Ilargi: President Obama must be starting to sweat, maybe hyperventilate and perhaps even panic. In a move that is prone to kill a political career if it turns out wrong (and it will), he suggested today that this may be a good time for Americans to buy stocks. Now, I don't care if he really thinks that or not, the fact remains that it's a highly risky and volatile thing for a politician to say. It feels like he's moving ever closer into W territory, it sounds like something that Bush 43 would have said, like when 8 years ago he urged Americans to go out and buy a home. Where's the difference?
President Obama also insisted that he's convinced the economy will rebound. And while there will of course be some kind of bounce somewhere down the road, no matter how small, what exactly will be the good that comes from it when it happens with the Dow at 1000? I know, that's probably not what the president thinks. Or hopes for.
Peacenik contemplated the state of the present on the bus trip to work this morning. It screamed normal. Peacenik went to the Borealis, a new, upscale, southend restaurant, for dinner on Saturday. It was full. The local pub, the Wooly, continues to be busy. Peacenik got tickets to a soldout concert at Folkway Music for Friday. There doesn't seem to be an increase in the number of street people on the streets of Guelph. The grocery store and Canadian Tire seemed busy. BCE showed some confidence in the mall-based economy and bought the Source. The city of Guelph reached a tentative agreement with its outside and library workers. Punditman continues to work hard and play hard. Life seems good.
But. But there are some signs of a disturbance in the state of the present. There are a lot of real estate listings in the Guelph Mercury. The Kitchener employment insurance office is apparently very busy. There are no wait times in the ski lift lines at Chicopee Mountain. There seems to be a paper towel and toilet paper price war going on in the local grocery stores. GM sales were down more than 50%. The median price of a house in Detroit is $7500. Can southwestern Ontario become like upstate Michigan? Can Guelph become Detroit? The Toronto Star this morning front paged a story about 1500 Canadian steelworkers losing their jobs.
Then Peacenik turned Peacenik's thoughts to Ilargi. Ah, Ilargi. The name that strikes fear into sentinent humans. Ilargi, the scary one. If your state of mind is dependent on psychotropic drugs, or if you are in a fragile state of mind, or if you are fearful of tomorrow, do not follow the link. Do not read Ilargil. Life seems good. But after reading Ilargi, Peacenik wonders how much longer life will seem so good.
