Headlines: Being an Eternal Optimist is Dang Hard These Days

[Foxfyre]

Every day I wake up feeling pretty good. Most of my family are well. I have a roof over my head, food in the fridge, electricity, heating, cooling, and enough money to enjoy an occasonal modest treat for myself. And I live the the most free, most generous, most prosperous, most optimistic country in the world. All things considered, life is good.

For now.

But I have to admit that lately each day's headlines have been something of a downer and reinforce a nagging concern that we need to refocus on those things that made us the most free, most generous, most prosperous, and most optimistic country in the world and that allows us to enjoy the blessings of all that.

Just today for instance:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sales of new homes collapsed in May, sinking 33 percent to the lowest level on record as potential buyers stopped shopping for homes once they could no longer receive government tax credits.
New-home sales plunge 33 pct with tax credits gone - Yahoo! Finance

Investigator: Inmates get homebuyer tax credits
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — A government investigator says nearly 1,300 prison inmates have wrongly received more than $9 million in tax credits for homebuyers despite being incarcerated when they reportedly bought a home.
The investigator says 241 of the inmates were serving life sentences.
Investigator: Inmates get homebuyer tax credits

For those who think it is wrong that America’s wealthy are so wealthy, here’s some encouragement for you, but for those of us who think it is to the world's advantage that the USA remain a strong superpower, it raises eyebrows:

Millionaires' Riches Return to Pre-Crisis Levels, Study Finds
By Joyce Koh, Alexis Leondis and Warren Giles - Jun 23, 2010
June 22 (Bloomberg) -- Lyle LaMothe, head of U.S. wealth management at Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc, speaks about the rebound in millionaires' assets close to pre-crisis levels as the number of rich people in Asia equalled those in Europe for the first time, according to a report by Capgemini SA and Merrill Lynch & Co. LaMothe talks on Bloomberg Television's "InBusiness with Margaret Brennan." (Source: Bloomberg)
June 23 (Bloomberg) -- The number of individuals with at least $1 million of investable assets in Asia-Pacific region rose 26 percent to 3 million in 2009, matching Europe and almost overhauling North America’s 3.1 million, according to the 14th annual World Wealth Report published yesterday. Bloomberg's Deirdre Bolton reports. (Source: Bloomberg)

Asia-Pacific’s number of millionaires equaled Europe’s for the first time last year as the region powered the global economy’s recovery, according to a report by Capgemini SA and Merrill Lynch & Co.

The number of individuals with at least $1 million of investable assets in Asia-Pacific rose 26 percent to 3 million in 2009, matching Europe and almost overhauling North America’s 3.1 million, according to the 14th annual World Wealth Report published yesterday.
Millionaires' Riches Return to Pre-Crisis Levels, Study Finds - Bloomberg

And is it unraveling in the Middle East and what will that mean?:

Iran produced 17 kgs of further enriched uranium
Iran produced 17 kgs of further enriched uranium

Israel launches new spy satellite
Israel launches new spy satellite

Iran to send blockade-busting ship to Gaza
Iran to send blockade-busting ship to Gaza - Yahoo! News

Lebanon warns Israel against attacking ships
Lebanon warns Israel against attacking ships

Pakistan resolute on Iran gas deal
Defies US warning it could run afoul of new sanctions
By Sebastian Abbot
Associated Press / June 23, 2010
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Defying a warning from Washington, Pakistan’s prime minister promised yesterday to go ahead with a plan to import natural gas from Iran even if the United States levies additional sanctions against the Mideast country.
Breaking: General Stanley McChrystal tenders his resignation – Telegraph Blogs

And with a US economy still reeling and competent economists warning of double dip recession:

Obama to push climate change on back of BP spill
By Anna Fifield in Washington
Published: June 22 2010 17:56 | Last updated: June 22 2010 17:56
Barack Obama will on Wednesday make a renewed push to spur the US Senate into action on climate change, saying the BP oil spill underlines the urgency for the country to lessen its dependence on fossil fuels.
FT.com / US & Canada - Obama to push climate change on back of BP spill

Business leaders say Obama's economic policies stifle growth

Unemployed and discouraged
The increase in jobs highlighted in the nation's most recent unemployment report carried the sound of economic promise, but Obama administration officials on Sunday warned that the public shouldn't expect any dramatic improvement in the jobless rate largely because of the effect of thousands of "discouraged" unemployed people who have resumed their search for work.

By Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 23, 2010

The chairman of the Business Roundtable, an association of top corporate executives that has been President Obama's closest ally in the business community, accused the president and Democratic lawmakers Tuesday of creating an "increasingly hostile environment for investment and job creation."

Ivan G. Seidenberg, chief executive of Verizon Communications, said that Democrats in Washington are pursuing tax increases, policy changes and regulatory actions that together threaten to dampen economic growth and "harm our ability . . . to grow private-sector jobs in the U.S."

