CNN: News for people with short attention spans

I may have commented on this in the past, but it struck me again today. Why do I bother reading articles on CNN? They posted an article today on an Iranian naval destroyer that totals only 134 words yet has "Story Highlights" with three bullet points on the left. Why? In case you can't make it through the whole article in less than two minutes?

$866 billion

I noticed an article this morning on CNN that Americans reduced their revolving credit for a record 11 straight months. This time it was at a clip of 8.5 billion. Not bad. At that rate, we'll zip through the $866 billion we've built up in a mere 8.5 years. Of course, we owe another $1.59 trillion in non-revolving debt, but at least this is a good baby step.

Will the trend continue once the economy improves or will people get sucked back in to the credit card debt treadmill?

Thought for the Day

. . . conjectures as to why God does what He does are probably of no more value than my dog's ideas of what I am up to when I sit and read. But though we can only guess the reasons, we can at least observe the consistency of His ways. - C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms

Dig It

Well. This is going to take awhile.

Making progress.

Behold, one lone, brave Saturn emerges from the grasping clutch of ice and snow.

The Problem with Palin

An AP article on Sarah Palin's convention speech to the Tea Party noted that her message was "was short on ideas but big on enthusiasm." Doesn't that describe Palin as a whole? In the 3 years she's been in the public spotlight, I have yet to hear her offer any concrete proposals on anything. "Lower taxes"? Seriously? We're running trillion dollar deficits with no end in sight and you want to lower taxes? I seem to recall that the government was running surpluses and paying down the national debt before Bush's tax cuts. How's that Laffer curve working out? Yes, I know, the big issue is spending, but as Obama's freeze on discretionary spending outside defense, Social Security and Medicare showed, there's only so much that can be accomplished with spending cuts if these larger entitlement programs are not specifically addressed and no politician including Palin currently has the machismo to actually do so.

A friend and fellow blogger offered that Palin should be considered for the head of the RNC rather than running for office again. I would rather her be the head of the Tea Party and be out of the ranks and mention of my party altogether.

Sensationalist Meteorolgy

So apparently we're in for yet another winter weekend snowstorm. I flipped over to accuweather, and the map of the US has this area highlighted as "Paralyzing." Really? Paralyzing? The areas around the center are merely "Disruptive." I think an accumulation amount would have been more helpful and informative. When did we start showing dopplar radar with descriptors like paralyzing and disruptive? If it's 70 and sunny, is it "Charming", "Winsome" or "Relaxing"?

The sad thing is that it's still better than the Weather Channel's website where half the page is taken up by advertisements for assorted medications.

Obama Bashing

I am so tired of all the Obama bashing. It's strangely reminiscent of all the Bush bashing that I also grew tired of. Last night I heard someone comment that "all we'll have left is a few sets of clothes" by the time Obama leaves office. Really? I'm as frustrated as everyone else about the horrible budget deficits that we are running, but to add a little perspective, By tenure, the largest increases in gross debt relative to GDP, to date, occurred under George H.W. Bush (+11.2%), George W. Bush (+11.9%), and Ronald Reagan (+18.5%).