars. If you bank fails, you will get your money. […]
The Bailout, Education, and Youth Ministry
[Note: If your head is in the sand and don’t know what is going on in the economy and the government right now, go to your favorite news website. It will be on the front page. I promise. Read up.] On Sunday morning during Sunday school, I asked my high school students, some of whom […]
More on the Economy: Home Prices
I’m fascinated by the current news happening in the financial markets right now. For some reason it’s all very interesting to me. One of the most telling article’s I’ve read in recent days is this article from the Wall Street Journal that shows the ratio of median home prices to median incomes. From 1981-2000, the […]
An Alternative to the $700 Billion Plan
I don’t much like the idea of the government playing in the markets with $700 billion. For a possibile alternative, check out this link. Let me know what you think.
Democratic and Republican National Convention Analysis
The best I have read thus far (and I have read quite a bit) comes from Inhabitatio Dei. A quote: As far as I can see there is little, if any possibility of a truly non-messianic politics in America, at least on the macro-scale. Our work in our wider communities must, I think take some […]
Jesus Made Me Puke
Such is the title of a new article on Rolling Stone’s website; the full title is “Jesus Made Me Puke: Matt Taibbi Undercover with the Christian Right.” In the article, Taibbi goes undercover and attends a three-day retreat with Cornerstone Church in San Diego Antonio, the church of John Hagee. I always find it interesting […]
Is Barack Obama the First Postmodern Presidential Candidate?
I was listening to the end of the presidential debate on the radio as I was driving home from church tonight and the thought in the title popped into my head. I didn’t think too deeply about it, but there were a few things he said that sounded a bit “postmodern.” It could explain a […]