"In our judgment, we have reached a point where the negative effects of these policies are simply too significant to ignore," Seidenberg said in a lunchtime speech to the Economic Club of Washington. "By reaching into virtually every sector of economic life, government is injecting uncertainty into the marketplace and making it harder to raise capital and create new businesses."
washingtonpost.com

Acknowledging that of 8000+ wells in the gulf, many of which are deep water wells and 700 mega deep water wells, and one serious accident involving all of those wells giving a 99+% safety record, a federal court struck down the Admnistations ban on drilling in the gulf. The reasons cited were the amazing safety record—the best in the world—and the unreasonable and indefensible hardship the ban would impose on American citizens.

The Obama Administration responded to the court order by issuing a new ban. Meanwhile George Soros’ petroleum interests are bidding for the 33 rigs currently in the gulf to move to places like Brazil. Once the rigs are gone, it could be decades before the region’s economy would recover, if then.
Federal Gov't Halts Sand Berm Dredging - New Orleans News Story - WDSU New Orleans

Yep. It is a major struggle for us eternal optimists these days.

Will this too again pass?

Or could we dig ourselves into a hole that we can't climb out of?

 

[Mr Natural]

The best has already been and today is better than tommorrow will be.

Enjoy it while you can.

 

[Foxfyre]

Do you really believe that Mr. Clean? You really believe we can't regain our momentum so that our best days are ahead of us?

 

[Mr Natural]

Yes, I do.

And here's a reason why. There are too many of us and , with our manufacturing base all but gone, not enough decent paying jobs that people without extensive education or skills can work and still make a resonable middle class living.

 

[Mr.Fitnah]

Im an optimist. My advice , realize it will get worst , until it gets much worse.
With that foreknowledge ,you can prepare to help those who are who come to relieve you of the supplies you have set aside for your family and charity .

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

Every day I wake up feeling...


...

Stop right there. An optimist who struggles with optimism today would be a complete failure in the past. Today's difficulties are mostly curable and temporary. I think you are more of a sky is falling, chicken little, than an optimist.

Try thinking of yourself as an Alarmist. It may help with your neurosis.

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

The best has already been and today is better than tommorrow will be.

Enjoy it while you can.

Pity.

Nay saying and fear brokering has won your weak mind over.

sad.

 

[Foxfyre]

First, welcome home Mr. F.

But I don't know guys. I defnitely think the country is on the wrong track and has been for a long time now.

But then I think back to times when people survived because they were a good enough shot to hit a rabbit or squirrel, when they felled the trees and shaped the logs they used to build their houses with their own hands, when great armies were felled by lesser armies who simply had more right than might on their sides, who overcame the most severe diversities to accomplish great things.

From a rather cruel world made up of dictators, corrupt monarchs, totalitarian governments, that tolerated extreme cruelty, brutality, and enforced violation of basic human rights by imposing serfdom, mandatory underclasses, slavery, and mandatory starvation of whole villages or cities, from abject poverty accepted by those who left all they knew in hopes of something better. . . .

. . . from all that, the human spirit was able to rise above all that to create and build the most free, most just, most prosperous, most innovative, and more generous nation on Earth.

Are there no people left with the spirit, courage, and insight to rise above the current mess we find ourselves in?

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

Im an optimist. My advice , realize it will get worst , until it gets much worse.
With that foreknowledge ,you can prepare to help those who are who come to relieve you of the supplies you have set aside for your family and charity .

again, another fool on a ship of delusion.

the above is not optimism.

*sigh


Fitnah, once again offers proof: http://www.usmessageboard.com/the-flame-zone/122319-posts-shows-that-at-least-80-of-usmb-posters-have-a-large-mental-defect.html

 

[Mr Natural]

The best has already been and today is better than tommorrow will be.

Enjoy it while you can.

Pity.

Nay saying and fear brokering has won your weak mind over.

sad.

You keep telling yourself that and some day when reality sets in, you'll agree with me that we're fucked.

 

[Mr.Fitnah]

First, welcome home Mr. F.

But I don't know guys. I defnitely think the country is on the wrong track and has been for a long time now.

But then I think back to times when people survived because they were a good enough shot to hit a rabbit or squirrel, when they felled the trees and shaped the logs they used to build their houses with their own hands, when great armies were felled by lesser armies who simply had more right than might on their sides, who overcame the most severe diversities to accomplish great things.

From a rather cruel world made up of dictators, corrupt monarchs, totalitarian governments, that tolerated extreme cruelty, brutality, and enforced violation of basic human rights by imposing serfdom, mandatory underclasses, slavery, and mandatory starvation of whole villages or cities, from abject poverty accepted by those who left all they knew in hopes of something better. . . .

. . . from all that, the human spirit was able to rise above all that to create and build the most free, most just, most prosperous, most innovative, and more generous nation on Earth.

Are there no people left with the spirit, courage, and insight to rise above the current mess we find ourselves in?

Very few, when one rises above, it gets pounded down like an errant nail.
The best one can do it focus on reality and hope for the best and plan for the worse, and by chance you will be able to help someone who will make a positive difference alone the road.

 

[eagleseven]

Or could we dig ourselves into a hole that we can't climb out of?

The Old Optimism: Climbing out of the hole.

