Geithner: "No chance" of U.S. Credit Downgrade

In April of this year Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said that there was "no chance" the U.S. would have its credit rating downgraded. nation.foxnews.com/tim-geithner/2011/08/06/geithner-flashback-there-s-no-chance-us-will-lose-top-credit-rating  Either the politicos in D.C. are lying across the board or they are hopelessly incompetent. Neither bodes well for the next year. I would suggest prayer. Seriously.

Welcome Back Rep. Giffords

It is nice to have Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords back in the House. She survived an assassination attempt during which several others were killed and appears to have made good progress toward regaining her health. I hope that she fully recovers from this terrible act and lives a long, healthy and happy life. Welcome back.

Economy Turns Around

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Chief Motormouth for the Democratic Party, announced today that the Dems have really begun to turn the economy around. www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/08/02/debbie_wasserman_schultz_weve_really_begun_to_turn_the_economy_around.html Really? What a master of timing! Consider:

•  Today's Dow: down 512 points, the steepest decline since 2008. news.yahoo.com/dow-falls-512-steepest-decline-since-08-crisis-210736924.html
• 2nd quarter GDP growth was much slower than expected at 1.3% annualized. www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/07/29/us-2q-gdp-growth-weaker-than-expected/
• Tomorrow the job reports come out. I can hardly wait. 

The economic picture that I'm seeing is the one above. Perhaps the numbers are for Tatooine in a galaxy far, far away and the economy really is turning around here on earth. Or perhaps it is Ms. Wasserman Schultz and her Democratic colleagues who are from that galaxy far, far away.  Hmm... I wonder. That could explain a few things.

Don't Let the Door...

Yup, and the rest of us get to clean up the mess!

(Tip o' the hat to George McGreer)

Are There Aliens Among Us?

Nah, probably not, although if there are they work at convenience stores. But I digress... This is a genuinely interesting story. In June an oceanographic team looking for a shipwreck found an object 300 feet down on the bottom of the Baltic that looks amazingly like the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars. Side scan sonar technology is quite good and shows shadowing around the object that indicates that it has height and depth. Some have jumped to conclusions that it is an alien spaceship, but it could be a man-made structure that was lost when a geologic subsidence occurred, or any one of a number of other things. Presumably robot subs with cameras will be sent down and we will soon know what the heck it is, but in the meantime, feel free to use your imagination.

www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2390428,00.asp

Woo-Hoo! Our Creditline Was Raised!

I would like to meet the headline writer for Time magazine. The latest one that caught my eye is, "Did the nasty U.S. debt debate sour the world for good?" Where to begin? I guess I'll start with a resounding "NO!!!"

The problem is not the debate - that's just atmospherics - it's the metrics that stink. We are spending ourselves into oblivion and it is affecting the security of our once solid government bonds and notes. Would the headline writer prefer that Republicans and Democrats be buddy-buddy and continue amicably down the road to ruin? Interestingly, the text of the article illustrates that the rest of the world is looking at the metrics. Perhaps the Democrats might start doing likewise.

news.yahoo.com/did-nasty-u-debt-debate-sour-world-opinion-092000897.html

John Stott, RIP

John Stott, a quiet giant of 20th century Christianity, died last week at age 90. As much as anyone, he reinforced the importance of a Christian worldview and engaged scholarship, although he did so in a characteristically understated English manner. His thinking influenced notables like Billy Graham and Chuck Colson and moved the evangelical church to engage the culture for Christ. His voice will be missed, but his writings live on, as does he in a far better place.

www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/julyweb-only/john-stott-obit.html