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(Monthly Archives) November 2004

The American Market: "IN GO(O)D WE TRUST"

“You have to remember the American market is not dominated by conservative, long-term investors; it is dominated by short-term traders who are compensated on a performance basis.” – says Michael Metz, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer & Co.

Is that the same market that conservatives tell us would take care of long term problems like the health care system, the education system, the environment, and even the Social Security system?

But hey… let’s not forget that most conservatives are also churchgoers. And churchgoers have this peculiar understanding of life on Earth – as a sort of short-term trading leading up to the real big performance bonus – Eternity in Heaven.

But why then are most conservatives so obsessed with personal accumulation of the most down-to-Earth thing – money. May be… up there… in Heaven, you’d still need money to buy stuff… and for Eternity… you’d need a lot of money to sustain yourself. Or, may be… the money you make says something about you… as a person – how good you are, and why you should go to Heaven – something like “moral capital” – “IN GOD WE TRUST” printed on the money itself… and this mystical pyramid with the “LIGHT” at the top – there must be a reason for that… I don’t know. How else can you explain the appetite for more (and more) money in people that already have many millions – acting as if they would live forever. May be that’s exactly what they believe.

But since I am a relative newcomer to this country, I assume some things are oh so deeply American… that I just don’t get them.

Here is what I get about America though. Ever since our arrival here in 1990, my wife and I never stopped being amazed at one thing. You see it on the faces of most Americans. If you look carefully, you would see engraved on their foreheads: “IN GOOD WE TRUST.”

Now, that’s the real American Market – in dire need of long-term investors. There is a lot of potential there (much more than on most foreign shores). Some call it a “social capital” – but this may be a disservice because… you know what “social” connotates for many Americans (conservatives – see why you cannot label me a “socialist”). Why not call it exactly a “moral capital” – the real moral capital. Morality – dare we say – is not the religion, stupid. It is “the voice of conscience in our hearts…“

November 27, 2004 personal
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I Thought I Would Need Time… To Start Reflecting On The Issues… Properly

But then I found this: Daily Show Wrap Up

And this: Stewart on Crossfire

And this is good too: “The voice of conscience in our hearts…”

I don’t know about the other stuff on this same page… haven’t seen them. Explore them at your own risk of being disappointed.

November 16, 2004 personal
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Bush People… Kerry People…

Kerry would help the poor… the poor vote Kerry. Bush would continue to help the rich… the rich vote Bush. A no-brainer – right?

Now read this (full transcript):

    “WHITAKER: …And one of the interesting kind of sidelines to this election is you’re going to have more people voting against what would seem like their immediate economic interest in this election… Kerry — people who earn — in households that earn over $100,000 support by a significant majority Kerry even though Kerry has said he’s going to raise their taxes.LARRY KING: Isn’t that the Republican base?

    WHITAKER: Meanwhile, Bush enjoys a lead among lower educated and lower income families despite the fact that it’s Kerry who said that he’s going to raise the minimum wage and provide healthcare for everybody.

    DAVID GERGEN: …The president is doing very well among people with high school educations or below. John Kerry surprisingly, seems to have gained the support of the college educated…“

What’s going on here!

Well, may be the rich and educated are, counterintuitively, good enough (and smart enough) to want to help the poor and uneducated. That, I understand and applaud.

But why in the world would the poor vote for Bush!?

As Bill Maher would put it: “It’s the religion, stupid.”

And he would be right:

    “SCHNEIDER: But, you know, if you had to ask people one question to identify how they vote it wouldn’t be man or woman, it wouldn’t be their income or their education. You know what one question best predicts their vote? How often do you go to church? If you go to church regularly, you vote Republican and that’s become more and more true since 1980. If you don’t go to church regularly, you’re very likely to vote Democratic.“

I don’t go to church regularly. In fact, I don’t go to church at all. I’ve always thought myself a Christian – culturally. Here is my take on Christianity: once we get (internalize) the “love” idea and the moral values (which we do by way of all of our tradition), we eventually (historically) become “adults” that don’t need to be re-told the myth every day or week. The measure of our integrity is our capability to think and act morally without relying on the ongoing support, approval, and blessings of our “Higher Father”. That’s the real test and difficulty of being a Christian – we are supposed to have “graduated”. This is the “freedom=responsibility” idea. This is the core and the historical strength of Christianity. Or at least, that’s my understanding.

Now, the good news:

    “KING: So, don’t more Americans go to church regularly and shouldn’t Bush be further ahead?SCHNEIDER: No, about 40 percent of Americans say they go to church every week and that they’re very religious.

    KING: But they’re a minority.“

Yes, Larry, fortunately they are a minority… and hopefully, they will stay a minority. Because a churchgoing majority with nuclear weapons is not “a good thing” (oh no, even from prison, she’s controlling my mind).

November 1, 2004 politics
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