The New Optimism: Making the hole more comfortable.

 

[Foxfyre]

First, welcome home Mr. F.

But I don't know guys. I defnitely think the country is on the wrong track and has been for a long time now.

But then I think back to times when people survived because they were a good enough shot to hit a rabbit or squirrel, when they felled the trees and shaped the logs they used to build their houses with their own hands, when great armies were felled by lesser armies who simply had more right than might on their sides, who overcame the most severe diversities to accomplish great things.

From a rather cruel world made up of dictators, corrupt monarchs, totalitarian governments, that tolerated extreme cruelty, brutality, and enforced violation of basic human rights by imposing serfdom, mandatory underclasses, slavery, and mandatory starvation of whole villages or cities, from abject poverty accepted by those who left all they knew in hopes of something better. . . .

. . . from all that, the human spirit was able to rise above all that to create and build the most free, most just, most prosperous, most innovative, and more generous nation on Earth.

Are there no people left with the spirit, courage, and insight to rise above the current mess we find ourselves in?

Very few, when one rises above, it gets pounded down like an errant nail.
The best one can do it focus on reality and hope for the best and plan for the worse, and by chance you will be able to help someone who will make a positive difference alone the road.

Well I'll agree that some do seem to feel personally threatened by a rising star, but as much as I'm struggling with my eternal optimism, I can't be so pessimistic as to think a star can no longer rise in this country.

I still believe that Americans are the most generous and compassionate of people anywhere and the most likely to voluntarily offer the fallen a hand up. And I believe those with solid American values that have stood the test of time also look for those with similar values to raise up.

What we need is somebody like a Reagan. It wasn't his policies or programs that inspired the people, but his belief that it would not be government that will make things better, but it will be the people themselves and their ability to accomplish anything if they just have the freedom and confidence to do it. We need that more than anything else right now.

 

[topspin]

our best days are ahead of us. We will have more freedom and prosperity in 10 years. The lying scum will fade, with the internet age and grassroots info sharing.
We'll get free healthcare for all, no premiums when we tax Ghanja. Personally I think taxing God's herb is a sin. Cali will start and the dumb red states will follow. The number of millionaires will triple in a decade.

 

[Foxfyre]

our best days are ahead of us. We will have more freedom and prosperity in 10 years. The lying scum will fade, with the internet age and grassroots info sharing.
We'll get free healthcare for all, no premiums when we tax Ghanja. Personally I think taxing God's herb is a sin. Cali will start and the dumb red states will follow. The number of millionaires will triple in a decade.

So you're saying that you think we ARE on the right track? Or not?
Are you saying that the government can spend us rich? Or not?
Are you saying that the current government policies are what will save us? Or not?
And you see legalized pot as the key to prosperity in the future? Or not?

 

[sangha]

This entire thread sounds like

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wCXr_6wgns]YouTube - Bye Bye Birdie - What's the Matter With Kids Today[/ame]

 

[Foxfyre]

Or could we dig ourselves into a hole that we can't climb out of?

The Old Optimism: Climbing out of the hole.

The New Optimism: Making the hole more comfortable.

Don't you think the hole is getting awfully crowded though? The new-socialism suggests that if everybody is equally disadvantaged, more people will be happy. "Spread the wealth around' is the new code word for "spread the misery' so that more people can be happy.

I keep going back to Ben Franklin's belief that we serve the poor better not by making them more easy in poverty, but rather by leading or driving them out of it.

I don't want to have no way out of the hole.

 

[Oddball]

You keep telling yourself that and some day when reality sets in, you'll agree with me that we're fucked.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwTGGHaCHAE&feature=related]YouTube - Classic Movie Line #30[/ame]

 

[Mr. Peepers]

Are you saying that the current government policies are what will save us? Or not?

The only way to save ourselves is to take back our government from corporate interests and the MIC. Government in bed with big business and defense "contractors" along with the systematic weakening of common sense regulation in ALL industry is what has almost destroyed this country and we do NOT need another "trickle down" war criminal like Reagan. You people have NO memory for history.

 

[topspin]

our best days are ahead of us. We will have more freedom and prosperity in 10 years. The lying scum will fade, with the internet age and grassroots info sharing.
We'll get free healthcare for all, no premiums when we tax Ghanja. Personally I think taxing God's herb is a sin. Cali will start and the dumb red states will follow. The number of millionaires will triple in a decade.

So you're saying that you think we ARE on the right track? Or not?
Are you saying that the government can spend us rich? Or not?
Are you saying that the current government policies are what will save us? Or not?
And you see legalized pot as the key to prosperity in the future? Or not?

Masingil like politicians are not knew, we have always exceeded inspite of them and we will continue too. Business is on the right track. The Gov will reign in spending, credit the tea baggers. Dems are afraid of their own shadows do you guys think they aren't scared shitless of the tea party. LOL
Gov will only tax pot after and overwhelming majority of the country say's what's up with that. Majority are already against racist prohibition. It'll get several billion a year in taxes. The key to our future is high tech industries and our far superior colleges.