An award-winning newspaper series about the death of Alex Funcheon and its aftermath can be downloaded by clicking HERE.
Our Offspring #2 was a platoon leader in Iraq, who served in the same cavalry scout troop, and was good friends with LT Bland, Funcheon's platoon leader. Our daughter-in-law and LT Bland's wife were also close. At the time of the tragedy, I heard about the impact on the wives of the men from Fort Carson.
Be blessed,
RB
I'm a student and teacher of development economics. The problem with that subject, as with so many others, is not ignorance but knowing so much that isn't so.
Rather than relying on what someone told us, a fact-based view of the world may be helpful. But only if you're into reality....
Please take 20 minutes, watch the video below, and your view of the world will change. (If you only have less than five minutes, the second video is good but not as informative, and certainly not as much fun as the first.)
You can play with the graphs yourself at Gapminder World.
Short attention span? A more recent and shorter version, but not as much fun:
Be blessed!
RB
South Carolina's Governor Sanford showed up after disappearing for the better part of a week. He said he went to Argentina - a spur of the moment thing. Why? "Sanford has been a fan of Argentina for years. While in Congress and since he's said that nation's Social Security system has a model the U.S. should follow" (source).
Argentina did have a privatized social security system where employees could choose to put a mandatory percentage of income into either the state system or private funds. 83% went with the private funds.
But sorry Gov. There's a problem. Last November Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner nationalized the private pension funds. The money is under government control. These funds now buy a lot of Argentine government bonds that were having a bit of trouble finding buyers. Given Argentina's fiscal difficulties, it must be nice to be president with access to other peoples money to "invest" in activities the government otherwise couldn't afford and that the private sector would view as unproductive.
I do not think the Republican governor really wants the USA to follow Mrs. Kirchner's example. He was probably just confusing Argentina with its neighbor on the other side of the Andes Mountains. Chile has a well-functioning, well-performing privatized social security system. In fact their system predates Argentina's and the politicians have kept their hands off the money.
BTW, President Kirchner announced earlier this month that the nationalized social security funds would invest in GM. I bet President Obama wishes we had a nationalized social security system too!
Wait a minute. We already do have a nationalized social security system. It does nothing but buy up US government bonds and support the deficit.
Never mind.
UPDATE: Double never-mind. Turns out the gov went to Argentina because he fell for a beautiful women. Now that is much more reasonable -- relatively speaking that is.
Penguins share with those less fortunate than themselves -- the Pirates. The Stanley Cup is as close to a championship as this baseball team will ever get.
Here is a classic Bob and Ray radio skit:
Click here for article and then click Listen: Slow Talkers of America.
You shouldn't hang around addicts. At least I shouldn't. They are always trying to hook you on whatever they're hooked. I was able to hold out then in a moment of weakness, I fell.
With little sleep the night before, five to six hours at SLU, most of it outside in the cold and the wind, I was exhausted Sunday afternoon. I didn't feel like reading or doing anything but vegging out. Sensing my weakness, Offspring #3, a known addict, asked me if I wanted to watch just the first episode of Chuck. (She has the whole first season on dvd so I should have known she'd be a dealer.)
Of course I enjoyed the show. How could you not enjoy it? Well written, clever script, likable characters, a nice blend of humor and suspense.
"Want to watch the next episode?" Of course! I'm not doing anything. What's the harm?
"How about the third?" Yeah, I want it.
Now I can't chuck Chuck.
I am completely under her control and she knows it. It is her dvd set so I can only watch it when she wants to. She knows I will drop whatever I'm doing, I will stay up too late, I will forgo all my responsibilities if she just says, "Want to watch the next episode of Chuck with me?"
I remember as a freshman in college, we had some recovering heroin addicts speak in a class. One said that taking heroin is the greatest feeling in the world.
Chuck is virtual heroin.
