‘Commentary’ Archives
Neighborhood Talk
As of the month of May 2011, the total Public Debt Outstanding of the United States of America bumped the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling set by Congress. This is not good. Come August, Lord knows what will happen should Congress fail to lift the ceiling. So, what”'s going on? Our country”'s gross debt has increased over $500 billion each year since 2003. Why? Because G.W. Bush gave a tax cut gift to the super rich which erased roughly $2 trillion in revenue. Then, of course, there were a couple of Wars which have cost us $1.1 trillion. To which we must add a financial melt-down which necessitated a bail-out and stimulus even as revenue streams went dry. Note 1.): A former chief U.N. nuclear inspector is now pressing the World Court to pass judgment as to the degree of criminality in the “grotesque distortions” (i.e. weapons of mass destruction, etc.) which facilitated a war with Iraq and the consequent death of hundreds of thousands of innocent [...]
Thor and Pandora
by Peter Molenaar To the ancient observer, the approaching cumulonimbus cloud appeared as a giant hammer from which lightning bolts penetrated the earth. Hence, the hammer-wielding Viking god associated with thunder storms and destruction, but also healing and renewal, was born in the people”'s mind. Thor was his name. In the modern world, Thor”'s considerable legacy is honored once a week (“Thor”'s day”). But what redemption might he bestow upon the suffering people of Japan? Curiously, there is a chemical element which also bears his name. Thorium, atomic number 90, has emerged as the alternative to uranium. (more…)
