1. Explosive pagers. Look, the Israelis having the wherewithal to make pagers, radios, and cell phones explode across the region on command is an undeniably slick piece of work. I’m in awe. I’m also suddenly very aware of exactly how many bits of electronics I have in close proximity to me every minute of the day… including the AirPods literally sticking into my head. I’m duly uncomfortable about this new tactic that’s now getting widespread attention thanks to its apparent effectiveness. It’s not something I’d want to see sweeping the world in the future.
2. Shutdown talk. It’s the magic time of year when the media is floating talk of a government shut down when funding expires at the end of September. All they’re going to do for the next two weeks is get my hopes up that a few free days of vacation time are in the offing before the political class pulls out a “save” at the last possible moment and we all boot up our computers on October 1st as usual. Years ago, I was more bitter about the prospect of a shutdown. Now that my finances are considerably more stable and the prospect of missing a check isn’t a stark raving nightmare, all I can tell these bubbas who want to shut it down is “bring it on.” I look forward to yet another opportunity to mock them mercilessly for being consistently unable to do one of the very few jobs that they’re required to do under the Constitution. If they’re going to be so incompetent, giving federal employees worldwide a few extra days off in the fall feels like the least they could do. Of course, until that sweet furlough notice shows up in my inbox, it’s all just talk.
3. Interest rate cuts. In keeping with my tradition of being a contrarian, I’m a little sad to see the Federal Reserve start cutting rates. Yes, I’m sure it’ll be good for anyone looking to buy a house or car and is a sure sign that the Fed thinks the worst of the inflationary pressures is over… but for the first time in my adult life, there was a reasonable return for cash parked in a “high yield” emergency savings account. Another few quarters of cutting and it’ll be back to looking for other savings options that preserve liquidity, compensate for inflation, but don’t introduce additional risk. Those 5% interest rates were good while they lasted.
Tag Archives: Israel
What Annoys Jeff this Week?
1. Detroit. Apparently now indoor plumbing is a human right. At least according to the United Nations, who it seems wants the city of Detroit to provide water to everyone without regard to who has paid for the service and who hasn’t. And that’s where I have the problem, because you see, eventually someone will have to pay. The building and maintaining the infrastructure used to purify and delivery water certainly costs money. At some point, someone has to pay in order to keep the system running – typically that means those receiving the service (city water) pay for what they receive and when they stop paying they stop receiving. It feels like a pretty straightforward pay-as-you-go arrangement. But if the customer base stops paying, who picks up the tab? Whose responsibility is it to pay for something you use? The city? The state? The people who actually pay taxes and their utility bills. Surely we could just charge them a little bit more, no? We have a real problem in this country when huge swaths of society feel entitled to the fruits of labor that isn’t theirs. Detroit’s water woes are just the latest example of nice people being well intentioned, but inherently stupid.
2. Work versus email. The number of messages you send is a really shitty way to measure how much “work” you get done. A) It doesn’t take into account the length, complexity, or content of said emails. B) Being “busy” passing out electronic missives doesn’t mean you’re adding anything of value to whatever you’re engaged in. C) Chances are whoever receives your email is going to misinterpret at least part of it. Sending a lot of email is not a substitute for doing the work. More often than not it’s a sure sign that you’re spending too much time electronically “talking” and not enough time actually thinking.
3. Gaza. Despite what social media apparently want you to believe, the Palestinians and Israelis are not morally equivalent. For as long as there as been an Israel – actually since before then in British Mandate Palestine – they’ve been engaged in a fight for their national survival against a numerically superior foe whose stated ambition is to drive them into the sea. My take on the current Gaza situation is basically the same as if Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia decided Delaware was the odd man out and started hurling missiles into Wilmington. Expecting Delaware in this case to not use every resource at its disposal to make that stop happening would be ridiculous. It’s not the cool or popular stance these days, but I’m saying it out loud and in print: I stand with Israel. Our only real ally in the Middle East and the region’s only functioning democracy deserves at least that much.
That’s the spirit…
There’s a lot going on in the world. Between the incredible imploding generals, John Kerry’s name on the short list for Secretary of Defense, Israel chomping at the bit to bomb its enemies further back into the stone age, an impending fiscal disaster of biblical proportions, and a few dozen other odds and ends that are making the news today, you’d think I could gin up something pithy to discuss tonight… but in thinking that, you, gentle reader, would be exactly wrong. No matter how earth shattering or sensational, my official response to most of the day has been a rather disinterested shrug coupled with the occasional “Meh” for emphasis.
After several minutes of in depth analysis, I’ve determined that the harder I look at the world around me, the dumber it gets… and the higher my blood pressure soars. Perhaps it’s best for the world, and for my long term cardiovascular health if I just start ignoring everything that’s going on around me. That approach seems to work well enough for the masses, so maybe if I stick my nose in a book and pretend that civilization isn’t actually doomed everything will turn out just fine in the end. I mean it’s the approach that works for the inevitable 6 out of 10 who can’t find their state on a map or are more likely to follow news for Justin Bieber than Joe Biden.
So in this new spirit of apathetic mediocrity, I bid you all good night. I’m sure I can find something perfectly pedestrian to take my mind off the world. If a good book doesn’t work, I’m sure one of the 87 channels of reality television will fill the bill nicely.
JEFFREYTHARP.COM 