I’M WATCHING PEOPLE SAY “WHAT A CRUMMY YEAR.” But it wasn’t so bad for me. Work was good. The Insta-Daughter’s health problems were more or less resolved, and the rest of us, including the Insta-Wife, are healthy. Plus, it was the year we won in Iraq. I hope 2009 ends as well.
UPDATE: Yes, Bill’s leather jacket is nice. And he and Hillary look awfully cheerful tonight. Maybe their 2008 was better than we thought.
LIVEBLOGGING NEW YEAR’S at Ann Althouse’s. “How cold is it in New York? Look at that jacket! What a candyass!” Plus, Anderson Cooper and Pap smears.
MICKEY KAUS: Suffering to save the economy! Plus, the search for — well, you’ll see.
HAPPY NEW YEAR: “Massive rescue efforts by the US government and central bank in recent months helped avert a ‘financial collapse’ and are working to stabilize the economy, a Treasury report said Wednesday.”
NATIONALIZING THE PRESS? A call for a government newspaper bailout. Yeah, what could possibly go wrong?
GAZA COMES TO AMERICA.
PICKING THE WRONG WOMAN TO ROB, in Berkeley. But “police do not recommend” fighting an attacker.
MAJ. JOHN TAMMES: 2008: Not such a bad year.
UPDATE: A different take from Iain Murray: “For supporters of freedom and markets, the Year of Our Lord 2008 has been close to a disaster. As D:Ream used to sing, things can only get better, surely? Ah, if only…” If we make them better, they’ll get better. If we wait for them to get better on their own, not so much.
MORE ON MUNICIPAL FINANCE: Framingham Caught in Employee Benefits Trap. “The FTA report says it appears the town placed undue emphasis on how much money happened to be available and insufficient emphasis on how much was justified by actual changes in the cost of living and what was sustainable given the up and down nature of the economy.” (Via PensionWatch).
CHARGE: RACHAEL RAY is trying to kill your dog.
SOME THOUGHTS FOR THE NEW YEAR, from Fabius Maximus:
As we start a New Year I find it useful to review my core beliefs. It is easy to lose sight of those amidst the clatter of daily events. Here is my list:
1. We are a people with a great past.
2. The challenges ahead are no greater than those behind us.
3. The American people can surmount these challenges if we work together.
4. We will be what we wish to be, if we but make the necessary effort.
Everybody expects the next year to suck. Given the record of recent predictions, that means it’s got a decent chance of being pretty good . . . .
LAST MINUTE TAX TIPS: Hey, you’ve got until midnight.
If you’re looking for charitable contributions to make, you might consider the Foresight Institute or the Lifeboat Foundation.
THE “WEAPON OF CHOICE” FOR BUREAUCRATS is apparently misrepresentation: “The demonization of ordinary firearms for the next ‘assault weapon’ ban is picking up steam with the help of the ATF.”
FOR “CLEANLINESS AND SECURITY:” Bathroom Cams.
MORE ON THOSE UNDERFUNDED / OVERGENEROUS PUBLIC PENSIONS: A “looming crisis” in Nevada’s public pension system. Where there’s no minimum age for retirement!
BARRY RUBIN: The Gaza War: Is It Really So Hard to Understand? “When you are attacked, you fight back.”
But when you’re Israel, fighting back is immoral. It’s disproportionate — though that always struck me as the best way to fight back against an existential threat. More on morality from Phyllis Chesler, who asks, Who Are The “Peace Activists,” Anyway? My suspicion is that, once again, they’re not so much “anti-war” as just on the other side.
BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU: A proposed GPS-based mileage tax in Oregon.
TODAY’S JOURNALISM: Comforting the Comfortable?
BANKS BLOWING IT ON FORECLOSED PROPERTIES? I had thought that one business opportunity would involve hiring some laid-off construction workers and doing quick facelifts on repoed houses so that banks could sell them faster. But if the banks are this inept at dealing with their foreclosed properties, there’s probably nobody to talk to.
BILL BRADLEY on Obama’s Adroit Symbolism.
ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI WORRIES about debasing his “cable currency”? Nice to see he’s got his priorities straight. Plus, from the comments: “If only he’d showed such mettle when advising Carter…”
APPARENTLY, THE EDROSO COLUMN WASN’T ENOUGH TO TURN THINGS AROUND: Layoffs at the Village Voice.
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