For a guy hired to bring optimism, President Obama didn't seem to mind selling doom and gloom to get his agenda passed. It's hard to avoid feeling like that economic stimulus package wasn't a bill of goods. Or parts of it at least. But, whatever. Maybe the thing will do some good. And now, at least, maybe the apocalyptic warnings from Washington will stop, especially all that "worst crises since the Great Depression" crap. Comparing what we are going through to the Great Depression is insulting to anyone who lived through the real thing and, really, to anyone with an IQ over 12. All the scary statistics about downturn in the world won't change the incredibly obvious fact that people now have a much (much) higher standard of living than people in the 1930's. It's just moronic to compare them.What's also grinding our gears is how people talk about "the bad economy" in the abstract, like it's a force of nature, and they are simply subject to its whims. The economy may be down generally because of screwed up banks and the housing bubble, but that doesn't mean that smart hard-working people can't get ahead. Despite what the news says, there is still no law against making money. It's galling how the mass-media is a drumbeat of bad news, framing everything in the context of "woe is me" economics.
Like, this awesome Michael Jackson auction. The former singer is auctioning off more than 2,000 items from the estate/amusement park/bait-house formerly known as Neverland Ranch. The auction will include suits of amour,crowns, a golden throne, a personal "Pope-mobile," a full-length, red velvet cape with a detachable faux-ermine collar and a fedora that Jackson wore in the "Billie Jean" video. (No word on the bones of the Elephant Man.)
Is the auction of symbol of the massive bubble that burst? Is the erstwhile King of Pop only a heightened version of our own collective extravagance come home to roost? Nah. The guy was screwed up by a bad childhood and too much adulation as an adult. He isn't a symbol of anything except bad taste.
